The Good Boy says...

2007-01-03T10:50:00.000-05:00

Honda Accord Commercial

Ecce Cor Meum by Sir Paul McCartney

2006-11-17T10:51:00.000-05:00

I had the unique and incredible pleasure of meeting and working with Paul McCartney this past week to present the American premiere of his new oratorio, Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart). The music itself has its beautiful moments - as well as a few not-so-beautiful ones. But the man was a Beatle!!! He should be commended for taking on such an ambitious project.

The piece was begun when Sir Paul's first wife (and great love) Linda was still alive. In the midst of composing it, she passed away from cancer. While it isn't officially written anywhere in the literature or the score, the piece is nearly all about Linda. Most notably, the Interlude section which features a plaintive solo oboe rising above the choir, has the colors and mood of lost love running though it. It's breathtaking. We were told, during the rehearsal process, that that section was the first that Sir Paul wrote after her death.

It was another highlight in what has been a fantastic autumn!

You can listen to the streamed broadcast of the performance here.

Get OUT there tomorrow...ELECTION DAY.

2006-11-06T22:55:00.000-05:00

I lie here on my bed, with Monday Night Football blaring (mostly unwatched) in the background.

Tomorrow is, by all accounts, the most important mid-term election of my lifetime. And my stomach is in knots.

What is going to happen? I have my hopes - though I have my worries also. I expect the Democrats to take the House...and pray for them to lead the Senate as well. But I've felt confident before - only to have my heart broken.

I hope everyone who is of age and able will get out tomorrow and exercise their American responsibility by voting.

Vote Democratic. It's time that this hideous administration has a Congress that will provide some much needed opposition.

More Keith Olbermann Brilliance

2006-11-06T22:53:00.000-05:00

We are, as every generation, inseparable from our own time.

Thus is our perspective, inevitably that of the explorer looking into the wrong end of the telescope.

But even accounting for our myopia, it’s hard to imagine there have been many elections more important than this one, certainly not in non-presidential years.

And so we look at the verdict in the trial of Saddam Hussein yesterday, and, with the very phrase “October, or November, Surprise” now a part of our vernacular, and the chest-thumping coming from so many of the Republican campaigners today, each of us must wonder about the convenience of the timing of his conviction and sentencing.

But let us give history and coincidence the benefit of the doubt—let’s say it’s just “happened” that way—and for a moment not look into the wrong end of the telescope.

Let’s perceive instead the bigger picture:

Saddam Hussein, found guilty in an Iraqi court.

Who can argue against that?

He is officially, what the world always knew he was: a war criminal.

Mr. Bush, was this imprimatur, worth the cost of 2,832 American lives, and thousands more American lives yet to be lost?

Is the conviction of Saddam Hussein the reason you went to war in Iraq?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because of the weapons of mass destruction that did not exist?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because of the connection between Iraq and al-Qaida that did not exist?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to break the bonds of tyranny there, while installing the mechanisms of tyranny here?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because you felt the need to wreak vengeance against somebody, anybody?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to contain a rogue state which, months earlier, your own administration had declared had been fully contained by sanctions?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to keep gas prices down?

How startling it was, sir, to hear you introduce oil to your stump speeches over the weekend.

Not four years removed from the most dismissive, the most condescending, the most ridiculing denials of the very hint at, as Mr. Rumsfeld put it, this “nonsense.”

There you were, campaigning in Colorado, in Nebraska, in Florida, in Kansas -- suddenly turning this ‘unpatriotic idea’ into a platform plank.

"You can imagine a world in which these extremists and radicals got control of energy resources," you told us. "And then you can imagine them saying, 'We're going to pull a bunch of oil off the market to run your price of oil up unless you do the following.'"

Having frightened us, having bullied us, having lied to us, having ignored and rewritten the Constitution under our noses, having stayed the course, having denied you’ve stayed the course, having belittled us about "timelines" but instead extolled "benchmarks," you’ve now resorted, sir, to this?

We must stay in Iraq to save the $2 gallon of gas?

Mr. President, there is no other conclusion we can draw as we go to the polls tomorrow.

Sir, you have been making this up as you went along.

This country was founded to prevent anybody from making it up as they went along.

Those vaunted Founding Fathers of ours have been so quoted up, that they appear as marble statues: like the chiseled guards of China, or the faces on Mount Rushmore. But in fact they were practical people and the thing they obviously feared most was a government of men and not laws.

They provided the checks and balances for a reason.

No one man could run the government the way he saw fit -- unless he, at the least, took into consideration what those he governed saw.

A House of Representatives would be the people's eyes.

A Senate would be the corrective force on that House.

An executive would do the work, and hold the Constitution to his chest like his child.

A Supreme Court would oversee it all.

Checks and balances.

Where did that go, Mr. Bush?

And what price did we pay because we have let it go?

Saddam Hussein will get out of Iraq the same way 2,832 Americans have and thousands more.

He’ll get out faster than we will.

And if nothing changes tomorrow, you, sir, will be out of the White House long before the rest of us can say we are out of Iraq.

And whose fault is this?

Not truly yours. You took advantage of those of us who were afraid, and those of us who believed unity and nation took precedence over all else.

But we let you take that advantage.

And so we let you go to war in Iraq to oust Saddam or find non-existant weapons or avenge 9/11 or fight terrorists who only got there after we did or as cover to change the fabric of our Constitution or for lower prices at The Texaco or…?

There are still a few hours left before the polls open, sir. There are many rationalizations still untried.

And whatever your motives of the moment, we the people have, in true good faith and with the genuine patriotism of self-sacrifice (of which you have shown you know nothing), we have let you go on making it up as you went along.

Unchecked and unbalanced.

Vote.

Mr. President, You OWE US ALL an Apology

2006-11-03T14:29:00.000-05:00

The following is a very long transcript from Keith Olbermann's closing statement on November 1st. It is, in this blogger's humble opinion, worth every second invested in reading it.

*****

On the 22nd of May, 1856, as the deteriorating American political system veered toward the edge of the cliff, U.S. Rep. Preston Brooks of South Carolina shuffled into the Senate of this nation, his leg stiff from an old dueling injury, supported by a cane. And he looked for the familiar figure of the prominent senator from Massachusetts, Charles Sumner.

