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Year: 2007

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

July 6, 2007 • • 2 Comments

While we were in Orange, I kept seeing this fellow standing in a ditch by the road hunting crawfish. Finally, I stopped to take a picture so I could ID him. He’s a yellow-crowned night heron.

I love the name night heron. It’s such an evocative name, one that fires the imagination. Not quite as good as the Latin version of the black-crowned night heron (nycticorax nycticorax), which translates to night raven, though.

The picture here doesn’t really do him justice as his crown appears more white than the pale yellow it should be. Blame the photographer. The bird himself was living up to his name, which he claimed was actually Moe.

I also added another bird to my life list: the fish crow. I heard what sounded like a nasal quawking, but the birds flying over looked like crows, but the sound was definitely not the hard caw-caw. I listened to some recordings online and consulted many a tome to learn that I had seen fish crows, a fairly common coastal bird.

The Accidental Hiatus-ist

July 6, 2007 • • 4 Comments

We did not wash away in the floods, though I’m still trying to collect two of every greyhound for the ark I’ve been building. Unfortunately, they are each individuals, so I’m only able to find one of each.

Mainly, I hadn’t blogged because I wanted to finish my book. I didn’t want to sit at the computer writing and not be writing that, so blog went by the wayside to meet my self-imposed end of June deadline. I made it with a few days to spare.

The manuscript came in at 249 pages or 66,ooo words. A short novel, called A Short Time to Be There, at least for now. When I went back and looked at the early pages written before I really knew the characters or the pace of the story, I found a few chapters and some scenes that I didn’t really need, so I found myself going with Stephen King’s dictum: 2nd draft = 1st draft – 10%. When that 10% comes from the front end, things start to move better. Redundancies disappear.

I finished the book last week. The next day R’s grandmother died so we had to go to Orange to help with arrangements before the funeral. She died in her sleep at her home without any illness or hospitalization a few weeks shy of her 87th birthday. It was a tough surprise, but then it’s hard to imagine a better way to go.

On the long drive east to Orange, we saw a coyote standing on the side of the road outside Elgin. He ran when he saw us. We spotted a red-tailed hawk perched on a power line near Houston. A bobcat ran across the road in front of us in Orange. I never see that much wildlife from my car. I had never seen a bobcat before. The weather was weird too. Powerful storms kicking up while we were in church, where she was honored, and also right before the funeral.

My mind kept going back to Caesar: “When beggars die there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”

Of course she wasn’t royalty or even a prince, but she was noble. She would help anyone who needed it. She took in the lost. She never gave up on anybody.

The Birds: Twenty Mile High

June 22, 2007 • • 3 Comments

I took a twenty mile bike ride along the trails and roads around our neighborhood. I found myself keeping track of all the birds I saw along the way and saw 21 different species. Better than a bird a mile.

Great Blue Heron… flying over the creek, slow and beautiful

Snowy Egret… trailing the heron by a few minutes

Great Egret… swooping over the lake and landing

Green Heron… hunting along the edges of the lake. I wasn’t sure what he was. I had to call and leave a description on the answering machine so I could ID him when I got home

Common Grackle, Great-tailed Grackle, European Starling… foraging in a field near a basketball court

Northern Mockingbird… everywhere; it is the state bird after all

Northern Cardinal… until today I had only seen these guys at feeders, but today they were everywhere along one trail

Inca Dove, Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove… they have a trail where they’re the only birds I see

Purple Martin, Barn Swallow… martins in the sky, swallows along the ground, all patrolling the same trail

Blue Jay, House Sparrow… everywhere

American Crow… small flock congregating in the middle of a country road, flew off when I approached… kaw-kaw

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher…. watching from the power lines

Mallard, Muscovy Duck, Swans… feral domestic breeds hanging around the local duck ponds

And that’s just what I could ID as I blazed by on my bike. I know I saw a few that I couldn’t place, particularly sparrows.

