Family of Democratic Media

Here we are in Denver, at our first ever Democratic Convention. Despite the fact that I've been a Democrat since before I could vote, and have watched them all on tv, I never thought I'd actually be at one. The heat is extreme, the crowds are crazy (how CAN these men stay in their suits and ties is beyond me), but the thrills are greater. We pressed through the throng on the floor and got close to the California delegation, waving at our friends, the Marin delegates. Then we headed to the sky box where John was diligently working for KFWB, perched high above it all, but directly across from the stage. We tucked ourselves into the scaffolding and sat down to take in Hillary's brilliant speech.

The media seems determined to find conflict here. They are pressing everyone to say that the Hillary supporters are standing firm and will not accept Barack's nomination. But this is just looking for trouble - everyone we have talked to is ready to UNIFY and take back the reins of the country.

Here's a great shot of John in action!

Jane Hammond

Another great exhibit at the de Young Museum was that of Jane Hammond, a collagist. I especially enjoyed this work, "My Heavens". It inspires me to make a collage of my own, a star map with updated, imagined, constellations.

Scrabulous film

Some friends of mine made a great little documentary called "Absolutely Scrabulous". You can help them win cash by voting for it online!

They interviewed me last Tuesday and had the film done by yesterday.. the concept of the contest is that you had to make a short film in a weeks' time. I haven't watched all the other entries yet, but so far this one is by FAR the best. (I don't think I'm biased.)

A day at the museum

We went to the deYoung yesterday to see the Dale Chuhuly exhibit. This Seattle glass artist has turned his vision into an almost mass-produced quantity of the most beautiful colors and shapes that you can imagine. It was a feast for the eyes. Despite my love of bright colors and the fantastic juxtapositions of orange and cobalt and red, my favorite room was the understated (for him) basket room. One wall was lined with shelfs covered with Navaho baskets, shades of brown and beige, warm and earthy in their texture. Mingled with the baskets were basket-shaped bowls of glass, clear glass blown with shades of "tabac", which perfectly blended with the baskets. Some little weaving style elements were melted into the sides of the bowl to accentuate the basket inspiration.

In the same large room, on the opposite wall, was a huge collection of Pendleton blankets, hung in a large grid so we could see the large patterns and beautiful colors. In the middle of the room, there was an immense wooden slab table that was covered with larger bowls and glass shapes, again made in the tabac color.

The glass flowers and plant-like spires and curlicues were mounted on huge sheets of black glass, that made a mysterious dark mirror, reflecting the incredible colors in another tone. You could imagine jumping into that netherworld and swimming among the glass roots of the imagination.

On the bus

This morning I took a seat next to a woman who appeared to be over 85. Her walker was perched in the handicapped area and she couldn't have been over 5 feet tall. I already had my ipod in my ears, but I greeted her and sat down. Before we got to the bridge, she couldn't restrain her curiosity and she tapped my hand, asking about the device. She wanted to know if it was a radio. We chatted for a while about how things that she saw in Dick Tracy had all appeared to become a reality. I showed her that the ipod could even display video, and she was even more amazed.

She told me she was headed into the city on a weekly outing to the senior center at the Maritime Museum. She said that she did sculpture there, and that there were classes for all kinds of art. She grew up drawing, but now that she has macular degeneration, she has begun to sculpt.

I hope I'll run into her again. She reminded me that it is more interesting to chat with your seatmate than it is to listen to Dick Tracy's ipod.

Long in the 'tooth

Since hands-free became required, I have been struggling with my cell phone in the car - putting it on speaker phone seemed to require more handling than just holding it up - I had to balance it on my lap, grabbing it when it started to slide down to the floor - find the speaker button, etc. Also, the people I was talking to never seemed to be able to hear me very well, and I found myself YELLING at the damn thing and .. well, forget it. I tried some bluetooth earpieces but my ear is quite floppy and nothing seemed to stay in place.

I was thinking, why doesn't my phone just have a clip on it, so I can clip it to my visor and use it that way?

At Costco last weekend, I found the perfect thing! for $40! which is way less than the darn earpieces. A visor-shaped bluetooth device that finds my phone, is easy to operate, and uses my phone's voice recognition. I turn it on, it says "say a command". Then I say "call Barb". It says, "did you say, call Martha?" I say "no". It says "did you say, call Barb?" I say "yes!" It seems to be getting a bit smarter each time. Only one button needs to be pushed, and it never falls down to the floor.

Ships plus camera

I got a new camera recently, because my little old Canon Powershot finally clicked its last. I still haven't thrown it away, because I loved it so. I knew it was about to go, and had already shopped for its replacement, but I still felt bad. Until today, when I stepped out for lunch to see the Tall Ships Parade. I walked down to Chrissy Field, near the Yacht Club, and zoomed my new Powershot SX100 15 out over the water. Despite a large view screen, my aging eyes could not tell at all if the "AUTO" setting had successfully focussed on the ship. I trusted and clicked anyway.

Imagine my pleasure when I got back to my desk and took a look at the photos! I think now I'm ready to toss the old camera away.

(be sure to click on this image to see the large size of the photo...)

Mamma Mia

One word: GO. SEE. IT.

Ok, well maybe more than one word. But honestly we had so much fun watching that movie! and everyone else in the theater seemed to, too. Laughing out loud, singing along loudly to bad Abba songs, drooling over the beautiful Greek scenery, laughing some more, tearing up a little. Meryl Streep, sexy boys and girls, people bursting into song, more singalong, Meryl Streep again and again. Middle-aged women are powerful and can dance in platform shoes! Everyone ends up with someone! Very happy.

Afterwards we celebrated with greek pizza.