CAR! by Gary Larson

One of my favorite cartoons, ever:

Some favorite recipes

For the past five months, my husband and I have been eating a largely vegan diet. I know that saying “largely vegan” is akin to saying “somewhat pregnant,” so let’s just say that we severely limit the amount of animal product we eat, and save it for very special occasions. Let it be known: I will NEVER give up cheese entirely!

So, most of what we eat is comprised of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains – you know, things that don’t have to have an ingredient list when you buy them. My friend Martha Stroud asked me to post links to some of my favorite healthful recipes and here they are.

Soup Au Pistou

Yellow peppers Stuffed with Quinoa, Corn and Feta Cheese

Spinach and Zucchini Soup

Quinoa Mushroom Pilaf

Quinoa Salad with Lime + Fresh Mint

Three-Bean Salad

“California Roll” Salad

Lemon-Roasted Green Beans with Marcona Almonds

Not available online is our favorite vegetarian chili recipe, which is in Anna Thomas’ book Love Soup.

The other front garden

Flowers in the front garden

Corkage

Once upon a time, my husband and I published a wine newsletter called Swirl Wine News. (We plan to resurrect it as a blog someday… more on that another time.)

This afternoon on Twitter, a lively discussion broke out among several of us about corkage policies at restaurants. It brought to mind a piece we published in our July/August 2003 issue, reproduced below. (Keep in mind that the restaurants and prices cited are from seven years ago!) I’d love your thoughts about corkage (really); please add them in the comments.

The ABCs of BYO

Many restaurants will let customers bring their own wine with them to dinner, usually charging a “corkage” fee to offset the costs of the server opening and serving your wine, the use and cleaning of the stemware, etc. However, bringing your own is definitely not as simple as grabbing the closest bottle and heading out the door. Here’s how it should be done (and what you should definitely NOT do).

DOs

1. Bring your own wine for the right reason. Good reasons to BYO are:

• You’re celebrating a special occasion for which youve saved (or bought) a bottle.
• It’s not a special occasion, but you’ve got a rare, unusual or favorite wine that’s not available at the restaurant to which you’re headed.

2. Call ahead to find out the restaurant’s corkage policies and fees. Some simply don’t allow it. Among those that do, fees vary widely. Typical charges are $5-15 per bottle, but that’s not always the case. Some places set high corkage fees to discourage the pracrtice; Aureole, in Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Hotel, charges $35 per bottle. Calling ahead is respectful, and will prevent you from being embarrassed when you arrive or shocked when you leave.

3. Share. Offer a taste of your wine to the sommelier and/or your server. They’ll appreciate the gesture, particularly if your bottle is uncommon. Your generosity will help pave the way the next time you want to BYO.

4. Be a good customer. Regular customers are the lifeblood of restaurants, as they are for any business. If a restaurant knows you dine there often and introduce others to the place, they’ll ooften waive your corkage fee.

5. Tip fairly. Many servers depend on tips for their income, and most tips are based on a dinner bill that includes wine. When you bring you r own, the server has to do just as much work as if you were buying off the restaurant’s list. Take that into consideration when deciding how much of a tip to leave.

6. Be a good sport. If you’re drinking more than a bottle, buy the second one off the restaurant’s list. Some restaurants, like Rockenwagner in Santa Monica, will waive the corkage fee if you do so.

7. Go out of your own way. If you want to drink your wine chilled or have it decanted, ask the restaurant if you can bring it in ahead of time. They can arrange for the sommelier to serve your wine at the desired temperature, or decant your bottle the requisite 30 to 60 minutes before you expect to drink it. Again, remember to tip appropriately.

DON’Ts

1. Never bring a wine on the restaurant’s list. As the front of the award winning list at Thee Bungalow in Ocean Beach, CA admonishes: “If it’s on our list, put it back in your car.” If you’re not sure, a simple phone call ahead of time (or a check of the restaurant’s web site, if they publish their list on it) can answer the question.

2. Think twice, if not thrice, about bringing your own wine to a restaurant renowned for its wine list. It can be an affront to the restaurauteur who’s spent six figures (or more!) assembling a stellar cellar if you bring your own bottle. Unless you’ve got a darned good reason (or wine), leave yours at home and take advantage of the restaurant’s bounty.

3. Corkage isn’t a way to avoid paying ‘restaurant prices.’ Bringing your own isn’t a license to whip out something cheap or readily available. A good rule is that the wine you bring with you should cost at least as much as the corkage fee.

4. Limit your BYO wine to a bottle or two. Some restaurants simply place a limit on the number of bottles you can bring. Others don’t, but a restaurateur we know recoiled with horror while recounting tales of one customer who lugged in a grocery bag full of bottles, and another who actually brought a full case. That’s simply abusing the privilege.

5. Don’t act entitled. Corkage isn’t a right; it’s a courtesy extended by those restaurateurs who choose to do so. In some places, local regulations forbid the practice altogether and impose stiff penalties on establishments that break the rules. If your favorite bistro doesn’t allow it, go with the flow and enjoy a glass or bottle off their list.

The Guppy, by Ogden Nash

Whales have calves,
Cats have kittens,
Bears have cubs,
Bats have bittens,
Swans have cygnets,
Seals have puppies,
But guppies just have little guppies.

Amazon.com: The Best of Ogden Nash.

swissmiss | Tea Sub

How freaking cute is this???

swissmiss | Tea Sub.

Earthquake-Ready Your Car, Too

The recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile have spurred many to update (or establish!) their home quake preparedness kits. That’s good thinking. While you’re at it, make sure you have a plan for the members of your household to communicate with one another in case you’re not all home at the time.

For many Southern Californians, the likeliehood that we won’t be at home, but in or near our cars when an earthquake strikes, is good. So make sure your cars are earthquake ready, too.

Here’s what we carry in ours:

An emergency kit:

This is the 4 Person Deluxe Backpack Survival Kit from QuakeKare.com. It’s got first aid supplies, food, water, lights, a portable radio, etc. It all comes in a backpack, so you can take it with you if you have to leave the car. Make sure your kits have sufficient supplies for everyone in your family for a few days

Go Girls female urination device:

A GoGirl (go-girl.com) is “the way to stand up to crowded, disgusting, distant or non-existent bathrooms. It allows women to urinate while standing up.” I have these, and they work. ‘Nuff said.

Freeplay hand-crank radio with flashlight:

Freeplay EyeMax AM/FM LED Radio – no electricity/battery required. While a smaller, less rugged one of these comes with the earthquake kit above, we keep these around, too. Get one for your house while you’re at it. How many of us have battery-powered radios in the house, and how else will you get news (except on Twitter!) when the power’s out?

A USB charger for your phone/PC:

This is the Powerjolt Dual Universal 2 USB Blk Car Charger. I like it because it has two USB inputs, but there are similar (and smaller) ones that offer a single input if that floats your boat. Just make sure you have a charging cable for whatever you’d want to charge, and  keep in mind this will work off your  car’s battery, which you might want or need to conserve, but at least you’ll be able to charge your phone if needed.

Some other things to remember:

• Carry an extra pair of sturdy shoes and socks for everyone in your family. You might be out in dress shoes… or sandals… neither of which are ideal for trekking several miles, should you need to do so. If you don’t have extra shoes around, toss your old running shoes in the trunk next time you replace them.
• And of course, for your house, remember battery-operated lanterns:

We have the Coleman 4D Rugged Personal Size Lantern in each of our bedrooms. They also offer a “Family Size” version. Just remember to keep plenty of batteries on hand, and make sure they’re fresh.

And finally:

Make sure everyone in your family knows to check-in with a pre-agreed out of state contact. Cell service will likely be spotty after a quake and landlines may be down; it’s easier to place a call to someone back East than to someone on the Westside. Remember, too, that it may be more successful to send a text than place a call, so make sure that you’ve got Twitter’s text address, as well as that of your emergency contact(s), in your phone.

We all know another big quake will hit Southern California; it’s just a matter of when. Take a few minutes now – all of this stuff can be ordered online, just click on the images to do so – to make sure you’re as ready as can be.

Please add your own car-preparation tips in the comments below.

Attention Conference Organizers

I’ve attended a number of professional social media conferences in the past six months. Each delivered value in its own way, but each could also have done better. If you’re organizing a conference, or thinking about doing so, please consider this my feedback in advance:

1. Power Up

Photo by Tom Rafferty

People who attend your social media confab are most likely heavy social media users, yes? To a person, they’ll want or need to live-tweet, live-blog, visit websites being discussed, take notes, manage email, file a story, take photos. Even the fiercest battery in the world won’t power their MacBook, Blackberry or Sure Shot for an entire day. Make sure that every attendee – not just press, or those who arrive early enough to sit near a wall – has access to power.

The 140TC conference at Skirball last September got it right. They provided power strips under every row of seats. Not only did this mean a grateful audience could stay connected all day long, it meant more people stayed in their seats for the panels and presentations, and fewer people crept out to find somewhere to charge up.

2. Pipe Down

Photo by seq

If you need to have a private conversation during a speech or presentation, take it out of the room. When you’re standing in the back of the room, or just outside the (open) door, we can hear you. Unless we’re right up front, we can probably hear you better than we can hear whoever’s onstage speaking. Yes, even if you’re “whispering.” Not only are these sidebars disrespectful to whoever’s speaking, they’re incredibly annoying to those of us trying to pay attention to that person.

Inexplicably, conference organizers themselves seem to be the worst offenders. If  your conversation really cannot wait until a break in the action, take it completely out of the room, and make sure to close the door behind you.  How do you think it looks to those of us who have paid to attend your conference when you’re not even paying attention? If necessary, assign one or two of your volunteers to go around and politely ask people to stop chatting or take it elsewhere. Even if the people involved include you.

3. I Didn’t Catch Your Name

Photo by Sofimi.

For meetings themed around social media, it’s incredible that conference organizers don’t do more to facilitate connections between attendees (again, 140TC is a happy exception). If it’s a Twitter-centric conference, how about including Twitter handles on the name badges unless the attendee requests otherwise? Many people use Twitter (for example) under a company name, nickname, or other alias. Instead of or in addition, include their website (see example at right) Give your attendees, many of whom may have met online but not in person, an easy way to recognize each other.

While you’re at it, make sure you have a way to print badges on the fly for walk-up registrants, to correct typos, replace lost or missing badges, etc.

Last, please provide a conference directory, with a list of those who registered, their Twitter (or preferred) ID, company and title, and email address (again, withholding any or all of that data at the request of the attendee during registration). This is a huge value proposition to those in attendance.

Perhaps paradoxically, I’m not a big fan of attendee lists being published online in advance. Sure, let us know the celebrities or social media superstars who will be speaking. But for security purposes, I don’t need the entire world to know my future travel plans.

4. They Call It Social Networking

Photo by oooh.oooh.

I’d wager that a large chunk of conference attendees rank the networking aspect of the meeting as high on their reason for being there. For some, it’s the primary reason they’re there (amazing as your speaker lineup may be). Smart organizers such as those behind this month’s Gravity Summit build “networking breaks” into the schedule .

In addition to letting people stretch their legs, use the restroom, or check their voicemail, these breaks allow attendees to exercise their social butterfly without ignoring the panels and presentations you’ve worked so hard to put together.

5. We Want To See As Well As Hear

Photo by Paul Excoff

Unless your conference or breakout session is taking place in a room with terraced seating, and/or it’s being projected onto a video screen, make sure the speakers or panelists are on risers. I’d have thought this would be obvious, but it’s not. A recent breakout session I attended took place in a narrow but long room (perhaps 18 rows of chairs). The panelists were seated in the front of the room, but on the same level as the audience. No one much past the third row could actually see any of them, which meant we weren’t sure who was speaking at any given time. It also meant we couldn’t identify those with whom we might want to follow up afterwards. This was frustrating, not to mention somewhat unprofessional. Please invest the few extra rental dollars in risers for your panel seating.

That’s My Two Cents

These are some of the things I’d want the organizers of the next conference I attend to know. What have I left off the list? Anything with which you take exception? Please add your thoughts in the comments, and feel free to share this post with event planners you know.

The Technology Of Cirque’s Spectacular KÀ

One of the most breathtaking theatrical productions on the planet – I feel perfectly safe making that claim – turns five years old this month: Cirque du Soleil’s KÀ.

If you haven’t yet seen KÀ, Cirque’s resident production at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, put it at the top of your list for your next visit (better yet, plan a visit right now just to see it). Its combination of artistry, athleticism and technology is staggering, and will leave you gasping with disbelief and wonderment.

Even if you’ve seen other Cirque shows, you’ve seen nothing like this. (If you want a sneak peak, watch the trailer or see an excerpt from “G4 Presents “Inside KÀ by Cirque du Soleil.“)

A Bit About KÀ

Uniquely among Cirque shows, KÀ follows a narrative. Its depicts the coming of age of the fraternal Imperial Twins, “through their encounters with love, conflict and the duality of KÀ, the fire that can unite or separate, destroy or illuminate.”

While the only spoken dialog is a brief scene-setting narration at the top of the show, the storyline is nonetheless clearly communicated through the music, sets and the artists’ performances. In addition to the daring acrobatics we’ve come to expect from Cirque, KÀ prominently includes Capoeira dance, puppetry, projections and martial arts.

And the technology that drives the show? It merits as much acclaim as the performers and creators.

We recently got the chance to meet KA’s technical director, Erik Walstad, who treated us to a backstage and booth tour, and gave us an up-close and personal look at the state-of-the-art technology, much developed exclusively for the show, that makes it run.

For the fanciful, inventive ‘O,’ which opened at Bellagio in 1998, Cirque’s artistic geniuses replaced the stage with a 1.5 million gallon water tank. That allowed Cirque to explore new performance realms, such as synchronized swimming and diving, and to reimagine familiar ones. The artists performing on the Russian Swings, for example, have much more latitude when they can “land” in water, as opposed to on their feet.

The Russian Swings sequence from "O." Photo: Veronique Vial Costumes: Dominique Lemieux.

Into The Void

With KÀ, rather than replacing the stage with something else, Cirque simply got rid of the stage. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Where the stage should be is a vast open space, referred to within the company as the “Void,” that extends five stories below the theater level and some 10 stories above it.

Audience members see plumes of fire bursting out of the Void as they take their seats and await the show’s start.

Even before taking your seat, you know right away that this is no ordinary production as flames emit randomly from the Void where the stage should be.

About halfway down into the Void, looking up at the house. Notice the technician above and to the right of the green column, peering down from stage level.

From within the Void a combination of two primary stages and five further “lifts” appear and disappear as needed. The boat used in the “Storm” sequence, pictured below, is raised to stage level by a lift, but the artists alone create the boat’s motion by rocking and rotating it.

Photo: Tomas Muscionico. Costumes: Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.

The Tatami Deck

The first main stage, the “Tatami Deck,” is a 30-foot-square platform in the back of the void that extends forward and retracts on cantilevered sliders. “Think of it,” Walstad likes to say, “as the world’s largest  kitchen drawer.”

The breathtaking "Slave Cage" sequence takes place on the extended Tatami Deck. Photo: Tomas Muscionico. Costumes: Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.

The Sand Cliff Deck

The second, the “Sand Cliff Deck,” is a magical 25 by 50 by 6 foot stage which swirls up, down, and around by means of a hydraulic gantry crane. Think of the gantry crane as a 72-foot tall “H” facing the audience. The Sand Cliff Deck sits on a pivot atop the cantilevered arm extending horizontally from the cross-bar of the H. The crossbar can slide up and down the height of the H, taking the stage with it, and the stage can revolve 360° on its pivot.

