Happy Bday to Me!

We took a family trip (PoPo, E, H, and I) up to see Dad this weekend. We got there late, because I had to do some work in the afternoon. But on the way, that "forced" us to stop at Bingham's Family Restaurant in Lenox, PA. This is a family restaurant serving kind of old-fashioned food (soup and sandwiches, hot open-faced roast beef, pot roast, and so on. It is quite good and can be augmented by anything in the pie case. There are tons of fruit pies, fruit breads, pastries, and more from which to choose.

On Saturday we went to the Glenn Curtis Aviation Museum in Hammondsport, NY. This is a record of Mr. Curtis's early years working on bicycles, motorcycles, airplanes, boats, photography, and more. He was a mechanical genius who developed powered flight right along with the Wright brothers. Like them he started with bicycles and small motorcycles.

The progress during this time (early 1900s) was amazing. Within a period of 5 years the sophistication of motorcycles, cars, and airplanes rose at an astounding rate. While the triumphs (no pun intended) were many, they were accompanied by a good deal of whimsy.

In the end, though, the rather clumsy early attempts became mechanically beautiful.

Then they became mechanically very inventive, predicting the future of rotary engines decades in advance of Mazda.

Then they became very powerful. This V-8 engine drove the bike to 135 miles an hours, at the time a world speed record for anything motor-driven.

The climb in sophistication in aircraft came just as quickly, going from this early airframe,

to this early flying boat (looking more like an airplane),

and on to this within 10-20 years.

Engines underwent the same increase in sophistication, changing from this kind of rudimentary looking engine

to this complicated rotary engine during the same time

We had lunch in Watkins Glen on the way back, then stopped at Hector Falls, on Route 414.

Sunday morning, after a breakfast of birthday waffles and a nice conversation with my family, we all returned to New Jersey. D had made a very nice dinner, accompanied by a good bottle of merlot.

Thanks for the happy 58th!

Note to self - live in or near a big city

Now back from wallowing in self-pity and New Jersey angst, yours truly. Well, we have never been to the Easter Parade in New York before. So, in the interest of keeping a life despite living in suburban New Jersey, we went today. It is a stitch! Go, just go next year, please. What a boatload of fun! The pictures and album will be self-explanatory.

We ended the day by having a very late lunch at Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay's west side restaurant). Lunch was great. It kind of made up for his in your face personality.

Anyway, take a look. Here are a few teasers. The focus was hats.

And characters.

And men in hats.


And a bunch of transvestites (not sure what they were doing, except selling tickets to something and offering chocolates from the Emperor's Club - yep, the same one :-)

And real women, too, in spectacular HATS, HATS, HATS.

So what is it about NJ?

It started when I visited New Jersey to to see some cousins. I grew up in the boondocks of New York, where life was simpler and a lot less pressured. As I met people from the greater New York City area I noticed that they acted very differently from the people I knew. There was an energy and a straightforwardness that was missing from upstate people. On the other hand, there was a rudeness and lack of the courtesy that I expected people to show. In New Jersey people seemed more worldly and a bit obnoxious to me. At the same time they were far more wealthy than people I knew (or at least they were in the place I was visiting). Being in New Jersey felt strange and unnatural.

Later on, while I was life-guarding to earn money for college, I met a girl from the bedroom communities outside Philadelphia. When I went to visit her I noticed the (to me) unnatural way in which communities were arranged, and the complete lack of mature trees in new communities. She was hot, so I visited a lot, hugging saplings for a tree fix while I was there. I swore at the time that I would never live in New Jersey.

As we left graduate school, E got the first job, and it was in New Jersey. I found myself living amongst the people that were strange to me and in the place that was unnatural to me. As I found my way professionally, I began to notice the blame society surrounding me. People seemed obsessed with results (perhaps righteously), rather than with the processes that bring results. It was as if they thought the process of getting results was automatic and always successful. I was a firm believer in process, developed scientifically and backed by experimentation. That did not play well in either work or day to day living. I began to call New Jersey the "me first" state. I am told that maybe my observations of greater NYC are not accurate. I believe what I see now:

• Incapable people running companies without a clue how they should work
• Drivers insisting on their position in the left lane and unsafely changing lanes to get ahead
• Greed driving financial markets to unsupportable bubbles,spreading chaos through the US
• Inability and unwillingness to face risk in a sane way
• Expectations that government must "take care of us"
• Pushiness, obnoxiousness, unreasonable expectations
• Incredibly high taxes
• Corruption in government

Make no mistake, I know that good people live here. I just think the general tenor and direction of life is not right. Why should you give a shit? Well, you probably will not. In spite of that, there is leadership and direction that flows from centers of power and money to other less powerful places. The quality of life that originates here seems to flow unnaturally toward places that I love, and maybe to places you love, too.

