I drove up to Milwaukee Friday night to spend some QT with family friends the Twins (TM) and godson Alex (who loves to introduce me as his "godfather" for the odd looks), who, ceremony notwithstanding, are officially done at Marquette. Did this make me feel old? Yes, yes it did.
Laura looks happy and relieved, Alex looks scared and about to relieve his pants. Can you cry laugh at the same time? The random "Road work ahead" sign in the corner is also great, and kind of ominous.
We took in a Brewers game, which went undeterred by finicky Midwest spring weather because of Miller Park's retractable roof, and where Prince Fielder became a new favorite (how many can you have at once, anyway? Double digits too many?) after he pounded a monstrous drive to deep center, which was "estimated at 475 feet, the second-longest since Miller Park opened in 2001."What's not to like about a guy that has a great name, great baseball pedigree, weighs 280 lbs, and can hit baseballs farther than I can hit golf balls? Pretty much nothing. And he just turned 22, and looks a lot like Big Papi. The thing is, David Ortiz didn't turn into Big Papi until his age 28 season.
See the Cingular and Roadrunner billboards (right of the scoreboard)? Fielder's homer hit the beam under the ads. For good measure, he cranked out an opposite field shot his next AB.
Saturday night, went to check out Secret Machines at a midnight show at Metro. Why a midnight show, guys. I know, so I'd be bleary-eyed for Mass the following morning. Random observations include:
1. I could have sworn guitarist Ben Curtis was wearing a blouse. A little too tight to be "fitted," black, cap sleeves, v-neck, topped off with a rather large charm on a silver chain, which would have fit *right* in during the 80s heyday of terrible movies like "Conan the Barbarian" and "Beastmaster." This jives with MaxFactor's observation that crowd seemed, more um, non-hetero than he'd envisioned. Nothing wrong with it, just didn't know the gay community was so into psychedelic rock. Good on you guys.
2. Drummer Josh Garza is a golden god. And it was his birthday.
3. SM has a very strong "it's-all-about-the-music" vibe during their performances; they don't indulge in Crowd Banter 101, they don't have a traditional floor configuration (main singer is off to the side, the trio faces each other), and lots of time you can't even see them cuz their usually backlit, the light show lases directly into the audience and the smoke takes care of the rest. So it's a little weird to listen to the new album, which sounds post-relational and attention-needy, and juxtapose it with how they carry themselves. Also, Ben Curtis wants to be a Guitar Hero (TM), which sort of makes sense considering their avowed Zeppelin love, but doesn't considering their generally aloof vibe. Anyway. They're probably still in the middle of figuring it all out.
4. I should have gotten the other shirt. Dah. At least I still have a shirt that says "Secret Machines" on it.
Woke up Sunday and had a great brunch with the boarders, my parents, my godson's and his cousin's families. Fun. This doesn't even include the two Sox games I went to last week. To answer your question, yes, I'm still actively looking for work, but what are you supposed to do when a school that's interested can't hire you because you don't coach soccer? Oh well. Here's to good times until then.
