:: on piano forte ::Yesterday was a whirlwind, starting with gutting the garage, then realizing we were down a mic stand (as in gone missing). Obviously I'd left it at Ladd's Inn, still green at this job (setting up takes a pro, and LW is one -- me too, but not as a rock star per se, more as a geek).
The hypothesis proved correct, so I was able to relax through an evening in Men's Club (Multnomah Athletic, nowadays co-ed), schmoozing with a fave Wanderer, continuing some meandering discussions (I yakked about some of the recent media campaigns launching through NGOs I'm connected with, brought stuff for show & tell from the garage gutting).
Vincente's is experimenting with having a bar scene, to kick up business in the 10 to midnight time frame perhaps. Neighbors are likely not the issue given the well insulated nature of the place. Having someone play their existing piano full volume, no artificial amplification, was part of this experiment. Lindsey was superb, we got the recording, along with pizza and beer from the management, plus got to schmooze with fans.
Bill Shepard showed up and we continued discussing John's Java applet, run out as JavaScript by Google's GWT.
I thought the evening was exciting (as well as nutritious), because I got to be more like a manager, not just the roadie / chauffeur. I announced later I now had a PhD in PizzaJointology (yeah, right). Walker is doing another pizza venue this evening, again without amplification or drum synth (R2), just a strong voice with edgy piano forte. It's A Beautiful Pizza on Belmont.
I'm happy to see all the introspective news reviews regarding the road ahead in the Drug Wars. Obama's netting himself a Nobel ain't such a bad thing either, let's just say we're "quietly pleased" (WILPF was in the NYT twice this morning thanks to press coverage of past recipients, AFSC another one, and Linus Pauling).
Some Nobel winners I've actually met, though not for peace: Harold Kroto (buckminsterfullerene, with two others); Robert Laughlin (stuff to do with electrons). I've also actually held the two Pauling Nobels (the other for chemistry) at OSU's special collection. Pretty cool.
Hey, good to see that Fuller Projection embedded in some library architecture, photo by Dick Fischbeck.
This morning I'm back in my corner office, with a running joke that I'm "still on Tokyo time" (explains the beer). I'm also sampling edamame, a soy snack served fresh in the pod. Keiko is not afraid to educate our zip code about healthy customs enjoyed by those in far distant mail delivery areas.