Brooks found Sumner at his desk, mailing out copies of a speech he had delivered three days earlier - a speech against slavery.

The congressman matter-of-factly raised his walking stick in midair and smashed its metal point across the senator's head.

Congressman Brooks hit his victim repeatedly. Sen. Sumner somehow got to his feet and tried to flee. Brooks chased him and delivered untold blows to Sumner's head. Even though Sumner lay unconscious and bleeding on the Senate floor, Brooks finally stopped beating him only because his cane finally broke.

Others will cite John Brown's attack on the arsenal at Harper's Ferry as the exact point after which the Civil War became inevitable.

In point of fact, it might have been the moment, not when Brooks broke his cane over the prostrate body of Sen. Sumner - but when voters in Brooks' district started sending him new canes.

Tonight, we almost wonder to whom President Bush will send the next new cane.

There is tonight no political division in this country that he and his party will not exploit, nor have not exploited; no anxiety that he and his party will not inflame.

There is no line this president has not crossed - nor will not cross - to keep one political party in power.

He has spread any and every fear among us in a desperate effort to avoid that which he most fears - some check, some balance against what has become not an imperial, but a unilateral presidency.

And now it is evident that it no longer matters to him whether that effort to avoid the judgment of the people is subtle and nuanced or laughably transparent.

Sen. John Kerry called him out Monday.

He did it two years too late.

He had been too cordial - just as Vice President Gore had been too cordial in 2000, just as millions of us have been too cordial ever since.

Sen. Kerry, as you well know, spoke at a college in Southern California. With bitter humor he told the students that he had been in Texas the day before, that President Bush used to live in that state, but that now he lives in the state of denial.

He said the trip had reminded him about the value of education - that "if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you can get stuck in Iraq."

The senator, in essence, called Mr. Bush stupid.

The context was unmistakable: Texas; the state of denial; stuck in Iraq. No interpretation required.

And Mr. Bush and his minions responded by appearing to be too stupid to realize that they had been called stupid.

They demanded Kerry apologize to the troops in Iraq.

And so he now has.

That phrase - "appearing to be too stupid" - is used deliberately, Mr. Bush.

Because there are only three possibilities here.

One, sir, is that you are far more stupid than the worst of your critics have suggested; that you could not follow the construction of a simple sentence; that you could not recognize your own life story when it was deftly summarized; that you could not perceive it was the sad ledger of your presidency that was being recounted.

This, of course, compliments you, Mr. Bush, because even those who do not "make the most of it," who do not "study hard," who do not "do their homework," and who do not "make an effort to be smart" might still just be stupid, but honest.

No, the first option, sir, is, at best, improbable. You are not honest.

The second option is that you and those who work for you deliberately twisted what Sen. Kerry said to fit your political template; that you decided to take advantage of it, to once again pretend that the attacks, solely about your own incompetence, were in fact attacks on the troops or even on the nation itself.

The third possibility is, obviously, the nightmare scenario: that the first two options are in some way conflated.

That it is both politically convenient for you and personally satisfying to you, to confuse yourself with the country for which, sir, you work.

A brief reminder, Mr. Bush: You are not the United States of America.

You are merely a politician whose entire legacy will have been a willingness to make anything political; to have, in this case, refused to acknowledge that the insult wasn't about the troops, and that the insult was not even truly about you either, that the insult, in fact, is you.

So now John Kerry has apologized to the troops; apologized for the Republicans' deliberate distortions.

Thus, the president will now begin the apologies he owes our troops, right?

This president must apologize to the troops for having suggested, six weeks ago, that the chaos in Iraq, the death and the carnage, the slaughtered Iraqi civilians and the dead American service personnel, will, to history, "look like just a comma."

This president must apologize to the troops because the intelligence he claims led us into Iraq proved to be undeniably and irredeemably wrong.

This president must apologize to the troops for having laughed about the failure of that intelligence at a banquet while our troops were in harm's way.

This president must apologize to the troops because the streets of Iraq were not strewn with flowers and its residents did not greet them as liberators.

This president must apologize to the troops because his administration ran out of "plan" after barely two months.

This president must apologize to the troops for getting 2,815 of them killed.

This president must apologize to the troops for getting this country into a war without a clue.

And Mr. Bush owes us an apology for this destructive and omnivorous presidency.

We will not receive them, of course.

This president never apologizes.

Not to the troops.

Not to the people.

Nor will those henchmen who have echoed him.

In calling him a "stuffed suit," Sen. Kerry was wrong about the press secretary.

Mr. Snow's words and conduct, falsely earnest and earnestly false, suggest he is not "stuffed," he is inflated.

And in leaving him out of the equation, Sen. Kerry gave an unwarranted pass to his old friend Sen. John McCain, who should be ashamed of himself tonight.

He rolled over and pretended Kerry had said what he obviously had not.

Only, the symbolic stick he broke over Kerry's head came in a context even more disturbing.

Mr. McCain demanded the apology while electioneering for a Republican congressional candidate in Illinois.

He was speaking of how often he had been to Walter Reed Hospital to see the wounded Iraq veterans, of how "many of them have lost limbs."

He said all this while demanding that the voters of Illinois reject a candidate who is not only a wounded Iraq veteran, but who lost two limbs there, Tammy Duckworth.

Support some of the wounded veterans. But bad-mouth the Democratic one.

And exploit all the veterans and all the still-serving personnel in a cheap and tawdry political trick to try to bury the truth: that John Kerry said the president had been stupid.

And to continue this slander as late as this morning - as biased or gullible or lazy newscasters nodded in sleep-walking assent.

Sen. McCain became a front man in a collective lie to break sticks over the heads of Democrats - one of them his friend, another his fellow veteran, legless, for whom he should weep and applaud or at minimum about whom he should stay quiet.

That was beneath the senator from Arizona.

And it was all because of an imaginary insult to the troops that his party cynically manufactured out of a desperation and a futility as deep as that of Congressman Brooks, when he went hunting for Sen. Sumner.

