Sending 2008 Out

(Artichokes, Maine lobsters and Cranberry Tart seemed like the perfect way to end 2008.)

What a year! Our first full calendar year in sunny Palm Springs, California!

We've had some wonderful times, some unexpected turns, met new friends, and yet survived basically intact and happy at the end of what for many has been a rather tumultuous and hard year.

Of course we like so many others have been affected by the downturn in the economy. We haven't had the tremendous losses that some have faced, but finding new sources of work and income have proved harder than we imagined. Like many we voted for "change" and elected Barack Obama as our next president, but even he, I am sure, never expected the financial collapse that seems to have spread from a few bad home loans to a total meltdown around the globe.

So tonight we didn't go out and whoop and holler or even eat out at one of our favorite places in town. Nope we decided on a quiet evening; something that reminded us of our meals back in New England, tinged with a bit of our new life here.

Getting good Atlantic seafood is hard here and we miss it. It didn't seem to matter that lobsters in New England were at an all-time low for price and all-time high for plenty, getting them here seemed a bit pricey. Then I noticed sales here and so went to our local Jensen's and bought two live 1 ¾ lb lobsters, and a couple of small cranberry tarts. To that we added a half an artichoke from here.

So that is how we sent out 2008: Half an artichoke, a 1 ¾ lb. lobster, some vinegar potato chips, a glass of Pinot Grigio, and a half a mini cranberry tart with a shot of Pear liquor each. It was just right.

Barbra

(Barbra Streisand, a 2008 Kennedy Center honoree, at Artist's Dinner to honor the 2008 recipients of the honors at the U.S. Department of State December 6, 2008 in Washington, DC.)

I've always enjoyed watching the Kennedy Center Honors each year at this time. Unlike a lot of award shows, none of the honorees are a surprise, since the announcement of their receiving the honors is made several weeks prior to the TV show that is produced to honor them. This year's honorees, like in year's past, included individuals of various performing arts that may include artists you admire or ones you may not care as much about. The honorees this year were Actor Morgan Freeman; Singer George Jones; Singer, Actress, Director, Producer, Writer Barbra Streisand; Dancer & Choreographer Twyla Tharp, and Musician, Singer, Composer & Writer Pete Townshend & Musician, Singer, Composer & Actor Roger Daltre.

This year I was excited to see Morgan Freeman and Twyla Tharp, but especially Barbra Streisand; one of my idols. Morgan Freeman certainly has a wonderful resume and inspires in his performances; especially when you realize that most of his career came after he was 50 years old. His wonderful smile and grace was certainly present this evening during the performances done in his honor. Twyla Tharp however was another story. Most of the time she sat in her seat with a cold stone face, never cracking a smile or even clapping enthusiastically for her other honorees. I couldn't help wonder if she was just incredibly uncomfortable for being honored or whether she had a hard time sitting only a few feet down from President George Bush and his wife, Laura. Who knows? But it did make her look a bit ungrateful.

But it was really Barbra who I wanted to see honored. Of all the great divas, Barbra always seems the most elusive. I've never seen her perform in person unlike Bette Midler or Cher, and her accomplishments seem so never ending. Certainly driven, her wonderful voice and songs have filled our lives for decades, but I think her real talent lies in her acting and directing. Her ability to take the many roles she's played on both Broadway and the screen and make us believe in her. Not a great beauty, she nevertheless has a certain air and glamor about her that is mesmerizing.

The show itself was the usual biographical sketches of the honorees, followed by various performers singing, dancing and reminiscing about their love for and relationships with, the recipients. The show this evening with the announcers, including Carolyn Kennedy, using cue cards on a minimal podium, made their speeches seem a bit less heartfelt. The show's performance numbers also seemed to lack the punch of year's past; but in many ways, it really was Barbra's night.

Why is Change So Hard?

(Does change make you feel like you're spinning from one direction to the next or do you like the challenge?)

No matter where I've worked or volunteered in life, I am always amazed at how many people HATE change. They are so very comfortable doing things the way they have been doing them for years. And, whenever a new boss or colleague comes on board, they are the quickest to say, "That's not the way we do it here," or "We've always done it this way."

I don't think that I've really been like that. I love a new challenge and never really expect things to stay the same. To me that would be boring and also not very challenging. Whether it is a new type of equipment like computers or new procedures, most of the time those proposing the changes have good reasons to do so. I honestly don't believe that most bosses or colleagues are actually trying to make things difficult by changing the way they're done, but in fact are looking for newer and better ways to improve the process.

Then there are those who expect that just because something has been done a certain way over the past, that it will stay that way; even if a new boss or person becomes in charge. They don't like that new people might have different ideas on how a project should be done, and that they might not be the center of attention any more. Those feelings get awfully close to that nasty "jealous" feeling or the ever lovely feeling of "entitlement."

True team players never feel it is about "them" but that it is about the team, project or company being the best. Instead of wondering what is in it for them, they actually want to take part because they want to help the team win. Team players are the best. Not only do they want to learn and do their part, but they don't take the leader's time in having to explain why it isn't going to be done the way it always has been or that it even might mean they get to sit on the sidelines for a bit in order to make this year the best.

Yup, being open to change and looking for how you can do a new task almost always makes surprises you at how much fun the new way is and you wonder why you even considered the old way better.

Hanukkah Ends and War Begins

(Tonight marks the last night of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.)

During Hanukkah, the flickering candles remind Jewish people of their ancestors' ancient quest for freedom and human dignity — and for their right, as Jews, to live Jewish lives.

In Hebrew, the word Hanukkah means “rededication,” and the holiday derives its name from the Maccabean rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem on the 25th of the Hebrew month, Kislev, 165 BCE. As a holiday of “rededication,” Hanukkah is a time to work for liberty, friendship, and peace among all peoples of the earth.

