Todd Rundgren In Texas

There I was. Me, Supernurse, and three of the grandkids........sitting at BWI-Marshall-O'Malley- Dixon-Rawlings-Blake-Mfume International Airport......waiting for our flight to Austin, Texas. Gee......it was not that long ago that we had gone to Texas.....but here we go again. Hmmmm, this trip was gonna be special. Not only that we got to spend more time with Signtopia Expansion Pack 2.1 (newest grandchild).......but we would be there for our 29th wedding anniversary. My daughter, Noodle and her husband Number Cruncher had already told me that they just so happened to have acquired tickets to a concert at a club called Antone's, in Austin, for Saturday, July 19th. Ooooooh yeah...............it just so happened that Todd Rundgren was gonna be in Austin while I was there.

Anyone that knows me or has ever known me, knows that Todd Rundgren is my favorite musician. He has pretty much written and performed the soundtrack to my life. I have pestered many people about his music to the extent that I probably should have gotten paid for promoting Rundgren's music..........nahhhh........I would do whatever I can for free. Well, you can imagine how excited I was in anticipation of the show in Austin. Rundgren is not scheduled to take this show into the Baltimore area, at least not yet, the nearest show would be at the Borgata in Atlantic City in August at the end of this particular tour in the states this summer. Have I mentioned that I am a lucky guy?

Rundgren's newest and yet to be released "album" is called "Arena" and it is his take on arena rock. Todd has this thing about him that you never fully know what to expect from him with each new record. He has done it all and this particular album would be his return to a more rocking, guitar oriented style of music. Now look at the photo shown above.........does that look like somebody who just turned 60 years old and has been on the road and cranking out the tunes for over 40 years?

It was Saturday and the time had come. I had never been here before and had no idea of what to expect in regards to the venue. I knew what to expect from Rundgren.............and I really wouldn't care if he was gonna be performing in the worst of places. As it turned out, Antone's wasn't all that bad, except that it isn't very big and it was hot as hell in there.......then again......this was in Austin.

Okay.......so we arrived at Antone's to find this line wrapping itself around the block. Holey Moley! But this is a good thing though.....it is great to see so many fans for Todd. Everyone in line was nice as could be......very friendly, well behaved, and............uh...........well.............pretty much all in my age group......hehehe.......well....there were a few younger people and even some kids. Did I mention how hot it was? We waited for quite some time in line.......the line wasn't moving and we were supposed to be able to get entry at 8 pm and the show was to start at 9 pm. For whatever reason.....that did not happen........we waited for over one hour in line and finally we got in.

The first thing we did was get something to drink and go purchase a couple of concert t-shirts. Then we situated ourselves as close as we could get to the stage. Unfortunately, the majority of the front of the stage was already crammed with people but I found a space at the side of the stage where the sound and guitar technicians were located. So I had a side view......I ain't complaining one bit.

At the back of the venue is this "balcony/skybox" exclusive area for special people. I noticed that Michele Rundgren was sitting up in there. Michele is Todd's wife and I saw Todd in that "room" heading down the steps to hit the stage. While he was doing that, his wife got up and hobbled from one end of the section to the other to give him what appeared to be a "break a leg" smooch......hehehe.........it just so happens that Michele was wearing some sort of cast for her own broken leg.

The show was starting.

And there he was.......Todd Rundgren! It was instant glorious nirvana for me. He picked up his guitar, said a few words about the heat and Austin, and proceeded to rock everybody's world.

There was Jesse Gress on guitar, Todd Rundgren on guitar, Matt Bolton on guitar and keyboard, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and Prairie Prince on drums.

Both Jesse Gress and Rundgren, were busting strings.........literally........and those strings were replaced right there next to me. I had a good look at their guitars........particularly the green P-Project guitar of Todd's known as "Foamy". In the photo above, that guitar at the bottom of the picture is one of Jesse's.

They started off with Love In Action, Open My Eyes (Nazz song), Lunatic Fringe, Walls Came Down, I Saw The Light, Black Maria............and then hit us with 13 songs from the new album. Wow!

Non-stop........2 hours worth of flawless rock and roll.

Todd was in great form.....looked very healthy for 60........his vocals were in top shape and his guitar playing was blistering..........and he sweated in the heat like Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon during a grand jury investigation.

