Why I Can't Be in the Same Room as the Dalai Lama

I noticed something interesting while preparing for my trip to New York City for another Peter Gabriel soundcheck and concert. About 20 days after PG plays Radio City Music Hall, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be appearing for two nights to give two lectures. I briefly flirted with the idea of going to attend one of the HH's lectures, but decided not to.

Part of the reason was due to money. But mostly, it's because I'm too ashamed of myself to be in the same room that he is.

From my research into his life, the Dalai Lama is very tolerant, compassionate and forgiving. He wants to work with the government of the very country that forcefully took over his country rather than just blow China to hell. Me -- I'd skip diplomatic negotiations and try to blow China to hell.

Now, both Tibet and myself have no weapons capable of blowing anything larger than a dust mite to hell, but I don't let that small fact hold back my anger.

I really admire people who genuinely like other people. I have a select few people I adore, a few I would gladly take a bullet for and then there's the other 99.9% of the human population. After hearing them talk for ten minutes, I just want to smack them upside the head with a metal frying pan in order to get them to shut up.

I also find that there are people I can't forgive:

* My abuser
* PG's abusers when he attended Charterhouse as a boy
* That drunk woman that kicked her dog in my street, so I called the police on her and now she's threatened to kill my dog
* Michael Vick
* President Andrew Jackson who destroyed what was left of Native American tribes. Yes, I know he died in 1845, but I still hold a grudge

Now, the Dalai Lama teaches compassion mediation where you first think about being compassionate to your mother (or mother-figure), then your best friend and then your worst enemy. Ideally, you are to feel the same feelings for all three.

Un-uh. Not me. No way.

So, I figure my seat at Radio City Music Hall would be best filled by someone who could actually become compassionate to even her worst enemies. She'd get more out of the Dalai Lama's talks than I would. I'd just be sitting there burning with embarassment.

How a Book Idea Can Be Great and Suck Simultaneously

By now, you've probably gotten the impression that I'm a Peter Gabriel fan. You wouldn't even need to read any blog posts to figure that out -- all of the PG images would give that fact away. I'm also a freelance writer. Lots of things in my life have gone down the crapper, but I'm an excellent writer. I pay my bills -- that's why I can say that I'm an excellent writer. (Lousy speller, but excellent writer.)

That Idea's Great!

Inevitably, the idea dawned on me after I wrote about attending PG's soundcheck in Berlin: Rena, only PG's mother knows more about PG than you do. I probably know things that PG himself would have no clue about. You're the perfect person to write a unique biography of him! I wouldn't even have to interview him (although that would be nice.) PG has granted so many interviews over the years that all a writer needs to do would cull the best from those interviews. And (although most of my PG collection was trashed by my exes) I do have access to other fans that have copies of these interviews.

I'd also like to do a section on fan's impressions of meeting PG. Fans like myself get asked about song meanings a lot, so there also should be a section of the biography devoted to that. Although I have written some silly fan-girl stuff on this blog and on at least two PG forums, I would actually take the project seriously and not just blather on about how great PG is. He certainly can be a bastard -- selfish, forgetful and (sometimes) a liar. But, hey, aren't we all? In fact, I'd like to title it "Legendary Bastard: Reflections of Peter Gabriel Through Many Eyes."

I can make this much different from Spencer Bright's nauseating dissection of PG, from the fascinating "Peter Gabriel: In His Own Words" (Mick St. Michael) and even from the best PG bio done to date by the multi-talented Armando Gallo, titled simply "Peter Gabriel."

Hell, I could even self-publish the bio so PG and his staff would not have to bother with all of the hassle of dealing with a snobby publisher.

That Idea Sucks!

Unfortunately, Armando Gallo has been trying to do a sequel to his PG bio for the last 30 years. Gallo is arguably more qualified to write a PG bio than I am, since he not only is an excellent photographer, but also has been a fan of Genesis since I was in diapers. (Pardon the mental image.)

How dare I think that I could get an "okie-dokie" if Gallo can't?

Quite honestly, if you asked 100 PG fans if they've heard of the name "Armando Gallo", over half will say "yes." But ask the same 100 who Rena Sherwood is and they'll say, "Who the f*** is that?"

Besides, PG's staff probably would see me as someone who just wants to get into PG's pants. So, do I risk sending a book proposal to PG's staff and risk being laughed at or (worse) completely ignored or do I just forget the whole thing?

Off to bang my head against the wall until numbness sets in.

Do Yourself a Favor -- Never Google Old Lovers

I guess because it's Easter it gave me the idea to look into the dead parts of my nefarious past. Quite frankly, I live in fear that my UK ex, who used to beat the crap out of me, will show up at my door. However, that would take effort. After moving from the UK on 13 September 2005 there has been no sign of my abuser. (WHEW!)

