Mexico 2011

Over the thanksgiving holiday we had the privilege of going to Mexico for a week.  We chose to go to Xcaret in the Riviera Maya due to suggestions that there would be a lot to do but also it is a beautiful setting that would be more than relaxing.  Never having really left the country to go to a place were English is not the primary language was definitely a shock that was apparent as soon as we got off the plane.  Having to communicate with our driver things like payment, times, travel and were to go was very difficult and had a strange kind of feeling to it, gained alot of respect for people who come to the US not just to visit but to live and work with that language barrier.  The whole drive there was very discouraging as it is piss poor looking places and then this grand resort then little shack towns and a huge luxurious resort but that is what it is like there, a very poor country, beautiful but poor.  The resort we stayed at was huge and amazing.  It is literally in the middle of a jungle on land where you will just pop up on Mayan ruins.  There is a river that goes through the resort with a nice river walk, several swim up to the room pools, and crystal clear warm ocean water that sits off the 2nd biggest oceanic reef in the world so alot of cool looking fish that I have never seen before outside of the discovery channel.  Our first night we came across a couple Mexican raccoon's and two monkeys just running around the resort!!  The thing I will miss the most is all the butterflies literally everywhere and some of the craziest kinds.  As soon as we opened our door or went on our porch there were dozens of them flying around with such great colors.  My wife almost stepped on several of the lizards and iguanas that are everywhere.  Several would run right up to you and just stare at you.
My wife always dreamed of swimming with dolphins since she was 8 years old and our resort was attached to a place that you could do that in the ocean water as it was a very natural setting.  To see her face was priceless!! and its hard to describe just how strong these animals are.  Its not everyday that you can interact with animals that you don't commonly see in the wild.  We then learned alot about the Mayan culture by taking in one of their night shows, Mayan sports put ours to shame.
The next day it was onto Chichen Itza which is the structure that the Mayans built that our calendar is based off of, yes these people were very smart.  Being one of the man made wonders of the world like the pyramids, it baffles me how they were able to build this as accurately as they did, with the design that they did, and that it has lasted as long as it has.  This is one of those things like the Grand Canyon in that pictures just dont capture it, it is one of those visions that can take your breath away.  A couple of days later we visited Tulum which was a Mayan city set up right on the ocean.  This worked because they could fish in the reef, which you can see on the coast, and this reef provided strange canals that allowed for salt water and fresh water.  We swam in the water looking up at Mayan ruins in one direction and waves breaking off in the distance on the reef.

All that was alot to do in a couple of a days and as always we wish we had more time.  The weather was beautiful 90+ everyday.  The food was great.  I loved that most Mexican food doesn't include the cheese that us Americans lace on anything Spanish sounding, I don't think my wife enjoyed that as she was searching for that cheese!  Got to try alot of different Mexican dishes that we are still eating even since we got home.  Mexico is a beautiful country with a very corrupt government and a very large criminal problem.  I gained a new respect for the Mexican people and their culture and I also gained a new perspective on my own life as well as my country.  It is very easy to take things for granted in America and again the only difference between you and me was where we were born and that is it.  Most days we were served at the restaurant by a young girl in a neck brace who smiled and never complained, in America that would be workers comp or disability or other ways of living off of the government, which is great, but so different then the government that many other countries live with.  The whole trip felt a little Indiana Jonesish.  We had a great time and were very lucky to have went there.  

Roots Are Grown but I Dont Know Where They Are

The line from this song is very true at this time in my life.  I feel great about love, life, work, play, and challenges but there are many future questions to be answered about where to live, when to start a family, what to do with my growing career and this line rings true as I feel very entrenched with love almost everywhere I go.  In the past couple of years we have spent time in NY, Seattle, Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, Chicago, and of course North Carolina.  Each of these places we have looked at settling down in to start a family and buy a home and we just arent there yet.  We feel home almost everywhere we go as there is a lot of love in all of these places from family to friends to nature to inspiration its all around so where do you go and what do you do?  There are pros and cons of almost anyplace a person can live.  Both of us have blossoming careers in our respected fields of work and we have plans to continue enjoying life but where that takes us, we just dont know.  People ask these questions of us all of the time like we are missing something and I dont think I am, I dont feel like somethings missing.  I love my wife, my job, the past, the future and all the fun moments in between...my roots are grown, I just dont know where they are...

