Happy Birthday

A very Happy Birthday to my niece, Sarah. She turns 9 today. Please correct me if I am wrong. 9 years old....that is 3rd grade. 3rd grade that isn't all that bad. If I could only be back in 3rd grade for a week or two. I think I could handle that.

I don't even know what your biggest concern is at 3rd grade.

So Sarah, tell me what troubles you at your age. What concerns you the most? Is it where you sit on the school bus? Making sure all of your homework is done? Or trying to get a bigger allowance out of your parents?

Freeman Party Games

As you now know, the Freeman Party is scheduled for June 5th this year. The invitations have been sent out. The trophies have been ordered. But there is still so much to do. I actually start planning for the next year's party the day after the party. It is continuously on my mind. What is it that occupies my mind so? The games. I am always looking for ways to improve upon the games. It took my quite a few years to realize that relay contests with the adults are useless. It is more hassle than it is worth. I have narrowed down the games some but there are three games that are staples and I will always have these. But I would like to know which game you enjoy the most. Or if you don't like any of them, please feel free to post a write in vote.

What is your favorite Antonio Freeman Party game?
	Musical Chairs
	Water Balloon Toss
	Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament
	You shouldn't have any games
Free polls from Pollhost.com

You Lyric of the Day:
Yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers,
But all that lives is born to die.
And so I say to you that nothing really matters.
And all you do is stand and cry.

Weekend Recap

Friday night I went to Carrol College to see Cake. The college really clamped down and did want any funny business. They made you empty all of your pockets, and then they used the metal detector wands to make sure you weren't trying to sneak anything in. And once you got in it was a dry concert. They had one concession stand open. All that they were selling was water for $2.00. No beer, no soda, not even any ice, just a plastic cup of luke warm water. But it was still good show.
Saturday I did some more training for my triathlon. I drove out to Pewaukee and biked the triathlon course. It was a pretty sad and pathetic display. It took me 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete the course. And my goal is to complete it in 45 minutes for the race. That might be a little difficult. Although I did make 2 wrong turns which cost me some time. I am going to bike it again next weekend. On Sunday I dropped my bike off to get a tune up. I haven't really done any maintenance on it in 2 years. And both of the rims are bent, hopefully making some improvement to the bike will also improve my performance, otherwise it isn't going to be pretty on July 11th.

Lyric of the Day:
How in the world you gonna see?
Laughin' at fools like me.
What on earth do you think you are?
A superstar?
Well right you are.

Antonio Freeman Party

It is with great pleasure that I announce the date of this year’s Antonio Freeman Party. You are cordially invited to attend. I will be supplying the beer, booze, soda, juice boxes, brats, burgers and buns. If you would like to bring a side dish, it would be appreciated.

Mark your calendars, put this invitation on the fridge and join me, my family and my friends for what promises to be a fun and entertaining day/evening.

Date: Saturday, June 5th 2010

Time: 2:00 p.m. until I have to head downtown for the Miller Ride for the Arts the next morning.

Games are scheduled to begin around 3:00 p.m.
Dinner will be served shortly after the last round of musical chairs.

Where: My house, 127 N 78th Street, Milwaukee

Please RSVP by Friday May 28th:
Phone: 414-397-1457
Home Email: mitch_kumstean@yahoo.com

Bring your friends, family, whomever, as always your children are encouraged to attend. But please let me know how many will be attending so that I can plan accordingly.

Weekend Ahead

Last weekend was nothing more than laying low. I called it the calm before the storm. I have something going nearly every weekend now until August. Tonight is Cake. I saw them a couple years ago at the Riverside on New Years Eve.At that concert I ended up in the front row. I was resting my beer on the stage while I took this picture with my phone. Imagine if I had said that sentence 10 years ago. "I took a picture with my phone."
Back in college I remember a group of us took a trip down to Chicago. It was my second year which would have made it 1993 and it was right after ATMs came out. But as you know here in Wisconsin we called them Tyme Machines. I am downtown Chicago and I needed to get some money, but couldn't find an ATM, so I started asking people. "Do you know where I can find a time machine?" Every person looked at me like I was crazy, but from their point of view I guess I could understand how I came off looking like a lunatic. Anyhow, back to where I was. Cake is tonight and that should be fun.

