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| Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 | | 10:17 pm |
Big Basins
On memorial day, I went down to Santa Cruz with my friend Noran. We visited Big Basin State Park, and did a 3 mile hike. The park had a lot of visitors that day, but once we got away from the parking lot and onto the trail, it was very quiet. A walk in the woods is such a simple thing, but I had forgotten how refreshing it can be. The weather was perfect: about 70 degrees, and calm. Then we went into Santa Cruz itself and visited a friend of mine there. We walked along the shoreline, then went out onto the municipal pier (which is a hangout for seals!) and then along the boardwalk. The Monterey/Santa Cruz bay is a huge semicircular basin, and you could see all of it in the perfect weather. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant in Capitola that was something out of another era. It had a small garden court at the entrance, three large rooms, and lots of gilt latticework--plus a central Buddha statue surrounded by flowers and a fountain. You can't get that kind of excess here in SF--space costs too much. The tables were large and well spaced, which I like very much. I'm sure Santa Cruz has its own pressures, but our day, at least, was very relaxed. Plus I came home with a bunch of Meyer lemons from my friend's garden. It was a bit tiring to have such a long day (9 AM on the road, and 11 pm return), but very enjoyable. | | Thursday, March 3rd, 2011 | | 10:54 pm |
Happy Birthday to Urso
In an hour's time, it will be ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) urso's birthday. Happy Birthday. This will be your graduation year too! May it be a good one! | | Sunday, February 27th, 2011 | | 12:43 pm |
Longtime Conundrum
I went to see the film "We Were Here" at the Castro yesterday. It was very powerful. It reminded me that many of the issues of the AIDS crisis have never really been resolved for me. They have just receded into the background. I always thought a film about that period would have to encapsulate itself within a political viewpoint, but Weissman really succeeds in keeping the focus on the feelings of the people he interviews. The film is more about what it felt like to go through the AIDS years, than it is about documenting everything that happened. I cried continuously throughout the film---not hysterically, but with sorrow and remembrance. What an enormous sense of loss! It was very powerful to see the film at the Castro theater, with a crowd that included many other men of my generation. The sense of community, which has been waning in this age of internet contacts, was palpable in that auditorium. The old, Castro community came alive. And although much of what the movie shows is devastating, and I cried more than I have in years, I have to say that I also came away with a tremendous feeling of love and pride in our community. We weren't always angels, and some people did terrible things during the epidemic, but many more made tremendous sacrifices in order to help others. It would be interesting for the director to do another film about what the survivors of that generation have done to integrate themselves back into the everyday world, now that the sense of siege has passed. How does an experience like that become an ongoing part of life, rather than a nightmare that one fears to re-experience, however valuable the lightning bolts of illumination that accompanied the terror? The spiritual and political transformation that the AIDS crisis wrought was truly extraordinary, and I came away from the film grateful, despite all the suffering, that so many people found so many ways to be kind, helpful, and strong, in the midst of such terrible destruction. | | Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 | | 2:14 am |
| | Monday, August 18th, 2008 | | 11:43 pm |
Another personality meme
This is the first time I came out the same as bitterlawngnome! Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test... HFPS - The HumanitarianHumanity, Foreground, Big Picture, and Shape 
You perceive the world with particular attention to humanity. You focus on what's in front of you (the foreground) and how that fits into the larger picture. You are also particularly drawn towards the shapes around you. Because of the value you place on humanity, you tend to seek out other people and get energized by being around others. You like to deal directly with whatever comes your way without dealing with speculating possibilities or outcomes you can't control. You are in tune with all that is around you and understand your life as part of a larger whole. You prefer a structured environment within which to live and you like things to be predictable. The Perception Personality Types:  Take The Perception Personality Image Test at HelloQuizzy | | Saturday, June 7th, 2008 | | 12:03 am |
Pod People
I am going to take a class at City College this summer on podcasting, and I thought I would listen to some new podcasts to get in the mood. Does anyone have any recommendations? I've listened to NPR shows and other broadcast material that was repackaged for internet distribution, but I don't know much about material that is produced with the Internet as its primary distribution destination. What do you guys like? | | Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 | | 9:58 am |
Microsoft ;(
So, a week or so ago, Internet Explorer developed a strange bug. It goes obediently to any web page I type in, but if I click on the drop-down list of pages I have been to before, it freezes and had to be shut down using Task Manager. If I supply an address I've been to before by typing into the destination box, the pop-up menu appears spontaneously and shows the list of prior destinations. I just can't click the down arrow to bring the list of previous sites up on my own. So I've been using Mozilla instead. Perhaps that is the best solution? Has anyone else encountered this problem? Is it Vista, or Explorer, or some mysterious combination of the two? Any help would be appreciated. | | Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 | | 12:19 am |
| | Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 | | 12:07 am |
The meme thing: I like the artwork on this one!
