10/20/10

Immediately following our wedding, I spotted a group of guys gathered in China Town. They were playing a game similar to hackey-sack (footbag) but they were using this extremely unique object. I joined them and we had around a half dozen "full hacks"

The Birthplace of Cheyenne

Friends, Romans, countrymen.......... Lend me your ears. This famous speech from William Shakepeare's 'Julius Ceasar' utilizies the 'rule of three'. The same rule you must follow in order to get to the island of Capri off the coast of Italy. Plane, Train, Boat. One can also substitute a car in there somewhere, or perhaps a bike, but this is not my point. In fact, i dont even have a point! This is merely a RANT.

So without further ado, I would like to welcome everyone back to 'Adam Rants'..... The worlds most idiosyncratic blogosphere.

Oh, and the title 'The Birthplace of Cheyenne' has absolutely nothing to do with this rant, it is just something that popped into my head in the shower before i wrote this. I have also listed some interesting facts about the Cheyenne Indians below.

-Cheyenne is the capital of Wyoming.
-The Cheyenne are a Native American people of the great plains who are part of the Algonquian language family.
-The Cheyenne is formed into ten bands spread across the great plains from southern Colorado to the Black Hills in South Dakota (where Lewis and Clark found them in 1804) at the same time they created a centralized structure through ritual ceremonies, such as the Sun Dance.

Stay Tuned for more tales from Capri.

Where is the Love?

Stones for Change is foundation that supports artisan miners and fair trade stones. This is a new organization that sells minerals and jewelry that is made from ethically sourced gemstones, and then donates profits to the poverty stricken communities in which they came from.

In essence, this organization supports positive change through ethically sourced minerals, and donates proceeds to mining communities around the world. One of the first projects of this foundation involves raising money for Nurturing Minds, a school for young women of Tanzania, Africa.

The idea behind this project is to provide education and build schools for this community. Ideally because educated girls will have a better life and economic opportunities, bring up healthier families, and better manage their natural resources.

Nurturing Minds is a non-profit organization established in January 2007 by Polly Dolan, who also established SEGA (Secondary Education for Girls' Advancement).

Jewelry made from ethically sourced minerals coming soon! The beautiful gold necklace is available, along with the garnets. Contact us for any questions.

TROUT FARMER

It all started with a thought.    A mental painting if you will.  But my imagination could never have created such a masterpiece.  The conclusion of our trip to florida will forever change our lives, and make it seem, "meant to be".

And to think, it all happened outside of the Jupiter Movie theater in florida.  I remember my cousin Paul telling me about the movie "Doubt" when Gabi and I went to go see it.  Great acting by Merril Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and what happened after the movie left me with an uneasy feeling of "Doubt"  

As usual, it is imperative that Gabi visit every pet store within view, so "Precious Puppy's" was no different.  We were both immediately drawn to the brown and white spaniel in the baby crib.  The dog was laying on it's back, and i remember thinking "She looks exactly like Sammy!" (The dog I had growing up)  The puppy was unusually docile, and her azur blue eyes were hypnotizing.   And just like every other puppy store we went into before, we walked out empty handed.  I ran through the generic list of excuses why we weren't ready to get a dog, and we were on our way.  

The first three days of the trip, Gabi and I rode bicycles to Starbucks, and planned our day.  The agenda usually involved sun and food.  I remember Gabi saying "Isn't it funny how humans revolve around eating"

We had planned to go fishing new years day, but the captain of our boat canceled the day before.  I made a few calls, and soon after we had reservations to go fishing that friday.  We left the house about 7 am, and headed to Flamingo Bay: Everglades National Park.  We boarded the 22 ft. fishing boat and had our rods in the water by 10 am.  No Bites!  It took about two hours before we even had a nibble.  But then gabi reeled in two lizard fish in a row.  The captain said "this isn't good" He called this situation "Dead Bottom".   We were having a great time, so the lack of fish didn't break our spirits. Plus Gabi had already won the bet! (If she caught the first two fish, we would buy the puppy we saw the previous day)  Then, it happened, Gabi's rod completely bent over, and the captain screamed "You got a shark! don't let go!"  The shark circled the boat, and put up quite a fight.  Finally, the captain secured the "Bonnet-Head Shark" and brought it on the boat for a picture.   As this was happening, i pulled my first fish in.  It was a beautiful Sea Trout, and soon after I caught a Tarpon.  The captain said it was extremely rare to catch Tarpon this time of year, and I was dually satisfied with my catch.

TO BE CONTINUED...

OBAMA

"THE RECAP OF 2008"

This is a picture of E-dog, praying to Allah.  Its amazing what converting to Islam can do for your Poker game.  Congratulations  to E-dog for winning the $12 dollar re-buy, and closing out the year "Champion of the home game"  winning the last 3 in a row to finish in a landslide.

I filled up my gas tank the other day for around $30.00....  Its amazing what could happen in one' year

.  I started to think about how things were different, and how many amazing things happened this past year.  First of all, some of my closest friends have all gotten engaged this past year.  Paul & Marni, Andrew and Kate,  and most recently, Ethan & Melissa!  Mazel Tov.

This time last year Heath Ledger was still alive and the Giants were not yet NFL Champions.   The Economy was brighter, and people only whispered of a black president.  

At this time last year Michael Phelps did not yet break the all time record for Olympic Medals, and the Leihman Brother's were ready to give out Enormous Christmas Bonuses.

