headbangin’ with the fam
April 17th, 2009 | Uncategorized
I’m visiting my mom in PA, and this afternoon after going to the post office, getting groceries, and procuring a patio set at Target, we swung by a heavy metal concert. My brother John was playing keyboards for a group called Pulled Under up at Penn State. See him back there? Behind the guitarist? That’s my mom in the foreground, the only person at the event with gray hair. Well, besides me. She totally loves this music, and wanted to stand right in front of the speakers. We almost got knocked over by some moshers.
Here’s mom with the band backstage. That’s my bro right behind her. (Not the guy with the awesome facial piercings, the other one.)
Someone on the last post asked why I didn’t just fly from VT to PA to see my mom. It’s not that I’m afraid of flying. It’s not that it’s prohibitively expensive. I was trying to figure out a way to explain how I feel about flying, but then I found this cartoon by John O’Brien in the latest New Yorker which pretty much sums it up.
You go through the doors of the correctional facility, down a jetway, and onto a plane. Why go to prison when you can drive?
65 Responses to “headbangin’ with the fam”
Well I wz the one who asked, and, yup, the John O’Brien cartoon sums it up nicely. 🙂
I’m touched to see these pix of your fam – thanks for sharing them with us. Hope you’re having a wonderful time. It was 70 degrees in Boston today — yeeeehaaawwww! (no storm dark scary cloud brewing issues here, no siree!)
Besides, driving is more environmentally-friendly than flying.
Your mom fits right in with the band with her black jacket and her shades. She looks so tiny surrounded by them. Does she really love heavy metal music?!?! or just loves listening because your bro is in the band???
Your Mom is totally cool. As the song says, “it’s better to burn out than to fade away”. I’m an oldie and plan to keep on learning and rocking as long as possible.
Ted
@Ellen O. – that was my Stuart ref in last thread (“maybe it’s the Stuart in her”).
you are the most beautiful person i have ever seen…
yay Moms that rock. that is what it’s like to fly.
You kids with TV’s have probably already seen The Colbert Coalition’s Anti-Gay Marriage Ad, to which one of my facebook buddies posted a link that I can’t seem to copy here, but if you were very afraid, in the last thread, I’d recommend hopping right on it.
Very cool pics of the fam, AB. Your mom seems pretty together, from the look of her hairstyle and demeanor.
@ Ellen O- is flying always more eco-friendly than driving? Wouldn’t 200 people in a plane that’s fuel efficient (which may not exist– I dunno), be better than 200 individuals driving the same distance in older, non-efficient cars?
I don’t mean to suggest driving is wrong– I’m just wondering about the assumptions we make about plane vs car emissions. I have very little specific knowledge in this regard, so I really don’t know the answer.
road trips are way better than flying. you know what’s even better? train trips! we need more trains! i recently went from wisconsin to texas on an amtrak with my two young sons. it was like driving, but i didn’t have to stop to pee, eat, or sleep. & i got to watch all the scenery. and you can carry on anything, even your own alcohol. im not sure why im doing a promotion for amtrak in your comments…. but it was cool.
this is my first time to your blog. i like your work & your family looks awesome.
Jain:
You gotta love the National Organization for Marriage’s acronym. NOM NOM NOM!!!
Deland (and all y’all)- have you seen Colbert’s take on NOM’s ad? I found this on the Huff Po http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/17/the-colbert-coalitions-an_n_188124.html
BrooklynPhil:
The thing about airplane emissions is that they’re deposited directly into the atmosphere, thus having a greater effect than ground level emissions. Also, according to this website: http://www.4ecotips.com/eco/article_show.php?aid=671&id=287, “The emissions from a single transatlantic flight is double than that coming from an average car in the US for a whole year”.
I just amtraked from Kissimmee FL to West Palm Beach, and it was pretty depressing: Four hours of hurricane-ravaged trailers and burnt-out shotgun shacks. Thank goodness for the occasional citrus plantation.
I was also on the receiving end of the most atrocious pick-up line I’ve ever heard. A stumbling drunk biker lady looked me up and down and said “If I’d known I was gonna sit next to you, I’d have put my teeth in!”
