In my last post I forgot to mention Truly Mediterranean. It’s a small place, not much more than a counter, but this restaurant makes a mean shawerma. At $8, it’s a little pricier than I’m used to, but the thing is enormous and is totally a meal all on its own. They certainly don’t skimp on the meat.
I’ve also tried their falafel, and it’s pretty good. You can find Truly Mediterranean on 16th St. in the Mission, just off of Valencia.
Saturday, May 26th was the first ever Cafe Day. Here’s how it happened:
Frank and Elysia are new friends that I met through Natasha and Shane. Elysia is a graphic designer, and Frank is a writer. And they both love food, which means we hit it off smashingly.
One night, Elysia mentioned that she doesn’t illustrate or paint for herself anymore. Whenever she creates, it’s always for work and/or family. This is something I’ve heard many times - how a person gives up their art, whether it be painting, music, photography, writing, or whatever because it gets squeezed out of their lives. It saddens me immensely. I want people to reclaim that part of themselves!
The three of us got to talking - looking for ways to re-start Elysia’s personal work. It turns out that she needs people around her, and that’s how Cafe Day got started. We picked out a day when the three of us were free, and planned to bring our sketchbooks/notebooks to a cafe.
And it turned out really well! The weather was gorgeous - it felt like summer, and the company was very nice as expected. We sat outside, nibbled on sweets, and sketched/wrote to our heart’s content.
Elysia didn’t feel like she was productive enough, but she wants to repeat Cafe Day next month which is a great sign. As for Frank and I, we worked out the guidelines for a writer’s circle we are founding. (Which we are calling Work in Progress.) Once we had the groundwork settled, he sketched some figures for a book of short stories that will be coming out soon, and I polished some of poetry. After the fuss with Artemis, I decided to go after some low-hanging fruit, i.e. pieces that were conversational in tone and therefore didn’t require the same kind of strenuous effort.
As of the weekend, I now have seven poems completed, so it was a productive time. I also identified another four poems to include, but those will require a greater investment, including one, Third Chance at Resurrection, which is a personal favorite and needs Artemis levels of polish. I’m looking forward to it! (Isn’t that perverse?!)
All in all, it was a great day, which I’m hoping will become a regular event. As for Work in Progress, the next step is to recruit a few more writers. (We’re looking for another three.)
With that in mind, I went to Borderlands on Sunday. Borderlands is a wonderful bookstore in the Mission District that specializes in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. It’s got a terrific selection, and there are events aplenty as well. In fact, one of my favorite authors, Lois McMaster Bujold, read from her new book on Saturday. I would’ve attended, except that I felt that Cafe Day was more important. I did pick up a couple of books though, and the folks at Borderlands were amenable to us leaving a flyer. (Once it’s produced…)
And of course a visit to the Mission means a stop at Tartine - the best bakery/pastry shop I’ve found. Ever. The first time I had one of their eclairs, it was nearly a sexual experience. People on the street stopped to watch. Or maybe it was more like gay porn given the cream leaking out everywhere. In any case, it was amazingly yummy. Usually eclairs are a disappointment but not this one. The pastry was perfectly textured, the chocolate was Scharffen Berger, and you could see the specks from the vanilla beans in the cream.
The first time I ever saw a bowl of Tartine’s bread pudding, I wanted to put my face into it. It’s made with brioche, and yes, it’s that good. They also have a fantastic country loaf that is crusty on the outside and wonderfully spongy inside with a slight sourdough tartness. Happiness indeed. *sigh*
So, if you’re in the Mission, stop by Borderlands, pick up something interesting to read, then head over to Tartine. There’ll be a line, but be patient - it moves fairly quickly. If there are no tables, then just head up 18th Street to the park and have a picnic.
Take it from me, it’ll be a day well spent.
There’s something inherently remarkable and beautiful about watching the earth rise and set from space. I just stumbled across footage from JAXA’s Kaguya spacecraft. Kaguya was sent to study the moon, and a few days ago the craft captured a full earth rise. So cool…
I am delighted. Last night, I finished working on a poem - one that’s kept me occupied and pre-occupied for 7-8 sittings.
It’s entitled Artemis, and finishing it was part of a longer process of cleaning up and applying polish to poetry I had previously written. In the past, I never expected anyone to read my poetry except for myself and close friends. Now though, I’m interested in seeing it published, and as a result, the work needs to be of a certain standard. Partly to be publishable, but it’s more out of a desire to see the poems reach their potential.
So I’ve been studying up, and working to implement what I’m learning. It’s been a helluva process. Poetry is hard. Sure it’s easy enough to string some pretty or interesting words together, but to do it right means taking images, ideas, emotions and distilling, refining, and crystallizing them.
I’ve always said that I didn’t want the life of a poet. Living in that crucible is a bit too hard, I think. But there are certainly lessons to be learned from poetry. At the line level, there is meter, word choice, clarity, breath control. But there’s also something to be explored in the mystery of writing poetry - of perseverance, observation, and the sources of inspiration/creativity.
This particular poem is one I wrote years ago when I was still living in Oregon. It was one of those gifts that (I thought) springs wholly formed into the mind. Little did I know that what I had was only the start. A good start, but no more than that.
Months ago (while in Japan) I began revising it, but the work was put on hold when I came back to the United States. Now after 2-3 weeks of work, I think it’s finished.
I’ve tried to be a good student and pay attention to the process. To be mindful of the things I’m learning about writing and including them in the poem. Maybe it’s just the relief of being finished, but the poem seems to have turned out well.
