At the Roots: Music, Matthiessen & Earth Day Marin

©Dave Perkes photo, http://www.peaceofangkorphoto.com/

The weekend was punctuated by hearing a bunch of great music, attending and playing a tune at the Earth Day Marin Celebration and learning of the passing of writer and naturalist Peter Matthiessen.
Friday, we waved goodbye to a songwriter-friend who is moving across the country and then got ourselves to Lafayette's Lamorinda Music Store for "3 Voices in Song," an evening with songwriters Wendy Beckerman, Louise Taylor and Karen Almquist. Wendy is the ringleader of a 'songwriter's exchange' we've been participating in for years. I've written about 'song group' before — a regular, grassroots gathering of diverse songwriters who come together to share a meal, their latest work and feedback — as it powerfully and stealthily became a trusted sounding board for many of my songs.

The trio's show at Lamorinda displayed the long-time friends' musical mastery. This wasn't flashy or trendy music, it was real and heart-filled music by dedicated artists. Three-part harmonies, blues riffs, delicate finger-picking... a great expanse of musical range and heart. Everyone had a firm command of their instruments and the joy they were taking in playing together was palpable. Wendy has a finely tuned sensibility for melody and meaning. When she isn't writing songs, she's teaching mindfulness classes: her songs are exacting, excellent and poetic. Karen, a kick-ass guitar player and self-proclaimed song 'interpreter', covered Jesse Winchester and early James Taylor, offered up several beautiful originals and added some cooking harmonica to the mix. Louise Taylor, also new to me, is a longtime troubadour who calls Hawaii home and wields a hollow-body Duesenburg guitar with the confident swagger of a gunslinger. Only it's her voice which is the real weapon. When she's not writing and performing, she's a voice teacher so...think Bonnie Raitt's long-lost sister. It was a truly nourishing night of authentic and highly skilled music. 

You think that would have been enough but ...we had tickets to Gurf Morlix house concert presented by KC Turner on Saturday night.  As a longtime devotee of Lucinda Williams and lover of Austin music, I'd heard Gurf's name a long while: he accompanied Williams for 11 years, and produced her first two albums (also co-writing one of my favorite Williams' tunes ,'Big Red Sun Blues'), but that's just a note in a long and storied career. As well as being a sought-after producer, he's a master guitar player and to-the-bone honest songwriter in the tradition of Townes Van Zandt, Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen and Blaze Foley (to whom he pays homage to live and in multiple recordings). Sitting back in a living room and hearing him sing and play a small-body guitar accompanied by singer-songwriter Amilia Spicer on vocals, I was musically transported to South Austin, and lyrically transported to the back roads of Texas where the living is hard and choices life or death. Again, a night of real-deal music.

Right before we left the house for the Gurf show, I learned that writer and naturalist Peter Matthiessen had passed. Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard was required reading for any self-respecting Environmental Studies major at UCSC. As a nature loving,  aspiring writer undergrad, I ate up that landmark book, as well as, in subsequent years,  his many New Yorker essays and writings on Buddhism and nature through the years. His words are steeped in integrity. When I had the privilege of meeting him in person after hearing him speak in SF a while back, I was struck by his immense heart and exacting presence. Reading his obituary and the many, recently penned tributes  (he has a new book that's set to be released tomorrow),  I'm struck again by his dedication to truth and activism: "it’s our duty [as writers] to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves."
Mostly, I'm reminded it's a privilege to read and to write, period.
On that note, while a contest is somewhat antithetical to the spirit of the artists mentioned above, I was nonetheless honored to have a song co-written with Kwame Copeland, "Your Own Reaction," chosen as a finalist in the Earth Day Marin Song Contest. And despite my cold-compromised voice, we ventured to Larkspur for a full day in the sun, listening to many speakers and musicians who are actively working on behalf of the environment and sustainable living, and performing our song. Marin residents are truly leaders on this front, and I was impressed with the effort made by producer Hannah Doress to pull the various organization and events together to share their knowledge and activism.  Kudos, Hannah!
Alas, our song did not win the grand prize (and a recording of it is just getting mixed so I can't post it) but I hope its message will add to the effort to make the world a better place:  

"Start your own reaction/See what you can do"

