April 30, 2006

Rivers of Chocolate 2006 in Saratoga

Blessed by beautiful sunny skies and warmer temperatures, I set out to attend this year's "Rivers of Chocolate" event in Saratoga, California. It was held at the picturesque Mountain Winery nestled high in the hills. We arrived early and were... [Read more]


April 23, 2006

A Night at the San Jose Ballet

On a sidenote (the following was copied from tonight's program)... Billy Hoiday's recording of Leis Allen's "Strange Fruit" was a song about lynching in the Deep South. Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black body swinging in the Southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant South, The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh, And the sudden smell of burning flesh! Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck, for the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, for the sun to rot, for a tree to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop. The first night that Billie sang "Strange Fruit" at the Cafe Society in New York, she recalled that she was afraid to perform the piece, and regretted it momentarily. "There wasn't even a patter of applause when I finished. Then a lone person began to clap nervously. Then suddenly everyone was clapping." Billie was only 24 at the time. Billie reported that whenever she tried to perform "Strange Fruit" in the South, there was trouble. She was driven out of Mobile, Alabama, for trying to sing it. There are stories of jukeboxes carrying the song in the South being smashed. Radio stations were reluctant to play it. WNEW in New York tried several times to air Billie singing the piece, but cancelled. They finally put her on the air at 1 o'clock in the morning. The song, Strange Fruit, made it to number 16 on the charts in July 1939. It is 3 1/2 minutes long. [Read more]


April 22, 2006

Jewelry, not for the faint of heart...

There are few things in this world that I'm truly obsessed with. Food being one and fashion being another. In addition to that, I love things that sparkle; however, I do have to draw the line somewhere. For example, I... [Read more]