You Know it's Christmas in San Francisco When:
1. You're watching men frolic in tights.
2. You're dodging drunken Santas.
3. You're trying to figure out just how many NYE house parties you can hit before you will be too drunk to go on.
4. You're listening to SomaFm's Xmas in Frisko.
by MooHaHa
5. You're asking your father to buy you a month's garage parking as your big Christmas gift.
Happy Holidays!
EB
Josh Brolin (fresh off his turn as Dan White in Milk),
This was a quintessentially San Francisco event. It took place in the Mission High School Auditorium (a gorgeous campus and site of the Raza student Blowouts of a few years ago.) Socialists, Gay Rights advocates, The Haitian Action Committee, Students Against War and other like minded groups filled the steps outside the campus handing out fliers and gathering email addresses.
The performance’s intent was to breathe life into the words of people who resisted, protested and questioned the unfair practices of the US government and in turn put in motion movements that changed the United States forever. The show did highlight pieces that reminded the audience however, that things that have changed… have also remained all too much the same.
Josh Brolin as Vito Russo, a gay/AIDS rights advocate, received a well deserved standing ovation as did Kerry Washington as Sojourner Truth reading from “Ain’t I A Woman?”
Clarence Thomas and Boots Riley read from Muhammad Ali and MLK’s speeches that denounced the Vietnam War and were followed by Benjamin Bratt playing Camilo Meja a returning Iraq GI who is now an anti-war advocate.
These performances and others are going to be turned into the forthcoming documentary The People Speak which will be released later this year. I highly recommend you check it out.
I heard some non-performance going people on the sidewalk after the show wondering why there was such a crowd at the school on a Wednesday night. They determined that it was “some hippy, granola crap.” If the rights of humanity and the questioning of unfair governmental actions that lead to injustice and death is “granola”?… pour me another bowl please.
EB
I've discovered something. There is nothing more zen than rolling out pasta dough on a quiet Saturday morning while the sun spills in through the kitchen window.
As I cranked, the dough was squeezed like a sheet through an old hand roll washing machine. Sheet after sheet rolled out and was laid on floured dishtowels.
At this point, a sleepy someone made their way to the kitchen and smiled.
To find your own zen:
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Mix the salt into your flour. Form a mound with the mixture. Make a well in the middle of the flour. Add the eggs and the olive oil. Use a fork, to beat the eggs and oil and to incorporate some of the flour.
As more flour is incorporated, use your fingers to mix in flour from the base of the mound. As the dough begins to get gooey, start kneading using the palms of your hands.
Once the dough forms a ball, add a sprinkling of flour to your board and continue kneading for about 8 minutes. The dough should be smooth to the touch. Form the dough into a disc and wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Let is rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Use as desired.
Enjoy!
Erin
If Puerto Rico is my first
love Vieques is the island I might cheat on it with. While in
Off the bat, out of the small airport, I knew we were in for some island life. I knew this because of the publico we got in. Publicos are the islands main mode of transport. Think airport shuttle crossed with taxi crossed with boat captain. The fares are always different and arbitrary, they pick up other passengers at will, and the routes are up to the whim of the driver (on the way to the hotel from the airport our driver even drove us 10 minutes out of our way because he knew of a good mango tree with ripe fruit… and he thought we’d want some).
Beyond publicos and Jeeps, you’ll find gorgeous wild horses roaming all over the island. Local boys tend to wrangle them several time we saw a kid trotting down the main street in Esperanza on horseback while chatting on a cellphone.
We stayed at the Inn On The Blue Horizon a hotel that is made up of separate bungalows
overlooking the ocean. I have two words for you… infinity pool. A pool that
looks as if it is part of the ocean, spilling over the edge. We spent what
amounts to an inordinate amount of time in this pool. It was 90* with about
40% humidity…. the pool (and the
poolside drinks) simply beckoned. When we weren’t munching snacks by the pool,
we ate at the restaurant at the hotel, Carambola. One night they offered us a
wonderful, upscale version of mofongo con camerone. It was delicious! All mushy
plantains, shrimp and sofrito. Absolutely just the taste I was looking for on
my trip.
Me + umbrella drink + water= doesn't suck.
The hotel is located just outside of Esperanza. The ‘town’ of Esperanza’s nightlife is centered around the boardwalk, a street lined with bars, restaurants and food stalls. We spurned the American style bars full of tourists, pina coladas and chicken wings and we headed straight for a roadside stand where we got on our hands on a couple of conch aparillos. We sat on a log overlooking the moonlight, a palm tree and the ocean. Does it get better than that? I don’t think so. Except when you toddle next door to the locals bar, order a couple of 2$ Medalla’s and watch the dancing on the back patio overlooking the beach.
