Exercise in Absurdity

Ah, take a moment to digest this article I found by Rebecca Hagelin.

I am still trying to process how in the world her clever mind was able to come up with these masterful conceits :

a) Katrina = Titanic. I've gotten this far : Katrina - lots of water. Titanic - hit an iceberg, which is a lot of frozen water. Katrina - man-made levees burst. Titanic - Man-made vessel (both words have six letters, L, E, V,S -just in a different order!) burst at the seams.
Both: Incredibly, not enough vessels to save people, when there should have been ample resources to save everyone.

But - Rebecca tells the tale of glorious humanitarian heroism on the ship (The accounts of survivors remind us of a time when civility and honor were more important to many than survival itself) - neglecting the third class debacle, and the fact that most of the victims of the Titanic were third class folks. So maybe there should have been more stories of "first-class" rich folks setting sail on the highways in their SUV's and watching New Orleans sink behind them from afar... And did I miss something? That was Sean Penn not Leonardo in New Orleans. Ah, where's the love story angle, people? But I will grant that the captain going down with the ship is a much missed image from Katrina...

and b) It's all the fault of RAP MUSIC! You owe it too yourself to read her tirade on gangsta rap, and why our "cultural embrace" of it has lead to the fall of civilization that is New Orleans.

Now with my limited knowledge of the history of rap (from M-16 and Kadobi), I know there is the great New York-Los Angeles feud. I don't know anything about New Orleans being the big southern center of rap. Seems to me it was all about the jazz, man.

That'll Cost You

Senator Rick Santorum thinks that people who don't heed evacuation warnings should be fined.

You have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving.

Hey Rick, here's an idea for you : just use eminent domain, take their houses and then evict them! The supreme court will back you up all the way.

Can't Do Your Best Work On An Empty Stomach

A beleaguered Michael Brown said Friday he doesn't know why he was removed from his onsite command of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, but he does know the first thing he'll do when he returns to Washington:

I'm going to go home and walk my dog and hug my wife, and maybe get a good Mexican meal and a stiff margarita and a full night's sleep. And then I'm going to go right back to FEMA and continue to do all I can to help these victims.

Maybe he'll send some take-out menus to the evacuees...

Not Synonyms

Pulled off
Sent back
Replaced
Recalled to Washington
Removed from the scene
Relieved of his on-site command
Ousted

Last time I checked, none of these phrases were viable synonyms for FIRED.

The Best Question So Far

In all of the many hours I have spent reading the Times recently, this is by far the best question I want an answer to:

"How can it be that Mr. Bill was better informed than Mr. Bush?" - Senator Mary L. Landrieu

And you can watch Bill's 2004 PSA here, it's only 49 seconds long, after you get through the 30 second ARMY commercial...

It's All About Retention, Really

So, I've been wallowing in my Sarah Vowell / Maureen Dowd reading frenzy, and came upon the most curious little tidbit in one of Ms. Dowd's essays from 1999, entitled Cultural Drifter:

He (W.) just finished Isaac's Storm, a history of the Galveston hurricane of 1900...

Too bad he didn't have to do a book report on it. How odd the hurricane hit on September 8, but since it was in Texas, I am sure there was nothing applicable to the situation in Louisiana.

On Prayer and Belief

I do not pray... I do not expect God to single me out and grant me advantages over my fellow men... Prayer seems to me a cry of weakness, and an attempt to avoid, by trickery, the rules of the game as laid down. I do not choose to admit weakness. I accept the challenge of responsibility.
- Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)

Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.
- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Guess Who's NOT Coming To Dinner...

I was listening to NPR this evening, and heard this report that the 1,000 evacuees that were expected to arrive in Ohio were now not coming.

They don't want to go so far away from home.

And as previous posts show, I am filled with empathy and all, but I can't help feeling like Ohio just got snubbed.

Granted, I will be the first to bitch about the weather here, as the last year of winter posts will attest, but this fair state has just GOT to be better than living in the Astrodome.

Sure Texas has cowboys, but we have Amish people!

New Music Tuesday - Only A Song

Well, today is an excellent opportunity to talk about the greatness of Laura Nyro.

My request is that everyone go and listen to this song today. I would recommend the May 30, 1971 live recording at the Fillmore East, featuring Laura solo, accompanying herself at the grand piano. Anyway, this has always been a fan favorite, and the lyrics are especially good for today.

Save the Country

Come on, people! Come on, children!
Come on down to the glory river.

Gonna wash you up, and wash you down,
Gonna lay the devil down, gonna lay that devil down.

I got fury in my soul, fury's gonna take me to the glory goal.
In my mind I can't study war no more.

Save the people! Save the children! Save the country now!

Come on, people! come on, children!
Come on down to the glory river.

Gonna wash you up and wash you down.
Gonna lay the devil down, gonna lay that devil down.

Come on people! Sons and mothers!
Keep the dream of the two young brothers.
Gonna take that dream and ride that dove.

We could build the dream with love, I know,
We could build the dream with love, I know,
We could build a dream with love, children,
We could build the dream with love, oh people,
We could build the dream with love, I know,
We could build the dream with love.

Come on, people! Come on, children!
There's a king at the glory river.

And the precious king, he loved the people to sing;
Babes in the blinkin' sun sang
"We Shall Overcome".

So That's Where He Gets It

I read about this little quote on a blog written by a UK commenter on my blog. I can't believe I missed it...

Former First Lady Barbara Bush has been quoted in regard to the poor and now homeless victims of Katrina:

So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them.

A Hero Just In Time

The super-deluxe anniversary edition DVD was released today...it is one of the greatest movies of all-time, features AFI's #1 hero in film, takes place in the South and deals with racism and the fear of the unknown. It is a movie that delivers messages of tolerance, justice, and integrity.

Hey, Boo

If those two words fail to bring you to tears, you are very cold indeed.

Treat yourself to movie night.

What I Saw Today

1. Walking around on my lunch hour, I passed a woman wearing quite possibly the best T-Shirt of all time. It said:

“I’m not with stupid anymore.”

I am thinking all of us should get one after the next election...

2. Driving home, I saw a medium size bush/weed/botanical organism, of which the top portion was brilliant red – oh yes, Fall is here, my friends.

Self Evident

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

— The Declaration of Independence, 1776

Bush to New Orleans: Drop Dead

Today's reading from the New York Times is by Bob Herbert.

Here are my favorite paragraphs:

Mr. Bush flew south on Friday and proved (as if more proof were needed) that he didn't get it. Instead of urgently focusing on the people who were stranded, hungry, sick and dying, he engaged in small talk, reminiscing at one point about the days when he used to party in New Orleans, and mentioning that Trent Lott had lost one of his houses but that it would be replaced with "a fantastic house - and I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch."

Mr. Bush's performance last week will rank as one of the worst ever by a president during a dire national emergency. What we witnessed, as clearly as the overwhelming agony of the city of New Orleans, was the dangerous incompetence and the staggering indifference to human suffering of the president and his administration.

No One Is Coming For You

If you happened to miss Meet the Press on Sunday, this is a transcript of the end of the devastating, emotional interview Tim Russert did with Aaron Broussard, the president of Jefferson Parish in Louisiana:

I want to give you one last story and I'll shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me. The guy who runs this building I'm in, Emergency Management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" and he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you."

Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday… and she drowned Friday night. SHE DROWNED FRIDAY NIGHT!

Nobody's coming to get us. Nobody's coming to get us. The Secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. I'm sick of the press conferences. For God's sake, just shut up and send us somebody.

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?

I first heard this song back in 1987 on a great Laurel Massé (possessor of what some critics have called "the perfect voice") LP called Easy Living...it sticks in my mind because it was certainly a good song, but it was also memorable because the Penpal told me later that she thought the title meant Miss New Orleans, like in a beauty pageant. (ps - Laurel has written an excellent letter about the situation in New Orleans and what it means to music lovers on the first page of her website - check it out please).

So, in an attempt to get back to art, music and culture here at the CStL, I would like to direct you to another beautiful piece in the New York Times by former New Orleans resident, Mark Childress, in which he enumerates the 22 reasons to miss New Orleans.

"The Fantasyland of the Administration's Faith-Based Propaganda"

I've been working a very long stretch without a day off (which will continue for a bit) and so I have been getting all of my news from the New York Times.

Today's excellent op-ed piece is from Frank Rich entitled, Falluja Floods the Superdome.
Again, I encourage you to read it.

And a call-out to MyFriendJason, Mr. Rich uses the word hubristic in the piece.

The Private Sector Must Help

I got this email today from my good friend in the glamorous world of publishing. The point being that everyone can roll up their sleeves and do something...so in addition to other things, I am posting letter number two this week...

The private sector must help. Relief is too slow and the agencies dedicated to the relief can't get supplies to the survivors fast enough. I'm suggesting a write-in campaign to corporations to ask for their on-going help.

Today I wrote to some celebrities who are actively involved and asked them to spread the word. I also wrote several diaper and formula companies as well as underwear companies. I will continue to include food, medicine & clothing companies. I have urged my company to send children's books to the shelters and to offer our trucks for shipping critical items. Please spread the word to all that you know and ask them to dedicate some time to write to these companies. Please write to everyone you think will spread the word- local papers, local government, interested celebrities and so on.

Sample letter to Proctor and Gamble:

Each day we can see that the survivors of Katrina need diapers and formula for their babies -needs so critical and so basic that it puts human suffering in a sobering light. Please make a generous donation AND please offer your customers a way to purchase these items (at a discount) to send to the relief centers. Please consider setting this up and using your trucks to send the products into the needed areas. Your PR people could easily spread the news about this program through the media. Please do this. Please.

Sample Letter to Hanes:

Each day we hear that the survivors of Katrina need socks and underwear - a need so basic that it puts human dignity in a sobering light. Please make a generous donation AND please offer your customers a way to purchase these items (at a discount) to send to the relief centers. Please consider setting this up and using your trucks to send the products into the needed areas. Your PR people could easily spread the news about this program through the media. Please do this. Please.

Thanks all, let's pitch in.

A Chilling Lack of Empathy

My esteemed Penpal, the one responsible for hipping me up to the wonderful Sarah Vowell, has been diligently sending me articles by Maureen Dowd, and now I am really getting a thing for her as well. This latest article (United States of Shame - New York Times) really sums things up. Allow me to quote a few of my favorite parts, but do go read the piece in its entirety.

Stuff happens.
And when you combine limited government with incompetent government, lethal stuff happens.

and:

Michael Brown, the blithering idiot in charge of FEMA - a job he trained for by running something called the International Arabian Horse Association - admitted he didn't know until Thursday that there were 15,000 desperate, dehydrated, hungry, angry, dying victims of Katrina in the New Orleans Convention Center.
Was he sacked instantly? No, our tone-deaf president hailed him in Mobile, Ala., yesterday: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

and finally:

It is a chilling lack of empathy combined with a stunning lack of efficiency that could make this administration implode.

If only.

Vacation Is Over...

It looks like the tone of CStL is going to change for a little while, folks. Time out from music, art and weird, interesting things, and time for a little outrage. To wit, I post in its entirety something I hope you have already read:

Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore

Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours, Michael Moore

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

I've Been Interviewed!

On his August 16th post, MyFriendJason has a five question circulating "interview", and I decided to participate and let myself be interviewed, completely contrary to my usual misanthropic nature. So this "game" is not dissimilar to a chain letter, but what the heck...for what its worth, here is the "interview" of me by MFJ, followed by instructions for future players:

1.What one physical object that you have lost, do you miss the most?
In one of my early careers as a veterinary assistant, I removed my high school class ring when I was performing a procedure on an animal. Somehow it got lost. The ring itself doesn't mean much (neither does high school for that matter), but I purchased the ring with the funds in a bank account my deceased, and much beloved, grandmother had started for me when I was an infant. So it was really a reminder of her, not my graduation. It would be pretty cheesy to wear a high school class ring at my age, but I think I would still really like to have it.

2. Describe the most important attribute that a potential partner must have to make themselves attractive to you.

They have to get me, get the music and most of all, want it in equal measure.
Being small, trim and dark-haired doesn't hurt, either.

3. Imagine coffee has been outlawed in the US. Would you move to another country to continue having it, or risk prosecution and imprisonment by staying here? (This assumes you would not simply give up drinking it!)

Can't move to another country, mainly because getting a passport is too much bloody trouble.
So that leaves risking prosecution, which has conjured up glorious images of jazz-age bootlegging - underground Starbuck's with secret passwords - oh yes, bring back the fashions and music - and can I have a gun moll to call my own?

Give up drinking it? Are you mad? My body would disintegrate in 24 hours without the caffeine molecules that hold it together...

4. You are given control of one million dollars. You cannot spend it on yourself. How would you use it?

I would do three things:

a. $10,000 - Random Acts of Kindness - I'd get on amazon.com and buy things from stranger's wishlists and take great pleasure at thought of the look on their faces when this box of treasures arrives at their house with no explanation

b. $290,000 - Supporting the Defenseless - I'd split $40,000 between groups that are protecting orcas and tigers, and $250,000 of the money would go to do whatever I could to stop logging the coast of British Columbia, the home of the spirit bear (Ursus americanus kermodei), a creature that should be allowed to live unmolested on the one piece of the earth that it calls home.

c. $700,000 - Urban Renewal - Refurbishing an old theatre and fulfilling my lifelong, deepest fantasy of having a urban venue that is constantly presenting something - theatre, film, lectures, comedians, readings, and most of all, of course, live music.

5. What three people (living or not) would you invite to a dinner party in your home, and why? (They must be real people - not fictional.)

Well, the key to this answer is that as a good hostess, you have to plan an event in which all of guests would get along, so that made my choices a bit different than my original inclinations.
My dinner guests are: Oscar Wilde, Julie Taymor and Camille Paglia. Why? Because all three are geniuses - real titans of intellect, as well as being artistic, theatrical and I wouldn't have to worry about keeping the conversation going. In fact, I'd just have to sit back and watch them try to get a word in around Camille. I am positive Oscar and Camille would be best buddies immediately. And, not being completely altruistic, I find both Julie and Camille extremely attractive, and Oscar could care less about them - good for me.

Instructions:
1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying Interview me. Leave your blog address (if you have one or if I don't know you) so I can think of challenging questions for you.
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different. I'll post the questions in the comments section of this post. I'm going to limit this to three people, to both hedge my bets and to make sure this doesn't take over my life.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

A Controversy A'Brewin'

We had our little staff party at a great place called Dave and Buster's tonight after work.
50 of us descended on the place for 4 hours of buffet food, pool, socializing and game playing. It was great fun - AND - I got to try a new small-batch whisky because even though the have a button on their ordering screen for Knob Creek, they didn't have any. And it was real good.

All 50 of us got supercharged Power Cards, which entitled us to like 70 credits of game playing madness. They did not have any pinball machines, which I was sad about, but I found my groove on the old-school Centipede/Millipede machine, and then, blew everything on the truly cool Lost World: Jurassic Park shot-em-up game. Loved it!

Hollywood Stafford was there, enraptured with Ms Pac Man, as was MyFriendJason, equally enamoured with the Flaming Finger game (?), and we had a brief but intense discussion regarding the aforementioned display of corpses. Hollywood has been there, and his impression of the event was diametrically opposed to mine. He wrote a cool post about our difference of, well, not really opinion, our difference of experience I guess.

Downtown - Everythings Waiting For You

A little Petula Clark this afternoon.

