Night At the Hotel

Finally, I made it out to the wondrously-named Rock 'n Roll Hotel in DC's newly up-and-coming NE Atlas neighborhood. The hotel makes good use of the faded elegance of the funeral home that occupied the space previously. It was the site earlier in the week for the unlikely double bill of Tim Fite, a NY punk, hip-hop prankster (who obviously studied at Pee Wee Herman’s Playhouse), and the Watson Twins, a friendly Kentucky, by-way-of LA folk-country alternative duo. The Twins were kicking off a North American tour to plug their new CD, Fire Songs, and Tom Fite just seemed to be in the neighborhood. For once, the W Post’s reviewer hit the target with his review—it was dead on. The review is at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/10/AR2008071002782.html

The awkward match kept the evening interesting, but each act was not enough to make it alone.

Fite seems slightly out of touch, like a neighborhood clown in for a kids party, with his orange pants and pink suspenders, and wayward act. But he makes it work for him, as a fun-loving, ready-to-do just about anything performer. He effectively teams up with his elementary background drawings and a trio of backing Fites flashed up on a screen behind him, and an energetic DJ carnival-barker partner-in-mirth, Dr. Leisure. The energetic duo (or group of five depending on how you are counting) captured the crowd more than the headliner, the Watson Twins.

Chandra and Leigh Watson's farmland alternapop, backed by a competent rock trio, started strong, playing a few of their new songs, and a fine cover of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven." Their fine voices worked for the rock ‘n roll songs, but when they changed the mood and went slower and mellower, they lost their audience, and the crowd noise impolitely overtook their competent vocals. They never gained back the crowd, and the night ended on a downbeat.

The Watsons have the potential to harmonize their way to a large, attentive following, but on this night, they were less than a full match for the mysterious energy and humor of Tim Fite.

Journal Jottings

The Wall Street Journal was starting to become more like other papers in the wake of the Murdochization of the paper, but on Saturday, it had two columns that were special.

The Peggy Noonan column on the memorials to Tim Russert, what set him apart from others, and when the memorials went over the top was very perceptive. It is at the following web address:

http://online.wsj.com/article/
SB121390975307189781.html
?mod=todays_columnists


Another perceptive column in the same day's paper was the Terry Teachout column on the Dylan radio show. It not only captured the magic in the variety of music played and the perceptive intros by Dylan, but also went on to identify one of the problems with the iPODian age we live in--

"Teenagers and college graduates are less likely to listen to radio nowadays, a decline that media consultants attribute to the rise of the iPod, which allows its owners to choose from thousands of previously downloaded songs at will instead of settling for whatever a disc jockey cares to play. The assumption is that under-40 listeners are now choosing to withdraw into gated communities of musical taste, behind whose electronic walls they listen only to what they already know they like."

The whole column is at the following web address:

http://online.wsj.com/article/
SB121399471988092751.html
?mod=2_1168_1

Half Time Clips of 2008

At close to the mid-year, I am listening to Shearwater, Bullion's mix of Pet Sounds, and Vanilla Swingers' "Goodbye Lennon"-- a decent mix of sounds. I will be adding more as time goes by...

E-motions in fractions of a whole

In this 500+page opus, you meet and remeet the Deans, as some Deans fall in and out of life, into comas and out with their memories intact, getting born and reborn under the Dean name or under an assumed name. The Deans take care of each other, but in odd and stubborn ways. In other words, its not your average American sit com family, but it may be a credible attempt at the great Australian, or any country novel.

The main characters are heroes and or villains, criminals and or moralists. They are weirdos and crackpots and or philosopher kings and visionaries. They are brothers, fathers, sons, lovers, haters, friends, and enemies--they are a little of all things. They are celebrities and people exploring their cosmic insignificance, they are sons becoming a part of their fathers or mothers, not always understanding that they may be part of something bigger than themselves. They may be starting with a credo and then spending the rest of their lives trying to prove it. It's not your run of the mill family story by any means...

You walk or crawl, then run with the characters through time from the New South Wales bush to bohemian Paris, from sports fields to back alleys to strip clubs, from living in a maze in Australia to living in the jungles of Thailand to living and dying in a leaky boat of immigrants in the Pacific. These are pieces of the puzzle, parts of a whole story, portions of a whole life or several lives-- they are truly "Fractions of the Whole." The Deans and associates are sickly, bloated, freewheeling, horrendous, funny and sometimes moving as they fight to leave the world, or stay, and leave a mark on the world or not. They are people taking themselves too seriously and not seriously enough. Often, this is a satirical view of individual searching, and societal reverential, hero-worship--which is after all all just a small step away from hateful, scandal-lusting.

This is a long tale of a world that often turns ugly. The book is sometimes well-written and sometimes not. It manages to stay out of the gutter of life, just barely, staying just a fraction ahead of full-blown despair. It is a compelling yet long read.

Much of this blog entry above was written from the third row of a bus from NY to DC with wi-fi. It is striking how the oddity of a rolling wi-fi on wheels is just another fraction of a whole...

It is difficult to capture the plot and subplots of this book within a book if that is what it is, but a good effort is made in the review at the following web address:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/book-reviews/a-fraction-of-the-whole/2008/03/17/1205602277893.html

A Fan's Lament

I am a loyal baseball fan, but sitting under the stands at DC's National's Stadium for over two hours while it rained heavily reminded me of just how much a business baseball is.

While the infield was covered by the tarp, large puddles were forming in every other part of the ball park. Families with small children were waiting patiently--one family from as far away as Oklahoma. The field was clearly unplayable after an hour or so, but the scoreboard indicated that the Nationals were monitoring the weather and they would provide updates.

No updates and no information on the weather was provided; fans were not advised of what the chances of clearing were. Instead, there were just the constant ads on the scoreboard and the vendors selling their overpriced wares. When enough ads were shown and enough food and merchandise sold, the vendors packed up their leftovers, and the game was finally called off on account of profits--enough was made by the team, to end the torture of the fans sitting through the heavy rains patiently. And on the next day they would return to see the play again and pay again and again....

Standing at the Crossroads

I am about to attend perhaps the last graduation of one of my daughters--a law school graduation. And she is about to enter a new phase of her life--a full-time worklife, and building her own family life. Looking back and forwards at the same time, there is a rich perspective ahead and behind. But there is something disconcerting about this time of finishing old paths and starting anew.

As culture and counter culture icons of my era pass into the obituary pages, I see a country somewhat divided by age in its outlook, its entertainment, and its politics (the craving for change and experience clashing at times). We value youth and apply creams (and sometimes cosmetic surgery) to keep everyone young. It works to a point, but it does not seem to unite young and old to value each other and treasure each others experiences, and outlooks. Something better--some better bridging of generations--is needed. It may be that we need to attract better leaders, and icons, but, in the end, it is something that we all need to work at. Using the internet, people can break down some of the barriers, but more can be done to bridge divides and cross aisles and reach beyond past, present, and future. It is time to do even small things to better understand and value each others views, and experiences. I welcome your ideas; to be continued...

Nu? and Old!

Take a story like the story of freedom at the Passover seder--a remembrance of the story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Some stick with the traditional story each year, learning more about the symbols and the story each year, and it is a tradition that keeps on growing.

Or add some history from then and now, some stories, some parallels and some other symbols of life and freedom, and you have another tradition that is ever growing.

This year, just being able to find the traditional foods eaten at the sedar at stores in the area became part of the challenge of telling the story. The current economic challenges apparently had an impact on food production, and we cannot take anything for granted.

At this self-led, participatory ceremony that goes back many years, we are reminded of new and old challenges. We look ahead to next year and what will be new--nu?