June 2011 is a peculiar month. It began with marking the 30th year of HIV/AIDS being in our midst and will end with Pride Festivals and Parade in NYC, SF, NOLA, Minneapolis, Chi town, SEA, OKC, Wichita, and Harlem. The convergence of both markers in my in American life is queer (pun intended). The 4th Sunday of June is most often attributed to the Stonewall Protest/Riot, when a group of drag queens along with other same sex loving people launched the present day gay movement in the US. Pride became a celebration of an uprising, to be no longer subject to police brutality, being treated as an outcast or social pariah.
I recall attending NYC Pride in ‘94 when many in the LGBT community marked 25 years post Stonewall, and coinciding with the anniversary was the Gay Games. What struck me, as the march snaked through Mid-town --the mass of participants appeared like a walking Gap Ad. Most wore the uniform of khaki shorts, faded T’s, baseball caps and not surprisingly made up mainly of mainstream/dominant culture homosexuals and their friends. Though I walked with the Filipino contingent, made up largely of New Yorkers and their visitors, a handful in Drag; the absence of transvestites, transsexuals, Drag Queens and “fringe” members of the broader gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community was noticeable. Most stark was the closing ceremony of the Games, held at Yankee Stadium, as attendees packed trains in the Subway ride to the Bronx, the irony of a ballpark filled with affluent white men did not escape me.
A few years later at Toronto Pride, I was less surprised and anticipated the majority of celebrants being members of the dominant culture/class. Canadians do not strike me as having a conflicted identity around privilege. Different in that encounter was how wide the range of self-expression that were being cultivated. Punks, walked with leather men, mixed with fairies, bears, and transvestites. Float contingents were gender mixed, as well as the pedestrian only areas off Church Street. I capped this trip with a 4th of July celebration with a friend’s family in Jamestown, NY. She and I ventured to Toronto, mainly not wanting to be in San Francisco for Pride festivities, and secondly visit with her parents for the American holiday.
Peculiar and mix are the sentiments I have about this month. Odd in having lived and worked in ground zero of the US side of the Global pandemic; yet still observing the integrative challenges of a movement largely defined by moneyed and powerful men; and perceiving race, class, gender, nationality, in an increasingly divided society will never cease to be the fly in the ointment. HIV and AIDS can be characterized as a disease of disparity.
Wondering aloud, if there is reason for Pride festivals? Do we celebrate our inordinate self-importance, achievements, and advantages when many others are denied their dignity? If however, we mark the 4th Sunday of this month as a community of people who value in ourselves and others self-respect and esteem, use it as building blocks towards a less divided nation, then I can see my mixed feelings as merely passing.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The color Orange
It's summer in our hemisphere.
The light of day lasts through 8:30 in the evening of late
Skies greyed by morning fog and auto fumes,
less an ocean breeze
blows it inland
Sunset drama play
The fruit orange
(Clementine, Mandarin, Tangerine, Satsumas, Kumquats, Tangelos, Bergamot, Oranges, Persimmon)
evoke eternal summer and signaling fall.
The flower orange
California poppy, Nasturtium, Sunflower, Asiatic Lilies
all-presence, gentle invaders
in our ecozone
Color of fall and harvest
pumpkins, gourds
Its combination of red's energy and the happiness of yellow,
the sun's color in our mind
signaling joy and balmy tropics.
Orange as a color
identified with visibility
safety
midpoint between yellow and red
Red-orange hot ember
conjures passion, pleasure and thirst for action.
Saffron robe and alms-giving.
Sacred dress for Hindus and Buddhist
Amber, burning stone
musky resin
preservative
Gold, precious metal
pliable at twenty-four,
ever present as fourteen,
gilded Vermeil.
©det
Do you have other associations to the color Orange?
The light of day lasts through 8:30 in the evening of late
Skies greyed by morning fog and auto fumes,
less an ocean breeze
blows it inland
Sunset drama play
The fruit orange
(Clementine, Mandarin, Tangerine, Satsumas, Kumquats, Tangelos, Bergamot, Oranges, Persimmon)
evoke eternal summer and signaling fall.
The flower orange
California poppy, Nasturtium, Sunflower, Asiatic Lilies
all-presence, gentle invaders
in our ecozone
Color of fall and harvest
pumpkins, gourds
Its combination of red's energy and the happiness of yellow,
the sun's color in our mind
signaling joy and balmy tropics.
Orange as a color
identified with visibility
safety
midpoint between yellow and red
Red-orange hot ember
conjures passion, pleasure and thirst for action.
