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Kawasaki on Its Way Back to MotoGP Grid, as Well?
As we recently reported, Suzuki is well along in its preparations to return to the MotoGP grid next year, including scheduling a test in June alongside the current MotoGP participants. Is Kawasaki planning a return, as well?
The CTR team Forward Racing switched from BMW to Kawasaki Power this year, and its owner John Cuzari has told European press representatives that he has already had discussions with Kawasaki about Forward being the base for Kawasaki's official return to factory MotoGP racing. The use of Kawasaki engines in an FTR chassis this year clearly should help cement relations between Forward Racing and the Japanese factory. Kawasaki's ability to obtain grid positions next year likely hinges on its use of an existing CRT team, as the owner of the MotoGP series has expressed the intention to add no new grid spots in the coming year. Stay tuned for further developments.
My Next Motorcycle is a . . . Toyota? (With video)
MD Double-Take: 2012 Royal Enfield Classic C5
MotoGP puts too much emphasis on engineering and too little on the rider. This keeps competition mostly absent and we see less participation from the factories. Too bad.
TomS says:
As a long time fan of The Green, I'd love to see a factory Kawasaki or two on the grid. But if they come back I hope they throw the necessary shiploads of cash at it, so they're not an embarrassment like they were back in 2007/8.
It would be great to see Kawasaki back. Personally I'd like to see all the major manufacturer's competing. They should try to get back to something closer to a bike that sells in dealerships, and make it less costly to compete, but I'll take Kawasaki and Suzuki back.
monsterduc1000 says:
That's why world super bike is so awesome!
I like em all, but, there is a special place for Kawasaki 🙂 Factory level involvement is what Makes MotoGP work, imho. As was mentioned before, why not just punt a CRT Team if you want to hold the grid size. (My series? Let the market and qualifying determine grid size, a 107% cutoff for instance. Yes Sir! Mr Factory please make yourself at home.)
I think we can stick a fork in the whole CRT thing as it stands, I can't conceive of how good a Rider would have to be to run with Jorge on the Yamaha on a CRT bike… I'm not saying that CRT was a bad idea, I just don't think it should run with the true MotoGP bikes. Multi-class races, ala Lemans, may work OK for cars but not for Motorcycle sprint Races imho. Maybe, it could survive as a stand alone series… Moto1?
My two cents:
The Factories should decide/agree what the equipment rules are in MotoGP (majority rule). Those rules should be stabilized.
The Rider's, with assistance from the Factories should decide all safety issues. If the Riders declare something a Safety issue, it is.
Any "Spec" rules to be agreed to by all parties. If a promoter had 3-7 Factories agree to a rules package, get out of the way and promote.
The factories in MotoGP are what is currently smothering it. Honda and to a slightly lesser degree Yamaha want it to be a wallet race because they know they can win that and they're perfectly happy if Suzuki and Kawasaki, Aprilia, BMW, KTM, Triumph, and MV Agusta don't want to play. CRT was not the right solution but without them there were 12-14 bikes on the grid, which was embarrassing to what should be the premier class of motorcycle racing. The economy is tough, if they want the series to be healthy then they have to adjust the cost of entry so more sponsors will want to participate. See Moto2 and WSBK, which are very competitive and well participated.
re: "I'm not saying that CRT was a bad idea"
exactly, 'cause those kind of statements should be left to me…
CRT WAS A BAD IDEA…!!!
soi cowboy says:
I don't think anyone in America gives a crap about gp, at least it doesn't sell any bikes here. It is a big deal in Asia though, where they sell millions of bikes.
Attendance at US GP events as well as TV coverage (which could be better) seems to fly in the face of that analysis. It's huge in Europe as well, where the majority of the races are held. It was perhaps 2 years ago that GP racing was polled as more popular than AMA US series racing here in the States. I have no idea whether it sells any bikes or not. Since the GP bikes are so different from production bikes, it may not.
Marty O says:
Would be nice. Us Kawasaki fans would like to see that. It would be a tough fight though. Sure hope it happens though. Go Green!
re: "Suzuki is well along in its preparations to return to the MotoGP grid next year"
ironic considering ezpelata/dorna are not.
The owner of the MotoGP series doesn't want any more grid positions? How stupid is that? If I owned the series, I'd welcome any manufacturer that wanted to play.
I would think they would just punt a CRT team. Last year it seemed that anybody that wanted to try could put a CRT bike on the track.
re: "Kawasaki on Its Way Back to MotoGP Grid, as Well?"
Hefner says:
I think it's a bit silly for both Kawasaki and Suzuki to have pulled out, only to return a few years later. I question the benefit of being an also-ran manufacturer in the series, and I doubt they will be anything but, at least to start with… And then rule changes will come in and destroy what data they have been able to accumulate.
Maybe their plan was to go WSBK instead, and having Dorna own that series put a stop to it? I'll admit it's a stretch…
They undoubtedly dropped out due to the worldwide recession. They were losing business hand over fist. Racing is incredibly expensive.
PatrickD says:
The main purpose for the factories to go racing is to market the brand. Do you think that MotoGP was a positive marketing exercise for either Kawasaki or Suzuki? Combine the fact that it was, if anything, soiling the brand with the high costs, and it became a straightforward decision to make.
Kawasaki have placed greater emphasis on production based racing in the last 3 years, which has really enhanced their sportsbike credentials. Their sales, especially in the US, back this up. Sportsbike buyers at Honda and Yamaha dealers have been getting a strong deja-vu feeling over the last 4 years.
The problem with that theory is they are already in WSBK and very successful there. Tom Sykes missed the championship last year by 1/2 a point.
re: "they are already in WSBK and very successful there. Tom Sykes missed the championship last year by 1/2 a point."
FISTPUMP…!!!


Last night I was one lucky girl. The executive chef at the fine dining restaurant in Beijing is a very famous chef here in Beijing. He is rated one of the top 3 chef's in Beijing and is starting to make a name for himself globally. He comes to New York and hangs out with all the top culinary people. Last night he invited me to eat at his chef's table in the kitchen. It was one of the most amazing culinary experiences I have ever had. Plus the icing on the cake is that Brian sat with me most of the evening drinking wine and BS'ing with me.
The dinner was approx 12 courses. He is famous for doing twists on food. For example I think the first picture is his take on a BLT sandwich. You cant' see the piece of house cured bacon, then he does the tomatoes and then a cup of lettuce with a funky mayo on it.
Another course is a a chocolate shot. He puts a type of poprock in this plastic wrap of mousse and when you pit through the plastic then you get this amazing chocolate concoction in your mouth that pops a bit.
He ends every dinner with a "mint" His version is the 3rd picture that – is a take of going to bed and you brush your teeth before you go to bed at night. The drink is a green type of alcohol with soda water that serves as a digestive. Folks, I can't even begin to tell you what an amazing treat this was for me to have this incredible experience. You will be hearing much more from Brian as he continues to expand his career.
Chef said when designing a plate there should be 1 crunchy and 2 of the same texture on the plate of ingredients.
Other than that yesterday was very very rainy here in China but today is beautiful. Probably one of the best weather days since I have been here.


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The Alexandrian Epitomes of Galen vol. 1: On the Medical Sects for Beginners; The Small art of Medicine; On the Elements According to the Opinion of Hippocrates – WALBRIDGE (RA)
WALBRIDGE, J. The Alexandrian Epitomes of Galen vol. 1: On the Medical Sects for Beginners; The Small art of Medicine; On the Elements According to the Opinion of Hippocrates. A parallel English-Arabic text translated, introduced, and anno- tated. Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2014 Resenha de: BRITO, Rodrigo Pinto de. Revista Archai, Brasília, n.18, p. p. 389-394, set., 2016.
The book is edited, translated, introduced and an- notated by John Walbridge, who earned his PhD in 1983 from Harvard University. Nowadays, Walbridge is Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at indiana University Bloomington, his researches are mainly in the area of islamic Philosophy, Religion and Sciences. Walbridge has been writing books and pa- pers on the islamic culture, especially on the islamic reception of the Greek culture in Medieval period. As examples, in 1992 he published The Science of Mys- tic Lights: Qutb al-Din Shirazi and the Illuminationist Tradition of Islamic Philosophy: a monograph about the philosophy of Qutb al-Din Shirazi, an iranian phi- losopher of the 13 th century who was influenced by Platonism, Avicennian Neoplatonist theory of emana- tions and iranian Mythology. In 1996, he published Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time: a very com- plete work on the Baha'i religion, which began in 19 th century iran. The book fills a great gap offering gen- eral information about the sociological features of the religion, its history, law and rites for instance. Last but not least, the book accurately also explains the Baha'i scriptures.
Returning to the theme of the Greek influences on the islamic Mysticism, in 1996, Walbridge published The Leaven of the Ancients: Suhrawardi and the Herit- age of the Greeks. This book dialogues with the above mentioned book which was published in 1992, since Suhrawardi, the main character here, was the person who mostly influenced the work and thought of Qutb al-Din Shirazi, theme of Walbridge's book of 1992. The Leaven of the Ancients consists of a translation of the Suhrawardi dream with Aristotle, accompanied by Dr. Walbridge's commentaries which explain, for instance, the reasons that made Suhrawardi develop a mystical approach of islamic religion, leaving the Aristotelian influences on the sciences and advanc- ing a Neoplatonic tradition "leaded"by Pythagoras, Plato and Hermes trismegistus. The whole context and background of the transmission of Platonic and Neoplatonic thought and philosophy and their recep- tion by Suhrawardi is explained in 2001 in Walbridge's book: The Wisdom of the Mystic East: Suhrawardai and Platonic Orientalism.
