The dog and I have been into pulled pork from the crock pot lately. There’s nothing like dry-rubbing a pork shoulder, letting it spend the night in the fridge, adding the BBQ sauce (we make our own) in the morning and slow cooking it until it falls off the bone. Shred that baby up, stick it on a roll with the sauce and you have a party!
We’ve been listening to a lot of live Grateful Dead from the Internet Music Archive.
There are a ton of soundboard recorded shows to stream as well as some very good quality, free downloads.
With the exception of the final Harry Potter, which B and I both liked, most of our recent viewing has been underwhelming so we’re revisiting Friday Night Lights via Netflix, beginning with the season one pilot. I happen to think it’s one of the most underrated shows in TV history, a great glimpse into small-town family life. The dog misguidedly thinks it’s just about football. It was filmed with hand held cameras. There’s scene structure, but no scripts and many non-actors. Sure some of the characters can be bit over the top, but what rose is without thorns?
The dog has been after me to read Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Cameron, a high school student who doesn’t quite fit in, gets mad cow disease and in the company of a dwarf and a lawn Gnome takes a journey to find a cure. Reminds me of early Tom Robbins.
We’ve been pouring over the MySpace pages of the bands who are coming to Seattle for Bumbershoot on Labor Day weekend trying to assemble our schedule. As usual we got our 3-day passes way back in March and thanks to Washington’s new service animal law, the dog can legally go (I had to sneak her in the past few years and it’s hard for her to walk on her hind legs for the day). She’s on pins & needles with anticipation. I can’t say as I blame her.
So our predicted Highlights for Bumbershoot 2011:
Ray LaMontagne
Trombone Shorty
Vetiver
School of Seven Bells
Fitz and the Tantrums
Greensky Bluegrass
And our sleepers, hopefully:
MarchFourth Marching Band
Jayme Stone: Room of Wonders
Charles Bradley
Legendary Oaks
AgesandAges
Kris Orlowski & The Passenger String Quartet
PS I Love You
Bumbershoot 2011 Lineup
Saturday 9/3
*Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs
I love this guy’s smoky tenor!
Minus the Bear
Reminiscent of the mid/late-80’s Post New Wave, retro-Pop
*Mavis Staples
Mavis will take you there, no doubt!
Little Dragon
If Bergman had been a songwriter instead of a filmmaker...
*Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Funky, R&B from NOLA. Oh Yeah!
STRFKR
Portland Electronica quartet, pleasant beats
Shabazz Palaces
Hippity-hoppity from one third of Seattle’s Digable Planets
Warpaint
LA girl group. Somber and slow, yet surprisingly appealing.
Vusi Mahlasela
South African Folk music.
*MarchFourth Marching Band
Sounds more like the Crescent City than the Rose City. John Phillip Sousa would be proud
Eyehategod
New Orleans metal.
Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich + Fussible
Disco-Pop with undertones of Mexican restaurant mood music.
Väsen
Swedish Folk music performed by very good Swedish Folk musicians
Champagne Champagne
Seattle Hip-Hop
Astronautalis
Seattle Hip-Hop
#PS I Love You
Ontario duo Rocking in the free world.
Yuni in Taxco
Seattle Pop-Rock, more Pop than Rock
#Campfire Ok
Seattle Pop-Rock, more Rock than Pop
Meklit Hadero
Jazzy, Funky Folk
Craft Spells
Smooth, Electro-Pop, strains of Style Council
Caleb Klauder Country Band
Mandolin centered Country and Bluegrass from the Rose City
Valient Thorr
Chapel Hill Metalish Rock
*Jayme Stone: Room of Wonders
Innovative Canadian banjo picker teams with a singer from Mali and plays Jazz
#Pickwick
Soulful caucasians from Seattle
Red Fang
Heavier Rock and Roll tunes from Portland
Scribes
Seattle Hip-Hop
Wagons
Country Rock from down under
Shelby Earl
This is the Country KMPS and The Wolf should be playing
Free the Robots
Techno with elements of Jazz, Rock, Classical
Witchburn
If the Wilson sisters had played Metal this may be what they’d sound like
Emancipator
Instrumentals with a Worldly feel
Nice Nice
Rose City duo with a very nice approach to Psych Rock
#Kris Orlowski & The Passenger String Quartet
Sounds a bit like Colin Hay, Folky
Tomten
Mostly catchy Pop Rocks from Seattle
#Pezzner
Syncopated, electronic bliss in the House
LawnChair Generals
More House
Natasha Kmeto
Technippity-Hoppity with an R&B feel
The Great Mundane
There’s a lot of Techno this year
DJ Nordic Soul
There’s a lot of Techno this year
Sunday 9/4
Wiz Khalifa
Oh Boy, another Rapper boasting of insignificant conquests
#Broken Social Scene
Interesting Pop/Rock with depth and range
*Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Seattle Hip-Hop with a conscience
The Kills
Punkish Rockers from London
Butthole Surfers
I had no idea they were still around and still loud
#Carbon Leaf
Virginian Indie-Folk-Rock
*Leon Russell
A musical legend
Toro y Moi
Mostly somber Techno-Pop with a little Soul.
