"Long-term offender re-arrested by police" Submitted by Andrew Hoshkiw

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Read the CBC story Here


This guy, John Sam from Whitehorse, has been arrested and convicted of molesting children three times. Now he's been arrested again on various charges.

My question is, why do we keep letting these people out of prison? What's the point, when it just seems they're going to re-offend over and over and over?

You'd think the criminal justice people would come to realize that maybe this guy has a problem and maybe he shouldn't be out walking the streets.

Here's article
the article from February, when he was released on parole. According to the article, at the time of his release, police said "he is considered a high risk to re-offend against women and children."

But they had to let him out, as he had served his full 27-month sentence. The whole thing seems rather disgusting to me. 27 months doesn't seem like an appropriate length for a first offence, let alone the third.

And it says he refused treatment while in prison. My god, shouldn't that be a big requirement to getting released? If there's no rehabilitation at all, what good can they hope will come from releasing him?

Microsoft Genuine Advantage Validation Tool Submitted by Sashi

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Microsoft have finally begun requiring Windows users to verify that their copy of Windows is genuine before downloading add-ons or updates to the OS via Windows Update.

I also just read on LCF’s blog that security updates are exempt from this check.

And interestingly enough, this verification check has been cracked with a beautifully simple solution - details here.

solution


I have no problems with these at the office, since all our OSs are either OEM or open-source, so verification took place without a cinch.

But in err… other locales… I might just be tempted to use the crack instead.

Please note - whether or not you use original or pirated OS, please update it. It’s amazing how many people - even so-called IT experts - refuse to protect their PC from harm simply because they believe they are immune.

People - if there’s one thing anyone who is ever online should know - NO ONE IS IMMUNE.

Collage Exhibit: A Wandering Mind or Memory Echoes Submitted by Lezah

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Karen Kroeker is a talented multi-media collage artist who is staging her first solo exhibit, having participated in a number of successful group shows recently.

Of special interest is a series of collages (14 in all) based on the same theme, that of a single female image found in an old fashion magazine. In addition, there are a number of other single pieces in the show.

Kroeker works in paper, fabric, paint, ink, oil and chalk pastel. About her work, she says "the images tell stories if you look at them carefully, and take some time to connect what you are looking at." She has been a full time secondary art teacher in Surrey for 29 years.

The exhibit is running August 5-27 at the White Rock Community Arts Council Gallery, which is located at 15232 Russell Avenue, White Rock.

5 Feet Away From An Angel Submitted by Sashi

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I never learn my lesson.

Not long after a close encounter with a Goddess, I found myself today within whispering distance of my favourite Malaysian Idol - Jaclyn Victor. (The Jaclyn Victor Fan Club website is, sadly, only viewable in IE. If you know who the webmaster is, please flog him in public.)

Once again, I wished I had a camera with me….

However, my colleagues at the office keep saying that, in lieu of a photograph, I should have acquired her autograph.

Thing is, I’m not really much of an autograph-hunter. Even when I was a kid studying in La Salle, Brickfields, and I would walk home from my school past the DBKL sports training ground, and I’d see local footballing heroes like Fandi Ahmad and Lim Teong Kim drinking teh tarik at a nearby stall, even then I never went and asked for their autographs.

The reason is this: no one would believe me. How many people know the signature of Fandi Ahmad? Or Lim Teong Kim? Or even Jaclyn Victor?

Not many.

Which basically means I could sign a piece of paper using Jac’s name (notice how I’m pretending to be on a first name basis with her? I love being deluded...) and pass it off as her autograph.

Not a very satisfying con to pull.

But a photograph though... a picture is worth a thousand words… or maybe slightly less these days, depending on the current exchange rate.

So, from now on, I’m gonna be bringing my little amateur point-and-shoot camera EVERYWHERE. So watch out, selebriti-selebriti Malaysia, ‘cos here comes da Sashi!

Twilight Drive In Submitted by Lezah

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I read recently that in 1950 there were 2,200 drive-in movie theatres in North America; a year earlier, in 1949, there had only been 1,100. Today, the reverse trend is happening, with drive-in theatres disappearing faster than snow in the tropics.

Now, many of you will be familiar with drive-in movie theatres as the place young people would go in order to not watch movies (if you follow my drift...). But plenty of people have other sorts of happy memories of youthful hi-jinks at drive-in theatres, many involving smuggling friends into the theatre in their car trunk or other similarly kooky antics. One of my favorite memories of the drive-in is the old 'wiener in the bun' ad for the concession with its kitschy double entendre.

