Taking the Christ Out of Christmas?

Christmas for UUS?  How does a roomful of ex Christians and Jews celebrate the birth of a savior in whom we don't really believe.  It appears we do it with the same pomp and circumstance of the First Luthern Church in any city in the nation.  We dress kids and parents up in sheets and towels, put yonder paper star on a long pole and lead the Wisemen down the aisle, all to Christmas carols and candles!  Yes, we even read the Bible passage that Linus reads in a Charley Brown Christmas.  I believe  it is from the book of Luke, or Matthew, or maybe even Ringo (turns out via WIkipedia, it is Luke 2:8-14).  

UU's celebrating but not buying the virgin birth mythology, the heavenly hosts, nor a whole bunch of the magical elements of this intriguing story.  

The Christmas Eve Service is beautiful no doubt, but our minister is always having to justify the service and help make it make sense to humanists, agnostics, atheists and deists alike.  No easy task to be sure.  This year I feel the San Francisco UU interim minister provided a particularly good rationalization for our dichotomy of faith during the Yuletide season.  

He spoke of the war that Fox News claims is happening against Christmas!  Fox believes that saying things like Happy Holidays and any number of transgressions against this spending bacchanalian is really an attempt to destroy Christmas.  The interim minister reminds us that this is not only a season of Christian ideals but that many of the traditions and symbolism comes from different cultures and from different religions, including more than a healthy dose of paganism. Fox News is I sensed by the black Santa in New York's Macy's.  The minister explains that the current mythology surrounding Santa is a compilation of many different Saints and historical figures.  This includes  the practice of giving presents to kids on December 6th, a tradition perpetuated by St. Nicholas, a Greek/Turkish Saint, decidedly not a white Santa!

The real spirit of the holiday is in the hope and faith generated by the birth of a child, really any child, as we get set to embark on the  cruelest and darkest  days of the year.  It is a time of generosity and forgiveness.  It is a time we look upon the sins and transgressions of our past and bathe them in a blanket of renewal.  

It is also a time of generosity.  Generosity is perhaps the greatest gift we can bestow upon ourselves.   Giving of our selves during this time has nothing to do with bolstering the economy or supporting American businesses, rather it is a time for us to say to one another that here are small tokens of affections for someone we love.  No, it doesn't always take the form of a present, often it is our time and talents as well.  

The Christmas Miracle is really in our collective good will, our mutual agreement that for the time being we are going to be generous and show our love...we'll put aside our pettiness to share the warmth we are feeling.  Giving of ourselves is truly good for our own souls.  

The minister also called into question the practice of celebrating the start of a life and then a few months later accepting the death of that life as an act of forgiveness of sin.  We do not believe, as many fundamentalists, we come into this world sinners, therefore we shouldn't expect anyone to die for forgiveness of our own transgressions, rather we should work to better our lives, be better people to one another, and be forgiven by learning to forgive others.  Not easy to be sure!  It almost seems like cheating to allow someone to die for your own mistakes.  

Anyhow, I know this is all just justification for sitting in a church on Christmas Eve when I have personal "issues" with that ancient book, the Bible, but the music at the church was excellent, the candle light was atmospheric and warm, and people were generous of spirit.  My tactic is to live in the moment, enjoy the good feeling surrounding me.  The Christmas Story is also a great tale, and from this tale, we can take away the feeling of hope to warm our long nights.  Can we ask for more?

Ok friends, When I asked on Facebook how to get into the spirit of the holiday season, many of you assumed I meant how to get into the spirits of the holiday season...lots of suggestions regarding particularly frothy drinks like eggnog, hot toddies, Bourbon, etc.  Many of you recommended Christmas movies or particular songs...all good suggestions but still not quite putting me in that holiday frame of mind.   Here it is Christmas and I feel a little cheated...although the UU Mythological Christmas Pageant almost did it, the cold doses of UU reality do have a tendency to drive away the Harry Potter worthy magical elements of the story.  Maybe my visit to North Carolina will assist in this endeavor.  

Mom, in front of her new 7' CHristmas tree.  I miss the old smaller tree, ratchet to be sure, but an enjoyable challenge to decorate...

A family portrait, Allyssa, Rick, Mom and Haven

Our loved one's down under sweating their asses off but still sporting Yosiell Lorenzo originals!  

