This Blog Has Moved: Gambill.Wordpress.com

Everyone knows we move almost every year. To clarify only four out of five years of marriage. Anyway, with almost a year on Blogger we've decided to spread our wings a little with a site that gives us a bit more control of our blog. WordPress is the new site we'll be using.

The new address is http://gambill.wordpress.com/ You'll notice a better looking site that includes all of our previous posts from blogger plus new entries. Be sure to change your link to the new site.

You will notice a picture at the top of the page on the new site that is from college when I dropped Tilly. Evidently, we do not take enough pictures so until we find a better picture we're going to let that little seen pic from spring of 2001 take the top spot.

Please, let us know how you like the new site.

For Mom on Mother's Day

My mother enjoys reading our blogs. With Tilly and I being in Washington, DC, the blog has become an nice outlet to our family and friends at home. With tomorrow being Mother's Day, I thought I'd write a random post that only a mother could enjoy.

Tilly is at a Girl's Night Out with some friends tonight, so I thought I'd let you read what a typical night at home for a nearly five-year old married man nearing 30 (November) looks like? It consists of what our nights typically look like when Tilly is home. I thought about making this is a video journal or picture parade (I made the latter term up), but decided I'll just let your imagination go with the written word.

As most of you know, my first inclination is to eat. Tilly would do the same for herself in my absence. With age, I've gone from frozen pizzas to homemade pizzas with store bought dough. Trader Joe's has great pizza dough that I'm fond of, so I pounded out the dough to try my first thin crust pizza on our new pizza stone. New you ask? Yes, our original stone cooked its final pizza last month. It served us well, but was simply no match for the hot burner that was accidentally left on beneath it. Tonight's inaugural pizza is thin crust, extra sauce, less cheese, and pepperoni galore. I remembered the pineapple only minutes too late.

As the pizza cooked, I pulled out the laptop to get ready for my nightly work. Yes, I must keep up with the goings-on in Major League Baseball so tonight my, I mean, the Atlanta Braves are in Pittsburgh. They, okay I'll drop the gimmick, we had a six game winning streak as we swept our six game homestand. The fun ended last night as the Pirates defeated us on the road. We now have the best home and the worst road record in baseball.

Pizza is in my hands to eat as the first pitch is thrown. I am obviously not typing this in real time, so in the sixth inning we're down 5-2. I'll just say it, "How do we lose to the Pirates?" I mean the Washington Nationals owned us in April, but the Braves are always slow in April. Oh, you say its May? Yikes!

As the game starts, I leave the windows open to hear the traffic of the city and feel the nice breeze of the 58 degree evening. The dogs are at my feet. Our dog, Maddie, and Tilly's parents' puppy, Bella. We're halfway through our six weeks of keeping her. At present, Bella is deciding whether to bite my foot, but a quick gaze let's her know whose... Ow, there went a toe. Okay, so Bella is back in the box and Maddie is comfortably next to my feet.

I've left out some crucial details about the atmosphere. The television is off and the iPod is connected to the surround sound playing my favorite new album Raise the Dead by Phantom Planet. With my new found passion for music, there is rarely a moment that an album is not playing somewhere near me. Music post coming soon to this blog. Seriously, I promise. Maybe even tonight. During my commute, I have my iPod and ear buds in and it seems I've got a soundtrack to my life playing. Depends on the song of course, but there's nothing better than cruising around the corner for work with a great tune that gets the day started right with a view of the city and smile on my face.

Tilly will be home soon and we'll take the dogs out for their nightly walk before ending up sitting somewhere reading and listening to tunes. Unless of course, Tilly brought home another season of Gilmore Girls on DVD, which means the Atlanta Braves, music, and finishing Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. By the way, Tilly will wonder what I was thinking with this post. As I mentioned in the beginning, this random post is for my mother's enjoyment. She enjoys reading what I would be saying on the phone or in person if we were talking. Yes, I do talk as I write with more information than you could ever listen to. This post is for you, Mom. Happy Mother's Day. Be sure to ask her about the t.v. dinner Mother's Day card. Okay, scratch that.

Tunes of Note: May

In February, I posted on the blog that I would continue the musificiation of myself via researching, buying, listening, and posting about albums of note each month. I completed three of the four, so consider the February post the first, okay second, New Year's Resolution I broke quickly. What's the first? Tune in next time...

Since I have failed to post on music in the last three months, I'll have to make it up to you with an epic post tonight. Without further ado, here's what I've been listening to.

Consolers Of The Lonely by The Raconteurs

The Raconteurs is a side project of Jack White of The White Stripes, who had one of the great albums of 2007 with Icky Thump. This is easily my favorite album of the year, thus far. The opening track begins with a jam and never let's up until the album is complete. I've found myself listening to this album so much that I've had to try not listening to it. The riffs are great, the rock is solid, and the bluesy flavor at points is just right for this rock band. This is the second album by The Raconteurs, but this is there first genuine success. They should be touring this summer, so count Tilly and I as one of the patrons standing in line in hopes of see them rock in person.

Raise the Dead by Phantom Planet

This technically could be considered a May post. The album came out in April, but without reviews in Rolling Stone and only Blender to trust I decided to put it on my wait list. I bought the album on iTunes on Tuesday and I've yet to turn it off. I listened to it over and over for five days straight. Besides The Raconteurs and Switches (review to come), I cannot recall an album that immediately struck me as quickly. The first two songs play off of each other with some nice beats and intelligent grooves. This is an alternative band from California. Given my newbie mind to music, I am not familiar with their earlier work. This is their fourth album and with at least five songs I've got listed as four stars on my iPod, I'd put this as a must buy.

Lay Down the Law by Switches

I'd never heard of the band Switches until earlier this year. When I mention I research and preview albums, here's the way it happens. Every Tuesday, I take the latest issue of Rolling Stone and/or Blender (SPIN will be coming soon) and go album by album that each issue previews and listen to 30 second cuts of each song on the album via iTunes. There are always some albums I can mark off immediately as I noted in the original post such as country and most rap, R&B, and pop. I do listen to most all rock, alternative, punk, folk, and other non-discript genres. Switches were reviewed decently in Blender, but has yet to even get a mention in Rolling Stone. For the record, Rolling Stone tends to review only select albums each issue while Blender reviews most everything monthly. Stone sometimes realizes their error like with Phantom Planet and will review it a month or so later once it starts getting positive reviews elsewhere. Needless to say, I took a chance with Switches and have one as its my third favorite album of the year so far. Its an easy listen with an alternative rock sound with some pop-like lyrics. I am not a lyrics guy as much, but I'm beginning to try. If you like enjoyable alternative rock albums this one is a worthy purchase.

