Food and Crosswords

I guess it was a very dark month, especially photographically. Never have so few photos been made by such an uninspired photographer to such weak effect. November 2007 shall serve to demonstrate the low point.

October is finally up

With promise of November soon to follow...
just click on the trees!

Also, I should probably point all of my many readers to my web gallery, another repository of online photos.

It Makes No Difference

For some reason this song is with me tonight. Exquisitely sad. The late Rick Danko sings so sweetly and we get to see my man, Levon, on drums. As with all The Band music, it should be played loud.

More Photos

Just posted my first '.mac gallery'. A function of iPhoto '08.
Here we are, saying goodbye to the Gunns last month. And looking at photos of their newly remodeled house in Colorado.

Told You 'Bout The Swans That They Live In The Park

I found three boxes of slides the other day, ones I hadn't scanned until tonight. They were marked 'July '75' and the Internet tells me they were taken on July 7, 1975, at the Met in Bloomington, MN. No setlist, though. I guess not all bands (or their fans) were quite as obsessive as some I could name...




I've long felt this was one of the best concerts I ever saw, and although I really don't remember that much about the music, I do remember the energy. And seeing two of my guitar gods. I think I've said it before, but it's another bit of proof that giants did walk the earth then.

September is Up

Yes, I live, and occasionally I photograph! Here's the latest.

Book Club at Carrie's

This past Sunday our book club met at Carrie T.'s house to discuss Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. It was our first time at Carrie's. She has a lovely home in South Minneapolis, two gentle, friendly dogs and an exquisite patio where we lounged away the afternoon, eating, sipping and talking smart. Unbelievably, I didn't get a photo of her!


It was so good to see Molly. The last time I saw her was the the week before when she had her gallbladder surgery. She looked a lot peppier, and said she felt pretty much normal, still just a little achy.


It felt like one of those precious, last-of-summer days.

Flannel Nightgown Redux

There was such an overwhelming response to Heather in her flannel nightgown on Christmas Eve, 1972, here she is again, just moments before that photo was taken. In fact, I'm guessing that the box she's holding contains that very garment. I love her shoes, or shoe rather, not sure where the right one went. She's about to guess what's in the box. Nightgown, Heather! Nightgown!

Sudek

On of my very favorite photographers is the Czech artist Josef Sudek. I'm not quite sure how or when I was introduced to his work, but I must have become aware of him in the late 80's. I suspect it was through Aperture magazine. There is a paltry entry on him in Wikipedia and a nice, if modest, collection of his photos here.



Sudek lost an arm in World War I, but despite this, used a large format camera to work with.











He's most well known for his panoramic images of Prague, but I'm particularly drawn to the photos he made in his tiny studio, often on the window ledge.

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has a small number of Sudek prints, including this lovely photograph.




Who can say why particular works or a certain artist moves one so? I know I can't. I just know that in the days when I was printing in the darkroom the combination of Sudek's photos and Dvorák's music was a powerful inspiration.

August is Up

As Heather recently reminded me, "August, die she must."

Flannel Nightgown

Here's another treasure from the slides archive. Heather, on what I'm guessing is Christmas Eve, 1972. It looks like we've just finished opening the presents from 'out of town' relatives, which was our tradition back then. The family and Santa gifts would be opened the next morning.

Other Christmas Eve traditions included Oyster Stew for dinner (if you were a kid, you could have frozen waffles, but only up to a certain age, when you then joined the ranks of the Oyster Eaters), and listening to an old, scratchy LP of A Christmas Carol, with Sir Ralph Richardson as Scrooge. We all had our favorite lines from that record; mine was always Scrooge's quip to Marley's ghost: "There's more of gravy than of grave about you."

Heather sure looks happy!

July Is Up

It really is. A thin month, but some interesting moments.

Halfway to the Stars

Whew, it's been a long time I know! Thanks to Molly for urging me to get back on it.

