Stable!

No change in weight from yesterday.  Still at 200 lbs.

Will it change tomorrow?  The suspense is killing me!

Weight!

So, this past weekend, we had the Saint Peter's graduation ceremony, and I get to work it as a marshal.  So, I put on my suit, and headed out to the Garden State Arts Center (no PNC Bank crap for me, thank you very much) for the ceremony.

However, the vest for my suit was a wee bit snug.  Pants had been getting tighter recently, so I knew that weight was creeping up.  However, I didn't know it was getting *that* bad.

Strangely enough, I stumble across this article about weight loss.  So, I'm going for the public-humiliation diet, to drop some poundage.

Some days, I may just post a number in here.  Know that that number is my weight in pounds.

So, let's start the excitement, with a nice round number:  200 lbs.

NP:  Dick Dale - Jesse Pearl

I know, I know...

I really need to blog more... I'm going to start getting more into this world again soon, I promise... Perhaps even tomorrow. Because, why start today what I can put off until tomorrow.

Wait a second! This is a blog, and it's today! So, I *haven't* put it off till tomorrow.

Woot!

Snow for today...

As I'm a bit snowbound today, here's some visuals of the culprit...

CD Review: Steve Hackett - Out of the Tunnel's Mouth

One of the great things about being a fan of Genesis is that each member or former member of the band has a deep solo career to explore. For whatever mood you feel, there is new music to explore. Steve Hackett’s latest work, ‘Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth’ on his own Wolfworks label is the newest addition to this ever expanding discography.

This album runs through a full gamut of moods, with a lot of darkness and reflections, but yet to these ears the album feels hopeful at its conclusion. The turns that life takes can be unexpected, and can make the reality of life seem paper thin, as Steve sings in ‘Fire on the Moon,’ but by the end of the disc, you feel as if you are on a voyage somewhere different, exotic, and at its core, resolved to move forward, to take life on your own terms…

Are these songs autobiographical? They may be, but to the listener, it is almost irrelevant, as with the best autobiographical, personal songs, the music takes the listener on a trip to reflect on their own experiences and lives, as reflected to them in the music, the experience of another person. The personal experience of the artist, becomes general in the mind of the listener. This creating of these moods, based on Steve’s own experiences, then generalize to the hearts and minds of the audience.

What follows are impressions I felt while listening to each song. I am not attempting to “review” the music, as taste as always is a personal choice, but here you can find one person’s reflection, and perhaps it will whet your appetite to hear this music yourself… I know for me, this is an album that already has rewarded me upon repeat listens. I’ll continue to listen, to explore more and more the emotional depths present here, that are absent in so much music. This music speaks truth, and you will find yourself inside the truth, wherever that may take you.

1. Fire on the Moon: Starts with a sound, almost like a scream cut off abruptly… Is it autobiographical, the feeling of a drop off, a shock to the system… The rolling bass in the wordless choruses feels relentless, something moving forward inexorably towards an unknown conclusion… The guitar breaks, while intense, seem to these ears to be containing hope also… A reflection on the past, without submitting to it…
2. Nomads: A cry from the heart… could be the title for the entire album… A Spanish influenced song, with joy in the middle guitar break, turning to electric before our eyes…Shades of darkness near the end… It’s a cry from the heart, truly…
3. Emerald and Ash: A foggy nighttime intro… Smiling dolls wield the sharpest blade…An airy middle section, dreamy in it’s mode…But after the dream, darkness shows…Light and airy middle sections, with the sound of a light and airy 12 string, then turning dark and electric…Jamming guitar concludes… A workout on electric…Almost sounds like a march moving forward, relentlessly
4. Tubehead: Hackett has spoken of Clocks, off of Spectral Mornings, being designed as “live bait” for getting concert crowds rocking… This track is the live bait for 2009, and it works great! More guitar than should be allowed on one track… I’m sure this will be wild live…Perhaps the middle “breakdown” section could have even been pushed up in the mix a bit more, but that’s a minor quibble
5. Sleepers: Acoustic intro, reflective… Almost Hairless Heart like in quality, not a remake, but explores that same mood to these ears… …More of that romantic sounding nylon guitar that fans love from Steve, and that he does so well… Transition to song… more mournful guitar…Fine arrangement, relaxing, dreamy, pulls you in, then punches you in the face (in a good way?) with heaviness in the middle… Almost a cartoonish music break in the middle-end solo… Great stuff, from one mood to another in the space of a few bars… Does music come from dreams, and if so, are they as haunted as this music…
6. Ghost in the Glass: Nature sounds, outdoors, hanging with Steve as he plays the intro…Into the electric main melody, a respite from some of the darkness of the other songs on the album, but still power is here…
7. Still Waters: Heavyness incarnate…Blues with a dark feeling…Male/female vocals trading off, verse/chorus, blues with progressive breaks… a heavy blues groove to die for…
8. Last Train to Intanbul: A middle eastern flavour to the intro, guitar, flute, Steve can still take us geographically around the world, with a short guitar phrase… Takes a mode of music, and puts his own stamp on it… Orchestral call and response throughout the verses… Wonderful stuff… It unquestionably Hackett, with the taste of the rest of the world…Lots of references to sleep in the lyrics throughout the album… We can take this as an observation on waking up, becoming aware, and taking control as we begin the rest of our lives…