Attack and Release by The Black Keys

The Black Keys have had some successful albums previously, but I obviously have never heard them. I read an article on them and heard about the single for their upcoming album earlier this year. I went to listen to the single Strange Times and needless to say I was hooked. Its still my favorite single of the year, but the album was just as solid. Its a bluesy, rock album that I can listen to without fault everyday this year. Unlike Switches and Phantom Planet, The Black Keys album has gotten a lot of critical praise. They brought in Danger Mouse to help refine their sound for this new album and he did just that. In listening to their previous albums there is definitely an improved sound to this album. It hits you slowly, but before long you'll be wishing you could see this pair on a stage near you. Don't wait, just buy.

As this post is getting obnoxiously long, I'm going to go to the lightening round with some quick thoughts on a few other albums.

Good:

• Mudcrutch by Mudcrutch - One of the great stories of the music world this year. Mudcrutch is Tom Petty's original band before the Heartbreakers. With this album, he brought the band back together which consists of two members from the Heartbreakers and two more from the original Mudcrutch. The sound of the album is a bluesy rock/country hybrid that is a pleasure to hear. To my ears it leaned more country than I wanted, but I kept listening as you can feel the stories of the band's reunion in every beat. Click this link for more on the story of the band's return over two decades later.


• Accelerate by R.E.M. - This is the album where the Athens, Georgia band finally rocks again with a very good album after putting out some lackluster tracks over the last decade.


• Warpaint by The Black Crowes - If you like good, southern rock than Warpaint is the album for you. Its been a very satisfying album with Josephine being the stand out track from the album.


• For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver - This is another one of those great musical stories of the year. Hopefully, I have this generally correct. Bon Iver's girlfriend broke up with him so he holed up in a cabin for three months in isolation and this is what came out of it. The album struck me similar to Josh Ritter's early work with deep lyrics that evoke story-telling and passion. Its the perfect album for the background of a night reading or sullen time of thought introspection.

Neutral:

• Konk by The Kooks - As one of the breakthrough artists of 2007 with Inside In/Inside Out, the British bred Kooks quickly put out a new album this year. Although Inside hit it big in the states last year, it actually came out internationally in 2006, so I should probably retract the quick. In my quick listens thus far, its been solid but has not resonated as of yet. Not to say it won't, but I kept waiting for something that struck me like Inside, but it hasn't as of yet. Another British band, The Fratellis, are going to have the same issue this year as their album Here We Stand hits the states next month. Their first single from the new album Mistress Mabel has not been my favorite, but as one of my favorite albums of 2007 I have high hopes for the Fratellis.


• Elephant Shell by Tokyo Police Club - I heard about this album everywhere as this is the first full-length album from the band. They put out a couple EP's that were quite impressive. To be honest I like those much better than this album. I've not given it a fair shake as of yet, which is why its in the neutral category. Maybe the critics are right, but even most of them think the LPs were better than the album. Time will tell.

Disappointing:

• Age of Understatement by The Last Puppet Show - This is one of the albums I've had high hopes for over the last couple months. Its one of those side projects similar to The Raconteurs only this is with a couple members of the Arctic Monkeys and The Rascals. Arctic Monkeys you may recall had one of the best albums of the year in 2007. Well, the album finally came out last week and I bought it before reading any reviews as I'd purchased the EP and was impressed. I listened to the entire album on my way to work Tuesday morning and then again on the way home in the afternoon. The album is about girls, dating, and break-ups, etc. If I was in high school, I might love this album but as a married man this was disappointing. Some good riffs, but for the first time I could not get past the lyrics to enjoy the album. Well, at least I still have the EP to enjoy.


• Pretty. Odd. by Panic at the Disco - This was one of the more anticipated albums of the year. While I've never owner a Panic at the Disco album as someone getting to know music more, I seemingly need to try some of the name bands to get a feel for their sound. Little did I know that this album would be a one hit wonder of a record. The album took a turn as the lead singer listened to The Who, Beatles, and other classic bands for the first time since the last album. He used what he learned from those bands to tryout some new things. I do not think he lost with this album, but none the less its not been on my must play list so it has to be in this category. The best track on the album is Nine in the Afternoon. Its a must listen.


• Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings by Counting Crows - This album has a great premise that the first half rocks like a Saturday night with the second half of the album being the remorse of a Sunday morning after a wicked hard night out. Problem is the second half of the album just kills the rest. If they had two first halves of the album this one would've been worth the price.


• Lust Lust Lust by The Ravonettes - This is one of the critically acclaimed albums of the year that I trusted would be great based on what I read. Consider it lesson learned as I've tried to like this album but I just can't get past the scratchy guitar sound that they are going for. Maybe later this year, I'll run across this album and love it but as for today I'd prefer a refund.

As for singles, I've only got a couple for you. Tilly always gets hooked on the Apple commercials so the latest is Shut Up and Let Me Go by the Ting, Tings here's a link to the music video for the song. These New Puritans put out a the album Beat Pyramid. I wasn't sold on the album, but I found a couple tracks of interest in Numerology and En Papier.

So ends my quarterly Tunes of Note for May. Go ahead and make your wagers now if I return in June for a monthly music update.

ADDENDUM: I was not aware that bullets in this format were flowers. Not my taste, so consider it Tilly's input on this post.

ADDENDUM #2: I realized after I hit "publish" that I'd left off what is probably the best album by a new band for the year.

Best Debut Album:

• Antidotes by Foals - Vampire Weekend's Vampire Weekend had one of the best albums of the year, but Foals debut Antidotes is at least its equal. Comparing the albums may not be fair as Foals is easily more listenably long-term than Vampire Weekend's campy hit. Antidotes mixes precussion and guitars in a way that provides a mellow, bright indie-rock. Its one of those transitional albums that sounds like something unique and new while providing family tones to balance out your reluctance to jump into something different.

