When A Problem Comes Along...

Oh, hooray for the internet. It's not letting the Mitt Romney dog incident (yes, that's a Wikipedia link) die and that makes me so happy. I read about Remember Seamus last month, and when my brother was out last week he saw a Dogs Against Romney sticker on a car with "I ride inside." And even the band Devo has released a single about the incident, with band member Jerry Casale saying,

"My God, the world is a scary place with seven billion people. What you want in a leader is a guy with some humanity at his core. I just don't feel that Mitt does."

The more attention the better, I say. I know people who will argue that it's just a dog and there are bigger human issues to focus on (hell, I know people who probably don't see a problem with it at all), but I think the whole incident shows cluelessness at best, and cruelty at worst, and I don't want either of those qualities in a leader.

Wednesday Poem

In the Moment 
by Maxine Kumin

Some days the pond
wears a glaze of yellow pollen.

Some days it is clean-swept.
The trout leap up, feasting on insects.

A modest size, it sits
like a soup tureen in a surround of white

pine where Rosie, 14 lbs., some sort
of rescued terrier, part bat

(the ears), part anteater (the nose),
shyly paddles in the shallows

for salamanders, frogs
and little painted turtles. She logged

ten years down south in a kennel, secured
in a crate at night. Her heart murmur

will carry her off, no one can say when.
Meanwhile she is rapt in

the moment, our hearts leap up observing.
Dogs live in the moment, pursuing

that brilliant dragonfly called pleasure.
Only we, sunstruck in this azure

day, must drag along the backpacks
of our past, must peer into the bottom muck

of what's to come, scanning the plot
for words that say another year, or not.

Vacation

Oh hai, I was on vacation all last week! Could you tell? Northern California is cold but it's really pretty. And I always like to see the ocean.

The other half of the week's pictures got captured on film, since someone forgot to bring her digital camera charger, but there was more Big Sur and camping and San Fransisco (oh my), too.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. I'm pretty sure this week needed....more Toby! 

That's all, actually. What could top Toby?

Speaking Of Hippies

...how could I not post this?

(Actually, Scott McKenzie here, almost-original member of The Mamas and The Papas, died just last week at age 73. Peace, dude.)

Hippie Power, Now With Science

Here's something to ponder: "Listening to Complainers is Bad for Your Brain." The article summarized a book which sites "reasearch" saying that

exposure to 30 minutes or more of negativity--including viewing such material on TV--actually peels away neurons in the brain's hippocampus. 

As a worrier and a misanthrope, negativity is almost my natural state. But my inner hippie wants to change, and now my inner scientist has some proof that

Our actions and states of mind matter...Working on our own consciousness is the most important thing that we are doing at any moment, and being love is the supreme creative act.

(Ram Dass, via Mystic Mamma)

Tuesday Project Roundup: Car Knitting

There's a road trip going down and I can almost gaurnatee that I won't be needed as a relief driver. So what will I be doing (besides sleeping the width of Nevada)? Knitting! 

I'll be working on Skyler's little Hobbit sweater (here's the beginnings of the hood) and expect to make a lot of progress. I'm even packing extra yarn.

Going To California

Led Zeppelin's hair is enough to brighten up any Monday.

  

 Damn, they were good.

Friday Bradbury Information

1. I didn't want to steal my dad's thunder, but Wednesday also would have been Ray Bradbury's 92nd birthday. In honor of that, did you see that the Curiosity rover named its landing site after him? 

2. The video in the post linked to above is really, really great--Ray talking to a roomful of JPL and Caltech engineers in 1971 on the eve of Mariner 9 going into orbit around Mars and then reading one of his poems.

So don't let the politicians of the world get you down. There's engineers and the next Ray out there too.

Coming Out Of My Bubble To Point Out This Contrast

I find it unbelievable that the same country that gives us people who can figure out how to land a robot on Mars also gives us people--people in power--who fail to grasp the very nature of biology. 

No, Rep. W. Todd Akin,  it is actually NOT true that women who are victims of "legitimate" rape can avoid pregnancy because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Wasn't true in the 1200s, isn't true now. While we're talking science, I bet I can clear some things up about evolution for you, too. 

Todd Akin is on the House Committee for Science, Space, and Technology. Can we replace him with Bobak, please? 

Happy Birthday To My Dad!

It's my dad's 65th birthday today. He is riding 100 miles on his bike and then we will eat pie. I'll let the video do the talking this year, except to say, "Happy birthday and don't fall off your bike!"

Tuesday Project Roundup: I'm Taking Requests

I finished the boot toppers and they were such a satisfying project: The cables kept thing interesting, they were small enough that you saw real progress even with a short amount of knitting time, and they used up leftover yarn.

So I was pretty happy when my friend asked for a pair for herself--more cables and nearly-instant gratification ahead! 

