Concert in Central Park

Got together with a bunch of friends and saw Underworld at Central Park this weekend. A great weekend of fun, excellent music, and excellent food....


The Concert. Plenty of dancing. Plenty of shaved heads and goatees. You could hear the bass thumping all the way down on Central Park South!


I don't care how many times I've seen it, I always love going here. Points to anyone who can tell me who the armor on the left belonged to.


I also love seeing these fellas. Hey, who doesn't?

By the way, has anyone been to Revels on little 12th street? It's nice, open - just a cool place. I recommend it for a casual early evening hang.

That's all, carry on!

Decorations - What do you Like?

In the spirit of some other blog posts lately, I thought I'd post a few decorations that I have around my house. I'd be interested to see what decorations other people like. Any favs? Post them on your blogs if you get a chance!

- A WWII Japanese Katana, and the painting I got in China from a famous artist.

- A letter from Theodore Roosevelt. Pretty groovy, eh? (yes, these artifacts are real)

- A cuneiform tablet from 1,800 BC, a Han Dynasty small pot, two oil lamps ca 200 AD

- A Confederate 1864 $10 note , and a Union 1863 $5 dollar note. Sort of symbolizing my "Northern and Southernness", since I've lived in both worlds.

- Indian artifacts I've found, and various other artifacts

- A 1750's Pennsylvania long-rifle. It is a reproduction, but a firing one. It is LOUD. The powderhorn in the middle is probably mid-1700s.

- Two of my "boys"

- "The General" I love this guy, he is a reproduction of the famous Terracotta General, and I dragged him all around China. He is not light!

- Various Roman coins. The gold one is Byzantine.



- Some woodcarvings I made.

- 1600s parchment. Ever try to read one of these?

And finally, not a decoration, but Mr. Cat will pose where he chooses!

And Now For....Things I Don't Like! (insert circus music)

In a previous post, I went on and on like a $15.00 Hallmark card about things I like in life. But someone (I believe it was Bugs Bunny) once said you can't have yin without yang, good without bad, The Terminator without a pale, groveling Woody Allen. So in the spirit of that wisdom, I give you....things I don't like:

- Disrespect for the elderly. The next time you are behind a slow elderly person, breath in, relax, and remember - they have been on this planet a lot longer than you. They may be a war veteran, a great grandmother, or a volunteer. To be sure, they have seen things you haven't, and lived in a time before a lot of our conveniences. Old people are ALLOWED to drive slow, you ungrateful punk!

- Finding the outdoors "Icky". Quit being so cosmopolitan and run around in the woods once in a while! You have Tivo, don't you?

- The whole "having to find someone" thing. It bugs me how people feel they aren't complete until they find someone. Why? Having someone is nice, but it shouldn't define who you are. Am I right? (goes to couch and watches Sleepless in Seattle while eating bon-bons)

- Not taking care of your tools/knives. Okaaaaay, so it's not the end of the world if you don't. But try, people!

(A younger me polishing one of my first knives, like a good little bladesmith)

- People who let their activism or education kill their sense of humor. Activism is a great thing, but try to not let it quell your irreverence. For example, read the following two statements: "The more librarian-like a woman's glasses, the more easily offended she is" and "For all we know, the baby seals are hatching a plot to kill us all". Did they make you smile, or offend you? Welllll?

- Those fake, modern log cabins. If you are going to live in a log cabin, it should be OLD SCHOOL

This is not a log cabin


THIS is a log cabin!

- People who are unable to fix small things around the house. You don't have to be Bubba the handyman, but come on, every man and woman should at least know how to hammer a nail and change a car tire.

- Meat-market type night clubs. You know the drill. The guys with their shirts unbuttoned and hair carefully disarranged. The girls pursing their lips and wearing their latest booty outfit. Everyone trying to act as "cool" as possible. It's all so absurd, how can anyone actually take it seriously? I'd love to see the Marx Brothers suddenly descend on the dance floor.

- Tearing down historic buildings. Once they are gone, that's it, there is no "do over". Hey, I am all for progress, but give a little nod to the past, it won't hurt cha'!

And now for a general list. I bet you dollars to donuts you agree with at least some of these:

- Car Alarms (they go off so often they are redundant)
- The little logos and ads at the bottom of the TV screen. Stop it! Who authorized this?
- The itch toxin in Mosquitoes. Is it REALLY necessary?
- Bling. Stop it!
- Celebrity worship. Hey, I think Angelina Jolie is pretty, but I don't care what she ate for dinner, or how many hundreds of kids she has (Unless she is having kids with me, then sentiment is somehow null and void).
- Bubonic Plague. Never liked it, never will.
- Talking on cellphones loudly in crowds. Yes, it is annoying, and YES it is bad manners. Stop it!
- People who make lists about things they like or dislike. (you KNEW that was coming didn't you? Didn't you?!!)

Well, that's all for now. My rant is over. The soapbox has been placed carefully in storage, and the indignant, furrowed frown is relaxed and non-agitated. Carry on!

Nerdfest 2007: Back From Dragoncon!

