Weekend Update November 10

The Weekend That Was - Happening weekend! Seemed to go very well. My lady wife was on team this weekend so it meant that I spent the weekend home alone with the cat. So I got a lot of "stuff" out of the way. The snow blower is ready to go, changed over the icicle lights on the porch, did some cleaning, baked some pumpkin pies and made some fresh hummus with roasted red pepper (as a surprise for my lady wife). I also cooked up some split pea soup, vacuumed the house and washed and vacuumed the car.Oh and had some fun cooking for myself. The best was the steak topped with Gorgonzola and onions caramelized in maple syrup and balsamic vinegar. Afterwards my mouth leaned back and lit up a cigarette. It was that good. So it was lonely (everything is more fun with my lady wife around) but a pretty good weekend. In fact it was one of the most relaxing weekends I've had in a while.


The To Do List - I really need to get next summer's camp themes figured out, I have a radio program for my church that has to get produced, plus I need to get deeper into my to do list. There's some stuff that's been lurking at the second level way too long. (My to do list has four levels)


What Am I Procrastinating About? - The next video project. I'm probably over thinking the one aspect that is stopping me.

What Am I Watching/Reading/Listening To? Still working on "The Irregulars" but I'm almost done. I'll take my first shot at Richard Brautigan next.

Did some concert video viewing over the weekend. And had two very different reactions to two classic documentaries.

First I watched "Gimme Shelter" The documentary of the 1969 Rolling Stones tour that ended with the infamous concert at the Altamont Speedway where an audience member was killed by a member of the Hells Angels. At least that's the classic synopsis. In reality the whole movie revolves around that final concert which took some of the joy away from the earlier concert clips (several of which struck me as rather flat anyway) The film is absolutely enthralling once the concert starts at Altamont. The stunned looks on the faces of Jagger and Grace Slick as the "security" slowly slides into madness. Sadly the movie makers didn't always have particularly good locations from which to shoot. They didn't like using telephoto lenses so sometimes they're actually too close to be able to see. I felt a little disappointed overall.

Quality of the film making is never a problem with "The Last Waltz" Martin Scorsese's tribute to the last concert of The Band. The Band is that rarest of all musical beasts a seminal, inspirational rock band that never really had a hit record (their highest single was top 30, they only managed it once) This was a band that worked with Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, and Muddy Waters. They had an amazing influence on music yet they only were out there for about 10 years. The movie features visits from Hawkins, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell, the Staples, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Ronnie Wood, Ringo Starr, Dr. John and more. Take great music (and The Band is about great music), great guest singers and great movie making and this may be the best concert movie of all time.

Next Up Will be launching a new mode of communication. I think I've found the answer, details later.

How Am I Doing Actually I feel pretty good. I wish I felt a little more focused on what the next "big thing" should be. And contemplating the 3 inches of snow that fell overnight with more on the way.

Peace