NYC JOURNAL ENTRIES

Here are some journal entries from our NYC visit...

7:30PM

We got to the Hotel about 1:30, but the room wasn’t ready yet so we just went out and walked around Times Square and the area. It was fun, but I had flip-flops on and my feet are killing me. The energy in this town is intense.

8-19-07

It’s Betsy’s Birthday. We are in NYC, and having a great time. We all slept in last night after a long day yesterday. Today the girls are shopping, and I’m going to wander around and possibly go to MOMA. Tonight we are taking Betsy and the girls to Ruth's Chris steakhouse, which is just around the corner.

8-20-07

Betsy’s Birthday dinner was nice. Betsy had filet, and I had Sea Bass. It was a wonderful dinner, but I must say that New York Prime in Myrtle Beach has Ruth's Chris beat, in my humble opinion.

Today was a very busy day. We went to Columbia University, the World Trade Center site, and SoHo. We spent a lot of time hanging out in SoHo and the girls did some shopping. We ate at a crappy restaurant that we just went to at random, as we were starving at the time. The service sucked and the food was ok at best.

Anyway, we saw a lot of the city today, and got very adept at riding the trains. It’s amazing how quickly you can get around on the subway system. Tomorrow we are going to the Village in the evening. In the day the girls are doing a bit more shopping, but I don’t want to hang with them. I may duck into a museum or something.

8-21-07

It’s our last night here in the City. Betsy and I spent the whole afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was absolutely incredible, and I wish I had another entire day to check it out in greater detail. We also got to drop by the Dakota and pay my respects. I convinced the girls to go to Greenwich Village this evening and we wandered around and took it all in. We bought some books at Shakespeare and Company, the famous bookstore in the Village. We then took the subway back to the hotel and had a bite to eat at the Cosmic Diner across from the hotel. We had breakfast there on Sunday and like it so much we decided to go back. Now we are packing. We have to leave the hotel by 9am at the very latest. The plane leaves at 11am.

8-22-07

We are actually at the airport early for a change. We thought the flight departed at 11:00, but actually it leaves at 11:50! That’s not much of a problem, because I don’t want to spend any more money in the city! Right now I’m trying to get on the net. It’s spotty at best. I’m a bit tired. I have a lot to do when I get home. I need to get my project in to Disc Makers.

I really enjoyed this trip. I know that I want to return fairly soon. I’d like to check out some music next time. Next time Betsy and I will come on our own. Possibly I can tie in some kind of performance or music business oriented activity.

NYC

It's been a whirlwind of activity, and lets face it, we'd need a whole lot more time to see it all. Today is our last full day. We leave tomorrow at 11am. We have become a bit familiar with the trains, which is always a plus, and that knowledge will come in handy next time around. I won't be able to post any pics until I get back home. I just haven't had the time.

I will say that Betsy had a wonderful Birthday. We went down the street to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Dinner was very nice indeed.

I have never walked this much in my life, but I'm enjoying every minute of it. The sights and sounds, even the smells. I'm taking it all in.

This afternoon we are headed to the Village. Right now the girls are going to finish up some shopping (Katie and Ivana. Betsy and I are out of money!). Betsy and I might check out MOMA while the girls shop.

4:24AM

I'm up, showered, and ready to roll. Our flight leaves at 7AM, but they now have this rule that you have to be checked in a minimum of a half an hour before the flight to guarantee seating. How do I know this? When we went to Boston in April we got to the airport about twenty five minutes before takeoff and they wouldn't let us board. They put us on the next flight. I'm going to do everything in my power to be the ogre in the family this time. Plus, we have to pick up Ivana. Yikes. I'm outnumbered by chicks.

Wish me luck.

I'll be posting pics later this evening from day one in NYC.

MASTERING COMPLETED

Mastering of my CD, Matter Of Time has been completed. It was mastered by my friend Ronny Morris at Digitak Mastering. I eagerly await the reference disc. Next stop is manufacturing.
I'm moving along on this one, and it will be available very soon.

New York State Of Mind

Betsy, Katie and I are going to New York City for a few days. We leave Saturday morning. Katie's friend Ivana is coming with us as well. She's a cool kid, and we should have an awesome time. Katie want to check out Columbia University while we are there, so I am calling this a College exploratory trip. I am only kidding myself, because I know that's only an excuse for the girls to do some shopping in the city!

