Observing Beauty

I started my day by observing a video project that my co-worker, Lisa had created. She spent about four months taping short clips of butterflies up near her place in St. Helena.The video was about eight minutes long and featured some gorgeous footage of Monarchs, Pearl Crescent and an assortment of sixteen other species. She had the music of Enya playing in the background which made for a delightful experience. Later on in the morning I went to our herb garden here at the CIA to pick flowers and herbs to put on display for our guests to enjoy. Lisa helped me with the arrangements and had some good suggestions about how to preserve flowers.If you put a drop or two of lemon juice in the water, it will act as a natural preservative.

Making my own Pesto

Tonight I picked a few sprigs of Basil from our herb garden. My neighbor Andres Quinteros let me have a few sprigs of fresh mint from his garden, and I had a host of other ingredients which I was determined to combine to make a dynamite Pesto sauce.
First I chopped the Basil and Mint using a traditional paring knife creating what is called a schifenade(?) and then mincing a garlic along with a handful of smoked Virginia peanuts, In a medium size mixing bowl . I scooped all the fresh ingrdients and added a half an avocado ( peeled ).After that I added lemon juice and four tablespoons of freshly grated Paramasean Reggiano cheese. Lastly, I mashed up the avocado, and poured some extra virgin olive oil into the mixture. Lastly, I sprinkled in a sufficient amount of Kosher salt to taste. This stuff is what summer snacks are all about. I used a baked cracker to scoop out some of this Pesto, just to satiate my taste buds. Smiling, I washed the cracker and Pesto sauce down with a big gulp of Lemonade. Yum !

Watching what's next

Although I don't go for the use of expletives for emphatic effect (especially when they are used arbitrarily) , this slide presentation has an interesting message.It is a commentary on social networking when used as a way of marketing interest

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A Visiting Dignitary

Timothy J. Keating, USN is the current Commander of the United States Pacific Command. He previously served as Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and Commander, United States Northern Command. He assumed his current assignment on March 27th, 2007. Keating was born on November 5,1949 in Dayton, Ohio. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1971. Following duty aboard USS Leonard F. Mason (DD-852) in the western Pacific, he completed flight training in August 1973. Today his family and friends were our guests at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. Following lunch, they were given a complete tour of the facility. It was a distinct honor to show these folks around and at the end of the tour I was decorated with a commemorative medallion.

Making the Trip

Leaving Sunday evening around 9:30 PM and arriving in Ventura at noon on Monday. Phew ! I drove all night down 101 after crossing over from 280 at Gilroy. Smoke haze was everywhere from fires throughout the south land. I was destined to be at my meeting at two in the afternoon. I learned about the Gap fire after continuing from Ventura on through to Burbank. I overshot my turnoff and frantically found myself in Pasadena realizing I had to double back and find Western street with some time to spare. The meeting with three of the consumer products people at Disney proved to be a valuable experience, but only after my objective was met.I then jumped back on highway 5 to make it back to Calistoga by 10 PM Monday night. This was after a meeting that only lasted 20 minutes at best! I drove and drove with little time for rest. Eventually arriving in Visalia around four o' clock. From there I got on Highway 99 which led me around 200 miles out of the way. Gradually, I breezed into towns like Merced and Tracy, eventually finding my way to Walnut Creek . Luckily I got back on 80 going north to the wine country. Today I am baked.  I know what I have to do now. I have to take this referral contact that was offered to me from my meeting with the Disney Folks in Burbank and bring my" product idea" to a woman in New York who already has a license to sell goods from the Magic Kingdom. I will introduce her to what will be a complimentary product that will help sell an apron that has already produced for them.

