2010: it's time to paint

something.
anything.

as DollinkGranddaughterLBPS would say: 'For me'.

'... a dirty little book thief..'

Once in a great while, there appears a news article of trite importance to the world at large, yet adds a bit of contemplation to my day.

Here is one such article.
(Do listen to the audio as well)

It's 2010

I welcome a brand new year - with one of my favourite movie tunes...

objectified

I love a good documentary.

One word movie review: AHA!

Wanted: a Happy Holiday.

It has been over two and a half weeks since my last drink post (forgive me, AA devotees, for I only open by being lite with borrowed slogan - due to embarrassment for lengthy time between posts).

Dear Readers: I have been neglectful, and I do apologize.

I've been here.
But what have I been doing since that last blog post on the 4th?

I've been spending precious time these last weeks vacillating between getting into the holiday 'spirit' - or not. Trying to decide what holiday spirit is, after all. Is it as the media and marketing realm has been dictating to the masses with ever-increasing greed and success > that holiday spirit equates with shopping till dropping? That more is more and anything less is Scrooge? Recall the days of the popularity of the 'Unplug the Christmas Machine' book? I remember workshops of the same name when that title was first released (about 15 years ago). I'd like to think that the 'unplug' philosophy has made great strides in changing the face of the holidays. Maybe Yes, more likely No. I saw people in Costco buying big screen TVs for presents - that don't smack of any consumer downsizing in shopping habits to me.

The concept of unplugging the machine has recently made a resurgence under the guise of 'cutting back due to the economy'.  
This looks more to blaming the government rather than commercialism, but hey - if it means pointing a middle finger at increased woes caused by the previous admin, I ain't arguing. I look to the future for improvement, though it is a long rough road upon which we must trod before change and recovery becomes apparent.

Ooops, ahem....that be a segue...back to....ah...the holiday machine.
Those who believe in Christmas as a religious time - celebrate it as a season of their devotion and belief. Albeit, even the most solidly God-fearing American may still fall prey to full-on decking of the halls with over-the-top spending. After all...

My own materialistic tendency of holidays past has taken something of a back seat as I move forward towards the looming deadline of December 25th. Instead of making a list and checking it 100 times as to who-gets-what and how-much ---- I've been observing more about the holidays, giving serious thought to the various meanings of it, and making a conscious decision to scale back on the senseless shark-frenzy shopping for it. Sure 'nuff, bought some good stuff (mostly online) for 'the kids', but according to their wants and needs - as opposed to my whim. That was both easy and fun. A tight budget helped to prevent overspending.

I did halve my usual 'list'. Would rather spend time than money. Do the good people in my life want for time spent with me in lieu of a meaningless gift? Will I really get better mileage from re-acquainting myself with those on the obligatory lists - by sharing the gift of time well spent, the quality of an intellectual exchange or belly laughs yucked together?

Not giving in to the been there done that must keep doing it mode of 'making the holiday happen' translates to maximizing, rather than minimalizing - the concept of the commonality of man which is so often purported at this time of year. I actually believe that avoiding the malls and focusing on the people in my life moves me towards making valuable, reasonable and sincere connections with those who are healthy to my being. At the same time, I look to ease out of my life those who are toxic to it. What I wish to have in common with my fellow man, woman, child and animal friend --- is a propensity for joy, as opposed to want of possessions.

A few of my favourite holiday moments thus far (there will be more, I just know it):
- decorating, with DollinkFriendBBB - an evergreen tree growing on the side of our shared roadway. This sparkly tree to be enjoyed by all who drive by.
- going to the local city pond with DollinkDaughterJrs and DollinkGranddaughterLB, where we fed cracked corn to geese whilst exclaiming 'Happy Holidays!' with each toss of a handful of grain.
- the gift of a one-on-one reunion lunch with a fellow student/ acquaintance from high school - after 38 years of no contact.
- chowing down on fresh steamed crab with my DollinkFriendJ and eating desserts with DollinkFriendTtheP.
- heart-to-heart chats in the car with HubbyDear as we run errands.

All this says happy holiday to me.

Simple quiet joys.

It is the very thing that I wish for you.

Meryl Streep kicks

I was changing sheets on the bed this morn.
Flipping channels on the bedroom tv.
Whistling whilst I worked.

