There's something about boats...

From Treasure Island

...even at rest. Perhaps it's the dormant sailor in me (hahaha!), with my landlocked existence...but it could be something to do with.
One evening in Santa Cruz I strolled around the docked boats, taking pictures and listening to the quiet steady murmer of boats talking amongst themselves...a secret language of clinks 'n clanks, rubs 'n drubs, grunts 'n groans...it was absolutely lovely.

At rest, in conversation

And then, there was the one that got away...

Into Great Silence

Only in complete silence, one starts to hear.
Only when language resigns, one starts to see.

The Carthusian Order is reputed as one of the most strict brotherhoods out there. The monastery is based in the French Alps, and this is a documentary about it. Or is it more than a documentary about a subject?

Do watch it. It could purify your thought-flows, clear things up (or speed you to a quick nap!)

From the description on the film site (diegrossestille):
The film is an austere, next to silent meditation on monastic life in a very pure form. No music except the chants in the monastery, no interviews, no commentaries, no extra material.
Changing of time, seasons, and the ever repeated elements of the day, of the prayer. A film to become a monastery, rather than depict one. A film about awareness, absolute presence, and the life of men who devoted their lifetimes to god in the purest form. Contemplation.
An object in time.

Sketch Ice Cream and other serendipitous discoveries...

I took a wrong turn in Berkeley the other day, instead of heading towards the freeway I ended up near Fourth Street. I decided to take a few minutes off, just planned on getting coffee and maybe a bite to eat. Found parking in fifteen minutes (yes, thats right!) and went walkabout. Found Sketch Ice Cream, which has to be the best ice cream in the Bay Area (at least).

Why?

Well, unlike the usual gelato places (don't get me wrong, I love gelato too!) they have those soft-serve machines. This gives the best temperature and texture - no crystals, no iciness - just smooth! And really cool cones. And cups too. And toppings (candied almonds, cocoa nibs, salted chocolate sauce, pomegranate seeds...endless). What I found interesting was the limited number of flavors (limited by the number of machines they have!) and the possibility of doing combinations. I had cocoa nib + sorbet blood orange, in a cup. It was a good cup. Along with my coffee (simple straight coffee, brewed at my behest so I waited for it, over five minutes - it was quite delicious, Blue Bottle Coffee). Not cheap, but how often do you find a little piece of perfection for five dollars?!

It was the perfect little treat on a perfect day in spring. Get off your computer and go have some!

Sketch Ice Cream

As for other serendipitous discoveries, Cody's was having a moving sale, all books 40% off - I got five books for the grand sum of thirty-five dollars! Including one of Haruki Murakami's (called Norwegian Woods).

Thoughts about perfection...

In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.

—Antoine de Saint-Exupery

So wise! And one of my favorite writers of all time. I didn't know he lived in Quebec for a while. I think the reasons for me to visit Canada are increasing rapidly, particularly Quebec City and Montreal. For a quick taste of France, of course!

The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others. An amazing brilliant lovely sad film! It is set in East Germany, the central character is a diligent official in the Stasi, the secret police. Wiesler's new assignment is to track the life of a free-thinking but state-sanctioned dramatist Georg Dreyman, and his lover, the actress Christa-Maria Sieland. They are the state's own artists, the state's intellectuals. Dreyman has been recognized by Margot Honecker herself (it comes up as events unfold). But Wiesler gets drawn into their lives, absorbed by their internal conflicts and their love for each other. He realizes that the state that he's dedicated his life to is corrupt, especially as embodied by the minister who's ordered the new assignment for his own purposes...

It's a beautiful film. One of my colleagues grew up in East Germany and he said it was so very realistic too, in it's depiction of circumstances at the time...uncomfortably accurate in the atmosphere, the look and feel of a totalitarian state. The amazing bit is that it's apparently the director's first film (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck).

Do see it!

Stormy weather has "beautiful days" too!

Off the Pacific Coast

From Scotland

Outside San Francisco

Unlike a lot of people I actually like clouds and rain - with the sky showing different moods, different hues. It's also a good change of pace from the monotonously sunny blue skies that characterize NorCal summers...! No I'm not complaining about the sun - its what justifies the high taxes!

In the Highlands

...and we're back!

To my occasional readers, I'm back after contending with a few things that leached away from my reflections. Nothing dramatic, the usual - a reorg at work, with the added responsibilities around having about thirty people looking at what I'm doing to help determine their direction as well. And work at breakneck speed from January, along with advice to a startup, consolations to a couple of friends going through tough times, thinking through the two books on my plate and so on. And of course, hibernation. Come on, it was a cold winter!

Hope you're having a good year so far...