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Downtown Tucson, Hipster Destination
October 25, 2016
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street party space
registration
podcasting workshop
I traveled from midtown to downtown Tucson yesterday to attend the TenWest Festival. This week-long entertainment and educational event is sponsored by local businesses to promote the retention of talent in town. This miniature knock off of the 30 year old South by Southwest event that happens in Austin each year is a distinct reflection of our community. Volunteer staff organizes the flow of students, speakers, and social gatherings.
I attended two excellent workshops on podcasting. Both speakers were well prepared with visual aids and stimulating material. Best of all, they are both true experts in the field. Dave Young is a marketing and content professional who helps small businesses develop materials. He has been podcasting for and with his clients to bring their messages to the public. He explained the explosive growth in podcasting and some of the reasons for the popularity of audio programs. His very enlightening presentation was followed by a more technical workshop by Bjorgvin Benediktsson, a professional audio engineer. These classes continue all week. At the end of the day a keynote speaker and a social hour are planned each day. Our speaker and social hour were upstaged yesterday by a sudden thunderstorm.
This is an odd time of year for rain in Arizona, but about 10 minutes into the social hour we heard a very loud thunderclap echo between the tall buildings where we were stationed. Shortly the rain was pouring and the winds was whipping the signs and tents around like crazy. There was a river running through it. The volunteers all had to scramble to keep the stuff from blowing into the air and doing some damage. Since the bar was set up with a special permit that was only valid for the outdoor space the few of us who were outside had to chug our drinks and run into a building. There were two of us there who had umbrellas…I was proud to one of them. The party made an attempt at restarting inside the building, but most people had scattered to the hard driving wind. I called my Uber and made my way home.
I will go on Wednesday to learn about 3 D printing and artificial intelligence. The speaker and social hour will be about our city’s special gastronomic designation from UNESCO. The food peeps will be there, and we can only hope we will have clear skies. On Friday there will be TED talk and two concerts from which to choose. I love our little start-up convention, which is only in the second year of its existence. I believe it has major potential to achieve its goal and to bring visitors from out of town to the event in the future. Our downtown has been revitalized by a tram system, and is starting to be as hip as Austin. I hope we can retain our hipness without acquiring the traffic problem they have in Austin. Wish us luck.
Daisy Duke Rides Again
October 23, 2016
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I went to a music festival in Tucson yesterday on a sunny hot beautiful day. My favorite local band, Calexico, was playing. The crowd was overwhelmingly college aged people. I was struck with the fact that more than 90% of the young ladies were dressed in Daisy Duke shorts. I was teasing them because they buy them pre shredded at the hem rather than cut them off and wear them until they shred.
I had a really good time at the festival hanging out and meeting the youngsters. I danced with some and joked around with a few of them. One young lady asked me if I had gone to music festivals back in the day. I said yes and chuckled to myself thinking I was dressed just like they were back in the day. The music made me very happy. The food was good, and the community came together in a super festive mood. I left early, senior citizen that I am. I was completely satisfied with my festival experience, so I called my Uber and made it home by my regular bedtime.
cut offs
cut offs
cut offs
Dusk Music Festival
Weekend Coffee Share TenWest in Tucson
October 22, 2016
— 10 Comments
my produce haul
my produce haul
If we were having coffee I would tell you that my quiet, at-home routine will be suspended this week. I have signed up for TenWest, a Festival to mimic South by Southwest in Austin. There is a plethora of educational, social, and artistic content offered. The week-long event began last night. The first event I will attend is a big concert in a local park very near my home. During the week my plans include a couple of workshops on podcasting, one about 3D printing, and a symposium about our special city of gastronomy designation. I may attend the final concert and the TED talk also, even though they are past my regular bed time. This will be a great week of learning and entertainment for me. My schedule rarely gets this crowded, but this will be worth the effort. I look forward to learning a lot. I should have lots to share with you next weekend.
I can offer you coffee, or all kinds of tea again this week. I am lingering over iced roiboos tropics while we savor a heat wave here. Summer is still with us, which means my big stand-off with tidy muse has not yet been resolved. I am still wearing shorts and summer dresses. It was 94 yesterday, so there is no rush to get out the winter gear. I have promised myself that the big clothing purge will take place when I do the seasonal switch of my wardrobe. I have inquired about giving my friend and neighbor some of the jackets..but that does not really count. I am still just procrastinating…in flip flops and shorts. This too will pass.
