Okay, so I'm back to try this again. Over the last few months, I just haven't had the energy, or the time mostly, to do this. I've been working nights, and sleeping days, and trying to adjust. I've also moved into a new place, and getting that painted and cleaned and fixed up is time-consuming. On top of that, my father is visiting, and I've been spending time with him, so there just aren't enough hours in the day.
My father is still here, but will be leaving right after New Years. I'll be able to have more of a regular schedule then, and with the crappy weather, should be able to get back into this, at least on a semi-regular basis.
It's been great having him here, and he's been to see Neeve every time I've gone. They get along great, and she'll be sad to see him go. She talks to him a lot, and will play with him whenever they get the chance. He gets things out of her it took me months to get, but he's a grandparent, and I'm just Daddy. And I don't mind.
Things are great with Neeve. She's turned six, and doing great in school. We're getting along better than ever, and there aren't any issues between us. There is one, but I'll cover that separately.
Her mother and I have seemed to form some sort of symbiotic relationship at last. In that we both have to deal with the other, and we've learned to do it without making things more difficult for Neeve. More on that one later. But no arguments or silly games for quite awhile.
I'm working as a Night Porter in a hotel. I don't like it, but it's more money for fewer hours than I was making before. And better working conditions. I want to move into days, but it isn't happening right now. The main thing is, it's work. Steady work.
Those are the main things right now. There isn't much happening, as usual. But things to fill you in on. I'll try to get all things caught up by the end of the year. I still don't have a lot of time, but it's getting better.
Be back soon.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
25 Random Things: # 3
3. Someday I will buy a tropical island in the South Pacific, move there and never leave. Special invitation only to visit, so be nice to me.
That would seem to be a fairly simple statement. Who wouldn't want to live on a tropical island in the South Pacific. The weather, the simplicity of the life style, the lack of stress and bother would be something most people want. I can be an obsessive-compulsive type of person at times, and can get a little Type-A when I need to. But I've worked hard all my adult life, and I also enjoy it taking it easy.
I'm not talking about some deserted, Gilligan's Island-type of place. But an island, none the less. Maybe the end of an island that has a town on it, for the basics of groceries and some socializing on occasion. I'm not anti-social, I just spend a lot of time by myself. But even better would be a small island all my own, but close enough by boat to get to another island with stores and civilization, when needed.
And not desolate, either. There would be electricity, or generators for power. I would still have my Internet connection so I can keep in touch with people, and my satellite television for watching baseball, news, and old movies. And a phone to make calls as wanted. And obviously, refrigeration for beer and steaks.
But can you imagine the lifestyle. You get up in the morning, and go for a swim. Check the trot line for fresh fish for breakfast, with some fresh fruit. Spend the day doing home improvement and gardening, or exploring the island. Maybe a sail boat for when the weather is nice. Or scuba diving. Time spent watching baseball and writing about it. I can see it. And in the evening, lying out on the beach with a cold beer watching the sun go down? Oh yeah, I can see it.
And I'm not looking to be lonely. People would be allowed to visit, of course. Especially family and certain other visitors. There would probably be a guest house for most of them. They could stay as long as they wanted, but not longer than 3 weeks. 3 weeks is the max. Except for Neeve. She can come live with me. That's actually the only drawback, is the time away from her. So this would have to be when she is older.
And of course, as stated in a later item, there is one person who can come and stay forever. And when I ask her, I know she'll say yes. I think. I'm pretty sure. Yeah, she will.
Anyhow, I can see this happening. I mentioned this to a few people, and they thought I was crazy. They said I would be bored. Maybe. They could be right. But right now I'm bored in Bournemouth. My way, I would be bored in paradise. Not hard to figure this one out.
That would seem to be a fairly simple statement. Who wouldn't want to live on a tropical island in the South Pacific. The weather, the simplicity of the life style, the lack of stress and bother would be something most people want. I can be an obsessive-compulsive type of person at times, and can get a little Type-A when I need to. But I've worked hard all my adult life, and I also enjoy it taking it easy.
