U2 // Vertigo // Houston Monday, October 31, 2005 | |

Darkness fills Houston
Music permeates the air
Lights blind the city

Lights dim... music starts... lights fill the arena in sight and in sound. U2 greets Houston with the beautiful song about the power of innocence and naivity - City of Blinding Lights - and the night begins. What a wonderful night it would be as Bono opens his voice and his heart with his long time running mates, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen.

This was a concert experience like no other I have been a part of - unique in a way only U2 could deliver. We all know their songs, and they gave us a little over 2 hours of their best, and we all know how they can dazzle us with their light and stage production. Yet it was the smaller stuff, the stories, the anecdotes, that will stay with me through time.

CoeXisT: A story about a piece of grafitti seen in Indiana. CoeXisT - written with a Islamic Crescent Moon as the "C", a Jewish Star of David as the "X" and the Christian Cross as the "T". CoeXisT - Something that seems so simple, yet is so difficult to achieve.

Miss Sarajevo: A story about beauty pagents in war torn Sarajevo. Wondering how they can think about having beauty pagents while war is raveging the place they call home. Yet discovering that it's the beauty pagent that allows them to get to a place where there is no war... a place of beauty and hope.

One: The quest to make poverty history. A sign of thanks to President Bush for enabling AIDS medications to be delivered to thousands of Africans in need. The need for Americans to raise their voices and help bring poverty to an end.

40: The finale of the concert. A beautiful song taken from Psalm 40. A perfect ending to a perfect evening.

• Set List
• City of Blinding Lights
• Vertigo
• Elevation
• I Will Follow
• The Electric Co.
• The Ocean
• I Still Haven’t Found What I'm Looking For
• Beautiful Day
• Miracle Drug
• Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
• Love and Peace or Else
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• Bullet The Blue Sky
• Miss Sarajevo
• Encore # 1
• Pride in the Name of Love
• Where the Streets Have No Name
• One
• Encore # 2
• The First Time
• Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of
• With or Without You
• Encore # 3
• All Because of You
• Fast Cars
• Yahweh
• “40”

A special thanks to Marisol from France for sending the pictures.

U2

About to Get Vertigo Friday, October 28, 2005 | |

It's 3:00 PM on a Friday afternoon in late October and a group of U2 fanatics have been lined up for over half the day already. Me, I'm just getting in to line, and am satisfied with my location, as I'm only about 150 or so people back from the front of the line and my wait is considerably shorter than those in front of me. Of course, how much does any of this matter since the most coveted ticket, a spot inside the elliptical catwalk, is one that is given away in a completely random process.

As time draws nearer, we begin to recieve instructions as to how the process will work: 1) Those who purchased their General Admission tickets through the U2.com member presale have one line, everyone else is in another; 2) The U2.com members get 2 shoots to go through when entering the arena, while the others get just one: 3) After getting your pink wristbands for the floor, your ticket will be scanned to see if you've been selected to party in the ellipse; 4) If you get into the ellipse, step to the side and get a yellow wristband, otherwise proceed to the floor.

After waiting for three hourse, the doors open and the line starts it's way through the doors. As you get closer, you can hear the cries of delight from fans that get the best spot on the floor and you can sense the anticipation from the others around you. The time for me and my ticket-mate to enter is upon us and we work our way through the processing stations. I get up to the computer that scans our ticket for entry to the ellipse, and at first, the results from the last scan remain on the screen, so I thought my ticket had failed. The operator then presses a key to clear the screen and after scanning the ticket again, the screen lights up with "Vertigo, Vertigo, Vertigo" and I knew at that moment this would be a show I would never forget. To be front and center for one of the best bands in the world is an opportunity that not everyone will ever experience.

U2

Shine Your Shoes? Tuesday, October 25, 2005 | |

A man comes up to me yesterday while I'm waiting on the bus and says "Shine your shoes?" to which my reply was a simple "no thank you".

Being the diligent business man he is, he quickly jumps to his next line, "I bet I can tell you where you got your shoes". Having fallen for that trap once, I quickly responded with "I know exactly where I got my shoes." Knowing I'm on to him, he responds with "I got another one for you then" and I simply state that "I'm not in the mood for games right now" and he moved on to the next person in line.

Had I been in a more festive mood, I might have played his game for a little while... I've done it before. Once while in California on business, my co-worker and I were able to get through 4 or 5 of these "riddles" before we got stumped. Some were blatantly obvious, others we had to think about for a few seconds. Didn't have time for it this time though.

People

More on Thomas Saturday, October 22, 2005 | | |

I was surfing the web while my son was watching Thomas & Friends when I heard a familiar voice. Being a childrens video, I doubted that the voice I heard was really who I thought it was. However, upon further review, thanks to IMDB, my thought was confirmed... George Carlin was narrating the story.

