Air Brushed History

From Thursday's "Belmont Club"
"It Never Existed"
According to the Telegraph, French authorities have airbrushed the cigarette out of John Paul Sarte's photograph.
France's National Library has airbrushed Jean-Paul Sartre's trademark cigarette out of a poster of the chain-smoking philosopher to avoid prosecution under an anti-tobacco law. ...
The library's president, Jean-Noël Jeanneney, confirmed that the cigarette had been discreetly smudged to comply with the 1991 loi Evin - a law banning tobacco advertising - but also so as not to frighten away potential sponsors from the exhibition, which opened yesterday.
The practice of historical revisionism, which was a central theme to George Orwell's 1984, was extensively practiced by Joseph Stalin. The NewsMuseum documents the "before and after" photographs of Lenin with Leon Trotsky, among others, redacted from the image. But what if -- hypothetically now -- the NewsMuseum were in fact the forgery; what if Trotsky was digitally inserted into the picture. How would I know?
Here's Jean Paul:




Let's see, now. FDR never smoked as President. Edward R Murrow never smoked as Correspondent. And Ted Kennedy never drank in Chappaquidick. What else can we fix while we're at it, hmmm???

Prima Ristorante

It's perhaps a bit early to choose a favorite, so let's just say that for consistently interesting dining in a comfortable setting in our new town of Walnut Creek, we're recommending Prima Ristorante Welcome . I have not been disappointed here.

I recommend the Italian cured meats for an appetizer and "tonight's special" for the main course. It's always a standout.

Interesting sidelight. One dinner a year or two ago found me asking the maitre d' hotel why he served olive oil with the bread (delicious bread, by the way) but no vinegar, unlike so many Italian restaurants in the Bay Area. He glanced at the bottle of wine on our table, looked at me, and said "why would you want to spoil your wine with bad wine?" I had no answer.

So go. Be pampered. Enjoy your meal. And be prepared to spend $50 per. Valet parking.
(I know, I know. I've also tried Ruth's Chris Steak and it's $60! Next time, I'll report on Hubcaps hamburger stand, or the Original Mel's on North Main. I'm running out of friends who will treat me to dinner.)

Burp!

That's Mt. St. Helens in Oregon this afternoon:




UPDATE: We bless the blogosphere because, eventually, all misstatements are corrected. On 22 March, "Anonymous" generously pointed out that Mt. St. Helens is still located in Washington State, not Oregon as implied above. (The photo might have been taken from Northern Oregon, I guess.) Soribouthat.

Really Long Haul

Fun today at noon when the Port of Oakland's new toys finally squeezed under the Golden Gate and then the Bay Bride. These babies are 240 ft. tall, cost about $8M each, and lift 65 tons with ease.
They had puttered around Point Reyes for almost a week awaiting calm seas, low tides, and little traffic. Today at noon these forces all turned positive and in came the Zhen Hua 1, decks almost awash, with myriad tugboats alongside and helicopters swarming around like bees.



They cleared the Golden Gate by about 20 ft., and the Bay Bridge by about 60 inches, helped significantly when all traffic was prevented from entering onto the span, thus raising it by almost 12 inches. I really admire the folks who sat down and figured all this out before they wrote the order for the Chinese steel plant to manufacture these guys. Waytogo!

Philately

The eagle (er, oak tree?) has landed

Bing Crosby Restaurant & Piano Bar

Well, we finally planned far enough ahead to secure a table for four last week at the new hot spot in WC, namely, Bing Crosby Restaurant & Piano Bar, and I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised, pleasantly enough, at what we found.

I had been there before for cocktails a few weeks earlier and had asked to see a menu. It listed pretty standard fare, meat and fish, with appetizers that were unexceptional for the setting, so I was prepared not to be impressed.

The restaurant is in a former bookstore/sports equipment/whatever building at the South end of Broadway Plaza where it meets South Main across from the old Coop. It has been lavishly renovated with lots and lots of dark wood, a piano player (live) playing '30's songs, huge portraits from Crosby's career, etc. etc. etc. The valet parking in front is staffed by college kids in golf knickers, argyle socks, and golf caps. (OK, just kidding about the knickers.) It's attractive in a somewhat overwhelming way, but hell, they welcome anyone with a reservation and a credit card.

After we were seated, Karen, "The Captain", introduced herself and, studying our individual attires, asked if we would prefer black napkins to the white ones that were on the table. Right away I knew that something was up (and I wondered how you advertise for a "captain." "Wanted, attractive friendly young lady to exchange napkins in upscale restaurant"?)

