keith.robertson@aig.com – Page 26

Week in Review – July 4, 2021

“Long Live Rock”

Clorinda and I watched a great DVD (yes, we can still manage to play those) on Monday. “Seymour: An Introduction” is about a concert pianist, who gives up a successful performance career to teach piano students. The care Seymour shows for his students is really something. Highly recommended watching.

Tuesday started with a pleasant swim. I’m finding that swimming is significantly helping the pain where I had the screws put in my leg. I had been considering having the screws removed, but if swimming is helping, then it’s likely scar tissue and not the screws causing the pain. Going to have to start swimming a few times a week.

After my swim, I took Clorinda for coffee at Duino. This is always a great time to enjoy her stories. The repertoire this time included: “Bluebell” with the rumble seat, a car that folks she would babysit for gave her to get around in; and Margie (Clorinda’s sister) teaching music in Orinda and putting on a choir performance that Clorinda loved.

Rachel joined us for dinner on Tuesday and regaled us with updates about her new boyfriend who lives in Nashville. I had told Clorinda at coffee that she could expect updates about Rachel’s love life – and I was not wrong.

The four of us had a last meal together on Friday night, with Alicia flying to San Francisco on Saturday. Everyone really enjoyed the meal at C.T. Provisions – our new favourite McKinney restaurant. Clorinda opted for the duck special and I had the Cornish game hen – plenty of leftovers from both.

Anne was in Ohio, helping her parents to get their cabin ready for sale. Guessing they’ll be living fulltime in Florida now. Looks like both Anne and her Mum, Carolyn, had a good time at the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame.

Clorinda has been enjoying sampling my library books. This one is about a journalist for the New Yorker, who moves to Lyon in his fifties to learn all about French cooking. She got pretty bored with the details of the French cuisine and moved on to something else.

On Sunday, Independence Day (and nobody asked me this year if we celebrate July 4th in Scotland), we took Clorinda to Filtered for coffee, quiche, and crossword with Keith. Well – she declined to participate in the crossword competition. We watched the celebration from the Capital Mall in Washington, D.C. and the fireworks from New York, which are always so spectacular. R.E.O Speedwagon and Susannah Hoffs both performed songs from around 1980 – still going strong in their sixties with the same material from when I was in high school.

Will sent this picture of Ollie. I was quite impressed and asked who was the artist. Even more impressed to find it was Will, using Christine’s art pens.

I did receive a number of great July 4th pictures. Here’s Campbell and Molly’s penguin enjoying a boat ride to the fireworks on a lake in Iowa:

Do you like his patriotic bowtie? Our penguin got very puffed up when he saw these pictures.

Here is a picture from Tim’s vacation location in Colorado (Alta Lakes), and one from earlier in the week with his daughter, Imogene, posing at the high elevation pass that shares her name:

And finally, a lovely sunset from Blair’s boat in South Padre island:

I was making good progress on “Babbitt” by Sinclair Lewis, when I got an email from the library saying that I needed to return “The Final Revival of Opal and Nev” because another patron had a request for it. So I switched over to that right away.

The story centers on a fictional interracial rock duo from the 1970s: Opal is a Black proto Afro-punk singer from Detroit, and Nev is a goofy white British singer-songwriter.

Opal and Nev become famous in 1971, when a riot occurs at one of their concerts during which their Black drummer is beaten to death by a white mob. The book is told in the form of a faux oral history that’s being written by Sunny, the first Black editor-in-chief of a music magazine — who also happens to be the daughter of the late drummer.

I enjoyed the faux oral history approach for a while, with each character having their say for a paragraph or so, before moving on to a different character’s view. But I grew tired of the choppiness pretty quickly – I would have preferred lengthier sections from each, and more meat from the interviewer character (Sunny).

This book is on all the “Best of 2021 so far” lists, and it certainly provides some entertainment value, but not one I would recommend. I hope the person who picks this up from the library after me appreciates it more.

“Another Ticket” by Eric Clapton has been on my turntable as I’ve been composing this post. This is not one of the highly rated, popular Clapton disks, but it is one of my favourites and I believe the one that I’ve played most over the years.

The album is Clapton’s seventh solo studio record. It was recorded by Tom Dowd at the Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, and has that rich bass sound that seems to come from that venue. It achieved modest commercial success peaking at number 18 in the UK charts.

Here’s the title track:

That’s Gary Brooker on keyboards. He was the lead singer and keyboard player with Procul Harem of “Whiter Shade of Pale” fame.

Albert Lee plays the alternate lead guitar and I think he’s fantastic. I was lucky enough to see him play with Clapton at the Edinburgh Playhouse around the time this record was released. You can hear his contribution and the great bass of Dave Markee on this Sleepy John Estes cover:

Stay safe and kind.

Fortnight in Review – June 27, 2021

“Getting back to normal – kinda”

Apologies for skipping the post last week – it was Father’s Day after all, and I spent 4 hours in the afternoon (when I would typically work on the post) driving down to Austin. More on that later.

Two weeks ago we were starting to get appointments organized for Clorinda to get all caught up on what we’re calling her “maintenance.” On Monday she visited Dr. Sabzali (our family doctor) and had blood drawn and all the other new patient fun. She relaxed with me in the evening, watching the Olympic swimming trials. She really enjoys the races but thinks the commentators spoil her enjoyment with all of their chatter. I am really looking forward to the Olympics next month.

It’s turning into a typical Texas summer here very quickly, and we had to take our walks early in the morning on Tuesday and Wednesday to avoid the mix of humidity and high temperatures that turn a pleasant walk into a chore.

I was out and about quite a bit on Wednesday, with a business meeting in Craig Ranch (not far from the house) and then lunch with a friend from Dell at TruFire in Frisco. I love their falafel combination plate. It was great to catch up with Chad – he brought me up to speed on all the crazy goings-on at AIG. It felt good to get out and about and meet folks.

While I was out and about, Clorinda visited Leah for a haircut. Leah can now proudly report that she has taken care of all three generations.

We had a wonderful anniversary dinner (number 4) on Thursday at C.T. Provisions in downtown McKinney. This is the place where I love the voodoo Benedict at brunch. Their dinner was even better than brunch. Those mussels may be the best that I’ve had, and D’s Hamachi was very fresh and tasty.

The wild boar bolognaise with egg-yolk pappardelle pasta was amazing – my only comment would be that the croutons didn’t really add anything to the dish – pine nuts would have been a better crunch.

C.T.’s also has an excellent cocktail bar – their vesper was delicious.

Traditional gifts for four year anniversaries are flowers and fruit. So I got McD some nice roses and then performed “the fruit of my labours” during the week, “Your Song” by Elton John.

Meanwhile, in Amarillo, Will was attempting the Big Texan restaurant’s “Free 72 oz Steak, if you can eat it all” challenge. The key is that “eat it all” includes roll, baked potato, salad and I don’t know what else. What do you think his chances are? Well, Tina, owner of the place, thought them pretty slim and wagered him a pair of longhorns that he couldn’t do it – the same kind you see on the front of the limo that picked Will and Christine up and drove them to the Big Texan ranch.

The picture on the left says it all. I had no doubt he would force it all down. What a crazy scene – like John Candy in “The Great Outdoors.”

The only difference is that Candy is attempting “the ole 96’er” – even more than Will demolished. He didn’t make the trip to Amarillo just for the eating contest, but was actually there for Alexis’ wedding. And of course he had to have a pair of cowboy boots – nobody told him your jeans are supposed to go over them – maybe a new fashion trend.

I enjoyed FaceTime and phone calls from all three sons on Father’s Day, before making the drive down to Austin with Penelope for meetings on Monday morning. Campbell sent an assortment of nuts that we’ve been enjoying.

Our Executive Committee got together for the first time in person in around 18 months on Monday morning. Several of my IT team members traveled to the office as well. Really starting to feel like we’re getting back to some semblance of normality. We had an IT happy hour at Baker Street Pub on Monday afternoon, and then I enjoyed a delicious dinner with the ExCo at ATX Cocina. That’s the place where the entire menu is gluten free and Brent was like a kid in a candy store, not having to be so picky about what he ordered.

