Category: General

Dream the First:

I’m on a road trip with two geeky friends and Superman. We’re all in a rental car.

My friends and I keep pelting Supes with questions, like “If you’ve got X-Ray vision, can you see out the back of your own head?” Superman gets cranky because he’s supposed to be on vacation and relaxing, and we won’t stop pestering him.

We get lost, and can’t find our way back to the highway. We ask Superman to pick up the car and fly us back to the main highway. He refuses and sulks in the backseat.

Interlude: Smacky scratches at the window, wanting in. I wake up. I let him in, go check my email, get a drink of water, use the bathroom. I go back to sleep.

Dream the Second:

I’m following Ken around the building where I work. He’s trying to get stuff done, and all I want to do is tell him about this really cool and funny dream I had about going on a road trip with Superman.

Bright colors and happy people in my neighborhood. I made a cute brunette with tats smile when I grabbed a sample cookie in the grocery store. Waited for the bus… Rode the bus to the bottom of the hill, Mount Scott. On top of there was Willamette National Cemetery.

Waited for the shuttle bus… Driver immediately took a 15-minute break. Decided to walk uphill instead.

Ate my carmel corn. It was all I had brought for lunch, along with a half-liter of water. Cars drove past. Warm day. Sting sang about being the King of Pain. I reached the gates to the cemetary.

I stepped over a mouse body, belly-up in death. I wondered if the mouse was a veteran.

Took my hat off in the heat. Glad I had the water. Cars drove past. The hill was steep.

People everywhere. Found mom’s gravesite with only a little effort. It was on the backside of the cemetery, with a view of Mt. St. Helens barely showing above the foothills.

She’s here, and not here. Everything that she was is in the ground here. There’s nothing left that I would recognize as my mom. It’s the same way I felt when I stood in the room with her dead body, only an hour or so after her death. She’s not there anymore. She’s not anywhere anymore.

I was sad, but I didn’t cry. I cried when she was alive.

A stick-thin and tall man with a woman’s reedy voice sat reading a book on top of a grave. Middle-aged women and men dragged teens and younger kids to view a spot on the ground where their ancestors lay.

It was at least a 30-minute walk back down the hill. I made my way past the fields of flags.

“Excuse me?” – an older Asian lady asked me to help her find her number. Of course I could. A laminated card with the name and a number and a section and directions. I walked back and forth and found the pattern and quickly located the gravestone.

“Here he is,” I said, not actually thinking he was there but realizing this place wasn’t for philosophical debates. I walked her over and showed her. She didn’t think it was right but then it clicked.

“Thank you,” I said, thanking her for the service, and for her devotion to this man, and for the opportunity to be of some small assistance to her.

“Thank you,” she said back. “God blessing you now.”

I smiled and again silently renewed my intention not to argue. If there is a God I’m sure He’s not too happy with my lack of belief. But I enjoy helping humans when I can. I put my hand on her shoulder, simple human contact, and left her to her visit.

The mouse’s body was still there on the way down.

Happy Memorial Day. I’m just writing off the cuff, having just awakened (Smacky let me sleep in today) so I don’t have much profound to day beyond a hearty thank-you to all the veterans and those who supported them out there.

To my friends and family who have served, thank you.

Thanks especially to my dad, who served in both the Navy and Coast Guard, and told me early on that military service wasn’t worth what you’re asked to put in to it. Although it served him well; he learned a trade, electrician, and that trade carried him, my mom, and my sister and I through some tough times. Plus it gave him a lot of stories to tell… He was on hand to see a nuclear bomb test in the South Pacific. I’d often hoped that would be where I gained my mutant powers, but if it had any such effect, the powers have yet to materialize. Thank you, dad, for your service.

Dad was lucky (or smart) enough not to have to serve in any actual conflicts during his service. That wasn’t true for my uncle Lavere, who was a gunner in World War II. His plane was shot down and he was detained by Germany in a prisoner of war camp, an experience about which he never talked, at least to curious nephews like myself. Thank you for your service.

To my friends Ken and Merry and Jake and Starr – thank you for your service.

Even Taij – I wonder what ever happened to him? A sarcastic, caustic, scheming geek-y ex-Marine. What an odd friendship we had for a year or so, but, still – thank you for your service.

I’m likely not mentioning many more folk, but don’t think it means I’m not grateful. Thank you all for your service.

“So, do you live alone?” she asked me.

She and I sat outside on a warmish Friday, sharing lunch and finding out about each other. I was having delicious Thai red curry, with a lake of coconut milk and spices bathing chunks of pineapple and chicken and an island of white rice. It was disappearing fast. She poked at a plate of pad Thai noodles.

Was she too nervous to eat, or did she not like pad Thai? I couldn’t tell, and in my own nervousness I disallowed the more flattering answer.

“Yes, just me and a grumpy black cat,” I said.

Her dark eyes sparkled and she laughed. “See? I knew you had kids, after all!” Her long straight Latina-black hair half-hid her face.

I paused, fork in mid-trip to my mouth, and considered Smacky. “Hmmm. I guess he is like a kid sometimes.”

A kid with teeth and fangs that brings home snakes to play with. I didn’t mention that part. First dates are no place to mention snakes.

I guess I was tired. Just like I kept saying all day Friday.

Tomorrow, May 24th, is both Bob Dylan’s 66th birthday and Talk Like Bob Dylan.

Not as fun as Talk Like a Pirate Day, but still… fun!

And for those of you who may be confused by the relevance of the above post title to this topic – Jimi was doing a cover.

Yay! – Bad Religion has a new album coming out in July! It’s only their fourteenth studio release, according to Stereogum. You can listen to their single “Honest Goodbye”, here.

Yay! – BACON.

