Songs For Dog Days

Here's the August playlist. I'm just going to sneak it in here before September is too far underway. There are a few songs from the movie Adam, some from "(500) Days of Summer," a song from "Once" because the Swell Sessions are coming out with a new album, and a pair from Rhode Island's Deer Tick (you might remember "These Old Shoes" from February).

I'm burning the candle at both ends and just trying to keep on top of the necessaries. Back to long-distance training and making sure my act is together for the classroom. This year is just swell so far. I'll report more shortly, but for now, our school's camping trip looms and I'll be going straight from it to a red eye for a fabulous wedding in NH. No rest for the weary.

End of An Era

Associated Press

This morning, I was teary on the way to school listening to the news. I walked straight to my fellow Bay Stater's office and we teared up together. At lunch I almost got in a fight with a Californian teacher who dismissed the news as irrelevant. I know that Ted Kennedy made mistakes in his life, but overall, he did a lot of great things for the people of Massachusetts and left the Senate better than he found it. Maybe I'm just more patriotic or more naive (probably true) than most liberals and perhaps Americans are a bit too obsessed with this family for people of a democracy, but this guy was one of the Greats. Like the Lou Gehrig of the Senate. He was there for decades, his booming voice speaking loudly for women, ethnic minorities, and the poor.

I've been steeped in articles today...about the end of Camelot and how Kennedy lived his life in the last year. I have nothing but admiration for the work that Senator Kennedy has done in his career and the respect his colleagues have for him. I feel privileged to have voted for the Lion of the Senate. I hope that he inspires more people to public service.

A shot of Clinton and Kennedy rallying supporters in Framingham, Mass. 1994.

Doug Mills/Associated Press

SWJF ISO...

More sleep! I just tried to put the milk bottle in the microwave, rather than the fridge. I stopped when it wouldn't fit. I'm not sure if I would have figured it out if it did fit.

First day of work is tomorrow. No kids yet, but we only have two days to plan before they arrive. There is so, so, so, so much to do. I don't think sleep is in my near future, but maybe on Friday.

Summer Movie Round-Up

I've seen a bunch of movies recently. I think I'm in a panic that school is going to start and I won't have any time for anything "fun" so I'm squeezing it in now. In fact, right now I'm making some strawberry jam and getting ready to go to a Bob Dylan concert and tomorrow I'll whip up some Blueberry Boy Bait. Gotta fit it all in!

I'll give some quick recaps in case you're contemplating any movies out there. I saw most of these by myself, so I haven't had the chance to discuss them with anyone, and perhaps my opinions would be more nuanced if I had.

Public Enemies - John Dillinger story, staring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. This is not a movie I would normally see, but one that I friend wanted to check out. He promised to tell me when I could look back at the screen when it got "scary." Bale is better in this than in Dark Knight but Depp does not have a great performance. There's a lot, a lot, a lot of shooting and the plot is not very tight. If you have wanted to see this, I'd recommend waiting for DVD.

(500) Days of Summer - I think I wrote a bit about this before. I quite liked it because it is not a typical love story and the music was just my style. Zooey Deschanel may have won me over with this one. This was definitely worth teh $6 matinee price that I paid.

Julie & Julia - I saw this with my Nana and both aunts while in New Hampshire. I loved the Julia Child storyline...Streep is wonderful of course, but I think that Stanely Tucci, as her husband, is the best character and performer in the movie. The Julie storyline was okay, but there's something about it that just didn't capture me. I'm having trouble putting my finger on it. Maybe it was the two characters-I dont' think I really bought into who they each were. I didn't pay for this movie-going experience, but if I had, I would have hoped it was a matinee price.

Funny People - I enjoyed this movie, but didn't think it was great. It's long...maybe two and a half hours. I liked both Adam Sandler and Seth Rogan in their roles. Sandler is trying to deal with his fate and Rogan is trying to figure out how to help him and his own path to success. Leslie Mann acts well, but she's just not my type and Eric Bana is surprisingly good, only because I've never seen him do comedy, which apparently is how he started out. Rogan really shines as Ira and has the funniest lines in the movie. He's definitely a typical twenty-something, searching for what will make him happy in all parts of his life: career, women, and friends. I've seen a few of Rogan's movies and this is the one that charmed me completely.

I mean, just look at this cute Jewish boy.

Click here for the tee.

