Kodo

DW#1 took me and two friends into deepest Berkeley Sunday evening, to Zellerbach Hall. We found instant parking, believe it or not, in part because most of North America was watching SuperBowl XLVII. Guess what? DW#1 had made the correct choice! And, the power never failed at Zellerbach during the extraordinary feats of Kodo, the traveling Taiko group.

.

It was a riveting show, with world-class performers and a bunch of beautiful drums. Amazing rhythms and wonderful variations thereof.

DW#1, by the by, points out the lack of printed scores for the musicians. She states that every move must be memorized through practice, and then more practice.

 

If you get the chance, by all means leap at the opportunity to see Kodo Taiko

 (P.S. cut & paste: http://youtu.be/8zSa6Zz2Zrs High volume, full screen.)(P.P.S.: This one is even better: http://youtu.be/C7HL5wYqAbU Especially for all grandsons wherever located.)

For gnomes only

If you admire gnomes, as some of us do, you should also admire this addition to an ordinary hand-painted sign.

www.kamakurarestaurant.com

Just a simple sushi boat:

Just sayin'
:)

Torrey Pines

Tiger has found his game again, apparently, as he roared out of Sunday with a 5 or 6 point lead. Fog delay on Saturday insured a Monday final.
Meanwhile, Getty Images and the Washington Post provide us with this absolutely marvelous shot of blue San Diego skies, two paragliders spectating, and Tiger showing his swing.

California, Here I Come;

100% accurate description of our state, via @haineux on FaceBook:

Click to enlarge, and to chuckle. :)

Mavericks Invitational 2013

Pics courtesy of MavericksInv.
Waves were less than predicted.
Surfing was good.
Go MavericksInv!

This is the reason they have tethers.

I'll be streaming this on Sunday

First time since 2010, when 40 spectators got swamped by a monster wave. (Injuries, but no deaths.)
New management.
Sparkling skies.
Big waves predicted.
This should be fun!

MAVERICKS Invitational 2013

Family Travels

A phone, a deer, and a pair of sunglasses. Seen outside a temple in Nara Japan, if memory serves.

Chilly chilly mornings

This photo (h/t: Claycord.com) shows this morning's dusting of snow on top of our beloved Mt. Diablo:

As usual, click to enlarge.
(Wear warm boots when doing so.)

Cat gut

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

:)

We didn't celebrate Hannukah

Not in this house, anyway. Besides, that was a few weeks ago. But! What to do with the left-over sujiko (salmon roe) from the Japanese New Years feast? Intrepid DW#1, unfazed as usual, grates some potatos, some onions, adds milk, adds leftover sour cream, plops down the sujiko, and voila:

 Her world-famous latkes!

Food. New Years Day 2013

Only two families this year. At HiltonHouse. Two talented food preparers and one sashimi chef.

Can't be beat!
Here's a wider view, from a Galaxy Smartphone, no less. J's cup at left; H's hand at right.

Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu!

Perfect Picnic Spot

Sunning by the Sea. Isala del Giglio, Tuscany, Italy

(Setting courtesy of Costa Concordia, Carnival Cruise Line)

Norman Schwartzkopf

Stormin' Norman

R. I. P.

Merry Christmas 2012

An all-time favorite:
http://youtu.be/k9ZWNxM-r3M

Thanks, Bing.
(The deepest voice in pop music ever!)

Confused

Hey, anyone. You've got to help me here.

No, I'm serious. Help.

:)

An earlier, easier time

Norman Rockwell, 1956

Winter sports

are taking rather strange forms in this technological age.

But, it's still fun for the kids.

Find your favorite -

- city in the USA

(click to enlarge)

Thank you, NASA. :)

December 7, 1941

Ah, December 7th. How well I remember that fateful Sunday 1941 noon in Bethesda, Maryland. Arturo Toscanini was conducting the New York Symphony on the radio, and I was taking my after-lunch nap upstairs. (I still do that, when I can, and often, these days, I can.)
Then, the music stopped and I heard voices on the radio. My father came into the room, told me to come downstairs with him to listen. He said to me, "You must hear this. Your future wife's Navy has bombed our Navy in Hawaii." Of course, DW#1 hadn't been born yet, but you get the point.

 

My father was wise beyond his time.

Tonight's dessert

Perhaps we have too much time on our hands...

"He used to be handsome"

says my dear roommate.

 

 I say, perhaps I had a few more strands of hair, but my ears were way big from the beginning!

:)

You have to be really old. . .

. . .(like me) to remember the 1939 World's Fair with its iconic Trylon and Perisphere.

But, lo! In our new Century, in the year 2012, we now have our own iconic version of the political President Trylon and Governor Perisphere:

(H/T:Lucianne)

I'm a genius!

Pizza Scissors

A short engineering career

Now please gaze upon the proximate cause of the premature retirement of a foundation engineer in the City of Shanghai earlier this year.

Not an inspection problem -

Rather, a storm-preparation failure.

 

There will be lawsuits, just 'cause that's the way we do things.

Another cloud pic. . .

This really is not fun for the East Coast and the upper Midwest.

Weather shot

Sunday evening:

Awesome energy.

Pierce County Quandary

Pierce County, Washington

Very Bad Positioning

I get it. It's a drumset! From Microsoft!

http://youtu.be/8mSckyoAMHg

What's that odor?

Swear to Heaven, Ref. It wasn't me!

This is turning out . . .

. .  .to be an interesting national election on several levels. At the very least, the daily shifts in sentiment are worth tracking.

Underlying all, of course, is the unusual and distinctive friendship of the two candidates for Vice President of the United States (VPOTUS), one a current, the other a former member of the Congress of the United States (COTUS.)

Friends

 

We sorely need a caption!

All submissions will be personally reviewed by the author of this blog.
Winner will received a Romney/Ryan button.

Angry? Determined? Frightened?

You tell me:  ____________________________________________________

Days of sorrow, and of innocence

http://youtu.be/wbggEGUaE28

(Someday, I may learn how to embed. Sigh.)

Where accolades are due, we offer them of course...

 

 



especially to our friends across the pond for their skills in millinary extravaganzas.

Typical Thursday Lunch

First Street, Napa

Just sayin'

Your wine lesson

http://youtu.be/DfTaMzV4oFo

Click or cut

Indifferent Golf Gallery

 

It's important, when playing golf, to be aware of the gallery surrounding you, while not letting their presence affect your concentration.
Especially while at the Big Island Country Club halfway up the slopes of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Byodo-In Temple

On the Windward Side of Oahu, in the shadow of the Pali mountains. A gorgeous place.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

What NASA saw from space.