Like It's 1999

"The sky was all purple, there were people runnin' everywhere..."

Ah, yes... party like it's 1999! I remember in grade school, we had to pick a song and write out its lyrics. I picked Prince's "1999". In hindsight, it's best I didn't pick one of his other tunes. Well, in the song, they were looking forward to some sort of madness. As computers began more and more to run our lives, new concerns arose a decade or so later about "Y2K"... when airplanes were to fall out of the sky and all sorts of havoc were to ensue from the changing of some digits "99" to "00". I flew from California to DC on 12/31/99, and I had the whole row of seats to myself.

In 1999, I had a pager, but no cell phone. The internet was still forming - in fact in one of my last undergraduate college classes, our Economics professor showed us around the different websites and showed us how to look up information. I had no email address. There were no Google, no Facebook, and no Twitter... no Skype. No one told you to "text" them later. There were digital cameras, but the quality was still very poor. GPS was something only used by the military, mostly, I suppose. I can't recall anyone in school with a laptop computer. We bought CDs... from the store. "Apps" were appetizers, a "droid" was R2D2 or C3PO, and "social networking" was... well... a party. "De-friending" usually involved some sort of physical altercation having to do with a girl, alcohol, money, or some combination of the three. I never would have thought to procede a colon with a closed parenthesis for any reason - certainly not to express any type of emotion. To "chat" simply meant to talk to someone casually, you know - hearing each other's voices. Friends gathering for dinner didn't all have their phones on the table.

Twelve short years ago, technology was growing and growing and setting the stage for an internet revolution and the dawn of the Information Age. We knew it then, but we didn't know to what extent technology would not just change the world, but change who we are. When was the last time you sat down and wrote a letter on a piece of paper and sent it in the mail? How devestating was it to lose or break your mobile phone and be without for any period of time? The world is going to continue to change, as will technology adapt to meet consumer demands. "Change is good" is what I keep hearing with seemingly greater and greater frequency, but nobody seems compelled to have to back that up with actual proof. Now, I like technology - I do! However, moving forward, we need to be aware of how technology is CHANGING US. Furthermore, what has gone from a facilitator of human interaction to a replacement of our humanity? Where will we be in twelve more years? It's important to consider.

As an experiment, I am using the Lenten Season to sacrifice the use of a few things acquired in my 21st Century: the internet, a mobile phone, my iPod, text messaging, and my digital camera. Yes, we're fasting like it's 1999. However, I do believe that I should be encouraged to write, so I am allowed to upload to my blog. I mean, depriving the world of me could just be detrimental to my goal of international tranquility, and that would be bad. Ya know?

So, flux capacitor is... fluxing. 1.21 gigawatts at the ready (stolen from the Libyans!), gonna go back in time!

Organized Chaos and Meticulous Poetry

Jazz is a lot like life - organized chaos and meticulous poetry with nearly every contradiction known to man:

Violent and soft,
Loving and lonely,
Repetitious and new,
Immature and weathered,
Strong and subtle,
Vibrant and dark,
Wailing and triumphant,
Out of control and by design,
Tickling and painful,
Unexpected and predictable,
Open to interpretation and in your face,
Heavenly and wicked,
Sleepy and exciting,
Harmonious and competitive,
Fantasy and reality,
Hypnotic and harshly lucid,
Confident and desperate,
Abruptly final and enduring.

I was fortunate to make some of these discoveries on a journey to the Strathmore Mansion in Maryland yesterday. The Jolley Brothers were my guide, and I am confident they will evolve, thrive, and entertain for years to come.

Cool.

True Grit

Certainly, art helps to define us. It is a tool of communication, a medium of reflection, and a source of inspiration. Music, paintings, dance, photography, literature, food, theater... movies - all often thought of as an escape from reality, these are woven into our lives precisely because they are a reflection of our reality. President Kennedy was mindful of that, and was honored last week at the national monument bearing his name - The Kennedy Center - a permanent home to celebrate the performing arts. Our art not only defines us as artists, but indeed are a celebration of the spirit of a people. No, really!

I'm getting to the part where you should care.