I'm not talking about some deserted, Gilligan's Island-type of place. But an island, none the less. Maybe the end of an island that has a town on it, for the basics of groceries and some socializing on occasion. I'm not anti-social, I just spend a lot of time by myself. But even better would be a small island all my own, but close enough by boat to get to another island with stores and civilization, when needed.
And not desolate, either. There would be electricity, or generators for power. I would still have my Internet connection so I can keep in touch with people, and my satellite television for watching baseball, news, and old movies. And a phone to make calls as wanted. And obviously, refrigeration for beer and steaks.
But can you imagine the lifestyle. You get up in the morning, and go for a swim. Check the trot line for fresh fish for breakfast, with some fresh fruit. Spend the day doing home improvement and gardening, or exploring the island. Maybe a sail boat for when the weather is nice. Or scuba diving. Time spent watching baseball and writing about it. I can see it. And in the evening, lying out on the beach with a cold beer watching the sun go down? Oh yeah, I can see it.
And I'm not looking to be lonely. People would be allowed to visit, of course. Especially family and certain other visitors. There would probably be a guest house for most of them. They could stay as long as they wanted, but not longer than 3 weeks. 3 weeks is the max. Except for Neeve. She can come live with me. That's actually the only drawback, is the time away from her. So this would have to be when she is older.
And of course, as stated in a later item, there is one person who can come and stay forever. And when I ask her, I know she'll say yes. I think. I'm pretty sure. Yeah, she will.
Anyhow, I can see this happening. I mentioned this to a few people, and they thought I was crazy. They said I would be bored. Maybe. They could be right. But right now I'm bored in Bournemouth. My way, I would be bored in paradise. Not hard to figure this one out.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Are English people polite?
This is another mini-poll I found that asks the question:
England is widely known as one of the most polite nations in Europe, yet the English themselves often complain about a lack of politeness in their country in recent years. Compared with the situation a decade ago, how do you feel about the issue?
We are as polite as we have always been........................7%
We are not as polite as we used to be and I wish
we could return to the previous standard......................67%
We are not as polite as we used to be but we are
still sufficiently polite; there is no need to change... .....12%
We are more polite than we used to be...........................1%
We have never been an especially polite nation..............7%
I don't know...................................................................7%
As I've said many times before, I'm not here to bash the English. That's stupid. But having lived here, and been around English people for a long time, I can freely admit that most of them do feel that they are very polite.
At least to each other. But when it comes to foreigners, it doesn't always come across that way. We all know about the stereotypes of the French, the Germans, the Russians, New Yorkers, etc. Everyone can be characterized as something without it necessarily being true.
What I've experienced at times with the English is that they can be extremely rude at times. The difference is, they just don't realize they're doing it. If you would try to explain to them how they were rude, they wouldn't believe it. And would be offended at you for even suggesting it.
One of the great quotes I've ever read from a book, (and I can't remember who said it, but it wasn't me, I'm not taking credit) was about the English. In the book, the character says,
"You can have a conversation with an English person and remark how polite and respectful they are, and it isn't until 3 days later that you realize you've actually been insulted."
People here have treated me great, and some of my best friends I've ever had are English. But that quote is so true. But, much as they've learned to accept me as who I am, I've learned to accept them as they are.
After all, it's sticks and stones.
Thanks to Lightspeed Panel for the poll.
England is widely known as one of the most polite nations in Europe, yet the English themselves often complain about a lack of politeness in their country in recent years. Compared with the situation a decade ago, how do you feel about the issue?
We are as polite as we have always been........................7%
We are not as polite as we used to be and I wish
we could return to the previous standard......................67%
We are not as polite as we used to be but we are
still sufficiently polite; there is no need to change... .....12%
We are more polite than we used to be...........................1%
We have never been an especially polite nation..............7%
I don't know...................................................................7%
As I've said many times before, I'm not here to bash the English. That's stupid. But having lived here, and been around English people for a long time, I can freely admit that most of them do feel that they are very polite.
At least to each other. But when it comes to foreigners, it doesn't always come across that way. We all know about the stereotypes of the French, the Germans, the Russians, New Yorkers, etc. Everyone can be characterized as something without it necessarily being true.
What I've experienced at times with the English is that they can be extremely rude at times. The difference is, they just don't realize they're doing it. If you would try to explain to them how they were rude, they wouldn't believe it. And would be offended at you for even suggesting it.
