All posts filed under: Random DJB Thoughts

This is where I put anything that is not easily categorized…

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The Edge of the American West is one of those nice finds on the Internet.  As we head into the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, I found their post on Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. (Again) to be worth sharing. In the post, the writer Ari focuses on a King speech entitled The Other America that Dr. King gave weeks before his death.  Ari writes: By this time in his life, though, King openly expressed sympathy for those who embraced other means, for those who would not turn the other cheek: But at the same time, it is as necessary for me to be as vigorous in condemning the conditions which cause persons to feel that they must engage in riotous activities as it is for me to condemn riots. I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the …

The Last Eight Years…Mapping Life Under Bush

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The Atlantic online magazine has this fascinating look at America in the Bush years, all presented in a map filled with graphics and stats.  Did you know: There were 298 billionaires in 2000.  The number grew to 454 by 2008. 28 out of 50 states had obesity rates below 20% in 2000.  By 2008, the number dropped to 1 state in 50. Gross federal debt as a percentage of GDP was 58% in 2000; 67.5% by 2008. And the list goes on and on.  It makes for a fascinating look at stats and changes both important and silly…and you’re free to interpret it as you see fit.  As the President gave his exit interview to the press corps today, you may find this of interest. More to come… DJB

Inauguration Planning – Sites to See Off the Mall

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Well, our little place on earth is getting pretty excited about the next ten days.  Washington is making plans to keep Virginians from coming into the city.  (I would have thought they’d be treated better since they actually voted for Obama, going blue for the first time since Jamestown was founded, or so it seems.)   While Candice and I will be passing each other in the airport on the way to and from town, the children are busy making their plans.  Claire has a good friend on Capitol Hill, so she’s already set for a sleepover and a morning hike to the mall.   Andrew is vacillating between hiking to the mall with friends and watching it all in the comfort of the restored AFI Theatre on the big screen.   I just hope I can see the actual ceremony before I have to head out of town. But for those looking for something to do in Washington during the inaugural week, my organization, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has put together a great list of …

Few Things Beat a Car Radio

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I love listening to music late at night when driving on a country road.   There’s a warmth that’s hard to capture in other settings.  You feel connected to the world, but the distractions are minimal and the darkness enfolds the car as if in a cocoon.  Tonight I had teenager taxi duty after an especially late party, so I found myself driving alone through the only stretch of road that could remotely be considered country on my route.  Rock Creek Park is an oasis of nature in the midst of the city.  It is also one of Washington’s treasures, and tonight I was crossing through in a drizzle, with only the threat of wandering deer to worry me. Another great Washington treasure is Mary Cliff’s Traditions, a long-running folk-music show on public radio.   Since Mary switched stations a few years ago, she comes on later and I don’t have the chance to hear her as often.  But tonight I was tuned in, and the sound of Jack Williams playing Dylan’s Forever Young came through during a set to  …

Wayne Henderson, John Monteleone and more in Fretboard Journal

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The Winter 2009 issue of The Fretboard Journal arrived in my mailbox yesterday, which means that I’ve been reading cover-to-cover for the last 24 hours.  As always there are articles about some of my favorite people in the music business.  But in every issue I’m also introduced to new musicians and new guitars.  What a great magazine! This issue has articles on several terrific players, including jazz legend Jim Hall and a tribute to the late country pioneer Jerry Reed.   There’s an extended article celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, where you can learn how dobro god Jerry Douglas got one of his nicknames (and its not “Flux”).  But the articles on two luthiers – John Monteleone and Wayne Henderson – are my favorites in the current issue.  I was taken by the beauty of Monteleone’s instruments many years ago after David Grisman featured a Monteleone mandolin on the album cover of Quintet ’80.  John Monteleone’s archtop guitars are beautiful and innovative.  (The Fretboard Journal is known for publishing beautiful pictures of guitar eye …

Baseball, Blues, and Bluegrass – Do Christmas Gifts Get Any Better?