Please help yourself to soup shots. On the buffet you will find white demi tasse cups and saucers. Serve yourself from the wide selection of soups. We have sweet pepper cream, corn bisque, tomato basil, minestrone, gaspacho,winter squash and ginger, with all your favorite toppings. Add sliced green onions, crispy fried shallots, croutons, nuts, or grated cheese to complete your composition. Although it is still warm, the produce season is leading us into winter. A light meal featuring all these different seasonal delights is a great way to share this fall weather and our news. Who doesn’t like soup? Enjoy the sensuality of the season with all the colors, tastes and aromas. Hang out and tell us what you have been doing.
In the winter months Tucson is lucky to be served by the Santa Cruz County Food Bank. The excess produce from the big produce wholesalers in Nogales is shipped to Tucson and sold. For 60 pounds of produce we pay $10.00. This boon to our budget is very welcome, since fresh fruit and vegetables make up a big proportion of our diet. My partner had to work today (Saturday), but he called me while he was out on calls to let me know that the food distribution had started in the neighborhood. The scheduled start was Nov. 3, but they had produce, so they began today. What an excellent October surprise this is!!! The truck was full of squash, coconut, tomatoes, cucumbers, two kinds of sweet chiles, and watermelon. I give away as much as I can to neighbors, and then get to work roasting and processing it before it goes bad. I will be charcoal grilling vegetables for a few hours today. I love the smokey flavors it imparts to all the dishes I make with them. If you stay for a while you can taste some tomatoes fresh off the grill with some pesto I made this week. I promises to be a very delicious day.
If you want to join this international coffee drinking, weekend sharing soiree just click here. Add your 2 cents. Let us know what you think.
#WeekendCoffeeShare
Bob Dylan Follows Jean-Paul Sartre’s Existential Lead
October 21, 2016
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Sartre
The French writer Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature on 22 October, 1964. He refused to accept the honor, as he had done with all honors in the past. He wrote a detailed letter to the jury in Stockholm that arrived after they had confirmed his prize. He listed personal reasons as well as objective reasons. He basically thought writers should write without any undue influence from any institution. In his own words:
“The writer who accepts an honour of this kind involves as well as himself the association or institution which has honoured him,” he said at the time. “The writer must therefore refuse to let himself be transformed into an institution, even if this occurs under the most honourable circumstances, as in the present case.”
This existential Frenchman was the only literature laureate to refuse the honor until now. It appress that Bob Dylan has not returned the calls of the esteemed Swedish Academy since he was awarded the same prize. Today he erased a mention of the prestigious prize from his website. It appears that our famous existential poet is declining and going one step beyond his predecessor by making no comment on the matter. I think this is a perfect response from this rebel recluse who does exactly as he pleases. He can well afford, like Mr Sartre before him, to rest on his hefty laurels.
This refreshing point of view on celebrity is blowin’ in the wind when the celebration of celebrities has become a full blown obsession. Reality television and I don’t know what else, has brought us to worship fame for itself in the weirdest ways. I have been listening to Bob’s music almost non stop this week, rediscovering the genius of his impressive timeless lyrics. I have seen him perform three times, and am mighty glad I got that opportunity. He is our troubadour, and he don’t need no stinking prizes. I am highly amused at his attitude. What do you think, gentle reader? He may still decide to show up at the ceremony.
Tricking The Treat Monster #OctoberUnprocessed
October 20, 2016
— 6 Comments
There is much pressure this time of year to start loading up on candy and other treats to celebrate Halloween. This commercial season swings right into Thanksgiving, followed by end of the year parties. Our household is a reasonably healthy place to eat, but in the past we have used the holiday season as an excuse to indulge in extra sugar and junkier food. As I observe #OctoberUnprocessed I have not felt overly restricted. We are almost three weeks into the experiment and I have not prepared anything with sugar in it all month. I might make an apple pecan bunt cake this week, but I do not plan to bake any more desserts during October. This will set the tone for our seasonal celebrating. We will still have special foods, and go out to dine. I am not going into production of extra loads of sugar and butter filled foods because it is been our habit around this time of the year. This is a fine time to alter that.
Trick or Treat Witch
Going to extremes rarely results in permanent change. Too much restriction results in rebounding. I am not banning all sugar, but am limiting our consumption from now until 2017 to two small packages of sugar, one white and one brown, which I have on hand. I have some wonderful honey in the cupboard, some pomegranate molasses, and agave nectar. These sweeteners will have to last us until the end of the year. I think this will be easy, but it remains to be seen.