Year of the Wedding Continues...in Philadelphia

The year of the wedding continued with our latest tour of the country. Last weekend, we were in Philadelphia for a Ilan and Traci's wedding. Tilly used to work with Traci at Docs for Tots. They had a private wedding for family on Friday. On Saturday night, they held a party for all of their friends and family at Davios. The event was held on the Penthouse Level that has two private rooms and an outdoor terrace with a wonderful view of the city's skyline. Sunday morning, we had brunch at the Sofitel Hotel with some close friends before taking a quick tour of Philadelphia. Here's some pictures:

Brent outside Indepenence Hall.

Tilly posing with the Liberty Bell.

This one's for you Mom. Here's the picture to further the rumors I've been growing my hair out.

Next weekend's wedding destination: Hot Springs, Arkansas. Enjoy, Tilly. Maddie and I will have a weekend together at home in D.C.

Tilly Meets Nationals Park

On Friday night, I got to take Tilly to her first ball game at Nationals Park. I know, I know. Baseball, Baseball, Baseball. Its the job, but its also entertainment. I just happen to get paid to follow it, but there are still rare moments when I can be a fan. Two weeks after the Atlanta Braves lost on Opening Night, they returned to the District of Columbia for their first three-game series of the weekend. On this wonderful occasion, I was able to score some corporate tickets to take Tilly.

We sat in section 124, row H which is directly behind home plate. We had tickets for the Diamond Club which is the exclusive area where you can eat. After we got our arm bands for admittance, we were then able to check the tab on our tickets which would pay for our food and drinks. After weighing the option of made to order v. buffet, we went against our usual judgment and selected the buffet. The fact it was all you can eat throughout the entire game, I was sold. We got seats on the deck above our seats and had dinner. By the fourth inning, we figured it was about time to leave the food behind and find our seats.

Tilly was treated to a masterful pitching performance from the Braves Tim Hudson with the offense provided by future superstar Yunel Escobar. If you are not familiar with Escobar, go check him out as he's going to be a name everyone will know real soon. It was great to take Tilly to see the new park, but the best for me was getting Tilly to wear an Atlanta Braves cap (retro 1972 Atlanta Braves All-Star hat). She wants to adopt a local team, but as I told her "a house divided will not stand" so she happily wore the Braves cap. She did pretend to be confused by who the Braves were and cheered incorrectly on a couple occasions, but by the end she bought into greatest team in professional sports. I might be a tad bias of course. As for me, I was decked out in my ratted out Braves cap along with a Jeff Francoeur t-shirt. I was not working, so I got to be "that" fan rooting for the opposing team at the home team's ballpark. Unsurprisingly, I enjoyed my role as the Braves fan at Nationals Park. Somehow my picture never made it on the scoreboard.

Baseball's Opening Weekend (Tardy)

When we started the blog, I had no idea my role would be the slacker blogger while Tilly would take the role of historical blogger of our lives. I've become our regular photographers on trips while Tilly reminds me to actually write something. Here's my tardy baseball opening weekend recap:

The final weekend of March, I was in Memphis, Tennessee for Major League Baseball's second annual Civil Rights Game at AutoZone Park. Last year, I was at the original game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians. This years contest was between the New York Mets and Chicago White Sox. We originated a broadcast meaning we did our own play-by-play for the game. I was housed on the on-field producer from the dugouts during the game and on the field for post-game.

In case anyone's curious we spoke with numerous guests either pre-game, during the game, or post-game. They are as follows: Hank Aaron, Sharon Robinson, Martin Luther King, III, Ozzie Guillen, Frank Robinson, Jimmie Lee Solomon, Harold Baines, Orlando Cabrera, Kenny Williams, Omar Minaya, and Jerry Manuel. We also taped with Jerry Reinsdorf and actress Robin Givens.

On Friday, I attended the Civil Rights Game Panel including New York Mets General Manager Omar Minaya, Chicago White Sox General Manager Ken Williams, Ambassador Shabazz (Malcolm X's daughter), Sharon Robinson (Jackie Robinson's Daugther), Martin Luther King III, Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, and actress Ruby Dee. The panel was held the National Civil Rights Museum. This is my second year covering this event. The purpose is to bring light of the lowering number of African-Americans playing baseball. I would highly encourage anyone take time to visit the Civil Rights Museum. For many of us born following the Civil Rights movement its an overwhelming experience to see pictures from a time when individuals were not all treated equal.

The museum is attached to the hotel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. I attended the event with two friends who grew up during this time. They were each touched immensely as they saw the sight of where MLK was killed. The museum has refurbished the room where MLK was staying as well as a room as it would have been before someone stayed. I took the following video of the areas:

The game was on Saturday evening, but with Opening Night on Sunday I hopped a plane and headed back to the nation's capital to cover the Washington Nationals open their new ball park (Nationals Park) against my beloved Atlanta Braves. The picture is of the pre-game ceremony taken from our broadcast booth (the highest point in the stadium and also quite possibly the worst seat in the park). This was right before President Bush came out to throw the first pitch. The record it was 60-40 boos from the crowd.

The new ballpark was quite a sight as the sell-out crowd watched a game they'll probably never forget. My Braves wore their new alternate jerseys which are navy. After the Braves tied the game at three in the top of the ninth inning, Ryan Zimmerman hit a walk-off home run to end the first game at Nationals Park. I was on the field as he hit the home run and standing behind home plate as the team mobbed him. Television always gets the first interview, so I stood in the dugout while ESPN interviewed him. If you were watching you would have noticed me unfortunately standing in their shot. I never want to be on camera, but on occasion it happens. Anyway as soon as ESPN finished, Zimmerman was on the air live with us at XM. We wrapped and I had the Nationals GM Jim Bowden on with our host and then it was time to find a cab and head home.

The season has begun. While it began badly for my Braves, I have all the faith in the world that this could be there year. Just like I do every year. That's the great joy of baseball. Its a 162 game season and one night can be quickly forgotten. Unless your a Nationals fan of course...

