Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Chelsie made a good observation about my last post, and it led me to some image searches. I have to admit there is some truth to her observation that Grady's bloated gypsy picture resembles the old Raisin Bran Sun, but it's not exactly right.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you are all having a relaxing and warm day. We are laying low, relaxing with Christmas music, smells of turkey, stuffing, rolls and sausage/cheese balls baking in the oven. Grady and Liam are going from one activity to the next. One of those activities was coloring. Grady drew what he calls an "apple face." To me, it looks like the bloated head of some gypsy corpse. Ugh.

A Young Man's Aspirations (Updated)

Last night in the car, 4-year old Grady started telling me what he wanted to be when he grew up. That's a hot topic for him right now.

Verbatim (I captured it on my MP3 player): Update, I have posted the .WAV file. 811KB. It'll take about 15 seconds to download with broadband.

Fireman
Zebra fixer
Veterinarian
Policeman
Grocery shopper
Catcher of snakes
Fixer of electric signs
Fixer of trees
Fixer of houses
Work at a grocery shore
Work at Jiffy Lube
A hospital helper for children

And then he threw in that he was going to live in a house boat, where he'd have an extra bedroom so I could live with him forever. It's nice to have that long term security to fall back on in my old age.

Check out The Sneeze to see his young son's hilarious made-up jokes.

What?!!

My ears are a-ringin' from a tremendous show last night at the Rose Garden Arena.

WOW! Green Day played for an hour and 45 mintues straight. High energy, tight sound, amazing vocals, fun antics by Billie Joe, surprising covers, new & old songs, pyrotechnics, confetti cannons, explosions. What a night.

Billie Joe came out sporting dyed black hair, a black short-sleeved/collared shirt, black pants, black shoes, red sox and a skinny bright red tie (pretend his tie is red in the picture below, and you have what he looked like last night).



They opened with American Idiot, went right in to a masterful Jesus of Suburbia, and then played Holiday. I've attended a fair amount of concerts (see past post) and I'm excited to say hearing and watching Green Day play Holiday is my favorite concert moment of all time. From there, Green Day played St. Jimmy, and then moved into some older stuff from Dookie (When I Come Around, She, Basket Case, Welcome to Paradise). Wow, it was fun to see them play stuff I was crazy about in 1994. From Nimrod, they played King for a Day. The other American Idiot album songs they did were Are We Waiting, Wake Me Up When September Ends, and Boulevard of Broken Dreams. The only one I was waiting for, but didn't get, was Give me Novacaine.

Mid-show, Billie Joe brought three audience members up to play the drums, bass and guitar. The guy they picked to play guitar, Johnny, was an amazing showman in his own right. He was jumping off of platforms, playing behind his head and really getting the crowd behind him. When the song ended and Johnny started in on an unauthorized solo, Billie Joe made the sound boad keep the kid's sound on. After about 30 seconds, Billie Joe said, "Alright, that's enough, you fucking dirt ass. And, hey, you can keep the guitar." The place went crazy.

Billie Joe really knows how to work a crowd. He had complete control of us. Having sections compete, getting us wild, then holding out his arms to silence us, starting arm waves, fist pumping, repeating his nonsensical sounds, etc. 1 hour and 45 minutes of unadulterated engergy.

For the encore, they expertly covered Queen's "We Are the Champions," with millions of pieces of red and white confetti floating around the arena. Billie Joe closed with a moving acoustic solo version of Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). Folks on the floor were scooping up handfuls of confetti and showering Billie Joe with them. He seemed to love it.

Jon and I sat in the first row of the balcony, so had great seats to see the stage and watch the crazy mosh pits on the floor. How people don't start throwing punches when they're thrown to the floor is beyond me.

Between the opening act (New Found Glory) and Green Day, there was about 30 minutes of down time. They played all sorts of songs over the loudspeakers, but I swear you would have thought The Beastie Boys were playing live with the reaction Fight For Your Right to Party got. During the break, the audience could text message up to a big screen, and some of the funnier messages: "I'm drunk on Smarties." "I love my Asian." "I'm skypping skewl tamarow." You can probably tell the audicence was skewed toward the high school and under crowd. But, that made for a fun, high energy experience.

Right before Green Day came on stage, a guy dressed in a giant pink bunny suit and head drunkenly stumbled across the stage and lead the crowd in a drunken YMCA routine. He then opened up the mouth of the giant pink bunny head and chugged a bottle of beer. It was all very funny.

It's been a long time since I've been to a show like this. I think it's my #2 overall concert experience, behind the 1987 U2 Joshua Tree Tour concert in RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

American Idiot

I picked up Green Day's American Idiot a few weeks ago after reading Erik's blog about how it was an instant classic. My hat's off to you, Erik. It is a wonderful album -- chock full of aggressive drumming, moving lyrics, great melodies, and varied soundscapes. Boy, it's quite an experience to put in my Shure E5c earphones and let the 57 minutes of American Idiot blast away.