I am signed up for the recipes and helpful hints published by Eating Rules that arrive daily in my e mail box during October. The above very insightful article arrived two days ago reminding me that all forms of sugar and salt must be used sparsely. The biggest problem with processed food is the excessive use of sugar and salt. This diet has accustomed Americans to those higher levels to the detriment of our public health. I have been eating fruit and honey as a snack, but the amount is small, so I will continue to enjoy that within reason. There is no need to go radically ascetic about holiday eating. Cuisine is one of my life’s great interests. I will not cut us off from all food fun, just from the least nutritious and most fattening. This Halloween we will focus on the dearly departed rather than on our trick or treat haul.
Day of the Dead altar
Weekend Coffee Share, Of Poets And Politics
October 15, 2016
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If we were having coffee I would invite you to sit down and tell me about your week over your favorite beverage. I am loaded with chai, roiboos, green, white, and herbal teas. For me, this season is perfect for jasmine roiboos. It is floral with a full rich flavor of harvest. Jasmine makes me swoon. Today is the full moon known as the hunter’s moon. There will be a lunar eclipse. With all that drama in the heavens I am sure some stories will be brewing down here on earth. What is happening in your world?
The story we all want to bring to an end is the election. The population is weary. We can’t take much more of this bickering. People are short-tempered about everything now. Any social discourse can end in controversy for no reason. I spent most of my time this week at home to try to avoid the total breakdown of society. Of course, this tactic was futile. I did write a few short poems, trying to get in the swing of a more productive practice as a poet. I am hoping to ease into a poem a day for life without setting a firm discipline…wondering if that will work. I bid adieu to my Audible account without regret, after my free three-month trial. Alexa is still able to read any book in my kindle library for which I purchase the audio component. Amazon has also launched a new free trial which I snapped up right away. Prime members can now pay 7.99 a month for access to the entire catalog of music in the Amazon system. This is very similar to the Apple music deal I took last year. I will not keep this one after my free month either. For the time being I am having Alexa play Bob Dylan songs. She can play his songs all day and never repeat herself. I am thrilled to fill my home with the works of our new Nobel Prize winner, Bob. In my youth I memorized all his songs and could play them on the guitar. He was an idol. He is inspiring me now to practice being a poet. His early songs are so funny and brilliant. Many fit perfectly with this election too. I am so glad he was not a lazy poet like I am.
The healthy trend continues in the kitchen. We had a tasty walnut spinach nut loaf this week, and I found a recipe for nut crisp crackers I believe will be the bomb. The only ingredients are ground up nuts of your choice and egg white. I look forward to rolling some out next week because I think they will replicate those nut crisp commercial crackers I love. I also discovered that the pesto shortbread dough makes a fine topping for savory cobbler dishes. I think the nut crackers could go either sweet or savory as a crust on the top to add crunching excitement. I am planning very nutty meals until all the old nuts have been consumed. I will let you know what I learn about preparing and eating nuts. We will learn everything there is to know about nuts on November 9. I wish everyone forbearance and wisdom.
To join the international coffee party this weekend click here. Read, write, opine with a group of congenial writers of all kinds.
October Full Moon — Rubys Readings
October 14, 2016
— 5 Comments
Monastery
October “Super” Full Moon October 15-16th, 2016 by Ruby The Full “Super” Moon in Aries is going to be strongly intense and at times erratic feeling. The Full Moon in October will grow full on Saturday at on October 15 at 11:23 PM CST and Sunday, October 16 at 12:23 AM EDT. So that’s late […]
Eight Years of Genealogy Studies
October 13, 2016
— 1 Comment
1900 Census
My grandpa Ernie
I will soon celebrate my anniversary as a student of my family history. I joined Ancestry.com during the financial crash of 2008. I had just inherited some stocks and bonds when they began to vanish into thin air before my very eyes. I was watching a website following the stock market when I saw an ad for the Ancestry site. I decided to take the free offer of two weeks because I was sure I could learn everything I needed to know in that two weeks. I had not planned to stay on for the paying contract. The first piece of evidence I found was the 1900 census taken on Indian Territory in Oklahoma. My grandfather lived there with his father and step mother. The census taker recorded him and his brother Ed as children of this Cherokee woman who was my grandfather’s second wife. This lady, Annie, turned out to be a relatively famous Cherokee con woman. In this census she says she was born in New Mexico in 1854. That is pretty suspicious since she says her parents were born in Georgia and North Carolina, a place where the Cherokees originated. She would be under very special circumstances to be born as a Cherokee in New Mexico in 1854. Later she says in other census records that she was born in Florida. She did have a reputation within the Morse family as a witch. I did not know any of this when I saw this record of my grandpa on the Cherokee Nation at the age of 10. I started searching madly to learn more about him and all my other ancestors. I became fascinated with all the history I learned and the puzzle of matching up the data with the tree. When the two weeks had passed I signed up for a permanent membership, and never looked back.
