iPod morning commute music: John Fogerty, Centerfield (1985)
Creedence Clearwater Revival (known only as CCR here in Japan) was one of the great bands of the late '60s, early '70s. John Fogerty, of course, was their lead singer/songwriter/guitarist, not necessarily in that order. After CCR broke up, he released one album and disappeared for 10 years, before returning with this disc. It made you wonder why he'd gone? The music here is so alive! The title cut, of course, can be heard at any Major League Baseball Park across America, but the album hasn't got a bad cut on it. If you were a CCR fan, you want to own this.
Today, the high humidity of the past week gave way to the 100% humidity known as rain. It's pouring down. Coming from Seattle, I don't mind rain, though I have to say that the monsoon downpours we have here are nothing like the generally gentle rains of the Pacific Northwest. I quickly learned to use an umbrella after getting to Japan, something no true northwestern would usually think of.
My weight has begun to drop again. I lost a kilo (2.2 lbs.) so far this week, and it's only Thursday. Maybe walking is helping, but my guess is that my body just kicked back into weight loss mode.
At work, it's a combination of finishing up last lessons and writing final exams, which start on March 3rd. I'm just about finished with my study guides, which need to go out from Monday, and should have the listening tests ready to record by the beginning of next week. I'm actually a bit ahead of schedule, which is good.
Two teachers' meetings this afternoon put more of a damper on my spirits than the rain. The first is a 'jinken' (loosely translated, discrimination) study meeting for 1 hour followed by a regular teachers' meeting which will last for, hopefully, no more than 30-60 minutes. Regardless, I will be getting home late.
Tomorrow morning at 4:00 Japan will play and probably lose to Brazil in World Cup action. I'm planning to shower this evening and get up early to watch the action, and then be exhausted (and most likely depressed) all day along with most of the other teachers at my school.
Random observation: Japan's coach, Zico, looks a lot like Dubya, with those eyes just a little too close together. One more reason why Japan will probably lose.
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2 comments:
Hi Craig, glad to hear that the weight loss program is continuing although the Wendys is maybe not at the top of the list. John Fogerty had one of THE great rock and roll voices. I read an interview recently with him that said he got chiselled out of most of the cash by his manager (the old rock and roll story) plus thare was the fall out with his brother and the band, cue the Kinks. Still Creedence provided most of the background music for this boy's upbringing particularly Proud Mary and the one that goes Up around the Bend. Fabulous stuff and good to know that the Dude from the Big Lebowski was a fan. The Dude abides.
Glad you approve, Gib. I still remember buying Born on the Bayou when it first came out and how quickly I got caught up in the groove of the title cut. Fogerty became a touchstone for me. In my first year of high school, I gave a speech on the meaning behind Green River (god knows what I said, or why I thought that particular song was more meaningful than others). Have you heard Blue Moon Swamp, his album from a few years back? More cool stuff. The man hasn't lost his touch.
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