It's been quite a week for me in ramping up on the world-wide web.  I got my first comment from a genuine "stranger" after linking to Annie Frisbie's article on Donnie Darko.  Annie kindly linked back to me from her blog and I'm interested to read more of her book reviews.  I've already bought one book based on her recommendation.  We'll see if we agree.

I spent last night researching various topics and websites.  I learned about rss feeds and how they help people follow blogs.  I joined Linked In (see button, below right).  I may actually be inching up on the 21st Century!  (Slow and steady is the pace.)

And yes, I'm married to Mr. Technology, so it is shocking that I'm not more up on these things.  But it's classic right brain...I only get interested in widgets when I see how they can lead to far off places.  Then I get juiced enough to stay up all night figuring out why my Linked In button sends everyone to Weebly's Dan Veltri.  (Got a nice note back from Dan telling me how to fix that!  Veltri, not Morefield.)

Speaking of wild, wild...two political items that I am unable to resist addressing.

1.  The shoe-tapping Senator.  Who knew (well, lots of folks I guess, but not me) that tapping your shoe in a men's room is an invitation to casual sex?  Not only that, but it's (apparently) illegal. 

I'm still not sure why it's illegal.  The closest anyone's come to explaining it to me is that it's illegal because it's solicitation for sex.  Okay, sez I, but doesn't that happen in bars all over America (gay and straight) every night?  Maybe the illegality is that it's solicitation for sex right here, right now.  But I'm fairly sure that's not all that uncommon either.  Be that as it may, I agree with my Mom that the real issue is more in Senator Craig's attempted cover-up and denials than the misdemeanor itself.

As to his repeated denials about being gay, who knows?  Who cares?  Seriously, these days, why can't there be gay Senators on both sides of the aisle?  For an amusing take on this question, watch the video below.  The funniest part of the video is how it highlights Craig's opening comment..."Thank you all for coming out today."  Sheesh, the irony.

2.  Almost as ironic as Bush's comments over the departure of AG Gonzales.   "It is sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons."

Um, excuse me.  But isn't the reason Gonzales's name was "dragged through the mud" because he impeded others from doing important work by firing them "for political reasons?"  I don't know whether to laugh or cry over the idea that no one in the Bush administration saw the irony of his statement.  Was it that they didn't vet it...or that they didn't get it? 

In my sporadic review of Democratic Presidential nominees, I did about an hours worth of reading into John Edwards positions today.  I came away favorably impressed with him for a couple of key reasons.

1.  I don't agree with him on everything.  Now, this may seem counterintuitive, but to me it indicates that he's what I'm looking for in a President...a middle of the road person.  I tend toward the left so I know if someone's got some differences and congruities with my positions they must be middle of the road. 

2.  Unlike some of the other candidates, his positions seem to be part of a comprehensive vision for America rather than a list of responses to the issues du jour.  Part of the reason for this approach may be that he's been honing his approach since the 2004 race, but at least some portion of his ability to approach issues in context has to be because of his world view being more integrated and less piecemeal.

3.  He has a broader variety of experience than many candidates.  He's been a trial lawyer, a U.S. Senator, a business owner and a consultant.  He's also worked in non-profit.  Sure he's "young" but he's got breadth to his experience.

I only found two issues in my brief research that bugged me.  Not enough to make me say I don't like him but enough to keep me from saying "This is my guy."

The first is a quote.  "...small towns and rural areas are the keepers of American values like family, work, community and freedom."  Okay, I get that he comes from a small town and that such apple-pie rhetoric is especially appealing to that demographic.  But c'mon.  "Keepers of American values?"  There's no way Republicans are going to mistake you for Dubya, John.  Stop hijacking his misty-eyed, erroneous and patronizing idealization of a rural America that (maybe) existed in the 1950's.  I grew up in suburbia and I feel quite sentimental about the way suburbanites are "keepers of American values like family, work, community and freedom."  I imagine folks who grew up in the city feel much the same.  Yes, our rural areas need revitalization.  But you don't need to convince me of that by painting me a sepia-toned word picture of Ma and Pa on the farm.

The second is that he's pro-death penalty.  I am not.  (Don't lose sleep over that, Dale...I just never have figured out how killing illustrates that killing is wrong.)  However, I can agree to disagree with him on this point even though it's close to a litmus test for me. 

For those of you keeping score at home, here's a quick summary of his positions--Edwards is for an Iraq withdrawal, capping greenhouse emissions, women's "right to choose", affirmative action, investment in rural economy, gun ownership, making a stand against genocide in Darfur.  He also has some interesting ideas on a universal health care and he wants to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the rich few.

