WPA Art

The Story of the Big Fish

Rellies Tucking Into Crabs at High Island Restaurant

Planes, no trains, automobiles!

We have been traveling! First, we had our half-yearly Qantas trek back to the US from AUS which was long, tiring, but thankfully uneventful. We watched lots of movies on the 14+hour flight, drank some good Aussie wine, ate some OK airline food, so had a common airline experience. Nothing to write about, but it seems I was able to squeeze a couple of sentences out of it anyway.

Then after a few days of rest, my mother came for a visit. She is 84 and lives in California. After seeing everyone in Midland, we flew with her to Liberty to see her 88 and 90-year old sisters whom she had not seen for quite awhile.

We also caught up with Miss Ruth, my Dad's second wife, and other rellies.

Ella Grace's Hoppy Easter Poem

Dexter

We finished Season 1 of Dexter on dvd last night. The script is absolutely leakproof, not one hole in any episode, all 12 episodes tied together seamlessly. The acting all around is pitch perfect; Michael C. Hall is completely believable as a forensics pathologist who moonlights as a serial killer. One could object to the antagonist of the piece being a serial killer, I suppose, but it's a heightened reality we're experiencing. Dark comedy has never exceeded this.

Mullaloo Beach

While it's never crowded at our beach, it was absolutely vacant yesterday. It was a hot day too! Today there were a lot of families enjoying the waves. Us too!

Reading the Classics

I am now reading the classic Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I read this book in high school, but that was many moons ago and I don't remember more than the story outline. Dickens is of course masterful in his characterizations; every person in the novel, from Pip, the protagonist, to the least mentioned barkeeper is rich in detail and fully knowable. As readers we meet Pip as a poor, orphaned child being reared by a shrewish sister and her hapless husband, Joe. Pip is settled on his life, knowing he will apprentice to Joe. However, fate steps in in the form of Mrs. Havisham and Pip realizes there is a world outside his own narrow life. He begins to have expectations, though limited by the meaness of his existence. Then he is visited by a London lawyer who tells Pip that he has a benevolent benefactor and enough funds to train as a gentleman. Pip travels to London with "great expectations" and his life changes forever.

My main purpose is reading Great Expectations now is that I'm very interested in seeing David Lean's 1946 film which is judged by many film critics to be the best adaptation of a book in the history of film.

That Toolbag in Outer Space

One of our favorite sites on the internet is Heavens Above. We can find the orbits of dozens of satellites, including the ISS and iridium flares, and current locations of visible comets, planets, and constellations. An interesting recent addition to information on the page is the times for the visible orbit of the toolbag lost by the astronaut Heidi Stefanyshyn-Piper during her spacewalk on the last ISS mission. Of course, it's a decaying orbit and so the toolbag will eventually disappear from sight, but it's fun to find in the nightsky while it's visible. To find orbits over your head, go to the home page and put in your location, then follow the info in Satellites: ISS toolbag.

Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West by Corman McCarthy

Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West, is Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel set in the American West in mid-1800's. If you love your romantic myths of the settling of the West, don't read this book. It knocks the wind out of all the glorious tales of Texas Rangers, pony express riders, Kit Carson types, buffalo hunters, gold diggers, Indian raids, cattle drives, stage coaches and every other delusion you've held about early American life in the West. Possibly McCarthy's novel is just as mythical, but his genius is substituting his myth for yours.

A homeless, fourteen year old, called the kid throughout the book, hooks up with a gang of men who contract with the local government in Chihuahua to drive the Indians out of their territory. The gang menaces Indians on both side of the Rio Grande, collecting scalps as proof for payment. As the hunt progresses, it seems any scalp will do, and the mercenaries kill anyone they come across. The gang is led by two men, Glanton and the judge. Glanton is the captain of the gang and a merciless, conscienceless killer. The judge is the devil incarnate.

