Who Is That?

In recent months Woodham High's Class of 1980 has been reconnecting on Facebook. It's been a pretty strange experience for me. So far, I have no idea who most of the people who have joined the class page on FB are. I see a few familiar faces and a couple of people I was friendly with but, all in all, I don't recognize the majority of them. It makes me wonder if they really did graduate with me or if I've just lost my mind.
In truth, it's probably neither. I have always been one to have a small, close knit group of friends. It was that way in high school. To be honest, most of my friends in school were also friends from church. Only one of my closest friends has appeared on FB. Another close friend will never get on there. One of my closest friends from high school, Kevin, passed away a few years ago. I officiated at his funeral. I think this last fact is the reason for the biggest disconnect of all. Alot of my memories from high school tie in with him. We lived on the same street. We rode to school together, either on the bus or in his car. I don't have him around anymore to reminisce with. It's a huge void. I miss him.
I'm not sure whether I'll attend my 30th reunion or not. Probably not. There is another reunion next year of the drama team I was with at seminary that I hope to get to. I can't do them all especially since I'm way over here in Pacific NW. A month ago, some folks from Olive (the church I grew up at) got together for a little reunion. Seems like reunions are popping up all over the place. That's a sure sign that I'm getting old...that we're all getting old. I'm glad to be reconnecting even if it is just on FB. It's fun to see what everyone is up to.

Booklist

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
There's no need for a synopsis on this one. If you don't know the story from the book or movies by now, well...what are you waiting for? I re-read this in anticipation of the upcoming movie. It's too bad I'm not a night owl or I'd be tempted to see the movie at midnight tonight. As it is, I'm not sure when we'll be able to go. I'm ready to see it.
I've probably read this book 3 times now. It's not my favorite HP book (not sure which one is) but it's still a hugely enjoyable read. Funny though, after multiple readings I'm starting to pick up on flaws (at least to me) in the story and/or writing. After this reading I was puzzled by why all the characters decided to stand around and recount the events surrounding Dumbledore's murder by Snape (C'mon, if you didn't know by now...where have you been...the moon?) rather than be caught up in the vast grief of the event. Too much exposition, too little grieving. But, I nitpick. The Harry Potter books have been some of the most enjoyable reading I've done over the last few years. I'm sorry that it's over. I think I might move directly into Deathly Hallows since I've only read it once. And then, I'm sure I'll read it again before the movie(s).

Fireworks

Seattle is not a good place to view fireworks. There are just way too many people trying to cram themselves in a tiny space to watch them. This year it's worse because the fireworks on Eliot Bay are cancelled. (Thanks Ivars) That means twice as many people are not going to be trying to squeeze into Gasworks Park or surrounding areas to see the fireworks. And I haven't even mentioned that it doesn't get dark until 10 pm out here so they don't start until late. Needless to say, we don't go. Too many people, too much hassle. We're going to spend the 4th at a cookout with friends.
All this fireworks hoopla made me think about what's the best fireworks display I've ever seen. I can think of a couple.
- When I was with the Company (seminary drama team) we did a youth camp called Brookhaven just outside of Tyler, TX. One year, were there the week of the 4th and the camp staff put on a fireworks show for the campers. We all sat by the lake and watched. It wasn't professional pyrotechnics but it was very intimate.
- The fireworks on Pensacola Beach could be just as frustrating as Seattle's. Everyone trying to herd themselves out onto the beach and then back home after made for a traffic nightmare. I was stuck in traffic for over an hour one year trying to get home. But, one year, some friends of mine knew a secret place to watch from. I couldn't tell you where we were but we had to park in a neighborhood, cross train tracks and walk out onto a sandbar. We sat on the beach and the fireworks were directly overhead. It was wonderful.
- When Sarah and I lived in Asheville, we drove downtown to see the fireworks. We sat on an embankment and watched. It was special because it was with her.
- In SC a bunch of us drove out to my friend Todd's condo on Lake Murray and had a great view of the fireworks.
- I seem to recall the fireworks at EPCOT being pretty spectacular but I can't remember details.
Those are the ones that stand out. I'm sure there have been more but I can't remember. Happy 4th everybody! If you're in Seattle, watch the fireworks on TV. It's safer.

