Whirlwind Trip to NYC
So New York was a whirlwind trip - first an Amtrak train to Secaucus, NJ on Friday Dec. 12 to stay the night in Ben and Dennis' art-filled place which overlooks the NJ Meadowlands with the skyline of NYC in the distance. Some friends of theirs came over and Den served paella for dinner and it was marvelous.
Saturday morning I caught the NJ transit train to NY Penn Station and then caught the Long Island Railroad train out to Stony Brook to visit Tree. We walked on the beach (very cold), did a little shopping and then had dinner at her place with her neighbor Caroline and her cutey-pie 3 year old son George.
Sunday morning I took the LIRR train back into Penn Station and walked up to where my friend Diane and her husband Gary were staying near the Museum of Modern Art. We spent the afternoon in MOMA and I caught the 6:00pm train back to DC. It was hectic but I am so glad I did it.
I loved:
- Ben and Dennis' place and finally seeing the meadowlands (marsh) that I have heard about on it the Sopranos and after discovering The Wrens, a band from that area. Word from Dennis is that Jimmy Hoffa is most likely buried in the Meadowlands.
- Watching the world go by on the train - forests, streams, junkyards, small towns, big cities, art parks, graffiti - I love it all.
- Seeing Tree's completed renovation. The last time I was there her second floor addition was just getting started.
- Tree's butternut squash crockpot curry
- Walking 20 blocks up 6th Ave from Penn Station to Diane's hotel. I stopped in Bryant Park to pay homage to Project Runway. I'll have to stop in all the bead stores I passed next time.
- Seeing the Marlene Dumas: Measuring Your Own Grave exhibit at the MoMA. Some of Dumas' art I found fascinating, beautiful and meaningful, some I found trite and shocking for shock's sake but I am so glad I was able to see it.
The Meadowlands (click to see more pictures)
Thanksgiving 2008
I got some good news yesterday. The injury that I sustained during my first Bollywood class and that has prevented me from going to ballet class was not a hip labral tear. This means it is something I can mend using physical therapy rather than surgery. And I now know that an MRI with contrast means a needle is going to be stuck into your thigh and then god knows what happened then to get the dye spread out. All I know is that it went on forever and I whimpered a lot and the students observing had horrified looks on their faces.
I have some pictures collected that I've been meaning to show. These two are from the theater at Towson University where Dana performed last Spring. The lipstick marks are in the stairwell leading from the stage to the dressing rooms. The other is from the dancers warmup class.
And here are some pictures from the neighborhood
A decoration probably for Diwali outside a local Indian restaurant and the line I stood in for voting (It took 45 minutes)
Here's some neighborhood graffiti at Howard University Law school and a nearby post office.
This my office where I have several Graeme Rock originals.
TV show reviews
Mad Men The design of the sets and costumes is amazing and the story line is so riveting. Every character is just so interesting. Roger Sterling has the best lines. Joan is the best bitchy-on-the-outside/vulnerable-on-the-inside secretary ever. I want to be Peggy (except for the hospital stay part). Don Draper is so cool even when he is a tortured soul.
Chuck: When it ended last season I thought it had lost its charm and seemed to be concentrating more on girl spies in sexy clothes. But this season there is more fun stuff going on with Chuck's co-workers at More Buy and there are fun disguises for the guys and gals.
Fringe: I like it most weeks especially the interaction between the mad scientist and his world weary son. The lead is pretty and tough.
30 Rock: Except for the first episode of the season it rocks!
Samantha Who?: Not anywhere near hilarious or ingenious but I still like it. Sidekick Andrea is the best thing since Patsy on AbFab.
And finally, a little video of a recent video chat. Little T, who seems to have learned a mischievous thing or two from his dad, figured out how to disconnect from the chat at one point.
Tough Times
I had a busy Saturday. Dana performed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and so I tagged along to make sure my audio and video worked and to participate in the post-performance discussion. I had to speak into a microphone and everything! Nam June Paik's nephew Ken Hakuta (some may know him as Dr. Fad and the inventor of the wacky wall walkers) was there and he very casually told stories about his uncle (whose videos we used in the piece). After the talk someone actually came up to me to talk about the video and music. I almost felt like a professional.
When we got to the theater the museum had put down a floor covering for dance but it was in terrible shape - dangerously loose and rumpled. So the dancers and the crew got busy to smooth it down and tape it. No lighting person was provided even though they have state of the art equipment so Dana ran the lights on (he's taken a lighting course so he knew somewhat what he was doing). Despite all these difficulties it all went well and we had an audience of about 200 people. Most stayed for the talk.
