Thursday, January 22, 2009
Birthday Wishes
Today would have been Jane's 47th birthday.
She's on my mind every day, but moreso today. That's obvious, and intentional.
I spent the morning matting and framing three of her linoleum block prints. They're among my favorites of her artworks: one resembles redwood bark, one describes a redwood frond, and one shows a redwood tree. She loved redwoods, to the point of naming her company Studio Sempervirens. The prints, particularly the image of the full tree from below, are rich and evocative. I cut three windows in a single mat and mounted the prints vertically. The photo below is glary, but you get the idea; come by and see them up close sometime.
It was good to look carefully at something she had seen, handle something she had made, and enhance a beautiful piece of art she had created.
In the afternoon I headed for Jane's niche at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. (Visits were also paid to Piedmont Springs and Fenton's.) I freshened the flowers and ate a late lunch. My tradition has become to have sushi and beer when I visit. While I was there, a couple came through with a dog on a leash to visit a gravesite. My thoughts turned to Delta, who regularly accompanied me to Mountain View. Followers of the Castro Valley Boulevardier know that I had to let her go over the weekend when virulent abdominal cancer returned just six weeks after its initial appearance and resection.
It's been a big week. Between Martin Luther King Day, the inauguration, Jane's birthday, Delta's death, and more, I'm pretty well spent.
She's on my mind every day, but moreso today. That's obvious, and intentional.
I spent the morning matting and framing three of her linoleum block prints. They're among my favorites of her artworks: one resembles redwood bark, one describes a redwood frond, and one shows a redwood tree. She loved redwoods, to the point of naming her company Studio Sempervirens. The prints, particularly the image of the full tree from below, are rich and evocative. I cut three windows in a single mat and mounted the prints vertically. The photo below is glary, but you get the idea; come by and see them up close sometime.
It was good to look carefully at something she had seen, handle something she had made, and enhance a beautiful piece of art she had created.
In the afternoon I headed for Jane's niche at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. (Visits were also paid to Piedmont Springs and Fenton's.) I freshened the flowers and ate a late lunch. My tradition has become to have sushi and beer when I visit. While I was there, a couple came through with a dog on a leash to visit a gravesite. My thoughts turned to Delta, who regularly accompanied me to Mountain View. Followers of the Castro Valley Boulevardier know that I had to let her go over the weekend when virulent abdominal cancer returned just six weeks after its initial appearance and resection.
It's been a big week. Between Martin Luther King Day, the inauguration, Jane's birthday, Delta's death, and more, I'm pretty well spent.
Labels: Jane, news, personal history
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Writing, Music, and Envy
Some of you know I'm envious of Mark Salzman. He's a famous, handsome author (his Lying Awake is one of my favorite books) who's also quite a good cellist. I'm a busy but obscure writer and mediocre bari sax player.
Today, in the course of writing a press release for Cal Performances, I encountered another person to envy: Dean Elzinga. In addition to being an esteemed and busy singer, he has also worked professionally as a technical writer. Cool thing is, he still lists "Writer & Editor" on his LinkedIn profile, along with "International, Classical Bass-Baritone Singer."
Mr. Elzinga will be in Berkeley on March 13, singing Schoenberg's Ode to Napoleon with the Brentano String Quartet. I'll be there, wearing green.
Today, in the course of writing a press release for Cal Performances, I encountered another person to envy: Dean Elzinga. In addition to being an esteemed and busy singer, he has also worked professionally as a technical writer. Cool thing is, he still lists "Writer & Editor" on his LinkedIn profile, along with "International, Classical Bass-Baritone Singer."
Mr. Elzinga will be in Berkeley on March 13, singing Schoenberg's Ode to Napoleon with the Brentano String Quartet. I'll be there, wearing green.
Labels: art, books, fun, music, people, singing, writing
Inaugural Neighborhood Ball
One of the hard things about working at home alone is that I don't get to chat with coworkers about current events. (Upside: I save a ton by not having HBO, or even cable TV.) But my friend Peter Fish asked me via email if I had watched any of the inaugural festivities, and I tapped out the following; thought I'd share it with the world.
Watched a bit of the Neighborhood Ball last night (Beyonce and Stevie, and Sting looking like Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting). Funniest thing (to me) was the hostess (not sure who it was) in a 30-second interview with the President asking "So, what are you going to do on your first day in the office?" I'm sure she was expecting something like, "I'm going to do the usual stuff -- find out where the bathrooms are, get my new business cards, figure out the phones, har har har." But instead he went into an earnest talk about all the work that needs to be done. Perhaps sensing that he was getting a little serious for the moment, he softened and said that he just wanted to savor the evening.
Labels: media, personal history, politics, TV, work
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Michelle Gamble-Risley on ABC News
Michelle Gamble-Risley, who as editor of California Computer News gave me an opportunity early in my freelancing career, was on ABC News recently, sharing career- and life-changing ideas from her new book, Second Bloom. Congratulations, Michelle!
Labels: books, friends, jobs, marketing, money, news, people, TV, video, writing
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
On Money
I came across this quote today, from Norwegian writer Arne Garborg:
Several different translations are out there, but the essence is the same.
"It is said that for money you can have everything, but you cannot. You can buy food but not appetite; medicine, but not health; knowledge, but not wisdom; glitter, but not beauty; fun, but not joy; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not faithfulness; leisure, but not peace. You can have the husk of everything, but not the kernel."
Several different translations are out there, but the essence is the same.
Labels: money, Norway, quotes, work, writing
