We started early

We're still not sure why, it could be part of the whole - check out how non-Mexican we are kick that my parents were on in the 70's but we have photos from several studio photographers all pre-1980. Sure we have lots of those little square photos with the waffle texture varnish like everyone else but for special occasions our parents took us to the studio. About 10 years ago this photo surfaced of me choking Dede. I don't remember seeing this growing up but I do remember seeing others from this same session. I know we were baptized late, no explanation for that or why we don't have middle names. I think these pictures were not taken for our baptismal but just around the same time. There are other photos of us with our brother and he's wearing a little brown suit. My Mom made these dresses for us, not sure about the bows in our hair. I've had this hanging up in my apartment since we found it in with the other family pictures. When www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com hit the scene we knew we had to send this photo in. We were really lazy about it and just said we were going to scan it and submit it for months. Well I finally took it down off the wall and took it over to the 'bello to get a scan done. We submitted it yesterday afternoon and it was up today by lunch time, along with a very nice thank you note from the webmaster asking if we'd like to be in the new book. Go check it out for yourselves, I was going to post the picture here but you'll enjoy this site so much you'll really need to go experience it as often as possible. For your enjoyment - our pic, a salute to starting sibling rivalries and beatdowns early. Not to worry we're fine now I haven't put her in a chokehold in like 20 years.

I'll Meet You on Sunset

Just coming back home from the second show I've seen at the "new" Palladium. The first was Franz Ferdinand and tonight I went to see Arctic Monkeys. I've seen both bands before, this is the second time seeing the Arctic Monkeys at this venue. I knew they had put in a new sound system with huge hanging arcs of speakers but tonight you could truly feel the sound. They must not have had it cranked fully up for Franz Ferdinand but tonight the show was sold out and the speakers were at full volume. It was amazing the sound just shook right through you even from a fair bit away and it was still nice and clean. No cracks or fuzzy speaker sounds here, I hope they always turn it up like that.

Sheffield was definitely in the house tonight. What first caught my ear from this band was they were young and had a varied sound on their album. Riot Van sucked me in just as well as Fake Tales of San Francisco. The follow up albums have not disappointed and they've amped up the guitar sound that crept into a few tracks on the first album. The set did come to a slight halt when they decided to slow it down for a few tracks but they made up for it by flipping the amps back up and assaulting the eager crowd with a wall of blistering guitar for the rest of the set which included a Nick Cave cover. Also they seem to be super big fans of strobe lights now which I really enjoyed, it was pretty much their only lighting effect and that combined with the guitar tidal wave may induce migraines or seizures. If you do suffer some sort of head injury, have a fit or any sort of long term damage from a show I say well done, you're very hardcore.

Franz Ferdinand was a slightly mellower set which wasn't as loud as the Arctic Monkeys but was still enjoyable. When their first album came out they said all they wanted was to make music that made girls want to dance. Now they make not just the girls but the boys dance too. I'm glad to have known about the band since their origins back at the Chateau parties. The crowd for Franz was about half the size of the show tonight but I really don't think I ever saw an ad for that show and only found out about it after driving by the venue a few weeks before the show so shame on you Live Nation for not telling Los Angeles about the wonderful Scots that came to play for us.

After both of these shows I must highly recommend seeing anything you can at the Palladium. There are tons of new restaurants open in the area and plenty of scooter parking to be found. Ok you may not need to know about the scooter parking but its still good to know. More people should get on two wheels, its amazing the things I see while riding around town. Tonight I saw a man on Melrose riding a Penny Farthing bike. This is the second one I've seen this year, the first was in Oakland by the airport. I'm sure all of this is still going on when I'm in the Echo but with the radio on I just don't care as much. It is harder to take photos of cool stuff on the fly though. I'll have to see about mounting my camera to the bike and video tape my ride one night, then you can also experience the most pot hole and irregularly paved streets in all of Los Angeles!

Brick of Self Control

I've made an effort this summer to get out and see more shows here in LA. I've been buying tickets to everything that catches my fancy since I've come back from London. Tonight was the first of the shows I bought tickets for. I first saw Green Day while they were touring for Dookie way back when I was a wee lass. That was back when I was way into my Britpop days and for me to even give a band from California a second listen they had to be as good as Green Day. Over the years I've admittedly only kept up with them through their radio singles and haven't picked up a full album since Dookie. But this is LA and KROQ plays tons of Green Day, I think they played the full American Idiot a few times when it came out. This tour they had Franz Ferdinand in tow and that set me in motion to buy a ticket for this show.

I was out all day today having another wandering adventure with some friends and was a bit tired when I set out on the Vespa down to Inglewood. Shows at the Forum start right at the time listed on the ticket, I had forgotten this fact so I missed half of the Franz set but I'm seeing them in two days so I didn't mind too much. Before Green Day came on there was someone in a pink bunny suit that came out to dance to YMCA. I was buying water and there may have been an explanation as to who this was but I missed it. After the bunny was gone the band came out through the back of the venue and walked along the anxious crowd on the floor. This interaction with the crowd would carry on throughout the show. During various parts of the show the band brought on audience members to sing, play guitar, dance along and at one point they asked for children to be 'saved' and some family handed their kids down to the stage. A boy named Andrew came up and sang "Longview" although he was kind of doing a radio edit version he knew most of the words and didn't seem scared. Near the end of the show they also pulled up a guitarist to play Jesus of Suburbia. This guy came up and was immediately running all over the stage. He knew the song really well, he could be a plant into the audience but if he wasn't he's definitely been practicing his rock star moves.

