Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Bodhisattva- Our Holiness the Dalai Lama/ Part Two


Well, I never got to find out if I could hear the Holiness from my position in front of the will-call area. 
While being surrounded with hundreds of people who did not have a ticket, I resigned for a moment and I was not thinking. I had made friends with the security people and the ticket manager - then it happened. 

Suddenly a ticket appeared in front of my face and a voice behind it asked: "Anyone who is here by themselves?" I simply answered:"  "Me", and I was handed a $ 50.00 ticket for the 6th row on the 13th seats, with the words: "Enjoy".

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Bodhisattva- Our Holiness the Dalai Lama/ Part One



Riding my bike up Dwight last Saturday; a bit late for my taste, 1:50 PM. 

I had wanted to volunteer in my daughter's German Saturday school to do my good deed for the day. That school is the perfect place for practicing random acts of kindness; which neither will be seen nor appreciated yet while there more will be put upon you. 
When you are done with them they are done with you. They simply go to the next person. 
That school with all guarantee, you will not be seen and no thanks will be given. An ideal place to let your inner Dharma roam and have him or her plant continuous inner glow inside your eyes and plant a permanent smile onto your lips. 

Now I was finally where I wanted to be all day close to all the" lamas" who were lining up to see the Dalai Lama. I  build up courage to ask everybody in line if they had an extra ticket. Some let me know that it took them a whole day to stand in line to buy a ticket months ago.

 The event was sold out. Completely! The convoy of the Holiness  raced by - in 90 miles an hour.

Dalai Lama-his holiness spoke at the Greek Theatre:

"The young ones are the source of hope. Implement realistic approach to gain fuller knowledge of reality. Appearance in our mind is the same perception causes confusion. Mr. Bush is a good human being that I love. He is not a good leader and not a good politician. I have some reservations. He has a lack of fuller knowledge, of reality. America is the champion of Democracy. Reality is not one event. It is many factors. In order to know the reality we need to look more holistically."

Walking up to will-call trying to get a ticket which was not picked up yet. Time 2:30 pm. The security was strict. You could not bring in cameras, water-bottles and back-packs. People were hiding their cameras and stainless steal water bottles in the bushes. I left my leather bag-pack on my bicycle with everything in it. My camera however I hid in my sunhat. It had to come with me. I was standing behind the barricades wishing for the talk to start. I would soon find out if I could hear him from my position.


Daughter DylanGrace the Gracious










A child needs to taste the outdoors early to love it for a life time.


Spring- Elixir of Renewal




Almost saw Green Way instead of Leonard Cohen


Dear Followers, 
I know everyone is dying to find out how on earth I could be purchasing a ticket for Green Way; if needing a ticket for Leonard Cohen? Well, on April 14, I took my car to downtown Oakland.  I parked what seemed out of range for the Paramount Theatre; and in fact from where I was; I had lost all my bearings. So I wondered toward crowds of people cuing around a luxury theatre.
  I had my sign "Need free ticket" in my hand (people chuckled as they read it). After a few minutes a young man told me that his girlfriend had not shown. He would be glad to sell hers to me for $ 20. We waited in line chatting and laughing. 
At one point I said somewhat out loud; how funny it was that the theatre was already announcing next weeks shows and that there was no mentioning of the Paramount and Leonard Cohen. 
"No", he said, "we are not going to see Leonard Cohen. We are going to see Green Way. This was the Fox Theatre not the Paramount and Green Way was playing at the Fox.  The Paramount with Leonard Cohen is a couple of blocks up". I was dumbfounded.

  Later I found out Green Way never plays in such intimate theaters as the Fox. I could have gone to see Leonard Cohen the next day. 
What struck me the most is how a city, dilapidated with the highest crime in the U.S., could have two huge sold out shows in two brilliantly refurbished theaters looking like twins simultaneously as far as the eye could see with all caucasian  people! 
Sometimes life is just unbelievable.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Easter Sunday Films and Photos





Traumhafte Osterfeier



 Picnic in the meadow, under trees, overlooking a lake, cumulus clouds in the sky passing by, like a screen-saver. 
How relaxing! 
Good-old world games. Reminiscing my own childhood. Dads running with their sons and daughters through the grass, throwing frisbees and balls. Sack Races, Boccia and Tug of Peace followed by the old-fashioned Easter Egg Hunt.
 Obviously we had amazing food which came generously provided by all. 
Accolades to Andrea & Ezra who again showed their extraordinary community organizing skills at this event.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Picnic And No Table


For a moment we did not know where to go with our picnic. 

The park looked like a German outdoor public swimming pool in the summer. 

The weather,  the holiday- everybody yearned for the great outdoors.

The Wild Daffodil Fields up North and more





Blessed by the Rabbit-Happy Passover and Easter

Saturday, April 11, 2009

More And More On The Eastern Garbage Patch




Yes, I know I can not stop.

Plastic is not "biodegradable" it is "photodegradable". When exposed to sunlight, plastic for example, becomes brittle and breaks into miniscule pieces.

 90% of all debris are micro-plastics. Sea-animals eat the micro-plastic. We eat the fish which ate our plastic. There is more plastic than plankton in our open waters.

There is no cure, no remedy, no solution. The only thing you and I can do is stop adding.

Maybe this family who lives behind this fence are the ultimate environmentalists. They hold on to everything.  

More on the Eastern Garbage Patch


I can not stop thinking about the patches of garbage in our oceans. On Science Friday they were discussing it yesterday as I mentioned before. It was said that the size of all patches in the world combined are as large as the United States.

 I can not fathom it; makes me want to hold on to every bottle-cap every plastic wrapper, every shampoo bottle. We need to really start refilling things again and again. We need more places like Rainbow Groceries. 

Yes, Berkeley Bowl, you will pale in comparison. 

Wildlife Flora and Fauna Undisturbed...




It is hard for me to wrap my mind around " The Great Pacific Garbage Patch" or the "Eastern Garbage Patch".
On one of my Atlantic flights I sat next to a Marine Biologist whom I asked if truth beholds that there is really that much plastic and trash in our oceans stretching from the South Pole to the Bering Street. He nodded  his head, he even went to dive in it. Just imagine one of them is floating close to Hawaii. The patch is twice the size of Texas. One researcher on Science Friday yesterday even claims that it is three times the size of Texas.

Mein Papa schon acht Monate bei dem lieben Gott

Of Youth Hostels, Contaminated Beaches and Unspoiled Childhoods





After a good strong "cup of joe" we headed out to investigate the wild.

 It is hard to believe to find contaminated beaches already on our National Seashore. In one sense it made it easier for two German Moms to contain our off-spring away from the shore and strangely enough both daughters complied. Sleeping with 10 women in one room was an experience even the deepest meditation couldn't have missed. 

Try it your next trip and you will be humbled into great
appreciation for what you have - and not what you want.