Gil Sans-Heron

If there's one defining characteristic of life in the late-middle internet age, it's that there's just too much. Too much news, too much free music, too much video, too many people vying for your attention, too many memes, and too many stupid trends. There doesn't seem to ever be time to look back or listen twice. Only at the end of the year do we allow ourselves to do this. One thing I know for sure is that if something says "Karla Kane" in the byline, it's going to be worth reading. Here are 10 more of my favorites from 2025.

Finding the right path: Meet the master builder who designs labyrinths on the Peninsula — Have you ever walked a labyrinth, finding your way along its winding path to the center and back? Perhaps you’ve associated labyrinths with ancient tales and far-off lands (or Jim Henson’s 1986 fantasy film starring David Bowie), or maybe you’ve encountered one at a place of worship or park near you. Some folks have even added them to their own residences, creating a private, appealing space for contemplation and reflection.

Spring greening: 8 great places to get plants around the Peninsula, from funky shops to speciality nurseries — Spring is here! And with the world in bloom, you may be getting inspired to add some more greenery to your own home, inside or out. Whether you’re a total newbie or an experienced plant parent, there’s always room for some more botanical buddies to liven up your space. We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite places on the Peninsula to get plants, from quirky coffee shops to historic nurseries.
Talking, teaching, and even recognizing dogs: Meet the Peninsula’s lifelike robots — In the 1999 film “Bicentennial Man” (based on a novelette by Isaac Asimov), Robin Williams plays an advanced humanoid robot called Andrew. The part of the story set at the fictional robotics company that produced him was filmed in Redwood Shores. While it would be wildly inaccurate to suggest that the sci-fi world of “Bicentennial Man” was becoming a reality any time soon, a cutting-edge humanoid robotics company does, in fact, have its U.S. headquarters in Redwood Shores.
Lights, camera, action: How to make your Peninsula home available to filmmakers (and what to expect when they’re there) — Have you ever wondered if your home has what it takes to be a movie star? Or, at least, a movie set? While Hollywood may still be the center of the U.S. film industry, movies and videos are also shot right here in the Bay Area, including in local residences. From fancy estates to humble flats, filmmakers seek all kinds of spaces for their projects, depending on what makes sense both creatively and practically. Homeowners can get in on the action by making their space available for film shoots.
Meet the South Bay company designing fire-resistant, eco-friendly homes — Living in California, the possibility of catastrophic fire is never too far from many residents’ minds. But what if there was a way to build homes so that the risk of fire was much lower while also lessening the environmental impact that contributes to climate change in the first place?
Peninsula author Betty Shamieh publishes debut novel
‘One oil to rule them all’: San Mateo’s Zero Acre Farms offers restaurants and home chefs an all-purpose cooking oil made from fermented sugar cane
The Chai Lab gives Menlo Park’s Roshni Madhvani a chance to blend her love of tea, science and books
Jam session: Meet the local company making all-natural jams, syrups and more in a myriad of flavors
‘Food for Thought’ installation honors farmers and food workers

2025 Top 10 — The Journalism Of Karla Kane

2025-12-30T16:00:37Z

Seaweed season: Tanya Stiller leads foraging classes on the San Mateo County coast — Most of us probably get our seaweed by ordering rolls at a sushi restaurant or in packaged-snack form from the grocery store. But if you head out to the Coastside, you can find it straight from the source. The area is home to quite an array of seaweed varieties, many of which can be delicious and nutritious, according to Tanya Stiller, director and instructor for the nonprofit Healing Tide.

Little libraries, big ideas: How Little Free Library stewards on the Peninsula strive to strengthen their communities, one book at a time — For more than a decade now, Little Free Libraries have been popping up in neighborhoods across the country and the world. Sometimes these welcoming spots for swapping reading material are uniquely designed or creatively decorated, while others focus on certain themes. The idea of freely sharing books with one’s neighbors is simple, yet powerful. To quote Daly City Little Free Library steward Mai Le, “Books are very easy, tangible things to share, but they have a lot of significance because of the ideas they have.”
Fireside Books and More opens in downtown Redwood City — Local bookworms have a new place to browse, thanks to the Feb. 1 opening of Fireside Books and More, an independent, general-interest bookshop in downtown Redwood City. Owners and Redwood City residents Andrew Johnson and Taylor Kubota said they hope Fireside will become a part of their hometown’s fabric. The name of the store is an homage to one in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where Johnson grew up.
Rebates for residents: What green incentives are available this spring? — Thinking about making your home or yard more eco-friendly and/or energy efficient and wondering if you qualify for any rebates in the process? We’ve highlighted some current rebate and incentive information for residents of single-family homes in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City and Mountain View regarding clean energy, energy efficiency and water conservation. We’ve also compiled a handy list of links to consult for finding more rebates, including options for other cities and for owners of multifamily and commercial buildings. For example, entering a ZIP code into the incentive finder on The Switch Is On will bring up a list of current rebates for the area, be it from the city, state or other program. Some rebates can be combined, to maximize the incentive to residents.
From ‘Sesame Street’ to ‘Wonderland’: Award-winning writer Mark Saltzman brings a cappella ‘Alice’ musical to TheatreWorks — In “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the titular character famously meets the Queen of Hearts. But some have speculated that in real life, Alice might have given her heart to a prince. “‘Alice in Wonderland’ was a real person, even though ‘Wonderland’ may not have been real,” said writer Mark Saltzman, whose musical “Alice, Formerly of Wonderland” is part of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s New Works Festival as a staged reading.
Massive trolls bring environmental message — and whimsical charm — to Filoli — Visitors to Filoli this summer and fall have the opportunity to meet some special guests, bearing an important message. Six enormous, whimsical trolls — the creation of Danish artist Thomas Dambo — are stationed throughout the historic estate’s natural lands and make up Dambo’s “Trolls: Save the Humans” traveling exhibition. “You’ll see them through the redwoods and the oak forest and you kind of come upon them as you’re hiking,” Willa Brock, Filoli’s interim director of collections and interpretation, said.
Cantor delves into the art of magic — The word “witch” may conjure up thoughts of Halloween, or Elphaba and Glinda on the stage and screen. Maybe you picture magic wands, flying broomsticks or bubbling cauldrons. The concepts of magic and witchcraft are ancient ones, and there are certain images and ideas about them that have developed over the centuries “Cunning Folk: Witchcraft, Magic, and Occult Knowledge,” an exhibition at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center, explores depictions of witchcraft and magic specifically in connection with early modern Europe (roughly c.e. 1500-1750), a time when print culture was blossoming, allowing literary and artistic works to spread rapidly.
Meet the Midpeninsula artisans making furniture, decor and more out of reclaimed materials — In a world of fast fashion, mass production and rampant waste, two Redwood City residents are making furniture, light fixtures and other home goods out of salvaged materials, turning what might otherwise languish as trash into functional, aesthetically pleasing treasure. You may have encountered products by their company, TroubleHouse, around town. Seen the eye-catching light fixture at Fireside Books and More or the tap handles at Ghostwood, for example? They’re the work of TroubleHouse’s John Eames and Chris Pilek.
From shared bills to built-in friends: The Silicon Valley house redefining rental life — Looking for housing that’s more than just a place to hang your hat? Welcome to Le Chateau McMansion, a rental home in Redwood City, where tenants don’t just share walls: They share their lives. At this intentional community, residents cook together, host movie nights, hike on weekends and split bills like family. As longtime resident Tegan Crombie puts it, “You don’t just get a room here. You get friends built in.”
From ‘yappy hour’ to doggie scrambles, here are a few Peninsula restaurants serving up canine meals and treats — The Peninsula loves its pets. With pleasant weather here for much of the year, it’s not unusual to see dogs out and about with their people, even faithfully waiting (or maybe begging) under the table during mealtimes at restaurants with outdoor dining. Usually, the best a pup could hope for might be a few dropped morsels, or perhaps a doggie bag to take home. But some local eateries have taken it to the next level, offering special dog menus so that canines can enjoy chowing down on a meal just for them alongside their human companions.
Art exhibition explores Palo Alto’s ‘hidden’ public spaces — A lush garden behind a seemingly locked gate. A plaza featuring restaurant seating and nude warrior sculptures. A concrete triangle. Those are just a few of the 12 “POPOS” (privately owned, public open spaces) sprinkled around Palo Alto – alleys and nooks that many may assume are off limits but are in fact, technically, open to everyone.

