October 2003

With cold weather and the resulting partial hibernation looming, I figured this weekend was the best time to participate in one of the Massachusetts-to-New Hampshire canvassing caravans for Howard Dean. I figured if I wrote about it here then I’ll be extra inspired not to back out. I’m a mixture of excited and freaked out that I’ve committed myself to going door-to-door to talk to New Hampshire voters about why I’m voting for Howard Dean. As an added bonus, Governor Dean is joining us for breakfast Sunday morning and participating in a few house calls of his own later on that day. Hopefully I’ll be able to take a few photos and have interesting stories to share.

The other day I was thinking about how fabulous it would be if Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians got back together. Well, half of that came to life. Edie has a new album out called Volcano. She was on Jay Leno earlier singing “Rush Around” which I already have on a CD from a few years ago when the New Bohemians got back together to record The Live Mauntauk Sessions album (for which they didn’t tour much other than a few shows). It was fun to see the singer from my favorite band in high school back into music again — but I am disappointed that the rest of the New Bohemians are not joining her. Her tour page doesn’t have any dates listed just yet.

ser·en·dip·i·ty ( P )
n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties
The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
An instance of making such a discovery.

Three of my favorite Boston bands have shows coming up in Cambridge at the Lizard Lounge in the next few weeks. Sparkola is celebrating the release of their second album Handclaps and Slapbacks on the 24th. Rose Polenzani has a month-long residency at the Lounge every Tuesday throughout November and the really good news about that is she’ll be joined by a full band. She does the solo singer/songwriter thing very well but after a CD Release party a few years ago with a full band, I’ve always hoped she’d be able to do more shows with other people on stage. The So and So’s are also celebrating their first CD Release party (Give Me Drama) with four nights in a row at the Lizard Lounge Wednesday, November 19th through Saturday, November 22nd.

If any of these shows interest you, let me know if you’d like to join me and other pals.

I took a few photos at BloggerCon’s pre-conference party that I helped organize. Unfortunately most of the photos did not turn out so well. That’s what I get for buying cheap film. Next time it’s back to the good stuff. One photo I took of Michael Feldman and Adam Curry turned out mostly okay except I didn’t realize there would be a reflection from the bar’s cash register.

I’ve had some sort of mix of a cold, allergies and the martian death flu for the past month. I’m not feeling all that eloquent today; but fortunately Wendy is.

The photos I took at the Bloggercon Pre-Conference Party Friday night did not turn out so well. It might be the cheap film or the photo processing at Walgreen’s. The photos I got back were missing several that I know I took. The photo of Michael Feldman and Adam Curry turned out OK so I’ll post that tonight after Dave Winer’s Thursday Weblog Writer’s Meeting.

Last night was reminiscent of a night not too long ago. Yet again, a Republican won a race that seemed way out of their league. I’m glad I don’t live in California and now have Arnold Schwarzenegger as my governor. I’m embarassed by it and I don’t even live there. Howard Dean had an interesting take on the situation. I read somewhere (wish I could find the source) that you have to wait six months after someone is in office until a recall can be proposed. Will anyone be inspired to try to recall the recall?

These are days you’ll remember. Never before and never since, I promise, will the whole world be warm as this. And as you feel it, you’ll know it’s true that you are blessed and lucky. It’s true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you. These are days you’ll remember. — “These are Days”, 10,000 Maniacs

BloggerCon concluded a few minutes ago after saying goodbyes to dinner companions. It never occurred to me that I should try to get Zippy my notebook computer online at the Harvard Book Store until Gregor and I stopped by after dinner and he turned on his computer to check the bus schedule. Voila! The bookstore is surrounded by Harvard buildings so my connection is probably coming from a student’s dorm room or apartment. Photos from the Friday night Hong Kong party will be online tomorrow. I forgot to drop off the film today.

The 10,000 Maniacs’ song with the same title as this entry came to mind when I was thinking about the Bloggercon weekend. I was pleasantly surprised to discover on the band’s website that they are back together after a two-year break following the death of founding member Robert Buck. Oskar Saville is the new singer (replacing Mary Ramsey who replaced Natalie Merchant in 1994) and they’re joined by Jeff Erickson on lead guitar. This band has special significance in my life. Fifteen years ago a coworker at the restaurant I was working at as a teenager gave me a handful of cassette tapes and CDs to listen to after discovering I had 80s hair bands in my collection but no alternative tunes. After listening to “In My Tribe” a few times I was hooked. Now if someone would just convince Edie Brickell to get back on tour with the New Bohemians. Toad the Wet Sprocket, my other favorite band from high school got back together earlier this year.

Tonight’s BloggerCon pre-party upstairs at The Hong Kong was a good time. A couple weeks ago I offered to find a venue and set up the party to help out the very busy Wendy and Dave. Other than the Geek Pride Festival in 2000, it’s been a while since I had anything to do with a conference. I think the last time I had one of my sushi parties during Boston conferences was Miller Freeman’s Web99. 1999. Time flies. I took photos tonight with my old manual SLR so it’ll be a couple days before I can post anything. After the shindig I walked up the street to the Harvard Book Store to see Michael and his cohorts. I found a computer in the back to check in with pals who weren’t able to make it to the party or conference. Michael’s co-worker Kari had never been to the famous (around Boston, that is) Kelly’s Roast Beef yet (being a recent transplant from Nebraska) so at 12:30 a.m. we embarked on a little journey to Revere. Something tells me I am not going to want to get up in three hours to get ready and take the 77 bus into Cambridge. Mmmm, caffeine.

The Iceland Airwaves Festival is coming up in Reykjavik October 15-19. I’ve wanted to attend this music festival since the first one a couple years ago. Once again it’s time to say “Maybe next year.” Starting at $499 you can fly to Iceland, stay in a decent hotel and attend the festivities. Several people who have attended Airwaves made comments on my entry from May about the event. It sounds like so much fun. Let me know if you’re interested in a group trip from Boston to Reykjavik for next year’s festival. Who knows, maybe 2004 will be the year to finally make it!