L'Shana Tova

Today, as many of you know, is the Jewish New Year. We celebrate the coming year and at the same time begin a ten day period of introspection that culminates in Yom Kippur, the day of repentance. To all of my friends reading this -- Jewish or not -- I wish you a shana tova -- a very happy New Year, filled with health, happiness and prosperity (though after watching the market sink today, prosperity seems like a lofty goal). And to my cancer survivor friends out there, I wish you an extra special shana tova. May you all be inscribed in the book of life for this coming year, and many, many more to follow.

Earrings

Well, it's a done deal: the Girl is the proud bearer (wearer?) of earrings. We finally capitulated and took her to get them today. She is on cloud nine and for some reason, I feel like I have failed as a father. They just don't look right on a six year in my opinion. Unfortunately, my daughter is just like e (and her mom) in that she is a bit obsessive/compulsive and she has been pining (an understatement) for them for the last six months. I will say this though --while I thought her brother was going to faint, this kid didn't even flinch. The piecer lady said in her 20 years, she never saw a kid her age sit so still and demonstrate no emotion/pain whatsoever. This kid is cut a bit different. Whether that's in a good or bad way remains to be seen.

_________________________________________________

Boy, my young Michigan Wolverines made me proud yesterday. I watched the first half and it was beyond abysmal. It might have been the worst football I have ever seen. It was a gorgeous day here in old Marin County, so I felt compelled to take the kids out to play. I was just out of house when my iphone started blowing up with texts from my brother Neil (thanks again, Neil) sending updates. The comeback was so epic that after a quarter I threw the kids in the car and put the game on Sirius. I don't think the kids really knew what was going on but I know they had fun screaming "Go Blue" at the top of their lungs. I had fun with that too. Got home and caught the last few moments of what might be one of the greatest comebacks I have seen. it wasn't the amount of points scored that made this game so epic, it was the difference between the two halves. The first half we looked like Paramus High School; the second half we were the new look Wolverines. A heck of a comeback for Coach Rod and a harbinger of what we can expect to see in the future from the new regime. Very encouraging, indeed. As Neil said: speed and fitness trumps size.

Go Blue.

The Old Guys

If you hang out anywhere long enough, I guess you start to become a regular. And that's what has happened to me at my local pool.

I've been swimming there regularly for more than two years and over that time have gotten to know most of the regulars. Most of whom are pretty old dudes. Of course, California being California, here old dudes swim every day. But I digress.

So anyway I'm hanging out in the locker room post swim on Friday when one of the old dude comes in and starts chatting away with me (note to old dude: you're a cool guy and all but put some clothes on next time please). In the middle of our chat in walks another old dude, so now the three of us start chatting. Two minutes later, you guessed it: another old dude. We're having a regular koffeeklatsch the four of us, chit chatting away (about what, I couldn't tell you) when it hits me like a thunderbolt: I'm an old dude. Or at least, I'm one of the old dudes. And it's doubtful I'll ever be the young dude anymore.

Weird thing is -- I think I'm ok with this all. Because old dudes are cool.

News of the Day

So, what's the big news of the day? hmm. Could it be the disintegrating financial markets? Nope.

How about the presidential campaign and McCain's (strange) effort to cancel Friday's debate? Somewhat attention grabbing but not it.

Lance's press conference spelling the details of his 2009 season? Let's see: I am pretty much the biggest cycling fan ever but nope, not it.

Which leaves us with only one more thing: Clay Aiken declaring he is gay.

I am still in a state of utter shock and am not certain how I made it through the day. I mean -- Clay Aiken? Who EVER would have thought that?

Not sure if I will ever manage to accept this as the truth.

In other news, McCain is out of his mind and I am counting the hours, minutes and seconds until the 2009 Tour de France. I might need to take the month of July off and head to Paris -- and unlike the above, that's no joke.

Fall TV

Fall is the season of so many things: college football. NFL. Baseball playoffs. Marathon training. And new TV season. Thus far, with the exception of marathon training, all of the above kind of stink (read: Michigan, Jets, Yanks) but alas, hope springs eternal.

