Ridgeline

I never posted my 2007 best music summary -- hopefully this weekend -- but here are two early previews for 2008: Water from the Same Source - Rachel's. OK, I know it began as one of the themes for the NBA Playoff's split screen commercials. But it was seemed so alt-music heartfelt I had to seek it out. I haven't heard an instrumental so moving since Explosions In The Sky. Piano against aching cello, this is for you regardless of your familiarity with the point and roll. (And I know it was originally a 2003 release, but, whatever.) I Will Possess Your Heart -- Death Cab for Cutie. Words fail me for this one -- an eight minute single built around an irrestible guitar ostinato (riff or hook) where the genius, as in jazz, is from repetition and variation. Game over -- unless U2 or Coldplay cures cancer, Ben Gibbard has the song of the year. Keep listening!

Pats. Giants. Still sad.

Today is cold, rainy, dreary. But yet another positive -- the lilacs are budding. Blooms will be here again soon.

Pats. Giants. Still sad.

It's April, again. Its still cold, still find ice and icicles in the morning, but we're also hearing songbirds. The spice pears are starting to bud and the tulips are sprouting in the flower bed. Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

So I was watching Game 2 of the World Series the other night with friends, and I remarked that Fox was trying a new kind of advertising. Fox has been using a lot of "live audio" form the sidelines, but I;d noticed some in Game 1 with Royce Clayton and Coco Crisp that seemed a little too "Pulp Fiction"-goes-to-Burger-King to be unscripted. Anyway I noted it to Mike, and Friday, lo and behold, there I am on Mike's blog. ( http://www.michaelprager.com/blog/?p=438 ) Thanks, Mike. (He described me as "astute", however, so his insights may be suspect.) To be fair, I tip my cap to the cleverness, in the TiVo era, of slipping the ads in as in-game chatter among the players. [Gotta pay for those in-ground cameras somehow, and using those 30-second skip buttons on your DVR probably doesnt help.] But as a viewer and fan, I don't like it. Also, the Boston Globe noted this issue, and credited Mike as someone who weighed in, but not me. Why not, Geoff Edgers? ht...

I was recently privileged and honored to preside over the wedding of Gregg Snider, annd Heather Vallee. Gregg has been a friend almost since the moment I arrived in Boston 18 years ago, and his family has welcomed mine as we've all come to welcome Heather. Anyway, here's the ceremony. The Marriage of Heather Vallee and Gregg Snider 13 October 2007 (Chris) Welcome. Please be seated. Dear friends, this is the happiest of evenings. We have gathered here to witness and to celebrate the marriage of Gregg and Heather. We have come from far and near, from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances, united today by our feelings for this couple. We are their nearest and dearest, families and friends, and each of us here today gives an added dimension of meaning and joy to this occasion. I am humbly honored to help guide this ceremony along, and I cannot tell you how deeply moved I was when I was asked to officiate. (It was over sushi – no surprise there, folks.) I’ve known Gregg and his...

Brady crosses the rainbow Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . I just saw that this photo has 2000 hits on it, all of a sudden. Did this photo get linked somewhere I should know about?

The Police set list, Fenway Park, Boston, MA 29 July 2007 Message In A Bottle Synchronicity II Walking on the Moon Voices Inside My Head When the World Is Running Down Dont Stand So Close To Me Driven To Tears Truth Hits Everybody The Bed's Too Big Without You Every Little Thing She Does is Magic Wrapped Around Your Finger De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da Invisible Sun Walking In Your Footsteps Can't Stand Losing You/Regatta De Blanc Roxanne First Encore: King of Pain So Lonely Every Breath You Take Second Encore: Next To You

Did I see that one coming? No. Will it good be good for the New England Patriots? You bet, if the team keeps its corporate culture intact and Randy fits in. This is a team that finished up just shy of the Super Bowl, almost entirely on the will power and gut of Tom Brady. Was I wrong before? Well, Randy was not always a team player, and didnt always show up on field when his team was out of it. But I'm willing to reconsider and give him another chance.

Did not see that coming. Best season ender yet, even better than Battlestar Galactica's 2006 and 2007 finales. What a great way to stretch into a whole new realm of mysteries. Once again, Lost's creators have found a way to keep the focus on the character mystery, rather than the supernatural, almost trivial questions about "the Numbers" ( OK , it's a prediction of the end of the world), etc. etc. More than that cannot be written without giving much away. It was a great framing technique to use around the "real time" island world of 2004. Some early questions: will there me more stories similar to that revealed in the final minutes at the airport is the airport story true or a dream, hallucination, or a hypothetical situation?

There she is... Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . Some of Rachel's earliest smiles...

Red sweatshirt Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . Nate was rolling around on the lawn, and the last picture I got gave this amazing light on his face, with an expression I don't ever see on my two (almost three) year old.

OK, some of last fall's style awards were dead on. Some were not. Random thoughts and comments: Departed - Oscar. Spot on. Still haven't seen Little Childrem and neither has most of America. But I loved the book, and my wife loved the movie. I liked The Queen, but that's not a fall movie. Oh, yeah, love it when my two fave shows for the fall were The Nine (cancelled), and Studio "Sickly" on the Sunset Strip. Brilliant. Why not go on about Heroes, instead. Or Friday Night Lights. Or Galactica.... Haven't written in a while. Well, welcome to Earth, Rachel...and hooray. She's great.

A couple of early awards for this fall's TV and music pop culture events: Comeback of the Year: Nip/Tuck (FX Tuesday 10pm) They're back to the stylish, dark comic fun that made this show a gem originally, and that was sorely missing during the tired CSI:Miami "Carver" plotline. Joely Richardson's richly shaded performaces, week in and out, are the stuff of statues. Best New Show: The Nine (ABC Wednesday 10pm ), if the rest lives up to the pilot. Honorable mention -- Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC Monday) -- I got chills wathcing the Gilbert/Sullivan parody-homage come together. Why Why Why? Survivor, The Bachelor, According to Jim. Why are they still on the air??? Who watches them? Fun CDs: Brazilian Girls, The Killers, Justin Timberlake, John Mayer Movies I can't wait to see: The Departed (will Scorsese finally get the Oscar); Little Children. Music rants and raves: I do really like Snow Patrol, but something about them reminds me of Moby. Remeber a ...

I've written several times about l'affaire Owens, and his excursions from the 49ers, to the Philadelphia Eagles, and now to Dallas. (I've never understood how Cowboys fans, or even Parcells, can stomach the fact that the visiting receiver who once celebrated on the 50 yard line star at Texas Stadium is "now" a Cowboy, but we'll leave that for another post.) But enough on that. Whether his pills incident last week was a suicide attempt, or an overdoes, or a cry for attention, scarcely matters. It would seem to this observer that Terrell Owens has some sort of emotional or mental illness, and the only decent response to this is to hope that he gets treatment, and gets well. Privately.

Franconia Parkway, from Cannon Mountain Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . An older panoramic shot, a little grainy, of the entrance to the Franconia Notch, taken from Cannon Mountain and looking to the south.

Hometown farm, Laurel, NY Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . Happy Independence Day, everyone! This farm runs down toward Peconic Bay -- the road on the left is Laurel Lane -- almost a mile (well past the trees over the white barn.)

The Skylark Brothers of Comedy! Here's a comedy classic...