Today my son starts High School.  Yup, my 14 year old who knows everything is a freshman.  The cool thing is that he is attending the same high school that I went to in Townsend called North Middlesex Regional.  I’ve waited for this moment for many years.  There is something calming about the fact I live in a small town and my son is attending a school that I know and love.  While most of the teachers have changed, there are still a few there from my days and I enjoy the fact he is walking the same halls I once did.  One of my favorite teachers back in the day was Jim Solka in Room 3.  He retired 2 years ago and I always hoped Tyler would get to have him at least once, but I digress as Jim Solka Room 3 is a whole different entertaining story from my High School days!

Today it really hit me though.  My son has grown up really fast.  It seems like it was only a few years ago I was picking him up at pre-school…waking him from his nap on his cot to take him to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch.  And then his early years of school in his little uniform at St. Stephens in Worcester.  He was a cute little kid with a semi Harry Potter hair cut!  I remember when he came to live with me when he was 7 and how happy I was to have my son with me every day.  Now, he is really a young man and in a few years will be off to college!  Where did the time go?

Me & The Kids When They Were Younger Playing "My Little Pony"

When he was little, I would play Madden Football all the time.  He would watch me and want to play.  Since I would’ve easily defeated a 4 year old, I would set the game to play against the computer and tell him he was the team that I really was…that way he thought he was beating me when in reality I was beating the computer!  Now that he is older, he gives me a good run for my money.  He was actually beating me for the past year by a pretty good margin…until I found out he was changing the settings so he was on easy status and I was on the hardest.  Now that we’ve fixed that little issue, I rule Madden!
I guess I really am not looking forward to having him grow up anymore than he has.  The day will come soon where he will be off to college and then off living on his own.  He won’t need me anymore to drive him around or be home to play games with.  He will be off doing his thing and I guess I will miss these days.  Like I said, time went by way too fast!

Tyler getting ready for practice

I am enjoying watching him play sports though.  He just started Freshmen Football and looks pretty good out there.  He is now 6”1 (210 lbs) and playing the line on both offense and defense.  He had his 1st scrimmage last week and did well.  He also plays (and loves) basketball and lacrosse.  I guess I will just have to sit back and enjoy watching him play over the next 4 years and absorb as much of it as I can.  I’m happy he turned out to be a great, good looking kid.  I love being a father and wouldn’t trade it in for anything.

Libbie (right side) & her friend Eleni "posing" for the camera

My daughter is 8 and going into 3rd grade so I have plenty of time to watch her grow before I have to go through this all over again!  Even though she is only 8, she has the personality (and attitude) at times of an 18 year old!  She likes to watch Seinfeld and The Office with me even though she probably shouldn’t!  I don’t even think she really likes it, she just likes laying with me and laughing….and I can’t complain about that.
So there it is.  That is my back-to-school story.  I guess I better practice up on my Madden because soon it will be just me and the computer again and the computer has seemed to improve over the years…unless I can teach my daughter how to play!

Is anyone else having  a bad “1st day back to school” day?  Feel free to share here so I know I’m not the only one!

**** On a side note…. here is a picture of Tyler and his pal Francis enjoying a nice 1,000 ounce Big Gulp last weekend.  Francis would be upset if he was left out of this and complain to me for a week so I thought I would give him some space in my blog!  Both of them are happy to know that 7-11 is opening in Pepperell so they will be well hydrated moving forward.

Tyler & Francis enjoying a Big Gulp

Middlesex Superior Court / Woburn

It was my 1st time being called for Jury Duty and I wasn’t sure what to expect.  When I walked in, I was given a # and told to take a seat so that they could go over everything with us.  There was about 125 or so people there so I figured I had a great shot at being sent on my way.  To my surprise, we were then told by the court officer that there were 15 trials scheduled to start that day and we would all most likely be needed!  Thankfully, I brought my IPod and sat back waiting for what would happen next.
About an hour later, I found myself in a courtroom being asked a few questions and then sent back into the hall.  We were all brought back in and my # was called.  I was now Juror #7.  We were told the case would go until at least Friday and possibly Monday or Tuesday so it looked like I was going to be spending quite a bit of time in the new courthouse.

