I’ve got more in store with this. Yes, it’s verging on — no, totally is — insanity, but I think that as silly as it is, there’s too much fun to be had not to keep pursuing it just to see where it goes. I’ll keep you in the loop if and when anything happens.

I wish I were joking when I said that this scene from Step Brothers was the inspiration for Bring Your A’s Game. It’s been a pretty amazing day for the project. Great write-ups at Geekadelphia and Philebrity, great people reaching out, and even more people joining the cause on Facebook!

I’m amazed at the level of interest that’s already been generated. If you know anyone who loves baseball and the City of Brotherly Love, then let them know about Bring Your A’s Game!

Don’t even try driving 55.

Great trip to Fort Loudon, PA today to visit with the Van Der Grintens and family. If you get a chance to go to Cowan’s Gap, definitely do it. The trail around the lake was lovely even on a sweltering day like today.

Charlie’s First Birthday, originally uploaded by J T. Ramsay.

What an amazing day! We celebrated Charlie’s big day with 60 of his closest friends and family. Charlie’s birthday had a music theme and rest assured that he’s spending his time turning all the lovely instruments he received into percussion as best he can.

I may be letting the cat out of the bag, but picnic area #2 on Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park is a gem; it was like 90 degrees, but the area was nicely shaded from the morning until well into the afternoon. It was great for staying cool while being outdoors, which makes life easier on adults and babies alike.

Special thanks to friends and family who lent a hand in making Charlie’s birthday extra special. We couldn’t have done it without you!

It’s an old, 2G iphone that came out in ’08. It’s banged up a bit, but the screen’s still intact, which is more than I can say for most iPhones I’ve seen of that vintage. I nearly jumped to the 3G when it was first announced. What can I say, I have a thing for GPS! But now I’m glad I didn’t. iPhone 4 is the device I’ve been waiting for. Can’t wait to get my mitts on it. The new camera, complete with HD video, makes it perfect for taking on vacation. Everything about it sounds like the phone people started imagining once they held and played with the iPhone when it first launched.

Did I pre-order mine? No. Why, you ask? Because of AT&T. What a nightmare! Do I qualify for unlimited data at $30 per month? Yes, I do! But do I really need that much? How does this affect the plan I currently share with my wife? There are so many questions about how to get the appropriate plan that won’t result in gazillion page surprise bills at the end of the month. Fun!

Buried beneath the incessant iPhone 4 coverage was the introduction of a brand, spankin’ new Xbox 360! It’s quieter, meaning I won’t have to set the subtitles for every movie I watch on the thing. It has wi-fi, which means I won’t have to use a wonky adapter that didn’t work well enough to keep Netflix Watch Instantly titles from buffering nonstop. But that’s not all: word is that Red Ring of Death will be a thing of the past! Glory be! The best part? I can sell what I have right now for $205 at GameStop, which gets me within striking distance of the $299 price tag.

I should have both of these items in house by the end of the month. I can’t wait!

Her energy completely overshadowed Bilal’s set, who coasted a bit on the strength of the hometown crowd. I must admit that his cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Since I’ve Been Loving” you was a bit inspired, although his band didn’t really have the chops to really drive it home. As Dan DeLuca observes, Bilal had what it takes to be a neo-soul star in the making back in 2001; now, some nine years removed, who doesn’t shudder when they hear “neo-soul?”

Erykah Badu mesmerized the audience. Her mere presence commanded the room’s attention and she held it for two hours, possessing them with a mixture of songcraft and guile. Badu is a fortunate member of the neo-soul scene, experiencing something of a renaissance since she began the New Amerykah series in 2008. She’s incorporated elements that draw on Parliament and Funkadelic, updating her once staid, Starbucks soul sound. Even the stuff from her 1997 debut, Baduizm, didn’t sound dated thirteen years on. She is a singer at the height of her powers and if you miss her, you’re really missing something special.

Yeah, once upon a time I would’ve derided this gig as a shameless ploy. Fortunately people can change. Can’t wait to see Krautrock pioneer Michael Rother perform the music of Neu! at International House in August. Should be a pretty amazing experience.

(For the record, my first experience with a chain music store that wasn’t a big box prototype was Sam Goody. I tried to order Fugazi’s ‘In on the Kill Taker.’ What a mess that was.)

I expected to be chatted up by the adolescent clerk and I was. I told him I didn’t need any help, although I probably should’ve asked him to turn the lights on as the shop was as dark as a cave. I guess long shadows are the only way to make an FYE seem remotely “edgy.” That said, my overall shopping experience wasn’t bad! Sure, it’s not the treasure trove you remember from youth: the bands are all much more familiar; I spend way less time trying to convince myself to buy things I might not like in the name of “music discovery”; and the selection remains woefully dull.

What drew me into the store, apart from the need to keep myself and an angsty toddler busy for about 30 minutes while Mom bought some new tops? $9.99. The magical pricepoint! Everything in the store was marked at $9.99, meaning that yet another brick-and-mortar retailer is moving toward Apple’s pricing, with the distinct disadvantage of, um, overheard. Pesky, that.

$9.99 got me in the store and I was trying to remember what stuff I wanted to pick up. I grabbed copies of the new Janelle Monae and LCD Soundsystem records. (I know I said in my last post that I’m not all about Pitchfork-hyped bands, but I’m a contradiction.) Outstanding.

When I arrived at the checkout, the distracted clerk was waiting for me, but little did I know what awaited me there. The dreaded upsell! And not just one! No, when I got to the counter, baby in one arm, I was made several offers, all of which I could easily refuse.

First, I was asked if I wanted to join some sort of FYE Club or another. I politely declined. Second, I was asked if I wanted to pre-order the new Jack Johnson album, which was due to hit store shelves a mere three days later. When I said I’d pass, the clerk noted that he saw me singing along to it. True enough, but it didn’t mean I wanted to pre-order the silly thing. Sometimes you need to invent ways to keep a baby busy, right? After the hard sell, he asked me if I was interested in subscriptions to any of the several magazines included on a blotter right on the checkout counter. After the third “no” of the checkout, the transaction was complete!

Now that I’ve written this all down, I’m not sure if $9.99 is really worth the aggravation, especially when you consider that I was able to scoot into AKA Music, grab a copy of Erykah Badu’s latest LP, and get back out again in no time at all. No pre-orders or shopper’s club offers at all! Wish more people felt that way, since I passed a forlorn rack of Record Store Day exclusives (including the Arthur Russell one from ’09) as I walked in the store.

I went in there and got great service, no question, but it didn’t go above and beyond. While my computer was being repaired, the keyboard cracked for the third time. The third time! I know this is a design flaw that was fixed when they rolled out the new Macbook. You’d think if they’re replacing the hard drive anyway, they’d notice the crack in the keyboard and just toss the whole thing. There’s nothing to save, right?

That’s my aim when I go in tomorrow. I’m going to be upfront with them and let them know that the issues I’ve had with this computer were never problems with the PCs I’ve owned, even the cooked hard drive. It’s frustrating to pay a premium for a superior machine, love it, and have so many issues. Wish me luck!