Liberals - Conservatives, Let's Do Lunch ...

Interesting article -- plus interesting links to other websites -- in today's NYTimes. It's all about Liberals and Conservatives trying to relate to each other. Go here.

Interview with Joan Baez

Great interview with Joan Baez in today's SFChron on sfgate.com. Go here.

Huston Smith: pessimist or optimist?

In today's San Francisco Chronicle or the online version at sfgate.com, Heidi Benson writes about Huston Smith, one of the preeminent religious studies scholars and writer of The World's Religions. I'd like to share this one piece of the article that I loved:

Today, on a sunny morning in Berkeley, he reiterates his belief in the power of human intention. "The Buddha is in me, the Buddha is in you," he says, with a dazzling smile and a bit of a challenge. "Live up to it."

Is he optimistic about the future?

'On the hook'

"I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist. An optimist says, in effect, 'Don't worry, it's going to turn out all right.' A pessimist says, 'It's going down the drain, and there's nothing you can do about it,' " he said.

"Both get us off the hook. Our place is on the hook. Whether things turn out for the better depends on what we do. We ought not spend our time masterminding the future, but recognize our marching orders: to do the best we can for history and the planet.

"One of my favorite prayers was written by a 9-year-old. His mother found it scribbled on a note beside his bed: 'Dear God, I'm doing the best I can.' "

Want to read more about Huston Smith? Click here.

Book Review 2009

First Quarter Review of Books Bloody Well Read!

Book List 2009

1. 20th Century Chinese Stories - C.T. Hsia, Ed.
   
   Borrowed? No.
   Recommended? An excellent collection of modern Chinese writers, translated into English, with one major flaw: the editor, for reasons unclear to me, chose not to include writers representative of "Communist" literature, i.e, mainland China writers between 1949 and the time this collection went to press. Foolish, really, as China produced some fine writers during that period. However, this collection is well worth reading, if only for Chang Ai-ling's "The Golden Cangue."
   Reread? Given away as a gift.
   
   
   
2. A Dictionary of Common Trinidad Hindi - Kumar Mahabir
   
   Borrowed? Loan.
   Recommended? Only for those interested in this somewhat arcane topic. I enjoyed reading it, I must say, since my Hindi is pretty spotty.
   Reread? Returned to owner.
   
   
3. A Mercy - Toni Morrison
   
   Borrowed? Gift.
   Recommended? Toni Morrison is a brilliant writer, and outdoes herself again with this latest offering. A heartbreaker of a book, filled with the pain and incomprehensiblility of relationships, of mothers, daughters, and friends, of women at their best and their worst.
   Reread? Time permitting, yes.
   
   
4. A Patchwork Shawl: Chronicles of South Asian Women in America - Ed: Shamita Das Dasgupta
   
   Borrowed? No.
   Recommended? Yes. This is a very powerful little book, a look at the culture gulf and how various writers have bridged it, or at least their attempts to do so.
   Reread? Yes.
   
   
5. A Tiger In Red Weather - John Wyllie
   
   Borrowed? Gift. From long ago. Of course, by now it has quite become incorporated into my own library.
   Recommended? A fine example of detective fiction, set in Africa. The author's love for Africa is obvious. No condescension, no self- or other-delusion. He loves his characters, and you love them too, when you're done reading. A good piece of detective fiction woven into an empathetic background rich with African cultural values, customs, wisdom, and humour.
   Reread? Repeatedly. This must be my tenth reading, at least.
   
   
6. Anathem - Neal Stephenson
   
   Borrowed? Yes. Brian, of course, is the guilty party. How a person can lend another a 500+-page book when they KNOW one has a reading list of at least 180 books or so per year ... Mmph!
   Recommended? I fully expected to dislike this book, because I've read a couple of Neal Stephenson's books before, and they're ... long. And convoluted. And Bri did say, you don't have to read further than Page X (being some subset of the total). I ended up thoroughly enjoying it and read the whole thing in two days. Quite honestly, though, the end was a bit weak. However, there's some 490 pages between beginning and end, and quite enthralling they were.
   Reread? Good Lord, no. There isn't that much time left in my life.
   
