You Enjoy Myself

Comedor in the news

2010-06-10T11:35:00.003-04:00

There was an article in today's Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel about the project Joanine and her roommates have been working on in Honduras this year. CLICK HERE to read it.

Passionist Volunteers International...Honduras

2010-06-09T11:36:00.000-04:00

All I Can Do Is Dance

2009-08-23T23:35:00.000-04:00

Pinebrook Prom

2009-05-27T12:29:00.007-04:00

Friday May 15, 2009 Celebratory Dinner for Joe and Joanine's College Graduations. Aine requested "fancy clothes". Photo shoots and limbo ensued.

Gloria Estefan

2009-05-24T12:37:00.001-04:00

Laura Yakking

2009-05-24T09:53:00.002-04:00

Marco Benevento Trio

2009-05-13T11:43:00.003-04:00

On Friday May 8, 2009 I went to see the Marco Benevento Trio featuring Andrew Barr and Reed Mathis at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton with Rob and Jamie. Marco is the keyboardist from one of my favorite bands the Benevento/Russo Duo. Andrew is the drummer from one of my favorite bands The Slip and Reed, up until recently, was the bass player from on of my favorite bands Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. It was awesome to see them combine forces and the outcome sounded great. Here are two videos I shot during the show. They aren't great, but you can hear the music which is all that matters.

Sojo's Haircut

2009-05-06T10:49:00.005-04:00

I don't know exactly when Sojo got his haircut, but I just found these before and after pictures that I thought you would enjoy.

Before Haircut:

After Haircut:

New Bike

2009-05-05T10:51:00.002-04:00

This is a picture of my new bike (please don't steal it):

Maher's Bars

2009-05-04T13:56:00.003-04:00

Robert D Maher, Roberino, Big Bob, etc.
Saturday April 25, 2009

Chado's Birthday

2009-04-30T12:17:00.005-04:00

Last year Chado was in Easthampton for his 23rd birthday. We made him a cake shaped like a shark...

He was really happy...

Last weekend (4/25) was Chado's 24th birthday, and he was in Easthampton again! So another shark cake was made...

I think he was happy with this one too...

01027

2009-04-28T12:04:00.001-04:00

Easthampton from Mt Tom (click pictures to make them bigger)

...From Way Up Here

2009-04-28T11:41:00.014-04:00

Hiking up Mt Tom Saturday April 26th with Chado, Missy, Rob, Callini, Wilby, Lindsey, Blaney, and Scout

Wilby pushing down a dead tree...

...while everyone else stops to watch.

Going up...

At the top...

Going down...

The View...

2009-04-22T15:27:00.001-04:00

Hiking up Mt Tom Sunday April 19th with Laura, Joanine, Missy, and Mike

Oxbow

2009-04-18T01:21:00.000-04:00

Thursday April 14th Easthampton, MA

Holyoke Road Race

2009-04-14T12:48:00.004-04:00

Pre-Race in Holyoke

2009-04-13T12:40:00.000-04:00

Pre-Race @ Pinebrook

2009-04-12T12:35:00.000-04:00

Pinebrook Drive the morning of March 21st, before the Holyoke St Patrick's Day Road Race...

Merry Christmas?

2009-04-03T13:08:00.003-04:00

Riding the new bike on the new bike path in Northampton over a new bridge, I spotted an old Christmas tree. Neat.

new bike

2009-04-02T13:06:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah, I bought a new bike. That's why the last two posts were about bike riding...and the next one is going to be as well. It is a green bike...not just because it doesn't pollute, I mean it really is the color green.

Biking through puddles

2009-04-01T12:58:00.000-04:00

On a bike ride through Arcadia with Sojo and Shannon we found the road to already be flooded from the Spring melt. It was either turn around or ride through and risk getting wet. We rode through (after sending Sojo first to see how deep it was).

Sinkhole

2009-03-30T12:45:00.001-04:00

A bike ride on the rail trail brought me to the sinkhole. It was caused last year by an autumn rain storm. It is supposed to cost almost $500,000 to fix.

Clicking on the pictures should make them bigger.

Parade!

2009-03-23T12:29:00.001-04:00

This wonderful picture was taken by Sojo's Grandmother as she marched by us during the Holyoke St Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday March 22, 2009.

Parades are so much fun. From left Mahers Bars, Sandi the Magnificent, Anman, Jo9, Sojo, Danimal.

Happy St Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T14:16:00.000-04:00

Tired Boys

2009-03-11T11:23:00.004-04:00

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that Anne and I had a great cheering section at Saturday's race. Laura, Chado, Rob, Shannon, Sojo, and Paisley all came out to watch us run. It is thanks to Laura that we have the pictures below. An interesting thing to note though is that none of the folks mentioned above ran the race, yet when we got back to the house, it was Sojo, Rob and Chado who needed a nap, not me or Anne...