In 2013, Walbridge published God and Logic in Islam: The Caliphate Of Reason, a very welcomed book, since Walbridge shows that, despite the violence and fundamentalism which are usually thought as inner features of islamic religion, in Medieval period the islamic laws and theology were developed through great rational arguments and debates, quite often founded in philosophical grounds, and the same can be said about the sciences. Maybe the rationalism is the way for bringing back the islamic Golden Age and, consequently also stopping the fundamentalism.
Regardless of the quality and importance of Walbridge's works for the area of the Near Eastern studies, the parallel English-Arabic translation of On the Medical Sects for Beginners; The Small art of Medicine; On the Elements According to the Opinion of Hippocrates (in: The Alexandrian Epitomes of Galen vol. 1) can easily be considered as his major work, and the main feature which makes the book so outstanding is the excellence: of the introduction, commentaries, translations, appendices, glossary and bibliography, and we must not forget also the high quality of the Arabic typography. in short, the book is very complete as a whole and each part is excellent in itself. it is a unique source for comprehending the reception of the Galenism by Medieval Arabic thinkers.
Regarding the current volume of The Alexandrian Epitomes of Galen, the introduction offers useful ex- planations on the issues treated, and it is divided in the following chapters: The Alexandrian medical curricu- lum (subdivided in: The medical school in Alexandria; The Alexandrian medical syllabus; Alexandria and the Islamicate medical curriculum); The Alexandrian epitomes (subdivided in: Genre, form, and title; Style and content of the epitomes; History and authorship of the epitomes; Possible authors of the epitomes; Plausibil- ity of the Arabic accounts and dating the epitomes; The Arabic translation; Galen's three texts and their Alexandrian epitomes); The edition and translation (subdivided in: Previous versions, editions, and translations; Descriptions of manuscripts; Textual history and edit- ing methods; Other editorial policies; Division of the texts; Glosses and scholia; Translation; Annotation). As usual, this introductory chapters and subchapters are followed by one chapter on Abbreviations and Conventions.
After that, we have the complete, parallel and bilingual translation of the following Alexandrian epitomes of Galen: On the Medical Sects for Beginners; The Small art of Medicine; On the Elements According to the Opinion of Hippocrates, annotated. This study also provide us with three appendices: the former offers a list of Greek and Islamicate Physicians; the second one offers more info on The Three Schools of Medicine; and the third one is a brief explanation of The Structure and Terminology of the Eye in the Epitome of The Small Art. Finally we also have a very complete and exciting Arabic-Greek-English Glossary; a very useful and updated Bibliography; and a very good Index.
Obviously, the book is aimed to be read by scholars and professors even if the way the author wrote it as well as the exhaustive amount of information available could make it a "bestseller". Unfortunately the theme of the book, despite being extremely interesting, is still forgotten by most scholars, even those whose works deal with the History of Medicine or History of Phi- losophy. i sincerely hope that this great book can fill the huge gap left by the oblivion of the transmission of one of the major trends of Late Ancient thought, Galenism, to Medieval thinkers.
WALBRIDGE, J. (1992). The Science of Mystic Lights: Qutb al-Din Shirazi and the Illuminationist Tradition of Islamic Philosophy. Harvard, Harvard University Press.
_(1996). Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time. Welwyn, George Ronald.
_(1999). The Leaven of the Ancients: Suhrawardi and the Heritage of the Greeks. New York, State University of New York Press.
_(2001). The Wisdom of the Mystic East: Suhrawardai and Platonic Orientalism. New York, State University of New York Press…
_(2013). God and Logic in Islam: The Caliphate Of Reason. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
_(2014). The Alexandrian Epitomes of Galen vol. 1: On the Medical Sects for Beginners; The Small art of Medicine; On the Elements According to the Opinion of Hippocrates. A parallel English-Arabic text translated, introduced, and annotated by john Walbridge. in: Islamic Translation Series. Utah, Brigham Young University Press.
Rodrigo Pinto de Brito – Universidade Federal de Sergipe (Brasil). E-mail: [email protected]
Tags: Arte da Medicina, Brigham Young University Press (E), BRITO Rodrigo Pinto de (Res), Galeno, Hipócrates, Revista Archai (RA), The Alexandrian Epitomes of Galen vol. 1: On the Medical Sects for Beginners; The Small art of Medicine; On the Elements According to the Opinion of Hippocrates (T), WALBRIDGE J (Aut)
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Sound absorbing screen made from moulded fibre felt. The system is built around a hexagon in a variety of designs and colours. It is an easy, flexible system where you can create your own geometrical patterns. Airflake is fixed to an aluminium rail for wall or ceiling mounting. It can also be fixed directly to a wall.
Available in four designs and several colours.


Rather than a new cartridge, being able to get the appropriate replacement stylus was good.
It is a conical tip, and as sounds the same as the original conical.
Click the button below to add the Generic Needle / Stylus for Audio Technica ATN-952 to your wish list.


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Home/World/It is not true that Pelé did not fight racism | Football
It is not true that Pelé did not fight racism | Football
In the days after the death of football star Pelé, there was a global outpouring of grief and much reflection on his legacy. I, like millions of other fans across the world, was mourning. Although I had never met Pelé in person, it felt like I had lost an elder, who I was close to and deeply admired.
There was a lot of international media attention, a lot of obituaries, articles, interviews, reports acknowledging his iconic status and his sporting achievements. But there was one persistent line of commentary that irked me.
Sports observers and media outlets kept insisting that Pelé did not speak out against racism. Some would mention it in passing, others would dedicate whole segments to it, still others would bring up the inevitable comparison with American boxing star Muhammad Ali. This criticism was often levelled at Pelé while he was still alive, and he was not spared even in his death.
As an Afro-Brazilian, I feel this persistent scrutiny of what Pelé said or did not say is unfair, to say the least. The fact that he did not make certain statements does not mean he did not participate in the fight against racism.
Throughout his life and career, Pelé experienced racism and discrimination. He was keenly aware of racial inequalities and injustices, and he confronted them in a different way than some other Black sports stars who were his contemporaries.
Pelé was born just 52 years after Brazil abolished slavery in 1888, the last country in the Western hemisphere to do so. But growing up, he faced neither apartheid nor Jim Crow laws. Brazil at that time had made racism illegal and considered itself a "racial democracy".
The idea that the country enjoyed racial harmony was put forward in the 1930s by Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre. Himself a white wealthy man and a descendant of European colonisers, he claimed that Portuguese colonisation was somehow benign and that slavery was not as gruesome as in the United States and therefore, Brazil did not suffer from the same type of brutal structural racism.
This idea – or rather myth – was quite durable and even I was taught at school and university many decades later that Brazil somehow had exceptionally positive relations between the races thanks to supposed high rates of miscegenation.
That, of course, was and still is not the case. Brazil of the 1940s and 50s, when Pelé was growing up, was heavily racially divided. The elites were almost exclusively white, while the majority of the poor were Black, Indigenous, and mixed-race. Meanwhile, the government continued to encourage European immigration in order to boost the number of (the more "desirable") whites in the country.
Brazilian football also suffered from racism. The sport had been brought into Brazil at the turn of the century by wealthy white men – like Oscar Cox and Charles Miller – who had studied in Europe. In the early days of Brazilian football, there were attempts to forbid Black people from playing in official matches and later, in the 1910s and 20s, some Afro-Brazilian players felt compelled to straighten their hair and put rice powder on their skin to hide their African features.
Despite this reality, the myth of "racial democracy" persisted and ended up weakening anti-racist activism. Although at that time, Brazil had a Black emancipation movement, it was not as strong as the civil rights movement in the US or the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa.
The idea of "racial democracy" also instilled a culture of denial – that racism did not exist. This was reinforced by the media and the military dictatorship which came to power in Brazil in a 1964 coup.
Pelé was aware of these dynamics. He was playing a sport dominated by whites, faced media controlled by whites and a merciless dictatorship run by whites; he knew that being confrontational would not take him far. In fact, speaking out against those in power resulted in torture and death at that time.
As Brazilian historian Ynaê Lopes dos Santos has pointed out: "This stance that he took was very calculated, coming from a Black man who knew how to play the game of racism in Brazil. In this sense and many others, he is a winner. A Black man that became a Brazilian symbol, a country that in many moments projected itself as white. This is based on a very sophisticated assessment that he made on how Brazil works."
Throughout his career, Pelé persistently experienced racism. He had a number of racist nicknames that football fans and the media would use and often heard monkey chants during matches.
But as he said in 2014 – in response to questions about racism in Brazilian football: "If I had to stop or shout every time I was racially abused since I started to play in Latin America, here in Brazil, in its interior, every game would have had to be stopped."
And not being vocal did not mean he was not fighting or resisting. When he decided to end his career in the national team in 1971, he was punished for it, with two events meant to celebrate his successful career cancelled. When the Brazilian authorities tried to force him to come back and compete in the 1974 World Cup, he refused, despite the persistent pressure and threats.
So, Pelé fought racism and oppression through achievement, opening the door for other Black boys and girls to follow and inspiring Black Brazilians to dream big and defy discrimination.
It is not an easy choice to stay silent when you are racially abused. I know that all too well.
When I was in journalism school, a few professors picked me for an internship programme. They kept calling me "our project" as if I was a test subject and the reason they had picked me was to show that in our elite school, even young Black people could make it.
