High Needle Artistry --- Day 4/99

Walk: Japantown, Hayes Valley, Opera Plaza Cinema (Dior and I), Local Hoods
Distance: 6 miles



Ciwt had one of those only in San Francisco days beginning in Japan (town) strolling through all those inexpensive colorful wares and eateries.  Then on to Hayes Valley to look in wonder at her old working ground (Miller/Brown Gallery) in what was once a remote, fairly dark outpost under a freeway overpass.  Now the freeway has been torn down, and Hayes Valley is filled with trendy/expensive shops, uptown eateries and 'the young.'  Next came New Orleans!  She  had big! East Coast shrimp and listened to jazz at the bar of a New Orleans style restaurant.

Finally it was the world of Haute Couture, specifically the House of Dior with its new head, Raf Simons.  She saw the movie (Dior and I), but it doesn't matter how much Ciwt learns about the haute couture world, to her it is eventually mystical - dependent on the heart, soul and skill of each person who pours their artistry into each piece.

But also an archaic, crazy-making world if you have any head for business.  For instance, Raf Simons  was hired by the most famous couture house in the world just Eight weeks before the Paris Fashion Show where the (non-existent until he creates it) Dior collection will be presented.  Eight weeks to meet the staff , get familiar with the company and Paris, learn all the idiosyncrasies of both, envision a new, personal spin on an iconic look with the world watching and other completely pressing matters.

At this very time, mostly unannounced to Raf, all the old-timey House of Dior ways are still in place. This leads to situations where he - head of the House, designer being watched by the world, with just a few weeks before the show of shows - comes to a meeting set for the purpose of seeing the first completed samples of the show's dresses.  Only to find out that there is not one dress there on top of which the chief seamstress (incredibly important personage) has flown to New York to meet with a private client.  This being at the fingertips of important clients, he is told, is how Dior does it.  For his part, he tries to carefully, ever so politely explain (the one would think obvious) that, weeks before such an important show, if anyone is to fly off to meet with a client, it should be a subordinate so the main person can continue the work of show preparation.

Ciwt could just sense the room thinking "Yeah, he will learn." (To be fair, Raf's artistic nature also trumped his business sense at various junctures).  By the end of the movie when the new collection hit the Paris runway, Ciwt was in tears for this impossible, supreme accomplishment - along with all the House of Dior peeking behind the curtains and Raf himself .

Expensive and Cheap --- Day 4/98

Walk: Union Square, Strawberry
Distance: 1 mile



Ciwt noticed this on line and then saw how it was described:

Cheap Delicate Flowers - Elegant - Big Vases Blown Glass Tabletop Art Decoration

Something about that elegant/cheap combo didn't draw her in.

Yoga RX a la Ciwt --- Day 4/97

Walk: All over the hood
Distance: 4+ miles



Just wrote this to a yoga student and think it has relevance to many yogis and yoginis.

Hi __,

Wanted to follow up on our discussion about your pain radiating down your leg from deep in your glut in case I sounded too vague or non-chalant.

First I'm sorry you're experiencing this.  I've found for me and over years with students that issues will come up - often mysteriously - and resolve themselves gradually - again often mysteriously.  The key to letting the healing process happen is paying close attention and leaving that area to do it's healing work while you nourish and keep the rest of your body in healthy movement.  

(Attention in and out of the yoga room; ie, maybe there is a way you stand/move when doing everyday activities that is contributing.  Also, judicious 😉* reading of information on line can be really informative.  * In all likelihood your condition is Not terminal, dire or any of the things some sites leap right into).

That's the first step - and where I was coming from since you weren't reporting spasms or anything acute.  IF after all your best efforts the situation lingers or gets more intense, it would be good to go to a p.t., massage therapist, private session with a yoga teacher, or any healer that calls to you to get a deeper analysis.  With spasms or acuteness, rest, then seek professional advice.

Theses things are complex and individual - like we are - but can be ways into a deeper sense of self.

Ok, take care.  I really value your trust.

___/Ciwt

Met Gala: Best, Worst, Attention Guaranteed --- Day 4/96

Walk: Union Square, Carpet Contractors, Mindful Body
Distance: 2 miles and teach yoga

Kind of snarky, but Ciwt continues to be a sucker for these Best/Worst entries.

Best:  So Very Few To Choose From

Bee Shaffer                                             (Daughter of Anna Wintour)


Helen Mirren                              (She just keeps doing everything right).

Worst: So Many; Where to Begin?


