Monthly Archives: February 2014

“Hello, my name is Moonbeam.”

28 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by in TRAVEL

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Ten Thousand Waves
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Thus began my Watsu experience at the famous Ten Thousand Waves (spa) in Santa Fe, one of the most memorable hours of my entire life.  A little far fetched?  Well, maybe I live a boring life.  But I don’t think so!  Imagine the best rubdown you’ve ever had, then imagine taking a tranquil, warm bath.  Now put them together and that’s what a Watsu, or underwater massage, is like.  It’s also a highly spiritual experience, if you really let yourself go.  As my therapist Moonbeam (I swear I am not making that up) explained, Watsu is all about trust.  The more I trusted her, the more fulfilling my experience would be. And sure enough, after a few minutes of awkward hesitancy, I relaxed into her arms as she held me like a baby and gently twisted me into yoga-like poses.  And that’s what made it so noteworthy – I completely lost myself, fully and completely, right there in a stranger’s arms.  My muscles turned to noodles and my breath became quiet, like at any good massage, but what was different was that I also had tears in my eyes.  It was almost as if I had just had the best therapy session ever, in a hot tub!  Moonbeam indeed.

Pittie Party

25 Tuesday Feb 2014

Posted by in TV / POP CULTURE

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Pit Bulls and Parolees
Saturday Nights on Animal Planet

Obsession.  No, I’m not talking about Tia Torres’ obsession with pit bulls; I’m talking about my obsession with her.  She’s the coolest chick on the planet, or at least Animal Planet, and undoubtedly the most unaffected person on reality TV.  You’ll jump on the pittie party yourself if you watch her show, “Pit Bulls and Parolees,” where Tia and her motley crew of devoted offspring and just-out-of-prison parolees run the largest pit bull sanctuary in the world.  There, in New Orleans, it’s all about second chances – for the pits and the ex-cons. There is no dog rescue too daunting for her, no days off, no overly-white teeth and hugs of comfort on display (sorry, Cesar).  Instead, she’s disarmingly blunt and as brash as her kooky hair color, and at the end of each show, I always feel like putting my dog in the car and driving south to the Big Easy …. not for Mardi Gras!

(Holy Sh*t!) It can not be!

24 Monday Feb 2014

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Costa Brava, Spain, September, 1990 

I was about to suffer sun stroke on a sweltering bus trip from Barcelona to a tiny town up the coast, sticking to my vinyl seat and gulping at my agua con gas.  What saved me?  A voice from above, or actually, my Sony Walkman (1990!) in the form of The Three Tenors recording.  Sure there was plenty of fun stuff from the other two, but it was Placido Domingo singing a song that I had never heard that made me forget my woes and the smelly guy next to me. The song was “No Puede Ser,” a popular Zarzuela, or Spanish operetta, aria.  It’s a big, schmaltzy love song for tenor and orchestra meaning “It can not be,” but that doesn’t matter.  What does matter is the last three notes of the song, which so floored me I stared dumbfounded at my Walkman before rewinding again and again.  The video was released a few months later and lo and behold, the conductor Zubin Mehta does the same thing!  He literally stares at Domingo when he finishes, almost shaking his head in disbelief at what he’s just heard, and bows down to him as they shake hands.

The Three Tenors (Domingo, Carreras, Pavarotti) and conductor Zubin Mehta

It’s that good.  Domingo in his prime, not in “Tosca” at the Met, but in a knock-em-dead performance of a lovely little ditty.

No Puede Ser
Performed by Placido Domingo

Listen first:

Then watch:

I Saw God in Beverly Hills.

23 Sunday Feb 2014

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Modern and Traditional Olives @ The Bazaar

The Bazaar
SLS Hotel, Beverly HIlls, CA

Jose Andres = God.  That’s what I thought when I ate at The Bazaar, the swank Beverly Hills home to the super-chef from Barcelona.  More specifically, that’s what I thought five minutes in, when a plate of his “modern olives” literally popped in my mouth!  Whaaaaaaaaat just happened, I think I screamed to the waiter!  Apparently some molecular gastronomy just happened, as these light green blobs on silver spoons turned into the craziest thing to happen to my mouth since my braces came off.

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“Philly Cheesesteak” @ The Bazaar

His food is so good and so inventive, yet because of his technique and stupefying flavors, it’s almost other-worldly.  The other highlights on the tapas menu include Andres’ take on a Philly cheese steak – the lightest, airiest two-bite sandwich you’ll ever have – and the Brussels sprouts with lemon air.  Yes, air.  They also serve the best pan con tomate (tomato bread) I’ve ever had, and I lived in Spain!  Please go.

Walter White = Best Acting Ever

22 Saturday Feb 2014

Posted by in TV / POP CULTURE

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Jesse: “Yo bitch, Sir Anthony Hopkins digs us!  I mean you, I mean, all of us, yo!”
Walter:  “What the hell are you talking about, you idiot?”

I’m talking about my new #1 reason why people must watch “Breaking Bad”.  And for those who have, why they now must consider it the best thing on TV, ever.  Here’s why:
In the mid-80’s, I saw Anthony Hopkins in a brilliant David Hare play in London called “Pravda” and I remember walking out, thinking, “That’s the best acting I’ve ever seen!”  Almost ten years later, I saw the movie “The Remains of the Day,” and I thought, “That’s the best movie acting I’ve ever seen.”  Way to go, Sir Tony!
Well just recently, Sir Anthony Hopkins penned a fan letter to Walter White himself, Bryan Cranston, and here are some excepts:

Dear Mister Cranston.
I’ve just finished a marathon of watching “BREAKING BAD” – from episode one of the First Season – to the last eight episodes….. I have never watched anything like it. Brilliant!
Your performance as Walter White was the best acting I have seen – ever.
You and all the cast are the best actors I’ve ever seen.
Congratulations and my deepest respect. You are truly a great, great actor.
Best regards,
Tony Hopkins.

I didn’t make that up!  So by my reasoning, the man whose performances I thought were the best acting ever, thinks that Bryan Cranston’s performance in “Breaking Bad” was the best acting ever.  So, Bryan Cranston as Walter White = Best Acting Ever. (Yo.)

Trauma

08 Saturday Feb 2014

Posted by in MUSIC, TV / POP CULTURE

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Electronica with an organ riff??  Yes, please. I’ve loved this jazzy dance track for years; it’s soulful and naughty with just the right amount of funk.  Imagine my surprise, then, when I was flipping channels the other night and there it was, perfectly accenting the chilling last scene of an old “ER” episode.  Remember when cutie-pie Carter and his impressionable intern Lucy were stabbed by a mental patient?  Carter falls to the ground in pain and suddenly sees his young charge staring back at him, motionless on the floor in a puddle of blood. “Trauma, trauma, trauma…” goes the soundtrack.  Brilliant!

Lo Fidelity AllStars (Featuring Pigeonhead): Battle Flag

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http://www.allmusic.com/song/battle-flag-mt0010512225