The Cars

In other "looking backward, not forward" news, I stumbled across this concert video of "The Cars" circa 1979 last evening. 

The Boston-based Cars were, I suppose, my gateway drug into what became known as New Wave - national bands like Blondie, Talking Heads, Pretenders, Cheap Trick, The Police, Elvis Costello, B-52s, and yes, The Knack - bleeding over into punk, to brit-rock, to ska. I blame Jim Reedy who was (and still is, no doubt) far more musically progressive than myself. I'm not sure if we ever saw them live in small clubs in Boston (it's possible that we did, Jim was adventurous and a positive influence that way) - I know I saw them in '79 at the Yale Bowl* for SunFest79 (Beach Boys, Eddie Money, Flo & Eddie, Henry Paul Band, The Cars) and again during college (Boston Garden, it's possible the Clash or one of their off-shoots opened, the internets are not cooperating this morning in terms of documenting the show)

I'm struck by how "small club rock & roll" they seem here, rough around the edges and unpolished compared to modern standards. Remembering the individual members (one of the few groups I came to learn all the band-member's names), remember playing "Good Times Roll" in Jim's basement. Did not realize bassist Ben Orr passed away so long ago (2000) and so young (53, pancreatic cancer) - he kind of has a bit of a "Sting" vibe here.

Nice to take a look back. The Cars made the jump to MTV, but broke up in 1988. I picked up a Best of Anthology on CD along the way but I never replaced my vinyl copies of The Cars or Candy-O. I remained a big enough fan to pick up Panorama, Shake It Up, and Heartbeat City on vinyl back in the day (all long gone), but I dropped out by the time they released "Door to Door" which I do not remember at all.

* I also went to the 1980 edition - The Eagles, Heart, and Little River Band - and I wore an Eagles baseball concert shirt often enough for my artistic college roomie to make it my signature garb when caricaturing me. This second concert is a blur - I had worked the overnight shift at McD's. And somebody (Robin V?) had pot which I rarely smoked but did that day, all I remember is being about as far back as possible in the Yale Bowl and my fatigued, sun-baked, and stoned brain thought I was watching the concert on TV.

I Know the Whole Truth There is Horrible

It's everybodies worst nightmare. And my heart and thoughts go out to the families - of the lost children, the lost teachers, and everyone impacted by these murders - students, teachers, family, first responders.

But I'm not going to blog about it, editorialize, memorialize. There is enough pain in the world. I'm just sitting with it.

Hurricane Sandy

I know the mess is still happening - and thoughts go out to those on the CT coastline, to the folks in New York City, and those who remain without power.

Sandy was a lot like last year's Irene for me - never lost power then or now, never lost cable / internet. The UPS kicked on a few times due to sags / instability but otherwise, no problems. The upside of living in / near a city.

I have to believe that this is going to help out President Obama. Even though he'll have to suspend his campaign, and turnout in the northeast states (mostly safely in Obama's pocket anyway) will be impacted, he'll have a week of lookign and acting presidential (don't blow it!)

And after an event like this, I would think that the candidate who accepts the concept of global warming and climate change, and who supports the federal role in emergency preparedness, disaster relief, and things like strong building and zoning regulations might have a bit of a leg up.

But we shall see. In the meantime, stay safe everyone!

Happy is What Happens....

My friend Amy has a saying, "Top Ten Day". When the weather is perfect, the company is great, the venue or event is amazing, when the food is delightful. Amy let's us know - this is a "Top Ten Day". Of course, Amy is so generous of spirit and delightfully optimistic that she probably racks up 20 or 30 Top Ten Days per year. But that's another story.

Yesterday, driving out to the Coventry Regional Farmer's Market, I had my own moment of thankfulness and awareness. The day had not yet turned steamy, so the windows were open, and the bright sun filtered through the canopy of leaves on the windy country road. I had my musical instruments and amps in the car; a cooler of water on ice, and a large tarp to use as a sun screen. I was en route to spending three hours doing something I love - playing music - with some wonderful people and musicians, my beloved Guinea Pigs. And I was headed out to support a farmer's market where local farmer's were selling their produce, grown with sweat and love, to people who appreciate fresh, local, and healthy food.

And as I was driving along the road, enjoying those sites, sounds, and smells before me and contemplating the day ahead, the realization or awareness suddenly emerged that I was happy. For those who have done Enlightenment Intensive work, it was like a tiny little Direct Experience. My life was not blown wide open, but there was a little slice of divine awareness there, and it colored the rest of the day with thankfulness, joy, and delight.

Doing my Part

Lopes Wins 24th House District Seat

Yeah, I voted. I always vote. In these small, single candidate, mid-season elections, my vote seems a lot more potent.

Unofficial results show Lopes polling 785 votes, while Republican Peter Steele got 583. Petitioning candidate Thomas Bozek, a hard-line conservative and former state senator, pulled in 404.

Curious that Bozek, the candidate who sent me a comb and railed against low income housing and public assistance in his mailing, seems to have swung the election for Lopes - assuming that most of his support would have gone for Peter Steele had they voted at all.

Right Below the Surface

Here in New Britain, we're getting ready for an election, as Rick Lopes (D), Peter Steele (R), and Tom Bozek (I) vie for now Mayor Tim O'Brien's seat. I'm a registered Democrat so I've been getting calls (thankfully, live persons) from Dem HQ; as well as a fair number of typical campaign mailers. Yesterday, however, I got a real winner.

Tom Bozek sent a letter, in an actual envelope. The envelop was lumpy (my first though; anthrax or letter bomb) - what it contained was a blue comb (hey, I can use that to clean my hair brushes!) and an emory board, both emblazed with his name and political aspirations. However, there was also a flyer, which places Mr. Bozek just to the right of George Wallace, despite his assertion that he is a Registered Democrat.



My favorite parts:

1) Bozek opposes the NB-Hartford busway for the usual reasons (will not work, costs too much), but also IT LEADS TO MORE PUBLIC AND LOW INCOME HOUSING (bold and caps, his).

2) Bozek is pretty clear about his intention to REDUCE ENTITLEMENTS, which he identifies as "Welfare, Medical, Rents, etc.) no mention of those pesky Social Security entitlements though.....

I'm a pretty faithful (some would say, neurotic) participant in the electoral process. But I'm pretty sure I will not be voting for Bozek.

Terry

My landline (dually purposed for my business, and usually pretty quiet except for an occasional call from clients thanks to cell phone dominance) has been ringing off the hook the last few weeks. Terry Gerratana, Democratic candidate for CT's 6th Senate seat, has been beating the bushes for votes for the special election this Tuesday, Feb 22nd. I've also gotten 4 or 5 post card mailings from her (compared with 1 from the Republican candidate, Mayor Tim Stewart). Some of the calls have been from campaign workers, but at least one of the messages was from the candidate herself.

I'll probably vote, I'm usually pretty fastidious about civil responsibilities, and I'll vote for Ms. Gerratana assuming I get to the polls. Mostly just in an "I lean to the left" kind of way, although Mayor Stewart's potential double-dipping does not sit well with me - I'd fear he's let his New Britain responsibilities slide if he tried to fill both posts.

Just be happy when Tuesday rolls around so my landline goes back to it's normal state of rest....

New Media vs. Old Media

A not so happy story from down in Essex - there was a fire at the CT River Museum last night. The Middletown Press seems to have the best coverage so far: Fire at Conn. River Museum may have destroyed historic artifacts

One of my clients is the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat, so I'm familiar with the CT River Museum as a tourism partner - which drew my attention last night. I did a bit of web surfing, dropped by Twitter, and watched the 11 pm news. WTNH's Jamie Muro was on site, but was not able to get close enough, quickly enough to catch the fire on video.

The Middletown Press, on the other hand, rocks it in terms of integrating text, photos, and video, and really documenting the heck out of this story better than anyone else on the web. Their coverage seems to be entirely generated by one reporter (Lauren Flaum), with a camera that captured video. WTNH - needing to set up a Sat Truck and Camera Crew, was unable to get close enough to really cover this as it happened (Mr. Muro noted in his first stand-up that he would have to walk over to see what was happening and would be back later in the newscast) - but Ms. Flaum (on foot, light, and mobile) from the Press got right in there, got some photos and video of the fire itself, and some eyewitness interviews.

Just an interesting example of "how the new media works vs. how the old media is limited"

And from the Press article: ‎"At one point as firefighters hammered away at the roof, a cluster of bats was disturbed and fluttered away into the dark night sky."

It's the little poetic touches....heh.

Dear Susan Bysiewicz:

(a) You won your case. Good for you. But this is not ".... A MAJOR VICTORY FOR CONNECTICUT VOTERS...." (as your recent email proclaims) nor do I feel that "Connecticut voters won a huge victory" as your email proclaims. Rather, an ambitious career politician (i.e. - you) won a victory. At last do us the favor of owning your own gleefulness at wining this decision.

(b) How *did* I get on your mailing list? Each email irks me somewhat - not enough to actually unsubscribe, but enough to make each of your mailings a small incentive to vote for your primary challenger.

Bleah. Politics. I've always kind of liked Ms. Bysiewicz as Sec of State. But this sort of ambition just sticks in my craw.

Suicide by Death Penalty

Steven Hayes, 1/2 of the criminal duo who are alleged to have killed the Petit family, wants to change his plea to guilty, and to follow the inevitable legal process towards life imprisonment or death. This change of plea seems to have thrown all involved into chaos - with defense attorneys (anti-death penalty zealots) vowing to fight his plea, the prosecution, gearing up for a court fight suddenly left hanging. Dr. Petit has noted this as "...a moment of honesty..."

Coming on the heels of a prison suicide attempt, perhaps Hayes simply wants to end the torment of a sad and misspent life. Not sure there is repentence here, it seems more a "sick and tired" response. And to some extent, those involved seem steeled to take this legal battle to the end, and having the accused turn around and surrender to a guilty plea seems unsatisfying.

I dunno how I feel about this. In some ways, no legal process, no verdict, no punishment will ever provide healing. But I suppose there is something satisfying of the pursuit, of chasing a protesting criminal to the end of the legal process and depriving another human being of life against his will - an eye for an eye. But to have the criminal let go and surrender, to giv eup on life willingly - a lot different energy there, and perhaps ironically a way that will leave wounds open and festering in a way that a protracted court battle would not.

Steven Hayes - a twisted, evil, damaged soul who just wants to get off the planet and end this misery? An individual who has come to realize the scope of his deeds and feels remorse? Or a truly evil SOB who has found one last way to torment Dr. Petit, by taking away his enemy?

Madame Secretary

Triggered by Colin McEnroe's Easy to grasp = True, regarding Susan Byseiwicz's problems with her prospective bid for the Attorney General position.

The whole shuffling of candidates and elected positions in Hartford leaves me with a bad taste. Regardless of whether she is qualified or not (in fact, by the legal definition, or as perceived by the electorate) - her candidacy for AG seems less like a well thought out career arc and more of a "I'm entitled to one of these jobs, the question is, which one"

Do we have a ruling class in the state? If there is one lesson to be taken from MA it's that a position or elected office for granted is no longer a sinecure.

I've always liked Ms. Byseiwicz in her role as SoS; she seems to be on top of things like reaching out to the disenfranchised, being a visible and accessible public figure in terms of elections and voting mechanics. But I've seen nothing that makes me think she has the drive or chops to be AG (other than, perhaps, having done what she can as SoS).

Maybe she has either or both of these. I hope she can communicate that to us. But right now, I'm getting a whiff of entitlement and ruling class (evidenced by Martha Coakley, whose main qualification for Senate seems to have been "I put in my time, you owe me") - and with the mood of the electorate, that does not seem like a good thing.

John Rowland's New Job

Former Governor Rowland has been much in the news of late, being offered (and now accepting) a job with the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce, partially funded by the city government, in an economic development coordinator position.

Colin McEnroe, a long time fan of the former Gov's, has been blogging about it, as well as hitting the airwaves (look for the interview with Paul Vance Jr). He seems to be surprised by the apparent mixed support that this move has among the citizenry. WTIC has a front page poll going which is pretty evenly split in terms of supporting this hire.

I was moved to comment over on Colin's blog, but once it gets past 5 paragraphs, it's worth some column inches on my own blog, no?

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Well, maybe we can take some solace - "better the devil you know than the devil you don't"

Mr. Rowland's history and notoriety will certainly keep him under the media microscope, which in Waterbury, is not a bad thing. Offer that position to anyone else, and the media spotlight would move on quickly, leaving the potential for mischief.

And whether one agrees or disagrees with Rowland's philosophies regarding urban development and bringing home the bacon, its pretty clear that he's had a soft spot in his heart for the brass city, pushing projects and funding that way long after he had set down roots in Hartford.

I think it speaks to two realities that perhaps are hard to accept. In Waterbury (and perhaps in other places), backroom deals and quid pro quo are just how things get done. Rowland's crime was not playing dirty, but rather that he got caught. And the support out there for the former gov is a good indication that many citizens don't see all that much wrong in what he did.

And if you are a member of the privileged class in this country - if one is male, white, educated in good schools, come from the right family, a 90-120K job is your birthright, regardless of competency or behavior.

Those are bigger, and more intractable issues, than John Rowland. He's the whipping boy, perhaps for some fairly deep-rooted problems in our society and our government.

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Surfing around for some feel as to how this is playing in the brass city, I find this nugget on the Republican-American site:

"The only worse person they could have put in that position would be Osama bin Laden," said Steve Santovasi, president of Waterbury's white collar union. "On the other hand, bin Laden has a background in civil engineering."

And for the record, I owned a home in the Waterbury (Town Plot) for over 12 years before moving to Hartford. So I have some experience with the Brass City myself.

Anne Hungerford Yoga

A yoga teacher in New Preston, CT, Anne has a blog / website here. Surely our paths have crossed (she was at the Heather Tiddens workshop at WHY last spring that I went to), although I do not remember meeting or seeing her.

I really like the way she has a photo of herself in a particular asana and then writes about the posture - its meaning to her, some technical tips, some background or history. Neat!

Busy Busy Day

Starting with a hot air balloon chase, from Bristol down into Cheshire. Flicker photos here


Early morning take-off from Spring Street, on the Southington / Bristol town line

A mid-flight visit to friends in Southington, where we woke up Renee and her children!

Landing at a nursery in Cheshire, the bedding plant capital of the United States!

After the flight, breakfast at the Liberty Diner in Plainville. Then a quick run up to the WH Res for the Lupus Walk - Zippy was walking so I tagged along.


MYA and I were going to do a mentoring activity today, but she got another job and had to work this morning. So I have the afternoon off, and I'm gonna sneak over to the studio for community yoga.....

Edit: Back from community yoga. Not my usual practice time / space, but I missed my Sunday morning Hot Yoga and I have been sporadic for weeks now (travel and bronchitis). I practiced yesterday on my own, but its nice to get into the studio. Shankara was teaching (long time, no practice with) and my student teacher self was watching him teach as I practiced - he's such a delight with new students. Infectious enthusiasm. As for me, when he said "do some sort of inversion" I jumped at the chance to practice Sirsasana - I'm at the point where I can get up without the wall as a backstop and can balance away from the wall, but like to have the wall there, just in case. So I did a headstand while Shankara talked the class out of panic mode (shoulder stand prep) and then joined them in shoulder stand.