Nicole caught a bit of this movie on one of the movie channels and was thoughtful enough to record it for me and I think it’s great.
Recently Read – Fugitive Days May 3, 2009
Fugitive Days by Bill Ayers
I saw the McCain ads during the campaign linking Obama to a domestic terrorist. I heard the name Bill Ayers but didn’t really know what to do with it. I accidentally heard half an interview with him and decided, only half-heartedly, to put his book on my ever growing list of should-but-probably-won’t-reads.
Some time later I was managing my Netflix queue when I stumbled upon the documentary The Weather Underground. I ran my navigating arrow across its title and up popped Ayers’ name. Serendipity I suppose.
However it finally happened, I moved Fugitive Days to the top of my list, which means I actually put a hold on it at the library, and weeks later it was here and I read it. Quickly. As fast and as often and as non-stop as I could.
It’s fantastic.
Well written, engrossing, brutal, inspiring, disheartening, enlightening. Read it. Please.
Poem of the Day – Ho Chi Minh May 2, 2009
Entitled: On Reading “Anthology of a Thousand Poets” as found in Prison Diary (1967)
The ancients used to like to sing about natural beauty:
Snow and flowers, moon and wind, mists, mountains, and rivers.
Today we should make poems including iron and steel,
And the poet also should know to lead an attack.
by Ho Chi Minh
Post-Visit Fallout . . . March 13, 2009
Today I’m sad. My people are going away, again, this time without me. I spent a year once learning that I have no control in this life beyond the obvious and seemingly trivial. Yet, here I sit. Unhappy with the out-of-my-control-ness of it all. The vanity of me, I suppose. Still, I have been so away from the war since ‘05. It so quickly became so far away. And I did nothing to keep in close. It’s coming close again. But out of sight. Just far enough away, say, for example, a four-day delay of information distance away. Close enough to feel it. Far enough away that it’s terrifying again. Nothing against my boys. I know them well and I know they can do anything. But on my insides I know that sometime, no matter what we know/do/train, that we are sometimes limited to the obvious and seemingly, frustratingly trivial. I love my boys. I wish them well and a speedy return. I’m sorry that I’m not going. There’s no conceivable way that I would ever go again. I’m sorry. And I’m sad.
Recently read books . . . both with shows. March 1, 2009
Two books that I just finished and very much enjoyed, both of which happen to have shows that go with:
Living Like Ed by Ed Begley Jr. is thirty years in the making, written by a fella who has worked independently towards a more sustainable way of life and this book is the distillation of that effort. Its suggestions for greener living are broken down by ease and cost, many of which I have already been able to put into practice. And lucky for me (and you) Ed has a show to boot, Living With Ed. It’s hilarious and I’ve been driving Nicole crazy with both.
And most recently I was loaned Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay by a fella from work. We had been talking about the show Dexter on Showtime, which I love, when he suggested this book, the basis for the show’s first season. Although different enough that they are both well worth enjoying, my favorite part of the show, Dexter’s creepy and profound inner monologues, make up the majority of the book and they are relentless and fantastic. I’m on to the next in the series.
Garage Project One – Laundry January 14, 2009
Before:
This is the area designated for the sorting, folding, and hanging our family laundry. The table blocks the back door. The hanging rack often skooches out and blocks the bedroom door. Clutter accumulates under both at an astounding rate. And the picture above depicts a good day in the garage (i.e. none of the remnants of my many partially completed projects can be seen from this angle).
Although we have many projects under development for the garage, this one was nice because we already had the hardware mounted in another part of the garage, going completely unused. In my military days I dedicated a half-wall to gear and in my overly motivated haste, bought a complete wall-mountable system. It has been a cobweb factory for the past five years so last night we made the change.
After:
Both doors are now accessible, nothing accumulates underneath except baskets for sorting, and this spring I intend to put my seed starts on the lower rack.
I know it’s not poetry, but it’s what is going on with us.
What I’ve been watching . . . December 18, 2008
I’ve been on a documentary kick, I suppose . . .
Directed by Chris Paine. I watched this some time ago, but it seems all the more relevant now that the US car manufacturers are trying to get some of that good bailout money. It’s not hydrogen, but it’ll do for now.
Directed by Morgan Spurlock. I loved Super Size Me and watch 30 Days regularly. So I knew I was going to see this, but was a little wary of what exactly this film would entail. But I saw it and really enjoyed it.
Directed by Michael Moore. Okay, so I get it. Michael Moore’s the devil, or a genius, or loved, or hated. Everything except anywhere in between. Except that he makes movies, and so I take him one movie at a time and judge each as such: a stand alone film. I thought Bowling for Columbine raised interesting questions and made some good points but lost itself in emotional arguments that were superfluous to the films point. I didn’t like Fahrenheit 9/11 at all. Probably shouldn’t have watched it while deployed to Baghdad, but since his production company mailed copies of it and his book to deployed troops, I thought, ‘what the hell,’ but regardless I didn’t like it. New movie, new consideration. I like Sicko, a lot. He asks interesting questions that are very timely given the platform that our president-elect ran and won on. Also, it’s hard to become a UK citizen, but I wouldn’t know that had I not tried to move there ten minutes after seeing this.
What I’ve been reading (or at least skimming) . . . December 18, 2008
I read (or skimmed) and enjoyed the following:
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. This book was recommended to me by my cousin, Mitchell. It was a very interesting read about nothing and everything at the same time. It’s less about economics than it is about how to apply its principles to, well, everything.
Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television by Jerry Mander. I have had for quite a while now a love/hate relationship with my TV. I likes me some movies and many, many shows. But I hate how much time I end up spending in front of it and I really hate commercials. I’m not getting rid of my television any time soon, I’m addicted and I know it, but I am trying to be more selective about what I watch and how much I watch. This book makes (or made, rather, it was published in the ’70s) case after case about the evils of TV, most of which I agree with, but most of which concern the advertising, both explicit via commercials, and implicit via clever/not-so-clever show writing/production. Needless to say I skimmed this book. I enjoyed what I did read, but aside from some statistics, wasn’t learning anything I didn’t already know.
Not quite a thousand words . . . December 2, 2008
I like this picture. A postcard came to my place of employment today, misdelivered, misaddressed, and mislaid. This picture on one side and a thank you note for a pleasant Thanksgiving visit on the other. And like all wrongfully delivered mail that passes through my office, I read it. I don’t open it; I check for forwarding information or a return address, something to aid me in finding it a home. And upon inspection I saw this picture and, like I said, I liked it. It was taken by a photographer named Harvey Finkle in Paris in 1987, which seems recent on the written (or typed) page but in real life was twenty-one years ago, which makes it old. I cut and pasted it from www.HarveyFinkle.com, which is full of pictures that seem to bear much more feeling and interest than this one, but none the less, here it is.
It makes me think of opportunities missed when we just forget to bother to look around, both literally and figuratively. There’s nothing here to give cause to believe that either person is unhappy, really. The gentleman is contented with his paper and round table, she with her thoughtful gaze and her square table. Neither has food nor dished before them, so any disquiet sensed is probably due to hunger and thirst. And yet they are ships in the night, predestined lovers never to be, oblivious to their closer than close soul-mate, blinded by their own thoughts. Paris. The most romantic city in the world. A street-side café. Topcoats. Black and white. Goddamn it that sounds like a recipe for love to me. The disappointment is mine that they sit, alone, together.
And so, what we see in pictures, these thousand words they evoke, seems to be more about the viewer than the photograph. I’m a romantic. I’m okay with that. And I like this picture, what I see and what I think of. It’s sad at first, then comfortable. It makes a nice postcard. Good for a thank you after a shared meal. I hope it finds its way.
Yarrrrrrrrgh . . . September 22, 2008
Thanks to the Juergs, our circle of friends have been talking about attending a pirate themed event for many months, all of us with varying degrees of enthusiasm. But Saturday marked the third annual Portland Pirate Festival and there were no more excuses; the Juergs, the Mrs., and I spent the evening under the St. John’s Bridge in very comfy pirate-esque attire, taking in the sights, sounds, and elephant ears.
This was my first ever themed event and I had a great time. There were two villages of shopping booths, a few ships (small though they were) shooting cannons, constant musical performances (did you know that amplified pirate music is very much like The Doors’ live stuff, it’s true!), and at the end of the night a fire show with dancers and jugglers. Friendly folks and busty women. Good times.
Our gals looked great with the billowy corsety goodness and any culture that endorses not shaving while wearing roomy pants gets my nod of approval.
Thanks to the Juergs for everything and you can probably expect more piratey posts in the future!