Since I returned to America I've had nightmares about meeting the American boyfriend I walked out on in order to shack up with the monstrous Peter Gabriel substitute. (Well, I used all my lovers as PG substitutes. Fat lot of good that did.) The American boyfriend probably wishes I was dead and he has every right to. Tell you the truth, there are many times I wish I was dead. Anyway, I thought I'd face this fear.

Facing your fears is highly overrated.

Anyway, I Googled the American boyfriend's name, hoping I'd find it listed under "Obituaries." Either that or find a photo of how badly he'd aged so I could sigh in relief, "Wow. Dodged that bullet."

No such luck. He's on Facebook. Looking at his picture (and that of his overweight gal pal) was reminiscent of discovering roadkill. Last I heard, he'd moved to his home town, but now has moved back to the town where the two of lived oh so many years ago. At least I know which town to stay far, far away from.

So, let this be a lesson to you. If you ever think of Googling old flames -- don't. You'll wind up with nausea to knock over an elephant.

In order to calm me down, there's a nice photo of PG to pair with this post. This is also for the people who come to this blog just for PG news and not Rena Sherwood news. (Hey -- I've no problem with that.)

Off to cancel my Facebook account.

Five Random Peter Gabriel Pictures from My Collection

And the PG worship continues.

Currently, I'm hard at work on various projects, but am taking a break to post a couple of gems from my PG photo collection because a couple of folks over at the PG Forums wanted to see them. Blogger was the most convenient place for me to do so.

Anyway, the dork in the flowery jacket talking to PG is me. Gee, no wonder he didn't fall for me, huh?

First Impressions: Peter Gabriel at O2 Berlin 3/24/10

I'm getting a review of the show (and soundcheck) for a client, but some fans may like to see some of my notes. These are interpeted from frantically scribbled notes on the back of my WOMADshop reciept when my hands stopped shaking.

* First PG concert I've ever been to where he needed to bring a bottle of cough syrup onstage. But if I hadnlt seen the bottle, I would never have known his throat was sore.
* PG wore a loose back ensemble embroidered with barely detectable paisley designs.
* PG had problems with his earpiece, which suddenly popped out of his left ear at least one time. Twice he yanked the earpiece out himself.
* Did lewd hand gesture to me during "Darkness" (probably not to me specifically, but there were only about four women in the front row.) Still. I'm overjoyed!
* Minor feedback problems, but none were distracting.
* The light show and animation was lost on me, since I sat in the front row. But the audience reaction indicated it was a big hit.

The person sitting behind me filmed "Book of Love." That's my big fat head in the way (blush.) If you ever happen to be at a PG concert and see me, just ask me to scrunch down so I don't block the shot.

Ten Reasons Why Peter Gabriel's New Blood Tour Is Better Than Sex

1) Doesn't leave the toilet seat up.
2) Much, much bigger than expected.
3) No discovering that the PG New Blood Tour has gone through your wallet while you were sleeping.
4) No awkward meetings with any PG New Blood Tour family members.
5) No prophylactics necessary.
6) Dancing optional.
7) No need to feel bad if you say the wrong words at the wrong time, 'cause PG does it all of the time.
8) Your timing is never off because of Ben Foster's conducting.
9) The PG New Blood Tour never wants to have a heavy discussion during the best parts of "Star Trek."
10) Lasts longer than ten minutes.

PG New Blood Tour Live from Berlin

It was like really good sex, only less messy. I#m so happy I could fly.

PG seemed intensley worried all throughout the set list, but did laugh on several occassions. Ben Foster, the conductor, teased PG mercilessly at times in the good English tradition. I#ve never seen a PG concert where PG had to drink a bottle of cough syrup before.

I found out that there was a bad technical glitch at Paris 22 march. All the mikes and sound wnet out. PG calmed the crowd by shouting the lyrics to Father, Son at the top of his lungs to placate the restless crowd.

So, he went on with the show even though he had a sore throat. But if he can sing like that with a sore throat, he is one lucky bastard.

PG also had problms with his earpiece. It popped out of his ear a couple of times. Twice during the show he yanked it out.

I´d type more, but I clapped so hard that I have big blue bruises and a blister on my right hand. Never let it be said that a PG concert isn't dangerous!

Coming to you live from Berlin Intercafe 2004 on Gleimstraße. Vielen dank!

Peter Gabriel's New Blood Tour Kicks Off Successfully

Even fans prepared to be stunned were happily suprised to be stunned, according to reports on the PG Forums at Petergabriel.com. The only disappointment was that Peter wore clothes. At the left is a picture from the show put up by Peter's Official Twitter Page.

