Flat Stanley Learns To Be A Good Sport

Hey everyone, Stanley here! I feel like every time I turn around, Meg and I are going to ANOTHER hockey game! But this is what life with Meg is like, and while I'm her guest I have to go with the flow.

Tonight was one of our most fun hockey games because I got to meet another one of Meg's friends! This is Tammy, and she and Meg work together at Progressive. And apparently Tammy likes hockey too!



I was a little confused about Tammy though, because she was the only person sitting with us that wasn't wearing a Kings jersey. Her outfit matched the other team! We don't like them, because we want the Kings to win, so I asked Meg why Tammy got to wear the other team's shirt at a Kings game.

Meg explained that Tammy grew up outside of California, near the city where this other team was from. She watched them since she was a little girl, so even though she lives in LA now, she still likes to support her hometown team. Meg also said that part of being friends with someone is understanding that they don't always like the same things you do, but you should respect their opinion anyway because differences are what make people interesting. I can certainly relate to that, being flat and all. I'm different than lots of people!

When the game was over, Tammy was happy because her team won, which meant Meg was a little sad for the Kings. But Meg also congratulated Tammy on her team winning, because she explained that part of playing a game means you have to be a good sport when someone beats you fair and square.

These hockey games sure are teaching me a lot. I asked Meg when the next one is, because I like learning new things. She explained we were going to learn a lot of new things this coming weekend, because we were going on a trip to Virginia. Boy, Meg sure leads a busy life! I'd better get some rest, because the next time I get to write something, I'll be talking to you from another state!

The Beasts from the East: Kings vs Flyers

When people ask me why I got interested in hockey, I usually give some predictable answer about the exciting pace of the game, the good looking players, etc. But the reason I forget to mention, that is probably the one that keeps me so interested in spite of the constant ups and downs of my team, is hockey people. As a group, you won't find smarter, more interesting, passionate, loyal, and open-hearted folks on earth. The longer I'm around hockey and the more hockey people I meet, the more I know I'll love this game forever.

So it makes sense that one of my very best friends from work is also a hockey fan!



My regular readers have heard me talk about Tammy Good before, mostly in the context of music since she's my regular concert buddy. But she is also a former athlete and passionate fan of all things Philadelphia, since she grew up in good old Lancaster County, PA. Hence, she is a Flyers fan. So on the occasion of the Flyers visit to Staples Center, she donned her Rick Tocchet jersey and joined Nadine and I for the game.

I gotta give Tammy credit. She was emphatic in cheering for her boys, but in a totally respectful way recognizing she was sitting in a Kings season ticket section. And since she's the one person besides Nadine I know that has a million crazy stories about meeting famous people in everyday situations, they had a great time chatting throughout the game. I don't think I could have shut them up if I tried. Tammy, you will be invited back....you're like a regular now!

And it was an even better night for Tammy because the Flyers handed the Kings a 3-2 loss. We weren't terrible, but we didn't have our game plan together at all, and we pretty much handed Philly the game. Drew gave it a valiant effort with a great slap shot to bring the Kings within 1 goal of a tie, but we just couldn't get it done.

"We didn't show up to play, and that's why we lost the game,'' Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. "The first two periods, we weren't too solid. It wasn't like we were playing that bad. We just let them have three easy goals. We can't have that. We talk, and watch video on our D zone all the time, and when we make little mistakes like that, it's tough and we've got to learn from it.''
(quote courtesy of the LA Kings Official Website)

How can he be so cute and so wise at the same time? It's a mystery. But speaking of cute boys, let's see what Tammy's Flyers had to offer, shall we?

OK, Dan Carcillo is looking a little scuzzier that the last time I saw him. The move from Phoenix looks like it was rough on him.... The term "rode hard and put away wet" comes to mind.



Whoa...who is this? Prehistoric hockey man? Not a good look.



And Scotty Hartnell, the freak of hair nature. I never dreamed a MAN could put me to shame in the uncontrollable hair department, but I concede defeat to Scotty. There isn't enough hair product on the planet to control that!



Finding a good looking guy in Philly's line-up is kind of like bargain shopping at T.J. Maxx. You know the really great deal on the Michael Kors silk blouse is in there somewhere, but you have to sort through a lot of really bad polyester to find it. But when you find it....MAGIC!

Thus, I give you the magic that is Mike Richards. O.M.G. I'm speechless.



And this time we got a two-for-one special in the hot men department, courtesy of London, Ontario's own Jeff Carter. Drew is from London too. There must be something in the water there that produces these amazing, gorgeous hockey men.

Jeff is one tall drink of water. Tammy was mesmerized. I have a picture of her getting a great shot of his butt, but some things weren't made for the blogosphere and should be kept between friends.



