The Beatles

I was looking at my friend's facebook page and she had a question posted on it: What Beatles song describes your life right now?

I have recently come to the realization that I don't really like the beatles. I like Rubber Soul, Revolver, and parts of Sgt. Peppers, but for the most part, I can take them or leave them. Like today I heard 'A Day in the Life' on XPN and realized how good that song is. Later in the day I heard Yellow Submarine and realized how bad that song is.

I think I don't like them because I don't like 3 of the people in the group. I can't stand Paul McCartney. I think John Lennon was an ass. And I think Ringo is just some lucky douchebag who was fortunate enough to meet John and Paul. Ringo records albums like he has some kind of songwriting talent - he doesn't.

George was the best Beatle. He was in the top ten best songwriters of the 60's and 70's... unfortunately he was in a band with the top two songwriters.

Anyway, I don't like to ruffle feathers with my I-don't-like-the-Beatles talk, but I have to be honest.

Some things John said were interesting and thought-provoking, but most of what he said sounds like idiocy to me. Kind of like that "I'm famous so my opinions matter" mentality. But, I guess if you have the power to work for good, you should use it. He just seems so self-reighteous. I think if anyone did the things he did, like the bed-in or the bag-in or the starting of a country called Newtopia - if any Joe Schmoe would have done it, they'd have been thrown in a loony bin.

To be fair, Bruce does some of that stupid crap too, like writing editorials in the New York Times and campaigning for John Kerry. And it irks me when he does because I have willingly allowed myself to be so identified with him that people (i.e. my dad and my brother and other republicans I know) make fun of me when they see Bruce on tv criticising the president. That is the cross I bear for being a Bruce fan.

Summary:
Paul McCartney - something of a jerk
John Lennon - some sort of weirdo genius who if he wasn't rich and famous would have wound up ranting and raving on a street corner somewhere
Ringo Starr - by far and wide the luckiest talentless bastard in the history of mankind
George Harrison - awesome.
Bruce Springsteen - also awesome.
Michael P. Holland - some sort of weirdo genius who if he didn't have a good woman like Amy in his life would have wound ranting and raving on a street corner somewhere.

Pat and Nate Holland

On Saturday I was watching the Winter X Games on ABC. In race one of Snowboarder X the winner was NATE HOLLAND. In race 2, his brother, PAT HOLLAND came in third.

Pat Holland (Pink Shirt) and Nate Holland (Yellow Shirt)

A much much cuter Pat Holland (green footie pajamas) and Nate Holland (white footie pajamas).

YET ANOTHER NEW BLOG FROM ME

I have started yet another new blog.

All Lists All The Time

it can be found at

http://listville37.blogspot.com/

I would have liked to have used listville.blogspot.com, but some idiot is already using it... and he updated it 5 times in five days.... in september of 2006.

anyway, i encourage you to post comments of what you would have listed for the different lists.

Odds and Ends

I finally have my folk duo parther!!

Amy's Christmas Present

1. Barry Manilow - Barry Manilow is Jewish and he released a Christmas album. Well, I guess it's okay since we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, who was also Jewish.

2. Father of the Year - I would like to formally nominate myself for Father of the Year. I know it sounds egotistical to claim to be such a great father, but you haven't heard why I deserve the award. I deserve the Father of the Year award because I am taking my child to see Bruce Springsteen in concert. Yes, indeed, Fiona and I will be rocking it with the Boss on July 27. Amy and Maureen will also be there to witness the finest fathering this country has ever seen. Before the nervous nellies out there get concerned for Fiona's eardrums, I want you to know I am taking care of that. I am getting (or borrowing) earmuffs that you wear when you go skeet shooting.
My only real concerns about the concert is that Fiona has some very specific favorite Bruce songs. They are Out In The Street, Candy's Room, and Bishop Danced. There is a chance he will sing OITS and CR, but there is almost zero chance he will sing Bishop Danced. I don't want her to be disappointed if Bruce doesn't play OITS or CR. What I am going to do in the next 7 months is play songs he is guaranteed to play like Badlands and Born To Run and Radio Nowhere. That way she will definitely hear songs she know and likes.

That is all for now
PEACE

Santa is a Phillies Phan!!

We went to the Christmas Bazaar at our church tonight.

I was wearing my Phillies Hat.

Santa Claus was there and he was talking to Fiona. He said "I know you have a good daddy because he is a Phillies fan." Fiona then told Santa that she goes to Phillies games. I told Santa that every time Fiona goes to the Phillies they win.