Later as an intern at a São Paulo public TV station, I had to endure in silence a supervisor making racist jokes, an anchor telling me that without my braids I looked like a "real human being" and a producer making monkey noises on my last day there.
I knew that if I had openly confronted all these racist individuals, my career would be jeopardised and the efforts of my family to support my education would be wasted.
Later in life, I would also be criticised for not being more vocal by white liberals who never experienced racism. But I knew that their demands for me to take a more activist position were really a way to weaponise my pain and tokenise me.
Still, my experiences of racism are probably just a fraction of what Pelé had to overcome in his life and career.
The fact that he did served as a major inspiration for my grandparents' generation. His achievements also transcended the field of sports. After he retired from football, he became a successful businessman, acted in a Hollywood movie, was appointed a UNESCO goodwill ambassador, took the post of a minister of sport and was even knighted by British Queen Elizabeth II.
He demonstrated that anything was possible for a Black Brazilian man and that is why people called him "Rei Pelé" – King Pelé. I remember how when my grandparents would talk about him, the tone of their voices would change as if they were talking about their royalty, their Black king.
By the time I was growing up in the late 1980s and early 90s, more Black people had made it to positions of prominence, including people in my extended family. But racism, of course, persisted. Afro-Brazilians were still a rare sight in Brazilian media, most often appearing in slavery-themed soap operas or as minor characters, often mocked, in TV shows. So I would regularly switch to American shows and films, where Black actors like Philip Michael Thomas and Danny Glover had become my idols.
Pelé, nevertheless, remained a permanent fixture on Brazilian TV. He was one of the few Afro-Brazilians that I saw being respected when appearing or being mentioned. He motivated me to fight for my place in the media, a sphere which continues to be heavily dominated by white people.
Now after his death, the global mourning has made me realise how much Pelé also meant to other Black people across the world. "Africa has lost a great son," Ivory Coast Consul Tibe bi Gole Blaise said while attending Pelé's wake at Santos stadium.
Thus, I think the criticism thrown at Pelé and comparisons between him and Muhammad Ali are unfair. They degrade his contribution to the anti-racism struggle in Brazil and the world while presenting him as someone who neglected his race.
That is really not the case. Pelé fought racism and carried the weight of the struggle so the generations of Black people that came after him would find more doors open. His way of fighting racism should be respected, just as Muhammad Ali's has been.
I am grateful to Pelé for what he did: donning the Brazilian football jersey and leading Brazil to the status of world power in football, breaking the glass ceiling, ripping the whitewashed image of Brazilian identity and paving the way for Afro-Brazilians to claim equality and respect in Brazilian sport and society at large. He truly played his "beautiful game" on and off the pitch.
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Lubber Run Amphitheater – Free Concert Series
Two-time Grammy Award-nominee ("Best Male Jazz Vocalist" 2018 and 2019) RAUL MIDÓN opens the 50th Anniversary Lubber Run Summer Concert Season Fri. Jun 14th @ 8PM
Fri. Jul 27 see this new group formed of DC band heavyweights Shamans of Sound unite hip-hop, r&b, soul, funk and dancehall through their collective love of reggae.
Mr. Gabe and the Circle Time All Stars present their family fiendly rock and pop songs and witty orginals from Mr. Gabe's two award-winning albums Sun. Aug 4th
Born in Lome, Togo and founder of afropop/afrofunk band Elikeh known for their high level energy performances returns to the States with his Togo chart-topping "Von Na Agbeto" Fri. Jul 19
Fri. Jul 12 see acapella vocal group Vox Pop. This award-winning group latest release, Very Good..., is slickly produced album that is energetic from start to finish.
See Arlington-based conteporarmy repertory dance company Company Danzante present their highly-regarded new works Fri. Aug 2.
The 2019 Lubber Run Summer Concert Series - Celebrating 50 Years!
Two-time GRAMMY Award® nominated singer-songwriter RAUL MIDÓN opens the 50th Anniversary season of the Free LUBBER RUN AMPHITHEATER Summer Concert Series, North Columbus and 2nd Street North, in Arlington, Virginia. The Series runs Friday, June 14th through September 15th, 2019, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 11am.
Come early (7pm) on Opening Night Friday, June 14th for a pre-show celebration with free ice cream (while supply lasts) from a vintage Good Humor Truck and kids activities!
Since the construction of the first permanent stage in 1969, generations of Arlingtonians have enjoyed free summer cultural events at the sylvan venue nestled two blocks off Route 50, ranging from Arlington Children's Theater to bands like Eddie from Ohio and superstar Ritchie Havens. The full schedule is listed on the following pages. Run-times vary. Bring a picnic, some friends and enjoy the arts at Lubber Run Amphitheater!
Download full schedule here.
2019 Lubber Run Summer Concert Schedule
Raul Midon - Fri, Jun 14 @ 8PM
Two-time Grammy Award-nominee for "Best Male Jazz Vocalist" Raul Midón opens the 50th Anniversary Lubber Run Summer Concert Season. The NYT calls Midón "a one-man band who turns a guitar into an orchestra and his voice into a chorus." In prefacing his 2018 Tiny Desk Concert, NPR said "Raul Midón lives in a world of sound – blind since birth, Midón's interpretation of his surroundings is borderless. He sings with the passion of the best classic soul singers, and his instrumental chops stand alongside the most accomplished jazz musicians."
Justin Jones - Sat, Jun 15 @ 8PM
The music of Washington, D.C. based singer-songwriter Justin Jones has been described by The Washington Post as "electrified country and roots-rock that leaves plenty of space for Jones to hold court...like Dave Grohl when at full throttle and Townes Van Zandt when at ease." The Virginia native has toured North America and headlined popular venues such as The Hamilton and the 9:30 Club.
Full Power Blues Band - Fri, Jun 21 @ 8PM
Full Power Blues Band (formerly known as "The D.C. Blues Society Band") was formed in 2009, and is a mainstay at numerous festivals throughout the DMV, including the Silver Spring Blues Festival, the College Park Blues Festival and most notably the Annual D.C. Blues Society Festival at Carter-Baron Amphitheater. The band vocalist Mama Moon, saxophonist Murray Green, harp player David Harris, bassist Denzil Hathaway, drummer Calvin Newbill, Jr. and guitarist Sam'i Nuriddin.
Sin Miedo - Sat, Jun 22 @ 8PM
Sin Miedo is Spanish for "Fearless" and it is also the name of one of the best Salsa orchestra in Washington DC. Led by French pianist Didier Prossaird, the name sums up the band's attitude towards music. Sin Miedo has been performing in the DC/Baltimore area for the past 20 years, collaborating with Salsa greats Tito Allen and Frankie Vasquez, touring the US and abroad with the Washington Ballet, playing for musical theater in many of Teatro Gala's productions and providing Salsa music for the hottest dance night is the Capital. The repertoire of the band includes the Salsa classics of the 70's to today as well as original music with Spanish and French lyrics.
Grandsons Jr. Sun, Jun 23 @ 11AM
The kids-oriented version of the DC-area roots rock superstars, the Grandsons, Jr., have won "best children's artist" three years in a row from the Washington Area Music Association! Kids and their parents will dig the upbeat mix of rock, swing, New Orleans R&B, country, and latin music we call Americana. Over the past 25 years performing as The Grandsons, the band has noticed that many of their songs resonate with the younger crowd. As the grandsons, Jr., they combine new material learned especially for the younger set, with Grandsons tunes that have always been popular with the kids.
Arlington Philharmonic Pops In the Park - Fri, Jun 28 @ 8PM
This first-class symphony orchestra makes classical music accessible to every Arlington resident. This performance, their 6th Annual "Pops in the Park" is a benefit for the Arlington Philharmonic. Pets, kids, and picnic meals are welcome at this event!
Signature Theatre "Cabaret Under the Stars" - Sat, Jun 29 @ 8PM
One of the perennial favorites of the Lubber Run Amphitheater season, hear some of the region's great voices under the stars (lineup TBA). Enjoy the thrilling voices that star in productions by Arlington's Tony Award®-winning professional theater, known for their world premiere and reinvented musicals and plays.
Encore Stage and Studio "A Sidewalk Stroll" - Sun, Jun 30 @ 11AM
Join one of the region's premiere youth theatre ensembles on a journey for the whole family. From its play series, Theatre for the Very Young, "A Sidewalk Stroll" starts professional artists who bring park adventures and friendly animals to life, all the while teaching your little one about navigating through life's surprises. Recommended for ages 1 and older.
U.S. Army Blues Swamp Romp - Fri, July 5 @ 8PM
**ROSTER CHANGE** Representing The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own," The U.S. Army Blues Swamp Romp has been active for almost two decades, performing traditional jazz and folk music of Louisiana in support of recruiting and community outreach initiatives throughout our nation. Past performances include national broadcasts on ESPN, Emeril Live, and WWOZ's renowned New Orleans Music Show. In addition, the Swamp Romp has supported vital volunteer efforts, including America's Gulf Coast rebuilding operations implemented after Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact. **Due to unforseen circumstances, the full U.S. Army Blues big band is not available to appear as announced.
The Fuss - Sat, Jul 6 @ 8PM
The Fuss is a dynamic ska, rocksteady, and early reggae band from Washington, D.C. Their sound pays tribute to the music of 1960's Jamaica and the British Mod scene, while putting modern slant on the timeless styles. The group is comprised of 3-part female harmonies, a 3-piece horn section, and 4-piece rhythm section. Since the band formed in 2014 and they've had the pleasure of sharing the stage with bands such as The Skatalites, The Toasters, The Pietasters, Eastern Standard Time, The Interrupters, Save Ferris, Steady 45's, JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, Black Masala, and many more. The Fuss's first full-length album "Ourselves" is now available on LP, CD, and Cassette.
