Dream: travel, shopping, must rest...

I dreamed last night that Charlie and I were on a road trip. We stopped at a mall and there was a very crowded second hand store. We walked in and there were lines of people waiting to go through the various aisles. Eventually I spotted what looked like a baby section and there was a largish bag there obviously for baby stuff diapers etc. I looked it over; it was beige fake leather, there was a seam that had come apart on the outside that would need repair. The price tag said eight dollars. I looked inside and it really wasn't large enough to be a diaper bag. There was a zipper pocket and I opened it and there was a quarter inside. There was also an older style ladies wallet in the purse as well which I did not open. I do not remember purchasing the purse. About that time Charles and I looked at each other and said, "We're done here?". "Yeah" he said, "We need to get to Reno. " End of dream

Purse

To see or carry a purse in your dream represents secrets, desires and thoughts which are being closely held and guarded. It symbolizes your identity and sense of self. Consider also the condition of the purse for indications of your state of mind and feelings. Alternatively, a purse symbolizes the female genitalia and the womb.

I'm sitting on a gold mine that needs a little rejuvenation and ... and..MO MONEY!?

Sunday morning idle thinking....

 

Phase Technology:

I lay in bed last night considering the state of phase technology. As far as I know, it only exists in Star Trek: Next Generation or perhaps amongst the Sci-Fi novels. A brief Google search reveals sound systems and some other kinds of phase technology that in no way resembles Next Generation tech. I would fall asleep trying to dig out any work being done by physicists or cosmologist and the math?  That is why there is a whole mathematical philosophy devoted to impossible stuff.

Thinking about the implications of the crew passing through the solid structures of the Enterprise unable to interact with the normal phase of the ship I thought this might be the solution to the Mid East Problem.

How about we use the technology to divide Jerusalem, Hell the whole middle east into three phases; Jewish , Moslem and Christian Jerusalem. That means that EVERY faith has total access to their very own Holy Land.

Now, think about this. the technology would essentially freeze the Holy Land in it's present glory, nothing could be developed or improved or rebuilt.

The Christians can relax about the Apocalypse, the tour groups can walk the Jesus walk, the Islamic folk can argue between the various factions and the Jews can pray at any wall they wish.

Hmmm, oh to have the Power of the local friendly Djinn, who you may note are distinctly of Arabic origin, so any and all wishes would have to be gone over with a fine toothed comb.

I could also see this being swiftly abused with Prison world, Republican World, American World, African World.

Can you imagine all the cruise ships toting all the pilgrims from everywhere and shimmering into their various preferred phases. This coupled with enhanced assault proof nanotechnology would make dull peaceful and frustrating multi-verses. All you could do is argue and trade insults. There would actually be insult shortages as people ran out of epithets, taunts and volatile commentary. Hypertension and anxiety would run rampant. Hmmm, better build in birth control in that nanotechnology, otherwise the end times really will be here before you know it.

 

Very peaceful day to all the folk and Happy Birthday, Jim.

 

ROYCE'S BIG ADVENTURE:

Last night I had an adventure in dreamland. It was terribly important that I get from Point A to Point Z as quickly as possibly, it was vital that I get there.

There was a tremendous crowd of people in the auditorium I started out in,(Not sure it might have been an electronics convention) I had to excuse myself numerous times climbing over the furniture, handing people things I was about to stand on etc. (Here's your glasses, lady. Oh, Thank you!)

Once outside I headed up hill on a road that lead to another theater, again full of people waiting for something to happen. (I think a giant remodel was going on, I remember running past brand new colorful computers being installed down one aisle.) I dashed inside and saw that the seats were all filled. I leaped forward jumping here and there. At one point I grabbed some guy's hand to swing down to his level. I asked first of course. Whoever he was gallantly replied, "Why shore little lady, take mah hand." I reached the edge of the first row and there was a lake. I lined up and dived in and began swimming in something the consistency of mud and/or jello. I finally climbed out on the other side thinking to myself, "Boy I am sure gonna be sore tomorrow". About that time the radio came on and I was listening to NPR.

Not sure what dream symbols I will be looking up for this one; heroic task, running, swimming, it will be something dumb such as ..you feel as if you need more control in your life etc. Meh...

Merry Christmas, don't wear yourself out running around and stuff. As for me I am making stuffed mushrooms; sausage, green onions, Philadelphia cream cheese and 'shrooms. Yummy. And left over turkey casserole from Thanksgiving, stuffing and nap inducing condiments. Merry! Merry!

Oh wait! I get it, I just dreamed about traveling difficulties during the Holidays! Oy!!

Traveling

To dream that you are traveling represents the path toward your life goals. It also parallels your daily routine and how you are progressing along. Alternatively, traveling signifies a desire to escape from your daily burdens. You are looking for a change in scenery, where no one has any expectations of you. Perhaps it is time to make a fresh start. If your travels come to an end, then it symbolizes successful completion of your goals. Oh dear.....

 

 

 

My neices's daughter, Miss M asked....why isn't there grape pie, is it a thing?

Yes, Miss Dunbar grape pie is a thing. Biggest ingredient; Time to marinate grapes but it sounds delicious!!

Seedless Grape Pie Recipe:  My Grandma Horn NEVER made a pie like this.  She would NEVER have made a vanilla wafer crust, just sayin'.
Ingredients
     Grapes:
1 pound seedless green grapes, rinsed, dried and halved
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Crust:
40 vanilla wafers
4 ounces toasted walnuts
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
16 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Topping:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt




   For the grapes: Combine the grapes, honey, brandy and lime juice in a zip-top bag, seal and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.  Spoiler: this is a major time suck and you will need to prepare this well in advance of baking day.

