Quality Merchandise (Updated July 2008)

In this age of consumerism quality seems to have taken a nose dive.

Be careful about brand names, check they are still made in their country of origin. You will be surprised to find how many goods associated with a particular country have moved their manufacturing to China, Vietnam, Thailand, etc. Some examples: Ugg, Clark, Earth and Ecco shoes are all made in China now. Support manufacturing in your own country for they provide jobs for your neighbors and the money stays in your country. When this is not possible buy from countries whose environmental and labor laws meet your standards. When you are buyig cotton items remember to look for orgnaic cotton. With this in mind here is a list of products whose quality I think is outstanding. **New additions are added at the bottom**

Brora clothes
http://www.brora.co.uk/

Don't blame me if you spend a lot of money at this store. I could have bought everything in the store. In the end I bought a skirt, a scraf, some tops and some shoes. The cashmere is top quality not the cheap stuff that is in the average stores and the products are made in Scotland. Most of the linen is Irish. I want to sleep in the scraf it is so soft and wonderful. Here are some pictures




Dr.Hauschka skin products
http://www.drhauschka.com/about/our-mission

I have been using Dr. Hauschka Skin Care products for many years now primiarily because they are a holistic pharmaceutical company. Everything they do is in the interest of fostering well-being in the world, from their ecologically sound methods of growing and sourcing ingredients to their one-of-a-kind manufacturing processes and international fair trade initiatives. Their manufacturer WALA Heilmittel works with local communities around the world to establish fair-trade organic and Biodynamic cooperatives that provide WALA with the highest quality botanical ingredients while helping promote sustainable agriculture and economic self-reliance.

They also support two of my favorite organizations: Heifer International and Farm Aid.



El Naturalista
http://www.elnaturalista.com/index.php/en/naturalista/eco-policy/

A terrific example of what a company with high aspirations can be. This panish company could write a blueprint on how a company can be both ethical to its employees and the land that we depend on and make a profit. Their eco policy is to use natural materials and dyes, avoid polluting substances,protect and sustain the environment and much more. And check out these goofy shoes.


In 2005 they created the Charity Project Atauchi where they work with non-profit organizations, to provide international development aid. They worked with ProPeru an NGO from Pamplona in the construction and equipment of a school including solar panels, and trained teachers and pupils. In 2007, they received the Solidarity company Prize 2005 from the mayor of Pamplona

Anna Sova
http:www/annasova.com/
Much of her organic cotton is made in coops in India, one of the two largest contries that grow organic cotton. Anna Sova sellls the nicest organic cotton sheets that I have ever slept on. Also she sells orgnaic drapery whichis pretty unusual. Her orgnaic cotten towels ar made in Turkey (the second largest producer of organic cotton.) The dyes and sizing used in our cotton are eco safe and healthy for you and for the environment!
Be aware that “natural” cotton is NOT organic cotton. Natural cotton still uses pesticides and processing toxins.

Many people may consider latex wall paint to be a safe alternative because they do not contain lead. However, there are harmful Volatile Organic Compounds that are released from the paint. Some of these chemicals are petrochemicals, solvents, mercury, formaldehyde, and benzene some of which have been known to cause cancer, allergies and aggravate asthma.
Anna Sova’s healthy Wall Finish contains none of these harmful VOC’s, and is made with 99% food grade ingredients! A much healthier alternative that is safe for children and pregnant women.


Feyem of Italy
http://www.feyem.it/eng/home.htm



Their coats are beautifully made. Quality material, goose down, zips, and snaps over the zips. The warm weather coats close from the top to the hemline. The stitching on the coats are very good also. They are extremley stylish and you feel like a diva when you wear one.

Santana, La Candienne and Martino boots. All were made in Canada until recently when Santana was bought by a group of investors who moved the operation to China. All three of these companies make an excellent product. The boots are completely water proof, very comfortable, and stylish. You can still find a few Santana boots made in Canada. Check the label before you buy.

La Candienne
http://www.lacanadienne.ca/

A 45 year old company in Montreal with and excellent environmental and worker rights record.