Anti-Flag
If you can’t tell by the name, snarling, guitar driven Punk Pop
Das Racist
From their Myspace: Weed edge/hare krishna hard core/art rap/freak folk music trio based in Brooklyn, New York
*The Lonely Forest
Great stuff from Anacortes, WA, the Mecca of NW Rock.
**Vetiver
Jazzy, Folky, great music, great lyrics, I need more of this!
Jessica Lea Mayfield
Slow, somber Folky.
DåM-FunK + Master Blazter
Rap, Hip-Hop, Funk, Techno, nice beats.
NOmeansno
A spare approach to Metal with a Punk influence.
Atari Teenage Riot
Bands whose music blasts you as soon as their MySpace page loads are in the same category as white collar criminals and people who talk during movies. C’mon people...
Tennis
Upbeat, Pop Rock with an early 60s retro sound
Thee Oh Sees
Fairly simple songs dolled up with lots of effects, toward Punk-a-Billy Pop
Mad Rad
Electronic Hip-Hop
#The Jim Jones Revue
Sounds like good ole Rock’N’Roll to me
*School of Seven Bells
If the B-52s were starting today (and Fred didn’t sing any lead), this is what they’d sound like
#Joe Pug and the Hundred Mile Band
Very Dylan-like, but a much better voice.
Davila 666
More Pop with a Punk sound.
#AgesandAges
Folk Rock with some chorus work reminiscent of Grand Archives or Fleet Foxes
*Wayne Horvitz Cafe Paloma Band
If you’re a cool enough musician you don’t need to put your music on MySpace and this Jazzy, Bluesy stuff is really cool. It’s Grunge Jazz.
#Kore Ionz
Sweet Reggae Music!
Sol
Seattle Rapper with nice background music.
Whalebones
Rockers sound sometimes like Dylan and sometimes like Neil Young.
Allen Stone
Rather R&Bish
*Massy Ferguson
American Rock’N’Roll, nicely done
#Tycho
Ambient Techno, very pleasant
Thomas Marriott’s Human Spirit
Sounds like Jazz to me.
Kaylee Cole
Piano and voice, singer/songwriter
Com Truise
Techno
Lusine
Techno, nice enough
HTRK
Techno with vocals
Gail Pettis Quartet
Jazz vocal, What a voice!
*Kasey Anderson and The Honkies
Rock on Garth
Shigeto
Techno with some interesting percussion
The Sight Below
Techno
#DJ Justin Timbreline
Ambient Techno, nicely done
Monday 9/5
*Daryl Hall & John Oates
Sure we called 'em the Philly Fags in high school, but these two have a great R&B sound.
*The Presidents of the United States of America
Rock as it’s meant to be, up tempo and sweaty
*The Reverend Horton Heat
Twangy Western Swing leaning a bit more toward Rock
*Fitz and The Tantrums
They borrow the R&B sound of Hall & Oates and make it their own
#Over the Rhine
American roots
Phantogram
Kinda Techno Rock
Grant Lee Buffalo
Folky
Urge Overkill
Rocky with no Bullwinkle
*Charles Bradley
Old school Soul music from Brooklyn
Vendetta Red
West Coast Rock
Sharon Van Etten
Singer-song writer, nice enough
Brite Futures
Techno Pop
Dennis Coffey
Soulful, Funky and a bit on the trippy side.
Head Like a Kite
Shoegazer, I love that term.
YACHT
Pleasant Techno Pop
**Greensky Bluegrass
New Grass! Their version of Pink Floyd’s Time is brilliant!
#Quadron
Soulful R&B
#Ian Moore & The Lossy Coils
The one song that MySpace actually plays is a soulful Rocker.
