Say goodbye to 2016 and to all of those “stars” we lost and do it in cosmic style by gazing skyward where you might catch a falling star to wish on and see a comet too while listening to “star” songs from videos by
- Maurice White of Earth Wind and Fire
- Prince,
- Bowie,
- Leonard Cohen,
- and believe it or not, The Muppets (in Star Wars regalia!)
while toasting them with sparkling wine on Sparkling Wine Day! All this and more below!
(Some ideas on which sparklers and what to pair them with here in the post “Around the World in Bubbles on Sparkling Wine Day New Year’s Eve”).
RIP 2016: you left us broken hearted
- RIP author Judith Ortiz Cofer 2/24/52 — 12/30/16
- RIP actor Debbie Reynolds 4/1/32-12/28/16
- RIP actor Carrie Fisher 10/21/56-12/27/16
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- RIP singer George Michael 6/25/63 – 12/25/16
- RIP author Richard Adams 5/9/20 – 12/24/16
- RIP actor Zsa Zsa Gabor 2/6,/17 – 12/18/16
- RIP environmentalist Harold Gilliam 1918 – 12/14/16
- RIP astronaut John Glenn Jr. 7/18/21 – 12/8/16
- RIP musician Greg Lake 11/10/47 – 12/7/16
- RIP Cuba’s Fidel Castro 8/13/26 – 11/25/16
- RIP actor Florence Henderson 2/14/34 – 11/24/16
- RIP singer Sharon Jones 5/4/56 – 11/18/16
- RIP musician Mose Allison Jr. 11/11/27 – 11/15/16
- RIP journalist Gwen Ifill 9/29/55 – 11/14/16
- RIP musician Leon Russell 4/2/42 – 11/13/16 (with Ron Wells)
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- RIP attorney general Janet Reno 7/21/38 – 11/7/16
- RIP singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen 9/21/34 – 11/7/16 (with Ron Wells)
- RIP writer Mike Tomkies 5/25/28 – 10/6/16
- RIP novelist Gloria Naylor 1/25/50 – 9/28/16
- RIP accordionist Buckwheat Zydeco 11/14/47 – 9/24/16
- RIP playwright Edward Albee III 3/12/28 – 9/16/16
- RIP actor Alexis Arquette 9/28/69 – 9/11/16
- RIP biologist Ruth Hubbard 3/3/24 – 9/1/16
- RIP actor Gene Wilder 6/11/33 – 8/29/16
- RIP author “Elie” Wiesel 9/30/28 – 7/2/16
- RIP author Alvin Toffler 10/4/28 – 6/27/16
- RIP actor Anton Yelchin 3/11/89 – 6/19/16
- RIP author Michelle Cliff 11/2/46 – 6/12/16
- RIP psychologist Jerome Bruner 10/1/15 – 6/5/16
- RIP boxer Muhammad Ali 1/17/42 – 6/3/16 (with Ron Wells)
- RIP journalist Morley Safer 11/8/31 – 5/19/16
- RIP musician Prince 6/7/58 – 4/21/16 (with Ron Wells)
- RIP poet Gwyn Thomas 9/2/36 – 4/13/16
- RIP musician Merle Haggard 4/6/37 – 4/6/16
- RIP writer Imre Kertész 11/9/29 – 3/31/16
- RIP rapper Phife Dawg 11/20/70 – 3/22/16
- RIP musician Keith Emerson 11/2/44 – 3/11/16
- RIP Sir George Martin 1/3/26 – 3/8/16
- RIP actor Nancy Davis Reagan 7/6/21 – 3/6/16
- RIP writer Pat Conroy 10/26/45 – 3/4/16
- RIP winemaker Peter Mondavi, Sr. 11/8/14 – 2/20/16
- RIP author Harper Lee 4/28/26 – 2/19/16
- RIP author Umberto Eco 1/5/32 – 2/9/16
- RIP singer Dan Hicks 12/9/41 – 2/6/16)
- RIP musician Maurice “Moe” White 12/19/41 – 2/4/16
- RIP musician Paul Kantner 3/17/41 – 1/28/16
- RIP actor Abe Vigoda 2/24/21 – 1/26/16
- RIP musician Glenn Frey 11/6/48 – 1/18/16
- RIP poet Francisco X. Alarcón 2/21/54 – 1/15/16
- RIP actor Alan Rickman 2/21/46 – 1/14/16 (with Ron Wells)
- RIP poet CD Wright 1/6/49 – 1/12/16
- RIP David Bowie 1/8/47 – 1/10/16 (with Ron Wells)
in memoriam: Bowie, Alan Rickman, Prince, Ali, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, Harper Lee, Pat Conroy, Gene Wilder
Each year, important figures in our lives die. 2016 was no different. Often, my friend Ron Wells takes the time to reflect on the impact of these people, often musicians, actors, and writers, who, through their work on the page, the screen or the stage, speak for us: they articulate for us our experiences, our joys, and our struggles in life. I edit what he sends and add images or videos or other clips but I don’t always have time to do so. Here’s a collection of Ron’s tributes that have been published on this blog David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, or are being published for the first time below: Harper Lee, Pat Conroy, and Gene Wilder. Read more…
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Cheers!