We Can Make The World A Whole Lot Brighter

2025-11-02T16:46:47Z

When I was laid off in June after 30 years at the same job, due to budget cuts at the federal level, it was slightly terrifying. How would I function in today's job market at my age? I didn't even understand most of the words in current job descriptions. But it was also a chance to start over and figure out if there was something better I could be doing with my life. (Fortunately I had enough severance that I could be selective for at least a few months before my family's health insurance ran out. Not everyone is so lucky.) There are a lot of good causes out there, but if we don't solve climate change and biodiversity loss, nothing else will matter because it won't exist.

So I applied at every environmental organization that was hiring: Earthjustice, National Audubon Society, San Mateo County Transit District, Climate Corps, Packard Foundation, TeraWatt Infrastructure, Parks California, The Redford Center, Climateworks, Climate Change AI, As You Sow, The Nature Conservancy, Canary Media, and more. Ultimately, I ended up applying for 109 jobs before I found one that was interested. And from the support groups and mailing lists that I'm on, it sounds like it's been that way for everyone affected by the scientific budget cut layoffs. Every open job has over 100 applicants and it's almost impossible to get noticed.

But today I'm very, very happy to announce that I have accepted a position at the Natural Capital Project, an international collaboration headquartered at Stanford University. I'll be doing administrative work, mostly in their on-campus office in the Doerr School of Sustainability. The description on their website reads:

The Natural Capital Project aims to improve the well-being of all by motivating greater investment in natural capital. With our global hub at Stanford University, NatCap is a partnership between interdisciplinary researchers, professionals, and leaders around the world. Together, we help people, governments, and corporations incorporate the value of nature into decision-making.

The world’s ecosystems can be seen as capital assets; if well-managed, their lands, waters, and biodiversity yield a flow of vital life-support services. Relative to other forms of capital, living natural capital is poorly understood and undergoing rapid degradation. Often, the benefits nature generates are widely appreciated only when they are lost. The Natural Capital Project aims to change that paradigm.

Starting with listening, we work with decision-makers to develop nature-based solutions. We use iterative engagement that begins with stakeholders and their needs, so the new science and tools that we develop are immediately relevant and can be incorporated into existing decision processes. We work in a wide array of places and sectors, developing nature-based solutions to problems as varied as: building resilience to climate and coastal hazards in Belize and the Gulf Coast states of the United States; guiding development planning in China, British Columbia, The Bahamas, and Myanmar; managing corporate risk in global sourcing decisions for Unilever; informing impact assessment and permitting for the Colombian Ministry of the Environment; making smart transportation loan decisions by the Inter-American Development Bank across Latin America; targeting investments in forest restoration for IUCN and country governments in Africa.

I've visited the office a few times in advance of my official start date, and everyone I've met is super nice, smart, and interesting. I was talking to one of the scientists about bass playing and music and he casually mentioned that he'll be in Brazil next week for COP30! So yeah, it's pretty much a dream job and I'm having a hard time believing that I actually get to do this for a living.

I know it's still kind of rough out there for many of my colleagues, and I really wish you all the best and I hope things get better eventually. They have to, right? I'm here for you if you want to hang out and play music, compare job search notes or whatever.

Half-Year Lists 2025

2025-07-02T15:24:59Z

Favorite songs of Q1 — January — March:

Favorite songs of Q2 — April — June:

Favorite 2025 albums, no particular order:

Gumshoes — Bugs Forever

Crys Matthews — Reclamation

Wes Cunningham — Meaningless

Nefesh Mountain — Beacons

The Jellybricks — Dreaming In Stereo

Helen Ganya — Share Your Care

Panda Bear — Sinister Grift

Andrew Rumsey — Collodion

Melin Melyn — Mill on the Hill

Nick Frater — Oh Contraire!

Brian D'Addario — Till The Morning

Lola Kirke — Trailblazer

Peggy Seeger — Teleology

Kevin Olusola — Dawn of a Misfit

Esther Rose — Want

Second By Second By Minute By Minute — The Songs Of Rick Springfield

Lavinia Blackwall — The Making

Favorite movies / TV seen in 2025, from all years, but that I hadn't previously watched:

Caddo Lake

Queen of Katwe

Festival

Joan Baez I Am a Noise

The Two Popes

Conclave

Mufasa: The Lion King

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Snow White

Skeleton Crew

Missing You

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music

Adolescence

George Harrison: Living in the Material World

Queenie

The Other Black Girl

Favorite books read in 2025, from all years:

First Time Ever -Peggy Seeger

The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened — Bill McKibben

Ecotopia Emerging — Ernest Callenbach

Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties — Elijah Wald

Olivetti — Allie Millington

The Twilight Garden — Sara Nisha Adams

Portal: San Francisco's Ferry Building and the Reinvention of American Cities- John King

Interesting Facts about Space — Emily R. Austin

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World — Robin Wall Kimmerer

Tedious Lists 2024 Part 2

2025-01-01T16:11:18Z

Favorite movies / TV seen in 2024, from all years, but that I had not previously seen:

Operation Mincemeat

13: The Musical

Mean Girls

The Greatest Night in Pop

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Ron's Gone Wrong

The Beach Boys

Next Goal Wins

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

Secrets of the Octopus

Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna

Full list of all movies watched in 2024.

Full list of all TV shows watched in 2024.

Favorite books read in 2024, from all years:

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us — Ed Yong

Girl, Woman, Other — Bernardine Evaristo

Stay True — Hua Hsu

Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens — David Mitchell

Countdown, Revolution, Anthem (The Sixties Trilogy) — Deborah Wiles

This Bird Has Flown — Susanna Hoffs

Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell — Sy Montgomery, Matt Patterson

The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale — Virginia Kantra

Running Out Of Time, Falling Out of Time -Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Salt Path — Raynor Winn

We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story — Simu Liu

Yellowface — R.F. Kuang

Vampire Weekend, Light Years From Home, A Quantum Love Story, We Could Be Heroes — Mike Chen

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World — Christian Cooper

The Backyard Bird Chronicles — Amy Tan

The Wild Silence — Raynor Winn

One Midsummer's Day: Swifts and the Story of Life on Earth — Mark Cocker

You Are Here — David Nicholls

My Ishmael — Daniel Quinn

The Husbands — Holly Gramazio

Playground — Richard Powers

Full list of books read in 2024

Tedious Lists 2024 Part 1

2024-12-31T16:53:45Z

Favorite 2024 albums in no particular order, but roughly chronological.

Jefferson Hamer — Alameda

Green Day — Saviors

Ismay — Desert Pavement

Britti — Hello, I'm Britti

Hurray For The Riff Raff — The Past Is Still Alive

Amelia Coburn — Between The Moon And the Milkman

Kacey Musgraves — Deeper Well

Grace Petrie — Build Something Better

Beyonce — Cowboy Carter

Brittney Spencer — My Stupid Life

Taylor Swift — The Tortured Poets Department

Call Me Spinster — Potholes

Matthew Stead — Pop!