#Grand Hallway
Seattle’s own Melodic Rock
You Am I
Pop Rocks
Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside
Jazzy, C&W influenced Pop
My Goodness
NW Rockers
LAKE
Reserved Pop-Rock
Beat Connection
Techno-Pop
Purity Ring
Techno-Pop
Truckasauras
Punkish sounding, been around since the Dead Sea was sick
#Ravenna Woods
NW Indie Folk Rock
Lemolo
A slower, somber sound with great voices
SPLATINUM
Techno-Pop
*Legendary Oaks
NW Folk Rock, very nice
Mash Hall
NW Hip-Hop
The Horde and The Harem
NW Folk Rock
Curtains For You
NW Folk Rock
#214
NW Techno-Poppy, Hippity-Hop, nice beats
WD4D
NW Techno-Poppy, Hippity-Hop
Ill Cosby
Techno-Pop, Huxtable style
DJ Introcut
Techno
*Must See
#Maybe
Friday, July 29, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
4th of July Weekend
I didn’t post last weekend as I was traveling all day Saturday to the Crescent City. I spent a couple of days there eating several different kinds of pork served in several different ways. I also presented at a conference with my good friend K.
I remember the entrance to Bourbon Street differently, of course I was last in NOLA in 1987 and my trips to the French Quarter usually involved the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. Regardless, I recall the buildings fronting Canal Street as being taller and taking up more of the block. In the 80’s a lone saxophone player greeted people with an open case while attacking his horn with a bluesy wail, echoing off the buildings. And I don’t remember the streets being so narrow in the Quarter. Two grown men could place one hand on the wall of the buildings on each side and nearly touch hands in the middle of the street. When I shared the last bit with my partner she reminded me that I was smaller back then (around 50 lbs smaller, but I was smoking thank you very much). I did remember the food, music and architecture correctly. All are as varied and wonderful as the groups of people who first settled the area. It was hot, 98-degrees-in-the-shade hot. You can’t walk down the street at a Northwest pace in that kind of heat. You won’t last an hour. It’s best to travel on the shady side of the street and shuffle with a you-get-there-when-you-get-there pace.
On the way home we caught a shuttle to the airport from the convention center with a driver who gave a quick tour of the city. He pointed out where the post-Katrina waters had breached the levy and caused the most damage. They had standing water in some spots for over 3 months and the worst damage was in the poorest parts of the city. He handled the subject with grace and humor and expressed gratitude for the help of people outside of NOLA, needless to say it was a sobering ride to the airport.
Although the dog reminded me of the new service animal law in our state (apparently one can argue that their pet iguana or beta fish is a service animal and permitted in any facility), I left her at home and took the light rail to the airport yesterday to meet J. He was returning from the east coast and I wanted the check out a more reasonable way to travel to/from Seatac.
It takes around 10 minutes from the ferry to the bus tunnel on 3rd, then 30 minutes to the airport with another 5 minute walk to the terminal. All for $2.75 as opposed to $35 in a limo or $45 by cab. I wish we had light rail going across the lake as well, but a handful of rich people (whose sole purpose is to get even richer) oppose the project. If you asked me they are little more than selfish, short-sighted a-holes. One caveat for them, karma is a bitch!
It’s hot today, not NOLA hot, but hot nonetheless. The dog has been searching for shady spaces as I work in the yard on projects that have been postponed for way too long. Taking care of some firewood, cleaning out the cars, wiring the raspberries up so they don’t fall into the neighbor’s yard, but pacing myself as is expected of a man at my station in life.
The dog and I are watching:
Spartacus: Sand and Gravel, Season One
Actually the real title of the Starz show is Spartacus: Blood and Sand. This is very different from Kubrick’s Spartacus, much more graphic than Gladiator, the presentation is closer to Zack Snyder’s 300 (in which a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.). In Spartacus there’s lot’s of political maneuvering by the owner of a gladiator training facility (think Don King without the tux and Viagra-influenced hair) attempting to improve his lot in life. Lot’s of blood and gore in the fight scenes, lot’s of nudity and regular copulation, in other words, everything you’d want in a TV series. However, I suspect that the writers have taken liberty with the historical accuracies.
And we enjoyed an especially humorous episode of South Park called T.M.I.
Cartman thinks the school has posted the boys penis sizes on the bulletin board at school.
The dog and I have been groovin' to:
What we like to call New Soul. Which is newer artists doing their best to honor and pay tribute to those who’ve come before and embrace that retro sound with their interpretation of Soul and R&B.
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’
He’s stepped his game up a bit from The Way I See It and included more of a Rock sound on this disc.
Mayer Hawthorne – Impressions: The Covers
Cardigan and Buddy Holly glasses aside, this guy can sing.
Fitz & The Tantrums – Pickin’ Up the Pieces
Think Hall & Oates at their peak.
Eldridge Gravy and the Court Supreme – Us Is What Time It Is
Is it Funk with Soul or Soul with Funk? Who cares, just turn it up.
Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer
Unless you’ve been living on the moon you’ve heard Cee Lo’s F**K You song and seen the sign language interpretation on You Tube. The whole disc is great. Check out Bright Lights, Bigger City.
What I’m reading to the dog:
The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter
A rather humorous perspective on a man who is out of work with limited savings, the bank is about to foreclose on his house and his wife may be cheating on him. He takes it in stride and wrangles his way toward a solution to all his problems.
The dog and I loved also enjoyed Walter’s Citizen Vince,
A noirish tale about a relocated witness living in Spokane, WA.
I remember the entrance to Bourbon Street differently, of course I was last in NOLA in 1987 and my trips to the French Quarter usually involved the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. Regardless, I recall the buildings fronting Canal Street as being taller and taking up more of the block. In the 80’s a lone saxophone player greeted people with an open case while attacking his horn with a bluesy wail, echoing off the buildings. And I don’t remember the streets being so narrow in the Quarter. Two grown men could place one hand on the wall of the buildings on each side and nearly touch hands in the middle of the street. When I shared the last bit with my partner she reminded me that I was smaller back then (around 50 lbs smaller, but I was smoking thank you very much). I did remember the food, music and architecture correctly. All are as varied and wonderful as the groups of people who first settled the area. It was hot, 98-degrees-in-the-shade hot. You can’t walk down the street at a Northwest pace in that kind of heat. You won’t last an hour. It’s best to travel on the shady side of the street and shuffle with a you-get-there-when-you-get-there pace.
On the way home we caught a shuttle to the airport from the convention center with a driver who gave a quick tour of the city. He pointed out where the post-Katrina waters had breached the levy and caused the most damage. They had standing water in some spots for over 3 months and the worst damage was in the poorest parts of the city. He handled the subject with grace and humor and expressed gratitude for the help of people outside of NOLA, needless to say it was a sobering ride to the airport.
Although the dog reminded me of the new service animal law in our state (apparently one can argue that their pet iguana or beta fish is a service animal and permitted in any facility), I left her at home and took the light rail to the airport yesterday to meet J. He was returning from the east coast and I wanted the check out a more reasonable way to travel to/from Seatac.
It takes around 10 minutes from the ferry to the bus tunnel on 3rd, then 30 minutes to the airport with another 5 minute walk to the terminal. All for $2.75 as opposed to $35 in a limo or $45 by cab. I wish we had light rail going across the lake as well, but a handful of rich people (whose sole purpose is to get even richer) oppose the project. If you asked me they are little more than selfish, short-sighted a-holes. One caveat for them, karma is a bitch!
It’s hot today, not NOLA hot, but hot nonetheless. The dog has been searching for shady spaces as I work in the yard on projects that have been postponed for way too long. Taking care of some firewood, cleaning out the cars, wiring the raspberries up so they don’t fall into the neighbor’s yard, but pacing myself as is expected of a man at my station in life.
The dog and I are watching:
Spartacus: Sand and Gravel, Season One
Actually the real title of the Starz show is Spartacus: Blood and Sand. This is very different from Kubrick’s Spartacus, much more graphic than Gladiator, the presentation is closer to Zack Snyder’s 300 (in which a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.). In Spartacus there’s lot’s of political maneuvering by the owner of a gladiator training facility (think Don King without the tux and Viagra-influenced hair) attempting to improve his lot in life. Lot’s of blood and gore in the fight scenes, lot’s of nudity and regular copulation, in other words, everything you’d want in a TV series. However, I suspect that the writers have taken liberty with the historical accuracies.
And we enjoyed an especially humorous episode of South Park called T.M.I.
Cartman thinks the school has posted the boys penis sizes on the bulletin board at school.
The dog and I have been groovin' to:
What we like to call New Soul. Which is newer artists doing their best to honor and pay tribute to those who’ve come before and embrace that retro sound with their interpretation of Soul and R&B.
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’
He’s stepped his game up a bit from The Way I See It and included more of a Rock sound on this disc.
Mayer Hawthorne – Impressions: The Covers
Cardigan and Buddy Holly glasses aside, this guy can sing.
Fitz & The Tantrums – Pickin’ Up the Pieces
Think Hall & Oates at their peak.
Eldridge Gravy and the Court Supreme – Us Is What Time It Is
Is it Funk with Soul or Soul with Funk? Who cares, just turn it up.
Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer
Unless you’ve been living on the moon you’ve heard Cee Lo’s F**K You song and seen the sign language interpretation on You Tube. The whole disc is great. Check out Bright Lights, Bigger City.