I had a good boys night with Damon and Sean on Tuesday, with stops at the Roosevelt Room for cocktails, followed by a nice cigar lounge. I loved the “Black Pearl” cocktail which was served in a treasure box.

We worked in the Austin office on Wednesday morning, and then Damon and I accompanied Penelope back to McKinney. We spent a fun evening with Damon getting lots of great Clorinda stories. She asked us the next day if we “had any more friends coming to visit.”

We had some more boy fun on Thursday afternoon, with a vendor hosting us in a suite at Globe Life field to watch the Texas Rangers play the Oakland A’s in an afternoon baseball game. The new stadium is a very impressive architectural feat, with the retractable roof closed to provide some respite from the heat and humidity. The old stadium is still standing next door and the Cowboys stadium is just behind.

I took a picture of the A’s lineup to show Ben that “Chappy” was playing. That’s his favourite player and he got to attend an A’s game recently in California to check him out.

Campbell flew to Hawaii with Molly on Wednesday and sent this great picture of a sea turtle that was enjoying swimming with them.

Things were busy at the house on Saturday. Amy visited us for the afternoon (in for a few days from Santa Fe.) And Jose and crew installed the long awaited vent hood and stovetop. Just the oven still to come. We’re quite pleased with the results.

That center burner has two flames and can boil water very quickly. Put to a good test by McD making pasta on Saturday night. I really like the sleek lines of the hood, and Jose made sure it was high enough to give me good access. He’s not much taller than Diana and so I appreciate him considering my height as he does the installations.

Speaking of cooking, Finn continued to explore his baking capabilities, this week with donuts. Here he is mixing up the ingredients, then leaving the dough to rise, and a yummy looking final product. I don’t imagine they lasted too long in a houseful of young men.

I received a very interesting late birthday gift from Anne and Denny. It’s a book by their friend, Macon Fry, titled “They Called Us River Rats.” Diana and I enjoyed an oyster fest at Macon’s “batture” a few years ago, and he is quite the character.

Here he is with one of his goats. His friend Derek Houston had been at the Grammy awards a few days before the oyster fest, and Macon told me the story of him calling to tell him they had a “Goat Check” at the Beverly Hills hotel – apparently the “Coat Check” sign was in a fancy font that made it look just like that.

I suspect you’re wondering what a “batture” might be. Well here’s the description of the book from Macon’s website that will help clear that up, along with a picture.

“They Called Us River Rats is the previously untold story of perhaps the oldest outsider settlement in America, an invisible community on the annually-flooded shore of the river. We exist in the place between the normal high and low water line of the Mississippi River, known in Louisiana as the batture. For the better part of two centuries, batture-dwellers like me have raised shanty-boats on stilts, built water-adapted homes, foraged, fished, and survived using the skills a river environment teaches. Over the years, batture-dwellers have been reviled, jailed or lynched by citizens on the other side of the levee. Even today, beaches erode under houses. When the river rises, barges and river-borne debris can slam into homes.

Accounts of crime, disaster and romance on the riverside appear in newspapers and archives, but until now the stories of a batture way of life have existed only in the memories of those who have lived here. Beginning in 2000, I set about recording the stories of all the old batture dwellers I could find: maritime workers, willow furniture makers, fishermen, artists and river shrimpers. I’m still uncovering stories in libraries and archives of fortune-tellers, faith healers, and wild bird trappers who lived on the river.

Now I am among the senior generation of “River Rats” living in a vestigial colony of 12 “camps” on New Orleans’ river batture, a fragment of a settlement that once stretched nearly six miles along the riverfront and numbered hundreds of homes. It is the last riparian settlement on the Lower Mississippi, an echo of life outside urban zoning, planning and flood protection.”

I have only scanned portions of the book so far, but have it high up on the “to be read” list.

For the first time in a while, I stopped reading a book after about 20 pages this week. “Terrorist” by John Updike sounded very good, but I just couldn’t persevere with all the Islamic names and terms. I have very much enjoyed several other books by Updike, but this one was just going to be too much work and not any kind of relaxing escape.

I replaced “Terrorist” with “Babbitt” by Sinclair Lewis. This is a book published in 1922, and described as “a satirical novel about American culture and society that critiques the vacuity of middle class life and the social pressure toward conformity. The controversy provoked by Babbitt was influential in the decision to award the Novel Prize in Literature to Lewis in 1930.

I’ve been enjoying the quite dated phrases and terms in the book so far, and the descriptions of real estate marketing practices enacted by the main character. More to come next week.

Interestingly, I read that the word “Babbitt” entered the English language as a “person and especially a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards. I think I’ve met a few “Babbitt’s” on the few times that I visited the local golf country clubs.

Galactic’s “Coolin’ Off” is the latest release from the Tipitina’s Record Club – arrived last week and has been on regular rotation. Tipitina’s is a famed music club in New Orleans, and members of Galactic purchased it just before the pandemic. I joined the record club to try and help them weather the storm – running a music club is hard work in the best of circumstances.

Released in 1996, “Coolin’ Off” was the first popular record for the band, with the core lineup augmented with brass and other guests:

Theryl DeClouet – vocals
Erik Jekabson – trumpet
Robert Mercurio – bass, photography
Stanton Moore – drums
Mark Mullins – trombone
Jeff Raines – guitar
Eric Traub – tenor saxophone
Dan Prothero – programming, producer, engineer, editing, design, mixing
Raymond Pumilia – photography
Rich Vogel – keyboards

Mark Mullins is the leader in the four trombone band, Bonerama, that I really enjoy. I believe Stanton Moore to be one of the most talented current drummers – you can always tell when he’s sitting in with a band – things move to a whole different level.

Here are a couple of samples:

And a great example of Stanton Moore on drums:

Remain patient and kind.

Week in Review – June 13, 2021

“There goes the neighbourhood”

I started the week in Austin, and had my fastest time ever (breaking the 5 minute barrier) on a crossword, while enjoying a macchiato and Jess special taco at Trianon coffee. Seems my brain enjoys the Austin vibe.

I had planned on picking up Diana, Clorinda, and Alicia at the airport on my drive back up to McKinney from Austin, but thunder storms in Dallas delayed their flight by several hours. I drove home and then made a late night round trip to the airport. Monday was a long, tiring day.

My excitement on Tuesday was a trip to the dentist for a cleaning. I’m always pleased when nothing is found wrong during these visits, and I don’t have to revisit for another six months.

Diana and I watched the final episode of “Mare of Easttown” in the evening, after Clorinda was in bed. We didn’t make it too far before deciding we were too tired to finish – just after Diana uncovered an upcoming plot twist. She’s very good at following the clues and piecing things together – meanwhile I’m just trying to keep up with the basic plot.

I took Clorinda to Duino coffee shop for lunch on Wednesday. She had a great time, regaling me with lots of interesting stories, including several from her time in New Zealand and Switzerland, the classic one about when she got a police escort to her music school in San Francisco because she was driving too slowly, and the one where her father took her to the local service station after she moved into her first San Francisco apartment, telling the mechanic to take good care of her car and to charge reasonable prices. I laughed when she said she was really enjoying her tea and particularly that it didn’t get bitter as she nursed it. It was entertaining because she had been making fun of me earlier for saying that I really liked the coffee at Duino. “You can really tell the difference in coffee from one place to another?” I certainly can. Oh, I forgot an important story. Clorinda took the kids (4 at the time I believe) to play in the park in Switzerland, hoping they would meet some other children. There were none anywhere and she asked a man where they all were. “We sprinkle salt and pepper on them and eat them.” Apparently Giancarlo was suitably horrified. The children were in reality all up in the mountains on a summer break. I had to push out my 1pm meeting as I didn’t want to cut story time short.

The rest of the week was quieter, with Clorinda either reading or watching operas on TV.

That one was the last section of Tosca, one of her favourites.

