I took Zach to the DOL to get his learner’s permit today. His grades are where they need to be so he’s in driver’s ed this semester, and it’s time to teach him to drive. I think.

We went straight from the DOL to an empty parking lot so he could do 20 minutes of practice driving. I let him drive the half mile or so home, and I’m proud to report that I didn’t have to use the imaginary passenger side brake pedal once.

In honor of the occasion, I photoshopped Zach (badly) into his dream car, the fabulous electric Tesla Roadster (see Jay Leno’s Garage video).

Enjoy driver’s ed, Zach, and then your new freedom!

Jeri’s Superhero:

Marvel Create Your Own Superhero

Bryan’s Superhero:

Marvel Create Your Own Superhero

Lightning bolt of inspiration from Carol Elaine and Janiece.

In the news today:

Bill Clinton Says he Understands Palin’s Appeal
By KAREN MATTHEWS
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — Bill Clinton said Monday he understands why Sarah Palin is popular in the heartland: because people relate to her.

“I come from Arkansas, I get why she’s hot out there,” Clinton said. “Why she’s doing well.”

Sometimes the comedy just writes itself.

In honor of tonight’s Heroes season 3 premiere, I ask the following tired, but still intriguing question:

If you could have any superpower you wanted, what would it be?

Be creative!

But add to that answer – what would your general perspective on that power be? Would you feel an obligation to use it for the good of family, friends, mankind? A “to whom much is given, much is expected” sense of responsibility?

Or would you be fairly isolationist, not interested using your abilities for much of anything unless it suits you?

Or, would you tend to be pretty self centered, or even – bwah ha ha ha ha – an evil superpower? Absolute power corrupts absolutely?

I need to think about my own answer – I’m writing this during commercial breaks.

Update the first:

I would like the power to mute sound and speech, anytime, from anywhere. I’d use this, really, for my own convenience, that selfish, isolationist option. Crying children on airplanes? Quiet time. Screaming neighbors? Cone of silence. Car alarms in the neighborhood or on the ferry? Hmm, could I escalate to remote detonation there? Telemarketers? Press 1 for “shut up”. Tired of politicians blathering on? Press global mute on my remote and no one will have to hear from them until I’m no longer annoyed with the whole mess.

On Friday night, as many of you know after reading my whining and complaining about our transportation travails, we went to see a concert. This show was a blast from the past – bands that we listened to in high school and college, loved then and loved now.

We only saw Cheap Trick’s encore act, but it was excellent – “Dream Police”, with a ton of energy and style.

Heart is from the Seattle area, and so they treat shows here like homecoming events. They were absolutely amazing – it’s hard to believe that Nancy Wilson is 54 and sister Ann is 58. Ann’s voice has gotten deeper, raspier, a little rougher and more bluesy with time, and it suits some of their music really well. Her version of “Alone” was amazing.

I think Nancy Wilson is my new girl crush. She absolutely kicked butt up there on stage, she played the guys half her age into the ground. She swapped guitars for nearly every song – electric, acoustic, mandolin, even added a harmonica, and played them all until they smoked. She looked 25, dressed like a bohemian grunge goddess, danced, leaped, kicked and jammed every minute, and never once looked tired.

When you consider that she’s married to writer/director Cameron Crowe, gave birth to twins 8 years ago at 46, and leads a whirlwind life touring, recording with Heart, and composing & recording for the movie industry, it’s amazing she hasn’t keeled over from exhaustion.

Journey was also excellent. I had my doubts about their new lead singer – who could replace Steve Perry? But Arnel Pineda did an excellent job. He definitely has a very different energy than the other musicians, all 15-20 years older than him (while he looks 25, he’s actually 41). The older band members are more still, more focused on their instrument, while Pineda is frenetic, hyperactive, running, dancing and leaping over the entire stage, sometimes a bit underfoot. He also overemotes like he attended the Michael Bolton school of musical interpretation, but I understand Steve Perry was melodramatic, too.

They played a lot of odd choices – very old songs, B sides, unfamiliar pieces. I wonder if it isn’t that the really upbeat songs seemed to suit Pineda’s energy level? He nailed the ballads as well, though, and was previously marketed as a rock balladeer, so who knows?

It was also fascinating to see the demographic mix. While the audience was predominantly forty-something yuppies, there were plenty of diverse attendees. There were lots of teens and young adults, a liberal sprinkling of older adults, and several groups that might have been more at home with Gretchen Wilson (rather than Ann & Nancy). It was really interesting to see the high number of middle-aged Filipino women in the audience, video-taping Pineda’s every move. He definitely has a big following there.

We had a small group of highly inebriated forty-something individuals behind us. They looked like accountants or schoolteachers, not headbangers. Still, they managed to bash Bryan’s skull with their elbows multiple times, drip beer on me, and drunk dial during one of the acts. (It’s a very good thing it was a very short call or the guy would have ended up wearing the phone.)

I’m glad we went, the music was excellent, even though we won’t be returning to that venue because of the tremendous traffic problems. (We checked and there are no facilities for tailgating… the doors open at 5pm and that’s it.)

AC/DC is coming to Tacoma in November, but the concert sold out in hours on Saturday and I missed it – tickets are reselling now for upward of $250 each for nosebleed section seats. I’ll have to watch for the next cool thing more closely!