Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Classically Martin: Asia

It's been awhile since I posted any music here. So, I figured that I'd flash backwards and get current with one of my favorite acts... Asia. I've always been a big fan of their first two albums (Asia and Alpha). The band chemistry is obvious and evident. So, 25 years later, after many line-up changes that left keyboardist Geoff Downes the sole member, the original members have released Phoenix.

Below, I will place a video for a single from each album (one's you may not remember) leading up to "Never Again" from their new album. Enjoy.


Only Time Will Tell





The Smile Has Left Your Eyes





Never Again

Friday, April 25, 2008

Life Update 042508

Yes, 10 days is a little too long for me to go without a post. There have been a few things going on. Work on future projects. Work on current projects. And well... just overall confusion too.

First off, I need to say that I've very thankful for my two brothers-in-law. The weekend after we returned from the cruise, Kerry and I decided to move some of the good appliances from Casa de Hennessy West (soon to be called 'the rental') to Casa de Hennessy East. Greg (who is married to Kerry's twin sister Kelly) got roped into the deal and helped immensely as the washer, dryer and refrigerator were swapped between houses. The next weekend Cory (my sister's husband) gave up his Sunday night to help us move the bed, wine cabinet and a bunch of other things. (We were just happy to spend some time with him, Michelle and the kids.) So now all the major things are moved.

After moving the nice gas dryer and other appliances to Casa de Hennessy East, we discovered... no gas outlet in the condo. This meant that Kerry was taking our clothes to her mother's house (a few blocks over) to clean them while I did a little work. Her stepfather works for the gas company and teaches many of their employees how to install gas pipes. The thought of the task seemed overwhelming in scope but hours later he showed me a diagram and it clicked... solidly, as if I could do it in my sleep. The dryer is opposite the gas stove, so it meant changing an elbow joint to a T joint. Everything runs well (it's been checked for leaks) and, now, I just need to do a little wall repair.

All the moving isn't over yet. We now have a lot of duplicate products. The extras include: 3 televisions, 2 VCRs, 3 television stands, several phones and a bunch of kitchen products and other things. That means... garage sale on Sunday. Tomorrow night, we will head over there and sort through a bunch of things and set them aside for sale (with a planned post on Craigslist.com, placement of some signage and a visit to the Mann's to get some stuff out of their garage.) All that doesn't sell will probably go to charity or in a storage unit during the following Sunday with the planned move of a very heavy player piano that needs to go to Mom's. (If you scroll down aways, you'll that see she replied to one of the wedding posts.)

Saturday is the NFL draft. The fact that it's been moved back to noon PST does not help. I'll be busy recording the show. (I'll probably have it on mute and look over my shoulder every 7 minutes or so.) Of course, this happens to be possibly the most serious episode of the show we've attempted. We will be focusing on AIDS this week. A lot of people forget how tied the disease is to the 1980s. We will play a few songs from several artists that lost their battle with AIDS as well as talk to a fellow 80's music fan that is participating in AIDS Walk New York 2008. A donation will be made in 80sMusicCentral's name and we are hoping to get a few other people to stop by her donation page to sponsor her with what little they can. If you would just like to lend her your support, you could also stop in the show's chatroom at Talkshoe.com around noon PST or call in (they put the instructions up there.)

So much that I'd like post about right now but I also have so much to do. I just couldn't leave you out of the loop too much longer.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Rocking Cruise


Yup, we're back. So much that I can type about but sorely limited on time. Have a few projects that I need to get done (you'll hear about them soon) but wanted to quickly put a few fun photos up from the cruise. You see, I've always wanted to do some rock climing and they just so happened to have it on the boat. The photo above is of me. The last three are of Kerry. (She did amazingly well considering that she had those nails on from the wedding.) Not great quality pics as they came from my phone.


Monday, April 07, 2008

Gone, Gone, Gone

Yes, it's really early on a Monday and the newsletter is going out right now. Kerry and I are heading toward L.A. to catch our boat. (L.A., San Diego, Ensenada, Catalina and back.) I don't think anything has made her happier during the course of our days of wedding planning than repeating the phrase "I'm going on a cruise!" She has wanted to go on one for so long. Kind of weird though... they don't give you an address to where you are heading. Hard to enter in a route if MapQuest doesn't have a destination. We just put the city in instead. Just get us close. hahaha I don't get a chance to go on vacation often, so I'm making the most of it.

We will be moving a lot of things when we get back from the trip so this rest will be useful. We decided to trade the nice things in my house with some from her condo as we plan to rent out the house. Bed, big screen TV, washer, dryer and refrigerator... fun fun.

I better get going but wanted to get a post in before we leave. I'm just about to check for last-minute news before we sending out the newsletter. Have a great week! I know that we will.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Post-Wedding Post



It's been a busy few days and will continue to be that way until Monday. Yes, the wedding and reception are over but there are lots of little things to do that would sit on our minds during the honeymoon if we were there right now. I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude for having friends like Teri, Lloyd and Josh Mann who made their home available to us for the reception. Also to Mr. Al Givens who cooked up a storm for the guests (I have some of it in the freezer... I'm drooling right now thinking about the potatoes.) Above all, I'd like to thank our friends and family that blessed our union and overwhelmed us with their enthusiasm.




For those that were unable to see the wedding, it can still be seen online for (until about the 30th) at http://webcasting.cashmanpro.com/mgm/ and typing 3/30/08 in the area under Choose A Wedding Date, click Find Weddings and click View Now. Came out pretty well. (Kerry's family took a video from the other angle that included more of my niece and nephew playing "Here Comes The Bride" which is barely heard at the beginning of this.) I also wanted to throw out a few photos to you from the wedding. My personal favorite is the top one with the other two a very close second and third. (Finally figured out that I need a new cable modem which kept cutting out when burdened with uploading the photos... more on that another time.) More may follow later... we'll see.