Reptiles Alive - Sun, Jul 7 @ 11AM
Colorful live reptiles presented by an engaging and kid-friendly Wildlife Educator make this fun for all ages! Enjoy exciting stories about how the animals survive while meeting an exotic cast of snakes, lizards, turtles and other amazing animals.
Vox Pop - Fri, Jul 12 @ 8PM
For 15 years, this DC based contemporary vocal group has become synonymous with high-energy, entertaining live performances at such venues as The Music Center at Strathmore, World Cafe Live at the Queen, and Jammin' Java. They've top prizes at the Aca-Challenge (2015) and SingStrong DC Aca-Idol (2016) competitions, and 2nd Runner Up at the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Harmony Sweepstakes. In 2017, Vox Pop was a headliner of the National A Cappella Convention in Memphis, TN. Vox Pop's latest release, Very Good..., is the culmination of hard work refining their sound and style, resulting in a slickly produced album that is energetic from start to finish.
King Soul - Sat, Jul 13 @ 8PM
This eight-piece band brings the excitement of old school Southern Soul to a new audience. Featuring original songs, powerful vocals and a high energy horn section, this all-star band includes members of the Slickee Boys, the Rhodes Tavern Troubadours, the Recliners, the Hula Monsters, the Thangs, the J Street Jumpers, and Lubber Run favorites…, the Grandsons. King Soul's membership has more than 30 Washington Area Music Association Wammies and Austin Music Awards to its credit.
. 6:00pm
Rocnocerous - Sun, Jul 14 @ 11AM
These three bandmates of Rocknoceros "grew up" (if they ever did) in Northern Virginia, and have been making award-winning music for the whole family since 2005. They have gained significant national recognition performing at the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap. Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits and perform regularly at Jammin' Java.
Dogo - Fri, Jul 19 @ 8PM
Born in Lome, Togo, DOGO played in different bands in the Togolese capital before acting as the leader of the band of the University in Lome. DOGO moved to the United States in 2000 and founded the DC based Afropop/Afrofunk band Elikeh. Known for their high energy live performances and original material, Elikeh released 3 albums and an EP that received rave reviews by The Washington Post, National Public Radio, World Music Central. Currently spending more time in his native country, DOGO's first single "Von Na Agbeto" tells the story of an adopted orphan who forgot all about his adoptive family when he became wealthy. Von Na Agbeto was one of the top 3 songs on many radio charts in Togo prompting radio hosts and journalists to proclaim DOGO "L'enfant du pays" (The native son).
Hot Lanes - Sat, Jul 20 @ 8PM
The Hot Lanes is a 16-piece culmination of a dream Bobby Jasinski had in 2014. Influenced by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the group promotes jazz in the D.C. metropolitan area through festivals, concerts, educational masterclasses in the public school system and other appearances.
Rainbow Rock Band (family performance) - Sun, Jul 21 @ 11AM
Are you ready to rock the rainbow?? Join the Rainbow Rock Band as they entertain your little dudes with tunes, laughs and more! Winners of a Parents' Choice Fun Stuff Award for their debut CD, "Meet the Rainbow," and a 2018 Family Choice Award for their newest release "Total Eclipse of the Rainbow," they provide an absolute mix of musical genres from folk, pop rock to rockabilly, all the while being EDUCATIONAL and FUN!! Your child will learn about shapes, colors, movement, and more! The Rainbow Rock Band encourages all rainbow rockers to participate in the show on the microphone or at their seat, either way your little one is sure to have fun!
Mariachi Los Amigos - Fri, Jul 26 @ 8PM
Mariachi Los Amigos was founded in 1979 and has continued to evolve over the years. Los Amigos truly are what their name depicts: a group of friends who share a passion for the lively, extraverted sound of mariachi music. Mariachi music originated among the ranching and farming people of west Mexico in the 19th century that began to gain recognition in the US during the early 20th century. Traditionally found at weddings, birthdays, saint's day celebrations and rural dances, this upbeat style of music was used to inspire celebration at special occasions in Mexico.
Shamans of Sound - Sat, Jul 27 @ 8PM
"The Shamans Of Sound is a new project, but the band members are all veterans of the DC scene, hailing from bands like Nappy Riddem, Incwell, Dub City Renegades, Awthentik, Feel Free and Tropik Sol. Their diversity is their strength as they bring a variety of experiences and influences to the table, ranging from roots and dub to hip-hop, r&b, soul, funk and dancehall but its their shared love of reggae which brings everyone together."
Levine School of Music - Sun, Jul 28 @ 11AM
Join our First Music faculty for a morning of music and fun for the whole family. Their First Music faculty are both accomplished musicians and early childhood specialists who emphasize learning through play. Through First Music, they combine the best of early childhood music education practices with fun, dynamic, and creative programs to deliver the DC region's most engaging musical learning experiences for children ages 4 months through 8 years and their families.
Company Danzante - Fri, Aug 2 @ 8PM
Company Danzante, is a contemporary repertory dance company based in Arlington, VA. Since beginning artistic activities in 2013, the company has presented work at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Inside/Out Series, Dance Gallery Festival NYC, Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival DC, and the Esencia Festival in Chicago. In 2015 the company directors Katherine Horrigan and Arturo Garcia were recipients of the Strauss Artist Grant awarded by the Arts Council of Fairfax County. In 2014, Arturo was the recipient of Kennedy Center's Local Dance Commissioning Project.
Irene Jalenti: Jazz Homage to the Beatles - Sat, Aug 3 @ 8PM
Italian-born, Baltimore-based jazz vocalist Irene Jalenti brings a jazz take on the legendary rock anthems of The Beatles. This dynamic, soulful performer sings in five languages and has shared the stage with the likes of Esperanza Spalding, Patti Austin and the Count Basie Orchestra. With a Bachelor of Music from Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory, and a Master of Music from Howard University, Jalenti is truly a DMV gem. In 2019 Jalenti will finally launch her very much awaited first solo recording work, New Island.
Mr. Gabe and the Circle Time All Stars (family performance) - Sun, Aug 4 @ 11AM
Mr. Gabe is a former stay-at-home dad turned children's entertainer. He and his band, the Circle Time All-Stars, have been delighting young audiences throughout the DC area for over five years. Featuring electric guitar, bass and drums, they perform a rockin' 'n' rollin' mix of traditional favorites, family-friendly rock and pop songs, and witty originals from Mr. Gabe's two award-winning CDs. "Listening to Mr. Gabe sing is like hearing an old friend telling stories on the front porch swing." — Ashley Jo Farmer, Parents' Choice Foundation.
Carly Harvey - Fri, Aug 9 @ 8PM
DC vocalist Carly Harvey combines Blues, Jazz, Soul, & Americana roots styles to create a unique sound that calls to mind Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Nina Simone, with a little Ella Fitzgerald thrown in for good measure. Big City Blues Magazine (July, 2018) singled her out as one of the young singers to watch, and to-date she has shared the stage with such revered local and national names as Ron Holloway, Junior Marvin and Grammy-winner Cory Henry. Carly represented DC in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January 2019 and advanced to the Semi-finals. 2019 saw the release of Carly's new EP titled Kiss & Ride Vol. 1 and the hit single " She Ain't Me" is charting on regional blues radio stations. Carly is a two-time DC Blues society Battle of the bands winner (duo 2016, band 2019) and was proclaimed DC's Queen of the Blues in 2016 by Dr. Nick Johnson of WPFW Radio.
Veronneau - Sat, Aug 10 @ 8PM
A delicious blend of bossa nova, jazz, samba, swing and acoustic music performed in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, Veronneau's 2018 CD release Love & Surrender has reached the USA World Music Top 10. Currently based in Washington, DC, Veronneau draw capacity crowds at major venues such as Blues Alley, Strathmore Main Hall, and the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage. They've participated in the DC Jazz Festival and Takoma Park Jazz Festivals in addition to the UK's Beat Herder festival.
Encore Stage & Studio (family performance) - Sun, Aug 11 @ 11AM
Join one of the region's premiere youth theatre ensembles for a journey for the whole family: One imaginary friend, cardboard boxes, and a brave Rocket Woman together make one journey that is out of this world! Join our Rocket Woman as she blasts off into space to prove that women love exploration and adventure too! Watch as she uses her creativity, ingenuity and sass to reach her goals and the stars! That's one step for this Rocket Woman, one giant leap for imagination! Recommended for ages 1 and older.
Wildlife Ambassadors: Wild Life/Wild Art (family performance) - Sun, Aug 25 @ 11AM*
As showcased on the TV show Animal Planet, Wildlife Ambassadors allow children and adults to get up close and personal with animals from around the world as well as many from our very own backyards. Besides their educational presentations everywhere from schools to the Smithsonian Institution, the organization provides a permanent home for exotics, farm animals and native non-releasable wildlife. As part of the Amphitheater's 50th Anniversary celebration, the artists of Arlington's Lee Arts Center will turn the nearby pavilion into an outdoor art studio where, after the presentation, professional artists will guide them in creating clay versions of the animals they've just seen!
