January 02, 2006
Today was such a beautiful day. I awoke continually between 10am and 1pm & was finally summoned out of my exquisitely cozy bed neaering 2 o’ clock by a telephone call by a lovely friend intending to douse herself into the Pacific, the ossifyingly frigid Pacific, and would I care to join her? Of course I assented, though withholding my oath to similarly sadistically self submerge.
We drove across the Bay bridge to Nob Hill, where friend Katie (sadly, I may be inadvertently changing her name to protect the innocent) was just bidding farewell to her friend and leaving her a luscious hot pink labial impression (that means “lips,” people. It was fuchsia lipstick. Do I have to spell everything out? Please attempt to curb your perversion.) implanted upon her cheek. We picked her up, and we rolled.
Now I’ll seize upon this cliff-hanger moment in the suspence of the story thus far in order to describe the weather today. It was lovely. Really quite. It was indeed a dark and yes stormy day. The last towers of the Bay bridge impressed against a roiling grey sky, clouds obscuring Bernal Hill so it looked like someplace out of Middle Earth. The scary side close to Sauron’s lair—you know. You do.
Come on, you do. So anyway we arrive at a peculiarly crowded Ocean Beach. Both my friends promptly strip down to swimwear that would have been perfectly appropriate if it were 60 degrees warmer. I was asked to document their excursion into the waves with their respective new cameras. We march out to the sand, they doff their robes of silk & terrycloth & bolt into the crashing waves.
I fall initially behind, they’re moving too fast, can’t, keep, up but then I do & I’m taking their pictures while they laugh & scream in the surf. A concerned old lady approaches, asking, “excuse me are those your girls?” to which I respond, “well kinda, they’re my friends.” (My girls? Does she mean my hoes or something?) “You know it’s really dangerous out there, the undertoe. Kids have died out there.” “I guess that’s part of why I’m here, in case they need something.” “You couldn’t get there fast enough.” Ok my friends are both in their 30s. I think if they wanna go swimming on New Year’s Day 2006 in water cold enough to make my footbones hurt, I’m not gonna say they shouldn’t. So I basically tell the lady they’ll be fine, don’t worry. I got a quite disapproving look as she left.
They return—frigid of course yet practically 100% alive—and we eventually (they were remarkably leisurely for two freshly emerged from an ice bath into a cold misty bog wearing little bikinis) clamber into the car, where I realize that the lady on the beach thought these two 30 year old women were my daughters, and what a terrible father i was for letting them swim unattended in the Pacific. My girls. That’s what she meant.
We had a good laugh about that one.
Hungry, we found an open bar on Clement St. named the bitter end with greasy greasy batter-fried fish & chips with cole slaw that didn’t even have no dressing on it but that’s ok ‘cos there’s plenty grease already to go around. And they did have malt vinegar, the true & proper coating for beerbatter whitefish (or as Your Black Muslim Bakery #2 calls it, “whiting fish;” Mommy what’s “whiting?”) so they were fully redeemed. The coffee however was not so fortunate. They did pull off a nice Black & Tan effect with a layer of thick (and creepily so) cream atop the timid grey coffee.
The coffee also had a mysterious layer of oil on top. I drank it & yeah ok it sucked. Fish was greasy. Coffee sucked. Ok yeah all I ever do around here is complain.
Scintillating company though. Kristina, turns out, used to play Dungeons & Dragons & elfQuest (doesn’t that seem the proper capitalization?). Bonding moment. She also, inspired by Darryl Hannah’s performance in Splash!, knew she too would be a mermaid one day. It’s good to know that even sexy bellydancers are dorks.
Kristina eventually dropped me off at George & Lise’s annual New Year’s Day party, where I flirted & danced & even had real conversations with folks in this community I’ve long been kinda peripheral in. I actually feel close to the Balkan scene now, for the first time. Then around 1:15am, I struck out, on foot, for home, where I arrived 80 minutes later after a lovely, peaceful walk across the sleepy rain-cleansed East Bay.