You are The HierophantDivine Wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching. All things relating to education, patience, help from superiors.The Hierophant is often considered to be a Guardian Angel. The Hierophant's purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth. Where the High Priestess between her two pillars deals with realms beyond this Earth, the Hierophant (or High Priest) deals with worldly problems. He is well suited to do this because he strives to create harmony and peace in the midst of a crisis. The Hierophant's only problem is that he can be stubborn and hidebound. At his best, he is wise and soothing, at his worst, he is an unbending traditionalist. What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out. | | Saturday, February 16th, 2008 | | 11:18 pm |
Play it again, Sam
I went to a square dance party tonight (Saundra Bryant calling for Foggy City) and it was a lot of fun. I love squaredancing, but I seem to keep having obstacles come up to my attending class. First there is my Chinese class, which always seems to be on Tuesday night, and then there is my job, which often requires me to work on Monday night (and Wednesday, and Friday. . . and on and on). I don't know why I like the dancing so much. It's not that sophisticated or unusual. I think it is the friendliness of the atmosphere, and the fact that, unathletic though I am, I can get the rhythms and really feel a part of the choreography. It's the only team sport I've ever been good at, and it feels wonderful to be a part of it. And the fact that the club has lots of bears in the membership helps too. There is always lots of good, simple, comfort food, and the pricing structure is kept very reasonable. And people are friendly at the events in ways they would not be in a bar. People go a bit overboard, talking about the bear community as their family sometimes, but I can really see it when I go to these square dance events. Thanks, guys, for a wonderful time! | | Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 | | 11:00 pm |
Zhong wen ke wan le
Well, tonight I had the final exam in my Chinese 2A class. We had to perform a group skit as the oral part of the final, and then take a written exam. It was quite an evening. I'm sure I passed, but I got stuck in a few places I didn't expect. Learning a language is so complex. French was a lot easier! But I am starting to feel that I can make real progress at this, if I have the time to practice. Whether the next year will allow for that, I don't know. I need to make progess on the job front, and if I find something full time I may have to break off the lanugage program. Also, City College so far has not scheduled the follow-up course to the one I just took. Eventually, of course, they will have one. But if I have to stop for a semester or two until they get around to it, I'm not sure I will start again. But oh, what a pleasure it would be to study another semester or two and then have a chance to go overseas! Now on to my Broadcast Journalism multiple-choice final! | | Sunday, November 25th, 2007 | | 7:01 pm |
Music Soothes the Savage Breast
