Then, You Suggest Some Wii Games

 
I questioned whether or not I should post this because apparently until we get this world hunger thing solved, we’re not allowed to complain about our own lives. But since we’ve supported a poor child, Katarina, through World Vision for over a decade now, I feel that I have built up some curmudgeon offsets, so here goes.

A few years ago, when my in-laws were visiting, we went to the mall where my mother-in-law purchased a new purse. When the clerk rang up the purchase, it was then discovered that the handbag was on sale. Well, what a pleasant surprise! Sometimes good things do happen. But my father-in-law, having spent an entire career in retail management, took a dimmer view of the surprise discount.

How many people, he wondered, admired that purse, but didn’t purchase it? And would they have purchased it if they knew it was 20 percent off? In short, the reason you put things on sale is to positively affect the buying decision, but the discount incentive doesn’t work if customers aren’t made aware of it.

I mention this now because I had a similar experience yesterday.

I’d been shopping for a  pre-owned TV to use with the kids’ new Wii. But then I thought, good ol’ George Bush didn’t hand out those incentive checks so we could sock it away in a savings account. No, he wanted us to have something nice for ourselves. So I decided to put our current set in the toy room and purchase a brand new one for DVD watching and all-around television viewing.

On Saturday, I did some reconnaissance at Best Buy. I narrowed my search to quaint 32-inch screen models and was told by an employee that all TVs over $1,000 were eligible for 24-months free financing, while those over $500 were good for 12 months.

Armed with this knowledge and a little bit of online research, I returned yesterday to make my buy. It was a modest one, by today’s standards, but I was still counting on the 12-month grace period to pay it off gradually and painlessly. But when I went to apply for financing, I was told that six months of no interest was the best they could offer. When told of my conflicting information, the finance associate confirmed the six-month figure with someone of authority in the television department. Put off by the news, I decided against the purchase.

The rest of the afternoon I stewed over my decision. I really wanted to have the TV in place and operating when the family returned from vacation. If, by chance, they weren’t happy to see me, at least they’d be excited over a brand new TV. I figured out a way to justify the financial outlay and returned to the store after work.

When applying for the financing, I was again told the conditions of repayment, consistent with what was said earlier in the day.  After passing the credit check with flying colors, I went to the cashier to check out. And guess what? After everything was rung up and I sealed the deal by signing my name on the terminal, the pleasant young lady behind the counter told me that I would enjoy an entire year sans interest.

Was I happy? Sure, but the miscommunication did cost me an extra trip to the store and some of my oh-so-valuable time. From Best Buy’s perspective, it darn near cost them a sale. Just how difficult is it to know and communicate the incentives available to customers.

Wii Game Advice?

Okay, I have the Wii and a dedicated set, now for the games. It came with some sports games, apparently, and I’m definitely getting Endless Ocean for Mark, our  youngest. Any other suggestions? I have two girls (eight and six) and two boys (six and four.) None of them are big on blood and gore so we won’t be getting any shoot-em-ups. Are any of the dance games worthwhile?

Only a Memory
On Saturday night, our whirlwind tour of concert going took us to Decatur, home of ADM and soybeans, and, for one night only, the Smithereens. It was definitely worth the smell as the band played rocking versions of all of their college radio hits, save for House We Used to Live In*, much to the chagrin of one fan. @lisha will be happy to know that the band was very good at time keeping and stage presents.

I hadn’t kept up with the band in recent years and was thus a bit shocked when they took the stage. Pat DiNizio is standing a lot further from his guitar these days, if you get my meaning. I heard after the show that he’s had some serious health issues that may have contributed to his added poundage. It didn’t affect the energy with which he delivered his vocals, however, and the band was in great form. Three of the original four piece were there, with a stand-in standing in for their new bassist. They’d be a great get for a future American Music Show, a little power pop for those of us who came of age in the 80s.

*We talked to Pat briefly after the show and he explained that they played that song during their set earlier in the evening.

Spinning All of Your Favorite Songs of Yesterday and Today
Speaking of music, if you haven’t been to Pandora yet, go there now. Wait, wait! Not yet. Let me explain first.

Pandora is free Internet radio that builds its playlists around your tastes. Tell it a favorite song or band, and it will select songs that fit that mold. It’s based on the Music Genome Project that aims to classify songs at their fundamental level and:

"capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony."

Once you create a channel, you can refine it by giving "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" to the songs it plays for you. Pandora remembers your endorsements and pans when selecting songs in the future. It lets you exert influence on playlists just like record companies have for years, but without the cocaine or payola.

I have an exquisite Rilo Kiley channel going thats aged beautifully over the last couple of weeks. If I had a new iPhone so I could play it away from my laptop, I’d be golden.

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
Speaking again of music, Zooey Deschanel is the rare actress who has crossed over into singing without embarrassing herself. In fact, she has a terrific voice. She’s hooked up with M. Ward and made this, a most captivating video. It mines in Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins territory, both in the traditional country sound and the depravity-beneath-the-purity theme of the video. Enjoy, won’t you.

