My Day with Genesis

For those of you who don't know, I work as a "consultant" for the band Genesis, basically as the "webmaster" for their website. My official title, for what it's worth, is "Genesis-Web Content Editor," but webmaster seems to cover the real work of it.

Genesis are releasing a DVD of their tour from last year, called "When in Rome 2007." Because there's a lot of publicity surrounding this release, Maria, who works for the company that runs the Genesis website, thought it would be great if we could head to London, to help cover the DVD release for the website. As you can imagine, she got no argument from me about this.

So, we made travel arrangements to head over to London, Maria a day earlier than I, to cover the DVD premiere, and my plan was to arrive on Wednesday, 21 May with Sue, as she was able to get off of work to have a little mini-vacation with me.

The really exciting part of this for me, as a Genesis fan, is that we had proposed to their management that we would do a tour of "The Farm," Genesis's studio, and actually do an online chat with Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, 2/3rds of the core of Genesis since 1978. And, to our great pleasure, they actually agreed to this! So, I was going to get to go out to The Farm, where Genesis recorded such albums as Abacab, Genesis, Invisible Touch, and We Can't Dance, and hang out, tour the facilities, and meet Mike and Tony! Great stuff!

I'll do a blog later on about the rest of the trip, but this is all about the visit to The Farm. It was a great day, no two ways about it. I'll start at the beginning, and go from there. If you're not interested in hearing me blab about this, then this is *not* the blog for you.

I met up with Maria and Charlotte (the videographer) at about 11:45am at Waterloo Station in London on Thursday, 22 May. We were meeting to take the train out to the Farm, and do the various and sundry activities for today. I had my laptop with me (and some items to be signed!), Maria and Charlotte had the camera, laptops, and from Maria, snacks for the ride!

Our train leaves at 12:15, and we are at Witley by about 1:10. A very nice train ride through the English countryside. As it was my first trip EVER to the UK, it was great to see a bit of land outside of London. We were picked up at the train station, after a very brief wait by Dale Newman, who has been working with the band (starting out as MR's tech during the US Lamb tour) since 1975.

Dale's a *really* friendly, genuinely nice guy (as everyone I met out at The Farm was), originally from Indiana, but has been living in the UK for years now. We talked a bit of baseball, US politics, and of course, the band and music in general. We arrived at the Farm after maybe a 10 minute drive (my timing may be a bit wonky, as I wasn't really paying attention too much to time). There, we met Geoff Callingham, another long time Genesis "guy," and a truly great person to meet.

After chatting for a bit, making introductions and talking some tech set up for the day, Dale gives us the tour of the facilities (before the videotaped tour with Nick Davis). We see the main control room, the recording room, the stone room (for Phil's drums), and the back "old" control room, where Dale does some recording of his own material. Later on, I went back with Dale and he played me one of his newer songs, which I enjoyed, there was some nice sounding keys in the chorus of the song that I particularly liked.

After leaving the old control room, Dale took us to the equipment shed, where he told a great story about a Stonehenge mockup and it's role at the end of the first Mike & the Mechanics tour (think "Stonehenge" from Spinal Tap, and you'll get the jist of the story). There were a lot of flight cases around, along with some old keyboards, some familiar stools, and lots of guitar strings and other tech equipment. Great stuff... There was also a field right by the equipment shed, filled with sheep/lamb. When sheep bleat, it almost sounds "fake," as they sound too much like someone imitating a sheep... Kind of funny, to my mind...

Once back in, Dale made up some of his world famous sausages, which were quite good! Charlotte went out to grab some exterior shots of the studio, and Maria and I continued to get some tech stuff done. At this poing, I logged onto the Genesis site, and posted a thread in the Forum, and in response to a comment in that thread about soundboard tapes from early Genesis tours, Geoff suggested taking a photo of the tapes/hard drive boxes in the other room.

While we got some things done, Nick Davis showed up, probably before 2:30pm? We all talked for a bit after introductions, and we planned out how to do this video tour. Nick went outside to start it with Charlotte, and then, once inside, I got picked up on the tour to help out by asking some basic questions about the studio as we went along. I felt a little stilted, as when filming, you really do feel the camera eye on you, and there is a responsibility to be "interesting!" I think it turned out well though. Having done the tour with Dale previously helped out, as I knew some things to ask about, and while I'm not a professional musician, I'm familiar enough with how studios work that I could ask some decent questions.

