A Mild Uproar of Fun

Speaking of Pitchfork, the new Reigning Sound album Love and Curses was reviewed today. Despite the ho hum rating of 7.6, the review gets a 10.0 for exposing a wider audience to most endearing monster of ceremonies from the Mid-South, Sivad. The Pitchfork review not only references Sivad, but reviewer and fellow Tennesseean Stephen M. Deusner uses the Sivad character as a catalyst for the influences of the Reigning Sound sound. Apparently, “love and curses” was Sivad’s motto, and Reigning Sound’s frontman Greg Cartwright honors the phrase with the naming of the new album. While I wasn’t alive when Sivad was on air (thus not recalling the uttering of “love and curses”), I certainly remember that Fantastic Features opening which WHBQ-TV took out from the vaults every Halloween. In recent years, thanks to Judy at WEVL, I’ve become more and more familiar with the cult status of Sivad (including his short music career). Below, the one and only Sivad:

Redbirds 0, Cubs 5

Ever since my renewed interest in baseball, whenever we’re visiting Memphis, I look forward to catching a ballgame at AutoZone Park. And as Apryl mentioned in a previous post, that’s just what we did. Apryl and I had been talking about attending the Redbirds game on the 30th, but when I learned that on Friday night the Redbirds were going to be honoring Memphis’ Minor League past by donning Memphis Chicks uniforms for the evening, I knew that was our game!

I have fond of memories of watching the Memphis Chicks (Kansas City Royals affiliates) playing at Tim McCarver Stadium. Tim McCarver Stadium was notorious for being one of the ugliest of all Minor League parks. The reason for this was the oddity of having a grass outfield mixed with an artificial turf infield. It just looked awful. Of course, when I was younger none of this mattered. It was just exciting to be watching professional baseball even if the Chicks were only Class AA.

Now I’m not sure if I’m recalling this correctly, but I seem to remember one game on Independence Day when Bo Jackson was playing for the Chicks (This was a couple years away from the “Bo Knows” ads, but even then Jackson was seen as something special.). It was the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied, and Jackson was taking a large lead off of third. And then suddenly, Jackson broke loose and sprinted homeward. He slid into home plate, was called safe, and the excitement was followed by a 4th of July firework display. Did this really happen? I mean it seems too perfect, right? (Sometimes baseball is magical.) I have been trying to research this game but even with the extensive stats on baseball, it’s quite difficult tracking down details on a Class AA Minor League game that took place over 20 years ago. It’s okay, I’ll live with my “memory”.

Unlike Tim McCarver Stadium, the Redbirds’ AutoZone Park is regarded as one of the best ballparks in the Minor Leagues. And while I personally haven’t visited many other Minor League parks, I find it hard to believe they could get any better than the one planted at 200 Union Ave. In my last baseball post, I mentioned how the Birmingham Barons left Rickwood Field in the city for a new park in the suburbs. It seems that’s quite common with cities that host a Minor League team. If it’s not in the suburbs it’s most likely not in the heart of downtown. The Redbirds could have easily done the same and built AutoZone park outside the city, perhaps near the Agricenter. But how can you compare making your way to the ballpark by passing The Peabody with walking through a large, concrete parking lot? If you favor the latter, I don’t think we would agree on much other matters.

That night, the Redbirds were taking on the Iowa Cubs. We actually got to the game a little late because Apryl, her sister Steph, and I were chowing down on some barbecue at the Bar-B-Q Shop. Which I might add was totally worth our tardiness. As we were walking into the park, I snapped this photo:

Sure, the surrounding scenery is impressive, but it’s the openness of the ballpark which really gets me. In fact, it reminds me a lot of the lower level of the Cell. In a lot of past games, I have walked throughout the game around the concourse, watching from multiple views, each one of them great. However, for that evening, we stayed in our seats for the entirety of the game.

And why move? My brother-in-law Adam, who works with the Redbirds, is quite gracious and lent me and Apryl his season ticket seats for the night. And as you can see from the photo that opens this blog entry, the seats were quite nice. We were right above the Redbirds dugout, so I was able to grab some nice photos of the team walking off the field, as you can see:

How bizarre to see that Chicks’ logo on an active jersey again!

Also being so close to the Redbirds’ dugout put us in direct view of the Chicks’ Indian mascot showing the crowd how to do the tomahawk chop. The Tomahawk Chop, which Apryl found a bit embarrassing, is more commonly associated with the Atlanta Braves. However, when I was following the Braves through my youth, I don’t remember this chant. Perhaps, it’s because I was a fan during the rough years, before their successful run in the 90’s. Anyway, squirm if you like:

As for the game, it was pitcher’s duel until the ninth inning when the Redbirds started playing similar to the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs last season, and gave up five runs to the Iowa Cubs. During that horrendous 9th, I saw something I had never seen in baseball, a huddle. Really, just like you see in football. See below:

Unfortunately, whatever was said, didn’t effect the results. After several careless errors, the game got away from the Birds, and the Cubs took the victory.