The highlight of Clorinda’s week was a visit to Target. She claims that she hasn’t been to a store since she wrecked her car in 2017. Might be true. You can see how much fun she had in this video – shoppers beware.

We went to CT Provisions in downtown McKinney for brunch on Saturday. You’ll remember me raving about their voodoo shrimp Benedict. It was just as good as I remembered. Clorinda enjoyed her avocado toast and eggs, and a small sip of mimosa.

Ready for your weekly Ollie update? Here he is at the park that has obstacles for dogs to practice with. You can see he’s in the uphill, dominant position – but the other dog is probably wondering about how dominant he really is with a teddy bear in his mouth. I believe the black dog is a Bernadoodle – St. Bernard and poodle blend. What will they think of next?

I finished up “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen early this week. I did enjoy the story and particularly all the drama surrounding the elephant and his act.

I enjoyed reading the author’s note at the end of the book:

“The idea for this book came unexpectedly. In early 2003 I was gearing up to write an entirely different book when the Chicago Tribune ran an article on Edward J. Kelty, a photographer who followed traveling circuses around America in the 1920s and ’30s. The photograph that accompanied the article so fascinated me that I bought two books of old-time circus photographs. By the time I’d thumbed through them, I was hooked. I abandoned the book I’d planned to write and dove instead into the world of the train circus.”

Here’s a passage that made me smile:

“‘Jacob!’ shouts August from behind me. ‘My dear fellow! So glad you could join our little soiree. I see Marlena has set you up with a drinky-poo; has she shown you the dressing room yet?'”

“Drinky-poo” is a common term in our home.

I’m running out of Sunday afternoon and have a few other things to finish up for the week ahead, so I’m skipping the deep dive into an album from my collection this week. Instead, I read that Rick Wakeman was being given an honor by the Queen, I can’t remember exactly what it is, but that sent me to check out some of his music. Here are a few of my favourites:

Stay safe and kind.

Week in Review – June 6, 2021

“Silly Penguins”

This was a quiet, relaxing and very uneventful week (for me.) I flew home on Tuesday afternoon and found most things in good shape at the house. I would like to understand how the two penguins ended up fallen over, but they are both keeping very, very quiet about it. The crew in California were quite entertained when they saw the trouble the penguins had been stirring up.

While I was taking it easy and regrouping from the activity of the last couple of weeks, Diana and Alicia were busy packing up her apartment in San Luis Obispo (SLO) and putting it into storage. And I believe enjoying some of the SLO nightlife as well. They’re going to be tired when they finally make it home.

It has been raining heavily every day for at least a week, and so all the flowers and plants are loving life with larger blooms than we’ve seen before. This hydrangea seems particularly happy.

The weather improved on Saturday and I had my busiest day of the week. It’s all relative though. Started with coffee, crossword and quiche at Filtered. Downtown McKinney was a bit of work to navigate as things were all set up for something called the Revolution music festival – apparently happening in downtown for the first time and sporting some pretty big name artists – I just wasn’t in the mood to deal with the crowds that would have come with that.

After coffee, I got a haircut (told you the excitement was all relative), picked up a few things at the grocery store, and exchanged books at the local library. In between those activities, I converted Diana’s office into a bedroom for Clorinda’s upcoming visit. That was a bit of a workout – moving her heavy desk against the wall, carting a bed frame down from upstairs, then a mattress, bedding, and end tables. All finished up relatively painlessly and passed virtual inspection.

Sunday was mostly consumed by a longer than normal drive down to Austin, in preparation for work meetings in the office on Monday morning. What were all these folks doing on the road on a Sunday afternoon? And when will all the construction on I-35 ever end – it’s been years already. I did enjoy a really yummy chicken coconut curry at Tarka Indian Kitchen, just across the street from my hotel.

Ollie was driving around on Sunday as well – comfy in his plush bed and seat belt.

I didn’t get a lot of reading done this week. It’s funny how it seems to be that in the weeks when I plan to read a lot, I just don’t get much done. I’m a bit more than halfway through “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen. I’m enjoying the story and particularly all the details about how a circus operation would travel by train from town to town with all the animals in tow. So much work to set up and tear down for typically just one day per town. I was reminded of our trips to the Kelvin Hall for the circus as kids. The whole extravaganza with the games, prizes and rides was a lot for a kid to take in. I’ll have more to say on this book next week – trying to figure out where the plot line is headed – don’t spoil it for me if you’ve seen the movie (reviews are not good.)

I selected “Argus” by Wishbone Ash from my collection this week. I can’t remember when I acquired this album – but it was many, many years ago. It’s a favourite that I find myself revisiting several times each year.

The album was released in May of 1972 and reached number 3 on the UK charts, by far the most successful of their records. It is considered a landmark album in the progression of twin-lead guitar harmonisation. Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden were both heavily influenced by what was accomplished by Andy Powell and Ted Turner on the dual lead guitars.

The record has a definite medieval feel too it – very similar to the feel of the band Midlake, from Denton, TX in more modern times.

These guys are still playing live – there was a show in Austin a couple of years ago that I missed. Here are a couple of favourites:

Stay safe and kind!

Week in Review – May 31, 2021

“From Napa to Bend and back”

Monday was spent cleaning up after the party and relaxing before the Napa “Spectacular” adventure – one of Diana’s gifts to Alicia.

We loaded up the car and made the relatively short drive to Napa on Tuesday afternoon. The Italian style villa that Diana had rented turned out to be perfect for us – lovely pool, great location, and a perfect situation for Clorinda (who we coaxed into joining us the night before.) Here are the beautiful pool, and Diana and Alicia opening gifts in the covered patio beside it.

That particular gift was personalized sippy cups for exploring Napa. We asked Clorinda what hers said – “Nappy Valley Me.” Classic.

Dinner was pizza by the pool, followed by a girls dance party in the hot tub.

Wednesday started with a picnic at V. Sattui winery. We got there early and had our choice of tables on which to enjoy all the yummy offerings from their excellent deli.

We spent a happy couple of hours enjoying the setting, wine, and food.

I forgot to mention the great view that I got of a hot air balloon on Wednesday morning. I was sitting outside with Clorinda and she told me she thought that would be a “great adventure.” Not my idea of fun at all.

Then it was back to the house to relax before dinner. Angele, by the river in downtown Napa, was our dinner destination. Excellent French food in a very relaxed and comfortable setting. We had the best escargot we have tasted – not chewy or tough in the slightest. I loved my branzino, and everyone else enjoyed their meals also – Clorinda finishing all of her veal sweetbreads. And we finished up with the sea salt caramel pot du crème – just as good as Diana remembered it when she and Janice enjoyed it several years ago.

Thursday (Alicia’s official birthday) started early with wine tasting at Domaine Chandon winery – famous for their sparkling wines. All the tastings are by reservation only, and have very limited outdoor capacity. This meant the only spot we could get was at 10:15am. Clorinda was aghast that we would go so early – she was left home to rest and get over it. I really liked the outdoor, smaller group tastings much more than the pre-COVID scene. Here are some pictures from the gorgeous winery setting:

Alicia was a good sport, wearing the “Finally 21” sash and crown when her Mom asked. I was very impressed with the wines and overall experience at Domaine Chandon.

We went back to the house for lunch and a check in with Clorinda – she was outside enjoying the gorgeous weather and her latest book. The afternoon tasting destination was Whitehall Lane – a favourite of ours from years ago, when we enjoyed a private dinner with Randy and Janice, and Diana joined their wine club. Their Sauvignon Blanc is a delicious summer wine. This was a much more casual and informal experience than Domaine Chandon, and the wines were all excellent.

Back to the house again to collect Clorinda and change for a very fancy dinner. I chauffeured back up the valley to the Auberge du Soleil resort and restaurant. You have to make reservations for this place months in advance and the menu is a treat. Adamo and Marco decided to join us at the last minute and we were very fortunate to retain a space on the terrace, where we could enjoy the wonderful view down the Napa valley.

If you zoom in on this you can see the wonderful selections on the menu. I started with the scallop, then an amazing risotto, and finally a beautifully sous vide cooked duck.

