Oscar Night - Hartford

A gala evening was had by all! A benefit for CT Aids Resource Coalition (CARC) - a most worthy cause.

First, I have a posse! I have several, really. I have my yoga posse, teacher, fellow trainees, staff and students down at the yoga center. I have my bloggie posse (you know who you are!). And I have a "beautiful people of Hartford" posse (who knew?). I was surprised to find myself cliqued in to a small group of peeps at Oscar Night hartford - who kind of clustered on a few different axes - art, writing, yoga, celbrity stalking. It was fun! So Kim and Sara and John and Anne and Audrey and Rosalie and Colin and Alison and Steve and Christine.....thanks!

So props to Colin (for starting this particular event) and Gwen (who chaired the event and by all appearances kicked ass and took names), Dishes Bar & Grill, all those who donated goods and services, all the volunteers. It was a tad more affordable this year ($45 / head) and quite the social event, not sure it sold out but the restaurant could not have held too many more people.

Some highlights:

* The silent auction seemed to be a hit - I made a few not unsubstantial bids on some things and was outbid significantly. Looks like the art, gift certificates, jewelry, etc. all went pretty high. A really nice assortment of items up for bid - looks like someone really hustled to get donations.

* The food was yummy, plentiful, and nominee inspired. Including shrimp and jambalaya (Benjamin Button) and Indian (Slumdog)

* Anne Cubberly secreted a postcard in my bag, for the opening of her Bone Stories exhibit at La Motta Fine Art in New Haven - March 6th. Lovely art. Anne is most charming and fun!

* Bob Wilson from WTNH-8 was there to do a stand-up; I popped over to say hello, recalling the time he did a Roadside Stories segment with Robert and hot air balloons (I crewed that day, back in Sept 2007). Amusingly, after just stopping by to say hello, Bob chased me down to pass along a message to Robert....kind of fun to be chased across a crowded room a celebrity!

So, a lovely evening. I faded around 10:30 or so, and made it back home in time to watch best actress, best actor, and best film awards snuggled in bed with my best dog. Slumdog swept (no surprise to me).

I am officially withdrawing from the social scene for a while - I need to catch up on work, yoga, health, life. But it's been fun!

Busy Weekend

It has been a remarkably social stretch for your blogger....

Started Wednesday; I snuck out of work to go see Slumdog Millionaire (which seems to be sweeping the Oscars as I type this) with a friend. Highly recommended - movie and soundtrack! Later that night, yoga with one of my fave teachers, taking advantage of a school vacation break from my Wed night yoga class.

Thursday was the Creative Cocktail hour, in which I met a new friend (hi Sara!) and saw old ones, and also two unexpected yogi pals dropped in. So I was there relatively late for me (9 pm)

Friday, I taught two yoga classes (a subbing gig at 9:15, my own 12:15 class) and then worked. Stayed in that night, just vegged. Saturday morning, I ended up on the mat with Nykki.

Saturday was "Yogis eating non-organic food IV" where-in 15 of my yoga teacher training pals went out for dinner (Ichiro, in West Hartford). Food was noshed (raw and hibachi'd), drinks were imbibed, a good time was had by all. Some not so embarassing photos have already found their way to Facebook.....

Sunday morning, I ended up on the mat with Christine, then subbed a class for Shankara. Busy morning. And tonight was the annual CARC Oscar Night - saw several friends, some I see often, others I see once a year or so. It was at Dishes Bar & Grill, and it was a gala time. I silent auction bid on a few things (a bowl, some art, and a tattoo gift certificate) and won none of these. But had a lovely time.

Now in bed. Blogging, watching the end of the Oscars. Gently heading towards sleep.....

Hartford Party Starters Union

Was handed a flyer with this wounded Hartford icon Thursday at Real Art Ways CCH. The gentlemen in question were also hawking I Love Hartford tee shirts. And flirting incorrigibly (not with me mind you, but I have hottie friends)

The text on the back is amusing, and ends with "We're On The Internet!". Generally this is a good cue for listing a url or something, but not these dudes. They prefer to be mysterious!


Not 100% sure what this is about. But hey, it's something. So might as well blog it! The dudes in questions were not so interested in my story of hearing Chuck Kaiton while visiting clients in Cary, NC - just weird to hear the "voice of the Whalers" after so many years. I was kind of surprised to hear the Hurricane's score a goal and NOT hear Brass Bonanza

Did I ever tell you about the time we got kicked out of the Hartford Civic Center? Right after I moved to CT (circa 1984), a bunch of college friends (from Massachusetts, and die hard Bruin's fans) came down for a Bruins-Whalers games. Even though my friends are mostly professionals these days, there was a bit of a culture class between the somewhat delicate (to our sensibilities) Whalers fans and my posse of rough and tumble Boston fans (used to fisticuffs at the old Boston Garden, among other things). So Tim Gillis was wadding up $5 beer cups and tossing them at some loud and a little fey Whalers fan from the top of the civic center. And he got kicked out (so we all left). As the Civic Center guard came up to evict him, Tim looked dumb-founded, accustomed to Boston Garden "rules of engagement" - where drawing blood would be the minimum level of offense. "You're kicking me out? You're sh*tting me!"

Back to the Hartford Party Starters Union - I did find them on Facebook (where else). I suspect I'm about 20 years too old to really engage with the partiers, but I can live vicariously.

Party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth.

Physician Heal Thyself

NEW YORK (Feb. 16) -- The founder of an Islamic television station in upstate New York aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has confessed to beheading his wife, authorities said. Muzzammil Hassan has been charged with murder in the death of his wife, Aasiya Hassan.

Story here. One would think that beheading is a Muslim stereotype one might wish to counter....

Hulu - An Evil Plot to Destroy the World

I have to admit that when I saw the Superbowl Ad, I just assumed it was a joke or spoof or something.


But Hulu.com actually exists. If having 30Rock, an NBC sitcom about a fake NBC comedy show with a mobius strip of cameos, inside jokes, etc. was not enough, now Alec Baldwin, who is not a real slimy corporate exec but plays one on 30Rock is now shilling for Hulu as a slimy corporate exec who is really a space alien seeking to "turn your brains to mush"

Whatever level of self-referential, snarkiness they are aiming for, pretty sure they are hitting it!

Love the concept, will probably stream an occasional sitcom that I missed or something. But they need to tie in with Roku so I can stream content to my television....cause although I occasionally use my computer to watch streaming video, I really want such content on my television, and the Roku box lets that happen pretty well.

It's Quiet......Too Quiet

Apologies for the silent running of late....

I've been a little under the weather, so not a lot of energy for blogging. And I am working to get caught up on life, with my engineering work continuing to be slightly overbusy, a big website update in the offing, my yoga teaching continuing, and a raft of home / office / life projects needing attention. (i.e. - I need to get my sorry life organized!)

On the arts and entertainment front, I'll be attending a couple of upcoming events:

* Oscar Night Hartford 2009 - a fundraiser for CT AIDS Resource Coalition (CARC) - February 22nd / 7:00 pm / Dish Bar & Grill. Always a fun evening, a chance to dress up and schmooze. And I've seen a lot of the nominated films this year (for a change)

* Creative Cocktail Hour - at Real Art Ways - Thursday 2/19 from 6 - 10 pm. I'm hitting about every 3rd CCH this year, between work travel, yoga, and life. So it's good to have a plan to be there this week.... although if history is indicative I'll get there early and head out by 8 or 8:30, it gets a little loud, young and raucous after that.

Our Town at Little Theater of Manchester

Popped over to Cheney Hall this evening for a read-through performance of Thorton Wilder's "Our Town". I am not sure that I have ever seen the play; if I have I've quite forgotten it, especially Act III. Coming off my enlightenment intensive experiences, this particular act, the "living humans have no idea what it is all about" aspect of it. I cried a bit.

For an amateur cast and a read-through performance, it was quite wonderful. Colin McEnroe added some celebrity firepower (and some impressive performance chops) as the Stage Manager, but the entire cast was up to the challenge.

Afterwards, dinner with friends at Corey's Catsup & Mustard in Manchester. The fries are supposed to be stellar (we resisted) but the sandwiches were quite wonderful (I had a turkey burger in a wrap) - each accompanied by a wonderful half-sour pickle and some fresh and crisp cole slaw. Delicious! The band was a little loud for us oldsters (on a Tuesday night even) but definitely a good place for a quick meal east of the river.

And now, since I've actually exchanged words with Dave M, I can heed Facebook's suggestion that I "friend him"

In honor of a lovely evening, Iris Dement and Emmylou Harris, singing "Our Town"

My Birthday is Coming Up

Want!

Want!

Poor Choice of Words

Spotted on Yahoo's front page this morning. Can you spot the moderately offensive choice of language?

Besides, the "lame" characters seem to be the most interesting, on that show.

Whales serve as backdrop for aquarium yoga classes

CNN Story here



Georgia Aquarium site here

Eagle Flyer - February 14-15, 2009

Hey WHY Teacher Trainees

Tough Weekend, huh? You made it though.....congrats. See you around the studio this week!

I took a few minutes to look over my blog posts for the first weekend of last year's training. See if they resonate:

* First Day of School - Thursday, January 17th

* And so, I am off.... - Friday, January 18th

* YTT - Day One - Saturday Morning, January 19th

* It's By Far the Hardest Thing I've Ever Done - Sunday Morning, January 20th

* Well, I Survived - Sunday Evening, January 20th

* Finding My Voice - Wednesday, January 20th

Interesting to see where I was back then. Yep, those teacher training practices still kick my butt!

Reading the Tea Leaves

Listening to WNPR this afternoon, between BBC World News and All Things Considered. I hear a new sponsor: Dr. Jerry Rosenfeld, the Dentist Who Caters to Cowards.

Dr. Jerry was a longtime advertiser on WTIC - for Colin McEnroe's show in particular. And he was one of the first to pull out when Colin was let go at the end of 2008.

So, what does it mean that a big Colin McEnroe fan is now sponsoring WNPR? Factor in that Colin will be a guest on Where We Live tomorrow? And that Colin "....had my big outplacement meeting at WTIC...." on Friday, wherein presumably the i's were dotted, the t's were crossed, and Colin might now be officially free to persue other projects.

As John Dankosky writes: "It will be the most important event of the winter in Connecticut, no question. Plus, he'll probably make fun of me." I most certainly will be listening, although that is pretty independent of who they have on!

My Roots are Showing

Pawing through a crate of old cassette tapes (looking perhaps for some Peter Anthony) I came across a pair of cassettes. Equinox Live at the K of C - March 5, 1982. Tapes I and II. The college era rock band that I played bass for. We were a three piece group (Bass / Drum / Guitar), so we all worked pretty hard.....

Listening now. It's not art, but we sounded pretty good. Tight, anyway. How the hell did I remember all these songs?

Here's the set list from 27 years (more than 1/2 this lifetime anyways) ago.

Hound Dog (Elvis)
I Should've Known Better (Beatles)
Temptation Eyes (Grass Roots!)
Johnny B. Goode / Roll Over Beethoven (Berry / Beatles)
Sweet Jane (Lou Reed)
Watching the Girls Go By (original)
Go to the Mirror (Who)

Better Things (Kinks)
Who'll Stop the Rain / Have You Ever Seen the Rain (CCR)
Be My Lover (Alice Cooper!)
Hang Fire (Stones)
Satisfaction (Stones)
Summertime Blues (Who)
I Saw Her Standing There (Beatles)
Well, Well, Well (Lennon)
Purple Haze (Hendrix)

Roadhouse Blues (Doors)
Ain't Talking 'Bout Love (Van Halen)
Rain (Beatles)
Killing Floor (Hendrix)
Start Me Up (Stones)
Cold Turkey (Lennon)
Cold Chicken (original)
Don't Let Me Down (Beatles)
The Waiting (Petty)

Dancing in the Moonlight (Thin Lizzy)
Come On (Berry)
She's So Cold (Stones)
Red House (Hendrix)
Powderfinger (Neil Young)
Traveling Band (CCR)
Til the Next Goodbye (Stones, although I can not for the life of me remember this song)

This was the spring of my junior year, a local townie party so I imagine we were aiming for the AOR crowd - as we moved through senior year, I recall a lot more new wave stuff - Pretenders, Clash, Jam, U2. Kind of wish I had some of that later stuff on tape.....

Peter Anthony is Leaving

Allow me to reminisce about my friend Peter Anthony, on the cusp of his departure for his homeland of Australia.

I met Peter back around 1990. Coming off a separation, I had started to venture out to an open mike in Bristol, held at a charming dive called "The Common Ground". Sunday nght was folk night (I saw folks like Dar Williams, The Nields, and Aztec Two Step) and Monday nights, Jon Lewis ran an open mike. I'd show up, perform a few songs (mostly covers, although I wrote a couple myself), drink a few pints, and play pool on a ridiculous bar table (small, with all sorts of walls and poles to interfere with shots) as I listened to the other musicians. It was a friendly place albeit a bit rough around the edges; we musicians all came to know each other and watch out for each other amidst the regulars. One of the other musicians was Peter Anthony.

Never could quite figure out Peter. When he first started, he played a beat up guitar held together with duct tape. Perhaps I imagined this but it often seemed to be missing a string or two. His playing did not seem to suffer - Peter could drag more emotion and energy out of a single guitar string than anyone I've met. He'd wander around the stage and one worried he might fall off the stage in a bit of instrumental reverie. If he was sans guitar, he would borrow one, and I occasionally worried about my guitar coming back to me in one piece (it always did).

Peter was Australian, and would occasionally be introduced as the Aussie Bob Dylan. In truth, he was somewhere in the mold of Paul Kelly, Billy Bragg, perhaps a little Richard Thompson.

Peter wrote, or perhaps reworked, some amazing songs. I say reworked because he'd often lead in with "This is a Paul Kelly song that I changed the words, and the music, to" so one was never quite sure of a song's provenance. "One More Boring Thursday Night in Adelaide" was Peter's masterpiece - we'd call for it as a closer to his set. A rollicking anthem, (think Springsteen's Jungleland, but more colorful). "The Shots are Getting Bigger" was, to my mind, the best drinking song ever written by a person who does not imbibe. "Begger on the Street of Love" would make one weep into one's pint glass. "Reckless" was just plain beautiful. "Pouring Petrol on a Burning Man" made one want to stomp feet and play conga's on the table. I am sure there are others (newer songs, less ingrained into my head) - he had quite the canon.

Over the years, I've connected with Peter at various acoustic music venues and open mikes. The Common Ground closed, and the open mike moved down to The Chunky Tomato for a time. The late Equinox Cafe (think that was the name, it's been years) in Manchester. Klekolo's in Middletown. Roaring Brook Nature Center. There were others. Peter would disappear for a while (and I did my own share of disappearing) and then I'd get a call or an email about a gig, and I'd go and listen.

Peter was, and is, a bit of an enigma - I think he'd concur, and proudly. He's been a copy editor at Forbes (ironic, given how politically left he seems), edited the Hartford Business Journal, a chef, a waiter. He has a rainbow flag tattoo on his inner arm. He carries a somewhat rumpled, tattered affect of someone who has perhaps slept in his clothes, or maybe just could not be bothered to fold them after laundering, and is too fond of that old flannel shirt to let a bit of wear and a few holes preclude putting it on. A rogue, a poet, a wise fool, a kind heart. Peter is all those things.

Peter's heading home, to Australia. He's had the bad fortune to come down with some chronic health issues, in a country with no real safety net or health system. So he's heading back home. Ironic that in the 21st century, the folk musicians are emigrating away from this "land of opportunity" - in years gone by the tale of a young lad or lass heading to America to escape famine and poverty became the stuff of folk music.

I'm hopefully getting together with Peter tomorrow morning - one last time. Perhaps the last time I will see him; Australia is a helluva long way from Connecticut, and neither of us has a lot of traveling left in us. But you never know.....

Peter has touched my life with his music, his smile, his impish nature, his fragility. Even though I only see him now and then, I'll miss him. And though I've lost family members and friends; it has been many years since I've said goodbye. I imagine I have many good-byes ahead of me as family and friends begin to age; this seems like the opening shot in the long good-bye.

A few tears then, for an old friend.

Abi Tapia in Watertown

Trekked over to Watertown (CT) last night for a barn (actually, more of a house) concert with folkie Abi Tapia. Hosted by a Falcon Ridge Folk Fest friend / crew chief, it was a lovely evening of food (pot luck), friends (my bud Mary drove down from upstate NY) and music (Abi was wonderful). I sat in the front row, near enough to trip Abi had I stretched out, and she played unamplified (and sounded great). Having mostly come to know her music from her CD (well produced with full instrumentation), it was interesting to hear her do her stuff solo - I kept mentally inserting drum tracks and bass lines....

I discovered Abi last year, as I was prepping for the Falcon Ridge merchandise sales - her website / blog spoke of doing some songs for an independent film called Trinidad. Since I have been to Trinidad myself a few times, and one of the subjects of the film is my friend and client Dr. Bowers, it was a neat "small world" moment.

I only got to hear a few songs at Falcon Ridge (and those from the shelter of the merchandise trailer) but between what I heard, and getting to meet her as she dropped off her CD's, I liked her, enough to pick up her newest disk "The Beauty and the Ruin" back in July (via CD Baby, the Falcon Ridge tornado precluded me from buying my music, even though I'm the merchandise sales crew chief!). Her CD has become one of my MP3 faves, especially for airplane flights. Look for "My Miner" to be featured in some film about coal mining, and "Let the Lover Be" is a queer anthem waiting to be discovered.

I picked up her other CD, One Foot Out the Door. (She also has a "first" CD that she no longer carts around with her) - listened en route home, it's a bit more classically country. Liked a few songs, but mostly liked those better live. My only real complaint is she does not really have a good song to put into yoga rotation.....

All in all, a great evening of live music. Abi has recently relocated from Austin to Western MA, so expect to see her playing around New England more. I got to speak with her a bit last night, and she is delightful and charming. Definitely a singer-songwriter to keep an eye on - she's got a great voice, great songwriting, and is an engaging performer.

And a quick shout out to Brian Burness, Bluegrass host at WWUH, who I met at the concert.

Mayor Perez

Even though I've known about the percolating scandal involving Eddie Perez for a while now, I guess it took traveling out of state to bring it home. Yahoo News had the headline on the front page yesterday; USA Today has a small piece on Page 3 - Hartford mayor denies bribery claim

Yep, a little hometown pride....

Makes me wonder whether CT politics are really so much more ethically challenged than other states (sundry big city mayors as well as a big chunk of the Rowland administration) or are we just more likely to dig in, not ignore this sort of quid pro quo, etc.

John Updike

Rest in Peace.

Probably one of my favorite authors, if inches of shelf space are any judge - I own most of his short story collections and many of his novels (not an easy feat, considering how prolific he was)

I fell upon Mr. Updike in high school english class. The short story A&P if I recall correctly. Completely subversive to my at the time "good little kid" self. When Sammy unties his apron and walks out at the end, it was that one bold act of definance against the system, following one's bliss no matter how foolhardy. I loved the language, I loved the bubbling sexual and sensual tension. Updike's characters were so often flawed, thinking with their libidos, and not always able to contain themselves. I loved them all.

So many characters, so many memories. The two that come to mind right now - the sexual tension of dental hygiene in "Tristan and Iseult". Rabbit Angstrom, shooting hoops until the big one takes him down in Rabbit at Rest.

Not a lot of time to write, here from Gate 6 at Bradley. But I'll be thinking a lot about John Updike as I head off into life.

Hartford Mayor Perez Facing Bribery Charges

Hartford Courant story here

Posted without comment.

In other news, Springsteen has a new album out. And I'm going to Houston.

None of these are related, although I am sure I could make up something.....

Writers and Readers at RAW

Took a rare (for me) night off from yoga (it was a close call) and attended the Writers and Readers event at Real Art Ways. A nice couplet - Ammon Shea with his book "Reading the OED" and Michael Erard reading from "Um...: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean"

First, props to Real Art Ways for bringing this sort of event together. Having participated in the smallish, disinterested audiences that often show up at book events at libraries and bookstores, how wonderful for the writers to have a packed house of really interested people.

Mr. Shea mostly spoke about his book (did not read) but his talk was seeded with examples from his book, anecdotes about the process of reading, and references to his dictionary collecting. Quite the character. I picked up a copy of his book for the Zipster - who reads several books a week, has a rather large dictionary in the living room to who he refers often, and who is one of those people constantly lamenting the misuse of language, the deterioration of written and spoken communication, etc. So Shea's book is right up his alley.

Mr. Erard did read from his book (along with a work in process about polyglots). Interestingly, he seemed almost to be an apologist for the former president's "Bushisms" - Bush was apparently not known for them as Governor of TX, only once he entered the national stage. Maybe that was when he started speaking someone else's words instead of his own. And amusingly, as President Obama settles in, his own verbal stalling and stumbling when he is speaking extemporaneously is surprising, considering how much of a reputation he has as a polished orator.

I did not get a really good sense of what Erard's book was from his reading (although the word "disfluent", which he used, is a good one). I did come away with the fact that stalling words "Um.....Ah....." are an essential part of thoughtful communication.

All in all, a fascinating evening of literary discourse. Real Art Ways rocks!