I am proud of my attempts to shop as locally as possible his year.  Most gifts given to others have been locally made or from small businesses.  Most but not all... We've also managed to support a few Oakland artists as well.  Ardley Avenue is a veritable cottage industry Mecca.  On our street alone, a jam maker, candle maker, several artists, and a soap maker (in my kitchen). I'm pretty sure somewhere we have neighbors with chickens...craft DIYers, With all of this talent, this street might even survive the Apocalypse. 

Oaklandish hats for the guys!  

A quarterly membership to the Cask Small Batch Bourbon Club, and assurance that I'll have friends until we cancel the club membership…

A portrait of me, but Yosiell, the DIYer extraordinaire.  

OK friends, I'm sitting in the Goldsboro Starbucks getting ready to post this…just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking of you as we near the New Year's.  I'll be back to Oakland on December 31, and back to regular internet access.  Keep me in your warm wishes as you drink your midnight champagne, kiss your loved ones, and make your resolutions.

Soap Widower...

Saturday night…just sitting here enjoying the Christmas tree and listening to Spotify, specifically the Folksy Christmas playlist.

Why am I sitting around on a Saturday night, you might ask gentle reader?  Because, unfortunately, I'm a soap widower!

What does that mean?  Rusty and Yosiell spend an awful lot of time on their new cottage industry venture, Tassology Soap Company.  Both are currently on computers creating labels and internet searching for affordable all natural essential oils to add into soaps.

Anytime there is a craft fair in the area, we go there to "check out the competition"…I say competition but Soap makers aren't even remotely competitive, they are mostly just nurturing and enjoy talking about the minutia of creating soaps and soaping products.

As far as hobbies and or entrepreneur businesses are concerned, at least this one is easy to clean up, so I really can't complain…factoring in all of the soap making supplies, these must be the most expensive soaps made in Oakland…Rusty assures me the price will amortize over time but my experience with the beer making venture tells me that might not exactly be true.

November passed in an "augenblick"!  We celebrated Thanksgiving in the traditional method, by ordering out from Whole Foods!  The day was spent with good friends, good food, and a healthy dose of cocktails.

A small intimate gathering for Thanksgiving, complete with Oscar and Tyler.  

Not so much cooking as just warming...

December has rolled around and we of course must celebrate the most holy of holidays, Rusty's fiftieth Birthday.  When we first  in our youth moved to San Francisco, we followed a formula on Rusty's Birthday, a midday jaunt to the SF Embarcadero for a session of ice skating, and then back to the house for tree decorating and chili.  We decided to recreate the memories of our youth for this, his milestone Birthday.

Yes, I did say ice skating!  Ice skating is a painful and terrifying experience when you aren't in your twenties anymore. Hundreds of children crowded onto a patch of ice, flailing around and tumbling down every few seconds.  We spent the Saturday after Thanksgiving with Patti, Jayme and their children on the ice in the Embarcadero.

Speed skater extraordinaire!

The birthday boy!  

Who doesn't love the Zamboni!  

After the longest ninety minutes of my life, we took our bruised and battered bodies back to the house for chili and a warm fire in the back yard.  Many guests brought over one of Rusty's favorite gift, Christmas Ornaments.  Thanks to all for filling in the tree.

This is my attempt at a home made yellow cake with chocolate frosting, Rusty's favorite.  Not bad considering a complete handicap in baking almost anything.  

On Rusty's actual Birthday, we went out to Plum Restaurant, in downtown Oakland.  The creamy garlic soup was worth the trip alone.  For those of you unaware, my favorite cocktail is a Manhattan, and this place served the best one out of the thousands I have tried.  We will only be enjoying this restaurant for major celebrations, owing to an exorbitant price tag! But still, great to treat ourselves to overpriced California Cuisine with that forced casualness so common in this state.  You know what I mean, gentle readers, the kind of place of place that serves only the finest artisan ingredients to one percenters "relaxing" for the evening in their $500 cashmere ski sweaters.  Still…totes delish!

And of course the best part of Birthdays are presents, Rusty received a Yosiell Lorenzo original:

Wonder Woman, who can't love an outfit made entirely of femininium!  

Rusty's Birthday tour ended with an evening of Seattle style hip hop and rap…yes, Macklemore!  An intimate concert of just under 9,000 people.  The music was excellent but more importantly, Macklemore seems to be a man of principles.  Ironically, as Macklemore was telling the extended version of his decent into drug use, and his eventual recovery, the group of drunk mid twenties dumbasses continued toking up, spilling drinks on us, and making a mockery of his message…all things in moderation young ones…all things in moderation!

Macklemore covered "And They Danced…" by David Bowie.  Awesome!  