Saffron robe and alms-giving.
Sacred dress for Hindus and Buddhist
Amber, burning stone
musky resin
preservative
Gold, precious metal
pliable at twenty-four,
ever present as fourteen,
gilded Vermeil.
©det
Do you have other associations to the color Orange?
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Tips for the First Date
For a lighter read on these gray days in the Bay Area, thought to add tips as subject matter. As many of you know, back in the dating world, roaming and ranging.
Imbedded will be more than one tip in this blurb. Tip(s) for first time (again) daters.
Groom to your hoped for standard. It's time. Have you noticed the secondary gender/sex characteristics making its appearance? Hair where none grew before! or more hair where none are needed (clue: ear hair, Einstein eyebrows, or free roaming beard hair). Shape via professional or trim judiciously (in the comfort of your home). Some of us refer to it as part of manscaping, I much prefer man-tainance.
It is said, a standard for not showing your age is the lack of wrinkles in your face, translated to liberal use of well blended sunscreen. But, have you considered the condition of your hands? For me, a tell-tale sign of aging and somewhat little regard for the importance of a hand shake as part of a first impression. A manicure maybe in order!
Glean your wardrobe, combine casual comfort and “in season” style. A positive impression can be made, by not looking like a much needed redux from an earlier non-vintage ensemble. In San Francisco, irony is expressed in many ways.
If you feel good, you look great. Do what is needed for you. Remember celebrities and the well-heeled have stylist and assistant’s, many of us do not --so plan ahead and put it together. It will be noticed.
Imbedded will be more than one tip in this blurb. Tip(s) for first time (again) daters.
Groom to your hoped for standard. It's time. Have you noticed the secondary gender/sex characteristics making its appearance? Hair where none grew before! or more hair where none are needed (clue: ear hair, Einstein eyebrows, or free roaming beard hair). Shape via professional or trim judiciously (in the comfort of your home). Some of us refer to it as part of manscaping, I much prefer man-tainance.
It is said, a standard for not showing your age is the lack of wrinkles in your face, translated to liberal use of well blended sunscreen. But, have you considered the condition of your hands? For me, a tell-tale sign of aging and somewhat little regard for the importance of a hand shake as part of a first impression. A manicure maybe in order!
Glean your wardrobe, combine casual comfort and “in season” style. A positive impression can be made, by not looking like a much needed redux from an earlier non-vintage ensemble. In San Francisco, irony is expressed in many ways.
If you feel good, you look great. Do what is needed for you. Remember celebrities and the well-heeled have stylist and assistant’s, many of us do not --so plan ahead and put it together. It will be noticed.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Conundrum
Tis a puzzlement. A grown man, in middle age, who has a history of achievement respective to his career; having multiple love interest throughout his life; a few long term relationships which ended amicably with one maintained as a close friend, now finds himself stepping into the dating world.
First, naively, one doesn't conceive of being unattached again at this age. Second, to participate in the rituals of courtship, referenced and informed by an earlier time, feels arcane. Third, is there a point?
Naive by way of Mr. Wells oft paraphrase “we live alone and we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.” Romantic love seems momentary in the larger scheme of one's life, and there are times when the desire for love is based on an illusion. To befriend someone, as lifelong commitment, may or may not materialize.
Dating in the information age, how do you connect? Online dating sites abound, each championing a formula for finding the "perfect" match, while others limit themselves as hook up venues. Social circles are now peopled by married, partnered, co-parenting, or defining loving and committed relationships and have few single friends to whom you can be introduced. Family takes a pass in keeping an eye out for you, since you are no longer in the market, so to speak. What options do you have for meeting others with whom one can find the illusive spark of possibility?
Is there a point? Can one truly be honest with one self to say, you fear the possibility of growing old alone. What does the fear embody?
Age old questions about selves as evolving creatures. One question or an experience can give rise to more questions, not out of uncertainty, mostly a drive to "know."
First, naively, one doesn't conceive of being unattached again at this age. Second, to participate in the rituals of courtship, referenced and informed by an earlier time, feels arcane. Third, is there a point?
Naive by way of Mr. Wells oft paraphrase “we live alone and we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.” Romantic love seems momentary in the larger scheme of one's life, and there are times when the desire for love is based on an illusion. To befriend someone, as lifelong commitment, may or may not materialize.