You don’t get that kind of action on a plane!
A.B., your mom even dressed goth! : )
Oh, btw, ginjoint (who began the Dark Scary Stormclouds thread in the previous post) and others… here’s is Rachel Maddow’s take on the production value of the “National Organization for Marriage” anti-gay marriage ad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7NQ3QUP0Dc
AND, here is a later Rachel Maddow clip about how the anti-gay marriage folks have tried to censor her earlier commentary on their inadvertently hilarous anti-gay marriage ad!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgC5ANURIYc
Alison, all those dudes who shave their heads? Lots of them would show gray if they let it grow in, I bet. Pattern baldness, too.
DeLand et al–
not to mention the group calling itself 4 Million 4 Marriage, which, if Rachel Maddow is to be believed (and I certainly think she is), want people to call them by their initials: 4 M4M.
Ya can’t make this stuff up…
I’m a huge advocate for train travel, and happily I’ve never been subjected to a come-on like Dr. E’s (ugh!). Since I live on a major rail hub (NYC), with many friends and business contacts in Washington & Boston, I’m fortunate to be able to take advantage of Amtrak, which definitely has some reliability problems.
Yay for the train! Definitely eco-friendlier. Britain’s trains aren’t the most reliable either but I’d never imagine going on a journey of any distance in Britain any other way. A fairly comfy seat, you can eat your own food and drink your own booze, you can walk up and down and stretch your legs. Much better than driving.
AB: your Mum is so cool. I don’t know what your elder brother does, but to have a successful cartoonist daughter and a son who plays keyboards in a metal band gives her serious coolness kudos. Espesh as she goes to his concerts! She’ll be joining the Grey Panthers next!
I miss State College
Some details please on your visit to Clarion. I would not want to miss it!!!
Oh Dr. E., that is too much! 🙂
**sigh** Train travel and “security”. City centre to city centre, high speed, and to date very little of the take-off-your-shoes nonsense (although the Eurostar line, traversing the English Channel undersea, does require screening of carry-on luggage and a gentle pat-down). I do wonder, however: Why, particularly in Europe, have the disaffected — yes, a euphemism for “Islamists” — not recognised the immense vulnerability of high-speed trains? Thousands of kilometres of rail network and waggon yards are impossible to monitor seamlessly. A log or some masonry from an overpass, a bit of gelignite tucked up against a rail, and the nation would be panicked. A trainful of persons overturned and skidded at 250 kph, a tanker of toxic chemicals blown into the air as a goods train rumbles through a city… One such event and our rail stations will become fortified zones just as airports have done.
@Alex K
Public transport security is much like military planning… the people in charge are always looking backward fighting the last war. Maginot Line, anyone?
Some half-wit tries to light his shoe… now we all remove our shoes. Tweezers are suddenly considered dangerous objects… when was the last time you heard of someone being tweezed to death? A nearly empty toothpaste tube with two squeezes left in it is confiscated because it once held more than three ounces of product.
None of these are actual security measures of course. They are laughable parodies of real security which the poor traveling public must endure for the privilege of being strapped in a cigar tube with wings. The penitentiary jetway cartoon is dead accurate.
Security of the future… Welcome to the airport psych ward, where you will remove your sharps, your ligatures, and perhaps your clothes. We will be required to completely strip, and our clothing will be replaced with a disposable Tyvek suit for the duration of our flight. There will be a fee for the Tyvek suit.
And then the airlines have the great fun of abusing travelers. It used to be they served bad airline food. Now they serve no food at all. Blanket? Pillow? You’ll have to pay for the privilege of using the unsanitary ones they offer on the plane. Nature calling? If this is a short flight, such as the NY-DC shuttle, you won’t be allowed out of your seat for the entire flight. Hope you’re wearing adult diapers, and I really hope I’m not sitting next to you.
I’d rather drive, thank you. Even with the vagaries of rest stop bathrooms and bad truck stop coffee, it’s a nicer experience. I get to hear radio stations far afield from my usual listening, see some pretty countryside, and occasionally stop off at interesting places in what we coastal types call “flyover country.”
