Rivalry #11
Fanny Packs vs. Cell Phone Holsters On Belts – I think these are two of the most awful accessories that someone could incorporate into their wardrobe.  I think construction workers or contractors can get away with the cell phone holsters, grandmothers can get away with the fanny packs.  People who use the cell phone holsters always have their phone in a protective sheath.  I can at least understand the utility of a fanny pack, it’s secure, you can’t misplace it like a purse, and it’s small enough where things won’t get lost.  The only reason you need a cell phone holster is if you’re trying to be the fastest phone answerer on this side of the Mississippi.  If you call someone and they answer before it completes a full ring, they probably rock the holster.  Fanny packs are cooler than cell phone holsters. 

RKDeem’s 11th Band
Wilco – Did you ever just zone out, someone’s talking to you, the TV is on, and all of the sudden you realize you haven’t been paying attention to anything?  Or did you ever drive somewhere and about 3/4 of the way there, you’re like, “whoa, how did I get here, I have been driving in a zombie state of mind”?  This is what Wilco is like, throw in Yankee Foxtrot Hotel or Ghost is Born and you can stare at the hazy summer sky and confuse it for being deep in thought, but you’re just wrapped up in the melting sounds and distant vocals of Jeff Tweedy.  Standout track is not on the CDs I mentioned earlier, but you should hunt down the song “Misunderstood” and make sure you listen to the entire song.  “I want to thank you….for NOTHING…..NOTHING…..NOTHING…..NOTHING…..NOTHING…..NOTHING…..NOTHING…(I think he says this about 20 times and there’s authenticity in it, something, someone, burned him badly and it just won’t heal.  Great song.  Jaclyn and I will play “Nothing” chicken in public places, who can say it louder, the girl always wins because I don’t want the police called on me.

Unfortunately, I just found out that I have to catch a 6:30AM flight to ATL tomorrow morning and I won’t be back until midnight on Friday (hopefully sooner, but we’ll see).  I will try to keep the blog rolling along, at the very least, I will continue to slap some more stuff on the Forum ( myforum.rkdeemreport.com – tonight I posted my review of Smokin’ Lil’s in Doylestown). 

I am staying at the Embassy Suites in Atlanta, home of the dead fish, hopefully they cleaned it up by now.

One last thing…thanks to everyone who reads this blog.  Its nice to know people are checking in, that people read my thoughts and ideas, I love your comments and hope we can keep this up for a long time.

Have a great night!

 – Robert K. Deem

A video of Wilco playing Misunderstood, it’s missing the first half of the song, the audio can only capture a fraction of everything the song has to offer, but you get the point, you can watch the song accelerate into a wild car crash.

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Rivalry #12
Wawa vs. 7-11 – Wawa wins, no discussion necessary.

Any time I tell people that I’m not voting, people get all worked up.  I
just don’t care about it all, I am more concerned about my own decisions and
the decisions of my family and friends, then the decisions of Obama or
McCain.  What about the war?  I don’t like the stupid war, but you
don’t see me fighting in it and I won’t be signing up anytime soon.  What
about the economy?  The economy sucks for hedge fund managers and people
who bought Mcmansions with adjustable rate mortgages.  Neither candidate
seems overly concerned with raising minimum wage or helping the truly fucked
people living in horrible poverty and have no light shining down to escape
it.  People act like we need to be subservient to one of these two
candidates, these candidates should be subservient to us.

We went to the zoo this weekend.  It was an absolute blast and really well
run.  They had every animal that you’d want to see and all of them were
close enough to thoroughly inspect.  Peacocks just roamed around, Winston
chased one into some bushes.  We were there for 3 hours and still didn’t
see the whole thing, we have a great zoo.  The thing is, the zoo is right
next to the most horrible neighborhood I’ve seen since I went to Temple University
in Northern Philadelphia.  All the houses
had boarded up windows, if the windows weren’t boarded up, they were just open
to the elements letting the July sun shine through the second floor, on rainy
days, it must just fill up with water.  People live in these houses, we
walked right by them on our way to the zoo.  It’s almost like the zoo, you
just stare at it, so exotic, so foreign…caged in, being observed, and you’re
scared as hell to reach in because they’d bite you. 

There’s been a lot of talk about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, this is an
awesome policy.  I wondered what the policy was before the “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell”.  What’s the reprocussions of telling?  Do you
get booted right away?  If you were scared in Iraq, or just wanted to get out of
there real bad, could you just act gay and get sent home?  What happens if
you ask?  Is asking as bad as telling?

