My Frontier

What is a mess, but the sign of a life lived fully

Fri, 1 Jan 2010 13:21:05 -0600

What do you see? A mess? What is a mess but the sign of a life lived fully. Looking at this reminds me of one of those “Highlights” children’s magazines that had those hand drawn pictures where you had to find the hidden objects. That was always the first page I turned when I got my monthly magazine in the mail. I skipped past the dry jokes and the stories and went right for the mess.

Children are always inclined to making messes. Cleaning them up, not so much. Perhaps there is something to learn in that observation. They do not seem to have a problem with focusing on what it is they want, and a mess ensues. There is always a mess with children.

For a short while I pondered all the new years resolutions I was inclined to make. Clean the garage, organize my office, scan all my financial records, record an inventory of possessions, scan and catalog all my photos, create digital scrapbooks of our memories, etc. In short, clean the mess. I have created these grand organization and documentation schemes that ultimately are all about cleaning up messes. I could spend years just cleaning up & organizing. Have you seen my garage?

When I’ve come to the end of my life, will I regret not having organized my life better, not having logged every experience, taken a photo of every place I’ve been and documented it. Or am I more likely to regret not having lived it more fully, had more experiences, met more interesting people, traveled more places, tried new foods, learned new cultures, seen more art, done more things? I think it is the latter.

It isn’t really the scrapbook that is so important. Those things we DO that leave scraps of evidence are more important than collecting those scraps.

So my New Years resolution this year, is to make more messes. To live life even more fully, more deliberative. Have more experiences, meet more people, learn more things, see more places. And not to let cleaning the mess interfere with making them.

I won’t feel so bad if I don’t have time to blog it all here. After all, I’ve got things to do!

It Occurred to Me...

Sun, 2 Nov 2008 07:44:23 -0600

... I didn’t know that Egyptian rivals used to cut off the noses on Pharaoh statues to prevent the former leaders from returning back from the dead.

... That if you can get through all the language, HBO’s “The Wire” was one of the best shows on TV

... That renting may indeed be a better option financially than buying.

... That jury nullification helped repeal prohibition, and it possibly could do the same for some drug possession laws.

... That red wine is almost always better than white.

... That a “Boxty” may be one of my favorite Irish meals.

... That daylight savings time is a statist invention by do-gooder beaurocrats who wish to control everybody’s lives.

... That we have too many pets

... That pickles should be banned from hamburgers

Grave Digger - Monster Jam

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 17:04:09 -0600

Because I’m willing to try anything once, I ventured into a new cultural venue last week. The best word to describe this experience was LOUD! The 1st Mariner Arena is small to begin with, but then to hold an event like this inside is just absurd. I’m surprised there aren’t lawsuits for damaged hearing coming out of this. Fortunately, I anticipated it might be a problem and brought 3 pairs of earplugs for the kids, but that still left B and I to try and use ipod earphones to help dampen the noise.

Photos here

This show was akin to professional wrestling in that there was more showmanship than talent on display the competitions were obviously staged, but it was still impressive seeing these machines strut their stuff as well as experience the crowd reactions.

I’m still amazed they fit these things in the arena. I found it interesting (and a bit comforting) that each truck had wireless remote shutoff systems so if one ever got in a runaway situation, the power could be pulled immediately.

I can’t say as I’d ever go out of my way to attend again, but this is another thing to check off of my “been there, done that” list.

Another Great Blog Find

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 09:38:03 -0600

I subscribed to this blog last week and have been thrilled with the continual wealth of information on everything Disney related.

http://jimhillmedia.com/ - News, reviews, history and commentary about the entertainment industry
(But mostly about the Mouse)

More Shakespeare

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:06:01 -0600

These are some more quotes I scribbled down from my recent reading of “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” and from “The Tempest” I finished last month.

from “The Two Gentlement of Verona”:

“in the sweetest bud, the eating canker dwells”

“Fire that’s closest kept burns most of all”

“O how this spring of love resembleth the uncertain glory of an April day, which now shows all the beauty of the sun, and by and by a cloud takes all away!”

“For truth hath better deeds than words to grace it”

from “The Tempest”:

“Hell is empty, and all the devils are here”

“Good wombs have born bad sons”

“Full fathom five thy father lies; of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes; Nothing of him that doth fade but doth suffer a sea change into something rich and strange.”
[this one reminded me of Pirates of the Carribean]

“grief...beauty’s canker”

“What a spendthrift is he of his tongue”

“Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows”

“most poor matters point to rich ends”

“The strongest oaths are straw to th’ fire in th’ blood”

“O Brave New World that has such people in it!”

