I drove down Hwy 280 Thursday night to see the screening of 8 films by grad students in the Stanford Graduate program in Documentary Film and Video. Jason Sussberg and friends made a 6-min documentary on our home, and it was one of those screened. I like the way it turned out. Will post a link soon. I drove down Hwy 280 in the twilight, past Crystal Springs reservoir, and when I turned off on Sand Hill Road, I got a sharp flashback to 1953, driving my ’46 Chevy sedan down to start as a freshman at Stanford. I’d barely gotten into Stanford (wouldn’t come close nowadays!), and the campus then was completely surrounded by rolling hills. As I drove down the road (now Silicon Valley etc.),
Hoover Tower appeared in the distance, and it was a moment.
These days I marvel at the Stanford stonework. Never noticed it as a student. The stone came from a nearby quarry in the 1880s when the Stanford Quad was built. As I wandered around, the Quad felt very much the same as it did 50+ years ago. Above is Encina Hall, where I lived my first year. Right, 120-year old stonework, south exterior Quad.
While I was driving into San Francisco around 6:30 AM this morning, Mt. Tamalpais from the ridge just before dropping down to Muir Beach.
Saw this beautiful little boy on the beach the other night. It was a 3-way love affair between him and his mom and dad — all in tune with each other.
Yesterday I went exploring with my friends Sasha and Jonas at Muir Beach. These guys are like mine sweepers, combing every inch of the ground, beach, and creeks for animals and insects (dead or alive), plants, feathers, seed pods…Hey Lloyd, look at this…Hey this is so cool…Lloyd, what’s this? We ended up picking up squashed salamanders, feathers, a bird’s foot, and a cormorant head, which I’ll render into a skull for them. Wonderful to see kids get such joy out of the natural world. Of course they wanted to know why this rock was cracked.
It was a minus tide and I got up at dawn, put on waders, grabbed my eel pole (20′-long bamboo pole with hook on end) and went out on the reef — a spot I’d never tried before. First off I stumbled and fell almost face first in a pool. But, I baited up (clam scraps) and started poking the bait into cracks. It’s called poke poling. In about an hour I caught 3 eels. I was elated, because in my last eel foray, I got—as they say—skunked. Eels are kind of prehistoric. I’m going to smoke them. I also picked up some nori seaweed and incorporated it into an omelette when I got home. Mighty fine. Now at the Mac with a latte made with Blue Mountain Jamacia beans. NTS stands for not too shabby…
I’m on an ocean roll. Yesterday I also got up before sunrise and went to the hot springs. It’s down a very steep slippery cliff trail, not for the faint-hearted, and sometimes is working, sometimes not. Yesterday, foggy morning, hot water (high in sulfur and lithium), then a jump in the 54º ocean and—what a way to start the day. I got 3 times as much work done as normal yesterday.
I constantly marvel at what the world around us has to offer.. It’s all right there. You just have to get out and explore…
Right now I’m listening to The Meditations doing 3-part harmony on Turn Me Loose, Beautiful. Pure reggae. The Meditations—Deeper Roots—the Best of the Meditations/Heart Beat CD HB 158
This Pennsylvania outfit makes chicken coops, horse barns, garages and storage sheds. Delivered fully assembled or as kits. This little coop for 6 chickens, is 4′-8″ long, 3′-3″ wide, 5′-7″ tall. Fully assembled, it’s
$1,295 in the east, $1895 in the west. Put-together-yourself kits are $995 in the east, $1,395 in the west. You could add a fenced outdoor run to it, and close them in each night to keep the raccoons and other critters at bay. Horizon Structures
Music plays a huge part in my life. 2 of my 3 sons are musicians. I studied the violin for 7 years, played the ukulele in a high school quartet (which included Bill Bixby (My Favorite Martian, the Hulk…), lately been playing the jug (and soon getting a wooden washtub-type bass). Music is one of my tools in doing page layout and other creative ventures (along with sin semilla and caffeine). getting on the right side of the brain, ah yes…
I love blues, bluegrass, cajun, (good) reggae, country, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Satie…. BUT what grabs me like nothing else — maybe because it was such a fresh and exciting part of the ’60s revolution — is real, pure rock & roll. Oh yes!
We watched the most wonderful concert on PBS a few nights back, catch it if you can. It’s Great Performances: Eric Clapton – Crossroads 2007. Albert Lee, Vince Gill, John Myer, Jeff Beck (ooh-wee!), Buddy Guy, Sheryl Crowe…one of those rare, magic times when it all came together. The guitar work! Mature musicians communicating on a high level. It was dazzling. See it if you can (I don’t know if PBS is still running it).
I rode my scooter all around Manhattan last week. On different occasions, I went from my hotel at 7th Ave. and 31st, up to Central Park, across to the Hudson, down to Washington Square. I rode about half on sidewalks, half in the street. It’s 3 times as fast as walking, and FUN! Once you get the hang of the joystick (as opposed to handlebars), it makes for graceful maneuvering. I’d fold it up when going into restaurants. Teenagers and 20-year-olds gave me V-signs. I don’t know why more people don’t ride these in cities. At left is the model I now have, but I’m going to get the same one with fat wheels, called Micro Monster Kickboard:
For a page out of Arthur’s book of magic tricks with everyday objects, see:
