Grand Tour Day One

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Stopped in Truckee for lunch. Definitely a meat eater’s menu. But, hey, it is the Donner Pass.

A couple hours later at  a rest stop. (click on photo for enlargement.)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Donner Party (sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party) was a group of American pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the emigrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating those who had succumbed to starvation and sickness.

Eating the Bay 5

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The B Star Bar, San Francisco, CA

It was my good fortune that my shakuhachi teacher’s daughter has moved to San Francisco from Japan to attend University. That meant that Kaoru combined a teaching trip to LA with a trip to SF to see his daughter. He was staying with one of his students, Karl Young. I had been invited to have dinner after my lesson.

Karl and his wife Sue live in the Richmond District in a nondescript apartment building; until you enter the lobby. It’s all restored 1940’s architecture. A hidden jewel.  Sue and, then, Karl, then Emi (Kaoru’s daughter) arrived during my lesson. Karl ‘s lesson followed mine.  After lessons, we all sat for a while in a very lively talk about art while sampling an excellent chocolate beer.

Primed and ready to go, we are led by Karl and Sue a few block way to the B Star Bar. A small Burmese restaurant. We’re lucky in that there is one table available for the five of us. Karl and Sue give us advice, starting with the Tea Leaf Salad. We also order various dishes that we share or not. The restaurant stocks a Belgian Chimey Beer. A marvellous complex mixture of flavours. I need to do a beer tour of Belgium some day! The Tea Leaf Salad is mixed at the table. A few bites and I know why they insisted that we order it. Everything is superb. So many flavours mixed perfectly. I am swooning. As we are leaving, I say to the waitress, “I didn’t think food could taste this good.”

Five stars, must go!

PS- Up the street is the original Burmese Superstar that the B Star Bar is spun off from. Same food.

http://www.bstarbar.com/

Eating the Bay 4

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Hotel San Remo, San Francisco, CA

When I had breakfast at the Venus Cafe, I was on my way with my bags to San Francisco. I had arrived in the Bay Area in the belief that I only needed the two nights couch surfing accommodation that I had arranged. The day of my arrival, I had received information that meant I needed to stay another night. A quick hop on the web and through a Fodor’s recommendation found and booked at the San Remo Hotel in the North Beach neighbourhood of San Francisco. Other budget hotels I had tried were booked out. I’m glad that was so.

The San Remo was built one hundred years ago by the founder of the Bank of America after the 1906 Great Earthquake.  It’s located a few blocks from Fisherman’s Wharf, occupying the second and third stories of the buildingl.  You are buzzed into small foyer on ground level and then ascend a one and a half person wide staircase to the first floor of the hotel. It is beautiful with restored Italianate Victorian fixtures and architecture. You will not find a phone or tv in your room. There is wireless in the main hallways. Some rooms have a sink but the showers and toilets are located separately from the rooms on each floor as in a European pension. Here’s a photo of one view inside of my room.

The View From My Bed, San Remo Hotel

You can see the period furniture and the light from the central air shaft. It was comfortable room. The hotel was very clean, quiet and tidy with a welcoming feel. The staff were a very happy group who obviously enjoyed working in such an establishment. When I think of the concrete bunkers that so often pass as hotels these days, I appreciate the San Remo even more. Sure, the walls are thin and you have to go down the hall for the WC but for at least one night, as a special treat, I would recommend San Remo Hotel to anyone who is looking for a unique experience in San Francisco.

An interesting history page.

http://www.sanremohotel.com/san-remo-hotel-history.php

2237 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA

Eating the Bay 3

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Venus Cafe- Berkeley, CA


The morning after Picasso found me walking down Shattuck looking for a cafe that had been recommended for breakfast. Getting farther and farther from downtown. Slowed down. Did I come too far? A few yards ahead, something different. Somehow inviting. The Venus Cafe. Read the menu in window and entered. Waitress with a bright smile took my order for a cappuccino that came just as I finished perusing the menu. Ordered the Warm Poached Egg Salad. “Two poached eggs on a nest of mushrooms with tomato, goats cheese, mixed greens with tapenade toast.” The cap was in a little bit smaller cup than I had been served at other places. Just a little foam on the top. Dark brown underneath. Full rich flavour. This is what a cappuccino should taste like.

