Category: Music

“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.

 

 

“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:

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• J. J. Johnson – trombone
• Jackie McLean – alto saxophone
• Gil Coggins – piano
• Oscar Pettiford – bass
• Kenny Clarke – drums

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:

• Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone
• Wynton Kelly – piano
• Paul Chambers – bass
• Art Blakey – drums

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!

“I Tot You Were Hungry”

I was able to tolerate the Grammy awards on Sunday evening for about the first hour and a half – then what D would call “the nonsense” started.  The highlight was Brandi Carlisle performing John Prine’s “I Remember Everything” – his gorgeous final song that earned two posthumous Grammys.

Diana and I started Monday with a run in the beautiful weather.  I completed the 20 minutes of running that finishes out Week 5 of Couch to 5K and am excited to move on to Week 6.  Only 2 more weeks after that and I’ll supposedly be ready for our first joint 5K race.  I am going to need to improve my speed quite a bit if I’m hoping to cross the finish line at the same time as McD.  Diana found an interesting race for us – the “Run for the Rose” in McKinney.  It comes with a glass of sparking rose at the finish line, snacks from Zin Zen and Sugarbacon, a commemorative champagne glass and a medal.  Sounds perfect for at least one of us.

Will, on the other hand, will not be running anywhere anytime soon.  He had surgery to remove the meniscus from his knee.  He’s had it repaired a couple of times before and this time there’s no choice but removal.  “What did he do this time?”, I hear you ask.  Well…he crouched down to install some computer cables under his new office desk and heard a pop when he stood back up again.  Sounds painful just typing it.  The surgery went well and Will is trying to be stationary for a few minutes to give things a chance to heal.  Poor Christine must be on fulltime Ollie duty now.

Tuesday was the big day for Diana – her first COVID vaccine.  I drove her over to the football stadium in Plano just in case there were any side effects on the drive home – about 25 minutes.  The process was smooth and easy – my only concern being the amount of information that was scrawled on Penelope’s windows.  No issue – they wiped it all off at the end of the flow through the parking lot.  Diana didn’t experience any side effects other than a slight pain on her arm around the shot if she pressed on it – just like a small bruise.  After that excursion, I enjoyed a nice swim at lunchtime.

We put Finn to work in the afternoon and he made a good start in painting the pool room.  He had to cover up all the dirty prints form Alicia and friends, and the kids that lived here before us.  Painting the entire wall ended up being the more efficient process.

I kicked off Week 6 Day 1 of Couch to 5K on Wednesday morning.  With encouragement from Diana, I was easy to finish without too much trouble, while picking up the pace a bit.

We watched a documentary on Netflix called “Made You Look” on Wednesday evening.  It’s about a multi-year art forgery scheme and the folks who were fooled by Rothkos and Pollocks created by an immigrant Chinese math teacher.  The top names in art authentication were all taken in until some special science ultimately showed them all to be forgeries.  The forgers ability to emulate the quite different styles of those masters, while creating original “lost” works was quite amazing.

Diana lost interest a bit as the documentary continued, and so she and Finn whipped up some delicious lemon bars from a recipe that she uncovered from her archives at Finn’s request.  You can tell it’s pretty serious business.

The bars didn’t turn out exactly as Diana had hoped and so another batch was created on Thursday night – the head chef thought they were much better.

I love this picture of my friends Wash and Zoe enjoying Saint Patrick’s Day on Thursday.

Diana and Finn started Friday with a “run/walk” and then Finn continued with his painting project.  It’s almost finished – just some spackling work to be done before all painting can be completed.  Finn and I made a run over to Rudy’s in the afternoon to pick up pulled pork for Benedicts I was planning to make for Sunday breakfast.

We decided to show Finn that there’s a lot more fun to the Dallas Fort Worth area than just what McKinney offers.  First stop – the Velvet Taco on Knox/Henderson Street, just north of downtown.  We laughed telling Finn the story of our first visit there – a late night stop after Keb’ Mo at the Kessler for my birthday.  Poor Patty and Brent waded through a torrential downpour to retrieve tacos for us.