WAMDA 5K

2009-03-10T13:16:00.004-04:00

This past Saturday (3/7/09) Anne and I ran the 16th Annual WAMDA Fitness 5K Walk/Run at Look Park in Florence. The goal was for us to run together and both to finish in under 30 minutes. But, after about a mile or so Anne was doing much better than I was and she moved ahead of me for the rest of the race. I ended up coming in at 31 minutes 30 seconds (boooooo), BUT Anne came in at 29 minutes and 59 seconds - accomplishing her goal!!! Here are some pictures of us from race day.

Snow Monster

2009-03-09T15:48:00.003-04:00

There's Joanine shoveling snow on Monday March 2nd (as always, click on the picture to make it bigger). Just a couple days before she left for Honduras, where she is currently spending her spring break. She's going to miss that snow next year.

The Blog is Back

2009-03-06T13:32:00.003-05:00

Amherst

2008-08-27T13:03:00.000-04:00

Way back in June, I went to the Taste of Amherst with some friends to see our friends the Leah Randazzo Group and to taste Amherst. We rode our bikes there (about 14 miles each way). Everyone had fun.

Here's Shannon having fun:

Here's the band having fun:

But I think Wilby had the most fun, first with his bike:

Then with the hula hoops:

Then with the rock climbing wall:

Rest of Summer?

2008-08-27T12:53:00.001-04:00

So what have I been doing between Pittsburgh and now? I spent a week working in Dedham Mass, a week in Ardmore Pennsylvania and a week in Washington DC. Not too much exciting from Dedham or Ardmore. I did have some extra time in DC and did more sightseeing there. I saw the monuments and the White House and went to a Nationals game. I went to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and saw the world premiere of Lee Johnson's "Dead Symphony #6". I went to a traveling Jim Henson exhibit at the Smithsonian (which will be in Mass in Spring 2010 and I recommend checking it out).

I also had a week at New Spirit Camp in Goshen Mass. In between all these weeks away, I worked a little bit at Fenway and hung out in Easthampton when I could. Some random summer pictures will soon follow.

Pittsburgh

2008-08-27T12:33:00.000-04:00

The Transplant Games seem like a year ago, but they were held July 11-16 in Pittsburgh. It was a fantastic trip. It was incredible to see the successes of transplantation in such vast numbers. We had a good time exploring Pittsburgh, taking in a Pirates game, watching the other athletes compete, Jimmy's basketball tournament was fun to watch. There were some great athletes there. Here are some pictures:

Jimmy at Bucaroos (a stand in PNC Park recommended by Justin for selling everything for only $1):

This is a view from our seats out in right field looking over the river at the convention center (the building with the sloped roof to the right of the green to the left of the taller buildings) where the games were being held:

Any relation?:

The 3 on 3 basketball tournament getting started:

Jim and his mom:

Jim and his kidney donor, his Aunt Maureen:

No gold medals for Jim in Pittsburgh, but there's always 2010 in Madison Wisconsin!

To Pittsburgh

2008-07-10T16:53:00.000-04:00

Jim, Mike, Marsha and I are leaving early tomorrow morning to fly to Pittsburgh, PA for the US Transplant Games. I'll let you know how it goes.

Celtics Parade

2008-06-19T15:56:00.001-04:00

Joanine and I left Cape Cod this morning to attend the Celtics Championship Parade in Boston:

Since we were at the end of the parade, we had some time to kill before the players came by:

The batteries in my camera were all but dead, so I snapped as fast as I could and didn't get great pictures, but you can see Kevin Garnett in this one holding the Championship trophy (click on pictures to make them bigger and a little easier to see the players):

Leon Powe on the Duck Boat holding a microphone:

Ray Allen with white t-shirt and both hands up:

Cape Cod Potato Chips

2008-06-10T11:25:00.000-04:00

Vineyard

2008-06-03T17:32:00.000-04:00

Here are some more picture's from Martha's Vineyard.

Chado

2008-06-01T12:05:00.000-04:00

I was given a stern talking to last night by Chado regarding the lack of updates on this site. Not too much has been happening. Lots of tours of Fenway. Although I did go to Martha's Vineyard over Memorial Day weekend. Here's a picture of me and Chado on the ferry.

Here are some more pictures of Chado in hopes that he forgives me for not posting in the last month and a half.

Treydon's Slideshow 1 of 3

2008-04-14T12:50:00.001-04:00

Treydon's Slideshow 2 of 3

2008-04-14T12:49:00.000-04:00

Treydon's Slideshow 3 of 3

2008-04-14T12:48:00.003-04:00

Opening Day @ Fenway

2008-04-09T23:11:00.000-04:00

Me with the Stanley Cup and 1986 NBA Championship Trophy.

