August 16th-22nd

August 16th The heat is building again. We had planned to go bowling but I managed to strain my back so we went to the beach for a while to cool off and later went to the movies to see `The Goods'. It was the late showing at 10pm but to my surprise the cinema was almost full! This would never happen back home! We had to drive around for quite a while to find a parking spot. We had hoped to see `Public enemy' the new Johnny Depp movie that we missed seeing two weeks ago as the film was defective. but it wasn't showing so we settled for `The Goods: Live hard, sell hard' '. It stars Jeremy Piven.I'd never heard of him but he's a big star over here right now. We've watched him a few times as a Hollywood Agent in `Entourage' on HBO TV. This series has been running since 2004 and follows the lives of a group of young men in the entertainment industry in Hollywood. It has been very popular and Piven has won several Emmy Awards for his role. In `The Goods' Piven plays Don Ready a high powered car salesman. He and his team are brought to a town in California to save a failing car yard, quite topical in 2009! The movie had its moments but some the humour fell flat and as is often the case in these type of comedy movies there was overkill with some scenes and too many sub plots I liked James Brolin as Ben Selleck the car yard owner Ed Helms and Ken Jeong who we saw recently in the Hangover had minor roles as did the ubiquitous Will Ferrell.

August 17th Once again Monday has arrived. Doing our shopping and Louise's, which has to be done at a different supermarket, took up most of the afternoon. We dropped her shopping off first today and we all ate Chinese takeout for lunch. John's friend Katie who now lives in Vegas dropped by with her mother Diana and step father George. I hadn't met them before so we chatted for a while and took some photos but Katie was heading back to Vegas so it was brief! John is located en route to JFK so it was easy for them to drop by!


It was a pleasant evening so we decided to walk across the bay and try the Turkish restaurant Bay Shish. It was busy for a Monday night but we weren't in any hurry. We shared a platter and a large salad.
It was too hot to contemplate a hot meal!



August 18th Today was the hottest day of the year so far. Health warnings were given out on the news.
One news story with a happy ending was that of musical prodigy Hahn Bin left a 184 year old violin valued at $500,000 on the back seat of a New York cab. The violin was on loan from a benefactor. Luckily the NYPD and the Taxi and Limousine Commission got on the case and 15 hours later a relieved Bin was reunited with his instrument!
After dinner we watched a great live show on TV with Levon helm and various guests. He plays around New York quite often with his Midnight Ramble sessions which usually sell out! We thought about trying to see him but I read that he has to rest his voice a rest as he has overtaxed it. He will still play drums and mandolin but we like to hear him sing too. Oh well...maybe next time!
August 19th Today was another scorcher so most of it was spent inside with the air conditioner on. In the morning I watched one of my favourite morning programmes the Doctors. A panel of doctors deal with health problems sent in by viewers. Later after a walk by the Bay we watched The notorious Betty Page. I didn't know who she was before watching this movie but apparently she caused quite a stir in the 50's. She was a pin up girl who posed for some shots considered too revealing at that time so a court case ensued. Gretchen Moll played Betty. Part of the movie was filmed in black and white to achieve an authentic 50's look.
August 20th Tonight we headed down to Coney island for Salsa by the Sea. These concerts wind up next week. Hurricane Bill is looming so the weather is again very oppressive and the crowd is down. The first act was the Maria Torres Dancers who were pretty impressive. Next was Archangel who we didn't go for. They are really more hip hop than Salsa. Tigo Calderon was next. He was an improvement on Arcangel but we weren't really enthused so we left before Victor Manuelle, the main act who is a more traditional Salsa performer. Guess we should have gone later!
August 21st. Hurricane Bill is now about 700 miles off shore and apparently there are some dangerous rip tides so all the New York beaches are closed including our own Manattan Beach. This rarely happens but already this year there have been many swimmers drowning especially at Rockaway beach where we went last year.Rockaway is directly on the ocean whereas Manhattan Beach is in a bay so conditions are much safer. I had a walk down there just before the thunder and rain hit in the afternoon and it was quite strange to see it almost deserted. Police were there ready to arrest anyone foolish enough to try to swim!

