Grand Cayman was our first port, where we swam with stingrays. We took a boat out into the bay where they gather (for feeding by tourists) in about 3-4 feet of water. They’ll swim right up against your legs with the flaps, and are very friendly. You have to shuffle your feet to avoid stepping on them (and getting a stinger in your foot).

We spent the rest of the time checking out the jewelry and watches available (in abundance) in George Town. I’m not much of a jewelry person… though all the tanzanite was pretty, I couldn’t see myself wearing any of it.

Our second port was Cozumel, which my first visit to Mexico.  We tried helmet diving, which is diving with a air-filled helmet connected to a pressurized air hose.  We got to explore some pretty cool underwater wreckage, including a wrecked plane and a canon from some long-lost era.

And of course, more jewelry and watches. Though we didn’t get to check out downtown, which I hear has more shopping.

But there’s always next time.  We definitely plan on taking another cruise, maybe on the world’s largest passenger ship.

And I definitely recommend Royal Caribbean.

We just returned from our annual ski trip, and everyone returned safe and sound with all limbs intact. It was our largest group yet with fifteen of us in one big house.   In the past we’ve rented a house on or near the slopes, but this year we opted for a place in town.  The French Street Inn was formerly a bed and breakfast and was located just a few blocks from the gondolas and the slopes.  With over 30 inches of snow in during the 6 days we were there, there was plenty of awesome skiing.

With a house in town, it was also easy for those of us who didn’t ski every day to explore some of the other activities like getting a much needed massage!

It was a much needed break, and I believe we may have brought the snow back with us.   We’ve received snow and ice twice this week here in the Dallas area!

You can see the rest of our photos here.

While organizing my old stuff recently, I found two Hi Energy and Progressive Top 40 lists from from Oaklawn Records, still in their original envelopes addressed to me.  Coincidentally, one of the lists was from April, the month of my birthday.  So no doubt I was dancing to these toons at Angles when I turned <ahem> – something something.

Now be honest… how many of you have danced to “Mr Personality” or “Cotton Eyed Joe”?

Here’s the Top 40 Hi Energy list with a few videos of my favs from the time.  I’ve included links to the rest that I could find.

1. The Bomb – Bucketheads
   
   
2. Reach Up – Perfecto Allstars
3. Lick It – Roula
   
4. Baby, Baby – Corona
   
5. Bedtime Story – Madonna
6. Axel F – Clock
7. Your Loving Arms – Billie Ray Martin
8. Release Me – Industry
9. You Can Have It All – Eve Gallagher
10. Mr Personality – Gillette
    
11. Can You Feel the Love Tonight – Harajuka
12. You Belong to Me – JX
    
13. These Are the Days – Human League
14. Here I Go – 2 Unlimited
15. Sleeping in My Car – Mobius Loop (I couldn’t find the Mobius Loop version, but here’s a pretty good version by Dancefloor Driverz feat Joana)
16. Come Back – London Beat
17. Bloke – Republica
18. What Hope Have I – Sphinx
19. Tonight is the Night – Le Click
20. Hot Stuff – DJ Miko
21. I’m Ready – Size 9
22. Move It to the Rhythm – Technotronic
    
23. I Only Wanna Be With You – Barry White (Dance Mix)
24. Nights in White Satin – Sandra
25. Always Something There to Remind Me – Tin Tin Out
26. Don’t Fear the Reaper – Apollo 440
27. Situation – Tom Jones
28. We Got Love – One Family
29. Don’t Be Proud – Cappella
30. Be My Lover – La Bouche
    
31. Keep the Fire Burning – Dan Hartman and Loleatta Hollaway
32. Party People – KGB
33. Keep on Trying – Twenty 4 Seven
34. Love Come Rescue Me – Love Station
35. I Wish – Eric Gadd
36. Cotton Eyed Joe – Rednex
    
37. Take Me Forever – Data
38. You Bring me Joy – Mary J Blige
39. Respect – Judy Cheeks
40. The First, The Last Eternity – Snap

Here are the originals:

• Oaklawn Records Top 40, March 1995
• Oaklawn Records Top 40, April 1995

Unknown Show, 1991-1992

Here’s a show from before our director made the switch to computer-based show design.

“Ouachita” Show, 1992

If I remember correctly, this was the first show that Mr. Cooper designed using the computer, and I think it was the first show of our season.  I believe the design (not to mention the readability) was greatly improved by computer-based design.