This is my last post before getting on the plane to Berlin to see PG at the O2. I've decided to not take a camera for two reasons:

1) It makes me look like a tourist and would attract theives
2) I don't own a camera (because if I bought things like cameras, I couldn't afford to drop everything and fly to Berlin to see Peter.)

I've been working like mad in order to help pay for all of this, and now have just over 26 hours to pack. AHHHHetc.

My Peter Gabriel Picture Collection

I know I'll never have a shot with PG (becuase there's no God, remember?) but I'm certainly having a fine old time with my PG picture collection. I do have two small photo albums with newspaper clippings, postcards and actual photos on actual film of PG, but they now pale in signifigance to my digital collection.

I really hope I do nothing that warrants police breaking open my hard drive, or I'll have a heck of a time explaining why there are um...let's see...oh...350 images of Peter Gabriel on my computer. I added another 25 or so tonight because Eva (hi, Eva!) put a huge chunk of her collection up on Genesis Community on Ning. That's where the ones at the left come from. Just my luck, I'll not allowed be into Germany because somehow the Border Patrol found out I have a thing for looking at Peter Gabriel.

I just like looking at PG pictures every now and then over the last 23 and a half years. And occassionally fiddling with them on Paint. That's all. Swear to God.

Preparing for Peter Gabriel Concert in Berlin

The tickets arrived. The instructions for getting into the soundcheck arrived. My Mom's picked out a concert outfit for me. I've booked the hotel. My sneakers gave out, so I had to buy new shoes. We're selecting a dog-walker for Pony. I'm having frequent nightmares about not being allowed into Germany. I'm now on two Xanax pills a day.

I thought I was crazy traveling from Philadelphia to Berlin to see Peter, but apparently there is a fan from Chicago that's flying to London to see him. That means she has to deal with both O'Hare and Heathrow airports. Maybe she'll be lucky and use Gatwick instead. I love Peter, but I'm I'd only go through both Chicago and London if I was guaranteed to sleep with him (sex need not be involved.)

By the way, next week my brother and his family are coming from Vancouver. I'll be meeting my two nieces for the first time.

I'd like to make the rest of this post insightful and coherent, but who am I kidding? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 60th, Peter Gabriel

Ah, yes, that time of year again when we all sing Peter Gabriel caroles, decorate a Zorb and be nice to monkeys (shock only in the metaphorical sense, please).

OK, I jest, but I received notice from WOMADShop that my tickets to Berlin have been put in the post. Cause enough for celebration!

This is "Growing Up", which will probably not be a part of the New Blood tour but appropriate for the day:

Ticket Gain = Dream Loss

I've been dreaming about Peter Gabriel since I was 16 (and now I'm, uh, older than 16.) Over the years, Dream Peter has turned into a unique and unpredictable character He also gave me some valuable tips on lucid dreaming. One tip is that when I realize I'm dreaming, I'm to say my name aloud and then ask where Peter is. The other characters in the dream can usually point me towards him.

But now he seems to have a streak of jealousy. Now that I'm going to see the real Peter in Berlin and New York, Dream Peter is refusing to appear in my dreams.

Typical. He may not live in the physical realm but still retains all of the male's powers to be annoying.

Anyway, I now have a new gig as the Philadelphia Tea Examiner on Examiner.com. I'm still trying to figure out how I can work Peter Gabriel into that blog without getting fired.

Peter Gabirel Now on Twitter

Although there are about 1500 people claiming to be Peter Gabriel on Twitter, one is from the real guy, or at least, from Real World Studios. Granted, it may not be PG himself that does the typing, but his pubicists are the next best thing. The funny thing is that Peter Gabriel could not use that as his user name on Twitter, becasue it had already been taken. So, now Itspetergabriel.

As a freelance writer, I've been urged several times by my clients and from other freelance writers to get a Twitter account. I've held off (holy cow -- isn't a blog enough in this word anymore?) but now that Peter's gone and gotten one, I have, too at Renasherwood. (All of the good user names, like Peter Gabriel, had already been taken.) Unlike MySpace of Facebook, Twitter doesn't crash my 10 year old computer.

The avatar I've chosen is "Killer Chihuahua" taken by David Shankbone and is up at Wikimedia Commons. Trust me - this dog is much better looking than myself. Off to discover the joy of micro-blogging.

Peter Gabriel North American New Blood Tour 2010

Just my luck. In the last post, I talked abut spluriging for a trip to Berlin in order to see Peter Gabriel perform with semi-full chamber orchestra. A day after buy my non-refundable airplane tickets, Peter announces a tour of North America. Boy, is my family laughing. So far, there are only four dates, but note the big date gaps. PG tours have added shows less than a month before the show date in the past, so I wouldn't put it past him to do it again.

The tour so far:

* April 28 Montreal Bell Centre
* May 2 New York Radio City Music Hall
* May 3 New York Radio City Music Hall
* May 7 Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl

As far as I know, tickets are not officially on sale yet. Hmmm... I've never been to New York City ... Anyway, here's a taste -- Peter's cover of David Bowie's "Heroes". I'd never been able to understand the lyrics before Peter sang it.

Peter Gabriel "New Blood" 24 March Berlin O2

I know I previously mentioned Peter's mini-European "New Blood" tour, but I'm repeating myself here for a reason.

I'm going.

I saw that a second show for the Berlin O2 Arena had been added. Peter's studio, Real World, was offering bundle tickets which included:

! A ticket to the show
! A ticket to the soundcheck (two concerts in one day)
! An "event access laminate" (which I think is a fancy way of saying "backstage pass")
! A T-shirt
! A copy of Peter's new CD, "Scratch My Back"

I thought, "Hmmm, wouldn't it be great if I could go?" Then I smacked myself in the head when I realized:

1) I'm 40 years old and don't need anyone's permission to go to Berlin
2) I'm self-employed
3) I have the money
4) I have an up to date passport
5) I need a new T-shirt

Now, there still could be problems that prevent me from going. Germany could invade Poland. I could drop dead. The tickets could spontaneously combust. But I have to blog about this or my head will explode. There. Now I can get back to work writing about Toshiba laptops, treatments for clinical depression and chronic kidney failure in dogs.

The really fun thing is that after years of taking German classes in High School and college, all my knowledge of this language has boiled down to one sentence:

"Der Bleistift ist gelb."

(The pencil is yellow.)

Oh, that will come in handy.

Took the Veg Pledge

Mom and I went grocery shopping today and we stopped by the poultry department. We stared at the corpses and at each other. She asked me what was wrong. I told her I suddenly saw the necks of the chickens come up and begin to scream. We came home and I took the 30 day Veg Pledge (although I intend to be vegetarian for the rest of my life now, unles I become homeless again.)

I'd already stopped eating beef because it was getting me sick. I don't mean that in the colloquial sense -- I mean it was making me throw up and get the runs. I stopped eating pork for the same reason. (Although for some unknown reason, UK pork did not get me sick. What do they do in the UK that the US doesn't?)

When I was homeless, I didn't have the choice about whether to be a vegetarian or not. You ate whatever you could get a hold of, usually from dumpster diving. But now I make enough money that I do have a choice and I can't logically say I love animals and yet still eat them. I can't logically want to stop climate change and support livestock farming, which is responsible for producing more greenhouse gas than all of the vehicles on Earth combined.

Granted, not a very funny post today. I'll try to get back on form later. I'm now off to my old post Let's Stop Horse Racing Now and deal with some of the jokers who responded.

Happy New Year.

Getting Crowded in Hell: Oral Roberts (1918 - 2009)

Thank God Oral Roberts is dead. However, God was about 90 years too late in removing this number one crackpot. Oral Roberts is the asshole who started the whole televangelist/faith healing freak show. He also started Oral Roberts University, featuring a sculpture of a pair of praying hands. (See how humble he was? Wouldn't Jesus be proud? Certainly Jesus would want to raise millions of dollars and then not have to pay taxes on it because it's for religion. Heaven forbid any of that money actually go to programs like welfare, food banks, animal shelters or anything like that.)

By not paying taxes and by having these obscene megachurches and so-called "Christian education", televangelists and their ilk steal money from all of us in order to laugh all the way to the bank. They have no other purpose in life.

If God was really all-powerful, why is He always short of cash? Why does He need megachurches? If He was all-loving, he would never have allowed televangelists to get on TV and he never would allowed Oral's parent to name him Oral. Maybe that's why he became a preacher -- to get back at God for letting his parents give him a name that probably got him beat up daily in school.

In case anyone is appalled that I hope Oral Roberts is burning in Hell, take a deep breath. I don't believe in Hell. I'm not petty enough for that. I'm also not stupid enough to beleive in an all-powerful, all-loving God, but that's another post.

Let's end with words from the dearly departed, shall we?

Christmas Really Sucks

It's that time of year again where we all act completely opposite to what Christmas was originally about -- taking the place of the midwinter Pagan festivals. This time of year was originally about the Sun and not the Son.

But anyway...

