Fall to sleep with "Broken Bottles Under Children's Feet"

Now I've seen it all. Here's a new CD coming out in January, "Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of U2." OK, I admit that I tried once to get Parker to listen to U2 in utero, but this is ridiculous. I certainly hope these are instrumentals. I'm trying to picture a lullaby version of Sunday, Bloody Sunday with lyrics "Broken bottles under children's feet, bodies strewn across the dead end streets." It's enough to give kids nightmares! Here's the full track listing:

1. Sunday Bloody Sunday
2. All I Want is You
3. Beautiful Day
4. One
5. With or Without You
6. I still Haven't Found What I Am Looking for
7. Angel of Harlem
8. Where the Streets Have No Name
9. New Year's Day
10. Desire
11. The Sweetest Thing

Santa's house can be a scary place

U2: Window in the Sky Video

U2 have a new video out and is getting heavy viewing on YouTube. It's their best video in ages and the band hardly even appears in it. It's a continuous montage of some of the best singers and bands of all time. They even include a clip of Wilco's John Stirratt at the 00:48 mark. You can pick out the members of U2 in the audience of several of the clips. How many of these performers can you recognize?

Here's the video from YouTube.

Roach Family Christmas CD - 2006 Digital Edition

In an effort to deal with the rising cost of reindeer transportation caused by recent feed shortages and Elf labor strikes, the Roach Family Christmas CD will be distributed mostly digitally this year. We hope you enjoy this year's collection of holiday favorites and a few new gems. If you have any trouble downloading the .Zip files, please let me know. These files will only be available for a week. After that they will melt away like Frosty in a greenhouse.

• Happy Holidays from the Roaches 2006 - Part 1
• Happy Holidays from the Roaches 2006 - Part 2

The links have expired. If you'd like a copy, please e-mail me or hope Santa puts one in your stocking.

Religious freedom isn't just for Christians

In my opinion, all Americans who value religious freedom should be outraged by the comments of conservative web columnist Dennis Prager in his article "America, Not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on"

In the column, Mr. Prager criticizes Congressman elect Keith Ellison, D-MN., for announcing that he would take his oath of office on the Qur'an instead of the Christian Bible. Congressman Ellison is the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress. Mr. Prager states that this action "undermines American civilization."

He claims that Congressman Ellison is not showing any regard to what "America holds as its holiest book" and instead wants to substitute his "favorite book." He expounds that there is no difference in Congressman Ellison swearing on the holiest book of Islam and someone making the same oath on Hitler's "Mein Kampf." He claims that "America is interested in only one book, the Bible" and states that "If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress."

That last opinion couldn't be further from the truth of the law. Eugene Volokh, a National Review contributor, writes in his article "Oh Say, Can You Swear on a Koran?" that the US Constitution specifically permits federally elected officials to not swear an oath at all. Article VI states "The Senators and Representatives ... [and other state and federal officials] shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." He notes that US Presidents Franklin Pierce and Herbert Hoover didn't swear on the Bible, the Qur'an or any other book at all, but rather opted to affirm their support of the Constitution.

American is populated with people of all races, creeds, religions, and denominations. Congressman Ellison is not required to swear or affirm his support of Jesus, the Judaeo-Christian God, Christianity, Protestantism, the Vatican, the Bible, the Qur'an or even Allah. He must affirm his support of the laws of the United States and the Constitution. To require him to swear on a book that holds no meaning to him is utter nonsense and a violation of the religious freedoms of this country. That sort of test is what would undermine American Civilization .

Day of Thanksgiving

My apologies to long time Roach Family Blog reader. I haven't posted since right after Halloween. Real life getting in the way of cyberlife. Today is Thanksgiving eve. Things are very slow here at work. The quiet and hopes for pumpkin pie are making me reflective and sentimental. Like many family, ours might go around the table tomorrow and tell everything what we're thankful for. So here's a kick start:

• I'm thankful for my family.
• I'm thankful for my Son, Parker. The very thought of him brings a tear to my eye, an ache in my heart and laughter to my voice. Every day I look forward to the next to see him grow and learn.
• I'm thankful for my lovely, kind, patient Wife, Catharine. Without her, I wouldn't be able to make it through the day without her. She's my partner and my friend.
• I'm thankful for our extended families. In the end, they bring us more joy than grief.
• I'm thankful to live in a country where I can be safe to walk down the street and not fear dying because of my beliefs or sect. Not everyone can say this: Muslins, homosexuals, immigrants. Maybe everyone in the country will be able to feel the same way some day soon.
  
• I'm thankful for the Democratic Party victories in the US House and Senate! I'm hopeful that they will bring a balance to our federal government. A "check and balance" if you will, that has been absent too long. I hope they will bring a voice to those without one. Maybe we can move beyond blind patriotism and party doctrine. Maybe we can talk less about flag burning, stem cell research and too many gay people loving each other and talk more about reducing poverty, providing affordable healthcare for all, eliminating racial disparities in society, ensuring a debt free future for our children and grandchildren, reversing global climate change and reducing our dependence on oil. And I hope they didn't make promises that they can't fulfill in the next two years.
• Lastly, it may sound contrite, but I'm thankful for my job, my warm bed and the roof over my head. My work this year with Habitat for Humanity and the national news of the devastation in the Gulf Coast has shown me how quickly that can all change. There but for the grace of God go I. Hopefully, I'll be able to help repair some of the damage caused by the hurricanes this Spring. More on that later.
  

So, what are you all thankful for? Leave your comments.

Treat or treat not, there is no trick

Yoda1,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Master Jedi Yoda visited Earth on Tuesday. I was lucky enough to get my picture taken with him before he went out trick or treating.

He left us with this pearl of Jedi wisdom: "Tricking leads to fear, fear leads to anger, anger leads to suffering, suffering leads to the Dark Side."

Put me in, coach!

Future Detroit Lions Kicker,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Here's just a cute picture of Parker, getting ready for the big game.

Parker, Paul and Cooper at the Pumpkin Patch

Parker, Paul and Cooper at the Pumpkin Patch,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Here is a picture of the fun afternoon that we spent at the Freeman Family Farm Pumpkin Patch and Petting Zoo with our good friends Cooper and Paul (and their parents Dair and Jon). It was a great day!

New U2, just in time for Christmas

U2 just announced a new "best of" compilation to be released in November. Titled "U218 Singles," it will feature 16 of their best known songs and two new tracks produced by Rick Rubin at legendary Abbey Road Studios. One of the two songs will be their collaboration with Green Day on The Skids‚’ "The Saints Are Coming" that they recently performed live on ESPN's Monday Night Football. If you can't wait till November, you can download this track now from Rhapsody and Music Rising. Also anticipated is a limited edition version with a DVD of live performance from their concert in Milan on the Vertigo Tour. Stay tuned for a track listing!