Sunday, June 25, 2006

Now and Then

Orion and I swam, then while he napped I started painting the kitchen cabinets. Actually, what I started is more like a painting that begins on the kitchen cabinets and will spill over onto the far wall. I've been thinking about it for some time and had the supplies on hand so, just like that, I sat down on the floor and began.

Tonight I picked Aubrey up from her friend's at 8:30. The thermometer read 100.

You've probably gathered already that I'm interested in doing some underwater photography. I emailed Mimi Ko and (she is so cool) she emailed me back some options for working with what I have on hand. Already I've found a case for my camera. Thanks, Mimi!
She'll be visiting in August and we'll get really creative---though, not necessarily under water.

Recently Pete called in to the Marshall Gilbert radio program regarding rabidly right wing Ann Coulter's new book The Church of Liberalism. He requested Gilbert present another side(ours) by interviewing Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith. The End Of Faith, by Sam Harris
We're sure that Gilbert, who is as Right as Right can be, will not, but hope the mention may have sold a couple of books for Harris.

I finished The End of Faith several weeks ago and will say that, though I don't agree with it wholesale, it's a smart, rational argument and well worth the read.

Since the upsets in the Catholic Church, the religious infestation of the White House and the flack over Dan Brown's mediocre but fun Da Vinci Code, people seem to be talking about religion more openly than ever before. This, at least, is a step forward.

On that note, here SlaughterHouse Studios: Sacred Sand I explain how I came to The "Church" of the Desert. It's a "rerun" for those of you who've been with me for a long time, but some of you found me more recently and might enjoy it. Somehow, in today's heat, it carries a strong presence for me.

Since I began writing this it's cooled down to a brisk 98 outside. Aubrey, Orion and I are going for a quiet nighttime swim before bed.

On Tuesday I'll be back in the studio. If I fail to tell you about what I've decided to to for Tiny Stories, please remind me. And back in there, I'll remember to say what I wanted to about burning. But I can't sit here any longer. It's cloistering, even in the air conditioning.

If I haven't said so lately, thanks for being here. Thanks for commenting. Thanks for thinking.

g'night

11 comments:

Carl V. Anderson said...

Once again I salute your tolerance for being able to populate a land with weather conditions that would have suicidal at best! I think I have the reverse of the common seasonal affective disorder...I get more depressed in the summer months than ever. I can't wait for the fall!!!

You're doing before and after pics of your cabinet painting right?

And thank you for allowing us to be here!

faerydusted1 said...

I can't wait to see pictures, also!

I've been wondering how different that kind of heat must feel. When I was young I lived in Panama. And here in Marland, also, we have such humidity. So I imagine that your 90-something degree heat versus our 90-something degree heat (If it didn't get that high last weekend it certainly was trying) must certainly feel very different.

Now we have storms. Huge thungering, raging storms that make the metal in my arm shiver. :P

David Niall Wilson said...

I did my rant on Ms. Coulter a while back...after seeing her preen on Leno whie George Carlin bit his knuckles...such a strange, surreal, frightening lot they are...

I'm still waiting for her to "bring on" one of those "fierce conservative men" she hangs with (lol) WhateEVER. She has become a caricature of a serious commentator, I think, through her own inability to notice when she passes through the ridiculous filter and sticks to it...

David

vandaluna said...

I've seen Anne Coulter's books out of the corner of my eye in the book store and kept a healthy distance. Really. You know that 33% that still approve of F*&%wad? (I didn't write the whole word because Jordan's mother would be reading. ;-) ) They all live in the panhandle of Florida. I'm immersed and have no need to see any more, so I shall do my best ostrich impersonation. Hehehe.

faerydusted: having grown up in the DC area, it has HORRID summers. There are two things about my area of FL which are good. Summers here rarely get over 92' and they aren't nearly as humid as the DC/MD/VA area. The winters never go below 32'. The other good thing is the water. I don't go in it, but I drive by it. The color, on the right day, just absolutely GLOWS! Yesterday the water was as incredible as I've ever seen!! And we have sugar white sand. Not to worry, the 33% are quickly destroying the coastline.

carl: Fall...I miss the fall...I miss the smells, the crisp air, the october days, the changing leaves! I've seen the cherry blossoms since I moved south, but can you imagine eight years of never seeing the seasons change?

Lisa: I hear you got a lovely new necklace. :-)

faerydusted1 said...