Absolutely everything about this novel is remarkable. The writing style is rich, yet sparse. McCarthy details the country as the gang rides through, but keeps details of the ride itself to a minimum, hinting at the action then hitting the reader with it. McCarthy has a vocabulary for the setting which is extraordinary. As I read, I continuously wondered how one person could amass all the words he has to describe the land. Is he a botantist, a geologist, a zoologist, an astronomer, a geographer as well as a writer? Chosen randomly from the text, here's an example of his style:

All to the north the rain had dragged black tendrils down from the thunderclouds like tracings of lampblack fallen in a beaker and in the night they could hear the drum of rain miles away on the prairie. They ascended through a rocky pass and lightning shaped out the distant shivering mountains and lightning rang the stones about and tufts of blue fire clung to the horses like incandescent elementals that would not be driven off. Soft smelterlight advanced upon the metal of the harness, light ran blue and liquid on the barrels of the guns. Mad jackhares started and checked in the blue glare and high among those clanging crags joking roehawks crouched in their feathers or cracked a yellow eye at the thunder underfoot.

In summary, Cormac McCarthy has written a violent lyric masterpiece, a must-read book of American literature.

Play Misty for Me (1971)

The second film in my Essential Clint Eastwood marathon is Play Misty for Me, a psychological thriller in which Eastwood stars and makes his directing debut. He plays Dave Garver, a Carmel CA disc jockey, well-liked around town in spite of his inability to settle on one girl. He drives a sporty convertible, lives in a cool house on the edge of a cliff, works nights spinning discs and reading poetry, and he's on his way up, receiving notice in San Francisco, maybe even an offer to work there. Then he meets Evelyn in a bar, what looks like a chance meeting, but Evelyn is an obsessive fan, the one who calls in every night and asks Dave to "play Misty for me." Evelyn takes over Dave's life. What begins as an affair leads to threats and we see before Dave does that Evelyn is very unstable and even dangerous.

Play Misty for Me is a good, small film. Parts of it are excellent, but some scenes are ridiculously dated, like the long walk on the beach which indicates his re-involvement with an old love. Shot around Monterrey and Carmel, the film focuses on the beauty of the coast and the local hot stops. The scenes shot live at the Monterrey Jazz Festival are wonderful. A seminal film for Eastwood, it's a benchmark for his development as both an actor and director.

Life in OZ

Yesterday we had late afternoon thunderstorms come through, even though the temperature stayed warm. When John saw the sunset developing beautifully, we grabbed the camera and ran to the beach. We stood on a dune to get this shot.

Then we walked down to the sand and took some more photos, like this one of a dad night-fishing with his son. Later the kid caught a nice herring.

Travel in the English Countryside: Part 3

On our second full day in England, we left Canterbury after visiting the cathedral and drove to Dover. After John took this stunning photo of the White Cliffs of Dover and the English Channel, we left Dover and drove along the southern coast of England to Rye then to Brighton.


Rye is a charming town, once walled and gated against her enemies. We had lunch of hot soup, bread and cheese at a local eatery then walked the cobblestone streets before heading off to Brighton.

Brighton is of course a beach resort town for Londoners. The rocky beach was not very appealing to us. Also it was May, so not yet tourist season.

Winchester '73: (1950)

The third movie in my Essential James Stewart marathon is Anthony Mann's Winchester 73. Dan Duryea, Shelley Winters, Stephen McNally star along James Stewart who plays Lin McAdam. McAdam wins a prized Winchester 73, one-in-a-thousand, rifles in a shooting contest. Before he can claim his prize, it's stolen by his closest competitor in the contest. What follows is his quest to reclaim his prize rifle and also to accomplish something more. For the first half of the film, it seems we are watching the story of the rifle by following whose hands it passes through. At the mid-point we learn that McAdam's course involves more than recovering the rifle. It involves revenge of a certain sort.

Stewart is great as Lin McAdams, keeping his dark side under wraps as he helps those his path crosses in pursuit of his goal. He's knowledgeable, tender, understanding, but never veers from his quest for revenge and reclaiming his prize.

