It’s a bad photo, but these are the bike racks I made for my beach cruiser. They’re almost done, all that needs finishing are some cable ties to hold down the insulation and some bungee cords. Next up is the bike behind the cruiser. Going to get a set of racks on that one and we’ll have a couple of mean little board transport machines…

One of the cool things about having family in Calfornia and New York is that I can always access a sense of belonging and attachment to either place. Above, home movies shot by my Grandfather from the late 50s to early 60s. He was a tech geek too, fiddling with the latest gadgets and experimenting with the prosumer goods of the time. We were treated to a screening of footage converted by my cousin as part of a gathering to welcome even more family visiting from afar. Big families, large families which are loving, supportive, and provide a deep sense of interconnectedness are the best. I know I’m lucky to be a part of one.

Celebrating the holiday, a wedding, and the happiness of good friends.

The flea market in Brussels, taken from the second day of the Hybrid World Scrapyard Challenge.

Yeah, I know I’ve neglected posting here of late…

To make sense of Joan Didion, and the unique place she occupies as a chronicler of American mores, I think you have to read, above all else, the two books in which she tries to make sense of her home state: The White Album and Where I Was From (2003), her first memoir. The latter is a kind of grown-up reflection on her life, family history and Californian identity. It is a book that only really comes alive when it adheres most closely to the form of the family memoir and gives you some insight into her social pedigree and the often steely gaze she trains on her subjects.

As a Californian now living in New York, I ask her where she feels she most belongs? ‘Oh, California. For sure. I’m not really attuned to here. At one level, I feel perfectly comfortable in New York, but I really believe that is because it is one of those cities where people feel comfortable wherever they are from. The only times I felt a deep attachment to the city was in my twenties, and again after 9/11. But I would say for sure that I have a Californian sensibility.’

And how would she define that sensibility? ‘Well. it’s an outsider’s sensibility. Definitely. On the edge of things. People don’t feel at home in Los Angeles if they come from somewhere else. It takes a long time to get it. And people who come from there tend to have an outside point of view. That’s certainly true in my case.’

It’s snowing! In MARCH! This happened last year. I’m so sick of winter. Spring can’t come too soon.

Back in New York now. Kelly and Kyle performing at MHS.