rerlin's blog

Yesterday I drove down towards the Dumbarton bridge, and went hiking on the salt marshes. The Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge, to be exact! I learned how the water in the salt pans was green, yellow, or red tinged based on where they were during the salt process.I really like the salt crystal formations found on the rocks. There were all kinds of birds out, although none of the grizzly bears and other animals that roamed during the 1800's.

Bloodsucking Fiends

I think my new favorite author find for the year has to be Christoper Moore. If you already like him, you should check out his site. I only wish his blog had an actual RSS feed!

He has, hands down, made me laugh out loud more than any other book, movie, or any other form of entertainment this year. Not just 'lol' but seriously laugh- waiting for a doctor's appointment, on BART, just wherever. I've gotten quick a few looks, but it was all worth it.

The other weekend I finished 'Bloodsucking Fiends' and his newest 'You Suck'. Both were entertaining, although the first was my favorite. It involves SF, vampires, and loads of references to goth culture (while I no longer dress like a goth, a piece of me will always identify.) He can make fun of goths in a way that is hilarious and yet not insulting. It's that, but so much more. I'm really looking forward to picking up my next book of his from the library!

You Suck: A Love Story

Recently I was reminded that A, having lived in the Bay Area for a year and a half, had not yet been to THE ROCK. I, having grown up here, kind of forget that it exists and avoid tourist traps like the plague- unless there's a good reason. And never having seen it was a good reason, plus I hadn't been there since I was a teenager (ancient history!)

So I picked up a couple of tickets for the Alcatraz Night Tour. First of all, if you ever feel inclined to check it out, be sure to go through the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy website :

Not only to support local parks, but also because the price is $31.50, as opposed to the 40 or 50 dollar tourist-only prices you can find on local tour websites.

We went on Sunday afternoon in the hopes of finding free parking. Note to the interested: even the meters on Embarcadero have a two hour limit on Sundays! Fortunately we found street parking up by Coit Tower, which was well worth the small hike as the local lots were $12-20 just to park (yikes).

We took off on the boat close to 5pm, and had a nice view of the Bay & GG bridges. They do a scenic loop around the island so you can take all kinds of photos.

The tour itself was self-guided. This was fine with me because even in December, on a random Sunday evening there were 300 people on the boat! I shudder to think what it would be like in July!

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At any rate, the audio tour takes you through all of the cells and some of the common rooms. It gives you loads of history, and regales you with escape attempts and famous prisoner stories- which I enjoyed. It was, dare I say it, educational. I had never heard about the Indian occupation of the island for 19 months before it was made a national park- for example.

I chose the Night Tour after reading that it was supposed to be extra cool/spooky. And you know, it wasn't. But that's ok. The night view of downtown SF was spectacular. It was cold, and perfectly clear- and the downtown buildings are lit up for the holidays. I think the biggest difference between the night and day tours are the view. Of course if you hit a foggy day that would totally bite, but otherwise, equally good.

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Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art

Gene Wilder

Recently I read Gene Wilder's autobiography, "Kiss Me Like a Stranger". I thought he was an interesting person and would have interesting, perhaps even funny things to say about his life. And while you do learn a lot about his past, none of it is really that interesting or funny.

In fact, the thing that stands out most are his insults to people he has worked with, and personal remarks about his family. He's obviously had enough therapy to make these statements in the name of TRUTH. However, he obviously doesn't seem to see the need to self-censor when it comes to saying really callous things.

I don't need to know that he wasn't attracted to his first wife, or that he thinks her taking her allocated alimony payment 'as an offense to women.' I wonder why he needs to make so many remarks about the weight of his step-daughter. And I really didn't need to know that Gilda Radner didn't offer to 'relieve him by hand or mouth' while she was sick and undergoing chemo! Whatever, dude- am I supposed to feel sorry for you?

Basically he comes off as a jerk. OK, we see he may have learned a few things over time, but this book didn't make me like him. In fact I wish I could go back to thinking of him in his movie roles (except for 'Willy Wonka' which gave me the creeps) and not know what he was thinking.

What is the best present you have ever given?
Submitted by quornflour.

As others have said, I have to rate this by the reaction I got from the recipient. That being said, here is Al's b-day gift this year:

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We had a really wonderful Thanksgiving, and certainly have a lot to be thankful for. So much happened, it's hard to pinpoint what should be captured.

T-day itself went off without a hitch. It started with a car full of parents all giving me directions on where to go and how to do it- in concert. The mashed potatoes did indeed serve 24 people, and seemed to go over well. We met the crazy old father of a distant cousin who regaled us with stories of graduating from school in the '40s. I guess everyone in his class is already dead- who knew? Seriously though, after getting everyone settled and seated it was actually really nice to spend time with the multitudes of cousins.

I made pizza for movie night, which was fun. I had a friend come over for 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and to be a pizza guinea pig. The dough was better than I hoped (although it wasn't quite as good as the Boboli I bought as a back up). It was really fun (for me at least) to know that it was homemade all the way down to the cheese. Next year I'll make the sauce as well, and it'll really be complete.

I read several books! That deserves it's own post though.

I spent much quality time with all of our pets, something I don't do often enough. I can't even put a price on an hour spent with a rumbly happy kitten.

I framed and hung a bunch of art that we've collected on our travels. It's really nice to look up at our bedroom wall and see watercolors I bought in Florence, and the Mayan calendar for our anniversary date.

I would claim that I didn't touch the computer at all, but that would be a total lie! I took a break from blogging, and spent my time planning a revamp of Osiris's website. I can't believe we haven't updated since 2004- oops. I also took time to play with Dreamweaver, which was fun.

It's funny how fast the time went. I did a whole lot of whatever I wanted, and that was just great. I spent quality time with friends and family, and by myself as a bonus. Good times with an abundance of gratitude.