Our long time friend Celeste has finally acquired her 15 minutes of fame. She was bitten by a sea lion in the San Francisco Bay! She is an active swimmer with the local Dolphin Club and Monday morning she was bitten 6 times!
She was terrified but able to laugh it off. Since then over 14 swimmers have reported being bitten! See the article at SFGate
Just heard she is being interviewed on NPR as well!
Hi all…This is my very first blog as your Dining Diva and can you believe it’s not even about food?
I just saw a show that was totally mind-blowing and I want ed to tell you about it before it leaves town. It’s Marc Salem’s fabulous, spine-tingling, Duh-duh-duh-duh Twilight Zone humming, one-man show called Mind Games. It’s playing at San Francisco’s Post Street Theater through November 19, so don’t wait to get tickets, cuz the guy is simply amazing!
Salem (no connection to the Salem witch trials) is a rotund, professorial type, who actually holds two doctorates and has taught college, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies his techniques of non-verbal communication.He insists that he doesn’t deal in the occult or supernatural—rather he is just hypersensitive and very intuitive. (I can’t wait for the Mind Games book to come out next year, so I can tell when my boyfriend is lying to me.)
Ok- all that’s cool, but how the heck can he be blindfolded and call out 10 audience members by name and tell them where their last trip was. He even would add amusing little tips such as, “Marcia, might I suggest that next time you and your husband go on a romantic trip to Rio you leave your sister home”. (All true, gasp-gasp)
Or he would tape and blindfold his eyes, then have two volunteers (one sat next to me and I can promise you that No-Way was she a plant) collect personal artifacts from the audience and bring them up to him. He would quietly hold his hand two inches over the object “feeling the vibrations” and identify not only the item, but correctly name the owner and even offer suggestions such as “Susie, I really think you should stop using pink lip-gloss and try a deeper burgundy shade.”
He’d go on to correctly guess serial numbers on a dollar bill, make a subject’s watch go backwards an hour just by a wave of his hand, stop and start his pulse at will. One of his most amusing bits was called “”Five Liars” and I was selected as one of the “volunteers”. To tell you more would ruin it, but if you can figure out how he does it-puhleeze get back to me. I give Mind Games 4 forks up!
P.s. My dinner pick for after the show is Scala’s Bistro, for their yummy "black and blue" pizza. Extra credit points: their gorgeous new chef is as delicious as the food!
We were just introduced to Babes in the Back Country - operated by Leslie Ross (in photo) and based in Beckenridge Colorado! Babes in the Backcountry is dedicated to educating women in outdoor skills to enable them to become more knowledgeable, self reliant and confident in the backcountry. Check out the classlist and trip schedule to see if there is a fit for you!
We have coupons good for $10 off a class if you are a Tango Diva member. Thanks Alison!!
10 REASONS WHY TO TAKE A CLASS WITH THE BABES! To learn something new or travel to some place you’ve never been before! To become more self reliant in the backcountry through learning about avalanche safety techniques! To learn how to Telemark or improve your technique! To learn from the top female educators in their field! To meet other women backcountry enthusiasts! To experience a backcountry hut trip or winter camping! To try out new equipment! To ski untracked powder! To be a Backcountry Babe! To have a fun getaway!
I really don’t like holiday shopping. The whole thought of jousting for parking spaces and tromping through malls looking for gift between the annoying buzz of teenagers and painful cries of infants.
So, this year I am making things easy! I am shopping online!
I’ll be searching the web for great bargains on fabulous items, and I’ll let you know about them.
Cool?
Here’s the first from eLuxury.com….. one for aunt Martha, one for me.
TODAY is Tango Diva’s Erotic Literary Salon and Charity Shopping Bazaar! Mark your calendars; cancel your dates! And listen to my radio interview for more information. I spilled all the sexy beans on a recent Benefit magazine Radio program on 960 am, the Quake. Because we at Tango Diva definitely plan to shake things up at our big event! Sex, chocolate and shopping: what more could a Diva want?
(I know, yadayadayada, lots of weird html code thingies, but it’s my first audio file embed-ment, and so you’ll have to indulge my ignorance. Of course usually I don’t embed with my files till they’ve taken me to dinner first, but seriously how cool is it that you can just click and listen?)
And the winners are…Bhutan is more interested in measuring Gross National Happiness than GNP. Once upon a time, the very enlightened king of a faraway nation in the sky decided that measuring the success of his country in terms of products and money just didn’t do the human race any justice. So he came up with the idea of GNH: Gross National Happiness. The Buddhist king takes a measure based on 4 pillars: sustainable and fair economic and societal development, learning about and preserving their ancient culture, taking care of the environment, and of course enlightened leadership. Hopefully like the Democrats now that they’ve taken back Congress?
Monaco has the highest population density in the world. It’s a tiny place, and all them princes and counts practically live right on top of each other! Remember, pop. density means the number of people living in a measurable unit. China has tons of people, but it also has tons of land. Did I kinda fool ya?
The world’s longest river is the Nile, at 4,160 miles long. Another interesting fact about the Nile is that its source is to the south and so flows northward, draining into the Med.
The first woman to ever summit Mt. Everest is from Japan. Junko Tabei completed her climb in 1975. According to Wikipedia, Junko’s team got buried under a sudden avalanche, and our heroine lost consciousness for 6 minutes until her sherpa dug her out! In 1992, she became the first woman to climb the highest peaks of all seven continents, the Seven Summits, which include Kilimanjaro, Mount McKinley and of course Everest. She enjoys climbing to this day.
Cha-ching! The world’s wealthiest woman is not Oprah, shockingly, but 83 year-old Frenchwoman Liliane Bettencourt, the daughter of the L’Oreal founder. She retains a controlling stake in the company. It looks good on you, girl!
