Doritos slap!

My night at the local Rodeo!

So my education in the local culture continued this weekend when I attended a local rodeo. A few miles from my home is the awesome Texas Rose Horse Park where this weekend it was rodeo time!

Okay, so I went with the pre-conceived notion that because it was local it was going to be pokey and very, very cheesy, but hey, it was quite entertaining and fun! Somehow I found it to be earthy, honest, local competition between serious local followers of the sport.

Needless to say I enjoyed it very much! Boy, do I love and appreciate Texas!

So, clutching a (very good) chicken fried steak sandwich, this is what I observed...

Rough Stock - Bronco riding!


Each competitor climbs onto a horse, which is held in a small pipe enclosure called a bucking chute. When the rider is ready, the gate of the bucking chute is opened and the horse bursts out and begins to buck. The rider attempts to stay on the horse for eight seconds without touching the horse with his free hand. On the first jump out of the chute, the rider must "mark the horse out." This means he must have the heels of his boots in contact with the horse above the point of the shoulders before the horse's front legs hit the ground. The rider that manages to complete a ride is scored on a scale of 0-50 and the horse is also scored on a scale of 0-50. Scores in the 80s are very good, and in the 90s, are exceptional. A horse who bucks in a spectacular and effective manner will score more points than a horse who bucks in a straight line with no significant changes of direction.

Calf Roping!


Calf Roping, also called Tie-down roping, is based on ranch work in which calves are roped for branding, medical treatment, or other purposes. It is the oldest of rodeo's timed events. The cowboy ropes a running calf around the neck with a lariat, and his horse stops and sets back on the rope while the cowboy dismounts, runs to the calf, throws it to the ground and ties three feet together. (If the calf falls when roped, the cowboy must lose time waiting for the calf to get back to its feet so that the cowboy can do the work. The job of the horse is to hold the calf steady on the rope. A well-trained calf-roping horse will slowly back up while the cowboy ties the calf, to help keep the lariat snug.

Bullriding! (with one angry bull!)


Bull riding involves a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted for at least 8 seconds while the animal attempts to buck off the rider. The rider tightly fastens one hand to the bull with a long braided rope. It is a risky sport and has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports.

Video and photo is mine but the facts is thanks to Wikipedia.

Peace All Over The World

From Playing for Change...
We met Robert Bradley while shooting our first film, "Playing for Change: A Cinematic Discovery of Street Music." Robert is originally from Detroit, Michigan, but we filmed this song in Los Angeles in front of a Playing For Change graffiti wall painted by a local artist. We had just finished a take of Robert singing "Playing For Change Blues," a song we created while filming across America, and were beginning to interview him. All of a sudden he started speaking the lyrics to this song... We immediately grabbed another mic for his guitar, plugged it directly into the camera and asked him to perform it for us. Enjoy!

What the heck...

Noodling: How to fish without using fishing poles...



How do you get rich quick? Meet a man with the answer to the 360 Billion Dollar Question.


And my favourite..

A robber hands a threatening note to the bank teller. Trouble is , it has his name on it...

Living the dream...

As a thankful foreigner legally living in America I got another glimpse of how life here do portray reality TV! So, last weekend I was driving from Dallas towards Hawkins in East Texas to attend a friends birthday party when somewhere on Highway 69 near Emory I spotted flashing police car lights in front of me. At first I thought it a bit weird as it didn't seem to be stopping at all but slowly moving along with the traffic. I reasoned it away that it must have been the angle that I was seeing it, being about half a mile behind them.

Eventually I saw the lights take an exit off the highway and carrying on along the parallel frontage road. A few minutes later I finally got a close-up of all the commotion and it was indeed a high speed chase going on, well, make that a 'low' speed chase. As I passed the cop car, I swear the trooper had a positively bored look about him as he was slouched low in his seat keeping a safe distance behind the mid eighties looking car (here I safely slowed down to figure out the 'perp' was white knuckling it at about 50 mph) driven by a well groomed looking lady in her mid fifties. There was nothing in that glance of her that portrayed a life in crime as she was hunched over the steering wheel totally focused on the road in front of her. She drove straight down the middle of the narrow road, not giving the trooper any space to overtake her. Okay, the whole scenario was a bit whack but oh boy, it was totally fascinating. She must have known the police was behind her! Yet, something about her looked like she was hightailing it home and it was as if the trooper was herding her there all along.

