Odds and Sods for Sunday, October 26, 2008

Julie and Eric are doing such fabulous blogging while on tour that I'm thinking I should actually do some writing posts but strangely enough, I'm not in the mood. However, my free and usually 100% inaccurate Yahoo horoscope for today says: "You will have a good combination of positive energy and free time, today! Have fun. You're more in touch with your feelings than you have been in quite some time and you can communicate them as clearly as possible. It's a good day to sit down with your sweetie and do just that!" so okay, okay, let's break the Yahoo curse -- it sounds good to me. Onward and upward! This is going to be a journal entry containing all kinds of flotsam and jetsam...should be fun.

First let me post some photos which Julie didn't nick for her own blog har har. I have absolutely no explanation or stories to go with any of these pics though both Julie and Eric do kind of touch on some in their respective blogs. I kind of think they speak for themselves, anyway:












I'm really wondering about that hotel room photo which appears that they are inches away from the ocean. Or is that an optical illusion? I can't tell! Man, if that was their actual room, how awesome. And um, no comment as to the topless photo but let me just say they are part of a hilarious series and as much as I would love to post the photo of Ade and Eric inexplicably eating dinner in suchlike fashion...something tells me I'd better not.

An incredible photographer, Beana Bern took some amazing, amazing shots of the trio a few days ago in Austria, and here is the direct link.

Here's a You Tube of "Matchless Man" from a recent show but warning, it's a tease and not the whole song and you can't see Julie but you sure can hear her...damn!



Finally, tomorrow night ABPT will be performing in Aschaffenburg, Germany. I google imaged that city...have a look:



Gah! I repeat, why am I not on this tour?

In Belew-related news, kind of, the engineer for the trio's new studio album will be none other than Saul Zonana, and there's a way cool article about Saul and one of his new endeavors right here.

If I may take a minute to write about my own life, last Friday night I read from one of my novels at Bluestockings in New York City.



I had a lot of fun doing that and it was way cool meeting fellow author Donna George Storey in person as our paths have crossed many times in on line world, both at Zoetrope Studios and via weirdly parallel writing careers. We've appeared several times together in the same magazines and she also wrote an erotica novel with an actual plot and intelligent, thoughtful characters. Her book, Amorous Woman is brilliant. Simply brilliant.


After the reading, we ate at a really great Japanese restaurant called Hasaki in the East Village. I had grilled wild salmon with basil miso. It was to die for. And speaking of food, and speaking of basil, as you also may know, Julie got her food porn ideas from me -- and Gary and I are the one who nurtured that palate, damn it, so here's a few food porn shots of my own -- it's what Gary made me for dinner tonight and I'll post the recipe beneath it...but first, we had an appetizer of a salad made with red lettuce, (marinated/prepared by Gary) fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil, imported olives, sliced portabello mushrooms sauteed in a bit of teryaki sauce and all tossed together in a roasted garlic dressing:



Our main course was this: Sweet Potato Ravioli with Basil-Brown Butter



Serves 6 as an appetizer, 4 as an entree (makes about 20 ravioli)

2 large sweet potatoes, baked through in oven wrapped in foil, scooped out hot
1 teaspoon five spice powder
1 bunch chives, chopped
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 package wonton skins
Egg wash (1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoons water)
8 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup packed Thai basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the ravioli filling: in a bowl, combine the sweet potato, five spice, chives and honey. Check for flavor and season with salt and pepper. When filling has cooled, form ravioli: place wonton skin down, lay one large Thai basil leaf in center, top with puree and another basil leaf. Brush egg wash around edges and top with second wonton skin. Seal tight and repeat with remaining filling and wonton skins. In a sauté pan over high heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add canola oil. Sear the ravioli until crisp, then turn and sear second side until crisp. Remove ravioli to a paper towel-lined plate. Position 3-5 ravioli per pasta plate on top of puree. Add remaining butter to pan and brown. When butter is browned, add basil, taking care to stand back because the natural moisture in the basil will cause the oil to pop. Add vinegars and stir to combine. Drizzle sauce over ravioli and serve.

You wanna talk about sick? That was one of the sickest dinners ever. And I didn't even have to go to Europe. (Ha ha - sour grapes, sour grapes...but seriously, I've eaten all over the world, too, and not too many chefs rival my husband or my daughter and I understand Eric is also rapidly becoming "one of them", too.)

Speaking of food yet again, tomorrow I am having lunch with Joan Baez. No, really, I am. Details will follow.

No one can ever say my life is boring.

Later,
xo
P.S. There is a chink in the photo posting tonight in blogspot - hence the gigantic pics I am totally powerless to shrink. I'll try playing with them again tomorrow...

Adrian Belew Power Trio on Tour - Switzerland to Spain

Help, help, I've been rendered redundant.

Ha ha, I'm just kidding, but between Julie Slick's fabulous new tour blog (or is that food blog?) and the fact that there haven't been any on-line journal reports coming out of Switzerland or Spain, I am kind of left in the dust on this tour. Sob.



Not to mention the fact that Julie took my camera with her; is loading photos to my photobucket site; then using them for her own blog! Oh well, at least she left me with the one posted above.

All kidding aside, what parent in the world wouldn't want to hear this from their kids:

"I love my life. I have the best life in the world."

Seriously. If Gary and I have done nothing else in all our years on this planet, that is enough. We are literally walking around so damn proud and teary eyed it's ridiculous.

Yep, both Julie and Eric have instant messaged me how much they love their lives repeatedly ever since hitting Budapest last week. This is a tour of dreams come true - they adored Budapest; Lugano, Switzerland was breathtaking; San Sebastian, Spain is some sort of utopia, and early this morning they left for two days in Italy. I did speak to them at 2:00 a.m. their time following their show in Barcelona last night, and they were ecstatic.

Julie said: "Totally rocked - best show so far. But ya know, we were meant for clubs. We didnt really get to see Barcelona unfortunately though...too bad we have a day off in Milan tomorrow. Such a tough life huh?"

Eric told me he and Ade were flying - the club was packed, the reaction of the crowd amazing...you can just feel their happiness oozing right through the computer monitor.

But I do have something really excellent to report which is sort of Adrian Belew Power Trio related. Please listen, via the web (or the radio if you are in the Philadelphia area) to WXPN radio (and that's the link to "listen live") tonight between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. eastern. Gary, who has also updated his Guitar God blog, has done something way, way amazing and you'll have to listen to XPN to find out. Cool? Cool! (And don't forget to check Gary's blog - he is up to #7 on his all time Guitar God list and you may...or may not...be surprised at his choice).

Oh well. I've got nothing else to say at the moment but I did hear there were a ton of journalists at the show last night...I'm hoping something pops up on line later today, especially a You Tube, so I'll keep checking and I will come back in and add it to this post if I get lucky. But for now...

Later,
xo
P.S. Oh, wait. I did find this pretty amusing blurb on, of all places, the Kawasaki Motorcycle Forum Board. Though Earl Slick may be surprised to find he is now the father of two musical prodigies...heh...

