St. John Coltrane

Lately I've been listening to John Coltrane's Stellar Regions album and his song, "One Up, One Down" and am still not surprised at all that a congregation chose this jazz musician as their patron saint. His playing is truly transcendent and transforming.

Happy Birthday St. John Coltrane.

Cute Dude

This is one cute little dude, right? I mean, he threw up in my lap three times after daycare yesteday, but still he's pretty cute, right?

I think he's doing better today.

Britney Spears Stoned

I haven't really followed the whole Britney Spears saga, but I stumbled upon this and it made really feel sorry for her for the first time. We're watching a young woman being eaten up by the star machine.

Za Za Za!

Tacos El Guero Sexi + Birria de Chivo. Nice!

You can look it up, but this roughly translates to "Tacos of the Sexy Blonde" + "Goat Meat"

And it's obviously all been blessed by the Virgen de Guadalupe.

Yeah man, now that's what I'm talking about.

Only on Taco Hunt.

Good Morning Toronto XIII

Freedom of Information

The New York Times will stop charging for on-line content! This is great news for Times-lovers like me...and another sign that the days of charging for on-line information are coming to an end. The web is proving the old-axiom that it's better to give it away!

What groups express concern about climate change?

Research from the Barna Group, an evangelical research organization:

What other groups express concern about climate change?
The types of Americans who are most concerned about global warming include atheists and agnostics (69%), Democrats (67%), residents of the Northeast (65%), Hispanics (65%), and unchurched adults (64%). Those least likely to describe the problem as a major issue include evangelicals (33%), Republicans (38%), those who are economically downscale (48%), and those living in the Midwest (51%).

At 33%, evangelicals were the least concerned about global warming among more than 50 population groups studied. Among Catholics and mainline Protestants, 59% were alarmed about global warming.

“…the environment is a potential area of common ground between Christians and non-Christians. Like it or not, if outsiders do not see Christians embodying biblical care related to creation, a Christian’s influence is significantly diminished."

DJ Sara and DJ Ryusei Ver 1

This be illin'

DJ Sara is 8, DJ Ryusei is 5.

Hi, I'm Amado!

Amado started daycare on Sept. 4 and he's been sick every day since. He had one cold, then got another, different cold on top of that one. Can that happen? Anyway, at night he's coughing like a 59-year-old smoker, but he's jolly enough during the day.

Our New Emerging Spirit Site

By the way, the new Emerging Spirit site was launched last week. We worked most of the summer on this and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. There's a nice blog and other interactive features on the site about the work to make the mainline church more relevant and welcoming in a postmodern culture.

If you're into CMS, the site's build using Drupal, an open-source CMS. It's really flexible, transparent, and is working out really well for us. Thanks a lot to Andre and Danielle at Web Networks for all of their expertise!

Happy Birthday Aunt Beki

Today would have been my Aunt Beki's 60th birthday (see my Mom's post here.). I can't imagine her as a 60-year-old.

Most of my memories of her are from the summer(s) she babysat us on Dobson Street in El Monte. We watched Bewitched, Beverly Hillbillies, and Let's Make a Deal all day long, and my Aunt Beki would make us laugh and laugh with her running commentary on the shows.

My aunt had babies herself in those years and if I could tell her anything now, I would tell her how much I learned about raising kids from her.

Now that I'm a dad, my mind always rushes back to her caring for her own children -- these were really first babies I remember being around. To me she was the archetypal mom and I thought she was the greatest. She was the one, afterall, who introduced me to Cheese Wiz.

In later years, she ceaselessly talked about how my brother and I were the greatest kids in the desert and how all the girls were after us--and if they weren't, they should be. That's what aunts are for.

A couple of years ago, my Mom wrote a brilliant piece eulogizing her sister Beki and Johnny Cash. KUSP in Santa Cruz recorded her reading it for their "First Person Singular" piece.

Go here to listen to it on-line (click the "play" arrow). You can also download it, but you will have to register on the site to access the file.

Dragon Chicken

I still cook a couple of India Joze dishes on a regular basis. (I was a chef at this famous Santa Cruz cultural landmark in the '80s.) Coptic Chickpeas even made it into our regular dinner rotation.

