Well I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Mine was pretty quiet but that was a good thing. I got a gift certificate to Barnes & Nobles (Thank you to you know who). And that has already been put to excellent use at their 50% off after Christmas sale. This is my written haul:









and, not covered by the GC, a DVD by the director of Head On!

All the best to everyone as we knock the door down to 2009!

I like Out Of Our Depths new album cover art and the play on words incorporated into it.

Sad but true as opposed to Facepalm.

I'm giving a second listen to Talpa's second album "When The Somberness Becomes A Game". Talpa is the psy project of a classical trained musician who happens to be a Serbian soldier and it is some of the most experimental and unique music I've heard in a long time (since his first album actually or maybe the first Eskimo album). The track "No Choice" is fantastic, with some sick sick sounds. 'Good City' and 'I Feel Nothing' and "Still Dreaming" are also excellent. The album is a joy to listen to from the point that it is a sonic adventure, encompassing a huge variety of influences and soundscapes, and as much fun as it is to listen to, I have a real hard time imagining how it would work into a set. But it IS a REALLY fun listen while I'm online.


Also gave another listen to Dino Psaras' "Where Words Fail Music Speaks". First, I love that title. For me, music has such a deep component of conveying emotions that I often find hard to put into words. I've always loved music and when I first started listening to psy, I knew I had discovered the music that resonated with my soul, moreso than any other style of music. It still does fifteen years and counting. It is hard for me to imagine what my life would be like without music - I probably would not still be alive today in all seriousness. Back to WWFMS, this is the grinding, pulsing trance with detailed sound design I would expect from him. There are guest appearances from Wrecked Machines, Deedrah, Dimitri Nakov, Michelle Adamson, and Space Cat. The track "Firewall" is so awesomely good I can get past the Michelle Adamson vocals (I think she is getting over exposed in the psy scene) . "Questions" is another great track, as are both versions of the title track.

The disenchantment is already starting and it is exactly what I expected, but hoped would not happen. Obama was labeled a communist by some on the far right and now his fellow democrats are lamenting that he has not appointed 'a single true progressive' in his Cabinet. He will be crucified by both extremes, when what I have seen so far bodes well for those of us anchored in some degree of reality. Centrist or moderate positions are the most likely to garner the support necessary from both sides to at least begin making meaningful change. They may not be as flashy or exciting, but compromise rarely is. And the sooner we stop polarizing and realize that only by working together will we begin to improve the lot of all people, the better.

AN INTERROGATOR SPEAKS is a thoughtful opinion piece on the 'deeply flawed' interrogation techniques used in Iraq and why they do more harm than good. The author is cut from the 'moral fabric' we could use a lot more of in our military. Worth a read.

Signs of the Times....

I hope this is not where we are all headed. Or this actually. But with this coming soon, who knows.

Finding Forgiveness is a five part feature article from The Oregonian newspaper, focusing on a member of a news aggregater site I frequent. It was interesting to see the pieces come out over the past week and the responses on Fark. It is quite long, but the writing is very good and the story is compelling. I felt good after getting through it.

This weekend (Sunday 2PM @ the PUC Church Sanctuary) is the memorial for Trevor Murtagh.

And an early Christmas present arrived for me:
A little Acer AspireOne Netbook to go around the world with me. So far I'm having fun with it.

I had a real hard time not laughing out loud at this piece. The subheading alone caused me pain as I tried to contain my response. So I can put off refilling my prescription a little while longer. Yay to life!

Thanksgiving well wishes to everyone

All day long we have watched the fog bank ebb and flow, never quite engulfing our house on the ridge. Now that the sun is setting the fog will be victorious and take the ridge for the night. The banquet of food has been decimated by fourteen hungry people and we are looking at slides from the 80's and some are groggily lounging on the couches. Soon, I'll be heading to Roseville for the second round and to help Scott and Donica move into their newly purchased home. So as I sneak away for a few minutes here and contemplate how much I have been blessed in my life, I also have to pay close attention to what is happening out there in the rest of the world. Two of the places I will be spending almost 5 months over the next two years are in turmoil.

Anti government protestors hoping for the ouster of the current Prime Minister in Thailand.

India's Muslims in Crisis: The Attacks in Mumbai

Even if the world is hemorrhaging towards an apocalypse, I still have VERY much to be thankful for and God continues to give me peace.

Americans Fail a Basic Test of Their History and Institutions presents the findings of a large scale study on civic literacy. The results are atrocious, but not surprising from a society that is entertaining itself to death. "Widespread ignorance of our nation’s history and institutions is a worrisome sign for our nation’s future. As we shall see, today’s Americans share the conviction of the Founding Fathers that civic education is important—and they are right in this conviction. Respondents who score in the top third in civic literacy, the survey shows, are more likely than those who score poorly on the test to participate in the civic life of their communities and country." The gap between the results of our elected officials and the general public is hard for me to believe. It is scary actually. A brief quiz variation of the study questions is here to see if you can do any better. I really hope so, because the bar is set very low. I was somewhat disappointed that I got 81.82% but it gave me an opportunity to brush up and get the correct answers to the ones I missed. And that lets me learn for the next time. After reading "The Dumbest Generation" and seeing items like this, I can only think that reading is the greatest skill we can pass on to others. Instilling a love of reading opens the doors to lifelong learning, promotes and expands the vocabulary, gives you insights into history and culture that even in today's 'small/flat world' most people will have no other opportunity to experience. Plus it is just so much fun. Really it is (I can not imagine a life without books).

Today I spoke with my boss and we set a final work day for me. I will continue working until the end of February, take a couple weeks off and then head out to Guam to start my world trek. That gives me time to make sure my dad's estate is in proper order, probate is closed, and my mom is taken care of before I leave. Hopefully, if things go well, Gabe will join me in New Zealand, I'm guessing in June now, but that has gotten more nebulous since he is twitterpated and his back issues have yet to be adequately addressed. Right now I'm planning like I'm going on my own and we will see how the rest of it works out. The airlines will only sell tickets out to 12 months from the current date, so I'm only able to get the first third of the trip covered right now. I guess that would give me an out in the case Gabe does not come at all and at least as far as China before I would have to make a definite decision.

Will you use your power for good or for awesome?

Two more articles on the auto industry bail out: An Op-Ed piece and a news piece on the current stalled situation.

Interestingly, despite the drastic problems rippling through the economy, the investment choices my dad had made prior to his death are paying off. We have lost nothing and actually made a decent return over the past 6 months all things considered. That is something I can thank God for.