So, now that E and I are retired, I will be leaving as quickly as I can arrange it. We'll sell out, kiss corruption and high taxes goodbye, and haul ass for someplace sane. I think some of the others I know have the same idea. There are some less spoiled places left! Jamaica is one. The people and the lifestyle are terrific. We could do much worse.

Reconnecting - signs of life in NJ

It is actually a little disconcerting to be back here in New Jersey. I miss our time in Jamaica quite a bit. I am starting to get more involved in my part-time project, and wondering why. I am a bit torn and disappointed to have given up our night life and ties to family over there. On the other hand, reconnecting with the project has given me the opportunity to visit with my own family a bit.

Today our nieces from Jamaica came over to see their PoPo (their Chinese grandma came back with us from Jamaica.) One of the girls is going to Mt. Holyoke (on a scholarship for squash). The other is coaching in a health club here in New Jersey. Both girls are very athletic, good players. They are also very pretty. They have not been over to our house before. It was nice to see them. I think they will come again while PoPo is here.

Tonight we reconnected with Yann and Rebekah and their son, Evan. I worked with Yann and Rebekah earlier in my career (and theirs).  They live over in western New Jersey, near the Delaware River. We tried a small Mexican restaurant in Frenchtown. The food was good, as was the company. One of Reb's friends accompanied them, along with her young boy. He and Evan, both around 3 years old, wiggled like kids all night long while everybody gabbed. The waitresses dodged the kids pretty skillfully while carrying several plates of dinner to their patrons. The little guys made new friends and investigated everything in the restaurant.

We were there around 6. The place really started getting full somewhere around 7:30 or so. For me, the setting was difficult. It was noisy and it was hard to hear enough to maintain a conversation. Despite this I did my best to tease Yann with my recent retirement. He took it with good grace, though. I think he is really hitting his stride at work and enjoying it! He will return to his native France soon with Evan for a visit.

It was a good day. I should maybe loosen up a little and try to enjoy here, too?!? Yeah, next time I will take my camera. It's not just dancing girls that people want to see...

Buffalo

I have been there and come back. There is still snow and ice there. The project is languishing, though the latest stuff seems headed in the right direction. The people are good, the project is good, and I hope it gets finished.

But did I mention my heart is back in Jamaica?

Sad but true

We are back in New Jersey now. We were greeted by late flights on the day of return, then by intense rain and wind the next day or two. This is not a good omen. Already I miss Kingston! I miss the sun, warmth, music, family and friends, food, ocean, and mountains (not necessarily in that order).

One nice thing is the reunion with our own family. Pickle came over for a nice birthday restaurant dinner at Fusion. This is a Malaysian-style restaurant which is quite good. Amazing how Flemington has some decent restaurants now. It is also nice to get back together with Heather and Dan. Heather reminded me to get one of our handmade cheeses from the cave this next weekend.

Going back to work is a bit of an ordeal. I will spend Monday working, then travel on Tuesday to Buffalo. Wednesday through most of Friday I will be working in Buffalo. This project is not going smoothly. The resources are not available enough of the time to ensure success. Again I am tempted to bail. I do not like associating with this kind of misery. I do feel some duty to help out; I think the time I am spending is helping. It may not be enough, however. One good thing to come out of it is visits to my Dad on the way up and the way back.

I have projects to jump into back in Kingston. The "Bamboo Jungle" needs to be opened. Apartments need to be built. There needs to be an office for Tif to work from. There is the filming of a music video to watch. There is live music to which to listen. People to meet, lots to learn, and new things to see and do. Where is my heart? Back over there, really. I just need to persuade E to come with me.

Rock and Roll at the Village Cafe

Wow! Just Wow! Last night was an amazing night at the Village Cafe. This show was completely devoted to rock and roll. There were several acts, but the focus was on Crimson Heart Replica. This is a young band, with lead singer Katherine Williams enjoying her birthday (23 years) last night. Once again I am astounded at the depth of talent this island enjoys. This young woman really commanded the stage while playing guitar and singing. More in a bit.

This was the first night I had taken pictures. There are always a fair number of independent photographers in the audience, but I had not brought a camera until last night. This was our last Tuesday in Kingston for a while and I wanted to capture some of the excitement. Apologies for the photo quality. My built-in flash is not up to this kind of work.

The night started off kind of strangely with a slim, attractive young white woman playing alternative rock and techno on the sound system. This is not the kind of music we usually hear here. One of the groups she played was Peaches. That and the others I did not know, but really enjoyed. This was hard driving music, heavy on the bass and ready for dancing.

The first act of the night was a women singing and accompanying herself on the guitar. Saffron covered a few songs and sang some of her own. She was pitchy, to say the least, and her guitar kept misbehaving. Either that or she kept missing chords. You have to start somewhere. The crowd gave her a good bit of support, though.


