Keep Oakland Weird

A perfect evening in Oakland is spontaneous, quirky, and fun.  Two weekends ago, we started our Friday night by attending an art show.  There were over 300 small pieces of art covering an entire gallery/warehouse space (Warehouse 416 ) in downtown Oakland.  The pieces ranged from the well crafted to unrefined raw talent.  The subject matter ranged significantly too, little monsters and big elephants, representational art, outsider art, graffiti art, pop culture referenced pieces, and of course Yosiell's Sicklings.  The list goes on!

A small smattering of the over 300 pieces!  Sickling's in the middle of the art madness.  

Another of Yosiell's pieces,Lydia the Woodland Orphan.  

Every perfect evening in Oakland should start with some form of art, whether it is a museum, a gallery, or just a closer inspection of one of the hundreds of murals in town.  Oakland is an artists mecca.  When I was a radio repair person in the Army, there were times I would poke around the radio and not realize there was an electrical short.  Inevitably, I would feel that microsecond of a tingle before being shocked.  The feeling was as if someone was tickling my whole body from the inside out.  Really, just a quick race of electricity around my nervous system before my body provided resistance to the real amperage, causing the all too familiar sensation of numbing and pain, and sometimes knocking me on my ass.

For Oakland, I feel as if the art scene is in that microsecond, the entire town is experiencing the pulse of electricity and the energy.  Strangers see just the danger, the crime, the difficulties of an urban center...many residents would say we are experiencing a renaissance, and some other residents would say the revolution is at hand.  I choose to see the changes as a renaissance of sorts.

After attending the warehouse art show, we opted for appetizers and beers at Drakes Dealership...what a diverse crowd, young old, every ethnicity, men, women, gay, straight, hipster, baby boomer, all enjoying a few handcrafted beers in this microbrewery.

Oakland nostalgia over one of our many outdoor beer patios.  (people from Oakland know this is in reference to our local small amusement park, Fairyland, a park many say Walt Disney patterned Disneyworld after).  

In anticipation of Frito Pie at Drake's.  

Cool space at Drake's.  

A quick stop at Double Standard, a new bar downtown.  Bartender and owner Ali, provided personable service to each customer.  Out of the blue, Ali asked us if we knew about the telephone pole gnomes nailed to many poles in Oakland.  Although I've known about these gnomes for a long time, recently I discovered that two of the gnomes were nailed to poles in our neighborhood.  Just another quirky Oakland affectation.  I've not heard of the identity of the guerrilla gnome artists adorning poles throughout our hamlet, but I am glad it is happening.

Random gnome sighting in my 'hood.  Who is this guerrilla gnome  artist?  

Pole number two of random gnome sighting in my 'hood.  

On the way back to the car, we stumbled upon a cider warehouse.  The warehouse was open for the first time for visitors to order ciders and enjoy some board games, Connect Four, Pick-up Sticks, a giant sized Jenga game, and a Cornhole game, to name but a few.  The cider companies name?  Crooked City Cider.  Dana, our hostess and owner/crafter, is the grand niece of bootleggers from the midwest.  Pardon the pun, but at least she comes to her Cider obsession "honestly".  Dana ensured our glasses were filled with two different types of cider...one a fresh crisp cider that went down too easily, the other a very hop filled version of cider that Rusty particularly enjoyed.

Intense connect Four competition, the competitors became friendlier after a few ciders.  

Barrels of the golden goodness.  

Waging a Pick-Up-Sticks war.  

We all left Crooked City Cider feeling as if we discovered something new and exciting in Oaktown!  The entire evening was charged with the feeling of potential, of beginnings, and of fresh new perspectives.  We are very fortunate that things are changing so quickly, we are able to be adventurers just by coming to downtown Oakland.

Fall has raced by and the holidays are upon us.  Halloween seemed to fly by with a vengeance.  Our mantle was decorated for maximum spookage...the yard followed suite.  We spent the evening handing out candy to the hundreds of trick or treaters, despite the large bags of candy purchased at a substantial price, we ran out way too early.

Spooky Halloween table decorations inviting the spirits in to our home. 

Our mantle...certainly setting the mood.  

