Day 89 progress

I'm on the eve of my first 90 days and I feel like I am making good progress. While I've completed some of the simpler tasks, I'm also making progress on the more difficult tasks at the same time.

60. Install and maintain landscaping in the front and back yard: One of my coworkers brought me some nopales for my garden. I stuck them in one of the plots where I had previously planted lettuce. Once they are established, I'll be able to pick my own nopal pads, and I'll have access to prickly pears.

I should also have access to some agave from the same coworker. I'm not sure if it is tequila agave, but either way it's another self starting food plant that I can add to my home culinary resources.

95. Complete 100 expert level Sudoku games without hints: Over the past few days I have completed 6 games, bringing my total to 14 of 100.

98. Go to 5 concerts: On May 25th my sister, Claudia, a friend of Claudia's, and I went to see Morrissey at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas. The venue was pretty cool, and the crowd was pretty much what I expected: younger people mixed with 30-somethings who were into The Smiths and Morrissey during the 80's and 90's.

Before the show, movie and music clips were beamed onto a screen in front of the stage. There were music videos of The New York Dolls and Bridget Bardot, and an extended movie clip of a "wardrobe test" for the movie East of Eden. The silent clip consisted of James Dean and Richard Davalos goofing off while wearing assorted clothing from the movie. Given Morrissey's long standing interest/obsession with both actors, this was not surprising.

The stage decoration consisted of a simple backdrop of two huge identical black and white photos of James Dean. When the lights went out, a prerecorded female voice began listing off a long series of tragic historical events and the names of generally depressing things. The several minutes long list began with "Adolf Hitler", and ended with "miscarriage", with phrases and events like "Tiananmen Square"and "sexual harassment" thrown in during the middle. As gloomy as one could ever expect from Morrissey.

Once the list ended, the band started with "Panic". Morrissey was in a full suit, although he shed the jacket and tie as the set went on. Song performed included "Irish Blood, English Heart", "Girlfriend in a Coma", "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side", and "The Queen is Dead", which faded into the whole venue singing "Auld Lang Syne" before launching into the greatest, most sinister version of "How Soon Iis Now" that I could ever imagine.

The band was amazing, and Morrissey was on target for the whole show. It almost seemed that as the show went on, he got more and more into the performance. Even at his age he still has what it takes to put on an amazing show. While he didn't go with some of the higher lilts of his past recordings, he still conveyed all the force he needed to in each and every song.

I've always viewed Morrissey as a bit of a question, not really sure if he lived up to the greatness of The Smiths once he went solo, but now I can say for sure that Morrissey has absolutely no need for Johnny Marr or The Smiths. He may be egotist of the highest order, but while he was on stage he radiated class and put on one hell of a show.