There on a movie channel was Meryl Streep in 'Mama Mia' - singing The Winner Takes it All.
I'm not an Abba fan, but this song, sung and acted out so dang well by Meryl Streep - could
not have been performed with more, well, let us say - gumption. The lady can sing AND act at the same time. Not so easy in that wild Greek island setting, with wind blowing hair and clothing and with an awkward Pierce Brosnan staring vacantly at her.
Meryl Streep kicks.

I went to another channel - and there she was again - in one of my fave
Streep flicks: 'The River Wild'. In it, she's buff, she paddles the rapids and yes, she kicks.
She kicks the crap out of Kevin Bacon's bad guy character.

Meryl Streep is the quintessential Kick Butt Actress.
If there was an Oscar equivalent: The Kick Butt Acting Award, she'd get it.



photo by Herb Ritts.

Stop the insanity!

No more shark's fin soup for you!

Over the years, I confess to having enjoyed many a bowl of shark's fin soup.
However, now that I am enlightened by this knowledge, I can easily forego the delicacy.

There is still Bird's Nest Soup to consider.
If it were not for the fact that I was raised on this stuff, the whole concept of using bird
spitooie to make soup would gross me out.
But it doesn't.

Not until someone tells me that bird's nest soup harms the birds, their young, or their species, I will continue to indulge...grotty as it is.

i heart PBS

OK, so this show might prove to be my next new tv addiction.

Frozen River

Just watched 'Frozen River' (2008).

The story takes place during the week before Christmas. As we are fast approaching the December holidays, it seems that viewing 'Frozen River' is timely.

We live in such a socially stratified country - of Haves, Have Nots and all those in-between. Not only is this evident in our everyday lives, it is accentuated at the year-end holidays, when expectations of self, as well as lot in life, are heightened, if not tested.

How sobering to think of those who already subsist on barely enough; whose lives are defined by missed, botched, few, or lack of - opportunities. It's not just about being able to succeed if one sets nose-to-grindstone. Much depends on whether those opportunities are available. It is assumed for some, a challenge for others, and seemingly - an impossibility for those in the lowest strata. That is when desperation becomes the mode of survival.

'Frozen River' is about survival, while struggling to remain humane.

Kudos to the writer/director Courtney Hunt, with a special nod to
Melissa Leo, whose work I was not previously familiar with.
Rio is Damn Fabulous in the role of 'Ray'.

One word movie review: REAL

Beam me up!

Look at what I just found on How StuffWorks:
'Top 10 Star Trek Technologies that Actually Came True'.

I am living the Star Trek fantasy whenever on video Skype or video iChat with my DollinkDaughters and DollinkGDaughter.

OK, beam me up!
(oh, that one isn't ready yet...)

A wee tale of DollinkDaughter Halloween costumes...

Once upon a time, when my DollinkDaughters were little, they really had fun at Halloween.
I think they still do, actually.

Back then, I also enjoyed Halloween.
Well, most everything about it anyway.
Trips to the pumpkin farm, buying candy, a little decorating, a lot of seasonal brouhaha - all good.
The one thing I never looked forward to with great anticipation was - the costumes. More specifically, how to create who or what it was that I, or my children - wanted to 'dress up as'. I looked on this task with what could be called Excited Dread.

As a kid growing up in San Francisco, my brothers and I didn't wear homemade costumes. Mom took us to 'Five and Dime' aka Woolworth's - so we could choose from the boxed costumes there. Just about all of those outfits featured a suffocating plastic face mask with elastic that stretched too tight around the back of your head - and an itchy glitter-shedding nylon apron pullover thingy which tied at the back of your neck. On this was printed your Halloween identity: a Disney princess, witch, ghost et cetera. Some of the boys costumes had matching long pants, also uncomfortable to wear. The masks were often scary, even when they weren't meant to be.

Even stated that way, wouldn't you know - I still delighted in wearing my storebought costume. After all, Halloween was really more about going out at night, more or less incognito - and scoring a bag full of free candy, right?

It didn't occur to me until I was older that the boxed costumes were cheesy. Homemade costumes were rare in Chinatown. Many of my friends had parents who worked all day (sometimes nights) in the neighborhood restaurants, sweat shops or down in the tall office buildings in the Financial District. Our folks were exhausted at the end of their workday, and just getting dinner on the table was all the energy that was left to them. No one I knew had a dad who came home to happily engage in his woodworking hobby or a mom who sewed after hours 'for fun'.

That being so, of course, when I had children of my own - you better believe that ALL their Halloween costumes HAD to be homemade. Being part of the next generation, we really did live life a bit easier than our parents had it. Less of a rigorous work schedule and more leisure time. Translation: My kid's costumes were Made by Me their Mama.

