a poem for yesterday

...and today, and tomorrow.

Prayer

We bury our dead too quickly
In graves too new for tombstones,

Scooping dirt onto them
With shovels turned upside down

To show our world turned upside down.
We hurry them into the earth,

Keeping the casket closed,
As if we were too busy praying

And had no more to say to them.

David Caplan

In the World He Created According to His Will
The University of Georgia Press

goldbugs

This is an update on my new iPhone which is almost a month
old now. I'm gradually getting used to it and already it is
worth $150 because one night I sent a text to my friend
Linda and I closed with "goodnight." My fat, slow finger(s)
typed "goldbugs" and she was confused. Imagine.

What do I love most about this wee computer? I love being
in touch with everyone throughout the day. I can read
emails and send texts and every once in awhile I use the
very easy phone feature. By now you know that I dislike
the phone intensely, so texts and emails are my lifeline.
My youngest stepson was in hospital recently and we
could text throughout the day and I didn't worry about him.

I have so much to learn and one day I'll actually download
an app. But no rush, I'm happy with the basics.

it makes you wonder

This is not the happiest movie ever made. but it was excellent.
I'm a huge fan of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams is quite
wonderful too. We've all seen love turn to hate in relationships
and it is fascinating to see a close-up here. Blue Valentine is
worth seeing, but I'm ready for a comedy now.

saved by a rookie

Or I could title this, "why I still love baseball." We were just
about to turn off the lackluster game last night when the
bases miraculously filled with no-can-hit Giants and the
new kid, Brandon Crawford, came to bat. "Not another
double play, please," Husbando and I muttered to each
other. and then WTF? He hits the Grand Salami ~ his
first game as a Major Leaguer. And here we're all depressed
because our star Buster Posey busted his leg and is out for
the season. Giants win, 5 to 4. Amazing and satisfying.
Welcome to our strange team, kid, have fun!

53 acres of California art

Surprising sculptures, including "I've been saved!"

Natural beauty too...

Little house of wine bottles

My all-time favorite artist, Joan Brown

A delightful Bischoff

Roy De Forest

Peacocks ~ gorgeous, loud, pushy and numerous

Resting on the front lawn

Inside the home

Everywhere ~ art!

We know Al Farrow from the deYoung ~
chapels and synagogues from bullets

Nine miles north to Yountville for lunch

Croque Madame for this madam

Lamb sausage sandwich and no, we
didn't finish the fries. Honest.

Rene di Rosa was a winemaker who collected art. Lots and lots
of unbelievable treasures. We have been to di Rosa before too,
but it's impossible to appreciate and retain all that is here, so
one needs to return every few years because it is just such a
magnificent experience. You have to take a tour, but it's nice
and casual and we were able to wander around on our own
most of the time. Mr. di Rosa died a few months ago, but the
Preserve will continue and if you haven't been, go!

have camera ~ will travel

Today we are heading up to Napa to the di Rosa gallery. I will have
a lot for tomorrow's show and tell session. Husbando, Ginger
and myself (with trusty Ken, the Toyota) along with some
sunshine and laughter. Lunch will be fancy and special, you
can count on that too.

And then, soon, you can ask me about Picasso. The de Young
is preparing for the installation and one can sense the excitement.
Another opening, another show...

we all need a little magic

Last night we watched The Illusionist, a beautifully drawn animated
film by the folks who gave us The Triplets of Belleville. This is the
story of an aging magician who keeps losing gigs to British pop
stars. He winds up in Edinburgh, Scotland with a young woman
and I won't spoil this for you, but it is so sweet and tender that you
will want to know the true story behind the movie either before
or after you watch it. Truly lovely...

joy and sorrow in the East Bay

Warm and wonderful

In the back garden!

View from the front deck

Yesterday I joined some friends at a charming home in the Berkeley
hills for a nice long and loving lunch for a dear woman who is
moving away. One of the worst things about residing in SF is that
it is impossible to live here ~ expensive, crowded, difficult. I
have lost so many friends to more welcoming locations. I should
get used to it, but I don't. I grieve when people leave, although it
is easier now that we have Facebook, blogs, cell phones. And yet..