After the tour, I checked in with Maria to see about the chat situation. We were concenred about some issues with the room, but there were tech folks at Ultrastar HQ who were working on workarounds, and we (meaning the tech folks!) got the issues resolved.

Because Charlotte had worked with Tony Banks' daughter either during or after college (I wasn't sure of the exact timeline), Emily stopped by, and we all had a brief chat. While waiting for the main event with Mike and Tony (they were expected around 5:45pm or so), Maria and I showed Nick and Geoff the Members DVD in the TV in the control room. Nick in particular really enjoyed it, and was gracious enough to say so in the Members Forum on the website.

This was one of those moments, watching the DVD on a monitor at The Farm, with Nick Davis sitting right next to me, bopping his head to Turn It On Again, and Home by the Sea, where I let myself think, "I'm at the FARM! This is NUTS!"

After some tea from Geoff, and working out the last of the tech/chat issues, Mike and Tony arrive, in separate cars, but within about a minute or two of each other. I believe Mike came in first, then Tony. We had some brief intros, again, and began the set up in earnest... I *believe* I posted in the chat room that "Mike and Tony are here," but some things are a bit of a blur...

We actually changed some of the set up on the fly. Our initial plan was to have Mike and Tony in the same room. I would be transcribing for Tony, and Maria for Mike. That way, we could pull a question, and if it was for both of them, Tony could answer, then Mike, or vice versa. Also, we thought we could get some good banter between them for the camera, and the chat. However, when we sat down, Mike was concerned that he and Tony would be talking over each other, or at the same time, so that it would be hard to concentrate on the actual questions.

So, Maria quickly set up in the other room with Mike (at the couches in the control room) whereas I stayed with Tony in the main "lounge" of the Farm. I chatted with Tony a bit, explaining how the "backend" of this chat would work, so that he would know what was going on. Nick was at another computer in the same room, doing some pre-chat, chat... Tony seemed interested and engaged in the chat process, and asked if he'd need to read himself. I said that I'd read the questions to him, but if he wanted to read himself, he could also. He got his reading glasses, so he could see the screen (on my laptop) a bit better. I did also ask Tony if there was anything that he *didn't* really want to talk about, and I believe his response was, "You can ask anything, don't worry about it." He also said that he knew that he could talk a lot, but would try to keep it shorter than usual...

I also have to share that I did bring some CD sleeves to get signed, and just by chance, they were sitting by the side of my laptop, with "A Curious Feeling" on the top. He pointed it out, and said something along the lines of "A man with taste," when I said it was mine... That was a fun little moment.

Since Maria was in the other room, I wasn't sure if we had an "intro" or not to the chat, so I decided to just jump into it. The good thing with Mike being in the other room with Maria, was that we were able to get a lot more questions asked, as we were really almost doing two chats at once. The negative to that was that we lost the interaction of Mike and Tony, and we couldn't film the *whole* chat, as Charlotte was going between the two rooms with the camera. I think Tony and I got filmed a bit more, as our room had better lighting.

I think I did a good job getting the spirit of Tony's answers. It was really impossible to get all of his words into every answer with my transcribing, but we joked about that too. Nick however thought that I really did a decent job, as he was sitting in the same room, and could hear Tony's answers, and read my transcription.

I have to be honest, I have *no clue* what Mike was saying to Maria, as I really couldn't take the time to read his responses as they came up in chat. Since being there, I've had time to read over the transcript, and it was great to see that Mike appeared to have a good time with the chat on his end also.

It *felt* like we did the chat for about an hour, although you can correct me if I have the specific time off. From reading some other comments, I can see that I/we may have pulled some questions from the same users. I can say at least on my part, I was trying to pull questions, and honestly, I barely paid attention to who posted the question. It's a little stressful, as you can imagine... But Tony was *really* easy to talk to.

