Albany Bulb Glyph

Albany Bulb Glyph
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Today we walked for about 2 1/2 hours around a waterfront park next to the race track near Berkeley. I walked With my 9 year old & 4 year old friends. The park is called Albany Bulb because of its lightbulb shape. It is almost an island & was brought about by the City of San Francisco dumping its industrial waste. When that stopped, nature began to grow over the concrete & wire. Soon thereafter the artists came & the 'island' or, bulb, is full of art created incorporating the industrial waste everywhere. It is an incredible testatment to the survival of art amongst the rubble, and was a long inspiring walk for the three of us. I'll bet those kids sleep well tonight.

A Clown's Altar

A Clown's Altar
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Wavy's Meditation Room

Wavy's Meditation Room
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Contemplate This!

Contemplate This!
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Rainbow Buddha Tankha

Rainbow Buddha Tankha
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Section of a San Francisco Public Library Branch Mural

Section of a San Francisco Public Library Branch Mural
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

A Taqueria on Haight in San Fran

A Taqueria on Haight in San Fran
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Well I did promise pictures so here are a few. California is treating me well. The photos speak for themselves. I will leave for Camp Winnarainbow direction on June 1st & might not have so easy access to DSL, but only for a few weeks & then I will return to the big city, or almost. Camp starts on June 11th & runs until the 19th. You can come for a day or two or a few or all - big fun or your money back promises Wavy Gravy.

SF Grafitti

SF Grafitti
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

San Francisco's Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park

San Francisco's Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

The pink & the green got me.

The pink & the green got me.
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Redwood in Golden Gate Park

Redwood
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Our San Fran Butoh Make-Up Scene with the Tamano Troupe

Our San Fran Butoh Make-Up Scene
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Butattoo

Butattoo
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Dancing Girls at Berkeley's Himalayan Fair

Dancing Girls at Berkeley's Himalayan Fair
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

One Yard, Many Colors

One Yard, Many Colors
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Berkeley Art Car

Berkeley Art Car
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Berkeley Birds of Paradise

Berkeley Birds of Paradise
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

So Much, So Soon

I am in California, at the home of an exceptional & wondrous family in the Berkeley Hills. I walk down a path with 182 steps through a redwood grove & over a creek, through 2 parks, to arrive at the Camp Winnarainbow office. My friend Alejandra from Chiapas was here for the past week, my home has a 9 year old & a 4 year old, I attended some of the Seva Foundation board meeting, celebrated Wavy Gravy's 69th birthday with special surprise guest performer Ben Harper as well as Phil & Friends. I fit in quick hellos to dozens of people I love & performed once. No time for blogging.

I just read my son Adad's blog & he reports the same. No time for blogging. He has been in Wraclow, Poland at an art biennielle. And in July he goes to Cardiff as part of an artist's exchange program. He is one of my big inspirations at the moment.

We are all having fun with the internet when we find the time, it is just finding that time that is the problem.

Now mine has run out! I'll try posting photos next post. And I will try to post before June 2nd, when I drive up to Camp Winnarainbowland. Whereas Camp doesn't begin until the 11th, I am going to be preparing & partying in the further north of California. Enjoy Spring whereever you are!

Steve Kimock rocks! And we danced hard!

It has been a long time since I have blogged. You see, just after my April 12^th entry, my daughter had a strong attack of pancreatitis & wound up in Vancouver General Hospital. For you gall bladder naïve people, it goes like this: the gall bladder stores bile that is produced in the liver. When you eat, bile is dropped into your stomach to help with digestion. Likewise, the pancreas produces insulin & enzymes for digestion & delivers them to the stomach when you eat. The gall bladder & pancreas share a common duct into the stomach. When one gets a gall stone that blocks that duct, the pancreas backs up & the digestive juices begin to digest the pancreas itself. Yuck! <>This is what happened to my daughter Kefi. So we waited several days, first until the pancreatitis had settled & then until she finally went for gall bladder removal. The surgery was performed laproscopically. The wonders of modern western medicine! <>

The entire hospital experience was both tough & miraculous. I watched my daughter & her wonderful boyfriend deal with this emergency, the waiting & now the recovery, in a way that has vastly increased my esteem for those two young people. I am proud to be related to them. <>

If I told you that my daughter was placed in a room into which a 500 pound woman was transferred from ICU, having had surgery to remove skin infected with flesh eating bacteria that she had caught at another BC hospital, you would tell me I was making that up. Or if I told you that surgeons work 36 hour shifts, you would tell me I was nuts. Or that morphine was suggested to my daughter more than a dozen times. Remarkably, she got through this experience on Tylenols. <>

And then came the week of recovery for all of us. I have recovered by dancing & walking the streets of my neighborhood this spectacular spring. I do not remember a more vivid spring. That is exciting. <>
I have only 10 days more before I leave for San Francisco. I will begin my stay in the Bay Area by attending parts of the Seva Foundation board meeting. I will be at the Seva benefit with Phil & Friends at Berkeley Community Theatre on Sunday, May 15^th, Wavy’s birthday, womaning the Camp Winnarainbow table in the lobby. <>

Camp Winnarainbow for Adults is June 11^th – 19^th this year & the anticipation is building! I want to post some photos for those of you who only look at the pictures & you know who you are.

Mysterious Wisteria Up the Stairs

Wisteria on Turquoise

Dripping Yellow Kitsilano Alley

Andrea & Richie's Old House

Elephant Ears Bulb Gets Planted

Hospital Warrior Waits Outside OR

Downtown Vancouver Parking Lot