Friday, June 29, 2007

i made it....and even in style. AA came through with a seat for me, the second to last person to get one on the 350 flight that actually left at 730. Well, left the gate that is. we got in line to take off, inched a long, and then suddenly made a turn and sat in the penalty box. Turns out the pilot noticed that there was a discrepancy in some of his paperwork regarding the weight of some cargo. Very important when figuring how much fuel is needed for a flight.
It wasn't so bad for me, because that seat AA found for me? Was 6E, last row of first class. I'm sure they'll remove some of the 500 mile certs from my acct for the honor, but I really didn't care about that last night.

Made it to a hotel, and was asleep by 12am. or 2 am my time. Now I've got to visit the Frontier for breakfast (thanks to nm's reminder), and then make a stop at costco for a memory card for my recorder (knew I'd forgotten something), and then head up to Taos.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

well, maybe i'm not going to taos. I'm here at dulles, my flight to dallas is delayed enough that I've now got a five minute connection. Which probably won't be a problem, as my outbound flight should also be delayed....but if i miss it, there is no space on any flights to abq for three days. Nor could they get me back to DC for two days.


hmmmmm.

Monday, June 25, 2007

it's true. those rumors are true.



get out of the way, stampede of rabid fans are headed your way!


I will not be the first in line. nor the second, nor the third, nor...well, you get my drift. Yes, the family gets a cut. yes, they're for sale on ebay, but a quick glance at the web shows that folks are already finding this prize at low end retailers. (photo found on junkfoodblog)

Thursday, June 21, 2007

oh god, how can i stand it? I have to travel for work next week. To taos. For five days. I don't know how I'll manage.

Monday, June 18, 2007

NM asked how new york was. new york was just fine. I took the train up saturday...thank you amtrak for the quiet car on the acela. I could have saved 15 bucks by taking a different train, but sitting in a car where cell phones are banned, as is loud talking is work twice the fare. Especially on a saturday, when every train seems to be sold out. Quite a contrast to this afternoon ---- my noon train had about 15 people in the quiet car. there were 16, but when she heard it was the quiet car she bolted. "I don't want a quiet car!" she exclaimed.

Of course I don't know how she managed to get seated with out knowing she was in the QC. A service rep is standing right by it, directing people to 1st class, pointing out the QC, and then explaining that all the other cars are regular. Oh, and there are signs in the aisle, too. About every 4 rows. And the conductor makes an announcement when the train pulls out, explaining where the cafe car is, what the next stop is, and that there is a quiet car.

Anyway, back to my trip. Train up was fine. Got to the Barclay at 48th and lex with no problem, did ask to change rooms since i was just next to the elevators. Too bad, as it was a very large room, too. I was moved to a different floor, slightly smaller room, right next to what sounded like an elementary school class. But they checked out the next morning, so it wasn't so bad.

Wandered around a bit, met Liz for dinner, and then we set off to see "10 Million Miles," a new play based on the songs of Patty Griffin. A relatively new friend of mine is one of the stars, and while the show itself got so-so reviews, hers were raves. (I wasn't sure "friend" was the right word to use, but that's what she used in introducing me to people. Oh, and the lady at the box office said "oh, she said "make sure my friend knows to come back after the show...") And every bit deserved, I say. Liz agreed. We thought the show was better than the reviews, but not perfect. I'd take out two song, or so...it dragged a bit at times.
It's running through july 15th, and probably will continue through the month...so if you're a fan, consider making the trip. We went backstage to say hello, met the rest of the cast, walked out, watched my friend be quite gracious to fans who wanted pictures and autographs, talked for a bit, and said our goodbyes. Until Sunday, when we'd catch up at her concert.

Then, since it was so nice outside, Liz and I walked down to little italy for some decaf and dessert. Everything was packed, which was good for the merchants, but not so wonderful for us! But we finally got situated, and the next thing I knew it 130, and they were rushing us all out. then it was off to the subway, and the hotel.
Sunday started off with a visit to chinatown for lunch with another friend, and then I walked back to 48th and lex, stopping in at various shops along the way. Only purchases were a couple of bottles of water, in case you're wondering.
Sunday night was spent at Joe's Pub, where my friend had a show. Half of the club seemed to be people from the theatre, along with a few industry types.

A very good evening, and weekend!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

I like the White Stripes enough to recognize them when I hear a song, but not enough to have ever bought a record. And that's the acid test with me....I rarely have to buy music, but I will every once in a while.

That's changed. I'm going to go get the entire back catalog after reading about their UK album release party. Which was held at a pensioners home in Chelsea. See for yourself! The photo below is from The Times coverage...which can be found here!