One of the great quotes I've ever read from a book, (and I can't remember who said it, but it wasn't me, I'm not taking credit) was about the English. In the book, the character says,
"You can have a conversation with an English person and remark how polite and respectful they are, and it isn't until 3 days later that you realize you've actually been insulted."
People here have treated me great, and some of my best friends I've ever had are English. But that quote is so true. But, much as they've learned to accept me as who I am, I've learned to accept them as they are.
After all, it's sticks and stones.
Thanks to Lightspeed Panel for the poll.
Friday, May 29, 2009
25 Random Things - #2
2. I've been on television in six countries (United States, South Korea, Germany, Angola, Latvia, & Slovenia)
I’m not claiming any type of fame off of this. It’s more timing or circumstances than anything else. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really mean anything, and I haven’t gone out of my way to be on television. In some cases, I’ve went out of my way to avoid it. I don’t care for the media, and think they are mostly hacks who sensationalize everything for ratings, and don’t really care about the real story. It was a couple of interviews, a couple of game shows, my own little ‘Band Stand’ moment, and just being where they needed someone at the time. Some long shots and just shots where I happened to be in the picture. Which also includes my great acting job. I’ll break them down by country.
United States:
The first time I was on television was back in 1975, when my mother won a slot on ‘Bowling for Dollars’. My two brothers, myself and a friend of my older brother went with her for the taping. It wasn’t that big of a deal. You stand up and they introduce the family members. It was taped, so I got to watch it at home when it aired.
When I got out of college, I moved to Rapid City, South Dakota, and got a job at the Hilton, in the banquet department. We would do some of the main events in town, and the news crews would come down at times to do interviews, or get shots, or whatever it is they do. I got to know them, mostly because there were only two channels in town at the time. They would do some extras at the end of the interview, like filming the buffet, or things like that. Every once in awhile, they would ask me to add a comment or make a remark about something. It was all silly, and pointless, but it happened several times.
This would lead to my big break later. More on that at the end.
I was on television a couple of other times in the states that actually kind of meant something. The first of those was at the end of Desert Storm. I got lucky and was on the first plane out and back to the states. We landed at Fort Stewart, Georgia. There was going to be a big ceremony, obviously, but not for me and the guys I was with. We were stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and had to catch a connecting flight. While they were getting everything set up, they decided to take us out the back door of the plane and get us out of the way so the ceremony could go on at the front door, for the soldiers stationed there.
We didn’t really care, we were just ready to go home. I was sitting by the back door, and when they opened it, I was the first one out because I was the closest. CNN thought that was the start of the ceremony, so they started filming. So I was the first soldier filmed landing back in the states after the fighting was over. I didn’t even know it. My aunt told me about it. She thought it was me, and a friend called and asked her about it, but she said it couldn’t be me, because I was still in Iraq. We hadn’t had a chance to call anyone and tell them we were on the way home. It was only a few weeks later that we figured out what happened.
The other time I was on television was when I was at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, during Somalia and Kosovo, and other operations. I volunteered to go to all of them, but they wouldn’t let me go. They said I was too valuable where I was at. Yeah, right. Anyhow, I was running the MARS station, which was a radio station/message center for the troops. We were able to do radio/phone patches so the troops could call home from overseas.
I’ll leave it at saying we did a lot of good work. If anyone is interested, give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you what happened. Anyhow, we started to get some publicity for what we were doing. We started on the back page of the weekly post paper, then started moving up page by page every week. Finally, I got a call one day from the Sergeant Major telling me to get to his office. He threw the paper and told me to explain myself. I was a little nervous until I looked at it and realized he was giving me crap. We were the top story on front page, above the fold. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
The next day, the Colonel ran into me picking up the distribution, called me into his office and showed me the front page of the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle, where we were once again top story above the fold. In full color. We were all pretty happy and proud of ourselves. Then the next day, the Sergeant Major called down to the station and asked if we all had proper haircuts. I replied that we did, and asked why. He explained that one of the stations from Nashville had seen the story and was on the way up to interview us. Lead story, 6:00 news, and third on the 10:00 news. Let’s just say that everyone from the Post Commander on down was very happy with us. I still have a tape of the interview somewhere, and will need to get it transferred to CD. Neeve might want to see it someday.
