The fountain head

Here's some trivia for your next dinner party: There are 35 kinds of trees at Stanford Shopping Center. These are the things you find when you go wandering around the Internet with your eyes half-closed. But the better tidbit on the center's website is that Stanford's planters of flowers are "located in four microclimates." I was not aware that malls had microclimates.

The flora are indeed gorgeous at Stanford. I think some of the fountains could be modernized, though. Let's call in some artists and let them have a field day. Or, we could just replicate this fabulous Austrian fountain I also found online:

This is in Wattens, Austria, at the Swarovski Crystal headquarters. Big green thanks to Michael Slonecker and Wikipedia for the pic.

'From chaos to art'

Unsurprisingly, my best writing advice came from a book. In "Bird by Bird,” Anne Lamott utters this wisdom: always give yourself the freedom to write a s---ty first draft.

Brilliance. How many times have you thrown a smash-up of words onto the page and stalked off…and then returned to find that, with a few cuts here, a hacksaw there, you’ve created something wonderful? Funny, that never happens when you tell yourself, “You are writing bilgewater,” and throw your draft into the fish tank.

Which is a roundabout way of saying that I sort of worship Leonard Cohen’s writing. Case in point: a line of poetry that perfectly sums up what we were just talking about: “I followed the course / from chaos to art…”

Cohen’s art keeps evolving. Not content to lie on the page, poems he’s written over the last 20 years are being woven into "Book of Longing," an evening-length work of music by Philip Glass. Oct. 9 is on my calendar; that’s when Glass brings the work to Stanford Lively Arts to open the '07-'08 season. An ensemble of musicians and singers are scheduled to be part of the concert, the work’s West Coast premiere.

This all came down from Lively Arts head Jenny Bilfield, who unveiled the new season yesterday. As usual, there’s a host of music, dance, theater and other arts folks on the line-up. My favorites include Lively Arts regulars Chanticleer and Rob Kapilow, but there are also many fresh faces and works. China’s Jin Xing Dance Theatre is on its debut American tour, and the Turtle Island Quartet is premiering a new work. You don’t exactly see filmmaker Spike Lee every day, either.

I always hear people complain that there aren't good venues for live music down here in the wasteland of the Peninsula. It does seem tough for newbie musicians, but there are at least plenty of names coming to Lively Arts, including: Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, jazz pianist/composer Uri Caine, country singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash, and the Juilliard String Quartet.

Plenty to look forward to; part of why I always say the hardest part of my job is fitting in all the arts events that go on in this area. See? I have an excuse for my writing to be chaotic.

Pictured: Top: Book cover from www.bookoflonging.com. Above: Uri Caine from www.uricaine.com.

Starry, starry night

Let's hope for clear skies on Saturday, April 21, when the Foothill College Observatory shows off its brand-new telescope. I love a good star party on a warm night -- so, while you're at it, hope for high-ish temps.

The harsh lights of suburbia aren't conducive to star-watching where I live, so quiet Los Altos Hills makes a nice change. I've had some great evenings at summer star parties at Hidden Villa: you can stretch out on blankets on the grass, buy granola bars, and share telescopes with your friendly fellow skywatchers.

At Foothill you'll also get to see the new 16-inch, computer-automated telescope that was recently donated to the observatory. And the Peninsula Astronomical Society will provide smaller telescopes, training them on Venus, Saturn and the mysterious deep sky. The rest of us who are less trained will happily point out passing airplanes.

The festivities go from 8 to 11 p.m. I'll bring the granola bars.

Photo courtesy of Scott Liddell at morgueFile.com. Yes, I am aware that this is the moon, not a star.

Foggy, foggy night

Did you stay inside on Saturday? Could the air have been any more foul?

Thanks to the scrap fire in Redwood City, there was a lovely burnt-rubber smell all throughout my rehearsal at the Lucie Stern center, where I'm doing "Jekyll & Hyde" with Palo Alto Players. During a break, some of the actors stepped outside, remarking, "My, it's foggy in London tonight."

On an unrelated note, the book topping the Kepler's bestseller list for hardcover fiction last week was "The Year of Fog" by Michelle Richmond.