What I’m reading to the dog:
The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter
A rather humorous perspective on a man who is out of work with limited savings, the bank is about to foreclose on his house and his wife may be cheating on him. He takes it in stride and wrangles his way toward a solution to all his problems.
The dog and I loved also enjoyed Walter’s Citizen Vince,
A noirish tale about a relocated witness living in Spokane, WA.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Five days from J’s B-day, Three days from the Solstice, two days from J&B’s Anniversary and one day from Father’s day
The dog and I had a great walk yesterday in the park near our house. It amazes me how many times she can pee on a 40 minute walk. If I stored up that much liquid inside of me it would come blasting out of my mouth every time I opened it. And anyone who knows me can tell you I open it a lot.
She enjoyed a bone from the steaks we grilled last night, so much so that I nearly broke my ankle stepping on it this morning. She stashed it just in front of the door to the garage so the neighbor dog wouldn’t take it.
The dog and I were quite happy to see the Bruins capture the Stanley Cup after seven games. What a series! But that whole growing-a-beard-to-support-the-team thing really didn’t work for me. My attempts at growing facial hair have me looking like a werewolf with mange. It’s like patches of eyebrow-thick hair in random spots over my cheeks.
Anyway, Mark Recchi (43 years old, don’t ya know) and the boys dominated in the Garden. On the contrary, they played at a less than inspiring level in Rogers for all but the last game. The Canucks hit hard and played solid, fundamental hockey on their home ice for all but the last game, but seemed unable to find their way in Boston.
In the end the goalies made the difference. Timmy Thomas was amazing and certainly earned MVP honors for the series. It was terribly unfortunate that some of the fans gathered on Georgia and Granville streets in downtown Vancouver chose to abandon all sense of sportsmanship in handling the loss. Although having been in the streets of Vancouver with a crowd of mostly late teen to early 30s males during game two, I have to say I’m not surprised. Combining alcohol with testosterone rarely yields positive results.
The irony of it all; 70% of the Bruins are from Canada, eh, with two American players and Boston claims the only Vancouver, BC native in the Stanley Cup finals. The Canucks squad is 58% Canadian, eh, with six American players.
One bright spot to the sad affairs after game 7, the kiss.
While the dog can’t accompany me to the theater (but a miniature horse is considered a service animal in this state, give me a break) she loves Woody Allen and pirates:
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011, Disney, Dir: Rob Marshall)
Jack’s back with Penelope Cruz instead of Keira Knightly and looking for de Leon’s Fountain of Youth. I had low expectations, but must confess that I actually enjoyed it. It was certainly better than PotC III: At World’s End and as good as PotC II: Dead Man’s Chest. Of course the original, PotC The Curse of the Black Pearl is the best of the lot.
Midnight In Paris (2011, Universal, Dir:Woody Allen)
Am I the only one who’s wondered when Woody was going to return to making gems like Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Hannah and Her Sisters? The waits over. Midnight is a beautifully filmed, wonderfully scored, brilliantly written and superbly acted romantic comedy filmed in Paris. Go see this film now!
The dog laments over the cancelling of our DirecTV contract last fall, she and I have been watching the following on the flat screen (the dog reminds me that the surround sound is not properly installed):
Spartacus vs. Gladiator
Spartacus (1960, Universal, Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
Rebellious slave Spartacus leads a revolt to overthrow the Roman Empire after being trained to fight as a gladiator.
This film is long, 187 minutes with the restored footage. Kubrick's transitional shots are way too long and he features the moral discussion of slavery way too often. Dalton Trumbo, a black-listed screen writer, used the script as an opportunity to comment on the wrongs of the McCarthy era. Not to minimize the damage McCarthy caused in America, Kubrick and Trumbo could have told an effective story in a little over two hours and still been able to capture a strong editorial on the corruption of power, the ill-treatment of the working class (in this case slaves) and illustrate the struggle for balance and survival in an unfair world. I’m guessing Kirk Douglas had some influence over the finished product. He had Anthony Mann removed as director and was still pissed for being overlooked for the lead in Ben Hur. Douglas evidently wanted his own film version of the human condition on a grand scale.
Gladiator (2000, Dir: Ridley Scott)
Rebellious slave and former general, Maximus, attempts to lead a revolt to overthrow the Emperor of Rome after fighting as a gladiator. Russell Crowe stars in Douglas’s role. Scott’s transitional shots aren’t nearly as long as Kubrick's and the dialogs on corruption and man’s inhumanity toward man seems to flow more evenly and feel less repetitive than in Spartacus. Additionally, the fight scenes are way better.
White Collar: Complete Second Season
Neal Caffrey, an ever resourceful con man and world class art forger with friends in low places, teams up with the straight laced, FBI agent who busted him. Together they bring down criminals in the Big Apple.