Santa then looked at me and said "why didn't you take her to the playoffs?"

Veteran's Day

As you all know, my dad was in Viet Nam. You probably also know that my buddy Joe was in the Gulf War and my buddy Kevin served in Iraq. Both of my Grandfathers served in the Army in World War II.
This past weekend was my annual small-game hunting trip with my dad and another Armed Services Veteran, Larry Schultz.
None of Veterans I know brag about their service and all of them were proud to have served their country. I am glad that our nation has a day to honor veterans and that most media outlets are on board with honoring veterans even if it is sometimes contrived and half hearted. It is nice to see feel-good stories about veterans, but should it only be once a year? Shouldn't veteran's be honored every single day? Yesterday during the Fox broadcast of football, a player ran out onto the field and shook the hands of the members of the color guard. Fox showed it over and over and over throughout the day. That was nice that that player honored the members of the armed service, but shouldn't that happen every single game. With the exception of the patronizing "let's remember the armed services" line before the national anthem on Veteran's Day, what does the NFL or Fox broadcasting really do for the advancement of our Armed Services?
This morining, while listening to WXPN, Penn's radio station, the listener request for Veteran's day was a trio of anti-war songs. Give Peace a Chance, Where Have all the Flowers Gone, and some song by Phil Ochs. I was incensed when Give Peace a Chance started to play and fired off an email to the DJ:
i am a new listener in lititz pa and i do love your station. HOWEVER, i am very offended that in honor of Veteran's Day you chose to play Give Peace A Chance. My father fought in Vietnam, friends of mine served in the Gulf War and more recently in Iraq, both of my grandfathers served in World War II. To play the music of an anti-war activist in honor of Veteran's day is an affront to all the brave men and women who served our country. While my father was in vietnam, John Lennon was smoking weed and staying in bed for 7 days straight. I have no problem with the song give peace a chance, i have a problem with your playing it on Veteran's Day. thank you.
I know that the target audience for WXPN is liberal college students, but show a little respect. If you can't find three songs to play that, at the very least do not degrade and debase the men and women who served our country, then don't play any songs at all.
3 Songs about VietNam that are by musicians that are played on XPN that could have been played:
Rooster by Alice in Chains
Good Night Saigon by Billy Joel
Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen
I was really pissed off, but realized that people like my dad and grandfathers fought so that liberals like WXPN can do and say whatever the hell they want, even if it is something that pisses off the people who protect them.

Raising Sand

Bluegrass virtuoso Alison Krauss and Led Leppelin Frontman Robert Plant have teamed up to record an album called Raising Sand.
It is really good, it doesn't rock, but it is nice to listen to.
Mike Seeger is on it, as is Patrick Warren (michael Penn's recording partner and studio musician extrodinaire. he has appeared on albums including but not limited to: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aviril Lavigne, Neil Diamond, OK Go, Fiona Apple, Michael W. Smith, Macy Gray, Perry Farrell, Jewel, and is featured on the new Bruce Springsteen album.)
Is there a Springsteen connection? Why yes... yes there is. Bruce's Sister, Pamela, was the album photographer.

odds n ends

yo!

i have a couple of things here, none of which would warrant their own blog post.

a couple of mediocre comix, a picture from the R Phillies, a Springsteeen update, other new music updates and a list I wrote about a year ago of what Joe could have named his child.

BRUUUUCE!!

Springsteen has a new album coming out on October 2. The first single, Radio Nowhere, is available for free from iTunes and it rocks. It is soo good that when describing it to a friend I used an expletive to describe how good it was.

Bruce is, of course, going on tour with the E Street Band, but he didn't see fit to call me when he was planning his tour dates. His Philly show is October 5 - Amy, Nona, and I will be singing Happy Birthday to Andrew Patrick in Mashpee, Massachusetts that day. His Washington DC show is on November 11 - Dad, Larry, Jackdog, and I will be chasing grouse around Potter County and then celebrating the kill with Buffalo Trace Whisky. My only real hope is for the Boston show on November 18. I know what you are thinking "Mike, you are handsome and slender... would you really drive to Boston Mass to see Bruce??? That sounds a little far." I would like to remind you that I once flew from Burlington VT to Philly and then drove with Dritsas to Washington DC to see The Kids in the Hall, and once flew from Burlington to Philly and drive to Hershey to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Also, I drove from Burlington to New Jersey to see Bruce. So, to answer your querry, yes... yes I would. Plus if I go to Mass to see Bruce, there is the bonus of getting to chill with Maureen, Mark, and Andrew. Duh.

