Shaken not Stirred

Location:
Wolf Trap

Target:
Pink Martini

Date:
Monday June 18th

For those of you who don’t know this group…. Yeah – catch them, buy their stuff, and spread the word. I’ll let the music do the talking….

The stage presence is a mix of; old style big band feel, lounge singer, latin jazz, and full orchestra! The main singer had this perfect name also: China Forbes!! Soo coool!

Going Out With a Bang!

SO I know no one really watches Formula One Grand Prix Racing here is the states... Well maybe the odd person here and there. SO I was left to my own devices this weekend to catch up on last weeks race in Montreal (June 10th) and Sunday's at Indianapolis (June 17th). Needless to say - I was STUNNED at the Canadian GP. I have never seen so many wrecks in a GP race or so much bouncing around in ages! The most dramatic being Robert Kubica's airborne high impact crash that left almost nothing remaining of the car as he approached the hairpin at turn 10 (accelerating out of turn 9; see below) about 250 KPH (about 180 MPH)!! This is quite amazing that luckily he survived intact with a concussion and a sprained ankle! Well heres some video, but who knows for how long as apparently FOM (Formula One Management) is having all videos of the crash removed...



He hit that wall hard - flying literally! OUCH!

In other news - who else watches America's Cup Sailing?? apparently I do...... I have such strange taste in sports. Below is the Canada GP Circuit track - turn 10 is in the lower left corner (click on the pic for full sized version)

So You Want to Start a Revolution

So, last night (Friday) I was invited at the very last minute to the SilverDocs Festival in Silver Spring. I had never heard of the movie Chicago 10. But I was not in the mood for a large crowd, and was informed of Dave Connelly’s Happy hour at RFD a bit to late.

The evening started off a little disappointed; great company with Jon, Darren & Ann at one of my favorite restaurant Cubano’s. Unfortunately I ordered the Masitas de Puerco, and this was the first time I have EVER been disappointed in the food there (luckily everyone else’s was very good, as usual). Surprisingly, we met up with Brandon, Candice & Kelly who had dragged the siblings to the Cubano’s on my recommendation from when I told her over the Memorial Day Weekend.

Anyway the whole point was to go see the Chicago 10, which as a minor aside should really be named the Chicago 8, and I still don’t get the number difference after looking up some of the history….

Basically in a nutshell, the movie depicts the events of the Democratic Convention of 1968, and the ensuing riots, and the trial that came after of 8 people who were charged with CONSPIRACY to incite riots across state lines, etc…. Now most people would think.. uughhh a documentary… and normally I am not one to shy away from them (former History Channel addict here). But this was definitely a new direction for this style of film.

The director Brett Morgen, uses no current interviews – instead he uses extensive archival footage to let the viewer experience the events as one might have during that time, albeit from the safety of your theatre seat and condensed (supposedly from over 700 hours of footage). He then interspaces that with the trial, depicted in rotoscope animation style, with actors reading/depicting from the transcripts. It is a VERY UNIQUE way of presenting a documentary for sure. Although the director says (he was present and supposedly said) that he leaves the viewers to make their own conclusions from the material, there is an obvious editing process. He was also trying to draw some parallels between the situation in Vietnam and Iraq with some eerie footage of LBJ saying almost the same as GWB, and thus sets a nice POV to make the actions somewhat contemporary.

It was also, it would so seem to me an obvious miscarriage of justice. How common is it to bind and gag a prisoner in the court for requesting the ability to represent himself? I was left stunned needless to say.

I think one of the thoughts that still definitely swirls in my head is our true ability to influence politics in this country as the protest in Chicago was meant to be. It seems that our influence as a people is minimal – contribute to this – contribute to that. Only rarely do I see what I figure is a politician who really listens to the people. Its all about political wrangling and money…… I feel saddened, and disheartened. I mean if you really try to start something, it might just destroy you. Even though I don’t particularly like her, look what the anti-war campaign did to Cindy Sheehan – and to what avail… the politicians in charge continue to “stay the course” (I’m not saying I have the right or wrong answer, just an observation here).