It was a good show all around, I had a great seat next to this family that had all come out to see the band. I really got a second wind of energy after the band came on and was jumping around with the rest of the crowd after just a few minutes. The band also used lots of pyro and kept running into the audience, just when you're getting too tired and think you'll have to sit down they set off some explosion and you're right back into it.

There was a lot of political talk from the stage and lots of testament to the loveliness of California and how lucky we all are to live here. I don't think either of these things will inspire the young crowd to do much but whatever when you're like 14 you don't care about that stuff. The band played for a full three hours with a full band encore and a second that was an acoustic set from Billie Joe to end the night on a mellow tone and set all of the kids off to fall asleep in the backseat on the ride home. I would recommend seeing them if you're "of the era" especially if you haven't seen them before. Be forewarned though, you may be pulled on stage and when you are you will have to stage dive to get off. You also may be subjected to some band nudity, massive mosh pits, random cover medleys and security staff that isn't doing their job because they're watching the show and singing along. I was most pleased with the inclusion of "She" in the set, which is my favorite of all their songs and with my ride home, La Brea is amazing when it is empty and the view from the crest by Stocker is unbelievably beautiful. Now I have to get to downloading to fill some gaping holes in my iTunes library, I've already started with "Last Night on Earth".

Yes I do have a passport

A Disneyland annual passport that is, well for that matter I have a regular passport as well - duh!  My Dad upgraded my free birthday Disneyland ticket to an annual passport and I hadn't had a chance to use it since that day.  Kirsty came to visit LA right around the time I was getting back from England and we had limited time to see one another.  She was staying at the park and wanted to spend her last night there in the park so off we went down the 5 to give the passport a spin.  I upgraded my passport that night to a Deluxe and have since been four times in the last month.  It's a cheap day out overall, you always know you're going to have a good time and you can always leave when you're tired because with the passport I can come back any time I want.  The first evening with Kirsty was lots of fun and we made her go on the evil swinging gondolas.  The second time was with my sister, Andy and the fabulous Maggie.  This was after the "faux" party she threw for Mary.  She thinks I'm not going to tell her when she grows up that she had a staged first birthday party two weeks after the fact, she is surely mistaken.  We went just for a few hours to get a corn dog and ride on the evil gondolas again.  Andy and my sister were terrified but Maggie was loving it, she's since been on the Matterhorn and loves that too.  That's a 3 year old set to live life on the edge.  

This last Sunday Deanna and I ventured out to the park again because it was the 40th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion and some special Shag product was being released that day.  I loved what Shag did for the 50th anniversary product and from what I saw online I knew we had to head down there that day.  Josh Agle was also signing the product so it was not only a chance to buy some limited edition items but also get to meet an artist I've admired for years now.  The line to buy product was pretty long but it was well worth the wait to mingle in with the Disney fanatics.  I've seen some of these people around the park before trading pins and at the Disney character clearance store but never had a chance to talk to them.  We met a nice woman that was there to buy a $225 pin set - yes $225 american!!!  

She left after she was able to purchase a different $175 set at the gallery in New Orleans square and she had learned that the other set was sold out already.  Next we stood next to two men that were also pin collectors but then switched their focus to the Hawaiian shirts and thermos to get signed.  I had my eye on the cookie urn and one of the lithos.  Deanna had picked out a really cool litho as well but apparently lots of other people liked that one too and it sold out before we made it into the store but she did get a very nice second choice.  Everything was beautiful, even the lunch bags!  I ended up with a third item as well - the tee which has the images of the hitchhiking ghosts and some spirits soaring on the back.  While in line to pick up the merchandise we had just paid for we met Nancy who was our favorite of all the collectors.  She had on the same pair of hideous Mickey mouse Crocs I was wearing and was absolutely devastated when we told her the company would soon be going out of business.  Nancy told us all about the other things she had bought at previous events and about how her daughter was there early to buy some of her own items.  We pointed out Shag to her when he passed through the room on the way to a quick break and we helped her climb under the rope at the other line to get our autographs.  The signing line was much shorter and we were done in a few minutes, the staff helped you unpack your items, took a photo of you then packed everything back up.  It could be that the Disney fans are far more tame then the crowds at the Megastore signings but everything was so pleasant I'm sure I'll attend the next event they have with Shag.  

We spent the rest of the day in park going on a few rides and eating some fine meals.  The day was going great, the weather was fine and we decided to go on Splash Mountain.  We had a fastpass so we avoided the hour long wait in line.  We were seated in the very front of the log and I was starting to get worried about getting absolutely soaked.  It was late in the afternoon and I wasn't worried about being cold more about being uncomfortable in wet clothes, you can get a rash!  I took the option of the very front since Deanna had a white shirt on and well no need to have a wet tee contest going on!  After the first dip I was pretty wet already and was starting to fret about how much water was going to come into the log after that giant fall.  THe ride stopped shortly after the first dip because of a "logjam" but we started up again after about a minute.  The ride continued on through the briar patch without sound then the logs stopped again.  

This  time the log did not start up again and we were told we'd be climbing out of the ride and escorted out.  It was kind of cool, we got to stand inside the ride and climb past the animatronic characters that were clacking away silently and down a flight of stairs behind the ride.  For our trouble we were given a fastpass that would let us go to the front of the line on any ride, even those without fastpass set up.  It was pretty awesome and well worth our trouble.  We spent the rest of the day in the park enjoying a few more rides before giving in to our exhaustion and headed back to the car.  I'll be off to the park again before the end of the month, I'm enjoying spending a summer in the kingdom.  Who knew inside me was a secret Disney fan, although after summer is over who knows how many times I'll head back.  Could this be just a passing fancy?  Who knows I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

So long, farewell...

