My reward...

I have to say - I slogged through last month's Book Club selection. Granted, I did learn something of Bach + Frederick the Great + The Age of Enlightenment + Prussia + the Germanic dukedoms + galant + canon + fugue et cetera. But boyohboy it took me long and laboured hours to get through that book. This title, as one club member stated 'was not a lite summer read'.

That understood, my intention was to read enough to engage in a semi-informed discussion with my fellow book club readers. By the evening of our meeting, I had managed all but the last two chapters. Took notes in the margins, even! I successfully (?) offered a few enlightened comments to our booktalk. Not bad, considering I was interested in Bach's music and the Enlightenment; though not as much into the particulars of early German history. The book utilizes the history to frame in context the two aforementioned topics, which makes a whole lot of sense - but ohmygod the dates, places and names (all those Johanns!) did boggle my feebled brain...

At any rate, with the monthly meeting come and gone, the selection could have easily been retired to the shelf without me ever re-visiting it. Yet (doh!) I challenged myself to complete the read.

Why bother when 'the Bach book' proved so tough-going in the first place? This January 1st, I (foolishly - as new year promises often prove to be) resolved to get all-the-way-through Book Club Selections (if I begin them at all, that is...) however daunting the subject matter, writing, or small print (!). Some titles, particularly non-fiction - provide a special challenge in that they can come across rather 'dry'. Bottom line: it's too easy for me to give up on a book, move on and feel, once again - the failed bookworm.

As an incentive for reading the 'Bach book' through to the end, I dangled the proverbial carrot at the finish line: another book. One I've been looking forward to reading. For months. 'Color: A Natural History of the Palette' was highly recommended to me months ago. I bought the book, set it aside, and proceeded to go through the stack of titles already heaped on my bedside table before allowing myself to reach for this much-anticipated book. Today, having perused 'the stack' as well as 'the Bach book', I happily sat myself down, cracked open the smooth, untouched pages of 'Color' and read the preface...

Hallelujah!
I can already tell this is going to be a goodie. No slog this time round.

Chemistry

x CO2 + y H2O	light	x O2 + Cx(H2O)y
	chlorophyll

The equation describes in scientific terms how leaves change color with the chillier temps we can expect in the next few months. I don't have a clue how to calculate this, but no matter. Just last weekend, I noticed that the day's light is already changing, and there's a slight, but detectable coolness in the evening breeze (I was in San Francisco, so go figure...).

Yahoooooooo!

I'm ready for autumn, as I suspect many of you are. Done done done with the relentless summertime heat. I'm tired of feeling wilted. Goodbye to sweating profusely and seeking A/C for relief. Dog days. Looking forward to shorter daylight hours (call me Mole Girl), cooler temps, heating up the oven and baking harvest time yummies (like apple-anything), and going to last-of-the-harvest local food festivals. Wearing jeans and sweaters...and socks! Throwing a knitted shawl over my shoulders. Moreover, seeing a bit of autumnal color transforming the deciduous trees. Fall foliage is so very enchanting, isn't it? I'll leave equations/formulas to the more science-minded and instead slip into shameless Leaf Peeper mode.

Granted, we residents of the far western states don't bask in the same riot of psychedelic leaf color evident in states t'other side o' the Rockies, but what we do have is still greatly appreciated. Any gold, orange, rust and/or red leafed trees we encounter during the (Summer-to-Fall ) change of season are oft greeted with the type of Ooooohs and Ahhhhs that rival those accompanying any 4th of July fireworks display. In spite of our relatively mild California climate, it ain't just brown leaves unceremoniously falling to the ground here, folks.

Thank you in advance, Ma Nature - for the annual glimpse of magic.
Now let's get on with the show.
(here's another dog days link for JrS)

Enjoy today!

Make it a good one, OK?

his fingers barely graze the control panel...

One thing that excites me about the latest technology (and little does, so this is saying something) is that each advancement brings us that much closer to - Star Trek Living.
Yes, I’m going Trekker again with this post. Since I’ve already mentioned Seven of Nine in a previous entry, I thought I’d go zero for two.

