halloween greetings

"The only completely consistent people are the dead."
Aldous Huxley

greek theatre 1985

my aiko brother and his then-ladyfriend. i introduced them. they married, and had a child. and then one day, he came out. he couldn't pretend anymore.

here, my friend and his date are enjoying the grateful dead in the sun and fun at berkeley's greek theatre. these were definitely the glory days, in our little scene.

pictures like this remind me that little remains the same, in friendships. i never grasped just how much our seemingly-perfect scene would change.

"it all rolls into one, and nothing comes for free... there's nothing you can hold, for very long."

what's a mangosteen?

the mangosteen grove.


another view of the grounds, including the south african-made statue of an angel.

we received some more photos from g's father, which were left on his camera last month. the title link takes you to more information than you knew you needed...about the mangosteen.

beyond hawaii daydreams, we are watching and waiting, as the republican empire devours itself. hooray! i believe the november 7th elections will herald the beginning of the end. it can't come soon enough.

my back pages

i thought i'd have some nostalgic fun, and post a picture from the many grateful dead shows i so willingly attended. maybe i will post one a week, or something.. it's been amusing, to scan them and remember the stories that go with the images.

this image was taken at the berkeley community theatre, in 1984. a beloved bay area venue, located on the campus of berkeley high school.

my friend was outside in front, after a fine night of music by jerry and the boys.
(nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile.)

the days that used to be

i scanned a few old shots of the birthday girl. these were taken not long after her birth twenty years ago this week. we lived in aptos, california.



she's still this sweet!


sitting in the morning sun together. the house was built of century-old redwood, scavenged from a train station in firebaugh, california. it was situated high on a hill, overlooking nisene marks state park.


love love love

that's life in the city...

my brother in san francisco took these yesterday, after observing this spooky accident.
he reports that lots of folks try to "beat" the n judah streetcar. this time, the san francisco municipal railway won.

surprisingly, the driver was not hurt or killed.

twenty

on the tuolumne river, about 1990.

she was born on this very day, in 1986, in santa cruz.
the loma prieta earthquake occured on her third birthday.
much love, sweet daughter of mine. your birth enriched so many lives.
especially mine.

the earth moved

heard from g's dad earlier today. lots of movement in papaikou, yes indeed.
but they are doing fine, thank goodmess. we hope for some photos from the hilo area soon.

mother ocean

"If you talk about it, even the simplest thing becomes complex and incomprehensible."

Herman Hesse

pics from the park

heeeeere's elvis. i like the look on his face.



a view of the crowd and stage at the hardly strictly bluegrass festival, held last weekend in san francisco.




festival attendees enjoying an attitude adjustment up on the hill.


*photos by j. richard

elvis costello in golden gate park

my dear brother-friend walked over to speedway meadow at golden gate park on friday evening, with camera-in-hand.
i had let know that one of my most-favorite musicians was playing for free, at the sixth annual "hardly strictly bluegrass" festival.

since i was stuck at my job, and 3.5 hours away from the city, he kindly consented to
record the memory on film for me. here is the first one he sent. i am as pleased-as-punch!

besides taking beautiful pictures of elvis for me, he and his partner are on their way to our home for a visit today. all this after i worked my sixth day in a row, catering until 10:00 last night. there are few people i would agree to entertain in my exhausted state. he is one of them.

more pictures of elvis to come... just warning you!

Yurts

Yurt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Yurt is a portable felt dwelling structure used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia.

Etymology and Synonyms
The word yurt is originally from the Turkic word meaning "dwelling place" in the sense of "homeland"; the term came to be used in reference to the physical tent-like structures only in other languages. In Russian, a yurt is called "yurta" (юрта), and there is an obsolete term "kibitka" (кибитка). From Russian, the word came into English.

In Kazakh the term for the structure is kiyiz üy (киіз үй—lit. "felt home") and in Mongolian it is called a ger (гэр). Afghans call them "Kherga" or "ooee". In Kyrgyz the term is "boizoi", literally "grey house", because of the colour of the felt.

Construction
The yurt consists of a wooden frame, carrying a felt cover. The frame consists of one or more lattice wall-sections, a door-frame, roof poles and a crown. Some yurt-types have one or more columns to support the crown. The frame is held together with one or more ropes or ribbons. The (self-supporting) wood frame is covered with pieces of felt. Depending on availability, the felt is additionally covered with canvas and/or sun-covers. They vary regionally, with straight or bent roof-poles, different sizes, and relative weight.

Symbolism
The crown itself is emblematic in many Central Asian cultures. In old Kazakh communities, the yurt itself would often be repaired and rebuilt, but the shangrak would remain intact, passed from father to son upon the father's death. A family's length of heritage could be measured by the accumulation of stains on the shangrak from generations of smoke passing through it. A stylized version of the shangrak forms the main image on the flag of Kyrgyzstan. Its cultural iconography is also represented in the tubeteika, a traditional Central Asian skullcap which bears a resemblance to the yurt.

Western Yurts
Enthusiasts in other countries have taken the visual idea of the yurt -- a round, semi-permanent tent -- and have adapted it to their cultural needs. Although those structures may be copied to some extent from the originals found in Central Asia, they have been greatly changed and adapted and are in most cases very different.

In the United States and Canada, yurts are made using hi-tech materials. They are highly engineered and built for extreme weather conditions. In addition, erecting one can take days and they are not intended to be moved often. Often the designs of these North American yurts barely resemble the originals; they are better named yurt derivations, because they are no longer round felt homes that are easy to mount, dismount and transport.

In Europe, a closer approximation to the Mongolian and Central Asian yurt in production in several countries. These tents use local hardwood, and often are adapted for a wetter climate with steeper roof profiles and waterproof canvas. In essence they are yurts, but some lack the felt cover that is present in traditional yurt. In Holland, one yurt maker makes exact replicas of Mongolian gers. Froit has studied yurt making in Mongolia and recently published a book about Ger making, The Real Mongol Ger Book.

Different groups and individuals use yurts for a variety of purposes, from full-time housing to school rooms. In some provincial parks in Ontario, yurts are available for camping.

love and mango daiquiris

out to dinner at the hilo bay cafe on september 5th.

Coqui Frogs?

another artifact

it sits in the center of the parent's driveway. on the right is the ohana which was our own little place while we were there. at night, we heard rushing water from the creek and one lonely coqui frog, chirping through the night.