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January 31, 2007
Good riddance, January!
[NOTE: comments for this entry have been disabled, due to extremely [META-NOTE: Why oh why did that careless misspelling of "persistent" (above) go uncorrected for two or three entire days? Where are my literate friends, my concerned family-- am I truly so alone in this world? Where is the Dream Editor, who will make everything Good and Carefree for the rest of my earthly existence?] Only a few more hours to go... One of these years I really must spend January in the Southern Hemisphere, which would literally cast this dreary month in a new light-- very restorative, no doubt. Only two more days until Groundhog Day, and we'll try to post our commemorative picture very early in the day for a change. Awwww, January's not really so bad-- today was a nice blue-sky day, and not too cold. I drove up to Pill Hill and took a few photos; here's one of Mt. St. Helens on the Portland skyline. St. Helens is really quite close to Portland via crow's flight, which reminds me of an ancient pop-cultural outrage: Our story takes place long, long ago, in a media galaxy far, far away -- a long-lost era when Saturday Night Live was actually fresh and funny, culturally cutting-edge, and eagerly anticipated from week to week. 'Twas 1980, in fact-- the year of Mt. St. Helens' big eruption. In an episode soon after the mountain's explosion, SNL's "Weekend Update" featured Jane Curtin reading a story about the volcano, capped by a snide comment to the effect that "Seattle and Spokane" might as well be written off-- that is, that they were fated to go the way of Pompeii. Which was an outrageously ignorant quip. Sure, Seattle and Spokane are in Washington State, as is Mount St. Helens. However, St. Helens is in far-southernmost Washington-- and is much, MUCH closer to Portland than to either Seattle or Spokane! WE'RE the ones who are truly "under the volcano!" Did the scriptwriters even bother to glance at a map? Apparently not. Such ignorance of the Western landscape is typical for those smug, insular, smartass Eastern twerps who write for SNL: after all, geography probably wasn't, like, their strongest subject in high school, man. As a matter of fact I've been meaning to write to the show and complain... must get around to that soon. Finally, here's another photo taken from Pill Hill, showing the new aerial tram and Mt. Hood. (New York Times article here.) ---r.
Posted by Romy
04:37 PM PST  We really should post our tributes to holidays earlier, before the days are half over. Actually, it's more than half over in this case...[Belated addition the next day] Dang-- why didn't I remember this video in time for National Gorilla Suit Day?
Posted by Romy
03:30 PM PST
January 29, 2007
Holiday Season Update
This entry's somewhat belated, since we're already at the halfway point of National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. --No, really! It's truly an exciting time of year, with many holidays coming thick and fast. Sorry we didn't give you a heads-up on this one sooner... Bubble wrap has many uses beyond its mundane package-padding role. It's actually quite warm when worn as an outergarment, since the enclosed air pockets provide efficient insulation, and the water-repelling action is superb as well. Great for chilly and damp sporting events, although you might want to cut eyeholes in the hood for a clearer view in that case. For normal walking-about purposes visibility is fine even without eyeholes, and yet a measure of anonymity is provided by the hood-- it's difficult for observers to identify the person within. This can be a useful feature if you're in the mood for some blue-collar crime, not that we'd advocate such a thing here. Anyway, you're free to celebrate Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day in the manner of your own choosing. Just be careful out there-- and don't tell 'em we sent you. --r.
Posted by Romy
01:04 PM PST
January 26, 2007
Posted by Romy
03:40 PM PST
Labyrinth
Can you guess what film we saw last night? Yep, Pan's Labyrinth was quite a visual extravaganza, and it sure has been racking up some rapturous reviews. Can't say I disagree with them: well worth the trip! --r.
Posted by Romy
03:23 PM PST
January 24, 2007
The Holiday Season
Gorilla Suit Day Can't you just feel the excitement of the holiday season getting into full swing? Groundhog Day will be upon us in no time, and another important occasion I'd almost forgotten about arrives even sooner, just a week from today. That's right, it's National Gorilla Suit Day! Just think: two monstrously festive occasions -- one dedicated to the world's largest primate species, and the other to a robust rodent -- fall within a few days of each other. Woo-Hoo! Time to get the gorilla suit out of the closet and dusted off... wonder how much they'd charge for drycleaning the old thing? It could use it, actually... And if you don't have your own suit you'll have to rent, but time's getting short. If you haven't already reserved one, it could already be too late, what with the seasonal rush-- so drop everything else and call RIGHT NOW. (Hmmmm... and that rat suit they offer for rent could almost pass for a groundhog, come to think of it. Maybe with a bit of extra padding for the body and the cheeks...?) --r.
