Summer wrap up, and fall intro

Greetings.  Time to bring this bad boy up to date.  Updates include some concert footage, proof that genius is not immediately recognized, and a gingerbread house.  So let's get started!!

U2



Starship U2 lands at TCF Stadium in Minneapolis


Last year U2 was supposed to wrap up their US tour in Minneapolis, but Bono strained his back probably in one of his soul arching bellows, and the band cancelled a handfull of its last shows.  We waited patiently, all 60,000 of us, and the show was well worth it when the band returned at the end of July.  My good friend Larry Kalka, who bought the tickets and had since moved to Dallas, flew back up for the show and invited my co-worker Ricardo and our good friend Dr. Mark Olisavo

Me, Ricardo, Larry and Mark

I haven't seen a super show in the monsters of rock genre in a long, long time for obvious reasons (expensive tickets, peeing people everywhere, traffic, performers that look like action figures from row 900 in section ZZZ).  All of those could have happened here, but we parked early, gave time for a good walk, lined up early and had the benefit of a zero alcohol policy in the stadium.  People just don't pee as much drinking diet cokes, even if they are spiked.

View looking backward

View looking forward

Obviously looking forward is better.  We ended up about 10 feet from one of the walkways where the band would come out and get the crowd riled up. 



One more view for good measure

So, as mega shows go, it was a great great evening.  To add to the energy, and support U2's reputation as kings of the showmaking arena, a storm moved in right as the show started, and finally moved out after the 2nd encore.  Rain in late July in Minneapolis is a welcome thing, and if you throw in some lightning, wind, and 60k screaming fans, well, you feel like you are smack dab in the middle of a kick ass 2.5 hour music video.  Of course, it also gave Bono a chance to sing "Purple Rain" which everyone expected (Prince is from Minneapolis) and "Singing in the Rain" which was a nice surprise.  I managed to get one clip of Adam Clayton and The Edge serenading us. This happened pretty regularly throughout the show. 

HALLOWEEN

Halloween was a fun event this year, as Abby and I learned a lot about each other, probably the most important being how much fun we have together.  A close second is that together we are more than capable of losing all sense of time in an arts and craft project.  A close third is that we're each a bit crazy.

Test phase of cranium apparatus

OK, there were a lot of things we learned about each other.  Another was we each have a strong, creative, somewhat off sense of imagination. That can be a wonderful, dangerous thing.  Thus, our choice of Ear Buds as our costume.  The idea came at a bar over a couple glasses of wine, but it made, and I would argue despite no one having a clue what we were, continues to make complete sense. Just because it took the entire day to put them together doesn't mean it didn't make sense.  Abby was gracious enough to make her apartment ground zero of our craft making tour de force. 

Abby's apartment is usually much cleaner than this.

Something out there convinced us it was a good idea to spend a good part of our morning at a fabric shop, then spend the rest of the afternoon and evening sewing, stapling and glue gunning together similar costumes to create a theme that not a single person understood.  You couldn't put together a better test of coupling, and we had a great time doing it, regardless of the constant looks of confusion. 

A perfect pair....................of something

Next year we're bringing home the gold!!  Or maybe we'll just stay inside and give kids candy.

THANKSGIVING AND GINGERBREAD

As my family knows, I took the option of staying in MN this Thanksgiving, and despite missing home, it was great to get to know Abby's family's traditions and take advantage of the good weather and long weekend (which means we ran a lot).  One of the nice new adventures in tradition land was making a gingerbread house. 

We can do Ear Buds, we can do gingerbread...what else you got?

It was Abby's idea to put a little guy in there.  He seems pretty happy.  I haven't eaten him yet.

Of course, we could take this a step further.  But for now, it's safe on Abby's mantlepiece.  We like it there.

OK, that's the news from a place closer to Lake Wobegon than where you live.  It's pretty good out here these days. Looking forward to see the fam at Christmas.  Love to all.  Andrew