My Letter to the World

Foggy Summer

2011-08-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

This mysterious steeple is on a building that may have been a church at one time, in Mendocino, CA. (How's that for a punchy opening line?) I think it is a bank now.

Just wanted to check in and let my readers know I am doing OK. Woke up this morning to fog. It is gradually lightening, peaceful for a Sunday morning. Need to make a few phone calls to see how East Coast relatives are doing in the storm.

It has been so cool and foggy here this summer. I guess I am really a Bay Area person; it feels normal to me.

I have been busy adjusting to my new job as a course developer and instructor.

Also taking one night a week to work on writing. I'm working on new poems, and compiling a manuscript.

Take care, all.

Cloud Gazing

2011-03-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

Looking at the sky must be one of the most underrated things in the world. It's wonderful and--obviously--always there. Historically the profession of dreamers and layabouts (the perfect position for viewing said sky), cloud gazing could possibly be the beginning of several more respectable careers: meteorologist, ornithologist, painter, poet. Those all sound like pretty good jobs to me!

My year of observing the SF Bay is coming to a close. Will I stop? Of course not. But I wanted to observe consciously, in four seasons, and see what I could see in a year. Here is a recent entry.

3/7/11

At 6 pm the bay strafed with wind, water dark green, sky pale blue with threatening, moving clouds. At one point the sky opens -- a portal in the clouds for the gods to view the scene below. The aperture ringed with feathery white clouds, undulating. The sky above it the deepest radiant blue.

***

A note on Japan.

This earthquake and tsunami event was almost beyond probability. I cannot presume to understand the sense of shock and loss in the aftermath. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones and to those who cannot return to their homes.

rainy rainy day

2011-02-19T21:59:00.000-08:00

Just a quick hello to anyone who may have given up on my blog.

I am still here! I took some time off to work on some other things.

My "project" of looking and observing the SF Bay is still going on. Coming up on one year. I will stop then and work on formatting a document. More on this as it develops.

We are truly getting our winter here. So much rain. Today I roasted the pumpkin that had sat on the sideboard since October, and have been eating the (also roasted) seeds. I am going to make a thai curry with the roasted pumpkin.

Much love,

Provincetown 2010

2010-09-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

Dave at my favorite coffee place.
They Also Faced the Sea
...a mural project on the wharf.
Schooner Alabama with Black Dog flag
...open for tours during the regatta weekend.

I am back home after a restorative trip to Boston and Cape Cod. I bought a small poster from my current favorite P-town artist, Peter Clemons. He can be found at backshoregallery.com

Dave and I got to spend some time with the very unassuming and funny man himself. He took us upstairs at Backshore Gallery to see the view from there.

During this trip we had at least three conversations where we found that we knew people in common. That's either magical or scary--or both.

Today is the first day of fall. Welcome fall! Thank you for this time of new beginnings.

a change in the light

2010-08-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

Here we are in late August already, the storehouse of summer days almost spent. From where I sit, by the Bay, I can see that the sun has moved south somewhat from its northerly apex at the beginning of summer. In the evening the light has changed, the rays are yellow, golden, portending the fall months.

The days are still fog fog fog, until noon. Sometimes the sun never comes out. The hot bright days are still to come, when the interior has cooled enough so that the sea air and fog are not pulled daily through the Golden Gate. Weather here has been unusually consistent. I won't say that the fog is getting to me, exactly. I've always, philosophically, considered it to be an extended version of dawn. But I do welcome the hint of change I am seeing in the evening light these days.

And of course all his talk of weather and light and change is metaphorical as well as meteorological. Don't we all, at moments, if we admit it to ourselves, long for change? It's one of the things that makes us human.

summer fog

2010-07-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

I may be living in one of the few places that is cool just now. At least here in the N Hemisphere.

In fact, we are having more cool weather than usual, and a jacket worn daily is the norm this year. Right now, at 10 on Saturday, it's quite gray and cool. Here at the Blue Dot, a capacity crowd is having coffee, breakfast, and talk. Only a few of us are absorbed in computer screens, newspapers, books.

I'm still playing Constable, and doing cloud studies, which I paint in words. Technically they are fog studies. The other evening I was able to get over to the bay at 8 pm, to witness a forbidding wall of fog travel over the water toward the east. It was rolling fast, and there were at least 10 shades of silver and gray, changing by the second. There was a break in the clouds and the sun, still a bright yellow, came though and lit the water blindingly. And as the fog bank moved further, covering the sun again, I noticed large sections that looked like they were underlain with a sepia wash. Then the fog deepened and I was left in a deep directionless gray light, looking out over the ice plants and squirrel dens in the foreground, wondering what symbolist painter had done scenes like these?

I'm sure I'll remember soon.

You are Here!: summer

2010-06-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd blog a few notes from my walking and looking journal:

6/17/10
Valiant bumble bee determined to get nectar from mustard plant, swaying in the wind.
The mustard a beautiful acid yellow.

6/19/10
Fog until noon.
I'm at my spot [by SF Bay]--12:27 pm.

Fog turned now to delicate clouds, filling about half the sky.

Bay a very dark teal.

City gray/silver, emerging from the fog.

Light shifting. constantly changing.

(Did I mention the gulls look like planes coming down?)

Lots of changes. Every minute is different today.

Walking. Helicopter circling.

(The gulls fly to the lamp posts, then poise above and parachute down with their wings.)

workin on my projects

2010-06-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

The "walking and looking" project I have been working on has stalled a little. By the way, the working title, as I may have mentioned, is You are Here!

I had been observing a bi-colored blackbird and having a great time. (Have you ever really watched a bird? A lot of what they do seems like a random expenditure of energy.)

The reason it has stalled is that someone mowed the field, cutting down the globe thistle, so my blackbird friend has removed to fairer shores. (I think.)

So this is just to remind myself that the stalling, or quiescent phases are part of "the project" too.

red brick streets

2010-05-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

Just back from Boston, spending most of our time in the South End.

It's an odd feeling to be enveloped in red bricks. The side walks are the same dark terra cotta shade as the buildings, giving a sense at moments of being in a large red room. I've heard the lanes of Mykonos described in this way as well.

The freeze/thaw of winter is over, and the sidewalks still speak of motion. You can see they're not really flat, but shifting in gentle waves. Sometimes a brick will pop out of the grid and simply float there. Often, someone has moved a brick and there it sits, free, but a hazard to walkers.

The South End is beautiful but hospitable only to those who are sharp-eyed and sure of step.

Looking at fennel

2010-04-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

Pardon the lack of a photograph, but this is being posted in a hurry, on lunch break.

I'm working on a "project" of sorts, but it just slowly coming into focus, so I don't know how to describe it, and I certainly don't know where it will take me.

For the past few years I have been noticing the wild fennel here in the bay area. It tends to grow in vacant lots, places where the ground has been used for something else.

(These vacant lots are the urban equivalent to we used to call no-mans-land when I was a child living in the country-- fallow places where there is seemingly nothing but potential. Maybe that's why I liked them so much: they are forlorn but resounding with hope.)

In my project area (which I call "You are Here!") there are these wonderful young fennel plants. Right now, due to the wet spring, they are healthy and of the most beautiful watery green color.

But the amazing thing is that you can smell them, with their spicy anise/licorice scent, before you see them. Marvelous.

April is here

2010-04-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

Hi all.

Sorry to be away so long.

T.S. Eliot wrote (I think in The Wasteland) that it is the cruelist month, but I don't know if personifying months is a good idea.

On the other hand, maybe I have just grown away from Eliot. (I used to love reading his poems in college and I still remember beautiful moving passages in Four Quartets.)

I don't have a lot of time for introspective reading these days. I need my introspective time for walking and looking at things.

Several months ago I wrote that my greatest regret was not having been a "working artist." Well, I've decided to address that issue and begin to work...at art. And that is what I am doing.

How will this blog figure into that effort? I don't know. That has yet to be seen. I hope you will stay tuned.

Hugs...

Boxing Day Party

2009-12-29T16:38:00.000-08:00

We don't really have boxing day here in the US, but my house was clean from Mom and Katerina having just been here, or relatively so. I decided to have some people in. But I forgot to take pictures!

