Hey, guess what we did Tuesday night. No, we didn’t sit in the basement and watch Lost. The rest of the world was watching Lost, but we weren’t. Good thing we saw it on the internet Wednesday evening because I would have been upset if I really missed it.
Instead of watching Lost, we went over to Eastern Connecticut State University (EastConn? – do they call it that?) to see Danny Glover and Felix Justice give a performance called “An Evening with Martin & Langston.” I will admit that it was very good.
Here is a pretty decent description I found at GTN:
“An Evening with Martin & Langston” draws audiences inside the worlds of two of the greatest orators of the 20th century: Martin Luther King, Jr., and Langston Hughes. The evening begins with Justice`s critically acclaimed portrayal of Dr. King; through the words of his most memorable speeches, Justice transforms into the legendary civil-rights leader, recreating the power of the man and his message. Justice then introduces “an old friend of mine I think you may have heard of,” and Glover enters the stage to bring to life the words and poetry of Langston Hughes. Accompanied by readings of his work, Glover portrays one of the great American writers in modern history.
Following their respective performances, Justice joins Glover on stage for a question-and-answer session to complete an evening that is memorable, heart-felt and not to be missed. To quote The Los Angeles Times: “The entire program turned out to be all about dreams…”
Danny Glover and Felix Justice At Eastern Connecticut University – #1
Danny Glover and Felix Justice At Eastern Connecticut University – #2
I am going to be very honest here. While the performance was very moving, I didn’t hear it all that well. We kind of sat towards the back and I am hard of hearing at times. My better half apparently heard everything just fine. I am sure she could recite much of it word for word.
I did feel a little guilty just smiling and nodding my head when we discussed the performance later on that evening. It’s not easy to put on that type of charade for as long as I did. I was kind of like, “Yeah, I think so too.” and “Absolutely, that part was great.” Then I would quickly change the subject to something more along the lines of Jiu Jitsu. That usually does the trick.
I hope she doesn’t read this. I am in for a beatdown if she does.
Hey, guess what guys…I finally read Lord Of The Flies. I know, I think I was suppose to do this back in high school. I wasn’t aware of this, so it didn’t happen.
For my birthday, I received the book. I finished reading it the other night and then decided to watch the movie. That’s how it usually works. Of course, the movie is never as good as the book.
So, here’s my review. Both the movie and the book were just okay. I think the author (William Golding) really had an opportunity to create something much deeper, but perhaps he would have lost his younger audience. Also, there are similarities between The Lord Of The Flies and the show Lost, so I might have expected more.
The book touched on some topics more than the movie did. Also, the movie added a few things that never happened in the book. I’m not sure why, because they weren’t relevant to what was going on.
There were some important events that occurred in the book that just didn’t happen in the movie. I would say the two most important events were the defining of the Lord Of The Flies and how the little mini-civilization degraded so fast. The movie skimmed over the scenes of anything having to do with the pig’s head and how Jack’s group found Ralph and how/why they started to burn the island down. It was disappointing because those were major events.
Overall, I think both the book and the movie left me asking why didn’t this happen and why didn’t that happen, instead of really wondering why something did happen.
Have you ever met anyone who was cooler than you are? No, I mean much cooler than you are.
Day in, day out, we meet all types of people. The people we meet are generally what we are used to…people who are in the hardware store, the grocery store…people we see driving around on the roads. They are all generally the same type of person and nothing really to stand back from and admire. Well, every so often we come across someone who is out of our league. If you are a guy, this is the kind of person you make sure your lady isn’t looking at for just a bit too long.
I think Peter Mulvey is cooler than I am and yes, I made sure Laura was still interested in me when he took the stage up at Infinity Hall in Norfolk, CT on September 27.
Who is Peter Mulvey? Well, his website says he is an “amazing singer/songwriter/guitarist from Milwaukee.” Good enough for me.
Okay, so here’s the story. The other day, Laura strolled over to me and told me that she made dinner reservations at Infinity Hall. I believe I have written about this place before. I asked her why she made the reservations and she replied, “Oh, no reason.” She then told me that we would be heading upstairs to watch a performer after dinner. This was fairly early in the morning and it was raining outside, so it took me by surprise. Even though I was tired and still half asleep, I agreed to accompany her on this little journey. See what I get for constantly telling her I want to go places?