Having Expectations

I can get quite philosophical when it comes to expectations. On the one hand, I expect a miracle because I have faith that I am serving a purpose on this physical level. On the other hand, one tries to have no expectations, so that they can at least observe the process of things, and learn enough to proceed through life without too much disappointment. At this age, I've gained some insight by conducting myself in such a way as to avoid making similar mistakes as the ones I have made in my past. Everything communicates. Everything is trying to tell me something. I wish I could be more specific about what I am referring to; Except that I just woke up and am still reeling from a dream I had about people in my past that showed up at a pool party. A photo album was brought out in this dream, so I know I am being told to reflect on someone or some incident in my past. This Summer feels a little like Winter to me emotionally , because of some unresolved issue that is beckoning me forward. More will be revealed.

Change in plans

I've heard it said that if you want to make God laugh, make plans and obsess about the outcome.
I am still planning a trip to Burbank on July the seventh. Originally, I was going to be driving my Aprilia Motor scooter down south but have reckoned that a rent-a-car will be the best approach. Especially after my sister Martha put the Kibosh on the whole idea. Besides that, my backside would be mighty sore after even a hundred miles of driving I am sure. This trip's aim is to be an educational experience. I hope to learn how best to promote myself , and how to negotiate with business people on their terms.

Thinking ahead

I am looking at driving to Burbank on my motor scooter.I just had it tuned up over a week ago and the coolant has been replaced. I know that I can keep up with traffic because if I wanted to; I could go around 85-90 mph on a straightaway.My co-worker, Marnie thinks I should rent a car because it is such a long drive. My plan is to drive throughout the night From Sunday, July 6th to Monday,./ July 7th.I have an appointment to do a presentation at the Disney Studios in Burbank on Monday afternoon at 2PM. This is very important to me, and I hope to learn a lot about how to proceed when trying to get something accomplished in the business world.This is really the first time I've made a decision to really pursue a course of action with regard to a product invention. I am thinking carefully about my options and opportunites.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy days of Summer

... and it isn't even officially summer yet. Today, is Friday, June 13th and I figured that Anton Ego the food critic from "Ratatouille" is the perfect image for this day where superstition runs rampant.It is my neice Erin's birthday and I am not even sure I know how old she is, but the weather is pleasant enough,and it looks a little hazy at 11am in the morning, but that should burn off by noon. Its days like this that I think of the expression, "Another ho-hum day in paradise" when I look out the door of the main entrance here at Greystone. It seems like I blinked and the hot weather arrived. It never ceases to amaze me how time leaps forward. I was longing for the month of March, because to me, that is when the winter weather starts to fade away and all the lusciousness of Spring bursts forth.Now I am thinking about how the Fall will be here before you know it.The tomatoes on my sun deck are growing bushier every day. There will be some fresh-ripe fruit by the end of August. Earlier this week was a salmonella scare on tomatoes throughout the nation. Most of the students are out on field trips today. The CIA is quiet except for the radio playing in the barrell room, the birds chirping outside and the occasional voice of a chef. Not the usual clanging of pots and pans up on the third floor.We don't even have any special events scheduled for today. I thought that June was supposed to be a big wedding month. You sure wouldn't know it this month.

Stwahbaywees !

I took this picture of Stephanie who works in our Campus Store(She is one of our famous Spice Girls) of the Spice Island Marketplace.The shot was taken at our
Annual Staff Picnic last Wednesday evening. The food was fabulous, as was the camaraderie .We also tossed rubber rings from a distance in an attempt to land one around the neck of a wine bottle prize just for giggles. There were several winners at this game (and a large variety of wine being displayed).Several younger staff members who had won bottles, decided to stay afterwards to imbibe in their bounty.

Today is Sunday, June 8th,and after my last blog I mustered the courage to call the Disney Product Development division to find out when I will be able to participate in a Video Conference call. I was told to call back in about a week, and I will do just that. It is rather slow here at the CIA today. Yesterday was the big showcase event here in the Napa Valley. The Wine auction at Meadowood concluded and most of the attendees headed home today.My interest in attending the wine aution as a volunteer sort of waned this year. Last year, I sort of stood around trying to look busy when in actuality, I didn't do diddly squat. I felt it was best not go back.