On that rainy evening, we had the kind of simple food I love the best. Since it was kind of Greek Night, everyone else liked it, too. We had mezedes of dolmadakia, tsadziki, olives, etc., then I pulled out a pot of lentil soup with chard. My secret ingredient is to finish it with lemon juice, fresh meyer juice from the tree. Everyone perked up and enjoyed it.

Dave laughed when I said it--but it is true: I am at heart a peasant, a rustic. This is the food I want to give my guests. Then I told some stories in the dining room of my things. They all have a memory, mostly of love. Look up there, that painting was bought at a tag sale for $1! The lady who painted it was shy. Why would someone want it? It is beautiful, simple, true. A haunting yet lyrical landscape. Like a Corot. "Father Corot," as Vincent called him. And to me of course it is priceless.

George had dropped his glasses in the street, drove off, then called me and I went out to find them in the dark. But they were broken. Sorry Yiorgo, those lentils ended up costing you a lot!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

We had such a nice time at Lee's in October that we readily said Yes when invited for Thanksgiving. So tomorrow it is off to Glen Ellen, with the traditional pumpkin pies in hand. I hope to get back on the road at a decent hour, and avoid any drunk drivers. Alas, it is the most dangerous driving day of the year in America.

We usually spend Thanksgiving on our own, cooking on Wednesday and finding something fun to do on Thursday and eating leftovers that day.

Now I am going to tell a story about quince. If you want to see it, you can look on my other blog, which you can access through my profile.

Cheers!

The old fort

2009-11-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

This is the old Venetian fort at Palaiochora, Crete. The photo was taken on a very hot June day in 2003.

I am cleaning out my little home office in my spare time and found a floppy disk of photos. (The format is almost obsolete by now.) There were 24 photos and this one brought back memories of the day for me. I walked up there on a lonely, hot siesta afternoon. There is so little left of the fort but what remains is so massive, speaking silently of occupation, war, of time itself: flowing yet stolid.

Wikipedia has a page on Palaiochora now. (Or is it that I never thought to look?)

the blazons of autumn

2009-10-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, we do have fall here in the Bay Area, although it is not nearly as dramatic as the ones back East. However, it lasts LONGER. And for that I am grateful.
There are some liquidamber trees lining a road I drive sometimes at the end of the day, and they are starting to show their stuff. It's fun, surprising, enlivening to see the change.
You see, my favorite part of the Wizard of Oz is the Horse of a Different Color. For those of you who do not remember, every time Dorothy looked at the horse its coat had changed. I guess you call that whimsy. For me, it's an indispensable part of life.
On the other hand, I wish the mornings were not so dark just now. I dislike getting up before the sunrise.
***
Dave and I were at Vines in Alameda having coffee and I discovered the most amazing art magazine. It is called Works and Conversations. Let me know what you think of it. Hugs to all my lovely lurkers.

Boston/Provincetown

2009-09-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

We did not make it over the water in 2009. This is the longest I have been away from Greece since I first went. Away 2 years now. But it will happen next year, we hope, and it will be wonderful.

Boston was a pleasure. Good weather. Scrod. Lobster. Accents. Friends. Biscotti. And the museum. I got to spend two wonderful mornings at the MFA. The first was spent with the Greeks and Romans, the second on American painting. This is the land of Sargent, Whistler, Homer, Eakins. What a joy to look at such beautiful paintings! Somehow it is ennobling. Or it feels that way.

For a side trip, D and I stayed at a beach shack at a motel just outside Provincetown, in Truro. There was not enough time. Provincetown is one of my favorite places on the planet. The street scene at the centre has been called Fellini-esque, but as you move out there is that end-of-land calm, permeating the place. In Provincetown there is no artificial barrier between the people and the environment. They are suffused--one with the other.

Hello World (Again)

2009-08-12T16:33:00.000-07:00

Summer always goes by in a flash of brilliant light and sound; even the lazy beautiful vacation days have a hint of elegy, because it all must end.

Here in Northern California there is a variation on the theme. We have fog all summer till about now, and as hints of autumn show up, it ironically becomes hotter than the previous months. Outdoor activities are more attractive than ever. Meanwhile there is needed preparation for the fall. For me, that involves work in the garden, and usually some painting. This year I will repair the window trim that only lasted a few years. And--surprise!--we need a new water lateral from the street. Getting bids for that now.

Even with all that, I love August. Back East it was always a time to suffer through, too too hot. Here it is sublime.

Hugs to all.

Boston/Ogunquit

2009-07-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the East Coast. Delays in both directions but safe home now with just a bit of jet lag remaining. Will post photos later.
Boston is smaller than the Bay Area, less transient, just as expensive, less hip.I like the South End, which has a huge swathe (the largest in US) of Victorian houses.It is like "the city" as I imagined it as a boy and which I first experienced in NYC. Walking down canyon-like streets bordered with roiling brick sidewalks, thinking of Henry James, Edith Wharton, E.A. Poe. I also loved the wharfs off the North End and thought of Elizabeth Bishop, who lived her last days, I think, on Lewis Wharf.
First time in Maine in 25 years. It has been raining and all of New England is an unadulterated green green green. Ogunquit quiet and charming, the beach, dunes and river, Marginal Way all ready for the summer season which starts late and ends early.
There is a Greek confectioner/chocolateer family there. Did you know there is a tradition of that in the Eastern US? My father's uncles were chocolateers in the late 1930's in Pennsylvania and their business is still there, although with new owners.

Summer Planning

2009-05-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

This photo is from Cape Cod, last year.

I have been hearing through the grapevine that people DO read my blog to keep up with me, although many are shy to comment. Well, thanks for caring, and look for more fun stuff here since summer is on.

Summer is bliss and stress. The bliss is obvious. The stress is wanting to pack so many things into it that you know you'll fail. But if you do fail, fail with a sense of style, with aplomb. Sing at the top of your lungs as the ship of summer sinks into the foam!

Where to go this summer, in straightened circumstances? I just found out I will probably have an additional pay cut on top of the 10% I already have. Luckily I am a saver. My dream summer trip, which will probably be edited, is as follows:

Oakland to Boston. Hang out in Boston and take day trips to Maine and Provincetown.
Boston to Paris. Have never been to Paris.
Paris to Athens. I could write a book on Athens. My beloved despoiled Athina. I love to walk in your streets and find ancient faces.
Athens to Santorini, Mykonos, etc.on the boats.
Boat to Chania, Crete. Stay in Chania for 4-5 days.
Drive to Paleochora. Stay 1 week.
Boat from Chania to Athens.
Athens to London.
Back home.

Well, hopefully some of that will happen.

Ciao, babies.

My mother was (and still is) a cutie

2009-04-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

My nephew sent this image along. He is working on an archive of family photographs.

My mother and father and their friends were typical of their 1940's peers. They loved madcap photos! Both of my parents were blessed with good looks and they loved hamming it up for the camera, although I think they really were modest people. By the time we kids got around to looking at all these black and whites they seemed to be tokens of another existence. Mom was always patient with us and she encouraged our curiosity about how she had grown up "in town" in Wheeling, WV. (I grew up in the country and will always be grateful for that. It was beautiful.)

In this photo I think I recognize the wall behind her. I think it is the Wheeling Park pool.

I had a wonderful birthday. We went to Kokkari Estiatorio in the City. The grilled octopus was perfect. Mom had sent me a check in her perfect handwriting as my big 50 gift. Thank you, Mom. You are always an inspiration.

Monterey and Monarchs

2009-04-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

We went to Monterey to celebrate my birthday a little early this year.

Of course being addicted to coffee shops, I found this very posh one attached to a hotel in the Cannery area. Good cappuchinos and decent chairs to sit on. I will be back!

The beach photo is at Carmel. Did you notice the monarch butterfly in the upper left of the photo? This is the migration season and the area is famous as a stop-over. There were thousands of butterflies in some areas, none in others. Actually, it is not really a stop-over. I have read that more than one generation is born and dies in each direction of the semi-annual migration. There is some kind of lesson in there, don't you think?

Thanks for sticking with my blog. I've been occupied with other things this whole winter but now hope to be a regular contributor to the blogosphere again.

