My Uncle Clifford is Gone

My Uncle Clifford was a wonderful man. He was my father's only sibling--just a couple of years younger. He has just died from complications of cancer surgery at about 80 years old.

Uncle Clifford battled cancer before but was in great shape when we visited him four years ago at his "cabin" in the Catskills. He and his longtime wife and business partner, Jean, showed us a great time, and it was a little like spending time with Dad, who has been gone since 2002. I truly regret that we will never get to do that again.

When I was a bar mitzvah boy many years ago, Uncle Clifford was working in New York City in the office machine business. He sent me a portable typewriter -- not much bigger than today's laptop computer -- which I not only still have but I used to get through college as an English major (back before the PC era).

Clifford and Jean ended up founding and running an incredible Japanese antique art company in New York City, their home. Go see Flying Cranes Antiques online--or better yet, in person, and you'll be blown away.

Jean told me today that a celebration of my uncle's life is planned and we will do our best to fly back to New York for it.

The photo above shows Cliff and Jean in 1978.

Coffee House on Satellite Radio Offers a Tasty Blend

I sat down in my borrowed car yesterday and turned on the audio system. It was tuned to Sirius Channel 30--The Coffee House (also available on XM Radio Channel 51). It was just what I felt like listening to. I've heard this channel before but had forgotten how enjoyable it is.

It's mellow--singer songwriters. That could be anyone from "seasoned" acts like Paul Simon or Bob Dylan or brand new artists like Peter Himmelman (Impermanent Things) or Cas Haley (Better).

Also, you'll hear live acoustic versions of songs that were originally scored for a full band or even an orchestra. I just heard Maroon 5 a half hour ago on my way home doing a song I didn't recognize. I heard Boz Scaggs singing Lowdown with just a couple of accompanying instruments.

What really impressed me was the "Coffee Covers." Think Elvis Costello performing Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire. Or, how about the Rolling Stones' classic Mother's Little Helper by the young Irish singer Eleanor McEvoy?

Of course, there are many young artists just arriving on the scene, which makes it all a real treat. Satellite radio, branded as Sirius XM, is a combination of XM Radio and Sirius--the original two options for getting your radio broadcast from a satellite transmission. The beauty is, you get it every where--you can hear it in New York or New Orleans, Portland, Oregon or Portland, Maine.

The only drawback is that you have to pay for it on a subscription basis and it has drop-outs when you drive under an overpass or a thick stand of trees and driving in a tunnel--forget it? You get well over 100 stations, including a wide range of music from Classical to Swing to Hip Hop to Bluegrass. The Rock is separated into multiple categories beyond the 50's (Channel 5), 60's (Channel 6), etc. And many stations have NO COMMERCIALS!

A highlight? Hearing the California duo The Weepies.

Beloved, Neglected Metropolitan

I have loved Nash Metropolitans since I was a kid. They were cute, kid-sized cars that were zipping around my neighborhood in M&M colors. Our family had a Nash Ambassador sedan as a family car so I'm sure I saw them in the dealership while it was being serviced, and said, out loud, "That's my size car!"

I always wanted one, and my 1956 green and white coupe, which I found on Craigslist, looked nice when I found it. But it turned out to have serious wiring issues, so it didn't get driven a lot. It's neither safe nor legal to drive without brake lights and turn signals. So it has spent most of the last several years in my garage.

When I was about 10, I wrote a song:

It's the cutest car in the world,

In the world, in the world.

It's the cutest car in the world,
In the world, in the world.

A teeny, teeny Metropolitan

The cutest little car in the world.

A teeny teeny Metropolitan,

The cutest little cutest little car in the world!

It's the cutest car in the world,

In the world, in the world.

Not bad for 10, huh?

I hate to do it, but I need to find my little car a new home. I wanted to make it nice and drive it around, but I have learned two things. First: Little cars that are not sports cars that are 50 years old are not really much fun to drive. Fun to be seen in, to look at, to spot in traffic, but that's about it. Second: I don't like working on cars.

So, if anyone wants to finish putting in the new wiring harness, my little baby could be an easy and rewarding project. And the rest of it is pretty sound.

Classical Music Shifts Gears in the S.F. Bay Area

I've listened to KDFC 102.1 for decades. They used to be very snooty--and announced only the composer and name of the work. Then, they became more chatty when KKHI, the other classical music station, which had that kind of format, went away. I've noticed that they have started saying "Classical and then some"--meaning you might hear the movie theme from Harry Potter after one movement of a Beethoven symphony. They don't play the whole piece unless it's a special program.

Now, they are becoming a non-profit and moving way up to the short end of the dial, at 89.9 and 90.3. I hope that means they'll cut out the commercials! Unfortunately, their signal was already iffy in some areas and the new station will be even weaker. Well, that's why I own an iPod.

Prepare for pledge drives!

Read an interesting story that ran today on the San Francisco Chronicle's sfgate.com website.

Colin Firth Wins a Golden Globe for The King's Speech

There are many stories about royal life to be had--some of them of battlefields, some of love and romance, some of debauchery. But Berty's struggles (his name was Albert) and the help he receives from speech therapist Lionel Logue are very moving.

The movie is based on recently discovered diaries by Lionel Logue, the man who helped him learn to speak in public. A lifelong stammerer, the future king is brought to frustration when he must step into the role for which he was not prepared--being King of England--when his older brother, Edward (David) forsakes the throne for his true love (American, divorced, non-royal Wallis Simpson).