For the crust: Process the vanilla wafers, walnuts and salt in the bowl of a food processor for 15 seconds or until finely ground. Add the butter and pulse 6 to 8 times to combine. Press into the bottom of an 11- by 7-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

For the filling: Whisk the sour cream, brown sugar and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl. Drain the grapes and reserve the liquid for another use. Add the grapes to the sour cream mixture and stir gently to combine. Pour the grape mixture on top of the crust and set aside.

For the topping: Combine the brown sugar and butter in a 1-quart saucier and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir constantly and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and pour over the grape mixture. Do not stir into the sour cream mixture. Cool at room temperature for 5 minutes, and then sprinkle the sea salt on top. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before slicing.
Cook's Note: You may use the reserved grape liquid to mix with your favorite adult beverage for a cocktail or with soda water for a refreshing non-alcoholic drink.


Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2012

God Bless Alton Brown and Google. Let me know how it turns out.

Does Sears still send out catalogs?

 

LISTENING TO NPR:

There was a piece on the radio this morning about catalogs. The interview started with how many things have been killed off by the internet; Rolodex, paper maps, but not catalogs. Huh? Someone counted the number of catalogs they received during the week and received an average of fourteen catalogs.

When I lived in Barrow during the 90's, I received all sorts of fabulous catalogs all the way from barge order catalogs to Gumps of San Francisco. Unfortunately most of the catalogs would usually have a disclaimer that states specifically that they will not deliver to Alaska or Hawaii. Eventually I learned that the work around for that was to put the street address of the postoffice in the order form and next line put in the po box number so it looked like an apartment number. And I do remember ordering a very large steel kitchen storage shelving unit that cost over one thousand dollars including shipping. which had to be shipped in special air at another little terminal in Barrow. I'm pretty sure it was the need for something to put my grow lights and plants on that prompted that thrifty purchase. Had a tussle just getting it upstairs. I think it went for 50 bucks at the yard sale.  Here is a tip:  Always go to yard sales in Barrow.

 

However, I loved the luxury catalogs. There were the drool worthy furniture catalogs that were literally furniture porn. Oh and the food catalogs for Christmas gift baskets, very sexy. But my absolute favorite was Gumps. A store in San Francisco sent out the exquisite catalogs filled with spendy little treasures. My favorite item was a collection of Limoges nativity figures that were hinged to open. I think there were the basic three; baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, a donkey, a camel and sheep, shepherds, the three wise guys. The complete set was nearly 2000 dollars but boy was I ever tempted. Loved those figures. Now I would be terrified to put them on display because our cats may be senior citizens but they are spry enough to investigate and destroy anything new or unusual. I should probably go Google to see if they are still popular. Oh yes, Limoges nativity set still available at Gumps for 2,999.00 and they are SOLD OUT. Jeez.

Now a days we get catalogs but they are more generic; Dollar Store etc. sigh...not the same.

Sunday Viewing

December 7, 2014:

Some reviews etc:
Day of Infamy: 73 years ago Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. I read the book Day of Infamy when I was in the sixth grade. I rememer being impressed by some of the physical feats performed by desperate sailors trying to save their ships. I did a book report for English class and got a middling grade. My heart was not in it as I was a fanatic Glenn Balch fan who was a popular Idaho author of Teen, horse riding adventure books. As it turns out I was never meant to own or ride a horse.

Very bad joke: I may have heard this on television. Might have been on the Mike Douglas show.
Have you heard about the guy who is half Japanese and half black?
No.
Yeah, ever December 7^th he goes out and attacks Pearl Bailey.
Bada boom, bada bing.

The Librarians: Brand new show on TNT. Bob Newhart, Jane Curtin and John Laroquet are secondary characters in this. The main people are very handsome and young and I have NO CLUE who they are. Everyone else out there who saw the show probably knows them from something that I have never willing subjected myself. Sorry but that is Baby Boomer viewing. The Library is a regular above ground library. The real library is several sub floors down and contains many, MANY magic artifacts such as Excalibur, The Ark of the Covenant, yeah that kind of magic, in storage. The main characters are the handsome 30-ish Librarian guy who clearly is pre Baby Boomer language familiarity wise. The CIA lady is 30-ish, blond, tall, strong, kick ass and knows her weaponry. The next three are summoned Librarians who did not keep their interview appointment and are; middle aged man IQ 195 writing novels while working on an oil rig 5 miles off the coast from his home town, a young Asian man who is a very talented thief and lastly a sweet doomed (brain tumor size of a grape) thing who is a walking computer. Okey dokey with me so far? CIA babe gets a letter saying she has been selected for the position of Librarian appear at the Library at time and date. She meets Jane Curtin who ushers her onto the elevator and they go down, down way way down to the real library. There the Gentleman Librarian is encountered sword fighting and his opponent is Excalibur. Eventually they become aware that they must search out the other three librarians and get them safe because someone is murdering all the other Librarian candidates. Then they go on a quest to recover King Arthur's crown. The bad guys want to bring back magic to the world. I LOVED THIS!!! Next week...dragons!!!

Two episodes of season three Sherlock Holmes: Episode three has not showed up on local PBS yet. A friend very kindly lent me all three seasons of her CD's.