Martino is a 50 year old company located in Quebec City. It too has a history of making sophisticated, fully waterproof snow boots built for style and sub zero temperatures. They are made from very fine full grain leather, hand cut one piece at a time by Martino factory trained cobblers.





Natura World
http://www.naturaworld.com/


This is beginning to look like a love affair with Canada. The absolute best cover I have ever slept under. It is an all season wool comforter, quite light weight, perhaps the weight of one and half regular blankets. I love it to death. Be careful as they sell both organic and non organic cotton and wool covers. They are all made in Canada with the exception of the silk and wool cover. I am absolutely in love with it.

Bags: It seems that no matter how many bags I owe I never have one that works for the task at hand. In particular luggage and shopping bags. Here is one of each that work for me.

Tote Bag

Reisenthel a German Company make a super lightweight bag from rip stop polyester that folds into a tiny pocket bag that clips onto your handbag (clever). It is stylish and holds up to 26lb of weight.

. The bags are actually nicer than the photo. The website that they are listed on is an excellent website for a variety of bags.

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/shopping-bags-c-2.html

Suitcase
for luggage nothing in the price range can beat a Briggs and Riley case.
They are stylish designed extremely well have great, solid zips, and an outside pouch for your small umberella. They are guaranteed for life with no questions asked and made in the U.S.A. (finally!)
Ebags is a very good website for getting detailed pictures of products and also for their returm policy.
http://www.ebags.com/briggs_riley/transcend_21_carryon_expandable_upright/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=61500&productid=707036&sourceID=GOOGFEED&color=Rainforest&CAWELAID=26892532ns

Animals, Community, Fairness, Vegan, and Yoga

What do they have in connection with each other? Well, if you visit the Karma Yoga Studio and teashop at 1120 Massachusetts Ave, in Cambridge you will find out. The tea shop looks very similar to a Japanese tea house (as much as is possible anyway), they sell only vegan snacks, fair trade coffee and tea, and a few fair trade products from the World of Good.

The painting on the far wall is titled Rose Petal Mandala by Lori Schouela
www.lori.schouela@comcast.net


The Karma Tea Cafe donates 100% of all cow's milk sales to the Farm Sanctuary in MA. The teashop was also selling animal cards made by students from the Dr. Martin Luther King School in Cambridge. The bulletin board holds pamphlets on animal rescue groups such as Grey2K USA.

The instructors who teach the Flow Yoga class on Sunday’s 6:00-7:30 pm donate all proceeds to local animal rescue groups. In addition, the owners pump all their profits into their animal rescue efforts run out of their home. Their teachers come from many different countries and cover any different styles of yoga.

Doina Contescu, one half of the partnership, is a certified wildlife rehabilitation specialist and her passion ranges from animal rights/welfare, to theoretical physics, moral philosophy and meditation. Doina graduated from Harvard University in 1989. She currently hosts a monthly potluck vegetarian dinner at the studio, is a member of the Harvard College Vegetarian Society and a member of the Boston Vegan Meetup.

I very much admire her integrated and effective effort to support her life’s passions.

http://www.originalgood.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=75

http://www.karmayogastudio.com

Bursa in October 2006. Cumalıkızık Village is located 10 kilometers west of Bursa, in the foothills of Mt. Uludağ. Its history goes back to the founding of the Ottoman Empire. Many of the architectural structures in the village have been preserved and thus as of late, the village has been featured in many Turkish movies. This has resulted in a renewed interest in the village by the Turks and there are now 270 historial houses in stages of restoration and maintenace. 180 houses that have been lived in for some time.


As can been seen by the photographs, the houses are made of wood, mud, and rubblestones and most of them are triplex. The upstairs windows are generally latticed with a bay window.

The handles and knockers on the main entry doors are made out of wrough iron. The smaller knockers are used by the women and the larger one by the men. Each knocker produces a different sound, thus people inside the house know what gendered person is about to enter; this was important for religious and cultural reasons.

As can be seen from some of the photographs the streets are cobblestoned, very narrow, and have no sidewalk.

The village has a mosque, a fountain, and a bath house with one dome which go back to the time of the Ottoman Empire. In 1969, the remains of a Byzantine church were unearthed in the southeast of the village.


Kizik refers to the villages that are clustered together between the foot of Mt. Uludag and the valleys and the name stands for one of the twenty-four clans of the Oghuz Turks. Friday’s (Cuma in Turkish) were a day of formal gathering for worship in the village. The village contains a ethnography musuem where the village has collected historial objects of interest. There are some additional architectural works from the village on display in the Archeological Museum of Bursa.

Into Great Silence

Into Great Silence (Die Grobe Stille) 2005

This documentary was filmed in the Grande Chartreuse, the head monastery of the reclusive Carthusian Order in France. Philip Groning, the German director and writer first approached the monastery sixteen years ago for permission to film; he was told that it would not happen soon, and indeed it didn’t. However, as you watch the documentary you will appreciate how time is something that is not hurried.

Unbeknownst to me this was a movie that the viewer participated in! By which I mean, you sat there for three hours watching a move with about as many words as in a three minute song. That said, by the end of the movie I would willingly have sat through it again straight away.

The opening introduction is very slow and it takes 25 minutes before you hear a sound. The opening shots show a row of identical buildings with black roof’s that looked just like Dutch burghers with their tall black hats accentuated by the fact that snow is falling.

Philip Groning lived in the monestry for six months and thus he films the monks daily rituals, prayers, tasks and weekly forrays to the outside world. In fact, so little is going on that you soon begin to appreciate the small things in life, very small, such as the grain in the wood on the floors, the ice crystals on the lettuces in the garden, and the water dripping from the roof very, very slowly. The photographer places great emphasis on light in the documentary which made me think of God saying, “Let there be light” and there was (Genesis 1.3). The documentary builds quietly upon itself and ¾ of the way through it you feel that everything is at one with nature or to put it another way, that to disturb nature is an affront, to live in harmony with it is not.

Every cell appears to have a window that opens out to the wonderful scenery outside. It is this natural world that provides substance to the soul and food for the body. There were a couple of shots of the white cows with their bells ding aligning as they moved around the land munching at whatever, and you thought "what a life” even if later on in their life they are their source of food for the monks.

The monastery is in the Chartreuse Mountains (part of the French Alps) in Eastern France and the original building goes back to 1084. When it rained, the rain seemed like a joyful gift. When the mist hovered over the range it seemed the mist was actually spirits, and when the monks sang their beautiful Gorgonian chants it felt as if they were singing to the spirits, thus creating a bridge to the “other” world.

Today the monastery is closed to the public and the monks support themselves by the production and sale of Chartreuse liqueur, which interestingly was not captured in the documentary at all which seems an ommission.

Toward the end of the documentary the film maker interviewed a very elderly monk on his thoughts about dying. The monk said he was not afraid of death, "the faster you run to God the happier you are". I then recalled how death is a word that you don’t hear much spoken in the U.S. we prefer to use other words such as “passing on” or “deceased” and it made me wonder why such a Christian nation is afraid of death.

The Joy of Cats

My foster cats are five months old and are called Harpo and Carly. They are both black and white and look pretty cute as they follow each other around the house. Harpo is short hair and Carly is medium haired. Her tail looks like it was stuck on by accident because there is a fine white line between the end of her black rump and black fluffy tail.

Harpo is very aptly named. He is the funniest and the best natured cat you are ever likely to have the opportunity to own; if one can “own” a cat. He watches TV literally, and particularly likes Ovation and National Geographic. He also plays on the computer. He achieves this by jumping on the chair, standing on his two hind legs, and hitting the keys with his paws. His head then goes side to side as he watches the changes on the computer. His is also a flying cat. If you start to play ball with him he will literally leap four feet from wherever he is, flying through the air to get to the ball. And don’t bend down, not even slightly because he will make a flying leap onto your back where he will stay regardless of whether you decide to straighten up or not. And did I mention that he has a fetish! I am not kidding. You cannot let him sleep on the bed with you because you won’t sleep. He starts padding on your upper body (somewhere between you chin and your upper chest), and sucking, and eating your top, and all the while he is purring as loud as a Bengal Tiger. Today I tried to see when he would stop but after 45 minutes I gave up and deposited him in his room

