Listeners have been asking me for years to post my “Pirze @ 5″ Questions and Answers on kdfc.com.  I am told that the contest page eventually will contain Hoyt’s Commuter Quiz, Dianne’s Lunch Box and my Prize @5.  But while we wait for that to be launched, here are this week’s questions, Nov. 26-30, 2007.

MONDAY
There are five and half million streets in the US.    The names of a couple hundred streets are inspired by candy flavors.  What is the most common candy flavor named street in the US?
PEPPERMINT (Winner-Paul Lewis, Orinda)

TUESDAY
November 28th marks the 85th anniversary of the first commercial skywriting exhibition.  It took place over this world famous East Coast landmark.
TIMES SQUARE (Winner-Lydian Reed, SF)

WEDNESDAY
Total Film Magazine has compiled a list of the greatest film heroes and villains of all-time.
Name one from each top-10 list.
TOP HERO-Indiana Jones, TOP VILLAIN-The Joker (Winner-Elli Rawner, Oakland)

THURSDAY
These were introduced in the US in 1902.  The box they came in was designed to be hung on a Christmas tree.  Today, they’re a favorite snack for kids.
ANIMAL CRACKERS (Winner-Jim Dowd, SF)

FRIDAY
The city of Akron, Ohio has a new weapon in its fight against icy streets.  It is now mixing its rock salt with the juice of this vegetable.
BEETS (Winner-Chris Meneves, Hayward)

One of facets I love most about the work I do is that it connects me with people around the Bay Area…and now, thanks to the Internet, with people around the world. 

Every morning while I’m enjoying my coffee at home, I check my KDFC mailbox.    People share all sorts of things about their lives with me.   What I find most fascinating is the abundance of talent here in Northern California.   One of our listeners is Kathleen Wolf of San Jose.    She’s an artist and listens to KDFC from sun up to sun down.  All of her paintings are inspired by classical music and the companionship of Hoyt, Betsy, Dianne, Rik, Dusti and me.   That really fills me with a sense of purpose.   Check out her site at kawolf.com.

PS…Happy birthday to the City of San Jose.   230-years old and as vibrant as ever!   San Jose is an shining example of a city doing it right!  Have a fantastic weekend.  

Don’t forget to join me on the Big Island Sunday from 9am to Noon.  

This week on the KDFC Lunch Box, I’m giving away tickets to A Cathedral Christmas at Grace Cathedral.  There may be no better way to get into that holiday mood than with one of these memorable concerts with the Cathedral’s famous Choir of Men and Boys.  (Where are the women? So Episcopalian!)   I was perusing the Grace website when I read again the fascinating story of the beautiful Ghiberti Bronze Doors that welcome visitors to the Cathedral.  

These intricately carved panels are copies of the originals by Lorenzo Ghiberti which stood at the entrance to the Baptistry in Florence since the very beginning of the Italian Renaissance. Legend has it that Michelangelo gave them their name, “The Gates of Paradise”.  They were moved indoors in the 1980’s to protect them from our modern dirty world. The story of how Grace Cathedral acquired the doors takes us back to the Nazi occupation of Florence and the quick-thinking of some Italian art-lovers.  Read about it here.  

How many of the “classics” have you read? If we’re lucky we all read some in school. You know, the requisite Dickens and Shakespeare even Mark Twain. But I have a list of the 100 or so that we should all read and a small collection on bookshelves in the basement. This leads me to a quote from one of the greats born on this day. Mark Twain said it best “Classic: a book which people praise and don’t read.” I wonder how he’d feel to know that some of his are considered “classic”. I’m a slow reader, but I realized recently that the act of reading is really a skill that has to maintained through, you know, reading. I’ve been practicing lately, especially on trips out of town. Just started Tom Brokaw’s new book about the “pig in the python” better known as the baby boomers. “Boom” hasn’t received the best of reviews, but so far seems interesting enough. At least as a former journalism minor it’s fun following his career.

Who were Manny, Moe and Jack? No, not the Three Stooges (as far as we know). They were the Pep Boys. I first learned about them when I moved to San Diego in the early ’70s. Jay from San Jose had the answer in this mornings Commuter Quiz so he’s off to enjoy the Christmas concert from Philharmonia Baroque December 14th at the Herbst Theater in SF. Come Monday morning, try for a new prize at 6:30am.

Maybe you were sitting down to, or digesting a breakfast of Cheerios at 8:30 during the Blind Date. Cheerios started out as Cheery Oats in the same year that Benjamin Britten arranged some Rossini music into the Matinees Musicales. That was …1941.

See you Monday at 5 am , unless you get to sleep in.

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Psychologist Campbell Leaper at US Santa Cruz has reviewed 40 plus years of research to clarify which gender talks more. One clear point that emerged was that the type of activity people engaged in influenced how much they talk. During decision making tasks, men were more talkative than women, but when talking about themselves or working with children, women were  more talkative than men. My casual review of our workplace showed young women and older men involved in conversation more often than other groups and ages. Oops. That would be young women talkin amongst each other and old men talking amongst each other. Don’t want any significant others getting the wrong ideas. Read the whole story here.

