No Snivelling

Eugene asked me for my favorite 10 books that I read in 2004... that reminded me to clear off my shelf of 'books read this year', and also highlighted that I had a LOT of free time on my hands this year, considering my sabbatical in beginning of year, and 'retirement' in October.

So, here it is, my 2004 reading list, in a somewhat ranked order... it obviously became very difficult to rank them... but, I did my best...

Books:
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One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (Kesey)
Theodore Rex (Morris)
The Crimson Petal and the White (Faber)
John Adams (McCullough)
Benjamin Franklin (Isaacson)
Atlas Shrugged (Rand)
Old School (Wolff)
Cryptonomicon (Stephenson)
Middlesex: A Novel (Euginedes)
Shadow Divers (Kurson)
Postcards (Proulx)
Devil in the White City (Larson)
Black Hawk Down (Bowden)
Nickel and Dimed (Ehrenreich)
Angela's Ashes (McCourt)
On the Road (Kerouac)
Prodigal Summer (Kingsolver)
Cold Mountain (Frazier)
Positively Fifth Street (McManus)
Every Second Counts (Jenkins / Armstrong)
Sea Biscuit (Hillenbrand)
Bringing Down the House (Mezrich)
Reefer Madness (Schlosser)
Moneyball
Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot (Franken)
That Old Ace in the Hole (Proulx)
Winterdance (Paulsen)
The Da Vinci Code (Brown)
The Tipping Point (Gladwell)
The Emperor of Ocean Park (Carter)
Hey Nostrodamus (Coupland)
The Autograph Man
Tuesdays with Morrie (Albom)
'Tis (McCourt)
Super System (Brunson)
Stupid White Men (Moore)
Vernon God Little (Pierre)
On Writing (King)
Twelve Bar Blues
Living History (Hillary Clinton)
Peace like a River (Enger)
Dogs of Babel (Parkhurst)
Five People you Meet in Heaven (Albom)
Elmer McCurdy (Svenvold)
Darwin Awards II

Movies (obviously, i've missed a few...):
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Bad Education (La Mala Educacion) - Almodovar
The Return
Sideways
Spiderman 2
21 Grams
Lady Killers
Vera Drake
Coach Carter
Beyond the Sea

Trends making strong gains among masses:
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Poker
Political Involvement/Interest
Wireless
Tivo
iPod
Netflix
Digital Cameras
HDTV

Not much to say here, but to admire Rich's form... true beauty in motion... also note the Hollis, NH landscape...





Also, these videos show even more grace in motion (Video1, Video2)

Well, we finally got to meet our newest niece, Catherine (ok, ok, I know she's almost a year old... get off my back). She and Julia couldn't be cuter... of course, I think maybe they have enough toys already... I think they've received all available, and are now getting doubles :)

I forgot how insane people can get with their home decorating around Christmas -- I only needed a quick trip to my parents in Leesport, PA to be reminded. Check out some of these... err... beauties :) And, pardon the blurriness... taken with a digital camera, no tripod, sitting atop my dad's caddie:

My favorite, up the street from my parent's house in Leesport:


Another winner from Leesport, with a Grinch on the left side... this used to be the Boyer's house:


Close runner up... caddy corner from the Boyer's house, in Leesport:


Not to be outdone, Hamburg, PA stakes its claim:

As we are traveling to the East coast for the holidays, Zach needed to be provided with some room and board while we are absent. We were eagerly awaiting the opening of Roscoe's Ranch, a new kennel run by Guy, a friend of ours.



Well, it was worth the wait. The kennel is run on property at their home, and since it is limited to a maximum of 20 dogs at a time, they get incredibly personal attention... from abundant off leash play areas, to on-leash walking trails lined with wood chips, it is truly a dog heaven. Plus, Zach was fed home cooked food (which he seems to prefer to nuggets and canned food... go figure), got a bath before leaving, and even met a new girlfriend named Meatball while he was there. For our part, we got regular emails covering how he was adjusting, etc. Suffice it to say that Zach was loath to leave, and we were really impressed with his care... when I picked him up, he may even have bit me... or was that just a playful jab?

Was a typical December day in Seattle...