Normally, Kasim Sulton would be playing the bass on most of Rundgren's tours, but this time Kasim was already committed as musical director and bassist for Meat Loaf. While it was a bit disappointing to not see him here, Rachel Haden was a pleasant surprise. She can hold her own on the bass and her backing vocals were good........and what the heck........she looks alot better than Kasim......hehehe.

There is one very noticeable thing that occurs onstage during this show.............every performer has a particular look on their faces throughout the performance. It is the look that they know they are doing something very special and very serious.

I apologize for some of the burred images.......it was difficult to get the proper settings on my camera............and hard to hold steady when I am experiencing something as wonderful and awesome as this show.

I must point out Prairie Prince on drums. At this show, I got the opportunity to be able to see him in action up close. I gotta say that he must be just about the best drummer I have ever seen, He beat the living crap out of those drums and it was a joy to watch. A few times he had some problems, I guess, with some of the sound equipment, and while keeping the beat I watched him still be able to communicate visually with his hands and sticks with the sound techs. Prairie Prince has been touring with Rundgren quite often and he was/is the drummer of The Tubes.

He also is an artist and just so happens to have a sense of humor. He was dressed up in a gladiator outfit..........well...........what else would one expect from the drummer from the Tubes?

The show went on and the band left the stage......the crowd was ecstatic and demanded more........we wanted an encore and an encore is what we got!

Todd dug deep into the earlier part of his career and cranked out "Couldn't I Just Tell You The Way I Feel" which featured the old Utopia kick line. And then.......it was time for the Utopian National Anthem which is the song "Just One Victory"...................the hair stands up on my neck when I hear this one done live and in person.

Prairie Prince tosses some drumsticks to a small kid at the front edge of the stage............

And then it was all over.................I was numb and in awe.

Over the years, I have always said.........."Good things happen with a new Todd Rundgren album".
I have also said............"Good things happen with a Todd Rundgren concert".

...........I never lied about it then, and I ain't lying about it now.

"Shining still......to give us the will."

Life Is No Longer Simple........As If It Ever Was

"My PopPop and MomMom took me and my brother and my cousin to Texas. We are having fun and so far we have been to Sea World in San Antonio and we have spent alot of time at the pool next to my aunt's house. It has been hotter than the salsa at The Oasis restaurant at Lake Travis. My skin is starting to get as red as my hair. Stay tuned because my PopPop will write all about this trip real soon."

Meanwhile.......here......chew on this:

This is a "plastic?" cup made from corn. Imagine that......I bet you didn't know that they can make a cup from corn...........hmmmmmmm..........now you gotta wonder about this...........you just have to wonder what a cup would look like if it was made from creamed corn..............

.............now you don't have to wonder anymore......hehehe.

Jehovah's Witnesses Should Read This

Over the years, I have had many conversations with the magazine pushing Jehovah's Witnesses. Both in person and online.......especially on Paltalk. While it has been a relatively long period of time since I have participated in discussions on Paltalk, I was recently reminded of those nights on Paltalk where the subject of patriotism often came up.

As you know, we have just had the Fourth Of July weekend and the Olympics are about to begin soon. Also, Venus and Serena Williams are in the news again with the Wimbledon Tennis championship matches. So how does all of this bring up those nights on Paltalk?.....well.......because Venus and Serena Williams are "devout" Jehovah's Witnesses. No big deal to the average person perhaps.....but......to those who have had any kind of dealings with Jehovah's Witnesses, either in the family or from having discussions about cult groups, this entry to the blog should toss some "new light" or at least a brighter light into their abyss.

Abyss........hmmmm........bottomless pit?

This picture reminded me also of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Sometimes people are told to believe certain things as truth without question or verification. No proof is needed for those who follow a bunch of geezers who claim to be the voice of Jehovah. While they once touted the words "Make Sure Of All Things and Hold Fast To What Is True".......when dealing with a Jehovah's Witness, you quickly discover that those old geezers never meant what they said. When presented with documentation....evidence which not only supports but verifies the facts about any argument with them, they seem to just put on that false smile and change the subject. I have seen this done thousands of times.
As I stated before, Venus and Serena Williams are professional tennis stars and damn good at what they do. They also happen to be Jehovah's Witnesses. Why this is worthy of mention is that every Jehovah's Witness would tell you that Jehovah's Witnesses do not get involved with "worldly" matters such as politics, wars or patriotism. Their sole allegiance is said to be to "Jehovah". Surely, everyone who has ever been to a school is aware that if there is a Jehovah's Witness child in the class, he cannot participate in any holiday activities, birthday celebrations, or standing up with the class for the Pledge Of Allegiance. This is a fact that no Jehovah's Witness would ever deny.

