A company from Belgium was asking around HP if they knew of any actors who would be available to make presentations at an upcoming four-day trade fair in Barcelona. A colleague of mine recommended me and I got the call. The four days in question looked a little complicated because Jan had a bunch of children theatre shows and I would be needed to look after the kids. So I almost said ‘no’. But instead – and with Jan’s blessing – I sent them a ridiculously high quote for my services as an actor. They immediately came back with a ‘yes’. Schwing!!! Jan and I were both very happy. Until today.

I just found out that the company that wanted to hire me is a direct competitor to HP. I thought it would look pretty bad if I was at the same trade fair as HP, right across the aisle from them, trying to make the competition look good. Especially considering how many HP marketing videos I have starred in recently. I asked my manager’s manager what they thought (not that I really had to) and I got the answer I was expecting. So I had to turn the job down. But I did get to recommend a friend to take my place. So that’s OK.

But auditions went really well! Julian (my Musical Director) and I auditioned 31 people today. That’s a lot. And there are more to see tomorrow. It’s amazing how so many talented people can exist in Barcelona without ever knowing that we produce shows in English here. How could they not have heard of us before? It’s like they’re in a parallel dimension. Thank goodness our planes collide every once in a while and I get to meet all sorts of amazing new people.

It was a very long day filled with a capella singing, cold readings, color-coded spreadsheets, yummy cookies, broken toilets, parking tickets, and bag snatchings, and I left the casting as white as a sheet, suffering terribly from low blood sugar, sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and information overload. We’re in for a very good show. Watch this space for more details…

That’s right, this is the sixth year I’ve made this list. Here are the previous ones:

2010  |  2009  |  2008  |  2007  |  2006

It’s neat to go back and see how many of my previous “favorite” albums are still in my listening rotation. Quite a few, actually. So here’s 2011!

Warning: You won’t find any Rihanna, Katy Perry, or Black Eyed Peas on this list. If that’s your idea of the best that 2011 had to offer, this list is not for you. How the heck did you find this page anyway? Do I even know you? OK, enough stalling. Here we go. No excuses. No explanations. Just my favorite albums from the past 12 months:
 

10. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

In its execution, the record is near flawless, an essential distillation of the sounds of Gonzalez’s youth, nostalgia and melancholy and happiness all mixed up into a sparkling pop stew. [Sputnikmusic]

9. Ry Cooder – Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down

This is about as good and sustained a riposte to the grubby, grabbing times we live in as any artist has mustered, which makes it essential listening. [BBC Music]

8. The Black Keys – El Camino

More than any other Black Keys album, El Camino is an outright party, playing like a collection of 11 lost 45 singles, each one having a bigger beat or dirtier hook than the previous side. [All Music Guide]

7. Elbow – Build a Rocket Boys!

This fifth studio album is a humbly gorgeous collection, propelling an already dynamic band into even more dramatic, heart-wrenching territory. [The Boston Phoenix]

6. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Fleet Foxes have become a band who will not stop pushing, who will challenge themselves to avoid stagnancy, who will work with both their instruments and their minds. Because of that, the audience is able to reap the fruit and feast on it together. [One Thirty BPM]

5. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

Virtuosity and accessibility have never been easy bedfellows, but Strange Mercy is one of those rare albums that makes you think and makes you fall in love. [New Musical Express]

4. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part 2

With a push from Nas and a whoosh from Santigold and new life from their chorusing kids, the beats spritz and submarine in signature Beasties style as the rhymes claim contexts high-living and low-life. [Expert Witness]

3. tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L

Catchy yet abrasive, noisy yet intimate, kind of funny yet also kind of scary, this is post-pop at its most vertiginously original. [The Independent on Sunday (UK)]

2. Adele – 21

If Adele’s debut ’19′ marked her out as a young chanteuse with a booming voice, her follow-up ’21′ has shown a maturity in her songwriting that makes her the de facto authority when it comes to soundtracks to broken hearts. [Dot Music]

1. Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi

Capturing the intensity and raw emotion of her captivating live shows, Anna Calvi is an ambitious and always intriguing debut which heralds the arrival of a unique and inventive addition to the plethora of U.K. female singer/songwriters. [All Music Guide]

Honorable mention:
Wilco – The Whole Love
TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
Radiohead – The King of Limbs
Panda Bear – Tomboy
Artic Monkeys – Suck It And See
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

Do you have any favorites from this year that I may have missed? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Yes, we’re flying back to Barcelona today. After almost a full month of travel, we’re finally going home. That is such a good feeling. It’s only a one-hour time change, but it’ll be enough to keep us on our toes. Then New Year’s Eve. Then Kings Day. And then back to school/work! No rest for the weary.

So goodbye, England. Goodbye, Grandma and Granddad. Goodbye, Christmas cake, bitter weather, end-of-the-year comedy quizzes, live-in babysitters, central heating, and our Alfa Romeo. Have I mentioned that I’ve been driving an Alfa Romeo for the past week? I will surely miss all of the aforementioned things, but there will always be a special place in my heart for that Alfa Romeo.

To the airport!

Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Now a steadfast tradition, we headed to sunny Florida for the first half of our December. The warm weather was such a welcome change from the winter cold that had just started to hit Spain. Extended family made the much-appreciated effort of flying in to join us and it was sooo good to see them all. We enjoyed family, food, swimming pools, parasites, Chanukah presents, road trips, illness, strip malls, natural disasters, wild animals, and shenanigans. If you’d like to relive our adventure, including photos of lots of people you probably don’t know, just click on the following link and be whisked away:

Emily: Daddy, can you please drive fast, like you did before?

Me: Sorry, I can’t right now.

Emily: Why not?

Me: Because the car in front of us is going slowly. You know what will happen if I go fast now, right?

Emily: Yes. (Thinks for a moment) Daddy, you should slow down.

Me: Slow down? I thought you wanted me to go faster!

Emily: But if you slow down, the car in front of us will get further and further away. Then, when there’s lots of space between us and him, you can go fast!

My 5-year-old daughter has mastered the art of buffering.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

At half-past midnight, we were told that our (decrepit) plane should be arriving within the hour. The (unfortunate) car hire attendee had called me and graciously given me her personal number so that, when we landed at 3am, we could call her and she would drive the five miles from her house to the airport to give us the keys to our car. Thanks, Ali!!! And then we had the hour+ drive to the in-laws to look forward to. Fun! Thank goodness we were all still jet lagged from the return flight from the US just the day before.

Well, the plane finally arrived in Barcelona and dutifully delivered us to sleepy Stanstead. Ali met us with the keys to the rental car – a brand new red Alfa Romeo Giulietta – and we made it safely (and swiftly) back to grandma and granddad’s by 5am, where we all slept soundly till noon.

We’re still jet lagged, but everyone is now comfy and warm and enjoying some scrumptious home-cooked food. And I’m thoroughly enjoying the Alfa Romeo. Happy holidays, everyone. And thanks for your concern and good wishes

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Monkeys at the Zoo

We’re back in Barcelona now after spending the better part of a month in the Sunshine State. We overcame the jet lag in the predictable amount of time. That was rough. The massive family get-together (for Chanukah?) went down without a hitch. And then everyone hightailed it out of town. So we drove north to Tampa (Lutz?) to visit my dad and sister.

Tampa day trip #1: Museum of Science and Industry
General impression: a ghetto-yet-enjoyable version of the incomparable CosmoCaixa. Buy-one-get-one-free coupons: thanks, dad!
High point: all the hands-on activities in the Kids In Charge! center: weight compensated tug-o-war, lying on a bed of nails, making a stop-motion video, etc.
Low point: their Disasterville! is a disaster, and the fact that four out of five of every installation was in one way or another broken.

Tampa day trip #2: Lowry Park Zoo
General impression: the best zoo I’ve ever been to, with tons of great activities for kids. Free guest passes: thanks, Amanda!
High point: watching the kids wear silly green helmets while they rode ponies, and riding a roller coaster with Sebastian (Emily was too scared).
Low point: the safari tour sucked. Couldn’t understand the guide, didn’t get as close to the animals as I’d hoped, and the fumes from the head car were noxious.

Our final week in Florida had us revisiting the joys of poolside living, sneaking onto the private beach of a luxury hotel, marveling at unnecessarily ornate Christmas lights, being peed on by a wild turtle, battling fleas and eye infections, and avoiding the annual bout of familial plague. Good times. We flew home today and, all things considered, the journey could not have been smoother. And tomorrow we fly out to England for Christmas with the in-laws. Quick, swap the bathing suits and sandals for scarves and wooly mittens!

Owl and Dragon