RKDeem’s #12 Band
Kanye West – Kanye is not the greatest of all time, but two out of his first three
albums have been damn good.  What separates Kanye from the pack is that
his lyrics are entertaining and he’s not just thumping drums and base, he’s
piling in stylings from all over the music universe.  He’s arrogant,
opinionated, and he thinks the white man is responsible for everything that’s
wrong with this planet, but it’s just awesome music.  This top 20 list is really about what I’ve been listening to in the last 5 years and he’s getting a heavy rotation.  Standout Track –
Listening to Jaclyn sing Jesus Walks.  You haven’t lived until you’ve
heard it.

It’s 7:21AM and I can’t sleep, I woke up real early today because the Bulldogs are about to play the first round of softball playoffs.  It’s a best of 3 series and it starts at 9AM.  We’re taking on the #1 seed and they’ve only lost 2 games all year, both losses came at the hands of the Bulldogs.  This is today’s rivalry, # 13, these next few games will decide the outcome!  Wish us luck.

I made an update to the RKDeemReport website, I took down a couple of web pages about softball and created a forum.  I’m not sure if people will use it, but at the very least, I will, and it will be a good place to check things out.  Very easy to post and have discussions, I hope everyone adds a little something on there and we get a jambalaya of insanity. 

If you want to check out the forum, please go to myforum.rkdeemreport.com or just go to RKDeemReport.com and click on the appropriate link. 

If you think there should be additional categories, post them under general.  You have to register to use the forum, takes 2 seconds. 

RKDeem’s #13 Band:
Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin is one of those bands that’s been around for a long time, you’ve heard all their songs a million times, but if it comes on the local classic rock station at the family bar-b-que, or over the jukebox at the bar, you’re instantly reminded how badass this band is.  Standout track – I love the organ laden “Your Time Is Gonna Come”, it’s a little gospel about retribution and karma, I love it. 

The bands so far:

20.  Postal Service
19.  White Stripes
18.  Regina Spektor
17.  Louis Prima
16.  Otis Redding
15.  Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs
14.  Jack Johnson
13.  Led Zeppelin

It’s weird how your fingers change sizes.  Women probably have known this for a long time, but I never noticed until I started wearing a wedding ring.  Some days, my ring is loose, some days my ring is tight, my fingers get big and small. 

We’re going to the Midway Carnival tonight.  I always lose $20 in gambling when I go to Midway Carnival. 

Rivalry #14
People Who Endorse Evolution vs. People Who Hate Evolution

This one is simple, evolution happens, it has been proven without a doubt.  The problem is, there’s the whole chicken or the egg thing, how can people evolutionize without something creating the universe to begin with.  It is the predicament that makes me feel very small and unknowledgeable about my given circumstances.  It is very funny that we have all kinds of stuff, TV shows, religion, jobs, education, but no one really knows why the heck we are on this planet or why this planet is here to begin with.  These people are rivals, but the truth is, they are both right. 

RKDeem’s #14 Band
Jack Johnson – He hasn’t done anything that has been overly impressive.  There hasn’t been an album where Jack Johnson has delivered a performance a musical entrée that was diverse and creatively progressive, but he does what he does at an excellent level.  I don’t have a standout track, just throw in any album of his and fire up the grill, grab a beer, and enjoy. 

I have made it to Atlanta, just in time for a team building event held in a bowling alley.  We basically just bowled and drank beer, but in some strange way, it seemed to have built stronger teams.  I have never bowled over 100, but today things just clicked tonight and I managed a 114.  I was beat by several women which sort of made it less climatic, especially the woman who rolled the ball so slowly it barely made it down the lane, bouncing off of each pin until they were all knocked over. 

I am staying at the Embassy Suites in Buckhead, Atlanta.  It’s beautiful inside, huge room, and great service.  In fact, there’s a big stream that goes through the hotel’s ground floor with bridges and it is pretty amazing.  There’s huge catfish and carp swimming in the stream, but one of them is laying on its side at the bottom, very dead and kind of depressing.  I guess that’s the risk you take when you have a fish. 

Rivalry #15
Real Life vs. Fantasy – This is really tough.  On Xbox 360, I’ve won the Super Bowl, beaten Tiger Woods in golf, and brought down an entire terrorist army single-handedly.  In addition, I own and manage a fantasy football team filled with some of the most talented NFL players.  Real life is really pretty boring in comparison, I played high school football and baseball, and at present, I manage and play for a slow pitch softball team.  Not too mention, I have to work in real life.  Fantasy is damn good, it feels great to win the Madden championship, it would feel great to win my Fantasy Football league, but it only feels really good when these things are recognized in the real world.  I think it’s really tough to pick fantasy over reality because you can’t escape reality in the long term, but those brief injections of fortune, fame, recognition, and dignity, really bring a lot to my day.  Sometimes my slow-pitch softball team starts getting really confident and deep down inside, we start to think we are something very special and I like that feeling, I embrace that feeling.  I like thinking we’re doing something amazing, that I have a role to play, we’re just a bunch of good friends who are trying to live a dream.  With all that being said, reality is better than fantasy because I have a hot babe for a wife and it is very cool making out with her.  

