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"The city as a center where, any day, in any year, there may be a fresh encounter with a new talent, a keen mind, or a gifted specialist. This is essential to the life of a country. To play this role in our lives a city must had a soul. A university, a great art or music school, a cathedral or a great mosque or temple, a great laboratory or scientific center, as well as, the libraries and museums and galleries that bring past and present together. A city must be a place where groups of women and men are seeking and developing the highest things they know."
-Margaret Mead
Baby it's cold outside! How cold is it? Baby, it's so cold that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a cold weather emergency for California. Yep, that's cold! Tonight, Friday/Saturday, the temperature around the Bay Area is expected to produce lows that will shatter the previous low temperatures of ten years ago. Farmers in Monterey and Fresno Counties, say they will be suffering millions of dollars of losses over the next few days, which means that the price of fresh fruits and vegetables from California will be reaching record prices I assume. Snow is not expected, the sky is crystal clear, but the frost tomorrow morning should be spectacular. Hopefully, I will be feeling well enough to try again for that perfect winter shot, from my own yard. Like I said we'll see.
The thing is, it isn't just the weather blowing cold air about, there are some mighty frigid attitudes blowing around the bay as well. Have you been following the drama surrounding the beating of members of the Yale Choir, the Baker's Dozen? You can read all about it here, but in brief, the choir members were apparently attacked outside a New Year's Eve party in San Francisco a couple weeks ago. Some of the members sustained some pretty serious injuries, including one member who had their jaw broken in two places. The San Francisco police were called, and that is where the true controversy begins. As far as I can tell, the police, including Chief Heather Fong, seems to be ignoring the obvious assaults on this group of men. One inspector, this past week, demanded that the Yale group pay their own way back to San Francisco, if they wanted to give a formal statement and press charges, stating, to one of the parents "The kids are affluent, so they can afford it."
This story has been in the news all week, and as of Friday morning, inspectors from the San Francisco Police department, had flown down to Los Angeles, where the choir members are finishing up their winter tour, and gave the victims a photo line-up where they could possibly identify their attackers. Why did it take 11 days after the initial assault for anything to be done on behalf of these young men? Do you suppose it is a blatant case of "The Have's vs. The Have Not's?" Or in this case, "The Have Not's vs. The Have's?" Was it a simple case of young men, going too far to "defend' their turf? The suspects have not been mentioned as belonging to any particular gang, so what's the real deal here? Is it the chill outside? This story has been presented on my local ABC affiliate, KGO 7, as an I-Team Investigation. During a particularly heated exchange between reporter Dan Noyes and San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom, other more interesting question arose, not just about this story, but also regarding a story previously published about Newsom showing up to the hospital bed of a fallen police officer, possibly inebriated. You can watch the exchange here, and read Dan Noyes blog entry.
Is it the weather? Do we get just as grumpy in cold weather as we do in the impossibly hot summer months? Tensions are running high in the area right now. Berkeley has been pretty quiet, except for the anti-war protest earlier this week, which seemed to be done without incident. The passive tree sitters, protesting the removal of some fabulous oak trees on the Berkeley campus are minding their "P's & Q's," although it did bother them that the police removed some of their belongings earlier this week, in an attempt to get them to vacate the trees. Sigh.
Classes at the university don't begin until next week, so all was really quiet downtown today. I happened to be out, for the first time in almost a week, and I looked up at this sign, one I pass all the time, but never really took the time to appreciate. It caught my eye today, for it's beauty and passive appearance. And hey look... autumn is still in the trees! Is that normal? I love book stores, and little coffee houses. I don't go out to this kind of place nearly enough anymore, what's up with that? Sigh. Berkeley has all the things mentioned in the above quote by Margaret Mead, so does San Francisco, but all this controversy reminds me of how easy it is to lose one's way, for the individual and the city. Sigh... again.
-OndineMonet
"Close To Home"
Bancroft Avenue
Berkeley, California
January 12th, 2007
Late Afternoon
"A cat improves the garden wall in sunshine, and the hearth in foul weather."
-Judith Merkle Riley
Look at that face! Tee Hee. I have been sick with the flu this week, I think I have been up a total of 6 hours since last Friday, but I haven't been too lonely, because I have the best nurse in the world, my buddy Elvis. I woke up the other day, from one of my NyQuil induced comas to find Elvis curled up on my feet, and some assorted comfort friends of his. His favorite coat bear, his turtle, and his favorite towel, which doesn't belong to him, but which he always manages to find when it is fresh from a warm drier. LOL. How could I take it away from him, when he works so hard to care for me? Lucky is me. :)
If you have a kitty, and maybe even a story about your kitty, post it and then hop over to Steven's blog, "(sometimes) photoblog," and leave him a link to where he can find your entry. Steven celebrates cats in the neighborhood every Friday, because as he says, "Cats Rule!"
