LA, the beginning

While, officially, we "launched" a couple of weeks ago, LA really marks the beginning of the trip. Oregon is family. The airbnb place we're renting belongs to a woman in the movie business .... set design etc.. The decor here is a cross between 1930's thrift store chic and its dumpster out back. M. Lee, who is more kindly disposed to the display, describes it a prop warehouse. I'm sure he's right. Why else stuff some twenty dilapidated plaid suitcases of various bright colors under the bed? And the rooms are stuffed with everything from ancient phones, croquet sets, movie posters, animal skins, dishes, neon hotel signs, typewriters, cameras, antiquish bathroom scales, tennis racquets, spent bullets, rusty old coffee cans and lanterns to a wall of framed paint-by-numbers landscapes. In a word, crammed. Drives me not so quietly crazy which drives him crazy.

Our first day here, right off the plane, we took his mom to her favorite thrift store, a chain called Council Thrift. She found a white jacket she really liked and put it on to get M.'s opinion before buying it then went off to the cashier, still wearing it, and purchased her own coat, still in hand, for the grand price of five bucks. Later, realizing what she'd done, she was mortified. Luckily, she's a good sport because we're getting a lot of mileage out of it.

Off to Disney Land

And tomorrow we "do lunch" with Thea Bella, her gorgeous, green-haired, 15 year-old sister, mom and dad. They are, at this moment, en-route to Disney Land. Lucky for us, our paths just happen to cross because the next day we leave for Istanbul.

Sonder

T plus 6 days

Blowing dandelions

We're launched and, sadly, that means the Bird Park is closed. Of course, the house sitter keeps one seed tube filled for the little birds but it's too much to ask anyone to do what I do. Damn. Just when it was getting interesting. Maggie Magpie had become comfortable with me being out in the yard with her and Charlie the crow was dropping by mid-morning for his own, private snack. He selected a spot as far away from the main area in the Bird Park as possible, a section of fence under the trees right outside the kitchen window, and from there called until I came out and gave him his peanuts. If we were around more, no telling how this might develop. In summers past he'd perch on the fence opposite my office window, where the main area in Bird Park is located, and pitch his case. That bird can sweet talk. But now we're gone. I'm sure Maggie will keep an eye on things. She always shows up within a day of our return.

Pizza night

But now we're on the road. Of course, as usual, we're starting our adventure in Portland. Gotta see the gkids. The other day four-year old Leo took us to Reed Canyon, a lovely little ravine on the campus of Reed College which is, to Reed's credit, still quiet enough to support nesting ducks and geese. As for Thea, she is currently learning about the universe in kindergarten science class and has "definitely decided, no doubt about it," that I am an alien.

Baby Chance

Breakfast with crows

The crows are dining at the Bird Park this morning. Minerva and I are delighted. They are our honored guests, well not guests, members, honored members. We've been home since January and only recently have they've decided to trust us. They stop by briefly almost every morning now. The fellow munching kibble on the little plastic table is actually much bigger and cooler then he appears here. I took this photo with my cellphone. I don't have a "real" camera at the moment. As I mentioned in the previous post, M. Lee has taken over the Sony. I will have a camera for the trip, a Panasonic Lumix, but it's currently en route to his mom's place in Oregon as we are now in the final countdown and will be going there first. How do they say it when they're launching a space shuttle? T-minus? Around here it is now T-minus 9. I'm already missing my birds.

Remnant thumbnails

My old camera is haunted. Playback shows videos that aren't there. Today I turned the camera over to M. but he found nothing. Then okay. I must have downloaded them and then forgot I did. I'll go with his diagnosis ... remnant thumbnails, phantoms. So it goes. Like dreams that return to haunt you during the day. Strange memories connected to nothing. I've never gotten along with this particular camera anyway, a Sony Cyber-shot. It takes ok photos but I don't like the way it interacts with my computer and I hate the Sony PlayMemories Home software. Now, M. is taking it and I am getting a Lumix. I liked the Lumix I had before, the one I wore out. The Sony and I were just enemies from the start. Sometimes it's like that.

Just for a moment....

...consider this.

The Daily Show
Daily Show Full Episodes,  More Daily Show Videos,  Comedy Central Full Episodes

The probability of pumpkins

Currently M. Lee is putting together our next trip. We'll be gone at least five months so it's a rather complicated itinerary. Besides juggling travel times and ticket prices, he has to find and rent airbnb apartments in nine different cities in seven different countries. He begins each city by researching neighborhoods and setting some basic parameters like price range, dates, keywords etc. Then he enters the labyrinth.

