My view

Here's a shot of 10th ave as seen from my balcony. By the way, Shawn and I saw Rush at MSG on Monday and it was feaking great. We had great seats. It was my third of this tour and Shawn's 2nd. Here's a crappy camera phone pic.

Happy Birthday Neil!

Well, the ole boy turns 55 today and he's still going strong. In the words of Darth vader, "Impressive, most impressive."

Hello friends

flight 93 not pictured.

It's a grey and rainy day here in NYC. Very fitting.

later

Damn!

Well, I had a big ole post for my blog but lost it due to the technical bull shit of this blog site. I went to preview my post and when I tried to return to the blog, the whole f-ing thing was gone. I'm too pissed to start over. I even had pictures. Screw you blogger! I'll do something another time when I feel like it. I don't think anyone's reading these anyway....

later nobody

Where the hell have I been?

Hi there empty space. I know nobody reads this but I thought I'd update anyway. Had a geat time in San Francisco with Kim. I want to go back and spend more time. We only had a few days but it was well worth the trip. Sunny weather, temps in the 70s and a jacket at night. We rented bikes and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge. I was blown away by this iconic structure. Having seen numerous shows on its construction and history, I was thrilled to finally see it in person and ride across it.

I then spent a week in my hometown Nashville Tennessee. It was a really nice trip. I got to walk through the house I grew up in and visit my elementary school St Henry. I took a pic as I was leaving. Oh yea, I went fishin' too...Even caught me one:-)

Now I'm back in NYC wondering what's next in this ride of life.

Click me

Well..what do you want? Check out the pics from Erin's closing.

Man oh man, what a show

I saw Rush last nignt at Jones Beach and it was freaking amazing. I plan on seeing them this Sunday in NJ and then again in Sept. at MSG here in the city. Went alone. Going Sunday with Shawn. It'll be fun!!

Shawn on the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Still Nothin

Sorry, I just don't have anything......what a waste huh?

Hi folks

Ok so I haven't been here in a while. Oh well. Here's a pic of the whole gang. Last time we were all together was October of 03. This pic was Sunday April 22nd 2007. Mike's birthday.....

Well hello there

Have not posted lately as you can tell. Not much going on really. My cousin Elizabeth is moving up to New York to go to Parsons. I think it's great. It's a big move to go from Austin, TX to NY, NY but she'll do fine. My other cousin Raquel, Elizabeth's sis, is moving to Allentown, PA to start playing Pro softball with the Philly team. That's it for now.

Hi Rich Raspantini

Well, my former co-worker told me I needed to update my blog so I am. I don't feel like talking today so I'll just say until next time.....

Bubba

Mark your calander..yeee haaaww

Try it, it's fun

I love these things. Here's the link so you can make your own. http://www.streetsigngenerator.com/

Bodhran, meet Mr. Tipper...

So I got this tipper from a guy in Germany named Ralf. He makes tippers and Bodhran related junk. www.bodhranshop.com It was kinda strange yesterday when I picked up the package in my mail room. I have been watching the show "Band of Brothers" and the episode I watched yesterday started out with some real WWII Vets talking about how he and the some of the Germans could have been friends if they weren't trying to kill each other. This one guy said, "We probably had a lot in common and had the same interests in things." So when I picked up the package it had German writing. I got goose bumps as soon as I saw it cause these thoughts were in my head. If this was 1945, I might have been over there and me and Ralf could be trying to kill each other instead of me asking him to make me a tipper for my Bodhran. Anyway, I have been practicing a bunch lately. I have a metronome on the way to help me keep better time. Boy, I talk about a lot of nothing don't I?

Irish stuff

So I guess I'm getting back into Irish music pretty good now. It has nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day around the corner. I'm gonna start jamming with some other musicians and that is what is motivating me. I enjoy the Bodhran alone but it's much more fun to jam with other people. I'll let ya'll know how it goes. In meantime, listen to this band here. Their name is Flook and they are Irish.

Magical Tunnel

Acually, it's on 48th street near my work. I thought it was cool. I'm gonna buy a pair of conga drums tomorrow. I'll post a pic soon. I still like Fridays. Kim and I are going to hear an Irish fiddle player tonight. I'm jazzed. Did you know, you can gt a fiddle on ebay for like 40 bucks? Granted it's a starter piece of shit but hey, better a p.o.s. than a stradivarius right?

