Professional is the theme at PhotoFriday this week. Had to look though my photos to find someone/thing that looked professional. This photo of my friend Andrew was prefect. He took me to my first shooting range last summer. The guy not only was a great shot, but a great instructor. Guess it helps is in law enforcement. Although I think he was only being nice when he thought my shooting was good. That or I have spent way too many quarters on Virtual Cop at the arcade.
The other day I was reading an article about how Tommy DeCarlo went from Home Depot employee to lead singer of the band Boston. All it took was posting some audio clips of himself on MySpace. It reminded me about Arnel Pineda who recently got promoted from singing cover tunes in the Philippines to the lead singer of Journey. For him the medium was YouTube.
So I'm thinking I should try recording some clips of me singing. Now what bands out there are looking for lead singers?
I also discovered that while Boston is touring this summer, Michael Sweet, the former lead singer of Stryper, will also be sharing time one lead vocals. As a fan of both his work in Stryper, as well as his solo career, I am interested in this piece of information. If ticket prices were not so high, I would consider checking out a show. I just wonder if he will do a mash up of a couple hits from each band, "Honestly, It Is More Than A Feeling"
Today is Scurvy Awareness Day. What better day to announce that in a six weeks I will be taking to the open seas. I have chosen to schedule a voyage on a freighter to return to America. Many have question the logic in this decision. While a fraction of the choice was made in an attempt to never fly Northwest Airlines again, mostly it is because it is there. I have flown across the ocean dozens of times, but for once would love to see it first hand. I look forward to standing on the deck with nothing but blue for as far as the eye can see.
As I prepare for the voyage you can help. I am looking for suggestions for entertainment to occupy my time. Specifically, I'm looking for some good ocean/boat/voyage media. So far I have packed Moby Dick and Cabin Boy. I have also loaded Come Sail Away and Every Ship Must Sail Away on the iPod.
So any suggestions? (Beatings for the first to mention Titanic!)
My Little Secret is the theme at PhotoFriday this week. I am not sure if my secret is that I still owned this shirt until about a week ago, or that I still occasionally watch wrestling. The best/worst part about it is that here in Korea there is a channel that shows WWE at least once a day. I think I've watched the Ric Flair farewell address about five times this week. I think I have said too much, and should stop there.
For a couple years I have been posting videos over on the YouTube. I figured a few random people would watch them, and perhaps leave some stupid comments. So I was shocked when I was asked if one of my videos could be used in a music video. Rafael Gazzi and Paul Sonnenberg created an amazingly beautiful song, and chose my tram ride through Basel to accent their song. When Paul emailed me and told me the song was "about the feelings of longing and hope experienced by an expatriate in a new country," I knew this was a song I could embrace. Be sure to check out their sites, and even leave a comment on their Myspace or YouTubepages.
Arrivals (Noutro Cais) By Rafael Gazzi English lyrics by Paul Sonnenberg
Headlights of a train Has something come to an end Or has something good begun? Beautiful and new Welcoming me like a friend Ah, such colors, and such tones
How much will I be changed? How much will I change? How much, here, will I know and be known? At last, to be known! Will this loneliness always remain? This longing for my family back home? Can I build a happy life from A loving heart alone This heart is all I own
I want to see the sun rise at dawn On other landscapes and yet I still want even more I want to see the sun set upon Other places and yet I still want even more The soft turn of a loving hand Meet the eyes, watch the stars, be the sea Let the waves of love from this heart of mine Embrace all I see
I want to see the sun rise at dawn Over the mountains and yet I still want even more I want to see the sun set upon Other places and yet I still want even more Hear the voice of a gentle hand Striding angels that rustle the trees To recognize the voice of a loving heart When she speaks to me
"Electricity" is the theme at PhotoFriday this week. This photo was taken last fall when I was in Hong Kong. Every night they put on an amazing light display in the harbour. I would love to know what the total electric bill to run the Symphony of Lights. I posted a video of the show on the YouTube.
Last Thursday I took the train up to Seoul to catch Duran Duran. It was the first time in almost twenty years that they were playing South Korea. I figured that they would be a great band to see as my last concert here in the ROK. With that in mind, I scored a ticket in the standing area right in front of the stage. In fact, it was the sixth row of the standing section. Wrap your head around that concept.
So I get to the Olympic Park Gymnasium and pick up my ticket. The security guards then directed those in the standing section to proceed to one side of the venue. Now here is the part of Korean concert going that I will never understand: They then lined us up by ticket number. The standing section of most of the concerts I've attended in North America and Europe are first come first served. Yet here in a country that still struggles with lines at the grocery stores, they have people line up like those crazy "get to know you" games at camp. "OK, this time everyone line up by height. Next by reverse alphabetical order of your middle names." Security guards spent the hour before the doors opened making sure that people were in numerical order. Once the tickets were taken and the doors opened, it was all a waste as people just rushed to the spots nearest to the stage. My long legs, quick stride and determination allowed me to find a spot on the front row.
Now another aspect of the oxymoronic aspect of entertainment here is that you can buy bootlegged DVDs on many street corners, yet they are fairly strict about taking photos at some concerts. Four or five guys, who I guess might be drop outs of the military, were stationed in the front to crack down on cameras. They would scan the audience looking for the metallic shine or unfortunate flash. For some like myself and the guy next to me it becomes a game. The goal is to see how many shots you can get without being noticed. Needless to say, I think I won this concerts game. Although the dude next to me with the SLR wins top prize for both most photos and largest camera used categories.
For those wondering about the show, I'll just say it was everything I expected. They busted out all their hits, as well as the newer stuff. I actually really enjoyed some of the new stuff, even if Timberlake's name was dropped as a co-writer of one song. I was a little worried when I heard that they had forgotten some lyrics at a previous show. I can report they didn't forget the lyrics, just forgot the order. As they closed out the show with "Rio" it sounded like they were trying a round as Simon sang "Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand" while John was busting out, "Her name is Rio she don't need to understand." I'll cut them some slack, as they are pushing 50, have recorded over twelve albums, and the song they were singing was older than some of my coworkers.
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and Cabin Boy
. I have also loaded Come Sail Away and Every Ship Must Sail Away on the iPod. 
