Happy Birthday, Dad. (see family)
More thoughts on the Blondie/New Cars show last week: The more I think about it, the more I think that Blondie was the more interesting act. When I first heard the New Cars single (But Not Tonight) I thought that Todd Rundgren was channeling Ric Ocasek and that it was uncanny. But in the live act, Todd's voice was, IMHO, not a real match for Ric's, although he did try a few Ric inflections. Not bad at all, mind you, but Ric has that almost detached feel that gave the original Cars their icy yet catchy duality. The New Cars rocked, but it wasn't as exact and 'cool' (as in cold but in a good way) as the originals. And yes I did see the originals live. Ric's voice was more unique and Todd's is more common. And the Cars songs that Kasim (sp?) sang were lower points, his weak voice couldn't match the original Ben Orr vocals. As for Blondie, Debbie has aged and gained some weight (me too!) but the songs are classics and they even pulled out a few non-single tracks (Rifle Range, a very different In The Flesh, the rap from No Exit). But overall it was a very entertaining show and both bands were well worth seeing. Original comments are located under 5/25 entry. Crappy cell-phone pix: 1 2 3 4
Lowest approval ratings ever. What, me worry?
Tuesday May 30, 2006 -
We had a nice dinner with friends Karl and Betty. We went to Tower Cafe, sat outside on a beautiful spring evening.
I have learned a lot about bandaging Petra up. Her hand needs to be bandaged a certain way and I am just the one to do it! Also, it gives us a new respect for those ancient Egyptian mummies. They used a LOT of bandages!
Monday May 29, 2006 -
Today is memorial day. Thanks to those who have helped protect our country. And shame on those who are still sending our young people to die for nothing but oil, arrogance, and lies.
Sunday May 28, 2006 -
The grandkids spent the day and had a great time playing in the back yard on the new play set that I built
.After we took them home we went to 524 Mexican Food on Northgate for a delicious dinner. I ate a lot, had a couple beers, and what more could you want from life? ;-)
Saturday May 27, 2006 -
The daughter and her family came over and spent the afternoon. After they left, we kept the grandkids for the night. Cute little tykes.
Friday May 26, 2006 -
We went for another appointment this morning, Petra's hand and arm are responding well. Afterwards, we went to Crepeville for breakfast. You should try this place if you like a good breakfast, any time of day. I had the smoked tofu scramble, hold the tomatoes, with salsa on the side, and coffee. If you don't like it, bring it to me. If you want to buy us breakfast or lunch, let us know here. After that we went to Petra's next appointment. Don't panic! This was just the dentist. Yeah, 'just' the dentist. In the evening we watched a movie, War Of The Worlds with Tom Cruise. Neither of us thought much of it. Lots of money spent on special effects but no memorable charaters. And Tom was not very believable. I don't think he is in most of his movies. But we both don't plan to ever watch this one again. I would give it maybe 1 1/2 stars out of five.
Thursday May 25, 2006 -
The day starting with both of us going to Petra's appointment. She is responding to the treatment, the swelling in subsiding. And the infection on her arm seems to be responding to the antibiotics. Good good good. Afterwards, since we had the day off, we had lunch at the Sunflower Drive-In. This is an all-vegetarian place in Fair Oaks, near where the medical appointment was. Be surer to try it if you are in the area. I had the Super-Nutburger (hold the sprouts and tomatoes) and Petra had the Nutty Taco. Mmmmm.
In the afternoon we drove to Saratoga, near San Jose and about a two or two and a half hour drive, for tonights concert. It was at the "Mountain Winery", a really cool venue that we had never been to. You drive up this mountain road to get to the place, then a narrow and steep drive up the the actual winery. It was a beautiful view from way high up, overlooking a huge valley. The concert venue itself was fairly small and every seat was close enough to enjoy the show. We had some food at one of the four eateries there before the show. I recommend the beer-battered onion rings, though the rest of the stuff was good too.
We met up with friend and fellow mixmaster Kevin Christian during the show and talked a bit too. It was very nice to see him, it had been years. On to the show:
Blondie was the opening act. Obviously they are all older, as we are too. But they still rocked. It was mostly older material with a few more recent songs thrown in. Heavy on the hits but a few lesser known numbers too. Very good. Then the main act, the New Cars. Yes, it was the Cars band from the 80s, but with Todd Rundgren as new vocalist and a couple new members. A couple original members too. And they sounded VERY much like the originals. The did a new song or two and a couple of Todd numbers too. A rocking show, both bands very entertaining. I'd recommend seeing this show when it comes to your town.
Wednesday May 24, 2006 -
The treatment continues, but on a different note, the daughter and her family invited us out to Carmichael Park for Josephine's preschool picnic. We all had a good time and the kids loved playing on the huge playground structures there. The daughter brought a great fruit salad and there was lots of other food too. And it was nice to see the grandkids playing with some pre-schoolmates.
Tuesday May 23, 2006 -
Petra's second appointment, the swelling in her hand and arm may be starting to respond to the treatment.
Monday May 22, 2006 -
Petra had her six-month followup with the Radiation Oncologist. Everything is going well there at least. Now this doctor will be yearly. The burning and skin damage from the radiation is healing nicely, thank you very much. As for the infection on her arm, that is starting to respond, slowly, to the antibiotics. A slight improvement is still an improvement. And then, for Petra, it was off to the Lymphedema Treatment Center to get a weeks worth of treatment, a couple hours per day, for the early stages of the condition in her right hand and arm. This should be treatable but all this has GOT to be getting old. I would ask 'what next?' but I'm not sure I want to know...
On a more humerous note, here are the Top Ten Things Overheard During Keith Richards' Hospital Stay:
10. "What aren't you currently taking, Mr. Richards?"
9. "Visiting hours are over, you'll have to ask the strippers to leave"
8. "That explains it. His MRI shows three livers"
7. "According to our tests he's been dead for the past 30 years"
6. "First time an organ rejected the body"
5. "His blood type is Jack Daniels"
4. "Haven't seen anything this close to death since Letterman's hairpiece"
3. "You mean he looked like that before the fall?"
2. "I just listed his bedpan on eBay"
1. "We need to find a perfect match for his blood -- somebody call Whitney Houston!"
Sunday May 21, 2006 -
We spent most of the day with the grandkids.
Saturday May 20, 2006 -
Happy birthday to nephew Richard (aka KJ) (see family page). Lots of garage sales in the area today so we walked around in the morning and browsed. The daughter and family came over later and hung out for a while. After they left, we had the two oldest grandkids overnight.
Friday May 19, 2006 -
Happy birthday to my grandmother, Daisy, she is 95 today (see family page)! Also, nephew Dayn celebrates his birthday too.
Headlines we will NEVER see!
Thursday May 18, 2006 -
Now Petra has an infection on her arm, due to a thorn puncture while gardening. It's the same side, the right side, and everything on that side has been compromised. The doc gave her two antibiotics. What is next?
At work, I went to the annual Government Technology Conference today. The keynote speaker was an astronaut who had flown missions to the space shuttle and he was fairly positive and motivational. I toured the exhibits, coming back with some free geek booty: A t-shirt, a flash drive, some pens, notepads, candy, buttons, and other vendor giveaway-type stuff.
Tuesday May 16, 2006 -
The list of music that we own has been updated. Master list is here. You can also see the list of artists that we own ten or more items by.
Recent additions to the master list:
DeGraw, Gavin - Chariot/Chariot Stripped 2CD
Blunt, James - Back To Bedlam
Gabriel, Peter - Peter Gabriel
Death Cab For Cutie - Title and Registration single
Jones, Rickie Lee Jones - The Evening Of My Best Day
UB40 - Who You Fighting For?
Franti, Michael And Spearhead - Live 2006 Santa Cruz CA 2CD
Faint, The - Danse Macabre
Hot Hot Heat - Make Up The Breakdown
Juliana Theory, The - Understand This Is A Dream
Johnston, Freedy - Right Between The Promises
Starr, Garrison - Songs From Take-Off To Landing
Costello, Elvis - My Flame Burns Blue 2CD
Costello, Elvis - My Flame Burns Blue Promo CD Sampler
Nile, Willie - Streets Of New York
8MM - Opener EP
Ian, Janis - Billie's Bones
Mullins, Shawn - 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor
Prince - Ultimate 2CD
Evening Episode, The - Post Humous
Johnson, Jack - Curious George
Blunt, James - Back To Bedlam 2CD
Black Uhuru - Red
Black Uhuru - Mystical Truth
Steel Pulse - Soundsystem - The Island Anthology
Franti, Michael And Spearhead - Everyone Deserves Music
Tunstall, K. T. - Eye To The Telescope
New Cars, The - It's Alive
Monday May 15, 2006 -
Yesterday the phone rang. Caller ID said 'unknown caller' and we had family over so we didn't answer. Today we heard the message. It was Petra's biological sister-in-law Lori in Illinois. It has been about eight years since they have talked so Petra was excited. Petra called back. They were out so she left a message. Also today was 'therapy day'! No, we are NOT cured yet, thank you very much. Oh, like YOU are! Anyway, after all that we went for a late, tasty dinner at 524 on Northgate. No frills but good, inexpensive mexican food. Muy bueno!
Sunday May 14, 2006 -
Happy Mothers Day to Petra, Mom, and everyone else who is a mother. Petra got a plant, a card, and a balloon from the daughter along with a really nice poem that Andrea had composed. I mean REALLY nice. Her boyfriend Charlie finished clearing the weeds out of the near-shed area for us. We told him it was too hot today but he wanted to do it. Thanks.
Saturday May 13, 2006 -
Everybody celebrate! I fertilized the front lawn! Check it out:
Quote for the day: "I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception." - Groucho Marx
Comments? Do it here.
Friday May 12, 2006 -
Bush approval rating drops to 29% in latest Harris poll.
Worst. President. Ever.
And if I didn't mention it already, the film Match Point (web site) came out on DVD recently. I highly recommend this drama, full of great performances and plot twists.
Want to hear Neil Young's new CD "Living With War" from start to finish? Click here or check it out at Obsessed With Music.
Spread the word! Make me even MORE famous!! Tell the world about stevenology.com, why should only you three people get all the enjoyment?! ;-) And of course the mailing list sign-up is here. So if you know of someone who might enjoy this ranting and raving, send them the address. Impress your friends, confuse your enemies!
Wednesday May 10, 2006 -
The Sacramento Kings ex-coach Adelman held a press conference today and basically said that he got fired. He seemed disappointed that the Kings owners didn't talk to him about it. But in the NBA world, change is the only constant.
And in national news, USA Today reports that the National Security Agency has been collecting billions of domestic home, business and cell phone records on tens of millions of Americans, obtaining the records from phone companies. The program was not authorized by Congress. Bush lies about it, says "our intelligence activities strictly target Al Qaeda and their known affiliates". Does that mean tens of millions of Americans are with Al Qaeda? Billions of records? Give me a break! Look below to find out King George's view of the world. And you.
Worst. President. Ever.
Tuesday May 9, 2006 -
Happy anniversary to Larry and Robin and also to Sara and Jeff. The Sacramento Kings got rid of coach Rick Adelman today, after eight years. He had his flaws and his good points, but I agree that it is time for a change. Of course, sometimes what you don't know is worse than what you do. We'll see who they get to replace him. The Kings general manager said that the decision was mutually agreed on, I wonder...
As promised, here is the play set that I recently built:
Sunday May 7, 2006 -
Before we took the grandkids home, we went to a breakfast, courtesy of the in-laws, at their Country Club. It wasn't too crowded, which was nice, and the kids were very well behaved. Food wasn't bad either. Thanks!
Saturday May 6, 2006 -
The daughter, the boyfriend, and the grandkids came over to visit and do laundry. While they did stay about eight or so hours, the boyfriend Charlie did us a huge favor by working in the backyard for at least five of those hours, moving lots and lots of rocks and clearing ground in the hot sun. Props to him. He said 'you guys do so much for us' about five times and really wanted to do something to help us. We were pleased. We did some other chores in the back yard and the grandkids enjoyed the new playground that I built. Pictures of that coming soon.
Friday May 5, 2006 -
Happy Cinco De Mayo! It came on May 5th this year. In the afternoon we went to Petra's appointment with the reconstructive surgeon. No, that is not how we celebrate Cinco De Mayo. Anyway, he did another one-ounce fill (ouch) and, good news, this is probably the last fill! Do you need to be reminded about the size of the syringe? Holy schmoly! We don't go back until late June for a status check and then, depending on that appointment, the replacement surgery is tentative for August. More on this when it gets closer.
In the evening we went to game six of the Sacramento Kings playoff series. Sadly, they lost and are now eliminated from the playoffs. The looked good but somewhat inconsistent at the end of the season and that inconsistency loomed large in a playoff series against the world champs. Oh, well, there's always next year!
News flash!! View pictures of the 4/15 wine trip here
Thursday May 4, 2006 -
Follow-up to the cancer treatment, today was a blood test for Petra, one every three months. Next week the oncologist talks to us about the results. I told her it was 'just a needle' but we both know it is more than that.
Tuesday May 2, 2006 -
Would you give this guy money? Gotta admit the sign is clever:
The Kings went back to San Antonio for game five and lost in a heartbreaker. It was tied with three minutes to go but the Spurs took care of business. Game six will be back in Sacramento on Friday.
Above the law? King George - the lawbreaker-in-chief! Now he can ignore laws he doesn't like? What is next??!! Bush has quietly claimed authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, claiming that he has the power to set aside any law when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution. Read about it here.
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