Human Chain For Peace

This is how I spent the afternoon.

brunch with Melody Gardot and her band

It seems that a theme in my life for this month is live music performances. B and I attended a lovely brunch + concert event today at World Cafe Live. The brunch was amazing, and the concert was just as lovely as I'd expected.

Melody Gardot is another one of my favorite local music artists. Critics have compared her to Norah Jones, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone, and I would have to agree. You can sample some of her music here:
http://www.myspace.com/melody
http://www.melodygardot.com

I took some photos for the blog. The images are blurry because I opted not to use the flash, not only because I didn't want to disturb the performers, but also because Melody has extra sensitivity to light and sound, as a result of being hit by a car while riding her bicycle in Philly a few years ago. That's why she's wearing sunglasses. She also sometimes has to wear earplugs while performing, and she occasionally still walks with a cane.




After the performance, she signed my copy of her CD.
:-)

cardiopulmonary resuscitation

I may not be able to spell it correctly without a Google search, but I'm officially trained in how to do it. B and I took a day-long CPR/AED/basic first aid class on Friday. AED stands for automatic external defibrillation. So we learned how to use those, too - pretty cool.

I took a CPR/basic first aid class at Scripps 7(?) years ago, but I had forgotten almost all of it. So I am glad that I am once again prepared to use these skills should the need arise...
but I sincerely hope that the need never, ever arises.

So I walked by this sculpture...

...and I thought it was so beautiful that I should take a picture.

I have no idea what it's called or who created it. I think it's outside one of those countless bank buildings. I was walking home from a rendez-vous at Starbucks with my ASL practice partner.

IKE perfomance at Grape Street!

The photo is a bit fuzzy because I didn't want to be rude and use a flash.

B and I attended a concert on Friday at a small club-like venue in Manayunk. IKE is a local Philadephia band that I have come to admire very much, after first seeing a solo performance by lead singer John Faye at the Philly Song Shuffle in September 2006. I have two of their CDs in the costume shop, and even my students enjoy their music. I occasionally hear some of my students singing the lyrics of one of our favorite IKE songs as they go about their daily business, both in and out of the shop:
"Baby, do you wanna take a ride,
Wanna take a ride,
Into Philadelphia?"
It has become a pop culture reference in the mini-culture that is the costume shop.

Needless to say, the concert was AWESOME. If you want to check out their music, you can listen to a few of their songs here: http://www.myspace.com/ike

I somehow skipped that whole concert-going phase that often happens in one's early 20s, when you're old enough to get into 21-and-over venues without a fake ID, but still young enough that your social life hasn't been taken over by your job, kids, and a mortgage. Perhaps this is because it was only within the last year that Philly bars and restaurants became smoke-free, so I wasn't able to enjoy performances at these types of venues until recently. I felt like a college kid all over again, singing my heart out with one of my favorite Philly bands.

Go, IKE!

français dans les arbres

For all you non-French speakers, that means "French in the trees."

On the last Sunday in September, I participated in an outdoor adventure with the Philadelphia French language meet-up group. Called a "canopy tour," this activity involved moving from tree to tree through the forest on a local mountain, using various means such as zip lines, rope bridges, and what amounted to walking across a tightrope. It was quite safe, as we were always attached to an overhead cable via climbing harnesses, but some of the tightrope/bridge crossings put my stomach in knots.

Here we are geared up for our training session before heading up the mountain (I'm the one in pink):These were only the people in the "advanced" group. There were also two other groups on the easier courses. That's right, I signed up for the hardest course. I thought that it would be a good way to cure myself of my fear of heights. But actually, it taught me that the best way to deal with this fear is to look straight ahead, not down, and to maintain eye contact with the adventure guide or some other kind-hearted human being if possible. I never freaked out or screamed. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for some of my fellow adventurers. Some of the screaming got to be rather annoying.

Since I was one of the few people who brought along a camera, I snapped some great photos of other groupmembers looking like adventurers, but the only action shot I have been able to secure of myself is this close-up of my rear end...I'm just happy to have proof that I did it.

Here are some more impressive shots that I took of my fellow adventurers:
It was an interesting day. I ended up with some nasty rashes on the sides of my belly, due to the chafing of the harness. I did get to speak some French, and I can certainly check one more item off my mental list of things I have never tried before. But it's probably not something I'd bother doing again unless in the company of family and friends I know well, so that we could enjoy laughing at one another.

the Wanamaker organ

A few Fridays ago, on September 21, I was responsible for planning the details of a date with B. He knew we were doing something, but he didn't know what.

First, we went to the Philadelphia Runner store, so that I could have my stride and footstrike analyzed, for the purpose of purchasing proper running shoes. Hey, shopping can be part of a date, right?

I told him that after buying my shoes, we were going to attend a free concert a few blocks from the store. So we left the store and headed to the concert "venue." As we were passing the entry to the Macy's department store, which is located in a very old building called Wanamaker's (named after the original Wanamaker's department store), I told him that we were going to cut through the Macy's lobby. This really is something that I do if it's raining, or very hot or cold out, because the store takes up a square block. You can walk straight through from one end the other, pausing to try on shoes if you prefer (as I often find myself doing). Never mind that the weather was lovely that day. Almost mid-way through the building, B commented on the funeral music that seemed to be coming from the ceiling. A few steps later, I stopped, turned to him, and said: "We're here!"

