Day 12
World Café Live, Philadelphia, 24 March 2005
Today we take a diversion into DC to record a session at the sumptuous NPR studio. On the way in I see in the distance the dome of the White House. This floods me with a peculiar warmth, tinged with homesickness. Not because I am a member of the Bush dynasty, but because I have recently discovered 'The West Wing', TV's most pornographically liberal, self-consciously articulate show, in which the hot-to-some Martin Sheen plays an eccentric, intellectual but profoundly good-hearted Democratic President who rules his great nation by the guiding principles of humanity, honour and humility while his oh-so-fallible staff seek to follow his example while spewing reams of snappy dialogue and occasionally falling over. I recommend it, with a warning that it does contain a lot of slow-motion flag action.
Matt makes me start the gig wearing Phil's bodywarmer jacket thing. Since Phil is a very tall man and I am merely of average height, it looks very stupid, but not quite so stupid that it's immediately obvious that it's a joke. It's funny to us, though. Quite possibly only to us. Still, I got to hear what it sounds like when you laugh through a melodica.
Roberto's Fact of the Day: Philadelphia was once the capital of the USA.
