Happy Veterans Day

Thank you to all veterans who have served our country. My thanks especially go to my sister, Kerry, you served for a year in Iraq.

I'm happy to report that I finished my thrummed mittens finally:



I may be the last person in the knit-along to finish them. I don't think of myself as a really slow knitter, but it seems apparent that I am, since it takes me so long to finish things. I like how the second mitten turned out much better than the first:



I had exactly the right amount of fleece. I had a little tuft left, but after I tried them both on, I realized I had made the second thumb much shorter than the first one and it looked really stubby. So, I ripped down to the start of the decreases and knit a few more rows and used up the rest of the fleece. It's starting to get really cold here, so I may have call to wear these mittens soon.

I didn't do any knitting last night because I took my niece and one of her friends to see this band:



Awesome show! Green Day is not one of my favorite bands, in the way that U2, Pearl Jam, REM, etc. are. However, they are just fantastic live. I've seen them a couple of times now, and they always kick my ass. The album above is a great album with a real political message. Billie Joe also referenced the election and politics in the concert - at one time telling the audience, "Don't let old fucking white men make decisions for you". There was so much energy from the crowd. I wish a band like Green Day would have joined the Vote for Change tour. It's great to have bands like Bruce Springsteed, REM and Pearl Jam, but people my age already vote if they're going to vote. Perhaps if a really popular band like Green Day was active, more young people will vote. Perhaps just making the music is enough, though. Maybe those kids will really think about the statements and their cheering and do something about it and not become American Idiots.

Most of the show was songs from the new album, all very good. Most of the concerts I go to are aimed at my age (REM, Pearl Jam, etc.) or slightly older (Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac). The kids seem to want a little more than just a drummer and a couple of guitar players standing on stage. There were a ton of pyrotechnics - every time this loud "boom" went off, I jumped. The band played their old hits from "Dookie" as well. They played a couple of covers such as "Shout" by the Isley Brothers and "We Are the Champions" by Queen. Both were really effective. In the encore, they dropped a huge load of confetti and the last song was Billie Joe alone at the end of the stage, playing guitar and singing "Good Riddance (Time of your Life)" in a spot light with the confetti swirling around in the air. Perfect.

I felt ancient. I've been to other concerts where I felt pretty old - Bush back in the 90s, Counting Crows where the headliner was John Mayer. As I get older though, it really becomes more of a difference. Back in the mid-90s when Green Day first became popular, a lot of people my age and slightly younger liked them, but the vast majority of this crowd was 14-20 years old. I'm not sure why the original fans aren't going to this show. One big benefit though - absolutely no line at the cocktail bar.