Cougar Run

What an amazingly gorgeous day this was. Funny thing, though -- lookin' out the window it was a bright, sunshiny day ... and the ground's all covered in white (since mid-October) ... but it's Spring so maybe it's a bit warm? HAA!!!

Temperature today hit a whopping 25° (about -4° C.)

I thought about running outside. Should have. It's not that bad for 20 minute runs. Much longer and you're risking frostbite and/or hypothermia. Not good ... so I opted for the Rec Center at the University (yet again.)

Finally might get above Freezing this weekend (for the first time in about two weeks.) Had a nice light snowfall the past couple mornings and part of me wants that to keep happening ... but sheesh, man, come on now, how about Springtime already!

Friday Night Run: 18 minutes 38 seconds

+3 sec · indoors ·

XXXXXXXX+++++++ 31 sec +++++++XXXXXXXX

Run Time March: 3 hours 38 minutes February: 3 hours 11 minutes January: 2 hours 56 minutes

Added a whole 3 seconds. Yippie-Ki-Ay. Better than nothing!

A revelation -- even with temps about okay for outdoor running, since I'm a Trail Runner, the trail's gonna be too sloppy for quite awhile. We'll see. Looks like it might be indoors for much longer than I was hoping. Yay, I say sarcastically. But once again -- better than not running at all!!

Felt good on the track tonight. Kinda feels like it's consistently getting a wee bit easier for me. Just wish it was getting easier as I increased my times by a lot more. Ah well.

At least I'm getting this exercise in!

Running tunes from
the album of the day...

John Cougar

(self-titled)

1979

[2005 re-issue]




A Little Night Dancin'
Small Paradise
Miami
Great Mid-west
Do You Think That's Fair
I Need A Lover
Welcome To Chinatown
Sugar Marie
Pray For Me
Taxi Dancer
Take Home Pay

Holy Indiana cornfields, Johnny Cougar ... it's been a long time since I've listened to Mellencamp. I can almost remember first hearing him a long time ago back on WPLJ and WNEW in the NYC area. The saying "those were the days" comes to mind.

This here's Johnny's 4th album?! And he even had another before 1982's American Fool? With the hit songs (and videos on MTV for) Hurts So Good and Jack and Diane, that was the LP that really introduced him to American audiences on a wider scale.

But there was that one song -- I Need A Lover -- which had radio play. I guess I just never knew where it came from. It's on this album and was even also on the album before this one. It was a #1 hit in Australia before it became famous in America. Man, Cougar almost became a David Hasselhoff -- next to no (musical) success in America while hitting the big time overseas somewhere. But nope, whew, escaped that tragedy. This guy from Seymour, Indiana finally arrived.

This album (and a bunch of others) came first. Must've been somewhat of a frustrating struggle not finding an American audience. There are some decent songs here -- right off the top A Little Night Dancin' is a great Mellencamp song. It's really a mixed bag, I guess: eh (Pray For Me, Taxi Dancer) -- cheesy (Miami) -- schmaltzy (Great Mid-west) -- fun and not bad (Sugar Marie, Welcome to Chinatown) -- and pretty good (Night Dancin', I Need A Lover.)

See a mixed bag... well, according to me. Not a bad listen, not bad to even put on Shuffle and Repeat for awhile and just let 'er play while puttin' up this post and surfin' the web a little ... surfin' the web? I can't believe I just typed that. Well, I have been and this album's played about 4 times through in awhile now and it seems to keep getting more likeable as the songs go by. Good stuff, glad I listened to it.

Find a dload @ Infinite Foolishness

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Festivus, misc, etc, yada yada yada...

I have a feeling that if I regularly listened to the radio, I would be sick of Christmas music more than ever right about now. Actually in a week it would be more than ever. Then a week after that it would be even worse.

This most special holiday has been so horribly commercialized. That's part of the reason why I despise much of what happens in America at Christmastime. It makes me sick. Something I've been thinking about I should have started this year, but perhaps next will be my first, I hope, of about a dozen in a row (or maybe an endless streak until the day I die?) when I'll take off to some remote part of the Earth for the whole month of December, somewhere I can volunteer my time in some medical clinic somewhere, helping people who won't be stopping at Starbucks after shopping at Walmart. I'll be completely removed this crap that everyone seems to wrap themselves up in at this time of the year. God, I love this country... it's just a shame so much of it is backwards, broken, and downright pathetic.

Rant over.

Anyway... I don't listen to the radio so at this time of the year I am not innudated with Fa La La La La and Grandma's Tragic Death From a Reindeer... so I can tolerate some Christmas tunes every now and then.

And here's some
for this morning,
Part 1:


A
Very
Special
Christmas

1989






256 kbps

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus -- John Mellencamp
Santa Baby -- Madonna
The Little Drummer Boy -- Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Silent Night -- Stevie Nicks
Gabriel's Message -- Sting
The Coventry Carol -- Alison Moyet
Do You Hear What I Hear? -- Whitney Houston
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town -- The Pointer Sisters

(the other 7 tracks + an extra from Springsteen will come later today.)

This is an album that benefits an amazing and wonderful 501(c)(3) non-profit that does a beautiful thing in the world so please consider buying this and/or other volumes in the series.

The Special Olympics doesn't operate solely in the United States. Currently they reach an incredible 2.5 million people in 165 countries. If they had their way, they would leave NO one out.

Or please consider donating your time or a few dollars to this great organization. You don't have to give $100 or even $25... they would still appreciate even just 5 dollars! Most charities would. Please help. Thanks.