Seattle Weekend Excursion

A few weekends ago we took Amtrak to Seattle for the weekend. I was impressed that the train left and arrived on schedule (both going/returning). Seats were comfortable and you could even watch a movie. It ended up being cheaper to go by rail than go by car. I recommend everyone to take the train. Good stuff! Since we were only there for the weekend we did the tourist stuff and visited Pike's Market, the Space Needle, sampled local beers at the Hops on Equinox Spring Beer Festival and took an underground tour of old Seattle in Pioneer Square. Oh, and let's not forget our first trip to the original REI store in downtown Seattle. This place is huge and has anything an outdoorsy adventurer could even need or want.

Overall, Seattle is nice and I'd like to visit more of the neighborhoods on our next visit and even catch a Mariner's game!

Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab for Cutie

Last week Kevin I and went with Jacinta and Eric to the Franz Ferdinand/Death Cab for Cutie show at the Memorial Coliseum. I haven't been able to find a set list to post, which is a bummer. But, back to the show. Opening band was The Cribs and we didn't listen to them but instead had beers in the "beer garden." We had general admission seats so we grabbed a few at the top and still had a decent view. Franz opened the headliner part of the show and although the sound had good energy, the musicianship was pretty terrible. They were often off beat and not playing together and were very difficult to understand. Death Cab had been sound quality but the speakers on our side of the stage were blown so clarity suffered a bit. Also, some obnoxious people sitting behind us talked through just about every song. Very annoying. Stupid highschoolers! Anyway, overall I'm glad I went but wouldn't jump at the chance to see them again.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

"Eragon"

A few weeks ago I finished book 1 of the Inheritance trilogy by Christopher Paolini entitled "Eragon." The author started writing this book in his early teens and finished it at 18. Fairly impressive. However, this first book lacks a lot in the writing department. The dialogue is rough and the transitions could use some tweaking. However, I did enjoy this novel. In this first novel, the reader is introduced to Eragon, a poor farm boy of 15 who finds a dragon egg in the forest near his home. Taking the egg with him, the dragon hatches in his room. Eragon tries to conceal the fact that he know has a dragon, but forces outside his control already know the dragon has hatched. The rest of the story explains Eragon's journey as he finds out he is a dragon rider and was chosen for such a prestigious and dangerous position. Since this is only Book 1, there is much more story to go and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

On a related note, there is talk of turning this book into a movie. I'd be interested to see how they do the special effects with the dragon and how the story line will get across since Eragon and the dragon communicate between minds and don't actually speak to each other.

Next up: "Captain Alatriste" by Arturo Perez-Reverte.

Life In Slow Motion

Finally, got to see David Gray last night after the show back in October of last year was rescheduled. What a phenomenal concert! Only wish he played more older songs (not from 3 recent albums and more from "A New Day at Midnight." Here's the setlist:
Alibi
Sail Away
Hospital Food
My Oh My
Nos Da Cariad
Lately
Slow Motion
Please Forgive Me
Silver Lining
Ain't No Love
The One I Love
Now and Always
Freedom
-------
Shine
1000 Miles Behind
This Year's Love
Babylon


8 out of 10 STARS :)

Dave Chappelle's "Block Party"

I went and saw Dave Chappelle's "Block Party" this past weekend. Filmed in 2004 during the height of Dave's career with Comedy Central, the movie is a documentary about the block party/concert he organized in Brooklyn, NY. He invited all the musicians he would've wanted to see live and had them play. What an awesome thing to be able to do! I would love to throw a block party with the bands I liked. What a dream come true! The musicians were mostly hip hop artists (ranging from Kanye West to The Fugees), which I don't necessary appeal to, but I found this movie highly entertaining and the music was well performed. I only wish they showed more scenes with the white folks he dragged from Ohio to see the show.

"A Secret History"

"A Secret History" by Donna Tartt is a novel about Richard, a college student from CA who decides to attend a small liberal arts college on the east coast. He meets a selective group of students who study Greek and he manages to make his way into the group and Greek classes. Throughout the course of the novel, Richard gets to know these few students and finds himself learning their "secret history," whether he wants to or not. The novel is a great read and I was very interested because I myself would have loved to be part of such an exclusive group of scholars (minus all the "secret history" of course).

Next Up: "Eragon" the first of a three part series by Christopher Paolini.