Dating in the information age, how do you connect? Online dating sites abound, each championing a formula for finding the "perfect" match, while others limit themselves as hook up venues. Social circles are now peopled by married, partnered, co-parenting, or defining loving and committed relationships and have few single friends to whom you can be introduced. Family takes a pass in keeping an eye out for you, since you are no longer in the market, so to speak. What options do you have for meeting others with whom one can find the illusive spark of possibility?
Is there a point? Can one truly be honest with one self to say, you fear the possibility of growing old alone. What does the fear embody?
Age old questions about selves as evolving creatures. One question or an experience can give rise to more questions, not out of uncertainty, mostly a drive to "know."
Monday, May 23, 2011
Midlle Age - A man's new venture
Middle-age for many suggests a settling into a life course. For some, it is their first experience with solitude possibly resulting from divorce or the end of a long romantic involvement dating back to High School or College days.
While others anticipate and navigate it with aplomb, throwing parties involving people from the decades lived, taking a sabbatical to delve into a question long held their fascination, or plumb inner selves.
Carved paths include: raising a family, coming to full stride in their small family business, climbing within the corporate hierarchy, or retreating to memories of what was their youth. Experiences and emotions run the gamut.
What if you skewed these well-worn paths? How do you measure your accomplishments? How do you speak of your worth? Recalling early ruminations on what will be my legacy (prose written and read on this very topic).
Trite sayings, marching to a different drummer; literary reference taking the road less traveled were mantras of earlier generations. It is a new chapter, moving towards s'aging with grace.
While others anticipate and navigate it with aplomb, throwing parties involving people from the decades lived, taking a sabbatical to delve into a question long held their fascination, or plumb inner selves.
Carved paths include: raising a family, coming to full stride in their small family business, climbing within the corporate hierarchy, or retreating to memories of what was their youth. Experiences and emotions run the gamut.
What if you skewed these well-worn paths? How do you measure your accomplishments? How do you speak of your worth? Recalling early ruminations on what will be my legacy (prose written and read on this very topic).
Trite sayings, marching to a different drummer; literary reference taking the road less traveled were mantras of earlier generations. It is a new chapter, moving towards s'aging with grace.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Context - being single
As the introductory post to the re-booted blog, the salient points of single hood for a middle aged, unattached, achieving and self-propelled among us maybe of interest to the reader.
The day to day of single-dom is unlike how it is conceived by many friends who are partnered, with children, or those responsible for their aging parents or other family members.
Primarily, they envision all the pluses: solitude, social and cultural life peopled by "interesting" habitué, dining and enjoying what the city offers, determined by a time going beyond the mere 24 hour day, and lack of tether. Bound only by how far you wish to exercise a sense of freedom.
The un-single perhaps may not grasp, flying solo also means: meals for one, which by all accounts implies plenty of reheated leftovers or cereal and oatmeal constituting sustenance. Or when waking in the dead of night, from a bad dream, in screaming out, and there is no one there to hear your cry or to shake you back to your senses. Then there are those times, when one is casting about your apartment (puttering) trying to figure out where something is, and no one yelling "you left it at that drawer by the sink." Such are some of the actualities for a single man.
The blog is not to recast notions of what single life is, simply to expand how it is dreamed of.
The day to day of single-dom is unlike how it is conceived by many friends who are partnered, with children, or those responsible for their aging parents or other family members.
Primarily, they envision all the pluses: solitude, social and cultural life peopled by "interesting" habitué, dining and enjoying what the city offers, determined by a time going beyond the mere 24 hour day, and lack of tether. Bound only by how far you wish to exercise a sense of freedom.
The un-single perhaps may not grasp, flying solo also means: meals for one, which by all accounts implies plenty of reheated leftovers or cereal and oatmeal constituting sustenance. Or when waking in the dead of night, from a bad dream, in screaming out, and there is no one there to hear your cry or to shake you back to your senses. Then there are those times, when one is casting about your apartment (puttering) trying to figure out where something is, and no one yelling "you left it at that drawer by the sink." Such are some of the actualities for a single man.
The blog is not to recast notions of what single life is, simply to expand how it is dreamed of.
Monday, May 16, 2011
BLOG REBOOT
I've been considering re-engaging with the chronicle. Something along the lines of less frequency in posting, yet, articulates learning, insights and the joy and challenges of living.
In my head, I hear:
-- write about something you know about
-- allow for a range of feelings to come across
-- use the medium as a creative outlet
-- mirror/reflect on what is around you and affects your day
In my head, I hear:
-- write about something you know about
-- allow for a range of feelings to come across
-- use the medium as a creative outlet
-- mirror/reflect on what is around you and affects your day
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Mid May 2011
Months have passed since I last visited with my blog spot.