Legislative Conference 2008

Last month our Association conducted a legislative conference on Capitol Hill. Conferences are one of the exciting parts of my job at the American Association for Homecare. We had 350 providers and manufacturers come to lobby Congress. I received a fun picture today from a provider I work with in Pennsylvania. This is from our Capitol Hill reception at the Capitol Hill Club (yes, I know its a Republican hot spot and not my norm) during the Conference last month.

I met Senators Pat Roberts and Ken Salazar and saw Congressman Jason Altmire again. I also lobbied the offices of Massachusetts Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy and Representative Tsongas, as well as Vermont Senators Leahy and Sanders. I also had the opportunity to work with Ms. Wheelchair America, Kristen McCosh.

Our efforts produced a House letter with 120 signatories and a Senate letter with 17 signatories asking for further evaluation of the competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment. We're still fighting for a suspension of Round One and delay of Round Two of competitive bidding.

Congratulations to my Senior Producer

If you follow corporate mergers and media entities you may be aware of the pending merger between XM Satellite Radio and Sirius. In our home this merger means quite a bit- and we are following it closely. Last week the Department of Justice (DOJ) said the merger between the two satellite giants was legal. Stocks for both companies jumped and chatter about when the FCC would approve the next step of the merger was rampant.

In our household it also came with a surprise promotion. Brent was moved to the position of Senior Producer for Major League Baseball (MLB) on XM just minutes after the DOJ announcement. Since he started at XM, Brent has been asked to travel to every major event covered by the channel and has met and becomes friends with fascinating and sincere industry people including baseball players, coaches, writers, and celebrities. He's been in the dugout for the All Star games, attended the induction of all the best players into the Baseball Hall of Fame and even celebrated in the locker rooms with the world series champions each year. I'm so happy he has a job he enjoys so thoroughly. I'm really proud of you sweetheart, Congratulations on your new position!

Colbert Hangs in the Bathrooms at the National Portrait Gallery

Brent and I often watch the "Colbert Report" on Comedy Central. For anyone who has watched the show, you probably know his portrait has been on display in the National Portrait Gallery in D.C. We could delve into the more philosophical questions such as "what is art?" and "what deserves to be hanging in the Smithsonian art galleries," but I think you would miss the point of this exhibit- it's comical! Colbert's portrait hangs in the foyer of the bathrooms right next to the largest, and most exhaustive collection of presidential portraits. Colbert, however, has one claim to fame- he has the most portraits in the gallery because his is a portrait, within a portrait, within a portrait... The gallery claims it has brought a whole new type of visitor to the museum, which I can attest to. There was a line of young people getting their picture made (I had to do it for the blog...) the whole time I was in the gallery. I guess you could consider it a novelty.

The "exhibit" (it's only one picture) will end tomorrow.

My favorite time of year in D.C.

Cherry blossom season is my favorite time of year in D.C. I have a theory though on why the cherry blossom season is only two weeks- it's too cold and windy for the blossoms to last much longer here! This morning at sunrise (6:57 a.m.- 39 degrees), Maddie and I went to see the cherry blossoms around the tidal basin. Last year my grandmother, Da, was here to see them with me and the year before Brent went with me. But this year, with Brent out of town, I took Maddie. Maddie along with the 80 other dogs checking out the scene, and the 6 million tourist and professional photographers, made for an eventful trip. It was beautiful at sunrise and the weather was perfect, clear blue skies with a hint of spring in the air. I invite anyone to come visit during cherry blossom season- it really is something you have to see at least once in your life time!

But the cherry blossoms were not our only exciting activity for the day. Even before sunrise I was out stealing (I mean this in the most exaggerated sense of the word since I'm publishing this post) forsythia branches off the side of Interstate 395. This weekend I was responsible for the lay ministry table for our church ministry expo. The theme was racing and the decorations were fantastic. Two friends were in charge of the expo, Destin and Maria. I did the table with the blue table coverings and flower arrangement (although photo is before the table was completed). Tomorrow I'll greet at the table. Brent and I serve in the welcome center every other Sunday greeting visitors at our church and we also serve as needed in the nursery. We love working with the one years olds but they really wear us out!

Brent returns tomorrow from covering the civil rights game in Memphis, Tenn. I'm sure you'll get a post from him soon- he's meeting tons of interesting people this weekend, but Maddie and I will be glad when he returns. My protector dog is no longer fooled by the noise in the living room at night (see my first ever post on the blog, "Party at Maddie's House").

Cheers!

Becca's Wedding in Dallas

Our recent tour of the south continued this weekend with the start of the the year of the wedding. Tilly has several friends getting married this year, so we will be in Arkansas twice this summer as well as a spring wedding in Pennsylvania. Last weekend's wedding was in Denton, Texas outside of Dallas. Tilly's freshman roommate, Becca Lee, got hitched.

We stayed with my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jon who were kind enough to play taxi for our early arrival on Saturday and even earlier departure on Monday. The wedding was on Saturday night, so we had all day Sunday to spend with family. My mother and grandmother, Mema, drove to Dallas on Saturday to see us. Here's a picture of us before we left for the wedding:

New Orleans: Final Post

What a weekend we had from food to music to the NBA All-Star Weekend. It was just the right weekend of a bit of everything. We tried to post as much as we could with pictures, videos, and stories to tell the tale of our weekend. If you are beginning with this blog be sure to go to the beginning and start. There are 13 posts with 12 pictures and ten short videos. The first post is "New Orleans: The Market Cafe". There are links on the left side.

I should also mention that all the pictures and video was taken from my Samsung BlackJack phone, so the quality is not as good as you'd get from a full video camera or digital camera. It does make it easier to get pics and video without having to carry around a lot of equipment. I never have not ever will endorse anything that could increase the need for a fanny pack. Yikes!

Below is the final video I took as we strolled down the trolley track right on the edge of the French Quarter. If you listen carefully at the beginning you'll hear a panhandler ask me for 50 cents just as I start to video.

New Orleans: Whiskey Bar

Tilly wants to tell the story about the Whiskey Bar, which is an exclusive club in the W Hotel we attended following the All-Star Game on Sunday night. Tune in later...