In the evening we headed down to Coney Island where John's friend Tommy was having a birthday bash at Cha Chas. Usually the place is packed for the Friday night fireworks but tonight they were cancelled and the place was relatively quiet. The amusement park was closed too so it seemed really dark without the lights of the Wonder Wheel and other rides. Apparently the fairground operators have not paid rent to the owners so this was the reason it was closed, not due to the weather. Although cloudy the rain actually held off and surprisingly there were still some boats out on the ocean, perhaps expecting the fireworks! We got into the party spirit with a few beers at Cha Chas and afterwards went to the Burlesque show. I'd only seen Burlesque on TV before, never live. It is parodying theatre and is really good entertainment and the striptease is always tasteful and not pornographic! No total nudity! This show incorporated humour and some great magic tricks!











August 22nd Hurricane Bill is still threatening and the beach is closed but the predicted storms didn't hit today.

I woke up very late after a very restless night due to the humidity and John returned from work exhausted as he also hadn't slept well, so we decided to have a relaxing evening at home. After dinner John made popcorn and we watched a movie called `Vanishing point' a remake of a 1970's cult movie starring Viggo Mortensen as Jimmy Kowalski who is hurrying a thousand miles home to be with his sick pregnant wife, In the tradition of the Blues Brothers, Smokey and the Bandit and others, he is being hunted by police while becoming a hero of the people!
Later we watched a special on Hendrix showing most of his legendary performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1957.This was not long after I saw him when he first came to London and hooked up with Mitch and Noel. He looked and sounded fantastic. I would have loved to have been at that festival but I am returning via Monterey again and will be back at the Jazz Festival next month!

August 8th-15th

August 8th Another New York summer day. It's hard to sleep with the high humidity. I walked by the beach this morning after John went off to work. Crowds of people were arriving. There must be 100 or more BBQ tables and all were occupied. Some people bring large umbrellas, music players, tablecloths and plenty of food and drink and set up for the day. I returned and listened to `The Rhythm Review' and caught up on e mails. When John arrived home we wandered back down there and relaxed for a bit. Later we walked across the bay and bought ice cream.
August 9th Tonight we went to the Blue Note to see jazz guitarist Larry Carlton. I've enjoyed his music since his days with the Jazz Crusaders but had never seen him live. He didn't disappoint! He played a mixture of old and new tunes and the sopund was fantastic. His tone on the 335 is to die for! His trio ncluded his son Travis who is a killer on the electric bass and Gene Coyne, an equally talented young drummer. John, of course loves all good guitar players in any genre and also was suitably impressed! We sat next to a couple from Scotland who ended up buying a CD from John!




Afterwards we dropped into Terra Blues also in the Village, browsed in some record shops, and then had a bite at a Turkish deli , having missed out on dinner. We had a walk around Washington Square which looks beautiful at night and the fountains were attracting a lot of people.

August 10th Monday is John's day off and has become the day we do our shopping and also shop for Louise, John's mother, who is now housebound. Today was the hottest so far this year with the temperature in the 90's so it's no fun but after having lunch together we went to the supermarkets. By the time we got home and unpacked it was getting late but we still decided to hang out on the beach for a while. After a late dinner we watched `Mad money' with Queen Latifa, Dianne Keaton and Katie Holmes playing three women in difficult financial circumstances, who decide to rob one of the most secure banks in the world.
August 11th After John left for walk I went for a walk by the beach and for the first time heard crickets chirping. This is a sign that Autumn is approaching! They made quite a sound and I've discovered that the higher the temperature the higher they chirp and it's possible to gage the temperature by analysing the chirps! After an early dinner we managed a game of paddle ball tonight, our first for a while.


The nights are drawing in so our sunset walk by the bay is now ending in the dark! Later we watched some current affairs programmes. There were several town hall meetings tonight debating health care reform with President Obama in attendance. Obama wants all Americans to have coverage including the 47 million who are not insured but there is a lot of scaremongering by people like the now ex-Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin who called the plan `evil! I can't understand how giving people affordable coverage instead of facing financial ruin if they fall ill, can be evil! There are many vested interests at work here. The medical industrial complex is powerful. It's interesting to note that a large proportion of TV ads are for pharmaceuticals like Viagra and Lipitor. I suppose that people think they will have to pay more but don't realise that they are already paying through taxes for uninsured people treated in emergency rooms.
August 12th John wasn't feeling too good tonight so we took it easy. We watched a very cute movie `See Spot run' with David Arquette. He plays a Gordon, mailman who has a problem with dogs attacking him on his rounds. He likes a Stephanie who lives nearby with her young son.Meanwhile a bull mastiff FBI dog has gone missing, targeted for assassination by a crime boss. When Stepahnie leaves town Gordon looks after her son James and somehow they end up with the missing dog!
August 13th Tonight we went down to Manhattan and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant we like. We wandered around the Village and checked out some CD shops. Went to Terra Blues for a while. They are celebrating their 19th anniversary. The music didn't really appeal though so we didn't stay too long. The health care debate continues to dominate the news. Perhaps Obama will have to abandon the public option as people here are so anit-government involvement. The other big story was that guitar innovator Les Paul passed away at age 94. This was sad news. Les Paul invented the solid body electric guitar which bears his name as well as many recording techniques still used today. We saw him last year and he looked great for 93 as he was then. I wrote about it on last year's blog.
http://tesssmusicblog08.blogspot.com/


August 14th Tonight we went down to Coney island to watch the fireworks. First we wandered round the funfair which is always interesting. They have freak shows there which I can remember in fairs I went to as a child but were banned in the UK and Australia as far as I know. Here you can still see the headless woman, the woman with the body of a snake, a cow with 2 heads etc! As usual there was a huge crowd. There were many boats lingering near the coastline and when the fireworks end they sound their horns in appreciation! There's always a great atmosphere. Tonight there were buskers and karaoke. We had an Italian ice cream but didn't hang around afterwards as John has work tomorrow. The big story in the news is how Bob Dylan nearly got arrested in Long Branch, New Jersey. He's on tour with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp. He left his hotel and got caught in a storm. He was looking for shelter and someone called to report a `weirdo' hanging around her house. When 24 year old cop Kristie Buble arrived to investigate, she didn't recognize Dylan, who was carrying no ID! He was escorted to the resort he was staying at and his identity was verified. A spokesman commented that this generation were not familiar with Dylan!


August 15th Today was so warm that all we could do was go to the beach after John finished work. It was really crowded again. We came home and watched a special pogramme about Woodstock. This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, held August 15th to 19th, 1969 in Bethel, New York located about miles SW of the actual village of Woodstock! John was there along with 500,000, others, mostly New Yorkers. He had been the previous year to the Woodstock Folk and Arts festival and had no idea that this festival would become so huge! His best memory was seeing Hendrix at 9am on the Monday morning (that's how behind schedule they were!). His act was the finale. That same year John's band Creedmore State was really taking off and the following year they were scheduled to play at the follow up festival at Powder Ridge but it was cancelled late in the day. The Powder Ridge Rock Festival was scheduled to be held July 30th -August 1st at Powder Ridge in Conneticut. A legal injunction forced the event to be cancelled, keeping the musicians away; but a crowd of 30,000 attendees arrived anyway, to find no food, no entertainment, no adequate plumbing, and at least seventy drug pushers! The festival was cancelled because of worry about safety issues. It's now the most famous festival that never was!

July 30th-August 7th

July 31st Today was wet and thundery with heavy rain again so it was impossible to go outside. We had been planning to go to the open air concert with The Royal Family with John Scofield and Dumpstafunk but had to forget it as it was raining too heavily so we played a little music together and chilled out with TV. It is supposed to clear up next week!
August 1st The pattern continues, a wet day followed by a fine day! Today was warm and sunny so when John returned from work we headed to the beach. It seemed that everyone else had the same idea!


Later we decided to walk over the Bay and have dinner at Randazzos Clam Bar `The pride of Sheepshead Bay!'. It's been there for years and has won various culinary awards. Everyone kept raving about it and for good reason! The food was good! I don't eat seafood often but it I do I like it to be local and fresh.I've never had baked clams before and the clam chowder was excellent. Then place was packed and apparently this is usual right through to the early hours!



August 2nd We had hoped to go down to Manhattan today but once again the weather was wet and stormy. We had very heavy rain and the car is parked some distance away on the week-ends due to parking restrictions in areas near the beach so we caught up on some jobs at home and when it finally cleared up in the late afternoon we took a walk by the beach. Huge puddles were attracting the seagulls by the sea front. In the evening we decided to go to the movies and see Public enemy, the new Johnny Depp film about the life of John Dillinger. Unfortunately there was a problem with the film and the only other feature showing at that time was `The ugly truth' so we decided since we were already there, to watch that. It's a romantic comedy set in Sacramento, California and starring Katherine Heigl of `Knocked up' fame and Scottish actor Gerard Butler. He plays controversial and sexist TV show host Mike Chadway brought into the station to boost ratings. Heigl plays Abby the producer at the show. At first they don't agree on anything and he helps her to pursue her perfect man but then the relationship starts to change ....and I'm sure you can guess the outcome!
August 3rd Today is John's day off. We had many chores to do so they took up most of the day. All the shops we needed to go to are in different places and each one we visit involves finding a parking spot so it all takes a long time. When we finally got home at around 6.30pm we decided to go out and enjoy some fresh air. John put on his running shoes but I walked most of the way. The bay looked beautiful and several fishing boats were leaving. Locals can pay to go out with the fishermen but many just set up a line from the bay. We took a beautiful pic
of the sun seting over the bay.