An eventful year so far: took on a full time work gig as Project Director of 2 five year prevention grants back in February; writing articles for peer reviewed journals from project data collected prior to September 2010; the end of a three year relationship; and accept the inevitable change likely to happen with my current housing which can mean another relocation.
Transitions seem constant, change manifesting itself, the principal plot in life's narrative.
The current iteration of my home, in place for the November apres Turkey dinner, is the most aesthetically suited to my current sensibility. The studio is open and also discreetly private. The artifacts, stories revolving around past friends, lovers, and folks who have an intimate sense of the evolving me.
An eventful year so far: took on a full time work gig as Project Director of 2 five year prevention grants back in February; writing articles for peer reviewed journals from project data collected prior to September 2010; the end of a three year relationship; and accept the inevitable change likely to happen with my current housing which can mean another relocation.
Transitions seem constant, change manifesting itself, the principal plot in life's narrative.
The current iteration of my home, in place for the November apres Turkey dinner, is the most aesthetically suited to my current sensibility. The studio is open and also discreetly private. The artifacts, stories revolving around past friends, lovers, and folks who have an intimate sense of the evolving me.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore
October 10th, 2009 6:01 PM
Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore
Friends,
Last night my wife asked me if I thought I was a little too hard on Obama in my letter yesterday congratulating him on his Nobel Prize. "No, I don't think so," I replied. I thought it was important to remind him he's now conducting the two wars he's inherited. "Yeah," she said, "but to tell him, 'Now earn it!'? Give the guy a break -- this is a great day for him and for all of us."
I went back and re-read what I had written. And I listened for far too long yesterday to the right wing hate machine who did what they could to crap all over Barack's big day. Did I -- and others on the left -- do the same?
We are weary, weary of war. The trillions that will have gone to these two wars have helped to bankrupt us as a nation -- financially and morally. To think of all the good we could have done with all that money! Two months of the War in Iraq would pay for all the wells that need to be dug in the Third World for drinking water! Obama is moving too slow for most of us -- but he needs to know we are with him and we stand beside him as he attempts to turn eight years of sheer madness around. Who could do that in nine months? Superman? Thor? Mitch McConnell?
Instead of waiting to see what the president is going to do, we all need to be pro-active and push the agenda that we want to see enacted. What keeps us from forming the same local groups we put together to get out the vote last November? C'mon! We're the majority now -- the majority by a significant margin! We call the shots -- and we need to tell this wimpy Congress to get busy and do what we say -- or else.
All I ask of those who voted for Obama is to not pile on him too quickly. Yes, make your voice heard (his phone number is 202-456-1414). But don't abandon the best hope we've had in our lifetime for change. And for God's sake, don't head to bummerville if he says or does something we don't like. Do you ever see Republicans behave that way? I mean, the Right had 20 years of Republican presidents and they still couldn't get prayer in the public schools, or outlaw abortion, or initiate a flat tax or put our Social Security into the stock market. They did a lot of damage, no doubt about that, but on the key issues that the Christian Right fought for, they came up nearly empty handed. No wonder they've been driven crazy lately. They'll never have it as good again as they've had it since Reagan took office.
But -- do you ever see them looking all gloomy and defeated? No! They keep on fighting! Every day. Our side? At the first sign of wavering, we just pack up our toys and go home.
So, at least for this weekend, let us celebrate what people elsewhere are celebrating -- that America now has a sane and smart man in the White House, a man who truly wants a world at peace for his two daughters.
Many, for the past couple days (yes, myself included), have grumbled, "What has he done to earn this prize?" How 'bout this:
The simple fact that he was elected was reason enough for him to be the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
Because on that day the murderous actions of the Bush/Cheney years were totally and thoroughly rebuked. One man -- a man who opposed the War in Iraq from the beginning -- offered to end the insanity. The world has stood by in utter horror for the past eight years as they watched the descendants of Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson light the fuse of our own self-destruction. We flipped off the nations on this planet by abandoning Kyoto and then proceeded to melt eight more years worth of the polar ice caps. We invaded two nations that didn't attack us, failed to find the real terrorists and, in effect, ignited our own wave of terror. People all over the world wondered if we had gone mad.
And if all that wasn't enough, the outgoing Joker presided over the worst global financial collapse since the Great Depression.