On a more humorous note, Jacksonville, Florida's presidential write-in votes were released. A very broad and interesting range of vote getters. Cartoon characters, deities, actors, financial gurus, college football quarterbacks, etc. Even four misguided people who were apparently confused by the ballot itself and wrote in for Obama (this did occur in Florida). I'm sure most communities would be similarly funny if their write-ins were released to the public.

George Will commenting on the US auto maker bailout request. I actually favor letting them wither or at least consolidate, rather than throwing money at them.

And an interesting piece of background on Bretton Woods, in regard to the upcoming Bretton Woods II meetings scheduled for next month. Quite long, but important enough to be worth reading.

Why Obama and McCain Need Each Other is a brief article that to me marks a very good sign. The less partisan polarization the better and if these two can work together reasonably, I do believe it will set a good example for the rest of our elected officials.

I guess I'm missing out on the creation of 'Generation O', or as the headline says "Change you can conceive in". Not that it wasn't mentioned to me. I got a text the night of the election that put it rather bluntly: "Obama won, F@#$ a black chick to celebrate." It was offensive that this friend of mine would think that was acceptable or funny to me. It appears that Obama is the new Chuck Norris. Some of his feats I have been alerted to recently:
1)Obama can divide by zero
2)The science community is releasing an updated periodic table of elements. It will consist of only two elements: Baraktanium and Obamanesium.
3)Obama can believe its not butter.
4)Obama can build a snowman out of water.
4)There is no "Ctrl" button on Barack Obama's keyboard. Barack Obama is always in control.

This swoon is going to have unpleasant side-effects the moment he doesn't lead us all to Candy Mountain. But til then we can hope.

I'm sure most of you in the Angwin area are aware, but this story has actually gotten nationwide press. I do not know all the details, but from reading multiple articles and speaking with my aunt and uncle who teach at the school, I feel I have a pretty good idea and it is sad all around. ne thing that I have not heard mentioned much is that as bad as it is for the families of the four and the other drivers, it is also a scarring event for the emergency responders. I had a good friend in college who had worked as an EMT and never fully dealt with the trauma of responding to some accidents involving children. It ultimately resulted in his suicide.

Congratulations to Tim Lincecum! The second San Francisco Giants pitcher in history to take home a Cy Young. I knew he had a chance to win this based on the amazing year he had, but thought that because of the final standings, and the Giants overall subpar year, he would be penalized. There were some rather strong competitors for the prize, so the actual vote totals are impressive and confirm what a special year he did have. The more 'official' MLB article on this is here, but the humorously titled "San Francisco hobo accepts Cy Young award for Tim Lincecum" was worth linking to as well. I hope he has many more good years of pitching and that they are for the Giants.

Someone sent me a link to a game (which I could not get to work - maybe that is for the best while I'm at work, hmmmm), but the site had another game which did work and I liked. The tantalizingly named HDOS Databank Request is extremely simple in premise (horizontally switching positions between two adjacent cells to create consecutive strings of 3 or more similar blocks), but quite challenging due to the very limited number of switches you are permitted. I have only ventured through the first 17 levels (about halfway) and will continue through the rest as time permits.

Another game that was sent to me that I think some of you (Lisa) would like is essentially an anti Tetris, called 99-Bricks. Take 99 randomly ordered Tetris blocks and create the tallest tower you can. The trick comes from a slightly jelly-like, sponginess to the blocks that introduces all kinds of vibration and sway to your tower. Fun and addicting.

It is articles like this about a leading candidate for Attorney General in the new Obama presidential power structure that confirm my hesitancy to believe real change will ever come through a political environment where corruption and obfuscation seem to rule the day. It is not about parties, it is about rampant, unchecked, wholesale failures of the system in which the more things "change" the more they remain the same. It is endemic of politics and power. And it makes me sad for the future. Nice way to end this post, right? So, go play some 99-Bricks or HDOS...

I just finished reading this article and the chills (good ones BTW) are still running up and down my spine. You have to read the whole thing, but it is worth it.

Definitely helped equalize the facepalm stories I saw today of people who are stopping their mortgage payments, because Obama will take care of 'all that'.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll be taking in a couple Adventist Forum lectures on "Theology and Theatre". Then working on Sunday.

Just a few quick links:

In quotes: US election reactions from around the world

The full text of McCain's concession speech.

The full text of Obama's victory speech.

Well the election results did not take long to confirm a change in direction and a historical presidential win for Barack Obama. I'm indifferent on the outcome, I was not particularly thrilled with either major party candidate and voted third party myself. I do not believe doing so is a wasted vote. It allows me to voice my dissatisfaction with the two party system. I thought Obama made a very good speech shortly after accepting McCain's concession. Earlier a couple commentators were talking about how different the role of president is from that of 100 years ago. There was no mass media, no constant focus on the president, no daily soundbites. He was a figurehead and administrator, but did not warrant the praise/scorn we heap on our leaders today. We do give the presidents now far too much credit for how the country is doing good or bad, for influencing the economy, etc. They are primarily puppets for the entities that really pull the strings. While I would like to believe, I'm pretty cynical about how much 'change' Obama can really bring, even with large Democrat majorities in the House and Senate, and really we shouldn't expect him to save us. He is Obama the man, not the Obamessiah. I was glad to hear that the voter turnout was so high because I do believe that an active, ongoing participation in the process, by as many people as possible, is the only way that some of the change that would benefit all of us will get accomplished. And there is a whole lot of work to be done before the ship is righted from its current conditions. I'll hope for the best and expect the worst because 'government is here to help' is rarely a good thing to hear in my experience.

Here is to change that is real and valuable, not just from the frying pan into the fire for change sake!!

I started this list of book blurbs back in June and instead of holding on to it any longer, I'll post these and do another with the more recent reviews.

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, is a debut work that has received enormous praise, been adapted to the silver screen, and I felt it actually lives up to its hype. The story follows two arcs: "hero" Jonathan writing a history of the Trachimbrod shtetl where his Jewish ancestors had their roots and Alex his Russian translator detailing the experience of the trip in his vivid broken English.

The Final Solution by Michael Chabon, is Mr. Chabon's tribute to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His unnamed old detective could very well be a retired Sherlock himself, minus Watson. A possibly mute young German boy in possession of a numerical code spouting parrot provide the intrigue and the detective sets about solving the case of who stole the bird and killed a man in the process, much to the dismay of the eager, but bumbling local police force. An entertaining, if rather easy read.