Posted by Romy
12:25 PM PST
January 23, 2007
Tainted Spud
SkyFrameFl (Picture) I'd meant to post an entry on Sunday, but unfortunately got sick that afternoon and haven't felt shipshape until today. And it was my own fault, for carelessly eating that tainted spud. Yep, 'tis true: I'd baked several potatoes a few days earlier, and one leftover tuber had been sitting on the kitchen counter ever since. It's been quite cool down at the Swamp Shack lately, and I foolishly assumed that it'd be perfectly safe to reheat and eat that last orphaned potato for lunch-- and after all, it looked and smelled ok... Boy, talk about learning a lesson: within a couple of hours the symptoms had appeared, and so much for the next two days! A bit of research points toward staphylococcal food poisoning as the likely culprit, and I'll never again be so careless with long-unrefrigerated food. Moving on, the frame in the photo linked above is a skylight in Dallas Texas, located at a sculpture garden which will be named when I remember it. For now we'll just blame the staphylococci for any temporary memory loss... anyway, the skylight's in a small room, and that view up through the roof is the Whole Point: the entire room acts as a "frame" for the constantly changing sky, which was actually quite effective. I immediately thought that this sky-frame could be useful photographically, so here we are. The flute is in C minor, a great-playing flute which is available as of this posting. Time to get back to business in earnest-- yeesh, Groundhog Day will be upon us soon! How the years fly... and we have a wonderful groundhog photo coming up for that occasion, too. So don't eat unrefrigerated baked potatoes, people! Listen to the rueful voice of experience. Sometimes I feel I've got to… (bam bam) Run away, I've got to… (bam bam) Get away from the pain You drove into the gut of me… For I toss and turn, I can't sleep at night… Tainted spud …(O-oh) Tainted spud… (Tainted spud) Tainted spud… (Tainted spud) Tainted spud… Tainted spud! --r.
Posted by Romy
02:14 PM PST
January 18, 2007
The Art of Slivinski
Slivinski_86 (Poster for our one-painting Slivinski exhibition) Wacky Willy's Surplus store used to be located just a block down the street from my studio, and I'd generally pop in about once a week to see what was new. That vast warehouse was stuffed to the rafters with all sorts of electronic and computer equipment, miscellaneous outdated medical supplies, uniforms, bins full of odd, failed consumer goods, books, office furniture-- you name it. Much of the stuff at Willy's was just plain baffling, and some was downright unidentifiable. Always a fun place to visit, and one never knew what might show up next-- perhaps a hidden treasure. One day several years ago I went in and noticed several huge stacks of paintings. There were literally hundreds of them in many sizes, ranging from letter-sized up to larger pieces perhaps 4' x 6', and almost all were in a "drip" style inevitably reminiscent of Jackson Pollock. For a few minutes I dug through the piles, marvelling at the determination of whoever had done all this relentless work: each painting was dated, titled and signed by one "Slivinski." A hand-lettered sign next to the heaps read something like "Own an original Slivinski! Only $10.00-$35.00!" But after glancing at a small fraction of the pictures, it was too depressing to continue. After all, this guy (or gal) had spent years and years turning out zillions of these paintings-- and here they were ingloriously piled in a liquidation warehouse: it seemed more and more like a bummer of a metaphor about the Ultimate Futility of the artistic struggle, for most of us mortals, anyway-- and grim mortality had undoubtedly caught up with old Slivinsky. For many months after that first discovery, those paintings graced Wacky Willy's. They did seem to sell a few of them, and by and by I noticed Slivinskys popping up in odd places around town. Several appeared in an anarchic outdoor showing of "street art," and a couple were slipped subversively into a cafe' exhibition mounted by a slight acquaintance of mine. Eventually Slivinski prices were slashed at Wacky Willy's, and after a long, long time they all were finally gone. I did not purchase my own Slivinsky, pictured above: it was a gift from Daniel the Intergalactic Hobo, who deserves a separate blog entry at some point. Anyway, one evening I encountered Daniel on the sidewalk outside the studio; he's a fixture in the neighborhood, and we've had a number of surreal interactions over the years. Lo and behold, several Slivinskis reposed in his shopping cart along with the usual assortment of cans and bottles and other salvaged detritus of the Affluent Society. Although I don't remember the occasion for his largesse, Daniel insisted on giving me one of the paintings in his cart, while emphatically asserting that it had been executed by Pablo Picasso under the pseudonym of "Slivinski" and was thus worth several million dollars. He confided that he had several more of these covert Picassos stored in secure undisclosed locations around town and could afford to spare this one; I was instructed to keep it safe and guard it closely. As I said, more on Daniel later; this was just one of many bizarre episodes involving him in the neighborhood. There you have it: Ladies and gentlemen, I give you "Slivinski." First million takes it... Impeccable provenance and assessment via Daniel the Intergalactic Hobo. --r.