Also, while stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, I did some part-time security work for the Tacoma Dome, the Seattle Mariners, and a few other places. We would also be seen in the long shots, but enough that people would mention that they had seen me. Oddly, the most time I ever spent on television was 12 consecutive hours, at the Seattle International Speedway, working the start line for drag racing. I was on ESPN all day, and no one knew it was me. Mostly because I was wearing sunglasses and a ball cap, and they couldn't recognize me. Oh, well.
South Korea:
Germany should have been next, chronologically, but I wrote it like this originally, so it will stay. I was actually on television several times in South Korea, to include the Armed Forces Network and Korean television. The Koreans are very supportive of their military, and have game and talk shows geared exclusively to them. It’s kind of nice to see. They don’t just use the military to bump the ratings when something bad has happened, then turn around and shed a tear when public opinion is high. Anyhow, I was walking down the street in Seoul, and a television crew stopped me and asked if I would help them out. They were doing a segment where someone would say things in English, and the contestant would try and guess what the subject was. It wasn’t a big deal to me, and I like to support this kind of thing, so I said okay, not thinking much of it. It aired the next Sunday, and all of a sudden I was a huge star. Every Korean I met for 2 weeks told me they had seen me on television and how much they appreciated me supporting their military by doing that. Yeah, sure.
The other time I was on television in South Korea was on the Armed Forces Network. My roommate was ‘dating’ one of the girls who worked there, and she would come out with crews to do interviews and on the spot report type of things. Whenever she would see me, she would always get me in the shot, or get me to say something for the spot they were doing. Nothing big, but other people didn’t get to do it. People would actually come up to me and ask me if I worked for the Network, and if I could get them on camera. Yeah, don't think so.
Germany:
There wasn’t much to it in Germany. I was just in the shot, and didn’t do anything. But it counts as being on television. I worked in a Special Weapons unit, and the tree-huggers would protest, and the stations would come out and film. Because of the job I did, I moved around a lot, while others stood guard. Somehow I ended up in some shots, and some German people I knew told me they saw me on television. Yay!
Side note --- do you know the best way to save a tree? Kill a tree hugger and use the body for fertilizer!!
Angola:
I was on television twice in Angola. The first was for a visit by the Deputy Chief of Staff for the European Command. He flew into visit the Angolan military, and his wife came with him. It was acceptable, as he has to pay all of her costs out of pocket. There is also an expectation that she will do a Humanitarian Assistance project while she is there. She brought a bunch of toys and medicine and medical equipment for a pediatrics hospital we had helped to refurbish. I was her official escort for the visit, as my boss was escorting the General (there were only two of us), and we needed to come up with something to do with her. We had some money left over, so I suggested we have her donate that to the hospital while she was there. Everyone seemed to like that idea, and it all went ahead.
Unknown to me, the Public Affairs office had arranged for the local news station to show up and cover it, and do an interview with her. I was just in background shots and tried to stay out of the way as much as possible, and told them ‘not’ to mention my name. Anyhow, the General (the official visitor) got page 6 on the newspaper, and his wife got the lead story on the 10:00 news. The General’s wife was happy, the General was happy, my boss was happy, and I was happy when the aide came up and said, ‘The General’s wife is happy. What do you need? Give me a list?’ Happy days. Because when the General's wife is happy, we're all happy.
The second time was at a fundraiser the President’s wife gave for a children’s charity. $100 a pop for tickets. I went, and took a date. We had a good time, the wine was flowing, the band was playing, ‘other things’ were going to happen, and we started dancing. We were doing some pretty good swing dancing, and there was hardly anyone else dancing, and we stayed out there quite a while. So for some reason we ended up getting more air time for the story than the President’s wife. My own little ‘Band Stand’ moment.