"If you like Zappa drumming, check out video on youtube of the Adrian Belew Power Trio. Adrian played lead guitar for Frank back in the 70s, then moved on to Talking Heads, David Bowie, King Crimson, and many more great gigs. His trio consists of Adrian on guitar & vocals, Eric Slick (a 21-year-old MONSTER) on drums, and Eric's gorgeous 22-year old sister slapping the Tony Levin out of a bass. Yes, the slick siblings are the offspring of Earl Slick, so they've got good rock n roll genes! Eric does stuff on the tune "Young Lions" that I had previously thought only do-able by the likes of Neal Peart and Mike Portnoy."

Indeed!

Adrian Belew Power Trio on Tour - Budapest to Switzerland Part I

Okay, stop the presses. Julie Slick has started an online journal called Having My Bass and Eating It, Too and she starts it off "The Final Slick Gives In..." It's a must read. I'm dying here right now. And when you are done reading that, Mr. Eric Slick has also updated his blog, too.

Here's a pic sent to me by a fan, Diana, following the first show of the tour in Budapest on Wednesday night.



And as usual, Andre Cholmondeley comes through again and sends me a whole slew of pics as well, which I'll post intermittently within the next few days as they cover both Budapest and Lugano, Switzerland, where they play their second show tonight.

Finally, a sign at an airport which makes sense:



Here's the trio posing under their own poster at the club in Budapest..



And a slightly off but at least mostly understandable English translation of an interview Adrian did with the Mike Oldfield blog a few weeks ago...and as usual, he's got some very cool things to say:

Mike Oldfield Blog interview with Adrian Belew
Written by Miguel Fernandez

While we are working with all the material we have gathered in the afternoon we spent with Tim Cross, and that little by little we will be publishing, as we said, I'd like to share with you a little chat that I was able to convert in an interview with Adrian Belew, Oldfield collaborator on the topics and Holy Far Country, Earth moving album (1989). Everything came a couple of weeks ago, when we send an e-mail to your personal web and we commented that Adrian happy and we would respond to our questions by phone. Shortly afterwards took place here will see what we transcribed it as closely as possible.

I would like to thank from here to own Adrian Belew for his kindness, his sincerity and patience during the 20-minute telephone interview and Renee (his secretary) for the speed of response and facilities provided to us all safe arrival. Thank you so much!

Mike Oldfield Blog (MOB): How did the collaboration with Mike Oldfield on Earth moving?

Adrian Belew (AB): I imagine it would be his producer that she would say that I was the appropriate voice for a couple of songs on the album.. I liked the idea and I accepted, and the truth is that I was surprised that anyone would like me to record voice and no guitars, which is almost always called me.

MOB: Mike chose what item (s) was going to work or you chose?

AB: Well, at first I was going to sing another song, I do not remember the title now, but it would not be Holy. Mike thought that my voice was not right for this subject, but I told him that I no longer try Holy, I did the best I could, and the result left him impressed.

MOB: Tell us about Far Country, the other issue on which we can enjoy their collaboration.

AB: (Laughs) Far country was a song in which I did not plan to burn, but as I had finished my shots vocal (I'm pretty fast in the study), asked me to record a guitar for that song and I thought " Oh, you know, another guitar that I asked to write! Really improvised, there was nothing formal for my part of the solo, because I had not brought my own guitar, because it did not have that! (laughs).

MOB: How were the recording sessions for those two items? Was Mike did this or distance?

AB: I traveled to England to record in the studio that Mike had in his house. There was a couple of weeks. And yes, Mike was always present with everything perfectly planned and the recording was like silk.

MOB: How was the experience of working with Mike in the studio?

AB: I liked the experience. Mike was a man with great sense of humor. It also coincided with several musicians who were recording with him for the disc, and sometimes we met to take some Guinness, tell stories ... it was fun.

MOB: Have you kept in touch with him since?

AB: Ya know ... with the passage of time, it becomes difficult to maintain contact with everyone, unless you call to do more things (laughs).

MOB: Let's talk now of Adrian Belew Power Trio, your current project. What criteria used to select the two musicians who accompany you?

AB: I already knew Eric and Julie Slick before starting this project (they were 19 and 20 years when we started, now are 21 and 22 years). They are incredible musicians: young, but very focused. I needed a change in my career and I thought they were the perfect musicians to join me in this change.

MOB: What are the main influences of the Power Trio?

AB: I really can not be said to have an influence, because by touching items that I have composed or helped compose throughout my career, because there is no common denominator in influence. However, the father of Eric and Julie always put them in touch with lots of music similar to what I've always played, thus greatly helped them to understand the songs.

MOB: What is taking place this tour?, Is the response of the audience you expected?

AB: Really great how the public is reacting to our concerts. We have played in Russia (it was the first time I did) recently and there were about 150,000 people, something unbelievable. We have also stayed in Japan and Canada and the response has been very good to the public. Now we will make a tour of Europe and Australia...hopefully everything continues this good.

MOB: Tell us how it is a concert of the Power Trio: Is everything planned millimeter or there is room for improvisation on the part of all three?.

AB: A concert with the Power Trio, it's a very energetic concert, the people like us as much to be engaged on stage and they love to see us on stage doing what we really like. There's always room for improvisation, both for me as for them. Eric and Julie carry a lifetime playing together, so it complete perfection, there is a lot of complicity between them, musically speaking and I can really party because I know that they will do so perfectly, and so I also have a small hole for my own improvisations.

MOB: Are there any reviews and funny anecdote that has happened on the tour?.

AB: If you enjoy the anecdotes I recommend that you visit Elephant Blog. I write a sort of diary of the tour and you'll find many fun things. I like to write it so that everybody can read it.

MOB: Recently on our blog, we had an interesting discussion about the term "progressive rock" with many differences of opinion. How would you define the progressive rock someone like you, that has formed (and is) part of it?

AB: Hmmm ... I would describe as an Rock complicated, with many changes of meter and key, as ... epic film, I do not know if I explain. In the beginning, the bands that were better represented as King Crimson and Yes, but now that has changed, and I do not know how to define it (laughs).

The truth is that many people are bent on labels, and progressive rock was much more than a label ... it's like jazz. Over the years there have been jazz, but is that of the 20s, that of the 50s, etc ... I think that would define the progressive rock as intelligent rock.

MOB: So, as you could ... classify any work by Mike Oldfield as progressive rock?

AB: Without a doubt. It was a complete novelty, and honestly had all the components that I mentioned earlier: it has that air all those changes and epic compass and key.

MOB: After so many concerts, albums, collaborations and different projects ... What are your future plans in the world of music?

AB: Right now I'm completely focused on the Power Trio. The truth is that in addition to the great happenings on the stage, we are doing wonderfully. With the whole issue of the Internet, anyone can download the discs for free, free to copy, share songs with other people ... So I think that what you cut the cake are the concerts live, and I am lucky to be with a great band, probably the best band I've played with, even better than King Crimson. And between concerts, I'm composing new items for what will be our next studio album with the Power Trio ... in fact will be the first album proper for the Power Trio.

It is also possible that rather than do anything with King Crimson for its 40th anniversary... someone will end up calling....

