Friends,
Yesterday I visited Innisfree Garden 50 miles north of
here. For those keeping score at home,and I know you are,
this will be not the first time I have posted pictures
of this garden designed for Walter Beck by a lake in the
midst of a wood and influenced by the conceptions indicated
in a painting by the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei. Not the
first but... I went up hoping to see the lotus blossoms but
because of the rain lotus is late this year and there was
only one lotus out and one more in an advance bud and the
rest in countless buds... But I took a picture of the
one and of the advanced bud and a couple of other pictures
in the garden and these to the right here.( Read more... )
On Saturday met Jack Watkins, redlion1904, he is a
Notre dame man so of course one was not disappointed.He has read
Gene Wolfe much more than I. Wolfe is no doubt(I say falling into
pub discussion form but I think with weight on my side here) the
finest writer of science fiction living today. Some would go further
and regard him as a major figure in literature. The conception of his
perhaps central series, the Book of the New Sun is of a dying
earth in the far future(or distant past in some other cycle of the
universe?) and it runs up against a problem ,it seems to me, given
his Christian, and Catholic, thought in the noninclusion of anything
recognizable exactly as Christianity. There is an awkwardness, or
it seems so to me, and yet the cycle is ,in its philosophical
dimension as it were, pre-Christian. For different reason it seems to
me that the Soldier of the Mist series about a Greek soldier
in the classical world who cursed by a god is unable to remember more
than one day at a time and so must make notes every day etc, that
this concept slightly gets old over the three volumes of the series
and yet it is also a unique vision of the classical world and of
the interaction of gods and men in ancient greek piety(which one
would say was meant for them at that time, their prism breaking
up the light into colors). Well I have wandered a bit but my thought
is that there is something to be said for Pre-Theism, that in a
sense it is where we all are you whoever ye be and I too and a
word on that if you will click here.( Read more... )

So those thoughts, they are sort of serious and I think you
may not read them everywhere so if they resonate in some
way to you then it is good but they are anyway mine.

And the images from Inverness...

Expecting a Gamera movie from Amazon today!

and as always invite all your response on these or on anything
else at all, yours
+Seraphim

.

Our local Campo San Giacomo de l'Orio is hosting its annual weeklong Festa di San Giacomo (July 18-25). The campo is filled with what seems like hundreds of tables and benches, along with five food tents, a stage. Strings of lights are draped from trees, flagpoles, and tents. Last night we went to the festa, intending to eat traditional festa food (bigoli in salsa, costicine alla griglia, ecc), but the food lines (mobs) were impossible, so we came home and made spaghetti, aglio, olio, peperoncino. They we went out again to listen to the band, the Uragani (Hurricanes), a classic rock band from Mestre. Once I figured out that the sound was endurable if I stood next to the stage behind the speakers, it was fine. In fact, it was a lot of fun to draw while moving to the music and singing along with the band and the crowd. The band was great, and as the evening (and my drawing) progressed, more and more people were dancing. My line drawing looks like daytime, but it was drawn at night. The campo was illuminated by hundreds of colored light that cast colored shadows. I may draw more tonight, since geesepalace has a rowing date.
The last time I can recall that I drew at a live concert was when the old 1970s group "I Cugini di Campagna" played at the festa of San Pietro di Castello. And before that, when Bob Dylan peformed live in a benefit concert in Des Moines, in honor of ALS sufferers such as our friend Rob Borsellino.

I am coming to the end of this large drawing book, and am waiting for Legatoria Polliero to bind more of my Lana paper into a new book.

Friends,
In early afternoon I drive to Innisfree gardens, the garden
designed by Walter Beck influenced by a painting by Wang Wei
my favorite of the Tang Dynasty poets. The Lotus blossoms are
late this year but there is one and the beginning of another...
pictures tomorrow.
Today the bridge at Wampus Creek which reminded me just a bit
of Monet,taken again last night.( Read more... )
and at the end of the post you see the picture of a smoking
censer which I took yesterday.
Most Christian churches use incense, some thoughts on it
if you will click to the right here.( Read more... )
Today these and as always I invite all your thought on these or
on anything else at all, yours
+Seraphim
.