In two weeks, we in the United States will celebrate one of our high holidays. Yes, Superbowl Sunday is the day we pay tribute to the art of football. Soon thereafter, we will celebrate film with the Academy Awards. This is American culture, ladies and gentlemen! Sure there is more to us than big sweaty brutes flexing might and self-obsessed facsades of perfection hiding flaws immeasurable... wait...

Alright, so maybe we are imperfect, flawed giants. Maybe we are in denial and selfish. But, so are so many other cultures in one way or another! Some people kill failed soccer players and maime and kill bulls for sport in other countries! I'll be the last one to wallow in our American peccadillos and failures. What has always defined us as Americans has been our responses to our predicaments. I look to art as inspiration. For some reason at this juncture, they decided remake the movie "True Grit". At first glance, it would seem an uncreative shoot-em-up western flick with little artistic value. However, the film revisits a forgotten American value - true grit. My dictionary, printed in 1961, defines grit as "firmness; unyielding courage; stamina." True grit is something that made our country great, and has been too long out of fashion for too many. I have a feeling, like in the movie, it will be was saves us. Check it out.

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A Few of My Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things:

A church full of people and families singing "Joy to the World" and "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful"; my dad's voice when he receives my call (even when he thinks I am Brian); my mom's unfailing love of her sons; the memory of being carried on my Uncle Sam's shoulders; having people appreciate me feeding them; patting an airplane good luck as I step through it's door on another journey; an American flag waving in the sunlight; Prosciutto San Danielle; jogging by the White House listening to the theme from "West Wing"; movie bingeing at Oscar time; US Soccer World Cup goals; Barolo and Amarone; stepping foot in a new country; swimming in the ocean at Waikiki; my nieces when they are happy to see me; shaking my friend Lou's hand on Friday evening; eating Maryland crabs with Phil; stepping off the train in Penn Station; when she smiles at me; big days; seeing the honest face of a champion and remembering the feeling; Double Double and chocolate milkshake on the patio of the LAX-adjacent In-N-Out in the sun, watching the planes; Rosa Maria's burrito; seeing Manuel as a father; randomly hearing from Shaun Cunanan; Iberico Bellota porkbelly... u-h-hhhh; having a beer with Brian and/or Tom; Van Halen live, or when I least expect to hear it; occasions that permit me to wear a suit; works of Mozart or Beethoven performed live by great musicians; cooking with KP; seeing TY Flinton walk through the restaurant door and most of the ensuing hours that follow; talking with Stefanie from across the country, sounding like from around the corner; sunsets unencumbered by buildings; riding bikes in Davis; waterskiing diversions; snowflakes; KARAOKE; lunch on Zaytinya's patio; Jennifer asking me how I am doing; seeing old friends; ceviche and a pisco sour in Lima; dinner at Il Latini in Florence; breakfast on Main Street in HB; walking back into Lucy's; sitting atop Huayna Picchu; Fourth of July; Thanksgiving; CHRISTMAS!

I have been so blessed, it would seem silly to ever be wanting for a gift, although I would always happily receive one. Merry Christmas to my family and many friends near and far. May this season likewise bring you joy as you remember too your favorite things.

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Changes

"Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine."
- Mr. KFI

I'm trying not to be political here, so please hear me out. There was a great deal of hype centered on a word in the 2008 campaign for President of the United States - "change". Then and since I have given "change" a great deal of pondering... and some ridicule. David Bowie sang about it. So did Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur; in fact they pleaded for it. What sticks out in my mind from those latter two musicians is that they believed that the world needed to change, but only through individual decisions to make that change from within themselves - from within ourselves.

Of course, change requires power. If you want to change your weight, we usually think of will power. If you want to change a country, that takes a great deal of political power. If you want to change the world, well... a bit daunting, isn't it? One thing for certain is that change happens TO all of us. Sometimes these are blessings, but many times they are a pain in the you-know-what. Shakespeare's Hamlet found himself in a "sea of troubles" and had a great deal of anxiety about how to deal with that. Now even if you're not faced with the small obstacle of a fratricidal uncle/stepdad who is, oh yeah, also your king, I'll bet you've been taken for a ride by Change and perhaps perplexed about how to gain the upper hand. Well, I guess it would come back to power. You have no power to change the heart or the will of another. A wise person would do better to inspire. One may not be a king, but with a regal heart he should lead all the same. Power to change is in showing the way - blazing a path. One cannot control the winds, but can usually change one's own direction. Luckily, we all have a unique capacity to instigate a revolution. Our founding fathers knew that, and many more have known since and before. Be wary of those who tell you to "embrace change"; they are usually the very ones seeking their power over your situation. Be a revolutionary hero and tell the world the changes you intend on making happen. Embrace that.

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Christmas in December

Back by popular demand, it's Christmas... in December. Yes, indeed Christmas is a season of charity, sharing, celebrating... of thanksgiving, of love, and of hope. But, you knew all that, right? Why, then? In a word - joy. Everyone wants joy. Everyone yearns to be able to celebrate life. Well, my friends, 'tis the season. Even if you believe this Jesus character is the center of the world's greatest scam - which I do not - our culture, at least as Americans, has granted us this season to hope for joy. There are carols, and parties, and, and... tubas! Major cities nearly shut down, millions of people travel to be with their families, and prodigals swarm to fill churches to capacity! What the hell is going on?! Well, it's not Hell; it's Christmas.

I only bring this up, because we are perhaps too familiar with Christmas. This is not to bemoan the commercialism aspect. This is not to remind you to believe in Jesus Christ. We are familiar with the trees, the music, the movies, and gift-giving that has become the ritual of the season. What we tend to lose is the joy that life can bring when we let it - when we hope. I forewarned two years ago of a peddler of "hope" that he would not succeed if it did not spring from the human spirit. As children, we learn of hope and the true meaning of Christmas... and we get it. And then, we get selfish. Then, we get skeptical. Then, we forget what this time is all about.

If we are to properly explore Christmas, at the risk of infuriating millions of Christians (yes, I'm that widely read), we must harken back to Groundhog Day. I'm actually talking about the movie - Groundhog Day. Bill Murray (also starred in Scrooged, hmm) played a character who basically was forced to discover the meaning of life, one day at a time, the same day, until he got it right. He was forced to, not only discover, but CREATE joy. That movie was about Christmas, because like Christmas, it was about new life. God willing, we will get many do-overs of Christmas. What do you think it will look like when we get it right?

Merry Christmas.

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I Wanna Wake Up in a City That Doesn't Sleep...

I blame all my dining out proclivities on my dad. He's not a gourmet by any means, but as a divorced dad with two elder sons oftentimes doing their own things, my dad took me out to eat a lot. That is not to say he can't cook; my dad was famous in the North End of San Bernardino for his Indian Burritos. Friday mornings at Our Lady of the Assumption catholic school were often filled with the banter, and even bragging, of who was invited to dinner and how many burritos were consumed at one sitting. Memories. But, at least once per weekend, and oftentimes more, we would go out to eat at one of our favorite spots in town. There was DJ's, Lucy's, Mexico Restaurant, The Castaway... we had a couple of places for ribs... Chinese... pizza... and there was The Mug. I believe The Mug is where I learned about Italian Food, cheesecake, and Frank Sinatra. I learned that my dad enjoyed Frank's music, so I would always go to the jukebox and play "New York, New York." What a grand place this must be! "King of the hill! Top of the list! A number one!" "If I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere!" It was already one of my favorite places in the world by age twelve, and I would not yet actually visit there for another decade. New York City - Frank's Town... and one day it would be mine.

As Providence would have it, I now spend every day of my life in a restaurant... or at least 360 out of 365. Italian is my favorite food, and New York may be my favorite city. Luckily, NYC is just a short bus ride or train ride away. (I flew once, but in reality doesn't save much time.) I will look for just about any excuse to go to New York: a wine class, a party, a friend's band's show, a lecture at Columbia University, a birthday... dinner. Yes, in this town on any given block there is an electronics store, a take-out, a salon, a bar, and a restaurant. There are like a MILLION restaurants in New York! And, competition is fierce with the so-damn-high rents and New Yorkers' discerning palates... the place is ripe and lush with culinary delights. My uncle Sam came here for Broadway; I go for food. I like Central Park, taking photos, wandering, yadda yadda... but I really can't wait to get a sandwich from Porchetta (East Village), or a meticulously constructed dinner from Public (Elizabeth St, near Spring), or a pizza under the Brooklyn Bridge (always forget the name, but I'll remember it later).

My stomach is starting to growl, so I'll close for now. Be there soooon!

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