So, a tentative thumbs up from me for Edwards.  And the research yielded a new bullet point for my "In Search of a President" criteria.  A bonus for my efforts.

 

I was down in San Diego yesterday to see Hamlet with Mom (at the Old Globe Theatre).  On the way to her house, I stopped by and saw Dad and Sally, Darrell and Jeanne and little Madeline (Jeanne's granddaughter).  It was quite the fun visit.  We got a few things squared away regarding printers and various computer programs...then it was off to downtown San Diego.

I am amazed how light the traffic is in San Diego when you're going against the commute.  A trip that would take an hour in LA, even during light traffic, takes 20 minutes or so in San Diego.  Unless you hit the commute.  Then you're toast.

Fortunately, I was going against the commute, so made good time to Banker's Hill.  Mom continues to do amazingly well on her new knees.  We had dinner at the Prado restaurant in Balboa Park, then walked over and had coffee while people watching by the Globe.

There was an educational lecture just prior to the show, so we listened to a lecture called "The Question of Questions" by Dr. Peter Kanelos of USD.  He was quite illuminating in his talk.  I've seen Hamlet I don't know how many times (a dozen?) and he pointed out things I'd never caught in the play.

For one, Hamlet is in his late 20's or even as old as 30 when the play takes place.  Another really interesting insight is that the "Mousetrap" play Hamlet stages to gauge his Uncle Claudius reaction to a poisoning has a nephew poisoning an uncle.  Kanelos suggested that Claudius' reaction to the play might be partially explained by his own fear of Hamlet.  This would be more convincing if Claudius didn't later confess to killing Hamlet's father.  But it was still an interesting twist and, I've read enough Shakespeare (and seen enough) to be convinced he doesn't put in such twists by accident.

The last insight, which I found very satisfying in the production, is that the play is a play of questions.  The most famous of which, "To be or not to be," finds its complementary echo when Hamlet finally decides to take action and says, "If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come--the readiness is all.  Since no man, of aught he leaves, knows what is't to leave betimes, let be."

The lines above foreshadow Hamlet's dying statement...also amazing in this excellent production where there were words, and words, and words.  "...The rest is silence."

Watching this second production of Hamlet in one summer, I found that I preferred this Hamlet to the OC Performing Arts production.  The key, as I told Mom last night, is that the actor in the OC production "interpreted" Hamlet (in a truly quality performance).  By contrast, Lucas Hall of the Old Globe's production, inhabited the young(ish) prince.

One last note and I must get to work!  I also saw the film Donnie Darko for the first time this weekend.  A very interesting flick.  And it occurs to me that in many ways, Donnie is a modern pastiche of Hamlet. There is much of the same struggle with mortality and the corruption of the world in the eyes of the protagonist.  There is also the same question of the protagonist's madness being real. 

Anyone else ever see the connection between these two cult classics?  This rumination on Donnie Darko by Annie Frisbie quotes Hamlet, but doesn't link the plays.  Maybe there's an article in this for me!

I have my garage back!  That's right, contractor Larry is nearly done after 3 months of work on the Great Landscaping Project of 2007.  The patio cover is finished and awaiting artistic touches.  The spa is complete, running and heatable (we still have a couple of weeks before it goes "saltwater"...part of the saltwater chlorination fad sweeping pools installations nationwide).  The barbecue is functional (now that Dan is out of town and I won't be cooking for six days...ah, the irony).

I've posted some photos below for your viewing pleasure.

What do we have left, you ask?  The putting green needs to be installed...turf has been delivered and after some concern on Dan's part, we've agreed to go ahead based on their guarantee that he'll be happy with the final results.  Lighting needs to be installed in the garden area (pathway and accent).  Stepping stones to the side yard gate.  And I think that's it (at least as far as the contractors are concerned).

I, on the other hand, am now shopping for patio furniture in earnest.  What we've got will tide us over, but we really need some counter stools.  And I need to figure out towel and cushion storage options.  Minor details...and the fun stuff!

Oh...and I've got to clean the inches of dust off the windows, the garage and even the garbage cans.  What a messy process this was!  But I am loving the results.

Other than that...not much to say this morning.  I know.  Alberto Gonzales resigned yesterday.  My reaction to his resignation is akin to my reaction to Rove's departure.  Too late.

To be frank, I'd rather live in a country where he was forced to resign over his opinion that the protections against torture in the Geneva Convention are "quaint" and his staunch support of unfettered presidential powers, than one where he left because he lied about firing U.S. Attorneys for political reasons.  In either case, though, we're better off without him as AG.  Let's hope this time the AG is someone who (to quote Hillary Clinton) "cares about the rule of law more than he cares about protecting the President"

Amen, sister.

