What I did Memorial Day Weekend

Read The New York Times where I keep finding more and more feature articles on Web 2.0. Friday, May 25th, for example, Facebook Goes Off Campus and Sunday, May 27th, The Many Tribes of YouTube.

Went to The Subdudes concert (tickets were a thank you gift from the last WMNF fundraiser) at the State Theater in St. Pete, great band, lousy acoustics. The vintage furniture dealers on Central Avenue stayed open late due to the unusually old age of the crowd at the State Theater and yes, we managed to find some comfy rattan chairs that once lived in the Polynesian resort at Disneyworld while we waited on line; now they live by our pool.

Read Black & White by Dani Shapiro, unique characters and thought provoking story about complex family relationships.

Watched Volver; don't get what all the great reviews were about.

Bought new Jimmy Lafave album, Cimarron Manifesto. There's a wonderful new song, This Land, that brings tears to my eyes every time I listen, and I can't stop listening.

Bought new Lucy Kaplansky album, Over the Hills, typical good Lucy, I like the covers better than the original songs this time around. You can listen to her somewhat lusty cover of the June Carter song Johnny Cash made famous, Ring of Fire.

Bought The Invention of Hugo Cabret because I want to read a graphic novel and this seems like one I might actually be able to make it through; love Brian Selznick's illustrations.

Watched A Good Year, light and enjoyable, nothing special, but Russell Crowe is very good to look at.
Read the new Jonathan Kellerman, Obsession, a good, quick, poolside read.

Finished up the long weekend with a great grilled veggies dinner and one final movie, An Unfinished Life, a good, if predictable, story and Morgan Freeman stands out as always.

Three days off is just so much better than two....

Typical lazy Sunday

This is absolutely my favorite thing about living in Florida. A gorgeous sunny clear day, perfect for eating a relaxing breakfast, reading a couple newspapers by the pool (one takes an hour, the other takes the rest of the day), migrating out to the yard after a while with the magazine section or a book, Mark coming home from the farm with enough food for our dinners this week, the last pickup of the season. Then, we are on our own veggie-wise until late fall.

Just came across an interesting local show, Flashpoint, with Brendan McLaughlin. There was an intelligent interview with people involved with the making of a Norwegian documentary on the trial of Sami al Arian and a thoughtful political commentary. I'm happy to have found this show (and hope I remember it exists by next week), and welcome the unusually progressive attitude for a public figure in Tampa. It's not totally surprising since Brendan McLaughlin sometimes can be heard hosting a music program on WMNF, my other favorite thing about living in Tampa.