A slight case of sticker shock

On a whim, I decided to check out Jimmy Buffett's official website, to get an idea of where his summer concert tour is likely to be, and a feel for the prices. Dav and I would very much like to go to one of his concerts someday, although this year, and probably for the next year or two, is out of the question.

Discovered he's playing at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA, a suburb of Washington, in two days, and then for the rest of the summer he'll be several states away. After a brief moment of futile squee-ing - no way in hell could we have made it up there on such short notice even if the concert weren't already sold out - I checked the prices.

Holy... Mary.... Mother... please.... o_o

First, second, and third tier seating, and orchestra seating, are all $126. Dear God. General admission grass seating is $36. You can bet there'll be fisticuffs and brawling amonst the Parrotheads competing for those lawn seats.

If ticket prices of over 100 bucks are typical of his concerts, we're probably not going to be able to go except as a special anniversary treat, possibly the five year mark. This would have held true even before we became parents.

I mean, damn. Not even a slight token discount for the nosebleed section?



Gleep. It gets worse. The show in Detroit on Sept 12 is charging $136.50 for all Pavilion seats and $36.50 for grass seats.



Oh well. On the upside, NYTimes.com reports the FDA may finally approve over-the-counter sales of Plan B pills. Granted, they'll be kept behind the counter, like nicotine pills and patches or certain kinds of cold medicines, and customers will have to show ID proving they're over 18. But it'll be much much easier for women who've been raped or had contraceptive accidents to get the pills. That cheers up my inner feminist immensely.

Political geekery

NYTimes.com has a handy little interactive map showing the upcoming contested House, Senate, and gubernatorial races this fall. Took a little look around several states of particular interest.

On the WI Senate race:

Dear Robert Gerald Lorge: Bwahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa!!! ::wipes tear from eye::

Dear WI Republican Party: You and I both realize that the only way you will ever get Sen. Herb Kohl's seat is if he voluntarily retires, dies from eating too many cream puffs at the State Fair, or is proven to have taken part in what Clerks II calls "interspecies erotica". He's immensely popular, he's got a great service record, and he's extremely rich. I know this must be frustrating for you. But Lorge? Are you serious? Can't you do any better than a guy with a shoddy website design, a tendency to refer to himself in the third person not seen since Bob Dole's last campaign, and an obsession with the "Red Communist China Threat to America"? What is this, a remake of Head of State? (Only with zero likelihood of the underdog winning this time.)


On the VA Senate race:

I'm torn. On the one hand, most of Jim Webb's positions as stated on his website are pretty much in line with how I feel on the issues, which was what I expected from the Dem. candidate. Jim Allen's positions tend to not be terribly congruent with mine, as I expected from the Republican incumbent.

But.... Allen was one of only 15 senators for vote against funding the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska. Part of me would like to reward such sense and integrity. And, his positions aren't so far right-wing that I'd feel bad if he won, or if I voted for him.... I just don't know.

It would help if even one of them had a position on birth control and abortion rights on their website. Unfortunately for me, although probably wise for their campaign, they've both carefully steered away from any mention of it. I'll probably have to send emails inquiring.



There may be more geekery after lunch. Haven't decided yet.


Quick ETA: Hey Steph, according to that website, FL's Gov. Jeb Bush isn't running for re-election. Any idea why? I'd have thought it'd be a lock for him.