They are rich and famous and they all play it safe, but I don't blame them

I was watching a movie trailer showing the latest Jennifer Aniston movie the other day and my daughter commented that every movie she is in, she plays the same part. I agreed, it is true. But she is not alone.

Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington, (my reason for not showing up on the web) are prime examples. They are actors playing a part in the movie but they are not actors becoming the part in the movie. And Morgan Freeman is fast becoming another example.

It is not that they are not good at what they do, but that they do it again and again and yes again, A formula, it is safe, they make a lot of money and why not? But that is not what actors should do. They should work their craft, grow, stretch the boundaries, try different things. True, they will have some misses along the way, but they will be remembered for achieving greatness.

But as I am writing this I am thinking it is true of most people, we call it being in a rut, doing the same thing on a daily basis because it pays the bills, afraid to take a chance in life.

Maybe, just maybe, Jennifer will call and ask if I want to go out for a few beers. And I would say...Yes!

dreaming and reaching for a cup of coffee

ray

Another All Star Game Come And Gone

Last week there was the baseball all star game. I didn't watch, again. If you think I am not a baseball fan, you would be mistaken. Actually, I was.

When I was little, baseball was a big part of my life. I was born in Chicago and I became a Cubs fan. I had my heros. When the all star game was on, I could barely breathe, hoping all my Cubbies would play, do well, be a big part of the game and help bring home a win for the National league all stars.

Growing up, I kept hoping they would win the pennant, win the World Series, many times. I am still waiting. Then over time, baseball its self became tainted with one star after another found to be doing drugs and gradually my love for the game faded away. Also, for the most part, the game its self became all about the money. How much a team spends, how much a player makes, ticket prices out of control and so on. None of my kids say "how about going to a game?"

We were spoiled with Cubs baseball daytime home games. They played at 1:30 p.m. It made many boring, hot summer days bearable because of baseball. It was great growing up with baseball.

And now, it is a distant memory.

morning coffee time

ray

Rock and Roll will never die but alas, it will fade away

I hate to say it, but it will. It will be a very large footnote in history, but in time rock and roll will be but a memory.

Let's face it shall we. The Rolling Stones have been around for over 50 years but their last hit was in the seventies. Paul McCartney is in his 70's. The old time rockers are old or dead and no one has replaced them.

Yes, the music still sounds good. Yes they can still play, they are musicians after all. Yes, they can still hit most of the notes. But they are slowly dying off and so are we. We joke about hearing our songs being played as elevator music. There are no garage bands being formed to replace them. (garage bands are bands that learned how to play using the family garage as their studio)

Times change, tastes change. There is always a void that has to be filled, and fill it someone will. One's music growing up is part of one's memories, that will always be with us. But new great memories are hard to come by and so is music.

Does it still sound good? Yep.
Still playing air guitar in the car? Yep
Air drums? My favorite (used to play drums a bit) Yep.
Sing badly when no one is around? Yep.
Sing the wrong words? Check!

But that is okay with me. This old rocker doesn't mind. Someday they will have to pry the drumsticks from my dead cold hands, but until then...Dazed and confused for so long...


old rocker coffee time

ray

Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles