Upcoming Autumn Excursions

I did some research today to see what my next art museum destination will be in the next week or two, and I discovered that most of the affiliated institutions included in my year's membership are quite far away! The nearest is 30 minutes away, the next about an hour, and the rest are all at least 2½ hours away. I may do an overnight to hit the one in Maine (4 hours away), and the two on Cape Cod (Dennis & Provincetown). And I went to Bennington, VT for a day trip last year and loved the area, so an excuse to repeat will be just fine (Alpacas and Beer and Chocolate, oh my!).

I also bought two tickets to see Pete Yorn in early October! I just randomly checked his site to see if he had any upcoming shows, and sure enough - October 4th at the Pearl Street Ballroom in Northampton. The same thing happened a few days ago when I stumbled upon old college favorites Chapterhouse, who I'd assumed folded. I got two tickets to see them at The Middle East the day after the Pete Yorn show (though I bought those tickets first). Maybe I'll try to find 3 other shows (Almanac Mountain is playing on the 3rd, and Dan Blakeslee on the 6th), and make a week of it - Not Lame Minus look out!

Throw in a few upcoming local mountain climbing expeditions (both solo and with family & friends, if they are so inclined), and this fall is going to be fun...

Fitchburg Art Museum

I went to the Fitchburg Art Museum today. I got an individual membership for $35, which gets me into this museum for a year (normally $7 per visit), plus free admission to ten other New England Museums! And I got a free $8 mug too - score! The best thing about the day besides all of the amazing artwork and inspiration was that there was no one else in the museum for the entire 3 hours I spent there today (noon to 3 pm). It was perfect. I doubt I'll ever be so fortunate again, but that's okay - today rocked.

Productive Day

I spent ALL day drawing and writing (in front of the tv). I got a lot done.

Obsessions

There is something magical and satisfying about avoiding all the hype and full senses media assault of a particular television show or book series, and waiting until it's past being the 'Current Big Thing' to dive in and make one's own judgment on the body of work's merits without outside influence.

Back in July of '08 I finally dove into the Harry Potter books & films after having ignored them from the beginning (I viewed Harry as a blatant ripoff of DC Comics "Timothy Hunter", who had been created seven years prior). I read all six paperbacks that were in print at the time, watched all of the movies that had been released to that point, and when the final book was published, I bought the hardcover as well (and even reread the first 6 books before I opened the new one). I got to read them uninterrupted by long waits, and it was summer on Cape Cod, so the sea air and sunshine in my backyard enhanced the experience. They were excellent.

In the spring of '09 I decided to check out "Bones". It was in syndication on TBS, so I could watch 2 episodes every evening from 6-8 pm. I immediately fell in love with all of the cast except Emily Deschanel, but even she grew on me after awhile. Great stories, likable characters, interesting cases, lots of humor, and rotating lab assistants - a perfect mix of elements. I still watch the new episodes on FOX, and I even have the show's theme by The Chemical Brothers on my iPod!

Early winter 2010: After years of mental exhaustion from hearing how wonderful "Jim & Pam" were, and what a hilarious actor Rainn Wilson was, not to mention Steve Carell's nearly 'Will Ferrellesque' overexposure, I finally caved and began watching "The Office". I needed something new to fill my time, and TBS had Tuesday night marathons from 8-11 pm of six episodes, plus MyTV had 2 episodes every weeknight from 7-8 pm. The MyTV episodes were sequential from day to day, but not on the same day, so I was watching 2 different seasons at a time each evening. It was an interesting way to get to know the characters, with them being in different stages of their relationships, and I had a great time hunting down episodes I hadn't seen to fill in the gaps. When the new shows were run on NBC, it was even more of a leap into 'the future', which was a unique experience. I would watch an episode with Pam & Roy together, another with Jim & Karen, and then *POW!* Pam is pregnant with Jim's baby, and they are about to get married. Bizarre, but cool at the same time. It was very much a visual analog to the times I would fill in gaps in my comic book collection when I was younger.

Anyway, to get to the point (and up to date): over the past 2 weeks or so I decided to finally give AMC's "Mad Men" a try. I watched the first episode of Season 4 on July 25th, and then the following one the next Sunday, and I was hooked. And thanks to Comcast On Demand, I watched the 13 episodes of Season 3 this past week, and it's absolutely fantastic. The era is captured perfectly, the stories and characters are engaging, and the style is so cool.

The only problem I have with the show is the extremely jarring sight of seeing nearly every single person smoking cigarettes! It's so bizarre to think that people actually smoked that much back in the day. Though looking back to when I was a kid, except for my parents, most adults did in fact view smoking to be as essential as drinking water or breathing (irony!) air. And the excessive drinking, both at home every evening, and at work all day, is very weird too. But I appreciate these vices for their historical accuracy. They do add immensely to the overall tone of the show. I am going to hunt down the box sets for Seasons 1 & 2 so I have the full story (though I already plowed through all the entries on wikipedia).

Who knows what the next big ignored thing will be?

A Liv(eable)ing Room

I ran out to K-mart today, determined to upgrade my living room. I came home with two cool new chairs, which are both much higher off the ground than my big leather one (not to mention better for my posture), for $50 each. I also got two matching rugs so poor Sabrino has something that provides traction when he runs around the apartment like a maniac (the laminate floor clatters with the scrabbling of his claws). Another bonus: the chairs are perfect for playing guitar, so I don't have to make a special effort to drag in another chair, or practice solely in my bedroom.

I also dusted and vacuumed the entire room, moved the 2nd of my two big bookcases to the window area, and slid the big leather chair in between them, for a mini-library that is sunlit. This really opens up the main part of the room, though it will take a bit of time to get used to not having the deep shelves and top surface for my drawing implements & beverages. But I am nothing if not adaptable!

Wyman's Pond Music Fest - Wrap

Well, that was a good day.

After showering and packing my cooler, I made a quick stop for some Wachusett Nut Brown at the Depot Package Store in Westminster, and headed down to the lake. It was finally the day of the music festival I have been planning & producing since January, Wyman's Pond Music Fest. Kevin was already putting the finishing touches on the stage he built for the musicians, and Ted and his brother showed up soon after with a canopy and two long tables.

People slowly started trickling in around noon (Sarah & Jon were the first, then Rob, Brian & Nikki). And the kids spent the first hour or so in the water. Over the early part of the afternoon close to sixty people showed up for the event, with a few latecomers.

Right around 1:30 Almanac Mountain (Chris Cote) showed up, with Erik F. in tow, and at 2 pm, he played the first notes of the event. It was a mesmerizing set, he projected well for the space, and everyone (especially the kids) loved it. He sold a few cds, and after his set I raffled off a copy that he'd donated, along with one of five "to be printed post-event" t-shirts. I was a bit distracted while he played, as I had to meet & greet other musicians as they arrived, but I paid close attention during his unplugged versions of "Spiral Onion Shoots" and "Surry Hospitality", plus several of his older tunes. It's always fantastic to hear my old friend perform live. Plus, he finally got to meet all the Lebanese members of my family in attendance (haha).

Then at 3 pm Elizabeth Lorrey went on. Her voice was somewhat softer, and didn't project as well as AM's, but she sounded great. Once again, I was so busy making sure everyone was having a good time, and greeting stragglers, that I didn't have much time to just sit and listen. But I love her songs "Awakening" and "She", and I took a moment to listen to them up close and personal. You could tell that the inspiration for them was drawn from her life. When she finished, I repeated the raffle act (a copy of her cd and a t-shirt), to another two fans' delight. Elizabeth is very down to earth, and quite cool. I tried to make sure she & Lee were well-attended over the course of the day, but they didn't seem to mind making their ways through the crowd (they knew Pete from other gigs, and Luke of course, when he arrived), and they spoke to a great many revelers.

Next up at 4 pm: Lee Villaire belted out her bluesy set at a high & energetic volume. My dad really enjoyed her rowdy songs, and she definitely knew how to interact with the crowd. Once again, the kids (there were close to 20 in attendance!) were entranced. Though at times they kept coming up to me and asking "how many songs are left? We want to see Vanessa!", which was cool, but I felt a bit embarrassed for the other musicians' sake. But hey, kids know what they like! After Lee was done, there was a 20-minute break or so (the other 'intermissions' had been about ten minutes), in order to give people a chance to grill and eat something (and make the kids eat!), and for Vanessa's ensemble to gather themselves on stage.

Then at 5 pm it was time for Vanessa Kafka! Accompanying her were Carl Puglisi (djembe) and Brian Sargent (guitar and mandolin) from her band, with their friend Kenneth Budka sitting in on bongos. They were fantastic. Having more than one musician playing (and two of them singing) really made it a sight to see (and sound to hear), and they were easily heard by all. They played a bunch of songs from "Into Place", a couple of older tunes ("Better" & "Gold"), and some new ones ("Good as New", "Don't Believe Me" and "What am I Falling For?") - I was in heaven, and it was definitely a highlight of my day, personally. The crowd loved them too, and the kids flooded the stage after the last song with their parents' money to buy copies of "Into Place", and have Vanessa personalize them with a few kind words and her autograph. She even let my nieces sign their names to her guitar case with a sharpie! What a sweetheart. Helena, Georgia, Jackie and Celia all came away from that set in a glow of happiness and wonder. It was quite the sight to see....

After all three of the female performers did a quick round of exchanging copies of their respective cds, next up was Rob's friend James McGarvey III. He had driven all the way from Maine with his girlfriend to play, and arrived around 5:30. James had a strong high voice (which Jon later said he could hear across the lake), and chatted up the crowd constantly. He also played a lot of covers, which was a fantastic way to prevent a veil of 'festival fatigue' from settling over the listeners, which could have otherwise fallen over the crowd. After 12 or 13 songs (he could have gone on all night, he said), a final raffle of his cd and one last t-shirt, and he was done. Finally, Kenneth Budka, who had accompanied Vanessa Kafka & her crew to the event, was game to do a set of his own. He played several of his original songs, and wrapped up the music part of the day (a span of six hours!) quite nicely.

After the music was over, people lazily dispersed. They ate, mingled, caught up on old times, made new plans, and headed home at their leisure. Jon & Sarah, and Kevin were going to set off fireworks after dark, but I was too drained to stick around. So after a quick clean-up of my stuff and major trash receptacles (Kevin graciously offered to clean the rest up in the morning), I headed home around 8:30.

The day was mostly a blur. I did my best to make sure everyone was having a good time, and tried to spend a few minutes with every attendee. Rob did a kick-ass job throughout the day, taking snapshots of the event, and Jon was kind enough to grill for the guys in Vanessa's band after their set. Plus, it was fantastic to have so many old friends from Oakmont, my time in New Hampshire, and beyond in attendance (it's not a true 'Ken Party' unless many eras in my life are represented at once!). And I now have a successful 6-act live music festival under my belt. I guess that makes me a professional!

All photos taken by me, except this last one (taken by Jon S.)