Ben Phillip's Blog

As my ability to listen to constant Michael Jckson songs all the time comes to a head, I thought I would look at my favorite MJ songs.  I couldn’t come up with a top five or top ten since that was so hard.  However, I came up with 14 songs that I enjoy.  This list is in chronological order by when they were released as a single.  Not every song was released as a single however.

I Wanna Be Where You Are - “Got to Be There” album, released 1972, reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Discovered this song from the movie Drumline.  It’s got a great beat to it and nice vibe.

Rock with You - Off the Wall, 1979, #1.  The album cut, where the bridge is repeated twice, is the definitive version.  Hearing the bridge once is a disappointment.

Girlfriend - Off the Wall, 1980, not released as a single.  Another recent discovery since I had never listened to all of “Off the Wall” until just a few years ago.  MJ being a “playa” but I like the song for it’s fun beat.

Human Nature - Thriller, 1983, #7.  One of his best songs.  It is nearly perfect in my opinion.  It is a song I would not want to listen to over and over again simply because I would not want to ruin it.

Say Say Say - Pipes of Peace, 1983, #1.  A fun video and great song.

Thriller - Thriller, 1984, #4.  I did not appreciate this song until many years after its release.  Everytime I hear it, I can still visualize the video.

We Are the World - We Are the World, 1985, #1.  MJ co-wrote this song.  I loved trying to do impressions of every singer on this song (and mainly failing).

Man in the Mirror - Bad, 1988, #1.  Excellent message.  Excellent use of a choir as well.  Easily my favorite MJ song.

Another Part of Me - Bad, 1988, #11.  This song reminds me of the summer of 1988.  That was a definitive year in my life.

Remember the Time - Dangerous, 1992, #3.  This song came out after Black and White in early 1992.  Reminds me of my senior year of high school.

You Are Not Alone - HIStory, 1995, #1.  This is just a great song that only MJ can sing.  I cannot imagine anyone else singing it.

Earth Song - HIStory, 1995, not released in the US.  The song builds to this great crescendo, however, the video alone is very effective.  Mike pulls no punches here.

Stranger in Moscow - HIStory, 1996, #91.  This song just has a great vibe to it.  Reminds me of the summer of 95.

Butterflies - Invincible, 2002, #14 - MJ’s last hit ever.  It just flows so well.

RIP

I recently made two mash ups of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s, “Posse on Broadway.”  One mashup is with Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years.”  The other is with Jars of Clay’s “Wicker Baskets.”  Being that these are some of my first mashups, I think they are pretty solid.  They could stand for some minor tweaking, but all-in-all, they are as good as any other amateur mashup I have heard online.

Anyway, I prefer one mash up over the other.  However, Laura prefers the other mash up over the other.  We cannot decide which one is better.  So, if you could take a listen to both, let us know which one you prefer in the comments section!

Sir Mix-A-Lot vs. Simply Red

Sir Mix-A-Lot vs. Jars of Clay

Disclaimer: In no way did I receive any permission from the artists above to mix or post their songs.  This is my own personal hobby and not intented for distribution or selling.  The songs will be taken down by request.

Linden is now 10 weeks old!  Xander is still loving his little sister and she loves him just as much.  He helps sooth her when she is crying and when he talks to her or looks at her she gives him big smiles. 

In these pictures, Xander had found Linden’s pacifier from the hospital so he decided to use it and lay by her.  Then they both got distracted by the television.

Xander also shares with Linden.  He was putting his frog sunglasses on her and it was pretty cute!

Thank goodness she is a laid back baby!

Ben took this picture of Linden.  We thought she looked funny since she is laying so flat.  She almost looks like she’s on her tummy except for her arms and legs are facing up.  She can definitely sleep anywhere, especially if she is held.  She loves sleeping while her daddy holds her.

On thursday Linden was 10 weeks old and we took her out on the town for the day.  In the morning Ben and I went to see the Titanic exibit at the Science Museum and she did great on that outing.  In the afternoon we took her to her first Twins game.  She was technically at one before but we had to leave before the game started because Xander would not go to our seats to watch.

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She did great at the game and we were able to stay until the end to see the Twins beat Pittsburgh!  She also looked stunning in her new Twins outfit.

As for Xander, we are now dealing with some bedtime issues.  He doesn’t want to go to sleep at night and will wake up in the night and want to get up.  Hopefully we will figure out how to get him to sleep sometime soon.  It has been a long two years dealing with that.  He has also learned the words “I can’t!”  So we hear “I can’t go to sleep” and “I can’t pick up toys!”  Oh the joys of two!