And as we fade out the last track, we get the sense of moving forward, the music going on, and we go on with our lives… We awake from the dream, finding our way to the new tomorrow, catching that Last Train to Istanbul…

Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth is available on 5 October 2009, from Steve’s site: Hackettsongs.com

Belew!

On both Friday and Saturday night this weekend, I attended local shows by Adrian Belew, solo artist/guitarist/songwriter extraordinaire, the Friday night show at BB King's in NYC, and Saturday night's show at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Initially, I had only tickets to the Friday show, but I discovered a week or so ago that the Hoboken show was happening. As Hoboken is a 15 minute drive from here in Jersey City, I decided I *had* to go to the second show. Really, there was no choice! And I'm very glad I made that call...

The two shows had generally identical set lists, although Friday's show *may* have had a bit more of Belew's new album, 'e' played at it. The Saturday show, to my ears was way ahead of the Friday show, in power, playing, and just general fun. Perhaps it had to do with the Friday venue being a seated club, and the Saturday show being at a standing club (where I was right up at the stage, to Belew's left), so I realize that can have a bit to do with my enjoyment of the show. I do think Friday's show had a few tech issues, while the only real issue I saw on Saturday, was Belew having a bit of trouble finding a tricky C# in a fast run during one of the 'e' sections... Caused by dim lighting!

Here's a photo of the set list, which I was able to get from Saturday's show, for those of you who are interested...

The set was heavy on the instrumental bits, and while I have the feeling that a lot of the new album's material was not known to the crowd, it got a great response, as Belew's writing, whether instrumental or song based, is always heavy on memorable melodies, great playing, and strong musicianship. The new material, and some of the older songs utilized looping technology, where Belew would play a riff, patter, or melody, which then through the magic of technology, would be played as a loop, over which Belew could then play other patterns, rhythms, melodies, animal sounds, basically whatever he wished to...

Belew was discovered by Frank Zappa, and played in his band before going on to play with other great musicians, and record his own solo albums. I found myself reflecting after the first show, that I think if Zappa was still alive, he would have embraced this looping technology to a great extent for his own compositions. However, that's just me hypothisizing/daydreaming, who knows what would have happened if Zappa had lived...

I did take a few photos of the show, I did not use flash as I find that annoying during shows, but because of that, most of the shots I took have a fluid nature to them... They're not "great" shots, but I find something compelling about them... Here's a selection of them for you.

This tour was billed as the "Power Trio" tour, and the rhythm section was made up of Julie Slick on bass, and Eric Slick on drums. Much has been written on how great these two players are, and how well they gel with Adrian on stage, so let me just add my voice to the chorus and say how *fantastic* they are, they really seem to form an excellent compliment to the lead guitar and vocals provided by Adrian. Having two young musicians of this calibre to back him up, Adrian must feel as if he can go out on stage and play just about anything, and the Slick's will be right there with him to back him up...