Here Alicia is quite pleased with the earrings from Diana.

And finally a picture with Uncle Marco, who made a 3 hour drive in very heavy traffic to join us:

After the late night on Thursday, it was a bit of a production to get all packed up and out of the villa by 10am – but we made it.

Donna had arranged one final tasting for us – at the very fancy Domaine Carneros where she is a member. I enjoyed catching up with Donna and Steve, the wines were excellent, but the overall pretentious and fancy vibe off the place weren’t my thing.

This was an excellent trip. Alicia enjoyed it all and it was lovely that Clorinda was able to join us.

I had a brief rest on Saturday morning and then it was time to catch my flight to Redmond, Oregon to go and visit Finn in Bend. I laughed at my rental car – the only other choice was a Toyota Corolla (bit too small).

I picked Finn up at his house and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Joolz Lebanese restaurant. I was expecting him to be tired after three straight days of work, but he was in good spirits and loved his food.

Those are “camel wings” – Moroccan spice rubbed chicken wings, and sweet potatoes that he’s holding up. I loved the elk chili and we both were amazed with the date cake. This place is so good. Highly recommended if you’re ever in this part of the country.

Finn wanted to sleep in on Sunday – the only day of the week when he has that opportunity, and so I had coffee and breakfast from the Scoutpost food truck (world’s best food truck in my opinion) and Spoken Moto. The green egg bowl with chorizo is one of my favourite breakfast dishes ever.

I wandered around Bend after breakfast and came across these guys surfing on the Deschutes river – I think that’s a manmade wave that their riding.

When Finn arose, we drove out to Tumalo Falls and enjoyed a hike up to the top – not too strenuous and with excellent views.

You can tell the weather is perfect, and I love the complete lack of humidity. After the hike, Finn took me to Don Gambino’s, a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant on 3rd street. I wouldn’t have even noticed the place, but it had excellent tacos with very fresh ingredients.

Before dropping Finn back at his house and heading to the airport, we ascended Pilot Butte, right behind the area where his house is located. The views of the snow-capped mountains from up there are awesome.

I loved spending some one on one time with Finn and look forward to getting back to Bend soon. The views from my flight home were pretty spectacular – I always enjoy seeing San Francisco and the bridges from the air.

Diana and I were up early this morning, and decided to have a coffee at Soul Grind and then a nice walk from Linda Mar beach up and over to Rockaway beach and back. There were a good number of surfers out enjoying their Memorial Day break. I was frustrated that my heart rate apparently didn’t get high enough to register any more than fifteen minutes of our hour long walk. Going to have to pick up the pace.

My read this week was “The Death of Vivek Oji” by Akwaeke Emezi. Here’s a review of the plot:

“One afternoon, in a town in southeastern Nigeria, a mother opens her front door to discover her son’s body, wrapped in colorful fabric, at her feet. What follows is the tumultuous, heart-wrenching story of one family’s struggle to understand a child whose spirit is both gentle and mysterious. Raised by a distant father and an understanding but overprotective mother, Vivek suffers disorienting blackouts, moments of disconnection between self and surroundings. As adolescence gives way to adulthood, Vivek finds solace in friendships with the warm, boisterous daughters of the Nigerwives, foreign-born women married to Nigerian men. But Vivek’s closest bond is with Osita, the worldly, high-spirited cousin whose teasing confidence masks a guarded private life. As their relationship deepens—and Osita struggles to understand Vivek’s escalating crisis—the mystery gives way to a heart-stopping act of violence in a moment of exhilarating freedom.”

The story was quite interesting and fast paced, but I didn’t particularly enjoy this book – maybe too many Nigerian names and phrases for me to keep track of. Just didn’t really grab my attention – you can tell because I don’t have a single dog-eared page with a quote to share.

I’m skipping the music section this week due to some time challenges – I’ll pick up the album of the week section again next week.

Stay safe and kind to everyone!

Week in Review – May 23, 2021

“Double Birthday Celebration”

We enjoyed a few quiet days before things became quite busy later in the week.

“Inside Bill Gates’ Brain,” a three part series about the Microsoft founder, was our entertainment on Tuesday night. This was a fascinating look at the life of an interesting character. In 8th grade (13 or 14) he had the best score in math across all students of all ages in the state of Washington. I enjoyed learning about the projects that the Gates Foundation has undertaken with funding from Warren Buffet – competitions to create innovative toilets and sanitation plants for African nations, eliminating polio in the last place it exists in the world – Nigeria, and many other amazing activities. I definitely recommend giving this a look.

The flowers and magnolia trees are in full bloom in the back garden after so much rain over many days.

We spent a happy Wednesday evening trying to arrange some ornaments in the light boxes on top of the cabinets. I’m quite sure there’s a lot more adjustment and rearranging coming in the future.

We flew to San Francisco on Friday and enjoyed dinner with Amy, Adamo and the crew that evening. Saturday was a busy day getting ready for the big party on Sunday – setting up tables and chairs, rearranging furniture, arranging flowers, trips to various stores for supplies and on and on.

I think the ladies did a lovely job with the flowers.

We met Will, Christine, Campbell, and Molly for dinner at LV Mar in Redwood City on Saturday night. Will had given me the choice of several kinds of food for dinner, and I chose Spanish tapas. That turned out to be a good choice as all the food and drinks were excellent. Clorinda and Alicia joined us – Clorinda entertaining us with her question, “When shall we order entrees?”, right about the time we were all getting quite full from sharing so many yummy tapas plates. The pescado pastor (seared halibut tacos) and empanadas were my favourites.

Sunday was the big 21st birthday party for Alicia, hosted at Adamo and Amy’s house. What an amazing party! Great turnout, yummy food all afternoon, an excellent live band – what more could you ask for? Here are some pictures and videos that tell the story of the party much more effectively than my words can:

I really enjoyed having Will, Christine, Campbell, Molly, and Ollie on Gypsy Hill for the first time. Ollie was very relaxed around so many people, a band, and several other dogs.

The dancing didn’t stop because the band finished playing. We put on our “Wedding Dancing” playlist:

Adamo and Amy, along with a lot of help from Diana and several others, threw an excellent 21st birthday party.

Down in New Orleans, the Ogan twins were busy graduating, with Mason off to Alabama and Jack to Tulane for college in a few months.

I really enjoyed “Ask Again, Yes” by Mary Beth Keane. Here’s how Amazon reviewers describe the story:

“In Mary Beth Keane’s extraordinary novel, a lifelong friendship and love blossoms between Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope, born six months apart. One shocking night their loyalties are divided, and their bond will be tested again and again over the next thirty years. Heartbreaking and redemptive, Ask Again, Yes is a gorgeous and generous portrait of the daily intimacies of marriage and the power of forgiveness.”

Peter describing how he feels when his mother, Kate, suffers a depressive episode and hides out in her room:

“The quiet of the house when she kept to her room was not the peaceful silence of a library, or anywhere near as tranquil. It was, Peter imagined, more like the held-breath interlude between when a button gets pushed and the bomb either detonates or is defused. He could feel his own heartbeat at those times. He could track his blood as it looped through his veins.”

Kate’s father, Francis, vouching for Peter as he applies to the NY police department:

“‘I told them none of it was his fault, what happened that night. I told them that he’d gone on to do well in school and all that. What you told me that time, when Mom was in surgery. Running and getting a scholarship. They already new that, of course.’

‘So you forgive him then? You don’t blame him?’ She wanted to throw her arms around him like she was ten again. ‘You don’t blame me?’

Francis turned. ‘I never blamed him. He was fourteen years old. Why would I blame him? And why in the world would I blame you? You’re not understanding the problem here. You’re not even near understanding it.'”

Peter finally agreeing to see his mother Kate after many years:

“She’d gotten a haircut. Her clothes looked freshly pressed. She reached up and patted him on the back, so he patted her back. They didn’t embrace. They just kept patting each other, like a person might do to an upset stranger. Kate narrowed her eyes and could see that Peter was fighting like hell not to cry, his chest rising and falling. When he turned he had an expression on his face that she’d never seen before.”