This is our beloved country now as you have redefined it, Mr. Bush.

Get a tortured Vietnam veteran to attack a decorated Vietnam veteran in defense of military personnel whom that decorated veteran did not insult.

Or, get your henchmen to take advantage of the evil lingering dregs of the fear of miscegenation in Tennessee, in your party's advertisements against Harold Ford.

Or, get the satellites who orbit around you, like Rush Limbaugh, to exploit the illness - and the bipartisanship - of Michael J. Fox. Yes, get someone to make fun of the cripple.

Oh, and sir, don't forget to drag your own wife into it.

"It's always easy," she said of Mr. Fox's commercials - and she used this phrase twice - "to manipulate people's feelings."

Where on earth might the first lady have gotten that idea, Mr. President?

From your endless manipulation of people's feelings about terrorism?

"However they put it," you said Monday of the Democrats, on the subject of Iraq, "their approach comes down to this: The terrorists win, and America loses."

No manipulation of feelings there.

No manipulation of the charlatans of your administration into the only truth-tellers.

No shocked outrage at the Kerry insult that wasn't; no subtle smile as the first lady silently sticks the knife in Michael J. Fox's back; no attempt on the campaign trail to bury the reality that you have already assured that the terrorists are winning.

Winning in Iraq, sir.

Winning in America, sir.

There we have chaos - joint U.S.-Iraqi checkpoints at Sadr City, the base of the radical Shiite militias, and the Americans have been ordered out by the prime minister of Iraq … and our secretary of defense doesn't even know about it!

And here we have deliberate, systematic, institutionalized lying and smearing and terrorizing - a code of deceit that somehow permits a president to say, "If you listen carefully for a Democrat plan for success, they don't have one."

Permits him to say this while his plan in Iraq has amounted to a twisted version of the advice once offered to Lyndon Johnson about his Iraq, called Vietnam.

Instead of "declare victory and get out" we now have "declare victory and stay indefinitely."

And also here - we have institutionalized the terrorizing of the opposition.

True domestic terror:

Critics of your administration in the media receive letters filled with fake anthrax.

Braying newspapers applaud or laugh or reveal details the FBI wished kept quiet, and thus impede or ruin the investigation.

A series of reactionary columnists encourages treason charges against a newspaper that published "national security information" that was openly available on the Internet.

One radio critic receives a letter threatening the revelation of as much personal information about her as can be obtained and expressing the hope that someone will then shoot her with an AK-47 machine gun.

And finally, a critic of an incumbent Republican senator, a critic armed with nothing but words, is attacked by the senator's supporters and thrown to the floor in full view of television cameras as if someone really did want to re-enact the intent - and the rage - of the day Preston Brooks found Sen. Charles Sumner.

Of course, Mr. President, you did none of these things.

You instructed no one to mail the fake anthrax, nor undermine the FBI's case, nor call for the execution of the editors of the New York Times, nor threaten to assassinate Stephanie Miller, nor beat up a man yelling at Sen. George Allen, nor have the first lady knife Michael J. Fox, nor tell John McCain to lie about John Kerry.

No, you did not.

And the genius of the thing is the same as in King Henry's rhetorical question about Archbishop Thomas Becket: "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

All you have to do sir, is hand out enough new canes.

I'm Keith Olbermann. Good night, and good luck.

Time to Vote - November 7th

2006-10-24T16:13:00.000-04:00

But NOT for any of these people.

Let's work together for a Democratic Majority in 2006.

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

Fields of Gold

2006-10-19T17:03:00.000-04:00

Damn you, Youtube.com, for removing my lovely video clip.

Sorry, folks.

Bragging...just a bit

2006-10-11T11:38:00.000-04:00

Wow. September 15th was my last post on here. And the last few were just reposts of other people's stuff...sorry I've been such a blogger slacker.

The thing is, I have been extremely busy with some pretty amazing stuff. The top of that list, however, just happened on Monday.

I had the tremendous pleasure of singing a performance with Sting in a presentation of his new material, songs by the 16th century composer/lutenist John Dowland. In a performance for 300 people that was recorded for broadcast on XM Satellite Radio as part of their Artist Confidential series, I sang back up (with seven other singers) on two of his pieces.

In my eight years living (and gigging) in New York, this was by far the coolest gig I've done. In person, Sting is a very gracious, polite, interesting guy. He's also a pretty fantastic musician and singer.

We chatted a bit, talking about his learning the lute, an instrument that "scares the hell out of (him)," in his words. He talked of challenging himself, getting out of his comfort zone and taking on "an apprenticeship."

The album, Songs from the Labyrinth, is very interesting. I highly recommend it. (I'm listening to it now, actually!)

What a day!

Note: I'm waiting on the group photo we had taken. Once that is available, I'll post it on here.

Note #2: The broadcast, if you happen to have XM Radio, is scheduled to premiere on Monday, October 16th on XM Pops and XM Classical.

Pure Creativity

2006-09-15T22:20:00.000-04:00

I promise that I'll get back to actual writing soon, but I just had to post this. I realize I may be a few minutes behind the times, but if by chance you haven't seen this, it's the band, O.K. Go...on TREADMILLS.

Enjoy!

THANK YOU!!!

2006-09-14T11:34:00.000-04:00

This is pretty amazing.

Oh how I wish more and more people like Keith Olbermann and Jon Stewart would speak out. Perhaps then this country would start moving in the right direction.

Alex Rodriguez is Sad

2006-09-07T16:07:00.000-04:00

There is a fantastic article in this week's The Onion about the New York Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

For those of you who may not be sports fans, ARod has been a subject of derisive boo's and jeers from the Yankee fans for his poor fielding and long slumps at the plate. Oh, did I mention that he is the highest paid player in Major League Baseball at over $25 million per season?

To read the article in The Onion, click here

George Allen - RACIST

2006-08-31T15:37:00.000-04:00

We currently have a moron in the White House, so why not a potential racist? How wonderful would that be? Instead of rubbing their shoulders or speaking with his mouth full, he could just insult all the other world leaders for being of different races.