I'll try to keep this pretty simple because I think you've all heard more then enough from me about the trip and probably would like some more updated posts. I know I'd like to start writing about what I'm doing now. I've been back for a month now and just now getting around to finishing this. So lets just sum up the last few days in London. I came back from a blistering hot Rome to a kind of mild London. It was grey and a bit drizzly but nothing serious. I made my way over from Gatwick to Bayswater to check into the apartment hotel I had rented out for the last bit of the trip. It was great to have a kitchen and I think I'll definitely stay there again, even with the mousetrap maze of hallways to get to the room. The next day it was Oasis! At Wembley! The stadium was recently renovated and it looks amazing although a bit of a pain in the ass to find your way around the outside of the stadium. When I bought my tickets to Oasis I opted for the VIP package because it was that or hang out in the nosebleed seats, I think if the floor option was available I would have been all over it. Being near the end of my trip and being old and very tired I was so happy I did choose to spend the extra money. The Bobby Moore room is pretty spiffy (although filled with cougars) and it has its own little dance club and DJ within the stadium. That combined with the open bar you think would lead to some fabulous dance moves but alas the floor was empty apart from a few tweens during the "cool" songs.

I watched opening sets from The Enemy and Kasabian, both were enjoyable and now I need to go download some of those Enemy tracks. The Gallaghers did not disappoint, the sound system did however - twice! The band has been plagued with sound system issues on this tour and it was worrying that they'd hissy fit out and storm off stage. I've watched a couple of Oasis UK concerts on DVD and remember Noel commenting on how the english crowds have the best singing voices, I must agree. The sound of all those voices coming together was just overwhelming. You get the same thing in the US with the crowd singing along but in LA it just seems like they're phoning it in, maybe it was all of the beer but everyone was really into it. This show did have some beer throwing incidents but nothing like Hyde Park, someone in our area threw a beer into the rows in front of us and was quickly escorted out. After the show it took a while to find Michael who was on the floor for the show and we made our way through the most crowded station ever and onto a train back to Bayswater.

The next day we went into the center of London to check out Harrods and the action on the fourth plinth of Trafalgar Square. This plinth has been empty and before a permanent statue is placed they're offering one hour shifts to the public to do whatever they would like. The woman that was on the plinth when we went was wearing a fairy costume and had HAPPY FRIDAY banners on the plinth. She had a bubble machine going and was tossing treats out into the crowd, no message, no charity, just wishing a happy afternoon to everyone.

After wandering around town for a bit it was back to Bayswater for a quick set of bowling and some air hockey, we did consider ice skating but that was a bit pricey and frankly looked

dangerous. I being an American was of course victorious in bowling, my air hockey skills are still a bit sub par. That afternoon I also found my dream carport - it had a vintage Mini Cooper with a scooter parked behind it! I had to take a picture of it, also took a photo of the only LXV I saw on the trip. Having only seen one LXV I've now determined I have the ultimate poser bike but I don't care I still love my scooter. The next day it was time to bid a sad farewell to London and back home to reality. No more Eastenders, no more bacon sandwiches and cheap cider! I wonder if I'll ever know who the father of Heather's baby is, I doubt Eastenders is just going to give up that fact its probably going to be a Christmas reveal - damn you BBC.

Things older than you can imagine

When I first decided to actually go through with the Blur / London trip it was just going to be a few days, a week tops. Just enough to get there, take an easy day of rest with the Saturday after the shows to recover and flying out that Sunday. Then Oasis put some shows at Wembley on sale for the following week and the trip was fluffed out to nearly two weeks. Having been to London too many times to count and had the whirlwind stop at nearly every tourist stop for photos in 2006 with the Gilbeys I didn't need to really stay in town the whole time. I contemplated heading down to Brighton or hiding out in one of the country estate hotels but both are things that I had done before. I wanted to go somewhere new and several options were being considered. The Giants Causeway in Ireland, Paris, Rome and Madrid were all in the mix. The cost to get to all of these destinations for a few days was relatively the same and in the end I decided on Rome. I've traveled throughout Europe but Italy was someplace I had never made it to so naturally I had to go. Armed with just a spotty knowledge of the city by what can only be described as a marginally poor choice for a guide book I was on my way.

Landing in Rome after 10 PM is probably not the best way to start a journey but it was one of the cheaper flights out of Heathrow and I didn't want to have to catch the dreaded 10 AM flight the morning after the second Blur show. The airport at Rome is rather sparse, sort of surprising for an international airport for a city with so many visitors, you don't run into any airport personnel apart from the shuttle bus driver from the plane to the terminal until you hit the customs agent. My spotty guidebook did tell me about the train into the central station and my hotel was within walking distance. I stopped by an ATM on the train platform and express tickets in hand I was on my way. 