Living in the Material World

Another roc doc review...I was able to watch Scorsese's documentary on the life of my favorite Beatle, George Harrison.  As Scorsese has done with other documentaries from The Band's Last Waltz, Dylan No Direction Home, and The Stones Shine a Light, Scorsese digs feverishly deep into the background of the artist and tells a great story about their lives through pictures, interviews, and of course the music itself.  I wasn't alive when the Beatles were huge, or when they broke up, or when Lennon was shot, but I do remember when George Harrison died on November 29th of 2001.  At this time I was recently trying to figuring out my place in the world and his music was very inspirational to me during this time.  His songs always had a "love and happiness" type of vibe that allowed me to view the bigger picture of life and what is what with my small existence.  Songs about the natural progression of life, the seasons we all go through, songs like "here comes the sun" and "all things must pass" motivated me to let it be.  George was mainly my favorite because he seemed to me to be the most spiritual, most experimental, and everybody I knew either liked John or Paul.  The transcendental meditation that he talked about and I learned about was spiritually ahead of anything I had ever learned.  He was also the person besides Steve Martin in "The Jerk" that I knew about playing a Ukulele and it seems like many artists do that now.  Living in the Material World provided me with much insight and respect for this artist and the way he went about his business.  He was far from perfect but he was very insightful and disciplined in his life.  For the first 20 minutes of this doc I was bored and couldn't see the whole picture but very quickly I was captured with interviews from Paul, Ringo, Clapton, and Patti Boyd.  Amazing to me was the grace that he lived with when dealing with some very difficult troubles, no one was bigger than the Beatles, what pressure that had to be.  George Harrison was way ahead of his time intellectually, artistically, and spiritually.  We could all take a page from him.  The title of this film, like his album, fits this artist perfectly.  He was concerned with so much more than most of us but lived in this material world that is all about stuff, make it about Love, Sweet Sweet Love.  Like he said "Give me Love, Give me Love, Give me Peace on Earth"

PJ20

Pearl Jam has long been one of my favorite bands.  During the years when I was making some major changes in my life, I related a great deal to the raw intensity of the sound and lyrics of this band.  Growing up always liking hip-hop and gangster rap, Pearl Jam was an exploration of music for me.  Of course I had listened to them when the early wave of Seattle "grunge" burst on to the scene (you couldn't miss it), but I never listened like I did when I cleaned up my act and found new meaning in my own life.  Plus Eddie Vedder has a crazy ass voice, the band can straight play, and I agree with much of what they stand for as artists.  As a PJ fan it was easy to become excited about one of the best rock journalists in Cameron Crowe making a documentary about one of your favorite bands and after watching it, I think it is easy to become excited if you are a fan of music during the last 20 years.  Pearl Jam is the only Seattle surviving band from that time period.  Nirvana (Dead) Alice (Dead) Soundgarden (on off break ups) and Mudhoney (still floating around never as successful).  Pearl Jam survived when alot of bands couldn't and the music has evolved consistently to deeper lyrics and as my buddy put it, rustic and raw sounding.  The documentary was excellent and unlike other rock docs, this one had a huge amount of unique footage as this generation has had recording technology since the 90's when PJ started.  Some great moments are: the 2nd PJ show ever where they sound exactly as they do today and the moment when Eddie Vedder became Eddie Vedder! Pretty dope.  The sounds are great and the story is well directed as well.  If you are a fan of roc docs, Pearl Jam, Seattle, or music in general this is an absolute must.

Pearl Jam Twenty from Pearl Jam on Vimeo.

