Fireworks! Aboard the Matthew Turner

To celebrate the Fourth of July this year, I took a moonlight sail aboard the brigantine Matthew Turner, berthed near the Bay Model in Sausalito. The MT is an historic replica that teaches participants the ropes (literally) of sailing.

Introvert vs. ElectroPromo

Yes, I'm aware that's not a word, but it's my blanket term for what the publishing industry refers to when they expect writers to have a "platform". Broadly, this means frequent exposure on Facebook, a blog, twitter, TikTok, podcasts and other social media.

I just finished yet another Zoom class on promotion for creatives. I admit, I'm hoping for a silver bullet and not the same old dreary message about frequency, choosing the outlet that is the most "fun", building connections etc. It's just not me. I find all this difficult, time-consuming and annoying. Do other writers feel the same way? I'll bet JK Rowling never had to post inane comments on four media platforms every week. Of course, she, Geraldine Brooks, Stephen King and Isabel Allende - and other favorite writers of mine - got their start in the "golden age" of publishing, when a publisher actually promoted their books. I know Amy Tan keeps up a FB page, but I wonder: does she really write it or does she hire someone? Do other professions require this kind of continual self-exposure? 

OK, done carping, will get back to finding an agent for Power Lessons and hoping he/she doesn't expect a newsletter subscription list of 1,000 (minimum).

The Shirt has Found its Family!

In my prior post (Joanne Orion Miller: Strange and Wonderful Coincidences 1 (1woman1world1year.blogspot.com)) I told the story of a beautiful embroidered shirt my daughter found at the Dance Sister clothes swap, and how we stumbled upon the exact shirt in a book published in 1974. Thanks to LinkedIn, I found the son of the woman who made the shirt. He told me that the family home had been vandalized during the Covid years; the shirt must have been taken, used, and thrown away in Bernal Heights, where my friend found it during a walk. Michael and I are in touch, and soon the shirt will be winging its way back to its proper family.

Bold and Beautiful

Just to give you an idea of Wiley's scale...

Kihinde Wiley's paintings at the DeYoung ("The Archeology of Silence", until Oct. 15) are stunning, not just for the immense size of the works (sculptures included), but for the execution. He is a master painter and sculptor, and for that, the impact of his message is even stronger. The idea behind the paintings is to pose his models in classic settings (recalling renaissance works of figures wounded, dead, or struck down in iconic paintings of mythical heroes, martyrs and saints), but to show his modern black models as they are, right down to ankle bracelets and Adidas. The DeYoung frames the show in a political light, confronting the silence about systemic violence against Black people through art. Whatever your take-away from this show, see it. The impact of his work is indescribable and
must be seen to really be appreciated. 

 Detail from picture above

If Wiley's name rings a bell, it might be because he painted the presidential portrait of Barak Obama, which was on display at the museum recently, and is now home in the National Portrait Gallery, Washington D,C,

This sculpture is nearly as tall as a two-story building.

 Detail from Sculpture above

All pictures by Joanne Orion Miller 2023

Strange and Wonderful Coincidences 2

Joanna in 1974

 

Joanna Droeger - she of the fabulous embroidered shirt found half-buried in Bernal Heights (May 16 post) - was a well-known figure in hip circles during San Francisco's 60s-80s renaissance. More than a craft artist, she holds a place in San Francisco history as one of the City's famous and unique characters. With her husband, she operated a restaurant on Pacific Avenue, a hangout for William Saroyan, Janis Joplin, Lenny Bruce, the Smothers Brothers, Imogene Cunninham, Woody Allen and Mr. San Francisco himself, Herb Caen. 

A Chronicle "Night Life" column by Grover Sales paid tribute in 1962: "Among North Beach restaurateurs, Joanna is regarded as a gifted and highly creative cook; in ready agreement are the inhabitants of the Brighton Express, an eatery in the old International Settlement on Pacific near Kearny that is truly beyond category. Owned and most feverishly operated by egg-shaped Joanna and her 6-foot-6 husband John Droeger, the Brighton Express serves as dining room, orphanage and social clinic for a strictly non-tourist clientele of entertainers, artists, writers and unclassifiables who subsist on Joanna's Daily Special, topped off with one of her unbelievable hand-crafted desserts --usually a rhapsodic coffee ice cream and fudge delicacy misleadingly titled 'Mud Pie'."

Joanna Droeger died in 2004. My daughter and I love heirlooms; we hope to send the marvelous shirt Joanna embroidered to her children, Michael Droeger, and his sister Gillian Droeger (both in San Fracisco as of 2004), if we can locate them. Any leads to their whereabouts are welcome! You can reach me directly by signing in on my contact form to the right of this column; leave a message and I'll be in touch.

