The Year of the Rat
Current mood: groggy

I am a wimp. I admit it. We had planned all year to attend the Chinese New Years Parade this Saturday and when push came to downpour, bailed like a Lake Merced rowboat. I gained some vindicated reprieve when, watching the show on KTVU the next morning, the dragon wrapped in celophane looked like a dancing condom.

We holed up at Joe's hoping the rain would stop and eating like it would go on for ever. It is not on the menu, but if you order garlic bread there, rest assured no vampires or viruses will come near you for days.

Hard to imagine this place becoming health-conscious; however, the sweetbreads and liver are now conspicuous in their absence from the menu. When I asked our waiter what they did with the sweetbreads, he retorted, "they are in the kitchen, I'll get you some."

The conversation turned interesting when friends confided that they were concerned that their 17 year-old daughter was acting strange and they suspected drugs. She had gone from A's to F's in school and had a litany of text messages that sounded cryptically sinister. They had repossessed her cell phone, tantamount to reading one's diary.

It brought us all back to the time when we were 17 and no one there was guilt free enough to cast the first stone (or stone free enough to cast any guilt.) I was overcome by how time had passed so quickly and struck by the notion that, at 17, I wanted nothing more than this to happen. Best to be careful what we wish for. Perhaps there is an escape clause we all seek at that time in our lives; a twighlight zone of certain uncertainty which has inspired quotes from Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain and countless others; yet always in retrospect.

My Uncle Les used to lament with pity that "youth is wasted on the young." Youth needs to make mistakes, defy parental or any authority, experiment and waste precious time and resources. Youth needs room to expand and contract before they reach that age when cholesterol and collateral become primary concerns. I hope these young warriors will find more noble battles to engage. I seriously regret having little widsom or self-righteous direction to contribute. Best I can conjure up are the words of
Pete Townsend... "The Kids are Alright." In my heart, I pray that they all will be so.

It is the Year of the Rat:
"To achieve the mood of a warrior is not a simple matter. It is a revolution. To regard the lion and the rat and our fellow men as equals is a magnificent act of a warrior's spirit. It takes power to do that."
~Carlos Castaneda

May our children of today find the power to seek the hope and challenges of tomorrow. May they weather the storm and not grow up to be wimps.

Currently listening : The Kids Are Alright By The Who Release date: 17 April, 2001

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Reflections
Current mood: blessed

The City is the ultimate holiday present, wrapped in light and lighting, bows and shadows. One need only to stand in Union Square and look up to see the miracle which is there to behold: Windows aglow, ornaments the size of basketballs dangling, Salvation Army pots jingling and yesterday, clear skies and sunshine. I suspect the street artists and mendicants are off to a slow start as the cups seemed fewer in number than in years past. The Silver Man across from the Westin and Michael Innocent, singing French cabaret songs at the mouth of Maiden Lane, had a lock on the entertainment. No matter…his ethereal notes of Le Vie en Rose rise to reach a spiritual purity before drifting down the alleyway filling the ears of folks sipping coffee in the street. A few stop and gather, while others tethered to cell phones run franticly up and down the street grimacing like the Ghost of Christmas Past-Them-By. I pity people who are willing to spend everything they have but their time. Life is uncertain…Shortcake and I sit and split a piece of cheesecake before heading down to Fisherman's Wharf to join the Weasels for our annual holiday dinner.

We pass by the Baroque windows of Shreve & Co. and enter the Gates of Chinatown on Grant, meandering in, out and past the countless shops that have been selling the same stuff since I was a kid. It warms my heart and renews my faith to see that Samurai swords and articulated bamboo snakes are still a going concern. The counterpoint of crystal chandeliers and paper street lanterns sets the stage for an operetta that's performed in every alleyway. The rhythm lifts our feet; our eyes turn eastward towards the Embarcadero and Bay Bridge. So many buildings are outlined with strings of white light and sit like presents under the shadow of sunset. The smells of noodles, roast duck and tea are everywhere and a gentleman playing the Erhu, a cross between a violin and croquet mallet, sits near the steps of St. Mary's. Delicate Asian music fills the air but a small donation brings us a rousing round of Yankee Doodle and smiles all around. Laughter is the real universal language; no wonder Esperanto and the metric system never caught on here.

Cross Broadway and a new world opens up…North Beach. The barkers now stand in front of countless small intimate eateries extolling the virtues of veal breasts and I am reminded that HERE is where the real Summer of Love continues, day in, day out. We're tempted by bruschetta dripping with olive oil and garlic, and then buy some cannoli for breakfast on Sunday. We pass by people wrapped in everything from party dress to dreadlocks, each with that inquisitive look that bespeaks a wondrous childlike anticipation;  to me, this is the soul of Christmas. The Commandant of the Valet is giving last-minute instructions to the cadre of young car attendants in front of Bimbo's…something BIG is happening tonight. Across the street at the old Skipper Kent's hangs a sign that has us rolling…Kennedy's Irish Pub and Curry House. The restrooms at Café Pescatore provide recorded Italian lessons and everyone is tested as they return to our dinner table. This mixed marriage of cultures to the comedic, likely and unlikely, makes San Francisco like no other place on earth: You will find no better gift under any tree or for any price... And all it will cost you is a little time.

As you raise your glass, raise your gaze and look into the eyes of strangers, the windows of buildings, the reflections of souls. You will see the warm spirits of Christmas and the cold ghosts of your past.