At this time last year Phish was still broken up, and my Girlfriend was not about to move in with me.  I am exited for both!

In closing, i would like to take a moment to honor our fallen soldiers of 2008, along with Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes, Paul Newman, and Dow Jones.

Someone's Coming And I'd Like A Review (by Charlie Horse)

Is this what I've become?  A Nostalgia Act?  Have I become a Caricature of myself?  

Seriously though, I think it's necessary to put out an email to all my kidzzz because it's exciting as all hell what's going on here.  I know a lot has changed for all of us in the last four years, and in many ways, I looked at Phish's break up as a chapter of my life that was over and done with.  I guess as the story progresses, it turns out they make a return.  

Rumors had been swirling, and in all honesty, I didn't believe a single one of them, only because it was getting so out of hand that it was getting annoying.  I ALMOST left PT (phish message board community) for good.  But sure enough, Wednesday, October 1st 2008, at 7:21 AM,  I was engulfed in the comfort of my Tempur Pedic bed, the windows were open, it was freezing cold and I was toasty warm under my blanket.  It was at that precise moment that the phone rang.  I look over and see on my caller ID Sonny Thadani.  I honestly knew at that very moment what he was going to say.  I picked up the phone and he told me the news.  I tried for about 30 seconds after the call to go back to sleep, but it just wasn't happening.

The feelings running through me were just insane.  They still are to this day.  I'm excited but nervous at the same time.  My biggest question is "how the hell am I getting into these shows?"  Of course I've hashed out every possible option at this point.  I've even asked Fatman Scoop, but he's not sure because phish isn't in his genre.  I've considered asking Adam where the door with the old lady guarding is that he busted through in 98?  Do you think that old lady still sits there?

But I've since calmed down.  I'm a much different person now than I was 4 years ago when I walked away from Coventry.  My life changed on that very day, you all may recall, I got home and got fired from my job.  Ultimately leading me to work in Television.  Paul said to me on that day "Justin, don't worry, it's a blessing in disguise" and I'll never forget that.  In the long run, Change is good.  Even though it can come with some anxiety, I always embrace it, as I will with Phish's return.  I am looking forward to hearing a fresh sound from them.

So for the last 3 days of commuting, I've listened to two shows.  The first show (6.11.94:  Gets me fired up every time)  I only got a few songs in, and then I synced my iPhone and it lost it's place.  But the second one I've listened all the way through.  It's 12.13.97.  A weekend where I think I found a big piece of who I am somewhere in the hallways of the Knickerbocker Arena.  

As I walked to work this morning, I realized that I should be sharing this show with you guys.  So with that said you can download it here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/fpq7lt

I'm pretty sure the entire show is there.  The first set is relatively tame, but that doesn't mean just breeze through it.  The Ya Mar opener is probably some of the best rock improvisation from Phish that dwindles down into a tasty funk jam, with mike leading the way.  The Tube is pretty incredible as well.  The second set of this show is just the heat.  I really don't think it can get much smoother than this.  If you've never heard this Llama you're missing out.  It's so out there and like nothing they ever played.  Also this is the famous "Bring in the dude" show...check out Mike's song.  It's dark and dirty.  The PYITE has some of the best piano work I've heard from Page.  The man is just on.  

I could go on for days about this show.  Download it, listen to it, and let it flow through you.  Every time I've had a chance to listen to it I've smiled knowing we'll be able to feel it again.  It's been an awesome feeling these last few days knowing its happening.  I hold my experiences that surrounded Phish very near and dear.  Enjoy!

More shows to come..listen to this one first

"You are not wearing the Ribbon"! ?

The "Walk" for breast cancer awareness will always remind me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer is jumped in a ally for "not wearing the ribbon"  A small pink ribbon is the symbol for the breast cancer charity, so i was surprised, and mildly concerned when I didn't receive one.

I signed up for the event about a month prior, and planned to walk with my girlfriend Gabriella.  The brisk sunday morning turned out to be quite a beautiful day, and the 3 mile walk turned out to be 6, because of our idiot cab driver.

We got in the taxi on 39th ST, and I said to the driver "79th and Central Park West, I  think all the drives through the park are closed today, you might wanna go crosstown now"  he said "No, its ok" (in a high pitch indian accent) Of coarse when we got there, the park was closed.  So."No tip for you!"

We still had to pick up our numbers from race registration, so weaving through all the people was quite a task, and quite smelly.  (people really stink sometimes)  = /

After getting our numbers, and a blueberry muffin we finally made it to the starting gate.  Once we got started Gabi and I had a lot of fun running through the crowds.  Dipping and dodging all the people, we finished the race with our hands up in the air.

We grabbed some free water and popcorn, and headed out of the park towards 5th avenue.  We then headed to Chelsea Piers to see what kind of activities they had to offer.  After perusing the gymnasium and basketball area, we decided to go to the golf range.  Gabi was impressed how the balls come up automatically on a tee, and I was impressed how far she hit the ball!  100 balls seemed to go so fast, but we left soon after to grab a bite to eat.  The plan was to walk into the city, and find a place to eat brunch.  Soon after we found what seemed to be the perfect place.  A chic brunch spot in the heart of the meat-packing district called 202.  I had an interesting version of a roast beef sandwich, and Gabi had the pancakes!  Overall a great day, and no, we weren't harassed for "not-wearing-the-ribbon"   =D