New Music Tuesday - Electric Oasis

I like quite a bit of world music, and have recently discovered a passion for trance/chill beats.

So when I saw this CD, I had to have it, and I have been very pleased with it. A lot of great beats under some beautiful Arabic melodies. As the marketing says : Where ancient Arabian melodies meet contemporary grooves to create the new heartbeat of the street. Perhaps a bit overblown...

I listened to this with the gang at work, and most everyone really got into it. It's good to work to; it's aurally interesting and stimulating - certainly not something that you have heard before. Song titles such as Scheherazade, Move Your Belly, Sandstorm, Mirage, Blue Bedouin capture pretty clearly what you can expect. Naked Rhythm (Alex Spurkel and Avi Sills) and Ro-Je are favorite artists on the disc, and Naked Rhythm has some MP3's from the disc posted here for your listening pleasure.

And you get a lot of music on this disc - for better or for worse.

The Makings Of The Next Blockbuster

So early this morning, leaving Starbuck's heading to Kent to go to the library, I heard this story on NPR.

It seems police in Kent, England found a man dressed in a formal black suit and tie, soaking wet, walking along a beach. He could not communicate with the authorities, so they took him to a psych hospital, Medway Maritime Hospital .

While he was there, the only communication he provided was to draw a (very nice) picture of a grand piano. They took him to the chapel, where there was a piano and he played lovely classical music for several hours.

His identity remains a mystery.

No Refunds, No Returns

I spent most of last evening ill-advisedly working on my great, fabled novel. It is my deepest wish that one day in the very near future I will complete it and put it to rest. It seems I was neither emotionally or intellectually strong enough to deal with things the writing required of me last evening, and a mild gloomy depression has taken up residence.

When I got to work this afternoon, my heart was just not into it. Not that there was a single thing I could have realistically been doing that I would have found satisfying...
So I asked a fellow manager that since I used my day off poorly, if I might have a “do-over.”
That is not one of the benefits my company offers... Go figure.

Thwarted

I had grandiose plans that I was going to go the library first thing this morning to book a flight for the afternoon to New York City. Just to fly in for the morning, and leave late in the evening. No big deal.

I wanted to take H__ to see the exhibit of Gregory Colbert 's photographs at the Nomadic Museum on Pier 54.

Apparently, I have no airline karma whatsoever. Being a Taurus, I could not accept my fate so readily, and kept trying various maneuvers to realize my goal. After about two hours, I consented, and with weary eyes and a psychosomatic headache, I lost all interest in doing any other work there, and dejectedly left.

The Last Of The Birthday Festivities

I had been so looking forward to today for so long now...and my day - the 13th - starts out walking under a ladder at the bookstore ! Luckily I am not the superstitious type...

As I was driving up to Cleveland, I called H__ and asked that if she had a spare hour to get a cup of coffee with me. Happily, she did. We were going to walk over to Cafe Limbo from her house, but she felt too warm, and so we drove. She always manages to get the parking space directly in front of the joint. It's uncanny...

After a lovely chat on a lovely afternoon, it was time for me to take my leave so I could go to Sergio's, where I was meeting Heather for a triumvirate of celebrations.

As we rounded the corner back to H__'s house so I could get my car, we noticed that about 100 feet in front of where my car was parked a minivan was engulfed in flames and pouring a huge cloud of noxious smoke up into the sky.

I offered to pay H__ to chauffeur me to Sergio's, as I did not want to be anywhere near the impending explosion when the flames reached the gas tank of the minivan. Declining all financial bribery, H__ did some nice illegal driving maneuvers and we quickly arrived safe and sound at Sergio's, where H__ and Heather finally got to meet for the first time. Heather invited H__ to join us, but she was at the end of her day. Heather said she respected H__'s ability to be so honest - it means that you respect that in others. I thought that was a cool observation.

{ I want to take an editorial moment to report that I have received several emails from Faithful Readers speculating about H__'s identity, and every one of them assumes that H__ is Heather. H__ is H__. Heather is Heather. }

This dinner marks the first time of being able to sit outside on the patio of Sergio's this season! We ordered a libation to get the party started, a dark Brazilian beer, Xingu. Heather has finally graduated with her hard-earned Master's Degree, and in addition, we were celebrating each of our birthdays.

We had a great meal, the coffee (which goes without saying) and the now standard (it seems) coconut cake - which Heather approved of as well.

Although Heather and I talk on the phone to each other frequently (well, we voice mail each other frequently), we have not seen each other since our last meal at Sergio's, which was on St. Patrick's Day. Now here it is, Friday the 13th. Nothing bad happened, other than the umbrella for the table across from us started to fall our way, threatening to impale us, but it was caught before a scene was created.

It was so nice to spend time with Heather - I have missed her very much and I am very selfishly glad school is out! She better not be thinking of getting her PhD anytime soon, that's all I'm gonna say on the subject...

So, Heather drove me back to my car, as she lives about four blocks away from H__ - convenient, huh?

My trusty car was sitting all safe and sound, with nothing but a large circle of cinders in the street to tell the tale of the burning minivan.

I headed home, and clouds rolled in for the predicted thunderstorm.

By the time I arrived home, there was only a steady gentle rainfall, a distant rumbling of thunder, and wonderful clean scent filling my apartment. With fresh air and clean linens calling to me, I took a magazine to bed, and had a wonderful, sound sleep.

Drive Thru Safari of the Dead

I felt like I was on one of those "hop in a Jeep" nature safaris today whilst on my weary commute to the workplace.

When turning onto the on-ramp of the highway, right there on the curb railing sat a red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). Ok, that was cool. Off to a good start, right?

But about 50 feet down the road, there was a dead mallard drake (Anas platyrhynchos). I drove for miles pondering the possibilities that would result in hitting a mallard, or wondering if maybe it just had a heart attack. Do birds have heart attacks?

To round off my macabre roadtrip, I passed four corpses of does on the side of the road, certainly a new record. And, if you think your job sucks, check out this career report from CNN. And if you want dessert, check out the menu...

Edvard Munch : The Film

"Kitty Griffing" and I had plans to go to the art museum after work for dinner and a movie.

When we arrived, "Kitty" took me to the Ingalls Library, deep in the bowels of the museum. As I have been going to the museum since I was an infant, it was disturbing to me that I had never set foot in this library.

Well, it was amazing. The best part was the periodicals room, which has every art and photography magazine imaginable just sitting there...I was in heaven. Then, the icing on the cake, the back wall had countless auction catalogues for Sotheby's and Christie's, and "Kitty" and I spent a good long time oohing and ahhing over great works of art being auctioned off. Now I am obsessing about collecting auction catalogues. It is very to interesting to not only see what is available, but to see the value placed on it.

So we dragged ourselves away and went to the museum cafe for dinner, where I got a very nice Mediterranean chicken with corn relish and red potatoes and "Kitty" had a melange of cold salads. We took our meal outside to the courtyard, which we practically had to ourselves and had a lovely time dining by the fountain amidst some fine sculpture.

Then it was time to go see Edvard Munch, a film by Peter Watkins from 1974. The film received rave reviews such as:

"A work of genius." Ingmar Bergman

and

A classic of world cinema, EDVARD MUNCH is considered the summit of the artist biography film ...

Most reviews I read in preparation tended to be positive, though there were some critics who found the film repetitive and exaggerated. "Kitty" and I would be in that the latter camp.

First of all, it was three hours long. And three hours of repetitive scenes, replayed over and over (The definition of repetitive, I am aware), and silent, longing looks between Munch and his mistress...dull dull dull.

There was one brilliant scene, showing Munch creating his 1885 work, The Sick Child, in which he attacks, scores, and brutalizes the canvas. The sound of the scraping and the intensity in which the scene is filmed, left my pulse racing, and I was thinking that the previously tedious film was turning a corner, but no, it immediately returned to its insipid storyline revolving around the mistress. I am sure she influenced his art tremendously and all, but I really wanted to see more of his process, not endless emotional masturbation.

I have rarely been so happy when the credits start to roll as I was on this night.

Leaving the museum, the temperature had dropped about 10 degrees and it was down right cold outside. Which necessitated a stop at Starbuck's, for warmth, and to keep me awake for the long drive home after the three hour tranquilizer....

New Music Tuesday : Camiel

A great discovery. I can list on one hand the CD's that I am able to listen to from beginning to end without itching to hit the "forward" button (and maybe I will post that soon). Today's CD joins the list.

Sunset, by Dutch guitarist Camiel will be my soundtrack of choice for the summer, or for a great beginning to a evening at home entertaining.

It is hard to pin down exactly what this sounds like. My favorite track is El Alba, which is beautiful with his excellent acoustic guitar playing and lovely piano accents. Second is Sigueme, with a smoky female vocal in a foreign tongue.