Currently, the Greater Vancouver area has been without a drive-in movie theatre for two years following the closure of Cloverdale's Hilltop Drive-in at the end of summer, 2003. With sky-rocketing land prices and development rampant, the owner of the Hilltop was forced to re-locate - and it hasn't been an easy task. Finding a new place was chore number one; gaining all the necessary permits was the next step. Then came the unexpected - while erecting the new screen, a problem caused the whole structure to collapse. A lengthy wait followed as the insurance companies duked it out, but now the Lower Mainland's only drive-in movie theatre is about to open: the Twilight Drive-in, located on Fraser Highway and 260th Street in Aldergrove, is preparing to open in time for the BC Day long weekend.

Seattle's Best Latte Submitted by Lezah

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Just next door to Subpop Records is Uptown Espresso ("Home of the Velvet Foam"), a shop that claims they make Seattle's best latte (based on a poll done by the New York Times and other sources, apparently).

Seattle is, of course, home to the world famous Starbucks chain, and the not-quite-as-big-but-getting-bigger Seattle's Best Coffee chain. I had already had a Starbucks latte for breakfast that morning, so I did have some basis for comparison. I was curious about this claim - was it true? Was it a David vs. Goliath thing? Or were they just blowin' smoke, trying to play with the big boys?
I ordered a latte, and although it was good, it was merely on par with the one I had had in the morning: my breakfast Starbucks one had been too milky (a rare thing), whereas the UE latte left me with a slightly bitter aftertaste. As well, it was a little sparse on their famous 'velvet foam'.

So, not horrible by any stretch, but I have had better... although, come to think of it, not in Seattle. So perhaps what they say is true, after all...

Talkr.com: Podcast your blog! Submitted by Sashi

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As I was browsing Paul Tan’s car blog, I noticed that he had added a link titled “Listen Audio Blog“. It’s a link to an MP3 of a female voice reading the contents of the particular post. Cool!

Being the curious cat that I am, I investigated further, checking out talkr.com http://www.talkr.com/ and registering for free. The concept is similar to online RSS-feedreaders, in that you sign up and then browse RSS feeds to subscribe. The only difference here is that once you select an RSS feed, talkr.com then not only adds the feed to its database, but it also converts the text to speech. Once this is done, it displays a page containing the posts in the feed, with a link to an MP3 file of each post displayed alongside it.

It has its limitations, but still pretty cool…

By the way, I’ve added a link to the audio version of this post here.

Using Google Ads to display Amazon ads Submitted by Sashi

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OK, I don’t know if anyone would have noticed this, but occasionally, in the Google ad sections above and on the sidebar, instead of seeing a typical Google Ad, you might have spotted an Amazon.com ad instead.

It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.

I did this because I was kinda tired of seeing the Public Service Ads displayed whenever Google can’t find any keywords worth selling on my blog - which, sadly enough, is most of the time.

This really isn’t a big deal, but after reading this post, Help


I figured I might as well share the method. It’s pretty simple, of course, and anyone would be able to figure it out if they just thought about it….

And before anyone asks, let me point out that Google’s Adsense policy does allow this.

Il Fornaio, Seattle Submitted by Lezah

image from http://www.dinnerbroker.com/


On our first night in Seattle to see The Go! Team, we decided to walk around and see the sights. Coming back to the hotel, Dave spotted a restaurant down the road, just a block away, but we decided to go back to the hotel and see what the restaurant guide recommended.

As one can imagine, there were were many places to choose from, and many of them featured seafood (which doesn't excite me much, and excites Dave even less). Some of the places we were interested in were too far away; others were too expensive. Eventually we settled on Il Fornaio, which looked to be quite close, and lo and behold - it was the place Dave had spied earlier!

Turns out Il Fornaio started in Italy as a bakery in 1972, and then made its way across the ocean to North America. Chef Franz Junga had maintained an Italian theme, complete with Italian being the language of choice of the kitchen staff (and some of the servers, judging by their accents).

We were seated immediately, and the decor was very pleasing. Although it had been very hot outside, the restaurant was air conditioned so we were very comfortable. Right away our waitress brought a side plate, onto which she poured olive oil and then drizzled some balsamic vinegar. We were given some freshly baked bread, which was absolutely perfect - we were expected to dip this into the oil/vinegar mixture.

