Read.Eat.Listen: Island State

Read:  Though I was hard pressed to wander to far from the beach on my visit, there's a more to Hawaii beyond the sand and teaming tourists. Written in 1866 (!), nearly a century before it became a state,  "Mark Twain in Hawaii: Roughing It in the Sandwich Islands: Hawaii in the 1860s by Mark Twain captures Hawaii when it was still a kingdom yet in the process of getting colonized ...and all the complexity inherent in a collisions of cultures the state still exhibits: "Nearby is an interesting ruin--the meager remains of an ancient temple--a place where human sacrifices were offered up in those old bygone days...long, long before the missionaries braved a thousand privations to come and make [the natives] permanently miserable by telling them how beautiful and how blissful a place heaven is, and how nearly impossible it is to get there; and showed the poor native how dreary a place perdition is and what unnecessarily liberal facilities there are for going to it; showed him how, in his ignorance, he had gone and fooled away all his kinsfolk to no purpose; showed him what rapture it is to work all day long for fifty cents to buy food for next day with, as compared with fishing for a pastime and lolling in the shade through eternal summer, and eating of the bounty that nobody labored to provide but Nature. How sad it is to think of the multitudes who have gone to their gaves in this beautiful island and never knew there was a hell." — Mark Twain
Eat: Acai berries are native to Trinidad,  and Acai bowls originated in Brazil, but given how omnipresent the latter are on Hawaii breakfast menus, you'd think the antioxidant packed berry was an Aloha original. I'm not complained about having eaten so many acai bowls — which combines the best aspects of superfruit smoothie, fresh fruit and crunch —  last week. I became partial to those layered with raw granola and topped with local honey. Ascension Kitchen offers a good guide to composing one at home.

Listen: I've been playing Jenny's Lewis's The Voyager (produced by Ryan Adams) nonstop. This song encapsulated her fresh, rocking sound and humor ...as well as what it's like travel in popular vacation destinations:

Read.Eat.Listen: Staying Warm

And whoosh, we're home. Holidays, travel, shows, oh my, but I'm happy to be home for a few weeks of holiday schmoozing and general life catch up. Given we've been up and down the West Coast between Seattle and LA, during the past 10 days, I can vouch for the fact that it's cold (relatively cold, I know, if you're in California) just about everywhere. A great excuse to cozy up, read, eat and listen well.
Read: It's also the time of year for the 'best of' lists. Seeing The Goldfinch on several such lists (it's been compared to Dickens), I had to give it a go. I just started this long tale by Donna Tartt about, ultimately, how art saves us. Have you read it? Let me know what you think
Eat: It's easy to get out of whack traveling, and as a counter to changeable schedules and the holiday glut of sugar, we're hitting the reset button with clean eating. Here's a warm, nourishing recipe from the Clean blog for Roasted Vegetables and Rice.
Listen: We've seen a lot of great music of late including being completely blown away by Steve Poltz's humor and energy at the Swedish American Music Hall. Equal parts songwriter, comedian, monologist and musician, I haven't quite seen a live show like his before. He took the audience to school on how to really engage a crowd. He even had more than one holiday-related song in his mix, such as this Christmas Wish.

Read.Eat.Listen: Gifts

Did anyone not get a cold or flu this past week? Jeepers. The upside of being under the weather is slowing down, taking care, prioritizing and appreciating how good it is to breathe anew.
Read: "The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World," by Lewis Hyde. Not a new title, but a classic about the value of creativity, art and commerce, and the true nature of a 'gift'. Picked up at Powell's, partly read on the plane. "Not surprisingly, people live differently who treat a portion of their wealth as a gift. To begin with, unlike the sale of a commodity, the giving of a gift tends to establish a relationship between parties involved....
Eat: Rather drink. As colds and flues require copious amounts of liquid. On tap? Ginger/Lemon/Tumeric/Honey Tea. Whir it all up in a blender and stir in hot water. Quaffing the stuff in these parts.
Listen: Speaking of artists with gifts. I noticed Jolie Holland's recent contribution to Portland Cello Project which led me to this semi-recent Tiny Desk Concert.

Read.Eat.Listen: Dream baby

Read: Provided I have the right sleep conditions, I'm one of those folks who likes to dissect my dreams for meaning. I don't know if it's the change in seasons or my recent move, but conditions for dreaming have been optimal. My friend Liz turned me onto this Signs & Symbols book many years ago, I found the tome amid the recent packing and unpacking and have been having fun interpreting things anew.
Eat: It's raining, it's [not quite] pouring. Soup is on. Behold the Adzuki Bean. I like it stewed up with wakame. So does The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen (whose much better at listing ingredients in proper recipe format--I tend to eyeball everything that goes into the pot).
Listen: Trixie Whitley, daughter of the ultra amazing guitarist, Chris Whitley, has cool and talent in spades. Did you hear the project she did with Daniel Lanois, Black Dub? Check it out. In any case, Trixie does a lot of other projects, solo and otherwise, as well. In anticipation of catching her performance in SF next week, I'm enjoying some of her online media: