He was a good man, and he will be missed. Requiescat in pace. DA
Sunday, April 22, 2012
In Memoriam
He was a good man, and he will be missed. Requiescat in pace. DA
Monday, April 16, 2012
Whan That Aprill, With His Shoures Soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour --
So March wasn't what many people would call dry, what with a near record for rainfall -- more than double the normal average. And this April has had more sweet showers than the flowers really need, but Spring is a great season in the Pacific NW. When else can you mow your lawn because it needs it, and have the lawn covered with snow the next day? Crocus come up and get hammered by hail. Fruit trees bloom and new leaves sprout -- so green they seem to glow. Until a wind storm comes through, blows a few trees over and wipes out a few cars. 70 degrees and sunshine one day, 38 degrees and rain the next. Spring weather is exciting.
Exciting in pointed contrast with my life. I'm still in recovery from the knee replacement. The physical therapy and the surgery itself hasn't been nearly as painful as I expected. It's been pretty easy and according to the therapist my recovery is going exceptionally well. Still, I'm largely house-bound. I can walk only a couple of blocks, driving is really iffy and the bicycle is out of the question. So here I sit. I could re-arrange things to accommodate my lack of mobility, but I should be largely functional in just a few more weeks, so it doesn't seem worth while. Besides, this way I can indulge in a small bit of self-pity whining.
The pony is a curious story. One of our neighbors is, lets be honest, a low-rent sort of family -- details aren't necessary, but they have five vehicles (two drivers) and they're filling their back yard with tarped piles of stuff. Including the pony -- which isn't tarped, but lives in a small horse trailer that helps fill their back yard. I don't know why they have the pony, they don't seem to do anything with it. They don't have a pony cart and their children don't ride it. They don't seem to pay much attention to it at all. It seems healthy and apparently does what ponys do -- eat and poop -- but I'll probably report them to the ASPCA -- the poor animal gets no attention and spends most of it's time alone in the trailer. I can't imagine that's good for it's mental health.
Books: I've had a good run of books lately. Sex At Dawn (C. Ryan and C. Jetha) -- "the Prehistoric origins of modern sexuality" The authors explore the origins and nature of human sexuality, rejecting both the brutal chimpanzee social model and the group hug model of the bonobos (although the bonobos come closer to the probable human prehistorical model) The book is well written and entertaining.
Isaac's Storm (Erik Larson) A chronicle of the 1900 hurricane that wiped out Galveston, Texas killing 6000 people in the process. The book follows the storm largely through the history of the Weather Bureau meteorologist Isaac Cline -- it's well documented and well written, with a small personal connection: some of my immigrant ancestors entered the U.S. through Galveston and their records were lost during the hurricane.
The Pirates Of Somalia (Jay Bahadur) The author went to Somalia and interviewed pirates and government officials (often much the same people). A fascinating book I'd highly recommend for anyone interested in the region or subject. It has a lot of things I didn't know. Somalia looks like a chevron pointing east. The southwest part, Somalia, is where Al-Shabaab (Al-Qaeda) is most active. The eastern point is Puntland and between Puntland and Somalia is Galmudug. The north arm of the chevron is Somaliland. Puntland, Galmudug and Somaliland consider themselves semi-autonomous regions of Somalia proper, and all three are heading towards declaring themselves independent countries. In brief, it's more of a mess than I had imagined.
Pearl Buck In China (Hilary Spurling) I haven't read Pearl Buck since high-school, but I might re-visit her after reading this book. P.B. had an amazing and difficult early life and this biography is really well done. This is another book I'd strongly recommend. I wasn't familiar with Spurling, but after reading this book I'll read her biography of Matisse. DA
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour --
So March wasn't what many people would call dry, what with a near record for rainfall -- more than double the normal average. And this April has had more sweet showers than the flowers really need, but Spring is a great season in the Pacific NW. When else can you mow your lawn because it needs it, and have the lawn covered with snow the next day? Crocus come up and get hammered by hail. Fruit trees bloom and new leaves sprout -- so green they seem to glow. Until a wind storm comes through, blows a few trees over and wipes out a few cars. 70 degrees and sunshine one day, 38 degrees and rain the next. Spring weather is exciting.
Exciting in pointed contrast with my life. I'm still in recovery from the knee replacement. The physical therapy and the surgery itself hasn't been nearly as painful as I expected. It's been pretty easy and according to the therapist my recovery is going exceptionally well. Still, I'm largely house-bound. I can walk only a couple of blocks, driving is really iffy and the bicycle is out of the question. So here I sit. I could re-arrange things to accommodate my lack of mobility, but I should be largely functional in just a few more weeks, so it doesn't seem worth while. Besides, this way I can indulge in a small bit of self-pity whining.
Books: I've had a good run of books lately. Sex At Dawn (C. Ryan and C. Jetha) -- "the Prehistoric origins of modern sexuality" The authors explore the origins and nature of human sexuality, rejecting both the brutal chimpanzee social model and the group hug model of the bonobos (although the bonobos come closer to the probable human prehistorical model) The book is well written and entertaining.
Isaac's Storm (Erik Larson) A chronicle of the 1900 hurricane that wiped out Galveston, Texas killing 6000 people in the process. The book follows the storm largely through the history of the Weather Bureau meteorologist Isaac Cline -- it's well documented and well written, with a small personal connection: some of my immigrant ancestors entered the U.S. through Galveston and their records were lost during the hurricane.
The Pirates Of Somalia (Jay Bahadur) The author went to Somalia and interviewed pirates and government officials (often much the same people). A fascinating book I'd highly recommend for anyone interested in the region or subject. It has a lot of things I didn't know. Somalia looks like a chevron pointing east. The southwest part, Somalia, is where Al-Shabaab (Al-Qaeda) is most active. The eastern point is Puntland and between Puntland and Somalia is Galmudug. The north arm of the chevron is Somaliland. Puntland, Galmudug and Somaliland consider themselves semi-autonomous regions of Somalia proper, and all three are heading towards declaring themselves independent countries. In brief, it's more of a mess than I had imagined.
Pearl Buck In China (Hilary Spurling) I haven't read Pearl Buck since high-school, but I might re-visit her after reading this book. P.B. had an amazing and difficult early life and this biography is really well done. This is another book I'd strongly recommend. I wasn't familiar with Spurling, but after reading this book I'll read her biography of Matisse. DA
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