-OndineMonet
"Elvis Asleep"
Berkeley, California
January 9th, 2007
Late Afternoon
"None pities him that is in the snare, who warned before, would not beware."
-Robert Herrick
Weekend Assignment # 147: Make a Warning Sign For Everyday Life. Because life needs warning signs sometimes.
Extra Credit: Ever ignored a warning sign you should have paid attention to?
-John Scalzi (By The Way)
Ok, I know the assignment John chose for us was meant to be fun and lighthearted, but honestly, after Wednesday night's speech regarding the impending troop escalation in Iraq, I can't think of anything, or anyone who we need to be more cautious of than our president, George W. Bush.
According to an Associated Press poll, as many as 70 percent of American's are against the "new' way forward in Iraq as outlined by Bush. I feel for the families who have lost loved ones, since Bush made the irrational and misleading decision to invade Iraq. I mean no disrespect, but sometimes I have to let my more serious thoughts and observations be known. There I said it. I wonder though... considering 70 percent see Bush's current move regarding Iraq as a mistake, could it be that I am finally preaching to the choir?
Extra Credit: LOL. There are signs, and then there are SIGNS! As most of you know, I once had the dinner from HELL, prepared for me, by the psycho mom of one of my darlin EX-BOYFRIENDS. Just to show you I do indeed still have a sense of humor, here is another sign which I also highly recommend. :)
Yes, it really did happen! Beware girls! Last I heard, he was living in Washington.
-OndineMonet
"I have been uncompromising, peppery, intractable, monomaniacal, tactless, volatile, and ofttimes, disagreeable... I suppose I'm larger than life."
-Bette Davis
Your Monday Photo Shoot: Take a photo of something that's larger than life. From statues to stuffed animals, snap a photo of something super-sized.
-John Scalzi (By The Way)
Fargo, North Dakota, isn't the only town with their very own Paul Bunyon statue, don't ya know! Oh yeah... you betcha... the town of Hayward, California has had a statue of old Paul for as long as I can remember. I was fascinated by it as a child, and as an adult, my eyes always seek it out when I travel down Mission Blvd, in Hayward. I don't remember ever seeing "Babe The Blue Ox" accompanying this particular statue, and for some reason I always called him "Mike." LOL. But I do remember he was the official greeter for the, Paul Bunyon Car Wash, for... well... forever. The car wash is closed now, but as you can see, Paul is still on the job, the only thing missing is his cleaning cloth and squeegee. Jeepers, I should try to find out his full story, don't ya think? Stay tuned...
-OndineMonet
"The Big Guy"
Mission Blvd
Hayward, California
January 10th, 2007
"That's the thing about magic, you have to believe it is still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you."
-Charles de Lint
For our first Round Robin Challenge of 2007, Steve, author of the journal, "Paparrazi By Proxy," has chosen "Magic" for our challenge. I thought this might be easy, because there is really so much magic everywhere. In the sunlight when it illuminates the dew drops on flowers on a crisp January morning, or even in the silliness of a Magic 8 Ball. I thought about going with that idea, but then I thought it might be nice to go with something of magic from my childhood, the "magic' Snickers bar.
When I was a little girl, my father had a special magic trick he would play, a few times a year, but almost always on my birthday. He would make Snickers candy bars appear out of nowhere... as if by magic. There was this whole big production involved, here is how it worked. First, I had to say, "I believe in magic." Then, he would have me spin around and around with my eyes closed, then abracadabra... open my eyes, just as I came out of the last spin, and there would be the magic Snickers bar, which always seemed to be falling from the ceiling in slow motion. To this day I have no real idea how he did the trick, I assume having me spin around was a good diversion, but it was impressive to the little girl in me. :)
Be sure to visit the other Round Robin participants... just follow the links below. And be sure to check the Round Robin blog on Thursday to find out the topic for our next challenge.
Linking List
1. Steve... PAPARRAZI BY PROXY POSTED!
2. Steven... (sometimes) photoblog POSTED!
3. Carly... Ellipsis... Suddenly Carly POSTED!
4. Linda... Blah Blah Blog POSTED!
5. Karen... Outpost Mavarin POSTED!
6. Teena... It's all about me! POSTED!
7. Gattina... Keyhole Pictures POSTED!
8. Brad... We-is POSTED!
9. Dorn... Through The Eyes Of The Beholder POSTED!
-OndineMonet
"Magic Candy Bar"
Berkeley, California
January 10th, 2007
Late Evening
"Thanks to modern medical advances such as antibiotics, nasal spray, and Diet Coke, it has become routine for people in the civilized world to pass the age of, sometimes more than once."