Steve Jobs and LSD

One of the greatest minds in American history passed away recently and left with him a vast legacy that included just about anything that began with an i (ipad, ipod, itunes,iPhone),  Disney pixar, Apple computers, and the Internet.  Steve Jobs was a very creative and innovative mind, a mind that lacks in America more now than ever.  As there has been alot of coverage about this man and his life that sadly ended at 56, I have learned alot about just how unique a vision he had.  I was not aware that he helped create Lucas film and then Pixar Studios and is responsible for all the Pixar films, I knew about Macintosh and Apple computers being revolutionary in the late 70's early 80's and again when he returned in the mid to late 90's until now, when apple dominates technology.  Another under looked fact, at least to me, even though he said it years ago, was that Steve Jobs said that taking LSD was one of the two or three most important things he ever did in his life.  I find that shocking on one end but at the same time it makes perfect sense to me.  He also said that if Bill Gates had taken acid, his company, Microsoft would be much better as acid allowed him to dive in to the creative part about himself to become as innovative as he was then and is now.  LSD and hallucinogenics can be very dangerous drugs if used in the wrong set and setting and also if your minds chemical makeup is not designed to handle that substance, however, LSD is a non addictive substance that when used in moderation can have drastic perceptual impacts that can help a person to understand things about themselves, life, meaning, relationships, and reality that maybe they wouldn't already understand or see.  Many spiritual groups still use hallucinogens as spiritual practice, to get closer to a Higher Power.  There have also been proven benefits to magic mushrooms as I referenced in another blog post.  Now I am not saying take drugs, or take LSD, but the key is to open your mind and be open to ideas, creativity, open to the possibility that you don't have a fucking clue and you are searching to find something out there just like everyone else.  Some of the greatest minds of all time like Steve Jobs, Francis Crick, Matt Groening, as well as some of the most influential painters, authors, musicians and comedians used LSD and credit it with major breakthroughs in their experience of life.  For some people this drug opens up a part of their minds that they cannot access normally and allows them to change their frame of reference in life.  I was shocked that Steve Jobs took LSD and called it one of the most important things to ever happen to him, but I am not surprised.

Occupy Wall-Street

Fortunately I have a job and can live my life doing what I want to do for the most part, this may not always be the case and with the way that politics is moving with the economy, who knows what the economy may be in 5 or 10 years...America doesnt make anything anymore...and the divsion of wealth seems to stretch further and further while eliminating the middle class.  Politics aside, I liked Robin Hood as a kid and will always love the motto of "Stealing from the rich to feed the poor", it is the decent thing to do, people seemed to love it and it gets you maid marion.  I dont see that middle class were I live, its poor on one side and rich on the other..very few in between.  People got rich off of these people that lost their jobs.  I know people with Masters degrees working in fast food and people with good resumes who cannot get jobs.  It is a weird time to be alive.  Unlike the Tea Party who were now obviously employed by Republicans and Wall-Street (even though they were fighting against Wall Street but are no where to be seen on this battle) the occupy Wall Street crowd is taking a stand on who they are holding responsible and I would love to be there right with them.  Why hasnt anyone been arrested for these capital crimes? Why do they still get bonuses of more money than I will see in my life? Why did they get my tax money? Why cant these unemployed people get a bailout and give themselves bonuses too? I know it is not that simple, but something is wrong, something is off, the "machine" stopped working for the people it was supposedly working for.  The hypocrisy and fear is evident now more than I remember in my lifetime as new media wont even cover it? "The revolution will not be televised" is now the truth.  The Tea Party and all its anti-Obama and racism was covered and I wonder why?  Why does America still care more about other nations poverty than our own? Why do we criticize other leaders in other countries when what we do here on some levels isnt very good?  Why are there kids who are born in the United States who cannot eat on a daily basis? i dont know the answers to these questions but I do want more people to ask them and try to seek solutions.  The denial of what freedom really is has become ignorance.  Freedom is not really freedom if it has restraints.  I have to pay and work for my freedom and there are soldiers who die for my freedom but are we free??? Or are the people down there on Wall Street and in other cities in this country who have nothing left to loose..are they the one's that are free? 
I hope they keep protesting and I think that they will.  I have read articles of several Ny restaurants including Katz deli sending thousands of dollars of food orders to these people from other people across the country.  Money is being spent to support these protestors and long-term they are getting organized with websites http://www.occupytogether.org/ and foreign media.  Its amazing that the only decent coverage I have seen has been off of Russian online news.  I wish the Tea Party would back up what they said they stood for and join the fight.  I wish they really werent the racist republican rich people that I thought that they were.  You want to take on overspending, government, regulation, wall-street "fat cats", now is the time.  I wish I could be up there and do some yelling and be part of a community of change, but like I said, I am fortunate enough to have a job that is about change.  So I will watch from afar and maybe order them so Katz.  Time to go all Robin Hood in this bitch!  Here are some great videos about what is really going on down there, cant see it on the news or read about it in papers.

