PCH 1

Last April, my wife Ellen and I had the pleasure of driving the Pacific Coast Highway. I was on tour on the West coast, and we rented a car to drive between shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The road was closed due to a brush fire about 2 hours south of Monterrey, so we were able to enjoy Big Sur from both directions.

A phenomenal photographer, my wife documented our trip with her Diana camera. Unfortunately, much of the film was damaged in processing--camera places just don't do much film anymore, I guess. These are some of the few surviving shots.

You can see much more of her wonderful work on her flickr page.

click to see the full size images

If the trip had a soundtrack, it might have sounded something like this:

Gonzalez is Dead

I love Mexican food--especially the more authentic fare I get at taco stands and tiendas. I was eating over the holiday break at La Casa de Las Enchiladas on South Blvd in Charlotte and enjoying some background Telemundo. I've always been fascinated by the way the drama seems to be pushed to the max in these programs, especially following a shoot-em-up gun fight/revenge plotting, or in the immediate wake of the realization of infidelity. These pensive moments are golden nuggets of sap that allow the characters to really show their emotions and acting chops via pained facial expressions, spurred along by occasional flashbacks of "the good times."

This short piece is for one of those moments of weakness and contemplation. I've stepped away from synthetic means--this one's all natural, recording-wise. Props to Ennio Morricone's classic score for The Good, The Bad the Ugly, and the opening sequence that I enjoyed early New Year's Day just prior to turning in for the night.