Next up for the Kings will be the visiting Calgary Flames on Saturday, 11/21. It will be the first home game of the season I'm missing, since I will be back in Virginia at JMU Alumni Band weekend. I just hope the Kings don't play better without me around, because I'll get all superstitious about that.

Until next time, GO KINGS GO!

Battle Studies: My Album Review

After listening to the new John Mayer album constantly since it arrived on my doorstep, I've come to the conclusion that Battle Studies is a terrible title. A better one would be "The Curious Case of John Mayer." Why? Because in the constant duality that is John's universe, somehow this album manages to take a step forward (musically) and a step backwards (thematically) at the same time. Leave it to John to perform that feat and still have me end up thinking, "Damn, but the bastard is talented."

In a way, 2006's Continuum almost set John up for failure this time around. That album was so strong, top to bottom, that it had to be hard to envision a follow-up that could top it. And in fairness, I don't think John really tried to accomplish that. I think he set out to make a good set of pop songs that most people would like listening to, and in that respect he succeeded. But for hard-core Mayer fans like myself, the stakes are higher, and for that reason this album left me happy, but not completely satisfied.

Long time Mayer followers are well aware our muse has a split personality - half lovelorn balladeer and ladies man, half second-coming of Clapton-guitar God stature shredder. Part of the greatness of Continuum was it's ability to merge the two sides so seamlessly they seemed made to be together. In the case of Battle Studies, much of the music is stunningly beautiful, but the heartbreak feels forced and too overwrought to be sincere. Make no mistake about it - no one crafts more intelligent and insightful lyrics than John Mayer, and the ladies (present company included) that swooned over phrases like "I'll never let your head hit the bed without my hand behind it" will find plenty to like here. Whether the emotion is real or contrived is the question.

Musically, the guitar is still the center of the party, although the sounds are more varied on this record than anything John has used before. His past efforts have included a very distinctive Stratocaster sound which is sadly missing on this record. Yet the choices are unique and beautiful across the board, and I'm liking this slightly different side of my favorite guitarist. Keyboards are also much more prevalent in the mixes this time around, and although not credited in the liner notes, there are additional backing vocals that do a nice job rounding out the sound.

With that little summary in mind, here is my track-by-track review of John's latest effort.

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Track 1: Heartbreak Warfare
This is one of the songs on the album that feels the most immediately radio friendly. The music is so catchy, I wish the theme was more upbeat. Although this IS a clear winner in the creative lyrics sweepstakes. Anyone who can work in the lines "Red wine and Ambien/You're talking shit again" to a song has some serious lyric writing chops. The synthed-up intro hooks you and doesn't let go, so in the end it gets a thumbs up, and provides a solid start for this record.

Track 2: All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye
For me, the vocal harmonies in the chorus are the big draw of this song. They're simply gorgeous, and when I close my eyes it sounds almost reminiscent of The Beach Boys. "I love you more than songs can say" is the kind of lyric that hooked legions of fans in the Room For Squares era. Overall though, the thematic tone of the song is a serious downer.

Track 3: Half of My Heart

I was prepared not to like this track just because of Taylor Swift's involvement. Not that I don't like her, but because the whole concept of having her guest on the album just seemed too gimmicky, and maybe even beneath John's talent level. But I like it, the lyrics are tongue-in-cheek romantically ("Half of my heart is the part of a man who's never truly loved anything"), and it's gonna be an instant hit. This track was made for radio. Taylor really just comes in dominantly at the end, but if you listen closely you can hear her singing along with the entire chorus.

Track 4: Who Says
John debuted this little ditty at the "Secret Show" I saw at the Troubadour back in August , and based on this recording it was pretty much finished by the time I heard it performed. He tweeted at the show that he was finishing the lyrics in the bathroom, but I'd have to dig up the bootleg recording I made of it at the show to tell you for sure. Musically, it feels like a reworked version of Stop This Train from Continuum, but I suspect the lyrics most honestly reflect John's current romantic notions ("I don't remember you looking any better/Then again I don't remember you"). Cheeky and cute, it would be a radio hit except for the references to getting stoned. Always the rebel....

Track 5: Perfectly Lonely

This track features a more bluesy sound reminiscent of Continuum. Come to think of it, this song would have fit in perfectly on the last album. The chorus is catchy, and features more nice vocal harmonies. This has potential to turn into a great concert singalong at shows this winter..."I'm perfectly lonely....yeah."

Track 6: Assassin

It took me a while to get into this track, because there's a lot going on. The obvious grab is the storytelling nature of the lyrics, which cast John as a stealthy Lothario leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake, until he meets his match in female form ("I'm an Assassin and I had a job to do/Little did I know, that girl was an Assassin too"). Combined with the music, the song feels like a smoky bar tryst on a foggy night by a river somewhere. Then the guitar solo hits, the underlying groove picks up, and I picture John soloing the shit out of this in concert. And dammit, it whole thing just works. The Assassin hit his mark. I'm toast.