Everyone Is Entitled To My Opinion by David Brinkley,is a collection of approx. 180 "Best of" commentaries used to close his long running "This Week With.." TV show. They serve as a reminder of the foibles of our elected officials and how common sense is fighting a losing battle with the world. Many of the issues he touches on are still unsolved today, while others serve more as a reminder of what was happening in the early 80's politically. Light reading that makes its points quickly and concisely.

Bodies In Motion And At Rest by Thomas Lynch, is apparently the second collection of essays on various aspects of mortality by Lynch, whose other career besides writing was in undertaking. The timing of my reading the bulk of this book prior to my dad dying probably made it that much more impactful to me.

Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart has been one of the funnest/funniest reads I have had in a long time. The basic premise is that Misha AKA "Snack Daddy", our Russian Jewish hero, is the son of the recently assassinated 1287th richest man in Russia and cannot get back to the US (where he was educated and desperately wishes to return) because of his late father's "business connections". He also happens to be a a grossly overweight, partial to vintage Puma tracksuits, part of a rap duo with his ex-patriot American friend Alyosha-Bob, and a connoisseurs of all things edible (and many things inedible) that can pass through his lips. Nearly everything in Misha's world can be described in the language of food and he does so is a fantastically absurd way. I love the way that happens.

Coming soon:
The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay by Michael Chabon
Ep;phany - Winter 2007/Spring 2008 collection
Fish Stories: Collection IV
The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul

I've been listening to D-Tek's Broken Disk album (sucker for Speak&Spell, DarkCity, sci fi samples in seriously groovy music) and Lifestyle's Build Your Own album (standout tracks are The Purist and Make My Day, on the whole nearly as good as Dejavoo's FutureShock album)while cleaning house today. I still love the psy sound even after close to 15 years. Sure it has evolved and gone through its iterations, but it still is the only music that consistently MAKES me move and resonates with my soul. And there is so much good stuff still coming out all the time.

Last night I was with George and Kendra at the Craneway Pavilion for Skills Fright party featuring JunkieXL, Paul Van Dyk, and Christopher Lawrence. It was the first time I've seen Junkie and he was good, not really electro but heavily influenced by it. PVD is PVD. Not much more you have to say about it. He did play an extended "For An Angel", a new version of Born Slippy by Underworld and a female vocalized cover of a Midnight Oil track that was cool and I doubt hardly anyone at this point even knows who Midnight Oil was. Excellent. I saw PVD the first time in 1996 in Switzerland and each time I've seen him it supports his reputation as a world class dj. BUT Christopher Lawrence stole the show last night. I saw Christopher first almost 11 years ago at one of the final Harmony events, a truly memorable event for me. He had a full set of dreads back then, now he is more clean cut. But the music was beautiful and driving, in a way that was missing from PVD's set. A few pictures of the festivities:




Here are pictures of the pumpkins I carved for the competition at work. Being a cheap SOB, I did these from a 1 inch square website image without stencils, since I was not going to pay for them. They turned out better than I expected and definitely looked better in the dark.



I mentioned last month that I picked up a couple vases from my friend Nikki at their open studios and that I would put up a picture, so here it finally is:

The central figurines are from my trip to South Africa and the koalas/bears are a few I made as an 11 year old.

True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.
Albert Einstein

Solitude is painful when one is young, but delightful when one is more mature.
Albert Einstein

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
Albert Einstein

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
Albert Einstein

My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.
Albert Einstein

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
Albert Einstein

Information is not knowledge.
Albert Einstein

Okay, Jeremy Clarkson may be an unknown to most of you, but this article he wrote for the London Times is hilarious. He is a British automotive reviewer/host with Top Gear. I had a hard time containing myself at my desk while reading it. Luckily the office was mostly empty at the time.

This article is not for people who are afraid of heights or anyone that works for OSHA. It was posted with the caption 'Einstein once said: "There are two things that are infinite; the universe and human stupidity. And, I'm not too sure about the universe."'

Another silly link for Muppet fans and fast drivers.

I am saddened to report Trevor died on Friday and has actually already passed when I posted my last piece. He was a good man; a hard person to replace. I'm glad I was fortunate enough to get to work with him for a time and had a chance to visit with him at his home about a month ago. My prayers are with his family.

Someone this week asked why I was being forced to face mortality so much in this lifetime and it made me think. The question came in response to my telling her about my friend/mentor/former boss Trevor, who will die very shortly of kidney failure brought on by the same blood bacteria that killed my dad. He was given the option of having his legs amputated and dialysis, while they seek a transplant and I understand his choice to decline. I do not have an explanation as to why there has been so much death in my life, or that it has been in such shocking forms in so many cases - three suicides, a murder, heart failure at 17, brain aneurysms, kidney failure, and on and on. I can only fall back on my complete faith in God and the promise we will not be tried more than we can handle. While there is intense pain and sadness at the loss that comes with the memories I have with each of the those people in my life, I do not believe this world is the end, there is more beyond this life. I believe that each of them is sleeping and justice/fairness/mercy will eventually be served. Those things allow me to live without fear of death. All of us have life experiences that make connections with others possible, sometimes we may be the only people that could reach a specific person because of a common bond. I trust I will gain a fuller understanding of the 'whys' of this life at the Judgement and I am satisfied in waiting for that to happen. Til then, I miss you TD, SB, LP, LB, DD, EM, I miss you alot. And I'm glad it is Sabbath.

Here is a site collecting funny pictures of dogs....

Beer bottle broken over one man's head leads to retaliation with a metal car jack. Four men arrested. Best baby shower ever!

Beautiful pictures of Enceladus up close. (That is one of Saturn's moons FYI)

Interesting thing happened yesterday. This space got scanned a couple times by government agencies in Virginia. Seems they picked up on the caption for one of the pictures at the bottom of this page which includes the word 'Bomb'. Hopefully, I won't get a visit from the nice men in black suits over a picture of eggplant, but it might be exciting.