Unfortunately, that was not what happened today. Whenever it seems like peace might be just around the corner, a new wave of violence and war break out. Tonight's bombing of targets within the Gaza Strip isn't technically a war; yet the consequences for human lives are the same: lives are lost, people are hurt and maimed, families are torn apart, property is destroyed and homes lost.

I know that there are two sides to every conflict, but it just seems so sad that this never ending conflict had to flare up again during a time when all sides should be seeking to live together in peace.

Sculpture

(Split Decision by James Messana is our newest piece of sculpture.)

Collecting art is fun and a passion of both Steve and me. Being surrounded by art, especially works that have been made by our friends, is something both of us have loved doing. And sometimes I think it is an obsession, but hopefully one in which we are not only enjoying the work ourselves, but supporting artists too.

Three dimensional works of art are extra special. I have always been drawn to sculpture as it is one of the few art forms that can be enjoyed, studied and discovered from more than one viewpoint. We don't have a lot of sculpture in our collection, but have added a few pieces.

(The Samurai Warrior that once belonged to Steve's grandparents.)

Two of our earliest pieces aren't even signed, and more than likely were mass produced as decorator items. As a young child Steve loved the "Samurai Warrior" that his grandparents had purchased on one of their trips to Japan, and for the past 20 years or so has been in our home. And, when I first met Steve more than 20 years ago, I loved the small nude statue of "Heraldina" with her trumpet and shield. We also fell in love with a terra cotta reproduction of the "Boulder" by Richard Bock that Frank Lloyd Wright had commissioned for his Home and Studio in Oak Park, Illinois, that has been in our garden in both Massachusetts and here in California.

(Heraldina now graces our bedroom dresser.)

However our first real sculpture that we purchased was a granite, marble and glass abstract piece, "Totem" by Christoph Spath, that we saw at Cove Gallery in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, in 2000. Imagining it outside in a garden, for the first few years we kept it inside on our stair landing or on a window sill where it could have light showing through its wonderful green glass panes.

(Totem by Christoph Spath now sits in our garden.)

Recently we've become friends with another sculpture, James Messana, who lives both here in Palm Springs and in Michigan. Last April we went to a show of his work where I fell in love with several of his works. One of those pieces, "Split Decision" is now a part of our collection, thanks to Steve for purchasing it and giving it to me for Christmas. Made of cold cast bronze, this one-of-a-kind sculpture is cast using bronze powders mixed with epoxy resin. First sculpted in clay, a plaster mold is then made of the sculpture, and then the bronze epoxy combination is formed in the mold and air dried. Once the mold is removed, the sculpture is cleaned, finished with acids, oiled and waxed and set on a wooden base.

And now another friend's work has joined our collection.

Christmas Movies

(Gorgeous Catherine Deneuve is one of the central characters that ties together her dysfunctional and ill family in A Christmas Tale.)

I'm sure that all of us have our favorite Christmas movies from "It's a Wonderful Life," "A Christmas Carol," "Miracle on 34th Street," or "Elf." There is something about them, along with seeing a movie on Christmas or watching one on TV, that often go together. However I doubt that Un conte de Noël (A Christmas Tale), directed by Arnaud Desplechin and starring Catherine Deneuve as the matriarch of the Vuillard family will become an all time classic. Yet, that isn't to say that I didn't enjoy it. I did.

Watching it I had that feeling of, "This is so very French." And, to be honest, I am not sure I can exactly say just what it is about French films that make them have that feel. One thing is often their language of course, but also the French non-chalance attitude about sex and their obsession with smoking and drinking. Everything always seems so dramatic, yet the French seem so non-pulsed by it all.

A Christmas Tale is long and has lots of subplots involving each of the several members of the Vuillard clan. Deneuve as Junon doesn't involve herself so much in her children's lives as she worries about her illness and its treatment, while her husband, Abel, played by the wonderful character actor, Jean-Paul Roussillion, does his best to reconcile all the differences in his family. Whether it works, I'll leave it up to you to decide, but the brotherly-sisterly love-hate, along with the subplots of the inlaws and cousins makes this movie one that you will either love or hate.

Panettone and Fruit Cake

(Panettone is as associated with Christmas to Italians as Fruit Cake is to the English.)

I really hadn't given it much thought until recently, but I like that candied orange, citron and lemon zest, as well as raisins, that are a staple of both Italian Panettone and English Fruit Cake.

Whenever I would go into an Italian grocery store around the holidays, especially in the North End of Boston, there would be boxes and boxes of different kinds of panettone. At Christmas time when I was younger you could also buy English fruit cakes too, especially at the finer department store food sections or the old S. S. Pierce. And, my Swedish relatives also used the candied fruit in their holiday Julekage or Stollen.

No one that I know, except for me, and my sister, and a couple of friends back east, likes fruit cake, so this year we didn't have any. But Steve, whose late partner's family was Italian, bought a nice panettone and put it under our Christmas tree. This morning he opened it up, and used it to make Italian Panetonne French Toast (how cosmopolitan) that we had with some nice Vermont Maple Syrup and Stonewall Kitchen Raspberry Peach Champagne Jam. Yum!

And when I tasted those nice candied oranges, citron and lemon peel, I knew it was Christmas!

"I Have My Doubts"

(Three great actresses, Eileen Atkins, Cherry Jones, and Meryl Streep, have played Sister Aloysius in John Patrick Shanley's Tony--and Pulitzer-winning play and now movie, Doubt; and we've seen them all.)

We first were attracted to John Patrick Shanley's play, Doubt, back in 2006 when we were in New York and saw Eileen Atkins in the lead role as Sister Aloysius with Ron Eldard as Father Flynn and Jena Malone as Sister James. It was a superb production; tightly crafted and brilliantly directed.

