Neptune Landing

      I'm wading through another big wave of depression that visits my life periodically. This is made no easier by the fact that the summer solstice is San Francisco's unofficial first day of winter; we may as well exist in the Southern Hemisphere. The cold windy fog is not what I find disagreeable, however, but that feeling of elemental otherness, how we're not in sync with the rest of the country or the rest of the world. Mild depression mirrors this contrarian stance. It deceives you into thinking that you are all alone on this spinning hunk of rock or that the rest of humanity has something good cooking and you're prohibited from entering the kitchen.       Part of this is having to hustle so much in this city and satisfy the needs of the base - or root -chakra (the one that has to do for survival). This is understandable to a certain degree but even though I feel like I'm not hurting financially (even thriving in some respects), I've been so caug...

      It's been a month since I last posted and for that I apologize. The pace of my life has picked up considerably in many areas. April was also a month of travel, ill health and astrological angst. Things happen so fast now; I don't whether it means I'm living a full life in rapid San Francisco or if all of our countrymen are being thrashed about on this wild ride in the spring of 2014 in the U.S.A. or at least feeling like they are being thrashed about.         A week ago, I picked up a fascinating page-turner at Aardvark Books called Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now   (New York: Penguin, 2013) by Douglas Rushkoff. It's about the collapse of narrative since the year 2000 and how art, literature, media and politics has moved far away from personality and emotions and biography to a more austere, scientific take on how systems work. It's a rather heady read. For instance, Rushkoff delves into explanations for pop-culture t...

During my most recent trip to Boston I was impressed by a sense of unity and purpose that pervades the city from a micro to a macro level. Sure, it's always been there, as part of a missionary zeal from the city's Puritan DNA, but it's become even more salient as the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings fast approaches. More recently, the city was again brought together when a Back Bay fire killed two Boston firefighters - one a family man and another a "Big Brother" who volunteered regularly at Shriners Hospital for Children, a center for pediatric burn care. In fact, when my mother picked me up from Logan last week, we got to witness hordes of firemen from all over the world walking around South Boston, getting ready to attend one of the funerals. It was well worth the wait in traffic to witness this culture of honor. Additionally, as a reporter in the city, I got to know some of the movers and shakers in the social justice realm, warriors i...

      Mendocino County lies three hours north of San Francisco on a rocky, moody coastline reminiscent of The Vacation State. In fact, the village of Mendocino (population 894) was settled by "Mainiacs" and other New Englanders who imported their logging skills to this small village and other Northern California towns. Looking at the architecture, it's hard to shake the image of Maine from your perception. The town is dotted with cute, clapboard homes in the mini-Victorian style.       Murder, She Wrote , that quintessential television series which starred Angela Lansbury and ran for 12 seasons, was filmed in the village of Mendocino but "took place" in the fictional Maine town of Cabot Cove. I tried to explain the premise of the series to Mauricio, who grew up in Chile. "Think of an even more eloquent Isobel from Downton Abbey tying together all the conspirators at the tail-end of a murder mystery each week and you have Murder, She Wrote, "I expl...

      Seattle, fittingly known as Emerald City, is enjoying its cultural moment right now. In the past month, the Seattle Seahawks have nabbed their first Superbowl title and gay-friendly, local (white) hip-hop artist Macklemore took home four Grammy awards including Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance. During the November 2012 election, Washington State voters approved Initiative 502 which would legalize the sale of recreational marijuana and pot shops are to be up and running sometime this year. After fourteen years, Microsoft has a new CEO with India-born Satya Nadella and local girl, Amanda Knox has gone from guilty to innocent to guilty in an Italian trial that has lasted longer than the building of Rome. Did we also mention that Seattle continues to be the home of high-performing Amazon, Boeing and Starbucks? As well as some of the most popular (and also wonderfully obscure) bands of the past twenty years? Think Nirvana, Death Cab...

     Journalists (and writers) in general are caught in an ethical bind. We have big mouths but recognize that some things must remain sacred. This curse of the loose lips has haunted California its whole life - how do you keep the stampedes from ruining the special qualities that you simply cannot help but advertise?   Looking east towards Sea Cliff       California is the Fleetwood Mac of U.S. states - a beautiful-sounding band that suffers from being overplayed on every major commercial radio station. Just refer to this Wikipedia collection listing the songs celebrating The Eureka State. It's gotten so bad that many native Californians flee for adjacent Oregon, Nevada or Arizona where they are not always welcome. This turf-and-tribe conundrum is not necessarily a western problem but a human one. It would be nice if the worldwide population could be kept in checked but are you going to let someone tell you how and when to reproduce, or Goddess f...

      Heeeeyyyy is for horses! And it's just this type of friendliness and exuberance that we should bring into the Chinese New Year of 2014 (starting on Friday, January 31 for western countries). As we emerge from the shy Snake year of 2013, it's high-flying time to put on our dancing shoes on Friday night and get down to "bizness" on Monday morning. You will generally have a renewed excitement towards any work projects, especially if they are in the arts or entertainment sector.       Freedom and travel are also big themes during a Horse Year. Luck, too, is all around.       Things to watch out for include ego inflation, foolhardiness and a lack of focus (starting too many projects and finishing none). Be careful about galloping over anyone's feelings. The redeeming quality is that the horse is inherently generous - just make sure you can deliver the goods along with the promises!       Here's a fun link from t...