 Finding the middle path...

Source

....that is the goal.

He studies the photos, reads the reviews, google-walks the streets, checks access to public transportation, finds the supermarkets, farmer's markets, parks, museums etc. etc. We stay at least a month in some of these places so these things matter. It's hard on him but I will say this. He comes up with some kick ass plans. He began researching for this trip in January, right after we got home from Thailand. Thus far he claims to have studied over 3000 apartments. Once he does narrow it down to his top picks, he corresponds with the owners because, of course, we always have questions .... bed size, they never mention bed size, internet speeds, noise factor, kitchen, laundry and so on. What they do say is cozy. They all say cozy as though cozy says it all and is all anyone needs to know about anything. That word is now blacklisted around here. And don't sneak it into the conversation as acogedor, douillet or gemütlich. In any language, cozy is still very annoying.

And finally, after all that, we go over the best of picks together and settle on our favorites. Then, and only then, he makes an offer. Sometimes it's accepted, sometimes not. There may be more negotiation, if not, it's back to the list. Only Paris remains on the table but we won't be there until September so it can wait. I want to write, "Paris can wait". It's satisfying to be dismissive of Paris as Paris is so full of itself, but that would mean using the word Paris twice in the same sentence which, to my way of thinking, is somewhat clumsy and a bit obvious so I went with the word it which, perhaps, is even a bit more dismissive of Paris and, even though I like Paris (M. hates it), I like that because, like I said, Paris is full of itself. That sentence, you might notice, is an homage to my new favorite comedian Stewart Lee. But I digress. We leave in a month. The house sitter would be happy if we left tomorrow, but there is so very much to do between now and then.

In mathematics you don't understand things, you just get used to them."
- John von Neumann

Rolling on

She ambles out on stage to a dark house and stands a moment gazing into the gloom. It is the night sky. It is the bottom of the sea. It is where lost dreams gather and discuss amongst themselves what could have been. She listens then turns and walks off stage. One light slowly comes up on the curtain. It parts.

Rest in peace, Sam

"I want medical experiments on animals stopped.
They don't do anything, and they don't work," ~ Sam Simon

Sad day. Sam Simon, co-creator and producer of "The Simpsons", died today at the age of 59. Of course, I love the Simpsons and thank him and cartoonist Matt Groening for that, but even more I love that Sam, who earned tens of millions annually from the show, donated his entire fortune to charity, including many foundations working to secure animal rights and welfare. Thank you, Sam. You will be missed.


"Veganism is an answer for almost every problem
facing the world in terms of hunger and climate change.
~ Sam Simon

Sap Moon

Source: Four Mile Lab

There are many names for it among Native Americans, Sap Moon, Little Spring Moon, Snow Crust Moon.  Earthsky.org calls it micro-moon and mini-moon. In any case, tonight's full moon (exact at 4:05 p.m. PST /18:05 UTC) is the smallest full moon of the year because today is also the lunar apogee – which means the moon is at it's farthest point from earth. Today it is 30,000 miles (48280 km)farther away from Earth than the full supermoon and the Northern Hemisphere’s Harvest Moon which both happen later this year.

So, enjoy the Sap Moon. The bees are. Today, finally, they showed up. I was very concerned that spring had come too early because the pussy willow tree are blooming and, unlike years past, no bees have come to harvest its abundant pollen and enjoy its delicious, rich sap. But today, on Sap Moon, they arrived and the tree is filled with their buzzing.

Source: Condesign and Pixabay

News at 08:21

Ok. Time to crank the wheel and roll this page down. The world has given Mr. Spock a loving, sad farewell and now it's time to move on.

So.... as for today.... not a lot going on here in Nevada, at least outside my window. A grackle is currently strolling through the Bird Park. A covey of quail are out nibbling seed, along with the new resident doves. A few red wing black birds are on the feeders. The lovely flicker pair are gobbling the apples along with several starlings. And, as always, finches are hopping around. They are the first to arrive and the last to go.

And, of course, Maggie Magpie is keeping an eye on things. At the moment she is perched in the now dead aspen tree I planted several a few years ago. Big mistake. Runners started popping up everywhere. I've since read that the aspen holds the world's record for largest living organism on earth. Yes. That lovely, whispering forest, which in autumn turns the mountain side brilliant gold, is one tree. One. Learn from my mistake. Don't plant one in your front yard. You will be mowing it forever.

