May Day weekend begins with the up-at-sunrise festivities on the banks of the Charles, the slight chill more than easily dispelled by rigorous dancing. Later that day, kids and I indulge in a bike ride and then an excursion to the park, all leaving me quite, er, exercised. The next day, YD and I head off to NH for a smaller-scale, but quite enjoyable May Day party (complete with maypole dance). My right leg is aching just above the knee. Guess I did _something_ this weekend.
April 27
Book completed: "WLT: A Radio Romance," by Garrison Keillor -- it's easy to take him for granted, or to become jaded about "Prairie Home Companion," but the guy can tell stories, and very cleverly shift characters in and out of the narrative. It's funny -- the Cowboy Chuck interlude is a howler -- moving, wistful, and applies just the right kind of nostalgia. The epilogue is a strange departure from the feeling and tone, but it somehow works.
April 24-25
Ah, NEFFA. Sure, it's impossibly crowded and parking is a dicey operation (although this year was less of a problem than usual), but throw in some good weather and you have Heaven in Natick. Saturday -- attended by all four of us, plus YD's friend -- was the day of dance, as Middlesex and Banbury both gave a good account of themselves. Sunday was the stint with Robin's Pick-Up Israeli Folk Dance Orchestra (our only practice, held in the main courtyard, consisted of quick intros and handshakes, then equally brief run-throughs, all with a massed morris dance stand within 30 yards). Earlier, I walk into the vendors' hall and happen upon a session featuring two Scottish small-pipes, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, fiddle and dumbec(sp), so of course out whips I my stringed instruments for a good half-hour of jigs, reels, hornpipes, strathspeys before heading off to rehearsal.
So, Sunday evening, I am deliciously tired, somewhat sunburnt, and more certain than ever that this stuff is still worth doing.
April 21
Viewing: "The Quiet Room" -- talk about art intertwining with life; watched this barely a day after the shootings at the Colorado high school. This detailing of a child's internal conversation, and the secret delight and heartbreak it brings her, became all the more poignant. Chloe Ferguson ably fills the shoes of Ana Torrent.
April 20
Recent musical acquisitions:
"Red Rice" and "Kings of Calicutt," by Eliza Carthy. Clearly, she's not intimidated one bit by her parents' considerable legacy. Rather, she uses them as both inspiration and resource, and creates something very much her own: "GenX" English folk-rock, if one must come up with a label. "Kings" is delightfully scruffy in spots, and the instrumental configuration (fiddle, box, hammered dulcimer and rhythm section) makes for a very different sound than the usual folk-rock mix. Best tracks: "Trip," "Good Morning Mr. Walker," "Whirley Whorl" and the last instrumental, the latter two in part because of clever use of horns (for gosh sakes). "RR" is a more ambitious, and not entirely successful project -- could've done without the Brian Eno-like sampler experiments for a start -- but plenty of good listening: "Ten Thousand Miles" and "Billy Boy" (with very effective backing vocals), "The Herring Song" and even her own lyrical compositions. Consider the torch passed.
April 17-19
Most welcome three-day weekend, bringing with it three unhurried mornings. Major activities include short local bike rides and long-awaited first excursion of the year to dearly-loved Dairy Joy, climaxing in leisurely practice at old college friend Robin's house, in preparation for stint at NEFFA with Israeli folk dance orchestra for which she has recruited me. Also, viewing of "Watch It!," which though steadfastly cheery turned sluggish after a promising first half-hour or so -- sad to say, it will not be known as John C. McGinley's break-out movie.
April 16
The week in science:
*Astronomers all but confirm existence of another solar system -- three giant planets circling around the star Upsilon Andromedae, 44 light years from Earth. This means that between us, Mars, Saturn and Uranus, we could kick their Upsilon Andromedaen butts back home before supper if they ever get any ideas.
*A study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that women wearing swim suits score lower in math tests than men who are similarly attired, compared to when they wear other kinds of clothing. So if we
ever open any underwater colleges and universities, all the men will get the plumb teaching and research fellowships, and women will be relegated to scraping barnacles off the pressurized domed aqua-football stadium or gathering seaweed for the annual trustees' banquet.
