Laffing Matterz: Fun Musical Parody in Ft. Lauderdale

My brothers and I laughed full-belly laughs at this dinner theater at the Broward Center for Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale. Laffing Matterz is a funny show based on current events, politics and relationships. Imagine "Saturday Night Live" done to musical numbers, while eating dessert!

Even better, the food was surprisingly good. Four star-quality. The chilean sea bass was probably the best I've ever had. And the steaks were perfectly prepared and just as delicious.

I recommend this to theater-goers and non-theater lovers alike!

An iPhone-only concert? Atomic Tom did it!

WFNX's Miracle on Tremont Street concert, 12/2/10 at the Orpheum.
Line-up: Ra Ra Riot, Neon Trees, Broken Bells.

Broken Bells live reminds me a bit of the Moody Blues -- very instrumental and rather low-key. Neon Trees, on the other hand, rocked!

The evening's highlight was the surprise appearance of the members of Atomic Tom. The foursome performed their most well-known song, Take Me Out -- using only 3 iPhones connected to speakers! They did this on the New York subway in October and posted it on YouTube. Check it out: Atomic Tom - Take Me Out (Live on NYC Subway). This should be Apple's new iPhone ad. Who knew you could play guitar and drums on the iPhone? Incredible!

Friendly, hungry gray jay on Mt. Field, NH

10/30/10: It was with great satisfaction and delight that Sheeba and I summitted Mt. Field on Saturday, after our aborted attempt in August due to intense heat and humidity. Though we were prepared for winter weather, we were surprised at the amount of snow and wind. It was 30 degrees at trailhead and snowed steadily during our ascent.

From Crawford Depot off of Route 302, Avalon Trail crosses Crawford Brook twice, before turning abruptly southeast towards the summit of Mt. Avalon. The path is moderately steep and rough at times and we had to take care due to some icy sections (though not enough to require stabilicers). After Mt. Avalon, the trail becomes quite pleasant and in the lee from wind. We had no view from Mt. Field's summit due to encroaching clouds, though the sun did grace us with its presence for 10 seconds or so a few times. About 1" of snow was on top.

The aggressive gray jay who joined us while we ate lunch swooped down on our food several times, clearly annoyed that we weren't more generous with our food!

The ice on the lower part of the trail had melted by our descent, and we were amused to find our winter boots covered not in snow, but in black mud. :-)

5.6 miles, 2,400' elevation gain (6.5 hours due to near-winter conditions)
Summit: Mt. Field (4,340')
Route: Avalon Trail

Japanese Buddhist Fire Ceremony

10/24/10: A group of Tendai Buddhist monks from Japan visited the Museum of Fine Arts to perform a dramatic, traditional outdoor "goma", or fire ceremony. Audience members were invited to participate by writing prayers for sanctification on six-inch strips of wood. As the monks did their sacred chants, a light drizzle started and audience members mobilized MFA umbrellas to protect the monks from the rain.

A unique experience, followed by a visit to the MFA's incredible collection of Asian art and Buddhist images.

Dorr and Cadillac Mountains in Acadia, ME

10/9/10: The most beautiful, gorgeous hike! Woo hoo! One of my top two New England hikes of all-time!

Giant stone steps on Emery Path nearly all the way to the summit of Dorr Mountain, in a deciduous and conifer forest including many white birch trees. Increasingly better views of Frenchman Bay and the four Porcupine Islands and the two cruise ships du jour.

Very windy on Mt. Door. Could see Cadillac Mountain in the distance and people looked like little ants on top. Fred Field, the Boston Globe photographer, took photos of the group at the Dorr summit and on our departure for Cadillac Mountain, and then bid us adieu. [The photo appeared on the front of a special section, "Living Longer, Living Better," in the Sunday Boston Globe on 10-31-10.]

In col between the mountains, we saw beautiful rocks on the side of Dorr Mountain.

Fairly steep descent from Mt. Dorr to the col.

Seemingly a mile of flat giant granite slabs when leaving the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Passed near the auto road. Views to the south of the ocean. Lovely. Then a bit more difficult (scrambling over rocks) once we joined the Canon Brook Trail.

Thanks to AMC Boston Chapter leader Barbara Fay for a truly memorable trip!

~6 miles, ~1,500' elevation gain.

Route: Emery Path, Schiff Path, Ladder Trail to Dorr and Cadillac; Cadillac South Ridge Trail to Canon Brook Trail to road (1 mile on Route 3)
Summits: Dorr Mountain (1265') and Cadillac Mountain (1,528')

The joys of live music: Or why Friday night's Nickelback concert was so epic

My best concert experience ever! TWO guitar picks!