IF I don't get to see Bruce this year, I will, of course, see him next summer when he goes on a stadium tour.

TWO GREAT TASTES THAT TASTE GREAT TOGETHER

Allison Kraus, the best bluegrass singer around today, and Robert Plant, the lead singer of the greatest band of all time, have recorded an album together of blues and bluegrass music. As you all probably know, Plant loves America blues music. BONUS: my close personal friend, Mike Seeger, who is argualby the greatest ethnomusicologist/musician alive today is on the album. And when I say "close personal friend" i mean i met him one time and asked him 3 questions, had my picture taken with him, got him to sign 2 albums, and then he took a picture of me and Amy.

READING PHILLIES

Mom, Dad, Fiona and I went to see the Reading Phillies last week because Chase Utley was there. Once again a photo was taken of a group of people next to us and we got in it. We are at the top middle. I am wearing a white shirt w/red sleeves. Mom and Nona are next to me and Dad is next to them.

LISTVILLE: NAMES FOR JOE'S KID

1. Jobi-Wan Kenobi

2. Jobacca

3. Qui-Gon Joe

4. Joe Joe Binks

5. Joda

6. Joba Fett

7. Joebba the Hutt

8. C-3PJoe

9. Queen Tammydala

COMIX

PEACE

MPH

Odds & Ends

hey hey



i set up a seperate website for photos of Fiona and Patrick. I was starting to feel as though i was not doing them justice by posting their pictures on a blog that focuses on my unhealthy obsession with bruce springsteen, concerts i've been to, crappy comix, my thoughts on the letter "c," and my allergies.



so, to bypass the usual crap you find here at Scrapple Dog and to get right to the pictures of my adorable kids, please go to: fionapatrick.blogspot.com.



now, let's get back to the aforementioned crap you've come to expect from Scrapple Dog, like my new phillies hat and my new sandles.



Amy got me a new phillies hat for Father's Day. I needed a new phillies hat... my other 20 phillies hats were getting boring. This hat is, by far and wide, my favorite phillies hat.



here is a ranking of my phillies hats:
1. New Green Hat with red "P" and red shamrock.
2. Green Hat with white "P" and white
3. Retro maroon Hat with the old-style "P." This hat was a give-away at the first game of the last season at the Vet. My dad gave it to me and I wear it only on special occasions, like when the phillies win with a walk-off homer, or if someone hits a grand-slam, or when Aaron Rowand smashed his face catching a fly ball.
4. Regular red hat with white "P."
5. Black hat with white "P." I wear that one when the Phillies are slumping or when they lose the game in the 9th inning.

I also wanted to post a few images of my new sandals. for years I have thought about trying to turn a pair fo Chuck Taylors into a pair of sandals. I finally did it and i am happy with the results. They aren't much for looking at, but they are wicked comfortable. I probably will never wear them outside the yard, but i think they will be good for up at the cabin if i want to go walking in a stream or in a pond and don't want to get my expensive sandals wet.




there is only one thing to say about my Chuck Taylor sandals:
I RULE!!!!!!!

PEACE
mph

Patrick Kieran

Pat, Pat, and Pat Holland

A few fun facts about Patrick's Birthday:

Patrick shares his birthday with Ramblin' Jack Elliot and Michael Penn. Michael Penn's first album, March, is on my top-ten favorite albums list.

Other important people born on August 1: The greatest female labor organizer of all time, Mother Jones. (please note that in a lot of places her birthdate is listed as May 1, which is May Day which is a very important date in Union history. Her real birthdate is August 1.) Herman Melville - author, inventor of the name "Starbucks." Francis Scott Key - writer of the National Anthem. Publius Helvius Pertinax, Roman emperor.

Less important people born on August 1: son-of-a-Beatle Dhani Harrison, rapper/borderline felon Coolio, rapper/social activist Chuck D, Stupid Hippie Jerry Garcia, seven-pack-a-day smoker Yves Saint-Laurent, gigantic fatass alcoholic Dom DeLuise.

peace.

Patrick Kieran

PATRICK KIERAN

August 1, 2007

2:45 p.m.

7 lbs. 12 oz.

