Posts Tagged ‘Peter Gabriel’

That Voice Again

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Last night I watched Lost. It was good. Sayid was the main character. It looks like he may have crossed over to the dark side, but things being what they are and being a former comics book geek what seems apparent now, tain’t necessarily so later on.

It was enjoyable even though the plot seems to be getting murkier. They had better hurry up and make things clearer since they only have 10 episodes left for the series.

Oh this computer is acting up. I’m typing faster that it processes. Sometimes it’s OK. Sometimes it’s infuriating. Today it’s frustrating. I’m not complaining. I’m grumbling. But you get what you paid for.

Bill came home after his rehearsal. The play opens next Thursday He’s been exhausted He went right to bed almost immediately. I stayed up and watched Craig Ferguson.

In the Daily News yesterday was a review of Peter Gabriel’s new record, Scratch My Back. Orchestral cover versions of different artists like David Bowie, Radiohead and Neil Young as well as the song Book of Love which featured in the last episode of Scrubs.

The plan is for these artists to cover a Peter Gabriel track in return. Peter Gabriel covers Paul Simon’s The Boy in the Bubble and in return Paul Simon covered Peter Gabriel’s Biko.

Also reviewed was The Pursuit by Jamie Cullum. He’s a jazz guy from the UK and since it got a decent review I decided to go ahead and download both. I think Jamie Cullum is more Bill’s speed and before he went to bed I played a track or two and he definitely liked what he heard.

I didn’t watch all of Craig Ferguson and went to bed before it was over. I was working for Greg Stevens today and set my alarm clock for 7:30. I was scheduled to be there by 11:00 and I didn’t want to be late.

Apparently I shut off the alarm clock and woke up at 9:15, causing my first word of the day to be ‘FUCK’. I scrambled and made some coffee, poured some cereal and had a shower. Walked up to Washington Street just in time to see the 126 bus heading past me.

After a wait of about 20 minutes I was headed to the bus terminal where I decided to take the subway rather than walk across town like I usually do. It was cold and drizzly and I didn’t want to keep Greg Stevens waiting.

He was leaving for his winter home in Arizona with his wife and wouldn’t be back for a few weeks. That’s why he needed me to get some of his things together to ship out to Carefree. I was happy to be able to help out Greg once again.

I expect to get a phone call from him at some point while he’s out west, asking about how to do this or that on his computer. I don’t mind, he’s a nice guy and as long as politics doesn’t enter the picture we get along just fine.

After that it was a walk back to the Path train, enjoying a La Flor Dominicana and some tunes on the iPod. Just like old times.

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Kid Charlemagne

Friday, April 4th, 2008

Another wet day, this time, Friday. And what a day it’s been. More on that later of course. Last night, watched Scrubs again and again and again, Daily Show which was good, Colbert Report which was really good. Also featured REM who were surprisingly very good. I used to love them way back when. When you’d be able to have a drink with them after seeing them thisclose in the back room. The first time I saw REM I hated them though, now that I think of it. They were opening up for Gang of Four at the Ritz on 11th street. They were announced as ‘from Athens, GA…REM!’

No one knew who they were, but I thought they sucked. I just wasn’t into that jungle jangle music just then. A year later yeah, but that night I was more into the jagged guitars and funky rhythms of Gang of Four. I remember leaving my spot near the stage to wander around the club muttering that if they weren’t from Athens they wouldn’t be on stage that night. A year later REM was playing McSwells. I had never been there before, didn’t know Steve Fallon or anyone else. I had tickets to see Peter Gabriel at the Palladium that night and went with an old school pal, Kevin Wagner. We also worked together for a book company.

Peter Gabriel was touring for the Shock the Monkey album and put on an excellent show. Played close to 2 hours if I recall correctly. His last song, one of the most moving songs ever, Biko was amazing and went on for about 20 minutes, lot’s of call and response, pseudo African singing from the audience. I sang along with one eye on my watch. The show ended and Kevin and I ran over to my parked car and drove over to McSwells where there was a mob at the door. Steve Fallon was only letting certain people in and took a look at me and probably thought I looked like my brother Frank (who was inside already). Needless to say, Steve didn’t let me in.