I rather like the weather here!
Like they say (probably of many places):
If you don't like the weather in MD- wait 5 mins, it'll change.
And Fall, while not the Autumns of Vermont or other famously crayola places, are wonderfully pumpkin-filled and some of the trees go very scarlet. I like MD because we have all the extremes.
Except Dry Heat. Never felt that.
(We do have drought- but it always seems to be a humid drought. And last year things seemed to be very dusty when I was working outside on the weekends, but I can't imagine sand everywhere.)

Lisa... I have to admit, I've been reading for some time but have refrained from posting and now it seems like I'm coming into your sandbox (no reference to your desert intentional) to play. Thank you. :)

ravyn said...

faerydusted - i love it in MD, humid summers and all. And i do love being in Frederick, i love the mountains (even though they're just glorified hills, heh).

And..... *don't* refrain from posting!!! There's enough room for everyone to speak, and be heard :-)

Derek Ash said...

God knows they've been letting me post on here long enough for you to figure these folks must have the patience of saints.

Oh, an y'all remember the comments about the movie, Nightwatch on here a while ago? I rented it the other night... but I thought it was a sort of confusing mess. I can't remember who specifically thought what about this movie, and so I really don't want to offend anybody here by getting to mouthy about the whole thing... but lets just say I was disappointed.

Bulfinch's Aglaia said...

I think what you wrote earlier about the fugue state, of going within, fits in well with true Christianity. "The kingdom of God is within you." What is inside is infinite -- obviously you travel there in your art. Thanks for keeping us involved.

lisa said...

Carl---I'm not so sure I deserve any salutes. I tolerate the summers because I'm not ready to move. And then there are the views, the midnight swimming, the winters.....
I really, really don't get it. It infuriates me that the housing here is so stupidly unsuited to the climate. Everyone here should have basements, the building materials are wrong and solar panels are rare indeed. I see no evidence at all of forward thinking. What a ridiculous waste... Yes, I'll take pics. My car thermometer read 103 just a few minutes ago.

faerydusted1--I love storms. 103 makes us want to huddle inside in the dark or swim. 130 makes it hard to breathe, melts your shoes and makes you wonder what the hell you're doing here. shivering arm metal...hmmm
David---Ann Coulter makes me want to shower my body and floss my brain.
vandaluna---yes, I got a lovely necklace as a GOH gift from Balticon. I hear you were instrumental in choosing it. Eventually, photos
Ravyn---hey, thanks
RRNN---I loved NightWatch, thought it clever, sophisticated and innovative. But, yes, you do have to pay close attention.
Bullfinch's aglaia--- To call any particular religion 'true' is to call all others 'false'.
I might go so far as to call my personal mental journey's 'spiritual' in the sense that mental processes are more than chemical and electrical. I do believe there is much more to be learned. Not that long ago people didn't believe in viruses or psychosis or that the universe is in motion.
But a true religion? In my mind, I'd have to say, not yet.
But I'm glad you're here, and hope you'll keep seeking.

faerydusted1 said...

Must add Nightwatch to my Netflix now!

(re: metal arm comment)
I broke my elbow last Superbowl Sunday and have a plate in my arm just now. My coworkers are pretty convinced its to blame for recent power surges in the office. They've also taken to calling my Barometer Betty.
(I don't think I even know anyone named Betty.)

Ravyn- I love hiking in Fredrick. Especially in the fall. :-D
How's the flooding up there, anyway?
I'm facinated by all of it and a little frightened all at the same time, but haven't experienced any of it myself. I had a dream of trying to decide whether to drive through a flooded road or to turn around. (I drive a small truck.)

Its strange, because my area has had some pretty bad stuff, but I haven't seen a single road closed yet, although traffic on the streets I take has increased significantly because the other routes are all closed.

Its interesting to be reading about a place where the sun is unforgiving and builders don't seem to have the sense to put in basements or take advantage of the bare sunlight. And then to describe our little nook of the country, not really so far away, where water won't stop falling; the power won't come on for many folks; and firefighters are patrolling in orange rubber boats, rescuing people who thought their SUVs could take a flooded road. My coworker said he saw the sun this morning. I accused him of trickery.

Carl V. Anderson said...

And see I though Nightwatch was great. Except that watching it in the original Russian (which is the only way to watch it in my opinion) was annoying because the only English subtitle choice I had on the DVD was 'for the hearing impaired' so not only did you get the English subtitles but the occasional "horse whinies, knock on door" comments. It does reward close attention but I really enjoyed it. So much so that I bought the DVD immediately when it came out.