Lyric of the day:
Leave it to me as I find a way to be.
Consider me a satellite, forever orbiting.
I know all the rules, but the rules don't know me.
Guaranteed

Packers NFL Draft

Are you going to watch the draft tonight? I plan on watching some of it, but not all of it. The first round is tonight. Each team gets 10 minutes to make their pick. 32 teams is 320 minutes or 5 hours and 20 minutes. It starts at 6:30 p.m. my time. So it wouldn't be over until 11:50 p.m. The Packers pick 23rd, that is 10:20 p.m. that they announce their pick. I would like to see the Packers address both the offensive line and the defensive secondary. Prediction, Jimmy Clausen goes to the Seattle Seahawks.

Happy Birthday

Another Birthday. 38 years ago today my mom pushed out 10 pound 12 ounce baby named Jeffery Charles Davies. Happy Birthday Chucker.

Lyric of the Day:

I'm worse at what I do best.

And for this gift I feel blessed.

Our little group has always been.

And always will until the end.

Triathlon

Well there is no turning back. I am signed up for the Pewaukee triathlon Sunday, July 11th. My good friend, no wait we aren't good friends, we are great friends, (no used trying to disarm a bomb after it has already gone off) and loyal blog reader, Preston, is also signed up. I am also throwing out this challenge to any and all blog readers. None of you can or will beat me in this event. This is a pretty bold statement since I have yet to run since my back surgery. But I am pretty confident. I have done quite a bit of biking since my doctor has given me the green light to proceed with normal activities. And I am starting to feel pretty good.

In looking at the last triathlon I did back in 2008 I have the same goals. And they are:
1/4 mile swim: 15 minutes
15 mile bike: I would like to average 20 miles per hour, which would be 45 minutes.

5K run: I don't have real high hopes for this run. 8 minute miles would be fantastic.

So with transition times, I am looking to finish sub 1 hour and 30 minutes.

But my secondary goal for this triathlon would be to win one of the events. How are you going to do that you ask? Well that is a wonderful question. It is pretty obvious in looking at the goals that I set for myself that none of those times will be any where near the winning time. I am hoping and planning on having the fastest transition time from the bike to the run. Going back to the last triathlon that I did in Elkhart Lake I was 3rd. Don't believe me? Here is the link. You have to click on the pull down menu to "TRANS 2" and then hit "Refresh Leaders". 3rd place.

So if you are afraid to step up to the challenge, at least make note to come down and watch me smoke the field in the second transition. It is almost worth coming to just see me in the transition. All of the times are recorded with timing chips that record your time when you step across a mat. In fact you can see the mats in the picture above. So I dismount off my bike and stand right before the mat for at least 45 seconds or so to catch my breath. I even talk to the official that stands at the mat. I tell him "Make sure you look for bid number 123, I will have the fastest time." Then as all of the other competitors are moving through the transition area at a causal jog, you see me racing like a bat out of hell through the maze of bikes. It is truly an idiotic thing to see. And something only a moron like me would do.

There are a lot of athletes that take these triathlons pretty serious. I don't do it unless I am going to have fun. I know I am not going to win. Who do I look like....Krum? I have done a couple of these races with Tree before. We always sign up for the same group. And in the minutes leading up to the start in the water, Tree and I are always trying to dunk each other. Preston you better watch yourself.

When I finally emerge from the water after the swim, there are normally officials standing at those mats too. I always ask them if I am winning, they usually laugh and say "Yep." Then I ask how far back is the person in second place.

Before Tree moved to North Carolina he gave me his road bike. And by now that bike has to be close to 20 years old. I usually don't show up to early for the race itself, so I have to park a ways away from the starting line. As I bike in, I can usually tell which people will beat me based on how nice/modern their bikes are. Some people drop thousands of dollars on their bikes. My bike has a bell on it. In the chance that during the bike I pass anyone, I always ring my bell. But I get a big kick out of passing people who have bikes that are worth $3,000. I would like to get one of those super aerodynamic bike helmets just so I would look like more of a moron. But there is no use spending $175 on a bike helmet. I would even think about wearing it during the run. How funny would that be?