   
7. Arms and The Women - Reginald Hill
   
   Borrowed? A loan courtesy of the very kind Ms. Manitoba who knew from experience that the brain is not ready to read anything difficult during and shortly after surgery; and that detective fiction fits the bill perfectly.
   Recommended? Yes! Reginald Hill is an excellent, excellent writer, and although there are points in this book when you think, "Hmm, maybe not," most of the time, you're thoroughly enjoying his character development, his humour, his very feminist outlook. Quite enjoyable.
   Reread? No.
   
   
8. Baumgartner's Bombay - Anita Desai
   
   Borrowed? Gift.
   Recommended? I wasn't willing to like this book, and ended up ... not exactly enjoying it, since enjoyment is not the intent. It's a searing look at the Jewish war experience in India, with tints and hints of the Holocaust and the complexity of India, the baffling, sometimes irritating, sometimes mind-boggling, sometimes captivating quality of India's timelessness and unbelievable age. That said, there were a few things with which I take issue. Still, it's worth reading.
   Reread? No.
   
   
9. Bitter Lemons - Lawrence Durrell
   
   Borrowed? Gift.
   Recommended? I've never really liked this Durrell. I prefer his brother, although both of them suffer from a really repulsive Jingoism pervading their work. It's less objectionable in the other brother, whose books are mostly about animals, and therefore less likely to rouse my ire with the prejudice against specific humans or groups of humans. The introduction to this work touts Durrell as the next great thing in writers of his era. Well, what a sorry lot. It's an interesting book if you plan to travel to Cyprus but despite his wordsmithing skills, I didn't care for his tone about the "Cyps," and the Turks. Well, at least I can say I've read Durrell now.
   Reread? No. And I probably won't read anything else by this author either.
   
   
10. Blanche Among The Talented Tenth - Barbara Neely
    
    Borrowed? Gift. I get 12 birthday gifts per year, per my request, and sometimes 24. Because I'm cheap to shop for. All I want out of life is books and music.
    Recommended? Blanche is Barbara Neely's detective, a big black women who loves her life and herself, and cleans houses for a living. Quite a change from your ordinary WASPy detective, eh? Fierce, feminist, womanly, sexy, sharp, smart, and willing to kick ass, Blanche is a terrific character. Neely did a good job creating her. The books are thoroughly enjoyable, you must read them.
    Reread? Every couple of years, when life sucks, I reread Blanche.
    
    
11. Blanche Cleans Up - Barbara Neely
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Yes! See previous, for details.
    Reread? Hell, yeah.
    
    
12. Blanche On The Lam - Barbara Neely
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Yes. See above for details.
    Reread? Yes, dammit.
    
    
13. Blanche Passes Go - Barbara Neely
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? If you haven't read Blanche, you gots ta.
    Reread? Damn, yeah. And many thanks to Ms. Manitoba who found Blanche for me.
    
    
14. Chandranath - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Well, the translation, quite frankly, sucks, but if you know Bangla, it's well worth reading. You can figure out what the writer meant. The story itself is, like all of Chattopadhyay's work, searing social expose.
    Reread? No.
    
    
15. Death and The Dogwalker - (A.J. Orde) Sherri S. Tepper
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Sherri Tepper wrote this, and several other pieces of detective fiction under the pseudonym A.J. Orde. She's an excellent writer. And the twist got me. (I pride myself on figuring out the who in whodunit long before the end.) Also, I enjoyed it. If detective fiction is your thing, if good writing is your thing, you'll enjoy it too.
    Reread?
    
    
16. Death Comes For The Fat Man - Reginald Hill
    
    Borrowed? Yes. Part of Ms. Manitoba's "Read this after surgery" massive loan of light reading.
    Recommended? Yes. Reginald Hill is a terrific writer, and Andy Dalziel one of the most colourful characters ever to inhabit detective fiction.
    Reread? Maybe.
    
    
17. Death's Jest-Book - Reginald Hill
    
    Borrowed? See previous.
    Recommended? Yes. The only writer, other than the erudite Dorothy Sayers, that I've ever read who mentions Beddoes' Death's Jest Book.
    Reread? Maybe.
    