Dave ordered a Caesar salad to start, and it came looking a little more like a Chef's salad than a Caesar, complete with hard boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, and anchovies draped over the top (when, oh when will Americans learn to incorporate the anchovies into the dressing). So, not your classic looking Caesar, but was very good none the less - the dressing was a little more tart than the creamier Caesar we're used to, but it was still very good.
Then came out main course. Dave had ordered the Calzone, which came looking absolutely exquisite - like a work of art, almost. The crust was beautifully done, made up like a fancy pastry, and inside the calzone was a taste sensation with a variety of cheeses, meats and vegetables, which melded together without being overwhelming.

I had ordered the Steak Gorgonzola, which came topped with mushrooms and had a Tuscan salad on the side. The steak was perfectly done, and actually had fat along the side, which just added to the flavour. The gorgonzola and mushroom combination was exquisite.

For dessert Dave had homemade ice cream, while I had the raspberry cheese cake. Both were wonderful.

Throughout the meal, the wait staff was very attentive (but not annoyingly so) and frequently re-filled our waters and fizzy Italian lemonade (now there's a drink I'm going to try again!).
Overall, a fantastic dinner experience, and all for less than $50. You can't go wrong with that!

The Dahlia Lounge Submitted by Lezah

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When Dave and I were looking for places to go to dinner our first night in Seattle, we kept running into this name: Chef Tom Douglas. About three or four restaurants were connected with this 'legendary' Seattle chef, and so for our second day in Seattle, we decided to hit one of these spots, The Dahlia Lounge, which is located in the Belltown area of Seattle.

We were seated immediately, drinks were brought and we were served homemade bread within a matter of minutes. I ordered the Cobb Salad, while Dave went for the cheeseburger.

I've always wanted to try a Cobb Salad, but rarely run across one on a restaurant menu - here was my chance. My salad came topped with a very rare beef and had bacon bits, guacamole, boiled egg, heritage cherry tomatoes, and blue cheese on the side. This meal was a taste bud fantasy! Exquisite! The best meal I've ever had - or, at any rate, certainly the best lunch.

Dave's cheeseburger was extremely rare (the waitress had checked with him that this was okay beforehand - apparently this is the way they serve it). They grind their own beef in the restaurant, so I guess that decreases the risk of any food-born illnesses. But frankly, I'd risk any food-born illness for a bite of that burger again. A moister, juicier, more flavourful meat I've never had.

For dessert, I ordered the coconut cream pie, while Dave ordered the devil's food cake and ice cream with a red wine swirl. But, back to my pie: now, I don't usually like pie so I rarely order/eat it, but I can't pass up coconut cream. This one was unbelievably lush, with real coconut inside, topped with real whipped cream and white chocolate flakes mingled with toasted coconut. I wasn't as keen on the crust, finding it a bit bland, but Dave loved it, pronouncing it 'shortcake-like'. Hey, what do I know? His cake was richer than a king, obviously made with top quality dark chocolate, and the ice cream had the most interesting after taste.

Dave had ordered a strawberry cream soda which was okay, he felt, but he wouldn't order one again: he doesn't like soda water, and this was basically soda water, cream and strawberry juice/flavouring - not really his thing. I had a lemonade, which was very flavourful, and finished with coffee (they serve Starbucks).

Our meal was around the $40 mark, and this is a restaurant which I will immediately look up next time I'm in Seattle.

Jamie's Kitchen Submitted by Lezah

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image from www.shock.com.au

Sometimes a show that seems okay on TV takes on another dimension when seen on DVD. Being able to watch three or four (or more!) episodes in a row is exactly what some shows need - '24' being a case in point. I have a really hard time watching that show on TV, but couldn't shut the thing off when we saw it on DVD - I was glued to the set.

Jamie's Kitchen is another show that falls into that category. I'd seen one or two partial episodes while flicking channels, and thought it was merely okay. But when we got it on DVD and watched each episode in sequence - WOW!

The idea behind the show is that Jamie Oliver, the 26 year old British wunderkind of the kitchen, takes his riches and puts his money where his mouth is. He hand-picks 15 young unemployed British youth and puts them into a crash course where they train to be chefs in a not-for-profit restaurant Jamie opens. We see the idea basically from its genesis, with Jamie culling his chosen 15 from the hundreds who turned up for the casting call, and hunting for a suitable restaurant to open.