So, yeah, at precisely 11:00pm ET on November 4, 2008, Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. And the 66 million people who voted for him won it, too. By the time he took the stage at midnight ET in the Grant Park Historic Hippie Battlefield in downtown Chicago, billions of people around the globe were already breathing a huge sigh of relief. It was as if, in that instant, one man did bring the promise of peace to the world -- and most were ready to go wherever he wanted to go to achieve that end. Never before had the election of one man made every other nation feel like they had won, too. When you've got billions of people ready, willing and able to join a cause like this, well, a prize in Oslo is the least that you deserve.
One other thought. The Peace Prize historically has been given to those who have worked to throw off the yoke of racial discrimination and segregation (Martin Luther King, Jr., Desmond Tutu). I think the Nobel committee, in awarding Obama the prize, was also rewarding the fact that something profound had happened in a nation that was founded on racial genocide, built on racist slavery, and held back for a hundred-plus years by vestiges of hateful bigotry (which can still be found on display at teabagger rallies and daily talk radio). The fact that this one man could cause this seismic historical event to occur -- and to do so with such grace and humility, never succumbing to the bait, but still not backing down (yes, he asked to be sworn in as "Barack Hussein Obama"!) -- is more than reason enough he should be in Oslo to meet the King on December 10. Maybe he could take us along with him. 'Cause I also suspect the Nobel committee was tipping its hat to all of us -- we, the American people, had conquered some of our racism and did the truly unexpected. After seeing searing images of our black fellow citizens left to drown in New Orleans -- and poor whites seeing their own treated no better than the black man they had been raised to hate -- we had all seen enough. It was time for change.
Thank you, Barack Obama, for giving us the opportunity to redeem ourselves. Now for the tasks ahead. We need you to do all that you promised to do. We need it. The world needs it.
My prediction for the future? You become the first *two-time* winner of the Nobel Peace Prize! Yeah!
Fred (that's Norwegian for "Peace"),
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore
Friends,
Last night my wife asked me if I thought I was a little too hard on Obama in my letter yesterday congratulating him on his Nobel Prize. "No, I don't think so," I replied. I thought it was important to remind him he's now conducting the two wars he's inherited. "Yeah," she said, "but to tell him, 'Now earn it!'? Give the guy a break -- this is a great day for him and for all of us."
I went back and re-read what I had written. And I listened for far too long yesterday to the right wing hate machine who did what they could to crap all over Barack's big day. Did I -- and others on the left -- do the same?
We are weary, weary of war. The trillions that will have gone to these two wars have helped to bankrupt us as a nation -- financially and morally. To think of all the good we could have done with all that money! Two months of the War in Iraq would pay for all the wells that need to be dug in the Third World for drinking water! Obama is moving too slow for most of us -- but he needs to know we are with him and we stand beside him as he attempts to turn eight years of sheer madness around. Who could do that in nine months? Superman? Thor? Mitch McConnell?
Instead of waiting to see what the president is going to do, we all need to be pro-active and push the agenda that we want to see enacted. What keeps us from forming the same local groups we put together to get out the vote last November? C'mon! We're the majority now -- the majority by a significant margin! We call the shots -- and we need to tell this wimpy Congress to get busy and do what we say -- or else.
All I ask of those who voted for Obama is to not pile on him too quickly. Yes, make your voice heard (his phone number is 202-456-1414). But don't abandon the best hope we've had in our lifetime for change. And for God's sake, don't head to bummerville if he says or does something we don't like. Do you ever see Republicans behave that way? I mean, the Right had 20 years of Republican presidents and they still couldn't get prayer in the public schools, or outlaw abortion, or initiate a flat tax or put our Social Security into the stock market. They did a lot of damage, no doubt about that, but on the key issues that the Christian Right fought for, they came up nearly empty handed. No wonder they've been driven crazy lately. They'll never have it as good again as they've had it since Reagan took office.
But -- do you ever see them looking all gloomy and defeated? No! They keep on fighting! Every day. Our side? At the first sign of wavering, we just pack up our toys and go home.
So, at least for this weekend, let us celebrate what people elsewhere are celebrating -- that America now has a sane and smart man in the White House, a man who truly wants a world at peace for his two daughters.
