Whorl of Confusion

What I'm Thankful For

2008-11-26T21:10:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Holiday

2008-11-21T09:19:00.001-08:00

Hi ya'll,It's been a great few weeks, but I have to get back to life, do my homework, term papers, exams, wash the dishes, look for a new apartment,,, all those kinds of fun things that I have successfully been putting on the back burner until after the election.Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Keith Olbermann on Prop.8 and Love

2008-11-11T09:53:00.001-08:00

If you missed Keith's special comment last night... it was one of the most moving things I have heard, a touching tribute to true love, humanity and the state of our world.So I be written in the Book of Love,I do not care about that Book above.Erase my name or write it as you will,So I be written in the Book of Love.

Boycott Utah!

2008-11-08T11:56:00.000-08:00

Sign the petition to review the 501(c)(3) status of The Church of Latter-day Saints hereUPDATE: This website is documenting the many Mormons who are leaving the church over this issue... props to the folks standing against this injustice!Proposition 8 won in California on Tuesday. Part of the reason is due to fear pandering, slanderous, lying and misleading ads on TV, radio and in print. These

The Democratic Shift

2008-11-05T16:30:00.001-08:00

Funny isn't it! When the Dem's stopped trying to pander to The Right, The Right centered and concentrated (with Palin's prodding) and took control of the Republican Party. Then all of a sudden, moderate and intellectual Repugs came over to our side, abandoning the little wingnuts to their own devices. This map shows counties that, compared to 2004, voted more Democratic. This ingenious map

There was dancing in the streets!

2008-11-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm still trying to take it all in... last night was tense, stomach wrenching, nerve fraying, then cautious optimism, then afraid-to-say-it-out-loud possibility, then we've-won-this-for-sure giddiness, then out-and-out rock the house HE WON!!! OBAMA IS OUR NEXT PRESIDENT!!!!!We were in the lobby of the W hotel downtown, amidst hundreds of revelers. We watched and listened as Obama gave his

Yes We Can by Will.i.am

2008-11-04T09:10:00.000-08:00

TODAY IS THE DAY

2008-11-04T01:23:00.000-08:00

Today is the day we have all been waiting for...Today is the day we have all been working for...Today is the day we have all been HOPING for...Now Get Out And Vote!!!

The Quotable Palin

2008-11-03T11:58:00.000-08:00

Good read..http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/the-quotable-palin_b_140161.html

The chilling case against Bush/Chaney

2008-11-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/By Andrew Sullivan:"Cheney and Bush, unlike any presidency in American history, have dangerously pushed constitutional government to the brink of collapse. They did not merely assert a unified executive in which actions and regulations reserved to the executive branch were kept free from Congressional and judicial tampering. That is a perfectly

Final Word on ACORN- Repug LIES

2008-11-02T18:36:00.001-08:00

From Politico:For weeks, Republican leaders have warned that widely reported problems with fake voter registrations could result in a flood of phony votes in pivotal states.But Ronald Michaelson, a veteran election administrator and member of the McCain-Palin Honest and Open Election Committee, said in an interview that he could not name a single instance in which this had occurred.“Do we have a

Repug IT chief headed for deposition

2008-11-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Breaking News!!!So... let me get this straight... Mike Connell, the guy who was convicted and served jail time for rigging the 2004 Ohio election is now, as we speak, in charge of the Republican party's election network, and has just been ordered to give deposition on Nov 3rd, testifying in court in a case that also indicts Karl Rove? This is amazing! Sure, right now McPalin are making a big

GOTV!

2008-10-31T09:42:00.001-07:00

Get. Out. The. Vote.

I Voted Today!

2008-10-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

Yay! I went down to the City Hall and cast my vote for Obama. I felt all emo when I did it, like I was doing something important, something historic. It's the best feeling EVER! Go Vote!!!!It was a cold rainy day today... I voted and then walked around the veggie garden that was planted in front of city hall for a Slow Food Conference a couple of months ago. Sadly they will have to pull it out

In case you missed Obama's 30 minutes...