Edge Van Rental:-)

God F'ing Damnit..even though it's not His fault

I threw my wallet away last night. I did't mean to. They were in my pants that had a tear. I threw out the pants on purpose. The NYC sanitation Dept. has it now. It's on its way to a Jersey landfill. It had everything in there. Thank God Kim was smart enough to back all that stuff up a few years ago on a piece of paper. I can't go to the bank. I don't have my licence. I had a green Scapular I got when I ws a kid. 80 something bucks and a metrocard with 36 bucks on it. Fuckin shit.

Rip...Literally

You'll get the Darth Vader Pic in a bit. Well, if you read Colleen's blog, you'll get the idea. cobbo.blogspot.com Anyway, what a nasty soul that would do that to Colleen and Rob. It was so senseless. I'm still pissed. I did note however how f'ing strong Colleen is. She picked up half ot that sleeper sofa. That thing weighs a ton no kidding. She picked it up like a sack of taters. "Impressive, most impressive." as Darth Vader would say. Thus the picture.

I got nothin

Here's a portrait my dad did of me. I don't know where to hang it. I think I need a fireplace right? Oh well, that's all I got.

East Tennessee

So this is a picture of Bristol Tennessee. It's located way up in the Northeast of Tennessee. The town is on the Tennessee-Virginia border. They have two police stations, two high schools, two everything. My dad was born and raised here and my grandmother (Who-Who we called her) lived here as did my Uncle Pat. Who-Who died in Nashville on June 29th 1992. Uncle Pat died on July 5th 2005 in Alexandrea, VA. Dad is thankfully still with us though he misses his mom and brother greatly. My family and I used to go to Bristol all the time as kids. Mike and I would spend large portions of the summers up there. We had bikes and everything. It was a second home. We kinda grew up in Nashville and Bristol. I was thinking of it for some reason and thought I'd talk about it. We would stand in the middle of state street and marvel that half our body would be in Tennessee and the other half in Virginia. Who-Who lived on the Tennessee side so we liked that side better. We would go across the border occasionally to the library of Church on Sundays at St. Ann's. Who-Who is buried on the Virginia side next to her mother and Daddy George (her step father). Anyway, it would take me days and days to write about all that stuff so I won't try. Mike could do a better job than me anyway. It's raining outside right now, maybe that's what started this Bristol talk. We would sit on the front porch with Who-Who and talk about everything in the world. I loved it when it would rain during our talks. It's such a peaceful time in my memory. I'm like my dad, I really miss Who-Who.

Wednsday musings...

I had a great audition today. I know I did a good job but it's not up to me. The folks making the decisions are looking for something. I either fit or I don't. I have been on a few auditions now and have yet to book anything. I'm still super green so no hurry.

I will not be buying a flat screen from circuit city. My sister Erin and her boyfriend Nehal were given the runaround by these clowns this week. Tthey went to pick up their tv at the store and it wasn't there. They were promised free delivery the next day by 3pm. Next day...3pm...no show. The van with their crap was in a wreck. Erin and Nehal say forget it, give us back our money. CC says, "We'll get it to you by 5pm." Erin and Nehal say, "No thanks, screw you". Nehal writes a carefully worded letter. I don't know where things stand today but I told Erin to go to best buy and forget Crapit City. That's it beeches

Hi Monday...uh..I mean Tuesday

I love how I keep thinking it's Monday then I realize it Tuesday. It's one day closer to Friday. There ain't much to talk about today. Had a fun weekend. Not much else to report. I'll think of more for tomorrow. See yall later

Under the deep blue sea

So these are pictures of me scuba diving in Maui. Just thought I'd share. The ones with the sun shining through were formed by underwater volcano action a gazillion years ago. Of course me being silly and a really cool octopus. I think this is the one that seconds later, shot out a gush of ink. I marvel an the amount of living creatures underwater. It's such a great experience to stay under for a bit and visit with all the critters. Have a great weekend everyone. It's a 3 dayer for me:)

Bodhran - pronunced BOW-ron

Here's a pic of what my Bodhran looks like. I grabbed it from the maker's web site. His name is Albert Alfonso and he lives in Texas. He makes these great drums. Basically it's raw goat skin stretched on a wooden frame. Mine is tunable. Weather effects the skin so tightening and loosening is important. I have a second Bodhran made by a guy named Robert Davidson. I called him about a year later to ask a question about the drum and learned he had passed away. I don't know if I should play the drum or not. Part of me thinks I should keep it as original as it came. Another part thinks he would want me to play the hell out of it. That's why he made it right? Anywho, I'm talking drums cause I've been emailing a guy back and forth about jamming some Irish tunes. He plays the fiddle and wants to start a band of sorts. He's just picking up his fiddle after a 20 year hiatus so he's a bit rusty he claims. We will hopefully meet up in the next few weeks and figure out whats what. Furthermore, I am going to learn the pennywhistle. I have one and they are relatively easy to learn (I hear). Should be fun. Stay tuned.....get it? tuned? ha ha

Well....It's snowing...

Ok so it snowed. It's really more like ice the size of salt hitting you in the face. Very refreshing. I love every bit of it. If it's gonna be cold, let it snow. Me and my hon Kim are heading for a lovely sushi dinner after I get off work. We're going to the same place we went last Saturday. I put a picture of 48th street right outside my building. It's Erin's Theatre, the Walter Kerr. I thought I'd use the ole camera phone to take a nice snowy picture for you. Happy Valentine's Day!

Let it Snow..but you know it won't

These are pictures I took last February 2006. The city got 24 inches of the white stuff. That was the most snow I've ever seen. It was on a weekend so things were not as crazy as they could have been. Kim and I won the Wicked lottery for the first time that day. We enjoyed the show and the snow a bunch. I remember as a kid growing up in Nashville, snow meant 100% school outage. This was almost as thrilling as Christmas to me and I think my family. I hated school and any legit out was a Godsend. When I heard it would snow here in the city tonight, I kinda got that good feeling inside. Even though I still have to go to work, I get that same happyish type feeling. I always get pissed when they predict a bunch of snow then change their mind and say, "Well it looks like we dodged a bullet." I want the bullet. Now they're saying we'll get an inch or so and then it'll turn to rain. Oh joy. I'm waiting for a gut buster....I guess I'll keep waiting. Oh yea, welcome Colleen to blogspot! Here she is. cobbo.blogspot.com

Good ole Monday

I don't hate Monday but I don't love it either. Next Monday I'm off for President's day. What a joke but I'll take it. Having a three day weekend is so cool. Saturday and Sunday are one big Saturday. I had a great weekend. We found a great sushi place at 73rd and Columbus, right near Alice's Tea Cup. Get the Sake roll...yum yum. Dorinda, you would have loved it. We'll go next time you're in town! When are you coming back up for a visit? Erin tried the Sake roll and liked it! Colleen got this awsome tempura dish and Thadd couldn't finish his dinner. They were way too late it serving him though. On Sunday, I read all evening. The tv never came on. I think my brain thanked me for the tvless night. Kim got to go backstage and see Erin's world at the Walter Kerr Theatre. I've been back there before but it's really cool. Kim had a wonderful time. It's a very rare glimpse of the inner workings of a Broadway show. Good times....Good times.

Someone always has it worse

These pictures are from Versoix Switzerland. Never heard of the place. I think it's safe to say they have it worse then we do right now. Thanks to Racy Rusty for being my first comment leaver. Whoever you are, you get the prize.

Brrrrrr

When I first moved to New York, I noticed how many lifelong residents complained of the winters up here. I am going on my 9th winter up here and all I can say is, "I get it." It stays colder longer and it sometimes even hurts. I know winter got a late start but jeez. I want to go to a warm place if only for a week. My trip to Cozumel is still over 3 months away....a lifetime....I have posted a picture of me in Maui to remind me there are places on the planet that enjoy prepetual warmth. Lucky bastards.

Feel free to leave comments my friends.

Eternal Embrace

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered a couple buried 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, hugging each other. Thanks to my sister Dorinda for this. Cool huh? I thought this was the saddest, and loveliest thing ever. I guess if your gonna go, you should go with the one you love.

I had a really great audition today. It was for Verizon Wireless. This was the first audition where I had fun. The best part was there was no script. I was able to talk about anything so I talked about my pending trip to Cozumel. They wanted me to start out slow then build to a more animated discussion. It was easy. By the end my arms were flying around and I was talking really fast and excited. I realize these auditions don't yield much unless you're exactly what they're looking for but at least it was fun. I even saw Michael Potts coming in as I was leaving. He had a commercial audition at the same place. He's in Grey Gardens with my sister Erin. He's a very nice guy. He plays two parts. Brooks Sr. the Butler in act I and Brooks Jr. the grounds keeper in act II. He does not get enough recognition for his great work. He changes very distinctly between acts and is a pleasure to watch. I know he has a great voice, it's too bad he doesn't get more singing time.