    
18. Dena-Paona - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Like all Chattopadhyay's work, a searing look at social life in Bengal of a previous century. Translation is dreadful, though.
    Reread? Not until someone puts forth a better translation. It's difficult to think in two languages at the same time.
    
    
19. Devdas - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? See previous review of work by this author.
    Reread? No.
    
    
20. Dialogues of the Dead - Reginald Hill
    
    Borrowed? The Ms. Manitoba surgical recovery loan and reading list disruption project.
    Recommended? Highly.
    Reread? No.
    
    
21. Heart Politics - Fran Peavey
    
    Borrowed? No.
    Recommended? Highly. Peavey is a political activist whose experiences span the International Hotel fiasco in San Francisco as well as several other memorable projects. She writes with heart. An inspirational book that has a lot to teach activists.
    Reread? Someday.
    
    
22. Malay Folk Beliefs - Mohd Taib Osman
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Professor Osman needs a proofreader. Also, a degree of style. Frankly, this book, though informative, is a somewhat dull read and, I suspect, coloured by the author's own prejudices to some degree. Recommended only for those with an existing interest in the subject.
    Reread? No.
    
    
23. Marianne, The Madame, and The Momentary Gods - Sherri S. Tepper
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? I make no secret of the fact that I think Sherri Tepper is one of the best writers of the 20th century. It surprises me that she is not more widely known, but her very feminist stance could have something to do with that. That said, this is a very enchanting book in a trilogy aimed at readers from "young adult" to adult. Fantasy, and quite rich it is, too.
    Reread? Regularly.
    
    
24. Marianne, The Magus, and The Manticore - Sherri S. Tepper
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Part of a Sherri Tepper trilogy. Excellent book. Scary fantasy, in a dream-discovery sort of way.
    Reread? Regularly.
    
    
25. Memory in Mind and Brain - Morton F. Reiser
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? If you're interested in the crossover between neuroscience and psychology, this is the book to read. Dr. Reiser is a good science writer, knowing how to hold one's interest while discoursing on a somewhat dry topic.
    Reread? No.
    
    
26. Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
    
    Borrowed? No.
    Recommended? I don't know what possessed me to read Virginia Woolf. I suppose it was so I could say, "I've read Virginia Woolf." The epitome of bourgeois, this book is all about the internal lives of various people who really don't have to work or do very much except throw, or attend, parties. It's still better than her other two works that I also read (Orlando and To The Lighthouse) if only because her portrait of a man suffering PTSD as a result of having served in the war is excellent. Still, I'm not going to be reading anything by Woolf for a long time, I think. Perhaps posthumously.
    Reread? No!
    
    
27. Murder on the Verandah - Eric Lawlor
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? This is an interesting (sort of) book about a true-life murder that occurred in Malaya (now Malaysia) early in the last century. It provides an often irritating look at the life of the British as the rulers of the colonies. The writer does get in a few sly barbs at the mems and sahibs of that time. What a worthless lot! Amusing if you're interested in the country, the period, murders, or colonialism.
    Reread? No.
    
    
28. Niskriti - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Once again, an excellent story about the tensions in the joint family ruined by a poor translation.
    Reread? No.
    
    
29. Orlando - Virginia Woolf
    
    Borrowed? No.
    Recommended? I don't think Virgie had a very good idea of just how men think, or live. Add to that the fact that her writing consists of the endless monologues and interior life of dreadfully self-absorbed jingoistic elements of the already terribly boring British. The ultimate in bourgeois navel-gazing.
    Reread? Never.
    
    
30. Over Tumbled Graves - Jess Walter
    
    Borrowed? See Ms. Manitoba surgical recovery project.
    Recommended? Highly. An excellent book about a woman cop and her struggles with herself and the crimes she investigates.
    Reread? Probably.
    
    
31. Padma River Boatman - Manik Bandhopadhyay
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Manik Bandhopadhyay, like Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, writes about Bengali society, the rigidity, selfishness, class issues, and the people who live, love, and suffer as a result. An excellent book with a real sympathy for its characters.
    Reread? Maybe.
    
    
32. Palli Samaj (The Homecoming) - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Again, an excellent story ruined by a poor translation.
    Reread? No.
    