August 4th Today was wet and humid so I wasn't able to go out until later whehn it brightened up. When John arrived home we decided to go and sit by the beach and relax. Later we played frisbee and then paddle ball, out first game for a while! We watched a show on PBS later which featured music from the Motown era. I lived in London in the 60's and bought many of the records but we didn't get too many of the Motown bands on British TV so it was great to see old clips of The Temptations, The Miracles, The Contours and others. We've seen some other programmes on the same channnel featuring old pop, doo wop bands and disco artists. This is the history of American music and kids today don't know these artists. They're probably not watching either. I'm sure they're glued to MTV but at least the music isn't being forgotten!
August 5th Today the news was mainly focusing on the return of journalists Laura Lim and Euna Lee, US citizens who had been detained in North Korea for 4 months. Ex-President Bill Clinton was sent to negotiate their return and the cameras were ready as their plane landed in California. Of course the girls were overjoyed and relieved to be back and I'm sure we will hear more of their experience once they recover from the trauma of their incarcertion.The other big story was about a 48 year old man who went on a killing spree in a Pennsylvania health club killing 3 women and injuring others because he couldn't get a woman and was lonely. He complained about not being able to connect with women 15-20 years younger than him! My answer would be to look for someone your own age with common interests and it's unlikely you'll find them at the gym. There are so many other ways to meet these days. When will these guys realise that unless you are rich, famous and handsome like Mel Gibson you will not get and keep a young hottie! What a shame that innocent women had to die because of this man's unrealistic expectations.
August 6th Tonight we went down to Coney Island to see soul/pop duo Hall and Oates. These guys were huge in the 70's and 80's and still have a big following as was evident from the massive crowd that turned out. They played one long set which began with their big hit `Maneater'.and worked their way through all their big hits like `One on one' `Say it isn't so' `Family man' `Out of touch' and `Sara smile' and ending with `Kiss on my list' and `Private eyes'. They included some lesser known songs too. The audience loved all the old tunes and sang along especially with `Everybody's high on consolation' which was what they called `She's gone'. That was probably their best known song but not one of their 6 no.1 hits!
The 8 piece band were very tight and Tom `T Bone' Wolk on guitar played some outstanding solos on an amplified acoustic guitar especially on `Its uncanny' a lesser known funky tune from their earlier period.
Bill Thompson was there campaigning to be the next mayor of New York! It's hard fighting someone as wealthy as Bloomberg but good luck to him!



Afterwards we joined friends Ricky and Susie at Cha Chas, the local nightspot, for a drink. Actor Vincent Pastre who played Big Pussy from the Sopranos was there. Maybe he'd been to the concert. People were taking his photo but I wasn't quick enough off the mark!



August 7th We headed off to the park early to get a seat for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. They are a young up and coming band who play retro rock and blues/rock led by Grace Potter who has a voice like Janis Joplin. She's only 26! She also plays Hammond B3 organ and the flying V guitar. We had to sit through two very mediocre bands first but it was worth the wait. The band came on stage and immediately had the audience rockin' They play all original material and its high energy all the way!