The Danger of Constant Doing

"Physical activity does dissolve (or cover up) anxiety, but one of the things I've come here to learn, or remember, is how to feel comfortable without losing myself in constant doing. Actually I believe our whole culture needs to consider this if we want to survive and enjoy living."
Robert Kull from Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes

Booklist

Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes by Robert Kull
Years after losing his lower right leg in a motorcycle crash, Robert Kull traveled to a remote island in Patagonia’s coastal wilderness with equipment and supplies to live alone for a year. He sought to explore the effects of deep solitude on the body and mind and to find the spiritual answers he’d been seeking all his life. With only a cat and his thoughts as companions, he wrestled with inner storms while the wild forces of nature raged around him. The physical challenges were immense, but the struggles of mind and spirit pushed him even further. Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes is the diary of Kull’s tumultuous year. Chronicling a life distilled to its essence, Solitude is also a philosophical meditation on the tensions between nature and technology, isolation and society. With humor and brutal honesty, Kull explores the pain and longing we typically avoid in our frantically busy lives as well as the peace and wonder that arise once we strip away our distractions. He describes the enormous Patagonia wilderness with poetic attention, transporting the reader directly into both his inner and outer experiences.
I don't know what it is in me that likes to read books like this. I guess there's some part of me that wishes I had it in me to chuck it all and hit the road, live in my jeep or just walk out into the wilderness and disappear. I wouldn't ever do that because I would survive about half a day. And yet something in me yearns for it. Perhaps it's the dormant hunter/gatherer instincts crying out for release from civilization. I just don't know.
I do know this...I have deep respect for folks who pull it off whether successfully or not. I absolutely love the story of Chris McCandless from Into the Wild. He didn't survive but I applaud his effort and his reason for doing it. Same goes for Kull who did survive. I hate admitting that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. His philosophizing got a bit tedious for me and I really didn't enjoy his admittances of abusing his cat companion. He could have glossed it all over though so I appreciate his honesty. Warts and all, this is his story and I'm glad to have read it.

First Thursday Art Walk

I spent the evening in Pioneer Square with Ernie and Marshall. We strolled, looking at art and people watching. It was fun. Here's a recap.
I hooked up with Ernie and we hit 619 Western, a building full of artists studios open for the art walk. We met Dave Bloomfield (starheadboy) whom I've admired for a while now. He was sharing a studio with Narboo, another artist I like alot. We looked at some other art and then left to hook up with Marshall. Ernie later remarked about the gallery where we saw all the "boob art." Funny.
We found Marshall, hit Occidental Park and a few galleries in the vicinity. I saw some t-shirts I like by Brendan Wenberg. I hope to hook up with him at the Fremont Market sometime to buy one. Ernie bought a woodblock print from a fellow in the park. After that we headed to the Toshiro-Kaplan building.
Wow. Right off the bat we saw some spectacular photos by Stephen Hillyard at Platform Gallery. Stunning stuff. Then we scooted next door to Garde-Rail and I was blown away by the paintings by Mr. Hooper. We entered the main building and stopped by Rock-Dement to see Stephen and Nichole. I love Stephen's new paintings. I also touched base with Nichole about the Corridor Gallery. She told me to duck in and talk to Lynn Shirmer so I did. She's great. It looks like I have a tentative show there for October. I always feel like a schmuck when I have to network. I feel all fake and schmoozy even though I know I'm probably not. It's just something that takes some effort. But Lynn had a great sense of humor (my favorite kind of people) so it was good. I didn't get to look at her work very closely (next time, I promise) but what I saw was amazing.
We were pretty much done after that so we grabbed a bite at The New Orleans Creole Restaurant. We had some pretty good gumbo/jambalaya and listened to very loud Dixieland provided by a live band. After dinner, we headed home.
I love art walks. I wish I could go to all of them. I always leave inspired.

Paintings in pic by Dave Bloomfield.

DC Trip (part three)

Man, I haven't been blogging very well lately. Don't know what's up. I do know that I just haven't felt like talking about anything. I think I've been avoiding dumping negative crap on here. I seem to do that alot and I don't like it. So, perhaps that's why I've been avoiding it. Well, anyway...here's what happened the rest of our trip. Better late than never...right?
On Sunday, we slept late...obviously since we'd been up until 2am. We spent a pretty lazy day as I recall. I'm not sure we actually went anywhere...just hung around the house I think.
On Monday, Butch and Cindy had to go back to work so Sarah and I headed into DC again. We saw the White House, a couple of museums and got pooped pretty quickly. We headed back fairly early and had dinner with Butch, Karen, Mark and Adam. We said our goodbyes to the Schebler's and headed to the house. We spent the last night just chilling with the Talley's.
The next morning we rose early and Butch took us to the airport. All flights were fine and we were home by mid afternoon. It was a great trip filled with much art and quality time with good friends. I felt rejuvenated. Now, here it is a few weeks later and I'm ready for another vacation. I hope that Sarah and I can finagle a few nights away in July...otherwise it will be September before we get more time off.

