Shoveling Dirt on Summer 2010

With the kids beginning school in the coming days, if not now, that means Summer is nearing its end.  And for the first time in a while, I can say that I have a lot to say about it.  Now, last year was not as hot from a temperature standpoint, which made it one of the better Summers in a while.  Most of the fun, though, happened in the Fall.  This year, the fun began as Summer reared its ugly head (more on that later).  It began in June, when the sometime visitors, always up for a party band Widow made its annual (so it seems nowadays) trek to Kansas City.  The show got off to a late start (this becomes a trend with many Kansas City shows, as this piece will indicate) because one of the bands pulled off.  Since the band was also hungry, they gathered a few friends for the short trek to Jerusalem Cafe.  It originally began as ten people, but four dropped when the seating arrangements forced its hand.  And who knew that a Mediterranean restaurant can be so metal?

Back to the show, it began shortly after 10 PM and had its usual good moments.  The next weekend saw lots of things, from the 70th birthday celebration for Dear ol' Dad to what started as the week in Albuquerque.  The 15 hours on the road were long and somewhat arduous, but wasn't all that boring.  It's as Widow says, "Road trips are what you make of it," and the trek through Kansas and the Oklahoma panhandle didn't seem as boring as all the other times that I went through those areas.  New Mexico, the eastern half of it, was pretty barren, with only Clayton and Springer being any towns with any semblance of civilization.  There was a stop in the small town of Mora, since I have some relatives there, so a good hour break helped before hitting the road again for Albuquerque.

Along the way, this picture of Storrie Lake, near Las Vegas, NM, brought a good omen for what the week had in store for me.  Now, since I covered the entire week in an earlier piece, I won't go too much into the details, so here's a cliff notes version of what happened: Museum of Natural History and Old Town, as well as another birthday (the brother-in-law) Monday, baseball game Tuesday, Iron Maiden Wednesday, quiet time Thursday, nightlife on Friday, and the zoo on Saturday before heading home Sunday.  And on a side note, try not to go through Houston's airport because for such a large city, it gets cramped in a hurry and is clearly the worst airport that I've gone through.

The rest of Summer was relatively quiet, save for the Week of Metal, which included bands such as Valdur, URN, and Vektor making their way through town.  If only Kansas City would have more weeks like this, which means everyone who considers themselves a metalhead in Kansas City had better make the effort to attend shows.  Drop your excuses and just go to the shows, no matter if your friend's band is playing or not.

The week that was...

The image you see above was taken as the sun was setting on Storrie Lake near Las Vegas, NM, which is about two hours north of Albuquerque.  Unofficially, that view was the beginning of my week in New Mexico, which included a stop in a town called Mora, where I have family and is actually one of the cooler spots in New Mexico.  I didn't make it to Albuquerque until 10 PM local time.  Monday was a trip to the Museum of Natural History and Sciences and the Old Town Plaza, which was followed by a walk through the Nob Hill neighborhood, which is across the street from the University of New Mexico campus.

Tuesday marked baseball night, as I went to see the Albuquerque Isotopes play the Omaha Royals.  If the Isotopes name sounds familiar to you Simpsons fans, it is because the baseball team on the show was called the Springfield Isotopes.  You may also recall that in one episode, Homer staged a hunger strike in order to keep the Isotopes from relocating to Albuquerque.  The home team lost, and rumors of Dancing Homer surfacing were unfounded.  Wednesday was Iron Maiden, which was good times.  The venue was practically out in the middle of nowhere with winds sometimes being really strong.  If you want to see how that show went, read "Iron Maiden Thoughts," which was written a few days ago.  Thursday was nothing of note, and Friday was getting a small sample of the nightlife in Albuquerque.  It could be better, but it's still better than Kansas City right now.  Saturday was a do nothing day, meaning a day to relax before heading back to the sauna that is Kansas City.

Now, to the stuff that happened while I was away:  First, because I didn't have cable where I was, I could not watch the World Cup.  Therefore, I had to check the scores online, and one of the things that caught my eye was the horrific officiating.  Now, before you jump on me, this isn't confined to the United States/Slovenia game.  Germany/Serbia had too many fouls called that probably shouldn't have been called, and Brazil/Ivory Coast had some missed calls.

Also while I was away, I read that the Montreal Canadiens traded Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues for a couple of prospects.  Predictably, Canadiens fans are livid about the trade.  I don't blame them, as Halak proved himself in the playoffs.  The trade leaves Carey Price as the team's presumed number one goaltender, and given that Price hasn't shown that he can handle the pressure cooker that is Montreal, this is not good news.  So, why trade Halak, you may be asking?  Price was a former first round pick, which means more money is tied into him than Halak and since both are restricted free agents, someone was going to be moved. I personally think this move was stupid because Montreal is setting themselves and Price up for failure.  A change of scenery might have helped Price, as he hasn't been the same goaltender that burst onto the scene in 2008.  The only way this trade works out is if Halak is exposed as a fraud, the two prospects the Canadiens got in return pan out, and Price lives up to the first round status.