This Friday I will be going to the release party for the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,  at my local Barnes and Noble store.  I went to the last two release parties, one in florida and the last one here in Kansas City, and had a blast.  The parties are full of fans in costume, games, contests, and a great sense of expectation for the release.  Being the last volume in the set, I fully expect this latest release party to be the best yet.

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Bob Dylan is getting old.  His voice, never the most pleasing or melodious to begin with, is now very raspy and hard to understand.  It is obvious too, that he no longer has the energy he once had.  However, Dylan, one of the greatest poets and songwriters of our time is not giving up yet.

I saw Dylan live last night at Starlight theatre here in Kansas City.  A long time fan of his work and enormous contributions to twentieth century music, I was very excited to see him perform — but I was not without my reservations.  I saw Dylan singing on TV a few years ago, and between his failing voice and his lack of energy, I was afraid he could no longer put on a show worth seeing.

However, Dylan surprised me.  Rather than doing what I thought I wanted, and what most of the crowd expected, Dylan did not spend his time on stage reciting all his old classics and pandering to his past.  Instead, he focused on his newer works, songs that much of the audience had not heard, and he put everything he had into them.  While at first I was disappointed, I was soon drawn in and bought the performance entirely.  I think Dylan put it best last night when he sang “Spirit on the Water” from his 2006 Album “Modern Times”:

You think I'm over the hill
You think I'm past my prime
Let me see what you got
We can have a whopping good time

Order of the Phoenix is the darkest Harry Potter movie yet, especially in the sugar coated sadistic bureaucracy of new teacher Dolores Umbridge — one of several fantastic cast additions. Though much of the book got cut, fans of the previous movies will still likely love this one.

Last night I saw Rasputina in concert at the Record bar in the Westport area of Kansas City. A favorite band of mine, Rasputina has a very unique sound produced by a pair of electric Cellos and one drummer. The music has a classic rock/progressive feel, and in fact the band does a few excellent covers of Led Zeppelin and Heart. Though I love their music even off the stage, their live show is incredible. The two cellists dress in vintage clothing, sport very somber expressions throughout the performance, quip with snarky or eccentric commentary between songs, and play their instruments with a vigor and energy I have not seen in many performers. If you have not heard any music by this group, I highly recommend them.

Though Rasputina was the headliner, they were preceded by Alacartoona (and one other girl singer/songwriter which was not worth a mention) who describe themselves as a modern cabaret group. They put on a very energetic show and though I am not a big enough fan of the music to purchase their album, I would gladly attend any concert they are at for the quality of their live show.

Transformers is an action movie based on a series of toys and an 80s action cartoon, which should have been horrible. However, Michael Bay’s insanely beautiful special effects laden action sequences and the inclusion of enough humor to balance out the absurd plot make this a fantastically fun summer movie.

Last Saturday, I attended the Robert A. Heinlein Centennial held at the Westin Crown Center Hotel here in Kansas City, Mo — Robert A Heinlein’s hometown. I am sorry to say that the event was a disappointment. It felt as if it was planned to be a high profile convention with a few thousand attendees that would inspire some genuinely insightful looks into the author’s life. Instead, the convention felt almost second rate, thrown together and lifeless.

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This weekend I will be attending a convention celebrating what would have been Robert A. Heinlein’s 100th Birthday.  The event lasts three days:  from this Friday through Sunday,  and will be held here in Kansas City, Heinlein’s hometown, at the Westin Hotel at Crown Center.  There are a great deal of events and panels planned, but I will most likely be sticking with the visitors pass, which is significantly cheaper ($10 per day versus $60 a day or $120 for the weekend) but restricts access to just the dealer’s room, Heinlein life museum and some panels.

Hopefully, it will be a fitting tribute to the life of one of my favorite authors, and a fun time as well.

Find out more at: http://www.heinleincentennial.com/