Did Santa bring you your heart’s desires? He did for me!
And I got a new 15 degree sleeping bag from Mountain Hardware which will serve me well for my Pacific Crest Trail backpacking trips in 2017! Read more…
3 Festive Winter Wines: Flora Springs “Holiday Kisses” and Bubbles Too
happy happy happy happy
Welcome winter! Welcome light! Happy holidays! Happy Hanukkah, Happy Omisoka, Happy Jul, Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, Merry Saturnalia, and everything else to you all!
How better to celebrate all of these special moments with friends and family than with some bubbles… and a really great Cabernet Sauvignon? And while a “Holiday Cabernet” just might pair well with the relatives, what are some other pairing ideas?
Thinking beyond turkey and ham (for which I usually go for zinfandel and here are some recommendations from Lodi), Sue and I took to the task the other day by putting together charcuterie and other appetizers, and tasting three festive wines that have holiday wrappings. Reviews and recipes below.
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I got the best, early Christmas present the other day when I heard that a new poetry manuscript by Paul Squires came out.
Titled The Architecture of Water, it’s a sort of “best of” collection from Paul’s blog GingaTao which Paul felt was his ‘masterwork’: indeed, The National Library of Australia describes it as ‘a work of significance and long term research value’ and has archived it. His friend Brad Fredricksen of Maekitso Cafe writes:
“To own The Architecture of Water is to hold a particular manifestation of Gingatao in the form of a narrative, or a guided tour if you like; not so much a selection of highlights (though every selection is), but rather an example of just one of the many ways it is possible to grasp Paul’s non-linear work of art in a linear fashion.”
Welcome Winter! Welcome Light!
Solstice eve sunset by Melissa Navarro
Like the solstice eve sunset, life is ephemeral, swift in its passing.
In the northern hemisphere, winter solstice takes place on or about December 21, and is the moment when the sun is at its southernmost position. The sun hangs low and weak in the sky during daylight hours, and daytime shadows are the longest.
Solstice eve in Ventura photo by Bethena Nuzback
In 2016, that takes place today, December 21, and with this day, the long nights begin to get shorter, and the short days begin to get longer. It is a time to gather together, to get ready for the light, a time to resist complacency, to transition from dark to light. Events and rituals below.
solstice eve sunset by Ventura City Council member Carl Morehouse
Acknowledging this passage through solstice rites is one of our oldest celebrations, Read more…
Never Alone
“When we sit, we are never alone because all the saints and bodhisattvas… are there with us. Meditating mindfully means contact and continuity with a long tradition. To sit means to be assisted and held. when Buddha sat on the earth, it was as if he sat in a lap. It is the same for us,” writes Donald Richo in How to be an Adult in Relationships.
Life can be exhausting and we can feel like we are struggling through it all alone. Read more…
Let It Snow! Happy Holidays 2016!
It’s December 1 which means:
- It’s officially holiday season so you start that advent calendar and eat the chocolate!
- It’s snowing on my blogs!
- It’s gonna snow at the beach in Ventura this weekend!
On Poetry And Healing What’s Broken
Poet Christian Elder reads in Ventura Th. Dec. 1 7:30pm
This December, the 7:30pm Thursday night poetry series at the EP Foster library in the Topping Room (651 E. Main Street, Ventura) features three top notch poets, and my students and I will be there also. Read more…
art predator 