God Blessed Whitney Houston with something close to perfect as far as a voice for singing. A lot of people are going to mention how much she was a figure in their lives growing up... long before the crappy rap and garbage that passes for "artists" today. No doubt, the end of her life is sad... some of it brought on upon herself. Bobby Brown can rot in hell... but... we make our own beds, and no doubt Whitney was warned... many times... not to head down that road... any ways....

... Unless it is a marching band playing it straight up, i almost always remember back to 1991 when Whitney Houston presented this performance of our National Anthem. And people have been chasing this standard every since then. And no one has come close. It has become the gold standard, and I often wonder why any artists would even try now. If I was a super mega start and they came to me and asked me to sing the National Anthem, I would ask them to get a local marching band... or play this over the loud speaker cause I cant do it justice to the level you are looking for.... Mariah?... hasnt come close .Aguilera? ..um..No. Beyonce?... nice try. Clarkson?... keep tryin'. Taylor Swift?... I dont think so. And think about it...how many times have we heard these singers compared to.... Whitney Houston?

I honestly get chills when I listen to her sing this. It is great in that she sang it and stayed close to true to the original, adding slight (for her) embellishments that didnt go too far "out there". Seriously... close your eyes and just... listen. ListenI honestly think that when we see people jack up the National Anthem, it is in a hopeless attempt to outdo this standard... anywho..tis sad a great voice is now silenced forever.

I think it took 3 washings to get I-Man's Uniform clean after yesterdays soccer match. I am still wondering why the team chose "All White" as their home uniform. Its not like ebery family has an industrial size, sports team type washing facility to clean uniforms like a college or pro team would...

The Super Bowl was somewhat entertaining. The halftime show brought back memories. But why our supposed "artists" of today feel that they must flip you the bird or say profanity is beyond me.... M.I.A. is officially crossed of the list and added to the Kanye West file....

The spring/summer itenarary is starting to fill up... Wynton Marsalis Concert... A trip to New York/New Jersey/Washington... A couple of soccer tourneys... Darlington Nascar race and All Star Race in Charlotte...Trip to waterpark in Concord with Grandma and Uncle Jerry... are all penciled in pretty solid for now.... the first half o da year is shaping up pretty solid for now....