I eschewed ready-made sewing patterns for costume-making. Not sure why that was. OK, I confess to being something of a sewing snob when it came to Halloween costumes.
Looking back though, not using a costume pattern can be likened to shooting oneself in the foot before embarking on a 100 mile hike...

Consequently, for me, the process of conceptualizing and then creating Halloween costumes was something of a mystery every year. I never knew how it was going to come out until it came out. For me, costume-making was really something to be labored over.

I've come to the conclusion (only very recently) that this laboring-over-thing is my true creative process. Even now. Working and reworking something until it suits me, with no preliminary sketches to define the final product. Lovin' it -Hatin' it.

Like life isn't tough enough without having a plan before setting out to do something creative. Come to think of it - the working and reworking thing best describes my approach to life .... little to no long range planning...OMG.

But - I digress (don't you just hate when people go off on a tangent and come back with that catch phrase).

During the rather grueling creative process, it didn't help matters any when the DollinkDaughters would, a few days before the 31st -  change their minds about who or what they wanted to be. Fortunately, this didn't happen often - maybe it was the Evil Eye I shot their way if they even entertained the notion.
The YOU WILL BE WHO/WHAT YOU ORIGINALLY SAID YOU WANTED TO BE A MONTH AGO Evil Eye.

The plot thickens...
So I designed as I went along, stopping my kids in their homework or play time to hold fabric up to them for yet another measure and fit. Trimming, re-directing a collar or hem. Tightening with extra seams, pleats and darts or adding strips of fabric or trim for a looser fit. Plenty of pinning and unpinning. Tedious hand-sewing. For a kid's Halloween costume? You betcha.

I was quite tortured in the process. As I'm sure my DollinkDaughters were, though they never complained. Out loud, anyway.

Happy endings:
Typically, in the 11th hour, as a costume came together, I would begin to get Very Excited. All costume ingredients had been decided on, purchased, assembled, cut, sewn, glued, re-cut, re-fitted and finally pressed. Time to sit back and admire my handiwork (though there were always very uneven and untidy bits). The next day, the kids would get dressed and made up. They always looked sooooooo amazing. I dare say that they loved their Halloween costumes.

Great memories, those.

Here are two of the many homemade costumes the DollinkDaughters wore over the years. I'd scan and attach more if I wanted to be more show-offy about my costume-making ability as well as the cuteness of the Dollinks, but hey - you get the idea...

DollinkDaughterJrS as a devil (she called it 'Debo' in 1983.

If memory serves me (it doesn't always), JrS

liked this costume so much she wore it again the following Halloween.

 

DollinkDaughterLLS as Snow White (1981)

Below is a little scrap of paper

that LLS wrote describing her costume. Adorable.

Click on the 

scrap of paper to enlarge. 

It really is cute.

" This is Me on Halloween Dressed as Snow white and I Thought I was Pretty

I wore a cape a collar a ribbon a skirt and a blouse.

The make-up was eye shaeow blusher and lipstick "

look up!

James Turrell: 'Skyspace'

WANTED

This evening, I half-watched, half avoided - watching this movie.

CGI was over-the-top awesome.
Basic LifeIsCheap storyline.

Starring Morgan Ya-Gotta-Love-Him Freeman, Angelina What's-With-That-Lower-Lip Jolie and James Gosh-He-Sure-Is-Capable-of-Varied-Acting-Roles McAvoy.

... One word movie review: RUDE!

(According to your personal 

movie preferences, 

you can take this review in a 

bad or not so bad way)

When is a bagel not a bagel?

When IS a bagel not a bagel?
When it is reduced to being a bagel that is simply a slightly-heavier-than-white-bread-dough shaped into a humongous-bagel-looking-round. Almost all bagels from the local grocery store and so-called 'bagel eateries' fall under this description. Most of these bagels are, at best - insipid. Donut shaped breads are donut shaped breads, and not necessarily bagels.

Regular readers of b's blog know that boring food does not impress me.
Rather, boring food depresses me.
When it comes to eating - I maintain that fresh is important, tasty is best and dishes that are deemed 'pretty darned authentic' truly reign.

And so - back to the humble bagel. I don't know from bagels the way many folks do, but I know what I like and have a wee idea of how they're supposed to be...

A good while back, the bagel went mainstream. Since then, a good bagel is getting hard to find. It's been screwed with.