I went to the Symphony last night with my friends Greg and Randy, who offered me tickets, with , , and Marks' friend Larry. Many thanks to Greg and Randy for the tickets! It was lovely to be back in the Symphony hall after so long. I worked there from 1993 to 1997, and it brought back memories of being in my thirties. Bittersweet. The concert was interesting, but not terribly memorable. Garrick Ohlsson did a great job with the Barber Piano Concerto. There was a Haydn symphony (#67) and Elgar's "Enigma Variations." Leonard Slatkin conducted. Afterwards, we went to Max's Opera Cafe and pigged out on dessert. A good time was had by all. Being a poor student, I hardly ever take advantage of the cultural scene here in SF. It was nice to be at the Symphony and hobnob with the culture mavens. Now, back to my homework. Classes end on Dec 11. | | Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 | | 11:54 pm |
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I will be working at the theater from 12:30 to 5:30, then going late to a friends' Thanksgiving-in-Progress with Mark. After that, if there's time, it's on to UGH for a bear Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. | | Wednesday, August 8th, 2007 | | 12:50 am |
Harvey Milk Institute
I was trying to find the catalog for the Harvey Milk Institute the other day, and nothing came up when I searched on Google. I found some old websites from a few years ago, but nothing current. Does anyone know what is up with Harvey Milk Institute? Have they shut down? Are they hiding somewhere under a new name? | | Monday, July 2nd, 2007 | | 1:29 am |
another personality test
Your Score: Prometheus0% Extroversion, 100% Intuition, 44% Emotiveness, 47% Perceptiveness You are most like Prometheus, and you probably knew that before you even took this test. You probably aren't deliberately altruistic, but you still tend to do things that benefit everyone, even at great expense to your health and personal relationships. You aren't ruled by your emotions, but you still have a strong sense of justice. You make good descisions, but they can sometimes backfire (and this isn't due to a flaw in your reasoning, but due to faulty premises instead).
You are very reasonable, you understand systems, you can quickly pinpoint flaws and you know how to correct them. You pride understanding and knowledge above everything else, and your greatest fear is to appear to be incompetent. You tend to be contemptuous of authority, but you don't accept leadership roles yourself until everyone else has demonstrated their own incompetence.
You've built a very specific skill set. You know exactly where your strengths and weaknesses are, and you pride yourself on this kind of self-knowledge. You distrust tradition, which you see as arbitrary, and you rely instead on your own judgements. You also pride yourself on your pragmatism. You're also a very private person.
Most of all, people think you're arrogant, but screw them! They're the ones who benefit from your ideas and discoveries, and if they took the time to understand why it is that you say and think the things you do, they'd realize that you only appear arrogant because you are exactingly precise when it comes to your area of specification, and most of all because, when you don't know something, you don't have an opinion about it (unlike most of the loudmouths that you have to deal with on a day-to-day basis).
Relationships are your kryptonite. It isn't that you don't want them -- in fact, you would very much like a very close relationship with someone who understands you. They're just the one thing in the world that you're naturally bad at.
Famous people like you: Niels Bohr, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Werner Heisenberg, Issac Newton, John Maynard Keynes, Erwin Schrodinger
Stay Clear of: Apollo, Icarus, Hermes, Aphrodite
Seek out: Atlas, The Oracle, Daedalus | | Friday, April 20th, 2007 | | 8:52 pm |
Accent marks
</form> Northeastern.
