this is single-song internet-radio

Herido De Sombras,
Los Zafiros

looking around old files in my computer
i came across this bossa cubana song
and this old .gif file made by my friend insky
they were together in the same webpage
and were part of a little old tradition of mine
that i called 'the internet radio'

it was before i wrote deaf words on this blog
(or is it in???)
or uploaded photos on 23,
it was a good way of sharing with my friends
the songs i like combined with my photos

so almost nightly i uploaded a selected song
accompanied by a photo taken by me recently
and e-mailed the links

so, tonight
i revived here the old little tradition
of the nightly pix & radio

oh Monday's night idle hours!
anywaysss, hoping you enjoy the little .gif
borrowed and the Zafiros cuban song
recorded in the 60's

Nota: hope to share more songs and images
to go with, follow the links for information
on the musicians and/or songs

a place to read Mishima

while being in Autlán
I was reminded of the beauty
of Yukio Mishima's literature
that fine literature that my dear friend Risa
introduced me to...

one of my mother's friend brought Mishima
to conversation, or was it me?
as were talking merrily about books
and then another of my mother's
intellectual friends lent her a copy
in Spanish of
El Pabellón de Oro

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion

even though I was reading Sick Puppy
as my main book
I couldn't resist to put my hands
and caress with my eyes all the letters
en Español escritas por uno de mis autores favoritos...

it was a delight to read for the 1st time
Mishima in Spanish
I have read Spring Snow, and his collection
of short stories
Death in Midsummer
but in English

Spanish has a special taste for me
and a cadence of words and sounds
that seem to flow better to Mishima's words

and while getting immerse in the beauty
of the landscapes and gardens described
in El Pabellón de Oro
I came to discover with my mother this wonderful
place in Zapopán, a Guadalajara municipality

The park Bosque Los Colomos
this is gigantic urban wood with
92 hectares area or 227 Acres
and in midst of those wood and other
cultural buildings
it's built an exact replica of a ceremonial
water garden in Japan
design to invite to the contemplation
and delight of the view and sound of water



what a better place to read Mishima!
i thought...

I had to leave the spanish copy of
El Pabellón de Oro back when I came back
to San Diego

it was my mother's loan, not mine after all
and i planned to finish the book here in English
yet...

being this park, 10 minutes walking distance from
our home in Guadalajara, i think i rather return
to this lovely enchanted place to finish Mishima
listening to the water play
while my eyes touching the letters in Spanish as well

Adiós to Herr Kiyo

I have been delaying
posting anything on the blog
being sort of ‘superstitious’
I didn’t want my 1st post of the year
To be a sad one

Yet, the days of 2009
Are passing like clear water
And since the sadness hasn’t
Fade away, here goes the 1st post
Even if sad

On January 2nd my beloved
Best-friend pet fish herr Kiyo
Died
I guess was a mixture of
Bad weather, his age
he being not easy to feed anymore
and maybe missing a bit
that took him away from
the land of the living

just as the character in the novel
that he was named after
the beautiful adolescent Kiyoaki
from Yukio Mishima's novel Spring Snow
Kiyo died soon in life
and in a sort of tragic way

5 days have passed
And I still go now & then
To check his water temperature
And to say hello on his bowl
Just to realize
The bowl is gone
And to remember that herr Kiyo
Was buried on January 3rd

I still catch myself at work,
When it gets too cold
Wondering if his temperature at home
Is the right one
And the next second, when I remember
He’s not around anymore
A little lump in my throat forms
And even if I don’t want to
I grow sad

Ah… oh well, I know he’s in fish heaven
Or whatever place the spirits of fishes go

I just thank life for having borrowed me
That lovely piece of red fish for a couple
Of years, so I could photographing
Spoil him, take care of him
And share some smiles

Not sure why
But just as 2008, this year
Started strange too,
February and March 2008
Where the harshest months for me
And now it seem that this January 2009
Is coming strong too
after Kiyo’s death
I contracted this awful throat infection
Days passed and I still haven’t recovered
I’d like to think that what my grandma told me once
It’s true… when a year starts bad, it’s ‘cause
You are getting the ‘bad stuff’ out of your way
So you can enjoy more later on…
2008 was indeed ‘in crescendo’
And ended with a wonderful trip to Mexico
And reconnecting with family members
Who I haven’t seen in years
Therefore, I am sure, this 2009
Will bloom with happiness for me somehow

Danke!, thank you y muchas gracias
My beloved Herr Kiyo
For many months of your lovely company
All I can give you back now
Is a sad post on this world-wide web life

2008 dying, post from Autlán, México

2008 fades
a year full of surprises
as is always life

i started the 2008 Neujahrstag
in Bielefeld, Germany

this was my Grand Canyon year
an unforgettable experience

and now i write from a mexican keyboard
finally i can reach easily the "ñ" & the accents
and even though i love my little Sandiegan life
it will be hard to leave this colorful mexican town
Autlán, Jalisco, México

and after a couple of days spent here
i realize that no matter how far i travel
the wonders of Europe, the convinience of the USA
the exotique and rich cities of the worlds
my heart belongs in México
my tongue feels so comfortable to
hablar en Español

anyways here wishing a late "Feliz Navidad"
and a wonderful 2009
to the souls who dare read here

wishing you that the kitchen of your heart
cooks wonderful dishes for your soul for you this 2009
esperando que la cocina de su corazón
cocine para ustedes los mejores platillos para su alma
para el año 2009

christmas self-giving, nothing to be frightened of

i am not done yet with
my Christmas-presents buying
for friends and family
but i have already collected
a good amount of unplanned-to-buy items
for myself, every time i try to buy
something for my family or friends
i don't seem to find anything that could fit them
but curiously enough i seem to find every time
something for myself
so i decided no more gifts for me!
these are enough, specially since i think
i am more on the naughty side this year
anyway my latests indulgences



1. a 2009 small enough to fit in my purse agenda
since 1999 i have been collecting these agendas
but in these agendas i rarely keep appointments
i take quick/random notes & impressions of the day
(not daily)

2. a calendar for my kitchen
i had a cool one for 2008 and liked the idea
of seeing it on my kitchen, those cute art deco
posters of old food items are always charming
and they work for home appointments
and to remember when not to park my car
'cause of street sweeping...

