My favourite art show in years

A couple of weeks ago, I saw the Ecstasy show at the Geffen Contemporary branch of MOCA. What a fabulous show! I can't remember the last time I had so much fun looking at and experiencing art. And from the reaction of the crowds, I'm sure I wasn't the only one. The pieces in the show all reflected altered perceptions in some way. Some pieces were direct references to drugs (both illicit and not), some presented images in an altered, distorted way, while others worked directly to alter your own perceptions. The art came in all forms, painting, sculpture, multi-media. Some things you looked at, some you experienced, some you interacted with, a few even interacted with you. The crowd was a mix of young couples, art students, little old ladies, and parents with kids. I wish more contemporary art was like this.

Tigger, R.I.P.

On Saturday, January 7th, 2006, my beloved old cat Tigger passed away. His passing was both sudden and not unexpected. He was in good health, however he was 16 years old, which is very old for a cat. He leaves a large, furry empty space in my life. I've had him since he was a baby, and almost as long as I've lived in Southern California. He followed me to 3 homes, the last move being quite traumatic for him, although he learned to love it. He loved people and followed them around when they visited. He always wanted to see the outside, however once he got there it scared him. He knew all the dark cool places, all the sunny warm spots and the few high areas at home. He got his name from his bouncy ways as a kitten.

Three baby cousins

The end of year holidays are now over and everyone is back at work. This year, I spent the week between Xmas and New Year in Silicon Valley. The entire Cheng clan was there which this year included me, my parents and my brother's family in addition to the usual assortment of sister, aunts, uncles, cousins and young cousins. It was wonderful to see my brother's kids (Austin and Mari) meeting Neve, my sister's daughter. Mari in particular loved watching Neve. What goes through a 15 month old's head upon seeing a 2 month old baby? Does she remember that age?

Neve is now clearly attending to people's faces-she just stared and stared. She also smiles easily, a full face smile, crinkly eyes, big wide mouth. In fact, sometimes she would smile in the middle of sleeping. I wonder what kind of dreams she has?

I made it back to Southern California just before the New Year's storm and watched the Rose Bowl parade from the warmth, comfort and dryness of my living room couch.