This morning's drawing if of the decorations we put on our terrace yesterday to celebrate the Festa del Redentore. After our roast duck dinner, we (well, geesepalace) rowed to the Punta della Dogana to tie up in the prime viewing area reserved for traditional boats to watch the fireworks at midnight. Predictions were for five to six thousand boats, mostly motorized, in the Bacino. I don't think there were over one hundred oar-powered boats which were given a prized, protected spot. Most of the traditional craft were decorated with flowers, leaves, pennants. The friendly people on the boat next to us gave us prosecco and watermelon, would have given us their whole dinner. We shared our grapes and amaretti with them. I made a few drawings while we waited, and I may post them...they are a bit bouncy from the motion of the water. The fireworks were indescribably spectacular. I don't usually post my photographs, but I am particularly proud of this one of gondolas silhouetted against the fire in the sky.

After a violent storm that came through last night while we were at a concert in the Redentore, the weather has cooled off. This morning, I went out looking for candles this morning to put in our paper lanterns. Usually, San Cassiano is closed when I pass it, but it happened to be open, so I went in, and sat down to draw. I discovered that I had left my fountain pen at home but I did have my watercolors with me. It has been a while since I have drawn with watercolor, so I enjoyed doing this but was nervous the whole time that the church would close at any minute. Got most of it done, though.

It has been really hot here. I was plannning to go to the beach yesterday, but the friends I go with weren't going. So I stayed in the neighborhood, bought a few decorations for the Festa del Redentore as well as a couple of birthday gifts for owlfish (they are in the mail), then went to the Scuola di San Rocco to draw, where it was very warm too. The restorations on the Sala dell' Albergo are largely done and the room, with Tintoretto's grand painting of the Crucifixion, looks spectacular. But I wish they would show it in natural light, rather than with the curtains drawn and spotlights. My drawing is not of the Sala dell' Albergo, buy of the Salone Maggiore. I was initially thinking of going somewhere with an interesting floor, but somehow ended up concentrating on the ceiling.

http://www.knittingismyboyfriend.com/?p=1302

Last weekend, while watching The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, I started crocheting this simple little cat mat. I don’t even know if my stitches were “real” crochet stitches, since I haven’t crocheted in so long. I liked the way it turned out though. It’s made from some Red Heart “Artesano” yarn I had lying around here, so it’s machine washable. Major bonus.
Before -

After, with mat -

Kiki is a very spoiled cat. I’m sure she’s living it up while I’m away in Minden!

Originally published at well.notes. You can comment here or there.

I guess someone has already absorbed a lot from where Mommy works …

While our Finnish and French friends were here, we went to Space Center Houston a couple of times. Well, Will went a couple of times. I went once since it was a Saturday when the Frenchies went. Will bought a season pass and I, well, I get in free. Woo!

If you haven’t been to Space Center Houston recently, it’s pretty darn cool right now. In addition to the NASA stuff – films, rides, T-38 “pilot” simulations, and a huge model of the Shuttle Orbiter that you can climb in around through – they have a George Lucas Films exhibit. There’s a ropes course for the truly adventurous to experience, Star Wars “training” exercises, and some other stuff I forgot because it’s not really baby friendly. There were props exhibited, too, and there are character sightings at certain days.

So while Seth and I waited for the Frenchies to get back from the long, hot tour through JSC (take a lot of water), I tried to find ways to amuse the littlest man. We looked at some Droids, marveled at Orbiter scale, and wandered around. I knew there had to be something with lots of buttons for him, so …

… we went to the Mission Control area in the Kids Zone. Really, there’s not a whole lot for babies to do at SCH. Toddlers and bigger kids can have fun in the play zone, but these little ones are too overwhelmed. But! Seth LOVES to push buttons. He had a fabulous time clambering over the Mission Control set-up (which has remote cameras in the play tower/slide thingie for interactive fun), and pushing every button he could find. I wish I could have taken a picture of him standing on the counter, hitting every button in site, but I thought it better to be safe and hold on to him while he whacked the buttons.

this morning while getting dressed and stretching before walking the noo i sang him this song, you may have heard it sung by celine dion only she called it the power of love.

cause youre my NIPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, my nippy noodle.
you are a tough bad ass. not a faggy ass poodle.
we're headed for the beach. its where we like to go to.
sometimes i am depressed but i always get healed
by the power of nooooooooooo.

i liked it.

i learned yesterday that if you are ever out of pledge, you can dust a piece of furniture with a paper towel that you have poured a little bit of olive oil onto. it really works.

anyway. today was another day at romo. casey was pretty brave; she endured it for five hours plus. the waves were ridiculous though. i had zero business swimming out there but thats what i did, twice. i get so nervous.

im starving. starving starving bottomless pit hungry. ttyl.

andrea gjestvang's photography project focusing on bodies is featured on burn. magazine. it is lovely and thought provoking. some of the images in the slide show are not safe for work.

from the feature on burn.