Kevin and I drove back to Bergen County where we had a late dinner at the Saddle Brook Diner. Someone we both went to school with 2 years earlier stopped by our table but didn’t recognize me and I didn’t introduce myself. Kevin was a good guy. He and his sweetheart Ann, got married and moved to Florida. Kevin and I last communicated in 2000. He wasn’t going to our high school reunion. I went and regretted going.

Last night my brother Frank had a seizure during a visit to his neurologist. If there was a place to have a seizure, a neurologist’s office has to be one of the best places. Frank’s in Englewood Hospital and so far the doctors are saying it seemed to be from a scarring from last year’s stroke rather than another stroke. He may be home again tomorrow, Saturday, though right now he has a slight fever. We’ve all been hoping that Frank is making progress, so a seizure is a set back. We don’t really know the outcome of this event yet.

The video I posted a week or so ago of Jill Bolte Taylor talking about her stroke was inspirational, then again she is a brain scientist and had a lot of information and professionals and colleagues around her. Frank doesn’t have those resources, neither do a lot of people. I’m not begrudging Jill Bolte Taylor at all, like I said, she’s an inspiration. Hopefully Frank can get back to where he was pre-stroke. It took Jill Bolte Taylor about 10 years, so I guess Frank would be able to do it in 12.

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Four Black Dragons

Wednesday, December 26th, 2007

Well it’s Boxing Day in most English speaking countries, but not here. Would be nice, but if it was going to happen, it would have happened already. Last night was very mellow, just relaxing, watching the telly. Not much else to do. Which was just as well since I had to go to work today. I was hoping to do nothing this week, but there were going to be one or two in the office and they simply could not be there on their own. So being the new guy, since April, it was up to me to come in. I decided not to hustle as I usually do on actual work days. It wasn’t going to matter anyway, and I arrived in the office only a half hour late, getting in at 8:30.

Of course, no one was in, and I set about starting up machines, making coffee and changing tapes. There were stacks of mail from Friday and Monday that needed to be attended to so I set about that, also gathering the various presents for Annemarie, Rex and Earl that I had shipped to the office, so that I could ship them from work this week. Elizabeth, one of the managing partners made it into the office, did whatever she needed to do and said good bye an hour later, also saying that I should leave too. I had no problem with that and after a few more things that I needed to do I was out of the office shortly after 11:00.

I was basically in for two and a half hours, which I would have spent sleeping otherwise, at least partially. The only people walking around midtown Manhattan today were tourists it seemed, a lot of people had taken the day or the week off. I have to go in to work tomorrow, for a few hours again, and it doesn’t bother me really. Still some odds and ends to look after. Tonight promises to be a mellow night again.

Interesting thing, yesterday as I was writing the blog I found myself thinking of being attacked by a tiger, in an office no less. In my mind I was picturing myself, trying to find something in an attempt to kill the tiger before it killed me. The classic tiger in the office scenario, I know, such a tired cliché. When I posted, a while later I was watching the news and word of a tiger attack, in California, but not in an office. I just thought that interesting. Now the latest vision is of me winning the lottery. Let’s make it happen! I obviously need some tiger repellent.

I may go up to Otisville on Saturday. Pedro asked and I’m free so why not. It would be good to get out of town, the two hour train ride is not so bad either, so long as I have something to read, and thanks to the double issue of the New Yorker I should be caught up in no time, plus I still have the Oliver Sacks book to finish. I kept the one I was going to give my sister in law, but I showed it to Elaine on Christmas, specifically the Aphasia and Music Therapy chapter. I also showed it to Frank, but he has difficulty reading books since he had the stroke, but I’ll lend it to them once I finish it. Annemarie can read Rex’s copy since I’m still sending a copy to him, thanks to a really good price online.

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