The Book of Unholy Mischief, what a delicious stew. A chef in the Doge’s palace, dodging the Inquisition & a member of secret society protecting Knowledge, takes an orphan under his wing in the kitchen. Surprising mentions of The Present Moment sprinkled throughout. Oh, and lots of writing about food, wonderful food. The Buddha of Suburbia is the best Indian ex-pat in Britain novel that I’ve read. There’s certainly be a lot of them lately. I got to this one late, written in 1990. Fun portrait of actors & artists in the days of class warfare in Britain of the 60s & 70s. Some tough observations about families, love, self-discovery & the high costs of all three. Shift gears: Maynard & Jennica a quirky portrait of quirky NYers in present day, including using the word “like” frequently in speech by a few of the characters (oi vey). The structure of the book is a bit overbearing: one & two page monologues by all the characters are used to advance the story. A fun conceit, but for the entire 300 pages of the novel? OK, I’m being to hard on it, It’s funny at times & touching.

4th of July

Happy 4th of July, I'm glad I'm here in the USA! OMG, ain't that controversial?! Today I'm celebrating some of the best things about our country: art, literature & music!!! First, I finished a painting that I've been working on for a couple of weeks. It's quite different from recent works, related to chakras. Then I finished reading Sarah Dunn's secrets to happiness, which was a lot of fun. Think Saul Bellow collides with Sex in the City! When the protagonist see's The Cloud of Unknowing on her boyfriend's nightstand & he quotes Pema Chodren, I just about jumped! I am listening to a CD by Gil Shaham & Andre Previn of violin & piano sonate by Gershwin, Copland & Previn. Beautiful, tonal 20th Century music, gorgeously played.

So, red states & blue states you can kiss my keister......
My country is purple!

Mom's New Home

Debbie & I visited Mom at her new ALF this weekend. It is brand new & delightful. Her room is sunny & seems just the right size & arrangement for her mobility.The staff is wonderfully attentive & present everywhere. We ate several meals in the dining room with Mom, and they were quite good, & offered choices each time. We took her for a little outing on Furman's beautiful campus that is right next door & sat by a pond. Thanks again to Randy for arranging this and for everything he does for Mom each day!

Larissa Carlson Workshops

I did two workshops with Larissa Carlson at Full Circle Yoga, a great studio in Winter Park. Larissa has heavyweight credentials from Kripalu & she really delivered. A two day workshop on Pranayama, yogic breathing, was informative & a great experience. She presented 5 different techniques & connected them with asanas & meditation. Day three Larissa did a chakra yoga workshop, in which she included a series of seated & standing postures for the 7 major chakras, meditation, & the basics of the science of the chakras. The chakras are a big part of my personal practice, so I was glad to attend. I told Larissa how important her work is & encouraged her to continue. The world is crawling with celebrity yoga teachers who roll into conferences like rock stars & mainly teach yogaerobics, with no treatment of the other 7 "Limbs" of yoga. Larissa started the first class with an in-depth discussion of the 8 Limbs of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, a very unusual move. By the way, Patanjali told us that the purpose of yoga is to prepare the body & mind for seated meditation, something that is totally lost in the world of make-it-burn-yoga that substitutes sweat for insight. The 8 Limbs are a recipe for holistic, healthy living & personal growth. Oh, yes, we did sweat in Larissa's workshops, but the empasis was on insight & growth. Hooray, Larissa! A big thank you to Lewis & Susan for hosting her!

See: http://www.larissacarlson.com/ & http://www.fullcircleyoga.com/

Fun Recital

My oft' postponed recital finally happened & it was a fun night! I performed 12 original compositions on piano & electronic keyboard, most of them on the keyboard. Some utilized the remarkable electronic sound bank to cool effect! They ranged from a simple blues-jazz piano piece, "Film Noir", to rockin' guitar, "6 String", & some unusual techno in between. It was fun to share this music that's be percolating for the past 2 years with my closest friends. Lots of vino and conversation followed!

Joe Dispenza

We had the great opportunity to do a workshop with Joe Dispenza at The Crossings. Joe gained fame for his role in the movie "What The Bleep Do We Know?" Joe dealt with the bio-chemistry of the mind & body, & how it creates memories, habits, attitudes, & behaviours. He then worked with practical applications to change them. He is a fantastic speaker: energetic, articulate, generous. He traveled 200 days last year, to help people, his real mission. I had read his book & so looked forward to meeting him. He exceeded all my expectations. Thanks, Joe.

The Crossings

We went to The Crossings for a workshop & found a wonderful eco-conscious learning center, with great food, a beautiful spa & grounds. The Crossing's 200 acres & hiking trails rest in the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, which the founders, Ken & Joyce Beck, helped to create. The Becks have built a super-green enterprise, including a cutting edge water reclamation system. While, yes, there is a beautiful spa, the Becks' vision is for a learning center, & they have a roster of great workshops. The buildings are built with Texas limestone & have a theme that echos New England & the Romanesque! The Sidalgo Sanctuary is a beautiful & very special building, that reflects the approach of the Crossings & is unique among its competitors, even the more expensive ones! We will go back.