Many, for the past couple days (yes, myself included), have grumbled, "What has he done to earn this prize?" How 'bout this:
The simple fact that he was elected was reason enough for him to be the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
Because on that day the murderous actions of the Bush/Cheney years were totally and thoroughly rebuked. One man -- a man who opposed the War in Iraq from the beginning -- offered to end the insanity. The world has stood by in utter horror for the past eight years as they watched the descendants of Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson light the fuse of our own self-destruction. We flipped off the nations on this planet by abandoning Kyoto and then proceeded to melt eight more years worth of the polar ice caps. We invaded two nations that didn't attack us, failed to find the real terrorists and, in effect, ignited our own wave of terror. People all over the world wondered if we had gone mad.
And if all that wasn't enough, the outgoing Joker presided over the worst global financial collapse since the Great Depression.
So, yeah, at precisely 11:00pm ET on November 4, 2008, Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. And the 66 million people who voted for him won it, too. By the time he took the stage at midnight ET in the Grant Park Historic Hippie Battlefield in downtown Chicago, billions of people around the globe were already breathing a huge sigh of relief. It was as if, in that instant, one man did bring the promise of peace to the world -- and most were ready to go wherever he wanted to go to achieve that end. Never before had the election of one man made every other nation feel like they had won, too. When you've got billions of people ready, willing and able to join a cause like this, well, a prize in Oslo is the least that you deserve.
One other thought. The Peace Prize historically has been given to those who have worked to throw off the yoke of racial discrimination and segregation (Martin Luther King, Jr., Desmond Tutu). I think the Nobel committee, in awarding Obama the prize, was also rewarding the fact that something profound had happened in a nation that was founded on racial genocide, built on racist slavery, and held back for a hundred-plus years by vestiges of hateful bigotry (which can still be found on display at teabagger rallies and daily talk radio). The fact that this one man could cause this seismic historical event to occur -- and to do so with such grace and humility, never succumbing to the bait, but still not backing down (yes, he asked to be sworn in as "Barack Hussein Obama"!) -- is more than reason enough he should be in Oslo to meet the King on December 10. Maybe he could take us along with him. 'Cause I also suspect the Nobel committee was tipping its hat to all of us -- we, the American people, had conquered some of our racism and did the truly unexpected. After seeing searing images of our black fellow citizens left to drown in New Orleans -- and poor whites seeing their own treated no better than the black man they had been raised to hate -- we had all seen enough. It was time for change.
Thank you, Barack Obama, for giving us the opportunity to redeem ourselves. Now for the tasks ahead. We need you to do all that you promised to do. We need it. The world needs it.
My prediction for the future? You become the first *two-time* winner of the Nobel Peace Prize! Yeah!
Fred (that's Norwegian for "Peace"),
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Keeping up the blog
It seems difficult to write on the blog during challenging and even rewarding periods of one's life. Nearly a year has passed since the short sale of the condo on the hill above the lake. It was a dream, in a way. Not heavily metaphoric -- simply to have a concrete example of California good life. There were many dinners held, sweat equity built, quite moments seemingly safe from the streets of the city.
I have much to ponder and review. How far back do you go? How detailed do you delve? Does the narrative have to be coherent?
I'd like to keep the journal alive somehow. It is my chronicle.
A preliminary thought I am considering, to post on a quarterly basis, including features, highlights, and arm chair analysis.
I'll have to check with the reader.
I have much to ponder and review. How far back do you go? How detailed do you delve? Does the narrative have to be coherent?
I'd like to keep the journal alive somehow. It is my chronicle.
A preliminary thought I am considering, to post on a quarterly basis, including features, highlights, and arm chair analysis.
I'll have to check with the reader.
Friday, June 25, 2010
/photo20/91/d6/ddd1f4d9aa17.jpeg
/photo20/91/d6/ddd1f4d9aa17.jpeg
Originally uploaded by onepinoy
a mad drive across the bridge, winter evening with top down. one of many phone camera shots.
/photo31/81/f6/64cfa1bb886b.jpeg
/photo31/81/f6/64cfa1bb886b.jpeg
Originally uploaded by onepinoy
a bouquet from a friend...flowers man to man
Friday, May 07, 2010
Much has happened in the Studio
Painting is nearly complete, furniture were selected and put out, art is hanging on the walls.
A fundraising, Vernal Equinox event has taken place, in part to celebrate a milestone birthday and to warm the house.
Alas, the challenge for the coming months: the building is foreclosed, possibly leaving tenants vulnerable to eviction.
Pictures and tales to follow.
A fundraising, Vernal Equinox event has taken place, in part to celebrate a milestone birthday and to warm the house.
Alas, the challenge for the coming months: the building is foreclosed, possibly leaving tenants vulnerable to eviction.