Carly is a very pretty cat and very independent minded. She was part of a litter of kittens that were found at a used car lot. Unfortunately they all died, most likely from drinking anti-freeze. Carly was very sick but managed to pull through after three days in the vet. She is very timid; if you put your hand out to her she will run away (first option) or back up into a corner. But she loves sleeping on your bed. So while you are being devoured by Harpo she has settled on you. She cannot sit by you it has to be on you. If she falls off, she just crawls back up. She will come right up to your face and lick it and you can stroke her. But once you leave the bed all bets are off. Oh! And did I mention that she collects stuff. IF you try to play with her she grabs the object and very briskly, with her tail up in the air, runs off and deposints all the goods in a corner under my bed.

So if anyone out there would like to adopt these two adorable kitties here is their picture. You will need to fill out an application form from Cat Connection as they are the good folks who paid the vet bill and had them fixed.

Winter in New England

Greetings from Boston

In December, 2007 we had a record amount of snow. It is now January 13th and another storm is coming in with a predicted foot of snow for Boston. So what does this mean to hardy Bostonians? A lot of snow shoveling that is what.

The last time I remember so much snow was in 1994. By the end of the winter, the towns had sent out their snow plows 14 times! The total amount of snow recorded at Logan airport for the entire winter was 9.0.3” inches. To non-Americans this translates (I hope) to 2.29 meters. As you moved away from the coast the snow was considerably more. Towns are very careful how they spend their snow plow funds so they only send out their plows when there is a lot of snow, thus you know we had more that 14 snow days.

I personally wish we could get all the snow in one storm like the Blizzard of 1978. We would be inconvenienced just once. So much snow fell during that blizzard that the government ordered all roads closed – only plows and doctors were allowed on the streets. I think it must have been fun to be stuck at home but I had left the day before and was sitting in London watching the pictures on the news and being truly amazed.

But back to the shoveling issue; shoveling out a long driveway is not fun but we have to get to our cars and also clear the pavement so that folks can walk on it safely. You also have to shovel around your mailbox and hydrant (should you have one) and enlist help to shovel out your elderly neighbor(s) if you have any. Or should I say this is how it was done in 1994. In 2007, we do not seem as neighborly. Many folks don’t bother to clean the pavement outside their house so that folks are forced to walk in the road which makes matters even worse for drivers trying to navigate bad road conditions. Anyway, shoveling so much snow leaves one weary. Doing this over and over and each time trying to lift the snow ever higher over the top of mounting snow banks makes one exhausted and snappish.

For those of you who live in warm climates, you have to realize that it is imperative to shovel the snow promptly otherwise, the cold temperature causes it to freeze. Once it becomes ice, you are in big trouble. In December alone I had two friends who had bad accidents. One broke her ankle and one had severe head concussion both from falling on ice.

Adding to the feeling of hopelessness are the snowplows. No sooner do you clear your way out of the house, then the plows come through to clear the streets. Of course, they plow the street snow right on top of the path you just cleared. This snow is wet and packed down by the plow blade, so it is heavy and a *&^% to lift. The plows come through several times, so you have repeated opportunities to mutter *&^%.

So remember, if you are trying to contact someone in an office or business, or even your own town’s highway department on a snow day, they have just gone through everything you just have and their energy is sapped too. Be polite and remember that we are only three weeks into the winter season. Happy snow plowing, remember to bend your knees when you are shoveling, and to exercise all year – it helps.

My Old Wool Coat

Story and picture of Smokey courtsey of the author William Coolidge III.

I read this story in the SmallFarmer's Journal, summer 2007, and thought it a wonderful story of compassion and redemption.

