The Good Life (Sort Of)

It's Memorial Day Weekend here in the US of A, and we've spent it jollying around on a boat, eating and drinking a lot, and indulging in the sunshine that has finally emerged after a few weeks of rain.  This is after several weeks of visitors and overindulgence generally.  It's not been particularly taxing except on our bodies, which are feeling a tad flabby and underexercised, and our psyches, which are feeling tired and flabby and slow.  So, despite several events that we're already committed to in the upcoming weeks, a month of austerity - financial, physical and emotional - sounds good, if only to provide a contrast to the previous month in which I've been a little out of control.  

So my aim is, for each week:

• Exercise: two boxing classes; one yoga class; and one football match (or equivalents).
• Food & drink: No processed white carbs (i.e. bread, pasta) during the week; no beer during the week; one glass of wine per day maximum.
• Reading: each day I am to read all of one way on the subway (as opposed to procrastinating and listening to podcasts).
• Movies: one a week.

EEEEEEK.  I'm sure I can do it.  Surely.  

I want to offer my love and respect to the end

Today, it was announced that MCA of The Beastie Boys passed away, at the age of 47.  It's one of those strange times that, thanks to what we call Social Media (twitter, facebook and, I'd argue, google reader), that I know so quickly, and that I can share in the mourning and reminiscences with people I know well, acquaintances, and strangers I've never met.  It's a remarkable thing; despite discussion about the loneliness and isolating qualities of the web and Social Media, I feel part of a community.  People I never knew even liked The Beastie Boys are sharing their sorrow with me, and that feels soothing.

In response, I've been doing what I always do - trying to compile a list of my favourite Beastie tunes.  I can't do it just yet - too much.  But I've compiled some of the best things on the interwebs about MCA, and they're brilliant.  Note:  If you don't know, Nathanial Hornblower was Adam Yauch's alter ego director - responsible for So What'cha Want and Intergalactic, two of their greatest videos.

• Third letter down on this NY Times Letters to the Editor page. You owe me a goat.
• The Beastie Boys on Joan Rivers promoting License to Ill.  Combining two of my favourites together.  She's amazing. This is awesome.
• An Oral History of making License to Ill. 
• (From about 2 minutes onward) Nathanial Hornblower interrupting REM due to the farce, indeed, of Sabotage winning no awards whatsoever at the MTA Music Video Awards.
• "Even after that diagnosis, Yauch’s loss comes as a sudden shock; it’s hard not to feel like you were punched in the chest upon learning of it" - A lovely tribute to MCA.
• This photo of him is just absolutely beautiful.

 I'll probably add more as they get published.  

Post-Coachella Listmaking

Over the course of the weekend at Coachella, we saw over 20 shows, whether catching a few minutes here and there (and a few minutes was enough for Justice, who were unremittingly rubbish, and also for Noel Gallagher, as we heard the utterly lovely Half the World Away, but not much of the other stuff in which I have no interest although, alas, we did hear Don't Look Back in Anger, which I truly loathe). 

1. DJ Shadow (just unbelievable: the tunes were amazing, he played Six Days and Organ Donor - albeit the version on Pre-Emptive Strike, rather than Endtroducing... - and he mixed in Passin' Me By by The Pharcyde.  Also, the visuals were stunning - he was in a spinning ball, for the love of Ray J).
2. Pulp (highlights:  Underwear, I Spy, Common People - although, as Dr. TOH says, even he could be the frontman for a song like that, it's so perfect)
3. Metronomy (actually, probably up there as my favourite of the weekend - everything was utterly perfect, so dancey and fun for a 2pm slot in the blazing sun, with probably the best crowd we were in all festival.  Hard to pick a favourite, but Radio Ladio was ace, as was The Bay and The Look)
4. Santigold (so much fun, she told the crowd off for taking photos rather than enjoying themselves, so I would have loved her even if she hadn't done Hold The Line or been generally great.  Also for Enrique, the dancer, who loved it more than anyone else.
5. The Weeknd (for the last three tunes, basically, which were phenomenal, and also High for This, although the volume was problematic)
6. Tuneyards (I can't face the capitalization but she was ace)
7. The Rapture (would have been higher if we'd caught more of the gig, but what we saw was fantastic, particularly as we caught House of Jealous Lovers, How Deep Is Your Love?, and Get Myself Into It)
8. Radiohead (utterly beautiful, but I was tired and it wasn't convincing any non-converts - but Exit Music (for a Film) was gorgeous, Karma Police was great, as was 15 Steps, although I was sad to miss out on Lucky, which the first Coachella weekend got, but at least they mixed up the sets)
9. SBTRKT (mucho bopping, Pharoahs was great, although shame no Jessie Ware or Living Like I Do, given that Sampha was there - what a waste)
10. (Joint) Flying Lotus (noodly and great) and Girl Talk (highly silly but everyone was dancing away, it was ace).

Mulling It Over

We just got back from several days in California, including a jaunt to Coachella, the music festival in the middle of the desert.  We danced in the sun with the surrounding mountains framing the revelry.  I've got many mind grapes to develop regarding the performances and, possibly more significantly in my mind, the festival-goers and how we view and listen to concerts.  But mostly, for the next couple of days in my mind I'll be reliving the fun and bemoaning the temperature drop from the trip back east.

Monthly Challenge: Still Foolish

I have completed two weeks of the 100 Push Ups challenge I set myself on April 1.

Everything hurts today. But that's probably a combo of quite a lot of walking round Storm King on Saturday - a lovely art sculpture park up the western bank of the Hudson, near West Point and opposite Beacon on the eastern bank - two football matches yesterday (in which I - shamefully - lost my temper quite badly, having been much calmer of late, picked up nasty scrapes my elbow and shoulder from being knocked over and more than a few bruises from being kicked), and then did my push ups for Week 2, Day 3 after a corona and many, many fried pickles. Unsurprisingly, doing over 50 push ups (eek!) was hard with all that batter and creamy dressing - so good - in my belly. And then I went boxing this morning.

So I'm more than a little achy and tired. And for various reasons I'm not going to be able to go for the rest of the week, so somehow decided going tomorrow as well would be the best way to get my two lessons in this week. Foolish indeed.