Frank Turner — Undefeated

Jessica Pratt — Here In The Pitch

The Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All We Know

Rachel Chinouriri — What A Devastating Turn of Events

Vellamo — Pikaruokaa ja rakkautta

Suffs — Original Broadway Cast Recording

Linda Thompson — Proxy Music

The Armoires — Octoberland

Leslie Mendelson — After The Party

Blake Jones & The Trike Shop — And Still

The Cleaners From Venus — Lilli Bolero

Ingrid Michaelson — For The Dreamers

Ben Platt — Honeymind

Paul Heaton — The Mighty Several

White Rose - The Musical — Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording

Father John Misty — Mahashmashana

Wicked: The Soundtrack — Wicked Movie Cast

Jon Batiste — Beethoven Blues

Spellbound — Soundtrack from the Netflix Film by Skydance Animation

Cat Burns — Early Twenties

The Indelicates — Avenue Qanon

Full list of albums I heard for the first time in 2024.

Favorite songs of 2024 in 4 Spotify playlists:

2024 Top 10 — The Journalism Of Karla Kane, Part 2

2024-12-30T22:42:36Z

All ears: Tune in to these 8 noncommercial Peninsula radio stations — Looking to embark on an audio adventure? Tune in to a local, noncommercial radio station. Each listening session can have the thrill of a treasure hunt – you never know what gems you may discover or interesting folks you might come across. From the cutting edge to the classic to the gleefully weird, noncommercial radio stations have something to suit every taste (and while there is definitely enjoyment to be had in turning a physical radio dial, you can also usually listen live over the internet)

2. Installing a rain garden? Here’s where to find rebates, resources and inspiration — Whether you’re looking to make your landscaping more eco-friendly, trying to save money on water bills or hoping to prevent flood damage, adding a rain garden could be a great option, experts say. Some cities and regions even have offered incentives for residential rain gardens meeting their standards. Palo Alto residents, for example, can receive a rebate for adding a rain garden. (The garden must be installed by a licensed contractor and inspected by City of Palo Alto Watershed Protection staff. The rebate also must be applied for before the garden is installed.)

3. A place to play: Sound Union in Redwood City is a private club and a public concert venue — John Avilla has been playing music since childhood and still cherishes it for the emotional, mental and social boosts it provides. But, as a bassist who thrives on collaborating with others, finding the right space to do so hasn’t always been easy. “‘We always have to go to some guy’s garage, bring in all our gear, set it all up, play for a bit before the neighbors start complaining at 9, shut it all down, pack it all up and leave,'” Avilla’s friend and business partner Tom Zazueta recalled Avilla saying. “He looked around and was like, ‘… How do we create a space that’s a great place for musicians to go play and meet other musicians?'”

4. Books and beyond: Longtime Menlo Park bookshop Feldman’s has become a flourishing community hub — For more than two decades, Feldman’s Books in Menlo Park has been a favorite spot for local readers, a treasure trove of second-hand books. But the shop, which moved from its location on El Camino Real to Curtis Street in 2021, also has increasingly become a community gathering space and a venue for a variety of live events, including musical performances, author visits, discussion groups and more. “At a time when many feel disconnected from community, these events offer an opportunity to interact with one another, and a welcome sense of human connection,” Menlo Park accountant and friend of Feldman’s Laura Redmond told this news organization in an email. Redmond co-hosts the monthly Stoic book club and has helped host other Feldman’s events as well.

5. Local author takes readers back to the ’90s with ‘Lily Xiao Speaks Out’ — Lily Xiao, the 12-year-old protagonist of local author Nicole Chen's latest novel, "Lily Xiao Speaks Out," is a model student, the favorite of every teacher for her hard work and always-perfect behavior (her peers call her the class robot). At home, she's obedient to her Taiwanese immigrant parents and beloved grandmother, and her family pressures her to prioritize her studies ahead of everything else and never rock the boat when it comes to authority figures. The year is 1993, and shy Lily has a big dream – to sing and play guitar in a grunge band.

6. How motherhood inspired a San Mateo company that helps take meal prep off parents’ plates

7. How a layoff, a library and a laser cutter led one Redwood City artist down a new path

8. Redwood City couple aims to reduce single-use plastic with eco-friendly cleaning products company Greatfill

9. Spiritual shelter: Stanford exhibition explores hauntings, inheritance and the deep power of art

10. Sliding through the Peninsula’s playgrounds

2024 Top 10 — The Journalism Of Karla Kane

2024-12-30T22:11:06Z

A taste of the wild: A local naturalist teaches how to forage for edible plants responsibly — On a Saturday morning in mid-March, a small group of hungry explorers met at Hidden Villa, the nonprofit farm, education center and nature preserve nestled in Los Altos Hills. They weren't there to pick up a CSA box of produce. Instead, the mission was to get a taste of the abundant wild plants growing in our area, under the expert tutelage of senior naturalist Garth Harwood. Over the course of two hours, they got a hands-on (and mouths-on) introduction to some of the edible greens all around us, including tips on how to identify and prepare them safely, courtesy of Harwood's "Make a Wild Salad! Foraging Basics" class.

2. Meet the couples behind 3 vibrant Peninsula businesses — With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we’re catching up with couples running three local businesses: Timothy Adams Chocolates in Palo Alto, Nudie Records in Half Moon Bay and Groovy Goose Coffee in San Carlos. Read on for their insights into being successful partners at work and home — as well as a few of their sweetest eating, drinking and listening recommendations.

3. This Redwood City startup aims to make your HVAC system a lot, well, cooler — When Paul Lambert was on paternity leave following the birth of his second son, he found himself pondering his next move. An entrepreneur at heart, he'd founded companies before, worked at Twitter, and was a partner at Google's Area 120 when he had an epiphany. "I realized I had to work on whatever problem I genuinely believed was the most important problem to my kids' generation – really the whole next generation of humans. It sounds a little cheesy, but it's totally true," he said. "It's pretty clear climate change is that problem."

4. A clean sweep: Butano Broomcraft’s Lisa Sheffield Guy on taking inspiration from nature and going ‘full broom obsession’ — Lisa Sheffield Guy doesn’t consider herself a crafty person. “I don’t sew or quilt,” she said. “It just felt like something I wasn’t good at.” This may be surprising to those who discover Butano Broomcraft, the name under which Sheffield Guy creates a variety of handmade brooms from the Butano Canyon area of Pescadero. “A few years ago, I was determined to make Christmas gifts for my family and friends and not just go buy stuff,” she recalled. So she signed up for a class from a broom-maker in Santa Cruz and gave it a go.

5. Feline design: A ‘catio’ can give cats a taste of the outdoors in a safe way — Want to give your kitty's living quarters an upgrade? If you have the space (and it doesn't need to take much) adding a catio could prove to be the cat's meow. Chris MacIntosh, who laughingly described herself as "probably a certifiable cat lady," is caretaker to several beloved felines who rule the roost from the comfort of their catio in her Redwood City backyard.

