September 15th-22nd

September 15th The weather has turned very cold so although John had the day off work we couldn't enjoy the beach one last time. We walked over to the new gourmet supermarket and bought some food but apart from that I was busy preparing for my departure from New York tomorrow morning. As we had set the alarm for 5.30 we meant to get to bed early but somehow never do!
September 17th The goodbyes don't get any easier as once again John and I had to part! I will miss him but we do stay in constant touch. My plane set off from JFK exactly on time unlike last year when I was delayed by a whole day due to bad weather!

On internal flights only one movie is shown and on this one it was `The Soloist'. Based on a true story the movie stars Robert Downey Jr as Steve Lopez a journalist who discovers Nathaniel, a talented homeless musician (played by Jamie Foxx) playing beneath a statue of Beethoven in Los Angeles. Under pressure to find a good story, Lopez investigates Nathaniel further to find that he dropped out of Julliard due to mental illness. He tries to help him but has to face the harsh realities of the situation and the frustrations with the authorities who seem unable to help. However the experience transforms him as a person.
The flight arrived early in San Francisco but I still had to wait for the airport bus which was late! It was wonderful to be back in sunny California and to see Janis and Dennis again. Janis and I are both anti-capitalists and we enjoy setting the world to rights! We wandered down to the town in the evening where there was a display of classic American cars! We admired the style of these huge petrol guzzlers, took some photos and took a walk down the wharf. It was a perfect September evening!













September 19th
This morning Janis and I took a walk around Monterey. The memory card on my camera needed replacing but I was unable to find anywhere that stocked them, even the camera shop on the main street! Luckily Dennis lent me his camera so I could take it to the jazz festival.
The jazz festival kicked off at 6 in the evening. It has been 13 years since I attended the Monterey Jazz Festival so it was wonderful to arrive on perfect day and soak up all the great jazz on offer. From 21 year old rising star Esperanza Spalding to 90 year old Pete Seeger and 91 year old Hank Jones the stage was set for a wonderful week-end of music!

the first band I saw were the Roger Eddy Band who appeared on the Garden Stage early in the evening. They are a quintet comprising all musicians from the Monterey Bay Peninsula. As well as piano, bass and drums Bob Basa was featured on acoustic guitar. The music seemed really suited to the setting. Eddy is a tenor sax player with a warm rich tone. The music was relaxed and laid back with plenty of Brazilian tunes. This band played quality West coast style jazz and set the scene nicely for the rest of the evening.

Esperanza Spalding was the first act appearing in the main arena and the place was buzzing when she hit the stage! Spalding is one of the most exciting new acts to hit the jazz scene and at the tender age of 24, already has developed her own style, drawing on influences of the past but with a definite contemporary touch! I had just missed seeing her at Centre Stage in new York so was very happy to see her on the bill here. She plays upright bass with style and authority and has a strong and expressive voice moving up and down the octave with ease. Much of her music had a Brazilian flavour and she sang the Shorter/Nascimento tune `Point of sale' in perfect Portuguese! She took up the electric bass for a Shorter jazz/rock tune and also for a beautiful original tune `Sunlight'. The audience gave a standing ovation at the end enthralled by the talent of this new face at the festival!

Next up were the Monterey Jazz All Star Band comprising Kurt Elling, vocals, Kenny Barron, piano, Kiyoshi Kitagaura, bass, Johnathan Blake, drums, Russell Malone, guitar and Regina Cater, violin. They opened up with ``When I get too old to dream' in which they all took a solo and for the next hour thrilled the audience with their virtuosity ending with my favourite song ever `Nature boy'. Please note everyone I want this song played at my funeral, the Nat King Cole version! I left before the last act as it was getting late and I was getting cold. September nights in Monterey can freeze your bones!


19th September
Back at the festival I checked out a great jazz choir from LA and got chatting to a composer called Caroll Coates who wrote some classic tunes such as `London by night' and `Sunday in New York' (two cities dear to my hear!)
The opening act on the Jimmy Lyons stage were John Scofield and the Piety Street Band. I've seen John Scofield perform and John Cleary but was looking forward to seeing them play together. John Scofield is a player who likes to explore different styles of music and this time he found inspiration in old gospel tunes. I have the Piety Street album and all I can say is they were able to exactly reproduce that sound.


Next was the highly anticipated appearance of American icon Pete Seeger. On Saturday afternoons the festival has always featured American blues and roots performers to add some diversity to the festival. At 90 years old, I wasn't sure what Seeger would be capable of but having seen Les Paul last year at 93 I guessed that he would need help! Yes, he has lost his singing voice but he can still play the banjo and he had a talented ensemble of family and friends to help out with the vocals.

The eight piece band included fiddles, guitars, banjo, upright bass and piano. Seeger began with the familiar `Midnight special' which had the audience singing along enthusiastically. Most of the vocal leads are sung by his grandson Tao Rodriguez Seeger who also plays guitar. `Turn turn turn' which became a big hit for the Byrds also drew a great response.
`I don't have enough voice left to sing this one, but I can give you the words. In church, they call this `lining the verse' said Seeger. Irving Berlin's `Blue skies' also proved a popular choice of material. The band ended with `This land' which as Seeger related, became popular by accident! the song was written by Woody Guthrie for children to sing in school but somehow caught on! Much of the audience were my age or older and were caught up by the nostalgia the songs evoked and were thrilled to see an American folk legend.
Janis, Dennis and I grabbed some lunch and could hear Ruthie Foster wowing the audience on the Garden Stage!

Susan Tedeschi had the difficult task of following Pete Seeger on the Jimmy Lyons stage. Tedeschi is one of the most talented female singer/guitarists around at the moment along with Ruthie Foster who was appearing on the Garden stage at the same time! Tedeschi can really mix it up from blues, rock to a New Orleans style Allen Toussaint tune. her band comprised sax, organ, rhythm guitar, bass and drums with Tedeschi playing some great leads. I hadn't realised just what a good guitarist she is. There are very few women as talented. Debbie Davies and Deborah Coleman spring to mind and Ana Popovic gets a lot of hype but Tedeschi can really rock! Many of the songs come from her latest album `Back to the river' and she ended with Hendrix's `Spanish castle magic' which was performed by Hendrix himself on the same stage at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.

The last act to perform on the Garden Stage on Saturday were the New Orleans All Stars featuring Henry Butler and Cyril Neville. Ironically since Katrina both have now left the city with Neville residing in Texas and Butler in Colorado! There was standing room only about half an hour before the band began! They kicked off with a great New Orleans style instrumental and then featured Butler on Tipitina and `Let it roll'. The whole audience were rocking to the infectious grooves! Vocals alternated between Butler and Neville. the band played for 90 minutes and got a standing ovation.


20th September. I spent the morning getting ready for the long trip home. Once again I've really enjoyed my time in the US. Hope to be back next year, God willing! As I find it hard to sleep on aeroplanes once again I caught up on some great movies. I'd seen most of the mainstream movies on offer so settled for some more arthouse movies! The first two were Australian films. `My year without sex' 9yes, i can relate tho that! is set in the suburbs of Melbourne. Ross and Natalie and their kids are struggling with the usual problems in life when Natalie suffers an aneurysm unexpectedly. She is forbidden to have sex for a year but her and her family face many other challenges in that time! This movie has won many fans and may just be the Australian film of the year!
`Four of a kind I loved this clever female movie which contains 4 interconnected but self contained scenes about women betrayed and their ways of taking revenge. Compelling viewing from start to finish! here's what Tom Ryan of the Age said about this film: '“The performances shine in Fiona Cochrane’s debut feature, a neatly plotted thriller based on Helen Collins’ four act play Disclosure… Joe Camilleri & the Black Sorrows provide bluesy, on-screen punctuation.
Next I watched `Disgrace' which I missed when it came out last year. Based on the book by J.M. Coetzee, a Booker prize winner who now lives in Adelaide it is set in post- apartheid apartheid South Africa. It stars John Malkovich as David Lurie, a professor at a Cape Town university. He has an affair with one of his young students and is dismissed from his position so he goes to stay with his daughter who lives on a farm in the South East Cape. Here he encounters a different world and when he and his daughter are attacked and she is raped and impregnated, he finds himself unable to adapt to the new South Africa.
the last movie I watched was `Frozen River' which also came out in 2008. the film takes place in the days before Christmas near a little-known border crossing on the Mohawk reservation between New York State and Quebec. Here, the lure of fast money from smuggling presents a daily challenge to single mothers who would otherwise be earning minimum wage. Two women, one white, one Mohawk, both single mothers faced with desperate circumstances are drawn into the world of border smuggling across the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River. Melissa Leo was fantastic as Ray Eddy, the main character. More than anything this film really showed the realities of life as a struggling single mother in this harsh terrain. This film was deservedly nominated for 2 Oscars.
22nd September I lost a day coming back to Australia. As the pilot said `if 21st september was your birthday...tough...you missed it! 'We arrived at Sydney on time but having retrieved my baggage and crossed to the domestic baggage transfer faced a delay as the conveyor belt had stopped working! Luckily some of us who were trying to make connections quickly were allowed to use the oversize belt so I just made it to my flight!
Now I'm back and still adjusting to the cold wet weather here in Adelaide, and waist high weeds in my garden but a very happy 19 year old cat! Hope you enjoyed reading the blog and please feel free to comment!

8th September-15th September

8th Sept We woke up late as we didn't get to bed until 2am. It was much cooler today so we walked by the beach and almost had it to ourselves. There are still some older people working on their suntans but everything is closed now and there are no lifeguards. Students return to school tomorrow. President Obama's speech to students was broadcast today and to me it sounded very motivational but of course some republicans are still criticising it. Here is part of the speech:
"Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide."
"What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future."
"No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future."
"No one’s born being good at things; you become good at things through hard work."
"I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down — don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it."
The tennis dramas continue! We watched Cilic, the 16th seed from Croatia easily defeat Murray, who will move down from the number 2 position he held briefly after Nadal was unable to defend his Wimbledon title. One custom that is unique to the Open is the signing of 3 tennis balls by the winner of each match. The balls are then hit into the audience! Later we did our shopping and admired the Autumn displays in the supermarket.
September 9th Today was again cooler. Again I spent many hours watching the tennis. Melanie Oudin played Caroline Wozniacki, the no. 9 seed in the quarter finals. When we saw Wozniacki play on Monday we soon realised that although she has no big shots she has good court coverage and anticipation. Although still only 19 she is much more experienced than Oudin and beat her in straight sets. I'm sure we'll be hearing more of Oudin though and she did well to get this far. Later we watched Federer against Soderling, the 12 seed, who caused a big upset in the French by beating defending champion Nadal in the 4th round. He eventually lost to Federer in the final. Like the Wozniacki v Kuznetsova match was saw on Monday it looked at first like a walkover for Federer but suddenly in the 3rd set Soderling found his form and won the set and from then on it became a thriller with Federer lucky to win in 4 sets!
Obama gave his much anticipated speech on health care reform today to a joint session of Congress. He pointed out that for a country that spends a 6th of its income on health outcomes should be much better than they are. He promised affordable coverage for all but is easing away from the so called `public option' which has been vehemently opposed by the Republicans. His plan would cost 9 billion over 10 years, less than the cost of the two wars that the country is currently engaged in. As Obama rightly said no one should go broke because they get sick and insurance companies should not be allowed to deny coverage to those who have health problems. Coming from 2 countries where health care is available to all this made absolute sense to me but not it seems, to many Republicans who have used scare tactics to try to jeopardise the plan. Certain Republicans have spread rumours of so called `death panels' and coverage to illegal immigrants. When Obama denied the latter, Joe Wilson, a Congressman from South Carolina yelled `You lie!'
September 10th It was cool and cloudy again so i was happy to stay home and watch tennis while John was working. The quarter final between Bonderenko and the unseeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium was a thriller with Wickmayer prevailing. The men's quarter final between Del Potro and Cilic, conqueror of the number 2 seed Andy Murray was also exciting with De Potro winning in 4 sets.

We needed to go to the local plaza and just happened to arrive in time to see the Macy's fashion show. Apparently it's fashion week in New York but since I don't follow fashion I was unaware of this. There were some tempting outfits but I'm not interested in spending money on overpriced clothes. We got back in time to see Serena Williams thrash Flavia Benetta of Italy and then we watched Nadal v Gonzales until it was rained off with Natal leading! This may have been a blessing for Natal who has been suffering with an abdominal strain.
September 11th Today was a sombre day in New York and it began with a memorial service for the victims of 9/11. Families who lost loved ones gave moving tributes and the names of those killed were read out. It rained the whole day so for the first time I wasn't able to go out at all. Play was cancelled at the US Open. Baseball rarely gets cancelled though even in heavy rain and John is a big baseball fan. Tonight was a big night for the New York Yankees when Captain Derek Jeter broke Lou Gehrig's all time Yankee record of 2721 hits! This record had held for nearly 70 years!
September 12th. There were intermittent showers today so some tennis matches were able to proceed. The Nadal v Gonzales match was completed with Nadal winning in straight sets. Later the two women's semifinals were held. Caroline Wozniacki defeated Wickmayer but the big surprise was Kim Clijsters who defeated Serena Williams, the favourite in straight sets. The match ended controversially though as Serena was penalised for abuse of an official and was deducted a point on match point.

September 13th We watched Del Potro defeat Nadal in the men's semi final but didn't stay to watch Federer v Djokovic in the other semi as we wanted to go down to Little Italy for the feast of San Genaro, a popular annual event. On Sundays they carry out maintenance on the rail tracks and there is a reduced service so we had to backtrack on the subway to avoid delays. The festival was packed and we enjoyed sampling some of the delicious treats on offer! We decided to try and be back by 9pm to watch the women's final.








We arrived home just after nine and really enjoyed watching Kim Clijsters, former US champion but unseeded this year play Caroline Wozniacki. We saw Wozniacki play Kutnetsova when we went to the Open last Monday and knew she was a real fighter but the experience and power of Kim Clijsters won through! Clijsters was the first `Mom' to win the title since 1980 and her young daughter Jada joined her on court for the presentation.


September 14th It was another warm Summer like day. As usual we had lunch with Louise and then did our shopping. The US Open finals were held today due to rain delays. The Williams sisters won the ladies doubles, their third doubles title of the year. We got home in time to watch defending champion Federer v De Potro, the 6th seeded Argentinian. At first it looked like an easy victory for Federer who was aiming for his sixth consecutive US title but gradually Del Potro improved and took the second set. Federer came back and took the third and we had to leave it in the fourth as we had arranged to have dinner with John's sister Rosemarie and her husband Anthony. It was great catching up with them. John will be a Godfather to their granddaughter Isabella next month!





We went to Prima Pasta where we enjoyed an Italian buffet.Later we had a look at the oldest house in New York, Wyckoff House, dating from 1652, which happens to be not too far away in Brooklyn. The house originally was a `bowerie' or farm belong to the Dutch West India Company. Peter Claesen Wyckoff emigrated from the Netherlands as an indentured servant in 1637 and acquired the land through his connections with Peter Stuyvesant beginning in 1652. Successive generations of Wyckoffs farmed here until 1901.




Later we watched Jay Leno's new talk show, now in the 10pm timeslot. His guests were Jerry Seinfeld and rapper Kanye West. West has been in the news for the wrong reasons after Sunday night's MTV Vdeo Awards. When young country singer Taylor Swift won an award West grabbed the mike and said that Beyonce's video should have won. He apologised on the Jay Leno show and has now also apologised to Taylor Swift. We also learned of Federer's shock defeat in the final of the US Open. Flushing Meadow will become a quiet place again although today it has been in the news because an appartment was searched by the FBI with suspicions of terrorist activity.This was the day when Obama was in the city so no chances were taken. Most of the tennis players love coming to New York and I was reading today that it has been voted the best US city for entertainment. It's true that there is more of everything here. 46 million tourists visit the city each year!
September 15th It was another perfect day but we had things to do in the morning. Later we took a walk by the beach and then met Ricky at Randazzos where we enjoyed some clam chowder and baked clams, my last for this year!