Oh...and if you're wondering, George Allen is the former governor of Virginia, who is planning to run for president in 2008.

And if you want to know why the word macaca is bad, just read this.

Regina Spektor - On the Radio

2006-08-29T11:34:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite new-ish artists.

...and the video reminds me of my Music Education Elementary Practicum.

Practicum is a fun word.

...and when did klaves become rhythm sticks? The dumbing down of our nation's youth is sad, indeed.

Parlez-Vous Montreal?

2006-08-24T23:31:00.000-04:00

The following is a not-so-brief account of my trip (with Erin) to the fantastic (and fantastically nearby - 6 hour drive) city of Montreal, Canada. It is like visiting a European city, but one that's within driving distance - and without that pesky Euro! Erin and I had a blast. Here's our trip, in words and pictures.

Departure - Saturday, August 19, 2006 @ 6:00 a.m.
With the best of intentions, we set the alarm clock for 4:15 a.m. (!), but really only woke at 5-something.

Arrived in Montreal about 12:30. It was too early to check in, so we found a cute little spot for brunch, Cafe Cherrier. We had only been in Montreal for about 20 minutes when Erin thanked our waitress with a confident "Grazie." Guess she thought we were in Venice or something.

Still too early to check in, we then sat in Square Saint Louis. At 3:00 p.m., we checked into our hotel, Hotel Kutuma. NAP TIME!

Dinner @ Bieres et Compagnie. This place was fantastic. They offered steamed mussels in 30 different preparations, and well over 100 beers. E and I sampled some fantastic Unibroue beers. My two favorites were Don de Dieu and Maudite. E was partial to Ephemere Framboise. A little more than tipsy, we decided it was a great idea (we're on vacation, afterall) to get MORE beers at the corner store. Mmmm...8-9% alcohol.

Bed.

Day Two - Sunday, August 20th
Slept in. This was the only sub-par day for us, weather-wise. It was cool and rainy. A couple of Advil curbed my Maudite-inspired headache, and we finally got moving a little after noon. We bought three day Touriste Metro passes, took the train to Centre Ville. There, we explored the frequently confusing Underground City and mall. There's no real master plan to this sprawling refuge from the harsh Montreal winters - or, as in our case, rainy Montreal summer days. We walked around a bit. Then Erin convinced me that I could buy (and wear) a light purple shirt. So I did. Best of all, it was only $15 - in Canadian! (That became a popular phrase for us.)

Dinner that night was at this great Plateau-area place we found called Fonduementale. It was, in a word, fantastic! For $45/person (Canadian!), we ate cheese and herb fondue, as well as filet mignon, terriyaki pork, Duck (Erin's least favorite) and Caribou (!). With dinner, we had a great bottle of Grenache/Syrah blend. Of course, the dessert course was a very rich chocolat fondue. Despite my occasional lack of a sweet tooth, this was pretty fabulous.

After a slow-ish walk to our hotel, we headed back to our favorite corner store/deli for more wine and Maudite. When the term "lush" came to mind, it was quickly scattered with the retort, "Hey! We're on vacation!"

Day Three - Monday, August 21stWent on a self-guided walking tour of Vieux Montreal. Beginning at Place d'Armes, where Paul Chomedy de Maisonneuve, the founder of Montreal, is said to have met the Iriquois in battle, we ambled down cobblestone streets and took a few photos. Our walk brought us to the banks of St. Lawrence River and the Montreal harbor. Pretty fantastic. Erin and I discovered an interesting tidbit about me - I get a little cranky if I go too long without eating. I should really consider carrying granola or something.

The evening plan was to visit Casino de Montreal. We expertly rode the Metro to the appropriate station and then, not-so-expertly got on the wrong bus. Luckily, it was a short route. We went for a little ride, came back where we started, and got on the Casino bus.

As I learned in February 2004 at Aaron Schmidt's bachelor event in Vegas, I get a little nutsy whilst gambling. I rocked out the ATM (or ATB, at they are called in Montreal), and withdrew $100 (Canadian!). We found the gaming tables, and I became immediately intimidated by the prospect of playing Blackjack or Craps in French. So, the goal was then to find the easiest way to gamble when you don't know the language, and don't feel like playing slots. Enter the fantastic game of La Battaile. (If this were Vegas, Big Jay would have called it CASINO WAR!!!). Sitting down, I immediately lost $60. Not a good start.

I started to feel a little cranky. But rather than assume it was because I just dropped $60 in less than 15 minutes, maybe I was hungry? That MUST be it!

Wanting to avoid the Casino Buffet, we found this (crappy) Italian joint where we both had the "Spaghettini and Pizza" (All Dressed!) combo. Unremarkable, but filling. Then it was time for more gambling. (You may recall, dear reader, that I withdrew $100 from the ABT/ATM. This was burning a hole in my pocket.)

Erin, being the more sensible of the pair, decided to wager only $20. Much like a some slot machine Mystic, she sought out the perfect $.50 Slot machine into which she deposit her bill. Turns out, she IS pretty damn lucky. With about $10 left in the machine (20 credits), the machine spun on 777. Bells started going off. Coins started dropping into the bin. E just won $250! Jackpot!!!

Emboldened by Erin's lucky streak, I went back to La Battaile. I guess her luck rubbed off on me, as I quickly won back my $60 lost, and then some. I walked away, reluctantly - I wanted to keep playing. Erin is, as you may recall, much more sensible than I. Better to walk, up $50, then lose it all. She's so smart.

Great night.

Day Four - Tuesday, August 22nd
This was our active day. We for a bike ride, starting out in Vieux Montreal, and then down the canal along the St. Lawrence. The omnipresent hunger crankiness set it, so we stopped for sandwiches. We then found a pretty amazing farmers market, which had some really beautiful produce. According to our guide book, they also have Quebec's own Maple Syrup Whisky - but we must have missed that.

Doing our best Tour de France impression, it was time to head up some big ass hills to the Parc Mont-Royal, or the "mountain," as the locals call it.