Strange and Wonderful Coincidences 1

Once a month, I go to a little event called "Dance Sister Dance", held outdoors in Corte Madera Park. A bunch of women gather to dance to an excellent playlist and peruse our personal clothing swap. This Mother's Day (as in every Mother's Day), women are encouraged to bring pix of their mothers and daughters, or the real thing. I brought my daughter; we danced, we picked up treasures. My daughter Nikki found an amazing hand-embroidered men's shirt, somewhat smelly and covered with spots of mildew. Another dancer, Ann Marie, told her she found it under a tree, partially buried, in Bernal Heights in San Francisco. What a life this shirt must have had!

Nikki was interested in the style of embroidery; the work was finer than anything seen nowadays, and completely done by hand with tiny stitches. She spent an hour on the net searching, with no luck. Then I remembered a book I bought in 1974 that I kept because it reminded me so much of that time. NATIVE FUNK AND FLASH (Alexandra Jacopetti and Jerry Wainwright) celebrated the handmade, the artistic, the wild wearables of the hippie era.

There, on page 96 and 97 was The Shirt modeled by the man it was made for, Alan Stelzner, father-in-law of the artist, Joanna Droeger:   

It's easy to see where Droeger's talent was developed. As a child, she learned to embroider in a convent school, then spent time in a Japanese internment camp. She's made very few pieces over the years, and only for very special people.

What she was best known for, though, is a piece of San Francisco history....to be continued in my next blog post!

Writers Strike!

 By now, most of us have heard about the Writer's Guild of America strike in Hollywood, all about the mind-freaking profits made by the streaming services like HBO, Netflix and Paramount and the dwindling pay of those who write the scripts. The streaming services have more deviltry in the works: hiring writers to write the initial scripts of a series, then using AI to write the rest.

This isn't a new problem, just a more public one. When I first started out as a writer, I was able to make a living with my travel books for Moon because I was able to negotiate an upfront payment against residuals. Also in the contract: the right to write future editions. After 2010, publishers figured they could save money by buying my words outright and hiring in-house staff to do the rewrites. No more contracts, no more residuals, no more long-term relationship. We refer to "the good old days" as pre-2010.

I've started a petition to present to the Writers Guild. Please sign it if you wish to support fair pay for fair work: https://chng.it/SFmdKyVZqb

A GEM of a restaurant: Lados

Eat, drink and enjoy

As a travel writer, I reviewed more than 500 restaurants, all over the world. I always looked for one type of place in particular. There's plenty of good food out there (bad, too; I never wrote reviews for those), but a place that met three criteria was golden: 1. locally owned, 2. amazing food, 3. decent prices. I found one, in the south bay. And believe me, you'd never know it was there unless someone told you about it.

LADOS (115 Plaza Dr, Sunnyvale, CA 94089, Lados Restaurant (ladosfood.com)) is a small Pakistani restaurant set in a residential neighborhood in Sunnyvale that's worth finding. You won't find slick decor here, but you will find a place filled with local folks and food that is made to order (yes, you'll wait a few minutes). Two vege samosas ($6.49) are huge and delicious. and the legendary Zinger burger (with fries, $14.99, which is actually fried chicken) is huge - easily enough for two. When I first pulled up to the place, I thought it was closed; the attached business space is for lease, and the door doesn't call a lot of attention to itself. Not many tiny, non-descript eateries get 4.4 stars at Yelp (Yelp review lados, sunnyvale - Search (bing.com), but this one deserves that and more. Nice people, too.

This Dream Interpreter is the BOMB!

Loathe as I am to promote anything AI, Jane Friedman (a fellow writer and writing coach) passed this along for fun. I'm hooked. The interpretations are so right on, informative and positive, I had to share it. Scroll down to see the interpretation after you type in your dream. Enjoy!

DrAIeam Interpreter 

   

A little reminder for all you cooks and writers out there.

  

Frankly, Ozzie is too old and tough to cook.

 

Hey Voters!

A little something to remind us that we all want the same things.

Tiny Town

                 Click on the picture above to see my video. Make sure to go full screen to see details.

Originally created by comic book artist Jimmie Robinson, the whimsical fairy houses of Washington Ave. have inspired others far and near to create their own tiny versions. 

A frequest guest in many of the diminutive homes is the Studio Ghibli favorite Totoro (from the animated film "My Neighbor Totoro")
Point Richmond is the western-most section of the city of Richmond, California, and is a world unto itself, populated by creatives and the people who appreciate them. You are humbly invited to believe in magic... 

The Perfect Blend of Art and Science

 

This video showcases a tiny sample of the things you'll see at the Explorarorium.

I've been a fan of the San Francisco Exploratorium for years. What a brilliant idea! Give artists an opportunity to illustrate principles of science - and do it in the form of play. I was able to get a look at the newest set of exhibits, GLOW, running through January of 2022 - light, color, and learning. Of course, all my favorites in the Tinkering section were there, especially Diesel Punk Pegasus.

Don't make the mistake of thinking the Exploratorium is just for kids and families. There are After Dark memberships for adults that are date night favorites. All the exhibits have an element of hand-on play, and there are dozens of them from the ephemeral to the biological. Don't miss it!

Kilauea is at it again!

 

 Photo courtesy of B. Carr USGS

 

For a superbtimelapse video from NPS, click here

 

The Halema'uma'u crater at the summit of Kilauea began spewing lava on Sept. 29 after a series of earthquakes. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park officials expect the eruption to be contained within the park, with no danger to homes or visitors. 

Officials cautioned that high levels of volcanic gas were the primary hazard of concern, noting that vog, or “volcanic smog” had already been observed downwind of Kilauea. Fanned by southerly winds, vog typically moves across the Ka‘u District, hitting first areas in south Hawaii like Pahala, Naalehu and Ocean View, before getting caught up in sea breezes that bring it toward West Hawaii and onshore.

NPS, Courtesy of Janice Wei

 

For some outstanding shots of previous eruptions (and even more inspiring shots of beautiful Hawaii) zip over to the Takaaze Art Gallery online.

 

 Photo courtesy of B. Carr USGS

Kona Overnight & the Big Aloha

A friendly welcome by the host was my introduction to the Surf Hideaway, a basic room with bed, bath and a galley kitchen. I loved that the door and floors had been painted with tropical leaves, and the place was spic and span. No AC, but a fan that made the humidity bearable. Definitely a place for people who are good at entertaining themselves: heavy readers, sleepers, late-night partiers (no TV! – a blessing, not a curse!) who can’t be bothered by cooking (considering the limited but carefully chosen kitchen goods) and TV tray table. A very cool place.

Kona was shockingly deserted, and the shops seemed to be hurting pretty badly.

Fortunately, the parrots weren't the least bit upset about this, as long as the seeds kept a'comin.

I made one more stab at a beach, and found the old airport park beach, which had a lot going for it. It’s big, with both lawn and sand (all facilities shut down, of course), and the requisite lava path to the sea. But the sunset was spectacular…

My flight was the next day at one, so I gassed up the Chevy (prices here 10 cents more a gallon than in Hilo). 

Made a stop at the local L&L (they MUST have one around here) for Katsu chicken (basically, three meals in a box for $9), which I had to leave in the Hideaway fridge. Cruised to the airport, got through all the rigamarole in no time at all, and enjoyed an uneventful flight back to SF, the airporter, and a pick-up by T. Thanks again T!

Is this, my 14^th trip to Hawaii, my last? Could be. I left my fins and snorkel gear for other guests at the Surf Hideaway. It feels like it’s time for the big Aloha…

The Road to Kona

I made the recommended stop at the Punaluu Bakery in Naalehu, famed for their Hawaiian Bread. I bought a couple of Malasadas (think dough bombs liberally coated with sugar) and coffee for breakfast. 

I should have listened to the counter girl when she told me they make all their baked goods with whole milk (“It’s what makes them soft”). Not a happy tummy down the road.

south coast parking solution

Determined to find one beach where I could access the water without shredding my sandals and feet (beaches here have a lava rock barrier of several feet out into the water), I turned down a few roads to the coast, only to find no parking at the smaller beaches.

Frustrated, I decided to go to church.

St. Benedict Roman Catholic Church in Honaounau is on the National Register of Historic Places. Known as “The Painted Church”, it was built between 1899 and 1904 by the Belgian Priest John Veighe. Since he spoke no Hawaiian, he built a miniature Gothic cathedral, painting the interior walls and ceiling himself as a teaching tool until he could learn the language to preach. 

The congregation, made up of families in economic transition, could relate to St. Benedict, a sort of “all-purpose” saint, patron to poison victims, agricultural workers, civil engineers, the dying, those afflicted with fever, those with gall stones, those with inflammatory diseases, those with kidney disease, members of religious orders, monks, schoolchildren, and spelunkers (cave explorers).

It's a pretty little church, easily explored in a few minutes. 

Joe's farm manager and tour guide

 

 

A little way down Painted Church Road is Joe’s Macadamia Farm, big macadamias at better-than-store prices and a free tour on request.

While your arteries harden at Punalu'u bakery, you can enjoy the gorgeous garden

I got a text that my stay in Kona was ready, so I made my way to the aptly named Surf Hideaway