Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Museum and Goldfish
This week got off to a theatrical start with Adrienne's opening night performance in Museum, staged in the Chamber of Horrors at the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, and Goldfish, a Bay Area premiere at the Magic Theatre. Adrienne and Sondra were great playing society matrons attending the final day of an art exhibition and the Boxcar Theatre creative directors (Nick and Peter) were characteristically inventive, arranging to stage the show in actual museums and galleries around the Bay Area. Goldfish was a wonderful introduction to playwright John Kolvenbach. Before the show, Adrienne was commenting on the age (50 and up) of the Magic audience and I was speculating that the whole nature of theatre might not be appealing to generations used to interactive entertainment. This show was wonderful in every way and I hope it proves me wrong. I don't know anything about John Kolvenbach, but maybe he is from the texting generation and knows how to bridge the gap. The scenes were short -- practically "tweets," but each line packed a punch and often a punchline.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Moving Day
Ty moved into Chloe’s old room over the weekend, and it was interesting to see which of his furnishings and decorations made the move with him.
His old room was decorated with maps and artifacts from his interest in family history and Eastern Europe. The new room is strictly soccer – Juventus, Barcelona, and Chelsea posters and Pele paraphernalia. His bed is resting on slats on the floor, because we didn’t have the tools or know-how to disassemble his old bed frame, but he says he loves it that way. The only other furniture is a giant soccer ball beanbag chair and a TV/wii for playing FIFA Soccer. I’m not sure what he’s planning to do about underwear and socks, but he didn’t want to clutter up the room with a dresser, bookcase, or desk.
Although he shed most of his childhood accessories, Tigger, Panda, and all the other stuffed animals made the move from the old closet to new and he is careful to leave the closet door open so they don’t get claustrophobic.
His old room was decorated with maps and artifacts from his interest in family history and Eastern Europe. The new room is strictly soccer – Juventus, Barcelona, and Chelsea posters and Pele paraphernalia. His bed is resting on slats on the floor, because we didn’t have the tools or know-how to disassemble his old bed frame, but he says he loves it that way. The only other furniture is a giant soccer ball beanbag chair and a TV/wii for playing FIFA Soccer. I’m not sure what he’s planning to do about underwear and socks, but he didn’t want to clutter up the room with a dresser, bookcase, or desk.
Although he shed most of his childhood accessories, Tigger, Panda, and all the other stuffed animals made the move from the old closet to new and he is careful to leave the closet door open so they don’t get claustrophobic.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Fog City
It was supposed to be a beautiful day on Saturday, and I knew it would be, if only I could make it through the fog and up to Skyline where I was meeting Alix to see her "new" 2005 Ninja 250, which had been lovingly souped-up for racing by its previous owner.
The fog was so thick in San Francisco that pedestrians I passed on Sunset Blvd. were huddled under umbrellas as they waited for the bus. Water was dripping off my helmet, which I wore visor up so I could see out. I did not feel safe at freeway speeds on the slick roads and without a visor, so I slowly made my way down Mission Street through Daly City, which becomes El Camino. Eventually (in Millbrae) the sun burned through the fog and started to dry out my leather jacket. The ride through the Redwoods was great once I turned off 35, which was already backing up with traffic heading for the pumpkin patches in Halfmoon Bay
Visiting Alice's Restaurant, the biker hangout on Skyline Boulevard, was quite an experience with Alix because she likes to stir things up. Never mind that the regulars who frequent the parking lot across from Alice's were decked out in full leather regalia and had elaborately decorated Harleys with 5X the horsepower. She would say, "How do you like my bike?" and you could see them momentarily at a loss for words before quickly warming to her obvious enthusiasm for her new sport.
The fog was so thick in San Francisco that pedestrians I passed on Sunset Blvd. were huddled under umbrellas as they waited for the bus. Water was dripping off my helmet, which I wore visor up so I could see out. I did not feel safe at freeway speeds on the slick roads and without a visor, so I slowly made my way down Mission Street through Daly City, which becomes El Camino. Eventually (in Millbrae) the sun burned through the fog and started to dry out my leather jacket. The ride through the Redwoods was great once I turned off 35, which was already backing up with traffic heading for the pumpkin patches in Halfmoon Bay
Visiting Alice's Restaurant, the biker hangout on Skyline Boulevard, was quite an experience with Alix because she likes to stir things up. Never mind that the regulars who frequent the parking lot across from Alice's were decked out in full leather regalia and had elaborately decorated Harleys with 5X the horsepower. She would say, "How do you like my bike?" and you could see them momentarily at a loss for words before quickly warming to her obvious enthusiasm for her new sport.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Both Ways
I don't usually like short story collections, because of the effort involved in getting invested in each new story, but between Olive Kitteridge and this month's book club pick, Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy, I'm becoming a convert.
The author has an interesting way of "teetering near catastrophe," as the Slade reviewer put it, without going there.
The author has an interesting way of "teetering near catastrophe," as the Slade reviewer put it, without going there.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Goodbye Dali
It was time for my 4,000 mile motorcycle service, so I used the occasion to have my brake lever replaced. After gently dropping the bike twice (during what has literally been the bike's break-in period), the lever had become so curved it was difficult to reach. Don, a glass-half-full kind of guy, described it as something out of Dali. My new brake lever is less artistic, but more functional, and I took two city rides yesterday to celebrate the easy riding -- one of the rides was around Lake Merced where Ty will be competing today in his third cross-country meet.
Noticing all the barriers blocking streets in our neighborhood, I realized that the Nike Women's Marathon/Half Marathon would be passing nearby so I walked out early on Sunday morning hoping to see Amber in her first race since Cole and Wilson were born in mid July(?!?). There she was among the elite runners (about 8 miles into the race at 8 AM), looking fit and joyful as she chugged up the hill through Seacliff on her way to Ocean Beach.
Noticing all the barriers blocking streets in our neighborhood, I realized that the Nike Women's Marathon/Half Marathon would be passing nearby so I walked out early on Sunday morning hoping to see Amber in her first race since Cole and Wilson were born in mid July(?!?). There she was among the elite runners (about 8 miles into the race at 8 AM), looking fit and joyful as she chugged up the hill through Seacliff on her way to Ocean Beach.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Exploring Glen Park
Ty has soccer practice in Glen Park, a half hour drive from home, so Adrienne and I share the driving. She drops him off and I pick him up on my way home from work. This gives me an hour to kill in the Glen Park neighborhood and I quickly rediscovered Chenery Park, a restaurant that welcomes families -- including 12 year olds in muddy soccer clothes -- but has a sophisticated menu (see below), artful decor, and plenty of space between tables. We decided to stick around for dinner there last night after practice.
Ty ordered the Lightly Smoked Carpaccio with Crispy Leeks and Pomegranate Molasses (hold the pomegranate molasses). I had turkey medallions prepared like veal scaloppini, which must have been a special because I don't see it on their website and can't give the official, more enticing name. Adrienne had a cheeseburger. All great.
Another find in Glen Park is Bird & Beckett Books. It's a funky little space that is evidently used for music in the evenings. I was hoping to find a succinct description of the place on their website, but it's an atmosphere not easily abstracted, I guess. They did provide a nice quote: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx
Ty ordered the Lightly Smoked Carpaccio with Crispy Leeks and Pomegranate Molasses (hold the pomegranate molasses). I had turkey medallions prepared like veal scaloppini, which must have been a special because I don't see it on their website and can't give the official, more enticing name. Adrienne had a cheeseburger. All great.
Another find in Glen Park is Bird & Beckett Books. It's a funky little space that is evidently used for music in the evenings. I was hoping to find a succinct description of the place on their website, but it's an atmosphere not easily abstracted, I guess. They did provide a nice quote: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx
Monday, October 12, 2009
Camping with Book Club
Our book club has been meeting every 4-6 weeks for the past 16 or 17 years, but only recently have we started camping together.
Our second annual book club camping trip took place at Memorial Park near Pescadero on Saturday, October 10th. As the city of SF was hosting the Blue Angels in the sky and the President's Cup golf tournament on the ground, we headed out of town just two days ahead of a storm that will be drenching the Bay Area this week.
In contrast to Shooting the Boh, the book we just read for book club, where the author is distressed that her companions won't share their air mattresses or ointments during an arduous journey down an uncharted river in Borneo, everyone cheerfully shared their food and gear and it was as comfortable as roughing it can be. The most challenging part of the trip was pouring the hot bacon grease off the skillet without burning myself or splattering other campers sitting around the fire.
Our second annual book club camping trip took place at Memorial Park near Pescadero on Saturday, October 10th. As the city of SF was hosting the Blue Angels in the sky and the President's Cup golf tournament on the ground, we headed out of town just two days ahead of a storm that will be drenching the Bay Area this week.
In contrast to Shooting the Boh, the book we just read for book club, where the author is distressed that her companions won't share their air mattresses or ointments during an arduous journey down an uncharted river in Borneo, everyone cheerfully shared their food and gear and it was as comfortable as roughing it can be. The most challenging part of the trip was pouring the hot bacon grease off the skillet without burning myself or splattering other campers sitting around the fire.
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