New Orleans: Ghost Tour

On our final night in New Orleans we took the famed Haunted History Tour. We took the Ghost Tour, which was a lot of fun. Tilly being a history buff and having a degree in history talked me into going and I am glad she did. It was enjoyable to walk throughout the French Quarter, but the history of the stories was the most interesting. The picture above is right outside of Jackson Square where the tour ends in Pirates Alley.

Here's a picture of Tilly in front of a haunted house.

There was no one behind me when this picture was taken, but... Okay, just kidding. The bar behind me is considered (not proven) to be the oldest bar in the country. It is not, but the bar tries unsuccessfully to claim it as the oldest. It is also supposedly haunted.

New Orleans: Food

How could we post about New Orleans and not discuss the food. Yes, I know there was a post on beignets, but there's much more than that. We got pralines, white chocolate covered marshmallows, and chocolate covered Ritz and peanut butter at a local candy shop two days. The pralines were my favorite thus the second trip.

On Saturday night, we dined at a German restaurant called Luke. Oddly enough it is home to the best burger in New Orleans. We stayed true to our southern roots with seafood. Tilly had the shrimp farci with blood orange hollandaise, crabmeat and shrimp and I had jagerschnitzel mit spätzlepaneéd veal cutlets with chanterelle and oyster mushrooms. The food was delicious.

On Sunday, we ate at The Alpine for lunch. I am always a sucker for crabcakes even though we live right outside of Maryland I simply couldn't resist fresh crabcakes. I had the Santa Fe crabcake platter roasted garlic potatoes and fresh vegetables and Tilly had the crawfish etouffe. We topped everything off with Nawlins wonderful bread pudding. Check out the healthy picture of our entrees.

We repeated much of The Alpine's menu Monday night at Oceana Grill, which is right off of Bourbon Street. The main change in menu was Tilly had the Crawfish Fettuccini, which was Louisiana crawfish tails tossed in a home-made Fettuccini Alfredo sauce. The Alfredo sauce had a slight tomato/red pepper taste to it that was very good.

Finally, we could not leave New Orleans without a stop of the famed Mother's Restaurant. The restaurant opened its doors in 1938. Check out this link for more history on the restaurant including his recovery following Hurricane Katrina. Its situated right next door to the W Hotel. When we arrived late morning on Saturday we noticed a line. Any time we were in our room, I'd look out our windown which was right above Mother's to check out the line. There was a line the entire weekend. By Monday, I figured for sure it would have disappeared. I was of course wrong. We waited in line for about an 45 minutes outside and another half hour inside before finally tasting the reason for the wait. The atmosphere and experience was worth the wait, but having a newspaper made it more bearable. I had the crawfish etoffe and a massive, homemade biscuit and Tilly had her best and largest shrimp po-boy of the weekend. I planned ahead and got a smaller bowl of etoffe and helped Tilly with the second half of her sandwich. Mother's thwarted my plan by bringing a second bowl of crawfish etoffe, but I resisted by trading it to Tilly for the other half of the po-boy.

As you can see we ate well. All future pictures in the next month will be from a distance.

New Orleans: Cafe du Monde

Within moments of landing in New Orleans, Tilly began talking about beignets. Nawlins is of course famous for these, but no where are they more revered than Cafe du Monde. As you could guess, getting me to go trying something fried and covered with powdered sugar was easy. Its just shocking that we didn't do it until Monday afternoon.

Below is a short history of Cafe du Monde from their website. Click the link above for more information:

The Original Cafe Du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. The Cafe is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It closes only on Christmas Day and on the day an occasional Hurricane passes too close to New Orleans.

The Original Cafe Du Monde is a traditional coffee shop. Its menu consists of dark roasted Coffee and Chicory, Beignets, White and Chocolate Milk, and fresh squeezed Orange Juice. The coffee is served Black or Au Lait. Au Lait means that it is mixed half and half with hot milk. Beignets are square French -style doughnuts, lavishly covered with powdered sugar. In 1988 Iced Coffee was introduced to the cafe. Soft drinks also made their debut that year.

Right outside Cafe du Monde was a young lady performing. We saw her there every day. Here's a short video:

New Orleans: ADB

On Saturday night, we went to a local bar called ADB. We went with the a couple friends we were with at the All-Star Saturday Night and met a local friend. Unlike any other city, New Orleans is known for its brass bands. When we were told one of the best brass bands in Nawlins was playing, we were all set for a late evening of tunes. The video below is not the greatest quality as the room was dark. You can hear the music which was exciting and powerful.

New Orleans: Jackson Square Videos

With Jackson Square being our favorite site for art and music, its only reasonable we post a couple videos.

The first video is of an elderly man whose been painting in Jackson Square since World War II. He would work tirelessly putting the caps properly on each of his paints. I was taken by how he looked and carried himself as if a gentleman from 1945 had been dropped on the Square in 2008.

The second video is of the "Young Music Man" and his band. He had a pair of guys playing with him, but the crowd watching was larger than any outside musician's performance we saw in the French Quarter. As we were leaving his tuba player showed up wearing a sailor's hat. The "Young Music Man's" mother would bring the guys water during breaks.

New Orleans: Jackson Square

One of our favorite locations in the French Quarter was Jackson Square.

We visited it every day we were in New Orleans. On the website linked above it describes it as follows:

Jackson Square, located on the Mississippi River, in the heart of the French Quarter, has been the focal point of the city since the founding of New Orleans. It pays tribute to Andrew Jackson, the Baroness Pontalba, and has been home to an open-air artists colony for well over half a century. Surrounding Jackson Square are museums, shops and restaurants.

NBA All-Star 2008 - Dwight Howard Dunk #3

This is what I consider the best dunk of the competition. The skill level of using both hands and dunk it after bouncing it off the backboard, it was truly my favorite moment of the All-Star events.

NBA All-Star 2008 - Dwight Howard Dunk #1

While Superman will be the most remembered moment, this dunk was arguably the most difficult. Watch Dwight Howard's head as it is still behind the backboard as he begins the dunk the ball. This is my second favorite dunk of the night.