Nice rant, Hairball! Very cathartic.
@ H_o_H, AB: Agreed right down to the last tittle and jot. I like driving in the United States and in Canada. The roads and the scenery are pleasures that Europe doesn’t afford one. If I have the time: I drive.
And as for security?
I took my pack of sushi, and my wooden chopsticks, on the BA flight to Philadelphia — and another pack, ditto, on the BA flight back.
As my mother would have said, watching me wield those chopsticks, “Somebody could put their eye out on those things!” Including a captive steward.
The problem with holding a BA steward captive, however, is that he simply looks over his shoulder impishly at one and says, “Ooh! Captive, am I? Don’t tease!”
Would an Amtrak porter be similarly sportive?
@Alex K. HAAAAAA!
I was on a flight somewhere–sorry, I can’t remember the verisimilitudinous details of which airline or what destination–and as we were boarding, a little kid was screaming at the top of her lungs, no one could calm her down. Two female flight attendants were trying to help the parents to no avail, but then a male flight attendant joined in. The baby’s jaw dropped to see this big man cooing at her in an extremely maternal manner, and she immediately shut up. He turned triumphantly on his heel, saying “leave it to the gay guy.” To much general applause.
I took Amtrak for the first time last summer in California, and I have to say, it was pretty cool. You’re not jammed in and immobile like you are on (God forbid) a bus. It doesn’t leave the ground. No strict security measures. You don’t have to stop to get a snack or pee. You can fall asleep without endangering your life. I would definitely do it again.
I don’t mind driving, dislike flying, and hate taking the bus long distances (although I take one to work three days a week). The train is kind of ideal. I wish there were more train routes in the U.S.
Ahem, pardon me, but i am way excited about your Clarion visit. Any details forthcoming?
the other bruna on this post needs to stop leaving creepy comments because it makes the other bruna that reads this post reluctant to write comments. thanks.
…i said that wrong…it makes *me* reluctant to… anyway.
Shadocat–thanks for the link–not a cable subscriber, and I don’t routinely peruse the interwebs, so get to watch little Colbert or Maddow for that matter.
For the record: I love flying. I’m petite, so I fit in the seats. I find driving super boring, too slow, and tedious. I like how fast the plane is, and love travelling. No way could I have driven to Brazil last year! As for the lack of food, pillows, etc, I still see air travel as magical and privileged. I didn’t fly till I was 18, so don’t take it for granted.
Dr. E, thanks for making me lol with the pick-up line!
for me it’s all about musculo-skeletal issues that make long road trips too hard on the body (suggestions welcome — I use a back support pillow & memory foam to harden the seat cushion, and try to take breaks, but still…). And I never flew till I was 18 either. When airlines got deregulated in the 80s, flying suddenly became affordable to many more pple. This certainly changed global tourism…. And does everyone know that Ronald Reagan, when he was CA gov, wrecked the plan to build a top-rate first-class fast train system in the US?
But you know that our current Pres is working on that train thing right? or wants to?? I like Southwest… none of that attitude… you gotta try them if you haven’t. And they still give out free bacteria infected pillows and blankies!
Recently flew out of Hartford Conn and I had the first time experience of being checked for explosives in a booth that blows a burst of air up your… uhm… up at you from below… hadn’t seen those contraptions before.
It was very clear which line was being shifted into the blow air up your arse booth, there was only one booth, so I asked the air police lady… uhm, wouldn’t the person with the explosives just get into one of the other lines? she said, only if they knew the airport really well…
I guess she meant knew the airport well enough to know which line was being screened… but, uhm, even i, first time to that airport, could look up ahead and see which line was being steered towards the contraption before I chose a line… it seemed all for show to me… odd indeed.
@Alex K: I remember in the 80s and 90s when British Rail removed all the rubbish bins (trash cans?) from every railway station and railway train in the land because of the threat of IRA bombs just simply dumped in them. It was such a pain.
I don’t know – are we conditioned to think of terrorists more efficient and nasty and threatening by TV progs like “24” and The James Bond and Jason Bourne films?
