Capital Spirit

Saw an older post from Mike Vogel and had to add my own thoughts to it.  The list ended up being so long I would have ended up monopolizing his thread, so I dumped the list in my Drafts folder and forgot about it for a couple of months. But hey, it’s a slow summer, I need to trim my Drafts down a bit, and maybe you’ll find something you’ll like on iTunes.

 Not all of these get played on the ride home–I don’t have time to listen to them all–but these are the tunes I end up listening to more often than not.  I’m listing them in straight alphabetical order, as it’s impossible for me to rank them by how often I listen to them: that changes from win to win.

Here we go:

“Agnus Dei”–Magna Canta
“Always With You”–Libera
“Back to the Rivers of Belief”–Enigma
“Carry You”–VNV Nation
“Catch Up To My Step”–Junkie XL/Solomon Burke
“Celestia Organa”–Magna Canta
“Chronologie 4″–Jean-Michel Jarre
“Cu Chullain”–Adiemus
“Days Go By”–Dirty Vegas
“Desire”–U2
“Don’t Stop Believin’”–Journey
“Dragostea Din Tei [Almighty Remix]“–O-Zone (Remix is better than the original…)
“Fides”–Lesiem
“Further In Time”–Afro Celt Sound System
“Gamemaster”–Lost Tribe
“Gregoria”–Magna Canta
“Heaven’s Open”–Mike Oldfield
“The Host of Seraphim”–Dead Can Dance
“I’ll Be Your Light”–Kristine W.
“If You Shout”–Era
“Jareth’s Church”–Deepsky
“Let Me Show You”–X-Perience
“Liberatio (Part 2)”–Krypteria
“Lovers of Light”–Afro Celt Sound System
“Magic Fields”–X-Perience
“Modern Crusaders”–Enigma
“Mojave”–Afro Celt Sound System
“Perpetual”–VNV Nation
“Riding the Waves”–Afro Celt Sound System
“Robot Rock”–Daft Punk
“View From a Stairway”–Deepsky
“Voices”–Vangelis

October is only 100 days away at this point…must…hold…on…

CAPITAL SPIRIT
MUSIC IS MY LIFE

That’s the distance from Washington, DC, to Philadelphia. Barring any traffic weirdness, you can drive it in under three hours. A one-way Amtrak ticket from Union Station in Washington to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia will set you back about $112 if you want to catch the Accela. If you want to get up with the chickens and ride in coach, you can get there on Amtrak for $42. And if you buy a non-refundable one-way ticket on Greyhound, all you need is $25 to leave Washington and go to Philadelphia, one way.

Not that any of those numbers matter: Steve Eminger will probably be driving that at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Eminger was at the open house last week, and now he’s heading up 95 to join our archrivals. It’s a cruel world.

On the one hand, I thought he played very well for us in the playoffs, and I thought that might have earned him a second look. On the other, he only seemed to be an injury replacement, and it would have been just as cruel to keep him in Washington and leave him up in the press box for months on end.

When all is said and done, I’m happy he’ll get a fresh start. The Flyers’ brass were saying some very kind things about Eminger on their website, so perhaps he’ll get a better shake in a Flyers sweater. So while I am a bit sad to see him given his walking papers–particularly after he played his heart out in the playoffs–I hope, for his sake, that he succeeds with the Flyers.

Just not against us, of course.

Godspeed, Steve. Be blessed. Play well. Stay safe. And though my lights will no longer shine for you at Verizon Center, please don’t take that personally. It’s just the nature of this terrible, wonderful game. I wish you the best.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
FAREWELL, #44

(Loyal readers: I had this drafted last week pre-award show, in an effort to write at least SOMETHING on here in a blogosphere decade. I dumped it in my Drafts folder and debated for a bit whether I should run it or not. I’m going to take a chance and run this, to see what kind of reception it gets. Leave your flamethrowers on their lowest settings, if you would, please. Thanks–CS)

I have to admit to leading a bit of a monastic life. And some of that is, admittedly, by choice. I’m not sure if there’s any woman who would–could?–fall in love with a guy like me. I’m a bit of an odd duck, even by my own admission. Hockey? Tarot? Angels? Alternative healing? Not everyone’s cup of tea when you put it all together, and some of the folks in one interest would be put off by some of the others. So I’ve kind of resigned myself to being hopelessly single at this point, because I’ve been such a loner for so long that I’d forget the flowers and let the door slam right in her face.

