End o' week musings

It's Friday already! Wow!

Last Friday I went to the Glass House in Pomona to see Enter Shikari. They were surprisingly good, as their performance was filled with all kinds of weird problems. August Burns Red, Bless the Fall and Destory the Runner also performed. Visit http://www.dabelly.com/ this weekend to read my review, as well as my reviews on the shows I attended Saturday and Sunday. I would definitely catch Enter Shikari again!

Jewel and Michael Feinstein joined the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for a big concert Saturday. The music and vocals were inspiring, moving and just plain fun. My friend Carin preferred Feinstein to Jewel, but enjoyed the show overall. I found both vocalists very appealing. I must admit that I'm a fan of Jewel and was delighted to hear the reinterpretations of her hits, they became almost like new songs. Plus she was lovely to look at and sweet as ever. It was a perfect way to spend a warm, summer evening.

Sunday I caught the film, "G-Force," in the morning with my mother and my friend, Vernor. It was a good romp with really good animation. I used to show guinea pigs (you can stop laughing any time), so of course I had to check it out. I was amazed at the realism of the pigs-- every detail from their little teeth and nails to the number of toes they have (four on the front feet, three on the back ones) was right! Yeah, it wasn't a thinker, but the movie was well worth the matinee price... and like I've said before-- there's air conditioning and comfy seats!

In the evening I went with my friend Roc and a group of his friends to the Starlight Bowl in Burbank to see Colin Hay. Cecelia Noel opened the show with a super high energy set of Latin dance numbers. Her show was fun because she had a great band.

Colin Hay was the lead singer for the '80s group Men At Work and has continued on as a solo artist. His songs were pleasant, albeit a little quirky, and he also offered up some of the old stuff fans wanted to hear with slightly different arrangements. Very nice.

Monday I was off from work and had the joy of going to the dentist. I followed that by going to my former residence with my friend Louise to pick up a file cabinet and a few other things that I had left there. Well, the few other things were stacks of books that filled up Louise's jeep! My living room now looks like the back room of a library lol! I guess I have the rest of my week... year... life planned-- sorting out books...

Wednesday night I went to Juanita's (http://www.juanitasrestaurantandbar.com/ ) in Highland Park to see Brian Kenney Fresno. Breech, Rademacher and Harvey Sid Fisher also played. I'm a Brian Kenney Fresno fan, as this guy plays the Warr guitar with aplomb and offers up songs that range from sorta silly to statements on current issues with a twist of humor. He may look strange and do things his own way, but he's definitely entertaining and always worth catching live.

This week I also interviewed the modern old-time band Crooked Jades, who will be coming to the Fret House in Covina in a couple of weeks, and rockers The Drive Now. The Drive Now plays songs from the whole history of rock, throwing in many unexpected numbers, as well as originals. They play at the Cask 'n Cleaver in San Dimas regularly.

Tonight I may head back to Juanita's to catch the Soul Shakers, as a friend of mine plays in their horn section. Saturday I am going to the Laserium show and on Sunday Judas Priest-- I can't wait to hear "British Steel" in it's entirety!! Warning: Monday I will be out again, so you won't get an update until late Tuesday... hope you can hang.

In rotation this week: Judas Priest, Jewel, Orange Sky, Joe Walla, August Burns Red, Scott Warren and Darkest Hour.

Photos we got 'em: Just a couple of pet pics from the usual places, plus a wallpaper shot of the Biltmore in North Carolina-- one of my most favorite spots on earth.

Thought o' the week: Be thankful for the little things. I am a believer in prayer, not only to ask for guidance or something I or someone in my life needs, but also to thank for the things I have, as well as the things I've learned and experienced each day.

I'll share a secret~ when I was younger I had a very bad temper problem. I think a lot of it was the result of my childhood, but we won't go there. I got mad at the littlest thing, I was very touchy, sensitive and it got to a point where I was angry at the world all the time.

One day I realized that not only was I hurting everyone around me, but I was hurting myself. It took a lot of work, but I changed my attitude. I found ways to relax and let my anger go and became more positive and learned to laugh easily.

I'll admit that I still get mad over things, but not the small stuff. I also get over my anger very quickly-- why waste time on it when there's lots of other important stuff going on?

And another thing that went hand-in-hand with my new view was learning to be thankful. I appreciate my co-worker's compliment on my new blouse, I look forward to the tailwagging greeting from my neighbor's dog when I take my daily walk which passes their yard, I relish my yoga stretches at home every evening. Are you getting the idea?

Perhaps you should reevaluate your attitude and how it affects others and most importantly how it affects you. You can never be thankful enough, it makes you feel good and the world a more beautiful place.

Keep on rockin'

Mickie