Happy happy spring. Don't forget to stop and enjoy the miracles of the season.

My new cool/hot in/out boxes

2009-03-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

This is a recession/depression special. I got these day-glo in/out boxes at the Bay Area Center for Creative Reuse, in Oakland. No website but they can be found on the website for the Ecology Center. These boxes remind me of the mercurochrome we slathered over cuts as kids. Now that is gone because it contained mercury.

I am in a happy mood. I was walking in Lake Merritt Park at lunch, passing by the community gardens, admiring a family's garden. They insisted I take two heads of lettuce, which they promptly dug up and handed to me! I have one to keep and one to share.

A Mysterious House

2009-02-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lapse. You know how life can sometimes take you and swing you by the tail? I'm OK, although January wasn't the best month I've had in a while.

The guv has ordered a furlough, and the courts have upheld it. I am going to tighten my belt and continue working on my new blog.

For a few years I have wanted to do a Greek food blog. Meanwhile, I have been scooped by several wonderful bloggers. I am so glad to have discovered their blogs and my jealousy has abated. I am going to do a special post on my favorite three very early in my blog, which is going to be called..."Kouzina: my East Bay Kitchen.".And that is just what it is going to be. Whatever is going on in my kitchen and the immediate world beyond. I'm very sure that there are folks who would like to hear about what is happening just this side of San Francisco in the food realm. With a Greek twist, of course. Look for a special post on Morphi's Simple Syrup and other yummies from my family and friends. I'll let you know when I launch it.

***

This mysterious house never fails to draw my attention as I walk down MLK in Berkeley on Saturday mornings, before or after the farmers' market. In December, the lady living there has dozens of Christmas cacti on the porch. By now, they're almost gone.

The once beautiful house has been left to the elements. It looks like there has been no real maintenance for over 40 years. Still, people are living there and seemingly making do in their own, I presume, Grey Gardens kind of way.

inVESTing

2009-01-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

Mirmy and I both wore black vests to the office on Thursday. The photo is too cute...has to go up.

This was our quiet happy moment after the anxiety of Wednesday night. Oakland had a night of rioting after a fatal shooting by a BART police officer on New Years Morning. Sounds a little like Athens a month ago. The details are on SF Gate.

Happy Name Day-- to me.

2008-12-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

There are several name days for Joseph in Greece. But the Cretans, according to my Uncle John, celebrate the name day for Sifis on Dec 30. Now that I think about it, I remember a late night phone call my cousin Adonis made to the priest in Paleochora about it. He promptly said "Dec 30" as if it were a routine question, hung up the phone and no doubt went back to sleep.
I wasn't called "Sifi" as a boy and to this day there are folks who don't know that is one of my names. I use it mostly in my inner circle and among Greeks. But every once in a while I will get asked, "Who is Sifi?"
The name is very common among the Sfakiotes, not so much in Selinio or Gavdos, where we are from, or so I'm told. I feel fortunate to have it, for it is an instant conversation starter in Crete, especially among the hospitable elders in the villages. I've had many thimbles of tsikoudia while straining to understand bits of lore about some local Sifis.
My late and lamented, ever-loved great-Uncle Christos, when asked if the name appears elsewhere in our family, said, "We don't need another Sifis, we have you!"

Study in Gray and White

2008-12-24T15:12:00.000-08:00

We met this shy kitten on the streets of Paleochora last year. There is something about how her own coloring is echoed by the grays, whites, and soft tans of her surroundings. Bet she is a wily survivor, a needed skill.
***
I have wanted to write something about the current unrest in Greece, but respect for those whom I love and are living there has stopped me. Theirs are the voices I long to hear. So I will continue to refrain, except for this: I have revered Greece from the moment I first went there as an adult, returning to a place my heart knew--but where I had never been. I've always tried to look at it in a clear-eyed way, which is hard to do when you love something so intensely. Thankfully, on every visit there is an eye-opening moment of (mostly minor) mishap that brings me down to earth, away from the mysteries that the golden light spins into my head. So it is now. I look on it with consternation, sadness, frustration, hope--a hundred feelings. And I wonder what the future holds for my beloved Ellada.
***
Merry Christmas and Kala Kristougenna!

The Proust Questionnaire

2008-12-04T12:47:00.001-08:00

[Galley proof of Swann's Way, sold by Christie's in 2000. The image is in the public domain and is from Wikimedia Commons.]

I'm reading "In Search of Lost Time" for the first time in over 20 years and this time I hope to finish the entire thing. The secret to this plan is not to think of it as work but as a very long visit to 19th century Paris. With no danger of consumption, cholera or being run over by a runaway horse and carriage. Also, the novel is very beautiful and often funny, and most importantly it deals with reality.

Have you ever done the Proust Questionaire? Of course he did not write it but most famously took it--several times. There are many versions. Here is my latest attempt.

What is your idea of perfect happiness? Waking up on a Greek island with no plans for the day.

What is your greatest fear? A long and fatal illness.

What historical figure do you most identify with? El Greco.

Which living person do you most admire? Two very close to me.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Taking petty behavior by others to heart.

What trait do you most deplore in others? Manipulative behavior.

What is your greatest extravagance? Travel.

On what occasion do you lie? By omission: Daily. By commission: Only when asked to comment on a dish of food or article of clothing.

What do you most dislike about your appearance? My nose is crooked.

What is your favorite journey? Driving the road from Hania to Paleochora, Crete.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Modesty.

Which living person do you most despise? Not just one--a group of reigning rulers.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse? “Wonderful!”

What is your greatest regret? Not to have been a working artist.

What or who is the greatest love of your life? I hope we will grow old together.

When and where were you happiest? Probably as a boy, walking on a country road, looking towards the future.

Which talent would you most like to have? To play many musical instruments.

What is your current state of mind?Alert.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would be less reactive.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? They would be less reactive.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be? Neither. It’s a horrible conceit.

If you could choose what or who to come back as, what would it be? See above.

What do your consider your greatest achievement? Surmounting fear.

What is your most treasured possession? My cat, Manoli.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Bitterness of heart.

What is your most marked characteristic? People say I’m very observant.

What is the quality you most like in a man? Warmth, intelligence, a rugged simplicity.

What is the quality you most admire in a woman?Intelligence, humor, compassion.

What do you most value in your friends? Detachment.

Who are your favorite writers? Plato, Shakespeare, Austen, Baudelaire, Cavafy, Whitman, Elizabeth Bishop.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction? The perfectly balanced and unnamed narrators of many 19th century novels.

Who are your heroes in real life? My grandmother--my father’s mother.

What are your favorite names? For a man: Nikolaos. For a woman: Maria.

What is it that you most dislike? Cowardice in those in power.

How would you like to die? I would like to float upward and into heaven on Aug 15, 2059, but I doubt this will happen.

What is your motto? I change it frequently. Some day I will settle on one.

Picture of George T.

2008-11-21T14:48:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of George that Ann put on her evite for the memorial.

The memorial was a week or so ago. It was wonderful and beautiful and sad. We had it in a church hall in N. Berkeley. There were many people there, wonderful food, music, testimonials. I think George would have enjoyed it.

Berkeley Farmers' Market

2008-11-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

I have become a person of habits and rituals. Is that what happens when you get old? (Yes, it is a recurring theme with me.) One of my favorite things is to get up on Saturday and go to the Berkeley Farmers' Market. The Saturday market is held right in the center of town and starts at 10:00 am, a leisurely hour in my opinion. I'm sure the time was arrived at by trial and error and is really an indication of the late hours kept by the typical customer.
The market is wonderful for people watching and also has great farm stands. Although the produce is sometimes expensive, most if not all is organic. And, there are bargains to be had. For example, one stand has lovely butter lettuce for 3 for $3. And there are always specialty items such as heirloom beans and freaky heirloom squashes. One thing I must recommend: Swanton Farms Ollaliberry Jam. A can't-fail gift@ 3/$15.
Here are some pics from a few weeks back.

The maddening, endearing crowd of shoppers.
Autumn tableau.

Lovely to rest the eyes upon.

What size pom suits you?

This guys has it all figured out, no?

The Berkeley Farmers' Markets are a program of the Ecology Center.

Obama wins!