Here is your lyric:

I see a woman in the night.

With a baby in her hand.

There's an old street light.

Near a garbage can.

Now she puts the kid away and she's gone to get a hit.

She hates her life and what she's done to it.

There's one more kid that will never go to school.

Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool.

Cuts Like A Knife

If you watch any Brewer baseball, then you have seen this graphic. They post is after nearly every home run hit by the Brewers. And to everyone that views this graphic, this is how you see it. "Ho Hum, no big deal. Shouldn't Fielder be on that list?"But not me. When I see this graphic, all I see is this. I am still disgusted with myself for dropping that ball.

Lyric of the Day:

But now the dreams and waking screams.

That everlast the night.

So build a wall, behind it crawl.

And hide until it's light.

Happy Birthday

According to my records, today is my niece, Erin's, birthday. She is 8.....I think. Right born in 2002. Happy Birthday Erin. Lyric of the Day:
You once though to me as a white knight on his steed.
Now you know how happy I can be.
Oh and our good time starts and end without dollar one to spend,
but how much baby do we really need?

The Brett Favre Game

I don't recall if I have ever explained this game or not. Bubs reminded me about it, and offered that it would be a good pre-game warm up for catching home run balls. Here is a refresher. Krum and I invented this game back around 1994 or 1995. I was up visiting Krum at his place that he shared with Brown and Little Buddy in Minnesota. They were having a house party that evening. Krum and I went in to the basement and tapped the keg of "Blue Bull" at around 3 in the afternoon. We each had a cup and then Krum picked up a football that was laying around. We started throwing the ball back and forth. Then we decided if you dropped the ball you had to take a drink of beer. You can easily see how this degenerated into Krum and I whipping the ball as hard as we can at each other. But then we made the rule that if it was an uncatchable pass, the thrower had to drink.
I brought this game home and have played it a number of times while tailgating. The official distance between participants it two parking stalls. Yes, as you can imagine it can get quite brutal. However, my favorite version of the game is when you switch to using your non-throwing hand. Unless you are quite the athlete, it is pretty hard to not only throw a decent pass, let alone look coordinated.
Here is your lyric of the day:
Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend.
I want to guard your dreams and visions.
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims.
And strap your hands across my engines.
Together we could break this trap.
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back.
Will you walk with me out on the wire.
'Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider.
But I gotta find out how it feels.
I want to know if love is wild...girl.
I want to know if love is real.

Let Them Eat Cake

Friday April 23rd, I am headed to Carrol College for the Cake concert. I was originally going with Mark and Suzanne, but Mark is going to be going to the Brewer game that night, so there is an extra ticket. If you are interested let me know. I believe tickets are $20.

What Month Is It?

I don't want to jinx anything. But this weather lately has been rather unbelievable. I walked into work this morning and I could have swore it was late May. I will take it. Oh and it is Tax Day. I hope you got your taxes in. I actually came real close to not getting mine in on time. My friend, Roman, usually does my taxes. And he did again this year. I put them in the mail on the 5th of April. On Tuesday, they came back to me saying that I didn't have enough postage. What a joke. But they are in now.
I have also noticed that I have been slacking on your lyric of the day.
Sometimes there's a part of me.
Has to turn from here and go.
Running like a child from these warms stars.
Down the Seven Bridges Road

Clash of The Titans

Saturday night I went to see Clash of the Titans in 3D. I didn't think that the 3D was quite as good as that of Avatar. But it was still pretty amazing to watch. I saw it at The Ridge in New Berlin, and I was three rows up in the stadium seating, but there were more rows on the floor than usual, so I probably should have sat in the floor seats. But after I sat down I felt like a dork moving, so I stayed put.
The story itself was just OK. It is loosely based on Greek mythology. That our world was created by Zeus, the leader of the Gods of Mount Olympus And his human son, Perseus, is the one to save our world from total destruction. Their is also a tie in with Hades (God of the Underworld) and the brother of both Zeus and Poseidon. You can do a little too much thinking during the movie and contemplate why we are all here. The one bothersome part of the movie to me was that a sword was sent to Perseus by the Gods to use, but throughout the whole movie he refused to use the sword. Yet he continued on this journey where it was known that he would continue to face obstacles. Obstacles which were much easier to overcome with this sword from the Gods. Perseus takes the stand the entire movie that he wishes to be non-violent / non-confrontational. Which is all well and good, but if you know you are going to be faced with the best that Hades can throw at you, even if you wish to be passive, being prepared and able to protect yourself as best you can, seems like a no brainer. He eventually comes around to my way of thinking 2/3rds of the way through the movie. It was a very good movie, but still "Less Than Spectacular". I give it a 6 out of 10.