After takin’ more than a decade off from deer hunting, I allowed my older son to cajole me into buying a big game license last fall. Naturally, one of the first things I had to do, if I was once again going into the woods in pursuit of the wily whitetail, was get all of my old huntin’ gear together. The rifles, ammo, compass, boots and wool pants were all in fine shape and rarin’ to go, but my ol’ red & black, “buffalo plaid” wool hunting coat had seen better times ~ it was gettin’ a little threadbare in spots, the zipper was ripping out, and besides that, it seemed a tad small on me, after so many years of ‘neglect’! Must’ve shrunk while it was hangin’ in the closet, that’s all I can figure!??

Well, a few days later, in conversation with my mother, I mentioned that I needed to buy a new hunting jacket. At which point she said, “Jeez, Bill, your father’s good Woolrich hunting coat is still hanging in the upstairs closet ~ or, would that be too small on you?”

Now, there’s NO wool coat in the world that I’d rather wear than the one that had belonged to my Dad, but since he had passed away nearly 4 years earlier, I had forgotten all about his coat. Well, Mom dug it out, I tried it on, and it fit like it was custom-made for me ~ I felt as warm and snug as if I was wrapped in my father’s arms.

Thanks to my son, Billy, who had persuaded me to go hunting again, I now had a special treasure in my possession ~ one that otherwise might never have come my way! And, equally as important, it freed up my old wool hunting coat for what was about to take place.

On Veteran’s Day afternoon, my cat, Smokey,

suddenly lost the use of his hindquarters, and began yowling in a strident, high-pitched cry, as if to signal us that he was in a great deal of pain. Now Smoke (a velvety-soft, steel-grey, domestic short hair…. and so much more), was not an old cat, by any means ~ approximately 20 months of age is all he was. But he had sustained some type of injury to his hips the summer before, and after being X-ray’d to confirm that he had no broken bones, the vet put him on Prednisone and he was soon pretty much his old self again. But an observant eye could perceive that he’d always lie down a little awkwardly, that he enjoyed laying under the woodstove (much as an older cat or dog likes to ‘soak up the heat’ into their arthritic joints), and that he definitely had a bit of a “hitch in his git-along.” He loved nothing more than to stretch out on the bed beside me at night, snuggling himself as tightly as he could against my thigh.

So, when I headed down off Rand Hill that Saturday afternoon, takin’ my “ol’ buddy” to the vet, I never had an inkling that it was anything more than another bout of what he’d experienced the previous summer. After a couple of X-rays, however, I received the bad news: Smokey had congestive heart failure (rare in such a young animal), & had ‘thrown a clot’ which lodged in his femoral artery, effectively cutting off most of the circulation, and all of the feeling, in his hind legs.

Thus began 48 hours of tears, prayers, pacing and nail-biting (on our part), and medication, oxygen therapy, electrocardiograms and ultrasounds for Smoke. Although he put up one heck of a valiant fight (in the words of the vet who was treating him, he had “an amazing will”), Smokey passed away, peacefully, 2 days later.

So, on a gray, rainy Monday afternoon in mid-November, I wrapped myself in the wool coat I’d “inherited” from my father, then wrapped my four-legged best friend in my old wool coat and laid him to rest in one of his favorite places in this world ~ right beneath our bird feeder!


Two final thoughts: To the wonderfully-compassionate veterinarian who went ‘above and beyond’ in her efforts to save my beloved cat, I offer yet another heart-felt “Thank you!”

And, regarding hunting season: I think that it’s over for me, at least for the foreseeable future. I just don’t think I could bring myself to take the life of an animal now ~ and, I seriously question whether I ever will again…. [In retrospect, that’s OK, though; for if Smoke, in his passing, saved the lives of others in the animal kingdom, then he did not die in vain.]

PittieLove Rescue, Framingham, MA

After Best Friends my favorite organization in the entire United States is PittieLove Rescue and this is why I nominate them for any kind of kudos that is out there.