That’s Lt. Commander Data in the photo. He’s sitting at his station on the bridge of the USS Enterprise NCC -1701-D.

Note the smooth, buttonless control panel he's working on. If you've ever watched the show, you've seen the ultra speed (due to his positronic brain) with which Data’s fingers literally fly over the panel's surface (he’s a droid, btw) as he works on status reports for Captain Picard.

Recent advances in the area of telecommunications will soon be introducing the buttonless cell phone to the tech-hungry public. It promises to be the next big wave of cell phone gotta-have-it. Out with the old and in with What's Next.

Alas, the newest phone techno novelty still won’t resolve the issue of cell phone rudeness. The latest and greatest will surely feature in 'New-Techno-Toy-Posturing’, to be sure (as you can see, I haven't quite calmed down from that post).
I wonder if we'll ever finally settle in contentedly with our high techno tools, and get on with the business of working out our living with one another.

Perhaps then we'll see something of a Gene Roddenberry-type world (not perfect, but tryin'...).
Hmmmmm....next quandary: shall I go for nifty Head Ridges or a shiny Borg Implant or ?

Brain fodder (or...Ruminate on this for awhile...)

First of all, apologies for the low volume of the 'Hate' video. It was like that at the source. Just lean in closer to your computer speakers to pick up the audio....

Anyways.
Brain fodder is good stuff, so ruminate a bit on the notion that race is a social construct...and if perpetrated, our future generations will take that much longer to find the 'equality' so many of us in each successive generation claim to strive towards...
Keep reading, keep talking, keep it open.

(Hate) Machine

When media messages are constructed, sometimes truth hits the cutting room floor.

Rashomon

Last night I finally got round to watching another movie that has been much too long on my Must-See-Film list: 'Rashomon'. It's not a samurai movie, per se. It is about the human condition - about truth, or the elusiveness of it.

Directed by the masterful Akira Kurosawa with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa (shooting at camera angles considered innovative at the time), the film stars Toshiro Mifune in the role of the bandit. Mifune's characterization of Tajomaru is not only brilliantly portrayed, but the man is absolutely strikingly beeee-yooo-tee-full in this role! Ken Watanabe (or as my sistah calls him: Watanabe Ken)(surname first is the proper address) has nothin' on Mifune-san! Young Mifune might just be my new 'crush', as Young Buster Keaton was a few years ago when I screened (just about) ALL of his Pre-MGM silent films.

'Rashomon' - Rent it, buy it, borrow it or steal it.
Just be sure to watch it.

One word movie review: stunning.

HUZZAH for incredibly talented makers of movies!

Your Toofs is Blue

Really and truly, I do have something of 'a life' (as in 'get a'), so trite irritations such as this shouldn't bug me. But they do, I suppose, because I'm really not such a nice person after all is reviewed/ confessed at day's end.

I feel the need to comment on the less-than-fashionable BlueTooth. On the lady in the top picture, it ain't too bad. In the pic below, Seven of Nine isn't a BlueTooth wearer, of course - her head ornamentation is part of what remains of her Borg Identity (again, another story for another time, but you caught me, didn't ya - I'm a StarTrek fan as well as a Star Wars Neuuuuuurd). Many before me have made note that the BT apparatus undeniably hints of 'Borg'. As in 'You will be assimilated' and 'Resistance is futile'.



What gets me in a mini huff is seeing BusinessManTypes wearing their BlueTooth Apparatus whilst casually shopping at Home Depot. I spotted a couple of guys at the hardware store last weekend, donning their BT and clearly striking some sort of 'I'm-too-cool-to-carry-a-regular-cell-phone' pose. I can't help but notice, and that alone bugs the Bajeezus outta me. The attitude reeks of 'My other car is a Porsche' Syndrome (translation: "I'm really just an everyday D.S.'). Wouldn't it feel good to slap these guys upside the head and knock their earpieces right off, along with their false sense of self-importance? (OK, so maybe I don't have a life after all.)