My friend, Nicole Brodeuer, a columnist for the Seattle Times, had said that Macklemore is really a very sincere person after meeting him several times during his rise to fame.  After seeing the concert, I had the same sense.  His lyrics are provocative without being misogynistic, racist or homophobic.  The pyrotechnics of course were great, with flames shooting to the rafters.  As far back as we were, we could feel the heat from the flames and I can only imagine those in the front row must have felt a scorch or two.  And with the end of the concert came the end of the Birthday tour for Rusty!  Despite the milestone Birthday, Rusty remains as young at heart as the day I met him.  May the next fifty years be as filled with love and life as his first half century.

Rusty at Faultline's December show, titled "8x10"…over 65 artists represented with about 100 different 8 X 10 wood panels.  Great show…one in which we managed to walk away from with out purchasing anything.  If in the Oakland area, stop by and see the show…

So, it appears that a new fad is out there for expectant mothers.  Instead of sitting in a cold clinical medical office and receiving the news of a babies sex via the doctor, some are opting for a "reveal" party, or a gathering of people at home.  A bakery places gender traditional colored frosting in a cake and the babies sex is revealed all at once when the mom cuts open the cake.

My friends Becky and Tom participated in this madness.  Instead of frosting in the cake, we all picked up a cupcake and on the bottom of one of the cupcakes was the colored frosting.  Becky actually picked up the last cupcake and the pink frosting was underneath.

Despite my constant balking at this type of party, it was really suspense filled and I felt honored to be a part of the reveal.  What a great way to share a very intimate moment.  And the good news?  It's a girl.

Pink…another beautiful little girl on the way. 

A little sister for Cassandra and Marianna.  And another daughter for Tom and Becky.  

A little mimosa to calm the nerves!

A little pink frosting for the baby too!

So, gentle readers, as we move quickly toward Christmas, I'm looking forward to a few weeks off from work to regroup, and a week long trip to North Carolina to visit family.  Krampus passed by my house on December 6th without throwing me in the sack and beating me with his switches…so I guess I've been pretty good…

This is the time of year when we start looking back at the year and reminiscing on loved ones.  I think back to my simple New Year's resolutions and look forward to creating a new set of resolutions, ones focused more on keeping in better contact with all of the wonderfully supportive people in my life.   Enjoy, gentle readers, holidays filled with peace, and love.

Banned in Vietnam

Our good friends Jamey and Patti have recently returned from a two year job in Vietnam.  In catching up with Jamey, it appears when clicking on my blog link while in Hanoi, a message pops up letting the user know that the site is banned!  At first I started reviewing all of my posts in my head to determine if anything is really ban-worthy.  I started to fool myself into thinking that some of the posts are really cutting edge and ban-worthy.  I felt exceptionally subversive for about two minutes before Jamey let us know that most blogs are banned in Vietnam.  Sad face emoticon … oh well, now for a not so subversive blogpost!

Oakland, as many already know, has several fantastic music venues.  From the small intimate jazz scene to the stadium show, complete with lights, elaborate sets and pyrotechnics.  One of my favorite venues is the Fox Theatre in downtown Oakland.  So many fantastic bands and singers come through the Fox.  We happened to catch the Pet Shop Boys in early October.  Talk about your throw back bands.  I talked with many coworkers completely unaware of the Pet Shop Boys, of course I was sufficiently aghast at this revelation … and probably earned another notch in my crotchety old man belt.  

They were friggin' awesome!  Lasers, odd costumes, a consistent bizarre theme throughout … oh, and I think they played music too.  My favorite of course was the end…confetti canons shot out tons of little orange bits of plastic to wow the crowd…it's not easy to wow the jaded Bay Area concert goer but mission accomplished.   (By the way, before my tree hugging loved ones get up in arms, the plastic confetti had that feel of biodegradability…you know almost plastic but maybe corn, or some sort of paper…).  

Lasers!

Wha…?

Does anyone out there not love a confetti cannon?  My first purchase post lottery will be a confetti canon.  

The very next week, we found ourselves at the O.Co Coliseum for the P!nk Concert.  This venue is huge…friends in Raleigh, think of the RBC.  I have never been a huge P!nk fan so of course it took a monumental effort for me to give up a Thursday night's worth of sleep to go to the concert in the first place.  After the concert I was ready to dye my hair pink and follow girlfriend to the ends of the Earth.   The set, music and pyrotechnics were awesome, not to mention the über sexy back up dancers and singers!  When she donned a harness and went flying over the entire stadium, alighting on pillars throughout…while singing and twirling…I became a true convert.  She's not only a really good singer, but also extremely athletic.  I can't imagine spending so much time suspended above an audience, or using those extremely long scarves to twirl above the stage, all the while singing and dancing during and between each stunt.  