Chloe Sevigny


Kim         Beyonce    Jennifer      (So predictable by now, ladies)


Dylan Lauren                                 (Wouldn't Iris* love this bold clunker. Except not enough necklaces).

Going To Any Length For Attention:


Solange                                         (What is this?)


Rihanna

*See Day 4/85 if you're not sure who Iris is..

Summer and Sun... - No More! -- Day 4/95

Walk: Van Ness, SF International Film Festival (Love and Mercy)
Distance: 4 miles and home yoga



Paul Dano in Love and Mercy


Well, it was a bio-pic, not bio, the movie (Love and Mercy) Ciwt was looking forward to about Brian Wilson.  Forever Ciwt has been reading about his creative genius with all its ramifications from his legendary (under-appreciated for years) music to his extreme difficulties in living.  Finally Ciwt feels she understands and she Very much enjoyed the portrayal of Wilson's genius at work in the recording studios.  Also the real man singing at the end - don't leave the theater before the credits if you go.

But something in the telling fell flat for Ciwt.  Granted there is a flatness to Wilson's demeanor and certainly his story.  Abusive+ father, loss of Beach Boys songbook, disreputable/illegal psychologist/guardian, drugs on his already scrambled brain all add up to various types of imprisonment.  And perhaps the movie was trying to capture and emulate that.  If so, success.  If not, it came across shallow, pat and too bi-bifurcated.  (Every time - and it was often - they flashed from the young, Beach Boys Brian to the older, befuddled 80's Brian, Ciwt had to wrestle with the fact that the actors didn't look the least bit alike.  And with the fact that the older Brian had completely different body language and was was all surface peculiarity with no depth.  (Ditto his Barbie Doll girlfriend, now wife.  Yes, a happy bio-pic ending!) (Paul Dano as the 60's Wilson is very good).

But still there is that Brian Wilson genius and that music.  So, if you like those, Go!  They are totally alive even if the movie (along with the promotional picture) is a bit lifeless.

Smart and Funny Ride --- Day 4/94

Walk: Abbey Carpet, SF International Film Festival (A Hard Day)
Distance: 3 miles, teeny yoga in movie seat




Zow!  Like a 2-Hour car chase - and Ciwt/the audience was the driver.  Hyper aware, couldn't take eyes off the screen for a moment or she would miss something.  Very, very well plotted, acted, filmed. She continually heard the audience alternating between laughter, gasps, holding their breath.  A Hard Day, a true non-message thriller from South Korean director, Seong-hoon Kim.

Without realizing it Ciwt was so jazzed by the movie her 1 mile walk home from Sundance Kabuki flew by.  Also jazzed because looks like she has actually found the carpet for her hallway.  Stay tuned on that; the light and selection could be all wrong tomorrow.

Taupe with Turquoise --- Day 4/93

Walk: Carpet Contractors (2)
Distance: 3.5 miles and general pacing around condo figuring out stair carpet/new project

Bard Teacher and May Day --- Day 4/92

Walk: Davis Foot Comfort (yes!), SF International Film Festival, 
Distance: 3.5 miles



The film was by an Israeli writer/director, Nadav Lapid, and is thought provoking and multi-layered without being in the least ponderous. Almost creepy at times and quietly suspenseful throughout. Interesting Q & A with Lapid afterwards.

I'm often struck in watching international films with the comfort of many non-U.S. filmmakers with ambiguity/mystery.  Who is right? Wrong? Good guy/bad guy?  They often don't feel a need to go there.

Ciwt writes this on May 1 - or May Day, and it occurred to her that she didn't know anything of the origin of that distress call.  Here is what Wikipedia has to teach: Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications.

It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by mariners and aviators, but in some countries local organizations such as police forces, firefighters, and transportation organizations also use the term. The call is always given three times in a row ("Mayday Mayday Mayday") to prevent mistaking it for some similar-sounding phrase under noisy conditions, and to distinguish an actual Mayday call from a message about a Mayday call.

The Mayday procedure word originated in 1923 by Frederick Stanley Mockford (1897–1962).^[1] A senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London, Mockford was asked to think of a word that would indicate distress and would easily be understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency. Since much of the traffic at the time was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris, he proposed the word "Mayday" from the French "m’aidez" (Translates to: "help me!").^[2]

Before the voice call "Mayday", SOS was the Morse code equivalent of the Mayday call. In 1927, the International Radiotelegraph Convention of Washington adopted the voice call Mayday in place of the SOS Morse Code call.^[3] The Mayday was defined as corresponding to the French pronunciation of the expression “m'aidez”.^[4]