June, Moon, Spoon...

I'm a poet and I know it. In fact, last week I admitted to being ALL of it. My coworker quickly added that I am also full of it, too. Today is Wednesday, and I am heading back to work. My Apple TV is terrific except that I don't have cable and cannot access mainstream TV. Don't you have days when you actually get all the tasks that you set out to do, done? Yesterday was like that. I went to REI in Santa Rosa and bought a jacket. I actually returned a jacket because of a broken zipper and bought an extra one as I was given a brand new one for the one I returned. Sweet, huh? REI is a great place to shop. Then towards the end of the day, I went to vote no on "N". Mission accomplished. I almost voted "yes" on N because I was tired of the ruthless campaigning against it. Every time I turned around I saw a sign, received an email, a phone call, or a piece of junk mail. It got tiresome. Anyway, my blog marches on and I haven't even time to reflect on what I am typing. Blah !

Wide Screen Anticipation

Tonight I am going to meet my friend Don after work to drive with him to my nephew's house down in Napa to pick up a wide screen TV for my apartment. This week I purchased Apple TV which is a remote server that will transfer content from my computer to the monitor.One can download movies,songs,images etc. from the internet to be viewed on this system. Even this blog can be viewed on the big screen. I can hardly wait to set the whole thing up. My apartment is only a one bedroom, so I am going to have to rearrange a lot of furniture and items to make space for this new addition. I feel that my collection of Apple products is gradually making my apartment into a digital studio that will inspire me to continue to create imagery, videos and a whole variety of other media that will help me build my portfolio.

Don't look down !

I have added this link because it is fun to watch! Can you imagine hiking along this path with a camera, videotaping as you go along?
The music only adds to the drama. Check it out here:

El camino del Rey

Shoulda Stayed in Bed

I am so tired today. It's Sunday, but in effect it's my Friday because I have the next two days off(Thank God).Geez, even the internet seems sluggish today.Tonight there will be a small wedding here a the CIA. Only 35 rowdy drunkards to deal with on the Memorial Day weekend. Things could be a lot worse, believe me. The weather has been weird today. It rained yesterday, was sunny this morning and the rain is supposed to return tonight.I don't know what I will be doing on my day off, but for starters I will have to write to my nephew Justin and let him know that I listened to his CD. Some of the songs are better than the others. He has one called "Happiness" which is a nice little instrumental that I would like to add as a background to one of my Quicktime movies. The other thing I need to do is get more rest ! Yawn.

Too Cool! Mick answers my Question !

Recenty, I went online and came across a page on youtube™ that solicited questions people may want to ask the Rolling Stones. So I decided that I wanted to ask Mick Jagger if he studied Voodoo in Haiti. I heard somewhere that he had, and I wanted to hear his response. So check this out here !

Hear his response...

Now if you want to see both his and Keith's responses to other questions, go to: Living Legends and see for yourself. See, I wasn't jiving you !

My Friend, Reid

My buddy Reid started his own toy business many years ago. He is a very bright and modest man, with a keen business sense. Over the years I have watched him divest, invest and rebuild a business by his unrelenting commitment to the success of a product he created. I think this has served him well, long before I met him over fifteen years ago.He has always been on the lookout for ways of increasing his customer base and finding new ways of marketing items that support his main product, Flexiblocks™. The education community has certainly served him well, because this product is highly educational for youngsters and oldsters alike. Lately, I have encouraged him to start a BLOG so that he can have a place where people can comment on his product and stay in contact with him. If you want to visit the website he refers people to; Go to flexiblocks.com and have a click around.

In case you missed it...

I downloaded the video from the internet and compressed it using Quicktime Pro so that I could post it here. The Corkscrew Collection was featured on Modern Marvels on the History Channel about a month ago.I am still suprised at the number of people who said that they saw it. Anyway, I know the link to the website was posted a few blogs back, but I thought it would be nice to have it play here just in case the link gets broken.I apologize in advance for the "Flip for Mac" logo emblazzoned across the screen.You see, the orginal video was a windows media file and had to be converted to a mac format for cross-platform viewing. I have the trial version of this processing program because I am too cheap to shell out 30 bucks for the fully loaded version. So just Enjoy what's there!