2008-11-07T09:44:00.000-08:00

I have been much calmer since Tuesday night.
Jared had a group of people over to watch the elections and he served Greek food. He had made a wonderful pastitsio as well as spanikopita. I brought a small bowl of dry-cured olives from Antonis's trees in Selino. (They sometimes have to last a few years so I ration them.)
After watching Obama's speech I walked up to catch the train at Castro Street. Some DJ's had brought a flat bed in and set up a huge screen and music system. There must have been a few thousand people dancing in the street! Being old and responsible, I knew I had to get home to bed, but I took a few minutes to dance with the crowd and smile at strangers.
Since then I have realized that my everyday personality has now returned. For weeks I had a kind of fever-worry that the election would go wrong, somehow. That we as a country could not possibly elect a black man to president, no matter how obviously better suited he is for the position. But that is over. In one spectacular day, we have made a change, I think, in the eyes of the world. As a nation, we have grown up a little. We are moving forward again.
I don't envy Obama the challenges of the job. But I am excited to see what will happen over the next few years with him as president.

Coffee at Strada

2008-10-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

I have been going to Caffe Strada in Berkeley for many years. It is right by the UC campus and has a nice area outside to sit and have coffee. Dave, George G. and I went the other night and enjoyed the Halloween mood we found there. George had a hilarious video of George T and himself singing a Sinatra song as well as hanging out in Voulgiagmeni, Greece.

The noble Athenian face of George G.
The counter guys at Strada like to kid around.

It's all about the brand.

Dave on the "catwalk."

Grapes in the Old Town

2008-10-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

[Paleochora, Crete, Greece, 2007]

I am still mining the trove of pictures from last year. I hope you don't mind!

We were walking down the street in Paleochora, getting ready to pass by Barba Christos's house, preparing to be sad, for he had been gone for over a year. (In my own heart, I know his memory will be eternal.) But his door was open and there were Kleoni and Georgos. Kleoni had come from Hania and Georgos had come from Montreal. Georgos was staying in Christos's (his father and my great-uncle) house. Of course, we got swept up in a day of activities, including a perfect lunch at Captain Jim's, complete with barbounia.

Somehow, this photo, although absent of humanity, sums it all up for me. Christos's old, tiny, simple house, where he and Theano raised so many children, and with so much love, has an inner courtyard which is covered by a trellis. The grapes were hanging there, looking so beautiful. They were like memories, preserved for us. All we had to do was raise our eyes, and there they were.

Fire on Angel Island

2008-10-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Angel Island as seen from North Beach, San Francisco, 10/12/08.

[Image by Danleo, Wikimedia Commons]

This past Sunday, we were invited by a friend to join the closing night celebration for the Mill Valley Film Festival, a cruise on the Bay, originating in Sausalito. We boarded the boat at 8:00 pm and were immediately plied with food and drinks. It was wonderful, slightly decadent and felt not a little like 1929, due to the current world financial crisis.
At 9:00 pm we pulled out from the dock, under the glorious October moon, and almost immediately noted the fire on Angel Island. How eerie it felt, at one point, to be standing on the top deck as the boat sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, with the moon above us and the fire blazing off to the starboard side. For more on the fire, see: http://www.sfgate.com/.

In Memory: George Tyrogalas, 1939-2008

2008-10-07T12:09:00.001-07:00

Paleochora, Crete, Greece. October 2007

It has taken me nine days to be able to write this. George passed away in Athens last Monday. He was 69 years old.
I met George about 10 years ago at the Strada Caffe, near UC Berkeley. He and his friends were speaking Greek and so we started to talk to them. Not knowing I understood (my Greek is basic), he told my friend I looked like Eleftherios Venizelos! Of course I liked him instantly.
I, and many others, here and in Greece, are missing our dear George. Here are a few words I might use to describe him: hilarious, friendly, kind-hearted, loud, leering, unpredictable, parsimonious, loquacious, sensitive, compassionate, artistic, loving, curious, loyal, peaceful.
There are so many more things I could say. I think the key to the real George was watching him with animals. His heart went out to the mistreated and you could see that in the way he treated not only his own cats/dogs but how he often went out of the way for others. When in Greece he always carried food for the many strays in Athens. He really was an example of much-needed compassion and in his own way followed the Golden Rule.
The funeral was last Thursday in Vyronas, Athens. There will be a memorial in Berkeley in early November.
I used to tease George by calling him the Buster Keaton of the Greek World. He had marvellous expressions and could always make me laugh, no matter what was happening in my life. I will miss popping over to Peaberry's Coffee after work and running into my George. He was like no other friend.

What the heck--a few more vacation shots

2008-10-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sagamore Bridge.
Dave, Sifi, Carmen @ Copley Square
Some very embarrassed lobsters. Poor things.
The bustle of Commercial Steet, in Provincetown.

Joe (Sif) hanging out at Joe's Coffee Shop
A perfect fantasy vacation home in P-town. Ahh! Wouldn't it be lovely? I would invite you for dinner. Really, I would!

Pics from Boston and the Cape

2008-09-29T14:39:00.001-07:00

The sad remains of a lunch at Pizzeria Reginia in Boston's North End. Dave's mother says the interior is the same as when she was girl, in the 30's.

Pastry Shop. They have table service!
Paul Revere House.
Parade of Schooners at Provincetown.

A Salt Box for sale.
General Store.
Sunflowers.

Frappo's in Provincetown.

Cape Cod National Seashore
Race Point Beach.
City Hall, where everybody stops to linger and maybe strike up a conversation.
Plein-air painter at Longnook Beach.

I think the pictures say it all.

The Rocks of Southern Crete

2008-09-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

I have found a new blog that I adore. Actually, this brilliant Kiwi-Greek has two of them. One is about food, and I well tell you about that later. The other is called one day in hania and I am addicted to it already. The most recent post is about Vathi, a village not too far from where my family lives. In the spirit of conversation, here are some photos from last fall. This is looking out from Paleochora toward Gavdos.

Back from Boston

2008-09-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

Cape Cod and Boston were absolutely revelatory. (I had to use that word because I have banished amazing until it is dropped by all the people who wore out the wonderful fabulous.)
That said, they were all that and so much more! I will post some photos soon. Bye.

Bu-bye Gall Bladder

2008-08-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

This is probably too much information.

My gall bladder had been driving me to distraction all summer. It is now gone. If you have never gone through surgery, the first time is quite the rite of passage. I told the anesthesiologist that if he killed me I'd come back to haunt him.

Surgery is scary, that's all there is to it--even so called routine procedures.

I'm very grateful to Kathleen, my pre-op nurse, for helping me to ask all the right questions and getting me ready. I also had a rock-star surgeon, Dr. Fowler, and the love and support of friends and family. Thanks, all.

For the Love of Manoli

2008-08-11T13:34:00.001-07:00

Manoli (with his late and much-missed brother Kamaki) came to live at my house about 7 years ago this week. So, even though he was born in April, it's kind of birthday time for him.
Since K left us a year and a half ago, my relationship with M has changed. He's always been a bit on the clingy side, and I am still convinced he thinks I am his mother. But as time goes on he just seems to need more and more LOVE.
I don't mind at all. I think he sometimes gets lonely and bored. Especially when beloved neighbor Roshni is away.
Also, there is an upstart gray kitten that seems to want to horn in on M's supper dish. M came in the other day limping a bit and I suffered, thinking there had been a fight and remembering screeching that woke me at 1230 am the night before. But he's fine now and the rival seems to have wandered off into other territory.
K and M have made me into a "cat person"--something I would never have predicted. They were rescued. This is something I think can be quite rewarding. If you want a fuzzy friend, or just to lend a much needed paw, check out Island Cat Resources and Adoptions.
Meow, babies.

North Beach on a Summer Day

2008-08-01T11:14:00.001-07:00

I think this may be turning into a photo blog.

Do you ever pretend you are a tourist in your own city? In the Bay Area, there seems to be an inexhaustible list of things I want to do. This is remarkable for a (relatively) small city.

This photo is a bit older, but was taken after I got back from Ohio. I've found myself in North Beach several times since then. It is fun to walk around and pick up on the vacation mood. I like to take the boat to the City and walk up from the Ferry Building. Usually there is a stop at Stella Pastry and Cafe for a cappuchino and biscotti.