That's right. I went to Dragoncon this weekend in Atlanta, one of the largest Sci-fi/fantasy conventions in the country. I absolutely loved it! What can be said that you aren't already imagining? Basically every comic that you can think of was there, famous artists, sci-fi celebrities, writers - room after nerd-filled room. But of course, the best thing, and the most hilarious, was the COSTUMES. They were was absolutely amazing, and the work some of these people put into them was incredible. There was a wide range - some weren't very good, and some of the people -to put it kindly - should not be in spandex. But a lot of them were fantastic.

Another hilarious phenomenon was the girls that were were in "show-off" mode, pandering to the nerds with plenty of cleavage and corsets. Personally, I find the whole "look-how-hot-I-am" thing somewhat silly, but in this case it seemed to be all in good fun and everyone was sort of "in on the joke." To be sure, the guys who can't get girls in real life were certainly loving it, so it's kind of a charity service, maybe :)

One of the coolest things, though, was I got to meet Steve Niles, creator of 30 Days of Night. This is a famous vampire graphic novel, and is coming out as a movie this fall with Josh Harnett. He was cool, and signed a couple comics for me.

So anyway, without further ado, here are some pics - check out these amazing costumes, folks!

Gandalf and Frodo with some happy lady.

The Tick! "Spooooooooooon!"

My friend Mike and a Stormtrooper

The Gears of War guys. I mean come on, how impressive is this?

Should this guy REALLY be in a tight skirt?

Bender from Futurama.

The Sandman, Spidey (doesn't he look like Tobey?) Wolverine, and the Blackcat.

How Batman and Robin would look if they lived in their mother's basement.

Some pretty good Harry Potter character costumes (Fleur Delacour, Sirius, Bellatrix, and Snape)

The "Sith Cheerleaders"

Daniel LaRusso. A costume of a character in costume!

A hilarious robot.

For the guys, I give you some eye-candy. For the ladies, I give you....."Stormtrooper Elvis"!

Well, thats all for now folks. And remember, May the Force be with you. Live long and prosper.... Wolverine can beat up Iron Man. Batman didn't have armored suits in the original series. Everyone knows that the original Godzilla was NOT a giant iguana....

Addition To Last Post

Just a couple pics of the secret spot I was talking about in the last post. Notice I didn't include any landmarks, and you are all sworn to secrecy! Shhhhh!


This is the closest thing to a trail when getting to it.




So pretty! Little do you realize the menacing shapes gliding under the water.



Gratuitous pole shot!




A nice little bass. Look at those gorgeous colors!

So far, I haven't been able to catch the monster carp. But I got some serious bites tonight, so I'm getting closer. I need just the right combo of bait ingredient and..........okay, you guys probably think I'm the biggest redneck by now. Next post I promise something not fish or mud related!

A Little Find

So I was out fishing tonight in a secret spot. You have to hop a fence, bushwhack through all kinds of brush and snakes, and duck and crawl your way to the shore. Then you have to cast in bizarre angles because the entire shore is covered in thickets. Crazy? Perhaps, but it is worth it. The carp are so big, they actually mock you when you show up. They laugh at your pitiful baits and lures. Laugh, I tell you.

Anyway, the shore is basically a cliff, so I dug in the dirt to make a make-shift seat. Low and behold, I came across some turtle eggs! Now, the odd thing is this is the second time I've accidentally dug up turtle eggs - the first was in a field in NC, and I raised three of them from that incident. Unfortunately, this time I had already smashed one open by accident, and a little fellow popped out. I decided to take him home to try and raise him to releasing age since his shell was broke.

Even stranger, later in the evening I was reeling a line in by hand (don't ask), so it was dragging on the pond's bottom. I thought it was stuck, but something huge began pulling. The line was a light four pound test, so it was quite a struggle. When I got it to the shore, it was a snapping turtle the size of a truck hubcap! You should have seen this massive hulk coming out of the water, tail like a dragon, shell like a WWII tank. For those that don't know, snapping turtles can bite your toes clean off, and actually give medals to each other for just that thing. I thought it might have been the turtle's mother coming for revenge, but it was a different species (you should know your turtle species when you wade in water). But to be sure, it was a little odd.

I can't prove it, but I think the snapper pointed at me and said "YOU."

Boston and my Sister!

Went to Boston last weekend and was in history-nerd-heaven! Paul Revere's house, the USS Constitution, Bunker Hill, the whole nine-yards of nerdness. Birthplace of the Nation? Well, who knows, but a pretty cool town.

Plus I got to see my sister, who was in town speaking at a huge chemical conference. We met with my parents and all got to hang out.

Let me tell you folks why the women in my family rock.

They are drop dead gorgeous, yet they have never relied on their looks and always stood on their own two feet! Case in point (brag alert!) - my sister is becoming a seriously famous scientist with a PHD in poly-chemistry, doing research at one of the best universities in the country. She is one of the smartest people on the planet. Yet she has model-good looks and I've had to fight my friends off her for years. My mom used to ACTUALLY model, yet is a full professor of English. She raised two children completely on her own, and managed to work full time and get a PHD in the process. Now why aren't women like this role models for our children?

Do they care about the surface stuff that society teaches us - like you "have to rely on a man", or who has the best handbags, or "oh, look at me?" No!! They are smart, tough, successful, beautiful women. And don't get me started on my cousins! I love it, the ultimate snub to the propaganda of the 50s!

That's all, I just wanted to brag a little!