“Gavorkna” Show, 1992

This was our main show of the season, and was a bit more difficult.  For one thing, it began with entire band expanding from between the 40 yard lines to the 10 yard lines in about 16 counts.  I remember practically leaping backwards carrying my tonal bass and, oh yah, playing Gavorkna Fanfare.  If you haven’t heard it, see the video below (and note that the guys in the video are stationary).

Since all my friends that are waiting with bated breath can now see the photos.  See the Street Party pics here, and friend pics here.

Thanks, Jeff, for inviting us to this amazing evening.  Here’s us with Jeff…

Michael, Jeff and Rich at the Black Tie Dinner

Check out the entire series.

Blue Devils encore performance at DCI 2009

This will be our 7th year, and I’m like a kid at Christmas… don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight.  Marching band has always been a love of mine, and these guys are the best of the best.

I’m ready for the goosebumps…

Wired.com

It’s hard to explain to the uninitiated what a modular home is when it comes to building it in nature. They either think I’m talking about those trailer houses with wood siding, or some funky-weird modernist glass box on the lawn. But these seem to commune with nature rather than clash. There’s something about the openness that and simplicity that doesn’t get in the way of the view.

Of course, I have to find a beautiful and semi-private place to build a house like these. My mom lives in the perfect part of Arkansas (north-central), but it’s quite an old-fashioned area (not too conducive to two men with no children moving in next door). But we’ll find the perfect place… it’s out there.

And then no more excuses… i have to design/implement that idea that’s been floating around in my head for 6 mos or so.  Now, to find green grass this time of year…

I made this with animoto, the best slideshow generator out there. You can upload your own photos or import them from photo sharing sites like flickr. You can also upload your own music you pick from their library. animoto then generates the video complete with effects. The free service is limited to 30 second videos, but you can create full-length videos for $3 each or $30 unlimited for a year.

Tags: animoto, DCI, drumcorps, marching, band

Downtown, the library, Disney Concert Hall, the very cool Westin Bonaventure, Sunset Blvd, Hollywood Blvd, Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly and Wilshire, the walk of fame (smelled like urine), the Oriental Theater, Capitol Records, The Hollywood Sign (drove almost too it, afraid we’d get arrested if we hiked further), Griffith Park, Griffith Observatory, Santa Monica Pier, the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica (twice), Malibu, West Malibu, Topanga Canyon, other misc canyons and mountains, drove Mullholland Drive (until it became a fire trail… it’s a DRIVE on the map!), Pasadena, Disneyland (fun), Knott’s Berry Farm (disappointing), Riverside (Rich lived there as a kid… found his old house), the Mission Inn in Riverside (interesting old hotel, looks like a mission), The Grove and LA Farmer’s Market, Long Beach and the Aquarium (eh… Shedd in Chicago is better), Pacific Coast Highway, and last but not least, The Abbey (where we hung out with some fascinating and fun people).

So blah blah blah… vacation… slides… you know the rest…

I didn’t bring my camera, since a D70 with a zoom lens would’ve set off the metal detectors (the zoom lens would’ve been necessary the backup singers, of course).  But a guy in front of us brought his camera and was nice enough to email me some of them on Monday.  Thanks Kevin!

His friend was from When In Rome, and is working on a solo project, so check out his site at www.myspace.com/frostmanmusic or When In Rome at www.myspace.com/wheninrome.  Man, I loved “The Promise”.

But all in all, it was a great time, and I feel the urge to go to another Pet Shop Boys concert.  I’ll have to go out and buy some of the albums I’ve missed over the years… I’ve definitely danced to enough of their music.

I finally posted our photos from our trip to DCI World Championships in Madison Wisconsin, Aug 12th. First time I’ve ever been to Madison, and it’s a nice city.

Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin had some amazing acoustics. I definitely enjoyed the sound, but the photography angle was further back and lower than in previous years. So I couldn’t get any decent shots of the formations, but got plenty of close-ups of the color guard. I didn’t spend much time color-correcting the photos, but I posted almost 400 shots on flickr.

If you’ve never seen DCI (Drum Corps International), you can get a taste of the show on ESPN2 on Sept 5 at 8 pm EST.

Tags: DCI, drum, corps

I’ve yet to receive my first book, but I’m sure this’ll be the start of something fun and worthwhile! So check it out!

Illustration credit Andrice Arp

Tags: bookmooch

It was our first house and we’ve put so much into it (a new roof, new plumbing, had large trees planted, painted and painted some more, refinished and restored hard wood floors in the kitchen, refinished the sunroom, replaced light fixtures and fans, replaced bathroom fixtures, and more.

As hard as it is, it’s time for us to begin a new chapter – one of independence, challenge and chance.

So if you’re looking in the Brookside/Rockhill Gardens area, please take a look!