Bo-Ling

Went bowling again last night. I was delayed a bit, so didn't get out of the house till 9:30, and by that time it would be too late to try Homestead Lanes, since they fill up pretty quickly with their Two-dollar Tues-Wed deal. So I decided to try Palo Alto, the only bowling alley in the south bay with its own Thai restaurant.

Well, it was 50-cent night. Looking at the lanes and the line waiting to be checked in, things did not look good. So I hopped in the car, drove down the El Camino to Moonlite Lanes in Santa Clara. Bingo. No line, lots of open lanes, and I got one with nobody on either side of me.

Put on my brand new bowling shoes (I'd bought a pair online after my last outing because my feet are very wide, rental shoes are not), got out the ball and rosin bag, and bowled a strike. But I nearly fell on my face doing it - the shoes were way slippery. Apparently I had not paid for the right-handed shoes, but got the ambidextrous ones. For those not familiar with the finer points of bowling, a right-hander finishes his approach by sliding on the left foot. Pro shoes have a sliding pad on the side opposite the one you hurl the ball with, and a normal gripping pad on the other. My shoes have sliding pads on both shoes.

My second ball was also a strike, and this time I felt like the ball was going to drag me down the lane with it. I managed to stop short of the foul line, but I actually did fall down.

Little by little the shoes picked up some traction, my balance improved and I stopped throwing strikes.

The first two games were erratic, with scores just barely over 100. I kept missing easy spares, and only hitting one pin on the next throw after a spare.

Game 3 was better - 130. I wasn't feeling as wiped out as I did the last time, and remembered to sit down for a little between frames, and it was only 10:30 so I figured what the heck, play one more game. It turned out to be my best - 150. Still nowhere close to my potential, but at least respectable for an old fart.

Also, the small bit of filing and sanding the Homestead pro did really improved the way I released the ball. The rosin bag also helped.

Lots of eye candy at Moonlite, both bowlers and staffers. I'll be going back again.

Amanda McBroom

Not many people have heard of her - she wrote the song The Rose which was Bette Middler's first big hit. I can't remember how I discovered her, but it had something to do with a song she recorded called Errol Flynn which was written for her by a friend, based on stories she told about her father, whose stage name was David Bruce

On my way to work this morning I was playing a CD with my favorite tunes ripped from various albums, and the section of Amanda's songs came on. I've always wanted to use Errol Flynn as an audition piece. My friend and evil twin Howard Miller is going to be directing Oklahoma this summer, auditions are in about a month, and I was toying with trying out for Judd, and this reminded me it would be a good piece to use. If I can figure out a way to work around being on call while the show is running.

But I digress.

Errol Flynn is a tear-jerker. It's about her father, who acted in some of Errol Flynn's movies, such as The Sea Hawk, and her feelings as a girl watching his movies with him, him leaving, and his sad end.
( The song debunked behind the cut )

When she isn't composing, she's a lounge singer, and this is recorded live on her album Live from Rainbow & Stars , and also in the studio on her album Portraits. I did some editing to merge both of them - I really love the ending on the live album, which closes with the recognizable theme of one of the major movie studios (missing from the studio version) but the studio version is generally cleaner and sung better.

What attracted me to her songs is the lyrics match the tune, and there are usually one or two twists of phrase which are romantic and clever and just seem to sneak right up on me.

From Errol Flynn:
But Fame, it is fleeting
And stars, they keep falling
And staying right up there
That's the business of Art

And Luck kisses some
And she passes by others.
Disappointment
And bourbon
Are hard on the heart

From No Fear
Maybe tomorrow
The world as I know it
Will crumble and fall apart
But still somehow
I think I'll manage
To look at the world
Through a rose-colored heart

From Whoever You Are
I can hear you laughing in my sleep
I can see you sitting in my chair
I can feel your fingers on my shoulder
And the way your lips will move against my hair
I can hear those whispers in the dark
Promises I never will forget
There's only one thing missing in this love of mine
I haven't met you yet
.........
I see your eyes
I hear your voice
My heart is yours
It has no choice

From From Where I Stand
From where I stand
I see the bridges burning
From where I stand
Our love is going down
Looks like stormy weather
My dreams have all gone home
We're standing close together
And I'm feeling all alone

From Here and Now
These aren't the best of times
But they're the only times we have
.........
But before it all goes by
In a flash or a sigh
There's something my heart needs to say to you
.....
For every feeling left unspoken
Is a love song that's unheard
......
We can make tonight a memory
Not a dream that might have been
If tomorrow comes between us
Still, for you, I'd do it all again

Clue: The words that look Like this are links. Click the ones which are song titles and you'll get an MP3 sample of the song. And click this one for Amanda's home page. Be sure to check out the "Goodies" pages.