6. Spotted a swarm? Meet the Mountain View beekeeper whose new platform gets honey bees rehomed

7. Peninsula sci-fi author Mike Chen discusses time loops, writing strategies and his new novel, ‘A Quantum Love Story’

8. Author Kyla Zhao on battling imposter syndrome, championing Asian representation and maintaining a passion for fashion

9. Seeing stars: From astronomy lessons to laser shows, De Anza College’s planetarium has been dazzling locals for decades

10. Meet The Baker Next Door: Neighbors bring handmade bread and pastries to downtown Redwood City

Half-year Lists 2024

2024-07-01T15:53:52Z

Favorite songs of Q1 — January — March:

Favorite songs of Q2 — April — June:

Favorite 2024 albums, no particular order:

Grace Petrie- Build Something Better

Hurray For The Riff Raff -The Past Is Still Alive

Hungrytown — Circus For Sale

Vellamo- Pikaruokaa Ja Rakkautta

The Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All We Know

Rachel Chinouriri -What A Devastating Turn of Events

Kacey Musgraves — Deeper Well

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes — I Built A World

Iain Mann & Sandy's — Magic Tracks

Jessica Pratt — Here In The Pitch

Georgia Ruth — Cool Head

Amelia Coburn — Between The Moon And the Milkman

Beyonce — Cowboy Carter

The Decemberists — As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again

Brittney Spencer — My Stupid Life

Call Me Spinster — Potholes

The Real Numbers- Thank You!

Frank Turner — Undefeated

Jefferson Hamer — Alameda

Sarah Jarosz — Polaroid Lovers

Green Day — Saviors

Ismay — Desert Pavement

Britti — Hello, I'm Britti

The Brother Brothers — The January Album

Full List of albums I listened to for the first time in 2024

Favorite movies / TV seen in 2024, from all years, but that I hadn't previously watched:

Operation Mincemeat

13: The Musical

Mean Girls

The Greatest Night in Pop

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Ron's Gone Wrong

The Beach Boys

Next Goal Wins

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

Secrets of the Octopus

Dark Matter

Full list, Movies seen in 2024

Full list, TV seen in 2024

Favorite books read in 2024, from all years:

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us — Ed Yong

Girl, Woman, Other — Bernardine Evaristo

Stay True — Hua Hsu

Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens — David Mitchell

Countdown, Revolution, Anthem (The Sixties Trilogy) — Deborah Wiles

This Bird Has Flown — Susanna Hoffs

Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell — Sy Montgomery, Matt Patterson

The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale — Virginia Kantra

Running Out Of Time, Falling Out of Time -Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Salt Path — Raynor Winn

We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story — Simu Liu

Yellowface — R.F. Kuang

Vampire Weekend, Light Years From Home, A Quantum Love Story, We Could Be Heroes — Mike Chen

Full list of books read in 2024

30% Amnesia

2024-03-05T23:00:56Z

March 8, 1994 was the day I first arrived in the Bay Area. It was the 90s, and I was a textbook Gen-X slacker: no job, no money, single, living at my parents' house, no prospects, and no ambitions. It had been a long, cold Michigan winter, and I thought it would finally be a good time to fly out to California to visit my much more successful brother who was about to graduate from Stanford. I planned to arrive on March 8 and stay for about a week. I remember seeing the green hills from the airplane window and getting this strange sense of coming home to a place that I had never been.

That was 30 years ago. I'm still here. I've done alright. I have a wonderful family, a swell job, a very fine house, 2 cats (not in the yard; indoor only), and once I even made an album that was chosen #1 of the year by David Bash. Still, sometimes I miss the feeling of early 1994, when I had my whole life ahead of me and anything could happen. March remains my favorite time of year in the Bay Area. (I've written more extensively about 1994 in a post from 15 years ago, and a series of top 20 lists from 10 years ago, if you're interested.)

AI rendering of what scientists believe I would have looked like in 1994.

Here are 70 of my favorite songs from that year; one per artist (or per show if showtune). It was a pretty darn good year for music, right?

But wait, that's not all. I've also updated my 20th anniversary playlist of songs about the Bay Area by local people I've been in bands with, been on a bill with, or met in some professional capacity. It's now 30 for 30.

And since I'm commemorating 3 decades: a 3rd playlist, for Apple subscribers only. It's a musical map of the greater Bay Area, arranged roughly north to south. One song per named location. (If the embed doesn't show up in your browser, here's a direct link: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/the-borders-of-my-life-north-to-south/pl.u-8aAVpe1IV8Rm1)

Tedious Lists 2023 Part 2

2024-01-01T18:44:23Z

Favorite Books read in 2023, from all years, in no particular order:

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting — Clare Pooley

Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility — Rebecca Solnit (Editor), Thelma Young Lutunatabua (Editor)

Coo — Kaela Noel

Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet — Maria Mudd Ruth

Star of Nimrod & Palace of Shadows — Graham Whitlock

Wrong Place Wrong Time — Gillian McAllister

Sistersong — Lucy Holland

Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World — Malcolm Harris

The Ministry for the Future — Kim Stanley Robinson

Delphi — Clare Pollard

Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them — Donovan Hohn

The Road to Wigan Pier — George Orwell

Meet Me in Another Life — Catriona Silvey

Jerusalem: Blake, Parry, and the Fight for Englishness — Jason Whittaker

Bloomsbury Girls — Natalie Jenner

Ghosts — Raina Telgemeier

Time's Mouth — Edan Lepucki

The Possibilities — Yael Goldstein-Love

The Lost Words — Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris

The Probability of Everything — Sarah Everett

The Cartographers — Peng Shepherd

All Our Wrong Todays — Elan Mastai

Bay Curious: Exploring the Hidden True Stories of the San Francisco Bay Area — Olivia Allen-Price

A Beginning at the End — Mike Chen

Favorite Podcasts, Radio Shows, Long Form Audio, Etc.

America Dissected

Bay Curious

Democracy Now

A History Of Rock Music In 500 Songs

What A Day

What Could Go Right?

KZSU Time Traveler

Science Weekly

Forever Ago

Tedious Lists 2023 Part 1

2024-01-01T16:19:49Z

Favorite 2023 albums in no particular order, but roughly chronological.

Belle and Sebastian — Late Developers

Holly Henderson — The Walls

Quasi — Breaking The Balls Of History

Daisy Jones & The Six — Aurora

Punk Rock Factory — It's Just A Stage We're Going Through

Mike Viola — Paul McCarthy

Aristos The Musical — Original Cast Recording

O'Hooley & Tidow — Coudheads

Jethro Tull — RökFlöte

Joy Oladokun — Proof Of Life

April March Meets Staplin

The Muppets Mayhem — Original Soundtrack

The Lemon Twigs — Everything Harmony

The Little Mermaid — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Rufus Wainwright — Folkocracy

Ben Folds — What Matters Most

Schmigadoon! — Season 2 Soundtrack

Yusuf/Cat Stevens — King Of A Land

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway — City of Gold

The Clientele — I Am Not There Anymore

Bethany Cosentino — Natural Disaster

Lucy Spraggan — Balance

Rhiannon Giddens — You're The One

Barbie: The Album — Soundtrack

Margo Cilker — Valley Of Heart's Delight

Allison Russell - The Returner

Tele Novella — Poet's Tooth

Theater Camp — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Anna Hillburg — Tired Girls

Dear Dear — Death of a Fairytale

KC Bowman — Crushes of Context

Joe Jackson — Mr. Joe Jackson Presents Max Champion in What a Racket!

Jenny Owen Youngs — Avalanche

Jim Bob — Thanks For Reaching Out

Sparkle*jets UK — Best Of Friends

Lane Steinberg — Head Space

Wonka — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Ron Sexsmith — The Vivian Line

Jim Moray — Beflean

Full list of albums I heard for the first time in 2023. In January I entertained the notion of trying to listen to one new album every day. I did not accomplish this. I ended the year with 263 albums, more than 100 short of the goal.