I had to be at work at 6:30 am for a meeting, even though this is my Sunday. It was dismal and bleak, cool and drizzly all due to Katrina's influence, which proves my point that women whose name begins with the hard "K" sound are best avoided at all costs.

So after the meeting, I thought I would I take advantage of being up north by stopping into Playhouse Square and purchasing my tickets for the upcoming fall season of entertainments.

Well. Seems they don't like to open the box office before 11 am. So I had an hour to kill, and the allure of the Starbuck's across the street notwithstanding, I was feeling petulant and was almost going to go home, when it occurred to me that today would be a fine day to correct a character flaw.

A few years ago, I read something that that so intrigued me that I spent most of the lecture time I was supposed to be leading in my graduate seminar on the avant garde theatre discussing it.

The exhibition in question is "Professor" Gunther von Hagen's Bodyworlds, in which the "professor" takes corpses and dissects them in various ways and means and stages them for scientific and artistic purposes.

Now, in my wayward youth, when I had an inexplicable fascination with Jack the Ripper, Hammer films and all things gruesome, I probably would have eaten it up. Now, however, I was completely morally repulsed. I swore I would never attend a show if it came to the US. I remain surprised and perplexed that I have become someone so very different from who I used to be...

So, what do you know. There it is at the Great Lakes Science Center. And since one of my pet peeves is people mouthing off about things that they haven't experienced, I thought I would go see it for myself.

The first thing you see is a great, big, furry camel. That part was pretty okay. Its head and neck have been sliced into thirds so you can see the flexation of the camels neck. The vast interior spaces where all the guts should be was interesting, as was the look you get of the contents of the beast's stomach - a bunch of dried out grasses and twigs...but the camel baby was just unnecessary. This got me to thinking of all of the vignettes of the "stuffed" animals at the Carnegie museum, which I hold in fondness in my heart as they were friends of my childhood. Shooting and mounting animals for science...that's another can of worms.

Ok...so you go in and there are slices and pieces of real, dead people. It's all real, but "plastinated". Then you get to the posed corpses which are dissected to show, oh, muscle groups, or tendons, or how much Gunther von Hagens can replicate works of art ala Dali or Boccioni's Unique Forms of Continuity in Space.

I was expecting this little adventure to take the one hour I had to kill before the box office at the theatres opened - it took two hours, and believe me, I was not dawdling. For most of the exhibit, I was light-headed, nauseous and overcome with the feeling that I was walking through a sociopath's laboratory of brutality. Toward the end I just stood in the middle and did a 360 - taking in all of the dismembered bodies, the slices and pieces, and the tortured corpses, with their equally unnecessarily lifelike glass eyes. A few of the "exhibits" had what looked to me like Russian prison tattoos on their hands (those that still had skin that is). And who signed the permission slip for the plastination of the many fetuses?

On your way out, they have a table of information and sign-up cards to donate your body for future plastination. Von Hagens has a whole stable of workers in China dissecting corpses and plastinizing them even as we speak...

The horror of feeling like an accomplice to a madman was unshakable. However, I found my moral indignation very fascinating. And, I have to say, I did learn that that body is in reality a very small thing. Kidneys easily fit in the palm of your hand. Your brain is stupidly small. You absolutely do not want to have a look at your lungs if you have ever smoked.And the space you have for all of your guts - it is impossible to believe your body really functions. It truly IS a miracle.
BUT - this does not excuse the display of corpses. Sorry. Back in the day of true artisans and scholars, they made extremely realistic wax models that showed the very same things. If all of this stuff was plastic, or wax, I would have been quite pleased with it. Do check out the site for the wax museum in France (not a wax museumof famous folk ala Madame Toussard, its an anatomical wax museum).

What von Hagens exhibit never illustrates is the seat of the emotions, and these cruel mockeries left me deeply saddened.

To cleanse my aura, I went a few blocks away from the insanity passing itself off as science, and entered Cleveland's City Hall, where three Buddhist monks (Tenzin Thutop, Lobsang Gyaltfen and Nawang Topgyal) from the Namgyal Monastery, the personal monastery of H. H. Dalai Lama of Tibet, were beginning a sacred Kalachakra mandala for healing. They were amazing to watch. Two sat atop a square blue platform, silently bent over the sketch of the mandala they are to create over the next few weeks. Using a small ridged brass funnel (the chak-pur), they scooped up a few grains of sands, and by rubbing the pointy end of another funnel over it, the internal vibrations cause the sand to trickle out, and they created lines just a few grains of sand in width. I watchd them for a long time, and was treated to the sight of one of the monks carefully taking out a piece of cloth and putting it over the wide end of the funnel, and gently inhaling, sucking up a few errant grains - the eraser for the mandala.

The third monk sat reading cards of prayers. When he got up to join the others, I noticed all of the monks wore Timberland-type hiking shoes and rust colored ankle socks.

There was a lovely altar set up near the platform, with fruit, bells and icons of the Dalai Lama, and a boombox next to that playing Tibetan bell ringing. I am sure the monks would have liked some incense burning, (I thought it would have been a nice addition) but I am sure there is some PC reason that incense smoke would offend those sensitive to odors.

Anyway, I look forward to several more visits as the monks complete the mandala, then disassemble it and return the sand to Lake Erie.

The mandala is an image that aids an individual along the path to enlightenment and eventually a perfect balance of body and mind. Watching them this afternoon certainly healed me.

And I did get some killer seats for a couple of shows.

New Music Tuesday - SOS Live

I was waiting with heightened anticipation for this release. I was practically giddy, which is not an emotion that I wear well, FYI.

So, the brand spankin' new Swing Out Sister Live arrived. The cover art - excellent. The track list - excellent.

Now, here is the strange part...my initial impression is that the CD is just...ok.

Having just recently heard Corinne live, I have been listening to her daily on my tedious commute. And I am quite taken with the stupidly expense Live at the Jazz Cafe. So. What we have here are four very different animals. The live Jazz Cafe CD is very rock/club oriented, with horns. When I saw her, it was pretty much the same arrangements, sans horns. Then there are the regular recordings, which are very produced, but quite good. And this new one, well, the arrangements are very mellow indeed. Jazzy, certainly. But I am not sure if I want to hear a mellow version of Breakout, y'know? However, the gorgeous Forever Blue, the only disappointment from the concert I saw as she did not perform it, almost makes up for the price of the disc. Almost.

PS - on their official site, they have posted some pictures from their tour - and it includes the tragic poppy dress. Judge for yourself.

A Manifesto For The Morning

Heard this on the drive in to the library this morning. Print it out. Cut it out. Paste on your refrigerator.

The closing thought to ponder for the day:

Nietzsche says, "Supposing truth is a woman – what then?"

Supposing the truth is not hard, fast, masculine, simple, direct?

Summer In the City

I got off of work today at 2 in the afternoon and ran downtown to catch the last hour of Trisha O'Brien singing in the courtyard of the art museum. I frequently used to go listen to Ms. O'Brien about ten years ago when I last lived here, and I was thrilled to see that she was still around.

It was an absolutely perfect afternoon - the trees in the courtyard were shady, there was a luscious breeze, and the music (jazz ballads, standards, and a bossa nova) were exquisite. Ms. O'Brien's quartet (piano, upright acoustic bass - yes!-hollowbody jazz guitar, drums and flugelhorn) was fantastic. As for O'Brien, she has a most acceptable and agreeable voice, unabrasive but lacking in real range and power, which was only evident on the final notes of the songs.