The dog and I have been groovin' to:
The Waifs – Temptation
Sisters Vikki & Donna Simpson along with Josh Cunningham form the core of the band from Oz (they expand to a quintet to tour). They’re quickly approaching their third decade together. Temptation, their 6th studio album, while not as good as the bluesy, jazzy, funky folk-rock disc Sun Dirt Water, it is a better example of their range. A little slower, perhaps a bit more thoughtful in the lyric department and featuring a wider selection of creativity. Bottom line, you can put the CD on and relax into the talent of three souls from the other side of the planet, preferably while sitting outside in the sun with a beverage and a group of your favorite people.
Tara Nevins – Wood and Stone
I’ve been a fan of Tara’s since the early days of Donna the Buffalo, but admittedly prefer Tara’s solo work. Mule to Ride was one of my favorite discs from ’99. Wood and Stone, released over a decade later, is a wonderful collection of American Roots music; Bluegrass, Folk, Country and Cajun, updated with a more contemporary sound. Tara’s voice is not the type of lead vocal you’re apt to hear on the radio today. She employs a simple delivery, nothing flashy, no vibrato, no 12 octive range, there’s no need for it. Her voice fits perfectly with her music.
What I’m reading to the dog:
A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead by Dennis McNally
The Grateful Dead story, from their humble beginnings as a jug band on the burgeoning folk scene to one of the most successful, above mediocre live bands in the history of Rock’N’Roll. The creativity and energy they inspired in the community of followers is as much a part of the Dead as their albums and tours. The dog loves Dark Star in its many iterations (we have over 50).
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Toole was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer for this brilliantly humorous tale of the indignant, anti-hero Ignatius J. Reilly suffering the world’s fools and incompetents in New Orleans.
She enjoyed a bone from the steaks we grilled last night, so much so that I nearly broke my ankle stepping on it this morning. She stashed it just in front of the door to the garage so the neighbor dog wouldn’t take it.
The dog and I were quite happy to see the Bruins capture the Stanley Cup after seven games. What a series! But that whole growing-a-beard-to-support-the-team thing really didn’t work for me. My attempts at growing facial hair have me looking like a werewolf with mange. It’s like patches of eyebrow-thick hair in random spots over my cheeks.
Anyway, Mark Recchi (43 years old, don’t ya know) and the boys dominated in the Garden. On the contrary, they played at a less than inspiring level in Rogers for all but the last game. The Canucks hit hard and played solid, fundamental hockey on their home ice for all but the last game, but seemed unable to find their way in Boston.
In the end the goalies made the difference. Timmy Thomas was amazing and certainly earned MVP honors for the series. It was terribly unfortunate that some of the fans gathered on Georgia and Granville streets in downtown Vancouver chose to abandon all sense of sportsmanship in handling the loss. Although having been in the streets of Vancouver with a crowd of mostly late teen to early 30s males during game two, I have to say I’m not surprised. Combining alcohol with testosterone rarely yields positive results.
The irony of it all; 70% of the Bruins are from Canada, eh, with two American players and Boston claims the only Vancouver, BC native in the Stanley Cup finals. The Canucks squad is 58% Canadian, eh, with six American players.
One bright spot to the sad affairs after game 7, the kiss.
While the dog can’t accompany me to the theater (but a miniature horse is considered a service animal in this state, give me a break) she loves Woody Allen and pirates:
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011, Disney, Dir: Rob Marshall)
Jack’s back with Penelope Cruz instead of Keira Knightly and looking for de Leon’s Fountain of Youth. I had low expectations, but must confess that I actually enjoyed it. It was certainly better than PotC III: At World’s End and as good as PotC II: Dead Man’s Chest. Of course the original, PotC The Curse of the Black Pearl is the best of the lot.
Midnight In Paris (2011, Universal, Dir:Woody Allen)
Am I the only one who’s wondered when Woody was going to return to making gems like Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Hannah and Her Sisters? The waits over. Midnight is a beautifully filmed, wonderfully scored, brilliantly written and superbly acted romantic comedy filmed in Paris. Go see this film now!
The dog laments over the cancelling of our DirecTV contract last fall, she and I have been watching the following on the flat screen (the dog reminds me that the surround sound is not properly installed):
Spartacus vs. Gladiator
Spartacus (1960, Universal, Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
Rebellious slave Spartacus leads a revolt to overthrow the Roman Empire after being trained to fight as a gladiator.
