timing and miles

A good man I work with shared a couple of pictures of his daughter with me. Her name is Aya. She looks just like her daddy.

The Beijing Olympics open today, 08.08.2008, at 8.08.08 pm Beijing time. Which means that as I write this, at 7:51 am mountain time, the janitors are sweeping up yesterday's confetti. The eights are by no chance a coincidence - in Chinese folklore, the number 8 stands for prosperity, fortune and wealth.

No doubt China's presentation of itself to the world will be dramatic and beautiful, if we can see it through the smog. These Olympics will be sort of like watching Dorian Grey at a dinner party.

Never the less, I love the Olympics. Tune in and cheer for everyone.

Sharon, Matt, and I have all applied to receive tickets, or "community credentials" to attend Obama's speech at Mile High on Friday, 30th. According to reports, 30 thousand tickets were made available strictly for Colorado residents. Over 60 thousand of us applied. So, we'll see the action live or maybe we'll cheer from our sofa. Either way, how grand.

NASA just had it's 50th anniversary a week ago. One of the first space crafts that NASA built was called the NASA M2-F1. It was designed to test the ability to land an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. I imagine this was key to the future space shuttle landings. A cowboy named Milt Thompson piloted the craft for the first time on April 5th, 1963, 18 years to the week, that the first shuttle, Columbia, lifted off on April 12, 1981. All combined, the five shuttles have flown over 450 million miles. Space-science is an addictive subject for me. Bring on the star cruisers.

A different kind of Miles.

The Miles Davis Quintet was a bebop-oriented jazz quintet formed in 1955 by Miles Davis. John Coltrane played tenor sax, Red Garland waxed piano, Paul Chambers stood on double-bass, Phill Joe Jones on drums, and Miles on trumpet. These guys are mythic in the genre today, but at the time of the Quintet's formation, they were virtually unknown.

Davis had just kicked his heroin addiction in early 1955 when he performed such a strong version of Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight" at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1955, that Columbia Records signed Davis to a recording contract, which allowed him to assemble a working band.

"'Round midnight" is a song that moves like smoke. I have listened to this song so many times and I'm always laid down and swept away. When Miles exhales, I crave whiskey on ice and I want to loosen my tie and slow dance with my wife in the living room.

If you've never listened to Davis, listen and watch him below with his band, including Coltrane on sax, playing "'Round Midnight". I suggest you wait 'till you're at home with your shoes off before you press play. Pour yourself a drink and let the sound pull you into the night. Enjoy.

Have a good weekend, and Godspeed, John Glenn,

Dave