BashUp

Angel of Indiana: U2 dedicated their performance of “Angel of Harlem” to the “Angel of Indiana,” Michael Jackson, during last night’s tour opener at Barcelona, with Bono singing a bit of “Man in the Mirror” and “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” at the end. Here’s the performance:

A Rare Racing Post: As you may have read, Tony George stepped down today as CEO of all the Hulman-George businesses (ever hear of Clabber Girl Baking Powder?), including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. George will shift his focus to his IndyCar team, Vision Racing.

Taking over his responsibilities is the team of Curt Brighton and Jeffrey Belskus. For starters, this now means we’ll have have to ask “Which Curt?” now that Flirty Curty Cavin (nod to pressdog for the nickname) isn’t the only one you’ll be hearing about/from on a regular basis. But serious questions loom – what does this mean for IMS and especially the Indy Racing League? And how are fans, the media and bloggers reacting to the news? Here’s a roundup:

• First, a preemptive blog post from George at Oilpressure.
• Then, the news from Racer.com.
• Meesh cautions that this isn’t the time for the Anti-IRL brigade to dance for joy.
• Jeff at MyNameIsIRL.com shares his concern for the stability of the sport and the great unknown that it faces at this inopportune time.
• The aforementioned Cavin has reaction from team principals about the change at the top.
• pressdog shouts vindication for his (and Meesh’s) favorite, Robin Miller, and links to Robin’s story from late May that states he was right about this from the beginning and we’d see how long it took to prove that. Robin also gets into the family feud (between George and his sisters) that is driving today’s events.
• Over at Is It May Yet?, there are more props for Miller and the asking of the million-dollar question many of us have – what are The Sisters George’s intentions?
• Meanwhile, Cavin was delivering the mail double-time today, tweeting that “it’s raining news” and giving us much-anticipated details about the league’s softening of oval aero restrictions, starting with the race at Kentucky August 1st. Hopefully we can take down those “No Passing Zone” signs and pave over the double yellow lines that have appeared at almost all of our oval races this season.

Personally, I am a bit saddened that we’ll be spending the speedway’s Centennial Era pondering the fate of the league and of the 500 itself. We should all hope that the potential new deal with Apex Brasil comes to fruition – the deal is believed to bring the series closer to profitability, which may buy the new management team a little extra time from the Sisters George and their demands. But who can say what the long term might hold? And will this uncertainty affect the involvement of new manufacturers and the timing of the new spec, which many are hoping will breathe new life into the sport in on many levels? We live in interesting times…

First U2 Gig!: The stage (”The Claw”) is amazing! Apparently, things rotate/move, and the conical screen above the stage actually expands and can change shape. Geeeeeking out over this thing! Check it out!

At night, with show lights and amazing screen…

During the show, they had an actual satellite hookup with the International Space Station to talk with the astronauts – only U2 could pull that off…

Here’s The Claw in its various states:

That rainbow thing is a video screen! The screen shows patterns or it shows the performance to help everyone see…the band looks like ants!

The screen MOVES! It can stretch down almost to the tops of the band’s heads!
Here’s what it’s like during a show:

Those two gray things at the top that have 6 rows each are actually speaker banks! The whole Stage can be a bunch of different colors, or all one shade.

Dashing: Mr. Clayton, again. It should be illegal to be this delicious, but I’m glad it’s not…

Hot DAMN!: More Clayton eye candy…

RIP: A hugely talented and hugely troubled human being has left the building…

Baaaad Bashie: So I shoot the Fixx and end up between Jamie West-Oram’s legs..

photo by mrbill666

Photo by mrbill666 – see his great Fixx shots on Flickr!

Let’s Get Fresh!: Saw a selection of California license plate mint boxes today, with sayings such as “Daddy’s Girl,” “Queen,” “I’m Taken,” and “Fun Girl” on them. Since the gentlemen who show an interest in me tend to be a bit older, I picked up this one as a joke:

Mmmmmm: They can age like Mick Jagger, or they can be delicious like this:

U2 bassist Adam Clayton - (c)John Spellman / Retna Ltd.

Photos: I’ve decided to create my own domain for photos and have selected gallery software to power it. I need to set it up and decide on templates and layouts so I know what size to make the Fixx photos.  (They will be the first up on the new domain.) Getting all my concert, racing and critter photos up will take some time – medical leave has ended and I’m going back to work tomorrow, but watch this space for more details…

Energy: Or lack thereof…man, I’m wiped out! My energy has been low all week, so the chores haven’t all been done, plus I brought back all the leftover booze from Santa Cruz and it’s in bags all over my apartment until I find a place for it all in my crowded kitchen. Looks like a tornado hit a liquor store and then hit my place.

Writing: Trying to figure out when I’ll have time to resume personal writing projects – the type of writing I do at work is very focused and specific and I’d like to stretch my muscles in other areas again. I wrote a brief bit for pressdog leading into his race notes for the Texas race and discovered just how rusty I am. (Not to mention my usual style doesn’t blend so easily with pdog’s snappy tone.   ) I need to give myself  a few assignments and knock off some rust.

The Fly

It’s no secret that the stars are falling from the sky
It’s no secret that our world is in darkness tonight
They say the sun is sometimes eclipsed by a moon
You know I don’t see you when she walks in the room

It’s no secret that a friend is someone who lets you help
It’s no secret that a liar won’t believe anyone else
They say a secret is something you tell one other person
So I’m telling you, child

Love…we shine like a
Burning star
We’re falling from the sky
Tonight
A man will beg
A man will crawl
On the sheer face of love
Like a fly on a wall
It’s no secret at all

It’s no secret that a conscience can sometimes be a pest
It’s no secret ambition bites the nails of success
Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief
All kill their inspiration and sing about their grief

Over love… we shine like a
Burning star
We’re falling from the sky
Tonight
A man will rise
A man will fall
From the sheer face of love
Like a fly from a wall
It’s no secret at all

Love…we shine like a
Burning star
We’re falling from the sky
Tonight
A man will rise
A man will fall
From the sheer face of love
Like a fly from a wall
It’s no secret at all

It’s no secret that the stars are falling from the sky
The universe exploded ’cause of one man’s lie
Look, I gotta go, yeah I’m running outta change
There’s a lot of things if I could I’d rearrange…

—————- Bono

Den Mom Lives!: In the past, I’ve organized parties at Santa Cruz when The Fixx played on the beach there. We’ve even been lucky enough to have the band join us as our special guests at these parties. They haven’t played that venue in three years, but will be back on the beach Friday night and suddenly I find myself in charge of planning the party.  (I love doing this sort of thing!) Somewhere along the way, I earned the nickname Den Mom, and it’s nice to step back into that role.

I’m bringing my entire (meager)  liquor cabinet and delegating purchases and contributions to other attendees, and I’ve found a whole mess of basic drink recipes to try on folks. (We usually have our fabulous bartender Ms. Pippi with us, but she’s traveling to Michigan on a family emergency. Love you, my sister…miss you so much…) I’ve built a checklist to make sure we end up having another great gathering. No guarantee the guys will join us this time – it always depends on their travel schedules – but we’ll have a great time, either way. Gotta rest up a lot this week so I can stay up a little later on Friday… 

Blue Moon: A friend of mine tried to order a Blue Moon last weekend when we had lunch at Esparza’s in Grapevine. (They didn’t have it.) I’d never heard of it to that point, but in the last week, I’ve had two others recommend it and read a few references to it. I’m not a huge beer drinker and like my lagers on the light side, so I picked up some Blue Moon this evening and I really enjoyed it. Add that to Boddington’s and Asahi as a beer I will be happy to drink.