Posted by Romy
04:19 PM PST
January 16, 2007
Snow Day
Snow1 (Unremarkable picture of snowy field and trees) Here in the Willamette Valley it doesn't snow every year, at least not enough to stick on the ground. But today we got several inches, and it's blanketing everything very picturesquely. I didn't attempt to drive today, and probably won't do so tomorrow either unless things warm up quite a bit in the morning. People in this area are completely hopeless snow drivers since snow's fairly novel, and it's dangerous out there on the road! On the brighter side, it's high time to buy a set of cross-country skis. Sure would be fun to strap 'em on and just slide out there right now... Snow does look nice on the bamboo, too-- and I do make fine bamboo flutes, by the way. Just a reminder. The picture linked at the top of this entry was taken just up the road; that's the same field where the crop circles appeared last summer. Finally, here's yet another photo of bamboo shoots. All the trouble of taking those, ya gotta do something with 'em... --r.
Posted by Romy
05:57 PM PST
January 15, 2007
Struggle Against the Scourge of Tannism
[2/17/07: Several comments deleted due to repeated, extremely obnoxious spam attacks. Is there no way to close the entry to further comments while preserving the existing, legitimate ones?] Tannism-- alternately spelled "tanism" -- is an ugly, vicious, abhorrent, and yet all-too-widespread social problem, and you heard about it here first. It's peculiar among harmful human prejudices in that it appeared quite recently in historical terms, rapidly metastasizing throughout the USA mainly in the second half of the 20th century. Tannism is especially insidious in that it flies under the radar of prevailing social disapproval, or "political correctness." Indeed, many individuals who casually express tannist sentiments are completely unaware of the hurtful, destructive effects-- and such lack of awareness is shocking; change is long overdue. A drive -- yea, a struggle -- to educate and sensitize our citizens about the scourge of tannism must be launched and pursued relentlessly... Wake up, America! Wake up, World! For too long, I've kept silent about my personal experiences as a victim of tannism-- but now this silence must be broken, once and for all. My DNA is largely Irish, and judging by my epidermis it evolved in the dampest, grayest, most sun-shunned shores of the Emerald Isle. Long ago, I learned that exposing such fair skin to ultraviolet rays in hopes of building a dark, melanin-based sun shield was doomed to failure: painful, burning, blistering failure. After a slow healing process my damaged hide -- no darker or more sun-resistant than it was before -- would have gained merely a few scattered, precancerous freckles. Indeed, the scourge of tannism has been fatal to many susceptible individuals, with their last painful, lonely days spent in the melanoma ward. The blazing summer rays are therefore to be shunned, with powerful lotions, potions, hats and long garments deployed protectively. Midsummer finds my visage no more bronzed than in the dark depths of January; each season in turn features my pallid, yet healthy skin glowing with its own natural, genetically bestowed translucency. Say it now and say it loud: I'm pale and I'm PROUD! Pallid is Pulchritudinous. Translucent is Tantalizing. Ghostly is Gorgeous. Fair is Fetching. (Of course other skin shades are beauteous too, when they're genetically natural.) --Which brings us back to those evil, vicious tannists. It's striking and appalling how often people have commented unfavorably on my proudly pallid complexion-- especially on the rare occasions when a bit more of it than usual is displayed. For instance, I've visited Hawaii several times over the past decade, and naturally the allure of that azure, balmy sea and the sparkling waterfalls is irresistable. Count me in, let's strip and take the plunge! Unfortunately, the scourge of tannism is rife in Hawaii, and on many occasions observers have shamelessly offered such "advice" as, "You're so pale-- you really need to get more sun!" --How dare they? Would they so insensitively and casually address an individual with very dark genetically-endowed skin, and remark: "Your skin is so dark! Have you tried bleaching, or perhaps a chemical peel? --Right... see what I mean? --And how dare these tannists presume that "tanning" is even an option in my case-- or if it were, that it would be automatically desirable? Why, even those with the natural ability to tan easily are better off avoiding it for the most part, as any dermatologist will attest. Just where did the insidious and dangerous presumption of "tan good, pale bad" COME from, anyway? It's a sick, sick social dysfunction, and yet so infrequently recognized and denounced. "Healthy" tan, my lily-white butt! Anyway, more coming on this later... so remember, FIGHT TANNISM! --r.
