Happy Wanderer: Traveling with titanium

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HILLS NEWSPAPERS: JANUARY 8, 2010

I have a new best friend.  It’s not something I asked for, or sought out, or even necessarily wanted in my comfortable mid-life years. I have plenty of friends. But suddenly, I’ve got a new lifelong companion, and no matter how mismatched we may be, we’re locked in this relationship.

This new friend of mine is a titanium hip, presented to me by a surgeon who said life would be better “bionic”. My limp, more pronounced as the last bit of cartilage in my socket disappeared, would be better, in time, with the aid of my new metal partner. Continue reading →

Town Crier: Race to fulfill your New Year’s resolutions

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MONTCLARION: JANUARY 8, 2010

2010 is just seven days old, and already I’ve broken my number one resolution – to eat less chocolate. Why is the cocoa bean so alluring? Like a smoker to a cigarette, it’s the first thing I think about each morning as I rifle through the cubboards for a truffle to sweeten my coffee. A pour man’s mocha, I call it. It’s how I greet the day.

Does this make me a bad person? No. It just makes me a plump person, which leads me to my other resolution – weight loss. If anyone knows of a good fat free chocolate, please let me know. Continue reading →

New Year brings nada

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MONTCLARION: January 1, 2010

WELL, IT WAS bound to happen. After years of writing this column, I’ve got nothing to say. No salacious gossip, no new ideas. The well is dry, and the bucket is missing. Don’t think the irony escapes me. It’s New Year’s Day, and I’ve got nada.

I suppose I could write about crime, again. Smash-and-grab thieves have been wreaking havoc in the hills. One crook even took a bunch of reusable shopping bags from the back of a reader’s car. Continue reading →

Town Crier: Places to go Christmas weekend

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MONTCLARION: December 25, 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope this day finds you in good cheer, enjoying the warmth of family, friends and the holiday yule log on channel 20. The yule log is especially important if it’s a “spare the air” day — but that’s a subject for another column.

If you’re like me, you’ll be looking for a way to extend Christmas through the weekend. Here are my picks for some last-minute outings: Continue reading →

When the season goes sour

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MONTCLARION: DECEMBER 18,2009

‘TIS THE SEASON “… to get ripped off. Every year we hear the warnings: Don’t leave your valuables in the car. But we mess up anyway, and the bad guys know this.

Consider the recent rash of auto break-ins at Redwood Regional Park (Skyline Gate) and the nearby Hills Swim Club. Most have occurred in broad daylight, when it’s clear that the victims are going for a walk or a workout. In the time it takes to count to 10, the car window is shattered and the goods are grabbed “… everything from packages to purses to laptops. Continue reading →

Happy Wanderer: Exotic foods add spice to life

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CONTRACOSTATIMES.COM: December 11, 2009

What constitutes an adventure? After releasing my top picks for travel adventures last month, several readers were

Serving up Stinky Shark in Iceland

quick to bring up a new category – culinary adventure. If you’ve ever eaten monkey brains or blowfish or even Lutefisk (a dish from my childhood that still haunts me today), you know that one culture’s entrails are another’s epicurean delight. Continue reading →

Town Crier: Death caps prove deadly for Oakland pet

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MONTCLARION: December 11, 2009

The loss of a pet can be devastating. For many of us, the family dog or cat is a loved one that can’t easily be replaced. To die of old age is one thing – you have time to prepare for your pet’s passing. But to succumb to something that can be prevented – is crushing.

Andrea Flaherty and her husband were walking their dog on Estates Drive in Piedmont, the evening after Thanksgiving. Their pet stopped to do what pets do – stick its nose in the grass and root around for food. Continue reading →

The six questions

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OAKLAND MAGAZINE: December 2009

Who: Stephen Kent, 51, of Oakland

What: He’s a professional didgeridoo player with his own Music of the World radio show on Berkeley’s public radio station, KPFA-FM, 94.1.

When: He performs with his trio Baraka Moon throughout the year and has just released a CD by the same name. His radio show airs live on Thursday mornings from 10 a.m.–noon and is archived for two weeks on kpfa.org.

Where: The world is his stage, with performances scheduled across several continents.

Why: As a kid living in Africa, he grew up hearing native instruments, but it wasn’t until 1981 when he became musical director of an Australian circus that he started studying the didgeridoo. “It’s a very primal sound and yet it has a level of sophistication within it that’s quite extraordinary. Part of the reason I play it is people are very attracted to that sound. It roots the listener and some part of ourselves that we’ve lost in our culture.”

How: Kent’s studio is next to his home on a large lot in the Oakland hills. His family supports his endeavors, and his wife is also a musician (vocalist) and recording artist. 

The season’s first snowfall in San Francisco’s East Bay

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Midwest transplants, rejoice! Winter promises to bring more than one snowfall to the East Bay this year, thanks to El Nino and colder-than-normal temperatures. Here is a wonderful video, courtesy of student Bryan Navarro at St. Mary’s College in Moraga,  of our first snow of the season, Dec. 7, 2009:

And thanks to Bennett Hall for the photo, below, of his wife Helen and dog Jasmine on a winter walk.

The Town Crier: sharing the joy of the holiday pickle

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MONCLARION: DECEMBER 4, 2009

Its December 4th…do you know where your pickle is? Surely you hang a holiday pickle on your tree, for your little ones to find on Christmas morning. If not, you’re missing one of the great German holiday traditions – and a Town Crier favorite.

We’ve been hiding the pickle in our holiday fir since my daughter was 5 or 6. She’s 19 now, and she still competes with her brother to see who can get to the ornament first. Never mind that the tree nearly collapses in the kerfuffle, there’s a prize in it for the victor.

Perhaps to avoid the ruckus this year, I’ll create a theme tree of nothing but pickles. A tart little offering, to be sure, but at least the tree will survive through the holidays. Continue reading →