here's a few pix... having a bit of u/l trouble.. (click on the picture for a few more..)
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
another post
I'm actually writing online right now, which is stupid, because internet access is a luxurious $0.75 cents a minute here at sea. They getcha!
Anyway, I'm writing b/c I'm waiting for some pix to upload so you can see the wonder that is this cruise adventure. Today, we're at sea, but this evening we're docking in San Juan, which I look forward to. There's been some talk of what to do; some people want to go on some bio-trip. Bio-schmio, I say. Let's go disco dancing. We'll see.
Looks like picture uploading ain't going so well... (sigh)
Maybe I'll try to upload a select few and put the rest on ice until we return. Oh—speaking of "on ice"—there are apparently several fascinating facilities that we don't get to see on the ship: a morgue, for instance. and a brig, too. I hope I don't end up in either one...
Anyway, I'm writing b/c I'm waiting for some pix to upload so you can see the wonder that is this cruise adventure. Today, we're at sea, but this evening we're docking in San Juan, which I look forward to. There's been some talk of what to do; some people want to go on some bio-trip. Bio-schmio, I say. Let's go disco dancing. We'll see.
Looks like picture uploading ain't going so well... (sigh)
Maybe I'll try to upload a select few and put the rest on ice until we return. Oh—speaking of "on ice"—there are apparently several fascinating facilities that we don't get to see on the ship: a morgue, for instance. and a brig, too. I hope I don't end up in either one...
first word from the high seas
Attention from the high seas!
So this is the first test of my new portable keyboard. Out on the airy deserted deck 4 (teak wood decks but plastic lawn chairs), Lucy and I have found a secluded place to lounge. Here we may have a dream setup for writing or sleeping or staring at the ocean. And I may have found an ideal work setup: a ThinkOutside keyboard and a Treo 650 and a $700 million cruise ship.. I'm willing to give it a try.
Okay, let’s have a look at this cruise thing: First, the bad. Carnival ain't Holland-America (my only other cruise experience), despite being owned, I believe by the same parent company. There's fat, there’s plastic, there’s “for the masses,” it seems like to me. HA had teakwood furniture, more peaceful settings (at least I remember them that way) and less of a rock and roll mentality. there are a lot of people on this boat. A LOT. I Don’t know how many, but I'm guessing over 2000. i try to find sort of forgotten corners (right now I’m watching a lady walk and walk and walk down the breezeway, maybe looking for the same thing as me; and and and.... there—she got to the end and turned around. I was kind of hoping that she would have disappeared around some hidden corner. I'm looking for hidden corners. Still, our vantage point today is one of tucked-away-edness. The ocean rolls by, there's no Jamaica-mon music or extremely aggressive drink servers trying quite as hard to hand you an umbrella drink as a Hari Krishna tries to hand you a daisy (the Hare Krishna doesn’t want 8.50 charged to you room though). Now some of the good stuff: It’s pretty damned relaxing by any human measure. The room, like a kind of cocoon, has no windows and that's just fine. Aside from not knowing even remotely what time of day it is or what the weather is like, it's a dream dream dream land of quietude and calm. Of course, it's not advised to stay in the cabin the duration of a cruise, I guess. What else—they have this egg thing that I've got to get into. I mean literally, get into. It's in the spa area. (I will not—I repeat, not—be getting on a treadmill or doing any sort of exercise based on this one rule: If there are exercise shoes involved, I will not do it. Simple enough, right? In other words, if sandals are involved, it's okay. I guess I'm really talking about yoga here. I'll do yoga, but only if I can decide to get up at 8am. And why exactly would I do that? I'm trying to underachieve here. Thus, writing may seem like a contradiction, but the way it's laid out, i just have a keyboard in my lap and I just type. A sort of stream of consciousness. maybe you could call it a typing meditation. Live update: Just now, Lucy and I have taken notice of a guy that I first called "Tai Chi Man," who is down the breezeway about 50 yards and is doing some exercises in his street clothes. He's Asian, so I decide that it's Tai Chi, but I don't really know that. I've never actually done Tai Chi before, but I sometimes pretend to do it. This fellow has gone into this one routine that might be called "the Tai Chi ritualistic smoothing of the hair.” I don't think there's any vanity involved; it might be more of meditative scalp massage, I think. repeatedly running both hands through the hair from front to back, over and over. Now that's my kid of exercise. I think it's about time for an umbrella drink. Today’s special looked milky and delicious and deeply steeped in alcohol. Kind of a Strawberry Quik with booze. Also, more than likely, there’s a nap in my near future. Really that’s a basic truth of the cruise experience. There see this writing has reminded me of what I already knew to be important: napping, drinking and, um, what was the third thing?
Pictures are coming. Captions are unlikely, due to some technical limitations...
So this is the first test of my new portable keyboard. Out on the airy deserted deck 4 (teak wood decks but plastic lawn chairs), Lucy and I have found a secluded place to lounge. Here we may have a dream setup for writing or sleeping or staring at the ocean. And I may have found an ideal work setup: a ThinkOutside keyboard and a Treo 650 and a $700 million cruise ship.. I'm willing to give it a try.
Okay, let’s have a look at this cruise thing: First, the bad. Carnival ain't Holland-America (my only other cruise experience), despite being owned, I believe by the same parent company. There's fat, there’s plastic, there’s “for the masses,” it seems like to me. HA had teakwood furniture, more peaceful settings (at least I remember them that way) and less of a rock and roll mentality. there are a lot of people on this boat. A LOT. I Don’t know how many, but I'm guessing over 2000. i try to find sort of forgotten corners (right now I’m watching a lady walk and walk and walk down the breezeway, maybe looking for the same thing as me; and and and.... there—she got to the end and turned around. I was kind of hoping that she would have disappeared around some hidden corner. I'm looking for hidden corners. Still, our vantage point today is one of tucked-away-edness. The ocean rolls by, there's no Jamaica-mon music or extremely aggressive drink servers trying quite as hard to hand you an umbrella drink as a Hari Krishna tries to hand you a daisy (the Hare Krishna doesn’t want 8.50 charged to you room though). Now some of the good stuff: It’s pretty damned relaxing by any human measure. The room, like a kind of cocoon, has no windows and that's just fine. Aside from not knowing even remotely what time of day it is or what the weather is like, it's a dream dream dream land of quietude and calm. Of course, it's not advised to stay in the cabin the duration of a cruise, I guess. What else—they have this egg thing that I've got to get into. I mean literally, get into. It's in the spa area. (I will not—I repeat, not—be getting on a treadmill or doing any sort of exercise based on this one rule: If there are exercise shoes involved, I will not do it. Simple enough, right? In other words, if sandals are involved, it's okay. I guess I'm really talking about yoga here. I'll do yoga, but only if I can decide to get up at 8am. And why exactly would I do that? I'm trying to underachieve here. Thus, writing may seem like a contradiction, but the way it's laid out, i just have a keyboard in my lap and I just type. A sort of stream of consciousness. maybe you could call it a typing meditation. Live update: Just now, Lucy and I have taken notice of a guy that I first called "Tai Chi Man," who is down the breezeway about 50 yards and is doing some exercises in his street clothes. He's Asian, so I decide that it's Tai Chi, but I don't really know that. I've never actually done Tai Chi before, but I sometimes pretend to do it. This fellow has gone into this one routine that might be called "the Tai Chi ritualistic smoothing of the hair.” I don't think there's any vanity involved; it might be more of meditative scalp massage, I think. repeatedly running both hands through the hair from front to back, over and over. Now that's my kid of exercise. I think it's about time for an umbrella drink. Today’s special looked milky and delicious and deeply steeped in alcohol. Kind of a Strawberry Quik with booze. Also, more than likely, there’s a nap in my near future. Really that’s a basic truth of the cruise experience. There see this writing has reminded me of what I already knew to be important: napping, drinking and, um, what was the third thing?
Pictures are coming. Captions are unlikely, due to some technical limitations...
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Trivial Thursdays download!
The Oct. 26 edition of my weekly radio show, Trivial Thursdays, was maybe my favorite show ever. My guests were beloved writer and Merry Prankster Ed McClanahan and celebrated photographer/filmmaker Guy Mendes. We spent a couple of hours reminiscing about Lexington music legend Little Enis and big-hearted underground radio phenom, Cowboy Steve. They shared their personal experiences with these two characters, we talked about art, music and the ever-changing times and it was such a joy to have them on the show. We played music by both Enis (there's a free download of his album here) and Steve, as well as a host of vintage C&W contemporaries, and then Ed sang a song, just for good measure.
Since the show aired, I received request after request for a recording of their visit. And I'm happy to have made that a reality. So—If you want to hear Ed and Guy's visit to Trivial Thursdays, you can download and listen to the entire show by clicking here. (77mb mp3 file)
Also, if you find yourself awake from 7-9am on most any Thursday morning, I would love to count you as a listener. You can either listen live on WRFL 88.1 in Lexington from 7-9am, or you can listen online from anywhere with a fast internet connection. Every week, a different guest. Every week, some new laughs!
photo credit: Ed McClanahan portrait by Guy Mendes, courtesy of Gnomon Press.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Today is Picasso's birthday (and mine)
Yep, it's my natal anniversary! A pretty day by the look of it; More and more, I suppose I would adhere to these notable words from Granny, on The Beverly Hillbillies: "Every day's a gamble; I figure if I wake up in the morning, I'm a winner." Words of wisdom, Granny, words of wisdom! And let's not forget, in times of doubt, that I share my birthday with Picasso, Minnie Pearl, and Matthias Jabs, guitarist of The Scorpions. Matthias Jabs?! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout…
Today, I'm listening to David Bowie's Low and thinking about the line: "Don't you wonder sometimes? About Sound and Vision?" I do. I'm afraid I'll lose it (vision, that is) or maybe even never know it. But I hope I get to keep wondering, I guess. Sometimes I think I want the answers and that I want them right away, but I guess I wouldn't have anything to do if I had all the answers. So in the meantime, I'll enjoy the clear blue sky and friends and Indian food and breathing and an upcoming adventure or two.
Some other things that happened today are here.
Today, I'm listening to David Bowie's Low and thinking about the line: "Don't you wonder sometimes? About Sound and Vision?" I do. I'm afraid I'll lose it (vision, that is) or maybe even never know it. But I hope I get to keep wondering, I guess. Sometimes I think I want the answers and that I want them right away, but I guess I wouldn't have anything to do if I had all the answers. So in the meantime, I'll enjoy the clear blue sky and friends and Indian food and breathing and an upcoming adventure or two.
Some other things that happened today are here.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Thriller 2006!
Mecca once again pulled the dead out of the ground for the 5th year production of their fabulous community event Thriller! Live in the Streets of Downtown Lexington! Hundreds of people showed up to see the undead get their groove on to the Michael Jackson classic.
Here's more pix!
Here's more pix!
Tall Tales on Trivial Thursdays Oct. 26!!
This week on the Oct. 26 edition of my weekly radio show, Trivial Thursdays, which features a different guest every week, and all sorts of non-sequitur chit-chat loosely based on the trivia of the particular day (whew-- major run-on): My guests will be beloved writer and Merry Prankster Ed McClanahan and celebrated photographer/filmmaker Guy Mendes, who will reminisce about Lexington music legend Little Enis and strange underground radio phenom, Cowboy Steve. They both had personal experience with these two characters and are major story-tellers themselves. Expect tallness of tales. You can either listen live on WRFL 88.1 in Lexington from 7-9am, or you can listen online.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Louisville in October trip!
The big birthday trip (lucy: Oct 20; Mick: Oct 25), featuring a gig by Love Jones, accomodations at 21C and La Bohéme at the Kentucky Opera, and dinner at Proof on Main with Mom and Bill. Grand!
Here's some pix of friends and things and places and stuff, taken with my brand new Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Woot!
Here's some pix of friends and things and places and stuff, taken with my brand new Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Woot!
Sunday, October 15, 2006
The Return of Love Jones
Love Jones touches you…even if perhaps you don't quite want to be touched in that way... Saturday night at Phoenix Hill Tavern, Love Jones concluded their 2006 world tour (one date in LA, one date in L'ville) with a smooth diminished ninth of a night.
La Bohéme at Kentucky Opera
A fantastic performance of my favorite opera, La Bohéme, at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. The 2nd set—Café Momus—featured a cast of about a hundred and snow.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Kate at 21c
Me and Kate do the Mexican Standoff, phone-cam style.. (mine got blogged instantly, so I win)
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Come Out! The Spirituals premiere
Hope many people will come out and support transient Lexxers Ari Palos and Eren McGinnis' latest film effort, The Spirituals.
The Dos Vatos say:
You are cordially invited to the Premiere of our latest documentary film THE SPIRITUALS.
THE SINGLETARY CENTER FOR THE ARTS CONCERT HALL
The University of Kentucky
Corner of Rose and Euclid
Sunday, October 8, at 7:30pm
As always the screening will be free and open to the public.
A question and answer session with the filmmakers, and the American Spiritual Ensemble’s Dr. Everett McCorvey and Ann Grundy, will follow the screening. A special edition DVD with bonus material will be available for $20.00.
We hope to see you at the screening and if you have questions please email or call (520) 481-9161.
Thanks,
Eren McGinnis and Ari Palos
Dos Vatos Productions
Some background of their new film's subject matter:
Before the Blues, Jazz, Gospel, and Rock and Roll, America honed an original form of music. Slaves created this musical expression, with African roots and a biblical text, for deliverance and secret communication. The Spirituals traces the painful history of this American art form and its contemporary significance with The American Spiritual Ensemble.
www.dosvatos.com
www.americanspiritualensemble.com
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
where ya get one-a these?
I want the kit! I guess you'd have to be careful and keep your eyes open and what-not, but still…
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