Two "spoken word" pieces, layed on top of a great soundtrack, are evocative and haunting: Follow Me and I Would.

The CD is, in the very broadest sense of the word, smooth jazz, without the hideous soprano sax that that term conjures up for me. But is deeply rooted in disco, groove, R&B, soul and Latin rhythms for good measure.

To finish off this great recording, Camiel had the good sense to record this live with real instruments and an orchestra...no dubbed in samples. There is a nice, open aural space created from the live recording.

Can you tell I dig this?

Remembrance

When I was a child, the month of May was heavenly.

The most important people in my world were my grandmother, my uncle and my mother.

My birthday began a week long celebration of us, and it seemed to me that the four of us were bonded together in a very special way. After my day, a day on which I was completely indulged to do anything I wished, my uncle's birthday was 6 days later on the 9th, and then my mom's birthday, a week after mine on May 10.

Rounding out the celebration, my mom's birthday usually fell on Mother's Day, which was the perfect excuse to include my grandmother in the partying as well.

Perhaps that is why that even now, in my 40's, a sneaking sense of glee overtakes me for a bit when my birthday draws near.

I would love to go back in time to my grandmother's house on Lang Drive in Pennsylvania and watch the celebration in the dining room...

Happy Birthday, Mom.

What Passes For Excitement 'Round Here

Yeah, ok, so this will sum up my life pretty well at this point:

The big excitement of the weekend was that I didn't need a jacket, and gas was under $2 a gallon. (ok, it was $1.98, but still..)

The Final Cut

I had been wanting to see this film for quite some time, and I really enjoyed it.

Robin Williams (in the third installment of strange roles –following Insomnia and One Hour Photo) plays the role of a future mortician-psychologist-filmmaker. In this version of the future, people have biochips implanted at birth which record everything they experience. At death, a Cutter (Williams) gets the memory chip, and edits together the pertinent moments and images from that person's life. His work is shown at a ceremony called “The ReMemory”.

The ideas raised in the film are quite good, and what I really enjoyed about the film was that both sides, the pros and the cons, the ethics and economics, of the issue were presented. The film clearly gave time to the protestors of the chip, and nicely answered some questions raised early in the film regarding their appearance.

I have to admit to seeing the final outcome long before it arrived, but that was ok. It still was a suspenseful film, well-crafted and certainly well-acted.

It is a film that lends itself to thought and discussion – and you don't get those too bloody often.

Birthday Festivities Continue

Following work today (which coincides with my weekend kick-off), I went to H__'s house, where I received many wonderful gifts. The beauty of knowing artists is that you can be fairly sure that on gift-giving occasions you will receive something handmade, original and wonderful.

H__ made a glorious card of vellum, with stitching and art work, as well as a necklace and wonderful shadowbox with a removable beaded Buddha face pin.

We left for dinner, and you will not believe this, I requested to go to Valerio's, a restaurant in Little Italy. Shocking, I know. We had a very nice meal of pollo au funghi, and a cappucino, then decided to walk about the neighborhood as it was a lovely and finally warm evening!

We wandered into Anthony's Cafe and each had a homemade latte gelato. That was pure heaven.

As we continued on our stroll, we found a gallery that appeared to be open, La Bella Vita. The owner, Barbara, invited us in, and we immediately were impressed by the incredible murals she had done on each wall. The place is a work of art – my favorite room is the small back “clearance” room, which is painted with deep orange clouds and a night sky...the room was once a bathroom, and I could just imagine soaking in a tub under the ceiling fan (the ceiling was at least 10' high) in this beautiful atmosphere...

H__ was in heaven, and dropped quite a bit of quid. We had a terrific time there. Sadly, as I had been up so early, I was getting very sleepy and had to call it a night.

Birthday Festivities

People were compelled to sing to me this year in honor of my natal day. The festivities started out with my morning latte and the Starbucks crew singing the birthday song. I headed up to Cleveland where I was joining my friend, "Kitty Griffing" (see Policy Change - next post). We were going to see Masterworks From The Phillips Collection currently on display at the art museum, before the museum closes for renovations for SIX YEARS.
I arrived before "Kitty", and was horrified to see bus after bus lining up by the museum. The place was overrun with children. I was filled with dread.

Well, "Kitty" arrived and we bravely entered the exhibit and attempted a strategic deployment to the end of the exhibit first, to get away from the swarms of children.

My favorite pieces were all four works by Paul Klee (especially 1937's Picture Album), a marvelous piece by Kandinsky which I have never seen before, and a gorgeous small canvas, Melancholy (1874), by Edgar Degas.

The big showstopper is supposedly Renoir's The Luncheon of the Boating Party, which is all well and good, but it made me REALLY want to go and see J. Seward Johnson' s bronze life-size reproduction of the painting. That would be cool.

We then went to check out the Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art exhibit. I think my favorite piece was seeing Nadar's 1855 portrait of Alexandre Dumas père. I had seen it often in books, but it was truly beautiful in person. As were the works by Eugène Atget, of course. Many of his works look like fairy tale landscapes to me.

Before we knew it, it was time to cross the street, walk by the Geary building and get some lunch at....Sergio's! At lunch, I received a call, which was the second rendition of the birthday song so far. I am happy to report that today, under the influence of "Kitty", I tried dessert there for the first time, a magnificent coconut butter cake with a divine warm sauce. It was truly amazing.

Knowing my proclivity for ruins and cemeteries,"Kitty" then drove me to a tiny, hidden cemetery. I was completely enraptured and can't wait for the opportunity to return with my camera. It is an outstanding hidden treasure.

She then took me to Hessler Court, which is the oldest street in Cleveland - it is paved with "bricks" which are made from wood blocks. Mindblowing!

A few friends called, and more singing.

After all of this fun, I had to go to work.

My co-workers felt compelled to bring out a big sheet cake, in front of everyone at the registers and sang the birthday song yet again, over the intercom. I like it much better when the guest of honor is not me. Still, it is very nice to be remembered and celebrated.

Policy Change

At times I have been hard pressed to come up with a name to disguise the identity of real people who make an appearance on the blog.

So, I have decided that from now on, when a good name does not present itself readily, I will resort to using that individual's porn/stripper/drag queen name.

This is a little game we play at work which never ceases to amuse me. Just take the name of your first pet and the street that you lived on, and Viola! You now have your porn/stripper/drag queen name – whichever is more appropriate for you.

I feel compelled to share with you my stripper name which is Misty Lang. If I went with my second pet, I would be Boots Osborne, which is most certainly a jazz saxophonist. My best friend's name would be Scruffy Butler, and I've decided Scruffy is Boots' drummer in the jazz band.

Somehow, I see a novel in this....

Please feel free to amuse me to no end, and post your name here...

New Music Tuesday - Rebekah Jordan : The Trouble With Fiction

H__'s neighbor dropped off his daughter's self-produced CD the other day, and after listening to it, H__ passed it along to me.

A mere 6 tracks, but instantly likeable. The definite highlight is her version of Stevie Nicks' Dreams, the final cut. However, all of the other songs ( which she wrote) are very good, and at this moment my second favorite is track 2, The Art of Losing.

Rebekah sings and plays the piano, and has created a nice folky-pop sound, enhanced surprisingly by the inclusion of a cello. You gotta love that.

I hope her career takes off. Do go and see her if you have the chance.

Domesticity, Part II

In keeping with my low-key weekend, I spent almost the entire day, following the Starbuck's stop, at the library. My research took me to many different places today, and six hours passed in the blink of an eye. I would have continued, but the need for nutrition was overwhelming.

I stopped into my old haunt, The Franklin Square Deli, for my usual, a tuna bagel, one of my favorite treats.

Following that I spent a few hours at the bookstore, drinking coffee and picking up the new issues of Modern Painters and Art in America.

I was trying to decide whether to purchase a number of books, and confronted with so many choices, I simply fled with my coffee and magazines.

For some reason, I was compelled to read short plays of Samuel Beckett, plays by Jean-Paul Sartre, a biography of Ray Bradbury, poems by Billy Collins, the collected works of Jules Verne, Well's The War of the Worlds, short stories by Russell Banks, and several film reference works. With this disjointed collection to choose from, it was impossible to gauge my reading temperament. Magazines seemed to do nicely.

The rest of the day was spent on the phone, with many leisurely conversations.

Domesticity

There are those days when the best thing is just staying in your house – cleaning, doing laundry, being domestic. It was that day today. I even got to cook myself a meal, a rather simple thing to be sure, but not one that I have time for very often. While I was doing my dishes, a dove flew onto my windowsill, and sat there watching me. Most birds would be frightened (I would assume) by my movements, but this dove stayed on my sill, sharing a little moment with me.