Finn selected the chicken and waffles brunch taco and I had a shrimp and grits one.  Diana stuck with her favourite – loaded tater tots with a fried egg on top.  All enjoyed in the sun at an outdoor table.

I had an after lunch surprise in store – Finn and I had seen “Pickletopia” on a lunch time TV show and thought it looked like a fun place to visit.

Pickletopia ended up being a highlight of the day for us.  So many barrels full of delicious pickled things.  We came home with two kinds of olives, mushrooms, and “bread and butter” pickles.  Lee, the owner, shared lots of samples and stories.  Our favourite was his story about the origin of the “bread and butter” pickles.  Lee’s grandmother passed away and he selected a 1920s vintage cookbook of hers as a memento from her home.  The binding of the book was in very bad shape and he took it to the “Book Doctor” in Oak Cliff for repair (we walk past that shop on our way to Nova for dinner pre-Kessler concerts).  The repair took close to six months, and somewhere in that time the store owners called Lee to tell him they had found some recipes sandwiched in the pages that he might want.  One of them was the “bread and butter” pickle secret recipe.  He said he made it and tried it out on his uncle who remembered his grandmother’s recipe.  His uncle said, “You nailed it.”  This business is Lee’s retirement hobby and he shadowed “The Pickle Guys” in New York’s Lower Eastside to learn the business.  So nice to meet somebody that is a great story teller and loves what they do.

Next stop was Trinity Groves for a picture on the Trinity levee with the Dallas skyline as the backdrop:

We couldn’t resist stopping into Kate Weiser’s chocolate shop while we were there.  So many other places I had planned to put on the itinerary had closed – Bolsa (although opened under a different name) and the amazing charcuterie place from the Lucia guys (opening soon as a larger Lucia) – so it was good to see the chocolate shop still in business.  Patty’s favourite cupcake shop next door was also doing a very brisk business.  The chocolates and Easter eggs from Weiser really are works of art – those “Chick-a-dees” on the left really are edible chocolate.  We have several eggs to choose from on Easter Sunday.  And individual candies for each of us – key-lime pie for D, salted caramel for K, and strawberry for F.

A short drive later and we were searching for parking near the “Wild Detectives” book store and café – one of my favourite stores in all of Dallas.  I picked up “The Midnight Library”, thinking it could be a nice change of pace from the Obama book that I’m working through just now, and we all enjoyed a coffee in the lovely outdoor patio area.  What a beautiful day – perfect temperature and no humidity.  We walked around the Bishop Arts district briefly, noticing all the new construction and a massive, fancy new restaurant, and then drove over to Nova for a snack before driving home.

Nova is such a casual place but turns out such delicious and creative food.  Diana started with smoked salmon potato skins which were phenomenal.  Finn and I both had a cup of shrimp bisque with crab hush puppies.  That’s a cup?  The waiter said we could swim in the bowl size.  The soup was so good and I have some for leftovers today.

What a fun day all around!

Diana and I made an early morning (8am) trip to Market Street on Sunday to pick up supplies for the week.  This is the time to go – 5 cashiers standing out in front of their aisles waiting to check us out.  After that excitement I dug out and replaced a water sprinkler – time to turn the system back on for the spring and bring the grass out of hibernation.  Diana was busy upstairs doing some spackling work in the pool room – such a home repair enthusiast.  I helped sand and paint the taller sections.

I had promised Finn my special pulled pork Benedict for Sunday breakfast.  They turned out quite well with the “bread and butter” pickles adding a nice new flavour element.

The patrons at my diner counter seemed to enjoy the offerings.