I will give her this - no real jazz singer is even awake at 3 in the afternoon, let alone performing. And she looked great in a cool green patterned silk dress. It was an absolutely perfect afternoon.
After the show, I went inside and caught some of the "masterpieces" they are featuring as they close the museum for seven years. Maybe it was that the paintings were out of context, not being in the usual galleries, but I swear I have never seen two before which I loved: Dora Wheeler, by William Merritt Chase and Woman in the Waves by Gauguin, an artist I usually don't care for. Then they had the good taste to feature one of my all-time favorite works, Twilight in the Wilderness by Frederic Edwin Church. Simply astounding. It was nice to see the Hopper, Hills, South Truro, again. They also had the ubiquitous Stag at Sharkeys by Bellows and Eakin's The Biglin Brothers up.

But, the most mesmerizing painting of all was Dali's The Dream from1931. He has to be the best technical painter of all time. When you actually see one of his works, you are humbled by the delicacy of his brushstrokes and intricacy of the detail, and by the incredible vibrancy and intensity of his colors. I have never seen a reproduction anywhere that does his paintings justice. I couldn't tear myself away from this one.

Upstairs at the NEO show, there were many works I was quite taken with. The three standouts for me were James Seward's amazing enormous portrait of his father, an incredible construction of oak and sandstone by Palli Davene Davis and a huge, gorgeous watercolor by Mary Lou Ferbert. Honorable mention must go to Eva Kwong's wall of light blue ceramic tears which I was moved by, and the exquisite portrait of a pelican by photographer Steve Cagan.

Next door to that was the Michaël Borremans exhibit, which I was looking forward to simply based on the title: Hallucinations and Reality. I was expecting big paintings, and I'm not sure why. His works are very intricate, detailed, and disturbing in subject matter - almost creepy. They are executed on scraps of paper and cardboard, and definitely refer to a rich inner life of the artist. Most are "annotated" with indecipherable pencil scribblings and other notations. The works seem to be a window into a private landscape.

Driving home late in the evening, the sun was setting, and the sky looked exactly like the sky in Church's painting. It was fantastic.

I stopped in to the new Indian restaurant that just opened near my home, Raj Mahal. The interior decor was very pleasing, and the service impeccable. I continue on my quest for the perfect vindaloo - this one was served with tiny pearl onions, something I have never encountered before. The naan was very, very good. I wanted kheer for dessert and they were out - my only disappointment for the day.

It was a great start to my weekend. Outstanding.

Losing Two Bets In One Day

Beauregard Van Horn is fifty cents richer today, due to my hubris.

We were having a lovely conversation about "Our World" with Linda Ellerbee, and James Burkes' The Day The Universe Changed, when ol' Beau bet me that it was William Tecumseh Sherman who said," If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve."

Now, I was sure that I had just read that quote and it wasn't from Sherman. WRONG. It certainly was.

THEN, talking about the Red Hook Brewery in Seattle, Beau mentioned he liked the "bitter" brew - which I told him was Ballard Bitter - ya sure you betcha - and he said no.

Seems I forgot about ESB - the Extra Special Bitter, which just happens to be my BC's fav beverage of choice, and the beer loathed by my little pal, Duncan.

A devastating loss. I'll get you yet, Beauregard Van Horn. You wait and see...

The Intentionally Vague Post

Your Captain St. L is blessed with an excellent constitution, and has been to the hospital but thrice (twice for childhood-incurred bleeding wounds and once for the Unfortunate Incident in PDX) in four decades.

So, I was having a mild health crisis and it made me fairly concerned and also strangely embarrassed. I figured the truth of the situation lay in one of three choices:
1. It was something really bad, requiring certain surgery
2. It was something that was at least going to require the assistance of a medical professional
3. It would go away if I just ignored it.

Being an absolute Taurus, I chose, of course, to suffer in silence and ignore it.

However, I then decided to swallow my considerable pride and reach out to a trusted friend ( you know who you are) who not only confirmed my own diagnosis, said friend eased my mind with his own experiences of the same complaint...and gave me helpful tips on dealing with it. These tips combined with the fortuitous fact of kneeling too long at work at hurting my knee requiring popping a few Advil, seem to have eradicated my medical trauma.

I am only bringing this up because I was struck by the power of a friend that you can trust - even with seemingly embarrassing, personal terrors.

All's well that end's well.

Winter Preparations

I thought I deserved a little micro-vacation today since I was scheduled to leave work around 11 pm, drive one hour home, and then driving back to work for my 6 am shift.

It occurred to me that I could just spend the night in the hotel across the street, introducing myself to the staff and checking it all out before the winter storm season is upon us and I end up spending several nights there as my home away from home. This little plan would also give me two extra hours of sleeping time - a very precious commodity.

The indoor pool and sauna are great, there is a business center, the shower was fine, and the king bed was agreeable. The other amenities were less than deluxe, but then, so was the special "neighbor" discount they offered me.

This bodes well for the holiday season...

Add It To Your Wishlist

The synchronicity of recurring themes pleased me so.

So, with the recent topic of penguins (March of the Penguins and MFJ's subsequent Burgess Meredith rant) I present from the fine folks at Amazon.com:

The Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection: More than 1000 of the Greatest Classics

List Price: $13,315.84
Your Low Low Price: $7,989.50 FREE SHIPPING
You Save: $5,326.34 (40%)

I gotta tell ya, anything that is 40% off is a tempting deal - and free shipping to boot!

Go ahead, put it on your wishlist. See how much Santa likes you. And how much the UPS man hates you (approximate weight is 700 pounds).

The Post of Inside Jokes

We all know weather reports are more or less useless exercises in prophecy, so I say, let's call a spade a spade.

Go here and click the top left button - DAILY WEATHER REPORT.

It takes 1-2 minutes for buffering. Which leads me to ask - how much is it without buffering?

New Music Tuesday - Where Have You Been, Rita Coolidge?

Ah, those long ago days when one's wishes were simple. In 1977, the ONLY thing I wanted for Christmas was a copy of Rita Coolidge's Anytime, Anywhere LP. In fact, I was so adamant about it, that I told EVERYONE. And one of my life's mottos was proven to be true: persistence pays off...I received four copies of the thing. So that may have been overkill, but it was and remains an extraordinary piece of music.

So, Ms. Coolidge has come through yet again with an absolutely killer jazz/torch song CD called And So Is Love. And I loved this immediately. It is impeccably produced, her voice is just smoky enough for me, clear and rich. The arrangements are sublime and all in all, this one is in the running for best CD of the year in my book.

Rita covers one of my favorite tunes, one filled with great meaning for me, I Thought About You, and she does a wonderful Come Rain or Come Shine, Cry Me A River, and a truly lovely bossa nova Estaté, featuring guest artist Herb Alpert.

Thank you again, Rita, for a memorable listening experience.

One For The Bobster

I picked a great little gem of a film called The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. It is a send-up of the great science-fiction monster movies of the 50's.

The film follows Dr. Paul Armstrong, who just wants to do science, and his girlfriend, Betty, as they track a fallen meteor out in the wilderness. They are searching for the elusive "atmospherium"... and along the way meet an Evil Scientist who also needs atmospherium to awaken the lost skeleton, and two aliens and their pet mutant.

The dialogue is absolutely perfect. Director and star Larry Blamire has parodied the genre perfectly. (Example: "Betty, you know what this meteor could mean for science? It could mean actual advances in the field of science!")

Viewers are treated to a real-live sex-kitten, Animalia, a dancing black-velvet cat-suited vixen created from four forest creatures by the evil Dr. Fleming.

But the star of the film is the Lost Skeleton. The Skeleton is imperious, snitty, insulting, rude and hilarious (and might I suggest, simply a bitchy queen).

Then there is the mutant....oooh, scary.

The film is shot in glorious black and white with the "new miracle of skeletoscope" in California's Bronson Canyon, and everything you see looks strangely familiar, if you have watched too many episodes of MST3K (as I have).

I liked this movie even more the second time I watched it. The first time I think I was expecting more obvious humor, but I really appreciated the love and care that went into the making of the film. And, I know I'm being redundant, the dialogue just got so funny the second time around...

I gotta go do some science now...

New Music Tuesday - Rockabilly and Blues

I love Margo Timmins. I got to see her in a very intimate setting (Music Millennium in Portland) awhile ago, and not only does she have a wonderful voice, she is one of the coolest people around.

So I rushed out to get the Cowboy Junkies new one, Early 20th Century Blues, and it has immediately won a place in my heart. It, for the most part, is very simple with little production. It makes one think of the masterpiece, the Trinity Sessions. My favorite track, at first listen, is This World Dreams Of which is a little Angelo Badalamenti meets Holly Cole during the Trinity Sessions. A very good release.

The second CD today is the new one from Mr. Brian Setzer, whom I adore. This one, Rockabilly Riot, Vol. 1: A Tribute to Sun Records , is done very simply, with just Brian on guitar, and a trio of piano, drums and bass. The best track I think, is Johnny Cashs' Get Rhythm. Being a stickler for production details, I was thrilled to see that Setzer used recording techniques from the 50s: vintage microphones, and even a rusty old water cistern for reverb. A few of these songs are familiar, but most are rare, and some have never been recorded before, so it makes for an interesting listen.

I love Brian's voice, his playing and his sense of fun. I wasn't disappointed.

Happy Birthday to the Phantom

I believe the day starts out with the Beatles singing "Today's your birthday..." very loudly from the alarm clock/ CD player on the bedside table...that is, unless you are not at home and are off to some lavish resort in Napa...

Lobster is definitely on the menu for dinner, and good music is in the air. Some presents to unwrap follow.

Dessert is taken care of...

A Visit With The Penpal!

What a lovely afternoon was spent in the company of my West Coast Penpal.

Not only was it great to see her, she brought with her some welcome cool weather!

We spent about 5 or 6 hours mostly just sitting around, drinking coffee and talking, all you could really want from a visit.

It was terrific to be together again. And even though you are a great Penpal, you make an excellent "In-Person Pal", too.

Happy Birthday To You, Femmebot!

What a year it has been for you.

I hope you are able to make it out this way again soon.

At any rate, I am sure up for some pra ram. Any excuse is a good excuse in my book.

And mostly I hope that this year does not start out with finding a floating corpse in the river...

New Music Tuesday - From the Stacks of Hollywood Stafford

Well, Ol' Hollywood hooked me up with two choice CD's.

The first one is The California Guitar Trio: CG3 + 2. This is a very cool CD, but here is a call-out to Brokenbrush, and any one else who has a VERY expensive audio system with tube amplifiers and thousand dollar per foot speaker cable... WATCH THE BASS! There is a LOT of it on this disc. My fav track is Melrose Avenue, the disc opener. Skyline and Dancing Anne are great as well, and Zundoko-bushi, a Japanese traditional tune is like a soundtrack to the 60's Batman show, which made me immediately get out my neglected Aquavelvets CD, Guitar Noir, a give that a little love.

CD #2 was a 2 disc "chill" set called Later. There are many excellent tracks on here, and if I weren't so persnickety, I'd probably just put the discs in a let them play. That's how well it works. But me being me, I have to copy some tracks and re-arrange them. Oh well, it keeps me out of trouble...

CaptainStLucifer Turns One!

Happy Anniversary!

On the occasion of my one year blogging anniversary, I want to take this opportunity to thank the folks in my life.

First of all, MyFriendJason, who got me started on this year-long obsession. You rock.

And my very first Faithful Reader, MyAdoringPublic. Who is cooler than you?

To my first post from a stranger, thank you Ivy.

To old friends (Penpal, BC, Wayne, Heather, FemmeBot, J, the Dark Lord and his Consort, Mean Customer, Uncle Jebb) and new (Hollywood Stafford, Kitty Griffing, Zeke New Buffalo)

To the welcome recent corporeality of The Phantom.

And to all unknown visitors - thanks for reading.

I look forward to this year with great optimism and excitement. Thanks again!

You Are What You Eat

If you are to be installed as the Archbishop of York, well, you know you gotta throw a party.

And while this is not likely to happen to me, it might happen to YOU.

So I now present the grocery list from George Neville's installation in 1465:

Amongst many other items, there were -

1,000 sheep, 7,000 capons, 1,000 egrets, 400 peacocks and 103 cold venison pasties.

All together there were 42,833 items of meat and poultry served, with a dozen porpoises and seals thrown in to prevent palate fatigue.

Start cooking now.

And I Don't Live In Vermont,Why?

This just figures.

Those lucky folks in Montpelier, Vermont got a new chocolatier (shades of "Chocolat", no?) and not only was the day gastronomically sweet, it must have been sweet on the eyes as well, because who was clerking behind the counter on opening day?

None other than Mrs. Jesse James - Sandra Bullock.

I could have given up Starbuck's for a taste of Sandra's macaroons.

For the Birds

1. As I was walking over to get a bagel and egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast on my "lunch" break at 9 am this morning, I saw a guy taking pictures of a store front. I walked up to him and asked him what he was shooting with, then instantly saw the flash of yellow on his neckstrap...

Yes, he was shooting with a Nikon D70, the very camera the CStL is saving up for! Not only did he let me hold it, and shoot a shot or two, he spent a long time telling me how very pleased he was with it...an excellent product review. So, as he was showing me how easy it was to delete crappy pix, he was flipping thru the images , and showed me some great shots of peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus)he took in a barn...he zoomed way in on the eye of one, said, "Look how blurry the eye is...bang! It's gone." Funny, nice guy.

2. Driving home from work, I wished I had his D70 with me...there on the on ramp to the highway was a dove sitting on a barbed wire fence. Yes, I am sure it is trite story, but it was pretty beautiful.

New Music Tuesday - Adriana Evans

Well, I can't tell you how much I hate not being "in the know". So, imagine my displeasure at discovering that the fabulous Mary Stallings has a daughter who is also a vocalist, and released a self-titled album in 1997. Upon hipping up to this, I placed an order for the CD and anxiously awaited its arrival, and oh, I was not disappointed.

This is a great CD from beginning to end, one of the very few that you can sit through although I have to admit to getting a bit squirmy by the end...I'd probably chop off the last two tracks...but that's me.

Adriana shys away from her mothers forte of torchy jazz standards, and forges ground in neo-classic soul, with real honest-to-god- strings and horns. She sets a great steamy groove and has some impeccable pipes.

Oh, yes, we like this one.

Triumvirate of Oddities

A couple of days ago my Penpal told me about a book that sounded so like me, so appealing to me that I literally went right out and bought it, without even flipping through it. I started it last night after work, and finished it this morning. What an excellent little diversion.

I was completely gone, hooked by the first sentence:

One night last summer, all the killers in my head assembled on a stage in Massachusetts to sing show tunes.

The book is Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation. In it, Sarah takes several road trips visiting sites associated with the assassinations of three presidents: Lincoln, McKinley and Garfield. I learned quite a bit from it, but this is not all dry history and politics. Vowell is hilarious. And getting the scoop on Robert Todd Lincoln (not to ruin your enjoyment, but he was at all three assassinations....oooh, eerie, no? She coins him "Jinxy McDeath") is worth the price of the book. You should check it out. Really.

Then I came home and watched a good little film, The Station Agent, which starred three great actors (keeping with the triumvirate theme today) Peter Dinklage, Bobby Cannavale and most especially, the always marvelous, Patricia Clarkson. This is a film about one man's seach for solitude, to be alone, and how he comes undone by the human desire for companionship. the characters are likeable in their flaws, and my only complaints about the film are that I don't have any interest in trains and the ending came too soon.

And finally, today is Herman Melville's birthday. On my last day of work at the old store, my manager and assistant manager took me out, and spent an hour and a half talking about fishing, working on fishing boats in California, and my manager's favorite novel Moby-Dick .

