THE WEEKENDER :) GIFTS FOR ALL

THE CONCEPT IS TO ENJOY

     On most Fridays the words of Tamar, a driver I hired in Israel come into mind, "no self respecting Israeli man would come home on Friday without flowers."

      Friday's and weekends are special, especially here at THE WEEKENDER:) where the point is fun.

     ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS WATCH

But these may make you want to move

     A couple of special WEEKENDER :) videos this weekend and they've been highly suggested by friends and readers.

       The irony of the first video is part of the amusement-

(as always I suggest you watch on youtube in a larger format-just remember to come back to Light/Breezes)

     You don't need to be a basketball fan to enjoy this one.

You are in on the secret-the "old man, Uncle Drew" is really 

Kyrie Irving, the 2012 NBA Rookie of the year.  Make sure to 

watch the faces of the people who are looking on once 

"Uncle Drew get's going."

(as always I suggest you watch on youtube in a larger format-just remember to come back to Light/Breezes)

Have a great weekend.

See you down the trail.

FRACTIONS OF A SCENE

MISSING IN NEW ORLEANS

     People rallied in New Orleans today, led by prominent jazz musicians, trying to reverse a decision that has shaken the Big Easy.  The 175 year old Times Picayune newspaper laid off 32% of its staff and announced it is was going publish only 3 days a week.  In the newsroom alone 84 of the 173 employees were sacked.

      The Times Picayune has figured prominently in the jailing of corrupt politicians, a Louisiana tradition. That watchdog roll will be missing.  And people complain about the end of a morning tradition of coffee, the paper and maybe a beignet.

       On-line news can do a lot, but nothing is like the morning paper.

OYSTERS VS ENVIRONMENTALISTS? 

     An interesting fight continues here in the California Republic.  Senator Diane Feinstein's record of environmental support is in question because of her support of an historic and popular Drakes Bay Oyster Farm.

      It is explained and put in context in the East Bay Express that you can link to here.

         The beautiful Point Reyes area is part of the equation.

PIECES OF THE NIGHT

AT THE PAINTED SKY

    The multiple Grammy nominated and extraordinarily talented Peter Case played the new Painted Sky in Harmony last night.

      Case is a songwriter's songwriter who counts Bruce Springsteen as among this fans. (He tells a great story about his first meeting of the Boss.)  

       Last night's audience was treated to his skills on 12 strings, 6 strings, electric guitar, harmonica and piano.

       Most of the music was original though a cover of Whiter Shade of Pale brought a palpable electricity into the room. It's been done countless times by more artists than we know but this performance was one of those moments in the rock ether when performance angels swarm around and frame the moment to lift it away and place it in the hall of timelessness and greatness.

        Case is the music curator at the Getty Museum in LA, an author and a blues expert as well.  He told about seeing Honey Boy Edwards shortly before his death.  He took us behind the music when he tuned down his 12 string "the way Leadbelly did it" and then ripped out a gut bucket "30 days in the workhouse."

        Some of the greatest lyrics of the night came from one of his new tunes exploring change, loss and time-"we'll meet again at the end of the long good time."

         Playing his 12 string with a sweetness that was ethereal he explored poignancy in a tune he penned in Scotland with the refrain "someone sees the dreams we hide."

       Case had an arc as a rock star when he fronted the Plimsouls and was lead in the new wave band the The Nerves.

       Case teaches and plays frequently at the legendary McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. We hope he'll find his way north again for another night in the magic of the Painted Sky.

PIECES OF THE SCENE

See you down the trail.

A BOY THING

FOREVER YOUNG

      Late spring/early summer means it's car show time
in California.  From the central coast south and north, the fabled Pacific Coast Highway will vibrate with the creations 
that are classically California.

    California is holy ground for the car culture.  Customizing
is never out of fashion.

   Even though we begin to notice "age" on some of the boys and their gals, it's lost in the shine and gloss of chrome and paint and like so many other things about playful California everything is forever young.

FOR THE REAL FAN

SEE THEM MOVE

See you down the trail.

FOLLOWING LUXURY & WHO NEEDS A MAP

THE LUXURY MARKET

     Louis Vuitton has drawn attention for their embrace of viral and whimsical marketing tools.  Clearly an upscale product that goes beyond the needs of simple utility, Vuitton is out with a new sales piece that may set a trend.

        It's a creative play, and as we used to say in the days of 

American Bandstand, it's got a nice beat.

DAY BOOK

WANDERING BACK ROADS

     Driving around in the Paso Robles appellation is a 

pleasure unto itself. Evidence here why this is called
the "American Provence."

See you down the trail.

WHAT IF & THE SURF

MIND GAMES

    Following neural links of a writer's imagination could provide a blue print for a wild ride at Disneyland or Universal Studios.

      The lights flickered, the computer and television stuttered and the phone blipped before we were inundated in darkness.  The only illumination up here on the ridge were solar powered foot path lights.  There was no wind, no rain and no logical explanation.