The airport train in Rome is just a train, its not specially outfitted for taking people to and from the airport so there is a bit of wrestling that had to be done with the big brown case to get it up and down the stairs into the car. 20 minutes later we arrived at the central station, pitch black outside, no station staff to guide any of us and blistering hot at near 11 pm we all headed towards the first door we saw. I knew my hotel was not far but I wasn't up for dragging the case through the streets and possibly getting lost. The traditional taxi stand was at the opposite end of the giant station but there were plenty of gypsy cabs lined up. I picked the one with the biggest trunk that would fit my case and told him I was going less than a mile and I was willing to give him 10 euros. You can't just get in the car without negotiating a price ahead of time, you'll end up with an unwanted tour of the city and a crazy driver demanding all your cash. Arriving at the hotel I was more than pleased with my room, a roomy bathroom with a big shower, air conditioning and my own private terrace! The wi-fi service was out of order but with the thermometer up over 100 and high humidity the air conditioning more than made up for this. I was starving and popped around the corner for a slice of pizza and a beer to take back to the room. I sat out on the terrace and enjoyed the night air that was finally cooling off and listened to the sound of the singing waiters from the restaurant on the corner. It was a late night but I was happy to finally be done with traveling for the day and looking forward to the next few days.

Thanks to my ongoing love affair with central air conditioning I had a late start to my first day in Rome.  I walked over to the station and bought a ticket for one of those open top bus tours.  I had never taken one of those buses before and really enjoyed it.  I'm curious about the one in LA now.  My only task that day was to attend Sunday service at the Vatican, the bus had a stop at St Peters and it was just a short walk to where public services are held.  It was pretty amazing, I'm by no means a devout catholic but this was pretty impressive.  No pictures are allowed during the service but it is spectacular enough that I didn't really catch much of the service but I did go along with the crowd for the appropriate standing and kneeling, latin mass so not sure what was going on.  

I'm glad I went and then stopped by a cafe near the square to get some food and enjoy a bit of the afternoon sun before getting back on the bus.  I stayed on the bus for the next loop listening to the tour and thinking about what to do the next day.  I knew Sunday wouldn't be as busy as weekdays but I wasn't expecting the mass amounts of crowds I was about to face the next day.  After the bus tour finished it was off to the market at the station to pick up some water and dinner.  I ate my food out on the terrace again and listened to the sound of scooters just buzzing around.  You can hear them everywhere there are THOUSANDS everywhere you look, parked along every street, corner, crowded around piazzas and tucked in between Smart cars.  The Smart cars were pretty funny, sometimes you'd see them backed up the curb rather than pulled alongside of the curb, pretty smart for a fast getaway - sometimes I wish I could do that with the Echo!

It was so hot on Monday it was hard not to want to just head back to the hotel but I soldiered on, what was the point of coming all this way if I was just going to hide out in the hotel?  Besides the wi-fi and TV had gone out at that point!  I hopped back on the bus and hit some places I thought would be slightly cooler to visit, maybe places with lots of marble and water.  First stop before the extreme heat of the day was the Forum.  How can a coliseum that old still be standing??  The line to get in was huge so I didn't get to go inside but I wandered around the outside trying to look in, checking out the outer exhibits and standing in front of tour groups to catch a bit of what their guides were saying, yep totally stealing tours.  I remember learning about ancient Rome in school but I don't remember things like these sites being abandoned for hundreds of years at a time.  The place is holding up pretty well, true there have been some repairs done but that's just basic home maintenance on a place like this.  There were some interesting people watching moments, like why did that one guy have a falcon with him?  He wasn't offering it up for pictures or anything, maybe the bird just needed a holiday.  Back on the bus and over to the Trevi fountain, far more people around the fountain then there were coins in the water.  Every inch of seating around the fountain was taken and there were police positioned at the corners to watch over the crowd and make sure no one went in the fountain or sat or leaned on a railing wrong.  I bought a slushie drink and found a nice bit of marble off to the side of the fountain to sit down and watch the hundreds of people buzzing around me.  

Next stop was back to Vatican City to check out St Peters Basilica.  Did you know they had a dress code?  I read about it in my guide book so I dressed accordingly that day but lots of people were being turned away.  Inside there were lots of dead popes lying around in glass cases, some looking better than others.  There were also rooms that were hidden behind heavy curtains that were only for prayer.  They had some of these rooms at the mission in Santa Barbara but there I was able to take some photos, no chance of that here.  I went in and had a little pray, by the third room I had run out of stuff to pray about and just started asking for better weather.  After St Peters I took the river cruise which wasn't guided so you were just in a boat speeding down the river wondering what you were passing by.  It was a good way to end the hot day and it stopped close enough to walk over to Piazza Barberini for dinner and a stroll back to the hotel in the slightly cooler air.

My last day in Rome I made sure to get up on time because I had a scooter rented for the day!  I couldn't get a 150 bike because I still don't have my motorcycle license so I was stuck on a 125.  It wasn't as bad as I thought and I didn't miss that extra bit of power.  It wasn't a classic Vespa style but it was a Piaggio with a nice lock box on the back.  From observing the traffic the other two days I knew driving would be a bit dangerous but I really was not prepared for the madness of it all. 

I studied the map the night before to make sure I had a basic layout of the city in my head and with the rental place being near the station I knew I could always follow one of the tour buses back if I managed to get myself really lost.  The scooter allowed me a chance to get out to some spots I hadn't been able to off of the bus and after one trip on the sweltering Metro I decided it wasn't for me.  The first couple of hours on the scooter I just went far out of the city center and drove on some of the bigger boulevards that were left relatively open after the morning commute.  I passed by beautiful parks, I found the zoo and eventually made my way back towards the center to the Aventine.  I found a good place to park the scooter and left a paper sticking out of the lock box because I knew I would never be able to pick it out from the other dozens of scooters parked there without this marker.  

