nostalgias

Earlier this morning I played my Edith Piaf songs to my friends Jenny and Jessica, but now, I'm avoiding doing my taxes by sitting here sipping a glass of pink Cava, listening to Barcelone, sung by Boris Vian. I'm remembering last summer in Barcelona, getting my ass pinched in a crowded bar. I'm remembering getting tipsy riding the boat on the Seine and then getting subsequently lost in the streets of Paris with Anthony. Now my iTunes are spinning Ne Me Quitte Pas by Jacques Brel. I'm remembering the bicitaxi trips in the middle of the night in the potholed streets of Havana. I'm remembering the last time I saw Alexei, saying goodbye, not knowing when would be the next time, not realizing that it might be the last (or perhaps somehow I knew). I'm remembering the tears, clutching his skin, the taxi patiently waiting for us to let go. I'm remembering sitting down in the seat and closing the door, seeing his face through the window, cracking the window so I could hang onto the sensation of his touch for as long as the taxi allowed me. I'm remembering the sound of the revving engine as the accelerator was pressed down, and how our fingers were forced to separate. I'm remembering the last image that I have of him becoming smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror, until the taxi turned the corner and he was gone.

bringing harmony to the streets of SF!

I'm currently learning to play "Sous le Ciel de Paris." I'm so excited!

bring on the bike lanes!

This is so good I'm posting it here there and everywhere.

hippie hill

I met my pals Will, Erika and their daughter Quinn at Hippie Hill this afternoon to take in the sunshine and the drum circle. I was practicing my accordion when I saw this man:


I don't hang out much at Hippie Hill, but because of the familiar smell lingering in the air, I realized quickly that most people who are regulars there will eventually, sooner or later, end up just like him.

time for spring cleaning

A friend of mine sent this to me shortly after I sent my weekly message to Pelosi. I think it aptly sums up how many of us feel.

Dear Rep. John Conyers Jr.,
I read about your speaking engagement where you are worried about Obama being derailed by Impeachment hearings. Although I understand your concern, I believe when the truth comes out against Cheney and Bush in a public forum, where all they knew goes on the record, you will have the people even more in favor of change.

We need the right thing done for the people of this country and for HISTORY. To let an administration get away with such lies to the people is an outrage that we can not let happen in our lifetime. They need to be held accountable, and they need to be held accountable with time for everyone to digest all the wrongdoing that they have done. They continue to damage this country every day that they are in office. They still have 300 days during which they continue to destroy what this country stands for. From last year to this year, things have fallen apart. Every day they are in office without being held accountable is a very scary day. They are destroying the principles that this country was built upon and stands for. Their crimes are not just an affront to Americans, but to the entire world. If we are to be true world leaders in the future, we must lead with dignity and honesty and show the world that we have the courage to do the right thing.

Please do something NOW. The people are behind impeachment and want CHANGE. Please do your part to start impeachment proceedings immediately. I believe in the bottom of my heart that you won’t be disappointed. The democrats that were in cahoots with this regime also need to be cleaned out. It is time for us to do a deep spring cleaning.

man in kilt

I don't know for whom or for what he was waiting, or why he was dressed up, but he was a sight to behold as I cruised down Valencia Street Thursday afternoon.

barca needs a drink

So Marseille comes to the rescue. Apparently it is Europe's warmest winter in 700 years.

Just not in Copenhagen.

inspirational film

I also want to plug the film I saw last night: The Diving Bell and The Butterfly. Beautiful story, beautiful filmmaking. Incredibly inspirational, and so I hope you all can find some time to see this in the theater, or if not, add it to your queue now.

are you aware of your surroundings?

Only the best of the best will pass this test.

meet my new main squeeze

He meets all the criteria. It's like the Trifecta.

girl with dalmatian @ valencia & 17th

The dog's name was Rorschach.

enjoying springtime

She told me later that she was waiting for her boyfriend to come help her get down. I thought that was very simply very sweet.

cat haiku

Anyone who has seen my hands knows why this one in particular speaks to me:

Humans are so strange.
Mine lies still in bed, then screams;
My claws are not that sharp.