Weekend Update

Friday Night was very low key. I stopped by Nate, Michel and Elery. It has been too long since I have seen Elery. It is shocking how fast they grow up. He is 3.5 years old and walking and talking. Last time I saw him he had all of a 10 word vocabulary. But as somethings change, others don't change at all. I topped the night off by winning 5 out of 6 games of ping pong against Nate.

I Forgot

It totally slipped my mind. Yesterday was my sister, Deb's, birthday. She is 40 something. And tomorrow is my parent's 40 something plus a year anniversary. Congratulations to all three of you.

Have a Good Weekend

Yes, this is a little bit later than normal for me. I have slowly been trying to morph myself back into "Mr. Fitness". I have always said that the life of a healthy person is quite boring. I am setting my sights on taking part in the Elkhart Lake Triathlon on June 12th. So far the only training I have been doing is biking.
There is an excellent chance that I won't get into the water for any kind of swimming until the day of the race. Who am I kidding, I am not a strong swimmer, at least compared to other triathletes. Joe six pack (6 pack of beer not 6 pack abs) I am pretty sure I would smoke in the water.
Back to the biking, I have gone biking 13 of the last 14 days. But it still feels like I am biking through sand. I usually either bike up and down the Honey Creek Parkway, or if there isn't a Brewer Game down and around Miller Park and back. Either one is taking me in the neighborhood of 25 to 30 minutes. My goal for the race is to average 20 mile per hour on the bike. I would need to cut the parkway time down to 18 minutes and Miller park down to 21 minutes to reach my goal. Fat chance of that. I also think my bike needs a tune up. In fact I think my front rim is actually bent some. Bubs, if you are out there, you need to get a bike and start riding. Preston is planning on doing the Pewaukee triathlon in July. I am planning a longer ride both Saturday and Sunday.
Running is a big question mark. When I saw my doctor two weeks ago, he told me, "As long as you feel good, you can return to your normal activities." I asked him about running and he told me to take it very easy. I might try running a mile this weekend. That should tell me alot about what the future holds for me. Lately after bike rides my back has felt great.
Weekend plans, I don't really have any. Sunday I am planning on meeting up with Tom Brady and company for some tailgating and the Brewer game. I hope Jason Burac is going to be there.

NCAA

The tournament is over. And it very well may be the last great NCAA Basketball tournament. If it goes to 96 teams as has been highly speculated, it will become a watered down version of what is the greatest sports spectacle in the United States. If it's not broken don't fix it. But the powers that be in the NCAA are greedy. They can make all the claims that want about why they are expanding the field, but they are full of shit. It is all about the money. I have yet to hear anyone on any radio talk show or television program make the argument that first popped into my head when I heard that they were going to expand the field. They shouldn't be allowed to change the college basketball playoffs until they fix the college football playoffs. I am baffled that these "intelligent" and greedy people that run college athletics fail to see the incredible amounts of money that a football playoff would generate. I have said it before, but a college playoff, ideally 16 teams, but even more practically, 8 teams, would be the greatest sporting event in the country without a doubt. Yes, bigger than the Super Bowl. Somehow, I got off the topic, so let's bring this thing back around.

It was a great tournament. Any causal viewer was most definitely pulling for the underdog, Butler. They had a couple lapses in concentration on inbound plays and their starting center missed a number of bunnies that would have, and could have swung the game into their favor. And in spite of all of that, the nearly won on a last second shot. It would have been great to see that half court shot go in. I give Butler a ton a credit, I thought this game would be a blowout by halftime, even though I was pulling for Butler. And that center for Duke, Zoubek, how can you have a 5 inch height advantage and not dominate the game?