Walking around the Aventine open air market was a lot different than the others in the center of Rome. This was more of a functional market not aimed at the tourist, the vendors did speak some english but it was nothing like the fluency elsewhere in town.  I stopped to get some lunch and asked the waiter if he spoke english and he said of course, yes.  I started asking some questions about the menu and was speaking too fast for him.  We were both just confused and I tried speaking in spanish, this did the trick.  Italian is so similar to spanish I was able to just break down what I wanted to him in spanish, although we did have some difficulties with "lamb" but because I'm at such a low functioning level with spanish I speak slower so that may have helped out.  I am by no means fluent with spanish but I could understand lots of the italian being spoken around me because of the similarities.  It kind of felt like you were downtown without the banda music and the baby turtles for sale, this market did have baby chicks though but I think they were keeping and eventually eating rather than petting.  I spent the rest of the afternoon zipping around town, stopping by the museum of purgatory which was pretty creepy - it has things supposedly touched by the hands of the dead.  Speaking of the dead, the TV was still out at the hotel so I watched bits of the Michael Jackson memorial at the bar next door.  They had a five euro pizza and heineken special that I couldn't pass up, that pizza was huge!  

That night back at the hotel I thought about the last few days and felt very accomplished.  I had come to a completely new place and while I can't say I conquered the city, I did make my mark upon it.  Going to places like London on my own are so easy, everyone speaks the same language and I know people there that will always be able to help out if I run into any kind of trouble.  I'm glad I took this chance and did things I really hadn't thought of doing before like zooming by ancient sites on a scooter, buying gas from a completely unattended station that wouldn't take any of my cards, trying to figure out how to say baby sheep and end up just drawing it out on a piece of paper after several miming and baa attempts.  

In line at the airport I met up with some college students on their way back home to Seattle and we compared our journey through Rome that week while waiting for our plane back to Gatwick.  The line was moving at a snails pace and our flight was leaving in less than an hour, they pulled us out to a special line and I was nearly the last to check in - with no seats left in coach they upgraded me to business class, this was a good start to the last leg of my trip.  I was very anxious to get back to London to spend the last few days in town with my friends and Oasis was just a day away!

Lazing in the Park

I'm back now for nearly a week and the suitcase has been fully unpacked and tucked away in the little alcove by the heater, there really isn't any place for it to go in this place. The Beast still resides under the bed so no room for it there and that space was a little useless. That new case was just the perfect size, it fit everything perfectly and with four wheels I was able to stroll it nearly a mile to Paddington twice and to Roma Termini without any issues. Enough of ode to Samsonite Black Label, it's now on to the real stuff. With losing internet connection halfway through the trip when I went to Italy the blogging fell to bits and now its time to catch up. First up - Hyde Park.

Blur is one of my all time favorite bands and I saw them every time they came through Los Angeles. It was great to watch the progression of the band and watching the venues grow progressively larger. The last great show I saw for Blur was the 13 debut at the Mayan where they played the album from cover to cover, I saw shows after that but that show was really special. I was heartbroken when Graham left the band and thought I'd never get a chance to see this band again, that is until last December. The band reunion and show at Hyde Park was announced, went on sale and immediately sold out. Then a second show was announced and I decided to buy. Things the month before the show went on sale were a bit hectic with the move, fracturing my arm during said move, work was nuts and I wasn't feeling really great about how things were going and this seemed like a good way to give me something to look forward to. I wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to go to the show but I thought at the very least I can say I bought a ticket and maybe have this little paper ticket of something that was sure to be great. Flash forward to seven months later and I'm in London sweating away in a once every 20 years record heat wave in a hotel across the road from Hyde Park.

After a late start at the hotel and spending a bit of time with Jeremy Kyle, the UK answer to Jerry Springer I wandered across the road to the box office to pick up my ticket from Will Call. There was a little group of people waiting to get into the venue at the gates but at this point there were more in the box office line. It was nearly noon and the mercury was rising quickly, I found a nice little spot of grass in the shade of the fence and took my place in line. I was scoping out those that were walking by and recognized some people from the Blur message board and spent a few minutes talking to a few guys that had a Mexican flag draped around them. They were trying to organize all of the fans from Mexico and other latin countries that had traveled to the show to send the band a message that those fans were still there and wanted the band to come play Mexico. After picking up my ticket I walked back to the hotel to safely tuck it away then went off to Oxford St to do a bit more shopping and get some lunch. By four when the gates had been open I was just heading back to the hotel and absolutely soaked in sweat from the day. I could hear the sounds of the first opening band drifting through my open window (still can't believe my hotel was just over the road from the venue) and I knew it was time to get ready. I set off for the park about an hour later and saw hundreds of people scattered across the park. It was like they were tailgating, everyone had blankets out, cans were scattered about and it looked like a good time. Security was pretty easy to get through they didn't even open the small bag I brought with me. I was finally inside the gates at a Hyde Park show, this was one place I never thought I'd be able to be.

The venue was really much larger than I thought and had areas scattered about, it was the size of a small festival - not surprising with the Wireless festival on in the same venue just a few days after this first show. There were no less than six bar tents, food areas and merchandise points around the perimeter. Pick N' Mix candy vans and ice cream carts were also scattered across the field in with the crowd. I really do believe the candy van needs to make an appearance at shows here, everyone could use a bit of a sugar rush at a show. There were still two openers on before Blur were set to come on so I went to buy a burger and eat before heading into the crowd. I sat at the back of the crowd in this area that wasn't too populated and just marveled at the amount of people that were coming in and just imagined how full this show was going to get. Surprisingly it seemed that those fans in their thirties like myself were everywhere, I really was worried I'd be stuck in with lots of teens and it would be a miserable time. With Blur being quiet the past few years though and their height of popularity over a decade ago hordes of new fans were probably not going to show up. After the last support act went off the stage it was time to head in.

