The International Food Festival

The day after the rock camp showcase we had our own, and the food festival. Here's the view from the stage.

Then we played at the bar for a few hours and wrapped up the night singing karaoke. Mrguy and I reprised our version of Suspicious Minds, and the other performers rounded it out with several selections from Chicago, much of the Michael Jackson catalog, and we all wrapped it up with Cruel Summer.

A different end to the food festival, but a good one.

Rock Camp Showcase

Young girls playing instruments in public, mostly for the first time.

It's the girls rock camp showcase.

They were putting so much heart into it that I wanted to squeal, and they weren't even my kids.

Here's one band hanging out before the show started:


It made me want that experience for every young girl in my life.

A Bone to Pick

I come out of self-imposed vacation blogging exile to say that Berry Gordy has it all wrong.

Michael Jackson was not the greatest entertainer the world has ever known.

That honor goes to Sammy Davis, Jr.

Entertaining was Sammy's passion.

He danced, sang, played drums and trumpet, did impressions and was an actor on stage, in films and on television. He stayed in the public eye doing all of those things from the time he was very young until the year before his death at the age of 65. On occasions when he felt like he hadn't completely won over a crowd he'd continue to perform for hours, if necessary, to do so.

Michael Jackson was a great entertainer, and not on the same level as Sammy. Michael stopped performing quite some time ago and seemed to try to avoid it even when he committed to perform.

A great entertainer? Yes.

The greatest the world has ever known?

Calm down.

Selling Stuff

As readers of mrsguy know, I like the occasional auction and there is a local auction house that we frequent. The grand mammoo caught the bug one day when I was telling her about an auction, and she started looking around for things to sell.

Last week mrguy took her to the auction house for a free appraisal of the items she wants to sell. A space at the auction house was set up with appraisers at tables. Sellers took a number and waited their turn to have their items appraised. Most people brought in items that weren't worth a whole lot. The mamoo's weren't tremendously valuable, but valuable enough that they'll sell them for us. Anyhoo...

While their appraiser stepped away, another seller put his items on the next table to show to *his* appraiser. mrguy saw a beautiful pair of Victorian boots, and something in a paper bag. He looked away, and then heard the appraiser gasp loudly. He looked back.

It was a shrunken head.

He has eaten beef stroganoff with the Ramones and has seen a shrunken head without trying.

I think I am jealous.