04Mar, 2009

It’s a camry. Thanks mostly to you guys for talking her into it. She read all of your suggestions and settled on the Camry. She drove a couple of them over a couple weekends but they didn’t have sunroofs, and she really wanted a sunroof. Then, out of the blue a dealer said he had the car for her. How awesome. Mom had a great time reading your comments and I think she even e-mailed a few of you. Hope that was okay. Mom works at a place called “The Design Firm” which is an interior design shop in Houston. She runs their books and loves the place. Her boss is having the car waxed as a congratulation gift for getting rid of the old boat.  Okay, the specifics: 2005 Toyota Camry 40,000 miles Leather interior (pretty cool, eh?) power everything and a six disc cd changer. Mom was also excited because it had an 8-track. Mom, do you mean a cassette player? Yes, you know, one of those, she said. She got it from a dealer and paid a little more for it than I was comfortable with, but certainly didn’t get ripped off. When I buy a car [...]

04Mar, 2009

Why They Stay on Top

I’ve read a number of reviews for No Line on the Horizon, the new release from U2. Some think it’s a masterpiece, others think Bono and the boys must have put it together over the weekend.  The variety of reviews made me wonder what kind of pressure the four kids from Dublin must feel when they step into the studio. And I’m not talking about a fear of the critics. The critics are the least of their worries. Imagine being a 50-year old family man, spokesman for a global aid organization and mediator of peace between dignitaries and also having to pull off this: • Make sure there are at least two arena songs on the album. Arena songs are anthemic, upbeat songs that drive crowds at large concerts. Why, because U2 is an enormous company with hundreds of employees whose families depend on a world tour. It’s not about Bono, it’s about hundreds of people, and those people are on their minds when they walk into the studio. A subtle and creative album would be nice, but essentially that would mean laying off friends who’ve worked for them for decades and count on them to bring in enormous crowds [...]