Sunday Serenity

Today, our cooking demo Chef Steve Ruggenberg came in to prepare for the daily cooking show and promptly informed me that he was ill.Luckily, there were only nine people on the books, so I did not have to rush about returning a lot of phone calls to let these folks know that the demo was canceled.After he left, I posted a few signs and made a few phone calls to the supervisors to let everyone know what the story was. The morning hours were cool and foggy.Early May in St. Helena feels more like late winter than late Spring in the Valley. Many bicyclists were riding up and around the Silverado Trail and Highway 29 as part of a Charity Ride for Diabetes. I think my nephew Edward is participating. Last year I donated a couple of bucks, but this year I've been stingy. Last night I went to " Scooter Rosa 2.0" for a party and raffle. After shelling out 40 bucks for a Shwag bag ( that I have yet to receive ) and a chance at a new Vespa scooter, I sat down with a few other motorscooter enthusiasts for a Ginger Beer and plate of Buffalo Wings. The event was held at the Russian River Brewery.I was reluctant to enter this place at first. It had that typical stale beer and barf smell which is foreboding to say the least.I got to talking to my new friend Damien who has been working for a dry cleaning business the last 11 years of his life.He also tells me that he is into video production, and has learned most of the processing software for this endeavor from scratch. An hour into the conversation, the winner of the scooter was announced.We looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. I left shortly thereafter to ride back to Calistoga. I felt okay about spending the forty dollars because it went to a good cause. The money collected went to Big Brothers/Sisters of Santa Rosa.

My Twenty Seconds of Fame

Today I found out that the segment of "Modern Marvels" from the History channel had been posted to the web. I've created a link to the portion of the show that featured "corkscrews" and am featuring it here.
Modern Marvel's Corkscrew Episode The other two people in the video are Karen McNeil who is the author of the Wine Bible, and Crystal Collins who is the education coordinator of the Rudd Center for Wine Studies at the CIA. All in all, the vignette featuring Brother Timothy's collection went very well, and I am pleased to the producers of the show for their superior editing skills. They really made me look like a pro. A good forty minutes of shooting was refined down to twenty seconds ! So far, I have recieved several compliments about my appearance on the show, and would probably be a regular viewer of Modern Marvels if I had a TV and a cable connection to watch it on... Right now, I am in the process of inheriting a large screen set that my nephew wants to replace with a new flat screen model. Perhaps after my next paycheck I will have some extra cash to upgrade my home network. All I will have to do is purchase the newest version of Apple TV, and add some selective content, and this TV will turn my one bedroom apartment into a home entertainment center ....Wow & Whoopee!

Rita's Birthday

Today is April 23rd and it is my sister Rita's Birthday (She is the tall one in the back when this picture was taken many years ago). It is also a gloomy looking day, but let that be no reflection on our relationship. She is a great sister and a wonderful mom to her two boys, and now she is a wonderful grandma to her two grandchildren. Rita has been a stable influence in my life, because she has been the most accesible person in the family to talk things over with; Whenever I have needed to hash out a problem, she has been there. I recall one time when I was around 14 years old and she convinced me not to run away from home.I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if I had ignored her plea. On another note, My friend Reid and I went to see the new Rolling Stones movie,"Shine a Light" today. It was fun.I hope that I have half the energy Mick Jagger has when I get to be his age. After the movie, I am bringing a fresh salmon that we will be cooking for dinner.Reid is a Salmonaholic if there is such a thing. Anyway, I initially wanted to send a card to my sister letting her know what I've been up to...but am having trouble with my" dot mac" account today. Grrrrrrrr. I hope that I will still be able to get a nice little ecard off to her before it's too late.