I found a good spot to the left of the stage and made my way in. I made it nearly on line with the stage and not too far back from the barricade. As the time ticked away before the band came out more and more people came flooding in. Luckily the area I was in had a pretty good crowd of people and the shoving was kept to a minimum. There was a huge rush to the stage during the first song and we were all picked up off our feet and pushed forward a good five feet, this is a weird feeling. I haven't been picked up by a crowd since the early 90s and didn't think I would ever be in this position again. After the surge stopped and I found myself back on the ground I checked that I wasn't standing on anyone and proceeded my task of re-claiming physical space in the crowd. The band made their way through their more popular back catalog, careful not to stray too far into the cult classic zone with really only one step in that direction with Death Of A Party. The crowd pogo'd like mad during Girls & Boys and it was no surprise when Phil Daniels came out for Parklife, how could he not be there?? The band had a handful of warm up shows and a slot at Glastonbury that had been building up these shows and it clearly paid off. The set was perfect, the band sounded great and it was exactly the show I wanted to see. The first night there were cameras filming the entire show and panning over the crowd, I'm sure there's going to be a DVD out by Christmas. I had a headband with a red bow on the side of my head so I'll have to buy it to see if I made it into the shot at any time. After The Universal the lights came on and we all started to make our way out of the venue, I was still just a bit goose bumpy from what I had just experienced and could not believe I was about to see it again the next night.

The music on day two was just as amazing as the first night but the crowd was a bit rowdier. This was the first show that went on sale and this is the one that sold out in about two minutes. It was a Friday and many people had taken the day off to make the most of the show. Lots and lots of drinks were had and it was near 100 degrees that day with a very high level of humidity. I'm not sure how much beer was at the venue but I'm sure they made millions off of this crowd. You never saw someone with just one beer, everyone had a few stashed about their person. One in each hand, one in each pocket, girls with purses overflowing with bottles - it was just everywhere. I was glad my new friend Michael was there with me that day as it looked like it was going to be a rough time in the crowd. We were off to the side watching Vampire Weekend finish their set when a full on bottle battle broke out! The bottle battle raged on for a few minutes with dozens of bottles in the air at any time, I was a little late in getting my camera out but captured a bit of it in video. Those things that look like bugs or small birds flying around are bottles.

The remnants of the crazy night could be seen after the show, everywhere you walked there were bottles, sometimes three or four deep you were just wading out of the park in bottles, the sound of which was rather rhythmic and could probably be remixed into a Parklife single. It was all plastic so no one was hurt too seriously in this melee but at one point Damon did have to ask the crowd to be a bit nicer to each other especially down front. On the message boards after the show there was a report of a brutal and unprovoked attack near the back of the crowd with some pretty serious injuries. Other than some drunk boys in my immediate area that I had to show them I was not to be messed with there wasn't too much trouble the second night.

I'm glad I went both nights of the show and am really grateful to the Blur fan from France that sold me her ticket for a very good price. I still can't believe I was able to see both shows, I was very happy to have had company the second night when the crowd was rougher. I don't know if the band can ever top these two shows, I mean really how could they? A warm summer night, a crowd singing along to absolutely every song, everyone bidding good night to the sun and welcoming the full moon. Even with the bottle fights and Damon's odd choice of sporting a gold tooth and pot leaf bracelet with his Fred Perry it was near perfect. Even Graham and Dave seemed to be having a good time with smiles all around, it must be quite a sight from the stage and to see the crowd jumping in waves.

Surprises from the days and venue were to find the water fountains that were pumping out free ice cold water and plenty on hand all over the field, the flushing port a potties! So weird to have to flush one but it kept the experience slightly more pleasant. Also the amount of celebrities in the crowd - I saw Daniel Radcliffe, Jarvis Cocker and Ewan McGregor all just running free range through the crowd and not really being bothered by anyone. So that's it, two days at Hyde Park - covered in dirt and everyone else's sweat I'd happily do it all over again. Next up is Rome, Oasis at Wembley and the last few days in London with visits to Trafalgar Square and the Bayswater bowling / arcade / ice skating rink. Not to worry I didn't get on any ice skates, after seeing what happened to Marisol's knee I think I'm staying well away.

Home Sweet Home

I'm home now, it felt really good to get back into the apartment and into my regular life again. Now comes the fun part of going to restock the fridge and back to the office this morning. The Echo did survive its two week stay in the carport with the trunk end out to the alley, Dede was worried that I should have backed it in because leaving the back end towards the alley spelled certain disaster to her.

I will have to post the never ending blog in the next couple of days that recaps the last week in Europe and all of the pics that go along with it. I do want to thank everyone that helped this trip run smoothly - Dede for running me to the aiport both times, I hope you enjoyed the Sizzler payback, Angel for keeping an eye on the Vespa and sharing the garage, Eden for keeping things running at NDS while I was away and picking up my mail. Also big ups to all of the great people I met along the way, I do hope to see you again one day. Ok now off to get ready for the office and the full continuation of the standard edition of life.

Mousetrap hotel

Ok back from Rome now - I'm glad I went but I think I would have enjoyed it more in the spring. The summer is FAR too hot to enjoy a city that lacks air conditioning. I'm back in London now at a very lovely rented apartment. This place is nicely located in Bayswater and far exceeded my expectations apart from the Mousetrap style hallway maze to get to the room. I'm off to the market to stock the fridge in the kitchen, yes kitchen with a few days worth of food. I'll have to come back later to write the neverending blog of the last week.

