Winter in Berkeley

the minutiae

Chilly Berkeley afternoon. Spent the day recovering from a busy week.  I've had coffee beans that needed ground taunting me, finally I can have coffee tomorrow morning... NPR, laundry, researched projects, had tea with friends... took a walk as the sun skirted away... not a bad Sunday. 

Goodbye Hostess

In grade school Twinkies were the trading gold of the school yard.  Everyone would pull out the lunches lovingly packed by parents and then the elementary version of the stock exchange would begin. A Twinkie could get you anything from just about any school lunch.  Chocolate puddings, followed by other flavor puddings and then chips were usually next in line.  If you wanted a Twinkie for a Chocolate pudding usually there would need to be a sticker or a "best friendmanship" thrown in to sweeten the deal.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were sometimes good items to trade although in grade school I had an aversion to peanut butter and found that my cream cheese and jelly sandwiches held little trading value.  It was okay with me since they were also usually made with my Dad's amazing homemade sourdough and to me that was worth way more than a Twinkie (but shh, don't tell those other kids with their Wonderbread (also made by Hostess) PB&J's).  Most of my lunches held almost zero trade-ability.  I begged my Mom for Lunchables to no avail but instead got carrots and celery, and cheese wrapped in ham.  I actually liked the foods my Mom packed but it was a matter of status if you arrived with junk food in a cool lunch pail you were clearly superior to the kids with healthy things in paper bags.  You could trade for fickle friends and ice cream bars how can that be unappealing to a kid?  I don't recall eating a Twinkie or a Ho-Ho as a child but the allure was amazing. I probably managed to get one or two at summer camp but the having is not nearly as memorable as the wanting.

Last year I had a friend doing a performance piece that involved eating Twinkies on stage and once it was done he handed out the extras backstage.  The smell of the yellow cake was intoxicating and somehow my grade school brain was activated to expect something spectacular.  I opened the crinkled plastic and took a bite.  I immediately had the most visceral response to the acridly sweet bite of sugar cake I think I've ever had.  Grateful that I opened the package without anyone else in the room, I spit it out.
 "Oh God!  Why was this ever so popular?!"  Clearly my tastes are still uncool...

Now Hostess sputters out of existence we will find just how long a Twinkie's shelf life is... shelves are being emptied and ebay is suddenly the coolest kid on the playground.

Adieu!

food is good.

Skinny girl (while not enjoying her dinner); "Don't you ever feel like eating is just a chore, it's just something tedious you have to do?"
Me: "Never."

--hmm perhaps being on the saftig side isn't so bad sometimes.

Baruch is Thin

This is one of my good friends. (some bad words ahead but this piece is so funny)

Objects of Desire.

Is it okay that sometimes I pull out my passport and make wishes?

Passive aggressive "quotations"

The sidewalk on Addison Street in Berkeley is covered in art and quotes and things. There are a couple of patches of significant events in Berkeley history... this one kills me every time.

Politics

So I took a political spectrum test and this was my result;

Here's where the major world leaders currently land on the same chart;

It does explain why I'm never very happy with my choices, but I guess there could be worse company to keep than the Dali Lama.  Anyways... time to start reviewing all of the ballot issues this year.

Daily Affirmations from Tilden Park

Point Lobos 2012

I just opened a show in Carmel... I'm still busy... but before I left I went walking at Point Lobos Nature Preserve... It is one of my favorite places on the planet. The first time I went here it was because on my day off I couldn't afford the $35 ticket to go to the Monterey Aquarium... but this is so much better! Yes Better than walking under sharks and through glowing jellyfish.

Everywhere you look there is just more beauty...

I mean just look at this and BAM there's a freakin' sea lion right in the middle of it!

Hello!

Got to keep this short due to the need to wake up sooner than I care to admit, but there you go some pretty pictures, hopefully they will tide you over for a bit. Ta!

The wrong bin.

Bear looked to his dog and asked, "Do you think we're the only prizes for this game?" Dog licked his friend's large pink head and pondered the strange new bin. "I'm not sure why, but I suspect we missed the fair this year."

"Oh dear." Bear sighed.

Mid-Yawn.

No good reason... just a funny pic of the dog.  Deal.

One and Only

There may be 31 flavors at Baskin Robbins and yet to me there are only two; Orange sherbert (cake cone) and Mint Chocolate Chip (Sugar cone) I have tasted the others and sure I guess they are also ice cream... but they are just not the glory that is Mint Chocolate Chip or Orange sherbert... maybe if they ever had Pineapple sherbert I could be swayed... maybe.