August 23rd was the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's assault on the Gulf Coast.  There were all the indications of an anniversary.  HBO replayed its indictment of the Federal Government "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts."  Newspapers and magazines all published articles about Katrina and its aftermath, mostly in New Orleans.

The LA Times has had a number of articles in recent days.  There was an article and an op-ed in today's times; both of which warrant reading.  For different reasons.

The article describes the fight for custody of a rescued pit bull between a California relief worker (who rescued the dog) and the Ninth Ward original owner of the dog (who wants her back).  The LA Times, as you know, has a decidedly left-wing, California slant to its reporting...so I'm not surprised at the snidely judgemental references to things no self-respecting middle-class Californian would allow with their pet.  Mortal sins like not neutering and clipping the dog's ears.  The horror.

The article does, however, do a good job of presenting both sides of the story.  The rescuer has considerable emotional and financial investment in the dog she calls "Sweetie."  She found her on the porch of the abandoned Ninth Ward home, followed her progress from animal shelter to animal shelter, eventually adopted her and nursed her back to health.

The owner also has considerable emotional and investment in the dog she calls "Crown."  She bought the dog for her husband but, as fate would have it, the dog bonded with her.  She cared for the dog on a working class wage, likely devoting more of her take home pay as a percentage on the dog's care than the rescuer in California.  She raised the dog, saw it through a litter of puppies and searched for it after returning to New Orleans post-Katrina.

Bear with me for a moment as I seem to switch topics.  The op-ed likens the recovering New Orleans to a person who has suffered a near-fatal stroke.  When Dan and I came back from New Orleans earlier this year, having spent time with our shell-shocked friends and having seen some of the devastated areas, we used the same metaphor to describe the city and its residents. 

So while I sympathize with the woman who rescued and cared for Sweetie, my decision (if I got to be Solomon in this situation) would be to return Crown to her owner.  The loss that the owner has endured, in belongings, in feeling safe within her home, in trusting the government--well, that can never be completely healed.  But the cold snout of her loving dog could go a good way toward restoring her heart.  And the self-less giving back of the dog, regardless of the rescuer's cultural judgements of Lousiana pet owner mores, would be a far more charitable and meaningful act than her original rescue of Crown.

 

We're off to see a friend in prison this weekend, so I'll be offline for a few days.  In the meantime, check out my site "in progress" (under construction?) for Hale Honu.

I'd appreciate suggestions on how to make the site user friendly for folks who might want to rent the Hawaii house...and what might be the most attractive things to mention.

I mentioned during yesterday's chat with Dan's sister-in-law, Cindy, how cranky and out of sorts I've been this week.  So I wasn't terribly surprised when I was cranky again this morning as I got going.  Something small happened on my way into Starbucks though that made me feel a whole lot better.

I go to Starbucks most mornings to buy a latte.  I justify the habit as my first meal of the day and my way of getting calcium (which I need as a woman of a certain age).  I used to have angst over driving to get the coffee until Darrell bottom-lined it for me...pointing out that I paid a lot more per gallon of Starbucks coffee than I do per gallon of gas.  (That might have dissuaded some people from getting the coffee but not me!)

Anyway, the parking lot getting to the Starbucks normally seems like a speedway--people racing each other through the lot to get to the best and closest parking space; then racing each other to the door to get ahead in line.  I hang back because I have the luxury of setting my own work schedule, so I don't need to race.  But that doesn't mean the racing doesn't irk me...it often does. 

So it was a nice surprise this morning when a gentleman behind me in the parking lot, who got a closer parking space than me because of my habit of parking farther away and walking, not only held open the door for me as I got to it but insisted I go ahead of him in line.

What a kind thing to do.  I will have to do the same thing for someone else next time I go.

It changed my perspective, got a smile on my face to start the day...and that's (almost) better than a venti-nonfat-one-splenda-latte.

Almost.

Had some wonderful new friends over last night for dinner, Chad and Kristen and their two darling little boys, Alexander and Andrew.  (What is it about naming children using the same first letter?  My Dad did it, my nephew and his wife have done it...don't they know it challenges us of the tiny brain?)  Alexander is 3 years old and Andrew is an adorable baby just under a year old.

They both were very well behaved; Andrew crawled around and happily explored.  "Zander" kept close to the folks at first but then we found some balls for him to play with and he came out of his shell.