Friday Random Ten

June 22, 2007 • • Leave a comment

Damn, what a collection of catchy tunes and cool cuts the old ‘pod spit out this time.

*’s by the ones I’ve seen live…

  1. “Kiss Off” – Violent Femmes* – Violent Femmes
  2. “Bill and Ben” – Catherine Wheel* – Ferment
  3. “Transmission” – Joy Division – Substance
  4. “Vitamin K” – Scala – Slow Death in the Metronome Factory
  5. “Sparkle” – Phish* – Rift
  6. “She Sells Sanctuary” – The Cult – High Octane Cult
  7. “Bookends” – Simon & Garfunkel – Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits
  8. “Nightclub Jitters” – The Replacements – Pleased to Meet Me
  9. “Flat Backin'” – Brother Jack McDuff* – Moon Rappin’
  10. “Tohu Bohu” – The Slip* – Does

I don’t know how many times I saw the Violent Femmes back at Liberty Lunch before it became the Austin City Hall, but rockin’ shows was a far better use of the space.

I saw the Catherine Wheel at the Bomb Factory in Dallas back in ’93. Matthew Sweet, The Lemonheads and Tony Bennett (yes, you read that right, Tony Bennett) were also on the bill. The Catherine Wheel opened with a very cool rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” Bennett did not cover the Floyd, but he was really good.

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen Phish, but I always loved them. The last few shows, though, they sounded like a reincarnation of Zappa and the Mothers. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing.

I had a chance to see The Replacements on the All Shook Down tour. I figured I’d catch them the next time. Stupid me. I learned my lesson, though. Perhaps that’s why I drove 2000 miles to see the Grateful Dead when I began to worry that Jerry wasn’t going to be around much longer.

Brother Jack McDuff’s Moon Rappin’ is one of the very best jazz funk organ albums ever. It’s up there with Jimmy Smith’s amazing Root Down. In ’99 I knew that Hitler and Jesus were the ones cut from the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. That knowledge won me tickets to an organ summit where Brother McDuff, Smith and Jimmy McGriff were all playing. McDuff and Smith have since died.

The Slip was an ACL Fest discovery a few years back. They impressed me enough to buy three CDs.

Books from the Summer Bucket:Theories of Relativity

June 20, 2007 • • Leave a comment

Theories of Relativity by Barbara Haworth-Attard is another of the young adult books I took home from my classroom for the summer.

I have a lot of students pick up books, read a few pages, sometimes a few chapters, get bored and try another book. None of them get bored with this one. It’s about a kid named Dylan who lives on the street in a big northern city. The author is Canadian so I suspect it’s a Canadian city, although I kept imagining Cleveland. Never been there, so I don’t know why, but there it is.

Wherever it is, life is tough. Dylan is a smart kid – he likes to read about Einstein – and he doesn’t want to be on the street. Everyone from pimps to pushers wants to recruit him, and they offer him some deals, but Dylan wants to maintain his independence and his freedom, things tantamount to suicide in his world. Some adults want to help him, but his pride interferes. He’s a kid with no hope and no chance.

The characters are lively and believable and the situations that Dylan finds himself in are downright disconcerting. Theories of Relativity falls into a category of books that I call “problem books” in that they attempt to educate young readers about very real problems for which there are no easy solutions. Perhaps reading this might give some kids hope and others compassion. Or, perhaps, a few hours of being entertained by a solid modern story. I guess it’s win-win.

Eight Is Enough to Fill Our Lives with Meme

June 19, 2007 • • 6 Comments

George has memed me.