If I hear "Holly Jolly Christmas" one more time, I think I'm going to have to puncture my eardrums with a sharpened candy cane.

If you really want to get cynical about Christmas, I highly recommend the following:

* Working in retail for over 10 years
* Becoming homeless at this time of year (which is actually less painful than working retail during the holiday season. Sadly, I speak from experience.)

Or, you could do what my body did and come down with a sinus and ear infection. Ah, nothing could get you more in the holiday spirit than hearing your doctor say, "I see mucus in your ears." I guess that's proof I'm allergic to Christmas muzac.

I recommend this song as the new "Holly Jolly Christmas" by Jay Brannan.

Peter Gabriel Mini-Tour: New Blood

Peter's official website has confirmed that he will be doing a mini-tour to promote his new album of cover songs, "Scratch My Back" around February - April 2010. So far, the only dates released are for London, Paris and Berlin and then back in London. Peter usually chooses the name of the tour based on some sort of in-joke and this one is no exception -- it's called New Blood (based on the cover image of the new album -- two blood cells).

He will be performing with full orchestra. Whether he plays piano with them is anyone's guess. One or more of the concerts is hoped to be filmed.

The odds of Peter actually coming to Philly (or anywhere else in the US) are quite slim due to the economy. Just my freakin' luck. Did I even mention that he once played my home town of Philly on my birthday on 18 November 2003? Well, he did. Unfortunately, I had moved to England three years previously. That paritcular birthday, I had been able to move back into my flooded out home-made bender by the River Avon in Bathwick. Hearing that I'd been able to do the unthinkable, my drunk boyfriend came crawling back, reading DH Lawrence love poetry. For some unfathomable reason, I took him back. Oh yeah -- I wasn't on Prozac then.

That's what I get for not staying faithful to PG, even though I don't have a snowball's chance of seeing him on concert on my birthday, let alone the wild thing with him. It's also proof that there's no God -- or, at least, no such thing as a benevolent God.

Off to bang my head against a wall. No -- on second thought, I think I'll just eat an entire chocolate cake. Yeah -- that'll do it.

Peter Gabriel & Atheism

I've taken the leap of faith to become an atheist, although my Mom insists I'm just an agnostic. I'm still a Witch, (Edit -- no, not really) I just don't expect to get any answers when I pray. I pray out of habit. I'm actually just talking to myself, but people think I'm crazy if I admidt that, so I say I'm praying. I've said this so often that now I believe it.

So, what was the big breakthrough that made me finally realize there was no God? Or, at least, a God I would want to have anything to do with?

Because Peter Gabriel won't shag me.

Now, granted the "Peter Gabriel won't shag me" theory is not going to make a lot of noise at the Vatican. I actually do have other, more serious reasons (such as being a survior of domestic abuse) but who wants to read about that? I mean, they're all such depressing reasons. People want to read about sex.

Follow me on the logic of this one.

Now, if there was a benevolent God, I never would have fallen in love with Peter Gabriel. I'm not his type, I've never made any positive impression on him when I did meet him, he's never sent me a birthday card -- in other words, it will never happen between me and PG. So, why did I fall in love with him in the first place?

Who knows? Why does anybody fall in love? I was in the wrong place at the wrong time when my hormones were raging and Peter happened to be the one I laid eyes on at that moment and that's that. The die was cast. I was doomed and I knew it.

Oh, but that didn't stop me. I had boyfriends, but I still was thinking about Peter the whole time. I even ran away with a homeless alcoholic because he had blue eyes and kinda looked like Peter. Made the fantasizing a heck of a lot easier, let me tell you. But that didn't work out and (in the meantime) Peter gets married to a woman younger than I am. I did not even get an invitation to the wedding.

Now, I've gotten to the point in my life where I realize that only Peter will do as a sexual partner and if I do hook up with someone else, it will all go horribly pear-shaped. So, I'm celibate and am going on my 5th anniversary of celibacy later this month.

Unless Peter decides otherwise.

Which ain't gonnna happen.

Logically, I know I should not love Peter any more. But I've tried that and it doesn't work. I still love him, even though he's an impossible aspiration.

A benevolent God would not allow this. Therefore, there is no God.

Ta-da.

Anyway, for those PG fans who checked in on this post just because of the title, the latest release date of PG's next album, Scratch My Back is now 15 Feb, 2010. PG is already doing promotional material for it and is going to do a concert around its release date with full orchestra. It is unknown whether this will be a small tour, a one-off concert or a YouTube Orchestra-type thing. Since one of the songs on the new album will be a cover version of Neil Young's "Philadelphia", rumors are swirling that he may come to Philly, but so far it's only a rumor.