I worked in New York from Monday through Wednesday this week on business. Home base was the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City. The water taxi is a great way to get from the hotel to Wall St.
The hotel bar/restaurant area has a great view of the new Freedom Tower that sits very close to Ground Zero. Here are the night time and early morning views:
The extensive travel allowed me to read quite a bit, listen to some new music and revisit some old favorite music. I finished reading Kate Atkinson’s “A God in Ruins” – an enjoyable novel centered around the life story of a WWII bomber pilot and 4 generations of his family – I’ll be posting a detailed review later this week. I started reading Anthony Doerr’s “All the Light We Cannot See” and am looking forward to digging into it.
On the music front, I’m really enjoying new releases from Keb Mo’ and Sturgill Simpson – see my separate post in the music category.
I stumbled across a great video deconstructing Steely Dan’s “Deacon Blues” – again more detailed in my separate post.
The same “Daily Music Break” that led me to the “Deacon Blues” video also reacquainted me with Ry Cooder’s excellent early albums – particularly “Paradise and Lunch” and the song “Jesus is on the Mainline”. I’m off to write a separate post on that song and his albums from the same early 70s period now.
The flight back from New York on Wednesday night was smooth and on time (albeit a bit hot and stuffy on board). I watched the movie “Pawn Sacrifice” to pass some of the time. The plot was a bit slow (since we know the outcome) but a good historical perspective on the Cold War told through the 1972 World Chess Championship. Tobey Maquire (always get him confused with Jake Gyllenhal) and Liev Schreiber both give strong performances as Bobby Fisher and Boris Spassky. The most interesting part was watching Bobby and the Peter Sarsgaard character play mental chess – all the masters are apparently to carry the picture of an active chess board in their minds and manage multiple moves ahead without the need for a physical representation.
On Thursday our friend Tim was in Plano on business from Pennsylvania. He treated us to dinner at Harry’s on the Harbor and then we hung out on the patio, caught up on families and listened to some music. It’s been around six months since I was able to catch up with Timmy in a relaxed environment – a very enjoyable evening.
The magnolias in our back garden are in a blooming frenzy – several new blooms open up every morning.
I was reading a New York Times article about Paris and this picture of the blossoms made me wish I could head there for nice long weekend at this time of year – not until August.
Saturday was our normal morning dancing lesson. I worked really hard to get the “cross body lead” step in the Bolero down – it feels really unnatural and awkward. After some practice at home in the afternoon it’s getting better. We also learned how to do a 180 degree turn in the Texas two step and then how to flip back the other way. Our instructor, Kathleen, commented that I had a “predisposition to small circles” for the two step. I explained that comes from avoiding various pieces of furniture when we’re practicing.
On Saturday afternoon we went to see the move, “Sing Street”. We really enjoyed it and were reminded of “The Commitments” from 20 or more years ago – also based on kids in Ireland and music.
It’s directed by John Carney who did “Once” and “Begin Again” – both movies that I really enjoyed, “Once” being a top 10 movie for me. The main character, Conor, starts a band to impress a girl who claims to be a model. The relationship between Conor and his older brother is one of the highlights of the film – particularly as Conor is educated on the best new 80s music that we grew up listening to. The other highlight is the music videos that the kids create to accompany the new songs they write – all very clever and funny.
I should watch “The Commitments” again this coming week – it’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed it.
Sunday morning was quite busy. I made us one of my signature veggie omelets with special additions of some sliced Brie and pancetta. Then headed to my health club for a swim, a soak in the hot tub, and a steam. After that we made a Home Depot trip for various light bulbs and some flowers for the front garden. We spent a happy couple of hours getting everything arranged and planted. Thankfully we’ve had a lot of rain and the ground is very soft and easy for planting.
My 6’5″ nephew, Struan, earned his Queen’s Boys Brigade award and it was presented to him in St Columbas church in Stewarton today.
From the Boy’s Brigade website:
The Queen’s Badge is the highest award that may be gained by a member of The Boys’ Brigade. It’s a real opportunity; it aims to challenge and equip the individual, provide new opportunities and expand horizons while remaining accessible to young people of all abilities.
A young person wishing to work towards their Queen’s Badge must first have completed their President’s Badge. The Queen’s Badge offers the chance to engage with the local community, take on responsibility, set personal goals, build self confidence and experience a sense of achievement.
In 2014, young people completing their Queen’s Badge contributed over 75,000 hours of volunteering within The Boys’ Brigade and their wider community.