Hmmmmm..........but they DO indeed deny it when told of Venus and Serena Williams, being "devout" Jehovah's Witnesses, and parading around participating in patriotic displays of carrying and waving the American Flag.....smiling.....happy.....and proud of representing their country.

Denial.....denial......denial. These pictures do not lie. I even bet that Venus and Serena Williams aren't fibbing when they tell the press that they are "devout" Jehovah's Witnesses. But how is it that Venus and Serena are able to wave the flag and the rest of the cult members cannot? Any other dub in the bunch would be disfellowshipped or at the very least have to sit before a group of elders and get "counselled" for their behavior. My own moron-in-law would deny or try to excuse these pictures.
This is a big problem for Jehovah's Witnesses. What will they do? The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the multi-billion dollar publishing corporation that leads the cult, doesn't appear to want to discuss the issue of Venus and Serena. Instead, the bottom feeders are continually subjected to their control. Here is the rub............surely you know that the Jehovah's Witnesses themselves are what keeps the corporation afloat financially. The average Jehovah's Witness contribution is most likely pale and pitiful compared to the money coughed up by those members such as Prince (yes, THAT Prince) or Venus and Serena Williams. Common sense has got to tell you that the Watchtower would not want to cut off such a large amount of money coming in.

Believe it or not, one Jehovah's Witness tried to explain away the above picture by suggesting that you could "plainly see that Williams showed her disdain for having to pose that way by SITTING on part of the flag"! Imagine that! I have heard all sorts of excuses such as, "she must be inactive" or "she must be unbaptised" or even "disfellowshipped".........hehehe.

The bottom line is this.........

Venus and Serena Williams are indeed Jehovah's Witnesses and Jehovah's Witnesses are forbidden to do the things that Venus and Serena can do.

And THAT just so happens to show you one simple example of how the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is run by hypocrites.

Print these pictures out and save them for the next Jehovah's Witness that comes to your door.............it is far easier to show them the pictures instead of trying to explain to them that they are taught by those old Watchtower geezers that Jesus is Abaddon (Abaddon is the fallen angel of the abyss) and that their governing body were the locusts of the abyss in Revelation 9.........hehehe..........oh........and the Witnesses themselves have the documentation to back that one up........hehehe.

If you have a comment, feel free to comment. If you are a Jehovah's Witness and have another bullhockey excuse for Venus and Serena, go ahead and comment away. I will make sure your words are posted along with this blog entry.

Oh.......and before anyone tries to claim "they carried the flag because it was part of their job".......that excuse won't flush because if that was the case then every Jehovah's Witness that works in a restaurant would gladly participate in singing "Happy Birthday" to customers. You will have to be better than that.

George Carlin

I remember it like it was yesterday..............It was September of 1972 and I had bought the George Carlin album "FM & AM" and got it home......put it on the turntable........and my life changed. I loved humor and still do.............but Carlin was sooooooooo different.........he was special. I can safely say that Carlin influenced me. Not only that, but he was one of those people that when you see him you cannot help having the feeling that you "knew" him. I first saw him on the Tonight Show and remember thinking "He looks familiar". His humor was almost always built upon things that are true........and the truth is always funny.

I was fortunate to have been able to attend one of his performances at the Meyerhoff in Baltimore. We paid some outrageous price for the tickets and were subjected to a solid two hours of punishing humor. He ended the show with the words "Go F**k Yourselves!". As the years had gone by, Carlin had morphed into the "angry old man"..............and still as funny as ever. I did not always agree with his view of the world, but I always could appreciate why he had those views.

I woke up this morning to hear that George Carlin passed away from a heart attack at age 71.

Shhhhhhhh...................

Thanks George!

