I recently had the pleasure of seeing the play, Paradise Lost at the Intiman Theatre. Although the play was written in the 1930's by Clifford Odets as a response to the Great Depression, it proved relevant today with the state of our economy and unemployment being as high as it is. While sitting there, certain sections of the play were so fresh it was as if the play was written a few months ago.

Many people have been affected by the downturn in our economy. Either you or somebody you know may have fallen on hard times, trying to make mortgage payments, losing a job, their company going out of business, trying to find new employment, losing money in the stock market, stress from supporting a family or hearing about peoples struggles reported nightly on the news. I think you'd be hard pressed to find somebody who's been totally isolated.

Paradise Lost addresses all these situations through the eyes of one family. It showcases the torment a father feels, trying to keep his business going, hoping for the success and well being of his children, maintaining a marriage, helping friends less fortunate while holding onto his humor and hope for a better future. Against all odds, as pressure and circumstances continue to mount, can the family prevail while waiting for a new dawn of prosperity?

That's a question many families are facing today. Can they hold out for a better tomorrow? Many films and plays conclude with a happy ending. Paradise Lost does as well, but not how one might think. You don't know if the family makes it, actually you know much of the family doesn't.

The daughter finds love, but her man breaks it off due to lack of financial resources and the ability to provide. The prodigal son, who won gold medals running in the Olympics, a go-getter with a personality larger than life, who marries the beautiful woman, can no longer run, can't find meaningful work, is so ashamed he falls to a life of crime and jumps in front of bullets during a confrontation, killing himself. The other son has a terminal illness and is going to die. The father goes out of business when his partner steals money and the family loses their home.

Nope, that is not your typical happy ending. What you are left with, is a man who has lost just about everything. Yet is left standing with his integrity, passion for life and a continued hope for the future. The father is never broken. Instead he stands fast in his belief that the world and life is beautiful.

The play itself has a lot of narrative and a large cast, which makes an audience have to engage to follow the story. It may not be for everybody, but I enjoyed it. It made me think. It made me realize how fortunate I am.

The Intiman Theatre is a great venue by the way. It's rather small and has a great personal feel. I would highly recommend checking it out and going to a show. Prices aren't all that high, considering what you get compared to other entertainment in Seattle. Go to their website to learn more. Here's a list of shows for the 2010 Season: Paradise Lost, The Thin Place, Ruined, A Doctor In Spite Of Himself and The Scarlet Letter.

Posted by Gary at 12:49 PM | Permalink

I love good movies. I love good music. So you'd think I'd really like movies about music? But more often than not, documentaries about rock bands or musicians fall short. They're usually about conflicting personalities, drama between band members and the most played out sex, drugs and rock n' roll ideal.

I was pleasantly surprised when I came across Under Great White Northern Lights on iTunes. It's a great rockumentary about Jack and Meg White of The White Stripes as they tour across Canada. It's not just big venues, but more down home style theaters and impromptu shows in town squares, music stores, coffee shops or even riding the bus. There's no sex or drugs, just a well thought out film that does a great job implementing The White Stripes mythology. It blends black and white footage with color that often times over saturates reds.

There's not a ton of dialog or interviews, just enough to learn a little something but yearn for more. More situational shots that showcase interaction with people and fans as they're en route from show to show, which I liked because it feels more natural and less contrived. Then it's all about the power of their music.

If you are unfamiliar with The White Stripes music, branding and mythology I'll try to fill you in a little. The White Stripes began as part of a late-nineties garage-rock revival, but the duo's music and concept - a once married couple who pretended to be siblings and wore alternating red and white outfits - was always bigger than the lo-fi rock and roll of a typical garage band.

The White Stripes played their first show in July 1997, about nine months after bartender Meg White and upholsterer John Anthony Gillis married and began making music together. Gillis took his wife's last name and a dynamic duo was born. Since then the two have put out six albums, winning several grammy's and now have added a great film to their body of work.

I think one of the reasons why I enjoyed the movie so much is in its' simplicity. Both how it was shot and in the music. Two people, one on drums and the other on guitar. Yet they still bring a powerful energy you can feel. They are great musicians and entertainers. Both Meg and Jack have a captivating presence. Meg with her quiet and shy persona, yet impressive curves. And Jack, who seems more complex and thoughtful. Although you get a sense of who they are as people, the film focuses more on the music and what the band/concept is.

If you too like music and movies, I think you'll find Under Great White Norther Lights enjoyable. Check out the trailer:

Posted by Gary at 12:14 PM | Permalink

As a person of Scandinavian heritage, orange isn't my best color. Especially in the winter when I'm bright white, but it does get better during the summer when my burn fades to tan. For the last four years I have had one "go to" orange t-shirt that I've loved. The DDC Anvil Strength Torso Cover.

