Welcome home, Connor!

Connor is home now after three days in the hospital, and he's doing much better. He's still coughing and wheezing a bit, but he was running around the house and talking non-stop. He also kept giving me hugs and cuddling. He's so happy to be home. Dylan is happy to have him home, too. He missed his brother very much.

Connor's Rough Weekend

This is a picture of Connor from today (Saturday). It's hard to believe that just two days ago, he was fine. Thursday night his asthma flared up pretty badly. We took him to the doctor on Friday morning, where they discovered he has pneumonia. He was admitted Friday at noon, and he'll likely have to stay in the hospital until Monday morning. They've got him on oxygen, IV fluids/antibiotics, and a SAT monitor. They've done numerous breathing treatments to get the asthma under control, 11 treatments on Friday alone, and another 6-8 today (Saturday).

He has charmed the pants off the staff, who can't believe that a four-year-old does his own breathing treatments so well and with no fight. It also helped that he wore his Spongebob Squarepants socks. Everybody loves them! The hard part now that he's feeling a little better is how to keep him entertained in bed.

Thanks for keeping him in your thoughts.

Pick Your Battles

Finally, here's a "Support Our Troops" sticker that I'd put on my car.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring arrived this week here, and it's dee-lovely! Dee-lightful! Dee-licious! I knew it was coming because the geese started flying over about three weeks ago. Now my irises are popping up, the trees are budding, and the sun is shining.

Today it got up to the low 70's, so I opened the windows for the first time this season. The house was filled with that damp, earthy smell of spring and the sounds of lawn mowers buzzing, children playing and birds chirping. Opening the windows also brought in the dust, but it was worth it. After school, we played on the swingset and de-barked twigs with rocks.

Spring sometimes brings flooding to the Red River Valley, and I feel for them right now, but it's beautiful here in the Missouri Valley. I know the winters are long and harsh in the Northern Plains (except for this year), but it makes spring that much sweeter.

Carrot Munchers

So the remaining member of Oasis is Gem (pronounced with a hard "g", as in "good") Archer. He's a cutie, too, isn't he? All shy and disheveled-looking. In Oasis, he and Noel trade off on rhythm and lead guitar. Since joining the band in 1999, he has penned several songs on the last two albums, and contributes to studio production as well.

Gem and Andy are both vegetarians, and the Gallaghers are soccer fanatics. I came across a funny quote from Noel, who said, "I never thought I'd be in a band with two carrot-munchers who don't like football [soccer]." Apparently things are working out nicely, since Gem and Andy have both been with Oasis for over six years now.

It's a Girl!

Finally, I've got something besides Oasis to write about. A special new human has made her arrival. Congrats Rachel & Darius, and welcome Josie!

Who The F**k is Andy Bell?

I've been rambling on for weeks about the Gallaghers, and I've mentioned drummer Zak Starkey, but there are also two other members of Oasis. Today I'll talk about Andy Bell. Originally a guitarist, Andy played in the British shoegazer band Ride, former label-mates of Oasis at Creation Records. When former Oasis bass player Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan departed in 1999, Noel and Liam talked Andy into learning to play bass and joining Oasis.

As the token southerner in the band, Andy takes some ribbing from his northerner bandmates. On the Familiar To Millions live recording, when competing chants "Liam" and "Noel" can be heard coming from the crowd, Noel says, "Cut the 'Liam' and 'Noel' shit. Let's have a bit of 'Who the f**k is Andy Bell?'" This has kind of become his slogan; I've even seen it on a t-shirt.

Andy lives in Sweden with his Swedish wife and their daughter.

Song and Dance

Click here to watch the video for "The Importance of Being Idle". This video was named Best Video of 2006 by readers of NME (British music rag).

The video is set in the 1960's and has nothing to do with the content of the song. The video storyline follows an undertaker who wakes up one day and finds himself at his own funeral. The band members briefly pop in and out, but the real star is Rhys Ifans, a Welsh stage actor whom Liam brought on board because he can dance. The idea was to mock the current dance trend in pop videos and counteract all the booty-shaking. I'm into musical theater/song and dance numbers, so I think the campy choreography is hilarious. My favorite part is where he dances with the coffin makers, and also how he handles the top hat and cane with smooth panache. Enjoy!

The Definition of Cool

Here's a funny excerpt of an interview Noel did with David Williams from The Observer Music Monthly.

DW: Do you have a stylist?

NG: No, never. That's the lowest, if you can't dress yourself.

DW: But today you had your picture taken by David Bailey. Did you not have a long think about what you were going to wear?

NG: No.

DW: You're that cool.

NG: It's not for me to say if I'm cool or not.

End of the Line

So last night Oasis played in Milwaukee. The online fan reviews have all been excellent, especially with the inclusion of "Supersonic" in the encore. Zak starts the song in the dark with an extended drum solo of the very-recognizable drum groove at the beginning of the song. Then the rest of the band joins him onstage. WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE.

This is the end of their world tour. They play a handful of North American dates (Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Nashville, Houston) this month, and then head for home across The Pond. Noel has stated that they will take a long break, during which he'll rest, write songs and smoke a lot of ciggies.

Drummers!

It seems that people want to know about Oasis' drummer. Well, his name is Zak Starkey, and the poor man will forever have his name followed by his father's. You see, he is the son of Richard Starkey, a very famous drummer himself. Bonus points if you know his stage name.

