From my song Future Knocks:

No daddy ever
Taught me to play ball
No one to
Catch me when I fall

I learned about life
At the age of three
Had it all there
On my TV screen

Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers, passed away this morning. Thank you for being there for me and so many others.

NYDaily News: Sad day in neighborhood: Beloved Mister Rogers dies:

PITTSBURGH – Fred Rogers, who gently invited millions of children to be his neighbor as host of the public television show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” for more than 30 years, died of cancer early Thursday. He was 74.

….From 1968 to 2000, Rogers, an ordained Presbyterian minister, produced the show at Pittsburgh public television station WQED. The final new episode, which was taped in December 2000, aired in August 2001, though PBS affiliates continued to air back episodes.

…Rogers composed his own songs for the show and began each episode in a set made to look like a comfortable living room, singing “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood,” as he donned sneakers and a zip-up cardigan.

…His message remained a simple one throughout the years, telling his viewers to love themselves and others. On each show, he would take his audience on a magical trolley ride into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, where his puppet creations would interact with each other and adults.

…Rogers taught children how to share, how to deal with anger and even how not to fear the bathtub by assuring them they’ll never go down the drain.

…”We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility,” he said in 1994. “It’s easy to say ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’

“Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”

…The series remained popular through the years, including with children of baby boomers who watched the show growing up. Its ratings peaked in 1985-86 when approximately 8 percent of all U.S. households with televisions tuned in. By the 1999-2000 season, viewership had dropped to about 2.7 percent, or 3.6 million people.

One of Rogers’ red sweaters hangs in the Smithsonian Institution.

..He studied early childhood development at the University of Pittsburgh’s graduate school and consulted for decades with the late Dr. Margaret McFarland, an eminent child development expert at the university. The show examined the tribulations of childhood, including anger, fear, even a visit to the dentist.

At a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the show in 1993, Rogers said, “It’s not the honors and not the titles and not the power that is of ultimate importance. It’s what resides inside.”

Off the set, Rogers was much like his television persona. He swam daily, read voraciously and listened to Beethoven. He once volunteered at a state prison in Pittsburgh and helped set up a playroom there for children visiting their parents.

…Rogers is survived by his wife, Joanne, a concert pianist; two sons and two grandsons.

Robyn shares her thoughts, as will I am sure, many, many others. Forgive me for not linking to them because I’m just not weblogging the rest of the day. MetaFilter has a thread going as well.

This is Just the Day. Have a good one.

At least 60 dead at a Great White show. I’ve gone to countless shows just like this. I’ve even played a club very similar to this. My prayers go out to them today.

What I’m about to say is for those people that listened to Great White and won’t admit it. If you always didn’t like them – then the following isn’t for you…

If you think it’s cool to question how so many could be at a Great White show these days because it’s passe, you’re an asshole.

For us music is more then a fad or a phase. For us music isn’t something you grow out of – it’s something that carries you thru. Good music is timeless. Good music is forever. If you find yourself “growing out of music” – consider why you listen to the music you do. Don’t be a poseur.

If you want to question anything, question the pyro usage in such a small club.

Update: News coming out pretty much damns the band and/or it’s management. Looks like they’ve been using the pyro without permission. Everyone is pointing fingers.

Now if you’d like to ask how could a band such as Great White can get so many to its shows without industry support – that’s a good question! Networks of fans. Word of mouth. Many bands survive and some even thrive, on tour, without major label support, without radio airplay. And it’s not limited to just metal bands. You can find examples in all genres. Where the industry doesn’t provide, underground culture will.

Garret asked a couple days ago where this generation’s protest songs were. I’m sure they are out there, but as this NYTimes story says, with the consolidation that’s occured in the industry, chances are slim you are going to hear them. But they are being played, at shows the industry isn’t supporting, being supported by fans, thru word of mouth.

This will be a snow storm to remember. Wow!

Prof. Peter Singer, often called — and not just by his book publicist — the most influential philosopher of our time. He is the man who wants me dead. No, that’s not at all fair. He wants to legalize the killing of certain babies who might come to be like me if allowed to live. He also says he believes that it should be lawful under some circumstances to kill, at any age, individuals with cognitive impairments so severe that he doesn’t consider them ”persons.” What does it take to be a person?

NYTimes: Unspeakable Conversations. via dangerousmeta. A discussion on Eugenics. No really. And is a professor at Princeton? The esteem I held for the university is gone. Gone. Gone!

What if the 90s were a replay of the roaring twenties? Then this conversation – one that truely would have been unspeakable after WWII, is taking place right on time. An article in Wired almost predicted the reappearance of discussions such as this.

Man oh man. The further away we go from WWII the more we are willing to forget it’s lessons.

Vincent James, in his 30s, a man who left a good job as a software engineer at Boeing, a man with four children, has thrown his career and paycheck to the wind. He is determined to make a living writing and singing love songs. His heart is filled with them. He believes the world needs them. To draw attention to himself, to show his resolve, he vowed to perform 100 times between New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day.

Read the rest in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Flowers are nice. Candy is, too. But nothing makes a heart melt like words and a simple tune.” Yep. Read the rest in the CSMonitor.

