vegan heaven

 Green's has been around since 1979 (!) and is as good as ever, in my opinion. Susan was down from Davis yesterday and we had a lovely late brunch in the crowded restaurant. Then we walked and talked and visited Tunnel Tops and pre-planned her next visit. She has a grandson living in SF and it all works out nicely for both of us. 

it's all a game...

 ...and Tik Tok will win. Elon Musk will win. tRump will win. China will win. I don't use Tik Tok (nor most other social media platforms) but this will be interesting to watch and will most likely be considered a victory for the new old President. I will wear all black tomorrow. And no tv.

cabin 116

 There has been an inordinate amount of computer work and this is how I have spent the last two days, preparing for the Danube river cruise in April. I fly into Budapest and fly home from Prague. Meeting my friend Ginger from Santa Barbara and now looking forward to this adventure. I have never been to this part of the world and I am quite sure that it will be amazing and wonderful. Thanks, as always, to the Blogmaid for her help and encouragement during this process.  The name of the boat (ship?) is AmaBella, how perfect is that?

a working rehearsal

 Classical music with starts and stops and mostly in blue jeans. The SF Symphony working rehearsal is fun for me because it is warm and casual and still beautiful. Doors open at 9am and I met Amy there for about three hours of Carmina Burana with a soprano star plus the SF Girls Chorus and another piece by John Adams and one by Charles Ives. The audience was huge, with school kids and seniors and everyone respectful and appreciative. Oh, it was free, an added benefit for sure. As Amy pointed out, when people bitch about our city they neglect to mention all these glorious benefits for the plain old average citizen.

getting ready for Season Two

 I didn't really like Severance on Apple TV the first time I tried to watch it. But I am getting ready for Season Two which is supposed to be fabulous and I can see the appeal of this program. I do like the actors and the plot is making a lot more sense and so now both of my thumbs are UP.

a parrot line

 

Our official city bird ~ this photo is from the next neighborhood over, Potrero Hill. These wild parrots are all over SF now and of course this makes me VERY happy.

signs of the times

 Of course it would be way better if these signs were not needed, but since they are and will be, I was happy to see them in the retail businesses up on 24th Street. 

back to trash pick-ups

 Manny's was packed with enthusiastic people of all ages and colors yesterday morning as we all headed out to collect trash and make our city even prettier. This felt great. Manny is collecting specific things for the fire victims in SoCal and we will donate a lot next week and a caravan of caring people will deliver our donations over the weekend. Red Cross and World Central Kitchen received some money from me too. Humanity is basically good.

lost in Maine

 This author, Elizabeth Strout, just has an amazing gift for writing and story telling. The way she weaves her plots and somehow makes the most average person seem unusual and interesting is something to admire and applaud. Tell Me Everything is her latest book and I have been waiting for a quiet time when I needed to escape. This is that time. Thank you, Ms. Strout.

Rug Life and Friendship

 Yesterday I met Ken (the Person) over at the Museum of Craft and Design on 3rd Street. We have been friends for more than 30 years and he is also from SoCal so we had much to discuss. Delicious pasta at Piccino and then I wandered through the exhibit entitled Rug Life which features the work of 14 contemporary artists including Ai Weiwei and his tiger (top) and the tv screen is by Nicholas Galanin from Alaska. There were a few prayer rugs too and god knows we need them right about now...

with the help of YouTube

 I missed a couple of speeches yesterday at the funeral for President Carter, so just now I enjoyed watching Gerald Ford's son Steve and then I clicked on Carter's eulogy for President Ford. I am grateful that we can re-visit history this way. The funeral was remarkable and moving, those leaders gave me hope even though I so worry about the next four years under tRump.

chaos, disaster in SoCal

 The perfect storm of wind and drought. These wildfires are just too horrible. What we do NOT need is tRump making idiotic statements and blaming Newsom and the liberals. Childhood memories of Pasadena and Altadena return as we all try to process this disaster. 

our guest writer today

 My friend Doug is my writing partner this week (always a treat) and this was part of his piece from yesterday.

TUESDAY: BACKBONE

Remember when all those ships carrying new cars and refrigerators and tvs and computers and fan belts and batteries and pants and jackets and sledgehammers and drill bits and plywood and 2 X 4s were lined up out to sea, waiting to get into a port? There were not enough dock workers to unload the ships and not enough truck drivers to transport the goods and not enough store employees to carry everything into the stores and not enough part timers to stack the plastic cups and bags of rice and wallpaper paste onto the shelves. We stayed close to home except to shop, and when we did try to buy things, shelves were often empty.

