Dan came home early yesterday.  What a pleasant surprise!  We went to see "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" at our local movie theater.  I haven't read any reviews but it was a pretty light crowd for a summer afternoon.

The film was enjoyable for its special effects and, especially, for Imelda Staunton's delightfully cruel performance of Dolores Umbridge.  I'm not a professional movie reviewer like my brother-in-law, Ken Morefield (check out his website here), but I do know when I like a movie, when I LOVE a movie and when I hate a movie.

I'm in the "like" category with HP&TOOTP.  One of the issues with making films from complex books is the necessity of paring down the subplots.  JK Rowling, author of the Potter series, loves her subplots.  So we get only the breathiest, flimsiest version of Luna Lovegood here.  Ginny Weasely, Harry's future love interest, is reduced to looks and the occasional production of extremely impressive spells.  Hagrid comes in and out of the movie without much motivation.

I love the characters and very much enjoy the actors who portray them in the movie.  This time around, however, I felt like their performances were abbreviated sketches rather than fully realized characters.  And I don't really feel it was the acting that lacked luster (Radcliff, Watson and Grint are fine performers...especially Radcliff and Grint).  Instead, I have the general impression (rather than a fully fleshed opinion) that the writer was at fault.

The writer, Michael Goldenberg, has delivered some good screenplays in the past (Peter Pan-2003 and Contact-1997), but this time seemed to be content with stringing together major plot points rather than creating fully realized characters as he did in his adaptation of Peter Pan.

Most disappointing of all was the short shrift paid to Harry Uncle, Sirius Black.  One of the most devastating losses of the book was Sirius falling "through the veil."  In the movie, it's a loss but not the blow of the novel.  And Harry's struggle against killing one of the dark lord's minions is less impactful since we can't understand the depth of his loss, horror and rage...and what it costs him to hold it back.

Ah well...that's my two cents worth.  And it's more than colored by the fact that I am in process of listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  The performer on the audio version, Jim Dale, does such a superb job of narration that it has been difficult for many of the movies to compete with his characterizations.

I'm about half-way through the book and already regretting the end of the series.  Does that stop me from listening?  No.  Quite a treat for when I'm on the elliptical.

Hey, a girl's gotta have something to motivate her!

p.s.  Check out Kenneth Turan's review for a cogent statement of what I merely was "feeling."

There was a thought provoking article in the LA Times today (get the sense that I read the Times before I blog?...You'd be right).  It's about nature of the brain during the first stirrings of (heterosexual) love.  Well, at least the article applies that it was all hetero couples that underwent an MRI after they'd scored as being High on the "Passionate Love Scale."

Apparently the brain reacts the same way (dopamine goes down, serotonin and norepinephrene go up--the seretonin and norepinephrene stimulate the brain while the dopamine makes the loved one a "habit") that a substance addict's brain reacts when fed his/her drug of choice.

Over time, the initial rush of love, as we all know, settles into something more stable or fades away entirely.  According to the article, scientists are beginning to test folks who've been married for 25 years or longer to see what love looks like in their brains.

Interesting, eh?  I wonder what commitment shows up as on an MRI?  Does it look like the brain while reading a complex and pleasurable novel?  I hope so.  At times, it may look like the brain when one is enjoying comfort food or a warm fire on a winter's day.

And what does it matter, anyway?  If we find out that attraction makes the brain act a certain way, does that negate the attraction?  If we find that married love looks different than infatuation, does that make one better or worse than the other? 

What I really want scientists to look at is why, when I found a new game to download--Mysteries of Horus (no link here...I don't want any other addicts), I can sit for hours matching symbols on the computer screen all for the paltry, pavlovian reaction to seeing the words, "New Record Score" after a round.  Now there's an addiction worth studying.

Saw a wonderful play with Mom last night, "after the quake" based on two short stories by Haruki Murakami.  In one of the interwoven stories, the characters formed a love triangle in college.  It survived even though two of the triangle started dating and later married.  The man in the triangle who was left out talked about dating after the woman he loved married his friend, how he kept himself apart from other women even while in "intimate" relationships with them.

The character's love for the original woman was much more akin to the "settled" love described in the Times article.  He was the addict after the infatuation wore off, which rings true.  She became his drug of choice. 

