"Float" is the short film in the collection "Not | Gay" from the Bahamas. It's a tale of two worlds. One white. One black. One decidedly gay. One at war with itself over the issue.
It's a beautifully shot film, but with the backdrop of the Bahamas as your setting...beauty just seems to be everywhere.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
What I'm Watching #145
Is a short film from Brazil (avec France's Canal + financing) called "Cowboy Forever". It's part of a collection of films called "Not | Gay".
It's told in a documentary style. We meet the young gay gaucho, Govinda...though he knows he is different from his companions, he's never acted out on his feelings. Enter the new guy into the crew, Jones, who takes a shine to Govinda; and then takes him to the city to meet his gay and utterly inclusive circle of friends--even though Jones is decidedly straight.
It is the awakening Govinda has been waiting for, and Jones is the friend whose love and understanding brings him there.
It's a beautiful short film. Neatly conceived. Beautifully filmed.
An excellent 27 minutes of cinematography.
It's told in a documentary style. We meet the young gay gaucho, Govinda...though he knows he is different from his companions, he's never acted out on his feelings. Enter the new guy into the crew, Jones, who takes a shine to Govinda; and then takes him to the city to meet his gay and utterly inclusive circle of friends--even though Jones is decidedly straight.
It is the awakening Govinda has been waiting for, and Jones is the friend whose love and understanding brings him there.
It's a beautiful short film. Neatly conceived. Beautifully filmed.
An excellent 27 minutes of cinematography.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Olly Olly Ox In Free! -- Gay Is Just Another Stripe On The Rainbow Of Celebrity Status
It's a milennial-thang! Back at the end of the second milennium; gay remained by-and-large the kiss of celebrity death. It wasn't that celebrities weren't gay: There were gay actors (Rock Hudson, Errol Flynn, Marlena Deitrich, Barbara Stanwick), gay musicians (Leiberaci, Billy Stayhorn), gay writers (James Baldwin, Langston Hughes). But they lived in closets, because that was the only way they could practice their art viably.
And here we are in the third millennium, and how times have changed! Here are 30 successful totally out GLBT Celebrities. How many names do you recognize?
CHAD ALLEN, actor
LANCE BASS, singer
ROBERT BLY, poet
DAN BUTLER, actor
RICHARD CHAMBERLAND, actor
ALLEN CUMMING, actor
ELLEN DeGENERES, actor, comedian
MELISSA ETHERIDGE, singer
RUPURT EVERET, actor
HARVEY FIERSTEIN, playwrite, actor, producer
PATRICK HARRIS, actor
Sir ELTON JOHN, singer, composer
CHERRY JONES, actor
LESLIE JORDAN, actor
T. R. KNIGHT, actor
NATHAN LANE, actor, voice artists
K. D. LANGE, singer, actor
GREG LOUGANIS, athlete
IAN McKELLEN, actor
GEORGE MICHAEL, singer
CYNTHIA NIXON, actor
ROSIE O'DONNELL, comedian, actor
MARY OLIVER, poet
RuPAUL, drag queen, actor, comedian, singer
DAVID HYDE PIERCE, actor
ANTHONY RAPP, actor
MICHAEL SYPES, singer, composer
GEORGE TAKEI, actor
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, singer
B. D. WONG, actor
And where are the others?
Come out, come out, where ever you are! Come out Richard. Come out Ann. Come out Tom. Come out Sean. Olly-olly-ox-in-free.....
And here we are in the third millennium, and how times have changed! Here are 30 successful totally out GLBT Celebrities. How many names do you recognize?
CHAD ALLEN, actor
LANCE BASS, singer
ROBERT BLY, poet
DAN BUTLER, actor
RICHARD CHAMBERLAND, actor
ALLEN CUMMING, actor
ELLEN DeGENERES, actor, comedian
MELISSA ETHERIDGE, singer
RUPURT EVERET, actor
HARVEY FIERSTEIN, playwrite, actor, producer
PATRICK HARRIS, actor
Sir ELTON JOHN, singer, composer
CHERRY JONES, actor
LESLIE JORDAN, actor
T. R. KNIGHT, actor
NATHAN LANE, actor, voice artists
K. D. LANGE, singer, actor
GREG LOUGANIS, athlete
IAN McKELLEN, actor
GEORGE MICHAEL, singer
CYNTHIA NIXON, actor
ROSIE O'DONNELL, comedian, actor
MARY OLIVER, poet
RuPAUL, drag queen, actor, comedian, singer
DAVID HYDE PIERCE, actor
ANTHONY RAPP, actor
MICHAEL SYPES, singer, composer
GEORGE TAKEI, actor
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, singer
B. D. WONG, actor
And where are the others?
Come out, come out, where ever you are! Come out Richard. Come out Ann. Come out Tom. Come out Sean. Olly-olly-ox-in-free.....
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Original "Post-a-Notes"
Before the Internet and even television--Back when the radio was the new kid on the block--Information was conveyed by the word. Newspapers reign supreme and when things got really bad, or ideas demanded repeated attention there were POSTERS.
This one comes from the "WPA Art Project of Chicago" back in the early 1930's. It was sent to me by a dear friend on the cusp of my recent (now annual) STD blood work-up--All the negatives and positives where correctly arrayed.
And as a Gay Man who is "not dead yet", this ritual is for me an important part of being responsible. It's honestly nothing that I ever imagined I would have to do, but what can I say? Life isn't ours to script nearly as much as it demands of us constant improvisation.
This one comes from the "WPA Art Project of Chicago" back in the early 1930's. It was sent to me by a dear friend on the cusp of my recent (now annual) STD blood work-up--All the negatives and positives where correctly arrayed.
And as a Gay Man who is "not dead yet", this ritual is for me an important part of being responsible. It's honestly nothing that I ever imagined I would have to do, but what can I say? Life isn't ours to script nearly as much as it demands of us constant improvisation.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
What I'm Watching #144
Is a quirky Sino-Anglo Homo comedy called "Cut Sleeve Boys" The film's title is a slang expression used to identify gay men in China. The film is set in London.
It's a poignant/comedic tale of three friends (all Chinese) which begins in their post graduate school years upon the sudden and tragic death of one of them. The remaining two are forced to examine their lives as they pursue happiness and two often find in their pursuits the very thing that the other one most desires. The process introduces us to an array of friends and acquaintances. In the end, some win, some don't, no one looses, most are left still waiting for an answer.
It's also another excellent example of hyper-independent film making along the lines of "Slutty Summer" and "Regarding Billy".
It's a poignant/comedic tale of three friends (all Chinese) which begins in their post graduate school years upon the sudden and tragic death of one of them. The remaining two are forced to examine their lives as they pursue happiness and two often find in their pursuits the very thing that the other one most desires. The process introduces us to an array of friends and acquaintances. In the end, some win, some don't, no one looses, most are left still waiting for an answer.
It's also another excellent example of hyper-independent film making along the lines of "Slutty Summer" and "Regarding Billy".
Late May Gardens #1
I've really enjoyed working in my yard this year. The cool and record-setting wet month of May has really helped to create flourishing gardens.