Linden is 9 weeks old now and slept through her first night!  Last night I put her in the pack and play at 10:30 while she was awake.  She put herself to sleep and woke up at 4:45 this morning!  I didn’t get to sleep until about 11:30 and then I woke up at 3:00 and kept checking to see if she was breathing until she finally got up.  Now that I know she can make it that long, I won’t be as paranoid.  Hopefully this lasts.  It will be very helpful when I go back to work.  She is such a happy baby and a good sleeper, I know she will do great at daycare. 

She loves sleeping on her tummy and this is the only chance she gets.  So much for building up her neck muscles.

As for Xander, he is a very busy little guy.  He is really enjoying the summer and being outside.  He would live at the park if he could!  Xander also still has a great interest in music.  He loves to sing and dance and play instruments.  Ben brought out his harmonica for Xander to try out this weekend.  It was a hit!

Linden doesn’t love Xander’s music but I guess it’s preparing her for the noises at daycare that are soon to come!

Linden is now two months old and along with that came her two month check up and she’s doing great!  She now weighs 12 lbs 9 oz which is the 90th percentile and she is 22 1/2 inches long which is the 58th percentile.  There is no need to worry about her size anymore!  She also handled her shots very well.  She only cried for about 15 seconds while they were giving her the shots and that was it.  She was sleepy yesterday after her appointment and today has been restless and uncomfortable some, but overall it hasn’t been bad.

She is starting to enjoy playtime on the floor, in her bouncy chair, and on her play mat.  She doesn’t do well with tummy time though.  She usually just goes to sleep or rubs her face on the blanket.  We are still working on that.

Today we tried out the double stroller for the first time.  It is wonderful!  Thanks Grandpa, Grandma, and Angie!  The seat converts for a baby.  Linden loved the ride and so did Xander.  He was happy to ride by Linden and he would give me updates on what she was doing. 

We took our first ride to the park.  We had a fun time until Xander bumped his mouth and his front tooth cut into his front lip.  Lots of blood and tears but it appears to be OK.  I think there were more tears because we had to leave the park than from the actual injury.

Last year we planted a honeycrisp apple tree for Xander.  We originally planted him a pear tree the year he was born, but that didn’t survive.  The replacement apple tree is growing great!  Here is a picture of Xander and his tree last year.

It was a Charlie Brown tree but it looks really good this year.  It is even growing two apples!  It’s not supposed to produce any apples for 3 to 5 years so just a couple of apples this year is exciting for us.

It will be fun to take pictures of him by his tree each year.  I’m sure he won’t appreciate it when he gets older but I will!

On Friday our family took a trip to Best Buy.  We bought Xander a Sesame Street computer game for ages 2-4.  He loves it!

Soon after we installed the game, Xander suddenly started using his point-and-click skills on the mouse.  Before, he could move the mouse, but something literally “clicked” in his mind and his hand-eye coordination really took shape.  On the game, there are mini-games with colors, numbers, shapes, etc…  He does a great job navigating with the mouse to get to the games he wants and to play the games all by himself.  He thinks it’s really funny to give the wrong answers though.  For example, Big Bird will show his 4 numbers and tell him to click on the number 2.  He will click on the number 5 and laugh.  Strange sense of humor!  It amazes us how smart the little guy is.

As for Linden, she is 8 weeks old and still growing!  I brought out the 3 to 6 month clothes this weekend since she is starting to out grow the 0 to 3 month clothes.  She goes to the doctor on tuesday for her 2 month check up so we can see how much she weighs then.  She will also get her first round of shots.  I am hoping she handles them better than Xander did.  He got really sick from his 2 month shots. Here are a few pictures of her at 8 weeks.

As you can see, she’s a happy and healthy little girl.  She is starting to sleep better at night.  Last night she went to bed at 10:30 and slept until 3:15.  That was a pretty long stretch for her!  Hopefully she can keep it up for when I go back to work!

Over Memorial Day weekend we packed up the family and went to Bowman for Erin Kelly’s graduation.  The trip was long but well worth it.  On the way there we stopped in Bismarck to visit Great Grandma Ann.  We always enjoy seeing her and it is great to have a place for the kids to get out of the car and stretch their legs.

Xander was too busy playing to be in a picture so that was about the best we could do to get a group photo.

When we got to Bowman, the kids got lots of attention!

It was great to have so many helping hands.  I think the kids got a little spoiled though.  Linden didn’t want to sit in her car seat on the way home.  Xander got to take his naps in Grandpa and Grandma’s room and he often had company. 