My food arrived just as I finished the cap. The poached eggs had large round balls of yolk containing a deep bright color inside. They sat on top of the mixed greens with the nest of mushrooms under all. A light dressing. I was able to finish the toast this time. After I had cleared my plate, the waitress asked how I liked my meal. I said, “I wish I didn’t have to stop eating.” All other breakfasts will be measured by this one. If you are ever in Berkeley, check it out. They use organic and local ingredients.

http://www.venusrestaurant.net/

Eating the Bay 2

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Picasso Delicioso

After my breakfast at the Homemade Cafe, I found my way across Berkeley to the apartment of a man named Marshall. He is an 80 yr old retired uni professor and a friend of my very close friend Jesse who was visiting from Western Australia. Jesse was bunking there and we sat through a monthly Shakespeare gathering. Two years ago, Marshall was part of a university extension class on Shakespeare. At the end of the semester, the university cancelled the class. The members decided to continue on their own. They meet and read a play and discuss it. After two hours of Shakespeare, Jesse and I took our leave and caught the BART under the bay to San Francisco. Then a bus on the way to Golden Gate Park where the De Young Museum is located. We were on our way to the Picasso Exhibition.

“Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris”. I have to say upfront that I knew Picasso more by reputation than by having viewed his work. Sure, I had seen photographs of some of his more famous pieces but that isn’t the same. A few years back, I went to an exhibition that included Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party”. I was familiar with the work through photographs. When I saw the original, I was stunned. It was so alive. After so many years, it still resonated. It was an eyeopener for me. So, I travelled to the Picasso exhibition with this in mind and the fact that as an artist his reputation was/is gigantic.

The exhibition is a selection of 150 works out of almost 3600 pieces in the museum’s collection. Imagine trying to curate that. (If you are a libran, it’s better that you don’t.) It covers the years 1901 – 1973. There are paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints. Sometime there are several drawings showing the evolution of a piece. The exhibition is displayed chronologically in nine interconnected  galleries.

Jesse and I rocked up to the cashier, got our tickets and headed down the stairs. Of course, there was no photography allowed, so, this is a text only email. There were audio guides available but we passed. That was fortunate for two reasons. The first being that you have to follow a set path through the galleries. The second is that it would have been feeding in someone else’s observations before we could have our own experience. I might use the audio if I saw an exhibition more than once.

OK, so, Jesse and I are let loose from the line monitor and as we move to the first piece, to the right through the opening, there is a cluster of people looking. Jesse looks to the left and says, “Let’s start there.” I say, “OK”. When we get to the end of the wall, there is an opening into the next gallery. We decide to do the entire exhibition turning left. This resulted in our seeing between one and three walls of every gallery and then the remaining walls as we move through back to the entrance. Going was still in chronological order and easy to follow but returning it wasn’t a matter of just reversed order, we lost all sense of order. Having gone through many emotions and exclamations we then moved through the centre of the galleries pointing out the pieces that resonated with us the most. “That one and that one and that one…” Jesse’s favourite was The Women Running on the Beach (The Race). I had a big yes to that one as well. But, than, being a Libran…” I also really like The cubist paintings Winter in Paris,  Man with Guitar and Man with a Mandolin …”.

What I discovered in experiencing this exhibition was a full recognition of Picasso’s greatness. His incredible skill was evident again and again but it was how he used that skill to stretch and stretch and, then, break the concept of what is possible to do in these mediums. As an example, take the Cubist painting “The Man with Guitar”. I looked and I thought, “Yeh, I can see the head of the man there and the neck of the guitar down there and the body of the guitar maybe there.” Then, I felt my labelling and searching with my intellect break down as I was overwhelmed by the power of the painting and was taken past my analytic mind to experiencing with all of my being.

I could say more but this is just an account of what went on for me. I don’t know how it would be for you. It would be best if you could go and experience this exhibition for yourself. All I can assure you of is that if you do you will be doing yourself a great favour. Jesse and I were over the moon as we walked back through the park to catch our bus.

At the De Young til 9 October.

Eating the Bay 1

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Homemade Cafe, Berkeley

My first morning in Berkeley, my couch-surfing host recommended the local cafe. We were in a residential neighbourhood away from the main commercial areas. I had seen the cafe when I had eaten at the Bread of India Restaurant the night before. It is on the corner; a traditional looking cafe. Big sign in the window “Sunrise Special 7-9 am $4.95”.

I arrived at 8:30 and found a seat at a small table near the kitchen area. Ordered a cappuccino and a Sunrise Special; two eggs (scrambled), fried potatoes with a large dollop of sour cream on top and toast.