I love how life brings us these topics in little bundles.  Musings on love and the nature of love.  Nice way to start the week.

I was able to identify the fish I saw during my last snorkel in Kahalu'u by looking up "weird fish Hawaii" on the internet.  Is it a brave new world or what?

Here's a link to the photo I found.  It's a "flying gunard."  The one I saw was looking a little the worse for wear and didn't appear to have the demonic red eyes of the one in this photo...but it was definitely the same fish. 

It had not been a particularly fun snorkel.  There was a tropical storm off the southern edge of the Big Island and the tide was higher than I've seen it in the bay.  Wavelets were breaking over the barrier reef and, althought the turtles seemed to be enjoying access to rocks they rarely get to feed from, the rest of the fish seemed stressed and anxious.

I felt much the same way.  I love to snorkel and have good confidence in my ability to stay afloat for hours on end.  But in rough waters, I start to worry about currents...especially when I'm not with a snorkel partner and there's no one home to worry if I don't come back in an hour. 

So I swam out and back a couple of times.  There were Yellow Tang, lots of Green Turtles, HumuHumu (looking very aggressive, Lynne) and the usual assortment of wrasse.  By the third time I was heading close to the shore, there were about 20 people out snorkeling.  I decided to go out one last time and see if, by going slowly, I could find something unusual.

I was rewarded with the Gunard.

Sometimes, pushing the envelope a little bit is rewarded.  Especially if it's a small envelope.

Sometimes, pushing the envelope a little bit is costly.  It was certainly costly yesterday for the fine folks in the Mojave who were testing a new engine on SpaceShip Two.  Three people died and three were injured in an accident from causes currently unkown.

I so admire the scientists who are committed to getting us off this watery rock and into space.  When I say "us," I mean US...not just the astronauts but the individual.  There's a quiet little revolution going on in space travel as entrepreneurs seek to fund space travel as a destination. 

The folks who work in this field may be considered "odd fish" by many.  We've got large concerns here on earth.  Space travel is the stuff of dreams and fiction.  Why devote one's life and work to such an "out there" pursuit?

Some may say that it's frivolous to spend countless dollars and now, precious lives, in pursuit of economic windfalls generated by space travel.  But I am reminded of what prompted ocean voyagers to "new lands" or, better yet, "undiscovered countries."  It was business that got us out across the globe.  I believe it will be business, rather than government, that finally propels us into space.

So this is my own little nod to the strangers who invested their lives yesterday, unwittingly but perhaps not unwillingly, into our futures.

Thank you.

In this case, I mean the term wacky in an affectionate manner.  Yesterday a House Committee voted to "endorse the criminal prosecution of President Bush's chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, and former White House Counsel [and abortive Supreme Court Candidate], Harriet E. Miers for refusing to cooperate with a congressional probe into the firings of U.S. Attorneys last year."  This according to today's LA Times article: "House Panel OKs contempt proceedings".

(Is it just me or shouldn't it be "okays"?)

As background, the White House was heavily involved in the firing of several U.S. Attorneys in 2006.  Firing U.S. attorneys midterm is not unusual in and of itself.  What does appear to be unusual about the firings is they seemed to target those attorneys who were pursuing cases of political corruption against Republicans.

The question behind yesterday's move by Congress is whether or not it's just a political ploy during election season...or if a criminal contempt charge has the power to force the issue of "executive privilege"--that all encompassing cloak behind which this administration has been hiding since 9/11 became the far-fetched justification for invading Iraq.

The question isn't moot.  Dem's in congress are more than capable of cynical ploys.  And, as was pointed out yesterday, the contempt citations would need to be prosecuted by the Justice Department (you know, where non-loyalists are targeted for firing).  Not surprisingly, Justice has already said they won't prosecute.

However, the contempt citations are a way of applying pressure to the White House.  I'm also encouraged by the speculation that the House might take the unusual step of filing a civil complaint against Miers and Bolten.  (Miers didn't even bother to show up for her hearing...speaking of contempt.)  It's a long shot to hope that a civil court would take on parsing the legal nuances of executive privilege...but sometimes the dark horse wins.  In this case, it would be a win for all of us if it clarifies what qualifies (strategic decisions in legitimate wars?) and what doesn't (political hacks firing "non-partisan" attorneys?) as executive privilege.

