we're home. relatively uneventful flights. quite a temp change - 50's & breezy to 71 & humid. at 11pm.
anyways, now the recovery stage. pictures eventually.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
and it's nearly over....
*jumbo sigh*
M&my european vacation has nearly drawn to a close. i'm writing this from the british air lounge (hooray!) in brussels airport. our flight is departing 10mins late due to weather i believe, so the end is near.
i suppose technically it is as we're waiting to leave. i'll post pictures and more details after i get home, but it's been a lot of fun, tho a little pricey (mostly our meals).
there was tons to see in all 3 major cities we stayed in, but the one thing that i wanted to see the most was cologne cathedral. it's really impressive. REALLY impressive.
brussels was very nice, as was brugge. actually, all of them were really nice in their own way. brussels is a small city, brugge is quaint (for lack of a better word right now) and cologne is, well, full of beer.
mmm...beer....and if you stay at the hyatt in cologne, Ratna is a wonderful source of information. she gave us 2 places to eat, and they were both excellent. the one night that we tried to go on our own, not so good. so cheers to her.
i'll wrap up now and write more whenever.
M&i are alive and very well. stories abound and some will be shared here i'm sure. but that's for another day.
next entry - from home.
time to finish my beer (leffe bruin in case you wondered)
Monday, September 17, 2007
and we're nearly off
as i type this, in 24 hours, M&i will be an hour or two away from heathrow airport outside the fine (and expensive) city of London. then we land, mill about for less than 2 hours and off into the great blue yonder again to land in Brussels.
it's exciting and a little frightening at the same time, at least for me. M has done a lot more travelling recently than i have, so she's playing the role of cucumber (filed under: cool as). my anxiety levels were elevated this morning, but as i took care of things, i've started to feel better about things again. i think the big turning point that told me that things were going to be ok was when i had the euros in hand. cost an arm and a leg ($1.46 per 1 euro), but i now have enough for our B&B's (they like this cash on arrival thing, not credit cards) as well as other incidentals w/o having to get raped by an ATM.
i've packed the bulk of what i'm bringing, my little sony 2gb 705f (yes, it is pink) is nearly fully loaded (i have 124mb free), fully charged and now i need M's to load the Harry Potter books on for her. battery is charged for the new camera, batteries are charging for the small camera. memory cards are clear. laptop is charging and has our basic info. card reader packed, micro mouse packed, so i'm feeling pretty good right now.
so off to Brussels, Brugge & Cologne we go.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
what a shame...
i have the day off.
Led Zeppelin confirm reunion gig
The surviving members of legendary rock group Led Zeppelin are to reform for a star-studded tribute concert in London.
Singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones will play at the show to remember the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.
The one-off concert, the trio's first performance for 19 years, will take place at the O2 arena on 26 November.
Tickets will cost £125 and be allocated by ballot. Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman and Paolo Nutini will also perform.
Ertegun, who signed Led Zeppelin in 1968, died last year.
The place of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980, will be taken by his son Jason.
Plant said: "During the Zeppelin years, Ahmet Ertegun was a major foundation of solidarity and accord.
"For us, he was Atlantic Records and remained a close friend and conspirator. This performance stands alone as a tribute to the work and life of a longstanding friend."
The news is likely to spark a huge rush for tickets as devoted fans scramble to get into what could be the band's last show.
Tickets will only be available to those who register on a dedicated website, ahmettribute.com, and will be limited to two successful applications per household.
With their pounding, blues-influenced anthems and explosive stadium shows, Led Zeppelin paved the way for artists across the worlds of heavy metal and alternative rock.
Their best-known songs include Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Rock and Roll, Kashmir and Communication Breakdown - although they never released singles in the UK.
Led Zeppelin's last full concert was in Berlin in July 1980 - two months before John Bonham died.
'Whole set'
Page, Plant and Jones performed at Live Aid five years later, and also get back together at a concert to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Atlantic Records in 1988.
But a rift between Jones and the other two band members opened after Page and Plant started working together without him in the 1990s.
Rumours of a reconciliation surfaced several years ago, leading to speculation about a reunion.
Harvey Goldsmith, who is promoting the concert, said that he had originally asked the three band members to play a 30-minute set.
"Jason Bonham became part of the catalyst, and they did a week's rehearsal," he said. "We had a meeting and Robert turned around and said we're not going to do 30 minutes, we're doing to do a whole set."
"It's a day I never thought would come," said Dave Lewis, editor of Led Zeppelin fan magazine Tight But Loose. "The four people on stage in 2007 - wake me up, I'm dreaming!"
The concert coincides with the release of a new two-CD best of compilation, Mothership, on 13 November.
Profits from the show will go towards scholarships in Ertegun's name in UK, the USA and Turkey, the country of his birth.