I think Tony enjoyed doing the chat, and at the end, before he left, I mentioned that if he wanted to do anything else for the site, we'd be happy to facilitate it. "I know, I know" was his response, in a friendly way, like he knows he would like to do more, but just hasn't gotten around to it... I think that's hopeful for the future, for more chats, etc. I did manage to get Mike and Tony to sign some items, and the banter between the two of them at that point was really fun, just two old friends hanging out...

So, then they departed for whatever was next for them, probably relaxing... I took a deep breath, and just let it soak in, what had just happened.

We did some final filming for the tour, and wrapped up... Maria, Charlotte and I got on the 8:20pm train out of Whitley, back to Waterloo!

This is perhaps a very "dry" retelling of the events from last week, but I wanted to give a sense of how this type of event actually works. I had a blast, and it was pretty surreal. I have to say, Tony and Mike are friendly, and I was happy to work closely with Tony on the chat. It's *really* great that we were able to share some good news about the board tapes, and also about the *possibility* of the ACF reissue. Tony was a "good interview," and I enjoyed it immensely...

I also think that getting face time with Nick, Dale, and Geoff will help with getting some more content on the site. Obviously, Nick has his own area of the Forum, but I talked with Geoff and Dale about some other ideas for long time Genesis employee participation.

Emotionally, it was FANTASTIC! I realize I am INCREDIBLY lucky to have had this opportunity, and I really do feel like I was representing "fans" in my trip there. Sure, I was the guy in the chair, but really, part of my job is to put a "human" face to the fans, the website, and our fun group in general who live here on the site. So, that was part of the great fun of our London trip. More to come about the rest of the trip later on...

Ah, the weekend...

I've been resting a lot this weekend, and updating my Shelfari page. You can see my new widget above my links, to the right of this post. This will show what I'm reading now, and if you hit the Shelfari link in the list of links, it'll show my entire bookshelf.

I have updated all the books I own into the Shelfari site, and now will be keeping it up to date from here on out. If you want to see what I'm reading, be sure to check it out. Reading is fundamental, as they say...

I may have some interesting travel news to share later this week, I'll keep you posted on what is going on.

Anyone out there watch Battlestar Galactica this past Friday? I thought it was a good start to the season, although I never quite know why some characters in fiction, when they come back from being "dead," never quite understand the perspective of the others who are meeting them, that it might actually make sense for others not to trust them right off the bat. Of course, if that were to happen, the story wouldn't advance, or it would be a very different kind of story.

I'll be interested to see how this "Final Five Cylons" plot line continues to develop. I still think there's some tie into the "Earth" plot, like these Five Cylons aren't actually Cylons. However, the "programming" of Anders may belie that idea. We shall see...

I promise to write more regularly now. Lets see if I can keep the promise...

Python!

I just, in the past few minutes, finished reading Michael Palin's newest book, Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years. While reading diary entries can be a bit dry, Palin writes with a clarity and a brevity that always tells a coherent story, while also being entertaining in the whole.

From reading about Palin and Python activities during the 70's, I've really been sucked back into a Python mode. I just threw on some of the DVDs of the TV show, and watched the new Life of Brian DVD last weekend. Not that I'm alone in this, but every time I watch Python, I realize how much they've influenced my own sense of humor. I'm not one of those people who goes around quoting every Python skit out there (I have *not* memorized the Parrot Sketch or the Cheese Shop bit), but I do find some turns of phrase from the show appearing in my everyday speech. It's more about embedding the ethos into my life, versus just quoting lines.

Reading the diaries, it's a firm reminder how anti-establishment Monty Python were as a group. Being in my line of work, where I am responsible for enforcing policy, it can be a bit of a stretch to incorporate my world view into my work. It's not impossible, but it involves a bit more thought. I think what stifles me is when I work with people who can't see outside of a strict view of what they think our work is about, in helping to develop college students. Sometimes, I think my field goes for some easy answers, instead of wrestling with the complex ideas that confront us in our daily work. The contradiction here is that we're supposed to be dealing with complex issues, helping our students continue to grow into good people...

So, with all that being said, I've been looking to digest more and more Python... I'll probably watch more of the TV show, perhaps revisit "The Meaning of Life," and continue to fight the power!

The NASPA Conference

I was in Boston from March 7th to the 12th for the NASPA conference, one of the two major gatherings of student affairs professionals per year. I got into the city on Friday the 7th, and after settling into the hotel room (the lovely Midtown Hotel, right across from the Christian Science Center), I walked over to the Hynes Convention Center to get checked in, and see who was around that I knew.

