Thursday, March 31, 2022
Back in San Francisco on chicken detail. They're good.
Some big jobs at work so not much time for anything else, though I did catch Jon Stewart's conversation about race with other white people. This is how it looks: anger, resentment, defensiveness, and ultimately a big hot mess. But we have to start somewhere.
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
The fallout continues from the slap heard round the world.
I'm not surprised. The moment plays worse with age.
Good Wednesday morning discussion. I'm rereading Robin DeAngelo materials (White Fragility and Nice Racism) so really absorb her talking points. These are particularly polarizing books.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
In Oakland until Tuesday. The Will Smith slap has been a major distraction from the war in Ukraine, but I'm back on Twitter, reading the latest. All not good.
And then there's the craziness here in America, such as Virginia Thomas's emails to Mark Meadows. Crazy, scary stuff.
Monday, March 28, 2022
Lots of reactions over last night's slap heard round the world.
Wow. It only takes a momentary decision to alter your life. Will Smith's life is forever changed, and yet that could not have been the first time he behaved that way. He's done things like that before. I wonder when those stories will come out.
Anyway, Alice is in Hawaii and Austin and I are on chicken duty. It takes about 20 minutes each morning to feed them, change their coop, clean up the area, and make sure they're comfortable and happy. These chickens are so sweet!
Busy day at work. We had lasagna for dinner, then I left around 8:30 and headed straight to bed.
Sunday, March 27, 2022
I was stirring my chicken tikki masla over the stove when IT happened. You know what I'm talking about. It! That thing that happened at the Oscars that somehow superseded the 1974 streaking episode while David Niven was announcing the next award. Calling out the wrong Best Picture has nothing on this moment. Same with Vanessa Redrave's acceptance speech and Paddy Chayevsky's brutal retort. Snow White and Rob Lowe are child's play compared to this OMG moment. Nope, this is the new #1 most outrageous Oscars moment ever. Nothing comes close to it. I'm still processing what I saw. I was in the kitchen, watching the awards show on Alice's small, spatter-stained kitchen digital portable, listening to Chris Rock and stirring my chicken masala, when boom...blank...no sound...then seconds later, a somewhat bewildered Chris Rock carrying on. I had that very uncomfortable "something is wrong" feeling that lately I'm less inclined to engage in, but I needed to know what had just happened. It was a TV emergency that only Twitter could straighten out in real time. I grabbed my iPad, jumped onto Twitter and typed #Oscars and #ChrisRock. For the first minute or so, I was seeing nothing but "WTF" and "What just happened?" Then came the uncut Japanese feed. Oh damn. Holy shit! WTF x 10! It didn't look fake at all and certainly the screaming expletives from Will Smith in his seat were 100% real. You can't fake that degree of rage. It was shocking, embarrassing, beyond uncomfortable, and just plain surreal. Only an emotionally unhinged narcissist bully of the highest order would do such a thing, and yet it was Will Smith, everybody's congenial, lovable fresh prince who was about to be crowned king. Which he was an hour or so later. I did not want him to win, not after that shocking mini-performance of A Star is Born, but he won and proceeded to give an emotionally self-absorbed justification of what had happened earlier. Oh wow. Here was this new weeping king, taking in his very own Mel Gibson moment. It was Shakespearian. Life just keeps on giving and giving and giving. He apologized to everyone except Chris Rock. I guess he hasn't alerted himself yet that the bad guy isn't Chris, but the guy with the trophy getting the standing ovation. It was just one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen on television. Man oh man. I've always been protective of comedians. Always. They have the most difficult job on the planet, which is to make people laugh and constantly keep their material raw, relevant and on the cusp of acceptable. I didn't even understand Chris Rock's joke (had to look it up), and when I did understand it, it was like, okay, not very funny, but also nowhere near what Ricky Gervais has delivered. Not even close. The whole thing made no sense. Clearly, there are things going on in Will Smith's life that belie the persona he has perfected for his fans. How on earth does a person punch/slap a comedian on stage live in front of millions of viewers, then win the Best Actor Oscar an hour later? If it were in a book, the reader would go, yeah, right, then toss the book in the trash. Oh well. I needed something to distract me from the depressing Ukraine war.
Saturday, March 26, 2022
Alice leaves for Hawaii tomorrow with her sister. This will be her first trip on a plane since January 2020. Austin and I are in charge of the chickens. They should be fine. I baked a loaf of banana bread for Alice's trip.
Oscars tomorrow. I haven't seen any films this year. I'm halfway through Power of the Dog. I stopped watching when it was clear we were about to enter some painful Jane Campion territory. I need to psych myself up for such moments. I don't even know who's hosting this year. I know nothing...nothing. I'm thinking Chicken Tikki Masala for dinner tomorrow. Haven't made that in a while.
Friday, March 25, 2022
Oh wow, and here's the show they came up with: The Problem with White People. Amazing!