Since you've all been very good, here's something for you to watch. Sorry for the typical poor web quality... I figured speed was better than clarity in this case. If you want to see it in all its beautiful DV quality, come on over and we'll sit around and watch videos 'n stuff.

Speaking of videos, if anyone has any interest in seeing the new Wild Irish demo reel, drop me a line and I'll give you the link and password. (We're trying to keep it somewhat discreet.)

Catching Up

I know, I know, it's been a long while since I've posted. Believe it or not, I've been staying busy finishing up the infamous Demo Reel, and this past weekend we did some entertaining, but now I'm in far-off Scadia once again, house sitting while C&R are on vacation in upstate NY and environs, so I may have some time to do some back-blogging. Here's one of the kitties that live here (Obi-Wan) having an afternoon snooze in an effort to beat the heat.

Going back a bit, last week we had Deputy for a couple of days; he's getting better behaved every time he visits. Michael and Benjamin took an impulsive road trip to Chicago to see the Cubs play the Phillies. Later this week Fiver comes to visit for a couple of days, and he's always very easy to have around and the girls love having him here.

Speaking of the girls, here's Gracie finishing off the last of some Edy's frozen goodness. I think she liked it OK. This was one of those occasions where Carrie insisted on taking a photo, and luckily the camera was nearby. I'm really glad she took this shot. Soon afterward the carton was in shreds, of course.

This past Sunday we hosted book club at our place. We had a fun time, despite the sun never really coming out; at least it wasn't too hot and muggy. Our book was Lolita and we had a very lively and in-depth discussion. I think most of us liked it fairly well, although not everyone made it all the way through. For me, it's the kind of book that makes me want to read in the first place. Infinitely rich and rewarding, funny, sad and dramatic. Will bear several re-readings.


Here's a shot of Molly and Carrie on Sunday, waiting for everyone else to arrive. Molly gifted Carrie with a game called In A Pickle, and we played that while we were waiting. We made a puff pastry, tomato and mozzarella tart and some peanut butter and jelly bars that I still can't stop nibbling on. The girls played in the river, despite its being as low as I've seen it. Great time and so good to see everyone.

Cool Find

OK, I just found this very cool site called SeeqPod. It allows you to embed music or video files that you find online in your blog, something I could never figure out how to do on eblogger before. So here's a little something for you to listen to, coming from I have no idea where. I love this!

Da

About a week and a half ago Carrie's dad was here to visit. He'd been up to his home town of Chisolm, MN for his 60th High School reunion, and then came southward, dividing his time between here and Scandia. We did lots of eating out, saw a couple of movies, checked out some nurseries and just hung out. Oh, and played lots of Palabra. It was good to see him, as always.

More Posts Soon

I haven't posted in awhile... I've actually been pretty busy working on the WI demo reel. What's taking so long is mostly that I'm learning the software as I'm going. I'm using Final Cut Express, LiveType and Soundtrack, very powerful and fun apps all. An invaluable companion along the way has been lynda.com. I recommend this site to anyone looking to learn new software.

So anyway, I'm in the final stretch, and should be able to do some more posts very soon.

Summer, 1972

Another slide scan from the past. Looking east on Ivy Avenue, toward Jessie St.
Appropriate music? The Barber Violin Concerto, Op.14, first movement.

June is Up

Was June bustin' out all over? You decide.

Island Getaway, Part Three

Saturday was our day to explore a little bit around Bayfield and environs. The ferry ride back over was pretty bumpy, with waves splashing over the sides of the ferry and onto/into our car. Sitting in the car I perused the little 'Bayfield visitor's guide' and came across an ad for Moon Over Madeline Island and its author Jay Gilbertson. Very tasteful and ingenious on our friend's part!

Carrie remembered a little bit of work she had to do, so we sought out a cafe with WiFi (latté da) in Ashland. Spent a few minutes getting reconnected and then poked around the town for just a little bit. Then we stopped in the town of Washburn, where we found a very cool used bookstore, where I bought my very first one of these (click on photo for more info): and then had lunch.

