Our good friends Jamey and Patti have recently returned from a two year job in Vietnam. In catching up with Jamey, it appears when clicking on my blog link while in Hanoi, a message pops up letting the user know that the site is banned! At first I started reviewing all of my posts in my head to determine if anything is really ban-worthy. I started to fool myself into thinking that some of the posts are really cutting edge and ban-worthy. I felt exceptionally subversive for about two minutes before Jamey let us know that most blogs are banned in Vietnam. Sad face emoticon … oh well, now for a not so subversive blogpost!
Oakland, as many already know, has several fantastic music venues. From the small intimate jazz scene to the stadium show, complete with lights, elaborate sets and pyrotechnics. One of my favorite venues is the Fox Theatre in downtown Oakland. So many fantastic bands and singers come through the Fox. We happened to catch the Pet Shop Boys in early October. Talk about your throw back bands. I talked with many coworkers completely unaware of the Pet Shop Boys, of course I was sufficiently aghast at this revelation … and probably earned another notch in my crotchety old man belt.
They were friggin' awesome! Lasers, odd costumes, a consistent bizarre theme throughout … oh, and I think they played music too. My favorite of course was the end…confetti canons shot out tons of little orange bits of plastic to wow the crowd…it's not easy to wow the jaded Bay Area concert goer but mission accomplished. (By the way, before my tree hugging loved ones get up in arms, the plastic confetti had that feel of biodegradability…you know almost plastic but maybe corn, or some sort of paper…).
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| Lasers! |
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| Wha…? |
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| Does anyone out there not love a confetti cannon? My first purchase post lottery will be a confetti canon. |
The very next week, we found ourselves at the O.Co Coliseum for the P!nk Concert. This venue is huge…friends in Raleigh, think of the RBC. I have never been a huge P!nk fan so of course it took a monumental effort for me to give up a Thursday night's worth of sleep to go to the concert in the first place. After the concert I was ready to dye my hair pink and follow girlfriend to the ends of the Earth. The set, music and pyrotechnics were awesome, not to mention the über sexy back up dancers and singers! When she donned a harness and went flying over the entire stadium, alighting on pillars throughout…while singing and twirling…I became a true convert. She's not only a really good singer, but also extremely athletic. I can't imagine spending so much time suspended above an audience, or using those extremely long scarves to twirl above the stage, all the while singing and dancing during and between each stunt.
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| So close…yet so far. |
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| Awesome set! |
Soon after, the holiday where miniature trespassers invade your property, don masks to avoid recognition for their intended crimes, and attempt to extort candy from you rolled around yet again. Halloween!
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| The best Michael's has to offer in way of decorations! Not terrifying but creepy. |
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| Halloween atmosphere... |
The weekend before Halloween was devoted to pumpkin carving and a Halloween Party at Matt and Tyler's House.
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| Pumpkin carving on the chilly deck. Will these wigs and hats ever get old? I think not! |
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| Spooky pumpkins, none of which survived until Halloween! |
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| The internet lies…I tried a trick from the internet, namely soaking my pumpkin in a weak bleach solution, then rubbing the cut edges with vaseline…nothing sadder than a deflated Jack-o-Lantern…except maybe one that reeks of bleach and bitter disappointment. |
The party at Matt and Tyler's sounded like an awfully good time, but I spent the entire night in bed with an incredibly high fever and a terrible sinus infection brought on by some dental work. Even though I couldn't make the party, it seems Rusty and Yosiell managed to creep everyone out with their costumes. I'll let you be the judge of that.
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| That wig just keeps resurfacing. |
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| Speechless… |
Halloween in our neighborhood is crazy busy. We had over three hundred kids coming to our door. That's four full Costco sized candy bags (by the way we didn't even open any of them for snacking before Halloween and still managed to pass out all of the bags of candy). On Halloween, our neighbors typically wander the 'hood too, just visiting, sharing gossip and exchanging treats (the occupants of 3940 - ummm us - always walk around and deliver a deadly brew of Spiked Hot Buttered Cranberry Punch to warm the tips of everyone's toes).
Continuing the Halloween theme well into November, we took a quick day trip to the
Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. The home is actually pretty nice, and the stories of ghosts and the occult are part of the tour but the real story of the widow Winchester is equally fascinating, certainly a tale of heartbreak and misery. Mrs. Winchester moved to San Jose on the advise of a psychic who told her to move out west and never stopped building in order to appease the ghosts of all those killed by the Winchester Rifle. Karmic debt is a bitch!
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| Yes, that is a door that leads to the outside from the second floor…weird mystery or just bad design? Who can say? |
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| Someone certainly is through with this trip! |
Here it is a few days from Thanksgiving and just to remind my East Coast loved ones of our terrible California fall weather, I'm posting a few photos of the beaches we passed on our most recent bike ride. Sunday, we went through Golden Gate Park, and followed the PCH at least to the SF Zoo. We stopped by to see the giraffes from the entrance fence before heading back.
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| Panoramic Wonderland |
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| Beautiful day... |
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| Kudu Antelope sighting at the zoo! |
Well folks just a reminder: as the shopping season begins to ramp up, and it is ramping up, please remember to support local businesses…
A few more businesses for you to peruse when in the Oakland area!
Oaklandish : Oakland themed clothes…mostly T-Shirts…a little over priced but still worth a look…
lOAKal: An art gallery and shop near Jack London Square. Mostly functional arts, jewelry, lots of silk screened Oakland themed shirts, etc.
Oaktown Spice: The smells alone are worth the trip by Lake Merritt!
Tassology Soap Company: A cottage industry soap company of fine sustainably sourced, organic soaps. Tassology is the art and Science of reading tea leaves. These hand crafted soaps include a variety of tea leaves for you to divine your future as you shower. No web site yet, but coming soon!
Thanksgiving this year will be a small quiet affair! We'll be enjoying a few friends, and a few cocktails at home in anticipation of Rusty's Fiftieth Birthday party. We're resurrecting the ice skating and chili feast from our early days in SF . I'm hoping the bruises and broken bones from ice skating will heal as quickly as they used to, but I am somewhat doubtful this will be the case…wish us luck and remember to wish Rusty a Happy Fiftieth Birthday come December 5th.
I'll post pics of us falling on our tuckus after skating! Have a great Thanksgiving filled with joy!
