Borderline

An article on the USA Today online travel section just started me whistling that Madonna tune "Borderline."

It's been about three years since my lone drive from Seattle to Vancouver via the Washington:British Columbia border crossing. According to today's report, if I'm to repeat that transnational trek again next month there may be a longer wait and more detailed search of the vehicle.

So in case you're planning to drive from anywhere in the USA to the 2010 Winter Olympic metropolis, be sure you plan ahead and bring your required documents.

If only I could drive one of those T-top Datsun Z cars (as featured in the "Borderline" video) ...

Photo via Flickr user i_am_metolius

"The Snakehead"

Driving home this evening, it hit me that this Saturday, 08-08-09 marks just one year since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony. Whew! What a year!

And during the drive home, on the NPR and WHYY program "Fresh Air With Terry Gross" (aired in Atlanta on WABE-FM) the program featured an interview with Patrick Radden Keefe, author of a new book titled "The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream."

The text is centered around an entrepreneurial woman who made millions smuggling people into the U.S. during the 1980s and 1990s. My interest was piqued while listening, and will have to check it out soon.

Meanwhile, the AFP today ran an update on the Beijing Olympic venues and how they are being put to use (or not) in the 2008 Olympic city.

I think the one-year mark is premature to nickname the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium a "white elephant." It is going to take time to determine the right mix of events to host there, but eventually these decisions will be made and the stadium will be put to good use.

For comparison, look at the 1972 Munich Olympic stadium, the architectural wonder of its time (and of all time). This time next week, I aim to tour this 37 year old stadium, which now features a rooftop walking tour, a regular mix of sport and cultural events and other gatherings (in two weeks, Madonna will perform there -- perhaps she may add Beijing to the tour schedule).


Book image via www.patrickraddenkeefe.com.

Stream of Consciousness

A few hours ago on "The Writer's Almanac" site I read that Jan. 11 is the birthday of William James, the philosopher and psychologist who coined the phrase "stream of consciousness" (my boss would no doubt find this amusing as these are words that often apply to my offbeat and often ill-timed comments at meetings).

So, for a "stream of consciousness" post -- tying an evening online music search to the Olympics -- here goes:

A few weeks ago I read in a back issue of The New Yorker an article about Chinese pianist Lang Lang and his preparations for performances related to the Beijing Olympic Games. GRAMMY winner Herbie Hancock was mentioned in the article (apparently the two played together at the GRAMMY Awards ceremony last year). (disclosure: The Recording Academy Atlanta Chapter is a client of Edelman, the P.R. firm where I work)

Recollections of this article lead me to search online for music by Mr. Hancock, and I stumbled upon one of his older tunes, "Watermelon Man," which was new for me in spite of its tenure in the music world (first released in the early 1960s, I learned). Something about the tune was familiar.

It took a few minutes to recognize the groove, but then it hit me that Madonna sampled "Watermelon Man" in her 1994 release "Sanctuary" on "Bedtime Stories," a cassette I purchased on a Chicago/Milwaukee road trip during my last year of college at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Before the long track was over I had that cassette's liner notes out and sure enough Herbie Hancock was cited.

This activity all got me started on searching for an Olympic connection both to Hancock and to Madonna. All through work at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games, after all, there was speculation whether Madonna would perform "Hung Up" at the Opening or Closing Ceremonies, given her Italian roots and the fact the song was topping the charts around the time Italy was welcoming the world ("Hung Up" was one of the few English songs we could get on the radio there).

Though Madonna was a no show for Torino, there IS at least one connection for Herbie Hancock and the Olympics (the pop diva, Ms. Ciccone, must have some Olympic ties, too, but will have to locate and post those later).

Turns out his aforementioned GRAMMY performance with Hancock and Lang Lang lead U.S. Olympic sponsor United Airlines to hire the piano playing duo to reprise their "Rhapsody In Blue" performance for their 2008 commercials that debuted on 8 August 2008, just in time for the Olympic Games.

The public relations team for United Airlines apparently did a blast of outreach to publicize the commercials, and there are some interesting videos from that announcement still up on YouTube, along with YouTube's posting for "Watermelon Man" and "Sanctuary."

Thanks, Mr. James. This stream of consciousness thing makes me want to "Rock It!"