Many people develop an extreme relationship to their bodies. Some struggle a daily fight with their image. Many become obsessed. The body serves as an exhibition space, a way to be seen and desired, to make money and survive. It is a tool to achieve your dream.

Friends,
Take picture of egret in our pond. There it is,
too much pond scum but...

Watched Gamera Guardian of the Universe last night.
Roger Ebert liked it and so do I. the trailer is at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e32GJ8HU_W0
there is something pleasing about the determined visage
of a jet propelled(his own exhaust presumably as Ebert
notes since he is organic) turtle coming to save the
world and so the essence of the film is in this brief
clip. It is from the 1990s Heisei series which brilliantly
brings up to date the Japanese monster movies in terms of
computer generated imagery etc. realistic, campy, funny
perhaps also.

a great line I thought. Young man to young lady from
the countryside "Some day I will show you around a
monster-free Tokyo! but not any time soon I guess
on the evidence here.

Receive a forwarding of an article from "Ancient America"
asserting the discovery of a fifth century church built
by eastern Christian monks from north africa in
Connecticut. A little quick research by google shows the
editor is a former neonazi child molester who lost his
nazi possiblities when he was found to be Jewish. Other
articles are said to include images of american cactus
painted by scottish travellers two centuries before
Columbus, and a phonecian altar for human sacrifice
in Chicago (a long time ago that is. if today it might
be plausible) I advise sender to go slow on urging that
Orthodox Churches make much of this find and try to buy
the property.

Otherwise I am remembering Eric Cox and looking through
old posts I find about all I remember about him and here
it is( Read more... )
So these for today, egret, giant turtle saving world,
pseudo archeology and one of the good people I have known.
I think it is worth to remember as well as one can holy
people one has known, and recognized as touched by
the holy...
as always invite all you have on these or on anything else
at all, yours
+Seraphim
.
Egret in our pond today.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5825477/Chihuahua-called-Smokey-gets-barbecue-fork-stuck-in-head.html?connect

PS-
FAME.
http://stuffonmymutt.com/

When I walked into Jen's bridal suite, I saw one of the most unique traditional wedding gowns I've ever seen-- and as it turns out, she'd collaborated with the designer to craft it just for her. It showed! It also paired beautifully with the vintage veil (her mother's) that she donned for her walk down the aisle.

Jen & Brian had a rainy day wedding on the upper cape - their ceremony, a beautiful contemporary mass at the Corpus Christi, was followed by an elegant reception at the New Seabury. Then their family (many of whom had made the trip in from the Phillippines), friends, and adorable flower girls, danced through the night.


Click!

have you ever seen a nose more worthy of kisses? i have not. could you tell i am obsessed with this nose??!?!

Just wanted to let everyone know, that a new version of MemcacheD has been released. We will be rolling this out to the memcache nodes during the week of July 20th to 24th. This should have very little impact on the stability of the website; however users may see a slight increase in load times as the cache is re-populated with entries.

The software has been tested and verified to be working just fine with the application; so we perceive this to be a very minimal risk in regards to updating, and the stability of the website.

Thanks...

I have my set all planned out. I have twenty minutes. Probably at the end of the night and I've practiced with talking in between. I can fit 7 poems into that with the chatter and book handing out. My poems are short.

Last night I went for dinner with El, at Ginger Grass. Tasty food and really good company. It was nice to hang out with her outside of the poetry crowd and just talk life. She is such a vibrant and strong person. The food was also really tasty. She had soup, and then ordered a little sticky coconut rice for her main, while I ate a wonton soup and then a HUGE combo plate. I find that the bee has been drinking more boob juice than usual, and thus I am starving ALL the time.

Breathe.

i think i could eat broccoli all day long. i like it just barely cooked, and then cold, with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and a shake of parmesan. oooh broccoli. i love you. you are like a little green street sweeper for my digestive tract. i imagine you in there, sweeping all the arteries clean, all the florettes brushing and bristling. keep it up broccoli, i need you.

ps-
i cleaned the whole damn house.