Lovin Coldplay

Sorry John, I know when you read this it is going to be "salt in the wound" since you were not able to go the concert. Although I am sure that you were kickin' it and having a hell of a good time in.....Oklahoma! NOT!!

Yes, last week I went to a fabulous Coldplay concert. I got the tickets as soon as they were on sale, but with John's work we can never tell when or where he might be going. Oklahoma became urgent and he had to go, so I took along a good friend.

I have never seen Coldplay, but would absolutely go again! It was like a modern day Pink Floyd show. Great lighting and some excellent long musical interludes. They sound as fantastic live as they do recorded. I was very impressed and it takes allot to impress me where concerts are concerned. They did stuff from all parts of there career. At one point they even appeared in the audience, not far from where we were seated, and did a short acoustic set. Awesome!

The opening act was another Brit, Duffy. Don't know if you have ever heard or seen her, but we did also sell her CD at the coffee mega giant. She is a blond, non-drug addicted type similar to Amy Winehouse. A very strong and bluesy sounding voice. She was also good. She filled that arena with her voice. I think I will get that CD now.

All in all an excellent tour, one that I am glad to have paid top dollar for. The prices of concerts are ridiculous and I am very picky about what I will splurge on. I would see them again. Maybe the next time John will get to go too!!

What Do I Know

Yesterday, as I was getting ready for work and listening to the morning talk radio, the morning wonks had a contest with this question, "What do you really know for sure"?, and I thought hmmmmmmmmm, that is interesting. It made me think about my life and many things. Thought that it would make an interesting topic for a blogging. So here goes...."What Do I Know for Sure"?........

I know that I can answer that question now at 40ish FAAAAARRRRRR better than I could have at 20ish. It is so amazing how much more focus you have when you do hit 40. I have a far greater ability to look at my life and appreciate it for what it is, and I have. I know that there are things I might like to have and do, but they are not gnawing away at me and I am not pining away because I do not have them, or can not do them.

I know that my personal relationships mean so much more. I don't surround myself with countless numbers of "mean nothing" people just so I always have people to go out with or do something with. I have friends that have value to me. They might be low in numbers, but high on what we can give to each other. I know that I don't take on friends lightly. I am much choosier about those that I spend my time with. Quality has taken over for quantity!

I know how valuable time really is and I don't waste it on frivolous pursuits. I only do what I want to do, when I want to do it. I have stopped spreading myself so thin. I say "no" to things. There are days when I will just have a glass of wine and watch junk food television! I may not even answer the phone! That is my time.. There are calls that can wait. I know that spending time on and with myself is a very valuable tool. I have a mental state that is much more intact!! I know that "I" used to come last in the line of things that I took care of, and now "I" come first!

I know how important my own health and physical care should be. That is why I started to eat better and take supplements and herbs. I started running. I write and read much more. These things are important to my overall well-being. This I know. You have to take care of the whole package or how can you be of value to others?

I know that I have finally found a place in life where I can love what I do and not care what others think about what it is I do. Used to be that I wanted to be able to impress with my career/work. Now I am happy that I am able to be with people I enjoy and have a job with minor responsibility, yet a good time. Not to mention the great health care plan!!

I know that I have reached a place in life, with my partner, that is a place of great comfort. I have come to a place of peace within my relationship. I have learned how to be a calming force. A giver. I know how important honesty is in a relationship. Commitment is a powerful entity. I know that by only being comfortable and happy with myself am I happy with someone else. I know that I can give more when I am full.

I know that I have finally become someone that that I am comfortable with and happy to be. How about you.... what do you know for sure?

Race Day

I DID IT!! I ran my first successful race. A 5K that was a benefit for the Special Olympics. My nerves were so raw that I was a wreck! I had even given thought to just not running. I thought about skipping it altogether,l but many runners told me that it is common to get pre-race jitters and that they still do. So, John drove me up to the starting point and then it was just a given that I was actually going to run!

It was an absolutely beautiful fall morning here. Brisk, very brisk at 7:00AM sign -in. I was a tad under dressed, but knew that once I was running too many clothes would drive me crazy. I hate to be too hot while running. They had given us a goody bag that included a tee shirt, so I put that on and it gave me that extra little bit of coverage that was enough for the chill morning air.

