Month: October 2018

The last few hours of “Offline October” are upon me now.  These weeks of pre-retirement have been very pleasant and now it’s time to start back to work.  I have an early start tomorrow to catch the first flight down to Austin for the week.

The week started with Monday Movie Matinee, and this week I saw “The Old Man and the Gun” with Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek and a wonderful Tom Waits.

This is reported to be Redford’s last movie with him moving into official retirement.  He’s 82 years old and still had the same twinkle in his eye as he had when delivering some of the entertaining dialog in “The Sting”, so many years ago.  His chemistry with Spacek is excellent and, although he has a small role, Tom Waits had the few of us in the theater laughing out loud.  I recommend this movie if you’re in the mood for some light hearted entertainment.

Some AIG friends invited us to join them for dinner on Thursday night.  The only challenge was that they were staying over in Fort Worth and it was pouring down.  McD and I persevered, driving through the downpour from downtown Dallas and McKinney to rendezvous at the Marriott close to the Texas Motor Speedway.  We had a very entertaining evening catching up with Tim and Joe.  I decided to redeem some hotel points to spend the night and avoid the long drive home – made for a slightly shorter drive for Diana in the morning and allowed me to have breakfast with the boys.

After workout, coffee and crossword on Saturday morning, we drove by Patty and Brent’s to check on the moving truck progress.  Things were moving along quickly with an extra long truck almost fully packed.  They leave early Monday for the long drive to Corning, New York.

On Saturday afternoon we were finally able to see “A Star is Born” – a movie we’d been looking forward to for a while.  Both of us enjoyed it very much.

The movie features a lot of original music, performed by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.  Both are excellent, with Cooper adopting Sam Elliott’s deep, scratchy voice and Gaga giving an unbelievably natural performance for her first full movie.  I enjoyed Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real as the backing band.  They have played with Neil Young for the last few years, and apparently Cooper saw one of those shows and decided to recruit them for his movie.  Nelson also co-wrote many of the songs with Cooper and Jason Isbell.

For our last dinner before the move, Patty selected Jaspers.  This restaurant is close to the old EDS headquarters in Plano, and has been the site of many and varied work dinners over the years.  It was fun to reminisce about those with Patty – although she has a better memory than I do for many of them.    We started with the always addictive maytag blue cheese chips – never any left over.  Then I had scallops and shrimp with jambalaya risotto – also delicious.  The restaurant is much less busy now than it was in the EDS heyday, due to all the new places at Legacy West, but the food is just how I remembered it.

My first book this week was “Small Great Things” by Jodi Picoult.  The title is from a Martin Luther King quote, “If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way”.

The story begins as Ruth Jefferson, a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years’ experience, begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy’s counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other’s trust, and come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.

I enjoyed the way Picoult alternates narrators with each chapter – jumping from Ruth, to Kennedy to Turk (the white supremacist father).  This 2016 book seemed very appropriate this week, as hatred and intolerance filled the news.  Picoult does a skillful job of presenting all three narrators without judgement and with helpful insight into the background and basis of their beliefs.  I did find the ending a bit trite and unbelievable but won’t spoil it for anyone who is interested and hasn’t read this book yet.

My second book was “Baby, You’re Gonna be Mine” by Kevin Wilson.  This is a short story collection that was highly recommended recently by Anne Patchett (one of my favourite authors) and her staff at Parnassus books in Nashville.

The stories in this collection are certainly wildly varied and entertaining.  “Wildfire Johnny” is the story of a man who discovers a magic razor that allows him to travel back in time. “Scroll Through the Weapons” is about a couple taking care of their underfed and almost feral nieces and nephews. “Signal to the Faithful” follows a boy as he takes a tense road trip with his priest. And “Baby, You’re Gonna Be Mine,” the title story, is about a narcissistic rock star who moves back home during a rough patch.

I enjoyed the collection and the creativity in each of the stories but wouldn’t rate this book as highly as the Parnassus bookstore staff.  I think I’m discovering that I’m not as huge a fan of the short story format as many of the reviewers that I follow.  I do, however, still count “Walking Wounded” by William McIlvanney, a Scottish based short story collection, as one of my all time favourites.

