College

I'm married to a college student.  She read me her homework tonight.  How awesome is that?  My girl is a coed.  Every adult male in America is jealous of me.

I love my gorgeous college student wife.

Rush - Carnies

Some one messing around on youtube edited together six different videos of Rush playing Carnies in Manchester last week.  Not sure where the audio comes from, but it's not bad.  I wonder if it's the third source that I downloaded last night.  That one had artwork included that was shot by our friend Kathy.  Jen and I have one of her shots hanging on our living room wall.

Cool, huh?

My Head is Empty (as usual)

So... do you think my iPhone 4 is jealous?  Do you think it knows that by 3:00pm Eastern time yesterday its replacement had been introduced to the Apple fanboy universe?  I bought my iPhone 4 just over two years ago.  It was July 31, 2010, if the first photo uploaded to Flickr is to be believed.  It has served me faithfully (although the button has been weird since day one) but now its replacement has been announced.

The iPhone 5.  4G LTE.  That's all I really wanted in a new phone.  That's the one thing I was feeling jealous of.  Now when pre-orders are opened in a week or so I'll put in for one.  I want more memory (of course) so I'll probably jump from 16 gig to 32 gig if I can.  If it's doable I'll go all the way to 64 gig, but I doubt it.  The tom-tom added to the new maps app will be nice, but I expect I will miss the Google maps app for a while.  Hopefully Google will release it independently via the app store so I can have that too if I ever need to go crying home to mama (GPS-illy speaking, of course).

Everything else is sort of icing on the cake.  It'll be nice to be able to tell Siri to change my Facebook status and all of that, but what I really want is that 4G.

Granted, AT&T can't even get me a cell signal or Edge network in some areas of Salem, NH... why should I expect 4G service all of the sudden.

Don't bring a fanboy down, AT&T.  Show us some network love, m'kay?

Bootleg Count

Yeah, you'll probably see posts like this until December.

Rush has played three shows on this tour so far:

9/7/12 in Manchester
9/9/12 in Bristow, VA
9/11/12 in Pittsburgh

You can guess what I'm going to say next, can't you.

Yes, I have boots of all three shows. Hell, I have three different sources of the Manchester show. One of them is even pretty good!

Collective Bargaining Bullshit

As another day draws to a close without any real progress on the NHL collective bargaining front (both sides offered proposals today, but it's all just PR at this point) I can't help but reiterate what I've been saying for the last couple of weeks.

This is all our (the fans') fault.  All of it.

After the 2004-05 season was cancelled due to collective bargaining bullshit, we fans should have stayed away from the game in droves.  We should have punished both sides for not taking our wishes into account.  We should have made them suffer.  They cancelled the '04-05 season.  We should have cancelled the '05-06 season.

But we did not.  We came back in droves.  We missed our game... OUR game... so much that we came running back to the rinks and welcomed the league back as if nothing happened.  We welcomed them back with open arms, as if they hadn't just collectively pissed all over us for an entire year.  We opened our wallets to them as if they hadn't just taken a giant shit on us.

And this is the thanks we get.

Had we stayed away after the last lockout the league would commit suicide rather than consider another work stoppage.  They would be so terrified of losing the fans who did come back that they would never dream of closing the doors and locking us out of our game again.

But that did not happen, and now we are three days away from another lock out.

We cannot let this happen again.

Nasty Accident

I just passed a nasty accident near the Tewksbury/Wilmington line. Lots of debris in the road and an SUV in someone's front yard. I saw at least five emergency vehicles. Hope everyone is OK.

Tyme

Japanese restaurant cam.

Rush Nerd Strikes Again

Yes, Robert the Rush Nerd is at it yet again.

I was asked via Flickr for permission to use some of my crappy pictures from Friday night's show on a WZLX blog.  (WZLX, for those who do not know, is a Boston area classic rock radio station)  I granted the permission despite the pictures being... you know... crappy.

Check it out here and have a good laugh at ol' Robbie's expense.

Upcoming Things

Today is September 11th.  We all remember where we were and what we were doing as our world changed.  Everyone seems to be a little calmer, a little quieter, a little more polite on this day each year.  I have heard a few people say how the simple date on the calendar depresses them a little.  I think many of my coworkers are trying to battle that small depression by dumping work on me.