This last photo was taken during the brief autograph session at the end of the night on Friday. Adrian is always willing to meet and chat with fans, and sign albums he's played on. I'm a sucker for photos and autographs, I admit, so I was happy to get this shot of us together.

I recommend to anyone out there who is interested in any part of Belew's career, to give this new album a shot, and to see one of these power trio shows if they're coming to play anywhere near you. You won't be disappointed.

EDIT: I also have to say I was glad to see "Futurevision" from the album 'Here' get a live airing. I've always loved that song, and I think it tends to get ignored in the greater Belew canon...

Trivia

Yet again, our band of trivia goers (tonight, it was David, Mike D., Steve, and Julie, our new Community Director in the office) once again dove into the breach, and came up victorious. We ended the game in first place, so we take home the $50 gift certificate, which we use in the moment to pay for the food we got while out at trivia.

We tip well though, since we don't spend real money on the food. We know where our bread is buttered, and we want the staff there to like us...

Granted, we don't win all the time, but we tend to do well.

The way the game works is like this. There are five rounds, and four questions in each round. The first three questions, you answer, and you assign a point value to your answer. The value is either 5 points, 3 points, or 1 point, based on how confident you are of the answer. The team can only use each point value once. You can't put 5 points for each answer. So, the answer you are least sure of, you should put 1 point on that question, and 5 points on the one you are most sure of.

The 4th question is always worth 7 points, question number bonus. So, with 16 points in 5 rounds, the max number of points for the game is 80.

Tonight, we scored 70. Good, but not our best.

The categories are usually TV, Movies, Music, Sports, and then either a double of one of the used categories (another Movie, TV, etc), or sometimes a different one. Tonight's 5th category was "Games."

So, that's how we usually spend our Thursday evenings, after work... Now, I have to digest Houlihan's bar food... That'll take awhile!

Paul McCartney

You know, I might be arriving a bit late to this party, but for the first time I have seen Sir Paul McCartney live in concert.

And, I have to say, I think this chap may have a decent career in music coming up!

I went to see Paul play with a rocking teenage combo at the new Shea Stadium back in July, now called Citi Field, or some such non-descript name. I think that people will still call it Shea, just like the PNC Bank Arts Center is still the Garden State Arts Center for those in the know...

Paul played a great selection of music, and as I've told some people in person, he truly brought "The Rock" to this show. Some of Paul's music could be a bit soft at times, but at this show, it was all good high energy rock, one after another. Even the acoustic bit of the show, had a power to it that worked for songs like Yesterday and others.

Overall, for this Beatle fan, a great show! I do need to get some of McCartney's solo albums now, any recommendations?

And, here's a video of "Jet," the second song of the night. Enjoy!

Frost/Nixon and UKZ

Yesterday, I spent most of the day in New York City, seeing two very different shows. In the early afternoon, I went to see the film "Frost/Nixon," and in the evening, I went to see the "new" prog band UKZ, featuring Eddie Jobson from the late 1970's prog band UK.

But, to start with, I went into the city around noonish, to catch the 1:50pm showing of "Frost/Nixon." I enjoy reading history, and learning more about the story behind the story of what has happened in the past, so I believed this movie would be a good way of seeing what happened behind the scenes with the Frost/Nixon interviews, which I do vaguely remember from my childhood.

Of course, I know that any recreation of history is simply that, a recreation, but going into it with that light, these types of films can be a great way to get a sense of the atmosphere of the time.

With that all being said, my verdict is that I enjoyed the movie. I didn't realize the struggle that Frost had to get these interviews funded and off the ground. I knew that Frost was a television personality, but I didn't know that at the time, he was considered to be a lightweight, and that an interview with Nixon wouldn't really have fit in with his past career. The movie painted Frost as someone who at first, was really only interested in the interview as a way to get Nixon on television, to be the "first" to really interview him after his resignation in 1974. However, the movie showed Frost truly getting interested in getting the 'truth' from Nixon after a late night phone call from Nixon himself during the course of the interviews.

