Harry Potter / R&R Hall of Fame

Harry Potter Character is Gay
Neither I nor my children have ever read a Harry Potter book or seen a Harry Potter movie, therefore the following news item did not phase us/me:

"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling stunned fans at a Q&A session at Carnegie Hall Friday night when she said that Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay.

Since I am unfamiliar with Harry Potter, I don't see the significance of "Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore [being] gay." What I am puzzled by is WHY it makes any difference. To my knowledge, the Potter series of books and movies are FICTION! Right?! So...what does a fictional character's sexual orientation have to to with anything? From what I understand, this tidbit of "news" has no effect on the storyline(s) or outcome of the FICTIONAL events desribed. Since the character isn't real, does that mean that the homosexual orientation (and by implication, sexual activity) is fictional?!

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
My sons and love music. They both play guitar--my youngest has been dabbling with the keyboard lately; he plays mostly by ear. I play the drums. This past week, we made a trip to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (R&RHF) in Cleveland, OH. We've wanted to go there for a while; in fact, we went through Ohio several years ago on our way home from Washington DC, but my wife didn't think the R&RHF sounded like "fun," so we kept on driving.

This past week was "Fall Break" for our local school system, so a couple of months ago, we planned our trip. My wife had to work that week, both boys were out of school, and I had some vacation to burn. We flew to Cleveland on Thursday, visited the R&RHOF on Friday, and returned home on Saturday. A whirl-wind trip...but a BLAST! We just happened to arrive in Cleveland the same day as Game Four of the ALCS between Cleveland and Boston. What a spectacle! I've NEVER seen so many people in one place in my life! (Bad news for Indians fans...they ain't going to "the series"...even though the politically incorrect Indians mascot is still smiling.)

We walked around the downtown area, mingling with the baseball fans on Thursday. Ate at the Hard Rock Cafe that night. Friday morning, we were at the R&RHF when the doors opened. The R&RHF and Museum opened in 1995 (the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was formed in 1983), as "the preeminent home for the celebration and study of rock and roll music. [The] exhibits, educational programs and performance events have made the Museum a mecca for fans, scholars and the artists themselves. In fact,...research shows that the Museum is the most popular and best-attended hall of fame in the country."

The museum is definitely a trip down memory lane (at least it was for me; for the boys, it was just "COOOL!"). There were exhibits--some large, some small--highlighting groups such as (in no particular order) The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Allman Brothers Band, Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, and Aerosmith. There were artifacts from every era: clothing worn by performers, original lyrics scribbled on notebook paper or hotel stationary, ticket stubs, posters, etc. Several exhibits showed videos of artists or events. The "sad" thing for me...I recalled seeing alot of the arists/groups on television or live...some of them over 40 years ago! It doesn't seem that long ago that the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show or that I was watching American Bandstand on a Saturday afternoon. Time flies.

I'm a big Allman Brothers fan, so one of the highlights for me was seeing Gregg Allman's Hammond B-3 organ. It's right there in the museum. I could almost hear the band cranking out "Whippin' Post!" Two of my favorite groups--Yes and The Doobie Brothers--haven't made it into the Hall of Fame...yet. It was a very quick, very memorable trip. Both of the boys said they were going back "some day." I hope they think of our trip back in 2007 when they do.