Last Thursday was the final regular night for the Fall bocce league. We started the night in 5th place, so we already knew we would be in the playoffs, but if everything went well we could move up in placement. Well, as luck would have it we were facing the last place team on our night and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams were playing each other and everything went VERY WELL, INDEED. We won our three games 12-0, 12-1, and 12-1. Combined with the outcomes of those other games we moved into third place. Last night was our first round playoff game and we faced off with the third place finisher from Friday nights. Evenly matched games can take a long time and we were trading single points and were tied at 6-6 before we got a surge in game one and closed it out 12-8. The second game started off badly as Andy and I surrendered 3 points and after a failed short game experiment we found ourselves down 8-2. I think we were all starting to think we would need a game three, but all of us have been pretty dialed in the last few weeks. So we focused a little more and came back to 10-9 in their favor. After seeing Andy and I struggle with the short game from our end, the players on the other end of the court decided to challenge Rob and Brian the same way. Big mistake. They got three points for a 12-10 win and could have easily picked up the fourth point if it had been necessary. There is something very satisfying about doing well, especially as a team, and we do work well as a team. And it also is good to So, Sunday morning at 9am I'll be in St. Helena for round two. Hopefully it will be a long day of bocce and we do well. Bocce is one of the many things I will definitely miss while on my travels and I'm glad I have been able to participate over the last three years. It has been really fun. Anyone reading this should see if there is a league near where you live and try it out. I really recommend it.

If you enjoy beautiful cinematography and otherworldly landscapes, check out "House of Sand", a Brazillian film set in a desert in that country. I WANT WANT WANT to go see that place for myself. REALLY WANT. I may get that chance within the next two years!!

Life is busy, busy, busy....

Last weekend TrueMusicMedia provided sound for the Luau and Grand Finale concert for the 1st Annual Wine Country Ukulele Festival. This was an incredibly fun thing to be involved with. I had no idea of the versatility and creativity gifted uke players could bring and they overwhelmed me with their skill. Truly fun to watch all four of the artists perform at the finale. Thanks to NIMBUS Arts for going out on a limb to host this type of event.



Sunday was my brother's wedding which I thought went very well(although I did hear some complaints last night from my brother and sister-in-law). Apparently, I must have been at a different wedding than they were. Anyway that was a nice wedding and the annoyances of all the little tasks that landed in my lap the day of are all but forgotten at this point.

All of the above was complicated by the Deer Park fire that consumed 300 acres and a house and created all kinds of traffic havoc throughout the weekend. That only one house burned is a testament to the FireWise practices here in Napa County and the hard work of the many firefighters involved in containing this one. Two of my friends were passing by at the time the fire initially started and saw the truck pulled over at the side of the road and the fire already roaring up the hillside.

Last night in Berkeley I picked up what looks like an interesting bit of anime called Cat Soup. It is described as 'Hello Kitty on Acid' and that was enough to catch my attention, but in looking at the IMBD info on it, I think I may have stumbled on more than just a visual gem. Looking forward to repeated viewings to tease out the symbolism.

An interesting time lapse photography link I found today.

I've been driving a car with a TAPE DECK in it lately and as humorous as that must be to anyone reading this it has actually given me a chance to listen to a bunch of tapes, I haven't heard in years. Rediscovering great music almost every day. In particular I have been listening to a group called RedRedGroovy, somewhat dated music, but just as fun as I remember it. Plus one of the first goa/psy compilations I ever got that really hooked me on the style, Concept in Dance Digital Alchemy, put together by ManWithNoName. That contains one of my all time favorite tracks 'Sugar Rush' by the ManWithNoName genius himself.

"We loved life so much that we imagined ourselves immortal. Overwhelming the powers that be with the force of our passion for science. Or maybe we were just f$#*ed in the head." from Flatliners as sampled by ManWithNoName in his track 'The Far Side'.

"Madam Speaker, this is a huge cowpatty with a piece of marshmallow stuck in the middle of it. I'm not going to eat that cowpatty." Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga. on the Financial Bailout plan.

Rep. Broun may not want to eat the cowpie, but every tax paying American is now going to get a mouthful. Just close your eyes and enjoy as best you can! There are still analysts who believe there is a lot more marshmallow than we think and it won't taste nearly as bad as it could. Time will tell.

I wasn't able to able to see either of the debates, so I tracked down the transcripts: Here is the transcript of the first presidential debate.

Here is the Vice Presidential Debate transcript.

Part of why I missed the VP debate was the much higher priority bocce match I was in Thursday night. Our best player has been gone the past three weeks and our record over that period showed. He was back and we were able to turn in a good performance against a talented team. Taking two of the three games put us in the playoffs for sure and next week we play against the last place team so we may move up one more position in the standings if we take care of business. One of the players on the team we played against on Thursday is a friend of mine and it happened to be her birthday. Couldn't give her a break during the games, but I did go with her and a couple others over to the opening night of A/K/A on Main St. in Saint Helena. They were not serving food that night, but the menu looks good and the prices very good for the offerings. Since Lisa and Julie were both in the mood for food, we went down the block to Cook and ate. I had had pizza during bocce, so I was not that hungry, but I did have a beet salad that was very good. Other friends joined us towards the end of the meal, and when they headed to Anna's for some karaoke, I headed home. No singing for me and besides I have plenty to do at home to get it back under control.

Little did I know that when I got home, my brother would be there with the directive that my room downstairs had to be completely vacated right then to allow the carpet cleaners to do their job first thing Friday morning. That pissed me off, because I had moved about half of my stuff already and was doing it a specific order so there wasn't a lot of double work, but this threw that plan out the window. I got the last of my things moved by 3 am and my new room was so overloaded I slept in the hall on the floor. Had a foul mood at work on Friday thinking about all the extra work I was going to have to do so my brother would not be inconvenienced. Anyway, I got home and started cleaning up and it went much faster than I thought. I could use my bed again and after working on it Saturday night and most of Sunday it is in a condition that I can live with. We also got my dad's office two thirds emptied and that will create a lot of new space. He had so many manuals and notebooks from the 60's and 70's, it is amazing. I don't think even he had gone back to look at them probably ever. They just took up space on a book shelf. We had one of his friends from Bechtel come by and see if any of the manuals were usable if we wanted to donate them, but he said there was very little worth keeping.

As for the house itself, the stucco work is done, the woodwork is nearing completion, the painting crew will be here tomorrow to continue where they can, and we had a team adding gravel and regrading the driveway. Thank you God! We had been so far behind with everything, but the necessary things are being accomplished and I know the stress will be diminishing here in short order (at least for me).

Good news everyone!