A couple of seasons ago, the Caps did this video of a boyfriend and girlfriend, one of whom is a certifiable lout. Two versions, actually: one where she’s the lout, and then later, one where he is. They set both to “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” by Meat Loaf. In the first version, she beats him at rod hockey, makes him get a Maui Wowee instead of a beer, and leaves him waiting outside the ladies’ room with her purse (to the amusement of passing fans). Then they get to their seats, and she takes off her coat to reveal the road team’s jersey, right as Meat Loaf is singing “but I won’t do that.” In the second version, he forgets to hold the door for her, eats cotton candy out of the trash, and slurps ketchup out of the packets straight up, and then he also reveals a visitor’s jersey. Anyway, after she walks out on him, she’s out on the concourse moping, while a piano softly plays “As Time Goes By.” Humphrey Bogart, call your office! Next thing, a drink is being very suavely slid her way by a guy in a Caps jersey, and the song then switches to “What a Man.” Both of those were certifiable hits with the Caps crowd, and the first version actually won the Caps an award. It was an award for video board production, and I think it’s called a Golden Matrix.

Anyway, I would so be “but I won’t do that,” even with a Caps jersey on my back. (Concealing it with a cloak doesn’t help things, I should think.)

To console myself, I have to tide myself over with geeky little proofs like this:

RELATIONSHIPS=TIME * MONEY
but TIME=MONEY
therefore RELATIONSHIPS=MONEY^2

Given MONEY=SQR (EVIL)
then MONEY^2=EVIL
therefore RELATIONSHIPS=EVIL

I can laugh at the idea of using sarcastic algebra to explain away my “single but off the market” status, but I know better. Humans are meant to be in relationships, which is an idea that goes back to the dawn of human history. We’re social creatures, not solitary ones. And even though I thoroughly enjoy throwing on my cloak and doing my best to be the life of the party up in 417 at Capitals games–and we’ve had a lot more to party about as of late–I still tend to retreat a lot, and spend more time alone, not exactly out on the market trying to find ways to spend more of my TIME X MONEY.

Meanwhile, literally as I was putting the finishing touches on this post, I got an email from the NHL Fan Faceoff panel asking me to recruit volunteers. I’ll mention it here, and if you want to help the NHL improve, click on that link and see if you qualify.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
EAGERLY AWAITING THE NEW SEASON

The Penguins lose. Thank God for small miracles.

And that has got to be one of the flukiest Cup-clinching goals in the history of hockey. Marc-Andre Fleury thought he had it, didn’t, fell backwards to try to make the save…and ended up knocking the puck into his own net with his rump. Whoops. And now he’s got all summer to ponder that mistake. If you don’t like the Penguins, it’s sweeter than molasses. If you’re a Penguins supporter, it has got to be positively sickening.

No insult to the Red Wings–they played one heck of a series–but I was rooting for the Penguins to lose more than I wanted the Red Wings to win. It’s done. Thanks, Detroit: enjoy that Cup, and enjoy your championship. You’ve earned it, and you couldn’t have beaten a more appropriate team.

Did notice in Corey’s article for the Times that Crosby was “teary-eyed.” He’s known on the Caps message boards as “Crysby”, among other sometimes creative epithets, and he evidently earned it last night.

Of course, before that happened, there was the traditional handshake. I was a little too stunned to stay for the Caps-Flyers handshake after we lost this year–much to my regret–but I watched this one. Since the Caps weren’t losing, I wasn’t as emotional about it, and could watch with less pain.

Now comes the harder spiritual work. I was talking with my guardian angel about the handshake this morning before I left for work, and he gave me a different perspective on the Red Wings’ victory. Is it correct to cheer for someone you don’t like, to lose? We’re taught to love our enemies, and pray for those who persecute us. With that in mind, how can I be a good worker for the Light, if I have no love for my enemies? Is it time for Caps fans to–yes, I’m going to say it–love the Penguins? After all, we lost to the Red Wings in our only Cup Finals appearance–to some of these same players, in fact. Should we pray for the Penguins and lovingly embrace (in Spirit) their fans, knowing how much it hurts to lose a Cup Final?

Longtime Caps fans are going to laugh me right out of town at the very idea. After all, Crosby’s just lost, the Penguins have been defeated, and all is right in the world again. And don’t Penguins fans act like idiots when they invade our barn? Hurry up, October, so we can get started on our own Cup run.

Hold it. That’s not the point of it all!

What Caps fans are being given here is a teaching moment, and a lesson in Spirit–a lesson on how to love your enemy. I’m not saying I wanted the Penguins to win the Cup: I am still relieved somewhat that Crosby (for now) won’t be getting his name on that famed chalice. But the larger lesson here, again, is “love your enemy.” So, perhaps, as Caps fans, we should reach out to our fellow hockey fans in Pittsburgh in, yes, love, and say, “Hey, we’ve been there already this season, albeit a little earlier than you guys were. It’s a tough way to go, and we feel for you. Good luck next year, and we hope to see you guys in the playoffs.”

