Last night I attended the George Michael tour at the TD Banknorth Boston Garden. The tour only has a few more dates left in the U.S., but the show did not appear tired or slow - in fact, I think George Michael was enjoying himself nearly as much as the crowd.

Despite a late start, George Michael proved to be worth the wait. The show lasted a bit over 2 hours and he proved himself quite capable of entertaining a stadium sized audience. To be sure there were several songs missing from his line-up that I would have loved to hear, but he compensated by including some surprise choices like a slow, jazzy cover of Roxanne.

I've included a link to the glowing Boston Globe review and below is the cover version of Roxanne from his show earlier this week in New York.

Almost perfect and absolutely beautiful

These are two of the most beautiful dancers I've watched this season on my guilty pleasure television program, SYTYCD. I still can not believe Will is not going to be in the finals.

I will be heading to Provincetown for a brief vacation in a few weeks and the pending trip made me realize that I have been quite the homebody this year. In June I went to Newport, RI for a long weekend, but when it comes down to really getting away - I have to think all the way back to New Years when I flew down to Fort Lauderdale, FL. While I enjoyed FTL, it was a brief trip and a bit of a let down after all the talk I had heard from friends who had been there before us.

I really have the bug to get away, but it is unlikely to happen anytime soon which is a shame. I'm going to start looking into airfares for destinations this fall. The promise of going away will have to sustain me until I can actually disengage from work, hop on a plane and get out of New England.

If Wall Street is suffering a hangover, why am I the one with the headache?

President Bush is taking a lot of heat for blaming the current housing crisis and the subsequent economic downturn (a.k.a. - recession) on Wall Street. Specifically, he said that Wall Street 'got drunk' and was now suffering a 'hangover'.

People are angry that he blamed Wall Street for the current economic crisis, but I think there is a ring of truth to his assessment. The part of his statement that frustrates me is, first - is he only able to recognize this binge in hindsight? and second - where was the government?

Bush made it clear that he abhorred government regulation and spent the past 8 years looking the other way while big business was told they could do whatever they wanted so why is he so surprised by this binge drinking? If Wall Street got drunk, there is no doubt in my mind that George Bush and the Republican led Congress were tending bar. Apparently there is no more open bar and people like you and me have been stiffed with the tab.

As You Like It

You know it is summer in Boston when all the free concerts, movies and of course Shakespeare in the park (or Commons to be more precise) are in full swing. Starting last weekend, William Shakespeare's play, "As You Like It" opened. Unfortunately, the weather was both ridiculously hot and humid so I opted to stay home, but I hope to see the play which is set up near the bandstand on the Boston Commons later this week. The play is free to the public and will run through Sunday, August 3rd so take advantage of the nice weather, grab a bottle (or two of your favorite wine and head down to see the show).

For more information about the show times you can link to the Citi Performing Arts Center website (a.k.a. The Wang) here.

About As You Like It
This Shakespearean comedy features one of William Shakespeare's most famous lines "all the world's a stage" and was made into a movie by English actor, Kenneth Branagh in 2006. To read more about this comedy link here.

New England Sand Sculpture Festival at Revere Beach

This morning I went to Revere Beach for the first time. Certainly, Revere Beach will never win any awards for natural beauty, but I was surprised by how clean and large the beach was. The reason for the visit was to see the New England Sand Sculpture Festival. Awards had been given yesterday and the sand sculptures were on display for all to see.

I've included some pictures of some of the sand sculptures. The enormous sculptures seemed to inspire many and smaller, more modest attempts were underway as we walked along the beach.

We all say things we regret but jeesh...

We all say things we regret, and granted John McCain said this a long time ago, but really as a politician don't you think you would credit him with more common sense? This is the man who Hillary Clinton supporters are suppose to turn their backs on Obama in protest and vote for? I think not...

In case you had not heard this now infamous joke told by John McCain in front of the National League of Cities and Towns in Washington D.C. it goes something like this...

