There's Always Something...

Michael and So Forth...

Arizona cartoonist Steve Benson, one of the best, catches my feelings exactly:

The Red Violin...

We watched the lovely film, The Red Violin, last night. It traced the things that happened over the centuries to a special violin, a true musical treasure.

There were several things to think about apart from the sheer beauty of the music and the cinematography. The one that stayed with me most, however, was the reminder of the mystery that inhabits antiques of all kinds. There are several pieces of furniture, handed down across centuries, eventually to us, that often give me pause when I stop to look at them. I know their immediate stories. They belonged to our grandparents  - and in a few cases go back, in our families, even further than that. But beyond that we do not know.

Who made them? Why? Where? When? And what family dramas have they quietly observed? There is a certain dignity that goes with a richly aging piece of furniture, or art, or clay, or stone, or metal.

And where do they go from here?

Such a mystery to Wabi Sabi things.

Wainwright's "One Man Guy" ...

My son, Roger, had this on his blog this morning and it started our new week on a decidedly pleasant tone...

ONE MAN GUY

A Wild Beginning...

I had just settled down with my morning coffee. Read about the astonishing conditions in "fetid" Galveston after Ike got through. Then Lehmann Brothers and Merrill Lynch joined the ever increasing shocking news from the financial front. "Things are certainly weird", I was thinking.

But the day was just beginning. I turned to William Kristol's conservative column in the Times, which I regularly scorn, and to my surprise, found one of the best and wildest pieces of writing that I've come across in months.

Then, to make the week's beginning even stranger and then stranger, I turned to Slate Magazine on my computer and read an article about dreams, good and bad, that people were reporting about - yes, Sarah Palin! After completing the article, I was so, what's the word? - hyped up, weirded out, astonished, tickled, confused that I seriously considered substituting a shot of 20 year old Scotch for my coffee. I am speechless. But, being the unfailingly thoughtful, generous and sober soul that I am, I hasten to share the season's weirdness with you.

Don't say I didn't start your week off without a jolt or two.

IPhone Apps...

No, I don't have an IPhone. But you might remember a blog I recently wrote about a delightful visit by 2 young men from California who tormented us with vulgar displays from their jewel-like IPhones. It was amazing - and fun.

Well, this morning I came upon Terry White's blog on the subject of his 10 favorite applications for the IPhone. Terry KNOWS!

Don't turn me off. Whether you have or even WANT an IPhone is not relevant here. What I want you to see is a brief sample of what technology has made possible to carry around in your pocket or purse. And torture your astonished friends at the same time. Hard to beat a combination like that.

My Way...

I don't send out canned stuff as a rule. At least unless it can be personalized to some degree. Guess I see blogging as personal sharing as opposed to providing predigested entertainment. Obviously there is all kinds of room for disagreement there.

Anyway, I received this from my sister this morning and found it personal in so many ways, style and content, that I have to share it with you. Let it be my holiday hello to you!

My way.

lists...

One of my favorite activities is making "to do" lists. I learned the art way back in school and have been an ardent list maker ever since. I find that doing lists on good paper with a fine pen is much more satisfying than using the PDA or the computer. Seems to add soul to the project.

Occasionally I've shared one or two with you - as with my summer reading list last week. For the most part, however, I only share them with Jo Ann, who smiles knowingly and is glad that her retiree has something interesting to do. All of them don't - and their wives have been known to discuss this.

One of my perennial lists is cooking projects. As you know, I love to cook. I've been trying recently to find the perfect Manhattan Clam Chowder recipe. Omelets have come in for a special amount of attention lately. And I'm also trying to find some stuff to do with chicken cuisine that transcends the mediocre. This isn't as easy as it seems.

There are other projects in my workbook and in my mind, but I will hold off sharing with you until another day.

Making lists is fun and highly creative. Wins and losses fit into the picture. But setting goals, working out a plan and getting things done on a high level is certainly one of life's real joys. At least to me.

Mystery Man...

I'm hardly a mystery man. They tell me that what you see is pretty well what you get. But yesterday I was reading Ree's blog, "Confessions of a Pioneer Woman" and she offered to "tell all" in a column, if her readers had any questions about her life that they had been wondering about. No holds barred.

Her readers really piled on with that one and she had dozens of questions - which she openly and honestly fielded. Made for great reading!

I have to try that with you people, though I would settle for dozens of readers, much less questions. Anyway, paranoia aside, I'm going to try it. My life will become an open book for the next 24 hours. You don't ask something and I will dissolve into monumental self pity.

Ball's in your court. Fire away.

Robards...

Just thinking of that wonderful scene from "A Thousand Clowns" (with Jason Robards) where, Robards confides to his 12 year old nephew, as they approach the corner of 5th Avenue and 42nd Street in NYC, that he is about to witness a horrible, horrible thing: people going to work.

Yes, indeed.

Pretty Women...

Roissy featured this on his blog and it was unlike anything I had seen before. As a long time admirer of Hollywood beauties, I enjoyed trying to remember names to go with those lovely faces. Well, I also simply enjoyed the faces.

Have a look.