(Amber, is this yarn the right color?)

It's Monday

Let's watch a supercut of Don Draper saying "what?" and see how many times we can do that today, too.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. I can't believe that people are against space exploration, but in case you're one of the huffy ones saying, "NASA's a waste of money," here's a site telling you what the f*** NASA has done to make your life awesome.

2. The Science Chicks from History blog is a nice way to learn about, well, women in science throughout history. 

Books!

My summer reading bug has finally kicked in, just a few months late. After my last progress report on the "reading a new book a month" thing, I made up for lost time by reading THREE books in ONE month. I was so proud of my reading prowess--until the significant other pointed out, "They are children's books. And look at the size of the type." 

Yes, I read The Hunger Games trilogy. The first one was good, the second one seemed to repeat the first, and the the third one got even more violent and didn't wrap up political parts to my satisfaction. 

But at least I'm reading again. And in the spirit of summer books, I'm keeping everything non-challenging. These are the two I currently have from the library: 

Yes, that is the tenth "novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes" and yes, I have read the rest of them. 

 

This is about going to college, but it's Magic College and there's a lot more swearing and no scarves and it's set in New York, so it's nothing like Harry Potter. Nope.

Anyway, to sum up, I'm reading books. Oh my gawd!

Animal Cams

This has been making the rounds but it's really worth a watch: Tuna fishermen went out with a remote controlled underwater camera and ended up filming dolphins swimming along. You get a dolphin's eye view and it's really cool (starting about 1:50). Dolphin Cam!

 

The Blue from Mark Peters on Vimeo.

And it looks like I waited too long to post this (viewing season is winding down until September) but explore.org had a live cam on the river showing brown bears fishing for salmon. Bear Cam!

Tuesday Project Roundup: Baby Steps

The knitting lately has been more of the "sneak in two rows here and there" variety than the "sit down for two hours of a movie and go for it" type, but I'm making a little progress.  

The fake socks/boot toppers are nearly done: 

And I got a swatch going for the nephew's sweater, to figure out what size I should make. 

 

Turns out it's the "stop growing, kid, you're nearly a toddler and when did that happen?" size:

Monday's Deep Thought

It's Monday. Get your Zen on: 

The Real Work 

by Wendell Berry

It may be that when we no longer know what to do

we have come to our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go

we have come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. My brother and sister-in-law are celebrating their 10th anniversary today. I think I speak for both of them when I say, "That's a long time!" (and happy anniversary!).

2. OMG cats in space. 

3. OMG cat Olympics: someone has photoshopped cat heads onto athletes. Well done, internet user. 

Hippie Quote Thursday

There's an ongoing "let's plan!" vs. "let's not plan!" debate between me and the significant other. Ironically enough, the hippie quotes seem to be supporting his (decidedly non-hippie) view:

When we stop trying to control events, they fall into natural order, an order that works. We’re at rest while a power much greater than our own takes over, and it does a much better job than we could have done. We learn to trust that the power that holds galaxies together can handle the circumstances of our relative little lives.

More Mars Stuff

Here are a couple more odds and ends from the Mars Curiosity landing, found via Bad Astronomy and my friend Jason's blog:

Here's a map of where all the parts ended up, taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter:

See what research tools Curiosity have on board and what they do right here. (Best artist rendering EVER, by the way.)

And that famous first image I posted Monday has already been turned into a meme. What was really there? Monoliths. 

Tuesday: Nothing To Round Up But Some Alpacas

(Picture by ranch owner Linda from the Blue Moon Ranch Facebook page. I'll have some more knitting progress next week.)

Made It!

The Curiosity rover has landed on Mars, intact, on schedule, and is sending back images! 

I think this might be the moon landing of my generation. I mean, we accurately sent a robot through space for eight months, pretty much lowered it onto a different planet via a sky crane, and now we can see what it sees? My god. Good job, humans. Good job.

(Didn't stay up to watch the landing? Check out the NASA JPL site for all the details. Curiosity's Twitter stream is pretty cute, too.)

Friday Unrelated Information

1. I've always been someone who skips ahead in books and likes to know the plots of movies I'm going to see, so I thought this study was interesting:

Two researchers in the psychology department of the University of California at San Diego recently decided to test whether we really hate spoilers, or just like to say we do. What they found surprised them: The majority of people apparently like having a story spoiled for them. In fact, we may enjoy spoiled stories even more than the unspoiled versions.

2. The Mars Curiosity rover is scheduled to make its crazy complicated descent Sunday night at 11:30 MST. Here's a good roundup of coverage of the landing. Come on, Curiosity!

Thursday Poem

This is a nice one from The Writer's Almanac last week. 