What a reward for keeping a clean kitchen...

Untimely Movie Review: The Astronaut's Wife

When I got home from work (Thursday currently being my Friday night), I was really too tired to do much at all, so I watched this film which I have no recollection of ever being released.

The Astronauts Wife stars Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron, a happily married couple whose world is going to be destroyed. The plot is a basically a riff of Rosemary's Baby meets the Abyss, in outer space. Now I know why I don't recall any publicity when this came out in 1999...

For some reason, throughout the film, I was always shocked to see Johnny Depp...I kept expecting him to be Keanu Reeves because this film seemed like a lesser version of the Devil's Advocate...so many similarities, but with weaker characterization. To wit, happily married couple, one of whom is Charlize Theron, leave their little world and go to Manhattan (to a ridiculously stylish and ultra-expensive apartment) where Charlize thinks she is going crazy and the man is somehow...changed.

Charlize's hair (mimicking Mia Farrow's Rosemary's Baby style) was great. And the final confrontation was done exceptionally well and was actually surprising...it just took a long time to get there.

New Music Tuesday – Cheryl Bentyne : Let Me Off Uptown

I scored a promo copy of Cheryl Bentyne's new CD this afternoon, and from the first few seconds of the first track, I knew I was going to love this one. And I do.

A tribute album to Anita O'Day ( which puts me in mind of Cheryl's bandmate, Alan Paul's tribute to the great singer), this CD is chock full of great, accessible tracks. As C. Michael Bailey said,

There is a population which craves musical excellence but may not crave the experimental edge. Cheryl Bentyne’s new recording is perfect for the latter group.

I must admit to not being nearly as familiar with O'Day's body of work as I am with, say, the previously reviewed Miss Peggy Lee. But spending time with this disc has made me curious...so perhaps we will see her pop up here again in the next month or so.

My must-listen tracks are the last, Waiter, Make Mine Blues and It Shouldn't Happen To A Dream.

Six Obstructions

Before I had to be at work this afternoon, I watched a documentary called, The Five Obstructions. Lars von Trier tracked down his film maker hero Jorgen Leth, and asked him to to re-make his film The Perfect Human five times, each time following rules (obstructions) imposed by Lars.

It was fascinating to watch the creative process, and to see Leth's inherent artistry and ethics be unvanquished by Lars' boundaries. My favorite version of the obstructed films was the fourth, in which Leth is forced to make a cartoon. He, of course, is incapable of making a cartoon, and instead makes gorgeous art. The fifth version is a beautiful summation of the experience, and a great way to end the film. Very outstanding.

Now, for the Sixth Obstruction: I keep hearing rumors of snow. Lots of snow. Down where I live, the sky was just white, but a white that was impenetrable after about 100 feet. So, with a heavy heart I set out on my journey north.

It is a well-known fact that my place of employment is the very epicenter of where the snow coming down from Canada looses steam and drops dead from exhaustion. So, the roads were clear and fine until I got about 10 minutes from work. Then it all started. The exit ramp off the highway wasn't plowed, and the snow was drifted to a height that was over my car's grill. All the street lights were out. Trees were down everywhere due to the weight of the snow. Most folks lost power for several days. And still, the snow kept falling.

The good news was that my store was deserted after 6 o'clock (it being Passover and all) so we got a lot of work done early.

By the end of my shift we had received 27” inches of snow. Being outside, trying to get work done in the middle of the night with that amount of snow is ridiculous. Everyone was cold, and wet and cranky. Everyone's shoes and socks were soaked. And there is just no way that you can be a happy, productive sort with cold, wet feet. So we left early tonight, at 12:30 in the morning.

It's a Date: A Movie, Dinner and the Theater

I had an excellent day today. The day started out at Bruegger's Bagels for a nice bagel with egg and cheese and a hazelnut coffee, then a stop at the Weathervane Playhouse to purchase tickets for The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. While I was there, I noticed that there was an Indian restaurant across the street from the theatre. I was so excited to discover this -who knew an Indian restaurant was in my neighborhood? But, it was still early in the day...

Next up on today's schedule was a matinee of Sin City. I was very reluctant to see this film, as I have little tolerance for the level of violence I expected to see. But I was very intrigued by the look of the film, and intrigue always wins.

Well, it certainly is an amazing piece of art. Really mind-blowing. I can't speak to whether it is true to the novels, having never read them, but I have a feeling it is. It is a gorgeous film depicting a brutal and ugly world. I didn't really care for the theme or the plot,and I was glad when the film was over, but I am very glad I experienced it. It is truly amazing.

Following the film, there was time to stop in at home to shower and change, before arriving at the Saffron Patch. I was a bit worried as I quickly perused the menu and did see any vindaloo offered. I don't know what came over me, but I asked the waitress if they served vindaloo and she said that they certainly did, they just didn't have room on the menu. I found that odd.

Anyway, the vindaloo came, and I must say it gets a B+. It was more like the vindalooo I was searching for than the offering from Cafe Tandoor, however, the naan at the Saffron Patch cannot hold a candle to the naan at Cafe Tandoor, but that fact did stop me from placing four orders for the stuff, so I look at that as a positive.

Now it was time to go to the theatre to see Charles Busch' s Tale of the Allergist's Wife. I had to go because last night, while reading the paper, I saw a picture of the production, and my friend is one of the leads! Allow me to quote from the program:

Margo Parker (Lee) Margo won a Chanticleer for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Weathervane's The Dining Room in 1985, during a decade in which she was very active at Weathervane in plays including Daughters, Brighton Beach Memoirs, What I Did Last Summer and Dracula. She has more recently been seen in the Coach House productions of Without Apologies and The Cocktail Hour.

I would like to add that she is also an accomplished film actress, starring in a little three minute film my partner, John, and I made for the Project Greenlight contest for HBO.

It was great to see her on stage again, and the show was pretty entertaining. Margo extended an invitation to go out for drinks with the cast after the show, and it was great. It's always a good time to sit around and to listen to actors re-hash what went wrong in the show, and other production gossip.

Movie Review: Miss Congeniality 2 - Armed and Fabulous

I have always a had weakness for Sandra Bullock. I figure if I pay my money, it could be a silent movie as long as Sandra is on the screen for 90 minutes and I will be happy.

That being said, I was happy when I left the theatre.

But really, the film has gotten undeservedly terrible reviews. The film is a pleasant little diversion. And by the last third, when Sandra is sporting very little make-up, and a great tailored FBI black suit and shades, it became much more enjoyable for me.

Regina King, one of the highlights of Ray, is saddly underused, but as I have mentioned, I paid to see Sandra be Sandra. If I wanted acting, I'd go see a Julianne Moore film...

Coffee Talk

H__ invited me to join her at Cafe Limbo for coffee out on their lovely patio after work today.

There always comes a time when conversations turn serious, and today was the day for that.

For me, this afternoon was a testament to the extrordinary work that was accomplished in those three long years with my therapist. In the recent past, there would have been no way that this conversation would have ever existed. I never would have been able to participate in any meaningful way. I was quite proud of my growth and accomplishments in this area.

So, all in all, it was a beautiful afternoon.

New Music Tuesday - Pete Belasco : Deeper

A self-described sucker for cover art, I was drawn to Pete Belasco's CD, Deeper, at the store today.

It was described as neo-soul / jazz, conjuring Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. How bad could it be? So I gave it a listen, and deemed it a very nice CD for quiet evenings alone. Well, not really alone...
There really isn't a stand-out track here; the tracks all ooze into one another to create a wonderful mood and ambiance. This is a disc to just put on, and enjoy yourself.

One caveat, men singing in falsettos - not usually a big favorite of mine, but in this setting it works due to the atmosphere evoked from the interplay of the vocals and the sax solos.

Indulge and enjoy.

A Very Long Day

I had to be at work today at 10 am to have a meeting with our district manager. In other work environments, this would have made me very anxious, to say the least, but in my lovely little current job, I was actually looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with him.

The meeting went incredibly well, and we got to sit outside (a cherished treat in this climate!) at the chess tables in our center. (Where I work, they have created a chess area, with a giant ground chess set for the wee folk, where the pieces are as tall as the kids, and many chess tables complete with heaters for the evening, umbrellas for the rare days of sun, and clocks to time your turn. There is even a "chess guard" on duty, to help you learn the game, or to mediate fights, I suppose. I have yet to see that happen though...)

Following the meeting, I went in to work, and left at 11:30 at night.

A Day Without A Plan

H__ and I had the most minimalist of plans of today, and sometimes the form of an afternoon just stays ambiguous, no matter how hard you try to impose structure onto it.

