Badger's Den

Ships & Mountains
2:31 p.m. - 2008-05-09

Watched a quirky but very good movie last night called Fitzcarraldo. It's about an ecentric opera lover in Amazonian Peru who wants to bring opera to his village. He develops a convoluted scheme that involves hauling a steamship over a mountain.

The movie makers actually DID haul the ship over the mountain and sent it careening down rapids and a waterfall. Check out the trailer here. Awesome footage!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F53yUsgVuL0

Thanks for the Support - Not
12:39 p.m. - 2008-05-07

Why do I even tell her things? I was pretty proud of myself for trying and enjoying the 0 point soup from Progesso for lunch today. But when I told my co-worker about it, she said "How much salt does it have?"

Well it's in a frikkin can so it has a lot. But how about some encouragement for picking a 120 calorie lunch over a 320C one.

I don't have a private cook to fix me lunches for work. So bleeeh.

Tuesday Ramblings
1:42 p.m. - 2008-05-06

Quiet times. Reading "Eat, Pray, Love" for book club and in many ways I can identify with the author's experiences and her perception of God.

And in case you've forgotten, my view of God is that he is unlike most images portrayed by organized religion. He's not a punitive grouch sitting on a thrown far away raining down riches or curses.

Instead, I believe more that God is the energy of the universe and is part of us and we are part of him. He (who isn't necessarily a 'he') walks close beside us and guides us and loves us and encourages us - if we let him.

Anyway, I digress. The book so far is a great read.

Saturday I went out with JB and Dougie for pre-Cinco de Mayo Mexican cuisine and a viewing of "Forbidden Kingdom." The movie was classic Kung Fu where one guy can take on a whole army. But it was a fun escape.

Friday I went out with my Dad for steak (Mom's stomach wasn't wuite back to normal) and Sunday Andy and I went for sushi.

Lest you think all I did was eat, I spent almost 2 hours hiking in the woods Sunday, a perfect Spring day.

Of course Eugene and I talked via IM most days. Not much excitement for him either.

One thing talked about in the book above was that Americans have a real problem just doing nothing. We excell at entertaining ourselves, but sitting quietly and doing nothing is a difficult skill to master.

The author stated that prayer is talking to God, and meditation is LISTENING to God. Guess which one most of us do better.

Meanwhile, here is a picture of Andy in New Orleans...

Hospital
9:11 a.m. - 2008-04-30

My mom wound up in the hospital with her stomach again on Monday. It's hard to be sympathetic when she blatantly refuses to do the things that would probably keep her out of the hospital like drink fluids and stop taking aspirin constantly.

But I grabbed a violet plant and visited her, Nancy was there and my sister and nephew showed up later. We watched Dancing with the Stars. My mom was in good spirits and planned to go home on Tuesday.

Tacos and a Movie
9:06 a.m. - 2008-04-30

Last night I went with Hector & Bob to see Forgetting Sara Marshall. Tim was invited but was too busy painting to go.

The movie was very funny. Sure it was a bit formulaic and predictable, but it was done with great characters. It was a laugh out loud movie with a lot of cultural references that were hilarious especially to geeks like us.

Afterward, we hit a local pub that had tacos on Tuesday. Time was invited enroute but was too busy painting to go. It was my first time there and the tacos were great.

Weekend with Eugene
8:54 a.m. - 2008-04-30

Had a great weekend with Eugene. We took Friday off and stayed with our friends Wade & Brian in Madison. Of course the drive Thursday night was through rain and more rain. Seems like most times I go see Eugene I have to slog through rain.

But the sun came out but wind and cool temps kept us inside most of the time. The guest bedroom was ocupied with bedding plants so we set up shop in the basement den with the big screen TV. We slept on a large air matress that slowly leaked air so it was like trying to sleep balanced on an exercise ball.

It was a relaxing weekend watching movies and spending time with friends. We met up with Mike on Saturday. W&B's and Eugene's friend Kevin spent way more time hanging around than I liked.

Sunday evening, I drove home through the country and avoided the overpacked, construction ridden, semi-truck infested interstate. It only takes 15 minutes longer and I get home relaxed. I've found a route that minimized the towns I have to go through.

