Sausalito Californa and Sterling Hayden

Glen Ellen, California


 News flash. I am writing a book soon to be named, maybe Land & Sea A Memoir. Over the past year and half while attending Dominican University of California, I've done a substantial amount of experiential writing. This is the reason christianallaire.com has suffered a little bit. I love maintaining this blog, and am kind of bummed I don't have as much time write blog posts. I'm graduating this coming May, and must complete a "Senior Project" to satisfy my humanities portion. I have wide latitude on what to do for the project, and have decided to write a book with the intention of publishing to iPad, Kindle, Nook, ePub, and old school book format as well. Adobe's InDesign is the incredible software that allows one to format properly, and Amazon is/has revolutionized the book publishing world. Any shmoe like me can publish a book, and disseminate it widely with a push of a button. The electronic versions will contain picture and video. While researching the portion my life spent in the awesome town of Sausalito, situated just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, I was reminded of the actor Sterling Hayden. Hayden called Sausalito home for many years, and died there in 1986 at the age of 70. Like I always say, I have a soft spot for odd ducks. Mr. Hayden was a very eccentric fellow, and lived a really interesting life. Many things he did one can only shake their head. 

Baron Baptiste Yoga Bootcamp

Glen Ellen, California


 It was a powerful week that I spent outside of Austin, Texas. That is about the best way to describe it. Powerful. My commitment to spending a week in total immersion is part of my goal of becoming a yoga instructor. You can read some commentary I wrote about becoming a teacher by clicking here.

Savasana with 140 Others

It's tough to know where to begin. I'll start by saying that the week consisted of NO COFFEE, and the food was excellent, but only fruits and veggies. I've never gone more than 24 hours without coffee. The impact of no coffee is tough to quantify, because the days were simply packed tight with no chance to start joanzzin for coffee.

The Death of Steve Jobs

Glen Ellen, California


 The passing away of Steve Jobs today at the age of 56 years is a real loss to the country, and the world. Please take the time to read the story published in Forbes entitled "What We Owe Steve Jobs." Not a tribute to Jobs, but discusses the moral nature of his achievements. The more I learn about the humanities the more I appreciate the genius of Jobs. Hope all is well for him on the other side.

 

On Becoming a Yoga Instructor

Glen Ellen, CA


I took my first yoga class about three year ago. In June of 2010, after arriving in San Francisco Bay Area, after the big sailing trip, I began to attend class five to six days a week. I've kept said pace, doing both Bikram and Power Vinysa.

Creative Commons

Kindle Fire Will Santa Claus Deliver One?

Glen Ellen, CA


I really enjoy technology. I'm also an avid reader, a decidedly old school habit. The marriage between reading and technology is fantastic. What is really amazing about e-readers and tablets like the Kindle Fire or the Apple iPad, is it is the first technology being embraced by the older generations who did not grow up computer savvy. Why? Simply the font size can be adjusted to ease the strain on eye sight that becomes diminished with age. All the high tech bling that comes with tablets are an ancillary benefit older people ease into after receiving their new machine.

Midway Islands Current Plight

Glen Ellen, CA


 While stationed in the Hawaiian Islands aboard CGC Washington, I made two separate trips out to Midway Island in 1993 and 94. Midway is actually part of the Hawaiian Island Chain. If you look at a chart you can see the string of islands that are old volcano's. Midway being the northern most volcano that is now just a hair above sea level. The southern most volcano in the island chain is the Big Island of Hawaii. Anything but flat, with its active volcano's. 

sailing in the lagoon

Pearl Jam 20 A Documentry by Cameron Crowe

Glen Ellen, CA


 I was more than a little excited to learn about a project that has been ongoing, and now is complete. I like odd ducks so to speak. Cameron Crowe fits said description nicely. I've been an admirer of his for quite sometime, based upon his remarkable life, and the awesome films he writes and directs. I can hardly believe that Pearl Jam is now over 20 years old. PJ would also fall under the heading of odd duck. Aside from their fantastic music, and singer Eddie Vedder's distinct, almost ethereal voice, I have a bit of a connection to the Grunge scene of Seattle that they emerged from. I joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1988 and had my first duty station aboard a ship, the Polar Sea, homeported along the Seattle Waterfront. It was a crazy crazy time. Seattle seemed to be exploding with clubs and music. My mates and me were in the thick of it all. About a block from the Coast Guard Base on Alaskan Way was a neighborhood called Pioneer Square. The hood, not surprisingly, was prominently featured in Cameron Crowe's way cool 1991 movie called Singles. It was a real bohemian situation. The movie promo picture below was taken in Pioneer Square. My shipmates and I would pay a 5 dollar cover charge and have access to about 10 clubs within the square. Bands like Mother Love Bone, and the folks from Soundgarden would play along with old school jazz and blues bands. Vedder and company along with Nirvana jammed at these clubs during this stretch of time.

10 Years Seems Like Yesterday

Glen Ellen, California 

These are tough to watch. I had just woken up aboard Christa in Sausalito California on the morning of 9/11. It also was a gorgeous picture perfect day out west. I was pretty stunned. I went up to Cafe Trieste had some coffee and watched the big screen TV with the water front crowd. I was scheduled for my normal watch that evening in the command center at the Coast Guard Base on Yerba Buena Island. I knew things would be very different, and the course of my career would change. It did.

TEDS Videos and Some Musings

Glen Ellen, California


The video below is really amazing. It is short, and I encourage you to watch. I've some thoughts on the topic. But first a quick word on TEDS Video. Here is the websites motto

"Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world"

My snazzy Apple TV tracks podcasts for me that I subscribe to, TEDS videos being one of my subscriptions. Nearly each day a video is posted. Short in nature, and each fascinating. I'm hooked!

He is the description of the actual talk from the TEDS website.

General David Petraeus an Extradinary Man

Glen Ellen, California


Yesterday David Petraeus retired from the U.S. Army after 37 years of service. We, as a nation, should salute him.