Favorite songs of 2023 in 4 Spotify playlists:

Favorite movies / TV seen in 2023, from all years:

Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)

Afterlife of the Party (2021)

Feel the Beat (2020)

Interstellar (2014)

Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

The Lost Bird Project (2012)

Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968)

Early Man (2018)

Rye Lane (2023)

Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)

A Tourist's Guide to Love (2023)

One More Time (2023)

Still Time (2022)

Living (2022)

Firefly Lane (2021–2023)

The Mindy Project (2012–2017)

The 1619 Project (2023– )

Cunk on Earth (2022– )

Fight the Power How Hip Hop Changed the World (2023– )

You (2018–2024)

Woodpeckers: The Hole Story (2022)

Abbott Elementary (2021– )

The Mandalorian (2019– )

Daisy Jones & The Six (2023)

Ted Lasso (2020–2023)

Schmigadoon! (2021– )

Secrets of Sulphur Springs (2021– )

Beef (2023– )

Workin' Moms (2017–2023)

The Muppets Mayhem (2023– )

Manifest (2018–2023)

The Lost King (2022)

Enola Holmes (2020)

Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

Barbie (2023)

You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023)

Love at First Sight (2023)

Elemental (2023)

The Little Mermaid (2023)

Theater Camp (2023)

Last Night in Soho (2021)

Leo (2023)

Wonka (2023)

Ghosts (2019–2023)

Ghosts (2021– )

Only Murders in the Building (2021– )

Outlander (2014– )

Black Mirror (2011– )

Kim's Convenience (2016–2021)

Upload (2020– )

Bodies (2023)

If Only (2022– )

Full list of movies seen in 2023.

Full list of TV shows seen in 2023.

2023 Top 10 — The Journalism Of Karla Kane: Part 2

2023-12-29T23:27:38Z

11.The refill revolution: Meet two Peninsula refilleries making shopping more sustainable

"When you’re shopping, how much thought do you give to not only the products you buy, but also the packaging they come in and the waste they create, or to the overall environmental footprint of your consumption? Have you ever considered changing your habits but found the prospect daunting? Laura Porter and Emily Ting have thought about it a lot, and their Peninsula establishments are here to help, offering local customers the opportunity to make shopping for everyday essentials (and goodies) more sustainable in an accessible way."

12. Fresh off a Grammy win, Molly Tuttle returns home for back-to-back shows at The Guild

"Although Molly Tuttle moved out of the Golden State more than a decade ago, the acclaimed musician will always be a California girl at heart – and in the hearts of her Peninsula family, friends and fans.

'People feel like I'm still a local,' she said during a recent interview from Nashville, Tenn., where she's lived for the past eight years following a stint in Boston attending the Berklee College of Music. 'I still get that feeling like I'm coming home when I get to come play in the Bay Area.'"

13. Flown away but not forgotten: Sculptor's project memorializes extinct bird species

"Stanford University is home to many bird species, but passenger pigeons, Labrador ducks, Carolina parakeets, great auks and heath hens are not usually among them. For one thing, they’ve all been extinct for many years. Though these vanished species are no longer flying or swimming free, current visitors to the campus arts district can have an encounter of sorts with them, in the form of artist Todd McGrain’s large-scale bronze sculptures — a touching and thought-provoking memorial to the 'Lost Birds.'"

14. Review: TheatreWorks' 'Fannie' celebrates a powerful voice for change

"'Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer' is all about voice — honoring Fannie Lou Hamer's legacy as a voice for freedom, justice and equality, and showcasing the simply wonderful voice of Greta Oglesby, who brings the remarkable Hamer to life on stage in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's current production."

15. Rufus Wainwright headlines Stanford Live's Bing Fling

"According to Rufus Wainwright’s song 'April Fools,' 'Life's a train that goes from February on, day by day, but it's making a stop on April first.' And the Canadian-American artist will indeed be making a local stop on that date — no foolin’ — when he headlines Stanford Live’s annual Bing Fling."

16. A queer take on the Trojan War makes its own epic journey to the stage

17. Review: The Pear hits a high note with 'Falsettos'

18. Collective energy: New boutiques with community spirit freshen up the Coastside retail scene

19. Stitching it together: Coastside Quilt Studio offers crafting and community

20. Multimedia art project maps the heart of a community

2023 Top 10 — The Journalism Of Karla Kane

2023-12-23T16:09:26Z

1. Dragon tales: Meet the Redwood City couple spreading joy with homemade inflatable dragons

"They call him Posty. He’s been a postal worker (hence the name), a cyclist, a wedding guest and a Jedi. He’s been the Virgin Mary. He’s been both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He’s a large, blue, inflatable dragon. And he’s not alone.

Posty is one of around a bevy of creations spreading delight on Redwood City’s Fernside Street and beyond, thanks to local couple Megan Gardner and Taylor Pope."

2. Behind the screens: Meet the Palo Alto native making custom screen prints and hand-painted signs from his Coastside art studio

"Eric Kneeland’s job requires a lot of screen time. It’s not, however, the type that involves hours staring at a computer: Kneeland is the founder of Black Stamp Studios, a Princeton-by-the-Sea art studio and print shop that does things the old-fashioned way, producing custom screen prints and hand-painted signs, and always taking an active part in the community.

'I don’t have a website. I’m kind of a caveman, so it’s mostly word of mouth,' the proudly old-school Kneeland said during a meeting at his shop near Pillar Point Harbor, just north of Half Moon Bay."

3. Bookworm’s bounty: An editor ponders her favorite local bookshops

"The autumn equinox has passed, which means it’s time to look forward to cozy rainy afternoons spent curled up with a purring cat, a cup of tea, and a good book – oh, who am I kidding, it’s always the perfect time for a good book, no matter the season.

Anyone who knows me is aware that I’m a pretty big fan of reading (my daughter and I have literally been the poster children at our local library, for goodness sake). And we’re lucky to have not only wonderful library systems but also a plethora of excellent independent bookshops in our area."

4. Canine casting call: TheatreWorks is picking a pup for a role in its next production

"TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is currently considering canine candidates for the role of mystery author Agatha Christie’s beloved pooch Peter in its West Coast Premiere of Heidi Armbruster's 'Mrs. Christie,' running Oct. 4-29 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.

According to a press release from the theater company, director Giovanna Sardelli is seeking 'a well-behaved, well-trained dog' to portray Peter (in real life a wirehaired terrier) in two scenes in the production, which chronicles a modern-day Christie fan’s attempt to figure out the truth behind Christie’s unexplained 11-day disappearance in 1926."

5. Want to turn your backyard into an urban farm?

"What’s known as Silicon Valley today was once called the 'Valley of Heart’s Delight' for its blossoming orchards and bountiful farmland. While the land has been built up over the years, with many folks likely out of touch with the area’s agricultural heritage, one company is working to maintain a connection to that tradition.

Farmscape, a company with branches (no pun intended) in both northern and southern California is on a mission to establish gardens and farms in just about every imaginable space in Silicon Valley – think residential backyards, tech campuses, sports stadium rooftops and multi-family complexes."

6. Inside Margo Cilker’s new album, ‘Valley of Heart’s Delight’

7. How Tai Zhan evolved from a pop-up to a brick-and-mortar bakery selling vegan pineapple buns and kouign-amann

8. Funny business: Inside the Peninsula’s House of Humor

9. Nathan's Fearless Five, fronted by high school junior Nathan Tokunaga, plays regular gigs in Palo Alto and San Francisco

10. Longtime journalist’s book takes a deep dive into an infamous Peninsula murder

Activate Professional Package of Service

2023-12-13T22:42:01Z

Well, I did it. I updated at least once a month in 2023, to celebrate 20 years of social media.

The year's not over, but here's some wrap-up and data.