On the music front, a new album from John Hiatt, “The Eclipse Sessions”, was released last week and is excellent from start to finish.  Hiatt has been making music for over 40 years at an amazingly high quality.  His song writing is as pithy and entertaining as ever.  Here’s “Over the Hill”, a perfect blend of J. J. Cale style laid back guitar and Mark Knopfler guitar tone.

From the released long ago, but new to me this week bag, here’s some excellent Booker T and the MGs:

Apologies in advance if the blog posts over the next few weeks get a bit less interesting and timely as I get acquainted with my new job.

I heard a term that some teenagers used when they decided to give up their electronic devices for a month – “Offline October”.  That’s what I’ve decided to call my time off before I start work again in just over a week.

Another new term I’m using is “Movie Matinee Monday”, since I’ve gone to see a movie the last two Mondays, while D’s working during the day.  What shall I see tomorrow?  Last Monday was “Bad Times at the El Royale”, starring Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo (in an amazing performance) and Jon Hamm.  The movie is set at a hotel called the El Royale that straddles the Nevada/California border.  The story is definitely on the darker side of film noir and that is nicely offset by some great singing by Cynthia.

Diana flew to Boston on Monday and was able to have dinner at Bricco in the North End.  This was where we had planned to eat on Saturday before all the flight challenges.  She returned to Dallas on Wednesday afternoon and sent me a text saying “gong to be a bit delayed”, along with this video.  A car caught on fire right where she was trying to collect hers.  After about an hour, she was able to retrieve the Passat and head on home.

Tim was in town for work on Thursday and we met him for dinner at a relatively new restaurant in Legacy West called Haywire.  This is a Texas themed restaurant with 3 floors providing different options.  The 3rd floor open air bar is described as having a Marfa theme.  Marfa is a town in south Texas, close to Big Bend National Park, with a unique and eclectic artist community.  The most interesting part of the bar is a full size airstream trailer with tables and chairs inside.

We enjoyed our dinner on the second floor and it was nice to catch up with Tim.

Alicia arrived home on Friday afternoon for the first time since leaving for college in June.  The Ogans arrived for the weekend on Friday evening and Tim came over to hang out with everyone.  We went from just the two of us in the big house to nine overnight on Friday.  We had a very enjoyable night just hanging out and chatting.

For Saturday lunch we tried the Food Hall at Legacy West (right next to Haywire restaurant).  The hall has about 20 very varied food vendors and lots of outdoor seating options to let us enjoy the first sunny, dry day in weeks.  I really enjoyed my chicken tikka masala naan wrap and some samosas.

We thought the ladies were off for some shopping after lunch, until we received this picture.  They decided that a nice bottle of half price rose champagne and steak tartare from Toulouse restaurant was a much better value than the workout attire they were looking at.

A quick respite at home and then it was time to head to Oak Cliff for dinner and a concert.

We ate at Nova, our new favourite pre-concert dinner stop.  Everyone enjoyed their dinner and Anne commented that one could make a great meal out of a couple of side dishes – the broccoli, cauliflower, and mac n’ cheese are all great.  I tried the chicken fried pork loin that is one of the signature dishes and was not disappointed.  I have a decent sized portion of left overs waiting on me for dinner.

The concert at the Kessler was excellent.  Big Sam’s Funky Nation opened with a high energy, crowd pleasing set.  The ladies were all dancing in front of the stage and Sam invited them up to dance on the stage with him for the finale.  Diana was singled out first and was a good sport, although the look on her face said she was quite nervous about what was in store.  Here’s a short video with Diana, Anne, Kaitlin, and Alicia (left to right).

Here’s another video of Sam’s trombone on the Beatles “Come Together”.

It took a few songs for the Rebirth Brass Band to get warmed up and into their groove.  They were in good form for several songs before we left for the long ride home.  The Rebirth is perhaps the best known New Orleans brass band.  I took Diana to see them at the Maple Leaf on our first night in New Orleans and was pleased to see that she enjoyed them so much.

