“Music makes a house into a home”, Ivor Tiefenbrun, M.B.E.. More about that later.
Things are improving with our work teams in Houston – one of the five campus buildings is open and we’re moving folks out of it so that critical teams can start to occupy it – this means a lot of technology updates and is keeping me quite busy. While Houston recovers, I was shocked to see 
videos of the devastation in the Virgin Islands. All the leaves and limbs have been completely stripped bare from what used to be jungle like vegetation and many buildings are completely destroyed. I really worry about the future of these islands as they are so dependent on the tourist economy and it looks like it will be many years before they recover. We count ourselves lucky that we were able to enjoy such a wonderful vacation on St. John a few years ago (see post from February 28, 2016 – https://www.keithjrobertson.com/?m=201602).
My boss was visiting for the week so on Monday evening I took him to the 
Cowboys Club for dinner. He’s a diehard Eagles fan but really enjoyed the club and a lovely sunset from the terrace. I collected another “small world” story – my boss was a chef in Bucks County, Pennsylvania before getting into IT. He ran the back of the house operation at several restaurants and on occasional nights was a guest chef at the Ottsville Inn which my Uncle Scott and Aunt Evelyn ran for several years.
Ivor Tiefenbrun delivered one of the best presentations I’ve heard at my local audio store on Wednesday evening. He’s the chairman of Linn Products in Eaglesham, Scotland and was on a speaking tour of the United States. My friend Raj was in town from California and was able to attend with me – he’s a much bigger audio nut than I am and understands a lot of the technical details. Ivor grew up in the Gorbals in Glasgow and started Linn in the 1970s. Their famous and ground breaking product is the Linn Sondek LP 12 turntable and I was lucky enough to receive one from Diana as a gift a few years ago – hence the invite to the event. I’ve enjoyed countless hours of listening pleasure from my Linn system in my home office.
Ivor’s wit and humour reminded me of my Uncle Scott (he gets two mentions in the same week) and he obviously has a huge intellect and is very well read. He engaged the audience in about an hour of stories from growing up and starting Linn and verged off into all kinds of topics. I enjoyed one about his Dad who created special purpose machines – some for the Singer sewing factory in Clydebank. He had the audience touch someone we didn’t know and posited that touch conveys many emotions – love, hate, indifference, curiosity. He believes that music is the equivalent of “touching at a distance” and that an audio system of sufficient quality allows the listener to be touched by the emotions conveyed by the artist. He mentioned that hearing is the first sense to develop and usually the last to be lost and told a story of his mother conducting her favorite piece of music, which he was playing on one of his systems in her hospital room, while in a coma. One of my favourite quotes from Ivor that night is, “Music transcends race, class, religion, education and time”.
The last 30 minutes was a lesson in “active listening” and a demonstration of Linn’s top of the line system using the 2nd movement from Beethoven’s Emperor concerto (one of my Mum’s favourites) performed by Artur Pizzaro. It was a rare treat to hear such an expensive system which costs almost as much as a small house (in Texas at least). It turns out that Linn’s Chief Technology Officer is also a Keith Robertson. This led to an interesting conversation and an invitation from Ivor to tour his factory with him the next time I’m in Scotland.
Raj’s research before the event taught us that Linn in Scotland describes 
where a watercourse has cut through a shelf of hard rock creating a narrow, steep-sided cut through which the watercourse runs. Now the name and logo make sense – the needle in the record grooves.
The annual Americana Music awards were held on Wednesday night and I was pleased to see several of my favourites winning. Sturgill Simpson won Album of the Year for “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” (see my May 10, 2016 post – https://www.keithjrobertson.com/?
m=20160510). One of my favourite songwriters, John Prine, won Artist of the Year. His most famous song is “Angel from Montgomery”. Charlie Sexton, who we saw a couple of weeks ago at the Kessler (see my August 28th post – https://www.keithjrobertson.com/?m=20170828), won Instrumentalist of the Year. Iris Dement, Robert Cray, and Van Morrison also won awards.
I had bought tickets to see David Gilmour’s new concert film from Pompeii on Wednesday night at the iPic theater but unfortunately had to pass that up to attend the Linn event – I’ll see it on DVD soon I’m sure. It’s amazing to read that no audience had seen a show in that amphitheater in over 1,000 years until the Gilmour shows.
Saturday started with a workout at Cowboy’s Fit followed by a delicious lunch at Neighborhood Services Grill across the way from the gym. This location of NHS opened about a month ago and proved to be just as delicious as the original that we enjoy so much on Lovers Lane in Dallas.