20 inches

LISTVILLE: BABY NAMES

We are getting down to crunch time here. We are locked in on a girl name but are a little wishy-washy on boy names.

So I submit to you:
LIST OF POTENTIAL BABY NAMES THE POTENTIAL MALE HEIR TO THE MICHAEL P. HOLLAND THRONE
1. Cool Hand Luke Holland
2. Mr. Lukas War Hero Holland
3. Lucas Jackson Holland
4. Jason Greg Joe Smith Manny Dritsas Holland
5. Jason (Z not Crazy J) Holland [and that would be the spelling of the name with the parenthesis and all]
6. Good Hank Holland
7. Hud Holland
8. Hombre Holland
9. Fast Eddie Felson Holland
10. Okemah Holland
11. Big Mac Filet-o-fish Holland
12. CHEWBACCA! [the name would be spelled in all caps and the exclaimation point at the end of the name would be part of the name and we would forego a middle or last name.]
13. Theodore Roosevelt Holland
14. Stupid Flanders Holland
15. Simon Sez Holland
16. Jungleland Holland
17. Ahab Holland
18. Led Zeppelin III Holland
19. Oliver Boliver Butt Holland
20. Cool Hand Luke Skywalker Holland [two great tastes that taste great together]

Twin Names
1. Luke and Dragline Holland
2. Bruce and Clarence Holland
3. Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton Holland
4. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard Holland
5. Robert Plant and James Patrick Page Holland
6. R2-D2 and C3PO Holland

Triplets
1. Luke, Dragline, and Coco Holland
2. Vini, Ernest, and Max Holland
3. Bruce, Clarence, and Little Steven Holland

Quadruplets
1. Luke, Dragline, Coco, and Bobalougats Holland

Quintuplets
1. Jason, Gregg, Joe Smith, Dritsas, and Manny Holland
2. Luke, Hud, Hombre, Fast Eddie Felson, and Sullivan Holland

Nontuplets
1. Bruce, Clarence, Steven, Nils, Gary, Roy, Danny, Max, and Pat Holland
2. Then Boss, The Big Man, Little Steven, Nils doesn't have a nickname, Neither does Gary, The Professor, The Phantom, Mighty Max, and Red Holland

That is all for now
MPH

"Ch"

So Dritsas visited on Saturday and we were talking about the town he in which he grew up: Cheltenham.

He pronounced the 'ch' as if it was the same as the "ch" in church, or change.
I pronounced the 'ch" as if it was more like a "sh," Sheltenham.

He deemed himself correct on the pronunciation merely because he is from there, but I begged to differ and differ I did.

He threw out words such as church, chill, cheese, chap, cheeky, cherry, and challenge. As if he were challenging me to refute his claims of the correct pronunciation of Cheltenham.

I cheerfully came back with the following: Charlotte, Cheryl, Cherise, Chicago, and Champlain.

Please note that all the words I listed are proper nouns, implying that proper nouns of course, use the "sh" sound instead of the harsher "ch" sound.

Of course, I thought I had won the argument when I realized there are cities called Chester, Chattanooga, Charlestown, and Chickamauga. And of course there is a little country called China.

So I went on the internet and did some research and googled "Cheltenham Pronunciation." and that gave me a brief history of Cheltenham England. It also has an audio clip of how to pronounce "Cheltenham."

And so, as it turns out, Dritsas was correct.

But I am not done with the letter "c" just yet. I just want to say that I have always disliked the letter "c" because it is so wishy-washy. Not only can you use it as a "chuh" and "sh" sound, but it can also be used as a "k" sound as in Christopher, and chronology. It's like C is to much of a wimp to stand up for itself and say "this is how I sound."
I would like to add that all three of the sounds it makes can, in fact, be made by other letters.
Church could be respelled as jurj. Sound it out, it is practically the same.
Cheryl could be respelled as Sheryl.
And Christopher could be respelled as Kristopher.

Therefore, in the interest of simplisity, I move that all use of the letter "see" be halted immediately. Klearly, there is no further need for a kompletely usless konsonant in our vernakular. Wouldn't it be nise to have an alphabet with 25 letters. 25 is a square number, it is mathematikally pleasing to have 25 instead of 26 letters.

I am not asking you to throw away your keyboards in antisipation of the new 25-letter keyboards, obvioulsy it will take some time for the "Be Free of 'See'" movement to take off, but I am asking you to do your part. For example: if you send a Kristmas Kard to my brother and his family, write "Kristopher Holland and Family" on it.

