Andres Carne de Res

Probably the highlight of my recent trip to Colombia was a visit to Andres Carne de Res. Let me preface that this was recommended to me by Colombians, not American tourists. And I went there with Colombians.
Once I got over my self-consciousness about sticking out so much, I started to enjoy myself, and even hit the dancefloor during MJ's Don't Stop ('til you get enough). More on that later.

The bar/restaurant/club had three floors and three themes: hell, purgatory, and heaven. Staff are dressed up in costumes and wait on you or just act weird. It had as much 'flair' as a American restaurant but it didn't seem so calibrated. Also, the patrons seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Great food, too.

As far as the dancing, I explained to my two Colombian companeras that I've really only been comfortable dancing to disco music. I also think that disco was popular partly due to the fact that it is fairly free-flowing and free of rules. History has been kind to disco and will only get better. 15 years ago in college I have fond memories of going to Disco Night and getting dressed up as a disco dancer.

Colombians definitely have some of the same spirit that Americans did in the disco era.

Bogota, Colombia part one

I just completed what will hopefully just the first of many trips to Colombia.
First impressions: I arrived to Bogota at 6 am on a Wednesday morning and was shuttled from the airport to the Radisson Hotel. It was a cool cloudy morning in the city of 7.3 million people. It is temperate year round because it is 2640 meters above sea level.
The hotel is beautiful. After a nap I went to the office for a few hours and was immediately struck about by how kind everyone is. That was a recurring theme on the trip.
The rest will have to wait until tomorrow.

Pane e tulipani/Bread and Tulips

Bread and Tulips in an Italian movie from 2000. It's a slow, enjoyable movie about a lady that is left behind by her family on a vacation and then goes to Venice for a vacation of her own. My favorite character from the movie is Fernando, played by Bruno Ganz. Two adjectives used to describe him in online reviews are wistful and diffident. Fernando plays an Icelandic immigrant that is a waiter. He speaks in a roundabout way that seems from a time long since past.
I recommend it unless you're bored by slow, foreign films. Aren't almost all foreign films slow?

Sarcasm and irony

At dinner tonight the family had a short debate about the difference(or lack thereof) betweeen sarcasm and irony. As is common it was everyone against me. I was told that they are essentially the same. Eventually a dictionary was pulled and out and I'd say we reached an uneasy stalemate.

Let's first discuss the first point, and then we'll get to the dictionary. I strongly feel irony is an overused word. I regard it as a theme in a play or movie. I was taught that it simply means when the result is the opposite of what was hoped for. I don't throw the word around lightly. Many people mistake irony for coincidence, like when two people unexpectedly see each other in public. They say it's ironic when it's really just coincidental.
Sarcasm is different. I know it because I have been afflicted with it since I was a child. I guess it's part of having a dry sense of humor. Sarcasm usually shows itself in insulting remarks, sometimes exposing naivete or vanity. The tone of voice or inflection makes all the difference between someone being tiresome and negative or irreverant and funny. One can be sarcastic, but irony just is. It's not something you can be.

I suppose the dictionary is a good reference point for this type of debate. However I do feel there are nuances and that English is constantly evolving, so I don't put all my stock in what Webster says.

towards danger?

When I was around 18 I remember watching a documentary that interviewed war journalists. The part I recall was about a Central American conflict and an interview with a blondish, smiling Australian. They asked him what it was like to be in the middle of a gunfight and he happily remarked that he "felt very alive".

I think what's at play here is the need for adrenaline. Whether it's gambling, bungee jumping, or hunting crocodiles, people have long enjoyed the rush of nervious anticipation.

I'm not particularly one of this lot, but I do like to travel and see places that are unfamiliar. Next week I'll be taking a 10 day trip to Caracas, Venezuela and Bogota, Colombia. The other day I got a call from the Security department of my employer advising me not to visit Caracas unless necessary. He was just doing his job.

I never even considered asking out of the trip. I've been around a little bit. I've not been to the Middle East,Sudan or Afghanistan, but those are the places that would give me pause, not Caracas. Besides, I'm not looking for trouble, maybe just a nice meal, a drink, conversation, and some people-watching.

finding that elusive nugget - Steve Winwood

If you asked 100 teenagers today if they know who Steve Winwood is, you could probably count the ones that do on one hand and still have 4 or 5 fingers left over. Nevertheless, chances are excellent they've heard two of his biggest hits on the radio: While you see a Chance and Higher Love are both staples on light rock radio.

I've always thought of Winwood as sort of British equivalent of Joe Walsh. He was part of various groups before going solo, and then finally came back to others later, Walsh with the Eagles and Winwood with Eric Clapton. Both had hits sporadically over long careers. Walsh is known more as a great guitarist and Winwood a singer and arranger.

Here are some nuggets from Youtube about While You See a Chance. I sometimes enjoy finding a comment where a listener tries to interpret a song or shares some other interesting info:

1)@BrokenneckYgor it is foolish to build an aircraft that has no buyer, it would be the same to design An automobile that has A buyers list of one. in music in America, we get A vocalist together with A guitarist and A percussionist, and you all sit around perfecting each others shit. that's how it's done. the other way is the European way, the ONLY I am allowed to be wonderful, selfish snob, my shit doesn't stink way. we have A saying for folks like that here, "GET OUT"! don't blame Steve at all

I found that Winwood played all the instruments for the album Arc of a Diver, where this song is from.

2)I've finally taken this advice; after 20 years.

Come on! If you don't tell us more I doubt it's true.

From Higher Love
3)Chaka also arranged the vocals on Robert Palmer's number 1 hit "Addicted to Love"

I'm not sure if Chaka Khan was a vocalist on either of the songs but I'll find out at some point when I'm at work.

These are the fruits of how I sometimes while away evenings, neither reading, watching TV, nor socializing with my family or friends. It's not very productive but I enjoy it and sometimes find an opportune moment to share this useless information with like-minded individuals.

recommended reading for baseball fans

Baseball - America's pastime. Hot dogs and peanuts and lazy summer days. Sweet Lou and Alan Trammell turning another double play. From childhood I have fond memories of playing and watching baseball whether in person or on TV.

Somewhere along the way I've lost my connection to the game because I find it too slow to watch on TV and I've only been to two major league games since 1998. My days of playing are practically over, unless I join a beer and softball league again.

However I won't let it go away alltogether. I'm still connected in two ways. One, I have coached my two oldest children in softball and baseball. I actually enjoy the dugout chatter and the back and forth with the kids more than the games themselves since the skill levels are low. Second, I've read a couple of books by David Halberstam that are just about perfect. One is called October 1964, which chronicles the World Series between the Yankees and Cardinals. The second is Summer of '49, which recounts the Yankees/Red Sox pennant race.

I think the late Halberstam's greatest gift was weaving together the historical setting, the characters, and what happened on the field. If I were a literature professor I would ask aspiring history writers to read these books and ask them to report back to me in my messy office.