It can be argued that those who sport facial piercings/ a multitude of tattoos are also attempting to make their own 'I'm so cool' statement. But then they are. Cool, that is. More so than the aforementioned BT guys, at any rate.

I'll get over the BlueTooth earpiece thing before long. After all, haven't we all adapted to (if not accepted) what was once considered the inappropriate overuse of cell phones in any and all public places? At one time, to hear someone carrying on a cell phone conversation in a restaurant setting would, at the very least, elicit a disapproving sigh or look of disdain from many of us. Now it's almost part of the restaurant-dining ambiance. 'Fess up, if you will, that we who have 'tsk tsk'd' are fast becoming offenders ourselves. Sad to say, but getting truer every day.

Does anyone else remember when only crazy people talked to themselves? Now it's called 'wireless technology'. Or 'menopause'.
Hurummmph.

P.S. I'll get back to fun fancy crafty foody adventurous joyful postings before long. Just on a rant n' rave roll* right now...
* think I've just named a new kind of sushi roll!

it never fails...

HubbyDear left on another business trip today and the spiders have already started to come out of hiding to greet me. This one looks small in the pic, but measures approximately one and one quarter inch in diameter (legs included). It's the fast moving, sneaky type. I try to avoid watching certain movies when HD is away and the spiders come out to play.

P.S. Pictured spider has been rendered...immobile. Sorry, spider-lovers...

Beatles 4 ever!

I’m regressing. Day by day, a fair portion of my 'life perspective' makes its way back to the mindset of the naive (OK, for those of you who know me well, I’m still naive, but it’s a good
thing, right?) impressionable teen that was me in the....(wow) mid-60’s…

Last week, I celebrated a milestone birthday. I now qualify for the Tuesday Senior Discount at Gottschalks.

Who knows where the time goes? Heck, in composing this post, Zip! there goes a bit more of it.

Given the natural movement forward, a little pushme-pullyou regression seems essential to the process, no? It keeps the universal elements or some other cosmic thing in balance. At the very least, regressing has me waking in the morn thankful I’m still capable of enjoying life's simpler pleasures. For those of us fortunate enough, good things do abound. It’s a stop and smell the roses mentality, to be sure. Make the time. Take the time. Truth be known, pleasures do tend to get simpler as one advances the years, so take note before the choices narrow. That, however, is another discussion for another post….

Back to regressing. Back to having fun with a flashback twist. Get Back to Beatles.

Dollink Daughter LlS recently informed me that in less than seven days, several venues in San Francisco will host a ’40 Years Ago Today’ Beatles Celebration Weekend. As many of you know, the Beatles performed their last group concert at Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966; and the ’40 Years Ago’ celebration serves to acknowledge that anniversary. (do click on the RealTime videos!)

No, the Fab Four won’t be there.
John is dead. :-(
So is George. :-(
Dear Little Ringo is still with us :-)
Paul – well the jury’s still out… :-0 (oooh, not nice, B! If not a tad sacrilegious, considering the context of this post!)(especially since Paul was once your fave!).

The Sun Kings will be performing, though. I’ve never heard of them before today; nor have I ever been to a show where an imitation/ tribute band/ cover band Beatles group has performed. There ain't nothin' like the real deal, unless of course, you can no longer get the real deal...(sigh).

There will be interviews with / presentations by ‘those who were there’ at that last Beatle Summer. Beatle movies and documentary films will be shown on the BIG SCREEN, including ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. So many favourite scenes! I’m seriously hoping AHDN will prompt a ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ type response (sans food throwing) from attending audience members.
Of which I will be one.

Don’t think I’ll be doing my infamous (annoying to some) Beatlemaniac Scream anytime during the festivities, though. After all, I am a mature, demure and so Been There Done That Upstanding Senior Citizen now…
[wink]

P.S. What? There aren't enough links in this post? Fine then. Here's one more to keep your Beatles whistle whetted.

city gal at heart, country bumpkin when it comes to parallel parking

That there's my 'ride'. I can't parallel park it (unless the space is a two or more car length space, then I can just easily s-l-i-d-e in...