Full Moon Ocean Beach

It's getting to be spring and I've been wanting to get outside as much as possible. Yesterday, we drove out to Ocean Beach at day's end and could barely stand the force of the air being blown off the seashore. Oh my god how the wind was blowing.  No one was surfing. The shorebirds were having a hard time holding their ground. I covered my face to keep the sand out of my eyes.
Evidently, erosion is a big problem at the beach. I woke up this morning to an article in SFGate regarding climate change and its effect on the beach as well as the city's plan to stave it off.
"The 3.5-mile shore that lines the city's western edge draws more than 300,000 visitors annually. More shrouded in fog than in sun, it is not a postcard-perfect stretch of sand. But its condition has worsened for years as waves - heightened by climate change - hammer at bluffs, parking lots and the Great Highway." Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/05/BAAH1NROHM.DTL#ixzz1rHT2VD7y

On a personal note, I've got a bunch of family history around Ocean Beach  — my dad grew up in the Avenues— which prompted discussion about whether he surfed. He did not to my knowledge, growing up during WWII and enlisting to fight as soon as he graduated high school. I didn't know if anyone was surfing Ocean Beach during that time..and it turns out, no one really knows. According to Ocean Beach Bulletin, most surfing there was documented post-war: "According to longtime Kelly’s Cove denizens, board surfing started on Ocean Beach after World War II...." though there remains debate about earlier, undocumented wave riders.

It was bracing to be on the beach like this but we couldn't stand it for long and drove home under a fat waxing moon. Today's full moon is April's "Full Pink Moon." From the Old Farmer's Almanac:

April Moon Facts & Folklore

• In 2012, Venus will float spectacularly near the Moon on the 24th. The Moon stands below both orange Mars and blue Regulus on the 30th.
• On April 20, 1972, the lunar module of Apollo XVI landed on the moon with astronauts John Young and Charles Duke aboard. Thomas Mattingly remained in orbit around the moon aboard the command module. This was the third exportation of the moon.
• One day later on April 21, 1972, Apollo XVI astronauts John Young and Charles Duke drove an electric car (LEM) on the surface of the moon. It's still up there along with some expensive tools and some film that they forgot.
• The period from the full Moon through the last quarter of the Moon is the best time for killing weeds, thinning, pruning, mowing, cutting timber, and planting below-ground crops.

Locavoration: The Benefits of Playing It Close to Home

I spent the first part of 2010 touring a fair amount and taking some extended trips to the East Coast. Travel, even short getaways, is one of my addictive tendencies. While I love it (and am hardly knocking it, my winter will probably look very different) it can become a short-term solution for whatever nagging discontent I might be experiencing in my 'everyday' life. So in the the interest of walking my talk and shaking up my sneaky self-delusions, I set the for-me-radical intent to keep it local for at least a few months and get to know the East Bay a lot better: No planes, biking and walking as much as possible, close to home gigs, etc. I wrote about intention a while back and if the past couple months are any indication, they do work! Staying closer to home (my 'core area' of my territory as a wildlife biologist friend termed it) has begun to yield its own unique harvest of deeper connections, new found opportunities and friendships, and as far as the gig calendar, a host of dates at venues that uphold a local, sustainable ethic. Saturday, I'll be playing the Acoustic Brunch at Gather, an extremely well-thought out hub of excellent food and drink in the heart of Berkeley. In October, Oakland's latest proponent of neighborhood cultural enrichment, Actual Cafe (see video below from gig there a few months ago) will play host to a monthly Sunday residency of sorts for the Songwriting Collective of which I'm a part. Živjeli!

Saturday, August 7th, 2010 Gather Restaurant Acoustic Brunch - 11am-2pm 2200 Oxford St. Berkeley California 94704

a note on writing longhand & the perfect notebook

Once upon a time, I filled notebook after notebook with writing. It was the writing on the way to the writing as I called it. But then came Web 2.0, smart phones, texting, et. al. My stacks of notebooks dwindled. I wrote less and less. Or differently (the jury is out on better or worse). But on a recent shop at Indie Mart I happened upon Peperina Girl, maker of eco-conscious products and found a notebook of my dreams. Made from recycled album covers and 'up-cycled' (unlined) paper, my longhand, pen-and-ink writing habit is finding new life. Hooray for the handmade, and handwritten.

Read.East.Listen: homegrown

Creature of habit that I am, my summer is per usual, marked much by biking around, going to shows, and shopping at the Farmer's markets in our Bay Area foodie & original music paradise.
Read: Not a new book, but "The New Village Green" sheds light on sustainable living via words of wisdom from green authorities including Michael Pollan, Bill McKibben and Lynn Margulis.
Eat: Latest goodies found at local market are the raw cacao super food chocolates from Emeryville's own Coracao Confections. Yum
Listen: KALX Live! Kalx is one of Berkeley's free form public radios and I'll be guesting along with Alex Walsh tonight on the Saturday Live! show 9pm PST. You can tune into 90.7 FM or listen to the archives a later date. There, you'll find archives of previous shows too. Check it out!