Mad Science of DC - Sunday, Sep 8 @ 11AM*
Delivering unique, hands-on science experiences to children is what Mad Science DC is all about. Designed to spark imaginative learning and scientific literacy with locations across the globe, Mad Science has been the leading science enrichment provider for children in preschool through grade 6 for over 25 years. (Rain Date: 9/22)
The Great Zucchini - Sun, Sep 15 @ 11AM*
With over 20 years of experience making kids laugh, the Great Zucchini has performed at the White House Easter Egg Roll, National Zoo's Guppy Gala, and thousands of parties geared to children ages 2-7. He was voted Washington Family Magazine's "Favorite Children's Entertainer" of 2017 and 2018.
The Lubber Run Summer Concert Series programming begins in mid-January. We recommend that performers interested in being considered for the upcoming Lubber Run season email links to sample recordings/videos starting January 1, 2020. Please understand that we endeavor to create a diverse and fresh range of offerings each season, and submission of your materials for consideration does not guarantee a booking. Please email them to: Josh Stoltzfus, Cultural Development Director at jstoltzfus@arlingtonva.us "
The Lubber Run Summer Concert Series is produced by Arlington Arts, the presenting arm of Arlington Cultural Affairs Division, in collaboration with the Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation, and with the cooperation of the Lubber Run Amphitheater Foundation.
*These events are sponsored in part by the Lubber Run Amphitheater Community Foundation.


text:
The Bad Father by Todd Grimson
BOMB 49 Fall 1994
Frank Pugliese by Nicole Burdette
Diamanda Galas and John Paul Jones by Michael Albo
David Bowes by Anney Bonney
Stephen Malkmus by Tim Nye
Fiona Rae by Shirley Kaneda
Tom Noonan by Alison MacLean
John Edgar Wideman by Caryl Phillips
Kiki Smith by Chuck Close
Jayne Anne Phillips by A.M. Homes
Arthur Miller by Ron Rifkin
Neighbor by Jacki Ochs
In the hand of the wind by David Rattray
Breaking Karma #5 by Sapphire
Defiance by Carole Maso
Four Poems by Robert Kuwada
Three Poems by Jenna Heller
Mind Reader by Philip Smith
Lake Falls by Bryan Hunt
Two Paintings by Ed Baynard
Untitled by Elliott Puckette
Untitled for BOMB by Lynn McCarty
Two Paintings by Lynn Umlauf
Louis Edwards by Ameena Meer
My father got me drunk when I was 14, not too long after my birthday, and I have a scar on my forehead as a result. He and my mother had, at that time, been divorced for maybe three years. The reason for the divorce was his incorrigible womanizing, or unfaithfulness, and this gave him a certain illicit glamour in my eyes.
That night he took me out to eat with him at a Chinese restaurant called Hung Far Low, which was located in a bad part of downtown. You had to go upstairs to find the restaurant, and I liked the feeling of secretiveness and criminality I imagined to suffuse the atmosphere there. My father, who had a certain charisma, with his slicked-back Brylcreem hair, wisecracking and cocky, flirted with waitresses everywhere, just by his manner, he would seem to presuppose that there was some interesting unanswered question in the air. That night for a reason I've forgotten he wanted me to taste alcohol. It was sort of a joke. The waitress went along.
When asked what I wanted to drink, I very coolly said, "A margarita," and just this, my choice, the fact that I had a ready choice, amused my father and the waitress no end. The margarita tasted wonderful to me. I hid my pleasure, absorbed in acting as if I did this all the time. I think I had four of them before we left. I have no idea how much bourbon my father put away.
Out in the car, we were conspiratorially pleased with the situation, and whatever we said to each other seemed very funny at the time. As he drove me home, however, a change came over him, and my father sped up, really flooring it along a straight stretch on Stark Street, turning to say to me, with a mean smile, "Want me to slow down? Am I going too fast?" I wouldn't reply to him, and I was angry at the stupid attempt to scare me. He kept asking me if I wanted him to slow down and although I put my hands against the dash I wouldn't give in, I wouldn't say a word. I was furious, and he was in turn furious with me. Nothing I did was ever enough to prove myself to him. He was competitive, and if for instance I grew taller than him and was a more natural, easier star at sports than he had ever been, back in North Dakota—why, then the arena of endeavor would be changed, and we would move on to whether I was tough enough in fights, if I was a man who could defend himself, or if I was a good worker willing to start at the bottom, etcetera. He hated me, I thought, and I was enraged at this—though I worshipped him, in some ways.
He couldn't stop the car in time. He slammed on the brakes, but the vehicle in front of us loomed up, I knew we weren't going to make it, just some dark car stopped at a red light, waiting for us.
I don't recall the actual impact, though later on I would have bad dreams about it that would jerk me awake. The next thing I knew, my father was looking at me with the dumbest fucking look on his face, blood on his forehead and chin.
"What happened, Joe? What happened?"
It was like a bad actor pretending to be drunk, and I despised him. I glanced up where my own head had met the windshield: there was a round, shattery hole. Blood was collecting in my lap. I realized my head had caused the hole. Some people had come out of their houses. Absurdly, someone told me to put my head between my knees. I was calm and composed. I had no fear. I was glad to see the policeman, professionally passing through my field of vision, in no hurry, no emotion whatsoever visible on his face. An ambulance came and took me away. I asked the attendant in back how many stitches he thought I would have.
Three years later, at 17, I was having dinner with my father out in deep Southeast Portland, at a restaurant he favored named Jimmy's Hut. The waitresses liked him here too, and for a while now they would let me accompany him into the back, into the bar. We would eat in there. I was not invited to drink, and I didn't care. I never thought of it.
My father might order anything on the menu, from pork chops with applesauce to chicken-fried steak, but all I ever wanted was a hamburger and french fries, with a Coke. I loved the hamburgers there, at Jimmy's Hut.
On this particular night, some kind of weird negotiation was going on. My father had gotten me to admit to him that I was a virgin, and I wasn't even embarrassed—he made me feel okay about it, man-to-man. One of the waitresses or barmaids, here in the dimly-lit "Elbow Room"—my father knew that I liked her, she was younger than the others, and she seemed to like me too. Patti wasn't working tonight, but as I was coming to understand it she lived in the motel across the street. She could look out of her window and see the images on the screen of the Division Street Drive-In, every night. That sounded great to me.
I was keeping my mouth shut, but I thought I knew what was going on. I didn't dare imagine it might be true, I didn't want to get too excited. This other barmaid, Claire, had called up Patti, then came back to the table and said, "Why don't you talk to her?" So my father went to the phone. Then he came by and said he was going to go see her, he'd be right back, and the way he smiled I figured it was going to come off, she wouldn't be able to resist his charm. And I knew that, although he liked to dicker, money was not a problem here. So it was just a matter of them agreeing on a price, and then I'd go over to Patti's room. I was in love with her then, a true swoon of romantic love, remembering what she looked like, her dark eyebrows and blond hair. She would have dark pubic hair, I supposed, and I was nearly beside myself with wanton visions of her smiling at me, that smile. I was in love.
But with this love came anxiety, and as time began to pass, I began to wonder what was taking so long. Maybe she was telling him no, not under any circumstance, I was just too ugly, too repulsive to her. I found this hard to believe. I wasn't so bad.
Then, with the notion that maybe she had some sort of idiosyncratic, perverse reaction to me … something unreasonable, that wasn't my fault—I began to dislike her. She was, after all, a failure in life, a whore. Fat men, ugly men—she'd do anyone, for money. These men would regard her with contempt.
You must understand, I was willing to forget all this in an instant, willing to utterly fall into selfless love in which state I would do anything for her, I would be devoted, I would save her—I went back and forth, waiting there in the Elbow Room booth.
I had been vaguely aware, as some other customers had come in, that the bartender didn't like me being in there by myself. I could tell just from the attitude of his body, I didn't even have to look over there or really meet his gaze. It was against the law, after all. So I wasn't really taken totally by surprise when Claire came and asked me to wait out front. The real surprise was in how she looked at me as she said this. I interpreted it to mean not only that she didn't much like me, but also that I was in a humiliating position, the wait had gone on so long I was an embarrassment to everyone concerned.
I walked out into the light of the main part of Jimmy's Hut, considered sitting on one of the stools at the counter and ordering a slice of coconut cream pie, a cup of coffee; in truth I would have been glad to have just rewound the last hour or so as if none of this other stuff had ever been contemplated, I could just wait for my dad like a kid and sooner or later he would return.
I couldn't do it. I went outside, and it was raining, dark in the gravel parking lot. My father's midnight blue Chrysler New Yorker was still parked there, so he had to be across the street. If I had been, underneath everything, rather frightened by the prospect of being left alone with Patti, it was exciting but also very scary—now, in this unfamiliar territory, heading across the busy street, I was much more scared, and sick. I didn't want to know the precise definition of my wound, of how my manhood had been injured. I had no real curiosity. The only thing that made me cross the street was the idea of my father watching me, of him thinking I would be afraid to face up to it. I couldn't win, whatever I did I was lost, I would lose, but I had to go through the motions, I had to make it worse, the worse it was the more I had to make sure.
I didn't know what room Patti was in, though it had to be one of these in front, so she could see the screen. Back across Division, down past Jimmy's Hut, I saw some kind of action, huge figures moving, in color, shadows and colored lights in silvery rain. I looked at the big drive-in sign. I looked at the sign with the name of the motel. The "No" turned off, next to the neon orangey red "Vacancy."
I heard my father's voice. I knocked right on the door, the wet blue door. I heard another voice, Patti's I guess, and then my father opened up. He looked surprised to see me, there in his undershirt, his hair sort of mussed up.