MOB: Is there or is there someone with whom you'd like to collaborate? Highlight some of those with whom you have collaborated?

AB: (Laughs) Not really ... I think that when you are young idols are just that ... you know, idols, people you never end up playing. The Beatles are gone. Jimi Hendrix, either. The truth is that I am very proud to have worked with all the people with whom I have done: Nine Inch Nails, Talking Heads, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, including Eric and Julie! ... I think we all are to same height, and they are all about great artists.

MOB: It was a pleasure, sir. Belew. Belew. We stand expectantly waiting to this new album. Thanks for taking this small interval of time over the telephone and good luck with all your projects.

AB: Sure, the pleasure has been mine ... Oh, and tell your readers that if they have the opportunity to attend one of our concerts, they do so. Worth it and a unique opportunity in life!.

MOB: This will be done ... We are sure of that.

So that was very enjoyable.

There's a lot more, but I am truly wiped out from my New York experience last night, and I'll devote a separate post to that shortly. It was truly a blast and not without some laugh out loud moments...stay tuned.

Let me end this post with a fantastic photograph of the trio touring Budapest. It's just so Abbey Road, isn't it? God I love me some ABPT.



Later,
xo

Tonight in New York City: Three Days in New York City

Gah! I get so wrapped up when the Adrian Belew Power Trio is on tour I forget about my own life, and I almost blew telling you all about tonight...in fact...I almost blew the event altogether because I've been otherwise preoccupied with like a million other things.



So yes, I will be reading a chapter or two from Three Days in New York City, talking about the sequels, and just life in general. I'm seriously at my best when I just improvise and ad lib on the spot so that's the plan.

Oh. It would be nice if I tell you all where I'll be doing said reading and with whom. Well, joining me will be the fabulous Donna George Storey and we'll be reading at Bluestockings, 172 Allen Street between Stanton and Rivington. Bluestockings Bookstore is described as "a radical bookstore, fair trade cafe, and activist center in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

We carry over 6000 titles on topics such as queer and gender studies, global capitalism, feminism, police and prisons, democracy studies, and black liberation. You can also find some good 'ole smutty fiction. We also carry magazines, zines, journals, alternative menstrual products and other oddly hard-to-find good things.

We host readings, workshops, performances, discussions and films almost every night. Please see our events calendar for details on upcoming events, and when visiting the store, take a look at our community bulletin board to learn about other events happening around the city. Oh, and we run a cafe which is full of organic, vegan, fair trade goodness."

So. See you tonight at 7:00 p.m.?

I'll have copies of all of my books for sale, I'll sign anything you want (within reason ha ha), and the usual copious amounts of chocolate.

Wait. I just read over this post. Excuse me? Alternative menstrual products? Oh God. The mind boggles. Well, at least I can never say my life is boring.

I just hope said products are not part of the menu at the cafe.

Later,
xo

Live from Budapest...

I don't know how good this is sound wise because I'm currently somewhere without speakers, but video wise...this looks awesome. It's the Adrian Belew Power Trio, performing last night in Budapest, Hungary:



ETA: Can one of my Hungarian friends translate this news article for me and put it in the comments section? Thanks!

Adrian Belew Power Trio review October 16, 2008

ETA2: DO I believe this incredible comment on Adrian's blog?

"Blogger catalin.onel said...

Bravoo... bravoo Mr.Belew !!!

Absolutely fantastic concert!!! Man...what a great show was in Budapest. I came all the way from Romania (Pitesti) to see you guys. Julie you are phenomenal ! Never seen such a young woman playing bass so intense and so technical. Eric you are incredible ! I have rarely seen such powerful rhytmic energies coming from a drum set. It seems that the guy in the middle has teamed up with some of the finest musicians around. You all deserve to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Don't forget Romania has lots of your fans so maybe one day you'll come to Bucharest also. Hats off to you guys !!! Man.. what a night..."

Wow. On behalf of the band and as groupie Mom...thank you, Catalin.

I will be back with some fun photos and another short video clip sent to me by a fan later tonight.

xo

Odds and Sods for Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Life is oh so insane and great right now. I talked to Julie around 9:00 p.m. last night. She called me from the Detroit airport - the Adrian Belew Power Trio were en route to Budapest, Hungary via Amsterdam...it was an eight hour flight and I guess by now, they have arrived and all I can say is after speaking with her, you can tell how incredibly stoked the three of them are about this four week European tour and even more excited about the last four days In Nashville working on the new material...right now the tentative plan is to return to Studio Belew after the Australian gigs in December and record in January/February, 2009. Okay, I cannot tell a lie - they sent me some MP3s of their rehearsals for the new CD the other day. I still haven't recovered. It's unbelievable. Amazing. Brilliant.

So not only do I have that to look forward to, how about this. Finally, after four years of blood, sweat and tears, Daddy Left Me Alone with God will be released in early 2009. Have a look at the book cover. Is that amazing or what?



Here's the blurb that will appear on the back cover:

"Annie loathes middle age because in her mind, as long as she avoids mirrors in brightly lit rooms, she is still a cool, cutting edge hipster with a scandalous secret she has kept for almost three decades.

At age seventeen, Annie had a love affair with a man ten years her senior -- legendary British rock guitarist Mick Saunders. Now, feeling stuck in a boring, faltering marriage and desperate to change her life, she is unexpectedly given the chance to reconnect with Mick while chaperoning her fledgling rock star teenagers on a tour across America. To Annie, this opportunity to recapture her past is a dream come true. But will she and Mick be able to pick up where they left off?"

Sooo...the book is part memoir, part fiction...it touches on the music scene in New York City in the 1970s interwoven with my insane experiences as groupie mom while Julie and Eric were students at the School of Rock (scroll down to read about J&E). I'll be talking a lot more about the fabulous artist who designed the cover, my new publisher, and the book itself a lot more in a future post.

But I hope I've tempted you a bit for now.

And for those who haven't seen it yet, here's a good quality version of the indie film based on a chapter in the book, which is currently up for yet another award in Italy. It still blows me away to hear words I've written spoken by actors. Whew.

So Gary and I had a weird bit of synchronicity with Robert Fripp as evidenced by clicking on his name -- a link to his recently posted diary entry which I read early Friday morning with my mouth kind of hanging open.

Here's an excerpt:

"Around the corner is the former Poole Music Stores, now the right half of the Coral betting shop. The entrance through the black & white doorway was an entry to the world of early rock ‘n’ roll records; the threshold Sister Patricia & I crossed, beginning in 1957, and where I discovered the early Elvis & Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry, Charlie Gracie, Jerry Lee Lewis et al. Buddy Holly came from Holman’s on King Street, on the far left of the photo."

Here's where the crazy coincidence comes in.

On Thursday night, Gary walked about a half block down our street to the restaurant on the corner (and where Julie works when she's not on tour)...they've introduced live music on Thursday nights. So who did Gary go to see?



That would be the great Charlie Gracie himself.

Is that freaky or what? I mean, really. How many people know who Charlie Gracie is...and to read Robert's diary the morning after Gary went to the show...it just boggles my mind. And there's another bit of weirdness in that same post, but I'll get to that in a minute. Anyway, Gary had a total blast at the show and because it was a small, intimate setting, he got to mingle with Charlie, his wife, and son and talk extensively with him.

Let me tell you a little bit about him. He was born in Philadelphia (yay!), and at age 15, starting in 1951, "Charlie Gracie was experimenting with many types of music, years before many rock heroes had ever set foot inside a recording studio.

By 1956, Philadelphia had given birth to the new Cameo record label. Its founders, in search of a strong talent signed Charlie later that year. With a $600 budget, this new union went into the studio to record a single that would forever change their lives. The record, Butterfly backed with Ninety Nine Ways became a monster hit, reaching the number one position all across America. Charlie received a gold disc for the two million plus sales and became the first native Philadelphia rock star to achieve international success. His only other Top 40 hit was Fabulous the same year, which reached number sixteen. Other substantial sellers followed: Fabulous, Wandering Eyes, and Cool Baby. The financial success of these hits bankrolled the Cameo label, which became a dominant force in the recording industry for several years.

Charlie's personal appearances grew until he performed and headlined some of the biggest venues of that time: Alan Freed's rock and roll shows at the Brooklyn Paramount, The Ed Sullivan Show, Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" and the 500 Club in Atlantic City. He appeared in the 1957 film Jamboree[1], and toured with the likes of Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers, Bo Diddley and his close friend, Eddie Cochran.

Charlie became only the second American, guitar-toting rock and roller to bring this new art form to the British concert stage. His two extensive tours in 1957 and 58 were a whirlwind, topped off by headlining the Palladium and the Hippodrome in London. He played to packed houses and drew rave reviews. In the audiences, among Charlie's fans and admirers, were future rock greats: Graham Nash, members of the Beatles and Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker and Van Morrison. These performers and many other well-known acts have credited Charlie as an influence. George Harrison referred to Charlie's guitar technique as "brilliant" in a March 1996 interview with Billboard Magazine; Paul McCartney invited Charlie to the premiere party of his 1999 release which paid tribute to the early pioneers of rock music."

So understandably, Charlie's got some wild stories, and he tells then in between songs. He spoke of his great friend and contemporary at the time, Eddie Cochran, and being in his car when he got the news of his untimely death in 1960 at age 22...he was so shook up he had to pull over to the side of the road.

Naturally he spoke a lot about Paul McCartney, too.

And that he was all set to do some more recording with Bo Diddley this year but then Bo went died on him in June.

Anyway, here's some more awesome shots Gary took of Charlie...and for your tech nerds out there, have a look at that guitar!






Okay, moving on, still not believing what I was seeing, I continued to read Robert's diary post and it went on to say:

"Upon returning to DGM HQ Butcher Fry, our Landlord, appeared from the back door of the Village Shop to show me a picture taken on his recent holidaying in Germany…

The photo depicts the memorial to The Fifty from Stalag Luft III. Of 78 escapers in The Great Escape, 73 were recaptured & 50 of those were shot. My Uncle Bill, who is often mentioned in this Diary, was a prisoner in Stalag Luft III at the time of the escape (1943). Bill was the navigator of an RAF reconnaissance flight shot down over Germany in October 1939 and held in a dozen different POW camps during the 5 years 7 months of his imprisonment. Although not a Great Escaper, Bill’s pilot was; recaptured & shot; and one of those commemorated on the memorial."

Why is this odd?

Because incredibly enough, a few days prior, I watched the Great Escape on television with Gary and it was the first time I'd ever seen it, even though it was released in 1963 and has been on television countless times since. Gary actually saw it as a young boy in the movie theater -- about the same time my Mom was taking me to Rock Hudson/Doris Day romantic comedies which I totally did not understand at my (heh) tender age but enjoyed mostly for the malted milk balls and super large packages of Reese's peanut butter cups purchased at the concession stand for fifteen cents each....sigh. Ah, I can still see/smell the interior of those old movie houses...the red velvet drapes, the aroma of real popcorn, the scratchy seats...I'm gonna cry. As Gary pointed out as we were watching the Great Escape, the art of subtlety is gone from cinema today which is why we hardly ever watch a flick these days...truth to tell, the last movie I remember seeing in an actual theater was "Something About Mary" back in 1998 and I was so horrified...because a few years prior, the last movie I'd seen was the equally atrocious "Sleepless in Seattle" which just about ruined me for life it was so awful...that we just stopped going to the movies altogether. But yeah, getting back to the subtlety as opposed to the in-your-face garbage out now, as we were watching the Great Escape, at the scene toward the end where the captured officers are told to get out of the truck in the field to "stretch their legs", Gary said "Uh-oh!"

"What? What?" asked innocent me.

"You'll see," he replied grimly.

My eyes fixed on the television, I watched the characters I'd grown fond of during this film get out and stretch...and then I saw the Nazi officer load up a high powered gun...all you heard was an ominous "click"...and then the scene changed.

So yes, that was how they portrayed fifty men losing their lives, as mentioned in Robert's diary.

You know damn well in today's world, they would have shown each and every man getting his head violently blown off - we would have been spared no gore or bloody detail.

I'll take the 1963 version, please. That awful sound of the gun about to go off was way more gruesome and left a far greater impact than actually seeing what happened in gross, living color.

Anyway, that's our weird "close encounter" with Mr. Fripp - I'm still kind of freaked out by it.

Other than that, tomorrow begins the first night of the Adrian Belew Power Trio tour in Hungary so you know I'll be in blog heaven...and um, Go Phillies! I cannot believe they won last night (and as stated in my prior post, yep, they did in fact also win when Gary attended the game Friday night)...and it looks like they are going to go to the World Series, which is highly ironic because poor Julie, who was voted MVP of her softball team in 1998 (she both pitched and had the winning hit) has been waiting all of her life for the Phillies to be in/possibly win the championship and party it up in the big parade, etc....will be, oh, probably in Spain or Switzerland when and if it happens.

All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia.

Yeah, right. You know damn well I'd rather be tagging along with the trio on tour, but you know, someone has to stay home and walk the dog and eat Gary's incredible gourmet meals.

Later,
xo

Kenny Bloggins...

Eric has a fun blog post up today about hanging with Adrian Belew and what it's like to be down in Nashville right now, playing and writing some incredible new music.



That is all I can say.

For now, anyway.

Later,
xo

I'm Not Your Friend, Dude

Okay, it's killing me not to go off on a political tirade but there are many others who do it better than I ever could so I won't...though holy freaking cow, why have I not read anything about Senator McShame's overuse...and I mean gross overuse...of the phrase "My friends" during every one of his speeches and especially during both debates.



We're not your friend, dude. And you come off sounding like you're selling ginzu knives on the Atlantic City Boardwalk circa 1960. Or worse, a snake oil salesman.

And let's not even go here. But she can quickly respond to whether she's a hottie, huh.

Guess what, sweetie. You're not. If I were a guy, I'd rather do moldy swiss cheese. And let me immediately issue a disclaimer for using a link to a Fox news article (bleh!) which is of course not favorable to my candidate of choice but it was where I found the quote on the front page of the AOL welcome screen and notice how I'm not using any actual names here as I don't want any of their lunatic supporters finding me via google and leaving their trailer trash comments. Speaking of that, I know this is America and I cherish our (diminishing daily) First Amendment rights, but how can people like this exist and not be arrested for hate crimes?

Okay, enough out of me. I need to calm down. The end is in sight. I have an absentee ballot here to mail on Julie's behalf - Eric already mailed his - and I know for a fact change is coming. So let's talk about things of a more uplifting nature. Like music.



Yep, the dynamic duo flew to Nashville this morning to once again become a a trio. And the reason I gave you that link is not only because I love Ade's take on things, but because of the comment section, where Gary has now officially been annointed "Slick Daddy". I am in love with that and can't believe I didn't come up with it myself.

Speaking of Slick Daddy, he just called me to let me know he has a ticket to the Phillies' play-off game tomorrow. I don't want to jinx things but let's just say that when Slick Daddy attends...wait...I am afraid of the jinx factor after all. Let's discuss this further on Saturday.

So yeah, Julie and Eric, according to my clock, have just landed in Nashville now (9:30 a.m. eastern) and, after 4-5 days of rehearsal and yes, learning brand new material, are about to embark on a month long tour of Europe. Hence the need for absentee ballots.

And how freaking cool is this - there's a commercial running on Lithuanian television for the trio's upcoming show! While it doesn't show Julie and Eric, it still rocks bigtime:



Oh my God, was that great or what? I'm still smiling. So now we not only have Slick Daddy, we have "Adrian Bee-loo". Ah, life is grand.

Beyond that, I don't have much more to say. Of course I'll be blogging daily once the tour starts...right now I'm busy mapping out my strategy for National Novel Writing Month. As my long time readers know, every November I participate in "NANO" and write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. My record so far is 100%. Every novel I've written via NANO since 2003 has been published or will see publication in 2009. Last year I was incredibly bold and posted daily excerpts of raw, unedited work - I managed 2,500 to 3,000 words a day easily. Should I do it again this year? I already have my plot and characters worked out and have a loose outline in my head (to actually start writing now would be cheating but okay, I do have a few false starts and will probably go with at least the format of one of them)...I'm kind of dying to tell you all what it's about but last year a funny thing happened - the book changed as I was writing it and kind of took a life on of its own. So rather than type a synopsis here now and wind up with egg on my face, I think we'll see how it unfolds together. Maybe. I still haven't decided if I should make my daily suffering writing public or not though I think I did have about two readers. Ha.

Finally, let me say Happy Birthday to a true hero - a man who knew how to make a real difference and did.



Peace,
xo

Back by Popular Demand

So I'm back. And I even have a Neil Gaiman alert but I'll get to that in a minute.

We had an incredibly wonderful, laid back vacation totally based around this guy:



I'm serious. Maybe you have to be a dog lover, I dunno, but Monty is brilliant. He understands body language and about 200 human words but our baby is now ten and a half and we just wanted to spend every minute with him. He's like a little kid on vacation jumping around like a maniac and he knows when we are about to go out to the beach or out for donuts, etc....when he let us leave, that is. He has a problem with separation anxiety and we ended up taking him in the car on jaunts for food/fun with us every day which may not seem unusual to you but up until now, it was his only flaw. Mont Man gets deathly car sick and I always have to sit in the back seat with him with a roll of paper towels and a barf bag. We've tried everything since he was a puppy - not feeding him the day we know we're taking him in the car; Dramamine; stuff prescribed by the vet...none of it worked, in fact, he just got sicker. And he knew it because trying to get him into a car was like trying to get him into the vet's office...freaking impossible. He makes himself a dead weight and cries like a baby. I don't know what the hell happened but suddenly, this year, he stopped freaking out and he now rides in a car like a normal person dog. So yeah, we took him everywhere with us and had a blast.

Excitement for the whole two weeks included seeing an oriole perched on a tree branch outside our bedroom window one morning and a cardinal the next. The cardinal blew me away - it was just so incredibly...red. Truly beautiful. You just don't see stuff like that in Philadelphia.

And then there was a rabbit in our driveway and while walking on the beach, we saw a school of dolphins really close to shore. Breathtaking.

As was the storm that appeared out of nowhere, with dire warnings that we'd be flooded and power would go out in fifty mile per hour winds, and we wondered if we were sitting ducks with our house literally beachfront and the waves so insane I felt like I could touch them from the front porch. The local news said "Move your car to higher ground." I looked at Gary. "Do you know where higher ground is around here?"

"Nope."

"Oh well."

Ha ha. That's kind of how we felt. We were so relaxed we just had a very cavalier attitude about the whole thing...until it started happening, that is. Gary remained normal but naturally I had to keep looking outside, my blood pressure rising by the minute and freaking myself out. The storm itself was too intense to go out in but here are some pics Gary took of the beginning and end...







It was also way strange that for the first time, we saw very little of Eric and Julie on vacation. Eric had a ton of gigs lined up while we were away but he made it down for two day trips; Julie also had a gig with a band called New Connection and she had a bunch of songs to learn - she was sitting in for their regular bass player and they really liked her so it looks like she has a future gig with them again in November...anyway, she made it down one Sunday night with Matt but was already back on the road for rehearsals by Tuesday. So it was just Gary, Monty and me kicking around in a big beachfront house. Poor, poor us.

So while I was away, some new dates were added to the Adrian Belew Power Trio European tour. Here's the total list...I cannot believe Julie and Eric leave next week for Nashville for several days of rehearsal for the new setlist/studio album before leaving for their first show in Budapest. And oh my God, I know I shouldn't say anything but Ade sent them all of the new music to scope out before arriving in Nashville and there it was on my desktop when I got home. We listened to the whole thing last night (Gary and I, that is) and had goosebumps. It's so amazing it's ridiculous...Adrian Belew is the most brilliant composer out there right now, hands down. People are going to be mesmerized by this material - it's unlike anything you've ever heard and as I said, literally gives you the chills. Anyway, here's the complete list of dates and venues:

Tour Dates:
Adrian Belew Power Trio (USA)
Fall 2008 - Europe

OCTOBER
15 WED Budapest Hungary >> Trafo
18 SAT Lugano Switzerland >> Auditorium Radio Svizzera
20 MON San Sebastien Spain >> Teatro Victoria Eugenia
21 TUES Barcelona Spain >> Forum Bikini
23 THU Milano Italia >> Blue Note
24 FRI Woergl Austria >> Komma
25 SAT Vevey Switzerland >> Rocking-Chair
27 MON Aschaffenburg Germany >> Colos-Saal
28 TUES Groningen Netherlands >> De Oosterpoort
29 WED Den Haag Netherlands >> Paard Van Troje
30 THU Eindhoven Netherlands >> Effenaar
31 FRI Zurich Switzerland >> Moods Im Schiffbau

NOVEMBER
01 SAT Schwerin Germany >> Der Speicher
02 SUN Muenster Germany >> Hotjazzclub
03 MON Leverkusen Germany >> Forum Leverkusen, Jazztage
05 WED Vilnius Lithunia >> Forum Palace

Oh, speaking of J&E, here's a great pic I found on a website belonging to Mikki Kunttu (hope I got that right)...and that would be Eric Slick, Julie Slick, Mikki, Keith Emerson and Eddie Jobson.