Actually, I can double park, it's just that I don't.
Did it once or twice - and very well too - a long time ago in a galaxy far far away in Driver's Training (a course that was once offered 'free' in California high schools).

Now I just don't/won't/please refrain from asking me to - parallel park.
So, yes, I've limited myself to 'slot' parking. Parallel parking - particularly on hills is just too challenging a physical, mental and stressful on the self-esteem task, and something I'd just rather not have to deal with. Lucky for me, friends and relatives park my car in these situations. They are so very talented!
But that just adds another 'doh-wimp' feather in my cap, folks!

However, I recently came across a new breed of 'self-parking' car. Novel idea, though I don't believe I'll be trading in the Forester too soon (read: $$$)

* If you were disappointed in the 'long time ago' link, here's one just for you. [yes, besides being a Parking Nerd, I'm also a SW Neuuuuurrrrrd].

Barbapapa addendum...

...for all you Barbapapa fans (thanks for commenting!), here's another crazy fun link!

Question: Which blobby room did you wish to live in?

Oh what fun!

Whether or not you know the Barbapapas, here is a funfunfun link. Here's another.
There's more at the site.
Play time!
Have FUN!

in lieu of newspapers...

...I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics the other day, bought three decorative ceramic plates (great % price!), and before I realized what was happening, the clerk 'cushion-wrapped' my purchase with these cool looking, never-before-used (totally smooth!) gift wrap papers. Whhaaaaaa? Whatever happened to yesterday's papers? (this link is actually a pretty fascinating read)

HolyMama! I gasped/sez to myself. Those papers are waaaaay too nice to crinkle up/use as throwaway paper wrap for fragile store purchases!

After getting home and carefully unwrapping the plates, I smoothed the papers out and decided to save them for re-use in some way shape or form. Hand-smoothing didn't get the wrinkles out too well, so I wetted the papers down with the shower spray in my bathroom and hung them up to dry...

Holy Over Reaction Re-use and Re-cycle!

I should make mention that for the last few months, I've been obsessively cleaning, clearing and re-organizing our humble abode. Getting rid of superfluous 'stuff' which I've been saving for....nothing, really....
So here I am, with the Merge and Purge well underway, and now doing - what again?
Doh!
K.I.S.S.!

Good snackie

I was getting pretty tired of eating even the tastiest (read: not dry and cacky) of granola bars. So the timing was perfect for my introduction to the world of Mrs. May's healthy snacks.

Had my first taste yesterday (tried both pumpkin crunch and almond crunch), and the olde taste buds were hooked. Very nutty with a natural sweetness. Terrific crunchiness factor (very important!).

Goodbye daily quick hit of nutrition found in granola bars.
Hello Mrs. May's!
This will no doubt prove to be my latest healthy-ish snack obsession...

Curmudgeons and Dragons

When is a Chinese dragon not a Chinese dragon?
When it's a Chinese lion, of course!

(BTW, apologies to gamers led to believe by the post title this was about a new version of 'Dungeons'...)

Today's novella length topic = Dragons / Lions. Specifically, those that appear in Chinese New Year parades.

The lunar new year is still 6 months away, yet I feel the need at this time to address those who fail to make the distinction between these dragons and lions. Why? In the past, it's always bothered me (surface the curmudgeon) when folks mistakenly say Chinese Dragons are Lions and Chinese Lions are Dragons. It happens. So, kindly indulge me...

