From the Inside Out

We went downtown tonight to catch a concert with one of my favorite alternative Christian bands, Switchfoot. They were playing at the House of Blues in Dallas, and it was an awesome show!

We arrived early with tickets in hand, but there was already a long line of concert goers waiting to get into the venue. At first, I thought they were in line to get tickets, so we went to the box office area to evaluate the situation. When we got there, we realized it was in fact a line of people waiting to get inside. Before leaving, we confirmed it with one of the event staff, but instead of directing us to the back of the line, he started talking about their VIP Lounge, the Foundation Room. And then he did the unexpected…he walked us to the VIP entrance and gave us entrance into their special lounge to wait for the show!! It was SO cool!

The Foundation Room is a lounge with a number of small gathering areas uniquely decorated with art and artifacts from around the world. You can hang out there and grab some food before the show. I’ve been in the Foundation Room at the HoB Chicago and Las Vegas for corporate events, but usually the space is dedicated for “members” only. Needless to say, we were thrilled to be there. Gary and I arrived about 90 minutes before the show was scheduled to begin so we lounged in one of the private rooms (pic below), grabbed some food, and enjoyed our evening.

The concert began at 9 pm. Switchfoot recently released a new album (in early November), so they decided to do something different during this concert. They performed the entire album — start to finish. Afterwards, they came back for a 2nd set and performed some of the “fan favorites.” It was really funny when they left the stage for a quick break, they said whatever song the audience was singing when they came back would be the song they would play next. Soon, the audience began to sing, “Oh Gravity,” and the band kept their promise. They strolled on stage and began to play the song.

It was a fantastic show! Not only did the band play some amazing songs, but they let us have fun too. Their stage presence was entertaining — natural, not overdone, just right. They also had fun with the audience, interacting with us and drawing us into the performance. I will definitely go see them again the next time they are in town, and hopefully they’ll be playing at the House of Blues again. It’s a great venue!

Below are some grainy cell phone pics from tonight’s show:

Hanging out in the Foundation Room before the show

Gary and the Buddha

Ah, so much better than waiting outside in the cold in a long line!

Audience waiting for the show

Switchfoot!!!!

Gary’s cell phone camera is much better than mine — here’s another, less grainy, shot of the band.

This one is for you, Mom. The guy on the right was playing an accordion! Never heard that before in a rock band, but it was great. The lead singer was also playing a harmonica…pretty cool!

My Halloween in pictures…and here we go!

Darth Brooks ready for some Trunk or Treating

Princess Leanne Rimes and the country Stars Wars mobile

Yes, we mixed Star Wars with country music stars…it’s more fun that way!

The ships

After Trunk or Treat we headed to Verdun Manor with a group to find something a little more scary

Showing the creepy clowns how to get their groove on

No, we’re not scared!

Verdun Manor

Ahhh, we’re SOO scared!!

It was a fun evening entertaining the kids and then heading out with a great group of people to be entertained/scared. Halloween is awesome!

For the full photo album from tonight, click here.

I’ve always loved pictures that, when taken from the right angle, change a normal photo into something completely unexpected. I’ve taken a few of them over the years, but I ran across a site tonight with a great collection. Here are a few of my favorites:

And some from my own collection:

Gary in Milan

Washington DC

Pisa

Holding up the tower

The “W” in Dallas

Central Park, NYC

NYC Subway

For more great pics, check out the “DamnCoolPics” blog here.

When I think of canoeing and kayaking trips, I usually think of the Guadalupe River in San Marcos, but it seems that those in North Texas now have another option, the Trinity River. Yes, you read that right. The not so lovely, mostly muddy, Trinity River offers 100 river miles of canoeing “pleasure.”

Trinity River Expeditions hosts the tours. According to their website, the “wooded and open natural areas of the Trinity River floodplains shelter a variety of native plants and animal life and contain many other features like historic bridges and river crossings. ” Along the banks you can see birds such as Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons and Red Tailed Hawks. Other critters can also make appearances during the trip including spotted beavers, turtles, and Alligator Gar, a species of large fish that thrives in the river. Archaeological sites including an old Native American campsite can also be found — and don’t forget the trash. The Trinity isn’t known for it’s pristine cleanliness.

There are three options for the canoe trips:

• lm Fork - Flows south of Lake Lewisville, trips 4 to 10 miles long
• Main Stem - Flows past downtown Dallas into the Great Trinity Forest, trips 5 to 10 miles long
• West Fork - Flows from Ft. Worth to Dallas, trips 5 to 9 miles long

Trinity River Expeditions provides the equipment, transportation, and information to set up your own river trip. The also provide guided trips on the 2nd Saturday of every month.

The Trinity wouldn’t be my first choice for canoeing, but if you’re up for an interesting adventure in Dallas, you might want to check it out. For more information, click here.

Everyone knows the traditional definition of the mile high club, but now there may be a new one. Airline passengers are starting a new trend by grabbing their cameras and capturing pictures of their reflections in the lavatory mirrors while in flight. It may not be as fun as the original mile high club, but it’s definitely an easier task to accomplish.

Some people hold their noses in the pictures, making fun of the strange odors that always seem to reside in that small, cramped space. Others give their best “myspace” pose or take pictures of the objects in the lavatory. Then, they post the pictures online for others to enjoy.

Passengers aren’t the only ones getting involved in the action. Pilots and flight attendants are playing along too. Laviating is what flight attendant Heather Poole calls it. She says it’s a play on the word aviator, and people who photograph themselves in the airplane lavatory are labeled “laviators.”

Heather also writes a blog on Gadling, and she has started her own collection of mile high headshots from laviators. She’s looking for more people to join the club, so the next time you’re in a plane and bored just grab your camera and head to the lavatory for a quick photoshoot. When you land, send your pics to Heather, and she’ll add ‘em to her growing collection.

Not sure how to take a good self portrait? Check out these great tips, then check out Heather’s blog and Laviators Club pics. For more laviators, you can also check out pics on Flickr.