Our next planned visit is Memorial Day weekend but with the nice weather we may see about a weekend in between.

Eugene this Weekend
9:57 a.m. - 2008-04-24

Off to meet up with Eugene this afternoon. We will be staying with our friends in Madison for the weekend. It's very relaxing there, though no pool. Calling for some rain there unfortunately, but we'll be warm & cozy ;)

Torture !!!!
9:12 a.m. - 2008-04-22

GET THESE SONGS OUT OF MY HEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!

Our concert was Sunday and it went well. But now all these folk songs keep running in an endless loop in my head. And I wish they would stop.

Plus I'm hoping the swelling in my foot goes down. My doctor said it was normal after my type of surgery for feet to swell especially when standing for extended periods (as in concert and two extended rehearsals). It has gone down a bit.

Hopefully yesterday's 30 minute hike helped.

Aftershock
11:34 a.m. - 2008-04-18

Definitely felt this one about 10:30. Was in a meeting leaning against the pillar when the building started swaying. I'm feeling the concrete pillar move. It only lasted about 5 seconds, but it was definitely odd. You realize that you're fairly high of the ground and there's not much you can do.

Definitely intersting.

Vacation Pic
9:41 a.m. - 2008-04-18

Here's a cool pic of Andy in front of the capitol building in Jackson, MS during our March trip to New Orleans.

Earthquake !!!!
9:13 a.m. - 2008-04-18

Damn. Slept thru the earthquake this morning (4:30am). We get them every few years and I'm either sleeping or driving so don't notice. Some people I work with felt it. If I did, I'd probably figure it was Cal jumping on the bed and taking a bath.

Books, Censorship and the Meanings of Words
1:18 p.m. - 2008-04-15

Book club was last night and there were 7 of us - a good turnout. And after a week of getting the house cleaned up after letting things go during vacation & surgery, I can now be slovenly again :D

I do enjoy the neater house and need to continue to make it even better. I need to work on the bedrooms as I have only a couple weeks before the new windows come in.

I did carve out time to finish reading "Ship of the Damned" by James David. It's kind of a Borne Identity story about the Philadelphia Experiment and a ship and its crew trapped in a desert in modern times. A great adventure.

Book club was about Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The 50 year old book was good, surprisingly accurate and very topical today. It's themes of censorship, reality TV, room sized TVs with characters that become our "family" are quite acurate. More importantly, censorship is still alive and well in the desire of many to conduct thought control.

We had quite a discussion about censorship. We all agreed on the overt form where government bodies regulate content. But I challenged then to consider that covert censorship is much more dangerous.

Covert censorship is the self-censorship we engage in to make what we do more palitable for the common consumer. It's the children's book writer who avoids themes that her publisher will push back on. It's libraries failing to stock controverial books. It's reporters who slant the truth for the sake of their jobs.

Yes, I do agree that private enterprise can select what to publish or show or air just as I can choose what I read or watch.

What's dangerous, primarily because it's sometimes so hard to spot, is when we compromise our convicitons for the sake of the world around us. It's when Bush defines patriotism. It's when school boards select conservative or liberal leaning text books. It's when people use scorn, shame, tradition or religious dogma to try to control what you think.

I think lately we have seen a form of censorship in the redefinition of words. Is a patriot a supporter of their country or someone who agrees with it's leaders? Is being a Christian someone who follows Christ's teachings or someone who is anti-abortion?

Is a political conservative someone who supports lower taxes, limited government regulation, a strong national defense, and individual financial responsibility or someone who supports war, wants laws based on religious dogma and favors the weathy over the poor?

Is a liberal someone who supports a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties or is it a someone who wants to raise taxes, reward the irresponsible, eliminate the church and hug trees.

Now there is an exception and that is as a parent. I believe parents have the right and indeed the obligation to control what their children are exposed to. But I do hope that most parents support their child being able to think independently.

Isn't it much better to have someone agree with us because they have thought it through rather than someone bludgeoned into submission?

Granted it's a fine line between speaking freely and being sensitive to people's tastes, between freedom of expression and censorship. I tend to want to error on the side of expression. I'd rather have those I disagree with out in the open rather than lurking in the shadows.

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