Monday, September 29, 2008

My weekend in photos

SATURDAY
I went to San Francisco and met my mom, older brother the cop, sister-in-law and my nephew at Lefty O'douls in Union Square for lunch, drinks and college football games on TV. Giving a big shout out to Fresno State beating UCLA and an even bigger shout out to Notre Dame beating Purdue. Way to go Irish!!! Since the Irish won, that started the weekend off on a good note.
Then my family went to the Dodger vs Giants game and sat in my companies Club Level Seats while a co-worker and I sat in other seats at the park.

This is my family, right to left, mom, brother, nephew and sister-in-law.



In all the times that I have sat in those seats I have never gotten a chance to see a celebrity, but they did... Steve Perry.


So my sister-in-law snapped this from her seat about 10 seats away


Steve Perry (former lead singer of Journey) was very nice to my family and signed autographs and seemed happy to chat, he just didn't want to pose for a picture, something about he had a year left, yada yada yada. Not sure what that was all about. But my co-worker and I sitting in the lower box seats on the right side of the field did get to see Vida Blue, you have to be BIG baseball fans to know who he is, but this is him...


Yes, I Kinneared him. It was too late to get a picture and autograph with him, so this is the best that I could do.



SUNDAY

Sensei and I were guests of Mazda at the AMA Superbike races at Laguna Seca. Getting these passes was good timing, it was Sensei's birthday too!


This pass is what I like to call, "Ain't no where here you are gonna get denied access Pass," or as Sensei liked to call it, "I AM the shit Pass!"

The suite was located on Pit Row, stocked full of food and drinks gratis. There was indoor seating with 3 TV's showing parts of the track not visible from where we were and then outdoor seating looking onto the track. I met some Mazda factory people, good people to know, because I scored this for Sensei and I...

Yes, that is me in the Official Pace Car and the driver took me around the track going REALLY REALLY fast. It was the most awesome experience I have EVER had. Sensei loved it as you can see...


He said that this was the best birthday he ever had.

The bikes were going speeds of about 180 mph in the straight aways. This link will show all the pictures at Laguna Seca if you are interested in seeing more.

23 comments:

  1. You had a totally rockin' weekend! Remind me to tell you about my Vida Blue story sometime. He sat right next to me at an A's game once!

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  2. What an awesome weekend! Happy birthday to Sensei today! :)

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  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  4. Changing the wording doesn't clear your Karma!!!

    You can talk about the great time you had without the photos....

    Honor his request! Treat him as you would wish to be treated.

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  5. I am reposting this comment that I had deleted. I have reconsidered and have replied to the comment next.

    Very cool story, but maybe your family should have rewarded his kindness by honoring his request for them NOT to take his picture –

    At the very least, maybe you could remove these from your site….

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  6. Dear Anonymous...
    I appreciate your feed back and maybe I should have chose my words more carfully. He stated that he could not pose for a picture with them and continued to chat with them. There were several people in the area taking photos of him at which no time did he ask them not to take his picture, he just was not posing with fans.

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  7. I do not see anything wrong with a fan taking the photo considering Steve Perry, a former singer, had to know that being in the spotlight would generate this type of attention, even years after his so-called retired. I am not fond of being coy and I hate people who say one thing then do another. Is SP going to sing again or not? That is all I care about not that he is at a baseball game. My take on SP right now is that his ex band mates are working and doing their thing and he is not for whatever reason. So, to keep people interested in him he pops up unannounced. Maybe the method to his madness is to feign that he hates attention only he is generating it by being a recluse. Everyone knows celebs are more interesting when they are not seen than when they are seen. At any rate, I figure if the man did not want to be bothered he should have sat somewhere hidden in the stadium like a VIP room or something. I do not feel sorry for celebs, I hate paparazzi and rude folks, but I do not think your sis-n-law was being rude, just excited. Besides, when will she eve see him again? He does not have to kiss fans asses, but if I was the fan I would have preferred if he said politely, "snap away, I will not pose willingly, though..." Or something like that. Then at least I would not feel like shit. Just an opinion.

