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New York Yankees–Boston Red Sox

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
~Douglas Adams

This joke comes via my dear friend Chatter.

On the first day of school a first grade teacher explains to her class that she is a Yankees fan.

She asks her students to raise their hands if they, too, are Yankees fans.

Wanting to impress their teacher, everyone in the class raises their hand except one little girl.

The teacher looks at the girl with surprise, "Janie, why didn't you raise your hand?"

"Because I'm not a Yankees fan," she replied.

The teacher, still shocked, asked, "Well, if you are not a Yankees fan, then who are you a fan of?"

"I am a Red Sox fan, and proud of it," Janie replied.

The teacher could not believe her ears. "Janie, why are you a Red Sox fan?"

"Because my mom is a Red Sox fan, and my dad is Red Sox fan, so I'm a Red Sox fan too!"

"Well, " said the teacher in a obviously annoyed tone, "that is no reason for you to be a Red Sox fan. You don't have to be just like your parents all of the time. What if your mom were an idiot and your dad were a moron, what would you be then?"

"Then," Janie smiled, "I'd be a Yankees fan."

Yankees-Red Sox rivalry
From Wikipedia

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is one of the longest and the most bitter rivalries in professional sports. For over 100 years, baseball's New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox of the American League have been chief rivals, compounded by their geographic proximity.

Since the Red Sox' defeat of the Yankees in seven games in the 2004 American League Championship Series, the rivalry has become more intense than ever before. USA Today has dubbed it "the fiercest rivalry in sports.

On September 28, 2007, Boston won the AL East after a win against the Minnesota Twins and a loss by the New York Yankees against the Baltimore Orioles. This was the Sox first AL East Championship since 1995, ending the Yankees' nine-year reign in the division.

James Taylor

“The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.”~James Taylor

James Taylor - "Secret of Life" – 1992
At his home in Massachusetts during his pre-tour rehearsal.

James Taylor

From Wikipedia
and James Taylor - Official Website

James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Belmont, Massachusetts.



Taylor's career began in the mid-1960s, but he found his audience in the early 1970s, singing sensitive and gentle acoustic songs. He was part of a wave of singer-songwriters of the time that also included Joni Mitchell, Tom Rush, Cat Stevens, Carole King, John Denver, Jim Croce, Don McLean, Jackson Browne as well as Carly Simon, whom Taylor later married.

James Taylor - Long Ago and Far Away


His 1976 album Greatest Hits was certified diamond and has sold more than 11 million copies. He has retained a large audience well into the 1990s and early 2000s, when some of his best-selling and most-awarded albums were released.

Early years
James Taylor grew up in Carrboro, North Carolina, where his father Isaac M. Taylor was the dean of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine from 1964 to 1971. His family spent summers on Martha's Vineyard.

Early career
Taylor first learned to play the cello as a child in Carrboro (near Chapel Hill), and switched to the guitar in 1960. His style on that instrument evolved from listening to hymns, carols, and Woody Guthrie. He attended Milton Academy, a prep school in Massachusetts, and summered with his family in Martha's Vineyard, where he met Danny Kortchmar. The two began playing folk music together. After dropping out of school, he formed a band called The Fabulous Corsairs with his brother, Alex. Later, he was committed to McLean Hospital for depression. He earned a high school diploma while in the hospital, and then left and formed a band called the Flying Machine with Kortchmar and Joel O'Brien in New York City. The band was signed to Rainy Day Records and released one single, "Brighten Your Night with My Day" (B-side: "Night Owl"). The single was not a success. (A UK band with the same name emerged in 1969 with the hit song "Smile a Little Smile for Me".)

While living in New York City, Taylor became addicted to heroin. One night, after receiving a desperate phone call, his father drove to New York and "rescued" him. Taylor later wrote a song called "Jump Up Behind Me" that paid tribute to his father's help during a time of desperate need. The song also reflects on Taylor's memories of the long drive from New York City back to his home in Chapel Hill.

In 1968, Taylor moved to London. He was signed to Apple Records after sending a demo tape to Peter Asher (of Peter & Gordon) and released his debut album, James Taylor. Despite the Beatles connection, and the presence of Paul McCartney and George Harrison on one track, the album did not sell very well, and Taylor's addiction worsened. Moving back to the United States, Taylor checked into a hospital to treat his drug problem in Western Massachusetts outside of Stockbridge (where he lives today). By 1969 he was well enough to perform live, and had a six-night stand at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles. On July 20, 1969 he performed at the Newport Folk Festival. Shortly thereafter he broke both hands in a motorcycle accident on Martha's Vineyard and was forced to stop playing for several months.