We wandered down to Coventry Road, intending to pick up a display stand for my glass marble (to no avail). Then we decided to stop in at The Winking Lizard for a quick meal. The food and the draft root beer were fine, but the volume of the music was very disruptive to conversation, and we both were getting cranky and eager to be on our way.

Back at H__'s house, we watched the aforementioned Rivers and Tides, as H__ is also a big fan of Andy Goldsworthy. She truly loved the film, as I thought she would. The highlight for me was that while the film was on, H__ was making a bracelet for her sister. It is an art that mystifies me. It is incredible to watch a big pile of tiny things become one thing with its own inherent order and logic. Many similarities then between Goldworthy's Zen practive and H__'s art; however, I am happy to report there was no fatal collapse after hours of delicate work as so often happens to Goldsworthy.

Fine Food and Fabrics

It will come as a huge surprise to all Faithful Readers that I went out for dinner tonight with H__ and that we went to Sergio's. Just for the record, there ARE other residents in Cleveland. Really. I just don't go to them.

The meal was completely perfect, as it always is, the service prompt and efficient, and the Brazilian coffee was addictive and exquisite. Oh, and we had a great time, good conversation, etc etc.

Back at H__'s house, she showed me one of her newer projects, that being two quilts she is making from fabric samples I have been hoarding from my previous job at a luxury bedding purveyor. They are going to be wonderful works of art, wall hangings, lap quilts, or coverlets. I can't wait to see the finished products.

As an extra bonus, she is also whipping up two pillows from my fabric samples of my very favorite Matteo sheet ensemble...hopefully with silk cording on the seams...absolutely divine.

Yes, I adore my bed.

New Music Tuesday – E.G. Kight

So there I was at work, minding my own business, when some kind soul changed the XM Radio to the blues station for me. And this Phantom-conjuring song, complete with steamy sax solo, came on, and I had no idea who this performer was.

Checking out the display, it said : E.G. Kight. Not only did it not ring a bell, it looked suspiciously like a typo. So I stopped into the record store, and lo and behold if E.G. Kight isn't a blues-singing, guitar playing performer that would give K.T. Oslin a run for the money. Granted, K.T. is certainly country, but I think it has something to do with their ages, and that they go by their initials - in any case, they seem to be one and the same in my book.

The CD is Takin' It Easy, the track is When You Were Mine. A very unexpected discovery, and a great companion for those days when you easily exhaust the K.T. Oslin oeuvre. Nice, simple, honest arrangements. I am quite sure she would be a hoot to see live in some little bluesy dive.

The Volcano Lover

This year does not look promising for compiling a year-end wrap-up of the best books I read, since it took me well over two months to finish Susan Sontag' s The Volcano Lover.

Not that it is a boring book, because it isn't at all, but it is very dense. And not the sort of book you can use to read a few chapters in before drifting off to sleep. No, this is a wide-awake, must pay strict attention to it book.

Superficially about the love triangle of Sir William Hamilton , Emma Hamilton, and Admiral Horatio Nelson, the book's main theme is a discussion of collecting and the temperaments required to be collectors.

It is a wide-ranging and intriguing work, made more so as it is historical. When I finished it, I had to go and check out biographies of Nelson to see pictures of him, and Emma. She was a great beauty in her day, being the muse of many painters including George Romney.

My favorite parts are the early chapters dealing with Sir William's first wife, and her romantic involvement via music with her young admirer, William. It was sheer poetry.

And the final chapters of the book are wonderful, recapping the story through the first-person recollections of several characters, a change from from the previous chapters told by the omnipresent narrator.

I do recommend this book, but only if you have a vast amount of time and attention to give it. But you will be rewarded for your patience.

Weather Report - Part Ten

I have to note for the record that today is the first day I was able to be outside without a coat.

Hoopla and Huzzah!

And for those of you familiar with Dennis Deal's infamous production of Robin Hood, now would be a good time for a Duck Dance...

The Spring Social

Tonight I threw a party for my store.

With the help of my excellent taskforce, we assembled a sit-down, family-style Italian feast (antipasto, warm bread and European butter, salad, pasta and meatless meatballs, eggplant cutlets with mozzarella, Prosecco wine, and Italian water and sodas, and the piece de resistance, a homemade tiramisu).

We played a short and humorous "game show", kind of a cross between Weakest Link and the Price is Right, then ate, then, with the help of the Master of Ceremonies, the talented and marvelous Jeff, everyone was presented with an award.

The truly amazing thing about the evening was that all 53 employees came to the shindig. My manager said that he has never seen a 100% turnout at a company event in his life.

It was a great night filled with laughter and camaraderie.

It lacked in only one area, that our very own BIRTHDAY GIRL was not able to stop in and be the guest of honor. In any case, I wish you a most happy birthday, my friend, and I look forward to a sinful meal to celebrate with you.

New Music Tuesday – Pink Guitar

I swear this is a very bizarre coincidence.

I got an email the other day from my friend informing me that this year's Grammy award for Best Pop Instrumental Album was Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar, which he happens to be featured on. So now he is a multi-Grammy winner! Congratulations!

I swear I knew nothing about this album when I made my previous NMT post last month entitled Pink Piano...wow.

Anyway, here is my review of the CD...

The opening track, the Pink Panther theme by Laurence Juber is absolutely mindblowing. Virtuosity at its finest. The next great track is the theme to Peter Gunn by Pat Donohue.
My third favorite track is the lovely and touching Dear Heart by Wayne Johnson. Read his liner notes regarding why he chose that tune..

And by the way, Wayne's solo disc, One Guitar (2003) was listed as the #2 out of the Top 20 Acoustic Solo Guitar recordings to own by Jazziz Magazine! Samples are on on his site - check it out!

Rounding out the disc is the very surprising theme to the TV show What's Happening, which gets an incredible makeover by Mike Dowling.

This was a great discovery. If you are into guitar heroes, you have to check this one out.

Near or With ?

When one is presented with a life-changing decision, list making is often quite useful. In the past I think I was more inclined to run into things without thinking too much about the consequences. On the other hand, before I moved out here to Ohio, I very carefully analyzed the pros and cons of my decision with a trained professional, and neither of us could have foreseen the series of unfortunate events that unfolded, nor the direction the good events would take me.

What pleased me about my though process on this particular subject, made more delicate as it concerned someone else as well, was that we independently came to the same conclusion.

NEAR is better than WITH.

Or, to be succinct I can thank Whoopi Goldberg for this one:

"Anyone living with you, who is not you, is a problem."

Weather Report Part 9 : More Friggin' Snow

Yes, that's right. Off to work I go, and I get to be outside dealing with about a foot of the stuff.

Granted, I don't have a lot of patience for the stuff to begin with, but believe me, it has been used up long ago.

What I really liked about Washington and Oregon was that if for some reason you had a yearning for snow, you could go TO it - go to Rainier, or Hood or some other volcanic peak of your choice. The white stuff just stayed up, very well-behaved and didn't infringe on one's getting around hardly at all. Here, it just comes down and fouls things up whenever it feels like it. Very ill-mannered, in my opinion.

Rumspringa

What is up with this? They say it is going to snow today, in mid-April, and they are right.

Luckily, I had no reason to leave the house. H__ had been quite ill the past few days, and now has a week-long visitor. I took advantage of this opportunity to become domestic and do my laundry and ironing, and to watch a documentary entitled Devil's Playground.

The film was different from what I expected, though after seeing it, it is hard to recall what I was expecting. It is a philosophical meditation on what it means to have to make a life-altering decision at the age of 16. Amish children are allowed to venture out into the "English world" at that age, to discover the world of electricity, malls, cars, music and drugs. They are given a period, referred to as "rumspringa", to decide whether or not they want to join the Amish church. If they join, they are baptized and taken in to the community. If, for some reason, a tragedy would befall and Amish teen who has not made their decision, the Amish believe that their soul will be lost forever.

The film adequately captures the difficulty of making an unchangeable decision about the rest of your life as a teenager. The teens are portrayed in all their wildness, given their first taste of the modern world and "freedom", yet they are also surprisingly philosophical and understandably overwhelmed and confused at the task ahead of them.

This is a little film, but one that will make you think about many things that we take for granted and never question. Maybe we should.

No Fooling ! A New Member of The Family

A moment to wish a hearty congratulations to MyFriendJason, My Adoring Public Jaimie, and the rest of my work family that went off to forge a new outpost on the other side of town.

My best wishes to you all for an amazingly successful store!

But keep in mind that we, your OLD store, will humiliate you in an inter-store tug-of-war competition...

Appreciation

I had breakfast with Miss Brazil today.

It continues to astonish me that anyone can live in appreciation and gratitude of the world as continually as she can. It is something that I admire very deeply about her. A spiritual centeredness is something to strive for, certainly, but it is very powerful to see exisiting in someone.

