Author: diana

Step into Nature—Patrice Vecchione

Written by diana on April 14, 2015. Posted in Art, Lifestyle, Writing and Blogging Tips. 3 Comments on Step into Nature—Patrice Vecchione

Recently I attended Patrice Vecchione’s Monterey book launch for Step into Nature, a personal journal of solitary walks in and their influence on her art (as a collage artist and painter) and on her poetry. Step into Nature invites the reader to join her on a quiet and unassuming spiritual journey, a discovery of the symbiosis we share with plants and animals as thinking, feeling creatures. Her book soothes the imagination and brings a Zen-like equilibrium to the reader. The book launch was jointly sponsored by the Carmel Art Association and Pilgrim’s Way Bookstore and Secret Garden....

“Home on the Range…with Frances”

Written by diana on April 7, 2015. Posted in Restaurants. No Comments on “Home on the Range…with Frances”

We had the good fortune recently to celebrate the culinary fare at two popular San Francisco restaurants, Frances (3870 17th Street) and Range (842 Valencia Street). Both had imaginative menus and we felt so lucky being able to reserve a table on a weekend night. Friday night we dined at Frances, a very small elegant restaurant, not too formal and not pretentious. The key for us is to test the chef’s skills with their small plates. So, we started with bouchées, as distinguished from appetizers. Our party shared the caramelized cipollini onion tart with dates and whipped blue cheese,...

“Seduction” and “The Printer’s Eye”

Written by diana on April 2, 2015. Posted in Art, Unhealed Wound. 1 Comment on “Seduction” and “The Printer’s Eye”

Katsukawa Shunshoi More than 200 artworks are now on exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco (February 20-May 10, 2015), an exploration of Japanese art and the world of desire (“ukiyo-e”—floating world). Elaborate scrolls, woodblock prints, sculptures, and kimonos are vivid examples of the transient and evanescent world of the senses, particularly the highly rarified courtesan culture for the extremely wealthy samurai and aristocratic classes. As the Buddha famously observed, a lifespan is like writing in water, a moment of illusion and sensory experience soon disappearing. The Yoshiwara...

“Citizenfour”—Big Brother’s Doppelganger

Written by diana on March 24, 2015. Posted in movie reviews. 3 Comments on “Citizenfour”—Big Brother’s Doppelganger

Citizenfour This Academy-Award-winning documentary for 2015 opens with a request by Edward Snowden for an encrypted line to ensure his e-mail will not be intercepted and be a target of government surveillance. Calling himself “citizenfour”, only the director Laura Poitras (who also received a Pulitzer) understands the importance of this request and can implement the encryption code easily. Then begins the spellbinding story of Snowden, our decade’s most famous whistleblower, in a Hong Kong hotel room in June 2013. Citizenfour. “Just walk me through it,” Glenn Greenwald , journalist for...

“House of Cards” –On the verge of collapse

Written by diana on March 16, 2015. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on “House of Cards” –On the verge of collapse

In Season 3 of Netflix’s award-winning series, “House of Cards”, the Beltway game is passing Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) by and only he seems not to know it. This season is wife Claire Underwood’s story. Whatever the subplots and character arcs, this series continues to hinge upon the tortuous dynamics between Frank and Claire Underwood. They’ve been combustible before, but never quite like this. And now it is Claire’s turn to get center stage. All thirteen episodes again are ready for binge-viewing and, are made for devouring before catching your breath and dissecting...

“Life Itself”—A Beautiful Mind

Written by diana on March 9, 2015. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. 1 Comment on “Life Itself”—A Beautiful Mind

Roger Ebert 2013 Based upon the memoir by the same name, “Life Itself” is the autobiography of movie critic extraordinaire, Roger Ebert. This documentary is as much about courage and loyalty as it is about the life of the most famous and brilliant movie critic we have known. Tremendously life-affirming and soul-stirring, “Life Itself” is a portrayal of a man so comfortable with himself that he is always in the present moment, in the face of tremendous challenges towards the end of his life. That Roger Ebert is described by one friend as “nice, but not that nice” says it all: a personality who...