The food presentation was exceptional. The snapper in crusted potato skin turned out to be the entire fish, head and tail, and our Korean guest loved it. Beef rib roast was delicious and the mashed potatoes would feed six. My veal in lemon-caper sauce was very good and the roasted polenta and tomatoes were in the form of a vertical shishkebab. Presentations were uniformly original, thoughtful, and a delight to the eye and to the palette.

We enjoyed it a lot, and would return with the slightest excuse.

Noisy, and a bit crowded. Country Club casual. Expensive ($50 w/wine & tip). Recommended.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President:



Another portrait, and a moving slice of history are at www.powerline.com.

It's cold and rainy outside, and it promises to stay that way all week. And this is a blog, right? So...


Just a little light-hearted needling.

I guess that this is appropriate, since it's 0400 in Birmingham and 1000 in Guam:

Okay, finally. Dinner last night in Danville CA at Bridges
http://www.bridgesdanville.com/restaurant/main.html
A bit of chill and rain, so the patio was not in play (too bad, but I'll return in the summer since I love that patio.)
The restaurant is located on Church Street downtown, on the site of the old Iron Wok that we visited often when we were living on Corwin Drive in Alamo.
The chef is Kevin Gin, and the theme is California, decorative, fusion whatever. Basically, good food, well prepared, and delightfully presented. We ordered roast pork, Atlantic salmon, and scampi.
Update: The pork was listed as a Kurobuta standing rib pork roast. Neat!
I thought that the food was excellent. The service was friendly and attentive.
Our wine was a 2003 Rosenblum zinfandel. Rather too fruity for some of us, but I thought it was appropriate to the food.
Expensive. $45-50/person. Save it for a special occasion. But, they have a annex on the property called "Amber." It's less pricey and open for lunch. I'll try that one next time.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President! (February is definitely a good month for distinguished people.)

The Corner on National Review Online

The Corner on National Review Online has presented us with today's word(s) as in:

"LOGOPHILE [John Derbyshire]
A reader has actually emailed in to thank me for having used the word "equiponderant" on nationwide TV yesterday. You are welcome, Ma'am. I only wish I could match the achievement of the late great Samuel Johnson, Ll.D., who, in one of his "Rambler" essays, used the words "adscititious" and "equiponderant" BOTH IN THE SAME SENTENCE. "

I do sort of like the word "adscititious". Meaning not essential to the essence of something. Sort of like the sesame seeds on a hamburger bun.

Concerning the Big News from across the Pond about Prince Charles and the enticing Camilla, I note the following from Jonah Goldberg's dad in "The Corner" www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/corner.asp

This reminds me that if the Windsors during World War One hadn't changed their dynastic name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the necktie knot would be known as the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha knot.

Ah yes, during the confusion of WW I and with some distrust of all things German, King George V dropped his original family name and adopted the more politically correct "Windsor." Can you imagine struggling to tie a double-saxe-coburg-gotha knot every morning on the way to work?

In any case, our best wishes to the happy couple.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President.
Okay. Enough of (oxymoron) political science! Next time, dining!

Wine tasting last night. Inexpensive in bottles (Smoking Loon Merlot $6/750 ml.) vs. really inexpensive in vacuum boxes (Black Box Sonoma Cy Merlot $16/4 liters). 3 of each type. Interestingly, at least to traditionalists, both types came out about the same. Also interestingly, they all were drinkable but, to say the least, unremarkable.
Dinner featured cassoulet, a product of two loving, careful days of preparation. May I say "Behold!" one more time?

In the spirit of reconciliation on this cold January Sunday, we present a recent photograph of two candidates for the Office of President of The United States (POTUS). One of them is at the rostrum, speaking; the other, somewhat hidden by a large Texas head covering, appears slightly unhappy. Too bad.

Mieko and her colleague, Francoise, have been quite busy for the last few months, getting something ready for the Spring Selling Season. You'll have to ask her for the details, but here's a hint:

Every four years, on the 20th of January. . .Behold!

Here is a photo from Hilton House recently :)

We've been in the midst of 40 days and nights of rain. It may be prophetic. In any case, when it rains a lot in California, things slide and fall from the top of hills to the bottom. Behold!



Now we're getting thunder and lightning. Blub

Five years it took. Five years of looking, thinking, planning, executing, choosing, guessing, hoping, and sometime praying. But the house is built, we and the cat are esconced therein, and Daruma-san has received his other eyeball.

Behold!

Akemashite omodeto gozaimasu.

On a more serious note, here's a pic from Thailand during the tsunami last weekend. No comment is necessary (unless it's been photoshopped.) Scary.