I read so much bad news everyday that I love it when I come across a positive headline like this one -

More than a billion trees planted in 2007: UN

Thursday mornings at 6:30 I try to ask a question about classical music and today’s revolved around one of the “Big Bs” of music. Which on (Bach, Beethoven or Brahms) counted his lone opera as his personal favorite. First time winner and road warrior, Bob from Vallejo (he works in San Jose!), wone tickets to Philharmonia Baroque’s holiday concert at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco. Oh, it was Beethoven (Fidelio).

Manuel de Falla wrote the two act opera “La Vida Breve” in our Blind Date year, the same year the Trans Siberian Railway officially opened…1905

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The prospect of deep sleep was ruined forever for me when I became a mother 21 years ago.  When the kids were babies, I slept with one ear open for their cries and I’ve have never really recovered.   So when Hoyt asked if I was looking forward to having Tommy home from college for Thanksgiving, I said, “Yes, but…”.  You see, in the animal world, Tommy would be described as “nocturnal”.  He does his best socializing beginning sometime after 11:00pm, rarely falling into bed before 3:00am and often calling it a night when it is, in fact, morning.    “But he’s all grown up,” says Hoyt, “just don’t worry about it.”   The thing is,  I can’t help it.  And although I’m no where near as worried as I used to be when he was in high school, I still toss and turn and watch the clock until I hear the creak of the front door and his sweet but ineffectual attempt to walk up the stairs quietly. But you know what- it’s ok,  because there may come a day when he’ll find any excuse not to come home for the holidays at all and then I’ll be too sad to sleep!   

What else would you expect from a site called stupid.com. The Top 10 Stupidest gifts of 2007. Just for the holidays, “Mistletoe To Go”, an attractive arrangement of faux mistletoe that comes with a suction cup that attaches to your forehead. Nothing says “Kiss me, I’m stupid” like a big, angry suction cup ring on your face. Unless it’s the scent of “Uncle Oinkers Gumy Bacon Candy” on your breath. And just exactly what adult beverage was consumed by the weirdo that invented “The Electronic Yodeling Pickle”. It’s a big gurkin – 6 and a half inches long with a high tech interior that belts out a yodel. Perhaps the perfect pick for someone on your list..or not.

We take driving for granted. It’s a guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, no? Well the Commuter Quiz question du jour was about the first country to demand driving tests in 1893. That would be France and Louis from Concord was the first correct caller on Whiz Kid Wednesday so he’s off to hear Philharmonia Baroque in December 14th at the Herbst in SF. Good luck tomorrow and Friday at 6:30 am.

Felix Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony was our Blind Date piece this morning at 8:30. It dates from the year Chicago was established on an estuary of the Chicago River by 350 settlers. That was…1833.

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Hey KDFC listeners-I’m really excited.  I’m almost a member of the blogosphere!  Watch this space for occasional entries from moi.

How great is this…my first blog entry. 

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.   Mine was the best.  Last summer I was thinking about doing something special for the holiday this year and my partner and I came up with the idea to take our mothers to New York City.    My mother-in-law travels from her home in Oklahoma to New York every couple of years so she knows Manhattan well and loves it there.   On the other hand, my mom hasn’t been back east since she was a teenager.   She lived in Westchester County and Long Island for the two years prior to the Korean War, as her father was a navy man stationed in the area but hasn’t been back since 1949.

We had a great time.   Thanksgiving Day was so beautiful and warm.   We tried seeing the Macy’s Parade from 34th Street but couldn’t even get out of the subway stations as the streets and staircases were packed.   So we met up with Tim’s cousin Kimberly and headed up to the Ansonia Apartments on West 72nd and all five of us watched the parade on TV.    I was more impressed with the building we were in than the parade.   The Ansonia is one of the many architectural marvels of Manhattan.   The Upper West Side was teeming with activity that afternoon.  I passed the time going through stacks of books on the sidewalk that a collector was trying to unload.   I found some hard covers of Steinbeck but I already have copies of my own.

We wound up in the East Village Thanksgiving afternoon at a place called Chocolate By The Bald Man.   It’s located on 2nd Avenue at 9th Street.   They have a second location in the heart of Off-Broadway in Union Square.  You can toast marshmallows at your table and make your own smores.    The smell alone was sublime.

Thanksgiving dinner was the best I’ve EVER had.   Our mothers are not vegetarians but love our vegetarian cooking so much that it was their idea to find a place that felt like home.  I did the research and found the Blossom Cafe in Chelsea.   It’s a small, cozy, old world place on a tree lined street with a hip young staff.   They put on a 5 course vegan meal that I actually slowed down to savor.    We started with a mushroom, root vegetable mixture in a puff pastry.   There was a pumpkin soup spiked with ginger and red pepper.    I had a citrus salad with red and yellow beets and fresh pecans.      For the main course I had a mushroom risotto with a cranberry relish.   For dessert,  plum, persimmon and apple crisp with French press coffee.  WOW.   It was an incredible meal.  After dinner we all went to Ground Zero for a moment of reflection.   We sat in the lobby of one of the World Trade Center Buildings as the wind picked up and sat quietly in our gratitude and grief.    It  was the perfect holiday.  

We stayed a few more days.  One of the highlights was taking a moment to stop by the Dakota Apartments on 72nd and Central Park West and look up at John and Yoko’s corner apartment and think of John.   The anniversary of his death is coming up.  I walked across the street to Strawberry Fields in Central Park.   The “Imagine” circle was covered in flowers and candles and there were people staring off into space with tears in their eyes.   John still has that effect on me too. 

The Dakota Apartment House was built in the 1880s when the Upper West Side was a countryside dotted here and there with tents, small dwellings and saloons.  It got its name because of its remote location…which might have well been the Dakotas.   And there is a classical music connection to the grand building.   When Tchaikovsky was in New York in 1891 to conduct the opening night concert at Carnegie Hall his host lived at the Dakota.   When Tchaikovsky saw the building, he was bewildered…thinking that the entire building was his host’s grand home, and Central Park his private garden.  He is quoted to have said, “No wonder we composers are so poor.”

We took in the Off Broadway show “The Piano Teacher” starring Elizabeth Franz.  What a show.  Captivating, provocative.  We all stayed up late talking about it.  I highly recommend the show.   Despite the strike on Broadway, this Off-Broadway show is being held over at the Vineyard Theater on 15th and 4th Avenue.   And the theater is just half a block away from the second location of Chocolate By The Bald Man. 

I am happy to be home.  But as always when I travel to New York I am reminded how wonderful the people of that City are.   New Yorkers are so civilized and full of life.   There is a synergy there….a choreographed chaos that makes my heart race.

Spent some of my holiday weekend in Shanghai on a trip with my wife. After a long flight (12 hours) back to a city I hadn’t seen in 6 years. Everyone said I wouldn’t recognize it. Not exactly the case. There’s just a lot more highrises on the skyline than before. The city is looking more like a cross between Bladerunner and The Jetsons. The “Bladerunner” look comes in part from the huge video billboards that cover whole side of buildings. “The Jetsons” look comes from rather interesting designs that look very 21st century. Like most of China there is an interesting mix of the old and new that extends to the streets where you see the lastest German street machines alongside guys with peddle carts roaming the streets for recycling. Modern supermarkets in one block and casual street markets in another with carts of fresh vegetables, tanks of live fish and  crabs and cages with live poultry. The Fall is a great time for Shanghai. The weather was very Bay Area like and I went out for my morning stroll in shirtsleeves. My wife knows the area around her layover hotel well and sent me out for fresh pork buns or Cha siu bao(two fried and two steamed. Yum!) to have with our coffee. Of course Starbucks is right around the corner, but we make our breakfast coffee in the room. We try to be aware of our surroundings and possible problems (pickpockets, scammers, etc) but we were caught  unaware on one of the busy and modern shopping streets, Huaihai Road. There we are outside the Cybermart looking totally like tourists with our map out checking addresses and street signs when this guy comes up, drops to his knees in front of Jacquie, and starts squirting black shoe paste on her sandels. Before we could say “Bu Yao” (don’t want) he’d added more and buffed, grinning all the while. We were shouting “no, no, no” when a local family came up and started telling him to leave us alone. As we hurried off he followed demanding money! Extortion 101, Chinese style. Just down the street looking for  a taxi (to take us to a tailor we’d heard of at the Cloth Market), we were also pitched a “hot” laptop three times by the same guy. Seems wherever we go in the world we are just giant dollar signs to many people. I’m really tall so there’s no hiding. I just try to smile and move on. The flight back was delayed many hours so we headed down Monday morning to the Bund. It’s a riverside part of old Shanghai with many classic sturctures from the early part of the 20th century. We treid to get into the famous Peace Hotel, but it turns out this structure from the 1930s is being totally restored  and opens in 2009 as the Shanghai Fairmont. We headed down Nanjing Road, China’s most famous shopping street taking in the architecure old and new and doing some window shopping. A good length of the eastern part is a pedestrian boulevard till you get to People’s Park. Then the buildings get a bit less special. We wound up at a favorite “bargain” haunt of flight crews the world over. 580 is the address on Nanjing Road that houses a collection of small shops that mostly sell clothing items, but also electronics and watches (Feikos and Schmolexes). A couple of shirts for me and linen slacks for her and we headed back in a light rain to our hotel for a quick change and then the long bus ride to Pudong Airport.
Next time it’s the museums and a ride on the 1.2 billion dollar Maglev train from the airport to downtown.

In the Tuesday morning Commuter Quiz at 6:30 I had another first time winner. Dennis, a clown from San Francisco (really!), won tickets to Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra’s The Majesty of Christmas in San Francisco because he knew that The Space Needle in Seattle was the world’s first revolving restaurant. 

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