Sustainable City

Amid all the booking in previous months, Jean Mazzei and I came up with a handful of East Coast dates and the Great Idea Tour would go to Phoenixville, PA before Brooklyn. The town, we found out, was indeed named for the mythical bird, having risen from many steel-factory related fires. Hence the name of the venue as well, Steel City Coffeehouse. Phoenixville was exceedingly friendly and welcoming as has been Pennsylvania in general. Having never been there before, I decided to stay on in Philadelphia for a few days before heading to NYC & I've been totally taken in by a progressive, hip, accessible and environmentally savvy city. Most restaurants and cafes cater to vegans (the joke being that some places label things 'non-vegan' rather than the other way around), the subway/trolley system is easy to learn and the mayor, Michale Nutter is evidently dedicated to making Philly the most sustainable city in America and it shows. Composting, car-sharing, wide bike lines and bike-share program are in full evidence. I'm visiting during Earth Week so there seems to be Green celebrations on every corner... as well as flags, former home as it is to Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross & the rest of revolutionaries. Thus far, I've balanced out my viewing of of the Liberty Bell & Independence Hall with one of Philadelphia's Magic Garden, a crazy quilt block of mosaics by Isaiah Zagar. Likewise, the musical landscape is just as diverse: indie bands at Mill Creek Tavern, a smoking Latin Jazz jam at Cafe Clave & an impromptu house mini-concert at my host's place scratching some of its surface....

Homebody: Earth Day/Earth Expo

I've been a total homebody since I got back from tour, thoroughly enjoying spring, biking and fresh produce, encouraged by the general green, healthy foodie Bay Area vibe. As April is host to Earth Day (April 22), many organizations are gearing up to celebrate our lovely and fragile planet, including, the City of Oakland. Before I hit the road again, I'm checking out Oakland's annual EarthEXPO, 14th, 10am -2pm, a 'festive lunchtime environmental fair and the region's lead-off event connected to Earth Day.' It promises to be a happy, healthy community celebration.

First pink, then green?

I did a wee bit of tabling on Sunday for Code Pink, the women-led grassroots peace & social justice movement, who were among the many exhibitors at the Green Festival. The Green Festival was a hall of good intentions. People sharing, selling and talking about raw food chocolate, organic cotton, co-housing, and green building materials crowded the Expo Center to its gills. It was groovy, it was inspiring, and it had its contradictions. Consumerism is consumerism, green or no, which isn't saying the Green Festival wasn't environmentally friendly, but true sustainability is a much deeper issue than wearing hemp.
A relatively slim corridor of Community Action exhibitors addressed many of these stickier aspects of humans attempting to live sustainably. Code Pink could be found in this area of the expo hall, and deep issues are what Code Pink, is about: stopping wars, respecting human rights, moving toward peace for all. What a tireless crew of women speaking out and finding creative ways to work toward a peaceable world! Perhaps a Pink Festival is needed? In the meantime, the CP site is a great resource.

A note on apple season

I guess if you're raised across the street from an apple orchard, you can't help but feel at home in apple season. I don't miss crop dusters (this was the 70s remember) cruising low over my roof, but I do miss having my pick of fruit from a half dozen trees as well as access to the nearby orchards. New York's Greenmarket was filled with apple sellers last week and California is the same right now. Yes, I made pie while in New York ("The Northern Spy" variety did live up to it's reputation as a great pie filling) and am spending part of my afternoon doing the same here. I've been back in San Francisco less than two days but stocked up on apples at Rainbow Grocery. Then a friend (smart man) arrived at my doorstep with a bag of apples as a gift. I'm not sure what kind they are. They look like they came from someone's yard. This is a good thing. Want to know more?
Organic Apple Production (California)
Grow Organic Apples
Apple Guide

On climate bills, Bill McKibbon & local action

"If you’ve been a little paralyzed by the sheer size and horror of global warming, now is the time to start moving forward, fast." — Bill McKibbon