My brother Mike and his wife Becca are talking about coming up in March. I hope they make it. I haven't seen them in a while and it would be really nice if they come.

Later Gators

I forgot to tell you..

Yesterday as I was walking to work in the sub zero wind chill, this dude was at a pay phone acting very shady. He had a screwdriver in his right hand and the hand piece in his left hand trying to act like he was on the phone while he was breaking into the housing. What a freaking idiot. This is a bright sunny day at a very busy intersection of 43rd and 9th at 10:45am. I decide not to confront him since he has a screwdriver and all I have is a scarf. I walk about 20 steps and see 2 cops walking down 9th Ave. I let them know what my pal is up to and they saunter on over and watch him for about 15 seconds. It was hilarious. He didn't even know they were standing there. They went ahead and cuffed him. On this day, justice was a dish best served cold, literally.

Super Monday--Yea Colts!!!

I had a fun Superbowl Sunday. I wish the Monday after was a national holiday. I don't drink or anything but it would be cool to have the day off:) I was happy the Colts won. I'm so impressed with Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy and the whole team. It was a fun, wet, and crazy game to watch. Sister Colleen and her husband Rob, Dad, and other sister Erin came over twice. What a treat. We ate crappy food and Colleen brought yummy brownies (Thanks Cob). When I say we ate crappy food I mean bad for you but great tasting. Chili dogs, hot wings, and chips & salsa. I love hanging out with my family, they're always so much fun.

Wow man!

Earlier today I'm at Hale and Hearty at 49th and 7th Ave. It's a soup place. We are leaving and there's a guy sitting by himself eating soup. It's Lars Ulrich of Metallica. It was surreal. I have been such a huge fan of his since I started listening to them back in the early 80s. Imagine seeing a person you've idolized for over 20 years sitting right there in front of you. All I can say is "Big fan, big fan." He says, "Hey, thanks man." Very sincere and polite. I know he gets this all the time but I appreciate his simple response. I never acknowledge famous people I see in New York. I see them all the time. I guess I felt compelled this one time. Weird huh?

Hello Friday

Man I really like Friday's. They're so filled with promise. I guess if I worked on weekends, it would not be the same. Last night I went to a reading with my good buddy Thadd. It was called "My First Time" It was a bunch of stories that have been submitted to this web site and it's all about people's first time having sex. It was pretty funny and interesting. Peoples experiences range from horrible, awkward and downright degrading to heavenly. Thadd's comment after was "It was good but about 20 minutes too long" I agreed. Before the show I ate dinner at a Thai place while my sister Erin and Thadd watched me eat. They ate before that thus the watching. Erin had to go do her show http://www.greygardensthemusical.com. Those two had lunch with my sister Colleen earlier but Cob (that's what we call Colleen sometimes) had stuff to do I guess. My dad is coming into town for the weekend so that's cool. Superbowl Sunday has become a pretty fun day for me. I usually like to hang out at home and eat wings and nachos. I have to take a pepcid on these gorge fests but it sure is fun. Erin is going with her boyfriend Nehal to a SB party at a friends place. I will call Cob and find out if she wants to watch the game at my place with her husband Rob and my dad. We'll see. Hey, this is day two of blogging. Good for me.

I talked with a couple of guys I used to work with at WWE. Sounds like things are still the same over there. They are growing technically but that's it. The managers still treat those below them like dirt. If you work there, your time and soul are expected to be sacrificed for "the company" What a joke. Life is way too short to give yourself away like that. First is the commute. Most of the people that work there, live at least an hour away. That's not the end of the world but when you work a ten hour day or longer, that 1 hour drive home is a long one. 1 and 1/2 hours was my average commute. 3 hours a day. 15 hours a week. That comes out to around 720 hours a year. Gas, tolls, traffic, wear and tear. Then you arrive at a job with way too much stress and way too little pay. Don't get me wrong, I had a great deal of fun when I started and even some fun when I left but people changed and I guess I did too. I was not the same guy I was when I started. I lost a lot of joy and I lost a lot of sleep. No job is worth my happiness. I thank God my stress level is at such a great level. Very low....

Thanks Thadd!

So I got the idea to finally start jotting down thoughts and junk from my self adopted brother Thadd. Check out his stuff here.....Thadd's news I like it when people I know get their ideas and thoughts down. It makes for fun reading. I can't say how much I'll do it but I plan on at least a daily post. I'm sure there will be days I can't or just don't want to but hey, my heart is in the right place.