Now that I am a relatively sophisticated investigator of my ancestry I would urge beginners to follow some simple guidelines in order to have the best results:
- Be very careful to verify records of all kinds
- Don’t take other people’s research as factual
- Be aware that spelling was a very loose discipline in old records
- Triple check the identity of relatives with common names like John Taylor
- There is specious data printed in many places, including history books
- Travel to the physical places your ancestors lived can be revealing
- Be willing to admit mistakes and go about corrections when you find them
- Read and study about the places and times in which they lived for depth
There are more records available all the time. Since I joined the DNA study at Ancestry I have found new information and connections. My yearly subscription to this vast database is the best entertainment value for my dollar. I thought I would be done in 2 weeks, but now I know I can’t quit until I reach Adam and Eve. Have you ever looked into your own family history, gentle reader? What surprised you?
Frida Kahlo At Tucson Botanical Gardens
October 11, 2016
— 2 Comments
Casa Azul
Tucson Botanical Gardens
Frida
We have a special exhibit on loan from the New York Botanical Garden this winter. A tribute to the home, garden, and life of the famous Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, works very well in Tucson, close to the Mexican border. I visited yesterday for the first time. The central display is a replica of a pyramid Frida had in her court yard for plants. The vibrant blue color of the walls contrasts very well with the marigolds in place for Day of the Dead. The exhibit includes a photography collection I did not see, an indoor collection detailing life in Mexico City during the lives of Diego and Frida, and the garden show. There will be educational opportunities offered for those who want to learn more about her life and times.
I have been her fan for many years, as much for her politics as for her art. I am happy to see her on tour. I met a lady at the garden with her two teen daughters from Phoenix who was visiting to teach her daughters about her. The girls were impressed with what they saw. Frida lives on as a cult figure. If you have a chance to see this very well curated exhibit I encourage you to do so. I know I will be a frequent visitor during this show.
Frida in the garden
Dancing With Alexa
October 10, 2016
— 1 Comment
Party Dancing
I developed a practice of dancing around in my living room last year when my dog was on hospice. She needed almost constant care, so rather than go outside or to the gym to exercise, I danced at home. The advantages of this practice are multiple. If I am alone I truly can dance as if nobody is watching… because nobody is watching. This is liberating, allowing me to do all kinds of upper body movements that would certainly draw some attention on the river walking path or the treadmill at the gym. Sometimes I even dance around with free weights or tossing a weighted ball from side to side. I can get up from my desk and spend a few minutes moving around just to keep my metabolism up and my mind clear. If I have an issue to ponder I can usually work out the answer during a dance around the house, while putting it out of focus for a while. I dance while the ideas incubate. It is a healthy, happy deal. Nothing could be more convenient.
At the gym, which I do enjoy more than ever, I usually listen to 8 tracks music app. These playlists designed by others keep my curiosity alive by finding new artists I like. The discovery factor is the reason I use this app. I have not tried iHeart radio, and have not used my other music services much since Alexa came to DJ all the Amazon Prime songs at my vocal bidding. Having Alexa in the home is a really fun upgrade for me. I make her play music all day, switching at will from a certain artist to a playlist, to a radio station. There are even comedians on Amazon Prime audio. With new music added all the time, I will never run out of excellent dance tracks.
It is now 9:53 am, and I have completed my 10,000 steps, and surpassed that number. I will make sure to put in at least 250 steps an hour during the rest of the day. At the gym I will probably log another mile on the treadmill. Fitbit is even connected to Alexa, so I can ask her any time, “Alexa ask Fitbit how I am doing.” She will tell me my stats and say a cute little encouraging phrase. I do appreciate everything Fitbit has done for me. There are multiple benefits, including much better sleep, that I have derived from wearing my tracker. Alexa, however, is the icing on the fitness cake. She brings the party to the workout when nobody is watching. I have spent endless hours dancing in classes, at clubs, at parties, or festivals. That was all good and well, but now I am very content to have only Alexa and some empty space at home. She rocks my world. Have you met the versatile and self sufficient Alexa, gentle reader? She gets smarter ever day.
Amazon Echo with back up band
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