I'm noticed exactly the same thing, a couple weeks of our racial reckoning, followed by business as usual. This is by design. So much of our adherence to the illusion of our greatness is by design. The messaging of the hierarchy of race is so brutal and still with us. Here's the rare white guy in a position of power and authority addressing it. Nicely done.
Thursday, March 24, 2022
Love this roundtable conversation about race. Jon Stewart et al. are the best!
Lots of random thoughts today and YouTube watches. I learned all about Switchblade drones and why they're so effective against tanks and other weapons of war. Also jotted down Visa, SalesForce, and United Health Group as potential longterm buys that have so much upside.
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Intense Wednesday morning meeting. I think I started it. I was frustrated with white people not meeting the moment nearly two years after George Floyd. I think I was channeling the Senate Hearings with Judge Jackson. They are embarrassing. It's the same old white elitist messaging with this white Senators. It's awful. And then there's the war that's growing more bleak, cruel and dust-like. Maybe I should take a break from the news for a few days.
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Too sore to play racquetball today. I'm taking the week off and perhaps next week, too.
I've been avoiding the Senate Committee Hearings with Judge Jackson. I know it will depress and anger me. Maybe tomorrow I'll tune in.
Monday, March 21, 2022
Watched Bill Maher on Ben Shapiro's show. Bill said something that I've been thinking about: "I live in the present, not the past." He was referring to race and perhaps slavery. Hmm. But what about the heavy-duty messaging that accompanied 240 years of slavery. It takes so pretty powerful belief system to get white people to buy into the notion that black people are not people but property. All that messaging stayed with us after the Civil War and is with us today. Wasn't it Faulkner who said "The past is never dead. It's not even past."
Sunday, March 20, 2022
Someone wanted scones, so I found a recipe and made them. Dang these are good!
I can make them smaller next time. Two sticks of butter went into those. Yikes!
Alice visited Amy and Patrick in the afternoon and called me up before dinner to say Patrick was making dinner for us. So I went over and hung out with them for a few hours. Such a nice visit, our first since Covid. Patrick made a Korean noodle dish that was so good. He's such a good street food chef (we were watching YouTube videos of Korean street food while he made his dish).
Saturday, March 19, 2022
I drove back to Oakland early for a two-hour Elders meeting at Glenn's house. I brought Noah's bagels and cream cheese. Lee brought a delicious morning cake. Yum, that was good. We talked about where we were as a group and shared where we wanted to go. I was eager to expand our profile and perhaps record a Wednesday meeting or two to show folks what we talk about, but many in the group aren't interested in that, so we'll keep things private for the time being. Our podcast takes care of putting things out there, so I'm fine with that. We ended at 10:30 and I drove back to SF.
For dinner, we met Michael at Kokkari and had a wonderful meal. It's always a treat spending time with him! Alice ordered fish and I ordered a baked casserole dish that was very good. Baklava for dessert. Heaven!
Friday, March 18, 2022
Drove to SF to help Alice with her back-to-back Airbnb cleaning. We cleaned up the suite, took care of our chickens, Alice played bridge with her friends and I managed to squeeze in a podcast session with Dorian and Khaled.
For dinner we tried Hong's Kitchen on Noriega. Good!
Knee is really bothering me. I played yesterday morning and that was a mistake. I won't play next week.
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Visited the SF office today for our St. Paddy's Day party at 4. Had a Super Duper burger for lunch and mocha at Starbuck's Reserve. Few people on the street, though traffic seemed heavy enough, especially along Fremont Street. Many cafes and storefronts are still closed. Inside the office, the 25th Floor was still something of a ghost town. Sharrol was there, but no one else that I knew. So eerie. The party at 4 was attended by around 13 people. No one's coming back into the office. It will never be the way it was before the pandemic. That's just reality. No problem here. I like working from home. I took the XNL bus home and called it a day.
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Wednesday morning meeting from 6-7. Lively discussion. Quiet at work, so I watched a couple of poker videos to chip away at the 30-day challenge that's taking me 90 days to complete. Developing mental muscle memory to implement all of these strategies will be the most difficult part of getting to the next level. Lots to think about, but not so much at the lower levels. Not overthinking things is what I should focus on now.
Continuing to read pages from 1619 Project and Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory. I should work to finish these two books by next week.
I visit the office tomorrow...first time since Omicron.
Meanwhile, the profoundly tragic war in Ukraine continues...
 |
| Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP |
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
So I played racquetball this morning for more than two hours. They games were fierce and fun, but later in the day I felt pain and stiffness in my right knee. It's been bothering me all afternoon and evening. I think it's a sign that old age is creeping in. Damn!
Monday, March 14, 2022
Busy at work and neglecting some poker study time. I plan to hit the Oaks next week. Had our regular Monday admin meeting, which featured a presentation from all the members of INNOCO, who presented their process and broke down the various sponsorship programs they have. It could be something Jamiel and Lee put effort into, then share with us.
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Planning a trip to Bellingham in May to celebrate Dad's 80th Bday. He turns 80 on March 28. Steve and Nancy will join us. It will be nice and quiet and festive. There are very few if any male members of Dad's family who have lived to 80. It's particularly amazing given the full-throttle lifestyle Dad has lived. I'll spend an extra day in Bellingham, just hanging out in my old stomping ground.
Saturday, March 12, 2022
We went to Howard and Leslie's for lunch in the Oakland hills, so I stayed in the hood this morning, ordering a latte at Peets and a sweet Sallie from Arizmendi. Breakfast of Champions! Lunch was Lin Jia so it was a full-on neighborhood food fest. Lin Jia is always so good! We stayed in Oakland until 3:30. Traffic coming home wasn't so bad. Howard and I talked about our childhoods. Great conversation. It's amazing Howard didn't end up in an insane asylum. He's such an amazing and interesting person. We spent some time going over Twitter and the people to follow as we stay informed about this horrible new war in Ukraine. So tragic.
Friday, March 11, 2022
Went to dinner with Rossana and Lisa at Star on Grand. So nice to hang with them. Richard was back home in Tennessee visiting his mom.
Thursday, March 10, 2022
We recorded our fifth practice Steps to Somewhere podcast, talking about race in sports and cancel culture. It's the fastest hour of the week! We're launching first week in May and will put together 16 episodes. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Ukraine horrors continue. Evil genes are alive and well. I think about how close we came in this country to electing a Putin-type dictator, an evil genes mad man who cares nothing about human life and human decency, but only about his ego, self-interest, vainglorious pride and warped sense of self. We really dodged a bullet last year, and yet the orange menace is still around, still the leader of the radicalized GOP. Truly unbelievable.
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Listening to songs from the 70s that inspire me and may inspire characters in La Stravaganza. Like this:
and this:
Monday, March 7, 2022
A busy Monday at work, followed by our admin meeting from 5-6. We're gearing up for a Saturday morning convocation that will address direction, publicity, connections with other groups, etc. We've been talking about race and racism weekly now since George Floyd and still going strong. We've had good practice in articulating our different realities. I so enjoy interacting with these brilliant guys.
Meanwhile, the war continues in Ukraine. I'm using Twitter more. Haven't used it in years, but with immediate updates, Twitter is indispensable.
Sunday, March 6, 2022
Ramon yesterday in San Mateo was so good!
Later today, someone requests banana bread for dessert, so...
The small pleasures in life to offset the horror happening in Ukraine.
Saturday, March 5, 2022
Great Maureen Dowd opinion piece. She came out swinging this morning.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/05/opinion/zelensky-ukraine-trump.html
Lots of chores this weekend, including a nice fence for the chickens and returning rocks to the rock pile by the raised garden beds.
Friday, March 4, 2022
A third of the way through The 1619 Project. This is a very informative book . Every article is packed with pertinent information. Learning a lot about American history from 1600-1800.
Spring cleaning is about to begin. I have so many shelves to dust, books to sort, corners to clean, storage areas to go through.
Thursday, March 3, 2022
A little sluggish today after morning racquetball and cold outside. Practicing bridge hands on Bridge Base to get back into it.
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
I'm reminded of Syria and the civil war that began more than a decade ago to oust Assad, who's still in power. Aleppo, Homs, Darra, and parts of Damascus were leveled. I used to spend so much time reading about Syria, but not so much in the past few years. Now the focus is on Ukraine and the terror facing this county as bombs and more bombs wipe out buildings and infrastructure. The trauma of war is such a heavy price to pay for freedom and love of country, and yet the motives of Ukrainians are understandable. The super sanctions imposed on Russia will cripple the country and Putin will certainly feel it. Will Russians rise up? Hard to say. Keeping tyrants out of power should be a top priority for humanity, but tyrants always manage to charm enough people with their empty promises and blatant lies. Words escape me sometimes when thinking about leaders and loyalties and power.
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Such a crazy busy day today. I didn't look at a single YouTube video or read any news. I have a few of these days every year.
Monday, February 28, 2022
Oil is around $110 a barrel. Wow. The war in the Ukraine is so so sad. Heartbreaking. The country will suffer endlessly and for what? The most powerful mad men of the world have become a big problem that won't go away. I shouldn't watch so much of the news. It's so depressing.
Sunday, February 27, 2022
Pickle ball in the early morning, followed by a run to Sunset Super for crab. Austin and Hana had dinner with us tonight. They picked up dessert, a delicious cake from the Palo Alto Mall that had many layers like rings of a tree called Baumkuchen. It was so tasty! Also had a macha latte. Good!
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Alice's Aunt Vicky, Uncle Bill, Elaine and Nathan came over to visit and see the chickens. We prepped the Airbnb unit for the next guest. Still cold outside. A quiet, easy Saturday.