NBA All-Star Saturday Night: Dwight Howard Dunk #2

The Slam Dunk contest has become the stuff of legend. There's the famed Michael Jordan from the free throw line, Dominique Wilkins windmill dunk, lil Spud Webb soaring higher than any believed, Dee Brown's Pump Shoes, Kenny "Sky" Walker's performance, Vince Carter taking dunks to another level, and many more.

This year the competition was arguably the best its ever been. With dunking skill being so high, showmanship has become a huge part of the scoring. Dwight Howard defeated last year's defending champion Gerald Wallace.

The dunk above will be the most remembered as its simply called "Superman".

All-Star Saturday Night: Three-Point Competition

Since I was a child, NBA All-Star Saturday Night something I watched. I can recall watching the Chicago Bull's Craig Hodges set the record of 25 in the Three-Point Competition in 1986 (or 1985). I watched it upstairs with my cousin Ricky. On Saturday night, I watched the Toronto Raptors Jason Kapono tie Hodges record.

NBA All-Star Game 2008

The reason we went to New Orleans was for the NBA All-Star 2008 events. I've attended every major baseball event since 2005, so I compared these events to how Major League Baseball conducts its events. Of course, I was not working so it was enjoyable from a pure fan standpoint. The NBA All-Star experience rivals the MLB experience, but I have to admit the entertainment factor goes to the NBA. We were lucky to attend in such a great city with the New Orleans still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

The three best American cities for large events such as Super Bowls and All-Star Games is generally considered Miami, San Diego, and New Orleans. After visiting all three cities for different events, my nod would go to New Orleans for proximity of venues to hotels, French Quarter, local music, and character of the city.

The All-Star Game on Sunday night was the marquee event unless like me you consider the Three-Point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest of greater entertainment. The Eastern Conference held onto win behind a late surge of three-pointers from Ray Allen and possibly one of the best dunk I've ever seen in a game in the final minutes from All-Star Game MVP Lebron James.

This is a picure Tilly took of the crowd and court following the All-Star Game and MVP presentation. She was looking for celebrities. The halftime performance was led by New Orleans native Harry Connick, Jr. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sat courtside on Saturday and Sunday with his children and wife Maria Shriver. Tilly was unable to find them in the mob following the game. Guess we could call this picture "Where's Arnold?"

New Orleans: The Market Cafe

Tilly and I arrived in New Orleans on Saturday at 10 a.m. We checked into the W Hotel, dropped off our bags, and headed straight to the French Quarter. Our hotel was right next to Harrah's Casino and a block from the Quarter. We passed Jackson Square, Cafe du Monde, and had lunch outside at The Market Cafe. There was a band playing while we ate:

Doggie Hotel

It seems the blog has had a dog theme of late, so I'll continue the trend. Tilly and I are getting ready for our trip to New Orleans for the NBA All-Star weekend. Our regular dogsitters (friends) were unavailable, so we had to kennel Maddie. We searched for a good place, but in the end the price was right at PetSmart. The have a PetsHotel.

There is a lobby like a regular hotel with a front desk and everything. There are even treats similar to a DoubleTree only the sweets aren't warm. Maddie seemed pretty excited as she loves going to the pet store. She almost drags you in when she gets out of the car. It wasn't until a pink paper collar with her name on it was put around her neck that she realized this wasn't going to end well. As always, she was sweet and followed the lady to the back.

Its always sad leaving her behind. I know its just a dog, but she is will always be our pup. Next month she will be four years old. We've had her since nine months into our marriage (five years in June).

She will be at the PetsHotel until Tuesday morning when we return. I'll pick her up after I drop Tilly off at work and head home. We'll post a full report on Tuesday unless I can sneek some updates from my laptop in Nawlins.

Happy Valentines Day!

Weighing in at a hefty 12.5 pounds is Iris- the newest member of the Carter household. Her name is in honor of the idea that she will most likely be the last Iris standing in Mom's garden club winning flower beds. Mom and Dad picked Iris up last night after a month or two of searching.

When you walk out of the house and no longer need a roller to get the dog hair off your black pants you know its time to have another dog in the house. We miss Abby a lot and it was a sad Christmas without her, she was by far the best dog we've ever seen. Always happy and brave, a great teacher to everyone's puppies including our pup Maddie and later in life, an excellent travel dog. But hopefully, Iris will give my parents some excitement for the next fifteen years.

Tunes of Note

About six months ago, I decided if I'm going to work at XM Satellite Radio than I need to be more knowledgeable about music. To reach that goal, I read Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time at the suggestion of a collegue and got subscriptions to Rolling Stone and Blender. I began checking out some music blogs online and iTunes for reviews and new artists.

To keep in tune with everything comes back to baseball, David O'Brien the Braves beat writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is a huge music buff. Through his wise counsel and DOB Blog, he introduced me to some bands. If you've ever listened to my show Baseball Beat than you know Charley Steiner is music guy as well. He keeps me searching for older albums while O'Brien keeps me looking for the music of today's generation. In 2008, I've been getting about an album a week.

I plan to post at least once a month recommending some of my favorite albums. I should offer a few disclaimers. You'll probably never see country, heavy metal, rap, or very much hip hop listed. I prefer to buy albums as opposed to getting singles, but that doesn't mean I never buy singles. As you'll learn, Tilly picks the singles. I think an album gives you a greater opportunity to learn and know a band or artist as opposed to a single. One final thing. I do not plan to give stars or rank albums. I'll only recommend it. If you are interested go to iTunes or your local music store (if you can still find one) and preview the album.

Commute

I generally listen to my iPod from the moment the door to our place shuts behind me until I get to work. The commute is about a half hour in the morning and around 45 minutes in the afternoon. Being the commuter who doesn't have to drive at any point of the commute, I am able to listen to music and read throughout my travels. This makes for a quick morning as you look forward to getting back to the album you were immersed in on your way home. I generally go through an album or two each day, but occasionally I'll get completed enveloped in an album as was the case with my the first album I'd recommend.

