Ausbury.com

Blog

  • This Just In: 3 Ships Carry More Than Just Savior & Lady

    How embarrassing. It’s been 30 days since I last opined. I’d like to think that the crazy, wild blog title above was tease enough to bring you back here.

    Around the Ausbury home, we’ve begun the six LONG weeks of listening to Christmas music. I’m the only one in the family that thinks this is about five weeks too long. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a Scrooge or Debbie Downer and there is definitely a Christ in the Ausbury family’s Christmas. I just get a little irritated with a one-day holiday that each year seems to suffer from chronic time bloat. Seriously, why don’t we just start the herald angels harking right after fireworks in July?

    Anyway, my son Grant and I were listening to Kevin Max’s Christmas CD on the way to school this morning and my mind began to wonder about my favorite Christmas songs. I have to say I’m a big fan of The Holly & The Ivy and I Saw Three Ships. The best version I’ve ever heard of Three Ships is by Jon Anderson on his 1985 release “3 Ships“.

    Later this morning my mind returned to all this and while humming the chorus of Ships, a news item came on the radio.

    Perhaps divine, perhaps coincidence, but I’ve been enlightened as to “what was also on those ships all three on Christmas day in the morning”. For hundreds of years we’ve been questioned time and time again about the mysterious contents of these three ships and then told it was our Savior Christ and His Lady.

    However, in 2007, like Navin Johnson when fully understanding the profit deal, the world should take joy in knowing that according to the International Council On Clean Transportation, along with our Lord, these three divine ships were also likely full of sulfur dioxide. As Al Gore might say:

    “Sulfur…………..dioxide. That’s right friends. The sooty pollutant associated with acid rain.”

    Ok, so now picture those three ships docking on Christmas morning and on the promenade deck we have Jesus, His lady, Al Gore in a tight suit preparing to lecture us, and enough sulfur to fertilize all of Central Park.

    Kind of juices up the visual for Three Ships doesn’t it?

    Stay tuned for revelations about holly and/or ivy.

  • That Was Yesterday

    I got an unexpected birthday present yesterday – a call from an old friend. The last time I talked with him was 15 years ago, yet it took less than 5 minutes to connect again. I have a hand full of friends from my college days that are like brothers and sisters to me. My friend who called yesterday is one of those few people.

    If you’re lucky, at some point in life you’re able to really connect with others in an extraordinary way. It takes time, an enormous investment of time, to put yourself in a position to reach this pinnacle of friendship. So it makes sense, I think, for people that find these “100% guard down” friendships to find them during their high school or college years. For me it was during my college years and when this time in my life ended, I don’t think I was ready for it and it rocked me emotionally.

    I think this type of friendship is rarely found later in life. The milestones of marriage and parenting make it next to impossible to invest the time necessary to build new extraordinary friendships, let alone continue those rare friendships from the past. I don’t think this should stop us from pursuing meaningful relationships, we just have to recognize that the time investment is a lot more difficult and be careful not to screw up more important priorities in our lives.

    As I reflect on yesterday’s phone call, I think the best thing about college was the true sense of living in community. That is very difficult – perhaps impossible – to sustain or reconstruct later in life. At the same time, I realize how fortunate and blessed I was to have found the right people and to have experienced that time in my life.

    There is a special connection with these people and I was reminded of that during my phone call yesterday. It also showed me, and not for the first time, that once these connections are established, they run so deep and are so meaningful that even after years, they just don’t go away.

    So here are some questions that I hope will provoke some discussion/comments:

    As we grow older, are we are becoming more private people, keeping more to ourselves and becoming less social? Is this just the normal pattern of life? Does being good at our jobs, good parents, and good spouses consume us? What are you doing to stay connected with those rare friends in your life?

    “That was yesterday
    I had the world in my hands
    But its not the end of my world
    Just a slight change of plans

    That was yesterday
    But today life goes on
    No more hiding in yesterday
    Cause yesterdays gone

    That was yesterday
    Love was torn from my hands
    But its not the end of my world
    Just a little hard to understand

    Goodbye yesterday
    Now its over and done
    Still I hope somewhere deep in your heart
    Yesterday will live on”

  • Good Causes

    I’ve added two “Good Causes” to the right side of the blog.

    One is World Vision which allows you to help children in need through child sponsorship.

    The other is the Belmont Foundation which is a child mentoring program for fatherless young men. Please check them out if you get a chance.

  • Sorry LeBron, Bring On The Sox!

    The two best teams in baseball go head to head for a chance to play for a world championship. It doesn’t get any better than this.

    sizemore.jpg

  • The Little $61 Million Engine That Could

    Tribe 12, Yankees 3

    “I think I can, I think I can” becomes “I know I can. I know I can!”

