No Artificial Ingredients

Early in the morning I went to Moscow to do the tourist thing. I had picked up a little of the language many moons ago when I was on active duty with the Marines, and that had piqued my curiosity with their culture.

I wasn't too impressed with the city. There were some seemingly good places for Russian businesses to get started here, and some libraries of things translated into Russian, plus of course some shopping malls with many people sitting around in them; but nothing really for the tourist. I'll have to check around some more when I get the chance.

From there I went to th Fifties Corner for some 80's music with DJ Jocelyn. She had some rationale for playing 80's at a 50's place, but I forget what it was. Doesn't matter really; I like 80's music and I like Jocelyn music so the two combined were grand. Hy's cousin any1 was there, and Niky and Tracy, but no Minni.

Afterwards I went to help Isobela with a skirt-making project of hers. She needed someone to wear this thing while she adjusted all of the frilly pink lacy panels on it. A lesser mortal would have been totally humiliated, but I managed to grit my teeth and help her out.

To say thank you she helped me disassemble some fireworks to see how they works, she's a very brave girl, plus she took some new promotional pictures for my profile. We went to Fibber's where my old pics had been taken. I changed shirts a few times and got in some different poses while she took many pictures, but the one we ended up liking the best was a candid shot she took after I had changed back into street clothes.

During the shoot I had mentioned the SLProfiles service that Starr had told me about the night before during Therapy. Isobela logged on and created a profile there, and I updated my profile with the wonderful picture that Isobela took. We each sent friends requests to each other and to Starr, then Iso went back to her dress-making and I was going to study what we had found out about the fireworks.

While looking at Starr's profile on the service I noticed that it lets you list favorite places to visit. She listed Group Therapy of course, a place called the Iron Horse saloon and Costa Rica. The Costa Rica place looked cool so I decided to hold off on fireworks research and visit there.

It turns out the Ms. Costa Rica contest had been held the day before. The area was beautiful, with the buildings built to blend in with the natural surroundings. The contest had been held on a floating grandstand built not too far off from this cool beach-side bar. I also went exploring around the corners of the place and found a wonderful beach on this quiet little island.

I had lost track of the time so I had to have a quick dinner and get over to Nightclub Echo Echo where Isobela had the duty for the Friendly Fire concert. I had told her I'd help out, and it was a good thing I was there because the place was jam-packed. We each kept getting calls from people wanting to get inside but not able to.

I noticed many of the people I had met in the past few days at that beach in Italy and other places that Friendly Fire had played. They seem to be getting quite a following, especially for a traveling band.

DJ Jocelyn and Tracy followed Friendly Fire with their usual brilliant Sunday Night Mayhem and Madness. It was Cowboy night, so I changed boots and put on my Lone Star shirt and a cowboy hat. Some people had brought their horses to the show and it was the poor hostesses duty to follow them around with the pooper-scooper.

The Word of the Day was Rabo, in honor of Tracy and Mack. Some of the world-wide following that Case and Mack have attracted had stuck around, and some Translations from the Portuguese were thrown around.

Afterwards we went out chilling with our friends. We are blessed in that regard.

Tubes of Fire

I met Isobela at the Moulin Rouge Theater and Grand Ballroom to see, hear and dance to Mimi. She has a very enchanting French accent! She played the guitar and sang mostly in English, but with a couple of French songs too.

The singer the day before was excellent, but her type of music was something that I personally wouldn't want to listen to every day; every few weeks would be good. Mimi was someone I would like to listen to more often.

After her show we had enough time for a quick lunch and then it was off to Alice Beach in Italy for the first of three back-to-back Friendly Fire shows. I had duty for the first one, and as can be expected when Mack and Case play in a new place there were many people there that were not familiar with them.


All of those new faces kept me running handing out Friendly Fire goodie bags and group invitations and meeting and greeting everyone as they showed up. Isobela and svetlana helped me out alot, but I wasn't able to stay and help her with her gig, or Ajay's after that.

After dinner I went to see Nick99 at the Lost Grotto Theater. I was only able to catch a small part of his show, but he seemed pretty good. I appreciated that he really got into the spirit of the venue; many of the artists that perform there aren't that comfortable. I also met Isobela's cousin Midnight who gave me a handful of directions to places I need to check out.

Next it was off to my weekly spanking therapy at Club Group Therapy with Musical Therapist DJ Jocelyn. There wass an intimate crowd, and everyone was was in jeans. That made the spanking much easier, no fluffy frilly skirts to get in the way.

DJ Joce played a grab-bag of excellent tunes. Mandi showed up along with The Tracy, but no Minni. The crowd may have been small but the spanking was intense. Kip and Mandi's first time there was quite memorable I'm sure.

Afterwards Isobela and I headed over to check out a a new club that will be opening soon; I'm really looking forward to it. It was starting to get late, but neither of us were ready to call it a night so I took her to a place called the Tubes of Saturn for some white-water tubing.

Jocelyn had shown me this place a few weeks ago, and I had flown over part of the course in my ultralight, but this was the first time I had actually been tubing on it. The initial run was where all the whitewater was; that run ended in a waterfall that Iso had a little trouble going over.

The course then led through a narrow canyon with some very cool buildings on each side, and one awesome train trestle overhead that I really liked. After a bit the current sped up again leading to another waterfall. We were both prepared for it this time and had a great time flying the hundred yards down to the pool below.


Before too long we found ourselves at a confluence of three small rivers that led into a large lake. We figured that lake might be large enough to get Isobela's speedboat up to top speed so she went and got it. We got it in the water and idled out into the lake, but when she tried to kick it up the engine died.

We messed around with it some, but by then it had gotten really late so we decided to just turn in. Looking back I've had a very busy day; no wonder I'm so tired. The light is still on in Mack's store; that girl works crazy hours. Ya know what? We might all be crazy.

The Red Windmill

I wanted to just relax and be around people for a while to do some writing; stopped by the Blarney Stone and it was pretty dead except for Ginger. Ended up at the Pier where there was a nice crowd dancing to DJ Hoby; my cousin Bourbon showed up right after me. I found a free spot near the edge or the pier and danced and chilled and checked out the people and the chat and had a nice time.

The Pier has something called a Cootie Detector; it said I have 1786 cooties. A couple of other people tried it right after me and it said they each had about three times as many. I'm not sure exactly what a cootie count is, and the people there weren't very forthcoming with an explanation, but they all found it hilarious. Cous Bourbon said a score of 1786 is very respectable; I think I should be offended. Damn family.

Later I helped Isobela out a little bit with hanging a new front door. She had finished her balcony so we had to test out the hot tub. It worked flawlessly.

Scarlet was playing in the Moulin Rouge Ballroom that evening. She has a heavy Georgia-peach accent when speaking, but it's hardly noticeable when she sings. She sang from 7 to 8, and was so good that we decided to stay for her second performance at 8:30!



Tomorrow afternoon Mimi plays in the Moulin Rouge Ballroom, I'd like to make her show. According to her bio, Mimi "is a dynamic young French broad who is passionate about music. She sings in both English and in French and is currently living in Germany. Drawing inspiration from a diverse range of musical styles, Mimi is pretty eclectic and her repertoire includes covers with strong rock, indie and pop influences, accompanied by acoustic guitar."