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In the midst of a strong recession, everyone expected downsizing in holiday gift giving.  But the generosity of family and friends showed me that downsizing can still result in gifts that touch the heart. My colleague Dolores shares my passion for baseball, so her gift of Obsessed with Baseball was perfect.   This is Jeopardy for the baseball set…2500 questions that the electronic widget embedded in the book asks you to answer.  For instance – to take a random example – Question 54:  Who led the majors in RBIs in 2006?  A.  David Ortiz, B. Albert Pujols,  C. Ryan Howard, or D. Lance Berkman.  If you typed in “C” for Ryan Howard, the widget tells you “correct” and you are 1 for 1 or 100% correct.  It is easy to spend all day answering questions about Heavy Hitters, Hall of Fame, The Playoffs, and more. Want to try another one?  Question 1505:  Name the future big-league manager who hit 30 or more home runs 11 times in his 21 season playing career.  A.  Gil Hodges, B. Frank Robinson, C. …

A Derby Winner in Life

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Editor’s Note:  My wife Candice wrote and delivered the following eulogy for her father at his funeral at the Church of the Resurrection of Our Lord in Dania Beach, Florida on December 30, 2008. My father – Andrew Charles Colando, Sr. – was born in 1922 in Lodi, NJ to Joseph and Esther Colando.  Pop was the middle son, with Steve his older brother and Joe his younger one.  He was named Andrew after his maternal grandfather as was customary for a second son in an Italian family.  His parents were hard working and he carried with him a love and respect for them throughout his life. While in high school Pop began to race trotters at Yonker’s Raceway in New York on the weekends and his love affair with horseracing began.  He moved on to thoroughbred racing when his father bought some race horses. In 1950 he married Irene Holsey and his 58-year love affair with my mother began.  A few years later they moved their young family to Florida seeking a warmer climate, …

The Last Sunday in the Year…A Ritual

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In our household (even transplanted to South Florida) there’s a ritual that is as sure as opening presents on Christmas Day:  Andrew and I will read, laugh loudly, and quote liberally for the rest of the day from Dave Barry’s Year in Review.   This ritual drives Claire and Candice up the wall.  Claire just stormed away from the breakfast table as Andrew read, In non-economic news, a Las Vegas jury convicts O.J. Simpson on 12 counts of being an unbelievable idiot.  He faces more than 60 years in jail, which could end his relentless quest to find the killer of the people he stabbed to death in 1994. “Stop it,” she cries.  “Dad’s already read it and I don’t care!” but he continues on with, Meanwhile John McCain, still searching for the perfect running mate, tells his top aides in a conference call that he wants “someone who is capable of filling my shoes.”  Unfortunately, he is speaking into the wrong end of his cellular phone, and his aides think he said “someone who is …

A full life

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My father-in-law, Dr. Andrew Colando, passed away last evening.  All members of his immediate family were with him on the day he died, and he went peacefully after a short illness. His obituary details the key milestones of his life:  a proud graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine; a founding board member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners; a 71-year association with the horse racing business as veterinarian, breeder, trainer, and owner.  He began racing trotters at Yonkers Raceway on the weekends while still in high school and trained Uncle Miltie among other horses in his father’s stable before beginning his equine veterinary practice. I first met Dr. Colando after he retired from his practice and had returned to the training he loved with his own stable of horses.  Being the first in-law in a New Jersey Italian-Irish family was full of new experiences for a Southern-bred fellow.   I didn’t have the years of experience with family banter that made the dinner table discussions so exciting.  The closest I’d been …

Hope for Passenger Trains?

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I love riding trains.  On my business trips between Washington and New York, the train is always my preferred mode of transportation.   So I’m glad to see the pundits like Neal Peirce commenting on the train ride that Obama and Biden are taking to Washington for the Inauguration as a positive metaphor for passenger rail. Rail enthusiasts, for decades spurned by presidents of both parties, were elated by the news that Barack Obama will travel to Washington for his inauguration by train from Philadelphia. “The symbolism is magnificent and the message very positive for all of us who for so many years have labored to create a more balanced American transportation system,” said James RePass, president-founder of the National Corridors Initiative that’s pressed since 1989 for upgraded rail passenger service in America. Rail service is wonderful.  Compared to air travel, getting on a train is about a simple as stepping in  your car.  On a train you can plug in a laptop and work uninterrupted and with sufficient space.   From the first second to the …