Update: Turns out it probably is of another event; might even be a Tidal Bore. http://www.newsdesigner.com/archives/000398.php

The weather has been a bit unsettled this week, and promises to continue that way through the New Year's weekend. Too bad. No golf.

However, there are a few compensations. For instance, catch this view from our back yard this morning:

We're still exploring the restaurant environment in our new hometown of Walnut Creek, and last night found a true winner. It's not cheap ($40 w/wine), but it's fascinating.



That's the chef, Kelly Degala above. He's Hawaiian, and he runs a loud, exciting, busy exhibition kitchen at Va de Vi on Mt. Diablo Boulevard. We were without reservations, and so were seated at the counter where we could watch the activities.

The deal here is small plates, bigger than h'ors d'oevres, but smaller than entrees. Lots of choices, myriad influences, and a plethora of tastes. We shared a rib-eye steak, shrimp w/peanut sauce, and pork ribs w/plum sauce. Prefaced with lobster bisque and closed with a four-piece dessert sampler. Wow, it was good.

The counter setting also provides for easy friendship with neighbors. Next to us was Giuseppe Cagnoni from Umbria (next door to Tuscany in central Italy) who imports Italian delicacies, including his family's "Etruria" olive oil. He had just delivered a paper bag with Italian white truffles to Kelly and had him put one on a plate to show Mieko. About 3" by 2", it cost $700. Not bad.

Highly recommended by the mystery restaurant guest (me.) We'll try it again with an old college roommate next week, for lunch this time.

Go to http://www.va-de-vi-bistro.com

Wedding Anniversary Day. Here's a photo we found recently showing George and Mieko at the Tonga Room of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. The date is December 28, 1966:




We haven't really changed much, have we?

St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall. Mieko & I were there in 2001 and we shared a plate of fish and chips right here:




Yes, I know that the timing is a bit off, but it looks warm outside, doesn't it?

Merry Christmas and a Very Happy Holiday Season to all from Nut Crik!

Cheers to all the new homes in the Winnacker family!
Here's one from Bromsgrove...(aka MKW's infamous two story brick?)

We could talk about moving, right? It's an exhausting, degrading, unintellectual, boring process. But you knew all that, right? In honor of another traumatic change for the three cats that we have recently been living with, let's look at a satisfied feline:



We'll check in from a new location as soon as possible.

Remember that paper-mache Japanese face that we painted one eye onto about 5 years ago? It's called a daruma. Sort of a promise of good luck in a chosen endeavor. Well, our endeavor was HiltonHouse in Nut Crik, and here is the daruma in place on the window seat, just waiting for his/her second eyeball to be painted in, in less than a week. :-)




And, I just couldn't resist on final photo of the new wind vane. I'm beginning to like that heron:

I just thought that this was a neat padlock photo (hat tip to pbase.com):

OK, back to wine in the foothills. (It's been going down to 25-30F at night up there this week.) (Unusual, but not unheard of.)

Unlike the Napa/Sonoma area, wine tastings in the Gold Country are still free. That's good, and it's good business; makes me want to buy a bottle of wine to take with us.

The smaller wineries are by far the most interesting. Usually just one person serving, often quite knowledgeable, and there are no crowds unless there's a limo or a van out front.

I'm thinking here of Spinetta, Serenidad, Terre Rouge, and Easton. All within 15 minutes of each other off Shenandoah Road in Plymouth. Get a sandwich in town, buy a bottle of wine at the winery, and enjoy a wonderful luncheon picnic. Go now!

Here's a picture of the vineyards on Shenandoah Schoolhouse Road:

Two weeks to go on HiltonHouse, and it looks like maybe we'll be on schedule, although the driveway will lag by about a week. Remember that earlier post about Mieko's cupola? Well, here it is, in place and looking good, although the damned bird appears to have pooped a bit already:



And, even the exterior is beginning to look presentable. If that truck isn't moved pretty soon, I think that I'll claim it.

The other adventure that has occupied our late summer/early autumn has been tripping to Gold Country in search of one of California's new wine centers, the Sierra Foothills. This includes Calaveras, Amador, and El Dorado counties, and they are eye openers.

There's a controversy underway up there, between the big-money operations and the boutique vineyards. Both sides appear to have taken long looks at what's happened to Napa-Sonoma and have reacted, one favorably, the other in horror. Let's illustrate with what's going on in the Shenandoah Valley in and around Plymouth, on Highway 49.




The wineries that are organized around active tourism have lavish layouts, paved parking with bus and RV spaces, on-premises food, and large wine paraphernalia shopping areas. Along with the wine-tasting bars of course. I've enjoyed hot lunches at Villa Toscano and Bella Piazza with Frank Sinatra crooning in the background.