Favorite songs from January to June*, one per artist:

Favorite songs from July to December*, one per artist:

Favorite songs of 2023 from soundtracks; TV, film, stage, etc.:

*I'm using release dates from Spotify, found at the bottom left corner when viewing in album mode. In some cases I've included bonus tracks from 2023 reissues of older albums, if they are songs that weren't previously commercially available.

On the Night’s Plutonian Shore

2023-11-25T16:44:58Z

Last night on our family outing, almost home, I thought "re-routing'

There could be no doubting that we need to walk a little more

Let's go see the hubcap station, a recent public installation

Why the extra complication? Only art and nothing more.

OK, I can't keep up the rhyme scheme, but here's the story:

We were on our way home from a family walk around the neighborhood and I suddenly got a calling in my mind that we should go to the hubcap statue near the county government center. The path goes through a construction site. We stopped to look at the new buildings through the construction fences and noticed what looked to be a raven inside one of the almost-completed buildings, running back and forth in front of a window. It became clear that he was trapped under a large panel of some construction material and wasn't able to get back to the open door.

I watched for a few minutes, hoping he would figure out how to move the panel, but he could not. It was the Friday night after Thanksgiving, and if no one was working over the weekend, he could be trapped there until Monday with no food or water. I thought about trespassing on the construction site and seeing if I could free him myself, but decided that I should go through the proper channels first.

I called County Animal Services and they were not helpful. "It will probably just figure out how to go out the way it came in. But call again if anything changes." I watched for another 1/2 hour and there was no change. He just kept running back an forth tapping on the glass and trying to get out. Karla called the security number on the construction fence. They said they'd send someone, but no one showed up. Finally I called a different animal services line and wouldn't give up. They said "OK, we'll send the fire department to look at the situation". This was good news, because the fire house is only two blocks away. (Why is this the fire department's business rather than the department that is literally named "Animal Services"? I don't know.)

The fire department showed up, and the older white guy who seemed to be in charge gave me the same treatment as the original animal services person: "Oh, it'll figure out how to get out. We don't need to do anything. The construction crew will handle it." I've been there for an hour at this point watching the raven get more and more traumatized, and I know that none of this is correct, so I figure that I'll just have to wait until they leave, and break into the construction site myself to save the raven.

But then something awesome happened that restored my faith in humanity. The 2 younger fire fighters who were also there broke open the fence, ran into the construction site and rescued the raven, all while the chief had his back turned and was talking to us about how we should just do nothing and it will all work out fine. The raven flew into a nearby tree and we all applauded.

So what's the moral? I don't really know. There was no reason for us to go that direction except that the idea suddenly popped into my head and I couldn't ignore it, as if the raven were somehow summoning me.

Remembering Agony Aunts' "Big Cinnamon" — 10 Years In The Future

2023-11-20T18:12:44Z

I'm re-sharing this from the indie music blog "Power Pop Is Not Power Pop", written by Jonathan Bernstein Goodman:

When I say the word "epic-bay-area-supergroup-psychedelic-album-from-2013" what comes to your mind? The Moore Brothers' "California Sister"? Felsen's "I Don't Know How To Talk Anymore"? The Orange Peels' "Sun Moon"? The Bye Bye Blackbirds' "We Need The Rain"? The American Professionals' "We Make It Our Business"? The Real Numbers' "1-2-3-4-5"? Stik Pinz' "The Record For Ned"? The Frozen Soundtrack? Those are all good guesses (except the last one), but you are completely wrong. The answer is, of course, Agony Aunts' "Big Cinnamon", an album that I alone remember, and which is turning 10 this year along with all of those other, lesser albums. How do I know so much more about music than you do? Because I am a white middle-aged guy who wears glasses.

Big Cinnamon was Agony Aunts' final swan song, after a legendary storied career that included one other album. (OK, they also put out a collection of b-sides and outtakes. And then there was the hastily thrown together covers album to cash in on the mysterious simultaneous deaths of the lead singer, drummer, and bass player a few years later, but that's about it.)

The opening track of Big Cinnamon — "24 Mergansers" is a rumination on the absurdities of material culture and capitalism, done in the baroque chamber pop style and including many classical flourishes and pyrotechnics. Or maybe it's just a song about ducks, which would be fine too. "Family Drugs" is another rumination on the absurdities of material culture and capitalism, but done to an odd time signature with fewer classical flourishes and pyrotechnics.

The title song tells the life story of The High Sailor on the Sea of Styx, His Majestic Sunset, The Persimmon Warrior, He Who Haseth Horns, The Red Bandit, El Rojo Bandits, The Burning Bunny, Ol' Red Socks, and Orel Hershiser, to name a few. "Back To Back Bill", "Undecimber", and "We Got The Jeckyll" are good too. You should listen to them.

Hmmm, where was I? Tired of writing this blog about some obscure band that no one cares about, but if you've read this far, let's skip ahead to "You're So Vague", the only Yacht Rock song I know of to have been written and recorded entirely in an airport bar. If you're thinking: "Hey, this doesn't sound like the other Agony Aunts songs. Why does it have completely different singers and instrumentation? Did they steal some other band's recording and pretend like they did it themselves? Who's the guy in the video? Who's the other guy in the video? Why Michael McDonald?" You're not alone. I also think those same things almost every day for the past 10 years.

Agony Aunts only appeared in public a handful of times, most notably at the 2011 Power Pop For Poor People festival in Blackpool, England where they spent their allotted 20 minutes on an extended jam of early Neil Diamond semi-hits and never got around to playing anything from Big Cinnamon, which wouldn't be written and recorded for another 2 years.

10 years on, what have we learned? Only that 2013 can now be seen as the most important year in the history of music, and by extension, everything else. Keep Laughing At The World, and spare a thought for Agony Aunts' "Big Cinnamon", maybe by buying an actual copy for money, if people still do that.

— Jonathan Bernstein Goodman, Power Pop Is Not Power Pop

Rise Up Wise Up Eyes Up

2023-10-06T20:18:07Z

In January I made a vow to update Livejournal at least once a month in 2023 to commemorate 20 years on social media. I've now made it 10 months. (And yes, I know perfectly well that no one ever reads this. )

Last month I was at a social gathering where the host* asked everyone to describe their morning routines. Normally I hate being called on to speak in public, but I really enjoyed hearing everyone's answers and it seemed like a perfect subject to overly elaborate on a blog nobody reads, on a website nobody remembers, so here goes:

Weekdays

I get up between 5:30am and 7am, depending on the season (earlier in Summer, later in Winter). Normally what wakes me up is the cats begging for wet food. They may still have dry food in their bowls but they want their wet foot at specific times and there's nothing to be done about it except to give it to them. So my first act is to feed the cats. While I'm doing this I turn on Democracy Now on KPFA, which is old fashioned FM radio (because I am very elderly these days).

I do some stretches and pour a cup of cold brew coffee, which OAK helped me make the night before. Almost every day there's a new clickbait article about the best cold brew coffee makers, but really all you need is good beans and good water. Grind the beans (OAK's job), stir in the water (Redwood City water is ideal), let it sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning, strain out the grinds, and voila, perfect coffee. I use a cheap thrift store French Press with beans from Equator or Lion Coffeebar, and full-fat Oatly or Califia Oat Barista. We make enough so that I can have a cup before work and fill my Contigo to take to work, for the rest of the day.

