Hard at work in The Lab

Herr Choate

A sketch by a German 202 student, January 2012.

Collaborative Father / Daughter Art

"Collaborative" here means Sierra did most of the artistic work and I made sure she didn't smear paint, bzw markers on everything else nearby and then helped her write her name, the date, and the titles, the latter of which she picked out. Anyway, she loves to paint, and I think we may have a little artiste on our hands.

„Ein Pferd auf dem Bauernhof“
"A horse on the farm"
19 December, 2011


„Ein Land ohne Name“
"A country without a name"*
28 December, 2011





















* In a nod to our mates Dan Under: it kinda looks like Australia!

Hope and Perserverance

Here's a little ditty that surprised me in its poignancy and similarities to parts of Isaiah, Hebrews, and Romans, and I'm sure other Biblical spots:

"If you were going away somewhere--and you, and you--and the time was made ready, and the day drew near, and you knew in your heart that you would be happy--and this is an elder knowledge that has little to do with fact--wouldn't you cry out to the time of your going, and look forward toward it, with eagerness, to view the curve of the world at the place where the sky bends down?"

From Ben Hur Lampman's The Time of the Crows

It also is just one example of good things I've come across which to me prove the MO "test everything and hold on to what is good".

"Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." (Isaiah - NLT, 2007)


"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews - ESV, 2001)

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will." (Romans - NIV, 1984)

...typical of Chinese glonous history. and cultural

Well, it's time for a 5.5 year review of the ever-entertaining chopsticks paper case. This time, the Chinese were not supplying Little Saigon with these sleek, stick-like dining utensils, as in our visit in 2006,

but SE Portland's Pok Pok, a fine Thai establishment not too far from our abode and lauded on travel television or whatever (so they've told us). 'twas perfect for a relaxing, cool, evening stroll. Clear, late-December skies, with sprinkled bright stars and some wisps of cloud here and yon.

We did go to Pok Pok with Darin & Suzanne last February or so, and it was delicious then as well: Thanks! ("Cuando se puede se puede, y cuando no se puede no se puede.")

The evening before Sierra's birth in aught eight, we ate somewhat spicy Chinese food with Great Grandma and at midnight Kirsten began labor, so we were sort of thinking a little spicy Thai might help things along this time. Anyway, amid some delicious soup, 3 kinds of rice (jasmine, coconut, sticky), dungness crab, organic delicata squash, and a tasty beverage, we enjoyed reading the text on the chopsticks case. At first glance the content seems essentially the same as it did that day in Little Saigon, though this time it's been given the ol' once-over by someone at least somewhat proficient in English (again, click to enlarge photograph) :

Sure, there are a few oddities, such as strange diction and no punctuation, but by and large things turned out alright! (What does "Tuck under thumb" really mean? Would we really know if it weren't for the image?) From this version, one can see where "positor" came from.

The other version is still hilarious though...

Another item of note is an "e" where a "c" belongs:


However, the true hilarity is found on the reverse side. First of all: "Welcome to Chinese Restaurant." (Uh, Thai?) Secondly: "Please try your Nice Chinese Food With Chopsticks." Ah, yes, the famous NCFWC. Similar to the "Learn how to use your chopsticks" section, no attention was paid to punctuation save the end-of-line period (though not the last line), as in: "the traditional and typical of Chinese glonous history. / and cultural" Wait, "glonous"?

Good-bye 2011! Hello 2012!

My Heart Pizza

I agreed to make the pizzas, even though I haven't yet mastered the art. Amidst some frustrating events of the day, I was surprised when I rolled out the herb dough after letting it rest in olive oil (a key point for a delicious pie, IMHO).

A heart came forth. The herb dough worked great at first, though I had problems with both later... I ended up with globs of dough splattered across two baking sheets, heaped some tomato sauce on, then some cheese, plus some piña here and there.

It wasn't pretty, though not only was it edible, it was also, if I do say so myself, delicious. And although heart dough never made it into a finished product, I'm glad that it came to me.

Aufklärung

„Das Bedürfnis nach Aufklärung und Klarstellung ist immens."

"The need for elucidation (enlightenment) and clarification is immense."

Bastian Sick - Autor von: Der Dativ ist dem Genetiv sein Tod (2004) und die Zwiebelfisch-Kolumnen online

Part of my Willamette River Story

I did a video interview after completing the Bridge Pedal with Jim this summer and it was fun. They left out my favorite story (ask me about it sometime...), but this little snippet is pretty good (0:30)

http://portlandharborpartnership.com/dates-and-events/

Also: Hmm... "Conversation" (2:00)

Fall Sun Torture

While I was inside all day yesterday, working and slaving away, outside it looked like this:

Oh yeah, I also wish I had circa 1920s waffles (transported through the space-time continuum to my breakfast plate immediately after cooking!)

