Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Ancient Chinese Secret No More

As often as Tim goes to Starbucks, you'd sooner expect him to know more about Chai Tea than he would about Tai Chi. Well, dear reader, that's no longer the case now that Tim and I have graduated from our 8-week course in Tai Chi (with perfect attendance to boot).

Our T'ai Chi Chih class warms up. (05/21/08)
Our T'ai Chi Chih class warms up. (05/21/08)

Inspired by our pals Amy and Jon, we signed up for a Wednesday-evening Tai Chi class at nearby Grijalva Park in Orange. T'ai Chi Chih, as it's officially called, consists of 19 stand-alone movements and one pose. The series of movements is designed to promote balance, flexibility and mental clarity (and Heaven knows we can use more mental clarity).

James and Tim with Al, their T'ai Chi Chih instructor. (05/21/08)
James and Tim with Al, their T'ai Chi Chih instructor. (05/21/08)

And based on the condition of our teacher, Al Talberg, it works! The guy is literally 80 years old and has as much energy as Tim and I put together (and probably more when you consider that Al also teaches a walking course). Not only was the class informative, it was fun too. So next time you need someone to play the "bass drum," "work the pulley," or "pull taffy," give us a holla!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

The Moonlight Rollerway Jubilee

Roller skating rocks. Even if you're terrible at it like me, there's something incredibly fun about strapping on those well-worn rented skates and risking life and limb on the thickly-varnished skating rink floor. So when we learned our favorite histo-tainer and Kodachrome King, Charles Phoenix, was planning an entire night of activities surrounding this fading pastime, we were all over him like a bad suit!

Jon, Tim and Amy at Glendale's Moonlight Rollerway. (05/17/2008)
Jon, Tim and Amy at Glendale's Moonlight Rollerway. (05/17/2008)

The event — dubbed the Moonlight Rollerway Jubilee — was a roller skating show spectacular featuring: A Charles Phoenix retro slide show celebrating the history of roller skating; a live Hammond organ performance by roller rink organist Dominic Cangilosi; A live skating show featuring a cast of more than 60 costumed skating performers; and an after show all-skate party. And did I mention free ice-cream and punch?

The Moonlight Rollerway's rules and dress code. (05/17/2008)
The Moonlight Rollerway's rules and dress code. (05/17/2008)

The event was held at the Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale. Even though I hadn't been there before, walking up to the door instantly brought back memories of elementary school birthday parties at the Golden Skate in San Ramon where I grew up. My little sister Anna, age 8, still attends birthday parties there (here's a blog post about my first time taking her there).

The world's greatest roller rink organist, Dominic Cangelosi. (05/17/2008)
The world's greatest roller rink organist, Dominic Cangelosi. (05/17/2008)

We arrived a few minutes before the show, quickly grabbing our seats for the slide show. While we waited for the slides to start, we were treated to the musical stylings of Dominic Cangilosi, a roller-rink organist who has held that profession since the late 1940s (apparently he's the only organist to be inducted into the Roller Skating Hall of Fame).

Charles Phoenix whizzes by in his gold lamé suit. (05/17/2008)
Charles Phoenix whizzes by in his gold lamé suit. (05/17/2008)

It was the perfect appetizer for the roller-skating themed slide show. Like previous Charles Phoenix slide shows, this one was educational and hilarious at the same time. I was particularly fascinated by a photo of a now-demolished skating rink in Santa Ana called Skate Ranch. According to Phoenix, it was Southern California's most stylized rink, looking like a big red barn (it has been said they even had live chickens wandering the grounds).

A skating champion and her seaman. (05/17/2008)
A skating champion and her seaman. (05/17/2008)

The highlight of the slide show were photos from a 1940 wedding where the entire wedding party — including all 18 bridesmaids and groomsmen — was on roller skates (the bride and groom had met at a skating rink). Imagine our surprise when Phoenix told us that the bride in the photo was in the audience! Gramma Cookie Gantz, as she's now known, stood up and waved to the wildly-applauding audience. What a great moment.

Grandma Cookie Gantz and Charles Phoenix. (05/17/2008)
Grandma Cookie Gantz and Charles Phoenix. (05/17/2008)

After a break for sugary snack bar treats, the show continued with amazing performances by the Moonlight Rollerway's reigning United States champion skating performers, Team In Sinc, and other skating stars. For the next hour plus, we were dazzled as the performers took us through every major decade of skating's golden era, from the 1940s to the 1970s.

