Tom Yum Tylenol

I've been up almost all night...can't sleep...I've got a cough that's been keeping me awake due to a head cold that's been making its way down past my throat and now into my chest. I'm a firm believer in the healing properties of certain foods which made me recall a converstation I had a few years ago. I had a real bad cold and thought some hot and spicy Tom Yum Goong soup would help clear my sinuses and make me feel better.

I head on over to a Thai restaurant and plan on ordering something to take back home. I walk in and have this conversation with the hostess:

Her (with very thick accent): Hello.
Me: Hi, I'd like to order something to go please.
Her: What would you like?
Me: I'd like some Tom Yum Goong and some...(looking over the menu)...umm... I have a real bad cold right now. What would your mom give you when you were feeling like this?
Her: Tylenol. Hahahahaha!

Raising the Big Top! Cirque du Soleil-Sao Paulo, Brazil

I'm gearing up and getting ready to leave Los Angeles for my big trip to Brazil! Saltimbanco is Cirque du Soleil's longest running show and will be ending in Rio after a 15-year run. I'll be playing keyboards in the band over the next 4+ months.

A friend of mine who is currently on the site sent me these photos. Thanks Robski! And again, I promise never to throw up in your jeep!

Click on photos to enlarge

View of the site from the second floor of the offices.


Artistic tent is up!


Building the kitchen.


Taking the press in the big top for the tent raising.


And the big top is up!

Part 2: What's in a Name...If You Can Pronouce It

I knew I should've waited one more day before I published the post yesterday. Here's the latest, and WEIRDEST screw up of my name to date:

Her: "Hello, Mr. your last name? "
Me: "Mr. your last name?"
Her: "I know (laughing). I'm so sorry. I just can't --
Me: "Can you say 'Armen'?"

She did have a good sense of humor about it and wasn't too freaked out.

What's in a Name...If You Can Pronouce It

Okay, I already listed in my profile that the prefix of my last name, "Chakmak," translates from Turkish -- although my ethnicity is Armenian -- to English as "Flintstone." Enjoying yourself? Good.

Now one of the advantages of having a last name as -- hmmm...what's the word? -- exclusive as mine is that I can spot a telephone marketer (or anyone else soliciting me) in a split second. Why, you ask? Because, middle-America (that's where I usually get the calls from) or wherever these phonetically challanged souls are from have the greatest difficulty in pronouning Chakmakian (see: chôk-MôK-yôn or chock-MOCK-yun). If you just look at the name for a second, it's really not that tough.

I just finished up a call with someone from the Firefighters' Association (whom we donated to), and the guy greeted me with, "Hello, Mr. ...um...Mr Chopen?" That was one of the whackier ones.

Here are some of my favorites (spoken with a slow, stuttered, confused and hesitant cadence) along with my replies:

• May I speak to Armon...Char-may-niun? (You may have a chance if you can figure out how to pronounce the name.)

• Is Armand Chan-mar...Chan...Chak-nar-mon there? (Do you see an "r" in my last name, genius?)

• Mr. Chaka-mark-ee? (Is that your best attempt at my last name?)
  

• Hello, is Mr. Charna-kar-yun available? (You can call me Armen, and you can also give me a 50% discount on whatever it is you're selling for butchering my name.)

• Is Armen Chan-kahn-yun in please? (He might be in, but you're out buddy. CLICK!)

• Hi! I'm looking for an Armell...Arm...Armen (how hard is my first name, doofus?) Chank-merin. (I answered, "Keep looking buddy.")

• Mrs. Chak-nar-nee? (Yeah, this is her. Pardon my cold.)

And for my favorite one:

• Ummm..Mr. Chumpa...Chaka-rock...Chaka-mayk-yun? (I'm not a chump, but I've been told I rock!)

The poor bastards.

Last Night's Gig - Genghis Cohen, Hollywood, CA

My buddy Jefferson Thomas was in town last night doing a performance in Hollywood, CA at Genghis Cohen. I got to sit in and play three tunes with him. Ruby James stopped in and sang a tune with Jeff. We had a blast!

Pic not big enough for ya? Click on it to enlarge

Here's everyone's myspace pages:
http://www.myspace.com/armenc
http://www.myspace.com/jeffersonthomas
http://myspace.com/rubyjames

"Super Amazing Guitar God"

This was just way too funny not to post. If you know who this guitarist is, it's even funnier.

Diversity

Diversity is overrated. That's been my experience. Where I live, there seems to be an emphasis on diversity for the sake of being diverse. To me, tolerance is much more important than diversity. Diversity is necessary to practice tolerance, so it's important. But in reality, just creating a diverse situation because we think it's the right thing to do -- although it may be done with the best of intentions (see: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions") -- doesn't seem to serve the greater good. And I'm all about "greater good." So I think diversity is hyped.

Before I posted this comment, I thought I'd look up the definitions of both words just to be perfectly clear in my own head with my opinions:

Tolerance: The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

Diversity: The fact or quality of being diverse; difference.

Las Vegas Trip & 3 Cirque Shows

We arrived home from our Vegas trip a few days ago, and as always, we had a blast. You either love Las Vegas, or you hate it. I don't think there is an in-between. The highlight(s) of our trip were the three Cirque du Soleil shows that we saw.

The first show we saw was Mystère, at Treasure Island. It was very similar to Saltimbanco, the show that I'm touring with. I hooked up with Gilles St.-Amant, their drummer who is Saltimbanco's former drummer of 12 years. Wow! This dude played drums on the same gig for 12 years and smiled to tell me about it! THAT is dedication! It was very cool to meet him.


Immediately after the show we drove over to Treasure Island to see O. Wow! What a show this was to see! It was stunning! Then next day we saw Love, the newest Cirque production that features the music of The Beatles, which was at The Mirage. Cirque really brought their music to life! I found myself several times during the show with my hands on my cheeks and my jaw dropped...speechless...thinking "How the hell did they come up with this stuff!!" There were moments that I felt were so creative, I was in shock.

My favorite acts were Strawberry Fields Forever, which was surreal, A Day in the Life, which was penetrating and intense, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which was actually the original guitar/vocal demo of George Harrison performing the piece. George Martin, the Beatles original producer, created and recorded a brand new string arrangement for this piece. The thing I liked about this show was that it was all about the music. Whatever Cirque show you've seen before, don't expect anything when you go in to see this. If you're a Beatles fan, you will love it!

Here are my comments on all the Cirque shows I've seen:
Zumanity is fun.
Quidam is touching.
Saltimbanco is amazing.
Mystère is impressive.
O is mind blowing - stunning.
Love is awesome.

We finished off our evenings at a few cool places to hang out. This swanky bar called Peppermill's Fireside Lounge was a really great old-school-Vegas hang complete with fire pits and neon lights.

Viva Las Vegas!

Life is too short...

...for crappy food and boring shoes.

I got a pair of these cool South 1 kicks at the Abasto Shopping Mall in Buenos Aires.

While going past the food court in the mall, my eyes saw this familiar place, but something was a bit different about the signage.