A day that will live in infamy
There’s so much going on around the world today. Protests are again erupting in Iran, and rioters in Greece continue to mark the one-year anniversary of a teen’s killing. 110 nations’ leaders are converging in Denmark to talk about global warming, and Tiger Woods’ mistresses are *ahem* coming out of the woodwork.
But today I feel compelled to stop for a moment and consider the past. Today is Pearl Harbor Day, the anniversary of the attack that dragged the U.S. into a global conflict. Although an estimated 2,400 people died on that morning alone, their heartbreaking stories of heroism and loss live on.
World War II may seem increasingly distant to us today—especially when compared to threats like global warming—but we must not forget history’s lessons. Hatred can still spread across continents like wildfire, and war still devastates nations and families.
I can think of no better way to remember Pearl Harbor than to quote a few veterans’ reflections on what that day meant to them, and to history. As we work toward a better future, we must never forget the past.
“We definitely need to remember our freedom and what we fought for. I think all veterans feel that.” Tom Prall, 85, Idaho
“Never underrate your potential enemy.” Leon Kolb, 78, California
“You’d be surprised how many (younger) people come in here and you mention Pearl Harbor and they say, ‘What’s Pearl Harbor?’ They don’t even know it exists.” Gene Kissner, Florida
Filed under: On this day in history | Leave a Comment
Tags: pearl harbor
Airport insecurity
My friend Tom (aka. “The Blogfodder”) sent me a link last night to a wonderful blog entry from Curator magazine. The post consists of several striking photographs taken inside airports, along with some advice on how to capture them.
I loved this post for two reasons: First, it opened up a whole new photography venue I never knew existed. I’d always been under the impression that it’s illegal to take photographs inside an airport. As it turns out, it’s perfectly legal in most airports. Second, it provided inspiration in the form of several striking images.(Love the silhouette of the cowboy hat!)
Alas, my next photo experiment will have to wait until I travel again. Sigh.
Until then, I guess I’ll have to be content with the only image I’ve ever shot inside an airport. Here are Steve and I, moments before departing for our 10-day tour of Italy in 2007. What can I say? We always strive to be good cultural ambassadors for Minnesota.
Filed under: Attempted humor, Photography, Travel | 2 Comments
And the winner is …
Every year, Steve and I send a celebratory note to the person whose Christmas card is the first to grace our mantle. This year, the honor goes to my dear friend Jim. Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of a free sushi dinner.
This is my blog’s first Christmas, so I’ve never before published the winning holiday card. As it turns out, the sentiment of the inaugural card couldn’t be more appropriate:
Things that have never been. Hmm. Well, what the heck: Let’s welcome world peace, justice, kindness toward the little things, and better treatment of the big ones. (Like our planet.)
Happy holidays!
Filed under: Friends and family | Leave a Comment
A tragic anniversary
On this day 25 years ago, the world witnessed its largest industrial accident yet. Sometime around midnight on December 3, 2004, the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India released a toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate gas. About a half million people were exposed, and an estimated 4,000 men, women and children died that night. (The total estimated death toll has since grown to 15,000.)
I heard a news report last night about the lingering effects of this tragedy, and how it continues to affect the people of Bhopal—and the environment. Many who survived are still suffering from blindness, crippling neurological disorders and digestive problems. To this day, several toxic ponds remain at the now-abandoned plant. A number of independent studies have confirmed that the area’s groundwater is contaminated.
Sadly, there are no cleanup plans. Dow Chemical, which bought Union Carbide in 2001, says it’s not responsible for the site. (Union Carbide settled a legal case with India in 1989.) The Indian government says it lacks the funds and know-how to clean up the site.
I couldn’t help but think of the irony as I saw the front cover of the Star Tribune this morning. In 100-point, all-cap type, the main headline declared GUILTY. Tom Petters, the once-revered Minnesota businessman, was found guilty yesterday on 20 counts of fraud and conspiracy. Yes, the people he swindled lost millions of dollars. But no one died.