Race Pictures

2008-04-01T15:17:00.000-04:00

Waiting for the race to start.

The race starting.

Jim and I at Treydon's

Joanine and I at the Parade.

Everyone in front of the Funeral Home at the Parade.

on tv

2008-03-27T11:30:00.001-04:00

Jim and I were interviewed yesterday morning at Jim's house by WWLP 22 News. The story was in the 6 o'clock news last night. You can watch the clip by clicking here.

More Press

2008-03-26T12:55:00.001-04:00

There was an article (and picture of Jimmy) on the front page of the Daily Hampshire Gazette on Monday, March 24th. Their website is www.gazettenet.com but you need a subscription to read the article.
Jim and I were interviewed this morning by WWLP-22 News. The segment should air this evening (Wed 3/26) between 5 and 6:30pm.
Here is a picture of Joe and me with mustaches:

"Back competing, thanks to Aunt Maureen"

2008-03-11T12:47:00.000-04:00

I am back from Florida. We left the music festival Sunday night at midnight and I got to Pinebrook Drive around 11:30pm on Monday night...23 and a half hours of non-stop driving. The trip was fantastic, some pictures may surface below this post so check back if interested. More importantly though, while I was gone everyone has been working hard and raffle ticket sales have been great. Get them while you can folks. Also on Sunday, Tom Shea wrote a great article about Jimmy in the Springfield Republican. You can read it here.

In Florida

2008-03-03T08:45:00.002-05:00

Hi y'all. I am currently at Brian Blaney's house in Deltona, Florida. Brian Wilby, Chado, Jamie Farrell and I left Western Massachusetts at 8:58pm on Friday 2/29. We drove through the snowstorm and through the night getting to Savannah Georgia at 3pm on Saturday 3/1. We spent a few hours checking out Savannah and then we headed south to Jacksonville Florida to see Ryan "Pigs" Hamel. Ryan took us out to all the Jacksonville Beach hotspots, including an empty bar with a free keg of Miller Lite. Callini would have been in heaven here.
We slept at the Hamel's, who were much too generous making us a wonderful breakfast in the morning. Sunday morning we loaded in the Yaris and drove down to Orlanda and Disney's Wide World of Sports complex where the Atlanta Braves have their spring training facilities. We were joined by Brian Blaney, Mike Valanzola, Matt Brown, and Nick Popadopolous at the Braves v Astros game. Mike Hampton started for the Braves who won 6-4. We stayed at Blaney's last night and are about to head to Vero Beach and to Dodgertown.
I don't know if I'll get to update this again but maybe. Fort Meyers on Tuesday and Wednesday for Red Sox...

Whoops

2008-02-28T14:44:00.001-05:00

I haven't put anything new on here in 23 days. Does anyone even check this site anymore?
First things first, our fundraising efforts are doing great. Check the site at www.firstgiving.com/10k to see our progress and stay up to date. Raffle tickets will be for sale very soon and you should all be buying them for a chance at some GREAT prizes.
Second thing is next, I wrote a review of a concert I saw last Friday by a band called Keller and the WMD'S. It is up at the Iron Horse Entertainment Group's blog. Check it out here.
And last, I am heading to Florida tomorrow for Spring training and a music festival. I got my road trip haircut last night. If I am able, I will post trip updates on here Europe style.

Super Tuesday

2008-02-05T00:58:00.000-05:00

A good video no matter who you are voting for.

Kilometers for Kidneys

2008-01-16T12:16:00.000-05:00

A team is being organized to run the Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Road Race on March 29th to raise money for Jimmy Messer and the National Kidney Foundation. Jimmy is participating in the Transplant Games this July in Pittsburgh and all the money we raise will help him and others compete in PA as well as furthering transplant research.
If you want to stay up to date with what is going on and/or you want info on joining our team, email me at drussellcarey@yahoo.com and I will add you to our mailing list. If you know anyone else who might like to run or join the mailing list, please pass along the information. Thanks!

Leah Podcast

2008-01-14T11:07:00.000-05:00

Check out the Leah Randazzo Group on Cold Turkey, a podcast published by Relix Magazine.
A podcast is an online radio show. This one features the LeahRandazzo Group.
There is an interview with Leah as well as several songs by the band, including brand new tracks.
Click here to hear it.

Free Rice

2008-01-10T20:28:00.000-05:00

Check out this fantastic website. It's called FreeRice.com
You play a word game and when you answer a question right the website
donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food
Program. Learn something and help others...awesome.