So do we do enough for our voices to be truly heard?

(For those of you wondering - the title was inspired by: 1- Obviously The Beatles Song - Revolution - lyrics here and coincidentally was released in November of the same year, recorded just before July also, and... ; 2 - Those idiots who try selling you the "Stop Bitching, Start A Revolution T-Shirt... What revolution are they starting? a commercial revolution?? pppppffffftttt!!!!!)

A Patchwork of Thoughts

As I make my way back home from Miami, I realize a few things:

• Despite having been home for so many years – Miami isn’t home anymore.

• 

• Yes I do speak my own language… well more like I constantly make up words that I think should exist…. So sue me…..

• Miami has changed so much – it feels crowded. It feels run down. Maybe its just the places I saw that were from my growing up, but much of the old Miami is gone – either overrun, replaced with something else, or dilapidating. I leave a bit saddened.

• I like Lighthouses...... (that's Bill Bags State Park & the Cape Florida Lighthouse, Miami's oldest structure in existence)
  

• I have never thought that much of South Florida has much character aside from certain areas (Coral Gables, my favorite; Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, Brickell, Little Havana, The Roads area, - snug in between the Grove /Brickell & Coral Gables).Its no different in Ft. Lauderdale or Boca Raton, but I will say that the resorts in Boca can be kick ass and yep- pretty romantic – even when you have some surly grackle (its like a lesser crow) interrupting you.

• Why haven’t I visited the Bahamas yet? They look soooo amazing from the sky. When you can see the underwater sand dunes from 25,000 feet up you know it has to be beautiful. Put that as an easy “must do” trip. I think I still have sailing the windward/leeward islands as a to do – but first I need to learn how to sail the big boats… putzing around in my old 14’ Laser sailboat isn’t the same thing.

• Left side of the plane – window seat… best seat in the house.

• Despite the above statement, Miami still looks gorgeous looking south as you take off. I remember the view from the Biltmore Hotel's 14^th floor many years ago when I was in the cigar lounge with my cousin. Yep the Best view.

• Clouds from above are cool, makes me think that it would be really cool to ride in a hurricane hunter airplane sometime…. Oh what a sight to see it in person from above – stick that on a to do list (now to figure out how to get on one!)

• Flying over the ocean…..I look down and see the light winds caress the surface, it looks like a patchwork, closely knit, thick yet delicately spaced… yet another of mother natures simple beauties….

I think that does it for now…..

My Own Personal Google Map

So off I go to my trip to Miami, and actually am writing (though posting it later) this as I fly at 40K feet over what I assume is Virginia (it could be the northern end of North Carolina) crossing into the Atlantic Ocean. But what really struck me was getting this perfect window seat for take off.

Now having flown so much in my life I love the feel of take off & landing. To top this off I realize I have the perfect take off view of D.C. as we head west. It ended up being this very cool overview of the city like scrolling along on Google maps or Google Earth. Oh! There’s the Capital & the Mall! Oh wait a great shot lining up with the Washington Memorial! Hey! It’s the Potomac River and look at the Woodley Park area there! Oh it’s the Beltway – Traffic seems light this afternoon. It’s the Mormon Temple and Silver Spring!! Yeah so that was cool!

Maybe I have always enjoyed flying because it’s the closest I figure I will ever get to being in outer space. It also ties in perfectly with my love of maps. Well it was just a thought… here are some pics I took.



