So I occasionally find a group I really dig, and then try in vain to see them in concert, in a setting where I am not overwhelmed by the shear number of people crowding the stage. I got that today. Small venue, 100 people, me at the edge of the stage. It's as close to the perfect music experience as I have ever hoped to get.

Check the group out. ( Read more... )

It's inevitable...the swing into melancholy that comes right around this time each year. It seems that, no matter where I am, this time of year gets me a bit down and out of sorts. And so I sit and ponder what the hell I am doing with my life, which too often, nowadays, seems so much different than what I imagined and hoped for.
There are always ( Read more... )

I love the Olympics. Pomp and circumstance aside, I’ve always marveled in the idea that the world, for two weeks at a time, focus on events that, in theory, speak to the idea of peaceful coexistence, cross-cultural appreciation and respect. In its idealism, the hope that someday, these two weeks might extend to perhaps two months, then two years, ( Read more... )

I've always said that I was a forty-year old man stuck in a twenty-something year old body. And I now have confirmation.
A family friend took me out to dinner. It was a nice evening of chatting amongst herself, her close friend, and little old me. There was fancy french food, as this restaurant required a jacket. Service was impeccable, and two and ( Read more... )

To my one and only sister on her very special day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Make it fun, make it exciting, make it great!

Here's to the Steelers for bringing it home. I have to say, having lived in Pittsburgh while the team sucked, it makes it that much cooler that they have won the big one....

So this is going to be a rather serious post...ignore it if you wish...
How beholden are we to the "Sins of the Father"? I ask this to myself sometimes, since, I often times find myself with an underlying...anymosity...let's say...for my dad. Not that he was ever horrible or unloving. Just difficult, when we were young. And I still, I guess, haven't ( Read more... )

It happened again. I was awake and asleep, conscious but perhaps not really. And I felt the weight of footsteps across the duvet, the distinct movement of my cat once more. This time, I felt him settle down, lengthwise, against my leg. And I could feel the soothing vibrations of his low purr as he happily relaxed for the night.
And in the haze of ( Read more... )

So, I am, admittedly, attracted to many things material. And so, when sale season comes around, I try to find the resistance to shop. And each season, I fail just a little.
Sure I didn't need the two pairs of boots I bought. But, hell, at 75% off retail, can you say no? And seeing items that I've wanted to own for awhile reach the realm of ( Read more... )

Three weeks flew by, and here I am, back in London, reeling from a bit of Jet-lag.
Home was wonderful for its unchanging presence...the ability to slide back into a life of less responsibility, less insecurity. And now back, now awaiting the looming fate of my future, I think about how special a place like Home is...and when I might be able to ( Read more... )