Taking It Slow: Rested most of today and got out for a brief walk and some errands. Really feeling it now – I think this will be one of those nights I fall asleep during Giants baseball on the radio.  Need to walk more over the weekend and start building  up my stamina a bit more – only one more week before I go back to work. Won’t be able to rely on an afternoon nap then.

Day 1 – Practice: I arrived mid-afternoon for my first race at Texas, checked in and headed to Texas Motor Speedway at about 5:30 p.m., where The International Superstar Shane Rogers (TISSR) was waiting with a credential voucher for me. Pit, Infield and Race Mode access…nice!  Prowled the pits and garage with TISSR, snapping photos of evening-time practice. Was awed and amazed by the speedway – a huge, impressively-maintained facility. You can see some shots here:

Day 1 Photos

Day 2 – Practice/Quals: More photos during a sweltering practice and qualifying session. FINALLY met Crash Gladys and Kenny Sargent from SpeedFreaks-Crash snuck me into the Media Center where we sat in the empty auditorium and chatted up a storm in air-conditioned comfort. Really needed that break – I wasn’t doing to well from the afternoon heat. After quals were complete, I hung out with TISSR, Paul Dalbey and Marc Bever while the NASCAR truck race started. Took off a bit after the race got going – I was only one month-post surgery and really needed to rest. Photos:

Day 2 Photos

Day 3 – Race: Had lunch with a friend at Esparza’s in Grapevine. THE best chips and salsa I’ve had. More, please! Met Crash at the track, where she hooked me up with the Victory Circle access sticker that the SpeedFreaks got.  Since they didn’t have a photographer with them, they let me use it. So cool. Crash and I spent the whole race together, during which she surprised me with a visit to the Live 105.3 suite in turn 4. Had a blast up there!  The racing wasn’t spectacular, but seeing the cars under the lights on that amazing track was thrilling. Left the suite just in time to hit Victory Circle and Helio’s celebration. Photos:

Day 3 Photos

A big thanks to everyone for making my visit to TMS  most enjoyable. I’ll be back – this place is just too awesome to miss!

Shutterbug Rediscovered: I sorta put my camera down for a while late last year. Used it extensively this past weekend and really enjoyed reconnecting with my inner shutterbug. Look for photos in the next day or so.

Finally Together!: After emailing each other all through Helio Castroneves’ run on Dancing with the Stars and staying in touch since, commiserating over the loss of pets and the declining level of competition in our IndyCar series, I FINALLY met Crash Gladys of SpeedFreaks in person this weekend. She is a doll – full of energy and sass and just plain adorable! Kenny Sargent was there as well, with that bad-ass exterior over sweetheart interior. It was great to meet them both.

More Reconnecting: Spent a little more time catching up with the person I disconnected with last fall. I could be wrong, but I think this person may believe I disappeared last year because of  something small, green and shiny. I’m really not petty like that – it was actually some intensely self-focused behavior and a general negative vibe that caused my exit. Hopefully, things will be okay going forward…

Social Butterfly: This week I’m going to meet with a friend and some co-workers I haven’t seen since my surgery. So far I’m booked through Wednesday with one more date to set. This is good for me – I need to build towards being active all day – and it’ll be great to see everyone! Tomorrow I’m finally getting to try GFC – Good Frickin’ Chicken! Nope, not southern fried with a biscuit on the side…this is Mediterranean fare. Shawerma, kebabs, falafel and hummus, etc. Yum!!!

Behemoth!: Check out the stage for the new U2 tour!

Feeling Reconnected: Been a good day here. There was an IndyCar race followed by an afternoon of errands that left me with something I needed at a nice price and provided a good walk to boot. And I had a nice evening on the phone for quite a while (you know how little I talk on the phone, right? Maybe  10 minutes a month!)  reconnecting with someone I hit a bumpy patch with last year. Feels good to be back in touch. Feeling contented today. 

