Roma, checking in

I was so affected by that episode of "Touched By an Angel" (with a completely Emmy-overlooked performance by Harry Hamlin, if I dare say so) that I've spent the last two weeks trying to figure out a way to affix a soft orange glow behind me and get Della Reese to roadtrip with me.

Excuse making is fun.

School has been kicking my behind. I've been doing so much writing lately that the last thing I feel like doing is venturing over here and doing more of it, yet every day for the last fourteen I have at some point said to myself that I am not doing this enough.

So what else? Last year was the first time since 1984 that I never set foot in Wrigley Field. I had my reasons and I am glad I stuck to my guns, but I'm going to go back at least four times this year. Bought the tickets today. I can't believe baseball season starts in a little more than a month. There's nothing like the feeling on Opening Day of knowing that for the next six months there will be baseball almost everyday.

As you can tell, I am being sucked back in. Did I mention that new Cubs manager Lou Piniella and new offensive threat (like he eschews deodorant or something) Alfonso Soriano were on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week? Ugh. Thanks for that one, guys.

This just in: Lou Piniella has been eaten by a snake, and Alfonso Soriano has lost his right arm in a freak croquette accident.

I am blatantly stealing this next portion from here. I went to college in Iowa City. He lives in Iowa City. He won't mind-we're soul Iowans. It's Friday. Write about the first eleven songs that pop up on the trusty i-pod.

(I've gotten so much writing mileage from my 'pod haven't I? I love it more than I love blood. I mean my blood. You can have yours. Relax. I don't want it. Really.)

1. "Fall On Me"-REM. I usually skip this one because I need to be in a certain mood for Michael Stipe's exceptional drone in this song. One of the least favorite songs I like from REM.

2. "Sinking"-The Cure. Off to a dark tone. Love the bass that plays for the first half, before Robert Smith makes us feel like he's got a 376 lb. chain around his neck and just fell into the River Thames. Can you imagine how well off you'd be if you owned a pharmacy in his neighborhood?

3. "Is It Like Today?"-World Party. More happy stuff! This song is at least ten years old, I think. I picture Al Gore singing it for a year after the 2000 election.

4. "The Way You Look Tonight"-Frank Sinatra. Now we're rolling! It was probably a bad idea for me to just attempt to wake up my wife and get her to dance with me though.

5. "Love Is A Stranger"-Eurythmics. Man I love Annie Lennox. If memory serves she covers a lot of ground in the back of a limo in the video for this song (pining; nothing else-get your minds outta the gutter). "And love love love is a dangerous drug."

6. "Slow Emotion Replay"-The The. Might have the the greatest single lyric I've heard in my life: "Everybody knows what's going on with the world. I don't even know what's going on in myself." This is the the dude (this group was pretty much one person) who has that song on the the latest TV ads for M & M's.

7. "Are You A Hypnotist??"-The Flaming Lips. Well? Are you? (That just never gets old) I can type perfectly to the rhythm of this song. This is from one of the greatest road trip CDs ever, but only if you are driving through Utah.

8. "Hiding Out"-Pete Townshend. First heard this song in the fall of 1985. Didn't figure out that he's singing "I am safe hidden here" in the refrain until 2002. One of my ten favorite songs ever. You'll never get this CD from me. Never. Don't even try.

9. "Short Skirt/Long Jacket-Cake. Hey don't these guys have a song called "Frank Sinatra"? Random stolen-idea i-pod list symmetry. I had my first ever Kareoke experience last October and I wanted to sing this song but it was not available. Yeah, I'm singing now. To myself. C'mon, it's 2:54.

10. "Skybird"-Neil Diamond. Well this is awkward. Actually it isn't. I remember listening to the 8 track of this entire album back in the 70s. I'm almost 40 and I think the strangest technological thing I've ever seen is how an eight track would sometimes switch tracks in the middle of a song and you just had to accept the fade-out fade-in in the middle of the song. Rally each thought.........at the sight of your silver wings!

11. "Rain King"-Counting Crows. I first wrote Black Crowes and I'd do that cool thing where instead of deleting something you just cross it out, but I have no clue how to do that. And now I'm going to go to sleep hearing Chris Robinson singing this song.

Hat tip to Brando. Go Hawkeyes.