Eagles Out, Frank Lives and Jack is Back

I haven't posted anything about the Eagles game this past weekend because Lago and I were at the symphony Saturday night. I know, I know... but we got the tickets months ago, and it was a Tribute to Sinatra - need I say more? Steve Lippia sang with Grammy winner Victor Vanacore conducting. Vanacore worked with Ray Charles on "Genius Loves Company." Lippia is known for singing the tunes made popular by Sinatra. He doesn't try to imitate Francis Albert, though he does sound like Sinatra, more so on the slower tunes. What he does borrow are Sinatra's arrangements by Billy May, Nelson Riddle and others. It was a great show, only soured briefly by an obnoxious jerk who sat behind us.

When the show started the orchestra played a few tunes sans Lippia - many of Frank's concerts began in this manner. It took all of five minutes before jerky boy started to pipe up "What is this s***! I didn't pay for this!" Another minute goes by and jerky pipes up again. This time Lago swings around and lets him have it verbally, deservedly so. I don't recall her exact words, I'll leave her to add her comments on the evening when she has time. But, in essence she told him to be quiet or leave. This is when jerky boy replies "Kiss my a**!" At this point, I turned around and stared him straight in the eye. I didn't say anything, I just let him know that it was time to shut up. I turned back around and we heard nothing more from jerky boy.

We went to Blue after the show for drinks. Blue has live music, but they had the Eagles' game on in the bar without the sound. I sat with my back to the TV. We planned to DVR the game and watch it the next day, provided I could keep from hearing/seeing the outcome.

Almost forgot to mention we had dinner before the show at Luce, a Tuscan-style Italian restaurant that we had never been to before. It was great and very authentic. The food was excellent and so was the wine. They only had Italian wines on the menu so we asked for a recommendation. We had the Principesco Brunello di Montalcino. It wasn't on the menu, but we were glad we asked. It's a Sangiovese, and tasted like a rich Pinot Noir. It went well with my ribeye and Lago's seafood risotto. With the warm weather we've been having my steak tasted like it was grilled on a summer's evening at Lago's Lounge.

Yesterday, I planned to get online to do a few things and bypass any news. I didn't even get the paper from the mailbox until after watching the game. It worked out well and I managed to watch the outcome of the game as it unfolded. Best of all, I was able to fast forward through the commercials. Yes, the Eagles are out but after a valiant effort. And to think they made it this far after losing McNabb earlier in the season. Especially after the so-called "experts" didn't give the Eagles a chance when the season started. That's right they all picked the Panthers to top the NFC this year. These guys must be in the same union as the weather forecasters, because they never get it right either!

Here's to next year boys. Let's hope we get a healthy McNabb back as early as possible, hopefully make a deal to keep Garcia around - although that may be hard after his performance this season - and let's make some changes to shore up the defense.

My attention turned quickly from the Eagles yesterday as Lago made a seafood paella for dinner - excellent. She received a paella cooking set for Christmas from her mother. Then after dinner it was time for the long awaited return of "24" - Jack is back! Yep, Jack was back from the Chinese prison and it seems the two years of torture have changed Jack. I'm looking forward to tonight as two more hours of "24" are on the schedule. Lago has choir practice tonight, so I'll be DVR-ing the show and we'll watch when she gets home.