"What're you doing here?" he said, and I just shook my head. I wanted to hit him, he must have felt it, I wanted to kill him but I could not. Behind him, in the bed, Patti had the covers pulled up to hide her nakedness from me. I didn't like the way she looked, but it didn't matter. It struck me how much taller I was than him, though that meant nothing. I was still raw, I didn't know how the world really worked.
"Why don't you come in out of the rain, you big lug?" he said now, changing on me. "I was just coming over to get you. Patti, uh, has been wondering when I'd get off my ass and bring you back."
"I'm taking off," I said, and I walked off into the rain. I walked all the way home. Two hours, soaked to the skin.
When I was 22, I had quit school and been fired from a couple of jobs, then I quit one down at Columbia Welding after three days. I was living in a shitty apartment, and when my car broke down my mom called my father and got him to lend me his Chrysler New Yorker so I could use it to look for work. Actually, I was content being on unemployment for a while, but I liked driving the Chrysler, even though it was way too big and used a lot of gas. It felt good to drive it, especially at night. My father had another car, a new Buick. He was married again, his fourth wife.
I was driving down on Williams Avenue one day, on the way to visit my sister, when I saw this girl—she had to be a prostitute—who really stopped me dead. I was a little wary, as this is the black part of town and I didn't know it very well, I didn't really know where I was, but I drove back around and came by to see her again. She was a white girl, standing on the corner of Monroe. There were other, more obvious whores, in short skirts and such, at other corners along the one-way street. The whole scene was strangely exciting to me.
I came back at night, and didn't see her, and then about a week later drove by special and felt really exhilarated when I saw her again. I drove by several times. It was a weekday, about 4:30 PM. She looked sad, and she wasn't dressed like a prostitute. She wore blue jeans and a brown jacket, and her dark brown hair was up under a watchcap. She could have been a poor girl waiting for a bus, except for the fact that she was standing at Williams and Monroe.
I drove around the block up ahead, by a closed-down ribs place, and some black guys in a white Lincoln Continental pulled up by me, and the driver said, "You-all see somethin' you like?"
I went away. The Chrysler was conspicuous. How many times had I come around? I didn't have any money. Besides, that wasn't what I wanted, to be a trick.
I told myself I was just curious, I wanted to talk to her, she looked too intelligent to be living this degraded type of life. I thought about her all the time. I wanted to save her, at the same time I must admit I was excited by the idea of her with her tricks.
I tried to imagine her daily life. She would live in a house with other young whores, eat fried chicken and potato salad and cornbread, soul food, and have a black pimp who fucked her, enslaved her and beat her up. Was she a heroin addict? Yes, probably. I wasn't sure. To numb herself out while giving blowjobs and being fucked in the ass.
One night I drove down there, and parked a few blocks away, near Emanuel Hospital. I sat down and watched, from an overgrown vacant lot, while she leaned over, talked into the window, and then got in someone's car and they drove away. A black girl in a white fur jacket and blond wig was left there. In a half hour or so my prostitute had returned. She was eating a candy bar. The white Lincoln Continental came by.
I left. I was obsessed, and while I was ashamed of what I was doing, I was not ashamed enough to stay away for more than a few days. Then I would just want one look at her face. I would be going someplace else, and I would give myself the excuse to drive by once only, to see if she was there. Often she was not. But then, when I saw her again, after thinking she was gone, that she'd been murdered or OD'd or gotten out of the life … when I saw her again, I was so elated, and by now I knew she was aware of the car. I was embarrassed, imagining what she must think of me. All I could think of was to sometime pick her up, like a trick, give her all the money I possessed—much more than she would expect—and then I would ask for nothing, I would just give her the money and depart.
I had no girlfriend at this time, though I did have some friends I saw socially, we drank and did cocaine, smoked pot, but I was so poor I was ambition-less. I told no one about the prostitute.
Finally, one night I drove by, I hadn't been around in a week or so—this time, she ran out into the street, yelled something at me, "Hey," anyway I was shocked, but since she had called to me I slowed down, it took me nearly a block to pull over. I sat there mournfully, waiting for her to curse me and tell me I was a creep. The passenger door was unlocked.
She got in. Immediately, I smelled her perfume, and some other smell, like a melted candy bar on an ancient telephone pole, candy wrapper a hundred years old.
"Why don't you ever stop?" she asked, a bit breathlessly. Her voice was higher and more immature than I had imagined, but I had expected my imaginings to be all wrong.
"I never have any money," I answered.
"Drive us somewhere, okay? Out of the neighborhood." She lit a cigarette, and then shrewdly said, in a few moments, "I figure either you're insane, and you're gonna kill me, or you're really stuck on me, right?"
I nodded. She knew what I meant. She asked me my name. Joe. Hers was Crystal. She had a joint in her purse, and she lit it with the Chrysler's cigarette-lighter, that glowing circle of hot orange. We smoked the joint, driving around, and then went to my messy apartment.
She wanted me to do something for her. I said sure. She needed enough money to go back to San Antonio, she said. Saturday night, she said, naked, lying on top of me, there was this guy who would have all this money delivered to him, as part of a dope deal. She wanted me to take him off.
"You're big and strong," she said, touching me once more. I could sense some nervousness, though not there in her hand. There was nothing unbelievable or especially depraved about the sex. I wanted to cry, but that was not something I did. This was back in 1974; Nixon had just resigned a month or two back.
I kissed her, and Crystal let me. She was more or less inscrutable but I wanted to let my love come out, even if it was tainted, impure. She was using me, and I consented, I deserved to be all used up. "Are you smart?" Crystal asked, looking deep into my eyes. I didn't know if, in her terms, I was, or could be, and I didn't reply. "You might be," she said, and pressed herself against me. There were miscellaneous bruises here and there on her body, scratches, signs of wear. A dirty bandaid on her vulnerable bare foot.
It was a reckless plan.
There is this motel up a few blocks from Williams, on San Rafael, way before you reach Monroe. It looked at that time sort of dilapidated-modern, and built as it was some distance away from any busy street, you wondered what they could have ever had in mind. It was turquoise, mostly, and salmon-pink. A red Coke machine down below, next to the office. Inside the office, the flickering bluish light of a TV. We snuck past this, and went upstairs. Crystal had on jeans, a faded print blouse, and a letterman's jacket, cream body and wine-red sleeves, too big for her, from Jesuit High. Her hair was down, dark and slightly permed.
"Earl," she said, knocking on the door.
"Walker sent me. I brought you some food. Barbecue. Let me in."
"I'm busy, man. Gina's here."
"Well, Walker sent me by." Crystal hesitated, looked over at me. "If you want to, maybe we could do something like a two-on-one."
Inside, Earl laughed. Every second we waited, wondering whether or not he'd open the door, stretched out and felt unlucky, like unless everything went as smoothly as in a dream it would all go wrong.
Another thing was, we hadn't counted on the girl. I looked at Crystal, silently asking her everything, answering my own questions, in some way detached from the specific situation—I wanted to be there, doing this, and I didn't care where or who it was.
Earl opened the door, smiling, a very dark black man, shorter than me, and I crashed in and hit him as hard as I could with the gun Crystal had given me earlier from her purse. Gina screamed, and continued to kind of carry on as the door was closed and Crystal said we'll kill you if you don't shut up.
I hit Earl more than I needed to, it quelled my nervousness, and when I pointed the gun at naked Gina she peed herself, there on the bed. I felt dirty after that.
"Where's the money?"
Gina said she didn't know. Earl pretended to be more out of it than he was, acting like I'd knocked him out. Crystal pulled down his boxer shorts, squirted lighter fluid on his private parts, stood back and lit a match.
Earl told us where.
We tied them up, taped their mouths, but didn't harm them anymore before we left. Crystal only seemed to get scared now, breathing harder, eyes darting around, when we went back outside.
There was only one way down, and that meant walking past the office again. The guy in there was a smackhead, he and Walker had known each other in Nam. So the guy, Warren, might be on the nod or he might open up, if he suspected anything. He had some guns.
"What's happening?" he said, stepping out, friendly enough, spaced. "Your name's Cathy, right?"
"Yeah, Warren. This is my date, Bob."
"Cathy, what're you doing here?"
"I had to pick up some stuff."
"Oh. Right. Later, man."
Warren watched us walk across the street and get into the Chrysler. We'd thought we better park close in case something went wrong and we needed to run.
Crystal took some pills on the way to the airport, to cool herself down. She was happy, sure, we'd divvied up the money in the car, and once she bought her ticket and we were in the United waiting area, sitting down, she started to laugh. She liked me better by now, too, but I could tell she wasn't completely at ease about my knowing she was going to San Antone.
"They think I'm from California," she said, and laughed, childishly, younger than she'd seemed up until now. She didn't look very much like how she'd seemed when I'd only seen her for a moment or two at a time, driving past. But she was fine.
"How did you happen to come out here?"
"Everyone always asks me that," she said. But she wasn't really being critical. "I came out with my boyfriend, a year or so ago, and we got into trouble right away. He's in prison now."
It was sort of awkward, saying goodbye to her when her plane was called. We really didn't know each other, we didn't even know if we liked each other. So we hugged, and perfunctorily kissed, but it didn't feel right. I didn't know what to say. The last look between us was like we had just met.
Two days later, my father wanted his car back. He was going to sell it. He'd met some guy in a tavern who was going to come over and check it out.
I could remember, back when my father and my mother were still married, one time he'd bought an outboard motor when he didn't own a boat. Out in the garage, in a big oil drum filled with water, he'd pull the cord and start that motor, and marvel at it, and my sister and I would marvel too. But there was no place for that outboard motor to go.