RKDeem’s #15 Band
Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – Music is not necessarily about talent, it’s not about who has the best producer, it’s about whether you think the singer actually feels what he/she is singing.  I believe Karen O (the lead singer), her music is like stepping on a King Cobra snake.  Standout Track – Cheated Hearts.  I just love when she says, “Sometimes I think that I’m bigger than the sound”, she is. 

Hello Readers of the Blog!  I am supposed to be boarding a flight right now, instead I am sitting in Gate C108 in Newark, NJ waiting for a new flight.  If you check my last posting, in the comments section, I mention that I’m leaving early to head down to Atlanta.  Unfortunately, that flight was canceled and now I’m stuck waiting for a flight that will take off close to 11AM.  What really sucks about this whole deal is that I had to wake up at 4:50AM to make it here in time for my flight, sleeping in was highly desirable after a long weekend filled with wedding partying. 

Speaking of the wedding, it was a beautiful event held in Sharon, PA (or there abouts).  Sharon is very close to the Ohio border, north of Pittsburgh.  Despite being in the middle of nowhere, the church and reception were grand and elegant.  What amazed me about the wedding was how much we danced, several people complained of aching legs and blistered feet the following day, we were all cutting a rug.  I love it when Jaclyn has the opportunity to dance, it’s one of her favorite things and it shows, she was one hot and tenacious dancer, despite being pregnant in heels.  

We partied well into Sunday morning after the wedding, resulting in a very difficult car ride later that same morning back across the state of Pennsylvania. 

I would have loved to have slept in this morning, as I feel like I am still recovering.

Random Notes:
Siren Records is back in business.  It is my understanding that they are back in business thanks to the overwhelming generosity of their patrons.  Business had glass bowls accepting donations on Siren’s behalf, benefit concerts were held, and some people just stopped the owner on the street and handed him money.  It’s good to know those kids who love music can get back to their business of being cool, lord knows there’s already enough squares walking the streets of Doylestown already.  

The blog is almost 1 year old!  On August 7th, the blog will be 1 year old.  We’re averaging over 200 hits a week and I think it’s still growing.  More to come on this subject.

Rivalry #16
Best scenic getaway in Bucks County.  We have some beautiful places in Bucks County.  We have the wing damn in New Hope, we have High Rocks, Lake Nockamixon, Lake Galena, and a little place I like to call Mavericks in Frenchtown.  On most days you can’t go wrong with any of these places, but the word’s out about most of them and they are starting to generate some riff raff.  

Wing Damn – The raw power of the might Delaware being funneled through two cement arms creates a serene white noise that lets you concentrate on your own thoughts or an intimate conversation with a friend.   You can also swim in some spots away from the main channel and enjoy the pristine clear water. 
Cons – It’s a hot spot and on most evenings and weekends you’ll compete over prime areas and swim holes. 

High Rocks – Isolated trail cutting through a forest along a steep cliff overlooking the Tinicum Creek.  Magnificent views in the fall as the leaves create a stained glass window that goes for miles.  If you take the trail far enough, you can find some spots of solitude, but you better have a friend who doesn’t mind trekking a long distance up steep hills. 
Cons – Watch out for falling rock climbers!  1 or 2 novice climbers sans proper equipment typically take the plunge each year.  Also, once you exit the main path on the other end of the trail, you can usually find a vagabond camp site complete with a Budweiser can graveyard. 

Lake Nockamixon – Beautiful lake with tons of great trails to explore.  Great picnic areas for the family to enjoy.  My favorite part of Lake Nockamixon is the marina, go onto the docks with a loaf of bread and sprinkle pieces into the water, after awhile, giant carp come swimming up and you see mammouth fish quite easily. 
Cons – Have you been hearing about all the weird indecent stuff going on in these parts?  There’s been a recent crackdown to discourage it, but if I am going there, I am making sure I bring a woman to fend these guys off:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-07082008-1560003.html

Lake Galena – People like to walk around this lake, but I am not a huge fan.  Too much goose poop. 