When I bought this house in 1994 the deck in the backyard had 6 flower boxes attached to its railings. After 14 years, two remain and they are dressed out this year with a generous blue flower (who's name I do not remember) a begonia with blazing red flute shaped blossoms and a varigated lemon thyme.
And they look amazing.
When I bought this house in 1994 the deck in the backyard had 6 flower boxes attached to its railings. After 14 years, two remain and they are dressed out this year with a generous blue flower (who's name I do not remember) a begonia with blazing red flute shaped blossoms and a varigated lemon thyme.
And they look amazing.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
What I'm Watching #143
"Fat Girls" is the creative child of it's lead actor (writer and director) Ash Christian. It plays out a little like My So Called Life set in Buttf&*#, Texas. It follows the life of Rodney Miller and his band of outcaste friends from his asking out to the prom of another boy through the actually prom night. In between he goes to his first gay bay, experiences the death of his father, and becomes a Christian...all set to a comedic tone.
Is this a great movie? No. It is sweet movie. And with the right group of friends, perhaps a bottle of Rosé, potentially even a very funny movie, too.
Is this a great movie? No. It is sweet movie. And with the right group of friends, perhaps a bottle of Rosé, potentially even a very funny movie, too.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Our Latest American Hero #118
Army Sgt. John K. Daggett, 21, of Phoenix; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; died May 15 in Halifax, Canada, of wounds sustained May 1 in Baghdad when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle.
“Phoenix Soldier Dead After Grenade Attack In Iraq”
An Army soldier from Phoenix has died of wounds he suffered in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Baghdad earlier this month, the Department of Defense announced Friday.
Sgt. John K. Daggett died in Halifax, Canada, on Thursday. While en route from Iraq to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on May 1st, four days after he was wounded, the plane had to land in Halifax in order to tend to his injuries.
Daggett, known as Kyle, attended Pinnacle High School in Phoenix where he played football for four years.
“He worked hard to put himself in the position of starter and a linebacker on our defense,” said his former coach, Dana Zupke. “Every day, he came to practice with a positive attitude and can-do attitude ... he was just that kind of kid.”
He also cared about academics as much as sports.
“You get that sometimes with athletes — they have an incredible work ethic on the field but don’t apply that in the classroom,” Zupke said. “Kyle definitely was not in that category. He was on top of his grades all the time. Beyond decent grades, I think he genuinely enjoyed learning and being in high school and being involved in different classes.”
Daggett was assigned to a Stryker combat team in the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He was a fire team leader.
Daggett joined the Army in June 2005. He was serving his first tour in Iraq.
Zupke said Daggett often talked about the Army and the strong sense of duty he felt.
“He came to see me and said he planned to enlist in the Army Rangers,” Zupke said. “I believe he referenced Pat Tillman at one point.”
“Phoenix Soldier Dead After Grenade Attack In Iraq”
An Army soldier from Phoenix has died of wounds he suffered in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Baghdad earlier this month, the Department of Defense announced Friday.
Sgt. John K. Daggett died in Halifax, Canada, on Thursday. While en route from Iraq to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on May 1st, four days after he was wounded, the plane had to land in Halifax in order to tend to his injuries.
Daggett, known as Kyle, attended Pinnacle High School in Phoenix where he played football for four years.
“He worked hard to put himself in the position of starter and a linebacker on our defense,” said his former coach, Dana Zupke. “Every day, he came to practice with a positive attitude and can-do attitude ... he was just that kind of kid.”
He also cared about academics as much as sports.
“You get that sometimes with athletes — they have an incredible work ethic on the field but don’t apply that in the classroom,” Zupke said. “Kyle definitely was not in that category. He was on top of his grades all the time. Beyond decent grades, I think he genuinely enjoyed learning and being in high school and being involved in different classes.”
Daggett was assigned to a Stryker combat team in the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He was a fire team leader.
Daggett joined the Army in June 2005. He was serving his first tour in Iraq.
Zupke said Daggett often talked about the Army and the strong sense of duty he felt.
“He came to see me and said he planned to enlist in the Army Rangers,” Zupke said. “I believe he referenced Pat Tillman at one point.”
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Difference....The Slim Difference
With an ability to communicate across cities, nations, continents in seconds via cell phone, TV, radio, computer screens -- we live in a time when information challenges our capacity to comprehend the world around us. Ideas, experiences, events enter our minds and we scarcely have time to integrate them before the next onslaught of data.
So how do we make sense of life in 2008. What matters? What do we care about?
More than ever we must seek and trust in an anchor in truth. In all directions we see truth maligned and co-opted to mean a blind following of lies. We see this in Politics. We see this in Religion.
Truth is used as an excuse to foment evils like death, torture, hatred. None of which is truth. Truth is the purest form of self-actualization. Truth unleashed allows each of us to live life in the open with honesty and integrity. Truth (like LOVE) defeats fear and all it's minions, while those who twist truth into doctrinal imperatives designed to control others with fear neither understand truth or love.
No where is this paradigm more evident than in the story of Mehdi Kazemi.
From a recent article posted on the BBC:
"Iranian Refugee Is Granted Asylum"
Mehdi Kazemi is granted asylum in the UK. Mehdi, now 20, was studying in the UK when Parham (his boyfriend) was arrested for the crime of homosexuality by the Iranian government. Mehdi was named by his boyfriend and warned he was liable to arrest on his planned return. The UK Home Office denied him asylum [despite a thoughtful campaign by human rights campaigners] - because it was said he had overstayed his student visa and was therefore not seen as genuinely seeking asylum. So he escaped to the Netherlands. That's where it gets complicated.
Under EU asylum rules, generally someone seeking asylum is required to apply in the member state first entered. That meant, Dutch judges ruled, that he had to return to the UK - and the risk of being deported to the place where he was at risk of losing his life. Mehdi's case has attracted international attention.
Mehdi was informed that Parham, his boyfriend, was executed in Iran in 2006.
[I can only hope that somehow and in some way, Parham's martyrdom is memorialized as a testamony to TRUTH......]
So how do we make sense of life in 2008. What matters? What do we care about?
More than ever we must seek and trust in an anchor in truth. In all directions we see truth maligned and co-opted to mean a blind following of lies. We see this in Politics. We see this in Religion.
Truth is used as an excuse to foment evils like death, torture, hatred. None of which is truth. Truth is the purest form of self-actualization. Truth unleashed allows each of us to live life in the open with honesty and integrity. Truth (like LOVE) defeats fear and all it's minions, while those who twist truth into doctrinal imperatives designed to control others with fear neither understand truth or love.
No where is this paradigm more evident than in the story of Mehdi Kazemi.
From a recent article posted on the BBC:
"Iranian Refugee Is Granted Asylum"
Mehdi Kazemi is granted asylum in the UK. Mehdi, now 20, was studying in the UK when Parham (his boyfriend) was arrested for the crime of homosexuality by the Iranian government. Mehdi was named by his boyfriend and warned he was liable to arrest on his planned return. The UK Home Office denied him asylum [despite a thoughtful campaign by human rights campaigners] - because it was said he had overstayed his student visa and was therefore not seen as genuinely seeking asylum. So he escaped to the Netherlands. That's where it gets complicated.
Under EU asylum rules, generally someone seeking asylum is required to apply in the member state first entered. That meant, Dutch judges ruled, that he had to return to the UK - and the risk of being deported to the place where he was at risk of losing his life. Mehdi's case has attracted international attention.
Mehdi was informed that Parham, his boyfriend, was executed in Iran in 2006.
[I can only hope that somehow and in some way, Parham's martyrdom is memorialized as a testamony to TRUTH......]
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The End Of The Democratic Primary Is Finally In Sight
A rally for Barack Obama in Portland Oregon blew Obama off his optimistic ass! 75,000 Americans showed up to rally him on to victory. His previous crowd record was back in Pennsylvania with 35,000 in Philadelphia. And he's never had a problem drawing crowds at rallies.
America is ready to move into the future. And Obama can lead us there like no one else.
America is ready to move into the future. And Obama can lead us there like no one else.
What I'm Watching #142
"Eleven Men Out" is my first Icelandic film. And as such, I may not be very fair in my review, as I have nothing else Icelandic to compare it to. When compared to the bulk of the other films I've seen, it is wanting.
The box blurb reads [my sidebar comments in the brackets]:
"When the team's most popular and sexiest [Björn Hlynur Haraldsson is a fine piece of eye candy--the films most redeaming aspect] soccer star admits he is gay, the sports world is turned upside down [I saw no evidence of this in the film. The one dimensional team owner was nasty about it, the homophobic general manager was blunt about it, and the coach who was also the man's father, behaved like a snivelling, lying, neanderthal about it--remember this is a comedy.....but no one in the greater sports world seemed to give a rat's ass about it]. Immediately suspended by the team, he forms a gang of other players who have come out, [This is a bold-faced LIE! His friend from childhood invites him to play on his ultra-minor league team. He accepts and his presence on the team starts rumors and eventually the straight players quit one by one, they are replaced by gay men who stumble onto the team for various reason, not one of which is because our former star, Ottir, invites them. Makes me wonder if the guy who wrote this even saw the film.] and what happens next is a hilarious comedy [Okay, that seals it, he clearly didn't see this film] as eleven men out win game after game on their way to the championship. [They "win" a grand total of one game, because all of the other games are forfeited by opponents too homophobic to play them, even in the play-off rounds.]" End of blurb.
Other hilarious characters include a mysogynistic, filthy mouthed older brother, Orri, (played by Jón Atli Jónasson) who runs a video store where he spends most of the time in the back room chocking his chicken to porn or forcing his hapless self-hating girlfriend to give him blow-jobs; Ottir's ex-wife, Gugga, (played by Lilja Nótt Pórärinsdóttir) who plods through most of the film so flat out drunk all she can do is screech at him and stumble around with a bottle of some alcohol in one hand and a cigarette in the other; and a son, Maggi, (played by Arnmundur Ernst) who is so filled with adolescent angst--and given his parents, who can blame him?--that he barely speaks, and even when he bothers to, says nothing worth listening to.
I did learn somethings about Iceland. 1) Apparently, it's not nearly as progressive a society as I had always thought, 2) It RAINS every fucking day there, and the locals carry on their lives without umbrellas as if it were a pleasant sunny day, and 3) the Icelandic sense of humor is very close to what we in the state's would call ennui, and so I shudder to imagine what a depressed Icelander would be like!
The box blurb reads [my sidebar comments in the brackets]:
"When the team's most popular and sexiest [Björn Hlynur Haraldsson is a fine piece of eye candy--the films most redeaming aspect] soccer star admits he is gay, the sports world is turned upside down [I saw no evidence of this in the film. The one dimensional team owner was nasty about it, the homophobic general manager was blunt about it, and the coach who was also the man's father, behaved like a snivelling, lying, neanderthal about it--remember this is a comedy.....but no one in the greater sports world seemed to give a rat's ass about it]. Immediately suspended by the team, he forms a gang of other players who have come out, [This is a bold-faced LIE! His friend from childhood invites him to play on his ultra-minor league team. He accepts and his presence on the team starts rumors and eventually the straight players quit one by one, they are replaced by gay men who stumble onto the team for various reason, not one of which is because our former star, Ottir, invites them. Makes me wonder if the guy who wrote this even saw the film.] and what happens next is a hilarious comedy [Okay, that seals it, he clearly didn't see this film] as eleven men out win game after game on their way to the championship. [They "win" a grand total of one game, because all of the other games are forfeited by opponents too homophobic to play them, even in the play-off rounds.]" End of blurb.
Other hilarious characters include a mysogynistic, filthy mouthed older brother, Orri, (played by Jón Atli Jónasson) who runs a video store where he spends most of the time in the back room chocking his chicken to porn or forcing his hapless self-hating girlfriend to give him blow-jobs; Ottir's ex-wife, Gugga, (played by Lilja Nótt Pórärinsdóttir) who plods through most of the film so flat out drunk all she can do is screech at him and stumble around with a bottle of some alcohol in one hand and a cigarette in the other; and a son, Maggi, (played by Arnmundur Ernst) who is so filled with adolescent angst--and given his parents, who can blame him?--that he barely speaks, and even when he bothers to, says nothing worth listening to.
I did learn somethings about Iceland. 1) Apparently, it's not nearly as progressive a society as I had always thought, 2) It RAINS every fucking day there, and the locals carry on their lives without umbrellas as if it were a pleasant sunny day, and 3) the Icelandic sense of humor is very close to what we in the state's would call ennui, and so I shudder to imagine what a depressed Icelander would be like!
My Quilting Ways #05
This is a quilt that I designed and made for my dear friend, J., the Librarian who lives in southern Maryland. It's based on a geometric pattern of diamonds called "Broken Star". And so I called this one, "J---'s Stained-Glass Broken-Star" and it was one of my more prolific creations with a start date of August 1998 and a completion of January 1999. Machine pieced, it was hand-quilted.
Sunday Funnies #20
Ten Questions Linguists and Logicians Like to Ponder:
1) Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
2) Why is it called "tourist season" if we can't shoot at them?
3) If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown, too?
4) If you ate both pasta AND antipasto, would you still be hungry?
5) When the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to talk?
6) Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone might attempt to clean them?
7) If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?
8) If humans evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?
9) When a deaf child swears, does his or her mother wash his or her hands with soap?
10) When someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill him- or herself, is it considered a hostage situation?
1) Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
2) Why is it called "tourist season" if we can't shoot at them?
3) If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown, too?
4) If you ate both pasta AND antipasto, would you still be hungry?
5) When the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to talk?
6) Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone might attempt to clean them?
7) If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?
8) If humans evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?
9) When a deaf child swears, does his or her mother wash his or her hands with soap?
10) When someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill him- or herself, is it considered a hostage situation?
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Breeding and Dying in the United States
The NYTimes has an interresting article on the relative relationship between death rates and birth rates in urban areas. The focus is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where one marker of the ascendency of dying over birthing is a dramatic drop in school children--in the past 20 years the number of children being served by the public schools has gone from 70,000 to 30,000!
