Weblog
Articles
Film Reviews
Recipes
NMI Parity Check Error
Emerald Bay Photography
Resume
About
Contact

Archives for August 2003

August 21, 2003

Cowboy Shrub (aka George W. Bush) is scheduled to visit Central Oregon today. There will be no public appearances (just a speech about his "Healthy" Forest Initiative to a bunch of his local minions at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds), and the Secret Service of course won't divulge where he's staying tonight.

But I have a pretty good idea. The exclusive golf course and resort Crosswater in Sunriver (about 15 minutes south of Bend) has instituted a curfew from 3pm today to 9am tomorrow for anybody not actually residing at the resort. So chances that Shrub is staying there and is going to hit a few relaxing golfballs this afternoon are pretty good.

And to remind Shrub and everyone else just how gorgeous old growth trees really are (and that they shouldn't be chopped down under *any* circumstances), here's today's "Pic of the Day":

[]

This tree in LaPine State Park is Oregon's largest ponderosa pine. Nicknamed "Big Red," the tree is 162' tall, 28.9' around and may be in excess of 500 years old. It was originally even taller, but lighting struck the tree and chopped off its top part. Click on the image to get a more detailed look at this magnificent tree.



August 22, 2003

Damn. I just lost a whole long blog rant. It's all thunder and lighting outside, and just a split second before my computer got zapped and rebooted, an eardrum-splitting thunder exploded, seemingly directly over my house.

So I'll make this entry short and shut my box down right after to prevent any further possible damage.

Ha! I was right. Cowboy Shrub did indeed stay at Crosswater yesterday. The local newspaper, the Bend Bulletin, reported today on Shrub's visit here in Central Oregon, (mostly in an unusually giddy tone) and devoted an embarrassingly large section of the paper to a slew of articles, detailing his every move - complete with a picture of him teeing off at Crosswater.

Coverage of the numerous protests against Shrub in Central Oregon and Portland, where he attended a million-dollar fundraiser last night at the University campus, warranted one small picture and exactly a quarter of a column.

So much for "objective journalism".

On the Bright Side - here's today's "Pic of the Day".

[]

Calm and beautiful evening on the Little Deschutes, the small river winding through my backyard.



August 26, 2003

Out of work? Feeling unmotivated? Got no money?
Don't worry. You're not the only LOSER out there.

....or at least that's what oddtodd.com wants you to believe. (Thanks to Kerry Liles for sending over the link). So to cheer you up, Todd has put his unemployment and his raw talent to work and created a few rather hilarious clips. Go check them out.

Also - I couldn't decide on a "Pic of the Day" this morning. So I finally settled on something a bit out of the ordinary. This image was contrived (with a little help from Photoshop) from a photograph I took of Wilson Arch, a sandstone arch near Moab and the Arches National Park in Utah.

[]

Wilson Arch - Painterly rendition



August 28, 2003

First of all, I have to wish my buddy Adam a very Happy Birthday.
He's turning 30 today. The big Three-O. What can I say?
Well, Adam, hurray to the beginning of the best decade of your life! With the bothersome perky 20s behind you, you can now look forward to a slowly failing memory, sagging skin in unexpected places, the onset of grey hair (or balding - whichever), and just a general realization that your body is taking a dive down the hill.
And yet you feel better than ever - because "wisdom" is also kicking in, making you realize all those facts (and more) in every excruciatingly painful detail. Isn't it great?

In other news from the around the world - Kerry points me to this blog of The Harrow Group (Kerry, you really gotta get your own blog, man. Have you been over to Veldt yet? Great hosting service!).
Despite the suspiciously corporate name, the lone guy behind the blog really is a techno-phile of the first class - who with astounding fervor and child-like enthusiasm, guides the reader through the fibercable chaos into the futuristic world of nanotechnology and quantum computing. Always a good read and an excellent source for sparks of future technology knowledge.

Pic of the Day? It's random, I'll tell y'all. But celebrating the glorious beauty and freshness of nature once again, here is a panorama of the Tuolomne River, cascading by a smooth rock butte, just East of Yosemite State Park.

[]



August 27, 2003

I get the Word a Day newsletter every day.
In it, its creator, Anu, hightlights one single word (or sometimes an expression), usually derived from a weekly theme. He cites the word's origins and gives examples of usage.

It's usually very enlightening, and has expanded my vocucabuularly immensely. (Not that you could tell this from the ramblings on this site, of course.)

While mostly somber, in rare instances, the words Anu digs up are even amusing. Today's however had me laughing out loud, and I felt the desperate urge to share it with the world. So here it is:

dasypygal (da-si-PYE-gul) adjective

Having hairy buttocks.

[From Greek dasy- (hairy, dense) + pyge (buttocks).]

A related word is dasymeter, an instrument for measuring the..., no, not that, rather the density of gases. Another related word is callipygian - having a beautiful behind. -Anu

Oh, thank you. Thank you so much, Anu. You have changed my world beyond your wildest dreams.



August 25, 2003

Saturday was my birthday. I turned 32.
Which, come to think of it, was in actuality a pleasant surprise for me - for I had been living all last year with the notion that I was already 32, when I was really only 31. What can I say? I sometimes get ahead of myself.

I love birthdays though. They always bear such pleasant surprises. The first one was my gift - a PlayStation 2! Woohoo! Now I can go kick some evil-monster-ass as Jen or Dante any time I want.

The second surprise was getting email from a long-lost friend who for some reason suddendly remembered that I'm still alive too, although we reside in totally different parts of the world. I hadn't spoken or emailed with him for something like 3 years, so the mere fact that he found my email address (and it worked) was a miracle. Not that I hadn't thought of him recently - he's the spitting image of Arnold Schwarzenegger - minus a foot in height and minus the muscles though. And with Arni flashing his gap-toothed grin pretty much non-stop these days for his gubernatorial election race, there is just no getting away from him.

The third pleasant surprise then was of the culinary kind. On Saturday, I went to my favorite restaurant here in Central Oregon - a Sushi bar called Sushimotos. Their sushi is truly wonderful - not just for the exquisite freshness of the fish, but also for their creativity in inventing constantly new ways to pleasure the palate of sushi lovers. Amongst many other delightful little morsels, I had a salmon roll, consisting of roasted and chopped cashew nuts, rolled in salmon, dipped in tempura, fried, and then wrapped in rice and nori (seaweed). The tempura crunch and the nutty flavor in combination with the fish was simply divine. Thanks, Sushimotos, for making my tastebuds do the tango! And I urge anybody getting even within 50 miles of Sunriver, Oregon, to take the trip and have a meal there.

In my humble opinion, they are one of the top Sushi restaurants on the West Coast - and I know sushi ...



August 20, 2003

I'm on a roll. Blogging *is* fun! Especially if people actually come here, read my stuff, and comment on it. Thanks, everybody!

And since my photography is bringing so much joy to a seemingly small, but loyal readership, I'll try and do a "Photo a Day" again.

So, here's today's then.

[]

Temple One, Tikal, Guatemala



August 19, 2003

Film Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

When was the last time you've had pure, unbridled fun at the movies? Be honest. What? In 2000? When in a desperate and courageous attempt to escape the soulless Hollywood celluloid machinery, you caught a little film called Best in Show down at the local independent movie house?

Well, then you haven't seen this summer's most entertaining movie. Pirates of the Caribbean is everything a movie should be: dazzling visuals (but not in the overbearing, overused style of, say, the awful League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ...), an entertaining and never illogical storyline, delightful performances from the entire cast, whacky humor, and so much action and adventure, that about 15 minutes into the movie, you regret having bought that large-sized coke - realizing that sneaking off to the bathroom just isn't an option. ...full review ...



August 18, 2003

Palm trees swaying softly in the warm evening breeze. Cool white sand like silk beneath your feet. The sound of steeldrums wafting through the air. It's Monday morning here in Central Oregon, and I can hardly tear myself away from the lingering immersion in a weekend of paradise islands, sun, pirates, and Beach Boys tunes.

It all started on Saturday with a visit to the big screen to see Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

I actually don't remember the last time I've had so much unbridled fun at the movies. From the dazzling visuals, to a breathless and (in sharp contrast to most other movies this summer) logical storyline, to Johnny Depp's delightfully nutty performance as Pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, these 100-something minutes of celluloid rope you into their world, make you laugh out loud, keep you on the edge of your seat, and make you feel oh so sorry at the end that the fun is already over. (Full movie review to follow tomorrow).

On Sunday though the frolicking continued for me at The Beach Boys concert in Bend. Although the band started half an hour late (preceeded by one of the most god-aweful stand-up comics I've ever seen ... and who's name not surprisingly escapes me now ... Ron Something, from Portland), cheers went up in the anxious crowd as The Beach Boys finally stepped on stage. After a few slow warm-up songs, their 40-something years of stage experience kicked in, and with humor and enthusiasm, they got an amazing 95% of the crowd (most of which looked like they required a walker to even stand up straight) on their feet and on the grass, dancing, by song number 5.

Aided by seductive tunes that conjured up sandy palm beaches in Jamaica ("Kokomo"), blond surfer-dudes and babes ("Surfin' USA", "California Girls"), and 50s-style innocent romance ("Help me Rhonda"), The Beach Boys managed to time-warp back into the days when hotrods, surfboards, and radio were at the height of cool. Clad in breezy yellow Hawaiian shirts, and armed with a sense of humor that made mostly fun of their ...::cough::... advanced age, the band charmed their way into even those people's hearts who had expected to see a legendary, but nonetheless a bit dusty band.

As it turned out, the combination of a super-mellow vibe in the crowd, 80 degree temperatures on a cloudless evening, and 90 minutes of good, old-fashioned beach music made for the just about the most perfect concert experience anybody could ever wish for.

As for myself - I left the stadium barefoot, sunglasses and beachtowel clutched under one arm, humming to the tune of "Good Vibrations", and with a mood so good, it still lingers into today.

Now all's I have to do is find my way back into reality.



August 15, 2003

Surprise, surprise.

After a week of painting parts of my house and entertaining friends, I returned to my computer today half-way expecting my website to be down. After all, my server sits in downtown Toronto, and after the blackout yesterday, I didn't think electricity would be back up and running so quickly. But it was. A Hurray for Canadian efficiency. And I guess now the East Coasters won't be laughing at the Californians anymore concerning blackouts ... Heh.

In other news: here's a hilarious little nugget for my friend Adam - hey, does the Mac kill *your* inner child?



August 8, 2003

Alrighty then ... after a few alert readers wrote in to give me a piece of their mind in regards to my recent lack of blog postings, I decided to indulge them and offer at least a short post.

The good news is that my home survived the 21,000+ acre Davis fire (check out these and these insane pics!) that raged about 12 miles from my house at the beginning of July - and that my brain also survived the recent heat wave here in Central Oregon (surprising, isn't it?).

The bad news is that everybody living outside a 100 mile radius of Bend, Oregon, won't be able to come down to the Deschutes Public Libary in Bend and see my two photographs currently on display there for the "Creatures Great and Small" exhibit (until November 3rd, 2003).

Oh, ok, here's *one* at least ..

[]