Column

Let me start out by admitting I have absolutely no appreciation of art. This admission is not one I wish to brag about. Rather it does somewhat lessen my self-worth. Nevertheless it is a truthful statement. I tried once in college to improve myself by enrolling in an art appreciation class, but alas, after only the third session the instructor kindly asked me to withdraw. It seems he had never failed anyone in his twenty tenured years of teaching this course, but he felt I had the potential to break his record. I tried to persuade him to allow me to audit the course, but I noticed the nervous tic on his upper lip and was convinced not to persist.

Over the years of traveling I have been encouraged, actually forced, to visit a number of art galleries around the world. My wife as well as the tourist guides under whose influence I fell insisted I be exposed to what was considered artistic beauty. In Florence, Italy I stood before the statue of David amidst a group of sighing, crooning spectators. When asked my thoughts I muttered “Great set of pecs” which didn’t go over too well with the questioning docent. While touring the Louvre I found myself standing beside a tall, very thin, and well-dressed woman, and a skinny pony-tailed man wearing a black beret. They were overcome with emotion viewing some sitting female with an enigmatic smile. When I whispered “Not much sex appeal” they hurried off.

At the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia they showed me a whole section painted by a fellow name Rembrandt. When I suggested they couldn’t be worth very much because there were so many, I was shunned by others for the remainder of our visit.

Why then this article? Well, I finally discovered an art gallery which I think is absolutely wonderful. At long last I spent an enjoyable afternoon in an art museum .You simply must go out of your way to visit this place. You will enjoy it – you have my guarantee. Besides, it is considered quite upscale. Maybe my appreciation of art is improving as I age. The gallery? The Tate Modern located on the banks of the River Thames, just a block from the Millennium Bridge in dear old London, England. It contains an incredible display of international modern and contemporary art.

Let me describe some of the art pieces housed there which I felt to be thoroughly delightful. When you first approach the Tate from the water’s edge, you will find a thirty foot high inflated statue done by Paul Mc Carthy entitled “Daddy’s Head Coming Out of a Catsup Bottle.” It is as described. Great! This work is located next to a huge black balloon with a square head. The name? Blockhead.

When you enter you will find yourself in the main hall – the Turbine Hall. It is some fifty yards long and ten yards wide filled with steam and lighted entirely by monochromatic light. The ceiling is one enormous mirror. At the far end sits a replica of the sun. This eerie unusual light makes everyone look pale, wan, and even slightly ill. There are people lying on the floor looking at themselves in the great reflective mirror above. Hey, this is fun art!

The inside of the Tate Modern is loaded with about as much humorous art as you can absorb. A urinal sits on a pedestal with the title of “Fountain.” A pile of paint rags appear on a ladder. A German artist, who must be one of those starving fellows you hear about, painted a dozen sausages. Some guy had built a car out of cardboard, and it is considered magnificent. I thought one exhibit was a radiator for the room until I noticed it was roped off and titled “Radiator.” There were some pictures done on brown butcher paper which looked a lot like the ones my eight year old grandson paints, but here they were framed and titled instead of being mounted on a refrigerator door with magnets. They made me smile.

One item that fascinated me no end was a huge apothecary bureau. Each drawer contained a collection of shards – yes, broken pieces of pottery – laid out in neat, tidy rows. This interactive display of art maintained my interest for a much longer period than I usually spend in most museums.

I could go on and on – but I don’t want to spoil it for you. If you love Della Robbia, go to Florence. But, if you just want to have a good time immersed in art, don’t miss the Tate Modern in London. It’s a gas!

I’ve been searching for a solid eight months for an amazing, non-breakable mechanical pencil, ever since my enrollment check for my horrible statistics class cleared. Every day I ask myself, why couldn’t that check have bounced?

And while this column has nothing to do with a class I loathe, this being my fifth and hopefully final stab at attempting to complete such an evil course, it does provide a medium (not to be confused with median) upon which my search for unsnappable (new word) lead prescribes.

Forget about offering me the number 2 pencils of yesteryear. They go dull before I have a chance to write my last name on my stupid homework paper. Who needs dull, when I can have sharp, crisp, clear, and esthetically-written math equations (wrong as they may be) scribbled on the front and back of my 8.5” x 11” papers?

Dull only adds to my ineptitude in math, while crisp seems to shout, “she may not have the right answers, but gosh darn it, look how beautifully she wrote it!”