Drug Testing for Welfare

The topic of drug testing for welfare recipients has been a hot topic for some time now and until recently some of the preliminary information is very interesting and surprising.  Personally I think that it is unconstitutional to tell someone what they can and cannot put in their bodies as the government issued cheese could probably kill someone faster than marijuana but that is something altogether different.  These politicians in Florida came up with a plan to save taxpayers dollars on what they perceived to be the drain on their money, welfare recipients.  In my talks with conservative people, they generally think and argue that poor people are poor because they want to be and that they are on welfare to be lazy, collect a check and live off of the government and I agree that there is a lot of people who do just that, as a handout is a big discouragement to get up and search for work and get to work but, some people need it and try their best to do the best with what they have and that little bit of money is a major difference in their lives.  Not all welfare recipients are Ol' Dirty Bastard from the Wu-Tang Clan.  Most of the conservatives making these arguments are usually people that are pretty well off as I have yet to met a conservative that was born poor and not white.  Under these programs in the state of Florida, the average household lives off of $240 a month.  I know people who spend more than that on a pair of shoes!  Florida government saw these roughly 100,000 people who receive some sort of cash benefit as the whole drain on their economy and thought that they use that money just to do drugs and be lazy.  They came up with the genius and unconstitutional thinking of drug testing them in order for them to receive their benefits.  To their great embarrassment the first round of testing has demonstrated that people on welfare use drugs less than the rest of the population most likely because THEY CANNOT AFFORD THEM and maybe because they knew they had a test and were able to sneak by it, either way another class warfare major screw up by over privileged people who would have no clue how to survive in some of these poverty situations that they held create and deprive with their judgements and hypocrisy.  As it turns out, 2% failed the tests and because of such a low number, this program has already cost the state 2.7 million in one quarter when it was supposed to save them 9 million for the year, already increasing the debt.  The national average according to 2010 stats is that 8.9% of Americans use some type of illegal drug which is again much higher than the welfare recipients of Florida.  Way to go to their genius politicians, need I say conservative, for their class warfare to take the state further into debt.  I think tables should be turned now and congress, senators, governors, mayors and anyone who had anything to do with implementing this program should be drug tested and lose their jobs if they fail the test and I would be willing to bet that most of them would test positive because they have to be completely in an altered state to continue with a war on drugs instead of turn it to a war on poverty.  There wouldn't be a war on drugs if you could take poverty away, but why would they do that when they make money off of them.  That's a reality TV show I would watch, politicians living in neighborhoods in some of the finest cities in American like NOLA, Memphis, Detroit, Atlanta, Kansas City, Cleveland, and Baltimore and watch them get dropped off with nothing and try to survive--the real survivor.  Until you have never seen it or experienced it or known somebody that lived it, don't judge it and try to change something that you yourself do not understand.  Stop trying to hurt the poor and help them and while your at it help the declining middle class as well.  Try being human.  Here is a link to an informative article drug testing welfare

