Beaming with Pride

I'm very happy to report that we've been getting hits by someone typing the words "skinny dipping pics" into search engines. I'm even happier to report that if you do type "skinny dipping pics" into say, Yahoo, Perfect Duluth Day is ranked #6.

I am stuffed.

Just because there is alot of food to eat doesn't mean you have to eat it. This is a lesson that I try to learn over and over again.

Today was pretty slow. Remember what I said about being able to deal wit the heat? Well now I am not so sure. The humidity and heat picked it up a notch today so the planned bike ride was turned into short walks. Hollis kept saying "I can't take it so long" and I cant say I blame her.

So in between walks I spent a bunch of time watching the Tour De France. Today was the longest stage of the Tour and the first big mountain day. Lance and the Postal team led the Peleton all day but finished 6 minutes or so behind the winner. Mr. Armstrong remains in second place 2:34 behind the leader, a Frenchman whose name I can't remember.

Tomorrow is a day off and we will be driving to Nice, France. Last tour we spent a night there too and we are looking forward to returning to a Mexican restaurant that made some of the most memorable food of my life.

Now I am going to take a shower and relax.

till next time.

scott-starfire-lunt**

Ferraro, Italy. I just may move here.

I am sitting outside of the Radiohead production office listening to the last song of the Radiohead set realizing that Thom Yorke is one hell of a singer. I caught more of their show tonight than I have so far and it dawned on me just how much he sings. He is practically holding a note for nearly the whole 2 hour show.

We are in Ferraro, Italy by the way for the first of two nights and I think I may move here. The language is gorgeous, the city is perfect and I could handle the heat. We set off from Florence at mid-day after rescuing my digital camera from the restaurant we ate at last night. The drive went quickly, maybe because of the Harry Potter book I am caught up in or maybe just because it was only 90 miles. As is our custom we stopped for coffee at a gas station along the way. The gas stations in Europe are so much better, you can buy REAL food and get a decent cappucino.

Our hotel for the next two days is literally right behind the stage and very cozy. Tomorrow I am hoping to take one of the hotel bikes for a ride about the city. More about Ferrara. In my limited 10 block walk all I can say is WOW. Hollis and I went strolling during before Low took the stage and everywhere you look is perfect. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow but you really just have to come here to believe. The streets are paved wit small rocks that are just a handfull in size and irregular. Along the side of the very narrow roads are a smooth strip for riding bikes. The greatest thing about all of Italy is the shutters which people pull shut in the morning to combat the days heat. After about 5PM things start to cool down and the shutters are flung open to let in the coolness. By 10PM the air is perfect and there is always a slight breeze to wash away the days punishment.

What else? Oh beyond our regular 4 rooms in the hotel we have an extra suite for the dressing room and if you look out the window you can see the 6000 plus Radiohead fans pushing towards the front of the stage. On two sides is an old castle and the other sides are made up of our hotel and another one. The folks in the other hotel had the BEST view around for the show. I will try to capture this on my camera and post tomorrow.

I best be running now because the Radiohead office is closing and I am not sure if they will shut down the connection. Sleep tight and go to Green Man if you can.

lovelove

scotty

It's not about being bored, or the like. It's really that he's in Italy. That's beyond cool. It's snazzy. I'm prepared to acknowledge a measure of reasoned jealousy toward the esteemed Mr. Starfire. I think we're due that here perfectduluthday.

However, in my defense, it is a really cool grill.

Finally, if I manage to post from Florida next week, it's still no comparison. Europe is way cooler... er... snazzier.

Regardless, I really do look forward to Starfire's Livewires. We do need more photos.

Lee, you're making it seem like we're all bored in Duluth. Hey, no matter where you are in the world, you gotta make your own fun, buddy.

Well... um... the sun's out here, and... man... a castle? How can you have anything to do with Geek Prom?

Hello.

Back on the Radiohead bandwidth again and we are staying next door to a castle. More to come.

Hey Green Man is on the Citypages - A-List.

Lefty and I are spinning at Starfire lounge tonight. Afterwords we are packing up for a random radio invasion of Greenman. Hope to see you there.

Sure... Starfire may be having an earthshatteringly good time in Europe... but is he playing the best round of Civilization III ever? In Duluth? While it's foggy? Huh? I don't think so.

In the interest of accuracy add 7 hours to the time of post to make up for time zone differences.

day off

Well after 2 hard days of work we have a day off. The Radioheaddies may have packed up and headed north but we have stayed put in Florence. I am happy to report that the U.S.A. (me) has emerged victorius against Great Britain(tour manager Matt) in a 4 length hotel pool swim challenge. The race was won in the turns so I would like to send a big thank you to all of my swim coaches that made me work so hard on technique. I believe there may be a challenge later this evening with Mr Zak Sally getting into lane 3. I can beat that skinny Bass player anyday.