After the annual extortion by the neighborhood kids, we went to Tyler and Matt's Halloween party.  The house was uber decorated with tons of cool touches...the food was excellent and the drinks were freely flowing.  For myself, because Matt and Tyler are a generation younger, I always feel like the crotchity old parent chaperoning the party, and passing judgement on the sexy fill-in-the-blank costumes the young, skinny, shaved guests were wearing...don't get me wrong, Matt and Tyler are impeccable hosts and work very hard to interact with all guests and attend to the needs of everyone...they are almost better hosts than we are...also, gentle reader, don't get the idea that I'm interested in going back to my late 20's self, that guy was filled with a ton of neurosis and self doubt, it's just an observation of generational party dynamics, almost like a Jane Goodall anthropological study.

Yosiell as the spooky death mask maker in the short lived series Carnivale! 

Rusty as a demure ballerina. 

Octopus man Tyler, I prefer to think of him as Hands Uber Alles.

Early in November, Rusty and I took a turn around trip to Palm Springs for Gay Pride.  Our friends Michael and Jim (my former boss) invited us to meet Michael's brother Paul Campion, he and his partner were plaintiffs in the supreme court gay marriage case.  They were featured in an NPR Story by Nina Totenburg.  Paul and his partner were the grand marshals of the Palm Springs Gay Pride Parade.  It was weekend with good friends, and a glimpse of history in the making.

Randy Johnson and Paul Campion, everyday heros.  

Posh, and it were.  Our Palm Springs hotel!

Me enjoying poolside coffee waiting for 1940's starlets to come out of their room and lounge by the pool.  

Gay Pride Parade in November...the only time parade marches don't melt into a puddle while  traversing the route. 

The festival, the booths lined the street for a good distance.  A nice festival.  

Travel has been a major part of my fall activities.  I went to Salt Lake City for three days for a conference and managed to touch bases with Angela Bolton who was also in Salt Lake for a conference.  Angela and I went to school at CSU, Chico together.  She has also attended several of our San Francisco Tacky Parties and entertained us at one in a memorable erotic Twinkie eating display.

Angela the nomad now lives in Alaska.  Dolly Parton sang a fantastic song on the Transamerica soundtrack, "Travelin' Through".  This song always reminds me of Angela.  I appreciate a touch bases friend, someone that breezes in and out of your life leaving only warm feelings and joy.

A wealth of wit and wisdom...certainly wish Angela lived closer but I enjoyed the fly by time we had together.  

One of the consistently wonderful things about Angela is she often wears fabulous but totally impractical shoes.  Hanging out wth Angela makes my face hurt.  We laughed, cried and went through the range of emotions from A to B.

Red shoes to die for...

Salt Lake City is an extremely clean place.  The people look as if they have been cut from cream cheese.  Not near the number of tattoos and piercings prevalent in the hipster city of Oakland.  We had a great evening in a speak easy drinking fine crafted cocktails and eating really good gnocchi.  The bar was a basement space with beautiful wood paneling and a few tables reserved for a full house.

I wasn't sorry to see the chill in the air left behind after leaving Salt Lake, as well as the oppressive religious structures...including the larger than life Jesus inside the visitors center.

Heavily fenced in temple...

The only snow we saw during our trip...cute little snowman down from the mountains I'm sure.  

Larger than life Jesus in the visitor center...a little spooky.  

This brings us to Thanksgiving my friends.  This year we opted for a quiet day at home with good friends Lee and Michelle, good wine, and great food.  After spatchcocking the bird, everyone relaxed in the living for a tryptophan coma.  The bird was over the top delicious thanks to the culinary mastery of Chef Rusty.

Mmmmmm...perfect bird!

This year's tree topper...we spent a few hours decorating the tree and attaching this disco nightmare to the top!

Post dinner nap?  Not so much, sadly we were all sacked out even before the dinner!   

Krampusnacht always lands on Rusty's Birthday.  Krampus passed our household this year with nary a birch branch swung as we have been exceptionally good this year.

Our newest Krampus Ornament.

Some may find this less than Christmas-ey...all things in balance people, St. Nicholas and Krampus, the Carrot and Stick approach to childhood behavior modification!  

This year for Rusty's Birthday, we ate an early brunch of Dim Sum with quite a few of our good friends and then went to the pinball museum to play a little pinball and enjoy a bout of nostalgia.

Monique and Lance playing pinball with he intensity of a teenager. 

The birthday boy.  

Tough guys...

Soon we will be celebrating Christmas...what a wild ride in 2015.  Time marches on, and I for one am trying to suck the marrow out of life as it does...

