off to...

Questions for Grass

Minnesota is about 4" short of its annual rainfall, so we're sort of in a drought.  But tonight we had a beautiful storm come through, with crisp cracking lightening and great big drops.  I opened my window, put my feet against the wall, and watched the storm blow by.  This gave me time to finally sit and think about something that's been bothering me for the last five years.  No matter what happens, we never have an "ideal" amount of rain, not for the landscapers or for the farmers.

So: How much rain must fall so that we would *never* have to water our lawns?  In other words, what are the ideal conditions for a perfect, natural summer lawn and are they actually achievable?  Is it a bit every week?  Every two days? What natural amount of rain will keep the grass green and bright?  Also:  What impact has concrete and asphalt had on lawn water retention?  Are grass strips (the area between the sidewalk and the curb) always going to have a harder time finding water than larger swaths of grass?  What are the most ecologically friendly grass alternatives?  What is the cultural history of grass? 

Now is not the time for these questions...

Tom: Not Coming

2008 Tour Dates

Road trip to St. Louis anyone?

Culture Weekend Recap

Ah, culture weekend: what a brilliant idea. 

Saturday Night
First up, August Wilson's The Piano Lesson at Penumbra Theater. This play is worth it simply for the impromptu kitchen table work song "Bird Up." Overall, I agreed with one reviewer that this interpretation was a bit "yelly".  Boy Willie is a disruption, but here he was raucus and distracting.  And everyone was yelling by the end, even at parts that didn't seem to warrant it.  Berniece was great, Lymon was a little off for me, and Doaker and Wining Boy were both fantastic.

Next: Decisions.  The Jazz.Warehouse.Party was in full swing by the time the play got out, and after a little waffling we finally ended up in Northeast drinking some stouts listening to The Atlantis Quartet and the always excellent The Nick Haas Trio.  This was the right decision.  "Good" jazz in a warehouse with cheap beer and friends turned out to be the highlight of the weekend for me.  Sadly, this might have been the last one: Say it ain't so, Peter!

Sunday Afternoon
Kathleen Battle at Orchestra Hall in stolen seats second row center.   So, honestly, I didn't get most of the program, even after being informed about "art songs" (Purcell, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Faure, etc.) and their historical importance, but when she opened up her traditional set with "Were you there when they crucified my lord?" I, along with the entire hall was awestruck, and we immediately leaped to our feet when she finished.   

Sunday Night
What would culture weekend be without the Shakespeare?  And so we found ourselves on some uncomfortable chairs at the Old Arizona taking in a nice minimalist production of King Lear.  I had read the play a week earlier, which helped, but I couldn't keep from comparing it with Hamlet, which seems a richer, tighter, and more satisfying narrative.  Lear makes leaps that don't seem very well developed or presaged (Edmond's suit for Regan and Goneril, for instance, seems to come out of nowhere).  And as expected, the Fool/Lear interactions are much more rewarding performed than read.  I'd like to see this one again.

A snowy Monday morning came much too quickly.  Spring is slow in arriving.

Name That Song: Favorite Lyrics

1. You're as brave as traffic.

2. Even needs have needs.

3. If you're bored then you're boring.

4. You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way.

A night to remember...or not...

Battle Chat

K: *spitball*
G: missed
K: *coffee bean flick*
G: [duck] missed. *Large piece of beef*
K: [dodge] missed. But went splat against the wall. *garlic fling*
G: [caught] *orange lob*
K: [juices] *carrot arrow shot from toy Dukes of Hazard kit*
G: [backfired] ha ha! *flaming onion toss*
K: [reels in confusion, wondering how one can set an onion on fire. douses with balsamic vinegar, thus making marinated onions and metaphysically ricocheting them]
G: *two! paper airplanes*
K: *rubber band! rubber band! hula!*
K: *mai tai! mai tai! myyyyy tiiiiiie in the mooooorning!*
G: [hunkers down, relinquishes turn to don metallic pan helmet}
K: [dons tinfoil helmet. tightens tenuous grip on reality.]
K: [braces]
G: [scans kitchen]
G: *granola scattershot*
K: [sustains injury. applies bandaid. removes sink and creates bunker.]
K: *apple juice tsunami!*
G: [initiates swim-and-flight response system; dries off; dons goggles] *gathers words from newspaper and casts spell of distraction*
K: Lovely, lovely words! *literary swoon* Crafty jerk.
K: [inhales demerara sugar and recovers] *Presses orange button, initiates bookcase defense system a la computer wires scene in Superman 3. You are quickly encased by shelving and lovely, lovely books.*
G: [pounding]
G: [pounding]
G: [reading]
G: [reconstitutes self as chlorinated water; ruins books; seeps out] *chlorine splash causes dry skin and itching*
K: [initiates cocoa butter dousing] *flings chamois.*
G: [quickly washes and dries car] *arc spray of dishwasher soap*
K: [activates spray head, takes quick yet modest shower] *cookie trebuchet*
G: [munch munch munch] *bath of boiling honey*
K: [initiates tea transformation spell, becomes robust cup of Earl Gray] *honey seepage glues you to the floor.*
G: [honey source reversal] *bees and pollen attack*
K: [begins Clorox Cleanup protocol, vanquishing both honey and bees] [waves wand at distracting Husband who comes bearing closet solutions]
K: calls a draw and bows
G: slumps in exhaustion