Fried bread stuffed with Conch
Walking back to the hotel from Esperanza one day, we found ourselves at Charlie's. Charlie's is basically a shack on wheels, where an ex-New Yorker has set up shop selling snacks, sandwiches and beers. Charlie (a dead ringer for Anthony Bourdain), cigarette and beer in hand, joked that his Spanish was learned piecemeal…plastic-o, How ya doin’-o… and that he worked too hard so he was going to close for the weekend. He and his girlfriend came on vacation 2 years ago and never left. That’s a fairly typical story. While munching on lobster salad at Trade Winds we met a horde of ex-pats who had all migrated for ‘a summer’ and 5, 10, 20 years later… were still there.
It’s no wonder. Not only is Vieques their home, it’s an amazing place. The people, the food, the music, the beaches. It’s all unbelievable but we found that two things in Vieques basically defy description. 1) The glowing waters of ‘Bio Bay.’ This is at the top of any eco-tourist's list. You head out to a very dark bay lined with mangrove trees and if you take the plunge into the black waters you will notice something peculiar… the water (or more specifically the organisms in the water) glow. They cover you in living glitter. It’s amazing. 2) Novio beach. This was the most gorgeous beach I’ve ever seen. White sand, blue-green water and not a soul to be found. We had the beach all to ourselves. It’s the kind of place you imagine in your head whenever you’re playing a “So… you’re on a desert island…” game. It was stunning. Awe inspiring. Perfect.
Viva Vieques!
Unplugged
Sarah has started this
fantastic project of the month over at Pink of Perfection. This month’s
project? To unplug yourself. To endeavor into a 7 Day Media Detox…to “cut out
some of the white noise that doesn't really serve to benefit us.” So what ‘white noise’ did I decide to forgo?
What was my challenge to myself? I decided to relinquish the iPod for seven
days. That may not sound like such a big deal… but as a city dweller and
commuter… I was worried. Would I be able to deal with all the crap around me
without my aural distraction?
Day one (Thursday)—
I walked out of my gate
with a tenuous step. First day… first commute with no iPod. How would it go? As
I followed a gaggle of ladies on a walking tour (apparently of the churches in
my neighborhood) I listened to their excited chatter. I rounded the corner and
heard the sounds of the city: birds, cars, kids yelling, horns, bike bells. I
made my way through my neighborhood and down to the train…. where I fiddled for
the 11 minutes it took for my train to come, and for the 35 minutes it took to
get to my destination.
Day two (Friday)—
I had a shorter commute
ahead of me, but I didn’t want a repeat of the previous day’s nervous fiddling.
I grabbed a month old copy of Gourmet that had been taunting me from the coffee
table. It kept me company on the platform.
Days 3 & 4 (Saturday
& Sunday)--
I’m don’t generally listen
to my iPod on the weekend so these two days were not all that difficult.
Although I did miss my meditation.
Day 5 (Monday) —
Yay it’s Monday! Time to
upload my new podcasts… oh crap. No This American Life? No Splendid Table?
Aggghhhh. This made me cranky. I left to take my car to the shop with no iPod
for the walk home. Grumble, grumble…. A fact I realized because I way more
aware of my surroundings? That my neighborhood smells like a port-o-potty.
Day 6 (Tuesday) —
Ok first
instinct…. Grab the iPod, head to BART. Ok no… grab the magazine. Instead of
reading though, I found myself eavesdropping a lot. I heard all about
the girl who never pays for dinner, the fact the Ugly Betty is most
certainly on the same night as Grey’s Anatomy and that yes Good Vibrations
does have a student discount. As I sat on the train grading papers—where
normally Bach or The Gossip would be in my ear—there was only the
roar of the train.
Day 7 (Friday) —
This was
the first day that I was pretty ok not reaching for the iPod. I wouldn’t say I
was broken of my reliance on the device however and I have to say I am glad
that this little experiment is over.
I realized how dependent I
am on distraction. Standing in line waiting….for 5 minutes… seemed like
an eternity without my Coffee Break Spanish. That is something I can, and will,
learn to unplug for.
But as I walked around my
city the past few days, I came to the realization that mostly the distraction
is welcome and many times necessary. The lack of aural engagement forced me to
focus on aspects of this city that I abhor such as the fact that drug deals
were being made across the street from “Kid Power” park.
I’ve
definitely learned to unplug occasionally, but in truth, I think I will keep my
iPod blinders on to help me make it through some of the compromises I have
taken on to live in this city.
Have you ever thought about unplugging?
Erin