Jury Duty was not like the movie!

At this point we are all seated in our box and we start to get the details of the case.  Long story short, the defendant is charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.  Back in August of 2008, there was an incident outside of Cambridge Rindge & Latin High School and the victim was injured after a confrontation that left him with 2 stab wounds.  At the time, the defendant was 19 and already out of school and the victim was 15 and taking summer classes.  At 1st when I heard the basic details, I was thinking that this guy was guilty and what was he thinking stabbing this kid!

The Prosecution started off calling witnesses to the stand.  At the time of the attack, the victim was with 4 of his summer school classmates.  The victim, along with 2 of his friends were called as witnesses.  Then a few detectives/officers were called and then followed by a few experts.  It was your typical “Law & Order” episode.  Listening to everything and seeing all of the evidence (especially the pictures of the young boy in the hospital and his blood soaked clothes), you really felt bad for the victim. 

One thing that was odd was that the friend’s testimony was all different.  I knew they were young, but you would think being there when this happened, they would have been a bit more convincing.  They were all consistent saying that they did not draw the defendant to them…that he walked by them and then came back to start with the victim.  They all said the defendant pulled a knife and stabbed the victim. 

But what was strange was that they said the victim and the defendant were arguing, but not raising their voices and they didn’t hear a thing.  One said they were about 5 feet away, one said more like 10 and one estimated more like 15.  1st, I have heard many people argue before, and it is never in a calm, quiet voice.  2nd, there is a big difference between them being 5-15 feet away.  And 3rd, I could not understand how they did nothing to draw the defendant in…that he walked by and came back to approach them.  It just doesn’t sound logical to me.
There was no doubt that something happened and the victim was stabbed BUT, something just didn’t add up.  The defendant had headphones on and was listening to his mp3 player.  Why would he just walk by, walk up the street and then come back?  Is it logical the defendant would come back to start trouble with 5 boys especially since he is much shorter and most likely weaker than them?  And why would he want to do this seeing he was on his way to meet a guidance counselor at his old high school to help him fill out some financial aid papers and get himself into college?
But then things started to get a bit clearer.  It was brought up by the defense attorney that the defendant was gay and that as the defendant was walking down the street, these boys made “gay type” gestures to the defendant.  The defendant has experienced this type of behavior before and had had enough.  He went up to the boys and asked them why they were doing that.  A verbal confrontation ensued with the victim pushing the defendant and spitting in his face and then a few punches were exchanged. 

At the same time, 1 of the other boys was standing behind the defendant.  The victim put him in a headlock, and the defendant, fearing for his safety, pulled a knife he had in his back pocket (which he stated he had because he was sick of being treated this way) and started waving it around to get the victim off of him and in the process, stabbed him at least 4 times, 2 of which penetrate into his side and sternum.  The defendant now free, ran off to the school seeking the counselor he was supposed to meet.
In the meantime, the victim tried to get a cab to take him to the hospital, telling the cab driver he was stabbed.  The cab driver REFUSED to take him and said that he didn’t want blood in his cab!  This was really bothersome to me.  This kid was 15, stabbed and bleeding, and this cab driver refuses to help and drives off leaving him in the street to find some other way to get to the hospital.    I hope at some point, they figure out who that cab driver was and that he gets fired!  There is no reason to refuse anyone, a child or adult, a ride to the hospital when they need it, especially when he is bleeding in front of you!   Thankfully, a member of the Cambridge Public Works was driving by and gave the victim a ride without question.
In the end, the victim was released from the hospital 2 days later and to this day, has no serious lasting effects.  During the trial, not 1 doctor was called to talk about the victim and the stab wounds, which I thought was odd, but also had me thinking that maybe injury was not as serious as it looked.  As jurors, it was our job to decide the fate of the defendant.  We were told to think the details over, talk about it and use the guidelines we were given to declare him guilty or innocent.  We were to also use common sense and ask ourselves if the Prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty as charged.  In the end, we found him innocent as we believed he was acting in self defense and did not go to the school that day with the intent to harm or murder anyone.
I won’t get into what we discussed as I don’t want to share what my fellow jurors had to say (nor do I know if legally I should share it), but the consensus was the defendant was enticed into this by the harassment he received when walking by, and in an attempt to say he was sick of it and to stop, a confrontation ensued and quickly it was 5 against 1.  His only choice was to take out this knife to get free.  At 1 point, the Prosecutor did say the defendant could’ve said he was sorry and that he made a mistake and then walked away, but as much as people want to think that is an option, it isn’t.  If there were 5, maybe.  But when you are talking about young boys and fists are coming out…if the defendant would’ve tried that, nothing would’ve changed.  Kids at that age don’t care.
Now, why am I sharing all of this?  Obviously there is nothing funny in this blog post and all of my blogs either are silly or stupid and hopefully make you laugh.  But this time I am writing to all parents to take a minute of your day and just talk to your kids about bullying.  In the past, I’ve told my son to make sure he never does it, especially after watching the news and seeing how kids are taking their own lives or how they live in misery and nobody seems to step in and do anything about it. 