And if you're too lazy to click that link, here's my favorite bit:
"On a small stage in the opulent Council Chamber of the State Apartments, overlooked by enormous oils of the Hospital’s founder, King Charles II, they played five numbers that at first had a few hearing aids being adjusted, but by the end had silvery heads nodding along.

The inclusion of two traditional numbers, You Belong To Mr and Bo Wevil, combined with Jack White’s parting joke, “We don’t want to take up too much of your time, we heard it was your cocktail hour”, ensured the oddball band had their audience charmed.

Norman Mitchell, 87, of the Gernadier Guards was particularly impressed. “I love anything hillbilly like that. Down in the physio here they play Roy Rogers, we do our exercises to him. It was marvellous.”

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

who'd a thunk it?
i mean, this is a real baseball blog.

Jack sent this to me, and i thought it was a joke. turns out it's not.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

oh, you liked that clip? should have said so here! Anyway, 'cause you asked so nicely here is one more:

Paul Merton's China (18) - The most amazing videos are a click away


but that's it...you can find the rest. it's out there, floating in the ether(net).

all along, the plan had been to go back to tasmania in february. and revisit this sunset.


And then maybe back up to the barrier reef, to take more photos like this one.



but then i got that great deal to new zealand in UAL biz class during the mistake fare extravaganza...you may have read about it. They left a 5 off the biz fares, and they wound up costing a couple hundred less than the coach fares. So what could i do but buy one? and then cash in a few miles to upgrade it to first. I mean, when is that going to happen again?

So, where to go? dates are jan 14-feb 4, in case you want to come along.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

you've got to love a guy who politely defies his assigned minder by refusing to visit the great wall of china, in favor of checking out Mr. Wu and his homegrown robots. Amazing stuff ---paul merton has come up with the antidote to your typical (and tired) celebrity travelogue. His joy here is infectious! (and do watch the kitchen scene carefully...keep an eye on the window.)

let's see, on the old show Name that Tune, the cry was "I can solve that in five notes."

well, I can solve the problem below in 1 email. So I did. Easy-peasy, as they say. Next?

Read the sad story here. I'll let you know if they print a follow-up.

Monday, June 04, 2007


And here's one more reason that I heart keef.

You probably have heard that the current Rolling Stones tour already holds the record for highest grossing music tour ever. And there are now guys out there carping that the Stones are in it just for the money.

Keef says that's untrue, telling Uncut: "I don't think you could get these guys to do it just for money."

"It's still a bloody adventure. Every time you set sail on these things, they're never the same and I love to see the world, and I hope the world loves to see me."

He added: "You get this insane idea that you can only do this between 17 and 25, but y'know, I'm not a tennis player. I'll show you how long it can be done."

We all know that i don't spend a lot of time watching american tv, but have quite a fondness for the stuff produced in the UK. In fact, I just realized that I'm paying 45 bucks a month for a lovely satellite picture that I haven't seen in about four months - - - and I'd cancel it, but the penalty would cost me more than paying out the rest of the contract.

But that's not what this is about, it's about simon cowell. I've only seen 1 edition of American Idol, but the Washington Post writes about it weekly, so I know what's going on. But I know all about Simon Cowell because a couple of years ago I sat next to someone on a plane who'd worked with him years and years and years ago at EMI. And he loved him. Said he knew what was good, and what was bad, and also knew that the public often confused the two. And that he worked awfully hard, and was good to the people he worked with. That sentiment was later echoed by someone who'd "taken a meeting" with him, and was quite impressed with how Cowell treated everyone on the production team of his television show. But not just his employees and co-workers, the same went for valet parkers, servers, and the fan who came up and asked for an autograph. everyone was treated with respect. Probably because he understands that those you kick on the way up, kick you harder when they zoom past you.

Which is a very windy way of setting up this q.i. (quite interesting---that's for lee) article from the Sunday Times. UK, not NYT. Go here, you won't regret it.

hmmm, i didn't intend to remain silent here...only on the phone. (if you're not a regular phone chatter, you didn't get my email regarding a bit more vocal rest. that's all I'm talking about, nothing really exciting.)

I'll try to do better, I promise.

I did hear something today that caught my ear. For years, people have always worried about how things will play in "middle america." You know, in the fly-over zone. Today I heard a new one: "this stuff is HUGE where the map folds."

I can't decide if it's more obnoxious than the others, or just more amusing.

Of course it did come to me from a guy who, when wanting more information, says things like "Let's get the inside baseball on ....."