Earth Hour 2008

The Bobs with Bob Malone at the Triple Door (again!)

I greatly enjoyed seeing The Bobs with Bob Malone at the Triple Door again. My favorites are still Get Your Monkey Off My Dog (from their newest album by the same name), Kill Your Television (the bumpersticker song), and of course, their unbelievable a capella (duh!) rendition of White Room originally by Cream!

The Bobs are unique, hilarious and extremely entertaining...a polished act with an endearing quirkiness and stunning proficiency...truly in a league of their own...haunting vocals that spark the imagination...Whether they're emulating an instrument or actually singing real words, this act consistently provokes responses ranging from laughter to awestruck shock.... The Bobs are a must-see for anyone who likes their fancy tickled...a cross between a phenomenal choral group and an improv comedy troupe...

-Music Connection, Los Angeles

Aaja Nachle - finally!

Boom Noodle is a yummy find in Capitol Hill

Today we had a simple but delicious early dinner at Boom Noodle in Seattle's Capitol Hill. I still miss New York's Republic, still one of my favorite fun places to drop in for a quick meal, but I could get used to Boom Noodle. It's a fun, bright and bustling place with rows of long tables for communal dining where noodles are served in big bowls with a notched spoon for resting on the bowl's edge.

We tried two dishes from the small plates selection: delicious chilled cubes of sesame-dressed tofu showered in shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, green onions and dried wakame seaweed, and the panko-crusted pork tenderloin medallions served with a lightly dressed, simple but delicious mizuna salad, steamed rice and tangy Japanese curry dipping sauce. We couldn't pass up the noodle soups and finally decided on the shio ramen with chicken confit, bay scallops and pork and chicken broth, and the Tokyo ramen with braised pork for our entrees. And of course, for dessert a Mochi trio (described by one food critic as "eyes rolling back in head" dessert) - chocolate with passionfruit crystal, vanilla with milk chocolate hazelnut krackel, and green tea with blueberry-cardamom sauce - a perfect ending to a simple and delicious meal! Suffice it to say that another visit is definitely in our future.

The Imaginary Invalid
Comedy by Molière, adapted by Constance Congdon
at Seattle Repertory Theatre: Bagley Wright Theatre

Molière's zany satire on the world of medicine — the questionable cures and the costs — is a swirl of romantic triangles, double entendres and mistaken identities. To quell his growing pile of medical bills, Monsieur Argan, a chronic hypochondriac, will go to any length to marry his daughter off to a doctor. Of course, his daughter has other ideas. Constance Congdon gives this Molière classic is a full dose of her own brand of pure hilarity. (The Seattle Repertory Theatre)

Incredible India

India is amazing… in every way. A diamond in the rough, revealing her charms on her own terms… Life at once seems fast paced and leisurely slow and one often has to pause, allow for the culture shock to pass then look past the ever moving sea of humanity and gently brush off the dust that seems to settle on everything, in order to truly see her.

The traffic is an experience onto itself. What at first feels like an absolute mess bordering on madness soon reveals itself to be a delicate process and a perfectly reasonable way of doing things given the circumstances. At times road signs and traffic laws are taken as mere suggestions, at others they are completely ignored and any combination of different motor vehicles – from bikes and rickshaws to automobiles and lorries – that covers the road and keeps the traffic flowing is acceptable, two lanes instantly become four lanes and pedestrians weave in and out of traffic regardless of whether one is in a little alleyway or on an interstate highway.

Being in the developing world really makes one take notice of all the modern conveniences we in the West consider to be basic necessities and often take for granted – readily available safe drinking water directly from the tap, uninterrupted supply of electricity and access to municipal water, sewer and garbage facilities. Insurmountable differences between the haves and the have-nots quickly become apparent as does the night-and-day difference between urban and rural areas. At times the levels of poverty are beyond what one can imagine – it's one thing to read about it or see it on TV and completely another to be come face to face with it. But you quickly realize that poverty is not a synonym for misery as so many in the West tend to assume. Most of India's population is young, in pursuit of high education, and there seems to be a feeling of great promise for the not so distant future -- signs of great change and rapid development are all around.

There is an incredible ethnic and religious diversity and richness of tradition. Muezzin's melodious call to prayer in the distance made for a wonderful wake up call as the days were dawning and the beauty and elegance of Mughal architecture are truly amazing! Indeed, whether built of red sandstone or marble, monumental Mughal buildings would awe us again and again with their perfect symmetry, exalted grandeur and ethereal grace, with seemingly endless and always surprising combinations of pietra dura and intricate geometric designs, decorative jaalis and gilded pillars, cusped arches and charming chaatris, set among sprawling gardens and fountains. Forts, palaces, royal residences and courtyards, beautiful garden tombs and mosques - countless examples of delightful mingling of Hindu and Islamic styles, blending the sensuous beauty of temple sculpture with the austere grandeur of Islamic architecture.

But the photos speak for themselves.