As for my pool, my brother-in-law, Tim, took home top prize. Congratulations.

Oh and as a side note to the game. I have been told that I look like Kyle Singler(in the top photo), the Most Outstanding Player of the winning Duke Blue Devils. I guess we do look a little alike, but he isn't quite the basketball player that I am.

Your Lyric of the Day:

Hand out the arms and ammo.

We're going to blast our way through here.

We got to get together sooner or later.

Because the revolution's here.

And you know it's right.

Easter

I really have to apologize. With the whole family together I should have taken way more pictures. There wasn't too much to my weekend except for Easter Sunday. In the mid morning I was with the Bratzeg's, my sister in law, Julie's family. We had brunch there and everything was great. I appreciate always being invited me to their family events.

The afternoon and evening was at my parents. Dinner was great as usual. I would also like to put a discussion to rest. Miller Park does not have a section of seats that is "Peanut Free". Or as we referred to it, a "No Nuts Section".

The two highlights of the day. The first was the arm wrestling match. When I had all of my nephews and nieces sleep over at my house, my oldest nephew, Pickle (Nick), was not there. But of all the kids that were there, Boomer (Lindsey), was the arm wrestling champ. On a side note she is also a two time and defending Freeman Party Musical Chairs Champion. Sunday at my parents, Nick took a shot at the title. Pictures speak louder than words, but even better than pictures is video:

I should clarify, Pickle is older than Lindsey. Here is Pickle's proud father after the arm wrestling match. The second highlight was playing football. It was a little frustrating, but still a lot of fun. I don't have any pictures because I was too busy throwing touchdowns. But here are some pictures from playing "500" before hand.
This is Ethan and I having a disagreement.

Lyric of the day:

Silver wings upon their chest.

These are men America's best.

100 men will test today.

But only 3 win the Green Beret.

Stone Temple Pilots

Last Friday I went to the Eagles Ballroom to see Stone Temple Pilots. It was a good show, but short. I had them on stage for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. And there wasn't an encore. This was slightly disappointing as I had just gone to the bar for a drink when the band finished what was the first and only set. Here is some video I shot during the concert.

This is "Big Empty"


This is a little bit of "Creep"



This is "Plush"

And finally, I think my favorite of all of their songs, "Interstate Love Song"

It was a good show, but again a little short. I also thought that lead singer, Scott Weiland, looked a lot like Tim Whatley (Bryan Cranston) from Seinfeld.

Here are some pictures I got from The Rave's website.

Lyric of the Day:

Leavin' on a southern train.

Only yesterday, you lied.

Promises of what I seemed to be.

Only watch the time go by.

All of these thing you said to me.

Breathin' is the hardest thing to do.

With all I've said and all that's dead for you.

You lied, good bye.

Vampire Weekend

I am a little behind on my postings but that is a good thing. That means that I have plenty of material. On the 23rd I went to see the band "Vampire Weekend" with my friends Mark and Suzanne. I hadn't heard much of them. But I liked the show. Here are some video clips.

All Along the Watchtower

Bubs brought up this song. Bob Dylan recorded the song on November 6, 1967, at Columbia Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee.

It has been covered by many artists. Bubs claims that the Jimi Hendrix cover is the best version. I found this quote on the internet, so take it for what it is worth, but this is what Bob Dylan had to say about Jimi's interpretation:"It overwhelmed me, really. I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day.....I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way... Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

Here are links to the original and covers that I found on Youtube.

Bob Dylan

Jimi Hendrix

U2

Dave Matthews

Dave Mason Band (This one is for you Borky)

Neil Young

The Grateful Dead

Bryan Ferry

Pearl Jam

Christmas Cards Part 4

Here is the final installment of Christmas in the Spring.

Here is Sarah, I went to high school with her.

The Gravenkamps. I met them through my brother in law, Tim.The Gehreds. Bob was a college roommate.My brother, Chucker's, kids.The Storchs. I think I knew Storch in college for well over a year before I knew his real name. Storch is his last name, but he was a little goofy in college and I thought Storch was just a nickname.This is Tree's daughter, Kaitlyn.Here is Seth and Matt. My sister in law, Julie's brother, Tony's, kids. Was that puncuated correctly? It is just easier to call Tony my brother in law. Tony and I played soccer together. Lyric of the Day:

I was walking, with my girlfriend.