2008-10-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

So informative, if anyone is wondering what Obama's plans are, send them this video. Wonderful... I feel like this is truly a historic time in our country, a time when we can change how we live, take a better, more humane, less materialistic course in life and restore compassion to our national agenda. Let's get out the vote people!!!!!!!

A Reason for Hope in Humanity

2008-10-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

I've been sitting here, slogging through video after video of Americans in line at McPalin rallies spouting "he's Muslim, he's communist, he's an Arab," etc.( and worse) and getting very depressed about the state of ignorance and fear rampant in our country these days. And I ran across this much needed piece of hope and the triumph of reason and intelligence... hope you enjoy it as much as I did

150+ Professors Call Out McPalin's Racist Tactics

2008-10-28T20:07:00.002-07:00

http://politicalcommunication.info/In a nonpartisan statement headed by Professor Edward Schiappa, Chair of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Minnesota, more than 150 college professors have drafted a statement decrying the McCain/Palin's campaign for the overt racism and bigotry that they are currently engendering. A bold statement to say the least...In recent weeks,

150

2008-10-28T20:07:00.001-07:00

VoteVets Commercial

2008-10-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

The Importance of Fruit Flies

2008-10-25T11:50:00.001-07:00

Apparently Palin and the GOP have no idea about how scientific research works. An why would they? They reject evolution for the belief that the world is 6,000 years old. Following is a wonderful diary from DailyKos from a scientist who explains it all...Of Flies and Worms: Model Systems for Research by mole333Sat Oct 25, 2008 at 10:58:14 AM PDTSarah Palin thought she had a funny one liner about

Umm...

2008-10-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Opey, Sheriff and the Fonz are voting for Obama

2008-10-23T19:12:00.001-07:00

This is cute...

Why Palin Would Be President

2008-10-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

this morning I suddenly grasped a horrid, sinking realization of what is going on in the Republican Party: Sarah Palin, not John McCain, is the candidate. Please bear with me as I struggle to connect the dots of my erratic thought processes...When my Kenyan friend first came to this country on a scholarship, he said the thing that struck him the hardest is that we, the USA, have a system of law

Contribution dislosure? More GOP LIES!

2008-10-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

What will McCain/Palin NOT do to try to discredit Obama? Every accusation they have made has been either gross misrepresentation of facts or straight out lies. 1)ACORN you say? Well first of all, that's not voter fraud, and no arrests have been made... meanwhile CEO of a company hired by Repubs has been arrested today in Canada for voter registration fraud committed in CA and across the country

Why Obama?

2008-10-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

Oh, so THIS is why I don't like Sarah Palin?

2008-10-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

During his presidential campaign Mike Huckabee expressed a set of opinions not strikingly different from Sarah Palin's, yet my guess is that if he were John McCain's running mate these same women would not despise him with the same vehemence they do Sarah Palin. Some of this is due to snobbery, some possibly to envy.Governor Palin is, after all, a good-looking woman with what appears to be a

What Colin Powell Said

2008-10-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

Reporter: Sir, what part did McCain's negativity play in your decision, the negative tone of the campaign?Powell: It troubled me. We have two wars. We have economic problems. We have health problems. We have education problems. We have infrastructure problems. We have problems around the world with our allies. So those are the problems the American people wanted to hear about, not about Mr. Ayers

John McPenguin

2008-10-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

Wow... this is so right-on it's scary!

Maybe Plumber Joe shoulda kept his mouth shut

2008-10-16T15:35:00.001-07:00

Joe the Plumber:*is not a licensed plumber*is not a union member*owes over $1000 in back taxes (guess the IRA knows where to find him now)*is a registered Republican (and NOT an undecided voter)http://cbs2.com/national/plumber.taxes.registered.2.842376.htmlhttp://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/16/111449/53/191/632401Doesn't the Republican party know we can check public records online these

No One wants to be seen as a Republican...