After lunch we went to see the movie “California Typewriter” at the Angelika Cinema. I had asked McD if she’d like to go to a movie and only told her the name of it and that Tom Hanks and Sam Sheppard were both in it. She asked if it was a documentary and if she could see the preview video – I declined on both because I didn’t think she’d approve the choice if she saw it, and because I suspected her reaction to the movie would be quite funny. My prediction was correct – she was doubled over in laughter at the end of the movie because it was so strange, dry, and geeky – including an attendee behind us in the theater asking at the end of the movie if anybody else was a typewriter collector.
The movie centers around a repair shop in Berkeley, California and various avid typewriter collectors and historians. Tom Hanks excitedly demonstrates his collection of over 200 machines and explains why he prefers some over others. I enjoyed the documentary but think it probably appeals to a very niche audience. Here’s the preview that McD didn’t get to see:
My sister-in-law, Amy, sent us this Jack Johnson video from a new song that I think perfectly captures the current sentiment about dividing walls.
I’m currently making slow progress (combination of being busy at work and the density of the prose) on Paul Auster’s book “4 3 2 1”. The book tells the life story of Ferguson in four different variations. The first couple of chapters show how small variations in the story line can start to have dramatically different impacts on Ferguson’s life. I think I’m going to enjoy getting into the meat of this one.
The Cowboys are playing Denver in Denver right now. There was about an hour long weather delay as a thunderstorm with heavy lightning moved through. The game is tied at 7-7 and looks like it might be quite exciting.
Tuesday through Thursday of this week was spent in New York in meetings with Microsoft. Their offices are next to Times Square which is filled with hustle and bustle at all hours of the day and night. The view from the conference room included the New York Times building and huge TV screens with advertisements and breaking news – quite distracting. I stayed at a hotel called The Sanctuary which is at 47th Street and 8th Avenue – half a block off Times Square but a quiet and modern boutique hotel which was a nice find.
Much of Friday was spent working from AutoHans while Penelope was attended to. She needed an oil change and new brakes. I did find a very nice neighborhood bistro only a five minute walk from the garage called Astoria. I was able to sit outside in the nice summer transitioning to autumn weather and enjoy lunch, the newspaper, and good coffee.
outside and finished the book “Bruno, Chief of Police” by Martin Walker. This was a light, quick and thoroughly enjoyable read. Martin Walker was born in Scotland and moved to the Perigord region of France in 2006. He published the first Bruno novel in 2007 and has been pumping out a new one each year since. I enjoyed the local village characters and the food and wine descriptions – life in St Denis sounds perfect.
The weekend was spent catching up on some exercise, relaxing by the pool, finalizing the wedding albums, and pulling together information for our estate plan – nothing very exciting. I did watch most of the movie “Gentlemen prefer blondes” starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Mansfield (a native of Dallas). I’d never watched more than a few minutes of this before and McD was entertained by my constant chuckling at what is a very silly but quite funny movie. It’s maybe best known for the song “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”.
I finished “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett this week. Given how much I enjoyed her most recent novel, “Commonwealth”, this was a disappointing read to me. The first section of the story where a world-renowned soprano sings at a birthday party in honor of a visiting Japanese CEO in an unnamed South American country and is then taken hostage, along with 58 other visiting dignitaries, in the vice-presidential mansion was quite engaging. The middle section where the hostage situation drags on for weeks and then months becomes slow moving and struggled to keep my attention. Interest peaks again in the last few pages as the hostage situation is resolved but it was too late for me to give this read anything above an average rating. On a positive note, the descriptions of the operatic aria performances and piano accompaniment are very well done.
The cocktail menu was very cleverly constructed as a multi chapter novel and had lots to choose from. My favorite was the “Doctor Zhivago”. The place had a Cuban theme including décor and menu options. A highly recommended stop for a great craft cocktail and good views of the Statue of Liberty from outside.
Clorinda went to watch Sophia’s first performance on Saturday night and so we tried a restaurant that Diana had picked from those participating in New York restaurant week named “Batard”. This was our best dining experience in a long time. The place is located in Tribeca and has one Michelin star (not that you would know from their advertising or menus – it’s just a small award in the window). We had foie gras and steak tartare to start and both were phenomenal. Then duck and lamb to follow – Diana’s lamb was the best I’ve tasted. The service and atmosphere were just what we like. We’ll certainly be back as soon as we can.
A picnic in Central Park was our plan for Sunday afternoon. We got off to a dodgy start as the subway train didn’t stop where we expected at 81st street and our next option was 125th street in Harlem. We quickly came back down to Columbus Circle on the next train, picked up some sandwiches and headed into the south area of the park for our picnic. A short ramble after lunch took us past the carousel, baseball fields and “Library Walk” which features statues of both Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.