Also, it was very cool of Eddie to give me a shout out on his website:

"Hi everyone...

I am now back in Los Angeles, and still pretty wiped out from the 21-hour journey and the 11-hour time change. But what a great experience! I couldn't have designed a better return to the stage, or thought of a better group of people to share the experience with. Frankly, I'm still not quite sure how it all came together, or how I ended up in the middle of the stage performing two of Crimson's greatest pieces with three-quarters of the current KC lineup in front of more than 100,000 people (some are saying there were 210,000 present by the evening)! The Universe will do that to you sometimes.

I wasn't able to visit the forum, but Raquel and Christopher were following the excitement daily (and following the links to Tony's diary and Robin Slick's blog) and giving me reports every night. I was particularly amused that Tony used his 10-beat break in "Red" to grab a camera and snap the shot of me in Kazan in the middle of the song. He had it posted online within minutes of us leaving the stage... unbelievable.

Everyone treated me like a long-lost brother, or with a level of respect that I am truly not used to from the past 12 years of dealing with 'Hollywood people.' So many musicians from other bands came up to me and said what fans of UK they were—some talked about Curved Air and "Metamorphosis" or the "Green Album." Wow! The Patti Smith walk-on happened as they were walking to the stage; the bass player, Tony Shanahan, passed me in the corridor and said "Eddie Jobson!... Hey man, it'd be great if you came on and played with us" - just like that.

The first band I played with was Fairport Convention. I cannot tell you what a great bunch of guys they all are... the sweetest group of musicians on the planet. I couldn't have been more embraced (figuratively and literally). And what a thrill for me to play music from "Full House"—the first album (of three particular albums) to pull me from classical music into electric music when I was 15!

After the Fairport appearance, I walked off stage... right into Keith Emerson, whom I have met only twice before. Keith then went onstage and played music from the second album that changed my life at the age of 15... the first ELP album (the third album was 'Airconditioning' by Curved Air—and we all know what happened from that). It felt like I was on "This is your Life." And I didn't arrange any of it. The promoter asked me to join in on the end jam (and solo on 'Whole Lotta Love"), so next thing, I was standing back on stage trying to figure out the string lines for "All You Need is Love," when Keith walks onstage and starts playing keys, then theremin, right next to me. At the end of the song, I was just thinking "wow, I've now played onstage with all three of my boyhood hero artists - Fairport, Curved Air, and Emerson" when Keith (maybe sensing it?) came over and gave me a big hug in front of everyone. What a kind reception from all involved. Tremendous.

Thank you to all the musicians and support teams in Russia, and a special thank you, as always, to everyone on this forum. You are the ones who have encouraged me to return, and you are the ones who provide the fundamental support that allows me to put myself back out there. You are the best.

Eddie"

So obviously that was all about last month's fabulous trip to Russia from which I still have not recovered.

Anyway, I gave you the European dates...then basically as soon as they return to the States, Eric and Andre go back out on the road with Project Object and here are the dates and venues for that:

15 SAT Wilkes Barre PA Jazz Cafe'
16 SUN Annapolis MD Ram's Head
17 MON New York NY BB King's
18 TUE Troy NY Revolution Hall
19 WED Northampton MA Iron Horse
20 THU New Haven CT Toad's Place
23 SUN Phila PA World Cafe' Live

Oh man, I cannot wait for that!

After which Eric comes home, has a tofu turkey (he'll be home just in time for Thanksgiving), and then the Adrian Belew Power Trio takes off for Australia. Here's a cool article which popped up about that in Gigs, Vids, & Tunes:

ADRIAN BELEW POWER TRIO COMING TO OZ!
September 19, 2008

Enterprise Entertainment present
Adrian Belew Power Trio

“Adrian is the most awesome musician in the world. I’ve never seen anybody play guitar like that.” – Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)

Adrian Belew will return to Australia in December for the Adelaide Guitar Festival as well as a few East Coast shows. The live show features King Crimson favourites, classics from Adrian’s many solo albums, spirited improvisation, and special solo moments by Adrian.

The self-proclaimed ‘stunt guitarist’ Adrian Belew was famously discovered by Frank Zappa and performed on Zappa’s controversial mega-seller, Sheik Yerbouti. He then quickly developed a reputation as a guitar wizard and the ‘the weapon of choice’ for the likes of David Bowie on Lodger, Talking Heads Remain In Light, Tom Tom Club Tom Tom Club, Paul Simon’s landmark album Graceland, Laurie Anderson Mister Heartbreak, Jean Michel Jarre Zoolook amongst many others. More recently he has contributed to three Nine Inch Nails album’s The Downward Spiral, The Fragile and the instrumental Ghosts I – IV, as well as Tori Amos “Strange Little Girls”.

King Crimson fans however know Adrian Belew as the principle architect (vocals and lead guitar) of the bands sound since he joined them in 1981 and they recorded what many fans (and indeed Robert Fripp himself) consider their finest record, Discipline. The new line-up of Kind Crimson, which transformed a 70’s prog-rock artifact to a blueprint for brilliant guitar-based avant-garde music, continued to live up to the legacy of its namesake with Beat (the follow-up to Discipline). The album contained the minor crossover hit Heartbeat. The subsequent 1984 album Three of a Pair featured Sleepless which most Australian’s will be familiar with as providing the distinctive bass line which intro’s the long running ABC music program Rage.

More than any other musician, Adrian has tirelessly explored the sonic possibilities of the electric guitar. Some of the various awards he has received include ‘Best New Talent Award’ in the Readers’ Poll from Guitar Player Magazine (1982) , ‘Best Experimental Guitarist’ award Guitar Player Magazine (1989 – 1993) and ‘Guitar Innovator Award’ from the Music For Life Alliance (2004). In 2005 he was nominated for a Grammy in the category Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

This tour will be the influential musical chameleon’s first ever with his own band in Australia following his tour two years ago with local players to ecstatic reviews and packed rooms. The Adrian Belew Power Trio also consists of Julie Slick (bass) and Eric Slick (drums). The Slicks are a brother and sister duo whom he met at the famous School of Rock (yes, the same one immortalized for the silver screen by Jack Black) when he was there instructing a class of musical whiz kids on how to play and survive in the music business. From there he quickly invited the two most talented kids in the room to join him on tour and they have been touring since 2006, playing together all over the world.

Australian Tour. December 2008.