Burn, Baby, Burn

I am on a roll this month. Obviously, I have been spending far too much time reading ridiculous things and not enough time outdoors.

I saw this picture, and the scale of the teeny, tiny cows, which I would like to point out, are NOT small animals, just freaked me out. I hope that this link stays active for you to check it out...

It seems that a 2,000 TON pile of manure has been burning in Nebraska for MONTHS. It is 100 feet in length, 30 feet high and 50 feet wide. The farmer's stock (12,00 cows) produce 54 TONS of manure every 24 hours.

Firefighters are not able to douse the mountain with water because of the problems with run-off, and spreading the pile out only made the fire break out in other areas as the core is so hot it continually re-ignites the pile. Sounds to me like the beginnings of a great model volcano, if they could only get it to erupt, or at least ooze, but I suspect the latter is not a problem currently.

Apparently, manure blazes are somewhat common. In Washington state, a three acre manure lagoon (sounds like a vacation destination!) was burning out of control and the officials finally smothered the flames...by adding another layer of manure.

New Music Tuesday - Matt's Mood featuring Basia

Strange how things happen. One of my co-workers got a haircut, and it turns out now she looks just like Basia. As she is too young to know who Basia is (was?) I brought in a CD for her to make a comparison.

Really, other than when I wrote about her concert in regards to my Ottmar Liebert review awhile back, I can't remember when I last thought of Basia. Then, I see an ad that Basia is performing at Playhouse Square in April.

And now here is a CD! I picked this one up skeptically, thinking it would be mostly Matt Bianco, but much to my surprise and delight, several of the songs are Basian tour-de-forces, most notably the outstanding Brazilian-flavored La Luna. The CD is very jazzy, with a very healthy dose of Brazilian sensibilities thrown in for good measure. It is not very often that I really like 4 songs on a CD on the very first listen (in particular Ordinary Day and Say the Words), so this CD gets very high marks, indeed.

I would highly recommend getting acquainted, or re-acquainted, with this great singer.

News You May Have Missed – Auld Lang Syne for the Oldest Malt in Scotland

The Chep Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong has purchased the last remaining bottle of the world's oldest single malt whisky.

It is a bottle of Glenfiddich Rare Collection 1937, which has been maturing for 64 years before it was bottled. Only 61 bottles were produced from the cask.

The taste is described as “chocolate and treacle”. Being an aficionado of the single malts (particularly Glenrothes and Cardhu if anyone wants to send me a present), I have to say I look mostly for a nice oaky, delicate hint of peat, dusty light smoke, toffeeish malt.

I know I don't get enough treacle on a day-to-day basis. I had to look up treacle just to be sure, and here is the definition:

A medicinal compound formerly used as an antidote for poison ; molasses.

The previous 60 bottles were sold directly by the distillery in the $19,000 range. This remaining bottle is expected to sell for significantly more. But, it might be cheap as far as poison antidotes go. Maybe someone in the Australian outback will buy it as an emergency snakebite remedy. Just a thought.

36

H__ arrived at my house early this evening, and we settled in for a quiet night. Waiting for our dinner to arrive (spaghetti, garlic bread and salad), H__ did some magic with some yarn. In a matter of mere moments, she transformed small bits of thread into a magnificent scarf, to be draped over the sweater she was wearing. It was incredible to watch this process - so effortless and distinctly magical.

In the morning, we had a light breakfast of toast, coffee and my secret homemade smoothies, like civilized people - seated at the table. We then decided, after a few hours of conversation that we must get going. Some shopping, some Starbucks and then... apartment shopping!

We looked at three apartments, one being quite plausible. And while I was enamored of the largest place we looked at, the amenities of that one were less than stellar. But it did have the best light, and the grandest rooms. Now I have much to think about...

It was getting to be time for lunch, so we dropped into Cafe Limbo, a place which I had heard many good things about. And as it seems that H__ knows every person in Cleveland, of course we ran into a friend of hers at the cafe. Quite a lovely person. The lunch was great and the ambiance lived up to its reputation.

Next to the cafe is an art gallery that H__ used to work at, so we stopped in in the hopes that I could purchase a display stand for my glass marble from Sara. It is a fabulous gallery, and the people there are tremendously cool. There were many incredible works for sale, and it seems that my appreciation for textile arts is growing by association.

Then it was time for more shopping as H__ as in need of new shoes. I want the record to show that I demonstrated remarkable restraint as we passed a table full of Fossil watches at Nordstrom. Ah...so unrewarding to be good...but do not fear Faithful Readers, for I did not leave the mall empty handed, oh no. I found a charming little Chanel watch to take home.

We picked up some bourbon chicken to take home, then stopped into the bookstore. I picked up a copy of The Phantom Tollbooth for H__, and she picked up several beading magazines, and a great stuffed rabbit for her mother. While we were silently looking at magazines and drinking coffee in the cafe, H__ looked up and said that the day could only be better if there was time us to go back to her house to do art and then watch a movie. Sadly, we were not successful in generating any extra hours in the day. We had to make do with a quick meal, and then we had to turn in.

The next morning, I took H__ to the ubiquitous Mom's Diner for breakfast, and then it was time for me to return to my house.

It is hardly possible that we had spent 36 hours together. It genuinely seemed as if it was about 4 hours. It is a very rare thing, indeed, to be able to spend so much time with someone and not become bored, or uncomfortable or irritated.

What a great "weekend".

The Main Event : Iceberg vs. Titanic – The Rematch !

Okay, maybe this is just me. Christo and and The Gates. Beautiful. I have no problem there. But when I read about Rita Duffy's artistic plan....I dunno, folks...

Seems Rita has the high-minded goal to “resurrect the peace process and self-confidence of Northern Ireland.” To this end, she wants to:

TOW AN ICEBERG TO BELFAST

Why? “To cool the simmering anger among the Protestants and Catholics.” Hmmmm..okay.

And... the iceberg would be a “symbol of regeneration” for Belfast she says. Well, I suppose given thousands and thousands of years, icebergs do regenerate, but mostly I think they break away and crash into the sea, and float around, and have far more below the surface than meets the eye. This is, I suppose, NOT the subtext she was shooting for.

My big issue with this scheme is that she wants to tow it to Belfast, the birthplace of the Titanic.
Seems to me that is REALLY rubbing salt in a wound.

“Hey Belfast! You know that great “unsinkable” ship all your men folk labored over building? Well, Mother Nature had a thing or two to say about THAT, didn't she? Well, here is a big, fat reminder of a castastrophic loss of human life that you were indirectly responsible for, right outside your door! A great, big, melting symbol of a disaster. Now let's “cool off” and talk about peace!”

Yeah. Alrighty then. You go, girl.

Hey, That Sounds Familiar!

"Naturally, the common people don't want war, but after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifist for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.”

Click here for the source of the quote.

New Music Tuesday – Patty Larkin : Perishable Fruit

This CD came out in 1997. I got it the day it was released, Patty Larkin being one of my top ten favorite musicians of all time.

I really did not like this CD all that much, except for the track Coming Up For Air.

Well, I mention this, and it is the NMT review today because of the fact that I can't stop listening to this CD. It is always in my car. I love each and every track. In fact, at this moment, it is very close to being my all-time favorite Patty Larkin CD.

On this disc, Larkin, as producer, has limited herself to stringed instruments, which is not to say the songs are without "percussion". She twangs and thumps a lot of stuff, and uses all sorts of guitars and mandolins to manufacture an expansive soundscape.

I guess you really have to be in the right place, or have lived through certain things to “get” some art. And this one is really speaking to me now.

Mark Your Calendars

April 9th, at (I believe) 4:30 pm EST, BBC Radio 2 is presenting a 1 hour documentary – Shooting Star - Laura Nyro Remembered. The show will be repeated for seven days, but I am not sure when.

You can also listen on your computer.

C is For...

Cancer. I found out my friend does, indeed, have it. Her spirits are good, and her first treatment following her surgery to remove the tumor went well. At this point, she has been a 60% chance of it never recurring.

These are the moments you hate being halfway across the country. It is a most helpless feeling...

Unions

Hey, guess what? I had to be in Cleveland at 11 am today! H__ suggested I stay at her place, but I did not have the foresight to be prepared, shattering my dual image of boyscout and stage manager.

It was actually warm outside, and a lovely morning for a drive. I arrived a bit too early and found a tiny diner called Vickie's, which served up a nice two egg breakfast and coffee for $2.50. Ya just can't beat that.

It was then time to go church where MyFriendJason was about to get formally committed to his partner, Tony. A few of my coworkers were in attendance, dressed up and looking quite elegant, especially "My Adoring Public", Jaimie whom I do not believe I have ever seen in a skirt before.

