GRIZZLY PEAR
Coming back from Overton, I took a slightly longer route via the Lake Mead Recreation area. It was an absolutely gorgeous drive.
So this weekend we trundled up in the van and went back to visit.
It did not disappoint, though partly because it is run down, with buildings from the late 70’s we’re heading towards a half century now, and the falling water levels certainly add to the air of disuse.
I’ve always had a fondness for lonely roads and straggly architecture and this got both in spades.
I was doing the dishes while my father-in-law was watching a trivia game show on Chinese TV. Amidst the hijinks, I snapped to attention when they host quoted in English “government of the people, by the people, for the people”.
My Mandarin isn’t any good so I have no context on what was going on before or after the quote drop, but I’m pretty sure the folks out there had no idea about all that is embodied in this line.
But it was a great reminder to take a moment to revisit this speech as a cornerstone of our shared mythology, defining who we are as Americans.
When you find one in this world, hang on to them tightly. There is a sacredness to such places.
Time flows slowly but inexorably, inevitably such a place will transform and change, and it may no longer be the right place for you.
Savor the moment, and count yourself fortunate.
I was about half an hour early to a meeting so I ended up grabbing a coffee at the campus cafe and surveyed the setting.
It was good to contemplate the users of my building. I needed to descend from the fog of bureaucracy and see the young women and men who will be using this building.
The people in that shop will be graduated by the time my building opens up, but the next round of future teachers of Clark County will be following right behind them.
And not long after, my daughter and then my son will be following behind them.
My two little ones are closer in age to these young folks than I am.
How time has flown.
The Clark County park system has program where one can purchase a memorial plaque at a tree.
My girl has always been intrigued with these plaques, and she likes having them read out to her.
To her it’s all so abstract, but when I get something near 1979, my eyes open up.
They are reminders that life is short, and it runs quick.
Go make the most of this time, it’s what we got. Nothing more is promised.
I’ve always been a big fan of Graham Oakley’s cheeky Church Mice Series. The illustrations are great, and the stories are really fun. My sister and I loved reading his books at the library.
But they are out of print and you can’t find any copies at the library. Though oddly enough, they do have some taiwanese translations that reformatted his books to a portrait format.
It’s a sad tale of what can be discarded with the ebbs and flow of fashion. Or reframed more optimistically, a tale of what the internet enables — a couple clicks of a button and I’ve got a copy headed home.
One of the local parks has a frisbee golf course so we brought one with us this latest visit.
First, I most likely could use “better” frisbees. I remember the game store in Berkeley having a whole wall of different frisbees for aficionados of this hobby.
Second, I have no idea if it made me any better, but I was constantly reminded of what I learned in Tai Chi. I tried to root my self in the ground and let the body relax, whipping around to initiate a wobbly sad flight trajectory.
Third, my almost 40 year old body was pretty compliant while on site. But it only took the ride home for my left arm to decide that this sudden uptick in this particular repetitive action was traumatic enough to send alarm bells for the rest of the day.
Finally, my daughter had a ball running up and down the hills chasing the frisbee and throwing it around.
My last two decades in a nutshell, encapsulated in a plastic disc.
A straightforward ranking.
• Top tier
Whisper of the Heart
Pom Poko
My Neighbors the Yamadas
• Almost top tier
Spirited Away
Only Yesterday
• Really good
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Grave of the Fireflies (should be near the top by its heavy)
• Quite good
Porco Rosso
• Good
Princess Mononoke
Howl’s Moving Castle
• Maybe good?
Castle in the Sky
Arrietty
Naussica
• Decent but too long
Ponyo
Tale of Princess Kaguya
• Doubtful quality
The Wind Rises
The Cat Returns
• Definitely not good
When Marnie was Here
From up on Poppy Hill
• Bad
Tales of Earthsea
I’m a fan of the animal burger at In-N-Out, but that is the exception that proves the rule.
What really matters is getting the main menu squared away. Make sure each item is a blockbuster (or get it off the menu). Do it again tomorrow. And the day after that.
Once you’ve got that set, then you can play with these one-off items, or if you want to be cute, go ahead and add something on to the secret menu that is actually a main menu item, just unwritten.
But let’s be honest, how many of us actually got the main menu down?
Like most people in my demographic I haven’t figured out how to quit Facebook, though I won’t shed a tear for its demise. However, right now it has become my best spot for friends news, national opinion, and random art (since I refuse to go to IG).
I also have this blog which has become a repository of all my deep thoughts. Privacy? Aww, lets just make it 100% public!
So where does Twitter come in? In one of my better decisions early in this young year, I decided to completely overhaul my feed to be focused on the State of Nevada, in part due to my new gig and the legislature session happening up north.
I’ve kept two national figures on my feed – Bomani Jones and Atul Gawande – but otherwise it is all Nevada and local reporters, politicians, opinion makers, and government agencies. Anyone that is consistantly national with their perspective gets booted off the list (I’ll find out bout the most recent outrages in Washington DC via the Nevada Senators and House Reps).
It has been really nice to differentiate between my Facebook and Twitter feeds for their own own specific use-cases, and so far, twitter has functioned really well as a “local newspaper”. We’ll see how long this lasts, but so far, it’s definitely worth a shot if you have a languishing twitter account.