The dinner reservations were for 5:30 and the show started at 7:30. That gave us two hours to check out the new “Bistro” that Infinity Hall has been promoting. It also gave us time to walk around the newly renovated building that houses Infinity Hall. It’s really cool. If you are ever up in the North/West corner of Connecticut, you should stop in to check it out. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel hip just by being there.
We arrived just on time and walked through the front door. One of the things that struck me right away was the color combination of the interior. It looked great. It was earthy and full of greens, maroons and dark yellows. I kept looking at it as we were eating. These guys put a lot of money and time into restoring the original building and it showed. We sat down and had a good dinner and, of course, drank our Guinness.
After dinner, we walked around to check out the building. We had about a half hour, so I thought it would be a good time to take some pictures. If I didn’t, I would be sitting here right now with nothing to upload. Lucky for you, I got some nice shots. It was kind of dark in there, so I am happy that I got what I got.
Out in front of Infinity Hall in Norfolk, CT
Infinity Hall sign
Huge fan above music hall at Infinity Hall
Balcony above music hall at Infinity Hall
Stage area in the music hall at Infinity Hall
After a while, we walked into the music hall and took our seats. A few minutes later, a very talented artist named Brianna Lane appeared on stage. She sang a few songs and got the audience all warmed up for the main act, Peter Mulvey.
Let me tell you why I think Peter Mulvey is cooler than I am. Well, for one, his voice is better than mine. Also, he can play the guitar really well as opposed to me not being able to play at all. He has a stage presence, writes letters to his nieces and nephews, tells stories and…and rode a bicycle with about four other people to Connecticut from Michigan. I mean, c’mon Peter, you’re killin’ me over here. All I am is a guy who works on computers sitting out in the audience. You gotta stop.
Oh well. At least his show was a crowd pleaser. Everybody loved him and I really got a kick out of how he incorporated some of the letters he wrote to his nieces and nephews in his music and album. He is witty and has a way with words. I can only dream of being like that.
Check out Peter Mulvey. Watch the entire video because he sings towards the end.
As I wrote in my last post, we did a bunch of stuff this weekend, but what I didn’t mention was what we did exactly.
Do you know of Duran Duran? If you are over the age of…let’s see…4 years old, you probably do. Duran Duran is one of those groups that everyone loves. They have been around forever and have tons of great songs. Believe it or not, they are still rockin’ and rollin’ and traveling all over the place making people go nuts.
There was a day a few months ago when Laura told me that she would be satisfied if she could see just one more band in concert. That band is Duran Duran. I kind of half listened because she has seen about a zillion bands in concert throughout her lifetime. I am guessing that she has made this claim many times. I did tuck the thought way back in my head though.
About a month and a half ago, I was lying in bed one morning, debating on whether or not to get up. I know I was awake, but I wasn’t too sure if the person I was laying next to was. The radio/alarm was sounding and I knew I had to so something soon, or else I would fall back to sleep.
A few minutes later, the DJ started talking about how Duran Duran was going to be playing down at MGM Grand at Foxwoods on December 12. My ears perked up, because I am always looking for a good surprise to spring on someone. I hopped out of bed to check out the MGM Grand website and sure enough, Duran Duran was scheduled to play that evening.
I didn’t just go ahead and purchase the tickets. I waited and tried to learn if we had, or were going to have anything planned for that time of year. Who knew if we were doing something important in December. I kept my mouth shut and cleverly began my investigation. Oh, I was good…asking questions here and throwing out ideas there. I was executing all sorts of strategy to get the lowdown on December 12. It was like a game of cat and mouse.
It took me all day to get the facts, without giving my grand plan away. You should have seen me; I kept rubbing my hands together like I was an evil magician.
The next day, Laura walked up to me and told me that she bought three tickets to see Duran Duran down at MGM Grand at Foxwoods. What?
I guess she was awake.
Okay, so yesterday was the day. I won’t rehash the story I told you the last post. I will just start with the fun stuff.