So close…yet so far.  

Awesome set!

Soon after, the holiday where miniature trespassers invade your property, don masks to avoid recognition for their intended crimes, and attempt to extort candy from you rolled around yet again.  Halloween!

The best Michael's has to offer in way of decorations!   Not terrifying but creepy.    

Halloween atmosphere...

The weekend before Halloween was devoted to pumpkin carving and a Halloween Party at Matt and Tyler's House.

Pumpkin carving on the chilly deck.  Will these wigs and hats ever get old?  I think not!  

Spooky pumpkins, none of which survived until Halloween! 

The internet lies…I tried a trick from the internet, namely soaking my pumpkin in a weak bleach solution, then rubbing the cut edges with vaseline…nothing sadder than a deflated Jack-o-Lantern…except maybe one that reeks of bleach and bitter disappointment.  

The party at Matt and Tyler's sounded like an awfully good time, but I spent the entire night in bed with an incredibly high fever and a terrible sinus infection brought on by some dental work.  Even though I couldn't make the party, it seems Rusty and Yosiell managed to creep everyone out with their costumes.  I'll let you be the judge of that.

That wig just keeps resurfacing.  

Speechless…

Halloween in our neighborhood is crazy busy.  We had over three hundred kids coming to our door.  That's four full Costco sized candy bags (by the way we didn't even open any of them for snacking before Halloween and still managed to pass out all of the bags of candy).  On Halloween, our neighbors typically wander the 'hood too, just visiting, sharing gossip and exchanging treats (the occupants of 3940 - ummm us - always walk around and deliver a deadly brew of Spiked Hot Buttered Cranberry Punch  to warm the tips of everyone's toes).


Continuing the Halloween theme well into November, we took a quick day trip to the Winchester Mystery House  in San Jose.  The home is actually pretty nice, and the stories of ghosts and the occult are part of the tour but the real story of the widow Winchester is equally fascinating, certainly a tale of heartbreak and misery. Mrs. Winchester moved to San Jose on the advise of a psychic who told her to move out west and never stopped building in order to appease the ghosts of all those killed by the Winchester Rifle.  Karmic debt is a bitch!

Yes, that is a door that leads to the outside from the second floor…weird mystery or just bad design?  Who can say? 

Someone certainly is through with this trip! 

 Here it is a few days from Thanksgiving and just to remind my East Coast loved ones of our terrible California fall weather, I'm posting a few photos of the beaches we passed on our most recent bike ride.  Sunday, we went through Golden Gate Park, and followed the PCH at least to the SF Zoo.  We stopped by to see the giraffes from the entrance fence before heading back.

Panoramic Wonderland

Beautiful day...

Kudu Antelope sighting at the zoo!  

Well folks just a reminder: as the shopping season begins to ramp up, and it is ramping up, please remember to support local businesses…

A few more businesses for you to peruse when in the Oakland area! 

Oaklandish : Oakland themed clothes…mostly T-Shirts…a little over priced but still worth a look…

lOAKal: An art gallery and shop near Jack London Square.  Mostly functional arts, jewelry, lots of silk screened Oakland themed shirts, etc. 

Oaktown Spice:  The smells alone are worth the trip by Lake Merritt! 

Tassology Soap Company:  A cottage industry soap company of fine sustainably sourced, organic soaps.  Tassology is the art and Science of reading tea leaves.  These hand crafted soaps include a variety of tea leaves for you to divine your future as you shower.  No web site yet, but coming soon!

Thanksgiving this year will be a small quiet affair!  We'll be enjoying a few friends, and a few cocktails at home in anticipation of Rusty's Fiftieth Birthday party.  We're resurrecting the ice skating and chili feast from our early days in SF .  I'm hoping the bruises and broken bones from ice skating will heal as quickly as they used to, but I am somewhat doubtful this will be the case…wish us luck and remember to wish Rusty a Happy Fiftieth Birthday come December 5th.

I'll post pics of us falling on our tuckus after skating!  Have a great Thanksgiving filled with joy!  