"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
Sinclair Lewis

Unfortunately, the above quote is coming truer and truer as the days go by. The truly sad aspect of this is that people seem unaware and unconcerned that the principles that have made this country great have been severely eroded and we may not ever get them back.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin

I consider myself religious and conservative, but I do NOT believe either of those things give me any right to force others into my view points. My brother has a sign on the back of his truck, which says "Keep Church and State Separate" and it is something I wholeheartedly agree with. The religious right is far scarier to me than the extremists on the liberal side.

Here are some links I found particularly informative recently, first on where the presidential candidates stand on a number of issues, then an overview of the subprime/investment debacle that will get worse before it gets better.

Link #1

Link #2

While this outlook on the world may seem grim, I do hold tight to my belief that God does have an ultimate plan for the universe and IT IS GOOD. And with that, I'll leave you with two of last weeks panels from "Garfield Without Garfield":

Keeping my head above water

Our house looks like a bomb (more like several bombs) went off inside. The necessary task of sorting through all my dad's paperwork, accumulated through 67 tremendously productive and efficient years, has provided us with the impetus to clean house in more ways than one. It is a very bittersweet undertaking: I keep finding 'gems', cards from people telling him how much they appreciated him/things we had given to him as little kids that he kept/letters to my mom, and also mountains of data from his 35 years with Bechtel, that only he would even have any interest in. So the vast majority is going away and it is somewhat hard to make the distinction between throwing out his old things and throwing away his memory. It feels so illogical to even write that, but I keep catching myself with that in mind. With my brother's upcoming wedding added to the mix, it is a wonder we are not more frazzled. Surprisingly, things are moving along quite well.

I have moved half of my things to my new room, which will be easier to close off while on my extended travels and also affords my brother's soon-to-be-new family the entire lower level of the house. We are also moving forward with some much needed repair work to the exterior of the house - long overdue painting and stucco repair.

I took some time to do a few other things this weekend. I was asked to do some projections/visuals for a benefit for the St. Helena Teen Center. There were five bands (mostly/all? local) playing at the Tucker Farm center, including Tear It Down, Sam Vega, and 33. I haven't done visuals in a while and it was fun. I enjoyed the music, although it was getting too loud for me by the time TID was finishing. Our location for projecting was great and the screen well positioned. I appreciated the positive comments I had while running stuff like Appleseed/Rivers&Tides/The Great Dictator/skating videos/Fragile Machine/others. Sunday I ran a load of recyclable paper to CloverFlat, listened to the final Giants game of the year (and Lincecum's bid for the Cy Young for which he has to be a strong contender and I hope he wins), picked up the pottery I bought last weekend at Nikki and Will's OPEN STUDIO (I'll post pictures), and hung out with good people at an Oktoberfest celebration in St. Helena. The weather was perfect to be sitting around outside and it was fun to spend time with new acquaintances/former and current coworkers/bocce teammates. I will miss many of those people when I'm on my trip.

And, just because I like unusual things, here is a picture of the woman with the longest legs and the shortest man from the Guinness people....

You will buy a seat, BUT YOU WILL ONLY USE THE EDGE! I like the sound of that phrase, but unfortunately this is not the post that it really applies to. For the people that had been checking this blog, most of you know why I stopped. I've missed it and will begin again here shortly. For those that don't know, my father died. It was not expected and has taken some time to deal with (obviously, I'm not done dealing with it, but there were more important things than posting here). The only constant in life is change, so we have to learn to deal with things as they come. More soon.....

J + L sitting in a tree.....

Scott got a bunch of pictures (really nice pictures, BTW) from Josh and Lisa's wedding Friday a week ago posted here. It was a beautiful and simple ceremony and I am so happy for both of them. I'm glad the video link worked out and family in four continents were able to watch because of it.

Another group putting out excellent music is Even 11. They are the combined forces of Jaia and Silicon Sound (so glad I got to see him at the first Gratitude festival years ago) and their two tracks on the Vanguard compilation are fantastic. I just listened to both of them again and had to point that out. And then what comes on but Rajiotaiso by X-Dream and A Tribute to Etnica by Klopfgeister. More please!!! What music to take out to BurningMan this year? Choices choices choices.....

The Truth About.....

Recently, a book appeared on our "Take a book/Leave a book" shelf at work. I had heard about it on various websites and so I grabbed it. "The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 Facts About the World's Greatest Human" by Ian Spector, is the kind of thing that is sooooo stupid that it folds in on itself and becomes funny (at least in parts). I find it amusing, as well, that Ian Spector is listed as the "author" when the complete content of the book was submitted by visitors to his website. It also mirrors (sometimes word for word) bits of the Bill Brasky skits on SNL in the late 90's. The whole thing highlights a few things I have been ruminating over lately and will mention after a sampling of 13 Norris "truisms" that made me laugh as I imagined what would be required for them to actually take place.

There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard, there is only another fist.

Chuck Norris kicked a fifty yard field goal while having sex.

Chuck Norris can speak Braille.

Chuch Norris was once on celebrity Wheel of Fortune and was the first to spin. The next 29 minutes of the show consisted of everyone standing around awkwardly, waiting for the wheel to stop.

Chuck Norris beat IBM's Deep Blue computer at chess in three moves. He had only a pawn, a thimble, and a checker.

Once a cobra bit Chuck Norris in the leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died.

Chuch Norris hit puberty during the second trimester.

Someone once tried to tell Chuck Norris that roundhouse kicks aren't the best way to kick someone. This has been recorded by historians as the worst mistake anyone has ever made.

Chuck Norris' beard hit .370 in the minors before hurting its knee.

Chuck Norris owns the best poker face of all time. It helped him win the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite him holding a Joker, a Get Out of Jail Free Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, a 7 of spades, and a green number 4 card from the game Uno.

Every cell in Chuck Norris' body has its own beard.

Chuck Norris bemoans the fact that the typical American is unaware that Walker, Texas Ranger is an unscripted reality show.

Contrary to popular belief, Chuch Norris, not the blue ringed octopus of eastern Australia, is the most venomous creature on earth. Within three minutes of being bitten, a human being experiences the following symptoms: fever, blurred vision, beard rash, tightness of the jeans, and the feeling of being repeatedly roundhouse kicked.

So, as amusing as that was, it is symptomatic of several things I see in our culture today that do not bode well for humanity. I am just beginning to read "The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupifies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future" by Mark Bauerlein. I picked it up after reading an NPR review. It is a subject that bothers me quite a bit and I am frequently stunned at the extent of the lack of awareness/knowledge exhibited by people of my generation and the ones that will be making up our future 'leaders'.