I have another food establishment that has become a one choice menu.  Erik's Deli. They're a chain mostly in the central coast and south bay area of Northern California and they have a huge menu of soups, salads and mostly sandwiches, but really all they serve is this; Light and Tasty salad with Raspberry vinaigrette and a cup of tomato bisque soup.  Every time I come down here I become giddy that I can have a bloody Soup and Salad!  It has got to be filled with salt or crack or something that makes this such an exciting meal. 

Perhaps it speaks to my character that I am so devoted to the Light and Tasty in the way that I am devoted to Mint Choc Chip.  There are plenty of places where I try new things all the time but somehow this is different...I'd like to think its a matter of knowing what I like and finding a joy in familiarity, but perhaps it's best to not read too much into food choices like this. 
Do you have a staple order at a restaurant you cannot be swayed from?

Belt bit

Victory! (part 3 of 3)

Plastic pour #2... neater... actually started to solidify when it was supposed to...

Primer.

Black detail. (a little gaudy at this phase but hold on, it's just a step in the process)

Oooh... more gold... (I'm not going to even get into how much of a fight it was to mount this thing onto a belt)

Bumps in the road to Gold glory (part 2 of 3)

 The foam mold portion of this process went well.  Perfect on the first try... but then the liquid plastic portion of this adventure kicked me down a peg from my feelings of success.
The plastic filled and overfilled the mold until I was left battling an ever expanding amount of sticky plastic goo that thankfully had a plastic container collecting the excess rather than the kitchen table.

 Eventually I discovered that positioning pencils under the mold would keep the flow inside.

 The plastic was supposed to dry in about 15 minutes but the next day I was still left with soft and sticky shapes that began to bubble and expand like cancer had taken a turn for the worse.

This is when you try again.

We are the Champions... (part 1 of 3)

Working with Roma Plastilina for the first time in over a decade. The good news is that now they make a non-sulfur version (because the stuff I used in high school smelled to all high hell)

Today I made this large buckle, tomorrow I make the small side buckles, a mold for it and then from that a positive out of plastic.

...and then I paint it and mount it onto a belt... yes, this stuff is not exactly easy but it is enjoyable. Pray that the foam mold and plastic steps go well since I haven't done that before... but we follow directions and with a little luck it will all work out. More updates to come.

Shiny.

Guess what I'm sewing this week...

Digging through stock again... found an old friend.

Verboten

There are the things you are not allowed to mail to Germany


Through the US Postal Service here are the self-explanatory ones;
Absinthe.
Arms and weapons, including firearms, parts of arms, ammunition, and imitation arms.
 Human remains
 Live plants and animals
 Perishable infectious biological substances.
 Radioactive materials.

And here are the odd ones; 

Articles bearing political or religious notations on the address side.
-- So no Jesus stationary?

Melatonin.
 -- Why?

Playing cards, except in complete decks properly wrapped.
 --WHAT?!

Pulverized coca beans.
--Again... What?!

There are a few things on this list that I want to hear the story about. If anyone out there can tell me why playing cards and cocoa beans are contraband I'd love to know why.

DHL lists these;

Standard DHL prohibitions plus: Imitation and pirated products, Swastika, Hazelnuts, Peanuts, Brazil Nuts, Pistachios, Figs

--It's odd how they sneak "swastika" in with legumes and tree nuts...

Animal products
Animal skins
Asbestos
Ivory
Pornography
Precious metals & stones

(I guess you can send your asbestos, pornography and ivory through the US Mail)

FedEx has a very long list including;
Fighting Dogs, and Racist propaganda... but nothing about playing cards.

Very curious.

A finger Labyrinth

I followed it, with eyes shut.  I heard birds and cars and wind. 
Fingers followed the groove others have followed before me.
Quiet for a moment, in a park. 
Journey complete; I returned to the tasks of the day.
I want a finger labyrinth at home now!

Hey You!

Yea you sitting at your computer...

Wouldn't you rather be doing something more dog related?

I'll just sit here panting loudly until you make the right decision...

Bread Magic

The art of bread is a matter of alchemy. It is possible to use the exact same ingredients in exact proportions and have it turn out differently every time.  It could be because the batter was too dry, the weather too humid, or the dough was not kneaded enough or possibly too much, baking with a little consistency is a skill that takes a good deal of practice.  I'm so pleased when my baking goes well you must indulge me.

I made a new type of bread; Hungarian Split Farmhouse bread. It's from a recipe book I bought at Barnes & Noble for about $5 and despite the directions having been written poorly it has been a pretty useful book.

