Madonna: Live At Barclays - Brooklyn NYC

Last night my friend Janie and I saw our fourth Madonna show together

at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Having seen at least one show on each of 

Madonna's tours with one another since 2006 and having seen, heard and read 

advance buzz about this particular outing, we were expecting great things.

Nothing would prepare us for the emotional resonance, vocal performance, 

physical form and genuine joy that Ms. Ciccone displayed for the crowd.

Myself and a lot of Madonna fans will forever remember this night 

as the show where Madonna surprised us by adding "Ghost Town" 

to an already lengthy set list. The almost deafening cheers of applause 

that followed made Madonna visibly emotional. Such moments were balanced by  

casual banter, frivolous jokes, a dedication of the song "True Blue" to her longtime

 friend Debi Mazar and, if that wasn't enough, having Anderson Cooper join her

 onstage for a comically flirty bump and grind during "Unapologetic Bitch". 

Madonna is no longer trying to prove anything... She's just doing it. Good job, girl.

Stickermania: The Black Hole (1979)

Stickers from the mammoth 1979 trading card set for Walt Disney's 

production of The Black Hole. Before gifs, YouTube, fan fiction, Blu-Ray, 

DVD or even VHS and Beta cassettes, the only way a kid could hold onto

or relive the experience of a much-loved film was through action figures,

trading cards, stickers, posters, lunch boxes or the occasional TV rebroadcast.

I have fond memories of going to see this movie with my dad as a six year

old in Staten Island (and yes, it's in my DVD collection). I recently scored the 

full set of 88 trading cards and 22 stickers on eBay and was immediately 

brought back to the excitement of the film, which included the frightening

proposition of being sucked into a massive, lightless space vacuum.

While browsing other items from the movie, I saw several sealed

boxes of wax packs of Black Hole trading cards with excellent graphics... 

I may have to see about adding one of those to my card and sticker collection. 

Vinyl Therapy: Duran Duran (2015)

Duran Duran continue the return to form they reached with 

2010's All You Need Is Now on their stellar new Paper Gods LP.

With Mark Ronson and Nile Rodgers in the production booth, they've

not only drawn upon but expanded the style and scope of their signature

brand of hook-laden pop. This is cleverly reflected in the album cover art, 

which references to different benchmarks and eras in their history as a band.

Town & Country: Drive-By & Walkabout

Walkabouts, flea markets, stores, gardens and landscapes.

Along the way, my buddy Steve and I had a nice surprise 

visit with our favorite (now retired) flea market vendor John.

As always, I had to get a trim from Matthew, barber extraordinare.