Latvia:
There wasn’t really a lot of television time in Latvia. We did have the biggest NATO exercise in the history of the Baltics going on, and I was in on the planning for that. I ran a lot of it. We had visiting dignitaries at times, and a NATO Chiefs of Staff summit while I was there. Actually, the Latvians really ran those, but I was heavily involved and ran the American portion of things. Mostly I was on while they were there filming the big shots, and was the guy telling the aide to tell the big shot that it was time to stop talking to the press and get on with the next meeting. No big deal, as far as the television stuff. A big deal as far as the summit.
Slovenia:
A great country. Not as great as Latvia, but still great. I was there for a NATO-integration meeting, and we had a day to kill while we waited on our flights. A bunch of went into the city square and did some sight-seeing and shopping. There was a television crew doing man on the street interviews. They asked me, but I don’t speak Slovenian or Russian, or any of the other common languages, and my German isn’t good enough for that kind of thing, so I declined. A couple of the others did it, and there were shots of me in the background. We watched it on the news that night at the hotel. That was it, really.
So the big break I was talking about?
While working at the hotel in Rapid City, we would get most of the entertainment acts that came into town. They would play the Convention Center, and until they built a hotel next door to it, we were the closest place to stay. A week before the Ice Capades came into town, the advance lady came in and stayed at the hotel. She was going to address the City Council that night and needed someone to go with her and wear the costume representing the show. My boss suggested me, as I was big enough to wear the suit, and would be available. I was asked, and agreed and went down to the council. We went into the meeting, handed out flyers, I shook hands with all the council members and the Mayor, and the crowd, and got a big cheer. The news channels were there and filmed it all for the 10:00 news.
What part did I play, you might ask?
Poppa Smurf.
Yup, the original Blue Man himself.
I’m not claiming any type of fame off of this. It’s more timing or circumstances than anything else. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really mean anything, and I haven’t gone out of my way to be on television. In some cases, I’ve went out of my way to avoid it. I don’t care for the media, and think they are mostly hacks who sensationalize everything for ratings, and don’t really care about the real story. It was a couple of interviews, a couple of game shows, my own little ‘Band Stand’ moment, and just being where they needed someone at the time. Some long shots and just shots where I happened to be in the picture. Which also includes my great acting job. I’ll break them down by country.
United States:
The first time I was on television was back in 1975, when my mother won a slot on ‘Bowling for Dollars’. My two brothers, myself and a friend of my older brother went with her for the taping. It wasn’t that big of a deal. You stand up and they introduce the family members. It was taped, so I got to watch it at home when it aired.
When I got out of college, I moved to Rapid City, South Dakota, and got a job at the Hilton, in the banquet department. We would do some of the main events in town, and the news crews would come down at times to do interviews, or get shots, or whatever it is they do. I got to know them, mostly because there were only two channels in town at the time. They would do some extras at the end of the interview, like filming the buffet, or things like that. Every once in awhile, they would ask me to add a comment or make a remark about something. It was all silly, and pointless, but it happened several times.
This would lead to my big break later. More on that at the end.
I was on television a couple of other times in the states that actually kind of meant something. The first of those was at the end of Desert Storm. I got lucky and was on the first plane out and back to the states. We landed at Fort Stewart, Georgia. There was going to be a big ceremony, obviously, but not for me and the guys I was with. We were stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and had to catch a connecting flight. While they were getting everything set up, they decided to take us out the back door of the plane and get us out of the way so the ceremony could go on at the front door, for the soldiers stationed there.
We didn’t really care, we were just ready to go home. I was sitting by the back door, and when they opened it, I was the first one out because I was the closest. CNN thought that was the start of the ceremony, so they started filming. So I was the first soldier filmed landing back in the states after the fighting was over. I didn’t even know it. My aunt told me about it. She thought it was me, and a friend called and asked her about it, but she said it couldn’t be me, because I was still in Iraq. We hadn’t had a chance to call anyone and tell them we were on the way home. It was only a few weeks later that we figured out what happened.
The other time I was on television was when I was at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, during Somalia and Kosovo, and other operations. I volunteered to go to all of them, but they wouldn’t let me go. They said I was too valuable where I was at. Yeah, right. Anyhow, I was running the MARS station, which was a radio station/message center for the troops. We were able to do radio/phone patches so the troops could call home from overseas.
I’ll leave it at saying we did a lot of good work. If anyone is interested, give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you what happened. Anyhow, we started to get some publicity for what we were doing. We started on the back page of the weekly post paper, then started moving up page by page every week. Finally, I got a call one day from the Sergeant Major telling me to get to his office. He threw the paper and told me to explain myself. I was a little nervous until I looked at it and realized he was giving me crap. We were the top story on front page, above the fold. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
The next day, the Colonel ran into me picking up the distribution, called me into his office and showed me the front page of the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle, where we were once again top story above the fold. In full color. We were all pretty happy and proud of ourselves. Then the next day, the Sergeant Major called down to the station and asked if we all had proper haircuts. I replied that we did, and asked why. He explained that one of the stations from Nashville had seen the story and was on the way up to interview us. Lead story, 6:00 news, and third on the 10:00 news. Let’s just say that everyone from the Post Commander on down was very happy with us. I still have a tape of the interview somewhere, and will need to get it transferred to CD. Neeve might want to see it someday.
Also, while stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, I did some part-time security work for the Tacoma Dome, the Seattle Mariners, and a few other places. We would also be seen in the long shots, but enough that people would mention that they had seen me. Oddly, the most time I ever spent on television was 12 consecutive hours, at the Seattle International Speedway, working the start line for drag racing. I was on ESPN all day, and no one knew it was me. Mostly because I was wearing sunglasses and a ball cap, and they couldn't recognize me. Oh, well.
South Korea:
Germany should have been next, chronologically, but I wrote it like this originally, so it will stay. I was actually on television several times in South Korea, to include the Armed Forces Network and Korean television. The Koreans are very supportive of their military, and have game and talk shows geared exclusively to them. It’s kind of nice to see. They don’t just use the military to bump the ratings when something bad has happened, then turn around and shed a tear when public opinion is high. Anyhow, I was walking down the street in Seoul, and a television crew stopped me and asked if I would help them out. They were doing a segment where someone would say things in English, and the contestant would try and guess what the subject was. It wasn’t a big deal to me, and I like to support this kind of thing, so I said okay, not thinking much of it. It aired the next Sunday, and all of a sudden I was a huge star. Every Korean I met for 2 weeks told me they had seen me on television and how much they appreciated me supporting their military by doing that. Yeah, sure.
The other time I was on television in South Korea was on the Armed Forces Network. My roommate was ‘dating’ one of the girls who worked there, and she would come out with crews to do interviews and on the spot report type of things. Whenever she would see me, she would always get me in the shot, or get me to say something for the spot they were doing. Nothing big, but other people didn’t get to do it. People would actually come up to me and ask me if I worked for the Network, and if I could get them on camera. Yeah, don't think so.
Germany:
There wasn’t much to it in Germany. I was just in the shot, and didn’t do anything. But it counts as being on television. I worked in a Special Weapons unit, and the tree-huggers would protest, and the stations would come out and film. Because of the job I did, I moved around a lot, while others stood guard. Somehow I ended up in some shots, and some German people I knew told me they saw me on television. Yay!
Side note --- do you know the best way to save a tree? Kill a tree hugger and use the body for fertilizer!!
Angola:
I was on television twice in Angola. The first was for a visit by the Deputy Chief of Staff for the European Command. He flew into visit the Angolan military, and his wife came with him. It was acceptable, as he has to pay all of her costs out of pocket. There is also an expectation that she will do a Humanitarian Assistance project while she is there. She brought a bunch of toys and medicine and medical equipment for a pediatrics hospital we had helped to refurbish. I was her official escort for the visit, as my boss was escorting the General (there were only two of us), and we needed to come up with something to do with her. We had some money left over, so I suggested we have her donate that to the hospital while she was there. Everyone seemed to like that idea, and it all went ahead.
Unknown to me, the Public Affairs office had arranged for the local news station to show up and cover it, and do an interview with her. I was just in background shots and tried to stay out of the way as much as possible, and told them ‘not’ to mention my name. Anyhow, the General (the official visitor) got page 6 on the newspaper, and his wife got the lead story on the 10:00 news. The General’s wife was happy, the General was happy, my boss was happy, and I was happy when the aide came up and said, ‘The General’s wife is happy. What do you need? Give me a list?’ Happy days. Because when the General's wife is happy, we're all happy.
