Wednesday, March 03, 2010

these are a few of my favorite things



Cakravakasana (pronounced Chakra-va-KAsana), usually called "table top" to "child's pose." This simplest of all yoga asanas (postures) is very therapeutic for the lower back, and it also feels really good. You'll probably want to put some padding under your knees if you're working on a bare floor.*

King Oliver's both-feet-off-the-ground cornet solo on "Dippermouth Blues." It's a 1923 recording, so a listener has to adjust to the inferior technical quality of the sound in order to "be there," so to speak. Joe Oliver, mentor of the young Louis Armstrong, was a ground-breaker in his own right. He pioneered the use of mutes for cornet and trumpet, and the "Dippermouth" solo is a muted-horn masterpiece.

The neighborhood in the area of 85th and Greenwood in Seattle. It's the fully-equipped urban hellhole, complete with coffee shops, a yoga studio or two, and everything else a person might want including groceries. Plus it's got more than its share of erudite and sophisticated people who sometimes might appear snobbish, possibly even "elitist" to outsiders. But to know them is to love them.

Trader Joe's lightly-salted Hawaiian-style potato chips. I shouldn't ever eat stuff like that because I live with elevated cholesterol levels, but we all have our weaknesses.

*Even though it's easy and therapeutic, don't attempt cakravakasana if you've had knee replacement surgery.

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