Getting The Weepies

I had another concert blues moment recently. And probably not the last.

Kates and I adore The Weepies. Have for years. Their music has been part of a few big moments in our lives. And given all the uncertainty in our lives these last couple months, you could say their new album due out at the end of this month is the one of the most anticipated events in our household this summer.

Their lyrics are oh so soothing. Their lush harmonies are musical bliss. The World Spins Madly On.

Suffice to say, as I've said a number of times, they're at the top of our concert bucket list. If the timing was right, we'd drive -- or fly, depending on the location -- hours to see them. Just once.

So when word came out a few weeks ago that the duo was setting plans for their first tour in four years, I had high hopes. I joined others by pleaing on their Facebook page for a Kansas City stop, and I had visions of turning it into a perfect wedding anniversary gift for us. I really thought this was going to be the year.

Instead, I was crushed when the dates went public about a week ago. And there was no date in Kansas City ... There are dates in Madison, Evanston, and Iowa City -- all of which Kates and I seriously considered. But considering our job responsibilities, those stops are scheduled during the worst possible week of the fall.

Get over it. I know.

At least we can still look forward to the new album ... And we have a new song to enjoy.

Saturday night hosts

EW is out today with a list of 15 stars it hopes will host SNL.

Jane Lynch. Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Steve Carrell. Will Farrell. Yes, please.

Julianne Moore (Ugh. That Boston accent was enough to make me change the channel). LeBron James. Tracy Morgan (Are you serious!?). Joaquin Phoenix ... Um, no thanks.

Sunday

Just finished watching another Cubs game. They lost. Again ... To the Reds. Again.

I dozed off a little during the game, too. Lying flat on the couch. Leaving all my burdens -- as our pastor encouraged during his sermon this morning -- behind ... Speaking of the Cubs and burdens, check out this guy's story. I want to meet him.

My perfect Sunday afternoon.

In another few minutes or so, Phoebe will wake from her nap, and the Sunday night rush will begin again ... Deciding what to do for dinner. Maybe a walk to the park. Trying to get Phoebe settled down for bed. And then maybe getting to watch "Mad Men" live -- while "My Boys" gets the VCR treatment because we have yet to watch last week's episode.

Stuff n' fluff

Once again cleaning my desktop of meaningless, but entertaining and worthy, reads and links I've come across the last few weeks ...

The title of this post, by the way, comes from the latest buzzword to dominate our household these last couple weeks, thanks to Phoebe's incessant viewing of her Winnie the Pooh video.

First up, this geekalicious "Star Wars" video I picked this week from a Twitter feed. It's a montage of every lightsaber ignition -- and retraction -- in the galaxy far, far away ...

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This one is called "16 Stars' Most Embarassing TV Ads" ...

I was surprised by how many of these TV commercials I remembered.

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Here's two Onion reads that really had me laughing out loud recently ...

First: God Hinting At Retirement

Second: Local Family Homeless After Tornado Destroys White House

Maybe it's my years of crime and spot news reporting. Maybe I was in a loopy mood. But the latter delivers so many great lines, I was laughing uncontrollably.

"As of press time, several items of sentimental value to the family remained unaccounted for, including Mrs. Obama's wedding gown, both daughters' baby books, David Axelrod, and an antique portrait of George Washington that had been in the home for generations."

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On its photo blog the Denver Post recently published a series of color photos taken between 1939 and 1943.

Simply beautiful.

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The Old Spice campaign is one of the best marketing and advertising stories of the year. And I've enjoyed reading about it.

Check out this "making of" video of the iconic Super Bowl commercial.

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Finally ... Think social media is a fad? Watch this video.