Here's some footage of the dancers at work:
My dance friend Brooke and I went by Dana's house for a little get together with Ken Hakuta (he told more stories of his uncle and some of the famous people he has met like Yoko Ono) and then headed out to the far suburbs of Virginia to the ladies -only dance party organized by my Pakistani work friend Saima's sister and some of her friends. Many of the women (who were predominantly Muslim) arrived all covered up in scarves but within minutes of arriving were on the dance floor shakin' their groove thang. The shades of the rec center were drawn, the french doors were covered with black plastic, no cameras or alcohol was allowed. The dress ranged from conservative traditional to modern "western" cocktail dressy. There were women from ages 12 - 70. They played American, Hindi and Arabic music. The DJ was actually the girlfriend of a real DJ who specialized in World party music. The party was OK. If there had been other rooms at the rec center or a break in the music Brooke and I would have been able to talk to the women that Saima tried to introduce us to. It was just too loud to make any sort of personal connection. Brooke and I tried to do some of our Bollywood dance moves but were had trouble remembering them and no one else was doing them. It was still interesting though.
Goals and Threats
I have another video of the beer making process. It should be ready for tasting this weekend and if it is good it will be even better by Christmas.
Misprints
"...and multimedia artist Laura McDonald..." says the Washington Times
"... a Laura Macdonald montage ...." says the DanceViewTimes
All three were positive reviews of Dana and his dancers and I am happy that I was part of it.
And here's a panoramic shot that Joe took of the new Chinese embassy that was just completed. He has walked past the huge construction site every day for the past three years
It's Over
Here's an excerpt from the music.
Here are some pictures from the performance taken by a professional photographer, not me.
Witch's brew
Here's what was happening Monday night:
And I was so happy that the little girl on the 3rd floor is exhibiting some new seasonal artwork on her front door. It's been a while.
The little post-it on the left says "Burning Ben" with a drawing of a witch. On the right we have "Cackley Bradley" and a spider.
Capital Criterium
The race in the shadow of the capitol.
The cyclists came around a corner to climb up a hill. In this lap Vandevelde was way ahead of the pack
Vandevelde by himself early on and the group that scrambled for the win. The guy in red and blue won.
Vandevelde signing autographs and a participant in the children's race.
A white building against a beautiful blue sky and our lunch.
Photo Credit: The photos that look like they might have been taken by someone who knows how to work the camera settings were taken by Joe.
Dirt Baths
One of the things that makes me smile is birds taking a dirt bath. I secretly caught some on my camera recently.
An Afternoon in Snickersville
So here are the last set of pictures from Latvia. The last day we spent at Maris' place, which was owned by grandfather and inherited by my mother and Aunt Zita and sold to Maris. He is renovating the house and has several renters. He has made a great office for his home computer business. He has kept the wonderful old shacks that he uses for storage and for aging the wonderful wines he makes from the fruit he grows. He has even kept the out houses and says that one of his tenants prefers them to the indoor version.
His rotweiler nicknamed Rosa is a bit scary looking but is very sweet. We were fast friends when I played her favorite game which involved turning on a high-powered garden faucet so she could try to bite the water.
Elma who was my mother's childhood friend still lives across the street. It was good to see her again.
We had a great feast cooked by Maris. His red currant wine is wonderful and somehow Paula managed to score a bottle as she and Lenore were video chatting in the kitchen.
Click for some pictures:
The street Maris lives on is hard to pronounce. It is Sniķeres Iela and is pronounced something like snitcheras ee-el-a. We just dubbed it Snickersville.
A Sad Day
Joe has been going to Schlotzsky's since it opened 14 years ago. I would join him now and then but about 2 years ago we started the habit of going there almost every Saturday after we got back from our various Saturday morning activities (cycling, dance class, sleeping in, etc). Both Lenore and Graeme went there with us when they were in town (Graeme ate two sandwiches in one sitting). We always sat close to the front near the big windows so we could comment on everything and everyone walking or driving or riding by. It was great for people-watching. Unlike most places there were several choices for vegetarians and there were at least 4-5 sandwiches that I liked. The seating area was quiet and there was free wifi. The proprietor was a quiet Sikh gentleman who was always there and many times was the sandwich maker.
Two weeks ago he came to our table and told us he was selling the restaurant and would be closing the following Friday. We were shocked and knew that our lives were about to change forever. There are several other sandwich shops around but most are loud, filled with kids or just serve food that is not that good. There is a decent cafeteria with a good salad bar and nice window seats but it is just way too expensive.
There will be a restaurant opening at the Schlotzsky's location supposedly soon. We'll have to wait and see if it is anywhere as good. Today we went to the expensive cafeteria and saw two other Schlotzsky's regulars - Mr. Calvert-Woodley-Wine-Seller and Mr. Old-Guy-Who-Likes-to-Talk-Politics. A third regular Mr Suit-On-A-Saturday was sitting outside at Potbelly's.
Beer in Baltimore and Fish in DC
In other news I have
been enjoying my aquatic themed birthday
presents. Tracy gave me a beautiful Japanese
print of two fish and joe gave me a waterproof
headset for me to use when I swim laps and an
iPod shuffle to go with it. I named my new iPod
Shark.
And here are some
recent photos from around the house, some flowers
from my balcony and a delicious vegetarian gumbo
we made last weekend. Go okra!