It has traveled with me on fun adventures from Mexico to Alaska, getting well-worn and washed repeatedly. It stood the test of time, only fading ever so slightly. After realizing it was the oldest, most worn tee in my wardrobe, I came to the conclusion it was time to put it down. But I just couldn't come to throw it out. Then I went on Draplin's website to order a new one, only to be saddened to see it was SOLD OUT! I don't think I've ever tried to buy the same clothing item twice?

I emailed Aaron to see if he had one laying around, but no. Aaron was however nice enough to send me a new DDC torso cover along with an assortment of DDC merchandise. DDC will continue to hold down the orange color spot in my t-shirt collection for years to come.

Along with my new orange torso cover, I received:

01. Clic Pen
02. Field Notes
03. Beverage Wrench
04. Cuspid Cleaner
05. DDC Stickers

It's kind of hard to see, but look at the tooth brush around the neck line. It's an orange tooth brush with black bristles. How cool is that? A big thanks to Mr. Daplin for keeping me looking good.

Posted by Gary at 12:26 PM | Permalink

This winter hasn't produced many powder days. Yet every year, I'm happily surprised by the late spring storms that roll through and drop copious amounts of snow. The perfect spring storm arrived last week and I took full advantage.

It had been snowing hard up at Crystal with high winds, keeping the upper mountain lifts closed. My friend Ryan emailed me inquiring about going skiing the next day. There was 26" inches of new snow, some lifts hadn't been open and another foot of snow was in the forecast. We agreed that the following day could be the best powder skiing of the season and decided to get up early to be on the first few chairs.

We departed at 6:30am and drove to Crystal Mountain with purpose. Upon hiking up from the second parking lot, we discovered that other people had the same idea. Can't say I've ever seen such a long lift line at the end of March. The line went all the way back to the concrete. Check it out for yourself.

After riding two lifts to the top, we unleashed on the mountain, taking the second gate down the frontside, ripping knee deep powder turns all the way back down to the lift. I had a nice perma-grin to go with my morning quad burn. These were the best powder conditions I experienced all year.

Right before lunch, Ryan and I ran into another friend, Kyle. Kyle owns the local ski shop, Alpine Hut . He was up skiing with some friends: McKenzie, Drew, and Medley. For those of you who know me, I can get impatient skiing and I don't like too big of a group, especially on powder days. But I've been working on this, trying to become a more "social" skier in my old age. So Ryan and I joined their group for the rest of the day, making laps and slapping high fives.

Here's a pick of Kyle, McKenzie and Medley.

There were a lot of young rippers up at the hill due to spring break. Here's some happy kids in line in front of me.

A ritual after a good day of skiing at Crystal is getting a few pitchers at The Snorting Elk. The Elk was packed with the smiling faces of people sharing adventure stories. I love the Elk, it has great charm or character like a good community bar. Ryan, Kyle, McKenzie and I grabbed a table and ordered a few pitchers and some nachos. We ordered pitchers as if we were loading the ark, two by two, by two... It was hard not too, with the party atmosphere. The shot ski was getting lots of use.

Once we were feeling pretty loose, Ryan suggested we stay the night and ski more deep powder the next day. Hmm, Crystal was planning to open the Northway lift for the first time in three days, which would yield more great untracked powder. We were in. Ryan called and found a place for the four of us to sleep.

We checkied into our place and Ryan was set on soaking our tired legs in the hot pool. Since this overnight was not planned, none of us brought a change of clothes, not to mention swim suits. Not a big deal, we grabbed some towels and jumped in wearing our underwear. After achieving solid prune status, we jumped out of the pool, got dressed and went back to the room. We needed our underwear to dry by the next morning, so we cooked them in the oven.

It was getting late and we still hadn't eaten dinner. Ryan called around and everything was closed. Luckily the lady at the front desk had a couple frozen pizzas. We scarfed them down. We couldn't taste the underwear we'd just cooked. At least I couldn't tell.

We went to sleep but the only person who got much rest was Ryan. The rest of us laid in bed and listened to Ryan snore. I think I only slept a couple hours the whole night. We awoke to blue skies and more new snow. It was going to be another epic day.

We got started a little late, so skipped breakfast minus coffee and a breakfast bar. Got in the lift line at 8:30 and started skiing more knee deep powder. The difference today was that it was colder, pulling some of the moisture out of the snow. The snow was deeper and lighter than the previous day, with surface hoar sparkling in the sun. Absolutely beautiful.

By 9:30, they had the Northway chair open and crowds attacked like an army. Everywhere you went, it was a race to get first tracks. The four of us lapped the Northway lift, getting untracked turns until one o'clock. By then our legs lacked sufficient energy to keep going. We had gotten the best turns in of the season. It was time to grab some lunch and hit the road.

I can't think of a better way to close out the month of March. Deep powder turns at Crystal with friends. I love it up there.

Posted by Gary at 12:36 PM | Permalink