Free Agency

Since the NFL lockout pushed all the normal pre-season tasks back, the free agency period of the pre-season just started this week. I have't been following too closely except for the Packers, but here is what I know so far.
McNabb is going to the Vikings. This makes me sad because I've always liked McNabb, but now he's going to join the enemy. The good news is Sydney Rice, the Vikes best WR, is going to Seattle.
Speaking of Seattle, Matt Hasselbeck is now going to be a Titan. And I think Reggie Bush of the Saints is going to become a Dolphin.
Packer free agents include Mason Crosby, who I am pretty sure will re-sign with the Pack, Nick Barnett, who I'm not sure about yet, Daryn College who is going to Arizona, James Jones, Brandon Jackson, Korey Hall, John Kuhn, and a few others.
It's sad to see them go (or maybe they will re-sign) but with many I understand why the Packers are passing.
Barnett has been injured, and we won a Super Bowl without him, so while he is a good player, we don't really need him. Daryn College is a hillarious guy, but he had so many false starts and penalties during the beginning of the season it was frustrating. James Jones as I said all last season is the weak link in the receiving core (along with Quarless) he dropped too many balls he shouldn't have in critical moments. I hate to say it but I thought they should have sidelined him last year. I like Brandon Jackson, but I get the feeling he won't be back either. With Ryan Grant back, and Starkes, I just don't see them keeping him on, especially when you consider Rodgers averaged more yards per carry. I definitely think Korey Hall and John Kuhn should be re-signed. They were awesome last season, especially Kuhn, and I can't think of any reason why the Packers would release them. With Grant and Kuhn in the back field....it would be awesome, plus he's a great blocker, and takes good care of Rodgers when the offense is being blitzed.
OK. Well, that's all I know so far. I'll try to keep ya posted tho.

A Matter of Timing

I was thinking this morning about calling in sick to work. I'm not actually ill, but it was harder than usual to dissuade myself from sleeping in and then heading to Panera to read and have a cup of hazelnut coffee. I can do this very thing on the weekend, every weekend if I want, but for some reason it always seems like it would be much more enjoyable to do on say, a Wednesday morning. After pondering this for a moment I realized that it's not so much a matter of the activity, but of the timing that makes it special. Doing (some) ordinary things at weird times makes them awesome. For example, having breakfast for dinner, awesome! (As a kid I especially loved this.), Getting flowers, or a gift not on your birthday, awesome! Christmas in July, I'm not really sure what it means, but it sounds double awesome! Sleeping in on a Monday morning when you should be at work, awesome! Drinking champagne mimosas with breakfast, awesome! Getting up super early on the weekend to go for a walk when all the world is still asleep, awesome! Rainy days in the summer (there are very few in California), awesome! A card in the mail (not for a b-day or holiday) awesome!
So the next time you want to do something special for yourself or someone else, remember you don't have to do anything crazy or big. Maybe just re-arranging your normal activities can make your life more enjoyable, and really (pleasantly) surprise someone else.

What Always Makes Me Laugh

A Llama Face!

Photo taken by me:)

Here Jelly, Jelly!

Lion Mane Jellyfish

Another under water behemoth I came across on my reading of The Universe Below is the Lion-Mane Jellyfish, the largest jelly in the world. And holy mackerel, is it ever! I think I'd die of shock if I ever came face to....er...um...blobby head with one of these guys. I wonder if they could eat a human? Oh my gosh! I just thought of an awesome idea! Wouldn't that be a cool alternative to being buried in a coffin, or cremated, to instead be fed to a giant jellyfish? I like it. What do you think?

Siphonophores

Photo borrowed fro the Monterey Bay Aquarium Website

I am reading a really interesting book called The Universe Below by William Broad. It was a random thrift store find, but totally worth the $1.50 I paid for it.
Anyway, one of the strange creatures that I discovered on my undersea travels are things called a siphonophores. I am fairly versed in at least the basic genera of the oceans, but when I came across these guys I had no idea anything like them even existed, and they are so weird and cool I just had to share!
The most well known siphonophores are Portugese Man-O-War (I thought they were a kind of jelly fish, and while they are related, they aren't the same thing), that float on the surface of the water and sting tourists as they wade in the ocean on vacation. But most siphonophores live in the middle of the water column, eating whatever happens to get in their path. They are gelatinous, and generally clear to opaque white. Most of them bioluminesce in dark water, some even flash red (in addition to the normal blue and green) to attract fish. Some are as long as 40 meters, and may have several stomachs and hundreds of thread-like tentacles trailing behind trolling for snacks.While they generally appear as one organism, usually they are a floating colony of many individuals, all of which were produced by the same fertilized egg.

Photo borrowed from siphonophores.com

Anyway check out this video on YouTube of a giant siphonophore. (You can find more links to videos if you do a search, but this was the best one.) Or you can read about them on Wikipedia.

NFL Lockout is Over

The scene in Washington DC 

So the NFL lockout is officially over. Don't ask me what it was about, or what was agreed upon, because I don't know. All I know is the Players reps voted unanimously, and so whatever the NFL and owners proposed was accepted...At least for the next decade, then they will probably go through the whole thing again.
Anyway, the only game that will be cancelled is the Hall of Fame game. All the rest of the pre-season games should be played as originally scheduled. There will be a football season after all...Wheew!

