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.