Tom cat

2008-01-02T19:41:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of Tom, the cat that I am cat-sitting. He likes to "meow" and I feed him.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T16:34:00.001-05:00

Red Sox Christmas Party

2007-12-21T13:40:00.000-05:00

Last night was the Red Sox Holiday Party. Laura and I went and we looked sharp. It was a lot of fun. Below is a picture of the tour guides (and Luis Tiant) with the 2004 & 2007 World Series Trophies. Hopefully more pictures soon either from the party or of Tom, the cat for which I am currently house sitting.

Music

2007-12-12T14:35:00.000-05:00

I have added music at the bottom of the blog. Just scroll down to the end of this page and hit play and you can listen to great music as you read the blog. Not that there has been much to read lately. Sorry Chado. Tomorrow night I am going to see Deep Banana Blackout. That will be fun.

Driving Backwards with Tom

2007-12-07T14:07:00.000-05:00

This morning I got the keys to the apartment in which I will be serving my first official duty as a cat sitter. A BU student who is going away for a month in between semesters is having me stay at her apartment to feed her cat "Tom". This is great because it allows me to stay in the city and continue to work at the park while I fund raise for March. In early March I am going to Florida for a music festival and some spring training baseball games and then at the end of the month I plan to fly to California to see the Red Sox play the Dodgers and perhaps see them in Oakland as well, who knows.
Anyway here is a nice video to a great song for you to watch/listen to.
"Driving Backwards with You" by The Slip

Seamus Shock Pen

2007-12-03T18:39:00.001-05:00

Easthampton

2007-11-15T13:01:00.000-05:00

No place like home.

Roma

2007-11-07T14:09:00.000-05:00

We are here in Rome...at another computer with no accessable USB port, so no pictures again. Florence was great. We lost Rob, but then we found him...and all this time we were worried about Chado! Who knew? Italy is great...we are eating tons of pizza.
My birthday was spent traveling from Florence to Rome...but wasn't as boring as that sounds. We stopped in Pisa in between and spent the afternoon exploring the town. So by the time the day was over, I had seen the Doumo, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Colosseum...pretty cool.
Our hostel in Rome is about 3 minutes walking from the Colosseum. So far we have seen works by or the tomb of 3 of the 4 Ninja Turtles. With a visit to Vatican City, we have now been to the 2 smallest countries in the world...Monaco being the other. We have also seen 2 papal palaces...the other being in Avignon, France.
Laura and I were part of the Pope's audience this morning and had an awesome spot with an unobstructed view of his Holiness. Yesterday all four of us explored St Peter's and saw the tombs of the popes...huge crowd around JP2's, as you would imagine. Friday we will get to the Sistine Chapel...which Chado is especially looking forward to seeing. Tomorrow perhaps a day trip to Assisi.
Home soon...which Sojo is especially looking forward to.

Firenze

2007-11-02T16:11:00.000-04:00

We are in Firenze (Joanine - that's Florence), Italy. We had a great time with Chado in Barcelona and last night took a 13 hour overnight train to Milano. "What's in Milano?"-Chado "That's where cookies are made."-Laura
We did not see any cookies, but we transfered trains and the train drove me to Firenze. Next step is to wash Uffizi. Tomorrow we meet again with Rob and it will be all 4 of us through the rest of the trip.
Barcelona had a neat park and a Piccaso muesum but Chado & Rob didn't like the aquarium.
We are having a great time, and there is just too much to tell on here...Sorry Jen and Steve. We will tell you so many stories when we get back you'll be sick of hearing about this trip. Loads of pictures as well. Laura can't wait to see you both and be the center of attention on Thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday Wilby!!!!

2007-11-01T03:55:00.000-04:00

Dear Brian Wilby,

Today is your birthday and we wish you were still here with us in Europe...especially Chado, he seems to miss you the most, always talking about you and sometimes doing impressions of you in his sleep. Anyway, you aren't here and so we tried to make you a birthday video like the one we made Aine. But that didn't work, so we were going to post the unfinished version for you to at least see that the effort was truely there. But that didn't work either. So the following is a video we would like you to listen to and just subsitute the word "Lisa" for the word "Wilby" (or "Brain"). We are flying home soon and can't wait to share some American frites with you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA....I MEAN WILBY!!!

Red Sox Win!!

2007-10-29T11:59:00.000-04:00

Where were you when the Red Sox won the 2007 World Series?
I was in Colmenar Viejo, Spain. I am lucky to have been able to watch games 1, 3 and 4 of the World Series. All the games started at 1 or 2 in the morning. Laura stayed up for all of game 4. No one in Spain can believe that the Sox won. Everyone is excited.
We had an excellent stay with my cousin Joe and his family in Colmenar Viejo. We saw our fist live European football game and explored the beautiful Spanish countryside which most tourists miss out on by just going to Madrid.
We are back in Madrid now and will see the city while celebrating the Sox win tonight. Tomorrow we head to Barcelona to see Chado.