Tomorrow is September 12th.  The good folks at Apple seem to have decided to cheer us up from our 9/11 sadness by holding this year's iPhone event.  I am looking forward to the iPhone 5 (or whatever they end up calling it) as I have an upgrade ready to be used.  I first got the iPhone 3G.  Then I skipped the 3GS.  I upgraded to an iPhone 4, and then skipped the 4S.  I am ready to jump on the next generation's wagon.  I am ready to have iCloud on a 4G network so that it actually works.  Of course, that assumes that AT&T has 4G coverage in my area.  Who are we kidding, there are a number of places on my ride to and from work and near my home where I can't even get a simple cell signal.  Still, I plan on getting the new phone as soon as I can.  I won't be waiting in line at the Apple store because I don't want to take the time off of work (busy busy busy) but I'll order one when I can.

Saturday is September 15th.  That is the day that all the happiness generated by the new iPhone will be sucked out of the universe as that is the day the NHL's collective bargaining agreement expires.  By extension, that is the day that the NHL will lock out the NHL Players Association.  By further extension, that is the day that I stop being a hockey fan.

I am King Rush Nerd

Well, maybe not King Rush Nerd, but definitely a member of the extended royal family.

I already have a playlist on iTunes devoted to boots of Clockwork Angels shows. There have been two shows so far. Guess how many shows are in the playlist. Go on, guess.

What a Rush nerd, huh?

Rumor has it they are adding a San Diego show on the day before Thanksgiving. The kids would rather some Cali Rush than a turkey day, right?

Right?

http://youhavetwoweeks.com/

Go to this site, youhavetwoweeks.com.

The only group not represented at the NHL labor talks is the fans.  In other words, the only group not represented at the NHL labor talks is the group that feeds its money into the NHL.  The commissioner has implied that he does not fear a lock out due to the way that the fans came roaring back to the game after the league locked out an entire season.  I believe that this time we need to not be passive and allow ourselves to be used.  I think the boycott proposed in the above website is a great place to start, although I fear it won't go nearly far enough.

One More Rush Tidbit

I say "one more" but we all know there will probably be 100 more between now and the Boston show next month, but I digress...

This is something we missed.  I got a text message saying that this happened, but now I have seen video evidence.

Dating back to the late 90's it has not been unusual for Geddy and Alex to throw some t-shirts into the crowed at the end of the show.  This time Neil has channeled his inner minor league hockey PR department and contributed with this:

Cracked.com Nails Reality Again

Everyone knows that this video is 100% accurate.  Stuff like this goes on every single day.

Patches 2/2

Jen grabs Patches for a sneak attack hug! Patches looks displeased with Jen.

Patches 1/2

Patches sits on the arm of the chair, next to Jen..........

Far Cry

I continue to barrage you with Rush pictures.

They played (SPOILER ALERT) "Far Cry" in the first set.  I knew the pyro was coming, but I almost missed it.  I did get the tail end of it though, and that turns out to be the closest any of the pics came to not totally sucking out loud.

They are a little more pleasing to the eye than the 2010 in Boston "Far Cry" pics, and this time it didn't result in a huge technical failure.

Ah, the thrill of the on stage explosions.  Damn, I love a good Rush show!

More Rush Pictures

Nope, not obsessed.  Not obsessed at all.

More pics from last night's Rush show.



I want Alex's guitar.  There.  I said it.


Strings.










So I... umm... I just finished downloading a bootleg of last night's show.  Yeah.  I'm kind of a scumbag like that.  I haven't listened to it yet, but I now know what we missed.

The Boston Garden show is in 46 days.  Let the countdown commence!

Crappy Pictures from Opening Night

Here are some crappy pictures from the opening show of the Rush Clockwork Angels tour.

Welcome to the land of way overused digital zoom.

Outside the Verizon Arena in Manchester.


Obligatory pre-show stage shot.


Super digital zoom in on Alex!


Super digital zoom in on Neil!  (he is in there somewhere)


Super digital zoom in on Geddy!


Yeah, I got lucky on this one.


Oh, hi there string section.


This was the second song of the second set.  We left as it was ending.

At Least We Saw Half of a Rush Concert

My wife has a bad back.  It is debilitating at times.  She was hurting all day today and she was worried about making it through the concert tonight.  She made a go of it.  A valiant, heroic, herculean effort, but it was not to be.

She made it though the first two songs of the second set and then we had to leave because she couldn't stand the pain anymore.  Up until that point the kids were loving it, but one of them was pretty clearly out of gas.

Now the question is, do I start hunting for bootlegs tomorrow or not?  I was told that at some point during the second set there was a technical malfunction and Alex Lifeson filled the time by doing stand up.  I think hearing that will be worth spoiling the second set and the encoure, don't you?

The Boston show is just over one month away.