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  8. By being a "public figure", he isn't protected by the same laws as private citizens.

    Kinnear away!

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  9. I agree. Public figures have for the most part signed away their rights of privacy. However, I also feel that they should not be harassed which I don’t think is not the case here with Mr. Perry. I myself am too shy to approach celebrities because I do not want them to react in a negative way toward me. But, I had no idea Perry was such a recluse, what happened to the man? Is he sick, sad, does he need a hug? Kudos for the woman for having the guts to ask. As for sharing the photo online, I think she was just so happy to finally see the hermit Steve Perry show his face, so to speak, she wanted his fans to see too. I do not think she meant to be mean-spirited, I think her karma was in the right place.

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  10. I am the family member who took the pictures of Steve Perry at the ballgame. I do not understand all the hoopla about Lisa posting these pics. Just as she said, Mr. Perry politely said he "could not" take pictures with us. He explained by saying it was "a long story". We did not pursue the idea any further, however he was completely friendly and chatted with us further. Before we went back to our seats nearby, Mr. Perry shook hands with each of us and thanked us very much, I assume for the friendliness we displayed in being fans. As to whether he was looking for attention or not, he apppeared to me to be just simply a man who wanted to enjoy a ballgame. He was dressed very casually, ate some popcorn and seemed to enjoy the game. He stayed until it was nearly over and was seen to be visiting with several others who spotted him during the game.
    The pictures were taken without him or anyone else even knowing I was doing it. It was very discreet and non invasive.
    He is a very friendly person and I was happy to meet him.
    Lisa should not feel badly or be subject to any adverse comments for posting the pics. I personally think it's fun to see celebrity's enjoying life like we average people do.

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  11. To Colleen:

    The “hoopla” was in response to some of the original wording in the blog, such as:

    "...Steve Perry. He didn't want his picture taken, So my sister-in-law snapped this from her seat about 10 seats away”

    & Just because he doesn't KNOW you were taking them -- if he was kind to you, actually spent time with you, but he asked you not to take any pictures [[actually taking the time to try and explain with the mysterious “had a year left” - lol]],, and you took photos anyway – even if “discreetly” ..
    well,,, that's just not cool,,, and thus the "hoopla"

    But I take "Lisa" at her word that she just mis”spoke” – and TY her for sharing a great story (and photos…)

    and congrats on such a lucky meeting

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  12. Right, I agree. There was nothing wrong with sharing the photo or taking it. And when will we ever get to see the reclusive Steve Perry? Thanks for the pix.

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  13. After much thought and consideration, I feel that I have done nothing wrong. I even went so far as to ask a member of a San Francisco based rock band who had hits in the 1970's and 1980's and still perform today. I explained the situation as it happened and his comment was, "Steve was in a public place and therefore is fair game. Steve might not have wanted to pose for a photo because that would have attracted more attention." I accept that reasoning as fair.

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  14. [["...a member of a San Francisco based rock band who had hits in the 1970's and 1980's and still perform today..."]]

    Sounds suspiciously like Journey,,,, lol

    [[“After much thought and consideration, I feel that I have done nothing wrong.”]]

    Personally, I only thought it was “wrong” to put the photos ONLINE if he had asked you not to take his picture,

    I can understand snapping a shot anyway,, just because,,, well,, it’s STEVE PERRY for crying out loud!!! Lol

    But it just seemed unkind to “publish” the photos when I read your original wording,,, yes he’s a public figure,, but he’s also a human being that had made a request of another human being (again, going by your original wording)

    If it was as expressed in your revised wording,, then no harm, no foul,,,
    enjoy the great memory, you lucky dogs :-PP

    tc

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  15. To Anonymous:
    Steve Perry is an older man SP who has not sung in years yet still has fans, therefore, he should consider himself lucky someone wants to take his photo! For heaven's sake, stop defending a man who dangles his passive/agressiveness over his fans with "maybe I will sing, maybe I won't." Yes, he was a great singer, but I can't say he still is since I have not heard the man in years. All he can do for me is sing, I don't care about photos, but some people need keepsakes to be close to the person they revere. Being a star is hard news, but if he really wanted not to be seen he would have gotten a sky box! Kudos to Lisa and others who have the guts to at least take the photo then kindly share it with others.

