Carrie and I took Murph to our friends' daughter's third birthday over the weekend. It was fun and a friend was there taking some pictures, some of them turned out quite well. Carrie starts school tomorrow, unfortunately our vacation time together is over.

If you're wondering why there hasn't been any new posts on the baby blog it's because Carrie hasn't been able to make one due to the fact that she forgot her Blogger password. So she's started a new one here.

Our trip was really fun. You can read more about it and see some pictures on the baby blog.

Earlier this week I watched Spike Lee's documentary on New Orleans and Hurrican Katrina. Everyone should see it, it's really moving. I could expound forever on Bush's ineptitude and the Army Corp of Engineer's stupidity and the racism/classism that surrounds the whole issue, but I won't. Maybe another day. Just see it.

How many times have I flown from LA to New York? Man, at least twenty, at LEAST. I tell you, it has to be the worst flight to take. I'd rather fly to London, the flight might be almost twice as long but at least you get a meal and a bigger plane with some room to stretch out. Add this to the fact that both flights had a delay, both flights had a guy as big as me sitting in the middle seat, and on yesterday's flight I experienced one of the worst allergy attacks I've had in quite some time. Plus the gig we flew to kind of sucked. Vent over, I'm home now.

Carrie and I are headed to Catalina Island tomorrow for a little vacation. A 'babymoon' some might say.

After the disappointment of Clerks 2 Carrie and I saw Talledega Nights earlier this week. It's freaking hilarious. If you like to laugh then you should see it.

So I'm off for a quick gig on Long Island. I'll be back on Sunday so it should be an easy trip.

I've been doing quite a bit since I returned from Europe (aside from spreading the news about my wife's pregnancy).

Last week I worked quite a bit. I had a few recording sessions both for the Mancini Institute and a couple of friends. Thurs. and Fri. I played for a cocktail party on the roof of the Regent Beverly Wilshire. The party was for the movie press after a screening of the upcoming film 'Hollywoodland'. I was hoping Diane Lane would show up but, alas, no celebs were present. As a matter of fact I don't think much press was present either, both nights there looked to only be 20 or so people in attendance. Hope that doesn't mean the movie sucks.

Saturday Carrie and I saw 'Clerks 2.' Those who know me know that 'Clerks' is one of my all-time favorite movies. But I think that the original is Kevin Smith's best movie and every film he's released since then has been increasingly bad. They've all been pretty mediocre with the exception of 'Chasing Amy'. 'Mallrats' was funny but shallow, 'Dogma' badly needed some editing and about a half hour chopped off of it, 'Jay and Silent Bob' featured two characters that were much funnier and effective as secondary characters, and 'Jersey Girl' was fun but not much more than stock romantic comedy fare. When I heard 'Clerks 2' was being made I was disappointed. Smith had said that 'Jay and Silent Bob' was to be the last film he made featuring the New Jersey characters from the first four movies. Obviously not the case. But I had to see it anyway, I couldn't help myself.

I was right. I got the feeling the Smith was doing nothing more than clinging to the characters, jokes, and plotlines that made him a success in the first place. Kind of sad really. But the movie was fun and did make me laugh a few times. Carrie went with me, she enjoyed it even less than I did.

Yesterday we went to a friend of mine's hockey game. Today I played poker.

Not bad ways to spend some time off.

Our story begins in 2000 in a small one-bedroom apartment in Encino, after our marriage and after the exodus to Los Angeles ...


Carrie: I want to have a baby.
Lyman: No, we don't have enough money and our apartment is way too small.

*******

Carrie: I thought I might be pregnant, but I'm not. So I bought this hamster to love and nurture.
Lyman: Ummmm, okay.

*******

Carrie: I want to buy home, that way we can get a dog for me to love and nurture.
Lyman: Ummmm, okay.

*******

Carrie: I'm graduating from college soon, afterwards I want to get pregnant.
Lyman: Ummmm, okay?????

*******

Carrie: I want to get pregnant.
Lyman: No, we don't have enough money and our condo is way too small.

*******

Carrie: No really, I want to get pregnant.
Lyman: Ummmm, okay.

*******

Carrie: I'M PREGNANT!!
Lyman: That was quick.

*******

Carrie: I want to start a blog about the baby.
Lyman: That's a great idea.


... and this part of the story ends here, in our home in Pacoima that's about to get a lot more crowded.

Batten down the hatches and buckle your safety belts folks, I'm going to be a father.

Back home! I'm already caught up with my jet-lag. Not bad. Here are more pictures from the trip.


In front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, the largest Mosque in the city.



Me and the guys onstage in Vienne, France.



At the Blue Note in Milan, Italy.



Jammin' in Vitoria, Spain.


At the beach in Alicante, Spain looking up at the Castillo De Santa Barbara.



At the Castillo De Santa Barbara in Alicante, Spain looking down at the beach.



In Alicante downing my new favorite drink, Coronitas Perparadas. ie Corona with a shot of white Tequilla and lime juice.



Me and the boss in front of the helicopter that took us to our hotel in Inverness, Scotland.



Me and Steve Cotter in the 'copter.



Nairn, Scotland from the sky.



This is me in the gardens of some castle we went to in Nairn, I forget the name of it.



Me Quinn and Kevin at the bar in Nairn. I suggest the Glenmorangie 15.



Dom presents the British Museum!



Looking very scholarly in the Reading Room at the British Museum.



On top of the tour bus tooling around London.



The gang at Ronnie Scott's on our final night.

There's no place like home!

London has been fantastic. Ronnie Scott's is a really nice club and the people who work there are very cool (except for one asshole who works the door and has given us a hard time about geusts and the like ... but everyone else is a'ight).

There is a house band at Ronnies who play sets before and after us. At the end of the night things get loose and it turns into a bit of a jam session. That's such a good idea, I wish jazz clubs back home had house bands.

I've been able to see quite a bit of London the past week. On Friday my good friend Dom showed me around taking me to some great comic book shops and the British Museum, that night he and his lovely fiancee Sally came to the show (I'd like to mention that their first date together was to see me play as well, three years ago when I was with Buble ... I'm a bit of a Cupid I geuss). On Saturday Tina Sinatra got us all tickets to see the Sinatra musical that is playing in SoHo. It's a live band and dancers performing to video footage of Sinatra singing. It sounds hokey but it really is great, I enjoyed it quite a bit. That night I met with another Londoner friend of mine Wasim who attended the show that night as well.

On Sunday I had a fantastic 'English Lunch' at Sally's flat. Dom described it a bit in the comments section of the last post, but I had a really fun time. Going out to clubs and doing the tourist thing can be fun, but getting a taste of real London life is better. Thanks guys!

Yesterday I took a bus tour of London. That's how I like to see the sights, while sitting down! It was a really nice day (luckily, the heat was unbearable last week) which made for a great tour.

So that's it baby, today is our last day at Ronnie's and our last performance in Europe. I've been gone for four weeks and can't wait to get home. This has been a fantastic month and I love Europe so much, but being away from Carrie and Murphy for this long sucks.

I'll see y'all back in LA.