Madrid

2007-10-27T05:32:00.000-04:00

¡Hola!
First things first - please know that we did not lose Chado.
Laura and I are in Madrid. Chado and Rob have decided to skip Madrid, but are in Spain and are happy and safe. Not much new, didn't get to watch game 2. We are heading to see my cousin Joe a little ways north of Madrid. Laura is a little worried about Chado, but don't worry about Chado, he's keeping us updated with emails and he is OK.

Avignon

2007-10-25T09:55:00.000-04:00

We are in Avignon, France. Sorry for the lack of posts, but we have been away from computers for a few days now. The Red Sox are awesome. We were in Nice, it was nice. Then we were in Monaco with my cousin, MaryCarroll. She was very good to us and we had a great time from the minute we arrived until watching game 1 of the World Series early this morning. Chado is safe...go Sox!

Chado over Nice and the Mediterranian Sea:

Laura and Chado walking through Eze Village:

The fish we swam with at the Monaco Beach:

The famous Monte Carlo Casino:

The Greg Collective before winning millions of dollars:

Happy Birthday Aine!

2007-10-20T03:02:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Aine!!! Sorry I can't be at your birthday party. Below is a picture I took in Cork, Ireland and a video from Paris, France for you. I hope you like them.

Aix en Provence

2007-10-18T12:47:00.000-04:00

Aix en Provence - Joanine, can you find that on your world map?
We were there, nothing to update you on. No pictures to show you...so here are some more from Paris!

Nice is next and we hear it's nice.

Paris Pictures

2007-10-18T12:30:00.000-04:00

Brussels Pictures

2007-10-18T12:01:00.000-04:00

We miss Wilby. He's the green sweatshirt on the right.

He wanted to go to Brussels, but we couldn't find a hostel. Then he went back to America and we went to Brussels. The Brussels Marathon was happening the day we were there. It made the Grand Place a little dirty.

After Grand Place, we headed to the Manneken Pis statue. We still have no idea why this is a Brussels landmark, but there were tons of people there taking pictures of it. Here he is:

We didn't get to see the EU headquarters because we had a bus to catch, sorry Wilbur.

Paris

2007-10-16T12:17:00.000-04:00

Bonjour from Paris!
We are in Paris. We are sad because Wilby had to go back to the USA to go back to work. But we stopped in Brussels on our way to Paris and saw all the things that he wanted to see but couldn't because he was on an airplane while we were in Brussels.
Now we are in Paris and have been doing all sorts of Parisy things. Pictures will be coming soon but the computer I'm on won't let me put any on today.

We love hearing from everyone in the comments and will see you soon.

Namur

2007-10-13T03:45:00.000-04:00

The plan was to meet Rob, Chad, and Brian in Brussels. The plan changed to meeting in Brugges and then going to Brussels. We met in Brugges and we are now in Namur. This trip is fun. Namur is southeast of Brussels and we are still in Belgium. We climbed a belltower and today are going to explore a citadel. Chado is safe, don't worry Sojo. Below is a picture of Laura and myself with the Greg Collective.

Bruges

2007-10-11T13:13:00.000-04:00

We are in Bruges, Belgium and we are with Chad, Rob, and Brian!! Everyone is happy...pictures soon.

London

2007-10-09T07:56:00.000-04:00

Today is our last day in London. Tonight we fly to Brussels and tomorrow we meet Wilby, Rob and Chado in Bruges. The Greg Collective, as the three merry travelers are called, have finished their stint in Amsterdam and are now in Antwerp for a spell before they head to Bruges tomorrow. Everyone is indeed very excited for the two caravans to collide.
We spent the past 2 days exploring Londontown. Sunday night we found an American sports bar. Laura said I was diminishing my cultural experience by watching American football and baseball, I said I didn't care. After a search, I confirmed with the Famous 3 Kings that they would be showing the Red Sox game. We got there a little early to make sure and to my delight, the Patriots were on the biggest screen in the place. So we watched the Pats win and then saw the Sox victory as well.
Yesterday was the official London tourist day, we saw the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, St James Park, Abbey Road, the National Gallery, and we heard Big Ben, among other things.
Below is a picture of Queen Laura at Buckingham Palace and myself at the Globe Theatre.

Saw Doctors @ Fontwell Racecourse

2007-10-09T06:41:00.000-04:00

Greenwich & Fontwell

2007-10-07T06:41:00.000-04:00

We are staying in Blackheath right now with Laura's mother's cousin Ross. It is a suburb right outside of London (considered part of London I believe). Friday we walked to Greenwich park, saw the Royal Observatory, the Prime Meridian, the Queen's House, the Maritime Museum, the Royal Naval College, the River Thames, and some deer. Yesterday we went south to Fontwell Racecourse. We spent the afternoon betting on horse races and then the Saw Doctors played at the racecourse after the last race. We spent 30 pounds on betting and overall we won £30.80, so we were plus 80 pence at the end of the day and got to see the Saw Doctors. Still fantastic weather as well. Today (Sunday) the Red Sox play at 3pm EST, which is 8pm here so I am desperately hoping to find a London sports bar that will show the game. It's about noon now, so I have 8 hours to find it...wish me luck.

