What a treat to have Greg visit us for a week during his favorite holiday. He put his usual expert touch on a costume that exhibited great detail and authenticity.



Meanwhile Valerie and Tom were sporting some intersting duds. Val's basic black under a sweet Halloween top was an elegant contrast to Tom's basic hipster dude looking for a jam.

Meanwhile, at the party, Tom exchanges in intellectual conversation with Greg.

Charlotte, North Carolina is a lovely place. I've been here before briefly when Dave Sonius and I played four rounds of golf (two each day) in each of South and North Carolina on consecutive days. I am at a League for Innovation in Higher Education conference and am enjoying my stay.



Besides being an interesting and friendly town, there is some real southern cooking. Had breakfast at Mort's Heart and Soul this morning consisting of two pork chops, eggs, grits, and a biscuit. It's what they call 'low country' cooking.

... later that day

Mort's was so good I went back for dinner (skipped lunch) and had the blackened salmon.

Van Morrison in concert at Cricket Pavilion was a mixture of what works and what doesn't. What works is Van Morrison in concert. Although suffering from stage fright throughout his life, he is making the effort to open his vast reportoire and give his many fans a memorable musical experience. Music was awesome including hits from Them.

What doesn't work is a large venue. His ten-piece band, apparently used to being situated close to each other only took up a small fraction of the stage looking like they would fit nicely in a small pub. Although the sound was not compromised when fed through the PA system, some folks in attendance felt the need to talk loudly to each other. This is music worth listening to every note.

Before the Longhorn football game, I got a chance to meet Kinky Friedman at the Scholz Garten in Austin. For the uninitiated, he is a musician (Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys), writer (17 mystery novels), free spirit and gubernatorial candidate for Texas in 2006.



<photo by Jewford>

With slogans like, "No Teacher Left Behind," "How Hard Can It Be," and "Why The Hell Not?" Kinky just might be on to something.

For more, see Dan Halpern's excellent article in the New Yorker.

Went to the Bat Fest in Austin last week, a yearly migration of people watching the bats fly from under the bridge over Lake Austin (River).



Here's a photo of Nate taking in the Bat Fest.
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