As with many reality-type shows, the focus is often on the problems and failures that result: from students who can't cut it and drop out; to construction costs that rocket from the original 750,000 pounds to an incredible 2.9 million pounds - all out of Jamie's own pocket. Some of the students' successes are ignored or glossed over in favour of showing the negative aspects of the experience, but hey, I guess that's what sells in TV Land...
Meanwhile, Jamie is dealing with personal things of his own too, such as a wife who is always complaining that he's never home, the birth of his first child, and a rapidly spiraling personal debt...

Through it all, there is the question - is this all a publicity stunt? This question comes up amongst his neophyte chefs, and is the source of much disgruntled murmuring and mumbling early on, which soon rises to a dull roar.

However, as time progresses and you see not only the huge personal sacrifice Jamie is making but also the incredible amount of personal anguish he goes through to get some of his trainees through the program, it soon becomes clear that Jamie is, indeed, extremely sincere in what he is doing.

When you think of what he does here - takes 15 'unemployables' and tries to turn them into world class chefs - it is truly amazing.

And the fact that Jamie himself is a mere 26 years old? Ah, it gives me faith in the youth of today!

The Vance Hotel, Seattle Submitted by Lezah

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Dave and I went down to Seattle to catch The Go! Team concert, and decided to stay over-night rather than make the two hour trek back north once the show was over.

Back in June we had looked around on the internet and settled on what promised to be a very grand hotel, but never got around to booking it. So there we were, the day before the show, and we had nowhere to stay. We had discovered that our hotel of choice charged in excess of $400 per night for a room - time to re-think our plan! So back to the internet we went. Scared, I immediately jumped on the cheapest offering, a run of the mill looking place for $140. Still not happy, Dave looked further, and found the next cheapest place - The Vance. Frankly, even with the $40 price difference, there was no comparison - at least from what we could tell from the computer. We booked The Vance.

Arriving in Seattle, it was a very direct and quick 5-10 minutes off the freeway to the hotel. Turns out they offered valet parking and we didn't know where to park, so we took them up on the offer - for only $20 (a good price for parking in Seattle!) we had our car parked in a secure garage - no worries!

The lobby was under construction, but not distressingly so. Any construction-type work was taking place behind the temporary panels that had been put up - and they were personalized, having been autographed by pretty much anyone and everyone (ditto for the front desk).

Check in was quick, the staff was very pleasant, and we headed to our room.

Turns out one needs a key to gain access to the elevator (as well as the rooms), so there was an additional level of security there. Overall, the decor of the lobby and elevators was circa 1920, with lots of wood and marble and oriental carpets. Once on our floor, though, the style morphed into a blend of the old and the new: walls were a charcoal grey, the ceiling and door frames were painted black, and the room doors were papered with full sized black and white art photos depicting architectural scenes (for example, Roniq Bartanen's 'Courtyard, Paris' and 'Parc St. Claude, France' were two). Walking down the hall gave one the sensation of being in an art gallery. All the dark colours were off-set by the carpet, which was adorned with wide bands of black, grey and brilliant pink.

Our room was on the small side, but there was plenty of storage and the bulk of the room was taken up by the bed - and what a bed it was! All in white, piled high with pillows, it looked like a cloud - and felt like one! I don't think I've ever slept in such a comfortable bed before. The TV was very state of the art, all curved stainless steel, which echoed the decor in the bathroom, where the sink was a stainless steel bowl.

Due to construction, there was no restaurant facilities in the hotel, but in the morning the lobby was set up for a continental breakfast where one could come and browse.

Likewise, I didn't see any pool or gym, but frankly, we had no time to use such amenities anyway.

The hotel is very centrally located, right on the edge of the shopping district, and is a short walk over the hill to Pike Place Market, or an equally short walk through trendy Belltown (home of some great restaurants), or to the Space Needle/Experience Music Project.

One small note: the only slightly negative thing we experienced here were problems with the valets (well, 3 of the 4 we dealt with) being unable to start our vehicle - but then, it has an immobilizer on it and apparently that is not a common thing in Seattle, so I can understand the difficulties they had.

Overall, we were extremely happy with our stay and will definitely return there next time we're in town...

Alternate Ads Submitted by Sashi

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If you have elected to receive contextually targeted ads, you can make sure that your advertising space is always being used effectively, either by targeted Google ads, or by your own choice of content by specifying an image or ad server of your choice. However, you may not specify Google ads as your alternate ads.

So, first up, you need an Amazon.com Associate membership signup
. It’s free, so go and sign up.

Once you’ve signed up, login and click on ‘Build Links’. Then click on ‘Recommended Product Links’. Select the desired Product Category, keywords or subcategory, then select the ad size to correspond to your Google ad size.