Pictures below are Laura with one foot on the Eastern Hemisphere and the other in the Western Hemisphere (look in the glass behind her and you can see me taking the picture as well), the Saw Doctors on stage, the setlist from the show.

Dublin

2007-10-04T10:38:00.000-04:00

Spent Monday and Tuesday night in Cork with the one and only Bash Attack. What a lovely hostess she was. We had a ball and enjoyed her company as well as the city in which she lives. Yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon we arrived in Dublin and spent evening last and today exploring. Things we found: Dublin Castle, St Patrick's Cathedral, a party in a shoe store, Trinity College, the Guinness Storehouse, Temple Bar, and loads of great music accompanying pints of the "black stuff".
Wish we could stay another year here, but the adventure continues to London tonight. Chado and Rob are in Europe and it won't be long until we join forces with them and Wilby. It is about 11am in Massachusetts, so that means Sojo hasn't even had lunch at work yet. We've already had lunch and a free Guinness at the Storehouse. Sorry Sojo.

Aran Islands to Cork

2007-10-02T07:50:00.000-04:00

Kilronan

2007-09-30T18:20:00.000-04:00

It is currently 11:22pm on Sunday the 30th of September. That means in Massachusetts it is 6:22pm. Hopefully it is as nice a night there as it is here, as we've just come in from the glowing moon, a full sky of stars and even a shooting star streaking across Galway Bay. We are in a very small village called Kilronan. It is on Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands.
Yesterday we explored Galway City. Among the excitement of the day, we attended the opening ceremonies of the 53rd International Galway Oyster Festival and marched in a parade. We had a fun evening searching out the city's finest live music before crashing in the hostel (in a room with 12 other people).
Today we spent the morning in Galway City, then got a 1pm ferry out to the Aran Islands. Here we rented bicycles and gave ourselves a tour of the island. Absolutely beautiful...more to come on that soon.
Below find a picture of the Mayor of Galway City eating the first oyster of the weekend and thus starting the festival.

Galway City

2007-09-29T05:37:00.000-04:00

We were delayed a couple hours in NYC, but landed in Knock with no problems Friday morning. Took a bus to Charlestown, where we took a bus to Knock center. Took in the Knock Shrine for the afternoon. Then we tried to take a bus to Cong, home of The Quiet Man and our hostel for the evening, BUT we had missed the last bus to Cong. So we were dropped in Claremorris where we went to an Inn and Maria helped us find a ride to Cong. Martin picked us up at the Inn and gave us something of a tour all the way to Cong.
Cong is a very small village and once a movie (The Quiet Man) was filmed there...and no one has forgotten that. Every where you turned you saw a picture of John Wayne reminding you that he filmed a movie there once (50 years ago I think). Slept well and took an early bus to Galway City, planning to search all day for a hostel for this evening. Got off the bus and checked at the Galway City Hostel (right across the street from the bus stop). They had a room and now it is 10:43am and we have already booked a room for this evening, and snuck ourselves into this morning's continental breakfast. Off to explore Galway City now. Pictures below of me in Charlestown with the N17 sign and Laura this morning leaving the Cong Hostel. Cheers!

T minus 3 days

2007-09-24T10:52:00.000-04:00

I am leaving for Europe on Thursday September 27th.
Look for updates from the trip on this site.

Sojo tubing

2007-09-12T11:31:00.000-04:00

fishing?

2007-08-27T22:52:00.000-04:00

After seeing the Saw Doctors for the 5th time in two weeks

I went up to the White Mountains to canoe the Saco River.

I told Sojo the correct way to call fish, you can see for yourself how to do it by following this link: The Correct Way To Call Fish.
Sojo didn't do it that way. He did it his own way which you can see in the video below. Watch all the way to the end and you will see not only does Sojo's way not get fish into his boat, it actually gets Sojo in the water.

Mt Chado

2007-08-21T23:24:00.000-04:00

Saw Doctors Thursday-Saturday

2007-08-20T08:51:00.000-04:00

I saw the Saw Doctors Friday August 10th in Canton. Then staring this past Thursday it was 3 nights in a row of Saw Doctors shows. First was the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis Massachusetts on Thursday August 16th. It was Joanine's 21st birthday. Happy Birthday Joanine.