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  16. As I stated before and will state for the last time, I did not choose my words carefully and should have thought out the blog post prior to publishing.

    As to your comment "Sounds suspiciously like Journey,,,, lol" that makes no sense, if I knew someone in Journey I would not be posting a picture of Steve Perry excited that my family had the opportunity to meet him.

    There is no harm no foul, however you continue to publish comments on my blog and continue to belabor your point. What I find very suspicous is that when someone has such a strong opinion about something they feel the need to be anonymous. If you feel that your point is valid, don't hide behind "Anonymous"

    This is a knitting blog with my random rants added in once in a while. My out of the area family can keep up with what is going on in my life. With all the other photos and experiences that happened that weekend, the Steve Perry photos have been made a bigger deal than they should have. I have been contacted via personal email thanking me for posting them. So either you know me personally and you are being vindictive or you just don't know how to state your peace and drop it.

    For god's sake, comment on the fact that I rode in the Offical Pace Car at Laguna Seca on race day, how many people can say that??

    From this point on, if your comment about the Steve Perry photo is negative and do it Anonymously, I will not publish your comment. This is my blog and that is my prerogative.

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  17. Wow,,,,

    My comments weren’t negative, you just took them that way

    that DID sound like Journey you were describing,, it wasn’t an accusation, it was a observation,

    “member of a San Francisco based rock band who had hits in the 1970's and 1980's and still perform today”

    common… Journey’s from SF, their only hits were in the 70s and 80s, and they’re still performing today with a new singer…. I thought it was funny how much it sounded like them

    I post “Anonymously” because I don’t have an account, and I don’t know you, so my name would mean nothing..
    & I’m not slamming you from behind anonymity ,,, I’ve been respectful, even as I disagree,,, (as were you)

    And the rest was in response to your post,, an explanation and a truce ,,,

    How is that negative,,,

    What is negative are the posts that savage Steve Perry!!!! WTF?!!
    (esp the one after mine that starts “To Anonymous”)

    I hope you’ll call them out, esp considering how nice he was to you..

    As it seems the more I explain, the more you misunderstand,,, which is common when trying to have a discussion in print,,,, I’ll stop trying,, and

    leave you in peace,,

    (p.s. BIG! NASCAR fan,
    the pace car story IS pretty damn cool….)

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  18. p.s. just one last thing, lol.,,, I swear,,,,
    I do apologize if it sounded like I was belaboring the point,, but it wasn’t toward you, but to those posting who seem to think SP has no right to ask for privacy,,,, I should have been more specific as to whom I was directing some of my comments to…. My bad

    tc

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  19. Man - what a fabulous weekend. I love the way you get out there and *do* things while I am lumping away in my unheated house! Rock on, baby, witch-yo all access pass. HBD to Sensei, a bit late!

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  20. Thanks for the picture of Steve and your blog about it. I found it to be very interesting. Thank Colleen for me for taking the picture. Steve, at other times has declined to have his picture taken with people, no biggie. When Steve goes out in public I'm sure he knows that his picture will be taken when he isn't looking. Love the side shot by the way. As you said, you posted in haste and didn't re-read. Happens to everyone. I've re-read my post at least 3 times and I'm sure there are still mistakes in it.

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  21. Awesome Kinnearing of Vida Blue! I giggled when I read that.

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  22. Dude, I think the Yarn Harlot read your blog!

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