Evidence perhaps why I shouldn’t shoot baseball games. I completely loose control of the shot when out of the corner of my eye, I see that the shortstop is about to make an error.

Cubs win.

No worries though. As long as there’s a house band, no one leaves disappointed!

And we sure didn’t. It’s always nice to catch a ballgame at AutoZone. Heck, it was nice to be at a ballgame in May without having to wear a coat. Thanks Steph and Adam.

Go Redbirds! Go Sox!

Hayden had to get out of Memphis a second time, for a day trip to a baseball game in Birmingham. A few days later, on our way back to Chicago, we all stayed the night in Nashville with Hayden’s sister Paige and her family.

Birmingham

On Wednesday, Hayden and his dad got to cheer on Hayden’s favorite baseball team, a mere 650 miles away from U.S. Cellular Field. The fates must truly support Hayden’s love of the White Sox. Somehow the stars aligned so that my mom’s surgery was scheduled the day after Memorial Day, putting Hayden in prime position to get to Birmingham the following day for the Rickwood Classic. Only once per season, the White Sox’s AA affiliate, the Birmingham Barons, play at Rickwood Field, “America’s oldest ballpark.” Even being hoarse from his sore throat, Hayden couldn’t help feeling in heaven.

Exterior of Rickwood Field, the oldest operating baseball park in the United States

Hayden up to bat at Rickwood Field

I won’t relate all the details of the stadium and the game, only because Hayden promises to write a full recap later. More photos and video are here.

Nashville

On Sunday, we headed to Nashville—followed closely by Ashley, Sydney, and Clayton—to see Paige, her husband Mike, and their kids, Jackson, Andrew, Reid, and McKenzie Hayden. I don’t know what could have made their dog, Greer, think of making a brief escape. Hayden and I also went out that evening, not for escape, but to see our friend Brad. Fortunately, Eva had plenty of distractions to keep her from wanting to leave Paige’s house.

McKenzie Hayden gnaws on a toy by the pool

Ashley, Hayden, and Paige by the pool

Andrew, Greer, and Sydney after Greer’s escape and capture

Eva on a maize, aka “get it” rug

On Monday, we packed up the car and had a smooth drive back to Chicago—except for half an hour of bad thunderstorms in Indiana.

A thunderstorm on I-64 in Indiana

More photos and video are here.

Starting Memorial Day weekend, we spent nearly two weeks in the South, visiting family and friends.

Greer’s Ferry

Eva and I stayed put most of the trip, she at Hayden’s dad’s place in Collierville, and I at my parents’ house in Memphis. However, Hayden left town the day after we got to Memphis. He went to his dad’s place in Greer’s Ferry, Arkansas, to fish and, of course, look for Bigfoot with his dad, sister Ashley, niece Sydney, and nephew Clayton.

Hayden’s Dad and Sydney fish in Greer’s Ferry Lake

Sadly, both Hayden and our old Canon ELPH digital camera got sick. Fortunately, Hayden’s sore throat and coughing subsided after about a week. Unfortunately, the little digital camera didn’t make it. Don’t worry though; there are still plenty of photos from the rest of the trip. Somehow Hayden was able to get over his loss and pick out a new camera, with his friend Daniel’s help, the very next day. More photos and video are here.

Memphis

I started my trip, without a camera, by hanging out with my sisters Lisa and Stephanie and seeing Summer and Elaina and their adorable kids Silas and Eva (not named after our cat). On Sunday morning, we brunched with our friends Brett and Vanessa. Later, Hayden saw his friends Daniel and Melanie, in town from LA, while I had a girls’ night with some friends from high school and college. Because two of the girls are moving away this summer, one to northern Georgia and the other only 2.5 hours south of Chicago (yay!), I commandeered the new camera.

Amber, Charlotte, Jennifer F, Caroline, Apryl, and Jennifer B R celebrate the last girls’ night for a long while

After sleeping most of Sunday and Monday, Hayden woke up long enough to go to a Memorial Day cookout with my mom, dad, sisters, and brother-in-law Adam. On Tuesday, I got up around 6:00 a.m. to go with the rest of my family to an outpatient surgery center for my mom’s gallbladder surgery. That woman has a higher pain tolerance than anyone else I know; she took only four pain pills and was back at work on Friday. Because she was so lucid Tuesday night and Wednesday, we were able to spend lots of time relaxing and chatting.