Xander also enjoyed the big back yard to play in with Ziggy.  Ziggy loved Linden too and watched over her when she cried.

Notice in the picture above how Xander is sitting exactly like Grandpa Dale.  He LOVES to mimic people.  Usually it is his daddy that he is copying every move of!

We also saw Great Grandma Mary and Uncle Matthew but I was bad at taking pictures this trip.  On Saturday night my uncle Greg, aunt Dena, cousin Ben, uncle Vince, aunt Karen, and cousin Michael all came to visit us.  It was great seeing them. 

Graduation was on Sunday.  Matthew is at the top of his class this year so he ushered the graduates in.  I can’t believe he is a senior now!  On Sunday evening, we went to the Kelly’s house.  Xander decided to be the life of the party.  He is usually shy, but he came out of his shell that day.  He was singing his ABC’s, the I Love You Barney song, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star for everyone.  He also did the Chicken Dance.  He was quite the performer and he kept saying “thank you” after his songs.  He was fun to watch.

The trip back was long but Xander did great.  Linden, as I said before, wanted to be held so she was a little more of a challenge.

As for the kids now, they are both doing well.  Linden is 7 weeks old and growing like a weed.  She is smiling lots now and cooing and talking to us.

Xander is such a great big brother.  He talks to Linden and gives her a pacifier when she cries.  A day doesn’t go by without him giving her several hugs and kisses and saying “I love you baby Linden!”.  She also adores him.  When she sees him she will coo and smile. 

Here they are wearing their “I’m the Big Brother” and “I’m the Little Sister” shirts that aunt Angie bought for them when Linden was born.

Here are a few more 7 week old pictures of Linden…

Linden has been growing so fast and we are enjoying every moment with her.  We are amazed at how fast Xander is growing up also.  He is starting to talk in some sentences.  Instead of saying “more” he says “I want more….”  New phrases are coming out of his mouth every day.  He also has a little two year old attitude surfacing at times, but he is a loving little boy.  We are blessed to have two wonderful kids! 

On May 23rd, 2003, I met my future wife for the first time. My friend Beth was living in Minneapolis and wanted to spend her birthday up in Duluth.  She decided to bring two of her friends along who had never visited Duluth before - Kathy and Laura!  On that Friday evening, I had a beach volleyball game at the local bowling alley.  So, officially, I can say that I met my wife at a bowling alley.  Classy!  When we met, she looked like she didn’t want to be there at all.  Not a great first impression.  But, Kathy had an allergic reaction to something so Laura was more concerned about her methinks.  We hung out there for a while before heading out to Soup-town for the night.

The next day, I took the ladies on a tour of Duluth.  We went down to the harbor to watch ships come in.  I remember parking in that central lot in front of Grandma’s Saloon and then walking toward the museum to eventually join the other tourists.  A southbound ship was just about to go through the lift bridge.  I said, “There is a ship right there.”  Laura responded, “I don’t see any ships.”  The ship was packed with cargo and Laura had mistaken it for a moving building.

We go back to my house to hang out and this is where we started seeing similarities in each other.  We debated about football and whether the Vikings or the Broncos were the better team.  One would say, “I like Back to the Future.”  The other would respond, “I like Back to the Future too.”  We did this many times over the course of the weekend.  That night, we ate clown cake and had a grand time in Superior yet again.

They left the next day after eating at Blackwoods and I did not talk to Laura again until June under the ruse that I was going to help her with her fantasy football team.  This is just the short story, but overall, the weekend was a blast.  Had Beth not come up for her birthday that weekend, I may have never met my future wife.  Happy Meetiversary babe!

Technorati Tags: happy, meetiversary, meetaversary, meeteversary

Conversation with Xander this morning:

Me: Knock, knock

Xander: Who’s there?

Me: Xander.

Xander: What.

Me: Xander.

Xander: What.

Me: Xander.

Xander: What you need Daddy?

Not getting the premise of a knock knock joke yet…

Technorati Tags: knock knock, joke, toddler

Linden is 5 weeks old and is finally losing her newborn look.  She started smiling at 3 1/2 weeks but I haven’t caught it on camera yet.  Here are a few pictures of her half smiling.

She is a very content little girl.  She only gets fussy when she is hungry or tired. She is still up a lot a night to eat, but does go back to sleep usually. When she was first born, she didn’t like baths and would cry the whole time.  Now she likes them!

Although Linden has her own personality, we are still amaze at how much she looks like her big brother Xander!