Ten Observations: Damages

Episode 6: A Pretty Girl in a Leotard

1. This open is the lightest open in a while. Just Ellen and David's sister talking. Kate was living in their old apartment and is now moving in with

2. I love Marcia Gay Harden! Scotch drinking, garter-belt wearing, sexpot! And great camera work with the kiss off scene.

3. Kate is always caught in some mess. She gets mugged and sees the guy that followed her in last season. Turns out that he is cop buddy of Rick. I am beginning the remember how annoying she is...

4. Cadillac. Great product placement, this show is just a commercial for the car (as market researcher TV commercials and product placement interests me). A black man buying a Cadillac what a shock (with cash!). Then Dave gives the keys to Walter Kendrick as they both give their opinions on art. Dave is scary smooth.

5. Frobisher is back! The writers must love creating the dialogue for his show. Arthur warns Walter "My advice? When she straps one on, bend over, bite down hard and just take it." How can you not love dialogue this juicy.

6. Creepy President of Coop Board is back! Remember, he was in Patti's pocket last season. He delivers the package from David. What's in the box?

7. Ok. Kate is officially the most annoying character in the series. She is like Jack Bauer's daughter Kim. She keeps sicking her nose stuck in places it doesn't belong. She goes to the cops to file a complaint against this dude? Then bitches out Ellen for helping her? Blaming her for David's death? I wonder how long she will have to live...

8. The flash forward to Rick entering Ellen's apartment. Gun in hand, silencer on. Now is Rick the one that Ellen ends up shooting? Then who does Wes shoot? Wes and Rick are down, but what if Wes has feelings for Ellen and knows Rick wants to kill her?

9. Claire Maddox, cougar! She picks up the waiter that serves the wrong drink. She is a cold woman. "I prefer silence." "I smoke it alone"

10. I love the ticks of the psycho Darrell Hammond. What is it with the chapstick?

Bonus-11. Snap! Patti and Frobisher, together at last! He is the stock holder that is going to sue Walter. Man, this show is good. I know Patti likes to set up people and I know she does it all the time and yet I never catch it.

For more about Damages, check here.

Elegant Lady

The First Lady of the United States: Michelle Obama. This is a great picture from the new Vogue cover story on Michelle. I really like this part of the article:

Mrs. Obama herself describes it this way: "We want entertaining in the White House to feel like America, that we are reminded of all the many facets of our culture. The Latino community, the Asian-American community, the African-American community.…Hip-hop, spoken word—we want to bring the youth in, for them to hear their voices in this."

She sees the White House as a national classroom. "We want to make sure that our young people remember and understand what classical music is, who some of the great American artists are," she says, to give one example. And: "I am excited about the potential of the White House kitchen being a learning environment for the community. The current chef, Cristeta Comerford, is the only female chef in the history of the White House. She's a young Filipina woman, a mother with a young child, and I am excited to get to know her and for her to know us as a family. If you think about all the kids interested in finding out about all of the inner workings of the White House—I'm hoping that we can build a team to reach out."

I Hope I Never Make This Hall of Fame....

This really brings back the stupidity of the infamous and also the unbelievable forgivably (yes I made up this word) of the American public. Come down the sordid history of some of our lovable cads....

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Ten Observations: 24

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

1. Whoa! What an intro! Dubaku takes the knife to the pinky of the 1st gentleman. President Taylor can only trust Jack? And Jack gets tough. "With all do respect Madam President, ask around." This show is intense, especially after the bleak news of President Obama.

2. Larry tries to talk sense some sense to Jack. Don't make Renee like you, Jack. "The rules are what make us better". "Not Today." Jack says. The intensity he commands when he orders people around is sweet. Imagine if this guy was your boss.

3. Dubaku, talking sweet on the phone to his squeeze while extorting the President of the United States. Playa!

4. This episode is all action. Jack smashing cars, killing suspects and shell shocking Renee. She realizes she can't be Jack Bauer. The look on her face as tricks Vesler's wife is great. The pain, the daze look of "What the F*ck am I doing?!". You see, not everyone can be Jack Bauer.

5. Dubaku, leaving in the middle of the mess to go an take care of his girl's noisy sister in a wheelchair? C'mon brotha, you're better than that. He gets away from capture. By the way, what does it say when he can walk through the streets of DC free and law enforcement hasn't put up any wanted posters? He is just chillin' on the train, dating chicks...

6. It's interesting that 24 features American cars. I like that. Jack stealing a new Caddy slamming it into a Ford.

7. Key to 24 plot-A likable character has to get shot and being hanging on for dear life. This season it will be 1st hubby Taylor.

8. Dubaku's crew doesn't play. Come to us with a fake Mutobo, we blow up you car. He should have had those guys at the bodega. They might have killed Bauer and Renee.

9. What the hell is Tony doing and why didn't Jack call him for help tracking Dubaku?

10. I am betting that the blond romancing Agent Billy Walsh.. oh I mean Sean Hillinger,is the mole. She is sexy, yet doesn't have purpose yet. Plus Janis Gold is on to them. I smell a confrontation between Janis and the blond.

TV Guide has great show recaps for 24 and other shows here. Stick with mine, too and maybe hip other fans my recaps.

Inside the Mind of a Musician.

Last night I saw Shawn Colvin in concert with my wife and some friends. She played a solo gig and she was wonderful. As I was listening to her, I couldn't help but think about the 40th Grammy's in 1998 when she was interrupted by 'Ol Dirty Bastard. Tonight the 51st Grammy's will be televised and it always makes me feel strange. I have been playing music since I was 7 years old. The first college I attended was Berklee College of Music. I lived was a working musician for 8 years in New York City. When I moved to Austin in 2000, I played with a number of people in this scene. I have to admit, I always thought one of the projects I was involve with (or my own stuff) would have a chance to be widely known. I realize that those ideas might have been grand illusions, but I really believe my talent and the talent of my friends. I still believe. After a 6 year hiatus from regularly with a group of musicians, today I am meeting with some guys to get it started all over again. Music and the industry has always been inside me and it is all I ever really wanted to do. I have kept diaries of past tours and recording sessions. I have backtracking tapes of a radio show I did on WBAI in New York. I have hundreds of great pictures.

The main point of this mind ramble is I want to do a complete music blog that really gets inside what it means to be a musician that had some success and still believes in his talent. I have never really read any blog about the insights of being a professional musician. The trials, the glory and the PITA (Pain in the Ass) moments. What is it like rehearsing a tune? Arranging, writing, gigging, buying equipment, recording sessions, personality traits of bass players, guitar players, vocalists? Being a black musician that loves rock music when the commercial public and even organizations (BRC) don't how to market that? The irony that major black rock artist didn't and still can't get together as one coalition? The economics in all of industries of music and entertainment that are creating major issues with content and ownership (how really this started in the early 1990's)? All of this and more. I want to make this blog a total unique experience that musicians and lay people can get into. I have been wanting to do this for years, I just have to plan how to include audio and video and date segments. Should I do this with this blog? Should I do it with another blog? A separate website? I'm not sure how to make it work, but this is what is inside of this musician.

"One Good Thing About Music, When It Hits Ya, You Feel No Pain"

Robert Nesta Marley would have been 64 years old today. One Love...

Happy Birthday to Hammerin' Hank

Hank Aaron is perhaps the greatest living baseball player. Today he turns 75 years old. The dignity and grace this man showed playing America's pastime was remarkable. Just think about all the shit he went through as he passed Babe Ruth's home run mark and that was in my lifetime (I was born in 1971 and he broke the record on April 8, 1974). Now we have President Barack Obama.

Happy Birthday to an American hero and a standard of class.