Sherlock returns in The Empty Hearse. Scene opens with him in shackles being beaten by Serbian guard. He whispers to guard about his wife cheating on him and he storms out of the dungeon. The senior official overseeing the beating turns out to be Mycroft. Sherlock returns to London and decides to surprise John Watson who has gone out to dinner to propose to Mary. Sherlock snatches some diners glasses, some ladies menu and evening bag which he uses to give himself a miniature mustache. He presents the wine to John and natters on in a very amusing manner. John does not notice him. Mary returns to the table, recognizes Sherlock. John finally catches on, appears shocked and lunges for Sherlocks neck. Several stranglings and a nose bleed later it finally dawns on Sherlock that he might have gone about the whole thing wrong. Especially not letting John know anything. The remainder of the show is a composite from several points of view of how exactly Sherlock flung himself off the building and survived. Most witty and amusing and extremely well done. That was so well done I have actually forgotten what crime they solved during this episode.

Second episode Sign of Three: This involves John and Mary's wedding, the planning, the request that Sherlock be best man and make a speech, all of which looks to be dismal. And there were several tantalizing investigations along the way. A woman consulted with Sherlock about her dating a ghost, attempted murder of a Queen's Guardsman and attempted murder of John Watson's former Army Commander. The whole damn thing is solved during Sherlocks speech. Bad guy caught, and I am mesmerized by the quality of the writing...genius!!! Oh and John and Mary are preggers.

60 minutes:
Piece on Stradivarius great interview with famous Strad owner and where the current pieces are still made in Cremona from the very same forests as the original pieces. One wonders just how many centuries an original Strad can last. 
 
Piece on Cancer research and genome testing. A very rich genius from South Africa and of Asian descent has spent one billion with B dollars on cancer research, main frames and infrastructure. His approach has been to find genome of each cancer per patient and treat by gene therapy rather than by cancer site and to eventually treat cancer as a chronic disease. Most recent effort is to find genome of cancer tissues frozen decades before genome testing became available. He hopes to find patterns from the earlier cancers. One of his patients was a man diagnosed two years ago with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was told he had four months to live. He got some of the genome based cancer therapy and has lived to this date. There is also the problem that with genome based therapy 20 or 30 drugs developed for those cancers are required to treat them. The FDA is too slow. Conservative physicians view this as a good effort but is not an established treatment modality at present. 
 
Guilty Pleasure: Viola Grace has become one of my favorite authors. Her books are in digital format available from Amazon and she publishes three novellas each month unless she is traveling. Her world is a future earth (Terran First Wave) that is a protectorate of The Alliance. Because there are lots of beings out there who find Earthlings very appealing for many reasons. The Alliance sets Terra the task of finding 2000 talented volunteers to go into Alliance space or perhaps the Nyal Imperium to work, thrive and reproduce with other races. If they are successful, the Earth will be advanced gradually into full membership with the Alliance. The whole range of stories involve the women adapting to their newly discovered psychic powers and finding work in outer space. 

The other universe is The Crossroads. This is a place displaced in the space time continuum where shape shifters can find their true love and there is usually a pretty darn good story involved as well. At any rate Sunday evening her three most recent stories were posted and I dived right in. Thank you Viola.

NPR, Roller derby and me.

ROLLER DERBY:

Today is Saturday, I was luxuriating in my bed this morning listening to Weekend Edition on NPR by Scott Simon. He reported on the Texas world roller derby championship held recently. Not too sure who won but maybe 20 or 30 countries sent teams to compete.

Boy did this bring back some memories. In my young and much dumber days in the mid 1960's, I was first introduced to Bay area roller derby by my friend, Judy. I had no clue what roller derby was. You wanna go? Um sure. I thought maybe we would get to rent some skates and participate. 

Hmm better not. Each team consists of 5 women, four blockers and the scoring person. General mission is to out skate and pass the other teams scoring person and make a point. Lots of noise and excitement, lots of elbows and shoulder bumps sending blockers flying over the sides of the track. Judy and I followed our favorite team, Bay Area Bombers all over the area. Just like professional wrestling there were good guys and bad guys, good girls and bad girls. The bad ones were of course the most interesting. We went from the Cow Palace to some far off fair grounds buried somewhere in Contra Costa county to watch this sport.

Eventually I lost interest as time marched on. I remember seeing a television broadcast of Roller derby sometime in the 70's. The sport had definitely jumped the shark as they had an alligator pit infield that the unlucky had to jump as a penalty.. Woo hoo dangerous. Poor alligator I think he made a good purse later on. 

Now there seems to be a more professional effort as the sport is being promoted internationally. The Aussies won the loudest contest. And they all have colorful names. Just make 'em up, g'head...and shouldn't there be a Roller derby Beer?

Inner peace...inner....WHAT!?

I had a dream last night that featured a large elephant. The elephant was friendly, tame or something and we were going to use the elephant to move to a different house. First we had to wash the elephant in a stream and then the elephant was sad. I hugged its trunk. The mahout pouted and would not do anything with or for the elephant. The homeowner kept asking when we were going to move. 

 

Elephant

To see an elephant in your dream indicates that you need to be more patient or more understanding of others. Or perhaps there is a memory that you are holding on to for too long. You need to let go of the past. The elephant is also a symbol of power, strength, faithfulness and intellect. Alternatively, the elephant's introverted personality may be a reflection of your own personality. 

 

I am interested in learning more about Islam mostly due to all our Muslim friends and not incidentally Taliban, Boko Haram and ISIS. So here goes.

