Distractions, reflections

Over on Rachel and Jeff's farm, Rafu and Rulle went into the barn to see the tractors.

The boys were a bit shy about climbing up into the cab of the tractor.

I went outside the barn to look at the cows ... and be looked it. I moved slowly towards them, and a few cows were curious, but the herd as a whole was rather skittish.

While part of our research team's learning was formal meetings at the University of Iowa, there was also much to see just in the rural setting. DLH took us for a drive around the farm. The terrain around Fairfield isn't completely flat, and there are hills and streams.

There are certainly lots of open fields with fences around them.

In the area, there some Amish farms who continue to follow traditional methods of agriculture and living. This includes both high ground with a stream in the valley.

We waved hi to the woman putting out her laundry.

I spend most of my time in big cities. To give us a different perspective on our research project into innovation, DLH invited us out to his farm near Fairfield, Iowa.

It's a working farm. DLH's career is in New Jersey, so he has been leasing the land to other family members on a long-term basis.

The barns haven't been a high priority for construction. They may become meeting rooms some day.

Construction on the exterior of the house is complete. The building was done without plans, around a period house built from a Sears and Roebuck kit.

It's now becoming a tradition for us to go to Rosaline and Tom's house for Chinese New Year. When we arrive, we always find Rosaline in the kitchen cooking.

Since she always has the dinner well under control, we have time to socialize. Ariel is comfortable with her grandfather Tom.

I claim that the best live concert performance of my life has been Steps Ahead in 1986, at the Bottom Line in New York. I think that I've seen the band play once in Toronto in the 1990s. Whenever I'm scheduled to be in New York, I check if Steps Ahead is playing. This time, we made it a team event, as Bill was in town for a client meeting, and I had told Antonio to expect a great show. The members of Steps Ahead have changed over the years, but the virtuosity is always top notch. This Special Edition ensemble featured Bryan Baker on guitar.

The leader -- and center -- of Steps Ahead is Mike Mainieri. On stage, he speaks about an amazing legacy of bands going back over 50 years, to the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and the Buddy Rich sextet. He's amazing to watch on the vibes.

It's become an annual event, with Rollie and Teresa hosting the Superbowl party. The one variable is how cold the weather is outside.

After dinner, the spectators gather around the large screen tv.

I'm not much of watcher, myself. For a change of pace this year, I was in another room doing some career coaching for high school students.

My colleague Antonio lives in New York, but despite his personal passion for guitar, he doesn't take full advantage of the entertainment in town. The New York Guitar Festival had some special events to add to the local talent. From Austria, Wolfgang Muthspiel was scheduled for two nights at the Jazz Standard, playing in different combos. On this evening, he was accompanied by Larry Grenadier on bass, and Chris Cheek on sax.

The performance was great. Muthspiel said that the trio is working in the studio, so maybe we'll hear them recorded someday.

I had heard an audio interview by Jason Crane on The Jazz Session about Donny McCaslin. I liked the way he plays sax, and noted that he lives in New York City. Thus, with a business trip down to the area, I tracked down Donny playing in a trio at Louis 649.

The drummer and bass player seemed to be friends of Donny, and this was a rather loose gig. I spoke with Danny -- he had been in Toronto just a few weeks earlier for the IAJE convention. I bought his CDs so that I can listen at home.

Diana suggested that we go to see an exhibit of industrial design called From 15 minutes into the future by Karim Rashid at OCAD. The pieces were lined up in rows, and even the the ceiling was covered.

Diana and I have toured industrial design collections around the world. There's something about well-designed everyday things, like lamps, chairs and brooms.

My time in Paris was in business meetings for much of the day, so my only opportunity to see more of the city was at night. The drizzly rain was a deterrent, but I decided that I really needed a break, and took the metro up to see the lights of Pigalle. Exiting the station and looking south, the neon signs make it the neighbourhood where I had arrived clear.

From the centre boulevard looking southwest, Pigalle looked pretty deserted. Maybe it was the rain, or maybe Paris doesn't attract much tourism in January.