Telling tales of drunkenness and cruelty

Well, no cruelty was involved...but perhaps a wee bit o’ drunkenness! (That’s a line from one of my favorite Kinks songs, “Sunny Afternoon.” Isn’t that a great line?)

We did indeed have a blast last night! We had fun chatting at dinner, then headed over to Martha’s for some great music with Cornerstone Blues Band. This was a really fun group of people, and we all love to laugh and have a good time, and that’s exactly what we did! I guess I was primed for a night out like that, because I was in full-blown dance mode...so I really got my groove on! I had not one, but THREE dance partners, too: Ken, my brother-in-law Tom, and our friend Tom. We all hit the dance floor and had a lot of fun! (Jamie—that’s her in the picture down below—and Ryan aren’t quite old enough yet to not care about looking undignified...the rest of us are long past that point! haha)

I wrote to Jim today to tell him what a great time we had, and I said that I loved their new setlist. I said it’s kind of wild, because I don’t recognize a lot of the songs (I really don’t buy that many blues CDs—I prefer to hear the blues live.), but they’re really great songs and fun to dance to!

I’m not kidding, these guys are really talented. If any local peeps ever get a chance to see them, do so. They play about one gig a month. I know I’m biased, but they rival any blues band I’ve heard in Chicago, New Orleans, or Memphis. Jim on guitar, Brad on vocals and guitar, Rob on bass, and their new drummer is Adam.

They really do mesh well, they’re fantastic players, and like all really great bands, you can tell they’re having a good time up there! It goes back to what I’ve written about before...bands and audience members feed off of each other. They play great, we dance and yell and show we’re lovin’ it, and they love it and want to play even better and give us a great show. It’s synergy, man, and it’s a beautiful thing.

I was happy to give ‘em all hugs when we arrived (they hadn’t taken the stage yet), except for Adam, who I don’t know from...ADAM. hahaha Get it? I crack myself up sometimes. He did a great job, so props to the new guy!

I also got to see Mary from the lab and her husband John, Connie (who I didn’t realize was still there...she seemed genuinely happy to see me, and it’s always nice to be remembered fondly), and very briefly, Aubrey, who showed up towards the end of the evening. I don’t miss working, but I honestly miss so many of the people there, and it is always a pleasure to see them. Love you guys!

It was a really great time, and thanks to the guys in Cornerstone for rocking most awesomely, and thanks to our friends and family who shared the evening with us.

Rock on, Citizens!

Look out, Martha!

We’ve got a fun night planned, starting with dinner and then heading over to the historic Martha’s Midway Tavern to hear the band my buddy Jim plays guitar in, Cornerstone Blues Band. We’ve got a good group of family and friends going, and I know it will be a good time!

These guys are really talented. Jim tells me that they’ve been working on lots of new songs and about half of their setlist is new stuff. Sweet! He also told me that they were working on a Stones song (after I berated and shamed him...haha), but it won’t be on tonight’s setlist. That’s okay...gives me a great excuse to go see them the next time they play, too!

I met Jim about...gee, I guess it was about 15 years ago! He started working in the lab maybe a year after I started, and I was training him on the molecular testing for Chlamydia and gonorrhea that we were doing at the time. LCR, Ligase Chain Reaction...what a clusterfuck THOSE instruments turned out to be. Thanks, Obama! Because of a mutual love of music and sports, we hit it off immediately, and we’ve been good friends ever since. We don’t see each other as often as when I was still working in the lab, but when we manage to get together, we always have a great time talking and we crack each other up. I’m looking forward to seeing him tonight, as well as hearing him and the rest of the guys play. They’re really talented, too...not just Jim!

Sounds like a few lab pals will be coming out to hear them, too, so it will be fun to see them. It’s been a while!

It’s going to be a rather cool evening, so my initial plan for a skirt and fishnets got the kibosh. Maybe in August for Dropkick Murphys...surely it will be more summery in late August! And don’t call me Shirley.

I hope to have some tales of debauchery for you tomorrow!

Rock on, Citizens!

I won’t say I told you so, but....

I did! I did!

A few days ago, I wrote about Team Obama’s Bain Capital attacks on Mittens. I said that it was pretty impressive and brilliant work on the part of Plouffe, Axelrod, or whoever came up with it (and it may have been a complete team effort). Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was impressed. Mark Halperin of Time wrote this:

Pause for two beats and pay Prizzi's Honor-style homage to the ruthless killing machine that is the combined White House-Chicago operation.

They have parceled out their opposition research in a manner both strategic and tactical, selecting specific news organizations at times of their choosing to maximize the drip-drip-drip of the twin stories [Bain Capital and the tax returns]. They have used left-leaning Web outfits as recipients of over-the-transom gifts as effectively (cumulatively) as the Romney campaign uses Drudge. And they have seen the Boston Globe use its credibility to drive a ton of news.

The Obamans have dominated numerous consecutive news cycles since the last unemployment numbers came out. And there is more to come for sure. The Gang of 500 is confident it is just a matter of time before Romney relents and puts out additional years of tax returns, an eventuality that the Obama campaign will drag out for days. When some said that the Bain issue was burning out through its use by Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and others in the nomination fight, Chicago was quietly confident the matter could be easily revived with new information and heavy advertising—and Chicago was right. And, make no mistake, the Obamans are sitting on even more research that they will unfurl down the road.

Yikes! I’m not sure I agree that Mittens will release more tax returns. After all, Mrs. Romney has said that “you people” (I guess that means me, too) have seen all we need to see. But “ruthless killing machine” is right on.

And we’ve still got almost four months of this to go. Good grief.

Tomorrow evening is a special treat, as we head out to hear my buddy Jim’s band, Cornerstone Blues Band, at Martha’s Midway Tavern. Their original drummer is back in town for a bit, so they’re playing at Martha’s and all the proceeds from the $5 cover charge will go to help the owner with her medical bills. Martha’s is a blues fixture in the area, a little hole in the wall that has hosted some big-time blues players over the years. We don’t plan on making a late night of it, because Ken’s been working some long hours, but we’re looking forward to hearing some great music, having a couple of beers, and seeing some friends. I hope some of my fellow lab rats will be able to come out for a bit!