Magic Jewball

Man, am I behind. It’s already August 3rd and I haven’t done “Snappy answers to stupid questions” yet. And it won’t be done today either. Things have been busy around here and it only promises to get busier. This week brought the supposed concert of a lifetime, The Police, and if that was the concert of my lifetime, my life is pretty sucky. I mean, it was OK, but I couldn’t help thinking, “I waited 25 years for this?” It felt too bombastic, too rehearsed, too Synchronicity and Greatest Hits. Thank God for Invisible Sun and Bed’s Too Big Without You or I would have demanded my money back from my scalper. If I could find him. Next week is Crowded House. Neil Finn, don’t fail me now!

This weekend, just like Eric Gagné and Nicolas Sarkozy, I’ll be going to Boston (ok ok, Sarkozy’s going to New Hampshire, but it’s only two hours from Boston) although I’m going for a family wedding plus a little quality time with Jan, Mr. Jan, and Baby Owen. Baby Owen was born on my birthday last October but I have yet to lay eyes on him. This will soon be remedied and I will be on hand to verify his adorableness in person. In case you forgot the Jan family, it was this photo that convinced me that Mr. Jan was skilled enough with Photoshop to put together the J-Ball logo.

Also this month, there will be the fun yet tedious task of filling in the blanks of my Greek vacation (what, I have to do something beyond booking the flights?) but luckily Lou die Hausgäst has been there eleventy times and is acting as my travel consultant. I’m convinced that Greece is the Florida of Europe, not so much in its wackiness (although, who knows, maybe it’s wacky) but in it being the little thing sticking out at the bottom where everybody vacations because they’re tired of freezing their asses off at home in their cold, cold cities and there are plenty of cheap flights to help them warm up.

Last up will be the US Open. Depending on how much you like posts about tennis, expensive hot dogs, and sunburn, you will either be psyched beyond comprehension or readying your plans to read other blogs. Companion tickets to attend with Becca are all taken but I may have some tickets to sell from our family plan (I have a large family and we love the US Open, but hey, we’re human) if anyone is interested.

OK, enough of the coming attractions. Although I’ll be away, I will schedule the iPod Song of the Week for Sunday afternoon so you won’t even miss me. And I swear, I’ll have the Snappy Answers post early next week, although I can already be pretty sure that the #1 search will be for Simpsons Porn. It’s a scary world out there.

In the meantime, here’s a fun photo. Eagle-eyed readers of the comments section may have noticed that I spent last Sunday in the sticks. By “the sticks” I meant Dutchess County, NY which these days isn’t as boony as it was when I was a kid. See, my parents worked at a summer camp and so I spent several months a year there until I was 16. This was, in fact, where the sidebar photo of me was taken. Here’s a shot of how it looks these days. I took this photo while visiting last year but I can tell you that it hasn’t changed much in twelve months. Or years. The sidebar picture enlarges upon your click if you want to compare.

It’s just as peaceful and relaxing as it looks. OK, I am off to get ready to pahk my cah in Hahvad yahd. Except I don’t have a car and neither the Jans nor my cousins talk like that. But you get me. Have a good weekend all!

Boston – More Than A Feeling