When in Texas.

Howdy, Folks!

That’s Texas talk. I’ve been in Houston all weekend for some R and R and hang out time with a gal.

Not unlike the South, which I guess Texas is, kinda, I’ve grown to like Texas--even the seemingly uninteresting parts. Houston was fun. I had some of the most amazing Indian food in my life at Pondicheri. You never know where you are going to have amazing Indian food. I had some of the best Indian ever in Phoenix once. It all depends on the focus and love of the folks who own the restaurant. Pondicheri is a bit hot rodded Indian fusion-ish but it was astounding to eat Samosas that didn’t taste like they had been sitting around for hours and that the cooking oil hadn’t been changed in months. I’m not saying that all Indian food is bad but a lot of it is uninspired. I like that I had amazing Indian food in Texas.

Also, it’s weird. I barely ever go to Art Museums in LA and I live there. If someone came in from out of town I would ask it they wanted to go to see some art. It’s an odd thing that somewhere inside me there is this pride that I know my city has some good art in it somewhere. I just don’t visit it much.

My friend in Houston suggested we go to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts to see the Jesús Rafael Soto’s Houston Penetrable. I had no idea what the fuck it was. From the pictures on the website it didn’t look that interesting. It looked like thin plastic tubing hanging from the ceiling that you could walk through. I kind of dug that it was feelable and interactive but it also seemed that it could be like going through a human car wash that actually only served to spread disease. In the pics there seemed to be a floating yellow disc shape hovering over the space. I couldn’t quite understand or see how it worked spatially. It looked singular but not that interesting. That is the problem with pictures. Sometimes you think they are enough and that the experience of seeing them is enough. That’s a good way to avoid engaging in almost anything that can be photographed, which seems to be everything.

We went to the museum and the Penetrable was definitely worth the admission. It was much larger than I could have imagined and it was a real brain fucker in terms of the illusion it created and its ability to displace space and create an illusion you could see and actually feel but not quite grasp. So, in that way it was provocative. Also, kids seemed to enjoy playing in it. It worked on a lot of levels. I hope I didn’t catch anything from the dangling strands.

The MFAH has an impressive collection of stuff. Lots of great Modern, African, Asian, Classical—all of it. It’s astounding how much art there is to go around. I don’t know why I am surprised. It seems that if there is money in a city there is art amassed. It was also the first time I saw Frederic Remington paintings up close. When in Texas you need to do some cowboy stuff. I did some highbrow cowboy art appreciation. I went from totally abstract and massive and being actually within the art to looking at the sad end of the American West on canvas—Art.

Today on the show I talk to Wanda Sykes. I have actually been trying to sit down with her for a couple of years. I am excited that it happened. I knew her when she started so we have history together and it was great to catch up. On Thursday Robyn Hitchcock hangs in the garage and we talk about his first band, The Soft Boys, who I loved and then we move through his solo career which is amazing.

Enjoy!

Boomer lives!


Love,
Maron