His wife Mica said: "He would be very proud that Led Zeppelin have chosen to reunite and headline a benefit concert in his name featuring so many of his friends.
"I would like to thank all of the artists for their generous contribution to help make Ahmet's vision a reality."
Goldsmith said Ertegun "became a friend and was my mentor".
"Our industry deeply misses such a giant of music," he said. "It is a fitting tribute that these great artists have all come together to perform in his memory."
He also warned that tickets being sold on the black market would be cancelled.
Paolo Nutini, Ertegun's last UK signing, went on to score a hit album last year.
"He touched my life with his amazing personality and opened a few doors when I was starting my career," he said.
"He was a special guy, a real gentleman and it's such a shame he's gone but a massive tribute that all his music lives on - and will do forever."
Sunday, September 09, 2007
holy shit that was fucked up
we had a series of bitching thunderstorms (my first real one of the season - i keep missing out) that pleased me, but just as they started to fire off, M&i were leaving B&N. and after a fairly uneventful ride up 128, i head north on 93 and that's where things went from bad to fucking nuts.
i'm in the right lane, rolling along, but not going crazy. rain is falling pretty hard when under the ramp that hooks over to target M sees 2 cars crunch. all i see is the first one head perpendicular to the road and go slamming into the guard rail, car parts flying everywhere, bouncing off and spinning 180 degrees. at the same time, i see the other car flat spinning into the guard rail 100 yards down or so, facing south. i hit the brakes pretty hard as M start praying i stop in time. and thankfully, ABS brakes work. i came to a stop and was able to pull off into the breakdown lane. flip my hazards on, gather myself for a moment and get out to see if the driver was ok. M calls 911.
fortunately, he was fine, a little rattled, but he's in fatigues, so i figure his military training helped keep him keep his cool. we both survey the scene, as another car pulled in behind me and she offers to call 911. meanwhile, as we try to figure out what happened - he tells me that out of nowhere, the other car just slammed into him, and he can't seem to find his hat (military berret). we can see another car with the other car involved and it looks like people are ok - someone comes over to check on us and ask if we've called 911. (he has found the berret at this point) we then push his car out of the lane and manage to get it most of the way out (and me in flip flops!). i head back to my car to hear M saying we were on 128 (i correct her and she relays the correct road to 911).
i head back out (it's pouring and i'm soaked) by which point the couple in the other car have come over and they are both ok. we then find out that she had hydroplaned and the next thing she knew, she was slamming into the other car only moments later to slam into the guard rail. at this point, M has given info to 911, and i get ready to make my way off. we thought about staying, but decided that as long as everyone was ok, and a tow truck was nearly there, we would head home rather than hang around.
one of those random thoughts i had was i wish i had a camera. i didn't think about it, but M mentioned that i prolly did think that. she was right. it was more subconcious on my part, but when she mentioned it to me, i remember thinking to myself that i wish i did have my camera.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt and then it's just hilarious"
-Bill Hicks
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
random pictures of the moment: trifecta
i managed to take ~150 pictures on sunday, so i'm weeding my way thru them now. these are more shots from swampscott. the first two are the same location as sundays picture (beach in town), the third is at beach bluff (on the swampscott/marblehead line)
beach shot - i like the way the camera caught the sun
the boston skyline
self-portrait
Sunday, August 19, 2007
random picture of the moment: boston skyline
drove around w/JJ today. while wandering, we stopped in Swampscott to look at the Boston skyline. i'm pleased with this shot. (full size shot is 514k)
i wonder...
someone has a rather hacky sense of humor over at Channel 7 for monday nights forecast. i was curious what the weather was going to be like (because i barely watch the news anymore these days) and this is what they had posted:
Forecast (Sunday, 8/19/07, as of 1130am)
Pollen Count: Pollen, High; Mold, Moderate
Today
Not as windy but a lot of clouds around. Highs in the lower 70s. NW 5-10 mph.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy skies tonight. Lows in the 50s.
Monday
More clouds than sunshine---plan on mostly cloudy skies Buzzard's Bay/Cape/Islands. Highs in the lower 70s.
Monday Night
Clouds thin out (like a night club crowd at 2am). Lows in the lower 50s.
Tuesday
Sunny skies. Highs in the upper 70s.
Wednesday
Sunny to start with clouds arriving by late afternoon. Highs in the upper 70s.
har har har.
(screen cappy goodness)
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
random picture of the moment: biohazard
some of us were wondering what was in this jumbo sized cooler bag and discovered a beef roast (still in packaging) not looking so good. MD took a harder look and reported that the use by date was 8/10/07.
i know that the use by date is a 'guide' as to when you should use/freeze meat, but it's just sitting in the fridge. rotting. and reportedly it's resting on top of some frozen dinners. that are no longer frozen.
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