We also found a pottery place that had lots of neat stuff; and before we returned to the island we walked around Bayfield some more.

That was about it for Saturday, except we had dinner at a very nice place called 'Lottta's' where we had a good meal, but the highlight was talking to the couple next to us who were playing with their brand new iPhones! One day after the launch and in an island in Lake Superior, and we still got to see and hold an iPhone. Very awesome, but luckily it didn't instill unbridled lust in my heart.

Sunday morning we packed up (minus Carrie's toilet kit, it turns out) and took our last ferry ride back to Bayfield. We had a late breakfast at Greunke's, an historic and very funky place where the specialty is battered whitefish livers. We passed in favor of eggs, granola and toast, but we really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. And in the menu, on the list of celebrities who'd eaten there, was none other than one Jay Gilbertson, along with lesser lights John F. Kennedy Jr. Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal.

After eating it was time to head toward home, but first we paid a visit to Bayfield's cemetery. Strangely enough, Carrie's dad's father and mother are buried there. A quick phone call to Portland and Da told us that their graves were 'up on a hill'. After about ten minutes of searching we found them:



The cemetery had a slightly seedy, unkempt and tattered feel, which was, in an odd way very appealing. Definitely a non-American vibe, none of that usual obsessive fear of death, everything neat as a golf course feel.

Now it was really time to head home and we did, and as usual with a round trip like this, the way home seemed much quicker than the way there. All in all, a very fun weekend!

Island Getaway, Part Two

Friday morning, the big, but also quietly observed, birthday! We'd evaluated the whole ferry back and forth thing ($42 round trip) and decided to spend one day wholly on the island and today was to be it. Stepping out our front door in the morning, I saw these two neighbors, crossing the road:


Our main 'activity' of the day was to be to drive around the island, just so we could say we drove all around it. We saw (but didn't enter) the State Park and a little further on found the 'city park'. We stopped and found a very lovely beach, and better yet a huge, I mean really huge pine tree under which we spread our blanket and read for quite awhile. This photo really doesn't do justice to the hugeness of this tree:
We also watched people snorkeling and beachcombing.















We found this little seat made of stone which made a good photo spot:


A surprising lot of the island is served by gravel roads, and also surprising is the amount of property for sale on the island. It must take a special breed of people to want to build/live there, especially year-round.





We made our way back to La Pointe where we ate lunch at sort of self-service kind of cafe and had two of the most picture perfect veggie burgers we'd ever seen:












Then it was back 'home' for more reading, etc. and later beers and Russian Bank an the picnic table:

The beers (and a few other provisions) we acquired at the 'Island Market' which was one of the most idiosyncratically stocked country stores we've ever seen. Gourmet cheeses, charcoal ($7.50/bag), NY Times, individual Lipton tea bags (which I had to buy, having forgotten to bring tea) fresh fruit, used books, frozen bread, meat and booze galore (of course) and basically everything you'd want (for a price). Here was also our first encounter with that slightly crusty tourist/local friction which seemed to permeate the whole town. The feeling that they were dependent on our presence for their existence but resented it nonetheless.

Anyway, just another note about the cabin/house where we stayed; we really appreciated many of the little touches we found when we looked closely. Here are a few of them, including a note taped to the door which we never did quite figure out. Any theories as to what it might mean would be appreciated!

Island Getaway, Part One

This past weekend we motored up to Madeline Island, a 'mini-vacation' to celebrate Carrie's birthday. We had a wonderful time, relaxing, exploring, eating and being mostly 'off the grid'. Here are a few of the highlights:


Thursday morning we stopped on the way to meet our writer/farmer friend Jay, to pick up some copies of signed books to deliver to a bookstore in Bayfield and to receive some last minute tips on what to see. Here's Jay in his low rider, signaling peace to the people.








Somewhere between Spooner and Hayward came the first awesome thing we saw, and anyone who's a Zippy fan knows why we pulled over to check this out.








Late afternoon Thursday we arrived in pretty Bayfield, WI, delivered Jay's books and checked out the bookstore... and I found at least one treasure, a Wodehouse called Uncle Dynamite. The mind reels with anticipation. Bayfield is a cute little town with a lot of history, but now is pretty touristy. We got the feeling that there is a little of the the historical Bayfield to be found if you look hard enough; I'll relate some of that in another post.


Of course you need to take the ferry to get to the island; here's a view of Bayfield as we were heading out. And happy, day-before-birthday Carrie:



Landed safely on the island, and found our cabin:















We unpacked, drove around La Pointe (the one town on the island) to check out dining places, etc., had dinner and then returned 'home' to our own Moon Over Madeline Island:

Odd, I Know

...that I haven't written about the Dead in this blog. One of the poles of my musical universe. And now this strange song comes along to change that. The writing part, that is.

I was watching Truckin' Up To Buffalo tonight, and they went into Stagger Lee. A song I never really knew, never really liked, always tolerated until it was over. But tonight, for some unknown reason I had the lyrics playing on the screen. And so I read. And for the first time ever, I 'got it' about this song. A mystery and a toleration no more. Listen here.

"Stagger Lee"
Words by Robert Hunter; music by Jerry Garcia

1940 Xmas evening with a full moon over town
Staggerlee met Billy DeLyon
and he blew that poor boy down
Do you know what he shot him for?
What do you make of that?
'Cause Billy DeLyon threw lucky dice,
won Staggelee's Stetson hat

Baio, Baio, tell me how can this be?
You arrest the girls for turning tricks
but you're scared of Staggerlee
Staggerlee is a madman and he shot my Billy dead
Baio you go get him or give the job to me

Delia DeLyon, dear sweet Delia-D
How the hell can I arrest him when he's twice as big as me?
Don't ask me to go downtown - I wouldn't come back alive
Not only is that mother big but he packs a .45

Baio Delia said just give me a gun
He shot my Billy dead now I'm gonna see him hung
She waded to DeLyon's Club through Billy DeLyon's blood
Stepped up to Staggerlee at the bar
Said Buy me a gin fizz, love

As Staggerlee lit a cigarette she shot him in the balls
Blew the smoke off her revolver, had him dragged to city hall
Baio, Baio, see you hang him high
He shot my Billy dead and now he's got to die

Delia went a walking down on Singapore Street
A three-piece band on the corner played "Nearer, My God, to Thee"
but Delia whistled a different tune...what tune could it be?

The song that woman sung was Look out Staggerlee
The song that Delia sung was Look out Staggerlee
The song that woman sung was Look out Staggerlee
The song that Delia sung was Look out Staggerlee

Don't Know The Words

We're thick into hummingbird time around here, and they're back at their deep-sipping ways. It's rare that there's not at least one little guy (or huge insect, depending on how you look at them) feeding at the red plastic font of sugary goodness. At least once we did see four feeding at once, and three at once is not that rare. More than once I've been buzzed while taking down the feeder to refill it.

The 'secret formula' is a cup and a half of sugar to four cups of water. Boiled a couple of minutes, then cooled, of course. We wouldn't want to scald those little tongues, would we?

It's Carrie's goal to become 'Fatima of the Hummingbirds', having them light on her fingers while she sings to them. We're still working on that.

It Is Full Summer Now

IT is full summer now, the heart of June,
Not yet the sun-burnt reapers are a-stir
Upon the upland meadow where too soon
Rich autumn time, the season’s usurer,
Will lend his hoarded gold to all the trees,
And see his treasure scattered by the wild and spendthrift breeze.

Too soon indeed! yet here the daffodil,
That love-child of the Spring, has lingered on
To vex the rose with jealousy, and still
The harebell spreads her azure pavilion,
And like a strayed and wandering reveller
Abandoned of its brothers, whom long since June’s messenger

The missel-thrush has frighted from the glade,
One pale narcissus loiters fearfully
Close to a shadowy nook, where half afraid
Of their own loveliness some violets lie
That will not look the gold sun in the face
For fear of too much splendour,—ah! methinks it is a place

Which should be trodden by Persephone
When wearied of the flowerless fields of Dis!
Or danced on by the lads of Arcady!
The hidden secret of eternal bliss
Known to the Grecian here a man might find,
Ah! you and I may find it now if Love and Sleep be kind.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
–from The Garden of Eros

Northrop

Here's Northrop Auditorium in October of 1972. This was early in my brief, unsuccessful foray into University life. It was also right around the time I heard George McGovern speak on these steps. It was a campaign stop during his run for the presidency in '72 against Nixon. The whole Watergate tidal wave had yet to break, but of course McGovern was doomed from the start.

The thing I remember most about his appearance was when he played a tape over the PA of a soldier (a pilot, I think) describing the effects of the 'daisy cutter' bombs we were dropping at the time. Back then there was such a thing as an anti-war movement. Before we all became complacent and brainwashed. It was powerful, moving stuff. It seems impossible that any candidate would present anything so starkly and vigorously opinionated in these lowest-common-denominator times.

It was the first election I was old enough to vote in and I voted for McGovern.

May Is Up

Some big gaps in May without any photos; a trying month, photographically, but back on track now. Delilah and Molly here didn't make it into May, but I wanted to show you this nice photo of them anyway.

Kelly's Incredible Best-Ever Brownies

Hey, good news! Kelly's decided to share her awesome brownie recipe with us! Prepare to be transported to gooey goodness nirvana. Many thanks, Kelly!

Caramel Brownies
1 14-oz. pkg. caramels (unwrapping caramels is the most time-consuming part of this recipe!)
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 pkg. German chocolate cake
3/4 cup butter (melted)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan.
• Melt caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk over very low heat; stir occasionally.
• Combine cake mix, melted butter, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and vanilla. Mix well and spread 1/2 of batter in pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.
• Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over cooked brownies (it calls for 1 cup, but I use enough to cover the top of the brownies fairly well)
• Pour melted caramel mixture over top.
• With a teaspoon, drop the remaining half of the batter evenly over the top.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Carrie the Awesome Bargain Finder

On Saturday as we were putting out items for the Arnell garage sale, Carrie came across this little item:



I couldn't believe it when I saw it! A Nikon F, a 50mm f1.4 lens, a 2x teleconverter, two other unrelated lenses (for what I don't know), a 'fresh' roll of film (dated 2000), and best of all, a partially shot roll in the camera. All in a (admittedly rather lame) carrying case. And the price for this flash of 60s photographic nostalgia? $2. Yes, two USD. Un-freaking-believable. Now admittedly, whoever was doing the pricing didn't have the least idea what this was. And we did make a nice donation to the Humane Society that more than covered the things we bought. But still...

I've always had this kind of fantasy relationship with Nikons. Just the very fact of owning such an incredible and storied camera has always seemed too good to be true, too good for me. It seems to work, (although it needs new batteries of course), the shutter trips. I mean that 50mm alone is just awesome, even if the camera doesn't work.

The film inside, of course is the most intriguing part. Even though it's probably at least seven years old, I can't wait to have it developed and see what, if anything is on there. Thank you, thank you Carrie and bless your eyes!

Poor Rose

Pretty Rose has been sick since the middle of last week. Without going into the disgusting details, apparently she ate something that "didn't agree with her". She's been very lethargic since last Thursday, and has pretty much zero appetite. She's been to the vet twice, and thankfully today we learned that it most likely isn't something causing a 'blockage'. Very good news since that means she won't have to have surgery. And the past couple of days her appetite seems to be returning somewhat, and she's keeping things down, as it were. She really likes boiled hamburger and rice, it turns out! It seems like she may be on her way to recovery!