2008-10-13T11:00:00.001-07:00

OK, this is really interesting:http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/13/1626/2826/599/628926I LOVE Daily Kos, because people from all over the country write in with their views and experiences.Here's some more good news:http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/13/113110/70/338/629179My second cousin is working for Obama in Georgia. He is one of the few white and democrat people in his small

Now for some good news...

2008-10-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

check out this diary

Pennsylvania McCain Rally, October 8th

2008-10-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Are you kidding me?!?! Republicans need to be ashamed and stand up against this kind of behavior!

The Annenberg Foundation supports guess-who?

2008-10-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

http://jimmy-crackcorn.dailykos.com/In 1968 William Ayers was leader of the Weatherman, a well known domestic terrorist organisation.In 1993 William Ayers, Anne Hallett, and Warren Chapman decided to apply for a grant from the Annenberg Foundation for $49.2 Million to improve and reform Chicago's public schools.In 1994 Ayers, Hallett and Chapman gathered a 73-member Chicago School Reform

The Real McCain

2008-10-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

Make-Believe MaverickA closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonestyTIM DICKINSONPosted Oct 16, 2008 7:00 PMhttp://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23316912/makebelieve_maverick/print

McCain/Palin tactics truly frighten me

2008-10-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

Honestly... this kind of hate-mongering is so dangerous! What are they doing?!?!?! Is this what McCain calls "reaching across party lines?"Please write your congress persons, your news media outlets, and tell them how dangerous this is. I also wrote to Gov. Arnold and Senator Leiberman, trying to appeal to their consciousness.I also wrote the Republican National Congress with the following

NYT editorial condemning McCain/Palin hate mongering

2008-10-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/opinion/08wed1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=sloginPlease read this. Palin's hate speeches are unapologetically triggering racial divisiveness wherever she goes. In Florida a man was heard to shout "Kill him" during her railings against Obama. This is serious stuff. The good news is that the Secret Service are investigating this incident fully.Senator Biden was

Republican Clears Obama on Ayers

2008-10-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

[Needs Attention!:] Republican Clears Obama On Ayers!(Audio) by JustForTheRecord Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 10:11:20 AM PDTUh-oh...Ayers won't work anymore (There goes the kitchen sink, I guess here comes the table)...Some republicans from Chicago are saying what most of us knew all along. Bill Ayers was a commonly acceptable figure in Chicago by everyone--Democrats, Independents, and even

Not Drilling Yet...

2008-10-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

A tiny blurb from SFGate.com:Drill, baby, drill - but not just yet: America's oilmen are not racing to the nation's coastlines, rigs at the ready. For one thing, they think the recently lifted drilling moratorium ban may come back. Chronicle energy reporter David Baker dug up this nugget of news at the Independent Petroleum Association of America annual conference in San Francisco on Monday. "We

Alaskans fed up with Palin

2008-09-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

From the group "Alaskans for Truth"

McCain debates himself

2008-09-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

I don't seek the presidency on the presumption I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God." -- Senator John McCain, campaigning in New Orleans, June 2008 I didn't decide to run for president to start a national

Two easy actions...

2008-09-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

Update:It's working!http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/09/25/thanks-sarah-planned-parenthood-gets-upsurge-in-donations/In addition to sending around more emails about how horrible she is, let's all make a donation to Planned Parenthood... in Sarah Palin's name! And here's the good part: when you make a donation to PP in her name, they'll send her a card telling her that the donation

Eve Ensler on Gov. Palin

2008-09-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist bestknown for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following about Sarah Palin.Drill, Drill, DrillI am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was amember of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drownedand starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing forPolar Bears.

