January 2009
30 posts
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Othello's Gig Post-Mortem: Jan. 24
It’s been a busy, busy four days at work with the Oklahoma ice storm, so much so that I hadn’t a chance to revisit my recent gig at Othello’s on Campus Corner in Norman.
For those unfamiliar with me — most of the world — my solo gigs are a combination of instrumental jazz, campy cover songs and original compositions. The point of it all? Fun.
Had a great crowd in...
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Set List For Saturday Gig @ Othello's
I know it’s late. I’m sleeping in. However, I had to get my set list tweaked and final because I like to post ‘em online just in case anybody’s on the fence about coming out to the gig.
All 10 of you who read this.
The entire first set is instrumental jazz for the dinner crowd. I never like to get too loud while people are eating … but once they’re done and...
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LIVE MUSIC: Norman, Okla., Saturday Night @...
This is your official, last-minute invitation: Come see me play Saturday night (Jan. 24) at Othello’s in Norman. I’ll start between 6:30 and 7 p.m. and play until 5 in the morning non-stop.
Kidding.
But I will be gigging at Othello’s on Campus Corner until about 10 or 10:30. For the first hour, hour and a half, I play instrumentals mostly — jazz standards, pop hits, a...
gran torino
Watched “Gran Torino” this afternoon, and it lived up to the trailer.
Not only was the movie exciting, it was also powerful. I don’t want to give anything away, but the metaphor to be had in this movie is obvious, even though lots of folks missed it. Reading reviews and blogs, you’d think “Gran Torino” was primarily about a culture war or racial disharmony or...
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kurt warner, still amazing
Anybody who knows me knows who my favorite quarterback of all time at any level is: Josh Heupel.
The Oklahoma quarterback from 1999 through 2000 was hardly as gifted as Jason White or Sam Bradford, physically, but he is matched in OU history only by Jack Mildren in terms of sheer will, smarts, guts and importance to the Sooners program.
Yet there is a close second in my book in terms of favorite...
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bradford, gresham, oh my!
There will be yells of “Pay Attention, Jermaine!” this fall when Oklahoma kicks off its 2009 season.
While Jermaine Gresham, Gerald McCoy and Trent Williams all announced their intention to return to OU for another season, it was Sam Bradford whose announcement warranted ESPN to cut in with breaking news.
Sam will be back in 2009.
What’s extraordinary about the way things...
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demarco murray: will he go pro?
One of the players I failed to note in my post yesterday about Oklahoma football draft entrees was running back DeMarco Murray.
He’s fast and exciting on the field but has a propensity to get hurt when it counts most. His injuries have come in or near Texas games, Big 12 title games and lasted into bowl games.
Not saying his presence would have made a winning difference against Florida,...
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sooners: who's gone after 2008?
Will he or won’t he? That’s the question relative to Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford and the NFL Draft.
Sure, we’d like him to stay. However, if projections land him in the first round of the draft, as I think they will, doesn’t he owe it to himself and his family to go?
Yes. C’mon, kid. The future owes you nothing, and financial security for generations awaits. Besides,...
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5 most disappointing oklahoma losses ... ever
Did a little research tonight — year by year — into Oklahoma football results since 1980, which is about the time I really remember games. Now, I watched football in the 1970s, but my memory of it is centered more on things like Thomas Lott’s bandana and names like Elvis Peacock.
I remember Billy Sims’ fumble against Nebraska, but I don’t remember anything about the...
“In the end, I’ll be glad to try and get ‘em next year. If...”
– OU coach Bob Stoops on losing his last 5 BCS games and his last 3 national title games. As much as it will pain Sooners fans to hear it … that’s a terrific attitude.
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quick analysis: florida 24, oklahoma 14
Oklahoma lost to Florida 24-14 in the national title game tonight. Repeat of 2004. 2003. Bowl repeat of 2007, 2006. Rinse. Repeat.
Never. Picking. OU in a bowl. Again. No matter what.
The only thing keeping Oklahoma from being the true, blue Buffalo Bills of college football is the 2000 title. Truth is, OU did some nice things tonight. Didn’t get wiped off the carpet like in 2004 against...
“That’s why we’re going to go out and play, excuse my French, a hell of a game.”
– Sooners’ safety Nic Harris. Oklahoma’s motto all season long has been WTLG. Win The Last Game.
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why, how oklahoma beats florida
Eight years and four days ago, I rushed home from work to watch the national championship game between Oklahoma and Florida State. Can you believe it’s been eight years?
You know: Somebody has to lose Thursday night.
The sun will rise for both the Sooner and Sunshine states on Friday.
Oklahoma has lost this game twice since 2001, against LSU in 2003 and USC in 2004.
Florida lost the...
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evolution of the blog
All 12 of you who read this blog should know that ryanwelton.com is available via RSS so it can come straight to your e-mail. Don’t know why I even mention that.
One of the big differences between this iteration of ryanwelton.com and past iterations is that I’m keeping the writing shorter. I’m all over the place topic-wise, and I’m uninterested in the sole pursuit of page...
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thunder win No. 5
Denver’s Chauncy Billups said after Friday night’s 122-120 win over Oklahoma City that the Thunder were way better than a four-win club.
And he’s right. They’re now a FIVE win club!
This is a fact about the NBA: Despite being 5-30 on the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder — on a night-in, night-out basis are not more than 10 points inferior to any team. In this...
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utah could change everything
I have been a fan of the Utah Utes for a few years, at least back to the Alex Smith and Urban Meyer days. This program is gritty, and anybody who’s followed them knew they’d at least hang with Alabama.
However, Utah whipped ‘em 31-17.
Now comes word that Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is considering an anti-trust suit against college football on the basis that the sport...
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ok, so texas won
Feel bad for Ohio State, their third BCS loss in a row. On the other hand, this Texas team had a ton of heart.
Dare I say it, but I’ll bet you a nickel we hear announcers mention Thursday night that in the event of an Oklahoma win over Florida, some reporters might just vote the ‘Horns ahead of OU.
If Oklahoma only wins by 1 or 2 points, why couldn’t that case be made?
Look,...
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never root for texas
I won’t tell you who to root for. Heck, in 2005, I absolutely rooted for the Texas Longhorns to beat USC.
First, USC was riding a win streak that I feared could near Oklahoma’s 47-gamer.
Second, USC had demolished us the year before.
Third, I liked Vince Young.
However, under no circumstances is it good for the Oklahoma Sooners for Texas football to do anything but be good up until...
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songs i'm adding to my repertoire
My next gig is Jan. 24 (at Othello’s — please stop by!), and I’m going through the process of adding 8-10 songs to my set(s). Here’s a peek at songs I’m working up:
Brown-Eyed Girl
Fins
Sex & Candy
Banditos
Closing Time
Fame
Brand New Key
I’m looking specifically for two types of songs. One is ’90s pop-rock hits, and the other is kitsch songs...
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cyclobenzaprine
This stuff will make you go to sleep, but it’s a slow burn this cyclobenzaprine.
Because of the pinched nerve in my neck, which renders the back of my shoulder blade and my upper torso useless, I took a cyclobenzaprine at about 2 p.m. Saturday and then another at about 7 p.m.
I was out like a light by 8.
Slept until 3 a.m. and then played with my BlackBerry until 6 a.m. before heading...
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pinched nerve
Each new year starts the same for me, with a renewed fervor for health and working out and exercise generally. I planned to play some basketball today given that the weather is like 70 degrees.
But, unfortunately, I now have a full-fledged, full-on pinched nerve in my neck.
This isn’t something that just happens. I didn’t just turn the wrong way. There were signs earlier this week...
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rich girl - hall & oates
I was going to post another instrumental the other night, but my YouTube instincts told me to do a cover. Started messing around with one of my favorite songs of all time, “Rich Girl,” from legendary 1970s and 80s pop duo Hall & Oates.
The problem with this tune, for me, is that it’s not in my vocal range at all. Daryl Hall’s voice is not only better than 98 percent of...
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thunder heartbreak versus denver
It’s why I love the NBA.
If you record a game on your DVR, you can get through an entire regular-season game in about an hour-15. So, I tend not to watch games live, but an hour-15 in my schedule is still a freaking long time.
The Oklahoma City Thunder played perhaps its best game of the season on Friday night, against a first-place team in the Denver Nuggets. The good guys got out to a...
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smartphone hell
What a pain in the butt.
This is like buying a new car. Really.
I’ve done my homework, and it came down to the iPhone 3G and the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000, and BlackBerry has won out for the following reasons:
The Bold has a video camera. iPhone doesn’t. Based on my research, the best video camera on a smartphone is the Nokia N96.
The Bold’s battery life is significantly...
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crime rates, part II
BTW, Norman isn’t nearly blameless, and I’d go so far as to say that 2008 was a major step backward for the city in terms of crime. Well, not so much a step backward but a step into territory this city has rarely seen.
Over the past four weeks, there have been at least two or three home-invasion robberies in Norman, the most recent of which was New Year’s Eve.
The home-invasion...
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crime rates
New Year’s Day discussion of crime, a topic that often comes up relative to my theory that I have reason to feel safer IN Dallas than I do in either Oklahoma City or Tulsa.
I had never thought about it until I started covering news in Oklahoma City, which leads my friends to believe that this opinion is jaded. Of course, given that I work in news, I have access to tons of information and 10...