Avett Brothers 10/8/11

Exactly one year ago we celebrated my wife's birthday by seeing one of our favorite bands play live and they happened to be in NC again this year on the same date!  A beautiful day turned into a beautiful NC night and the Avett's brought the energy just like they always do.  They only play NC about once a year and since they are from NC they put on a kick ass show, this year did not disappoint.  This evening was one of their longest sets as well as rarest including the song that my wife and I chose for our wedding "Swept Away" which is a rare play in itself but even more rare when Bonnie, their sister, comes out to sing her verse in the song.  As it was a new venue in Greensboro, NC some of the sound could have been better but it was still a beautiful night, beautiful music, and a great time had by all.  Hopefully they will come around more than once a year because it is quite a moving show, if you havent seen them, they are a cant miss good good time.

       

Greensboro, White Oak Amphitheatre, 10/8/11

Hard Times Come Again No More
Go To Sleep
I Killed Sally's Lover
Tin Man
Shame
January Wedding
Down With The Shine
Pretty Girl From Cedar Lane
When I Drink
Murder In The City
And It Spread
Die Die Die
Once And Future Carpenter
HFOD/RFOP
Distraction #74
The Prettiest Thing (David Childers cover)
Paranoia In Bb Major
Please Pardon Yourself
Will You Return?
Ballad Of Love & Hate
The Fall
Kick Drum Heart
Colorshow
Swept Away (with Bonnie)
I&L&U
encore
Laundry Room
Down In The Valley To Pray (Scott, Seth & Bob acapella)

Benefits of Magic Mushrooms

Most people when they read that title probably are thinking what?!?! That was my first thought but then I was instantly curious and excited because I always had very good experiences with psilocybin and other than its legality, believed it to be a harmless, natural substance that came from the earth like marijuana or peyote.  Unlike the man made LSD which is much stronger and more intense, psilocybin is very mellow and calming.  I know the benefits that I perceive from that substance, such areas as perception and creativity but as I am a junkie for all types of things in life this is no longer a substance that I would use.  I came across this article here Magic Mushroom Health that talks about how taking mushrooms just once can impact a change in your personality in a positive way.  This finding is pretty wild because usually the standard is that you are who you are and your personality is set by 20's or 30's after that change is difficult and this study demonstrates that one dose can promote a positive change in regards to the person's openess, abstract thought, and feelings.  One dose!  I know quite a few people who could benefit from taking one dose of mushrooms to gain a more positive outlook on life.  The main reason it is being researched is to help people overcome depression and anxiety when dealing with cancer and helping smokers quit smoking!  There are many harmful chemicals out there and the man made chemicals are usually the worst.  Many people could benefit from an opening of thought and creation especially congress and most politicians, news reporters, and extremists in any way such as "Tea Baggers", I think it would be great if someone fed them all a little mushroom stew, what a better place the world can be.  I find it strange to say but psilocybin as it was good for Alice and Mario...it may be good for you too??

"You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing."