Thanks Mom & Carrie!

Thankfulness

One of my favorite songs, a waterdeep tune, claims, "a thankful heart prepares the way for you my God". I think that is right. These are photographs taken of kid contributions to a fall thankfulness binder in OMSI's children's area. I actually took these photos back in the summer, but now is a good time to post them as many trees are now exploding with the colors of fall!






While the show represented here seems to be interesting and i am still learning about it, i prefer to pretend that the child meant to write "Gabbo".

Bridgepedal 2011

cookie cutters i want

'twould be great to be able to eat this shape and other geographical cookies:


When used on flubber (?) The US comes out looking blobular, like this:


An ironic cookie shape, no?

Quotes found at OMSI on art & children

Abenddämmerliche Bewunderung des Gartens

~ Dusky Garden Admiration



Our corn is getting huge!

More of the story (added 22 August, 2011. WARNING: partially unpleasant):



I discovered the sign in a corner on the west side of the PAM, which i/we have been trying to frequent more often of late (<--redundant?
Also, your thoughts on "The PAM" vs. "PAM"?).

At the time I had missed a streetcar which would have made my journey to the PAM much shorter, though would likely have prevented me from encountering the sign. I added this second photograph because it captures a little more of the experience of the find. I noticed the sign from the sidewalk and was interested, and upon crutching over to investigate, my attention was immediately distracted by the strong smell of urine. It had been a long time since i had smelled the stale smell of urine, at least in that way, in a public space, and it was surprising because the area around the PAM is so well-kept and, possibly, somewhat high-nosed so that one does not necessarily expect that particular odor to happen upon the nose.

The stains on the concrete in the photograph are possibly urine stains, and it was quite clear to me in retrospect that this had been a convenient pee corner, somewhat protected due to the neighboring tree and the fact that traffic on that street is one-way and at an angle where from a vehicle you probably wouldn't see the inverted corner of the building. For whatever reason though, the smell remained with me for a while after i smelled it, though not in smell form, rather, as a strong experience memory capturing the FLUX/FIUX Capacitor moment. In other words, I knew I would clearly remember finding the sign. Perhaps this is because i've been talking so much about scent memory in the rose gardens lately. I think that with strong memories in general we earthlings tend to block out the unpleasant aspects of most experiences. Do you agree?

On a slightly less unpleasant note, that larger green leaf in the 2nd image, and probably some of the others there as well, are from the beautiful elms overhead there. When i finished photographing the FLUX/FIUX Capacitor sign, i crutched across the street westward to catch the streetcar back in the opposite direction I'd been going to eventually head back home. There is a funny sign there under that Elm Heritage that depicts a dog pooping, kind of like this one:


While funny, this sign is not as good as the actual one, so i will try to get a photograph of it next time i'm in that area.

Here's a little bit of a feel for the area and some other photographs of the elm at other times during the year.

Grandma & Papa Visit - August 2011

Arrival:



Silliness on the way to Junior's for breakfast.



Getting some reprieve from the heat with the pool & some shade on the deck:



An Oregon book the boys & the little one read while the ladies were shopping 'til they were dropping:



Another:



S strikes a striking pose with a pink hat:



Enjoying the shade of Peninsula Park after a cancelled ballet lesson:



A Playground Monitor:



A delighter in slides:



Uhh... (Note both facial expressions--click image to view larger version)



*Whoosh!*



Artful refreshments for the playground goers. Though not as artful as Oba!, apparently. Probably also not as good as K's superbly sliced fruit-art spread earlier that morn:



The rose garden. A friend of mine recently mentioned these might be modeled after similar leisure gardens in France:



Enjoying a sit after an amazingly aromatic amble through the roses:



5th Quadrant coloring:



Did a crayon drop on the floor? What are you getting?



Exploring the inner workings of Pedalounge:



Grandma sure delights in watching otters eat! (And getting swooped upon by predator birds and other winged creatures!)



Someone does NOT like that goat.



Sitting in the grass enjoying the sunshine...wait, do you see that bald eagle in the background soaring toward you?!?



A typical backseat scene for the week:



Good-byes are never easy, but at least they can be smiley!



Hanging out at Broughton Beach on the Colombia River, waiting for the plane to pass overheard. Woody sez: "Roll on, Colombia, roll on! /
Roll on, Colombia, roll on! / Your power is turning our darkness to dawn! / Roll on, Colombia, roll on!"





Departure.
Up, up, over Mount Hood:



Past the Moon and the Kite:



Into the sunset: