The Jenga Master
She spent a decade of deprivation, dedication, and study at a monastery in the mountains of Bhutan, high on the slopes of unclimbed Gangkhar Puensum, studying the game under the mysterious monks until she returned a Jenga Master.
Now she earns a meager living hustling the game in the city park.
The children are amazed at her skill, but they will never have the patience nor the passion to become a Jenga Master.
.
New Orleans is over a hundred miles from the ocean, but it is barely dry. Rain comes quickly and unexpectedly… except it is always expected.
Luckily, there is a source of refuge in the Big Easy – whenever the skies open up, there is always a bar handy to seek shelter and good cheer.
Waiting for the St. Charles Streetcar, the rain came down, hard, so we ducked into The Avenue Pub (which happened to be right there).
The Avenue Pub is beer heaven. Open 24hrs. 7Days (never know when it’s going to rain). Their list of beers on tap is three pages long.
The Beer Buddha says:
“Honestly this category really isn’t fair; but why punish one bar because all the others can’t hold it’s jockstrap? We all know The Avenue Pub is THE beer bar in not only New Orleans but in Louisiana. Nothing against all the other bars in the state but you ALL know you have a long way to go to be mentioned in the same sentence with AP.”
Draft Magazine lists it as one of the 100 best beer bars in the country. They say:
“Only in New Orleans will you find a beer bar open 24/7. The staff is militant about clean beer lines and proper glassware, so even when you stumble in at 4 a.m. you get the best pint in the city. Choose from more than 47 rotating taps and about as many bottles, all focusing on American beer. Go for an exhaustive introduction to local NOLA Brewing or to people-watch from the balcony.”
The Complex City Guide has it at 12 in the 25 best Beer Bars in the country. They say,
“Louisiana may not be the first state you think of when you think of beer (sure, they’ve got Abita), but when you change state to city and beer to drunk, it’s no wonder that New Orleans has one of the best beer spots in the country. Avenue Pub features a rotating 47 taps on two floors (so you can get your exercise in between rounds) and once you mix that with some amazing Louisiana cuisine, you won’t be thinking about Bourbon Street no more. And the most important part, here in the land of to-go cups, the Avenue is open 24 hours a day. Yup.”
And all this is right there, right on the Streetcar Line, right when it starts to rain.
My only complaint – they don’t have Deep Ellum Brewing Company’s Pollinator on tap. Maybe I can send them an email.
The Avenue Pub, on St. Charles in New Orleans
A lot of taps.
No Orange Slices! No Muddling!
Michael Prysock, (facebook), with Mark Deffebach Sunday afternoon concert in Klyde Warren Park, Dallas, Texas
I mean, the genuine roots of culture is folk music.
—-Johnny Rotton
Michael Prysock and Mark Deffebach the Mandolin Player
There are no bridges in folk songs because the peasants died building them.
—-Eugene Chadbourne
Michael Prysock
The late sixties and early seventies were kind of a breeding ground for exciting new sounds because easy listening and folk were kind of taking over the airwaves. I think it was a natural next step to take that blissful, easy-going sound and strangle the life out of it.
—-Alice Cooper
You have to open your mind. I like the ability to express myself in a deep way. It’s the closest music to our humanity – it’s like a folk music that rises up out of a culture.
—-Sonny Terry
I was walking in the park and this guy waved at me. Then he said, ‘I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.’ I said, ‘I am.’
—-Demetri Martin
Clyde Warren Park, Dallas, Texas
When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing – just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs, or waves rippling on a pond, a flickering candle or children playing in the park?
—-Ralph Marston
I went to the park and saw this kid flying a kite. The kid was really excited. I don’t know why, that’s what they’re supposed to do. Now if he had had a chair on the other end of that string, I would have been impressed.
—- Mitch Hedberg
Instead of going shopping, I went for a fun ride with the Bike Friendly Richardson group.
We left the Deep Ellum Brewing Company’s First Annual Party and walked over to Main street where the Deep Ellum Market was in full bloom. I’ve heard some good music at the Markets – the bands set up on the sidewalk outside a recording studio on Main. I’ve seen Ducado Vega and June Marieezy – they were all really good.
Today was a duo called Bad Veins – a guitar/singer/keyboardist and a drummer. They said they usually play with a backing tape deck (named Irene) but decided to be a little more laid back and simply play. They were pretty darn good. They had a little cadre of fans sitting in plastic chairs in the street. How cool.
Benjamin Davis – Bad Veins guitar player and singer.
The Bad Veins and their dedicated fans.
A fan.
Bad Veins playing on the sidewalk in Deep Ellum.
My dream is to some day write something that shows up on this list:
Blood Meridian is my “favorite” – if that’s the right word.
The fates of The Kid and Judge Holden are irrevocably intertwined. Although Holden slaughters The Kid (by now The Man) in an outhouse, we’re spared the repugnant details. We’re not spared the reactions of those that spy the hideous scene. The Man’s death was not a quick, nor was it a pretty affair.
This man is my hero.
When I watch that video, it’s amazing how many of the things that make Dallas livable are a direct product of this guy’s work.
One thing I thought interesting is that, as an example of what Dallas has that is bad – he showed a photo of the High Five interchange. What he didn’t know/mention is that underneath that giant monstrosity is a really nice bicycle trail. When they built the High Five, they thought seriously about providing alternative transport and added a way to cross both 635 and 75 – two of the frustrating barriers to alternative transport in our area.
It’s also a pretty darn impressive route to ride – along a little urban creek with almost a billion dollars worth of five layers of roadway stretching upwards hundreds of feet overhead.
The problem was that the cities on either side didn’t provide the support to build access to the High Five trail for years after it was built. Now it’s connected, but not as well as it should be.
20 Small Things In Life That Are Absolutely Delightful
IT’S TIME TO REFLECT WELL ON DALLAS:
Over the past 14 months, as this issue became known and stories about the damage Museum Tower is doing to its neighbors have appeared locally and nationally, many of you have asked us what you can do to encourage a positive resolution. If you live in the city of Dallas, I would ask you to make your Dallas city council representative aware of your opinion, whether by letter, email, or telephone. If you live outside of the city and care about Dallas’ cultural institutions voicing your support and opinion to our elected officials is also welcome. The leadership of Museum Tower needs to recognize their responsibility to our community, and your council representatives can play an important role in resolving this matter.
I’d like to reaffirm that we at the Nasher are advocates for the development of the Arts District and support the goal of Museum Tower to add residencies to this neighborhood. Ray Nasher has given our community an incredible gift by building an unparalleled museum in the heart of the Dallas Arts District and making his extraordinary collection accessible to all. The Nasher is an invaluable educational, cultural and economic resource for the people of Dallas and visitors from around the world and we need your support and your voices to ensure its future contributions to the region.
With thanks, as ever, for your interest and support,|
Sincerely,
Jeremy Strick
Director
Nasher Sculpture CenterIf you would like to share your thoughts please contact support@nashersculpturecenter.org
The deadly solar rays burning down from the Museum Tower onto the Klyde Warren Park. The tower builders say this is not a problem, but take my word for it, it was nasty.
This bright shadow on the wall of the Nasher sculpture garden is not cast by the sun, but by the reflection off the Museum Tower.
Why are fountain pen sales rising?
Why? Because they are cool, that’s why.
You might expect that email and the ballpoint pen had killed the fountain pen. But sales are rising, so is the fountain pen a curious example of an old-fashioned object surviving the winds of change?
For many people, fountain pens bring back memories of school days full of inky fingers, smudged exercise books and piles of pink blotting paper.
But for others, a fat Montblanc or a silver-plated Parker is a treasured item. Prominently displayed, they are associated with long, sinuous lines of cursive script.
…..
Sharon Hughes, a buyer for John Lewis, says people relish returning to solid, traditional objects to make sense of a difficult and complex world.
“They are an old-fashioned thing but people like the personal touch. It is nice for things to be handwritten and not having everything via email,” she says.
According to Eva Pauli, from German manufacturer Lamy, the digitisation of everyday life has led to a change in writing by hand.
“Writing is becoming more and more exclusive and personal. This will probably be the reason that some people speak of a comeback of the fountain pen,” she says.
Sheaffer Pens
Portland’s cargo bike love and expertise spreads to Texas
Every Thanksgiving for about a decade now Nick and Lee have run in the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot. I’d love to run the thing some day – but somebody has to drive the car and keep track of everybody’s stuff.
It’s a massive event – this year about 45,000 runners. There are two courses – the 5K fun run around downtown, and the eight mile timed course which goes from city hall into Deep Ellum then across the bridges into Oak Cliff and back. The kids run the eight mile course.
This makes for a very early morning on Thanksgiving – driving downtown, finding parking, walking to the start. It’s an amazing crowd – with that many runners it takes twenty minutes for everybody to get going. The fastest 5K runners are back before the end of the crowd starts the race.
Last year was cold and foggy, but the weather this time was gorgeous. We know the drill, I wait at the hill near the end to try and see the kids finish (I saw Lee, but missed Nick – with that big a crowd going by, it’s easy to miss a runner). You have to have a pre-planned meeting place (again, with that size of a crowd, cell phone service is very spotty) – most folks agree to meet at the giant inflatable turkey next to the Henry Moore sculpture… but that’s too popular – the crowd there was huge and everyone looked lost.
The crowd is massive, filling the area between City Hall and the Library, and stretching for blocks down the road.
Why is everyone looking at me? Oh, it’s the National Anthem and I’m standing under the flag.
Raise your hand if you have to use the porta-potty.
It’s a long wait at the start for everyone to get moving.
Lee took this shot on his cell phone camera of the race running out of downtown over the Trinity River Viaduct.
5K runners finishing.
Lee near the finish of the eight mile course. Mardi Gras shirt and Tulane Boxers – worn on the outside. Style is important at the Turkey Trot.
She asks me why, I’m just a hairy guy.
I’m hairy noon and night, hair that’s a fright.
I’m hairy high and low, don’t ask me why, don’t know.
It’s not for lack of bread, like the Greadful Death.
Darlin’
—Hair – lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni
Deep Ellum Market, Main Street, Dallas, Texas
“Stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you. I will find you!”
― James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans
Logically, when you talkin’ about folk music and blues, you find out it’s music of just plain people.
—-Brownie McGhee
An F hole tattoo – A perfect back tattoo for a washtub string bass (sometimes called a gutbucket bass) player in a street band in the French Quarter.
Back Tattoo in a street band.
Playing the Gutbucket Bass and the Washboard.
My idea of heaven is a place where the Tyne meets the Delta, where folk music meets the blues
—-Mark Knopfler
Le Violon d’Ingres (Ingres’s Violin)
Man Ray
American, 1924
Gelatin silver print
“You know when I’m down to my socks it’s time for business
That’s why they’re called business socks
It’s business, it’s business time”
―— Flight of the Conchords
Bill Chance 