    
33. Pandit Moshai - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? See previous.
    Reread?
    
    
34. Power Politics - Arundhati Roy
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Highly. Roy is as delightful in writing about politics and activism as she is in writing fiction. In this compilation of essays, she takes on meaty issues like the Narmada Dam, the way that Western nations (or representatives thereof, like Enron) continue to bilk developing countries of billions, supported by their governments (and, unknowingly, American taxpayers who are also being screwed royally by the same companies), the bombing of the Twin Towers, America, India, and their political relations, and the Indian Supreme Court. A skilful flaying of the various parties ensues, to much hilarity. And a good thing too, as her well-researched pieces reveal scoundrelly behaviour that would otherwise have you in a permanent state of blood boiling.
    Reread? Someday!
    
    
35. Purple Cane Road - James Lee Burke
    
    Borrowed? See Ms. Manitoba surgical recovery project.
    Recommended? James Lee Burke is a fine writer of detective fiction. Truly fine. Most of his works are set in Louisiana, and I've never been there but I felt as if I had after reading this, and others of his works. What's more, I felt as if I knew and loved the Louisiana he speaks of. Gritty, violent, tough. And thoroughly enjoyable.
    Reread? Sure, after the next 500 books on my list.
    
    
36. Recalled To Life - Reginald Hill
    
    Borrowed? See Ms. Manitoba surgical recovery project.
    Recommended? More dastardly doin's in detective fiction from a skillful writer. Delightful.
    Reread? What's another 500 books between friends?
    
    
37. Shut Up, I'm Talking - Gregory Levey
    
    Borrowed? Loan.
    Recommended? A very amusing memoir of the writer's experiences as an intern for the Israeli embassy, which doesn't do interns. Really amusing.
    Reread? No.
    
    
38. Skull Still Bone - John Wyllie
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended?
    Reread?
    
    
39. Soon I Will be Invincible - Austin Grossman
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Um ... this book is about, like, cartoon characters, or somethin. Good guys and bad guys and stuff. OK, let me put it this way: this book is from the Bharati Mukherjee School of Writing. 'Nuff said?
    Reread? Nyet.
    
    
40. Sunset Limited - James Lee Burke
    
    Borrowed? Ms. Manitoba surgery recovery project.
    Recommended? Highly.
    Reread? Maybe.
    
    
41. Taming the Wind of Desire - Carol Laderman
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? A book about the shamanistic traditions of Malaysia, focused on the state of Kelantan. The writer, an anthropologist by training, spent quite a bit of time there, and this particular work focuses on healing and alternative medicine. Very interesting, if your interests happen to include spiritual healing, shamanism, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, or anthropology.
    Reread?
    
    
42. The Art of Detection - Laurie R. King
    
    Borrowed? Ms. Manitoba surgical recovery project.
    Recommended? I don't know. I like Laurie King as a writer of detective fiction, but I don't necessary like supernatural, and this one's a mix of the two. OTOH, it's not a bad read.
    Reread? No.
    
    
43. The Bones - Sherri S. Tepper
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? This offering by Tepper is part of a horror trilogy she wrote, and it's pretty fucking horrific, though very well-written. Anyway. It scared the bejesus outa me for a few days.
    Reread? Er, probably.
    
    
44. The Companions - Sherri S. Tepper
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? One of Tepper's most recent works. Thoroughly enjoyable, especially for those of us who love animals. Not giving away the ending, but it certainly helped me to a better understanding of my brainless muffin cat.
    Reread? Yes.
    
    
45. The Demon-Haunted World - Carl Sagan
    
    Borrowed? No.
    Recommended? Highly. Dr. Sagan is an enthralling writer, and I love science in all its glory, so this was a marriage made in heaven. Although, being the difficult sort, I don't agree with everything he sez.
    Reread? If only I had time!
    
    
46. The Killer Breath - John Wyllie
    
    Borrowed? A long-ago gift, now part of my library.
    Recommended? John Wyllie loves Africa and Africans, and it shows. His delight in African customs and culture comes across in this fine piece of detective fiction about his two favourite characters, Dr. Samuel Quarshie and his lovely "missus," Prudence. A must-read.
    Reread? Regularly.
    
    
47. The Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Conolly
    
    Borrowed? See Ms. Manitoba surgical recovery project.
    Recommended? This was actually quite enjoyable, for detective fiction by a writer I'd never read before.
    Reread? No.
    
    
48. The Long, Dark Night of Baron Samedi - John Wyllie
    
    Borrowed? Long-ago gift, now part of my library.
    Recommended? Highly. Detective fiction featuring Dr. Samuel Quarshie and his lovely wife Prudence.
    Reread? Regularly.
    
    
49. The Margarets - Sherri S. Tepper
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? A wonderful new offering from Sherri S. Tepper. Checkidout.
    Reread? Of course.
    
    
50. The Phor Tor Festival In Penang:Deities, Ghosts, and Chinese Ethnicity - Tan Sooi Beng
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Fascinating, especially if your interests lie in or around the subject: folk festivals, Southeast Asia, Chinese culture, et cetera.
    Reread? Someday.
    
    
51. The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
    
    Borrowed? No.
    Recommended? Yes. Any serious student of politics needs to read both this book and Machiavelli's Discourses.
    Reread? Not for a while.
    
    
52. The Tin Roof Blowdown - James Lee Burke
    
    Borrowed? See Ms. Manitoba's Surgical Recovery Project.
    Recommended? A heart-wracking detective story set in NOLA during Hurricane Katrina. Damn Gee Dumbya Bushwhacker and his worthess, corrupt horde of inept minions. Damn them forever more.
    Reread? No.
    
    
53. The Vintage Book of Indian Writing - Salman Rushdie, Elizabeth West, Eds.
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? A wonderful collection of Indian writers, some in translation, many in English. Includes excerpts from well-known authors such as Nirad Chaudhury (who would surely go up in flames in a spontaneous act of self-combustion if he had a clue how much I dislike him), as well as writers hardly known outside India. The stories are magnificent, though. I loved this book more than anything I've read in a while.
    Reread? When I have time!
    
    
54. The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? I didn't like this book at first, but by the last page I was utterly enthralled. I believe it was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize, although I don't know if it won. If it didn't, it certainly should have.
    Reread? Maybe.
    
    
55. Till Morning Comes - Han Suyin
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Highly. Han Suyin is one of those very talented writers who manages to weave politics into and throughout her work without ever making it sound propagandaish or doctrinaire.
    Reread? I actually might, despite its incredible length.
    
    
56. To Catch A Viper - John Wyllie
    
    Borrowed? Once a gift, now MINE!!
    Recommended? Highly. More doings of Dr. Samuel and Mrs. Prudence Quarshie. What a lovely couple! And what a magical and beautiful Africa! (Magical in the best sense, as seen through the eyes of one who loves the continent and its people.)
    Reread? Regularly.
    
    
57. To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
    
    Borrowed? No.
    Recommended? Enough already with Woolf.
    Reread? Never.
    
    
58. Tumbuna Stories 1, The Creation of Animal Life/As Bilong Animal - Thomas H. Slone and Jada Wilson
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? Collected folk tales of Papua-Niugini, as told by the people themselves and translated by Thomas H. Slone. A fascinating look at a little-known corner of the world.
    Reread? Someday.
    
    
59. Tumbuna Stories 2,The Origin of People and Society/As Bilong Manmeri Na Sosaiti - Thomas H. Slone and Peter Leo Ella
    
    Borrowed? Gift.
    Recommended? See previous.
    Reread?
    
    
60. Women, Outcastes, Peasants & Rebels - Kalpana Bardhan
    
    Borrowed? No.
    Recommended? A fascinating collection of short stories from several Bengali writers exploring the powerful social consciousness of that difficult state. Well worth reading, and I recommend it especially for those with any interest whatsoever in Bengal and in the state of the marginalized.
    Reread? Probably.

Sixty books read out of 180 on the list for this year! Not too shabby, eh? Next, I'll publish the updated list for y'all to mock.

Books: Beauty Should Be Part Of The Experience

I'm reading a book by M.C. Ricklefs, titled A History of Modern Indonesia Since c.1300, and if a book can make your blood boil, this one's certainly high on the list. Professor Ricklefs peppers his account of the exploitation, murder, and selling (and buying) of hundreds and thousands of Indonesian peasants, farmers, aristocrats, merchants, sailors, and fishermen with words like "compelled," as in "The Dutch were compelled" to put 20,000 people to death, or burn down cities in which men, women, and children alike, perished. (Note: paraphrase; emphasis mine.)