I have never been to NYC. I am quite excited to finally be going. It should prove to be a nice overview for me. I'm pretty sure I'm going to fall in love with the place. I have no doubt that it is a totally different experience from my old stomping grounds of Los Angeles. I look forward to meeting some new friends, soaking up some energy, and some awesome scenery, and making some cool memories. I hope we get a chance to see some music while we are in town.

Betsy's birthday is on Sunday. That should be a great place to celebrate, don't you think?

CONCERT T-SHIRTS LOSE THEIR COOL

I don’t know about you, but I think the fact that you can get concert t-shirts at places like Wal-Mart and Target cheapens the rock n’ roll experience. This is yet another example of a corporate fueled and superficial marketplace. I used to take great pride in obtaining a concert tee at a concert I attended. It was a rite of passage. Now the very same vintage tees are available too readily. The charm is gone and the glory has definitely departed. Now every yuppie from here to Hong Kong has got the same damn shirt! It’s kind of like tattoos; everyone has one. Now don’t get me wrong. I like my tattoos; it’s just that now that everyone has one it seems like a herd experience. I once wrote that conformity was inevitable.

Conformity is inevitable

So why fight

To try to be yourself

No matter what you try to do to be unique and original, you can be sure it has been done many, many times before. There is clearly no way around it. How about this? Just do your thing, and don’t worry about what every other skin bag is up to.

Live it people. This gig is most certainly not going to last forever. I suggest that you try to enjoy the moment. If you cannot enjoy the moment, at least live it and experience it fully. Keep in mind how fleeting the past was and hold on loosely and enjoy. Don’t worry about things so much. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Live your life in a truly present fashion.

Dinner With Mom

It's a beautiful, sunny Sunday. The humidity has dropped considerably, but it is sunny with a slight breeze. My mom is settling in nicely. Visiting family members have departed today, after helping get my mom moved in. We are joining her for dinner this evening.

10:28 PM
We went over to my mom's for dinner. It was a nice time. It's so cool to have her around. She has a great new apartment in a retirement community right around the corner. The last couple of days we have been meeting some great people. A guy named Jacob joined us at our table for dinner in the dining room. He is from Holland, and he had some amazing stories to tell. He's eighty-four, speaks about four languages, has been to about forty countries in his lifetime, and is an excellent Chess player. So good, in fact, that some people in the community don't want to play him anymore. He even played a game with Bobby Fischer.

I can tell you that it's going to be great going over for dinner on a regular basis. Not only is the food excellent, but the people are awesome, and I think my mom will be happy and make all sorts of interesting new friends. So will I.

My Mom's Birthday

It's my mom's 82nd Birthday today. She has also moved to town just two days ago. This represents a big change for her. It will be nice to have her around. We are all going out for dinner this evening. It looks like about ten of us will be in attendance. Then we will all convene at my house for some cake and coffee. It should be a nice time.

Man, it just started raining like the dickens. It got all dark and windy, and before you knew it, it was just gushing down. As hot as it is, I hope it gets rid of some of this dreadful humidity.

Immersed In Music

I'm going through some music files, and getting organized to send a batch of songs to mastering. I can say that mixing is done, which is quite a relief. I did all of this myself, so it has had some fits and starts to say the least. I've pretty much done the best I could do, and now it's time to move this thing to the next level. These songs are what they are. I can't wait to share them with you.

Fried

My ears are fried this evening due to listening to a mix repeatedly last night. I have a bit more work to do on this particular mix, and then I am done mixing the CD. I intended to be done on this song tonight, but I think it would be counter-productive to the mix and also to my hearing health.

Grand Strand Blogger Meetup

The meetup was a lot of fun. It was a nice, warm day, and we met down at Bummz Beach Cafe. My brother Roger (standing, left) and I (standing, right) met up with Dave Slusher, seated, right) and Andre Pope (seated, left), and hung out for almost a couple hours. It was super cool hanging out with these guys. For you folks that missed this go-round, there's always next time, but you missed a good time. It was awesome to meet Dave and Andre. Dave is one of the original podcasters, if you don't know that already. He is one of the guys that got me interested in the podcasting thing when I read an article in the Charleston Post and Courier about podcasting almost three years ago. It's hard to imagine it's been that long. It's mind boggling to think of the changes that the podcasting medium has gone through in the last couple of years. It's interesting to see it evolve. The media playing field has been leveled in multi-faceted ways. Every aspect of content production and delivery has experienced a major paradigm shift. And the keys to the kingdom have been given to each and every one of us.