Women against Sarah Palin

2008-09-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

Under her mayorship, the city of Wasilla, AK passed a new law making rape victims pay for their own rape kits and exams. Where the hell did this woman come from? This is a nightmare and the American people need to wake up and rise up against this Republican ticket.For more information go to:http://womenagainstsarahpalin.org/Grizzlybay.org shows that even some Alaskans aren't fond of her...http:

McCain/Palin blithly lie, no one cares

2008-09-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Why don't facts matter anymore? By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 12, 12:43 PM ET

An Evening with Neil Young

2008-07-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

For some time I have been excitedly awaiting the Thursday midnight showing of the Dark Knight, but it was overshadowed by another film I saw earlier in the evening...I went to see the premier of Neil Young's new film CSNY:Deja Vu. It was a truly special evening, and Neil Young and others from the film were in attendance. I'm still processing it all today and it's hard to even write about it now

Germany bans psticides to save bees

2008-07-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

From the Seeds of Change Newsletter:Germany Bans Pesticides to Prevent Bee Deaths In late May, the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety announced a ban on several pesticides implicated in the massive deaths of honeybees in the southern state of Baden Württemberg. The ban affects eight neonicotinoid pesticides used in rapeseed and corn production that are alleged to be

The Time Has Come

2008-06-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

Looking for My Holy Grail

2008-05-30T18:29:00.000-07:00

The year was 1989 and I was packed and ready to leave Cincinnati for the promised land of San Francisco, when my roommate and co-traveler bashed me upside the head with his Cuban heels in a drunken post-partying diva fight. I decided right then to drive my car in the opposite direction and get some perspective on how far down this dark spiral of punk existence I had fallen. So I loaded up my

Spring Budding in the Vineyard

2008-04-22T21:00:00.001-07:00

A few pics from Wednesday's class at Stulmuller Vineyards in Alexander Valley. Here we see the new canes growing on the vines. I love the shiny new green leaves:Cane pruned vines:Clusters of flower buds:Spur pruning:Inter-planted vines of different ages:

Rhodie Heaven

2008-04-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

Here's another fab place close to home: the Sonoma Horticultural Nursery. This gorgeous spot specializes in rhododendrons, azalias, clymatis, dogwood and peonies... you know, everything that won't grow in San Francisco! Wink ;)The place is a nursery that propagates all these species and more. If you can get there soon, go! This is the time of year that all the rhodies are in bloom and you

Week of plants: UC Santa Cruz Arboretum

2008-04-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

I visited the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum last week. Wow, talk about a magical place! They have many different areas, but the one's that grabbed me were the gardens that specialize in plants from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa... namely members of the Proteaceae family.You know those cone like flowers in outrageous colors that cost $10 at the florist? Well here they are featured in all

Plant Week: My work at the Arboretum

2008-04-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

So this was a crazy week in which every day I visited a different plant related space. We'll start out here at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum.I volunteer to work here one or two days a week. What do I do? Well, to be honest it's all weeding. But it's not like your back yard. Selective weeding to get rid of some species and preserve others. The Arboretum is a

Nothing better in the world

2008-04-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, there's nothing more exciting than a hockey playoff game! I've been fortunate enough to have been to several in San Jose and last night was an amazing game for our San Jose Sharks against the Calgary Flames in the quarterfinals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.Here the players get ready to enter the rink:For those who aren't into hockey... when a Canadian and a USA team play each other, they play

Opening Day 2008

2008-04-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

Today Terry and I met friends Ginger and Rory at the ballpark for Giants Opening Day. Aren't they fabulous?The opening ceremony was all about the Giants team of 1958. Before the Giants and Dodgers came to California, St. Louis was the westernmost baseball team. On an April day in 1958 the two teams played at Seal's Stadium and baseball was here to stay!Several members of that team are still

Torres Family Estates

2008-04-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

My vineyard class visited the Torres Family Estates in Sebastopol this week.This estate was founded by Marimar Torres, whose family has been rowing and making wine in Spain for over 300 years. She wanted to grow and make her own wine, but couldn't because of the patriarchal system in Spain. So her family sent her here to study oenology at Davis, and afterwards she started up her own winery