Busy Day Yesterday: Rested most of the morning before running errands to the vet and grocery. Sebastian has had problems with a tooth so we went to get him checked out and get some meds. I dragged his carrier uphill to my ZIPcar, to the vet and the grocery store – a bit of a workout with a squirming 12-pound cat inside.  I still felt pretty well afterward – very little lower back ache and my energy level was good all day.  Feeling a bit tired this morning, so I’ll need to have a slower day, but it’s all slowly improving. I’m on target for being able to go a full day several days in a row by the time I go back to work June 22.

Shrinking – YAY!: Laparoscopic abdominal surgery has many upsides – less pain, faster full recovery, etc. One of the few downsides is something I call the “bloaties,” caused by the CO2 gas used to distend the abdominal wall (this gives the surgeon more room to work). Imagine that “ate too much Thanksgiving dinner” feeling, 24/7. The bloaties can take several weeks to dissipate and I’ve been feeling pretty icky due to them. But it’s getting better! A few days ago I put on my “big pants” and couldn’t get them zipped. I went to Old Navy and got some clearance rack pants in the next size up so I had something other than the one skirt that would fit. Not even a week later, my new pants are already loose and my old “big pants” are now zipping up. Hoping to be down yet another size in the next few days so I can start trying my usual wardrobe.

Traveling!: Next weekend. I’ve always wanted to see the IndyCars race at night at Texas Motor Speedway and I’ve found a way to make it happen. I used a one-way flight credit I had and found a decent price on a return flight. Found a four-star hotel way cheap on Hotwire that is 20 minutes from the track. This is also a perfect test for my recovery from surgery – the IndyCars share the weekend with the NASCAR truck series, which I am not particularly that into. So, I can plan to be at the track for IndyCar stuff and nap at the hotel during the Trucks stuff and see how I feel at the end of that.

Thinking…: If I can find a decent air fare to Dallas (hotels are already decent), I might just do the IndyCar race at Texas. Indy was too soon after my surgery for all that walking. Texas may be just far enough out that I could get around better, and I know I’ll be less likely to hike the whole place. It’s usually in the 90s there and I’d be looking for shade most of the time. Peeking at current fares, I don’t have my hopes up too high, though.

Quote from Facebook friend Andrew Loviscek:

Watching the 500 Banquet is kinda like taking down the Christmas tree. Its time to put the Decorations away, take a deep breath and look forward to next year.

H3lio!: Helio Castroneves won his tax evasion case in mid-April (remaining charge dropped Friday) , came back strong to the IndyCar series and swept the Month of May: Pole, Pitstop competition, and his third Indy 500. It was practically preordained that he’d win the race and that he did adds beautiful punctuation to what has gone from a nightmare to a charmed life in a matter of 6 weeks.  I love a good story and Helio is definitely that. A second place from Dan Wheldon, career-best third from Danica Patrick and an amazing fourth for bay area boy Townsend Bell added a little extra flavor to an already sweet tale. Now, we wait…another 364 days….to do this amazing thing again. And next time, I’m there. 

500 Picks: Here’s how it looks from San Francisco:

Shoe-in – Helio Castroneves. Since his acquittal on tax evasion charges last month, Helio has been on a roll. Everything seems to be falling his way – strong finishes in his races so far, the pole, the pit stop competition…it’s really hard to go against him.

Co-star – Teamie Ryan Briscoe is fast, smart and a bit overshadowed by Helio. He could sneak into Victory Lane if his day goes right.

But Wait, There’s More – Dan Wheldon seems to have found what he was looking for. He wrestled his car all month and today it just came to him. He should be watched. Closely.

Long Shot(s) – Graham Rahal and Mario Moraes. Each solid and quite quick, Moraes surprisingly so. There should be some excitement from these two.

Loooooong Shot – Davey Hamilton. He’s found the speed he wanted after spending the month selflessly putting his preparation time aside to help his teamies get qualified. Davey’s a smart driver and Master of Strategy and Setup, Larry Curry, is calling his race so you just never know…