James and Charles Phoenix. (05/17/2008)
James and Charles Phoenix. (05/17/2008)

The performances, especially those by the older teenage troup, were stunning. They were not only well choreographed, but also fully costumed. No shortcuts for these guys. I tried to get some photos of the event, but they didn't come out so hot. But I did manage to get a few good video clips.


Disco Inferno on Skates. (05/17/2008)


The evening culminated with the all-skate party. Tim and Amy were the definite stars of the night, making several rounds around the rink. Meanwhile, Jon and I each made it around once. But it was enough to satisfy our skating fix for the near future.

So as Charles Phoenix would say, here's to roller skating and YOU!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Jerry Herman: Up Close & Personal

You can't be a showtune aficionado and not know the name Jerry Herman. As composer and lyricist of such musicals as Hello Dolly, Mame, La Cage aux Folles, and a string of others, he is a musical theatre giant. Naturally, I was delighted to have a chance to see this living legend in person.

Jerry Herman: Up Close & Personal. (05/10/2008)
Jerry Herman: Up Close & Personal. (05/10/2008)

Held in Orange County's Renée & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the event — Jerry Herman: Up Close and Personal — was equal parts songwriting workshop and performance. Jerry Herman was interviewed on stage by Michael Kerker, vice president of ASCAP. Topics included everything from how he got his start to his songwriting process. Between each interview segment, we'd hear songs performed by folks like Jason Graae, Ron Raines and the amazing Debbie Shapiro Gravitte.

The show was at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. (04/22/07)
The show was at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. (04/22/07)

I thought I knew a lot about Jerry Herman before, yet I still learned so much. I found it interesting that he writes music and lyrics simultaneously, never writing one element first, then applying the other. I also loved the story about how Jerry Herman's mother, seeing his talent, arranged an interview for her young son to meet another musical theatre legend, Frank Loesser (Guys & Dolls anyone?).

Jerry Herman and Carol Channing as Dolly.
Jerry Herman and Carol Channing as Dolly.

Frank Loesser would grow to become Jerry Herman's mentor. To this day, Jerry Herman thinks of songs in the way Frank Loesser did: As a train, complete with an engine, a middle section, and most importantly, a caboose. The caboose, Jerry Herman said, could be summed up with a parting line. He cited as an aexample the final line in the song "I Won't Send Roses." Rather than ending on the words, "I won't send roses," Jerry Herman added "... and roses suit you so."

A not-so-recent headshot of the great Jerry Herman.
A not-so-recent headshot of the great Jerry Herman.

My favorite Q&A segment discussed how so many Jerry Herman songs have moved on to have lives of their own, beyond the scope of the musical they were written for. Think of classic songs such as "Hello, Dolly," "If He Walked Into My Life," "I Am What I Am," "The Best of Times is Now," and many others. Despite being written for a specific character at a specific time in a specific musical, these songs have become classics in their own right.

Angela Lansbury, Jerry Herman and Carol Channing.
Angela Lansbury, Jerry Herman and Carol Channing.

Jerry Herman seems just as surprised at this fact as anyone. He remembers the first time he heard a recording of one of his songs on the radio, a cover of "Shalom" by Eddie Fisher (Jerry was in the supermarket the first time he heard it). "Hello Dolly," for example, was popularized when Louis Armstrong recorded a jazz version. "If He Walked Into My Life," was made most famous when Eydie Gorme covered it as a torch song.

Jerry Herman and Lucille Ball.
Jerry Herman and Lucille Ball.

Jerry Herman also discussed how when they were casting Mame, no one at first wanted to cast Angela Lansbury, who as we all know, became legendary in the role. Having just finished filming the cold war political thriller The Manchurian Candidate, Lansbury was the furthest thing the producers had in mind for the role of Mame. But Jerry Herman championed her, and eventually got his way (much to the delight of generations of musical theatre fans).

Jerry Herman and Bernadette Peters.
Jerry Herman and Bernadette Peters.

My only complaint was that the show was too short! I loved all the Q&A, but I also wanted to hear more of the songs, especially by the amazing Debbie Gravitte. But I was glad to hear her stirring renditions of "Wherever He Ain't" from Mack and Mabel and my favorite Herman ballad, "If He Walked Into My Life," from Mame.

A more recent photo of Jerry Herman.
A more recent photo of Jerry Herman.