We're lost, but we are making good time. - Yogi Berra

In some corners of the interwebs, the phrase "Where is your God now?" has attained clichedom. I am unclear on this meme's origins, but aside from the mockery it usually is meant to heap upon its recipient, it makes me think for a minute seriously. This news item posted on Fark was the most recent place I ran into the phrase. I know people want to be as individual as they can be and I support that in most cases. Changing your name to "Almighty Supremebeing Allah" is dubious at best and begs for things just like this to occur. So, where is he? He is in jail for dealing crack, just like you would expect from a deity, right?

A relationship with one's God is a hard thing to define. As much as I know to my core that He is with me, prompting me when needed, protecting me from danger seen and unseen, leading me to circumstances where my skill sets can help others, etc, it is something I can not prove to anyone else. As much as I can see the supposed incongruity in worshiping something in many ways unknowable, I have experienced too much to ever be convinced that He does not exist. That is what faith is. So where is my God now? He is where He always has been, right here with me giving me the freedom to choose Him or not and helping me through the problems that those choices create. And He does that for every person on this planet.

I have had a rough past two weeks, which I won't go into beyond it being primarily work related, but I read a link today that reminded me once again how insignificant my problems are in the grand scheme of life. It was very difficult to read through this without crying and chills kept running up and down my spine. It is hard to fathom how cruel we as humans can be to each other and somehow justify that to ourselves. How we can ignore abuses around us and convince ourselves that ignorance is bliss. There is such beauty in this world at the same time - in people, places, nature, etc. My heart is just aching right now and I thank God for His influence in my life. I wouldn't be here without it.

Below are two music videos, one from my current favorite artists Ulrich Schnauss and the second a parody that brought a smile to my face when I needed that recently.


Sia "Breathe Me" Ulrich Schnauss remix

Electric Six "Synthesizer"

One of those "Only in America" things

Only in America can an article about how families are struggling to buy food for their families in these trying economic times be accompanied by this picture. Do not enlarge. I almost wonder if this is a put-on by NPR because while I am sure this is becoming a real issue for many in this country, using this family as their example makes a mockery of the whole thing.

Today happens to be Switzerland's independence day. It also, happens to be the birthday of my friends Scott A., Richard G., Becky C. and coworker Brenda S. There have been a number of other birthdays recently and I am caked out. I did want to throw out an old favorite, the cake patrol:
Triple (size) crown coming right up.

"This is your birthday song
It isn't very long.

This is the second verse.
It is just like the first."

Happy Birthday, all of you!

Gundlach Bundschu Indie Rock concert

I know I've talked about this to a number of people already, but last weekend the Indie Rock concert at Gundlach Bundschu Winery was a complete treat. True Music Media was providing sound, so we got their early to set everything up and get sound checks done. I had no idea about what the bands would be playing or really even about the location. The winery has a great outdoor stage and hillside for picnics and all manner of events. We were essentially set up when the bands arrived and let us know that they had had the misfortune of being robbed of all their equipment just before their gig at the Bottom of the Hill in SF the previous Tuesday night. They had only been able to replace their guitars and this concert would only feature the singers with guitars. This made things easier for us on the sound side, but was obviously a disappointment. I think it was a blessing in disguise personally given what transpired over the course of the evening.

My partner in True Music Media, Richard, had said it would be a great show and I've come to know that while our tastes in music do diverge in several places, his recommendations are often spot on. The three artists for the concert were Nik Freitas, Maria Taylor, and Jonathan Rice. After a brief sound check the musicians went into the wine cave where they had some food and a space to relax before the concert started. We wandered down that direction shortly after they went there. I like looking at the wine cave spaces, as each one is unique. This one was two long and narrow passageways. What struck me immediately once we were inside and could hear Nik and Maria playing their guitars, was that the acoustics were phenomenal. I only stayed the length of one song and then went back up to the concert area, partly because to stay any longer I probably would have cried. I knew then that it was going to be something special.

Nik opened and played a wonderful set. Maria came on next and likewise had a great set, with her younger sister and Nik accompanying her on several songs. Jonathan Rice was the headliner and with his fantastic stage presence and showmanship really earned that role. As a resident of Napa Co. I thought it was great when he slipped up with a couple Napa references in front of the Sonoma crowd and he handled their "corrections" really really well. All of the music was far beyond anything I had expected and a huge portion of that for me personally was that it was so stripped down. I do not think it would been nearly as moving if they had been backed by full bands creating a wall of sound that would absorb and likely overshadow the beauty that shone through last Saturday.

WSJ OpEd piece about efficiency and team work (exhibited by the government) that is worth a look.

An article on the ease of buying another human being.



My friend Zelda in NY.


A sculpture by an artist who known as "Bodymilk"


Stave by icurmtHeaded


Wings by impishimpi


A recent piece by ReggieNoble2


Knotted by Supdog


1459 by TelefunkenU47, using the same source as ReggieNoble2


a piece by Tesseractor

The event of the Century (plant)

Some pictures of our century plant on its way to completing its life quest...





#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6
#7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14
#15, #16,

Round two: More movies....

In the Realms of the Unreal: This documentary of Henry Darger takes it's title from the 15,000 page novel Darger wrote detailing the history of a parallel universe that was far more real to Darger than this one. He was extremely reclusive and, by all indications, just as extremely misunderstood. The extent and breadth of his collection of writing and artwork is all the more impressive in that he was entirely self taught. It is also a story of intense loneliness and personal isolation. I wish there had been more - 81 minutes seemed to only scratch the surface of a fascinating soul.

Jumper: This was purely an escapist fantasy. One I'm sure almost all little boys (and I'm sure many girls as well) have had about being able to teleport. Oh, the adventures you could have! Oh, how easily greed/selfishness would pervert that ability. Oh, the moral dilemmas one could get into. Throw in Paladins, whose singular purpose is to hunt you down and exterminate you since you are an abomination in the eyes of God, turmoil in your family regarding abandonment issues, and what is supposed to pass for a love story, and you have the basis for this film. The first user review on IMDB pretty much sums up my experience.