Birdland jazz club was our destination on Sunday evening. We saw the Birdland Latin Jazz Orchestra which was in the midst of a five week Sunday residency. The music was excellent – mambo and salsa style and the band was very well rehearsed and together. Here’s a video of the rhythm section getting a workout. I hadn’t been to Birdland before and was very pleasantly surprised by the white table cloths, food, service, sound and room to move around the tables.
across from the club. The craft cocktail performance making the “Smoking Sipper” was quite something as was the presentation. We met a few interesting characters at the bar – a former McKinsey consultant from Dallas and a couple from Canada who had owned and worked in the “Horseshoe” – 
apparently the most famous music club in Canada. The club owner was named “X-Ray” and told us a story about the Rolling Stones playing his 180 person club.
I finished the book “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles this week. Amusingly the lady across the aisle from me on our flight home was reading the same book and was at about the same place. We had a nice chat about how much we were both enjoying being transported to Russia in the early 20th Century. The book details the exploits of Count Alexander Rostov after the Russian revolution and his “house arrest” in the Metropol hotel. The Count spends more than 40 years in the hotel and finds ways to pass his time, ultimately becoming the head waiter of the excellent restaurant in the hotel. This was a very interesting view into a period and location in history that I don’t know a lot about. A couple of favorite quotes:
I keep in the car for a quick and light read if I stop for coffee or have to wait for someone or something for a few minutes – titled “The Olivetti Chronicles – Three Decades of Life and Music” by John Peel. Peel was a late night Radio 1 DJ in England when I was growing up and I love the walks down memory lane that his short stories provide. Here are a couple of snippets:
and her parents, Tad and Terri, joined us. First stop was the Tablas Creek winery where Tad had arranged a private barrel room tasting for us. We liked a few of the wines but nothing jumped out and grabbed us. Our hostess was a wine student at Cal Poly who really knew her stuff and could answer all of Tad’s 
various questions with ease. Madi wasn’t dealing with the twisty roads too well and so we chose close wineries for our next stops. I was amazed at how mountainous the region was – much more varied than Napa valley and more difficult to navigate.
stop – sweet and fruity wines for the most part. The views from the mountaintop were very good with a straight line view to the Hearst ranch where the famous castle sits. We finished up at McPrice Myers which was the smallest and friendliest of the wineries. Our hostess invited us to bring in our meat and cheese 
and enjoy it on the counter during the tasting. I made friends with the house Westie. A couple of the wines at this stop were quite pleasant.
Bloody Mary’s and bagels and lox. In the evening John and Madi took us over to Morro Bay on the coast for dinner. The water front looks directly out on Morro Rock, a 581 foot volcanic plug that is connected to shore by a causeway. It is the last peak of the Nine Sisters which extend from San Luis Obispo to Morro Bay. It was named by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (a Portuguese explorer) in 1542 – “Morro” in Spanish translates as crown shaped hill.
enjoyed them all. Tognazzini’s was our first stop where we had oysters and calamari on the deck with a good country singer for entertainment. Next was Morro Bay Wine Seller where champagne flights were sampled by all but me along with the “ultimate” crostini and some very pleasant live music. We captured this silly boardwalk picture on the walk to the final progressive meal stop at Windows on the Water where I sampled some yummy risotto. Some shuffle board and pool at 
Whiskey and June and then it was off to bed.
theme is the attempts by the pop star to create a school in Africa and the challenges that ensue. The book was very well reviewed and was a quick read but didn’t really do a lot for me. Some of the references reminded me of things I had forgotten all about – “I ventured into the kitchen to get two beakers of Ribena”, “I sometimes sang for him – the theme tune to “Top Cat”” – now I can’t get that tune out of my head.
“Bodyguard” musical at the Fair Park Music Hall just south of downtown Dallas. The venue is quite old with a nice art deco flavor and lots of room to mill around before the concert started. We had seats in the balcony and were able to move to better seats as it wasn’t very busy upstairs. The musical is based on the movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner from 1992 and has 20 songs – mostly popularized by Whitney Houston. The big number is “I Will Always Love You” towards the end. The story didn’t completely follow the movie – particularly in the second half. The singing was fine but not quite as good as we were hoping for.
some welcome air conditioning and a delicious cocktail and steak tartare (served with a quail egg). Next was dinner with Patty and Brent at the Meddlesome Moth. We shared several delicious appetizers and then I had a wonderful rabbit pot pie. It paired beautifully with my Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin Nitro beer.
on a very enjoyable show. We had been concerned about echo in the venue based on a lunch we attended on the field, but some very large curtains took care of that nicely. The highlight for me was Bonnie’s cover of the “Angel from Montgomery” by John Prine – so soulful and heartbreaking. James Taylor highlights were “Fire and Rain” followed by “Sweet Baby James”. It was nice to have dinner at the Cowboys Club and use the private “Jones family elevator” to get down to the concert. Diana actually went back up to the club to get her drinks rather than waiting in line in the venue – and beat me back to the seats.
and mother about his family. He weaves together tales of the various generations and relatives very cleverly and sometimes with just a bit too much detail. Chabon is right up there with Ian McEwan as one of my current generation favorites based on his wonderfully clever and descriptive similes and metaphors. “He had maybe two minutes before the rocket of his anger burned up its fuel and fell back to earth”. “Inside the airduct was a smell like the taste of a new filling”. I didn’t enjoy this as much as the last of his books I read, “Telegraph Avenue”, but would definitely recommend it.
