Look Out Below

This morning as I was dropping Woogy off at school, I got out of my car for a minute to talk to the teacher. Suddenly, I heard a huge SPLAT! and saw what appeared to be a massive amount of bird poop on my car. The first thing I thought was "I'm glad that wasn't my head." Its a case of karma since I was parked in a handicapped spot (just for a minute). Ironcially, I had just washed my car a few days ago.

Weekend adventures

After several months of cold rainy weekends, the sun and pleasant weather returned this weekend. As always, we tried to make the best of the weather and travelled up the gorge to Bridal Vail falls and then to Mt. Hood for some more sledding.

Here's Mt. Hood near the top. A lot of skiers and snowboarders around. I truely regret never having learned to snow board or ski. It looks pretty fun.

Here's Bridal Vail Falls. This is around the same area of a lot of the other waterfalls, but it's kind of hidden around a corner. It was a pretty easy hike down to the falls.
The family by the falls

Here's a little clip of me going down a pretty steep hill. It was a little rough, but I'm alright. I'm not as young as I used to be. That's Monty chasing me down the hill.

Editors in Portland

Last Wed, one of my favorite bands--The Editors were in town. This would be their second visit to Portland in less than 6 months, but I'm not complaining. I'm really loving these guys and they are quickly raising on my list of "favorite bands of all time." I also thought they had the best new album last year with "An End Has A Start."

Sure, they have their critics and get accused of ripping off Joy Division, but I think they improve on that gloomy alternative sound with glass shredding guitars that Joy Division started years ago. They also get some comparisons to Interpol, but I think with their last album, the Editors surpasses Interpol on every level.

The Editors played a pretty intensive show mostly drawing from tunes on their new album and hardly stopping or letting up for almost an hour. Tom Smith (lead singer) is a great performer and the closing song "Smokers in the Hospital Doors" achieves the heights and granduer few bands have matched. Since this band is still pretty young, I'm excited to hear what they will do next.

Bono Fatigue: A Place for Bono Vox Detox

I was going to blog about the incredible Editors concert I went to last night, but I thought this would be more funny.
I found this link on Larknews.com and thought it was pretty funny. I'm not sure if I have ever suffered from this. I've been a loyal fan for over 20 years and don't feel I need a detox. Maybe I'm just blind to the symptoms.

www.BonoFatigue.com // A Place for Bono Vox Detox

From site host Andrew BillingsThis site is for U2 fans suffering from Bono Fatigue as a result of an over-consumption of U2 music, Bono interviews, Africa-related relief ideas etc. (BF can manifest in many ways. If you don't have it, you'll know it when you get it.) Since people at this site are recovering from BF, and are hoping to work through it and re-introduce U2 back to their lives, please do not post band photos, art or quotes unless absolutely necessary to your comment. Give others a chance to walk through this at their own pace. Thanks! Heal and enjoy.

Here's some of the postings:

First, thanks to Andrew for creating this safe haven! My Bono Fatigue started shortly after "Atomic Bomb" was released. I listened to the enhanced CD for 302 hours straight, even while sleeping. It was a total binge and I knew better. I also read that book of interviews with Bono, "Conversations," about six times.During that same time I got "hooked" on the Africa cause really bad. I made myself feel sick about AIDS and poverty, to the point where I couldn't think about anything else. I OD'ed pretty bad and got the biggest case of BF. I couldn't even hear Bono's voice without feeling totally self-righteous and prophetic. I thought I was way hipper than all my non-U2 loving Christian friends. I even quit going to church and listened to U2 music on Sunday mornings as my "church."I finally realized I had a problem, so I went cold turkey for 5 months, then weaned back onto their stuff. I have earned my family and friends back, and now I moderate my U2 intake. BF can be beat, people!
Audrey464always

I guess I'm in the middle of some bad BF. I dreamed last night that Bono, Bono's wife, Bob Geldof and the Edge were hiding around every corner and jumping out to frighten me and play "I'm gonna getcha" while pinching and tickling me. It was awful to have my favorite band in a nightmare! When I ran away from them I felt guilty, like I wasn't doing the "right thing."The weird thing is, I don't even know who Bob Geldof is. It must have come into my head subliminally. Is he the Live Aid guy? Or Band-Aid? Even typing the word "Aid" is bringing on symptoms. Agh!

I relapsed last night and listened to the first three songs of Achtung. By the time The Fly rolled around I was back to thinking Bono was Elijah. It's amazing how long it takes to get over distorted thoughts. I can't wait 'til my detox is done and I get back to regular listening. I miss U2, but I can't have them right now!

U2 3D

Over the weekend, I finally had my opportunity to go see U2 3D. It was as I predicted--totally mind blowing. Coming from U2, I would expect anything less. They haven't let me down in over 20 years that I've been a fan. This was about 80 mins of pure 3-D joy with U2 on stage during their Vertigo Tour. By the time I bought a IMAX ticket, popcorn and a drink, I realized that I spent half as much if I went to a real U2 concert. In a way, this was about as close as you could get to seeing U2. At times I had to ask my friend Aaron "Shouldn't we be standing?" I also caught myself almost clapping. That's how real it felt.
The movie really did U2 some justice. It was clear that U2 was using this movie of spreading their agenda for tolerance and coexistance. The art work flashing on the screens and Bono's performance were consistently a plea for nonviolence and peace. With the exception of a few songs, U2 played most of their policitally charged anthems including my personal favorites "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and a heart felt verison of "Pride"(Bono actually fixed the lyrics to be historical accurate of the time MLK was shot). Anyway, the movie is nothing but uplifting and like all U2 shows, you leave with a sense of hope. I really loved the animation being played during "Yaweh" at the end of the film. U2 3-D accomplished it's mission if it set out to capture U2's message.
Unfortuately, hundreds of teenage girls got a totally different message in the next door theather that was playing "Hannah Montana in 3-D " to sold out crowds. That's OK, I didn't want them in my theather anyway.