Out of mouth of babes....

Last night, my brother-in-law, Stephen, and I were lightly arguing over what constitute a cole slaw.  And the cole slaw that he likes is not really a cole slaw - it is one of those Asian-American delicacy that has a mixture of cabbage, vinegar, sesame seeds and ramen noodles.  I was splitting hairs with him by saying that it is not THE cole slaw that every knows and hates to eat. I hate the stuff but I love the Asian version.  Well, Stephen appealed to a higher authority: his mom.  "Well, my mom calls it Cole Slaw so it must be Cole Slaw!"  I came back with a riposte: "Uh, that's circular argument and your mom is not the reference cook book!"  Gigi was doing her homework and was listening to us teasing each other about cole slaw.  Finally, she spoke with an authoritative voice: "Steve, that's an opinion not a fact!"  I smiled and was proud that Gigi agrees with me and I turned to her and said, "Oh Gigi I love you!  You are so beautiful!"  Without missing a beat she replied, "Now that's not an opinion - that's a fact!"

She's 6 years old. Man, what is she going to be like when she turns 13? Should be interesting to see.... Stay tuned!

A Quasi-Religious Experience

Tonight we went to the highly anticipated The Swell Season concert! They were incredible!  You might know them from their musical movie, Once.  Anyway, it is one thing to hear them play in the movie or on CD but it is a whole 'nother thing to hear them live.  It was powerful...almost like a religious experience.  Glen played the guitar that he used when playing on the streets. As you can see from this picture - it is quite worn out.

At one point he stepped away from the microphone and played his heart out the song that he used to play on the streets - Say It To Me Now. It was moving...

The highlight was the encore and they played my favorite song, Falling Slowly.   Two other mentionables: (1)they had one of their band member, the fiddler, play an incredible composition - one in which he would record the tracks while playing and then repeat them while simultaneously playing - it was a beautiful fiddling.  (2) At one point a girl stood up and yelled out, "It is my birthday today and I want a hug."  Incredibly, Glen obliged!  The whole band stood up and waited for her to come on stage and they hugged her and hugged each other.  I read her lips when she hugged him, "Thanks for making this the best birthday ever!"  This is just one example of how they really engaged the audience. Glen would tell stories or crack jokes and while playing he would encourage the audience to hum a tune.  It was a great experience. One that I will never forget....