But my little grove of three, that's right, I planted three, my little grove of three died. Guess I got lucky. It's kind of ugly but I had them topped and left their trunks standing so the birds could perch in them. Sooner or later I will remove them because it looks stupid but, for now, they stand and Maggie is sitting in one.

So. Have a good day or at least a day.

Whatever alternate universe you travel, be well Mr. Spock

Back in the acid days, I held out hope that Mr. Spock

Photo source: Emmy TV Legends

 would beam me up so I could apprentice with him.
Who knows? Perhaps he will yet. 

Remember Sunder?

If you love happy endings, you're going to love this one.

If you were one of the thousands of people who signed the petitions and/or donated to Sunder's legal expenses.... thank you, thank you. He is now free and lives in India's first ever free-roaming, forested, elephant sanctuary established by PETA India, Bannerghata Biological Park. Petitions work. Keep caring. Keep signing!

Me and Dali

They say the camera doesn't lie....
but does it?

MOCA (Museum of Modern Art), Bangkok

Happy dark of the moon and Lunar New Year, 2015

Dark of the moon & Lunar New Year

I really like the Google sky map app. I use others as well but, for a quick look at the heavens, sky map works just fine. This image is from last night about 6:30, but what the hell? As you can see, the sun, moon and Neptune are conjunct in Aquarius and have just disappeared below the Western horizon. Happy dreamy New Age Lunar New Year!

Archive update

I just added a poem to my poetry archive, AnnaSadhorse. It's one I wrote in 2004 and published here at Language Barrier on August 30, 2005, the day after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Anyway, I just got around to adding it to AnnaSadhorse. The imagery is violent, but necessarily so, as it describes a time when light must find us because we cannot find it. It's called Spirit Barrier.

Sometimes life's a bitch

Friday's wild storm had gusts up to 90 miles an hour and, between the valley and Lake Tahoe, left 21,000 people without power, some until Sunday. And that night, after the wind knocked down sections of the fence between our houses, it also brought Roxie crying to our door. She's my neighbor's so-called "outside" dog. I realize she's a hardy mix but he left after the storm began and left her out in it, as usual. Don't get me started on "outside" dogs. I will never agree with people who think dogs should live outside, whatever the weather. Fine. Wolves do it but they live in packs and have dens. Dogs are domesticated creatures who also need a pack and a den. Anyone sitting warm and cozy in their fat while their dog huddles alone outside in the rain and cold is an asshole. So, even though her paws were caked with mud, we let her in.

Uninvited guest and the magpies are pissed

And about 2 am we let her back back out again. We had to. She was pacing and whining and beginning to howl. Her "owner" barely interacts with her, so she's basically feral. She doesn't even wag. We felt bad but didn't lose any sleep over it. It's just the way it had to be.

Morning guest. Roxie at the door

Five sections of fence are down and Roxie is still wandering around the three yards that are now open to each other. Fine by me but the birds don't like it. Yesterday morning, she ate most of their kibble and was back at the sliding door begging to come in, even throwing herself at the glass, I handed her some dog treats through the door then closed it again. Sometimes, life's a bitch.

Day in the life of Flat Eric

It's Sunday, my least favorite day of the week. At least it's not as bad as Swami's cousin, Flat Eric. Poor fellow.

Wednesday 12:10 update

Nobody's at the Bird Park at the moment. A hawk scared everybody off so it's just an empty gray day here in Nevada, this after Tuesday's lovely, though unseasonable, spring day. I was immediately out in the yard preparing a new flower bed. After my neighbor Dwayne and his wife were rousted out of their house last year by their son Tom, there have been a lot of changes next door and, in my opinion, some for the better. For one thing, Tom cut down the poorly aspens along the property line and pulled out the rangy juniper that hogged all the morning light leaving me with a new, thin strip of space to plant. I feel rich. It not only gets morning light but all day light.

Invisible Theatre conference
Yellow Swami is back after a grueling year
in Cambodia and here at Invisible Theater
we couldn't be happier.

Don't get me wrong, we all miss Dwayne. He was a great guy,  a true bon vivant. The first year we moved here he was trying out sobriety. It was his finest hour. After he went back to drinking we watched his light slowly go out. There were still a few good years when he and Clarence the cat continued to hold their garage court. When the door was up, we'd stroll over. Clarence would meow a cheery hello and Dwayne held forth. It was always fun to visit them. When he went back to drinking the bitterness set in like a final night, then came the cancer, then the horrible years of chemo and booze before his son Tom finally forced the two of them out of the house and into senior care, where they belonged. It got tricky. When Tom mentioned moving, Dwayne threatened to shoot him. They had always had a horrible relationship. That's when Tom came over and asked me to help distract his dad while he removed all the weapons from the house, which I did. When Dwayne saw his guns go out the door, he turned to me like a growling wolf and said, "Traitor. Get out of my house". Those are the last words he ever spoke to me. Within the year he was dead.

