Ministry

 It had been a long time since I'd been to a loud concert, so when I found Ministry was playing in Vancouver and that tickets were not as outlandish as I had feared, I found a good friend to go with and was thoroughly rocked. Opening act This Sixxis was not bad and certainly scored extra points for being the first metal band I have seen that prominently featured a violin.

 Ministry has been around in various incarnations since 1981 and I got into them in the mid 90's. Having seen them twice before (once in Winnipeg, once in Vancouver) I knew what to expect and my expectations were thoroughly met by an excellent set. If it's your particular cup of tea to hear a 57 year old scream about the NSA, Fox News, and climate change deniers while being blasted by a wall of guitars then this is certainly the band for you.

The crowd at the show was pretty great and varied as well. Beyond the usual meatheads there to charge into each other, there was a guy in a wheelchair in the main area about 6 feet from the stage and a family with their 8-ish year old daughter sporting a fine pair of industrial strength earplugs. Since Ministry has been around so long, they have a pretty big and varied fan base with people well in their 60s alongside the usual wispy early twenties goth crowd. Heartily recommended!

The Scorpion Submarine

 On the same day in Long Beach that we clambered around the Queen Mary, we also took in a tour of the Russian Scorpion Submarine. While there are interenet rumors that it was submarine which The Hunt for Red October was based on (and the portrait of Sean Connery in the gift shop does nothing to dissuade that idea), the truth is a little less cinematic. It was actually decommissioned by the Russian military during the collapse of the Soviet Union and sold to a group of Australian investors.

 Being right beside the Queen Mary gives you a nice opportunity to see it from above as well and appreciate the size and shape of the whole craft. This photo also shows the entry and exit ramps tp reach the ship and the edge of the gift shop in the lower left corner.

 The inside is a great spot for photographers who like to combine low light with tubes, gauges, and valves. Once again I put my trusty fisheye lens to the test and got some nice pictures of the interior, my favorite of which is Kathryn crouched at the end of this array of torpedo tubes. Scorpion had 4 at the front and back, along with elaborate winches for loading the next shot in. There were also a number of round doors to crawl/sling your way through and an active periscope on the bridge.