Other loosers include Buffalo, and Utica, New York; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Duluth, Minnesota; and St. Petersburg, Florida.
But all is not lost. Municipalities where birth rates continue in the positive range of 2 to 3 births per 1 death include; Metro Washington D. C.; Columbus, Ohio; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; San José, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; and the Texas towns of Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, El Paso, and Brownsville.
Not factored into the shifts are the influx of immigrants....
Other loosers include Buffalo, and Utica, New York; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Duluth, Minnesota; and St. Petersburg, Florida.
But all is not lost. Municipalities where birth rates continue in the positive range of 2 to 3 births per 1 death include; Metro Washington D. C.; Columbus, Ohio; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; San José, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; and the Texas towns of Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, El Paso, and Brownsville.
Not factored into the shifts are the influx of immigrants....
Mid-May Gardens #4
It was a great day to spend weeding and planting and enjoying my yards and gardens.
When working in the front, I was blessed by the azaleas and Korean dogwood, both glowing in the light of the mid-afternoon sun.
When working in the front, I was blessed by the azaleas and Korean dogwood, both glowing in the light of the mid-afternoon sun.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Mid-Week Poetry Break
WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN’D ASTRONOMER
When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in
columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to
add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he
lectured with much applause in the lecture-
room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by
myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to
time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
~ Walt Whitman
1819 - 1892
When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in
columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to
add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he
lectured with much applause in the lecture-
room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by
myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to
time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
~ Walt Whitman
1819 - 1892
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
What I'm Reading, Periodically Speaking #2
The May-June issue of Harvard's "Gay & Lesbian Review" has a wonderful article by Richard Canning on the legacy of ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Based both on Mr. Canning's opinions and a host of recent post-mortem biographies of the Russian Dancer, Canning posits that chief among Nureyev's accomplishments was the return of the male ballet dancer to a status at least as important as the female prima dona's of the art.
The article plays around and speculates about the particulars of Nureyev's homosexual preferences without offering any absolutes. Yet included is the dancer's famous comment: "I know what it is to make love as a man and a woman."
And then the article explores in greater depth the conflict between Rudolf's felt-self and his own idealized persona: the slightly club-footed Tartar peasant versus the most iconoclastic male physique since Michelangelo's David; the adored bitchy diva versus the illiterate nymphomaniac with a penchant for anonymous, denegrating, "rough trade" encounters.
It's a very thought-provoking read.
The article plays around and speculates about the particulars of Nureyev's homosexual preferences without offering any absolutes. Yet included is the dancer's famous comment: "I know what it is to make love as a man and a woman."
And then the article explores in greater depth the conflict between Rudolf's felt-self and his own idealized persona: the slightly club-footed Tartar peasant versus the most iconoclastic male physique since Michelangelo's David; the adored bitchy diva versus the illiterate nymphomaniac with a penchant for anonymous, denegrating, "rough trade" encounters.
It's a very thought-provoking read.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Early-May Gardens #4 with Random Quote #89
This was a near perfect day for spring in Washington, D. C. I worked in the yard through the heart of it. transferring plants, planting others recently purchased, watering new beds before they become dry, and chatting with my neighbor, J.
Here, St. Francis stands on the edge of a sea of a purple leafed perennials who's name escapes me. Flanking him is the ornate foliage of several celandine poppies; while dancing in the breeze are the yellow blossoms of the ubiquitous European variagated Hawkweed--A plant that both blesses and curses: it's graceful flowers fill my gardens with flecks of yellow joy, even as, its seeds spread it's prolific progeny to the utmost edges of my yard and beyond....
And to think that only 6 weeks ago Francis stared down upon a barren landscape of dirt and stones....
So, says he:
"While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. "
~ St. Francis of Assisi, 1182 - 1226
Here, St. Francis stands on the edge of a sea of a purple leafed perennials who's name escapes me. Flanking him is the ornate foliage of several celandine poppies; while dancing in the breeze are the yellow blossoms of the ubiquitous European variagated Hawkweed--A plant that both blesses and curses: it's graceful flowers fill my gardens with flecks of yellow joy, even as, its seeds spread it's prolific progeny to the utmost edges of my yard and beyond....
And to think that only 6 weeks ago Francis stared down upon a barren landscape of dirt and stones....
So, says he:
"While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. "
~ St. Francis of Assisi, 1182 - 1226
Le Cafe
I don't think you need to speak French to get the message of this video. Oldelaf & Monsieur D have once and for all helped us to see coffee for what it really is: "the Devil's brew!" Merci, Oldelaf & Monsieur D.
J'espère que vous appréciez ceci, aussi.
J'espère que vous appréciez ceci, aussi.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Memories
Okay, I love it when two things I love come together. It's like chocolate and peanut butter, Simon and Garfunkel, Oprah and Stedwick.... and this time its "This American Life" and The New Yorker! Talk about your video magic!?
Early-May Gardens #3
I never realized until today just how much like butter covered exploded kernels of popcorn yellow irises are. Which is a completely fitting metaphor for these plants.
They were given to me by my dear friend J. who lives in southern Maryland. Each year, their "popping" reminds me of how much I love J. And J. loves popcorn!
Plants are gifts.
They were given to me by my dear friend J. who lives in southern Maryland. Each year, their "popping" reminds me of how much I love J. And J. loves popcorn!
Plants are gifts.
Early-May Gardens #2
The abstract expressionist quality of looking up through the waning blossoms of my red dogwood. Plants are art.
Early-May Gardens #1
In my front gardens, within and without the circle pathway that surrounds the fountain, ferns play a significant role. I have no less that 6 different varieties, and none are more magnificent than this duo. They could no doubt hold their own among the plethora of Pteridophyta lavishly covering the planet in the mid-Devonian era -- they have that "Walking With Dinosaurs" air about them.
And today I couldn't help but notice this pair of almost flower-like stalks shooting straight up from within their midst. Upon closer inspection they appear to be the latest two fronds laden with spores that will eventually fall into place on each of the leaf's undersides as they open and expand. Plants are fascinating
And today I couldn't help but notice this pair of almost flower-like stalks shooting straight up from within their midst. Upon closer inspection they appear to be the latest two fronds laden with spores that will eventually fall into place on each of the leaf's undersides as they open and expand. Plants are fascinating
Friday, May 02, 2008
A Beautiful Day
I love this video. It was sent to me by a parent at my school.
It speaks to us who ARE power (YES, that's you and I, that every American who owns a home and has a job, like it or not) with truth. We are not in control of this world or even our own destiny. And as long as we continue to choose leaders who are as pathetic as those we have before us now, where is our hope?
Bush is an imbecile, Cheney pure evil, McCain dances with senility (watch him read a speech that one of his handlers has written). Hilary isn't stupid, but blinded by ego, and Obama... His polite idealism represents our only hope.... a mon avis. But when was the last time polite idealism triumphed in the arena of politics?
It speaks to us who ARE power (YES, that's you and I, that every American who owns a home and has a job, like it or not) with truth. We are not in control of this world or even our own destiny. And as long as we continue to choose leaders who are as pathetic as those we have before us now, where is our hope?