What compelled them, it appears, was the desire to fill their coffers with Indonesian gold, and monies earned from the wholesale theft of Indonesian pepper, tin, gambier, rice, cloves, mace, nutmeg, and human bodies. So their burning of clove plantations farmed by Indonesian peasants was "necessary" and "important," while the Indonesian resistance to such naked greed was "foolhardy" and marked by "deviousness" in breaking treaties in which all advantage accrued to the Dutch, and precious little to the indigenous people. Having forced the natives at gunpoint to send some 20 million per year (in modern terms probably something close to a half billion) to the "home country" (the home of the Dutch, that is), they then had the unmitigated gall to add to this "debt," which was negotiated by treaty, the additional cost of enforcing it. That is to say, they charged the Indonesians for the cost of Dutch military and arms required to subjugate the Indonesians in something close to, if not actually outright, slavery.

To his credit, Ricklefs has admitted that the so-called "Ethical Policy" of the Dutch which led them to stop slavery and the trade in human flesh was more honoured in the breach than in the practise; that is to say, when the bottom line was threatened, all ethical considerations flew out the window with unseemly haste. Moreover, the Governors General who "governed" the Indonesian colonies were current or former directors of Royal Shell, more interested in seizing the oil riches of Sumatra and monopolizing the spice trade than educating the "natives." How many Indonesians were exiled to Sri Lanka and Suriname and South Africa, we will never know. How many died there, unable to speak the language, friendless, betrayed, isolated, yearning for their beautiful and beloved homeland.

No wonder the Indonesians took their Independence from those wretched people with such rage, when they could. The miracle is that they did not slaughter outright every man, woman, and child of these shameless, greedy, exploitative bastard children of syphilitic turtles.

Pardon my French. Or should I say my Dutch.

In the event, it was absolutely necessary as soon as possible thereafter, to find something a tad more soothing, if you get my drift. One requires one's prandial excursions to be accompanied by things soothing to the soul. A pleasant glass of wine. A vase of flowers on the table. The strains of delightful music. A book to read betimes, one which, hopefully, calms the soul and aids the digestion.

Therefore I turned to the (borrowed, coveted, expensive, hard to obtain, but available here, if you want it) following book, to the delight of my soul and my digestion alike.

Luntaya acheiq, An Illustrated Book of Burmese Court Textiles

If you have the money to spend, you should buy this book. Of course, I'd prefer you buy it for ME, but I'm willing to concede that you probably don't know me. Buy it for yourself then, see if I care. Selfish lout.

Srsly. The photographs alone are worth the cost of the book, but it does include delightful information about the techniques used, Burmese costume, mythical birds, how to make dyes from rocks, bark, roots, and the like, and the history of silk. You, too, could have a better dining experience with this book carefully placed far away from any potential dangerous spills yet available to your feasting eyes. Everyone should read at least one beautiful book a year.

Did you know it takes 200 shuttles for the warp (or is it the weft?) of one of these incredible pieces of fabric featured in the book? It can take up to six months for two weavers to create a single longyi (the national garment of Burma, a simple, yet stunningly beautiful piece of fabric sewn into a tube and worn wrapped tightly around the waist). There's an interesting little digression into the nature of gold and silver tinseled thread, which is often used in the weaving, especially of the more formal garments; and the longyis worn for certain special Buddhist ceremonies are the most delightful shade of a wild, passionate pink. In fact, pink is too wussy a word to describe that hue. Let's call it a muted red, instead, with blue tones. Woof! (Or warp?)