I, too, prefer to fly Southwest whenever possible. It has a much more laid-back feel than the other airlines, and they don’t charge you extra for much of anything. Considering how anxious flying makes me, any little bit helps.
I also like JetBlue because you can watch tv on the plane. But their website is so clunky I don’t usually even bother trying it.
well-said, Ian: rubbish bins indeed = trash cans (or “trash barrels”) in the US.
Last Oct.? I painted a 20 ft. banner that read ” Sen Obama: US Needs World Class Rail System” but as I was making it I felt that it would be unlikely to ever find Obama’s eyes at that night’s rally because of all the present day restrictions and I was right–no banners were allowed. It’s all sanitized. I also hoped I could get a friend to stand with me along a major road between the rally and the airport but alas someone at the rally told me he heilcoptered into the campus. so so much for the old days when the voiceless had the medium of banners at least to reach the now more insular Presidents. But I purposely used “World Class” to appeal to American pride (and ego). A great rail system would be such a boon to the economic disadvantaged who cannot afford commutes for example to visit loved ones in nursing homes etc or perhaps a commute to decent work situation. Or even a nice personal outing a couple hours away. Here in the Midwest we have little in the way of commute options.
Does anyone know about how a rail system across the midwest could be built these days with such an increase in population i.e. wouldn’t it have to scar up people’s neighborhoods or farms and property. I know, I know, eminent domain…anybody up on that?(If anyone’s stil reading!)
Interesting article in Monday’s Wall Street Journal about how high speed bullet trains are changing Spain:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124018395386633143.html
I’ll bet they have security on those trains, however. The article says that the ETA is targeting those involved in construction of the line to the Basque region.
This brings back another memory of stupid airport security for me… In the early 1980s (post-Franco, but before the Barcelona Olympics), I was changing planes in Madrid en route to Barcelona. Passengers were transported to the connecting flight via bus, and had to walk on the tarmac to board the next plane. Outside the plane, in neat rows, was our luggage. Passengers had to walk over to their bags and identify them, baggage handlers scrutinized the tags and the ticket stubs, and then loaded the bags on the plane while we climbed the stairs to board.
I remember thinking that this was a stupid security measure, because if there were an ETA member willing to commit suicide, it didn’t matter that the bags were matched to the passengers. I also recall thinking that this security measure wouldn’t work if the ETA planted a bomb in an unwitting passenger’s luggage.
Unfortunately, my thoughts proved prescient; a few years later Pan Am 103 was bombed via a rigged radio sent via an unwitting passenger, the bomber’s pregnant fiancée. And then there were 19 folks on 9/11/01 who decided to commit suicide by using jetliners as guided missles.
In the “fighting the last war” modality, we then had to endure answering stupid questions at airport check in… “Did an unknown person give you anything or put anything in your luggage without your knowlege?” Uh, how exactly would I know this if this was an unknown person doing this without my knowledge? “Did you pack your own bags?” Probably 50% of business travelers lie and say “Yes.” Do you really think all those guys packed their own bags, or they had their wives/girlfriends do it for them?
Just because a person packs her/his own bags doesn’t mean there won’t be surprises in them. I once found a cat toy my feline had thoughtfully packed for me among the socks and underwear.
But the best surprises happen to the luggage screeners. A friend told me of the time her bag was inspected because there was something the screener oouldn’t identify on the X-ray. The object? A large silicone sex toy. She said the look on the screener’s face was priceless as she rummaged through the items in the suitcase, found the sex toy, and quickly withdrew her hands and shooed my friend on her way.
Makky, i think what I heard on NPR was that they were going to do studies to see where the rail lines could run… where there was a place for them… and other such research towards creating a “world class!” rail system in the US.
and HOH… when I traveled to Israel in 1978 on El Al they screened us really cautiously and those were their questions as well… did you pack your own bag, when did you pack it, did anyone ask you to carry anything with you or for you..
and then they opened the bag and asked, is this how it looked when you packed it or when you last opened it… so, not new questions, just new for US airport security…. but the air jets were the best I’ve seen yet… next time I will wear a skirt, it was all Marilyn Monroe over the vent.