My two favorite parts of the movie are as follows:

Ira (Rogan) meets a girl at a bar who mentions that she's on JDate. He asks what JDate is exactly and she explains. He says something along the lines of, "A whole list of Jewish people. I didn't think Jews liked being on lists."

Another comes earlier in the movie when accomplished comic George Simmons (Sandler) calls Ira to ask him to write some jokes. George plans to email him and so Ira relays his email address: "irasexira at yahoo dot com." George is baffled, Ira claims it's from high school, and George demands he change it immediately. I will have to show this clip to my students, who have bizarre email addresses that shouldn't be seen by anyone.

Paper Heart - It's funny how each movie I saw this summer gave me more joy than the last. I already wrote about this one, but I'll say it again: it was creative, fresh, innocent, and sweet. It's definitely a movie that was worth the full price of an evening admission and I'd watch it again in a heartbeat.

Adam - I saw this on Friday evening after a long day at work that seemed to end with no actual products, even though I'd worked pretty hard all day. This movie is a love story in New York City between a beautifully sweet female elementary school teacher and children's book author and an engineer with Asberger's. I won't say too much about the movie except to say that the acting is phenomenal, especially by Hugh Dancy, who plays Adam. I really have no idea how he captures the character so fully, but it really blew my mind. Disclosure: I wept throughout this whole movie. I'm definitely more weepy than average, but I had no control at all. I would have been audibly sobbing if there were no other people in the theatre. There was something about how the movie related to my own life, the students that I saw in the character of Adam, and the stunning way the story was told. I didn't love the ending, but it was well worth the price of evening movie admission and I'd see it again.

Below are pictures from the beautiful art deco styled theatre, The Guild, that is about five blocks from my house. I saw Adam there at 6pm on a Friday, the opening day for us here in The 'Lo. I've never been there before, which is bizarre given that it shows great indie movies and is so close by, but I'm sure I'll make it a point to see movies there more often in the future. Also, one of the employees came out at the beginning and welcomed us, saying, "If there's anything we can do to make your time here more comfortable, the volume, the temperature, or anything, just let us know. We're here to make sure you have a great movie experience." What?!?! Have you ever been to a theatre that greeted you and encouraged you to talk to them about your experience? That totally won me over. About once a month, there is a midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show. I've never seen that film, but based on my experience at The Guild, I may have to check it out while I'm on this coast.

Why I Can't Help But Love Facebook

I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. I will spare you any ranting this evening and just skip to the love. I love that when I post something on Facebook, my former students, who seem to be watching the site like hawks, write sweet, cute, funny, and nice things back to me.

Probably the hardest part, for me, about being a high school teacher is that I develop great relationships with students and then having to bid them farewell as they set off into the real world. You never know which students will keep in touch, but I thank Facebook for making that a whole lot easier. I've seen a bunch of my mentees recently and they are all off to college in the next week or two. I could cry just thinking about all the hopes and dreams I have for them...that they are happy, that they find their passions, that they meet amazing and supportive people to nurture them. But, I could also jump for joy that they are about to embark on a fantastic journey, and if I'm lucky, I'll get to hear a bit about it over the next year, five years, or ten.

Click Here

Really...just click here (unless you're my mom or Bec, because you've already seen it). It's not something elicit or illegal, just something so freakin' hilarious.

Blistees

I have major blisters on my hands. Because I've rowed two days in a row! How awesome is that? After sculling in New Hampshire, I knew I needed to find a way back in the water. I sent an email on Monday, heard back on Tuesday, and was in a boat on Wednesday. I am now apparently qualified to take boats out on the water. So, that's exactly what I did this morning. Although my instructor wasn't there, as I thought he would be, to teach me how to get the boat out on my own. Yikes! I tried calling my aunt...no answer. Then I decided I would stand there and think about it a bit. Then, I saw one of my mentees! He just got 2nd in the nation in a doubles boat (two guys sculling). I told him that he needed to teach me how to get the boat in the water on my own. We were marginally successful. I broke the skegg off the first boat I tried...whoopsie! I guess he had already broken it off last year, so I didn't feel too bad.

Last night, the water was choppy and it was windy. I was completely nervous about everything I was doing and feeling pretty incompetent. My instructor told me that the mornings are like glass. And it was. This morning was like magic. Granted, my rowing skilly are amateur at best, but just being out as the sun is coming up, the pelicans and seals start their day, ships loading their cargo, and the bay is stretched out for miles is pretty amazing. Of course, as soon as I saw the huge ships and the bay stretched out in front of me, I turned right around. I'm still practicing things like holding water (stopping) and rowing in a straight line (pitiful).

