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/
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