La Luna

This was the moon from our porch at dusk last night.
Huge, haunting, merciless.

how grad-school made me stupid

i will say it and say it again, that i believe in the power of stories. that narrative is important. that fiction can be more truthful than non fiction. but sadly, i havn't read a novel in years. since i finished grad school a month ago, i've started and cast aside 3 novels. i just can't stick with a good long book any more.
my first thought was that i might blame the last 10 years i've spent in higher education. i've been trained (and become highly skilled) at plowing through texts, at writing book reviews on books i didn't have time to read, at getting to what the author is saying without noting their every word. the act of reading a story requires something different of the reader- to submit to the text and be guided by the intentional sequence of events- quite literally, to undergo it. i have become impatient and somewhat utilitarian with books.
another thought came after reading an interview in the sun magazine with the fella who wrote the provocative atlantic article "is google making us stupid?" last summer. he believes that the "distracted nature of web surfing, is reducing our capacity for deep contemplation and reflection." he realized that after years of "online information gathering, he had trouble reading a book..." hmmm, says i. sounds like me. one of the things he notes in the interview is that online activity exercises the part of the brain that is the realm of decision making- an activity which is mentally exhausting in comparison to the mental energy used in reading a book or in contemplation.
so this is my lament. my brain has been re-wired by grad-school and the world wide web. the process of Re-Re-wiring must begin as soon as this internet connection is no longer available!

"misunderestimated"

well, after two long terms he finally has about 10 more days in office. what a wild ride. i'm sure we'll miss the comedic relief (see today's bbc collection of favorite "bushisms"), but there's a lot we wont miss.



i posted this brilliant video a while back and by now most folks have seen it, but thought it was worth bringing back to say farewell...

it's the final count down!

credit: mr. brainwash in los angeles via wooster collective.
today's soundtrack provided by europe.

studies show...

studies show that (surprise surprise) kids who watch sex on TV are more likely to try it...
hmmm. no shit.
(also on bbc)

music to write papers by

after 4 years in graduate school, i've written a handful of papers, most of them in noisy coffee shops. at this point i'm deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other because i've only in the last few months acquired sound-reducing ear-buds (ie. the volume of the music has always had to compete with the esspresso machine to my left, the women's bible study group to my right and the roudy highschoolers to my other left). at any rate, this post is to highlight the albums i've written the most papers to. some new, some old, all able to offer a groove that has been conducive to the organization of my thoughts.

fall

in praise of fall: i like turning trees- first the burst of color and then the transition to skeletal states. i like brisk weather and the way it feels to drink coffee on a cold morning. i like the option of accessorizing my wardrobe a little more- hats, cardigans, vests, jackets, scarfs. i feel better in trousers and now its not uncomfortable to wear them like on some summer days. i enjoy dark beer, or a pipe or cigar while on a porch with friends. best of it all, i love the bundled up walks with lover and kids- my funny little men falling over because the jackets and layers have made them too stiff. i particularly like the music of fall. above are my three favorites this year.
other notable, fall appropriate releases this year are by: bon iver, fleet foxes and bonnie prince billy... but i've already blogged about them. welcome october.

La Casa Azul

Reasons to go to La Casa Azul:

• It's the best Mexican food in town.
  
• Authentic Oaxaca cuisine.
  
• They get the flavors spot on and the portions are generous (La Carta de Oaxaca is amazing but the prices are high and the portions are small).
  
• Real Mexican food has yet to be discovered by most folks this side of the border- (aka: no "Las Guaymas" or "Azteca" here)
• My belly is full and my heart longs for home...
  

evil dust bunny

my computer has been dying. over the last few weeks it has been overheating and the fan has ceased kicking in to cool it off. so after about 5 minutes of operating time (just enough time to check email, but certainly not enough time to write a paper) the machine has been powering down. well, it's back. and the culprit was a dust bunny the size of my index finger that had taken up residence in the fan, blocking the cooling grates... watch out internet, i'm back.

know your game...

baby basics

ruth and i are still learning how to be parents.

grease and manhood

as a non-mechanic, there is something profoundly gratifying and affirming about successfully getting your dead car back on the road again. two years ago i did the alternator on my toyota tercell and it was an easy job, two wires and two bolts, no problem. a honda alternator has two wires and two bolts as well, so i took those off, no problem. the only difference is the alternator on the honda is located deep inside the engine and once i got the part removed, i could not get it out. it was like a kid in juvy. the internet said either the break master cylinder or the right-driver axle had to be removed- categories i don't operate in. but one guy online said it was possible another way- so a tire, a plastic casing that covers the belts, other random wires, a brackets later and lots of screws later... i houdinied the thing out through the bottom. some people get grease up to their elbows when they work on their cars; i was washing it out of my armpits when i was done. needless to say, the job took me 4 hrs and she fired right up. i just wanted to tell the whole world- the guys from "car talk" would be proud.

see the blaze

I drive by this image 4 times a week, it marks me more each time I do. Yesterday I heard Firestarter by Tess Gallagher, a local poet. My younger son cried last night, I was frustrated until I noticed how small he looked in that big crib of his. Are we pesky at best until someone sees us with different eyes? "There's a blaze of light in every word, it does not matter which you heard- the broken or the holy..."

need help?

here. now go spend some time with people you love.

what's the shape of your blogg?

Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka: dr. seuss ) coined "Blogg" back in 1973 in his The Shape of Me and Other Stuff. the things you learn when you read to kids...

thoughts from a tired mother

The other day, my pregnant wife and mother of one already told me it was in no way practical to bear children. She went on to say that in other times and in other cultures there were many reasons to have children. A boy could help in the fields and carry on the name and trade; a daughter was a hand in the kitchen and would perhaps earn a dowry some day. But in my world, there is no practical reason to procreate. It is no surprise the urban intelligentsia is not interested in this ancient tradition. They have discovered that our children drain resources instead of expanding them, giving nothing, taking everything. We are disconnected from past generations, we don’t care if our names die with us or not. We have no use for children. They constrict our lives and bring added worry with no quantifiable payoff. They will make us loose sleep, require us to give up hobbies and consume all of our leisure time. As they grow they will begin to ignore us and see us as the bane of their existence. Then they will deplete our savings and go to college. If we are lucky they will come home at Christmas, only to mention how much they talk about us in therapy. At best they will keep in touch enough to sponge occasional “loans” and at worst will never write home again. And to top it off, they will entrust us to “assisted living” when we are too old to survive on our own. So... why have kids? Why give, give, give, give?

marked.

yesterday.
last year.
forever.
todd.

hmmm... happy places

color paint and color balls.

say what?

language is facinating. i recently read that we morph our language to be included by some and to exclude others. "christianese" comes to mind as a very exclusive language, just like the languages of any subculture- hiphop, hipster, hippy... you name it. if you want in, you'd better learn the language. once you're in, your language can be a device to keep the "other" at bay. i wonder how the language i speak is alienating to some... what about you?

one bright morning