See Through the Static by Jack Johnson

After purchasing this album I played it continuously for a week. I'd get to about the tenth song Go On by the time I got to work or home. The album is a soothing blend of lyrics that flow rhythmically through the strum of the strings on his guitar. As Tilly can attest, I am not a lyric guy. I can enjoy the sound and beat of the music, but have no comprehension of the words to the song. I could hear a song a hundred times and I'll never sing the song flawlessly. I will never realize this as I try to "sing-a-long" while we drive. While its endless amusing now, I figure by our 40th wedding anniversary it will be quite the annoyance. I might need to scratch 40th and put fifth instead. I recommend this album to anyone looking for something to cruise to Florida or date night to. Favorite songs: Hope; They Do, The Don't, Go On

Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend

If ever there was a band that had next to nothing to do with its name, its Vampire Weekend. When I first heard the name of the band, I was expecting some sort of goth, metal sound. That couldn't be further from the truth. The band is made up of four Ivy League graduates who met at Columbia University. They describe their music as "upper west side soweto". I tend to think they sound similar to Paul Simon with a very tropical sound. With this second recommendation, maybe I am showing my desire for a vacation but again it sounds like a drive in a convertable in Cape Cod. My favorites songs are Oxford Comma, A-Punk, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. If you hear Kwassa, you'll definitely think of Simon. As a side note, Vampire Weekend was in D.C. last week at the Rock & Roll Hotel and I missed it. I didn't notice it until I was searching for concerts Sunday afternoon. The same thing happened when Josh Ritter came to town. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that they come to XM sometime in the near future for a concert.

Tilly Pick

While I am an album guy, Tilly is all about the singles. If I am getting single its generally because Tilly heard something and wants me to track down the song. If you've seen the commercial for the new MacBook Air than you've heard New Soul by Yael Naim. While Apple has become the kings of advertising, they tend to pick the right song from the right artist at the right time thus propelling them to stardom. Just ask Feist as her album The Reminder took off after her song 1, 2, 3, 4 aired during a commercial.

Hope you try out some of these albums and/or singles. If you do, drop us a line in the comments section with your thoughts. For the next Tunes of Note post, I'll cover my favorite albums of 2007. Yes, two months late. Can't let anyone missout on The White Stripes' Icky Thump.

*For the uninitiated, if something is bolded and/or underlined than there is a link that will take you to a website with more information. I figure you know this, but thought I'd post this just in case.

Aspire Dinner

Last weekend, I attended the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation's Aspire: A Tribute to Life's Coaches Gala 2008. This is the second year I've attended this dinner in Baltimore. The event is hosted by two former players that I've worked with at XM, Cal and Billy Ripken. I cannot say enough kind things about each of them as they are genuinely good guys.

The honorees for this year's event were Jord Poster, co-Founder of Priceline.com, Herman Boone, High School Football Coach and Inspiration behind the movie Remember the Titans, and Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame Catcher, New York Yankees.

Click here if you want more information about the dinner as well as who was in attendance. The most interesting moment came when Cal and Billy asked for volunteers from the audience to join them up on stage and participate in a baseball drill. They asked for one final person to volunteer to play the role of catcher. Our table was middle second row, so we loudly volunteered one of our producers who goes by the nickname, Godfather. Billy picked him out of the audience and joked with him on stage unmercilessly for about ten minutes. The memorable part for the Godfather was that as part of the drill he got to turn a double play with Cal and Billy Ripken. Check out the video below. Mike is the guy on the right and the first person he catches the ball from is Cal:

At the end of the event, Yogi Berra was presented with his award. Instead of having a regular presentation with comments from the podium, it was decided that Baltimore Orioles, ESPN and XM Satellite Radio's broadcaster Buck Martinez would do a sitdown half-hour chat with him him. Here is just a very short portion captured from my BlackJack phone:

Prior to the dinner, there was a silent auction for items such as New York All-Star Experience with Cal Ripken, tickets and travel to American Idol's season finale, and a week in your own private island. There was also memorabilia of all sorts and other packages. A colleague and I put in a bid for the NBA All-Star weekend package. At the end of the night, we found out we got it. We're splitting it, so Tilly and I will be headed to New Orleans next weekend with two tickets for for the NBA Rookie Game (Friday), NBA All-Star Saturday Night including the Skills Competition, Three-Point Shoot-Out, and Slam Dunk Competition (Saturday), and the All-Star Game (Sunday). We'll be staying for three nights at the W. This was a Valentine's surprise for Tilly and I. You may think this sounds like an odd gift for Valentine's, but there is a long history of watching the NBA All-Star Saturday Night together. We've watched it for pretty much every year since we we've been either dating or married. I always watched it when I was younger and brought Tilly into the fun once we began dating. This year we will watch it in person. We'll be sure to give a full report once we return.

Two topics never discussed in polite company- Faith & Politics

The Event: We felt like well connected artsy types yesterday as we attended the screening for an independent film titled "Article VI". It was held at the Heritage Foundation in D.C., invitation only, and began with very nice, heavy hors dourves (and really the food is what you base the evening on) and drinks. We then joined the rest of the young professional D.C. types for the movie screening.

The Movie: It evoked emotion. That's the best compliment I can give the film. This is what the website says-In response to Americans’ concerns about his Catholicism in the 1960 presidential campaign, JFK said “an act against one religion is an act against all.” Today, the debate rages as the faith of the 2008 presidential candidates falls under the same scrutiny. Article VI examines the Founding Fathers’ vision of religious freedom and the current intersection of faith and politics.

My Thoughts: While the movie was a bit long and the cuts were choppy, the movie on a whole was fascinating. It covered a lot of history and political campaigns, but brought up real issues in our country's experiment with religious freedom. I was incensed by the actions of some and heartened by the words of others in the movie. I was also pleasantly surprised by Richard Land, the president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission at the Southern Baptist Convention. He represented baptist views very well and underscored the importance of separation of church and state both in the movie and at the screening. (incidentally, Land did mention he has not voted for the baptist candidate in the past 5 elections) The discussion following the viewing was the most interesting part of the evening. Audience members peppered the panel with questions- some "stupid" (really the best word to describe) and some very thought provoking. People around hissed and booed and others clapped and all enjoyed the lively debate.

Rating: I'd give the movie a 7 out of 10. Technically and editorially there were things that could have been better, but the issues covered and discussions evoked by the film were great. It confirmed my political views and built anticipation for Super Tuesday which is just around the corner. Don't forget the importance of your vote!