That night I had a confusing phone call with Mack, but I did learn that Isobela likes yard sales. Life is good.

A Wonderfully Warm House

I went out shopping again this morning. I met Isobela at Blaze's and she helped me pick out a couple of more ties. She bought a tux, also; and a short black dress to wear to the Friendly Fire show tonight.

Isobela had an idea for a kind of confetti shooter that wold spray little signs saying Glam Me A Beer all over the place. She worked on the artwork for the messages while I did the delivery mechanism. We met up, loaded our prototype machines, tested and tweaked them a bit and came away with some pretty good GLAMME poofers.

Friendly Fire was playing their usual weekly gig at Club Casa Blanco. Dee was the duty officer, and Isobela and I showed up a little early to help. Willa showed up and taught me some cool cheers that she had worked out, but I didn't see Minni from the Beach Bum there.


The show was another great, glamtastic Mack and Case presentation. Isobela and I wanted to use our poofers the first time during their namesake song, but it was getting close to the end of the show with no Glam song so we decided to go ahead and set them off.

I made my way through the crowd and stood near the stage in front of Mack, and Iso was in front of Case. On a count of three we set them off, spreading our message of sheer throughout the dome.

Case and Mack liked the effect and were asking where it came from, but Iso and I had scurried back to the side where we had been dancing earlier. The next song was Glam Me A Beer so we set off more of our effects, making it kinda obvious where they came from. The wind was blowing just right to take our messages drifting across the crowd, pretty cool.

At the after-gig chat Iso and I gave Mack and Case their own copies of the poofers; so I expect to see more of them in the future. We need to be careful not to give too many out; if too many were to be set off at once they could conceivably fill the entire room with Glam leaflets and asphyxiate everyone there!

While Isobela and I were at Club Casa Blanco we each received many, many invitation from Jocelyn to Robt and Anutte's housewarming party. Neither one of us were able to make their wedding, so we made sure to make this party. Jocelyn was DJing for them; and while we was there who to my wondering eyes should appear but Minni from the Beach Bum! WooHoo!

DJ Jocelyn was playing simply awesome tunes. There was no theme to try and follow, just great songs one after the other. Robt and Anutte have a beautiful house, and had cleared all of the furniture out except for their Christmas tree. It was a good thing too because the place was packed, and more people kept showing up. They did have some tables set up out on the patio with some delicious punch plus other drinks and food for the guests.

We stayed until Jocelyn had finished, then said our goodbyes and congratulations once again. We headed back to Dublin for a short chat. Neither of us were feeling on top of our game so we decided to each head home for a good night's sleep. Before we left we met a cool maintenance robot named "Dublin Ireland" near Trinity College and invited her to become a Friendly Fire Friend, but she was busy and didn't immediately reply...

Catting around and the DJ Exposition

I was in and out of Nightclub Echo Echo all afternoon and evening for the DJ Exposition. The Exposition was an amazing string of seven DJs and four hostesses performing from 2 to 9 on Boxing Day. First up was DJ Hy and Padula, followed by DJ Jocelyn and Padula.

I had to leave near the middle of Jocelyn's show to get ready for the Friendly Fire show at Cat's Club. I had been to Cat's once before and it was a pretty neat place filled with pools of lava and boulders and a large stage.

Isobela was hostessing for DJs Shayla and Raven who followed DJ Joce so she wasn't able to make it to Cat's. Based on her experience with the crowds at the Friendly Fire show the day before she was worried that things might be a little overwhelming for one officer, but I assured her that I would be fine. Of course, she was right.

Things started out well; Cat the owner of Cat's Club was there and helping to greet the fans who were showing up early. At show time we ran into some technical difficulties with the sound system, though, so Cat had to go help out with that leaving me to meet and greet everyone.

At a rough guess, based on the conversation that I heard in the Club, about a third of the people there spoke German, about a third Spanish and the rest English. There were a couple of Swedes too, but they seemed to switch between German and English. We had hosted German and Spanish foreign exchange students before so I had a little bit of their languages, enough to know when they wanted something and a good idea of what it was.

The crowd had grown to fill the place, there were even people stacked up out of view of the stage behind the boulders. Tkid was there and a few other Friendly Fire regulars, but the vast majority of the fifty-plus people there were not group members so I was very busy running around handing out group invites, t-shirts, Friendly Fire buttons and other paraphernalia.
Steverino was there, I haven't seen him around lately. I didn't see Minni from the Beach Bum. One group of locals had an awesome dance routine; they were all dressed in black, had matching black umbrellas opened (it was an outdoors venue) and all danced in unison. It was cool to watch them dance and hop around.
Case sang Happy birthday to Peter, one of the fans there. There were also many members of the Virtual Live Band - a musical group whose members live all over world but play together! A very interesting concept, I want to look into them some more. At the end of the show we had nineteen new Friendly Fire Friends, a new personal record for me.

After a quick bite to eat I headed back to the rocky crags to enjoy the DJ Raven and Isoblea show. After they finished Iso and I danced to DJ Farr and Tracy, DJ Donagh and Tracy, and DJ SazzyLizzy and Morgan. When Sazzy was DJing a bunch of her friends joined her on the dance floor in a kind of line dance. They were having a great time cutting up and bumping into each other and just being silly.Jocelyn had collected childhood pictures of the performers and a few others and had created a kind of bulletin board in the club so we could try and guess who's picture was who's. Little things like that are what make good shows into fantastic ones, and this day at Echo Echo was fantastic.

After closing down the club yet again Isobela and I headed over to the Blarney Stone for some coffee, tea and conversations about people and places and people. It was a nice way to wind down and another amazing, exciting, wonderful day in this place. We are blessed.

Friendly Fire for Christmas!

I was able to make the end of the Friendly Fire concert at The Beach Bum. I always look forward to going there because Minni gives each visitor such a very warm welcome. Case sang Silent Night; how very appropriate given the date and time.

I found Isobela next to the beer keg. I like that spot myself, too! We danced through the end of the concert when it was time to burn the Christmas tree. I was able to snap a picture of Mack in front of the tree just before it disappeared in flames.

After the show I went tuxedo shopping with Isobela. Thanks to a well-timed Christmas bonus I was also able to get a new pair of dress shoes, too! The shoes even came with a pair of socks, a high-quality shop!

Isobela found a new dress and we had an interesting conversation about what it means for hair to be up or down. It is a very confusing subject; at first I thought my understanding of it was backwards but then it turns out I had it right in the first place.

We went dancing at Joce's Jazz club, also known as My Blue Heaven Jazz and Blues Club. That is a really nice place, they had decorated it for the holidays. There was a nice crowd there, about eight couples. Enough people to make it fun yet not so many as to be crowded.

Isobela and I chatted all evening about economics, physical security, psychology and all manner of things. She always amazes me with the depth of her knowledge, courage and compassion. The next thing I knew there was only one other couple there; we had shut the place down again. It had been a long Christmas Day for each of us so we said our good nights and headed off to re-live sugar-plum dreams.

Rockers and Psychos

DJ Jocelyn was at Rockers Night Club and asked if I wanted to stop by. I was kinda busy, and wasn't planning on clubbing that night, but Joce's command performances are kinda hard to ignore. Natallya was there, and Annie, but I didn't know anyone else. DJ Prime was spinning tunes, mostly good real rock but he also had some hilarious Christmas songs. It's a cool place; I look forward to going back there.

Earlier in the day I had been shopping; browsing really. Outside of one store I saw a road leading up a hill and decided to follow it. The further I went the more dilapidated the road became. When I got to the top I found what seemed to be an old, abandoned psychiatric hospital.

I went in exploring, and it was pretty creepy. Many bloodstained hand prints on the walls, puddles of dried blood on dirty, mangy mattresses, and a dessicated, severed hand dropped on top of a Monopoly game! Ouch!

From the main entrance I had worked my way up; after reaching the roof I went back down to the ground floor. I started looking around for stairs down to the basement, but then came to my senses and left. It's probably a good thing I did, too, because in the woods near the base of the hill I saw this:

I was lucky to get out of there with my skin! With my skull, too! Boy I tell ya, a trip to the corner store ain't what it used to be!

Tracy: "omg, this night has been a blast!"

I worked on my Christmas gifts some more. Brooke's advice really helped out on one; I am pleased with how it turned out. I showed a picture of the finished product to Brooke and she liked it. Now hopefully the intended recipient will like it as well!

Friendly Fire made their usual appearance at Club Echo Echo, the first half of a fantastic back-to-back show with DJ Jocelyn. Case made a comparison of the Joce of Rock with Joan of Arc; I'm not exactly sure where he was going with that but I'm sure it was complimentary.

Isobela was coronated as a Friendly Fire Officer about halfway through the show. She immediately put on her distinctive red Friendly Fire Officer shirt, right there in front of everybody! Congratulations Isobela!

The Glam Me A Beer head boxes were out in full force; Ajay was kept very busy in supply the demand for them. These boxes, made courtesy of Moard, were an especially big hit during their namesake song.

Mack sang "Make Me Beautiful" again; that song just gets better and better each time I hear it. It's a very computationally complex piece of music; Case and Mack never cease to amaze me with their talent.

After Friendly Fire DJ Jocelyn wowed us with her Sunday Night Mayhem and Madness show, themed "Let's Talk About Sex". Tracy and Isobela were her hostesses, it takes at least two to try and keep her in line, and wow were they dressed in-theme!

Joce had done her usual meticulous research into the subject and passed on many interesting facts. Joce started us off by talking about whale penii size while turgid, and went downhill from there. She couldn't have been saying these things with a straight face; they must have been pre-recorded.

The crowd lobed, it, "DJ Jocelyn .. fun AND educational!" The place was packed to the gills; I've never seen it so crowded! And more people kept showing up all night, even Willa showed for Joce! I didn't see Minni from the Beach Bum there, but I could easily have missed her in the crowd.

The theme led to many interesting comments that were hilarious when taken out of context; for example who couldn't help but wonder when Tracy said "we should do sex positions next week joce!"


Those poor Saints are out of the playoff hunt now. A win next weekend will leave us 8 and 8; still fairly respectable after the horrid 0 and 4 start.

Toga! Toga! Toga!

I spent some time today working on Christmas and Holiday gifts. Good progress has been made. A special thanks to Brooke of Fairplay Designs and Arts for helping me with some vital parts.
In the afternoon Friendly Fire was playing at the Saphir Resort Dance Club. Saphir is a pretty cool place, very eclectic, worth another visit. I was doing the officer duties with Ajay and Isobela helping me out, though Iso had to leave early.

Everyone had a Glamtastic Good Time. There were multiple long guitar solo's, Case was really on his game today. Greensleeves on the Guitar never gets old!

EvaMoon was there, she's a comic jazz artist. Case had seen part of her act the night before and really talked her up. I definitely need to follow up and catch a show of hers.

Minni of the Beach Bum wasn't able to make it to the show, but Misprint was. Boy does that girl have an incredible set of wings on her!
Right after Mack and Case finished it was off to Londyn's Edge, the Chic, Elegant, Exclusive place that DJ Jocelyn was spinning her heart out at. Iso met me there after finishing up at the DJ Hangout.

There was a Holiday outfit theme, so I put on my Authentic Santa Claus outfit. Some of the locals there were impressed that the owner was able to get the real Santa to show up at her party, I guess it really is a good costume.

Some of the people stared giving me a hard time about how old Santa Claus is. I protested, and even put up a sign say that I was the "Young Santa"! Unfortunately I couldn't stay until the end of the show when they judged the costumes; I'm not sure who won.

I was able to take my daughter to see Santa on the Bayou at a friend's house. They have a really nice place, parties there are always a blast. Of course being on the bayou Katrina had wiped them out; they've finally finished reconstruction.

Later I was blessed with more of Music Therapist DJ Jocelyn at club Group Therapy. It was time for my weekly dose of music therapy, and a Toga Party! About half of the people showed up in costume; there were some really good togas there although Some People had worn unauthorized underwear under their togas. Pru had even found a Holiday Toga!

During the show Isobela was made a Friendly Fire Officer! Well, she will be one if she survives the initiation process. This process is a deep, dark secret which gives us a rather wide latitude in deciding what it will be.

Adrian and Isobela won costume contest at the end of the scheduled time, and darling Joce kept playing her fantastic music for us. Case had all of us get up on stage for some pictures, and Mack was busy positioning us just right!

We eventually ran out of requests for DJ Jocelyn so they turned the radio on for us as the party finished up. Tracy, Hy, Iso and I shut the place down again. Afterwards Isobela and I visited the Chichen Itza ruins in Mexico; a cool place to visit and a nice way to relax and wind down after another amazing day.

Twisted Christmas

Friendly Fire received a last-minute request to play at Twisted Christmas, billed as a "Christmas for the dark-minded - the ghouls - the freaks -- and even furries!" They played on the ice-skating pond at Winterland following the Dark Aeons and I was bale to make it to do the officer thing.

The ice-skating pond was pretty cool, I'm going to go back later and skate around. There were a couple of frozen-over fjords that fed into the pond, and one area clearly marked "Thin Ice" that was calling my name!

Isobela showed up in this awesome blue and white getup that had all sorts of fur on it and seemed very warm yet at the same time seemed to show as much skin as it covered! We danced the Charleston, I think, while Mack and Case wowed the crowd with their fantastic tunes.


After the show I went home to change and met up with Iso again at Nightclub Echo Echo. DJ Jocelyn was ably assisted by hostess Jenda in putting on a fantastic show themed this day in history. The house was rocking and the crowd was loving it.

Echo Echo had a new sploder, similar to the one at Shelby's World. I had learned how to do a flanking maneuver on the one at Shelby's and that same trick worked here. I started to feel kinda bad because I kept getting the majority of the sploder coins, so I tried to hold back and only go after one or two of them. Of course the one or two I went after turned out to be the big-money ones.

Iso and I closed place down, then went looking for Jazz clubs to dance in. I had gotten the directions for a few new ones from various people that I've met. We tried a couple, and they were nice places but had no one in them. We ended up in Heaven's Wind Club and Park, a nice place built on a sky platform. It was pretty cool dancing on the clouds!

Friendly Fire Friends Tree

I went to a Christmas party at my daughter's school gym. It was cool, must have been 2-300 people in there. We had pizza, chips, cookies and milk, sodas and even a cotton-candy machine! The principal led us all in caroling, and he's pretty good - has his own band. An of course Santa showed up to take pictures with all of the little ones and pass out small gifts.

I was planning on being late to the Friendly Fire concert because of the party, but Santa had to leave early. They were having production problems at the North Pole and at this time of year that is not a good thing. In any case I was able to make it to Club Casa Blanco just before the start of the show.

The Friendly Fire Friends Tree looked wonderful. At first it didn't look like there were too many ornaments on it, but as you stepped around it you could see that the tree's branches hid numerous hand-made ornaments. Of course one ornament stood out from the rest, the one that Isobela made for me!

Isobela showed up, and Joce and many others. Adrian even put in an appearance. Friendly fire played a few more holiday songs than they usually do; Case did a guitar solo of Greensleeves, then he and Mack sang Silent Night and later on Jingle Bells!

After the show it was time to torch the tree, but first Case had to do some additional last minute tree decorating. After getting it just-right he lit a few branches.

Soon the fire spread all over the tree…

And then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone! Just a few small wiffs of flame that quickly poofed out.

Heron Park Hijinks

The Friendly Fire concert scheduled for Heron Park today almost didn't happen; it was the most horrendous traffic situation you could ever imagine. I didn't go to work today so I got to the park before evening rush hour started, but everyone else got stuck and couldn't make it; and I mean everyone. No Mack, no Case, no Ajay, no Dee, no Tkid, no Willa; nobody.

Finally, just before show-time pier10 showed up looking for the show. He understood about the traffic problems preventing Mack and Case from getting here, though how he got here from Italy I'm not sure. In any case the beer vendor was plugged in and cold, so we helped ourselves while we waited leaving payment tucked into the cart's handle. After a few he wandered off.

Fuscia, a friend of Heron Park's manager, showed up a little while after the show was to have started. The manager had called her and wanted to make sure everyone knew the show was cancelled. I let her know that I had sent a text-message to the group letting them know that the traffic situation was delaying the show and that we would keep them updated.

We chatted about the weather some; an ice storm had taken her power out for the past three days. She lives way up north near the artic circle somewhere; Pennsylvania I think. I teased her about the wonderful weather I'm having, but asked her not to tell me about her weather come August.

We were exchanging pleasantries and were just about to say goodbye when the park manager, Tola showed up. Apparently whatever the traffic holdup was it had been cleared. I checked with Case and he said that they were almost there, too. WooHoo! The show will go on!

Friendly Fire arrived and Case started setting things up as Mack was checking-in with Tola. I was very busy with sending text messages to the group plus a more formal notice, sending out individualized directions to the place, greeting new people as they showed up, handing out invitations to the Friendly Fire group and all manner of things.

It was pretty hectic until the first strings of Radio Show reverberated off the walls of the park, then everything was just smooth. Mack sang her new song again. Isobela was able to make it to the park and danced next to me. DJ Jocelyn showed up with a new hair-do. The place was slowly filled to the gills. I saw one short fellow who had been around the Metaverse for over four years. I pointed him out to Iso and he was the oldest person either of us had ever seen.

Friendly Fire played a full show despite starting a half-hour late. At least they started a half-hour late; I had started a half-hour early and was pretty beat by the end of the show. I went home for a bite to eat and to relax some. I chatted with Isobela and Jocelyn and we all agreed: I needed therapy.

DJ Tkid was rocking club Group Therapy. It was the first time that I've heard him, other than him practicing some at Mack's store; and he has a great collection of music. He was playing real good classic Rocker's Rock when I got there; after a bit he played some music that likely appealed to a younger crowd, then he came back with a strong finish. A very good DJ that I look forward to hearing again.

Afterwards I went to Fibber's; DJ Otawan was spinning and Ajay was the hostess with the mostess. Spook was hanging there, and Imaginer stopped by too. I don't get to see them or many of the people I used to hang out with as much as I'd like.

Isobela stopped by in a cute, slinky Santa's elf costume for the Echo Echo contest that was going on later, too late for me. I stayed until just about the end of Ajay's shift, wished Iso good luck in the contest, went home and crashed.

Officers, Center!

The Friendly Fire weekly show at the Beach Bum featured a fantastic new song by MacKenzie. It was an ode to plastic surgery; the title was something like "Make me Beautiful". In her eternal quest to spread wisdom and understanding Mack passed on that men in the 1700's wore implants in their socks to make their calves look bigger. Knowledge is power.

Near the mid-point of the show Case and Mack held the Friendly Fire Officer initiations. Ajay, Dee and I went up to the front of the stage, received special red FF t-shirts, and plaques suitable for framing. It is quite an honor to be able to help these glamtastic people who are tearing up the metaverse with their enthusiasm and talent.

Isobela was able to stay for most of show, including our coronation, but then had to leave. Our gracious hostess and proud owner of the Beach Bum, Marvelous Minni, sent me a random IM to get a mention in my blog, so here ya go!

I was busy doing this and that for the rest of the evening. I just had time to poke my head in the door at the new TNW Uncensored for Topless Tuesday. There was a good crowd that looked like they were having alot of fun; I wish I could have stayed longer.

They had moved the club about a block closer to my house, major renovations going on there and at the mall. With this move my cannon no longer puts me reliably at the club's doorstep, so I have a whole new gunnery problem to solve. Cool!

Short Echoes

Had a very short day today; Holiday 'parties' and other obligations kept me busy for most of the afternoon and evening. I was able to hear DJ Hy spinning the Blues amongst the rocky crags of Echo Echo for a little over an hour at the end of my day. Neferon was there, I hadn't seen him in a while. Actually, just about everyone was there at some point. It was very nice to relax, unwind and enjoy the beautiful company.

Ἠχώ Ἠχώ

Ronda from NanoGunk Paradise became a Grandma yesterday! An 8.3 Lb., 18 3/4 inch baby boy arrived. Congratulations to everyone involved!

I joined the SL Powerboat Association and asked around for good places to take a powerboat. They said the best place is near Hollywood, where Isobela and I had been earlier, but go to the South; we were mostly on the North side of it. I took my hoverboard and checked out the South side; it does seem alot better for monster powerboats than where we were. There was a sailboat race in progress so I didn't stay too long so as not to interfere with them.

The Saints won, taking them back to 500. They are still in the playoff hunt, and some help tomorrow night would be nice. Miami won this weekend too, in overtime! Case and Mack sang the Dolphin's fight song in their honor! No more bags/boxes.

Friendly Fire was playing in the house that Farr built, Nightclub Echo Echo. The usual glamtastic group was in attendance. Mack announced that my friend Dee, Ajay and I were the Friendly Fire officers charged with adding to the group, spreading the glam, and sending notices. A labor of lobe.

DJ Jocelyn took the stage after Case and Mack. She played her usual fantastic music, this time with a candy theme. Joce was dressed as a candy striper and the hostesses as sugar-plum fairies. Tracy was hostess and Isobella was hostess in training with an impossible mission: keep DJ Jocelyn and Tracy in line. Iso needs to work on that a little bit more on that part, otherwise she was wonderful.

curm was helping to keep us entertained by being his usual flamboyant self; he also had some good military history nerd jokes. My friend Case told us how the whole of south Florida was on the edge until the Dolphins won this afternoon. He and I also chatted some about sailing, and how relaxing it is. I've been so busy these past couple of days I haven't had a chance to go out in my schooner.

Near the end of DJ Jocelyn's show we learned that Dan Folgelberg had passed away. Joce closed the show with a nice tribute of some of his best songs. There weren't too many dry eyes by the time she was done.


(Ἠχώ Ἠχώ is Greek for Echo Echo, at least according to Wikipedia.)

Red Dragon Therapy

I received notice of a TNW East Christmas Treasure Hunt similar to their Thanksgiving gift event. I searched for quite a while and only found 7 of the 12 gifts they have hidden. Some of the hiding places were fiendishly clever, but the value of the gifts was better as well. When I get a chance I'll need to go back and see if I can find some more.

I spent part of the day painting the hull of my schooner and trying out a couple of new sets of sails. Afterwards I went body surfing in the TNW lagoon. Schools of fish were chasing me and nibbling on my toes as I tried to make it through the breakwater to the open ocean.

The Friendly Fire show at MiaSnow's today was an a most inopportune time, I wasn't able to make it. I did make the weekly Rock Therapy at Group Therapy with Music Therapist DJ Jocelyn. The theme was The Village People. I made a stab as dressing as a cowboy but I had recently received some Christmas cowboy gear and I wanted to wear that so I wasn't really too much in theme. DJ Jocelyn was wearing an outfit that just screamed 70's and played thusly.

There was just a moderate amount of spanking; Tracy didn't show up until near the end of the show. The contest winners were Mack and Isobela, DJ Daddie and DJ Hy; they all looked great. Music Therapist Joce closed the show with "Little Willy" to great applause!

Since Isobela had given me such a wonderful Christmas present I was hard-pressed to find a suitable gift for her. I had made plans for something, and even given her a hint of what it was, but I needed something more. I eventually decided on a Nielsen Cigarette Red Dragon 2.2 from Virgin Isle Marina. What made the decision for me was that it has the largest commercially-available engine in the Metaverse! We're talking 120+ cubic meters of horsepower.

I had been working with the craftsman during the day to get it ready for her; as Group Therapy was winding down he let me know it was ready and sent her the keys. As soon as Therapy was over we headed to the Marina; in hindsight we should have stopped along the way to pick up some ear-plugs!

Isobela had to take is slow near all the sailboats; and all of the waters near the marina were pretty restricted so we couldn't get the boat up anywhere near top speed. We each took turns driving, and I was able to get it up to 42 knots, but just for a few seconds. Tomorrow we plan to find some open water so we can really open it up!

Schooning and Dancing and Swimming

Crazy psycho glamtastic Fantablous Isobela gave me an early Christmas present - a schooner! A real, live, honest-to-goodness 70 ft from sprit to fantail schooner! It is so totally awesome. I've taken it on a few short cruises to get the feel of it, but it will take me quite a while to figure it all out. I am so looking forward to it!

The Friendly Fire show at the Riff Rock Club was canceled, it seems the hostess couldn't make it. Instead I listened to Janor sing and play the guitar at the Lost Grotto Theater. Nowhere near as good as Mack and Case, but the Grotto does tend to make people sound better.

From there I hurried to hear DJ Jocelyn and Padula at Nightclub Echo Echo - the place that Joce refers to as "where the Who's Who gather!" And wow was she right! Everyone was there, Mandi even made it back!

DJ Jocelyn has a nasty cold but was able to trooper through to the end of the show. The theme was This Day In History and she had done significant research into it; at each break she passed on interesting historical tidbits and had songs queued that complimented them. As it turns out it was the birthday of some other guy named Tycho, so Joce had called me a few hours before the show to pick three songs for a set. She played this set last; I'm not sure if that means they were good or bad but Lowen sure seemed to like them.

Joce left right after the show to try and take care of her cold, and a handful of us stayed to keep dancing to the radio. After a bit DJ Hy took over the microphone and played some of his fantastic tunes for us. Isobela and I stayed for a while and then headed out.

I had arranged swimming classes for us and they went well. We went back to Trudeau Marine, launched my schooner and found an out-of-the-way beach to moor. We changed into our bathing suits, jumped in the water and had a great time swimming and splashing around in the water.

I took a few dives off of the fantail of the schooner which was cool, and tried to climb to the top of a mast to dive from there but couldn't; I'm drawing up plans to add a diving platform up there.

I also tried a few dives from some large rocks at the edge of the surf but found that the water near them was too shallow for good diving; a quite painful lesson to learn. I also wasn't pleased with the style and form of my dives, they were mostly just jumping into the water; so Iso and I looked into diving classes at Siggy's WaterWorks, the place we took our swimming lessons.

The classes looked good, and we'll probably take them someday soon, but we really didn't feel like more lessons right then. Siggy's also sells diving boards and water slides and all sorts of pool paraphernalia. They have a large demo area that Isobela and I went around trying out all the cool stuff. I really like this one diving board, but it was way to big to fit on the top of my masts. I'll have to write to Siggy and see if he can make a smaller one that could go up there.

We found a path to a real nice beach near there, the Slippery Clam Cove, went down the stairs and chilled out in some beach chairs for a while. We talked about possibly painting the schooner's hull a different color, and maybe getting some different sails. It was a nice way to relax and wind down after another a busy, fun day.

Fire at Fibber's!

I was able to make the first ten minutes of Friendly Fire's show at Fibber's before going off to listen to my daughter torture cats, ah, I mean, play clarinet at the school Christmas Concert. Hey, gimme a break, they sound very much the same!

Before the show started we had a quick meeting of the We Lobe Ajay Fan Club. Tonight's topic was about what a good hostess she is. I think she just made tenth-degree black-belt in it, I'll have to check with the Registrar. If so she would be only the second person to do so!

It was so good to see Mack and Case at Fibber's, my favorite band at my favorite dive. It made my day. Even though I was only able to hear two and a half songs before I left I can still say I was there...
I was able to make it back for the last 20 minutes or so of Friendly Fire's weekly show at Club Casa Blanco. Willa, Moard, curm, Padula, Ivy, Miko, Dee, Lela, Kim, Allison, Kiely, Kraven, Shania, DJ John, DJ Tkid - all precious snowflakes per Case. Case also passed on an important Holiday safety tip: Don't get in a catfight with stage right.

The night's holiday musical selection was a beautiful rendition of Silent Night, followed by their usual closer. During the after-gig chat Padula taught many of us how to talk like Donald Duck. That was cool. There were technical difficulties with the Friendly Fire Christmas tree; since I was late I didn't get all the details. They hope to have it next week's Glamtastic show at Club Casa Blanco.

Contact!

The Friendly Fire show at Red's was supposed to start fairly late, at least according to their web site. What a pleasant surprise it was to arrive home from work to find a note from them saying it would start in about 15 minutes. I changed and rushed on over.

I had been to Red's a few times to see some of DJ Jocelyn's shows. Red had apparently done some major redecorating since the last time I was there; there seems to be alot of that going around. I made a quick call to Isobela to make sure she knew of the time change and went and found a table. I thought it would be nice to sit and listen to Friendly Fire for a change, but as soon as Iso showed up she grabbed me by the ear and drug me out to the mosh pit.

Ajay, Willa, Rosinante, Misprint, Argus, Moard and BEARinthe Morning were there. I need to find a way to listen to BEAR in the morning; I can't reach his stream directly from work but there should be a way to bounce around that. Many of Red's regulars and employees were also there adding to the celebration.

About halfway through there was some sort of emergency in the area and we had to leave. I was expecting us to be turned away for 15 minutes or more as they sorted things out but was able to get back after only a few minutes. I called Mack to let her know the place was open again and she asked me to send out a group notice letting everyone else know. I even remembered to include the directions when I sent it!

The interruption was a drag, it took a while for all of the people to come back. Case and Mack sang Santa Claus is Coming to Town and that cheered everyone up. Moard was being Moard and that kept everyone in stitches. Friendly Fire picked up where they left off and we all enjoyed their amazing music.

After the show and after-gig chat I went out shopping again. When Isobela and I had been checking out the golf course the day before a helicopter had flown over and we thought it looked like fun. In my searches for a sailboat I had seen references to some ultra-light aircraft and thought that they would be even more fun.

I bought a small, red, 2-seat ultra-light. One of the best things about it is that it folds up very small; it can even fit in your pocket. The first time that I took off I used the bridge between TNW East and TNW West and a runway. With a little practice I was able to take-off almost vertically as long as I was pointing into a decent wind and took the power all the way up before letting go of the brakes.

I got the feel of launching and flying it before I asked Isobela if she wanted a ride. She was able to fit me in to her schedule, so we headed out to Holly Kai Three to fly around the area we had been sailing in.

Betty Page Beach made a good place to take off from; the sand was packed firm. We didn't crash much; came up a little short trying to land on top of the Starboards Yacht Club the first time and kissed the water a couple of other times. Nothing a little duct-tape couldn't fix.

We had a good time flying around. The ultra-light doesn't go very fast compared to other planes, but I could get it down to just a couple of meters above the water and we would zip past the fastest speedboats at their eye-level! I also took us up into the clouds where everything around us was just white; very spooky. We saw the Trudeau Classic Sailing Yacht yard, the golf course, some cool waterfalls that I flew us through the spray of, an island with dinosaurs and giant stone Moai on it, Starboard's Yacht Club where we eventually were able to land for a short break, and we even made our way to Hollywood!

After our break Isobela tried to get in to the pilot's seat so she could have a turn at flying, but we just couldn't get the seat adjusted correctly for her. I had wanted to be a passenger too so I could relax, take better pictures and heckle the pilot. Payback is hell.

After putting away the ultra-light we headed over to an airfield that offered test-flights for some of their helicopters. They are hard to control if you're not used to flying so Isobela decided to try flying a beginner’s jet aircraft they called the Silver Bullet, very different than my little ultra-light.

Isobela did very well as a pilot. Personally I would have tried for a longer take-off roll, but I guess standing the jet on its tail and letting ground-effect push you into the sky is a valid take-off option also. Once in the air she took us all over the place; the Silver Bullet is fast! We flew over apartment complexes, shopping malls, forests, oceans, continents, and they were all mostly a blur.

Both of us are having similar problems with the first rule of piloting: your number of take-offs should equal your number of landings. We were always able to walk away once we reached the ground though, and boy did we have a blast! Iso really liked flying, and talked about getting a good plane of her own.

We briefly considered a sea plane, but the first place we went to that had advertised them didn't have any in stock. They had all sorts of other neat stuff, though, and of course we had to check them out. There was a high-end 10-passenger Lear jet that we pushed and shoved each other trying to be the first one to sit in the pilot's seat of, some single-person ultra-lights, many helicopters and even some small, remote-controlled model aircraft.

By then it had gotten very late and I had to leave. Iso was going to keep shopping, and I'm almost afraid to think about what she might have bought. If she did get something I bet it's very fast. I need to go to see the kid perform in the school band's Christmas performance Thursday night; so I might miss Both of the Friendly Fire shows! Hopefully Isobela can take some pictures for me.

Storming the Beach!

I'm still looking at sailboats; I looked all over and couldn't find any place with wooden sloops, schooners or ketches like I want besides Trudeau Classic Sailing Yachts. Isobela has asked her sailing-master friend so I'm waiting to hear back from him. Lex has been helping me try to fix the radio at my house; we're making progress but still don't have it working yet.

After getting my busywork out of the way I was ready for some hard-core relaxation as Friendly Fire took the Beach Bum by storm for their regular Tuesday night show. Ajay and Synapse, Rosie, Rosinante, Promise, Minni, Tkid, Drumstick, Moard, Padula and many others were rocking. Poor Isobela missed yet another Glamtastic show.

The crowd was very lively, even more so than any crowd that Ajay is in. Case shared "When Moard is here you know the party is in the house!" I had a great time with great music and great people. I lobe this place.

Near the end Case sang Silent Night for us, a nice recognition of the Season, then he and Mack closed with their non-duck song. Afterwards I hung around for a bit of the after-gig chat, then headed over to Isobela's after she had finally gotten home from work.

Isobela and I chatted some about sailing then decided to go see if we could test drive any of the schooners at Trudeau's. They were able to get one set up for us, and we had a very relaxing time cruising around their small bay. We headed over to the beach where they keep their catamarans and Iso wanted to try one of those, too. I took it easy driving and didn't take the cat to a forty-five degree angle with Iso onboard; she's a good swimmer but we went out kinda far.

After taking the cat back we checked out the nearby golf course. Neither of us has played much, but it sure looks like fun. We'll likely come back when we have more time to dedicate to making fools of ourselves.

In my search for a sailboat I had come across some pretty cool places so I took Iso to see them. One place had a giant submarine, suspended from a dirigible, tethered over their store; you really had to think about how much you wanted to go in there. We went exploring throughout an old Scottish castle and ended the evening with a most excellent visit to a Stonehenge replica.

Red, Right, Return

Natalia had written in her blog about the Starboards Yacht Club offering free 1 hour rentals of the Flying Tako sailboat so I decided to go check it out. (I have links to her blog and others at the bottom of the right-hand column of my blog). The Flying Tako was a nice, small racing-type sailboat that one person could handle but could also accommodate one crewmember. I was sorely tempted to use my free hour, but held off because I thought it would be much nicer to share it with a friend.

I went exploring around the Starboards Yacht Club, which is quite close to Hollywood. They have a nice clubhouse where you can buy sails, life-jackets and other nautical-type stuff downstairs, and an elegant bar and dance floor upstairs. There is also a golf course nearby, with different holes on different small islands; I'll have to come back some day and check it out.

On one of the small islands nearby I found some catamarans pulled up on the beach; they were for sale and the beach was the showroom! They also offered a test-drive, though only for 10 minutes. I read the instructions, put on the safety vest and lifeline, and took one for a spin. What a blast!

After taking the catamaran back I continued around the island and discovered an entire boatyard; the catamarans were just one part of a sailboat-selling empire. Their boats sized from slightly larger than the Flying Tako to ones larger than my house. All were very elegant, I spent some time checking them all out and deciding which one I would get if I were to get one. I liked a simple, wooden sailboat with a small deck for sunbathing best; it would be good for relaxing days cruising around the island chains. It would also look good docked right next to my house!