Predictably, you might say, on the third morning after Crystal left I woke up with a terrible burning. I knew what it was, and I just thought it was funny, in a way I didn't mind, I was glad. I went to the County health and had the diagnosis confirmed. They gave me a shot.
My younger sister took me, and afterwards we visited some fucked-up friends of hers out on Southeast 74th, near Powell. It was a white clapboard house, where everyone seemed to come and go, and my sister got so drunk on red Almaden wine that she passed out. I stayed up talking and smoking cigaettes, all night, with this girl named Mary Sue. Before it was light we went for a long walk and ended up at a diner, where we had pancakes and coffee with a lot of truck drivers who seemed to be on speed.
Back at that house, I fell asleep on the couch in the living room, and my sister woke me up at noon or so to tell me that she'd just talked to our mom, something had happened to our dad.
At the hospital, when we were allowed in to see him, my father looked horrible. He'd been beaten up very badly, he had a concussion and both legs were broke. Furthermore, they'd cut off his left ear.
He'd been uncooperative with the police. He wouldn't say who had done it, he wouldn't say a word.
My father's wife was in there, and she glared at me. She was a barmaid, and so ugly, with a scrunched-up mean-looking dried apricot face, she looked most like a 70-year-old man, with glasses and a yellow wig. She had never liked me, I don't know why, and I didn't care. I had hardly seen my father these last few years, and he had come down in the world. His hair had gone gray, and his brown face was sunken in around his unnaturally white false teeth. It seemed fair to say that alcohol, for one thing, had taken its toll.
Only when I heard that "niggers" had done it, and the Chrysler had been set on fire, did I begin to suspect that my father's misfortune had any connection to me. I wasn't exactly sorry, or repentent, I was just listening to what was going on around me, the ugly fourth wife was muttering something ridiculous about how her son (an ex-Gypsy Joker, if you're ever an ex-Gypsy Joker, who worked in a gas station out in Estacada) and her son's friends would wreak revenge.
I was tired, and I yawned, without trying to cover my mouth, and just then, as I was yawning, my father opened his eyes and saw me there. He really looked awful, his face swollen purple and red, white bandages around the crown of his head, black stitches showing. He may have been in a lot of pain.
He recognized me, and spat to one side, maybe just to clear his throat, and then he said, malevolently, "I told them it was you. I told them it was you in that goddamned car! Do you see what they did to me? How do you like it? I told them where to find you—I gave them your address."
My sister drove me down to Salem, though she was still shaky and sick from being so drunk the night before, and I took the Greyhound bus south from there to Sacramento before I started east.
psychic trauma
What You Eat by Ben Ehrenreich
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Document from Bigot Hall by Steve Aylett
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My father was missing. He'd gone.
BOMB 49, Fall 1994
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Like many writers, I feel centered when I write, or it might be better to say, when I don't write, when I can't write for whatever reason, I feel, frankly, de-stabilized. It's dangerous for me not to write.
Sigrid Nunez


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Best Alexa device to buy in 2021: Pick the best Echo for you
Amazon now has an entire army of Echo devices. Some listen to you. Some also watch you. Which should you choose? We help you decide.
By David Gewirtz for DIY-IT | September 30, 2020 -- 12:30 GMT (05:30 PDT) | Topic: Internet of Things
The 4th Generation Echo
$99 at Amazon See details
The Echo Dot (and Kids Edition)
The Echo Show
$230 at Amazon See details
Show More (4 items)
You know what Alexa does. She turns on your lights. She plays your songs. She answers your math questions. She wakes you up. She sets timers. She's your canister of helpfulness wherever your voice can be heard in your house. She's your BFF.
She's benign AI. She does everything you need, that you should be able to do yourself. And, as long as she doesn't wake up one morning, decide to take over the world, and murder us in our beds, she'll be a friend to us all.
New Alexa devices
Everything Amazon announced: Prices, release dates, and how to buy
There's a new spherical Echo, Echo Show 10 with a Portal-like display, Ring drone and car alarm, Luna controller, and more.
But Alexa is more than the Echo, that black Pringles Can of Doom we met back in November 2014. Since the Echo was introduced, Amazon has been fielding a plethora of Alexas, a veritable Alexapalooza of devices. Since Alexa answers "Sorry, I don't know that one," to "Alexa, which Alexa should I buy," we figured we'd help out.
By the way, if you're confused about why I might interchangeably talk about Echos and Alexas, it's this: most Alexa-enabled devices sold by Amazon are called Echos. They all respond to the name Alexa. It's like having a litter of dogs, whose names are all Pixel. Except that Alexa is not nearly as cute, but is way less yappy.
There are now many other Alexa-enabled devices by companies other than Amazon that do not use the Echo brand, but are still Alexa devices. In this article, we're only focusing on the Amazon-produced and branded products.
TL;DR guide
If you want an Echo, but don't want to spend much, get an Echo Dot for under $50. You'll get some audio playback, but nothing special. On the other hand, you get all the Alexa smart assistant features.
Also: How to sell your old Amazon Echo CNET
If you want better sound, get an Echo. For $50 more than the Echo Dot, it has more speakers and sounds better. It's also twice the price of the Echo Dot. The 4th Generation Echo replaces the Echo Plus, but at the pricing of the Echo. Basically, you get fifty bucks of new features for free.
If you want Echo capabilities and a tablet-like screen (but that's wired to wall power), get an Echo Show. This gadget went up $20 in 2020, from $229 to $249, but now it turns on a motorized swivel to follow you as you move -- because that's not creepy at all. It also has a camera, so you might want to cover that up.
Amazon has apparently killed off two products (three if you count the Echo Plus) from 2018: the tiny Echo video display (and a camera) that came in the Echo Spot. Another addition to our dead-list is the fashion-focused Echo Look. It's a bank of cameras that make smart recommendations for certain Amazon-sold fashions. Apparently, consumers didn't react well to a Big Brother camera looking at them model clothing. Who would have guessed that?
The Echo Dot comes in two variations beyond the basics: a version with an on-board clock and a kids version that looks like a box of Animal Crackers crashed into the assembly line and has resulted in animal-style skins.
We'll end with a quick discussion of the Echo Flex and Echo Studio, two slightly more specialized units for those who want them.
That's the quick view. What follows is a deeper dive into the Alexa family as of later-mid-2020. Before we dive in, we want to mention that, over the past year, the Alexa technology has been baked into devices from companies besides Amazon. We're only only covering the Amazon Echo devices in depth. We're also not looking at the Alexa capabilities built into the Amazon Fire TV, tablets, microwave, and new TVs. We'll look at these accessories in another article.
This is the one. The device that changed all our lives. Prior to the Echo, we thought it was okay to turn on our lights by touching the dirty switches on the wall. We thought it was OK to set our own alarm clocks. We thought it wasn't the height of crudeness to punch numbers into a calculator using our actual fingers. We were willing to do these simple, basic tasks ourselves.
But then we learned that we could set timers for every little thing, with impunity. We learned that having our choice of music at our fingertips no longer required actual fingers. The Echo became the least necessary, most appreciated simple helper in our home. We got to know Alexa, and she became family.
The Original Echo most closely resembled a black Pringles can. This device defined the Alexa concept. It had a ring of powerful microphones, capable of picking up commands from a distance. It had decent quality speakers for room-filling music. It was meant to be both an intelligent assistant, and a spare Bluetooth speaker.
In late 2017, the original Echo was taken off the market, replaced by a new Echo and Echo Plus, which have since been updated again. Now both the Echo and Echo Dot are spheres instead of cylinders.
I'm not sure I like the change. I don't have either in my hands yet, but both now have the lighted ring at the base of the unit instead of the top. I'm betting that's going to be a lot harder for people to see because it will be blocked by...everything.
The new 4th Generation Echo is shorter and wider than both the original Pringles Can of Doom and the 3rd Generation Echo cylinder. At the offer price of $99, it's also less expensive than the original Echo and the now-discontinued Echo Plus. If you keep an eye out on Amazon, you can often find it at a lower price, making the product even more cost effective.
The previous generation Echo also added the ability to change skins. That's gone away with the spherical Echo. You can choose from Charcoal, Glacier White, and Twilight Blue (which doesn't look at all like twilight and is really kind of a bluish-gray two-tone thing). Personally, I like the black look for pretty much everything, but if you're trying to make the Echo blend in with your surroundings, the alternate colors might prove appealing. That said, the spherical shape make make it harder to fit in your space than the previous cylindrical versions.
Amazon did not sacrifice sound quality when it reduced the Echo's stature. I have a 2018 Echo in my garage and its sound is strong and clear. The 4th Generation Echo's sound has improved above that, including an upward-firing woofer and dual tweeters.
The 4th Generation Echo also adds the smart hub capabilities previously only offered in the $150 Echo Plus. A smart hub. If you're not familiar with smart home devices, this will take a second to explain. Basically, in almost all cases, when you add a smart home device (like the Alexa-controlled Philips Hue bulbs), you need to add a hub to your network to control them.
While hubs aren't that difficult to set up, one disadvantage is the extra device, wire to your router (or WiFi link), and power dongle. The Echo Plus eliminates the need for this extra device for most common smart home devices. One thing to keep in mind is that the 4th Generation Echo (like the previous Echo Plus) supports the Zigbee smart home standard, but not Z-Wave. My blinds are Z-Wave, so I had to pick up a Samsung Smarthings hub to manage those.
The new 4th Generation Echo has a low power mode that will work in most configurations and uses 50% post-consumer recycled plastics. It also uses 100% post-consumer recycled fabric and 100% recycled die-cast aluminum, proving that even Big Brother can care for the environment. Finally, this model also has a 3.5mm audio jack input and output.
