March 16, 2011 – Kelp

Kelp seems to be the word of the day. It is the best, natural source of potassium iodide, which can inhibit radiation reaching the thyroid gland. The capsules have flown off the shelves. I got some kelp snacks, just in case the worst happens in Japan and we get an even bigger dose. It all is taking me back 25 years ago when I lived in Switzerland. It was during Chernobyl as radiation spread in pockets around Europe. It’s the same old misinformation and disinformation campaign. Alas, not all retro experiences are good ones.

As for kelp, let’s keep it beautiful. While I have never been diving, I have been to the Monterey Aquarium a bunch of times and I do love the kelp forest. A folder full of photos of the big tank and, at last a painting. It makes me want to take a little road trip down the coast.

March 1, 2011 – Yellowstone

Happy Birthday Yellowstone! It’s the world’s first national park, established in 1872. Of course it was there long before then, but I am so happy that it has been preserved for us all. Having just been to a few of California’s national parks last week, I can once again say, the National Park Service is one of the things America has really gotten right.

Sure it’s beautiful, but what really makes the place so special is the abundance of wildlife. There are not many places where you can wake up in a freezing cabin to the sound of a bison chatting with a Toyota just outside the window. Step outside and find fresh wolf tracks right outside your door. Something about sleeping on top of that caldera fills your head with weird dreams. If you stop a moment, you can just feel it percolating. So many places in the park are steaming and stinking. My immediate reaction when I first visit was primeval.

I’ve been to Yellowstone twice. It’s not the easiest place to get to. Far from any major airport and flying near to the park is quit costly. I actually think the most practical way to get there from San Francisco is simply to drive. It does take three days with plenty of stops along the way. Yellowstone is the perfect main course for a road trip

January 3, 2011 – Flower Power

Today is my mom’s birthday. I dug up this old photo from 1969 of mom and her cart at the Allentown Art Festival in Buffalo. She was pushing flower power. To be exact, old, clay flower parts were decorated with spray paint. They were filled with potted flowers like marigolds and impatiens.

The project started when my mom took my brother and I too the dump behind the cemetery. There we were able to fill the truck of the Ford Galaxy with discarded flower parts. They were hosed off in the yard and set to dry before they were painted. I’m telling this story just to reinforce the crafty (and entrepreneurial) legacy in my family.

In the photo you might notice the sign that reads “You saw her on Channel 7 Late News.” The day before my mother wore a sticker above her navel that read “flower power.” They showed her on the late news that Saturday night. Mom was exposing her navel on TV years before Cher did it and scandalized America. Perhaps Bob Mackie was slumming it in Buffalo that weekend and got a little inspiration.