But we didn’t go hungry, because all those Latino farm workers we now want to throw out of the country kept working, despite getting sick themselves, and all those slaughterhouse workers we claim are lazy rapists stayed at their jobs so we could eat our chicken nuggets and supersize our colas, and all those auto repairmen from Tamaulipas and house painters from Shanghai and short order cooks from Guatemala City and elder care ladies from Lagos who we accuse of taking jobs away from American workers kept right on caring and painting and fixing and frying while the government paid U.S. citizens to stay home. 

How soon we forget.

almost an opera

 I couldn't wait for the sun to go down at 5:03 pm or so last night so I could watch Emilia Perez, the fascinating film that I had never heard about until the Golden Globes. It's all in Spanish (pretty much) but good large subtitles and a glorious cast including Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and the wonderful Karla Sofia Gascon (wearing orange, above). One critic said that Selena had unlocked her jaw for this movie. Not nice, but funny. I just loved this glorious Netflix film. Thumbs up.

well, that was fun

 Nicole came down for pizza and two salads (and cookies and tea) to watch the Globes which we both thought was VERY well done. I have a long list now of "what to watch next" and will begin first shot with Emilia Perez. The host, Nikki Glaser, was terrific and I am now a new fan.

The Golden Globes tonight

 

Best Motion Picture – Drama

• The Brutalist

• A Complete Unknown

• Conclave

• Dune: Part Two

• Nickel Boys

• September 5

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

• Anora

• Challengers

• Emilia Pérez

• A Real Pain

• The Substance

• Wicked

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

• Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl

• Angelina Jolie, Maria

• Nicole Kidman, Babygirl

• Tilda Swinton, The Room Next Door

• Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

• Kate Winslet, Lee

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

• Adrien Brody, The Brutalist

• Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown

• Daniel Craig, Queer

• Colman Domingo, Sing Sing

• Ralph Fiennes, Conclave

• Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

• Amy Adams, Nightbitch

• Cynthia Erivo, Wicked

• Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez

• Mikey Madison, Anora

• Demi Moore, The Substance

• Zendaya, Challengers

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

• Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain

• Hugh Grant, Heretic

• Gabriel Labelle, Saturday Night

• Jesse Plemons, Kinds of Kindness

• Glen Powell, Hit Man

• Sebastian Stan, A Different Man

Best Motion Picture – Animated

• Flow

• Inside Out 2

• Memoir of a Snail

• Moana 2

• Wallace & Gromit: The Vengeance Most Fowl

• The Wild Robot

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language

• All We Imagine As Light

• Emilia Pérez

• The Girl With the Needle

• I’m Still Here

• The Seed of the Sacred Fig

• Vermiglio

The Golden Globe Awards will be hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser and will air live on CBS on Sunday, January 5, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) and will be streamed on Paramount+

the problem with new art

 The three pieces on the left were gifted to me for Emma's Room downstairs. Bare walls there in much need of art. Alas, I want to enjoy these now, everyday. The far left is from my neighbor Rob (who did the big pink) and the two Joan Brown's from the Blogmaid. I love them all even though they need to move down to the "garden suite" ~ but not quite yet.

Missing You on the Flix®

 You remember Rosalind Eleazar (on the right) from Slow Horses ~ she is in Missing You and she is a favorite of mine. One review called this thriller "overstuffed" and I tend to agree because there are a lot of plot lines, but still fun simply because it is British and well, you know...

the birthday of the Blogmaid

What a nice day we had! More Mary Cassatt at the Legion of Honor and then an Asian lunch on Balboa Street. As someone pointed out, the Blogmaid seems to be aging backwards, I'm sure you agree. I celebrate this very special friend everyday, along with her husband, Bill, of course.
 

Tamara de Lempicka

 Chef Sarah had the audacity to call this the Limp Dick exhibit and on that note we had a lovely time yesterday at the deYoung. This artist was born in 1900 and this is her first FULL exhibit as she was "out of favor" at the time of her death. The delightful Sam accompanied us and that was special. They picked me up and then I took Waymo home from the museum ~ solo ~ and that was just fine and I didn't worry for a moment in my driverless car.  Happy New Year!