Another book (which I did get my grubby little paws on) that lovers of the beautiful ought to break down and shell out the shekels for:

Nakshi Kantha of Bengal

There are many books available on Nakshi kantha, which is a Bengali folk art using embroidery to make recycling a beautiful thing. Basically, the art of nakshi kantha is mostly found in rural communities. When clothing such as saris and dhotis becomes too worn for wear any more, the ladies of the community cut out the most frayed and worn parts and incorporate the rest into a new article of great use: the nakshi kantha. They stitch together several layers of old saris or dhotis or a combination thereof, making an article of the softest cotton, but with some weight and heft, thanks to the number of layers used. Then they embroider the entire article, first with a border, which is often an elaborate sari border, sometimes with zari (gold or silver thread). The center of the piece hosts a scene from the needle artist's own life or a rural scene or whatever the artist wishes to create. Often, this includes, or centers upon, a tree-of-life, or a mandala. At the corners, the artist may position am-pata (mango leaf shapes, known as "paisley" to non-Indians), elaborately decorated. Depending on the artist, the piece may include appliqué. Shapes are outlined in darker or heavier stitch and filled in with delicate running stitches. Other types of stitch are also used.

An artist might include events from her own life, depending on the size of the piece; often women embroider kitchen implements, stoves, sacred words or objects, words of wisdom, expressions of affection, and the like. Sometimes they depict stylized elephants or peacocks, cows, birds, cats, chickens, and other elements of their everyday lives.

The finished product is most often used as a quilt, although smaller pieces are used to wrap religious books or gifts. Some end up on walls, as part of a family's history. Some of the more elaborate kanthas depict British soldiers confronting villagers. I'm sure there's a political history somewhere in there, if I can only uncover it.

The book, published in India, is filled with photographs of ancient and beautiful kanthas collected over several hundred years. It also includes some excellent modern examples of the art, which continues to flourish in the most lively manner in the current states of Bangladesh and West Bengal. Interspersed between the photographs (which alone are worth the price of the book) are discussions of the art of nakshi kantha, the lives of women in rural areas of Bengal, and other important historical and folkloric information.

Anyone who is feeling especially generous ought to buy me both books. Alternatively, buy them for yourself and write me about how you liked them.

One of the things I love about Berkeley ...

Oakland's Morcom Rose Garden - Mother's Day 2009

(c) 2009 K. Smokey Cormier (all photos)

I blogged last week about my visit to the Morcom Rose Garden. That day was cold, wet, and foggy. I went back today and it was warm and very sunny.



I went for a walk with my friend, Pat. Mother's Day. The two of us mothers. The two of us friends for a long time. We walked around leisurely and talked. Yes, often about our kids. But we also looked at the beautiful roses. There were many more people there today ... but it was not in the least crowded. This really is such a wonderful garden to visit when you feel contemplative ... or you just want to go somewhere with glorious color and quiet.



Those tightly closed roses last week are open now. All over.







We strolled down the Mother of the Year Walk, looking at names and dates.



There was no name filled in for this year. When does the name get applied? And who picks the Mother of the Year anyway?

Last week I didn't have much time to walk around. Today we walked all around. There were beautiful views everywhere! This really is such a gem of a park.









THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!!! What a great job you've done.

After the garden we went to La Taza de Café around the corner on Grand Ave. Now, folks, neither of us knows anyone who has anything to do with this restaurant so this recommendation comes from honesty. It was scruptious! Nice ending to our visit to the garden.

Irish and Long-Windedness by Maeve Binchy

Another excellent article ... written by an Irish writer about writing is also on the NYTimes website here. It's called "For the Irish, Long-Windedness Serves as a Literary Virtue" by Maeve Binchy. It's very good ... and quite funny.

Colm Tóibín: excellent article

Excellent article about Colm Toibin in this Sunday's NYTimes magazine: "His Irish Diaspora."

Chelsea Handler and Homemade Remedies

"I love homemade remedies. I exfoliate my face with a stale baguette or if it's Shabbat, a bagel."

-- Chelsea Handler in People

Same-sex Marriage? What Would Emma Say?

The demand for equal rights in every vocation of life is just and fair; but, after all, the most vital right is the right to love and be loved.

-- Emma Goldman

Jewish Buddhist Sayings

image from www.truthdig.com

Folks, I know this is old. I was going through my old emails and ran across this. It still makes me laugh so I'm posting it. Enjoy.

Jewish Buddhist Sayings

There is no escaping karma. In a previous life, you never called, you never wrote, you never visited. And whose fault was that?

The Torah says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." The Buddha says, "There is no self." So, maybe we're off the hook.