King Edward VIII's story is often told, but George VI's is not. He is the leader who rallied his people through World War II, and his wife, the Queen and later Queen Mother, was a beloved figure for decades. Berty couldn't have done it if he were speechless, and Logue helped him gain that back.

The book is a good read, too.

MAZDA2 Does it All

Mazda has done very well with its Mazda3 compact sedan and hatchback. But the world needs smaller cars, too, so the Mazda2 represents the company’s entry in the subcompact segment.

Available only as a four-door hatchback, in two levels, the Mazda2 offers amazing utility while still taking up very little space in your driveway. It will carry a bass; the rear seats fold down in an instant.

Though it felt sporty, my Spirited Green test car fell down a little when accelerating in second gear uphill. Its 98 lb.-ft. of torque isn’t enough to do it with gusto, but once things level out, whipping along at freeway speeds is no problem.

The car is carefully crafted inside and out to minimize the sense of how small it is. The wedge-shaped body has lots of exciting curves to give a feeling of movement even when stopped. There is very little overhang front or rear, yet the car doesn’t elicit claustrophobia inside. The dash feels substantial where it needs to be but tapers off at the far corners to provide a sense of openness.

The Mazda2 weighs just 2,306 pounds. That means it can use a 1.5-liter four-cylinder that puts out only 100 horsepower and still be a blast to drive. The engine is rated at 29 City, 35 Highway (32 Combined) with the manual five-speed (which my test car was blessed with) and slightly lower 27/33 with the available automatic. I averaged 33.4 mpg.

EPA Green Vehicle scores are 6 for Air Pollution and 7 for Greenhouse gas. That’s below Hybrid levels but excellent for a gasoline-burning car, and earns the Mazda2 SmartWay status. The Honda Civic and MINI share identical Green Vehicle scores with the Mazda2.

The car definitely benefits from the direct action of the slick manual gearbox. The shift knob grows directly out of a protruding section of the center console. The instrument panel is compact, looking like the three-pod gauge cluster on a motorcycle. The 120-mph speedometer is in the center, with a tach to the left showing the revs.

The Mazda2 comes in Sport or Touring levels. The Sport arrives pretty well equipped, with standard air conditioning; power mirrors, power windows and door locks; an AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system with four speakers and an audio auxiliary jack; and remote keyless entry.

The MAZDA2 Touring (as my tester was) adds features inside, such as upgraded seat fabric with red piping, a luxurious leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio and cruise controls, a trip computer and a six-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system. It replaces the Sport's stamped steel wheels with 15-inch alloys. Other dress-ups include fog lights, a rear roof spoiler and a chrome exhaust tip.

My test car came to $16,185, but the Sport starts at just $14,730—including destination charges. Compare that to the Civic, which starts at $16,555 and the MINI, at $20,100.

The Mazda2 is a world car. It was originally launched in 2007 in Europe, Japan and Australia. Since then, it has won 48 automotive awards, including "Car of the Year" accolades in many markets, including Japan, New Zealand, Chile, Bulgaria and Greece. It was selected as the "2008 World Car of the Year" (WCOTY) at the 2008 New York International Auto Show. More than 400,000 units have been sold around the world since its debut.

There are many ways to reduce our dependency on oil (foreign and domestic) and to lower our carbon footprint. Electric vehicles have small ranges and are expensive. Hybrids use fuel very sparingly but remain pricey today. One of the easiest things you can do is to drive a smaller car. The Mazda2 is a prime candidate.

Bass Tattoo Gets Finished--with Color

Six weeks after the initial ink was laid down expertly by Doug Hansen of Everlasting Tattoo, I went in again to get the color added. It took three hours, but now the images are quite close to the real instruments, and even in this minutes-old photo, you can see that this is one seriously beautiful piece of art. To see it before the color was added, go to my December 17, 2010 post.

The process was the same as my first visit. I lay down on the nice padded table, extended my left arm, and Doug quickly cleaned and shaved the area. Then, he started with his amazing electric needles.

The first step was to clean up any uneven lines in the background swirls, which took more time than I expected. However, Doug is a real artist and he wanted to make sure everything was just right.

Then, he began to apply brown wood tones to the big upright bass that give it a three-dimensional look. The black fingerboard took some time, and time, with tattoos, means pain. The pain, as before, was significant but manageable, and the instant the needle stopped, so did the discomfort. It doesn't build or accumulate--it's on or off.

The main variable is how long the tattoo artist needs to sit in a single location to get the right look and the location he or she is working in. When Doug went near my wrist or the fold inside of my elbow, it stung like a pack of hungry hornets. But luckily, it wasn't long before he moved on. And the endorphins help too, although I felt less floaty and blissful this time. I just felt happy.

I got up once after a couple of hours to stretch and take a sip of water, but otherwise, I just lay there contentedly, listening to a mixture of uptempo music and occasionally chatting with Doug, one of the other tattoo artists, or my patient wife, who, once again, accompanied me. (Those are her four slim fingers in the very top of the photo.)

When we were done, I got up, and after we took a couple of quick photos, Doug wrapped my arm in plastic, just like that leftover piece of ham from dinner. We paid him, and off we went. I felt fine, and drove us home.

Now, for my next tattoo....

Note: New tattoos can look a little messy. The ink will smooth out, the swelling will go down, and that smudged look (bruising) on the top swirl will disappear.