Though environmentalists would hate the idea of balloons wafting about the landscape, I don't think they'd mind them digitally dropped into our favorite movies.  Take a few minutes to watch.  It's a lovely idea (what a sap I am!).  The balloon punctuates emotional moments in Casablanca, dances with Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain, annoys King Kong, saves the life of Anne Parillaud in La Femme Nikita and meets Clint Eastwood at high noon.  Kudos to Jerry Rees, a director and Cal Arts grad, for creating Helium and Celluloid. 

Isaac Hayes was one of a kind in voice, performance, and in his abilitiy to personify "cool."   These videos say it all.

I've been watching the Olympics this weekend and feeling that heady mix of patriotism, world curiosity, and the need to work out more.  I'm also a big fan of Sexy Beijing, the online video series hosted by Anna Sophie Loewenberg.  Loewenberg is a single woman living in Beijing, looking for love.  The series is Sex in the City inspired and Loewenberg is a amiable guide with cute glasses.  Her series is a perfect low-fi compliment to all the packaged and polished Beijing coverage we've been getting from the networks.  Here are some of my favorites:

I also like this one.  Loewenberg really nails the Carrie Bradshaw narration.

San Diego could once lay claim to Grammy-winning violinist and composer Mark O'Connor.  He lived in Vista on an avocado farm, having left Nashville and a demanding schedule as a studio musician.   O'Connor composed Vistas while there, inspired by the landscape around him.  It seems inspiration is everywhere for O'Connor, but especially in the mountains and hollows of Appalachia.  His album Appalachian Journey, on which he collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, was a critical and popular success.  Their effort led to O'Connor's Appalachia Waltz Trio, a chamber group that includes Mike Block on cello and Gillian Gallagher on viola.

For the last three years, O'Connor has been living in New York City, but San Diego is still home to his string camp, which takes place each summer at Point Loma.  O'Connor and his Appalachia Waltz Trio performed on These Days and O'Connor talked about his passion for teaching and mentoring young musicians, his own mentors, like Stephane Grappelli and Benny Thomasson, and how he fuses his interests in roots, jazz, and classical music.  Watching O'Connor play is really something -- kind of other-worldly.  His skill and craft boggle the mind.  You can see O'Connor and the Appalacian Waltz Trio this Saturday night at the Birch North Park Theater. 

Local troubadour Gregory Page brought his vintage sound to These Days yesterday, performing in our studios and sharing stories with host Tom Fudge. Page is something of an institution in this town. He's made 16 albums, performed on many local stages, and produced albums for, or collaborated with, some of San Diego's shining stars (Jason Mraz, Jeff Berkley, Steve Poltz). Page's music makes me nostalgic; his warbling and instrumentation sound straight out of the phonograph. Listening to him transplants me to some Great Gatsby-like setting where everyone dresses for cocktail hour. 

Page showed up to the studios in his signature dapper vintage suit and hat, but unfortunately had to remove his hat to wear headphones for the recording. He joked that we could tie his hat from the ceiling with an invisible string and it could just float above him. This would have been hilarious for the video, but it was minutes before we went live. I wonder if Tom would have held it together through the interview if I'd actually made this happen.

Page brought some friends with him for the performance.  Erika Davies has a lovely voice.  She's also a clothing designer and you can see her creations here.  Also, check out her dress in the video, she made it and it's adorable.   Also playing with Page is the incredibly talented violinist Ray Suen.  Suen's been playing with Louis XIV, but has just become a touring member of the band The Killers.

Page has a new CD out called All Make Believe and there's a CD release party at Lestats on Saturday, June 28th.   It will be a great night out.

To a woman who can't do accents at all, this is impressive.  I can barely do the pirate accent - aye matey and yarr - which everyone on the planet seems to have mastered.   It seems to me Amy Walker ends with a Katharine Hepburn impersonation - am I right about that?

Steve Poltz just sent me this video from one of his house concerts last weekend.  Most San Diegans know Steve co-wrote You Were Meant For Me with the singer Jewel, and then the song became HUGE.  Like HUGE.  This is Steve's version of writing that song.  You'll never be able to hear it the same way again.   Oh, and the video is terrible and will give you a neck ache.  Just listen and glance over occasionally.  

I'm a Steve Poltz fan, I'll admit it at the outset.  The guy can make up a song at the drop of a hat, and it will likely be clever and observant and touching...and off-kilter.  A lot has been written about Steve's songwriting and performance style, which has been described ad nauseam as "quirky."  I'm going to go with "off-kilter" because while I know Steve to be a seeker of balance (he's a yoga devotee), he also can't help the fact that he sees the world from a totally askew vantage point. 

It's a crazy trip and a real treat to see the world through Steve's eyes, and he's generous enough to share it in music and on stage.  He certainly shared it with These Days yesterday, where he came into the studio to play music and draw a few chuckles out of Tom Fudge.  Tom and staff were quite entertained.  During sound check, Steve broke out into a cover of "Memories" - oh yes, that one - which he admitted is his favorite song right now.  He also sang a hilarious song inapproprite for public radio (featuring a job on a bus) but a tried and true fan favorite.  If you go see him this Sunday at North Park Festival of the Arts (and you should!) you may hear it.  The music that did make it on the radio included some great cuts from Steve's new album Traveling, and one from his other new album, Unraveling.  Check him out:

My colleague Trisha, a wise woman from Imperial Valley who loves The Wire, just informed me about an interview in Newsweek with Amy Poehler.  The following exchange takes place between interviewer and Amy Poehler:

Q: What cereal are you going to have?

A: Right now I’m down with Honey Nut Cheerios because that’s what Omar eats on “The Wire”

 Q: Do you base all your food choices on television shows?

A: I don’t know if you’re a “Wire” fan, but on the show Omar travels far and wide and risks getting killed just to get a box of Honey Nuts. So I like to think it keeps me connected to the streets.

I just went to the Honey Nut Cheerios website... lots of white people, upper middle class blacks, and the honey nut bee.  Their marketing team needs to show some respect for Omar Little and let him endorse their product.  Mad money to be made... street cred AND lower cholesterol.  See Omar's quest for Honey Nut below... (Nudity alert: opening 30 seconds).