CABO WABO with RADIO RADIO

Last night we went to CABO WABO to hear Brian Hall's band, RADIO RADIO, play. CABO WABO is a charity event that raises money for various local charities. Last night they were supporting an organization called "Supporting Heroes".

Kathi and Al Jaggers and Terri and I went to dinner at Old Chicago (which was excellent) and then on to Bowman Field where the event was held in an airplane hangar. Brian's band, RADIO RADIO rocked the house. My ears are still ringing this morning.

The place was packed with people. It's funny, Louisville has some beautiful people in it. It also has some strange looking people in it. We "people watched" the entire night and had a great time.

If you get a chance to go see RADIO RADIO, do it. I know you will be impressed. The lead singer is a guy that was formerly the lead with Thumper & the Plaid Rabbits, a band most locals know. Brian and the others were formerly playing as "The Milks". They stopped for a while and restarted as RADIO RADIO and added Jeff Duncan to their group.

Brian is all the way to the left playing lead guitar in the picture. They have a website on MySpace that posts their upcoming gigs. http://www.myspace.com/radioradiorocks

Check them out.

HOLE IN ONE!!!

Today I took Matt (9) and Mark (7) golfing at a nearby Par 3 course, English Springs. Matt has had clubs for a couple years and Mark just got his starter set a few weeks ago. We've been hitting balls in the backyard, etc., and this was Mark's first time to go out on a course.

As we headed out the door, Terri suggested I take our camera to get some pics of the boys since it was Mark's first true golf outing. So we get to the second hole and Mark tees off, Matt tees off, then I tee off. As I "skull" my ball, I think I said something like, "Ohh, I skulled it."

The three of us watch the worm-burner scorch up the fairway and land just before the green. The ball then begins its roll across the green right in line with where you would want it to be, heading toward the pin, gradually turning an ever-so-slight left on the slope of the green.

Matt says, "Dad, I think you might hit the pin!" from my left and Mark is on my right watching with BIG EYES. Suddenly, just as it is going to hit the pin, the ball dropped from sight. Matt yelled, "Dad, it went in!". Mark yelled, "Dad, you got a hole in one!"

I reacted differently than I would have thought. There was no Tiger fist pump or extreme celebration. I think I was too shocked that it went in. The boys gave me high fives and we were all happy and excited. Most of all, I was excited that if I was ever going to hit a hole-in-one in my lifetime, it happened on an outing with my two boys.

There was a single playing behind us so we let him play through and asked him to take our picture and explained it was Mark's first outing and my first hole-in-one. He was excited for us and said he'd been playing 35 years and never hit a hole in one.

Here's the pic. I thought it was funny when I got home a realized my eyes were closed. I wish it had been a better pic but that's probably how my eyes were when I hit that ball! So maybe it's appropriate.

Coldplay - Viva la Vida Album Released

It's been a busy week. The Coldplay album released 2 days ago and was waiting in my inbox for me to download and I didn't even realize it until tonight. Ugghh. In fact, I hadn't looked at email at home since Saturday.



I'm listening to the new songs I hadn't already heard on the new album and so far I really like the album. It's definitely Coldplay. Same sound. Several songs already sound like favorites even after a first listen.



If you're a fan of Coldplay, get the album, you'll like it.

So, I was glued to the TV last weekend watching probably one of the greatest US Open's of all time. Could you believe Tiger? This guy truly amazes me. I'm a huge fan and always have been. I think it's funny that so many people pull against him. I was telling my son, Matt, that I look at it as an honor to be able to watch this guy play the game of golf. I think he is the greatest player to ever play the game. I used to wonder if he really was and wondered how he compared to Jack in his prime, etc.

My Dad and I were discussing it and when my Dad said he thinks Tiger is the greatest he's ever seen, it confirmed it for me. His game is great from every aspect, putting, chipping, driving, approach, mental, etc.



It's even more amazing when you think he played the tournament with an ACL tear and broken bones. I hope he recovers fully and enjoys his break. Speaking of breaks, I just read Stevie (his caddie) is also taking the time off. Good for him, too.

Tim Russert 1950 - 2008

I was shocked to learn of Tim Russert's death last night when I arrived home from work. I'm not a huge fan of politics but try to stay knowledgeable about what is going on as an educated professional. Basically, my knowledge of politics comes from what I get from the Today show and the evening news.

With that said, Tim Russert has been the biggest source of my knowledge of politics in my adult life as I almost exclusively watch NBC news and Tim Russert was their Washington Bureau Chief. I really liked this guy, as I think most people did. Tim Russert had the ability to talk with a smile on his face, even when discussing serious subject matter. It seemed like you could see right into his big heart through the smile he always carried on his face.

I also experienced again how we connect to the people we watch on television. I always laugh when I think about Terri running into Dawne Gee from Wave 3 in the mall one day. She said they were walking toward one another and Terri spotted her and immediately raised her hand to waive as if greeting a friend she'd know for years. It was at the moment her hand was in the air greeting Dawne that Terri realized Dawne had no idea who Terri was or why she would be greeting her.

