The Origins of Ukulady Lynn

Dani got her instrument and is officially a full fledged member of the Folk-A-Dots. Now she can fill the house with the cutest arrhythmic tinkling ever.

Look at her go!

Dad and Debbie move to Boca

My Dad and Debbie just moved into a new house in Boca Raton. My Mom, Katie Dani and I all came for a visit. It was a little before the snowbirds descended. The whole town seemed like it was in suspended animation, waiting for swarms of old people to populate it.

The trip was amazing. We walked to the beach, hung out in the pool. We only ate food cooked outside and rarely wore shoes.

Wake Up W.D. we're in Boca Raton!

Let's lounge with my mom and dad in the pool.

"It is time for the beach!" Dad announces

We're gonna need some pool noodles FAST!

W. D. don't forget your special head dress!

Hmmm... What should we do now?

Hey! How about we take Grandpa to the Morikami Gardens!

That sounds like a great idea!

Hey, aren't we cute.

No Berkeley, Know Pain

Hot Time Summer in the City

It is finally summer in SF. Technically, this is my first summer in here. Last summer I was in L.A. pretending I was a hot shot gallery person, but missing my NorCal home. Dani and I have been trying to take full advantage of the warm fog-less so called Indian Summer by taking evening walks on Ocean Beach.

Being born an east coaster, it is really cool to see the sun set on the beach.

We always seem to catch low tide and tons of sand dollars are washed up on the beach.

And creepy large dead jellies.


The beach does seem a bit polluted. Some of the sand is sort of oily black and sticks to our feets. And then there are these orange bubbles that don't pop. I refuse to do any research about the pollution in the area because we have so much fun. Plus the tail I've been growing is proving very helpful.

Corona Heights Park

I've been biting my nails about Berkeley Art Museum lately and need things to take my mind of it. The crazy puzzle Dani's grandma gave us is complete. The loss of the puzzle was a big blow, leaving my mild OCD with no outlet so I went on a little urban hike up to Corona Heights Park. (Thanks Andy for showing us) The view was amazing and I sat on the rocks and read about the history of the Barbary Coast.

It was a beautiful day. We never get clouds like this in SF. I really need to do more cloud reseach to know just what kind these are-- but I like them.

It's a straight shot up 16th. We live across the street from the large steple.

Lucky Ju Ju Pinball

Madeline had her birthday party at a pinball palace. It was awesome. I could spend all night not talking to anyone at the party and not be thought of as rude. It was a wall flower's dream!

There were some beautiful machines. The place was divided into two rooms, one room for mechanical sound effects and the other for electronic.

This one was my favorite. It was from Madrid circa 1970's . It had electronic sound and was just all around cool!

Dani loses her ball

Um...

Somehow the word problematic doesn't begin to describe...
Thanks to Julia's brother for the find.

Total Eclipse of the Moon/Heart

Last night I was dreaming about someone complaining that they got into a bike accident while holding their kitten. And this was really very upsetting for them because now their kitten would never want to ride a bike again. Meanwhile, in the dream, I was very annoyed by this because I was trying to show off my guitar skills by playing a song that I don't really know. I was not doing very well impressing the crowd of all my old friends and I felt pretty sure that if this person with the kitten would cut out the annoying prattle I would be able to play majestically.

Thats when Dani woke me up to show me the moon! It was around 2:45 a.m.or so and the eclipse had just started. For the next couple of hours (or it could of been days) I was in and out of dreaming as the moon became increasingly orange and discolored by the earth's shadow.

If I had a jug band I'd call it Baby and the Butterbeans (and I would be Baby)

End of the World on the 5

Dani and drove down to Orange County to see her family (see more about that visit here.) Just before the Grapevine the sky went orange and strange and there was ash in the air. Turns out there were fires near Santa Barbara and the smoke was blocking out the sun on the Grapevine.

My Mom visits Sci-Fi City

My mom came back to San Francisco with me after my trip to VA. She stayed with us for a whole week. It was a really amazing time. We haven't spent this much time together in years (probably before I went to college.) Dani and I showed her all around the bay area. We went to the botanical garden at Tilden Park.

We stopped on the way down from the park to see the fog consume the city.

On Saturday we went to the Ferry Building and saw the Farmer's Market.

From there we took the ferry to Sausalito and then took a shuttle to Muir Woods. It was really fun although it was a little stressful-- at each leg of the trip we were a little concerned that the next form of transportation was going to fall through for some reason-- But it all worked out (thanks to the exceptional planning skills of the Wild Dani.)

The fog was so dense it made the city look really creepy as we rode back in on the ferry.

Sunday 8/5 was Jerry Day! My mom was really excited to celebrate Jerry Day in his home town. This was also our first time to Mclaren Park. All the bay area dead-heads dusted off all the old tie-dye and draped themselves from head to toe. I'm glad my mom was here for this because it was a really good time and W.D. and I wouldn't have gone without her.

The Art of the Eight Limbs

While in VA my Dad took me to The King of the Ring not normally one for fighting and bloody battery I was skeptical about how much I would enjoy myself. But I must say I had a great time, even without out alcohol to fuel my blood-lust, it was really interesting and the fighting was brutal but for the most part skillful and intricate. The night was a mix of Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts. Muay Thai is a hard martial art (hard martial arts meets force with force as opposed to soft martial arts which uses the force and momentum of the aggressor against him/her (we even saw a girl fight.)) Muay Thai is Thailand's national sport and is called The Art of the Eight Limbs because one can strike with the arms, shins, elbows, and knees. In Muay Thai the fighters ideally stay on their feet (there are throws but the fighting doesn't continue if one fighter is on the mat) Mixed Martial Arts, on the other hand, takes the fighting to the mat. There is a series of strikes (like Mauy Thai) as well as grappling techniques such as clinch holds and submission holds, sweeps and take downs. At one point my Dad was chanting SUBMIT, SUBMIT!!! which tickled me to no end.

Guest photographer: My Mom

My Dad wasn't competing in this King of the Ring but these are pictures of him and his bling at the 2007 Florida Grappling Championship. All told he won 2 golds one silver and one bronze. I believe the 2 golds were for over 50 events and the others were for over 40. He has a very chivalrous story about how he accepted silver and let one of his gym-mates take gold.