Workers of the world . . .

Any Labor Day plans? I once dated a woman (lived with her actually) for whom Labor Day was the most important holiday of the year. She came from a long line of steelworker unionists in Gary, Indiana, and really treated Labor Day as it was originally intended. She always dressed up in old Wobblie T-shirts. For me it was just a chance to stoke up the Webber and cook those nitrites to perfection. No BBQing this year. I am driving to PA to see Susie and meet her kids (and as a bonus see some of the Gosses).

a little random...

but that's okay.

I had a dream last night, very weird, and Gene Simmons was in it. Prompted me to look him up today. He is a lot more "multi-faceted" then I first assumed.

Gene Simmons

Bio: Gene Simmons was born in Haifa, Israel in 1949 and is the only child of his mother, a German Nazi Concentration Camp survivor.

He has always attributed his ethics, morals and drive to his mother's notion's about life. "Every day above ground, is a good day," his mother is apt to say. Every day above ground, indeed.

He came to America at eight and a half years of age.

He graduated State University (NYSU) and City University (CUNY) and got a Bachelor of Education degree.

He taught sixth grade in Spanish Harlem in New York City.

He then became the Assistant to the Director of the Puerto Rican InterAgency Council, a government funded research and demonstration project.

He worked at Glamour and then at Vogue, as the assistant to the editor, Kate Lloyd.

Gene speaks a few languages: English, Hungarian, Hebrew, German and is getting better at Japanese every day. At present, he is becoming fascinated by Mandarin Chinese and has every intention of becoming fluent in it.

Make no mistake about it.

He will.

Gene Simmons has never been married.
He has had live in relationships with Cher and Diana Ross.

He has been happily unmarried for 23 years to Shannon Tweed, the mother of his two beautiful children.

Gene Simmons lives in Bevery Hills, California.

Just thought it was interesting...

Another option

Since Gorka is on Sunday and probably hard for most to of us to do, maybe we can figure out something casual that we can all do on Saturday after leaving the hotel just to have more time together.

Meegs' & Travis' wedding

Hi everyone. I was just wondering who is going to be in Philly when for the wedding. Thought we might be able to get some dinner etc. Christi & I are arriving in Philly on 10/12 @ 7PM and leaving 10/15 10A. We are staying at in Marriott at the Philly airport (free with Marriott points). Hope we can all get to see each other a bit if possible.

our new garden

Not really. We had a new sewer pipe installed from the house to the city sewer, and this is what we found when they were done. They tell us this four foot wide by two feet high pile of dirt will sink back to level. If it is still around at Holloween I am going to make it up as a very large grave.

202-657-3524

I have finally taken the leap into the 21st Century. Here is my cell number. I am trying to get into the habit of having with me at all times, so ring.

Football Season

I am looking forward to my personal spectator sport ... the HeGoHa Football Pool ;-)

Election of 2006 (and 2008)

I have been talking to these folks at GCI (www.grassrootscampaigns.org) about helping out with the midterm elections and beyond. Besides money, they need volunteer canvassers to rally support for Democrats. Anyone interested can find the regional offices at this website. They are working closely withe the DNC (www.democrats.org).

24 Years Ago Today

Megan Katie Goss-Herbert was born at the Allentown Midwifery Center ... Happy Birthday Meegs!
You still have that winning smile :-)

Herbie

just attempting to download a picture....my new vehicle.....I did not want another black car

Are you ready for some football?

Hard to believe the new season is here. We Washingtonians are especially curious to see how Tony Kornheiser does on MNF, since he's something of a local celebrity (and Lafayette parent). I used to hate his and Wilbon's yelling on "Interruption," but Ian loves the show and I confess I've come around after watching it about 10,000 times.

So when do we start gambling, Maestro?

Hey Wray

I take it you are back, Wray. How was NC?

Volunteer of the Year

I have to brag ... Ethan received the "Volunteer of the Year" award tonight at the closing ceremonies of Camp Lily (Easter Seals camp for kids with special needs). It was funny because the staff kept it very secret from me (although they had been giving me reports of what a "natural" he is with the kids). They said in the presentation that he did everything that the paid staff did and there was nothing they could not ask him to do. I was very proud of the E-man.

for your continued amusement

What happens when you have multiple treadmills and WAY too much time on your hands.



Oh yea.

The Persistence of Memory

We are watching "On Golden Pond," and for some reason I flashed on a memory of a story Dad used to tell, but I need help with the details. Was it Dad's grandfather who was blind and used to smack the kids with his cane? If you know "On Golden Pond" you will understand why I thought of a crotchety old grandfather. And if that was Dad's grandfather, I assume it was Pop's father...yes?