None-too-bright US Marine is arrested at Boston’s Logan airport with weapon, ammunition, and “bomb-making materials” in his checked luggage:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/04/us_marine_arres.html
The only reason the TSA screened his luggage at Boston is because baggage handlers screwed up and sent his luggage to baggage claim by mistake, instead of sending it to his connecting flight.
This should shut up the folks who were complaining about DHS risk assessment of returning veterans as potential recruitees for right-wing terrorist groups. Just like those guys who blew up the Murrah Fed Bldg in Oklahoma City exactly 14 years ago to the day.
I was a postdoc at a U.S. military laboratory back in 1995 when the Murrah Building was blown up. At lunch in the cafeteria that day, I guessed that a veteran would have had the training to bring down the building, much to the dismay of the vets at the table. I later told one of them that I was sorry that I had turned out to be right about that.
@ hoh I understand that it is responsible to have greater security to adapt as risks become apparent – just like it is worthwhile having risk assessments when you take children on a school trip – But somehow I am sad – children are discouraged from climbing trees – playing outside without an adult. We are suspiscious of people resembling stereotypes of Muslims – even Brazilians – just inthe same way every Irish person was suspected and questioned during IRA attacks on the UK. Probably Basques are treated with the same suspiscion in Spain, Tamils in Sri Lanka etc. etc. So many governements are concerned with seeming to do something to react to risks – but much of this is crazy and pointless as if closing the house door after the horse has bolted out of the stable – like banning beef on the bone after the Mad Cow Crisis in the UK – when the risk was infintessimle (sp?) whilst having allowed animals to be ground up and fed to other herbivore animals had previously been legal.
I don’t know how the world can become less mad – full of concern over what might happen – so that we often stop living life to the full today. Everything seems more likely, somehow closer with Media coverage bringing it right into our homes every day. I know I find it hard not to want to caution my children to the point that they are nervous of strangers and worried about potentially dangerous objects – but where is the balance? What would be a sensible way to deal with the threats of: terrorism, peadophiles and accidents waiting to happen? Seriously I would really like your opinions on this it is a moral minefield.
@BrooklynPhil: “I’m a huge advocate for train travel” I misread this as “I’m a huge advocate for time travel.” That puzzled me, as it seemed out of context. I’d hoped that you would make your point clear later, when I reread what you had written and found that you had made it clear earlier. Which if you were a time traveler would be the much same thing, I suppose.
@Ali: “What would be a sensible way to deal with the threats of: terrorism, peadophiles and accidents waiting to happen?” I’m sure I don’t know what the best way is to deal with these problems, but I suspect that the worst way is to adopt policies that isolate people from each other and make them more dependent on authority.
For example, for the last few decades in the USA the media have been keeping up a drumbeat about cases of child abduction. Understandably so! We certainly want as many eyes as possible looking for missing children. In response to this, parents have tended to encourage their children to stay indoors and to arrange for an adult with a whistle and a clipboard to supervise them whenever they are outside. When children do go outside alone, they don’t find playmates or have much notion of how to entertain themselves. So they wind up as easy prey for precisely the sort of bad guys who populate their parents’ nightmares.
Cool photos! Your Mom totally rocks.
Loudest concerts I’ve ever been to:
Blue Oyster Cult, Verdun Auditorium 1982 (ears rang for three days)
John Mellencamp, Mont. Forum, 1983
The Melvins, Metronome, Burlington, 1994 or ’95 (they sounded like a turbo engine)
And, this Friday and Saturday, The Musical Box doing “A Trick of the Tail” 1976 tour-damn, I love those Taurus bass pedals and double drums!
Is John still with Ministry?
And, yes, I like driving because I feel free. I can crank music, stop, relax and stretch my legs without people becoming all nervous, etc. etc.
Oh, yeah, and The Clash, UVM, 1982. Zowie.
I’m also a big fan of Southwest Airlines for flying. Great attitude etc. But on the self-interest side, they are also big opponents of high speed rail in TX and fight the trans-TX corridor at every turn.
Loudest show ever: Link Wray at the Backstage in Ballard back in the day. Link decided he was going to be Eddie Van Halen and turned his amps up to liquify. The sound waves were messing with my heartbeat. We had to leave, it was not a good experience.