Pictures and tales to follow.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
NOLA Reprise
Time is flying. It's already Feb 3rd, almost a month since returning from the Southland. MLK Jr. day has passed. I carried the vacation high through the week, others commenting on how relaxed I looked.
It was a great holiday. New Years and duet Birthday Celebrations seem the perfect frame work for RnR in the Big E Z.
As I spoke of my trip, few memories and notable experiences were easy to access. The inexplicable sense of family and belonging as we visited with friends of friends, distant cousins, and neighborhoods were people lived, worked and belonged --who are remaking parts of the city.
The Musician Village, I am trying to stay focused on the positive attributes of affordable housing for musicians and others involved in the industry. They are certainly a main thread in the fabric of NOLA. One can hope for the neighborhood settles in this seemingly far-flung neighborhood with few available services.
There is no Post Office in the immediate areas of the French Quarters, Marigny, or Bywater, certainly none in the 7th ward. This is highly symbolic of how the US Government has abandoned NOLA.
The rebuild, nearly 5 years post Katrina, the population is returning slowly and rebuilding of family homes and rental is slow progress. The change is positive since last there during Gustav (2008). Exciting to watch will be the evolving style of NOLA residential architecture.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
A day in NOLA
The days went by fast and time seemed to have slowed for the period spent here with my New Awhlins family.
Mundane activities such as going to the gym, brunch at an UPTOWN cafe, watching an afternoon matinee on a weekday, happy hour at PF Changs the day before returning home were more enjoyable when celebrating a friends birthday. These activities were exactly how she wanted to spend her day.
more later...
Mundane activities such as going to the gym, brunch at an UPTOWN cafe, watching an afternoon matinee on a weekday, happy hour at PF Changs the day before returning home were more enjoyable when celebrating a friends birthday. These activities were exactly how she wanted to spend her day.
more later...
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
More on the Birthday
The day starts with a home cooked breakfast of crepe thin omelet, mimosa and laughter. A walk on Lake Pontchairn, dinner in an Uptown Thai restaurant. The day ended with a jam at the musician's village. In attendance were vocalist, 3 violin players, a percussionist, a guitarist and flutist. All playing blues and other standards, each taking turns interpreting familiar cords. On our return to Angie's, thanking everyone for fulfilling a day's wishes.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
NYE, Bday, and days in NOLA
Coffee and beignets is a good way to start any year. Personally marking a half century on the planet needed to be something familiar and out of the ordinary. We strolled along the residential neighborhood of the quarters and entered a club to have a beer, it was chilly and well into the 40's when we got into the car for return drive and home. The celebration began the day before with an early afternoon tour and work out at the New Orleans Athletic Club, snacks at the Praline Connection, and Happy Hour at the Cafe Marigny (a place visited on my first trip). There is sweetness to life when allowing time to slip by, no particular destination, and being with someone you love.
Being in New Orleans, an up and coming developing world, I sense certain humility in the populace, specially the families and folk we met since arriving. Adversity and perseverance seem to go hand in hand. The Quarters, Uptown and Garden District all un-touch in a way by Katrina, feels like another world from what I see on the 7th ward. Thanks to CNN and other sympathetic "liberal" news bureau -- we saw the devastation reek by Katrina on the 9th ward. Does anyone wonder what happened to the rest of the city that lies below sea level?
I have a special connection to the 7th ward, a childhood friend lives here, re-built her house, and reputed to help others by bringing provisions till the National Guard found their way to this slip of a neighborhood. The street where she lives is a block from the Florida Canal, and walking distance to the failed 3rd pump house. Her home, an oasis in the midst of abandoned, half cockeyed homes --on foundations and not, and those clearly receiving the contractor's special is stark in contrast to more than half of the houses in the immediate surrounding blocks.
It was Angie's grandmother's house, her daddy spend most of his young life in nearby St. Bernard projects, now its her home and can claim the area as her neighborhood. The other part of the 7th ward closer to Esplanade fared better. There Swirl, Mike's coffee house thrives as the area's center, nearby laundromat, food store, and park are toe holds on normalcy.
Being in New Orleans, an up and coming developing world, I sense certain humility in the populace, specially the families and folk we met since arriving. Adversity and perseverance seem to go hand in hand. The Quarters, Uptown and Garden District all un-touch in a way by Katrina, feels like another world from what I see on the 7th ward. Thanks to CNN and other sympathetic "liberal" news bureau -- we saw the devastation reek by Katrina on the 9th ward. Does anyone wonder what happened to the rest of the city that lies below sea level?
