Red Tail Hawk Sighting

Yesterday, while walking Manly and Biela in Corona Heights Park, we were graced with a red-tail hawk soaring in the wind. It was dusk and the fog was descending and covering the base of Twin Peaks. The fog hadn't reached the park yet, and she was flying in the air right underneath the space between the fog and a patch of late afternoon sun. She was just breath-taking, gliding so effortlessly, low to the ground and then up and away where our eyes couldn't follow her.


It reminded me of the last time I saw a red-tail hawk in the red flowering gum tree in front of our house, just a year ago. She inspired me to write the following:

What is it that you want
to do in your Life?
To be among pigeons
or soar like a hawk?

By Mai Brehaut

Tony Judt Interview on Fresh Air

Powerful interview yesterday about historian Tony Judt battling Lou Gehrig's disease. Paralyzed from the neck down and relying on a respirator to breathe, Tony reminds us all of all the things we are so able to do and not the things we can't do. Praise.

Listen to the Story

[39 min 19 sec]

Some more Coco please!

Yesterday, I checked out the new Shanghai Exhibit at the Asian Art Museum. Definitely nice to get lost in Shanghai in the 1920s. It was here that I discovered the sweet jazzy sounds of Coco Zhao. Can't wait to check him out live:

April 1 : Shanghai Jazz

Dubbed “the boy Billie Holiday,” Coco Zhao will perform an intimate set of original works and Shanghai jazz favorites in conjunction with special exhibition Shanghai. Jazz thrived in Shanghai’s colorful cabarets and dance halls during the ‘20s and ’30s. Suppressed during the Cultural Revolution, it’s enjoyed a renaissance thanks to a new generation of young jazz musicians. Zhao cross-pollinates Mandarin vocals with the distinct sounds of contemporary American jazz; a unique heritage (both parents were in traditional Chinese opera) is infused his with youthful interpretations. Zhao’s distinctive style transcends cultures, as evidenced by his sensational reception at the 2007 Montreal Jazz Festival and his performance at the Kennedy Center.

There will also be art activities (make your own print), cash bar specials, and docent conversations in special exhibition Shanghai. Don't miss a talk on the birth of jazz in Asia by Cory Combs, Director of Education at SF Jazz.

Click below to hear a Coco Zhao song.

Please click here for details.