While my mom and I were lazing around, Hayden was with his mom cleaning out things in his old bedroom—including lots of old baseball cards—on Tuesday and with his dad at a baseball game in Birmingham on Wednesday (see more in Part 2).

Hayden’s tin of baseball cards

On Thursday, Hayden had lunch with his friend Greg, and I with my friend Becky. Then Hayden did a show on WEVL. After a nice chat with Judy, we went to dinner with my sisters and brother-in-law and stopped by Lisa’s house so Hayden could see how big her crazy cat J.P. Hubert has gotten.

On Friday, we introduced Stephanie to the Bar-B-Q Shop (she and Adam went back a week later) and enjoyed watching the Redbirds play in old Memphis Chicks uniforms (thanks for the tickets, Adam!). We ended the night by staying out much later than we had intended, until 2:00 a.m. Our friend Caroline was having a going away party, and every time we turned around, more friends of ours showed up.

Stephanie and Apryl at a Memphis Redbirds’ game

We dragged ourselves out of bed on Saturday to have lunch with our friends John and Julie and dinner with Brian, Michelle, and their sweet-tempered, smart, and funny son, Joe.

Hayden, Apryl, Julie, and John after a delicious lunch

Joe going down the slide, aka escalator

More photos and video are here.

It’s that time of year again to pull out your pocket book and show your support for the greatest radio station around, WEVL 89.9FM. Pledge securely online here.

Spring Pledge Drive goes from April 10 - 18.

Hey there Mild Uproar readers, today is the last day to vote for Memphis Flyer’s “Best of Memphis” poll. Last year, our favorite WEVL was ranked #1 for Best Radio Station. It would be great to see them repeat!

So, if you love the station or even the fact that WEVL brought us two crazy kids together (celebrating our 2nd anniversary yesterday, I might add), then please take the online poll.

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO VOTE!!!

Who could believe that two such big events could happen on the same day? My little sister got married, and the Tigers finally won a Final Four game? The weekend was great but super fast and action packed. In fact, Hayden was so worn out that he didn’t touch the computer when we got home at midnight last night or when he got up at 6:00 this morning for a shoot. So I thought that I would post for him to show our support for our alma mater and this amazing Tigers team.

Speaking of cats, Eva seemed to do okay while being boarded at the vet’s for only the second time in her life. She did need a little extra reassurance that we were around last night. She wanted extra petting and someone to be within easy reach at all times. She also hid from Hayden this morning as she does when he gets up early now because she thinks that he might be taking her to the vet. Fortunately, we’re all done with radiation treatments! Eva’s follow-up visit will be in a few weeks. Thanks to everyone for asking about her regularly.

And to put some more focus back on the bigger cats for today, here’s a link to the U of M March Madness page where you can download an mp3 of the fight song in case you haven’t gotten enough of it lately. I also borrowed the photo at the top from that page.

—Apryl

The Holidays

1. Christmas Tree

This year we decided to get our Christmas tree early so that we would have more time to spend with it before leaving town. So we got into the Corolla and headed over to Home Depot (I know, I know, we always feel a little bit guilty not buying from an independent tree vendor, but it’s so much more expensive). At the Depot, it seemed like there were quite a few other people with the same idea as us. Many of the trees were already wrapped up, which seemed silly because you have no idea what you’re really getting. Also lined up, they reminded me of the pods from Invasion of the Body Snatchers:

It took some time, but I think we were both pleased with our final decision. Below, us deciding:

As we were checking out, it started to snow.

And hey, this year I didn’t even scratch up my car getting the tree out of the car.

Of course, with anything new brought into the house, Eva had to fully investigate the tree. And to Eva, this was definitely one of our most intriguing purchases of the year.

Even though we had good intentions, it took a few weeks until it actually got this point:

2. Snow

We had what was probably our largest snowfall since we’ve lived in Chicago. It was in the middle of the month, so I was still hard at work on the cheerleading videos. But I certainly needed a break, and Apryl’s friend Alison was having a birthday celebration that night at a restaurant in our neighborhood. So,I left the computer for a few hours, bundled up, and ventured out with Apryl to the Silver Cloud. See photos:

It was a fun getaway, and I finally got to meet Apryl’s school friend Ellie. Below, is a photo of Alison and Michael right as Alison was being handed her HUGE chicken pot pie:

After dinner, Apryl went out with Alison and her friends to Cleo’s, but I needed to get back to work, so I walked back home. But not before a group photo:

The snow hadn’t let up the entire time we were having dinner and was still coming down hard as I walked along the straight white sidewalks. While it was too cold to take off the gloves for long, I did grab a few snapshots:

The next day I was disappointed that I was still stuck inside working and couldn’t go play in our snow-covered park.