Our friend Jens was having a 60th birthday party on Saturday evening and we were able to stop in for a bit on our way home from the concert.  It was nice to see his son again – probably close to 20 years since I last saw him in San Jose.  Glenda did a lovely job organizing food and decorating for the party.

Sunday began with a brunch that Alicia had organized for some of her friends.  The Ogans participated for a short time and then had to head off to the airport.

I’m watching the Cowboys lose to the Redskins while writing this post – there’s still a lot of time for them to come back but they are not looking like the same team that had a big win over the Jaguars last week.

I finished a couple of books this week – a feature of my time off that I’m really enjoying.  The first, “Less”, by Andrew Sean Greer, I found to be a very entertaining read.  I liked these two descriptions of the Pulitzer prize winning book.

A scintillating satire of the American abroad, a rumination on time and the human heart, a bittersweet romance of chances lost, by an author The New York Times has hailed as “inspired, lyrical,” “elegiac,” “ingenious,” as well as “too sappy by half,” Less shows a writer at the peak of his talents raising the curtain on our shared human comedy.

“Less is the funniest, smartest and most humane novel I’ve read since Tom Rachman’s 2010 debut, The Imperfectionists….Greer writes sentences of arresting lyricism and beauty. His metaphors come at you like fireflies….Like Arthur, Andrew Sean Greer’s Less is excellent company. It’s no less than bedazzling, bewitching and be-wonderful.”
―New York Times Book Review

Here’s a typically entertaining passage as Less begins his adventures in Morocco:

“What does a camel love?  I would guess nothing in the world.  Not the sand that scours her, or the sun that bakes her, or the water she drinks like a teetotaler.  Not sitting down, blinking her lashes like a starlet.  not standing up, moaning in indignant fury as she manages her adolescent limbs.  Not her fellow camels, to whom she shows the disdain of an heiress forced to fly coach.  Not the humans who have enslaved her.  Not the oceanic monotony of the dunes.  Not the flavorless grass she chews, then chews again.  Not the sun or the moon or the stars.  And surely not the heavy American, a few pounds overweight, but not bad for his age, taller than most and top heavy, tipping from side to side as she carried this human, the Arthur Less, pointlessly across the Sahara.”

The second book, “The Reminders”, by Val Emmich, was an equally enjoyable read.  I wasn’t sure about the story premise – thinking it might be a bit of a stretch and not something I would typically enjoy, but the folks at Interabang books were so positive about it that I decided to give it a try.  I’m glad I did.  Here’s a synopsis of the story from an online review:

“Grief-stricken , then again,over his partner Sydney’s death, Gavin sets fire to every reminder in the couple’s home before fleeing Los Angeles for New Jersey, where he hopes to find peace with the family of an old friend. Instead, he finds Joan.

Joan, the family’s ten-year-old daughter, was born Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, or HSAM: the rare ability to recall every day of her life in cinematic detail. Joan has never met Gavin until now, but she did know his partner, and waiting inside her uncanny mind are startlingly vivid memories to prove it.

Gavin strikes a deal with Joan: in return for sharing her memories of Sydney, Gavin will help her win a songwriting contest she’s convinced will make her unforgettable. The unlikely duo set off on their quest until Joan reveals unexpected details about Sydney’s final months, forcing Gavin to question not only the purity of his past with Sydney but the course of his own immediate future.

Told in the alternating voices of these two irresistible characters, The Reminders is a hilarious and tender exploration of loss, memory, friendship, and renewal.”

I had planned a few activities on Wednesday, but couldn’t put this book down until it was finished.  That rarely happens with me.  The combination of the way the HSAM condition in the young character is described, and her desire to write a song for a competition in her father’s basement studio, kept me thoroughly engaged.  There are only 30 people in the world that have been diagnosed with HSAM, and I remember watching a TV show where Marilu Henner demonstrated her ability to recall everything about every day in her life as if watching it on video.

I chuckled when reading this passage:

“In the kitchen, I fix myself a cocktail.  Gin, Campari, sweet red vermouth: a Negroni, Syd’s drink of the moment.  The fridge is empty, so I do without the orange rind.”  Negroni is the cocktail that’s currently aging in my barrel and I typically serve it for McD with an orange twist.