*disclaimer- I also rated highly b/c I had such a fun evening with my husband. We usually don't do much during the week and this evening we took a cab to the premier and then hit the U Street corridor to meet his work friends for a drink after the movie. It was a rooftop bar in the middle of the city- lots of fun.

My Favorite Christmas Picture

Since Tilly took care of the Christmas blog, I want to take this opportunity to share my favorite picture of the holidays. I am sure Lisa's husband Matt will return the favor to me at our next holiday venture, but there's just something to be said about giving a great reaction to a not-so-public gift:

Professional Baseball Scouts Dinner 2008

Each year since I joined XM, I've attended the ever-expanding Professional Baseball Scout Foundation's In The Spirit of the Game Dinner. The PBSF is provides support to professional baseball scouts who have fallen on hard times due to job loss, illness, retirement or other financial setbacks. Each year, Charley Steiner, Buck Martinez, and I have attended and taped interviews with some of the award winners, presenters, and other guests including Sandy Koufax, Commissioner Bud Selig, George Brett, among many others including off-air chats with Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.

This year we spoke with Hall of Famers George Brett, Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield, and Tommy Lasorda as well as future Hall of Fame Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox. We also spoke with Jerry Reinsdorf, Chairman, Chicago White Sox, Jeff Moorad, General Partner & CEO, Arizona Diamondbacks, John McClaren, Manager, Seattle Mariners, Jim Bowden, General Manager, Washington Nationals, and award winner and legendary scout Eddie Bochman.

In previous years, the event was at the famed Beverly Hilton, which has previously been the site of the Golden Globes. As the dinner has continued to grow in size, this year it moved the Hyatt Century Plaza. It was hosted by Tim Allen and Mary Hart including many celebrities and baseball illuminaries. At Tilly's request, I've included Mary Hart's picture on the red carpet. If you are interested in other pictures from the event go to this link. Don't look for me as I stay out away from the flashes of cameras.

Moral to the Story: Watch Out for Beamers & Dumpsters

Last Tuesday on my way to work, I was waiting at the stoplight just two blocks from our house when a guy decided to run the red light. He hit the gas to make it through the light right as it turned red and then had to swerve to avoid a car turning on a green arrow. I'm currently waiting for insurance to decide the fate of my car, which I'm rather partial to- the heated seats were a deal breaker when purchased.

Brent took me to the ER where we spent an exciting morning and next I will be visiting an orthopedic specialist for my back, but by the grace of God it was not worse.

Ok, so one small story of fate- as the tow truck was pulling away the BMW ('06, young guy driving) that hit me, the passenger door of the beemer flew open and hit a commercial dumpster almost pulling the whole door off the side of the car that was unscathed by the accident with my vehicle. Think badly of me if you like, but I felt a slightly better after that.

Its in the water

Everyone seems to be having a baby right now and I keep hearing "it must be in the water". We have three friends at church who are pregnant and a couple more we'd like to say congratulations to who just recently had babies. Matt and Karen had their twins, Charlotte and James. We haven't met them yet but look forward to seeing them in person. I was sick for a couple of weeks before Christmas so we've been waiting to visit since they are so little. And my cousin Ryan and his wife Wendi just had a baby boy.

Destin and Caleb had a precious baby boy named Noah. I thought girls clothes were fun to shop for until I went shopping with Destin for Noah- trains, puppy dogs, frogs, all the cute little blue and green things you could imagine!

Also, I received pictures from Laura and Jarrod of Micah's Christmas. He is now a little over one years old and is just the cutest little boy! Melinda and Andrew also just had a new baby and I'm waiting to see pictures. Enjoy as I show off my friends precious children.

The Grill

When you were a child did you ever receive a gift that you just wanted to tear into and couldn't wait to play with every day? Well we got one of those gifts this year! A grill. No, this is not an ordinary run of the mill grill, but a Weber gas grill with three burners, a warmer and a side burner- cooking a total of 24 hamburgers at one time! Ok, so we haven't tried out the 24 hamburgers yet, but that's what the manual says and I believe it wholeheartedly. Our first week with the grill included steaks, hamburgers with grilled pineapple and grilled onions and bacon, pork chops, blackened chicken, bar-b-q chicken and a couple of other tasty treats. Is your mouth watering yet?

We've gone gourmet now and we doing New York Strip steaks and sirloins and gourmet burgers. Half our food budget goes to meats we can grill. If the under cooked/over cooked trial food doesn't kill us the carcinogens will but until that time we're in grilling heaven! Look for more posts on this new toy in the future.

Life Happened

So you may be wondering what happened to the Gambill Family Blog. You could even guess that this was yet another attempt of ours to be "up" on technology and then lose interest after a month or two. That could be part of the delay, but the fact is life is happening outside our blogosphere and we've been unable to devote the needed time to update our family and friends on things happening in the D.C. area. However, I'm working diligently tonight to remedy this neglect.

Thanksgiving was excellent- my parents came and stayed with us. We did the Turkey Trot in downtown Del Ray (5 mile) and then had a beautiful Thanksgiving meal. But alas, we follow in the Carter tradition and have no pictures to prove it. So we'll move on to the next momentous occasion- Christmas.

UPDATE: Brent has unearthed the long lost post-Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving lunch, Dallas Cowboys game skipping, and shopping nap. It also another way to see how many pictures of Maddie we can get in one post.

Thanks to Lisa, we do have pictures and would like to share a few. This year we spent Christmas at Brent's parents and had a lovely time in their new home in Searcy, AR. Aunt Kathy, Uncle John, Lisa and Matt all came to Searcy and celebrated Christmas with us on Sunday and then we had another family Christmas on the 25th followed by Christmas with Brent's aunt and uncles in Paragould.

Maddie could not have been happier being a mere three steps from the beautiful outdoors. She went out every hour to just make sure she wasn't dreaming. In another edition of "Brent will record anything the dog does with the camcorder on his mobile" you can view Maddie in all her Christmas glory wearing herself out on her holiday gift of rawhide a bone:

But wait, Christmas continued as we drove down to Arkadelphia and spent the night with my family and saw Da, Nanny and Poppy. We played cards and board games all week and I don't think we've ever eaten so much! It was a fabulous Christmas vacation and definitely made the marathon drive worth it.