２月２４日２００５年

お正月になった秒に、日本語で話していました。しかし、日本にいるんではありませんでした。ニューヨーク市のパーティによっぱらっている日本人の女性としゃべていました。その日は始めから面白かったです。何１０００人と一緒に新しいMOMAと言う博物館を見に行ったり、３年間話をしていない友だちに会ったり、夕食でタイ料理を食べたり、アッパーウェストサイドの金持ちっぽいパーティで酒を飲んだりしました。

その彼女は実は名古屋の留学時代から友だちになって、今はニューヨークしに住んでいます。お酒のドリンクを三つ飲んだ後に、タクシーに乗りながら寝てしまったときに、彼女が酒に弱いものがわかりました。ですから、２００５年になった秒に、「知らない人のアパートでたくさん吐くことは大丈夫だよ、この町で誰もしっていないからだ」という話がありました。

日本にいる日本人の友だちはお正月の時に家族と訪ねたり、神社に行ったり、よっぱらったりしたと教えてくれまして、そういう順序わけではないかもしれません。神社では新年のために健康や幸運と祈ります。アメリカのクリスマスに似ていることがわかりました。私がしたかった面白くて楽しい経験が結局できました。今の所より面白いはずです。あなたは、お祈りしたとうりになりましたか。

First thought upon arriving at JFK: where are all the white people?  Second thought: damn, that’s a big fat ass.

Yes, I’m back in this country ’tis of thee, America the large and in charge, for a few weeks to see friends, swim in the ocean, and celebrate my sister’s wedding.  I arrived in New York on Tuesday, spent a couple of days hanging with buddies there, then went upstate to New Paltz for said holy matrimonial, a bustling and beautiful event of not just one day, but really four.

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I see your eyes in the sky, stormy but benevolent, lashes whispering across my face as a breeze fills the sails, salty taste on my lips these distant tears in the wind.

I recognize your mouth in the ocean, alive and inspired, lips smooth as the bow waves, imparting their knowledge through the whitecaps chasing echoes in my ears.

I feel your hands in the current, tireless and patient, pulling my course back and forth with deadly playfulness, a constant reminder of the cycle of us and all things.

I sense your heart in the sun, sometimes obscured by fearful cumuli, trying its best to shine a path to your shores on the horizon, sometimes forgetting that outside your reach the darkness exists as well.

So, in an effort to make my photo galleries at least tiny bit more integrated with the blog, and to completely kick the FrontPage habit, I have installed some software on my server called Gallery. Right now I hate it because for the life of me I can’t figure out how to make the logos and tags go away, not to mention the extraordinary amount of needless information clogging up the viewing space, but some users have gotten a very cool look, and I believe, like R. Kelly, that I can fly.  Also, I completely believe in open-source software, so it can only get better.

So, I want everyone’s opinion on the look and useability of the galleries.  You should be able to comment on and rate specific photos, as well as link directly to them.  Also, these galleries should look the same on most major browsers, so all you Opera and Firefox users won’t get the Microsoft shaft this time.  Let me know.

Galleries can be viewed by clicking HERE.

Although in blog-time it’s only been a few entries, it had been a long time since we’d been out dancing.  Last night we saw the brilliant duo of multi-instrumental wizard Shri and Bhangra breakbeat specialist DJ Badmarsh.  Before I explain any further, let it be said that if you get the chance, see this act!

Check background info here.

Shri, alternating between a custom-designed wooden electric bass, a flute, the tablas which made him famous, as well as contributing beat-box vocals, heads a band of talented musicians including a bizarre lead male vocalist, a punk-rock worthy drummer, and various others.  Add to this the background-setting mix by DJ Badmarsh (although regrettably, no scratching) and it was an uplifting and happy jam of sounds that forced your body to move.  The music ranged from trip-hoppy vibes with that characteristic Indian female vocalism to funky jazz improvisation to hard-charging punk rock.  Highlights included a drummer vs. slap-bass battle, flute-beat-boxing, and trance-like harmonies.  If there was anything that detracted from the show, it was the artists’ constant CD sales push, even after the encore had ended.  But I’m sure it would have been worth it.

Because my sister and her husband came to visit us over the last week or so!  It was quite an eventful 9 days, I must say.  First, they were scheduled to arrive at the EXACT same time as the previously mentioned Emperor Palpatine, which meant they weren’t going to arrive at all, but luckily they had an engine blow out during their takeoff acceleration and so they had to sit around in Dublin for an extra day.  We should all be so thankful for shoddy maintenance schedules.

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