So as I passed them I kept looking in the rear view mirror as the chase continued. A few minutes later the Calvary, in the form of another trooper, came absolutely flying down the frontage road towards the merry chase raising a tiny dust cloud behind him! This dude was the complete opposite of the original trooper, young, cowboy hat drawn low over the forehead... focused. I would have paid money to see the finale play out! Did she make it home? Did the original trooper fall asleep eventually? What did she have in the car that she didn't want the troopers to find? What was she on! Did she lead the troopers straight to her meth lab/trailer? I am pretty sure it moved on from a simple ticket when the chase started, what ever happened to her? What set the chase off, I am pretty sure it was not speeding! So many questions unanswered that I spend the rest of my trip playing through all the scenarios.

All to come to the solution that they are right, crack is whack!

Ah... I love America.

The Low Anthem

Okay, if you know me at all, you will know that I am an intelligent music nut, if you don't... shame on you for not knowing me well enough! Hands down, I LOVE this band. In these Britney Spears days, how gut wrenchingly refreshing does this beautiful band not sound.

The Low Anthem's trio met at university in Rhode Island and have won fans with their fragile Americana. Their instruments include a WWI portable pump organ, a rusty saw, a nipple gong, a "gut-strung parlor axe" and "enough harmonicas to summon a swarm of locusts".

Leonie Cooper, music journalist, NME & The Guardian:

With a former Nasa employee among their ranks, it was surprising that The Low Anthem's glorious brand of moonshine folk shimmered with an otherworldly brilliance. One of the few albums to lead me to tears in '09 (in the best possible way, of course), this was a delicate, graceful addition to the host of records by the plaid shirts'n'beard brigade headed up by Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear.

With my birthday coming up... PLEASE dear Jesus, could I have one of their albums available from their website at http://www.lowanthem.com :-)



With thanks to the BBC for putting me on to The Low Anthem. Photo Willa Mamot Photography

Happy New Year friends!

Some New Year trivia...

Burning "Mr. Old Year"
In Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico families stuff a life-size male doll with things that have bad memories or sadness associated with them, and then they dress it up in old clothes from each family member. At the stroke of midnight, this 'Mr. Old Year' is set on fire.

Eating 12 Grapes
In Spain people eat 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight (one each time the clock chimes) on New Year's Eve. This peculiar ritual originated in the twentieth century when freak weather conditions resulted in an unseasonable bumper harvest of grapes. Not able to decide what to do about so many grapes at Christmas time, the King of Spain and the grape growers came up with the idea of the New Year ritual.

Eating Noodles
Late on the evening of December 3 1, people of Japan would eat a bowl of buckwheat noodles called "toshikoshisoba" ("year-crossing noodles") and listen for the sound of the Buddhist temple bells, which were rung 108 times at midnight. The sound of these bells is said to purify the listeners of the 108 sins or evil passions that plague every human being.

White Clothes
In Brazil most people wear white clothes on New Year's Eve to bring good luck and peace for the year that will follow.

Carry a Suitcase
In Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, and Mexico, those with hopes of traveling in the New Year carry a suitcase around the house at midnight. Some even carry it around the block to ensure traveling at greater distances.

Burn Crackers
The people in China believe that there are evil spirits that roam the earth. So on New Year they burn crackers to scare the evil spirits. The doors and windows of every home in china can be seen sealed with paper. This is to keep the evil demons out.

thanks to www.newyearfestival.com

Goodbye 2009!

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Christmas Holiday Trivia

* The word Christmas is Old English, a contraction of Christ's Mass.

* The first president to decorate the white house Christmas tree in the United States was Franklin Pierce.

* Germany made the first artificial Christmas trees. They were made of goose feathers and dyed green.

* Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895.

