Upcoming Concerts

Even though we should probably be saving the money, my wife and I are going to a few shows I'm pretty excited about. In November, it's Madonna and Springsteen, about a week apart. Madonna is my wife's all-time favorite.  Bruce is mine (alternating with Paul McCartney, depending on what day it is). I've seen Bruce five times previously, and this will be my wife's first time. And like a virgin, or two virgins, the Madonna show will be a first for both of us.

I know and like Madonna's music well enough to enjoy the show.  I hope it's not too much about the choreography, like the Janet Jackson show we saw last year. That one was basically 4 or 5 medleys with a lot of dancing.  Upbeat and energetic for sure, but just not something I get terribly into. I'm guessing it will largely be about all that, but I expect there will be a bigger production with more costume changes and whatnot, so it will be worth it.

Bruce will be Bruce. 'Nuff said.  No Big Man, sadly, and that's really too bad for my wife's sake. I'm quite anxious to see how she responds to her first Bruce show.

We've also got our Pink tickets already.  As with the Madonna show, we were able to purchase four tickets early enough to be good seats (fantastic, in fact, for Pink), and thus were able to sell two of them to help offset the cost of ours. Pink will be fun.  I like her stuff better than Madonna's and I think I will like her even better as a performer.

I keep checking online to see if McCartney is going to announce a tour stop in or fairly near the Twin Cities. At 70, he's lost some of the high end of his voice, but I'd like to see him for a third time. One thing I wish Paul would do, and I realize it's only a wish, is to pick some more obscure songs from his catalog.  His aging pipes might even be a good excuse to pull out some of those - ones he doesn't have to strain to reach the high notes on (like Band On the Run, for example).

I also wish he wouldn't croon so much, but that's his ham-it-up personality coming out. I like the many different things he's done with his voice on record over the years, but he pretty much does the hammy-crooner on all of them live.

Here are some songs I'd like him to do live, and that I think he could still pull off quite well.

Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (some high spots near the end, though)
Little Lamb Dragonfly (some high spots again)
Press
Wanderlust (pretty sure he'd have to tune it down at least a couple steps, but I'd be cool with that)
Waterfalls (hmm, see Wanderlust)
Listen To What the Man Said

Now that I think of it, he's got a lot of songs that would really push his high-end. It seems he doesn't like to tune them down to hit the notes, but many, many aging stars do. I'd rather they do that then end up like Eddie Money and some casino ballroom (Youtube it if you don't know what I mean). But maybe if singers didn't think they always had to sing so many songs at the top end of their range, this wouldn't be necessary.

I doubt Leon Redbone ever has that problem.

Leaping Lucifer, look what day it is!

It's another late night finishing up some stuff for work that I didn't get to today. Yesterday I received 206 e-mails, 174 of them work-related. I'm working on a mini-project to break down the work e-mails beyong just how many. It's been very busy lately, but I guess that's a good thing.

It's also the last day of February, so I figured I'd better take a break from disecting e-mails and such to post something...anything. Not because February 29 only comes every four years. Rather, it's because lately my blog posts have come only about every four weeks.

So true to form, I'm realizing another month without as many blog posts as I'd like is about to end, and thus am trying to get one more in before the new month starts. Only this time, it's zero. So I will be clicking "Publish Post" before the stroke of midnight, because I would hate to have to try to access Facebook on a pumpkin tomorrow morning.

Lots has been happening lately, not just at work, but in my personal life. I'm glad my tax return will be nice, as much of the happenings happen to be expensive. To wit:

1. I just bought four tickets today to the Madonna concert coming up in November. Just under $800. We hope to sell two of them at a nominal profit, to help pay for some of it.
2. The trip to Baton Rouge for the USBC Open Championship is coming up. April 28 & 29, to be exact.
3. While I'm in Baton Rouge, Bruce Springsteen will be performing in New Orleans. I might just have to take the drive to see the Boss for the sixth time. It will be sad without Clarence this go-round.
4. After the USBC trip, my wife and I are going to vacation in Maine. We'll stop in Boston for a game at Fenway.
5. My son graduates high school in June.
6. I'm taking my daughters to the Brian Regan show Friday night. I took my son to it last time around, so it's their turn.
7. My wife and I have decided to put curbing in our yard this year, replacing the plastic lining that has been gradually coming out, being clipped by the lawnmower, etc., over the last nine years.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm starting to get depressed. I may have to skip the Springsteen show. Until, that is, he swings by the Twin Cities.

Bully for me

Bullies and bullying are more at the center of our society's conscience than I can ever remember. I read a very interesting bulletin board discussion the other day on the topic. What was fascinating to me was the variety of stories the posters shared of them being bullied.

I found several other things interesting, such as the differences in their stories and my own experiences. I was an easy target, and got treated meanly by many people. I wouldn't wish some of that on anyone, except for three people perhaps; the only three whom I really consider to be bullies of mine in my younger years (two from Junior High, one actually from when I was 18). Oh, there were plenty of mean things done by many, and some real jerks whom I won't soon forget. But nothing like these three, even if they really don't deserve my ire today.

I found it interesting how many posters to the thread knew the whereabouts, and in many cases, the stories of the demise of their personal bullies. It almost made me wonder if they weren't making up the stories to create their own happy endings. I have no idea what happened to my bullies. None are on Facebook, as far as I can tell. One still lives in the Twin Cities I think.

Of all the meanness I experienced, I harbor almost no resentment to the majority of the individuals who caused it. There are only these three exceptions. It goes against so much of what I stand for, but if I met any of them today, and I had at least a couple of beers in me, I might just pick a fight.

No, I wouldn't. But I might try to intimidate just to see how they'd react. They'd either show a newly found respect, seeing how I'd grown up physically and am no longer at a disadvantage, or they'd throw the first punch. I don't know how I'd respond to the latter, being that I wouldn't want to lose a job (or a lawsuit) over a grudge fight. Perhaps I'd pull a Felix Unger and say, "Look, let's settle this like gentleman. Let's meet at a boxing gym, and spar three rounds; may the better man win." Yeah, that's what I'd probably do...seriously. (Remember that Odd Couple episode?)

All that said, the picking on even these bullies gave me paled in comparison to some of the stories I read on that bulletin board. Perhaps I should consider myself lucky that I grew up in a relatively tame environment. Perhaps not, if it's the bullying that contributed some to what I am today.

Bruce Springsteen once said (paraphrasing from memory), "The first time I could even stand looking at myself was when I held a guitar." I can relate a little, only mine is after I started putting on a little muscle tone. I have no doubt the bullying had something to do with that, and while I currently have a spare tire to take care of after I hit a few lifting goals, I know that will always be somewhat true.

As long as I am physically able, I will be hitting the iron, even though the bullies become even further away in my past.