A Few More Shots

2008-07-30T10:54:00.001-07:00

The party was held in the church hall. My mother is on the committee so she gets it for free. It's right next to her house. Here are: Cousin Holly, Katerina, Aunt Mona, Joanne. (That is my niece Katie in the background.)

My brother Bruce and his grandchildren.
I am with my niece Margaret. She says she is my favorite but I don't have a favorite. I love them all and miss them!
Cornflowers, called chicory, grow wild by the Ohio roadsides and show up in July.
My brother David and I walked to an old cemetery on a little road near my mother's house. This is one of the more poignant of the stones.

Pictures from Home

2008-07-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from home, as promised. I will upload some more later.

1. My mother's kitchen window. 2. Nephew Bruce and Mom. 3.Black raspberries growing everywhere on the property. 4.My mother's house. 5.Collectables in a Wheeling shop.

Vo's is Back Open!

2008-07-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

After what seems like (and may in fact be) years, Vo's has reopened, after closing for a LONG time, due to a fire, if I recall correctly. Vo's used to be a funky Vietnamese place in Uptown Oakland. Now it is kind of sleek and modern but still reasonable in price. They have completely redone the interior and now have a bar. Today I sat there and had a bowl of beef pho. Did you know it is pronounced "pha" as in "phat"? The bartender read me my horoscope but I don't remember what it predicted. Hugs 2 all.

Safe at Home

2008-07-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight we saw a big band concert on the shores of the Ohio River. I'll try to figure out how to load the pictures in here real soon! Bye for now...

Summer Smoke

2008-06-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

We are back in fire season, although it really is a bit early for that. There have been fires all around the Bay Area for the past several weeks. Today there is smoke in the air and it creates a moody yellowish light.
The past three months have been all about work. We are on a FY system here and so it concludes on June 30. Bliss. Time to breathe a little until the next set of deadlines looms. I am going to go and see my family in Ohio for a family reunion. This will be my first visit there in four years, so look for lots of pictures. Ciao, babies.

Quick Check-In

2008-05-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lapse, dear World.
Blogs grow stale if not updated. As far as this one goes, I am thinking about where I want to take it. I feel it needs a focus beyond my epicurean and other ramblings.
There is much that presses me for attention these days, and I don't prefer that. I remember reading of Thoreau that he liked a "broad margin of leisure" in his life. Time to walk and just think. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Also, it may seem a petty complaint in light of all the good work this world needs doing.

A field trip to the Presidio of SF

2008-05-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

This morning, Dennis and I went to the Presidio for a look around. We are going to bring a student group there for a field trip this summer.
I've worked on projects there for many years, so it is always a thrill to see how it is changing right before our very eyes. It is becoming a model for the new urban park. Do visit soon.
We had lunch at the Acre Cafe.

Poppies...Poppies...

2008-04-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Another amazing shot by Dan Pierce. This was taken yesterday at Gorman, CA. I could not resist posting it. Dan wrote me that someone had predicted this would not be a good poppy year.

Wisteria Time

2008-04-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

This majestic wisteria vine is blooming between my house and my neighbor Dana's house. It is on her property but was planted by my house's former owner, so I take care of it. Last February (2007) I did a major pruning, so the result was low-key. This spring I looked at the tendrils and decided to let it go for a year. So glad I did.

Another neighbor, Chuck, provided these photos. [Thanks, Chuck!]

Poem

2008-04-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

[Image: Dragon Trees, by Solkoll, Wikimedia Commons]

Has someone
said
or written
that dreams
are a kind
of salvation--
or damnation.

Or
(more simply)
a portal
to the only
other world
we can
really be certain
exists--

the world
of branching
fractal
possibilities.

There
you
were

dearest dearest
Kamaki

turning a corner
and
walking
towards me--

your face
shining
with
happiness.

Spring in the Antelope Valley

2008-04-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

[photos, copyright Dan Pierce, 2008]

One of the most beautiful things about California is the spring wildflowers. My old friend Dan Pierce just sent me two images from a recent visit to the Antelope Valley. It is famous for its California poppies, but there are many other flowers to enjoy. This is prime viewing season. If you go, you can pretend you are Dorothy or Toto--on the way to Emerald City.

[Thanks, Dan.]

For more photos, see the website of the Antelope Valley California poppy reserve: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=627

Crete, shimmering isle...

2008-03-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

For the first time in several years, I will not be going to Greece. I will have to find ways to console myself.
Here are a few shots of our best day in Crete, last fall. Lunch with Adonis, Vicky and cousins, at A and V's house, above the town of Paleochora.

Adonis, the quintessential Cretan. Vicky, who makes it all look easy.
Maria, Sifi, Peggy, Katerina, Georgia.
The luminous grapes of Chez Adonis.

A view to town.
The trapeza.

Adonis with his home-grown and -cured olives.

Ah, why do I feel sad and wonderful at once? I miss my island and its people.

The Thinner Me

2008-03-19T10:24:00.001-07:00

Have you simpsonized yourself yet? By now it's old hat. When I did this last year I made myself thinner. Now I am this size, which says a lot for visualization...LOL!
I joined Weightwatchers at an at-work meeting early in November and have lost about 20 lbs. I am pretty close to where I want to be. There are so many benefits. My cholesterol has dropped, for one. And I look a lot like the person that I picture myself to be in my mind. (They say that men tend to "upgrade" themselves, whereas women tend to have a more negative view of how they appear.)
I'll write a future post about maintaining the weight loss, which has always been tough for me. For now, I am very happy about how it's going. Go to: www.weightwatchers.com.

Fox Oakland Theater

2008-03-18T16:12:00.001-07:00

[Photo from Wikimedia Commons]

This grand old movie house is being restored as part of a true renaissance on this section of Telegraph Avenue in Oakland.

(There is a great restaurant across the street, the newly opened Flora. I will write about it in a future post.)

I walked by here today at lunch and was impressed again at the sheer audacity and gaudy extravagance of this building.

The Oakland School for the Arts will be housed here starting this fall. For more info go to: http://www.foxoakland.org/.

Lentils, Joys of

2008-03-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

Did you know that millions of people around the world get their daily protein from lentils? This is true mostly in India, but lentils are grown and eaten in a wide swath, beginning in the Mediterranean and moving eastward. To get all the needed amino acids for a complete protein, they must be eaten with a grain. In Greece, that is typically pasta or sometimes rice. Here is my own slight twist on Rosemary Barron's recipe. This is a great dish for a winter day. (Note: all the ingredients used are organic, when available.)

LENTIL PILAFI

2 cu. medium gr. calrose rice (I use Massa Organic California Calrose)
1 cu French green lentils, cleaned and rinsed (see Lentils, Hazards of)
1 med. red onion--sliced
1 carrot, shaved with a peeler into strips and chopped
1 tb. good Cretan olive oil
4 cu. broth, chicken or veggie
2 tb. ground coriander
1 ts. ground allspice
3 bay leaves
pinch of Greek dried oregano (rigani)
1/2 cu. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Heat the oil, bay leaves, and ground spices, in an 8 qt. soup pot or dutch oven.
Add the onions and carrots and saute until soft.
Throw in the rice and stir for a few minutes, till it whitens a bit
Add broth and lentils, then stir once.
Bring to a medium boil and stay close by. When holes form and the water is almost gone, take off the heat, put on a tight lid and leave on the back of the stove for half an hour.
Remove bay leaves, and add oregano and parsley.

Serve with salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, and plain Greek yogurt.
Makes a nice meal followed by a salad and fruit. On special occasions I have served it with roast chicken or lamb.

Rosemary Barron: http://www.rosemarybarron.com/RosemaryBarron/RosemaryBarron.htm
Massa Organics: http://www.massaorganics.com/index.html

Lentils, Hazards of

2008-03-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

The other night I was at home enjoying one of my standard dishes. I like to call them menu items, because they appear so regularly on my table. This one is called "lentil pilafi" and is based on a recipe by Rosemary Barron.

Oh, yes, the title of this post. There I was, chewing away with contentment, and I felt--and heard--a frightening crunch, and was sure I had a broken tooth. Gratefully, that was not the case, but I did spit out some thing that looks like a tiny wedge of blue cheese, but made of marble.

And there you have what might be the only hazard associated with lentils. They sometime have rocks in them. Why? I dunno. Seems like any dried beans have that possible problem. So you must clean them very carefully. This means devising a system where you actually handle each lentil. I used to put them in a pie plate in one layer and inspect before washing. This is not good enough. You must take then into your fingers or with a small spoon and look at them before you put them in the strainer/colander/sieve for washing.

OK. I have lectured you enough. But teeth are too precious to be broken by a humble lentil.

I will post the recipe tomorrow. I promise.

Kyoto Express

2008-02-27T16:36:00.000-08:00

Hi there, it's me; back from hibernation.

I was doing a list of restaurants in Oakland for a managers' meeting and checking out (on Yelp)some of the ones I haven't been to. And there was Kyoto Express. I can say without hyperbole that I have walked past it a thousand times. I had judged that it was too small to be any good. (No logic there.)
Well, it is small and it is very good! I have been on a teriyaki kick for a while and it fit the bill nicely. KE is really just a hallway of a restaurant. You go in and order and sit at the counters. It is run by one lady with love. The teriyaki was good; it comes with rice or noodles and a salad and miso. It opens only for lunch (11:30 to 3:00). You can call your order in if you like.

Kyoto Express
1721 Webster St., Oakland
510-444- 1717

Poem

2008-02-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

The sun setting in craftsman colors
blue and orange, blue and orange

Over the bay, water birds turning
spinning down to their prey

The mercury sheen on the water
the intimate lap lap lap

As it arrives
at the shore

Wanting it to mean nothing
wanting it to mean everything

Wanting it to mean everything
wanting it to mean nothing

Edible East Bay

2008-01-22T16:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was largely taken up with the repair of my kitchen sink. (Thanks, honey.)

It has been rainy and all-around pragmatic, in the sense that it just seems to be a time for getting things done. Car insurance, oil change, dentist, med appts., the whole responsibility routine. And this does not include the office! That's a whole other story.

I escaped for 20 minutes to the Market Hall yesterday. (Look for a future post on the Market Hall.) The rain was pouring down outside Peaberries as I stood there drinking my consolatory coffee. Walking out, all too soon, I saw and picked up an Edible East Bay.

A great, free (although you can subscribe) quarterly magazine on local food. There are at least four things in there I want to follow up on, including recipes for preparing fennel, and the Jack London Crab Crawl, which will take place on March 1st.

Check it out: http://www.edibleeastbay.com/.

New Years Day 2008

2008-01-11T10:35:00.001-08:00

[Mike, thanks for the beautiful photo.]
It is only a myth that Greek men don't smile for pictures. In this case, I was merely cold. If you look closely you will see my lips are turning blue.
Between us and the GGB is the restored Crissy Field. One of the best places to walk and visit with people and their dogs. (I want a Lab!)
Crissy Field has a fascinating history: http://www.parksconservancy.org/our_work/crissy/resources.asp.

Back to the Grindstone/Visitors/New Years/Brazen Careerist

2008-01-08T16:06:00.001-08:00

I am sitting here looking out at the rain. The construction workers across the street have gone home and there is a sense of peace. The holidays are over and now come the days of measuring success by the teaspoonful. But they do add up and before you know it new things will be made manifest. That is the miracle of time: there is change.

M and O came from New York for the New Year holiday and we four hit the ground running. We went to the city, Marin and Sonoma. We visited maybe a dozen coffee places over six days, lots of restaurants, wineries and a bar or two. Lots of food and talking and more talking. It was great.
My resolution is to entertain once a month this year! I made three dinners in the course of 10 days for guests and it felt good. If nothing else it forces you to look at your home through a visitor's eyes and make a few needed adjustments to things--not to mention a good cleaning.

Have you read the Brazen Careerist? For some reason I am hooked on it. Gets you thinking about work, the way it really happens these days. Happy 2008!
http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/

Mrs. Dalloway's

2007-12-19T09:52:00.000-08:00

[Photo is from the store's website]

This bookstore's name is inspired by the first line in Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel, Mrs. Dalloway.
I walked over there all the way from the Rockridge BART station last night. The rain had ended and I took the chance to get some exercise and pick up a few gifts.
I'm never disappointed there. The store has an interesting combination of gardening titles and general interest/literature.
They also have fine art prints, as well as wonderful potted succulents that make perfect splurge gifts. And, the space is beautiful. One of those stores that make the small neighborhood shopping areas in the East Bay so much fun.
I bought a handmade wooden ornament. A little squirrel. It will be a reminder of Christmas 2007.

Mr's Dalloway's
Literary and Garden Arts
2904 College Ave (Elmwood)
Berkeley, CA
http://www.mrsdalloways.com/

Joseph Cornell at MOMA

2007-12-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

San Francisco's MOMA has a nice show up called Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination.

He is best known as a reclusive artist who created "boxes" containing collages. These boxes are essentially display cases that provide frames/borders for the work. Although related to the surrealists and Dadaists and maybe other sub-isms of modernism, his work doesn't seem to have anything to do with instruction or programs.

This is not to say he did not have something of a theoretical basis for what he was doing: the work is very much intentional. There are wonderful series where an idea or motif is explored repeatedly, such as the wonderful palace boxes that evoke both the 18th century and fairy tales.

One of the boxes in the show has an image of an owl in a tree. Originally it was lit constantly by a small internal bulb. To save the material of the piece the conservators have set it up so that you push a button below the piece to light it. Dave had fun sitting nearby on a bench and hooting softly whenever someone pushed the button. (We were surprised how many viewers did not push the button.)

The show is up through 1/6/08, at SFMOMA: http://www.sfmoma.org/.

Here is a website from the museum where the show originated:http://pem.org/cornell/.

What is Christmas?

2007-12-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

"It is a time for opening your heart and your home to others."
This perfect jewel came from Esme as we were ringing off the phone last night.
Christmas is simply an end of the year festival, a time to spend some of the surfeit (even if there isn't any, alas) and to be glad you have made it through to the end of another year. Even if it truly were a religious observance, do you think Jesus would deign to care about the material aspects? Christmas is for us, not for him.
Today is the holiday party for work. Then we will play hooky and go to MOMA to see the Joseph Cornell show. More on that later.

Greece Photos

2007-12-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

K. sent our shared photos from our recent vacation. They are so beautiful I had to post a few. These are shop windows in Oia, Santorini. Suddenly, I am missing Greece and it's only been 2 months since we got back.

Pizzaiola

2007-12-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

We went to Pizzaiola Restaurant in Oakland's Temescal district this past Monday for Dave's **th Birthday.
As I waited in front a car pulled up to the light and a woman called out: "Teach me a move!" So I jumped out onto the sidewalk and did a kind of hip hop meets Norma Desmond thing. She loved it.
The restaurant is very popular; if you go call ahead for reservations. We had a sausage and rapini pizza and a Caesar salad made with chicory. The pizza is Neapolitan style and quite good-- fresh ingredients done simply and deliciously. You can tell the restaurant is in the Chez Panisse lineage at first bite.
The ambiance is on the rock and roll side, which I liked. A pizza place, no matter how upscale, should not be a Food Church. For more, go to: http://www.pizzaiolooakland.com/

Illuminations

2007-11-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

During this season we are quite naturally drawn to the comfort and warmth of light. If you think about it, most of the holiday season festivities are built around the concept of sustaining ourselves during the darkest time of the year. Of course, many take the comfort to extremes, but that is a discussion for later.

The other night (really only 5:30 pm) I was walking down a darkened street in Sacramento's Midtown district and came upon my favorite lighting store, Lumens. The large windows were filled with wonderful, colorful, unusual and beautiful lamps, light fixtures, and chandeliers. The store is design oriented and also carries household items by Alessi, Chillwich, and many others. It is high end, but most of the stock are things you'd keep for many years, and maybe even pass down. For more, go to: http://www.lumens.com/.

If you are into design, I recommend Metropolis magazine. They have a straightforward practice of including all the design areas, from urban design and planning down to lighting design, in their palette. Always something interesting there to check out. For more, go to: http://www.metropolismag.com.