* The first Christmas cards were vintage and invented in 1843, the Victorian Era.

* "It's a Wonderful Life" appears on TV more often than any other holiday movie.

* "Rudolph" was actually created by Montgomery Ward in the late 1930's for a holiday promotion. The rest is history.

* "The Nutcracker" is the most famous Christmas ballet.

* "Jingle Bells" was first written for Thanksgiving and then became one of the most popular Christmas songs.

* If you received all of the gifts in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," you would receive 364 gifts.

* The poinsettia plant was brought into the United States from Mexico by Joel Poinsett in the early 1800's.

* Holly berries are poisonous.

* Contrary to common belief, poinsettia plants are non-toxic.

* Mistletoe was chosen as Oklahoma's state flower in 1893 and later changed to the state floral emblem.

* In 1843, "A Christmas Carol" was written by Charles Dickens in just six weeks.

* The first state to recognize the Christmas holiday officially was Alabama.

* Christmas became a national holiday in America on June, 26, 1870.

* An angel told Mary she was going to have a baby.

* Clearing up a common misconception, in Greek, X means Christ. That is where the word "X-Mas" comes from. Not because someone took the "Christ" out of Christmas.

* Traditionally, Christmas trees are taken down after Epiphany.

* More diamonds are sold around Christmas than any other time of the year.

* In Mexico, wearing red underwear on New Year's Eve is said to bring new love in the upcoming year.

all this according to http://www.christmas-celebrations.com/trivia.htm

Okay, I am still gobsmacked that I was able to tour the White House. I walked the hallways Lincoln and JKF did, well I actually squeaked where they walked! :-)

Did you know the White House has 132 rooms on 6 floors served by 3 elevators. There are 412 doors for privacy and 147 windows to let the sun shine on government. Residents can start cozy fires or burn secret tapes in 28 fireplaces, or hide them under 7 staircases. Oh, feel free to clean the toilets in the 35 bathrooms.

We call it home.
President Teddy Roosevelt gave the White House its current and official name in 1901. Over the years, it has been called the "Executive Mansion," the "President's House," and worst choice of all, the "President's Palace."
We're having a few people over.
Not only does the White House host hundreds of fancy get-togethers for thousands of world leaders and celebrities annually, it is visited by more than 6,000 plain old people every single day.

I'm bringing some old Congress buddies over for dinner. Okay?
The five, full-time expert chefs employed by the White House can whip up a gourmet dinner for as many as 140 elite guests who will quickly devour the over 1,000 tasty hors d'oeuvres prepared for most gatherings. The President and First Lady are charged for all meals and incidentals, but the President gets an expense account for those costs. Guests of the First Family stay free, but are billed for outside services.

No, we'll just stay with white for now.
Some people think the outside of the White House is, or should be made of armor plate. Sometimes, the Chief-Occupants probably wish it were covered some sort of "stealth" technology material. But the fact is, most of the exterior walls of the White House are made of plain old wood that requires 570 gallons of paint, white of course, to cover.

First things first.
If they accomplish nothing else during their stay, residents of the White House have been trend setters. Second President, John Adams was the first resident of the White House while it was still under construction. President John Tyler (1841-1845) became the first president to have his photograph taken. (Many more would follow.) Teddy Roosevelt (1901-1909) walked out the front door of the White House one day and became the first president to ride in a car. Teddy was also the first president to leave the USA when he went to Panama.

Getting a little exercise.
Should the First Family feel the need to recreate at home, they can avail themselves of indoor tennis courts, a swimming pool, movie theater, running track, billiard room and a bowling lane.

This Old House -- is pretty expensive.
The annual budget for "the care, maintenance, repair and alteration, refurnishing, improvement, heating, and lighting, including electric power and fixtures, of the Executive Residence at the White House and official entertainment expenses of the President," runs about $9,260,000 or about $25,370 a day. The cost of lawn and garden care around the White House is included in the $5,427,000 a year spent to maintain the grounds of all the Capitol-area federal buildings.

The White House is just one of many buildings under the care and supervision of the Architect of the Capitol.