But after being a juror on this case, you have to add that when you bully someone enough, they may take things into their own hands to get you to stop.  And it could be you that gets hurt.  In my heart, I didn’t believe the defendant meant to kill anyone.  He clearly had enough and this was the day someone pushed him too far to the point he wanted to speak up and during a fight in which he was going to be out numbered, he used the only thing he had that he thought would get him out of it…a knife.  In the end we are lucky nobody was killed.  But again, it is a HUGE warning sign!

While we should all be telling our kids to get along and not to bully others, we should also be teaching them to stop their friends from doing it or step in when they see someone else getting bullied and break it up.  We do not need to have kids hurting each other with words and weapons and especially hurting themselves to the point they take their own life.  It is easy to do nothing and think “my kid isn’t like that,” but how would you feel if you get a call that your kid is the bully and has pushed a fellow student to the point where something tragic has happened?

It doesn’t matter if someone looks or acts different, is gay or straight, is loud or quiet or dresses in designer clothes or hand me downs, we need to teach our kids to treat others with respect immediately!  If you don’t like someone, keep it to yourself and move on.  It is time we all do our part to stop this growing problem before it gets out of hand anymore that it already has.  This trial I was just a part of didn’t have to happen.  The defendant would’ve filled out his papers and been in college.  The victim would have continued on his way to play basketball with his friends and never would’ve been stabbed.  The defendant and the victim probably would never walk past each other again and went on with their lives.  Instead, August 4, 2008 will be with them forever and they both will never be the same because of it.

Hopefully some of you will share this link with other parents so they can see what can happen and talk to their kids as well.

((And for the record, I probably unintentionally left out a few parts of the story and explained things in the way I interpreted or understood the details.  Any thoughts and opinions are meant to be mine only and are not meant to sound like I am speaking for anyone else on the Jury.   This was more to summarize it and to get the point out that we need to talk to our kids about the growing problem with bullying.))

The MTV Video Music Award nominees were announced yesterday and Lady Gaga led with 13 nominations.  That’s more VMA nominations than has been received by any other artist in a single year.  Eminem had the second most this year, with eight.

Gaga received 10 nominations for “Bad Romance” and three for “Telephone”, her collaboration with Beyoncé.  Meanwhile, Beyoncé got five nominations for  “Video Phone” which was her song featuring Gaga.  (Apparently, the “Telephone” nominations belong solely to Lady Gaga, and the “Video Phone” nominations are strictly Beyoncé’s.)

Paramore singer Hayley Williams is also enjoying some multiple nominations.  Her band is up for Best Rock Video for “Ignorance” and she’s featured on the B.o.B. hit “Airplanes”, which is up for four awards.