The boys looked great and were very nervous before the ceremony. The ceremony itself was quite lovely. The best part was when my co-worker and extremely talented opera singing friend Annie played the piano and sang for the boys. Both of them were crying. It was truly moving.

Following the ceremony, we all headed into the Fireside Room, where coffee, cake and champagne awaited us. MyFriendJason had prepared the most exquisite cake - three layers high ringed with his hand-made white chocolate "cigarettes". Divine.

I wish them all of the best. They are off to a promising start.

Back and Forth

Today I got up at 7 am, which was really a luxurious sleeping-in feeling. Ran down to Starbuck's and got to the library at 8. I did a lot of research and had a great time, and as I was getting ready to leave, and burn my data CD of the research I had spent 3 hours compiling, the terminal crashed. Somehow I was in a very Zen place and just accepted my fate. Three hours of fun and learning, but nothing to show for it.

Driving home, H__ called and suggested that if I lived in Cleveland we could go out for dinner after she finished her chores today. I suggested that we could anyway - I mean, what better way to spend your day off than making the same one hour commute you make every other day, right?

We went to Tommy's for broccoli risso, a fancy broccoli cheese soup with rice served with pita, and then we split a coffee milkshake. The best parts of the evening were walking into her living room and hearing Julia Fordham singing. The second best part was the tour she took me on of where she was born, where she grew up and where her grandparents lived...all in the same neighborhood. Having spent so much of my life being transient, it what really cool hanging out with someone with roots.

A Day of Irish and Brazilian Celebrations

Great fun at work today...with folks dressed up as leprechauns, playing Irish music over the sound system and general full-on silliness. Sometimes just wearing a cheap green plastic bowler hat at work will make your day. In addition, it was a co-worker's birthday, and our manager rolled out a cart onto the floor with two birthday cakes and the mandatory re-lighting candles.

While I try to make it a policy to get home as quickly as possible on drinking holidays, this evening was the only time that Heather and I could get together for dinner - at Sergio's, of course.

We both arrived early - so early the joint wasn't even open - and went next door to the lobby of the Glidden House, which is incredible. It would be great fun to spend the weekend there!

Service and dinner, all impeccable as usual. And the mandatory two pots of Brazilian coffee. Lovely.
It was so nice to spend time with a good friend...catching up, relaxing, and fun and comfortable.

Upon reflection, I realized that the last time Heather and I ate at Sergio's, she was leaving the next day for Toronto. This time, she is leaving in the morning for New York City.

Life is full of strange coincidences.

The Lion's Gift - Courage

I would be remiss to not report that on the way home from dining with Heather, I phoned the Phantom of San Diego. It seemed to me that if my pent-up anger of nine months still has not lessened in the slightest, it probably wasn't going to at any time in the near future, either. So I thought that just getting it out in the open might alleviate my frustration.

Amazingly, the Phantom answered the phone, and spoke with me - for a fairly long time. It was a good conversation, no yelling or defensiveness or any of that foolishness.

At the conclusion of the conversation, the Phantom thanked me for having the courage to call. And I am glad I did as well. The power of talking seems to have dissipated the anger - the cause of the anger is still quite clear in my mind, and I think that it is a good thing to always remember. It will prevent any potential backsliding. But my heart and head fell better not harboring such strong, bad feelings.

News You Might Have Missed : Put Your Nickel In The Nickelodeon

Seems that there is a new nickel on the way. The buffalo nickel is making a comeback.

The Mint powers that be unveiled their new masterpiece on Capitol Hill accompanied by Indian dancing, drum-beating and chanting and a bison named Cody.

Whoever threw this party had a weak grasp on history.

The first point is the original “buffalo” nickel featured a composite face of a Native American, and the back featured the “buffalo”. It was a stately showcase of the native beauty and lost past of the American West. It emphasized the symbiotic relationship the Native Americans had with the bison.

The new coin features a sharp-eyed profile of Thomas Jefferson, apparently whispering the word “Liberty”. Jefferson was responsible for the reconnaissance mission of Lewis and Clark. Following their explorations, the American West rapidly became settled, tamed, the Native Americans decimated and corralled onto reservations and the bison slaughtered almost to extinction.

So, whose Liberty do we celebrate?

And why do we have Indian dancing and drum beating? And a bison named Cody? Let's recall that Buffalo Bill Cody, great showman certainly, earned his moniker for his championship ability to kill buffalo, and as a guide, to lead foreign dignitaries on no-limits buffalo hunting trips.

The last time a bison was on currency was the nickel between 1913 and 1938, the same time as the last major stock crash. We'll see what Nostradamus has to say about this version...

One of the first folks to get the new nickel was quoted on MSNBC with this insightful comment,

“It's a nice looking nickel.”

That's America for you.

New Music Tuesday – Divas Abounding

Three discs again. March must be the month of the triumvirate.

First up, is my big prize of the month: Sarah Vaughan and Her Trio : Live at Mr. Kelly's (which happens to have been located in Chicago – it's a theme!) That's right, a live recording! And a simple trio to boot. Yippee! This one is a set from 1957, and man, does Sassy swing it! What to say about the disc? Here is the opening from the liner notes by Lee Jeske:

“No matter what I, or any past or future jazz critic, has ever said or ever will say about Sarah Vaughan, none of us can do her justice.”

Good advice. I will just say, this one is awesome. Her personality is captured in the banter before the songs. My favorite example is the introduction to Willow Weep For Me (a gorgeous version) when she says,” The next number is Willow Weep For Me. In just a moment we're gonna find a key...” Classic.

Number Two: Another Classic: Billie Holiday : Songs For Distingue Lovers.
This Verve reissue is beautifully done. And now I must come clean in that up until today, I have never really appreciated Billie Holiday. I think it is like my great jazz teacher, Chas Baker, told me and that is that one day I would hip up enough to really understand Duke Ellington. I guess I've hipped up enough to get Billie now. This disc is absolutely wonderful. Just listen to the first track (Day in and Day Out) if nothing else, the musicians are incredible and her singing is marvelous. They claim this project was Billie's best studio work of the 50's. I believe it.

Number Three: Luciana Souza : North and South
Furthering my exploration of Souza, I picked this disc up. I love her version of All of Me, and her original I Shall Wait is lovely as well. She truly is a gifted musician and I am really starting to appreciate her. She does a very palatable blend of American jazz trios with Brazilian rhythms and sensibilities. Good stuff.

To Be Or Not To Be

I spent my morning laying in supplies to make dinner for H__, who was coming down to spend the evening.

Just as I was entering the grocery store, she called to tell me that perhaps I had forgotten that our mutual friend's school project, which was putting on a fashion show, was tonight. I had, indeed, forgotten about that.

Since our friend wanted to really shake things up in her class, she hired drag queens as her runway models. This promised to be a show to remember. H__ and decided we really should just get dinner in Cleveland and go to the show. And while all of this sounded like a great plan, it was not to be, as H__ was much too tired after work to go out and party.

In consolation, I belatedly picked up Absolutely Fabulous Complete Series 5, as I adore Jennifer Saunders, and I decided to watch the whole thing. I mean, what is better than being at a drag queen fashion show? Patsy and Eddie – which are, really, pretty much the same thing...

Shopping!

I was really looking forward to spending the day spending money. This was the first month I didn't have to spend a substantial amount of money on my sexy car, and I was determined to be a good capitalist pig. And, my burning compulsion for three new Fossil watches was getting out of hand. So off I went in search of new timepieces.

Apparently, I am not supposed to have any more, because our local stores do not carry the models I desire. Shot down.

So I ended up buying myself one real present, something I have been dreaming of for a long time, a very large framed print of Picasso's Le Tauro. It will look beautiful in my entry hall.

Then I behaved like a mature adult and treated my sexy car to 4 new tires, new wiper blades and an oil change.

I guess I don't know what to do if I don't spend at least one day a month with my mechanics...

Chicago

My colleague and I had to go to Chicago for a few days for a work seminar. Well, to say we were in Chicago is a broad overstatement. We were in O'Hare airport and The Hyatt Regency, 9 miles west of the airport. Granted it was a lovely hotel and they took good care of us, but as with my Boston trip, it could have been anywhere.

The training this session seemed to be more beneficial to me; it was a lot more theorizing and less dissemination of information and small group practicing.

The highlight of the trip was yesterday's lunch when the regional manger invited everyone to join her at the hotel's buffet and I was lucky enough to get to sit across from her. She is a remarkable person and great role model, especially since my first impression of the company was that is solely a boy's club, as far as management went. When Sue arrived at our store opening, it was deeply significant to me to see a woman in a position of power, and gave me more hope for my future career. So, it was very nice to see her again, especially after coming up in the ranks twice.