The cap was passable, the eggs were light and cooked just right, the potatoes were cubed and fried nicely and plentiful (not too greasy). I couldn’t finish the toast. I was stuffed. The table had a pot of medium hot salsa that I used to help digest it all. For that kind of meal it was good. I enjoyed it. It kept me going until dinner time that evening. It was the kind of food that I can enjoy once in a great while.

What I really liked about the Homemade Cafe was it’s relaxed friendly happy feeling. The staff were joking with each other. There was that atmosphere of customers who came to be amongst each other even if they weren’t talking to each other. People reading the paper or a book. A few talking. An old-fashioned neighbourhood cafe.

http://www.homemade-cafe.com/

The Vihara Adventure

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I have just been confirmed as member number ten of a group that is organising to purchase what is now being used as a Tibetan Buddhist retreat centre in Kyogle, NSW, Australia. We intend to finalise purchase in May of 2012. This is a very exciting new adventure. I’ve been searching for years for such a community to join and when I read the proposal, I knew immediately that this was for me. I’ll post more info as it progresses.

My Newish Razor

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It all started when I decided to shave under my chin again. I have been just trimming closely for quite a while now. It feels much better than scraping a razor across my neck. However, it takes a while to do properly and needs to be done more often. Maybe I’m getting lazy.

I proceeded to the local store looking for a good old fashioned double edged safety razor. In amongst a multitude of plastic razors I could only find some generic double edged razor blades. No razors to hold the blades. Puzzled, I went to another big store. Same selection. Only cheap plastic thingies with clip in cartridge blades. I broke down and bought what was on offer.

I was underwhelmed. The cartridge had three blades imbedded and they did a lousy job and were impossible to clean; clogging with beard hairs. With much frustrated work, I managed to do the job.

Perhaps it was an unconsciously purposeful event, I left the cartridge razor handle behind when I went up to visit my sister. OK, start the hunt again. Same result! Big selection but only those crappy plastic things. I mentioned my dilemma to my sister. She went into her endless closet and came out with a small tin box covered in a very worn khaki cloth covering. Inside was an authentic chromed steel double edged safety razor and a small box for the blades, as well as a removable metal shaving mirror. Printed on the inside, “‘Property U. S. Army’,  the Gillette Logo, ‘Known the World Over’, ‘Khaki Set’.” It had belonged to her father-in-law. He carried it through World War One. I did a little research. The Gillette safety razor was patented in 1903. During WWI, the US Army distributed these razors to all of their personnel. By the end of the war, 3.2 million razors had been distributed. This is one of those. (Gillette, now owned by Proctor and Gamble, no longer makes double edged razors. You have to import from Europe or China. Merkur, a German maker, one of the best today, makes “The Merkur 41”, a copy of the razor that I now own.)

Back to the store for blades. Cleaned up the old set. Loaded up. Hot wet towel to the neck. Lather. Slide the razor along. So smooth. Easily cut a through a two week old growth. Done in no time. Loosened the blade holder and rinsed the whole thing. Eazy-peazy! Now, that’s what a safety razor should be.

Ruminating that night, I remembered those displays of “safety razors” at the stores. Two brands have a monopoly of the market in the USA; Gillette and Schick. By only offering their crappy products with cartridges, they are limiting customers to only using their cartridges while  also manufacturing a device so poorly that you will need to replace the whole unit on a regular basis. Over the years, their advertizing campaigns have convinced people that these cartridges are more efficient. What a load of shit. I have decided to call this “The Gillette Syndrome” and will comment further in my next post.

“Mindsight” Lecture by Dr Daniel Siegil

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Below is a link to a Google Lecture by Dr Daniel Siegil. I feel that this video is extremely interesting and useful in understanding the functioning of the brain and mind. Dr Siegil is a child psychologist and neuroscientist. He explains in a very easy to follow way the functions and inter-relations of the different parts of the brain and how to stimulate those parts that are most identified with mental health. I hope that you can find the time to watch the video and maybe let me know what you think.

At the end of the lecture, there is Q & A. The one question the I felt he was unable to answer satisfactorily was how the brain and mind can be considered as different entities. My own feeling is that it is because he doesn’t fully understand himself. Also, his depth of understanding of meditation techniques is very limited. Having said this, I am very happy to see someone with his credentials moving people towards meditation practice. If people start to practice for “mental health” reasons, they just may go beyond to discover that which is beyond the individual mind.