Then in Boston in early 2007 we saw Cherry Jones, who won a Tony for her original role as Sister Aloysius, and had once again taken on the role in the traveling version with Chris McGarry as Father Flynn and Lisa Joyce as Sister James. And, once again this production also brought the script to life and resoled with the question of right and wrong.

Now the play has been made into a movie starring Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn and Amy Adams as Sister James. Streep has been one of my long-time favorite actresses, and I also adore many of the roles that Hoffman has played, but I was a bit skeptical that the play would hold its own and not become too bogged down into the other characters that would inevitably need to be shown in a movie.

It didn't happen. Streep and Hoffman are fantastic and Streep's coolness, along with Hoffman's anger and human warmth, provide the perfect contrast. Viola Davis as the black mother of the boy suspected of being abused by Father Flynn, is incredible. She's a fighter! She wants what's best for her son and knows even with its flaws, St. Nicholas School is where her son needs to be. When she is walking with Streep as Sister Aloysius and states her case, the racial and sexual tensions between the two women is thick.

Doubt is perhaps one of the strongest plays I've seen, and because of Shanley's writing and directing for both the play and the screen version, the story only become stronger. There is no longer black and white. Suspicions not corroborated can no longer be believed and in the end everyone, including Sister Aloysius, has their "doubts."

What a Difference a Boss Makes

(Steve and me with my boss, Holly Copeland, Director of Volunteers at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, this past summer.)

I just love working with my boss, Holly, at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. In fact, since I had volunteered with her during ShortFest this past summer, she was one of the reasons I decided to apply for the job.

When you have a boss you like, who values your skills, makes you feel useful, needed and special, it doesn't actually feel like you're at work. It is a pleasure. Holly does that. Not only does she have a great personality, always able to diffuse "entitled and difficult" volunteers, but she never fails to give me great compliments; often in the presence of other volunteers.

You can be sure that not all of my bosses over the years at my various jobs have been like this. A couple were very difficult to work with, while others were very nice, just not the type of person you'd go out and have a drink with. The sad part of this is that this job is only temporary so Holly won't be my boss for a long time, but I suspect she will be someone who will remain a friend.

Hoffman, Van Sant & Desplat to Get Awards

(Gus Van Sant will receive the Sonny Bono Visionary Award for his work directing films like Milk.)

Three more big names scheduled to receive awards at the 20th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival at the Awards Gala on Tuesday, January 6, 2009, were announced today.

Dustin Hoffman for the Chairman's Award, Gus Van Sant for the Sonny Bono (the founder of the Festival) Visionary Award, and Alexandre Desplat for the Frederick Loewe Award for Film Composing. With these three final award announcements, the big name stars of this year's award's gala have now been announced.

For many people, getting a chance to be in the room with or seeing these celebrities is a big deal. How big a deal has become even more apparent to me this year while working for the Festival. Not only did I get asked, "How can I get to go or see the 'Stars' at the Award's Gala?", innumerable times while staffing a Film Festival booth downtown on Thursday evenings during Village Fest, but also "How can I get to volunteer at the Award's Gala?"

Of course the easy answer is to buy a ticket, but of course many people can't afford to or don't want to do that. Standing outside the Convention Center as the stars walk down the red carpet and get interviewed by Entertainment Tonight and other TV programs is another way. Volunteering? Well, let's just say that it has amazed me at how competitive it has become to volunteer at this event, even though you need to wear a tuxedo or gown, and still cannot actually have a conversation with or take photos of or with the stars. Nope, you might get to walk near them or show them to their table, but mostly you get to check in those who've bought tickets and tell them where the bathrooms are.

For me, I'd just as soon watch them on TV just like I do the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.

Hanukkah and Latkes

(Steve making his Hanukkah Latkes for our holiday celebration.)

When we lived in the Boston area, we often had latkes at Steve's brother's restaurant, Zaftigs in Brookline, even if it wasn't Hanukkah. And, when we had Hanukkah parties, we got the smaller version that the restaurant made for its catering business. I loved them, a couple of small bites, with dollop of sour cream.

Tonight for our small Hanukkah celebration (there were just three of us), Steve decided to make them. Actually he cheated a bit and used Streit's Potato Pancake Latkes Mix, but they were yummy. To round out the meal, he made pot roast with vegetables that we all ate with relish after we lite the first night's candle, and he, and our nephew Evan, said the prayers. Tomorrow night for the second night of Hanukkah we'll be spending it with the gay Jewish group, Shalom; having "Vodka and Latkes" at Temple Isaiah.

(Steve and Evan lighting the Hanukkah Menorah.)

Since Hanukkah is a celebration based on a miracle of oil lasting for eight days, the foods that have grown up around this holiday often are fried. And to most American jews, that means latkes. Yet, in other parts of the world, sufganiyot (a jelly-filled donut) is the norm. In fact, Gabriella Gershenson, in her article, "How Americans got stuck with potatoe latkes on Hanukkah," on Notebook: a gateway to Jewish literature, culture & ideas, says...

"While the origins of the potato latke can be traced with a fair amount of accuracy, it is more difficult to pinpoint when the latke was codified as the American Hanukkah food. The two oldest English-language Jewish cookbooks, England's 1846 Jewish Manual by A. Lady (pen name for Judith Montefiore) and American Esther Levy's 1871 The Jewish Housekeeper's Cookery Book do not mention potato pancakes or Hanukkah at all. However, by 1919, advertisements in the Yiddish press praised Aunt Jemima pancake flour as being "the best flour for latkes," and Crisco for pairing "Hanukkah latkes and Modern Science". Between 1870 and 1919, something happened that solidified the latke as the de facto food of Hanukkah.