I ran into Tricia, who I had worked with at Dartmouth, and who was now going through job interviewing herself, and talked to my old boss Jeff, also from Dartmouth. A nice visit with people I'd revisit throughout the trip.

That evening, I met up with my friend Sharon, who is a friend from way back at Boston College. We first met the summer of 1991, when we were both working for Housing during the summer. Actually, I was working making beds, and Sharon was working as an Orientation Advisor. We would work together, when the OA's would help us out, making beds for conferences.

So, anyway, we lost contact with each other after college (probably due to messages left not getting delivered), but recently, we've been back in touch through the wonders of the internet. Since I was coming into Boston, we made plans to meet up and get together for dinner.

We went to an Ethiopian restaurant, which was a lot of fun for me, as I had never been to one before. The food was quite good, and Sharon and I talked pretty much non-stop, just catching up, talking about our lives, etc. It's funny, because it wasn't like we were best friends back in college, but we always got along very well, and it was quite easy to just fall back into that mode in conversation.

And yes, I continue to be analytical about everything!

On Saturday, within the conference, we attended the JASPA conference, which was a day long conference for student affairs professionals from Jesuit colleges. David, my director, and Jess, our Assistant Coordinator of Operations, had flown up with me, but were only there for the JASPA section of NASPA.

JASPA, as a conference, was a mixed bag. Half of it was great (the morning sessions), and the afternoon sessions were not terribly thrilling. The banquet in the evening, back on the campus of Boston College, was fun for the time I was there. Taking the charter bus out there, I really had some strong feelings of connection to Boston, the campus, and that time of my life in general. Boston was a time in my life when I *really* enjoyed almost everything that was going on in my life. Sure, there were ups and downs, as usual, but it was a very happy time in my life.

Going back to campus, I was able to just sit back and relax, and let those feelings of being back "home" wash over me. Boston, besides the NJ shore area, is the one other place I consider to be "home." It was great to not have to concentrate on driving myself, thinking of other things, I was able to just *be*, which was fantastic.

At the banquet myself, I ran into one of the club advisors who worked with the CCE when I was President of the organization. It was great to reconnect with her, and I do think she *almost* remembered me!

I had to leave the banquet early, as I was meeting my friend Joe to record an episode of our internet radio show Pseudocertainty. Generally, because we live in different states, we have to record these shows over the internet, but if we can do them in person, that's always a better dynamic. So, check the site out, and listen to us blab about GM food, some odd medical procedures, and other fun topics.

On Sunday, I met up with my friend Brian, his sister In, and her husband Rowan for a viewing of "This is Spinal Tap" at the Brattle Theater. I hadn't actually seen the movie in a theater, EVER, so it was a great experience, although the sound of the movie was a bit too low.

After the movie, Brian and I hit the Border Cafe for some fajitas, and he was kind enough to drive me back to the hotel afterwards. We've been friends since about 1983 or so, we have a good shorthand when we meet. I think we can each talk about things in our lives, and we just *know* the context of each other's personalities well enough, that we know when we have to push each other a bit, or be honest, or be a bit quiet about things. We see each other only maybe 2-3 times a year, but it's always quality.

Here's Brian at the Border, talking to the Lovely Sue on the phone... She called during the dinner.

And, just a nice night time Cambridge shot, albeit a bit blurry...

Monday was the start of the conference proper. Here' below is a shot of Boston with a very blue sky...

And, the Prudential Tower.... With a new building next to it. Kind of futuristic, to my eye...

And above, a tailor's shop, with a very familiar name....

Here's a building where my friend Kim lived in while we were both in Boston in the 1993-1994 time frame. I walked by it a few times a day, going back and forth to the hotel, so I had to take a shot of it for her. Note to self - I should actually send it off to her!

Here's my friend Amanda, we were grad students together at MSU back in the mid/late 1990's. We hadn't seen each other since about 1999, at a conference in New Orleans. It was good to catch up with her, and see how her life is going. She's still out in Michigan, working at MSU, and taking doctoral classes. In fact, she's pretty much done with classes, and will be working on her dissertation soon. Good luck to her!