The title revealed on page 376:

“‘So you don’t regret marrying me, you just regret the way you asked? Oh, Peter, I can think of so many other things you should regret.’

‘Yeah.’ He looked down at his empty plate. ‘Probably.’

‘Hey. Come back.’ Kate covered his hands with hers. ‘If you regret it so much, ask me now. Ask again. Properly, this time.'”

I’m trying something new this week on the music front. Let me know what you think. I’m going to select an album from my collection and share some of the tidbits about it I find through research, some of the history of how I came to own the record (if I can remember), and my thoughts on the music.

Since I’m separated from my collection as I write this post, I’ll select the one that sits at the end of the stack I see each time I walk into my office – ZZ Top’s “First Album.”

I bought this album somewhere around my third year of University. We had become familiar with ZZ Top via their hugely commercially successful “Eliminator” album with the videos that played regularly on MTV. Then we heard some of their older, bluesier material, with the rhythm of “La Grange” from the “Tres Hombres” album being the way we would tap on our flat doorbell to let each other know it was us and not an annoying solicitor. And finally I came across this “First Album”.

I would play the fourth track on side B over and over again in my room in our flat in the Maidens – “Just Got Back from Baby’s”. The blues guitar sound, opening riff and solo are excellent. I was hooked in the first 10 seconds. So different than the commercial ZZ Top.

Billy Gibbons is such an excellent blues guitar player. We enjoyed him recently (a couple of years ago), performing with Jimmy Vaughan at Eric Clapton’s Blues Festival – a real treat. Dusty Hill on bass and Frank Beard (the one of the trio without the long beard) on drums provide a very solid backing.

Gibbons said of the album title:

“We called the record ZZ Top’s First Album because we wanted everyone to know that there would be more. We weren’t certain if we’d get another chance in the studio, but we had high hopes.”

He also said of the music:

“We had been together for about six months and were knocking around the bar scene, playing all the usual funky joints. We took the studio on as an extension of the stage show. The basics were all of us playing together in one room, but we didn’t want to turn our backs on contemporary recording techniques. To give our sound as much presence and support as possible, we became a little more than a three piece with the advantages of overdubbing. It was the natural kind of support – some rhythm guitar parts, a little bit of texture. That was about it.”

The album was recorded at Robin Hood Studios in Tyler, Texas and released on January 16, 1971 (yet another example of all the fantastic music released in 1971). Bill Ham, the band’s manager, produced the record, as he did with the majority of their catalog – up to and including “Eliminator”. Here’s something from that – how much their sound changed:

Stay safe and kind to everyone.

Week in Review – May 16, 2021

“Kitchen’s Finished”

I finished watching the movie “Penguin Bloom” with my elliptical workout on Monday morning. I really enjoyed and recommend this film. Penguin is actually an injured magpie that Naomi Watts’ character and her family adopt. Penguin helps her adjust to being in a wheel chair after an accident.

By an interesting coincidence, Naomi Watts was also in “Demolition”, the next movie that I watched with my workout. This film was mildly entertaining and nowhere near as good as “Penguin Bloom.”

A nice walk in the afternoon finished up my Monday exercise regime. Brandi Carlile’s “Broken Horses” kept me company. She performs a relevant song at the end of each chapter – a cover of Neil Young’s “Philadelphia” was excellent and almost topped by her version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. Unfortunately these songs only appear to be available as part of the audio book.

Tuesday’s exercise was a pleasant swim at the gym – only issue was the water aerobics class in the two lanes next to me – very noisy and excitable instructor. I had some free time later in the afternoon and got some reading time with a coffee at Duino. The new hardwood floors were installed in the kitchen and look great. I’m quite happy that Diana talked me into having the same floor throughout the ground floor – it really makes the kitchen and living area seem more like one big, open space.

We received this picture from Clorinda’s neighbors – this mountain lion has been seen quite a bit during the day on Gypsy Hill lately, and seems very comfortable up next to the houses. We’re going to have to think twice about going out for walks on the hill when we visit next week.

Diana joined me for a walk on Wednesday afternoon. The living room was finally put back together at the end of the day. We’re almost ready to take up residence in there again – just some final touch ups to be finished.

Thursday was the highlight of my week. I was able to attend the Byron Nelson golf tournament with a couple of work colleagues. The tournament moved to the Craig Ranch TPC – just a few miles from our home. Our CEO is a member of the salesmanship club that hosts the event, and was gracious enough to provide us with some 17th hole skybox tickets. The weather was perfect – mid 70s and not blazing hot and humid as is typical for this event. Jordan Spieth is from Dallas and so was a big draw on the course. We were fortunate to have great spots to watch him making an eagle putt attempt on the 12th hole – right until the mobile cameras moved directly in front.

Here’s his eagle attempt:

And here he taps in the birdie:

Diana was quite excited when the pendant lights were installed above the kitchen island – Jose had me stand next to it so that he could make sure my head didn’t bump into them. I do think they look great – and not too blue like the designing twins thought.

We had a work dinner at Del Frisco’s Grille in downtown Dallas – a bit of a drive but great to see some of our colleagues from Mexico who were visiting. I loved the short rib stroganoff that I chose for dinner.

Work on the kitchen was pretty much completed on Friday – right on schedule with just a few small touch up things to be done. That and the appliances that should trickle in over the next few weeks. Here are some pictures – our favourite touches are the pendant lights, the waterfall island slab, and the lighted display boxes on top of the cabinets.

Diana spent most of Saturday loading things back into the cabinets. Note one of the must have spice racks open on the right.

We chuckled at the entirety of Jose’s plans for the kitchen:

Patty and Brent always find the best cards. Masquerading as “normal” (whatever that looks like) is indeed exhausting.

Sunday began with a walk, trying to beat the rain forecast for late morning, and then consistently for the next 10 days. Just a light sprinkle and a lot of humidity. I’m watching the final round of the Byron now as I finish up this post, Spieth is now 5 shots behind K.H. Lee – they started the round early in hopes of finishing before the rain gets too bad.

My reading this week was by Ann and Anne. First was “Run” by Ann Patchett

Set over a period of twenty-four hours, “Run” is a story about how worlds of privilege and poverty can exist only blocks apart from each other, and how family can include people you’ve never even met.

Since their mother’s death, Tip and Teddy Doyle have been raised by their father. As the former mayor of Boston, Bernard Doyle wants to see his sons in politics, a dream the boys have never shared. But when an argument in a New England snowstorm causes an accident that involves a stranger and her child, all Bernard Doyle cares about is his ability to keep his children—all his children—safe.

Tip and Teddy’s brother, Sullivan, is the least pleasingly developed of the otherwise excellent characters in this novel. We are given quick glimpses into what went wrong with his life, and then that is all dropped and forgotten. I wonder if there was a lot more about him in an early draft and then that was edited out? This passage reminds me of ultimately realizing that it’s true what we are told – you never stop worrying about your kids:

“Even when Sullivan was a teenager he had a certain formality when things were very bad, as if he was preparing to serve as the counsel for the defense. Doyle wondered if he needed to spend some time worrying about Sullivan on top of everything else, even though he had sworn off that pastime years ago.

Once he was in his room with the door closed, Doyle realized he wasn’t going to get to anyone on his list.”

This is the episode that sets the whole story off:

“He was a boy stepping out in front of a car he clearly did not see. Tip kept his head in his books, in the clouds, with the fishes. He didn’t pay attention. She pushed him, but not because he was hers. She pushed him because he was there and the car was there. She pushed him so hard she was certain she had sent him sailing up through the falling snow and into the night like a punch form a cartoon character. Pow! He spun off towards the stars. Had she knocked him clear to safety? She had never hit anyone as hard as she hit Tip, and then, as if in reply, she was hit by the car.”

Describing Kenya, the just discovered sister, running on the Harvard indoor track, and one of the reasons for the title of the book:

“They were no longer waiting to see how fast she could go, they knew how fast she could go. Now they wanted to see how long it would be before she crashed, and if that was what they were waiting for they might as well sit down and get comfortable.

Tip had never seen anything like it. Not just the speed but the utter effortlessness of it all, the way the toes of her shoes barely touched down before she set off again. She was a sprinter, clearly she was a sprinter, and yet she just kept going until he started to change his mind and wonder if she wasn’t going to knock out a half marathon on the track while he sat there waiting.”

This was an excellent read and I highly recommend this and the other Patchett books that I’ve read, with “Bel Canto” being my least favourite.

My next book was “The Beginner’s Goodbye” by Anne Tyler.

Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron grew up battling with a sister who constantly wanted to micro-manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, an outspoken, independent young woman, she’s like a breath of fresh air. He marries her quickly, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable marriage. Aaron works at his family’s vanity-publishing business, turning out titles designed to guide beginners through the trials of life. But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy’s unexpected appearances from the dead—in their house, on the roadway, in the market—help him to live in the moment and to find some peace. Gradually, Aaron discovers that maybe for this beginner there is indeed a way to say goodbye.

A paragraph that hit very close to home with our ‘interim kitchen’ in the bedroom/master bathroom. It’s from the book “Beginners Kitchen Remodeling”, published by Aaron’s company:

” ‘Knowing What You Want’ was the first chapter. (Where in your present kitchen do you do your slicing and dicing? Do you, in fact, do any slicing and dicing?) ‘Communicating with Your Contractor’ was the second. Almost the entire remainder of the book consisted of what now seemed to me an inordinately detailed plan for setting up an interim kitchen in a spare bathroom.”

Some of the classic Tyler dialogue that captures real world domestic life so well:

” ‘Oh, I didn’t realize it had to have historical significance.’

‘Dorothy,’ I said. ‘Would you rather just not do this?’

‘I said I would, didn’t I? But then all you can come up with is this fusty old place where your parents used to eat. And when I question it, you fly into a huff and turn down everything else I suggest.’

‘I didn’t turn down “everything else”; I turned down Jean-Christophe. It just so happens that I dislike a restaurant where the waiters require more attention than my date does.’

‘Where would you be willing to eat, then?’

“Oh shoot,’ I said, ‘I don’t care. Let’s just go to Jean Christophe.’

‘Well, if you don’t care, why do we bother?’

‘Are you deliberately trying to misunderstand me?’ I asked her.”

I enjoyed this song from Frank Black, former frontman of the Pixies. Interestingly I was just having a conversation about the Pixies with our HR leader at dinner on Thursday, and recommended the Loud Quiet Loud documentary about the band.

A great version of “Love Train” by Paul Thorn, a musician from Tupelo, Mississippi, who was a professional boxer for several years before being discovered playing in a local pizza restaurant.

And finally, here’s one from the Hothouse Flowers – an album I used to play all the time and had forgotten about.

Stay safe, patient, and kind.

Week in Review – May 9, 2021

“The Kessler – we missed you so much!”

This is the first week when it really started to feel like things were getting back to normal – an excellent concert at the Kessler and a lovely Mother’s Day brunch. But I’m jumping ahead again.

The voodoo shrimp Benedict at C.T. Provisions, that I was looking forward to when I posted last Sunday, was as good as I had hoped – the blue stone grit cake and the voodoo sauce were a great complement to the eggs. We sat on the patio that’s been constructed in the parking area and enjoyed the lovely weather, with mariachi accompaniment from the band in the park across the street. I’m looking forward to visiting this restaurant again soon.

On Monday evening we watched “Mare of Easttown” – our new favourite show. The series stars Kate Winslett in a pretty atypical role – she’s a police detective whose life is unraveling quickly. The show is getting very complex after 3rd episode, and I suspect Richard to be responsible for the crime Mare is investigating – he’s a writer she’s dating who just moved back to town.

Tuesday morning started with a pleasant 2.5 mile walk, and continued with our quarterly work Board meeting. I enjoyed the movie “Jack Goes Boating” while doing my elliptical workout. This is a film from 2010, directed by and starring the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman. It’s one of those quiet, understated movies that slowly gets under your skin.

That film led to a recommendation for “The Answer Man”, which we watched on Tuesday evening. This movie stars Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham – two actors that we both appreciate. This was a very enjoyable film with some good messages. As in Nomadland, the most poignant scene was when Daniels is spurred to play his deceased father’s piano by Graham’s character’s son.

Wednesday started with another elliptical workout, and this time I finished up the Philip Glass DVD that I’ve had in the media room player for months – a very good documentary. In the afternoon I enjoyed a 3 mile walk, accompanied by the audio book of Brandi Carlile’s “Broken Horses”. I’m only an hour into the eleven hour listen, and am enjoying it very much.

The counter tops were installed in the kitchen while I was out for my walk. They look amazing and I’m going to wait until everything is finished up next week before sharing any more pictures – keeping it a surprise from here on out.

I kept my exercise streak going on Thursday morning with some time on the elliptical and then a nice swim at the gym. In the kitchen, the backsplash was installed, and seems to be the most exciting development so far for Diana. Thankfully she’s very pleased with the tile chosen as a replacement for the one she “Hate, Hate, Hated.”

As the sun was setting we heard my buddy the cardinal singing at length. Diana wondered who he was speaking to as nobody every answered. So I pulled up some cardinal song on my phone and tried to give him some company.

Friday evening may have been a highlight of the year so far. We picked up Jens and Glenda for a concert at the Kessler. Catching up over a pre-concert dinner at Nova was a real treat. We walked down to the theater and everyone enjoyed the opening band, Terence Bradford and Congo Square. They are a Dallas based band playing New Orleans inspired music.

The Revelers Hall Band hit the stage with such infectious energy that they had the place rocking right away. What a great band!

Two of my favourites in their set were “Lean on Me” and “With a Little Help from my Friends”:

You can tell McD is enjoying this version of “Get Ready/Seven Nation Army”:

The fun was all capped off with a second line march through the theater:

I can’t remember when we were both up and around after midnight, as opposed to our 1opm at the latest regular bedtime. All four of us thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

I said I wasn’t going to share any more kitchen pictures, but can’t help showing this video of Jose and his crew painting the cabinets – they take it very seriously and wanted to spray to get the best possible finish.

I think Diana had a pretty good Mother’s Day on Sunday. She started with a virtual hike/walk with Alicia – up early at 7am in California to tell her mom all the wonderful things she has done for her over the years. Didn’t she do well with the flowers she had delivered?

I took the honoree to Rye for brunch. This tiny restaurant is always a treat. Diana had a pork belly Benedict with perfectly cooked eggs and delicious sauce. I tried the stuffed relleno, which turned out to be completely vegan. The stuffing included veggie chorizo, sweet potatoes, and several other vegetables. The dish was delicious – great flavours and sauces.

We had seen a TV commercial for Dairy Queen and McD remarked that she loved their soft serve ice cream cones dipped in chocolate, and hadn’t had one in over 30 years. What a great idea for a Mother’s Day dessert.

There was an interesting article on Nicola Sturgeon and her quest for Scottish independence in The New Yorker this week. I hadn’t heard of all her challenges with her predecessor Alex Salmond, so was a good primer for me on what’s been going on with Scottish politics:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/10/nicola-sturgeons-quest-for-scottish-independence

This week’s issue also has a fascinating article on how manipulating electric patterns between cells can lead to regeneration of missing fingers and limbs, just as it does in worms when cut in half:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/10/persuading-the-body-to-regenerate-its-limbs

I finished “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union” by Michael Chabon. While I love the unique and clever imagery and writing style, I found this book a bit of slog, partially because of all the Jewish terminology that was foreign to me. The story drags for the first three quarters of the book, and then is a bit too far fetched when the true plot is revealed.

Here are some of the phrases that I really appreciated:

“Landsman nods and scratches at the stubble of his chin in a way that is meant to signify deep ratiocination, but his heart and thoughts are hung up in the memory of chess games that he lost to men who were already old thirty years ago.”

ratiocination – the process of logical reasoning – what a great word.