And there's more, for your reading pleasure.

because we need the eggs?

Because of some banter after my last post about getting into relationships, I remembered this wise metaphor for why we get in and stay in, even when it seems nuts, from one of my favorite films of all time, Annie Hall:

A man goes into the doctor and says, "Doctor, I need your help! My brother thinks he's a chicken!" And the doctor says, "Well maybe you should send him to an insane asylum." The man replies, "I would, but I need the eggs!"

is three out of three possible?

Lately I've been feeling a little bit differently about where I want to steer the vessel that is my life. Sometimes it's really confusing to make the right decision, because how do you know if it's the right decision or not?

So I was editing this show for Link TV and one of the guests, a very wise man named Azim Khamisa, said that it's important to make decisions using your mind-heart-soul connection. The way to do that is by asking yourself these three questions:

1) Does it make sense? [mind]
2) Does it feel good? [heart]
3) Does it inspire you? [soul]

I still can't tell you that if this thought process makes decision-making easier, but it helps clarify certain things. What I'm not sure about is that if you answer "no" to one of the questions, does that mean you shouldn't do it, or should you simply be aware that it doesn't make sense, doesn't feel good or doesn't inspire you? Perhaps the notion that "two out of three ain't bad" applies here.

What I'm getting at here is one of my favorite themes: love, and more specifically, how to fall into it. At one point I asked my two or three readers the question of when does one break the deal, or cut the cord, so to speak. Now I'm faced with a different question: when do you finally allow someone in? Does that person have to a) make sense, b) feel good and c) inspire you all at once in order for you to consider letting someone into your heart in the first place? Or if they meet at least two out of three criteria, can you see if the third criterion will eventually come around?

Lord knows if I had asked myself these three questions sooner in life, I may not have gotten myself into a number of messy situations that I so willingly leapt into at the time. But then, the Existentialist in me keeps telling me, you only live once! And the Virgo keeps asking, at what cost?

I used to have another set of criteria in determining a mate, which I haven't totally abandoned, and since I am on the subject, here they are. I've always thought that a winning combination for two individuals to come together and stay together, you need to have:

1) a physical connection
2) an emotional connection
3) an intellectual connection

Is it too much to ask for three out of three? Or must we accept two and one day hope the third will grow or emerge or come around?

If any of my two or three readers has some other key to the mysterious and enigmatic winning combination, and where and how to find it, any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

what's for lunch, maman?

Your three year old could be a foodie. And why not? Here's a link to a preschooler's lunch menu in France that I found on Expatriate's Kitchen. Imagine your youngster finishing her noontime repas with an assiete de fromage. This explains why my friend Anne's daughters were so excited to show me their school lunch menu when I walked them to school last time I was in Paris.

this is eco-trendy

On the other hand, this event presents a fabulous way to re-purpose old threads into extremely impressive fashion statements.

not so eco-trendy

I'm sorry folks, but this is NOT fashionable. There are far more stylish ways to make an eco-fashion statement.

newsflash!

Italian high court bans public crotch grabbing. I find this news ironic because of my most vivid memory from when I visited Milan for 24 hours in 1990 (the only trip I've made to Italy) with my travel partner in crime Gabriela. We were walking down a dimly lit street to get dinner somewhere near our hostel when we heard some foul grunting noises and saw a hefty old man wacking off in an adjoining alleyway. We laughed it off, and forgot about it over dinner. Hours later, on our way back to the hostel, the same man was in the same alleyway, seemingly still at work.

We went back to the hostel and didn't leave again until daylight. The next morning we caught a train bound for Geneva.

What do I remember from my one trip to Italy? Not the Duomo. Not La Scala. Not even the meal that I shared with Gabriela. But a freakin' Italian wack job.

veep gonzalez?

Matt Gonzalez is multi-talented. The last few times I encountered him, he was either sitting next to me at Cafe du Soleil reading a book on Dada, and then at his art opening at the Hayes Street Market where he was showing his collages made of found objects. Now he's running for Vice President of the United States on Ralph Nader's Green Party ticket.