To begin with there is the Five Pillars of Islam. I know for sure that one is charity (2.5% tithe, not bad!) and another one is the Hajj (trip to Mecca). I am unsure what the other three are but without Googling let me guess:
A: Sanctity.
B: Good deeds
C: Conversion of infidels. 
 
Now lets go Google the Five pillars...
1. Shahadah: declaring there is no god except God, and Muhammad is God's Messenger. Actually years ago I attended an oil company orientation in Houston. The lecturer displayed the Saudi flag and explained that the writing said, “There is one god, his name is Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet”. Said so on the flag.
2. Salat: ritual prayer five times a day at pre-dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset and night. The five daily prayers are obligatory (fard) and they are performed at times determined essentially by the position of the Sun in the sky. Hence, salat times vary at different locations on the Earth. Remember they invented algebra to aid in time computations (you should see the formulae!!) They also perfected maps and navigation in order to find Mecca for proper orientation of the prayer rugs.
3. Zakat: giving 2.5% of one’s savings to the poor and needy.
4. Sawm: fasting and self-control during the holy month of Ramadan .This is a movable feast based on the lunar calendar and as near as I can remember the holy month advances eleven days for each 365 days. Years ago when I worked at Fairchild Semiconductor there were several Black Muslim ladies working on the graveyard shift. They got very skinny during Ramadan because they didn't eat during the day.
5. Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if one is able.

Wow, three out of five is a good guess, I know there was prayer and fasting but did not know they were Pillars. 

A few years ago I watched a special on the Hajj. It might have been National Geographic but maybe not. The film followed three or four families on their preparations for Hajj and the various rituals they had to perform once there. One group came from America, one family journeyed from England and a third family came from Indonesia. They had to purchase the special clothing, no one wears western clothing while on Hajj. The clothing for men seems to consist of two lengths of cloth to cover torso and a second one to cover head and shoulders all in white. The ladies all wear the basic black gown, head cloth and the same wrap as the men. The only exception I saw was one American blond who wore a pretty red head cloth, I do not know if that has any significance other than style. Get two million pilgrims in town and that is a lot of white. 

The story of how Islam came to be started with a very old Bible story. When Abraham cast out Haggar and Ishmael they wandered in the direction of Mecca. Haggar was desperate to find water for her son and walked back and forth in a valley several time and finally found some water at one end or the other of the valley. As a kid, I had always wondered what happened to Haggar and Ishmael. One of the rituals is for the pilgrims to walk that distant seven times (I think?) and pray. There is actually a covered walk way to keep pilgrims safer from the extremely hot weather when Ramadan happens in high summer.

Another ritual is to walk counter clockwise seven times around the Kaaba and pray. One of the rituals is to walk between two mountains several times and pick up 42 small stones which are used to stone the devil. Another ritual is to sacrifice a sheep, a goat or a camel. There are large abattoirs that provide the animals, all the pilgrim must do is pay for the ritual and the butchers text them when it is done. The sacrificed animals are donated to the poor and hungry. The men must get their heads trimmed or shaved, most of them go for the full head shave. The women are required to get a demure little trim. Oh yes, stoning the devil takes place at three large wells, there are at least two levels built like a super highway to handle the traffic. This allows the pilgrims to walk to get close enough to cast their stones into the well. Now I got to thinking and I figure 42 small stones x 2 million pilgrims is a few tons of gravel. What happens when the wells fill up? Do they empty the wells and recycle the rocks? 

All of these rituals happen during one week twenty-four/seven. That is a lot of organization. One of the managers was interviewed and he stated that having two million come to town was like having 20 Super bowls in one day. Ye Gods and Little Fishhooks!! Oh and there is a permanent tent city divided up by countries. During the filming I could see large commercial cranes in the back ground. Apparently there are several very tall hotels being built so that apparently the rich folk can pray from their rooms. There are also plans for expansion of the mosque surrounding the Kaaba by several square miles in order to accommodate the increasing number of Muslims, total world wide membership is up in the billions with a B.

One of the annual rituals is the covering of the Kaaba. The building is in the center of the mosque and looks smallish but is actually a couple hundred yards cubed. Each year the building gets a new cloth covering. The cloth is black and Koranic verses are embroidered all over it in gold thread, it is quite beautiful and cost five million dollars. There is also a private purification ritual inside the Kaaba itself where certain members come inside to wash the walls. I did notice someone handing a large five gallon plastic bucket inside. Um, I don't want to sound irreligious given that the building covering is so fancy, but wouldn't a gold bucket be nice? Maybe not, a five gallon GOLD bucket might be too heavy to pick up and get inside the building. Maybe one of those expanding hoses...

The film also covered the air travel, once the jets enter Saudi air space, there are specific prayers to be said on board. Part of the journey is to land in a town near Mecca (Medina?) to pray in the Grand Mosque to get into the proper frame of mind then journey to Mecca to continue the Hajj. Once this trip has been completed the pilgrim has earned the right to be called Haji. I wonder if it is the same for women. Let me Google that be right back...Oh they are also called Haji, how nice. 

One last thing: Call to Prayer. I watched several You Tube recordings of various calls to prayer. They were all beautiful. I got to wondering if they ever performed in harmony? The closest I could find was viewing call to prayer from a rooftop in a town with a lot of Mosques and it was sort of harmonious except all the calls were slightly ahead or behind each other. That may be a courtesy thing if singing in harmony is not part of the culture. I also watched one clip of a service where the Imam was singing a very long verse. About halfway through he became very emotional and actually cried. I truly do not know why the man was crying but he manfully got himself under control and finished the prayer with an “Allah”.

One last thought. How would Islam be effected if they mounted a space program and landed on their own planet and had it all to themselves? 

Okay that is enough comparative and/or speculative religion for the day.

SINGING!!

MUSICAL JUDGEMENTS:

I wish to say a few things about all the popular singing contests. I have watched The Voice and I have watched America's Got Talent. I have not watched American Idol, dunno why.

Since watching these I have also watched X Factor UK, Australia and some other countries all on the Internet and really enjoyed those very much.

I listened to some oldies such as “Who's Loving You Now” and some new songs that I had never heard but liked very much such as “Listen”, “Say Something” and “Fix you now”. Whew. Then I listened to the original artists on line. Sometimes the original was better sometimes I liked the new version better.

My favorite parts of all of these contests were the initial auditions.  There was a preproduction purity of the songs, they hadn't been tarted up yet and some have been breathtakingly good, chills,thrills and goose flesh.
 
The judging of all of these contests are limited to celebrities who may or may not have actual musical talent or training. When the celebrities have chosen or been assigned their talents, they wear themselves out praising their candidates repeatedly, well except for Mel B, Howard Stern and Simon Cowell. What I would like to point out is that no one cites any educator of musical standards from Julliard (spelling) or some other prestigious facility to point out what is missing. This would lend some much needed verisimilitude to the proceedings. 

That way I would achieve a feeling of judgemental superiority similar to that when watching the Olympics. After a few views I can pretty accurately call a perfect dive and deduct a tenth of a point for a teeny tiny splash. 
 
The differences in the audience participation is marked. The Brits cheerfully roar for their favorites, they go along with the “joke” acts and boo off the really bad ones. The Americans cheer ANYthing. Tsk. The Australians moan over the singers stories. It is all quite wonderful.

Now, I am beginning to think I have attained a more educated ear or I am suffering some limited range hearing deficit/impairment. Why you ask? Well, the last few songs on The Voice were off for more than one or two songs. They were slightly off, slightly flat, slightly sour, slightly not singing the actual song. There were only TWO singers that gave me the shivers. 
 
Production values: The Voice apparently does not believe in spot lights, the stage is so dark with only occasional mood lighting that the electricians may actually be on strike. The audience screams entirely too much, use your ears people, you will enjoy it much more. On one of the most recent X Factors UK, one of the singers did a “Devil” number and they spray painted him GOLD he looked like he had escaped Gold Finger. He sang beautifully but really 
spray paint??

Good news? The Taste is coming next week on ABC, those cranky chefs will choose their teams to cook superb dishes. Wheeeee!!

Jade collections, The Exploratorium and inexact memories.

 

Many years ago I and a girl friend visited the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts. This is a beautiful rotunda like building. After the devastation of the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was anxious to show the world that it had risen from the ashes. So in 1910, business and civic leaders gathered to discuss making San Francisco the site of the century’s first great world’s fair — a grand exposition that would honor the completion of the Panama Canal. In just two hours, they raised $4 million — and beat out competitors New Orleans and Washington, D.C., to host the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition. 
 
The building has had many uses over the years but the year I visited it it was called The Exploratium. It was designed by Frank Friedman Oppenheimer (August 14, 1912 – February 3, 1985) who was a particle physicist,(his big brother was Robert Oppenheimer), cattle rancher, professor of physics at the University of Colorado and the founder of the Exploratorium in San Francisco in 1969. In fact the place was used to death because when I visited it close to when it opened all the exhibits were .. um..well used.

Back to the Exploratorium: the building was outfitted with science and physics experiments that appealed to many ages but mostly teenagers. There was one exhibit where you could stand on one side of the room and whisper to someone standing hundreds of feet away. The acoustics were so good you could clearly hear the whispered conversation. The place employed young people explaining and demonstrating the experiments to viewers. It was so much fun. If I were rich, I would put a similar Exploratorium in one of the empty downtown buildings, hire local kids to run it and charge a modest admission. I am pretty sure it would be a fun busy place.

Another time I think about 1970 or so, my family was visiting. My Mom, my mother-in-law, my sisters and there may have been others, went to Golden Gate Park. The de Young museum was displaying the private jade collection of an American politician or diplomat (his name I cannot remember, Help!) which was mammoth, impressive and beautiful. 

 There was also a show for one of the Wyeth's, Andrew maybe. We gawked at those paintings. We walked and trudged a lot and gawked some more at the paintings. My absolute favorite was one of a pond in summer. It was a very large painting so that if you stood close enough you lost the edges of the painting and gazed down into that pond. It was clear, shallow not more than three feet deep. You could see minnows and shadows of them flitting through the waters. You could plainly see the pond bottom littered with some smooth rounded stones. I don't know if I am remembering this but I could swear there were water skippers on the top of the water, maybe even dragon flies. It was peaceful. I wanted a print of that picture so badly, I would have paid genuine money if the museum had been offering the print for sale but I didn't think about those kinds of things until years later. I am not even sure it was a Wyeth, dang it. I have never found it on the vast Internet.