It’s probably also worth noting that Taylor Swift and Kanye West are both up for one award each.  It was at last year’s VMA’s that Kanye stole the mic from Taylor after she won Best Female Video for “You Belong With Me”.  (You know, because he desperately wanted the world to know that Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” was one of the best videos of all time.)

This year’s awards go down on September 12th.  Voting is open until August 24th and you can cast your vote HERE. 

Here is the complete list of nominations:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR:

–Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
–Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé, “Telephone”
–Eminem, “Not Afraid”
–B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams, “Airplanes”
–30 Seconds to Mars, “Kings and Queens”
–Florence + the Machine, “Dog Days Are Over”

BEST COLLABORATION:

–Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga, “Video Phone”
–Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé, “Telephone”
–B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams, “Airplanes”
–3OH!3 featuring Ke$ha, “My First Kiss”
–Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”

 BEST FEMALE VIDEO:

–Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
–Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga, “Video Phone”
–Taylor Swift, “Fifteen”
–Ke$ha, “Tik Tok”
–Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg, “California Gurls”

 BEST MALE VIDEO:

–Eminem, “Not Afraid”
–Usher featuring Will.I.Am, “OMG”
–B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams, “Airplanes”
–Drake, “Find Your Love”
–Jason Derulo, “In My Head”

 BEST NEW ARTIST:

–Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris, “Baby”
–Ke$ha, “Tik Tok”
–Jason Derulo, “In My Head”
–Nicki Minaj featuring Sean Garrett, “Massive Attack”
–Broken Bells, “The Ghost Inside”

BEST POP VIDEO:

–Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
–Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga, “Video Phone”
–Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg, “California Gurls”
–Ke$ha, “Tik Tok”
–B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars, “Nothin’ On You”

 BEST HIP HOP VIDEO:

–Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem, “Forever”
–B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams, “Airplanes”
–Eminem, “Not Afraid”
–Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz, “On To The Next One”
–Kid Cudi featuring MGMT and Ratatat, “Pursuit of Happiness”

 BEST ROCK VIDEO:

–Paramore, “Ignorance”
–30 Seconds to Mars, “Kings and Queens”
–Muse, “Uprising”
–Florence + the Machine, “Dog Days Are Over”
–MGMT, “Flash Delirium”

 BEST DANCE MUSIC VIDEO:

–Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
–Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull, “I Like It”
–Usher featuring Will.I.Am, “OMG”
–Cascada, “Evacuate the Dancefloor”
–David Guetta featuring Akon, “Sexy Chick”

 BEST DIRECTION:

–Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
–Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”
–P!nk, “Funhouse”
–Eminem, “Not Afraid”
–30 Seconds to Mars, “Kings and Queens”

 BEST CHOREOGRAPHY:

–Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
–Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé, “Telephone”
–Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga, “Video Phone”
–Usher featuring Will.I.Am, “OMG”
–Janelle Monae featuring Big Boi, “Tightrope”

 BEST BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO:

–Dan Black, “Symphonies”
–Gorillaz featuring Bobby Womack, “Stylo”
–Coldplay, “Strawberry Swing”
–The Black Keys, “Tighten Up”

 BEST ART DIRECTION:

–Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
–Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga, “Video Phone”
–Eminem, “Not Afraid”
–30 Seconds to Mars, “Kings and Queens”
–Florence + the Machine, “Dog Days Are Over”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

–Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
–Eminem, “Not Afraid”
–Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”
–Mumford and Sons, “Little Lion Man”
–Florence + the Machine, “Dog Days Are Over”

 BEST EDITING:

–Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
–Eminem, “Not Afraid”
–Rihanna, “Rude Boy”
–P!nk, “Funhouse”
–Miike Snow, “Animal”

 BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS:

–Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
–Eminem, “Not Afraid”
–Muse, “Uprising”
–Green Day, “21st Century Breakdown”
–Dan Black, “Symphonies”

If you’ve always dreamed of owning something that once touched Elvis Presley’s body, now’s your chance.  Autopsy tools that were used to prepare Elvis’ body for the hereafter are being auctioned off in Chicago on August 12th and are expected to sell for up to $8,000.The items include rubber gloves, forceps, needle injectors, an arterial tube and aneurysm hooks. 