You're probably from somewhere near New York City, possibly north Jersey, or Connecticut or Rhode Island. If you are from New York City you may be one of the types who people never believe when you say you're from New York. Take this quiz now - it's easy! They were right! I *am* from New York City, and many people don't believe I am from there, when they hear me speak. This meme really works! And it's interesting, because I've lived in California for 25 years! How much of our early imprinting stays with us! | | Thursday, December 21st, 2006 | | 7:01 am |
Old
I haven't been posting much lately, but I reached a milestone this month, and I want to memorialize it before the Christmas rush takes us into next month. I turned 50 during the first week of December. It has been strange, reaching this milestone at a time of transition in my life. So many friends of mine are getting ready to retire. I quit my admin assistant job on my 49th birthday, and I have been doing odd jobs ever since. It feels to me that I am finally asking myself what I want to be when I grow up. So the career question is coming into focus for me, in a new way, just as many of my acquaintance are completing their careers. Of course, nowadays many people live to be 75 or 80, so it isn't totally unrealistic to think that some kind of new career can emerge at this time of life. But at 50, many options are also closed. I am not going to go to medical school, or spend ten years getting tenure at a University, or put in 20 years at a government job to rise slowly through the hierarchy. There are astrology books that say Sagittarians mature slowly, and Jungian psychology books that also say the INTJ takes a long time to find himself emotionally and socially. They both predict that someone like me may not really "find himself" until age 50. I can't say that I've found myself yet, but it does feel like some kind of greening is going on--old though I may be. To explore and to feel my way intuitively feels right, at this point in my life. An old Zen proverb says "on the withered branch, a flower blooms." I feel like that somehow. Not the rich blossoming of spring, but a late bloom, austere, simple, vulnerable. The Zen view is the hopeful view. There is another interpretation of my situation, however. A line from "Star Wars" goes through my mind often, asking me if there really is time to build something new at this stage of life. I think it is the Emperor who says it to Luke Skywalker in their final confrontation. "Only now, when it is too late, do you truly understand." Is it too late? And even if it is too late, do I really understand? Strangely enough, only time will tell :) | | Friday, November 24th, 2006 | | 3:27 pm |
Popcorn
Well, it's official. I am working part time at a movie theater here in SF. I make and sell popcorn, buttered or otherwise, and sell candy, soft drinks, coffee and tea. It's been interesting. I wanted to have some money coming in, and this is a holiday job. There is the possibility, though, that I can continue to work part-timne when the holidays are over--evenings and weekends would be helpful, since I plan to try out something more career oriented during the days, after Jan 1. Unfortunately, though, I had to work on Thanksgiving night. Had a brief visit with urso and tmaher, also present were , and Neil Heather (not currently on live journal). Meanwhile, I continue to house sit and dog-walk. This is an interesting transition time for me. Hoping to come up with a good career direction sometime soon. My chinese class at city college ends Dec 5, so I should be able to go to Foggy City dances again soon. Hooray! Hope everyone is having a good holiday season! | | Saturday, September 30th, 2006 | | 3:15 pm |
Transformations
Well, after many years of minimalist TV, I recently upgraded to a 20 incher--a 12 year old hand-me-down from a friend who was going to junk it. It will be perfect for watching films assigned for my History of American Cinema class at City College. But I need a 12-volt transformer. The TV's speakers don't work well, so I got some substitutes at the Thrift Store. They need a 12-volt transformer to work. Anyone have a good idea where to get one? My job at the Synagogue has been wonderful--very nice people, and so much interesting history to learn, as they prepare for the High Holidays. But next week, the Holiday Rush will be over, and soon my job will be over, too. Time for another change of scene. I have a job interview on Tuesday--an ADmin Asst position. We will see how it goes. Otherwise, things have been rolling along--my Chinese Class is going well at City, and I have enjoyed being able to see Mark more often, now that he is not traveling so much. But I have been away from Square Dancing too long, because of all my colds and illnesses. That is the next goal--to get back into dancing! | | Sunday, September 17th, 2006 | | 6:49 pm |
Sick
Well, I am sick again--stomach flu this time. This has been a year of illnesses, mostly respiratory. I think it has to do with the stress of trying to find a new career. Speaking of which, I just completed my first week of temporary work at the local gay synagogue. They needed help during the High Holidays. It is very nice to work in a gay environment. And it brings back memories of growing up in New York, where Jewish culture was very much in evidence. Meanwhile, I continue visiting my two career counseling agencies, and trying to figure myself out in general. I had a dog-sitting assignment this week as well--in fact, the stomach flu started while I was still at the dog sit, so it's been rather hectic all around. I have missed square dancing for three weeks in a row now, and I am very disappointed that I haven't felt well enough to go. Perhaps the rest of September will bring more stability. I hope to be seeing more of all of you soon. |
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