I had a flashback to another pond located in the central Idaho meadow lands. Dad had decided that we would all go camping in the 56 Pontiac station wagon (white with a red stripe). So off we went. No tent. We all slept in the station wagon; Mom and Dad, me, Richard, Phillip, Ellen, Gale and Carla. Jim was not born yet. It felt miserably cold that night and we got up the next morning for breakfast. I and my brothers went off into the woods to gather wood. Mom took pictures on the Brownie wind up camera. The picture of a huge armful of wood I was staggering back to camp with turned out to be a few feeble sticks of kindling. Mom went to rinse out the battered aluminum coffee pot in the stream. We heard a scream! Mom had dropped the percolator innards into the freezing cold glacier fresh stream. She was not going to freeze her lady bits to retrieve the insides of the coffee pot so she made cowboy coffee that morning. The young trout eagerly nosed the coffee pot inner structures and laughed their trouty selves silly at the humans peculiar camping habits. 
 
Now at this point, my siblings will point out that:

1. it was not the 56 Pontiac station wagon,
   
2. one or more of the little sisters had not been born yet and
   
3. some smart ass will point out that we were camped near Cascade just for clarity you understand.
   
4. And MAYBE someone will actually remember the name of the famous American jade collector. C'mon cudgel your brains!! cuz mine are compromised and NOTHING I put in the search engine popped up anything useful....sigh...
   

A few words

FERGUSON, MO:


First of all, shooting down 18 year old Michael Brown was bad, if my brother were killed in such a manner I would not believe much of what actually happened. I don't care if he was the size of a a city bus, he was still my brother. 
 
The department only had ONE taser. That is like Barney Fife leaving his bullet in his pocket.

The August riot was handled badly, the run up to the Grand Jury verdict could have been handled with more care amongst the community I think the Church leaders gave it their best shot. I think the Grand Jury did the best they could. 
 
Cop reaction:

1. Give the angry people a legitimate target, encourage them to burn and trash a condemned house somewhere....and clean up the mess.
   
2. Furnish a used cop car to be smashed, trashed, rolled over and set on fire. Tickets one dollar each...and clean up the mess.
   

Crowd Control:

Instead of military vehicles, I would suggest a huge flock of sheep to be driven down the streets into the crowd. HUGE. FLOCK. OF. SHEEP. THOUSANDS. OF. SHEEP.

This would provide distraction, slippery footing, an occasional head butt to someones behind and do not forget the benefits of all that fertilizer. Additionally if anyone got hungry, nothing better than barbecued mutton over the coals of that burning condemned house somewhere. 

Oh yeah a water cannon would be helpful to...clean up the mess.

Go Pack Your Socks.

Some topics to think about.

The run for President should be done without money. Without. Money. The sitting President should not be allowed to campaign for members of his/her party. I don't campaign for members of my party, not Avon, not Tupperware, nuthin'. The President should do the business of the country. State Dinners are allowed and other countries must take turns visiting. One year they visit us, next year we visit them. 
 
The television networks should refuse to cover ANY political ANYTHING...unless the candidate has qualified by voting for or against a bill.

 All politicians should be assigned a mandatory committee called “Show up for Congress EVERY DAY.”

All politicians must pay their taxes in order to stay in office.
Congress must go pick up trash. Really. 
 
All law schools must consist of 50% nonwhite students and 50% women. Now we can bitch about ALL LAWYERS EQUALLY.

All politicians should be required to commute to work other than by plane. Take a cross country trip, get in touch with your people and I would stay away from using the campaign bus, too. And Senators and Representatives from Hawaii and Alaska, better take the Ferry or a tramp steamer. 

Now go pack your socks. By. Your. Self.

Been cooking again....

I watched Giada DeLaurentis make her Mom's vegetarian meatloaf so today I decided to go shopping for ingredients. I have everything assembled. I did not get fresh spinach because it was FIVE BUCKS for a 4 or 5 cup plastic bucket as opposed to a frozen spinach packet and I don't have to chop it. 
 
Step one: Cook one cup of lentils because I could not find CANNED lentils. Who cans lentils!?!?!

Step two: Cook two cups brown rice.

Step three: Reserve everything and cook it tomorrow.

Step four: drag out blender, cut in half one pint of cherry tomatoes. Eat three. Throw in blender, also add three chopped green onions, three tablespoons chopped garlic, salt, pepper, bunch a fresh basil, blend to leave bits of tomatoes recognizable. Set aside.

Step five: Saute one small chopped onion, one medium shredded carrot, one stalk of celery until tender. Add 10 ounces chopped spinach, add one cup frozen corn. Add 15 ounces of cooked lentils, add two cups cooked brown rice.
 
Step six: Add half of the cherry tomato/basil sauce, add one cup mozzarella cheese shredded, add three beaten eggs, salt and pepper to taste.

Step seven: Pour into baking dish, top with slices of fresh tomato, one cup mozzarella cheese and the remaining cherry tomato/basal sauce. Bake 350 for 35 minutes, let cool 15 minutes, slice and serve.

Step eight: Husband sampled and pronounced that he really liked it. He can't help it, he was raised vegetarian and does not think lentils taste like dirt. 
 
Step nine: Clean all the dishes involved in this. Rest and repent.

November 11th, 11th hour.

Poppies row on row....

Today I am posting a picture of some of the poppy installation done in honor of the English killed in WWI. They are beautiful. I wonder what will happen to them afterwards? Maybe sell them for charity? I would dearly love to purchase one in honor of my father who served in WWII. Frankly I would love to have a vase full of them. I have a lovely white ceramic vase stored in the attic that I would love to fill with the poppies. Dr. Rawlinson, our family doctor back home, would often be heard reciting In Flanders Field where poppies grow, between the crosses row on row. He also liked Gilbert and Sullivan.