For something light hearted today, check out Peter David’s weblog and his review of the latest Buffy and Angel. It’s great to see a sci-fi writer doing a weblog. It’s been done before, but this guy is actually posting some interesting things. Check out his comments threads! I may try a book of his.

And hey – you’d be completely justified in hating this day. We should always let our loved ones know we love them, not just on designated holidays! I have flashbacks to sixth grade almost every Valentine’s day. It was the year I was at my geekiest. It was one of the longest days in my, then, very short life. Seeing the cards the other kids were getting and feeling down because my couple just didn’t stack up. Pathetic ehh? I learned soon after that you should never judge your life by how well you think others may have it. The grass ain’t greener no matter what your heart maybe saying. This year I’m blessed, so it’s easy for me to have clarity of thought. But I don’t forget where I came from, and I recognize how blessed I am everyday. You hate Valentine’s? Good for you! I can’t blame ya one little bit. Grrrr arg.

Two stories to make sense of our reaction to Columbia:

Inquirer: John Grogan: 9/11 altered our view of tragedy

Inquirer: Shuttle disaster leaves some teens unmoved

A MetaFilter thread asks will there be songs written about Columbia?

No, this is not the Challenger. We’ve grown too coarse, too cynical, and too jaded. The NYTimes says, the nation’s instinctive reaction was to ask, “What’s next?”. Talking to friends and family leads me to believe the NYTimes got it right. Many discussions were attempts at avoiding the subject. Our skin just got thicker. Our wagons circled tighter. Most parents I know didn’t allow their children to watch TV and they didn’t hear the President’s attempt to comfort the nation. In fact, one said outright, “I just don’t want it on TV. What else is there to talk about? Get it off the news”.

I’m going to take a moment not to think about tomorrow, but to say a prayer for those who just lost a loved one and ask for the strength to not further recoil into my own skin.

Garret says, in my favorite weblogger essay yesterday, “there are a lot of ways to die, some ‘good,’ some ‘bad.’ these astronauts lost their lives in action, doing something they loved. in the midst of our horror at their fates, their sacrifice deserves respect, and honour.” Indeed, “space travellers are a special breed; and they come from all nations”.

And that is where Man’s destiny hides. Across the boundries. Not hiding in caves from the coming storm. In a day where personal trust is at an all time low, a generational trend that started 30 years ago, it’s a fight that always deserves to be waged.

Links:
Scripting News – Terrific linkage at a time of sorrow. Many of the links below are pulled from here. I couldn’t find the will to post yesterday.

Similarly, Metafilter was very active yesterday in it’s discussion threads.

MP3 (right click and download): Julia Ecklar singing “The Phoenix” via Code the Web Socket. A touching and powerful folk tune that fits the moment.

Don’t miss reading Meryl’s “Requiem for Columbia” and Shelley’s “What the Shuttles have given us”. You’ll get some indicators as to why I feel the way I do from what some have posted in Shelley’s comments.

In the 80s: I Remember the Challenger. Hundreds of personal recollections of that terrible day.

Go at Throttle-Up, “It would never occur to a baby-boomer that anything associated with the shuttle could have historical significance. Having lived through the heady excitement of real history-makers like Mercury and Apollo, boomers see the shuttle as an afterthought, an unglamorous eighteen-wheeler hauling satellites to and from orbit.”

Poynter Online – a huge collection of related links.

Just as after the Challenger accident, a chorus rises for the Shuttle program to end.

From 1980, Washington Monthly, Beam Me Out Of This Death Trap, Scotty.

The Corner thinks out loud about perfectly normal people starting to think about “Signs” and links to a 1998 Peggy Noonan article.

Finally, the obligatory, they were warned story. It’s always the same isn’t it?

PapaScott reminds us of the day.

I was sitting in school, and we watched it live. On board was a school teacher, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, just like the one in class with us that day.

What lessons did we take with us into our adulthoods?

…Employees are staying at their jobs much longer, not necessarily because they want to, but because they feel they have to, according to interviews with employees, human resource managers and employment experts. The number one concern among employees today is job security — not stock options, not career growth.

…Employees accustomed to job-hopping are in danger of falling into a boredom trap — or of simply feeling trapped, even if they are with a job and career they like. That there are not messages from recruiters on their voice mail means those options, and the excitement of new possibilities, aren’t out there. That has been a painful change, even for those who might not want another job. Those feelings can translate into low morale and low productivity, companies have found.

Read the rest at the WashingtonPost.

Recently, a co-worker and friend found a new job after a nine month search. Unlike many job seekers out there he is currently employed. He needed to find a new employeer since he recently moved two hours away from us. With skill, experience and references beyond my own – he still had a difficult time.

They beat the Raiders real, real, real bad. Don’t think I’ve seen a Super Bowl that one sided. What else can you say?

Well for one thing – twice in a row did the majority of sports commentators agree on the outcome of a NFL game and twice in a row they got it wrong.

Pundits – if they can’t predict the outcome of a football game how well do you think they are going to do with something like war or the economy?