This is a great Western from the team of Stewart and Mann who collaborated on four films after Winchester '73: Bend of the River(1952),The Naked Spur(1953),The Far Country(1955), and The Man from Laramie(1955)

Twitter

We're doing it! For now...

John is jgriffo. I am GlobalCandace. If you twitter and would like to follow or be followed (sounds all stalker-y, doesn't it?), let us know at Twitter.

Note: I have posted my Tweets in the sidebar. Yes, I'm boring.

Big Love

I'm currently finishing the Season 2 dvd of Big Love, an HBO series which is in its third season. The primary stars are Bill Paxton as the husband and Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin as his three wives. Yes, they are polygamists.

The first few shows of Season 1 were of course the set-up, and I must say I was not hooked. In fact, I left the series for awhile, but after hearing a Bill Paxton interview on "Fresh Air," I decided to pick up where I left off. Now, I am hooked.

Season 1 deals primarily with how this family of multiple partners navigates the home-side and the public-side of their entwined lives in a suburb of Salt Lake City. It also introduces us to The Compound at Juniper Creek which is an enclave of polygamists who live under the direction of the Prophet, Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton), on property two hours away from the suburbs into the desert of Utah.

Season 2 ups the ante as Bill branches out from his business as owner of a big box store into providing video poker machines to shady gambling businesses in the Southwest. This move is complicated by Roman Grant who had the idea first.

Throughout the series, we learn more about how the wives keep the peace, make trouble, manage their shared husband, and deal with their personal histories.

I'm a Little Vegemite! (almost)

I applied for Aussie citizenship today! I'll be a dual citizen of the US and Australia. I'll have two passports. I'll travel in country and out at will. I will be cool. Hurrah!

Great Article...Worth a Read

While listening to the Slate Culture Gabfest (if you're into podcasts and things cultural then you should be listening also), I heard an endorsement for this article The Itch by Atul Gawande in The New Yorker. It's a grand example of accessible technical writing. Also, it's interesting and informative. You should read it!

White Hunter Black Heart (1990)

(click to enlarge)

For the first film in my Essential Clint Eastwood marathon, I watched White Hunter Black Heart. Eastwood directed and starred in this feature. Some of my Filmspotting board members call it Eastwood's best directing and acting performance. While I may prefer my Eastwood as a grizzled son-of-a-bitch over the arrogant snob he portrays in White Hunter Black Heart, I can't fault Eastwood's performance. The film is based on a novel which is a thinly disguised account of John Huston's trip to Africa to shoot African Queen on location at a time when very few films were shot outside the US. Eastwood's character becomes sidetracked from film preparations by his determination to shoot an African elephant on safari. Eastwood plays Huston as a man of passion and self-indulgence, humanity and selfishness, brilliance and stubbornness. In a great scene from the film, Eastwood deliberately picks a fight he knows he will lose with a white racist in an exclusive African club. As he staggers away from the fight, he states the central theme of the film: sometimes you have to volunteer for losing causes or "your guts will turn to pus."

Valentine's Day

Our usual beautiful, sunny Perth was overcast and humid yesterday so instead of heading to the beach for Valentine's Day, we headed to the hills. Just 45 minutes from our house, we were on the Chittering Valley Wine Trail, a winding loop through the Darling Ranges. Of the eight wineries available to us, we made it to three. Our first stop was Stringybark Winery where we were disappointed as the cellar door was shut, the staff readying for a crowd of Valentine's Day diners at their restaurant. Our second stop was at Western Range winery. We briefly visited with the server and tasted several nice whites, including a late harvest white which we enjoyed enough to purchase a case. It was not too dry, not too sweet, but just right for pairing with Thai, Indian, and seafood, three of our favorite indulgences.