January 03, 2006
I Am A: Chaotic Good Elf Bard Cleric
Follower Of Hanali Cenanil, the Elven goddess of love, beauty, & art.
Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.
Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.
Primary Class:
Bards are the entertainers. They sing, dance, and play instruments to make other people happy, and, frequently, make money. They also tend to dabble in magic a bit.
Secondary Class:
Clerics are the voices of their God/desses on Earth. They perform the work of their deity, but this doesn’t mean that they preach to a congregation all their lives. If their deity needs something done, they will do it, and can call upon that deity’s power to accomplish their goals.
Deity:
Hanali Cenanil is the Chaotic Good elven goddess of love, beauty, and art. She is also known as the Heart of Gold and Lady Goldheart. Her followers delight in creation and youth, and work to spread happiness, love, and beauty. Their preferred weapon is the dagger.
Detailed Results:
Alignment:
Lawful Good ----- XXXXX (5)
Neutral Good ---- XXXXXXX (7)
Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXXX (9)
Lawful Neutral -- (-1)
True Neutral ---- X (1)
Chaotic Neutral - (-1)
Lawful Evil ----- (-4)
Neutral Evil ---- (-3)
Chaotic Evil ---- (-4)
Race:
Human ---- (-7)
Half-Elf - XXXXXXXX (8)
Elf ------ XXXXXXXXX (9)
Halfling - XXX (3)
Dwarf ---- (-5)
Half-Orc - (-4)
Gnome ---- XXX (3)
Class:
Fighter - (-8)
Ranger -- XXXX (4)
Paladin - (-2)
Cleric -- XXXXXX (6)
Mage ---- XXXXX (5)
Druid --- XXXXX (5)
Thief --- (-2)
Bard ---- XXXXXXX (7)
Monk ---- XX (2)
Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy of NeppyMan (e-mail)
January 04, 2006
I redesigned my pages—please let me know if you find anything broken. In particular I suspect PC Internet Explorer might have some problems (I can’t test it cos I have a Mac). Firefox (& Opera & indeed every standards-compliant browser) should be fine though.
January 12, 2006
We have a room opening soon in our home! We’re two musicians (Tobias is an Arabic-style percussionist and lives in a separate studio in the back; I’m a Balkan/Turkish winds player) and Mardi’s a dancer/costume designer. We’re all lovely people (if I say so myself, which I clearly do) and keep a good balance between social time & privacy.
There’s a lot of music in the house, and it’s an ideal place for a musician or anyone who’s inspired being around people being creative. We have no TV, and like it that way. We keep things neat & clean, but not obsessively so. We have a longhaired cat as well. Decent yard in front & a pretty, vaguely-landscaped area in back as well. Fireplace, gas stove, washer/dryer.
We’re a strictly vegetarian house. You can eat whatever you want outside, but no meat (or fish or chicken or dead animals of any kind) in the house. Yes, this is non-negotiable. (Dairy & eggs are fine, yes indeedy they are so fine.)
The room is available either Feb. 15 for sure, or possibly Feb. 1. It’s a sunny room with two windows, measuring about 10’x12’ with a small closet & hardwood floors. (I lived in that room for about two years & it’s really a nice room.) You can see pictures here. The available bedroom is the first one on the “bedrooms” link. Rent is $525, plus $525 deposit to move in.
We’re near 60th & San Pablo, in North Oakland. Here’s a map. 12 minute walk/5 minute bike to Ashby Bart, pretty close to Emeryville shops (including Trader Joe’s), close to I-80/I-580, public library, 72R bus to downtown Oakland/Richmond.
If you’re interested, let me know by emailing me from the contacts page. Thanks!
January 13, 2006
Ghada Karmi, Guest Columnist
January 13, 2006
As Ariel Sharon exits Israel's political scene, few Palestinians are mourning him. Americans may struggle to grasp why, since, according to President Bush, Sharon is a man of peace who courageously removed Jewish settlements. Yet in vacating Gaza last summer, Israel was only leaving a territory illegally occupied for 38 years. Moreover, Sharon was handsomely rewarded with U.S. tolerance for expanding far more cherished West Bank settlements. Sharon is now hailed as an elder statesman and wise "realist" who holds the key to Middle East peace. But what did Sharon ever accomplish that did not entail destruction for the Palestinians and other Arabs?