We arrived in the parking garage of MGM Grand. I was a little nervous, because I have never been there before. I have driven by, but have never gone inside. MGM Grand is actually only a few months old. Foxwoods built it right next to the original casino. I had no idea if the parking situation was going to be far away in some secret parking lot somewhere or what.
The parking was great. It’s very light and safe. The parking garage is probably close to 10 levels. I am guessing here, because I didn’t walk up to all of them, but the garage is pretty high.
We did our thing and hopped out of the car, but first, I grabbed my camera. I always forget to bring my camera to concerts like this. I think they are going to stop me at the gate and make me put it back in the car. Then, after I get in, I see thousands of people snapping away with their cameras all evening. I get so mad because it happens every time.
This time, I had planned on hiding it in my sock, but the gate was very informal and we weren’t frisked like we usually are.
Let me tell you about dinner first.
We decided to get to the casino at 6PM, so we could have a nice dinner at Shrine restaurant. This was important to us, because it wouldn’t be a really great evening if we didn’t eat and get a little drunk first. I will bypass all the food mumbo jumbo and get straight to the neat pics I took inside the restaurant.
Shrine restaurant menu - MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Tables at Shrine - MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Candle on table at Shrine - MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Glass on table at Shrine - MGM Grand at Foxwoods
The dinner was great, but let me warn you…it’s expensive. They have you as a captive audience and charge like it. It’s pretty good food though, especially the appetizers.
After dinner, we had about an hour and a half to burn before the show started. To use up the time, we decided to do a little gambling and take pictures of the inside of the casino (some with me in them).
We walked towards the slot machines and got all sorts of excited. I stopped, puffed out my chest and pulled $20 out of my pocket. I handed it to Laura and told her not to spend it all in one place. Then, I said, “Wait, I am coming with you. That’s for the both of us.”
C’mon guys. I’m not an idiot. Does anyone seriously sit there and hand over more than $20 to a casino?
We played the machines. We kept changing between nickle and quarter bets. We felt like high rollers and laughed a lot, which is good. Then, it happened. You have to check this out.
Winning slot machines
Have you ever seen that before? Yup, we took our $17.63 and bolted. We cashed out and brought the winnings over to get some coffee for $4.25 each. Well, we didn’t exactly win, as you can tell from the $17.63, but we did come back from being way down and knew when to get the heck out of there. Yee haw.
We had some time left, so we decided to walk around a bit and take some pictures. The ladies had fun with the camera. So much fun in fact, I had to delete many less mature shots.
Ceiling lights at MGM Grand
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The huge Christmas tree at MGM Grand
Me, giving a fashion pose, in front of the huge Christmas tree
The lobby fountain at MGM Grand
That was fun. I think I had 75 pictures on my camera and narrowed it down to 5. Nice job.
After that, we went in to grab our seats in the theater. As I mentioned above, nobody hassled me about having my camera on me. Inside, they did tell us that flash photography wasn’t welcome and one time, a guy came over to tell me that I couldn’t take pictures during the show. Whatever. Here they are.
Before Duran Duran came onto stage
Duran Duran in concert - MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Duran Duran in concert - MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Duran Duran in concert - MGM Grand at Foxwoods
The group put on a good show. I’ll leave it at that, because I am sure you have all heard about how great bands are when they perform. They are all pretty good.
One thing that surprised me was how many times I kept saying, “Oh, that is their song too?” I kept forgetting how long these guys have been around and how many songs they have out there. It’s not very difficult for them to pick the good ones.
After we got back to the house, we had a few sips of the wine Laura’s friend bought us. That made us all tired and we went to bed.
This is a new online shopping storefront. Through some pretty neat technology, created by a very talented company other than mine, we are able to pull in every single item from Amazon.com. This is huge because while being able to offer an extremely large variety of products, I am able to micro-target (you like that?) my classifieds audience. Say for example, if someone visits PetClassifieds.US and is not able to find the dog collar they were looking for, they can easily follow the links to the appropriate category on UpMyAlley.US to make a purchase.
By the way, Laura made up the domain name, so I must give mad props to her.
