So long, Scott

McClellan we hardly knew you. Possibly beca use you never gave us a straight answer.
This highlight reel of his three years behind the lectern is funny and sad.

To hear this drivel is one thing; to see it in print takes you to a new level of, um, appreciation.

Also, who knew the WSJ had a sense of humor? Only in the online edition, I suppose.

She's on Fire

Speaking of San Fran, we went to see that city's Train in concert last night. It was a great show. The venue was small, I liked the opening act (Brandi Carlile), and the band did all of my favorites.

The music I loved, the whole concert experience I am growing less and less fond of.

This has been building for some time and came to somewhat of a head in August. We went to see Dave Matthews at an outdoor ampitheater. After the show it took two hours to exit the parking lot. We were only moving for about 15 minutes of that span. We are never going back to that venue or any other like it.

Last night was our first concert since Dave. The small venue was better, but I still have issues.

1. Why does it take so long between acts? Hasn't technology advanced us beyond the manual set up and take down? I suggest a rotating platform. Set up/take down can happen behind curtain while someone is performing.

2. I do not want to hear audience members sing. I paid to hear how the singer styles the song when not in a recording studio, not to listen to fellow concert-goers scream every other lyric.

3. Encores should be for exceptional performances ONLY. When did it become required for audience members to stomp and clap to bring bands back on stage in order to hear the most popular song/current radio hit? I have the same feelings concerning standing ovations. Every performance gets one, whether it's Boston Symphony Orchestra or Beginners Singing Organization. There is no way every show is superlative. I think someone else wrote about this at a magazine where I once worked.

I've said my piece and counted to three.

Notes from the West Coast

Do you know it takes less time to fly to London from Boston that it takes to fly to California? In the same amount of time it took us to fly to San Fran for Easter, we could have gone to Paris!

Our trip to the left coast was nice, though. I didn't realize how much I needed a vacation. We were gone five days, and it felt like we had been away so long once we returned. That might be because New England burst into spring while we were away. More on that later.

It was my first time to San Fran, and I liked it. The in-laws plan to move there in five years or so. They recently bought a condo and plan to rent it until they're ready. In the meantime, we got to hang for free. What a deal!

We did all the typical tourist things as well as some excellent eating. We went to a baseball game at AT&T (formerly SBC, formerly PacBell) Park. Can't beat the bay in right field. Barry Bonds had only enough juice to make it to the warning track. Nice.

There were two elementary school-aged girls in the seats in front of us. I love eavesdropping on anyone, but listening to these two was most entertaining, especially since part of my job is thinking about what appeals to the grade-school set.

My favorite tidbit: their use of "hecka", assumably to replace "hella". It brought me back to the days when "H-E-Double Hockey Sticks" was part of the vernacular.

Setting

One of the first things we noticed about speech patterns upon moving to Boston/ New England was the phrase all set. It can be used in many circustances but is frequently heard in service situations.

For example:

The waiter looks at your mostly empty plate and says: All set? To which you would reply: All set.

You would be all set if you're just browsing in a store and don't need the help of a salesperson. If someone offers you a cookie but you're on a diet, you would say -- you guessed it -- all set.

The phrase takes the place of No, thanks; This transaction is finished; I don't need your help; etc.

It is such a workhorse of the Boston vernacular that we have joked that anyone who moves here without knowing English should learn it along with yes and my name is.

I recently had the opportunity to test this idea. The man in front of me at the grocery store near my office appeared to be having trouble with the credit card swipe. He was swiping repeatedly. However, his receipt was printing, and the clerk was trying in vain to communicate that the transaction was complete. She tried "it went through, you're finished, it worked," to no avail.

After a few minutes I took control. Clearly we were dealing with an English Language Learner (the latest PC education term).

"All set," I said loudly.

"All set!" said the clerk.

Understanding spread across the man's face. He took his bag and left.

We were all set.