Meanwhile, half a world away, the casualties continue to mount. Yet there is no headline, no one to blame, and no recourse for the survivors.
How sad—and how monumentally unfair—that the people of Bhopal will never have the satisfaction of thinking, “at least justice was served.”
Filed under: MIscellanea | Leave a Comment
In her wonderful little book Cuttings, Georgia Greeley gathered lines from ten local poets’ works, and combined them to make an entirely new poem. I attended her first public reading last year and was amazed by the fluidity of her repurposed text.
Today I’m presenting ten “cuttings” of my own, assembled from various sources over the past few weeks. Although I lack the skill or will to join them coherently, I suppose that’s just as well. These gems are all pretty intriguing on their own. To see them in their original context, click on the embedded links.
Cocktails on the pontoon boat are a lot more fun since the dog learned to drive.
It was Kormand’s first sighting of Steingard’s ankles that marked the beginning of a fascination that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Objects of wool, hair, etc., including shrunken heads, are liable to be attacked by moths and other destructive insects.
Brown’s writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad.
He explored these binary concepts to find fundamental truths about humanity, noting, for example, that some cannibal groups boiled their friends, but roasted their enemies.
If an unannounced product exists solely in the minds of speculative journalists and know-nothing analysts, can it be “delayed”?
During his life he excelled at mediocrity.
Apparently some shrubs had died and due to the leafless twigs, the risk of a child impaling themselves on the shrubs [was] substantial.
Security is a kind of death … and it can come to you in a storm of royalty checks beside a kidney-shaped pool in Beverly Hills.
He repeatedly lost many of his antiquities, first to seizures by the Nazis and later in two divorces.
Filed under: Attempted humor, Writing | Leave a Comment
My new vacuum really sucks
A fool and his money are soon parted.
I don’t know whether I fit Thomas Tusser’s definition of a fool, but I now know from experience that I’m a sucker for good marketing.
I bought a vacuum cleaner last night.
Never mind that my house has only wood floors. I was rapt as I watched Steve’s friend, Ming, extract a handful of microscopic pebbles and several tufts of dog hair from my couch. The couch actually changed color as it was suctioned clean.
I’ll admit I was a little sad to see the dog hair go, because it was one of the last remnants of my collie, Arrow. But I won’t miss the puff of dust that used to rise from that couch every time I sat down.
Lest you think I’m a second-rate housekeeper, I’ll confess that I’m actually a bit of a neat freak. That dusty couch has long been one of my pet peeves. But I’ve never had an effective way of cleaning it—until now.
I’m not sure how long my vacuuming craze will last. Maybe years: I’ve suddenly discovered that every single surface in my home is absolutely covered in dust.
Who knew that walls, ceilings, baseboards, mini-blinds, stairs and mattresses could be—should be—vacuumed? I’ve got to hand it to the folks at Kirby. That’s brilliant marketing.
Filed under: Attempted humor, Friends and family | Leave a Comment
Tags: dust, Kirby, vacuum cleaner
So long, Sedona
Steve and I have spent the past week in Sedona, Arizona. It was our first visit to the beautiful Grand Canyon State, and we both fell in love.
Today’s post is devoted to some of my favorite photos from our trip, but you may also want to read about the day we picked up some hitchhikers, my camera malfunction, the friendly ghost town of Jerome, our hiking adventure, and a blast from the past.
Filed under: Photography, Travel | Leave a Comment
Tags: Arizona, Sedona
11/20: Red-rock ‘n’ roll
I have a love/hate relationship with traveling.
I hate padding around in my stocking feet in front of strangers at the airport. And I hate having to carefully mete out my toiletries so they fit in a quart-sized plastic bag. But I absolutely love sitting at the airport and observing the fundamental commonalities of human nature. I also love it’s even possible to wake up in one city and fall asleep 3,000 miles away, none the worse for wear.
Thanks to this modern wonder, this evening I saw Sedona’s famous red rocks for the first time, and I spotted Steven Spielberg at the grocery store. (He was wearing blue jeans and a red rain jacket, and was aimlessly wandering in the bread and dairy sections like a lost puppy.) Two brushes with fame and greatness in one evening. What will the rest of the week bring?