Bush is an imbecile, Cheney pure evil, McCain dances with senility (watch him read a speech that one of his handlers has written). Hilary isn't stupid, but blinded by ego, and Obama... His polite idealism represents our only hope.... a mon avis. But when was the last time polite idealism triumphed in the arena of politics?
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Our Latest American Hero #117
I post this memorial in light of the fact that April was the deadliest month for our brave soldiers since September of '07.
I post this memorial because Merlin represents the countless many who where so severely wounded in Iraq, that in spite of our best medical efforts and their efforvescent zeal for life, succombed to the limits of mortality.
I post this to express my appreciation to the Department of Defense which has doggedly told the truth about U.S. casualties in the shadow of an administration hell bent on creating for themselves a reputation of greatness based on lies fueled by avarice, arrogance, and narcasism.
And I do this, even if at a time like this, the truth is belatedly revealed (Merlin died 20 days ago....)
.....without further ado.
Marine Sgt. Merlin German, 22, of Manhattan, N.Y.; assigned to the 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died April 11 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas from wounds sustained while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar, Iraq, on Feb. 22, 2005. He had been medically retired on Sept. 28, 2007, as a result of his injuries.
I post this memorial because Merlin represents the countless many who where so severely wounded in Iraq, that in spite of our best medical efforts and their efforvescent zeal for life, succombed to the limits of mortality.
I post this to express my appreciation to the Department of Defense which has doggedly told the truth about U.S. casualties in the shadow of an administration hell bent on creating for themselves a reputation of greatness based on lies fueled by avarice, arrogance, and narcasism.
And I do this, even if at a time like this, the truth is belatedly revealed (Merlin died 20 days ago....)
.....without further ado.
Marine Sgt. Merlin German, 22, of Manhattan, N.Y.; assigned to the 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died April 11 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas from wounds sustained while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar, Iraq, on Feb. 22, 2005. He had been medically retired on Sept. 28, 2007, as a result of his injuries.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Our Latest American Hero #116
Only 116 to represent 4,052....
Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter, 19, of Sag Harbor, N.Y.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died April 22 of wounds sustained while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed was Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale.
“Sag Harbor Community Mourns Marine Killed In Iraq”
Pierson High School binds the tiny Peconic Bay village of Sag Harbor. The fewer than 100 students the school graduates every year know each other from the first grade or from baseball practice or from the Conca D'Oro pizza restaurant on Sag Harbor's shop-lined Main Street.
Yesterday, teachers, students and parents whose lives were brought together by Pierson High joined the long lines outside a funeral home a few blocks from the school.
The people of Sag Harbor came together yesterday for the wake of Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter. Haerter became the village's first battlefield loss since World War II last week when he was killed near Ramadi, Iraq, while defending a checkpoint there
"It's such a small community that you do everything together," said Kate Evarts, whose son, Iain Gordon, had known Haerter since elementary school, played baseball with him, and graduated with Haerter in 2006.
"We went to Little League practices together," Evarts said of Haerter's mother, Joann Lyles, as she made her way from the funeral home after paying her respects. "Now we're going to a funeral together."
Since news of Haerter's death spread among many of the village's 2,359 residents, signs of grief have been everywhere.
On Saturday, members of the community gathered at the high school for a candlelight vigil. Haerter's mother, Joann Lyles, led in the singing of "Amazing Grace." On Main Street, Conca D'Oro had a sign in its window that had reminded people to line the streets for Saturday's motorcade that brought Haerter's body back home. At American Legion Post 388 across from the town dock, where the Sag Harbor Community Band plays Tuesdays in the summer, the flag flew at half-staff.
"It's a small village and everybody cares," said Tod Granger, a member of Sag Harbor Post 9082, Veterans of Foreign Wars, as he waited at the funeral home to pay his respects. "I've been all over the world and there's nothing like Sag Harbor. This community still has a heart."
Haerter's death has reached far beyond Sag Harbor.
Michael Williams, 45, rode more than 13 hours on a motorcycle from his home in Prospect, Ky., to pay respects.
Williams, himself a former Marine, met Haerter's father, Christian Haerter, two years ago through a motorcycle club. In the years since, the men had exchanged e-mails about Haerter's decision to join the Marines.
In yesterday's dank chill, Williams stood outside the funeral home with about two dozen flag-carrying members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcyclists that has appeared at funerals nationwide for soldiers killed in battle.
"My son is 19," said Williams. "To lose a son who is only 19, I can feel how that would feel."
Evarts said it did not surprise her that so many in the community would stand in the chill to say goodbye. "It could have been any of our kids," Evarts said, choking back a sob.
"We share the good stuff," she said, as she made her way from the funeral home. "And we share the hard stuff."
Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter, 19, of Sag Harbor, N.Y.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died April 22 of wounds sustained while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed was Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale.
“Sag Harbor Community Mourns Marine Killed In Iraq”
Pierson High School binds the tiny Peconic Bay village of Sag Harbor. The fewer than 100 students the school graduates every year know each other from the first grade or from baseball practice or from the Conca D'Oro pizza restaurant on Sag Harbor's shop-lined Main Street.
Yesterday, teachers, students and parents whose lives were brought together by Pierson High joined the long lines outside a funeral home a few blocks from the school.
The people of Sag Harbor came together yesterday for the wake of Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter. Haerter became the village's first battlefield loss since World War II last week when he was killed near Ramadi, Iraq, while defending a checkpoint there
"It's such a small community that you do everything together," said Kate Evarts, whose son, Iain Gordon, had known Haerter since elementary school, played baseball with him, and graduated with Haerter in 2006.
"We went to Little League practices together," Evarts said of Haerter's mother, Joann Lyles, as she made her way from the funeral home after paying her respects. "Now we're going to a funeral together."
Since news of Haerter's death spread among many of the village's 2,359 residents, signs of grief have been everywhere.
On Saturday, members of the community gathered at the high school for a candlelight vigil. Haerter's mother, Joann Lyles, led in the singing of "Amazing Grace." On Main Street, Conca D'Oro had a sign in its window that had reminded people to line the streets for Saturday's motorcade that brought Haerter's body back home. At American Legion Post 388 across from the town dock, where the Sag Harbor Community Band plays Tuesdays in the summer, the flag flew at half-staff.
"It's a small village and everybody cares," said Tod Granger, a member of Sag Harbor Post 9082, Veterans of Foreign Wars, as he waited at the funeral home to pay his respects. "I've been all over the world and there's nothing like Sag Harbor. This community still has a heart."
Haerter's death has reached far beyond Sag Harbor.
Michael Williams, 45, rode more than 13 hours on a motorcycle from his home in Prospect, Ky., to pay respects.
Williams, himself a former Marine, met Haerter's father, Christian Haerter, two years ago through a motorcycle club. In the years since, the men had exchanged e-mails about Haerter's decision to join the Marines.
In yesterday's dank chill, Williams stood outside the funeral home with about two dozen flag-carrying members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcyclists that has appeared at funerals nationwide for soldiers killed in battle.
"My son is 19," said Williams. "To lose a son who is only 19, I can feel how that would feel."
Evarts said it did not surprise her that so many in the community would stand in the chill to say goodbye. "It could have been any of our kids," Evarts said, choking back a sob.
"We share the good stuff," she said, as she made her way from the funeral home. "And we share the hard stuff."
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Halleluja!
My front garden is now complete!
I spent the weekend replacing the pathway, raising the circle garden, and planting it's first garden.
Yeah!
I spent the weekend replacing the pathway, raising the circle garden, and planting it's first garden.
Yeah!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Democratic Party Primary Results #4
The dust has settled. And the outcome is the WORST one possible.
"Hilary" won by the perfect storm margine -- the ultimate ambiguous outcome.
1) too much to concede anything to Obama
2) too little to honestly claim a mandate (especially given the erosion of her margine in Pennsylvania over the course of the campaign)
3) so we plod on.....
Even though the ultimate outcome seems a forgone conclusion short of an assasination of Obama.
Why can't she see this? And if she can....does she know something that the rest of us don't? Just asking.
"Hilary" won by the perfect storm margine -- the ultimate ambiguous outcome.
1) too much to concede anything to Obama
2) too little to honestly claim a mandate (especially given the erosion of her margine in Pennsylvania over the course of the campaign)
3) so we plod on.....
Even though the ultimate outcome seems a forgone conclusion short of an assasination of Obama.
Why can't she see this? And if she can....does she know something that the rest of us don't? Just asking.
What I'm Listening To #36
Intense, impassioned, intimate music. Sometimes a guitar. Sometimes a piano.
It's all good!
It's all good!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Mid-April Gardens #5
As "every dog has its day" so too, "every tulip has its story".... or, at least, this one does.
Blooming in a most obscure corner of my wild, woodsy backyard, this tulip has been blooming for me now for 18 years! It began its life in Holland; I purchased its bulb in an Amsterdam market in December of 1990. Its first 5 springs were spent basking in the sun and breezes of my central Kentucky home -- a home on the edge of a field that was very much the short-grass prairie.
Since the spring of 1995, it rises from the base of the stump of a once grand white oak. Ivy surrounds it, but to no avail that seems to hinder it's annual resurrection in its eastern woodlands home.
You may not know this, but tulips are native to the steppes of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). The word "tulip" is actually a corruption of the Turkish word for "turban." You can see the resemblance.
They were first imported to Europe, so legend says, by the ambassador of the Austrian Hapsburgs, a Mr. Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq, from the court of the Süleyman the Magnificent in Constantinople (i.e. Istanbul) around 1554. It's an auspicious introduction that resulted in a royal fetish for the flower. They were given from one royal court to another. They were planted in secluded gardens. They were guarded. They were coveted. They were stolen by thieves in the way works of art are absconded from the walls of museums today. And finally, they were grown and traded as a commodity by the Dutch to such an extent that their value literally made some men rich and led to the ruin of others in the 1630's. And among the most prized of all were the so-called black tulips.
And then there's this humble descendant of that actually deep purple strain whose longevity defies reason. I might not re-mortgage my home to have it, but I'd give a gilder or two all over again for such a faithful harbinger of April....
Blooming in a most obscure corner of my wild, woodsy backyard, this tulip has been blooming for me now for 18 years! It began its life in Holland; I purchased its bulb in an Amsterdam market in December of 1990. Its first 5 springs were spent basking in the sun and breezes of my central Kentucky home -- a home on the edge of a field that was very much the short-grass prairie.
Since the spring of 1995, it rises from the base of the stump of a once grand white oak. Ivy surrounds it, but to no avail that seems to hinder it's annual resurrection in its eastern woodlands home.
You may not know this, but tulips are native to the steppes of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). The word "tulip" is actually a corruption of the Turkish word for "turban." You can see the resemblance.
They were first imported to Europe, so legend says, by the ambassador of the Austrian Hapsburgs, a Mr. Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq, from the court of the Süleyman the Magnificent in Constantinople (i.e. Istanbul) around 1554. It's an auspicious introduction that resulted in a royal fetish for the flower. They were given from one royal court to another. They were planted in secluded gardens. They were guarded. They were coveted. They were stolen by thieves in the way works of art are absconded from the walls of museums today. And finally, they were grown and traded as a commodity by the Dutch to such an extent that their value literally made some men rich and led to the ruin of others in the 1630's. And among the most prized of all were the so-called black tulips.
And then there's this humble descendant of that actually deep purple strain whose longevity defies reason. I might not re-mortgage my home to have it, but I'd give a gilder or two all over again for such a faithful harbinger of April....
What I'm Listening To #35
Bruce Springsteen's "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" is nothing short of brilliant! He is perfectly suited to take this body of music and interpret it in a refreshing, authentically American way.
Songs lost to my childhood are again filling my heart: "Mrs McGrath," "Erie Canal," "John Henry," " Froggie Went A Courtin'"! And the title version of "We Shall Overcome" brought me to tears.
The songs are fun, sing-a-long-able, and orchestrated to reflect a range of American musical traditions. There's the banjo led hoe-down version of "Old Dan Tucker," the sea shanty lylt of the violins in "Mrs. McGrath" with it's irrestible chorus "too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa" repeated until you have to get up and dance a jig inspite of yourself!, and "O Mary Don't You Weep's" Acadian fiddle and Bourbon Street brass--combined with Springsteen's rough, grinding vocal interpretation and the African American chorus in the background, you walk away from this song knowning you've been to church.
Run, don't walk, and get this one!
Songs lost to my childhood are again filling my heart: "Mrs McGrath," "Erie Canal," "John Henry," " Froggie Went A Courtin'"! And the title version of "We Shall Overcome" brought me to tears.
The songs are fun, sing-a-long-able, and orchestrated to reflect a range of American musical traditions. There's the banjo led hoe-down version of "Old Dan Tucker," the sea shanty lylt of the violins in "Mrs. McGrath" with it's irrestible chorus "too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa" repeated until you have to get up and dance a jig inspite of yourself!, and "O Mary Don't You Weep's" Acadian fiddle and Bourbon Street brass--combined with Springsteen's rough, grinding vocal interpretation and the African American chorus in the background, you walk away from this song knowning you've been to church.
Run, don't walk, and get this one!
Monday, April 21, 2008
It Was A Tornado!
And so today the clean up begins even as the rain continues. Three huge oaks toppled into my neighbor's home two blocks over. The little circle is a workman examining the remains of the chimney. The big circle is what's left of the family room on the back--basically destroyed. Three houses further down the street another oak ripped the back off of another home.
The twister was relatively small. 50 ft in diameter with maximum wind gusts of 100 mph. It danced along for about 2 miles from Riggs Rd/Chillum Rd to University Blvd/New Hampshire Ave. Toward the beginning of the path it ripped an elementary school's roof off and at the end it damaged a dozen cars with large hunks of debris. In between were my neighbors' homes.
Gratefully no one was seriously injured.
The twister was relatively small. 50 ft in diameter with maximum wind gusts of 100 mph. It danced along for about 2 miles from Riggs Rd/Chillum Rd to University Blvd/New Hampshire Ave. Toward the beginning of the path it ripped an elementary school's roof off and at the end it damaged a dozen cars with large hunks of debris. In between were my neighbors' homes.
Gratefully no one was seriously injured.
It Was A Tornado!, part 2
Here's the big crane removing a top portion of one of the three trees that hit the house. In speaking with Steve, the owner, it was a kindness that no one in the house was injured. He said it would take 6 to 9 months before his family would be back given the extent of the damage.
Amazing.
Amazing.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
. . . . As One
Djearworm is a genius. He crafts music with a diverse palate the way painters use pigment to present their ideas on a canvas.
"Together As One" mixes the works of U2, the Beatles, Diana Ross, and Mariah Carey. Splendidly, a mon avis.
"Together As One" mixes the works of U2, the Beatles, Diana Ross, and Mariah Carey. Splendidly, a mon avis.
A Strange Occurance
My neighbor, J., interrupted my work on my fountain on Saturday with a tale of intrigue and menace. It seems that while I ran out mid-afternoon to get some part for my project, a car (to be specific, a small black SUV) festooned with bumper stickers celebrating Colombia pulled up and parked across the street from the house next to mine. According to J. a man remained in the SUV while two women emerged and looked around suspiciously. One of them carried a menacing and large knife. They crossed the street and went to the house of our neighbor. He is an elderly man in failing health and hasn't actually been home for the better part of two weeks -- spending time in the hospital and then with his daughter convalescing.
At this point J. felt compelled to approach the duo and ask if he could help them. He reported that they didn't appear to speak English and that he felt threatened "scared shitless" by the way the one held the knife. They retreated to the SUV and all three drove off.
Well, what the hell was I to make of his tale? Honestly? J. is a reluctant racist. He sees non-whites as threats...and, even acts leery around whites who weren't born in New England!
I asked him why he didn't just call the police. I would have -- Nobody up to an honest endeavor carries a butcher's knife in a peaceable neighborhood in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon. They are either crazy or criminal.
J. also has a tendency to present a world of his own creation that sort of says: "Hey, look at me! I'm a victim." It's a kind of white-centric-male-Munchausen's-Syndrom minus the child as victim. And still I can't completely discount the possibility that someone was up to no good....
So I guess I'm left with only one option: Take up Kickboxing! Wish me well!
At this point J. felt compelled to approach the duo and ask if he could help them. He reported that they didn't appear to speak English and that he felt threatened "scared shitless" by the way the one held the knife. They retreated to the SUV and all three drove off.
Well, what the hell was I to make of his tale? Honestly? J. is a reluctant racist. He sees non-whites as threats...and, even acts leery around whites who weren't born in New England!
I asked him why he didn't just call the police. I would have -- Nobody up to an honest endeavor carries a butcher's knife in a peaceable neighborhood in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon. They are either crazy or criminal.
J. also has a tendency to present a world of his own creation that sort of says: "Hey, look at me! I'm a victim." It's a kind of white-centric-male-Munchausen's-Syndrom minus the child as victim. And still I can't completely discount the possibility that someone was up to no good....
So I guess I'm left with only one option: Take up Kickboxing! Wish me well!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sweet (Gross?) Irony!
Of all five fingers, to choose that one. And to keep it in the manner of a saintly medieval relic… Today it seems a loud gesture. Galileo Galilei’s middle finger is preserved in the History of Science Museum in Florence, Italy. From Curious Expeditions:
"It is a remarkable bit of irony, that finger. Venerated, kept in reliquary, subjected to the same treatment as a Saint. But this finger belonged to no Saint. It is the long bony finger of an enemy of the church, a heretic. A man so dangerous to the religious institution he was made a prisoner in his own home. It sits in a small glass egg atop an inscribed marble base in the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, or the History of Science Museum in Florence, Italy. … As with a fine wine, it took some years for Galileo’s finger to age into something worth snapping off his skeletal hand. The finger was removed by one Anton Francesco Gori on March 12, 1737, 95 years after Galileo’s death. Passed around for a couple hundred years it finally came to rest in the Florence History of Science Museum. Today is sits among lodestones and telescopes, the only human fragment in a museum devoted entirely to scientific instruments. It is hard to know how Galileo would have felt about the final resting place of his finger. Whether the finger points upwards to the sky, where Galileo glimpsed the glory of the universe and saw God in mathematics, or if it sits eternally defiant to the church that condemned him, is for the viewer to decide."
"It is a remarkable bit of irony, that finger. Venerated, kept in reliquary, subjected to the same treatment as a Saint. But this finger belonged to no Saint. It is the long bony finger of an enemy of the church, a heretic. A man so dangerous to the religious institution he was made a prisoner in his own home. It sits in a small glass egg atop an inscribed marble base in the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, or the History of Science Museum in Florence, Italy. … As with a fine wine, it took some years for Galileo’s finger to age into something worth snapping off his skeletal hand. The finger was removed by one Anton Francesco Gori on March 12, 1737, 95 years after Galileo’s death. Passed around for a couple hundred years it finally came to rest in the Florence History of Science Museum. Today is sits among lodestones and telescopes, the only human fragment in a museum devoted entirely to scientific instruments. It is hard to know how Galileo would have felt about the final resting place of his finger. Whether the finger points upwards to the sky, where Galileo glimpsed the glory of the universe and saw God in mathematics, or if it sits eternally defiant to the church that condemned him, is for the viewer to decide."
Mid-April Gardens #1
Introducing their newest member: the swirl oak pedistal fountain. More work on this garden to come.
Mid-April Gardens #2
More of my Virginia Bluebells and pink and white bleeding hearts. They both last for weeks and are great spring perennials.
Mid-April Gardens #4
I'll end this little visit with a photo of my new rock garden along the side of my sunroom. The rocks are courtesy of students at my school who dig them up during recess and then I arrive and clear the playground of the potential weapons. It beats the heck out of buying them at a nursery.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Elvis Rocks....UB40; too
The first time a girl tried to seduce me, it was to this song. I was in high school and she was a friend of my sister. She invited me over to her house to practice singing this song; and then she went all mega-slut over my ass. It was, honestly, very confusing. The intimate aspects of her attention were appealing; the physical expectations revolting. I pled the moral high ground and escaped, but I never hear this song without remembering that evening.....
Monday, April 14, 2008
Our Latest American Hero #115
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony L. Capra, 31, of Hanford, Calif.; assigned to Detachment 63, 688th Armament Systems Squadron, Indian Head City, Md.; died April 9 in Golden Hills, Iraq, of wounds sustained when he encountered an improvised explosive device.
"Air Force Names EOD Airman Killed In Iraq"
An airman who had already earned a Bronze Star for an earlier deployment to Iraq died there Wednesday, Air Force officials said.
Tech. Sgt. Anthony L. Capra, 31, of Hanford, Calif., died Wednesday near an area called Golden Hills, about 6 miles west of Balad Air Base, of wounds sustained when he encountered an improvised explosive device. He was an explosive ordnance technician and assigned to Detachment 63 of the 688th Armament Systems Squadron in Indian Head, Md.
Before he was stationed at Indian Head, Capra was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and the 96th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Flight.
“It’s a huge hit to the Eglin EOD flight because we knew Tony personally,” Capt Shane Frith, EOD flight commander, said in an Air Force statement. “We won’t be able to forget his character and the way he represented the EOD community. The impact is tremendous on the local troops here.”
In May 2006, Capra was among seven airmen from the flight presented Bronze Stars for their service in Iraq.
Capra was assigned to the 688th in the fall of 2007. The squadron oversees the acquisition of bomb disposal gear and other combat support equipment for the Air Force.
Capra’s other decorations include the Air Force Commendation Medal presented in 2006 and Air Force Achievement Medal presented in May 2002.
"Air Force Names EOD Airman Killed In Iraq"
An airman who had already earned a Bronze Star for an earlier deployment to Iraq died there Wednesday, Air Force officials said.
Tech. Sgt. Anthony L. Capra, 31, of Hanford, Calif., died Wednesday near an area called Golden Hills, about 6 miles west of Balad Air Base, of wounds sustained when he encountered an improvised explosive device. He was an explosive ordnance technician and assigned to Detachment 63 of the 688th Armament Systems Squadron in Indian Head, Md.
Before he was stationed at Indian Head, Capra was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and the 96th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Flight.
“It’s a huge hit to the Eglin EOD flight because we knew Tony personally,” Capt Shane Frith, EOD flight commander, said in an Air Force statement. “We won’t be able to forget his character and the way he represented the EOD community. The impact is tremendous on the local troops here.”
In May 2006, Capra was among seven airmen from the flight presented Bronze Stars for their service in Iraq.
Capra was assigned to the 688th in the fall of 2007. The squadron oversees the acquisition of bomb disposal gear and other combat support equipment for the Air Force.
Capra’s other decorations include the Air Force Commendation Medal presented in 2006 and Air Force Achievement Medal presented in May 2002.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
I Did It!
Keeping with the theme of water (previous post), I bought a fountain for my garden. I bought it at my local all-purpose nursery, Behnke's in Greenbelt. I'd been scoping out the options for weeks, and playing with the notion for months. I did my homework:
It's a model 427-F cast stone fountain created in the Tennessee factory of Al's Garden Art. Al's has been crafting cast stone fountains since 1949. This one is described as the "ornate swirl fountain," stands at 40" tall, and weighs in at 230 lbs. I'm planning on setting it up in the middle of the circle garden in my front yard. A garden that will undergo a bit of a face-lift as part of the advent of this fountain.
I've really been enjoying my gardens this year.
It's a model 427-F cast stone fountain created in the Tennessee factory of Al's Garden Art. Al's has been crafting cast stone fountains since 1949. This one is described as the "ornate swirl fountain," stands at 40" tall, and weighs in at 230 lbs. I'm planning on setting it up in the middle of the circle garden in my front yard. A garden that will undergo a bit of a face-lift as part of the advent of this fountain.
I've really been enjoying my gardens this year.
Stupid Pet Tricks #1?
Hey, I just bought a new shower head myself; however, I can't do this!
But seriously, you know how you get so used to something, that no matter how annoying it is; you just no longer even have the energy to be annoyed by it? That was my old shower head. Then, for next to nothing and even less real effort, I bought a new one and for the past couple of weeks my mornings have included a luxurious shower beneath the most titalating set of water pressure and flow settings.... I know, I'm not hard to please!
But seriously, you know how you get so used to something, that no matter how annoying it is; you just no longer even have the energy to be annoyed by it? That was my old shower head. Then, for next to nothing and even less real effort, I bought a new one and for the past couple of weeks my mornings have included a luxurious shower beneath the most titalating set of water pressure and flow settings.... I know, I'm not hard to please!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Birds
I recently read a wonderful essay by Alexie Tsvetkov, a Russian poet who lives in D.C. It's a rambling stream of consciousness relfection on Prague and his departure from that city. He begins the piece with this: "The city is losing its sparrows. It has been weeks since I last saw one, and that was in New York."
He continues with a little of the history of the sparrow and then flits to pigeons and falcons and the more general role of birds in his life and within his creative consciousness. And he concludes that first section of the essay with: "....life without sparrows is eerie, as if there's a hole in it."
Well, I'm happy to report that there are presently no lack of sparrows in Mr. Tsvetkov's new home. At least the ubiquitous English version. And besides sparrows thus far this spring I have delighted in the songs and antics of American Robins, Cardinals, Chickadees, Nuthatch, Morning Doves, and Titmice (Titmouses?). And yesterday I was given a real treat. After planting some annuals around the side yard I approached the back door only to spy what I first hoped was a Baltimore Oriole, but which with further stealthy observation turned out to be, a American Redstart (m). I never saw a female, but he was in no hurry to leave the largess of my bird feeder, and gave me several minutes to watch him and memorize his details.
I've never seen one before. I hope to see more of this one.
He continues with a little of the history of the sparrow and then flits to pigeons and falcons and the more general role of birds in his life and within his creative consciousness. And he concludes that first section of the essay with: "....life without sparrows is eerie, as if there's a hole in it."
Well, I'm happy to report that there are presently no lack of sparrows in Mr. Tsvetkov's new home. At least the ubiquitous English version. And besides sparrows thus far this spring I have delighted in the songs and antics of American Robins, Cardinals, Chickadees, Nuthatch, Morning Doves, and Titmice (Titmouses?). And yesterday I was given a real treat. After planting some annuals around the side yard I approached the back door only to spy what I first hoped was a Baltimore Oriole, but which with further stealthy observation turned out to be, a American Redstart (m). I never saw a female, but he was in no hurry to leave the largess of my bird feeder, and gave me several minutes to watch him and memorize his details.
I've never seen one before. I hope to see more of this one.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
4 Views Of My Gardens, View #1
From the Nation's "garden" last weekend to humbler venue this Sunday: my gardens.
I love the daffodils. They grab the light and reflect it like living flames.
I love the daffodils. They grab the light and reflect it like living flames.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Random Quote #88
"The first time I knew I was gay -- I think, I was like, 7 -- I was watching this Valentine's Day "Popeye" cartoon episode that would play every year. There was this scene where Popeye was captured by Brutus, tied up with no shoes or socks on, and Brutus starts tickling his feet. I remember getting a boner, and I didn't know what it was about that scene that was creating THAT, but I knew that it was something naughty that I couldn't tell anybody, and I definitely knew it was something that made me different. But every year, I couldn't wait for that episode."
~ Cheyenne Jackson, 1975
~ Cheyenne Jackson, 1975
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
YouTube Strikes, Again!
My dear friend J. from my Kentucky days turned me on to this series on YouTube. Tavin Dillard is a sort of slightly more lucid Boomhower from "King of the Hill" fame. He spins a little tale from time to time and they are archived on YouTube. Admittedly, some are funnier than others; and this tail of the love of butter is a wonderful example of Joel Berry's comic gifts.....
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
