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Billy Joel separates from Katie Lee, 0-3 on marriages

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

The news today says that Billy Joel and his wife of five years, Katie Lee Joel, have separated.

It calls to my mind the words he wrote back in February of 2007 (the only words he’s written in sixteen years):

All My Life, I

Categories: Family Matters, Words about Music | 1 Comment »

Partying Like With a Rockstar, Part 2

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Insanely loyal readers will remember this post from back in February of 2007, in which I recounted my opportunity to perform, along with the University of Pennsylvania Band, with Simon Kirke – the legendary drummer from the bands Free and Bad Company (the latter of which, by the way, is going out on a reunion tour this summer – check it out if you can!).

Anyway, this past weekend, I had the honor of performing with Simon again – this time as part of an actual rock & roll band (Midlife Crisis) on his hit tune, All Right Now.

Here’s some video (I’m the guy in the not-very-rock-and-roll tie, playing keyboard in the back):

The young gentleman playing drums along with Simon is my cousin’s son, in whose honor this party was thrown (Mazel Tov, Austin!). My cousin is Jason Engelhardt of RockStarz, Inc., who has produced an excellent instructional video in conjunction with Simon Kirke. I heartily recommend you checking that out as well, either at the link above, or if you catch the Bad Company reunion tour, you can pick one up at the show.

At any rate, the prep before the show and the subsequent family get togethers after the party/show are my official excuse for the reduced blogging frequency around here lately.

I hope you feel it was worth the wait. I certainly do…

Categories: Family Matters, Words about Music | Comments Off on Partying Like With a Rockstar, Part 2

ISBS Review: The New Yankee Stadium

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

So remember that secret mission I mentioned on Thursday? The one that required a new digital camera? Well, it took two days to get all of the online documentation in place, but now I can discuss it. My older son, Avery, and I found ourselves in possession of two tickets to the New York Yankees’ Pre-Season workout at the newly opened Yankee Stadium. This was the first time the new stadium was opened to the public, and it afforded us the opportunity to spend several hours exploring the entire structure, sampling the food, taking in the new amenities and watching our beloved Yankees take batting and fielding practice.

Those who want the whole story of the day can read on below the fold. For everyone else, a collection of 57 photographs is here and a six-minute video retrospective is here. There’s also a separate video of Bernie Williams singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” here (which you can read more about if you continue below).

All in all, it was an amazing, historical, unforgettable day that neither my son nor I will ever forget. A reporter for the New York Post stopped us outside and asked me why I was a Yankee fan. Here’s what I told him:

And now, as they say, the rest of the story:

Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: Family Matters, New York, New York, Sports Talk | 5 Comments »

Random Acts of Blogging – 1/9/09

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

Happy New Year to all! We start off 2009 here at I Should Be Sleeping with a random smattering of things I’ve seen since New Year’s that I thought you’d find fascinating:

First, there’s Burger King. Last month, we discussed their new meat-scented cologne. Now, they’ve gone hi-tech. The Whopper Sacrifice

Categories: Family Matters, Money Talk, Political Rantings, Random Acts of Blogging, The World Wide Weird | Comments Off on Random Acts of Blogging – 1/9/09

What I Did on My Winter Vacation

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

The family and I returned to The Disney Wonder for the fourth time in as many years. This time, we had an extra day in Florida, so we also added a tour of the John F. Kennedy Space Center. I’ll post a full review of the trip at a later point (I realize now that I’ve discussed the parks in these pages, but never the cruise!), but for now, click on Mickey’s face for a photo tour!

NOTE: When the slideshow loads, don’t forget to click “Show Info” in the upper right corner of the screen to read the captions I’ve written. It’ll help explain what you’re looking at.

Categories: Family Matters, The Disneyverse | Comments Off on What I Did on My Winter Vacation

Home Renovation – Complete!

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

Well, we did it! Our home renovation is officially complete. All that’s left now is the arrival of two more couches (early January, they promise!) and hanging up a couple more pictures on the walls.

Nothing compared to designing the house, revising the architecture plans, picking out bathroom fixtures, choosing a hot tub, choosing an air tub, selecting a material for the deck, designing a kitchen, buying kitchen appliances, selecting kitchen cabinetry, selecting knobs and handles for cabinetry, deciding where each outlet, Internet jack, phone jack and cable jack would go, choosing the type and location of each and every light fixture, choosing the type of light switch in each room, deciding where each heating and air conditioning vent would go, choosing the air conditioners and heating units themselves, choosing the types of doors we wanted, deciding what kind of door knob or handle would go on each door, picking a wood floor, picking a stain color for the floor, choosing carpeting and area rugs for each room, finding new furniture for the kitchen and family rooms, choosing paint colors for each room, picking mirrors for each bathroom and the front hall, designing our walk-in closets, choosing two ceiling fans, picking out four flat-screen HDTV’s, selecting two home theater systems, determining where audio speakers would go in nine different rooms, and the other two hundred decisions we made in the last six months. Needless to say, it’s been quite a wild ride.

