Archive for July, 2009

Photo Blurt #24, Naughty Newport

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Floral DandruffActually, nothing really naughty here. Just a picture of what happens when you let a guy doing something like hang dresses in a shop window. We were sitting across the street having breakfast and the poor fellow was tasked with opening the store. It was just a little windy and he seemed kind of harried, obviously not quite paying attention to what he was doing. I was pretty sure that a passerby would stop and fix the dress but that never happened. In fact, that white sign you see at the bottom right was placed there by a woman who came up from the docks. She never looked up to see the dress.

Oh, no high-rez shot here as we used the camera phone for the picture.

Photo Blurt #23, Floral Dandruff

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Floral DandruffThis is what happens when you’re walking down the driveway in the early morning (to fetch the newspapers) and are actually paying attention.

Alternative version:

This is what happens when you’re walking down the driveway in the early morning (to fetch the newspapers) and are too tired to look anywhere but down near your feet.

Take your pick.

The Friday Morning Listen: Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown

Friday, July 31st, 2009

When I’m not rushed, I like to go back to writing things “old-school,” which for me involves dragging a pencil across a blank sheet of paper. The other morning, while waiting for my breakfast at a local cafe, I was reading a short article by Garrison Keilllor. It inspired me to start the review of the new Green Day CD that I’d been meaning to get to for weeks. So I flipped the piece of paper over and started to scribble.

It made me remember why I listen to music in the first place.

Jazz.com Reviews: July 30, 2009

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

I get a ton of CDs from jazz vocalists. Many of them are nice variations on the Diana Krall kind of thing. Thankfully, there are enough subtleties in the human voice to make a lot of the records interesting. Still, the majority of the albums take their source material from the jazz vocals canon.

But then there is Ayelet Rose Gottlieb. I totally fell in love with Upto Here| From Here. Here’s my review of her sultry composition that uses the words of poet Rumi: Some Kiss.

The Friday Morning Listen: Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

Frank Zappa said that the two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. That may be true, but in Newport, Rhode Island, you have to replace them with heat and humidity. Maybe we were there during an add stretch where all of the fresh air was taking its own vacation.

In any event, it was too danged hot.

Music Review: Mastodon - Crack the Skye

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

I’ve been listening to this CD on and off for a few months now, trying to figure out what to say about it besides “Woah! This is awesome!!”

The music is still pretty great (if progressive metal is your thing) after listening 20 or 30 times but still, I couldn’t come up with an angle.

So I just made something up.

Photo Blurt #22, Portuguese Health Food

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

Portuguese Health FoodCourtesy of Gary’s Handy Lunch. Mmmmmmm!

Photo Blurt #21, Thames Transit

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Thames TransitMan, they just don’t make buildings like they used to. I suppose there are some interesting architectural features in modern buildings but they don’t do as much for me as older ones.

By the way, it’s sort of fun to see people giving me funny looks as I’m standing there taking a photo of the side of a building.

Photo Blurt #20, Crabicus Praeclarus

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Evelyns Drive-InOK, it’s not Newport, it’s Tiverton. Still, Evelyns is the place for things like crabcakes. Heck, even Guy Fieri visited for a segment on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. TheWifeâ„¢ has always wanted me to eat there so we drove over (down? dang, these islands are confusing) and had an early lunch.

I have to say, the stuffed quahog wasn’t quite as good as the one I had at Solace’s last night, but the crabcakes and horseradish sauce (was that a little wasabi in there?) pretty much rocked the house!.

Photo Blurt #19, Vino Propinquus

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Greenvale LogoThe first of many stops in the Newport area had to be the Greenvale Vineyards. Not only is their wine excellent, but it’s fun just driving down the hill through their gorgeous property.

OK now, on to lunch…