Song Highlights:
Track 1: American Idiot
Track 2: Jesus of Suburbia
Track 3: Holiday
Track 6: St. Jimmy
Track 7: Give me Novacaine
Track 11: Wake Me Up When September Ends

Hell, all 13 tracks are quality.

I'm going to see Green Day Thursday night at the Rose Garden, in what has been reviewed by other concert goers around the country as the best live show they've ever attended. Colleen tells me I'll probably be the oldest person there, but I doubt it. This album has lots of cross-over appeal. I've heard it on our alternative rock station, KNRK, our adult contemporary station, KINK, and on KUFO, Portland's rock station. Plus, I think I talked JW into coming with me.

Unrelated:
MSL, this is for you. Let's hope this unique doorbell doesn't make it's way into your neighborhood. You and the board would have a fight on your hands (with an armed individual).

Red White and Blue

I left my Tablet PC at work tonight, and since I'm traveling up to Seattle Sunday night, I needed to retrieve it. I hopped in my car at 10:00 p.m. happy to travel the 20 miles to the office because I never get to travel on 205 with very little traffic. So, there I was with my trusty Valentine One radar detector stuck to my windshield going 80+ miles an hour. The cheesy Red, Red Wine song was blasting and I was feeling fine, baby.

Wait, what's that flashing light? Crap. Red, white and blue lights were tracking me. I pulled over hoping the cop wasn't after me. But, those pretty lights followed me. Darn. It was then I noticed I was in a construction zone, because I had to weave between some orange cones to get to the shoulder. Uh oh.

The state trooper blinded me with his flashlight through the passenger window. My passenger window doesn't go down, so I opened the door.

"Good evening. I'm State Trooper Michael Conway. Is there a reason you were going 80 miles an hour?"

"Oh man. I left my computer at work tonight, and I have a business trip tomorrow. My two kids are in bed and my wife is sick. I was trying to make it a quick trip down to Lake Oswego and back."

"Where are you going on your business trip?"

"Seattle"

"What do you do for work?" (Is he trying to trip me up?)

"Um, PR for Microsfot. Public relations."

"Did you realize you passed me?"

"No. Where were you?"

"In the right lane. You blew passed me." (Uh oh, need to change subject NOW.)

"For a minute I thought you were a K-9 cop." (There were dogs barking like crazy right next to us.)

"Yeah, how'd you like to live next to them?" (Alright, this is going better.)

"I know. And, I want to ask you something. I saw a car pulled over by a policeman earlier today, and I was wondering if you prefer cars to take the next exit or pull onto the shoulder?"

"Don't take the exit. Going 80 miles an hour on 205 in a construction zone is not a great idea."

"Right."

"Your excuse is a bad one, but I'm going to give you a break on the 80 miles an hour."

"What kind of break?"

"Just a warning. Have a good night, sir, and drive safely."

"Thank you!" And, I shook his hand.

How 'bout them apples?!!!

Ireland

Every since visiting Ireland in 1996, I've like fuschia plants (and hydrangeas). Hydrangeas are easier to master here in the NW, but we've had a heck of a time getting our fuschia plant to take. Last winter, with 4 inches of ice over our three year old plant, I thought it was a goner. It was only about an inch tall when the ice melted. But it was exactly what it needed. It grew to about 3 feet tall over spring and summer, and now has perfect blossoms. Here's one I picked tonight:

Fun Distraction

Thanks Planet Dan for suggesting this fun site. You view pictures returned from a mystery image search and you guess what term was used. You get points for answering quickly.

Why did I need this distraction today? Well, it's only 3:19, and I've received 379 e-mails today. Busy work day.

UPDATE: It's 5:15 and I've gotten 484 mails today (and sent 94). To see why, beginning at 9:00 tonight, visit the beta of MSN's new search engine. It's radically new and good.

Dude

Last night at dinner, Grady said to me, "I want some milk, dude." I laughed, but told him I'd rather he didn't call his father dude, but he was welcome to call Liam or his friends dude. "Would you like some milk, dude?" he immediately asked Liam.

I've been teaching him the dangers of smoking for almost a year now. It's progressed to me taunting him in a school bully voice, "C'mon man, it's just a cigarrette. Everyone's doing it, man." He responds with a strong, "I don't smoke!" "C'mon man." "I said I don't smoke. It's bad for you. It makes your lungs sick and your clothes stink. And you have to stand outside in the cold rain." "All right, man. I respect that." He then likes to reverse roles and it's so funny to hear that gangster accent on a four year old.

We bought new plants, gravel and fish for the fish tank. I am trying to soften the fact we need to ship Coltrane to Katy at the end of the month. Grady's been great about it, but some things he said Monday concerned me: "Coltrane bit me, so he has to die." And, "Since he bit me, we have to kill him." I reassured him that, 1) Coltrane was going to LIVE with Aunt Katy, and 2) Coltrane is at fault, not him. He's been so matter of fact about the whole thing so far. I'm waiting for the tears to flow.