Dave is a catalyst, and I appreciate his efforts on behalf of this community.

Thanks to Andre for his generosity this afternoon. You shouldn't have man!

Seeing's Believing on Evil Genius Chronicles

Dave Slusher was kind enough to play my song, Seeing's Believing on his podcast, EGC Clambake for June 23, 2007. Thanks so much Dave!

Happy Summer

I just wanted to say Happy Summer to everyone! Today was the official first day of summer.

Grand Strand Blogger Meetup

I copied this from Dave's blog, Evil Genius Chronicles. Be there or be square!


Grand Strand Blogger Meetup

from Evil Genius Chronicles by dave

I pulled the plug on the original date for the Grand Strand Blogger meetup because for one I had dog care issues and for another, it was unbearably poor form to hold it on Father’s Day. Even though no one seemed to mind, I just didn’t like the idea so we scooched it one week back. If you are driving distance and want to come, please do and invite your friends. You need not blog or podcast or videoblog, even having a vague interest that you might want to one day is enough. Just come.

Here again is the announcement:
—–

In the spirit of ongoing attempts to crystallize a blogger community here in the Grand Strand, I’m organizing a get together. If you are a blogger, podcaster, videoblogger or interested in any of the above, come and hang out with us. Here are the specifics:

Sunday June 24th at 3 PM, Bummz at 2003 N. Ocean Blvd, Myrtle Beach, SC
Phone number of the joint: 843-916-9111
Google Map to the restaurant

We’ll be at a table outside as close to the beach as we can get. If you are interested in coming, please send me a non-binding RSVP via email just so I can keep you abreast of logistics and make sure we have enough table space reserved. Feel free to forward this information around, tell your friends, tell your neighbors, blog about it yourself. Bloggers now do this kind of thing all the time in Charleston, and we’re as good as those people. Just like they found out in Charleston that when they got together they had a critical mass they didn’t realize existed, let’s try to get the same thing going in our part of the state. Let’s rock!

Podcast 6 - Shrimp And Grits

Listen Here.

This is a quick ramble down in Charleston this morning.

Shrimp and Grits. MMMMM!

Tommy Condon's

I was saddened to hear of the tragedy that occurred there last night. I didn't hear about it until I got home. My heart and prayers go out to the families of the fallen firemen that died in the line of duty. May God bless them and be with them in this horrible time.

YAHOO

I just found out that I now have unlimited storage on my Yahoo email account. That's awesome! I suppose gmail will soon follow suit. I have had my yahoo mail account for years. I also have a gmail account, but I prefer yahoo so far. Maybe it's a question of what I'm used to. I have everything set to forward to Yahoo anyway, so I suppose I have the best of both worlds. I do not use a desktop mail app. I don't see a need for it. Maybe there's something I don't know. If anyone can give me some advice about outlook or Thunderbird, please let me know the benefits. I have never used Outlook. Is it worth the time? Is it better than a web-based account?

Unlimited storage. Wow. Things have really changed.

Tangent

Wandering thoughts have always been my undoing. They sometimes take me where I don't want to go, and once there, I am sucked in by the undertow. Many times I go off on some kind of tangent and get all worked up for all kinds of useless and insignificant reasons. Despite the best of intentions, I seem to get muddled up somehow. I am truly my worst enemy. Of course, when in the depth of such thoughts, one can mine the ore of lyrical vision at the storehouse of imagery. Might as well bring something back if you're down there anyway.

Cool Comic strip!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day all you dads out there!

My daughter surprised me on Thursday with an early Father's Day gift. She got us a pair of tickets to the Ben Harper show at House Of Blues. It was absolutely awesome. Tom Morello, who billed himself as The Nightwatchman, opened the show, which was a great surprise. The place was packed, and the energy and love between the artists and the fans was incredible.

Great show! But the best part of it all was being there and experiencing it with Katie. Thanks Peanut!

Sopranos?

What am I to gather from the ending Sopranos scene?
Is it open ended?
Or is the blackness at the end to symbolize finality?
Happily never after?
Did the entire family get it?
Or Tony only?
I'm thinking everyone.
What do you think?