GETTY MUSEUM

We decided on a mass transit vacation: we stashed the car in the hotel parking lot ($15 per night) and took the bus to the Getty Museum. It was very easy. We stopped in at the Big Blue Bus Transit Store and got the directions and info about transfers. We took the Santa Monica Number 1 all the way down Santa Monica Avenue then transferred to the Metro 761 line at Westwood Village. We snaked through some pretty interesting neighborhoods and were greatly amused by local transit culture.
It was beautiful at the Getty. Big blue skies and temperatures around 60°F - it was hard to go into the galleries when nature provided a stunning art show on the outside. But we did venture inside to explore the photos of Felice Beato who we had first seen at the Lucknow exhibit. In the same gallery there was an exhibit of photos from the New China, some of which were a little disturbing. The New China looks a whole lot like the Old China and the Very Old China.
My favorite, though was an exhibit entitled Obsidian Mirror-Travels Explores Myths and Truths about Ancient Mexico that tried to show how Mexico has been portrayed since the European incursion.

LACMA

SELF-PORTRAIT WITH FLARED NOSTRILS AND SCOTTISH EYEBROWS.

SANTA MONICA CHRISTMAS

Our hotel: the OceanView

We arrived here late on Thursday. We had stayed one night at RVR's house in Highland Park/Eagle Rock but decided we needed a less cramped experience for the rest of the vacation (I think he appreciated having his home to himself for the holidays).
We did spend a wonderful day getting reacquainted with LACMA. We saw two visually powerful shows there: Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico and India's Fabled City: The Art of Courtly Lucknow. What a joy to be immersed in art for a few hours.

MY NEW SCHOOL

I spent the day schlepping my things from Longwood to my new school. The District "forgot" to move my things so I took matters into my own hands. It gave me a chance to process being done with Longwood. It also gave me an opportunity to get to know my new school.
My school is Treeview Elementary but it has two distinct campuses that are not even close. The main campus houses the older students in grades 2 through 6. The campus where I will be - Bidwell - is about four blocks away on the other side of Mission. It is much closer to Union City than it is to Downtown Hayward.
I will have my own classroom and right outside my door is the school garden. Things are looking up already.

MENLO PARK OR MONTSOREAU?

This car is a fixture around Menlo Park. It is exactly the kind of car I would like to have in France. I could throw my bicycle in the back and tool around the backroads looking for dolmens. I wonder could I wear my Basque boína or would that be too much.

HORACE AND LILY'S WEDDING RECEPTION, 1954

This was my Uncle Horace's wedding reception. He married Lily McFall and the wedding reception was held in the apartment of her aunt and uncle. Her aunt was agoraphobic and hadn't left the apartment in 30 years. The aunt and uncle were Little People, brother and sister who lived together. Lily's parents lived in the same building on a lower floor.
My mother and father are in this picture along with my Uncle Eddie and his wife and child, my Uncle Victor, and my older sister and brother. My grandfather Fogarty is also in this picture.
This photo is a real reminder of what it was like to live in the "Buildings" of the Liberties. This was real tenament living - small quarters crowded with lots of people. This is where my mother grew up. Even though my father's experience wasn't very different in terms of living space he grew up in the country surrounded by dairy farms. Now it is hard to believe that Crumlin was ever in the sticks.

RICK

I spent the day in San Francisco. I started with BookClub in the morning. All the girls were there, including Greta with her "relooking", but the boys were mostly absent. It was a tough book, Amos Oz's A Tale of Love and Darkness about his grandmother's suicide. I didn't read it because I was in France and I don't like his writing. Everybody else thought that it was too long and too detailed but that it did have some beautifully written passages.
After book club I walked to the Ferry Building with AMG. We got all caught up on vacation stuff as we walked. I like this après BookClub tradition that we have developed.
After a quick visit to the library I drove up to Rick's neighborhood. It took me a while to navigate around the new Octavia Street but as I got closer to Lily Street I saw Rick on the corner talking with a neighbor. He showed me where to park on his street. We walked straight down Laguna to Momi Toby's coffee house. Rick had to walk very slowly - this was his first outing on the new hip so he had to take it very slowly and carefully. I didn't mind at all. It gave us a chance to catch up on our Summer.

MARRIAGE EQUALITY

THE COLLEEN BAWN

Dion Boucicault

Movie treatments:
1911 The Colleen Bawn
1918 Willy Reilly and His Colleen Bawn
2007 Fuil agus dúch

ALL THE GRANDMOTHERS

My sister Mary, My Aunt Dympna, My sister Anne

SAN AMHARCLANN: THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

HUGUENOT CEMETERY

This little postage-stamp sized piece of green on Merrion Row is the final resting place of the Huguenot community in Ireland. The Huguenots were the big losers of the Wars of Religion. For a time they were tolerated in France but after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes many were expelled and others fled.

GREENTREES

A view over the washing to the Dublin Mountains.

THE QUARE FELLOW

I went to see "The Quare Fellow" at the New Theatre in Dublin. The theater is located behind the Communist Party bookstore in Dublin's Temple Bar area. It is a small 66 seat theater, similar to the 50 seater where the play was premiered in 1954.
I'm afraid I was very disappointed with both the theater and the performance. The theater is small but I think it could have been better designed both for comfort and for viewing. For instance, the seats are laid out in rows that are not offset to provide a gap between the heads. I spent the evening peeking around the large head directly in front of me.
As for the performance it was lacklustre at best. Like the scenery it was very one-dimensional. None of the themes of repressed sexuality, politics or religion were well developed. I only knew there was a gay character by reading the Wikipaedia entry. I'm not sure if this is the fault of Behan's writing or Ronan Wilmot's directing. Either way, I was left with the sense that I need to see another production to really appreciate Behan's genius.
I wonder if the movie was any better?

ANDREW, THE ARTIST

Nephew Andrew has been busy with his artwork during his career break.

FARMLEIGH OF A SUNDAY

Helen and Timmy took Grandma to mass. I was up but still in my PJs when they left. We had breakfast when they got back and read the Sunday papers.
The farmers' market at Farmleigh is always on the first Sunday of the month. It looked good outside - not sunny but not raining either - so we got in the car to ride over there for a stroll around the grounds.
As soon as we got out of the car it started spitting rain. We scuttled to the shelter of the market but it had already stopped raining when we got there. We rooted around the market. An 8 year old Chinese goat cheese seller talked me into buying "the stinkiest cheese" she had. She was very funny but also very business-like - no haggling over price. I tasted several cheeses but held back from buying.
We walked around the grounds. There was noisy noisome music echoing across the great lawn. We took refuge in the sunken garden before checking out the art exhibition in the stables.
Just about when we had had enough it started to rain again. We raced to the car as the heavens opened and put an end to my annual visit to Farmleigh.

MY CLASS

Eithne, the teacher is in the middle in the front.

CÉILÍ MÓR