Yay! – The season finale of “Heroes” was an excellent end to the first volume, and it made me a little misty-eyed.

Yay! – Bose-Einstein condensations of light-like particles! Not sure what they are, but they sound worth yay-ing about!

Yay! – The Republicans can’t raise as much money as Democrats can!

Yay! – Eva Longoria cures cancer with her bikini-clad ass!

Update

Fixed the link for the R’s vs. the D’s. h/t to Tracy!

One of the best parts of getting a new jar of Adams natural peanut butter is licking off the big wooden spoon I use to stir it up.

Boing Boing had a post a while back about some kind of fancy crank for stirring your peanut butter.

I don’t mind doing it manually, though. Pushing the spoon down through the layer of oil on top, into the thicker part of the peanut butter. Lifting and twirling and scraping the sides, making sure to get the spoon down into the corners of the jar, the smell of peanuts filling my nose.

And when I’m done and it’s all mixed as good as I can mix it, I pull the spoon out, carefully, wiping the sides and edges off against the lip of the jar. I use a smaller metal spoon to scoop out the excess in the bowl of the wooden spoon – bonus! Now I have two spoons to lick off!

I saw almond butter at the store today. More expensive (this was about a dollar more than my jar of Adams’ and half the size), but it had fewer calories and less fat. I’ll try it next time.

Sorry it’s been so quiet around here. I can’t even scrape together the time to slap a list together, like I’ve been doing.

There’s some events going on in the background that may not have an immediate effect on what you see on these pages, but will make a huge difference to me and my use of the site. I don’t want to give anything away. And, eventually, it will lead to a site redesign – and hopefully bring some of the other domains I currently own back to life. (Is that enough of a teaser?)

In the meantime, go say “congratulations” to Caleb, the proprietor of dante, the server on which Lunar Obverse runs. He freakin’ climbed a mountain last weekend.

Now I’ll go back to setting up my new computer… (Is that more of a teaser?)

Cross-posted from Run, Moon, Run!, my running blog.

I wanted to do a long run today. I thought about running downtown and back again along the west bank of the Willamette River, but that would be about 10 miles, and lately my longest run has only been 6 or so – that might have been too much of an increase.

I didn’t just want to do my “normal” 6 mile loop. I’m kinda bored of that loop. I wanted something a little bit different.

The weather was awesome for running – mid 50s, no rain, a little wind but not bad. When I headed out around noon I was wearing shorts and a short sleeved singlet, hat, sunglasses, my new Brooks (with MOGO!) and my iPod nano loaded with songs. Had a small 400 calorie breakfast several hours earlier, and a liter of water. Oh, and two Claritin (or the generic equivalent) – my allergies have been awful lately. I had my keys in my pocket, along with 3 Cliff Bloks for sustenance.

I chose to run to, then along, the Springwater Corridor Trail by the river for about 30 minutes’ worth, then turn around and head back, taking a different route home from the bottom of SE Spokane Street, back through upper Sellwood Park, along Sellwood Avenue on the top of the bluff over Oaks Bottom, and back through Moreland to Westmoreland Park and then back home.

A problem I’ve had on past long runs is a bit delicate – my nipples get chafed. I decided on protecting them this time. I didn’t have anything fancy, though. I covered each one with a square of duct tape, loosely applied over my chest hairs to make removal easier. Has anyone seen “The 40-Year Old Virgin”? I didn’t want to experience that scene (you know the one I’m talking about) in person.

Lots of runners, walkers, and cyclists out today, which is to be expected. I took many walking breaks, knowing that I needed go easy on myself for such a long run. It was going to be between 8 and 9 miles.

I ran past the osprey nest twice, and past a wedding at a church. I ran through some kind of environmental fair in Sellwood Park, and past a funeral, and many softball and baseball games. I ran past my old apartment. I smiled at other runners, every one I saw, and I stopped for water (and Bloks) twice. And I finished, though not as strong as I prefer…

And I listened to the following songs along the way (Song – Artist – Album):

1. All She Wants to do is Dance – Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast
2. Just What I Needed – The Cars – The Cars Greatest Hits
3. Jimmy Olsen’s Blues – Spin Doctors – Pocket Full of Kryptonite
4. Wheels – Cake – Pressure Chief
5. Dance Like A Monkey – New York Dolls – One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This
6. Whole Wide World – Wreckless Eric – Greatest Stiffs
7. Minnie The Moocher – The Blues Brothers – The Blues Brothers Soundtrack
8. Jamming – Bob Marley & The Wailers – Legend
9. Dead – They Might Be Giants – Flood
10. The Infanta – The Decemberists – Picaresque
11. Mrs. Rita – Gin Blossoms – New Miserable Experience
12. I Want To Conquer The World – Bad Religion – All Ages
13. You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC – Back In Black
14. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen – – A Night At The Opera
15. Terminal Annex – Harvey Danger – – Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?
16. I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man) – Kenny Loggins – – Footloose
17. It ‘s My Life – Bon Jovi – Crush
18. Dreaming – Blondie – The Best Of Blondie
19. Come Dancing – The Kinks – Come Dancing with the Kinks
20. They Don’t Know – Tracey Ullman – You Broke My Heart In 17 Places – The Best Of
21. Fell In Love With A Girl – The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
22. Sorrow – Bad Religion – The Process Of Belief
23. New Girl – The Long Winters – When I Pretend to Fall
24. Three Little Birds – Bob Marley & The Wailers – Legend
25. Two Tickets to Paridise – Eddie Money – Eddie Money
26. Green Hornet – Al Hirt – Various Artists – Kill Bill Vol.1
27. The Legionnaire’s Lament – The Decemberists – Castaways And Cutouts

…kinda heavy on the 80s, isn’t it? I can’t help it; the 80s had some great music!