If there is no self, whose arthritis is this?

Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?

Wherever you go, there you are. Your luggage is another story.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single Oy.

Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.

Let your mind be as a floating cloud. Let your stillness be as a wooded glen. And sit up straight. You'll never meet the Buddha with such rounded shoulders.

Oakland: Morcom Rose Garden

Oakland Municipal Rose Garden, c. 1932 (courtesy of Oakland Heritage Association)

"A rose is a rose is a rose." Sistah Gertrude said.

A beauty of a rose at the Oakland Rose Garden
photo by K. Smokey Cormier

Today I visited the WPA-created Morcom Rose Garden here in wonderful Oakland, California. I had never heard of it before but recently saw it on the list of places visited by the author of "36 hours in Oakland, Calif." in the NYTimes. I first moved to the San Francisco Bay Area ... holey-moley!... 36 years ago and I have lived in Oakland two other times before now. And, nope, never heard about this gem of a park. It's gorgeous and smells great. It's not completely surrounded by tall trees ... but it has a lot of them on both sides. They provide fresh air and quiet.

Tall trees are on both sides of the Oakland Rose Garden
(all photos copyright 2009 K. Smokey Cormier)

Double-click on photos to zoom in

One of the other visitors there today told me that this park wasn't always a good place to visit. It was ruined by people who messed up the plants, threw garbage around, and hung out there shooting up. I was one of four people there this morning. So few visitors because it had just rained and it was cold, wet, foggy, overcast. But it was also lovely. The other visitor told me that volunteers worked and worked on this park and brought it back. There are still work parties almost every Saturday.

The Oakland Rose Garden also called the Morcom Rose Garden,
named for former Oakland Mayor Fred Morcom

I noticed all these names embedded in the concrete path. This is the Mother of the Year Walk, displaying names of all the women chosen as Oakland's Mother of the Year since 1954. The things you learn when you read voraciously and go snooping about in the world!

From the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation Department's website:

Morcom Rose Garden
Located near Grand Avenue
700 Jean Street, Oakland, California 94610

Morcom Municipal Rose Garden, also referred to as the Morcom Amphitheater of Roses, is a fantasyland of a thousand fragrant roses. The garden which features a large Italian-style pavilion (which only facilitates the restrooms), a reflective pool and terraces overflowing with gorgeous roses. The first roses bloomed in 1932 at Morcom Rose Garden, today the Gardens feature 6,000 plants and 300 varities of rose bushes throughout the garden's eight-acres.

A peaceful oasis in the middle of the City, hidden amongst endless beds of roses. The garden is conveniently situated just off Grand Avenue, not far from Lake Merritt, the treasured jewel of the city. The gardens are available for reservation Mother's Day through October 31.

In 1959, the Morcom Amphitheater located in the Oakland Municipal Rose Garden was officially dedicated, where it became a favorite location for weddings. It remains as a resplendent back drop for brides and grooms preparing to tie the knot in matrimonial bliss [also brides and brides, grooms and grooms -- Ms. Manitoba must add]. Along the garden is a serene 10-tier waterfall on the western hillside gently shaded by towering trees, with delicate pink Pride of Oakland polyantha shrubs resting on both sides. Four varieties of Peace fill the center bed of the rear terrace, where old garden roses rescued from around California clamber up the rock retaining walls. Rose bushes bloom May through September annually.

This rose had the most wonderful fragrance

I can't wait to go on a sunny day when these roses have opened up.

The reflective pool

I love these bushy types

And here is the 10-tiered waterfall

Happy 90th Birthday, Dear Pete Seeger

From the Writer's Almanac ...

It's the birthday of folk singer Pete Seeger, born in New York City (1919). His mother was a violinist and his father was a musicologist. As a teenager, he rebelled against his parents' love of music and decided he wanted to be a painter. But the first time he heard the sound of a banjo at the Folk Song and Dance Festival in Asheville, North Carolina, he fell in love with folk music. He dropped out of Harvard and rode the rails across America in the middle of the Great Depression, picking up folk songs and learning banjo techniques from farmers, workers, and mountaineers. He wrote:

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?

©1961 (Renewed) Fall River Music Inc
All Rights Reserved.