The Rules:

  1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
  2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
  3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
  4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. (You’re not the boss of me!)
  5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

The Eight Facts:

  1. Five years ago, I painted the entire interior of our old house (including trim) and even hung crown moulding. I’m painting the interior of the new house now. It hurts more this time.
  2. I’m 113 pages into my next novel. It’s been called Right of Way and also A Short Time to Be There. I plan to have it finished by early July. It feels about a third of the way done.
  3. I was born in Newport, Rhode Island. I did my first three years of high school there. Despite that, I really don’t care much for lobster. Of course, I don’t like cockroaches either. But I do like crabs despite the fact that I don’t like spiders. Go figure.
  4. I’m not psychic, but one night in May 1995, I was listening to a Dead Hour and I knew Jerry Garcia wasn’t going to be around much longer. I convinced my girlfriend (now my wife) and two friends (who chickened out) to drive from Austin to Washington, DC to see the Dead at RFK Stadium that June. We went. It was awesome. Jerry died two months later.
  5. I have a bachelor’s degree in film production and an MA in screenwriting. Despite that, I rarely watch movies anymore. Maybe it’s because for the life of me I can’t figure out why anyone still makes movies now that Lord of the Rings has been made. Perfection was achieved. Let’s move on.
  6. The first rock concert I ever saw was a Cheap Trick show in Naples, Italy. I had no idea who they were, and I still don’t.
  7. For the past three weeks U2’s Unforgettable Fire has been in my car. I’ve had it for years, I’ve always liked it, but for some reason all of a sudden, it’s all I want to listen to. Over and over again. I’ll do that until it gets old again.
  8. My favorite snack is a tortilla with cheese melted on it (in the microwave) with some Vietnamese Túóng Ót Sriracha sauce (red sauce with a rooster on the bottle) slathered all over it. Side of peanuts and a glass of cold water.

The Eight Victims:

  1. Heather
  2. Jessica
  3. Iowa Greyhound
  4. Ironicus
  5. Panthergirl
  6. Mark
  7. Danigirl 
  8. Anyone who reads this post

Nyah-nyah-nayh

Weekend Hound Blogging: Dogleg

June 17, 2007 • • Leave a comment

The pups are loving this whole summer vacation thing.

Out. In. Out. In. Out. Try to get heat exhaustion and win a trip to animal emergency. In. Out. In.

Fortunately, I keep them in so that doesn’t happen.

Of course, then it’s playplayplayplayplayBARKBARKplayplayplay.

And that’s just fine.

[saveagrey]

Walking By the Elephant Room

June 15, 2007 • • Leave a comment

Everyone wanted to stay out of my way while I was taking this picture. I suppose they didn’t want to ruin it, but legs walking by was what I wanted. I probably shot 100 images of people walking by, but these two were the winners – if having your legs show up on some random blog can be called winning – for being where I wanted them in the frame. The little heart tattoo on the one woman’s ankle is pretty cool, too.

I haven’t actually been to the Elephant Room in a very long time, which is a shame because I really like it there. Good jazz, and lots of places to sit.

01 modnaR yadirF

June 15, 2007 • • Leave a comment

But the music plays forward. *’s by them what I’ve caught live…

  1. “The Jury” – Morphine* – Yes
  2. “Swamp Thing” – The Chameleons – Live at the Academy
  3. “Inner City Life” – Goldie – Trainspotting #2
  4. “Muzzle of Bees” – Wilco* – A Ghost is Born
  5. “Youth Oriented” – Happy Apple – Youth Oriented
  6. “New White Kross” – Sonic Youth* – Dirty (Deluxe Ed.)
  7. “Gouge Away (Live)” – Pixies* – Death to the Pixies
  8. “Have a Cigar” – Pink Floyd* – Wish You Were Here
  9. “Once Upon a Time” – The Pogues – Waiting for Herb
  10. “Walking in My Shoes” – Depeche Mode – Songs of Faith and Devotion

So there you have it.

Windows, Broken and Not

June 12, 2007 • • 3 Comments

Walking around downtown last week, I found myself focusing on the details of things. The colors and shapes that when added together make up whole buildings and even a city.

Windows are full of mystery. Things happen behind them that we can only imagine. Of course imagination creates far more interesting scenarios than reality.

Not every window will have something exciting going on behind it.

Sometimes, the only thing behind the window is a piece of wood.