Having written my representatives and senators on the matter, I was happy to see the House passed the Climate Bill yesterday even if many are saying it will mess up the economy further. I'm not sure what part of the widespread consensus that global warming is happening now people don't get with natural disasters, failed crops, lack of potable water for many people, and extinctions running amok. If all these events continue unabated money won't mean a thing. I suppose this is where education comes in. I 'forget' I got a degree in Environmental Studies 20 years ago when recycling programs and the ill effects of pesticides left most people scratching their heads (including my family as I recall after explaining these issues having come home impassioned&outraged from all I'd learned). I've known about this stuff long enough that it's second nature to ride my bike to work, separate the plastic from the paper, and buy local as much as possible. Yes, it's hard to remember these acts may make a dent when I pedal past a person pulling out of a driveway in a Lambourghini (the great thing about city living is you truly do have the all of humanity in full view), every action does count. There's plenty more I could do that really doesn't interfere with enjoying one's life. Given that, I found some great tips and and resources at American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy' site (they host theBehavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference).
For more on the complexity of the economy & action, the brilliant author Bill McKibbon has a new title "Deep Economy," which explains issues of growth, sustainability, & oil economies far more expertly than I can. You might want to pick up his "Fight Global Warming Now" while your at it.

Townes & Tunes

"We all got holes to fill/And them holes are all that's real/Some fall on you like a storm/Sometimes you dig your own/The choice is yours to make/Time is yours to take/Some dive into the sea/Some toil upon the stone/Well, to live's to fly awe low and high/So shake the dust off of your wings/And the sleep out of your eye/Awe, shake the dust off of your wings/And the tears out of your eye" — Townes Van Zandt, "To Live is to Fly"

One of the lifetimes ago, while living in Boulder, CO, I attended a live recording of etown, the environmental & musical variety show that airs on NPR stations across the land, and saw one of those truly great, late and flawed artists, Townes Van Zandt perform. Looking older than his age, (then not-yet-50 years), he moved a bit slow and seemed almost shy on stage. At the time, the live etown broadcasts at the Boulder Theater were cheap to attend: the show was fairly young and rough around the edges (as was I) but my equally young (and now ex) husband and I used attend as often possible, regardless of who was playing, as much because it was something we could afford. We soon realized that our few dollars were worth every cent. Co-host Nick Forster, a fine musician in and of himself, books great acts sandwiched between environmental information and special-guest interviews, and I would see memorable turns by Ani DiFranco, Bruce Cockburn, Richard Thompson, Jane Siberry and The Crash Test Dummies. However, I was ignorant of Van Zandt before seeing him on the etown stage. So I didn't know what to make of the skinny, possibly inebriated, musician who, nonetheless, was afforded great patience by etown's cast and crew. I don't remember what he played (and sadly, the etown show archive has a big gap between 1991-2000 which more than covers my years in Boulder!), but Van Zandt got in with me that night, despite my ignorance and my judgement. Weakened by years of substance abuse, he would die within a few years of the show. Since then, of course, I've realized that many my heroes and heroines of the music world have routinely covered his songbook: Lucinda Williams' version of 'Nothin,' EmmyLou's as well as Willie Nelson's oft-heard versions of "Pancho & Lefty," and how fortunate I was to see&hear him in the flesh. Another album of covers of Van Zandt, "Townes," by another influential troubadour, and friend, of Van Zandt's, Steve Earle arrived in the mail yesterday. Listening anew, I'm reminded how powerful a good & true song can be.

Objects moving in time & space: Architect Fernanda Vuilleumier

I met Fernanda Vuilleumier while she was attending CCA, studying architecture, and we were both living in Hayes Valley. Over many a strong cup of Blue Bottle coffee, I heard about her work and interest in sustainable design. Coffee talk completed, she'd get back on her motorcycle and back to the studio. Post-graduation, post meeting the love of her life and moving out of the US, Fernanda is fulfilling her vision in both her native home of Mexico, and now Patagonia and Santiago, Chile, working at Emerging Studio FV and on renewable energy projects and homes, the Latin America Laboratory Network she co-founded, and continuing to live LIFE very big. We caught up a bit by email.

Q What led you to be an architect?

FV I have two reasons: First, I love the object moving in time and space as a conceptual thought. Second, my mother is an architect. So I think the influence comes from the family.

Q Who are your biggest influences?

FV Architecture beyond 'The Renewable Energy.' Buildings should not be considered as solid objects. It's profoundly important to understand how they're connected to the ground and sky and how they're connected to the culture in the area. In terms of technological connections or connections to the culture of technology. This means making a building that thinks for itself, analogous to the way a human body functions. [The building] more then uses renewable energy. [i] produces and uses, as something that has life, and is not merely an object, "architecture'

Q What was a pivotal moment in your career?

