KILLING DOGS, DOG DAY, WOLF DOGS, HOT DOGS

HE'S BACK

GREAT!!!! Michael Vick.....fresh off of serving jail time for being involved in organized dog fighting rings is likely to be picked up by an NFL team. I love the people who say "hey...he's paid his dues....I hope he can be successful and still lead a productive life". OK...I'll give you this - he's paid his dues and I hope he lives a productive life. As for being successful who the hell cares. Let him sign his first 5-10 million dollar contract and fail miserably. He still deserves that much. I hope he signs for enough to live for a few years until he can get real job but I dread seeing him have an ounce of success on an NFL field. That's just me. I can have an opinion, right?

YOU CAN CALL ME AL

Three words: Dog Day Afternoon. Al Pacino and John Casale - great acting...a true over the top 1970's crime drama with twists and turns at every corner. Pacino puts every fiber of his being into this role. He is young, brash, and you know from the moment the movie starts that this guy just may have a career. BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE. John Casale....yes that's his name John Casale - no not Pacino......Fredo from the Godfather. Here is your trivia for the day - did you know that John Casale who played alongside Pacino in Dog Day and also played Fredo in the Godfather movies was in 5 films in his short life. EVERY film was nominated for a Academy Award for Best Film. Casale died very young from cancer and I'm thrilled to see that a film about his life premiered at this year's Sundance Festival. HIGHLY recommend Dog Day Afternoon.

WOLFEY

Listen people...Peter and the Wolf is not just a cute little children's piece with a good moral at the end of the story. This is a major orchestra composition. I've frequently used excerpts from this work as part of my audition process for orchestras. So next time you listen, don't just listen to the story. Listen and appreciate the very creative orchestration and technical demands placed on individual members of the orchestra. I think I've blogged about Peter already, so suffice to it to say that you should buy a copy for your kids and listen along with them.

GRIPE OF THE DAY

I'm griping about a great travesty that occurred as I grew up as a kid. It was the travesty of the hot dog. One day, someone decided to tell everyone that hot dogs had rat hairs in them and other gross stuff. So hot dogs got a bad rap. Even today it seems that the delicious wiener cannot escape the death grip that was cast upon it in the 1970's and 80's. I'm here to say that Hot Dogs are fabulous. In addition, there are money great hot dog places......not always easy to find, but they're around. So lay off the freakin hot dogs already....if I want to eat 4-5-6 on a weekend while watching sports, that's life. And by the way - only hot mustard please....not of that bright yellow crap.