*Japanese scientists have built a robot fish (a sea bream, to be exact) that looks and moves exactly like a real one -- programmed by a computer and guided by sensors placed in the tank. Since robots are meant to be labor-saving devices, the world's fish and sea-creature population can only benefit from this innovation. Potential ad tag-line: "Our fish do the work so yours don't have to!"
April 15
Viewing: "Moll Flanders" (1996 version) -- first of all, it's just a great story. But Robin Wright is so self-assured and at-ease in the title role -- as is Stockard Channing(!) as Mrs. Allworthy -- you don't notice the film's occasional duff parts.
April 5-12
Gosh, has it really been this long since I dug in the spurs on the ole synapses here? Evidently, what with a brisk 220-meters-like pace at work combined with feverish preparation for the upcoming NEFFA performances with Middlesex and Banbury. But in the meantime, friend Stephen has upgraded our home computer facilities considerably, while YD shone in her unforgivably small parts in the school play (next time 'round, LW and I are doing the stage parent routine to the hilt -- give this kid some lines, for crying out loud).
April 4
After a far-too-early Easter Sunday wake-up call, I spend the afternoon with the redoubtable Kibo combing grocery stores in Chinatown, where he introduces me to a world of blue-colored snack foods, death crabs, Happyland Biscuits, brand names like Cow's Head and Pigeon Brand, shelves of dead fish peering out through plastic bags and many other exotic, nifty and/or absurd things.
April 2-3
Glum, lethargic Good Friday becomes Far More Pleasant Saturday, with slightly warmer weather and kids' dispositions. Includes viewing of "The Knack, and How to Get It" -- what fun it must've been to be Richard Lester in the early and mid-60s, and think of outrageous, silly or previously inconceivable things to do with film. But it shows how the mere act of transporting a bed from one end of London to another could be a paean to personal expression and liberation.
April 1
Family viewing: "Mighty Joe Young" -- trouble is, at the end of the day, King Kong is a gigantic, overpowering ape, and MJY is just a really big ape. Innocuous enough, I suppose, but nothing to beat your chest about.
March 30
Recent musical acquisitions:
*"Reunion Hill," by Richard Shindell -- it's one thing to write good songs, another to be a good singer. But when you have that blending of writing and singing ability that just works, man, what a delight. The title track is so good it actually feels like it should have a couple of more verses, while "Saw You Smiling" and "May" -- with its chilling climax -- are equally strong.
*"The Dougie MacLean Collection" -- OK, he can get a bit earnest and precious at times, but fact is "Solid Ground" and "Marching Mystery" are simply bloody good songs. Approaches that same Shindell-like blend.
*"The Best of Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers (Beserkley Years)" -- yes, people are more apt to remember "Abominable Snowman" and "Dodge Veg-a-matic" than the more straightforwardly romantic songs. And, frankly, that by-the-seat-of-the-pants, "Give-me-an-'A'-maestro" feel is what makes JR endearing. Just have fun, guys.
March 29
Terrific NCAA hoops final, all the better that New England's own UConn (any port in a storm, any regional kinship in a tournament) emerged victorious. Khalid El-Amin bouncing around like a beserk bowling ball -- and a latter-day John Bagley -- was wonderful to behold, but the tableau of the night was Coach K holding and consoling William Avery, thereby upholding the virtues of the coach-player relationship more than a weekend's worth of seminars every could.
March 27-8
*Lovely harbinger-of-spring sort of weekend. OD and I traversed Harvard Square on Saturday, a fair and pleasant day, essaying various music stores and Japanese anime hawkers. Sunday was cool and damp, but good spirits prevailed, even with the unexpected arrival of a YD schoolmate.
*In the Civic Pride Department, an article notes that one Alabama township has dedicated a statue in honor of the boll weevil. Gee, wasn't a Leadbelly song enough?
March 26
Viewing: "The Ice Storm" -- certainly captures the mood and setting of the book, if not its crackling personal and social commentary. The acting is fine, especially the poor, lost boys, but it all left one, well, cold.
March 24
Book completed: "Dream Children" by A.N. Wilson -- you know something isn't quite on when the summary description of the book on the inside sleeve contains inaccurate details. Frankly, not a lot of pleasant characters to identify with here, and the ending seems to be more a cocking-the-snook than anything else.