This is where I'm rowing (the "A"). There are lots of sloughs, which are weird things that I don't understand. Someone needs to explain them to me and you can get out to the San Francisco Bay, but I'm not that aggressive on a school day.

View Larger Map

I'm going to see if I can make the rowing work with the running and the bike commuting for the next month and go from there. The price to row there is pretty reasonable and given that I got the okay to just go out whenever I wanted, I'm thinking that this could be sustainable. What I'd love to do is decide on a number of days I want to row in a year where the money would be worth it to me. I'll work on that plan in my infinite free time.

Oh wait...I'm back at school. I have no time. I've already been working 10 hour days and there aren't even kids to pay attention to or grading to do. Today, I pretty much made my plan book. It took forever, because I have a completely crazy schedule. At my school, you usually have just one prep, but this year I'll have four: AP Statistics (about 30-40 kids), 12th grade math support (8-10 kids), 9th grade math support (6-8 kids), and Cali State Exit Exam prep (2 kids). And I don't see the support kids every single day. And I'm in three rooms that rotate around. So, I don't have many kids, but I have a lot to plan for. I'm not quite ready for the teaching or my 9th grade mentees...whom I have to start norming on Wednesday, but I'll get there. Until I get there, I probably will be light on the blogging. Today, I asked my colleague if he thought I was going to survive. He said, "It depends how much you like crazy." I think that sums it up well.

There was one more thing I was going to tell you, but it's gone. Oh! I remember now. Today was also successful on the email front. I started with about 85 total email between my two inboxes. Now, I'm down to 28. I am feeling so much better about my life now.

Brought To You By The Letter P

I didn't plan this day, but it just happened.

Podcasts - I'm getting caught up after ten days away. I've deleted a lot without listening, but there's so much that I'm enjoying including the alway funny Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.

Peter Sagal - quote of the podcast was about Sarah Palin speaking...it's like someone "narrating her own acid trip."

Patagonia Sale - 40-60% off and just craziness, but everyone in the store was very nice and patient.

Patxi's - After a long day, all I wanted to do was sit down. And since I was going to a movie, the deep dish pizza joint across the street (one of my favorite places out here) was calling me. As their shirts say: Say pah-cheese. Taste Chicago. This pizza is perfection...the crust makes you want to giggle like Julia Child. It worked well that you have to wait about 30 minutes for your pie...so I could read...

The Paper - Knocked out the crossword and the KenKen in no time and got to enjoy the entire paper today. It's a rare occurence since it takes so darn long to read.

Paper Heart - I want to be friends with Charlyne Yi and date Michael Cera. That's how lovely this motion picture was. It was sweet and innocent and fresh. And it made me think that I wished I didn't believe in love, like Charlyne. That might be easier.

Pasagiatta - complete with gelato. I really enjoyed my leisurely walk home after the movie with Coconut/Macadamia Nut and Fresh Ginger gelatos. I completed my trifecta today...Patxi's, indie movie at the Aquarius right across the street, then back over to Gelato Classico next to the pizza joint. This trifecta is my idea of a perfect night. The last time I completed it was on a first date with a very willing guy. Despite the fact that I was on my own this time, it was pretty fun.

Right now, I'm sort of in a place where I can't figure out if I should aggressively save my money so that I'm happy in the future or spend my money in a way that I have happiness now. Tonight I chose the latter, spending money on pizza, movie, and gelato that I didn't need to spend, but did so I'd have some enjoyment. But, I'm still struggling with this. I could turn down opportunities, saying that I can't afford to spend the money (not that I don't have it available, but more that I want to save more of it for retirement or something), but I'm not sure what kind of life that would leave for me right now. Especially since I wouldn't trade a day like today for too much.

Shocked, Happily

Last night, my aunt and I decided to run a 5K. We both thought we would be completely slow and just doing it for fun. But, I carried on and did my serious runner warm-up and put on my serious runner face. The race was the Thunder Chicken 5K in Portsmouth, NH. The name does not inspire feelings of being a fit, fast runner. In fact, the name of the race makes me think it's going to be a lot of large people chasing me...or large chickens maybe.