Last night I made Dragon Chicken, one of the best-loved Joze dishes. It didn't come out that well in my opinion, mainly because somebody stole my bunch of cilantro at the last moment. Instead of posting the recipe, you can watch the creative master of India Joze, Jozseph Schultz, (the artist formerly known as JSFTW) cook it himself. (Fans of "cross contamination" watch this video closely for an incident!)

Above is a photo of my favourite brand of fish sauce, one of the key ingredients in Dragon Chicken. Fish sauce is basically fermented, distilled anchovy juice. And as if that wasn't bad enough, this brand's icon is an old dried squid. However, they do note helpfully that "this product contains no squid."

Phelan by Satellite

Here's the Google satellite photo of Phelan, California. It's almost a piece of art itself. Click to make big.

By the way, the dark "V" in the middle is what is left of "The Slide" that took half the mountainside down above Wrightwood in 1969. Down in the desert, it hardened into the infamous mudbeds where us P*Landers congregated on certain summer evenings.

Pearblossom Highway

Speaking of P*Land, I came across this David Hockney piece, "Pearblossom Highway" which was taken a few miles west of Phelan, where I grew up in the 1970s. Yup, this is pretty much what it looked like.

Anatomy of a P*Land Layback

My brother Sol laying down a perfect layback at the top of the P*Land ramp. Laybacks are one of the hardest vertical moves, but he is totally shredding it.

I believe these pictures were taken by one of Nadalin brothers for the Mountaineer, which ran a highly damaging expose on the P*Land Boyz in 1981 or 1982.

George's Ne'er-Do-Well Son

I found this tidbit on the blog of Santa Cruz columnist, Bruce Bratton. Did Reagan really write this? He obviously had quite a sense of humour. In fact, we're still paying for it.

"A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne'er-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work."

-- Ronald Reagan in his recently published diaries, May 17, 1986.

The Playa

Mom and Irene are back from Burning Man. More pictures here. I'm not sure the brownies made it back though.

Toddler Daily Report

Yesterday was Amado's first full day of daycare....quite a traumatic event for all of us, but we survived. Here's his report card:

KIDS + COMPANY

Toddler Daily Report

Name: Amado
Date: Sept. 5, 2007

Meals
Snack (a.m.) - Not in
Lunch - 2 servings of milk; didn't eat pasta & tomato sauce; didn't eat carrot
Snack (p.m.) - cheese sandwich & juice

Diapering: 11:00 & 2:30

Sleep Time: From 12:30 to 1:20

Today's Activities: Creative Arts, Colouring, Book Centre, Sensory, Cognitive, Outdoor Gross Motor

How was my day?
He tried some activities with dad. He did enjoy kicking the ball outside.

A State of Wonder

Glenn Gould's famous 1955 recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations is all heart, all beauty.

And I don't care if I sound like Dr. Niles Crane when I say that.

Apocalyps

Apocalyps is a great Toronto photoblog that happens to feature a lot of excellent photos of our own neighbourhood on the westside.

In fact, this picture I pinched from the site features our former apartment building on Bloor St., where we lived for 5 years. Our former bedroom window is the one on the top right. Even more, the woman who I gave my empties to is right in the centre of this picture too. Plus, that's my car!

Ok, just kidding on that last one.

Check out Apocalyps to see some great photos of what I see everyday.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Still riding the rails after all these years! It's so much fun having a Mom who's actually younger than I am. We hope you're enjoying Burning Man! Happy Birthday!! We love you!

19 months!

On Aug. 28, Amado turned 19 months old! And as you can see, he's growing up FAST.

Burning Man Loses Its Innocence

...not the headline I wanted to see with my Mom and Irene out on the playa for the first time!

Thank You iPod...

...for another night of glorious music ....just when you need it the most.....

1. Track 2, Lounge Divine - Santana

A stunning mash-up of Santana music created by two European friends I've known for years, but only through the Internet.

2. The Angel Cried Out - Russian Chamber Choral (Tchaikovsky: Vespers)

This Tchaikovsky composition was my lifeline during my lonely days in Alexandria, Virginia.

3. Enigmatic Ocean, Part 2 - Jean-Luc Ponty

Sounds of my spiritual awakening in Phelan in the late '70s.

4. Orthodox - The Rastafarians

Life saving Santa Cruz reggae.

5. A Night in Tunisia - Lee Morgan

Lee Morgan makes everything about life better.

6. Represente - Orishas

The soundtrack to my first five years in Toronto, back when I studied Afro-Cuban conga with Jesus Valdez, the Aztec Clave.