I doubt it will happen, however. Most hockey fans aren’t looking for greater truths to the game, and aren’t looking to apply lessons of Spirit to spectator sports. I know this is a very niche viewpoint, and I thoroughly expect to get roundly criticized by my fellow Caps fans for daring to suggest that we love our archrivals. There may even be talk in some quarters that I may be a Penguins sympathizer, which may gain traction despite it not being true. Mind you, I’m not rooting for the Penguins to succeed, particularly if they’re playing against the Caps. I’m simply saying that the lesson we are all being given here is how to love our enemies. I didn’t get this in the wake of the Caps’ loss to Philadelphia, but I think I’m starting to understand it better now.

Now, let me clarify. I am NOT suggesting that the next time the Penguins visit the District, that the stands turn into Woodstock. Far from it: I’ll still be rocking the red, cheering on the Caps, and booing the Penguins and Sidney Crosby as the role of a spirited Capitals fan demands.

Still, it would be disappointing for this moment to be lost in an outburst of “nanny-nanny-boo-boo”. I was part of it last night on the boards, true, guilty as charged. But given some time to reflect, and having been lovingly reminded of the commands of Scripture, I’m going to hold off on any more of that.

I’m still a Caps fan: that’s not going to change. And I still don’t want to see the Penguins win the Stanley Cup. Still, I think that the Penguins and their fans deserve our prayers and, yes, our love, in the wake of this heartbreaking loss. Caps fans can mock me all they want, but I think that is what this moment in time is here to teach us.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
LOVE YOUR ENEMY

Was I off by a round on my predictions?

It’s starting to feel that way, because the Pens beat my prediction, and have gone on to the Cup Finals. But now they’re running into an absolute buzz saw in the Red Wings. That 5 of Swords as a crossing card looks like it came up one round too early.

The series shifts back to Detroit tomorrow night, where the Red Wings have outscored the Penguins a combined 7-0 in the two games this series has played there. So, barring a meltdown of catastrophic proportions, the Wings should be raising the Stanley Cup tomorrow night.

The question I asked was specific: it asked about the Conference Finals and the Flyers. I got a message of utter defeat for the Penguins, and based on that, called the series for the Flyers. The crow was served well done, alas, and it was gamier than I usually can stand it. But now, here we are in the Cup Finals, and almost everything I predicted for the Conference Finals is happening in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Very, very strange.

I’m going to be participating in a Tarot share in a couple of weeks. On the weekend following, the shop where this is taking place is doing readings for charity, to include the USO. I’m probably going to swing by there next weekend, cards in tow, and see if I can be allowed to participate. If it’s to raise money for the USO, I have to at least ask. It’s five hours on a Saturday, but if I can put my skills as a reader to use for a (very worthy!) cause, I’d love to. More on this next week.

Also this Saturday–it’s going to be a busy day!–I’ll be participating in the Bodog World Series of Poker Seat Giveaway Finals. I won my way in by placing 18th of 410 players. Not sure how many players are going to be playing on Saturday, but the winner goes to the Main Event of the World Series of Poker. It’ll be fun to play, even if, as I expect, I don’t win. To at least be playing for a seat in the most prestigious tournament in the world is an honor as it is.

Also trying to arrange studio time to record the national anthems for the Caps’ consideration. I’m about to look into a different studio, as the one I’m looking at right now isn’t answering the phone.

I’m doing another writing project on the side. I’m going to be coy about exactly what it entails, but readers of this blog may love the result once it’s finished at some point next summer. Wait a minute–is this a book? I hope so. But I have to keep working at it a little bit at a time, so don’t be surprised if this blog slows down a little bit over the summer. I will continue to maintain this site, but the Caps are off for now, so there’s less for me to write about, and I don’t think too many Caps fans are paying attention in any case. Kind of hard for me to spend quality time on WordPress if I’m pretty sure no one’s paying attention, but such are the travails of small-time bloggers like me.

I will be amongst a Caps crowd for the Awards Show next week, likely as not in summer dress (which is everything but the cloak, for those of you who want to know the ins and outs of my dress code). I suspect it will end up being a Capital(s) affair, with Ovechkin taking home the Hart and Pearson, and Coach Boudreau receiving the Jack Adams. Backstrom would surprise me if he won the Calder, but the other two nominees are both from Chicago, and may cancel each other out. We’ll know in less than two weeks.

Meanwhile, Let’s Go Red Wings!

CAPITAL SPIRIT
HOW DO YOU THROW AN OCTOPUS?