Jeez I hate it when I get this close to the edge!!!

Last night I dreamt that I had purchased a small trailer, hitched it up to my car, took Charlie who was very young and started driving.


Pulled off somewhere at night and went up and found a parking spot. When I got up the next morning I evidently started to set up the trailer inside. There was a kitchen/bathroom up front the back had a couch/bed area which was divided by two curtains of sparkly blue stones which pulled down from the ceiling. About then I looked outside the window in the bedroom and noticed that I could look straight down! For a long, long ways. I marveled that I had not gone off the side while parking in the night. I immediately went outside to see exactly where we were. Perched on the side of a freaking mountain with construction going on all around us. I pulled Charles back from the window cautioning him to stay inside. The car was no longer hitched to the trailer, no idea where it was parked. I looked around and there was a man working on a large piece of equipment nearby and I asked him if he moved trailers. No, he didn't. Eventually I saw a woman and asked about moving the trailer and she said she was busy she was moving to Cascade the next day. (Cascade Idaho so I presumed I was somewhere in Idaho mountains...). Then I woke up, grateful that I was not parked on top of a mountain some damn where.

Looking up terms in Dream interpretation site:


To see a trailer in your dream suggests that you are feeling overburdened. You carry more weight on your shoulders than you need to. The dream may also indicate that you are more of a follower than a leader.
 
To see your son in your dream signifies your ideal, hopes, potential, and the youthful part of yourself.

To dream that you are lost suggests that you have lost your direction in life or that you have lost sight of your goals. You may be feeling worried and insecure about the path you are taking in life. If you try to call for help, then it means that you are trying to reach out for support. You are looking for someone to lean on. 
 
To see mountains in your dream signify many major obstacles and challenges that you have to overcome. If you are on top of the mountain, then it indicates that you have achieved and realized your goals. You have recognized your full potential. Alternatively, mountains denote a higher realm of consciousness, knowledge, and spiritual truth.

In summary: I am following my ideal, calling for help but have achieved my full potential. Well isn't that depressing.

What was your strangest interview question?

10 Weird job interview questions: And how I would answer them...

1. If you could get rid of one state in the USA, which one was it?
   Um.....(stalling for time) None because Florida is going underwater due to global warming so question answered.
   
   
2. How many cows in Canada?
   Just enough.
   
   
3. A penguin with a sombrero just entered the room – what does he tell us and why is it here?
   The penguin is part of a self-guided tour from Mexico and they are lost, lost, lost.
   
   
4. My wife and I are going on vacation – where would you recommend us to go?
   You to the golf course, your wife to the largest shopping mall in the world.
   
   
5. What is your favorite song? Perform it for us.
   Right now I am being haunted by “Say Something” and here are your ear plugs.
   
   
6. Did you ever steal a pen from your workplace?
   No because they were crappy pens. I had to order mine from Amazon.com.
   
   
7. Choose two celebrities that will be your parents.
   Mother Teresa and Albert Einstein, go figure.
   
   
8. If you were a kitchen utensil, what was it?
   A very sharp knife.......Think multi-tasking..don't ask.
   
   
9. If you could be someone else – who would you choose to be?
   ….I'm still thinking...
   
   
10. From 1 to 10 how would you rate me as an interviewer?
    I would rate you as a 5, I never give high or low scores on quantitative questions.
    

Friday Evening Viewing:

Masterpiece Theater, Friday night here on the rainy southern Oregon coast.

Episode 4? Baskerville Hound.

Um, not my favorite of the Sherlock saga, however, getting all 21st century Baskerville becomes a super secret lab with animals and stuff um on the dim dreary moors.

1.  We get to see Sherlock experience doubt.  This enrages him to the point of near incoherence.  
2.  We get to see Sherlock be wrong about something.
3.  We get to see Sherlock sort of apologize.
4.  We get to see the 7% solution loosely interpreted as nicotine. "Mrs. Hudson! Where is my secret stash!?!?!".
5.  We do not see a hound, they talk about it, red eyes and such.
6.  A local vegetarian pub orders a huge stock of meat and Watson figures out they have a dog stashed in a mine to terrorize the country side and provide sightings for the "monster tourists". 
7.  We see Sherlock use his memory palace to assemble and deduce clues.  Very graphic.
8.  End scene is someELSE using HIS memory palace with Sherlock repeated a hundred times or so, new case coming up? Yeah.
9.  Swell close up of Cumberbatch Sherlock Blue eyes. um um um. 
10. Have concluded that Watson actually slightly resembles Ron Weasely. Wizard!!

When the Hell did Pepe's burn down!?

...and after

The most famous Mexican restaurant above the Arctic Circle caught fire in the early morning hours of Saturday August, 31, 2013. Despite North Slope Borough firefighters battling the blaze from about 2 a.m. to 9:30, little is left of Pepe’s North of the Border restaurant in Barrow, Alaska.

Pepe’s, owned by long-time Barrow resident Fran Tate since it began, has long been known as the go-to eatery in the community, a reputation earned among a wide variety of people who travel to the northern-most city in the U.S., home to about 4,200 Alaskans.

