Friday night we went to the Matt Nathanson concert. I knew a few of his songs, and figured at $10, how could we go wrong?
He was simply amazing. He is a great live performer; his live stuff might be better than his studio recordings. He was also super funny in between songs. He referenced Hulk Hogan, Kim Kardashian, Rick Springfield, Kim Wilde, Simon & Garfunkel, (possibly Duran Duran, but I'm a little fuzzy on that) and he heckled the drunks in a very endearing way. It really was a great concert. All weekend, we kept saying, "man, that was a great concert!"
I'd tell you to go see him, but this was the end of this tour. Sorry you missed it.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
BlackBerry Curve, How Do I Love Thee...
Let me count the ways:
Oh, new shiny technology, there's no other joy quite like you. Until something newer and shiner comes along...
(Thanks for all the emails, everyone. If anyone ever needs any research done, Beth L. is your woman!)
- Your full qwerty keyboard allows my fingers to fly across the keys...well, my thumbs anyway.
- You have freed me from the shackles of coffee houses and wireless ISP connections.
- You ease my load as you weigh 6.2 lbs less than my laptop.
- Your cute little chirping sound that tells me I have a new message makes me giggle.
Oh, new shiny technology, there's no other joy quite like you. Until something newer and shiner comes along...
(Thanks for all the emails, everyone. If anyone ever needs any research done, Beth L. is your woman!)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Need Some Advice, People (technology related, gods help me)
I'm finally going to catch up with the rest of the cool kids and get a PDA. Or is it a smartphone? I've started doing the research and have become quite overwhelmed. After two minutes I was lost.
Palm? BlackBerry? Symbian? What the hell is Symbian??
What I want is something that is a phone with a full qwerty keyboard, on which I can get email, send texts, and surf the interwebs. I don't care about MP3s, videos, games, etc.
Here's what I'd like from you, gentle readers. Leave a note in the comments about your PDA or smartphone, what you love about it, what you hate about it, etc. Is the iPhone really all that, enough to outweigh my loathing of AT&T? Is the BlackBerry really just so 2004? Help me, interwebbers, you're my only hope.
Palm? BlackBerry? Symbian? What the hell is Symbian??
What I want is something that is a phone with a full qwerty keyboard, on which I can get email, send texts, and surf the interwebs. I don't care about MP3s, videos, games, etc.
Here's what I'd like from you, gentle readers. Leave a note in the comments about your PDA or smartphone, what you love about it, what you hate about it, etc. Is the iPhone really all that, enough to outweigh my loathing of AT&T? Is the BlackBerry really just so 2004? Help me, interwebbers, you're my only hope.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A Good Cause. There's Beer Involved.
My friend Julia is chairing a fund raising event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and asked me to pimp her event on the blog. I'm sure the 10s of you who visit every month will happily spread the word.
The event takes place in Chicago on September 25, at Goose Island Brewery. A fundraiser at a brewery with "unlimited craft beer tastings" and prizes including "a tower of beer"? I think she's found the ideal way to raise money in Chicago. I'm sure in addition to beer there will be cheese and polish sausage, the three foundational pieces of most Chicago diets.
If you won't be able to attend the event, but want to contribute to an important cause, you can make a tax deductable monetary donation, or a goods/service donation for the silent auction they're holding in August. For more details, visit www.cff.org/LWC/JuliaTritz
Great. Now I want cheese.
The event takes place in Chicago on September 25, at Goose Island Brewery. A fundraiser at a brewery with "unlimited craft beer tastings" and prizes including "a tower of beer"? I think she's found the ideal way to raise money in Chicago. I'm sure in addition to beer there will be cheese and polish sausage, the three foundational pieces of most Chicago diets.
If you won't be able to attend the event, but want to contribute to an important cause, you can make a tax deductable monetary donation, or a goods/service donation for the silent auction they're holding in August. For more details, visit www.cff.org/LWC/JuliaTritz
Great. Now I want cheese.
The Joys of Summer
It's been a relatively quiet week in Tucson. No favorite authors met, no cougars sighted.
I went to a lovely soiree on Saturday night where I met some wonderful people and -shockingly - had quite a bit of wine.
I saw "The Dark Knight", part of which was filmed in my office building last summer. It was neat to see how they turned our very uninteresting lobby into Bruce Wayne's penthouse.
Mainly I've been passing the time furiously scratching the mosquito bites that cover my legs. I have thrown away the herbal organic 'bug repellent', and have purchased the product with the highest level of DEET allowed under federal regulations. Ah, summer.
I went to a lovely soiree on Saturday night where I met some wonderful people and -shockingly - had quite a bit of wine.
I saw "The Dark Knight", part of which was filmed in my office building last summer. It was neat to see how they turned our very uninteresting lobby into Bruce Wayne's penthouse.
Mainly I've been passing the time furiously scratching the mosquito bites that cover my legs. I have thrown away the herbal organic 'bug repellent', and have purchased the product with the highest level of DEET allowed under federal regulations. Ah, summer.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Just Because You're in a Bar, Doesn't Mean You Have to Drink
Since I've been in Tucson, my liver has born the brunt of my socializing. Meeting people and being social usually means being in a bar or restaurant. Wednesday night wine tasting, Thursday night cocktails and pool. Last weekend's birthday pub crawl. It's a lot of liquor-related activity, is what I'm saying.
Friday night I went to a happy hour and then to live music. I stayed strong and resisted the vino and spirits, and I think my liver may have breathed a sigh of relief. Or maybe that was a withdrawal pain. One or the other.
On Saturday night I went to my first baseball game of the season. Tucson is home to the AAA minor league Tucson Sidewinders. They have a lovely ball park on the south side of town, it's where the Diamondbacks (and until recently, the Chicago White Sox) hold their spring training. It's a nice modern stadium, easy to get to, and the priciest tickets are $9. A very nice night out. Too bad the Sidewinders are moving to Reno next season. I don't have pictures of the stadium. I was with a new friend and didn't want to ask him to hold my purse while I took some photos.
The game was entertaining, despite the Sidewinders loss. Lots of balls flying down the third base line kept us on our toes. A weirdly high number of broken bats. And, perhaps some of the funniest hecklers I've heard. They taunted the third base coach and infield ref (is that a thing? I may be making that position up) for the last few innings. College students + beer usually is annoying, but these guys were really pretty funny.
After staying on the wagon for all of Friday, many drinks were consumed on Saturday. I mean, how does one not have beer when at a ball game? That's practically un-American.
Friday night I went to a happy hour and then to live music. I stayed strong and resisted the vino and spirits, and I think my liver may have breathed a sigh of relief. Or maybe that was a withdrawal pain. One or the other.
On Saturday night I went to my first baseball game of the season. Tucson is home to the AAA minor league Tucson Sidewinders. They have a lovely ball park on the south side of town, it's where the Diamondbacks (and until recently, the Chicago White Sox) hold their spring training. It's a nice modern stadium, easy to get to, and the priciest tickets are $9. A very nice night out. Too bad the Sidewinders are moving to Reno next season. I don't have pictures of the stadium. I was with a new friend and didn't want to ask him to hold my purse while I took some photos.
The game was entertaining, despite the Sidewinders loss. Lots of balls flying down the third base line kept us on our toes. A weirdly high number of broken bats. And, perhaps some of the funniest hecklers I've heard. They taunted the third base coach and infield ref (is that a thing? I may be making that position up) for the last few innings. College students + beer usually is annoying, but these guys were really pretty funny.
After staying on the wagon for all of Friday, many drinks were consumed on Saturday. I mean, how does one not have beer when at a ball game? That's practically un-American.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Good Times in Tucson
This was a pretty great week in Tucson. While meeting David Sedaris on Wednesday was certainly a highlight, there were several other great experiences last week:
Wednesday night I had lots of wine and a wonderful dinner at 58 degrees and holding. Heading back there tonight for a French Reds wine tasting, in celebration of Bastille Day. Vive la french wine!