More later. . .

No news on HiltonHouse since October, but that's because most of the activity moved inside until very recently. You know the drill: gypsum board, taping and texturing, painting, cabinets, flooring, plumbing fixtures, electrical. Only the kitchen appliances remain, and then clean up of the interior. The outside is mostly complete, and we're looking forward to exterior landscaping, hardscape and softscape, probably in the Spring.



Very much a horizontal house, wouldn't you say? That's what we wanted. It compares and contrasts with the vertical house that Rudy and Betty will be moving into:



We will miss the magnificent, typical California live oaks.

Next time, I'll post some interior shots, and then we'll be done.

Since we're posting pics of houses, how about this one?
Not quite as momentous as Hilton House, but maybe a bit shinier?

Kinkaku, "Golden Pavilion", in Kyoto.

The nice thing about Sundays is that the HiltonHouse site doesn't look like a parking lot for white pick-up trucks. (And, why are most pick-up trucks white, these days?) Anyway, this noon we swung by the project to record the progress. Below are two shots, one today, and one back in May of this year. Note that the tree out front appears unchanged.
TODAY:



LAST MAY:




We have provided, on the left, a wing of the house that can be a separate one-bedroom place. This is a photograph of the living area (studio kitchen is behind the camera on the right.) Not bad at all:



And this is the view of the back yard, overlooking the adjacent new subdivision in Lafayette (we're in unincorporated Contra Costa County.) The bright spot on the right is reflection of the flash off the window. and I'm sorry for that.




Now, a few non-construction notes from the weekend.

1. We are blessed in the Bay Area by having big-time, exciting, sports teams. Athletics and Giants, Raiders and 49ers, Cal and Stanford. Wow! What exciting, winning teams! (Well, at least Cal won on Saturday.) And San Jose State beat Rice 70 to 63. . .that's football, not high school basketball.

2. We attended a wine tasting Friday evening. Big, earthy reds, complex, musty, just enough tannin to hold hope for the future. These, my friends, were ALL recent (2000) California Sangiovese specimens, and I was truly impressed. They were procured at Solano Cellars in Albany, moderate cost ($12 - $24) and if you're in the neighborhood, do drop by. You won't be disappointed.

Ah well, in California one never knows for sure. One week after the September 14 post below, we had rain, heavy at times. Thank goodness, most of the roofing was on, and we had only a few spots of floor that were drenched. It could have been worse.
For now, we are at the phase of construction where some things go very fast. The roof is on, the windows are in, the exterior doors are there, and we're almost buttoned up. Today, the exterior plasterers (stucco) people were slapping chicken wire all over the exterior, and the gypboard guys were slapping their stuff all over the inside. This going very fast.
Today, 2 pm, partly cloudy (fog remnants), about 70F.




And, for those who know the Piedmont manse, you will quickly notice that HiltonHouse is quite different. Here's a shot of the living/dining area under construction. Quite a difference!




Those are Mieko's 3 square windows over the main window. Ask her about them (she's very proud!) :-)

More later. . .

One week later and the windows are in, the roofing is going on. We'll be ready for the rainy season when it comes in November. Taken today at 10:30 a.m., 75 F, cloudless skies.

Pretty darned warm around here this Labor Day weekend. We even had to blow off a 9-hole golf game with the Rudy Winnackers inside the race track at the Alameda County Fairgrounds this afternoon. The golf was scheduled for the end of the 2004 Scottish Games with 2000 kilted bagpipers marching down the track playing "Amazing Grace!" Now that's the way to play good golf! (We did it last year.)

Meantime, HiltonHouse was partially cleaned up, with only one truck in the courtyard and the paper cut off to reveal most of the window openings.

Whew! The roof trusses were placed quickly and the overhang is almost complete. This thing is beginning to look like a house, finally. This shot is today at about 3 p.m., temp 84F, cloudless sky.





And this was last Sunday, the Robinsons' traditional Sunday Wine Tasting at the Pool (Orinda Country Club.) A bit warm, but a nice breeze. The wine was all French Burgundy, which I found quite undistinguished, and undistinguishable, but perhaps that's just me. Sorry about the contrast, but I haven't figured out Picasa and I don't have Photoshop. Betty, Rudy:




And finally, we got in 18 holes of golf at a new course out in Dublin. It's a par 63, which is quite comfortably played in 4 hours. I took this shot showing an old Tri-Valley ranch building with the new houses crawling up the hill toward the ranch. This is the way the valley is going, more's the pity, but we Californians do not like to live in highrises. (I've saved a larger version of this same shot as wallpaper on my computer. If you want one, just ask me at winnacker.com)