The second time was at a fundraiser the President’s wife gave for a children’s charity. $100 a pop for tickets. I went, and took a date. We had a good time, the wine was flowing, the band was playing, ‘other things’ were going to happen, and we started dancing. We were doing some pretty good swing dancing, and there was hardly anyone else dancing, and we stayed out there quite a while. So for some reason we ended up getting more air time for the story than the President’s wife. My own little ‘Band Stand’ moment.
Latvia:
There wasn’t really a lot of television time in Latvia. We did have the biggest NATO exercise in the history of the Baltics going on, and I was in on the planning for that. I ran a lot of it. We had visiting dignitaries at times, and a NATO Chiefs of Staff summit while I was there. Actually, the Latvians really ran those, but I was heavily involved and ran the American portion of things. Mostly I was on while they were there filming the big shots, and was the guy telling the aide to tell the big shot that it was time to stop talking to the press and get on with the next meeting. No big deal, as far as the television stuff. A big deal as far as the summit.
Slovenia:
A great country. Not as great as Latvia, but still great. I was there for a NATO-integration meeting, and we had a day to kill while we waited on our flights. A bunch of went into the city square and did some sight-seeing and shopping. There was a television crew doing man on the street interviews. They asked me, but I don’t speak Slovenian or Russian, or any of the other common languages, and my German isn’t good enough for that kind of thing, so I declined. A couple of the others did it, and there were shots of me in the background. We watched it on the news that night at the hotel. That was it, really.
So the big break I was talking about?
While working at the hotel in Rapid City, we would get most of the entertainment acts that came into town. They would play the Convention Center, and until they built a hotel next door to it, we were the closest place to stay. A week before the Ice Capades came into town, the advance lady came in and stayed at the hotel. She was going to address the City Council that night and needed someone to go with her and wear the costume representing the show. My boss suggested me, as I was big enough to wear the suit, and would be available. I was asked, and agreed and went down to the council. We went into the meeting, handed out flyers, I shook hands with all the council members and the Mayor, and the crowd, and got a big cheer. The news channels were there and filmed it all for the 10:00 news.
What part did I play, you might ask?
Poppa Smurf.
Yup, the original Blue Man himself.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Brits show good taste in music
This is the results of a poll I found:
Which British band do you think is the best ever?
The Beatles......................30%
Queen.............................26%
Pink Floyd.........................6%
The Rolling Stones.............5%
Oasis.................................3%
Coldplay............................3%
The Clash...........................1%
The Kinks...........................1%
The Stone Roses..................1%
Depeche Mode....................1%
Radiohead..........................1%
The Streets.........................0%
Other.................................8%
I don't know......................10%
Much like me, the most votes went to the Beatles. Great, they are the best. Queen at 26% surprised me. I like Queen and they are without a doubt a top-10 band for me, but I was surprised they got that close to the Beatles. I guess the demographics matter also.
The Pink Floyd result doesn't surprise me, finishing 3rd, or at 6%. They aren't every one's favorite and you have to learn to like the music. I was surprised, and happy to see the Rolling Stones finish so low. I'm not a fan, and never have been.
What I don't get is 18% (almost 1/5 of the vote) going to Others or I Don't Know. Who are these others that are so good? And how can you not know? Jeez, pick someone.
But the main thing is, the Fab Four continue to rule. Eleanor Rigby might even approve.
Which British band do you think is the best ever?
The Beatles......................30%
Queen.............................26%
Pink Floyd.........................6%
The Rolling Stones.............5%
Oasis.................................3%
Coldplay............................3%
The Clash...........................1%
The Kinks...........................1%
The Stone Roses..................1%
Depeche Mode....................1%
Radiohead..........................1%
The Streets.........................0%
Other.................................8%
I don't know......................10%
Much like me, the most votes went to the Beatles. Great, they are the best. Queen at 26% surprised me. I like Queen and they are without a doubt a top-10 band for me, but I was surprised they got that close to the Beatles. I guess the demographics matter also.
The Pink Floyd result doesn't surprise me, finishing 3rd, or at 6%. They aren't every one's favorite and you have to learn to like the music. I was surprised, and happy to see the Rolling Stones finish so low. I'm not a fan, and never have been.
What I don't get is 18% (almost 1/5 of the vote) going to Others or I Don't Know. Who are these others that are so good? And how can you not know? Jeez, pick someone.
But the main thing is, the Fab Four continue to rule. Eleanor Rigby might even approve.
Friday, May 22, 2009
A new thing
A bonus for people today. Two new posts. Well, actually three if you count this, but I don't.
In the first one below, I passed on some information about a blog a friend of mine in the Sudan is writing. Check it out. You'll enjoy it.
Below that, is the first installment of my 25 Random Things. I threatened, and now I've done it.
Each week, on Friday, you'll be treated to my ramblings about my 25 Random Things.
For those of you who don't know what it is, it's something that started on Facebook. People will write 25 random things about themselves, then post it on their Facebook profile for everyone to read. Pretty simple, really.
I did it there, and posted it here one day.
I need to be on here more, writing and posting, so I'm going to use this as a way. I'll still write about Neeve, of course, but things are going well, mostly, and there isn't much too write about now except for the weekend visits.
Those will still be up on Mondays, and the 25 Random Things on Friday. So you'll have those to look forward to. In between, I'll do my best to find something worthwhile to post here.
Monday is a holiday here, like in the states, so maybe nothing then. But I have a visit with Neeve on Sunday, so Tuesday for sure.
Enjoy.
In the first one below, I passed on some information about a blog a friend of mine in the Sudan is writing. Check it out. You'll enjoy it.
Below that, is the first installment of my 25 Random Things. I threatened, and now I've done it.
Each week, on Friday, you'll be treated to my ramblings about my 25 Random Things.
For those of you who don't know what it is, it's something that started on Facebook. People will write 25 random things about themselves, then post it on their Facebook profile for everyone to read. Pretty simple, really.
I did it there, and posted it here one day.
I need to be on here more, writing and posting, so I'm going to use this as a way. I'll still write about Neeve, of course, but things are going well, mostly, and there isn't much too write about now except for the weekend visits.
Those will still be up on Mondays, and the 25 Random Things on Friday. So you'll have those to look forward to. In between, I'll do my best to find something worthwhile to post here.
Monday is a holiday here, like in the states, so maybe nothing then. But I have a visit with Neeve on Sunday, so Tuesday for sure.
Enjoy.
Under This Blue Sky
I've been lucky in my life, and done quite a few things. And lived in a few countries. I've loved every minute of it, for the things I did, and mostly because of the people I've met. There are more than I can remember, but a few stand out.
One in particular, from Angola, is Gabi. She was an aid worker living in Luanda, running the office, and doing a lot of good stuff. I met Gabi when I first got there, and she introduced me to a lot of people, and helped me learn my way around.
Gabi is a Hungarian, who grew up in Switzerland, and has lived in Angola and Madagascar, and speaks about six languages. She's married now, to Vinnie, a Canadian, they have two children and live in the Sudan right now. Yup, that's right. The Sudan. Oh, the life of an ex-pat.
It was great, I miss it, and I had more fun than anyone could ever imagine.
Anyhow, Gabi is now in the Sudan and writing her very own blog. She's just starting to find her way with it, and is doing well. I suggest you go by and see what it's like to live and raise a family outside the mainstream.
And leave comments. She loves them.
Under This Blue Sky
One in particular, from Angola, is Gabi. She was an aid worker living in Luanda, running the office, and doing a lot of good stuff. I met Gabi when I first got there, and she introduced me to a lot of people, and helped me learn my way around.
Gabi is a Hungarian, who grew up in Switzerland, and has lived in Angola and Madagascar, and speaks about six languages. She's married now, to Vinnie, a Canadian, they have two children and live in the Sudan right now. Yup, that's right. The Sudan. Oh, the life of an ex-pat.
It was great, I miss it, and I had more fun than anyone could ever imagine.
Anyhow, Gabi is now in the Sudan and writing her very own blog. She's just starting to find her way with it, and is doing well. I suggest you go by and see what it's like to live and raise a family outside the mainstream.
And leave comments. She loves them.
Under This Blue Sky
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