Track 7: Crossroads

This cover of the Robert Johnson blues classic is interesting as a stand-alone piece, but it's inclusion on this album left me scratching my head. Where the Jimi Hendrix Bold As Love cover fit Continuum perfectly thematically and musically, this song accomplishes neither. The deconstructed, synthed out guitar sound is a brave and interesting choice, but John has covered this song so many times in concert SO MUCH BETTER. It feels like something thrown in at the last minute to satisfy the hard core guitar folks that are gonna buy this record hoping for another John Mayer Trio project. Either that, or Steve Jordan and John were sitting in the studio sequencing the record and said, "Man, this album is a BUMMER...it needs some energy" and decided the toss this in to bring the excitement level up a little.

Track 8: War of my Life

If Crossroads left me scratching my head, this song didn't restore my faith that things would get sunnier. Thematically, this song is a huge downer, and the music doesn't contribute anything interesting. Determined to give it a chance, I listened to this song over and over to make sure I wasn't missing some hint of buried genius. I wasn't. By far, the low point of the record and the one true throw-away song on this album.

Track 9: Edge of Desire
This is romance as only John Mayer can do it - conflicted and passionate but not syrupy ("Don't say a word, just come over and lie here with me"). "I want you so bad I'll go back on the things I believe" is my favorite lyric on the entire record, and the music has the potential to be big and anthemic played live. Or it could be stripped down, played acoustically, and rip your heart out. This is why I love John.

Track 10: Do You Know Me

This track is simple, beautiful, and meditative. The guitar arpeggios flowing under the chorus are the musical high point of the album for me, and the lyrics are like a little poem set to music. The entire feeling is like a beautiful dream, and I love it more than I probably should. It's music for cuddling in front of a fire on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Track 11: Friends, Lovers or Nothing
Another radio friendly pop song, without too many bells and whistles and just the right amount of guitar. And damn you John, it's catchy and the lyrics are honest with a touch of well placed humor ("You whisper 'come on over' 'cause you're two drinks in) It's as upbeat as anything else on the record, and feels like the right place to end thematically.

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The bottom line is that once again, John Mayer proves he's the king of mid-tempo, well-crafted pop songs. Battle Studies isn't the best album John has made, but it's still worth the investment, even if you're not an ardent fan. And his current reputation with the ladies aside, the likelihood is that the longest love affair John will ever have will be with his guitar. I, for one, like it and hope it stays that way.

Flat Stanley Explores How People Live in LA

Whenever I visit a new place, I think it's always interesting to see how people live. LA is a very unique place, with it's own kind of style. For example, houses seem to have a lot of windows, probably because the weather is so nice all the time and it's nice to have the sunshine come in all year long.



Some houses here are even built of unusual things, like these glass blocks.



And some people build houses in strange places like hill tops, so they have a nice view of everything.



And then there are places like Meg lives, in really tall buildings like the ones in downtown Los Angeles.



Meg's building is 18 stories tall, but it's not even close to being the tallest building in the city. We can even see some that are twice as big right from the courtyard where Meg lives.



Because these buildings are so tall, you have to use elevators a lot. Meg's building has 3 elevators, and this fancy panel that tells you what floor each one is on at any time. Then you know how long you have to wait for the next one! That's a pretty cool system!



Meg lives on the 5th floor, so luckily we don't have very far to go.





There are other things that are special about living in a really tall building and sharing space with lots of other people. One is how you get your mail. Since so many people live here, you can't have a mailbox out on the street like a normal house. Otherwise, the sidewalk would be full of mailboxes and no one could walk anywhere! So Meg gets her mail from this little locked box in the wall down in the lobby. If anything is too big to fit in the box, the people that work at the front door leave her a message so she can come pick it up from them.



And one thing that's really different is doing laundry! All the washers and dryers are in one big room in the basement, so you have to share with everyone else.



And you also have to pay for every load you wash and dry. Each machine has this little card reader attached, and it works like a credit card you recharge with money. That certainly makes things a little more complicated.



The only bad thing about living in such a big place is not having a back yard. It's a shame to have such nice weather, but no grass to play on! Maybe I can talk Meg into moving down to the beach...

Flat Stanley In The Hills

For our last stop of our Sunday around town, Meg drove me to a road called Mulholland Drive, which is very curvy and fun to drive on. We saw houses built into the hillsides here and there, but not much else besides rocks. I was getting a little impatient, but Meg told me to hang in there, because the short trip would be worth it.

Then we pulled into a small parking lot. The signs said that we were at the Mulholland Drive scenic overlook, whatever that is.





Whatever this place is, it must be pretty neat because there was an open-roof tour bus and lots of people that were also visiting.



