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Posts tagged ‘USA’

Jul 4

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American Tunes – Foot-Stompers, Shit-Kickers & Top-Poppers: A Playlist to Celebrate the 4th of July with

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“Sing me back home with a song I used to hear…”

 
I haven’t celebrated a 4th of July in the States in six years. Yes, I have celebrated in Australia and this year I will celebrate in London…but its not the same. There’s no mad dash to the supermarket for BBQ fixin’s. There’s no parades down Main Street. There’s no big field under a clear blue summer sky filled with friends and family playing horseshoes. There’s no fireworks displays. There’s no dusk bonfires outside a New Hampshire lake house. Nope…none of that. 
 
I miss all of that hoopla. I miss the tradition and camaraderie that is the celebrating of the Fourth of July. I don’t want to get all philosophical on a kick-back day like today, but just let me say, “you don’t miss your water, ’til your well runs dry“.  
 
When I think of a 4th of July celebration, this is what I picture:
 
A wide open field, filled with closest friends and extended family. There is a stage where band will play. They will play a couple sets: one at noon and one at dusk. There’s summer spots being payed everywhere: horseshoes (my fave), whiffle ball and badminton. There is a Beer tent with plenty of ice cold kegs, tapped and at the ready (everyone has red and blue solo cups in hand). The food…oh,  the food: burgers, hot dogs, chicken, corn, beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, lobsters, apple pies…all eaten off of paper plates. 
 
The day turns to night. The bonfire is lit. Everyone who is still there huddles around it. Kids sleep at their parents feet. We can see the local fireworks display from across town light up the sky. The young’ins spark up their own display out in the field in front of us.  The crowd calls out for the band to grab the acoustics and lead us towards midnight in group a sing-a-long…”Crossroads, seem to come and go, yeah….“
 
Yep…I’m hankering for a good ol’ fashion Americana celebration. While I can’t share a cold one or a hot dog with you, I can share some American sounds. When I’m feeling a little blue on a day when I can’t celebrate the the Red, White and Blue on American soil, I do what I always do: put the needle on the record and let the music play. 
 
I have put together a playlist perfect for a day like the one I described. This playlist is full of old favorites, complete with a bit rock and roll, swinging blues and country twanginess. You’ll be stomping feet and slapping backs while you pop the tops off of your ice cold longnecks of Bud when you hear this collection of classics performed by citizens of our beloved country. 
 
I have wrapped them up in a bow in this shared folder for you to download: American Tunes 
 
I’ll be playing this set loud and proud as I fire up the grill and put on a couple burgers and dogs for me and the missus. Enjoy the day and and enjoy the people the you spend it with…where ever you are on this this big ol’ globe. 
 
Happy 4th of July. Judd
 
p.s. the songs in the folder are not in the order that put them in. If you want to recreate that, check the sequence below

 

American Tunes- Bonfires, BBQs & Big Sing-A-Longs.pdf
Download this file

 

Sep 7

Same & Different: Business Class, Beers & Beans – Wheels down in London

Just go into London yesterday. Lots to say, but here are some quick hits:

My flight was twenty-three hours. Very, very long. Eight hours to Bangkok was long, but the next twelve to London felt like season finally episode of The Amazing Race.  Fortunately I flew business class (a gift, not a habit).  Being able to stretch out in to a horizontal position on a plane (alas, for sleeping) was insanely good.  

I also had access to the “snack kitchen”.  I ate about twelve fresh fruit plates while everyone was sleeping.  Lots of fruit: good for the hydration, bad for the digestive track. 

I also had access to the booze cabinet. We almost had to divert to Russia for more Vodka. No amount of double-Bloody Mary’s can ease the dull drone of the X-Man prequel, “Wolverine”.  One sip for each Hugh Jackman muscle flex. Two sips for every mutant love scene.

Flying business class is dangerous for the heavy economy class traveler.  You get fast-tracked through customs, you get access to the club lounges and all free drinks and finger food you can consume and your bags, decorated with a “priority” tag, pop of of the carousel first.  Of course, you pay for this…but the justification wheels start spinning as soon as you realise your airplane food actually resembles something you would order from a proper restaurant.

We flew @britishairways, and the service was excellent. The club lounges were great as well…except for the coffee.  The lounges have beer on tap, spas, business centres, post flight shower facilities, wireless internet…but the coffee tastes like brewed plane tire treads.

It is a mystery to me as to why in club lounges at airports, at hotels and at sales meeting the worst coffee is served.  There is no replacement for a well trained barista armed with high quality beans and an unapologetic grinder.  No topshelf espresso makers and drip-drip-blah coffee makers can act as a substitute.
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London is massive. Coming from Sydney, I feel like virgin Pagan ritual conventional…and I like it! I forgot how much is out there. There is Abundance every where.  I haven’t seen this many brands and shops and people since I left the States back in 2005.

This place is a marketing and advertising dreamworld. It is consumerism run amok and no one is bothering to get out of the way.  We went to Harrod’s today.  The wife had a full-on shopping seizure.  She froze up and started quaking in her high-heels.  Two security guards came running over like they were part of the A-Team and shoved some smelling salts up under her nose and snapped her out of it.  They had obviously been well trained for emergency situations like this. 

Check out this cool interactive store guide of this London shopping institution: Harrod’s Store Guide
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We stopped in Whole Foods yesterday.  I hadn’t been there since we left Florida.  This was my favourite grocery store by far.  You pay for what you get and what you get is good. Two bits of “good” I loved and missed about Whole Foods: the prepared foods & salad bar and the beer selection.

As I walked around the store I checked in on my old friends.  

The salad bar looked glorious in all of its sneeze-guard protected splendour.  There was fresh from the can tuna with no mayo mixed in.  And beans…beans as far as I could see (without turning my head). I used to get a big container with garbanzos, black beans, kidney beans, tuna and corn…and eat the hell out of that.  My digestive tracked shuttered at the sight of that bean-a-palooza. 

The beer selection did not let me down either. Yes, I am sad to leave behind Cooper’s and James Squire back in Australia…oh, the time I invested in building those relationships…but, now i am able to hook up with some of my old time used-to-be’s.  The wife wished she had some of those Harrod’s smelling salts to get me out of the good-beer tractor beam i was caught in.  

My fridge has been stocked with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sam Adams & Negra Modelo and Model Especial.  Same great taste, same messy result. 
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More stuff from the streets of London to come to this blog soon…

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