Tony Snow, White House Press Secretary and former Fox News commentator, said yesterday that the contempt citations were "pathetic." 

No.  What is pathetic is that we have sacrificed our national honor on the altar of Dubya's failed foreign policy while our domestic economic situation has been mortgaged. 

Snow went on to ask why congress was pursuing the citations instead of "doing the people's business?"  The best answer to his question is that pulling in the reins on this out-of-control administration is the most vital aspect of the people's business right now.

Go, you wacky Dems!

Three headlines from today's LA Times:

1.  Foreclosures in state hit record high (Seems we're up a whopping 799%  from the same period--2nd quarter of the year--last year).

2.  Uninsured adults face yearlong delays for some surgeries (If you're in LA County and you need "non-emergency"--meaning not immediately life threatening but who cares if you're doubled over in pain--surgery, you better have insurance.  Otherwise the waiting list for little "elective" surgeries like gall bladders removal or hernia repair is over a year long).

3.  GOP budget plan would slash welfare (Senate Republicans are proposing a $324 million cut to welfare which would "result in as many as 40,000 families losing state assistance).

Never mind that welfare has been radically cut over the years of the Bush administration.  They want to cut more.  It's not a good time to be poor in California.

I know all the arguments ("I've known them all already, known them all" to quote Prufrock).  That only lazy people are on welfare.  Only people without ambition are without insurance.  It's the illegal aliens (let's blame them, yeah, or the terrorists).  Blah...blah...blah.  I worked with many welfare-dependent, uninsured people at the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry.  I can see them now.

Sure some have long-standing drug and alcohol problems.  But the majority are single moms (or dads) who are simply stuck in a cycle of poverty that minimum wage jobs do nothing to break.  Then someone gets sick.  Someone gets fired.

And their safety net?  Well, for up to 40,000 of them, it's more of a safety trampoline.  Here today, bounced out tomorrow.

And why?  So we can keep paying OUTRAGEOUS salaries to prison guards.  So we can keep providing agricultural subsidies that protect big farming companies.  So we can keep protecting big business interests.

Sorry kids.  It's a tough world out there.

There was an interesting and compelling article in the LA Times over the weekend.  It was written by William Lobdell, who has covered their religion section for a number of years.  I've read several of the stories he references in what turns out to be his sayonara to the religion beat and, it seems, his Christian faith in general.

Here's a link to the article, Religion Beat Became A Test Of Faith.

I felt a kinship with Lobdell when he described his conversion experience, his early years in faith and the struggle he's had to reconcile faith in God with the actions of those who call themselves "God's People."

It's been a tough several years for me and faith.  Heck, it's been a tough several years for me and life!  After struggling with the imprisonment of a dear friend, the tsunami of aftershocks to our lives, and recovering from depression, I've moved from a fairly rote set of spiritual practices (daily prayer, daily bible reading, weekly church services and weekly small group meetings) to an almost non-practicing faith.

I pray when someone asks for prayer.  I often express my gratitude to God for the blessings in our life (and they are indeed abundant).  But I don't keep lists of prayer requests nor do I feel like I must follow a particular prayer regimen.

I don't go to church anymore because the last one I went to just about did me in, in terms of faith.  Much more focused on the evils of homosexuality and liberal politics than they were on anything even remotely resembling talking about Christ and YHWH.

I feel a pull back to a community of faith...but no urgency to find one.

So one might expect that my faith is less than it was before.  In fact, I feel like it's stronger than ever.  It's my convictions about the extraneous stuff that's fallen away.  I believe in a larger, greater "mystery that we all call God" (as Depak Chopra put it on Larry King Live the other night).  I believe I live my life in relationship to God in a similar way that I live my life in relationship to others.

And, during the same Larry King show, Tammy Faye said, "I trust God with me."

That I do.

If that's not faith, what is?

I certainly didn't think, when I boarded the plane in Hawaii, that it would take me 3 days to get back on the blog.  Of course, it's not as exciting to blog about lazy weekends, doing the laundry, sudden HUGE migraines, and rejection letters.

Having said that...sometimes that's what happens in life!