I enjoyed this gaggle of turtles that Diana snapped on her virtual walk with Alicia after breakfast.  Gaggle – is that the right term for a group of turtles?  I’m pretty sure it’s not even close.  Let’s check.  A bale, turn, dole, or nest is the correct term, with a bale and turn applying exclusively to turtles.  Who knew?  We’ve never seen even a single turtle by that pond before.  It’s like walking along the river in Austin with bales (see how I quickly incorporated my learning to try and reinforce it) of turtles everywhere.

I enjoyed an article in The New Yorker this week about “How Parties Die, Will the G.O.P. go the way of the Whigs?”

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/15/what-is-happening-to-the-republicans

This piece digs into the history of political parties and how they either adjust to the times or eventually wither out.  This section about George Washington, the only Independent President in history, and his views on parties, really caught my attention:

“George Washington reluctantly ran for the Presidency in 1788. He remains the only Independent elected to that office. His farewell address, of September 19, 1796, provides the framework for the peaceful transfer of power. (It is read aloud in the Senate every year; this year, that event occurred a week after Trump’s impeachment trial had concluded there.) In the address, Washington, like a father chiding his bickering children, advised his countrymen, no matter what their political passions, to consider the fundamental bonds that connected them as Americans. Political parties were useful to check the worst instincts of a monarch, he wrote, but, in a democracy, a party

agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions.”

What an interesting and prescient commentary on recent events from over 200 years ago.

Another article about corporate takeovers of trailer home parks and the injustices being foisted on individual trailer owners included this sad commentary:

“According to a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there isn’t a single American state in which a person working full time for minimum wage can afford a one bedroom apartment at the fair-market rent.”

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/15/what-happens-when-investment-firms-acquire-trailer-parks

I realized this was true in states like New York and California but didn’t realize that was the situation in all states.  Very sad.  Not a political or social commentary – just sad when you think of youngsters trying to start out on their own these days.

I really got hooked on “A Promised Land” by Barack Obama this week.  I’m appreciating his candor and writing style more and more.  Talking about starting to contemplate a Senate run:

“I realized, our politics would never truly change.  It would always be too easy for politicians to feed the stereotypes that pitted Black against white, immigrant against native-born, rural interests against those of cities.

Ultimately wasn’t this what I was after – a politics that bridged America’s racial, ethnic, and religious divides, as well as the many strands of my own life?  Maybe I was being unrealistic; maybe such divisions were too deeply entrenched.  But no matter how hard I tried to convince myself otherwise, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was too early to give up on my deepest convictions.”

Upon more contemplation:

“You could make a difference from such a narrow political base; with some seniority, you could secure better services for your constituents, bring a big project or two back to your home district, and, by working with allies, try to influence the national debate.  But that wouldn’t be enough to lift the political constraints that made it so difficult to deliver healthcare for those who needed it, or better schools for poor kids, or jobs where there were none; the same constraints that Bobby Rush labored under every day.

To really shake things up, I realized, I needed to speak to and for the widest possible audience.  And the best way to do that was to run for a statewide office – like, for example, the U.S. Senate.”

The insights into Michelle’s opinion along the way are quite interesting.  Here she’s concerned about how the finances of a Senate bid could work:

“‘If you lose, we’ll be deeper in the hole,’ she said.  ‘And what happens if you win?  How are we supposed to maintain two households, in Washington and Chicago, when we can barely keep up with one?’

I’d anticipated this.  ‘If I win, hon,’ I said, ‘it will draw national attention.  I’ll be the only African American in the Senate.  With a higher profile, I can write another book, and it’ll sell a lot of copies, and that will cover the added expenses.’

‘In other words’, Michelle said, ‘you’ve got some magic beans in your pocket.  That’s what you’re telling me.'”

Describing his landmark speech at an anti Iraq war rally in Chicago:

“‘I don’t oppose all wars,’ I said.  ‘What I am opposed to is a dumb war.’  I went on to argue that Saddam Hussein posed no imminent threat to the United States or its neighbors, and that ‘even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.'”