On Sunday I had a very enjoyable lunch at Santana Row catching up with Finn while Diana met up with her girlfriends for “Sip and Dip” at Kristina and Cat’s home. Finn shared his website which showcases some of his graphic design and mobile application work – finnrobertsondesign.com. He’s working on finding the perfect job match in this field just now. I met up with the crew at Kristina’s and we enjoyed a lovely dinner and sharing stories with her Mom. We spent the night in Los Gatos and I was able to visit some favorite old haunts – Carry Nations pub, The Great Bear coffee shop where we met up with Los Gatos Amy, and The Los Gatos Cafe for breakfast (and a special carrot and walnut left over treat for Clorinda).
On Tuesday we met up with a couple of friends of D’s from Australia – Renee and Daniel. Renee taught Alicia dance and singing when she was in Australia many years ago and has since married Daniel. They walked across the Golden Gate Bridge; we met them on the far side, and took them up to the top of the Marin Headlands for the best view of San Francisco.
During the trip to California I was able to finish the book, “Two and Two, McSorley’s, My Dad, and Me” by Rafe Bartholomew. This is a very enjoyable read about the oldest continually operating bar in the United States and a father and son who have both worked there for many years – several together. Lots of insights into the operation of the unique bar are offered along with a lot of commentary on working together with one’s Dad. I was interested to read that the bar did not close down during Prohibition but was first closed during Hurricane Sandy. This reminded me of my experience trying to recover connectivity for AIG’s employees stranded at home during Sandy. This while all of the New York based team was completely offline due to lost electricity and connectivity. Not something that I hope to have to do again in my IT career.
nfiguration and finally put a piano in the area we’ve referred to as the “piano room” since moving into the house over 4 years ago. I did some quick online research and then made a trip to Jack Whitby pianos in Dallas. Jack is quite the local character and had a good selection of reasonably priced pianos. I picked one out around 1:30pm and it was delivered to the house by 5pm – much to Diana’s surprise and entertainment. I’ve been enjoying the sound and feel of the new Shoenbach piano very much over the last week.
We also loved this wedding card from the Scottish penguin series that includes our Christmas present mugs with William Wallace, Batman and Robin, lovebirds, and bagpiper.
Here’s the staging for a selection of songs from the “Animals” album. Screens and chimneys down the middle of the arena and perpendicular to the stage reprised the classic album cover of the Battersea power station. This was also the point in the show where Waters’ feelings on Trump were on full display. Including a large Trump pig that circled the arena and many graphics and direct Trump quotes projected on the large screens. It was interesting to look around and see the split of those cheering and those sitting on their hands. I’d say about 30% obvious Trumpers in the audience – I was expecting less.
The first half of the show ended with “Another Brick in the Wall” and a crew of local Dallas kids dressed in orange prison garb dancing on stage. They removed their overalls to show “Resist” shirts. At the end of the show, confetti with Resist stamped on it dropped from the ceiling. “Resist” is a slogan for a movement that encourages grass roots organizing and action to stand against the current Trump/Republican agenda.
Based on this text I think Will enjoyed the show as much as I did which makes me very happy.
esting to see the Village Vanguard in a documentary called “Becoming Mike Nichols” that I watched between catch up naps on Saturday – apparently he and Elaine May performed there in their early days as an improv duo. The documentary was about Nichols work up to and including “The Graduate” which was his first movie at age 36. It was also Dustin Hoffman’s first movie – Nichols had seen him perform at an off-Broadway production.
Tuesday and Wednesday were long work days at 180 Maiden Lane in the Wall St area. 80 folks locked up in an auditorium with rotating speakers, panels, and group discussions.
day I made my first Blue Apron meal in a while. Catfish with ponzu and red pepper sauce, ginger toasted peanuts, garlic infused rice, and sesame seed zucchini.
ed the book “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson this week. This is a mind blowing account of the racial injustices of the judicial system in the South (particularly Alabama) told through stories of many cases that the author, a Harvard lawyer who has never really earned much of a living, has worked on over the last 20 years. The progress that Stevenson has driven almost single handedly over the years with many Supreme Court hearings is phenomenal.