Raising Victor Vargas: A young Latino 'stud-in-his-own-mind' gets called out after being caught romancing "Fat Donna" and has to find a way to get his street cred back. The object of his attention and hope of redemption as a ladies man is a young JLo lookalike. He must also deal with issues with a younger brother and sister and their grandmother at home. A reviewer on IMDB said it was the type of film you could watch and do a crossword puzzle at the same time. I found this a very accurate description and actually wrote a couple checks while watching it myself. There was something lacking, something that made it difficult to connect with Victor. Another reviewer on IMDB, Mike Palomino, was able to put into much more eloquent words, what kept me from fully engaging the characters here.

I Stand Alone (Seul contre tous): A French film by director Gaspar Noe (who did Irreversible, which I mentioned in round one) that once again shows him to be an incredibly talented filmmaker, but also again with a story of intense despair, violence, and depravity. Think of a darker more intense version of TAXI DRIVER, which has many similarities. The tension is very high throughout as transitions between and within scenes are marked by a gunshot. You keep waiting for the pot to boil over and the unthinkable to happen (and the mind can think of a LOT of unthinkable things this man would be capable of). I would hope that if I got to the Butcher's state of mind, someone would have the courtesy to have me committed or kill me to put an end to my misery and the danger to everyone around me. Both of these two films by Noe are works of cinematic art, if you can get past the grisly outlook on life and depression inducing subject matter. Worth seeing, but be prepared to confront the worst of the world (which is becoming more and more common unfortunately).

Russian Dolls (Les Poupees russes) UPDATE: I tried again and did get to watch the last 40 minutes. The disk did have a glitch which prevented me from watching two chapters in the middle, but I felt I had enough context to move on without them. And like I said before, this has all the little bits that made me enjoy the earlier film, L'Auberge Espagnol, or a film like Amelie. And that is not just because Audrey Tautou is in all three. It is the type of film that I'll suddenly notice I've been smiling for the past 15 minutes. I like that feeling.

Next round will be books....

Why, oh why, don't they make music videos like they used to?

Literature's "New Classics" from the past twenty-five years per what I consider a questionable source. I will temper that by saying I do own and/or have read 13 of the books on the list and could be missing out tremendously, but I have no shortage of books to wade through as it is. I'll post some brief reviews of the books I finished reading in the last couple weeks shortly.

Two pieces about the current Precious Snowflake (or * as they are known in some circles) culture: One Two. As a person with serious doubts about ever having children of my own, these certainly do not help persuade me to think otherwise. Spending time with my niece and nephew on the other hand does make me think what if? at least a little.

And an interesting comparison of Lincoln and Darwin and their significance to the world today.

Round up one: This past week I ran through a pile of movies, so here is the GBU* (again an aside, if you find any music by "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", give it a listen, smooth groovy driving progessive psy trance from Serge, Fred, and Dmitri, you can decide who is who).

The Bridesmaid: A chance meeting at his sister's wedding leads the main character into a rapid spiral of obsession and madness, not that the madness was a new thing for him, it just had a torch lit under it and they dive headlong into it. It is a French film so there is plenty of obligatory nudity. Not a terrible film, but also not subject matter that is very uplifting or inspirational. Stay away from crazy people.

Two Family House: A true story of the director's uncle, a mixed race baby born to a married Irish woman (whoops!) in New York in the 50's. The story starts with a hard luck Italian buying a house with plans to convert the downstairs into a local pub. First he has to get rid of the family upstairs: the Irish O'Leary's, a drunk in his 60's and his "child bride" Mary, who is about twenty at the time of the film, very pregnant, and played by Kelly MacDonald (an actress I've really liked ever since her turn in Trainspotting). As there are legal "complications" with evicting the family, some of Buddy's Italian buddies' offer to help with the eviction if you know what I mean. During their attempt to motivate the Irish couple to leave, Mary goes into labor and has the baby, who is obviously not Mr. O'Leary's. Given this turn of events Mr. O'Leary abandons Mary and Buddy proceeds to evict her, but the guilt of doing so makes him second guess his decision. As truth is stranger than fiction, the story unfolds from there as Buddy and Mary provide each other with the impetus to chase their dreams.

Indiana Jones and the ..........: The newest installment of the Indiana Jones saga is certainly an action packed one and quite enjoyable if you look past the many plot holes and borderline absurd situations that come at Uncle Harry in nonstop fashion. I have a fairly low suspension of disbelief threshold and this tested it. I was able to let go and enjoy the ride, but as soon as it was over, I could not avoid dissecting the many problems that hovered just below the surface. My loss and everyone else's gain I suppose.

Irreversible: A French thriller told in reverse chronological order, is extremely stylish and that aspect I thoroughly enjoyed, but it is also graphic/brutal/unforgiving and left my soul aching. The camera work is frenetic and chaotic at the beginning as we see the violent revenge taken by two of the main characters and as we backtrack through the nights events we arrive at the end (or the beginning) to very placid cinematography, but we are still jacked up on adrenaline, knowing what devolved from what should have been a nice evening out. I really can not recommend this for anyone who has a low pain/violence tolerance. I'm still not sure how to process this myself as it is rather disturbing and will not likely leave my psyche soon.

13 Tzameti: This is a fantastic debut film, again a French thriller, again very violent. In the vein of Reservoir Dogs/Usual Suspects. A young man doing a roofing job for an older man who overdoses, decides to take the man's place at a high paying "job" about which he knows nothing. Once he is far enough along that he learns what is involved he cannot get out and the battle for survival is on both psychologically and physically. This is an extremely tense movie and the people that do these things in real life are monsters/deranged in their own way. Crazy and yet hard to look away from. You won't get a happy ending with this one, but it is certainly worth looking for and the director, Gela Babluani, is one to watch for. There was also a disturbing short in the special features called Sunday's Game that was worth a look.

Finally...

Russian Dolls: This is a sequel to "L'Auberge Espagnol" which was a fun film about an internationally varied group of students in Spain (in some ways like MTV's The Real World). This film catches up with the group five years later as they reassemble in Russia for a wedding. I like the visual style, it feels very much like the first film and this is a good thing, the characters are interesting, etc. I got this from Netflix and the disc was completely borked halfway through, so I do not know how it turns out. I was enjoying it and there was a sequence with Audrey Tautou that is absolutely hilarious, but I'll have to track down another copy to find out what happens. Disappointing, but this is really the first time since I started with Netflix that I have not been able to get a disc to play on one of my machines.

Off to watch "The Burmese Harp" now....

May Financial Binder is done and gone and I feel good....

Two links to a journalistic social experiment wherein the arts writers and the sports writers for the UK Guardian swap places for a day renders some interesting results. Nearly all of the participants would run circles around many of the "journalists" I read on a daily basis, for their writing ability alone, but beyond that the insights given are actually interesting and I enjoyed reading these.