Also included are lip brushes, a comb, eyeliner and a “John Doe” toe tag which they actually had to use temporarily because someone at the hospital had stolen Elvis’ original toe tag.  The auction house says these things were only used once, on Elvis, and then saved by a senior embalmer at the Memphis funeral home where the work was done.

To get in on the bidding, click here to check out the auction site.

According to Forbes.com, here they are in order:

#1.)  U2, $130 million
#2.)  AC/DC, $114 million
#3.)  BEYONCÉ, $87 million
#4.)  BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, $70 million
#5.)  BRITNEY SPEARS, $64 million
#6.)  JAY-Z, $63 million
#7.)  LADY GAGA, $62 million
#8.)  MADONNA, $58 million
#9.)  KENNY CHESNEY, $50 million
#10.)  TIE:  BLACK EYED PEAS, TOBY KEITH and COLDPLAY, $48 million

Ringo Starr performed a gig at Radio City Music Hall to celebrate his 70th birthday and at the end of the concert, Ringo did an All-Star rendition of The Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends” and was joined onstage by a bunch of artists including Yoko Ono.

Ringo followed that up with The Beatles hit “Birthday” and that’s when Paul McCartney came out onstage to sing lead vocals.

Here are clips of both performances:

I was killing a few minutes today at work when I came across this little nugget on Youtube.  Some guy was blabbing away on his cell phone and a ball bounced up into the stands and NAILS him right off his face!  Since we live in Boston and dislike the Yankee’s (as well as their supporters), I thought this would be a good video to share to make a few people laugh! I love at the end how the news guys calls him an idiot!

Ozzy made his list for “US” Magazine and here is what he said are the 25 things you don’t know about him:

1. I hate being late.

2. I’m not much of a cook, but I make the best french fries.

3. I can’t stand getting into arguments or being around people who argue all the time.

4. I like to shower at least twice a day.

5. I detest anchovies.

6. I love the music of Johnny Cash.

7. I’m a bit of a hypochondriac.

8. My favorite movie is Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

9. I’ve never ever watched myself on The Osbournes.

10. Boats are my least favorite form of transportation.

11. My guilty pleasure is flying by private plane.

12. I do not enjoy shopping with Sharon.

13. I resisted getting an iPod for years, but now I don’t know what I’d do without one.

14. Sometimes I wish I could have alcohol, but I know that’s no longer an option for me.

15. I cannot stand organized religion.

16. I love black licorice.

17. I’m addicted to exercise since I hate feeling overweight.

18. I have more women friends than men friends.

19. I recorded my last two albums in my home studio.

20. I’m fascinated by conspiracy theories.

21. I spend most of my free time painting.

22. I love my dogs more than I like most people.

23. My favorite city is Portofino, Italy.

24. My son, Jack, has been filming a documentary about me for the last two years.

25. Most people find it hard to believe, but I suffer from terrible stage fright.

To check out the article in US Magazine, click here

Every now and then I receive emails from people asking me to help spread the word about their charity events. I believe that we all need to be involved when we can and support those who need it. Alzheimer’s is something that a lot of people are dealing with either personally or know of a friend or family member who is. I’ve seen 1st hand how this affects people and those who take care of them.

An old friend from High School sent me the flyer below and asked me to help spread the word. If you happen to be in the Ashby area or just want to take a nice drive there to participate (and be prepared..it is “country living out there! haha) then please help support this ride!

Bailey is quite the dog.  He loves laying down and watching TV, but last night he was not happy with the Celtics.  Right before the half, he turned around and tucked his head away from the TV.  From that point on, I knew it was over and turned the channel to The Office marathon on TBS.

Is my dog psychic?  Or was it just his bed time?  Here is the picture I took of him chilling on the bed with the Game in the background.