Let The Day Go 

by Grace Paley

              who needs it

I had another day in mind

something like this one

              sunny green the earth

just right having suffered

the assault of what is called

torrential rain the pepper

the basil sitting upright

in their little boxes waiting

I suppose for me also the

cosmos the zinnias nearly

blooming a year too late

forget it let the day go

the sweet green day let it

take care of itself

It's A Big Day For Druids

It's August 1, one of the cross-quarter days that fall equidistant between solstices and equinoxes. This one is Lughnasadh or Lammas, a pagan harvest festival or a time to go have your first crops blessed by the Catholic church, whatever your persuasion. 

But wait! there's more for your inner hippie--the first of two full moons this month is today, as well. Since Carl Sagan would not approve of any astrological advice, I'll just say to go make the most of the rest of summer. And look at the moon tonight, too.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Something Small

To get back into knitting, I started a little project while waiting for the yarn for Skyler's sweater to arrive. 

 This used up some leftover yarn and is going to be a "fake sock top" to stick out of boots, thusly:

I made up my own pattern, but you can find the one in the picture above here.

For Monday

Albert Einstein's three rules for work: 

1. Out of clutter, find simplicity

2. From discord, find harmony

3. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity

Friday Unrelated Information

1. Summer, where are you going? I realized Labor Day is six weeks away. Sigh. 

2. APOD posted a picture of the Tulip Nebula this week. Space is pretty.

More Zen

Sometimes I go about in pity for myself, 

and all the while 

a great wind is bearing me across the sky. 

Ojibawa saying

(Today's zen is from this book, which I've pulled out and put on the nightstand along with this one.)

Pretty Much

Tuesday Pending Project: Hobbit Child

The yarn I ordered for Skyler's sweater arrived this week. Between the color and the pattern I decided on,  I think he's going to look like a little hobbit when it's done. Not that that's a bad thing, of course.

This

 + this

= this: 

Getting My Zen Back

19.
Once at Cold Mountain [or Mount Aire], troubles cease -
No more tangled, hung up mind.
I idly scribble poems on the rock cliff,
Taking whatever comes, like a drifting boat.

(From Han Shan, the Cold Mountain Poems, translated by Gary Snyder)

Peace out, nature.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. Happy birthday to my favorite novelist of tragedy and despair and horses, Cormac McCarthy. 

2. From my friend Jason's blog, here's a picture of Papa Hemingway at home in Cuba in 1947. Nice slippers, Hem.  

Frodo Lives

The Writer's Almanac tells me that it's the anniversary of the 1954 publishing of The Fellowship of the Ring. The trilogy started as a sequel to The Hobbit, took 17 years to write, was interrupted by WWII, and ended up over half a million words long. 

Then some people made it into movies, which gave us the source of this gif. 

What Elizabeth Bishop Thinks

"We write for the same reason we read or look at paintings...for the total immersion of the experience, the narrowing and intensification of focus to the right here, right now, the deep joy of bringing the entire soul to bear upon a single act of concentration."

Tuesday Project Roundup In Action

Not only did I finish the dress in time for the first wedding Saturday, I actually got a picture of me in it (one that includes not only my head, but someone else's, too!). It's not a full-length shot, but let's not ask for too much at once. 

Goals? What Goals?

Hey, remember the 3+2 Things I wanted to accomplish for my 32nd year? Yeah, I do, too (vaguely). How about a halfway report? 

The first two of the three quantitative goals were:

1. Take a fiction writing class

2. Write 3 short stories

Earlier this year I signed up for a class on plots (not the evil villain kind; the novelistic kind) but it was canceled due to lack of registrants. I still want to see what's offered in the fall and try to make this happen.

I thought the third thing would be the easiest:

3. Read a new book a month

But it's been seven months and as far as new fiction goes, I've read parts of Brideshead Revisited and 1984 and two Jeeves & Wooster short stories. I'm still hopeful that I can get some more reading time in by the pool this summer.

 As for the "+2" qualitative goals

+1. Be happier in my work

Um, this is coming along, kinda sorta maybe. I have to remind myself of this hippie quote. 

+2. Less judgment, more compassion

Finally, something I feel like I've actually been working on for the year. I won't say I've "accomplished" this, as there are moments every day with people or traffic or any other trigger, but I've found that repeating this saying from The Dharma Bums really helps: 

I run all my friends and relatives and enemies one by one in this, without entertaining any angers or gratitudes or anything, and I say, like, "Equally empty, equally to be loved, equally a coming Buddha."

(I think it also helps I've been around someone pretty regularly for a few months--nothing like having someone to be nice to to show you the ways you're not.)

So that's where the goals for the year stand. As my inner hippie says, it's all about the journey, right?