3. On Beauty, by Zadie Smith, a recommendation
of mister Insky, a fine collector of interesting music,
great photographer, and avid reader who introduced
to mister Julian Barnes, and Paul Auster, amongst many
others, rather influencing along with my best friend's dad
on American authors, American and English literature.
So when I saw one of his recommendations and having read
a bit over miss Zadie Smith, on how witty and hilarious are
her books, the wonders of her story-telling, she's been
called a modern-day Dickens, a hard-cover for $5.99
oh yeah!

4. and then ah one of my favorite authors
Julian Barnes
the 1st non-fiction book of his I am about to read
Nothing to be Frightened Of
Barnes style is ironic, clever, elegant and well,
I heard about this book a couple of months ago
but my mind got distracted and wandered
then per conversations with Herr Georg
and after reading his famous post on
Religion, Power, and Money
I remembered Barnes' latest book
so i revisited this article about the book
Dying of the Light by Garrison Keillor
in the New York Times

the idea of reading Barnes' words, ideas,
and memoirs on aging, death, faith, and religion
feels like an oasis in my cluttered mind
i am currently reading Carls Hiaasen's Sick Puppy
but i suspect that Barnes' book will be my 1st one for 2009

5. this colorful Guatemalan scarf



6. the many bears are part of some Christmas packages
I am putting together for friends, I just thought a group
photo of them would be a good memory before sending
them all to different homes



so i guess i have enough of unnecessary necessities
for myself to cover 2009
well, except for the books, i hope i will be needing
at least another couple dozen of those thru the year...

rain Regen lluvia

kalt und feucht
cold and wet
frío y mojado

that's our town today
Monday we had the 1st winter storm
& Wednesday even colder and wetter
and you can feel all that 'scattered' energy
in the air, the uncertainty of mother nature's
behavior translates into this powerful feeling
of being under her mercy, and then the Christmas rush


my street this morning, as i drag myself to work

i personally enjoy
cold winter days, but the wetness
and having to drive the freeways
amongst a bunch of Californian
lousy drivers is not something
i look for... still i look for some
little enjoy on the comfort of these
my street's palm trees versus this grayness
it's an usual sight for us after all

simple green tea noodle soup

for cold or sunny days
this soup is very easy to make
and very healthy too



after trying some wild vegetable soup
with some green noodles
at a little Tokyo Izakaya in Los Angeles
named Haru Ulala, a couple of months later
i saw the same kind at a 99 Ranch store
and realized that the green color of the noodles
was 'cause they were Green tea flavored noodles

i didn't know how to replicate the recipe
of the original soup but i remembered
some of the ingredients, shiitake mushrooms
and green beans, and other veggies



so gave it a try since the ingredients are cheap
i thought, oh well! if i doesn't come OK i can just toss it...
i made a very small batch and
since i didn't have green beans i made my soup with only
dried shiitake mushrooms
and some small broccoli florets
at the 1st try came out OK, very similar to the soup i had
and very edible indeed, by now it has become a favorite
quick fix when craving soup

here the quick instructions:

-soak the dry mushrooms for at least 15 minutes
in lukewarm water

- cut the broccoli or any other veggies in very small sizes
(i don't cook the veggies, they just cook with the boiling water
of the soup right after serving, so they are still crunchy and crisp
but make sure to use veggies that don't require a lot of cooking time
such as potatoes, i think small carrots or green beans are good options)

-in boiling water, add the amount of noodles you will eat
and cook for 4 to 5 minutes

-in the same water you cooked the noodles, add the mushrooms
and the broccoli (or other veggies)

- serve & eat it right away! while steaming

it has a very earthy fresh healthy taste
and afterwards your belly & spirit shall be warm

emergency: breakfast

a late cold Sunday morning
a breakfast idea request!

[my head's recalling that cold pint of New Castle
at the Ould Sod yesterday]

any ideas?
what do you usually eat on Sunday mornings?
or days off?

looking forward your appreciated information

disclaimer: all data collected will benefit
'the hungry stomach in need, assoc.'
a non-profit run by me

winter time friends

today was a cold day
54ºF or 12ºC
winter has finally arrived!

and cold winds brought
4 cool dear friends
cold wind outside
warmed by the shared smiles
nothing like having a good friend
stopping by in a lazy gray day

and as every winter
my consumption of Good Earth tea
has increased
[i rarely drink this tea in the summer days]
thus the quota
of tea-advices
here for you to 'suffer' thru them



and why i drink so much Good Earth tea
on winter days? 'cause as the label says
it is sweet & spicy, you would think
it has sweeteners but not! just a
very zesty rich bold taste

Ingredients of the Good Earth blend: Red Rooibos, Chicory Root, Artificial Flavor, Rosehips, Cinnamon, Peppermint, Lemongrass, Papaya, Chamomile, Panax Ginseng Leaves, Anise Seed, Ginger Root, Dandelion Root, Orange Peel and Orange Oil.

December little poem

the office upstairs smells
like old coffee and paperwork

before long, then smells like
a-moment-ago opened-door
and like a new oomph,
as a life-force,
crossing the threshold,
the breezing coil folded up
blowing out papers stacked up for months
in an endless up-the-wind hunt

i smiled
the moment broke



(just the smell took place
the rest, just metaphors rapt in this old skull)