VOICES FROM THE VILLAGE

 TALENT ABOUNDS

BEAUTY PREVAILS

     After another painted sky, the local namesake Painted Sky Studio, opened for an evening of extraordinary performance.  Central Coast girl made good, Inga Swearingen, a frequent performer on Prairie Home Companion, packed the historic Cambria recording studio with the attentive.

     Inga's beautiful voice and styling held the audience in rapture, but it was the use of her voice, as a kind of jazz/scat instrument that simply blew people away.

You get a sense of her sweet style and her improvisational brilliance in this video.  In the last 30 seconds of this tune she breaks into the kind of performance that was the staple of her appearance at the Painted Sky.
                                  Link to Inga-click here or watch video

     Round Mountain, who is Char and Robbie Rothschild from Santa Fe opened and later joined Inga.  These are enormously talented musicians with original material and musical virtuosity.  Char alternated between guitar, trumpet, flute, bag pipes and accordion.  On several numbers he played the accordion and trumpet or flute or small bag pipe simultaneously. He also played the guitar while playing the trumpet at the same time.  You have to see it to appreciate the full power.  Robbie is an extraordinary mandolin player and vocalist.  He also plays a long stringed west African instrument.  They've traveled widely and amassed a unique quiver of talent and stylings.  They too received a standing and abundant appreciation of the Painted Sky audience.  More about these remarkable young men at this link.

                                     Round Mountain-a paper and background.

"The peace in the garden will enter your heart when you are sleeping"

Lyrics from a Round Mountain song

REEL THOUGHTS

CASINO JACK

     This is a film for those who A) like the work of Kevin Spacey, B) have an interest in the influence peddling business of lobbyists , C) would like to gain  insight into the sordid

and money loving world of Jack Abramoff.

     It is brilliant on all three counts.  Spacey is again superb and portrays a complex, conflicted Jack Abramoff.  Barry Pepper as his sleazy sidekick is terrific. The film was able to take the intricate chicanery and explain it by making it entertaining.  Tom Delay and a few other Washington notables come off as jerks.

     What Abramoff did and what Spacey plays so well, is the selling of influence.  Spacey's Jack just can't understand why what he did that was wrong, since so many beneficiaries of his money passing and influence peddling were never touched. If you see it, pay attention to the near climatic scene as Spacey is in the bathtub while his wife explodes.  She utters one of the real truths about so much of modern Washington politics "It's all bull shit."

But then another great line came from one of Abramoff's partners  "K street doesn't like the limelight."   Thanks to a fine film, the K street ethos is getting plenty.

MORE ON THE KINGS SPEECH

     I continue to hear from other that they too consider the film one of the best ever.  Many say simply it is the best film they've ever seen.

      Here are the comments from a hard nosed Washington veteran who can be a prickly critic.  

         Run don't walk to see this one....Angolophilia gone wild....Academy Award           performances abound....drama, suspense, hidden history, humor and the kind of feel good show that had the audience clapping at the end.  It will make your day!

      He asked that I not use his name.  Perhaps he prefers to keep his reputation as a hard ass in tact.  The point to be taken--this is a great film!

DAYBOOK

A sense of this weekend on the Central Coast.

Sadly, this starfish had washed ashore and was dry when Lana found it.

Weeds are also early arrivals of spring in California.

AND YET ONE MORE ZEBRA TALE

     Spotted in the old saloon, frequented by locals, were people wearing zebra striped armbands in sympathy for the three Hearst Zebras that were shot after they wandered onto the Fiscalini ranch.  But also spotted were a couple of ranchers, with zebra hide ribbons around their beer bottles.  The sentiments differed.  The stares were penetrating.

Stay tuned.