Girl Talk

I saw Girl Talk on Monday and it had to be one of the best shows I'd been to. First off, this guy had more energy than anyone I've ever seen. He spent the whole show dancing around while mixing, climbing the on the table, crowd-surfing, basically energizing the crowd. The audience was invited up to the stage to be right up with him as dudes with converted leaf-blowers shot toilet paper all over the arena,

The show had sold out the day tickets went on sale I believe, and the place was packed. The only downside was the length - we could have all rocked out for hours more, but the show was about 1:40 in total. Lame. Will go again the second that he announces he's coming back.

Here's a vid from the show someone posted:

On to Sintra

After a night started with a cook your own meat on a hot rock (see pic below), we went out to the bars/clubs, ending with some delicious hamburgers stuffed with corn, carrots, and french fries - followed by more insanity in the apartment.

We somehow managed to make it out to a gem of a Portuguese town called Sintra which has a reputation for being a bit of a mythic place. It was shrouded in clouds as we checked out the National Palace, and then went on a maze of odd Midsummer's Night Dream-esque ruins/caves in the Quinta Regleiro, which was mad fun. We spent the whole day, and again find ourselves getting ready for another dinner, perhaps Fado tonight.

Landed In Portugal

We landed in Lisbon, Portugal yesterday after getting SIP out of the way early. After braving some torrential downpours while napping the day away for trans-continental flight recovery in our downtown apartment, we made it to a Portuguese dinner, and then off to bars for drinking and dancing. We came to around noon today, got a quick lunch, took the tram to the top of Lisbon, and made it to the Castle of San Jorge.

We finished a tough day of sight-seeing with liters of beer and a snack in downtown Lisbon. On to dinner tonight and more bars.

C'est La Vie

Just put up the Travelblog for my trip to Montreal this past weekend. Fun times.

Finally - In a place known for it's St. Patty's Tradition

St. Patty's is less than a week away. I'm trying to score some tix for The Dropkick Murphys' show for a reasonable price. Even if that doesn't happen, looks like in the right place per this article on CNN:

Political wit a hit in Boston, Massachusetts

The link to Ireland couldn't be stronger than it is in Massachusetts, where a quarter of the population claims Irish heritage.

And while the state capital is awash in green cheer at this time of year, a tradition of exchanging political barbs has kicked off each morning of the St. Patrick's Day parade, dating back about 60 years. The March 15 breakfast, including song and dance amid the playful ribbing, was an outgrowth of the community's involvement in politics, which runs as deep as Irish humor.

"It allows people to see their elected officials [local, state and national] in a role they don't normally see them in," explained state Sen. Jack Hart (or, as he says it, "Haht") of south Boston, who's hosting the political roast for the eighth year. The televised event draws about 4 million viewers and "beats the Sunday morning talk shows."

Neither Sen. Ted Kennedy nor Sen. John Kerry is expected this year, but getting a call from the nation's highest office isn't unheard of. Vice President Joe Biden has attended, and Hart said they're working on getting the attention of President Obama. Or is that O'Bama?

Birth of the Sloan Temple Pilots

Many of those who know me know that I'm musically inclined. Before I came to Sloan, I was practicing music production, and was starting to get pretty decent, until the Core took over my life. Still, nothing can replace the feel of playing with other people. I hadn't been in a band since college, I just hadn't had the time.

That's why, I was ecstatic when a classmate approached me about starting an MBA band to rival the one that currently exists (The Rolling Sloans) which is a exclusive and only has 2nd years. Thus, the Sloan Temple Pilots were born. With almost ten people interested, and a logjam at guitar, I decided to be the bassist (which I don't really know how to play), and take vocals on a few songs.

Our first rehearsal was yesterday, and we didn't seem to at first be off to an auspicious start. In total rock star fashion, some of us were pretty late, our drummer had his wrists taped up from a snowboarding accident, and many band members looked like they'd had a rough morning from a long Friday night. The rehearsal space we were renting was tiny, relatively nasty, and smelled of stale cigarettes.

Yet, when we launched into our first song, we sounded fricking great! There is (not surprisingly) a ton of talent at Sloan, and even with us not having our parts all down, getting confused over certain timing issues in some songs, and all of us generally being rusty, we could have performed some of the songs we practiced right there and then to a full house.

Our first gig is in April. Be there!