After a busy summer of traveling (home two weekends for the whole summer) we have settled back into the school year and the busy grind of work and career growth.  Maybe it was not traveling for a month or maybe its just the natural progression of things but for the first time in my life it felt like there was a steady routine.  Get up, exercise, work, housework, romance, sports, eat and sleep.  Being in school up until last year, there was never a routine, classes always changed and you could spend your time the way you wanted to but with the "real" world you have set hours which can force a routine.  My wife has one of the tougher jobs that exist (teacher) because the education system is majorly flawed, but that is another story altogether, we have both been in a steady routine and we talked about feeling old.  Now some of you might say ok, whatever, you are 28 and 24, but for us both being done with school and working on our careers, this truely is the first time we have a routine and I dont really like that.  I like being spontaneous, free, and flying by the seat of my pants but this is a part of life and I get why people always said enjoy your time at school, because you are your own boss, you generally set your own hours and what not.  So we decided we needed to do something we dont normally do like go out to concerts on a "school" night, took a little convincing to get the teacher who gets up at 5:30am to stay out past midnight but we did it! One of our favorite bands was playing, The Head and The Heart, a little bit of Seattle in Raleigh and we had a ton of fun.  What I did realize is that I am older than the crowd that was out drinking and dancing on a week night, most of the people out were 18-23 years old in college at one of the numerous schools in the Raleigh Chapel Hill area, part of me felt old and part of me felt young.  It's a weird place to be because life and society want you to do one thing and everything in me as always says fuck the machine and I am going to do what I want to do, however, in many ways I am a working stiff and in many ways I am a teenager living it up.  Staying out past midnight during the week used to be common but somehow that changed and I didnt realize it until I had to think about going out late when before, it was always just get up and go--I dont even have kids and I had to think about it.  Seems like things are slowing down but then again we just spent 10 of 12 weeks traveling and we go to Mexico in a month or so, so who knows, maybe the perspective is just off.  Being practical is good but it is not as much fun and that is part of the balance I am thinking will always be something that is just a bit off for me, as an addict, I always want more, there is never enough and sometimes its nice to get up and go, to stay out late, to act like a 21 year old would, just like its nice to dive into work and work 13 hour days, hold two or more jobs, balance between work in play is the goal.  These words might not make much sense, this was the first time I thought about acting how a "practical adult with a 9 to 5" would think and I dont think I liked it, I am young at heart and I want to always be able to enjoy that, I hope you can too.  Life is too short, have some fun, and like Bob Dylan said "I hope you stay, Forever Young"

Mariano Rivera The Greatest of All Time

 

Mariano Rivera is absolutely the best pitcher, not just closer, pitcher, I will ever see in my lifetime.  There was Pedro, Maddux, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, and Roger Clemens but none of those guys had what Mariano has always had, one unhittable pitch.  Those pitchers threw several pitches, some 7 or 8 different pitches, Mariano for 95% of his career has thrown one pitch and no one can seem to get it even at 42 years of age.  The pitch is a freak, hitters have nightmares about it and when teams come to New York they think that they have to win in 8 innings or else its over and that's almost a given.  One pitch.  There was a great article a few years ago when he reached 500 saves that talked about how Rivera at one point was a struggling starting pitcher and then one day, his normal fastball just started moving more than anybody else's.  The man has made a career off of that God given talented gift, one pitch.  The man was already the greatest closer in my mind and the numbers back that up, 2.22 career ERA with 602 Saves, .071 Career ERA in the postseason including 42 career postseason saves--off one pitch--this includes a run from the 1998 playoffs until the 2000 playoffs were Rivera never gave up a run...not one.  In this day and age of big egos and flashy theatrics(that ass 250 miles Northeast) Mariano Rivera has been cool, calm, and collected never showing the opponent up even though he purely dominates them unlike any other pitcher I have ever seen.  I keep waiting for the day that it will all be over, that one pitch wont break and he will get hit....I have been waiting for it since 2003 and it just hasn't happened, he is still the most dominating pitcher in all of baseball at the age of 42.  Mariano Rivera is grateful and humble, true class through and through.  There isn't enough said about what this man means to baseball, the Yankees, and the numerous charities that he is involved in.  As you can see from this interview there is a real humility, even in all his greatness of a moment where the emotions are high, he is genuinely a great person.  I hope someday that future generations will have a Mariano Rivera to root for, someone like him, because there will never be another.  He was to the pitchers mound what Babe Ruth was to a batters box and I was alive to witness it.  Being far from NY we spend money on the baseball package to see Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera go at it one more year, every year they get better and the story becomes deeper, more inspiring, and almost to good to be true.  What makes them both great, especially Mo, is that no matter winning or losing they act the same way, they approach life the same way.  One more pitch, one more chance, one more day, there will be another game, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose either way you give it your best.  I have learned alot from the way Mariano approaches the game, preparation, humility, gratitude, take nothing for granted.  I try my best.  Thank you for the memories and the humility.  One pitch 