Saturday Morning Tree Care

2008-04-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

On a chilly Saturday morning, the crew of the Friends of the Urban Forest, which just happened to include Kory, Rich and myself, went to the Mission for another day of caring for our precious street trees.Our street trees are planted by with the City DPW or our volunteer group, Friends of the Urban Forest. Homeowners are responsible for caring and watering the trees in front of their houses or

Proud to be a baseball fan

2008-03-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

Today, as Major League Baseball opened and the first game was played in Washington DC's new ballpark, Pres. Bush walked to the pitchers mound to throw out the first pitch and was met by an onslaught of BOO's! And a few cheers too, but the boos eventually drowned them out. YAY!Now THAT made me proud.Think he got the message????

Weed Watchers

2008-03-13T21:17:00.001-07:00

One of the things I'm doing now is training to become a Weed Watcher. This is a new program by the National Park Service which trains regular folks like you and me to survey and record invasive species in our national parks. On Thursday we went to the Marin Headlands at Rodeo Beach for our hike/training session.The coast above Rodeo Beach:Thursday was a good learning experience for getting to

Vineyard Tour #4: J. Rickard Vineyard and Winery

2008-02-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

For our next tour, we go to J. Rickards Vineyards. this is my favorite vineyard that we have visited, and of course, I forget my camera. So I apologize for these horrible shots that are from my camera phone, which was for some reason set to "tungsten" setting. Who knew...Well, Mr. Rickards is quite a character. He is self taught and WAY ahead of the curve in many areas such as sustainability,

Vineyard Tour #3: Frei Vineyards

2008-02-08T18:01:00.000-08:00

On February 6 we had the wonderful opportunity to visit with Jeff Lyon at the Gallo Family Dry Creek Frei Vineyards. On these 640 acres they grow Zinfandel, Merlot, Chardonnay, Malbec, Syrah and Cabernet. Jeff is manages the entire ranch with amazing knowledge and experience.Every block within the ranch is managed specifically according to varietal, rootstock, soil, spacing, and trellising

Vineyard Tour #2: Emeritus Vineyards

2008-02-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

On Jan. 29th our viticulture class visited the Emeritas Vineyards in Russian River Valley. More specifically it is in the Green Valley area within the Russian River Valley which is in the Sonoma County AVA. Did I get that right? ;)Kurk Lokka, the vineyard manager and GM, is a SRJC graduate. He has been working in vineyards for 27 years and has amazing experience, local knowlege, opinions and a

Vineyard Tour #1: Bucklin Old Hill vineyard

2008-02-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd get back to writing about my interesting classes. It always helps the ol' memory to write out these field trips as they happen. I'm enrolled in a Viticulture class at Santa Rosa Jr. College in which we visit high level vineyards in Sonoma and Napa counties and learn from the vineyard manager about the methods they utilize to grow premium quality fruit.Bucklin VineyardsCalifornia

What is the color?

2007-12-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

What is the color, when black is burned? Anti Mass by Cornelia Parker It's a line from Neil Young's "I am a child" and it's been haunting me for days. "I am a child" is clearly about his father, and then this line, dark and sad, is stuck in the middle.What is the color when black is burned? It speaks to me that when black is burned it's no longer a color, it's beyond that. It's a feeling, a

Led Zeppelin Dreams

2007-12-11T13:28:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Led Zeppelin performed in London. *sigh*

See what happens?

2007-12-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

Wow, a lot has happened since I started Googling my way down memory lane yesterday.After ordering the Perfect Jewish Couple CD, I might be getting together with Shari the next time she's out here on biz. I hope to reconnect with Kelly too!From the PJC website I found out that another friend from that time, Marc Chenault, passed away this year with cancer. How very, very sad. He was an amazing

Birthday ponderings

2007-12-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

So here I am, sitting and thinking, which are both unavoidable owing to the broken ankle and all.It's my birthday. I'm 48, which comes a big surprise to me, since, for some weird reason, I had somehow convinced myself for the last year that I was turning 49, and only one year away from 50. When I went in for my ankle surgery, I saw on the admitting form that I was 48. Wow, I thought, how did I

Things I learn while on crutches...

