Museums are a blast!

In Miami they are.

The Miami Museum of Science and Industry had their annual Big Bang fundraiser last Friday.  I went because Afrobeta was playing there along with a few other bands.

I got there too early, still not sure about times-and-distances, but that gave me a chance to shoot this short clip to show you how the Sony XR500V Handycam handled the low light, high contrast situation outside.  [52 sec.]

The action was definitely on inside, starting in the lobby and continuing with DJs, Dancing Girls and Vampires sprinkled all over the place.  [1 min. 36 sec.]

But the real action for me was Afrobeta with Cristy Amador and Tony Smurphoio getting it on.  Cristy had the flu but I’ve had my flu shot so I got my hug again :-).  [6 min. 17 sec.]  [Click on the YouTube logo to watch the clips in HD]

The audience got it on, too.  [3 min. 48 sec.]

Loved it all!

And just to catch up, I’ll mention that I took a few tours earlier in the month.  The bus tour of Miami was really nothing – one of the four stops was a grocey store.  The boat tour of Biscayne Bay was a nice afternoon on the water but I could have done without the dialog about the mansions and who used to live there.  And the evening South Beach Art Deco architectural walking tour didn’t hold a candle to the Chicago River architectural boat tour, in fact I had more fun while I was waiting for the tour to start:  [1 min. 10 sec.]

But man, did I love that night at the museum!

Vaya con gusto, muchachos y muchachas.

Share on Facebook

I’m home. Officially.

I was asked where I was, and that’s the answer:  home in Miami Beach.

And it’s official because today I turned in my California driver’s license and got an 8-year, no-glasses-required (Lasik last summer) Florida license.

When I first got here two weeks ago and looked at the condo I wondered if I really wanted to do it:

Unlike last winter’s condo, this one looked like a joke version of the 1950’s combined with a bad episode of Miami Vice.  Turns out the owner’s son had lived here and I guess that was tasty to him.  And how he lived with no blinds and 20 units staring at him from across the way I’ll never know (I put up the sheets as temporary cover).

I got the owner to remove some of the junk and bring in a couch and chair, then added a few things.

Right click then select “view image” to see a larger version of images then if there’s a magnifier, use it to see them larger still. Use the browser Back button to return.

Todo es chévere ahora.

Share on Facebook

Multi-colored Sunday

Sunday, we started with some pool and black-and-tan beers at Trax, the bar next to the railroad station.

Back home, Nicole came up with a delicious green-and-red soup.

And for dessert, we had red, transparent, white and brown.

We call it the “Black Forest Kiss.”  The 1/2 oz. of red cherry liqueur has a 1/2 oz. of transparent creme de cacao floating on it, covered with white heavy cream and dusted with dark brown chocolate shavings.

You take it as a shot, but give the chocolate a chance to melt and mingle with the other flavors before swallowing.

It’s kind of like a poor man’s Pousse Cafe without the flaming brandy – try it, you’ll like it.

Share on Facebook

Viva Funky Town

The cover band Libido Funk Circus was the action on Navy Pier on Saturday.  Sometimes the audience was more fun to watch [1 min 30 sec]

To view larger, click on the YouTube logo then on “HD” on the status bar in the new window. HD videos even look good full-screen. Close that window to return here.

and sometimes it was the band. [3 min 47 sec]

Later we dropped by Grant Park and caught some of Viva Chicago.  The Brazilian dancers were better than the Caribbean drummers. [1 min]

No mas ahora.

Share on Facebook

Deerfield Blues

There’s usually some music at the Saturday morning farmers’ market near the train station.  This time, besides the chipotle-cumin-garlic cheese, I got a long clip of a local blues band.  The lead singer’s phrasing reminded me a bit of Mose Allison.  [5 min 26 sec]

Last night, I had my first calamari ever (lots better than prairie oysters)

Right click then select “view image” to see a larger version of images then if there’s a magnifier, use it to see them larger still. Use the browser Back button to return.

and a great Mongolian beef stir fry

at

I’m going to have to see if they’re in Florida – all good stuff, especially the light chili ginger sauce.

Share on Facebook

Best Rib Joint in Chicago

Right click then select “view image” to see a larger version of images then if there’s a magnifier, use it to see them larger still. Use the browser Back button to return.

Actually, it’s not in Chicago, it’s in Deerfield – and I didn’t even have to leave the house to get that great taste!

Because Jeff did it, and did it up proud.   Here’s what he said about the menu:

Basically, everything was a mix of sweet, savory and heat.

Baby-back ribs marinated for 20 hrs. in a dry rub of about 13 spices including paprika, dry mustard, chipotle chile powder, garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, sea salt, brown sugar and others.  Ribs were smoked with a mix of Hickory (for its heavy, sweet flavor) and Mesquite (for its tangy, biting flavor) at 250-300 degrees for about five hours.  Served with apricot chipotle sauce on the side.

Fire-roasted corn with butter, cilantro, dash of fresh lime juice, chipotle chile powder.

Baked beans with red and green bell peppers, onion, dry mustard, brown sugar and chile powder.