"As resident intellectuals were laying the groundwork for our modern Hanukkah, millions of Eastern European Jews from potato-producing regions like Lithuania, Russia, and Poland were immigrating to the United States, increasing the Jewish population tenfold. Their arrival stateside during the Hanukkah revival points strongly to the origins of our latkecentric observance. Similarly, the Israeli predilection for sufganiyot at Hanukkah is rooted in the settlement of German Jews in Palestine in the 1930s, who brought with them their recipes for jam-filled fritters."

Slumdog Millionaire

(Dev Patel as Jamal Malik, a Muslim boy who grows up in the poverty of Mambai, and Anil Kapoor as Prem Kumar, the game show host, in Slumdog Millionaire.)

Mumbai has been in the news lately due to the recent terrorist attacks there and it wasn't pretty. Neither is Mumbai a beautiful place in the Golden Globe nominated film, Slumdog Millionaire. Hailed by the critics, it has many of the things many moviegoers like, drama, suspense, violence, love, and fast paced action. Yet, I didn't like it.

Watching the main character, Jamal get tortured because the police suspect he is cheating at a game show, after having grown up in abject poverty following his Muslim mother's murder in a Hindu rampage, was not something I enjoyed. True, his obsession with finding and loving the young orphaned girl, Latika (Freida Pinto), he and his brother, Salim, grew up with, is touching. Yet her motivation to escape her fate of prostitution and virtual slavery to a mafia lord, seems more about her own freedom rather than her love for Jamal or his obsession with her.

I too like to watch "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," but I could have skipped India's version.

Trapped in Our Own House

(All the windows and doors got taped up and covered with plastic.)

After a few delays, some caused by the weather, and others by who knows what, the painters got to our place today. I was at work, but Steve and Pinot got stuck inside while all the doors and windows were tapped up with plastic.

By the time I arrived home at 3 pm or so, they'd finished the stucco, but had only prepped the wood and beams. It seems they intend to come back tomorrow, but even then I'm not sure they will be finished. I am sure the whole thing will look great once they are finished, but the process is rather unpleasant having to move the patio furniture around so many times. And, fortunately for us, we're not entertaining guests this holiday season like many of our neighbors.

I'll give an update once again when they have finished.

Snow in the Mountains

(Mt. San Jacinto at 10,834 rises majestically up over the alluvian fan that flows down into the outskirts of Palm Springs.)

(This is what winter looks like here in Palm Springs. Snow on the mountains, palm trees swaying and arid desert all at the same time. Click on the photo to get the full panoramic view.)

After the storms of Monday and yesterday, the snow on the San Jacinto Mountains to our south and the San Bernardino Mountains to our north was down to the 2,000 foot level all around the valley, and it was breathtaking.

The Line Up is Out

(Last Chance Harvey staring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson will open the 20th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on Thursday, January 8, 2009.)

The 20^th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival today announced a roster of 210 films, culled from 73 countries for the 2009 Festival. The selection of films for screening includes a total of 77 premieres (14 World, 48 U.S. and 16 North American). Also, 50 of the 67 films submitted for consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the Academy Awards will be screened from January 8-19, 2009.

The Festival will open with the screening of Last Chance Harvey (USA). Directed by Joel Hopkins, the film tells the story of a struggling New York jingle writer and a lonely British bureaucrat who meet in London and transform one another's lives. Last Chance Harvey stars Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson who each received a Golden Globe nomination (for Best Actor and Best Actress in the Music or Comedy category) for their performances in the film.

In addition to the Opening Night Gala, the Festival will hold four other special screenings to celebrate Festival programming:

• 20^th Anniversary Gala: $5 a Day (USA)–Marking its U.S. premiere, the film is a tale of a son forced to reunite with his con-artist father during a cross-country odyssey. Directed by Nigel Cole, the film stars Christopher Walken, Allesandro Nivola, Amanda Peet and Sharon Stone.


• Gala: Alien Trespass (USA) – A world premiere, directed by R.W. Goodwin and starring Eric McCormack, Jenni Baird, Dan Lauria and Robert Patrick. Set in 1957, a fiery object from space hurtles into a California desert mountaintop. A murderous creature — the Ghota, bent on destroying all life forms on the planet — escapes from the flying saucer. A benevolent alien, Urp, inhabits the body of Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack), a local astronomer, and with the help of Tammy, a waitress from the local diner, sets out to save mankind.


• The Gay!La: Chef’s Special (Spain) – Directed by Nacho Velilla, a cook ditches dreams of Michelin stardom to manage a small barrio eatery. Javier Cámara, Lola Dueñas, Fernando Tejero and Benjamin Vicuña star.


• Closing Night: The Burning Plain (USA) – A U.S. premiere and directorial debut of award-winning screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros), is the layered story of a self-destructive woman and two intertwined families. The film stars Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, Jennifer Lawrence and Joaquim de Almeida.

To preview all the films, go here. The full schedule of times and theater venues will be released on Saturday, December 27th.

Election Day

(Click the graphic to get a quick lesson in the complexities of the Electoral College.)

Now you all know that Senator Barack Obama was elected to become the next president of the United States, but yesterday was the official election day, not November 4th. That was the day we all got to vote for the members of the Electoral College who met yesterday to officially cast their ballots for the President of the United States.

And even that isn't the end of the story. Even though today those electors could actually all send in a vote by e-mail, texting or phone call, when the country was founded it took days to get a ballot from the states to the nation's capital. So on January 8, 2009 in a joint session of Congress, the votes will officially be counted, and only then will Senator Barack Obama and Senator Joe Biden be officially the president-elect and vice-president-elect of the United States.