2007-12-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

1. Cable sucks2. Direct TV does not suck.3. XM radio channel "Deep Tracks" is completely amazing!4. Grocery stores are overwhelming and frightening places.5. Museums have wheelchairs you can borrow.6. IKEA has wheelchairs too!7. Thank god for friends.8. When you can't carry anything, you can't do much.9. Kneepads are essential.10. My boyfriend rocks!!!

Happy Un-Turkey Day

2007-11-27T17:34:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a wonderful visit to my boyfriend's mother's home in the Central Coast area where we celebrated Thanksgiving. If your are thinking, "where's that?" then I'll tell you... it's the until-recently quiet agricultural area near Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles. Since the movie "Sideways" the place has become one of the major wine tasting destinations in California

Cleaning up our Green Waste- pass it on!

2007-11-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

Original article in the ChronicleAmericans have a separation problem, and nobody knows that better than municipal composters. When ordinary trash is thrown into green curbside collection carts, companies spend time and money to remove it and cart it to the landfill. "I had the accounting department look at the average over the last nine months, and we pulled (from incoming green waste) 68 tons

Kids don't try this at home

2007-11-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

On a beautiful sunny October Sunday, I met my friends at the annual Illegal Soapbox Derby races in Bernal Heights. It's a long standing San Francisco tradition, and one I have always wanted to attend. It was a great gathering of true San Franciscans, the kinky, quirky crowds that make our dear city so special. You can see the video here.Paperboy brought his kite buggy, outfitted with a new

A Month of Mornings

2007-10-29T08:34:00.002-07:00

For the past month I have been working at a winery. It's a small operation, 2500- 3000 per year. And there's only the winegrower (one who grows his own grapes and makes the wine from them), the assistant winegrower and 3 field/cellar workers. I was very happy and proud to have been offered this job. The winegrower is among the best in the area and is highly respected.In the mornings I would

DOTA Presents...

2007-09-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Our campmate, Carter Emmart, director of the Hayden Planetarium in NYC presented Uniview in our dome this year.scaling the universeThis software is amazing. Carter "flies" around the earth, using a direct link with NASA satellites, and can fly down through the atmosphere to almost any place on earth. He has a way of demonstrating the majesty and tender fragility of our home planet. To go on a

Dave's Dome

2007-09-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

Our 30 foot dome was made in 2003 by our dear departed brother Dave Kennedy, one of the most amazing souls ever to grace this earth. Dave had the amazing ability to know what you need and have it in his hand before you even realized that you needed it. You could say, "Wow, my double helix 2.47 cm reverse slide ratchet bolt just busted" and you would turn around to cry and there would be Dave,

Rainbow Day

2007-09-11T20:19:00.001-07:00

Here's a fun short video by Joel of the dust storm coming in ...windy kitesYou can see how fast it happens. Our friend Tim's amazing cursor kite is not made for these kinds of heavy winds.After the storm a double rainbow appeared. Terry and I climbed to the top of the scaffolding.Our friend Fish is standing on his RV....Taking photos of us....While we are all trying to grab photos of this...