Friday Unrelated Information

1. I was really excited to hear about a new Oz movie in the works, since I'm pretty sure between the ages of 7 and 10 I read every word Baum wrote about it, but the trailer is a disappointment. If you have 14 books to pull from, why make up a plot?

2. I'm still not done with the long dress, but the two parts are sewn together now and I did get the zipper in last night. Baby steps...

Old Rock Stars

The Writer's Almanac tells me that 50 years ago today, the Rolling Stones played their first gig. (I have no idea what this news has to do with writers. I think it has more to do with that site's demographic.)

My parents were always in the Beatles camp and so I was, too, but when I saw Gimme Shelter in my 20s I suddenly got what all the excitement over Jagger was about. And any band who loves and promotes the blues is ok by me (even if they are awfully old to be rock stars). 

Here's an early performance of "Little Red Rooster":

Is This Why Hippies Are Mellow?

This is the latest quote I'm trying to adopt during the Summer of Uncertainty, via Mystic Mamma (of course).

"...the search for security and certainty is actually an attachment to the known. And what’s the known? The known is our past. The known is nothing other than the prison of past conditioning. There’s no evolution in that.

When you experience uncertainty, you are on the right path – so don’t give it up. You don’t need to have a complete and rigid idea of what you’ll be doing next week or next year, because if you have a very clear idea of what’s going to happen and you get rigidly attached to it, then you shut out the whole range of possibilities.”

Tuesday Project Roundup: Coming Together

There's nothing like sewing under a deadline--I haven't made this much progress on a project in a week in I don't know when.

Of course, I'm going to have to make a lot more progress in the next few days if I expect to wear this Saturday. I might be skipping yoga tonight...

"When you get to the top of a mountain, keep climbing."

Saturday's hike was Gobbler's Knob via Alexander Basin in Millcreek Canyon--also known as The Steepest Hike In Millcreek, or Remind Me Why I Wanted To Challenge Myself?, or Oh God Oh God Thirty Percent Grade On A Scree Field.

The Knob is at the top right of this picture, I believe. The infamous scree field is below it, and I recommend finding the trail that goes through the patch of trees in the center of the picture rather than trying to scramble up the bare rocks. You may have a Kerouac moment on the slope: 

I looked back and like Lot's wife that did it... Supposing I'd start to slip back for good, these screes might start sliding any time anyway [...] Finally I came to a kind of ledge where I could sit at a level angle instead of having to cling not to slip, and I nudged my whole body inside the ledge just to hold me there tight, so the wind would not dislodge me, and I looked down and around and I had had it. 

It's hard to convey how steep this is, but here's the view back down from the saddle. (I didn't make the top of the Knob. My legs still had to get back down everything and I was proud enough about getting to this point.)

On the saddle facing the other way, still looking a little freaked out.

Looking into Big Cottonwood Canyon. 

This view inspired me to start singing hits from The Sound of Music. My hiking companion was not amused.

 

 A moose! On the loose! Seen on the way back down.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. Oh, that mid-week break was hard. I was really excited for two Fridays--until I realized that the week also contained two Mondays. 

2. Have you heard about the news from CERN? Scientists have announced the discovery of a particle that is "consistent with" what they expect the Higgs-Boson particle to look like. Bad Astronomy has great background and a roundup of news.

Belated 4th Poem

I meant to post this poem from the Writer's Almanac yesterday, but I ended up camping out in a backyard to test the sleeping bag I bought and you know how camping out in backyards can get away from you. (For the record, my sleeping bag is really warm.)

I hope we all had a good holiday and didn't set any more fires. Here's the poem: 

At Gettysburg

by Linda Pastan

These fields can never be
simply themselves. Their green
seems such a tender green,
their contours so significant
to the tourists who stare

towards the far range of mountains
as if they are listening
to the page of history tearing
or to what they know themselves of warfare
between brothers. In this scenery

cows and cannons stand side by side
and motionless, as if they had grown here.
The cannons on their simple wheels
resemble farm carts, children
climb them. Thus function disappears almost entirely

into form, and what is left under
the impartial blue of the sky is a landscape
where dandelions lie in the tall grass
like so many spent cartridges, turning
at last to the smoke

of puffballs; where the only red
visible comes at sunset;
where the earth has grown so lovely
it seems to forgive us even as we are learning
to forgive ourselves.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Making It Happen

I decided I did indeed dare to make a long dress for the summer. After I posted about my debate I was invited to another wedding and I thought, "Perfect! Two out of the three times I'll ever wear this are covered!"

What fabric am I using? Um, maybe some Liberty of London (from a new source). The pattern is a Cynthia Rowley and I don't have the best track record with her, but I mocked up the bodice before I cut into the good fabric, never fear. 

I have 1.5 weeks until wedding #1 so I'm happy for a day off tomorrow. Time to get sewing!

It's Monday

Sit on a chair and just delight everyone: