I have been telling Laura that it just feels better to watch TV down in the basement. I explained that I always felt kind of guilty just sitting around upstairs in the living room. Having everything, “entertainment” downstairs feels much more “right.”
I must say, it’s quite comfortable down there. I set up the dehumidifier in the other room and cut additional vent holes in the wall. I also set up a fan for air circulation. Because it’s a basement, it stays much cooler than everywhere else. That, coupled with dryer air, results in a pleasant experience.
We already set up the small couch (with cover) along with the little end table. I have the lamp and phone nearby. I have the lamp on a timer so it doesn’t get forgetten about at night. I also set up all the electronics down there. We now have four speakers with some bass on the way. I still have some Circuit City gift cards I need to use up. The bass box cable is already run.
Next week, my brother is going to help me carry the large couch down stairs. Actually, we will take the couch outside and back in through the basement door. Once we get an area rug and a coffee table, I think we will be set up. Well, that and the pellet stove, which should be started at the end of this month.
Hmmm…you know, I just realized that this whole project has left a big empty living room that needs to have the floor done and walls painted. Hmmm…weird.
As you may already know, I listen to HGTV while I am working. I like the channel, especially the show “Ground Breakers,” because it has to do with dirt.
There are a bunch of other shows on throughout the day that I am not all that interested in. They are usually cutesy little shows with people playing with doyleys and things like that. I am not into painting little pictures and putting them into the house. I like construction.
You may have heard me rant about all the stupid words the HGTVers have made up through the years. Some of these words include, “space” instead of room, “organic” for anything earth tone, “craftsman style” for anything that exists outside of California and now “drama” for a point of interest. Let’s add some “drama” to that corner.
I really hate these words. I feel like the people on these shows are trying way too hard to push some sort of language on us normal people. Maybe it’s not even so much the words they use, but the fact that they use them all of the sudden. One week we’ll be fine and the next week we’ll have two dozen weirdos saying, “Boy, this space has really been enhanced by the craftsman style and organic flavors. I still think we need to add some draaaaama to that wonderful little snicker of cuteness.”
Last night, Laura and I went to a wonderful show at SUNY New Paltz. We saw “The Pirates of Penzance.” Good thing we did, because last night was the last show.
As you may know, I have a little problem when I get frustrated. I tend to complain about it. People don’t like to hear me complain, so sometimes, they fix my problem for me. Laura is one of those people. The other night, I was complaining that we don’t do enough with the resources we live near. One of those resources in the college up in New Paltz. The college was actually one of the things we were excited to have nearby when we first came to this area. I am always thinking, “How the heck do we get away from the losers who ride out tails on the roads…the ones who just seem to be mean spirited? How do we hang out with people like us?” I guess all we had to do was to go to a show up at the college.
There were all types of people up there, from students to retired to us. I guess we were middle of the road folk. There were a lot of parents coming to see their kids put on a performance too. It felt so good to be on a campus again, feeling the buzz of excitement of all that college has to offer. I really do miss it.
Anyway, about the show…it was really good. I was so impressed by what these kids could do. I mean, it was like they were professionals. I like the casual atmosphere of the audience and the way the performers catered to them. They really seemed to connect.
I think there are two performances each semester, so from now on, we are going to go to them. How’s that for an idea to get out of the house to chill with people like us?
For some reason, the title of this book is spelled, “The Traveler” on Wikipedia, but the cover of the book has it spelled, “The Traveller.” Odd, isn’t it?
This audiobook started off kind of slowly. I was used to the other one I was listening to, which was all nature-like. This one was much darker and more wrapped in suspense. I have to say, it is coming along nicely. It has heated up quite a bit and I look forward to getting in the car. The audiobook has five CDs and I am on the fifth. I am hoping to have it finished by the end of my ride home from work today. Once this is finished, I am going to start learning Spanish while driving. I have the whole kit. This should be good. The only problem is that I have no one to practice on. I have to practice in order to maintain my Spanishness. I will have to figure that one out.
Ahhh…my first audio book. I don’t know how Laura finds these things, but she does.
I like to think of her sitting at her computer, very studiously analyzing and contemplating my psyche. “Who is Jay?” she would ask herself. “What makes this guy tick?” In actuality, she probably sees what is popular that day on Amazon, but we try not to think about that.
I can’t get over the clarity of the new stereo I installed in my car today. Just a moment ago, I walked outside, across the driveway to it. I sat down in the driver’s seat and turned the key. The radio came on so I could hear 95.5 WPLJ, down in the city. I changed the channel to 100.3 Z100. It’s remarkable how clear the radio receives the signal. My old one never did that.
I pushed the CD in the brand new slot. Everything is so shiny. The radio stopped and the CD started. A very faint, but clean guitar sound started. It got louder, and then a very soothing voice, that introduced himself as the author, Bill McKibben, began to speak. I though, “Ooh, this is going to be good. I listened for a few minutes and turned the key back, so the sound stopped. I didn’t want to ruin the first part of the story during a time when I wasn’t focusing on it. I turned the key forward, so the CD turned on again. Yup, it picked up right where it left off. This was going to work out fine.
So what’s the story about? Well, Bill’s website tells it like this…
“The acclaimed author of The End of Nature takes a three-week walk from his current home in Vermont to his former home in the Adirondacks and reflects on the deep hope he finds in the two landscapes.”
As you can see, I am quite excited about using my frontal lobe even more than I currently am. It is going to be nice to break out of the mold of NPR and bad local radio. Yeah, it’s going to be nice.
Did you know that Stephanie has an official quarter collection now? Yes, apparently, she had a secret quarter stash hidden somewhere in the house. Well, I shouldn’t say that…somewhere on the property, or in the car. I would guess buried in the back yard.
Anyway, this is her first book. I made a comment on her spectacular blog that she is sure to buy more books. I did just that. I am a person of excess. She is my sister, therefore she is excessive too. You have to see all the gold chains she wears around her neck. Just kidding, but the knuckle rings…oh whatever.
Anyway, since I just read her post, I thought I would grab my growing pile of quarters and open my books to see if I actually needed any of them. Yeah, I would say I popped about half of them into empty spots…maybe around ten or so. It feels so good when I have a quarter in my hand and I see that empty spot. Here is a picture of my collections. I have been working on collecting these quarters since 1999.
We went to the International Celtic Festival at Hunter Mountain yesterday. It was a good day and reminded my very much of the Oktoberfest at Hunter Mountain. They had kind of the same setup and the skyride was open, so we could ride up the mountain.
We took Rt.28 into the Catskill Park into Phoenicia. Then, we took Rt.214 to Rt.23a and made a left into Hunter.
It was pretty cool. We got to see the new building they made a few years ago. That’s where we paid our $12 admission fee (each) and the $8 skyride fee (each). Right after we got in, we grabbed two Guinness. That beer isn’t too fancy, since we drink it all the time, but it was the darkest one they had. Then, we (or I) ate my traditional funnel cake and Laura had her traditional Sauerkraut. The Sauerkraut was really good.
There was a long list of entertainment at the festival. Here it is -
- Black 47
- Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul
- Glengarry Bhoys
- Andy Cooney
- The Barley Boys
- Liz McNicholl
- Seamus Kennedy
- Schenectady Pipe Band
- Donny Golden Irish Dancers
- Broesler Irish Dancers
- Ceili Country
- Tim Quinn
- MC - Frankie Curran
After we ate, we went up the skyride. This is the real reason I went there. For the Oktoberfest, I went for the beer, for this one, I went for the skyride.
If you go to Hunter, you gotta go up the mountian. Believe it or not, the guys were still there carving the Rip Van Winkle thingy in the rock. I was wondering why it was taking so long, but I just learned on the web page that they only carve on festival days. This is so the public can see the progress. It’s pretty cool.
At the top of the mountain, Laura and I found the absolute best place to hang out and chill. There were a few benches in a partially shady section of grass. It was very relaxing…so relaxing that I spread myself out on the ground. Those pictures are a little weird, but I did take one of the grass while I was down there.
The weather was good yesterday. It was actually kind of chilly on the way down the mountain. The wind was going up the mountain, so it was a bit breezy, but that didn’t inhibit the view at all.
When we got to the bottom, we stood and watched the Irish pole toss, or whatever it was called. It is a good time to see people try to throw different sized wooden posts. Some make it, some don’t. After we watched for a while, we decided to leave.
On the way home, we always pass this little area near a lake. It is part of the Devil’s Tombstone Public Campground. If you decide to stop there to look at the lake, be careful. The guy is poking around to ticket whoever doesn’t pay. I almost got one, but I smiled my way out of it.
Whenever someone wants to name their new band, I am sure there is some creative process that goes on. I always think of the band sitting around in some kitchen in Yonkers with a fluorescent tube light hanging over their heads. They go back and forth until they come up with something they can agree on. Usually, the longer this conversation goes on, the dumber the name gets. I think the best names for things just pop in to people’s heads while driving or rowing a boat or something.
We have all been there. We have all tried to find a name for something. Sometimes you think of something great and run around to tell everyone, but sometimes the name you settle on is a little weird and you avoid telling people what you thought of. Personally, I have always had a problem with thinking of catchy domain names. That’s why I just name them what they are now. If I am setting up a blog, I call it something like “jaysblog.com.” On the internet, the name really doesn’t matter anymore anyway.
I am having a little issue with some of the bands today. Firstly, they are all sounding alike. Secondly, they are coming out so fast that their names are just plain silly. I really like a song by Finger Eleven, but c’mon, what the heck is with that name? It sounds like they tried too hard. Also, Pillow Face is probably the most annoying name I have heard of to date. That was almost topped by a band name I just heard of a few minuted ago…Drowning Pool.
Maybe it’s just me. It usually is. Maybe back in the day, The Police and AC/DC sounded dumb, but we got used to them. Maybe in the future I will think that Pillow Face is a great band and I will tell people proudly that Pillow Face is my favorite group ever.
If I woke up last night not knowing where I was, I would’ve thought I was on another planet and all the people around me were aliens. If you haven’t guessed, I was in Connecticut. Things are strange in Connecticut. It’s amazing how many variations of cultures we have in this country, even ones that are quite close to one another.
We pulled in to Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT. Of course, the traffic was filling up the parking lots. We were guided to a nice spot in a back lot. Right after we shut the car off, most of the other cars and trucks around us started popping their trunks and setting up BBQs, tables and food. We didn’t have anything but our bodies. Since we were early, we sat in the car for a while, just to watch what was going on around us. The crowd was like a big white mass of insurance workers. I saw a lot of blond hair and I can imagine many of the guys were named, “Tom.” They all had this look about them…they kind of all looked like Pilgrims. I guess they were cool…just different. Odd crowd. I was eavesdropping on a conversation to the right of us and heard this little exchange…”Yeah, put that in an Excel spreadsheet.” “Yeah…DOUBLE UNDERLINE!!!” I just love dorky work talk among coworkers.
So, the show started off with Fiction Plane. These guys were really good. I thought the lead singer sounded strikingly like Sting. Laura kept saying that he could be a mini-Sting. She mentioned that when Sting kicks the bucket, this might have to be her replacement. Well, as it turns out, the lead singer of Fiction Plane is Joe Sumner…Gordon Sumner’s son…AKA, Sting. How cool is that? I am sure I am going to hear about this from Laura because if there was one man she would leave me for, it would be Sting. Geeesh, now there are two. I guess I gotta clamp down.
A funny little story about Joe Sumner and Laura. As we were sitting there last night waiting for The Police to set up, Laura told me a little something about Fiction Plane. She said that they had opened up for Sting during another concert. After the concert, she was out getting a t-shirt or something and someone asked if she wanted a Fiction Plane autograph. She said (out loud), “I don’t want an autograph, unless it’s Sting’s.” She told me that she thought the Fiction Plane guy heard her. Well Laura, watcha got to say now?
Fiction Plane was really good. They played for about a half hour…from 8PM to 8:30PM. It took about 45 minutes for The Police to set up, but it was worth the wait. The Police played the first song without the big video screens on. I think Laura was getting nervous. Then, after the first song and a little in to the second…WHAM, the colors from the Synchronicity albumn came up and faded to the live action. Pretty cool stuff.
Yeah, the concert was pretty cool. Nice loud sound and great visuals. They played all the good old stuff, obviously. The bad part is that I was taking pictures with my cell phone, which I would not even waste posting here. The lady next to us had a digital camera and was taking shots the whole time. I was waiting for the end, so I could hand her my business card and ask her to email the photos to me. Towards the end of the show, I looked over and they were gone. Man!!! I would’ve loved to post them up to show here.
So, if anyone has original photos and you are willing to allow me to post them here, please let me know. Thank you.
Here is what they played -
1. Message in a Bottle
2. Synchronicity II
3. Walking on the Moon
4. Voices Inside My Head
5. When the World is Running Down
6. Don’t Stand So Close to Me
7. Driven to Tears
8. Truth Hits Everybody/Regatta de Blanc
9. The Bed’s Too Big Without You
10. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
11. Wrapped Around Your Finger
12. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
13. Invisible Sun
14. Walking in Your Footsteps
15. Can’t Stand Losing You
16. Roxanne
Encore
17. King of Pain
18. So Lonely
19. Every Breath You Take
Now, I am not saying that I am a big Beethoven fan or anything, but the show was pretty good. The whole thing is that you get to lie out under the stars, while listening to the music. It’s pretty neat. Last summer, when we went up for the first time, all we brought was a blanket. We were eaten alive by the bugs and I had to buy two plastic cups of red wine and some cookies for about $20. This time was different. We made a list and everything…here is what we brought…
…all in a big cloth bag. The only thing we were missing was our sleeping bag to throw over us when it got a little chilly later on. To improvise, I just moved everything off the blanket we had and rolled ourselves up in it. I started to doze off towards the end of the show, but I was quite comfortable, so you can’t really blame me.
Here are some photos that I tried to grab…
This is right after we parked the car. We were walking up towards the gate and I realized that I forgot my camera. I had to run back and grab it…alond with this photo of the parking lot.
I took this photo of the Koussevitzky Music Shed on our way in. People are getting set up on the lawn.
Here is a great view of the lake and the Berkshires in the background.
This is the house right behind where we set up our blanket.
Laura had to run to the little girl’s room, so I decided to get fancy and set up shop.
I took this photo of the gift shop on our way out.
I think the show ended around 11PM. We drove all the way down past Stockbridge and through Great Barrington. Then, we followed Rt.23 to Rt.9H down into Red Hook, NY and then crossed the Mid-Hudson Bridge past Kingston. It was a good drive, but we were getting way tired. We stumbled in a fell right asleep. We woke up this morning at about 11:15AM. I haven’t done that since I was a teenager. I felt pretty guilty about that type of laziness. Man…
This is my blog. Welcome to it. I write a lot of stuff that doesn't pertain to anything in particular, but you may find a common theme in here somewhere. Enjoy. More
