Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Early computer


This is a vintage piece from the Computing Scale Company of Dayton, OH, which later became part of IBM.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Famous Steinberg


This is me with a copy of the actual New Yorker with the Steinberg cover called "The World as Seen from New York's 9th Avenue." Steinberg is one of my heroes.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas at First Covenant


I played the Christmas Eve service at First Covenant. Lots of Christmas carols and one good gospel number. Ten strings and ten brass, plus rhythm section.

Monday, December 21, 2009

It was raining in Fair Oaks...


...so the chickens were all hanging out in front of the Chamber of Commerce building.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Mysterious corner of the Tower Cafe


We had the best mole sauce ever tonight. Also saw Up in the Air; excellent movie. Ran into Randy Solorio and his daughter (I know them from Best of Broadway)... they were going in to see Avatar.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

A Russian wedding cake


The baker didn't know the word for it in English. You could stop a bullet with the frosting.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Antonio and me


Inside a piano I found a sticker from Antonio Bombal, my late teacher. I put my service record card next to the sticker.

It's bad enough to find a Thomas Kinkade


... but in this KFC restroom, there is an imitation Thomas Kinkade. Kitsch squared.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

New musical


I assume this is a musical version of the Trojan War. I didn't look at it, but I can't wait to see the New York Times review.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

I got back my box of piano leg repair tools


...and my client had packed them much more neatly than I would ever have. I hate it when amateurs do my job better than I do.

Monday, December 14, 2009

If you're in the drive-through lane at McDonald's...


...the one on Freeport near Taylor's Market, then you can look at this nice mural painted on a nearby wall. Note Ronald McDonald holding a surfboard.

Got my tuxedo back


I played in Grass Valley on December 2. Then on December 12, I was on my way out to a job when I realized that I couldn't find my tuxedo jacket! Turns out it was still hanging in the garment bag backstage at the Veterans Hall! Jennifer and I drove out tonight to retrieve it.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Our Christmas party


Matias Bombal emceed our Christmas cabaret and did a great job! Martin Beal, Brady McKay, and Rachel Songer all bonded over the craft of singing.

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Jon inside tent


The Tower Cafe set up a heated tent outside where people could wait for their table. They give you a wireless coaster which vibrates and blinks when your table is ready. Jon put it under his hat and the camera on my phone interpreted the little light from the coaster as a big halo.

Friday, December 04, 2009

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Tiny banjo...


...hanging next to a tiny example of sheet music, printed smaller to save paper during World War I.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Got the cards out


As always, we finished the cards and newsletter by December 1. A great way to stay in touch, though it seems less urgent in the Facebook era.

Guitar footpedals at 1st Covenant


...tacked to a piece of plywood...

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Wii Sports Resort


After a friend brought it over for Thanksgiving, I bought Wii Sports Resort. It's worth the purchase for the table tennis game alone, though it has 11 other games included. It feels and sounds exactly like playing real table tennis.

Jesus rocks!


Steve, the guitarist at First Covenant, has this sticker on his guitar case.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

At the Studio Theatre dressing room...


...there is a wonderful wall where actors have signed the bricks.

Alien technology fails us again

The sound guy at the show had a dead battery in his truck so John asked me if I could give him a jump. But when I brought my Prius over and popped the hood, he couldn't find the battery.
I found out later that the battery is in the back with the spare tire.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Playing in the rain


Tonight the John Skinner Band played at the Christmas tree lighting as usual. It rained and we got pretty wet. Fortunately, the security guys put up umbrellas and I don't think anything got permanently damaged.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Turning innocent kids into criminals


Since Rachel is visiting, I went to Hollywood Video to rent a copy of Mario Kart for the Wii. The salesman told me that all the copies were out; some were damaged, others were missing, and some were "referred to a collection agency."

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Unbelievable concert


I went to a house concert at the home of John and Daphne Bruno in Davis: Tamir Hendelman (godlike) on piano, Jeff Clayton on reeds. Stupendous. They both play in the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

No farting in this bathroom


I would love to have been in the meeting where they decided how to graphically represent farts.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The wait is over


There was until recently a restaurant in Granite Bay called Toast. It went out of business. Finally, I can say: "Toast is toast."