Weekend Update

Our dinner party was really fun. We had 3 couples over, two of whom we've never socialized with before (outside of work, or outside of college days). That we got invitations to their homes tells me we are on the road to establishing new friendships. We had everyone bring a bottle of red wine, that I covered with a paper label, and labeled A, B, C or D. I gave everyone tasting sheets to write notes about the wines. The wine we submitted, a 2001 Oregon Pinot Noir from King Estate, won first prize, with 6 of the 8 adults voting for it. The apple juice won the kids' votes. :) The kids got turkey dogs and fruit, the adults got lasagna, garlic bread and salad. It lasted from 4:30 to 10:00pm

Earlier in the day, our beloved Weimaraner, Coltrane, bit Grady in his face. (Note, that picture is not of Coltrane biting Grady, but of Coltrane meeting Grady when he first came home from the hospital.) Not hard enough to break any skin, but hard enough to leave a line of swelled, bruised tooth marks along the right side of his face. Grady had him on a leash and tried to ride him like a horse. Coltrane didn't like that, and instead of growling, he lunged and bit Grady. Almost a year ago, Grady covered Coltrane with a blanket, then jumped on him. Grady ended up with a laceration on his left cheek, that is still a little crescent shaped scar. Two strikes, and Coltrane's out. We have to get rid of him.

After stressing and feeling so sad about our alternatives (contacting the breeder to see if he'd take him back, sending him to a Weimaraner rescue service, dropping him off at the pound, or euthanizing him), we got a miracle call. My sister, Katy, called on Sunday night to say she'd love to take him. Wow. What a relief. She lives in Virginia with her boyfriend, Erik, and she owns a chocolate lab named Webber. Coltrane is going to love his new home! It'll be so nice to have Coltrane still connected to our lives, and to be able to visit him every once in a while.

Grady has been very perceptive about the whole thing. He fully supports Coltrane living somewhere else, and expressed perfectly what we all feel: "I still love him, but he can't live in our house anymore."

So, 7.5 years of having wonderful Coltrane snuggle up with us, do tricks for us, and look gorgeous in front of our fireplace will end right after Thanksgiving. Sad, but necessary.

I should give Grady photo credits for the picture of Katy. He's become quite interested in photography. And, just now, he showed me his first drawing of a person. I'm impressed it includes a torso... and an alien head.

Checkin' In

In S.F. today for some meetings. The flight in late last night was beautiful. Weather today is fair, low 60s.

Saturday we have a dinner party for 10 people (including 4 children). It'll be fun. Only one couple have we had to our home before.

Sitting at a desk in the Westin St. Francis listening to protesters outside the window. Looking into a mirror opposite the desk, and I look TIRED. I am.

Weekend, you're almost here!

Good Election Sayings

I've been too busy at work to read anything but crunched numbers from exit polls, but this morning on NPR I heard an interview with an election official who said, "We all hope for a decisive victory, but we're prepared for festering margins." Man, that was good. Festering margins.

I'm sure I'll hear more good ones tonight, especially from Dan Rather. Click here to see some of his amusing analogies/metaphors. Post any you hear that struck you as funny or good.

Nice Weekend for Us, Bad for Mary

My sister, Katy, and her boyfriend, Erik vistied this wekeend from Virginia. It was really nice getting to know Erik better. He's a really good guy, and Grady and Liam will REALLY miss him. He was so natural around them. Coltrane, our dog, was also very affectionate with him. Katy is lucky to have such a nice guy in her life.

Halloween was fun. After a Halloween parade with the Walkers, handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, dressing as Buzz Lightyear, and visting about 20 homes for candy, Grady's favorite part was handing out candy. He was so good at it that we left him in charge of the door while we had dinner. When there weren't kids at the door, he'd open it and shout, "Who wants candy?!!! We have candy!!!!!"

On Saturday, Liam was dragging a jump rope and got behind the 100 year old stained glass church window we've had since July. We were all in the other room. We heard a loud crash and sounds of glass crashing down, followed by the scariest scream by Liam. I was the first to the scene and found Liam huddled against the wall with the 9.5 foot tall window leaning over him, propped up by the couch, with glass shards still dropping from the antique lead. I grabbed him by one arm and lifted him out of the dangerous mess to find, unbelievably, that the only injuries he had were a small scratch on his cheek and a 1/2 inch cut on his hand. No eye lost, no artery severed, no fingers sliced offm, and no cuts on his bare feet. Phew. But, then I survyed the damage to the window, and it was totaled. About 25 large pieces of glass were on the ground as were another 1,000 or so tiny shards. Some had been obliterated to dust. It's not covered under homeowners insurance, because it wasn't damaged by an "act of peril" like fire, flood, etc. I asked, "You mean a 23 month old isn't an act of peril?" So, LOTS of money down the drain, and TONS of emotional trauma.