Nickelback and Three Days Grace at the Comcast Center in Mansfield Friday night, 9-24-10.

I couldn't believe it when the lead guitarist Brad Stock of Three Days Grace tossed some guitar picks in my direction, and I got one! I was even more gobsmacked when I got a second one from the headlining band, Nickelback! Sweet! I've been to dozens if not hundreds of concerts, and I've NEVER gotten a souvenir from any band.

It paid to get great seats. I was in the 2nd row on the far left. Had to use earplugs about 3/4 of the way through because of the deafening explosions.

Setlist: Burn It to the Ground, Flat on the Floor, Photograph, This Afternoon, Shakin' Hands, Something in your Mouth, Animals, Savin' Me, Rockstar, If Today was your Last Day, Too Bad.

Encore: Gotta Be Somebody, Someday, Figured you Out.

Theater: Alice vs. Wonderland

Another tour de force from the American Repertory Theater, "Alice vs. Wonderland" is a colorful, fun adapation of the Lewis Carroll classic that features budding young actors from the ART Institute. To ensure everyone in the class had a fulfilling role, the director divided the role of Alice into six actresses -- all of whom had different clothing but the same red backpack. I particularly liked the performance of Alice 5, Jennifer Soo.

The identity crisis Alice faces in the play mirrors the journey everyone makes in their teenage years. The messages and emotion in the the play were intensifed by the reaction of the audience, which consisted mostly of high school students. I'm sure the experience would be quite different with a more "mature" audience. I'm very glad to have had this experience with teenagers though! (Matinee on Wednesday, 9/22/10).

Johnny Baseball at A.R.T. is delightful

This new musical from the A.R.T. about the Boston Red Sox is delightful. Just delightful. And this is coming from someone who 1) hates musicals, and 2) is not an avid Red Sox fan.

Even if you don't like theater, you'll love this play. It's well worth seeing just for its depiction of nutty Red Sox fans at Fenway -- let alone the music and storyline.

Silversun Pickups rocked in Boston

Sunday 6-27-10: The sound on Landsdowne Street left a bit to be desired, but the Silversun Pickups were awesome!!

As the 4th band in the lineup for WFNX's Clambake, SSPU played for about 70 minutes -- about 25 minutes longer than when they warmed up for Muse a few months ago.

I took this photo with my iPhone during the encore, when I was only about 5 rows back from the stage!

Bald and bracing on Mt. Moosilauke

6-26-10: On this summer Saturday, Sheeba and I hiked up Mt. Moosilauke, which is the tenth highest, as well as the southwesternmost, of the 4,000-foot summits in the White Mountains.

We could see the summit when we started and it was 75 degrees. But it was very chilly on top and the promised 360-degree views were limited to about 50' once we reached the top about 3 hrs later.

We put windpants on over our shorts at the false summit, which is about 0.5 mile from the top. We took refuge from the wind in one of three L-shaped stone shelters and proceeded to discuss the World Cup (U.S. vs. Ghana!) and Belmont's Indian restaurant Kashish with fellow hiker Paul.

We took the long way down, as we somehow missed the left turn to Snapper Trail and hiked east back toward the ravine and lodge via the Hurricane Trail -- aptly named given the number of downed trees and obstacles on the path!

BTW, "moosilauke" has nothing to do with moose. Its name is thought to be derived from a contraction of the Native American words moosi (Bald), and auke (Place).

Thanks, Sheeba, for the summit photo! (Her trip photos here.)

8.1 miles, 2,450' elevation gain (~ 6 hrs. total)
Summit: Mt. Moosilauke (4,802' high)
Route: Gorge Brook Trail to summit; Moosilauke Carriage Road to Hurricane Trail on return (missed Snapper Trail somehow :-) )

A pirate cave and Walden Pond in Lynn Woods

Sat., 5/22/10: Enjoyed an AMC-led six-mile hike with pirate cave and three large ponds in the Lynn Woods. We started from the Pennybrook Road entrance.

I learned that the Lynn Woods Reservation is the second largest municipal park in the greater Boston area. Consisting of 2,200 acres in Lynn and Saugus, the park has

• several ponds, including its own Walden Pond (larger than the famous one in Concord), which provide drinking water and are therefore off-limits for swimming.
• a pirate cave ( pitch-black after just a few steps down)
• a small but beautiful rose garden
• an ampitheater
• a stone tower (closed for restoration), which I did not see.

I was the sweep so missed Mike Stadelmaier's informative historical musings on the area.