The Arts as reported on by sports writers

Sports as reported on by art scribes

And another interesting article about Guerrilla Gardening. Not a new term or phenomenon, but one that is getting new exposure and I think that is a good thing. A sampling:

“I grew up singing in a cathedral where every little surface of all the medieval walls was carved in,” Reynolds said. “It looked like a place that was really special to people — lived in and loved.” His gardening is meant to communicate the same affectionate and collaborative investment in London. “I’m not against the state,” he told me. “I’m not an anarchist. I accept society more or less as it is. But there are chinks, there are flaws, there are anomalies in it. There are things that get overlooked, and I think guerrilla gardening can be a solution to that."

I just had a peek at the world map of all the random viewers of this blog (and random is about the only way to quantify those who happen to stumble on it) and the whole world is slightly speckled. I have to recommend SiteMeter for their services on that front. The way the world is interconnected is weird, wild, woolly, and that makes me happy for some reason.

Amen! This is something that has always bugged me and I see it on a frequent basis, working tangentially in a service industry. I'll leave it at that.

The garden is already giving up its bounty as we had raspberry's over the weekend and the first ripe tomato. On Sunday we planted a large section of corn with four varieties that will ripen at different times so we will be in corn for about two months straight starting in late July. We also started two onion sets. The blue jays got every last one of the cherries again this year, but I think about six gave up their lives for that pleasure. Hope it was worth it. The pluot and plum trees are COMPLETELY loaded with fruit and we will need to start propping up the branches to save the trees from total destruction from the weight. One hen has been sitting on about 10 eggs and they should start hatching this weekend.

Another living miracle in progress is the blooming of the century plant in the front yard. It was planted there when we were building the house 15 years ago and this year it decided to complete it's life's purpose. The stalk grew like bamboo and is now over twenty five feet high, higher than head level from the second story deck. I will post a couple pictures later. The plants' twin will do the same in two or three years, then all the little seedlings will continue for 'centuries'.

I was talking with someone about how our family has always had gardens and animals, even when living in San Francisco. We had rabbits and chickens and a garden in the Richmond district 2 blocks from Golden Gate Park and 8 blocks from the beach. The neighbors did not take kindly to the rooster at first, but all complaining stopped once we started sharing fresh eggs and vegetables. We also had a full grown redwood tree, with tree house in the backyard and it was a sad day when we had to cut it down. It was one of the conditions placed on the sale of the house by the Chinese family that bought it from my parents. They were very afraid that the tree's spirit was going to be angry that we were moving and we had to remove it to appease them. Back to the conversation about plants: we were talking about the importance of nature in the development of children and how kids in cities often are deprived of that. Working with plants is a relationship, sure they will grow without help from us, but as I learned with my very first garden patch as a 6 year old if I did not take the time to water, fertilize and weed my broccoli (yes I chose broccoli as a six year old, I still love the stuff), it would not be nearly as healthy and fruitful as it could be. It is a lesson I still need to remind myself of frequently. We get out of life only as much as we put in. It is in watering, weeding, and fertilizing our relationships with friends, lovers, and family (OFF TOPIC and obscure- I just have to interject that that if you can find any of FLF's music grab it or at least give it a listen, completely engrossing and beautiful, most of it is on the old school vinyl label LUSH) that they and we can bloom as the best, most whole people we can be.

Long overdue....

The view from our seats at the Giants/Mets game on Wednesday. The Giants lost, but the game was still an enjoyable one, with a home run, triple, a couple stolen bases, some great defensive plays, etc. Very nice seats in an exceptionally beautiful ballpark. Parking was super expensive, but at least I was also able to get the rest of my paperwork dropped off at the Swiss consulate before the game.



I got back from NYC at midnight on Monday and have to say I had a thoroughly wonderful trip. I walked an awful lot, but it was completely worth it and I am surprised how many 'icons' and 'landmarks' are within walking distance in Manhattan. I visited the UN building, the Empire State building, the Ed Sullivan Theatre (they were on hiatus), Hello Deli, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, Rockafellar Center, Gramercy Park, Fifth Avenue, Madison Square Gardens, the WTC site, Times Square, Union Square, the MOMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Gugenheim, etc, etc. I love walking in cities because you can experience so much more that way. You interact with the textures (cobblestone, grass, pavement, glass, etc), the sights (dogs, people, architecture, sculpture, etc), the sounds (birds, sirens, shoes, a multitude of languages, horns, music, etc), the smells (fresh fruit stands, the grass after the thunderstorm, urine, sweat, exhaust, the many restaurants, etc) it a way you don't when you ride around in a car or subway. I was staying in the Lower East Side with my wonderful host Daphne and her dog Zelda. The weather was warm and humid, but I really could not have asked for a better introduction to New York City. I have lived outside of big cities long enough that I really do not want to live in one, but this was certainly a positive trip and I would definitely like to visit NY again. And if you love books, I now know a dangerous place called the Strand Bookstore, where they claim to have 18 miles of books. I was finally able to pull myself out of there with 8 new books, which I'll write about soon. The actual reading of those books is being postponed as I have to first finish "What is the What?" which I borrowed from Daphne. I like it so far. While it is listed as a novel, it parallels several documentaries I have seen about the Darfur situation and the Lost Boys so well it could be nonfiction.



Two shots from the Brooklyn Bridge, one looking at the Statue of Liberty.

The view from the eighth floor where I was staying in Stuyvesant Town in the Lower East Side, plus a loooonnngg shot of the Empire State Building while on foot.

The Hello Deli, where I was able to buy a drink from Mr. Rupert Gee himself, and the Ed Sullivan Theater right around the corner.

Lady Liberty last Sunday. If you have issues with the images, I'll blame it on the fact they were all taken with my cell phone, so I think they are decent given that admission.


Below are pics from the Bay to Breakers several weekends ago. Top row has Ramon and Jens S. Middle row has Jens H. (in orange on the upper right) and me. And third row is another fabulous picture of that sister also known as "The Brother from a Swiss Mother". For some reason Sara has no pictures, presumably because she was sooooo fast that the cameras could not capture her image as she flew by, but it is sad what ever the reason. Maybe the photographers thought she was so cute they kept the pictures themselves. Bad photographers, bad! I also got a copy of the next day's SF Examiner with all our names in it.