PittieLove Rescue Inc. is an all volunteer 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to finding wonderful forever homes for Pit bulls and Pit bull mixes that may not have had the best start in life. They have placed over 100 Pit bulls into loving homes since 2005; a truly remarkable feat. If we had a “rescue dogs” award they would win it hands down. Many of their dogs come from shelters where their time is running short or where staff wants to be sure the dog is placed responsibly. They also work with other rescue organizations and support Animal Control Officers in Massachusetts who often have Pit bulls in need of loving homes. The organization is run by a dedicated core of volunteers who understand what it means to care for all of the many breeds of dogs that are known collectively as Pit bulls.

The backbone of PittieLove Rescue however is its foster homes which allow them to “custom fit” their dogs to the homes they are going to live in. When PittieLove Rescue accepts a Pit bull these dogs make their way to their temporary home and live a pampered life that many have never experienced before. In this setting much can be learned about the temperament, likes and dislikes, and little quirks a dog may have. (See the story on Lenny updated November 6th) For example, does the dog like cats or other family pets? It’s a great service that they provide along with comfortable beds for the now happy Pit bulls!

What about giving this beautiful dog a home!


**Update 1/11/08**The situation is urgent. This was a much loved dog and then her owner got married and the wife wants her out! There have been no applications at all for her...So, could you open your heart and home??

PittieLove Rescue does all it can as an organization to make sure that Pit bulls get the love and respect they deserve. They attend many events around the New England region where they share their knowledge of Pit Bull type breeds and pass out information to attendees of these events. They often bring adoptable Pit bulls along too to help demonstrate the true nature of their rescued canine companions. They do all of this to educate the public about the remarkable traits of Pit bulls type dogs, their love for people and their clown like personalities. They hope the presence of their dogs will diffuse the hype and myths that are propagated by a media that looks to vilify the very dogs that we all love so much.
I LOVE PITTIELOVE RESCUE!!!!
http://www.pittieloverescue.com/

California's Secession Letter to Bush

Picture courtsey of Arthur Tsicoulias - freelance photographer. He can be contacted at atsicoulias@copper.net

March 2007
Fm: Ed Flowers (I have no idea who Ed Flowers is or even if he is real but I received it via email)

To: President George Bush

Dear President Bush:

Congratulations on your victory over all us non-evangelicals.
Actually, we’re a bit ticked off here in California, so we’re leaving.
California will now be its own country. And we’re taking all the Blue States with us. In case you are not aware, that includes: Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and all of the North East.

We spoke to God, and she agrees that this shift will be beneficial to almost everybody, and especially to us in the new country of California. In fact, God is so excited about it; she’s going to shift the whole country at 4:30 p.m. EST this Friday. Therefore, please let everyone know they need to be back in their states by then.

So you get Texas and all the former slave states. We get the Governator, stem cell research and the best beaches. We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay. (Okay, we have to keep Martha Stewart, we can live with that.) We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand. We get Intel and Microsoft, You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Old Miss.’ we get 85% of America’s venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get all the technological innovation in Alabama.

We get about two-thirds of the tax revenue, and you get to make the red states pay their fair share. Since our divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian coalition’s we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms to support, and we know how much you like that.

Did I mention we produce about 70% of the nation’s veggies? But heck the only greens the Bible-thumpers eat are the pickles on their Big Macs. This means trouble for you, because most of the medical innovation in the U.S. happens in Blue States. Oh yeah, another thing, don’t plan on serving California wine at your state dinners. From now on it’s imported French wine for you. Ouch, bet that hurts.

Just so we’re clear, the country of California will be pro-choice and anti-war. Speaking of war, we’re going to want all Blue Citizens back from Iraq. If you need people to fight, just ask your evangelicals. They have tons of kids they’re willing to send to their deaths for absolutely no purpose. And they don’t care if you don’t show pictures of their kids’ caskets coming home.

Anyway, we wish you all the best in the next four years and we hope, really hope, you find those missing weapons of mass destruction. Seriously!
Soon.