You would love this cottage in the hills. Books and bookshelves,
a room just for a piano, all wooden walls, hundreds of photos
and beautiful artwork, fireplace (of course) and that feeling of
a lot of love and creativity everywhere. A memorable day with
Kleenex® and delicious food, too.

some say "beguiling"

Today I begin The Imperfectionists, a novel that's been
reviewed positively by friends and professional reviewers.
Tom Rachman is the first time author and it's all about
a small newspaper in Rome and the characters who
live and work there. I promise to review it when I
finish, or at least suggest that you might want to read
it (or not). I have the actual paperback book, not on
my beloved Lindakindle®,

fifteen years

It all seems to be colliding, this time business. This morning's
prompt was 15 Years, so I dug out my calendar to see what
in the Hell was going on back then. I have 30 years of my
work/play calendars and I seldom look at them, but today
1996 is invaluable.

• we were going to the Symphony then and I would doze
• dinner at Le Trou with Vera and Curt ~ he died several years ago
  
• g.dot Lindsay born
• working at B&N Colma (one of the worst in my retail career)
• first year anniversary for Lee and Kristin
• saw "The Matchmaker" at ACT ~ no memory of that play
• lots of games at Candlestick and the Giants did not win often

Yes, I won't do anything rash and I agree that old letters
and emails need to be saved. It just seems more complicated
in the electronic age. Or maybe that's just me. Sign me,
Conflicted.

blog comments rule!

It's so funny, I was actually thinking of dumping all of this stuff
on the old msBook G4 into the OWC storage unit. I was going
to ask Andrew if I need to do anything special to do that. I
have transferred some things (I think), but how about just
doing a one-fell-swoop back-up?

Then I read Karen's comment about the hard drive being
just more stuff taking over my life and I agree. How often
do I look up my old writing? Old emails? I thought that when
Michael died I'd be re-reading his emails, but that happens
rarely. Photos, yes, I do check those out on occasion.

I've written a lot about the time we had the garage sale
and sold all of our "valuables" for cold, hard cash. What
a relief that was! Since then we give frequently to Goodwill
and the Salvation Army and shred papers ferociously.
Living in the moment, a nice goal.

Hmmmmmm, much to ponder today while I practice
my customer service skills at the Legion of Honor.
Thanks, Karen and isn't it time for a SF visit?

other world computing

At the risk of turning this into a tech blog, here is the
back-up storage unit that I referred to yesterday. It's
so easy because I am reminded online somehow that
it's been 10 or 20 days since I last backed up. But
I don't think I'll need to use it because Andrew at the
Total Mac on Geary thinks msBook has a battery problem.
Still, nice to know I have everything in this small box,
just in case.

computers and facebook

This is a belated review of The Social Network which we
watched several weeks ago. I was somewhat disappointed,
but Jesse Eisenberg was terrific as Mark Zuckerberg. I read
a great article about this genius in the New Yorker and
admire him greatly. Who wouldn't? (Except those good
looking twins, of course.) Oh, I enjoyed seeing Harvard too.
I guess I wanted more character study in the movie. For
instance Mark walks in Golden Gate Park often and I've
probably seen him. Who knew?

Back to me. My laptop msMac is dead and I have to take
her in this afternoon. I'm using the s-l-o-w and reliable
msBook G4 and am happy to have her here. Lots of
memories on this old puter. And I want to pat myself on
the back as I have updated on the OWC Mercury Elite-
AL Pro every 20 days without fail. Atta girl!

the grieving process

Last night we went to the SF Playhouse to see Reborning, a
play about a young woman who creates baby dolls, specifically
to help those who have lost children. I know it sounds ghoulish,
but it really wasn't. She herself was abandoned at birth and
all of these threads are woven together skillfully in a fabulous
75 minute play with 3 exceedingly talented actors. The
playwright is Zayd Dohrn and this is the world premiere.
Oh, yes, I recommend it!

back to the jcm

The Jewish Contemporary Museum ~ Mission St. side

Yesterday Ginger and I "did" the JCM between lattes and lunch.
First to see Charlotte Salomon again and then upstairs for the
fabulous Gertrude (and Alice!) Stein exhibit. Lots of photos and
notes and artwork. I felt like I knew these women in a new and
more intimate way than I ever had before. Highly recommended!

speaking of street art

Of all places, we found this large mural in North Beach yesterday
while we were walking around and enjoying this colorful slice
of San Francisco. Because of the film the night before, we
appreciated the artwork more than we normally would have.

It was an almost-rainy day, then bright sunshine, so it made
for some fine walking. Our lunch at Capp's Corner wasn't
memorable, except to say "it's still here!" and to sort through
the many times in the past that we had eaten there.

