Brigantine - Pop the Bubbly (feat. Giorgio)

The Making of "No.7 Cherry Lane" (A Film by Yonfan)

I almost forgot to mention this detour. 

I didn't have much time on my last visit to the Southwest Popular/American Cultural Association (SWPACA) in Albuquerque to attend other people's talks, but I did decide to drop in on "Film Studies 1: International Cinemas in Focus - Wed, 02/22/2023."  The session was a bit disorienting.  The airline system nationwide was bollixed by snowstorms, so almost all the scheduled speakers weren't able to get to Albuquerque in time.  There was just one speaker and one presentation:  "Rendering Hong Kong on an Animated Stage: A Life Action Film Director’s Perspectival Approach and Strategies," by Tze-yue G. Hu, Independent Educator.

Hu mostly wanted to talk Hong-Kong-born motion picture director Yonfan.  Hu described Yonfan's sensitivity to Hong Kong's culture in almost-mystical terms, particularly in regards to his beautiful film "No. 7 Cherry Lane."  

Here is a video on the making of that film.  I particularly like the outtakes, and the many animators hard at work on their screens.

 

I notice that Yonfan also directed the 2001 Hong Kong film "Peony Pavilion."  I'd really like to see that film.  Bill O'Brien and I saw a theatrical production of "Peony Pavilion" at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, around 1999.  I was impressed with the technical aspects of the show.  The actors carried personal cameras, and emoted into them, while their images were broadcast on many large-screen television sets around the stage.  Plus, there was a huge Plexiglas cuboid object that doubled as a bed and a water-filled underground cavern.

I nearly-embarrassed myself too.  Sitting in the front row as the show began, I suddenly smelled smoke.  There were more than a thousand people in Zellerbach Hall.  I decided I would never be able to escape a fire by fleeing with the audience through their exits.  I determined my only path to survival was to jump onstage and flee out the back of the theater.  I was mentally preparing to jump onstage in front of a thousand people when the smoke's character suddenly changed from wood to incense.  There was no out-of-control fire!  The actors were lighting incense to enhance the Chinese mood!

Thankfully I didn't act on my panic.

I need to see Yonfan's movies.

Gotta Know How To Change a Flat Tire - April 4, 2023

On April 3rd, just before we got on the freeway with my yellow car Sunshine, we noticed the right front tire was flat. So I drove slowly back home, ripping it up as I went. 

I feel it's important to know how to change flats, so instead of calling AAA, or any of that nonsense, I was determined to put on the little donut tire myself. So, that evening, I read the relevant section of the Owner's Manual. 

Changing the tire was something else. There was some kind of lubrication fail on the jack. I was exerting so much force on the bar used to rotate the jack's screw that I bent the bar. It took me an hour and a half to change the tire, but the donut tire was flat too. I drove to the gas station to put some air in it, but the valve stem was non-functional, and the tire wouldn't hold air. 

Now under the gun - the hour was late - I finally called AAA. The tow truck driver hastily took Sunshine over to Big-O tires, with just half an hour to spare before closing time. Still, they were able to get a replacement tire for me (plus I bought another tire - good to buy them in pairs, you know), as well as fix the valve stem on the donut tire, all before closing time. 

Yes, self-reliance. That's the ticket.

A Visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium - April 5, 2023

Such cute otters!

Monterey sardines.

Hammerhead shark.

Hammerhead shark.

Monterey sardines.

Green Sea Turtle

Yellow Tuna.

Blood-red jellyfish.

Jellyfish.

Various jellyfish.

Deep-sea crab.

Isopods.

Petting an isopod (and not the Socorro isopod either).

Puffin.

Fish, and California Moray Eel.

Fish.

California Moray Eel.

Yellow fish.

Blue fish.

Fishies.

Yellow fishes.

Cool fish.

Cool reef.

Penguins.

Penguins.

Yellow tuna.

Jellyfish.

Jellyfish.

Green Sea Turtle.

Green Sea Turtle.

Green Sea Turtle.

Green Sea Turtle and a Ray.

Green Sea Turtle.

Green Sea Turtle.

A Ray.

A Day Trip to Monterey - April 5, 2023

Along Highway 33 south of Santa Nella, near O'Neill Forebay, workers on an electric tower were loosening metalwork for a passing helicopter to grab.

There go the struts!

A peak along Highway 152.

Rachel's kids called this place in Monterey the "Emo McDonald's," because the arches are black, not golden.

Donuts first!

Macabee Beach, next to the Monterey wharves.

Bathers on the beach.

A seagull stands atop John Steinbeck at the Steinbeck Statuary in Steinbeck Plaza.

I gingerly step barefoot into the world's largest ocean at Macabee Beach.  The rules are different here.  Eyes out for sharks!