I'm curious if that call happened, or if it was a creation for the film. More to learn...

Frank Langella played Nixon, and while he doesn't particularly have a resemblance to the old President, he did inhabit the character like an old glove. Langella had played Nixon in the stage play that the movie is based upon, so he did have a familiarity with the character that another actor might not have attained in the time it took to make the film.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. There was enough of the 'process' behind the interviews, to have it be a compelling story, but I would have actually liked *more* about that process. And Nixon himself could have had more development as a character. Perhaps this is just my own hankering for history, that I always want more from these films. I know that the original interviews have been released on DVD recently, it may be worth picking up to see what the interviews were truly like, and if there are any behind the scenes stories in extras on the discs.

Not exactly what you'd think of as a compelling rental or purchase, but for me, it's something that I would really be interested in seeing.

Would I recommend this movie? Yes, most certainly. I think it does a great job of showing the time, and the personalities behind the characters. My main critique, is that I did just want *more* from the film.

Then, after checking out a local arcade on 42nd Street after the movie, where I played trivia games for about an hour, I headed to the Town Hall for the premiere of UKZ, a five piece band featuring Eddie Jobson on keyboards and electric violin, Trey Gunn on Warr Guitar, Marco Minnerman on drums, Aaron Lippert on vocals, and Alex Machacek on guitar. This band is a 'recreation' of the band UK, which Jobson was a part of in the late 1970's, which at the time included (at different times), John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Allan Holdsworth, and Terry Bozzio.

So, with Jobson really the only carryover from the old band, what to expect? My mentality was to go into the show with minimal expectations. I was going for fun, to enjoy myself, and to see a lineup of great musicians going for it. And fortunately, that is what I got.

The evening started off with Tony Levin's "Stick Men" project, featuring Levin and Michael Bernier on Stick, and Pat Mastelotto on drums. They performed for about 40 minutes, a variety of material written and performed with gusto, with lots of interlocking parts and fun playing. Levin and Bernier would alternate holding down rhythm, and playing lead lines on their Sticks. I enjoyed the material, but I think that some of it did begin to sound the same over the performance. One piece stood out for me though, where both Levin and Bernier used bows on their Sticks to make sound, versus the normal tapping that players usually use on the Stick. It was more a more breathy and atmospheric piece, some of which reminded me of the middle section of Pink Floyd's "Echoes." I'd like to see more experimental pieces from the Stick Men in the future, I'd gladly go see them again. Levin is always fun to see perform, and the band can really develop over time.

UKZ performed for slightly under 2 hours. If this band can sound this tight after what I would imagine are fairly minimal rehearsals, then I can only imagine what they could produce after a real series of shows. The band and performance was great! The first song was the UK classic "In the Dead of Night," which sounded both like the older arrangement, but had a great new edge to it. "Radiation," a new UKZ song followed, which while Crimson-like in its sound, was unique enough to keep this listener interested. The UK song "Carrying No Cross" followed, which was a really wonderful version, with emotional singing from Lippert.

The middle section of the concert included a number of solo spots, from Trey (with Marco the drummer), Eddie's piano and violin solo spot, a solo spot from the guitarist, and a drum solo which was both entertaining to see and amazing to listen to. To my taste, I think there was a bit *too* much of the solo spots in the show, but as a new band, UKZ still doesn't have a lot of new material to play live. If the band continues, and I hope it does, I would hope the solo bits would be cut down. I prefer solo bits that are incorporated into full band pieces...

The band played a few more new pieces, and ended the full set with another UK song, which I'm drawing a blank on, what the song actually was. I'm sure the full setlist is published on one of the other prog sites. The encores were King Crimson's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic II," with Levin and Mastelotto joining in on the fun. It was great to hear the violin lines in that song played by a violin again! The final song was UK's "Caesar's Palace Blues," with (I think), the song "The Sahara of Snow" from Bruford (co-written by Jobson) tagged onto the end of the piece.

All in all, a good day spent in the city. The movie was well worth it, and the band was wonderful to see.