This film is long, 187 minutes with the restored footage. Kubrick's transitional shots are way too long and he features the moral discussion of slavery way too often. Dalton Trumbo, a black-listed screen writer, used the script as an opportunity to comment on the wrongs of the McCarthy era. Not to minimize the damage McCarthy caused in America, Kubrick and Trumbo could have told an effective story in a little over two hours and still been able to capture a strong editorial on the corruption of power, the ill-treatment of the working class (in this case slaves) and illustrate the struggle for balance and survival in an unfair world. I’m guessing Kirk Douglas had some influence over the finished product. He had Anthony Mann removed as director and was still pissed for being overlooked for the lead in Ben Hur. Douglas evidently wanted his own film version of the human condition on a grand scale.
Gladiator (2000, Dir: Ridley Scott)
Rebellious slave and former general, Maximus, attempts to lead a revolt to overthrow the Emperor of Rome after fighting as a gladiator. Russell Crowe stars in Douglas’s role. Scott’s transitional shots aren’t nearly as long as Kubrick's and the dialogs on corruption and man’s inhumanity toward man seems to flow more evenly and feel less repetitive than in Spartacus. Additionally, the fight scenes are way better.
White Collar: Complete Second Season
Neal Caffrey, an ever resourceful con man and world class art forger with friends in low places, teams up with the straight laced, FBI agent who busted him. Together they bring down criminals in the Big Apple.
The dog and I have been groovin' to:
The Waifs – Temptation
Sisters Vikki & Donna Simpson along with Josh Cunningham form the core of the band from Oz (they expand to a quintet to tour). They’re quickly approaching their third decade together. Temptation, their 6th studio album, while not as good as the bluesy, jazzy, funky folk-rock disc Sun Dirt Water, it is a better example of their range. A little slower, perhaps a bit more thoughtful in the lyric department and featuring a wider selection of creativity. Bottom line, you can put the CD on and relax into the talent of three souls from the other side of the planet, preferably while sitting outside in the sun with a beverage and a group of your favorite people.
Tara Nevins – Wood and Stone
I’ve been a fan of Tara’s since the early days of Donna the Buffalo, but admittedly prefer Tara’s solo work. Mule to Ride was one of my favorite discs from ’99. Wood and Stone, released over a decade later, is a wonderful collection of American Roots music; Bluegrass, Folk, Country and Cajun, updated with a more contemporary sound. Tara’s voice is not the type of lead vocal you’re apt to hear on the radio today. She employs a simple delivery, nothing flashy, no vibrato, no 12 octive range, there’s no need for it. Her voice fits perfectly with her music.
What I’m reading to the dog:
A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead by Dennis McNally
The Grateful Dead story, from their humble beginnings as a jug band on the burgeoning folk scene to one of the most successful, above mediocre live bands in the history of Rock’N’Roll. The creativity and energy they inspired in the community of followers is as much a part of the Dead as their albums and tours. The dog loves Dark Star in its many iterations (we have over 50).
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Toole was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer for this brilliantly humorous tale of the indignant, anti-hero Ignatius J. Reilly suffering the world’s fools and incompetents in New Orleans.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
E's B-day and A's Shower.
It's E's B-day and A's Shower.
The dog and I are groovin to:
Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys. Melodic and stable as one would expect from Ben and the boys.
Joan Armatrading - Live at Royal Albert. I’ve seen Joan four times and this is not the usual set list, but how many times can she play Willow? Nicely done.
Treme – Soundtrack. Music from the HBO series created by the producers of The Wire. The show features post-Katrina New Orleans and the stories of those who made it through and those who returned. The music helps tell the story.
Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin. Once again Raphael hits it out of the park with a truly retro, Motown sound that is sure to get the stodgiest curmudgeons tapping their toes.
Jason Isbell - Here We Rest. Former Drive By Trucker put together a solid collection of Folky/Country/Rock tunes.
I'm enjoying the 3rd season of True Blood (although too scary for the dog). Not as good as season one, but better than season two.
We recently saw the first talking version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931, Paramount, Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Frederic March and Miriam Hopkins). Best Actor Oscar for March. Extremely racing and artsy for 1931! And we learned that there are 54 film versions of that story including a musical from 2001 with Mr. Cheeseburger/Baywatch, David Hasselhoff.
I'm a little over one third of the way through Scribbling the Cat: Travels With an African Soldier by Alexandra Fuller. An English born, Rhodesian raised journalist living in Montana returns to Zambia to travel to Mozambique with a born-again, soldier-turned-banana-farmer so he can face his demons. It’s non-fiction, you can't make that shit up. It's very good so far.