The Graffiti at the Acme Metal Yard in Albuquerque

The graffiti here just off North Second Street is pretty remarkable - a living, breathing museum of top-notch graffiti. And it's changed quite a bit from what I remember in 2012.

 

TikTok Should Not Be Banned

Where else can you get stuff like this?

@corrk2 “It was a hard back NVI version”😂 #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ♬ Nuthin’ But A "G" Thang - Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg

And You May Find Yourself Behind the Wheel of a Large Automobile

Democrats Are Number One!

I Don't Need No Stinking GPS

A Glorious Rainy Season is Wrapping Up!

It's almost a wrap on the 2022-23 California rainy season! April is the month when storm systems weaken dramatically, and that process is underway now. 

Rainy seasons have been so erratic this last decade! Contrary to historically-dry expectations related to La Niña, we did quite well this season, waterwise. We're about 140% of normal here in Sacramento - the best season since 2016-17, just six years ago. Life in California is so much easier when everyone has the water they need. (I think it's a mistake to rely alone on La Niña- El Niño for rainy season predictions, since California is some distance from that cycle's equatorial home.) 

The big question now is how quickly that unstable ice cap in the Sierras will melt. Almost every day since the middle of February has had temperatures below average, which is great for preserving the snowpack, but that remarkably-cold run is ending now. 

And so, how abrupt will the warm up be? Not as abrupt as in April, 1997, when a warm Atmospheric River arrived and decimated the snowpack, leading to flooding. There are no such storm systems on today's horizon. Still, I'm thinking the next week will warm quite a bit, and the snowmelt will seriously start. Beware swimming holes and similar fun places this year. Waters will run cold, deep, and fast!

The Last Coal Miners in Spain

Interesting article on the last coal miners in Spain:

Arango said some of the miners feel abandoned. 

“The industrial heritage in Asturias is enormous and of significant historical relevance. However, very little is done to keep it in good condition,” said Adrián San Martín, a 38-year-old miner from Mieres. “When I pass by the closed mines, like the one in Olloniego, and see the rusty tower and the abandoned facilities, I feel terrible.” 

San Martín started working as a miner when he was 24, and he doesn’t know what his future will be when San Nicolás eventually closes. 

“What saddens me the most is not that mining ends,” he told Arango. “I understand that coal pollutes and that we have to look for other energy models. But I am outraged that the mines stop here if coal continues to be imported from other countries, such as South Africa or Colombia, which arrives at the ports of Europe.”

I Say A Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin cover featuring Kenton Chen

Gabe recommends this.

 

My Ascent Won't Ascend

After my pre-interview, it looks like I won't become part of the Ascent Environmental team.

Sigh.

Trump Got His First Indictment

Hopefully the first of many!

Old Chapel in New Mexico Needs TLC

An old chapel is suffering structural issues and needs repair:

For more than 165 years, the mission church has been a reassuring presence in Pecos Canyon, a steadfast and physical reminder of sacrifices endured by ancestors and of those people’s unflinching Catholic faith. As you drive N.M. 63 through mountains and trees and along the Pecos River, it appears suddenly, like a vision. 

“It’s almost surreal,” said Brian Sandoval, 54, who grew up in Pecos and owns Frankie’s restaurant there. “It takes you back in time when you go in there. It’s a mud church on a hillside. You feel very connected and centered and grounded to the earth.” 

The church, which can accommodate about 100 people, is made of adobe and has a ribbed, metal panel roof. A sacristy constructed in 1962 to replace the original sacristy is the only part of the church made from non-traditional materials. The building has no water or electricity. It is lighted by candles and lanterns and warmed by a wood-burning stove. A low stone wall, built in 1916, surrounds the church, and graves are scattered throughout its yard. 

It is common these days to refer to this venerable building as El Macho Mission Church due to its location in a place named for a male mule. But according to the archives of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, the church was christened Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Our Lady of Guadalupe, when it was built about 1857.

Amateur Gold Digger Finds a Nugget

Kind of formidable:

An amateur gold digger has found an enormous gold nugget worth 240,000 AUD ($160,000) in Australia. 

Discovered in the state of Victoria in an area known as the "Golden Triangle," the gold-filled rock weighs 4.6 kilograms (10.1 pounds), with the precious metal making up 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds).

Elaine's 80th Birthday

The folks at The Ballet Studio celebrated Elaine Silver's 80th birthday. She was presented with a cake, a tiara, and a sash - Lisa, Katie, and Vaughn all worked together on it.  Ballet and Elaine get together very well.

Demise of the Local Century Plant

The local Century Plant that sprung up spectacularly in May, 2021 has bit the dust. The stalk of the Century Plant had had a burnt-out look for some time and was beginning to list. The landowner decided enough was enough and had it cut up. But it was really something in its heyday!