Best Summer Movies of 2011

We watch alot of movies and most of the big budget blockbuster movies always seem to come out in the summer when people should be outside being active.  For us, its a cheap summer date out of the sweltering heat of the southeast and we see alot-its a great escape.  The movies this summer were fairly good.  I am looking more foward to next summers movies especially the Dark Knight Rises.  In my opinion here are the best of the summer of 2011.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes-and no this is not prisoner of the moment as it is a recent release.  The movie had great CGI, great story(unlike the others), and it was what I would expect from a movie-meaning entertaining enough to get lost in the story.  This movie builds and builds with themes and undertones of health, sciences, humanity, the environment, and ethical standards of people.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and would call it the best of this summer.

Our Idiot Brother-another recent release but excellent movie.  Probably the funniest movie I saw all summer besides Bridesmaids.  I would also say this is Paul Rudd's best role.  He finally plays somebody besides the guy from Clueless(who he is in every other movie).  The story is uplifting and very positively spirited, told through many perspectives of different everyday lives.  It does ask the question that the super mellow Jack Johnson asks "where'd all the good people go?"

X-Men First Class or Bridesmaids- This X-Men was probably my favorite of all their films, there were actually some actors in it(McAvoy)and Kevin Bacon was finally a badass instead of some lame dancer in some random town that would never ever exist in real where people arent allowed to dance, I buy the X-Men more then I buy that plotline-so hes taking a step up.  Great special effects but no real suprises, another "series" or "saga" movie where you already know what to expect, takes the suspense out of it.  Bridesmaids was finally a movie about women for women made by funny women.  The movie makes a lot of fun jokes and Kristen Wiig finally gets some of the spotlight she has earned with her crazy role playing skills.  Loses major points for falling into the hollyweird stamp of "every woman needing a man" in order to find happiness.  I expected more from these women but I guess just a comedy cast featuring women was all they could bargain for and they were succombed by the "man's world" perspective and gave in to the penis.  I was hoping to see women stand on their own for a change, be strong, and not as needy--funny movie though so its a toss up between these two.

Much of the rest was fluff and didnt leave strong impressions on me.  Some other decent movies were: Crazy, Stupid Love, Horrible Bosses, HP7, and Super 8.  Hopefully, next summer will be much much better.

NFL Picks 2011

Given the short off season and after all the hype last year I gotta do it....

AFC East
*Patriots
*Jets
Dolphins
Bills

AFC North
*Steelers
*Ravens
Browns
Bengals

AFC South
*Texans
Colts
Jaguars
Titans

AFC West
*Chargers
Raiders
Chiefs
Broncos

NFC East
*Eagles
Cowboys
Redskins
Giants

NFC North
*Packers
*Bears
Lions
Vikings

NFC South
*Saints
*Falcons
Buccaneers
Panthers

NFC West
*Cardinals
Rams
Seahawks
49ers



Wild Card
Jets Vs. Texans
Ravens Vs. Patriots
Eagles Vs. Cardinals
Bears Vs. Saints

Divisional
Chargers Vs. Jets
Steelers Vs. Patriots
Packers Vs. Eagles
Falcons Vs. Saints

Conference
Steelers Vs. Jets
Packers Vs. Falcons

Super Bowl
Falcons Vs. Jets

J-E-T-S!! JETS JETS JETS!!!!!