And here's the Beatles back together.

Tricia, myself, Krista, Brian, and Fouad. We were all Community Directors at Boston at the same time, and this group was the core of a really great collegial relationship. This photo is from the Dartmouth social on Monday night, and we actually met up for dinner on Tuesday also, along with some other Dartmouth folks.

This was another walk down memory lane, as reconnecting at these conferences is always emotional in some ways, especially as we all have a deep, abiding respect for each other. We know each other really well as colleagues, and can talk directly with each other about a wide variety of things that both friends and colleagues have to talk about. I'd happily work with any of these people again.

So, that's the conference. I can say that the sessions I went to were pretty decent, but the options were a bit thin on the ground. I have been inspired to plan some presentations for next year, to help bring some good options back to the floor of the conference. Fu and I were talking about some ideas for next year, and I'm sure we'll be in contact over the next year, to see if we actually want to try to put some things together.

Boston conference!

Yes, it's been too long since I've blogged, but I've been very busy with work, both for the College and Genesis, and now I'm writing to you from the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, where I'm attending the NASPA Conference. There's a session at 1:45pm I'll be attending, so this is just a brief note.

Watch for upcoming photos from NASPA, from the cat show my mom and I attended last week, some Westminster Dog Show photos from February, and whatever other random things my cross my path in the next few days. Maybe I'll have time to write tonight...

NP: People walking by in the Hynes Convention Center

ps-Why doesn't Kinkos/FedEx take Fed Ex packages???

pps-I know it's just for after 4pm, but I still found the sign to be funny.

Tuesday Afternoon...

Yes, it's a song title, and I don't have any other creative title for this...

However, today is Super Tuesday, and I went to cast my ballot around 10am-ish this morning, at a local school here in Jersey City. One of the ladies remembered me from the last time I cast my ballot, in November, which I thought was great! She even remembered my name, which I was very impressed by, until I realized I still had my work nametag on.

I'll be watching CNN pretty closely tonight, as I love to follow the politics, although the talking heads blathering on can get a bit repetitive. Sometimes they have good insights, especially if they are surprised by the results. If it's what everyone expected, then they pretty much talk about that, but if there are surprises, it allows for little bits of interesting talk to slip through.

Personally, I believe that McCain is going to get the Republican nomination, but I think it's still a toss up between Clinton and Obama on the Democratic side. Tonight may go a long ways to solidify one person's lead over another, but it may end up being a horse race down to the end. I think the money is on Clinton winning the nomination, at the end, but if Obama has a number of solid wins tonight, it could really influence the rest of the primaries down the road.

This past weekend, Sue and I drove down to my mom's to take her out to lunch on Saturday, as her birthday was on Monday. We went to a place called Rafferty's in Asbury Park, which was a great meal! A good turkey sandwich, is what I had, my mom had the Shrimp Salad sandwich, which she liked, and Sue had the Veggie-Burger, which she also enjoyed. All in all a great lunch, and it was good to be able to spend it with my mom for her birthday.

Next week, Sue and I are going into NYC for the Westminster Dog Show, at MSG, which should be a fun time. Lots of our four legged friends will be there, and neither of us have ever experienced something like this. I'll be sure to take photos and report back on it here...

Laptop!

Yes, I'm writing to you all on my new laptop! New since Monday, I should say. I have been gettin this set up to do my web-Genesis work, my genealogy stuff, and just general computing. It's always fun setting up a new computer, making it homey, and personalized just how I like it.

This computer has wireless, so I've been working from the couch a lot. It's nice to have the mobility to be able to work away from ethernet wires, no more slave to the hub. Or to the jack in the wall.

Of course, I had a "you idiot!" moment earlier this week, when I thought about installing AOL on this laptop so I could check my e-mail. I've been checking my AOL mail on the AOL website while at work, but I didn't realize that I could create folders in the web-mail application, to store mail. Since I discovered that, it took me a bit of time to reach the conclusion that I didn't need the AOL software at all, as it gave me nothing that I couldn't get elsewhere. For some reason, my brain didn't wrap myself around that fact right away. Sometimes, I think I'm smart, then I realize that I'm not. :)

Laptop...