Implacably opposed to the Palestinians, he saw them not as human beings, but as obstacles in the path of the Zionist project to take over their country, and to replace native Christian and Muslim Palestinians with immigrant Jews. So he fought throughout his life to demolish them as a people with national rights. As a young commander in 1953, his elite unit "101" attacked the Palestinian village of Qibya, killing 69 sleeping villagers. In 1955, he perpetrated a massacre of Negev Bedouin to disperse them to Sinai. His brutality against the Palestinian refugees in Gaza in the 1970s was widely feared. I remember my shock at seeing his empty house in Jerusalem's Old City, bought after 1967 solely to assert Jewish claims to the city and provoke Palestinian resentment. As agriculture minister from 1977 to '81, he doubled the number of Jewish colonies in the occupied territories on land stolen from Palestinians.
But perhaps the most lasting and bloody monument to his campaign of eradicating the Palestinians was the 1982 Lebanon invasion. As Israel's defense minister, Sharon instigated the assault on Beirut, leaving 20,000 Palestinians and Lebanese dead, routing the PLO and causing the expulsion of its leader, Yasser Arafat. Shortly afterward, Sharon's army facilitated the notorious Sabra and Shatila camps massacre, which killed approximately 2,000 Palestinians. He never relinquished this destructive momentum. In the '90s, he oversaw the biggest settlement drive in occupied territory since '67. In 2000, his provocative visit to the Aqsa compound in Jerusalem ignited the second intifada, an outgrowth of Israel's unrelenting colonization of Palestinian land during the "Oslo peace process" and Palestinians' resulting sense of betrayal.
Becoming Israel's prime minister in February 2001, he set about grinding Palestinian aspirations for freedom into the dust. He declared an end to negotiations with Arafat, whom he campaigned to delegitimize and then imprison in his Ramallah compound until the latter's death. To demolish Palestinian state-building efforts, Sharon's army invaded Ramallah in 2002 and destroyed Palestinian Authority institutions and infrastructure. Attacks on other Palestinian cities and assassinations of Palestinians who resisted his plans have continued ever since.
Anyone who visits the Palestinian territories today must be shocked by the hardship that Palestinians endure. The Israeli occupation, oppressive enough under Sharon's predecessors, is infinitely worse now. Illegal settlements and barriers surround every town, crippling the movement of people and goods. This ghettoization has now been set in stone, by the concrete barrier wall transecting the West Bank. A fearsome structure, allegedly to prevent terrorism, in fact it is gobbling up more Palestinian land, and is designed to end all hopes of Palestinian statehood. Who can make a state out of a collection of ghettoes?
Had he continued, Sharon planned to so demoralize Palestinians that they would accept whatever he offered them. This was to annex the West Bank land on Israel's side of the wall, leaving the rest -- 40 percent to 50 percent -- to the Palestinians, with Jerusalem, as Israel's alleged "eternal capital" effectively removed from the equation. If Palestinians found this too little, they could expand into Jordan and those in Gaza into Egypt, not by formal agreement with those states, of course, but by the force of population pressure. This or some version of it was Sharon's vision for ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, misguidedly greeted by Western politicians as evidence of his wisdom. What happens now is unknown.
Israelis will miss Sharon because he entrenched them in the land of others. But if he earns his place in history, it will be for his sleight of hand in making the world believe that the butcher had become a statesman.
Ghada Karmi was until recently information consultant to the Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah. She is the author of
In Search of Fatima.
January 27, 2006
大家好，
農曆佳節將來臨，先向大家拜個早年
祝您 狗年行大運 財運亨通 好運"汪汪"來
敬祝
新年快樂 ! 事事順心 !
January 30, 2006
Common Dreams summarizes the 10 most Censored News Stories of 2005 (as compiled by Project Censored).