URGENT!!

http://www.dancesisterdance.com/myvid/index.php?v=4be2ab4d2ab6e

if you go to this site, you will smile.

oh, and the newlyweds...

http://www.dancesisterdance.com/myvid/index.php?v=203b1ef531975

Time Flies Like an Arrow -Kesslerville's 1st Anniversary

How the months do go by! I checked the blog and noticed that somewhere along the way we passed Kesslerville's first anniversary (well, the archive goes back a year anyhow). I extend heartfelt thanks and a sincere "Mazal Tov" to everyone who has contributed: We have kept it clean, kept it interesting, and kept it relevant to the big issues, or at least relevant to the big parties. (woohoo!).

So - keep those posts and pictures and recipes and wedding announcements and music and film reviews and bad jokes coming! Kesslerville is only as good as its hard-working staff of editors -- which is probably why we haven't been approached by any of the big media companies with buy-out offers.

Remember -- there are only a limited number of people in the world who laugh at our jokes, and an awful lot of them work for this blog!

PS: L'shanah tovah! Are there chopped liver recipes we need to be sharing?

Wedding...err baby pictures!

I just realized I forgot to post the pictures I took at the wedding...which somehow ended up being entirely of Charlotte. Though I think I deserve a break for this considering I'd just met her!

Austin City Limits Three Day Music Festival

Let me first start out by saying that there are no words to describe the experience that this last
weekend offered me, but I plan on attempting anyhow. This was my first ACL as last year I was "employed" by Americorps and couldn't afford food, let alone entertainment. Thinking ahead, I purchased two ACL tickets the moment they came out at the cheapest price available. Thank the freakin' Lord that Becky went with me to this. I can't fathom a better time with a more easygoing, chill partner in crime. If anyone was even remotely uptight, it would've been me merely at the times when we were surrounded by 75,000 people moving quickly through the crowd.

Over the course of three days and nearly 30 hours, we saw 25 bands perform. In order of sheer
awesomeness, with #1 being the greatest, here are the list of bands we saw. Keep in mind that
some of these shows were a serious toss-up as far as who was the better performer...particularly the shows near the top of the list.

1. Matisyahu - Jewish, Reggae, Rapper...UNBEFREAKINLEIVABLE
2. Ben Harper - guest performers Damian Marley and G. Love with appearances from Lance and
Matthew
3. Kings of Leon
4. Gnarls Barkley
5. Tom Petty
6. Damian Marley
7. G. Love & Special Sauce
8. Tristan Prettyman
9. Ray Lamontagne
10. Cat Power & The Memphis Rhythm Band
11. Aimee Mann
12. Galactic
13. String Cheese Incident
14. The Secret Machines
15. Los Lonely Boys
16. Guster
17. Wolf Parade
18. Van Morrison
19. Willie Nelson
20. Phoenix
21. MUSE
22. The New Pornographers
23. Nada Surf
24. John Mayer
25. The Shins

The only band that slightly disappointed of the entire above list was perhaps the Shins, as we
found ourselves bored and lazing around wondering when the show would end.

The two shows that are the most tied were Matisyahu and Ben Harper. Matisyahu was a spiritual event, and then to go immediately to Ben Harper I swear I had a spiritual awakening. Matisyahu definitely prays in a very real way in his music. It's intense to watch so many people be so smitten or mesmerized by a Hasidic Jew basically praising life and everything around him. Ben Harper performed with some guests including G. Love and Damian Marley and his musical talent was unmatched at all of ACL. He jumped from instrument to instrument. The thing that I noticed between these two bands were that they both sung incredibly uplifting music. It's not easy to influence people with such positive messages, which is why you typically see those with negativity and anger rising to the top of the charts. I had never seen Ben Harper before and both of those shows definitely took me to a different place.