I did not get to find out WHY Chicago is a toddlin town, in fact, I did not discover what toddlin' town even means.

So, this afternoon, we get out of the seminar an hour early, which is grand, as we had to run off to the airport to catch our flight home, and oh yeah, it's snowing.

So, after a 2 hour delay, we finally get on the plane, and the only good news was that there were so few folks on the final flight out that I got to sit in the single seat on one side of the plane. That was great for me, because you can put your legs out into the aisle and no one bugs you.

What I have really learned from my training seminars so far this year is this: no matter if you fly east or west, you are going to get screwed trying to get back to Cleveland.

Oh, and driving home from the airport at midnight was fun, too, because it was one of those horizontal snowstorms, that look like you are traveling at warp speed through a starfield, making it next to impossible to see the road. I found that turning off the headlights and using the light of the moon to see the road and my familiarity with the route was much, much easier. And happily, no other idiots were out but me, so I didn't have to worry about freaking them out by turning my headlights back on when I crept up on them....

New Music Tuesday – Pink Piano

Three discs today. Thinking about my grandpa lead to my realization that I own no Erroll Garner music, so now I have The Essence of Erroll Garner.

Erroll (yet another Pittsburgher!) never studied music, and never learned to read it. The opening track is my favorite at this time, Poor Butterfly. Probably because the percussiveness of his playing is so similar to what I recall hearing every night of my young childhood as my grandfather was at the keys until the wee hours of the morning. What perplexes me on this disc is the version of Misty. I have to do more research, but this simply cannot be the version that he made his name with. This version is overrun with schlocky strings, and the disconnect between the strings and what is going on with the keys sounds exactly as if someone recorded Erroll practicing while in the next room a radio was tuned to some Muzak station. It is a very, very strange recording, but sadly, not in the "so bad it's good category". It's just bad.

#2 is Marcus Roberts: Alone With Three Giants, which is a tribute to the works of Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Jelly Roll Morton. I have been a Roberts fan for a long time, and I have really enjoyed this solo piano recording. The standouts at this point are Morton's Jungle Blues and Ellington's I Got It Bad.

And finally we have the original soundtrack recording to The Pink Panther by Cleveland native Henry Mancini. This is one of the first albums I remember having, although I know I did not purchase it. I am pretty sure that I appropriated it from my mother's collection. There are some great jazzy tracks on this CD, and really, if you listen to the Pink Panther theme, it is not as cheesy as you may think. I remember listening to the cartoon-y Shades of Sennett in my childhood bedroom, which remains outrageously wonderful. There are some bonus tracks on this CD from the later Panther films, and the “remix” theme is pretty great, too.

In My Dreams

I rarely, if ever, remember my dreams. My head hits the pillow, and I pass out until the alarm awakens me - no tossing and turning, no getting up for water or bathroom breaks. Just a deep, black, unconsciousness.

This morning I got to sleep in rather late (8 am) and lo and behold, I distinctly remembered what I was dreaming...

I was in a national park/zoo sort of thing on the Oregon-California border, or maybe Washington state. I was standing on an asphalt ledge in front of soaring glass windows that looked out into a deep, heavily forested gorge. An eagle soared by. Rocky ravine walls were on the right, and there was a old, gnarled tree jutting out from the rock, with a large animal, whose habitat this obviously was, sitting in the crook of the tree. Down below, another one of the animals was walking by the river's edge. I stood there watching them for awhile, thinking how beautiful it was there, and fascinated by the animals. Then I started thinking that it was sad that their habitat had been encroached upon for our benefit and I was turning to go back to my car when my alarm went off. It was a very naturalistic, realistic dream. Nothing weird struck me about it at all.

A few minutes later, in the bathroom, brushing my teeth, I thought...

"Hey, Sasquatch aren't real!"

I was dreaming about the Sasquatch National Zoo.

This would be the reason I don't remember my dreams. My conscious mind gets a hold of this stuff and just says "Oh, no...we gotta erase this foolishness..."

Rivers & Tides

I decided to give documentaries another chance, and picked up Rivers and Tides: Working With Time which is about one of my favorite artists, Andy Goldsworthy (who is also Scottish, which earns yet another plus).

The film is advertised as having received 10 four star reviews including reviews from the New York Times, The LA Times, the ubiquitous Roger Ebert and Film Threat. Having the Russian Ark debacle so clearly in my mind made me a bit hesitant to commit, but I went for it.

Caveats not withstanding, I had high hopes for this film, because the prospect of watching Goldsworthy create his amazing, ephemeral works would be fascinating. And this time I was not disappointed. There are several instances where you are with him as he is working, delicately, in very cold temperatures, or simply so near completion, and gravity or wind demolishes everything in a moment. His reactions are a study in Zen understanding and very inspirational. After watching this, I just wished I lived in his little village and could run into him a pub sometime...

However, the DVD also advertises that if features 7 never-before seen short films which is an incredibly overblown and overstated way of saying "deleted scenes", which is all they are. Not that they aren't worth watching as well, but they are in no way "short films".

A Cosmopolitan Evening

I met H__ at Sergio's (yes, Sergio's again – I should get a frequent diner's card) for a late afternoon lunch. Immediately upon her arrival, she validated my haircut, so I was feeling pretty good. We had a marvelous meal, and TWO pots of the Brazilian coffee. It is divine. What was even more pleasant than the food and the lovely atmosphere, was our conversation. What a lovely gift people can be...

After lunch I had to get downtown to attend the opening of the 14th Street Gallery. The works of Michael Castellana were featured. He is a great painter to be sure – in fact, one of his works I even contemplated purchasing...it was ripped metal and painting and photography and pasted in ransom note letters forming a TS Eliot quote all wrapped up into one visually mesmerizing package. Great work. But his real specialty, at least at this show, were his lead street signs. They are made to the DoT's specifications, but done up in very heavy lead. They are totally cool. I think everyone could use a big STOP sign for their office, for those moments of complete compulsion...

Besides the great gallery and art, Heather and I seized a moment to sneak away to the bar next door (really so she could smoke) and we could visit for a few moments. She also approved of my haircut (which I have to admit taking much much longer than I have ever done on “styling” ) calling it “sexy”.

That'll work.

Time For A Change

I got to out for breakfast with my manager again today, which is always very fun, then I volunteered to spend the rest of the morning shoveling out our back alley.

I actually enjoy shoveling...it is peaceful and you get a great sense of accomplishment. It is also fun to start off being freezing cold and then to build up steam so you can't stand having your coat on anymore. Knowing that there is homemade hot chocolate with real whipping cream waiting for you in the store's kitchen doesn't hurt, either.

The big event of the day occurred following work. I was in great need of a haircut. At first, H__ thought I didn't need to get my haircut, then she suggested that a style she once tried to pull off but her hair would not cooperate, might look good on me. So for the first time in ten years, I changed my hair style. Not that it is a big deal, in fact it is a pretty minor change, but now I have a more “spiky” look, which is pretty fun. The true test of the styling will come tomorrow...

Its Own Reward

This morning, after the store was opened, I was taken out for breakfast by the store managers for my review. I am happy to say that it was very positive and that I was given a very pleasant financial reward.

I got to leave today at 1 in the afternoon, and H__ came over to return my wallet. We went to the bookstore and had some coffee and talked .... for several hours. Then H__ had the most magnificent idea of all...she suggested that we go to the Sharper Image and sit in their $1000 massage chairs.

After just a 10 minute visit (during which I must admit to coming dangerously close to falling into a deep, deep sleep), I really was feeling much better, and was able to make it all of the way home refreshed and rejuvenated.

New Music Tuesday – The Great Peggy Lee Duel

Today's disc is yet ANOTHER Maria Muldaur release – A Woman Alone with the Blues...Remembering Peggy Lee from Telarc Blues 2003. Again, an instant winner. But listening to this made me want to get out Jeanie Bryson's Some Cats Know: Jeanie Bryson Sings the Songs of Peggy Lee from Telarc Jazz 1996.

Both Jeanie and Maria chose to record Some Cats Know and Fever, and both of the versions are fabulous, which leads me to the conclusion that the songs themselves simply rock. I doubt if anyone could record a bad version.

The other stand-out track on Maria's disc is Black Coffee, and for Jeanie it is the magnificent I Don't Know Enough About You.

Contemplating these similarities made me then dig out my Best of Miss Peggy Lee disc from Capitol 1998. Fever is on it, of course, but not Some Cats, Black Coffee, and I Don't Enough About You. I found that incredibly odd that other vocalists would pick tunes that are clearly associated with her, yet they aren't on her “Best Of” collection. Granted, you get Big Spender and Alright, Okay , You Win...but still.