Sincerely,

California *Footnote*
We now have another opportunity to vote again - participate - it is important and many folks are

Bread And Puppet Theatre, VT

Paul Zaloom, The Mother of All Enemies


March - Apri 2007, The puppet show portrayed Karagoz as a gay guy. He is walking around the city of an unnamed country (but obviously Turkey) with his boyfriend when the police arrive (puppets are pink pigs). He is arrested and sits on the bonnet of puppet car and is taken to jail. In jail he starts to flatulent and this flatulence at one point releases a Buttfart Genie who grants him wishes, as many as he wants, as the genie does not know how many he has to give.
So, Karagoz says thank you and doesn’t do much for a day or two and then having forgotten his grant of wishes he strokes his beard and says I wish that there was a hole in the ground that I could crawl through and low and behold a hole opens up but it is dark and so now he needs a flashlight. So he says, “I wish I had a flashlight” and of course he gets one but it is not bright enough and so he says “I really wish I had a stronger flashlight” and of course he gets that too. So, he escapes and he calls his boyfriend on the phone who says “don’t come because the house is surrounded by police” and so Karagoz asks himself what he should do and he says “I wish I was in a land of the free and lo” and behold a small plane appears and he starts flying to the U.S. but the place runs out of fuel and he lands in the middle of an al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan and when the leader asks him where he is going he is about to say to find a boyfriend when he decides that maybe this is not the best thing to say and he says he is on the way to the land of the free and the brave and they say, “Oh, wonderful we will help you and can you take this briefcase to the lady in green” and he says fine.

They fuel up his plane and (I cannot exactly remember what happens next) but he is in a boat in the harbor of NYC near the lady and the coast guard arrive and ask him where he is from and he said from Pakistan and then of course he is surrounded by more coast guards and sniffing dogs and the sniffing dog here the tick tock of a bomb and it blows up blowing the head off the dog and the audience all sigh!!!!! Then Paul (the puppet master) ran around to the front of the stage and said what do you mean by sighing it is just a puppet dog and what about me you don’t care I have Carpal Tunnel in my hands from the puppets. And then he goes off about emails he has been receiving from army recruiters who want him to join the army and this back and forth conversation goes on until he sends them an email asking them about there don’t Ask, don’t tell policy and he says “of course, I am not saying whether I am or not” and that was the end of their recruitment effort of him. So back to the puppet play

Karagoz somehow ends up the Christian right part of American and the leader of one particular group while espousing all the correct garbage is really gay and tries to pick him up in a bar….Well the long and the short is he ends up back in jail in Turkey and he is visited by his Buttfart Genie who complains that most people would have wished for money, or a house, or car, or something sensible but not Karagoz he wishes for a flash flight and then a bigger flashlight, etc. etc. He starts flatulenting again and this time out comes, not a genie but the army recruiter who was trying to get him to join the army and has taken a fancy to him.

How does the story end? Paul had no idea. He said, “I really don’t have an end for this story it just like our current situation…we went into it unclear how to get out and so I thought I would give you a choice of three endings’

It was SOOOOOOOOO funny!

They will be back at the BCA Feb 7 - 12, 2008 with The Divine Reality Comedy

http://www.theatermania.o/ or 866-811-4111

Lang Lang

Nov. 9, 2003, I had the privilege to hear Lang Lang perform at Jordan Hall. I was a little reluctant to go because I had read a New York Times article earlier in the week that said he was over extending himself. All the major orchestra's of the world have "found" him and all want him to perform with them. As a result, the article said his latest performance seemed rather tired. On top of this, he had performed at Carnegie Hall on the previous night and then came straight to Boston. However, I was not disappointed. On the contrary, this was the best classical concert I have been to, bar none. There was just Lang Lang and a piano on the stage. At the inter-mission the crowd gave him a standing ovation. If you know anything about Boston audiences, you will know that this is a rarity.

