Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Treme, episode 6

Just watching this 6th episode... pretty awesome Toronto Massey Hall reference.

Donald Harrison:
I've always been down with tradition myself.
Delmond Lambreaux: Yeah, I noticed. But you old school and cutting edge at the same time.
Donald: That's New Orleans, young'un. Many styles, many traditions.
Delmond: Yeah, but for me traditional is Bird and Diz playing "Salt Peanuts" at Massey Hall, with Bud Powell and Max Roach.
Donald: And Charles Mingus on bass.
Delmond: Right, exactly.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2010/05/17/126887618/-treme-episode-6-straight-ahead-striving-for-tone
http://www.nationalpost.com/arts/story.html?id=3065842

Here's the youtube audio of "Salt Peanuts" at Massey:


(there are a few other ones from the show there)

Jazz at Massey Hall is a reknowned jazz album featuring a live performance by "The Quintet" on 15 May 1953 at Massey Hall inToronto. The quintet was composed of some of the time's biggest names in jazz: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach. It was the only time that the five men recorded together as a unit, and it was the last recorded meeting of Parker and Gillespie.[1] Parker played a Grafton saxophone on this date; he could not be listed on the original album cover for contractual reasons, so was billed as "Charlie Chan" (an allusion to the fictional detective and to Parker's wife Chan). The record was originally issued on Mingus's label Debut, from a recording made by the Toronto New Jazz Society. Mingus took the recording to New York where he and Max Roach dubbed in the bass lines, which were under-recorded on most of the tunes, and exchanged Mingus soloing on "All the Things You Are."

The original plan was for the Jazz Society and the musicians to share the profits from the recording. However the audience was so small that the Society was unable to pay the musicians' fees. The musicians were all given NSF checks, and only Parker was able to actually cash his; Gillespie complained that he did not receive his fee "for years and years". (Wikipedia)

Download the torrent here to listen: http://isohunt.com/download/90730557/massey+hall.torrent (from here: http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/90730557/massey+hall?tab=summary)

Also, a brief rundown on Mardi Gras Indians and Chiefs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_Indians



Long-time Mardi Gras Indian "Chief of Chiefs" Tootie Montana on Indian hierarchy:

"You've got first chief, which is Big Chief; First Queen; you've got Second Chief and Second Queen; Third Chief and Third Queen. First, Second, and Third chiefs are supposed to have a queen with them. That's just tradition. I found them doing that. Your fourth chief is not called fourth chief, he's the Trail Chief. From there on it's just Indians, no title. You also have your Spy Boy, your Flag Boy and your Wild Man. Your Spy Boy is way out front, three blocks in front the chief. The Flag Boy is one block in front so he can see the Spy Boy up ahead and he can wave his flag to let the chief know what is going on. Today, they don't do like they used to. Today you're not going to see any Spy Boy with a pair of binoculars around his neck and a small crown so he can run. Today a Spy Boy looks like a chief and somebody carrying a big old stick. It's been years since I seen a proper flag. Today everybody has a chief stick. The Wild Man wearing the horns in there to keep the crowd open and to keep it clear. He's between the Flag Boy and the Chief."



Here's a synopsis of some additional episode references: http://www.nola.com/treme-hbo/index.ssf/2010/05/treme_explained_shallow_water.html

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Ride of Silence tonight


(last year)

DATE: May 19, 2010
TIME: 7:00 pm
WHERE: Hundreds of locations world wide
Join cyclists worldwide in a silent slow-paced ride (max. 12 mph/20 kph) in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.
WHY DOES THIS ORGANIZATION EXIST?

* To HONOR those who have been injured or killed
* To RAISE AWARENESS that we are here
* To ask that we all SHARE THE ROAD

THE RIDE OF SILENCE WILL NOT BE QUIET

On May 19, 2010, at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn't aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

In 2003, Chris Phelan organized the first Ride of Silence in Dallas after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was hit by the mirror of a passing bus and was killed. (Read the full history here...)

The Ride of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. There are no sponsors and no registration fees. The ride, which is held during National Bike Month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.

--

For Toronto, the ride today starts at 7pm on the south east corner of Bloor and Spadina.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Sharrows with parked cars

New bike sharrows have just been installed along College between Lansdowne and Dufferin (only going eastbound).

These are actually comical. I may be able to see what the city peeps are trying to do here with their limited resources, but doesn't this just decrease/de-emphasize the 'sharrow value' to vehicle drivers during rush hour/in future use?

Isn't it clear that this vehicle/parked cars/sharrow association may set a bad precedent for all bike associated lanes? I think these just lead to driver confusion; moreover, they devalue actual bike lanes. I can certainly see the association and drivers may end up thinking they can park in those as well...





A grandstand for Toronto's improving cycling infrastructure! Are there future plans to modify parking restrictions at least?

Here is some info from the city. I really hope I'm not up to date here.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Lawyers gone bad



Despite not actually being lawyers, or djs for that matter, Jer and I are mixing the tunes tonight at Lot 16 in celebration of summer sun and birthdays.

Come on by and share the dancefloor with us! Tons of CanCon and Britpop is promised.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Yeah, I know, more food photos...



What good moose and lamb kidney pudding looks like. Perhaps because it was cut so perfectly, or perhaps because it was tenderized with onion and mushroom over night - perhaps I have no idea what I'm talking about - the mlk pudding tasted like I needed three helpings.

mmmmmmm.... Thanks S&J!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Treme, S01E01, and beyond. Shit, fuck, shit.



How motherfucking awesome is Treme?

All music on the episode comes from a radio, a dj, live, etc... all the music is laced in. Song is so involved within the entire show, and not really a spoiler, but it continues as the series goes on... it reminds me of a Polish tradition... going to Poland with my dad, all they did was get together and sing songs (longer story there... ). We don't have that here.