Here is the setlist from the Melody Tent show:

After the show, we took Joanine to a bar and then crashed at her hotel. The next day we were treated to a T-Party with Rob and Chado out on Rob's boat. A great way to spend the beautiful day before heading up to Cohasset to see the Saw Doctors at the South Shore Music Circus on Friday August 17th. Same type of venue as the Melody Tent but only half as full. Still a great show and here's what they played:

A night of camping in thunderstorms followed the Music Circus show. The next day we were up bright and early to head across the state. We got to Look Park early in the afternoon on Saturday and spent the afternoon playing washers and eating and drinking all sorts of picnic-y things. Then it was off to the show which was about 30 yards away from our picnic site. The Pines Theatre in Look Park is a fun outdoor venue. And the setlist on Saturday August 18th was:

Now a long wait until the next Saw Doctors show on Thursday August 23rd at Hampton Beach. . .

Philly Day 4

2007-08-02T00:51:00.000-04:00

softly sing sweet songs

2007-07-27T02:32:00.000-04:00

Nickel Creek

2007-07-23T12:37:00.000-04:00

Cape Cod

2007-06-26T13:15:00.000-04:00

Back from Cincinnati, but not home yet. I am on Cape Cod until Saturday the 30th of June. I'm going to the beach, eating clam chowder, and watching the stars of tomorrow shine today in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Ecuador

2007-06-15T11:08:00.000-04:00

You were starting to think I would never post about my trip to Ecuador, weren't you? Here it is. Sorry for the delay, but I have not been in one place for very long since I've returned from this trip. I was in Boston for a couple days, then in Wales for a day, then in Easthampton for a spell before returning to Boston for a couple days, only to return west to Turners Falls, then straight to Cape Cod from there, then to Marion, then back to Boston, and now I am back in Easthampton for the day before heading to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati early tomorrow morning. Anyway...here it is, I went to Ecuador with a group from Emmanuel College, 9 students and 2 staff members.

We spent ten days in Duran, Ecuador. Duran is a huge city but very very poor. It is on one side of a river. On the other side is Guayaquil. Guayaquil is a huge city and is not poor at all, it is a lovely city. It was unbelievable to see the complete 180 happening between these two cities. But I think its important to realize, that happens all over the world, even in America, not just in places that seem so far away.

We went and stayed with a group called Rostro de Cristo ("Face of Christ"). We were one of many retreat groups that will go down this year and experience the poverty of Duran. And that was the mission of the trip, not to build a church or paint a school, but to live in the neighborhood, to get to know our neighbors and build relationships, to see the face of Christ in the people of Duran and also in each other. This is the view out our front door. Dirt roads and small shacks for houses.

That is Walter's house in the picture above. Walter loves to play cards. We got time to just be out in the neighborhood and visit the neighbors. In our short time, we got to know quite a few of them. We would be welcomed into their houses. We would play cards and checkers, or sometimes we would just chat and learn about them and tell them about ourselves. One of everyone's favorite activities was playing soccer. This is the soccer field that we played on.

It was right down the street from where we were staying. Our house was bigger then the shacks others had in the neighborhood. Here is a picture of one of our beds, fully equipped with a mosquito net.

One thing that we did consistently was help out at Valdivia. Valdivia is the after school program in the neighborhood. It is run by Mara, who is a year long volunteer with Rostro de Cristo and was also our group leader. Here is a picture of Valdivia.

Yes that is a stray dog sleeping out front. There were dogs and cats everywhere. And also goats, chickens, roosters, cows, just walking around the neighborhood. Inside the building in the picture is just one big open room and that's where Valdivia takes place. Kids from the neighborhood can come there in the afternoon. Sometimes there are 5 kids there, sometimes there are 45. Mara never knows who or how many are going to be there until she gets there and sees who is there. One of the things we did was help the students with their homework. Here is a picture of me trying to help a young boy, although he did not know English and I do not know Spanish.

Here's a group picture of us and some of the Valdivia kids.

I know the pictures are not great, but I just wanted to give you an idea of what was happening down there. Let me know if you want to hear more about the trip. I can tell you more about the neighbors we spent time with, about the Hansen's Disease clinic we visited, about Santiago, about SteveO, about the lack of water, electricity, stability these people have, but the abundance of love they share.

Last picture for now is of some iguanas.

"Live simply so others can simply live"

"Busted on the Bases"

2007-06-14T03:16:00.000-04:00

I was trailing a tour at work and a guy jumped on the field. It made the news. Sick that that is a newsworthy story. The newslady sought me out having recognized me from the video clip that was sent to the station. There is a link when you read the article to see the video. I told them not to show me on TV, so they didn't, still neat though. Read the article here.

