Hiawatha's Grandmother
Rundown (2)
On the Riverwalk
The second part:
Last Friday, I spent most of my time at the SPE conference. I arrived a little late and couldn’t get into Martin Lister’s standing-room-only presentation, “Photography and Information.” Thankfully, I ran into him on Saturday and he said that he would email the paper to me. I’m looking forward to it—it fits into the interesting space between aesthetics and technical communication. I went to the exhibit hall instead, and met A.D. Coleman. While I’d like to support his photocriticism cyberarchive, it’s difficult for me. This information should be open access (in my opinion), not sequestered in a pay-to-access archive. This does not diminish my appreciation for Coleman’s criticism, it only makes me question his politics.
Rundown (1)
Save on Ink
It’s been a hell of a week. The first part:
Drove to Chicago on Tuesday, and discovered more cheesy sites in Wisconsin. Had to get up before light to drive to Palmer House to register for the conference—I spent a long time talking myself out of going to CCCCs this year. We had to get reservations at a hotel at the outskirts of town we could afford, and I hadn’t preregistered. So many people backed out of the blog workshop that there was a serious problem—there were only five people of the original ten listed actually present. Because I initially retracted, my name did not appear on the printed program. This may be the last of these workshops, primarily because the people who have been doing it for the last few years want to move on and no one has stepped up (that I know of) to recruit experienced bloggers to expose other educators to blogs in the classroom. It’s sort of sad, but organizing bloggers has much in common with herding cats.
Suits Me
I hope I can post a rundown sometime soon . . .
Cheese
Steaming
Strolling
I feel like I walked a hundred miles today.
Wonderchicken?
Spotted along the highway in Wisconsin— a wonderchicken? Seems a bit stern
400 Bar
The opening guy (I forgot his name) from the 400 Bar last night. I didn't shoot the main event.
Though it made it hard to get up to drive to Chicago, I had to go to the 400 Bar to see Steve Wynn last night. I’ve always seemed to miss seeing him along the way. One Danny and Dusty show in 85 was all I managed. In the 90s while I was in California, he was playing Europe. When I moved to Arkansas, he started playing California again (at least infrequently). Finally, he played in a place I could get to. In fact, he’s playing in Chicago tonight—though I can’t make that show and get to the workshop tomorrow in time. When I was younger, I would have tried anyway. I’m getting too conservative, I suppose. It’s different when you’re supposed to be smart, not just present.
But the show was really worth it. The band hit a certain level on the third song (“Death Valley Rain,” as I recall) that most bands can’t reach until the end of their set. Once the level was struck, they stayed there. Linda Pitmon ranks among the best drummers I’ve ever seen. Too bad this band has just never seemed to reach a broad audience in the US. It’s their loss. And they even played the song I mentioned a few days ago, “The Deep End”
My father
My father in 1943. He was 18 years old.
Four Ages
Inspired by The Three Ages of Wonderchicken and my birthday today, a fat set of files for your perusal.
The criteria seem simple enough on the surface: songs that “put me in the mind of being” a certain age. I soon found it was more difficult, because each of the ages (18, 28, 38, and 48) were quite complex. At eighteen, it was just before some really interesting events. I wasn’t very social at eighteen. I lived in the middle of nowhere around the corner from a dairy—adjacent to a potato patch—but with an excellent view of the lights of the city after dark. The wind and dust blew solidly, day and night. There was an iron Ben Franklin fireplace on a flagstone slab. Many memorable times involved The Burning of the Midnight Lamp.
The morning is dead, but the day is too
There's nothing left here to greet me, but the velvet moon
All my loneliness I have felt today
It's a little more than enough to make a man throw himself away
And I continue to burn the midnight lamp alone
Now the smiling portrait of you is still hanging on my frowning wall
It really doesn't really doesn’t bother me too much at all
It's just the ever falling dust that makes it so hard for me to see
That forgotten earring laying on the floor
Facing so coldly towards the door
And I continue to burn the midnight lamp alone
(Loneliness is such a drag)
So here I sit to face that same old fireplace
Getting ready for those same old explosions going through my mind
And soon enough time will tell about the circus and the wishing well
And someone who will buy and sell for me
Someone who will toll my bell
And I continue to burn the same old lamp alone
The hazards of doing this sort of thing on a birthday is that all the songs seem much more “angsty” than is really necessary. Things weren’t really that sad, it’s just the criteria of “putting oneself in the mind of” after so many decades tends to accentuate the atmospheric, rather than any specific ennui. At twenty-eight, I didn’t have that fireplace anymore. It was more like watching life go by from a car, or better still, from the heights of a plane. My first marriage was a year old; the rate of change was balanced by a wandering spirit moving against the grain. I took a lot of pictures of empty things—Roy Harper’s Twelve Hours of Sunset pretty much sums it up.
Worlds of Fun
Kansas City, MO
Different
Bella Vista, AR
A few hours after I passed through here, there were severe tornados that picked-up pick-ups and planted them on the roofs of surrounding homes. The owners weren't amused. There were 107 tornados in Missouri the same night; some of those lifted semi-trucks; I hope it didn't have much to do with my leaving. Of course, the scene was a little different back home.
Carthage, MO
Bee Discount
Rich Hill, MO
No Regrets Knives
Butler, MO
Butler, MO
Osceola, IA
The parking lot at Terrible's Casino
My love
Still a popular look
Happy Birthday, my love