Chiang Mai at night
Andre Govia, one of my favorite photographers
"liked" this on my flickr account so I am stoked.

The birds just returned to the Bird Park so I guess the coast is clear. Maggie Magpie is out there too. She and her mate basically hang around all day. The rest of the tiding leave right after gobbling breakfast. And to our delight, the quail, finch, sparrows, a few mourning doves, some blackbirds and even a few crows (probably Minerva and friends) showed up about a day after we returned. I suspect that at least the quail stayed even after we left in October. Seems Suki, Dwayne's cat after Clarence died, disappeared sometime in the fall. I like to think some kindly person, sick of seeing her huddling all winter in the cold and snow, gave her a home. Other than Tom, those of us in Suki's little support group, miss her but the upshot is that the Bird Park has returned to sanctuary status. Other than the occasional passing hawk but, of course, they don't stay long.

Home again!

back in the valley

We got back to Nevada this afternoon, we meaning yellow Swami, coral Swami, Andy, Minerva, M. Lee and I. We're all back. It's been five months. Everyone here at the Invisible Theatre is ecstatic that Swami is home! Who would have guessed he'd be returning with us? He's a little battered and rumpled. The way he says, "Cambodia! Woo!" gives me the shivers. Who wouldn't be a little rumpled after that? But still, wonders really do never cease.

On the fly

Our time in Portland is quickly coming to an end.

   It has been utterly delightful spending time with the family.

.

We are totally under their spell,

the grandkids in particular.

They are growing up way too fast!

And yes. Swami is here. It's great to be reunited with him but more about that later. It's late and I've got to try to sleep.

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day

Woo-hoo! It's that time of year again....National Squirrel Appreciation Day.

Just remember to get the UNSALTED treats.

The Somnambulists

We are now about 33 hours into our return trip home. We are all as rummy rheumy as hell. I don't think I mentioned it earlier, but Lee's 84 year-old mom joined us for our last two weeks Thailand. She came to Bangkok on her own, which I think is kind of amazing. How many 84 year-olds are up for that? But she loves to travel. And actually, if it wasn't for her, we would never have seen the puppet theatre. It was part of a boat tour that we wouldn't have done on our own. More about the puppets later.

Bangkok night

Anyway, we are all as rummy rheumy as hell. Did I mention that already? But right now, it's morning in Thailand and I am feeling oddly awake, although it also feels like a long time since that 3 AM when we started out. At the moment, we are enjoying a 12 hour layover at the Los Angeles airport. There is only one direct flight a  day to Oregon, a little little propjet. And, since early afternoon we've been sitting in a really dreary wing of the airport. Half the room is casually draped with cloth that looks like gigantic white bed sheets and partially walled with bare drywall. Either we are dead and in some nether world, transitioning to the next dimension or LAX is doing some remodeling. 

Goodbye Thailand, for now

We're seven hours into a 36 hour trip. We left this morning at 4 AM and are currently sitting in the Hong Kong airport waiting for our connecting flight to LA.

As we are flying back in time, we will arrive in Oregon two hours after we left. At this point, I don't have time for anything more than a quick update.

Hanuman grabbing Swami

Yesterday Swami almost ran off with Hanuman and the Thai Puppet Theatre.

You could say Hanuman kidnapped him but I'm guessing it was a collusion between the two.

Either way, Swami took off with him and, for a moment, I thought I might never see him again... again. But Haunman brought him back.

He is a gentleman, after all.

It was a strange and perfect reenactment of Swami's disappearance in Cambodia last year and s his return this year. He's waiting for us in Portland. We should be there by the weekend.  Can't wait to see him and those grandkids. They are all growing up way too fast

Je suis Charlie

Nous sommes Charlie

Graphic by: by Lucille Clerc


Here are a couple of thoughtful articles reflecting on some of the more obscure, but extremely important issues, related to the horrific massacre at Charlie Hebdo last week. They are right on and well worth a read.

Why the Charlie Hebdo attack goes far beyond free speech and religion by Andrew O'Hehir

Unmournable Bodies by Teju Cole