It's kind of a crazy system because most people think we live in a country where we get to elect our governing officials by popular vote, but in effect we actually live in a representational republic. We elect legislators who represent us and vote on all sorts of issues (or not as the case seems to be here in California), and the Electoral College is similar in that we actually voted for individuals who were running as "Electors" for us on November 4th and not really for the candidates directly.

Most of the time this has worked and we've gotten the president and vice president that most of us voted for, but it is not guaranteed. Some states, like California, have laws that state that the Electors must cast their votes for whomever won the popular vote, but others do not. And, even though we don't really know how all the Electors voted yesterday, we're not expecting any surprises on January 8th.

Cheese

(Our very own 30 oz. can of Washington State University Natural Cougar Gold Cheese was made by Jessica on March 5, 2007.)

Steve and I love cheese. I doubt that this is a secret amongst those who know us well. We like almost any kind from soft goat's milk, sharp cheddar, Gouda, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Parmesan to brie. When we entertain, we almost always have cheese, and I sometimes order a cheese plate instead of dessert.

The most extravagant of these cheese plates that I ever had was in Paris at Le Grand Véfour when I had the "La Table Des Fromages Fermiers de France et de Savoie" (A table of farm cheeses from France and Savoy) on my 50th birthday. It was quite a treat! Since then, we've followed the experience up with a cheese class at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as enjoying the immense variety at other cheese shops like Cowgirl Creamery in San Franciso and at restaurants like the Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro in New York.

However until today, when a Christmas package arrived from Washington State University courtesy of our good friend Bob, neither Steve nor I had ever seen or heard of cheese being packaged in a can. We certainly were familiar with cheese wheels sealed in wax, cheese wrapped in leaves and packaged in wooden casks, and soft cheeses that were sealed in their own rind. But in opening the package we found a 30 oz can of WSU Creamery Natural Cougar Gold Cheese! We haven't opened it yet, but is described in its promotional material as a "white, sharp cheddar with a taste that resembles Swiss or Gouda."

(Colleagues at one of our Cheese & Wine holiday parties in 2004)

It turns out that this cheese has been made since the 1930s when the school began to look at ways to store cheese. Since wax cracked and plastic had not been invented, cans seemed to be a good option. In the 1940's, the US government and the American Can Company funded research to find a way to successfully keep the cheese in tins without having bacteria burst the cans. One of the cheeses resulting from this research was dubbed "Cougar Gold® after Dr. N. S. Golding - one of the men involved in this research." Canned Cougar Gold® has been in production ever since, and today more than 250,000 cans are produced each year.

So in the not too distant future, we'll be trying a new kind of cheese: Cougar Gold . Thanks Bob!

Mr. Nice Guy Wins

(Bob Crowley set "out to prove that nice guys can make it to the end of the game," and he did.)

In all the 17 seasons of Survivor, I don't think that a nicer guy than Bob Crowley of Portland, Maine, has ever won. The bow-tied 57-year old physics teacher also became the oldest $1 million winner in "Survivor" history by taking the top prize in Season 17, as well as the $100,000 viewer vote.

Granted, there were times he seemed a bit silly in his signature bow tie (maybe he'll get a contract with not only AARP but Beau Ties, Ltd. too) but his dry Maine accent, practicality and strength certainly showed his Yankee Spirit. Although it seemed not everyone on the jury liked him, (and in a game of one-up-manship and strength), that was probably not unexpected, yet no one really hated him either.

Winning five immunity challenges in a row, and then practicing to make fire to win the last Tribal Council by breaking the tie, really set him apart. Watching him on the show using his ingenuity, survival skills and story telling, certainly was in the vain of a character from old time Maine. And, I am sure he made many a Mainiac proud!

Bob deserved every penny he won and I am sure he'll put it to good use.

Holiday Birthdays

(Steve and me at Ed's 55th Birthday Party and Holiday Open House.)

I think people who have birthdays around the Christmas - Hanukkah - New Year's holidays must feel cheated. You know, is it a birthday present or a holiday present? Since my birthday is in the summer I never had this problem, but my sister whose birthday is right around Twelfth Night did. Yet, in many ways, I always thought that if she didn't get what she wanted for Christmas, maybe she did for her birthday.

Tonight we went to one of friend's 55th Birthday and Holiday Open House Party. I don't know if growing up he felt that he got cheated, but I am sure the thought must have crossed his mind. But then again, perhaps it just seemed as if Christmas came early. Of course as one gets older, those birthday parties of our childhood don't seem quite as important, except for the big ones that we relegate to every five years or so.

(Ed's partner, Peter, went all out to wish Ed a Happy 55th Birthday with this holiday flashing card.)

As you can see in the picture, we took the holiday theme seriously. And as for gifts, well two seemed appropriate: one for the birthday and one for the holiday.

Those 1950 Pinups

(Bettie Page was one of the original 1950's pin-up queens that unlike the drawn Varga girls was photographed in many very provocative poses.)

As long as there have been calendars, it seems that there have been pin-up girls, and now a days, beefcake boys. Much of what these early models did seems kind of tame by today's standards, and although much of what they did then seems harmless, it certainly was the precursor to today's porn industry.

I remember as a kid that whenever you went to a gas station, you could always find a pinup calendar in the garage office. There you would see some model in a skimpy bathing suit (or not), someone who was definitely not your mother or sister. Most of those calendars often featured the voluptuous Varga girls. Of course these were safe. They were just painting of women who were not real, but idealized and romaticised versions; often done as pinups for soldiers during World War II.

(Although I doubt my dad had such a calendar, this July 1951 featuring a Hawaiian pinup girl by Al Moore was popular in the 1950s.)