A great scene of availability. I was about to type this up myself but someone else did it better:

"In the middle of the first episode of David Simon’s New Orleans drama “Treme,” chef Janette DeSautel has run out of dessert. And so, three months after Hurricane Katrina, she sells a customer the packaged Hubig’s pie in her purse, telling her sous chef to “dress it up baby – drizzle something on it.”

It’s the tastiest moment in the show – invoking a collective sigh from the New Orleans diaspora – and one of the most inaccurate. There were no fresh Hubig’s pies in the city at that time. The Simon Hubig Co. Inc., which did not flood but sustained serious roof damage following Katrina, didn’t reopen until the first week of January 2006.

“The fact that all she had in her diner as a dessert item was a Hubig’s pie was completely accurate,” Hubig’s Drew Ramsey tells CNN.com, recounting a time post-Katrina when the packaged pies were one of the only treats in town. “The fact that it was a month or so early was artistic license.”

Download the episodes here.

Here's the music to Treme (first episode, with links to the rest.. ), but honestly watch the series before the music. It's passion with research.

Let's start out nice, slow, mob like, and easy...



More links:
http://thesultanofsarcasm.blogspot.com/2010/04/hbos-treme-creator-david-simon-explains.html
http://treme-jazz.com/tag/hubigs-pie
Good: http://search.nola.com/treme?date_range=all

Love the series, and actually disappointed I need to wait for future episodes.

08.05.10



Gayley's breakfast to start off the morning. We ordered an extra kids side of blueberry pancakes. I'm not one to take photos of food (ok, gfy) but it turned out that it's not only a nice place and not too busy, but had eager staff and was family run, complete with the youngest brother sleeping-in upstairs, so we were told.

After that, Parkdale plant fair (2 Jaune Flamme stems - Orange fucking tomatoes).. pretty bare. Here's a tip!: If you're ever going to a plant fair, go early! This is to go with the cucumber seeds I have going, which are showing absolutely no signs of cucumbering.

Anyway, the original plan was to head out on lake Ontario in the canoe, but no way that was happening.



So, plan b. Harbourfront art and science fair.



Bridge building. This one held 111 lbs. There is an awesome ly crude joke in there, not too far away...


Cool one above. A sea shell and a megaphone. Further, the sea shell is slowly moved back and forth across the face of the megaphone to simulate the sea change...



Yup, the art and science of how actual oil sand extraction works...


Ten steps... pretty fucking awesome.



A working electromagnetic force hat. Walk around the house with this hat on and listen to music increase in pitch and tempo as you approach higher EMFs (i.e. a laptop).




The one below seemed interesting until I hooked up my phone to it (I totally bought in) and the machine told me it was a "my little pony" in a previous life.


I love this shit.

Ok, this one was an example of an early virtual reality machine, where images in your helmet changed based on the heat produced within the helmet. The harder you breathe...

Alright... not being one for words at the moment (!), Cowbell...

... and some karaoke at Gladstone...

Mother fucking perfect day.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

My favourite Tea Party song

Yes, that Tea Party.

Here's the original, on youtube. It actually sounds relatively horrible here. Lo-fi. Especially the knocks, that no cover has gotten yet actually, so...



here's the best cover I've heard. Better than the youtube original version. Prettier too. Such a gorgeous song.












Down to impatience.



Listen, I know I've been lazy recently with this blog, but there have been other things to do. Tending. I'm intending to pick it up.

You'll notice (if you've listened to more than the original) above that there are many different interpretations, notes, strokes, harmonics, pacing, almost sound like the original. Ok, that's understandable. Is it exact? I suppose that's the attempt... the sound at least. I mean, there are many ways to play.. but why? Inclination? Style? Skill? Individual interpretation? I mean, obviously these dudes are skilled enough to play it 'exactly'. Why are there differences? Inclination and style I suppose? That's not the whole story.

--

God I love this song. I could listen to it until the day I die.. at least when it's done well. The arrangement is so driving, so playing on momentum, the pacing, the key, my heart rate changes because of it, hypnotic, instrumental, ugh.... Moreover, why do I like this so much? I mean, I don't really know anyone who likes the tea party, I've never seen them live, and there are no lyrics here. I dunno. Need to look into the chords more.

Eric Chang this post is for you.

By Dive Right

By Divine Right



You listen to it.

How do you learn a song?



Let's go out, we'll take no prisoners
Lonely love, gotta leave it behind
We look like a million dollars
Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind

Let's get wrecked on Rolling Rock and stroll down to the sea
I'll come to my senses there and then you'll come to me
Let's forget about all the ringing telephones
Let's forget about the boring brick suburban homes
Let's go out, we'll take this town
Let's wrestle this city to the ground

Let's go out we'll take no prisoners
(Lonely love, we'll leave it behind)
Lonely love, gotta leave it behind
(Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind)
We look like a million dollars
(Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind)
Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind

Let's go make some history
Before we fall apart
True love might escape us, girl
But at least we got some heart

Let's forget about all our friends and family
Let's forget about all our lovers, enemies
Let's go out when the sun goes down
Let's wrestle this city to the ground

We'll go out, we'll take no prisoners
(Lonely love, we'll leave it behind)
Lonely love, gotta leave it behind
We look like one million dollars
(Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind)
Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind

We'll go out, we'll take no prisoners
(Lonely love, we'll leave it behind)
We look like a million dollars
(Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind)
Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind
(Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind)
Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind
Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Last night...



Ryan's NPP: Gros Morne blew me away last night. So inspiring. So well done.

I got home and picked up an instrument or two... retuned the violin that's been sitting in the corner for a bit. Watched an episode of Treme... wrote music and played all night long.