Birthdays...

These munchkins had a birthday recently or will be having one this weekend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUNCHKINS!!!!

Happy 1st, Ms. A

Happy 3rd Ms. I

Happy *?# Ms. T

Aren't all the munchkins too cute!!!!

Thumbs up Dude! I agree, Ms. A, I agree!

In a hand basket...

Hell, sometimes I feel like I live in a constant state of it. However, Monday I really was there. Hell, Michigan is a tiny little space with it's own Mayor. The ice cream was tasty and the place amusing.

It's nice they put out the welcoming mat and opened the door wide open for me.

The Mayor of Hell...he tries to avoid the paparazzi

Hall Tavern...nice hog

My parents, a double dose of Hell ...just kidding

Hell Wedding Chapel--on leap year day this year, they said they had 30 some weddings

Hell's version of the Flamingo

I think the picture says it all...

Panoramic, getting better...



I've had my new camera since December and I'm just getting the hang of the panoramic feature. It's not a simple as point and shoot. You be the judge.

Both Falls
Line of hotels, Niagara
Both Falls

Horseshoe Falls

Missing...

One passport! Has anyone see it? I can no longer leave the country on short notice. I'm stuck! I can't find my passport. I did a mad search on Friday, but it is no where to be found. I know I move a lot, but it has been stored in the same place for the last few years. I went to get it Friday and it was gone, vanished. If someone is using my identity, I feel sorry for them. However, good to know the neighbors to the north do not require a passport just yet if you have a birth certificate. I was still able to cross the border into Ontario this past weekend. Unlike much of the US that decided with gas prices rising that creates a rise in everything else, they were going to stay close to home this holiday weekend, I hit the roads. Many, many roads.

My family, yep, the entire fan-damly, travelled to Ann Arbor, then off to Niagara, and back to Hell. A rare occasion for such a trip for all of us and in all likely hood a last, it was a event to be remembered. We travelled to Ann Arbor to pick up my sister and then crossed the border at Port Huron, MI. We then took the scenic route to Niagara to the Falls. Below are a few pictures. I'm still reviewing the 300 plus that were taken.

Although farming in the US has declined over the past years, according to the web, farming in Ontario has grown. There were a ton of large farms on the scenic route.

The horseshoe falls, Maid of the Mist, lost in the mist

ME! Notice the static in the hair created from the falls--there was so much mist early morning, there was no need to wash my hair that morning.

A barge lost at the top of the falls

The horseshoe falls

Random...

I don't really know this little girl. She was at a recent bday party I attended for Ms. A's one year old. I snapped this quick photo at the party as I was snapping many, many photos. For some reason, I really like the black and white version of the photo. The color is ok, but the black and white is grand!Enjoy the long weekend kids, enjoy!

Big Props to Ms. A for the shrimp meal last night and...

2008 Rock on the Range…

This past weekend the Crew Stadium became home to Rock on the Range. This one day concert last year was increase to a two day “festival” of rock music. Mr A, Rock on the Ranger, attended Saturday and gave me a brief interview, as follows…

How many people do you estimate were at the concert?
Alot...........Seriously, I heard that officially over 30,000 there. However, the concert promoters were ready for it and had plenty of concessions and bathrooms, so that your waits for almost everything were not all that bad........
Why is it women’s restrooms always have a long line and there is practically no line on the men’s side. Men must have designed these restrooms. Logic would say to put 3 times as many stalls in for the women’s side as the men!

Who provided the best performance of the day?
I only went Saturday, so I can't say how Sunday's lineup was......
For me, the first great set was turned in by Killswitch Engage (who are one of my favorite bands) They played 45 minutes of some incredible hardcore Metal. (What my wife, Ms A, lovingly refers to as my "Scary Music" Highlights included "Bid Farewell", "My Curse", and their closing cover of Dio's "Holy Diver" "Plus, lead singer Howard Jones is from Columbus, another local boy makes good.......