HBTY HBTY HBDL HBTY

Happy Birthday, Linda!

Wikiality

Have you been following this Colbert-Wikipedia confrontation? Pretty funny.

Flags of Our Sons

I know Billy Shore a bit from his days with Gary Hart. This NYT op-ed piece made me tear up on the bus.

The ring!!

the secondary responce.

Okay, so first responce was excitement. Now I want to know details! (Still excited though!) When? Where? How? What was her reaction? Etc. etc. etc.

:-)

Very very very excited for you Jim. You deserve the yin to your yang (or is the the other way around?)!

Christi & Anthony & me @ friends party

Brrrrrrrrrr

Sounds nice Wray. I love that fall type weather. The heat has finally relented here. We have the windows open at night and its nice.

is it just me...

or has it seemed like a very "lucky in love" type of couple of weeks for the Herbert boys?

:-) Keep those good energies flowin.

Brrrr

This strange and unexpected weather system settled on DC this morning, puzzling metereologists. The air is crisp and blowy, perfect day for a football game. It's amazing to see everyone going to work in turtlenecks and sweaters and jackets. You can even see your breath sometimes, and I think some of the maple trees are turning. I've turned off the AC and opened the windows. I think I'll go for a long bike ride, then come back and have some cocoa.

Guess What - I made a 1 karat non-refundable deposit on my relationship with Christina the other night.

J.B. a-may-zing!

Last night was amazing. It was all I could have hoped for from a Jimmy Buffett show... from the crazy drunk people during tailgates beforehand, to the amazing playlist (included below), to the high I felt afterward (and the fact that we actually got out pretty damn quickly!)!


I left work as normal and hoped on PATCo... which dropped me about 5 blocks from the Tweeter Center. It wasn't a bad walk, but it was damn hot... so I was sweating already by the time I got there. I quickly found Travis and our friends Phil & Ed, who had gotten great spots in the closest lot. They had a little grill set up and were grilling dogs and burgers, and were well on their way to drunk! :-) They also happened to be parked next to a group who had arrived in a truck... a truck who's bed they had lined with a huge tarp and filled with water! Their own little swimming pool. Normally I would have stayed away from that, as they were a little weird, but dear god, did I mention it was HOT?!

We headed into Tweeter around 7:30ish... and found some seats near the back of the lawn, by the chainlink fence. This was a purposeful move as it was the only place where we would get a good view and a nice breeze! We could have pushed up to the front, but it was not worth it the struggle, as even at the front of the lawn you are behind all the actual seats, and then you can't see the big screen. So we chose the former, and I was so glad we did as it was hot enough anyway. Everyone was covered in sweat, but it was so worth it.

Here's what was played:

1. Coastal Confessions
2. Brown Eyed Girl
3. I Will Play for Gumbo
4. Pencil Thin Mustache
5. It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere (what I was singing in my head all day until I got to leave!)
6. Grapefruit-Juicy Fruit
7. Floridays
8. Come Monday
9. Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
10. Cheeseburger in Paradise
11. Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw (dedicated to Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson)
12. Party at the End of the World (from his new album coming out in October)
13. One Particular Harbour

Intermission

14. Knees of My Heart
15. Window on the World
16. Son of a Son of a Sailor
17. The Peanut-Butter Conspiracy
18. Werewolves of London (love this song!)
19. A Pirate Looks at Forty
20. Desperation Samba (Halloween in Tijuana)
21. Dixie Chicken (Little Feat Cover)
22. Volcano
23. Margaritaville

Encores

24. Fins
25. USS Zydecoldsmobile
26. Scarlet Begonias (in honor of Jerry Garcia's birthday)


It was a great concert. The songs were all great, the audience was very into it, and even during the intermission, they didn't leave you hanging. They played a clip from the Live at Wrigley Field DVD that came out yesterday, of Jimmy playing "City of New Orleans" in tribute to the city that could be bent, but not broken!! It was such a great rendition, and it was so nice to hear so much of the audience singing along to it... even though Jimmy wasn't on the stage at the time.

It was just such a great time... all I had expected.
My only disappointment was not getting a tour shirt... though I will see what I can do about that. If you live in Indianapolis, shows are coming your way. Let a girl know if you can hook her up. :-)

Okay, back to work. I'm very tired today, so work is a bit of a chore, but I'll just have to plug on through.