Well, I decided on what laptop to go with, and I chose this one, after consulting with my computer tech Joe. It's in the right price range, and had pretty much everything I wanted/needed from a laptop at this stage of my life. I'm looking forward to receiving it, hopefully next week at some point, but we'll see how long the shipping process actually takes.

I have started my exercise routine again. I think what I'm going to try to do is exercise for 20 minutes every day after work. Then, I will blog here, and then I'll get on with the rest of my evening. I should be able to hold to this routine most evenings, although sometimes, like yesterday, I'll have an evening commitment that does not allow for exercise. When that happens, I just have to make sure I don't let that missing of one day go into a mass of missed days.

I'm on duty tonight, so I need to stick around campus till tomorrow morning, when I hand the duty materials off to the colleague I'm covering for tonight. I don't know what plans Sue and I have for the weekend, we'll figure it out tomorrow...

Next Saturday, Sue and I will be taking my mom out for her birthday, which is actually on the Monday, but obviously the Saturday works out better than trying to manage to get together on a Monday. I've also been invited to a SuperBowl party for Sunday, but I'm not sure if I'll be going. I just don't care that much about football, but it would be fun to be social with people... Decisions, decisions...

NP: Sammy Davis City - The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Adventures in Printing

Today, during work, I got to travel down to Staples to get some color flyers printed up for our Resident Assistant application process at work. It's always fun to be able to get out of the office for awhile in the middle of the day. I took the opportunity while there to check out some laptop computers, as I want to get a new one in the next few months.

There are definitely some good PCs in the $800-$1200 range, which is what I'm looking for, generally. I'll need to chat with some computer friends to determine what options are the best, with what I want to do.

Generally, this laptop will be for web updating, genealogy research, and general MS-Word writing, etc. Nothing too fancy. But, the good thing is that I'll be able to clean off the decktop computer I have, and return it to being mainly for writing and recording music. I didn't want it to, but this one basically has turned into our all purpose computer. I didn't really want that to happen, but the present laptop we have is just too slow and old for modern purposes.

Isn't that sad?

NP: Puccini - Tosca in Barcelona

Forgot to mention....

Went to Barnes and Nobles yesterday, and they're doing a "Buy Three, get one Free" DVD sale, so I bought:

• Forbidden Planet - One I've been meaning to get for awhile, but hadn't
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie - Just because
• Queen: Live in Montreal - Ah, one of my fave bands, with lots of bonus stuff...

I also think I can get Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica, and Season 2.0 and 2.5 all at once there, for cheaper than I can on Amazon, even with the Amazon discounts. I may have to make a trip back there before the sale ends on January 31st.

NP: Frank Zappa - The "Real World" Thematic Extrapolations

A January Post...

Okay, okay, I know I've been lazy in blogging here... It's been busy, so sue me!

What have I been up to? Lets see, since the new year, I've been busy with Resident Assistant Winter Training, getting that ready; working on the Genesis website, which continues apace; trying to have free time with Sue, which is going well; relaxing when possible, which I have to build in more time to do; and all sorts of other things, which I'll talk about when I remember them!

Here's some random stuff, to entertain and educate you...

This past weekend, I saw the movie Johnny Dangerously for the first time. I have the feeling that it was a lot funnier back in the day when it came out. As I said to Sue (who rented it to relive her comedy youth), "When Joe Piscopo is the best thing about a movie, you know you're in trouble!" And Joe was really good in it, with generally weak material. I found myself saying in my head a lot, "that's funny," but never really laughing. It was like watching a movie that had all the ingredients to be a riot, but it just never quite got there...

I also don't know if I bought Michael Keaton as the lead comedy guy in the movie, he seemed stilted and unfunny throughout most of the film...

But, I did go to see "Cloverfield," which was quite good, albeit formulaic in places. I'm a sucker for monster movies, so having a big beastie rampaging through NYC was quite good. The first person telling of the story worked for me, and I thought there were some clever turns in the plot, although I thought the "love" story in it was a bit preditable. Alas, such is life...

All in all though, I'd recommend it, and I think it would stand up to repeated viewings, unlike the first person "Blair Witch Project" movie from a few years back.

On Sunday, Sue and I went to go see "The WaterHorse," a fine kids movie about a boy who discovers the egg to the Loch Ness monster during WWII. I enjoyed it, as it tugged at the heartstrings in an appropriate, but not manipulative way. The kids in the theater seemed to like it too, as I heard sniffles at the right places. Or, were those mine?

Yesterday, Sue and I watched all of the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" DVDs that Brian gave to me for Christmas. Great show, very funny, although digesting them all in one afternoon may have been a bit much. But, they're addictive. The group of four younger folk who the show follows are appropriately stupid/clever/funny in the right spots, and I liked the irony of one of the lead characters being bombarded with eggs outside of an abortion protest.

I'm sure I have more to say, but I'll write more again soon, I promise. Really!

NP: ELP - Rondo (9 Dec 1970)

Obama!

Today, Senator Barack Obama had his NJ coming out party right here on the campus of Saint Peter's College, where I work. We were able to take this afternoon to go to the event, and it was a great time. I'm still a bit on the fence about who to vote for in the Primary, but Obama is my top preference right now. I need to do a bit more reading though...

So, here are some photos of the event!

This is Kennedy Boulevard, which cuts through campus. You can see the line to get in on the other side of the road. Supposedly, not everyone could get in, and there were about 1000-2000 people who couldn't enter the Rec Center where the event was held. The event was delayed a bit, as Obama pressed the flesh outside a bit, to make sure that those who couldn't get in didn't leave too disappointed.

Obama, on stage, speechifying. I was about 15 feet from him, at the most. Great vantage, and the crowd was really with him all the way, listening, responding, and generally paying good attention.

At the end, I did get to shake his hand, and I got these next two photos of him, by just holding my camera up and hoping to get something good...

Be sure to register to vote, if you're in the US. Vote! And if you're not in the US, vote in whatever elections you can!

Moscow Cats, and Hair

Today, Sue and I went to go see the Moscow Cats Theatre at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, in NYC. Sue had gotten me the tickets as a Christmas present, and today was the show. The venue was a tiny place, maybe seating 200? However, our seats were front row, but even if they had been higher or further away, we still would have been able to see everything fine.

The cats generally did very "cat-like" things, such as walking, scratching the floor, etc., but then were trained to run and jump and climb on certain things, like the tightrope walking cat in the photo above. There was always a treat at the end of the trick (and sometimes at the start) for the cats, and sometimes, I think the trick the cat did wasn't particularly what was planned, but it was still a blast. There were a few siamese cats, a hairless cat, a dog (Pomeranian?), and 5 actors/clowns, who either worked with the cats, or did their own tricks.

The show was about 70 minutes long, and was very much worth seeing. There was a lot of laughter from both us, and the audience during the show. I think the run is ending soon in NYC, and I don't know where they go from here.

In other Mike News, I've cut off a lot of my hair... Here's a photo or two to show the new style...

I'm definitely working that Garibaldi look from Season 4-5 of Babylon 5....

NP: ELP - From the Beginning

A strange feeling...

Yesterday, I commente on my new position I have, as the "Genesis-Web Content Editor" for the official Genesis website. I've been doing this job officially for a month now, and it really is a fun job. Its work, that doesn't feel like "work," if that makes sense.

However, it is very strange for me to be in this position. I've been a fan of Genesis since about 1984 or so, and now, I'm working (through a company) for the band themselves, basically running content on their website. It's a connection in a very real way, to something that's been, for want of a better word, a "hobby" for me for over 20 years.

There's also a great sense of responsibility for this. I've been put into a position that any "fan" out there would kill for, and now, I'm *that guy*. I feel I can be a good voice for fans of the band with the management and perhaps even the band themselves at some point, but there's also that understanding on my part, that I really am just helping run their website.

I'm a big King Crimson fan also, and I got thanks on here yesterday about the Genesis gig from Sid Smith, the guy who helps run King Crimson's website (and does a lot of other cool stuff, check out his blog), DGMLive.com. That's a site the approach of which I'd like to emulate in my own work, while putting my own stamp on the approach I take.

At it's core, I figure I got this job by being myself, and I just have to continue doing that, helping to make the content of the site something I and other fans would be interested in checking out on a regular basis.