We had a yummy dinner (if I do say so myself) of chicken and mushrooms with wine, onion and garlic sauce, accompanied by fresh squash from the farmer's market.  We topped the whole meal off with strawberries in balsamic vinegar and a dollop of light whipped cream.  One of the great things about having time to cook is that I find I enjoy it more and I'm getting more creative with "basic" recipes.  Anyway, everyone seemed to like it and Zander even ate a whole chicken breast!

After dinner, we visited and played with the kids while showing the adults our slides from the Antarctica trip.  Zander was fascinated with the penguins but other than that, he and I tossed the balls around while the slides played.  Then the grown-up "boys" began tossing the ball with him and it quickly became a game of dodge ball with Zander dodging, throwing (he's got a great arm for 3) and proclaiming "Ouch" loudly, then giggling louder, every time he was hit.

In the LA Times the past few days, there's been a series of articles about memory and how it's created.  The science is fascinating.  I've read a book about parenting and memory formation (on a recommendation from Dr. Gregory Hamlin) called Parenting from the Inside Out.  The book talked a lot about the way memories are formed in early childhood.  The articles focus on a particular researcher and his discoveries about the actual chemical processes that take place to create memory.  There's a great "interactive" slide show that breaks it all down.  An event is translated to an electic impulse that fires in a neuron cell.  The electrical impulse is translated into a chemical reaction that sends neurotransmitters across the gap between neurons called a synapse.  And (if the memory "sticks"...ie, if the chemicals make it across the gap and onto receptors) then the chemicals physically restructure the nerve cell, thereby creating memory.

Naturally, that got the poet in me going.  I thought of how events "swim into memory" across the synapse.  How some are rejected, some make it across and some build structures so sturdy that a whiff of strawberries can take me back to hulling strawberries with Grandma Baldridge 30 years or more ago.  I thought about those little boys last night.  How Chad tossed Andrew around so casually and to the baby's great delight.  Will Andrew remember the feeling of flying and falling into sure hands?  Will he always love the slow ride up the roller coaster and find himself laughing like a little child during the twists and turns of the downhill slopes?

I like to think so.

I love how life has these synergistic moments...a dinner comes together with an article and then sparks ideas.  And I love how a child laughs so freely, so innocently, with every cell of his being, between the toss and the fall.

But not in that order!  Went to the Angels vs. Yankees game last night.  What a fun baseball game!  It was close the whole way, the lead kept switching  back and forth.  The Yankees started off with a run in the first inning, much to the glee of the plentiful Yankee fans at the ball park.  Then the Angels answered back with three runs of their own in the 2nd inning. 

Things got very tense in the sixth when the Yanks pulled ahead on a two run homer.  The Angels answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh.  Then the Yanks scored another two runs to tie it up.  In the end, it went 10 innings, there were controversial calls that kept me closely involved in the game and...the Angels won.  What a great night of baseball!

We went with our local friends, Tom and Renee', and enjoyed all things baseball (beer, hot dogs, peanuts, the National Anthem, the seventh inning stretch, leaving early to avoid traffic--and so Tom could be fresh for his early morning corporate gig today--and catching the final moments of the game on TV...doesn't get more Americana than that)! It was, however, not a good way to start the food diary.  Ah well.

We also have progress on the Great Landscape project of 2007.  The patio cover is almost complete.  The spa is full of water and "curing."  Now it's just a matter of finishing up the softscape, getting the putting green in, and finishing up the design elements of the patio cover.  Oh, and we'll need some furniture.  We're not at the end of the road yet, but I can see it from here!

Now, if I can avoid the beer and peanuts tonight, all will be well. 

Patio cover from the top looking down.  We're going to add some copper art (eventually).

I had every intention of blogging yesterday...and then the power went out in the middle of the afternoon and stayed off for a few hours.  So, no blog.  Instead I read for awhile, took a little cat nap, did some chores around the house, rested my sore ankle.

Have you ever noticed how power outages or other "unplanned detours" can be a blessing.  I didn't know I needed to power down myself yesterday afternoon.  But since I didn't have a choice, the body took over from the brain and I had a restful day. 

Which was a good thing because today was my first session with my trainer, Drew, at 24 Hour Fitness.  We had a meet and greet last week but this was the first time we worked together.  He was very good at tailoring the reps, the resistance and the weights to my current level of fitness.  I was encouraged because I remember more than I thought I would after a year off of formal training.  Posture, breathing, form, it all came back pretty easily.

Which is not to say that I won't be sore tomorrow.  I'm pretty sure I will.  But one of the nice things about starting fresh with Drew is that I'm not pushing myself to instantly be at the level I was when I left off.  Then I would be discouraged.