Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Judas Priest...

I went to the Judas Priest concert in Champaign, Illinois on Tuesday, Sep. 27, 2005. Anthrax was the opening act.
I have been a fan of Judas Priest since the late 70's, and have seen them in concert several times. I have alot of photos and autographs, and I finally got all of Judas Priest (including Tim "Ripper" Owens, fmr. lead singer) to autograph my motorcycle license plate.

I got there in time to see Rob Halford get off the bus, but he just slipped on inside without even looking at us.
The show was pretty good, Anthraz was OK, as I'm not very familiar with their music. I noticed Rob didn't interact with the crown like he used to, but later in the show he did better at "playing the crowd".

Afterwards, I waited and got the Metal God's autograph and some pics. Rob was very gracious and polite, quite soft spoken and carried on brief conversation with the small group of fans who waited to see them. I will post more pics of them later, but here is my license plate with Ian Hill (bass) Scott Travis (drums) K.K. Downing (guitar) Glen Tipton (guitar) Tim "Ripper" Owens (fmr. lead singer) and Rob Halford (lead singer).

Friday, September 16, 2005

Sept. 19 Talk like a pirate day...

Talk Like a Pirate Day, Sept 19
The holiest of Pastafarian holidays is surely "Talk Like a Pirate Day," coming on Sept 19, which looms ahead like the scurvy wreckage of a fat clipper, yar, so it does. Avast. Rawk!

To help promote this important cause, I have decided to seek the endorsement of famous celebrities, and I am pleased to report that, as of today, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Britney Spears, Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey, the Osbournes, Tiger Woods, Ted Koppel, the Sopranos, Puff Doody and the late Elvis Presley are all people who I hope will read this and become big supporters. I see no need to recruit President Bush, because he already talks like a pirate, as we can see from this transcript of a recent White House press conference:

REPORTER: Could you please explain either your foreign or your domestic policy?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Arrrrr.

To prepare for Talk Like a Pirate Day, you should practice incorporating pirate terminology into your everyday speech. For example, let's consider a typical conversation between two co-workers in a business office:

BOB: Hi. Mary.

MARY: Hi, Bob. Have you had a chance to look at the Fennerman contract?

BOB: Yes, and I have some suggestions.

MARY: OK, I'll review them.

Now let's see how this same conversation would sound on Talk Like a Pirate Day:

BOB: Avast, me beauty.

MARY: Avast, Bob. Is that a yardarm in your doubloons, or are you just glad to see me?

BOB: You are giving me the desire to haul some keel.

MARY: Arrrrr.

As you can see, talking like a pirate will infuse your everyday conversations with romance and danger. So join the movement! On Sept. 19, do not answer the phone with ''hello.'' Answer the phone with ''Ahoy me hearty!'' If the caller objects that he is not a hearty, inform him that he is a scurvy dog (or, if the caller is female, a scurvy female dog) who will be walking the plank off the poop deck and winding up in Davy Jones' locker, sleeping with the fishes. No, wait, that would be Talk Like a Pirate in The Godfather Day, which is another variation I considered (``I'm gonna make him an offer that will shiver his timbers'').

But the point is, this is a great idea, and you, me bucko, should be part of it. Join us on Sept. 19. You HAVE the buckles, darn it: Don't be afraid to swash them! Let's make this into a grass-roots movement that sweeps the nation, like campaign-finance reform, or Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I truly think this idea could bring us, as a nation, closer together.

But not TOO much closer. Some of us will have swords.

Thursday, September 08, 2005