Ahhh The Week Has Ended

Once upon a time, I let my beard keep growing and growing....as seen in the above picture. The upside to this was that people move out of your way at the store. The downside to the long beard was I would always get little old ladies that came up to me at Burger King that would say "You look like one of the apostles." Another upside was that people thought I was a biker and therefore left me alone and never tried to start anything with me. Now that was interesting.......and yet, still to this day some people think I am a biker. I have only been on a motorcycle once and I immediately decided that I prefer four wheels on the ground. Also, I would continually be compared to Charles Manson. Hmmmmm......let's just say that the only thing me and Charlie have ever had in common was that we both have a large FAMILY......hehehe. Oh well......that's me, years ago in the picture........the non-conformist that I am.

See this picture? ..........Surely, you know already that NBC's Tim Russert passed away. He appeared to be a very likeable guy and I would have to say that he may well have been the only reason to ever watch NBC. Now just look at this picture again..........see the alien behind him?

Everytime I would see Tim Russert, I had to think about his evil twin that was separated from him at birth. Well, you tell me............either it's his evil twin or it's the same person.

This is Jeffrey Jones........Tim Russert's evil twin. Jones is an actor and you probably have seen him on countless tv shows and movies. You have to think the two gotta be related in some way.

Now is this Tim Russert or Jeffrey Jones?

This is scary stuff.

I was watching the Gene Simmons Roast on A&E network the other night and one of the guest roasters was comedian Paul Rodriguez. Now every time I see Paul Rodriguez I expect him to start playing a piano and belting out "I Love You Just The Way You Are".

Likewise, whenever I see Billy Joel, I am expecting some Hispanic comedy.

Now wait a second!............is this Joel or Rodriguez?

Rodriguez?

Uh oh........somebody lost some hair!

..........But then again.........it is show biz and it ain't so hard to cover up that dome.

Hey...........YOU figure it out.......I give up!

Meanwhile.......it is finally the end of the week and it is time to hopefully relax and make some noise with the Murph........................it may be noise "but it's still rock and roll to me".

Something I Forgot To Tell Everyone

On June 5th my baby sister, EBCBEBR had another birthday. I love my baby sister.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
EBCBEBR !!

A Few Thoughts

Aren't you getting tired of hearing about this alleged "global warming"? For some reason there are certain people such as Al Gore that fully expect that the largest portion of human beings on this planet are complete idiot moron lemmings that will have no common sense and fall for every load of bullshit thrown their way. Today I read an article where NASA is planning to send a space probe toward the corona of the sun. They say that they want to learn why the sun does certain things such as:

Why is the sun actually cooler than its surrounding area?

What speeds up the radiation and ions from the sun after it is discharged?

I also ran across another report that states that the sun is currently at the end of a cycle and that for the past few years, the sun has been "quiet". Hmmmmm. What do they mean about "quiet"? It turns out that there has not been any sunspot activity for a few years. Hmmmmm.
No sunspots? The satellite industry surely won't complain about that. I also read where scientists say that a new sun cycle will start up in 2012..........Hmmmmmm.....now ain't that interesting? I recommend that people actually read up on the sun and what scientists are saying. It is very enlightening and totally flies in the face of all of this propaganda that we keep hearing in the media.

"Global Warming"..............think about it. The Earth does not radiate from within. The earth is not the source of heat. The Sun IS. If anything is actually getting hotter it would be the Sun. If anything is causing the earth to get "warmer" it has to be the Sun. Plain and simple. Politicians, such as Barack Obama, want YOU to believe that YOU are causing the planet to heat up. If you believe that, then you are a moron.

Oh.....and here is another little tidbit about the sun and the earth.............scientists say that in something like a billion years, the sun will have completely consumed the earth. In other words, the sun will likely become a black hole. Now imagine somebody trying to tell you that it would be YOUR fault that this is gonna happen...........Now also imagine somebody trying to tell you that there is something that mere humans can do to stop it from happening!

I am thinking that there should be at least one seat onboard that sun probe........for Al Gore.
And maybe we can tell him to bring back some pictures.........hehehe.

Meanwhile...........

Ask yourself why anyone would vote for this dude fro President of the United States:

Well, I won't be voting for him. No, not because he has a cigarette.......hehehe.....but.....because he is a Marxist. Plain and simple. That a black man is a Marxist ought to be alarming to anyone. Some would say, "Hey now, Obama is only HALF black". Hmmmmm. Does this mean than it is his "white" side that is the Marxist portion? Well, I wouldn't vote for an all-white Marxist either......so there!