A note from Mom...

Good morning everyone...

I got a message from my mom about a conversation we had this past weekend, I thought I'd share it with you all.

----------------------

hi michael,
i've been thinking about something that you said when you were visiting yesterday,,,it was something like "life hasn't turned out the way you expected",,,and i hope you don't get depressed by that,,,i will go back to my own experience of having cancer which was without a doubt the low point of my life,,,and yet,,,and yet,,,exactly one year later max was born,,,i believe that when things are bad you have to realize that something beautiful may be waiting for you just around the corner,,,,i know from life this is true,,,,
so keep your spirits up and know that there are lots of people who love you and are all keeping good thoughts for you,,,,and you don't know what's around the corner,,,,;-)

----------------------

Just a little life lesson from mom. :)

Crimson in NYC

Hello all! I haven't written in awhile, so let me start back up with what I last wrote about, the King Crimson show in NYC from back on August 14th.

The show started at about 8:30pm, and I had a front row ticket, to the right side, right in front of Tony Levin, the band's bass/stick player. It was a great show, very intense, a lot of heavy music, lots of instrumental bits. I enjoyed it immensely!

I could see everyone on stage very well, although Adrian Belew, the guitarist/singer, would periodically block Pat Mastelotto, one of the drummers.

The setlist was (to the best of my memory, so the order may be screwy):

Drum duet

The ConstruKction of Light

Neurotica

Red

Dinosaur

Talking Drum

Larks Tongues II

Walking On Air

Three of a Perfect Pair

Level Five

B'Boom

Frame By Frame

Indiscipline

First Encore:

2nd Drum Duet

Elephant Talk

2nd Encore:

Vrooom/Coda

Thela Hun Gingeet

I may be missing a song or two in there, I'll have to check around on the web to be sure... The show was a great time, being front row I was able to really pay attention to the music, and get into it in a very fun way. I tend to "conduct" the music when I listen to this stuff, making some sort of odd hand movements along with the material. I don't quite know why, but it helps me really get into it when I'm at a concert.

Here's a photo from Tony Levin, where you can spot Zorky...

King Crimson!

Tomorrow, I'm heading into NYC after work, to go see the band King Crimson at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square. I'm looking forward to the show, I *believe* my ticket will be front row. If so, it'll be my second front row King Crimson experience.

My first front row experience with the Crimson King was in Boston in 2001. John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame was opening for KC, although it was almost more of a co-headlining show, as JPJ played almost as long as KC did.

Crimson is a very *intense* band, and this lineup consists of Robert Fripp on guitar, Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals, Tony Levin on bass, and Gavin Harrison and Pat Mastelotto on drums.

I'll be sure to post a review of my thoughts on the show over the weekend. The band is actually playing 4 nights in NYC, but this is my only show.... Unless I become inspired to try to go to Friday's show too!

This Saturday, in non-KC related news, we start our Resident Assistant training for this year. The schedule has come together nicely, and I expect that we'll have a good week training, as we get ready for the arrival of students on campus on August 25th and 26th.

More later...

Boston!

Sorry for the long time between posts, but I've been busy, and I'll try to write more as we move through the rest of this year.

This past weekend, I went to Boston to hang out with my friend Brian, so here's some photos of the weekend...

Here's Brian in his office, a few minutes after I arrived on Friday. From here, we went out and saw 'The Dark Knight,' which was excellent. Good storyline, and I would have never known it was Heath Ledger playing the Joker if it wasn't plastered all over the place...

Looking up Tremont Street in Boston, towards one of the old churches. One of my friends got married in that churck back in 2003 or so, it's a nice place. And, it was a beautiful day up there in Boston. Great driving up from New Jersey, and no real traffic problems, which was good.

That evening, Brian and I headed into Harvard Square, for a late dinner, and for this photo, which has a drug induced hippy feel to it... Do not take the brown acid!

The place is 400 years old, but yet they still build...

Back at Brian's. I scoff at the camera...

The next day, on Saturday, we headed back to Harvard Square. Across from Brian's, this cat was chilling out on the sidewalk. Pretty kitty!