I have a special connection to the 7th ward, a childhood friend lives here, re-built her house, and reputed to help others by bringing provisions till the National Guard found their way to this slip of a neighborhood. The street where she lives is a block from the Florida Canal, and walking distance to the failed 3rd pump house. Her home, an oasis in the midst of abandoned, half cockeyed homes --on foundations and not, and those clearly receiving the contractor's special is stark in contrast to more than half of the houses in the immediate surrounding blocks.
It was Angie's grandmother's house, her daddy spend most of his young life in nearby St. Bernard projects, now its her home and can claim the area as her neighborhood. The other part of the 7th ward closer to Esplanade fared better. There Swirl, Mike's coffee house thrives as the area's center, nearby laundromat, food store, and park are toe holds on normalcy.
Friday, January 01, 2010
2010 getting off to a good start
Yearning for a New Year's celebration in a different culture. Having lived through very large extended family celebrations back home in the Philippines, one misses the camaraderie, joie de vivre of large familial gatherings.
Ahhhh, I may have happened upon something as precious, New Years in New Orleans. Since arriving, we have visited with coffee and wine tasting shop owners, attended 2 "family" meals/party eve and day, roamed the streets of the Quarters in mad search of a cab home to the 7th district "a little dangerous," as the driver spewed in whisper.
Have you ever tasted hot home made eggnog? All my American life was limited to eggnog from Safeway, Lucky, Whole Foods supermarkets. Home made eggnog from Mr and Mrs. Santa Maria's kitchen was extraordinary. It was silk in texture, flan in volume/depth in your mouth, and not at all the saccharin taste of boxed variety. Home made hot (taste) sausages, hog head cheese were other treats at their home. Cousin Delbert's home offered cheese grits, seafood pie, savory bread pudding, sweet potato pie with a hint of vanilla -- I was in the throes of Nawhlins family cooking. Great joy.
The other striking feature, people were truly celebrating, family circles I've met where thankful to be home with a place available to all. Little nothing houses, looking typically in line with the shotgun or Creole style attributed to the region, were re-made to being both contemporary in its conveniences, traditional in its facade and architectural elements, and functional based on the needs of its residents. Perhaps a new NOLA architectural style is in the making. With little code enforcements, technology advances, "what is available building materials" and varying amounts of money available for reconstruction all makes opportunities for renewed style.
New Years day, everyone in the house a napping for tonight's evening activities. It is a privilege life to be a white collar professional of moderate income, adventure and travel hungry living in the US (when possible heading to NYC, NOLA, other destinations, come home to SF all places where life happens). One does not have to be moneyed rich, if you can figure out the most affordable options, friends near and far -- I've got it made.
Ahhhh, I may have happened upon something as precious, New Years in New Orleans. Since arriving, we have visited with coffee and wine tasting shop owners, attended 2 "family" meals/party eve and day, roamed the streets of the Quarters in mad search of a cab home to the 7th district "a little dangerous," as the driver spewed in whisper.
Have you ever tasted hot home made eggnog? All my American life was limited to eggnog from Safeway, Lucky, Whole Foods supermarkets. Home made eggnog from Mr and Mrs. Santa Maria's kitchen was extraordinary. It was silk in texture, flan in volume/depth in your mouth, and not at all the saccharin taste of boxed variety. Home made hot (taste) sausages, hog head cheese were other treats at their home. Cousin Delbert's home offered cheese grits, seafood pie, savory bread pudding, sweet potato pie with a hint of vanilla -- I was in the throes of Nawhlins family cooking. Great joy.
The other striking feature, people were truly celebrating, family circles I've met where thankful to be home with a place available to all. Little nothing houses, looking typically in line with the shotgun or Creole style attributed to the region, were re-made to being both contemporary in its conveniences, traditional in its facade and architectural elements, and functional based on the needs of its residents. Perhaps a new NOLA architectural style is in the making. With little code enforcements, technology advances, "what is available building materials" and varying amounts of money available for reconstruction all makes opportunities for renewed style.
New Years day, everyone in the house a napping for tonight's evening activities. It is a privilege life to be a white collar professional of moderate income, adventure and travel hungry living in the US (when possible heading to NYC, NOLA, other destinations, come home to SF all places where life happens). One does not have to be moneyed rich, if you can figure out the most affordable options, friends near and far -- I've got it made.
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