Crappy overly digital zoomed pictures to follow shortly.....

Taking Pictures in Tewksbury

I have lived almost my entire life in the town of Tewksbury, MA.  I have lived in Methuen, MA since 2008.  I also lived in Methuen back in 1995.  I lived in a dorm in Lowell, MA for a year at one distantly past point too, and just prior to moving to Methuen for good I was living in Salem, NH for a few months.  Apart from those times, I lived in Tewksbury my entire life.

But I don't have any wandering-around-Tewksbury pictures anywhere.  I have a million from Methuen.  I have some from Billerica.  I have a bunch from Concord, and a slew from Boston and Cambridge.  None from Tewksbury though.

Until today.

I took today off so that I could get everyone to the Rush gig on time tonight.  I'd like to finish the Clockwork Angels novel before we go, but I have about 20% still to go and my eyes are pretty tired.  Anyway, this morning I thought it would be interesting to, after dropping off the kids, hit two or three places in Tewksbury that I thought might be good for pictures.

Being the Spicket River nerd that I am, I figured the first couple of places to visit would be on Tewksbury's river, the Shawsheen.  Put in simple, mathematical terms, Spicket > Shawsheen.  The first place I stopped was nice.  The second was not.

The first stop was on Shawsheen street, right near Bridge street.  There is a tiny little pull off that I think folks use to drop their canoes/kayacs into the river.  The view was nice.  Unfortunately the sun was nowhere to be found (of course not, I had a camera with me!) but here are a few pics...





I was surprised by how fast the river was moving.  I had always thought the Shawsheen was slow.  I wonder if it's ever been diverted, as the Spicket has.




There was a little brook feeding into the river.  I haven't a clue what it's called.




There was a lot of tall grass underwater, getting dragged along with the current.




The second place I stopped was next to the Knights of Columbus parking lot, right near the Micelli bridge on route 38.  I didn't like the view there at all.  It was swampy and slimy and muddy and gross.  I took a couple of pictures anyway, seeing as I had risked life and limb (and camera) climbing down to the edge of the water.

This picture is my favorite from this stop.  Hello, Mr Frog.  Sorry that I almost stepped on you.


This is the second coolest part of the stop.  I had never before seen a molted (is that the correct term) snake skin.  Cool, huh?  Thankfully it's a little one and not an anaconda sized sucker.


Oh yeah, the river.


I would like to assure all of you, especially the authorities, that the Robbie referenced in this image is not me.  Thank you.


See what I mean?  The water looks sludgy and gross.


Next we move on to what is most likely the most depressing spot on the planet Earth.  At least it's the most depressing spot I've ever been to.

There is a State Hospital in Tewksbury.  For many years, long in the past, it was a mental hospital.  It was the kind of place you see in old movies, where the state dumps people that don't fit in anywhere else.  Hopeless cases.  That sort of thing.  Apparently, they had patients who had no identity and no families and nothing.  What did they do with those patients on the occasions when they died in the hospital?  Apparently they buried them in the woods just off the hospital grounds.

I had known about this place for years.  Ever since two of my friends stumbled upon it while hiking around in the woods.  In the years since then, the town has placed a sign marking the edge of the area on East street, right near Livingston street, so it's not like it's some deep dark town secret.  The evidence is right there in the open.

Unfortunately, the cemetery itself is still lost in the woods.  I parked along the side and found a little path into the trees.  I was looking all around me, trying to see the cemetery while also trying to watch my step.  I don't want to end up in the Tewksbury Town Crier with the headline, "Fat Dumb Ass Falls Down While Taking Pictures No One Will Ever See."  I very carefully stepped over a fallen tree and noticed something on the ground near me.  I took a picture.


I looked around me and I was surrounded by graves.  The markers were barely above the ground.  Some were partly buried.  I had walked into that patch of woods specifically looking for a cemetery, and I walked right into the middle of it without even noticing.

No names.  No dates.  Just a number.  There is probably a reference in some catalog somewhere in the hospital marking the date of burial, and maybe even the circumstances, but no names.  No humanity.  Just a little tiny marker with a number on it.  This has to be the most depressing, pitiable thing I have ever witnessed.  Someone should remember these people.  Why not me.








This one sort of sums up the whole feeling of the place.


The last thing I looked at this morning was, to me, the sort of iconic view of the town of Tewksbury.  When I was a kid and we went on a car trip to visit relatives on the other side of Boston, or something, or whatever, seeing this always told me that I was almost home.


And there you have the high lights of my awfully depressing attempt at a photo walk around Tewksbury, MA.