We went to see the Whigs and the Toadies at the Pageant in St. Louis last night. We really went to see the Whigs; the Toadies just happened to be headlining. Rather than a review of the show, I thought I’d just throw out a few observations.

What a great place
The Pageant is a wonderful place to see a show. Great sight lines, readily accessible beer, clean facilities – what more could you ask for in a venue. Aimee Mann will be opening for Squeeze there in September. Dude, I can seriously see myself at that performance.

What a difference a radio hit makes
Upon entering the Pageant, I was a bit surprised at the large crowd that had gathered and initially assumed that the Georgia-born Whigs had garnered more national recognition than I realized. Later, it became clear that most of the kids were Toadies partisans.

I was familiar with two of the radio hits the Toadies charted in the mid-90s, Possum Kingdom and I Come From the Water. At the time, the songs didn’t register with me as being much, although I didn’t dislike them. Yet it turns out that they made enough of a mark that over a decade later a strong contingent of young concert-goers forked over $15 to see them perform. Some of them even moshed, no less.

What a difference a drummer makes
In my opinion, the Whigs were the highlight of the evening. They’re much stronger musically and a good deal of the credit goes to their drummer who out-classed the rather pedestrian performance of the Toadies’ drummer.

I use to thing that a band’s worth lie mostly with the singer’s voice, the guitarist’s riffs, and the songwriter’s proficiency with melody. Although I once dabbled in drumming my own self, I didn’t pay much attention to that man behind the skins during live shows.

Because I generally considered drummers to be likable, yet simple time keepers, I couldn’t understand why Paul Westerberg felt the need to push long-time Mat Christopher Mars to the side or why Jeff Tweedy showed the door to original  Wilco drummer, Ken Coomer. But as I became more sophisticated in my appreciation of drumming, the reasons became clear.

Both Westerberg and Tweedy wanted to advance their songwriting beyond the constraints of a straight-forward 4/4 beat and they needed drummers who were able to open up the songs with polyrhythms and what not. If you’ve ever seen Glen Kotche, Wilco’s current drummer, perform, you can better appreciate how the beats he creates are essential to the overall sound of the band’s songs.

I’m now of the opinion that a good drummer carries a rock concert and a bad one can drag down the rest of the band, no matter how talented they all may be.

What a geezer I am
Surveying the crowd, it struck me that twenty years ago I very well might have been at a concert in St. Louis with the parents of some of the people who had gathered last night. I wonder how they’re all getting along these days.

I was roundly mocked when I took to the Bocce Ball field on Saturday evening, this despite my earlier display of prowess. The "Lithuanian Master" they called out, derisively. Well, I promised that I wouldn’t boast, but rest assured that when darkness fell, the ridiculing had ceased. Join me, won’t you, in a rendition of the Lithuanian National Anthem as we hail the champion.

Lithuania, our homeland,
Land of heroes!
Let your sons draw their strength
From our past experience

Let your children always follow
Only roads of virtue,
May your own, mankind’s well-being
Be the goals they work for

May the sun above our land
Banish darkening clouds around
Light and truth all along
Guide our steps forever

May the love of Lithuania
Brightly burn in our hearts.
For the sake this land
Let unity blossom

Once again, in the mother tongue:

Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų,
Tu didvyrių žeme,
Iš praeities Tavo sūnūs
Te stiprybę semia.

Tegul Tavo vaikai eina
Vien takais dorybės,
Tegul dirba Tavo naudai
Ir žmonių gėrybei.

Tegul saulė Lietuvoj
Tamsumas prašalina,
Ir šviesa, ir tiesa
Mūs žingsnius telydi.

Tegul meilė Lietuvos
Dega mūsų širdyse,
Vardan tos Lietuvos
Vienybė težydi!

Bloggers are good at venting their frustrations and giving public floggings to those people or entities who we feel have done us wrong. In the spirit of fairness, it’s only right then that we also give air to those who distinguish themselves with acts of nobleness.

You may recall reading a long-winded, heavily emoted and, quite frankly, embarrassing post about my beloved beer that I wrote on Sunday evening. Maybe you skipped it, who knows. But three people who did read it are employees of the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, two of whom emailed me this morning and one who left a comment. All took time to allay my fears and respond to my concerns.

Here’s one of the messages I received:

Hi Dan, I am the Business Development Manager for Sierra Nevada Brewng Co in Illinios. I wanted to say thanks for being a loyal Pale Ale drinker! And fear not, ample supplies of all of our brews shipped out last week and should be on store shelves and in tavern keepers coolers as we speak. I am sure that you will be contacted by someone from the brewery as well but I wanted to reach out. Sorry about the interruption, please contact me directly if you have any difficulty finding our brews.

Thanks, Bob Ryan

What fine representatives of their company. Raises all around, I say!