Snow In A Can

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:02:36 -0600

Fantasy is becoming reality in our world. This isn’t a criticism or a praise, but just is. Observe how strange, absurd and wonderful our reality is changing right before us. Things once considered myths are now reality because of creativity, ingenuity, technology and even a bit of aburdity.

vegetables in a bottle, fruit in a gum
liquid cheese in dispensers, janitor in a drum
better health in a packet, spring in a soap
the world in a box and a t.v. remote

candles for romance, canned music for mood
sex in a pill, and tan in a tube
for winter a heater, for summer a fan
instant coffee and cameras, sea-monkeys and tang

is just some of the stuff which i think is grand
alternative crab meat makes me one happy man
santa ana’s at christmas won’t ruin my plans
i got a video fireplace and snow in a can

These things occurred to me last week as I was at Disney World with the family. There is no more blatantly obvious place that blurs the line between what is real and what is imagined. But these things are not just imitations and fakery but invoke very real experiences themselves. At Disney World, it is very much a small world with children of every nation playing, enjoying, imagining and hoping. If everyone in the world could go to Disney World and spend a week there, I’m convinced there’d be a lot less conflict.

abracadabra, alakazam
flip a switch and it’s snowin’ at disneyland
they got apples in shampoo
like pearls in a clam
they got pigs in a blanket
and snow in a can

I'm more and more embracing the idea of mythos becoming reality as a fundamental part of human existence. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing (nor a new one). Cultures throughout time have created their own reality from what now seems to us to be fantasy. They are only ascribed “myth” long after the face when we are unable to come to terms with their culture and beliefs.

sounds of nature on tape such as rivers and rain
paint by numbers and duraflame
pre-fab houses and astro yards
collagen lips and credit cards
complimentary peanuts, friendly skies,
comfort foods
happy meals, smart marts and
sensible shoes
honest work, hope chests
the lay of the land
fantasy baseball and denny’s grand slam

The hip and intellectual thing is to view fantasy as adolescent and immature, but I think that does it disservice. Humans are the ones who dream and imagine and make music, not birds or horses or cats or other animals. It is in our higher nature to describe our reality with imagination and even to create our own reality.

The transformation of fantasy to reality is part of our evolution as a species. The mystical imagination is OUR distinguishing characteristic. Only we have evolved it.

Embrace the dreamers!

lyrics by Terry Taylor “Snow In A Can”

Dangles Plays Game-boy

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:57:27 -0600

First in a series.

You’re going to need a bigger boat

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:11:35 -0600

Catching up from last weeks news:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/movies/11scheider.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Roy Scheider, a stage actor with a background in the classics who became one of the leading figures in the American film renaissance of the 1970s, died on Sunday afternoon in Little Rock, Ark. He was 75 and lived in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
...
Mr. Scheider’s rangy figure, gaunt face and emotional openness made him particularly appealing in everyman roles, most famously as the agonized police chief of “Jaws,” Steven Spielberg’s 1975 breakthrough hit, about a New England resort town haunted by the knowledge that a killer shark is preying on the local beaches.

Roy Scheider gave us one of movie’s most memorable lines “You’re going to need a bigger boat”. In fact, that line was voted No. 35 on the American Film Institute’s list of best quotes from U.S. movies. Personally, I think it should be much higher. He also had 2 Oscar nominations.

I grew up in Jacksonville Florida and visited the beaches quite often. I remember watching Jaws and being terrified. It forever changed our thinking about playing in the surf at the beaches. It is quite possibly one of the scariest movies of all time, and it certainly changed the movie industry by being one of the first “summer blockbusters” starting a tradition of movie releases and marketing that still continues to this day. It also has one of my favorite movie scenes of all time:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GYyLWAgo7Vw&feature=related - Quint’s U.S.S. Indianapolis speech

The wonderful thing about this man versus nature struggle in this film is really in the interplay between the 3 very different characters. A sensitive family man, a hard seasoned navy veteran, and a intellectual scientist are all 3 different types of men all joining to defeat this terror for the betterment of mankind. It is interesting which one finally succeeds.

So here’s to Roy Scheider! You’ve got your bigger boat now. Thanks for making this movie one of my top twelve favorite movies.

2008 Family Vacation - Florida

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:50:36 -0600

The photos are up: 2008 Family Vacation - Florida

The kids are just at the right age (7, 10, 13) where they will all remember this trip and yet young enough where they still enjoy Disney with childlike wonder. So this year, for their birthdays, we took them to Disney World (with a little bit of Sea World and Gramma’s house thrown in for good measure).

I’ve been to Disney many times (last time I counted it was around 20-30 times) since I grew up so close to it. And while I always seem to approach Disney with cynicism, I am without fail transformed by its “magic”. One can’t help but smile there. I love the international commaraderie there. I’m convinced if everyone around the world can just go to Disney World every once in a while, there would be far less racial and nationalistic hatred around the world. Everyone has children and watching them dream and play and wonder is a universal “happy thought” that transcends race and nation and language.

Good Morning Valentine!

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:12:14 -0600

What a beautiful sunrise to start the day. A shame that I had to spend most of Valentine’s day away from my valentine, but I did make it home by 9:30 pm thanks to catching an early standby flight.

I’ve taken to reading Shakespeare on the airplane these days and I’ve become so enamored with his ability to turn a phrase that I think he may be rivaling Thoreau for my favorite author. I scribbled down some memorable phrases while reading him in my little black book I keep with me for such moments that I need. Here are a few of them from the just finished “Two Gentlemen of Verona” for this valentines day.

“Hope is a lover’s staff; Walk hence with that”

“Valentine is dead, and so am I, for in his grave my love is buried”

“The current that with gentle murmur glides, Thou know’st, being stopped, impatiently doth rage;”

“Why, Lady, Love hath twenty pair of eyes”

“Time is the nurse and breeder of all good”

“It is the lesser blot, modesty finds, women to change their shapes than men their minds”

“The private wound is deepest. O time most accurst! ‘Mongst all foes that a friend should be the worst!”