So show number 3 was awesome. Chris the sound guy has finally got the hang of mixing these outdoor shows and the band has a new found confidence. Alan was real chatty with the crowd last night and those Italians were eating it up. Low has been rocking it out a bit more than usual but they play the quiet ones too. I would say that 80 percent of the audience was really into listening and the whole crowd was quite respectful. AT one point I heard a request shouted out from the Radiohead tent for "Dinosaur Act" and when they did play it Colin ran up to the side stage and sang along. He said it was his favorite Low song.

Everybody has really been great to us and I will miss the Italians when we head off to France. Speaking of France the entertainment industry is currently on strike. That includes the stage hands and we may run into some protesting. The striking Frenchmen tried to stop a Rolling Stones show from happening yesterday but I believe the show went on as planned.

I guess that is about it for now. Tonight we are all going to dinner at 6 if anyone is in the neighborhood. Traditional Tuscan fare is our goal.

Oh the new photos at the top of the page were from the backstage area. Damn we are lucky. I wish everyone could be here.

Oh one more thing. The Tour De France coverage here is fantastic. They cover every stage from beginning to end on at least 2 channels and one is in English. I don't mind listening in French though.

scotty-the rawk nanny

He's a Photographer Now

Notice that the photos at the top of the page have changed to Starfire's photos of Florence, Italy. To see them larger, click here and here.

I'll post 'em when I get 'em. These shots are beautiful, but where are the people? The citizens of Duluth are jealous of your endeavors, Mr. Starfire, and need to see more skinny rock-star arms in order to be appeased.

Duluth... light haze... cool... chance of rain. I bought a new grill. Ah hell... just post the pics.

God Bless Radiohead.

They have a wireless connection setup backstage and I am using Alans Mac with Airport to post this right now. Low just finished sound checking "Fearless" and life is real good. Now I can theoretically FTP photos as they are happening. Maybe I will just be a good nanny.

later

Hello. The timer says I have 11 minutes left and these foreign keyboards drive me nutty. Speaking of nutty, I had some Nuttela on my Croissant this morning. MMM-MMM good.

So we made it to Florence o.k. the drive was supposed to take 4 hours but really took 5 1/2 and there is no air conditioning which is not a problem if we keep moving. It is a problem when we get stuck in traffic. But really I am not complaining. The Florence shows are on the top of the biggest hill and the backstage area has a panoramic view of the city. I still don't have a good feel for the layout of Florence yet so I can't give you any landmarks.

We are all starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the Radiohead crew and band. Colin has been extra nice to us all and I even saw him singing along with the Low songs.

Highlights.

-Sitting on the stage with Hollis while the whole crowd of 6000 plus sang along on "the Lamb"

-Eating Gnocci with Pesto sauce while watching the sun set over Florence.

-Sittin on stage listening to In Metal and having Hollis fall asleep in my lap.

-Italian Coffee.

ONly 2 minutes left. I will try to get some more time soon. Right now I am going to dip in the pool.

out-----

Good morning from Hermantown, Minnesota.

Man... there's just no comparison. I'm just going to get another cup of coffee.

Good morning from Bergamo, Italy.

Most of you are snug in bed while I type this. Today is our second full day of Radiohead mania and it is going very well. I really had no idea what to expect from these shows but I am happy to report things are pretty good. We arrived pretty early to the venue yesterday which was an enclosed Track and Field type of place right next door to a Football arena. That is soceer to us americanos. We were given our tour laminates and shown our dressing room which is normally used as a press conference room after football games. We decided to check into the hotel and kill some time until sound check.

Bergamo is a beautiful city and very clean, at least what I have seen is. The weather is in the 90's but the humidity is low and it cools off at night. The Italians have been wonderful to us and of course the food is great.

When we went back to the venue Radiohead was finishing up with there sound check and they sounded real good. As they came off the stage they all welcomed us which made me feel a bit more comfortable. I still feel like I shouldn't quite be back stage but I will get over it.

Today we are heading to Florence where they will play 2 shows and then we have a day off to explore and walk and see art and culture and drink wine. Yeah.

I am having fun getting to know Karla as well. She is a really great person who writes speeches for a democratic goverment type guy in New York when she is not off playing music. He may even be running for mayor i guess. Well it is almost time to head out of town so have a great day and I will update when I can.

Whooo! Yeah! Explosives and booze! Aw-right! How do you measure 4th of July success? Ten fingers on the 5th of July.

Cacophany Forever

I found this link today over at Chuck's Blogumentary about the rising trend of "flash mobs" in NYC and now Minneapolis and San Francisco. Flash mobs are the shit--a large mob of strangers, usually numbering from 100-200, congregate at a particular place at a particular time in order to act out some sort of weirdness. At the last one in NYC, around 150 people showed up at the rug department at Macy's and told the clerks that they were a communal group from New Jersey, and that they were interested in purchasing a new "love rug" for the warehouse in which they lived.

A few months ago, I talked on my blog about cacophany societies, which are dedicated to spreading weirdness by throwing strange gatherings such as "bad Santa Claus outfit" parties, or by stunts such as filling teddy bears with cement and leaving them around town.

I need more free time.