After the downhill descent, we thought to ride out to the Parc Olympique. A wasp/bee/black fly/Kamikaze pilot decided to take a liking to Erin's ankle. Riding along, I heard cries of intense pain from behind me. Thinking the worst - ruptured Achilles/gunshot wound, I was heartened (only slightly) to hear it was a bug bite/sting. But E was in obvious pain. Luckily, we stopped right in front of a medical supplies shop. A very nice patron buying medical supplies brought out an antiseptic swab and a band-aid. The ankle swelled up pretty badly, though. So we canceled the ride to Parc Olympique, and went for beers instead. (Mmmm, beer!) We drank Borreale Blonde and shelled peanuts at a local tavern, The Tap Room.

Dinner that night was the one that I was really looking forward to. Brunoise, according to their website, offers french market-based cuisine paired with a thoughtfully selected wine list. And Zagat gives it a 28 for food. The meal was amazing. Bottle of 2005 Bordeaux. Beet root salad for Erin's appetizer. Smoked scallops for me. Entrees: Erin had Filet and Veal Cheeks. Brian Rabbit Confit, topped with foie gras. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Return - Wednesday, August 23rd
Woke up at around 11:00 a.m. Packed to the dulcid tones of Bob Barker on The Price is Right. Watched some chick really screw up playing Plinko. Checked out of hotel, drove to Parc Olympique.

Said "au revoir" to Montreal at around 1:30.

Take Me Out...

2006-08-18T12:12:00.000-04:00

From the "small town experience in NYC" file...Alan Arak and I went to a Staten Island Yankees game last night. From the incessant and kinda annoying in-game entertainment (Scooter, the Holy Cow!) to the actually-decent baseball played, we really had a fantastic time. Watch out for the starting pitcher, George Kontos. The RHP had decent velocity (in the low 90s, topping out around 93mph), good control (despite his warm ups...both Al and I thought he might be in a for a LONG night), and a knack for striking people out. He whiffed 8 batters in 5 2/3 shutout innings.

I went strangely loco in-between innings 6 and 7, however. I must publicly (as if he'll read this!) apologize to the gentleman seated below me. Scooter (the Holy Cow!) was tossing foam baseballs into the stands, when one came directly to me. And I dropped it! The $.30 piece of memorabilia fell into the row below, and this rather nice man reached back and grabbed it. I then (inexplicably) shouted at him, "C'mon! You got a real ball!" You see, the bat boy tossed him a real ball only a few short innings earlier. Alas, despite my pleas to be treated to the same generosity, Bat Boy #50 (a.k.a "Hawaii" by Al) ignored me.

Seemingly shaken by aggression, Mr. Nice Baseball Fan quickly tossed the crappy foam ball to me. Laughter ensued for about 15 minutes until, realizing that I had absolutely no use for a cheap foam souvenir, I asked Al to hand it to the cute little girl seated behind.

So, to the kindly gentleman seated in Section 11, Row C, I am sorry for shouting at you. I'm really a nice guy.

What's wrong with me?

My favorite part of the night, however, was probably the ride over. Fun night.

Transportation the Game

On the cutting edge

2006-08-16T16:11:00.000-04:00

Well, well, well. I was surfing around the CNN videos section yesterday. Much to my surprise, they have a Showbiz Tonight or whatever, feature on the lovely Britney Spears video below...or shown here. Yes, that bitch is still crazy!!! But I think it's cool that something I posted on here...oh, almost TWO WEEKS AGO, is now garnering the attention of CNN. Hooray for me.

(Note: I didn't break the news about the video. In the interest of full disclosure, I found it on another website, and then downloaded it from here.)

Speaking of amazing discoveries, I happened upon some pretty cool new music last night. Anyone who saw the series finale of Sex and the City might recognize the stylings of MC Solaar. But his stuff is pretty fantastic. Erin and I went to my favorite speakeasy (Yes Gerd, I LOVE speakeasies) Single Room Occupancy last night. Solaar was pumping through the speakers. Ya'll should check him out. Read about him here! You can now also buy his music on Itunes.

More later...

New York Times Editorial

2006-08-11T14:21:00.000-04:00

I never intended for this to be a three post Friday - but the following editorial featured in today's New York Times got me nodding. So well written, and so very, very true.

For almost five years now, we have carried around the legacy of Sept. 11. There is no sunny morning that does not revive its memory. The news of a terrorist plot against America-bound airliners yesterday called up feelings that are never all that far below the surface.

There is nothing Americans want more than to win the war on terror, to come to a place where people no longer feel it is a fine thing to forfeit their own lives and the lives of innocents in order to make the world notice their anger and frustration. It is a point on which the country is absolutely undivided. It is one matter about which subway commuters, airline passengers and mall shoppers feel no irony or cynicism whatsoever.

It comes like a punch to the gut, at times like these, when our leaders blatantly use the nation’s trauma for political gain. We never get used to this. It never feels like business as usual.

On Wednesday, when the administration already knew that British agents were rounding up suspects in what they believed was a plot to blow up planes en route to the United States, Vice President Dick Cheney had a telephone interview with reporters to discuss the defeat of Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut in a Democratic primary. Mr. Cheney went off on a rather rambling disquisition, but its main point was clear: In rejecting Mr. Lieberman, who supported the war in Iraq, the Democrats were encouraging “the Al Qaeda types.” Within the Democratic ranks, the vice president added, “there’s a significant body of opinion that wants to go back — I guess the way I would describe it is sort of the pre-9/11 mind-set, in terms of how we deal with the world we live in.”

The man who beat Mr. Lieberman, Ned Lamont, lives in Greenwich, a suburb full of commuters who work in New York high-rise buildings. They are completely aware of the way international terrorism can come crashing down on an ordinary family, leaving the survivors stunned and bereft. A dozen of their neighbors died at the World Trade Center. They will never be able to go back to a “pre-9/11 mind-set.”

But that did not seem to deter Mr. Lieberman from scoring a cheap sound bite yesterday. Leaving Iraq, as Mr. Lamont advocates, “will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England,” he said. “It will strengthen them and they will strike again.”