To celebrate Melville's birthday, NPR repeated this quote from Moby-Dick:

Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian

I don't know if it's true, but I sure think it's funny. Oh, and Melville also makes a cameo in Vowell's book...

Last of the Summer Films

In keeping with my impromptu aquatic theme for the summer, I got Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. It had many things to recommend it: a story about a faux Cousteau searching for the elusive jaguar shark that killed his friend. Perfect subject for the film festival. And bonus points for Anjelica Huston. And the oddly attractive Jeff Goldblum.

My decision is that I have enough information on hand to say that I truly dislike Wes Anderson films, although at least I sat through to the end of this one, unlike the unbearable Royal Tenenbaums.

Not even Anjelica saved this one for me. It was tedious and I wanted those hours of my life refunded. But since that can't happen, I was amused by this little tale of missed product placement about the Zissou Adidas.

Why No One Wants To Vacation With Me

I have an absurd fascination with Antarctica and Alaska. They are places I would really like to vacation. I know, I know. Faithful Readers have suffered through my many weather reports this year, of me bitching about the snow, but there you go.

When reading the great Terra Incognita by Sarah Wheeler a few years ago, I was really annoyed to learn that many places she was visiting in Antarctica were warmer than it sometimes is in Ohio.

All of that being said, I wanted air conditioning and went to see the documentary, March of the Penguins. Walking out of the theatre, it is very difficult to not think that God was sitting around, smoking dope, having finished off a Domino's pizza, and was like,

Dude...so I'll make this bird, right? But it won't fly! It'll swim. And..and...I'll make it walk 70 miles in the snow and ice to a breeding ground. Yeah. And..when two of these, let's call them penguins, mate, the female will lay an egg...and..get this...then will pass it off to the male, who will hold it on top of his feet ( burst of giggles) for like, say, three more months, while the women penguins walk BACK 70 miles in the snow and wind to swim in the ocean for food, 'cause, like, there's no food there..just...snow! (Great guffaws of laughter)...ok, ok...so then the women penguin comes back, feeds the chick, gets the chick transferred to the top of HER feet, and then the dude penguins, now weighing 50 percent less because they haven't eaten for four months...they've just been standing there in 100 mile an hour winds out on the ice with a really fragile egg on the top of their feet, which could freeze solid in like a minute if it hit the ground. Right! Ok...yeah, so they do this a few times till the chicks are old enough to live in the cold, then the parents take off, leaving the chicks unattended, until finally the ice starts melting and the chicks leap into the sea...with no lessons or nothing. Ohh...dude, I can't do that....it's too mean. Oh, wait wait...I know. I'll dress 'em up in tuxedos....

This is why no one vacations with me. Its not so much the destinations as it is the fact I come up with crap like the above...

And also this...I heard you, Morgan Freeman, narrating this film. You were in Batman Begins, weren't you? Batman = Penguins. Wheels within wheels.

Anyway, this is a marvelous, amazing film, which really points out the dedication, and I suppose you can read into it and call it love that emperor penguins have the capacity for. And what is cuter than a fluffy emperor penguin chick learning to walk? Nothing. Go see it.

Sometimes It Just Doesn't Matter

I heard on the radio this morning that it is going to be 95 degrees today - but "it will feel like 101."

Glad to know it will feel hotter than 100 degrees, and certainly so much hotter than 95.

I think the heat is making me a wee bit testy.

But after spending the balance of the day in the air-conditioned library, I am off to the air-conditioned movie theatre to catch a documentary shot in Antarctica. It's a theme.

I'll tell you about the film tomorrow.

New Music Tuesday - Si*Sé

I was turned on to this, my second favorite disc for my "Summer of '05 Soundtrack" by Tin-Ten, and I am so very glad that she sent it my way.

It did take some work to locate a copy of the disc, however, so be prepared if you are so inclined to purchase it, which I highly recommend. Yes, Si*Sé and Camiel, and you should be all set for the summer.

The disc is a great blend of Latin rhythms, chilled out with some threads of soul and electronica, plus the group features a viola player. That makes them too cool right there. And Carol C has a great voice.

The pick of the litter as far as the tracks go would have to be Bizcocho Amargo, then Slip Away, Aire and My Sol.

Here's a happy little coincidence that I enjoyed as well : a quote from their press:

Listening to their music is like walking through the streets of New York, urban and full of culture.

Which puts me in mind of Manhattan Transfer's Walking In New York.

Ya Never Know Who You Are Going To Run Into, Part 2

I got off of work at 2 this afternoon, and rushed home in the hopes of catching the last two hours of the Akron Arts Expo, since it is in my neighborhood, and usually proves to be a good time.

So there I was, having finished my snack of a ketchup-y hotdog, and strolling about the fair, passing a lovely late afternoon which featured a terrific, cooling breeze when you weren’t in the direct sun. Suddenly, an arm wraps around my waist from behind (not a usual occurrence I am sad to report) and a voice says,"So, is that all you do on the weekends? Go to art shows?" And it was my NewlySingle friend who accompanied me at the Cain Park Arts show on the 9th!

In addition to the art, which was pleasant, they had the good sense to have some bagpipers. That always make my Celtic heart happy.

Things That Are Wrong With The World, Part One

It should never, ever be 84 degrees outside after midnight.

Ya Never Know...

...who you are going to run into.

There I was at work yesterday morning, somewhat minding my own business, when "Hollywood Stafford", my co-worker and I get into this great discussion about music. He earns mega-super bonus points for not only knowing everyone I brought up, but liking them as well. Then he took it over the top by running home on his lunch break to get two CD's to share with me. Looks like New Music Tuesday of the Future...

This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Oh, but it gets better Faithful Readers. I tell him about my blog, and he tells me, HE has one - and not only that, I have been on the email list for the main site of his blog for a few months now. I've been a fan of his for some time now! It was like meeting a celebrity! The CaptainStL's heart was a 'flutter the rest of the day.

Be a good sport and check out the sites. And you can read his post on this same story...he beat me to it!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

After work today, I met Heather downtown at the New York Spaghetti House for cocktails (love that Knob Creek I tell you) then we wandered across the street to meet 40 of our former co-workers at Jacobs Field, to watch the Indians take on the Kansas City Royals.

Last year we attempted to go to two ballgames as a store event, but the games were rained out. It was surprising that the weather today, though initially very hot, was actually quite pleasant in the evening, once the sun quit beating down on our section of seats. The Tribe, of course, lost to the Royals (5-3), but at least we weren't rained out this time.

It was great to see many of my old co-workers again, and we spent almost the entirety of the game just visiting with each other. At one point, when Cleveland scored one of the runs and the crowd went wild, and they started with the Queen song (We Will Rock You - ok, I liked that part), it just seemed like a distraction to the party we were having in the stands. Oh yeah - we were supposed to be watching the game! After many innings of musical seats, as we took turns getting refreshments, and visiting with each other, it was time to head on home.

The Jake is actually a beautiful ballpark, and I sort of wish that I had the slightest interest in the action on the field, which I was sadly lacking. But the party in the stands was great.

New Music Tuesday - Carly Simon

Today's review is for my Penpal, who has been a fan of Carly Simon since we met in the glorious 80's.

Awhile ago, I sat down to try to figure out my favorite song of all time. For the moment, the winner is the Flamingo's I Only Have Eyes For You.

So I picked up Carly Simon's new CD, Moonlight Serenade, because she does that song, and a bunch of other standards. Happily for me, my favorite track is I Only Have Eyes For You.

The CD is nicely done, and Carly's voice is pleasant. There are no surprises here. It is a lovely little mood piece, great background music for a quiet dinner with someone special, a bottle of wine...that sort of thing. Nothing dramatic, not overly produced, no heavy string arrangements, but nothing truly moving either.