1970s
Once recovered, Taylor signed to Warner Bros. Records and moved to California keeping Asher as his manager and record producer. His second album, Sweet Baby James, was a massive success, buoyed by the single "Fire and Rain", a song about his experience in an asylum and the suicide of his friend, Suzanne Schnerr. The success of this single and the album piqued interest in Taylor's first album, James Taylor and propelled the album and the single, "Carolina In My Mind", back into the charts.
Taylor worked with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys on a film, Two-Lane Blacktop, but this was unsuccessful at the time. 1971 saw the release of Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, another hit album. He won a Grammy Award for his version of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend".

In 1972, Taylor returned with One Man Dog and married fellow singer-songwriter Carly Simon on November 3.

The joy they had performing this song is evident in this video!
Mockingbird - Carly Simon and James Taylor



James Taylor & Carly Simon - Close Your Eyes




His next album, 1974's Walking Man, was a disappointment but the following one, Gorilla, was a success partially because of a successful single cover version of Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)". This was followed by In the Pocket in 1976 and then a greatest hits album that included some re-recordings of Apple Records-era material. It became a huge hit and remains Taylor's best selling album.



Taylor signed with Columbia Records and released JT in 1977 winning another Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his cover version of "Handy Man". The snazzy song "Traffic Jam" from the album has since become a favorite jingle for rush-hour radio traffic reports.

After collaborating with Art Garfunkel and briefly working on Broadway, Taylor took a two-year break, reappearing in 1979 with the cover-studded album Flag featuring a Top 40 version of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "Up On The Roof." Taylor also performed at the No Nukes concert in Madison Square Garden and appeared on the album and the film from the concert.




1980s and 1990s
In the early 1980s Taylor's career was again beset by drug problems. Additionally, Taylor's wife, Carly Simon, was unhappy with his extended absences due to touring. After an ultimatum that he spend more time with their children, Taylor responded with the 1981 album Dad Loves His Work. He and Simon divorced in 1983.
In 1985, Taylor married his second wife, actress Kathryn Walker, who helped him through recovery of his substance addictions. According to Taylor, he remains clean and sober to this day.
Taylor's two albums of original material from the 1990s were notably successful. His thirteenth album, New Moon Shine, went platinum in 1991 and he won the Grammy for Best Pop Album in 1998 for Hourglass.

2000s

In 2001 Taylor wed for the third time, marrying Caroline ("Kim") Smedvig. Part of their relationship was worked into the album October Road, on the song "On the 4th of July". The couple has twin boys, Rufus and Henry, born in 2001 to a surrogate mother via in vitro fertilization.
In 2002, Taylor teamed with bluegrass musician Alison Krauss in singing "The Boxer" at the Kennedy Center Honors Tribute to Paul Simon. They later recorded the Louvin Brothers duet, "How's the World Treating You?"
In 2004, after his Columbia/Sony record contract was not renewed, he released James Taylor: A Christmas Album with distribution through Hallmark Cards.
In December 2004, Taylor appeared as himself in an episode of The West Wing entitled "A Change Is Gonna Come". He sang Sam Cooke's classic "A Change Is Gonna Come" at an event honoring an artist played by Taylor's wife Caroline. Taylor's rendition was then released over the Internet.
In 2006, Taylor performed Randy Newman's song "Our Town" for the Disney animated film Cars. The song was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for the best Original Song.
Taylor performed the National Anthem at Game 2 of the World Series in Boston, Mass. on October 25, 2007.

James Taylor - Fire and Rain (Beacon Theatre)



James Taylor "Still Crazy After All These Years"
Taylor's performance at the The Library of Congress
Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in honour of Paul Simon.



James Taylor's music embodies the art of songwriting in its most fundamental form. He has been at it for decades: transforming introspective meditations into lyrics, melodies and harmonies that comfort and reassure the listener with the sense that these sometimes painful, sometimes celebratory moments are a part of life, shared by us all. In 1971, James was featured on the cover of TIME magazine, who heralded him as the harbinger of 'the singer/songwriter era". Today, the quintessential singer/songwriter has seen that era crossover into the 21st century. James currently resides in The Berkshires with his wife, Caroline and their sons Henry and Rufus.