       Someone hit a power pole?  No sirens, no emergency wail.  An earthquake?  Nothing shook or trembled.  A rolling brown out?  Where and why? There had been no peak demand.  News time on a Sunday evening and the world goes dark.  A deliberate sabotage?  Now the mind is off and racing as I scramble for flashlights and lanterns.  

        Being forcefully unplugged from the grid, mid sentence in an e-mail and mid story on the news and weird thoughts race into mind.  The practical uptake was a stark reminder of the What If factor.  How inconvenient, then how difficult and eventually how isolating it would be to have no lights, no power, no ability to know why all the while growing in helplessness. Heaven forbid any of us have to live through that, though there are places in the world where it's real.

ANOTHER EXERCISE IN WHAT IF

      On break at tennis this morning we chatted about the 

recent Woodward and Bernstein historical perspective on

how dangerous and how bad Watergate and the Nixon conspirators really were.  The advantage of historical research and the emergence of recordings, data and records under girded their new accounting.

      It was worse than we thought, which you will understand by linking here.

      One of the foursome is a retired Wall Street Journal editor.  He and I chortled over how when a group of journalism students were asked how would they uncover the Watergate scandal some replied they'd enter a Google search.  Really!

      As you get over that one, try out the idea, What if

Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee listened to some of his carping senior staff and refused to give young Woodward and Berstein freedom to pursue the investigation.  And the big What If Nixon and his compatriot's lying and cover up were never exposed.  We'll just let that one hang out there for a while.   Could be the basis of a helluva screen play huh?

ENOUGH PARANOIA?

LET THIS SOOTHE YOU

A DAY BOOK VIDEO

See you down the trail

THE WEEKENDER :) ANIMAL HIJINX & THE MOB GETS SERENADED

ECLECTIC TREATS

    It's a real mixed bag THE WEEKENDER :) brings you this June weekend.

BETTER THAN PET TRICKS

     Thanks to Brian and a couple of other friends for alerting me to some incredible video. These are lots of fun.

        This piece from Brazil is fascinating and speaks volumes about species interaction.  What an uplift! The video was shot and is copyrighted by Gerd Traue.

THEN THERE IS THE EXERCISING SEA LION

No explanations needed-

but who came up with the training idea?

     Neither of these pieces are earth shaking, but they are evidence of how the world can share and enjoy, thanks to YouTube. And after all it is the weekend and THE WEEKENDER :) is about enjoyment and maybe a nap.

DAY BOOK

CAT TIMES

     Nap time comes easily to Hemingway and Luke.

    Daughter Kristin was working on a shot of the buck when

out of no where up pops "stealth kitty" Hemingway.  

    Then there was the time when Hemingway encountered

a new gate for the first time.

FRIDAY LUNCH FLASH MOB GETS SERENADED

    Have a great weekend.  See you down the trail.

A LONG WAY TO GO FOR FOIE GRAS

ENDANGERED DINING 

     The San Luis Obispo Tribune headline called it a Foie Gras Feeding Frenzy. 

      As of July 1, there is a ban on selling Foie Gras in California.  Once again the Golden State leads the nation, but this prohibition has a lot of foodies yelling.  They're yelling only while not taking part in a crazed binge of Foie Gras consumption.

      A few leading chefs have launched an appeal, but the legislation establishing the ban was passed in 2004 and allowed a long lead in.  Not long enough for those who enjoy the fattened liver of geese or ducks.  

     The law bans the use of forced feeding, a pipe stuffed down the esophagus.  It is a cruel technique and the 71/2

year grace period was designed to allow chefs and culinary experts to find a less barbaric way to fatten the livers. 

      Foie Gras is a centuries old delicacy and while it's bad for goose & gander, and can wreck your cholesterol levels and waist line, it is a rare and delicious taste. Many Californians are now stuffing themselves and discussing ways around the ban.

      I've enjoyed Foie Gras, never once thinking about how it was derived.  Maybe I should have been more sensitive.  Still, in the hands of a master chef, it is out of this world.

      The most unusual place I had Foie Gras was a half a world away.

     I was on assignment in the middle east and ended up in the "autonomous zone," what the PLO called Palestine.

    Jericho, where the wall came tumbling down, was

home to some of the best Foie Gras in the world,

      served in this restaurant off Allenby road. 
    With the exception of the staff and our group, the place was empty. Inside and out men carried weapons. 

    I sat with Uzi, the son of original Israeli settlers and freedom fighters, in an Arab restaurant in Jericho eating the largest goose livers I'd seen, served off swords direct from an open grill. They were larger than steaks. 

    The host, excessively proud of the humongous livers, joined us in what struck me as a possible new avenue of diplomacy.

   For a couple of hours we drank Arabic tea, ate salad

and pounds of the giant livers.  Pounds of Foie Gras, that kept coming in waves, hot off the sword as Uzi and his counterpart talked, argued and debated the future of Israel, Palestine, peace and war amidst the curling smoke of cigarettes and sizzling Foie Gras.

    I maybe wrong, but I can't imagine the fancy Foie Gras farewell feast they held in Pebble Beach could have held a candle to that afternoon in Jericho.

    See you down the trail.