Tragedy in Yosemite

The top of Yosemite Falls, looking over the edge

Just weeks after having spent my birthday hiking to the top of Yosemite Falls, I came upon an article about three people who died earlier this week while hiking another waterfall also located within Yosemite National Park. My heart lurched as I read the headline, and I quickly scanned the article. The story is that three people, two women and one man, went over Vernal Falls in front of several witnesses (including the other 7 members of their hiking group) after wading out into the middle of the river just above the falls to pose for photographs!
I couldn't believe it when I read it, and did so twice just to make sure I understood it correctly. Yes, the three ignored the signs posted everywhere, crossed the metal fence, and waded out into a raging river that fell 300 feet to the valley floor below. The man and one woman were out on a rock posing when she slipped. He tried to grab her, but fell in too, then the other woman tried to get a hold of them and fell in also. The couple that had been standing on the rock were seen holding tight to each as they went over the edge. It's a horrifying story, almost too awful to be real it seems. And it was such an unnecessary tragedy.

The wildly rushing water.

I do not mean to speak ill of the dead, because I truly  am very sorry for both their loss and that of their friends and family, but I am also shocked that grown adults would do something as...stupid as that. What could they possibly have been thinking? I witnessed, first hand, the rush of water flying over the edge of the granite wall at Yosemite Falls, and I cannot fathom any sane person even considering getting in the water. Even if your intellect could be tricked, the reactions of your body, the heightened paranoia, and release of adrenaline would warn you not to proceed. I just don't understand it.
 So in the improbable chance that you don't already know this:
For all of you folks out there who may find themselves near a waterfall at some point in the future, please be warned that they are as dangerous as they are beautiful. Use caution at both the top and bottom of falls (as currents at the bottom of falls can suck you under swirling you around in a whirlpool that will not let you go until the water levels drop some months later). Be cautious of ANY wet rocks. Even if you have hiking boots on, obey posted signs, they are there for a reason, and don't get too close. If you want to put your feet in the water, move further down the river (at the bottom, not the top!) where the water is calm. And if you want a picture, buy a post card, if you want one with you in it, by Photoshop. I'm serious. Just be careful!

From Coldfoot With Love

(Painting by me.)

My brother sent me a letter from Coldfoot Alaska a few weeks back. I found the postage stamp he chose ironic considering the CPU is above the Arctic Circle, and so was inspired to paint it. Afterward it was still missing something, so I ended up tearing out the corner of the envelope that had the stamps, and gluing it to the painting!

Color in Words

I have found that since I've started painting a lot, I am very in tuned to color. One of my favorite things is to experiment with is color. The contrasts between them, blending them together, different shades of the same color etc. I've come across a few written passages in my reading that have struck me because of their wonderfully ability to describe color in words. I thought I'd share them with you.
The first, by Mark Twain, is actually one of my favorite quotes by him, even though it's completely non-philosophical. It's within a paragraph of his autobiography where he is describing the decor of a house he rented in Florence.

"The floor is covered with a felt-like filling of strenuous red, one can almost see Pharaoh's host floundering in it. There are four rugs scattered about like islands, violent rugs who's colors swear at each other and at the Red Sea."

The second is in a book called The Universe Below which is about the history of deep sea exploration. The author is quoting another author by the name of William Beebe.

"On earth at night in moonlight I can always imagine the yellow of sunshine, the scarlet of invisible blossoms. But down here [meaning in the deep], when the searchlight was off, yellow and orange and red were unthinkable. The blue which filled all space admitted no thought of other colors."

Book Review: Mammal in the Mirror

So I read this for book club last month, and as much as I hate to say it, it was pretty awful. It sort of missed the mark on being not technical enough for those who have a basic understand of human biology, and too technical for the layperson with no background. It read like a review sections in a high school biology book. The most interesting chapters were at the end and they barely touched at all on the theories about what really makes us human (which from reading the inside cover of the book, appears to be the main theme). It wasn't the worst book I ever read, but it's pretty low on my list.

Longing for Game Day

(Borrowed from nbcsports.com)

It's always at the end of July/August that I get impatient waiting for football to start. I am sure the players appreciate the time off, and for them I am glad for the off season. But not for me. The off season is kind of like the first week home after camp. Where you find yourself feeling suddenly alone and miss everyone and everything you've left behind. A desperate longing grows in my bosom for the voices of Troy, Joe, John, Jaws and Mike (and the rest of the commentators) arguing over play calls and missed tackles. I begin to daydream about cool, autumn Sunday mornings, waking up on game day with butterflies in my stomach, not sure what the outcome of the days match up will be, but excited to cheer for the Pack no matter what. I take inventory of all my fan gear, and decide on outfits to wear for the first three games (even though we are usually the only ones at the bar!) And of course I miss the guys on the team. All of them. Offense, defense, special teams, coaches, everybody! While I wouldn't claim to know any of them on a personal level, I actually know them quite well on a football one. I was there for every play each of them made last season, and shared the elation and frustration of each of their victories and defeats respectively. And I miss them. Right now I am surviving only by watching the Championship Game and Super Bowl every other week (our stupid DVR erased all the rest of the games we recorded), but it's not enough. I need real live football!
Anyway, "only" 6 more weeks till the official season is set to start...that is if the lockout is over. *Sigh* Why can't every day be game day?

What in the...?

I saw this thing driving to work yesterday. I have no idea what it is, but it goes as fast as a car. Anybody seen one of these before?

The Call of Jack London

Portrait of Buck

I read The Call of the Wild the other night. I have had the book for years, and I can't say what really inspired me to finally pick it up. I guess I just decided it was time. I went straight home after work, made a fresh pot of coffee, pulled the book off my shelf (dusted it off), and plopped onto my favorite reading chair.
The copy I have was published in 1910 (the first edition was in 1903). So the pages are uneven along their edges (some have not even been cut!), it has a moldy paper kind of smell, and it has that "thickness" that old books and pages use to have. I think it's romantic to read "classic" books that were printed and bound when their authors were still alive. I like to wonder at that journey that took the volume from the printing press, through a hundred years, to my hands. Old books tell a story, but they are a story too, and I love that about them.
Anyway really didn't know what to expect from the book, but as it happens with most things I read, my two most basic ideas about it turned out to be incorrect. First I thought it was a children's book. But after reading it, I don't think that was London's intention. It's full of violence, and one of the prevailing themes throughout is that life is not fair, and there isn't much you can do about it. Also, unlike most other children's books, I didn't perceive a moral to the story. Or maybe there was, but it was a negative one, that morals are useless when it comes to nature, and only rules like "eat or be eaten" are worth taking to heart. London called it the Law of Club and Fang in the book. (It has both a beautiful literary ring to it, and a dangerous edge, that I think makes it a well chosen phrase.)
The second thing I thought was that it was about a wolf, which is untrue. It's about a dog named Buck, half Bernese mountain dog half something else that grew up in the Santa Clara Valley of California of all places. He was stolen from his owners and sent up north into Canada to become a sled dog.

Buck fighting Spits to the death.

The story is told from his perspective, and that was one of the most interesting aspects to me.  (I also think that's why a lot of people mistake it for a kids book.) Because he was a dog, he passed no judgement on anything, but rather took everything is stride. He accepted everything that was put forth to him, and learned from it what to, and not to do. It is the tale of Buck's abduction, his subsequent beatings by "the man in the red sweater", what he learned from those beatings, his journeys with various mushers and masters, his struggle for dominance and survival with other dogs, and finally experiencing what it feels like to love. The latter isn't a romantic escapade with another dog, but a chance meeting and rescue of Buck by a man named John, who took care of him, and treated him as a friend and equal. At the end of the story John is murdered by Indians, so Buck is left to himself in the wilderness and finally becomes "wild".
It was a good story, and different to be sure, but not a happy one. It was more a frank description of reality, without all the frivolous "human" ponderings about the why and what if's of life. I couldn't decide after it was all said and done if I was happy for Buck or sad for him. London doesn't really indicate anything one way or another, and so it's sort of left up to the reader to decide. Maybe that was the point, to show the difference between how people view life and how other animals might. I'm still thinking about it though.
At any rate (happy or not) I was inspired to read more Jack London. Next on my list? White Fang!

Can't Beet It

I "painted" this picture of a beet using a beet. Kinda blows your mind when you think about it long enough doesn't it? Don't ask why I decided to draw with vegetables today. It's just the mysterious (and random) way my mind works.
The upper one is how it actually looks, the bottom one is enhanced a little to bring out the organic nature (i.e. little bits and pieces of beet and leaves) of the medium.

The Perfect Cup

I finally roasted a batch of coffee that doesn't taste like sh*t! Wahoo! I am so pleased with myself! Now if only I remembered the kind of beans I used and how long I roasted them for...

Blue Water

The Blue Water Bridges

I made this painting for my Dad. It's of the Blue Water Bridges that connect Port Huron Michigan with Sarnia Canada. (The photo I painted it from is behind.)

I Scream You Scream

Green Tea Ice Cream

I bought an ice cream maker. To those of you who know me, it's a really...non-intuitive purchase because I am lactose intolerant, and because my last real serving of ice cream was consumed during the decade when Paula Abdul was still popular. Anyway, I guess you could say I was half talked into it, and half intrigued by the idea of making my own recipes. It's similar to how I feel about cookies. I like to make them, but hardly ever eat them. Anyway, ice cream surprisingly easy to make, just a few ingredients, mostly heavy cream and sugar (what did you expect?!?) and then whatever you want to add. I made green tea ice cream for a dinner party I went to last week, and yesterday I made white chocolate with hazelnuts and caramel. My next experimental flavor is going to  incorporate fresh figs somehow. They are just coming into season here, and I like the idea of using seasonal fruits from the market to flavor my ice cream. I have no idea if it will taste good, but it only costs about 4.00 to make two pints, so I don't have much to loose. If you could invent your own ice cream flavor what would it be?