The tallest building in the world is in Taipei. The mammoth Taipei 101 opened in 2004 with 101 floors and 5 more in the basement.
That’s all this month, smart Divas, but don’t worry, there will be lots more world trivia to come!
Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House! The FIRST woman to hold this powerful position! And she’s from San Francisco, the world headquarters of Tango Diva.
Donald Rumsfeld has stepped down!!
It is time to celebrate! This is even more exhilarating then getting my shoes in the mail! Yippy!
Women like Susan B. Anthony spent time in jail so us modern Divas would have the RIGHT TO VOTE. Today is the day to use your rights! Get out there and VOTE GIRLS! Find a poll near you.
In 1872, Susan demanded that women be given the same civil and political rights that had been extended to black males under the 14th and 15th amendments. Thus, she led a group of women to the polls in Rochester to test the right of women to vote. She was arrested two weeks later and while awaiting trial, engaged in highly publicized lecture tours and in March 1873, she tried to vote again in city elections. After being tried and convicted of violating the voting laws, Susan succeeded in her refusal to pay the fine. From then on she campaigned endlessly for a federal woman suffrage amendment through the National Woman Suffrage Association (1869-90) and the National American Woman Suffrage Association (1890-1906) and by lecturing throughout the country.
Anthony, along with Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage published the History of Woman Suffrage 4 vol (1881-1902) In 1888 she organized the International Council of Women and in 1904 the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. Although Anthony did not live to see the consummation of her efforts to win the right to vote for women, the establishment of the 19th amendment is deeply owed to her efforts. From: http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/sba/third.html
Finally, on January 9, 1918 - 46 years since Susan B. Anthony started her campaign - Wilson announced his support for suffrage. The next day, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the Susan. B. Anthony Amendment, which would give suffrage to all women citizens. On June 4, 1919, the Senate passed the Amendment by one vote. And a little more than a year later, on August 26, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment. That made it officially the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
WOW! Oh my! My glorious shoes that I had made in Milan showed up on my doorstep today. I can’t wait to wear them, but I know that I have to keep them for my book signing. "sign."
But what a divine treat I have to look forward to on the day of my book launch party! So, what do you think about my beautiful, darling, fabulous shoes??
These shoes were made by Veronik in Milano, you can find all her details in Marie Claire, in the STOP THE PRESS cover story.
Oh, a bit of FLY SOLO details…. all the final edits are done, my book is getting printed as we speak, and I will have the galleys delivered this week! I am so excited! New shoes, new book - what a fabulous week!
Here is the piece of fabric that my gorgeous shoes and handbag were made out of - eat your heart out Cinderella!
PS…… DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!!!!!! THIS IS A HUGE ELECTION! And if you have spent anytime overseas, you will know that us Americans are not very liked right now because of the decisions that have been made by our Congress and House. But, with your vote, we have a a chance to change the course of history, yes you DIVA!
As of two days ago, my cats have decided that relieving themselves in their litter box is very passe. I can’t figure out why my hardwood floors and *very* light gray carpet are suddenly so alluring. Does anyone have a great Hazmat Diva I can call??
I know this is just cat psychology 101, so I am wracking my brains trying to figure out what ails them. Didn’t they like the latest dolphin-friendly tuna brand I brought home and spooned into their ceramic Japanese soy sauce bowls? Was their new scratching post not Grade A sisal? Are their catnip mice not catnippy enough these days? Oh, the life of indoor cats. I’m not even traveling right now, so it can’t be neglect. Qu’est ce qui ce passe, kitty kitties?
And speaking of assholes, the other day I was asking my friend how Halloween went with her toddler son. She said that he acted like a total asshole. For the past 3 weeks before Halloween, he pretty much soiled himself just thinking about his excellent fireman costume, the one that my creative friend dutifully procured for her darling. On Halloween night, however, her firefighter turned tantrumy and freaked out, screaming that he wanted to be a dinosaur. "What an asshole," she told me.
I found that insanely refreshing. In this day and age of Mother Teresa moms whose every utterance is scrutinized by Tom Cruise and his anti-post-partum crew, it is so nice to hear a woman sound off in a rational and wry way about the real baby world. Of course she loves her baby, it’s just that, well, he was acting like a total asshole.
My final thought on assholes is the attempts my ex is making to contact me after his infamous break-up email. Yes, like Carrie and her Post-it, I got broken up with over email, and I just received an email from El Jerko making certain demands about the conditions of my surrender, I mean of our getting back together. There was no, "I’m so sorry for being a cowardly asshole and breaking up with you over email, driven to act out in such a way because of my deep-seated insecurities that I have yet to explore thanks in part to my overbearing mother."
Rather, it was just an email (his favorite medium) saying something like, "Hey there, I wish I was with you right now, but until you change I can’t be. Please change lots of fundamental things about yourself so we can get back together. Gotta go, the game is on. Later."
What all these examples seem to have in common is a certain tendency towards tantrums in all the species, at all stages of their lives. Belly-aching about your girlfriend via email is tantamount to crying your eyes out over your Halloween costume. And having your life shit upon every once in a while by the people (or animals) you love, well, that’s all part of life and relationships too. In these cases, it’s not so much about the messes (shit happens), as how we go about cleaning them up and taking steps to prevent future intrusions.
May we all take on the assholes in our lives with grace and Diva dignity.
Our long time friend Celeste has finally acquired her 15 minutes of fame. She was bitten by a sea lion in the San Francisco Bay! She is an active swimmer with the local Dolphin Club and Monday morning she was bitten 6 times!
Hi all…This is my very first blog as your Dining Diva and can you believe it’s not even about food?
We were just introduced to 