Wednesday 3rd
MELBOURNE. The Corner Hotel. 57 Swan Street, Richmond.
Tickets from www.cornerhotel.com

Thursday 4th
SYDNEY. The Basement. 29 Reiby Place, Circular Quay.
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au

Friday 5th – Sunday 7th
ADELAIDE. Adelaide Guitar Fest. Adelaide Festival Centre.
Tickets from www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

Monday 8th
SYDNEY. The Vanguard. 42 King Street, Newtown.
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au

Tuesday 9th
SYDNEY. The Vanguard. 42 King Street, Newtown.
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au

Wednesday 10th
SYDNEY. The Brass Monkey. 115a Cronulla Street, Cronulla.
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au

Thursday 11th
BULLI. The Heritage Hotel. 240 Princess Highway, Bulli.
Tickets from www.heritagehotel.com.au

Further information, interviews, publicity etc:
Karen Conrad (kcpublicity@optusnet.com.au) or 0400 527 365

Same mention in Bowie Down Under which is way cool, too.

But my favorite is this one from Budapest:

"Adrian Belew Power Trio [USA]

2008.10.15 20:00
TRAFÓ – House of Contemporary Arts

9.00 pm Adrian Belew Power Trio > Side Four [live]

With:
Adrian Belew [voice | guitar]
Eric Slick [percussion]
Julie Slick [bass]

"Many of the former big names in rock and pop are but pitiful shadows of themselves often driven to continued concert engagements by the sheer need to earn money. However, Adrian Belew, the man who once revived King Crimson and worked with Frank Zappa and David Bowie is an entirely different category. The role he had played in the history of his field of music has certainly made his one of the big names of the past, yet, he might be envied by the youngest generation for his new and fresh approach to music. The Adrian Belew Power Trio in which twenty-one year old Julie Licks [bass guitar] and her brother, just one year her senior, Erick Licks [drums] play with the front man without any apparent generation problems is a shining example to prove the point. The group Adrian had formed with his two former pupils incorporates in its style all Belew’s musical experiences from progressive rock to experimental jazz."

Ha ha - Julie and Eric "Licks"?

And there was also this great review of Side Four Live coming out of Poland! Again, I am relying on Google translate but it worked pretty well for me today:

"Gem for fans of King Crimson and Belew solo. Koncertówka includes tracks from the tracks Trillogy Side, and the repertoire of King Crimson. You can enjoy an excellent ear music at the highest level. Characteristic guitar and read all known timbre. The circle of this album can not simply ignore. Although I am not a supporter of live CDs, I think that is unmatched, and each item is respecting fan of classical progressive rock should be familiar with it."

Yep, I agree. Unmatched indeed.

So how funny is this. I know I went through my Neil Gaiman period but I've moved on and now I'm a HUGE Jane Smiley groupie..oh my God, that's what else I did on my vacation...read five books in two weeks. I read two books by Jane which are so brilliant I am going to have to devote a separate post to review them here. I also read three books by another author whose name I am not going to mention as he/she is a New York Times best selling novelist and all I can say is, I was never so underwhelmed in my life. I was taught that a great book should leave you with something, even if it's merely an escape from reality. This writer's books were predictable, bleak, and more like character sketches of people you would never like very much in the real world. No lessons learned at the end, no voices haunting you, no moral to the story, no uplifting tales of the human experience...just unhappy people living unhappy lives with half-assed happy endings. And this person sells millions of books. Bleh. Give me Jane Smiley, who had me unable to put down a book about a woman living on a farm in the midwest in 1979!

So anyway, I've been not exactly off Neil Gaiman but I've read everything he's written and I think he went to China or something and stopped blogging so I stopped stalking his website...anyway, a friend of mine wrote to me and said "Oh, I bet you're going to see Neil in Philly on Wednesday night" and I was like "Huh? Are you serious? Where is he going to be?" So then of course I had to check and yeah, once again he's like ten minutes from my house so just for the hell of it, because he was over here for Unemployed Shepherd's Pie (more on that in a minute), I said to Eric "Hey, Er, are you doing anything Wednesday night?"

"No," he answered, and then, as soon as he saw my face, had an expression a la Larry of the Three Stooges when he tells Moe and Curly "We're trapped like rats!" But he recovered nicely.

"Why?" he added quickly, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you'd want to reprise the great debacle of 2006 and go with me to see Neil Gaiman read at the Y."

Eric looked at me and smirked and then immediately launched into the best imitation of me anyone has ever done.

"Oh Neil, look what I brought for you. Side Four Live, the CD with both of my kids and Adrian Belew...isn't it just so cool."

Damn kid - I should have whacked him with a pillow but he was so fucking funny I broke up.

"So you'll go with me?" I asked hopefully.

"Hell, no."

"But Eric...we make you great vegetarian food..."

"We? Who is we? Dad is the cook and you know it. Don't even try, Mom. You got me once; it's not happening twice."

"Even if I leave my camera home?"

"Oh God. You were going to bring the camera again?"

"No."

"Ha! You're so totally lying, Mom. You are so lying..."

"Okay, fine. We won't go."

"Fine."

"Fine." I make my best huffy face...which isn't very huffy at all.

But I can't help it - he's so freaking handsome and sweet.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, Er."

Now see, I know better than to ask Julie. First of all, she's probably working, and if she wasn't, it would probably cost me a $300.00 dinner out afterward.

Sigh...I guess it's worth a shot.

(As Gary reads this and cringes, let me add "Don't worry, sweetie, I'll just take her out for sushi.")

(Heh..at Raw, that is)

Oh, I'm kidding.

But I did want to pause a minute and talk about Unemployed Shepherds Pie. Yes, Gary is the chef around here, even though he is a carnivore, and he probably made the best veggie meal ever Sunday night - the above mentioned "pie". It's sauteed eggplant, tomatoes, and onions mixed with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, topped with mashed potatoes and thinly sliced zucchini and green pepper drizzled with olive oil and baked in the oven. Eric and I were absolutely swooning with every bite, and if this post wasn't already as long as the Declaration of Independence, I'd give you all the recipe...hell, if anyone wants it, just write to me or leave me a comment and I'll type it out.

Erm, speaking of the Declaration of Independence...wtf is going on in this country? You already know I despise the Bush administration and all Republicans, really, so I have a few things to post right now that have been making the rounds on the internet...I know I've been offline for a few weeks so you may have seen these already but they were new to me and blew me away. The first is pretty funny; the item underneath, which I just received, is not.

"Let me see if I have this straight . . .

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend five different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend three years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend twelve years as a constitutional Law professor, spend eight years as a state senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend four years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, four years on the city council and six years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, twenty months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for nineteen years while raising two beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now."

Sad but true, huh? I for one can't wait for the debate Thursday night but I do not know if I can take two hours of that "voice".

"Right back at ya, Robin"

Gah!

More importantly, below is something way serious, and I urge you to take action today:

"On Mon, 9/29/08, Michael Moore wrote:

From: Michael Moore
Subject: The Rich Are Staging a Coup This Morning ...a message from Michael Moore
Date: Monday, September 29, 2008, 12:01 AM

Friends,
Let me cut to the chase. The biggest robbery in the history of this country is taking place as you read this. Though no guns are being used, 300 million hostages are being taken. Make no mistake about it: After stealing a half trillion dollars to line the pockets of their war-profiteering backers for the past five years, after lining the pockets of their fellow oilmen to the tune of over a hundred billion dollars in just the last two years, Bush and his cronies -- who must soon vacate the White House -- are looting the U.S. Treasury of every dollar they can grab. They are swiping as much of the silverware as they can on their way out the door.