Skyline Trail, Blue Hills, MA

Saturday 5-15-10: A fabulous day of 73 degrees and lots of sun. Sheeba and I started at Shea Rink and walked the Skyline Trail west to the Trailside Museum. A few Daddy Long-legs type insects, bumblebees, butterflies and a chipmunk sighting. Surprisingly hot, and I finished my entire 2L of water! At end, an enjoyable tour of The Mass. Audubon's natural history museum, including a playful female otter, turkey vultures and a snowy owl.

~ 9 miles, unknown elevation gain, 5 hours (lunch and breaks included)
Summits: 6 hills, including Great Blue (635 feet)
Route: Skyline Trail from Shea Rink in Quincy, southern Skyline Trail from Reservation HQ to Eliot Tower, and Red Dot Trail to Trailside Museum on Route 138

Whitney and Thayer Woods, Hingham, MA

Sunday 5-9-10: This meander through the Trustees of Reservations property in Hingham was a delight. Notable sights included colorful blooming azaleas, sensual lady slippers, an American holly grove, a lily-of-the-valley field, a quarter-mile of head-high rhododendrons, and some fiddleheads from newly emerging ferns. Several glacial erratics dot the landscape, including a grouping called Ode’s Den.

Our lunch spot on Turkey Hill gave us spectacular vistas of Boston's skyline and Nantasket Beach.

At the Weir River Farm, we saw a bright-red barn, 4 horses, a camel-colored llama, about 7 black-and-white cows laying in the shade, and a large sooty gray pig!

Thanks to AMC leader Beth Mosais.

~7.5 miles
minimal elevation gain
Turkey Hill = 187-foot high

The secret island getaway

May 1-2, 2010: My friend made me swear not to tell everyone about this wonderfully relaxing getaway near Boston. No restaurants. No bars. No shopping. The only things to do were walk, talk, beachcomb, read, cook and sleep. Not even a TV! A great place for a low-key family vacation or friends' weekend.

The rabbit population was fairly fearless. Daffodils dotted the island. And we listened to the sounds of nature thanks to one of the New Age stations on Pandora via my iPhone.

As it was off-season, the only market on the island was open for precisely one hour -- from 3:30pm to 4:30pm -- on Saturday. There was no fresh fish or meat to be had. So Saturday night dinner consisted of a yummy cheese omelet over wilted spinach, sweet potatoes and black beans and rice. And a nice bottle of Tavel rose which I'd had the foresight to bring over.

What a relaxing weekend! I needed the R&R. Just what the doctor ordered. Oh, ask nicely and I'll tell you where it is :-)

Of Snakes and Carnivorous Plants in the Blue Hills

4-24-10. Walking around Ponkapoag Pond in the Blue Hills (10 miles south of Boston, MA), we spotted several of these vicious-looking snakes, basking in the sun on the rocks at water's edge. When disturbed, one of them slithered into the water and swam quite gracefully away.

Like hundreds of others, we initially mistook this non-venomous snake as a cottonmouth or water moccasin. With a quick check on our iPhone, we learned it wasn't a cottonmouth at all. Later, at home, I discovered it was a common snake, the Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon).

The Northern Water Snake is common in the eastern U.S. It inhabits lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams of many sizes. They are active both day and night, hunting for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders and young turtles. They also control populations of smaller animals, such as mice. Otherwise, the walk was relatively bereft of wildlife -- no birds at all and only a few chipmunks, butterflies and a bumblebee. But Pam, Pete, Jane and Claire enjoyed the green dot trail, the AMC cabins and the numerous granite rock outcroppings nonetheless.

Claire and I waded out on the Ponkapoag Bog Boardwalk and found ourselves behind a group being led by a Harvard University biologist. Thus we learned about and saw firsthand two carnivorous plants - the pitcher plant and bladderwort. Unfortunately I didn't take photos of either.

The bladderwort, typically found in acidic, shallow freshwater where nutrients are scarce, supplements its diet with an occasional insect or other small organism. It does this by trapping small aquatic creatures in its small oval bladders, which are attached to the underwater capillary-like leaves. When prey touches the trigger hairs, the bladder expands, sucking in the animal. It is then dissolved within the bladder.

Jennings Peak in the Sandwich Range (NH)

3-7-10. Grand views of Mt. Washington and the Tripyramids greeted us when Sheeba and I summited Jennings Peak in NH's Sandwich Range. We could even see Wildcat Mountain in the distance.

It was a great day trip, and the weather couldn't have been better. 40s on the way up and 38 at the top -- with no wind!

The trail was fairly packed down, so we barebooted it most of the way up, only donning snowshoes near the trail junction with Sandwich Mountain Trail. The last stretch to the peak is really really steep!