The best track on Peggy's disc for me is I'm A Woman, because as a child, before the invention of the video recorder, I used to sit my tape recorder in front of the TV speaker and record the Cher show. One night, Cher and Raquel Welch did “I'm A Woman”...I listened to that song until the tape ultimately disintigrated.

I am almost ready to declare 2005 the year of Maria Muldaur, but it is still a bit early, not even spring...

Big Nasty Snowstorm

The afternoon turned very ugly very quickly and as we all know I have a long drive home. And, of course, I had to be at work at 3 in the morning. So when H__ suggested that I just spend the night at her place, it seemed like a grand idea. She had warned me that she was very much interested in taking a nap, and that she was not going to be too talkative, which was fine because I was really just interested in a horizontal surface to pass out on before getting up in the middle of the night.

The moment we entered the apartment, we started into long, detailed conversations about H__ 's artwork. It was incredibly interesting as I know nothing about textile art, or beading, but I can and do appreciate her master level of artistry and talent. Her sanctuary cum gallery (as the term apartment does not do the place justice) gives off waves of tranquility and creativity. It is marvelous. Out of the numerous wonderful pieces of art abounding on all available surfaces, my favorite so far is a photograph her son took of a tree, which immediately echoed Georgia O'Keeffe's Lawrence Tree painting for me.

We decided to see if some pizza delivery guys were up to braving the weather, as I refused to let her cook after being so kind to offer me a place to stay for the evening. Pizza guys are much more reliable than the post office – rain nor sleet nor snow will stop them from delivering your Caesar salad and pizza.

So, after eating and talking, and more talking, it was almost 11 o'clock, and definitely past our bedtimes. It was one of those exceedingly rare and precious moments when souls meet. One of the moments that not only makes a life worth living, it makes a life.

So much for not being too talkative.

After a three hour nap, I snuck out of the house. There really isn't much much traffic at 2:30 am on a Wednesday morning following a blizzard, in case you were wondering.

Halfway to work, I realized that in my attempt to get out as quickly and quietly as possible, I had left my wallet on the bedside table...

When Scolding Pays Off

Back in December Faithful Readers may recall that I was a wee bit upset with my friend in Portland, The Traveler. She underwent a medical procedure which I learned about after the fact. The pay-off for my scolding came today, when she called to tell me good news and bad news. The good news is that she was accepted into the graduate program she was hoping for. The bad news is that she will soon be having another medical procedure performed - but this time I know about it beforehand!

My best wishes go out to you, Dearest Traveler - and I am deeply grateful for your consideration this time around. You are in my thoughts every day and always in my heart.

New Music Tuesday – Got That Ol' Timey {Canadian}Feelin'

Every once in awhile I stumble onto something completely by accident and I am rewarded with a drug-like rush, which is probably why I continue to prowl record shops - just a junkie looking for the next high...

Anyway, they say you can't judge a book by its cover, but as I have a passion for graphic design, and my fantasy dream job is being a CD cover designer, I do often buy a CD because I dig the artwork. This was easier back in the LP day...but we have to take what we have to work with.

So I saw this CD...fantastic, groovy cover, and then I saw the group - a bunch of whippersnappers. The lead singer, Jessica Havey, is a gal with lowrider jeans, close cropped blonde hair and one arm completely, vibrantly tattooed. I figured I was not going to enjoy this. But being in a rare adventurous mood, I gave it a listen, and within a minute all I could manage to say was "Good God - these folks are AWESOME" So, that is my review of the Canadian bunch of Celtic/folk/Scots/Irish/Appalachian/New Orleans musicians that call themselves The Duhks. And the singer? Simply magnificent. She definitely rocks. Just go buy this CD.

And in an unplanned buying event, the other CD du jour is also from a Canadian folkie/New Orleans/bluesy combo called Po'Girl. The tunes are rather mellow, and the singing is wonderful and languid, and the whole disc convey a a"you are there" feeling of spontaneity that I find very appealing. So what the heck is going on in Canada these days? Holly Cole, the Cowboy Junkies, kd lang, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray and now The Duhks and Po'Girl...and in a call-out for Trish, Due South and Paul Gross...Go Canada!

My Job : A Brief Summation

I work in a very strange environment with very strange people. That is what makes this job such a good fit for me.
To prove my point, I submit the following vignette from this morning...
My workday started at 4 a.m. Just settling into the morning routine, my assistant manager, Jeff, started talking VERY enthusiastically about the book he is reading, a non-fiction treatise on the Black Plague, which happens to be a subject I myself find rather fascinating. He delighted in describing the manner in which the folks constructed catapults to launch the plague-ridden bodies of their neighbors at invading armies, and how dogs helped the disease spread by digging up corpses that were not buried deeply enough.
So, while you are tucked snugly in your beds, dreaming happy dreams, we are hard at work already, imagining disease-carrying corpses being catapulted through the air.
Who needs coffee when you have topics like that this to start your day?

Three Little Words

As anyone will tell you, relationships, any kind of relationships, are tricky things at best.
And the power of talking never ceases to amaze me.

Case in point, two weeks worth of weirdness, confusion and frustration obliterated in two minutes by a three word question.

And all is right in the world again – like magic.

Goodbye Adios Auf Wiedersehn Adieu

Tonight we gathered at the Fox and Hound to celebrate Heather's internship. It was certainly fun to go out after work, something I rarely do, and it was made even more pleasant by the inclusion of some Knob Creek Whiskey.

The party was very nice, the company exquisite. The one odd thing about it was how the spouses (the men folk) gravitated to their own table, leaving Heather and the gals (6 of us) on our own. Funny how that works...

And since it was a party for my dear Heather, I decided that the occasion called for something special, so I broke out my skirt, a blouse, my ultra-cool guitar-string bracelets and heels. I hope it was memorable. Just trying to stay warm at work makes everyone look like a hobo, with layers upon layers of clothing and various scarves, hats and gloves accessorizing the ensemble. Color matching is definitely not a criteria - warmth is the key. Therefore, when given the opportunity to get together in regular clothes, it is very exciting, indeed.

Weather Report, Part Six

I woke up this morning to drive down to the Starbuck's {my usual routine} to find four inches of heavy snow awaiting me. Happily, it was a well-behaved snowfall, keeping the streets drivable, but decorating the branches and roofs in an ever so festive manner.

Sure, it was pretty, but I am really quite done with the winter apparel. Really.

New Music Tuesday – World Selections with an odd connection

Two CD's today: Neruda by the Brazilian vocalist/percussionist Luciana Souza and Last Quarter Moon by the Italian vocalist Chiara Civello. Come to find out, both ladies are alumnus of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Faithful Readers will recall my enthusiasm upon driving by it on my Fall whirlwind trip. What an odd coincidence.

Anyway, Luciana pulls off the near impossible. She has set Pablo Neruda's poems to music – but just a piano and her own percussion. She has crafted little minimalist treasures. It is clear the woman is a gifted artist and almost every song (poem?) is lovely and certainly an accomplishment, but for me, it is all a bit too languid to take it all in at one sitting. The tracks sound better to me broken up with some tracks that feature a more complex instrumentation. This is a great disc for the shuffle feature on your CD player...It really is a lovely piece of artistry, but best taken in small bites.

I read a lot of hype about the “next great jazz singer”, proported to be Chiara Civello. This disc of hers is very pleasant, with two standout tracks, “Caramel” and “Nature Song”. Her voice is a Rickie Lee Jones/Basia/Sade/Astrud Gilberto melange, and even though she hails from Italy, her sound is much more Brazilian Pop and Samba, with some jazz overtones for good measure.

Much had been made of her association with Burt Bacharach on this CD. After listening to that track, Hal David and Carole Bayer Sager and Dionne Warwick can rest easily. No competition.

Weather Report, Part Five

Today it is 50 degrees outside. I am sure this is a mean-spirited joke and that we will all come down with pneumonia next week.

It does make you want to ill-advisedly run around in a tank top and shorts, though.

God Bless Kadobi

Well, this little experiment of trying to work only lasted until 9 a.m. when I had to give up any ideas of remaining vertical. I was a bit concerned because I had no appetite and hadn't eaten anything since Thursday. But nothing at all sounded good, and anything I tried to get down, including liquids, just tasted bad.

Before I left work, Kadobi suggested his secret illness remedy which was buttered egg noodles. I gave that a shot, and glory be to him, they tasted very good, and in the course of the next three days, buttered egg noodles were my sole source of nutrition. I'd probably be wasted away now if it wasn't for Kadobi's glorious suggestion...

I Missed An Entire Day...

...because I woke up at 4:30 this afternoon. I sat on the couch for about an hour and a half, and tried to drink some tea, with no success, then I fell back into bed where I remained passed out until the alarm went off at 1:30 a.m. - time for me to drag myself off to work.