Our third stop was at Briery Estate. The owners Christine and Ron met us at our car, welcomed us onto the veranda of their 90 year old farmhouse overlooking their vines and fruit trees and started pouring wine for us from their broad selection. We tasted 12 wines and they have five reds which we didn't taste. The one which caught my attention was a varietal I have never tasted, never even heard about, furment. Furment is a late harvest Hungarian vine producing a white grape which is an excellent host to botrytis, the noble rot, hence the pure, slight sweetest of the wine. Briery sells it under the label Fermento. Cheese tray pairing will be sublime. We also bought the Briery 10 Year Old Muscat Liqueur, of course. We never taste a great muscat that we can pass up. To complete the case, we bought several light rosés and a heavier velvety rosé, a dry grenache, a viognier, and a chenin blanc.

We arrived home in time to walk to the beach for the sunset. It was a perfect day for us.

House M.D.

We started watching House M.D. last night. It's better than we expected it to be. Basically, it's Sherlock Holmes in a lab coat except Hugh Laurie as Gregory House doesn't really wear a lab coat. So here's the thing...he's really good at what he does and what he does is investigative medicine, trying to solve the mystery behind why an individual is very ill, a mystery no one else can solve. Add to his intelligence, acerbic wit, arrogance, anti-social proclivities, and an addiction to Vicotin, and you have a very interesting character. Dr. House also relies on his team of young gun medicos who are the sounding board for his profundity. One of this group is House's Dr. Watson, or in this case, Dr. Wilson, played by Robert Sean Leonard who may have the best hair in TV.

Traveling in Dubai, UAE, part 5

As Westerners who traveled in Dubai in May of 2005, my husband and I found out a few details of travel there which I'll share here in part 5:

It's hot! True, it's dry heat, but it blows over you like air from a furnace. You will enjoy the cool malls, buses, and restaurants. Take your swimsuit for the hotel pool. Swimming in the gulf is allowed, but restricted. Tourists can use only small parts of the public beaches. If you really want to swim in the gulf, stay in a hotel on the gulf that will have a private beach access. Otherwise, use the pool. Most hotel pools have a bar. It's a good way to spend a hot afternoon. It's just as hot at midnight though.

How you dress is really up to you. I chose to wear pants and shirts, not shorts or sleeveless or halters or very fitted tops. I saw a few foreign women dressed in fitted tops, but none of the local women dress in that way. Take a cover-up to wear over your swimsuit when walking through the hotel to the pool. If you leave Dubai for another emirate, you may find much stricter clothing requirements.A typical souvenir is the shisha. These water pipes or hookahs (or bongs) are used to smoke fragrant steam. There are shisha bars everywhere. People lie about on sofas with the shisha on a low table between them. Each person has his/her own mouthpiece, but they share the shisha-produced steam. It's a social occasion.


Textiles in Dubai are marvelous. They're easy to pack to take home so great for souvenirs or gifts. The street markets are arrayed with lovely textiles hanging overhead across the alleyways. In the colorful markets on Cosmos Lane and Al Fahidi Street in Bur Dubai or the streets of Satwa the textiles are a bargain. Most of the shops close around lunchtime, so get there early in the morning or late afternoon. The two main textile shops in Bur Dubai Souks are Meena Bazar and Rivoli. There are many tailor shops in Dubai so you could have the textiles transformed into shirts, skirts, suits before you leave. Many have one day service.

If you can afford it, the best souvenir is a rug or carpet. They are amazingly beautiful. If you think you may fall in love with the carpets while you're in Dubai, take the measurements for the area from home with you. The rug merchants will ship to you anywhere in the world. We found carpet stores in every mall. Perhaps there were carpets in the street markets, but we didn't notice them there.

Other souvenirs include coffee urns, dates, nuts, models of Bur el Arab, Arabian chests, daggers, Bedu jewelry and carvings .

This post links to this previous post.

Word of the Week...3

Canard

Say it cah nard; accent on the second syllable.

Literally in French a canard is a duck. In English (the language I speak), canard is a false or unfounded report or story; a groundless rumor or belief. Also a canard can be an airplane with horizontal stabilizing and control surfaces in front of the supporting surface.

