. . . Big Island Design . . . . . .

Just after Christmas in 1979, I moved to Germany to work as a Systems Engineer for an American computer company, in their Frankfurt office. It was West Germany at that time, and border tensions were often palpable enough that I chose not to travel anywhere in Eastern Europe. I didn’t even visit Berlin, despite opportunities for business travel there. Tempered by information I was exposed to while providing software and technical support to US State Department, US Military bases, and NATO, I was aware of the possibility of war with the Soviet Union, and even felt slightly uncomfortable when driving into a well-marked “bezirk zone” (the area immediately surrounding the East-West border during the Cold War).  US Air Force jets often flew in formation over West German cities and countryside. US tanks traveled in long formations on the autobahns. After being in Germany for several weeks, I realized that we still actively occupied this country — more than 30 years after the end of World ...

Fire • Passion Candle from Feng Shui Elements Special objects -- purely artistic, simply functional, or with multiple attributes -- personalize any thoughtful living space. When each accessory reflects its owner's personality, the item provides pleasure and delight to its owner, and potentially sparks interest in visitors. As simple as a candle, as stunning as a gorgeous vase, these personal touches finish a home; they are the accoutrements of a room. Curvaceous vase made from ebony and mother of pearl, acquired in London Glazed and fired with passionate reds and gold metallics, this vase is a stunning and functional piece of art

The painter John Seery , a leading light in the 1970s art scene in New York and California, has been "rediscovered" in the past few years. An original member of that era's lyrical abstraction movement, Seery created works that are expressionistic, conceptual, vivid, and commanding. After achieving recognition for his painterly efforts, he spent the 1980s in academia. From 1990 until 2003, he lived and worked in Hawaii. Some of the many museums that count Seery's works in their collections are the Whitney, Guggenheim, Hirshhorn, National Gallery of Australia, Fogg Art Museum, Smithsonian, and Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. John Seery's recent (and fabulous) abstract paintings are offered by the Garboushian Gallery in Beverly Hills. I love these new works, especially Psyclone (2006) -- perhaps because 1) its year was a particularly challenging and interesting one for me; 2) its name is delightful and ironic; 3) I would enjoy looking at it every day. Fortunat...