Started off with an 8 mile run with Karen and her cousin Kevin along Lake Washington from Leschi toward Seward Park and back. Was nice to have someone along for the run (Kevin) who was repeatedly talking about how beautiful the run was (describing as "a true runner's moment", "noone who lives along the run has an excuse for not being healthy", etc). From my point of view, I was just happy to have the run finished -- only 5-6 weeks until the Carlsbad Half Marathon -- wonder if I'll be in Carlsbad on January 16, 2005? :)

After that, I pretty much just found shelter in the house.

I finally got through the last 40-50 pages of Theodore Rex , the second in a 3-part biography series by Edmund Morris, that covered the two terms of his presidency from 1901 (succeeding the murdered McKinley) to 1909 (refusing to run for a second elected term, allowing Taft to continue the Republican stranglehold). It was really an interesting book for me, since I knew so little about his presidency -- he accomplished so much in eight years (Panama Canal, many Conservation initiatives, Trust reform vs. railroads and many others, 8-hour workday laws, employer liability laws, helping end the Russo/Japan war). Makes me interested in reading all of the presidential biographies, mainly as a way to learn about how our country got to where it is now.

Of course, it was much slower reading than what I'm used to (aka fiction). I'm really looking forward to reading Winterdance , which was recommended by Laura. Some light reading about the running of the Iditarod.

I think this is what I was looking for when anticipating ending formal employment. Here is what a typical action-packed day looks like:

8am - make coffee, drink coffee, check email

8:15am - read the paper

9:30am - take some ebay and amazon sale items to the post office

10am - buy some vitamins at the drugstore

10:30am - pick up Eugene on the east side, and head to pacmed building

11:15am - sign some paperwork at the ex-employer, signing over patent rights

11:30am - buy lunch at Salumi with Eugene and Mark - laugh a lot - enjoy lunch at Waterfall Park

12:10pm - enjoy a grande latte at Zeitgeist Coffee, and have Mark pay for it!

12:15pm - spot some artwork to show Karen to see if she likes it:



12:30pm - take Mark back to work (sucker!)

1pm - Eugene & I head back to the house, watch some South Park

1:30pm - drive to American Games to check out Poker Chips, then go downtown to shop

4pm - leave Eugene downtown, and head home to watch Sonics vs. Mavericks - can you believe that the Sonics are 16-3?!?

5:30pm - kick back and relax after a long tiring day :)

I had a lazy day around the University of Washington campus today -- enjoyed browsing the magazine selection on University Avenue, gobbled up a lunch sushi plate, and then made my way to the Henry Art Museum to see their exhibition, WOW (The Work of the Work). I had wanted to visit after I saw a writeup about an exhibit that featured a small circular room, with an oval cut in the ceiling exposing the sky. I learned that this room (Skyspace), created by James Turrell, was only one of several excellent experiences.

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I really enjoyed an installation entitled Pollen from Hazelnut, which was a large room, with a white floor, with a yellow center painting on the floor... painted such that it made it look soft... like a carpet, or pollen, I suppose.



Everyone will want to see, and enjoy, a visual treat by Olafur Eliasson, called Your Compound Eye, a sort of prismatic cone that you look into.

There were several other installations, probably called something like 'new media', 'visual media' or the like. Short looping movies, etc. Also some traditional art such as sculpture, photographs, and some paintings.

My favorite installation, by far, was entitled Tall Ships by Gary Hill. It is hard to explain, but if you are in Seattle you absolutely must see it. You walk toward a very dark room, and then a museum attendant directs you to walk toward a pitch black hallway. After your eyes adjust a little bit, you start to sense that the hallways is long (it ends up being ~70 feet long!), and as you start to walk down the hallway, you notice faint spots of light on each side of you. When you stop to look at the light, they start to move, and suddenly you start to see someone walking toward you. If you stand their long enough, you see a person (old, young, male, female) walk right toward you and then stop and look at you. If you move to the left, the image looks that way, and vice versa. As you move away, the image looks toward you leaving, and then loses interest and walks back from whence they came. It is a very personal experience, because of the darkness, and the interaction of sorts. I didn't ask, but I'm assuming their are sensors of some kind to figure out where you are standing (left/center/right, near/far) and then they are using CD-ROM projections of the people. In any case, it was exceptional -- makes me want to return for more!





One more note -- the Henry Art Gallery is collaborating with Western Bridge on WOW. Western Bridge is a free museum in South Seattle -- I can't wait to visit to see more works by these, and similar, artists.

If you go, tell them I sent you.