John McCain asked the crowd if they had heard "the one about the woman who was attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die?"

The punch line: "When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, "Where is that marvelous ape?"

Ick... not funny. I wonder what his campaign would have said if this was attributed to Obama.

1-800-OHH-CRAP

For the first time in my life I lost my cell phone. I blame it on two factors, baggy shorts with pockets that constantly make me lose change whenever and wherever I sit down and two bloody mary's that dulled my senses (but tasted so good).

I believe that the phone slipped out of my pocket between the seats of a cab I was taking. Although I did love the phone, the only thing I really miss about it is the long list of phone numbers that I had programmed into it. Until I lost it, I had no idea how much I relied on it to act as my phone book. With the exception of my home phone, and a handful of other numbers I recall mostly from my childhood, I'm at a loss. If there is a purpose to this entry it is to provide fair warning to any who read this to either a) pay the extra money for your provider to have this list stored someplace or b) sync your phone entries to your home computer so you can access them in case you lose your phone.

This weekend my partner asked me when I was going to get a new phone and it made me realize how little I had missed having it last week. When I changed my job this past winter, it was apparent that I would need to 'trade-up' and get a PDA, but I was reluctant mostly because I loved my little red razor. However, I have taken this recent loss as a sign of divine intervention and plan to purchase a PDA within the week. For now, I'm enjoying my new-found freedom of life 'sans mobile'.

Dog days of summer

It is definitely one of those days. The weather has been hot in Boston, and the combination of houseguests for the past three weeks and hot & humid weather has resulted in me feeling just like these puppies. All I want to do is crawl back into my bed (with my AC on full-blast of course).

Mercedes will no longer make cars to run on petroleum by 2015

Now I've never been a car-geek. Heck, I have not driven to work for more than 10 years so I know I'm out of the loop when it comes to news in the auto industry, but I thought Mercedes recent announcement to stop making automobiles that run on petroleum by the year 2015 was pretty earth-shattering. God knows five years ago nobody I knew would believe such a statement.

Now if only the American automakers can stop licking their wounds and try to lead through innovation to make the next generation of transportation that is not reliant on fossil fuels we might have something to cheer about. The greenie in me was thrilled to read the news on Modern Fabulosity's blog today. Let's hope others follow Mercedes lead.

Closeted Governor Ties the Knot to be No. 2

Okay so that is not exactly the title the Florida press chose to print, but it might as well have been. Full-time bachelor and current Florida Governor Crist tied the knot last week in what seems like a desperate attempt to thwart those nasty rumors about him being a closeted homo.

News of the surprise wedding solidifies my belief that a deal was struck following McCain's rebuke in the SC primary for Crist to be McCain's Vice President if in return he would endorse and campaign for him in the FL primary. It's doubtful that a conservative voting block would be comfortable electing a bachelor (doesn't fit with the the party of family values) and blogs have been predicting that Crist would have to marry to make himself a more desireable V.P.

In politics people say and do strange things and this certainly will not be the first marriage of convenience, but after a lifetime of bachelorhood - Crist's surprise marriage after dating for less than 9-mos seems mostly sad to me (gay or not).

Brake for a visit

I received a call from a cousin who I rarely get a chance to see mostly because of schedules and geography. However on a whim he called because he will be in Boston for a few days. Unfortunately, I'll be in NYC all day tomorrow so I will only be able to see him for breakfast on Thursday before he heads out of town.

His call gave me pause to consider how many people I know are lucky enough to have such close connections with so many family members. This cousin who I refer to has never been someone I saw regularly, but we both share a family bond that we mutually respect and no matter how much time passes or how infrequent our meetings, I always am excited to see him or one of his siblings.

I wish I could add something more philosophical or capture some elusive thought that would make this entry in my blog stand out. But the simple fact is knowing I will see him on Thursday has really made my day, and I'm so happy he came up to Boston. I'll tuck this memory away along with other random moments we have shared and think about this moment at some point in our shared future no doubt.