You will then be provided with HTML code to be embedded in a page. Copy and paste that code in a text editor, and wrap the code with basic HTML tags like the html, head and body tags.

Now, you’ve gotta upload this file to a server where it can be easily accessed using your browser. I’ve hosted the file that I use for the above ad here. You can see the source code to see what I meant by wrapping the Amazon code with regular HTML, if you didn’t understand I was saying..

Then, login to your blog CMS, and view the HTML template of the page where you have your Google ad code.

Add this line: google_alternate_ad_url = "[full URL of the page containing the Amazon.com HTML code]"; just after this line: google_ad_client = "pub-xxxxxxxxxxxx"; .

And that’s it. You might never see Amazon ads displayed in place of Google ads if you have a high-traffic website with tonnes of marketable keywords, but if you’re like me, and you’re tired of PSAs, give this a go and you might catch a glimpse of an Amazon ad or two in the future.

Support The Blogathonners Submitted by Sashi

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So, yeah, go to Blogathon.org, register yourself for free and sponsor any blogger (or group of bloggers) in their very commendable attempts to raise money for charity.

The minimum amount you can pledge is USD $1 (RM 3.8). I was thinking of donating USD $5 for one Malaysian blogger, but then couldn’t decide which one to support, so I ended pledging USD $1 each for 6 of them. I’m Anonymous, by the way…

They are:

YvonneFoong.com/Eden Handicap Service Center

Footsteps in the Mirror/National Cancer Society of Malaysia

Bloggers Are Morons/Hospice-At-Home-Programme, Penang branch (under the Malaysia National Cancer Society)

.:: Dustyhawk :: Broken Mirror ::./Unicef Malaysia

PrimaryBasic/National Cancer Council (MAKNA)

reality really bites/National Kidney Foundation


(List copied from LcF)

While RM 3.8 USD $1 sounds like a small sum, many such small sums can add up to quite a lot.

So, go on then, support our bloggers.

UPDATE: And another thing - obviously, come the blogathon, the blogathonners will be pinging PPS quite a bit. Given PPS’ limitations, if everyone pings PPS at the same time as these bloggers, it’s possible that their message will get sidelined by other non-blogathon-pings, or conversely, the non-blogathon-pings might get drowned out by the sheer number of blogathon-pings. So perhaps, it might be prudent for us non-blogathonners to avoid pinging PPS during the 24-hour blogathon-period in order to give space for their message to be heard loud and clear.

Oh, wait. I just realized I don’t have many readers… Ah, screw it.

R.I.P. James “Scotty” Doohan Submitted by Sashi

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Star Trek’s Scotty dies aged 85

Finally, Scotty’s been beamed up.

Actor James Doohan, who played the chief engineer Montgomery Scott in Star Trek, has died at the age of 85.

Doohan, whose role was immortalized in the line “Beam me up, Scotty”, had been suffering from pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease, his agent said.

Asmussen

Submittted by The Political Heretic

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The latest two postings
from The Bad Reporter can be found here. I love the part about New York Times reporter Judith Miller converting to Islam while in jail. That's a classic.

I'll be out during the day tomorrow but I will return for more writing tomorrow evening and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's new stance on cloning and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's statements concerning Iraq's political future will be included in those writings.

Geraldine Fitzgerald 1914-2005 Submitted by Rob Williams

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Smart, beautiful, stubborn (constantly battling Warner Bros head honcho Jack Warner for better roles, resulting in her suspension from the studio numerous times) Irish actress.


Breathtaking and heartbreaking in "Dark Victory" with Bette Davis. I dare you not to cry when you watch the scene with she and Bette are in the garden when Bette starts to lose her sight.

Calling All Pirates Submitted by Rob Williams

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Did you know I played a pirate in a show at Sea World in the late 80s? I did. (In fact I think I’ve blogged about it before...) I wore short striped pants and a puffy shirt and an eye patch and carried a sword and even had to march in a parade following a big ship on wheels and several people dressed in dolphin and starfish costumes.

You can read about it in my article "A Pirate Life for Me" in Maisonneuve Magazine (Jan/Feb 2005 back issue).Pirate Life


i wonder if they'd let me audition for Pirates of the Carribean III? there's an open Casting Call
for it at the Ricardo Montalban Theater (hey, if Burt Reynolds has his own theater, certainly Mr. Roarke deserves one, right?) in Los Angeles on July 30! this is some of what they are looking for:

"Extreme characters and hideously unattractive types, ages 18-50. Odd body shapes or very lean to extremely skinny.  Missing teeth, wandering eyes and serial killer looks with real long hair & beards. Wigs & makeup are not what we're looking for.  We also need little people, very large sumo wrestler types, extremely tall or extremely short people, albinos, amputees. Any size or shape that is NOT average is best. All ethnicities.  Mostly men, very few women"...