Cranberry Sauce!

2007-11-21T15:28:00.000-08:00

[Cranberry Harvest in New Jersey, photo originally from USDA, Wikimedia Commons]

Don't waste another Thanksgiving Day eating that jello from a can. Make your own sauce and be the envy of all. It's easy.

Ingredients:

12 oz. fresh cranberries (wash and remove any bad berries)

1/2 cu. sugar

1 tsp. ground cloves

zest of one orange or tangerine

juice of one orange or tangerine

Combine the sugar, cloves and zest with 1/2 cu. water in a small to medium saucepan.

Place over medium to high heat.

Stir as the sugar melts.

Add the washed cranberries to the saucepan.

Stir continuously as the mix begins to simmer. The berries will begin to pop. You will notice the liquid getting redder. Stir for a few minutes. Take off the heat when it starts to look wonderful. (You will know.)
Tip: Leave some berries whole.

Set aside. After it cools for a bit, stir in the juice. Put it in the fridge. It will keep for 2-3 days.

Variations: use cinnamon, ginger, allspice alone or in various combinations with the cloves. Stir in chopped persimmons.

Crab Season In Limbo

2007-11-15T12:27:00.000-08:00

The boats are in the docks, waiting to see who will go first. There is a prohibition on crab fishing in the inner bay and within 3 miles of the Pacific shore, but what about crabs that were (or will be) supposedly caught outside the restricted area? For now, the Bay Area has collectively lost its appetite.

We are all still in shock in the aftermath of the Cosco Busan accident at the West Span of the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge. The response phase is still underway, and is getting more complicated as time passes.

For articles and photos, go to: http://www.sfgate.com/.

I have lived in California for exactly 20 years this week. For years, I've marked time largely by disasters, both man-made and natural.

Will I be buying crab? Yes, from my trusted local fish market. Also, I hope that two good things will come out of the accident:1) a concerted public-agency effort in preparing for oil-spills in all of our coastal waters, and 2) more awareness in the general public about how fragile the oceans really are. (Climate change is only part of the discussion that needs to happen.)

On a lighter note, it is time for Beaujolais Nouveau. Will you be drinking some this year? TODAY is the yearly release date for this fresh wine. For more, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaujolais_nouveau.

Time Change/Family Guy

2007-11-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

As of last week, we are back under the wing of darkness for much of our waking existence. Oh my, that does sound dramatic. It's just that daylight savings time has ended and it's often dark when I leave work. Hate it. Then again, maybe it's just cranky pants due to the biological shift. I've heard it takes a week or so, so be careful out there, especially driving.

My newest bad habit is Family Guy, which is now in syndication. I have been working on my Stewie impression for months. Take care, and I promise to write something more edifying soon!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Guy

A Visit to Cafe Gratitude

2007-11-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Cristin and Mariam and I drove to Berkeley for lunch at the Cafe Gratitude.
It is vegan and mostly raw food, which is not heated above a certain temperature. My entree was a thai-inspired dish made with quinoa. It came covered in watercress and smelling (pleasantly) like a pasture on a summer day. It was delicious.
I like the idea of raw food and will return. The funny thing about the place is that it seems to have borrowed its aesthetic from several infamous brainwashing cults of recent decades. You must order your food with its menu name. If you say, "I'll have the thai, " the server will rejoin with, "Oh, you mean you are graceful." Umm, OK. I guess I am graceful. Fun for five minutes.
The art on the walls has the saturated colors and sloganeering of some of the best propaganda art of the 20th century. I suspect they don't realize the irony of this. Irony has never been a strong suit among the nuts and berries crowd, and it is slightly surreal to see it so jarringly unacknowledged here.
But the food is yummy...and they do seem to mean well. But someone is no doubt gathering wealth from this elaborate exercise in new age branding.
Go to: http://www.withthecurrent.com/ds/

It Was Ever Thus

2007-10-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

[London fire of 1666, unknown artist, Wikimedia Commons]

One morning last fall Dave and I found ourselves in The City--the part of modern London that lies within the Roman wall and is the heart of the financial district--staring up at the London Monument. The Monument, as it is commonly referred to, is a massive Doric column, designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, commemorating the fire of September 1666.

The fire, which displaced most of the 80,000 residents, began in a local bakery after a period of drought. One reason the fire was able to overtake the entire area was the density of the wooden buildings--many in which projecting upper stories almost met in mid-air. And there was a dry easterly wind. The official casualties were very low, although it is now believed that many deaths went unrecorded. For contemporary accounts of the event, we are fortunate to have diary entries from both John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys.

Now, in 2007, what are probably the worst firestorms in California history are flashing across our television screens. Every casualty is a tragedy, but we must be thankful that measures adopted after the 1991 Oakland fires and 2003 Cedar fires have saved many lives this time around.

For up to date information, go to the CA Office of Emergency Services website: http://www.oes.ca.gov/.

There are thousands who need help in the wake of these fires. Go to: http://www.redcross.org/.

For information on a current restoration project at the London Monument, go to:http://www.themonument.info/index.html.

Philosophy on the Radio

2007-10-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

What is philosophy? Well, in Greek it means a love of wisdom. The contemporary definition is not so easy to summarize. I would posit that philosophy is the practice of asking, "Why is it this way?" in regards to how we perceive life and the cosmos. See, it's getting complicated already...but not really. Another way to put it might be: "What are my assumptions, and how did I get them?"

If your brain is booted up by 10:00 on Sunday morning, and you are philosophically inclined, tune into PHILOSOPHY TALK on KALW (Bay Area) at 91.7 FM. It is held by two Stanford philosophers, Ken Taylor and John Perry. Here is a blurb they posted for yesterday's show:

October 21: Predicting the Future. People who predict the future well are sometimes said to be psychic. But we all make predictions about the future, with more or less success. We confidently predict the sun will rise tomorrow, that ice will be cold, etc. But maybe we're not quite as good at predicting the future as we think. Is the stock market predictable? The weather? Political upheavals? Or is life just too random to make good predictions? John and Ken predict that Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, will join them to consider the extent to which we can forecast the future.

I was particularly interested in this show, since I had read Taleb's book this past summer. Taleb's book is concerned with how the direction of life/society has (in his theory) become increasingly ruled by unpredictable developments "Black Swans," such as the rise of the Internet and companies such as Google. He calls this phenomenon "Extremistan," and maintains that biologically we are adapted to less frequent discontinuities ("Mediocristan"). The most interesting part of Taleb's thesis for me was about how financial markets cannot be predicted using the Gaussian bell curve and that most stock predictions are at best pseudo-science. He's getting a lot of press on this.

For more on Philosophy Talk, go to: http://www.philosophytalk.org/.

For more on Taleb, go to: http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/taleb.html

Adio to Greece, for a While

2007-10-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

[Chania, Crete, from Wikipedia Commons]

We've been home for two weeks, and the disc with my photos is running late. Guess I will put them up on Flikr when they come, or at least the ones of note.
The trip is settling into memory for me. I'll journal one more time at home and that will be all for this year. Since blogs (I surmise) should be current, this will be the last posting on the trip, with one more photo from Wikipedia Commons.
I was walking the other day to Whole Foods with Cristina. Talking about Brazil trips for her and Greece trips for me. Is it really the magic and wonder of these places that is so invigorating or does a large part of it have to do with being away from the office and calling your time (and money) your own, if only temporarily? I am sure it is a bit of both. If I were working in Greece, the daily impediments to sanity would wear on my brain, I'm sure. And yet...
When I think about Greece it always comes back to the people. Sure, there are bad Greeks and good Greeks, just like anywhere else. But on a daily basis it seems you are presented with people who are simple in the very best sense of the word: warm, hospitable, without guile. There is a Cretan word for it: philoxenia, the love of strangers. It is considered an honor in Crete to host a traveler in your home, give them the best chair and the best from your table. It is humbling to be received by such people as these.

Art is Not a Hobby

2007-10-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

This was printed on a bumper sticker on a locker at the CREATIVE GROWTH ART CENTER, located in Uptown Oakland, just a few blocks from my office. I've known about the Center for years but had never ventured in until just this week, when my friend Peter took me inside. There is a commercial gallery/store, which is open during the week after 11:00 am, showing their artist-clients' work and also putting up curated shows with art from artists with special needs as well as allied artists from the greater world of art.

