Isa
UWink
A while ago, John took Isa and I to a new restaurant, UWink, in a Woodland Hills mall. It had touch screens at each table, for ordering food and playing games. Some were pong-like, others were those trivia games seen in bars.I wasn’t that impressed; pong-games aren’t going to do it for me anymore, and […]
The Week in Fourth Grade
As I go through Isa’s fourth grade textbooks, I spot things that bother me. I understand the need for simplification, but at the expense of fact? Or am I being too picky?Here’s a lab to do at home from the science book: Cut up an apple and measure and record the mass of the fresh […]
John Bought Jelly
Sorry this is picture of two jars of jelly is blurry. I have an old camera (that would be three years old). I’ve always liked preserves, my mother used to make her own jellies and applesauces and also can peaches and tomatoes from our garden. An old friend from Pennsylvania sent me a jar of […]
"Bernie Berlitz" part one
Several months ago, Juan, a man very beloved to John and I for his stone wall building at our house, saw Isa as we were on our way out and he said (in Spanish) “Hello, Isabella! How are you!” She stared at him blankly. I nudged her. “Isa, aren’t you going to respond?” I said.“I […]
Isa Meets Pete Rose
A couple summers ago, Isa and I were in Las Vegas for my mother’s birthday. We went to the mall near Caesar’s Palace where there’s a light show with sculptures of Greek Gods moving and speaking. The show is pathetic, and Isa and I like to go for the contrast between the weak effects and […]
Walking into a Reality Show
Dropping off some drycleaning I saw some velour track-suited women, cell-phones in hand, a TV camera pointed at them entering the nail salon: the Kardashians. I know they have a reality show on TV which I’ve never seen, and I know that their step-father is Bruce Jenner, and I do have fond memories of his […]
"Friday Night Lights"
Everyone is always telling me to see this show. “You have to see Friday Night Lights. You’ve never seen Friday Night Lights?” They said it was a little jewel, and I believed them. Friday night, I watched for twenty minutes. Here is what I saw: Boys squaring off in fights. Men menacing boys. Men protecting […]
Schlolastic News
While out stumping for her mother the other day, Chelsea Clinton refused to answer a nine-year old Scholastic News reporter’s question. I don’t really have an opinion either way on that, but I’m really glad Scholastic News has been brought up. Isa brings that drivel home weekly, and I’m shocked that teachers think it’s an […]
The Star Strikes Again
Another St. Helena Star article from the archives, Chamber Office News. “March Stats beat 2003 and 2000” the headline reads. OK, but then here is the only mention of statistics in the article: Well, that seemed a little lacking in information, so I looked at the graph which accompanied the article. Hmm. The graph-making function […]
Keno in Reno
I don’t care for gambling that much, but when I do gamble I’m well aware of the odds of the games, and I certainly don’t have any “lucky feelings” come over me when I’m trying to roll a hard six. Last month, we were in Reno sitting at a cafe, and Isa wanted to pick […]
Jack Silbert, curator