Oh wait, that's the day of my wedding. Damn!

Busy Busy Submitted by Rob Williams

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I'm sorry i haven't been updating too often. I’m busy planning/prepping for the wedding.

Man, oh man, there is a lot to do. A lot of little teeny tiny important things to do and remember.

But it's all coming together. I'm not going to go into it (you can read the wedding blog wedding
to see what's going on), but let's just say they know me now at Party City.

Wish I had time to work on my book. I'm sneaking in time here and there, but certainly not as much as i should be.

I have to say, I'm getting a bit sad about leaving NYC. I love it here. I really do, but I just can't seem to get ahead here. Financially, I mean (I know, I know. Who can?). And I’d like to slow down a bit. and I'd like to be closer to my family (geographically and emotionally). So that's why moving to San Diego is going to be a good thing. I just know it. (Not to mention Ted going back to do his PhD at UCSD).  But still... NYC has been wonderful to me. I've loved it all. Even the hard times.

Ok. I'm not ready yet to get all emotional and sentimental and I do not  have time to do a long, drawn out blog so I'll leave it at that for now.

Well, that, and this picture of lanky, adorable 1940s actor/dancer Ray McDonald (Babes on Broadway, Till the Clouds Roll By).

Apple Dumpling Gangfight Submitted by Rob Williams

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I really should not be blogging, because it's 11:45 on Monday night and, if you didn't know it, I'm getting married this coming Saturday, July 30, to Ted. But most of you who read this probably know that.

Of course I'm going crazy, I'm busy, I'm stressed, I'm outta my head, but I'm also so very excited and happy. we're having a wonderful celebration, in the most amazing space, with the most incredible friends and family around us.

So, suffice it to say I probably won't be able to blog after tonight for several days (I hope to be back on Monday or so). In the meantime, here is a very cool story about a fellow Columbia MFA-er, Sam Apple, who won the Hemisphere Faux Faulkner contest and is causing quite a stir of controversy with his hilarious story. a sendup of both Faulkner and the Bush administration.

Way to go Sam!!

Read about the controversy here.
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controversy


read Sam's great great, award-winning story here
(click on Fiction, then click on the 2005 winner).

(and, order Sam's debut book: Schlepping Through the Alps : My Search for Austria's Jewish Past with Its Last Wandering Shepherd)Sam’s Book


Whew-- long title! Cool! The tentative title for my collection turned novel is also long (though wait, Sam's book is a title plus a subtitle. Does that count as one long title?)

And, speaking of my book. Yes, did a little work this week on it. Yes, still loving it (I love being able to take my time in chapters and really develop scenes, characters, moments). I love writing a novel!! Just wish I had more time to do it this week...

Better Late than Never... Paul Westerberg in Concert, February/05 by Timothy Burnett

Paul Westerberg: Commodore Ballroom February 17, 2005



" All the world's a stage, mine just happens to be a medicine cabinet" (Westerberg during the middle of his show)

The performance that Paul Westerberg and his Only Friends (aka ‘The Pharmacists’) gave was a rare experience. The 800 or so people who came to the show rarely ventured into a seat. Paul still loves what he does, rocking & rolling & rolling.

At times the sound got muffled as the soundman tried to push the amplitude; still, for the most part, it went unnoticed as the crowd sang along. 

This was Westerberg’s first date back after a brief hiatus and the new tunes that were added to the repertoire sometimes got caught up in themselves. Paul's solo with a six string was particularly indicative of just how much fun they were having. Paul enters the verse of his song and forgets the lyrics. The guitar player brings a written copy of the lyrics and hold it up... Paul tried his best to make it through the song but ultimately he ended up in laughter he could not control.  Rather than try to hide musical mistakes and lyrical glitches, the errors were turned into genuine moments of humor.  

They played a host of material culled from both the ‘Mats’ release and all Paul's solo releases including ‘Grandpaboy’. After offering the crowd to make requests, we were blessed with a kick ass version of ‘Smoke on the Water.’ The selections from his new C.D. "Folker" somehow come off a little more heartfelt than previous discs, and considering his past experiences with record companies he would be just as happy performing his latest work.