2 much fun!

Weekend report:

Well, Tony and I had illegal amounts of fun this weekend!!

Friday:
Went to see Firewater at the Paradise, one of my fave spots to see rock shows. It was tropical, upbeat, and worldy. Fun percussion. Great band! Good to see Tod A. doing his thing. The show involved a birthday cake and a funny monkey balloon!! Saw my old roomie Ed & his g-friend Kristen, and some other pals from the local scene there digging the music too.

Saturday:
I went to see The English Beat with my homegirl Irina and some other associated peeps down at the Hatchshell as part of some outdoor fest. Free snacks courtesy of Whole Foods. Also caught moments of Cracker's set. I had no clue they were the original writers of "Eurotrash Girl"!! Popped over to Joe's on the Newb for a Piña Colada w/Irina & co.

Met up with Tony and went to our fave dining spot (for rodizio, anyway) Midwest Grill. Feasted on copious meats (skipped the blasted chicken hearts) and treats, including a lovely mousse cup for dessert. Then we went over to the Kendall Cinema to see OSS 117 - the French James Bond spoof. Very French sense of humeur...

Sunday:
Went to the Stone Zoo to see the new black bears, Smoky and Bubba. They were playfully splashing about in their little pools, and roughhousing with blocks of wood and whatnot. Lots of other animals, too - wolves, flamingos, yaks, snakes, tarantulas, owls, bald eagles, cheetahs, and more. I liked the desert vibe of the place - cactus made this Texas gal feel right at home. It was a lovely sunny day for us too. Later, we went to Tony's pop's place, ate some yummy home-cooked BBQ and looked at pix galore of his dad's recent European trip.

Got a mysterious text about some friends meeting up for a drink in town, but when we arrived they were MIA. So we went home and watched the Ridley Scott-directed "A Good year", which features Russell Crowe. Very French, once more. French vs. British. Romantic comedy about the past-paced city life versus the peaceful yet passionate rural one.

Monday:
Went shopping for some necessary items for the upcoming vacation with Irina. Kind of a quiet affair. Met with a new friend for coffee at Pamplona. We sat outside and I proceeded to get WIRED on espresso. Then Tony and I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. We liked it. I enjoyed it because I allowed myself to suspend disbelief and let myself be transported.

All in all, much fun was had. And today looks nice and sunny again. It helps!!!

Weekend Forecast

Well I'm feeling much more content and calm today. Yesterday too, though it started out a bit rough.

I wonder if it has something to do with the full moon Monday night. Scorpio full moon, too. The second one in a row!! I've read that supposedly when the moon is in Scorpio paranoia and suspicion run rampant. Tides of the moon pull at my body water sometimes and make me temporarily wacky...

But, ahhhh, I feel so calm now:)

The show went very well on Tuesday night. Many friendly peeps appeared, from past and present. 'Twas a real convergence! Ladies in the crowd were swaying with each other to several songs. A pleasing sight. People seemed entertained. Minimal weirdness, excepting the gremlins onstage for our set which attacked my guitar and Tony's stuff, too.

Had a lovely tapas experience last night with my friend Wendy. We went to Tapeo on Newbury St. My God, it was good.

Here's what we had:
red wine flight - tastes of 3 wines, Spanish, Argentinian, and I forget (one was a Malbec)
tapas incl. beef shortrib, chicken croquettes, pork tenderloin, fried goat cheese with honey and sweet onion, potatoes with aioli/piquant sauce, sizzling garlic shrimp
dessert: flan with orange sauce, flourless chocolate tarte
I also had a lovely cocktail of Cava and blood orange puree. Divine!

It was thoroughly enjoyable! I recommend the place to anyone with an appetite. I would skip the dessert if I were you though. IMHO, not worth wasting the calories. Go somewhere else for dessert. The chocolate tarte was a bit chalky...

This holiday weekend I'm so looking forward to hanging with Tony and seeing Firewater tomorrow night, and then Sunday going to see some bears. Real black bears Smoky and Bubba, who hail from the Appalachian area, are coming to the Stone Zoo in Stoneham. Should be a real treat!!

Yes, first wolves and now bears. What can I say? We like the furry creatures:)

CAFE VIENNA | BELLS

Current mood: fascinated
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

Hello,

Well I want to post about a lovely dream I had last week...

I woke up in the morning after having had a pleasant dream that left me feeling blissful. Tony and I were in Italy (as we will be for real in one month!!), and we were at a cafe. We ordered 2 iced lattes, and they were served on a tray. The glasses were tall, like old coke bottles, except the mouths of the glassed were gold-rimmed. And the shape of the mouths was strange and beautiful - much like a Rococo Grandfather clock or something of the sort. It was bright in the place, as if the sun were shining.

I fear this dreary Boston weather has taken a toll on my subconscious.

We've watched a few movies lately:
The Proposition (screenplay and score by Nick Cave)
Divorza alla Italiana (w/Marcello Mastroianni)
3:10 to Yuma (w/Christian Bale & Russell Crowe)

A wonderful trio.

The Proposition is beautifully shot and scored, but definitely leaves one feeling a bit misanthropic as it highlights the most negative sides of humanity.

I guess we're on a Western kick again!

Today I spent a misty afternoon in a bell tower (No, I'm not goth, dammit!). The Russian bells at Lowell House were featured in a special presentation as part of Harvard's Arts First Festival. I could have omitted that small detail, but when I walked into the presentation, I was reminded, "Oh, yeah, I'm in Cambridge - at Harvard" by the comments of the house master. She compared the use of the bells for secular purposes, despite their original Russian Orthodox creation (from the Danilov Monastery), to the playing of the Brahms Requiem in Sanders Theatre - originally created for a religious purpose, but able to be enjoyed by peoples of all faiths.

Anyway, we climbed up 6 stories to reach the top. Kybele was there{ goddess of high, windy places}. The mother bell is 12 tons. That's right. The bells are so beautiful.

Part of why I was so interested is that a few years back, I made a field recording of the bells as they rang on Harvard's Commencement Day.

It is the only complete set of Russian bells in the US, and it plays a mighty scale.

It is set up via a system of pulleys and levers. There are little tinkly ones, and the huge, low, majestic ones. The large ones have Byzantine-looking religious icons on them and lovely, cryptic Cyrillic.

All kinds of details abound on the bells. They inspired me nearly to tears. That man's faith devotion to God can be reflected in such a way - like Cathedrals and great works of art.

Heavy, like so many things Russian. I am continually fascinated by their culture. One day I shall go to Russia.