7. The Way and the Truth - Kephas

Kephas (Richard Gonzalez) is an unbelievable, unsigned guitarist who does Carlos Santana better than Carlos has done Carlos in the past 8 years.

8. Father and Son - Cat Stevens

Deep, deep memories which have been waiting as a sign of my new reality.

9. Welcome to Mexico - Cheech & Chong

Cooler than you may think.

10. Agrippina, Act 2 - Lorriane Hunt

Another sign of the lonely days in Alexandria. This is a copy of the album I bought for Jim Wind for Christmas 2004.

11. Born Under a Bad Sign - Jimi Hendrix

This song proves Jimi will always be the baddest dude around.

12. Ai Ga Bani - Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate

Pure. African. Beauty.

13. Moanin' Dove - Michelle Shocked

Michelle Shocked is so beautiful. "Moanin' Dove, Moanin' Dove. Lord that's what I be. Moanin' for your precious love. Your love is what I need."

14. Tall Trees in Georgia - Leah State

The best rendition of this Buffy Sainte-Marie song besides Buffy herself.

Winnipeg Sunset

I missed the most beautiful moment of this sunset from Tuesday evening because I was on the phone talking to my web developer, but I think this picture still conveys my point that the prairies have the some of the best sunsets in the world. Especially after a summer storm. Even from my hotel window. Even as seen by my Treo.

First Day of School

Ok, it's not quite "school," but today was Amado's first day of daycare. And it was really only a half day. And I had to stay with him the whole time. But it was a tremendous experience for both of us!

I loved watching Amado interact with other kids in his age range (19 months to 2 1/2 years). It's beautiful to observe the different skills and personalities of each of the little kids, including Amado.

Amado loved all the balls there were to play with. It seemed like there were dozens! I could tell he also really liked being around other kids. He's going to grow a lot by going to daycare I would say. Amado didn't seem impressed by the catered lunch, or by the nap time, so we headed home. He returns on Thursday, after I get back from a meeting in Winnipeg.

See you then!

Anil's Ghost

I read Michael Ondaatje's book, Anil's Ghost, about two years ago now. It's a great book about a woman named Anil, who is a Sri Lankan forensic anthropologist investigating the political murders that had happened on the island during the civil war there.

There is one sentence from the book which occasionally rises in my memory that I'm still totally puzzled by.

When she was 12, Anil decided her given name was unacceptable and wanted to take the name "Anil", which was her 14-year-old brother's second name. He resisted, and after a lot of arguing and a failed intervention by their parents, Anil finally got her name by giving her brother:

...one hundred saved rupees, a pen set he had been eyeing for some time, a tin of fifty Gold Leaf cigarettes she had found, and a sexual favour he had demanded in the last hours of the impasse.

Three of the items I understand, but the fourth? Ondaatje offers no further explanation of this strange combination of goods it took Anil to get the name and never revisits it in the book. Could I be the only reader left wondering...

And the Beat Goes On

My father played alto saxophone. Unfortunately, I don't have any memories of him playing, but several people have told me he could play a lot of jazz.

My father also wrote poetry and many of his poems had musical themes. Here is one I found the other day in one of his undated notebooks. It reminds me of the old days when my parents were young and their lives were consumed with art---something I can remember myself. Of course, my Mom's ["Chris" below] life still is filled with creativity (see her here blowing my dad's horn, some years after his death).

Duos

I am overcome by a madness,
A Jazz madness,
A madness in which I feel
I must blow everything.
From the word by Trane and Bird...
To things Chris would sing.
Bop and Blues are my obsession
My only love the open session.

--Rex Gallegos

Totally Surfed Out Dude!

Ron Cestari cutting one off the lip (Serrano High School, Phelan, Calif., 1979).


Ron, great to hear from you man! Welcome to Alma's Soulfood. Click on "P*Land Blazes" to see more P*Land photos and video.


Peace Man!

