Tuesday May 15th, 2007
Thursday May 17th is National Bike to Work day! Spare the air and leave your cars at home; bike to work instead :) If the weather is favorable, I will be biking to work, too. It's a pleasant ride, cutting through Golden Gate Park...
Monday May 14th, 2007
Last night I had the pleasure of attending a simply breathtaking solo Kathak performance in San Francisco by Charlotte Moraga, principle dancer of the Chitrish Das Dance Company. She displayed tremendous skill in her presentation of the complex dance form that is Kathak -- made up of graceful and precise arm and body movements, facial expression and complex mathematical rhythms pounded out by ghungroo(bell)-clad feet. Not only does this dance form demand intense footwork and precise movement, but in its traditional form it includes spontaneous unrehearsed improvisation of complex rhythms with the musicians on stage, as well as dramatic excerpts from Indian mythology.
Charlotte was accompanied by Salar Nader on tabla, Ben Kunin on sarod, as well as violist Gautam Tejas Ganeshan (of San Francisco's Sangati Center), with whom she confidently presented dynamic and spontaneous yet precise dance pieces that had been unrehearsed, adding to the excitement of the show and my admiration for her. Charlotte is indeed a talented and dedicated dancer and I cannot say enough good things about the show, during which she danced for almost three hours non-stop. I was especially happy to share the experience with my mother on this day, Mother's Day.
Please visit the Chitrish Das Dance Campany website for more information on the Kathak dance form and for information about upcoming shows, and especially if you are interested in learning the dance (I have been learning for over a year now). The next show is in San Jose on June 24th, hope to see you there!
Sunday April 15th, 2007
This past weekend's weather demonstrates once again the characteristic finicky nature of Califonia climate -- particularly in the Bay Area. From 7am until 10am the region experienced a downpour that made driving a dangerous idea. That morning I battled my way down the 101 from the North Bay to San Francisco. I was indoors until noon, and when I stepped outside I was shocked by the beautiul warm weather that greeted me. Today was quite warm as well, and one may easily fall under the spell of "it's summer already", until we look outside the window to see a white curtain of dismal sky already setting in ...
Saturday April 7th, 2007
Most inhabitants of San Francisco are aware of "Critical Mass", that monthly bike ride that occurs on the last Friday of every month. I myself have never witnessed the event, but read about it in an article in the Chronicle and followed up on it on http://www.scorcher.org/sfcriticalmass/. Until yesterday, I had no strong feeling for or against Critical Mass. Yesterday, as I drove down Telegraph Avenue to take part in the monthly Art Murmur, I learned that the East Bay's Critical Mass occurs on every FIRST Friday of the month by inconsiderate cyclists who take up the road and do not permit other motorists to pass. At first I thought an accident was causing the traffic. Then I stretched my head out the window and saw a group of maybe 20 cyclists just a few cars ahead of me weaving in and out of the road, blocking traffic. One of the cyclists sported a sign on the back of his bike that read "STOP!"
I was so angry!!! Who do these people think they are? Granted, I am not against a monthly bike ride, or bike-riding in general. I actually love biking... it was my primary mode of transportation during college. It's good exercise and reduces pollution that would result if you chose to drive a car; I believe that if it is convenient, you should bike to work/school. It's true that cyclists don't have it easy on the road, but drivers of motor vehicles are not to blame. Just because you are on a bike does not give you special privileges... it does not give you the right to block traffic and aggravate others on the road.
To make a long story short, I quickly turned left and took the road parallel... I would have called the police if I'd had any minutes left on my phone. Grumble.