Dan picked me up at the airport after a long flight (kids all around again...this time kicking the back of my seat for 5 1/2 hours over the Pacific).  I enjoyed an amazing sunset--gaudy oranges and pinks fading to mauve over a cloud strewn sky--despite the kicking.  I was also stunned when another jet passed us, heading to Hawaii, about an hour out of Orange County.  When you're sitting in the plane, you don't realize how stinkin' fast you're going...but when you have another (fast moving) point of reference, it all comes clear.

At home, I had a very nice rejection notice for five of my poems.  The notice was nice for two reasons.  First, it said, "The hardest thing we have to do as editors is to turn down excellent poets like you, poets whose submissions came very close; but were not selected."  Granted, it was a form letter...but I have edited a poetry magazine and I prefer to believe that they have form letters for poets they want to hear from again and another one for poets they don't want to hear from again...something less encouraging...maybe "Thank you for thinking of us.  Your poems did not fit with our publication."  I like the publication, Runes: A Review of Poetry, quite a bit.  And I'm not surprised I didn't get in since they had 10,000 submissions and selected 100 poems.

The second reason I thought the rejection was nice is that I got a handwritten note from one of the editors saying their favorite of the five submissions was "Advice."  I'll post it in the poetry section after I finish the blog.

The publication is worth checking out: Runes: A Review of Poetry.  They do issues surrounding specific topics.  My submissions were for their next book about Connection.

I spent Saturday unpacking, doing laundry, puttering.  Dan played golf and afterwards we did a bit of shopping, buying him an chair and ottoman for his office.

Yesterday was supposed to be filled with furniture shopping and golf practice.  The day started out well at the local farmer's market.  I picked up some gorgeous nectarines, a stunningly beautiful head of lettuce, grapes, bread, squashes and some tomatoes I can hardly wait to eat.

Then I was felled by a migraine out of nowhere...literally knocked me off my feet for the rest of the day.  I'm somewhat better today...down to a dull pounding now and again.  Lots of fluids.  Rest.  And the sound of our landscapers hard at work.

That's all the news from Laguna Niguel.  Now to send out those poems again!

I am writing this from the kitchen in Kona--all alone after dropping Dean, Donna, Deanna and Tim off at the airport.  What a great vacation!  I enjoyed spending time with Deanna's friend, Diana, and with her boyfriend, Tim.  He's a quiet man and also quite creative, thoughtful and caring.

Dean and Donna are more like friends than "family" and isn't that the best?  I really enjoyed our time together.  We hung out, played cards, snorkeled, hiked, fixed things around the house, fixed drinks and dinner for each other...everyone pitching in in the easiest manner. 

Quite fun.

There is a storm approaching the Big Island and renters for Hale Honu arriving tomorrow, so my solitude will last about another 14 hours and then I'll be on Aloha Airlines going home to Dan (!!) and to Laguna Niguel.

Yesterday, we walked to a beach called Kekaha Kai.  We were surprised when we arrived that the chain was across the access road...and we'd originally planned to go to Makalawena Beach (which was a mile or so from the end of the access road).  When we got to the pretty beach at Kekaha Kai (after walking about 1.3 miles across rough pavement and stones) we decided that pretty was just fine.

We hung at the beach for about 3 hours...swimming, sunning, reading and (in my case) snorkeling.  There were some really large Unicorn fish there and a few humu-humu (and assorted wrasses)...but the water was murky and a bit rough.  I much prefer Kahalu'u.

Deanna and Tim tossed around the baseball using his custom designed baseball mitts.  Then we trekked back up the road and dined at Killer Tacos in the Old Industrial Park, Kailua-Kona.  Well deserved calories, indeed.

After that, we came home and showered!  Then we enjoyed steaks, a last (for this trip at least) sunset on the lanai, and wonderful baked potatoes.  After dinner, Deanna took us all to the cleaners in an extremely competitive "short" game of Monopoly.  I say "short" because we used the "short game rules" and were supposed to be done in 60-90 minutes.

Two hours later, Dean and I desperately formed a conglomerate after Tim turned all his property and cash over to Deanna.  Donna somehow finagled free rents from the mega-corporation of Baldridge and Morefield, so we limped to ignominious defeat.  I must say that I saw a completely different side of Deanna.  All sweetness and light on the outside but a shark when it comes to, as she put it, "business."

So, that's it from Kona for the Hale Honu vacation of 7/07.  Back to reality after a travel day tomorrow.  Can't wait to see that man of mine!