Just as I was about to ask Meg what we were doing here, she picked me up so I c0uld get a better look over the fence that was blocking my view. I could hardly believe my eyes! You can see the entire city of Los Angeles from up here! WOW!!!!!!



And next to my hand, you can see the seats from the Hollywood Bowl, where we were earlier this afternoon! NOW I understand why they call it a bowl! They even have a special viewer you can look through to get a closer view of downtown. It works kind of like binoculars to magnify things that are far away.



And on the way back down the hill, we saw the big letters on the hillside that spell "HOLLYWOOD!" This is one of the most famous landmarks in Los Angeles, so of course we had to take a picture. It's a little hard to see, but it's right in the top center of the photo right below the little red and white tower.



Boy, am I glad Meg decided to bring me here. This was the perfect place to end such a beautiful day! I love Los Angeles!

Flat Stanley's "Entertaining" Tour of Los Angeles

Since Meg was in the house writing something called a "blog" most of the day Saturday, we decided Sunday would be a beautiful day to get outside and see more of Los Angeles. She told me that Los Angeles is famous for creating all kinds of entertainment, from music to television, to my personal favorite - movies! So we decided to visit some of the places where these things happen. Boy does this sound like fun!

Meg wanted to start with music, since she loves it very much. The first place we went was very near where she lives. It's called the Grammy Museum. A "Grammy" is a special award given out every year to people who create and perform music that lots of people like.



Meg told me she really likes a man named John Mayer, and he has won LOTS of Grammy awards. He even has a plaque in the sidewalk shaped like a record with his name on it! He must be very talented.



We decided to stick with the music theme for our next stop, but Meg said I also needed to see a place called Hollywood while I am visiting. So we went to see the Hollywood Bowl next.



When I think of the word "bowl," I think of cereal or ice cream, not a place to go to a concert and see music. How strange! So I asked Meg why they call it a bowl, and she told me it's because of the shape of the theater, which is outdoors and built into the hillside in the shape of a bowl so the sound is really good. I really wanted to go in and see it for myself, but it was closed. Even though it is a very pretty day, it gets too cold at night now to have concerts outside. At least I know where it is, and hopefully I can see an actual concert when I come back.

Music is OK and all, but I wanted to see some movie stuff! Luckily, Meg said we were right down the street from a place called Hollywood and Highland, where there are lots of movie and TV related things. So that's where we went next.



At first, this place looked like a really big shopping mall. Then Meg explained what some of the things were and it made a little more sense. The first place we visited was the Kodak Theatre. This is the place where all the movie stars come to get their awards, which are called Oscars. Those are also given out every year, just like the Grammys.



Outside in the courtyard, they have this HUGE arch. I guess it's so you know you're somewhere important. And after all, they like to do things really big in the movies!



Then we walked out towards Hollywood Boulevard, which is a street, and we saw the El Capitan Theatre. This is the place where they hold premieres for all the Disney movies, like CARS (my personal favorite). Meg explained that a premiere is like a big party to celebrate a movie coming to the theatres, and sometimes so many people come out to celebrate that they close down the entire street! All the movie stars get to walk on a red carpet and get their picture taken. That sounds like fun to me!



The funniest part about Hollywood Boulevard is that they have stars in the street with people's names! It's called "The Hollywood Walk of Fame," and you have to be pretty important to get your name on a star. For instance, this person, Keanu Reeves, is one of Meg's favorite actors because he is very handsome and makes action movies where he saves lots of people. That sounds like enough to have a star!



Meg also explained that you can have a star if you have enough money to buy one, which I guess explains why this man has one. I didn't know who he is, so he must not be in the movies.



We didn't see any actual movie stars, but Meg said we can look again later. But we did go see some places where they actually MAKE movies, which was very exciting! This is the main entrance of Paramount Studios, which is on a street called Melrose in Hollywood. I think there is a TV show named after this street, but I'm not entirely sure.



Then we drove over to a place called Burbank and saw Warner Brothers Studios. Apparently Keanu Reeves has made some movies here, which is why Meg likes visiting here. I just liked all the comic book characters on the side of the building.



Whew! Los Angeles certainly does do a lot of entertaining. I was getting pretty tired, but Meg said there was one more place we needed to go, and we could drive there. She wouldn't tell me what it is, but she said I'd like it. I guess we'll see!

"Battle Studies" Is Here!

Well, dear Mr. Mayer's ears must have been burning during my concert ticket beefing, because he rewarded me with the delivery of my pre-order copy of Battle Studies today in the mail!



And part of the pre-order package also included a t-shirt to promote the new album. Now THIS is motivation to get back in the gym !







Time to crack this baby open and give it a listen. And there may have to be an album review blog...you'll just have to wait and see!