The SEO Rapper

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I’m sitting around thinking about my next WordPress post, and I remember I meant to tell you about Chuck Lewis quite a while ago. He calls himself the SEO Rapper. He actually covers a few topics related to online life. I love it when people make educational material entertaining! Here’s his goofy Design Coding Rap!

Chuck’s got more YouTube vids on SEO and related stuff. He sometimes raps at WordCamps and has his own WordPress blog.

Lila Downs at the Rio

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Before I saw her at the Rio this month, I thought of Lila Downs this way:

Lila Downs: Sandunga (1999)

Lila Downs: Sandunga (1999)

She sang the Mexican traditional ballad “La Llorona” in the movie Frida. Very folkloric.

Imagine my surprise (and complete delight!) when she appeared on stage with a backdrop of moving dayglo lighting, looking more like this,

Lila Downs: Shake Away (2008)

Lila Downs: Shake Away (2008)

and making sexy moves! I immediately realized that my preconception of a sedate folkloric evening was all wrong and that it had been a mistake to leave my earlove plugs at home. Whatever, that all fell by the wayside and I opened my eyes and ears wide to take in the new Lila. She opened with a woman-centric remake of Black Magic Woman, belting out “Don’t turn your back on me baby, I just might pick up my magic stick!” Recordings never really fully reveal a singer’s vocal power, so I hadn’t really expected that voice – a voice with enough wattage to light up the audience all the way to the back of the theater. We cheered wildly for that first number and all the rest.

Throughout the evening, Lila showed herself a self-possessed and captivating performer, working her way through a repertoire that obeyed no boundaries of style. She danced with grace and even mimed elements of her songs with theatrical abandon. I have never seen anyone do such a sexy chicken dance!

I thoroughly enjoyed the bilingual and bicultural nature of the show. Some songs were covers and/or translations of songs in English, some were originals, some were about Mexican or Chicano culture, some had a political axe to grind, some were traditional, some were bluesy, some were folksy, and everything rocked. And I almost forgot to give props to Lila’s fine band, which in addition to guitar and bass players, kit drummer, and sax and brass players, included a conga drummer, a harpist and an accordion player.

And yes, she finally got around to singing La Llorona. She did a traditional ranchera ballad too. Whew, she sure got us with that one! Few performers can use melodrama effectively. Lila can fill her voice with such melodramatic passion, she’ll sway you till you’re ready to be knocked over with the proverbial feather.

My recommendation: if you get the chance to hear Lila Downs live, run, do not walk to get a ticket!

Lila Downs links:

Listen to Black Magic Woman
Lila Downs’ official site
New York Daily News review
Review on Tuned In To Music

earth day walk

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I used earth day as an excuse to get up early and walk to work, instead of cycling. I noticed a huge lot full of wildflowers on the corner of Market and Water. Anyone notice that corner’s full of borage and poppies? For those who don’t know what borage is:

IMG_0847
Creative Commons License photo credit: gardengrrrl

The little starry blossoms are edible. Grasp one by the pistils and pull till it pops off. Toss in a salad, or just munch it right away and savor the drop of sweet, slightly cucumbery nectar inside.

Plant borage in your yard or garden, and it will take care of itself and propagate. Its fuzzy little purple stem hairs will glisten in the sun.

Walking playlist

Well the Ancient Egyptians, and the other Africans
The Mayans, the Incas, and all the Polynesians
All around the world, a long long time ago
People would walk, where ever they had to go.

…I’ve tossed together some songs referring to walking.

Download my walking playlist!

As with all my compilations, it’s a grab-bag of artists and styles. In alphabetical order:

Camel Walk – The Ikettes
Cissy Strut – The Meters
Daddy Went Walkin’ – Neil Young
Dap Walk – Ernie & The Top Notes Inc.
Lambeth Walk – Django Reinhardt
Mango Walk – In-Crowd
My Walkin’ Shoes – The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Night Walk – Willie Bobo
The Ancient Egyptians – Poi Dog Pondering
The Voodoo Walk – Ray Davies
Two Little Feet – Greg Brown
Walk & Talk – The Velvet Underground
Walk on – Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
Walk Right In – Corey Harris & Guy Davis & Cassie Taylor
Walkin’ Cane – The Knitters
Walkin’ Daddy – Greg Brown
Walkin’ the Dog – The Sonics
Walking Distance – Buzzcocks
Walking Song – Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Walking the Dog – Arnie Naiman & Chris Coole
Walking Through Nevada – Mark Olson & The Creekdippers
Walking Through Your Town in the Snow – Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin
Walking to Waza – Manu Dibango
We Are Walking Slowly – The Sheds

heatwave survival guide

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fan

All over our coastal town, a big blob of high pressure is keeping out the cool ocean breezes and keeping us sweating. How are you surviving?

Here’s what I do.

  1. Open up door and windows, try to catch a cross breeze.
  2. Take a cool shower. Wash hair, or at least soak it. For the last minute, just run cold water.
  3. Before your body core temp rises again, dig out the electric fan.
  4. Set it up in front of an open window and angle it just right.
  5. Drape a wet towel over it and set it going.
    6. fan with wet towel
  6. Dump ice cubes in a bowl, add water to cover, and add a washcloth.
    7. bowl with ice and facecloth
  7. Sit in front of fan, with bowl nearby. With washcloth, bathe face, neck, and insides of elbows and knees every few minutes. Replenish ice as necessary.
  8. Play music recorded in an old, dim, damp cathedral. Gregorian chants are good. Close eyes.

Please post any good tips in the comments!