Booklist

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy - an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family. . . . Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.
I must admit that I haven't been a big fan of Gaiman's work. I read Neverwhere quite a few years ago and thought it was bizarre. I tried to pick up another Gaiman book (can't remember which) and couldn't get thru it. Many times I feel he's being weird just to be weird. This book was different in that I felt it had a story to tell albeit not a particularly original one. By the end I was enjoying the story but I felt it lagged in the middle. I also felt it was very, very dark and question how it won a Newberry award. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it for what it was but I didn't find it to be a brilliant piece of literature by any stretch.

Booklist

One Second After by William Forstchen
In a small North Carolina town, one man struggles to save his family after America loses a war that will send it back to the Dark Ages. Already cited on the floor of Congress and discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a book all Americans should read, One Second After is the story of a war scenario that could become all too terrifyingly real. Based upon a real weapon—the Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP)—which may already be in the hands of our enemies, it is a truly realistic look at the awesome power of a weapon that can destroy the entire United States, literally within one second.In the tradition of On the Beach, Fail Safe, and Testament, this book, set in a typical American town, is a dire warning of what might be our future and our end.
This is the scariest, most depressing, hopeless book I've ever read in my entire life. I know the author is trying to convey the realities of the possibility of an EMP but this book was tough. The major problem I had with it is it offers no hope. Basically it says if this scenario happens, we're all screwed. There doesn't seem to be much anyone can do about it. The community in the book (Black Mountain, NC...one of my favorite places in the world) is small and you think, "Hey, they can band together and survive," but Forstchen paints a bleak picture. I can honestly say I wish I had never read this book. The best I can do is try to forget about it and just live day to day. Worrying about this kind of stuff might kill me before an actual event like it would.

DC Trip: part two

Okay, so we left off having spent Thursday in downtown DC. On Friday, we slept in, had a leisurely breakfast and then headed out for a little adventure. We went to Mount Vernon so Sarah could check on "her house." It was definitely more her thing than mine but that's cool. It was interesting to see where George and Martha hung their hats.
After that, we headed to Alexandria. We grabbed a bite to eat on the river and then hit the Torpedo Factory which is an old torpedo factory turned into artist spaces. Needless to say I loved it. I felt right at home there. One artist I talked to told me, "You need to be here." I wish I was. It was very cool. Unlike the artist spaces and artwalks in Seattle, this one is open nearly every day.
After that we headed back to their house. After supper we dragged out the karaoke machine and the girls finally abandoned Butch and I to our "stroll down musical memory lane." We finally gave up as well and hung out in the basement watching "Oh Brother Where Art Thou." I drank a little too much Bailey's and remembered why I avoided drinking.
The next day was pretty lazy. We just hung around the house and got ready for the cookout that night. Butch, Sarah and I went to see my friend Karen's oldest son play soccer. He scored the only 2 goals in the game so it was a good game to see. Later we all convened at Butch and Cindy's for the cookout.
We had a great time hanging out, eating and telling stories. Some friends of B & C came over as well and they were very funny. After dinner we adjourned to the basement for some karaoke and looking thru Karen's old photos. We found some good ones. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time. It was great. We half-heartedly sang a few karaoke tunes and then decided to call it a night since it was 2am.
Stay tuned for part three.

Booklist

Castle Waiting by Linda Medley
This award-winning graphic novel tells the story of an isolated, abandoned castle and the eccentric inhabitants who bring it back to life. A fable for modern times, "Castle Waiting" is a fairy tale that's not about rescuing the princess, saving the kingdom, or fighting the ultimate war between Good and Evil, but about being a hero in one's own home.
I picked this up on a whim at the library and I'm glad I did. I enjoyed it. The art is very good and the story is fun. Granted, I enjoyed the story more towards the end of the book but, all in all, it was a fun, fairy tale read.

To Your Scattered Bodies Go: Riverworld Book 1 by Philip Jose Farmer
All those who ever lived on Earth have found themselves resurrected--healthy, young, and naked as newborns--on the grassy banks of a mighty river, in a world unknown. Miraculously provided with food, but with no clues to the meaning of their strange new afterlife, billions of people from every period of Earth's history--and prehistory--must start again. Sir Francis Bacon would be the first to glimpse the incredible way-station, a link between worlds. This forbidden sight would spur the renowned 19th-century explorer to uncover the truth. Along with a remarkable group of compatriots, including Alice Liddell Hargreaves (the Victorian girl who was the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland), an English-speaking Neanderthal, a WWII Holocaust survivor, and a wise extraterrestrial, Burton sets sail on the magnificent river. His mission: to confront humankind's mysterious benefactors, and learn the true purpose--innocent or evil--of the Riverworld.
If you are like me, this description is intriguing. It sucked me in and made me want to read the book. That and I heard that they are making this into a tv series. I decided I would try it. It started great but by the end I was confused and disinterested. Many interesting characters disappeared and the lead character died and came back so many times I couldn't keep up. I felt like this would be a fun series to get into but that just wasn't the case.

Serenity: Those Left Behind & Serenity: Better Days
These graphic novels continue the stories started on the tv series Firefly and the movie Serenity. I thought it might be a good way to get a fix of more Firefly but I didn't enjoy these all that much. Those Left Behind is the better of the two since it bridges the series and the movie but I had hoped for more answers to the question of what happened to River when she was being experimented on. No more answers to be found here. SIGH.

DC Pics

DC Trip: part one

I can't believe it's taken me this long to find time to report on our trip to DC. It's been a busy week and Sarah's friend Susan is here visiting with us. It's been a bit crazy around here. Well, enough gabbing...on to the trip.
We flew out on May 26th at the butt-crack of dawn. The shuttle picked us up at 4:30 am. The first leg of the flight was to Atlanta. Thank goodness for travel Scrabble. That first leg seemed to go on forever. The second leg to DC was short but delayed about an hour. Butch picked us up and we headed to the house. After Cindy and Sarah were introduced we settled in for dinner and an evening of conversation. We all headed to bed somewhat early.
The next day, my life-long friend Karen and her youngest son Adam picked us up and we went to lunch. After that we just chilled out at their house chatting. Later, we met Butch and Cindy for dinner at Sweetwater Tavern.
On Thursday, Cindy dropped us off at the Metro train so we could ride into DC for some sightseeing. We walked around a bit seeing the Washington Monument, WWII and Lincoln Memorials before heading to the Museum of American History. There were a ton of schoolkids on field trips that day so it was a bit loony to say the least. We got hungry so we decided to try the cafeteria in the National Gallery of Art. (recommended to us by a nice man on the train) It was spendy (expected) but good. We had a nice chicken/pesto sandwich and cannoli for dessert.
After lunch, we tackled the National Gallery of Art. I never expected them to have such a good collection of modern and contemporary art. One room was full of nothing but Giacometti's and Dubuffet's works...two of my faves. It was the first time I had seen any of Dubuffet's paintings in person. I enjoyed that.
After the modern stuff, we hit the sculpture and classic paintings. The collection is impressive but the galleries are labyrinthine and confusing. We got turned around a few times. We saw some great art but after a while I think both of us were going loopy from seeing so much art. We decided to call it quits and come back another day for more. We walked by the Capital and then headed back to the train. Butch picked us up and we headed home for the evening.
Stay tuned for part two.

We're Back!

Arrived home from vacation a few hours ago. We are very, very tired (been up since 4am EST) but we had a wonderful time in DC with friends. It might take me a few days to cull thru photos and make sense of what we did each day but I'll blog about it very soon.

Vacation!

On Tuesday morning (very, very early) we will be flying to DC to spend time with some very old, very dear friends of mine. I have known Butch and Karen since we were kids. Back in the day, I talked Butch into going out with his wife Cindy. Karen left Pcola to become a flight attendant. Somewhere along the way she married Dan who is in the Navy. Butch is the only one who was able to come to our wedding so Sarah will be meeting the rest of them for the first time. It's funny. Since we went to Pcola last April, Sarah has met every other person from Butch's family...even Cindy's mom and dad. Cindy will be the last of the Talley's to meet Sarah.
We're excited. It'll be great to see old friends. It'll be great to be on vacation and get away from the norm for a bit. I'm looking forward to a good week. I'm not sure what kind of internet access we'll have while we're away so you may not hear from us for a while. Hang in there and I'll be sure to update you when we get back.