This has been released as a traditional CD (which is what I got) and a dual disc with a DVD, for the more rabid fan out there.

An Embarrassing Secret

I love Stewie on the Family Guy.

Meg:"Everybody! Guess what I am?"
Stewie:"Hmm, the end result of a drunken back seat grope-fest and a broken prophylactic?"
- from And the Wiener is

So much that I own three seasons of the show on DVD.

I may even replace my mangement catchphrase of Mr. Burns ("Excellent!") with "What the deuce..." It could happen.

Six Minutes

In keeping with my inadvertent summer theme of oceans and sharks, I must share with you this amazing story I found on the web. Now, maybe it is really amazing to me because of my own backstory.

My aunt, Lily, took me to see JAWS in the theatre when it was first released, and I was about 11. This incited a long-term fascination with sharks, which included making my mother take me to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute the next summer, because I was sure I was going to be a marine biologist just like Richard Dreyfuss, and that’s where his character studied. Then, my science teacher got me a dogfish to dissect for independent study and I was so smitten with him that I took the shark to all of my classes that day. I am sure that the smell of formaldehyde really enhanced my high-school popularity.

(note to MyAdoringPublic – and you thought my planaria regeneration story was an aberration, huh?)


So, it seems that there was a Monster Shark fishing tournament in Martha’s Vineyard today (home of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and Edgartown, where JAWS was filmed, and Carly Simon).

And hopefully the picture will be up for awhile because the tiger shark these dudes caught really is a monster. I have never seen anything like it. It weighed in at 1,191 pounds and was 15 feet in length. That is a whole lotta shark.

Now, here is the other part I can relate too, as these folks have my kinda luck…

The shark was so big that it put a lot of drag on the boat, and they arrived six minutes late for the closing of the contest and were disqualified. The winner was a 378 pound porbeagle shark.

That, as they say, bites.

Girls Night Out

After work today, Heather and I met up with "Kitty Griffing" and "Tin-Ten" for a dual celebration - to celebrate two birthdays and to see the wonderful Christine Lavin (who is neither and ex-nun nor an ex- cafeteria lady) in concert at Nighttown.

This is the third time I've seen Ms. Lavin. The first time was with the "Babes" at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and the second time was at St. John's Pub in Portland. At the Portland show, Christine sat out in the lobby and was giving people free "sparkle" manicures prior to the show. I read on her website that her new thing is to have a knitting circle before the show. Since Nighttown serves a killer prime rib, I was not out in the lobby, but I don't think she was knitting in Cleveland, although she mentioned stopping by a local knitting store, Fine Points, earlier in the day and spending $300.

We had terrific front row seats, and Christine was magnificent as always. We laughed through the whole show. She opened with a new song called "Windchimes" which starts out like the very worst hippy folk song you ever heard and ends up with three sets of windchimes hanging off the headstock of her guitar...before she removes them and starts pitching them off the stage. She did an excellent "Sensitive New-Age Guys", "Good Thing He Can't Read My Mind," and "What Was I Thinking?" and although I told her I was hoping for the epic "Shopping Cart of Love", Christine said that she didn't remember it - I will forgive her since the thing is 15 minutes long. But she gave out two recipes ( french toast bread pudding and petit pan au chocolat - which takes 10 hours to prepare). And she closed the show with her wonderful glow-in-the-dark baton twirling extravaganza. Gotta love that. Absolutely a wonderful show.

I picked up her live DVD, Girl UN Interrupted, so I can show everyone the great baton work at my leisure.

Trackin' Drac'

Ooh, what a lovely book. If only I had discovered it in October. And be warned for some reason, when reading this book I was possessed to get Indian food, and Thai food, and well, really just good spicy ethnic dishes...

The book is The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It has gotten a bunch of great press, and it deservedly so. The story is superficially about the search for Dracula, alive and well and walking amongst us. He doesn't cause so much havoc as you might expect, being confined to Europe and making most of victims librarians and historians. But still...

The story is a great travelogue of foreign countries, and time weaves in and out. It blends wonderful gothicness with a well-thought-out mystery and features endearing characters that you actually care about and want to succeed. And that is difficult when it is so compelling to root for the sexy and powerful vampire. Not this time.

Get it. Enjoy it. But maybe wait for October when it will be more delicious. And have some good food on hand...

Foolish Indeed: Another Bad Summer Movie

I picked up the "new" Werner Herzog "documentary", Incident at Loch Ness. Any review that needs phrases in italics does not bode well at the start.

The publicity for this, well, I don't know what it is, film, documentary, crappy waste of time makes a big deal about not coming right out and saying if it is fiction or fact. What it is, is stupid. How anyone can ruin scenery of Scotland, the promise of Nessie, and great adventure is beyond me.

So much for high adventure on the water.

New Music Tuesday - Motown Remixed

Saw this CD today, and was drawn to the great graphics on the cover, so I had to buy it.

This is a pretty good compliation, though I would have restructured it. Once a good groove gets going, they put in a down-tempo song, or an endlessly chilled out number that ruins this disc for getting people motivated at 5 a.m.

That being said, most of the tunes work very well, especially Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On and DJ Smash's Essential Funk Mix of Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

Take Big Bites

There are few items in the world I covet, but one of them may well be my Penpal's hand-written postcard of encouragement from Linda Ellerbee. We have both been long-time fans of Ms. Ellerbee, and read both of her previous books. So when I walked into the bookstore and saw her smiling face on the book jacket, I immediately picked it up.

I was little scared reading this at first, because she didn't "hook me"..and really it wasn't until the chapter "Nadia's room - Santorini 2002" that she hit her stride. But then she hits it out of the park. That chapter alone really was worth reading. It made me look up where she stayed when she was writing the book, and after looking at the pictures, I can see how some beautiful work got done there - it is exquisite. The final chapter, "The River of No Return - Thames England 2004" was also wonderful.

It was terrific to visit with her again, and I am looking forward to the novel she hinted at...

Yet Another Moive Coincidence

I've been meaning to watch Laurel Canyon for some time. A woman record producer, played by the wonderful Frances McDormand. What else does one need to know?

Well, the opening credits start, and who is in this film but Mr. Batman himself, Christian Bale. Freaky.

Well, the movie as a movie was just ok. But I really loved McDormand's character, and she was very attractive in a dangerous way. She actually reminded me in many ways of my guitar playin' TunaMusic friend. Yes. Very interesting.

And though they claim the ingenue is Kate Beckinsale, who adored in Cold Comfort Farm, I find it hard to believe it is the same gal...although in linking up this post, (ha, she was Flora Poste in CCF - how I amuse myself) I see she was in Van Helsing, one of the very worst films of all time, that I happened to see with my Penpal in an actual theatre for my birthday, and I had no idea it was her in that, either. However, I have to admit at the time thinking that whoever that actress was looked darn fine in the gothic matador get-up.

Movin On

What a full day.

It started, as my Saturday's do now, at 1:30 in the morning. Following a full ten hours at work, I met MyAdoringPublic for lunch at Claddagh. MyAdoringPublic was already sitting at a great table out on the patio, a brilliant choice as there was a delectable breeze to mitigate the sunshine. We were meeting to celebrate our mutual one year anniversary as managers for our company, and to also celebrate the fact that starting on Monday, I will be working with my old crew at the “new” location, which opened in April (as Faithful Readers will recall). A black and tan and an enormous plate of fish and chips (and I had requested a HALF ORDER – beware! You get a huge amount of food!) made for a lovely meal.

Following our lunch, we went back to my store so that MyAdoringPublic could visit with the staff, and I had a few things to wrap up myself. Then I was off to purchase tickets to a concert for next Saturday, in which a foursome of ladies will be celebrating two birthdays. It should be a riot.