Currently listening : Octave of the Holy Innocents By Jonas Hellborg Release date: 26 December, 2003

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How Goth are You?
Current mood: nauseated

I killed the idiot who made up the above-titled  questionaire  and then fed their eyeballs to my cat! Is THAT Goth enough for ya?

Now for some real conversational gems:

Currently reading : Death on the Installment Plan By Louis Celine Release date: June, 1971

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Only in America
Current mood: groggy

We bit the bullet, braved the crowds and were rewarded for our efforts.
For those of you who slept in on Thanksgiving morning, click

Currently listening : Join the Parade By Marc Cohn Release date: 09 October, 2007

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A shrimper on the BarBee
Current mood: nauseated

Australian cuisine and politics may have hit a new low as soon-to-be PM is caught having a "Spaulding" moment  click

Currently watching : Caddyshack Release date: 03 June, 2003

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Bad House
Current mood: amused

Well, Shortcake has me chained to the crystal punch bowl filled with candy bars and instruction to allow only one handful per trick-or-treater until she comes home to take over the chore, adorned in her witch's costume. Damn Yankees take this holiday more seriously than a heart attack, the greatest fear being that one's home is regarded as a "bad house." If it were up to me, I'd can the lights, hang up a stuffed body with a face made from a pound of ground round and leave bits of raw liver to pick from a plastic pumpkin. Then I'd put on some old sci-fi horror flicks from the 50's that scared the hell out of me as a kid…Beginning of the End, Them, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, War of the Worlds, the list is endless. But nooooo…we have to be a "good house not a "bad house!"

Does anyone else recall this terminology whose antithetical forces seem solely based on some age-old chocolate coefficients and sugar ratios?

Any scary stories or are they hiding for dear life in the haunted house of your subconscious, surrounded by a sea of booo's?

Well…time to run. Soon, the little munchkins will be knocking on our door dressed in their latest fantasy or worse, someone else's. Who knows what these little pirates, princesses and ninjas will grow up to be or what will shape their educational and life experiences. I do know one thing...I'd be a lot less scared if the most popular costumes were Albert Einstein, Oprah Winfrey and the Dalai Lama.

Currently listening : Out of the Cellar By Ratt Release date: 25 October, 1990

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I was only Not following orders
Current mood: scared

WASHINGTON - The Air Force said Friday it would punish 70 airmen involved in the accidental, cross-country flight of a nuclear-armed B-52 bomber following an investigation that found widespread disregard for the rules on handling such munitions.

"There has been an erosion of adherence to weapons-handling standards at Minot Air Force Base and Barksdale Air Force Base," said Maj. Gen. Richard Newton, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations.

Newton was announcing the results of a six-week probe into the Aug. 29-30 incident in which the B-52 was inadvertently armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown from Minot in North Dakota to Barksdale in Louisiana without anyone noticing the mistake for more than a day.

The missiles were supposed to be taken to Louisiana, but the warheads were supposed to have been removed beforehand.

A main reason for the error was that crews had decided not to follow a complex schedule under which the status of the missiles is tracked while they are disarmed, loaded, moved and so on, one official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

The airmen replaced the schedule with their own "informal" system, he said, though he didn't say why they did that nor how long they had been doing it their own way.

Currently reading : Seven days in May By Fletcher Knebel Release date: 1963

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Kiss that hollow ass goodbye!
Current mood: pissed off

"Stepping up his rhetoric, Bush said click to hear a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a "dangerous threat to world peace." "We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel," he said. "So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."..

Currently listening : Appetite for Destruction By Guns N’ Roses Release date: 25 October, 1990

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What I’d Pay Big Bucks to See...
Current mood: infuriated

Maureen Dowd choking this bimbo click  with her naked thighs in a tub of green Jell-o!

Now THIS would make me perfected...

Currently listening : Def, Dumb & Blonde By Debbie Harry Release date: 12 July, 2005

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I’ll burn in hell
Current mood: embarrassed

I lied and joined an alumni association of a high school I never attended. Sure wish I could feel proud like Cameron Crowe and make some megabucks off the deal but truth be known...I did it to help an aquaintance find a cheerleader from 1960 with big tits. What can I say...it's the romantic in me. I mean, check out this posting and tell me you wouldn't do the same for someone you hardly knew.

Clcik

So now I have a batery of questions to answer...right after I get a life!

Answering the following questions is voluntary.  If you do answer them,
please e-mail them to one of the moderators or post them to the group
and we will add your answrers to our bio "files".  Thanks


1.  What years did you attend George Washington High?

2.  What name were you known by back then (nickname, single name etc)?

3.  Has there been any important lifestyle changes in the intervening
years,
    that you want to share with us? (partner, kids, moved from SF,
anything
    else?)

4.  Who was your favorite/worse teacher in high school?

5.  What is your favorite Wash related memory?

6.  Who did you hang out with at Wash (and where did you hang?)

7.  What was your funniest moment during your years at GWHS?

8.  Are there any special accomplishments you want to share with us?

9.  Is there any business, group or issue you are involved with, that
you think
    we should know about?

10.  Is there a web page you are associated with that we should know
about?

11.  What's your favorite web page?

12. What else you would like to share with us?

13. What is this list of questions missing?

Currently listening : School’s Out and Other Hits By Alice Cooper Release date: 14 September, 2004

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