Related: 

Fermented 'stink whale' landed in Barrow, and it's a blessing during tough season

When Alaska bush pilot legends brought the movies to Barrow
The landmark restaurant served as a community hub for locals, the scene of more than one wedding, and countless first dates. Visitors, oil field workers, scientists, and even celebrities from around the world all remember Pepe's no matter how far away from Barrow they may travel.
In the very early hours Saturday morning, now dark as the community continues toward the constant darkness of winter at the top of the world, Mike Shults, the owner’s son and a Barrow resident, heard from firefighters.
They asked if he had a key to the restaurant. There was smoke coming out of the building, they said. Shults said he did not have a key and told them to kick down the door, he said.
Most of the building was already on fire when responders entered the restaurant, and by 3 a.m., Pepe’s was fully engulfed in flames.

Hard fight to save hotel, bank

About 30 personnel responded to the fire with three fire engines and one tanker. Conditions worsened at an alarming speed, said North Slope Borough Assistant Fire Chief Joe Dingman, so firefighters shifted their efforts toward an attached hotel and nearby bank.
Shults watched the restaurant burn to the ground through the night; crews fought the blaze valiantly until 6 in the morning, he said.
Three hours earlier, when the more than two dozen firefighters, official and volunteer, assembled at the site of the blaze and realized how serious it was, guests at the 50-room Top of the World Hotel had been ordered to evacuate.
Two North Slope Borough vehicles were parked next to the restaurant; both melted under the intense heat of the blaze. A third of the windows on a three-story Wells Fargo bank shattered due to the fire, and the side of the bank was charred, Shults said.
“The three-story bank right next door, the flames were twice as high as that,” he said. “They were just shooting. You could see it from all over town. And they fought it and fought it and fought it.”
To save the hotel, firefighters used heavy equipment to destroy a hallway that connected Top of the World to Pepe’s. That saved the hotel, Shults said, which would caught fire if action wasn’t taken.
Dingman said the hotel suffered heavy smoke damage while the bank had minimal damage to its exterior. Crews fought the fire for roughly eight hours, he said.

'Nothing left'

Come noon Saturday, the crews were simply dousing a handful of cindering piles of rubble. The restaurant was a total loss. “There’s nothing left,” Shults said. “It’s already packed up and put in dump trucks and hauled off.”
"Nothing" is not an understatement, he added. He shuffled around the ashes of the restaurant, trying to salvage anything. No luck. Just some melted aluminum pots and pans in the rubble. Nothing else was recognizable.
The local firefighters were heroic, he said. They were able to save the hotel and the bank, and they did everything they could for Pepe’s. An on-scene firefighter told Shults the fire’s cause was likely electric and probably started in the boiler room. But the assistant fire chief said the cause is still under investigation.
Shults made a tough call to his mother, Fran Tate, a beloved Barrow resident who now lives in Anchorage, around 8 a.m. The news devastated her.

35 years of history down to ash

Tate opened Pepe’s in 1978 in a tiny, two-bedroom home she remodeled with the help of others. Then, in 1980, at the request of Top of the World, she moved the operation to the hotel. The previous managers were having a tough time turning a profit, so Pepe’s moved in, Tate said.
“There’s three dining rooms ... I don’t even cook, and I was just in shock that I could own a restaurant that big,” Tate said.
The restaurant had some tough times, “It was a difficult road to hoe.” Pepe’s would have been in operation for 35 years on Oct. 20. Now, all the history inside of the restaurant is ash, she lamented -- scrap books of all the events Pepe’s experienced over more than three decades.
In 1988, three grey whales were stranded under the ice near the town, and media from around the world descended on Barrow. And Pepe’s served all comers. The restaurant was packed with environmentalists, TV crews and government officials. “We had 11 different TV stations eating there,” Tate recalled. In the Hollywood big-screen retelling of the whale stranding, "Big Miracle," filmed in Alaska, Pepe's even played itself under a different name.
Other reminders of the good times won't be as durable as the film. Two cases packed full of pictures of famous people who had visited the restaurant, including former pro football player Richard “Dick” Butkus, as well as snapshots of locals who frequented the restaurants for years were lost in the fire.
“There was just so much history,” the owner said. “It’s unbelievable.”

The end of Taco Tuesdays?

Tate still considers herself a big part of the community of Barrow, helping out with locals in a bind and offering donations and time to youth sports. The restaurant was part of the community, too. Tate and her Pepe's cohorts donated hams to bereaved Barrow families, saving them the effort of preparing meals in a time of mourning their loved ones.
Pepe’s also catered for numerous companies that dot Alaska’s North Slope oil patch. And every Tuesday, Pepe’s discounted their tacos and all three dining rooms would be packed to capacity, 200 people in all. Those in the know call it "Taco Tuesday."
Tate's fondest memories of the restaurant were its busiest days, she said. She praised her employees, who have been phenomenal through the years, she said. Though her current workers are all out of job ... it won't be for long, she said.
Pepe’s was insured, according to Tate. And though visual reminders of the landmark’s history, countless autographs and snapshots, were consumed in the fire, the restaurant is not dead. She plans to open a new Pepe’s in the near future.
“I feel like I’m the only one that really can initiate another one,” she said. “There will be another Pepe’s. This is not the end.”


Oh dear, I feel badly that I did not know of this and mourned the loss sooner. Husband and I were in the habit of Saturday morning breakfast there and then shopping at AC, that was our Saturday. Breakfast usually consisted of Veggie Omelet and Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream all for the cost of about 35 dollars. One particular Saturday it seemed a little extra nippy and when we checked the weather at home wind chill was MINUS 96.
I have eaten there when the place was packed with tourists in their red or blue parka's and decided I would prefer the less crowded times. If anyone can rebuild Pepe's it is Fran Tate.