There were a lot of legit-looking runners at the start and a slew of high school runners. The course would be approximately 1.5 miles of a slight uphill followed by 1.5 miles of a slight downhill. Perfect!

In a 5K, you have to work hard the entire race if you're trying to run a certain time. So, that was my plan...I was going to see how close I could get to suffering for 5K but still have fun. I pushed up the rolling hills on the way out and had to dig deep to make the most of the downhills. For the last mile, I was alongside a guy and a gal and I was trying to stay ahead of them. When I was sure that they were going to out-kick me in the last200 meters, I found something and got ahead of them.

I finished in 22:22, which was a complete shock (and my aunt rolled in a few minutes later, not ten as she had predicted). I am just back to training after putzing around all summer, so there is no real justification for my pace but I did have to summon my guts. Giddy-up! Let's get back into this serious running thing.

And, Portsmouth is just the cutest place ever. Since I think I'll be back for Newport next summer, maybe I'll have to do the Chicken again.

Coast To Coast. Repeat. Repeat.

This spring and summer, I've been reading not one, not two, but three blogs about people making their way across the country without cars.

The Un-Road Trip, which I may have mentioned before, wrapped at the end of June after about two months of Boaz Frankel working his way from Portland across the US and then back again on anything except a gas-powered car. In all, I believe he used 100 types of vehicles, many of them just as demos (such as pogo sticks and unicycles), but he did kayak and ride a couch bike for a sizeable distance. His goal was to bring awareness to how much we use our cars but how little we really need to.

Another one of my favorite blogs is An Adventure Called Bicycling. I stumbled on this one because she owns an Xtracycle and I am not steeped in that culture. RJ and her friend are following the Transamerica route from Oregon to Virginia. She doesn't blog every day, but when she does, it's wonderful...a lovely marriage of beautiful photographs and simple writing. This might be my favorite post of hers and I told her so, even though she doesn't know me from any other IP address.

The final blog about getting from coast to coast is Duzer Does America. Full disclosure: I love this guy. He is riding a three-speed cruiser with a trailer from Cali to DC and raising money for Community Cycles...an awesome bike organization in Boulder that does a lot of things for bike advocacy and ownership and gets Boulder kids on bikes. It says a lot about this guy (who I believe is older than I) that one of his his school teachers rode with him for a week, he gets offerings for housing from random strangers along the way, and a bunch of friends and strangers have taken time off work to ride with him, if even for a few hours. He is bringing bike joy to America. His post yesterday had news that his right crank snapped off only 80 miles from DC, but he's powering through with one leg.

Ryan Van Duzer just wants people to give money to Community Cycles!

All of these blogs have me thinking about getting on my bike and doing something a bit more serious than just grocery shopping. I'd need to improve my bike fitness and confidence and find some time around running and work and everything else, but it's in my brain.

Big, Big Basin

Since I have a summer job, I don't have infinite free time this summer. When I got two days off in a row last week, I emailed Bec and asked, "You around? What should we do?" Our plans started as very bold, but quickly became realistic and didn't tire us out just thinking about it.

We planned to backpack, if you can call it that, in Big Basin and stay overnight at a camp in the park. Despite all the outdoorsy things I like to do, I have never carried my life on my back in the woods and Bec was kind enough to be my guide. We make a good team out there, so I knew it would be a smashing success. The name of this post is a shout-out to the Big, Big Loader commercials from way back when.

We drove to the ranger station on Friday morning and checked in. They directed us to our parking area and we got going.

Bec is getting the lay of the land and trying not to have OCD about the map fold lines.

Our hike was about 5 or 6 miles out on a loop in some spectacular coastal redwood groves. Everything we saw was a mix of reds, browns, and greens and it smelled so woodsy. One of my least favorite things about this part of the world are the banana slugs. We only saw a few, but that was a few too many.

It's not so much that I'm scared of them, but they just seem so unnatural to me. I do not understand their purpose on this planet.

I can't get enough of these tall trees. The light that peeks through is just beautiful. We were amazed at how many of the trees had visibly damaged trunks but were still alive. These trees are survivors!

After two hours of hiking, Bec and I stopped for lunch. We sat on a bench that overlooked these Berry Creek Falls. I believe that this is a 'falls' and not a 'fall,' as it seems to hit rocks a few times on the way down. A cute couple was coming the opposite way and stopped at the same spot. The guy shed some clothes and went under the falls while we sat there, feeling virtually refreshed.

We kept on walking, convincing ourselves that our packs were lighter now that we'd eaten the heavy Whole Foods sandwich. We were on our way to Sunset camp and feeling good.

We got there after three hours on the trail (including lunch) and being that it was only 3pm, we had lots of time to kill. We set up the tent and organized our things before heading back down the trail to soak our feet in the cool Berry Creek. There was not really enough water to do any kind of significant bathing, but our feet did appreciate the attention and rest.

When we returned to camp, we read...well, Bec read while I tried to read until I fell asleep. I could sleep under the trees all the time. While a sleeping pad isn't the greatest mattress in the world, it isn't that bad. And after a few hours with a pack on, it's quite dreamy, in fact.

Sorting the goods before dinner. I am happy to report that we did not overpack one bit. Well, I didn't really need my old Nalgene there, but it was handy to drink out of instead of sucking from a Camelbak hose for two days.

Bec was our food coordinator and she brought some wraps with tuna, avocado, sprouts and cheese. We had to open the can of tuna and slice up the avocado. First, there was the business of figuring out Adam's Leatherman.

Bec studies the knife. We were making no progress but there was no way were were going to ask the boys at the camp next to us. Independent women, y'all.

Brushing teeth after a successful dinner. It's been a very, very long time since I've brushed my teeth outside and I totally forgot how to do it. I've since looked it up and realized I needed to put a bunch of water in my mouth to aid the spraying around of the paste, so as to scatter it. Next time! Here, under my chin is a good reservoir of foam. I did not have the hang of this at all.

We slept until we awoke. I guess that sounds odd, but there were no alarms involved here. And why should there be? Nature was our alarm. We had some PB&J wraps and soymilk (which had cooled nicely overnight) and got on our way. It was a similar distance back to complete the loop. I was in amazing amounts of pain because my contact solution did not neutralize overnight (or something) and burned as soon as they were in my eyes. Taking them out did not provide much relief. So, I was hiking with burning eyes, my vision clouded, and no ability to really look around since it hurt to move my eyeballs. Bec led me out of the forest as my eyes did their job, although I think they were pretty pissed that I intentionally put burning solution into them. Sorry guys!

By the time we were close to the end of our hike, my eyes were doing much better and I was mostly functional as a human again.

I am pretty tall, but dwarfed by the redwoods. I am also enthusiastic about my hiking poles and the fact that I will shortly take this pack off. Thank goodness. The second day, my shoulders were sore...putting the pack back on didn't help.

From this distance, you can't even tell that I nearly burned my eyeballs out.

When we got to the car, we commenced cleaning up and getting ready for our next act: The Gilroy Garlic Festival! Adam would be meeting us there and I was so happy that Bec was driving. My vision was still pretty cloudy and I was in desparate need of saline.

We drove that car as far as we could...until we got to a drugstore and remedied my eye issue. Then off to the Patagonia outlet, where we found $120 dresses for $14. Bonus! Then to the Garlic Fest, where we were met with traffic. And heat.

I mean...it was hot enough, did they really need this flame?

We had some corn with garlic butter (worth it) and free samples of garlic ice cream. I don't really understand what this festival is. You pay $12 to get in and then walk around buying food and crafts. It's a weird money making scheme, I think. But, Gilroy is the garlic capital of the world, so it's their right to do this. We were all happy to at least check this off our list, even if we would rather not go again. Traffic, heat, and overpriced everything is not the most fun way to spend a day off.

Bec enjoying her garlic combo platter, probably more so because we had been on the trails.

With this post, I am officially caught up on the summer adventures that I had yet to report on. Hope you're enjoying the coastal musings.

Gratitude

A few weeks ago, Bec and I had a great day in the city.

We started at SFMOMA for the Richard Avedon photography exhibit. I don't follow photographers very much, so I didn't know his name, but his stuff is recognizable as soon as you see it.

He worked for Harper's Bazaar for many years and then Vogue. Many of his photos of models have movement in them. Like this lovely one.

Carmen - Coat by Pierre Cardin 1957

But the reason I bought the book of Avedon's work was for the two Bob Dylan photographs in the exhibit.

NYC, 1963

I love this first one as it seems to show Dylan as very simple and innocent, two adjectives that I've never thought of in relation to him. I don't know exactly when this photograph was taken, but it's close to the time of Dylan's release of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. He was pretty much a complete unknown at the time. He looks pretty carefree in this shot.

NYC, 1965

A few years later, you can see a change. Certainly, Avedon composed the photograph differently, but I think Dylan shows himself as more of an artist here than a country boy. I love how in both he has hands in his pockets, but for me, they resonate differently.

I am thinking that I will remove these photos from the book and have them framed. I am no artist, but Bob Dylan inspires me more than most. And when I get up in the morning, I want to be inpired! I require it!

After our time at the museum and some wandering through other photography exhibits, we headed to Cafe Gratitude. This is a vegan and mostly raw restaurant that knocked my socks off, given that everything we ate was vegan and raw. First off, Bec had been trying to go here for some time and no one will go with her! Their loss, because now, we're going to go there whenever we want and have awesome meals that don't make us feel bad about ourselves. Bec had a smoothie called I Am Luscious (hazelnut milk, cocoa, figs) and I had a "milk"shake called I Am Eternally Youthful with fresh strawberries (made with almond milk and almond ice cream). I was very sad when my shake was gone as itt was probably the best milkshake I've ever had.

We were soon going to eat dinner, so we only had room for a little bit to eat. We chose I Am Present, a mushroom bruchetta with cashew mozzerella on sourdough buckwheat flatbread. I have no idea how you make things that seem like dairy but are not, but I thought it was all so delicious. The service there is not rushed and there is a game you can play that is all about being grateful and present and honoring your life. We didn't do too much of that, but the vibe at this place was perfect for a Friday during summer vacation. Sometimes, you just need to take it slow and unwind a bit. I've heard their raw, vegan desserts (e.g. Key Lime Pie, cheesecakes, etc.) are amazing. I can't wait to return! There's nothing wrong with showing a little gratitude every now and again.

Brought To You By The Letter "H"

Today, I ran a fun eight miles in Pomfret. I'm shocked, again, given the hills and humidity. Two "H" words that often haunt me.

I guess in order to feel in shape I needed to take a few months off from hard training. I'm hoping to do my first race in three months this Thursday in New Hampshire. Woo hoo! I've been looking for a race, but it's just hard to find in my immediate area. I need to get back into racing, because it's what makes me really feel like a runner. I also meant to run the trails this summer, but that takes more planning than I was willing to do. Maybe I'll have to explore some this fall.

Anxiously Waiting!

While I wait for it to cool a bit here, I'm enjoying some music from the artists I saw at Newport. I just learned that Gillian Welch is recording a new album! It's not clear when it's coming out, but it's in progress. She talks about it here and the blog author has included a ton of videos of performances of songs since Soul Journey that indicate that she's got new material. Since I saw her at Newport in 2008, I have checked her website about once a month to see if there's any news about putting the "new" songs I heard on a record. I'm hoping that Throw Me A Rope, Lawman, and Knuckleball Catcher end up on there.

Performing Lawman last year:

If Some Is Good, More Is Better

The Avett Brothers were great at Newport, but nothing beats a concert in a small venue. Leah and I drove up to Northampton to see them at the Calvin Theatre. When I lived in Somerville, I subscribed to their emails and always wanted to go to concerts there (or at their sister theatres), but most of my favorite artists were there on school nights. This opportunity worked out perfectly...I had my sister to take me along and no school!

The opening act was Chuck Mead. Man, this guy is some kinda honky tonk. It was him on guitar and Mike Miller on stand-up bass (that had some special name that I didn't recognize). Mead's voice is unbelievable and the songs are throwbacks. At least for me, it reminded me of songs I would hear in my uncle's car in Colorado.

Then it was the main act. I thought the Avett Brothers were great at Newport, but nothing prepared me for the electricity of their performance on Sunday. It was a non-stop foot-tapping set and just like the picture I posted from Newport, these guys are almost always in motion, jumping and stomping around. They have to stomp, since each other brothers has a pedal to some percussion under their right foot. And they were dressed in suits with ties or vests. They looked classy and ready to work. We were in the balcony, where I feel bad about standing, but I would have loved to be on the floor, jumping along with them. Their records are great and their latest single (free here) is excellent, but they will win you over if you see them live. I look forward to seeing them again soon (however, they are playing out Outside Lands in SF, which I found to be a disappointing festival...so many people and just not worth the money...I am sure the artists will be pretty good, but when you can't hear them or see them or have a ton of people walking in front of you talking, it's just not great). So, we'll have to see them on their next tour.

And we got a bite at Paul & Elizabeth's, a spot I've heard about for years. Mmmm...pie.

Reliving The Dream!

Written on Sunday:

Yesterday, I was in heaven. I really couldn't be much happier.

While I type, I'm listening to the live stream of Neko Case. And there's a banjo and Kelly Hogan on "Train from Kansas City"! Just perfect.

I woke up in Somerville. Now that is a great way to greet the day. SK and I got ready to pick up her sister. Note to self...it takes about twice as long as you think to get to Newport from wherever you are on the weekend of the Folk Festival. We rolled in just to catch the final bars of Billy Bragg. We set up camp at the main stage, just right of center-stage and right in front of the sidewalk. I really like watching the performers, so it wouldn't be as much fun to be behind that sidewalk, as it's constantly full of people. SK and LK had us well supplied with seating and food. We were starving when we got there, despite a good breakfast, and dug in, while we waited for The Avett Brothers to take the stage. My sister was still in traffic, which bummed me out because she loves these brothers and that was a big reason for her going to the Festival.

For some reason, I really like to keep a list of the songs played when I go to concerts. Just like keeping score at a baseball game, it keeps me more engaged and I can note great plays. This will also come in handy when I go to make a playlist of the best songs that I heard from the two days (now that I'm listening online). I don't know all the names of songs, so I just write down what I think the chorus is or some distinct lyric. SK was nice enough to donate her printed schedule to my cause. Thinking now, I could have just used my paper ticket, but that didn't occur to then in my hunger.

Unlike last year, when I just sat at the main stage seeing all my favorites there, this year was the year of choices and bouncing around. Thankfully, nearly every act can be listened to and/or downloaded here. Give those folks at MVY some money if you appreciate the listening.

(The Avett Brothers, from the fab photog Wiqan Ang 2009)

We had a bit of time before making choices while we enjoyed The Avett Brothers. I would describe this quartet as 100% there to perform. I mean, look at this picture. Everyone is in motion. They love to yelp and holler and scream a bit, but they play all out, all the time. Leah and I are actually going up to NoHo to catch them again tonight. She loves them and I can't pass up an opportunity to see live music, especially on vacation! I loved hearing them play Down With the Shine, I Would Be Sad, and Talk On Indolence. I was entertained by a guy next to us who I called The Third Avett Brother...he was singing every word and dancing around until he ditched his girlfriend to get up close to the stage.

Next up was Gillian Welch. I hope she continues to perform at Newport, as I will never grow tired of her. She always entertains the audience between songs and David Rawlings complements her so well. Apparently, her flight was delayed five hours and so they had to get a police escort to the show, just making it there, with only the clothes on their backs and their instruments. She was without contacts in and too sweaty for glasses, and claimed to feel like she was on drugs. She asked the sound techs for some reverb and then they broke into "White Rabbit." The crowd went wild. It's worth listening to, although you can't hear the reverb on the recording. Just prior to that, she played "Throw Me A Rope," a song that she has not recorded, but she played last year. I don't know the origins of the song, if it's hers or something traditional, but I really hope she records it one day. They also performed one of David Rawling's "It's Too Easy," that I quite liked as well. Everything else were songs I know well and took me back to my first year of teaching, when Gillian was a constant sound in my ears. They closed with "I'll Fly Away" and I'll say that David Rawlings gives Allison Krauss a run for her money as a partner on that song.

Now is when the fun began...we hustled over to the small tent that was busting with fans of Brett Dennen. This is when the dancing overcame me. Dennen is a fun artist to watch. His style is pretty unique and his voice has a bluesy twang to it, but yet sounds so young and clear. He is 29 years old, but could be 16, by the looks of him. I am definitely going to get his album, as I only have a few of his songs, but he swayed me to believe that I need all of them. As I keep the set lists on paper, I star the songs I really like...behind the Avett Brothers, I starred more of his songs than any other (mostly because I heard songs that were unfamiliar to me).

We went back to the main stage to see the last three songs of Fleet Foxes and hear someone yell, "I want to live in your beard!" All but one musician on stage had a beard, so I'm not sure which beard was the preferred one, but the lead singer (?) said something along the lines of that being a pretty stanky apartment to live in. I'm looking forward to listening to the full show of theirs.

From Fleet Foxes, we made our way to the medium-sized Harbor Stage for Iron and Wine. I have been trying for some time to see him, but while I can do a lot of things on my own, going to concerts in the city at night is not something that's easy for me. So, despite having tickets to see Iron & Wine in 2007, I didn't go, for lack of a partner in crime. Today, I had plenty of people there to enjoy it with me. I missed the first song...devastating...Such Great Heights, but I can relive it infinitely. It was a bit startling to realize that Iron and Wine is just one man, Sam Beam, who records all the sounds you hear on his albums. If you listen to the recording from the concert, it sounds to me like he's probably in a small club or coffee shop. It was quite intimate and all eyes were on him. We worked our way up and people left to see other acts and soon had a great view and could finally hear everything he said between songs. It's tough to pick a favorite from this set as everything was done so simply and so well. Although, I'm glad that I saw him at a festival, because alone, his songs might make you feel a bit down or lulled.

Then came the Decemberists! They were already going when we got back to the main stage, but we caught about half of their show. And man, do they put on a performance. They got the crowd involved at many points and even put on a little show. During the penultimate song, A Cautionary Tale, the "Decemberist Family Players" came down into the crowd to perform a reinactment of Dylan going electric, starring Dylan, Pete Seeger, producer Bob Jones, and a squirrel. It was a hoot! The band closed with Sons & Daughters, encouraging the entire crowd to sing along: "Here all the bombs they fade away." I think it was the perfect venue for singing those words.

The closing act of the evening was Pete Seeger, co-founder of the Festival, with his grandson Tao Rodriguez Seeger. Pete Seeger! Living legend! It was a sing-along of great folk songs like Turn, Turn, Turn, This Little Light of Mine, If I Had a Bell, This Land Is Your Land, and more. For the second half of the sing-along, the artists of the weekend came on stage and joined in. I loved Worried Man Blues, led by Gillian and David and the story Seeger told about This Land Is Your Land. Apparently, years after Woody Guthrie wrote the song, children were taught it at school, but not all the verses. Guthrie told his son, Arlo, to write down the verses. My favorite, seldom-sung verse is:

As I was walkin'  -  I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side  .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

Two years of Newport in a row. I think this is now a tradition. It is worth every penny you pay to get there. Everyone we saw today was someone I would want to see anyway. Bring a blanket, some chair, some yummy picnic food, sunscreen, and water and you are set for a great day.

There's so much on NPR about the Festival. Set lists, shows for listening, pictures, etc. I will be reliving this day for a while.

Mmmm...Lemonade

When multiple artists at Newport spoke about the tough time they had getting to the Northeast, I felt their pain. On Friday, I got on the bus at 7am PDT. We got on the plan, only for it to be delayed 45 minutes, us sitting there while...I don't know what they were doing. I was off to Dallas Fort Worth and lucky to have a long-ish layover. I got to DFW and hustled to the gate. At boarding time, the board read "Depart: 4:50, NOW: 6:45." I asked someone around me and learned that the AA staff had not mentioned a thing. This has happened before to me...they just sneak it up there and don't say a word.

I started scrambling, making phone calls, talking to the information desk. In no time, I was a the desk of the Grand Hyatt, handing over my credit card for my pass to the fitness room. I got a run in, legs dipped in the pool, and a fabulous shower.

Now that's some yummy lemonade.

We boarded the plane for the now 6:40 departure. We got out to the runway before the captain told us that we just missed the window to get to Boston. They were shutting it down again, due to crazy weather up there. We were on the runway for a while, then we drove back near the gate for awhile, then we went to the gate (where a mysterious elevator issue cropped up that needed to be looked at...and what they thought was routine was not). We ended up landing only three hours behind the original schedule, but it was a lot of time crushed on an airplane.

At least I wasn't thirsty.

Make It Rain

The weather gods are smiling on me now. Perfect day at Newport yesterday...not a cloud in the sky but not too hot. And today...it's overcast and a slight rain started on my run. There's something to be said about running without a defined schedule. Every run feels pretty great. And unlike past visits to New England, when I've struggled with the humidity and hills, today was different. I felt fresh, strong, and just plain happy.

I am not sure that too many people in New England are happy to see precipitation these days, but I couldn't be happier about it. It's the first time I've run in the rain since Eugene. The delusion might even be strong enough to make me start training for another marathon.