L-R: Somewhere over NC ??
(update: after consulting Google Earth - that first is a view of
Cape Lookout, N.C. - see if you can spot the lighthouse)
- View of Miami Beach
- I-95 /SR 826 interchange in Miami



L-R: Miami isn't as green as many people might think
-The Miami River
-The Most insane Airport in the States
Below: The ORIGINAL One and Only Orange Bowl

Sometime Life just Slides by You

YES - LITERALLY !! In this case it was a rock slide! On Memorial day I went and hiked White Oak Canyon/Cedar Run along with Mary, Jeff & AB from last week and joining us this time around: Jon, Ruthie + Gary, Steph, Cat, Paul, Yvonne, Dave (Connelly), Ann, Ray and Amanda This was the second hike for me in 2 weeks and was just as rewarding as the Old Rag Mountain hike, though in different way. Where Old Rag was a rock scramble with oneYES literally! Though in this case I am talking about a Natural Rock Slide that we searched high and low for on Memorial Day when we went hiking to White Oak Canyon. The second big hike amazing vista after another, White Oak Canyon/Cedar Run trail is an amazing hike full of waterfalls. We had a decent sized group come out and was lots of fun despite steep climbs at point that to me seemed pretty tough. I almost want to do this again just to stop at every little waterfall and enjoy the sound and simple energy gained from being in nature.

It was pretty neat in that there were not so many people on this popular trail (due to Memorial day vacationing) and the water was running at a rapid pace due to a fierce super cell storm passing by the region the night before (Super-cells are the type that create good possibilities of tornadoes). But the following morning the day was sunny for the hike. What more could we have asked for.

So on to this slide.... yes a natural rock slide! Apparently there could have been more water, but really we didnt need anymore - I only wish the water was heated! It was FREEZING!!! Well freezing for me - if you dont know, I AM a cold water wimp. Anyway there are a decent amount of pictures, I surely recommend this hike! (the full rock slide is shown to the right)

Now I am looking forward to more... such fun!










above left: Why doesnt this ever happen to me?
above center: Water dancing on the rocks
right: getting across the stream

More pictures are ----> here

Necessity will Make us all Forsworn

Last night I got to see Micheal Kahn's production of Love's Labour Lost - a little know play of the the Bard's. Having been a fan of the Bard for a long time, I used to think Much Ado About Nothing was amongst his wittiest plays put forth, but now I think Love's has surpassed that in my own personal standings. Now mind you I still think Hamlet is his masterpiece, closely followed by Othello and then Richard III for his dramatic works. But for the more light hearted were I had Much Ado ranking first.. with Twelfe Night and Mid-Summers in close 2nd & third, Love's is definitely now in first for that category!

It was a perfect evening for the annual Free for all production run that is put on by The Shakespeare Theater Company here in D.C. (Last year they did Pericles). Even better was the fact that before hand I joined a great group of friends for a picnic. Best way to spend a Friday evening - I could do this all my life - sunny afternoon - full moon at night for the play. By the time I went to sleep I could hear the sound of beautiful thunder lolling me to sleep... so nice.

But the play has some very neat themes - both visually and in its words. Kahn (you've gotta love a guy who has that last name!!! KHAAAAAAANN!!!!!!) sets the play in the 60's in an Indian kingdom of some type. So the set is vibrant as the colors just pop out at you, and even though they use the Bard's words - I love it that they need not be the same old Englishmen, Italians, etc that we normally see adapted. One reason I love Shakespeare is because of his universitality.

There are a few themes that were summed up nicely in the play, one being the title of the post. The other is somewhat related quote is : "Let us once lose our oaths to find ourselves,
Or else we lose ourselves to keep our oaths." It is an interesting concept and a question that can cut deep down, but that would take a dissertation of my thoughts here (versus a simple few paragraphs) and is in relation to a book I re-read occasionally called The Four Agreements. Of course there are themes aplenty about love, and how we hide and pursue it. How shallow and deep it can be etc...

I found this video clip which includes scenes from the original run of the production and also which talks about other themes in the play I find interesting - even if it is partially in a Hindi dialect - it was still good.

Even if its not Kahn's production of this play, I suggest seeing it of at all possible! This one though was especially fun, if anything - to see some of the Bard's sonnets - put to Rock n Roll and girls in Go-Go Boots!!!