Aloha, Hale Honu...until next time!  (Lord willing!)

Wow...a two-day blog hiatus!  Let me get you caught up.

On Monday, the five of us went with Hawaii Forest and Trail to visit Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park near Hilo, Hawaii.  We had to be up and out the door by 6:20 a.m. (which explains why we again forgot to put out the trash).  We met our tour guide, Matt, at the HF&T office and were on our way to pick up two other adventurers by 7:00 a.m.

HF&T takes you over the saddle road.  We ate at a park near the top of the saddle road (yummy breakfast cakes, coffee, and fruit) while being eyed by some local wild pigs.  Then we were on our way to the park with Matt filling us in on how the islands were formed, how the islands got their vegetation and how the weather impacts the different micro-climates on the island.

During this portion of the trip, many people...I won't name names...napped.

When we arrived at the park, he gave us a choice of activities since there isn't any active lava flow into the ocean right now.  (Locals love this because the "vog"--volcanic smog--is gone and the island skies are clear for the first time in 25 years.)  We all voted to walk through a small crater, Kilauea Iki Crater.  We hiked a bit over 4 miles total at a moderate pace, enjoying the experience of seeing the huge mounds of lava that, from the overlook, looked pretty smooth.

We did the obligatory stop at the Thurston Lava Tube, then it was on to hunt down Pele's Tears and reticulite and Pele's Hair.  We found the tears and the reticulite, but not much hair.

After a quick stop at the Jaggar Museum, we were on our way back home via a scenic drive through Hilo and up the north side of the island.  We stopped part way for some delicious (and well-deserved) malasadas.  We learned during our return trip that the earthquake last fall took out one of the popular waterfall tours that HF&T had put together.  Dad and Sally will be pleased to know that they have expanded what we affectionately call "The Hike of Death" as a result.  Something to look forward to next visit.

It stormed all night Monday night, and Tuesday (yesterday) we just hung out here and enjoyed a sometimes sunny, sometimes stormy day.  I had dinner with our incredible builder (Jerry Akers) and his wonderful wife, (Karen Akers) at the ever delicious Kenichi restaurant.  Dean and Donna enjoyed take out Mexican food from Habaneros while the "kids" went to Hard Rock Cafe.

Jerry and Karen told me a hurricane is headed to the Big Island on my departure date (Friday) so I was a bit worried...but today it's been downgraded to a (weak) tropical storm that likely won't hit the island until Saturday.  That's a relief!  I don't want to take off in a tropical storm, that's for sure.

Today, we're hoping for a bright enough day to hit a sandy beach...then it's going to be hard to avoid thinking about chores like packing and laundry before we head back to the mainland.

No...can't think about that yet!

 

Yesterday was another in a long string of relaxing, fun days.  The kids and Dean & Donna went into town for a Costco Run while I went for a walk-run.  There was none of the usual cloud cover and it was quite hot...so it was more walk than run out of the 4 1/2 mile escapade, but it was good exercise and I saw some interesting things.

I saw a guy who looked so much like my Dad that I almost called out to him.  I saw a woman and her baby in a tidepool.  There were young women practicing hula at the Pahoehoe Park.  There were flowers about to burst into bloom (I'm hoping they get there before I go home...if I still had my Hawaiin Plants Book, I could name the flower but it's MIA).  And I saw a tiny clump of ferns taking root in the shallow dish of a lava hollow.

After I got back, I read and sunned in the courtyard.  It's very relaxing there with the fountain going and the breeze.  The rest of the group got back from Costco and we hung out and ate lunch (sandwiches prepared by Donna) and later we went in to the Kona Inn and had the obligatory Mai Tai and did a bit o' shopping.

Then it was home for pizza and the sunset.  It was gorgeous in terms of the pre-show.  Lots of peeping in and out of clouds and a tall ship to lend ambiance.  But no actual sunset because of a thick bank of clouds.

I would continue to be remiss if I did not mention that the Baldridge Clan welcomed a new little niece on the 11th.  Ainsely Madiera Baldridge was born to June and Brian Baldridge...and welcomed by big brother Avery.  Everyone is doing well and through the miracle of the internet, I've already seen photos of this adorable little girl along with various kin.  (Thanks for sending the photos, Brian and June!)

At last, an excuse to buy little girl outfits!