We spent last weekend in Vancouver, BC celebrating another year of patience, tolerance and understanding by my wonderful partner. The dog wasn’t able to come. She had a lot on her agenda. That city has miles and miles (kilometers and kilometers) of dedicated bike lanes and trails. The entire waterfront is a wide bike/walk/jog/rollerblade path.
We watched cricket on the green, but understood very little, and lawn bowling. They asked us to join the club. There was an ancient woman who couldn't bend over the pick up the balls (she used a stainless steel, cane-like hook), but man could she bowl. However, no roller derby or people balancing rocks on the beach this year.
Vancouver was bubbling over with Canucks fans full of Stanley Cup fervor, or is it fervour? Once the game started the typically polite and reserved Canadians were beginning to mimic their more obnoxious, sports-fan, cousins to the south. And the game was on everywhere we turned. Granville was shut down for blocks with thousands in the streets watching on giant TVs. We saw an altercation between two guys. After watching them posture and maneuver for position, I couldn’t help but think that even the fights are more polite in Canada. I was in Barcelona in 1982 for the opening ceremonies of World Cup Soccer. That was wild, but it pales in comparison to watching hockey with a bunch of liquored up Canadians, eh.
A question my partner and I have been pondering and sharing with others, “Who, in your community, inspires you?” This led to a discussion of criteria for inspirational efforts. We talked about some level of sacrifice being present and that a person’s act/s led to some action by you. So, “Who, in your community, inspires you?”
Recent solar flare activity has increased the dog's suspicion of the squirrels in our back yard. She’s on high alert as there’s no telling what new nadirs of sordidness squirrels will seek when the sun’s acting up.
The dog and I are groovin to:
Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys. Melodic and stable as one would expect from Ben and the boys.
Joan Armatrading - Live at Royal Albert. I’ve seen Joan four times and this is not the usual set list, but how many times can she play Willow? Nicely done.
Treme – Soundtrack. Music from the HBO series created by the producers of The Wire. The show features post-Katrina New Orleans and the stories of those who made it through and those who returned. The music helps tell the story.
Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin. Once again Raphael hits it out of the park with a truly retro, Motown sound that is sure to get the stodgiest curmudgeons tapping their toes.
Jason Isbell - Here We Rest. Former Drive By Trucker put together a solid collection of Folky/Country/Rock tunes.
I'm enjoying the 3rd season of True Blood (although too scary for the dog). Not as good as season one, but better than season two.
We recently saw the first talking version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931, Paramount, Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Frederic March and Miriam Hopkins). Best Actor Oscar for March. Extremely racing and artsy for 1931! And we learned that there are 54 film versions of that story including a musical from 2001 with Mr. Cheeseburger/Baywatch, David Hasselhoff.
I'm a little over one third of the way through Scribbling the Cat: Travels With an African Soldier by Alexandra Fuller. An English born, Rhodesian raised journalist living in Montana returns to Zambia to travel to Mozambique with a born-again, soldier-turned-banana-farmer so he can face his demons. It’s non-fiction, you can't make that shit up. It's very good so far.
We spent last weekend in Vancouver, BC celebrating another year of patience, tolerance and understanding by my wonderful partner. The dog wasn’t able to come. She had a lot on her agenda. That city has miles and miles (kilometers and kilometers) of dedicated bike lanes and trails. The entire waterfront is a wide bike/walk/jog/rollerblade path.
We watched cricket on the green, but understood very little, and lawn bowling. They asked us to join the club. There was an ancient woman who couldn't bend over the pick up the balls (she used a stainless steel, cane-like hook), but man could she bowl. However, no roller derby or people balancing rocks on the beach this year.
Vancouver was bubbling over with Canucks fans full of Stanley Cup fervor, or is it fervour? Once the game started the typically polite and reserved Canadians were beginning to mimic their more obnoxious, sports-fan, cousins to the south. And the game was on everywhere we turned. Granville was shut down for blocks with thousands in the streets watching on giant TVs. We saw an altercation between two guys. After watching them posture and maneuver for position, I couldn’t help but think that even the fights are more polite in Canada. I was in Barcelona in 1982 for the opening ceremonies of World Cup Soccer. That was wild, but it pales in comparison to watching hockey with a bunch of liquored up Canadians, eh.
A question my partner and I have been pondering and sharing with others, “Who, in your community, inspires you?” This led to a discussion of criteria for inspirational efforts. We talked about some level of sacrifice being present and that a person’s act/s led to some action by you. So, “Who, in your community, inspires you?”
Recent solar flare activity has increased the dog's suspicion of the squirrels in our back yard. She’s on high alert as there’s no telling what new nadirs of sordidness squirrels will seek when the sun’s acting up.
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