Since the previous Oasis drummer, Alan White, was sacked in 2004, Zak has been splitting his time between drumming with Oasis and with The Who. He gets raves all around and seems to be a good fit with the others in the band.

I personally know another terrific drummer, who adores his wife and treats her like a goddess.

Live "Lyla"

Click here for concert footage of Oasis playing "Lyla" in their hometown of Manchester, England. All five of them are looking and sounding excellent. Much better than the frenetic and intense video they made for the song.

The Other Brother

When I first got into Oasis, I was totally caught up in the charisma of Liam Gallagher, but I'm starting to appreciate the talent of the true driving force behind the band, Noel Gallagher. Some interesting factoids about Noel:

He got serious about playing guitar in his teens. It helped pass the hours when he was confined to the house as punishment for petty theft and other misdemeanors.

He is left-handed but plays the guitar right-handed.

He is dyslexic.

He is a brilliant songwriter, even though he claims he doesn't "know chords". Some people have put him down for incorporating other people's melodies into his own songs, but he does it openly, so as to be more of an homage than a rip off. "Shakermaker" from Definitely Maybe was built on "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" by the New Seekers (otherwise known as the Coke Song, used in Coca-Cola advertising in the 70's). The other band members have contributed songs to the last two albums, which has also been a good thing. As opposed to taking away from his own talent, it seems to have freed him up to focus on a handful of really good songs instead of having to fill an entire album.

Even though Liam does most of the singing, Noel is a very good singer, too. He covers lead vocals on several Oasis tunes, including "Don't Look Back In Anger". (Select title at the bottom when you get there.)

Here's to Noel. He's not the looker that Liam is, but talent is also very attractive.

Our new toy

Now I've got something in common with the Pope.

We've been thinking and looking and shopping for a few months, and yesterday we finally got one of these. Our CD player has been acting up for quite awhile, so it was only a matter of time before we needed to do something about it. We decided not to replace it and got the iPod instead. There are many accessories to go with these things. We got the charger/fm transmitter to use it in the car, and cables to connect to our home stereo. It's very exciting! Brad keeps polishing it, and I have already filled it with all the Oasis I can get my hands on.

Flag Waver

The newest Oasis album, Don't Believe The Truth, ends with "Let There Be Love". Noel said, "Could we not, for once, put out an album with a flag-waver on it?" But he had his arm twisted by Liam and the band's manager, and so there it is on the album. It's a terrific ballad that is also one of only two duets by the brothers. You can see the full-length video here. It's classy b & w footage of the band and its adoring fans. Liam sports a spiffy pin-stripe suit and sideburns.

Signature Stance

Here's another live shot of Liam and Noel Gallagher. I just like how these pics look in my blog, so I'm going to keep posting them, if only for my own enjoyment.

On Tour

I think these Oasis pics look smashing , so here's another one. This was taken this year at a huge concert in Bankok. From left: Andy Bell, Zak Starkey, Liam Gallagher. They are playing a few US dates later this month, including The Riverside Theater in Milwaukee on March 22. That's within a day's drive for me, but it's already sold out. Boo hoo. I can still get tickets to their shows in Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, but there are no upcoming shows scheduled after this month. Guess I'll have to settle for the live DVD, "Familiar To Millions".

The Brothers Gallagher

(Editor's note: If you're tiring of the Oasis-themed entries, LOOK AWAY NOW and don't come back for awhile. This kick is consuming me at the moment.)

Here's an older picture of Liam and Noel in a telling pose - the responsible big brother looking after his little brother. Reminds me of my two boys.

A friend and I watched parts of my Oasis DVD last night. I think she was just humoring me. She did pose an interesting question, though. She asked, "So are you attracted to bad boys?" Hmmm...I guess so.

She also asked, "What's with the icky sideburns?" Hmmm...I think they're kinda cool.

More Oasis

Here's a recent picture of Oasis. That's my man Liam in front. He can often be found wearing high-collared jackets like this one. My CD's and DVD arrived, so now I can totally immerse myself. Liam turns out to be a terrible interview subject; he has previously declared that he is happy to be a singer and performer, but has no interest in promotion or marketing. Noel is much more entertaining, with detailed anecdotes and a dry sense of humor.

One thing I learned: Residents of Manchester, England, are referred to as "Mancunians".

Oasis Obsession

Ok, so here's my new obsession. It's a band called Oasis, which actually was huge 10-12 years ago. It's taken me awhile to catch on, but now I'm definitely hooked. I love their music and their rock star swagger, but mostly I love Liam Gallagher. I feel like a silly little girl, but he is YUMMY. His voice is quite nasal, which I usually don't care for, but it really works for him. His delivery style is to attack the microphone with the words, which hits me right in the gut. He doesn't have classical good-looks, but I'm drawn to him, especially his current look, with more mature features. I also really dig the way he sings into the microphone at an angle with his hands behind his back. Very sexy.

For those who don't know, the core of Oasis is Liam and his brother, Noel, who does much of the songwriting. Their tempestuous relationship has been well-documented, though it seems to be simmering down of late. The latest album contains a song that is reported to be Liam's apology to Noel for past offenses. Speaking of the latest album, I can't say enough about it. WOW. I wish I knew how to insert a link here, so I could direct you to a sample of this album. I guess the best I can do now is to say, go to iTunes and find "Love Like A Bomb". Mmmm, mmmm, good!

I ordered four Oasis albums and a DVD. Hope they come soon, so I can further indulge this obsession.