He wasn’t talking about the Secret Sauce at the left edge of the photo, but I’m fine with that :-)

Share on Facebook

Bon Taj Roulet + more Bolivians

Saturday was Bon Taj Roulet at Ravinia. [links open in a new window]

It opened with some great blues by Taj Mahal, then Bonnie Raitt did a few songs, but the best was when they did the duets.  In spite of getting busted by security a few times (NO FILMING!!!), I managed to get a short clip of one song by them.  Excuse the feeble involuntary attempts – quickly squelched – to sing along.  [3 min 6 sec]

Sunday was Navy Pier again.  Nicole got a shot of the skyline from there.

Right click then select “view image” to see a larger version of images then if there’s a magnifier, use it to see them larger still. Use the browser Back button to return.

And I got a clip of more Bolivians, with a nice bit of Andean flute in there.  After the clip starts playing, you can click on “HD” at the lower right  for a slightly  better rendition of the dance video.  To see it larger still, click on the Youtube logo first then play it.  [1 min 33 sec]

Hasta luego.

Share on Facebook

Rockin’ at Ravinia

George Thorogood was thoroughly good.

The opening act was Jonny Lang, a former prodigy who released a chart-busting album when he was fifteen, but on Thursday didn’t cut it for me and went on for far too long.  [21 sec]

After a couple of hours of waiting and listening to him, we finally jumped in for a bit of a sing-along – just bored I guess – but I still wasn’t impressed by Lang.  [31 sec]

Thorogood was the main man for sure.  These short clips give a feel for what his act was like.  [1 min 29 sec]

But the main event was “Bad to the Bone.” And the dancing girls in the audience didn’t hurt a thing (anyone have a recommendation for a low-light video camera?).  [4 min 44 sec]

Rock on!

UPDATE:  Upgraded to a Sony XR500V HandyCam.  This has an incredible low-light capability – can even shoot in pitch darkness using a built-in IR source – so next time, I’ll be ready.

Share on Facebook

Summertime in the (2nd) city. Again.

Look at that crowd for the Pat Benatar and Blondie concert at Ravinia on Sunday!  (The background music is the opening group, The Donnas). [links open in a new window]  [clip is 24 seconds long]

Incredible!

Everyone brings a picnic and libations of their choice then sets up on the grass.  The setups have gotten pretty competitive.   Those are real candles, folks.  And when they burned out later, there were replacements!

The only potential problem was a 60% chance of rain but it missed us.

Security, on the other hand, didn’t miss me and my camera so all I’ve got is a few seconds of Pat Benatar on stage [18 sec]

and just a sound clip for Blondie [14 sec]

It was all terrific!

And Monday was another Botanic Garden freebie, the latin sounds of Fernandez and Kimball.  This is slightly longer than the usual clip and will take longer to load but worth waiting for.  [1m 19 sec]

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v18946793MsKGehBk

Chau.

Share on Facebook

Summertime in the (2nd) City, Parte Dos

We catch the train to Chicago from the Deerfield station and if you have an eidetic memory, you might recognize this as the station Rebecca De Mornay left from then had her way with the weird scientologist actor in the movie Risky Business:

Right click then select “view image” to see a larger version of images then if there’s a magnifier, use it to see them larger still. Use the browser Back button to return.

Saturday, though, we went to the Botanic Garden and watched a chef from Karma, an upscale Asian fusion restaurant, show us how to make a great spiced tuna block.  As he does his thing, the audience can see his table top in a large overhead mirror – nifty.  Near the end of the 40-second clip, you may catch a glimpse of the finished product resting on salad bed.  The dressing for that was a terrific sesame ginger vinaigrette that I’ll make when I get to Miami Beach (ask if you’d like the recipe, which also includes soy sauce and chili oil).

The Garden also had a bonsai competition.  Here’s the first place winner and one that wasn’t even in the running, but had a price tag of $2,600.

After the Garden we had a wine tasting of our own at home, three Malbecs from the Mendoza region in Argentina.  Actually, two Malbecs and one, by Tilia, that was a 50/50 mix of Malbec and Sirah.  Malena introduced me to the 2007 version of this and it was the first wine I actually liked.

The 2008 Tilia Malbec Sirah, while not quite as good as the 2007, was the clear winner with the 2007 Terrazas Malbec a reasonable second-place finisher.  The 2007 Santa Julia Malbec is now cooking wine.

Next day, Sunday, we went to Chicago.  This shot is taken from a water taxi on the Chicago River.

I really like the way the river is “embedded” in the city, a living integral part of what makes Chicago Chicago.

When we got to Navy Pier, the first thing we noticed was a Turkish flag.  Then the music.  Then  [35 sec.]

Turns out it was the Turkish World Festival  [14 sec.]

But we came for the afternoon Latin music in the beer garden and there we found Bolivian dancers [53 sec.]

Don’t know what happened to the sound quality on that clip – maybe it was the air show being held a few miles north, with some of hot-doggers coming in over downtown Chicago [16 sec]

So what’s going on in your neck of the woods?

Share on Facebook