A Bridge to Nowhere

Fall...the most stressful time in a Principal's life.  Opening school every year for a Principal is akin to working 12 hour days just putting randomly sized fires out. Most of the time, this is really manageable and lasts just a month, maybe six weeks.  This year the fires have been coming particularly fast and furious and from out of the blue.  Besides all of the changes to the curriculum and to our instructional programs, we have had some extra hiring challenges.  My fellow fire fighter, the assistant principal, accepted a Principal's job three weeks before the opening of school.  A few teachers took leaves for medical reasons, and one of my most trusted teacher leaders took a position at the district office level.  Don't worry, gentle readers, I'm not trying to star in my own Pity Party ("Get down off that cross, Walt, someone else needs the wood for a change..."), rather I'm explaining not only my lack of communication on this fine blog, rather in general I have not been in communicado with any family and friends.  I'm hoping to get back my only moderately poor communication with everyone instead of the absolutely horrific communication as of late.  And with that said, time to report all of my most recent Bay Area adventures.  

At the beginning of August, we stopped by Oakland Pride and I was really impressed with the event.  There was food and drinks, booths, bounce houses, and staged performances.  The Oakland Gay Pride had a small town feel to the event and all in all was much better than San Francisco Gay Pride.
Why?  You might ask...

Oakland Pride is a family event...with a bounce house area - pervs need not apply as everyone had to sign in and out of the kid friendly parts of the festival.

An incredibly diverse crowd...LGBT, every ethnicity and race represented, large, small, Lesbian moms galore, tall, skinny, husky...oh and lots of straight allies.

No parade to suffer through before the festival.  How long is the parade in San Francisco going to get?  I know we want to celebrate the LGBT deaf Tongan cross dressing wheel chair basketball team, but can't we group some of our community together and shorten the parade by about six hours.   I know I'm perilously close to loosing my membership in the ACLU but really people, I support your cause whatever it may be, I just don't want to have to watch a ridiculously long parade.

No under age teenage girls puking in the gutters.  (If you've been to SF Gay Pride you know the ratio is 1 drunk straight girl for every 5 gay participant...that's lots of puke in the gutters!)

Fewer people, less crowds at Oakland's event.

No over crowded BART ride to get to the festival.

Less nudity...that's a plus and minus to be honest.

I'm not suggesting make a special trip to Oakland for our Gay Pride event, but if you're in the 'hood around that time, it might be worth the entrance fee.

The big news the day after the labor day weekend was that the new span of the Bay Bridge opened.  I expected a greater deal of fan fare and although the news stations were there heralding the event, it opened with no ribbon cutting, no ceremonial walk across, and no breaking a champagne bottle on a railing.

The weekend following the opening, we rode bikes as far as was permitted (the bridge spans from Oakland to Treasure Island, but one can't exit to Treasure Island because the old bridge is in the way of what will be the bicycle exit).  I'm sure with the massive amounts of holier-than-thou bicycle bullies we have in this town, that will soon be remedied.

The old span looking as if breathing a long awaited sigh of relief.  

Cest moi!

Yosiell enjoying a brief respite before the ten mile ride home. 

The old span and new span...the old span seems to tower over, I think that is just the camera angle. 

Rusty...marveling at this feat of engineering.  

The bridge is truly beautiful, especially at night.  The lights make this awesome structure seem like one is driving through a cathedral.

Those that know me best are well aware that my fondest wish, besides becoming an alcoholic writer holed up in a cabin completing the great American novel, is to create big dangerous metal sculpture art.  For my birthday, Rusty and Yosiell chipped in for the price of an introduction to welding class at the Crucible, our local fire arts collective and the home away from the Playa for local burning man participants.

Me getting ready to MIG weld. 

My best bead of the day...

The weekend course was really just a taste of different types of welding, specifically MIG, TIG, Stick and Oxyacetylene...As predicted, I absolutely loved it. I'm not particularly good at it but that comes with practice.  I'm seriously considering a longer course to really focus on one type.  We shall see gentle readers, keep posted, big dangerous art may be on the horizon.

And finally, we attended Yosiell's art opening in the Mission.  The show was a big success, Yosiell sold five pieces.  The show is particularly good and the patrons were extremely complimentary.  I'm so glad to see hard work, long hours and dedication pay off.  Yosiell was all smiles after and I'm sure slept like the dead.

a month before the show...organized chaos. 

A mostly done piece (missing the resin pool at the bottom).

A celebration drink and silly head wear before the show.

The artist in repose...

As for me, just continuing on with the serious business of schooling the hormonally challenged youth of our nation.  Another week or two of working Sunday's and I'll be caught up and will be communicating more often.  Thanks gentle readers for your patronage...and your patience.  More updates following soon.