Bagel ingredients are few.
Cooking method is straightforward.
Resulting texture should be satisfying: toothsomely crunchy at the onset and tender yet dense as you work your way further. Delicate in taste and flavor.

It's not nice to mess around with the ingredients. Is malt still included? Even worse to shortcut the basic method of preparation. I suspect ersatz bagels are not given a hot water bath prior to being baked - authentic bagels take a nice hot soak. This is a vital step in the bagel-making process. Lesser bagels are often steamed to get water onto the surface. Not good enough. A good bagel should have something of a crust. It has been said, and I do believe - that bagels need the bath to achieve Perfect Crust Nirvana.

You know the diff if you've had a real 'New York style' bagel.
I've eaten some good 'uns, which is why I have high expectations.

Waaaaay Back in the 90's, on numerous business/ pleasure trips to NYC, I'd buy a couple dozen bagels from a local deli: Plain, rye, pumpernickel, garlic, onion, poppy seed, sesame seed and my personal fave: salted. One or two were for eating on the spot, the rest were to take back to CA.

These I would (very carefully and with a great deal of love) triple pack in plastic bags and fit into my suitcase (like a breadish jigsaw puzzle) for transport home. Due to close proximity (even with layers of plastic wrap betwixt and between) with the food, my travel togs would invariably take on the heady scent of freshly made, generously flavored bagels.

Smelly clothes for great bagels. It was a trade-off.

Once home, I shared my bagel booty with family and friends (one set of neighbors always eagerly awaited my return from a trip to their native New York). The chewy sour-y bite of each coveted bagel would be well worth the small sacrifice of needing to air out some strongly onion-scented clothes.

Compared to those New York bagels, anything less is lackluster to the palate. Leaves one begging for better.

These days, I am resigned to buying and eating bagels that are 'less than'. My lesser bagels of choice are the multi-seeded pre-packaged ones from Safeway. Toasted. If I happen upon a batch that is generously sprinkled with caraway and poppy seeds, it helps with the illusion.

Perhaps I could start baking my own....like others have so successfully.
Hmmmmm. Doable.

Baking bread is fun.
I ...
... enjoy gathering the ingredients.
... never fail to be intrigued by the alchemy of mixing yeast, warm water and sugar.
... love kneading bread dough with practiced hands.
... delight in turning the mixture into my huge McCoy bread bowl (a wedding present
from 38 years ago); gently covering it with a dishtowel and placing the bowl in a cozy spot for the dough to rise.
... want to be the one to punch down the doubled up dough after the first rising.
... happily ball up the yeasty mix for a second rising.
... feel homey when setting it to bake in the oven.
... savor the anticipation that comes with the last fragrant moments of baking (a few peeks into the oven is allowed).

Seems to me that bread machines take away from the earthy satisfaction of home-bread-making - the wonder, the pleasure and yes - the sensuousness - of the process, So no bread machines for me. A bit of muscle and a lot of patience does yield the superior product.


There is one major problem with me and home-baked breads. I eat more than my fair share of the results. 'Fresh out of the oven' is my dietary downfall.

Homemade bagels - do I possess the will power not to over consume?
Is it possible to make 'em and store 'em and pace myself with the eating of 'em?

We shall see.
We shall bake.
We shall report findings.

P.S.
The question of real bagels leads me straightaway to the
'when is yogurt not yogurt?'** question.
Yet another topic for another curmudgeonly moment relating to food.
Of which I have many.

** Purge regret - I should never have gotten rid of my Salton Yogurt Maker.

YouTube bagel video by poopshadow.

cloggin'

Finally, after years and years of coveting DollinkDaughterL's pair of Dansko clogs,
I finally got a pair of my very own:

I've been a wearer of clogs since the early 1970's, when I worked at a fancy shoe store* at Ghirardelli (say 'Gear-ah-delli') Square in San Francisco. My first pair were wooden soled, upper in brown suede, with a wide strap and buckle across the instep. Hiking up and down SF hills, I wore those things clear to the ground. My next pair were even more stylish - with wood soles, red leather uppers, and whoooohoooo - squared off toes. Footwear fashionista!

At the same time, DollinkFriend and fellow co-worker L had a pair of clogs with fur-covered uppers. Now those were WILD. During idle moments at the store, we would pet her shoes.

Clogs continued to be part of my shoe wardrobe over the next decades. I can't imagine
not having at least one pair, though in recent years, my selection of clogs has been rather unsatisfactory. They've been clog-type shoes, rather than the real deal.

