We're in Maine

Eating Maine lobster in Maine - what a treat!

Underworld at the Hollywood Bowl - Sun. 9/9/07

Host Jason Bentley introducing Underworld at the Hollywood Bowl September 9, 2007.

Intro
"About 10-12 years ago I was the person to introduce them at their first west coast appearance, at a big rave called, "Organic" which was up in the mountains. I can tell there's some old skool rave heads here tonight. (Crowd cheering.) And some new skool rave heads as well. Don't judge. I see the glow sticks up there. (Laughter.) They've got a new album coming out next month. It's called, "Oblivion With Bells". Up in just a moment, please welcome Underworld."

Funny thing is a friend of ours who joined us at this concert admitted that he was at that rave years ago. We all laughed and said, "You?" knowing he was probably the only sober one there.

Opening Act
The opening act was Paul Oakenfold. Nothing notable to say except that everyone was making fun of his hairdo and his maestro arm movements.

Underworld
Underworld gave an amazing performance that left you feeling like you were in a nightclub dancing, vs. a big open air concert. The group looked like they were having as much fun as the audience and everyone got a kick out of the several "Los Angeleeeeeez!" shout outs that we received. Oh and props to the lead singer for the gold jacket (that at first seemed lame, but later we saw how well it worked with the lights) that was almost as fun as an old skool light show.

Underworld performing "Born Slippy" (which also appeared on the "Trainspotting" soundtrack.)


I love it when they light up the Hollywood Bowl like a rainbow.

Dancing With Myself (Original or Remake)

Above is the "LA Ink" promo commercial. In the background you can hear a remake of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself", done by the group Nouvelle Vague. I can't get this song outta my head.


Above is the group Nouvelle Vague live at the Guggenheim in NYC.


Above is Billy Idol and the original version.

Have you been watching TLC lately?

The TLC channel used to be known for their "baby stories", but now they've got a whole new slew of documentaries.

I heart documentaries. So when I found myself with no new documentaries to watch, (having seen every single documentary on "On Demand"), I happened to end up on TLC while channel flipping. Lo and behold documentaries galore!

So far I've seen the following documentaries on TLC:

• World's heaviest man (pictured above)
• World's tallest woman
• A family of dwarfs
• Families by the dozen (yes 12+ kids!)
• Morbidly obese people
• A woman born with only half a body who gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby.
• Bree Walker & her 2 children - (all born with ectrodactyly, a rare congenital deformity where your fingers and toes are fused together).

And then there's "LA Ink" (the reality series about an LA tattoo parlor) which I saw a couple episodes of.

I've been hooked ever since.

Sunday Humor

Happy Birthday Wishes to Trailhead

My friend Trailhead celebrates her 37th birthday today.

This home video was made by self-proclaimed "middle-aged nuts" to the Beatles "You Say It's your Birthday". It's not as brilliant as the golden tree at 7 AM, but I hope it sends a smile your way.

Happy Happy Birthday to you!

Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007)

Luciano Pavarotti died this morning at the age of 71, at his home in Modena, Italy from complications of pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife, three adult daughters from his first marriage, a four year old daughter from his second marriage, and one granddaughter.

"The pain in my heart is only eased by the thought that (his) art will always remain with us," said Andrea Bocelli in a statement upon learning of Pavarotti's death.

Wanderlust ("Out of Africa")

The video clip above is the flight over Africa scene from "Out of Africa".

My friend Trailhead (who's back after a blog sabbatical) writes:
"I awoke the other morning with this scene from Out of Africa on my mind. I searched for it on youtube, and voila. I grabbed the book on the way out the door to re-read on the plane."

From one sister to another with a bad case of Wanderlust and itching to travel travel travel - I can relate. When I haven't flown the coop in awhile, I find myself unable to concentrate and my mind wanders, fantasizing about remote areas of the world.

This goes way back - In the 1st grade, my teacher told my parents I was a bright student but I had a problem with daydreaming. I would stare out the classroom window and be completely caught up in a daydream, instead of paying attention to the teacher. (Her remedy was to seat me at a desk away from the windows.)

When I was older, I used to order all sorts of travel brochures which at that time were mailed to the house. My dad probably thought I was running off to Timbuktu and asked, "Are you going somewhere?"

And more often than not, my daydreaming involves scenes from movies with beautiful scenery with "brings tears to my eyes - moving" soundtracks. I'm not ashamed to admit, Hollywood has influenced my own personal imagery.

With that said - I've got a tentative trip to the Canary Islands planned for this year. I can't wait to explore! And then there's traveling through familiar, beloved European countries - my version of Disneyland. In the meantime I've got a handful of other trips within the US scheduled including one state I've never been to.

And Trailhead just because you reminded me, now I have to get the movie AND read the book. What a beautiful story (and Robert Redford)!

How We Survived the Triple Digit Heat on Labor Day