And by “No Show” I Really Mean “No Show”!

Last night gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “singing in the rain.” 

Hubby and I had pretty decent tickets to last night’s showing of Kenny Chesney, Sugarland, and Miranda Lambert.  I cannot tell you how excited I was and how much I was looking forward to this concert.  Although I’ve strayed away from most country music in the last couple years, I am still a huge fan of Sugarland or anything sung by Jennifer Nettles.   She is an amazing vocalist and this was the first time I was getting to see her live.  Or so I thought. 

To my surprise, Sugarland was a “no show” for the concert last night.  We arrived early enough to catch Miranda Lambert perform and waited in a terrential downpour only to go straight to Kenny.  I couldn’t even enjoy the first few songs b/c I was so confused – what happened to Sugarland?  I am sure being completely soaked did not help.  Last time I saw a concert with this kind of weather was probably back in 1995 when seeing Hootie and the Blowfish!  It was like our own little mini-Woodstock; people were body sliding across the floor and dancing around with no shoes.  “No shoes, no shirt, no problems” was definitely the theme of the evening. 

Poor Kenny – he tried his best despite the weather raining on his parade.  Promising to “sing in the rain as long as we were willing to listen” he lasted about one more song before seeing lightning and bolting out of there himself.  

Maybe Sugarland had the right idea to stay undercover.  We had fun regardless though and laughed our soaking wet butts off all the way home.

Once Bitten

Once bitten by the Twilight bug you never go back.  My husband may think I’m strange, odd, whatever you want to call it – but, I am not the only one with vampire fever readng YA Lit these days.  Check out this list of top selling books by USA Today.  Hmmmm…if ALL of the Twilight books are in the TOP 5 – I may have caught onto something after all. 

And, the icing on the cake?  It was recently announced Twilight is scheduled to be released 3 whole weeks ahead of schedule (November 21st instead of December 12th)!  Just read the most recent article from Stephenie Meyer’s official site.  Here too is the newest trailer from ET:

Love for Lyle

As much as I love my husband, he has a little competition: Lyle Lovett has also become near and dear to my heart over the years.  Not knowing anything about him except for once being married to Julia Roberts, I was first introduced to Lyle several years back when he performed at Potawatomi Bingo in Milwaukee.  My husband introduced me to his music and I’ve been a fan ever since.  To this day, it is one of the only singers we both enjoy.  We like him so much we even played songs from his CD Pontiac during our wedding reception.  Tomorrow night we’ll get to see Lyle perform for the third time at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth.  One of these days, I really hope to meet him in person. 

What an unexpected treat at the end of a very hectic work week!  His show will definitely not disappoint.

Help for Phelps

This Michael Phelps person, whom I’ve heard so much about in the last few days, simply cannot catch a break. I mean, winning 11 gold medals (and counting) must be rough. Not to mention winning the most gold medals of any Olympian – ever. I have to say, as interesting as he is to watch (and not too bad to look at either ladies), I think hearing the newscaster say the following after his 11th gold is simply priceless:

And for those of you who wondered if he could do it with his eyes closed, the answer seems to be “yes”.

OMG!- where do I begin?  I could have way too much fun with that one.  Although the below statement comes in a close second taken from a caption on the main MSN page:

Phelps wins 200m fly despite google problems.

Hmmm…wonder how he had the time to surf the net while doing the 200m?  Or, for that matter, how one would even be able to look at Google while underwater?  Very interesting.  No wonder he’s “the winningest athlete in Olympic history” as the article states.   Ok, really?  Is winningest even a word?

If all this doesn’t make you laugh, do check out the photos taken while Michael had goggle problems.  I really wish I could post the snapshot on my site that still has me laughing even as I type this.  Again, simply priceless.  Yep.  This multimillionaire Phelps cannot catch a break.  Poor, poor kid.  I have a feeling though, he will definitely have the last laugh.

 

 

The Dark Knight

We haven’t been to a movie in awhile, but this movie was definitely worth the time and money.  Christian Bale and Heath Ledger make an absolutely unbelieveable hero and villian in the latest Batman saga.  As everyone knows, Heath plays the unpredictable lunatic, The Joker, and his performance is everything you would expect and more.  Throw in a little charm, a little crazy, and some chaos and you’ll only touch the surface of the Joker’s creepy demeanor on screen.

Heath’s untimely death may have contributed to the Batman buzz, but really all the performances are solid and should stand on their own.  Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, and Michael Caine round out the cast and are perfect additions to this film.

It is a rare day that I’ll see a movie more than once but this is one movie I can’t wait to see again.  It is just a shame Heath’s vision and portrayal of The Joker won’t be back for more. 

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Summerfest Rocks

In my writing haste yesterday, I failed to mention another Summerfest staple.  Pat McCurdy.  Even though some of his original songs are a little on the vulgar side, they are so creative, funny, and FUN – you can’t help but to stand up, dance, sing along, and leave wanting him to play more.  It is a definite must if you want to experience Summerfest.  For you doubters out there, Milwaukee is so much more than freezing winters, brats and beer, and Laverne and Shirley.  Promise.  And, while I do admit,  this clip is a little off key, tell me it doesn’t make you want to jump out of your office chair right now and sing along. 

Summerfest Blues

Today at work I definitely fell victim to the Summerfest Blues.  What is that, you ask?  Summerfest is a 11 day festival down by Lake Michigan in Milwaukee and it houses some of the best food, fireworks, and outdoor concerts you will ever see.  Ok, there are a couple Milwaukeeans out there who might not agree but to those few I say, you LIE!  Even if you have your reasons for hating Summerfest now (i.e., the heavy congestion by the lakefront; crazy drunk people everywhere; costs too much money) you did at one time appreciate Summerfest for what it was: great and mostly FREE outdoor music all day long, hanging out with your friends, running into friends you haven’t seen in awhile, having a drink or two, and let’s not forget stopping to eat at Saz’s for a sampler platter of mozzarella sticks, cheese curds, and seasoned fries.  Did I mention before the fireworks over the lake?  Simply breath-taking.  Oh well…looks like I may just have to wait until next year.

  

 

 

Top 5 of the Past 25

I wasn’t going to post tonight since it’s late and I recently got back from our book club meeting, but I’m flipping through this week’s Entertainment Weekly and wanted to share some of their picks of favorite movies, TV shows, books, etc. for the last 25 years.  See if you agree…

Top 5 Movies:

1. Pulp Fiction
2. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
3. Titanic
4. Blue Velvet
5. Toy Story

Top 5 TV Shows:

1. Simpsons
2. The Sopranos
3. Seinfeld
4. The X Files
5. Sex and the City

(I am happy to report Buffy at least made it in the top 10)

Top 5 Albums:

1. Purple Rain
2. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
3. Achtung Baby
4. The College Dropout
5. Madonna

Top 5 Books:

1. The Road
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. Beloved
4. The Liar’s Club
5. American Pastoral

And because I love Will Arnett, I have to close with his top 5 New Classics That Made Him Cry:

1.  When Crockett came back after going too deep on Miami Vice, and they pulled their guns on him at his locker.  They pulled their guns on Crockett!  He gave his life to that job!  He’s good police!

2.  When Jerry Orbach left Law & Order.

3.  When I realized the theme song to The Greatest American Hero was the best song ever, and that I would never hear a better song again.

4.  When Sam closed the bar one last time on Cheers.

5.  Every Oprah.