This is my first pair of real deal clogs fashioned with full backs. Should be fun.

I heart these Dansko clogs.

* working this job, I learned to appreciate fine leather shoes and handbags. With my employee discount, I kept the family in fine leather footwear. Back then my clothes wardrobe sucked, but shoe and bag collection was awesome.

free as a bird / real love

A.W.O.L.

now BACK by popular demand!
my banner header that is.
wonder where she went off to?
banner-napped by blogger?
happy to have her back i am i am.

Gone!

egads!
my blog header/banner has disappeared!
at least it is gone from my firefox and safari pages.
should i wait awhile and see if the header (with teapot morphing into turtle) reappears (due to a problem with blogger) or should i go hunting around for the darn thing?
or give it up for dead and try to create a new header/banner?
(i liked the old one real well and for another odd reason, it no longer exists in my files)
dang!
!@?&^%$#!@?#@!#$!!

Ears off to ya, Roy

'Here's your ears' sing a chorus of Mouseketeers to a special guest on Tuesday Guest Star Day (Mickey Mouse Club, circa 1950's). The Mousketeers then bestow upon the VIP a pair of glittery sparkly Mickey Mouse ears. Not standard issue, but pretty wowiezowie. After being crowned with the sparkly ears, that person then became an Honorary Mouseketeer. Nifty.

In the 50's, like most American kids my age, I watched the Mickey Mouse Club on TV every day after school. Wanted a pair of Mouse Ears just like the Mouseketeers wore.
Back then, it took going to Disneyland to secure a pair. But our family never took such vacations. Finances dictated we stay close to home. I don't even recall my parents ever having vacation days from their working class jobs. As a kid, I wasn't empathetic to our lot; rather, resigned - to living out my childhood without a pair of Mickey ears. Brat.


Finally, in 1971, as an adult (married, before kids), my first trip to Disneyland. Once inside the gates - a stop at the nearest hat shop on Main Street. There they were: the Mickey Mouse ears. Lots of 'em. It was as if I suddenly became 8 years old again. The ensuing adrenaline rush assured me that in this magical place, there was a pair of MM ears just for me.

It makes for a better story to say that I got a Mickey Mouse ears hat on that first trip to Disneyland. In reality, it might have been on a subsequent visit...
Eventually, it happened. A pair of Mickey ears, in classic black - with my name embroidered on the back in yellow thread. I felt like an Honorary Mouseketeer.

image from http://www.disneystore.com

Roy Williams is credited with the creation of the world-famous Mickey ears-hat. It seems that Williams was inspired by this early Mickey Mouse cartoon in which Mickey tips the top of his head (his ears) to Minnie @ 3:10:

Williams' bio reads that in 1930, he was an artist and storyman for the Disney Studios. Those of us who grew up watching the original Mickey Mouse Club show may remember him as the 'big Mouseketeer' or 'Mooseketeer'. AKA 'Uncle Roy'.

Roy Williams' artful contributions to our favourite classic Disney stories deserves kudos. Then there is this business about the MM ears hat.

For his part in Disney history, we thank Uncle Roy for the memories.

Let us tip our Mouse ears to him.

BFF

b & Brenda Dayne = Best Friends Forever.

Well, virtual friends anyway.

A few years ago, after a very long hiatus - I returned to - knitting.
Hold on hold on - don't click away just yet. This post is not so much about knitting as it is about connecting.
To people. To places. To things.

The stuff of living - for the finer nuances of the act and society of knitting does, indeed, reflect the art and science of life.
Or so it has been said by many a rabid chronically needle and yarn wielding knitter.
Including my virtual BFF, Brenda Dayne.

For the past couple of years, I've been listening (typically with an ongoing knit project in hand) to a number of knit-related podcasts. By far, Brenda Dayne's Cast-On is my absolute favourite. All other knit podcasts pale to a pasty pallor in comparison.

To me, the Cast-On podcast is, above all else - soothing.
It is instructional. It is entertaining. It is thought-provoking.
Colorful. Witty.
The music played on it is (new-to-me and) engaging.

To be sure, Brenda does speak on the art/craft of knitting. The woman knows her fiber art. At the same time, she expounds on lovely rituals of her daily routine, punctuated by new life discoveries made along the way. Much ado about knitting, but not restricted to it. Via the podcast, she shares these ruminations with her listeners.

She's very cool.

Have a listen.

Make a new BFF.