Delta Rae and the art of the show

I've noted in a couple of earlier posts how much I like the music of Delta Rae, a band that started out here and that is on the verge of going very big indeed.  I'd never seen them live, however, so I was psyched Thursday night when I went to the Cat's Cradle to see them perform to a sold-out house.

From the moment the six band members took the show, it was clear that this was a very tight, very polished group.  With four different lead singers, Delta Rae is able to maintain a very high energy level from song to song to song.  That energy was contagious, and the whole crowd felt it.  The band played a lot of songs we all knew, as well as some new ones.  They were focused and completely in control the whole time.

They saved one of my favorite songs, "Dance In the Graveyards" for the very end.  I've featured it before, but it's worth putting it here again.



To my surprise, as I was listening to them sing this one, I thought of my mom and realized that I had never danced with her.  Even though I don't like to dance, I know she did, and now I wish that once, just once, I had found an excuse to waltz with her.  I think she would have liked that. 

The marketing of UFC women fighters

is the topic of a very good piece over at The Toast.  Check it out.

Of course, I am biased about this particular piece, because Sarah wrote it. 

Having said that, I would have found this one interesting even if I'd never heard of the author.  The very real differences in the approaches the UFC takes to marketing its female and male fighters serve as reminders of how much gender stereotypes permeate every corner of our culture. 

As I said, check it out. 

A food porn moment

Check out this beautiful dish (click on the photo to see a larger version). 

The menu at Portland's Ava Genes, where I ate this, describes it as "Citrus, dates, almonds, chiles, whipped ricotta".  In the middle of winter, on a cold, rainy Portland night, this dish evoked spring and the promise of warm and beautiful days ahead.

Heartbreaking yet hopeful

Pam turned me on to this special report on former child soldiers trying to integrate into the civilian world.  The text is good; the photos are better, particularly the black-and-white ones.  It's a hard read--anything on this topic inevitably is--but it's a worthwhile read, and though parts will break your heart, in the end it is as filled with hope as these young people.

I recommend it highly.

The latest PT sabbatical video

I've written in earlier blog posts about the charity work different PT folks have done during their sabbaticals and about PT's sabbatical program in general.  Today, we released our newest video about a PT staffer's sabbatical.  This one covers Justin's work at a charity in Italy that helps soldiers on leave from or returning from action in the Mediterranean area.

Enjoy.



I'm very proud of Justin and all the other PT folks who choose to focus part of their sabbatical time on doing good in the world.

Winter and I are done

I am completely over her.  Any good feelings I had for her have long since melted away, as the ice on my car has not yet done.  If you catch me in her company, understand that I am there against my will. 

I know what many of you will say:  Oh, sure, break up so quickly, when you haven't even really gotten to know her, what with your gallivanting to an island in January and your trip to Austin (where she met me and tortured me further, I might add). 

I can reply only that I do not care, that what little affection I once held for her is now a frozen lump I would happily bury were the ground not such a hassle to dig.

Winter, we are done.  Now, if only you would be.

As someone who does not trust easily

and who may never trust completely, I still found this video absolutely charming and touching.  Of course, the amazing performances by Alya Titarenko and Gael Ouisse of Cirque du Soleil don't hurt; these two are amazing to watch. 



Enjoy!