Then came Jason Worton, singing his own work. This guy is a bit of a musical prodigy! He plays guitar, harmonica, and the flute. He coaches other singers and musicians. Later on in the show he played lead guitar for two acts. His songs are pretty meaningful, but his singing voice is not always strong.


He's a good looking guy, though, and the fans were enjoying him.


At this point there was a bit of confusion over who would go next. Finally a young woman in tight pants and minimal top came out. She sang very strongly, but the crowd's focus was on her hotness. Her style was kind of rappish, but she was not backed by a band. I think her name was Kali.


Not sure why, but she came off the stage after only one song. She told Danny later that she "couldn't afford more." At any rate, she lit up a doob and enjoyed the rest of the night from the audience.

Next came Random Chaos. This was an act dominated by a tall, blonde young woman (Dominique) with an incredible voice. She brought the house down. She sang, she got rowdy, she growled like Janis Joplin, she played the guitar. Everything she did was right on the money. Again I was amazed at the direction music is going in Jamaica.


I happened to be sitting next to Tessanne Chin's mom at that point in the evening. Tessanne and her sister are local phenomena. Tessanne was sitting right next to her mother. The sisters are very strong here in Jamaica. I was talking to her Mom about our experience with jazz, blues, rock and roll, and other music right there in Village Cafe. I asked her where she thought this was coming from. She thought it was coming back into Jamaica from the US and Europe.

Next came the headliner, Crimson Heart Replica. This group was absolutely dominated by the young woman singer and guitar player, Kathy Williams. At just 23 she had the audience completely in her hands. It seemed effortless to her.

As you can see, she is a bit alternative in her appearance. She sang about her brown skin, tattoos, and piercings. If I am not mistaken there was a definite feeling of alternate lifestyle in the air. At one point I heard one woman say to another "Why are you here with a man?" You never know, but could this be something new for Jamaica?


(Strangely, I learned later on that Katherine went to school with our niece Tif.)

One of the other things I have remarked on in earlier postings is the support that musicians give each other. Wayne McGregor (lead guitar and singer for Black Zebra) came onstage for a song.


While that was going on our young singer was playing the drums very credibly.


A bit later Tessanne Chin came on. She has a remarkable voice. It is strong, clear, perfect in pitch, and capable of being raucous as well. Tessanne and Kathy sang a duet about the need for women.


The crowd really enjoyed themselves. There was a little dancing, many excited faces, and a lot of clapping and whistling going on.


I could not keep myself from going up to the performers and telling them how good they were. They are so gracious! Kathy said a simple "Thank you, sir" and shook my hand. Sir? I'm trying to tell her she is the best thing since sliced bread and she is still polite enough to Sir me. Amazing!

(Our niece told us that it is the Immaculate Conception training at work; politeness was a requirement there. Today I read a little on Katherine's MySpace site. She wrote about her loneliness and isolation, and her feeling of difference among other things. I just wanted to tell her "You rock! Hardly anybody else does. Your work is amazing. Let yourself enjoy it, knowing that others love it!" I'm not "sir", I'm a fan.)

A couple of other people helped make the evening memorable, Cherie Doucile (spelling?), the announcer for the acts. We just met her a day or two ago in another role as video producer.


Tracey has been our bartender the whole time we have been here. She is friendly and very helpful. She also has a beautiful smile.

Last night in Kingston

Last night I went down to the Molynes road site with Paul. Along the way we picked up Quarry Bastfield, a video director from Brooklyn. Quarry is an easy to talk to type of guy. His dad came from Jamaica so he has ties and has spent a good bit of time here. He came down to do a socially conscious/political short movie about violence. He has a plot that will play elsewhere, but is really a Jamaican story at heart. It sounds like it will be interesting and heart-wrenching. He'll try it out at film festivals and see if he can secure funding for bigger projects.

Quarry came out of the NYU film department. He has some of the same background as the Lap brothers, particularly James Lap. Quarry also worked on Fat Joe's early videos.

He is a contender for director for a music video of Tanice's first single release since she has known Paul. Quarry has a producer named (spelling) Cherie Doucile. I chatted her up while Paul and Quarry looked at another location for the video. It turns out she calls the acts at the Village Cafe, where we spend Tuesday nights listening to live music. She knows the people in the band Black Zebra personally. They are the group we saw and enjoyed on a previous Tuesday night

Quarry, Paul, Tanice and I went up to the rooftop "venue" while we were at Molynes Road. Quarry thought it was really a good spot. It would probably be a difficult place to shoot, though, with no elevator. It is on the third floor and the equipment is heavy. Quarry observed that there are no quiet music/bar spots in Kingston. It's hard to have a conversation anywhere with the music going. Christopher's comes as close as anything, but it isn't really a "date" spot, and it is not really quiet, either.