Starbucks will Release:
'One Man Band' DVD/CD: November 13, 2007

Sunday November 4, 2007

Oh, you weak, beautiful people who give up with such grace. What you need is someone to take hold of you - gently, with love, and hand your life back to you.
~Tennessee Williams

Cow Trouble

“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it”~ Terry Pratchett



TAP DANCE COW! WOW!

A farmer walked into a bar and saw the local tractor salesman sitting there, head hung low, obviously upset, drowning his sorrows in his beer.

"What's up, John?" asked the farmer.

"Gosh Bob, I'll tell you what ... if I don't sell a tractor soon, I'm gonna have to close my shop."

"Now John, things could be worse," said Bob.

"How do you figure?" asked John.

"Well, John - you know my ornery cow, Bessie?

I went to milk her this morning and she just kept flicking her tail in my face.

So I grabbed a piece of rope and tied it up to the rafter.

Then, the nasty thing went and kicked the bucket away!

So I tied her leg to the wall.

Then she kicked my stool right out from underneath me!

But I was out of rope.

So I took my belt off and used it to tie her other leg to the other side of the stall.

Well wouldn't you just know it...my damn pants fell down."

"And John, if you can convince my wife that I was in there to MILK that cow,

I'll buy a tractor from you TODAY!"

A farmer ordered a high-tech milking machine.

Since the equipment arrived when his wife was out of town, he decided to test it on himself first.

So, he inserted his 'manhood' into the equipment, turned on the switch and everything else was automatic.

Soon, he realized that the equipment provided him with much more pleasure than he would have expected.

When the fun was over, though, he quickly realized he couldn't remove the instrument from his 'member'.

He read the manual but didn't find any useful information on how to disengage himself.

He tried every button on the instrument, but still without success.

Finally, he decided to call the supplier's Customer Service Hot Line with his cell phone

(Thank God for mobile phones!).

‘Hello, I just bought a milking machine from your company.

It works fantastic, but how do I remove it from the cow's udder?'

'Don't worry,' replied the customer service rep,

The machine will release automatically once its collected two gallons.'

Perfect Post Award

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
~Dr. Seuss


There is a blogger who rocks my world…..
His name is Ol' Hoss
and he done went and gave me one of these!!!!



For this

I feel special.
I am flattered.
I am honored.
I do love to listen to some Doc.












I found a few more Doc Videos!

Doc Watson - 1991 - Black Mountain Rag


Doc playing and singing with his new Henderson guitar in Wayne's shop Aug 06


It doesn’t get any better than this…
Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, and Ricky Skaggs
Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms



Doc Watson is special and so is Ol' Hoss .
The Cool Ol' Raggedy One Lubbs da Ol' Hoss …
Thank you!


FYI:
Be on the lookout….
FTS is BACK!!!!!!
He is now a Snowball
posting in Snowmansland….
Woooooooooohoooooooooo!!!!
Head over and give him a big welcome back!

Thursday Thirteen (23rd)

On Speakin’ Southern

1. Attair: Contradiction used to indicate the specific item desire. "Pass me attair gravy, please"

2. Awl: An amber fluid used to lubricate engines. "Ah like attair car, but it sure does take a lot of awl."

3. Bawl: What water does at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. "That gal cain't even bawl water without burnin' it."

4. Bleeve: Expression of intent or faith. "Ah bleeve we ought to go to church this Sunday."

5. Cent: Plural of cent. "You paid five dollars for that necktie? Ah wouldn't give fiddy cent for it."

6. Everwhichways: To be scattered in all directions. "You should have been there when the train hit attair chicken truck. Them chickens flew everwhichways.

7. Far: A state of combustion that produces heat and light. "Ah reckon it's about time to put out the far and call in the dawgs."

8. Flares: The colorful, sweet-smelling part of a plant. "If yo wife's mad at ya, it's smart to take her some flares."

9. Griyuts: What no Southern breakfast would be without - grits. "Ah like griyuts with butter and sawt on'em, but Ah purely love'em with red-eye gravy."

10. Hale: Where General Sherman is going for what he did to Etlanna. (Atlanta) "General Sherman said "War is Hale" and he made sure it was."

11. Jew: Did you. "Jew want to buy attair comic book, son, or just stand there and read it here?"

12. Kumpny: Guests. "Be home on time. We's havin' kumpny for supper."

13. Likker: Whiskey; either the amber kind bought in stores or the homemade white kind that federal authorities frown upon." Does he drink? Listen, he spills more likker than most people drink.'

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