Row of Lanterns, Downtown Los Gatos

A few weeks ago Dave, Jennie, Cathrin and I went to downtown Los Gatos to have a drink and some dinner (it was yet another “Cathrin’s going away and we’re going to miss her so let’s all hangout” event.) It was such a fun night, and one of the highlights was walking up and down the sidewalk and peering into various shop windows. Of course, I was snapping away, and this was one of my favorite shots from that night.

Row of Lanterns, Downtown Los Gatos

A few weeks ago Dave, Jennie, Cathrin and I went to downtown Los Gatos to have a drink and some dinner (it was yet another “Cathrin’s going away and we’re going to miss her so let’s all hangout” event.) It was such a fun night, and one of the highlights was walking up and down the sidewalk and peering into various shop windows. Of course, I was snapping away, and this was one of my favorite shots from that night.

While playing some Hold’em poker with my mom and dad this weekend, we flipped on a TiVoed movie called “The Last Waltz”, a 1978 Scorsese film on the last concert for the Band. As various music legends graced the stage, one particularly caught my mother’s attention.

As Neil Young started to play along with the Band, my mother decided to announce that Neil Young had “soft, baby butt hands”. For someone who played guitar for a living, this is quite an accomplishment, no?

So how did my mother know this?

Well, it was 1970…

(and here is where the screen gets wiggly and you hear weird noises as you’re sucked into a flashback.. sort of)

My mother, at 15 or 16 years old, went to visit her aunt and uncle in Redwood City where they were caretakers of Neil Young’s ranch. When she showed up, Neil Young and Steven Stills were “jamming” in her uncle’s little red barn since the “Broken Arrow” studio hadn’t been completed yet.

When she met him, she shook his hands.. his “soft, baby butt hands.”

The phantom of the opera is there, inside my mind…

On Saturday I went with my mother and watched The Phantom of the Opera at our local movie theater. I was completely blown away. I loved.. LOVED.. the music (the organ!), the story, the costumes, the set design.. it was beautifully done.

I’m also thankful that Andrew Lloyd Webber had his hand in the movie because there’s a big chance it probably would have lost it’s theatrical integrity once hitting the movie screen.

I only wish one day I can see it on stage. The moments when the Phantom of the Opera speaks to the cast.. I can just imagine how powerful it must feel to be in a theatre. The way it was done on film, had the essence of a theatre performance though.

So I’m planning to drag Adam to it this week. I must see it again. But until then, I will just listen to the soundtrack over and over again.