The program was very varied including Schumann, Hayden, Schubert, Tan Dun, Chopin and Liszt. If the first half was good, we hadn't seen anything yet. For the second half Lang Lang changed into a bright fuchsia pink silk shirt and set to business. The first piece was Tan
Dun's Eight Memories in Watercolor, Opus 1, of which four pieces (Staccato Beans, Herdboy's Song, Blue Nun, and Sunrain) were based on old Chinese folksongs. It is said that when Tan Dun first heard Lang Lang play his Floating Clouds at a New Year Eve's party a couple of years ago, he was awestruck. He said he could smell the earth of his homeland when Lang Lang played and it inspired him to think of where he came from and where he was going. These pieces were very varied in tone from medium to fast pace. From there he went straight to Chopin's Nocturne in D-Flat Major, Opus 27, a serenely slow piece of work. This was one of the best rendering I have ever heard of this piece. The audience appeared to have stopped breathing. There was no coughing, no rustling of paper or movement in the seats, just dead silence - completely. Lang Lang's performance captured all the human essence that is embedded in this piece and indeed the performance was in the true sense of the word, magical. It was so heartbreakingly lovely in its rendition that it brought tears to ones eyes and bear in mind that Lang Lang is just 21 years of age.

He then launched into Liszt's Reminiscences of Don Juan. Nothing he played before could have prepared us for what followed - his intensity, his verve, his breathtakingly fast speed, his passion, he bounced up and down on the seat, and I swear if he could have moved the piano he would (actually I am surprised it did not move by itself), he was unstoppable. What did it feel like; well it was like racing through New York City at 100 miles an hour. swerving to avoid traffic, jumping over obstacles, hitting pot holes, braking abruptly at the Hudson, falling in, being fished out, shaken dry and going off again. In short it was an exhausting and awe inspiring experience.

After two standing ovations he brought out his father, Guo-ren Lang, who played a two-string instrument called the erhu, which is the most popular and typical of the traditional Chinese string instruments and is highly versatile. Lang Lang played the piano while his father played the erhu. It was interesting to hear the merging of eastern and western music and instruments. Then there were two more standing ovations and Lang Lang came out and played another piece. He definitely has stage presence and the audience loved him. I hope you get the opportunity to see him perform.

Lang Lang was born in Shenyang, the birthplace of Seiji Ozawa, who was born there during the Japan occupation of Manchuria.

Just Give Up that Car

Just Give Up That Car

Letters to Editor, Ode to Possibilities: WimWenders artice , December 2007. http://www.odemagazine.com/

Back in April 2007, in one of the usual late spring snow storms that are a source of complete irritation to New Englanders, I slipped on ice that some folks were shoveling from the pavement on to the road. My car was completely totaled. I recall my sense of relief and remembered thinking “I’m free at last.”

I knew that to replace the car would require a very conscious decision on my part and one that I could not make in light of global warming. Even though the actions of 97% of the population are ignoring it no matter, one times one, times one, etc, is the way that social change occurs.

It is now December and the benefits that I have derived from giving up my car are incalculable and also unexpected. I walk 2-1/4 miles to work every day and then there are trips around town. In quite a short time my cholesterol dropped to the point I was taken off medication. I found that when my friends would complain about the cold weather I didn’t feel it, I assume my circulation must have improved; I eat less because I find that I no longer want to eat until I am bloated. In short I feel really energetic and alive! Those benefits would be enough on their own but there is more.

Choices have to be made about what I buy as I have to carry it, so I no longer buy bottled water or canned goods because of their weight and/or bulk. I decided to grow my own vegetables at a farm that is eight miles away and can be reached by train. Since it is a working farm I also buy my eggs and meat their too. I directly see how my food is being raised; the amount of waste I generate is greatly reduced; in particular plastic bags as the farms don’t have any.

When I had a car I was always in hurry, I assume because a car represents speed. I would race home from work and be home by 4:15 p.m. and wonder what now! Now I get to fewer places but it makes no difference to my overall life. In fact, because of walking instead of traveling by car, I recently found a wonderful independent coffee shop and a great yoga studio. As I walk, I hear the birds sing and see kids on their bikes and sometimes coyote, raccoons, spotted turtles, and blue heron. I don’t get irritated by the traffic and am not in a hurry, since the bus takes the time it does and my feet walk as fast as they can. I am much more relaxed. In short the world looks completely different traveling it on foot. You too should try it sometime. It is really not the big deal that you think and with a few adjustments, I doubt that your life would be too impacted either and plant earth would say a big Thank You! .