Jamie

2007-05-13T12:14:00.000-04:00

Jamie Farrell, aka Squiggie, aka Jameson
March 2008 on road trip to Florida

Marco Benevento

2007-05-13T03:16:00.000-04:00

Have you checked out Marco Benevento's new website yet? It is great.
Marco is of course one half of the Benevento/Russo Duo.
Marco's new website has some great music on it. Some solo stuff, some things with Joe Russo, and some tracks have Mike Gordon playing with The Duo, even one with Page McConnell. Lots of greatness.
The new site is well worth checking out, which you can do here.

Happy Graduation

2007-05-12T07:40:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to all graduating from college today.

Words of wisdom in the video above from Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips given at a high school graduation ceremony last year. Part one is above, part two is here. For more great stuff from Wayne, check this out as well.

Aicha

2007-05-10T01:30:00.001-04:00

Sweet Sweet Banjo

2007-05-01T11:26:00.000-04:00

I don't know what I love most about the video below...that Steve Martin is playing banjo with two of the finest banjo players in the world, that he's holding his own quite well, or that he wrote the song. Glad to know that he is still playing the banjo these days. This is from just a couple days ago on David Letterman. Awesome!

Email yourself in the future

2007-04-30T13:13:00.000-04:00

This looks pretty neat...you can write yourself an email and have it delivered sometime in the future. Check it out.

God bless the Jazz Mandolin Project, the Boston Red Sox, and frisbee.

Looking forward to Stephen Marley with Damian "Jr Gong" Marley on May 9th, the Leah Randazzo Group on May 12th, and going to Ecuador on May 16th.

Happy Birthday Chado

2007-04-25T20:19:00.000-04:00

Today is Chado's birthday. Happy Birthday Chado.
Today is also Stephanie's birthday. Happy Birthday Stephanie.

I know what you're wondering...where is my review of last weekend's shows? You can't just go see Soulive, The Roots, Yo La Tengo, and the Flaming Lips and not have anything to say about it.
I have decided that no review will come....instead I am offering you the Flaming Lips show. I have it and will burn it for anyone who wants it. Just let me know and you can listen to it and pretend you were there. And then the next time the Flaming Lips come around hopefully you will heed the words of Ben Harper: "you always have to see the Flaming Lips when they're around." (All four bands were remarkable by the way, absolutely wonderful).

In honor of Chado's birthday, here is a news story that he will love: Drunken man parks horse in bank foyer is the headline. I love the picture that goes with that article.

Banana Truck

2007-04-11T07:15:00.000-04:00

Would you have stopped?

2007-04-09T22:40:00.000-04:00

"If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that -- then what else are we missing?"

The Washington Post set up one of the most interesting experiments I've ever heard of. They set up Joshua Bell, a world class, award winning, classical violinist to play in the METRO station in the middle of Washington DC during morning rush hour...just to see how many people would stop to enjoy the free show from a man who can charge hundreds of dollars a seat for more traditional concerts.
He played for 43 minutes with all his heart on a violin worth over 3 million dollars. And hardly anyone noticed. This article is incredible and worth reading, though it seems a little long. Would you have stopped and listened to him play? Would I have? Read the article and watch videos from the METRO station here.

When It Hits, You Feel No Pain

2007-04-09T22:25:00.000-04:00

A million awesome shows coming up over the next few months. Nothing better than spring and summer and live music. If anyone knows how to make a calendar on these blog pages, let me know because I would love to keep a running list of shows to help you remember when some sweet bands are coming around.
Anyway Les Claypool and the String Cheese Incident each announced some summer shows today. Both are bands worth checking out - Les for his insane bass playing, SCI for the fact that it may be their last tour.
Les dates here...Boston, June 1st.
String Cheese dates here...as per usual, no New England dates.

The Perfect Bacon Sandwich

2007-04-09T22:16:00.000-04:00

A big thank you to Chado for showing me this article. Scientists have figured out how to make the perfect bacon sandwich. Four researchers spent more than 1,000 hours testing 700 variations on the traditional bacon sandwich. What dedication! "The formula is: N = C + {fb (cm) . fb (tc)} + fb (Ts) + fc . ta, where N=force in Newtons required to break the cooked bacon, fb=function of the bacon type, fc=function of the condiment/filling effect, Ts=serving temperature, tc=cooking time, ta=time or duration of application of condiment/filling, cm=cooking method, C=Newtons required to break uncooked bacon." Check it out here if you don't believe me.

HEY, HEY, HEY...Bill Cosby is OK

2007-04-09T16:52:00.000-04:00

Terrific article in yesterday's Boston Globe Magazine about Bill Cosby and his doctoral dissertation. Bill Cosby wrote a 267 page dissertation about Fat Albert and urban education. It was titled "An Integration of the Visual Media Via 'Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids' into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning." I would love to read this if you go to UMass or know someone who does, please let me know and I can tell you how to find me a copy. The article is great though, give it a read. Has the Cos become more racist, less racist, anything? Check it out.