A moment., originally uploaded by Kluv32.

While every day can be cause for a celebration, it is only the rarest of days that can be cause for two celebrations. Today is such a day.

On one hand, we have the return of America's Pastime, and America's Team: our beloved World Champion Boston Red Sox. The alarm went off at 5:15am. Enough time for a shower, a shave, and a yogurt before ESPN2 clicked over to high-definition images of Japan. The shots of the crowd were pretty impressive, and the shots by Moss and Manny were very impressive.

And, though I missed it on my trip into work, that snag by Jacoby was -- to quote D. Vader -- most impressive.

But the return of the Sox and their thrilling victory wasn't the only cause to cheer -- oh no -- for today is also the day a wee Irish lad burst onto the scene in Westborough, some thirty-one-odd years ago. Yes, our boy Mack, Matty, Knuckles -- Sox Fan, statesman -- is now the same age as Kevin Garnett. (And people say he's heading into the end of his career -- Knuckles is just starting!!!)

While others might use this day to celebrate the lives of Sarah Jessica Parker, Elton John, Aretha Franklin or Gloria Steinem (all born on this day) -- I choose to celebrate the only person I know who can drink Southern Comfort and enjoy it (aside from my Grandmother).

La Breithe Mhaith Agat!

Labels: birthday, Matty, sox

Dusk, originally uploaded by Frants.

Bienvenidos, my friends.

What a wild and crazy summer it has been. It seems like only yesterday that I was getting hitched and traipsing around the wilds of Greece, but before you know it -- months have flown by, trips have been taken every weekend since July, you stand up in two weddings, the baseball playoffs are upon us, and all you have to show for it is a trip to the emergency room and a month spent on antibiotics.

And, do you know what a month on antibiotics means? It means no beer. What kind of end to the summer is that?

But, it was all worth it in the end. Was it the best timing for me to have Kuato start growing out of my side as our lovely friends got hitched? No. But it didn't stop me from dancin' up a storm. I just finished out my year of wedding bliss this past weekend, with my brother-in-law's new nuptials. He's now kicking it Hawaii style on his honeymoon. We're back here sitting thru unseasonable 85-degree-and-humid October weather. Quite jealous.

Things are starting to finally settle down, though. Even though things have heated up at work, it's nice to get a little free time back. Hopefully we'll be able to put in some bike rides before the coming of the snows. We're also way overdue with some visits with our baby-friends, too. And, of course, there's always the playoffs to watch. Tonight our beloved "Andrew" Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound, hoping to put the olde towne team up by two games. It would be a nice present for Frants, who just turned an AARP-sized 31 yesterday. I'm thinking that I should probably bring some oxygen (or Depends) for him when we go to concert tomorrow afternoon...

For now, let's just hope for some downtime to continue, so your old pal Kluv can put up some of the many mixes he's had sitting in the que for outputting and uploading on the webs. He's been remiss in his duties, oh yes he has.

Before I go, here's the tracklisting for this year's 2007 Boston Red Sox Mix. Now in our sixth (seventh?) season, we're particularly pleased with some of the selections for the boys. If you're playing along at home:

1.) 2007 Theme ("Red Hot Red Sox" - Michael Wayne)
2.) My Coco Crisp ("My Coco" - Stellastarr*)
3.) Dustin "the Wind" Pedroia ("Dust In The Wind" - Kansas)
4.) Time of the Papi ("Time Of the Season" - The Zombies)
5.) Right Manny Up ("Right Me Up" - State Radio)
6.) I Need Youks, Youks, Youks ("Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" - Wilson Pickett)
7.) David Jonathan Nancy Drew ("Nancy Drew" - Reliant K)
8.) Mike "Dr. Doubles" Lowell, MD ("Dr. D" - MMBT)
9.) The Captain ("The Captain" - Guster
10.) Me and Julio Lugo ("Me and Julio..." - Paul Simon)
11.) I Hate Curt's Blog ("I Hate Your Blog" - MC Frontalot)
12.) Yes, Joshua, Yes ("No Joshua No" - Max Romeo)
13.) "Andrew" Daisuke Matsuzaka ("Superman" - Zoobombs)
14.) Tim Wakefield, Elder Statesman ("Much Too Young To Feel This Damn Old" - Gimme Gimmes)
15.) Jon Lester, Comeback Kid ("Ballad Of A Comeback Kid" - The New Pornographers)
16.) Tavarez is a Loose Cannon ("Loose Canon" - The Yoko Casionos)
17.) Okajima In The USA ("It's OK in the USA" - Jesus H Christ and the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse)
18.) Jon "Wild Thing" PapelVaughn ("Wild Thing" - The Troggs)

Enjoy. Oh, and a word of advice... if you ever get one of these on, say, your side or back -- and even if you've had it for years, if it starts to hurt one day... Go right to the doctor.

Run.

As fast as you can. You'll thank me for it.

Go Sox!

Labels: busy, Frants, sox, summer, wedding

Playball., originally uploaded by Kluv32.

Happy Spring Training, my baseball-loving friends. I'm sure some of you are following the "Yes, it's true, I don't sleep over Derek's house five nights a week anymore and I'm okay with it" drama from the Janquis... and I'm sure some of you are tingling with excitement over the fact that our boy "Andrew" Daisuke (that's a Matty gem) knows how to knock one back. Hell, maybe there's one of you out there who actually cares about another team.

Either way, it's good to have baseball back.

And, as a celebration -- Matty and I have decided to put out the first of our tag-team Pen Pal mixes online for you to enjoy. Entitled "Songs You Are About To Love", it's a rollicking back-and-forth mix that we created last year. So, head on over to ShuffleThis.com and give 'er a download -- just don't forget to read the liner notes. They're half the fun (and half the battle).

Now, if you excuse me, I'm off to go play with my new toy. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick one up for yourself.

Labels: flickr, Matty, ShuffleThis.com, sox