    Nothing sweeter than spanking the $210 million Yankees – a team that has spent $1 billion since they last won the fall classic … A night to remember at the Jake … Pulled my ’99 Lofton jersey out of the retirement closet … Clutch-hitting KLove grabs 4 RBIs … Down goes Wang … We’re handing out high fives and partying with our entire section … Yankee fans were mocked and then mocked some more … Jeter nearly falls down swinging at a 96 MPH Sabathia fast ball … Lebron takes off his enemy hat … Pronk goes yard … Victor goes yard … The kid A.C. goes yard … My boy Gark goes yard … Shapiro is a genius.

    Soak it up Cleveland. This is your baseball team, the little $61 million engine that could.

    I get so sick of ESPN reporting as if there are only 2 teams in the league (NYY & BOS). At least for today, ESPN gets it right ……….

    cleverocks.jpg

  • High Five: Great Music Finds (Sept 2007)

    I thought in this installment of High Five, I would offer up a tribute to my 10 +3 Desert Island discs.

    For my Buggles, Yes and Asia desert island selections, there are several links between these bands and I’m curious to see if anyone knows who these groups have in common. Here’s a rare, well lip-synced performance of the song aired on MTV at midnight on August 1, 1981. All I have to say about this channel is “I want my Old MTV”.

    [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZZGurvUDBDA]

    For my ELO desert disc, enjoy this ELO Megamix featuring “Sweet Talkin’ Woman”. Oh, and I think the flashing hotdog on “Don’t Bring Me Down” belongs to “Bruuuuuuuuuuce!!!!” My friends Brent and Erik will appreciate that comment.

    [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=uCRCSDOmAwE]

    For my Toto desert disc tribute, I really love the strings and choir on this live performance of “Hold The Line”. Man, I’d love to hear Joseph Williams on vocals and Lukather is such an underrated guitarist. If you like early Toto, check out the old albums of Boz Skaggs (remember “Lido Shuffle”?) since Toto was his studio band.

    [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=MsIQNUWK2LM]

    Last but not least, the world’s finest Glam Rock band, The Sweet, on “Wig Wam Bam”. As I write this, I’m listening to this song and chuckling because this was one of the first albums I bought with my paper route money (along with Van Halen and Barry Manilow) and I can’t believe I didn’t realize what this song is about! The other funny thing I just realized is there is a lyric in this song about an Indian guy names Running Bear and about 10 years ago, I actually worked with a guy named Running Bear (really!). Oh well, as they say, just try a little wig wam bam….

    [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=63CiRbiaoFo]

  • Little Connie Rocks

    I saw this a while ago and have been meaning to share it. Try to listen to this all the way through and not get goosebumps. Good luck!

    This has been viewed over 1 million times:

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njXr1c-12eI]

  • We Are Central Division Champions!

    I took this video today as my son Collin and I celebrated our first Division Championship since 2001. Memories were definitely made. I tip my cap to the team I love and the true-blue, loyal Indians fans.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnDg2inyDyQ]

  • Out Of The Mouths Of Babes…

    Some funny things I’ve heard my youngest son or his friends say in the last few weeks:

    Can I sleep upstairs in the attic in my box?

    Hey Dad. Look. I can fart out of my ear!

    You know the really bad word that starts with an F? If you put a little line over the U, it’s just “Fook”.

  • Sophomore Slump, Detour Ahead

    I enjoyed reading PowerPop’s blog today about bands whose sophomore albums avoided the slump and were better than their debut albums.

    I agree wholeheartedly that Elvis Costello’s second album “This Year’s Model” was even better than the wonderful “My Aim Is True”. From what I know about Elvis, I’m sure he had more than 100 songs in the can and learned enough from the recording process of Aim that he was able to make an even better second offering. The pinnacle for me was Imperial Bedroom which is a masterpiece recording.

    What other bands would you suggest avoided the sophomore slump? Here are some in the PowerPop genre I came up with:

    01. Jason Falkner – Can You Still Feel?
    02. All American Rejects – Move Along (I still think Move Along was the best new song in 2006)
    03. Bleu – Redhead
    04. Collective Soul – Collective Soul
    05. Fountains Of Wayne – Utopia Parkway
    06. Jellyfish – Spilt Milk
    07. Lenny Kravitz – Mama Said
    08. Longwave – The Strangest Things (Wake Me Up When It’s Over gets 5 stars on the ipod)
    09. Rooney – Calling The World (I’m not counting On The Closed Circuit as their debut)
    10. Mae – The Everglow
    11. Mew – Frengers
    12. Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model

    For those of you still not sure what to make of Elvis Costello (I know you’re out there), enjoy this from “This Year’s Model”:
    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fbhIzN9-p0]