We tease her about it but I have to admit, I nearly did the same thing a few weeks ago when I saw David McArthur of Wave 3 at the J-Town Business Expo. We invite these people into our homes nearly every day and get to know their personalities, their quirks, their humor, etc. When they pass, we are saddened.

I will miss Tim Russert and his take on politics and the world. I always trusted his interpretation and thought he presented politics on my level. But most importantly, he always seem to love life and had a smile on his face.

YUM Center Tour of UofL Basketball's Practice Facility

Today I had the opportunity to tour the YUM Center with Coach Pitino and his staff including Walter McCarty, Richard Pitino and others.

It was AWESOME! We arrived around 2:00 pm and set up some items. Started greeting clients and prospects of the bank around 2:30 and began touring the facility around 3:00 pm. The coaches and staff could not have been more welcoming and interesting. I think we actually toured for about 2 hours meaning they really took their time with us. We saw the film room, the locker room & showers, the editing room, visited the Assistant Coaches' offices individually and talked with them individually about their days, recruiting, etc. We also visited the gym and weight room, the training room and Coach Pitino's office.

Coach Pitino hung out with the various groups we had touring the entire time spending time with each group and hanging out afterwards at the reception that was held. I think he stayed their until 6:00 just talking with various people.

The entire day was great. Thanks to UofL, Coach Pitino and his staff for hosting a terrific entertainment event for our clients and prospects!

Got Cicadas?

We do! I know we get cicadas every few years but I can not recall ever having them like we have them this year. Apparently this is the 17 year variety, meaning they have been living underground for 17 years and now have surfaced into the adult cicadas that we are currently witnessing.

Everyone seems to be talking about them. How could you not? They are everywhere. Look out the windows and they are all over flying around in the air, on the windows, in the trees. Walk across the lawn and you will notice them lying all over the grass and drive. Today I cut the grass and trimmed. They were all over me.

They fly pretty slowly and are very big, like a big moth. They will land right on you. Today I heard a clicking really close to me while trimming and felt a little vibration between my shoulders. To my unpleasant surprise, a cicada had found its way into my shirt and was sitting on my back between my shoulder blades. Ugghh.

Did I mention how loud they are? One guy states he measured their call at 90 decibals, more than an airplane fying overhead. I went out on the deck this afternoon and my ears were nearly ringing when I came back inside. Seriously, they're LOUD!

If you are out of town or aren't sure what they sound like, here is a link to a site that has audio and video of the cicadas. This sound goes on ALLLLLL DAAAAYYYY and is as loud as it seems. http://www.cicadamania.com/video/

Here's a picture I found of a cicada posted on Flickr by "Fleur-de-louis" who is in Kentucky.

Here is an article in the Courier-Journal about them. http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080531/NEWS01/805310509/1008

Power of Positive Thinking, Determination and Confidence

Well, you may have noticed that I haven't really mentioned my baseball team lately. Tonight we had our 8th loss in a row. It has been an abysmal season. We have extremely talented players and a few works in progress.

However, all season we seem to have battled negative attitudes and lack of confidence. In practice the guys seem to hit well and play well. In games, it has been a game of roulette for nearly every player at one time or another.

At this point, I think we have lost so much, that we may actually begin winning because they simply don't care anymore and may actually begin putting less pressure on themselves. We lost our last game 28-5. I have to give the other team credit, they simply hit the ball. We really didn't make errors, they just hit the ball extremely well. They put on a hitting exhibition.

We have not hit very well all season. Some hit one game, don't hit the next. Some haven't hit all season.

Tonight I came across this video and was inspired and reminded of the power of positive thinking, determination and confidence. It is from the Lexington Herald and can be found on Kentucky.com.

Here is a link and I really encourage you to watch it. You will be amazed. I promise.

http://videos.kentucky.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=1907390&genre_id=00001159

Banker Bell = Nostradamus?

Well, maybe not, but if you read my very last post from Thursday, I blogged about some articles I read that indicated interest rates could be rising again. Would you believe I received updated rates Friday afternoon that showed about a 1/2% increase in long term rates? Treasuries began advancing after more dismal economic news.

Okay if this hasn't convinced you on the Nostradamus talents of Banker Bell, then search my posts on financials, financial sector, bank stocks, etc. Today's bank news is just bad. S&P cut the credit ratings of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley and said the overall outlook on investment banks is mostly negative.

Wachovia may be added to the list next after firing their CEO. And speaking of being fired, Washington Mutual has taken back its title of Chairman from their Chief Executive. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup were also thrown into the fire as S&P changed their outlook to negative on these companies as well.

Here's the Reuter's article posted on CNBC.com: http://www.cnbc.com/id/24936376 and here's an article about the Treasuries beginning to climb: http://www.cnbc.com/id/5990199/for/cnbc/.

Does anyone recall me blogging about your mutual funds being laden with financial sector stocks? Here's one of the posts: http://bankerbellsblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/so-whats-up-with-this-economy.html

Have you checked your investment funds lately? While the idea is they diversify your portfolio, they can still have industry exposure and open you up to some serious losses in the event of industry issues like we're witnessing in the financial sector.

What's your banker reading? Are they staying on top of this ever-changing economy and bringing you the latest info?