We avoided most Bay to Breakers which was why I had
asked for this day off in the first place. And yes, we found
a pretty good parking spot. Amazing.

street art and artists

Of course in my nabe we call it graffiti. This is a fine film about
the strange underworld, mostly nighttime, lives of street artists.
Mr. Brainwash draws 4,000 to his opening in L.A. while
Bansky the stencil artist creates masterpieces in London.
We sell this DVD at our own museum stores and I use this
line when customers try to enter the exhibit the wrong way.
"No, you EXIT through the gift shop." I do recommend
this film and Hbo liked it a lot too.

old and rare treasures

The Magna Carta ~ 1215

Roman Mosaic tile floor - 300 AD

Don't miss these wonders out at the Legion of Honor. I spent
my lunch hour yesterday playing visitor and I especially want
to encourage you to see the floor that is large and almost perfect.
It was excavated in Lod, Israel in 1996. Delightful animals,
fish and Roman merchant ships ~ enchanting, truly.

just a quick post

What's fair? Not much in life, as we can see from this photo.

I'll be brief tonight because Jon Stewart is on now (well, the rerun),
but I do want to let you know that we had a great time at the
baseball game yesterday and it was a WIN. Beautiful sunshine,
great and cheap seats, Chicago hot dogs and garlic fries.

no flapping angel wings

I was not much interested in watching Hereafter because I
can't say that I believe in Heaven and I usually avoid movies
that promote the concept. But this film is better than OK,
it's actually quite good. Directed by Clint Eastwood, I
liked the pace of the movie and the visuals of SF, London
and Paris. Matt Damon and Cecile De France are excellent.
Half of one Kleenex®.

whimsical joy

I bought this amazing poster from my ultra talented friend,
Linda Davick. It's now hanging in my office and cheers me
immensely when I walk in. You can order one on her blog
to the right, under "for sale" and you won't be sorry. Here
are some details below:

Linda drew all of these on Facebook. I love the sick woman above.

A shoe, fish, birds and your typical 3-eyed fellow.
And, oh, the colors!

I need me some downtown time

First stop yesterday was the magnificent Charlotte Salomon
exhibit at the Jewish Contemporary Museum. Do not miss
this chronicle of the life of a very talented woman who died
at age 26 in Auschwitz. I'll be going back next week. Husbando
met me here and then I had to dash off to my eye doc (all
fine there) while Hbo studied all 300 paintings.
This is my first DECENT photo using my iPhone. I have about
5 of various sidewalks about town. You can see the round
SFMoma yonder ~ I'm sitting in front of the JCM at this
point. Note blue sky.

After the eye doc (who chatters on and on) I had a latte and
did a Macy's run-through. Then I went back to catch the
Muybridge exhibit at SFMoma. The huge panorama of SF
from California Street in 1878 makes the whole show
worthwhile. Lots of people like the moving horse movie
thing (an entire room!), but that's not my shtick. The
talented photographer was a whack job, it appears, changing
his name about 4 times in his life. Closes June 7th.

What a great day I had in Frisco, how I needed that!

finally ~ an easy week

I've been working too much and my knees are barking again.
So finally I luck out this week with two days off right now,
work Wed., Thursday off for baseball, work Friday and
Saturday and off on Sunday because it's the dreadful
Bay to Breakers and getting to/fro either museum from
Casa Verde is next to impossible. I request that day off
the moment I see the date of the drunken event.

After making some To Do lists this morning, I will head
for downtown to hit two museums (postwoman's holiday)
and see the eye doc for my yearly check-up. Of course
he'll say, "you'll be needing cataract surgery one of these
days," and I'll respond, "and so will you."

Then I'll stop for a latte some place and do some serious
people watching. My heart is still in bustling downtown,
but my life is so much easier in the quiet SF parks.

mother's day 2011

Flowers from my wonderful step daughter, Nancy. My best
wishes to all of you who celebrate today and even though
I never wanted children, I have benefited from the four
steps. I have also learned along the way that the hardest
job in the entire world is, hands down, raising kids.
Congrats to all of you1

what's it all mean?

We're going to our first 2011 baseball game next week and I
am so looking forward to the hot dog, fries, coke® and the
game itself. I'll wear my little radio and I will completely
lose myself in baseball. I thought that after we won the
World Series, I'd be satisfied and complete. But no. No.
Each game is still a life/death situation. Last night, for
instance, we won in the 10th inning and my adrenalin was
pumping and I was hooting and hollering, just like in the
days of yore. I'll never understand why this game means
so much, why I hang on every pitch, catch, hit and those
dastardly double plays (unless they are the other team's).

something borrowed

The prompt...

my partner's daily Round Robin write from yesterday:

HAIL, BRITANNIA!

The Queen smiles for the camera

on her wedding day.

If you look closely at the tiara,

you see the blood of miners.

And the double strand of pearls

the size of plump chickpeas:

the myriad fingers of the young divers

who pried them from the ocean floor.

And the women who tatted the lace:

a mob really, yet so silent, not to mention

the single Swiss artist, Josephine,

who canceled her trek through the Alps

to sew the trousseau and never

recovered full sight.

But the Queen smiles broadly,

and we feel the warmth, and none of us

thinks too hard about Imperialism as a policy

or wealth or the power behind the throne,

the legions in uniform, the generations

of strategy and intimidation and excessive profit.

They’re not her fault, and we are all

imperialists really, large or small,

running our scams of wealth and power

with less success but equal ambition.

And it’s wrong, probably, to spoil

the wedding day by thinking about it

or slowing down our intake of champagne,

or wandering for a moment through the door

marked Tomorrow, or touring the castle

after the gifts have been unwrapped

and dinner is growing cold and the royal couple

sits alone, taking shallow breaths

and blowing on their soup,

just like the rest of us.

Will Walker

on the way!

I ordered this from the ex-enemy Amazon yesterday. There
is an online manual, but I don't care to use $467 dollars
worth of ink and my printer groans and stalls when it
prints a simple daily write. For this kind of thing I like a
book that I can highlight, mark up and attach a bunch of
post-its. It should arrive in a day or two...

and the plot is...

See this Lily Flower wants to become a man so he can marry a
bride, or two brides, and the wind blows him to Ecuador so he
can fight corporate greed. What an event ~ more than theater,
that's for sure. It's five hours of singing, dancing, $12 box lunch
outside at picnic tables, lights, music, sparkles galore in costumes
too outrageous even to try to describe. And non-costumes too.
For a "real" review see the SF Theaterblog over there on your
right. We didn't get home until midnight and of course I have
the earliest shift today, so I have to fly away like one of those
flowers. The Magic outdid itself with 6 directors (all women)
and 50 actors. Three intermissions when the actors kept us
all entertained. It's almost too much and the play is sold out,
but are we glad we went? Oh yes, definitely yes!

iPhone update

Here is what I have accomplished, with a little help from
my friends:

1) Chris put the little plastic shield on the glass.
2) I tried and tried to text - to no avail. Grrrrrrrrrrr.
3) Walked to Verizon® store yesterday and they
confirmed that "someone" forgot to unblock the
texting feature. Unclick. Unblock.
4) Actually answered and spoke on the phone.
Thank you, Linda. For two "I hate phone"
people we were amazing.
5) Rushed to coffee after the unblocking moment
and texted Linda and the Blogmaid. They both
texted back with sentences. I'm not there yet.
6) Heard the ping of a text during dinner and
managed to stay seated and not rush to see
what that sound was.
7) Linda said to plug the iPhone into the MsBook
which I did. I follow some instructions.

Of course I'm still in Stage One of learning, but
I am in love. iLove, as Linda said. Thanks for all
the help, dear (ahem) friends!

from Andy Borowitz

2012 Election Cancelled

Obama Buoyed by 100 Percent Approval Rating

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – In what historians are calling an unprecedented development in American politics, both major parties decided today to cancel the 2012 election.

The decision to scrap the 2012 contest came on the heels of a new poll showing President Barack Obama with an approval rating of one hundred percent, believed to be a record high for an American president.

Mr. Obama even polled well among Republicans, with a majority of GOP voters agreeing with the statement, “I no longer care that he wasn’t born here.”

The new bipartisan spirit sweeping the nation was captured well by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who tearfully told reporters, “This is a great day for America… oh, leave me alone, goddamn it.”

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump made no official announcement, but sources said he was considering running for Prime Minister of Canada.

The cancellation of the election comes in the aftermath of the death of Osama bin Laden, whose last words reportedly were, “I knew I shouldn’t have signed up for Foursquare.”

Of all the major news networks, Fox News did not report news of bin Laden’s death, saying that it would air cartoons “until further notice.”

In Libya, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi issued the following official statement: “Uh-oh.”

In North Korea, President Kim Jong-Il said this: “I have lost my last friend on Facebook.”

And in Wasilla, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said this: “We must find and kill Osama bin Laden.”

the minority opinion

Hurry up and have that breakdown, already, Natalie. I
watched about 30 minutes of Black Swan the other night
and Husbando made it for about an hour. Dreary and way
overdone and unrealistic and icky. Maybe if I really loved
dance it would be different and I know how much work
Ms. Portman had to do for this movie. I'm just glad we
didn't spend real money to see it in the theater. Rant over.