Sunday, September 3, 2006 A
"Fresh Air"
The staleness of the long summer is breaking...
Sunday, September 3, 2006 B
"Ramses at Luxor"
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I figured it was time, I've accumulated enough Egyptian themed artwork to set aside a gallery just for them!
Sunday, September 3, 2006 D
"Uncle Paul Died"
After I got the gallery linked on all indices, I thought I'd check my email. I was stunned to read that my Uncle Paul died earlier today. I must have picked up on this sad event. The obit said it was after several lingering illnesses. He was always a quiet, calm person. May he be remembered long.
Monday, September 4, 2006 A
"Diversions"
Later, we watched a fascinating documentary on the world trade tower disaster. Partial re-enactment, partial explanation by people who survived it, it was really interesting. Discovery then had a documentary on the pentagon hit, which was done less than a year after it. Then, because you can't go to bed just after that, we watched the 'Mythbusters' guys try to shoot a steam impelled cannon. Not much success there.We left them before learning the mystery of whether the box is more nutritious than the cereal, though. It was late. Thinking ahead to later today, having studied the movie situation thoroughly, the best remaining films we haven't watched yet are 'Monster House' and 'My Super-Ex Girlfriend'. Perhaps the Monster will win out. I want to see 'Hollywoodland' and the 'Illusionist', but they aren't here yet. As more diversion, I prepared three small pictures for the Mirror Project, from the two of Julia and I in bathroom mirrors, and the unintended reflection in the window to tiger. After that I spent some time looking at other's reflective pictures. As soon as I saw the reflective effects from a DVD, I knew I had to play with one:
Monday, September 4, 2006 B
"Wordplay"
The movie is really quite good. You would think a documentary about puzzlers would be all dull and nerdy. There's even a same sex kiss in it. Okay, it's not a steamy mouth plant, just a quick peck, but it is between two guys, so that's fairly daring. I got to see faces of some of those who create the ones with which I struggle. They even have a yearly crossword puzzle convention, which attracts people who have been going for nearly thirty years. It was fascinating to watch the serious competitors. They are SERIOUS. One guy has kept a log of the time it takes him to complete each day's puzzle. It's quite a thick notebook by now. Former president Clinton is even in this show. He says doing the puzzles relaxes him. Um, he has a different emotional reaction than I do. Doing them keys me up, gets my brain running in drive mode, but it's an invigorating feeling I like. I love the 'ah ha' feeling when I solve a difficult clue. I love the feeling of triumph when I master the thing. (Conversely, it's disappointing if I don't finish it, even by one word.) I probably should have suspected it, but there's puzzles online. Watching this movie got us both keyed up to go find them. They have 'regular' difficulty and 'master' difficulty. Regular is plenty hard. Julia and I each had a go at two puzzles tonight. That's enough brain stretch for me. The first one, from USA Today, took me eighteen minutes and two seconds to do. That's right, they even time you. The second one at CBS News took me twenty one minutes and thirty three seconds. (The experts do them in less than five minutes.) I took a screen capture of the first solved puzzle:
 They're clever with the themes, this one featured egg preparations.
Wednesday, September 6, 2006 A
"Sinus Headache"
Wednesday, September 6, 2006 B
"Steve Irwin"
Most people are remembering him fondly, but there are a few who aren't. Germaine Greer told "the Guardian newspaper she found Irwin's behavior "bizarre" and "revolting," claiming nature had "finally taken its revenge" for harassing the animals he handled." Her remarks are thoughtless and not true. Certainly, as I've watched his shows in the past, I thought he took many risky chances, getting too close to animals. I remember a spitting cobra that spat all over the movie camera and nearly spat in his eyes. But revenge wasn't what that stingray had in mind. For whatever reason, it might have felt threatened (police who have seen the video said the stingray had NOT been provoked by Irwin), and the stinger mechanically sprang forth. That it landed in Irwin's heart and not an arm or leg was simply very unlucky. Whether or not we think he took too many chances, there was no doubt he loved animals and worked hard in conservation efforts. I found the Animal Planet show Confessions of a Crocodile Hunter very interesting as he and his family answered revealing questions. It was clear his family and mates loved him dearly. He was asked, "What do you most want to be remembered for after your death?" Steve answered, "For my passion and enthusiasm." It was true, he was a very passionate and enthusiastic dynamo. My thoughts go to his family.
Thursday, September 7, 2006 A
"Rare Rain"
As we've been turning the AC off at night, the house is hot and sticky. I'm glad I called the apartment manager to let her know of our leaky AC unit. Normally, it would only leak from the intake filter area when it rained. But for the past few days, it had taken to leaking whenever the AC was running. I was careful to emphasis in my message that serious roof rottage had to be going on. When we returned home, the many pails had been moved and the AC wasn't leaking. It's a darn good thing I fought past the sinus misery to make that call. I'd hate to think of the spew that would have been going on now. As it is, there is still some leakage. I moved a pail underneath the filter to collect the drips.
note at 6:37am:
Thursday, September 7, 2006 B
"Julia at River City Grill"
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