It always amazes me what actors/actresses you come across in childrens videos... but I have to say that Carlin ranks up there as the biggest surprise so far. I mean, it's Carlin... the man with one of the foulest mouths known to mankind. I was sitting there listening, halfway expecting an F-bomb to drop on Thomas. Wouldn't that be great?

Speaking of F-bomb's... any guess as to how my son pronounces the word "frog"? Yeah, that's right... sounds just like the f word. Another is the show Franklin... sounds just like the f word with "ing" at the end.

Back to Thomas... some other big name celebrities who have lent their skills to Thomas and Friends include Ringo Starr and Alec Baldwin.

Thomas the Tank Engine

Observations of the Commute Thursday, October 20, 2005 | |

It's been almost 2 months since I started commuting to work on the area bus systems. Because of where I live, I use a combination of services: For the long haul, I use The Wooldands Express; for the transfer over to work, I ride one of Houston Metro's routes. All in all, I've come to enjoy not driving in to work. I can read the paper, read a book, do a crossword, sleep, etc. while on the bus... all things I can't and shouldn't do while driving.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of taking the bus is that of watching people. Sitting way up high in the bus, I can look in to peoples cars as they drive home. I've come to realize that when I leave work earlier in the day, say around 4:30, the majority of drivers on the road are women. On the other hand, leaving later, it's a fairly even mix. I also have come to notice that there are a lot of people who talk on their cell phones when driving home.

There are some cars that have a ton of trash inside of them, so are neat and tidy. Occasionally you'll see someone reading or putting on makeup.

When standing on the corner waiting for the bus, there is a system to the madness. Each bus has it's own line. They generally choose the same spot, so it mostly goes without asking which line is which, but there are times when it's best to ask.

Occasionally you'll get people stopping in their cars looking for an extra rider so they can take the HOV lane home. The driver gets to bypass the slow traffic and the rider gets to save a few bucks. Hardly do I ever see anyone turn down the offer of the ride.

One thing I haven't noticed yet is if there's a system to which seats people choose... when I sit down, am I sitting in someone's "usual seat"? Questions remain... but with questions, answers will follow.

Transportation

Day Out With Thomas Tuesday, October 18, 2005 | |

We took a short trip over to Austin this past weekend to go see one of our son's favorite things... Thomas the Tank Engine. He was in Austin for the weekend and we knew it was a opportunity we could not pass up. It also made for a good excuse to visit my in-laws, Scott, Jill and G.B! Anyway, here are some of my favorite moments from the day. Hope you enjoy.

A man on a mission... lining up like he owned the place, he knew exactly where to go.

Let's go already!

Here we are getting ready to pull out of the station.

How happy can one kid be?

Even G.B. is getting in to the fun!

After the ride, they struck up a pose with the best tank engine in the world... Thomas!

Dine for America Wednesday, October 05, 2005 | | |

Today is Dine for America day... eh? what? come again? what's that? According to the organization's website, Dine for America day is:

(A) national fundraising effort for the American Red Cross to help the survivors, victims, their families and other arising needs from the Hurricane Katrina and Rita disasters.

What's more is that restaurants who are participating are donating up to 100% of their profits from today towards the effort. The website offers you a way to find restaurants in your area by browsing your state and then selecting the city, by searching on a zip code, or by searching on the restaurant name.

Some of the nationally recognized restaurants that are participating include TGI Friday's, Chili's, Red Lobster, Macaroni Grill, Outback, etc. So if you want a night out and away from the kitchen, hop on over to one of the restaurants and get a good meal while helping the cause.

Katrina

Red River Rivalry Wednesday, October 05, 2005 | |

In honor of the Red River Rivalry, I bring you Superman...

Red River Rivalry

Playoff Time Monday, October 03, 2005 | | |

Back on July 1st, I revealed my predictions for how the playoff picture would unfold. Since it was the middle of the season at the time, I did have somewhat of a leg up on things, but not everything was cut and dry at the time. Here's how I did.

Starting in the American League:

East
• Pick: Yankees
• Actual: Yankees

Central
• Pick: White Sox
• Actual: White Sox

West
• Pick: Angels
• Actual: Angels

Wild Card
• Pick: Indians
• Actual: Red Sox

I was not perfect, but 3 out of 4 isn't bad.

Now to the National League:

East
• Pick: Braves
• Actual: Braves

Central
• Pick: Cardinals
• Actual: Cardinals

West
• Pick: Padres
• Actual: Padres

Wild Card
• Pick: Marlins
• Actual: Astros

Again, I was not perfect, but 3 out of 4 isn't bad. I also like the fact that the Astros proved me wrong. I wanted to pick them so badly back on July 1, but I just didn't think they had it in them.

All in all, I averaged 75%.

Baseball