July 25th-29th

July 25th We spent the morning watching the Tour de France. Today was the day that the placings would be decided and it was close. Spaniard Alberto Contador is in the lead followed by Andy Schleck from Luxenburg and Lance Armstrong is in 3rd place. Contador won in 2007 He's an all rounder but is particularly skillful on the mountain climbs. Once again today it was very humid and so we really didn't feel like over exerting ourselves. This is the last week-end of John's holiday (or should I say vacation???) so we want to enjoy it. We wandered over to the beach and later watched a movie `Lakeview terrace' with Samuel L. Jackson playing a aggressive cop with a bad attitude towards his new neighbours. This was a very edgy movie but quite convincing!
July 26th Today was hot and stormy again. Almost the whole summer has been like this. This morning we watched the final stage of the Tour de France. The placings are already decided and only a total disaster can change them, for example if one of the leaders could not finish due to technical problems or illness. This didn't happen and the 1st part of the race went at a relaxed pace. Once the riders reach the Champs-Élysées they increase the pace and it's very exciting to watch. Sprint specialist Mark Cavendish from Great Britain won the final stage having won 5 previous stages. As well as coming 2nd Andy Schleck won the Young Rider competition. Later we walked over to Louise's and had lunch. There was intermittent thunder and heavy showers but we left just after a shower. However without warning as we were walking down the street a huge lightning bolt landed very near us with an extremely loud thunderclap simultaneously. Very scary!
Monday 27th July The weather was still unsettled and we managed to do our shopping while dodging showers. Making news headlines today is the so called `Beer summit' to be held this Thursday at the White House. Massachusetts policeman James Crowley will meet with Henry Louis Gates and president Obama over beer at the White House. Crowley arrested Gates, a well-known documentary filmmaker, for disorderly conduct on July 16 after a confrontation at the professor's home, sparking a media frenzy as Gates, 58, accused the policeman of racial profiling. Crowley, who had taught courses against racial profiling, denied that.
I have long been critical of the petrol guzzling cars (or should I say automobiles?) that are the norm in the US. At least California is slowly changing with car pool lanes on some freeways and more hybrid vehicles but here in New York the only environmentally friendly vehicles I've seen are some buses. Even with regular buses you can't ignore the fact that one bus keeps 40 cars off the road! Also every rail car on the subway keeps 75-125 cars off the road! The roads here are congested enough as it is so public transport is performing a vital role. Recently car sales have slumped and Oboma came up with the clever idea of `cash for clunkers'. Those trading in their old petrol guzzlers can receive up to $4500 towards a new more fuel efficient car. Of course they need to build more of those cars but its a start! The scheme has been so popular that now the government has pledged an extra $2 million for the scheme! This will help boost the general economy as well as the car industry.
Tuesday July 28th. John returned to work today so it was tough for him getting up at 6 again! The weather was good so I went for a walk by the beach in the morning. Later I caught up on some e mails and phone calls. We watched more about the health debate which continues to dominate the headlines and discussions. The big problems is how to contain costs while giving access to affordable insurance to the 47 million who don't have cover. President Obama and many others agree that there is too much waste in the present system but in a government run system there is likely to be yet more bureaucracy
bringing with it different problems. Models of successful companies offering health cover do not translate into a large government run scheme. There is now talk of abandoning the public option. Michael Jackson is also still making the headlines with the focus still on his personal doctor and the powerful drugs found in his system.
Wednesday July 29th Today we had very bad weather again. A patter is building up of a fine day followed by a stormy one. We had hoped to go downtown to Terra Blues to see Fiona Boyes play but John wasn't feeling good after a trip to the dentist so we decided to see her tomorrow at lunchtime when John had the day off. Instead we ordered a movie `Deception' starring Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams. Ewan McGregor plays Johnathan McQuarry, an auditor who becomes friendly with Wyatt Bose, a corporate lawyer who isn't quite what he seems. Johnathan is duped into committing fraud and of course there is a mysterious and beautiful woman involved!.
Thurday July 30th. The `Beer summit' at the White House took place and President Obama seemed content with the outcome calling it a `friendly thoughtful' discussion.







We headed off to Lower Manhattan to see Fiona perform at a lunchtime concert. Due to subway delays we only saw the second half. The audience seemed to enjoy hearing an Aussie woman sing the blues. Fiona is doing well on the Blues and Roots charts with her latest album `Blues woman' and John Earl's new CD `Live in Germany' has crept into the chart too!
Afterwards we hung out for a while with Fiona, her mother Margaret from Melbourne and David Spellman from the New York Guitar Festival. Later we wandered through the Winter Gardens and had a look at Ground Zero which didn't look much different from when I was there 3 years ago. There is lots of construction still underway but I'm not sure what is being constructed. Apparenlty there is an ongoing dispute between the Port Authority and the developer.
Later we went to Prospect Park where we saw Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens and reggae legend Burning Spear. We've never seen it so crowded. Both bands were fantastic. Burning Spear has had a long career since the late 60's and has won 2 Grammys. A great night.


Mor
eon the music on my music blog: http://tesssmusicblog09.blogspot.com/