Happy Science

A few years ago, a church we drive by all the time seemed to close down, only to be resurrected (so to speak) with a new paint job and a new sign out front: Happy Science. I kept thinking, "Sounds like a great store for geeky kids!" Today I looked it up online to find out what it really is.

The basic teachings of Happy Science are "Exploration of the Right Mind" and the "Principles of Happiness". The latter consists of the Fourfold Path (Love, Wisdom, Self-Reflection, and Progress). Okawa claims to channel the spirits of Muhammad, Christ, Buddha and Confucius and claims to be the incarnation of a supreme spiritual being called El Cantare.

Although its teachings are based on the Buddhist foundations of reflection and keeping "Right Mind", it also incorporates modern day prosperity and development in order to improve oneself and society. The teachings, given by founder Ryuho Okawa are said to be universal and center on the pluralistic belief that all major religions originated from one source.

I would recommend keeping your geeky kids away, personally. You have been warned.

Steve Martin and Bluegrass

In our neverending quest for culchah, we went to see Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers play at the Mountain Winery. I've seen him playing banjo every now and then, but I never realized he was such a bluegrass talent. He wrote all the instrumentals and songs they played, and he won the Grammy for best bluegrass album this year! They were terrific, and as you might imagine, the comedic patter along the way was great. Credit goes to Dara for suggesting this one, as I could not really get my head wrapped around Steve Martin doing bluegrass when we were looking at things to see this season. Of course, he made fun of himself during the show. If all went according to plan on his bluegrass road show, he said, he would only lose $12,000. I also enjoyed him saying in classic Steve Martin style: "People ask me: 'Steve, why a music career at this point?' And I say, 'HEY, YOU'RE MY BAND!!!"'

Santa Monica

Our whirlwind trip to Santa Monica got a lot better after the initial hurdle -- taking over 12 hours to get from here to there amidst multiple delayed and canceled flights. We stayed overlooking the beach and the pier, getting to the hotel in time for sunrise instead of sunset as we had planned.


After a bit of power napping, we had a great time on Saturday walking around the town, having dinner with friends, and seeing Daddy Long Legs. We had seen it near here, in Mountain View, but it was showing in Santa Monica, perhaps being tuned up for a trip toward Broadway, who knows. We topped it off with a walk on the pier, a ride on the roller coaster, and some cotton candy.


The trip back was smooth, anyway!

Dipsea Race

After living out here for almost 30 years, I just discovered a 100 year old Bay Area tradition: the Dipsea race. I know we have a few runners in the family, so thought it might be of interest.

The trail spans about 7 1/2 miles from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach, crossing the south flank of Mount Tamalpais, up and down from Old Mill Park through Muir Woods and Mount Tamalpais State Park and Steep Ravine en route to the Pacific coast. On Monday, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, official confirmation that it is worthy of preservation.

After reading the interesting article in the SFChronicle, I looked up the web site for the race and discovered who won this time around.

Reilly Johnson, an 8-year-old fourth grade student from Mill Valley running in her third Dipsea, held off 68-year-old grandmother of four Melody-Ann Schultz of Ross to win the 100th Running of the Dipsea Race from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach on Sunday Johnson became the youngest runner ever to win the Dipsea, topping Megan McGowan, who won the time-handcapped trail race at the age of 9 in 1991.

She looks awfully proud of winning.

World Cup Help

Given the way the Stanley Cup went on both coasts, I thought maybe Keith could use some soccer tips from the Onion. Click on the little Onion icons for clues to help you understand the game, such as:

Game clock, which keeps running at random times for no apparent reason and is summarily ignored by players and officials alike.

For advanced viewing pleasure, though, you may want to read about Brazilian soccer player nicknames.

How Not to Govern

I've complained often enough about California politics, but we have an especially odious couple of corporate-sponsored initiatives out here this time. Both Prop 16 and Prop 17 are nothing more than PG&E and Mercury Insurance respectively funneling their dollars toward deceiving voters so as to further their corporate interests. PG&E's campaign is particularly galling and deceitful. I feel confident that their efforts to convince voters that they need to protect themselves from politicians by erecting a 2/3 vote barrier between PG&E's monopoly and any attempt to establish a municipal power plan will come very close to being successful. After all, how could anything called the Taxpayer's Right to Vote Act, with countless full page newspaper ads and radio spots not be in your interest?

Should you care even if you're safely ensconced in a saner state (hey, Virginia and Florida, don't get all puffy, I wasn't talking about you!)? I think you should, because through the joy of the Citizen's United decision, you can expect more of this unfettered and open corporate politicking in the future. As usual, we're just a little ahead of the curve out here, and it ain't all that fun.