A return to Nutwood

We're back! Wahoo! (Remember the fish?)

After a complimentary breakfast at the Holiday Inn in Corbin, Kentucky, we were on the road at 9:30. We made great time, especially since we didn't have to stop for lunch. (Crazy to have breakfast at the Holiday Inn? Crazy like a fox! It actually hit the spot and was a nice perk. We've also noticed that most hotel chains are now offering free wi-fi. They should--it's not that expensive, and most travelers want it now.)

We hugged the eastern curves of eastern Lexington, kissed the edge of western Cincinnati, and licked the outer rim of Indianapolis. Heh heh. All was smooth sailing, except for the occasional irritating driver, and some flashing lights behind us...those turned out to be for the little Echo that passed us a few minutes before. Ken was only going about 6 mph over the limit, so we would have been very surprised if the cop had been coming after us. It was a very good trip, and I hope you all enjoyed the updates and pictures (a few more to come). I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed your comments and your input on things to do, or when some of you mentioned that you lived in places we'd stayed or driven through. I didn't know until Donna mentioned it that Corbin, Kentucky is the home of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken! I think it's sort of a neat communal experience to talk about places we've been and things we've seen and to find out that we have some of those things in common. Thank you all for joining me on our vacation, at least in virtual form. I enjoyed it, and I hope you did, too!

Sheeba has been very attentive since we got home, and I was happy to see our kitty! He doesn't stay away from us for very long, but I'm sure it won't be long before he's his usual inattentive self! (I kid..he's actually a very affectionate cat.) A very big thank you to Cousin Shane for taking good care, as always, of Sheeba!

When we started going through the piles of mail (another thanks to Shane for picking it up for us), I found out that I had two packages. The first was a beautifully decorated padded envelope, with my name and address in calligraphy, and red, white, and blue fireworks designs all over it. Inside was an equally beautiful box tied up with a beautiful ribbon, and inside that were several beautiful Bastille Day buttons from Diane and Cristina, friends of our friend David Dust! It was a veritable Russian nesting doll of a present, with multiple levels of beauty! I had won a random drawing on David's site, and the lovely ladies sent me the lovely package. They have an eBay store, so be sure to check it out! (They have postcards, Laurel!) Thank you, David, and thank you Diane and Cristina!

The other package had the return address of P. Coyne. OH BOY!

Do you remember when we went to see the Godfathers in Chicago for their first U.S. St. Valentine's Day Massacre show? Do you remember how disappointed I was that we missed the after-party to which we'd been invited? Do you remember that I had an email from Peter Coyne (the lead singer) saying that he was sorry we missed each other, that he'd looked for me in the SmartBar, and that he'd send me a T-shirt and a signed CD to make it all better? He remembered!

He included a note that says, "Hi Beth, As promised--better late than never. All the best to you and hubby! Peter Coyne X"

He also signed the CD, and I was just thrilled. Honestly, how cool is it that a band is so appreciative to their fans, and so accessible? Peter, you are a peach, and I couldn't be happier. Thank you! The really cool news is that they are working on a NEW ALBUM, and I hope that will result in another visit to the States in the next couple of years. I can hardly wait to hear their new effort. For Peter to take the time out from working on an album to send the shirt and CD to me really means a lot to me, and the Godfathers remain one of my all-time favorites. The fact that Peter is a genuinely nice guy is just the icing on the cake. What a nice welcome home!

Caught on tape!

Remember when I said that Shane and I got knocked down by a guy at the concert...toppled like bowling pins? I didn't see this at first, but Shane said it DID get captured on one of these videos! It happens around :30, Ken moves in, and Shane and I are back up by :40. I'm totally cracking up that this is on YouTube!

Where did the day go?

You didn't think you were going to get away without an entry from me, did you? Heh heh heh.

A low-key day, as I kept it quiet around here so Ken could sleep. He has to work a night shift tonight, doggone it, so I'm batchin' it tonight. That means it's indulgent movie night, and I was all stoked to watch "Pulp Fiction" again...and damned if we don't have that one on DVD! Of all the DVD's we've got stacked everywhere, that's not one of them. Grrr. So I had to come up with Plan B. I'll start off with the best of Christopher Walken from SNL (The Continental, anyone? Perhaps some fine French shahm-pahn-ya?), but then I had kind of a hard time deciding on a movie. I thought about "Bull Durham," and that's still a possibility as a second feature. "Road House" is always in play, but it hasn't been all that long since my last indulgent movie night where I watched that one. I thought about "Footloose," but I'm not in the mood for bad 80's music. I finally decided on "Dirty Dancing," and if that isn't an indulgent, guilty-pleasure movie, I don't know what is! I'm sure Ken will appreciate not having to watch it, too. I'm sure he would if I really wanted to, because you know...nobody puts Baby in a corner. (It had to be said.)

I think I'm all set for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre! The Godfathers show, that is. The white shirt/black vest combo was the definite favorite, with the black shirt also receiving a couple of votes. I actually got a couple votes for the ski suit, and one smart aleck voted for overalls! Ha ha! I actually DO have a pair, but the day I wear overalls to a rock concert is the day I'd like you to just shoot me in the head and be done with it. Thanks to everyone who played along and voted! It was harder to figure out a jacket to wear...I'm not hardcore enough to go without one (Chicago in February, people), but since we'll be standing for the show, I don't want a heavy one. I also need pockets for my stuff, because I won't carry a purse. I've decided on a windbreaker that has zippered pockets. It's not very rock and roll, but it's the best for what I need. We won't be outside for any length of time, I don't think, so I should be okay.

Got the CD's out that I want to take, removed the liner notes from a couple so I can get them signed, and got confirmation from Peter that me, Ken, Shane, and Sam are on the list for the after-party. Eeeeeexcellent. Also corresponded with a guy from the Yahoo group, and I hope it works out that we can meet up for dinner before the show. If not, he'll be at the party, too. Ted is flying down from Canada for one day, just for this show. Godfathers fans are hardcore, let me tell ya.

The bird count today was a bust. I didn't do it until the afternoon, so I wouldn't wake Ken with all my feeder-filling, and there just was not much action going on. I think it was a combination of being overcast and having no snow on the ground. With all the grass and plants exposed, there is plenty of food out there for them right now. I'll do it again on Monday, and I hope they'll be a little more cooperative!

Oh, and Ken is now the designated egg cooker, at least if we're going to eat them over easy (and that's our favorite way). We had breakfast for dinner last night, and although the eggs tasted fine and I didn't overcook them (well, not too much), they were just not pretty. You know those perfect over easy eggs where the whites get a little browned on the edges and are completely cooked, but the yolk is nice and runny? Yeah, well, those weren't mine. The whites sort of globbed up around the yolks, and those were some mighty ugly eggs, believe me. It all tasted good, though. We ate a pound of bacon. Mmm, bacon. I've decided I like baking it rather than frying it, and I think I'll cook it that way from now on.

Maybe more later!

Multimedia

This morning I had a message from the Godfathers over on my Myspace page. (They're the band from the 80's that I've always loved and they reunited and are playing in Chicago on Valentine's Day, for their traditional St. Valentine's Day Massacre show.) The note was from Peter, the lead singer, and he said that after the show at the Metro, they're going to have an after-party. He and maybe some of the other guys in the band will be DJ'ing, and there will be pizza and beer. He invited me and anyone who is with me--how awesome is that?! Free beer! Ha ha! Seriously, what a nice thing of them to do for their fans, and how cool to sort of hang out with them. I hope it works out that we can do that, but of course, I won't be the one driving. That is still to be determined, but it will probably be either Ken or Shane.

Okay, that's the music portion of our program, now on to TV/films.

Ken and I were rather disappointed that "My Own Worst Enemy" on NBC tanked and was canceled so quickly. We really like Christian Slater, and really liked the show. But things are looking up, as we seem to have found another one that we're both really digging: "Lie to Me," which is on Fox, right after "American Idol," and stars Tim Roth.

The premise is that this doctor (a psychologist, I guess, played by Roth) assists law enforcement in solving crimes with his expertise in body language. It's kind of an interesting area to me, and I enjoy reading things about body language and "tells." (That's big in poker, because everyone has a "tell.") For me, what really sells the show is Tim Roth. I don't know that much about him, other than that he's English, and I've liked him in everything in which I've seen him. I may not like his character, because he plays a lot of slimeballs, but I think he's a great actor. Quentin Tarentino does, too, and put him in "Reservoir Dogs" (as Mr. Orange) and "Pulp Fiction" (as Pumpkin, the robber in the opening scene).

I thought this was a good description of him: "With lean hangdog looks that make him a natural for the criminals and fringe dwellers he usually plays, Tim Roth has the uncanny and incredibly effective ability to make sleaze look sexy, or at least raggedly photogenic." (Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide) I'd say that he has that sort of intensity that I always enjoy seeing in an actor. The show gives rise to some funny moments, too, when he reads his colleagues or they try to read him. Can you imagine working with or being around an expert on body language, where you know that every little muscle twitch or minute eyebrow movement is being noticed and analyzed? It would certainly make me feel self-conscious!

So if you get a chance, I hope you'll give it a try. I think it's interesting and a lot of fun, and I hope it does well. Hey, I just saw you raise your eyebrow! Does that mean you're interested? Or disdainful of my endorsement? You think the show will fail, don't you? You think I'm silly for liking it.

Yeah...I got your number. I've got you pegged. You can't fool me.

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!

HOLY CRAP! I'm on The Godfathers Yahoo group and just got the notice that they're bringing their reunion tour to the states.

YESSSSSS! [fist pump]

And as the lead singer promised me, they're coming to Chicago, and not just on any day...on Valentine's Day. It's a St. Valentine's Day Massacre show! And I get to go! I get to go! I'm not working, it's Valentine's Day, and oh yeah...I GET TO GO!!!

They're coming to your town, too, Dan. If you get a chance, I highly recommend them!

The American Return of The Godfathers

First US tour for nearly 20 years……

First ever Saint Valentine's Day Massacre show in the US!

THE GODFATHERS FEBRUARY 2009 US TOUR

Wednesday 11 Boston, MA-The Middle East

Thursday 12 Washington DC-9.30 Club

Friday 13 Cleveland, OH-The Grog Shop

Saturday 14 Chicago, IL-The Metro

Sunday 15 Minneapolis, MN-Seventh Street Entry

Monday 16 Milwaukee, WI-The Shank House

Wednesday 18 Hoboken, NJ-Maxwells

Thursday 19 Brooklyn, NY-The Bell House

Legendary English rock and roll band THE GODFATHERS explode back into the USA in 2009 with their first American tour in nearly 20 years. The tour includes a landmark Saint Valentine's Day Massacre show on Saturday 14th February at The Metro, appropriately in Chicago. This will be first ever Godfathers' Saint Valentine's Massacre show outside London since its inception in the notorious London Dungeon in the late eighties. The London Saint Valentine's Day Massacre shows have become legendary events in English rock'n'roll folklore and The Godfathers are delighted to stage the first American Massacre at The Metro. The tour kicks off on February 11th in Boston and then takes in Washington DC, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Hoboken before crash landing into the Bellhouse in Brookyln on Thursday 19th February.

I'm so excited, I'm shaking. I've been hoping they'd come to the states since they reunited last year, and I've been hearing rumors. I suppose I should back up a bit and say that The Godfathers are one of my favorite bands from the 80's, and although I've never had the privilege of seeing them live, I hear they're one of the best live bands you'd ever want to see. Here's the link to their biggest U.S. hit, "Birth School Work Death."

I went ahead and ordered 4 tickets--I'm hoping that Shane and a friend will be able to go, too. I'm as happy as a little girl! As Mark would say, Love and Rockets, man, Love and Rockets!

Update

I sent an email to Peter, the lead singer, saying that I was thrilled to hear about the show, and asking if I brought a CD, would there be a chance that he'd sign it? He wrote back:

Of course I'll sign your CD!!

Looking forward to meeting up and pressing the flesh in person!!!

Saint Valentine's Day at The Metro is going to be a blast!!!!

AWESOME! He went on to wish me and my family a merry Christmas and happy new year. How cool is that?! Isn't it neat when people really appreciate their fans?