What I am Listening to Today

I am starting a new series of posts on what I am listening to today. I listen to a great variety of classical music. Early music to John Adams, Bach to Bernstein, warhorses to the bizarre, I love it all, for the most part.

So today:




Francisco Mignone (1897-1986). Born in Brazil of Italian immigrants, Mignone's music is Brazilian inspired with a bit of Respighi, Verdi and early Stravinsky thrown in the mix. Always melodic, always rhythmic as only a Latin can be, and certainly accessible.

Festa das Igrejas (Church Festivals) from 1940s rivals any of Respighi's tone poems, with tolling bells and organ creating atmospheres both meditative and festive. Sinfonia Tropical is an evocative tone painting of the Amazon jungles.

Maracatu de Chico Rei is a vibrant ballet with chorus, heavily inflenced by Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Afro-Brazilian rhythm and lore. The colorful and exciting music describes the building of a church by African slaves and the eventual winning of their freedom.

We used to call discs like this "lease breakers". Ones you played so often and so loud so as to catch every thrilling climax, every throbbing drum beat and booming bass that you risked getting tossed out of your apartment.

Fun, exciting, colorful, different.

BIS CD 1420

Available at record stores, ArkivMusic.com, CDUniverse, Amazon, HB Direct, or where ever you buy recordings.

Critical Issues

Guess I hacked some people off!

On Monday, I posted a 'review" (I am not a professional reviewer and do not claim to be) of the Heartland Men's Chorus' production of Divas! this past weekend. Actually the post was based on a letter I sent to an out of town friend, who because of his situation does not have a computer. I actually liked the show, it was the best drag show I could ever imagine, the chorus in fine form as usual. I guess because I pointed out a couple of issues (both shared by a friend of mine who was there, and yes I did attend the concert) I earned the wrath of some chorus members who felt I should have said this was the concert of the century.

Three comments were left stating in so many words that the posters were glad I was no longer in the chorus. Since they could easily have seen my profile, I assume some know who I am, so I guess I am not welcome there anymore. No big deal, I stick by my comments. Maybe you didn't understand the title, "An Embarrassment of Divas", it is based on the old phrase "an embarrassment of riches".

Criticism is part of the game fellows. I accept the same when I decide to publicly post my blog entries. I have had others disagree with what I have said, sometimes I disagree and sometimes I take their words into consideration. We would all love to hear nothing but "it was better than Cats, I will see it again and again and again", but we don't. If you are going to step out on stage and charge people to see you, you are going to get noticed, good, bad and indifferent.

Viagra is More Important than Children In Poverty

Missouri foreclosure rate at 22 year high.

Missouri poverty rate at 11.5%

Missouri children sliding into poverty 3 times the national rate (due considerably to Boy-Gov's cuts in child health programs)

Missouri 36th out of 51 in unemployment rate, Iowa, Arkansas and Kansas significantly better

It goes on... yet the two Republicans, mired in a slugfest over who is more conservative than the other, argue over viagra.

What morons....

An Embarrassment of Divas

Judy, Liza, Barbra, Madonna, Carol Channing, Julie Andrews, Marilyn Monroe, Cher, Tina Turner, Bette Midler and Bette Davis… all done by one performer.

Good GOD! A feast of Divas! Drag heaven! All gracing the stage of the Folly Theatre for DIVAS! the Spring Heartland Men's Chorus concert this past weekend.

Drag Queen (drag queen is too common and not fitting of this man's talent, let's say Drag Goddess Extraordinaire) Christopher Peterson from Key West Via New Brunswick, Canada and LA, doesn’t lamely lip-sync, he sings and talks in his diva's voices. Blessed (Or cursed) with a an almost mezzo-soprano voice, and a natural acting ability, he does some pretty convincing impressions. His thin, non descript body and face is a perfect canvas to re-create the face, features and images of his characters. The gowns and dresses, which he makes himself, are a fashion extravaganza unto themselves.

The whole show was opened by Joan Rivers who then introduced Marilyn Monroe. The opening number was of course “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”. The gown was a silver slinky affair. Then on to a mediocre Carol Channing (not his best) but a rousing “Hello Dolly from the chorus. It was actually funny; he took the Marilyn wig, turned it around and then became Carol. After that, Liza came on and then off the stage she went and on came Judy. Liza and the chorus did “New York, New York”, then Judy did “Rock-a-bye Your Baby” and the “Trolley Song” and “Happy Days are Here Again/Get Happy”. She was best as Judy capturing the voice and the mannerisms and the looks. Even stumbling around on stage as the drug crazed Judy would in her last days.

Then we got Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trap and the Sound of Music, complete with little gray duster dress. She taught the “von Tramp” kids (a real motley crew) Do Re Mi and did “My Favorite Things”. She did Julie well too, with a cutsie English accent and manners.

Not a second later, Tina Turner came out bathed in a smoky red light to do “Proud Mary”. His costume changes would have been a treat to see. I am sure sometimes he had one on over the other and some of the dresses made appearances longer or shorter as needed. Masterful, not an eyelash out of place either!

The second half was introduced by Bette Davis. She made a damn nice Bette, cigarette and all. Of course, Bette had to diss Joan Crawford and led the audience in the Gay mantra "You are Blanche, you are in that wheelchair" from "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane". Right after Bette came Barbra, complete with nose. She was an ok Barbra, more of a caricature than a realization. The chorus took over and did a Carpenter’s medley and another odd piece I did not get and then Bette Midler came out for “Friends”. He did not do Bette as well as others. I didn’t recognize her until she belted out the song. The show ended with Cher doing “Believe” and Madonna doing “Vogue” and “Material Girl.”

I cam glad I was not in the chorus, (I am a past Chorus member) they were on stage for 3 hours and were back up for a lot of it. Some chorus members were a motley crew of drag and leather boys, kind of raunchy for the Madonna numbers. Off color jokes and the slinky dancing made the evening a kind of adult affair, a welcome change from the PC concert world of late.

Peterson came back as Judy for the finale and encore, a spot-on and audience pleasing rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" straight out of her drug and liquor fogged performances of the 60's. It was excellent, marred a bit for me by an off kilter accompaniment, either she or the instrumentals were not quite in sync.

One thing I miss, in a show like this, is the chorus. What an instrument 130 talented male voices can be. HMC does not use this enough. Solos, ensembles and dancers all too often steal the show.

This show was all Peterson's or should I say Judy's, Julie's, Tina's, Barbara's...?

And his off color jokes and remarks, almost worth the price of admission themselves:

"A bulimic's birthday party??? That is where the cake comes out of the girl"!

Prayer

I was asked to write and deliver a prayer for a church service this AM.

Father God:

From your vantage point, we must look like a great mass of beggars at the door.

Give me this

Grant me that

I need this

I need

I want

I hurt

Some of us beg with eyes upturned in hope, others in despair. Let me add my voice to the begging: forgive us, bless us, encourage us, comfort us.

Yes, we are beggars, but in reality only poor and hungry for your love and grace.

We may not understand the answers to our begging, and we may not understand why we even have to beg, but we know that you will take care of us. Our needs fulfilled, our hunger fed, our sorrow comforted, our sins forgiven. We know because we believe, we have faith and that through Jesus Christ your son and our savior, we will be changed from beggars to the richest blest, full of your grace, secure in your love.

Amen

Dreaded Day

A dreaded day is here, I hesitate to write it... Friday the 13th. YAAAAAAA! There is a great name for the fear of Friday the 13th: paraskavedekatriaphobia.

I am a Triskaidekaphobic big time. I hate the number 13 and as I have written before (Haunted, Still Haunted) it haunts me on a daily basis. I can count on one hand the number of days in the last year I have not looked at a digital clock and saw it was 13 minutes past the hour. For today, I have a remedy for that... I covered the damn things up. In the corner of my computer screen is a little square of paper that is covering the computer clock. The clock in the office is covered by one of my hats. The coffee maker is covered with a towel. The clock on the digital cable box is turned around, the clock on the vanity unplugged. Maybe for a small space I have too many clocks?? Some just come with the appliance unfortunately.

I am not alone, according to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute, 17 to 21 million people in the US are affected by a fear of this day. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business (hello! I am not looking at my clock and not going anywhere today) taking flights or even getting out of bed. Some say the economy loses an estimated that $800 or $900in lost revenue or productivity on Friday the 13th.

Well, so far so good for the clock. But I reconciled the building petty cash this afternoon. Sure enough, after subtracting the receipts I had accumulated, I have $113.13 in cash.

I can't win.

Tom Macaluso

Some people are legends in their own time. Others are legends in their own mind. Kansas City restaurateur Tom Macaluso was an unique combination of both. Macaluso died Sunday, it was announced, a little over a year after he closed his legendary restaurant on 39th st. He was 58.

One rarely knew what to expect upon entering his eatery. Well, with the exception of his large frame behind the bar, a packed room and lots of noise. The place was tiny, always busy. The food, Italian fare, was usually good, but nothing really spectacular. It certainly was not a place to take a first date, or for a quiet night out. Macaluso's was a process

The question mark was Tom himself. He could be surly, usually greeting people with a gruff "sit down", "get outta the way" or "we're full, come back another time". I do not think the word "sorry" passed his lips often. He took no crap off of anyone. People tell me if you were his friend, he'd move the earth for you. Generous to his staff, many were loyal to him to the end. But, and this is part of the legend and even his charm, if a diner stiffed one of his servers for a tip, or even didn't tip as much as Tom thought they should, he'd chase after them and admonish them publicly for their sin. Some paid up, some ran like hell. I actually saw that once, I thought it was great. Being a former waiter myself, I know how snotty people can take their frustrations out on the poor schlep who slaves to bring them their dinner. On, and complain about your dinner, he'd make it right but you'd be told not to come back. If you did, he'd likely not serve you.

The vast majority of the time, he was brash, rowdy, friendly, gregarious and just plain nuts. You could tell he enjoyed life. When the business got old and the competition from other "corporate type" restaurants got to him, he called it quits. Quitting while still on top of his game, that was his style.

Tom Macaluso was the type that would never last in the corporate run "take care of our stakeholders" cookie-cutter world of the current restaurant industry. Any corporate types that managed to infiltrate his operation would have been shot on sight... or at least kicked out the door.

Addendum: since I posted this at about 7:15am this morning, I have had at least 17 people who have searched for Tom Macaluso as of 2:35 PM. Tom was unique, and will be missed by many.

Season Finale Kansas City Symphony: Beethoven and Berlioz

Another season has passed into history for the Kansas City Symphony. A stellar line-up of renowned soloists graced the Lyric Theatre stage: Garrick Ohlsson (who started the season), Yuja Wang, Colin Currie banging the daylights out of Rouse's "der gerettete Alberich", Joshua Bell, Concertmistress Kaniko Ito's suave Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (easily the equal of any of the other violin soloists in the last few seasons), Jane Eaglen, Jeremy Denk and Jonathon Biss concluding this past weekend.

This programming this season leaned a bit towards the Romantic standards; more Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Wagner and Tchaikovsky, but presented some contemporary works including Higdon's Blue Cathedral, Lou Harrison's Pipa Concerto, The aforementioned Rouse, and Zhou Long. Big crowd pleasers included "Pictures at an Exhibition", "The Planets", Verdi Requiem and Beethoven's 7th Symphony. Lesser heard works included Tchaikovsky's 1st Symphony, Dvorak Violin Concerto and Janacek's "Taras Bulba".

Concerts appeared to be well attended and the annual Celebration at the Station on Memorial Day drew a crowd of I would say at least 30,000 likely more.

The season finale was a fitting cap on the season, Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto with Jonathon Biss as solo and Berlioz's captivating Symphonie Fantastique.

Biss and Stern turned in a muscular albeit somewhat stately performance of the Concerto. However forceful and powerful the first movement and the finale were, the central Largo was tender and sentimental without being cloying and lethargic. Biss certainly showed his technical skills by tossing off the cadenzas with ease, his deep, commanding tone plus the exquisite clarity and graceful phrasing the long trilling melodies of the Largo. One thing annoyed me, as in so many of the younger performers, some of his mannerisms (holding his hands above the piano as if he was ready to hit it and the exaggerated sweep of his hands away from the keyboard at the end of a passage) got in the way of the music. As Dimitri Mitropoulos was supposed to have said to a young Leonard Bernstein (supposedly, I may have it all wrong) "Before you try to impress the ladies in the balcony, be sure the horns come in on time". Too much trying to impress by gesture and not letting the music speak for itself.

The Symphonie Fantastique received a splendid performance, certainly not rushed but neither a leisurely one either. Certainly a sensitive and exciting performance, but not a particularly manic one, which is fine by me. The two last movements, the famous "March to the Scaffold" and the "Witches' Sabbath", received dramatic and forceful performances with many nice touches such as the screaming clarinets and the powerful tubas in the Sabbath and the incisive forward motion of the March. The oboe/English horn exchange in the "Country Scene" was well done, the off stage oboe a nice touch. I missed the somewhat off color, sinister bells heard in Munch's classic Boston recording, but at least they were not bright chimes as I have heard before.

A fitting end for a great season of music here in the great flyover of the Midwest. Not many orchestras can boast of a positive budget balance, increased attendance, new recordings released and over 30,000 people at a concert. We seem to be doing something right here!

Derrie-Air

No Butts about it, Derrie-Air is a fake airline. The cheeky little ruse was exposed, or the case cracked as it were, after ads for the "airline" appeared in Philadelphia area newspapers. Derrie-Air, the "world's first carbon neutral airline" advertised "by the pound" fares such as $2.25/lb Philadelphia to Phoenix and proudly stated "the more you weigh the more you pay". They promised to plant a tree for every pound of carbon their planes would generate.

Derrie-Air is firmly seated on the ground however. It was simply a one-day campaign created by the papers' owner and its ad agency to "demonstrate the power of our brands in generating awareness and generating traffic for our advertisers, and put a smile on people's faces."

As fat as I am, I would have stuck with Southwest.

Read the website, it is a hoot.

Derrie-Air

A Message to Jefferson City

Ok, you State Drones, get to some real work, if you have any.

Us who work and pay our taxes to support you are sick of you using State time and computers to dig up dirt on Jay Nixon. Most of the Missouri Department of Administration seems to have read my blog in the last couple of days according to my site logs. What were they searching for: "Jay Nixon".

Yes, I was critical of him in a recent post. But let me make this straight, I think he is 10 googleplex times better a leader than your silly ass, childish, vindictive, ignorant little prick Mattie Blunt. A trained flea would be a better replacement in my opinion. And I just may write one in on the ballot in November, provided you let me vote.

The level of partisan mudslinging on the part of the Republicans in this state has reached historic proportions. I blame it on a spoiled little brat of a Gov, steeped in Republican arrogance who can not accept the fact he failed and has damaged the state. Like his big bro Bush, he thinks we are the ones that are wrong and only he, a messiah from the right, has all the answers.

Hope for some change in November. But sadly, not likely in this now moribund right wing bastion of "Missery"

Kicked in the Teeth By Jay Nixon

I am madder than a wet hen at the presumptive Democratic nominee for Missouri Governor Jay Nixon.

I was not surprised at all to see our increasingly irrelevant Boy-Gov using his state supported mouthpiece (ie the Missouri Governors official web site) to rail against gay marriage. I was not surprised Blunt acted like the pretentious little bully he is and taunted Nixon as to why he did not join other 10 other Attorneys General and ask the California Supreme Court to stay a decision on gay marriage.

What pissed me off royally is that Nixon caved in.

Now, Jay, with one little decision, you get kicked on all sides. Bunt is crowing "told you so... made you do it... nya nya nya". The state hates the little pecker, Jay...IGNORE HIM! Now, gays and lesbians and our supporters feel even more betrayed. Kicked in the teeth. Through many of your statements, it is obvious you are not a big supporter of our community. You missed an opportunity; by staying silent, you could have won a small victory. By speaking out, you lost it all.

And it was all for nothing, the California Supreme Court didn't listen to you.

I can't support you Jay Nixon. As so often happens with African Americans and other minorities, you take the gay and lesbian vote for granted. You think you can do what you want just because you are a Democrat and we'll vote for you just because the opposition is even worse. No more. I'll do Libertarian, Green, VooDoo, or even Communist to be sure I do not cast my vote for you.

I have asked Puggles if she would run for Governor. She declined, stating she would rather remain Queen of Pugs and Supreme Ruler of Alaska. Missouri is a lost cause, she states.

I could not agree more.

Will The US Quake Too?

At Princess Diana's State funeral in 1997 Queen Elizabeth shocked the nation by acquiescing to public opinion and actually bowing in honor of someone of lower rank. (When Britain Quaked)It signaled that the nation and the Monarchy were leaving leaden tradition behind and facing a new more diverse and egalitarian future.

Is the US about to follow suit?

It appears likely that the US is about to have its first viable non-white candidate for President. And likely a female Vice President candidate as well.

Is the US voting population ready for this quake? Time will tell.

Eight years of right wing rule have taken its toll on the US. Bush has virtually turned the US against most of the world, flying in the face of what others think and of reality. Fear and insecurity mean our borders are virtual prison walls, keeping out everyone but illegals. Travelers avoid the US like the plague as the security apparatus asks for more and more ID and red tape. Our economy is a shambles, civil rights trampled upon, the justice system a cruel joke, and who can forget the mess that Bush made with Katrina?

Die hards will do anything to keep their power. Obama and Clinton will be bloody and beaten-up by the party goon squad by the time the election is over. The right wing controlled media will be sure to keep Rev Wright in the limelight and keep Iraq, $4 gas, Katrina, election fraud, and the faltering economy on the back burner. Many will not accept a black or a woman in power, some think things are just fine and do not want to shake things up. If Obama and Clinton take the election, it will not be an easy fight.

For me, I think we need the earthquake. We need someone from out of the blue to come in and shake the country out like an old bed sheet, to hang it out in the sun and fresh air and bring some life to it.

It is time to stop whining about Gay marriage, abortion and all that crap and take the economy by the horns, challenge the oil cartel, end the useless war in Iraq, deal with global issues as partners not bullies and give all citizens their God given rights.

I am asking a lot. I am not sure Obama is up to it. Not sure Clinton is either. I know Mc Cain is not and would keep the status quo. But I am willing, and from what I see many other citizens are as well, to take a chance.

Sometimes a little rattling of the earth is good. Besides having Bill and Hillary back will send the Republicans into a tizzy fit!

Kansas City Symphony: Dvorak, Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn

It is a rare privilege for an assistant conductor to be given the responsibility for a regular season subscription concert. Assistants, adhering to tradition, are usually relegated the grunt work of community and pops concerts and rehearsals.

Thus, Kansas City Symphony Music Director Michael Stern showed his confidence in his assistant, Damon Gupton, and gave him full rein over this weekend's concerts.

The program was an interesting choice of solidly 19th century pieces that are far from obscure, yet not exactly performed ad nauseam: Mendelssohn's "Hebrides Overture: Fingal's Cave", the Dvorak Violin Concerto with Augustin Hadelich as solo and Tchaikovsky's graceful Symphony # 1 "Winter Dreams".

The Hebrides Overture is of course the most often performed of the trio and received a warm but somewhat mellow performance that didn't quite capture the wild, churning awesomeness of the storied sea cave of the Scottish coastline. Certainly, the orchestra sounded great with solid brass and the usual suave wind contributions. But is it just me, or has the strings' tone become a little coarse as the season has progressed? At least it seemed that way in the Overture.

Dvorak's Violin Concerto is a wonderful work, from the dramatic opening chords and first movement, through the elegant and nostalgic Adagio and on to the folk tinged "furiant" finale. Far from unfamiliar, it is still less of a repertoire staple as is the Mendelssohn, Brahms or Tchaikovsky. Hadelich, 2006 International Violin Competition Gold Medal winner, showed his prodigious technique and command of lyrical, almost vocal phrasing in this long-melodied work. The opening taught and well argued, the connecting adagio spacious but never slack, Hadelich securely executed all the winding, trilling filigree. The concluding Allegro giocoso was just perfect, both orchestra and soloist dancing all the way to the end.

My only quibble, Hadlich's tone, although perfectly pitched, seemed to be a bit tentative and lacking in projection. Hardly the violin's fault as it is nothing less than a 1683 Strad on loan to Hadlich as part of the competition prize. Probably more contributory would be the notoriously dry (lousy actually) Lyric Theatre acoustics, although I have not noticed this with other violin soloists.

Tchaikovsky's sunny First Symphony inhabits the sound world of the ballets in contrast to the more sternly dramatic and better known trio of final symphonies numbers 4 through 6. Gupton and the orchestra nailed this performance, with stirring brass (where did they come from??? or should I say "finally"), pointed and frosty winds and lush strings. A brisk tempo led to a swiftly unfolding winter dream and helped mitigate the symphony’s longueurs. At the same time he brought out the hushed melancholy of the Adagio with style and grace. In this case the smaller string section of the symphony (as opposed to the larger ensembles that have recorded the work) helped to bring forth the inner details and harmonies, so often obscured in a glaze of strings. Gupton drove forth but never forced the sprawling finale, demonstrating that the "Winter Dreams" stands head and shoulders above its sisters the 2nd and 3rd, and points the way to the final symphonic masterpieces yet to come.

Ask my concert companion, Barbara, and she will tell you that I am pretty particular about giving a performance a standing ovation; many times I have been among the few still seated. This one, however, deserved it without hesitation.

Sadly, Maestro Damon has decided to move on, off to New York to pursue his dream of combining acting and music. When us minor league teams produce a winner, the big time boys come calling and want to make them a star; as is also the case with our superb Principal clarinet, Michael Wayne who was wooed to the big time of the Boston Symphony. We’ll be the poorer for their departure, but grateful for their contributions to the renaissance of the Kansas City Symphony.

RIP Harvey Korman

One of the funniest people to ever grace the TV screen.

"Give me something bizarre to play or put me in a dress and I'm fine." ~ Harvey Korman 1927-2008

Coupl'a Things V

Since I have been feeling like death warmed over, I am not in the mood for a long diatribe about all the silliness in the world. Thus I will focus on a few short silly things.

1) The new format for the St Louis Post Dispatch on line edition www.STLtoday.com is horrible. Just like news papers in general, it is full of ads and hard to navigate. But someone paid tons of $ for it, so they will do what they have to do to justify it. I think it sucks.

2) Just took a gander at the garden and it seems to be doing well. Every thing is growing, corn has been planted, my peppers are up, the squash is booming. And at home, the herbs are sprouting as well. I finally found some rosemary so I am complete. Mr Pettit is giving me tongue in cheek flack for taking some of his mint for my peas, so I have forbidden him to have any of my oregano. Herb Wars, here we come.

3) I was considering taking out my full cable and just going with the basic deal when I discovered that a channel I would lose is showing the original Iron Chef Japan. Best and funniest cooking show ever. The premise is 1/2 cooking show, 1/3 comedy and 1/3 game show. The head of the Gourmet Acadamy, Chairman Kaga, has "realised his dream in a form never seen before" and specially constructed a cooking arena called "Kitchen Stadium" in his castle. There, visiting chefs from "around the world" would compete against his Gourmet Academy, led by his three (later four) Iron Chefs. specializing in Japanese, Chinese, French and Italian cuisine. Chairman Kaga himself is a peacock, always dressed right out of an International Male catalog.

I mean really, how fun is a show that features squid ink sorbet, $1,000 worth of lobster used to flavor asparagus. or yogurt and shark fin stew? Where else can you hear such lines as "the sweetness of the fish liver mixes well with the bitter chocolate... I like it" or "the pleasant bitterness of the eel dances in my mouth and then I enjoy the bright flavor of the pineapple... such a pleasure". Indeed the campy English dubbing gave the show some of its charm and dare I say humor. Of course the Iron Chefs usually won. I may reconsider for a while and keep the dang cable.

4) This just in, Boy Gov, increasingly irrelevant, is socking it to the taxpayers and taking his wife and kid on a 3 day vacation to promote Missouri state parks, via a RV. Thanks Boy Gov, I sure would like a State vacation. He'd tell me to shove it.

Stuffy

It is Spring in full force here, and thus I have the sinus condition from HELL! I have not felt like blogging for a few days. You know when your head is so full you feel like you can't even think straight? That's everyone's favorite Pato right now.

I'll be back, I am sure.

Say Good Night Dick

Dick Martin, who created and co-hosted Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In with Dan Rowan, died May 24 of respiratory complications at 86.

Meeting in 1952 and inspired by Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, Martin and Rowan did Vegas, nightclub and New York shows before breaking into TV. Perry Como, Ed Sullivan and "The Hollywood Palace" featured then numerous times. Martin, in a solo role, was a regular on "The Lucy Show" in the early 60's. A summer replacement for Dean Martin's show catapulted them to eternal fame.

"Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in" was born out of the successful summer show, but the NBC network was not convinced of the show's merit. Critics loved it, and the audience voted by soon making it the # 1 show, despite being on the same time as popular "Gunsmoke" and "Lucy".

Not surprising, Lucy and Gunsmoke were getting long in the tooth. "Laugh-in" far fresh, timely, funny and controversial; a sure fire combination for success. No doubt it forever changed the face of television by championing timely satire as media for comedy. I mean really, who can forget the night Richard Nixon, a sitting President, appeared on a comedy show and said, "sock it to me??" It ran from 1968-1973, itself then getting out of step with the changing culture of the times.

Martin went on to produce TV shows, Rowan died in 1987.

Good Night Dick, I hope you are socking it to Nixon as we speak!

Pancake Musings

I didn't have pancakes this AM.. I was out of Aunt Jemima and was too lazy to restock. Thus some pancake musings, sans pancakes.... probably better for me anyway.

1) Many of the rich and pseudo-rich here get catalogs from all the high class rich people's stores. The "needless mark-up" (get the hint) of some of the items lends credence to the old saying "a fool and his money are soon parted".

Thus the amusement over the $110 flip flops. Yes, the very same silly fashion that has swept the nation. These utilitarian shoes have become high fashion. I think they are uncomfortable, hard to walk in and annoying to boot. Besides, as a kid my mom wore them, probably bought at Woolworth's, and whacked me on the butt with them when I misbehaved. I think I have a psychological aversion to them. But look around and everyone is wearing them everywhere, all season long.

But $110?? Just for rubber and canvas shoes with a designer's huge logo plastered all over them?? They go with their $100 tank top and $75 baseball cap.

2) I was brave yesterday. I made an edit to a Wikipedia entry on Mahler's 10th Symphony. I noted that two new recordings had been released in the last couple of years but had not made it to the list on the entry. So I added them. It was cool.

By the way, I have everyone of these recordings except the Martinon and the Harding which has not been released yet. I am working on the Martinon.

How many can say they edited an encyclopedia article? I also sang with Dolly Parton once, but that is another story.

3) Some nice rain and moderate temps have been good to the garden or so I am told. Have not been there in a while.

4) Memorial Day weekend is here, cool and rainy now. We'll see what the rest of the weekend brings. I have a lot planned for Sunday so I hope for the best.

"Cook"-ing With Gas

Nine, count them nine different articles or stories in today's paper regarding the local boy David Cook winning "American Idol" and ONE on the horrendous news that oil is $135/bbl insuring that everything from soup to nuts will be more expensive, more jobs will be lost and families tossed into chaos.

Why does no one care? Why is a silly, contrived TV show more important than the economic future of the country and one's family? If 1/2 the people who voted for David Cook would get out and vote in the up coming elections (provided the Republicans let them with their desire for new poll taxes) we'd have a real government. Voter registration is up, turnout may be higher for this election... but that remains to be seen. It depends on what is on the "great glass tit" of TV that night.

This indifference is not just confined to the USA. In Britain, gasoline is over $10/gal. The last time gas rose dramatically, truckers and such blocked roads and stations in protest. The country almost ground to a halt. Now, protests quickly sputter out, unable to attract any participants.

They must all be watching "Idol".

Growing Pains

Since I practically scream every time I go grocery shopping due to the warp-drive powered rise in prices, I have decided to grow some vegetables. Now if I had the space to raise some chickens or ducks I'd be set. No..I'd keep them all as pets. So best to stick to vegetables.

It was the empty bread rack, used as a lawn ornament at the palace, that inspired me. We used to plant some pots of geraniums there, but since everyone hates everybody here, no one takes the responsibility. The new board, equally as ignorant as the others, vetoed my idea of a few pots of herbs. They wish to keep it blank as a symbol of their inability to get along.

My neighbor Will was keen to the idea and offered his ledge flower boxes as herb boxes. I jumped on the offer.

Thyme, chives (vichyssoise!), basil, tarragon, oregano, Thai basil and parsley are growing nicely. A few pots of mint were added for fun. Will set out a couple of tomatoes. Still looking for some rosemary, it seems to go fast.

Then Greg bought an empty lot near by and thus a neighborhood garden is taking shape. Today I staked out my claim and planted some peppers and squash. I want to get some other things, but it seems that Home Depot was running low on everything but tomatoes. Others have okra, herbs, corn, tomatoes, more peppers, zucchini, celery and stuff. Hopefully, if the thieves and rabbits don't spoil things, we should be in the bounty by fall.

I asked Greg if I could do rice, but he was not keen on me flooding the place. Guess I'll have to buy that.

Kansas City Symphony: Verdi Requiem

It was the concert highlight of the season, Verdi's supreme masterpiece; the Requiem Mass in Memory of Manzoni. Michael Stern, Music Director, was conducting.

So the Kansas City Symphony Chorus sounded better than ever. Diction was for the most part excellent, entrances were clear, on pitch and they could purr or raise the roof as needed. Some of the more contrapuntal sections were a bit sloppy, but nothing to scream about. The Orchestra sounded good as well, with the exception of some uncharacteristically tentative string intonation and some occasional wind intonation issues as well, again not characteristic. The brass were in good form, the antiphonal touches in the Tuba Mirum were especially effective.

So why I am I less than thrilled about this performance? The piece demands a quartet of soloists with full rich voices, an operatic yet restrained flair and an ability to blend. They need voices to lead us through the many long and frequently slow-tempo solos and ensemble pieces so as not to bog the piece down. Voices with power, yet not shrieking, shouting histrionics.

None of these had that ability, at all.

Tenor John Mac Master, despite an impressive resume, sang with a strange constriction that I wondered if he was even giving the performance his best effort. The stirring, spine tingling tenor entrance in the Kyrie was almost an anticlimax. Even my half-ass tenor voice can belt that line out with authority and (usually) on pitch. He certainly did not hit any wrong notes, but certainly did not convey any drama. Bass Mikhail Svetlov, also with an impressive background, possesses a deep yet sort of sterile voice that unfortunately did not blend well with the others. Again his performance was tentative and lacking in grace.

The ladies were a mixed bag as well. Soprano Indra Thomas simply could not hold on to extended notes and clipped too many phrases. She and Mezzo Guang Yang simply did not blend at all, and in the short Pie Jesu section, seemed to be totally lost. Maybe not lost, but wandering around a bit. Yang was probably the better of the two.

I missed the sweet resignation of the lacrimosa as the soloists tried in vain to blend and communicate. Verdi's wonderful Lux Aeterna, despite some effective low brass underpinnings from the orchestra, failed to shine, pun intended. My favorite section, the incredible Agnus Dei, was marred by the harshly conflicting sounds of the mezzo and the soprano, totally not in tune with each other. Because of the straining, unimaginative voices, the long solo and ensemble stretches did lag and disappoint.

Very telling were the expressions on the faces of the mezzo, tenor and bass when they finished after the Lux Aeterna and let the soprano conclude with the Libra Me. They looked absolutely bored and disgusted. I know those on stage are not to attract attention to themselves or interact, but really, these folks looked like they wished they could just sink into the ground, or take a nap. The stirring bass drum blows (some of the best and most effective I have ever heard) would have woke them up.

You all get the drift. I tore little marks in my program to mark spots that were problematic but now just have a tattered program book. Can't win them all, but with a better group of soloists or at least more commitment from them it would have been a winner. It was that close.

RIP: Steven Andrew

Steve Andrew 1962-2008

Rest in Peace, Friend

I simply refuse to believe I will not see your smiling face at church every week.

Active Judges

Hard on the heels of a Las Vegas judge who is under investigation for sexual harassment (a female who asked her employees to give her massages) comes this story from Michigan:

Judge Tells Kid to Kill Himself

Another example of the cesspool theory of public service: all the big hunks float to the top.

Or

What do you traditionally call the person who graduates last in their law school class?

"Your Honor"

The US "injustice system" is corrupt, irrelevant and dangerous. Yet it wields tremendous power enforced by the police state. Are we any different from Nazis? Not much.....

GED: Just one Small Step to Life After Prison

The article in today's KC Star was upbeat, "GEDs offer hope for life after prison", but short on reality.

A reader commented: "My husband got his GED in Prison it didn't make any difference to most of the people who interviewed him all they see is his record and they don't give him a chance. He finally got hired at the Union which you do have to have a GED for so thankfully there is someone that will give you a chance. The reason there is such a huge return rate to Prison is because people won't give them a chance. My heart goes out to all the inmates that may have a better chance at getting a Job with their GED."

Sadly, that is more the case. Yes, felons can get jobs. Sometimes with a bit of luck and a good background with good connections, it is possible. You are going to have to set your sights lower in some cases. So long management and hello fast food. Many states, and Missouri is one of them, restricts some jobs felons can hold. Often professional licenses are denied. A GED is certainly a start, and I commend these fellows for their work, but reality will show it is hardly the single key to success.

What needs to happen is a lessening of this trend for marking people for life. In this supposedly "Christian" country, forgiveness is in radically short supply. Laws restrict jobs, where some felons can live, deny licenses and schooling. Some individual companies go farther and restrict any felon from getting a job. I thought, maybe naively, that serving time meant paying your debt to society. I guess I am wrong, it is just the first step in the life long process to make one suffer the consequences.

I have no answer, and I do agree 100% that these fellows with their GEDs are one step ahead. But it is a small, and possibly useless step, unless US society changes its views on the employment of felons.

More Republican Outright Silliness: The Continuing Saga

Doug Goodyear campaign manager for the John McCain 2008 Republican National Convention and chief executive of lobbying firm DCI Group, had to resign Saturday after a report that his lobbying firm used to represent the military regime in Myanmar. Apparently he was engaged as a lobbyist working to "improve relations between the United States and Myanmar" and to act as the military regime's public relations agent in Washington.

As we speak this wonderful government of Myanmar is more concerned about its self preservation than helping its people recover from Tropical Cyclone Nargis, which has killed tens of thousands of people and affected millions more.

Sounds like they learned a lot from the Republicans; how to put your interests before the people and how to handle a tropical storm effectively.

John Brown: Kansas City Lyric Opera

Ok, I am a big soft heart, I admit it. There is something emotionally compelling about a person's devotion to get their work or idea recognized and performed. As it was with the musical "Rent", where a young composer struggles to get his magnum opus performed on Broadway and sadly dies before he realizes the full extent of his success, the story of how "John Brown" by Kirke Mechem reached the stage is almost more interesting and compelling than the work itself.

Mechem devoted 20 years of his life in setting the tale of the abolitionist hero and sometime terrorist/outlaw to music. He spent years researching the writings of John Brown, visiting Brown related historic sites and delving deep into the history of the abolitionist movement. Parts of the opera (usually a chorus or aria) were performed here and there over the years. Highly critical reviews led to several rewrites. Finally, in 2008 everything seemed to be coming together. With the composer being a native of Kansas and with the Kansas City Lyric Opera celebrating its 50th anniversary, the staging of John Brown, set partially in near-by locales, seemed to be a natural.

A well known story with a flawed, controversial hero/anti-hero main character, intertwined with revered historical figures (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, Amos Lawrence) and a contemporarily relevant message, John Brown is a tale tailor made for an opera. But in the end, Mechem's work ultimately lacks as an opera and takes on the lesser scale of a musical historical pageant. I could see some of the choruses and arias making an effective oratorio or concert piece. Not that "John Brown" is without some merit. Unashamedly lush choral writing, lyrical, tonal and basically conservative orchestration (sometimes sadly more over powering than effective) and some powerful arias and scenes can make for an enjoyable, audience pleasing albeit highly conventional opera. I just do not see any staying power. Outside of the hymns (most notably a moving setting of "Were You There?"), little of the music was memorable. The stage action was highly static, reflecting the highly declamatory libretto.

John Brown is thus straightforward story telling, the plot not complex and the ending well known before the curtain rises. Mechem, as librettist, paints a highly sympathetic picture of Brown. Thus from Brown's first line (one of the most controversial statements of Jesus Christ: "Think not that I come to send peace on earth. Not peace but a sword."), to the Gethsemane-like "Apotheosis" (think "Billy Budd") Mechem strives to portray Brown as a Jesus figure, an uncompromising revolutionary, a man who so loves his country and is so abhorred by the evil of slavery he is ready to kill and die for his cause.

James Maddalena (well known for creating the role of Richard Nixon in "Nixon In China") was a perfect Brown, part swaggering warrior, part intellectual who could earn the respect of Ralph Waldo Emerson, part messiah and yet a flawed human. His strong voice was rarely overwhelmed by the orchestration as were other cast members'. Donnie Ray Albert as Fredrick Douglass was also in fine voice, vividly portraying Brown's friend and inspiration. The sets and costumes were appropriate to the period, being 1850's rural America, shimmering gowns, flowing robes and towering castles were absent of course.

So as with "Rent", despite the mostly uninspired music and a flawed plot, the whole drama of the story, the production, the local color and the relevance of its message, John Brown resonated with the audience. I do not predict that John Brown will sweep the opera world as did "Rent" with Broadway; actually I highly doubt it will be performed frequently at all. Yet the old softy in me found it satisfying and even moving to see the composer (no young man himself) bound onto the stage of the opera to receive a rousing standing ovation from the capacity audience. This artist got to his promised land.

"Matt Blunt, Document Destroyer": the Game,

Funniest thing since Bush declared "Mission Accomplished":

MATT BLUNT: DOCUMENT DESTROYER!

Nun-gate

Even though there has never been a case of voter fraud in Indiana the Republican Supreme Court dominated upheld an Indiana voter-suppression law forbidding the elderly, poor and minorities from voting because they frequently do not have the money or the transportation necessary to obtain ID.

First victims... 12 elderly nuns.

About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow bride of Christ because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.

Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow sisters at Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.

The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn't get one but came to the precinct anyway.

"One came down this morning, and she was 98, and she said, 'I don't want to go do that,'" Sister McGuire said. Some showed up with outdated passports. None of them drives.

They weren't given provisional ballots because it would be impossible to get them to a motor vehicle branch and back in the 10-day time frame allotted by the law, Sister McGuire said. "You have to remember that some of these ladies don't walk well. They're in wheelchairs or on walkers or electric carts."

Don't you feel safe and secure that nuns can't vote?

Remember one thing else, the Supreme Court Jesters allowed this son-of-poll-tax despite NO proof that anyone had perpetrated voter fraud in Indiana. It is simply a Republican ploy to intimidate those who may vote against them.

Understanding the Conservative Mind

I am finally beginning to understand the "Conservative" mind. That is I understand the new brand of Conservative such as GW, Huckabee, Boy-Gov., etc. The hypocritical, Government of the (Rich) People, by the (Rich) People and for the (Rich) People Conservative. The war-is-good-state-sanctioned-murder-is-ok-but-leave-unborn-fetuses alone-dammit kind of Conservative.

These warped, yet powerful, people have two mantras:

"Government is bad. Government is the problem".

Therefore GW, Boy-Gov and the rest just feel why bother to govern well or at all? Rules, ethics?? They are for the opposition, and watch us hold them to it.

And:

"Taxes are bad". "Taxes are evil". "I don't want to pay for anything".

What does the good Conservative think? Give me my tax cut, don't worry about infrastructure and services. When things get real bad, just borrow the money from the grandkids.

No wonder we are fucked up.

Boy-Gov Is Still At It II

Maybe it will all come out now...

Lawsuit Says Boy Gov Blunt Ordered Email Destruction

Saturday Pancake Musings Again

Got the Aunt Jemima out again this AM and enjoyed some fat fluffy pancakes. As usual, I got to musing about the world as they disappeared.

1)It seems some Lesbians are upset and are suing a Gay and Lesbian organization for using Lesbian to refer to females with same-sex orientation. The aggrieved Lesbians are claiming they are the original Lesbians and some of them are even male. It is all so confusing....

The word Lesbian comes from the island of Lesbos off the coast of Greece. Lesbos was the home of Sappho, a Greek female poet who wrote much about love between women. The word Lesbian dates back at least to 1732 appears as an adjective in the 1890 Oxford English Dictionary and as a noun in 1925.

The litigious Lesbians are some inhabitants of Lesbos who claim they are being defamed and insulted by the use of the word. The Litigious Lesbian Leader laments that "My sister can’t say she is a Lesbian." Therefore, the Lesbos Lesbians want to gain the exclusive right to call themselves Lesbians. They claim that the "seizure" of the word Lesbian to mean more than "of the island of Lesbos" has caused them mental distress.

Will the Gay family be next? Or the Hookers? Or those with the name of Cox? Any one named Dick???

2) Spring came with a vengeance this week. Thursday night spawned some nasty storms and all sorts of warnings. It seems a couple of pretty strong tornadoes came through the middle of the night up to the north of us. The Palace was unscathed, although the winds tossed the garden furniture around a bit. The sirens and storms and such actually prompted me to turn on my TV for the first time in over a month. After the storms passed, off it went again. What a wasteland.....

3) Bush, like Boy Gov Blunt, striving to be relevant, claims his tax rebate will be the savior of the economy. Most people plan to pay bills with it, or save it...or buy gasoline. Typical Republican BS.... the Depression is upon us.

HM's Birthday Photoshoot by Lord Snowpug

HM's Birthday Photographs

Photos courtesy of Lord Snowpug:





(in this picture, Lord Snowpug swore most vile and
said "bath!!?" HM was not amused)



Enjoying the soft grass



HM announcing that the photo shoot was over

Royal Announcement
Puggingham Palace

HM's Birthday Celebrations

Today, we celebrate the 9th birthday of Puggles Duchess Windsor, Queen of Pugs, Supreme Ruler of Alaska, Princess Royal of Baltimore Place, Grand Duchess of Missouri, Grand Duchess of Kansas City and St Louis, Duchess of Illinois, Duchess of Clinton, Baroness Pugtona, Royal Order of the Greenie and Treat, Grand Order of the Scrunchie, Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kibble, Patroness of the Royal Pugharmonic Orchestra.

By Royal Decree, all Pugs in PugVillage, Alaska, Kansas City, all places mentioned above and everywhere HM sees and rules will get extra treats in honor of the Royal Birth.

HM will be spending the day at the Palace, receiving guests and reading birthday wishes from all over the world. Later this PM, after a photo shoot from Lord Snowpug, she has ordered the Limo to take her to the Three Dog Bakery for her only public appearance and to receive her customary Birthday Big Scary Kitty Cookies.

We wish HM many more birthdays and a most happy one today.
~ Palace Communications

Sir Thomas Beecham

Pato notes today the birthday of British conductor and musician Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1961)in St Helen's England. Beecham was a major influence on the musical life of Britain through his founding of two orchestras (Royal Philharmonic and the London Philharmonic), advocacy of British music, and his support of British opera companies such as Covent Garden and Drury Lane.

He was also a bit of a "bon mot" and held many of his colleagues in low esteem while holding others in high regard. There was no middle ground with Sir Thomas...whether you are speaking of opinions about him or ones he held about others.

I note his birth, not so much with his musical legacy but with some of his quotes:

"The sound of a harpsichord - two skeletons copulating on a tin roof in a thunderstorm."

In the first movement alone, I took note of six pregnancies and at least four miscarriages." Sir Thomas on Bruckner's Seventh Symphony

"What can you do with it? It's like a lot of yaks jumping about." Sir Thomas commenting on Beethoven's Seventh Symphony

Sir Thomas was once asked if he had played any Stockhausen. "No," he replied, "but I have trodden in some."

"Madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands and all you can do is scratch it." Sir Thomas to a lady cellist..Imagine if he had said that today!

"We cannot expect you to be with us all the time, but perhaps you could be good enough to keep in touch now and again." Sir Thomas speaking to a musician during a rehearsal

"Her singing reminds me of a cart coming downhill with the brake on." Sir Thomas on an unidentified soprano in Die Walküre

Beecham met a lady whom he recognised but whose name he couldn't remember. After some preliminaries about the weather, and desperately racking his memory, he asked how she was.

"Oh, very well, but my brother has been rather ill lately."
"Ah, yes, your brother. I'm sorry to hear that. And, er, what is your brother doing at the moment?"
"Well... he's still King," replied Princess Mary.

Some of these, over time, have been found to be apocryphal, but are none the less great fun!

Whiskey and Car Keys

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys ~ P.J. O'Rourke

I could not agree more these days. Although the original context of this quote is likely rooted in O'Rourke's usual anti-leftist, libertarian philosophy, I mean it as a criticism of the amateur cowboys running (ruining as well) this county (see post below for example) and our soon to be gone Boy-Gov here in Missouri.

Let's hope for better.

Wherefore Wert You John??

Presumptive Republican Nominee John McCain visited New Orleans and saw for himself that Republican nonsense and criminal behavior still has poor citizens of the area living in squalor. Mc Cain, seeking to distance himself from the Bush crime, dared to criticize the Emperor saying there were "unqualified people in charge, there was a total misreading of the dimensions of the disaster, there was a failure of communications."

Did he mention his vote against aid for the area??? NO

He did say if it were up to him, he would have landed his plane at the nearest airport and come over personally. Bush just flew over.

BUT! Did he mention that one of the things Bush did while New Orleans sank was to come out to Arizona and give Mc Cain a big birthday cake???

Of course not.



They are both criminals in my book.

Chefburger

Despite a faltering economy (thanks George) and cheap-ass folks bitching about paying for parking taking its toll, the new downtown Kansas City Power and Light District, not quite finished, seems to be doing ok, thank you.

Conceived in the heady days of the new Sprint Center hopefully attracting NBA basketball, NFL Hockey or some kind of steady anchor, the new complex of restaurants and clubs has had a somewhat stressful birth. But from the looks of things on a cool, cloudy but pleasant Thursday night with nothing scheduled at the Arena, the doomsday people are off the mark for now.

Gerry and I were heading for Thai but found them closed for a party. We decided to walk the block up the street and check out the place.

Raglan Road, an Irish restaurant and pub looked busy, as did Famous Dave's BBQ place and Ted's Montana Grill. Most of the restaurants have an outdoor area or large windows that open to mix the indoor and outdoor crowd. Gerry said we should try the new Chefburger restaurant, a creation of a local restaurateur who has made a name for himself with more upscale venues.

The place was packed, again boding well for the future of the district. Chefburger is a dangerous place for people like me who can not make up their mind on what to order. There are literally tons of choices for the All-American burger, but I understand the build your own concept that was initially advertised was scuttled upon opening. Large grilled sourdough buns and every topping and sauce imaginable plus the regular suspect sides of fries and onion rings (really good)are joined by fried green beans, sweet potato fries, garlic fries and big waffle fries. I opted for my favorite and was not disappointed, a yummy swiss and mushroom with grilled onions. Done perfect as were the aforementioned onion rings. Gerry had a classic patty melt and was quite happy as well.

Nestled in a courtyard but accessible from Walnut, the restaurant is all about "urban chic" meaning steel and glass, high ceilings and everything in the open. The design made for a nice bright open space, but contributed to the almost unbearable noise level. Combined with the chef calling out "Don??? Hungry yet?? Your order is hot and ready for YOU!", the omnipresent din quickly got on my nerves.

Westport Flea Market serves just as good a burger, and is 1000 times funkier and interesting. Therein lies the deal, will people go to the trouble of going downtown for the same thing, paying to park, walking to their venue?

The place is not even finished yet and the nay-sayers are out in force. I for one will do it, just to keep the urban lifestyle in business. We all can't live in the burbs, and I for one do not really want to. Frankly, KC is big enough for them all.

Chefburger
1350 Walnut
Kansas City, MO 64108
816-842-2747

What Did They Say?

Data released by a congressional committee shows that the number of soldiers admitted to the Army with felony records jumped from 249 in 2006 to 511 in 2007. And the number of Marines with felonies rose from 208 to 350.

BUT GAYS AND LESBIANS ARE A THREAT????????

Then...

Early on Monday, our increasingly irrelevant Boy-Gov called for the death penalty for child rapists. Missouri would join such great bastions of freedom and enlightenment as Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Singapore in executing people who have not otherwise taken someone's life.

Later that same day a press release:

"Gov. Blunt Praises House Passage of Legislation Supporting Life"

Can you say '"hypocrisy"?? Sure you can. (apologies to the late Mr. Rogers)

Coupl'a Things IV

1) I treated myself to a dinner out at Culver's tonight. It is a fast food restaurant but one with a particularly wonderful fish sandwich. YUM! Something a little different from the usual fare, and I was not in the mood to fix any dinner.

So here I am waiting for them to bring it to me and a lady and two kids show up to sit behind me. Oh joy. One kid is a girl about 6 and the other a toddler boy. Of course as soon as my dinner shows up, the boy begins to whine, bang on the back of the booth and become a nuisance. Mom finally corrals the little buck in a chair which clearly is not in his plans. When their food arrives, he wants a french fry but mom is saying he has to have a bite of the sandwich first.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

He screams enough to stop everyone from talking.

Mom coos "eat a bit of your hamburger....now, then a fry." Sister is happy yapping and eating away while mom focuses on her baby bro.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

et. al.

I get up and move. Mom looks at me as if I am being rude. I take what is left of my dinner and eat it in the car. At least no kids there.

It hit me as I sat in the safe cocoon of my auto, this must be a Kansas suburb mom from Cupcake land (we were right in the neighborhood) and this is how spoiled, demanding, selfish Republicans are made. Right from childhood. It has to be so.

2) A piece in the KC Star today had the Mo DOT flunkies whining about not enough inmates to do trash pick up on highways. WTF?!

Our "injustice system" and "persecutors" love to mete out jail time for just about everything anymore. The number of non-violent inmates has skyrocketed. These people would probably love the opportunity to get out and do something productive.

I think there is a different reason:

1) too many of the new inmates are Republican wrong do-ers and of course would not dream of having to do menial work. It is probably in their contracts they get from the administration in exchange for serving time.

2) Boy-Gov and his crooks have a stake in the "private contractors" who do some of the pick up.

Meanwhile, I am writing my state Rep and Senator to complain.

3) I have started going to a new church. I have been a disgruntled member of my old church for a while now and decided to take the plunge. My old church, which I have not totally abandoned, has just slid down the path to mediocrity and irrelevance.

When one slides into negativity, complaining about everything and generally dreading doing something, it is time to make a change. Life is too short. So I have found a new place. I know some people there, the minister is great, concise, good speaker and keeps the service going forward. One of my complaints about my old church was that the services drug on and on and on and on. Slow, boring, repetitive. And what law says we have to sing every damn verse of a hymn, all the time. Services were getting to be an hour and a half long. I remember my old training mantra, the mind can absorb only what the butt can endure.

Well, my well padded ass endureth little.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is here, Spring is here, life is skittles and life is beer. ~ Tom Lehrer

I love this time of the year. Trees in bloom, grass a soft, glowing emerald green, flowers peeking out from the brush, the earth becoming alive from the dead of winter.

Yesterday was perfect, 60's to lower 70's in temperature, a cool steady rain with an occasional boom of thunder and wind to remind us nature is really in charge. The Bradford pear trees in full bloom along Broadway, in Westport and in our front yard. A sea of delicate white blossoms, soon to float to the ground creating the illusion of an April snow. Puggles enjoys the soft green grass and the return of her beloved birds. Walks in the park are frequent as the cool, less humid air is just right for her.

It won't last forever, but in my juvenile mind, I wish it would. By July, the relentless sun and heat will turn much of the grass brown, the trees begin to look stressed, the concrete becomes a furnace. At the Palace, we spend a small fortune keeping the yard watered, an island of green surrounded by the starker reality of summer.

Maybe we do create our own illusion of eternal spring here at the corner of 38th and Baltimore. If you have enough money, you can do that.

460s and 4 Barrels Forever!

There is nothing, I repeat nothing, like the power and sound of a big, 4bbl carburetted, pushrod, American, cast iron V8 engine. Most newer cars have engines with more horsepower than sense; big numbers from V6, fuel injected, multi valved, aluminum, overhead cam, hemi head, front drive, fuel efficient, massaged and complex powerplants.

But they have no soul.

My friend Steve left town for love, and that is a story in and of itself. Suffice to say his house is still unsold and furniture and appliances remain as well. Also left behind, due to a small mechanical malfunction (stuck open sunroof), is his 1978 Lincoln Mark V. I go to the house occasionally to check the place out, air it out a bit and start the Mark to keep it up and going.

She is a big girl. 230 inches long (19 ft), 4600 lbs dry, more when the 25 gal gas tank is full (think of it... more than $80 to fill the tank now), 120 inches between the wheels and a hood long enough to land a small plane. All cream yellow, inside and out. A big Cartier clock and speedometer suffice for gauges.

Since it was a nice, sunny and breezy day, I decided that the old Mark needed some exercise. She was a bit reluctant to start, having sat for a few weeks, but when the carb was full, she lit off and burbled to a low growl, content to lazily turn forever. Since the sunroof is 1/2 out, I tucked in the headliner so I could see out the back, tucked Puggles in the seat and off we went.

Like a locomotive, the big 460 Cubic Inch (no liters here, but if you insist 7.5 liters) propels the beast with grace and force-of-nature-like power. No high pitched whine or whirring, no fan noise, just a low grumbling, rumbling power that tells you 210 smog choked horses and 357 ft/lbs of torque are working for you right off the bat. Newer engines make that power in their upper range when they are furiously working, chains, cams and valves whirring. A 460 is just being lazy.

After making sure she was up and running well by touring the subdivision streets, we ventured into traffic, dwarfing many of the plastic disposable Toyotas and holding her own against the SUV crowd. Gracefully accelerating up the fairly clear avenue, the old girl showed she still could command the road. People moved out of the way, in case the massive hood, formal Rolls like grille and patrician hood ornament would sweep them out of the way in a roar of yellow power. A few glanced at us, not having seen a big old Lincoln like this in a while.

The big lady enjoyed her outing, never missing a beat. Now snug in her garage, she awaits another romp and eventually, her return as Queen of the Boulevard.

HR Lays Dead and Dying

Ok, it is time to admit it, when profits are down and the investors scream they need to make 20 million instead of 17 million and, well... have you seen what a new Bentley costs?? Human Resource departments typically get cut first, and get cut hard.

Home Depot has announced it is decimating its HR staff and eliminating store based HR managers. The HR function will now be handled by regional teams and a call center to answer technical questions. Reports indicate over 2200 well paid HR positions will go poof once everything is shook out. In doing that, Home Depot says it can add new $10/hr floor jobs in its stores. Gee, maybe a second check out???

HR is slowly dying as an exciting and viable career, reduced to call centers and paper filers. Hearing this made me personally glad I didn't get that HR job at Home Depot a few years ago (A Trip to Home Depot) as I would now be looking for work in a scary job market.

I worked in HR for nearly 15 years and loved almost every minute of it. When my company ceased talking about quality services, employee satisfaction and customer service and concentrated instead on "the best interests of our stakeholders", I knew it was time to leave. I did and never looked back. I drifted to other HR jobs, always getting the raw end of the deal, responsible for everything, but no authority to do anything about it.

In this "stakeholder" driven economy, where a few rich investors are the only things a company cares about, employees are nothing, especially managers with good salaries and benefits. When I applied to Home Depot, a store HR manager was starting at about $50K. Now there are 2200 less people making good money to pay taxes and buy Home Depot merchandise. I wonder what is going to happen when we are all reduced to making $10/hr or less, trying to sell each other a Big Mac and waiting to be an Assistant Manager making $11/hr?

People are still needed to run a company, despite the stakeholder's ideas to the contrary.
It all boils down to the human element. Good people always overcome poor planning, inefficient processes and obsolete equipment. Dedicated employees retain customers, even if your product or service is not the least costly or even the best. So why is Human Resources, the primary function responsible for hiring and retention, always the first to go?

Short sided thinking only concerned for profit, return on investment for a few and concentration of wealth for the bankers and "stakeholders" who trickle down a bit to the masses now and then. Cheap credit has made the middle class think they are on the same gravy train. But when one of the wage earners comes home and says they no longer have the $50K job, the train begins to derail.

I am done with HR. I entertained thoughts now and then about looking for a good HR position, but they are few. I have been really out of the field since 2003 so I am as good as last week's newspaper as far as most companies are concerned. I used to subscribe to a daily online HR newsletter to sort of keep up with the trends. The subscription now is canceled, it was just clogging up my inbox.

For all those to be laid off, there is life after HR, but it will be a rough ride for a while. Good luck.

Kansas City Symphony: Jeremy Denk and Sibelius

The Kansas City Symphony and Music Director Michael Stern offered a slightly less ambitious program this weekend in contrast to last week's east meets west/journey to the stars program. Pianist Jeremy Denk joined the orchestra for the Mozart Rondo in D K 382 and Richard Strauss' rarely heard "Burleske" for Piano and Orchestra. Bartok's luscious Divertimento for Strings opened with the Sibelius Symphony # 1 comprising the last half.

The Bartok, like many of his compositions, is a reflection of his turbulent life and times. Written just before the beginning of WWII while in neutral and safe Switzerland. While not immune to what was transpiring around him, Bartok probably did not realize he would soon be forced to leave his beloved Hungary forever. The sunnier Hungarian influenced outer movements contrast with a dark and ominous central slow movement full of stark chordal processions and funeral atmosphere.

The Symphony strings relished this slow movement, bringing out the astringent harmonies and nervous energy always threatening to overwhelm the melodic line. The outer two movements however, were too light in texture, too soft-hued and slack for Bartok. I like my Bartok gritty and brimming with the paprika tinged, elastic Hungarian rhythms and I missed this to a degree. Some fine solo work from the violins and violas abounded in all three movements.

I was not familiar with Jeremy Denk and thus was pleased to hear him in concert. He is a pianist of exceptional technique and musicality, able to tackle the panoply of notes and rhythms of the Strauss yet also spin a delicate, almost romantic Mozart melody. However, he is one of those pianists with a touch of showmanship that can be distracting. He is better heard and not watched, his mannerisms, such as conducting the orchestra and "Schroderesque" facial expressions can get in the way of his musical communication.

The delicious Rondo in D K 382 was dispatched by all with grace and delicacy but with a touch more romanticism than is often the norm, which is all right by me. The Strauss was a grand, almost dramatic affair, with the witty burleske element always ready to burst out. This lively parody of serious piano concerti lay unappreciated for years and still shows up on concerts infrequently. For me, it was one of Strauss' gems I came to admire from the monumental Rudolf Kempe set of complete Strauss orchestral works in the 70's. Finally hearing it live in a wonderful performance was a treat.

The final work, Sibelius' rich and powerful first Symphony was given, what else can I say, a rich and powerful reading as befitting its stature. The brass, long a sore point with the orchestra, were spot on, blending well with the wind heavy writing and never overwhelming. When called upon, they emerged golden and commanding from the tapestry. Well chosen tempi, a driving, breathtaking scherzo, incredibly beautiful clarinet solos by Michael Wayne and a perfect realization of Sibelius' slowly emerging climaxes made this one of the best all around performances from this group yet.

A Hospitality Lesson

I have been a little harsh on my dear little country of Nicaragua lately. I always am after a visit. You can see I am conflicted; there is so much to love, so much that is different and fresh, even a lot that is old fashioned. Then there is the corruption, the raping of the country by the left and the right, North Americans, Europeans and fellow Central and South Americans (yes I am speaking of you Hugo). I guess I want to believe it is a paradise, that everything is beautiful, everyone is having a beautiful life, that my friends there are happy.

And many are. One of the staff at the hotel in San Juan del Sur got married to a Spanish lady and went off to Barcelona. "It was hell", he told me. "Big, crazy, noisy, expensive, I came back here." He found there really is no place like home.

My travel partner Bruce was amazed at the place; as a first time visitor, he was taking it all in.

"My GOD!", he exclaimed in Managua one afternoon, "I have not seen that in years!" Bayardo was taking us around town and had stopped to fill his car with gas. "Uniformed gas station attendants, have not seen one of them since I was a kid". Sure enough, every Texaco station has uniformed attendants to pump your gas. Clean, pressed uniforms, worn proudly. Nicas have a pride in their work and in cleanliness, despite the trash that litters the streets. Trash collection can be spotty sometimes. The country has the cleanest dirt in the world, it is not uncommon to see someone sweeping the dirt outside their home, making sure all the leaves and trash are picked up.

Bruce, Hector, Bayardo and I went to a gay nightclub in Managua our last night there. The place was nice, in a good area and looked to be fun. Inside it was not fancy, but had cold beer, good music, a nice dance floor and a good crowd of people for being somewhat early in the evening.

For the non-gay readers, a lesson in gay bars is in order. Here in the US, when a fat old Queen like me enters a gay bar, the crowd looks to see who came in and when noticing I am not a young stud, they turn to back to their drinks and ignore me. That is why I avoid the places like a plague.

At Club Tabu, it was different. People greeted us; "welcome"! "Would you like to dance?" When Bruce, Hector and Bayardo and I began to dance, many joined us, switching partners, cheering us, "great dancer Gringo!" one called to me as I showed that I can still move. I felt more at home there than I ever had a bar here.

You see, hospitality and community are still prevalent. Nicaragua is still a front porch society, people gather in the streets, sidewalks and porches to talk, watch a communal TV, play and eat. Even in sprawling, crazy Managua, you can go to the corner Pulperia and get all the neighborhood news and just about any item you want. A stranger is not a threat, but someone to welcome.

One of my favorite treats in Nicaragua is the weekend Nacatamale. A huge cornmeal tamale stuffed with spiced pork, rice, potato, raisins, and sometimes olives and wrapped and steamed in a banana leaf. I bought two from Angelita and took them back to the hotel Bruce and I were staying in Managua. I asked the young lady in the hotel if I could get two forks as a friend had made us Nacatamales. She got us a couple and I was happy to eat my treat in its leaf.

No, not to be in my hotel, the young lady thought. Soon plates, napkins, coffee and juice appeared. She could not bear her guests to eat like common folk, we were guests for Christ's sake.

Try getting service like that in a $60/night hotel in the states. Or having a Texaco pump your gas for you.

Maybe we are missing something after all.

A Beautiful Life? part 2

It was a typical evening at Nacascolo Bay just outside San Juan del Sur Nicaragua in late February. April and her son, mother and 4 employees were closing up their restaurant for the evening. For April, the restaurant and garden hotel was a wonderful investment, quiet, scenic, away from the hustle of the town but blessed with a breathtaking view of the bay and the ocean beyond.

Eight armed assailants quietly entered the compound, knocked out the guard on duty at the hotel, entered the restaurant and changed April and her family's life forever.

Taking everyone captive, including the family dog, the gunmen drank the restaurants supply of liquor, ate and then terrorized the captive family and employees. One of the guards was beaten severely, the other and his wife kept silent that their two young children were sleeping in their apartment in the compound. April had her throat wounded by a knife, she watched as the gunmen held a gun to the head of her 14 year old son, they stood helpless as the beaten guard bled and became unconscious.

Early on the morning of February 25th, the armed men forced everyone into a hotel vehicle where they took them 30 kilometers away to the municipality of Potosí near Rivas and parked in front of a sugar cane field. They thought it was over. But luck finally smiled and a police car noticed the activity and investigated, the kidnappers fled into the dark cane fields.

Sadly, for April the biggest nightmare was yet to come. The kidnapped family and employees then went to the Rivas hospital and one of the guards reported the incident to the police.

The police could care less.

The police did not even search for those responsible. April gets visibly angry when she recalls finding an identification card of one of the kidnappers that had been dropped in the hotel. The police have not even arrested this man.

The Rivas police said that they were very busy with their Semana Santa Coverage Plan (Holy Week, the week before Easter is basically a national holiday in Nicaragua) but a quick glance at the calendar will show Holy Week was then three full weeks away, so they were not able to get to this case fully, but now that it is over they are going to search for the criminals with full force and put them behind bars.

Yeah right.

Too late for April, she is leaving. She hates the place, hates her hotel, wishes she had never set foot there. The place is for sale, but she is not abandoning it, she is selling on her terms, she will leave when she is ready. The restaurant re opened for a bit, but she and her family will be traveling a bit in the meanwhile. Anywhere but home.

The police know who did it, they are scared to do anything about it. They don't even act like they care. The other rich gringos in the area tell her to get over it and keep quiet, you are scaring away the investors. The look of sadness and betrayal in her eyes at that statement speaks volumes.

"Nicaragua is a fucked up country and it seems to enjoy being so", said my friend Grant in Managua. He should know, he has lived there for 20 some years. Corruption is rampant, the government inept, Daniel Ortega has degenerated in to as shameful a raper of the country as Aleman and Somoza.

Beyond the palms and sunsets, sweet smooth rum and delectable fish lies a more violent, corrupt Nicaragua. It doesn't scare me away, but saddens me that again the country is sliding into the morass of corruption and a divided society,one with everything and one with nothing.

I am confident April will find her beautiful life... sadly it will not be in Nicaragua.

Kansas City Symphony, "Earth and Stars"

The Earth... Elements: rock, air water. The Earth... People: diverse, ancient, artistic. The Earth... a mere speck in the cosmos.

Thus was the heady and fascinating theme of this weekend's Kansas City Symphony program that I caught this Sunday. The ambitious program consisted of the rarely heard Suite Symphonique from "Les Elements" by French baroque composer Jean-Fery Rebel, Concerto for Pipa and Strings by Lou Harrison, "King Chou Doffs His Armour" for Pipa and Orchestra by Zhou Long and The Planets By Gustav Holst.

Rebel and his music was totally unfamiliar to me. This 25 min long suite, scored for double piccolos, flutes, oboes and bassoons with strings and continuo, is a suite of dances derived from the opening movement "Chaos", evoking air, water and earth in all its forms.

"Chaos" is extraordinary for its opening tone clusters (all the notes in a D minor scale) that would not be out of place in any 20th century composition. From that violent beginning, the suite unfolds, culminating in a delicious "Tamborins I and II" movement, a tour de force of acceleration as the small orchestra danced its way to a frenetic end. The "Air Ramage" movement charmed with its ribbons of sound from the strings and winds, streaming in the breeze. Most of the other dances were not really memorable and somewhat repetitive. A bit long and probably not really necessary as part of this concert, but certainly worth a dusting off now and then to show that there is more to the French baroque than Couperin and Lully.

Pipa virtuoso Wu Man owns the following two works and has almost singlehandedly brought the pipa (an ancient Chinese lute-like instrument) into the fore. Lou Harrison's charming Concerto for Pipa and Strings, is every bit a Lou Harrison creation. Composed in 1997 it consists of 2 large movements and a series of "bits and pieces" as a middle movement suite. One bit is a humorous dialog between the pipa, cello and double bass, played entirely by knocking on the wood of the instruments, another is a lyrical orchestra interlude. The audience enthusiastically responded to her obvious viruosity and the communicative power of this delicately flavored work.

Kansas City resident Zhou Long's "King Chu Doffs His Armour" is a much more powerful work, a spicy Szechuan dish to the delicate Mandarin Harrison. Scored for a full orchestra and pipa, it is based on a folk song tale of Xiang Yu, king of Chu and his defeat in battle. Again Wu Man's brilliant command of her instrument communicated the tale in vivid color and rhythm, demonstrating the ancient instrument's ability to hold its own against a modern orchestra.

The last half belonged to Holst's popular orchestral suite "The Planets". Excellent playing abounded from the winds and brass including the odd additions of bass oboe and bass flute, both of which could be heard through the vivid orchestral fabric. Mars was powerfully war-like, Saturn was ponderous and monumental, Mercury fleet and.. well...mercurial. We could have used a more vulgar organ glissando in Uranus and the concluding women's chorus in Neptune was simply too distant and muddy. Otherwise a well controlled and well played performance.

Home Sweet Home

Yeah, it is a cliche .... but it is so damn true.

I am finally home after a leisurely trip to Nicaragua. I was so lazy, I didn't even blog much. I have the rest of April's story to tell, nightlife in Managua, a KC Symphony concert to review from this PM, plenty to keep me busy.

But getting home is what is on my mind now. Air travel is nothing but a nightmare anymore. If I was rich, I would spend my fortune on chartered jets just to avoid the hassle. Once a grand adventure and even pleasant in coach class, air travel now is designed for no other reason to torture the passengers.

Service sucks.
Planes are cramped.
Nothing is on time.
No one explains or talks to you when there is a problem.
Airports are huge obstacle courses designed to confuse and exhaust.
Prices are up up up.
You are assumed to be a terrorist or a smuggler until proven otherwise.... this time.
Passengers have no qualms about making their flight more comfortable, at your expense.

Yeah, you can tell it was a rough ride up. Starting with the now expensive taxi ride to the airport in Managua (used to be $5-7 now up to $15 plus tip, gas is out of sight there) the voyage home was a challenge from the very start. The flight was overbooked and the line was long. It seems some people, despite being far from home, do not travel much and never read the rules. Bags over size, over weight, surfboards, paper flowers.... liquids, whatever... all argued about with the harried ground staff.

Hearing "overbooked" put me immediately in the panic mode. I wanted to go home, it was time. When I am on my way home, get outta the way. I morph into a homing pigeon and neither rain, snow or surly airlines will get in my way. I thought we were ok, until they began to ask again for volunteers even after we were seated. Some did, and thus the exodus of old and arrival of new passengers began. Bags put on, bags removed, new ones in their place. Took over an hour. Finally in the air, and homeward bound, seat secure, I felt a bit more at ease.

Nicaragua is still very poor, thus it is a prime destination for church groups to meddle and do some feel good projects. But since the country has become more of a tourist destination, infrastructure is better and become relatively safe, the church groups are no longer composed of just the adventurous and hardy, but chock full of kids. A whole damn herd of them were in front of me, giggling, bouncing, singing, taking pictures like they were on a damn field trip bus to the rival town football game. The 74th time the brat flashed her camera flash in my face, I bellowed for her to please refrain from the activity. From her look, you would of thought I told her to fuck herself... but she got the message.

All was tolerable aboard our Boeing made flying prison, until we got close to Atlanta. Rain, delays, holding pattern... but not to worry...yet.. we had a 3 1/2 hr layover. Finally landing, we sat on the tarmac and waited, our gate given away since we appeared to not want it.

Time slipped by and I was beginning to get anxious. This homing pigeon was not too thrilled about roosting as a guest in someone else's porch that night. We got in and thankfully immigration was not too bad, officially back in the USA, safe and sound thanks to the TSA, INS and our government's best at work.

Baggage claim was a war zone. We waited almost 45 min for the bags to arrive, no one telling us what the problem was. Passengers, formally just stupid, became unglued. Bags in hand I then rushed through customs, thankfully not asking me about anything I bought. I always bring back too much liquor and despite my nervous face, they always let me pass.

If baggage claim was a war zone, then baggage recheck was Hiroshima. People screaming, crying, what is happening??? No one telling anyone any reason for the mess, just barking orders. Chaos rained. I did as instructed by the pushy, surly and I am sure as frustrated as I was baggage fellow and pushed my red bag into the sea of luggage, waving it a forlorn good bye as if a loved one was going off to war, not sure if I would ever see it again or in the same shape. So long, brave son.

The 3 1/2 hour layover was all but consumed by the whirlwind of anxiety and thus we got from terminal E to terminal B with only moments to spare. I was exhausted, sweaty; adrenalin pumping, I was sure not to relax on the flight or even sleep when I got home.

BUT DAMN IT I WAS HEADING HOME.

Luck was no lady tonight, she was a roaring bitch. The man sitting next to me was all happy and chatty, a sure annoyance for me as I was not in the mood to hear see, smell or communicate in any way with another human being. Period, paragraph.

"40 to 19". He told all in earshot and me as well, showing me a screen on an hand held communication device that had print and buttons too small for me to see. I assumed it to be a sports score but the unusual spread confused me.

"What is that, a football score?"

"Silly!! (but his face read "oh my God") KU and North Carolina..the Final Four, my son is sending me updates on my Blackberry."

He was all but sure I was from another planet or worse just released from Solitary at Sing Sing. Explaining I had been out of the US for a bit did some to help allay his fears about my planetary residence or my parole status. Deciding I was safe, he began to yap but thankfully he could not negotiate his digital camera and show me his pictures from New York, otherwise I would be heading to the Pen.

The flight to KC was the only one on time and actually halfway pleasant. The passengers were thrilled to hear that KU won, I was thrilled to know I was home.

Of course our bags were not there so we had to make a claim for them. B had both of his delayed so he had no keys to his car or to his house. His condo door man would let him in so he was spared the ignominy of having to stay at a hotel so close to being home.

Throughout the whole ordeal, I could count on the loyalty and reliability of two of my greatest treasures; the Queen Mary started right up and took us home in style and Puggles, upon seeing me, wagged her little pug butt so hard that the energy powered a city block.

Home Sweet Home.

A Beautiful Life? Part 1

It is a typical Tuesday, here at the bar "La Cascada" at Pelican Eyes in San Juan del Sur. As I sip a Nica Libre (Flor di Cana rum, coke and a lime), Juan Carlos is opening a huge jar of cherries with an outsized knife. A "Bahama Mamma (virgin)" is in the works. Natalie and I quip that there are no virgin mammas in the Bahamas for damn sure. The joke goes over his head....but Durley understands and shares in our giggles.

A languid humidity settles over us all, the sun beats mercilessly, the AM clouds chased away on the brisk east wind. The sea sparkles. It is still the dry season and the surrounding hills are brown and tinder dry. A few sprinkles of green belie the fact that in fact this has been a rainy dry season.

Almost 3PM, all I have done is eat, go to the post office, swim, eat, drink and now sit at the bar and drink and play on the computer. It is "A Beautiful Life" as the eponymous song on the muzak reminds me.

Or is it?

Yet below.... corruption, poverty, lack of infrastructure, violence, is rampant. Just ask April, whose story I will tell soon. She is getting out of here as fast as she can....she has the resources to do so. That was not the plan when she came to this "paradise", now for her and her family a living hell.

A story I may be sorry for telling. It is not popular. It disturbs the money class here. But it is worth the risk... stay tuned.