The second great set of the day was turned by Filter on the second stage. I've been a fan of theirs for quite a few years and really enjoyed their hits filled set. Highlights were "Trip Like I Do", "Hey Man, Nice Shot", a beautiful "Take A Picture" as the sun began to go down, and when I ran into lead singer Richard Patrick after the set for a handshake and congrats for a great set.....Super Nice guy!

I should note that Disturbed leveled Crew Stadium, they had that crowd in the palm of their hands, going nuts! They had the best reception of the day (even more so than the headliners, Stone Temple Pilots) I should also note that I really don't care for Disturbed, almost all of their songs sound the same, so I was not really into them. But much respect to them for making alot of Columbus rock fans happy. They are what they are, and it's fine, whatever.......
The final great set of the day was turned in by the reuniting Stone Temple Pilots after an almost 8 year hiatus. Lead Singer Scott Weiland looks horrible, (years of heroin use will do that to you........) but he sounds incredible. Highlights of their set for me were, "Wicked Garden", "Crackerman", "Sex Type Thing", a gorgeous take on "Sour Girl", and a Rockin' encore of "Dead and Bloated"
Thanks! Now I have the “Holy Diver” stuck in my head, “you’ve been down too long in the midnight seas.” Ah, I’m so jealous!

Did you see anyone up chuck beer/hot dogs/nachos/etc or were you the chucker?
Yes, after Shinedown's performance (only the 2nd band of the day) I saw a fine young gentleman having a close encounter with a trash barrel. No chucking for me, moderation is the key.......
That fine young man was likely over indulging at his truck before going into the concert. Why a truck, I don’t know, I simply invision a truck, jacked up a bit, not too much, but enough I would need a ladder to get in, black, tinted back window. If you see this truck around town, give it a wave—there’s a fine young gentleman driving and the poor guy lost his breakfast.

Are the Cubs going to go to the series this year?
All I can say is that we are off to a great start. We just finished a ten game home stand, we went 8 and 2 on it and you can't ask for much better than that.....(actually I could, I would prefer 10 and 0, but that would just be greedy now wouldn't it!) I would love to say, "Oh yeah, its a done deal, they got the series wrapped up....." but I can't. I've seen too many good teams fail to make it, but I can also say this is the best start I've ever seen from a Cubs team and quite possibly the best Cubs team I have seen in my life. I am truly enjoying this season, it has been a fun ride so far and we still have 4 1/2 months left.
Play Ball! Baseball, gotta love it, but seriously get some tighter uniforms!

Would you attend the event next year?
I would go to Rock on the Range again next year depending on the lineup. They improved on last years lineup this year, and expanded it to a two day festival, so I would think that it will only get better for Columbus rock fans. What I like about it the most is, so many good bands all in one show, lined up one after the other!
I loved last years line up: Buckcherry, Papa Roach, 3 Days Grace, I say bring ‘em back. Well, no, new people next year, keep it fresh. But my butt is planning to be there!

What would you do to improve the event for next year?
I would try to get on the field. I bought my ticket too late and was in the bleachers. It was ok, but I bet the field would be better. I think that they need to get a grip on the prices for the concessions and parking. Here is a list of some of the crazy prices that I observed:Parking $15 (to park a vehicle? are you serious?)Brats $5Slice of Donato's Pizza $5Burgers $7Whole Donato's Large Pizza $30Soft Drinks $4 (or you could be smart like Mr J and tell them that you are a Designated Driver, then your soft drinks are free!)Beer $8 (this price did not deter anyone, trust me......these people could drink!!!)
Concert and large event prices are a bit insane. I don’t think I would shell cash for too many $8 beers, maybe 1 or 2, but man, gotta have a budget.

Did the crowd without access to the floor riots and try to race on?
I'm sure that someone did, but I did not see it.
This was entertaining last year, when the bleacher kids, began to storm the field. Maybe the sale of field tickets helped with this, this year.

Thanks for letting me be a guest on the blog, I enjoyed it! Mr A

Thank You Mr. A! Although I wish I had gone, at least I got a awesome review!

NEW, NEW, NEW..

Now while you read the blog, enjoy a few tunes, check out the player in the side bar!