Saturday at the Ethnographic Museum
There was one great moment when my dad was resting on a bench and a lady tried to get her friend to sit in the small space next to him. My dad was a bit confused so he got up which made the woman ordering her friend to sit down feel guilty. In the midst of the guilt and confusion my mother came by and said "That's my husband" which just made everybody laugh. It was an exchange that was both uncomfortable and friendly. One thing I did notice in the stores and elsewhere is that the clerks were stern but helpful - a strange mixture.
We attended the final choral concert that night. It started at 10:00pm so we had time to go to the Pancake House for dinner where the best pancakes in Riga are served. We had been promising Lenore we would go there all week. We had been there at least 3 times when we were in Riga in 2005 and it is still good and cheap
The concert was lovely. We managed to find Ilze among the 10,000+ singers on stage. Her bright red roses helped.
Click image to see from out day at the outdoor museum and choral concert:
TGIF in Riga
After returning to the hotel I found Gunta and Graeme up on the roof, which they found through an open emergency door. I had to go up too. The sights were not as spectacular as they were from St. Peter's but they were still cool. And Miss Safety Lenore joined us too. It was a "if you can't beat them join them" situation. Our hotel Hotel Centra was very nice, friendly and clean but there were safety violations every 10 steps.
Later Gunta, Lenore, Graeme and I went to a restaurant called Dada where you fit as many veggie, meat, seafood bits in a bowl as you can and then hand it over for stir frying with your choice of sauce. It was good but probably the least amount of food/Lat that we had in any restaurant. Not complaining. It was a nice outdoor cafe and a nice little break from the heavier Latvian food.
By the way there is a TGIFriday's in VecRiga and Lenore checked the menu. It is exactly the same menu as in the US.
Virtual Tour of Secaucus Art Gallery
More Singing and Dancing
On the left you can see the four zeppelin hangers that now house the central market. On the right is Dome Cathedral and that wonderful bridge over the Daugava River.
That's our hotel - the light colored building with the red roof.
Before we went up to the steeple I picked out a birthday present at Galerija Tornis. Thanks, guys. I love it.
In the afternoon we took the bus to Sandra's house where we were greeted by Gunta who travelled from Stockholm where she is getting her masters degree. It was great to see her. Sandra and Ilze put on a great spread which has been documented in pictures over at Paula's blog. My favorite dish was the wonderfully named "herring in a fur coat". We also drank Maris' red currant wine, another special treat. We even had singing as entertainment. Graeme sang They Might Be Giants' "Little Birdhouse In Your Soul" and Sandra, Gunta and Ilze sang Latvian Folk songs.
We left Sandra's and headed to the arena for the Folk Dance performance. Because it stays light so late it started at 10:00pm so it would be dark for the big finale. The performance was so amazing - 16,000 dancers moving in and off the field so seamlessly.
Here's Graeme and Ilze on the way. We were greeting by these dancing cell phones at the arena. He was doing this little dance just for me.
Into the Latvian Woods
Here are a boatload of pictures:
Station Break
It is about 10x12, mixed medea work nicely matted and framed. I wrote to the artist and told her how I came to buy it and how nice it was. I told her that my initial attraction was the forest that reminded me of the birch forests in Latvia. She wrote me back to thank me and told me that she had see the lanterns in Tunisia when they were filming the video She also said she had always liked birch trees. The work is called "Followed You Here".
Monday and Tuesday in Riga
In the evening we took a long walk to Staburags, a traditional Latvian restaurant where Dad ordered a beer bigger than his head. I had two small beers, one flavored with honey. I had beet soup again and sausages. On the way home we saw a large sign with the latvian word apdrošināšana which means insurance, a word we have always found funny - it has almost a thousand syllables.
(first 3 photos from Lenore)
Tuesday we went back to the crafts market to visit any booths we missed and then met Ilze and Sandra at the University of Latvia to listen to Janis, Ilze's father, sing in a competition. The singers were in traditional costume, of course. We then went to Melnais Kaķis (Black Cat) for a late lunch - more potato pancakes for me!
Arts and Crafts fair
Singers in the hall and arriving
On the steps of the university. We also met Janina, Janis' wife, who is also a singer and dancer. Sandra and Lenore sat across from me at the Black Cat - I think Lenore was eyeing my pancakes.
Graeme and Ilze under Sandra's watchful eye.
Later my mother and Graeme went to a symphony concert with Ilze and Sandra that they said was excellent. My father, Lenore and I went to Dome Square just missing the Seniors Dance Performance. We then went for soup, salad and beer. We caught Lenore with beer foam on her lips. Sandra and Ilze dropped off the best strawberries and sweet cherries that I have ever eaten. They have a garden at Janis' mothers place just outside of Riga.
Markets, Parades, and Choirs: Could We Be Any Busier?
We then walked a couple of blocks to the parade, where ALL the singers and dancers walked, skipped, danced, waved flowers, yelped, sang. The parade had started at 11:00 but we knew the people we wanted to see would not be walking past until at least 1:00. We got their at 12:30 and left tired, sunburnt and hungry after 5:00. We saw my godfather from Chicago but Ilze, who was walking with her choir from Riga, we never saw her. When we saw her later that night at the choral concert, where she sang, said they started walking about 5:30.
After the parade I had potato pancakes and beer at Ciao, Rasma!, a traditional Latvian restaurant. We then took the tram to the choral concert where we met up with Sandra, Ilze, Ansis, my godfather and 30,000 others who were there to sing or spectate. The tram was filled with singing teenagers on the way home. We got to bed at around 2:00am.
Riga Bound
Our Latvian friends Maris, Ilze, Aina and Gustavs picked us up at the airport welcoming us with flowers from Maris' and Ilze's garden.
The first thing we did was head to the bank and grocery store. At the store I took some picture of the beer section and a young security guard sipping on a can of coke with a straw told me that no photographs were allowed. It was hard to take him seriously but I did. After Lenore arrived we headed out to walk around VecRiga (old Riga) and find a place to eat. We ended up eating a half block from the hotel under the clock tower of St Peter's church. The meal was great.
I should be packing
Icelandic pop singer dreams
We've had some intense weather over the last couple weeks. The bad part is that my after-work lap swimming has not been as consistent as I would like but the good part is that we've seen some beautiful black cloud activity, thick mist ion the trees and some rainbows.
Goodbye 867MHz, Hello 2.4GHz
And here's my lunch.
And here I am chatting with Lynda. We are both wearing red scarves made and embellished with Latvian design needlepoint by our grandmother Omite.
Flag Day
Ethiopia and Jordan
State Department and Bangladesh
Israel and Egypt
Slovakia and Austria
Brunei and United Arab Emirates
Pakistan and Malaysia
Nigeria with Egypt in the distance and some flags at the University of the District of Columbia
We do not have cable but our building just recently upgraded their antenna so we get many HD and analog channels. It will never be as good as cable especially since many of the stations come and go but Sunday I was very surprised to see ShahRukh Khan on a talk show on my TV.
That Cone Thing That Dogs Wear
And in other animal news, Dana's sweet dog Pico hurt his leg and has to wear a cone to keep him from licking, biting, irritating the wound. I felt so bad laughing at him but could not help it.
And here are some neighborhood pictures.
One of the Chinese construction workers building the new embassy has pimped out his hard hat.
And we found some plum trees.
And finally I tried something new this week. My dance friends, Brooke and Marcia, and I went to a great Indian restaurant called Indique and I had appam, a rice flour pancake, with chicken curry. It really was delicious. Appam is from the Kerala region in southern India which is somewhat familiar to me because it is where one of my favorite books The God of Small Things is set and where Vasanth, the most talented dancer we met on our trip to India, is from.
Hey Y'all
Thursday Austin and I drove down to Augusta to attend my first dance teacher's 30 year anniversary/retirement performance. it was such a great experience. I was thrilled to be part of it.
The highlight of the weekend was surprising Dianne. Austin and I sat with Debbie and Laura and watched the first half of the dance performance (kids ranging from 2 years of age to high school). (Dianne was busy backstage) During intermission I slipped backstage. When the second half started Dianne was told to sit in the front row and tthe MC, Dianne's sister Barbara who was also surprised to know I was there, announced that I had sent a a video congratulating Dianne. It was shown and then it was announced that there was another surprise - I was there. I walked out, managed to step down 3 steps without tripping and hugged Dianne. She was so surprised. Another friend that I danced with Cathy was also sitting there and she was in total shock.
After the performance we went out to eat and laughed and remembered even more. Much fun!
Other Highlights:
Augusta, Thursday May 29
Easy drive between DC and Augusta. I think we made it in record time.
Non-stop laughter with Debbie, Laura and Cindy. They are such a great family, constantly joking about themselves and each other. It was great fun reminiscing and finding out about their lives over the last 30 years. We yapped a lot so I got to practice my drawl.
Realizing that although southerners can be nice on the outside but not so nice on the inside most southern strangers are generally nice.
Driving around Augusta looking for old schools/hangouts. Austin knew where everything was. I would have gotten totally lost.
Edisto Island, Friday May 30
The drive between Augusta and Edisto is one of my favorites - nice forests, small towns, dilapidated shacks, tin roofs rusted. Austin and I stopped at an antique store where we looked but did not buy. Austin taught the proprietor the difference between Fiesta ware and Harlequin. I was at Edisto for 2 hours during which time I ate lunch and set up our old iMac for Dad and drank a beer (in that order).
Charleston, Friday May 30
Dinner at Blossom's restaurant with Lyla, Tracy, Austin, Lynda and Graeme was great. I had to have the wreckfish because of its name. The waiter was slightly obnoxious but when we mentioned our schedule he took charge and got us out of there in time for Lyla, Tracy and Graeme to get to the opera . When sloe gin fizzes are all the rage again by the end of the year he is going to remember that pretty lady who asked him how they could possibly not have any sloe gin. And Lynda will regret laughing at me too.
Austin, Lynda and I then went to Barnes and Noble and Harris Teeters. I think we made 3 phone calls to each other in each store. It was a lot easier than searching the aisles or yelling.
While Austin helped Lynda hang artwork on the wall I Video chatted with Lenore and Paula who have finally decided to join the club. It was Lenore's birthday. I think they celebrated mostly by eating lots of pie. Sounds perfect!
Rehana's 40th Party, Saturday May 31
Tahir and Rehana are NASA Goddard friends who I have known a long time although I hardly see either of them any more. Tahir planned a great party at a local hotel. The best part was the dancing. There was a great mix of disco, 80s and Bollywood dance music. My friend Saima and her 2 sisters were there and they knew the steps to the Bollywood songs so everyone gathered around and tried to follow along. I did not do too badly. We danced to two of my all-time favorites. It was so much fun.
Chaiya Chaiya
and
Dola Re Dola
A New Hill of Hell and Humiliation
Here are some miscellaneous pictures I took recently:
More new balcony
flowers
A blouse I made in the sewing class I took. It
turned out pretty well!
And here's a fun little scene in the local
grocery store.
And Lynda had a pink flamingo friend join in on
our video chat tonight.
And all of a sudden there was Tracy too!
More Beer
reviews
Clipper City Red Sky at Night
Saison Ale and Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale are
from a local Baltimore brewery. I really like
the Red Sky at Night Saison Ale. It has a nice
full taste, just slightly sweet. The web site
lists the ingredients. I had no idea there are
so many different types of hops but I do know
there is a world-wide hops shortage. Oh no!
Hops: Magnum and Styrian Goldings
Malts: Pils, Carapils, and wheat malts, Belgian
candi sugar
The Hop3 ale is OK.
Hops: Magnum, Centennial, Chinook, Amarillo
and Palisade
Malts: Crisp English Pale, Carapils, and
Munich
I will definitely buy the Saison Ale again.
Spring Vegetation
The water from the pool was pumped into Rock Creek which I guess was ok. I suspect all the chlorine was gone and that sludge might have actually been full of healthy vegetation. The pool was filled by Monday morning and will probably be 60 degrees until the middle of July. It opens next weekend.
Here are some flowers
I planted. It's Thursday and I am still sore from
moving around pots and boxes in a small 5x13 foot
space.
Saturday night dinner
where everything was great but Austin's Sauteed
Spinach with Gorgonzola cheese and Star Fruit was
the big hit.
And speaking of Video
Chat here's Lyla and me chatting with Graeme's
sushi dinner.
Not burning down the house
We like candles but we don't like fires so we have purchased the next best thing - LEDs that look like candles but won't be burning down the house. We have two types - the sleek candelas and the playful candeloos. Here is a candeloo with a friend.
30+ years ago
Here's some of the counselors. I'll have to ask Lenore what she was doing there.
The director of the camp, Dianne Clements, happened to also be the head of the dance department at the YWCA and it was at camp that I discovered I might have a talent in dance that might extend past the flapper dance routines I choreographed to songs of the 1920s, 30s and 40s for a bunch of friends for the talent shows at Aquinas High. I remember Brother Phillip telling me that they really did not do the charleston to big band music but that I should not stop because it was "all good" (ok, he did not say exactly that but that's what he meant.
Dianne is in the white dress. We had some sort of costume event which is why we
all look like we're from a different era. That may be her daughter Cindy next to her.
So because of my work at the camp I then became Dianne's assistant at the Y during the school year. It was a great job. We taught ballet, tap, jazz at several locations around Augusta and we would go to out-of-town dance workshops to learn new routines that would inspire our choreography for the recitals held at the end of the school year.
When I met Dianne she had two preteen daughters who were as different as night and day. Cindy was blonde and lived to dance. Debbie was brunette and more of a tomboy who was both a bundle of energy and prone to sitting back, observing, taking it all in.
About the time I left for Chicago after college Dianne opened her own studio - Augusta West Dance Studio. I lost touch with Dianne and her family but they obviously had a profound influence on my life. And now they are back! Debbie called me to tell me that Augusta West is celebrating its 30 year anniversary. It was great talking to Debbie although I am always afraid that I won't remember something or someone. I did not do too badly although when I talked to Tommy later in the day he told me he went out with Debbie and that he went to the day camp for one session. I don't remember that. Dianne, Cindy and Debbie are all doing great. Debbie's 12 year old daughter is named Laura, which is so cool!
Here's Dianne again. I told Debbie I was not photogenic but despite the dirt I look fairly glam here.
I do hope to somehow help them celebrate their big anniversary by visit or via a video. We'll see.
Bitter lessons
And speaking of Pictures of the Week. Joe sent me a link to a series of PhotoShop tutorials called You Suck At PhotoShop. You learn while you laugh. The guy's lessons are usually motivated by some humiliation he is experiencing as he goes through a nasty divorce For this week's Picture of the Week (Austin's new ride) I consulted his tutorial (#4) where he places his wedding ring in a barren desert and puts the final picture up on eBay.
Click to see the original.
And Joe imbedded a picture of me in a fun Japanese style lunch.
Spring Things
Quicktime movie
(5.2 MB)
I should have added the sound of crickets
chirping.
I come from a
predominantly non-musical family (I was in the
Virgin Islands when Graeme was born so how do I
know he was not adopted?) so it may come as a
surprise that I have been asked to create a
musical score for a dance piece. Luckily it
involves mostly computer work - using existing
song samples, vocal recordings, special effects.
Could be fun, could be the downfall of a
highly-praised choreographic career. I'll keep
you informed.
More Beer reviews
Stone IPA is brewed in California and is mighty
fine with lots of hops and a nice clean taste.
Stop Action Animation and Dress Forms
We're watching the 3rd season of Project Runway on DVD. It is the best reality TV show ever. And in our neighborhood it looks like a fashion academy has opened up. Here's some items featured in their front window. It's hard to see but the man's suit is on a female dress form. It still looks snazzy though.
And here's just some fashionable umbrellas seen a little further up the street:
More Beer reviews
I like wine from Anderson Valley in Sonoma County, CA so I was interested to see how they do with beer. Although this Hop Ottin' IPA is not my favorite Indian Pale Ale it is still quite good. The flavor is nice but the hops are a little too subtle. I would buy it again.
Spring/Latvian Pig Man
Near this tree we found a little patch of wee blue flowers.
And speaking of Nature I have been doing some research on the Latvian forest preserves in hopes of visiting some of the magical, mystical rural areas outside of Riga when we are there in July. I ran across Cūkmens, the spokesperson for a "Don't Litter" campaign in Latvia.
If you want more here is a fun video
New Video Page
2008 Oscars
There are some directors who in my mind can do no wrong. The Coen Brothers are almost on that list. Their movies are always good but they can get sloppy and lose track (Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?). "No Country" was probably their tightest and best acted. The top two directors on my list right now are Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch. We just recently watched Darjeeling Limited and Broken Flowers. Wes Anderson makes dysfunctional families look like such fun and Jim Jarmusch is so good at portraying personal journeys. They both use casts of quirky characters. Their scenes are stuffed with weird little situations and details, a well thought out color palette, great dialogue and meaningful, interesting music. Wes has used the same techniques in his commercials for American Express, AT&T and this little gem for IKEA (Qicktime movie, 4MB).
OK, enough looking down my nose at movies other people like. Here are some fun pictures from a recent trip
Tommy and Mickey's contribution to breakfast. Mickey has on fabulous pajamas.
Lynda and Grandee, who is right out of a Ellen Gilchrist novel
Some goodbye waves
Moonlighting
My hair is getting way too long. It hasn't been this long since the 70s. Lyla and I are going to get our hair cut together in two weeks so in anticipation of that event I thought I'd put this picture from Zita's photo albums online.
Rickshaw ride
But I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. After my mother asked me last weekend what my favorite part of the trip was I realized it was just driving around Chennai looking at all the bright rickshaws, couples and families on motorcycles, women in saris on scooters, ambassador taxis, oxen, diagonal trees, buses with only men, buses with only women, people walking in the streets even in the few areas where there were sidewalks, little temples, little stands selling something with men standing all around, women of all social statuses wearing beautiful saris and decrepit apartment buildings that immediately reminded me of locations of Indian novels I have read. The road between Delhi and Agra (Taj Mahal) was also fascinating.
So here's the fuzzy youtube video. You may see Tati and me in the rear view mirrors at the beginning and a man with no legs at the end. You may hear me asking the the driver what's up in the middle:
By the way, I am no where near the first person to upload a video of a rickshaw ride in Chennai, India.
Rejected
But on the good beer front I tried two beers recently
Nugget Nectar made by Tröegs Brewing Company, Harrisonburg, PA is one of those highly hopped beers that I like. I thought from the name that it might be a fruity beer but the Sikh proprieter of the local liquor store recommended it so I read the label more closely and saw that hops, not fruit, was what the title refers to. I gave it a go and it was worth the trip. I also discussed my recent trip with said proprieter. We were buddies before but we are now BFFs (not really but since I have been to his country of birth he now knows that I know that Indians do not naturally say "Have a good one" when they give you your change.)
Fuel Cafe Coffee Flavored Stout made by Lakefront Brewery of Milwaukee, WI is well made. Stout is not my favorite beer (although I certainly drank plenty of it in Ireland) but I felt this beer had a nice balance of beer and non-beer flavors. The coffee taste was very subtle.
Here is the one sentence I sent to the post:
Back in 1993 the old coot in the beer supply store could not believe a young woman was actually making beer and in 2008 I am still brewing and blogging about the new beers I try.
And the picture I sent:
Fun Science
Click to see closeups:
Taj Mahal
Our driver for the day was Ashok. Here is what we know about him. He is from a village near Jaipur. He married a woman of his same caste from a nearby village (intra-village marriage is not allowed). They now live in Delhi and have a son and a daughter. His son plays cricket and his daughter is the top student in her class. He learned his more-than-adequate English from tourists. He has been sober for 6 years and prays to Hanuman the Monkey God every morning.
Ashok and his ride in front of our hotel.
Here I am in the front seat ready for action.
Along the three hour drive to the city of Agra and the Taj Mahal we encountered oxen, camels, monkeys, boa constrictors and cobras. Once in Agra we added elephant to the list. When we stopped at a place to pay tolls we were surrounded by vendors including these animal handlers. Tati gave them some money to take pictures. I tried to ignore the whole circus.
We saw a temple dedicated to Krishna in the distance in the town of Mathura where Krishna was born. It seemed weird to be driving through of town where the 8th avatar of Vishnu was born. I see in the Wikipedia that Krishna and I may actually share a birthday,
Oxen along the highway. Note the snake behind the monkey.
I love the picture of the man selling elephant rides and photo ops.
We hired a guide to tour the Taj Mahal for 250 rupees ($7.00US). The entrance fee was 750 rupees. Han gave us very good general facts about the history and architecture and knew all the right angles for pictures. We were lucky in our timing apparently. The week before there had been long lines to get in. We breezed in after being wanded and searched by security.
Maja and I outside the entrance and my ticket.
We had to wear socks near and in the main building. Here Tati takes a picture of her "shoe socks".
Flooring and wall (marble with semi-precious stone inlay) detail
Han our guide is with me and Maja.
After leaving the Taj Mahal Han said he knew of craft shops that had quality goods and asked if we would like to shop. We were like "Duh???". He was pretty upfront about the fact that he got a 1% commission from these places. I appreciated his honesty. So we headed back to the streets of Agra.
I like the decoration of this rickshaw in Agra. The sari on the motorcycle was also nice.
We went to a place where they made marble similar to the facade of the Taj Mahal. I managed to resist the huge marble table tops they were offering (i can only imagine what it would cost to ship a marble table top) and bought some small items.
We then went to a jewelry shop where I had no intention of buying anything but charming Amit insisted on finding something in my "price range". He started with Star of India rubies, diamonds and gold but we ended with a small Star of India ruby and silver. It is a simple but lovely ring. Maja bought some lovely birthday presents for herself.
We then took the 3 hour trip back to Delhi, ate a quick dinner and headed to the airport to leave the continent.
Photo Credit: Tati took many of these pictures.
Delhi
Unfortunately by the time the cab dropped us off it was already after 4:00 and would be dark soon. Fortunately along the way we saw some of the sites that we had hoped to walk to if we had gotten there earlier. So instead of site-seeing we shopped at a great area just down the street from the hotel in the Sunder Nagar area. This is where I bought bronze, wood carvings and some beads.
The Shops of Sunder Nagar
The bead/wood carving store was run by a father and son who were quite nice.
We ate three meals in the hotel restaurant due to time constraints. The food was pretty good but the beer was not. The selection wherever we went was, like, one brand - either black label or Kingfisher. Kingfisher was the best we had.
Trying to get out of Chennai
Fog at the airport and drinking coffee next to the men's bathroom and the announcement booth.
Here is an example of Engrish that we laughed about while waiting.
This is possibly a shrine on the runway
We liked the idea of flying on an airline called Spice Jet but Indian Airlines had nicer, cleaner planes and free food.
Breakfast Indian Style
Performance day
John Britto had some huge posters made up to place outside and inside the theater. The dancers were quite flattered. after the performance we all got T-shirts and a nice plaque that mimicked the posters.
The performance went really well and there were several nice reviews in the Chennai papers.
The posters
Dancers warming up and me in my new lace blouse and official John Britto crew badge with Shu-Chen and Katie
Tati with Apu who was so helpful. Maja and I with John Britto and company
A Day of Mostly Eating
Some of John's dancers. Here's Vijay on the left - a good dancer with a nice moustache and pony tail, then Vasanth - the best dancer in the company, Nanda - another good dancer who wore cool sunglasses, Johnson in the back - he was awesome helping me bargain with the tailor and Sachin - an aeronautics engineering student.
Before going back to the hotel we stopped at a little store near the studio where I bought a lacey white blouse for $5. We had lunch back at the hotel at Meenam where I had the Indian equivalent of the Pu Pu Platter - Vegatable Thali. It was actually quite good. I also had lassi!
The company coming out of the clothing store (note the lack of sidewalks) and lunch
I took out my iPhone to calculate how much to pay for the bill and the manager and his waiters (there are usually twice as many waiters than in the US - all men) were all over it. I showed them some of features and used it to take a picture
Things were not going well at the theater so there was no run-through although everyone sat around at the hotel waiting for it.
Shah Rukh Khan on TV and on the street, the Shiva temple in the hotel parking lot and a view from the room
When the word came that there was no theater time it was time for dinner so Tati, Miyako and I went to dinner at the other Indian restaurant at the hotel. I had aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), Tati had a stuffed green banana dish and Miyako had a cheese and veggie kabob which she threw up later.
Temples, Stalkers and Fortunes
Very few women do any type of dance except classical Indian dance. As I mentioned before there is a real separation between men and women. It is rare to see a woman on the crowded buses that we see during rush hour but there are "women's buses". The maids in this hotel are all men as are the waiters and the hotel clerks. But there are plenty of female business women here. They just don't take the bus.
After we left the studio and got showered Tati and I took a wild rickshaw drive to the Pizza Hut. I took a movie and will try to post it to YouTube soon.
In the evening we went to the Council General's residence which was beautiful. The food was Indian and was quite good. I sat at a table with two diplomats, the head of the dance school John Britto who is responsible for dana's trip here, and 3 members of a classical Indian dance troupe. When I mentioned Shah Rukh Khan the choreographer said she hated him but I made her admit that he did have a certain charm and that he could dance.
Today (Friday) 2 of John Britto's dancers took us to Mamallapuram Temple about an hour south. As soon as we stepped out of the car a vendor was offering to sell us peacock feathers. One guy followed me around trying to get me to buy sandals. I made the mistake of trying them on. They were pretty cool but he really annoyed me. He was hard to shake. The dancers were calling him my stalker. This goat was eating the marigolds attached to the front of a car in the parking lot.
The temple on the beach was very beautiful. It is dedicated to Shiva so there are stone carvings of bulls (his "ride") all about.
There is a narrow passage that goes aroung the center of the structure. One is supposed to go aound it 3 times for good luck. He I am with Tati after my 2nd circuit.
The two dancers that were with us helped us immensely to buy stuff from the vendors. I went into a fabric/clothing store and with the help of Johnson (his real name) I had a long top and pants made of a beautiful silk in one hour. Johnson haggled with tailor for about 5 minutes and the tailor reluctantly settled for ~$20. But there were obviously no hard feelings because Johnson was writing down my measurements for the tailor as he took them.
My fabric is the blue he is working on The orange fabric is a shirt Kelly bought that needed to be taken in.
We then went to an artists' working area where we did some more shopping and many of us had our fortunes read. I had a Tarot card reading that involved a parrot and that predicted that in the future my family won't help me but my friends will. Hey, what's up with that? And I will live to be at least 85. Oh I will also be travelling in the same manner as I am today often.
Here is my Tarot card reader reading someone else's fortune.
Some of the other dancers had their palms read. Here Alvin (his real name) translates for Shu-Chen. Her readings were much more personal. That scared me so I went with the Tarot reading.
India!
The food was either american or Indian. I opted for the Indian dinner and American breakfast on the Delhi flight and then Indian breakfast on the Chennai flight. Rush Hour 3 with jackie Chan, the lastest movie with The Rock and several Bollywood movies were showing on the entertainment system. I watched Rush Hour 3 and some of the Indian films. My screen was crappy so I could not read the sub-titles.
We arrived in Delhi around 10:00pm and went through customs. That took about an hour but we were just so happy to be standing up we did not mind the wait. And we talked to a Sikh from Houston who was visiting his family in Punjab. My first unusual experience was the sea of men lining both sides of the walkway leading from the customs area to the rest of the world. There is definitely more of a deligniation between men's and women's activities. Picking up passengers with little cardboard signs is definitely a man's activity
We waited for two hours in the International passenger transfer area. I worked on my computer, watched a family whose son was about to marry his bride-to-be but they had not figured out exactly which bride-to-be would be chosen. The father was very enthusiasc about the whole ordeal- the son, not so much. The guard who checked people as they entered and exited the waiting area had this great moustache. Before we left I asked him and his associate, who had a gun slung across his shoulder, if I could take their picture.
At 2:00am Delhi time we boarded a bus and drove about 20 minutes to the domestic terminal. The shuttle manned by a a driver and an armed guard went through the runway area - we had to stop for a plane at one point - and through various airpot services are. There were lines of planes, lines of bikes, lines of Ambassador taxies, lines of men on a smoking break seen through a smokey haze - all photo ops that I missed because it was just to rough a ride to hole the camera still.
We then sat in the domestic terminal for 4 hours waiting for our flight to Chennai. Luckily the coffee stand was open so we drank coffee, read our books, learned about Eastern toilets and the Eastern version of Western toilets and talked to various travellers - both Indian and American.
Our flight to Chennai was very comfortable. I sat near the emergency exit so I had all the leg room in the world. Rush Hour 3 was showing again as well as some old school Bollywood music videos. Maja observed they were very "Annette Funicello".
We arrived in Chennai about 10:30 am. Dana, Connie and dancers from the local company met as at the airport The local dancers gave us heavy wreaths of rose petals and marigolds. We are happy to be here!
We checked in and then went to lunch at a nice outdoor cafe called Mocha. Note the hookahs. We then went to a shopping center where I just could not deal with all the haggling involved in buying anything. Some of the dancers bought some nice stuff. we then went to temple dedicated to Shiva. It was beautiful.
Note the hookahs!
Christmas Contest 2007 Pictures!
I am almost ready for the trip to Chennai, India. I have taken the Typhoid pills and am stocking up on anti-bacterial cleansing products and mosquito repellent. I bought a new mid-sized suitcase on super sale at Macy's on New Years Day. I went to Target and bought some cheap thin cotton Tshirts in some nice colors. And I bought a pair of sandals made in Israel. What else could I possibly need?
I hope to find some wi-fi hotspots in Chennai to blog and upload some pictures. If you are interested you can also check http://dtsbco.blogspot.com. I actually may add some personal entries and pictures there