Here is what we want to do in the wake of the arrests in Britain. We want to understand as much as possible about what terrorists were planning. To talk about airport security and how to make it better. To find out what worked in the British investigation and discuss how to push these efforts farther. It would be a blessed moment in modern American history if we could do that without turning this into a political game plan.

How To Be An Expert On ANYTHING

2006-08-11T11:24:00.000-04:00

I read the following Stephen Colbert excerpt on Daily Kos and laughed out loud. I hope you enjoy it!

Pick a field that can't be verified. Try something like string theory or God's will: "I speak to God. I'm sorry that you can't also." Security experts are in this category: They have security clearances, we don't. We can't question the expertise of the NSA because we are not in the NSA.

Choose a subject that's actually secret. Dan Brown invented a secret subject for The Da Vinci Code, so now he is forever an expert on this secret subject that no one can challenge. Anybody who attacks the secret subject is, by definition, part of the cabal.

Use the word zeitgeist as often as possible. Ideally, you want to find words that sound familiar but people don't really know their definitions: zeitgeist, bildungsroman, doppelgänger---better yet, anything Latin. But avoid paradigm. It's so 1994. If you say the word paradigm, everybody knows you're a poser.

Be sure to use lots of abbreviations and acronyms. Someone who says the words operations security may be educated, but the person who uses the military abbreviation Opsec is clearly an expert. If I use the term Gitmo, that means I've actually been there. If you say, "We're going to Defcon 1," it means you probably have the launch codes. Real experts don't have time for extra syllables.

---From Wired

Torrential

2006-08-11T10:32:00.000-04:00

Last night, while on my way to meet up with the newly-returned (from Europe) Rod and Danny, I hopped on an uptown M104 bus. It had just started to rain - though not yet heavily. That changed quickly.

By the time the bus made the 16 block trek, the rain was coming down harder than I had ever seen it, much less tried to walk in it. Indeed, it was always coming sideways, rendering my umbrella completely useless. Before exiting the bus, I glanced at the driver. He cocked his head to the side and stated sympathetically, "Sorry." Even with an umbrella, I was drenched within seconds. I haven't looked up rainfall amounts yet...but I wouldn't be surprised it was at least a few inches. Amazing.

(Note on the photo: This is not a depiction of last night's storm. It is, however, a cool photo of lightning in NYC.)

The Fightin' Fighty Fighters!

2006-08-10T16:53:00.000-04:00

Daily Show Plays Win, Lose, or WithDraw w/ Rumsfeld Gonzales & Rice

Jon Stewart is my hero. I hope you all have a "dickens of a time" watching this.

What a bunch of imcompetent morons!

Wednesday Thought Purge

2006-08-09T12:07:00.000-04:00

Ah, these lazy days of summer. Not a lot happening in the office. The social life, however, is a bit of a different story.

Went, with several pals, to a very cool spot last Saturday. Water Taxi Beach is a man-made, waterfront "beach" that features DJ-spun tunes, volleyball, grub, and best of all, booze. There is no swimming allowed in the East River, but there is a fine mist blown on the sunbathers and volleyballers to help keep everyone cool. It was hipster central, and there were definitely some ill-advised bikinis. Regardless, we all had a blast.

(BTW, I kicked some serious ass in volleyball. Maybe it was the $2 Schaeffer drafts...but I was, if I may say so, amazing.)

Erin and I are off to Montreal for a few days. Who knew it's only a six hour drive?!?

The Voice Versa Ten Year Reunion planning is in full swing. I (finally) was able to speak with someone on campus. Granted, it was only a temp called Katie, but at least my call will be noted and we'll be able to get on the schedule. I even volunteered to help plan some "young alumni" events for Westminster here in NYC. Do I even want to see all that many people from my college days? Answer: Well, most of them!

More later...

WHAT?!?

2006-08-04T15:41:00.000-04:00

Britney Spears is TRASHY

This isn't news, and it certainly isn't political. But this bitch is absolutely insane!!!

"I like a good baloney sandwich" - George W. Bush

2006-08-04T15:32:00.000-04:00

Dear Rest of Country,

Please see to it that, for as long as I live, we never elect another moron like our current President.

That is all.

Love,
Brian

Colbert Report - Bush is better than Hitler

2006-08-04T15:18:00.000-04:00

Stephen Colbert is truly my hero.

(Can you tell I just learned how to post videos from youtube.com?)

Our NATIONAL embarassment

2006-08-03T14:31:00.000-04:00

This is horrifying, yet certainly not the least bit shocking.

A report published Monday, the Lovenstein Institute of Scranton , Pennsylvania , detailed its findings of a four month study of the intelligence quotient of President George W. Bush. Since 1973, the Lovenstein Institute has published its research to the educational community on each new president, which includes the famous "IQ" report among others.

There have been twelve presidents over the past 50 years, from F.D. Roosevelt to G.W. Bush, who were rated based on scholarly achievements:

1. Writings that they produced without aid of staff, and

2. Their ability to speak with clarity, and several other
psychological factors, which were then scored using the Swanson/Crain
System of intelligence ranking.

The study determined the following IQs of each president as accurate to within five percentage points. In order by presidential term:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt [D] 142
Harry S Truman [D] 132
Dwight David Eisenhower [R] 122
John Fitzgerald Kennedy [D] 174
Lyndon Baines Johnson [D] 126
Richard Milhous Nixon [R] 155
Gerald R. Ford [R] 121
James Earle Carter [D] 175
Ronald Wilson Reagan [R] 105
George Herbert Walker Bush [R] 98
William Jefferson Clinton [D] 182
George Walker Bush [R] 91

In order of IQ rating:

182 . . William Jefferson Clinton [D]
175 . . James Earle Carter [D]
174 . . John Fitzgerald Kennedy [D]
155 . . Richard Milhous Nixon [R]
147 . . Franklin Delano Roosevelt [D]
132 . . Harry S Truman [D]
126 . . Lyndon Baines Johnson [D]
122 . . Dwight David Eisenhower [R]
121 . . Gerald R. Ford [R]
105 . . Ronald Wilson Reagan [R]
098 . . George Herbert Walker Bush [R]
091 . . George Walker Bush [R]

The six Republican presidents of the past 50 years had an average IQ of 115.5, with President Nixon having the highest at 155. President George W. Bush rated the lowest of all the Republicans with an IQ of 91.