Let’s finish out with a final taste of brass band music from the Lil’ Rascals Brass Band:

This just in – the Cowboys have tied the score with the Redskins at half time.

Lots of work activity this week and so the weekend was more precious than normal.  Our main activity was the much anticipated, at least by me,  Nick Lowe concert at the Kessler.

Dinner before the concert was at Nova, the excellent restaurant that Brent found, and a short walk from the theater.  We both commented on the different feel we experience in restaurants like this than our local places – so much more friendly and relaxed.

Have you heard of Nick Lowe?  Do you know the songs “Cruel to be Kind”, “What’s so Funny About Peace Love and Understanding”, “Allison” or “I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock N’ Roll”?  You may not have heard of Mr. Lowe, but I bet you’ve heard at least two of his songs and know them well.  Here’s a video of “Cruel to be Kind” to get you started:

In addition to his songwriting, Lowe produced the best known Elvis Costello albums from 1975 through 1981, Graham Parker, and the Pretenders, among many others.

We both loved this concert and rate it as one of the most exceptional concerts that we’ve seen at the Kessler – right up there with the Marc Cohn show that led us to pick “True Companion” as our wedding song.  Here’s “Peace Love and Understanding”:

The backup band was “Los Straightjackets’, a surf rock band who wear crazy Luche Libre wrestling masks while performing.  They played a few or their songs in the middle of the set, including this version of “Batman” complete with Gogo dancers recruited from the audience:

Here’s one last song from the show, “Allison”, the final encore to an amazing show:

Please go and see the 69 year old Lowe if you ever get the chance – a great gentleman, songwriter and performer.

We spent the night downtown at the classic art deco hotel, the Belmont, and talked about how concerned we are that this classic destination is going to be caught up in the gentrification of the neighborhood and ruined.  There was an amazing view of downtown Dallas at night from our room.

On Sunday morning we explored the newly gentrified area across the street from the Belmont and were happy to find a great coffee shop, the “Houndstooth Coffee” in the Sylvan 30 development.  Next door was a Taco Deli and so we were able to get a “quick bite to hold us over until lunch”.

We had brunch at “Boulevardier” restaurant in Oak Cliff and it was one of our most surprisingly great meals in a while.  I had the “Legs and Eggs” – duck confit with sunny side up eggs served over stone cut grit cakes – yummy!  Diana might have had an even better brunch – lox benedict over an amazingly light brioche.  The hollandaise sauce and the brioche were the best I’ve tasted.

After lunch, we drove home to watch the Cowboys play the Detroit Lions.  After a couple of anemic performances, I wasn’t excited about the game.  However, it turned out to be a great game with a good performance by all aspects of the Cowboys team.  They won by 1 point in the last few seconds – with the rookie kicker winning the game.   Here’s the amazing pass to Elliott from Prescott that almost sealed the game.

An exceptional concert, tasty brunch, and Cowboys win – what a pleasant weekend!

I enjoyed the book “Summer Hours at the Robbers Library” this week.  It was well reviewed and started out feeling very fluffy and inconsequential, but the characters and interesting plot twists sucked me in around the half way point.  The book features varied characters that meet at a library, including a Wall St executive who looses his job in the 2008 financial crisis, a home schooled “alternative lifestyle” girl, and a divorcee trying to escape her prior life.  They all come together to help solve each others’ problems in creative ways.  This is what I would describe as a great vacation or beach read.

I read an interesting post about the album “Solid Air” by John Martyn this week.   Martyn, who died in 2009, was described by the London Times as “an electrifying guitarist and singer whose music blurred the boundaries between folk, jazz, rock and blues”.  I remember a friend in University being a huge fan of Martyn and, as much as I tried, I couldn’t get into the music.  It’s amazing what 3o plus years can do to your musical taste – I’ve been  really enjoying the record this week.  Here’s “May You Never”:

And to finish out the post this week, here’s a picture of my oldest child resplendent in the kilt and accessories he purchased on his trip to Scotland last week.  Apparently this was the outfit he planned to wear to see “The Phantom of the Opera” in San Francisco this weekend.