Paul was encouraged. He thinks I could work with Danny to move this place closer to opening. I do not really know anything about night clubs or the bar business or the music business but I can help get organized. I am willing to learn and provide process. That is kind of the same sort of thing I have done every day for years, but in a new direction. I REALLY need a new direction. The lab system consulting business provides good money, but watching the same misery happen over and over again because of bad resource allocation really stinks.

Dinner at MarketPlace with Auntie Donna

We went over to the MarketPlace on Constant Spring last night. Auntie Donna treated us all to a dinner out, thank you very much! This is an interesting place. Five restaurants and a deli surround an open air courtyard. Each restaurant is independent with its own seating. But if you sit in the courtyard you can get service from several at once. Our party split between Chinese and Indian. Continental, Japanese, and Latin are also available.

It was a really pleasant evening, passing dishes back and forth. It has been cool and rainy for a couple of days in Kingston. The temperature was perfect. The food was very good.

It was remarkable that the setting could have been anywhere. It really did not feel like Jamaica. This could have been a little slice of the US or Europe, except you do not see restaurants so close together except in food courts.

The family knew a lot of people going by, so there was a lot of greeting going on. Maylene (whom we met at Donna's mom's house) was there with her family. There were lots of others as well.

After dinner, as we got to the parking lot, we had a group hug for Auntie Donna. She is a sweetie!

Mas Camp and Quad in one night - ouch

Mas' Camp again last night. This was a big night with a Bajan Soca singer - Alison Hinds. We started the night in the Carnival booth, arranging for Tif to have a costume for the carnival march. Danny did the business with Jodie "Jinx" Stewart (right side of photo). She is Sean Paul's girlfriend and is very good looking. Later on in the evening Danny introduced me to her.

We think the costume is this peach one. It is one of many being built for this year's march. Kind of skimpy???


The schedule of events is here. The road march is on 30-March, my birthday. Shame we will not be here to see it.


Danny and I got some drinks and circulated a little. Along the way I met these ladies. Ann, the lady on the right, is a practical nurse. She told me I must not worry about the violence in Jamaica. Her friend, Maryann, is looking for a husband, so let me know if you are single and interested.


This thing is really well sponsored. Of course Appleton is here.


They host little bars here and there on the grounds. This one is in the Carnival booth.


Elsewhere they offer all the rum you can drink for a few dollars. It is served up by the Appleton girls. Sometimes they get up on the table to dance and pour. They do not wear much, but they do not seem to get cold, either! They have lots of different kinds of juice with which to mix rum.


The sound for this event is really big. You can imagine the speakers (they are racked up 15 feet high). The booth is fairly complex, as you can see.


The night started off with the Coca Cola dancers. They did the dutty (dirty) wine (wind) with a lot of vigor.


It was a remarkable athletic display. They can even do the wine upside down!


Kingston beer is another sponsor. Bless their hearts, they cannot make beer for sh*t. But their dancing girls are very friendly. They are wearing kind of a Mas Camp uniform: short short shorts and a small top.


There are a lot of pretty girls around. Everybody is happy to have their picture taken.


This really seemed to be the way things were last night: the girls were very happy, the guys were skeptical to disapproving.


Except, of course, for Komar. He is one of the singers that backed Tanice at the Jazz Festival. He is always cheerful!


Eventually the stage show started up with Alison Hinds. It was a really good show, with lots of effects (confetti, steam, etc.) The crowd really went wild! You cannot imagine the looks of joy. Soca is really happy (and rude) music.


Flags and bandannas are a big part of the enjoyment. Some of the songs had the audience waving their bandannas back and forth.


Here is a girl happily dancing 'pon' her guy. She and her buddies were passing through the crowd while the singing was going on. She was jumping up and down and dancing on her guy, who kept looking at her skeptically. One of the guys in the crowd had a big grin on his face, just enjoying it as it happened. I smiled, too, then turned my back to go get drinks with Danny. Just as I turned away the girl gave me a couple of bumps on my rear, then disappeared into the crowd.


We left as the place closed, around 2AM or so. Then we went to Quad. I had never been to the other floors there. Danny and I went up, looking for a girl Danny had met at Mas Camp. We never found her. The floors are huge and the sound systems loud. Floor two has a "disco" sort of place with a huge crowd. A lot of the Mas Camp people come here afterwards to continue dancing. We also looked at the third floor, which was pretty deserted (and also very loud). Around 3:30AM we gave it up and went home. Thankfully the Mas Camp rum had worn off by then.

Update

We got in at 4AM. I woke up by 8:30, then slept from noon to 6:30PM. Refreshed now, but damaged!