And now I’m faced with a dilemma - I would like to share the poem with you here at the Journal, but if I want to see it published, then I probably shouldn’t post it. So if you’d like to see it, send me a message or leave a comment, and I’ll email you copy.
You can let me know what you think - about whether it works or not. Just because I like it doesn’t mean anyone else will. *grin*
I brought my camera to the demonstration/torch route, and I thought I’d share a few of the images.
I spent most of my afternoon waiting for an Olympic torch that would never show up. As you might guess, I was down at the river front along with a contingent of folks from AI and Care2 to protest the Chinese government’s human rights record in Tibet. It was a hodge-podge of groups and individuals, including a fairly sizable gathering of pro-Chinese government supporters. It was interesting was to watch the flag waving (on both sides).
From friends, I heard that the situation did get tense on a couple of occasions, but fortunately, no one did anything stupid. I was at some distance from any potential disturbance however, as I’d managed to get separated from my group and ended up chatting with a bunch of out-of-town visitors. A good part of my time was also spent tracking down information on the torch’s whereabouts. Given what happened, i.e. the torch getting walked down empty streets, why even bother? Why not just send it to Buenos Aires in the first place?
Personally, I was happy to be there. I didn’t particularly mind the waiting around. It was a good opportunity to highlight to the Chinese government the cost of its realpolitik games. If it wants to stand on the stage as a world power, then it ought to know that there’s heat in that kitchen. Obligations, responsibilities, and a moral reckoning for decades of abuses.
Of course, Chinese officials don’t see themselves as villains. I’m sure they justify their actions as necessary for the development of Chinese prosperity. (Sudanese oil anyone?) But this “progress” at any cost… well, it has a cost. And as I mentioned, consequences.
Karma - works for people, works for governments.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MieDFkhlByo&hl=en]
Since I’m using HTML everyday for work, work decided to spring for a HTML Fundamentals class, so that I could stop pestering my colleagues with questions. It was only a two day class, but I very much enjoyed it. It was the kind of thing that engages my puzzle brain. It’s the same reason I enjoyed geometry back in high school. Proving the theorems was fun.
You won’t see me creating the next Facebook, but I have a much better grasp of how thing work now. And it’s got me thinking about this site and what kind of a future it might have. At some point in the near future, you might see it migrate to an ISP. I’ll still use the Wordpress software - that bit’s very handy, but I want a little more flexiblity with the site just in case I decide to expand it somehow.
Maybe I should create a small website as a personal project? That way I can practice what I learned and also give back to the Internet, which has given me so much over the years. Any suggestions?
This is just a quick note to say that I’ve updated the reading list. Here’s what I’ve been reading:
Pretender and Deliverer by C.J. Cherryh
If you’ve read the seven (!) previous books in this series, then you know what to expect. Pretender in particular spends a lot of time in the main protagonist’s head, but this is something Cherryh excels at. Deliverer picks up the pace nicely though.
Territory by Emma Bull
This is such a fun book! I highly recommend it! Wyatt Earp is a sorcerer and the events leading up to the gun battle at the OK Corral are not as history purports them to be. I first read Emma Bull years and years ago when War of the Oaks came out, and I like her a lot. (You also see her writing at Shadow Unit.) She’s clearly enjoying herself with Territory, including messing with some of the iconography of the old American West.
The King’s Own by Lorna Freeman
Another fun book - I really like the main character. There’s a sequel that’s somewhat darker, but still enjoyable. Supposedly (*fingers crossed*) there’s a third book coming out this year. I’ve read this one before and will read it again.
Olympic Games by Leslie What
A solid book by an author mostly known for her short fiction. I liked this modern telling of the Greek gods in the modern day (although it seems only Zeus and Hera manage to make to the present). The cover is not exactly inspiring, but as I said the story’s enjoyable and there are some very nice writing bits.
Howl’s Moving Castle and Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
I’ll admit to being a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki. I’ve seen all of his feature films, and that was my introduction to Howl’s Moving Castle by Jones. A charming book - I enjoyed it. Castle in the Air continues that effort, although I found it slow to start. Mostly, I had a hard time reading the obsequiousness of the main character.
Engaging the Enemy, Command Decision, and Victory Conditions by Elizabeth Moon
These are books three, four, and five in the Vatta’s War series. Military SF, but Moon is very good at military SF. Command Decision is a transition book, but that doesn’t bother me. I’m happy to spend time with interesting characters. Victory Conditions is the final book, and ends the series well.
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart
This is an omnibus of three novels featuring Master Li (a sage with a slight flaw to his character) and Number Ten Ox (his somewhat assistant and the narrator). These books are a delight! The characters are so endearing, and the stories take place in a fantastic mythological China. I was surprised to learn that the omnibus I own is worth $100-$150 used. Happily, there is a new edition coming out later this year that will be reasonably priced. Recommended!
Rules for the Dance by Mary Oliver
If you have any interest at all in classical poetry, grab a copy of this book and read it. Oliver’s writing is a wonder to behold, and she is quite clearly in her element writing about that which she loves. The book is concise and elucidates simply the ins and outs of meter in poetry. Even better (at least for me) it contains some distilled, crystallized wisdom about writing. I love Oliver’s poetry, and now I can say I love her prose as well.
Hmm… I started out just wanting to note a couple of the books, but I seem to have gotten carried away and provided mini-reviews instead. What a rambling and enthusiastic mess this post turned out to be!
The measure of a human being’s life is not in what can be accumulated, but in what can be let go.