Absolutely No Epiphanies at the "Museum of Death"

Looking out my hotel window, the early morning Southern California haze blankets Los Angeles reducing the sunrise to a gray glow.  The American flag in front of my hotel is only slightly higher than the gay pride flag, signaling that we are in the heart of West Hollywood.  Palm trees abound and even at this early morning hour some of the twenty four hour restaurants are playing dance music.  (Could there be anything more cliche).

Last Friday, I was at a conference with John Hattie presenting.  Most educators, especially those in teacher prep. programs, know of Hattie's work, so he's kind of an educator geek rock star.  I felt really lucky to be getting the info. straight from the Kiwi's mouth (Yes, he is from New Zealand - which made it difficult for my California friends to understand but those of us who have been trained to understand the butchering of the Queen's English from Aussies and Kiwis had little problem translating).  

One of my oldest and most dear friends is turning fifty this week, so I have extended my stay to spend some time with him (Shout out to David Karle for his half century mark - I've known David for 42 of his fifty years).  

Driving around LA, I have come to some reconfirmations and some new thoughts about this city of Angels.  

First off, everything is crowded...I mean everything.  I was at Starbucks getting a coffee at 7AM thinking it would be just me and that lonely elderly gent that seems to be in every coffee shop in the early morning.  Not so in the WEHO Starbucks, oodles of people (and as this is West Hollywood, not one single female customer).  

We tried to take in the view of Griffith Observatory yesterday, foolish on a Saturday, we got nowhere near the observatory.  We decided not to take the 1 1/2 mile hike from where we could park to the observatory.  

In this area, the mini and mega malls seem to abound.  With so many around, one would think that each of these wouldn't be crowded.  No matter the size of the mall or the store, people are milling about.  So, gentle reader, alone time happens only in your hotel room.  

People do not wear appropriate attire to anything around here.  Last night we went to a nice restaurant with sidewalk seating.  I felt dressed down because I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt.  And yet, others around me were even more dressed down.  I'm a little taken aback by the amount of people wearing gym clothes to damn near everything, as if to say I'm just now going to the gym, or I'm just coming back from the gym.  On occasion I have made a stop at a store with work out clothes, but these mostly women are wearing gym clothes to do daily errands.  Not just a few, a noticeable amount! Herds of over wrought moms in packs roaming the malls- they eat their gluten free Kale salads as if advertising how healthy they are with their spray on tans and spandex everything. This is really just an observation and not something I should ever be concerned about but I am annoyed by it in a crotchety old man way.  

Not all but many people are just not friendly in LA.  Maybe it isn't the local Angelinos, maybe it is the tourists and the wave of new residents but walking down the street, one doesn't get the feeling that people are particularly happy and certainly not willing to raise a smile or a greeting.  Maybe it is just that with so many people around, trust is a hard quality to come by.  All houses and apartments have gates and fences, doors and windows are barred in many neighborhoods.  when one is so protected and protective, it is hard to reach out to those that are worth the knowing, those that can bring you a sense of security and a level of happiness  

Another observation...money, money, money...everywhere.  From spending to acquiring, mega mansions, mini mansion, expensive dinners, exclusive everything, high end clothes, jewelry, nice cars, million dollar 900 Sq. foot condos., and the list goes on.  And yet, no one talks about the disparities, the problems of equity and more importantly the need for social justice.  

At this point gentle reader, you may think my cynicism runs fairly high in regards to LA.  There are definitely several charms when it comes to LA as well.  Despite the unfriendly nature of most Angelinos, many are kind and generous people. 

LA does has its charm and beauty, there are many breathtaking view in and around the area.  The views from the hills are extraordinary.  It is a monumental site to see the whole valley spread before you in all of its concrete glory.  

As far as amenities are concerned, one can find just about anything within the borders of this sprawling metropolis.  And for some reason., LA seems much cleaner than it did before.  I remember lots more trash and it seems the graffiti has turned to murals and paintings.  There is still lots of creativity despite the gentrification of ever neighborhood.  And LA does hold a sort of quirkiness often reserved for more Bohemian locales.  

David and I visited one such quirky place:  The Museum of Death, Hollywood.  This Museum has several exhibits all surrounding death.  We saw grisly crime scene photos, serial killer memorabilia, antique mortician tools, celebrity death photos, suicide photos, Charles Manson memorabilia, a skull collection...I think the creepiest thing I saw was John Wayne Gacy's shoes from when he used to dress up as Pogo the clown...

The museum was very sensationalistic but oddly respectful of those that had passed.  We handle death in such a ritualized manner, it was interesting to see all of our voyeuristic attitudes and in a way bizarre handling of death collected in one small place.  One gets a broad sense of our culture surrounding death.