We called in at the new gourmet store and restaurnat Cherry Hill and sampled some mouth watering cake. We brought a piece home and ate it while watching Jay Leno. Tonight's guest was documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. I used to love his TV show `the Awful Truth' where he would confront the rich, powerful and corrupt. We saw a clip from his latest movie `Capitalism: a love story' in which Moore was attempting to make citizen's arrests of some of the Wall Street executives who received huge amounts of bail out money form the government. Surely most of us agree that capitaliusm is out of control and as Moore said, socialsim has its problems too but we need a return to real democracy. Most ordinary people did not support the bail outs of AIG and other large companies. These companies needed to go under and let other smaller more ethical companies take their place.

August 30th-September 7th

August 30th
The weather has become cooler which is perfect timing for the US Open which begins today. John and I both love watching tennis and this is the first time I've been here in September for the Open. We have tickets for next Monday! Once again I love being able to watch it live and at a civilised time! First up were defending champions Federer and Serena Williams who both won their matches comfortably. In the evening was an award ceremony where some sporting greats were recognised for their good works. Andre Agassi has set up a foundation to help disadvantaged Children improve their educational opportunities and has opened a school in Vegas with 100% of students graduating and being accepted for college. Later Venus Williams stuggled with 54 unforced errors during her match. I can't see her lasting the distance but Serena looks impressive.


September 1st It's the first day of `The Fall' and the crickets are even louder! I walked by the beach this morning and it is quieter now. Students return to school next week and Summer is ending. Obama is planning to give a pep talk to students next week to encourage them to stay in school but many Republicans are going to keep their children home that day as they worry that they will be brainwashed into believing a more liberal ideology! When John arrived home we hung out at the beach for a while enjoying the beautifful sunshine. Throught the day I was tuned to the tennis. The women are looking vulnerable apart from Serena Williams. Ana Ivanovitch was beaten by Bonderenko. Safina, the no. 1 seed only naroowly defeated Olivia Rogowska from Victoria, Australia. I don't see her making it to the finals either! John says I must feel at home as 2 of the commentators are Darren Cahill and Cliff Drysdale!
September 2nd Again a perfect Autumn day. I went down to the beach for a while but then hurried back for the tennis. The upsets are beginning! Bartolli is out, defeated by Kim Clijsters who is returing to the game after giving birth, and Mauresmo was also defeated.
There was an amazing story in the paper about a 56 year old chauffeur from Brooklyn, Joe Tiralosi, who suffered a cardiac arrest. He was taken to hospital where doctors tried resuscitation and then began shocking him with the defibrillator. Miraculously his heart began beating again after 45 minutes. After being in an induced coma he was released from hospital with no major damge!

September 3rd I'm still not feeling 100% so this is a great excuse to be lazy and watch the tennis! I've been disappointed by the performances of the women so far but today Melanie Oudin, an unseeded 17 year old from Georgia stunned everyone by beating Dementiava, the no. 4 seed. Lets just hope the pressure doesn't cause Oudin too many problems! Jankovic was also beaten.Later we watched Christina McHale, another young 17 year old American, who gave Sharapova a good match and shows future promise. The women's game is dominated by Russians and Europeans so it is good to see some emerging American talent! It was a beautiful evening so we walked over the bay to Randazzos and had some chowder and baked clams.

September 4th The disappointments continue in women's tennis at the US Open! 16 of the women's seeds are now out including top seed Safina and Ararenka.the no. 8 seed. Today was another perfect day in the 70's with a refreshing breeze. We headed down to Coney Island as tonight is the last Friday night fireworks display. It's the Labour day week-end so thousands of people were out. There's a rockabilly and burlesque festival running for the whole week-end and the rides are operating again but the future of Astroland is uncertain as the dispute between Thor Equities, the owners since 2006 and the operators of the park continues. Coney island is an historic part of New York. Families have been enjoying the park for decades.
But part of what made Astroland unique was its accessibility, said Charles Denson, a Coney Island historian and author of the book “Coney Island Lost and Found.” Rather than being an expensive, glossy and distant amusement park, Astroland was a place that was reachable by subway, a place where a visitor could shoot a water gun at a clown’s mouth and win a prize, or venture on kitschy rides with names like Dante’s Inferno and Break Dance that, while arguably seedy, were still loads of fun.
“It wasn’t Disneyland but thank God for that,” said Mr. Denson. “It’s open to people of small means, and it always has been This time New York government stepped in and made sure the park was open to the public for the Labour Day week-end.