I think I'm putting a lot of my angst out here tonight about this job. Overall, I've been having a great time with this work, so I just have to continue doing so. It's a great place to be right now, and I'm going to do my best to put the band out there on the web with the best face. I made a comment on the message boards on the site that my goal for the site is to keep it active and alive, and one of my friends on the boards told me that that phrase sounds like a Mission Statement. I've taken that to heart in the past month.

So, in summary, it's a strange feeling to have a hobby/interest turn into a job.

NP: Yes - Children of Light

Back!

I know, I know, it's been awhile since my last blog here. What can I say, except that I've been busy!

Since I last wrote in October, I've been to two weddings, was best man at one of them (traveled to Rhode Island for that one also!), have a new consulting job, and have just been plugging away at a lot of different work related stuff.

The consulting job is what's taking up a lot of my free time, I'm working as the Genesis-Web Content Editor, for the official Genesis website.

As you may know out there, I'm a big Genesis fan. Since November 1st, I've been serving in this official capacity for the website, providing news updates for the many Genesis fans out there around the world. It's a lot of fun, and I'm actually making some cash doing it. It's great when something that is a hobby can end up providing a piece of income also.

So, I'll be posting here again, I promise... More to come!

Mike

Suit!

I bought a new suit for the first time in a long time for the upcoming Joe/Sally nuptuals. It was about time. My last suits that I bought, I bought about 10 years ago, when I was in grad school. Fortunately, they all still fit.

So, here's the photos of the new three piece suit, for your viewing enjoyment!

Hey you! I know you!

See, I'm *not* packing heat...

Ladies, I'm taken!

NP: Dana Gould - Angry at Rush

Blog fatigue...

Hey there!

So, I said I was going to blog in here more often, and then I promptly fall off the face of the planet. Isn't that what blogging is all about? Empty promises and no content?

But, I'm here now, with an exciting week coming up! This Friday, Sue and I leave for Newport, RI for my friend Joe's wedding. I'm Best Man, so I have to finish up writing my speech this week. And YES, I have actually started it, so I'm ahead of the game there.

We leave on Friday, and the wedding is on Sunday. We're staying over till Monday, so it should be a nice little vacation, although we'll be busy with wedding stuff.

More to come later, but I wanted to let people know I was still alive.

Cheers!

NP: The Police - Rehumanize Yourself

Bowling!

Last night, I went bowling with some people from work, about seven of us all together. It was a blast, but I didn't break 100 on any game. I was always in the 90's, but I just couldn't pull it together to have a consistent game. I like to bowl, but I'm not terribly good at it.

I always figure that if I can break 100, that's a good game.

Our next social work trip outing will be to Atlantic City, sometime in November. That should be a fun time, assuming that I'm able to go. We'll see how the schedule pans out.

In other news, here's a shot from the Genesis show I went to at Giants Stadium back on the 28th.

It was a great time, I had a blast. Fortunately, the weather held out, there was no rain, and it was quite a warm night. The music was great, and if it's the last time I see Genesis (as there's no guarantee that they'll tour again), that's okay...

New starts on here, yet again...

I think at the beginning of September, I said I was going to re-focus posting on here, as I had dropped off for a bit. Of course, since then, I have barely posted.

I think I'm going to try to write something each day before going to work, see if that's a better time to do this than in the evenings. If I have something that I end up wanting to say in the evenings, then I'll write then, but this will probably become my regular time to write.

But, now, I have to go off to work... See you all later!

Tonight tonight tonight

So, tonight, I'm going to see Genesis with the wonderful Sue at Madison Square Garden. I'll be heading into the city around 3pm or so, and will meet up with her at StoutNYC, where the fan meet up is happening before the concert.

This will be my first time seeing Genesis since 1992, at Foxboro, MA on the We Can't Dance tour. I'm wearing the t-shirt from that show, and I'm happy it still fits...

A bit blurry, but the photo does the job, right?

I'll be going to their show on Thursday at Giants Stadium also. Someone asked me yesterday at work, why I was going to two shows. My response:

"If they were doing another show at MSG, I would have gone to that one too..."

So, perhaps that explains my obsession.

I'll write a report on the show later on, when I return...

NP: Miles Davis - So What