The entrance, much cheerier than one would expect.  

A close up.

An odd little altar to death before entering. 

A little too chipper considering my surroundings! 

I can't share photos from within as there is a strict no photos and no video policy.  We wanted to honor the policy.  We were allowed to take photos from the outside so we snapped a few shots.

Many people walk out of the building, so I'm told, with a renewed appreciation of life.  Staring the potential of death in the face may bring about a profound change in the way we look at life.  I can truly empathize with people that feel this way.  But for me, gentle reader, I did not consider this a life changing experience.  No startling and revolutionary epiphanies for me.  I really did find this interesting despite the fact that it is voyeuristic and sensationalistic.  

Although not a life changing experience, I am a firm believer in searching out the weird and quirky repasts when in a different town.  The Museum of Death certainly fits the bill.  Truly not for the squeamish though - be forewarned.  Certainly a perfect prelude to the upcoming Halloween festivities.  

Lately my work hours have been long and hard, as I settle in and learn my new job.  I am excited by the work and am moving toward balancing my life (no more working Sundays for awhile) so I don't burn out or start resenting what I do.  It is a change being one more step removed from students, and it is hard to justify my efficacy with our most vulnerable students (those that know me professionally, know that I am a strong advocate for schools as social justice institutions), but I am trying to weave my values and beliefs into the things that I do.  Many might not find assessment and data and accountability an exciting field but working with a team to improve instructional programming in schools is an excellent way to spend a day.  

With that said, I return to my own quirky environment, up in NorCal.  Enjoy your October gentle readers, and feel free to comment on this post.

By the way, following is a random photo of a brochure on one of those tourist pamphlet stands at the Universal City Hilton.  Those of you that have lived in the Ventura County area know why I find this so funny!  "Oxnard, More Than You Imagined" is the most underwhelming catch phrase I have ever heard for a city.

I'm 50...I Like to Kick and Stretch...and Kick

Ok Gentle Readers, my fiftieth Birthday came and went pretty quickly.  As a wonderful surprise Rusty and Yosiell arranged a trip to Guerneville, and a Sonoma Canopy Zip Line tour.  Best present ever!  We spent several hours Zip lining from redwood to redwood in Sonoma on a very warm summer day.

For those who have never been Zip Lining, it is now on my highly recommend list.  There is nothing like the feeling of stepping off a platform and whisking down a line.  Terrifying and amazing at the same time.

Our awesome Zip Lining Group! The guides were terrific, although both of the young women together couldn't have weighed more than 90 lbs. soaking wet.  There were times I thought one of us would knock these petite guides to the forest floor when we came in too fast, but they were professional and did a great job.  

Practicing my mad Zip lining skills.  

Sassy!

Matt enjoying the harness a little too much. 

Matt and Tyler, ready for the real test. 

Yosiell headed toward the platform. 

A really long line.  No worries friends, I made it all the way across without screaming too much.  

Happiest Birthday ever!

A trio of excitement. 

Tyler repelling down from the trees.  Really the scariest part.  

Matt showing off his intense skills.  

Awkward rope positioning.  

And a less than graceful landing. 

We were never really in danger. The guides ensure you are hooked up to a safety line at all times, but still the adventure felt somewhat risky.  Stepping off that final platform to repell to the platform was the scariest part but was also the most fun.

After this exciting adventure, we all sat around tossing back a few bourbons and recounting our own bravery like warriors after a battle...OK, that is definitely overstating...but fun none the less recounting the day.  Thanks to all who were there, including Jaimie, who joined us in Guerneville to swoon at our manliness.  

Stepping off a platform into the great unknown is kinda how I've been feeling lately.  Recently, I changed jobs.  No longer am I a principal responsible for a site.  I'm now a district office employee.  Sadly, another step removed from working directly with students, but definitely a job filled with new challenges.  

I'm experiencing a very steep learning curve in this position but I'm excited about the work.  The first day of school was a little difficult for me as I wasn't opening a site, but I managed to get to several sites to support principals and really enjoyed seeing the excited faces of kids starting school.  My new title is Director of Assessment, Accountability, and Educational Technology for Dublin, USD.  New adventures require a leap of faith off a platform 100 ft. in the air, but I look forward to being part of creating something pretty awesome for all the kids in Dublin schools.  

Well friends, I leave you with a final short video in celebration of my first half century.  Enjoy!