Then, I was off to meet my newly-single friend at the local Arts Festival. I have not been to the festival in about 10 years, but I had always looked forward to spending a leisurely afternoon strolling about and gazing at art. I found a pretty good parking space, up the hill and one residential street away from the park entrance. As I was walking down the hill, I passed a young entrepreneur selling lemonade. And you know, a refreshing lemonade was exactly what I needed to make my walk more pleasant. And just so you know, the red cup is $1, and the blue cup is 50 cents. And the young man was quite accommodating about filling the cup to the top with ice for me. And he was saving up for a toy. "Which toy?" I asked. "Depends how much money I make." What a healthy attitude.

It was about 5 by the time we arrived at the festival and used our cellphones to triangulate a rendezvous- I knew they would be handy for something someday - and I am glad we didn't attempt to get there any earlier...the sun was still devilishly bright, but the evening was cooling down nicely. While we had a lovely time strolling about, it was getting on 7 pm, and I needed some energy. A surprisngly good cup of coffee and a Dove bar enabled me to make the one hour drive home, where I read a few pages of my current book, and slipped into a dream.

More Things I Don't Know Too Much About

Trying to expand my knowledge this summer, I picked up Jane Smiley's A Year at the Races: Reflections on Horses, Humans, Love, Money, and Luck, because though I like watching horseraces, I really know nothing about them.

This book follows the trials and tribulations of one of her horses, Hornblower, (who tells a horse psychic that he wants to be called Wowie...more on that) as well as being of memoir of the author's love affair with horses in general. I was never bitten by the horse-love bug as a child, but my best friend at the time, Jodi, LOVED horses...so that was my frame of reference.

I enjoyed this little peak into an unknown world, but seriously, the horse psychic part was truly unsettling. But I suppose it makes a better book when your main character can express himself...

Here's To You, Mr. Scopes!

One of my proudest achivements at my job is the little sign in the produce department.

Right next to where we sell organic bananas, we have a rope hanging from the ceiling, with a fiberglass chimpanzee clinging to it. At the bottom of the ropeI tied a small, wooden sign that says:

Mr. Scopes Organic Bananas - 29 cents each

Every time I pass it, it makes me grin. I was afraid some customer would complain and it would have to come down, but the reality is that probably no one else has ever even noticed it, and it has survived for almost two years now.

I bring this up because today while I was driving home, listening to NPR, I realized that is the 80th anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial. I called the store and asked them to put a little crown, or a lei or something on our own Mr. Scopes. He looks mighty good for his age.

One Of the Best Ads Ever

I hope this link stays up for awhile.

This just cracks me up.

It is my fantasy that my employer will open a store there, too.

New Music Tuesday - Elvis!

Well, I picked up this truly amazing Elvis CD, Tiger Man.

It is a compilation of the two live sets Elvis did for his 1968 Comeback special. Elvis is having a great time through all of these numbers, fumbling lyrics, starting over, cracking jokes. The crowd does, indeed, go wild.

This is such fun, and musically alive. I played it for my co-workers in the morning (stopping the CD before the two Christmas songs - they would not have been well received at this time of year I fear), and everyone was either singing along, or laughing. We were all in a great mood.

As an added bonus, Elvis looks amazing in the cover photos - I love that tight, black leather suit. Oh, yeah.

Things I Don't Know Much About

I grabbed this book right off the new release table. I have always had a fascination with the theatricality of the sport of bullfighting (I am a Taurus after all), and here was chance to actually learn something about it.

Death and the Sun: A Matador's Season in the Heart of Spain by Edward Lewine follows the very, very handsome Francisco Rivera Ordóñez, the lasin thehe line of the greatest bullfighting dynasty in Spain, as he trains and prepares for his season in "sun and shadow."

After finishing the book, I was consumed with researching all of the locations and toreadors that were mentioned and studied up on the greadynastiesys. And now I know how a bullfight operates. Whether or not you agree with the sport is one thing, understanding the grandeur of its history and its ritual is quite another.

Another Afternoon With Kadobi

I drove up to work early this morning, to take care of some paperwork and employee reviews that were due that I had not been able to finish because of the CarTrauma of yesterday morning. I sat outside at the chess tables and drank coffee and did my paperwork, feeling very civilized, and then Kadobi and I thought that another matinee was in order.

I was starving, and Kadobi consented to join me for lunch. There were several options within walking distance of the theatre, and we chose Hoggy's Barn and Grille, because neither of us had ever been in there.

It is a great looking, low-key kinda place, and we think it would be fun to make a reservation for a romantic meal in one of the silos. But that's us. I tried the mac and cheese, the asparagus with almonds, and a pulled chicken sandwich - all of it was great comfort food.

When we were walking back to the theatre following our meal, Kadobi realized he left his sunglasses there and ran back. At the same time, as in any good farce, from the other side of the restaurant, our server emerged, running Kadobi's sunglasses out to me. That was good service. I'm glad we left a sizeable tip.

Today we went to see War of the Worlds. Big H.G. Wells fan. I even like Tom Cruise - easy on the eyes, y'know (but not excusing the Katie Holmes madness...)? And while it was a pleasant enough diversion (being that it was air conditioned, as you know, my prime requisite for summer afternoons, and this theatre features good coffee AND reclining stadium seating) but I have to state that the ending is potentially the worst ending in film history. Perhaps in all of the storytelling history of mankind. It's that's lame. So, I suggest just getting up and walking out about five minutes before the end. You'll thank me.

Spontaneous Summer Film Festival

Leaving my abode at 1:50 in the morning, my car decided that it did not want to go anywhere. At all. So I got an unexpected three day weekend while my car was being repaired. I took advantage of this opportunity to clean my house, do laundry and watch an impromptu summer film festival.

The first film was one I swore I would never see, but things happen, and it seemed to be perfect for lounging on the couch on a warm summer morning. The film is Open Water, and the blurbs from Sundance on the cover were the final straw that convinced me to give it a try. The film was actually quite engrossing, and unnerving. And watching the "Making Of", in which it is revealed that the husband and wife filmmakers shot the film on the weekends, flying to the Caribbean from New York for two years, and filmed with real sharks, made the film truly impressive. I will not ruin the ending for you, because for me it was incredibly powerful...so much so that I sat up straight on the couch in disbelief, and replayed it. It is a very subtle and underplayed scene - and it is very haunting. I thought I was well aware of the true story it was based on, so the events of the ending conflicted with what I thought I knew - turns out I was wrong anyway. So, the film festival was off to a great start. Open Water: A-

Next came the "summer" film I REALLY wanted to see : After the Sunset. Why? Salma Hayek and Pierce Brosnan sipping rum drinks in the Bahamas while planning a diamond heist and wearing almost nothing? Perfect. A perfect little entertainment, if you don't think about the reeling amount of impossibilities, and concentrate on Salma Hayek building a patio in her overalls. The "action" is, at best, not too strenuous, and for my film festival, it had the added benefit of the intrigue climax taking place while scuba diving. I appreciate these little synchronicities.
After the Sunset: C- Salma Hayek Building a Deck: A+

The final film was pretty bad. In fact, I can't really come up with any reason whatsoever to watch it.
Ocean's Twelve: D

The surprising thing about life is that to quote from my friend Mary " you don't know 'til you get there - and that's for sure." My expectations were: After the Sunset: A, Ocean's Twelve: B+ and Open Water : C-. Shows you what I know.

Power Shopping

Thankfully, I don't do this very often....but after work I went to the mall, and in a span of two hours dropped a goodly amount of quid. It helps to know exactly what you want and where to get it...there was no browsing involved today.

My acquisitions: a new Fossil watch (that's #10), Ralph Lauren Polo shoes, Ralph Lauren Silver cologne, Banana Republic Modern cologne, two shirts from the Gap, an Aveda hairbrush, sunglasses, 5 pairs of underwear from Victoria's Secret (sorry, just can't bring myself to say "panties"), and a little sculpture that caught my eye.