Tag Archives: Show

Getting Down with Bluegrass

Posted by Steve on February 20, 2012 No comments

This weekend we managed to pry ourselves out of the house and get out to accomplish things! First was taking a long walk to make sure we got some extra steps on our FitBit’s. 2.6 miles of walking out for lunch, and errands netted us quite the step count. After that it was off to Old town Alexandria to meet up with Sarah’s Sister and Brother-In-Law. You see, it was Josh’s Birthday and because he loves music, the plan was to go out and hear some live. The place that was picked….Tiffany Tavern.

When I heard “Tavern” I was all set to see a pub-like atmosphere with some fish and chips and Shepard’s pie. (although, I a a bit spoiled when it comes to Shepard’s Pie) Unfortunately, when we arrived I noticed that it was a lot more “Dineric” and less “Pubish” The food was ok, and the service was great, that is, until the band started playing. After that we rarely saw a waitress. (Maybe they were groupies that were fawning over the band members) I wouldn’t say that you shouldn’t go there, but it was not the greatest place. I give it a good solid “Meh”

So, how was the band? The band was actually great! Fun fact, as a kid I grew up around Bluegrass music so I am no stranger to it, and for the most part, really do enjoy it. The technique that goes into it is outstanding and it’s one of the forms of music that comes from a very deep rooted story based culture. Satyr Hill came with 6 band members (although I believe that a few of them were just visiting) and a rocken good time! You can see pictures from the set here at my Flickr page, and enjoy the slideshow below.

Oh, and the final step count for that day?

4+ years of Fandom

Posted by Steve on July 11, 2011 3 comments

For many years I have held a secret. Something that many of my friends would gasp about and possibly revoke my Geek card. It’s been no secret that I am a huge Sci-Fi fan. I own more props, costumes, wall art, toys, etc. than most people (except other geeks like me), but there is something that I had never done that causes most geeks to shiver down to their internal power core.

I had never watched Doctor Who.

Sure, I knew what a TARDIS was, and I was familiar with most of the mythos due to most of my friends being huge fans, but I had never actually seen a single episode. So while browsing through Netflix streaming the other day I noticed that all of the new series (2005-current) was available. I had heard from various friends that if I were to start somewhere, that the 2005 stuff was the way to go. I realize that some purists would say that I should encounter all incarnations of the Doctor, but we are talking baby steps here people!

This is not to say that I won’t go back and watch some early stuff. Since undertaking this task of cramming 6 years of TV into my head, I have already watched 1 story line of the 4th Doctor, and 1 from the 5th, but this is about the newer series that I am going full steam ahead with. That’s not even a joke. A week and a half ago we started with the Christopher Eccleston episodes and have been watching every night, and most of the weekends to catch up to the current Matt Smith seasons. Both Sarah and I have become incredibly addicted to the series.

You may think that this is a good thing, right? Lots of people enjoy The Doctor! Problem is that when I dive into a series like this, I dive into the deep end and keep swimming down. Because of this, I have been stuffing, not only the TV information, but (currently) 4+ years of Who Fandom into my noggin. Catching up on props, T-shirts, costumes, videos, etc.. It’s almost maddening, but I love it so much! I am even now drafting plans for the building of a full scale TARDIS. I have the tools and the space, and I love woodworking, so why not?

So what about the shows? Well, I agree with all of those who told me to start with the 2005 series. The pacing on them are much more up to date with current shows. I went back and watched a few of the older shows and it just seems so much slower and wooden. I will work my way through them slowly but I really love the new format. As far as Doctors go, I really feel bad for Christopher Eccleston. He was a great Doctor and should have been given more time. it was pretty clear that they used him to springboard off of and show that the regeneration of the Doctor is still ongoing. CE was also a great tie in to the older shows as he took that campy brit humor and ran with it (and holy cow, the hair!). We have just finished up with Season 4 and the end of the David Tennent run. I liked DT as a Doctor and he certainly added a lot of the genius ramble to the character, but I think that CE will remain as “My Doctor”.

Which brings us to where we are now. We watched the first episode of season 5, the Matt Smith Doctor. It is way too early to decide my feelings on him. He certainly has that campy but modern feeling down. Time will tell. In the meantime, look for progress posts on the various builds I am doing and well as follow along as I dive deeper into a fandom that spans almost 50 years!