The six Democratic presidents of the past 50 years had an average IQ of 156, with President Clinton having the highest IQ, at 182. President Lyndon B. Johnson was rated the lowest of all the Democrats with an IQ of 126. No president other than Carter [D] has released his actual IQ (176).

Among comments made concerning the specific testing of President G.W. Bush, his low ratings are due to his apparently difficult command of the English language in public statements, his limited use of vocabulary [6,500 words for Bush versus an average of 11,000 words for other presidents], his lack of scholarly achievements other than a basic MBA, and an absence of any body of work which could be studied on an intellectual basis.

The complete report documents the methods and procedures used to arrive at these ratings, including depth of sentence structure and voice stress confidence analysis.

"All the Presidents prior to George W. Bush had a least one book under their belt, and most had written several white papers during their education or early careers. Not so with President Bush," Dr. Lovenstein said. "He has no published works or writings, which made it more difficult to arrive at an assessment. We relied more
heavily on transcripts of his unscripted public speaking."

The Lovenstein Institute of Scranton, Pennsylvania think tank includes high caliber historians, psychiatrists, sociologists, scientists in human behavior, and psychologists. Among their ranks are Dr. Werner R. Lovenstein, world-renowned sociologist, and Professor Patricia F.Dilliams, a world-respected psychiatrist.

To me, this just goes to show that our nation's president is just a touch more intelligent than the retarded people executed under his watch as governor of Texas.

Radiohead - Thom Yorke Interview

2006-08-02T12:14:00.000-04:00


This is such an interesting glimpse into the life of the Radiohead frontman. Enjoy!

Thought Purge in a Heat Wave

2006-08-02T11:11:00.000-04:00

Jesus Christ it's hot out there!!! 100 degrees is expected today. I just hope our friends at ConEd can keep the juice flowing.

Speaking of Jesus Christ and his #1 fan, everyone's favorite Lethal Weapon/Braveheart/anti-Semite/drunk Mel Gibson has himself in just a touch of hot water these days. I guess railing on about Jews after driving almost twice the speed limit on the Pacific Coast Highway, and then calling a female police officer "sugar tits" is the epitome of conservative Catholic behavior.

Two of my favorite sites, The Superficial and What Would Tyler Durden Do, have become my primary sources of information on the subject. But even CNN is getting in on the act with some fantastic drunk shots of Mel.

Come to think of it, maybe it isn't so nice to make fun of a guy who has an obvious drinking problem?

Or maybe it is. The dude is nuts!

Paid a second visit to one of my favorite restaurants in the city last week, Lupa. Erin and I went to celebrate her return from Hawaii and my successful (and profitable) run of Grendel. We enjoyed a three course meal, starting with antipasti of Grilled Sweet Onions and Prosciutto Di Parma, a primi course of Ricotta Gnocchi with Sausage & Fennel, and finally a secondi course of their delicious Saltimbocca.

As for wine, yours truly does not know a whole lot about the wines of Italy. I tried to be as specific with the server as possible in stating that "we are looking for something light to medium bodied, touch of fruit that's very drinkable, under $50." We were immediately directed to three bottles, all of which where under $35! The wine we chose, a 2005 Il Corzanello Sangiovese, was fantastic! The easiest way to earn my trust as a patron to not immediately go for the upper-range of my financial parameters. Our server could very easily have led us to a $47 bottle of whatever...but as a former bartender/waiter, I know that the $30 bottles are quite often just as good as the $50 ones.

More later...

Thoughts from 34,000 feet

2006-07-29T11:19:00.000-04:00

What a difference a few months makes.

I write this from seat 12F on American Airlines Flight #1217, from Newark Airport to Chicago’s O’Hare. Despite a delay of over 1 ½ hours due to the inevitable thunderstorms in the New York City area, I’m about one hour from touching down in Chi-town. The affable Mark Jones and the lovely Kari Burgess will wed tomorrow afternoon in the city of St. Charles, IL. I’m going alone, as Erin and I only started dating two months ago. I’m cool with that, but I do wish that she were sitting next to me. A good time will undoubtedly be had - it would be great if she could be there to share it with me.

The last time I flew this route, my life was in a very different place. I was ensconced in romantic “limbo,” leaving NYC for a three day holiday in Chicago at the Burgess/Jones flat. I went, first and foremost, to see my pals - to drink heavily and to welcome 2006. (God knows that I was anxious to see 2005 come to a close.) I also went to escape - to “kick the tires” of the Second City. I was giving some serious thought to packing up my things and waving goodbye to the hustle/bustle/disappointment/ghosts of the Big Apple. Not that 2005 was all bad...it certainly wasn’t. It just seemed, at that time, that a new set of surroundings might be necessary.

I often say, though I realize I haven’t said it yet in this forum, that I fall in (and out of) love with New York all the time. Life there is often difficult. And there are sacrifices that must be made. We sacrifice personal space on a daily basis - sharing subways and busses with strangers almost literally on top of us. We sacrifice spaciousness in our living situations, and throw huge sums of money to our landlords for the privilege.

I realized some time this spring that I wouldn’t have to run (or hide) in another city to purge the ghosts of my past. Relationships, especially those that ended in sadness, are part of life. They are, as Patty my therapist is quick to point out, the “gifts in black boxes” that made me the man I am today. And I like him.

Weekend reflections

2006-07-24T11:22:00.000-04:00

This summer is flying - though much of that perception is probably due to my schedule. Until last weekend, it was occupied with professional commitments - Corpus Christi recording, Grendel, etc. This past week, however, my commitments were much of the social variety.

Friday night and most of Saturday were spent in Fort Montgomery, NY at the MacInnes Cottage of Rockefeller University. Despite the rain, Jenni+Alex+Brock+Shannon+I had a great time of it - playing Kings, Asshole (first time since college!), Boggle and just reliving our college days. (Photos will follow)

Yesterday was Heather Meyer's first annual Croquet & Rose picnic in Central Park. In defiance of powers-that-be, we sipped wine, snacked, and tossed a football around. The weather had cleared by this point...and we had a grand time.