To give you an idea of the Sand Cliff Deck’s mass, notice the technicians standing under it in the photos below.

The Sand Cliff deck, resting at stage level...

... and being raised and rotated in preparation for video calibration.

Is that all? Heck, no.

The Sand Cliff Deck tilts from 0 to 110° on the end of the arm. That means that the stage, at a mere 80,000 pounds, can be spinning at up to two feet per second, either flat or tilted at an angle, with artists clambering across it, as it’s raised or lowered. For the climactic Battle scene, the performers fly up and down the completely vertical Sand Cliff deck on winches, controlling their movements via wireless joystick.

In the climactic Battle sequence, the Sand Cliff Deck is completely vertical and raised above stage level. The audience views the scene as if from overhead. Photo: Tomas Muscionico. Costumes: Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.

Just for fun... what the Sand Cliff deck looks like from behind and below stage when it's completely vertical for the Battle and other scenes.

Lights and Sound

The technology doesn’t stop there.

KÀ features an enormously complex lighting design. All but a few dozen of the show’s 3,300 lights are fixed instruments. They’re checked every show, and any refocusing they need has to be done while the show is running. That’s not the easiest way to do things, but it would be too costly and time-consuming to refocus that many lights in show conditions without an audience.

Just a few light instruments... This is a section of the "Post and Beam" structure, which extends from both sides of the stage nearly into the lobby. In addition to being decorative and establishing an ambiance for the show, it serves as a set piece from which the artists perform before and during the show. Photo: Tomas Muscionico Costumes: Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.

In addition to the lights, the shows employs incredibly sophisticated video projections which combine CGI and human input which turn the performance space into something approaching a movie screen. To create the interactive projections that follow an artist’s movement, an infrared-sensitive camera pointing at the stage captures the artists and their movements, which are tracked by a computer.

Additionally, the surface of the Sand Cliff area is essentially a giant touch-screen that can determine the precise position of each artist. The information gathered from them influences the mathematical parameters of any number of worlds that are then re-projected onto the deck, using a program designed exclusively for the production. Depending on the scene, the Sand Cliff Deck can look like an ice-covered mountain, a battlefield littered with arrows, and much more.

Three video projectors are used to cover the deck, and they’re calibrated before each show.

Calibrating video projections onto the Sand Cliff deck

As with every other Cirque production, sound and music are an integral part of the show. KA uses a live band, which occupies two sound studios immediately below and behind the stage. Each of the musicians and singers is onstage for at least part of the show, so they perform in makeup and costume, even though they spend most of the show out of sight.

One of the two KA music studios

To fill the 1,950-seat KÀ Theatre with sound takes 524,150 total watts of amplifier power pumping an intricately layered mix of sound effects and music to 4,774 loudspeaker drivers in 2,139 cabinets. In addition, every seat in the theatre has two speakers built into its headrest that allow sound effects to be targeted, manipulated and customized to any of 16 seating zones.

To make all this work, technical director Walstad oversees a crew of nearly 200 technicians, 100 of whom are working during KÀs ten weekly shows. That’s right – the techies actually outnumber the performers (of which there are about 75 per show).

In the booth with KÀ technical director Erik Walstad

You’ve probably surmised by now that this isn’t the kind of Cirque show that can tour to a city near you; you need to go to Las Vegas to see it. As someone who’s seen it half a dozen times – and paid for each of those tickets myself – I can’t recommend it highly enough. Happy 5th birthday, KÀ. I look forward to seeing you again soon!

Useful Links

• Follow Cirque on Twitter.
• Visit the KÀ website (tickets and additional information about the show).
• Watch the KÀ trailer.
• Watch an cxcerpt from “G4 Presents “Inside KÀ by Cirque du Soleil“