FV I have two: First, 2004-2007. I enjoyed being at CCA California College of the Arts San Francisco, getting my Masters in Architecture. However, at the studio was my moment, my encouragement.
Second, 2008-2009, living for 10 months in Southern Patagonia, Chile [and] working on two- house projects. The visual stimulation and the no-scale of the landscape, was for me, a blast. Inspiration.

Q What's inspiring you now?

FV Nature. The landscape of Southern Patagonia, Chile and living life.

Q What are you working on?

FV Following dreams. Life. Architecture in concept, process and projects.

Q Do you think you will stay working in Mexico/South America?

FV My recent work is in Patagonia, Chile. [After that] my wish is to [continue working on] LAALAB.net. (Latin America Laboratory Network) It is a network-based laboratory for the critical exploration of new tendencies by Artists and Designers from the Latin American community all over the world. LAALAB.org is a non-profit research laboratory composed of a multidisciplinary team of professionals and students seeking to improve the human condition in Latin American countries through the application of sustainable design. We focus on re-defining applications of low-tech and high-tech engineering using high-performance design-materials & -methods. We will establish an online community for progressive-design oriented professionals, educators, students and fans.
And, I'll continue with my studies, pursue the application 2009-2010 PHD @ Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile/ Arquitectura y Estudios Urbanos. [And] hopefully LAALAB will work in Latin America.

Q Any other thoughts?

FV What a Life !!!!!!!!!!

http://www.fernandavuilleumier.com/

stopping the spray the happy way

I hopped a Ferry across the Bay yesterday and met up with Allegra (and a crowd of other Marin residents) for the Stop the Spray Benefit Concert in Sausalito. A sparkling bay provided the backdrop to showcase the beauty of the Bay Area and the depth of talent it possesses. Founding mothers and fathers of early rock&roll, roots and folk included legends Norton Buffalo, Maria Muldaur, Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman putting down to protest the unnecessary—and lethal—plan to spray the Bay Area for brown moths. I simply do not understand that people are mystified that cancer rates in the Bay Area are among the highest in the nation when we've subjected the state to agricultural pesticides for decades. I'm all for races for the cure, but we'd be well served to race to stop the causes. Please write your governor and your congressman to stop the spray. In the meantime, I'll be thankful for the healing power of music. Muldaur is one of the Bay Area treasures, and the hairs on our arms was literally standing up on end as she belted out "Yes, We Can" (which she recorded with Bonnie Raitt shot a video that has been slated for Obama's campaign), "Well, Well, Well" and "Please Send Me Someone to Love."
(photo©ChanceGardener)

evolutions

I guess I'm growing up. I did my taxes today and it didn't freak me out.
I've been playing a lot of music (rehearsing, etc) and don't feel like writing....economy of energy...
Check out the Earth Hour effort for more savings. That is/was today but hey, why not do it every day?

balancing

KOYAANISQATSI: LIFE OUT OF BALANCE was made in the early 1980s, but like so many cautionary tales, was in its time and sadly hasn't become a relic, is even more relevant today. Let's just say if you didn't see it (or haven't ever traveled across the country in a car), its a documentary that relies on visuals: of desert landscapes, bomb tests, war zones and crowded sidewalks and LA freeways (by 1980s standards, by in these shots the traffic still moves) , where Al Gore relied on animated polar bears and bars and graphs in his film An Inconvenient Truth. I went to ATA last night, to revisit the movie most of all because Yoon Ki was part of the musical group doing a live, improv score to it (Phillip Glass was behind the original soundtrack). The local musician's did a swell job...and I left the showing completely disturbed for the world (if they'd wanted improv vocals, I would have been wailing).
So a long walk on the beach today on a glowing SF afternoon was the ticket: joyful children, flying birds [gulls! turnstones! willets!], surfers, crowded cafes (pitstop at Judalicious, yum).... LIFE in action. Phew.

back to it

Back to work but not out of what to do/party/music mode. It's St. Patrick's day and Sally just tipped me off to a cool show @ Yoshi's I'm going to after work and after going to the Albatross w/Denise and Marissa. Life is full and good. That said, Keane sent me this sobering link to a Treehugger article about A WORLD WITHOUT PEOPLE. Pretty sobering stuff.

stop the spray 2

Back on the soap box, this idea is plain BAD. From the Care @ Alerts:
The SF Chronicle just announced that a pesticide untested for human health safety will be sprayed over our Bay Area homes this summer in an attempt to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth. (Read the article)

Already, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties have been sprayed and hundreds of citizens have reported health problems. Please tell your neighbors to sign this petition protesting the aerial fumigation of Bay Area residents.