(1) Although lions are not native to China, both Northern and Southern Chinese have their stylized versions of the animal in art, costume and dance.
(2) Dragons are mythological (or so they say...) creatures that loom large in Chinese legend. Dragons also feature prominently in the names of Chinese restaurants, if you haven't already noticed.
(3) Both Dragons and Lions 'dance' during Chinese New Year festivities. However, they come across very differently. Do not confuse the two!
(4) In appearance, CNY parade dragons are certainly attractive - elaborately designed dragon head, lengthy fabric body, colorful, ornate. A parade dragon is supported 'fore' by an individual who holds up the head by way of a long pole, followed by a large number of people who support the 'aft' (body) by holding shorter poles attached to the underside of the billowing length of canopy. Dragon's dance is a meandering zigzag snaking movement along city streets. Nice, but no big whoop.
(5) Parade lions, on the other hand, have enormous, decorated heads with movable parts. Lion heads are typically bedecked with soft round pom poms and rimmed with fur/fringe that shake and shudder with every movement. Lions have large, frightening bulbous eyes that sport wildly batting eyelashes. A big flapping mouth. Twitching ears. Maneuvered by two athletic individuals (typically trained in martial arts), the massive lion head is held up by one person while the second person attends to animating the short length of trailing cloth body. A steady, mesmerizing drumbeat accompanies the dance. With coordinated effort, the Lion Dancers step lively with a series of distinctive prances, postures, stretches, jumps and bows. A full-length lion dance involves precise moves that reflect a traditional story line.

OK, OK. so my preference for (Southern) lions (pictured in the link are Northern lions) prejudices me to wax less poetic about dragons, even risks my sounding disrespectful to the venerable dragon. (An aside: why is 'venerable' so often used when speaking of Asian-y things anyway? Like 'inscrutable'. Ah well, those terms may someday be addressed in a future Curmudgeon posting...).

Bottom line, I think parade dragons are over-rated. In terms of heart-pumping excitement, the sedate dragon just doesn't compare to the party-hearty lion. I feel dragons get way too much of the limelight, when the lions are clearly so more more awesome.

The Parade-style Lions/Dances are such a spectacle! As a child, I found the prancing dancing lions wildly exciting as well as pretty damned frightening. Definitely a Love/Hate response. Never quite got over it. As an adult, I eagerly look forward to watching a Lion Dance, yet the little kid in me still experiences a wee bit of a freak-out.
Perhaps it's the main reason 'CNY Lions' fascinate me so. I'm still working through the trauma...

P.S. In the next Curmudgeon post: "Don't call it 'Frisco'"...

Round. Circle. Ball. Sphere. x 50,000

Wish I could have seen this awesome art installation!
All those suspended little spheres! Awesome!
The piece is 'Atomic: Full of Love, Full of Wonder' and the artist is Nike Savvas.

That's her in the pic.

Celebrate!

August 8th


Thank you!

beach stompin'

Hoy Saltwater Sandals are made of specially treated leather purported to 'withstand salt water from ocean beaches’. That is to say the leather isn’t damaged or stretched out when wet and even the effects of salt water are negligible. The sandals wear and wear and wear and rarely get worn out (outgrown, yes, worn out - no). Claims such as these regarding the sturdy little shoes ain't just full of hot air.

Both my kids wore Hoy Salt Water Sandals. Those sandals are sooooo cute in the tiny sizes! Now the little munchkins have grown into adult women, and are, to be sure - 'accumulators of fine footwear' (read: they own far too many shoes). Those gals luv shoes! They've worn everything from embroidered no-support flat soled Chinese 'Mary Jane' shoes to custom-designed sporty athletic footwear to dainty n' dressy red soled Christian Louboutin to ballet style leather flats, wedge-heels, the requisite high school/college Berkies, too-cool boots, elevated platforms and back again to close-to-the-pavement zoris in basic black rubber. Just to name a few.

When it comes to foot coverings, it ultimately behooves any and all of us to seek (at least, on occasion when we feel responsible for being good to our feet) a balanced combination of comfort, style and durability in our footwear. Something that speaks to 'walkability' as well as fashion. Form + function.

Earlier this summer, 'JrS' (the younger of my two dollink daughters) purchased a pair of authentic (they MUST be authentic!)(check the sole for imprint) Hoy Saltwater Sandals. Not surprisingly, JrS chose the same style she wore some 20-odd years ago, which also happens to be the Hoy Company's classic. JrS wanted something 'to wear with jeans/ shorts/ skirts/ dresses' - and this style fit the bill. She swears by the great fit of her new Saltwaters, and highly recommends them to those seeking same in their summer footwear.

Although designed with children in mind, many Saltwater Sandal styles are available in larger sizes for adults.

Interesting bit of Hoy trivia from Wikipedia:
"Saltwater sandals" are/were a popular children's footwear, originally developed (by the Hoy Shoe Company of St. Louis, MO) in the 1940s as a way of coping with wartime leather shortages, as they were designed to be made largely from the scrap leather left over from making men's shoes. They are still made by the original manufacturer.

So - armed with all this good info, dash out today and get a pair. Be sure to wear them beach stompin'. Then be surprised and pleased when your sandals aren't totally destroyed by the effects of sun, sand and ocean water. Just give them a little rinse with tap water, towel dry, allow to air dry and they are good as new and still fit, to boot (no pun intended).
And no, I don't work on commission.

irresistible blue ribbon cookies

There's nothing quite like a home-baked cookie. Fresh ingredients mixed to perfection. Hot n' crispy right out of the oven. These beauties won blue ribbons at a local county fair. I love trying out new cookie recipes - more so if they've already been rated 'Blue Ribbon'. Tried and true. Trés Betty Crocker!

However, a colony of creepy crawly sugar-craving ants (and you thought they were poppy seeds...) found their way into the exhibit case where these cookies were displayed and were swarming all over the sweet offerings. Eeeeuuuwww!
Perhaps you too are battling an invasion of ants in your kitchen this summer and need some helpful suggestions on how to make 'em go away back outside/ or directly (do not pass Go do not collect $200) to ant heaven ...

Moral of story: DO bake cookies and DO store them in airtight containers!

mooning

Last year, whilst enjoying a peaceful, idyllic ride through the countryside aboard Amtrak, I happened to look out the window at a most opportune moment - and witnessed several teenagers 'mooning the train'. Hmmmm...thought I...startling, albeit amusing! A week ago, a friend described her recent vacation train trip from California to Chicago - with a definite nod to the numerous naked bottoms she saw trackside in 'moon position'. It appears that bare butts are just part of ridin' the rails scenery.

The huge popularity of 'mooning' as a recreational activity, deemed suitable by enthusiasts for various occasions - strikes me as astounding!
Any place, any time, and at the 'drop of a (ahem) hat', as it were.
If you're at all tempted to give mooning a try (at the same time fraternizing with hordes of mooning afficionados), mark this event on your 2007 calendar.

It's a hoot, to be sure, but really - I'd much rather associate moon-related activities with romance, i.e. walking along a moonlit beach.

Better yet, have a listen to the wonderful Audrey Hepburn sing 'Moon River' in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'.

With that, I leave you to choose which of these three (there are more, believe you me!) moon-ish options to contemplate for the next few...

Eat unagi

Sometime in late July/ early August (mid-summer) in Japan is official 'eat unagi' day - Doyoo Ushino Hi. Unagi is cooked eel. When eel fillet is grill or broiled with a teriyaki flavoring, it is delicious indeed. Just don't think about the eel-li-ness of it. If you don't hold to the mental slimey slithering in the water image, all will be fine. Ditto sea cucumber. You don't even want to go there (but click on the link if you dare..). Just understand that sea cucumber is so totally not a veggie.

OK, back to eels.
In Japan, it is traditionally believed that eating unagi at the height of summer's heat alleviates the effects of heat and humidity. There are several explanations for consuming eel at this hottest time of year - however, whatever the rationale, we who enjoy unagi simply don't need a special reason to partake of it.
Eat unagi. It's goooooood.

Pictured is unagi omu rice: flavored rice is wrapped with sweet egg omelette with a slice of unagi on top and toasted seaweed strips as a garnish.
Yummers!

" baffle bar "

It's a candy bar. Chocolate. I've never had one, which is unfortunate, as it is no longer available. Also the origin of one of my (many) nicknames. This one courtesy of my older brother, S-o (how I'll refer to him in blogpostland)...

All those years ago, when S-o christened me "baffle bar", little did he know the odd but catchy little name would someday define my computer-communication alter ego identity (my whaaaaat?).

This one is for all you Star Wars Neeeeurds!

It's only a minute and forty-two seconds....be sure to listen all the way through!
Enjoy!