Cool new concerts

3 new concerts announced, all on sale Saturday (yes, I’m going to them all):

Wednesday, June 8th The Killers with Keane at Merriweather Post Pavilion (we won’t stay ’til the end because it’s a school night, so it’s good Keane goes on first, because we like them better). There is a presale starting Friday at 10, password is lasvegas.

Saturday, June 18th Alanis Morissette with Jason Mraz at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (near Baltimore). This is the all acoustic show from Alanis where she plays “Jagged Little Pill” straight through.

Saturday, October 8th Paul McCartney at the MCI Center. He promises “songs that have yet to be or haven’t been performed on American soil in nearly 15 years.”

Girl Genius now online

Phil Foglio, the writer/artist most famous for illustrating MythAdventures, has been doing a comic called “Girl Genius”. Apparently the mathematics are such that he’s now producing the comic online 3 times a week, and then collecting the work in trade paperbacks once there’s enough. I was unhappy that the last couple issues he had increased the size so they didn’t fit in my comics boxes, but I’ll miss seeing it every month. I’ll just add it to my slowly growing list of comic strips I read online, (like Something Positive and Sherman’s Lagoon (well, the Post publishes on Sunday, but I read the rest of the week online).

Tired & burnt

Been a busy couple days. Yesterday I had 39 eBay auctions finish, so I had to package up the comics (which meant I was out on the porch making 24 cardboard protectors out of old boxes) and send off the invoices. Later, Jill and I ran errands, which meant stops at Best Buy (new Garbage), World Market (wine), Sears (just looking), Costco (gas), Total Wine (beer, including Sam Adams White), Target (inflatable camp goodies) and Safeway (groceries). Safeway was most important, because I had purchased artichokes from Costco last week, and I needed turkey ham to make eggs benedict properly.

Once we got home, we put stuff away and I made hollandaise sauce and eggs benedict while I steamed the artichokes. We were catching up on TV, and it was after 9 when I was done, so we ate in front of the TV. Little had I realized both “Lost” and “Simpsons” were repeats last week, so we were soon done. I boiled some rhubarb and strawberries into a mash, then added some Splenda and stevia, for a dish (the consistency of applesauce) my mom used to make. I enjoyed it, but Jill wasn’t thrilled (she’s not a big applesauce fan either). She was very happy with the chocolate milkshake (with Bailey’s), though.

This morning I made eggs, then took Jill to the airport (she’ll be at a convention until Thursday in Chicago). I came back and got right to work – on my tan. I was going to go rollerblading today, but I smacked my left knee on the banister hard enough yesterday it’s still twinging today. I got my exercise nonetheless – I cleaned the entire house after I finished the paper (and got a little burnt).

Now I’m shipping all the packages from the auctions that’ve been paid for, then I’ll grill some hamburgers for dinner. I’ve still got over 5 hours of shows to watch (last week’s Deadwood, two Daily Shows, Bill Maher, and the Brits awards). I may not get to all that tonight, especially since I have to record shows for Jill tonight. That’s ok, I haven’t cracked my new comics box yet either.

Random thoughts from the last week

We went to see the Bobs last night. They did an a cappella version of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody In Blue” (with a piano accompanist). I thought it was the best thing they’d ever done, Jill thought it was the worst. Guess we don’t have the same taste after all.

I’ve done two sessions of the new “boot camp” my company’s offering, and I’m very sore, especially in the quads and upper arms. I think I’m going to keep doing it, so I need to pay $120 next week for the equipment.

We went to see Angie Aparo on Thursday. He now has a full band, and he really rocked the place. The new songs are good, can’t wait to get my hands on them.

I make a pretty tasty chicken and pasta with pesto. Last weekend, I found a basil pesto at Costco that’s nearly a dead ringer for my cilantro pesto. Brought the prep time down from 2.5 hours to 1 hour. And it still was tasty.

I hadn’t been inside Costco in a while (mostly just get gas, Jill goes inside). I found some good food, including some tasty low carb chicken ravioli. My favorite purchase was chicken sausage with feta and spinach. That’s very good.

Last Sunday, the family got together to celebrate my dad’s birthday. We had steaks outside at the picnic table, and it felt like meals we’d had years ago.

Salmonella Man

John, a coworker of mine, and I were talking about exercise (they started a free program at work yesterday), and he told me he used to drink raw eggs for breakfast. I said we’d never do that these days.

Yesterday morning I woke up with this in my head, thought I’d share (to the tune of Rush’s “Cinderella Man”:
A modest man from Fairfax
Thought he could be like Rocky
He had a need to drink
Eggs that were never cooked

Because he was foolish
Because he wanted protein
Because he was hungry
They called him insane
Watched too many movies
Goes to the gym all day
A little psychotic
He runs in the rain

Eyes wide open
Stomach churning
His bathroom now tarnished…

Salmonella Man
Puking in your can
Got to move quick
You’ve got the runs
Salmonella Man
Too weak to stand
Try to fight it
But you can’t get off the couch

As the sickness passed he awakened
To face a world without cramps
And a look in the refrigerator
Told him just what he must do

He went to shelf
And got some more eggs
You and I
Might call him insane
He went to the blender
And made another shake
And now he’s got
Runs and fever again