Not so sure what to make of the TV season, though I sure am happy that it's back. Here's a few initial thoughts:

The New 90210. Horrific. Unwatcheable. Maybe the worst show I have ever seen in my life and that is saying something considering that I am the master of junk TV. I gave up halfway through the first episode, and that's saying something.

Entourage: Still one of the greatest shows of all-time, but this season is off to an uneven start. The storyline (Vince's descent) has been predictable as are the characters. They need an injection of new energy because it's on the precipice of becoming stale. That said, I could also see things changing quickly. And Ari is still as entertaining as hell.

True Blood: I like this one. A lot. It's definitely getting better each week and it's a real unique take on the typical vampire genre. I'm very optimistic that this is only going to get better though it's been slightly plodding. I'll write that off though to character development.

Fringe: I missed the boat on the whole Lost craze and wasn't going to do the same with this new JJ Abrams show. And I hae to say: it is awesome. Without question my favorite new show of the season thus far. If you haven't checked it out yet, I believe it's available through itunes, and it's well worth the purchase. But act now, as this plotline is moving quickly.

Boston Legal: Last night was the season premier but I was kind of disappointed. See Entourage for an explanation as to why. bUt even a "bad" Boston Legal is better than 90% of anything else on TV.

So, that's my thoughts. Anyone catch a new show(s) that I should be checking out?

Weekend

One of the coolest aspects of the Bay Area is that nearly everyone is fitness minded. This region is most definitely not a New York or even a Chicago from a cultural perspective (the museums and theater don't compare) but people really take advantage of the great outdoors; everywhere you turn people are swimming, biking, running, hiking, playing baseball, lacrosse, etc. The area is so beautiful that you can't help but not take advantage of it.

Yesterday morning we drove into the City early and watched my buddy Mark and his pal from SoCal do a swim from Alcatraz to shore. Mark did great and I was stoked for him but at the same time I confess to being green with envy; I wanted to jump in and join him. Alas, despite my feelings, it's good to be rooting others on, especially a friend. I did run 12 miles home; first time I have ever run from the City, up and over the Golden Gate bridge and back into Marin. Beautiful views on a beautiful day.

________________________________________

Today I coached the Little Boy's fall baseball team; that's right I am the "official" coach. It's pretty rewarding, though coaching third and fourth graders definitely has its moments. Nice kids though, and it really is amazing to me how much little kids love baseball. Actually, it shouldn't be that amazing: here I am at 42 watching the Yankees game and screaming at the TV. I'm sad to say goodbye to the stadium.

________________________________________

I am not exactly knows as a fan of heavy metal music, but I very much recommend the new Metallica album. It's loud, aggressive, catchy and perfect for running. I've listened to it twice this weekend and it's pretty epic.

_______________________________________

Off to LA tomorrow for something like the 25th time this year. I was looking at my calender last week and realized that last week was the first time in about eight weeks that I wasn't on a plane. Getting a tad bit tired of the constant traveling, but as Michael Corleone so elegantly said, this is the life I've chosen.

The Market

I was going to write about my new favorite show, Fringe, which is quickly becoming my new 24, but events of the past week take precedence. So I will save that post for another day.

In all my days, I have never seen anything like what's been going on in the financial markets this week. It is utterly astonishing and interestingly (if that's the right word), communications, my chosen profession, appears to be playing a large role in what's occurring. What I mean by this is that "bad news' -- or even the rumor of bad news -- is spreading like wildfire, and is becoming almost a self-fulfilling prophesy. And sadly, the weight of the market appears to be stronger than the weight of the message and there's not much that these companies (Lehman, Morgan, AIG, WaMu, et al) can do for say from a communication perspective to provide counterbalance to the utter fear that's currently running rampant. I only hope for all of our sake that calmer heads ultimately prevail before there's more carnage (Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs). Tomorrow will be interesting to say the least.

Here's hoping to a rally.