My Dad always remarked about what a great sound John Denver had. I wholeheartedly agree. In today’s dose of passion, Mr. Denver pleads with his listeners to join him on Twitter. I, for one, am gladly buying whatever John is selling. Like the intro to “Knight Rider”, the song still gives me goosebumps – even after all these years.

I was chatting with my friend Kurt who has played something called Strat-O-Matric football for years. From what I can tell, it’s like fantasy football on drugs. Here is how he describes it:

It is kind of a coaching simulator. You have your team and actually call the plays for your team. Your players abilities are based upon their performance in the prior NFL season. It used to be a cards and dice game (it’s been around since the 60′s), but has a computer version now, which allows me to play with the same people I played with when I was a kid. We are a keeper league, so you have to scout players out pretty carefully (at every position, full 53 man roster) because you generally try to put together a team that will be good year to year. Most of the good players are already on rosters before the draft even starts. For instance I took Brandon Pettigrew for Detroit in the 3rd round, not really a good pick in a regular fantasy league.

This Strat-O-Matic thing sounds really intense. It sounds like something I might get into so much, I would do nothing else but do research for the game. It would be like my own personal World of Warcraft. I would get so addicted, I would think that I would need years of therapy to undo the obsession.

On top of all that, I was driving a mini-van that was about 15 years old. The steering wheel was so off, I could tilt it to about 3 o’clock before I noticed any difference. I knew that the car was going to blow up at any minute.  I just didn’t know what minute that would be.   I distracted myself from my impending death by listening to music.  I was really into Oldies back then.  There was one song, in particular, that hit the grease-stained spot during those late nights on the unfamiliar roads.  For me, it was about a guy who knew he was losing someone valuable and wasn’t sure how he was gonna make it after she was gone.  It didn’t come on Oldies 103.3 very frequently, but, when it did, I sang it with an awareness of being lost in multiple ways and with more heartburn than a pepperoni pizza could ever cause.  It is also today’s daily dose of passion.

By the time we got there, all the starters had been taken out and they were playing the 3rd string. At one point, I was excited to see veteran running-back Fred Taylor carrying the ball. However, we eventually realized that it was actually a different running back named Chris Taylor. Chris… Fred… what’s the difference anyway?

At one point, I spotted Reggie Bush on the sidelines. I could tell it was him, because I could make out the number 25 on his shirt.  I was about a mile away from him, so that was pretty good. I also saw Coach Bill, Randy Moss and my friend Tom Brady. They weren’t playing, of course, but they did look nice on the sidelines.

Even as we were getting to the stadium, people were leaving. By the time we got there, the place was about 35% full. Toward the end of the fourth quarter,  that number dropped to about 10%.  One thing that struck me about the game was how quiet it was. There wasn’t a lot of the extra-curricular stuff that goes on at sporting events during timeouts, like contests or shooting T-shirts into the crowd. The place was pretty much dead.

But dead was just what I needed. After all the work it took to get there, I didn’t need any more stimulation. Seeing the stadium and Reggie and Coach Bill and Tom was enough. It was also good to be with my Dad.

To top it all over, there was an assembly in the theater where they played this kicking song by Jon Secada below.  Like the thought of High School on step up day, I immediately loved everything about it.  There was so much longing, excitement and desire about it. It was the perfect theme song, really. It also doubles as today’s daily dose of passion.

1. Never get less than 12 hours sleep
2. Never play cards with a guy whose got the same first name as a city, and
3. Never go near a lady whose got a tattoo of a dagger on her body.

You stick with that, and everything else is cream cheese.”

–Coach Bobby Finstock, Teen Wolf

Today’s story (day 3) was about how teleportation could become a reality.  They even gave the obligatory nod to Star Trek.  At first, I thought it was a joke.  It had to be a joke, right? Right?  Well, I slowly realized that they were dead serious.   Thus ends my 3-day run with the NPR “story of the day” podcast.

I also had a run with audio books, but I’m kind of sick of those as well.  I zone out so often, it is hard to keep focus and I get tired of constantly rewinding.  Part of the problem is that I don’t want to have to be focused.  With all the other demands in the life, I need a break from having to stay too mentally engaged.

For the most part, I am back to music.  I am quickly learning a few things about music.

#1.  It is good to keep it fresh.  A song that meant something to you in 2005, probably won’t have the same meaning in 2010.  Some songs just lose their juice.  It’s like chewing gum that has been in your mouth for a long time.  You can just tell when its time is up and you need a break.

#2.  Too much fresh music at once can be overwhelming.  I bought a ton of new music a week ago.  Half of the time, I don’t even know who is singing the songs I’m listening to.   It’s like going to a new school where you don’t know anyone.  Nothing is familiar.  I don’t even know where the bathrooms are.  This isn’t necessarily a good thing either.

#3.  Everyone likes certain artists, and they are ashamed to admit it.  I don’t care if it is Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber or the Backstreet Boys.  I take that back.  Some people aren’t ashamed to admit it.  And that makes them larger than life.

Who is your guilty pleasure when it comes to music?  My guess is that it’s this guy:

Time for your daily dose of passion:

There are a few moments in this video where the musicians are just sort of randomly chilling together (40 to 48 seconds for example).  I might be crazy, but it reminds of a few other videos where the participants appear at random times in random places (see below). I might be the only person in the world who sees a connection here.

Dancing in the Minefields:

Here in America:

Separate Ways: