Wannabe Storm Chaser

Since we seem to be nearing the end of Hurricane Season in the Atlantic, I thought I'd better include a blog entry on the subject.

I'm not sure if it's because I'm from the Midwest, but I'm a storm chaser wannabe. As a kid I was simultaneously terrified of, and utterly fascinated by, tornadoes.

I'm really dating myself with this anecdote - but it's too odd-funny not to share - but when I was maybe 9 years old, one spring I had a dream about a big tornado hitting La Porte. (Ed. note: my hometown.) It was getting ready to travel right down Toronto street, with our house in its direct path. Now - the funny thing about my dream is that it was in Black-and-White - - no color. I am convinced this is because the film footage I'd seen of tornadoes up to that point had only ever been in b&w, even after Dad bought our first color TV. ( ! )

Within a year or two Mom had bought for me my very first storm book, titled "Hurricanes & Twisters". This book was chock full of (to me) compelling B&W photos of these sky-borne monsters. While it confirmed my interest in all things tornadic, it also introduced me to hurricanes. It wasn't until I moved to Boston, though, that hurricanes took on more significance for me.

I haven't experienced too many hurricanes here - the main hits were provided by Gloria in '85 and Bob in...'91, I think. The image of Hurricane Bob I recall well is seeing tree branches zooming down Commonwealth Avenue, almost as if they were drag racing.

We've gotten smaller hits - some wind, but mainly torrential rains, from the likes of Hurricane Floyd. A number of them weaken to Tropical Storm status by the time they get into New England, but they're still interesting to follow. At work I get good-natured ribbing from my colleagues 'cause I download hurricane tracking maps from the National Hurricane Center and I track each named storm. I can't help it - these storms are just too fascinating!

Practice makes...less than perfect

We all know the expression "Practice makes perfect".

Were that but true.

Tonight in taiko rehearsal we worked on "Yatai Bayashi". In performances by Kodo or Za Ondekoza, for example, the song can run anywhere up to ten minutes. Our group plays a slightly abridged version of this piece. Playing this the traditional way - sitting on the floor, feet cradling a huge drum, and having to lean back in sort of a 1/3 sit-up position to get enough sound out of every hit - I discovered very quickly what kind of condition I'm NOT in.

There's humbling, and then there's HUMBLING. Well, perhaps I'm exaggerating a little, but, tonight was my first attempt to play through the piece in the traditional way, and the attempt sent a profound message, one might say, to my abs and back muscles. It generated a wince and a few wry, ironic, rueful smiles. Well, I guess I had to start somewhere. Now if I can just get to the point where I can believe that there will be a light at the end of this tunnel I haven't entered yet...

New York trip, Part 2 - MoMA

At long last, my entry about my trip to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art).

Fresh from my most enjoyable concert of the past several years, I awoke the next morning energized and ready to greet the day. Not even the expen$e of the hotel room at check-out could cloud my sunny disposition.

(Did I really just write that?!....)

Anyway, strolling out to Central Park, I decided - for the first time ever - to walk a segment of it.

From about 74th Street to 61st Street, taking care to absorb all the sights & sounds I could - the expanse of greenery, the trees, elders resting on a park bench, people walking or jogging themselves & their dogs, roller bladers, a homeless person, bicyclists, parents taking their children around the park, one distressed man having an animated cell phone conversation, lovers walking hand in hand, a veritable panoply of humanity.

Approaching Times Square, I couldn't help but stop in at Colony Music. If you need sheet music - even for obscure instruments - this is a place not to miss. I picked up some hard-to-find bass transcription books and happily proceeded to the MoMA.

The first time I visited there, in 2006, I took in a special exhibit on Dadaism, which was fantastic - I saw all the classic precursors to Surrealist Art, such as Man Ray's "Gift" (a flatiron with tacks glued to the surface) and Marcel Duchamp's subversive "L.H.O.O.Q." featuring a copy of the Mona Lisa - with mustache drawn on it. However, I didn't have time to take in much of the rest of the Museum. This time, I decided to check out the Graphic Section as well as the 19th & 20th century paintings.

So many classics!

Van Gogh's Starry Night.
Giorgio de Chirico's enigmatic works, e.g. The Song of Love
Dali's bizarre Persistence of Memory
Magritte's The Menaced Assassin
A number of brilliant Picasso's, notably Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.
Gauguin, Pollock, Gorky, Warhol, Kandinsky, the list goes on and on.
Rousseau's The Dream, and Sleeping Gypsy.
Rothko, O'Keefe, Matisse, Jasper Johns.
Joan Miro's colorful constructions, especially Hirondelle/Amour.
So many brilliant - and in some cases controversial - manifestations of the human imagination.

4 hours was just not enough to take it all in...I'll have to plan a follow-up visit soon!

Today's been all business.

The work day was a long one, exacerbated by having to dine on some humble pie (note to fate: I'm already a big guy, I don't need to add any pie - especially the humble variety - to my diet, okay?).

After I got home, I had to do laundry 'cause I don't have any other time for it. At least I also found time to practice Mary's new songs for our gig Friday.

I have to tell you about this clever device that is a major aid for the musician with insufficient time for practicing: TASCAM makes portable "trainers" for guitar or bass. You can load a CD in it, plug in your instrument cable, and jam - through headphones, so as not to aggravate the neighbors. The unit allows the user to set the balance between the volume of the music & the volume of your instrument. Nice. The most brilliant element: tempo changing at pitch. So if a song has fast licks, you can slow it down for learning. It's great for getting riffs right the first time, then gradually bringing the tempo closer to normal tempo as you become more comfortable with the chord changes and riffs.

Oh, so, for any of you who are near Boston (or know someone who is), come check out the band in action Friday, Oct. 3, at All Asia Bar near Central Square, Cambridge. We're part of CNC Productions' "Music Marathon". We're going on at about 7 PM. There's a cover charge; I think it's less than $10.

With visions of happy gigster-ing dancing around the periphery of my mind's eye.....