While the cats are eating I either go for a short walk around the neighborhood (if I have time before OAK's alarm goes off at 7), water plants, or just start reading some of the morning email newsletters that I subscribe to. I normally start with Heather Cox Richardson's "Letters From an American" which I can't recommend highly enough. Next is "First Edition" from the Guardian, which is written for a British audience. I like to consider myself British, but I usually skim most of this one because it's a little *too* UK-centric. After that it's New York Times' "The Morning" & "California Today", and then the American edition of the Guardian:"First Thing". Later in the morning I get the more localized newsletters: SF Gate's "The Daily", Palo Alto Online Express, The Stanford Report, and Redwood City Pulse. I also subscribe to several climate change and nature-specific newsletters which are sometimes daily, sometimes weekly or bi-weekly: Grist's "The Daily", Canary Media's "Daily Newsletter", The Guardian's "Down To Earth", Time Magazine's "Climate Is Everything", Los Angeles Times' "Boiling Point", The New York Times' "Climate Forward", The Atlantic's "Weekly Planet", Future Crunch, David Byrne's "Reasons To Be Cheerful", The Progress Network's "What Could Go Right?" and probably more that I'm forgetting. Obviously I don't have time to read all of that before OAK gets up at 7, so I catch up throughout the day.

Before the 7am alarm goes off (on school days. There's no alarm in the Summer. I have not used an alarm clock for myself in several years.) I start preparing goldenmoonbear 's morning tea, and putting together a breakfast for the family. Common weekday breakfasts can include, but are not limited to, Marmite toast, avocado toast, Morning Star veggie bacon or sausage, leftover rice, various cereal, smoothies, and always some form of fruit. OAK loves fruit. While making breakfast and getting ready for work/school we listen to KPFA's Morning Show, which has been a constant in our life for 20 years or more. (Short aside: while I was recovering from throat surgery, the nurse said that I should eat cold, smooth foods. I came up with the perfect breakfast smoothie, which is cold brew coffee, oat milk, frozen bananas, and peanut butter. It's amazing.)

As soon as the alarm goes off, OAK yells "TAXI" and I give her a piggyback ride to the bathroom or living room so she can start getting ready for school. This often involves lying on the couch, reading a book, and not coming to the breakfast table the first five times I call her. (I think I'm probably the only morning person in the family.)

We strive to leave for school by 7:50. OAK is perpetually slow about getting around for anything, so we rarely leave on time. goldenmoonbear and I both walk with OAK to her school, which is about a mile away. After dropping her off I go to the train station and catch the 8:28 train to Palo Alto. On the train I listen to my morning podcasts, starting with the portion of Democracy Now that I missed (unless I got up at 6 to hear the whole thing), and then Crooked Media's "What a Day", KQED's "California Report" and "The Bay". Always in that order. Also on the train ride (which only takes about 10 minutes) I check my social media feeds and messages and generally just enjoy not being in traffic or in a car. I've taken the train to work for 15 years. Before that I biked, but I've gotten too old and lazy for that.

From the Palo Alto train station it's about a 20 minute walk to my office. The first portion goes through a beautiful Oak and Eucalyptus forest, which includes the Stanford Mausoleum. The second portion is through the arts and museum district and the last part is the science, engineering, & technology quad. Nature, culture, & science — the three things that make human life worth living. I'm very lucky to get to do this walk every day. I get to the office around 9 and thus ends my weekday morning routine.

Saturdays

On Saturdays I still get up early to feed the cats. Then I usually go on a longer walk around town; sometimes out to Redwood Creek to see what birds are there, sometimes to the Square, sometimes just around the park next door. I usually see at least one interesting thing.

After that I enjoy my coffee and computer time on the front porch, where I can watch birds and people and dogs go by. Saturday-specific newsletters that I read include "Inside Climate News", "Walking Redwood City", Jessica Grose's "NYT Parenting", NYT "The Weekender", The New Statesman's "The Saturday Read", and whatever I missed out on during the week. I sometimes listen to two hours of NPR's "Weekend Edition" while waiting for OAK and goldenmoonbear to wake up.

Saturday is Pancake Day, and has been since the pandemic days. OAK helps me make the pancakes and we enjoy a leisurely breakfast with crosswords and books, while listening to Spotify "Release Radar" or whatever important albums have come out the day before. (This week it's Stornoway's "Dig the Mountain!", Tele Novella's "Poet's Tooth", and No-No Boy's "Empire Electric".) After that I do some housework or yard work for a bit.

If we don't have any out-of-town events planned, we walk into town and pick up produce at the farmers' market, which is open from April — November. Then we go out for fancy lattes at Lion Coffeebar (which is really called merely "Coffeebar"), and hang out in their patio seating area drinking coffee (OAK gets a hot chocolate or fizzy water), eating farmers' market berries, petting dogs, and playing in the street. That section of Broadway has been closed to cars since 2020 and I hope it stays that way. After that we go to the library (OAK is a voracious reader, and needs several books every day, plus the library is just a nice place to be.) and by then it's not morning any more.

Sundays

Sundays mornings are the best mornings of the week. In addition to the walk and read time (On Sundays specifically: The Guardian's "The Upside", Emergence Magazine, The Atlantic's Daily Sunday Culture Edition, News From the States.) we play all of the NYT puzzles and quizzes together as a family. Our favorite is "Flashback: Your Weekly History Quiz", in which you place 8 events in chronological order. We also play Connections, Spelling Bee, News Quiz, Tiles, and Letter Boxed, plus the NPR Sunday Puzzle. After that we have no specific routine, just wherever the day takes us.

*It was Tara.

Banana Coming Through

2023-09-15T18:43:41Z

UK 2023 — Day 14, Part 2.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1daAkYQRJISchLQ3o3l0-lFlcIO2TPnj2

Lamb's Conduit

2023-09-05T22:18:55Z

UK 2023, Day 14 — Part 1.

Sir James Matthew Barrie, Bart. OM, 1860 - 1937, novelist, dramatist and creator of 'Peter Pan', lived in a house on this site, 1885 - 1888.

New construction and repurposing of old buildings at King's Cross.

A cat who lives on a boat in the canal. I met him on my morning walk around King's Cross.

New construction and repurposing of old buildings at King's Cross.

The new King's Cross public square and fountains.

Former gas plant is now housing.

In April 1929 J.M. Barrie gave the copyright to his Peter Pan works to the hospital, with the request that the income from this source not be disclosed. This gave the institution control of the rights to these works, and entitled it to royalties from any performance or publication of the play and derivative works. Innumerable performances of the play and its various adaptations have been staged, several theatrical and television adaptations have also been produced, and numerous editions of the novel have been published, all under licence from the hospital. — Wikipedia

A colorful cafe in Bloomsbury.

Peter Panbulance at Great Ormond Street Hospital

Rainbows in Russel Square.

Taking the double-decker bus to South Kensington.

We meant to go look at this shop when we got off the bus but we never made it.

Victoria & Albert Museum.

Bird detail at the Natural History Museum.

Step Into Wonderland

2023-08-29T21:56:29Z

UK 2023, Day 13.

At its peak, Battersea Power Station was supplying a fifth of London's electricity. After decades of sitting derelict, it is now open to the public as one of London's most exciting and innovative new destinations. The very building which once produced the energy that enabled people to eat, drink, shop and play in the City, now provides the venue for a new generation to do the same. — https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk/about/

What makes Hopkinsons such a special place is the businesses we house, and the people in our building. A passionate advocate and supporter of independent businesses, we are home to a carefully curated selection of artists, vintage, retro and antiques dealers; to name but a few. Our businesses regularly bring life and soul to our building hosting events and workshops so make sure you check out our "What's On" section so you can come down and get involved. Hopkinsons is a fiercely safe space and we welcome everyone with open arms. Find out more about our businesses below, but please be aware this is just a handful of the incredible selection we have. — https://www.hopkinson21.co.uk/community

At home in California we use our Contigos whenever we go out for coffee. It's hard to avoid single-use plastics when you're on holiday, so it's always nice when a coffee shop goes out of their way to advertise how compostable their cups and straws are. This may be the most claims I've ever seen on one cup, and I've seen a lot of claims.