Reading the Classics

My next classic is Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady. I have never read anything about the book or any other book by this author, so I have no preconceptions about the text. I know from the book jacket that the main character is Isabel Archer, an American, and that it's set mostly in England and Italy. Since I've traveled both England and Italy extensively, I'm hoping that I learn more about those locales as I learn Isabel's story.

The Bridal Train

Vikki Thorn of The Waifs wrote this wonderful song in celebration of her grandmother's experience in WWII as an Australian war bride. I ripped the story of Grandmother Betty's recollection of the time she was summoned to the bridal train from West Australian newspaper The Wagin Argus:

Betty lived in Perth with a lady who entertained many Americans.

"I walked down the corridor at 9pm one night and there was a party going on. There was this very good looking American man in uniform who said: 'Where did this flower come from?' I thought what a silly comment and put it out of my mind. Later he sat beside me and we talked all night. Bob was a chief petty officer; he had a lot of commendations. He had been stationed in Hawaii for two years. He watched Pearl Harbour being bombed. As the war effort moved closer to Australia his ship the Anthedin was transferred to Fremantle. He was 26 when we met and when we were married he applied for a shore job."

When Bob was transferred to the Philippines, Betty, expecting her first baby went home to Mum in Wagin.

A telegram was delivered in Wagin on a Thursday at 1pm. Betty and her 11-month-old daughter had to be at Dalgety's, the shipping agents, in Perth on the Friday, to be prepared to travel to the USA. There was no telephone and no taxis. Betty did not even have a suitcase. She and one of her two brothers, who had both returned from prison of war camps on the Burma railway, cycled into Wagin and brought two suitcases back on the handlebars of their bikes.

"I had half a day to pack. Time to see three friends, have a big cry and catch the midnight train to Fremantle."

She left Perth station one year to the day after her husband left Fremantle, with a daughter he had not seen.

"There were about 50 brides from Western Australia. Perth Station was awash with tears. I had Sue, but she was a good baby. We were joined by girls from all over Australia, more got on the train in South Australia and Melbourne."

They traveled on a large American luxury liner, the Monterey, which had been taken over by the army during the war as a troop ship.

"We were naval wives, but traveled under army regulations. Three of us and children had a first class cabin with big windows and a bath tub.It took three weeks to get to the States, we went as war brides."

She travelled to Colorado where Bob met her and there she met his family.

Another bridal train continued across the US dropping off brides.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I saw David Fincher's beautifully realized The Curious Case of Benjamin Button today, mainly because of the multiple Oscar nominations and also because members of the Filmspotting forum whom I respect had recommended it. What an excellent film! Yes, it's a love story, but it's also an affirmation of life in general and of aging in particular. The text of the film looks death directly in the eye and doesn't blink.

Cate Blanchett is amazing as Daisy, and Brad Pitt is compelling as the aging-backward Benjamin. The scenes of Daisy dancing and Benjamin on the motorcycle are worth the ticket price.

The art direction and cinematography are flawless. Snowy scenes, seascapes, New Orleans' Bourbon Street and other sites are all beautifully shot.

It's a grand experience. I hope you'll go and enjoy it as much as I did.

The Count of Monte Cristo, Part 4

The story of the Count of Monte Cristo ends where it began...at the Port of Marseilles. The count repents for his motive of vengeance, seeing that he has no right to assume he's the agent of God, no one can be. He visits the home of his dead father and finds there his lost love whom he's able to comfort and forgive. He promises to help her young son whom his actions against the father had harmed. He brings together young lovers whom his actions had separated. He frees his young slave girl and restores her fortune. In the end the count finds peace, happiness, and the love he deserves. In the final scene he sails away from the port of Marseilles to a new life.

Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3...prior installments at this blog

That Great Aussie Holiday!

Lunch with friends in the park beside the Swan River

Ella

Our Ella was a flower girl at her mommy's friend's wedding. She had fancy hair and beautiful dress.