What's this about a lethal jab??

Day 2 was another flurry of activities, starting with switching hotels. This hotel is right across the road from the concert entrance. I booked this because it had some decent reviews and was near the park, it was just by luck that its right across from the entrance for the show. Hyde Park is huge and how could someone know just wear exactly things would be set up.

After taking the giant suitcase up three flights of stairs to my room I set off to find a t-mobile. It wasn't hard, there was just one down the road on Oxford St. I wandered around the shops, had a bit of lunch, went back towards the hotel and lingered by the fountain near Marble Arch to cool off a bit before the BBC tour. On the little street where my hotel is I saw this group of school children crossing the road, it must be like a summer day camp since all of the schools are out.

The teacher had them well in control, they stopped at every corner, huddled up and crossed in a big group. She shouted at them to keep quiet and stay in their lines, they complied for the most part which I don't think you can get most groups of children to do unless you apply the yard stick or promise them a treat if they behave. Maybe it was the latter and they'll be taken back to the park tomorrow if they were good today.

The BBC tour took up the rest of the afternoon, it was interesting. I didn't know they had to paint the floor each time they set up the studio, even if you see carpet on a show it is just concrete painted to look like carpet. We were taken to an empty soundstage, then over to see Jonathan Ross' set up for his Friday night chat show. Next on to play with the blue screen and have someone play weatherman before visiting the dressing rooms and finally into the simulated quiz show and newscast. The tour group was small and not very lively so I was picked out of the group to read the newscast out. The hardest bit about it was the super bright light in front of you but reading off of the teleprompter wasn't that hard. The quiz show was based on the Weakest Link and they had to answer questions about a Little Britain clip that was played, the winner won a ballpoint BBC pen. Where was my pen?? I bought an Archers keychain in the shop - they're Wellies! I was tempted to buy the wooden spoon "Mixing it Up with The Archers" but I thought I'd just burn it by leaving it on the stove or something.

After leaving the BBC I went to Westfield at White City - the biggest mall in Europe, or so it claims to be. I dunno, maybe I'm spoiled by LA malls but I wasn't that impressed. It was expansive for UK size but it kind of felt like one of the Mills centers because it was broken into sections like the mills but instead of neighborhoods they're called cores. On my way back from White City I stopped by Hyde Park to watch the early campers get kicked off the lawn and put on the sidewalk to wait for the admission to the concert tomorrow. I passed a few of those newspaper sandwich boards today that said something about Michael Jackson asking for a lethal dose of something - they're all over it here. Other developments of note - I miss the Blackberry, texting by pressing/holding numbers to get the right letter BLOWS super chunks, Ian on Eastenders is now rocking a beard and it looks sad/pathetic, the BBC is filled with stairs and my hotel room has two of the best features ever - a hair dryer and a fan! Both hair dryer and fan are super critical to the ongoing Berny cuteness in this humid weather. The forecast for tomorrow is heavy showers off an on throughout the day. I wish the wellies on my Archers keychain were full sized!

Deepest Darkest Peru

Today was the longest day ever! I managed to get a couple of hours sleep on the plane, I was sitting next to Roxie - she's from Granada Hills and was on her way to Jordan. She didn't look like a chatterbox when I sat down but she just went off the moment they closed that door. She was also having hot flashes so no need for a blanket on the flight with a little human heater next to me. I enjoyed talking to her but at some point in the night you want to tell her just to stop talking, I'm too nice to just tell a stranger to shut up. Our flight arrived early and our gate was occupied so we had to offload remotely down some stairs and onto some little bus to the terminal. Roxie missed her connecting plane because it took forever to get the buses out there and it didn't help that the ride in through the back roads of Heathrow was like Star Tours, complete with near misses of some pretty big luggage trucks. I helped her find ground staff to get her on a new flight and then went on my way to Paddington, I told you I'm way too nice to strangers/elders.

I caught the Heathrow Express to Paddington - completely worth the extra cash over the tube. It was a quick walk over to the hotel I have for the night and I was able to take a little nap. I'm moving to my other hotel tomorrow, this was one I had to book because I was silly and did not check my dates when booking the Parkwood for the Blur concerts and realized I didn't have a hotel for my first night here. London is in the middle of a heatwave and its not supposed to let up any time soon, it's hotter here then it is in LA. This hotel is small and does not have AC fitted for the rooms, not sure if my other one does either. I've left the window open and now have a couple of pretty sizeable flies as roommates, they don't stay long though. A quick nap and then a shower in what is a surprisingly roomy shower for its smallish outward appearance. I wanted to try to get some top up minutes for my pre-paid phone but didn't make it over to the shop on time. I'll have to sort that out tomorrow.

I took the tube to Oxford Circus then wandered around there and walked up to Regents Park, the park was closing soon so I set off for Trafalgar Square to watch some opera. There were giant screens set up in the square and thousands of people were there to watch the broadcast from Covent Garden. I only stayed for a short while because the toll of the day and the humidity was starting to hit me and I wanted to get back to the hotel before I was completely falling down tired.

I stopped at the Sainsbury local to get a cheese baguette and some of the best cherries. I also found a packet of organic shortbread for just 83p. The sun was still setting and the weather had turned slightly cooler. The view from my room is a residential area, many of the houses have outdoor terraces. This one terrace a few houses down was having a bbq, it smelled so delightful. I snapped a picture of the two man grilling team of Devonshire Terrace, it was such a tempting smell I was thinking about going to find which house they were in but I don't think they'd want a sweaty American showing up at their door trying to get a grilled chicken wing or whatever they were cooking. Just weird that you can still have enough light to grill by at nearly 10 PM. I'm happy it doesn't get dark until late, I don't think I'd want to spend most of the Blur set in the dark.