That is all for now.
Pease.
Mikal Holland

P.S. I am not a krakpot.

three AWESOME things in one

Three AWESOME things
1. Jason Zecchinelli
2. Banjos
3. Star Wars

after further review...

yeah, you actually can see me and amy in that bruce clip.
i am the one in the front row pumping my fist in the air. and as it zooms in on Bruce when he is saying "Baby if you wanna be wild..." you can see me lean over and say something to amy.
Dude, i don't mean to brag, but I FREAKING RULE.

i can't sleep

Sometimes I wake up at 2 in the morning and I just can not get back to sleep. Right now is one of those times. I try to make good use of the time - working on non-essential projects like my proposed weekly calendar of my favorite comics, cleaning up my email folders, going to websites I visit only periodically (http://www.rachealdavis.com/) catching up on stupid videos on youtube (Len's Steal My Sunshine, Iverson "We talking 'bout practice" rant, freezing a bottle of corona) and filling out rebate forms for Verizon wireless and Ace hardware stores and updating the Buck Hollow Hunting Club blog with pictures and videos from our trip there this past weekend.

Usually my amnesiatic sojourns on the internet are just a way to pass the time and rarely mete out any kind of real enjoyment or produce anything of any real use to me. But today was different.

AS YOU MAY or may not know, I once sat in the front row at a Springsteen concert. YouTube has a video clip of Bruce singing "Candy's Room" from that concert. If you look really really close you can't really see me at all.

So my time spent on line today was not a total waste.

Peace

mph

Nona Comic

Weight Loss

As you may or may not remember, I often use the phrase "handsome and slender" to describe myself. Half of that, of course, is in jest. While I am (and have always been) devilishly handsome, I am not, in fact, slender.

But I did make a New Year's Resolution this year to drop a few (dozen) pounds. On January 1, 2007 I weighed 223 lbs. I think that is the most I have ever weighed, and If it wasn't, it was pretty close. With my wife, sister and father encouraging me I set a goal to get down to 195 by the time we went to the shore.

December 29, 2006

I joined the gym and Amy began to prepare healthier meals for me. She served me smaller portions and I made a rule for myself of no eating after 7:30 p.m. I also cut out alot of that crap that I shouldn't eat anyway - like doughnuts and Doritos.

I went to the gym and abused the treadmill, blasted my abs, and rocked my quads and tried to burn a billion calories before 7 am each day.

So the good news is that I did meet my goal. I weighed myself the day we left for the beach and am happy to report that I weighed 192.6 lbs. The bad news is that when I weighed myself today when we got home from the beach and I weigh 195.8. I suppose adding 3 lbs during vacation is nothing to complain about.

June 22, 2007

So now I have a new goal - 175 by Thanksgiving. Actually I should make that 172 by Thanksgiving and 175 by the day after Thanksgiving.

Reading Phillies

Last night Mom, Dad, Maureen, Andrew, Amy, Fiona and I went to see the Reading Phillies. It was a beautiful night for baseball.

The Phillie Phanatic was there. (For some reason Fiona calls him "Mickey.") Fiona loves watching him drive around on his four-wheeler.

Before the game began, Andrew was sitting on my lap and Fiona was sitting on Amy's lap and we were on the Fan-o-vision. In my 30 years of going to Phillies games, both Reading and Philadelphia, and the various other pro games I have been to (Montreal, Boston, Baltimore) I have never been on the Fan-o-vision. I guess having two adorable little kids with you helps your odds.

And, the piece-de-resistance, we got our picture on the Reading Phillies Fan Photo Gallery. The people in front of us were there for a birthday party and their photo was taken. As you can see in this photo Dad, Amy, Fiona, Me, Mom, Maureen and a very obscured Andrew are sitting behind the people who are supposed to be in the photo.

Weekend at the Cabin

Fiona, Dad, Larry, and I went to the Cabin this weekend. Dad finally caught Mr. Big, the Brown Trout that has been his nemisis for 3 years.


Click here for a link to the Buck Hollow Hunting Club blog for more pictures and video of the dramatic catch.

Dad, Me, and Fiona with the Tigger Rod and Mr. Big

We also visited Fiona's Christmas tree. She had been hoping that there would be gifts under it.

Fiona did really great all weekend, she didn't seem the least big homesick and was a little angel the whole time.

I am looking forward to our next trip to the cabin.