I went to check out a few other boatyards before making a decision on buying. Some were just powerboats, some were all fiberglass hulls, and one place had these monster L$50,000 yachts with onboard pools and fireplaces and all manner of things. I saw some jet skis, and they reminded me that I picked up a two-seater jet ski someplace and stored it away; I'll need to see if I can dig it out again.

I had seen some boats for sale in Nantucket when I was there for a Heath concert once. I went back to look again, but they weren't immediately apparent and I was really pressed for time because DJ Hy was spinning the Blues at Echo Echo and I was missing the show. Isobela called to see where I was and said the theme was cowboy, so I changed into a cowboy outfit and headed over.

The theme was more precisely Texas Blues, so my choice of my Lone Star cowboy shirt was especially appropriate. Tracy was there of course, along with Rosie, Argus, Farr, Addie, Jace, DJ John, Hippy, Hare, Chimera and a handful of others. I was lucky enough to dance with the charming and eloquent Isobela all night.

Iso has a friend who is an accomplished sailor, so she will ask him for advice for me on choosing a boatyard. Throughout the evening I had been keeping an eye on the Monday Night Football game in which the Saints slaughtered the Falcons. They are still in the playoff hunt; four teams are fighting for two wildcard berths in the NFC.

DJ Hy's Blues were very relaxing; a nice change of pace after the marathon club-hopping the day before. There was also a costume contest going on. At the end of the evening we voted, and Rosie and I won! I think my Lone Star shirt and red cowboy hat made the difference for me; Rosie was wearing what I guess can be best described as bodacious cowboy babe clothes and a black hat. And tan spiked cowboy boots.

Shortly after the contest the gig was scheduled to end, but since so many people were there enjoying his music DJ Hy stayed late to play for us. I couldn't stay much longer, though; I have to get up very early for work and all of these late nights are wearing on me. At the same time, I'm sure that for most of the day tomorrow I'll be imagining basking in the sunshine on the teak deck of a small sailboat moored in a secluded cove in Holly Kai Three.

Rocks

Today was my first back-to-back Friendly Fire Extravaganza. First in Milano, Italy; Misprint, Owl, Iso, Miz, Dee, and even Jasmyn were rocking in a cool multi-level Opera theater. There was seating on the ground floor plus many private balconies yet most everyone was dancing in the aisles. Many of the locals popped in to see Mack and Case, too. Case did a fantastic rendition of Greensleeves on the guitar!

Immediately after that it was off to Lindenhof Park on the Zurich Hillside. This is the place with the ice-skating rink where I had listened to DJ Elwe last weekend. New Mom Mysty, Drako, Misprint, Owl, Daddy, Featherfoot, Branwen and many of the Zurich regulars were dancing and skating to the sweet harmonies. I'm getting pretty good at dancing on ice skates; I didn't fall once! The same can't be said for some of the others, but they had been out in the cold for quite a while and I think they may have partook of some anti-freeze and that was helping them stay off their feet.

The Glamtastic Willa showed up late; crazy girl kept doing the splits on the ice! At least she had long jeans on. Case and Mack sang a lovely Jingle Bells - and they actually did have a one-horse open sleigh there in Zurich! A good place for a photo-op. During the show the area had it's rating change from PG to Mature, the first time I've ever seen that happen. Friendly Fire does tend to have that effect on places, though.

As soon as Mack and Case were done in Zurich I raced over to Shelby's World to listen to the last half of DJ Jocelyn's Pirate-themed performance. I had decided that I was too tired to get out a costume; all that ice-skating really takes it out of you. Besides, Jocelyn had costume enough for everyone there - she looked like she just stepped off the bridge of the Revenge. The event was held on the docks, and the smell of the sea and the spray from the waves on the pilings gave her just the right aura.

Argus was there; Padula, Hi and Hare showed up a little later. Iso showed up later still and danced with me for a bit. There was a great crowd and DJ Joce was playing fantastic songs. Eventually I noticed there was only one guy on the contest board, so I went ahead and changed into costume. I did it for him; I didn't want him to think his win was cheap. Hy ended up joining in too, and I think both of their costumes were better than mine, but my flair with the saber whilst dancing must have worked in my favor because I won the contest! Stella, every pirate's dream date, won for the ladies.

After the voting things started winding down; a few more sets and DJ Jocelyn started packing her gear up. Iso and I chatted for a while, then I went back home to change and grab a bite to eat. Case and Mack were playing again later that evening, and I was looking forward to a little bit of relaxation after my hectic morning and afternoon. I had gotten the times mixed-up though, and when the Friendly Fire announcement came out I barely had time to grab a sandwich and race off to the rocky crags of Club Echo Echo.

FF at EE - what a fantastic combination. This was my second Friendly Fire Hat trick, and their fifth show in two days. I can't think of any other band that could keep putting on such tremendous performances time after time. Farr, Argus, Rosie, MiaSnow and Tola were there; Isobela showed up in an incredible diaphanous dress and we danced. Ajay, Hy, Tracy, Daddie, Moard and Mia joined in the fun; plus Anutte and Robt - I hadn't seen them in weeks, months even! Joce and Tracy came by to get ready for their show, which was to start as soon as Mack and Case were done.

The spanking started early; once again I'm not sure who started it, Tracy. It had pretty much died out by the time DJ Jocelyn started, but kept coming back as new people showed up. That nut Anutte is a serial spanker, I had forgotten that about her. She reminded me in spades. Mia has a wicked backhand; as does Rosie, Isobela, MacKenzie, Tracy and many, many other. It hurts just thinking about it!

I talked with my friend Doobie for a bit, but it was just after Case and Mack had finished at Echo Echo. I'm still trying to get her and Hothax to a Friendly Fire show. If Mack and Case can keep up their current pace Doobie will be Glamtastic in no time!

DJ Jocelyn's show was a Punk theme; Tracy, Hy, Mack and I were in Mohawks but Joce wouldn't cut her hair. Gussie, Raven, Casey and Niky came by to listen to the great music, and there were many other people coming in and out all night long. One of the newcomers commented on the color of things at the club, and I just had to give Farr a hard time about color of the giant blue ball rotating above the dance floor.

Joce did her usual terrific job of balancing her meticulously-prepared play list with ad-hoc song requests received during the show. Case observed "Tracy is the first ever 10th degree blackbelt in hostessing, just so ya know." Quite true. When Jocelyn and Tracy get together even the rocks rock.

Crazy, Zany

Isobela is just about finished with building her house. She and I spent some time today furniture shopping. It turns out we have much the same taste, in furniture.

In the evening it was once again time for spanking therapy at Club Group Therapy with Music Therapist DJ Jocelyn. She was ably assisted by the beautiful hostesses of the club Starr and Pru. Hy and Tracy, Ajay, Jud, Hare, Dheep, Caleb, Tank, Moongirl, Boopi and curm all showed up, and others; Friendly Fire was in the house and many beers were glammed.

DJ Joce had put alot of effort into finding a selection of songs for all of the holidays in December for us. Not just the religious holidays but things like Pearl Harbor day and Ding-A-Ling Day (Joce's favorite). DJ Jocelyn also did significant research into holiday music trivia for us. That DJ stuff sure is alot of work!

The theme was a "Crazy, Zany Holiday Event". I wore my newly-repaired Santa suit, and was often referred to as Tycho Claus! Many, many people passed me their wish-lists for Christmas. I guess I should feel happy that my costume was so good that many people were fooled into thinking I was the real Tycho Claus, but I'm afraid that there will be some disappointed people come Christmas morning.

The therapy session started out fairly subdued, but before too long the spanking commenced. I'm not sure who started it this time, Tracy. Isobela and I were prepared with our "Spankaholics" name tags. Jocelyn even put on her spanker, and there's "nothing better than spanking the DJ's star-spangled cheeks!"

DJ Jocelyn closed the show with a live version of the Duck song even though the lyrics were somewhat off-color. That precious snowflake Case was deeply offended by them, but I think he ended up forgiving her.

There was a nice after-show party, many of us stayed and danced to the radio. Padula and SaltySugar showed up, Bill too. Hy and Tracy tried some new dances that were pretty cool. It was a good way to relax from the hectic therapy, and a nice end to a most wonderful day.

Parrot Grease

One word describes the Friday night Friendly Fire show: Awesome. It was at the Parrot Bay Club in Borgatti, advertised as a "family pirate strip club". That seems a strange description, but it was fitting. I wore an eye-patch to try and keep with the pirate theme. They had to clear the stage for the band and all of their equipment so there were no dancers; maybe I'll go back some other time and check them out.

I hadn't seen Case and Mack play at the Parrot Bay Club before, and like most new venues for them it was a wild time. Come to think of it old venues are a wild time too, just a somewhat different set of people that get to enjoy the Glamtastic music.

Bill, Ajay, Tracy, Tkid, Baron, Mia, Moard and Rosinante were there along with many others. I danced between Jocelyn and Isobela most of the night, and occasionally other young ladies would join us for a bit!


At the end of the show Case said "I wish a good weekend on all of you!" What a guy. After wards I hung around to listen to the DJ for a bit. On the side wall of the club was a huge candy-cane, like 10 feet tall with a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the short end of it. The mistletoe was tested by the best-looking couple there, and they were blinded by all the paparazzi flashbulbs!

Afterwards Isobela and I met at The Nude West Club to listen to the fantastic 'DJ to the Stars' Jocelyn! Lexon was there with his usual crazy outfits, he is pretty cool. Sazzy and Dren, Tracy and Hy, Isobela and I and many others were enjoying the rocking tunes.

The theme was Grease; the musical not the lubricant. Lexon misunderstood at first, but a few swipes with a mop and hot soapy water and the dance floor was safe to use again. Farr and Sazzy ended up winning the contest; Sazzy had on an original "Pink Ladies" jacket from the movie that was of course just perfect for the theme.

It was a wonderful end to a stressful week. I may have to go out of town on business next week; don't know how I will survive without my friends and fun. I guess I'll just have to try and muddle through somehow. And in keeping with the Seasons, Happymerrychanukwanzachrisyule!

Treasure!

Friendly Fire was tearing up Club Casa Blanco as they do most every Thursday. Ajay was there with the hair and attitude that spell Danger! She was wearing a blood-stained shirt; I asked her who's blood it was and she was evasive. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Joce around in a while...

My friend Judristen, Isobela, NEMO, Tkid, Fleetwood, Shania and many of the locals were rocking out. Padula showed up and complicated the dance scene; it was very difficult to stay on beat and avoid stepping on her tail at the same time! Her chat and charm made it worthwhile, though. Hy showed up for the last song, poor guy.

Friendly Fire played Pr0nography to great acclaim, and something touched me when they played Crazy. I've heard them play it 56 million times before, but there was something about this time that I can't quite put my finger on. I'll have to pay more attention to it next time. Case and Mack sang Santa Claus is Coming to Town for us, and also Jingle Bells! They have the holiday cheer AND the holiday spirits! Case called us his precious snowflakes yet again.

Later on I went Christmas part shopping again, I also found a new Santa hat and a couple of nice shirts for myself. When I visit new stores I like to wander around their neighborhoods and see what else is there is in the area. In one place I found a giant pile of treasure in this narrow gorge! It's strange that someone would leave all this gold and silver lying around without something to guard it...

Glam me a Bed!

Friendly Fire was playing at The Looking Glass Head Quarter, the last of three events hosted there to celebrate their one month anniversary. The Looking Glass at http://www.slookinglass.com/ is a site featuring news, observations, pictures and current events about the Metaverse. Sojurn Rossini and Funky Rang played first, and then Case and Mack stole the show.

The Looking Glass Head Quarter has a glass dance floor as their roof; it is a pretty amazing place. I had arrived a little late, there was some mix-up on the start times and I missed the sweet, sweet strings of 'Radio', so when I arrived I hurried upstairs to dance.

Ajay, Tkid, NEMO, Poppy, Moard, cat and a whole mess of locals were there. Case mentioned he need a little loving, and beds started appearing on the dance floor! Just a sign of the times, really. As one astute commenter noted; "Some clubs you bat around beach balls. But with Friendly Fire? It's sex beds."

When the Glamtastic MiaSnow arrived Case told us about the incredible Friendly Fire poster that she had made for them. He kept going on about how fantastic it was, and he was right! She told us the URL so I browsed there and Wow!

Mack and Case were in a very good mood and it was contagious. There was much more goofing around on the microphone than they usually do, and the antics of Moard and NEMO kept us all in stitches. It was without a doubt the best time that I have ever had at a Friendly Fire gig, and I have been to alot of them.

During the show Case had again asked for us to donate Christmas ornaments for a Friendly Fire tree, so after the show broke up and Case and Mack went home for some dinner I started browsing Christmas ornament shops. I figured that I would end up making my own, but I wanted to get some ideas on the latest fads this year.

In hindsight, that was a kinda silly thing to do. The greatest graphic artist in the metaverse owes me many favors. I was reminded of this when Isobela called and asked what I was doing. When I explained I was promptly chided for not asking her first. She asked what I wanted in an ornament, colors and such. I provided her with the Eagle Globe and Anchor emblem that I wanted and within three shakes of a lamb's tail I had the most perfect Christmas ornament that I've seen!

After thanking her profusely I asked her to meet me at the House of Solstice Silk Designs; they were having a special on Snowman slippers that I thought she would like. While there we noticed that they had set up a small Winter Wonderland and dance area above the House, so of course we had to try out the dance floor.

Afterwards we went to Ann De's where there were more specials going on. Isobela found yet another new dress; man that girl can shop. But then again, I've never known one who couldn't. I changed into the kilt that I had gotten there earlier, and we decided that dressed up as we were that we just had to go dance to some Jazz.

DJ Jocelyn had given me the directions to a place that she recommended, but I found that I had two sets of directions to Jazz places in my pocket and didn't know which was which. We tried the Sunset Jazz Club in Alexandria first. It was a nice place, but it was dead - there was nobody there except the cleaning lady.

We then went to the Blue Note Retro Jazz Lounge and it was kicking. This was the place that Joce recommended. It was very nice; cool crowd, nice music, excellent DJ. Iso really liked it; she actually said "Jocelyn is the bomb." I would tend to agree. Thank you, Joce!