Some classic Chabon imagery – how great is “tromboning?”:

“He plucks a sheet of paper from the chaos of his desk, tractates, promulgations, and bans, classified documents, adding machine tapes, surveillance reports on the habits of marked men. There’s a second or so of tromboning as he brings the paper within focusing range.”

More excellent writing:

“The knot of his gold-and-green rep necktie presses its thumb against his larynx like a scruple pressing against a guilty conscience, a reminder that he is alive. His hat is as glossy as a seal.”

The origin of the title isn’t revealed until page 230: ” ‘The Yiddish Policeman’s Union,’ says the pie man.”

I really enjoy Chabon’s musical similes:

“The brake and gas were rigged to suit a man of his stature, and he handled them like Horowitz sailing through a storm of Liszt.”

Something very close to home for me, having grown up in the county of Ayrshire:

” ‘They look like dairy cows,’ Berko says.

‘They’re Ayrshires,’ says Dick. ‘I snapped some pictures last time I came out here. A professor of agriculture down in Davis, California, ID’d them for me. ‘A Scottish breed.’ Dick works his voice up into his nose, mocking that Californian professor. ‘Known for its hardiness and ability to thrive in northern latitudes.’ “

I really liked “tinnitus of the soul”:

“The space recently occupied by his mind hisses like the fog in his ears, hums like a bank of fluorescent tubes. He feels that he suffers from tinnitus of the soul.”

And “the grandeur of a whale’s respiration”:

“A few minutes later, Bina begins to snore. There is no doubt that her snoring has not changed in two years. It has a double-reeded hum, the bumble-bee continuo of Mongolian throat-singing. It has the slow grandeur of a whale’s respiration.”

I was listening to a lot of jazz music this week, and stumbled on this excellent cover of “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Christian Sands. I must have listened to it at least twice each day this week. I was fortunate to see Sands perform at Dizzy’s Club in Jazz at Lincoln Center, back in the AIG days with Vince.

I’m working my way through the 17 best “hard bop” albums as listed in Scott Yanow’s essay in AllMusic:

https://allmusic-biography.blogspot.com/2010/11/hard-bop-essay-scott-yanow.html

Yanow has authored 11 books on jazz, over 800 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings, making him quite the expert.

First on the list is “Miles Davis Vol. 1.” This is not my favourite style at all – too fast and technical without real emotion or soul. I do enjoy the trombone playing of J. J. Johnson.

The album was released on May 9, 1952, 69 years ago today, with these personnel:

Next on the list is “Soul Station” by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley. This was released in 1960 and is considered by many critics to be his finest album. I like this one a lot more than the Miles Davis.

These are the personnel:

Next up is “Bluesnik” by saxophonist Jackie McLean:

Bluesnik was recorded in 1961 and is considered McLean’s most accessible record. My favourite of the hard bop list so far.

Stay safe and be kind to everyone!

Week in Review – May 2, 2012

“Birthday Month Begins”

This week also started with banging and hammering – two weeks in a row. This time it didn’t start until around 9:30am – right when I was trying to deliver a presentation to our Executive Committee. This is what our kitchen looked like at 9am on Monday:

And here it is on Tuesday morning. Everything gone – including all that acreage of beige tile that Diana loved so much:

The new cabinets that Jose built were partially installed on Tuesday afternoon – very good progress.

Jose is very proud of his craftsmanship – we’ll see if it passes inspection on return.

I’m jumping ahead a bit. It was Jose’s (lead contractor on the kitchen) birthday on Monday and so the designing twins (Marci and Mindy) got him a cake and balloons and we all sang Happy Birthday to him prior to departing for Austin. I think he really liked it.

The drive to Austin – escaping the demolition noise for a few days – was smooth and we stopped by my office for my daily 5pm call before checking into the Hyatt (right across the parking lot from our old apartment). Then it was time for dinner at one of our favourite spots – Suerte. The food was excellent as usual with the aguachile being a real standout:

Aguachile (“chile water” in Spanish) is a Mexican dish made of shrimp, submerged in liquid seasoned with chili peppers, lime juice, salt, cilantro, slices of cucumber and slices of onion. Raw vegetables such as cucumber are usually added. This raw seafood dish comes from the west region of Mexico and is normally prepared in a molcajete.

Spencer, our waiter at Suerte, was one of the best we’ve had in a long time – deeply knowledgeable on the menu and wines, with great attention to detail on the timing of our courses and overall experiences. I sent a note to the restaurant raving about how great he was. If you ever make it to this special gem of a place, you should ask for Spencer.

We both had time on our schedules for a walk along the river trail before work on Tuesday morning. I miss the close proximity and variety of terrain and views on the trail. There is an interestingly shaped new building going up on the north side of the river that really changes up the skyline view.

Apparently this is the new “Google” building that will house 5,000 employees – quite the fancy work location, given the number of folks that will be working from home much more in the long term.

As I was searching to find out more about this building, I found many more new high rises (40 stories and above) planned for imminent construction in downtown Austin – a very booming city these days – and getting more expensive by the day.

We met Nikki and Neffie for dinner at La Joie in Cedar Park on Tuesday evening. The creole food was very good and the banter brought lots of laughs. I really enjoyed my duck and andouille gumbo and McD was quite pleased with her mussels and extra bread for the yummy broth. Her only complaint was that a place advertising itself as a “Creole Oyster Bar” ought to serve the big Gulf oysters rather than the much smaller ones from the East coast – can’t argue with her on that.

Diana was able to meet Blair, Tim and me for lunch at the original TacoDeli on Wednesday for lunch. She got to enjoy some of the typical banter that happens in our Executive Committee meetings – Tim is our CFO and Blair COO for the US – and we shared some funny stories on the joys of raising girls. The tacos tasted even better than those from the TacoDeli in Plano – so good.

I was able to host some of my team for happy hour at Opa! on Wednesday evening. It was lovely to see the smiles on faces as folks saw each other live and in person for the first time in over a year. Austin dodged the very bad hail storm that hit parts of Dallas and San Antonio.

Jose was very proud of his Wednesday progress on the kitchen:

We had lunch at El Alma, one of our favourite Austin restaurants, and then drove home to McKinney and the ongoing construction. The elote corn and poblano soup was outstanding. I really miss brunch at El Alma.

I’m quite pleased with the new can lighting that was installed in the piano room – much easier to see my music with the light directly overhead. Apparently the bulbs inside last for 20 years. My excitement is mild compared to how ecstatic McD is about her new spice racks that slide out on either side of the stovetop.

The Friday puzzle gave me a chuckle as I wouldn’t have solved this clue prior to Finn’s visit. Pikachu is one of his favourite Pokémon characters.

Finn’s therapist, Brennon, sent this picture from his adventure on “Misery Ridge” last weekend. Doesn’t he look thrilled with the whole experience?

Saturday was a mostly lazy day, after our morning walk around Wellington Point. The puzzle provided another smile – taking me back to late night scotch eggs with Vince at the Dead Rabbit in New York.

We’re heading out soon to try a new place for brunch. C. T. Provisions in downtown McKinney has been getting rave reviews, and I’m looking forward to trying the voodoo shrimp Benedict with a blue stone grit cake taking the place of the traditional muffin. Doesn’t it look yummy?

I started “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union” by Michael Chabon this week, and have only made it through the first 50 pages. It’s been a busy week and Chabon’s writing is so clever and evocative that I like to slow down and really enjoy it.

The story is set in an alternative history version of the present day. The premise is that contrary to real history, the United States voted to implement the 1940 Slattery Report, which recommended the provision of land in Alaska for the temporary refugee settlement of European Jews who were being persecuted by the Nazis during World War II. The novel’s divergence point from real history is revealed to be the death of Anthony Dimond, Alaska Territory delegate to the U.S. Congress, in a car accident; Dimond was the politician most responsible for preventing a vote on the report. It imagines a temporary independent Jewish settlement being created on the Alaskan coast. As a result, only two million Jews are murdered in the Holocaust.

