test blog #10

It is the Year of the Mookie. 108 wins. Eight games up. 11 wins to go. That is all.

Our Ontario trip was a mixed bag of ups and downs, but mostly ups. Everything is pretty good with some not-so-good mixed in. Traveling with Diego. We loved it! It was so much fun having us with him all the time, and seeing him so happy and content. Downside: Traveling with a dog can be a bit limiting. We had planned to leave him alone while we explored Sudbury and Thunder Bay, but when we were actually there, we weren't comfortable with it. We had very limited time in those towns anyway; had we been there for more time, we probably would have done it. Balance: A huge 5 out of 5 leafs. The RV. I love traveling by RV. On a road trip, it's great to be so self-contained, to not have to go out for every breakfast and dinner, to have your own kitchenette and washroom, but still be in the woods. Ever since we traveled by RV in Alaska, about a million years ago (1996), I've dreamed of owning one. That's not very practical, but I hope we can rent one again soon. Downside: Onc...

We're going glamping! Allan, Diego, and I are hitting the road. Driving this: Going here: Killarney Provincial Park Lake Superior Provincial Park Sleeping Giant Provincial Park Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park Pancake Bay Provincial Park Grundy Lake Provincial Park Plus quick visits to Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, and Thunder Bay. Doing this: Hike, grill, explore. Watch dogs play on beaches. Read. Keep an eye on the Red Sox. Find used bookstores. Maybe hear some music. Take photographs. Be in woods. Feel nature do its magic. I love road trips and am in vacation mode the moment we get in the vehicle. See you in two weeks!

In July, I wrote that we planned to get rid of our LP collection. Well, the deed is done. We turned this into this first round then this What's left: classical, soundtracks, CD box sets, and albums Allan didn't want to part with (front). and finally, this. We got much more money than we expected, thanks to the honesty and integrity of Lincoln Stewart. * * * * For the most part, the business of buying used LPs and CDs is a bit shady, a half-step up from a scam. When Allan was a music critic, we used to trade CDs for cash on a regular basis. We got those CDs for free and they meant nothing to us, so whatever the buyer -- the owner of the used record store -- wanted to give us was free money. The buyer would make a few piles, and say, "Five dollars each for these, three dollars for these, and a buck apiece for these." It was a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. We never knew what they would sell the CDs for. With our LPs, it was very different. This was a personal collec...

In my most recent Listening to Joni post, I said that I write with my brain, but I listen to music with my heart. A few nights ago in New York City, my music heart broke in pieces, over and over again. I've seen a lot of theatre -- and quite a bit of Bruce Springsteen -- but I'd never experienced anything quite like this. Springsteen on Broadway is one of the most intensely moving theatrical experiences I've ever had. The show starts with humour, both Springsteen's typical self-deprecating humour, but also a satirical bragging -- the guy who has never held a job in his life, singing about the workingman, the guy who has never driven one block singing about cars: "That's how good I am." Sometimes the humour is just a facial expression and a hand gesture -- which plays perfectly for the tiny 900-seat house. But the humour soon gives way to a raw intensity. Springsteen relieves the tension with the occasional laugh, but by that time, the audience is chucklin...

This is one of those posts I write only for myself. This blog functions as my travel diary, and I like that diary to be complete. So here I am. Feel free to ignore. Which of course you always are, and you don't need me to tell you that. I was supposed to go to New York by myself to see Springsteen on Broadway . (Review to follow in separate post.) I had been trying to get a ticket since they first went on sale more than a year ago, and somehow Allan managed to get me one. And not just a ticket -- an affordable ticket! Factoring in air fare and hotel, I couldn't spend a huge amount on a ticket, and Allan snagged one for $75. Amazing! When some of my NYC plans got cancelled, I persuaded Allan to come with me. He wasn't interested in the Springsteen show, but why pass up two days in New York? Day one: sweat, lunch, pod, bistro We flew down on Porter, and it's super easy to take NJ Transit into the city and hop on a subway. However, it was 45 degrees on the street with swam...