The ingredients called for a ton of yeast so the dough wound up being an unruly beast.  I added a significant amount of water to the dough (it's supposed to be very sticky to start, I added a whole extra cup of water). I beat it back three times before I was happy with the texture. The book only suggested one good kneading before baking but I imagine the whole thing would have been full of air bubbles.

I've got to say this is possibly the prettiest bread I've baked in a good long while.  It's covered with Fennel and Poppy seeds (perhaps too much Fennel, I'm going to knock off a few).  I am sitting here enjoying a fresh slice slathered in butter along with a licorice tea and I am in heaven!  If you love licorice you need to experience this! 

... And Papa, just to make you proud I took a photo of the inside... nearly perfect texture! 

Jokes from Nigeria...

This is verbatim from my  junk mail... made me laugh!

 

Central Bank of Nigeria,

Plot 33, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Way

Central Business District,

Cadastral Zone,

Abuja, Federal Capital Territory,

Nigeria

P.M.B. 0187,

Garki Abuja.

Nigeria

 

Dear Beneficiary,

"RE-CONFIRMATION NEEDED URGENTLY"

 

This is to bring to your notice that the Central Of Nigeria has been delegated

from the United Nations to pay 100 Nigerian 419 scam victims US$3, 000,

000, 00.each, You are listed and approved for this payment as one of the

scammed victims, get back to me as soon as possible for the immediate

payments of your Three  Million united states dollar compensations funds.

On this faithful recommendations, we want you to know that during the last UN

meetings held at Abuja , Nigeria . It was alarmed so much by the rest of

the world in the meeting regarding the lose of funds by various foreigners

to the scams artists operating in syndicates all over the world today, in

other to retain the good image of the country, The president of the

country (President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.) is now paying 100 victims of

this operators US$3,000,000,00. USD each, The payments are to be made by

FIRST INLAND BANK NIGERIA PLC (finbank), a corresponding paying bank under funding

assistance by the Central Bank of Nigeria (C.B.N.).

According to the number of applicants at hand,84 beneficiaries has been

paid ,half of the victims are from the United States, we still have more

16 left to be paid the compensations of US$3,000,000,00. each.

Your particulars was mentioned by one of the syndicates who was arrested

in Lagos Nigeria as one of their victims of the operations, you are hereby

warned not to communicate or duplicate this message to any body for any

reason what so ever, the US secret service is already on trace of the

criminals.

You are to receive your compensations payments via any of the below listed

options:

(1) THROUGH BANK TO BANK ONLINE TRANSFER

 

(2) THROUGH BANK DRAFT DELIVERY.

 

Let us know the choice options mentioned above you require to be paid, we

shall feed you with further modalities as soon as we hear from you.

All further correspondence should be forwarded to this office such as your

 

Full name-----

 

Contact address------

 

Your bank account name/number  (for online transfer)-----

 

Valid means of identification-----

 

Direct telephone number for easy communication between us----.

 

We use this medium on behalf of the Federal

Republic of Nigeria to apologize for the inconveniences this might have

caused you in the past.

 

 

Your Funds were returned to the Federal Government Treasury some while ago

because you did not finalize your claim for it. A week ago, the Presidency

and The Federal Executive Council collectively agreed to release the sum

of US$3,000,000.00 to you but to our surprise you sent down your

representatives Mr. Tim Parker and Mr. Rowland Gulf to collect this Funds

on your behalf, this morning.

 

For the fact that this Committee is faithfully in my full governance as

the Honourable Paymaster General of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, i

will like you to give me the authority to transfer your Funds into their

own Bank Account in Singapore (Asia).

 

 

We await your immediate response via email and telephone.Reply to:

(cbngovernor03@gmail.com)  and telephone  +2348089711490

Officially Sealed,

Yours faithfully,

 

Dr. Sanusi Lamido

Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The world through red glass.

My sister gave me a camera filter for my birthday (or was it Christmas? I'm not sure)

 No filter/color;

No filter/ Black&White

Filter/ Black&White
 (results unclear... perhaps the fennel  in my front yard isn't the most photogenic test subject)

No filter/ Black & White (woah it's so bright!!)

Filter/ Black & White (Awesome detail!!)

Filter... lots of detail, soft and delicate...

 

I think I like the no filter flower just because the contrast is cool...

The dog is super psyched about my new filter too!

Ooh and look at what happens if I just put the filter on and leave it on the color setting... I get art!
So cool!

--Thanks Kelly Beth!