Smile

It is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.
-Henry Ward Beecher

La Jolla & San Diego: Ellen Browning Scripps Would Want the Seals To Stay!

Judge Yuri Hofmann is an idiot as far as I can tell. Read a bit below and tell me if you think his decision makes sense?

I lived my first few years in California in La Jolla, walking distance from the beach called "The Children's Pool" which has at least for 15 years or so, been a place that seals naturally come with their young. It is a pretty magical experience to gaze upon them resting and frolicking in the ocean. Presently there are about 200 who live there. The seals do draw tourists to the area--and I am sure this adds to extra income for the city.

This beach was left 75 years ago by Ellen Browning Scripps as one of her many gifts to benefit the public as a safe place for children to swim. However, having lived for sometime in that area, I can tell you that it is NOT an ideal spot for young children to swim. While the beach is sandy and the waves are small in this location, there are rocks and reef which are completely not so kiddie friendly as compared to the completely sandy-bottomed beach of La Jolla shores just down the way.

If you have no emotion about the matter, looking at this logically. The estimated cost to get rid of the seals is around $700,000 a year AND this is coupled with the idea that one route to remove them is to play sounds of dogs barking from 6AM to dusk for possibly YEARS. This is not just about being cruel to the animals, but also to the citizens of the community.

I think if Ellen were alive today, in her philanthropic spirit, she would see the Children's Pool as it currently is as a rare opportunity for many families (without the income to spend at Sea World) to enjoy the the close proximity and charm of these marine mammals in a beautiful environment.

In this day and age, with all the issues of the economy and good people losing their jobs, homes and health insurance, it is incredible to think that people have so much time on their hands as to push something like this forward. It is embarrassing..... How much money has already been wasted in the court system?

Lastly, in the further argument of logic, we know that the seals, if banished from this beach, will just likely band together and try to make a home on another nearby beach enjoyed by humans.....

If you feel you are in favor of keeping seals in a place they have called home for some time, please go to this site, where you can find more information and send an email to the City Council in their favor. www.savesandiegoseals.com/

From the San Diego Union Tribune: San Diego plans to broadcast the sound of barking dogs from 6 a.m. until dark every day for possibly years to disperse a seal colony at Children's Pool beach in La Jolla, city officials said in a proposal released yesterday.

If the city's initial tactic fails – which is likely because seals can adjust to distractions – San Diego would add other types of sounds and start spraying the marine mammals with water. City officials said the water would be shot from “a hand-held or stationary device.”

A San Diego employee or a contractor would do the dispersal work, which San Diego said has been tried successfully in other places and meets federal regulations. The city's Police Department would provide security to protect that person from potential public harassment.

The estimated cost is $688,934 for a year, city officials said.

That price tag doesn't include the expense of paying law enforcement authorities to maintain traffic flow around the popular beach and maintain peace between people wanting to push out the seals and those hoping to maintain the colony.

Insomnia

Another lovely post secret...

For the past few years Frank Warren has invited people to send him creatively decorated postcards bearing secrets they have never before revealed. He shares these secrets on on his award-winning blog, PostSecret.com

Today's Obsession: Dino Dinco and John Millais

I have a few obsessions that I go back to. One of them is my love and curiosity of Shakespeare and Greek tragedies, which in turn has something to do with my love of Ophelia by John Millais. I also have always been drawn to this painting as it reminded me of times in the forest in Virginia. Even though we know the fate of Ophelia, I never so much saw death in the painting, as I did another stolen moment....almost like a moment seeing myself?

Today I happened upon the lightjet print of Dino Dinco from his series "Elysian Park" and my brain went directly to seeing the Ophelia painting. The palette, the sticks rising up just as her hands, the red cart, her red hair, the natural framing of foliage, the matching patches of grass.....

Ophelia is in the hands of the Tate. LA-based Dinco's piece was in his show at the Project One gallery in San Francisco. He says he never saw the Millais painting before I pointed it out to him, but we were both impressed by the similarities.

I would love a grand diptych...

I'M IN LOVE!

With Mashti Malone's!

1.Saffron/ Rosewater with Pistachios. Of course I love this one. Saffron is one of the most expensive herbs in the world and comes from the flower I grew up seeing as the first sign of Spring....the Crocus. Saffron is an aphrodisiac (maybe this is why I fell in love with this flavor) and pain reliever. Much sexier than Alleve ;)

2. Rosewater/Ginger--I want to cry it is so beautiful. You can wear it as a perfume or eat it ;) Tastes great slightly melted. My tres sophisticated dog also likes it.

3. Herbal Snow--The texture a bit softer than a sno cone and much more delicious!

Next up, I will be trying the Pomegranate Sorbet....
Take a quart or pint home, add a little bite of happiness with a Jules Destrooper Belgian butter crisp (gosh I do love the Belgians...hello, Hedi...) to the bowl, and you have something perfectly delightful!

Mashti's is in a nondescript strip mall on the corner of La Brea and Sunset in Hollywood (there is also a location in Glendale). I wondered why there was an Irish shamrock on a sign for Persian ice cream. The story I have come to gather is that when the two Iranian brothers took over an existing ice cream parlor 25 years ago, they could not afford to replace the entire sign...so...they used one brother's first name and left the last of the existing sign. The name rolls off the tongue as easily as the flavors roll onto it! (And hey, the name of their business is also a lesson in making due with what you have to work with.... ;)

Oh, you can also pick up lychee juice here! Another great thing--they are open LATE--until midnight I believe on some evenings.

No preservatives, No Eggs, No Refined Sugar, No Corn Syrup, No Trans Fat, No artificial Flavor, No Artificial color.

Tongue twister

Karis Drake

CARRY ON: Wes Lang & Ryan Schneider

Ryan Schneider

Opening Friday, May 15th @ the Eighth Veil Gallery in Hollywood. 7-9PM.
(on Sunset @ Formosa. Parking across the street at Family Theater).

Each of these New York-based artists has his own unique interpretation and perspective of our fine state (of mind). Both Schneider and Lang have created FANTASTIC limited edition books published in-house @ Eighth Veil to accompany their show.

Wes Lang

NY Times profile today on Wes Lang

Eighth Veil is pleased to announce Carry On. An exhibition by New York-based artists Wes Lang and Ryan Schneider, Carry On brings together drawings, paintings, and books focusing on landscape and culture in California. Their shared interest in the state has transformed the subject matter and method that both Lang and Schneider normally employ.

The Other Day...The Other Night

Love

Dali adored his ocelot and often brought it along on cruise ships....

Young Dali & Man Ray

So debonair and dashing. I love you.

MOCA's ANN GOLDSTEIN ON MARTIN KIPPENBERGER

If you are in NY, you have 1 more week left to see the show which MOCA's brilliant Ann Goldstein curated. It was a highlight of shows for me over the past year, then it left our dear city to travel to NY.