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I have two very different videos for you today. Both happen to be made from Canadians. The first is awesome and funny, the second is just plain wrong. I'm not sure what it all means, but I feel obliged to show you them.
Great show this week, Broken Social Scene.
Thanks to my mom and KCRW for hooking me with free tickets to a great concert. It was a damn good. Heck, it got reviewed in Pitchfork, and I think that says it all. They even did an American Analog Set song as Andrew Kenny (AmAnSet's lead singer) has joined Canadian musical collective. Most of the music was from Spirit If..., but they also pulled out some classics from earlier albums. Thumbs up all around.
I'm continuing on with the culture this weekend to see some modern dance. Lynn Peterson and her dance group, Syren Dance is having a show that I am excited to see. Full disclosure, I was the best man in her wedding to Eric March last year. Nevertheless, they are a brilliant dance group.
I have a new theory about entertainment that I would like to toss out to you, my reader. Anything that is entertaining to me is unhealthy to the entertainer. Take dancing, for example, that can't be good on the knees. And with sport, I would almost say that there is a direct relationship between their level of physical discomfort and my level of entertainment. Favorite day in the Tour De France? Alp D'Huez. Best part of Indy 500? The crashes. Why is football better than baseball? People slamming into each other is more painful, hence more entertaining than sticks and balls. And for those baseball fans out there, you are not off the hook. Need I say more than Barry Bonds? Music entertains me. Definitely not good for their livers. Art as well. Mmmm, toxins galore.
What can I say? Thank you, entertainers one and all, for hurting yourself to make my life better.
I am back in New York after a weekend in Philadelphia, and I have to say that I am impressed with the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection. It is indubitably one of the jewels of the I-95 Megalopolis, one that I had not properly explored till this weekend.
I was down there to see the wedding of Christy's best high school friend. The whole wedding was fun, as they tend to be, but since most of you do not know of the participants I'll leave those details aside.
The chapel happened to be smack center in what they call the old city, so we got walk around and check out the best parts of the place. The only other time I was in Philadelphia there was no time to look around. This time, I feel like I got a pretty nice feel of the place.
It is a bit smaller than New York, but you can still walk around to most of the good stuff. My impression is that it has embraced it's geographical location, it is a city that somewhere between New York and Washington. It has that feeling of a historically vibrant and kinetic city like New York, but it also has a touch of that southernly charm you find in D.C. There are lots of dogs there too, which is always a good thing.
I think that we are going to have to go back, since we missed a few important things. I never got my cheese steak, nor did I get around to testing their cream cheese. Also, we missed out on the food market where all of the Amish farmers cart all their farm goods into the city the old fashion way, with horses. Where else do you find that?
Who knows, if I keep up with this, I may eventually make it down to Baltimore next to see those guys who make cakes on the food channel.
One of the highlights of living in New York happened this weekend, that being the New York Marathon. I get excited with this race because I did it back in 2003. After spending the huge amount of time that it takes to get in shape for a marathon, I would say that I have a greater respect for the sport than the average Joe. I always make sure to get out there to cheer the runners on, because the crowd really does help you make it to the end.
I inspired a few runners around mile 10 and mile 22, made them smile, and made them pick up the pace a little bit. Especially for those last five miles, the race is all mental. You just have to believe you can make it. I have to admit that I broke down in the Bronx, right around mile 21, and I had lost hope that I could make it. But when I got back into Manhattan, the crowds convinced me otherwise, and I ended getting a reasonable time. I feel I can do better, but I'm just not ready to do another six months of distance training in at this point in my life.
The marathon is a good sign for the beginning of the holidays. Thousands of people do something that they though was impossible perhaps only a few months before. The thought puts a smile on my face just thinking about it. Next up, is a wedding this weekend—one of Chirsty's friends—and then it will be Turkey day, Me and Christy day (two years... how about that?), Christmas and New Years...
In other words, the insanity starts now. It should be fun.
As I promised, I made a video of what I did for Halloween. Nothing too crazy, but I had a good time.