80s(Girl) Weekend

We sure had fun this weekend, kids. R was in Ithaca for an alumni board meeting so Mr. Zippychik and I drove down on Saturday afternoon to pick her up for a fun filled weekend in the 'Cuse. Early Saturday evening we had sandwiches and beer at the Blue Tusk then headed over to Alliance Bank Stadium to see the Syracuse Chiefs defeat the Buffalo Bisons. R had been shouting about seeing a Chiefs game ever since we met online over 2 years ago. After that it was back to Casa Zipster for Appletinis mixed and served by Mr. Z.

Sunday we hung out and lingered over our morning coffees. Later on we had lunch at the legendary Dinosaur BBQ. R and Mr. Zippy ordered ribs, while I had a pulled pork and portobello mushroom sandwich. Yum. Then it was over to Cafe Biscotti in Little Italy for some gelatto. It seemed all too soon it was time to take R back to Ithaca for her upcoming week of networking power meetings.

Anyway, I had to rest up a bit before the weekend was over, because today I started my new job as a computer consultant for Syracuse University's Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (try saying that three times fast!)

A Little Summer Fun

I'm only reporting the results of the quiz -- and I didn't cheat.

You Are A Strawberry Ice Cream Girl

Sweet. Romanic. Genuine.

What Flavor Ice Cream Girl Are You?

Blotto in Cortland

Blotto Jamming in the Marketplace Mall Parking Lot.

Not everyone can say they saw Blotto perform in a parking lot in Cortland, NY -- but I can! You might think, is that a good thing? Well, yes it was! Blotto appeared on July 20, 2007 as part of the city of Cortland's summer concert series "New Wave Night" held in the parking lot of the Marketplace Mall. The weather was a bit chilly for a mid-summer evening, but fortunately the rain had stopped. It was an all ages audience; many families with young children were in attendance. I believe that most of the crowd, (if you could call it "a crowd") were friends and family of the band members. Kah of Radio Hidebound came up from DC for the weekend; he noted wryly that the toddlers running about took a bit of the edge off of the event.

The Flashcubes

The evening's entertainment opened with the Cortland-based Hurtin' Units, a high-energy quartet with hard-driving guitars and percussion. Up next was one of the Syracuse's biggest 80's bands, the Flashcubes. Front men Arty Lenin and Gary Frenay were in top form. Kah compared them to RadioHidebound favorites, the Spongetones.

Blotto took the stage a bit past eight. I've always been impressed with the way the band blends their off-beat humor with impressive musicianship, but I was really surprised with how much fun they were live. We got a two-fer here, a rock concert AND stand-up comedy. My husband heard "Goodbye Mr. Bond" for the first time and was absolutely blown away. Kah posted his review and play of the show along on RadioHidebound.

It was a bit disappointing that both Hurtin' Units and the Flashcubes drew more people than Blotto. We saw several folks tend to drift away once the band had begun to perform. Kah speculated that they just "didn't get Blotto." He also said that he felt a bit bad for the band, but I really felt sorry for those folks who left.

Zippychik & Kah Enjoy the Show

Shakespeare in the Park

While most people were watching the Live Earth concerts on their big screen televisions or their computers last night, my husband and I spent the evening outdoors attending Olney Theatre Center's National Players production of Shakespeare's "The Tempest," held in the beautiful sylvan setting of Long Branch Park on the shore of Onondaga Lake.

While I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan, seeing "The Tempest" in a casual outdoor setting with a first-rate, high energy cast, brought the play alive for me. At some points in the production cast members raced off the stage and onto the grassy hill where the audience sat in their lawn chairs.

Several hundred people attended including many young people perhaps getting their first exposure to The Bard. I'm hoping that the experience was as positive for them as mine was. We had such a great time we're thinking of attending a production of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" in Thornden Park, near the Syracuse University campus, in August.

Way to Go Gabriella!

My niece, Gabriella who just turned nine years old came for a visit on the Fourth of July. Her long brown hair usually reaches halfway down her back so I was pretty surprised to see that she had it cut just above her shoulders. She looked very cute, and I had assumed she cut it for her upcoming trip to Disney World. My sister, however, told me that Gabriella donated her beautiful hair to Locks of Love.

I'm so proud of Gabriella for being so kind and unselfish. I hope that she has a wonderful time at Disney World, but then Gabriella has a way of making magic wherever she goes.