A Harsh Mistress

2007-09-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

Burning Man 2007 was grueling, ecstatic, harsh, amazing, exhausting and rewarding. My fave moments were watching the eclipse then seeing the Man burn. I was so happy to see it happen finally. Finally someone got the balls to torch Disney Man and send the organizers a message of our discontent at the direction the festival is going in. I hope they dont' procecute. After all, isn't this kind of

Long Time No Blog

2007-08-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

It's been insane since school ended... looking for a new job, getting read for Burning Man, interviewing hiring and training my replacement, and gearing up for my latest big trip. I flew to Portland, Oregon, drove 200 miles to Yamhill and Silverton to do 2 job interviews, flew to Reno and drove 100 miles to give testimony in Lovelock against the man who raped me in 2002, and then flew home. More

Questions in Queer film history

2007-07-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

This week the class focused on several questions. To explore the question "Is this film Gay?" we examined the British film The Leather Boys from 1963. Considering the question of "Who are we?", we looked into the LGBT documentary movement of the 70's. The two screened in class were Tongues Untied and Word is Out. By the late 80's and 90's, the question had become "Where did we come from?" and

Fassbinder's Fox

2007-07-05T21:06:00.000-07:00

Well unfortunately I'm at home tonight rather than in class view Tongues Untied, a shocking and very important film which I saw a few years ago on PBS. I got a violent headache around 4:00 and had to go home. I feel better now so I'll write a little about our film from Tuesday, Ranier Werner Fassbinder's Fox and His Friends.Fassbinder died at the age of 38 in 1982 of an overdose of cocaine

Night of the Bad Film

2007-06-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

Or, as my classmate exclaimed, "That's two hours of my life I'll never get back!"Last Tuesday we screened the cinematic wonder, "Daughters of Darkness." This movie was so bad, the only redeeming factors were the laughs we got from the really cheap effects and sound track. Ray picked this film as one of the best of the genre, however, which is the "Lesbian Vampire" flicks.The Lesbian Vampire

Boys in the Band

2007-06-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

OK, apparently I'm the only person on earth who hasn't seen this one. William Friedkin's 1970 film about a birthday party gone bad.While it seems most people were off-put by the films vicious dialogue, I was drawn to the process of the characters being ruthlessly stripped down to the barest truths of their being. The snipey barbs didn't bother me so much- I lived with a lot of New Yorkers in

Love = Death in the 60's

2007-06-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

Last night’s film was The Children’s Hour, a 1961 film by William Wyler. The story of how this movie came to be is very interesting. Wyler had just come off the great success of Ben Hur, and was probably the most powerful director in Hollywood at the time. He could have his pick of projects; he could pick anything he wanted. He chose to remake an earlier film, Those Three, based on a play by

Queer Film Studies

2007-06-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

For the next 6 weeks, WOC will be chronicling my current class-- "The History of Homosexuality in Film." Our first feature:Madchen in UniformMadchen in Uniform Talking films had just been invented and this is a fascinating early film (1931) that tells the story of a love affair between a teacher and student trapped in a militaristic boarding school. Blooming between the destruction of the

Oregon!

2007-06-12T14:58:00.001-07:00

We went to Oregon for a week to scout out a future home. Here's some random pics, not in any kind of order, really. We drove as far north as Wenachee, Washington, then over to Wallawalla, WA, then back west to Portland and southward home down the 5. Generally I fell in love with Oregon. Of course it's warm and sunny and beautiful now. But just knowing that the summers are so glorious, I

Something stinks!

2007-05-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

And it's really, really amazing!! The gentleman who lives the apartment in front of my office has been growing this Dracunculus vulgaris, or Voodoo Lily. Today it finally bloomed! The flies love it, it truly smells like nauseating rotting garbage. And it's not like you have to get up close to smell it... stinks up the entire courtyard and drifts into our windows. Remarkable! I've been

Of Mermaids and Stucco

2007-05-20T19:11:00.001-07:00

Well, finally a year of my Saturday landscape construction classes has come to an end. And although I will be incredibly happy to have my weekends back, it's kind of sad, because I have learned such a tremendous amount in this class, and made great friends over the past year'. Hard to believe we won't be spending our Saturdays building together.... I'll really miss everyone!Here is the redwood

What happens to all that stuff we put in the green bins?

