on the road

Redding, California

I drove to Redding on Friday. It was hot, much hotter than the central Bay Area. The air-conditioning I had was good, too good, and I'd get shivering cold after awhile and have to turn it off. After a few minutes without it, the oppressive heat from outside would slowly collapse in. This would lead to five minutes of open window, before back to AC. This routine was how I structured my day. This is one way of imagining Redding:



This is more the reality:



This is why I'm an asshole:



This is the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay. It crosses the Sacramento River. It is, by a wide margin, the most interesting thing about Redding. So, given the mercifully rare circumstance of being nearby, did I go take a look at California's preeminent exemplar of structural engineering north of San Francisco? No. No, I didn't. I drove three hours, took a twenty five minute appointment, and drove back.

An abruptly sophisticated piece of urban architecture, the bridge was designed by international hot shot Santiago Calatrava. Putting an original Calatrava in Redding is like putting a Matisse in your garage. (No offense, Redding. But hey, come on; don't pretend you don't know what's up.) Because there probably isn't another bridge designer in the world with his pedigree and renown. When he goes on Charlie Rose, he gets the whole hour.


This is how you will know Calatrava:

This is his design for the World Trade Center redesign Transit Hub. Years from now, when you take the NYC subway from WTC plaza, it will be from this station.



This is what I listened to, in order:

the cars greatest hits
sufjan stevens the avalanche
U2 the unforgettable fire
charlie parker yardbird suite disc 1
radiohead amnesiac
the smiths strangeways, here we come
django reinhardt djangology 49
the verve urban hymns


As voted on by the fans, here's the lineup for the All-Star Road Mix:

U2 a sort of homecoming
sufjan stevens adlai stevenson
charlie parker chasin' the bird
the cars let's go
the smiths stop me if you think you've heard this one before
NPR 5pm evening news
django reinhardt djangology
sufjan stevens no man's land
the cars since you're gone
radiohead life in a glass house

No, nothing from Verve, what a terrible album that is! Was it worth it, Richard Ashcroft, deconstructing your seminal band's genuis guitar sound and building it back up into a tedious singer/songwriter format that highlights yourself more? Yes, "bittersweet", indeed.