Tomorrow brings the hotel change, this one is right across the street from Hyde Park. I also have my tour of the BBC Television studios at White City booked in the afternoon.

Prep Work

This week has been just a flurry of activity.  Starting the week with the Virgin Final Final Final Farewell party at the Cat & Fiddle then carrying on through the work week.  Yesterday just seemed like a blur with Michael Jackson dying the afternoon and evening were lost!  The story just kept unfolding, more scary details coming out, the helicopters taking the body flying over my route home.  A very strange evening indeed.

I'm glad it is finally Friday but that means I have just two days to pack and get the apartment back in order before leaving.  I hate coming home to a messy apartment after being away for a while.  All the fun starts with a long ride over to Montebello in the morning to drop the scooter off for safe keeping while I'm gone.  I don't trust leaving the Vespa in the carport for two weeks, the Echo on the other hand is on its own.  

Netbook

Last weekend I bought a tiny little netbook. $300 to have something that only weighs 2 pounds and has the same basic functions as the giant Toshiba is pretty cool. There are a few drawbacks such as the very very very small screen but being able to fit this into my purse more than makes up for that.

I'm on a turnaround trip for work, hanging in Pleasanton. I was supposed to be here around 3 PM with a stop at the hotel before going to visit a client. After 2 plus hours of delays on the ground in LAX I missed my meeting. The client was understanding and I'm stopping by in the morning since my hotel is just a few blocks up from their office.

Tomorrow is going to be another long day but I'm looking forward to the luncheon, it's supposed to be pretty big turnout for this one. But first its back to SFO to turn in the Prius and get on the BART. I just don't see the point of driving into the city to pay $30 to park for a few hours. Plus I don't think I'd make it back to the airport as fast as I will on the train. I'd hate to miss my flight and have to wait a couple of hours. But the airport does always have some museum exhibits to peek at while you're waiting. Last trip through they had Victorian Era kitchen equipment, it was an extensive display and I had plenty of time to check everything out while the security line snaked through the display cases.

It never stops

There are two family parties this weekend.  A quincenera for a girl I probably have only met a couple of times and a birthday party for my Dad.  The quincenera is at a casino in Compton, I know!  I know!! Seriously!  Yeah don't know what to wear to that, I'll have to look through the closet and find something "appropriate", I mean you have to be able to look good and possibly run away or get thrown to the ground / tased by the police so wardrobe choice is key.  The second party at my Dad's is supposed to be a surprise.  I don't know if she's managed to do it but my Stepmom says he doesn't know it's going to happen.  

I could let this weekend be lost to the family - I'm very happy and in an agreeable mood because the Blur ticket I bought off of someone on the forum arrived today.  I was starting to get seriously worried that someone had signed on just to scam us all desperate to get into the Friday show by taking our cash and not delivering tickets.  I should learn not to think the worst and trust things will turn out ok.  

Sick

I've been battling a minor cold for the last couple of days.  I think this was obtained at the other driveway activity that our family is known for - our amazing yard sales.  This wasn't one of our best but the neighbors still came out for the cookies my sister made the night before.  The money raised at the bake sale is being kept in a special piggy bank that the kids are not allowed to touch, this money is used to buy items to donate to Toys for Tots.  The kids are really good at donations and charitable giving in general.  My brother's kids are also really into this and my oldest niece is very into saving turtles and other environmental issues.  

My sister is denying that her carrier monkey children gave me this illness but I'm blaming them, she had the same thing a couple of days ago and it's always them.  They leave a path of illness everywhere they go.  Reason #1 not to have children of my own.  

Well hello there!

I helped my family throw a 60th birthday party for my Mom a couple of weeks back.  60 is a pretty big number to be celebrating and we wanted to do this right.  To mark the occasion we didn't turn to a fancy ballroom or book a banquet room at our Mom's favorite restaurant, we instead held this party where most of our family parties are held - my sister's driveway in Montebello.  This driveway has been the site of most of our family parties.  Everything from children's birthday parties, graduations, baptismal and yes even my own wedding reception.  It isn't a particularly spacious driveway and doesn't come equipped with anything other than a nice even concrete slab for the tables and an extension cord to the garage.  

Montebello (or the 'bello as I now call it) is somewhere very near and dear to my heart, its where we spent our formative years and it's shaped who we are.  We didn't actually live in the 'bello growing up, we lived in Pico Rivera - not the good part either, the weird little part that the city didn't even want to claim and just let Montebello Unified stick a school in this little neighborhood.  That little school moved us into the school district and onto Montebello High School where we truly grew into the lovable weirdos we are now.  When I went off to UCLA I left Pico Rivera and I don't think I'll ever live in "East Los" again but you never know.  When my sister and her husband bought the house in Montebello we saw that as the new party central for the family, it wasn't long before the first party was held.  I've been lucky enough to attend many a swanky party here in my neighborhood but the driveway parties can give some of those a run for their money.   We've now perfected the art of the house party and figured out who is better at handling what and who not to ask to bring food.  My sister has become an ace at finding ways to make the backyard shine with simple decorations, if I get hard up about things to write I'll share some of them with you but for now you're going to have to put up with my ramblings and hope to find some useful party tips.

-Berny