Bruschetta with Tiny Tomatoes, Red Onions, and Basil

When we were in Italy, we really enjoyed the very fresh ingredients on the wonderful chewy bruschetta. I am experimenting with growing my own tiny tomatoes and basil for bruschetta.


Here's a recipe for topped bruschetta (which I shamelessly ripped off the internet, including the photo):

Ingredients:
* 2 cups assorted cherry, grape, and teardrop tomatoes, halved
* 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
* 3 tablespoons olive oil plus additional for brushing
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
* 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 1 large loaf focaccia, halved horizontally (or any chewy bread loaf)
* 1 garlic clove, peeled, halved (purple garlic is very flavorful)

Combine tomatoes, onion, 3T olive oil, basil, and balsamic vinegar in medium bowl. Season tomato topping with salt and pepper. NOTE: This topping can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature, tossing occasionally.

Brush bread half with olive oil. Toast bread in broiler until top is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Immediately rub cut side of bread all over with halved garlic, then cut bread crosswise into 4 equal pieces.

Top toasted bread with tomato mixture and serve.

We made it with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil and red onion. It was tasty, just not as colorful as the photo. Bruschetta goes well with Viognier or a hearty red.

Garden Update 2

growing basil for bruschetta

our prolific tomato plant

cute tiny green bell pepper.

Garden Update: Our Tomatoes

We have tomatoes coming off everyday, all from one big plant.

Weeds: Putting the Herb in Suburb

In the dark comedy Weeds, Mary-Louise Parker plays suburban California housewife Nancy Botwin who resorts to selling marijuana to maintain her lifestyle and keep her young family together after the untimely death of her husband. In season 1 she's a newbie, learning the game. By the end of season 1 Nancy is the Godfather of Grass, organizing a "family" of growers, sellers, and moneymen. Season 2 follows a story arc of extreme success to extreme distress as Nancy learns that the new man in her bed is a DEA agent and that her competition plays rough.

I'm looking forward to season 3 but I haven't found it available here on dvd.

The Count of Monte Cristo, Part 3

Edmond Dantès as the Count of Monte Cristo sees himself as an agent of a vengeful God and sets out to destroy those who falsely imprisoned him. He sets his plan in motion in Paris and stays his course of revenge even though the lives of his three targets are complicated by relationships which did not exist when they had a hand in Dantès imprisonment so many years ago. The plot escalates, ruining each man, but also bringing harm to their innocent children, finally ending in the near-death of a daughter and the sure death of a son of one target. At this point Dantès questions his motives and understands that his revenge has consumed him to the determent of those innocently involved.

Look here and here for prior installments.

w00t!

BARACK OBAMA, 44th US PRESIDENT

24

We've returned to "24" and our favorite samurai, Jack Bauer. Season 6 awaits. It's rumored that Jack will face nukes, terrorists and even threats from within his own family. There will be White House intrigue and torture, of course. It's a right-wing love fest!

Bye, Bye Bush

It Was a Beach Afternoon!

It was over 100F today, so, yeah, the beach beckoned! All the neighbors were there. At first,the ocean was flat, then the seabreeze came in and the waves came up. Still the water was so clear that we could see the white fish against the white sand as we swam.

Personal Marathon #3: Essential Clint Eastwood

Again the Filmspotting forum recommended films for my next personal marathon: Essential Clint Eastwood.

Eastwood, now 78 years old, is saying in interviews that Gran Torino is his last starring role, so I included it on the list.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (1966) *
Paint Your Wagon (1969) *
Play Misty For Me (1971) **
Dirty Harry (1971) **
High Plains Drifter (1973) *
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) **
White Hunter Black Heart (1990) *
Unforgiven (1992) **
Gran Torino (2008) *

**already seen at least once, but will watch again
* never seen and obtainable

Since all these films are available, I'm looking forward to finishing this marathon quickly!

UPDATE: Going to a sneak of Gran Torino on Saturday even though I feel like the preview shows me most of the film, oh well...