Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead

Da UCSC Special Collections dieses Jahr die Grateful Dead Archive an Land gezogen haben (der grosse Coup, da jede Menge Gelder von Dead Fans einfliessen) war das Motto unserer Bibliothekskostümparty heute natürlich "Grateful Day of the Dead: Costumes are encouraged (but not necessary), so dig out that tie-dye: you know you have one somewhere!"
Ich habe alles was nach Hippie aussieht aus dem Schrank gezogen und ohne Rücksicht auf Augenschädigung meiner Umwelt gnadenlos an & um & auf mir drapiert. Die Musik sagt mir immer noch nichts, aber mit der Ästhetik--- Skelette, Knochen, und jede Menge Farbe--- kann ich mich anfreunden. Bunt war's und lustig!
Heute morgen war ich beim Arzt zur Grippeimpfung. Ich dachte ich erkläre der Assistentin gleich was Sache ist. Fingerzeig auf's Outfit: "Grateful Dead Party" "Sehr hübsch!" sagt sie, und "Hätte ich aber gar nicht gedacht, dass Du ein Kostüm anhast!" Typisch Santa Cruz! Sie mit langwallendem, schwarzem Samtundseidekleid und jeder Menge Silberschmuck. "Auch sehr schön, aber kein Kostüm, oder?" "Doch, doch! Hexe. Meinen Hut habe ich nur gerade zum Impfen abgelegt."
Heute abend wird in der Brauerei weitergefeiert.

Message from Kathleen Flowers

"Hi! Well, short notice, but I just got invited to read poetry this coming Wednesday here in Santa Cruz: 7 pm at ASANA, the new tea place at 103 Lincoln St Downtown Santa Cruz. I think it's going to be very casual. I'll probably read for 15-20 mins. I'm not sure if there will be other readers. Would love to see you there, sip tea, and savor some poetry. There may be an open mike so bring poems to read, too! Love, Kathleen"
UPDATE:
Kathleen had some very strong new poems! She's reading again 11/11/08 at the San Jose Poetry Center. Asana is cozy. The food is a bit on the pricy side, but the flavors are bold and exciting. I had a very fresh, very minty Fresh Spring Roll and a Lavender Tea/Almond Milk Smoothie that was unique & delicious.

"The Duchess"

What a tremendous disappointment! If you enjoy 18th Ct. history and culture, don’t be tempted to see this movie. Unless you are satisfied with merely looking at Keira Knightley in period costume for two hours, beware! I was not just bored, I was not just annoyed, I was mad. Mad about how this film turned a strong, exiting woman, who pushed boundaries where she found them, into the exact opposite, namely a sweet, doe-eyed victim, who suffered her fate without fighting it. By showing her weak and helpless, the movie did her (and women in general) great injustice.
The picture had one positive aspect, it made me very curious about all the historical facts that it did not bother with. I ordered the book the film's based on, "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire" by Amanda Foreman. It's actually a lot juicier than the movie, which is a sanitized, streamlined interpretation with its eye very much on the story of Charles and Di. For the sake of analogy, it compromised the character of the Duchess, who had a lot more spunk & imagination & brain than Diana.
Harper Collin’s synopsis of Foreman's book:
"Sex, intrigue and adultery in the world of high politics and huge wealth in late eighteenth-century England. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire was one of the most flamboyant and influential women of the eighteenth century. The great-great-great-great aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales, she was variously a compulsive gambler, a political savante and operator of the highest order, a drug addict, an adulteress and the darling of the common people. This authoritative, utterly absorbing book presents a mesmerizing picture of a fascinating world of political and sexual intrigues, grand houses, huge parties, glamour and great wealth -- always on the edge of being squandered by the excesses and scandals of individuals."

Mupfi geniesst die Sonne am Fenster, ein paar Bilder mehr auf Flickr.
Wunder der Technologie! Während ich mit meiner Mutter am Skypen war hätte ich ihr gerne die kleine Katze gezeigt, die munter um mich herumgeturnte. Nur habe ich natürlich mein Laptop zu langsam gewuchtet und jongliert, die Katze war mir ständig einen Schritt voraus, und wollte absolut nicht vor dem ominösen Metallbrettschwenkakt stillstehen. Der Fotoapparat scheint ihr weniger verdächtig zu sein, vor dem hat sie dann gnädigerweise für ein paar Aufnahmen posiert. Dank sofortigem Hochladen & ins Netz stellen konnte die Mutter nun doch noch während der Skypesession das Kätzchen bewundern. Wenn ich mir vorstelle wie lange das vor 15 Jahren gedauert hätte... Film zum Labor bringen, entwickeln lassen, Abzüge abholen, verpacken, auf die Post tragen, Flieger, Postbote, Briefkasten... Von Skype ganz abgesehen, das wäre noch einmal eine ganze Abhandlung wert. Die letzten beiden Jahrzehnte haben wirklich drastische Veränderungen gebracht.

A Tribute to Maria Callas

And on Sunday I will enjoy another tribute to another serious beauty. Soprano Alexis Magarò, finalist in Rome’s Maria Callas Competition, and pianist Simona Snitkovskaya will perform arias in tribute to "La Divina" at a benefit concert for the Santa Cruz Opera Society. Sunday 10/26 at 8 p.m. Calvary Episcopal Church, 532 Center St., Santa Cruz. Donation. For more information, call 423-8787.

THE BIG READ: The Poetry of Robinson Jeffers

What we can expect Saturday according to the TOR HOUSE FOUNDATION:
"Celebrated poets Adrienne Rich, Li-Young Lee, Mark Jarman, and Gary Young will read Jeffers's poetry as well as their own; Stanford Professor Albert Gelpi and Tor House Foundation Vice President Elliot Ruchowitz-Roberts will discuss Jeffers and Tor House..."
Saturday October 25, 2008 at 7:30 PM, Vet's Hall, 846 Front Street, Santa Cruz. Free.
Handsome, isn't he? Cranky, though, very cranky. A handsome misanthrope. For a biography and his most famous poems check out his Academy of American Poets page.

Pacific Rim Update

I saw four movies in two days last weekend, which is pretty ambitious for me, although it probably isn't for seasoned festival attendees. "Kamome Diner" was my favorite, a very cute film, simple, stylish in its Japan-meets-Scandinavia aesthetics. I'll be back tonight to catch:
OUT OF THE BLUE: "Local filmmaker Chris Thompson tells the story of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club." and
DANCING INTO BALI: A documentary by Santa Cruz native Sasha Friedlander about Balinese dance. Sasha, who is a dancer, will perform live. Should be fun!

Sueddeutsche.de fragt: "Wie münchnerisch sind Sie?"

Anscheinend sehr, denn ich bin mit 29058508 Punkten auf Platz 79 der Allerbestenliste gelandet. Sauber! So gut kenne ich das "Grösste Dorf Deutschlands." Also gut, zugegebenermassen & um ehrlich zu sein hat es mich doch drei Anläufe gekostet, vor allem allerdings meine Zeit zu verbessern, denn man muss die Quizfragen nicht nur richtig, sondern auch schnell beantworten. Wer selber sein Glück versuchen möchte folge dem Link. Hier kann man u.a. auch sein Kir Royal und Monaco Franze Wissen testen. Viel Spass! Ach ja, ausser Gelato bei Jessas gib't im Glockenbachviertel noch die Lokalitäten Maria, und Josef. Logisch. Kommen im Quiz nicht vor, aber auf meinen Münchenfotos. Na dann, servus!

I didn't realize that there are several videos of "Simon's Cat". You can watch them on Simon's YouTube Page.


Scott also brought this valuable record of feline behavior to my attention: "Simons Cat (real)"

Lederhosenalarm in Silicon Valley

Brigitte called me up to see if I'm interested in the Oktoberfest in Campbell. It would be fun, except it's scheduled for the same weekend as the Pacific Rim Festival. If I wanted to cram both into one weekend, I would have drive back to Santa Cruz for the night features, which means staying away from Spaten and similar golden nectar, solely focusing on Bratwurst without the appropriate liquid to wash it down. Oktoberfest without beer. Hmm... probably not going to happen. Apparently, though, it's a pretty big deal, drawing 40,000 visitors to historic downtown Campbell (well, what we call "historic" around here).

Der Ami meint ja so im allgemeinen, dass Oktoberfest im Oktober stattfindet (wie man darauf nur kommen kann?), und zwar überall, nicht nur in München. Womit im Augenblick hier geballt bajuwarisch inspirierten Festivitäten angeboten werden, unter anderem in Campbell. Brigitte möchte es sich antun. Ich würde ja mittun, nur ist am gleichen Wochende Filmfestival angesagt, was heisst, dass ich gegen Abend nach SC zurückfahren müsste, was heisst, dass ich kein Bier trinken dürfte. Oktoberfest ohne Bier? Vorstellbar, aber sinnentleert.

Pacific Rim Film Festival (October 17-22, 2008)

I had a glimpse at the schedule, and it looks very, very good. I counted sixteen shorts/documentaries/feature films altogether, here's a small selection of movies that I'm curious about:

KAMOME DINER: Three Japanese women open an eatery in Helsinki, Finland (poster to the right).
FAMILY INC: New York filmmaker Emily Ting becomes "CEO in training in one of Hong Kong's most notorious toy companies."
LA CORONA: "A beauty pagent like no other that happens every year in the women's penitentiary in Bogota, Colombia."
WHAT THE SNOW BRINGS: Two brothers working a stable for the "Banei horserace, a sleigh-pulling race unique to Hokkaido."
OUT OF THE BLUE: "Local filmmaker Chris Thompson tells the story of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club."
QUE VIVA LA LUCHA: "A look at the sport of Lucha Libre or Mexican wrestling, specifically the extreme version in Tijuana."

And after I was done grumbling...

I enjoyed the show! The four guys of the Shanghai Quartet are very very, good technically, emotionally precise, precisely emotional, which held the romantic tendencies of the selection in check: Samuel Barber's String Quartet No 1; Chinese songs arranged for the western instruments of a string quartet by Yi-We Jiang, one of the Shanghai members; and Beethoven's String Quartet No 9. Barber's famous Adagio has been used in many movies, but I actually liked the first movement better. And for something completely different, what I also appreciated was the Hefeweizen afterwards (Franziskaner, they were out of Paulaner) at the newest Brit pub off Mission Street: Soccer on the screen, Punk/Ska from the speakers, and the heavily tattooed youngster bartender with the bleached hair eager to pour my Weizen his way next time (after not quite approving of how I did it). He and the owner did their best to entice me to have a second one, but I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast, and therfore a bit of a buzz already from Hefe #1. Fun bar, get a taste of the Parish Publick House on MySpace.

Shanghai Quartet

I'm looking forward to the Shanghai Quartet concert tomorrow. What still irks me, though, is that UCSC Arts & Lectures has raised ticket prizes considerably. Without much ado, i.e. without explanation, without one word about the change in the program. I didn't find out until I purchased my first ticket of the season. I'm sure A & L would insist that it was not only justified, but absolutely necessary, would I bother to inquire... It still doesn't feel right. How can classical music not be considered elitist when the price of admission is restrictively high.