Anniversary

One year ago on August 20th 2010 I got married to the girl of my dreams.  The year has flown past us faster than most and that is because it has been a complete blast from start to finish.  Alot of people ask, hows married life? or when are you going to have kids? really, married life is not different at all from the way we lived and enjoyed life before.  We have become "working stiffs" with full time jobs but we still experience life one moment at a time, trying to soak up as much as possible, loving as much as we can love.  I would imagine that throwing kids into the mix will change some things (like not being able to just pick up and go) but at this time we are enjoying our new careers and gaining a deeper sense of love with each other, so why rush or change any of that good stuff.  We were lucky enough that our favorite band announced 3 weeks before our anniversary that they would play a small venue right around us on our anniversary and again we were lucky enough to win a lottery for tickets.  As we got together after a DMB show, went to a DMB show the day after we were engaged, and spent our honeymoon with the band as well, it was more than fitting that they played for us for our anniversary.  We had a great night sitting right behind Dave's family and enjoying the music that we love together.  It has been a fast and amazing year together, I plan to enjoy each moment as much as this sweet one.

Saturday  Aug 20 2011
nTelos Wireless Pavilion

Bartender
Old Dirt Hill
Save Me
Grace Is Gone
Squirm
So Damn Lucky
Where Are You Going
Crush
Tim solo
Out Of My Hands 
Little Red Bird
Funny The Way It Is
Stay Or Leave
Jimi Thing *
#41 *
Baby Blue
Eh Hee 
Tim solo
Sweet
Don’t Drink the Water
Lying In the Hands of God
Lie In Our Graves
You and Me
Dancing Nancies
__________________

Whiter Shade of Pale
Corn Bread
Two Step 

Show Notes:
 All Songs Dave and Tim unless noted
* Warren Haynes

Dave Matthews Band Caravan Chicago

It has been some time since a blog has been posted on this site, but it has been a very busy, fun, and eventful summer.  Jobs have been busy and growing and travel has been even busier.  My wife was off for 10 weeks this summer and we were home for all of two of them.  Apologize for the lack of writing and to play catch up, some words and pics from our trip to the great city of Chicago.  The two of us have always been interested in going to Chicago as it is the only other city in the US that is big enough to rival NYC.  We have thought about living out in Chicago as it is a great city, democratic, good education and people, and is half way between our two favorite places, Seattle and NY.  As she has the summer off and DMB was playing another festival with some of our other favorite bands we decided, why not.  It was one of the best trips and decisions we made all year.  The people were incredibly friendly, the city was the cleanest I have ever been to, people were young as the average age is 30, the food was out of this world (no pretension, or prices, just damn good) and as it pains me to say as a New Yorker, their stuffed pizza (not the shit at Uno) might be better than NY pizza if you can call stuffed pizza pizza and not just cheese and tomato pie.  The art, architecture, history, and love of all things Chicago that was evident everywhere we went and with everyone we talked to will make it really difficult to pick against Chicago when deciding where to live and raise a family (although we went in the peak of summer and not in the brutal winter).
The Dave Matthews Band was again awesome.  They played my wife's favorite song that she has always wanted to hear them play and that they had not played since 2004, Joyride, and Dave also played a song that he wrote that morning called "Sweet".  Dave and Tim played a great set the next day and DMB did as well later that night.  We finally got to see Umphrey's McGee who were stellar as well as a kick ass set from Moe..  Below are some set-lists and photos.  Again, this is a month old, I will be catching this blog up as things start to get calmer.

Friday  Jul 8 2011
Lakeside
 

Squirm
Big Eyed Fish
Don’t Drink the Water
Pantala Naga Pampa 
Rapunzel
Write A Song
You Might Die Trying
Out Of My Hands 
Louisiana Bayou
Funny The Way It Is
Joy Ride
Corn Bread
What Would You Say
Dive In
You and Me
Good Times Bad Times
Tripping Billies
__________________
 Sweet *
Stay Or Leave
Jimi Thing
Shake Me Like a Monkey Stay (Wasting Time)

Saturday  Jul 9 2011 

Lakeside
 

#41
Seven
Burning Down The House
Break Free
Why I Am
Proudest Monkey 
Satellite
Black Jack
Crush
Granny
Lying In the Hands of God
Alligator Pie
Lie In Our Graves
Too Much
Crash Into Me
Grey Street
__________________

A Whiter Shade of Pale *
Time Bomb
Two Step