Dilbert


  posted by John : 8:43 AM

 
Music around the Carribean
One week ago I saw a very well known Venezuelan band perform in Caracas - el grupo Guaco. They are originally from the eastern part of the country, the city of Maracaibo in the state of Zulia, and were first known for playing traditional folk music - Gaitas. Now they're an afro-carribean-funk band of sorts. Many of the Guacistas in the audience sang along with every word. more Guaco info

Tonight we saw a very well known Belizean band perform in Austin - Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective. You may have heard about them recently as they're touring the US and getting good attention on NPR stations. more info, and a song. Also singing lead and sharing the bill was the very talented Aurelio Martinez, and guest star Paul Nabor, who though toothless sang and danced his heart out and brought the audience to their feet after each number.

There are some similarities in the music of these two groups - half of the dozen or so people in each of the bands were playing percussion, and both had three lead singers at some point in the show. But while Guaco sang in Spanish, tonight's show was a mix of Spanish and Garifuna - a language unique to the african people who live on the Carribean coasts of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Needless to say, I enjoyed both concerts immensely.

  posted by John : 8:48 PM

 
Heading North
We saw quite a few monarch butterflies when we were in Big Bend a few weeks ago. But now here at home it is clear that their northern migration from the mountains in Angangueo, Michoacán, Mexico has begun. Right now this one is obsessed with Sharon's pots of flowers...



The state of Michoacán is also famous for their ice cream. All the ice cream guys in East Austin have signs painted on their push-carts like "La Super Michoacána".

  posted by John : 8:57 AM

 
Another one bites the dust
We get a couple of cute little magazines every month - one from our electric co-operative Texas Co-Op Power and one from AAA Texas Journey. We stopped taking Texas Highways a while back, but its a staple in all reception areas here. Nevertheless, we like these for the generally folksy tidbits about our state that we might never know otherwise. This month's feature in Texas Journey is on Drive-In movie theatres still in operation. We're planning a night away in San Antonio this weekend and so this gave me the idea to check out the Mission-4 drive-in while we're there. Well no such luck, since last month, after the magazine article went to print, the Mission-4 was devastated by vandalism (article). Dang. And I was hoping they'd be showing Grindhouse! (haven't seen it yet).

  posted by John : 8:48 AM

 
Floatin'
Here's a video clip from our recent float through the Santa Elena Canyon on the Brave Rio Bravo River. download 43MB. That's our guide and boatsmen Patrick, aka Captain Cool Whip. His girlfriend Sandy rowed the other boat. Very hard work to row 21 miles down a lazy river. Patrick and Sandy call the desert outpost of Terlingua home in the winter, then head to Idaho for river guide work in the summer. They don't have a shower in their cabin, but they do get Netflix. We exchanged movie suggestions -- mine for them was Aguirre, Wrath of God.

  posted by John : 3:25 PM

 
Hot & Cold
We had seven days of perfect weather for our trip to Big Bend. Saturday morning we woke up in Marfa to freezing rain, then headed back home on an seven hour drive. We were all amazed how the thermometer on the rear view mirror showed 32F the entire way - not a degree more or less. We literally rode this odd spring storm halfway across the state. As it rained all the way, ice built up on the front and sides of the truck and a thick layer all over the popup camper in tow. As we got close to home there wasn't any ice buildup anywhere, except our vehicle - a strange sight.

Twenty-four hours later I was on my way to Caracas, with an overnight layover at JFK airport (tough to get any ticket it being the end of Easter week holiday for all of Latin America). I had cancelled my plan of sleeping a few hours in a hotel near the airport. Instead I opted to stay awake and see what I could find in NYC at night. It turned out to be very much like the kind of trips I would do as a kid. Back then I would ride the bus to Toronto and spend the day walking up and down Yonge St. I was probably twelve years old - and I liked to look around in electronics stores like Richard Brack and Japan Camera. I'd invariably eat a double-burger at Wendy's for lunch, enjoying those exotic square patties, then spend the afternoon playing video games and pinball and looking through the record bins at A&As and Sam's. For this night in Manhattan, my original plan was to get a cab to a movie theatre to see the last showing of Grindhouse, but that was scrapped since my flight was an hour late in arriving. I chose to be miserly and save the $45 cab fare and take the train into the city. That could have been quick enough if I'd been able to make my way to the Long Island Rail station; I ended up taking the A-train on a long, slow milk-run to Penn Station. With no plan of where to go I spent my few hours walking chilly blocks in midtown. I was prepared with a winter hat I'd brought along. Loads of cops were out patrolling video-screen lit Times Square. For my entertainment, I was content with a pizza slice at Ray's and reading my book. A few more blocks, and another stop for a coffee and a few more pages. Then I headed back, on the quicker E-train. I wonder, does this sound like a pointless and dull trip ? I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially versus the alternative of trying to be comfortable in an airport chair for five hours.

Another ten hours passed and I finished the book - The Life of Pi. Great story. I saw it as a parable of the battle of forces within one person. One's anger needs to be confronted, nurtured and tamed to remain whole, it can't be killed off or purged.

Now here I sit in my room in Caracas, after a hot and rather humid day. The winter hat is seriously out of place here.

---

Just saw on imdb that a film version of Life of Pi is in pre-production, by director Jean Pierre-Jeunet (Amélie, Delicatessen). That'll be worth a two year wait.

  posted by John : 7:04 PM

 
Big Texas
We spent a week touring the Big Bend area. The desert was in full bloom. A fantastic trip.

This is the view from the porch of the Starlight Theatre in Terlingua Ghost Town:

More trip photos

  posted by John : 12:06 PM