Orel Family

One week ago tonight, I was on the back end of a business trip to Texas. My computer buzzed; Lori was calling me on google. I put the call on video. Elianna got on, then Aaron. Elianna put devil's horns on her head, then a mustache on Aaron's face. It was funny and silly and care-free. But I also missed my kids, and was counting down until I could be home again. Early Friday afternoon, a holiday lunch was ending. The mood in the room was cheerful, volunteers were wrapping gifts for children served by a local charity. I checked facebook on my phone. A message said, "unable to move," and then, "god bless the 26, 18 of which were children. There are no words for this." I looked across the table, and asked to those who were still there, "Was there a shooting somewhere today?" Inevitably, the sad answer was yes. It is my worst nightmare. I expect it is the worst nightmare of many, many parents. We drop our kids off at school, we wish them a great te...

In August, I wrote a blog post called  Bounties, the New Orleans Saints, and the NFL . The post was just my personal thoughts on the then 5-months old public flogging of the New Orleans Saints organization, from its highest management level to its defensive players. While I noted that certain coaches of the Saints were "a bit detached from what I might call 'normal'," what seemed inescapable to me at the time was that the league had not presented " any  evidence of a bounty program." The league, led by commissioner Roger Goodell, suspended 4 current or former Saints players, for terms of up to one year. The league was required, per its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), to provide the evidence upon which it intended to rely, as part of the players appeal process. Those exhibits are still retrievable from the  NFLPA website.  Although the league trumpeted those exhibits as "overwhelming," I found the ...

Graham Parker and the Rumour at the Newton Theater, December 7, 2012 (photo: Aaron Orel) The Newton Theater is a 605 seat theater in the small town of Newton, New Jersey. That's up in the northwest corner of the state, and I expect that even people who grew up in New Jersey -- like me -- generally have no idea where it is. The theater was built in the 1920s and has gone in and out of operation, most recently re-opening as a concert venue in late 2011. Last night Graham Parker and the Original Rumour appeared at the completely sold-out theater, playing a non-nonsense mix of songs originally recorded with The Rumour, post-Rumour songs, as well as most of Parker's newest album, Three Chords Good. Parker certainly knew where he was: as I heard one amused fan saying it on a bathroom run just prior to the show starting, "we're in bumblefuck New Jersey!" But if Parker is, as my brother described, "the best rocker no one's heard of," the Newton Theate...