end of summer

my brain is full of radiohead and i can't believe i have to start teaching on tuesday. i have had the laziest summer ever - at least since i was a kid and had no responsibilities. really, all i want to do is go see radiohead play once each week.

but school starts and i have to admit that i'm a little bit excited to teach my "monsters as metaphor" class, in which i will have students read Doctor Faustus and Frankenstein and Heart of Darkness. All elderly books from another era which means i will have to sing and dance to get the students to like them. then a more current book - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - narrated by a 9 year old boy whose father died in the Twin Towers. haven't read it? please do. it isn't at all what you might expect (although of course i have no idea what you might expect). it is written by Jonathan Safran Foer who also wrote Everything is Illuminated.

so, yeah, sort of excited. but really, laying around and playing on the computer and going to see radiohead . . . can't beat that.

omg radiohead

i don't even think i can write about it. the concert was breathtaking. the light show was incredible and played out the music in fabulous visual ways. the music, wow. every band member is so good and the songs were tight and expansive at the same time - deviations from the recorded versions but everything worked and was beautiful.

highlights:

Thom and Jonny singing Neil Young's "Tell Me Why" with acoustic guitars.

The first notes of "Talk Show Host" made the crowd go wild.

These three songs back to back: Jigsaw Falling Into Place, The Bend and National Anthem - more rockin' out than any rock concert i've ever been to. then followed by - take a deep breath and slow down - Nude.

Planet Telex and Fake Plastic Trees from The Bends album

Thom forgetting how to play Cymbal Rush

and the grand finale - Idioteque with an amazing light show and an outpouring of energy from the stage and back to the stage from the audience.

i wanted it to never ever end.......

TOMORROW IS RADIOHEAD

yes. today is sunday. they are playing at the hollywood bowl today, but i have tickets for tomorrow and i am SO excited!

a report will be typed in on tuesday.

The Shack Up Inn part 2

some other shots - interior and exterior

The Shack Up Inn

this one (above) is the "shack" that we stayed in. Called Legends, it had memorabilia of famous people (Marilyn Monroe, Jan and Dean, etc).




these people took old sharecroppers cabins, moved them onto this site, and upgraded them (inside) to become an inn.

Other Clarksdale photos

this is Ground Zero Blues Club - music down below and a hotel (of sorts) above. Partly owned by Morgan Freeman who also owns the high-class restaurant up the street, Madidi's.


And this is Puddin' Hatchett. We met him at breakfast at the Delta Amusement Cafe. He sat at our table and showed us his three-card monte and his dice tricks. Then he got his photo album and showed us pictures of himself with various people (including Morgan Freeman) and his daughter and grandchildren.

Clarksdale, the main drag

this is Delta Street, Clarksdale's main street. it felt as if we traveled back in time....


notice the town's movie theater, showing "Batman" and Hancoc" - because, evidently, they don't have enough letters for "The Dark Knight" nor the 'k' for "Hancock."

welcome to clarksdale, mississippi