No matter what they say, no matter how many scare words they use, they are up to their old tricks of creating fear and confusion in order to make and keep themselves and the upper one percent filthy rich. Just read the first four paragraphs of the lead story in last Monday's New York Times and you can see what the real deal is:

"Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it.

Financial firms were lobbying to have all manner of troubled investments covered, not just those related to mortgages.

At the same time, investment firms were jockeying to oversee all the assets that Treasury plans to take off the books of financial institutions, a role that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees.

Nobody wants to be left out of Treasury's proposal to buy up bad assets of financial institutions."

Unbelievable. Wall Street and its backers created this mess and now they are going to clean up like bandits. Even Rudy Giuliani is lobbying for his firm to be hired (and paid) to "consult" in the bailout.

The problem is, nobody truly knows what this "collapse" is all about. Even Treasury Secretary Paulson admitted he doesn't know the exact amount that is needed (he just picked the $700 billion number out of his head!). The head of the congressional budget office said he can't figure it out nor can he explain it to anyone.

And yet, they are screeching about how the end is near! Panic! Recession! The Great Depression! Y2K! Bird flu! Killer bees! We must pass the bailout bill today!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Falling for whom? NOTHING in this "bailout" package will lower the price of the gas you have to put in your car to get to work. NOTHING in this bill will protect you from losing your home. NOTHING in this bill will give you health insurance.

Health insurance? Mike, why are you bringing this up? What's this got to do with the Wall Street collapse?

It has everything to do with it. This so-called "collapse" was triggered by the massive defaulting and foreclosures going on with people's home mortgages. Do you know why so many Americans are losing their homes? To hear the Republicans describe it, it's because too many working class idiots were given mortgages that they really couldn't afford. Here's the truth: The number one cause of people declaring bankruptcy is because of medical bills. Let me state this simply: If we had had universal health coverage, this mortgage "crisis" may never have happened.

This bailout's mission is to protect the obscene amount of wealth that has been accumulated in the last eight years. It's to protect the top shareholders who own and control corporate America. It's to make sure their yachts and mansions and "way of life" go uninterrupted while the rest of America suffers and struggles to pay the bills. Let the rich suffer for once. Let them pay for the bailout. We are spending 400 million dollars a day on the war in Iraq. Let them end the war immediately and save us all another half-trillion dollars!

I have to stop writing this and you have to stop reading it. They are staging a financial coup this morning in our country. They are hoping Congress will act fast before they stop to think, before we have a chance to stop them ourselves. So stop reading this and do something -- NOW! Here's what you can do immediately:

1. Call or e-mail Senator Obama. Tell him he does not need to be sitting there trying to help prop up Bush and Cheney and the mess they've made. Tell him we know he has the smarts to slow this thing down and figure out what's the best route to take. Tell him the rich have to pay for whatever help is offered. Use the leverage we have now to insist on a moratorium on home foreclosures, to insist on a move to universal health coverage, and tell him that we the people need to be in charge of the economic decisions that affect our lives, not the barons of Wall Street.

2. Take to the streets. Participate in one of the hundreds of quickly-called demonstrations that are taking place all over the country (especially those near Wall Street and DC).

3. Call your Representative in Congress and your Senators. Tell them what you told Senator Obama. Click here to find their numbers.

When you screw up in life, there is hell to pay. Each and every one of you reading this knows that basic lesson and has paid the consequences of your actions at some point. In this great democracy, we cannot let there be one set of rules for the vast majority of hard-working citizens, and another set of rules for the elite, who, when they screw up, are handed one more gift on a silver platter. No more! Not again!
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. Having read further the details of this bailout bill, you need to know you are being lied to. They talk about how they will prevent golden parachutes. It says NOTHING about what these executives and fat cats will make in SALARY. According to Rep. Brad Sherman of California, these top managers will continue to receive million-dollar-a-month paychecks under this new bill. There is no direct ownership given to the American people for the money being handed over. Foreign banks and investors will be allowed to receive billion-dollar handouts. A large chunk of this $700 billion is going to be given directly to Chinese and Middle Eastern banks. There is NO guarantee of ever seeing that money again.

P.P.S. From talking to people I know in DC, they say the reason so many Dems are behind this is because Wall Street this weekend put a gun to their heads and said either turn over the $700 billion or the first thing we'll start blowing up are the pension funds and 401(k)s of your middle class constituents. The Dems are scared they may make good on their threat. But this is not the time to back down or act like the typical Democrat we have witnessed for the last eight years. The Dems handed a stolen election over to Bush. The Dems gave Bush the votes he needed to invade a sovereign country. Once they took over Congress in 2007, they refused to pull the plug on the war. And now they have been cowered into being accomplices in the crime of the century. You have to call them now and say "NO!" If we let them do this, just imagine how hard it will be to get anything good done when President Obama is in the White House. THESE DEMOCRATS ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS THE BACKBONE WE GIVE THEM. CALL CONGRESS NOW."

And on that note, I have nothing else to add.

Later,
xo

To The Beach!

Okay, sorry to break hearts around the world, but today I'm outta here and at the beach until September 28. I may blog while I'm on vacation, I may not...I'm kinda leaning toward "not" but we'll see.

So here's where I'll be in a few hours:



The view from the balcony above our living room:



The view from both our bedroom and living room window:



I am so freaking psyched.

I really do not have much more to report, other than, woo hoo, a photograph of Gary and me made it onto a very famous website and we are both really grinning over that (you'll have to scroll down but you can't miss us), Julie and Eric are set to fly down to Nashville on John Lennon's birthday - that's October 9 to you - rehearse for several days then take off for Europe...again...what a life...and I got the following very cool email yesterday to which I totally forgot to respond so I'll do it here, publicly: THANK YOU, PHILLIP!!!! And I will write back as soon as I come up for air again.

"Robin,

Greetings from Helsinki. I manage KTU and was on the Russian dates with them and ABPT. Very enjoyed their music and getting to know the three ABPT members. (I have already ordered the Side 4 from the website). Have been a huge AB fan for years and now thrilled to see and hear that Julie and Eric are also amazing musicians. As well as delightful people.

Also very delighted to read your (or Mark Bastable's?) comments about the Fabs on your blog page. Hear here!! I am always happy to meet like minded souls and discuss this true but rarely recognized fact. Even more important, I enjoy turning others onto mind-blowing Fabs-related / Fabs-inspired / Fabs-connected music, of which there is an in incredible amount, much of it very rare and little known.

So thanks for flying the Fabs flag and if you want to discuss further, please let me know.

Check my sphere of interest and activity:
www.myspace.com/ktuband
www.myspace.com/kimmopohjonen
www.kimmopohjonen.com
www.hoedown.com

Best regards
Phillip Page

I will definitely take him up on that. I am always, always, always up for talking about "The Fabs".

So I think that's it for now but should anything occur between now and the time I take off for the beach, I'll be back...

Later,
xo