They closed the night when all three performers joined Jerry Herman on piano for a rousing rendition of the La Cage aux Folles hit, "The Best of Times is Now." For the encore, they singers closed the night when they sang "Hello Dolly," or more to the point, "Hello Jerry." And when they sang the lyric, "Jerry don't ever go away," I couldn't agree more.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Cinco de Mayo Weekend on California's Gold Coast

Despite our pals Jason and Jarrod moving more than 100 miles north, we've actually managed to see them quite a bit actually. The only bummer for Tim is that every time we've visited, we've never had any time to shop at the nearby Camarillo outlet. So this past weekend, we planned a trip to see J&J and shop.

The historic Santa Barbara County Courthouse. (05/03/2008)
The historic Santa Barbara County Courthouse. (05/03/2008)

After some fountain shopping for our landscaping project, we headed up to Ventura. Shortly after our arrival, we hopped into Jason's car for a quick jaunt to Santa Barbara, another hour north of Ventura. We had been to Santa Barbara before, but never really explored it to its full potential.

Northeastern view of Santa Barbara. (05/03/2008)
Northeastern view of Santa Barbara. (05/03/2008)

The coolest place we went to was the old Santa Barbara County Courthouse. Built in 1929 to replace the one destroyed in the 1925 earthquake, the courthouse is not just a California Registered Historical Landmark. It's also a National Historic Landmark — that's national significance, everyone. National! :)

James & Tim at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. (05/03/2008)
James & Tim at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. (05/03/2008)

This attraction — free to the public, incidentally — is definitely on the must see list. Just wandering the elaborately decorated Spanish-style hallways is amazing enough, but the best thing about this building requires an elevator trip to the observation deck on the main tower.

Jason & Jarrod two-fisting it in downtown Santa Barbara. (05/03/2008)
Jason & Jarrod two-fisting it in downtown Santa Barbara. (05/03/2008)

From the top you can see virtually every square mile of Santa Barbara and the surrounding area, including the ocean a couple of miles away. It was simply gorgeous! How I hadn't been here before, or even really heard of it, is beyond me.

James & Tim live it up in downtown Santa Barbara. (05/03/2008)
James & Tim live it up in downtown Santa Barbara. (05/03/2008)

After the exhausting elevator ride up and down, we were in the need of replenishment in the form of Margaritas and appetizers. So we headed down State St. to a little Mexican restaurant that was having happy hour. The appetizers were half-price, and the drinks were two-for-one. So what did we do? We ordered two drinks a piece.

Jason picks out some cascarones. (05/03/2008)
Jason picks out some cascarones. (05/03/2008)

That held us over until we had dinner back in Ventura. For that gastronimical experience, Jarrod and Jason took us to the awesomely-retro Main St. Restaurant and Steakhouse. When I say awesomely-retro, I don't mean it was made to look retro. It just is retro.

A wide selection of cascarones — confetti-filled egg shells. (05/03/2008)
A wide selection of cascarones — confetti-filled egg shells. (05/03/2008)

Built back in the 1950s, this restaurant hadn't been remodeled since the early '70s, as evidenced by the heavy brown and rust tones. It was fabulous! And it's also famous, having been used as a filming location for the Julia Roberts hit, Erin Brokovich. (In fact in the scene that was filmed here, the real-life Erin Brokovich played the waitress who served Julia Robert's take on Erin Brokovich).

Ventura's Main St. Steakhouse. (05/03/2008)
Ventura's Main St. Steakhouse. (05/03/2008)

Lots of fun. After a fantastic breakfast of oatmeal raisin pancakes, Tim and I headed off to Camarillo for the much anticipated shopping. As always happens with us, I ended up buying a lot more stuff than Tim (the idea was to restock Tim's closet).

Inside the awesomely dated Main St. Steakhouse (05/03/2008)
Inside the awesomely dated Main St. Steakhouse (05/03/2008)

Afterward, we headed back to Ventura to meet the guys for the special Cinco de Mayo beer bust at Paddy's. Jason, one of the organizers of the event, had been cooking six pounds of carnitas for the taco bar, and after smelling them all morning, I was destined to have some. And just as I had imagined from the smell alone, they were amazing.

Jason appropriately dressed for the Cinco de Mayo beer bust. (05/04/2008)
Jason appropriately dressed for the Cinco de Mayo beer bust. (05/04/2008)

So was the entire weekend actually. Thanks Jarrod and Jason for hosting us yet again. :)