Brian, his sister In, and I went to the Border Cafe, one of my favourite restaurants on the planet. And perhaps others too... I took this photo outside. I would have taken one inside, but the manager actually stopped me. I asked why, and he said that all the art and other things on the walls are custom made, and he's seen The Border's stuff show up in other restaurants. I thought it was a little extreme, not taking the photo, but hey, its his business, so I oblidged...

And what's a visit to Harvard Square without some street performers? Here's a guy with a nice little one man band setup going on... He had a shaker strapped to his foot, for a bit of percussion going on... No photo though, I didn't want to hang out taking photos of feet for that long...

On Saturday night, Brian and I just hung out at his place. I thought about going out, or contacting some other friends, but I was just too tired, and actually fell asleep for a bit... We are too exciting!

I was thinking of sticking around later on Sunday, to go to the beach with Brian for a bit, as he had some friends who were going to play beach volleyball, but I wanted to get back to NJ at a reasonable time. I'll hit Boston again sometime in the Fall, I'm sure...

NP: Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine (30 March 1994)

Blood donation!

Today at the college, the Community Service office sponsored one of their blood drives. As I was feeling good and ready for it, I signed up to donate!

Walking over to the room where the drive was being held, it was a beautiful day, so the bridge needed to be photographed....

Once we got all our paperwork in order, I had to wait until there was a free couch. Melody, one of my co-workers, was one step ahead of me. :)

Self portrait of the administrator as a blood donor....

By this time, I was stuck with the needle, and draining had commenced! Feeling good!

And afterwards, you got to have your OJ! Don't want to pass out!

And, finally, the aftermath. That's iodine on my arm, not anything else! They did use a lot of iodine compared to other times I've given blood, but it doesn't hurt or anything, so it's all good...

So, if you can, GIVE BLOOD!

NP: King Crimson - The Sailor's Tale (1971 04 13)

Saturday review

Today was a little different than most Saturdays, as I went to a memorial service down in Spring Lake, NJ, for a memorial service for one of my grandmother's cousins who passed away earlier this week. I'm not usually a person who is thrilled about the content of memorial services, as it seems to be people saying general platitudes about a person. However, the minister at this service actually appeared to know my grandmother's cousin, so I think the service was actually better than some others I have been to.

After that, I went to my mom's place in Asbury, to see her for a bit. She had a lamp that she had ordered, which had an issue with the wiring, there was too much wire, and nowhere for the wire to go. It couldn't be pulled through a different area of the lamp, or pushed into a segment of the lamp that could store it.

So, it looks like the lamp actually has a real issue...

Here's a photo of my mom out on her back porch.

We tried to entice Daisy, my mom's cat, out for me to pet, but Daisy is really only used to my mom... Here's a video of Daisy the fraidy cat...

But, she does make friends with my mom, as we can see here...

And finally, here's a photo of the ocean, from my mom's rooftop deck. It was a bit hazy, but still, I love the ocean, and could look at it all day...

NP: Talking Heads - Take Me to the River

Father's Day

Here's a photo of my Dad and I, from this evening. He and my stepmother are traveling for a bit, so we did a Father's Day dinner tonight. A good time was had by all!

In other news, today was the last Friday that I'm working until mid-August, as the college goes to a four day work-week during most of the summer. Needless to say, this is a happy day. I was *really* hoping that today could be the first Friday off, but really, I guess I can't be that greedy... :)

On Saturday, I'm heading to a memorial service for one of my grandmother's cousins. She was a nice lady, and she helped me out with my genealogy research. So, I'll actually be heading there with my Uncle Gary, and probably stopping by my Mom's place afterwards.

NP: Battlestar Galactica

The Genesis Meetup - UK Style

On Saturday, 24 May, during our trip to England, Maria and I had planned a UK fan meetup for interested Genesis fans... Maria did the lion's share of the advance planning, I planned some trivia questions and other stuff for the evening's festivities.