Posted by Romy
07:20 PM PST
January 12, 2007
Bamboo Shoot Shots
Bamboo_Shoots_Knife (Picture of bamboo shoots) I've spent far too much time this week trying to get a nice photograph of bamboo shoots for an upcoming book, for no better reason than the challenge-- and the potential satisfaction of getting it published. There's certainly no payment involved, not even for expenses-- and yet today it's a struggle against the impulse to set up and try still more variations on a bamboo-shoot shot. The photo above is just one of several versions already taken, and perhaps we'll put some of the others in the gallery over the next few days. [update] For starters, here's a picture of a flute with some bamboo shoots. Hmmmm: for one thing, I really should have gotten a version with a sprig of green bamboo leaves accenting the sprouts. Arrgh! OK, I give up: it's off to the studio to set up the spread again. Lights, action, camera! Your practical-minded host, rb
Posted by Romy
10:29 PM PST
January 9, 2007
Two Weeks of Lassitude
All right, the site's been pretty inert lately. Our resolution for January was to bite down hard on the reeds and to write extensively here on the blog... so far no good. Not that January's a total loss yet, much less the year. Splitting my New Year's resolutions into twelve discrete monthly packets was smart: with this strategy, if a month or two goes down in flames, much good can still be salvaged from the wreckage. I've observed over the years that the time near the Winter Solstice is almost always marked by a period of personal lassitude, typically lasting around one to three weeks. In some bleaker years this period amounted to a stretch of outright depression, but we're happy to report that such gloomy symptoms haven't cropped up so far... knock on bamboo. However, thus far it's been quite difficult to get into gear with January's resolution program. So, let's split the difference: if our "normal" period of lassitude runs from one to three weeks, we'll shoot for the median of two. That leaves another five days for slothful self-indulgence and apathy, with dynamic creativity and accomplishment due to return around January 14th. --Yeah! This useful site charts the seasonal daylight progression minute by minute. In Portland's latitude, we've already gained about The Surge is nigh. Back again soon... --r.
Posted by Romy
10:49 PM PST
January 3, 2007
MarchFourth --Here's a picture of the band I played a couple of tunes with on New Year's Eve. It was quite the party, and if attending many rehearsals and ill-paying gigs, putting up with tiresome "band politics," and so on weren't such a hassle, I'd be tempted to rejoin the group for the sake of the fun bits. Oh well, at this point sitting in on a special-occasion gig or three per year seems about right. My short spotlight feature worked out great the other night; what a blast! Played a frenetic solo on a small G minor bamboo flute, and the packed house went wild. Quite a rush... thanks to March Fourth for the great party!
Posted by Romy
04:08 PM PST
Back to unreality
Heigh-ho: how's 2007 treating you-all so far? I've been putting off writing those first 2007-dated checks, despite a couple of slightly overdue bills sitting around. Ahhh, what's an extra day or four at the start of a new year? Give those creditors a month's worth of encouragement and they'll just demand a whole 'nother year... For those inclined to click over, a modest selection of photos from last month's santa-madness dressup travesty can be seen here in Yahoo photos; for now I'm trying to avoid cramming more pictures into the onsite galleries until some editing and pruning's been done. Not a lot more to say for the moment. According to January's resolution this is Reed Month, and at this moment I'm at the studio taking a break from bamboo selection for clariboos. Awfully convenient, having this laptop and being able to connect to the wifi system of the cafe across the street! We'll try to get some relatively substantial, music oriented and lengthy blog material up within a week or ten, too. Right now it's off to paw through the piles and set some unrealistic production goals-- see ya! rb
Posted by Romy
02:23 PM PST |