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch before heading down. I glissaded down most of the steep upper part! Glissading is the usually voluntary act of descending a steep slope of snow. You simply sit down and slide! I admit that sometimes my glissading was involuntary -- the result of a slip and fall where it seemed sensible to continue down that way. Regardless, it's quite an effective alternative to plunge or side-stepping and also cuts down on descent time. More importantly, it's FUN! Fills you with glee.

7 miles, 2,100' elevation gain (3-1/2 hours up; 2-1/4 hrs down)
Summit: Jennings Peak (3,440' high)
Route: Drakes Brook Trail both ways (another hiker warned that the alternate route up, using the Sandwich Mtn Trail and going over Noon Peak, is "brutally steep")

The next U2? Silversun Pickups

Surprisingly, nearly every seat in the massive TD Garden was full for Silversun Pickups, the warm-up band for headliner Muse on Saturday 3-6-10.

They only played for 45 minutes, but their ending salvo of two of their most popular songs -- Panic Switch and Lazy Eye -- had the audience on their feet.

IMHO, this could be the next U2.

Muse - live in Boston

What a fantastic show! Energetic. Extravagant. Exciting. Their music is, to me, a compelling blend of several music genres. I hear Depeche Mode, Queen, Nirvana, even System of a Down. Hearing Matthew Bellamy's sometimes falsetto voice in concert was thrilling.

They delighted the audience by dropping huge balls that were designed to look like eyeballs. After a few bounces around, they popped, spreading red confetti everywhere.

I had spectacular seats in the sixth row, right beside the stage!

"Here, have a piece of fruit" - Paradise Lost

After seeing Paradise Lost at the ART last week, I felt like I did after reading Tom Clancy's Bonfire of the Vanities -- grateful for my wonderful life. Because, indeed, I am blessed by so many things -- health, friends, family, work. Folks in the Depression had so little. Their lives, at least as depicted by Clifford Odets, were filled with sadness, hardship and unspeakable tragedy. The same was true for the Bonfire of the Vanities' main character, the "master of the universe".

The play started out slowly, but built up speed and deep meaning in acts two and three. In act one, Clara Gordon was generous: "Here, have a piece of fruit" she kept offering her family and guests. In act three, it was her husband, Leo, who was the generous one, actually trying to give away large sums of money to the homeless. May we all be so kind, thoughtful and generous to those in need around us.

Mt. Crawford (NH) winter hike

Feb. 27, 2010. I joined members of the AMC Boston Chapter's "Forty Plus" group to do a winter hike of Mt. Crawford. Nearly a foot of wet snow had fallen over night so snowshoes were essential. Ron "the machine" Correia blazed the trail most of the way, for which most of us were grateful!

This hike was perhaps the most difficult winter hike I've undertaken: Not only did we have to break trail, but we had to find the trail. We had several obstacles -- snow-laden branches and entire trees on the trail -- to overcome on the way to the summit. (I wish I'd gotten a photo of us crawling underneath those heavy snow-laden limbs!) Wet snow fell on us most of the time.

The 3-1/2 hour steep, steady uphill climb in snowshoes left my left Achilles tendon aching. I'll have to look into snowshoes with televators, which several mountaineers said really helps.

The summit has lots of open ledges, but, alas, there were no views due to the clouds and snow. It was reasonably comfortable with temps in the low 30s and low wind. (Although we don't look too comfortable in the photo!) The snow continued throughout our rapid descent. I was surprised to find at the end of the hike that all of my upper body layers were fairly wet despite my shell.

This was a physically exhausting hike for me. Must have been the extra weight of the snowshoes for the duration of the ascent. I went to bed early after a nice hot bath!

Note to self: I prefer hiking in dry, cold conditions (even 0 - 10 degrees) over temps in the 30s with (wet) snow falling!

5.8 miles, 2,119' elevation gain (3-1/2 hours up; 1-1/2 hrs down)
Summit: Mt. Crawford (3,119' high)
Route: Davis Path

Introducing Glynis to Winter Hiking

Feb. 20-21, 2010. How wonderful to introduce a good friend to the wonder and beauty of winter hiking and snowshoeing! Being Glynis' first time, we rented snowshoes for her at the Jackson XC area in Jackson, NH. I can't believe they gave her MSR Denali's -- top-of-the-line for mountaineering! The snow -- what little there was -- was slushy, with puddles of water everywhere. The North Conway valley is really suffering without much snow. We managed to do almost 3 hours of walking despite the less-than-ideal conditions.

On Sunday, after a nice dinner at Black Cap Grille and a good night's sleep at Wildflowers Inn on Saturday night, we drove to the Crawford Notch area and enjoyed a lovely snowshoe up to the summit of Mt. Willard. It was flurrying a bit when we were at the top, and views were limited. But so what? It was Glynis' first winter hike up a mountain! She enjoyed it and we're both looking forward to the next time.

2.8 miles, 900' elevation gain (2-1/2 hours)
Summit: Mt. Willard (2,800' high)
Route: Mt. Willard Trail

Snowshoeing at Weston Ski Track with Morgaine

I snowshoed with Morgaine at the Weston Ski Track on Valentine's Day. It's so close to Boston!

We had a nice time catching up, snowshoeing, meeting up with Derek who was XC skiing, and having lunch.

We must do it again!

Sunrise in Crawford Notch, NH

It was a beautiful sunrise in the "notch" last Sunday. Crisp and cold, but clear.

The hike to the summit of Mt. Avalon was fairly easy and only took about an hour. Everyone seemed surprised when we reached it.

No birds or animal sightings, but some amazing views of snowy branches bracketed by beautiful blue sky. More photos here.

2.6 miles, 1,542' elevation gain (2 hours)
Summit: Mt. Avalon (3,442' high)
Route: Avalon Trail

Mt. Jackson - The joy is not just climbing to the summit!

A group of us from the AMC Winter Hiking program hiked up Mt. Jackson last Saturday. It was a truly memorable experience. And the joy was not just climbing to the summit. I partook in another sport -- glissading. In fact, I enjoyed the "sitting glissade" several times on the way down. What fun! Like skiing, but on your butt!

It took us 4 hours to get to the top, due to numerous gear issues; two in our group, Barbara Hough and Vera Kaufman, had defective snowshoes and had to bareboot it. But what an accomplishment! We all felt as high as the mountain (4,052 feet high) when we got to the top. We had successfully braved bitter cold (it was 0 degrees F. at trailhead and got down to at least -2 on the trail) and succeeded in hiking up our first 4,000 footer -- and a Presidential no less -- in winter!

It was incredibly beautiful. The tree branches were so laden with snow that we marveled that they didn't break.

Highlights included:

• my first experience glissading -- FUN!
• a gray jay joined us on the trail
  
• 2 chickadees singing in the trees
• 40-50mph gusts on the summit, fogged up sunglasses and a realization that one really does need goggles for winter hiking
• the hair around our faces turned to icicles, making us look like we had white hair!
• delicious snickerdoodle summit cookies
  
• always-smiling and helpful leaders Reji James and Michele Grzenda
  

5.6 miles, 2,150' elevation gain (6-1/2 hours - 4 up and 2-1/2 down)
Summit: Mt. Jackson (4,052' high)
Route: Webster-Jackson Trail

See more photos.

P.S. My car slid sideways into a snowbank the night before, as I was turning into the driveway of the Highland Center. Fortunately, I had a good shovel in my trunk and dug the car out; it took about 30 minutes. Vanessa Johnson had gone to get help; the rescue team of 5, including Reji James and Larry Tackiff, arrived just in time to help me out with a hefty push. An exciting way to begin the weekend at the Shapleigh Bunkhouse at AMC's Highland Center. :-)

Welch-Dickey's ice-covered ledges

During the drive north to NH, we kept wondering "Are we crazy?" It was 7am, snowing hard. Signs along Route 93 kept blinking "winter storm warning" and the roads were a mess. My hiking buddy Sheeba and I reasoned that if we really wanted to experience true winter hiking, what better time than now? Due to the poor driving conditions, we arrived at trailhead 15 min. late, but we beat the three AMC leaders by 15 min. nonetheless.

I, six winter hiking newbies and 3 experienced winter hiking leaders from the AMC started out at 10:30am amid flurries, temps of 20 degrees F. and predictions for high wind. I was a bit apprehensive: though I'd done winter hiking before, I had never used crampons. And Welch-Dickey's open ledges were sure to be covered in ice.

We returned to the parking lot at 4pm. It was challenging, but I felt good. Really good. I had conquered my apprehension, learning how to adjust and attach my crampons (they were initially too long to fit properly), and making it up and over numerous tricky spots covered in ice -- all without having to slide down on any descent.

Thanks to Alex Nedzel, Kevin McAllister and Sandy Green for sharing their experience and love of winter hiking with us! They were most helpful and generous with suggestions.

I definitely like winter hiking. But the jury is still out as to whether I am a fan of *serious* winter hiking involving crampons, ice axes and above-treeline exposure. I am doing AMC Boston Chapter's Crawford Notch program next weekend, as well as the above-treeline seminar, before I decide for certain...

4.4 miles, 1,800' elevation gain to two summits (~ 5-1/2 hours)
Summit: Mt. Welch (2,605') and Mt. Dickey (2,734')
Route: Welch-Dickey Loop