I must thank Brendan, of the Center, for showing me around and answering all my questions. Today I got a hall pass and got to walk around and visit as the artists were finishing lunch.

Creative Growth is a non-profit, serving artists with physical, emotional, and developmental disabilities. It has been in operation for 30 years and is arguably the first and best of its kind, anywhere.

The work on view (and under production) defies easy description, because the artists themselves are so varied. I will leave that exploration up to you. I did feel an immediate affinity for the work of William Tyler. His beautifully crafted drawings often combine texts with images of the artist and his twin brother as they navigate through a life that requires both ordering strictures and accidents of whimsy in order to progress. I am a lover of drawings and these are dazzling.

The gallery store also sells cards, t-shirts, multiples, and other wonderful things. For more on upcoming programs as well as special events for the holidays, go to: http://www.creativegrowth.org/.

Creative Growth Art Center
355 24th Street (at Valdez)
Oakland, CA 94612

A Morning Walk in Akrotiri

2007-10-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

When I am in Greece I have no trouble getting up in the morning. Unless they have to be out and about for work, the Greeks are prone to stay close to the hearth in the morning hours, so it is usually quiet--wonderful for walking and observation.
A few weeks ago, while staying near Akrotiri, Santorini, I got up at dawn and walked through the old hill town. On the way, I met a big yellow dog who decided he wanted to be friends. We walked together up the hill toward the lighthouse, looking over the cliffs to the caldera and to the town of Oia and Thirassia Island in the distance.
I should say I was looking. My new dog friend, really a very large puppy, was chasing birds and the occasional cat who crossed our path. On the south side of the road there was a magnificent set of new houses going up. They looked like second homes for wealthy people.
The present-day town of Akrotiri is set on a promontory at the southern tip of the island. It is dense and typically Cycladic in its organization. We walked to the top and then wound our way down to the main road through the maze of lanes. In the cool morning air people were just beginning to stir: hanging out laundry or starting out on an errand. In the labyrinth of Akrotiri our hushed greetings felt almost conspiratorial.

[This and the previous photo are from Wikipedia Commons.]

Buying Poems on the Street

2007-10-10T15:56:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I met ZACH HOUSTON, who was amiably hawking his impromptu poems at the Rockridge Bart Station in Oakland.

He writes them on what appears to be an Olivetti portable typewriter from about 1974. I paused when asked for a subject, and then blurted out, "cubicles." Here is the resultant poem, which appeared pretty fast.

roofloor

or sealing

the deal

between

an official

legally un

documented

declaration

of war or at

least gentle

ideological

hostility to

repeating

myself at

least not in

euclidean

space rather

the fractal

which doesn't

have any walls

just cloudsoftoday@yahoo.com

look up

Zach is an artist and writer living in Oakland. His ephemeral poetry project intrigues me. I don't think I could let my poems fly away like that; guess I'd need a carbon sheet in the typewriter.

For more on Zach, go to: synthesize.us/Zach_Houston.

Looking Back: Santorini

2007-10-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

As I said below, I will be posting some things in retrospect over the next few weeks.

I am so glad we went to Santorini this time. It had been four years for me and I had begun to miss it. Greece is a place where, if you are alert and do a little reading beforehand, you can be rewarded with the sense of living both in the present and in history at once. Nowhere is this more dramatically played out than in Santorini, where signs of the Minoan, Classical, Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian, Ottoman and modern areas abound.

The most famous of these, besides the crater that silently witnesses the blast that destroyed it, is the Minoan (or Minoan-related) city of Akrotiri, which is being slowly being excavated in the south of the island. See http://www.santorini.gr-santorini.com/museums/prehistoric_museum.htm for more.

We stayed nearby in a beautiful, spotless hotel, called "Kalimera."

Safe at Home

2007-10-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

We are back!
I was on the road for almost 24 hrs due to a layover in Newark. At one point I was standing there in the airport and realized Henry Winkler (of Fonzie fame) was standing near me. Gradually the airport staff realized it too and started taking his photo with their cell phones. He seemed like a very unassuming and kind person, surprised by the attention.
Look here for some retrospective accounts of the trip. I should be getting the photos soon and will post some of those.

Theleis Ena Kafedaki?

2007-09-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

Would you like a little coffee?

Here in Greece, where a cup of coffee is more expensive than anywhere else in Europe, where you choose to drink it means a lot. Each cafe bar, expresso joint, kafeneio--even Starbucks in down town Athens--has it's own particular personality and its own set of devotees.

And would you believe it, decaf is now available! I guess it is a case of the market demand by those of us who like to get up in the early morning for a stroll in the cool and quiet before all the madness begins. Can't do this if amped up at 200 am with a frappe...

Here in my "hometown" of Paleochora, Crete, there are so many choices for coffee that it would take three weeks to exhaust them all. In the evening, such as now as I am writing in an internet cafe, the main street is closed off and the cafe tables are brought into the street. It seems that EVERYONE in town, tourists and locals alike, is out for a stroll and something to drink. It is wonderful to walk the friendly gantlet and run into a distant cousin. We'll walk together and greet the townspeople, talking about family history, politics, or maybe remembering the red-haired Barbarossa, who ruined the Venetian castle here so many years ago.

The town has gone through many successive eras since then. A few days ago the local troupe of traditional singers and dancers paid tribute in the main square to those killed during the Nazi occupation and near destruction of the town. Now there is cheerful prosperity everywhere you look, but as in all of Crete, the memories run deep.

Here in Athens

2007-09-21T23:25:00.000-07:00

The flight always seems too long, but when you think of how far you've come, almost halfway around the world, it seems more like a miracle has happened.
We are here safe, and enjoying the AVA Hotel after a good night's rest. The buffet table was wonderful, with more than enough food for anyone's taste. One highlight was the peach juice, made here in Greece. It is perfection, and even if you have sworn off juice, you'd have to try it.
By the way, we are staying practically in the shadow of the Acropolis. Today we will go to see a show of Praxiteles' scultures at the National Archaeological Museum. There is a fresh breeze through the window this morning, just slightly laced with diesel fumes. It is like Greece; it revives you with a sense of wonderment but sometimes on the periphery there are troubling things, such as uneven sidewalks, that can bring a slight sense of peril. But siga siga! We will be fine...

Not in Greece just yet...

2007-09-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

This vine might look like it is from Santorini but it is right in my back yard in the East Bay.

A few years ago, my friend Mara installed a garden where before it had been all concrete. She and her trusty assistant dug out a crater in the concrete and used the pieces to build a rock wall around a circular plot where now there is an olive tree and other plants.

Beside this is a california wild grape, planted in a vertical ceramic pipe and climbing on rebar and over wires to make a shady area for a table. It has come a long way in two years...

The Poem in Question

2007-09-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

THIS is my letter to the world,

That never wrote to me,—

The simple news that Nature told,

With tender majesty.

Her message is committed

To hands I cannot see;

For love of her, sweet countrymen,

Judge tenderly of me!

The first line of Emily Dickinson's famous poem seemed like a perfect name for a blog. The common image is (I suppose) of the shy but redoubtable Emily standing in a gabled window and shouting silently to the world: "Here it is, and there's lots more!"

A simple reading of the poem belies this. The "world" here is clearly the unvoiced but active world of nature: apprehended by the senses and then, for her, almost always stretching out to an infinity that borders on the abstract. And yet it's as present as the echo of a footfall in the hallway.

The last line is important to me. What lover, parent, child or friend has not pleaded this at one time or another, if only in the privacy of the heart?

Better Late Than Never

2007-09-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

This is my first posting. (Thanks, Cristin: we set this blog up in under 5 minutes!)

No, we are not in Athens yet. This is an old photo of me in front of the Parthenon. But we are going to Athens in a week. (Katerina and Mom are going with me.)

Right now I am in the throes of getting ready. Actually, I am taking a little breath after scrambling to get most of the details worked out with an agent in Athens.

We are going to posh out on our first leg. Staying at the AVA Suites. Check it out: www.avahotel.gr