Mavericks in Frenchtown – This is my winner.  If you want to truly disappear and not have to worry about huge groups of people, you want to have ample space to yourself, this is the place for you.  Take the scenic drive up river road, cross into Frenchtown, and make a left onto Hamilton.  Make a left onto 12th Street and park at the dead end.  Make a right on the river path and go down to the river when you can.  It has these huge slabs of rock where you can lay down comfortably on a blanket and get some sun.  The rocks extend way out into the river so you can go swimming with bare feet and not have to worry about sharp rocks.  The current keeps the water fresh and clean, but it’s not fast enough to worry the average swimmer.  If you were really ambitious, you could easily lug a small grill down there too.  If I had to recommend one place, this would be it.  I wouldn’t recommend it to really old people or if you were planning for a huge group.  I would say 8 people are the max and only go if you plan on swimming. 

RKDeem’s 16th Band
Otis Redding – This guy has some awesome music, the original version of “Respect”, “Hard to Handle” and he has the classic song, “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”.  He has an incredible voice and he defines soul music.  He died in a plane crash before he could record many records, so you only have a little to work with, but luckily for us, he crammed a lot of greatness in those albums.  Standout Track/Performance – I’ll lend it to you if you want or just come over and watch it, Otis had an amazing performance at the Monterey Pop Festival and it didn’t include any slow songs, it was a feverish, sweaty, and raucous performane filled with stomping and screaming.  Please don’t hesitate to borrow this from me, plus, you can see Jimi light his guitar on fire. 

Rivalry #17

Best Party Town – New Orleans vs. Las Vegas
Does anyone remember being a freshmen in college, Friday nights, getting your party outfit on, and heading down to the frat houses for a big ol’ kegger?  There was usually a couple guys on the front porch on the lookout, some places were so sophisticated that they employed police scanners and asked sly questions to ensure you weren’t a cop, like, “Are you a cop?”.  If you were smart enough to say “No”, you would move inside where you handed a dude $5 and in exchange received a plastic cup to drink out of for the balance of the night.  The partying went on downstairs in the basement, it was dark, it was dirty, and we wouldn’t of had it any other way.  Dozens of kids crammed themselves into these dark quarters, bass booming from speakers hanging from the ceiling, and kegs of the nastiest beer you could imagine.  Good times.  

Once you turn 21, you have the priviledge to come out of the caves and into a world of high priced beers, bottle service, and if you haven’t wasted enough money on yardstick beers and Jager bombs, you can walk even gamble it away quicker. 

There’s dozens of amazing party towns around the US and Mexico, but I picked these two because of the contrast.  One that is not up for consideration, because I love it too much, is Key West.  But Key West doesn’t really fit into a category, it’s beautiful, it’s a destination in itself, it doesn’t really need the party to be amazing, while New Orleans and Las Vegas are built on the foundations of booze and gambling. 

Las Vegas is a sight to see, there’s some really unusual buildings, some shaped like pyramids, some shaped like Paris, some shaped like New York, but you sort of think, it’s just a lame little Disney park depiction of them and once you enter any of them, they all look and sound the same.  Filled with slots, tables, and whistles and bells, you quickly fall into a haze and desparately need a drink.  The bartenders are beautiful and talented.  The clubs go all out, they do everything they can to impress you, they even pay celebrities to hang out at their clubs to give them some cred.  I think you can already see who’s going to win this rivalry. 

New Orleans has something that Vegas doesn’t, it has lots and lots of character.  Instead of being created and torn down every 20 years, New Orleans has some beautiful history and architecture that has withstood many storms and many, many styles and tastes over the years.  It also has fantastic music, usually pouring out of every bar, and incredible food that no place in the world can duplicate.  You can get drunk, in fact, you will get drunk.  But the key with New Orleans, it that you have plenty of things to do while you are not drinking.  The bars try to lure you in with 2 for 1 specials during the morning and afternoons, but hold out, grab a great meal, check out the local markets, go on a tour of the French Quarter, ride the streetcar named desire. 

New Orleans might inject a little soul into you and it wins the rivalry for it. 

RKDeem’s 17th Greatest Band
Louis Prima – This dude and his band were out of control awesome.  You’re heard Jump, Jive, and Wail at the Olive Garden, you’ve heard Sing, Sing, Sing, you’ve heard Pennies From Heaven, but you never realized how good this dude was at performing.  Dig a little deeper into his greatest hits and listen to Buena Sera or Oh Marie, these songs climax with blazing horns and thrashing cymbals, you can’t help but feel yourself go a little wild with the music.  By the way, Louis Prima was from New Orleans and you can definitely hear it in his sound.  My standout track is one that I just found recently and I get a real kick out of it – I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You