I did spend a bit more time with Obama’s “A Promised Land.” I cringed reading his opinion on the AIG bonus scandal – huge bonuses were paid to the traders who had been instrumental in causing the collapse of the economy – because they were contractually required.

“I looked around the room. ‘This is a joke, right? You guys are just messing with me.’

Nobody laughed. Axe started arguing that we had to try to stop the payment, even if our efforts were unsuccessful.”

Speaking of Ted Sorensen, part of his speech writing team, and co-author of the “Ask not what your country can do for you..” inaugural address:

“they asked him once what had been the secret to writing one of the four or five greatest speeches in American history. Simple, he said: Whenever he and Kennedy sat down to write, they told themselves, ‘Let’s make this good enough to be in a book of the great speeches someday.'”

I enjoyed Obama’s analysis of the things that went wrong with John McCain’s presidential run, and one does wonder how different the Republican party might be today had he not chosen Sarah Palin as a running mate:

“Michelle and I, along with Jill and Joe Biden, were on the campaign plane waiting to take off for a few days of events in Pennsylvania when Axe rushed up to tell us that word had leaked of McCain’s running mate. Joe looked at the name on Axe’s BlackBerry and then turned to me.

‘Who the hell is Sarah Palin?’ he said.”

I was sad to read of the passing of Denny Freeman, beloved Austin guitar player. Here’s a link to a great article in the Austin Chronicle:

https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/music/2021-04-25/denny-freeman-the-graceful-guitarist-who-made-everyone-sound-better-has-died/

“Freeman was part of the self-described “little blues cult” that helped usher the staple genre’s local reemergence in the early seventies, playing alongside Stevie Ray Vaughan in Paul Ray & the Cobras. Four decades later, the gentle-natured guitarist’s graceful melding of blues and jazz would anchor Bob Dylan’s Modern Times album.”

Freeman anchored the band that played the early Friday show at the Saxon Pub for years. Diana and I were fortunate to attend a few times – that’s when she commented on all the folks dancing “like nobody was looking.” A huge loss to the Austin music community.

Here’s one of my favourites from Dylan’s “Modern Times” with Freeman on guitar.

I found a new band this week – Goose is an indie jam band from Connecticut and I really like their sound:

Stay kind and patient!

Week in Review – April 25th, 2021

“All About the Kitchen”

Monday in New Orleans began with a bunch of hammering and banging outside the cottage. Denny is having the back patio and fence area redone, and the workers were taking off the forms for the cement base of the fence. The design for a cantilevered pergola covering the back patio is very different and cool. We’re having a competition to see if our kitchen remodel or the patio re-do is finished first. My money is on the kitchen given the speed at which projects progress in New Orleans.

Our flight and travel back home on Monday afternoon were all smooth and hassle free.

Tuesday was a busy catch up day at work with nothing else exciting happening.

We watched a really interesting documentary on Wednesday evening. “The Year the Earth Changed” is about the climate changes that have happened during our year of lockdown, and the impact these have had on nature. Sir David Attenborough narrates, taking me back to all those nature shows of my youth.

The scene were folks in Northern India go up to their rooftops to view the majestic Himalayas for the first time in their lives is quite poignant. Whales using entirely new communication systems now that they can hear above ship noise was amazing. And then there’s the scene where a leopard becomes the king of a safari compound, becoming almost human in personality. Well worth a watch. See the good things that have occurred as a result of the pandemic.

On Thursday I watched the Oscar nominated film “Nomadland”, starring Frances McDormand. I really enjoyed this quiet and thoughtful movie.

The movie is ostensibly about folks who live in vans and move nomadically around the country to find work depending on the season. McDormand’s character works in Amazon fulfillment centers and various other low paying jobs as she moves from Arizona to California, North Dakota and other western states. I think the deeper message is about loss of a spouse and rejection of the “normal” way of life, where we live in one place. My favourite scene occurs when McDormand’s character is visiting a friend she met on the road and observes him playing a piano tune with his son. Nothing is said but the sense of loss on her face says it all perfectly. She quickly packs up and hits the solo road again. I’m expecting some kind of award for this film on Sunday night at the Oscars.

The New York Times crossword on Thursday made me think of David, with the 007 theme. Very cleverly executed. A lot of comments in the blogs about omitting Roger Moore from the puzzle, while including Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. Particularly when you consider the “00” in his last name. Such a travesty.

The kitchen packing began in earnest on Thursday afternoon and I gingerly transported glasses and bottles from the butler pantry to their temporary homes. Diana’s activity really hit a peak on Friday as she was determined to make a big dent in emptying things out. She created a small kitchen/pantry area in the master bedroom and has taken to calling it our “studio apartment.” I moved the microwave out next to the outside grill and we have a temporary cooking area all ready to go there.

We had a nice walk through the neighborhoods on Saturday morning and then drove to downtown Dallas for lunch with John – in town for a conference at the Anatole hotel. We took him over to Standard Pour on McKinney Avenue and enjoyed a delicious brunch and catch up chat. A highlight was the musician/DJ’s performance of “Nessun dorma” – certainly got Diana’s attention as she headed into the main dining room to listen.

Sunday started with another stroll around the streets of McKinney. We drove down into Dallas again on Sunday evening to sample an event my boss was hosting at his home. It’s a competition that lasts all day between about 40 guys – some of whom he’s known since elementary school. They had foosball, shuffleboard, ping-pong, basketball, putting, pool boat races, hockey shot and several other events set up around the yard, a taco truck in the alley, and a great musician playing a wide variety of music. All very well organized and setup but not a huge amount of fun if you weren’t engaged in the competition. We stayed an hour or so and enjoyed the tacos and a drink. Maybe I’ll compete next year.

In Bend, Oregon, Finn was getting some great use out of his new hiking boots. He was out at an area called Smith Rock and decided it was a good idea to hike something called “Misery Ridge”, despite all the warning signs about it being a black diamond/expert route. It sounds like he got quite an awakening up on the top of the ridge, but completed the challenge successfully. Here are some really lovely pictures that he took along the way. It’s such a good time to be outdoors there.

We watched some of the Oscar awards ceremony on Sunday night – and what do you know? – Nomadland won a number of the big awards. If we’d filled out a ballot I would have picked Frances McDormand for best actress and the film for best picture. Easy for me to claim after the fact.

I enjoyed my first real library book in years this week. “A Hologram for the King” is a quick and light read on the surface, while carrying some deeper messages about our place in an aging, global workforce.

I didn’t realize this was also a movie starring Tom Hanks. I watched it over the weekend and found it very faithful to the book, with most of the dialogue word for word. It definitely worked better as a book than a film.

Here’s a summary review : “A Hologram for the King takes us around the world to show how one man fights to hold himself and his splintering family together in the face of the global economy’s gale-force winds. In a rising Saudi Arabian city, far from weary, recession-scarred America, a struggling businessman pursues a last-ditch attempt to stave off foreclosure, pay his daughter’s college tuition, and finally do something great. This taut, richly layered, and elegiac novel is a powerful evocation of our contemporary moment — and a moving story of how we got here.”

I enjoyed relaying the jokes that Alan, the main character, tells to Diana. They were of the ilk that really tickles my funny bone and makes McD groan.

The latest Tipitina’s record club release was waiting for me when we returned from New Orleans – how fitting given that it’s a live recording of The Radiators at Tipitina’s in 1997. We’ve enjoyed so many memorable concerts at this venerable New Orleans music club. I don’t love the music on this album, but the live sound and musicianship are very good, and we’re supporting the venue by belonging to the club. Here’s a song by The Radiators that I do enjoy:

We watched the Curtis Stigers livestream on Wednesday night and he played a cover by Jeffrey Martin that was excellent. I hadn’t heard of this outstanding singer songwriter and have been enjoying exploring his catalog of work.

While participating in “Jazzfesting in Place” on the back patio, I heard this great cover of one of my top three favourite songs. What a treat. Also inspired me to download the sheet music and learn the song on the piano.

Stay patient, calm, and kind to everyone out there!