From there, it was off to Lewis White's 60th (!) birthday celebration in Tarrytown, NY. Yummy food, great conversation and a few hundred laughs were the rule of the day. (Again, photos to follow)

A nugget of life wisdom, as shared by Lewis: "Feed everyone. Love everyone." He then went on to say, "Those inside this fence make the second part easy."

Overheard on the No. 1 Train

2006-07-21T09:56:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of the great site Overheard in New York, I have a pretty heinous observation of my own to share.

On the downtown 1 Train this morning, on my usual trek from 110th to 66th streets, these two relatively large women were complaining about the lack of manners in another rider. This rider, however, was apparently no longer on the train.

Chubby #1: "Shit, that muthafucka dint even say 'excuse me.' Ain't that some shit?"
Chubby #2: "Mmm hmmm."

Ironic that, in a discussion of proper manners, words like "shit" and "muthafucka" didn't seem the least bit inappropriate in the presence of children and various other bleary-eyed commuters.

I desperately need a Vespa.

Thom Yorke, on his own

2006-07-20T11:15:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has ever asked my musical preference knows that the boys from Radiohead top my list. I have been a loyal devotee since 1998 and their incredible OK, Computer was released. I have seen them live four times, including an incredible Liberty State Park show in August 2001 that included a post-concert ferry trip back to Lower Manhattan. In my post-concert euphoria, I remember staring up at the massive World Trade Center towers, in awe of their grandeur. Of course, I had no idea what would come only three weeks later. Then again, none of us did. But I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to appreciate them from that vantage point after a truly life-changing musical event.

I digress...I've (predictably) fallen deeply in love with Thom Yorke's solo release The Eraser. This tricked-out, mostly laptop-produced record, is pure Thom Yorke. It's paranoid, distrustful, pleading, intense, and eerily beautiful. I couldn't recommend it more highly, especially the tremendous track #7, Harrowdown Hill, and Black Swan. "This is fucked up," indeed.

Is it joy I feel?

2006-07-17T12:15:00.000-04:00

Life upon the wicked stage, especially whilst balancing a show and a full time office job, can be taxing. And rewarding. As was our recently-completed run of Grendel as part of the Lincoln Center Festival.

The show represented the last in a months-long series of singing engagements. What was purported to be a slow season became perhaps my busiest ever. Complaints are few, however. It's been one hell of a Spring. I have little idea what comes next, but look forward to the slowing of my schedule.

With a bit more time upon my hands at the completion of these gigs, I'm committed to keeping up this blog a bit more frequently. I rather enjoy the writing part of it, and do miss it.

Maybe now I can think of something to say.

Photo by Joshua South

Movin' Right Along...

2006-02-08T11:03:00.000-05:00

Phew! It's been a while. I'll have be gentle with myself....

I'm moving...again. I use the word again as though it's happened frequently. In actuality, it's been 1 1/2 years since I last went through this process. I still hate it, though.

Work is going well.

Singing is going fine. I will performing a staged version of the Bach St. Matthew Passion at BAM this April. Staged = memorized. Yikes! The work is THREE HOURS LONG. Rod says it's like learning a script...I find it to be my hell.

More later...

Culinary Delights

2005-07-27T13:23:00.000-04:00

One of my hobbies, and there are relatively few of them beyond music/sports/theatre, is food. Good food. And the restaurants that serve it. (With wine, please.) I am a "foodie." I'm happy to admit to that.

I anxiously await the Dining section of the Wednesday edition of the New York Times which brings Frank Bruni's latest snarky review of the NYC culinary temple du jour. I am lucky enough to have dined at some of NYC's most esteemed restaurants. Here are a few of my New York (and beyond) favorites, with a thought and reaction on each.

River Cafe, Brooklyn, NY. The food at this waterfront gem overlooking Lower Manhattan is extraordinary, especially the terrine of foie gras. AMAZING. The price point is quite high, so this is a place for special occasions only.

Nobu, New York, NY. Though it remains a struggle to gain a reservation, this gorgeous Japanese restaurant on Hudson Street in TriBeCa remains worth the wait!

The Lodge at Game Creek, Vail, CO. Any restaurant that you have to take a ski lift and a snowcat to reach, is pretty cool already. Then, the food arrives!

Aquagrill, New York, NY. As a former server/bartender at several NYC establishments, I am rather unlikely to return to these former places of employment as a paying customer. Aquagrill, on Spring Street in SOHO, is a very clear exception. Here, it's all about the oysters. More than 20 varieties are available each day...several of which are FedEx'ed in each morning. The oysters are fresh, the dining room is lovely, and the location is choice. It's a great place to eat, but it really sucked to work there.

The White Elephant Inn, Nantucket, MA. The most recent entry to this growing list, this harbor-side restaurant serves phenomenal seafood and surprisingly good steaks in a gorgeous setting.

The Foggy, Foggy Dew...and LGA

2005-07-21T03:37:00.000-04:00

I hate LaGuardia Airport, USAirways Express, and the atmospheric phenomenon known as fog.

My lovely three day weekend on Nantucket grew an extra day when the Nantucket Airport (ACK) was closed due to fog. My 5:50PM and 7:15PM flights were both canceled. Then, my 8:55AM flight was canceled the next morning. I was booked on the 2:05PM, and it seemed as systems were go. "Not so fast, pal!" the airline seemed to say to me. My fourth flight was delayed due to a "ground stop" at LaGuardia (LGA) because of "storms in the area." Pay no attention to the fact that my New York contacts told me it was hot and sunny, and there was no sign of thunderclouds and the like. I finally got home around 9:00PM Tuesday evening.

Success...now what?

2005-06-24T20:19:00.000-04:00

Hi kids.

I still haven't figured out what this blog will now entail, as it started as a response to my lack of gainful employment. That has now been remedied.

I still turn 30 this Monday. That has been weighing on me for quite some time, but now I'm looking forward to it. For those for whom their 20's were a challenge, they say the 30's are a joy.

I'm counting on it.