Oh well........I suppose this is enough for today. I plan on writing a little more often in the days to come.............not that there is a huge contingent of people who log on to the internet and visit this blog to see what I write next.........hehehe.

By the way............do what I do when I log onto the internet.......visit these sites daily:

www.boortz.com
www.drudge.com.

Now you know.

Signtopia Says......

Howdy everybody!

Gee whiz it is June already! Much has been done and much yet to do.

Here's what is on my mind today........

Regarding Hillary Clinton..........I have been watching the news reports about the Democratic Primary Presidential Campaign and here we are at the alleged end of the line. It has been reported that Barack Obama has enough delegates to take to the convention and that Hillary will have to concede........hmmmm. It has also been reported that the Clinton campaign will be requesting that the Obama contingent pay for some of her campaign debt........hmmmm. It has been obvious that the "left-wing" media has been touting Obama as their man for President for quite some time......hmmm. Here is my take on all of this.

Personally neither Obama nor Hillary could convince me to vote for them.....not even if they offered me some money or promised to end world hunger..........hey......sometimes I enjoy being hungry. It seems to me that if Hillary was serious about really wanting the job as President and was determined to get that job and meant everything she has been saying on the campaign trail, then she would have to realize that the Democrat vote is split and that Obama has NOT had anything near a landslide victory. This means that she has at least as much a chance of winning in the general election as Obama does. Having said that, she also has to realize that her own party of Democrats has pretty much stabbed her in the back throughout this campaign. If she has been a "leader" of the democrat party, you sure couldn't tell it from boneheads like Ted Kennedy or Nancy Pelosi. So the message to Hillary is..............she needs to tell the Democratic Party where to shove it, and march forward and run for president as an independent candidate. If she does this, she still might not win, however, if she does indeed run as an Independent candidate she will be shoving her entire pantsuit up the ass of the Democrats.......a little payback.....because this would pretty much guarantee a victory for the Republican John McCain. I would have far more respect for Hillary if she played hardball and showed the intestinal fortitude and gall to become an Independent. How quickly everyone forgets how the Democratic Party dropped Joe Lieberman like a hot potato.....and he ran for office as an Independent and beat the Democrats in an election. Good for him.

Regarding Obama..............maybe you should read what I have written in the past about him. If he wins the general election and becomes president, it's all over folks.............stick a fork in this country. Perhaps I will go into detail in the future.

Regarding John McCain.........maybe he is a nice guy, maybe he ain't..........but I contend that he is our only alternative unless somebody pops up out of nowhere worth voting for.

Who would have ever thought?


Whenever I see John McCain........I keep waiting to see if Art Garfunkel stands next to him and starts singing.

Yep...........John McCain..........Paul Simon...............what can I say?

I remember watching those old Blondie and Dagwood movies as a kid. They were hilarious. Remember?.......it was Penny Singleton that played Blondie..........

..........and Hollywood screwed up big time when they didn't notice how much Cybil Sheppard looks like Penny Singleton. She would have been perfect as Blondie if they had remade some of those old films. They could have even came up with new stories about Blondie........but you and I know that Hollywood hasn't been able to come up with any new stories about anything in the past 20 years.

Since I mentioned Art Garfunkel...............whenever I see a picture of him I think of.....

........Larry Fine of the Three Stooges.

Let me tell you a story about Whoopie Goldberg. I remember that several years back she had been filming a movie in the Baltimore area and I just so happened to be walking past the Tremont Hotel and saw a large tour bus parked in front. I continued walking past and wondered whose bus it could be..........and as I approached the front entrance to the hotel, out comes Whoopie Goldberg and she looked at me, and I looked at her and I continued walking up the sidewalk. After about ten or so steps I looked back to see if she was getting on that tour bus. When I looked back........I saw her looking at me. Surely I did not look familiar to her...........then again, at that time I didn't look like Ted Danson either......hehehe.......oh well........I kept walking. Maybe she was stunned that I didn't pester her for an autograph......hehehe.

Now.......whenever I see Whoopie on television it is like seeing music producer Nile Rodgers.

And whenever I see Nile Rodgers............it is like seeing Whoopie. Go Figure!

Oh well......that's enough for today.

Until next time........keep smiling.........it's the END OF THE WORLD!