There was plenty happening on the boardwalk too with kareoke and disco and some live bands performing. We met up with Joey and Ricky and enjoyed the atmosphere for a while. The fireworks were spectacular and drew big cheers from the crowd. John and I bought spumone ices and we all andered down the boardwalk and checked out a great band from LA who played free form Latin/urban fusion. They had an unusual line up including 2 accordions, trombones, trumpets and drums and there must have been about 18 of them! We decided not to go into Cha Chas where the rockabilly bands were playing as it was too crowded. I hope that Coney Island can continue
September 5th John was off work today but was tired after a busy week so we mainly relaxed and watched the tennis. Lleyton hewitt put up a good fight against Federer but ran out of steam eventually. Verdasco looked good against German Tommy Haas and the unseeded American teenager Melanie Oudin stunned everyone by beating Sharapova!



A biogger shock was 5th seed Roddick's defeat by the 6ft 9" American Isner. As he came so near to defeating Federer in the Wimbledon final I thought this might be Roddick's year to win the US again. In the afternoon we headed to the beach. It was very crowded again with all the BBQ tables taken. Just for fun we took a couple of hippy pics of yours truly!



September 6th We enjoyed our usual Sunday breakfast of pancakes and watched the tennis. There's no rest day in the US Open! We watched a thrilling match between former champion Kim Clijsters and no. 3 seed Venus Williams. To me Venus looked vulnerable from the start of the tournament and was easily defeated by Clijsters.

Later we went down to the Jazz Standard in East 27th St. Midtown, another area of New York I hadn't been to before. Dr Lonnie Smith was playing there with a different guitarist Dave Stryker, so I wanted to check him out. Stryker was featured on several numbers as played a Gibson 335, giving a different sound to the trio. Once again Bill Stewart was on drums. Dr Lonnie played some tunes from his latest album `Rise up' and they ended with a very up tempo version of `Blues 'n boogie'.







Afterwards we decided to have a late dinner and found an area with many Indian restaurants. Most were full with people queeing for tables but we found one with a spare table and enjoyed a delicious curry, the first I've had on this visit! We were home by midnight and noticed that it was much cooler. Autumn has definately arrived!
September 7th Today was Labour Day and we had tickets for the US Open night session Before we left we watched Melanie Oudin, the talented 17 year old from Georgia, defeat Petrova the 13th seed. Also Federer defeated Robredo, the 14th seed. We set off for Flushing Meadow about 4pm. it takes a long while to get there as Flushing Meadow is way uptown in Queens and we are way downtown in Brooklyn! We had to catch the subway to Times Square and then the no. 7 subway to Flushing Meadow. The weather was cooler and we wished we had booked for the day session but all tickets for the long week-end sold out sometime before so we had to make the most of the night session. We watched the end of the Verdasco v Isner game on the big screen, had some dinner and then went into the Arthur Ashe Stadium ready for the first match. Fisrt up were former champion Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, a young up and coming player.










Our seats were right up at the top but we still had a very good view. Kuznetsova dominated in the 1st set and we thought the match would be over quickly but then Wozniacki found some answers to Kuznetsova's shots and won the second set on a tie break. The 3rd set was a thriller as Wozniacki saved several match points and went on to win. Next up was no. 4 seed Djokovic v Stepanek, the no. 15 seed. This was an easy victory for Djokovic so perhaps to liven things up for the audience he did an imitation of John McEnroe, the main commentator for the US Open, and invited him on court for a hit! McEnroe obliged to the delight of the crowd! Everyone says the US Open is their favourite tournament because of the crowd and I do think the crowd is more involved here and noisier! During the breaks the TV cameras focus on members of the crowd so there's great amusement when people see themselves on the screen. Often the camera will pick out celebrities in the audience. Tony Bennett is a regular and was there on Monday as were Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban and many US sporting celebrities. They play loud music by mainly New York artists too! The other interesting thing about seeing the match live is that you have to keep score and realise when it's break point or match point! You can hire headphones and hear the commentary but we decided not to. I wish we could have gone back yesterday to see Kim Clijsters play and Nadal later but we had to postpone our shopping and we need food so I'll have to hope we can get back there next year. Now the French is the only Grand Slam I haven't been to!