I was drunk on wine. It was the only way I could ease my mind.

She said I want to run like the lions, release from the cages.

Released from the rages burning in her soul tonight

Summer Itinerary

Maybe it is the weather, but I am already starting to look forward to the summer. Things are slowly filling up, but I would say in another month or so, nearly every weekend will be spoken for. Tops on my list are the Milwaukee Festivals. I am going to try to make it to each of the following Festivals for at least one day: Polish Fest, Summerfest, Bastille Days, Festa Italiana, German Fest and Irish Fest. I have never been to either Polish Fest or Irish Fest. I like these smaller festivals, because you can actually walk around the festival grounds without getting felt up. Not that I always mind getting felt up. So let me throw some dates out there for you.
May 1st: Roman's Bachelor Party

May 15th: Roman's Wedding (Probably a good thing to have two weeks between bachelor party and wedding so that the soon to be Mrs. has time to cool down)

May 22nd: T.J.'s Wedding

June 4th & 5th: Verge Festival (Weezer is playing on the 5th. I would really like to go to that, but I don't really want to reschedule my party.)

June 5th: The Antonio Freeman Party (I am guarantying that it will be warmer than last year)

June 6th: Miller Ride for the Arts (I will probably just do the 25 mile course. Any more and I will have a hard time sitting.)

June 12th: Elkhart Lake Triathlon (I don't know that I am going to do all four triathlons listed, it looks doubtful, but I would like to get in two for sure. But if I did do all four, that would keep me in pretty good shape for the entire summer)

June 18th-20th: Polish Fest

June 19th: High Cliff Triathlon

June 24th-July 4th: Summerfest (I am going to miss both weekends of Summerfest)

June 26th: Wiffleball Tournament

June 26th: Jimmy Buffett at Alpine Valley (I will be unable to attend)

June 27th: U2 concert in Minneapolis (At Gopher Stadium)

July 3rd: Dave Matthews Band at Alpine Valley

July 4th: Annual Sherman Party

July 4th: Dave Matthews Band at Alpine Valley

July 8th: Storm the Bastille 5K Run (The best 5K in the area)

July 8th-July 11th: Bastille Days

July 11th: Pewaukee Triathlon (This race, I know fills up fast)

July 15th-July 18th: Festa Italiana

July 22nd-July 25th: German Fest (Sheepshead tournament)

July 24th: Jack Johnson at Alpine Valley

August 14th: Phish at Alpine Valley

August 19th-August 22nd: Irish Fest

August 28th: Brian's Wedding

September 4th: Lake Country Half Marathon (It is highly unlikely that I will run this, but stranger things have happened)

September 9th-September 12th: Camping on the Mississippi

September 19th: Devils Lake Triathlon

I know that their is a Shrimp Boil/Horseshoe Tournament and a trip to Eagle River also somewhere in there. I would also like to get in at least 5 or 6 Brewer games. And I am keeping my finger crossed that Pearl Jam comes to Alpine. I think there is going to be at least one weekend night of pool volleyball with a mix of ping pong at the Davies residence. Oh and if I am missing any events, please let me know so I can update my list and my calendar

If anyone is interested in riding shotgun for any of these events let me know.

Christmas Cards Part 3

This is Peyton. She is my friend, Shauntelle's, daughter. Myra, I met through Nate and Russ.Ray and Kate I met through Tree. The four of us were also on a volleyball team together for a couple of years.The Brauns. Mike was one of my best friends in high school. And now I see him every year that the annual wiffleball game at his parents house.The Thomes. I played soccer with Mark. And Amy is the facebook queen. She is the most popular facebook person I know.Janelle, or Hilt, as I still call her. That was her last name and now she is married. I worked with Hilt on a project for the DOT up in Fond du Lac.The Andersons. Todd, or T1, was a roommate back in my college days.Lyric of the Day:
I, I can remember.
Standing, by the wall.
And the guns shot above our heads.
And we kissed, as though nothing could fall.
And the shame, was on the other side.
Oh we can beat them for ever and ever.
Then we could be heros, just for one day.