Hopefully, lots of great stories.
If I’d had the courage to approach Mr. Spielberg—and if I’d had the audacity to invade his privacy—I would have told him that I think he’s one of the most extraordinary storytellers of our generation.
In fact, I can think of no better compliment. His stories have shaped my life and my perceptions as surely as my own experiences.
I consider this a very auspicious beginning to my journey.
Filed under: Photography, Travel | Leave a Comment
Tags: Sedona, Steven Spielberg, Travel
Today I had the pleasure of almost visiting my first ghost town. I say almost because Jerome, Arizona is still very much alive. Although some buildings lie in ruins in the middle of this small town, the place is vibrant with history, culture and activity.
Steve and I drove in via 89A north, which took us from the comparatively flat steppes around Sedona into some of the steepest mountain passes I’ve seen this side of Colorado. The scenery was gorgeous, if a bit hair-raising: Our rental car handled like a wooden vegetable cart on those hair-pin curves.
In spite of the constant risk of plummeting 1,000 feet to our deaths, Steve and I still marveled at the incredible diversity and changeability of the plant life. In one hour’s drive, we saw flat scrub that stretched for miles, cactus-lined mountains, barren peaks, and finally dense coniferous forests. Talk about microclimates!
Jerome itself was both a pleasant surprise and a disappointment. Built into a steep cliff, it reminded me of San Francisco’s vertical construction. Some of the houses were built on stilts and hovered precariously over the cliffs, with only their front doors attached to the rock.
I was pleasantly surprised by the art galleries that lined Jerome’s narrow, steep streets, and by the plaques on the walls that told almost every building’s history. I was also pleasantly surprised by the friendliness and historical knowledge of the locals, who seemed to genuinely enjoy the tourists rather than begrudge them.
One shopkeeper told me and Steve about the local jail, which now sits in ruins near the bottom of a steep hill. During one earthquake in the early 1900s, it had slid about 200 yards down this hill, taking its sole prisoner (or should I say passenger?) for the ride of a lifetime.
We toured a gallery with a breathtaking view — and an equally breathtaking collection of art — before settling down for lunch at the tiny, unassuming Flatiron Cafe. Here’s my one-word review: WOW. Steve told the owner that we hadn’t had a meal that good since Paris, and he wasn’t exaggerating.
So, why was I a bit disappointed? I’d hoped to tour an actual ghost town. I’d imagined dusty ruins and weather-beaten wood. Still, I can’t complain. There are other ghost towns. But there’s no place else quite like Jerome.
Filed under: Photography, Travel | Leave a Comment
Tags: ghost town, Jerome Arizona, Sedona, Travel
I don’t usually bring my laptop when I travel, but it’s riding shotgun with me on this trip. So when I lay awake with insomnia at 3 this morning, I fired up the ol’ MouseBook and started sifting through yesterday’s photos.
To my horror, I discovered that there’s something wrong with my camera. I’m not yet sure whether the problem lies in the lens or the sensor, but wherever there should be details I’m finding only smudges. Either way, I’m pretty certain I won’t come back with any stunning landscapes from this trip.
I’m crushed. Yet, to my surprise, I’ve quickly accepted the situation. So my photos won’t reflect the layered beauty of the Grand Canyon, or the million crevices in Sedona’s red rocks, or the thousand spiny thorns of the saguaro. Oh, well.
Those of you who know me are probably scratching your heads. I live to take photos. And Sedona is one of the most naturally beautiful places I’ve seen. Yet I seem to be taking my camera’s failings in stride.
I’ve heard that Sedona imparts a strange calm on people. Some folks say that there are energy “vortexes” around here, while others attribute it to the natural beauty of this place. Whatever the case, I’m finding it to be true for me.
Filed under: Photography, Travel | Leave a Comment
Tags: Canon G11, red rocks, Sedona, vortex