I was so nervous that it took me a few minutes to find my stride and breath. When we first started running I felt very short of breath, but then decided that I probably wasn't even breathing!! :-) The sun was coming up and all the trees were blazing in full fall leaf color! It was brilliant. We headed east, a few times, but for the most part they had a route that kept the sun out of our eyes. There were a few splendid times when I was able to see the glistening dew on the grass as the sun was hitting it.... just magnificent!! Even though I had my ipod on I was able to think to myself,"What a fantastic morning". I was getting such a thrill out of just seeing the path that they had us running. It was all parts of town and a trail that I have never run before.

They had people along the route that would clap for you and shout encouragement as well. Made me smile. I even got to grab the cup of water from the guy at the water table, take a few sips and then throw it down like I was some real runner!! Wow, I guess that day I was.

As I was coming in to the finish line I could see the big clock that had the time. It was 39 minutes and I just did not want to be past 40 minutes, so I ran as hard and fast as I could. I made it across in 40:02. I was also not dead last!! Out of 294 runners I was 290. Not bad for a first race. The feeling of personal satisfaction lasted for hours. As someone who never could see any reason to run I was feeling pretty damn good about it.

Disappointed & Pissed Off

If many of you did not already know, I live in a college town, a VERY liberal college town. One that is rather famous for being so liberal. Much to my dismay and disbelief this town has a movie complex that has chosen not to begin showing "Religulous". It opened nationally the weekend of Oct.3, but has yet to be on a single screen in this town! I scanned all the theatres and the ONLY theatre where it is playing is miles away from here closer to a major city.

I can not believe this! With everything else that is going on in this country there may be theatres that are concerned about showing a movie that a few might consider controversial? Michael Moore causes more controversy than this film seems to be generating. I have not heard or seen any folks, religious or not, with signs marching around demanding that Bill Maher be strung up or burned at the stake.

It just amazes me that, in a town that thinks it is so diverse and liberal, that we can not even get a free thinking movie like this. That it is okay to show movies that lampoon the president or health care system, but the religious sacred cow, no pun intended, better not be touched. I can see no other reason for them to not be showing it while it is playing in the rest of the country. I know that I can drive anywhere and see it, but that is not the point. Why should I have to go to another town when mine has a perfectly fine 12+ screen facility and not one of them is showing this film.

But if anyone has a need to see some sex, gratuitous violence or teen angst I am sure there is much to choose from.

Follow Up

Mother Jones News has done an excellent interview with Bill Maher about his movie and the history of organized religion in his own life as well as his thoughts on 9/11 and other politics. It also made mention of another web site that he, and fellow writer and movie collaborator Larry Charles, of Seinfeld fame, have created. It is Disbeliefnet.com. I went there and had some really great laughs!! No ground is too sacred.

"Religulous"

I haven't seen Bill Maher's shows in quite some time, but I am SOOO excited to go see his new film "Religulous" that opens this weekend!! He appeared on The Daily Show this week and the interview was not only hilarious, but spot on about religion, the organized and fictionalized ones et al, and I laughed my head off.

"I'm not looking to form an anti-religion religion. That would defeat the purpose," Maher said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where "Religulous" played in advance of its theatrical release Friday. "It's the nature of the people who are not believers that they're individuals, they're individualistic. They don't join and all lock arms and say, ‘We all believe this and so it must be true because we have strength in numbers.'"

The numbers Maher and Charles really hope to grab are general audiences simply looking for a fun night at the movies.

Maher, 52, who started mocking religion back in his early standup comedy days, has no misconceptions that "Religulous" will shake people's lifelong convictions to the core. He's mainly looking for laughs such as those the film elicited from the enthusiastic crowd at its Toronto premiere.

"I was so gratified to finally go to a screening with people last night and hear how big the laughs are," Maher said. "Because we set out to make a comedy. I always said, my primary motivation was I'm a comedian, and this is comedy gold.

"When you're talking about a man living to 900 years old, and drinking the blood of a 2,000-year-old god, and that Creation Museum where they put a saddle on the dinosaur because people rode dinosaurs. It's just a pile of comedy that was waiting for someone to exploit."

Can't wait!!