However by the 1950s photography began to introduce real pinup models, and one of these early pinups was Bettie Page who died yesterday here in Los Angeles. As one of Hugh Hefner's early Playboy centerfolds that featured her in a Christmas pose wearing only a Santa hat, kneeling before a Christmas tree holding an ornament and playfully winking at the camera. And, although many of those magazines ended up under many a young guy's matresses, she herself wasn't ashamed, saying "I never thought it was shameful. I felt normal. It's just that it was much better than pounding a typewriter eight hours a day, which gets monotonous."

Pinups seem rather quaint now. A time from the past. Now anyone can pose and pose they do posting themselves on the internet and on You Tube. Fashion and nude photography of today can thank those early pinup gals (bodybuilders) for taking the shame out of showing their bodies.

Eastwood, Winslet, DiCaprio

(Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio, along with the cast of Revolutionary Road, will be honored with the Ensemble Performance Award at this year's Palm Springs International Film Festival.)

When the nominations for the Golden Globe Awards were announced today, many of them were the same names of those being honored by the 20th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival at its Awards ceremony on January 6, 2009 that will proceed the Golden Globes on January 11, 2009.

Adding to the previously announced award recipients are Clint Eastwood for the Career Achievement Award; and the cast of Revolutionary Road (Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour and Zoe Kazan) for the Ensemble Performance Award.

All of this will make for a star-studded evening as they walk down the red carpet here in Palm Springs. And, if you think I can somehow get you in for free, the answer is NOT!

The Painting Begins

(The dark wooden beams along the patio and garage will be painted a lighter tan.)

After several months of discussion, our Casa Sonora Homeowners Association is having the exteriors of our condos repainted. Way back last March we got to see the proposed color schemes and seemingly voted several times. From my point of view, there wasn't much difference in either proposal, except for the front doors that were either a dark maroon or an even darker blue. The maroon won out. The rest of the colors were not that much different from what we currently have, a cream colored stucco, a lighter cream for the wood panels near our doors and garages, and in the biggest departure, a tan color for the wooden beams, patio ceilings and wooden trim around the patio windows.

Of course in order to do all of this, all of the furniture, decoration, plants, and brick-a-brack on the patio needed to be removed. Fortunately we didn't have any huge holiday parties planned, but I am a bit skeptical that the schedule that the painters have proposed can be maintained, and I have this feeling that we'll be living with a lot of this stuff in our living room a bit too long.
The first step is a "power wash" of the outside of the house that is scheduled for us tomorrow. Since I'll be a work, I'll miss that excitement. This will be followed by the scraping of the wood, taping up of the windows and doors, spray painting the stucco and finally a couple of coats of paint on the dark wooden areas.

This is the second time I've actually lived in a house that was being painted outside. The last time was in Milton, Massachusetts, where a single house painter took several thousand dollars and several weeks to complete the job. At least for this job, I'm not forking over any additional funds (our reserve account is paying for it) and can only hope this crew is speedier. I'd like to be able to get to the fireplace and Christmas tree without crawling over the patio furniture.

Nature & Wildlife Photography

(Joshua Tree near Hidden Valley: David Jesse McChesney photo)

One of the hobbies that I have been pursuing more and more since moving here has been my outdoor photography. Not only does the desert provide incredible vast skies that are surrounded by jagged lofty mountains, but areas nearby like Joshua Tree National Park and the Box Canyons of the Mecca Hills never cease to provide incredible photo opportunities.

I am not alone in this love of course, and tonight I went to the Palm Springs Public Library to attend one of their author lectures to hear local photographer, musician and author, David Jesse McChesney. McChesney showed photos and talked about his new book, Muir Roots—At One with the Wild that presents his photographic treks through the western hemisphere.

Although I had not heard of him before, he has been photographing and entertaining for the past 30 years, and his images have appeared in magazines, books and calendars around the globe and he has won nearly four dozen photography awards. Living on a wildlife sanctuary near Joshua Tree, he told stories about his treks around the globe to capture the right photo, as well as his love of harmonica playing, before he showed us some of the images from his new book.

His next project is entitled "Joshua Tree - Miles of Wonder" for which he composed a song that he sang to us while playing his harmonica. It was quite charming. He then showed us more than 100 images from this upcoming exhibit that will open on Friday, January 9, 2009, at the Hi-Desert Nature Museum in Yucca Valley. Not only were there incredible images of the park's landscape, but also since his property that borders Joshua Tree is certified as a Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation he gets to see and photograph an incredible amount of wildlife that most visitors to the park never see.

That Notorious LA Traffic

(Traffic in Los Angeles is known for being notoriously bad.)

Everyone has horror stories about traffic in Los Angeles where it has taken hours to go only a few miles. We too have experienced some long trips, but for the most part I guess we have gone into the city at times when it wasn't rush hour.

When we moved here we wondered just how often we would go into LA to take advantage of all it offers: museums, symphony, theater, opera, and now our niece and nephew. Would the length of the trip put us off? Now, after more than a year, it seems that we go to the city about once a month. And, for the most part, since these trips are often on the weekends, we are able to time them so that we have avoided that awful traffic. Of course, that isn't to say that we haven't had to get used to the way people drive here on highways that are about twice the width of what we were used to.

Tonight we made one of our trips in. One of Steve's former co-workers came to visit us last evening and stayed overnight, and so today after work, we drove her back to her daughter's apartment in LA. I kept saying that the traffic wouldn't be too bad (we were going into LA not out of it), but Steve was not convinced. But there we were heading south on the I-10 toward Santa Monica and toward La Brea Avenue after only about an hour and a half, our typical time. Yes there was lots of traffic backed up on the other side and eventually on our side too, but we got to have a nice dinner at Wokcano (8408 West Third Street) in West Hollywood and return home to Palm Springs, all within six hours.

Now I wouldn't want to do that every day, but it really isn't that bad to be able to live in a beautiful quiet oasis like Palm Springs and escape to the bustle of LA whenever you want.

Christmas Cards

(Norman Rockwell was very good at capturing that Old Time feel of Americana.)

It used to be that folks sent hundreds of Christmas cards each year, but now with the internet and computers many of us have scaled back. I can remember when I got more than 100 cards each year, but now we normally only receive less than half that. It's not that I can blame folks since I now know a whole lot more about what they did throughout the year than I used too.

For the past couple of years, we too have not sent as many cards as we once did. Last year I think we thought it was important to get out the ones we did send early, just in case some of our friends didn't know our new address here in California. But, each year when Thanksgiving rolls around, I sort of get that anxiety that comes with having to write all those notes. And, even though writing that long Christmas form letter might seem a bit impersonal, it is a lot better in my book than a card that has none and only a signature.

(This year's holiday photo of me, Steve & Pinot Grigio.)

Of course then there is the fact of trying to remember where you put the cards that you bought last year at such a discount. Each year we sort of think we did that, only to usually discover that we didn't. This year we did go out and buy a few boxes and one of them happened to be one of those boxes that needs you to put in a photo to complete it. So yesterday we got one of our friends to take our holiday photo and today I went to Walgreens and had copies made. Steve wrote the holiday letter and within a few minutes we had about half of our cards done and mailed. I could hardly believe it.

We still have a few more to go, especially to those who do not have internet access or at least don't use it very much. And now we'll sit back and await our family and friend's holiday wishes.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah!

Pull the Plug

(Sunny von Bülow in 1976, four years before she entered a coma that led to two trials for her second husband, Claus von Bülow. Bettman/Corbis photo NY Times.)

Sometime news of a famous person dying catches you off guard. Today when I heard that Sunny von Bülow had died at a nursing home in New York, I was dumbfounded. Wasn't she dead already? In reality she died way back in 1980 when she was found unconscious on her bathroom floor in Newport, Rhode Island; yet her body lived on for 28 years.

Twenty-eight years in a coma. I can't imagine that. More than a quarter of a century and more than one-third of her entire life. Modern medicine certainly has done really strange things. So many people don't have any health insurance or adequate health care, and yet we can keep a comatose person alive for years.

I know that ending a life that isn't really alive or alert is certainly hard. The Terri Schiavo case comes to mind, but certainly it is something that I would not want. Making those end of life decisions always seems to be easy when we are alert and have all of our faculties. For me it is an easy decision. There is no way I would want to be kept alive such so that my body could be turned and bathed by health care workers. Nope. I don't want any life saving prolonging efforts if I am totally out of it. Please, please, pull the plug.

Bishop Mathes Stands Tall

(Bishop James R. Mathes is the Episcopal Bishop for the diocese that encompasses Palm Springs.)

Once again the Episcopal Church is in the news with the announcement that conservatives from the church voted yesterday to form their own branch of Anglicanism in North America. Of course no one know where this will go, but it is reassuring to know that for the most part, Episcopalians are still moving toward equality and justice for all.

In yesterday's San Diego Union-Tribune, was the following piece by my local Bishop.

A Question of How We Feel About Each Other After Election 2008

By James R. Mathes

"When the Diocese of New Hampshire elected as its bishop a gay man living in a faithful, monogamous relationship, the Episcopal Church became a target. And so did I.

"I received hate mail and even a death threat, so you can imagine that when I went to the Lambeth Conference in July – a conference of all Anglican bishops held every 10 years – it was with a certain degree of anxiety. Human sexuality is a charged issue in the Anglican Communion, so charged that the bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, was not invited.

"Although he was not recognized as a participant, Bishop Robinson was permitted to make presentations twice during the two-and-a-half-week conference. Bishops from Africa, India, England, Asia, Australia and South America met Gene. Many of these bishops, who had rejected the very concept of an openly gay leader in the church, came to know the person and their perspectives changed.

"On election night, friends who gathered at our home to watch the returns witnessed another change. When Barack Obama was declared the winner, we all sensed the history of the moment. I felt chills watching the president-elect in Grant Park in Chicago as he addressed the nation he would lead. As he spoke of healing and bringing unity to the United States, I remembered feeling similar chills when I met Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who has taught us so much about healing divisions and reconciliation. Archbishop Tutu often leans on an African understanding called ubuntu, which can be captured in the words: “I am because you are.”

"As I watched my friends listen to the president-elect, I felt connected to a constellation of people who had the capacity to overcome division and fear. I found myself filled with hope in the same way I had been when Bishop Robinson patiently met face-to-face with people who rejected him as a minister because of his sexuality and life partner.

"Later in the evening, when it became clear that Proposition 8 would likely pass, the mood in our home changed again. Another historic moment had come. The State of California was changing its constitution to take away a right. A gay couple, who have been together longer than any of the straight couples present, quietly left our home, but their pain remained.

"Many people say they have lots of gay friends, but they just don't approve of their “lifestyle.” In fact, Frank Schubert, the chief strategist who helped raise more than $40 million to pass Proposition 8, says he is not anti-gay, that he has a lesbian sister. I wonder if he celebrated this victory with his sister and her partner?

"I feel a bit odd as a straight, white man making the case for gay and lesbian rights. It will seem even odder to some that I do so as a church leader. Nearly half of that $40 million war chest was contributed by Mormons, and we now know the Mormon Church was recruited to the cause by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. But here's the rub. On Election Day, we voted to take away a right, a right that hurt no one and that did not threaten traditional marriage. In taking that right away, we hurt people and demeaned their humanity.

"There are reasonable people who think I am wrong and that the right side prevailed on this issue. However, the ongoing protests so widely criticized by Proposition 8 supporters speak to the level of pain this measure has inflicted. Those who favored the proposition, especially, must own their share of responsibility for that pain.

"The solution may be another proposition; but in the meantime, I suggest that we follow the lead of Desmond Tutu and remember that the dignity of each person depends on every other person: “I am because you are.” We need to come to fully understand the other: straight, gay, black, white, brown, disabled, smart, not so smart. History has taught us that when we do, the world is changed because we are changed."

Well said.

More Film Festival Announcements

(Amy Adams will receive the Spotlight Award for Doubt at the 20^th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival awards gala.)

More and more of the awards for the 20^th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival are being announced.

Today, the Festival announced it will honor Amy Adams with the Spotlight Award for her performance in Doubt from Miramax Films. The Festival's Spotlight Award honors an extraordinary performance in a supporting role during the preceding year. Commenting on the honor, Festival chairman Harold Matzner said, "A past Oscar^® nominee and one of the most talented young actresses working in film today, Amy Adams delivers yet another outstanding performance in Doubt, which is sure to be recognized throughout this year's awards season."

Other honorees announced so far include:

• Ron Howard for the Director's Lifetime Achievement Award
• Anne Hathaway for the Desert Palm Achievement Award
• Dakota Fanning for the Rising Star Award

The Awards Gala, presented by Cartier, will kick-off the 2009 Awards Season on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at the Palm Springs Convention Center and will be hosted by "Entertainment Tonight's" Mary Hart. Opening night will be Thursday, January 8, 2009 at the Palm Springs High School followed by a reception at the Palm Springs Art Museum, with the festival going into full swing on Friday, January 9, and running through Monday, January 19, 2009.

Joining the Board

I don't usually watch the proceedings of the Palm Springs City Council on Palm Springs Community Television (Channel 17) that broadcasts Palm Springs City Council Study and Regular meetings, Boards & Commission meetings, City of Palm Springs sponsored special events, and a Bulletin Board of events for the City. Well, tonight I should have, since Agenda Item 5.E. Appointment to the Board of Library Trustees for the Term Ending June 30, 2010: had the following action: "Appoint David Gray to the Board of Library Trustees for the unexpired term ending June 30, 2010. Motion Mayor Pro Tem Foat, seconded by Councilmember Hutcheson and carried unanimously."

Since the time I started working with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners back in 2000, my interest in libraries and their importance to civic life and their communities has been something that I have found rewarding. While working for the MBLC I also became very involved with the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Round Table of the American Library Association too, especially with their efforts to endow the Stonewall Book Awards.

Staying involved in a volunteer or professional way with libraries since moving full-time to California more than a year ago has been something that I have continued to pursue, so this appointment is really exciting to me. In the meantime I have been volunteering with the local Desert Pride Center in doing some cataloging for their gay and lesbian themed lending library. And, most recently, was appointed to serve on two statewide library committees: Advisory Task Force for the Get Involved: Powered by Your Library project of The California State Library, and the California Library Association Public Relations and Information Committee.

This new community involvement will, I am sure, be even more rewarding, but also carries with it the responsibility to make the Palm Springs Public Library an even better resource than it is. My first meeting will be in January, but I really feel like I have become a Californian.

Walking to Work

(About a quarter of my walk to work goes along the Sunrise Way Flood Control Project.)

I've never had a job where I could walk to work. It is really quite wonderful.

Not only is my new job at the offices for the Palm Springs International Film Festival only about a mile and a half away, it is a straight line down a flat wide street with sidewalks. At a fast pace this takes me about 20 minutes, and at my more leisurely one, about a half an hour.

Right now the only drawback is that they are currently working on a huge flood control construction project on Sunrise Way from the Baristo Flood Control Channel to Andreas Road. Estimated to cost $4.4 million, the project is constructing a concrete flood control box that will be 12-feet wide by 6-feet high and buried 15-feet underground. Of course because it would be extremely difficult to do this during the hear of our summer, they are doing it now when the city population grows with our snow birds. Actually during the morning when it is sunny, it isn't too bad walking across the blocked intersections, but after work it is dark and a bit too risky when drivers hardly know what lanes to go in.

(Sunrise Park is the home to several city amenities, including the Palm Springs Library Center, the Boys & Girls Club, Mizell Senior Center, Palm Springs Stadium and Palm Springs Skateboard Park.)

I do like that I get to walk along the outer edges of the Mesquite Country Club and Sunrise Park and have views of the San Jacinto and San Bernardino mountains to my north and west. So even though this short a distance isn't really going to save me a whole lot of gas or carbon monoxide emission, I feel great being able to get some exercise, enjoy the morning and reduce my carbon footprint.

A New Job

Today was my first day working for the Palm Springs International Film Festival as the Assistant Director of Volunteers. It's not going to be a long-term job, but a contract that runs through the end of January. However, with today's economy, I am really excited to be able to work for this fantastic artistic community endeavor.

Begun 20 years ago by then Palm Springs Mayor Sonny Bono as a way to help attract business to Palm Springs during one of its slower tourist season months, the festival has grown into the third largest in the country and the largest Foreign Language film festival.

Ever since we've been coming here to Palm Springs, the Feature Film Festival in January and the ShortFest in August have been events that we have absolutely loved. And, both Steve and I have volunteered at several over the years. So, this fall when I saw this job advertised, I applied, and since I knew many of the staff was hired.

Today of course I just kind of got settled and acclimated to the various computer programs, telephone and office space. (Due to the increase in temporary employees for the festival season, we are in some former doctor's office space next door to the regular festival offices.) I really like the Volunteer Coordinator that I report to, and am excited to be back in a work environment that can use a lot of my organizational, computer and people skills.

With a database of more than 900 volunteers it is going to be fun to meet many of them and help make their volunteering experience this month and next a fun one, as well as helping to make the festival run smoothly for the thousands who come to watch the films.