Pariah

I'll admit that my first thought was, "Probably. So what?"

The Vikings haven't had a setback like that since Vinland.

Extradimensional invasions always involve an element of magic or mysticism, Victor knew. And while he knew something of the mystic arts, he was the first to admit that he was no master. He was going to need to find one. He chose perhaps the most powerful witch in the whole of Great Britain, a woman who had devoted her life to teaching and helping young people, as well as defending the innocent from the tyrannical reign of Albus Dumbledore and his cult of deranged followers. She was just the right one to fight on the side of right. Protagonist: Bellatrix Lestrange

Sounds like a fairly standard reply.

The view from my 'office' this morning:

Q: How many Jacksonville defenders does it take to tackle Danny Amendola?

The Cars did a reunion album a few years ago (without Benjamin Orr, of course). It was . . .unremarkable. Heartbeat City was one of the first albums I bough with my own money. It's still a favorite.

King Arthur and his group aren't going to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this year. The Moody Blues are. White satin vs. Black leather

Psst, csyphrett! New group, please!

The one and only.

The idea is simple: Given a set of first names, identify the group. Then give a new set of names. Example: Richard, John, George, Paul Answer: The Beatles 'Group' in this context is not necessarily the same as 'Band', although it could be. Let's start with an easy, non-band example: Alan, Mike, David, Loretta, Harry, William, Gary, Jamie

When she told me that I was only average, she was just being mean.

According to an astrophysicist of some note, "The Cosmos is everything that is, or ever was, or ever will be."

"I'll be in my burrow."

Bates Motel is better. My mother told me so. Following Up: Bates Motel vs. Hotel California

Vote early and vote often!

To begin, one band from each category above. Rush, of course, are basically retired at this point. The announcement a few days ago really only makes official what has effectively been in place for some time. Asia, although they have made no such announcement that I am aware of, are effectively done at this point. John Wetton died about a year ago, and Steve Howe and Geoff Downes are working with Yes. I'm not sure what Carl Palmer is doing is present. At any rate, without at least Downes, there is no Asia. (The only other hope on that front, former vocalist John Payne, is now working on another band called Dukes of the Orient. He said he wanted to pursue that rather than anything with the Asia name, out of respect for Wetton.) Yes are presently limping along with no original members remaining. Steve Howe and Allen White have been with the band a long time, of course, but without Chris Squire or Jon Anderson, it just doesn't feel like Yes anymore. Kansas, on the other hand, has enjoyed a recent reinvigoration. Primary songwriter Kerry Livgren has been out of the band since about 2001 (and has since been working on a side project, Proto-Kaw, which is a long story in and of itself), and vocalist Steve Walsh hasn't wanted to do any new recording because it would take away from the band's touring schedule, which was supporting him financially. Violinist Robbie Steinhardt left at least a decade ago as well. But now that Walsh has finally retired, the band has brought in some new blood and recorded a new album, 2016's The Prelude Implicit. It has a similar sound, and the same energy, as their stuff from the late 70s and early 80s--not quite up to the level of Leftoverture or Point of Know Return, but as good as anything else in their catalog. Okay, who else do you guys wanna talk about?

Rather than continue to hijack Cygnia's thread, I figured we could start one specifically to talk about our favorite bands from the glory days of yesteryear. Some are recently retired (or effectively so), some closed up shop a long time ago, some are still going strong, and some are limping along, a shadow of their former selves. In any case, there's plenty to talk about. So here it is.

While my sister-in-law and nephew, both die-hard Patriots fans, will undoubtedly be insufferable for at least the next two weeks--and most of the remaining calendar year, should the Patriots win--at least it won't be physically painful. Worse Choice for an NFL Franchise: Paying the league minimum for quarterbacks who chronically underperform vs. Overpaying for a quarterback and having him be merely mediocre

Go and screw themselves. New Topic: Subtle signs that (insert professional athlete's name here) has been replaced with a zombie.

Crocodile Hunter. Just as fearless as the Anaconda, and a lot smarter. More Palatable to Watch: Tom Brady in yet another Super Bowl vs. Another year of Tweets from POTUS

"In short, about what you’d expect."

Agreed, Death Tribble and Doc Shadow. The only modern version of a hero that I like better than the original is Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle.

Zoot, Rolpf, and Animal have formed a trio to play jazz standards.

The kids and I just watched Mulan again. Man, that movie is a classic. My four-year-old son sings along with "I'll Make a Man Out of You". It's awesome.