If the new Echo is the size of a large grapefruit, the new Dot is the size of a baseball. It has all of Alexa's intelligence, but doesn't have the powerful speaker that Amazon says, "fills any room with immersive 360-degree audio." We're showing one of the two animal-styled kids edition above. The adult Dot shares the same colors as its bigger Echo sphere brother.
$50 at Amazon Amazon
The Dot is the essential Alexa, trimmed down to the bare minimum needed for the full Alexa experience. At $49.99, it's also a lot less expensive. In the September 2020 refresh, Amazon made the Dot into a sphere. Audio seems to be the same, although the speaker is specified as "front firing".
We have two earlier generation Dots in our home, and they're not really as good as either the original Echo or the 2018 Echos. By biggest criticism is we've found we sometimes have to speak louder or aim our mouths at the Dot for it to properly hear commands.
We didn't buy the Dots for music playback, and while it will play tunes from Amazon Music or Spotify (the services we use), it's, as expected, not nearly as "soundy" as its bigger brethren. I do have a 3rd Generation Dot in my office and its music output for that room is quite nice.
That said, for a device that can be had for real cheap (we've seen them on sale for as little as $29), you can't go wrong bringing a Dot into your family. If you want to get started with a smart home and spend less than $100, the Echo Dot will be the cornerstone of your installation.
There's also a Kids Edition of the Echo Dot for $59 ($20 less than the previous Kids Edition), which is in the image shown above. The extra $10 buys parents a lot of piece of mind. Amazon is now also offering a $2.99/mo (you'd think this would be included in Prime) upsell for FreeTime Unlimited (Amazon's library of kid-safe content), parental controls, and a two-year warranty. The big value is the warranty.
Finally, there's also a $59 version Amazon creatively calls Echo Dot + LED display. This is a version of the Echo Dot with a digital clock built into the side. I always ask Alexa what time is it, so it's not a big deal for me. But my wife loves this and we have two of them (in the 3rd Generation version).
And then, there's the Echo Show. The Echo Show is an Echo with a screen and a camera. Remember all the hype about video chat back in the 1990s? That's the Echo Show.
We have two of these. It started with one in the kitchen. No, we didn't use it for recipes. Or news. Or stories. It's just there, with a screen. I'm not sure why we have the Show instead of a regular Echo, but that's what my wife wanted. She also wanted one in the laundry room. And no, she doesn't watch videos on it. But she likes it. A lot.
So here's where we stand with the Echo Show in late September 2020. There four models of this thing. Three are last-gen, and range from a 5-inch at $84.99, an 8-inch at $104.99, and a 10-inch at $229.99. We have the 8-inchers.
Introduced in the early 2000s, the new Echo Show looks remarkably like this old iMac design.
But now, there's new new 2020 Echo Show and it looks like it was separated at birth from a 2002 iMac G4. Except the Echo Show has a gimmick: it follows you around.
No, it doesn't rove around the room under its own power (that's the Ring Always Home Cam, which flies). But this Echo Show spins on its base so it's always facing you. If you've ever had a small dog stare at you with 10,000 watts of attention, all attempting to will you to drop that piece of chicken, then you know, probably, how it will feel to have the new Echo Show stalk you on it stalk.
So, what is the Echo Show? It's an Echo that is aimed at video chat and monitoring. At least that's its starting application. Let's deconstruct that for a moment. We've all used FaceTime or some similar video chat capability on our phones. The Echo Show does the same thing, except it has to be plugged in and must sit in one spot.
Does this remind you of anything? If you're a Millennial or older, you remember telephones. These were devices tethered to the wall that were rock-solid reliable. They allowed us to talk (with our voices) to other people, who also had telephones.
While there were eventually wireless phones, for years, most of us had to walk to the location where the phone was, dial the party we wanted to talk to, and stay within the reach of the cord. We could only talk, not text.
There was no panic over where we put down our smartphone. There was no concern over whether the battery was charged. We rarely uttered, "What? I can't understand you." It was a simpler time.
OK, I know I'm being a bit facetious in my description, but there's a point here. My mom, who spent the last 30 years of her life using computers actively, kept getting confused trying to use her smartphone. She kept hitting the red button, then wondering why her calls kept dropping. My dad didn't trust his smartphone at all, and insisted I install a landline for him when he moved to a new house.
Neither my mom nor my dad liked the idea of the contact list in the phone. They had a few numbers memorized. For everything else, there was a sheet of paper with phone numbers next to, you guessed it, the telephone.
There are two immediate and powerful applications for the Echo Show: Checking on elderly family members, and being able to easily look in on the kids. The Echo Show easily allows you to use voice activation to contact, talk to, and see a family member.
If on the approved list, you can establish a connection immediately. This gives concerned middle-agers the ability to quickly ascertain the health of an elderly parent. It gives parents and grandparents the ability to easily connect with, talk to, and see the kids and grandkids. It bypasses the whole smartphone thing completely. While many of us might find the idea of a fixed, plugged-in phone to be an inconvenience, it also provides a hands-free calling experience, from a set place, a known location, and a predictable setting.
This becomes particularly poignant in our pandemic-infested setting. Many of our seniors won't get to see their families for the next few holidays. Having the ability to reach out and see them via video may help soften the blow. Amazon is now supporting both Skype and Zoom, making the Echo Show a particularly helpful part of the new normal.
Let's go farther, though. What might someday be on that screen? Right now, you can ask Alexa to time things and calculate things, but you can't tell her to show you the next item in the recipe. But with the addition of video and image skills, I'm betting that's not far off.
With Amazon's recent move into security devices (they bought Ring and Blink, for example), the Show is also becoming a convenient security monitor. I think we'll see more of that over time.
While I find the physical follow feature of the new Echo Show a little creepy, I'd love to use one in filming my YouTube videos. There are smartphone gadgets that auto-pan to follow a speaker, but with all of Amazon's great AI, the Echo Show is probably going to do a better job of it. The question is how you can capture that video for later desktop use. We'll see. It's an interesting application, but certainly not mainstream.
Weirdly odd Echos
Kudos to Amazon for experimenting with new ideas. The company offers six additional Echo products in varying degrees of usefulness and weirdness. We'll just run them down quickly here, because if you're buying your first Echo, none of these should be that Echo. But, if you are already considerably invested in the Alexa ecosystem, then you might want to pick one of these up.
This is an Echo on a wall wart. At $24.99, it's got a tinny speaker and a mini microphone, but it's water resistant and you can plug it into any socket. An add-on includes a motion detector which you can program with Alexa routines.
At the other end of the price spectrum at $299 is the Echo Studio, Amazon's answer to Apple's HomePod. It checks off most audiophile's requirements for a home speaker, plus it has Alexa built in.
This is Amazon's first attempt to get Alexa into the car and, well, it's not a barn burner. You're far better off with CarPlay than this hack of wires and aux ports. That said, if you're dedicated and you only want to spend $50, go for it.
These $129 ear buds are basically AirPods for the rest of us, with Alexa built in. According to our own Matthew Miller, they're not spectacular, but the also don't suck.
This is a $129 invitation-only Echo device you wear on your finger. Do you, Reader, take this AI, to be your lawfully networked constant companion? If so, you might want to try out the Echo Loop.
No, these aren't the AR Erikas I foretold back in Reality shock: The #FakeWorld future of ubiquitous AR. Not yet, anyway. These are just eyeglass frames with a mic/speaker built into the frame. Still, it's a step in that direction.
See what I mean? They a bit weird. None of them will be My First Alexa contenders. But if you're into Alexa, you might want to take that interest a bit further with one of the above products.
How to decide
Now that you've met the Echo family, let's look at which device is right for you.
If you don't have any Alexa devices yet, and you don't need to care for elderly folks or kids (or have friends who want to video chat with this technology), your first device should be the new Echo. It's a little more expensive, but the added speaker is worth it.
If you want an Echo but want to reduce smart home device clutter, also consider the new Echo. It's now comes with smart hub features built into the price and as long as you don't need Z-Wave, it can help reduce the junk factor in your house.
If you want to save money and still get an Alexa, get a Dot. You won't have the music-playing fidelity, but you'll have the rest of Alexa's magic.
If you have kids and are concerned they'll treat your Dot like a real baseball, get the Kid's Edition. You'll have better parental controls and when Junior inevitably launches the Dot against a wall at 94 miles per hour, you can rest easy knowing Amazon will simply send you a replacement.
If you already have an Echo and want to add-on a device somewhere where music-playing quality isn't of top importance, buy a Dot. We bought a second regular Echo for the bedroom, where a Dot would have worked. But we do like playing music there as well.
If you're caring for elderly parents, or want to see the people you're connecting to at a fixed place and location, get an Echo Show.
I'll tell you this: When I first looked at the original Echo, I thought it was ridiculous and unnecessary. Now, if you want my Alexa, you'll have to pry her from my cold, dead hands. We've always been a bit iffy about the Echo Show, but given the number of models and the pandemic, we think this new model may be a hit.
And yet Alexa still doesn't do anything that I couldn't do if I wasn't self-enabling myself to new levels of laziness. I mean, really? I should be willing to flip on a light switch with my actual hands.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in May 2017. It was republished in June 2018 with all the new Alexa options Amazon introduced in the first part of the year, and then updated again in September of 2018. Now, in September of 2020, we're looking at yet more new Alexa and Echo options, because the folks at Amazon never sleep.
You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
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