So we stayed and enjoyed the rest of the concert. B was pretty impressed. And not all the pieces sounded like funeral music. On occasion, I found myself forgetting to breathe - in a good way.

The Wanamaker organ is a remarkable instrument. It is the largest operational pipe organ in the world. It consists of 28,541 pipes stategically placed throughout five floors of the seven-story building. The largest pipe is over 32 feet long, and wide enough that a Shetland pony was once posed inside it for publicity photos. The smallest is just 1/4 inch long.You can see the most ornately-decorated pipes in this and the previous photo, but there are many more pipes on the other three sides of the gallery, as well. I could only fit three floors into this picture. Many of the pipes aren't actually visible to shoppers/audience. I love that there's a mannequin getting in the way in this photo... well, it is a department store, after all.

This is the gigantic organ console. The man who is playing it, Peter Richard Conte if my research is correct, has been the Wanamaker's chief organist since 1989. He is only the fourth chief organist since the Wanamaker's (and eventually Hecht's, Strawbrige's, May Company's, Lord & Taylor's, etc) concerts began in 1911. Despite the changes of ownership, the organ has remained a major feature of whatever deparment store happened to occupy the building at the time.After the concert, you're allowed to go into the area where the console is located, to see it up close and meet the organist. We did so, and were awestruck at how many buttons, pedals, etc there were. The photo doesn't do a good job of showing how complicated it is. The console alone weighs 2.5 tons.

Here are some other cool facts that I have found regarding the Wanamaker building and/or organ:
-In 1865, Wanamaker's became the first store to have a guaranteed refund policy. My mom probably really appreciates them for starting that tradition.
-In 1916, new store medical offices opened with free care to employees.
-Thirteen freight cars were required to ship the entire organ from St. Louis in 1909, where it had been prominently featured at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. At the time, it consisted of just over over 10,000 pipes.
-After the organ was installed in Wanamaker's department store, the sound was soon determined to be insufficient to fill the Wanamaker building's huge court, and so between 1911 and 1930, over 18,000 pipes were added.

The organ is played for two 30-45 minute concerts every day of the week except Sundays. So, the next time you're in Philly (especially if you just happen to be visiting yours truly), you should check it out. I would love to take you there, and it's within easy walking distance of our apartment. So easy, in fact, that I'm shocked that I failed to discover this treasure sooner. I plan to make a point, from now on, of stopping in to listen anytime I'm near Macy's at a time when a performance could be in progress. I walk by the building at least a few times a week, on average, so I hope to have many opportunities to enjoy it in the future.

Have I just admitted to having some Philly pride? Maybe, but don't expect me to start talking about how our sports teams are doing.

After the concert, we went home and made fajitas together, then watched a couple of episodes of Six Feet Under, courtesy of Netflix. But the organ was definitely the highlight of the evening.

And regarding the running shoes: my feet and knees are very appreciative. It really does seem to be making a difference. I always assumed the joint pain was normal and to be expected. Apparently not so!

the 8-hour tart experiment

This was my first attempt at a Martha Stewart recipe. It took about 8 hours to make, over the course of a Saturday and Sunday back in mid-September. The presentation leaves something to be desired, but I think it's pretty. Would anyone like to buy a white rectangular cake platter for use under my future tarts?

First, I chopped up three large 70% cacao dark chocolate bars, then brought two cups of heavy whipping cream to a near boil, then poured the cream onto the chocolate through a seive containing ground-up espresso beans, then stirred it all together.Saturated fat + chocolate + more saturated fat = YUM! Let it cool to room temperature, whip it until it forms stiff peaks, and you've got what Martha's recipe calls ganache.

Here's the tart shell, baked and cooled, and ready for topping:

Here I am applying the ganache:This was my first time using a pastry bag. The white layer in the middle is mascarpone cheese.

The recipe made far more dough and ganache than was needed, so I also made some baby tarts.

My first bite of the finished product:

Baby tarticide::-(
Not to worry - we still ate them.
:-)

So, given that it took 8 hours to make this my first time, would I do it again? Absolutely.

Bryan's birthday

B's buddy Bryan turned 28 last month.The bartender at Doobie's gave him a slice of pumpkin pie with a fat "28" candle in it - very classy.

Bryan reminds me of my little brother, both in appearance and in mannerisms (not to mention the similar names), but I'm sure he hates it when I tell him that.

Here's Nick, one of B's other buddies:I think he's adorable, and he's an all-around nice guy, a gentleman. Sorry, Ladies, he has a girlfriend - otherwise, I'd introduce you.

16 Fringe shows in 15 days!

For the third year in a row, I spent the first couple weeks of September seeing many Philly Fringe and Live Arts Festival productions. I broke my record this year, seeing 16 productions over the course of the 15 days of the Festival. I didn't think to start saving my tickets until the last day, September 15th, when I finished the Festival with a bang by seeing 4 shows in one day. All 16 tickets would have made for a much cooler photograph.

Of the 16 shows I saw, I would say that 3 were excellent, 5 were pretty good, 4 were just okay, and only 4 were lousy. And of those four, only one was so bad that I walked out before it was over - that's not a bad record for for 16 Fringe/Live Arts shows!