Sen Viet Restaurant in King's Cross. London has no shortage of fine Vietnamese restaurants, the majority of them in Hoxton.

Introducing The Tusk Gorilla Trail at Covent Garden, in partnership with African conservation charity Tusk and Westbrook Gallery. From July 14th, discover our trail of 15 life-sized gorilla sculptures across the Covent Garden neighbourhood.Following the huge success and popularity of the Tusk Rhino Trail in 2018 and the Tusk Lion Trail in 2021, the 15 gorilla sculptures will be placed throughout the historic Piazza and streets of London’s Covent Garden, including Seven Dials. The artworks will be on display for the public to enjoy throughout summerEmbellished in designs curated from an array of talented artists from the world of art, design, film, photography and comedy, follow our Tusk Gorilla Trail map to see them all for yourself. — https://www.coventgarden.london/the-tusk-gorilla-trail-at-covent-garden/

Cecil Court — The Secret Alley Full Of Curious Old Bookshops. https://secretldn.com/cecil-court-history/

An Alice In Wonderland themed shop in Cecil Court.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but the clock tower has been refurbished since the last time we were in London in 2017. The hands of the clock and numbers are now blue. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/elizabeth-tower-and-big-ben-conservation-works-2017-/

Since 2001, every time I'm in London, I have Karla take a photo of me in this exact spot on the St. James Park bridge. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=ghostlypenguin&set=a.10154844677076574

Reverse angle, looking toward Buckingham Palace.

Swinging London

Yes, we're tourists.

The National Covid Memorial Wall. This goes on far longer than you could imagine.

Cool playground, right? It closed the second we got there.

Control Room B, Battersea Power Station. It is now a bar, but they preserved a lot of the equipment.

Original furnishings from Battersea Power Station.

I've been a bit obsessed with Battersea Power Station for years. It's always been the mysterious abandoned building across the river. I've been going to see it since the 90s, but this was the first time I've ever been inside.

Many ideas were proposed for the Battersea Power Station site over the years, but nothing ever came to fruition until now. It opened in 2022 as an upscale shopping mall, with apartments and other attractions. When we went there weren't very many shoppers, so who knows if it will succeed. The restoration is beautiful though.

That's right, I documented the Battersea Power Station WiFi.

https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk

The lawn between the power station and the river has been transformed into a public park, with a movie theatre, sports facilities and other fun things.

We noticed these outdoor movie theaters in a few places around London.

The Northern Line extension to Battersea Power Station opened in 2021. There are definitely more than 52 stations on the Northern Line. https://nineelmslondon.com/transformation/northern-line-extension/

Similar to what's happened in Battersea, the King's Cross area is almost unrecognizable from 6 years ago. Have a look at this post from Londonist about how much London has changed in just the past 20 years. https://londonist.com/london/art-and-photography/aerial-london-then-and-now

Because you have to, no? During the day this place gets overcrowded with Harry Potter fans waiting in line to take this same photo. But late at night you can just walk up to it.

St. Pancras Station. We walked the entire distance from our King's Cross Travelodge to Battersea Power Station (about 5 miles), but took a train back.

More Being, Less Doing

2023-08-29T19:28:47Z

UK 2023, Day 12.

Robin Hood statue at Nottingham Castle. https://www.nottinghamcastle.org.uk

Hanging our laundry on one of the few non-rainy days. (It did rain later.)

One of the remaining Hoodwinked statues from a 2018 tourism stunt. https://www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk/whats-on/hoodwinked-2018-p730331

OAK found this ladybug on the bus from Calverton and carried it all the way to the last stop so she could release it near a tree where it would be safe.

We are passionate about supporting and promoting UK creatives and curate the best designer makers to create a treasure trove of design led products. Stocking over 100 UK designer makers we have all things gifty to brighten up your day.Handmade Nottingham began in November 2014 on St James's Street as a pop up shop for Christmas. After an amazing response we stayed for four years! With HN going from strength to strength we started to out grow the space so in October 2018 we hosted another pop up shop in a bigger and better location on Kings Walk. After another great response we have now relocated to our new home on Kings Walk. — https://www.handmadenottingham.com/pages/visit-us

https://www.handmadenottingham.com

Beloved by locals as a famous ‘meeting place’, Nottingham’s Left Lion is one of two stone lions situated either side of the steps leading to the front entrance of the Council House.The left one is affectionately known as Leo and the right is known as Oscar.The two regal figures were sculpted by Joseph Else, principal of the Nottingham School of Art.The lions, like the Council House, have become etched in the psyche of local people who will probably have clambered over them as children and used them as a meeting point with friends and ‘dates’ in adulthood. — https://www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk/things-to-do/the-left-lion-p586061

"Nottingham Beach". Nothing was operating while we were there even though it was the middle of summer. https://nottinghambeach.co.uk

Pieminster Pies at Long Row Social. https://www.longrowsocial.co.uk

Our focus is on providing you with great quality sustainable goods with minimal packaging and a lower environmental impact. At Shop Zero, we know the provenance of what we sell – where our products come from and what they’re made of. We work alongside local producers and makers to bring you great quality sustainable products.To reduce packaging and food waste, we offer whole foods and store cupboard essentials in bulk and unpackaged. All ready for your own containers, in the quantities that you choose. We also host an exciting programme of ethically-focused events, talks, pop-up shops and workshops throughout the year featuring some amazing local independent businesses and individuals.And we’re here to talk with you about what you’re buying, so you can shop sustainably with confidence.We need a change in the way we consume and shop. Nature is cyclical and we need to follow her example (click here to find out more about adopting a circular economy). We’ve become disconnected from our environment. At Shop Zero, we want to support the move away from a linear approach of producing greater amounts of waste to taking more responsibility for the impact we have on our world. — https://shopzero.co.uk/about-us/

View from Nottingham Castle.

Interactive Robin Hood exhibit at Nottingham Castle. https://www.nottinghamcastle.org.uk/robin-hood-adventures/

So much rain.

OAK mainly subsisted on Monster Munch, but she also helped Helen make this Victoria Sponge with strawberry topping.

Ready bagged, well rotted.

2023-08-23T23:20:16Z

UK 2023, Day 11.

Morning walk in Sherwood Forest.

A horse I met in Calverton.

Southwell Minster

They grew and grew in the old church yard, 'til they could grow no higher. And there they tied in a true lover's knot, the red rose and the briar.

Southwell, which is not pronounced south well.

Southwell charity shoppe.

https://www.southwellminster.org

The results are in and it’s official: The Leaves of Southwell at Southwell Minster have been voted #1 in the Association of English Cathedrals (AEC) prestigious #CathedralTreasures competition.The fluid carvings of plants, animals and green men found within the Chapter House – known collectively as ‘The Leaves of Southwell’ – are of quite exceptional quality. Regarded as the best example of 13th century naturalistic carving in the United Kingdom, they are globally important. The craftsmanship is truly something to behold and there are all manner of creatures, both real and mythical to be found hidden among the leaves. — https://www.southwellminster.org/cathedral-treasure/

https://www.southwellminster.org/cathedral-treasure/

Mark Luker in a used bookshop, as is tradition.

Of course I bought this.

July, looking like Autumn.

Peacock at Reg Taylor's Swan Sanctuary. https://regtaylors.co.uk/swan-sanctuary/

Canada Goose at Reg Taylor's Swan Sanctuary. https://regtaylors.co.uk/swan-sanctuary/

https://regtaylors.co.uk/swan-sanctuary/