Las Cruces to LA, via "The Thing"

real or fake?

I get lots of emails like this through my website. I never reply to them because they just seem like spam. Thoughts?


i'm interesting about cello lesson.
but my house is burbank. i cannot go to your studio.
can you came to my house for cello lesson?
I want to know the tuition?
can you send to email me? xxxxxxxxx@live.com
thanks.

Spectacles

Leaving Los Angeles, at dawn.


Palm Springs wind farm.


Somewhere in the tail end of Arizona or the beginning of New Mexico.


This turned into a real hum-dinger.


Just outside of Las Cruces.


I had a big thing here about life, and directions, and all sorts of furrowed brow type things. Too much for this morning. Instead, I'll tell you that I am drinking rocket-fuel coffee, enjoying the tiny shampoos, and absent-mindedly watching the end of Sabrina. It kills me: they had to try to make Julia Ormond look homely, so what do they do?

Stick some glasses on her. Ah well. Nicole Kidman earned some cred with me when she started wearing glasses to the Oscars.


These amazing mountains are right outside my door, so I'm going to get ready and then see if my meagre photography skills can do them any kind of justice. But if the pictures make them look too picturesque, I'll just do what the pros do: stick some glasses on them.

Exploring

July 4th

Nathan talks about the Swan

I know I've made this point before, but you people need it hammered into you:

Kids don't have some magic ability to tame instruments. The main difference I see is they lack the self-loathing and expectations adults bring to the table. If I could offer adult beginners (that is, people of all proficiencies that started after age 16) one main piece of advice it would be this:

Dream big. Have outlandish fantasies of musical greatness. Be excited about it and unashamed of that enthusiasm. Let that, and not the burden of ego or self denigration fuel your fire.

Thanks to Nancy L for another gem. She also showed me Ben Zander's PopTech video, (a few posts down) and incidentally started The Swan today.

Another!

I made another blog.

You know, because I'm not crazy enough as it is. It's about wine.

Secret cat thoughts, part 2

Keeping a Bigger Perspective

I find this very useful.





Want more?

Yeah man, where the cool kids hang out

That would be the observation area at Van Nuys Airport. It's a place I go about once a week to check out the planes, fantasize about starting lessons again, clear my mind, and generally geek out. I got lucky the other day. Check the progression:

Bzzzzz, bzzzzzzz. Cessna 172. I see this guy all the time. Today it was all touch and go with a few fly-overs of the field.



What's that noise?

! ! !

Boeing 737! On the same taxiway the little 172 used not 5 minutes earlier! Checked who they were on FlightAware, and it's "confidential". *eyebrow*



The First Officer waved at me. In a town full of movie stars, I swoon for second-in-commands.




What the h......?



OMG it's the Albatross! You can practically hear the noise from the blog, can't you?



I watched them rehab this bad boy over at Whiteman for years, nursing a crush for anything with radial engines. It's a seaplane. A really, really loud seaplane. Check him out in action here.



A clip from one of my top 10 all-time favorite movies, 16 Right, so named after the heavily traversed long right hand runway at Van Nuys.



For an unexpected good time especially with kids, go to your local General Aviation Airport and watch some planes.