The problem though, and yes, it’s another one of those jaded word-problems, is that I snap off the tips of those lead sticks every other second. I clumsily go through the three, two-inch strands that comes with each pencil purchase in about two hours, let’s say each class. This is costing me big time.

Maybe it’s the pressure of passing this hideous class that’s giving me a heavy hand. Or maybe it’s not me, and it’s the quality, or lack thereof of the product. All this just makes me question the percentage of students who love statistics and barely break a lead verses those who abhor statistics and break them relentlessly? I feel a poll coming on.

So I tried Pentel’s version (pink), no good. Next was Office Depot’s brand (blue), nope. Then I decided to throw money to the wind and spend an extra five cents in order to give Pilot’s Dr. Grip a whirl. Voila!

Hello success; hello no-achy-breaky-lead. Hello one less pressure in finding P (-1< x <1) using a continuous uniform distribution with parameters of µ = 0 and ∂ = 1, where the minimum is -√3 and the maximum is √3. It also meant I didn’t have to break out my borrowed TI-84 Plus Silver Edition calculator. I mean, who would buy such a contraption that has 50 buttons on it? Call it a computer already and move on. Finally here I stand (or sit), halfway through the semester, proudly sporting a solid C+ in this contemptible, yet-required-for-obtaining-my-BA-degree course. Now armored with a nearly-unbreakable writing instrument (first invented in 1791), if I pass this wicked course, I will owe it all to Dr. Grip – the savior of my elementary probability and statistic woes.

More questions from last month’s tournament. Hope you enjoy them.

1. What were the 3 drinking cups referred to in the classic “poison pellet” routine in the Danny Kaye movie “The Court jester”?
2. Who was Tennessee University’s quarterback prior to Peyton Manning?
3. B.O. Plenty was a character in the Dick Tracy comic strip. What did B. O. stand for?
4. What was significant about the songs “The Man That Got Away” and “My Ship”?
5. Who played John Wilkes Booth on TV in 1955 in “The Day Lincoln Was Shot?
6. Now a university professor, who was the satirist who wrote and performed “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” in 1960’s?

June Answers

1. “Every time they play it, I have a bad game.”
2. “A Bridge Too Far” Laurence Olivier, Gene Hackamn, Maximilian Schell and Anthony Hopkins
3. PG Wodehouse
4. Hugh Laurie
5. The Jot em Down Store
6. Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn

WIN LUNCH ON BEN!
The first person to email or mail, no calls please, the correct answers to all of the above questions will win a $25 gift certificate at The Uptown Cafe in downtown Danville, compliments of Ben Fernandez!
Entries must be received by June 20, 2011. In the event of a tie, the winner will be drawn at random. Please email your answers to info@aliveeastbay.com, or mail to ALIVE East Bay, 199 East Linda Mesa Avenue, Suite 10, Danville, CA 94526. Employees and family members of employees of ALIVE East Bay are not eligible.
Restaurant may be changed without notice.

We all realize that financial planning is important. Done correctly, a good financial plan can provide direction and meaning to your financial decisions. While I am sure most of you are familiar with the term “financial planning,” I thought I might take some time to flush out what it really is all about and provide some guidelines on how you can make the financial planning process work best for your situation. Regardless of whether you plan to do it yourself or use professional advice, this is information all consumers should be familiar with.

Put simply, financial planning is the process of meeting your life goals through proper management of your finances. Some of the more common life goals would include buying a home, paying for a child’s education or planning for retirement. As a CFP® professional, I follow a financial planning process of six steps as described by the CFP Board. These six steps allow you to asses where you are now financially and what you may need to do in the future to reach your goals. They include:

1. Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship.
2. Gathering client data, including goals.
3. Analyzing and evaluating your financial status.
4. Developing and presenting financial planning recommendations and/or alternatives.
5. Implementing the financial planning recommendations.
6. Monitoring the financial planning recommendations.

Always remember that you are the focus of the planning process. Therefore, the results you get from working with a financial planner or doing it yourself are largely dependent on your approach and commitment to the process. With that in mind here are some tips for getting the most out of the financial planning process:

1. Set measurable financial goals. Be specific. Be realistic.
2. Understand the effect your financial decisions have on other financial issues.
3. Re-evaluate your financial situation periodically.
4. Start planning as soon as you can and start with what you’ve got. Financial planning is not just for the wealthy.
5. Look at the big picture – financial planning is more than just retirement or tax planning.
6. Don’t confuse financial planning with investing.
7. Don’t expect unrealistic returns on investments.
8. Be patient – you cannot change your situation overnight. Financial planning is a life long process.

There are many great resources available on financial planning, including some very informative free publications available from the FPA and the CFP Board. PPlease call or email me for a free copy or go online at fpanet.org or CFP.net/learn

Damien helps individuals invest and manage risk. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and a principal of Walnut Creek Wealth Management.These are the views of Damien Couture, CFP® and should not be construed as investment advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Your comments are welcome. Damien can be reached at 925-280-1800 x101 or Damien@WalnutCreekWealth.com

Since 2004 the Sharks have entered the playoffs as one of the top five teams in the NHL. Every spring fans’ hopes are raised as they dream that the Sharks captain du jour (Patrick Marleau? Rob Blake? Joe Thornton?) will hoist the Stanley Cup for the traditional lap around the ice come mid June.

And in every year since 2004 Sharks fans have been forced to deal with crushing disappointment. From hot opposing goaltenders to jarring last second goals to poor defense to questionable leadership to just plain bad luck, the Sharks have won more playoff games since 2004 than any team other than the Detroit Red Wings yet have naked ring fingers on their own hands and broken hearts in the chests of their devoted fans.

The team has dismissed anyone who didn’t seem fully committed to winning the big prize. During the 2008 playoffs, for example, then-Head Coach Ron Wilson said the most important thing in his life was seeing the smile on his granddaughter’s face, and that her birth earlier that season helped put hockey in perspective. He was fired almost immediately after the Sharks were eliminated.

Some fans have blogged that this year was the biggest disappointment yet. They hypothesized that after years of near misses that everything was lined up for the Sharks to win. The team was terrific during the last three months of the regular season. San Jose had a good first round draw against the Los Angeles Kings and dispatched them in six games. In the second round they won the first three games against the arch nemesis Detroit Red Wings, and that is when many experts and fans say the wheels came off the track.

Predictably, the Sharks lost game four in Detroit. One might slay a giant, but rarely will he be embarrassed by getting swept with game four at home. Game five at HP Pavilion is the one a lot of the Sharks and their fans would like to have back. San Jose thoroughly outplayed Detroit for the first two periods, and Joe Pavelski’s goal early in the third period gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead. In the NHL, teams convert third period leads into wins about 90 per cent of the time, and good teams with two goal leads at home are more successful than that.

Not this time. The Sharks coughed up three goals in less than ten minutes and lost game five. They had a third period lead in game six and lost that one in Detroit before finally hanging on to eliminate the Red Wings in game seven at San Jose.

For those not keeping track, that blown lead in game five meant six extra periods of hockey at its most taxing, plus two more cross country trips between San Jose and Detroit. It also meant that the Sharks had just two days to rest and prepare before opening the conference finals in Vancouver against the team with the league’s best regular season record.

In game one against the Canucks, San Jose again had the lead in the third period before surrendering two late goals. Head Coach Todd McLellan blamed that loss on fatigue. In game two, a 7-3 loss, McLellan said the team lost its poise, which is unforgivable at this level when the stakes are so high. After winning game three, the normally potent Sharks did not take advantage of five power play opportunities in the first 23 minutes of game four before committing a rash of penalties of their own that led to three Vancouver power play goals in about three minutes and lost 4-2 despite outshooting the Canucks 35-13.

Now down 3-1 in games, the Sharks faced an uphill climb that only about one of every twelve teams can successfully navigate. They played hard and well in game five, outshooting Vancouver 56-34 before a bad call and a bad bounce cost them two goals and a 3-2 defeat in double overtime. That’s hockey, but San Jose’s earlier transgressions had removed their margin for error, so once again they were on the sidelines when the Stanley Cup Finals were played last month.

Now what? The core of the team is aging but not old, and is under contract for three more seasons. The head coach is young and bright and is universally considered an asset. Head of hockey operations Doug Wilson, the man who puts the pieces together, recently received a contract extension. The sum of all that means that nothing important is likely to change soon.

It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting a different result. So are the Sharks and their fans crazy to think that this current group might eventually bring the Stanley Cup to Northern California?

Name the man who created and provided countless hours of enjoyment, entertainment and mind-stretching imagination to generations of children and adults over many decades and you will probably come up with Walt Disney. Disney Studios created Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto, and many other memorable characters through the years. Although it may not seem obvious, Disney was instrumental in bringing very memorable music to audiences and the nation as a whole.

Disney not only created many cartoon features but also produced award winning, full-length animated motion pictures. ”Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” produced in 1937, was his first full-length musical feature. Songs from the film: Someday My Prince will Come, I’m Wishing and It’s Off to Work We Go, became household tunes. During the next five years Disney Studios released “Pinocchio,” “ Fantasia,” “ Dumbo,” and the unforgettable, “Bambi.” All of these pictures featured exciting, wonderful music accompanying the action on the screen.

Any discussion of Walt Disney and music would be remiss without mention of the 1940 full-length animated musical, “Fantasia,” a very unusual and ground breaking production. This film was possibly the first exposure to the world of classical music for many thousands of children and adults. “Fantasia” featured musical greats: Toccata and Fugue in D minor by J.S. Bach; sections of The Nutcracker Suite by P. Tchaikovsky; Sorcerer’s Apprentice by P. Dukas; The Rite of Spring by I. Stravinsky; Symphony #6 (Pastoral) by L. Van Beethoven; Dance of the Hours by A. Ponchielli; A Night on Bald Mountain by M. Mussorgsky and Ave Maria by F. Schubert. “Fantasia” is considered one of the all time classics of musical animated film making and a great way for young children to hear classical music.

*Walt Disney actually introduced the song Brazil into the U.S. in August, 1941. Disney visited Brazil on a U.S. State Department Good Neighbor Policy mission. When he complained that his hotel’s band was playing only North American tunes, the pianist played Aquarela do Brasil. As Disney conceptualized the dapper Brazilian parrot “Ze Carioca,” he decided Aquarela do Brasil was the right song for this character. Disney included the song (later calling it Brazil) in his pro-South American propaganda cartoon, “Saludos Amigos.” Joe Carioca uses this song at the end of “Saludos Amigos” to teach Donald Duck how to dance the samba. Brazil became a Top Ten hit in the U.S. in 1943.

*Another South American song, Tico Tico, enjoyed mild success in dancing rooms of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in the 20s and 30s. In 1943 it suddenly became an international hit when organist Ethel Smith played it in Walt Disney’s animated film “Saludos Amigos,” later reinforced by Carmen Miranda’s zestful rendition of the song in “Copacabana” in 1947.

Disney produced many other feature films that introduced unforgettable music to millions of movie goers. Among them are: “Mary Poppins,” “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King,” “Toy Story,” “Winnie the Pooh” and “The Little Mermaid.” Popular tunes Chim Chimery, A Spoonful of Sugar and Supercalifragilistic all came from “Mary Poppins.” The forever favorite, When You Wish Upon a Star was from the enchanting “Pinocchio.”

Disney was also the brains behind his fantastic theme parks. In 1955, Disneyland Park opened in Anaheim California and is still one of the most popular attractions in the country. Music from Disneyland became part of the popular music fabric of the United States including, It’s A Small World and the famous Main Street Electrical Parade March.

Disney was born in Chicago on December 5, 1901. Due to his talent, business acumen and creative genius he had an extremely successful career as an entertainment entrepreneur. He died a multi-millionaire on December 15, 1966. During his lifetime Disney won many awards for his outstanding work, including 26 Academy Awards.

Disney World and Epcot in Orlando Florida were opened after Disney died. These world class attractions are much larger than Disneyland. The Disney magic was also exported to foreign countries where similar theme parks were created.

It is unlikely that another visionary like Walt Disney will come along soon. He was truly one of a kind and he left a wonderful legacy of films, television productions and theme parks for all of us to cherish and enjoy. The music from these productions is forever instilled in children and adults alike. Disney left us a legacy to last a lifetime.

For a delightful day, visit the Walt Disney Family Museum, 104 Montgomery Street, at the Presidio of San Francisco.

*Researcher and tuba player, Chuck Carroll, who plays with the Danville Community Band, suggested the idea of “Walt Disney” for this column. He also contributed the information about Brazil and Tico Tico.

Other Sources:
Midi files of Disney
JustDisney.com

Please submit your questions and comments to banddirector01@comcast.net
Visit our website at www.danvilleband.org for up-to-date information about the Danville
Community Band.
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