I’ll take credit for the initial design, but most of the credit for the rest of it goes to two people – my wife, Sherry, who was at the job site every single day, briefed me on the way home from work, and then reported back to the foreman all of the decisions that needed making, and David Ginfrida, our contractor, who not only showed up on time, provided us detailed plans and cost estimates, and built us a beautiful home, but did so aheadof schedule. Find another contractor that’ll do all that – I dare ya!

But wait, there’s more! What’s a good house construction project without multimedia!

Those who have been following along on our House Construction photo blog can click over there to see the full set of 183 photos, starting from the day Ginfrida put the big, red sign on our lawn until just this past weekend, when I photographed each finished room in all it’s glory.

Those who are happier with instant gratification (and really, who can blame you) can click on this summary photo set, which contains a more manageable thirty-three (33) photos, showing each completed room of the house without all those pesky construction photos to click through to get there.

And then, of course, there’s video. My House Demolition Video received critical acclaim from its (mostly biased) audience, including one claim of actual tears! The three-part, thirty minute tour of the construction site got more mixed reviews, including words like “fast-forward” and “boring.” The final installment incorporates feedback from the others – it’s set to music, so you don’t have to listen to my not-so-clever narration, and it’s only ten minutes long. Also, it’s right here:

Enjoy the tour, and if you’re ever in North Jersey, drop us a line! We’d love to have you over for the real-life version of the tour. It’s much more satisfying (particularly the part with the hot tub…)

Categories: Family Matters | 4 Comments »

Yankee Stadium’s Swan Song – Part 2

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

I realize I just posted about this a couple of days ago, but now that I’ve seen it, I feel the need to comment once again.

First of all, the Yankees are about the classiest organization in professional sports.

Categories: Family Matters, New York, New York, Sports Talk | 2 Comments »

Goodbye, Old Friend…

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

Tonight, I attended my final game at the current Yankee Stadium – 161st Street and River Ave in the Bronx, New York.

Categories: Family Matters, New York, New York, Sports Talk | 2 Comments »

House Pictures Return (again!)

Sunday, September 14th, 2008

To those who have been (rightly) bugging me about it, I finally got around to posting some more pictures of our House Construction project.

Our little slide show is up to 134 pictures at this point, so here’s what I’d suggest:

  1. If you want to see it from the beginning, click on the “House Construction Photoblog” picture at the left, or just click here.
  2. If you want to pick up where you left off (“only”

    Categories: Family Matters | Comments Off on House Pictures Return (again!)

    9/11/08

    Thursday, September 11th, 2008

    There are places I’ll remember
    All my life, though some have changed
    Some forever, not for better
    Some have gone and some remain
    All these places had their moments
    With lovers and friends, I still can recall
    Some are dead and some are living
    In my life, I’ve loved them all

    But of all these friends and lovers
    There is no one compares with you
    And these memories lose their meaning
    When I think of love as something new
    Though I know I’ll never lose affection
    For people and things that went before
    I know I’ll often stop and think about them
    In my life, I’ll love you more

    Though I know I’ll never lose affection
    For people and things that went before
    I know I’ll often stop and think about them
    In my life, I’ll love you more

    – John Lennon


    Seven years.

    For me, much has changed: My 16-month old is now a third grader, we’ve had another son who is now in kindergarten, I’ve changed jobs twice, we’ve gone through three leased cars, and we’re just about done renovating our home. We’ve made new friends, taken several trips, and built some lasting memories.

    And, of course, much remains the same: a loving and supportive family, great friends, and hobbies/interests that bind us together and bring us much happiness.

    As the poet said: some has changed, and some remains.

    I don’t typically spend a lot of time looking back, since there’s so much to look forward to. But on a somber day like this, I can’t help thinking that had I been there that day, Sherry would be without a husband, Avery would be without a father, and Brandon wouldn’t exist at all. And then I note that 3,000 local families are living that reality, now and forever. I count my blessings, and I grieve for those who deserve them, but don’t have them.

    I say it every year, and it probably sounds clich

    Categories: Family Matters, New York, New York | 2 Comments »

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