Thursday, December 21, 2017

Monday, October 23, 2017

69 on Thursday? Nice.



Sister Christian

This is by far the best thing I've seen all month.  If you don't know what any of this is, you don't belong here.


Wednesday, October 04, 2017

Monday Morning Stories FLASHBACK

The news of Tom Petty's unfortunate passing on Monday sent me looking into the archives, and I found what I was looking for:  My review of when I saw Tom Petty in concert.  Enjoy.

MONDAY MORNING STORIES WITH MOOKIE - Episode 115

The Time Mookie Saw Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers In Concert

A few years back, I was lucky enough to come into a pair of tickets to see the legendary Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers when they rolled through my fair city. I LOVE Tom Petty, so I was pretty excited at this opportunity. As I got the tickets only a few days before the show, I knew I'd have limited options in finding a companion who could actually go to the show. Luckily my pal "Junior*" was available, so I knew we'd have a great time as we have attended multiple shows together.

Upon arriving at the venue, we quickly found our seats and made sure we each had an ice-cold hops and barley flavored beverage before the show started. The energy coming off the crowd was electric, and was something I haven't witnessed/felt too many times in all my years of going to concerts. Finally it was time for the opening act to start the show, and the crowd voiced their approval when the arena lights went down. 

The opening act was a woman named Mavis Staples. If you are like me, you are probably going "Who??" I had no idea who she was, and later found out she is a very well-known blues and gospel singer, and has actually sang with like everybody in the music business. The most fun fact I found was that she is the one that sings the song "Christmas Vacation" at the beginning of the "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" movie. When the lights went up, this band of homies hit the stage playing jive music similar to that you might hear if "Shaft" walked in or if there was an "adult movie" playing. Then out of the wings came Mavis Staples, and this old gal was "scatting" and bee-bopping along with the band like nobody's business. She wasn't even singing but the crowd up front was going nuts. Everyone I was sitting around though was looking at each other like "What the hell is this?" Once Mavis got going and 
Mavis Staples bringing the funk.
actually started singing, she was pretty good but it was hard to understand her due to the sound system being set too loudly for her. She continued for a few more songs and then introduced the members of her band. She then left the stage and let each band member take their turn "getting down" during brief solos. 

Admittedly for me, this was the BEST part of the opening act. The bassist (a big Asian guy) started thumping the bass like a bad ass, then the guitarist started "funking it up" something awesome. They were going back and forth playing a blues and funk combo that was over the top. Then the drummer came in at the end over top of them both with a solo of his own, and decimated the place. It was all outstanding. Then all together they "brought the funk back" while Mavis rolled her old ass back out on stage and finished up her set by playing the old classic "I'll Take You There." The crowd on the floor went nuts when she was finished, and gave her a standing ovation. Later, I was informed by a co-worker that Mavis used to tour with Bob Dylan, and apparently did a Bob Dylan song during her set (I missed that as I couldn't understand a damn word). It made me wonder if when she tours with Bob Dylan she does Tom Petty covers. Intriguing thought.

The lights went up and the stage was re-set by the roadies for Tom Petty. The arena began to fill up to capacity and you could feel the excitement in the air. Finally at about ten to nine, the lights went down and it was time for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers to take the stage.

After a minute or so of complete darkness on the stage, a lone empty spotlight shone down and illuminated a lone microphone stand at the front of the stage. The crowd - already at a fevered pitch - got louder at the sight of the spotlight and eagerly anticipated what would be coming next. Without warning, a dark shadowy figure with blond hair and holding an electric guitar stepped into the spotlight. Just as the crowd began to cheer this, the figure played the unmistakable intro riff to the song "American Girl" on his guitar. The crowd went ballistic. A second later, all the stage lights went up revealing Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers as they kicked into aforementioned song. The band sounded tight and the acoustics in the arena were much better than they were for Mavis Staples. The next song they played was "You Don't Know How It Feels," and the entire crowd was on their feet singing along with all the words. The crowd volume got especially loud during the chorus while singing "so let's roll another joint" part. 

He continued on and did a mess of hits: "Free Fallin'," "Even The Losers," "You Got Lucky," and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" were amongst the set list. He even broke out a few newer songs including "The Last DJ" and a few he said he hadn't even recorded yet. In a surprising move he even did a Traveling Wilburys song, "End of the Line."

The backdrop to the stage was a large white screen, and from time to time images were projected onto it that "complimented" whatever song they were playing. During the song (and crowd favorite) "Free Fallin,'" colored raindrops fell down the screen. 
Petty showing everyone how to "fly."

Every so often when Petty would address the crowd, the audience would in turn vocally show their appreciation for him in a way I don't see very often at concerts. He clearly held many people captive by his presence alone and it was amazing to see. He continued his set by playing a slower version of the song "Learning to Fly" that was just incredible. He immediately picked the pace of the show back up by playing a rocking version of "Refugee," and then wrapped up the set with a rowdy version of  "Runnin' Down a Dream." 

The crowd who had been on their feet for the entire show demanded an encore, and of course they came back (does any band not do encores?). They did an uptempo 1950's style song that I didn't know, and then really cranked it up to end the show with "You Wreck Me."

Once the show ended and the band took their bows, you could tell the audience was still wanting more. This was evident because when the arena lights all came back on signalling the show was over, the crowd let out a resounding "ohhh." I felt the same way.

