Hard Truths

I love this series of “hard truths” of gardening via Sunset Magazine.
“Buying a plant for its flowers is like choosing a wife for her bonnet.”
Untitled photograph by Dorothea Lange
“Hard Truths” Part 1, Part 2

On My Calendar

Exciting things coming up in August both in and around Rockridge and further afield:

Subculture the East Bay Express’s Best of the East Bay Party:  With something for everyone (and I mean everyone), the East Bay Express will be celebrating everything wonderful about the East Bay at the Oakland Museum this Friday, August 7 from 5pm [...]

Nils-Udo

I discovered Nils-Udo through the July issue of the Air France Magazine (leave it to the French to have a great airline magazine).  Nils-Udo is a Bavarian artist who left painting to work directly in and with nature in the early 1970’s and has continued to do so ever since.  Photographs of his site-specific work [...]

My New Pop-Up Book

I got this beautiful woodcut pop-up book made by Alison Yates at Pretty Penny’s craft exposition this weekend.  This combined with a recent trip to Addison Endpapers is really tempting me to start making books.

Bonnieux: 12th Century Church

The old, old church is a hearty eighty-six steps up a steep hill from the village.  Even with our daily five miles, I started to feel winded.  This is no gentle slope.  Did there used to be more dwellings that high up in Bonnieux or was that all part of it?  In the 12th century [...]

We Made It To Spain

Of course between Paris, Marseille, Lourmarin, Guéthary, and Hondarribia (Hondarribia is the Basque, but the town is also known as Fuenterrabía in Spanish and Fontarabie in French), much is missing from my typically daily entries here.  That noted, we are very happy to be in Spain.  This part of Europe is especially striking due to [...]

Fanzine Publishes Parks on Strawberry

In the late summer of 2005 I met Casey McKinney, a quietly bruised character at Maxfield’s coffee house on Dolores in San Francisco.  We drove up to Muir Woods in a 1990 325i and stood in the fog and talked about my moving to the Bay Area and his potential escape to Europe and possibly [...]

Begonia’s Lomography; Dreaming New York, Dreaming Morocco

All of these photographs were taken by Begonia Colomar.  The preceding were taken in New York with a Lomo LC-A+.

The preceding three were taken in Morocco with a Lomo LC-A.
Begonia is at http://begoniacolomar.com/

ARL <3 ARS

Au Revoir Simone at Bimbo’s, San Francisco

(from left) Under the red curtain the tiny head of Erika Forster behind the grand piano, Heather D’Angelo center stage, and Annie Hart waving her wild arm! (I may have mixed up Erika and Annie–in that case it would be Annie at the piano and Erika waving the arm–not [...]

A Moment For Merce

Merce Cunningham and his work has made an indelible mark on my consciouness.  It is with mixed emotions that I received this article in the New York Times on Cunningham’s plans for ensuring preservation of his lifelong career as a dancer and choreographer.  Cunningham turned ninety on April 16 this year.
I discovered Merce Cunningham in [...]