Sweded

I finally watched Gondry's latest beauty 'Be Kind Rewind' I had already heard this Studio 360 on it and the accompanying gallery reenactment at jumpin'Deitch. Yet I wasn't prepared for how ridiculously stupid-silly-awesome this movie would be. Flashbacks to forgotten memories of an entire 8th grade summer in Davey's backyard shooting our own film -- and a good reminder that 80s VHS movies are still so good.


Another don't miss is Congorama. A film from Quebec that brings together the World's Fair in Montreal, Congo, clean car technology, birthmarks, and lost fathers.

A weekend spent chasing the sun...

I can't get enough of taking these skyscape photos...

A warm SF weekend!
Celebrated the first weekend home in a while with sleeping-in (tragically, I can't seem to sleep in later than 10am...or maybe it's a good thing. It's enough to sleep later than 7am, just a couple of days a week). A run through GGPark--I'm still sore 24hours+ later. It's part of my new theme: it's all about health. A solo trip to the beach where I totally roasted. Beach adventures are only complete with a stop at the local cheese shop for beach provisions and the one-and-only Other Avenues for dinner fixins.

Celebrated the Solstice with an awesome Garden party where they fired up the cob oven, or should I just say the pizza oven. Yes, freshly baked pizza. Damn.

Finished the weekend with a Sunday trek to catch some sun in North Beach--great music at the Mission Cultural Center art fair in Jack Kerouac Alley and that echoed in the bookshelves at City Lights Bookstore. Followed by more pizza eating, beer drinking and people watching. I always forget that City Lights is one of the best bookstores in the city--with it's basement collection of People's History and it's world literature section, you find stuff you couldn't find anywhere else...


A new find from Green Apple...

Each piece featured in the magazine is amazing and brilliant. This one, Reminders, catalogs a father's daily notes to his children -- notes of hope, and joy, and full of so much love, and illustrations, that he slipped in their lunch boxes each and everyday. Everyday! I wonder how my outlook on life would be different if my every day included a lovingly crafted love letter. Does it get old?

Finally - Virginia to NYC (Part II)

NYC was all about hanging out with old friends.

A patio brunch followed by a stop at one of my favorite coffee spots in the City, the Mudtruck, with two of my favorite people on the planet. On a hot summer day it's so good to see that bright orange truck and order a sweet iced latte. Damn.


then we cruised the Chelsea galleries taking shelter in the underground just minutes before a torrential downpour...

Highlights: Zhang Huan who uses ash as his medium. Check out photos of his piece on display in the Canal Building here. From the ground, it looks like an ominous concrete blog, to view the piece you have to look at it from above where a huge, amazing mural inscribed in incense is revealed. Then Laurie Simmon's eerie glimpses of a home maker.

A trip to the epic Brownstoner Brooklyn Flea made me want to move to Brooklyn, or at the least, completely redo my apartment. I've recently realized that I still live as if my apt. was 400 square feet and totally don't take advantage of the beautiful space I have...

Remember that game Memory? This is a hand crafted version with an underwater theme: Sea & Match. So radical.

A long awaited college reunion at The Habana Outpost. The Habana Outpost is a new favorite--Six Point on draft for $2.50, patio dining on delicious veggie cuban food, bike powered smoothy machines, compost, & the most beautiful bathrooms, yes bathrooms, I've ever seen--water recyling+rain collection and tons of plants. You have to see it to believe it. It's worth the trip to Fort Greene

Transported to Cheney Third Floor '97. the love has only grown stronger 11yrs later. Has it really been that long...holy shit.
I finally made a trip to the NYC version of my yoga studio--felt like home away from home. Namaste.


Brooklyn food was good to me: brunch at the chestnut They serve free pastries to soothe your hungry belly before the real gems arrive...all local, seasonal goodness that includes lots of greens and wild mushrooms. Franny's captured my heart with it's list of it's local farms and producers on the back of the menu, the red rice salad with asparagus, peas, and provolone dolce, and the thin crust pizzas.

So much love to all my crew for taking me to see good music (well, the music was interesting, the show was some serious drama...), for a night of dancing, a trip back in time, feedin me good food and showing me around the town. I miss you already!

Virginia to NYC (Part I)

First stop on my trip back east: the back woods of Virginia. Site of my 3rd annual work retreat. All 375 of us gather to bridge the electronic divide and meet the people we only talk to over email. Too bad there's a lot of bad buffet food and free alcohol involved...

Best part: the trip to Polyface Farm, featured in Micheal Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma. A beautiful place on the planet that raises cows, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and precious pigs in a sustainable way, beyond organic. The animals eat what they were made to eat, for cows it's grass, for pigs it's acorns--the system is based on closing the loop, creating an ecosystem that can sustain itself without too many inputs like chemical medicines from god know's where or grain from the midwest. Best of all, the animals are happy!!!


Check out that lovely curly tail!! Can't find those in massive pig farms that provide most of the pork you're eating from the grocery store.

MMMOOOOO--this guy one wasn't happy about getting his picture taken.

Right now...

Listening to Viva La Evolucion: Cuba After Fidel

A history lesson both past and present. Check it.

From America Abroad Radio: After 49 years, the world's longest serving political leader has stepped down and handed the reigns to his brother Raul. On this edition of America Abroad, the program explores what this change in leadership will mean for the citizens of Cuba -- and for Cuba's relationship with the U.S. The program is anchored by Ray Suarez and Deborah Amos

Back on the west side

I heart Polyface Farm--here's a pig I fell in love with too....

More pictures with words to come--I'm just getting settled in here on the westside. I had so much fun on Polyface Farm & then kicking it with old friends in NYC. So good.
Only 218 emails in my work inbox yesterday. ouch.

NYC by way of...

...Virginia. Here I come. I'm leaving the laptop behind. But the camera is coming along. Till next week. 

The highlight to the work trip--a possible tour of Polyface Farms, featured in Omnivor's Dilemma, word on the street is that it's a life-changing experience...

Guerilla Gardening Goes Big Time

Featured in the NYT Magazine today...guerilla gardening is amazing. 

This past week...
The View: from Muni trains now plastered in Google ads

CSA share: strawberries, cherries, peaches, kale, turnips, braising greens, lettuce, Sweet Potatoes (!)

Reading: Three Cups of Tea (cheesy I know, but my sister left it at my house a year ago, and I'm trying to actually read all the books on my bookshelf before I buy more) and it's actually a good story. + notes from my compost class in preparation for teaching a class this weekend.

Promotion!!! & I negotiated my salary so I got what I wanted + a bonus! Finally. Is patience really a virtue?

Hand-wrist-arm-neck problems: turns out I have to go to physical therapy. Maybe I'll become one of those people that has to dictate emails...maybe that would get me my own office.

Now: going to VOTE one of my favorite things.