@–MC
Sort of like the Spinal Tap line, “Mine goes up to 11.”
I have a friend whose liscense plate says “goes 2 11”. Pretty funny stuff.
Elucidation on “This goes to 11” from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_to_eleven
HoH, since I work for your government space agency, the Murrah Building thing scared the living cornchips outta me and continues to do so.
As in the Monty Python sketch, what we need is more witches.
how come in some parts of the USA you can marry your horse, but you cant marry a same sex partner?
i just dont get it?
can you? marry your horse? I never knew that… do you know any single horses who have good health insurance benefits? if you do… and they also have good teeth… (I’d prefer a mare) I’d love an introduction.
re: the raising kids thing… balance, right? moderation? all of that stuff. take a deep breath then let them play outside or take a walk with a friend. I let my daughter climb trees but then I stand underneath and say those motherly things like… be careful! that’s too high! you kids are gonna get hurt! you can put your eye out like that! don’t come crying to me when you fall and break an arm! I’m not taking you to the hospital…!!
but i never say, I’ll give you something to cry about.. cause that’s one thing I do know, if somebody is crying, well, then, c’mon, they already have something to cry about.
Getting back to one of the major themes of this blog… real Vermont maple syrup.
Yesterday’s NY Times had an article about an IHOP (International House of Pancakes) which opened in South Burlington, VT. The franchisees had to ask for special permission from the IHOP HQ folks to serve real Vermont maple syrup instead of that artificial crap that’s standard IHOP fare.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/dining/21ihop.html?hpw
The Vermont IHOP doesn’t advertise that it has real maple syrup available (99 cents extra).
Quoting from the article:
Marnie Fairchild, 21, Sophia Fraioli, 20, and Justin Deignan, 21, all students at the University of Vermont, dug into pancakes, hash browns and eggs. None of them knew real maple syrup was an option, and all said they would have ordered it if they had.
“I’m disappointed,” Ms. Fraioli said as she looked at her pancakes, covered in “old-fashioned.” “I ruined my pancakes.”
IHOP apparently will not divulge nutritional info either. Way to go.
Anybody remember thick, glommy King Syrup with the Lion on the bottle? You could build a house using that stuff.
I’m pretty lucky that I live in an area where I think my child is safe to play outside without a constant eye on her. I will let her travel about 2 blocks without watching. More than that though and we bike together. Then when we go to malls or something (which we have to travel to), she gets the “these people are not the same people you see in our grocery store, be careful” talk. I know, the folks in our grocery store could also be evil, but…
I totally encourage the climbing of trees, jumping of ramps with bicycles, etc. Bumps, bruises, dirt, and yes, the occasional broken arm are good for kids. It makes them tough (which is my favorite saying for my daughter when she complains about whatever it is that she doesn’t want to do).
I prefer flying over driving because I just want to get where I’m going. I’m not fond of car trips – never have been. Sure I can eat and pee and stuff, but if I’m flying I can probably get to where I’m going before I feel the need to do either. I never flew until I was 38 so, yeah, it’s still very much a magical experience for me as well.
That picture of your mom with the band is all kinds of awesome.
@Antoinette- where do you need more witches? Will you pay travel expenses? I might know where we could find a few…
Also, AB- I find it funny that you have to specifically say that your bro is not the face piercing dude when your bro looks just like you!
mija, i think AB might have been a bit sarcastic when she made a point to distinguish the two…
Well, ya just never know what a brother might do…
http://www.shewired.com/Article.cfm?ID=22419
1. My 77 year-old mom rocks too-she has an appreciation for Junior Brown, Patti Smith, and the Pretenders.
2. Most commercial jets burn more fuel on takeoff than you will ever burn in your SUV during a lifetime of driving.
3. How about one of you brilliant retirees begin a strong email campaign for the busted automakers to retool and build hi speed trains across our great country using the should-be-defunct highway system? that’s where most of that damn stimulus money should have gone instead of GM. I’d do it myself but I’m working overtime now so as to be able to retire.