Transcending

This is a great album. I love the harmony and the lyrics are beautiful. These songs transcend genres, giving the listener an airy, relaxed feel. It's almost like New Age with steel guitars. Check it out at iTunes.

84 Hour Party People

Well, I'm back across the border and safely back at work. Boring. Here's a quick recap of the weekend's events:

Day 1 - Friday:
We gathered and left approximately 2 p.m. for Niagra Falls. It took a lot more in gas getting through Ohio, so we had to fill up on the New York State Thruway for $4.50 per gallon. Whoa. We got into Niagra Falls around 10 p.m. We made a wrong turn, however and wound up on the Niagra Parkway, which is the tourist strip that runs along side of the falls. It was extremely crowded, but the Falls are something truly breathtaking. We finally made it to the hotel and met up with the friends in the other car and decided to grab some food. The only restaurant open we saw was TGIFriday's, which was tolerable. The prices, however, were not. The lowest price menu item was a $16 hamburger. Yes, we were tourists in a trap.

Day 2 - Saturday: We arose and breakfasted at Perkins, my beloved diner chain. Think upscale IHOP, but much better food and service. We then walked down to the Falls for the typical pictures and opted for the Journey Behind the Falls package. With this package you actually take an elevator beneath the falls and can look out through the tunnels and then go to an up-close-and-personal observation deck. At just $12, it was a far better value than a lame 30 minute boat tour.

In the afternoon we drove to Toronto, stopping along the way at an exquisite restaurant alongside Lake Ontario. The late afternoon sun matched with the delicious food made for an unforgettable experience.

In Toronto, we headed to Club Alibi and chilled out with some quenching libations. We also walked around Toronto and saw the CN Tower from the ground up.

Day 3 - Sunday:
We walked to Eaton Centre and shopped at the Apple Store. The food court was a little on the downside, but the giant mall and underground walkway was a delightful way to experience the city. The IMAX theater was sold out for The Dark Knight, so we headed west of downtown to a place called Honest Ed's. It was literally the bargain basement for Wal-Mart rejected merchandise. There were however some good bargains, and I piked up a 60 cent tote bag.


Sunday evening we headed to the CN Tower to get a look of the city at twilight. It was a gorgeous evening.

Day 4 - Monday:
We headed out from the hotel and went to an IKEA in suburban Toronto. It was an interesting experience. There was so much Swedish design, I thought I would go crazy. We ate lunch at the cafe and headed for the border about 2.

After an easy but long border crossing, we headed to Flint Michigan for a meal at the Fudrucker's burger chain. The service was incredibly slow, but the burgers and fries were pretty good. We finally arrived back in Fort Wayne shortly after 11 p.m.

O Canada

I'm officially booked for a trip to Canada this weekend. The quick little jaunt to the great north was planned by some friends, so we're taking a big gay caravan. I"m very excited because I haven't been out of the country in over 12 years when I went to the Bahamas with my family. Also, by the way, the Bahamas are not that great a destination for someone as pale as I am. But Toronto should be fun.

Kneel Before Jobs

In the classic movie Superman 2, the three escaped convicts from Krypton commanded the puny Earthlings to "Kneel Before Zod."

I was considering getting a new iPhone recently, until I found out that I would need to get AT&T Wireless and give up my precious Verizon. I normally don't really have that much loyalty for companies, but I refuse to be bound by an arbitrary backroom deal done by Apple and AT&T.

I am a huge Apple fan. I consider myself a Mac user, who in desperation and a rather unusual bit of common sense chose the cheap $700 Windows alternative laptop to the $3000 Mac Book Pro I really wanted.

I am more and more frustrated by Apple, but I can't stay mad at them. The computers I feel are beautifully designed, but I really think Apple should license its Operating System. But the quandary is that if it were licensed, it would probably be just as poor quality as windows.

For now, I will keep hope alive that I can one day afford a MBPro, but for now, it will all have to wait. Maybe someday, I will finally kneel before Jobs.

Don't Dream It, Be It

When discussing dream homes with a friend, he said that he wanted the bottom of his pool to feature Michaelangelo's "birth of man." We all thought that sounded kind of cool, but then like a giant pink lightning bolt, it hit me: "Wait, that was in Rocky Horror Picture Show." At first no one believed me, but then I said, "I have seen Rocky Horror more times than I've been to church. I promise you, it's in that movie."

Today I finally got around to checking YouTube. Yep, I totally called it. It's such a good feeling to know I'm right, even though I sort of threw cold water on someone's dream. Sorry, bad pun.

The New Logo for Extreme Consumerism

Walmart will be unveiling a new logo this fall.

Hmm... Methinks they are trying to copy the look of another big-box retailer.

Without You, I'm Bored Out of My Mind

Few comedians are as unique as Sandra Bernhard. Today I watched "Without You, I'm Nothing," from back in the day. You know, back when the first Bush was in the White House.

This was probably the first existential, avante-garde comedy film ever. I don't think there has ever been another.

I enjoyed it much more than Chad did. I didn't even mind the part when she came out in a thong and tassels and did an interpretive dance to Prince's "Little Red Corvette." I have always liked her, she has always seemed to be on the edge of what's next. She's like an amped up modern version of Mae West. She's not the fake Mae West either like Bette Midler wants to be. Sandra Bernhard is authentic in her eccentricity. I just adore her. Thank heaven this came today. Too bad the DVD had a scratch in it that made me miss a whole chapter.