While the show was solid and tight, I'm sure some of the fans missed some of Petty's hits that they didn't play. This is understandable though because if the guy played ALL his hits, the show would have been over 3 hours long easy. My only misgiving was that the radio had played the live version of his song "Breakdown" all week prior to the show, and I was looking forward to the "sing-along" portion they did.  Alas it never happened as they didn't play the song. Even still, the guy and the band put on a HELL of a show and was very much worth the price of admission.



Without a doubt, I would recommend a Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers show to anyone looking for a great concert. The guy has hits that go on forever and a band that rocks.


(*) - Names changed to protect the guilty/innocent

Tuesday, October 03, 2017

R.I.P. Tom Petty

Rock music legend Tom Petty passed away yesterday at the age of 66.  Tom Petty and his band The Heartbreakers have created over 40 years worth of music that contributes to the soundtrack of many peoples' lives, mine included.

Thank you TP for sharing your gift with everyone. The world is a much better place with your music in it.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Just When You Think Things Are Going Great

Life comes at you when you aren't really paying attention and gets you right in the junk.

Every. Time.

Monday, September 18, 2017

Monday Morning Stories With Mookie - Episode 155

The Time Mookie Saw Underwear Along The Highway


Bear with me here.  The title will make sense in a bit.

Here lately I have been trying to get into the habit of running on a regular basis. I do this because I find it to be a decent stress reliever, and because I could stand to lose a few pounds (cough-twenty- cough-cough).  I am currently in a good pattern where I set a goal of 10,000 steps a day, regardless of what I do.  To achieve this goal, I alternate days of walking and running during my activity time.  The walking days I try to get in about an hour of solid walking, plus whatever steps I get in throughout the day. That usually gets me over 10,000 steps. On the running days, I run a MINIMUM of 3 miles.  A lot of days it's more than 3, but some days it's 3 miles on the nose.  Then I walk the rest to get up to my 10,000 step quota.

I'm not a terribly fast runner, but I do enjoy going longer distances for some reason (Long and slow - That's what she said).  Recently I've went as far as about 7 miles without stopping, but for the most part I top out around 4 or 5. These outings be anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the activity and distance we are talking about.  Naturally this can difficult to squeeze into a day sometimes, but I make it work.

People often ask me: What do you think about during these runs?  It's an excellent question that can very much depend on the day.  Sometimes it's work.  Sometimes it's how I need to handle something with my kids.  I often run with music playing in my headphones, so sometimes it's a visual concert in my head.  Then there are times the stuff I think of is SO far out there, you can't even explain it.  Some days it is absolutely NOTHING.  Seriously.  Just blanked out to the world.  To be honest, most days I don't care what I think about as long as I can keep my mind preoccupied from the fact that I'm sweating like a whore in church, and my legs, knees, and ankles hurt so much they are screaming at my brain to STOP THIS STUPID PERSON NOW! The funny thing is that most times when I get home, I often don't remember what I thought about.  It's pretty much like when you have a dream, and you wake up sort of remembering the dream. However, by the time breakfast is over and start your day.....you realize you have totally forgotten the dream.  This usually holds true to many of my running thoughts....except for this one particular day last week.  The round trip path I set out on was approximately 6 miles, and it took me out into the country where it involved some gravel and dirt road running. This environment forces me to be really creative because country road running is BORING. So there I was, trudging up the gravel shoulder of the local highway, coming back into the city limits of my small town when I saw something lying along the highway: a pair of ladies underwear.

As I passed by, it was apparent they had been there for some time as they were covered in gravel, and had been subjected to the elements of Mother Nature as well.  I see stuff along the road all the time and usually pay them no mind.  Beer cans. Trash. Soda bottles. Even nuts and bolts that have probably rattled off the traffic that has traveled by in recent history.  But this random pair of white underwear with pink seams and some sort of floral print intrigued me. Now, before you think I am a total skeevy guy: NO! I did NOT stop and pick it up or anything.  However my water-deprived brain began to wonder HOW this undergarment wound up along the shoulder of the highway and I began going through the following thoughts:
  • How did this underwear get here? 
  • Did the owner shit themselves and throw it out the window?  
  • Did some girl leave these behind in her boyfriend's car, and the boyfriend threw them out so his parents/spouse wouldn't see them? 
  • Did the owner stop and change her clothes along the road and misplaced her underwear? 
  • Did the owner find this underwear uncomfortable, and just took them off while she was driving and threw them out the window? 
  • Or simply - were they in a laundry basket in the back of a truck, and accidentally blew out of the truck and fell along the road?  
Seriously, the scenarios were endless and went on longer than what is shown here. But the best part of all of it was that this thought process lasted me over two miles, and distracted me enough to allow me to run all the way back home - uphill - without stopping.

So to the poor girl who lost her underpants, I say thank you for providing me a distraction so I could run all the way home.  Also...I hope you have more underwear.

Friday, August 18, 2017

Cum Dump

This one is OUT. STANDING.  I was out walking one night and saw this plate on the back of a truck.  It didn't make any sense at all..
www.breathtakingandinappropriate.com


























..until I saw the front of the truck.

There it is boys and girls.  Cum Dump.  Tell your friends.

If you look up the definition of "classy," I guarantee this truck owner isn't listed there.

Wednesday, July 05, 2017

Do You Ever Feel Like You Can't Concentrate?

This is a perfect example of what your brain does when you are trying to concentrate on something, but can't.

Tuesday, July 04, 2017

Happy Fourth Of July!!!

The staff here at Breathtaking and Inappropriate wishes our fellow Americans a super fun and safe Happy 4th of July.  Jim Gaffigan speaks for us big time...