I have a profound respect for anyone whose career makes such a positive impact and couldn't help but be almost proud of these musicians who bring more love and happiness to the world with what they do every day. I felt unbelievable love for Matisyahu who is a positive Jewish role model for humanity really...which is surely something we need. I truly am speechless about many of the feelings I experienced while watching these shows. I reached certain emotional highs that are not likely to be repeated anytime soon. I literally had to sit for an hour in between Matisyahu and Ben Harper and remind myself to breath normally and just feel. There were also definitely intermittent tearful moments. Among the emotions I underwent while at this festival are the following:

1. Elation
2. Utter and complete happiness and joy
3. Excitement
4. Energy
5. Love
6. Sadness
7. Jealousy - of the artists mainly and what they bring to the crowd
8. Gratefulness

I know there will be more to come on ACL blogs, perhaps a part two as I had many "epiphanies"
during these last few days that are hard to remember all in one big spurt. For now, enjoy the
pictures that I took which do not even begin to do this festival true justice.

Gnarls Barkley - Day One


Becca and I at the start of our ACL Adventure


Jason and I at Ray Lamontagne...fading fast on Day One


Kings of Leon - If only you could see this band composed of all brothers, all hot, and all wearing
very tight pants

It took me about 5 tries to finally get this picture


The beginning of Day Three sporting my homemade dress and funky glasses from an artisan shop
nearby


Yeah! Jews Kick Ass!!!

Matisyahu bringing the crowd to a different world



Happier than I ever thought possible


Ben Harper was amazing



Bringing it home with former Americorps buddies at Tom Petty, Final Concert of the
Festival...sad, exhausted, rained-on (which was awesome)


To those of you who I had planned to hook up with, I gave up towards the beginning of the
weekend when I realized it probably wasn't worth the constant calling back and forth and
shouting into the phone. Also, I had definitely planned to go out at night mainly to show my
cousin Becca a good time. We were so crazy exhausted each day that it just wasn't feasible. If
you were there, show some love. If you weren't there, get ready for next year! I love you all and to all a good night!

A Change of Pace

Everyone says how cute Charlotte is, so I'm gonna change things up a bit and post her two worst pictures to date. The first is just an unfortunately timed picture of her chillin' on the couch. Pretty bad, right? The second is her passport photo, which looks exactly like a mugshot. That, and her mouth is forming an almost perfectly shaped frown, like Beaker from the Muppets (picture 3). I hate to burst your bubble, shatter your illusions, and rain on your parade, but she's human and imperfect and here's the proof:

Here are some photos from the wedding; I haven't really sorted them out, but it wasn't my best overall photo effort...I think I somehow neglected to take any photos of Brian at all...which he may thank me for. Anyhow, here are photos of the bride and her father, some creative floor mat work, and Aunt Dorothy off-roading in her wheel chair.

Pammy in Santa Fe

As many blog fans know, Pammy is taking her "term abroad" in New Mexico. She has been on the Annapolis campus of St. John's college for the past two years and is taking advantage of the fact that St. John's has a second campus in Santa Fe, NM. Since St. John's does not have any real term anywhere else options, it's necessary to go to the New Mexico campus to get a change of scenery. So here is the scenery! The first photo is more or less in the parking lot of the college, and the second photo is the view out of Pammy's dorm room window.
Not that you asked, but here's my recipe for huevos rancheros: For one serving, beat two large eggs in a bowl with a tiny bit of salt. In a small, oven proof frying pan, heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat. Put a corn tortilla the same size as the pan (flour tortillas also work) into the oil until the bottom is just beginning to brown. Flip over the tortilla, and immediately pour the beaten eggs over the tortilla. When the egg mixture is beginning to set, cover with a handful or so of grated or shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese (for a nice extra fillip, add a little bit of Cabot chipotle cheddar - not really pimiento cheese at all). Put the pan into a preheated oven at 350 degrees and bake until the top of the huevos browns nicely. Slide out of the pan and serve immediately with New Mexican style red sauce or good salsa (my favorite is Green Mountain Gringo if you can find it). I will try to give the red sauce recipe sometime soon, but I have to do some kitchen testing. For more servings of the huevos, use a larger pan and more tortillas, cheese and eggs. The rest is pretty much the same, but when you take the huevos out of the pan, cut it into servings with a pizza cutter.

More pictures!

It was great seeing everyone at Jamie and Brian's wedding this past weekend, and I hope they're having a great time in Hawaii. A few cousins I talked to said they'd like to see a few more Charlotte pictures. I always do what the cousins say.
Enjoy.