10 Things I Thought about on my Summer Vacation

1. I missed many things about not being constantly on-line, but neither blogging or Facebook were among them.
2. I thought I was on to something when I saw some parallels between Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea and Yann Martel's The Life of Pi. Both feature solitary figures in out of control boats --- the old man being pulled by a marlin toward reality, Pi drifting with a tiger in tow toward unreality, etc. But then I got home and googled it and found out I wasn't the only one who noticed these similarities. Both are really amazing books though and I highly recommend them.
3. I don't like mice. Especially when they bust in our car night after night, leaving an ungodly mess. And all for a piece of gum.
4. I wish I had swam and kayaked more.
5. My BBQ chicken is absolutely the best.
6. There isn't anything much better than sitting in the sun, watching your son in the wading pool, and pouring over 3-day-old box scores of baseball games.
7. I'm reviewing The History of Barrios Unidos for Sojourners and found it a very inspiring book, though the reasons may be completely personal.
8. Michael Vick, one of the NFL's most talented players ever, will lose his career because of a dog fight?
9. I had fun drinking wine with my father-in-law on the last night at the cottage, although the evening ended in chaos.
10. It was great to see all my family from California here, together, in Northern Ontario. I would love to be able to hang out with them anywhere at least once a year. Twice a year would be better yet because I really miss them.

[Photo from a really neat Lithuanian's travel blog, but I'm sorry to say I can't find it anymore.]

We're Back...

...and here's one last vacation shot (though if my fans wish another, I must comply). It's of South River, a beautiful spot near Wendy's parents' cottage. I would love to go kayaking there one day.

We're getting everything together around here, so please bear with us! I'll get back to posting more regularly soon.

Peace Out.

She'll Be Comin' Round the Corner When She Comes

Not quite home yet, but we will be soon!

Above, the train bearing the mother load pulls into South River station last week. We picked my Mom and Irene up here right before making the last leg of the journey to the cottage.

Amado's Pool

Here's Amado playing in his new pool at the cottage. His Granmas Coop and Bean picked this up for him at the local hardware store and he loves it. He will play for an hour in it, even when it doesn't have water in it!

View from the Cottage

Still Up North

We're still up north at the cottage. I'm at the Red Brick Cafe in Sundridge, using their hi-speed wireless to answer some work emails and catch up on "the blogs". We had a great week with my family from California... mostly just relaxing and enjoying the water and the north woods. They've all headed home now, so Wendy, Amado, and I are spending a couple of days by ourselves before her family comes up next week. I'm reading Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, Wendy's watching a DVD on William Sloane Coffin, and Amado is enjoying his new kiddie pool. It's truly beautiful up here, and it's really nice to relax for a spell. The only thing hassling us are those dang red squirrels! They are out of control! (No doubt getting back at me for what we did to their city cousin in the EZ-Anwser Squirrel video on wondercafe.ca!)

Sirens

In order to protect their innocence, I won't identify each these funny people---except to say that the cute kid on the far right is Wendy. The rest of you know who you are!

This picture was taken in the early 70s at Lake Bernard (not Lake Erie like I thought), around the time Wendy's family was building their cottage there.

We'll be doing some swimming there too in the next couple of weeks. One week with my family from California and one week with Wendy's family from Ontario. We are really looking forward to it!

Blogging will be sparse during that time, though I can't imagine I wouldn't be able to find some way to hook up to the Internet up north.

So see you soon! And stay cool!

Happy Birthday Irene!

When your Mom brings home a tough-looking hot rodder like this, some families may get concerned. Not us though. And after more than 27 years, we haven't had a single regret.

Happy Birthday Irene! We send you all of our love and look forward to seeing you very soon!

(See my Mom's blog for more birthday hoopla!)

La Notte

...and speaking of great directors...

Heading East, one of my favourite blogs, has a nice clip from Antonioni's La Notte (go there and click on the picture), along with an interesting discussion about whether or not there are any movie directors today in the same league as Bergman or Antonioni.

I love this clip, though I was too distracted by the staggering beauty of Monica Vitt to read the subtitles.

Cold Tea

Wendy and I finally had the chance to see Cold Tea the other day. This short film is a stunningly beautiful, poetic story about the power that love has to break through in our lives. We watched it three times in a row, with much awe and discussion.

My long-time friend Katie Bowen directed and produced this film, along with David Kosh who wrote it based on a short story by Katie's dad, Roger Bowen. Katie, you are such an amazing filmmaker! It's no wonder that Cold Tea is getting picked up by numerous film festivals!

We want an encore performance, or at least a podcast of the director's commentary!

Congratulations Katie on this sweet (and cold) piece of art.

Security Blanket

Amado and I can watch the lobby watch channel all day. Got to stay on top of who's coming and going, you know.