-Dave Barry
"Your Disintegrating Body" -Dave Barry Turns 40, 1990
Today (Tuesday) is Alan's birthday! Happy Birthday Hubby! :) We had big plans to go to a movie, and then to dinner to celebrate his big day, but I am afraid I am still fighting this particularly tough cold bug. It's ok, Elvis and I will do our best to give him a good day, and anyway like our friend used to say, "A birthday is not just for one day, a birthday is for a season!" I suppose we will celebrate a little each day over the next week or so, and we will make our time special. We always have the best time together.
That's why I chose the above photograph. It was taken in late October of last year, on our official "Family Day." Those boats were having a grand time on the San Francisco Bay that afternoon, reenacting a battle. Every so often one or both ships would launch a cannon, and victory cries could be heard all the way up to the top of the cliff overlooking the bay. We didn't know there was going to be anything special on the bay that day, we just happened upon the scene while on our way to Sausalito. Sometimes days that are just allowed to happen, make for the best of times. :)
Happy Birthday Husband!
Love, Carly
-OndineMonet
"Happy Birthday"
October 22nd, 2006
Late Afternoon
"Dreams are illustrations... from the book your soul is writing about you."
-Marsha Norman
I found this sign on the side of a building, just off Telegraph, here in Berkeley. I think I am inclined to agree. Some things should never change, such as what constitutes a planet. I liked Pluto right where it was, not that it's actually moved from the sky or anything, but in a way it feels like we have sent it to the back of the room. Sad. My goodness, the things I ponder when I have a fever. Yesterday (Sunday) it was the planet Pluto, old loves and, Tony Soprano.
I am getting better, I think, from this coughy, achy, stuffy head, feverish, funkiness of me. My fever is down, but not gone, so I am really achy. I liked my temperature at 104, but at least I know I will be better soon. Another sign I am on the mend is the weirdness of my dreams. Sunday afternoon I dreamed I was having lunch with Tony Soprano. It was a nifty good time really, just Tony and I, hanging out, enjoying the warm spring sun. Spring? Apparently I am already done with winter.
Or maybe it was giving me something to look forward to in the spring? It's not that I need anything to look forward to mind you... all is well... maybe I just dreamed that there was going to be a nice, sunny day in spring where I wouldn't mind hanging out with Tony Soprano. Oddly enough the only disturbing part was the quick image sight of Mr. November in the far background. The long ago and far away background. Maybe the sight of Mr. November is representational of a cold day in spring. Yeah, like that never happens. :) I think I just want Pluto to be a planet again.
-OndineMonet
"Hey, Pluto"
Berkeley, California
January, 4th 2007
Late Afternoon
"Dreams are answers to questions we haven't yet figured out how to ask."
-X-Files
My friend Linda of "Blah Blah Blog" has tagged me for the meme, "5 Things You Don't Know About Me." I love doing meme's, but this one was surprisingly difficult, because by now I think I have probably shared everything there is to know about me. How boring is that? LOL. What to do, what to do. Well, thank goodness, I do continue to grow as a person, so there might be one or two new things on the following list. Everything you are about to read is true... you can't make stuff like this up! LOL. I'm just me. ;)
5 Things You Don't Know About Me...
1. I ran over myself with my own car three times.
2. I have experienced Love At First Sight.
3. I taught myself how to cook.
4. I met the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, in Pleasanton, California.
5. I once had a phobia of ceramic coffee mugs.
Dull... but true I am afraid. :) The cold I have continues, so I will make this a short entry tonight. My fever is approaching the lovely number of 104.2, which is normal for me so don't panic. That just means that I will be feeling much better soon. LOL. Honestly, when a fever gets that high, nothing hurts anymore, and the world is all nice and cozy. Tee Hee. I will stay at that temp for a few hours, then my fever will break and I will go back to my normal running temperature of 97.6. I have a weird body chemistry to be sure. :)
I am going to tag Steven for this meme. :) I better go send him an email! Tee Hee. I wonder if he will play along? Hmmmm...
-OndineMonet
"Pink Lights"
Conservatory Of Flowers
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
October, 2006
Afternoon
"The city as a center where, any day, in any year, there may be a fresh encounter with a new talent, a keen mind, or a gifted specialist. This is essential to the life of a country. To play this role in our lives a city must had a soul. A university, a great art or music school, a cathedral or a great mosque or temple, a great laboratory or scientific center, as well as, the libraries and museums and galleries that bring past and present together. A city must be a place where groups of women and men are seeking and developing the highest things they know."
