on books

i must read more!
once i used to read more
when lucky,
a book per week
when OK,
two books a month
and of course there's always fluctuation
and variation, since each author
and each piece is different to read
but sadly
those avid-reading days are far gone!
i started slowing down
when enrolled the infamous
Deutschstunde
and no regrets there
'cause i learn a lot of German culture
auch einfach weil
Deutsch macht Spaß! ;)
then Summer
then heat
then Grand Canyon!!
(even less regrets!
i loved that trip)
and then just bare laziness lately
and some TV (yikes! hurts typing it)
all this been keeping me away from reading

and so on my lap
for soo many days i've been reading
these Anthony Bourdain's
Adventures on the Culinary Underbelly
Kitchen Confidential
and as much as i am loving
señor Bourdain's anecdotes in the kitchens
and his teachings in restaurant business
and rushed way of living... is not a book that should've
been taking me this long to get done with!
as much as i enjoy almost every page

therefore
i am disciplining myself
i will try to go back slowly
but sturdy into a book-per-month schedule
and in order to be able to start a new book in December
i must finish Kitchen Confidential in 13 days

two days ago i made this calculations
the total pages of the book is 312
i've read 178 already
which left me with 138 pages left to be read
divided among the amount of days left in November
15, then i must read 8.93 pages per day
i guess rounding, 9 pages per day



so far i am behind right now!!
instead of typing i should be reading...
procrastination?, ja!

ein Seltsamer Samstag

gestern war
yesterday was
ayer fué un día extraño con tintes de tristeza



and some words took me by surprise
[surprised more like a little perplexed me above]

& it's too sunny too hot
too dry & too dry & too dry
again here in California
since Friday night
and i can feel my head, my soul
and my heart drying out to the compass of
lost, confused Summer days dancing
around our Autumn time bringing
Santa Ana winds and fires
up & down

and like this dry land
today my heart too
got another little crack

oh well! to comfort myself
the best way i know around
cooking myself some comfort

here a Summer-type of pasta
chunky but fresh-tasting tomato sauce

the ingredients
- 1 can of peeled diced tomatoes* (14.5 oz or 411 gr)
- olive oil
- fresh basil [i got mine from my little plant outside]
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 or a 1/3 of an onion
- fresh grounded black pepper
- sea salt
- oregano
- Parmesan cheese if Parmigiano Reggiano** better,
but any kind will do



the cooking
- heat the olive oil on a medium sauce pan
- add the fined chopped garlic and onion for 3 minutes to the hot oil
- add the diced tomatoes and the basil
- season to taste with the sea salt, fresh grounded black pepper, and oregano
- cook on medium heat covered for about 20 minutes
- toss with the fresh cooked & drained pasta of your choice



top the pasta with the sauce and serve topped w/ Parmesan cheese
i didn't have Parmesan but i had this delicious
Asiago BelGioioso, dry enough to be excellent on pasta
and it has a distinctive sweet and nutty flavor



so here my comforting dinner for
an uncomfortable day



the fresh pasta accompanied of some
whole wheat french bread with softened butter
not that i need more butter looking at the size of my hips
or that the butter needs to be softened in this heat

and sadly no wine no beer
it's so dry here! drinking alcohol just adds to the dehydration
so just more mineral sparkling water for me

let's see what Sunday has reserved for me
under it's Sundayish sunny reheating sleeve...

* please notice that i don't use tomato paste or puree for this sauce, you can replace the canned tomatoes for fresh roma tomatoes for an even fresher taste!

** i had NO idea that Parmigiano Reggiano Formaggio had a consortium, that's what i call being a BIG cheese

Ed Wood - a 'Pop' Thursday at the MOPA

last night i made it to my 1st
Pop Thursday at the MOPA



a good combo of film screening
fun activities, drinks, and all
while the photography exhibitions are still open

the film screened last night
was Tim Burton's biographic film on
cult horror films screenwriter, producer, director
and actor Ed Wood

and i was lucky enough to haven't seen this
Tim Burton / Johnny Depp's classic!
it was great to watch it in the big screen
and what a great cast!
Martin Landau and Bill Murray among many more
and well the twisted real story of one
Hollywood's weirdest characters

one of the activities prior to the screening
last night
was Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art Art School
live drawing with models, with an interesting twist...
so
Ed Wood was there himself!



and accompanied him, one of his lovers
Dolores Fuller



and people where making sketches of him
here a cute sketcher



the film was projected in 2 areas:
in the main lobby where you can watch it in sort of background
while hanging out with live DJ music and drinks



if you wanted a more common viewing experience
you could watch the film at the beautiful screening room



it was an interesting night overall
but i was specially glad to be able to watch a film
released in 1994 in the big screen
DVDs are convenient, cable-movies are cheap and easy
but nothing compares with the magic of being
inside a movie theater and submerge for a couple
of hours on other's peoples lives

and here a very interesting interview with Johnny Depp
over his characterization of controversial Ed Wood



and some scenes from an original Ed Wood films
Glen or Glenda? (1953)
you think surreal?

Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3) Seminar

a couple of weeks ago i went to an
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Seminar

i was able to learn a little of a lot little tricks for
Illustrator, Photoshop, Fireworks (and others)

above my materials and below one of the 8 pages
of my only-by-myself-legible notes



one of the little implements of Photoshop on CS3
is the Photomerge
tool that allows you to select different photos
and merge them into a panorama

and visual sample of this feature here below
i took these 3 photos of a man running, in a row
so the same guy with 3 different backgrounds
of the same street

the initial 3 photos

the right


the center


the left


& here all together now
the auto merge Photoshop did
[click on it for full-size effect and look
for the same runner in 3 different places]



this tool existed before but the results were never that great
and lots of additional adjustments had to be made

and of course the Adobe CS4 is out now
but i don't think my company or many other users
will upgrade to it, at least for a while...

anyway, the seminar
was a very good day for the nerd in me

and sure! it is good to learn all together now
about everything, drawings, photography,
computers, or submarines
[...]

mopa

yesterday on a beautiful chilly Sunday in San Diego



i went for a walk at the Balboa Park



to finally become member of the
MOPA
the Museum Of Photographic Arts



I got the membership for a year
and now i can go in & out of the museum free
also i am invited to special events and presentations
and to this cool event on Thursdays called
Pop Thursdays
that combines cult film screening
music, interactive photography projects, and even drinks...

one very interesting exhibition i saw yesterday was
Writing with Light
it shows the work of young students
who were presented with works of literature
fiction and non-fictions and then
expressed their thoughts by photos
a very interesting connection between
literature and photography

i saw some really interesting photos
you wouldn't believe these are young authors!

and also i was able to visit the old classic
to see some Paul Strand little prints
and some always impressive Ansel Adams

and them rushed out of there to practice
my experimental photography
see here below what i call
urban fingers trapped on a small dirty car



and hopefully with all these wonderful photos
whooshing by my head
i might be able to work again in my abandoned
23hq photo page!
i do miss my friends there and playing with my picts
but there are just so little hours in one day!
this has for sure become one busy Herbst

Saturday, morning und orange

Samstag, was kommt auf den Tisch?



& this morning orangy
[$2.99 endures]
closer too

Friday, orangy night

the end of the week
a sunset came by
i walked to the market
this little new flower crossed my path
a $2.99 chance of happiness
or at least of an orange smile



the newest guest
tomorrow to plant
and lazy distracted
a noisy orange feeling
and i grab
a big orange book
tonight

my imaginary life

Helvetica

last night i watched this rather interesting documentary
about the typeface Helvetica



the films introduces a lot graphic design and typography talk
but also a lot of interesting points on global visual culture
and how we recycle the visuals presented to us every day

the documentary balances between beautiful photography
of New York City, Amsterdam, Berlin, Zürich, London
and Münchenstein, Switzerland, where Helvetica was born
and dynamic urban shots presenting the stellar Helvetica



all structured in between interviews
with an endless list of graphic designers, typographists,
and other graphic gurus

one thing that i think keeps this films so alive
is that is a little controversial
the filmmaker Gary Hustwit
interviews both
Helvetica advocates and Helvetica adversaries
Helvetica users and Helvetica haters

yes! a typography can have enemies
but then you'll have to watch the documentary
don't want to spoil it for you
just recommend it
ah! cool music too

a bright new day for Americans

USA has a new elected president

and today it feels and breaths around here
like the long-asleep American dream
has resurrected again!

election day (part II)

so here waiting for the results of this rainy election day



after about 6 months of dryness in San Diego
today finally rained
not very helpful for Elections day
but great for our city

it was encouraging to see people
running to the polling place even under the rain
and to see NO on Prop 8 supporters holding
banners under colorful umbrellas

also praise to the supporters of
YES on Prop 2
against animal cruelty

here the latest results


and those always interesting numbers



and good idea of Starbucks to give
free coffee away to voters!
of course i had to get mine