2007-05-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Last week our Soils class took a trip to Jepson Prairie Organics way out in Vacaville. Jepson Prairie is a landfill where the people in charge decided that there must be something else they could do with all the food waste they saw going into the landfill. They started an innovative composting program and are today the largest food waste compost facility in the country.So what happens to all

Broken Flowers

2007-05-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

Update on Chukka: She's still in the induced coma until she can be taken off the respirator. But she has stabilized and her mom and sister are there. Hurry up and come back to us Fishy!!!!!Why oh why do bad things happen to such good people? God, yesterday was one crappy ass day, but all my petty gripes and complaints pale to the news I got... A friend of mine, who is travelling around in the

DOTA on the Beach

2007-05-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

My fabulous Burning Man campmates met at Ocean Beach to fly kites, build fires and enjoy the gorgeous day. I love my DOTA family and every minute we spend together reminds me of how lucky and blessed I truly am. <3 Thanks to Biz for the photos!

Vine Budding and Grafting

2007-04-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

This is Shone Farm , the teaching farm/orchard/vineyard/winery of Santa Rosa Jr. College. It's very tranquil. I really look forward to coming out here for our classes.Friday night we had a guest lecturer, the very highly respected field graft expert, Daniel Robledo. He learned from his father, and not only is an entertaining and knowledgeable lecturer, he is one of the top experts in the

On to Nevada

2007-04-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

I'll be traveling to Nevada for the next fews days, out in the boonies- Lovelock, to be exact. While I'm there I might look for signs of the native bees, the Alkali bee and the Leaf-cutter bee.From History of Lovelock, NV"Lovelock boasts some 40,000 acres under irrigation in Upper and Lower valleys, most of it devoted to grain for feeding livestock, and to the alfalfa seed for which Lovelock is

Garden Books on Sale

2007-04-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Update 4/8/07All the gardening books are gone! I did manage to snag one of the last copies of "The Naming of Names" all about naming plants and finding order, beginning in Athens with some pupil of Aristotle. It's a beautiful book, with some nice lithograph reproductions. Should be a great read.Just got back from Book Inc. on Market in the Castro, and they have a lot of really nice gardening

Happy Easter!

2007-04-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Van & Lisa for the Easter art!

Garden Blooms

2007-03-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd take the idea from Chuck B and add a garden bloom day to the blog.Here's an image of our back yard ... We are in the red circle. This image must be from a long time ago, because that big conifer to the left of my yard was killed by bark beetles, slowly lost all it's needles and was removed a few months ago. You can see the hugely tall palm trees in the back yard. They tower over

Mooooooraaayyyy!!!!

2007-03-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

No more BGH in California?linkRichard Cotta, CEO of California Dairies Inc., the nation's second-largest dairy cooperative, is guided by a simple business philosophy: "If you want milk with little blue dots, you'll have it, as long as you are willing to pay for it.'' So, when a string of major customers, including supermarket giant Safeway, came to his co-op saying they would no longer

Construction Class

2007-03-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

I love our construction class. Most of us were in it together last semester. It's a lot of very hard work, but we have learned so much, and gotten much stronger too!Irena and Adalberto are working on a dry stack wall.Kate, David and Tim building a worm box. They are working next to the raised beds we just finished.Dana, or Lady D, as we call her, is working to finish up the flagstone steps.

Machines Class

2007-03-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight was so much fun! We dug trenches with the back hoe and filled them back up. I love driving the bobcat and the tractor too!

Bjork!!!

2007-03-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I got tickets to see Bjork! Woohoo! I love her so much, she's amazing and we will be there, Sec. 202, Row P. I really hate the Shoreline, but, whatever, she's worth it!The tickets are on presale today

I can't stop thinking about this song...

2007-03-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

The World Protests

2007-03-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

However, Bush is not about to pull out until the Iraqis ratify this law to give oil rights to western companies.And honestly, some people right here in our back yard still don't have a clue...

Today

2007-03-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

LossHope?