The Ball Park...

Grils night out-travelled to Cooper Stadium to cheer on the Columbus Clippers this past Saturday night. Although the Clippers lost to the Mudhens 8-5, the group still had a blast.

Play Ball!!

Ms. D-posing for her glamor shot

Don't ring your cow bell during the National Anthem, no matter what your age.




Tommy at bat, ok, I don't know if it was Tommy, but there was a Tommy Murphy--Tommy, Tommy, Tommy!

This used to be me, many, many, many years ago.

Ms. H and Ms. T...ready to take on the world or Byrnes.

Why are baseball uniforms not as snug at football ones? Really it's a disservice to the fans.

See Ms. T really is ready to take on the world or at least my eye. Careful where your sunglasses go, I can't afford new eye surgery.

Slightly better butt shot

Ms. A and Ms. L returning with the group's pretzels, thanks!

Padilla, you're going the wrong way, or is that Escabar!!! Hey, it's minor league baseball, you make your own fun.

End of evening shot at Byrnes. The singer played my fav Irish song--I was over the moon, especially when he signed his CD. I now have my fav Irish song, can you believe it took me this long. Also with Ms. T's black and white photo, don't we look like a girl band--we will be playing Rock on the Range next year. Oh and speak of the R-O-R, keep a look out for a inside report on this years event.

Is it the weekend yet?...

This week has been a bit blah. I have spoken to a few friends this week and they are feeling the same way. Is there something in the air? I don’t know, but I’m ready for the weekend and there better be a bit of sunshine. Mr. A is going to the Rock on the Range concert, which I really wanted to go to also, but just could pull the cash for it, and no random boys to offer me free tickets this year. Sad, so sad. I heard on the radio from 3-7pm today they are going to be giving away free tickets, I’ll have to try and listen just in case.

I have plans this weekend, don’t get me wrong, really fun plans, I hope at least. A few of us are going to the Clippers game on Saturday, pending a washout, then likely a pub crawl through Grandview. Ok, more likely a stop at Byrnes and then a crawl home, but still a crawl. I want to go to the game, I want to see at least one game this year before the stadium is turned into a race track. Who know that Mr. C would actually make that happen. Now I don’t now for sure that Mr. C is the one behind the current plans, but when we were going out he was in a bunch of meetings to make it happen. Crap! Why didn't he stick around, he could be rolling in money soon. CRAP! Why do I have the same problem with men that I have with jobs. With men, I get bored after about a month, or I get attached, either way it ends after about a month of dates. Now, for some men a month is 4-5 dates maybe, others its more like 20-30. I seem to have this issue where guys are so busy I can never seem to get them to go out or they are living on my couch. If I’m into the guy, then them living on my couch is just fine with me, but if I’m not then it drives me crazy. The job issue is another issue. I’m having the one year itch. I’ve been job searching all week, part of it I’m sure if due to the blah-ness that has taken over. Likely it will be just a search.
Maybe this photo of Seattle tulips will brighten my morning. Maybe not.

Adulthood…

A friend posed a question earlier this week, that made me stop and think. She asked, is there something that you feel you should have at this point in your life, that you don’t (all in relation to being an adult). Hmmmm, it’s an interesting question. I just graduated to a big girl bed a few years ago, so maybe that made me more of an adult. I feel like an adult every time I go to pay my bills, but yet, I’m not financially secure as I would like to be. I wonder, readers, what do you feel you should have at this point in your life that you do not?

I’m a Tard…

This is the first sentence I receive in an email from one of my students today. You would be amazed the many varieties of emails I get on a daily basis. I would never have thought to include slang or not greet someone in an email to a person within a university, even with I was 18. Anyway, I was amused by this one, often I’m not.

The icon of Seattle, built for the Worlds Fair...the Space Needle

Lou on the observation deck, with help from his assistant.

Needle by night

Needle view from harbor

Needle, now is this a postcard or what!

Smith Tower, which is actually 600 feet taller and cost less to visit the observation deck, info we learned after we had purchased out tickets for the Needle.