For the 4th of July, I headed to a bbq in Oro Valley. At this lovely gathering, I met two more people from NJ and two more from Chicago. This whole NJ/Chicago thing is getting to be surreal.
On Sunday, I spent the day celebrating Ed's big 4-0. I knew there would be cocktails involved, but when we started with breakfast at 9:30 am so we could carbo-load for the day, I knew we were in trouble. Getting to the bars before they opened, also ominous. But, we had a lot of fun, and I stayed relatively upright for the duration. Our birthday celebration group: three New Jersyans, one Chicagoan, and just to mix it up, a Michigander.
Wednesday night I had lots of wine and a wonderful dinner at 58 degrees and holding. Heading back there tonight for a French Reds wine tasting, in celebration of Bastille Day. Vive la french wine!
For the 4th of July, I headed to a bbq in Oro Valley. At this lovely gathering, I met two more people from NJ and two more from Chicago. This whole NJ/Chicago thing is getting to be surreal.
On Sunday, I spent the day celebrating Ed's big 4-0. I knew there would be cocktails involved, but when we started with breakfast at 9:30 am so we could carbo-load for the day, I knew we were in trouble. Getting to the bars before they opened, also ominous. But, we had a lot of fun, and I stayed relatively upright for the duration. Our birthday celebration group: three New Jersyans, one Chicagoan, and just to mix it up, a Michigander.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Peeps In Space
Not all space exploration is being done by NASA.
Video of the mission and the story behind the experiment. I like how its sugary coating glistens in the sunlight.
Slide show of training and mission prep. Genius.
Who says science is boring?
Video of the mission and the story behind the experiment. I like how its sugary coating glistens in the sunlight.
Slide show of training and mission prep. Genius.
Who says science is boring?
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
I just met David Sedaris!
David Sedaris is on a book tour for his latest book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. Today he was in Tucson reading at the University Bookstore. I got to the bookstore early. Fortunately, so did he. Instead of signing books at 6:00 after the reading, he started signing them at 3:30. By 4:30 my book was signed, which is fantastic as there were hundreds of suckers who showed up late who will now be in line for hours.
I told him that I'd seen him at the Chicago Theatre a few times, and he asked me what I was doing in Tucson. I told him the story, and then he looked at me and said he was concerned - was I sleeping in my car? how was I paying for gas? I assured him all was fine. He signed my book, "To Susan, my free spirited friend." I love him now more than I did before.
If you ever have a chance to see him read, take it. His books are great, but his readings are superb. The intonations, the dramatic effect, the facial expressions, it really is amazing. The first time I saw him read in Chicago, I laughed so hard I hyperventilated. It got so bad, things literally started to go black and I realized I was about to pass out. I had to stop listening so I didn't require medical attention; it wasn't the embarrassment of having the paramedics show up in the middle of the theatre that was my concern; it was that I didn't want to miss the rest of the reading. Seriously, he's THAT good. Go see him when he's in your town.
I told him that I'd seen him at the Chicago Theatre a few times, and he asked me what I was doing in Tucson. I told him the story, and then he looked at me and said he was concerned - was I sleeping in my car? how was I paying for gas? I assured him all was fine. He signed my book, "To Susan, my free spirited friend." I love him now more than I did before.
If you ever have a chance to see him read, take it. His books are great, but his readings are superb. The intonations, the dramatic effect, the facial expressions, it really is amazing. The first time I saw him read in Chicago, I laughed so hard I hyperventilated. It got so bad, things literally started to go black and I realized I was about to pass out. I had to stop listening so I didn't require medical attention; it wasn't the embarrassment of having the paramedics show up in the middle of the theatre that was my concern; it was that I didn't want to miss the rest of the reading. Seriously, he's THAT good. Go see him when he's in your town.
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