Truly horrifying is that, according to StopTheSpray.org, the pesticides currently used (CheckMate OLR-F and LBAM-F) have only undergone short-term tests on rats and rabbits. The manufacturer states, "Long-term studies on the active ingredients have not been done, however, no adverse effects expected."

Although the pesticide label reads, "Harmful if inhaled. Avoid breathing vapor or spray mist," the Mercury News reported that people were out walking in Santa Cruz when the planes started spraying.

Government agencies approving the plan admit that the pesticide could pose a threat to some people, stating "not all health effects can be predicted and because the general population includes susceptible (people), such as children, the elderly and those with chronic diseases, we cannot provide a definitive cause for their symptoms [experienced after the spraying in Santa Cruz and Monterey]."

Sprayings over San Francisco are expected to begin Aug. 1 and other areas to be sprayed as early as June include Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, and Daly City, Colma, Oakland, Piedmont, Emeryville, Albany, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Tiburon and Belvedere.

Stop the government from spraying citizens with pesticides without consent! Sign this petition and be sure to tell your friends:
http://go.care2.com/e/.ah9/txYl/AG6qQ
Most of anyone knows me, knows I HAVE very strong feelings about pesticide use. Please take action!

tool kit-past observational media

Observation vs. analysis, magic bullets and action. Yes, there are some deep thoughts that have been going on amid the sniffling through the flu and cold that swept through SF recently, and facing my imminent entry into a new decade. On the train today, I noticed a quote in a Time article a fellow passenger was reading (yes MUNI was that crowded where I didn't even have to read over a shoulder, the page was just right in my view!) about the wave of internet tools out there (Twitter, Utterz, instant message...blogs are downright old school) being used to report on the presidential campaigns being waged. The reporter noted these social media tools favored "observation rather analysis" which is what I think is good and weak about the barrage of ways we can communicate past basic face-to-face communication (which we all know can be incredibly flawed). People get the news and spread their views like never before...but are we taking action? What does effective action look like?
I have a job that gives me time to read the news and views of all the people using social media and I see equal parts outrage, escapism and proactive behavior in the face of the world as we know it 2008. My conclusion again: There are no magic bullets right now for global warming, imperfect lives, conditioned thinking and rampant addiction- be it to money, coffee or drugs (I'm thinking of the red flag of Heath Ledger's death now: all those pharmaceuticals to try to make him feel better. What were the doctors and people around him thinking?). I feel very very fortunate that despite my own life's challenges I've been given some access to some great practices, spiritual guidance, techniques and activities to help me get through. Small changes every day add up. Practice, yes, leads toward, if doesn't outright make, perfection.

sweet spots and foot prints

It's all about the sweet spot, a term using in sporting goods and recording. There are sweet spots in everything though: moments, conversations, places. One of the sweet spots in this city is the open-air, easy vibed Revolution Cafe, which is especially sweet when bay area bass gem Marcus Shelby strolls in and plays with his trio on periodic Wednesday nights. I saw his orchestra last summer do it's fine tribute to Harriet Tubman and it was equally great to hear him play laid back and casual on a Wednesday. Excellent, as well, to have music back at the Revolution and very nice to have the opportunity to spend some time with a good friend listening the night away... a sweet spot, yes.

What's your carbon footprint? Find out how many earths it would take if everyone lived like you do by taking a quiz.

more red hearts

I got up early, to a bus early, to a really early dentist appointment to check on my teeth grinding. Words such as 'this is a bandaid,' about my night guard, 'call me when you win the lotto' and 'the tragedy is you have great teeth' are not words you want to hear before 8am. So. I walked down to Union Square smack into the Tony Bennet "Heart on Union Square" ('the best city') and had a great Americano at Emporio Rulli and mulled the dental reality, as well as the big "Go Red for Women" banner outside Macy's, a campaign for heart health for women run by the American Heart Association. Other than thinking, "i need to send them a cd" it led me to think of causes and research and does it help or not? I'm thinking really health all comes downs to prevention and life affirming acts rather than post-illness-diagnosis treatment. Many treatments seem to be about eradicating which I think is violent, rather than more LIFE: organic food, care, love, energy, joy. Anyhow. This is a larger topic than I have time for at the moment.