As Obama worked to refine his stump speech for the Senate run:

“‘Here’s the thing,’ I would say.  ‘Most people, wherever they’re from, whatever they look like, are looking for the same thing.  They’re not trying to get filthy rich.  They don’t expect someone else to do what they can do for themselves.

But they do expect that if they’re willing to work, they should be able to find a job that supports a family.  They expect that they shouldn’t go bankrupt just because they get sick.  They expect that their kids should be able to get a good education, one that prepares them from this new economy, and they should be able to afford college if they’ve put in the effort.  And they figure that after a lifetime of work, they should be able to retire with dignity and respect.'”

How Hurricane Katrina and the abysmal government efforts to help convinced Obama that he needed to speak more frequently on the National stage.  One of the most poignant passages for me in the book so far:

“A few days later, I joined George H.W. and Barbara Bush, along with Bill and Hillary Clinton, in a visit to Houston, where thousands of people displaced by the hurricane had been bused to emergency shelters set up inside the sprawling Astrodome convention complex.  Together with the Red Cross and FEMA, the city had been working around the clock to provide basic necessities, but it struck me as I moved from cot to cot that many of the people there, most of whom were Black, had been abandoned long before the  hurricane – scratching out a living on the periphery without savings or insurance.  Forgotten people and forgotten voices remained everywhere, neglected by a government that often appeared blind or indifferent to their needs.”

“If I’d been on the edge of feeling content, thinking I was in the right job, doing the right thing at an acceptable pace, Katrina and my Iraq visit put a stop to all that.  Change needed to come faster – and I was going to have to decide what role I would play in bringing that about.”

In the matter of 20 pages or less, we quickly move from Obama’s Senate career to his contemplation of a run for President.  Michelle’s early reaction to that idea:

“Michelle lifted her eyebrows as if to suggest she didn’t believe me.  ‘If that’s really true, then the answer is ‘no,’ she said.  ‘I don’t want you to run for president, at least not now.’  She gave me a hard look and got up from the couch.  ‘God Barack…When is it going to be enough?'”

And then, in answer to Michelle’s question ‘Why do you need to be president?’:

“I know that the day I raise my right hand and take oath to be president of the United States, the world will start looking at America differently.  I know that kids all around this country – Black kids, Hispanic kids, kids who don’t fit in – they’ll see themselves differently, too, their horizons lifted, their possibilities expanded.  And that alone…would be worth it.

Michelle stared at me for what felt like an eternity.  ‘Well, honey,’ she said finally, ‘that was a pretty good answer.'”

 

Here’s a great guitar song from Dave Alvin’s new album of outtakes from over the years.  I really like his guitar style and remember when I dragged D to see him at the Kessler – might have been the first time we went.  Her comment still tickles me, “You know this is country music, right?”

If you enjoyed that, here’s another from the same album with a Rumba guitar style.  Such a versatile artist:

This Widespread Panic song popped up my Discovery Weekly playlist.  I really enjoy this band, but they get too into their solo jams when playing live.  I watched them really lose an excited New Orleans jazzfest audience with too much noodling.

Stay safe, kind and patient.  So many of our friends are getting vaccines this last week – very encouraging.

 

“Haggis is Pretty Good”

This was a relatively quiet week overall – mostly just working at home.  I met our friend Vinod for lunch at Brio in Southlake on Monday.  It was nice to catch up as I haven’t really talked to him in months.  We used to see each other every day in Austin and Vinod would always come by my desk to check in at the start of the day.  In all the years that I’ve known Vinod, I’ve never seen him with any kind of facial hair – apparently his wife has given the new goatee a maximum one month lifespan.

I picked up “The Boy, the mole, the fox and the horse” at the bookstore in Southlake and gave it as a gift to Diana.  Such a beautiful book.

I stopped into the British food store in Grapevine on the drive back from Southlake and picked up supplies for “Scottish night” on Saturday – more on that in a minute.

Amy and Ray were in town to do a final pack up for their move to Santa Fe.  Diana is really going to miss her workout buddy.  We enjoyed one of McD’s excellent meat and cheese platters on Thursday evening and had a great visit.  The ladies seem to be enjoying my music selection in this picture.  Finn hung in there with us for a couple of hours before heading up to bed.  He says the music didn’t keep him awake – I hope that’s true.

Speaking of Finn – he worked hard on some art showing the evolution of “Squirtle”.  We framed it and shipped it off to Will as a thank you for all that he’s done to help his little brother.

We enjoyed coffee and some hummus and avocado toast at Duino on Saturday afternoon as we ventured out to ship the picture to Will.   Finn has become quite the coffee connoisseur (tricky word to spell correctly).

I was able to catch up with some friends that I hadn’t talked to in a while during the week – Meeksie, Ron, and Meadie.  Everyone seems to be doing well and looking forward to the time when most of us are vaccinated.  Speaking of that – Diana is schedule for her first shot on Tuesday.  I’ll be very happy in a few weeks when she gets her second dose.

Scottish night on Saturday consisted of haggis, meat pies, shepherd’s pies, mashed potatoes and baked beans – all the classics.  We did torture Finn with the piping in of the haggis and reciting of a portion of the “Address to a Haggis.”  He didn’t think he’d tasted haggis before and quite liked it.

Those are pretty much the highlights.  Finn managed to keep up with Diana for a long run on Friday – showing her how it’s done on the steep grass hill at the end of her route.  I continued to work on week 5 of Couch to 5K and am planning to finish it up and move on to week 6 on Monday.  We visited 24 Hour Fitness a couple of times so that I could enjoy a swim while Finn worked out with the weights and machines.

I made hardly any progress on my Obama book this week, instead catching up on a bit of a backlog of The New Yorker magazines.  The most interesting article in those was one about how dogs have been trained to sniff out COVID – they patrol lines of people going into sporting events and are apparently very accurate.

“In a Silent Way” by Miles Davis turned 50 this week.  I struggle with most of his electric band work from the 70s but do enjoy this one.  Ethan Hein has an excellent music blog (he’s a teacher at NYU) and his article on this album is outstanding:

http://www.ethanhein.com/wp/2021/miles-davis-in-a-silent-way/

“In a Silent Way is my favorite Miles Davis album, possibly my favorite jazz album, and one of my favorite works of music generally. Most of Miles’ music of this era is ornery and angular, but In a Silent Way is like slipping into a warm bath. The music hardly sounds like “jazz” at all. It has elements of rock and funk, but it doesn’t really sound like those either. With its three keyboard players, ultra-minimal drums and static harmonies, the album sounds more like ambient electronic music than anything else.”

One of the really interesting parts of this album is listening to the trio of keyboard players.  Chick Corea plays the Wurlitzer in the left channel, Herbie Hancock plays the Fender Rhodes (my favourite keyboard sound)  in the right channel, and Joe Zawinul (of Weather Report fame) plays the organ in the center.  Totally different sounds and feels that build against and on top of each other.  John McLaughlin (of Mahavishnu Orchestra fame) plays guitar in a very laid back groove compared to his later theatrics.

Here’s another good article about the album:

https://www.passionweiss.com/2019/12/03/miles-davis-in-a-silent-way-turns-50/

Here’s a great Sunday morning jazz song from Oscar Peterson with Ben Webster on saxophone – what an amazing strength and tone there is to his playing:

I dipped back into the Spin magazine list of the top 50 albums from 1971 again.  This time starting at number 39.  I remembered a book I read over 3 years ago that talked about all the great music created that year.  Here’s a link to that post:

https://www.keithjrobertson.com/?p=1020

Elton John’s “Madman Across The Water” is at number 38.  What?  An album that opens with “Tiny Dancer” and “Levon” isn’t in the top 3?  This is my favourite from the album:

Stay safe and kind – hard to believe that in less than a month we’ll both be fully vaccinated.