3. The 1st Annual Christmas Evil Party (now to be known as the Merry Scary Christmas Party)

We had a few friends over for our first annual double-feature Christmas horror night. Now, the movies we showed are actually scary films that have some type of Christmas theme. Surprisingly, there are quite a few out there. I decided to give everyone four choices (Home for the Holidays, Don’t Open `Til Christmas, Silent Night, Deadly Night, and Christmas Evil) and then have everyone vote on which two we were going to watch. Well, Home for the Holidays was the big winner. Released in `72 as a Made for TV Movie, Home for the Holidays stars a young Sally Field along with Julie Harris (The Haunted) and Jessica Walter (Arrested Development). The script was written by Joseph Stefano (Psycho) and produced by Aaron Spelling (Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, 7th Heaven, etc.). Of course, this was going to a popular choice. Second, we watched Silent Night, Deadly Night. And I only have one word for this classic: “Punish!” I guess you had to be there.

4. Downtown Chicago

A few days before heading out of town, Apryl and I took in the sites downtown while doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. It’s always fun seeing the large tree made from many smaller trees that stands high in Daley Plaza (See above).

And, of course, we had to check out the Macy’s store window displays. This year the story was The Nutcracker:

My favorite window display is the one below, which changes the location of the fairy tale to Chicago. Notice the Merchandise Mart along with The Art Museum and Navy Pear.

Another thing we both noticed was that many of the Salvation Army folks were really working for their money. Below, the Salvation Army become puppeteers:

That night, Apryl made butter cookies. Yummy!

5. Music Box

One of Apryl’s few posts on this blog was about last year’s screening of White Christmas at the Music Box theatre. (And, of course, it’s one of the most enjoyed entries on the blog.) Now, White Christmas is one of Apryl’s favorite movies of all time. In fact, she flew to Memphis for a weekend trip last month just to see a musical version of it at the Orpheum. Well, we had so much fun last year, and it certainly got us in the spirit, that we decided to go again this year, despite the 60 mph winds. Along with White Christmas, we checked out the rest of the full double feature, It’s A Wonderful Life. However, the funniest moment came before the movie when Santa sang carols with the crowd. During the “Twelve Days of a Chicago Christmas,” the 5th day replaced Five Golden Rings with No More George Bush, which resulted in cheering from the audience. Apryl and I looked at each other. Apryl stated, “We’re not in the South anymore.” As for the movies, there really isn’t any comparison between watching them at home and with a crowd that applauds the hero, hisses the villains, and rings their jingle bells at the right moment. When we left the theatre, it was snowing.

6. Christmas Break

(At the WEVL Volunteer Appreciation Party. Photo by Tim Genty.)

Though we’re excited to see family and friends, it’s always a little sad having to leave our apartment, especially our Christmas tree, during the holidays. We left on Christmas Eve and luckily only had to drive through a little bit of snow on the long trip south. Since most of our readers are our friends and family, I won’t go into too much detail about our trip. But it certainly wouldn’t have been the same without: Christmas day with family (Moms, Dads, Sisters, and the In-Laws), Snowglobe at the HiTone, Huey’s, watching Juno with Brett and Vanessa, Amber’s party, WEVL holiday party, Sophia, seeing the Litton’s, Guitar Hero, Brian, Michelle, and Little Joe, and Tiger’s basketball. Unfortunately, sickness kept me from seeing everyone. Congratulations, Summer.

A few photos:

Reid, Sydney, Clay, Jackson, and Drew wearing their Christmas presents

Ash and gang at my mom’s that night for Christmas dinner

Snowglobe at the HiTone on Christmas night

Even though the HiTone was now smoke free, it hasn’t completely aired out. Definitely better than the old days!

Apryl’s sister Stephanie rocking out to Guitar Hero

The one and only Sophia!

Little Joe likes the wrapping even better than the present!

7. Back Home

I started feeling sick a few days before we returned home. But it was especially rough when we actually packed up and got on the road on New Year’s Day. I always thought that a sore throat was the worst, but I think I have reevaluated that judgement after having swollen neck glands that caused pain anytime I swallowed. We were actually trying to get back in time because I had a job on the 3rd. However, I had to call in sick and lose the job. Luckily, I am feeling better. Unfortunately, Apryl got sick as well and is still in recovery mode.

And yes, I’ve already had some Giordano’s!

It might be starting to feel like winter here, but in Memphis our favorite radio station WEVL is having their Fall Pledge Drive, which beings today and goes through the 17th. Make an online pledge.