The meetup was set to begin around 8pm, so Maria asked that we get to the pub, called The Albion on Hammersmith Road, at around 7:30pm to set up, and make sure that everything was ready for the fans who had RSVP'ed to the event. I headed out to the pub, and found Maria there, with a British fan, Matt, who I had met in NYC back in September before the Genesis MSG show.

We chatted for a bit, and then headed upstairs in the pub to our private room (ooh la la!) to get things set up. Maria and I got some decorations, mainly a big banner, set up, and we worked with the owner of the pub to get the DVD screen ready, for the showing of the Genesis Fan Club DVD.

At about 8pm, we're ready, Charlotte is there with her video camera, I'm there with, well, me, and Maria's got all the logistical "stuff" worked out with the pub owner.

Here are some scenes from the gathering...

Mike interviews Martin/Bender for some video clips on the website... Who's the most lifelike one here?

John/GreekHogweed wins the signed t-shirt from the band, as he came from the farthest distance (Greece)! John was a great guy to meet, very friendly and open, a fun person.

I'm holding court about something here, wish I remember what it was, as I'm enthralling the crowd! Probably something about Genesis...

The Trivia Contest.... Me choosing a *really* hard question for the group... Do you know when Anthony Phillips' last gig was with Genesis? Anyone?

The ladies of Genesis.... Eliuk, AfterglowCB, Maria, Caro345, and Caro's friend... Or was she Afterglow's friend? Ack, my memory!

Me interviewing Mark (Asher) for the website... Mark was the first interview, I believe. The interviews will be edited and up on the site sometime soon. Can't wait to see them myself...

Bender serving us some food... Looking for tips, I bet!

The Genesis Members Only DVD. It does exist! Really!

I'm obviously casting a spell... I didn't know that this was the Harry Potter fan group meeting too!

Myself, Eli, and Caro, I believe right before I did their interview, or maybe after... I have a future in newscasting... Or in Genesis fan interviews.

Doing the Invisible Touch hop.... Yes, we're dopey, but it's my kind of dopey.

This was a great trip, and I got to meet a lot of fantastic people. It was everything I could have wanted in the event! People left happy, and a lot of new bonds were created. What more can you ask for?

More to come....

Writing again!

For about the 4th or 5th time this year, I am going to try to re-dedicate myself to writing this blog. I've been inspired by some comments recently, about people enjoying reading this, so here I am...

It's been about two weeks since returning to the US from England, and I've been digesting the experience, as it was a lot to take in. Fortunately, we got to see parts of London, like London Tower, the Eye, Parliment, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, all the biggies...

Here are some photos...

The view outside our hotel room in Kensington... Someone's back garden, I suppose...


I believe this is near Wellington Arch, and that could very well be Wellington on the statue behind me... This was taken on Wednesday, our first day in London-town...

I told you, all the classics.... Big Ben.

Tower Bridge. It's almost like a hat.

Tower Bridge from a distance, with HMS Belfast, and some sort of cruise ship tied up in the Thames together.

A good shot of Tower Bridge from the Tower of London itself. Sue took all of these photos, I should let you know, as I forgot my camera on the trip! Not a smart move on my part, but fortunately, Sue and others were able to document the time there very well.

The Tower of London, from our bus tour. The first buildings in the Tower started in, I believe, 1067. So, it's almost a full thousand years old the oldest buildings in the center. The White Tower...

This photo is looking towards the Thames from the side of the Tower. It was before we went in for our tour...

Our tour guide... A member of the British military, and a guy with a good sense of humor, which is important in a tour guide, I believe... I wish I remembered his name, and I wish I knew we were supposed to tip him at the end! Live and Learn.

Inside the Tower, with some ruins in the foreground...

Westminster Abbey, it was actually closed to tours by the time we got there, which is one of my few disappointments from the trip, as I really wanted to see inside, Poet's Corner, and just breathe in the history...

Another Abbey shot, for goot measure. A beautiful place....

Tomorrow, I'll post about the Genesis meetup, and show you all some photos from that fun event. All of these photos were taken on Wednesday or Friday of our trip...

NP: Genesis - Dodo (29 Nov 1981)