The Amazing Force of Gravity

Lemonade-Detroit

2012-01-03T22:25:00.001-05:00

Here's an interesting short film about the resiliency of Detroit.

"Lemonade: Detroit" - 17-minute short. from Erik Proulx on Vimeo.

My Week With Marilyn

2012-01-02T11:58:00.008-05:00

My Week With Marilyn is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I really enjoyed it - start to finish. It's very well done and Michelle Williams is amazing. I was skeptical when I first heard she'd be playing Marilyn Monroe, and I wasn't convinced when I saw photos of her as Marilyn, but now I can't think of anyone more perfect for the role.

Two Years of Counting

2011-12-24T22:27:00.012-05:00

4,379 visits have been made to this blog since 12/24/09.

It's been two years now since I added a hit counter and I'm pretty amazed at the results - especially considering how infrequently I put things up and how little promotion I do.

Last year at this time I'd had 2081 visits, this year I had 2298.

78% of people who click onto this blog come from the United States, but it has been visited by people from 79 countries, including Bulgaria, Jordan, Ireland, Russia, and Estonia!

I know that just because someone happens to click onto this blog for whatever reason doesn't mean that they actually read any of it, but still.... it boggles my mind.

I really like the idea of blogging, but I think this kind of blog - a personal blog - has pretty much been replaced by Facebook. In an amazingly short amount of time, blogging has begun to seem somewhat old-fashioned!

I say I don't have the time to blog, but I do find the time each day to visit Facebook. I scroll through all the recent status updates, maybe play a video clip or two, look at some photos, make a few comments, and play a few games of Scrabble. I wonder how much time that eats up?

If you're one of the few people who actually reads my posts, and especially if you've actually read this one: Best Wishes for a happy new year!

My Barbie

2011-12-15T22:14:00.005-05:00

I haven't owned a Barbie in a very long time, but when this one came to me unexpectedly I knew she had to be mine.

We inherited a box of toys for our grandchildren to play with at our house, and among them was this Barbie. I immediately picked her up and declared her mine. The first thing I did was to brush her hair and put it into a braid, which turned out to be a lot more enjoyable than I would have guessed.

I had a collection of Barbies when I was a girl. My first Barbie was an early 1960s "bubble cut" Barbie. I had one of those shiny black Barbie cases with the little pink hangers and a great collection of outfits that are now collectible. I eventually acquired a Ken, a Midge, a Skipper, and all their outfits, too. Unfortunately, my mom gave my entire Barbie collection to my younger cousins without my permission when I was in my 20s.

Over the years I have occasionally bemoaned the loss of my Barbies, but I'd never thought of getting a new one until now. As soon as I had this Barbie in my hands I wanted to get her a new outfit. And some shoes. She definitely needs some shoes.

I Googled Barbie clothes and, wow! So much cool stuff. I saw vintage outfits, hand knit sweaters, beautiful gowns, and trendy casual wear. I'd really like to get my Barbie into some jeans, a nice top, and a decent pair of comfortable shoes. She'll need some new clothes because I'd like to start taking her with me and photographing her in interesting places.

For now she sits on a shelf in my office. I stop and admire her at least once a day.

The Descendants

2011-12-09T21:53:00.002-05:00

The Descendants is a great movie. I give it four stars. Terrific script, fantastic setting, great acting, but do plan to bring a hankie if you go see it.

Marcel the Shell With Shoes on

2011-11-24T11:06:00.004-05:00

Still too busy with schoolwork to blog. In the meantime here's something amusing:

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On is a stop motion animated short film about Marcel, an anthropomorphic shell. It is a collaboration between writer/director Dean Fleischer-Camp and writer/actress Jenny Slate.

The film premiered theatrically at AFI FEST 2010 where it was awarded Best Animated Short [2] and was an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. It won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at the New York International Children's Film Festival.

November 22 1963

2011-11-22T16:30:00.004-05:00

I was in 4th grade. A nun came into our classroom to tell us the President had died. My first thought was of Caroline. I was sad for her, and sad that she and her brother would have to move out of the White House. On the walk home that afternoon some boys said that the Russians would probably attack now because we didn't have a president.

My thoughts exactly

2011-11-17T09:39:00.001-05:00

I Love You Phillip Morris

2011-11-01T10:37:00.003-04:00

I missed this movie when it played at my local theater, but finally got to see it & what fun. If you're looking for something good to rent or put on your "cue" I highly recommend this.

Bob Lo Island revisited

2011-09-26T13:20:00.042-04:00

I recently took a nostalgic trip back in time... I traveled to BobLo, a Canadian island in the Detroit River that holds a special place in my heart.

BobLo was once an amusement park, and I have fond memories of summer days spent there when I was a child, a teen, and a young adult.

I loved BobLo and, like many Detroit and Southern Ontario residents, I was saddened in the early 1990s when the amusement park closed and the rides were dismantled. A few years later when I heard that the island was being developed as a private community of luxury homes I was outraged. How could this be? BobLo belonged to all of us!

I thought I'd never step foot on that beloved place again, but I recently discovered there is a car ferry that runs to the island from Amherstberg, Ontario. I was thrilled to learn that visitors are allowed to go onto the island and roam around! So, I gathered up a group of fellow photographers and we spent the day there exploring, and seeing what was left to be seen.

This is how I remember the dock on the island. There were ferry boats that crossed the river to Canada, and big steam ships, the Columbia and the Ste. Claire, that came down the river from Detroit. Canadians used one side of this dock, Americans the other.

One of the best things about Boblo was the hour long boat ride to get there. There was music and dancing on the second floor of the boats - polkas and pop songs when I was a kid, disco in the 70s.

When I think of those boats I mostly hear them - the loud, deep bass of their whistles, the engines churning, the water whooshing by, the wind, seagulls, and so many happy voices. The boat ride was great, and then you were there. Boblo! It was so much fun to walk down that long, covered dock with the anticipation of the day's amusements ahead.

This is how the dock looks now:

I got a little teary-eyed when I walked down to the end of the dock, I was feeling nostalgic, and also sad for the way this place, so fond in so many people's memories, is just rotting away.

We went to Boblo at least once a year when I was a kid and a teenager. My favorite rides were the tilt-a-whirl, the scrambler, and the round-up. I preferred the the spinny rides to the roller-coasters. I hated the wild mouse and the bug, but I would go on the Sky Streak if I was feeling brave.

It's strange that I don't have any family photos of our trips to Boblo in the 60s and 70s. The camera was probably left at home so it wouldn't have to be carried around. I also think the camera wasn't taken along because going to Boblo wasn't like going somewhere on vacation, it was just Boblo, beloved yes, but somewhat taken for granted. Who knew that images of the amusement park we all knew so well would one day be so cherished.

Boblo was originally called Bois Blanc by the French - named for the white birch trees that covered the island. Boblo was the best that non-French could do with the pronunciation and the name stuck.

Boblo has a long history. French priests established a mission for Huron Indians on the island in the early 17oos. Blockhouses were built by the British in the 1830s. And the island was a stop on the underground railway for escaping slaves on their way to Canada during the Civil War.

In 1898 the Bob-Lo excursion line was born. The first steamer that took visitors to the island was called The Promise. The Columbia was built in 1902 and the Ste. Claire was built in 1910.

The early attractions were simple: a day on the river and a picnic on the island. There was a carousel, and a dance hall which was built in 1903. The dance hall still stands. Here's an old postcard image of what it once looked like:

And here is what it looks like now:

During its last years as an amusement park, the owners of Boblo turned the front half of this historic building into a food court and built an indoor roller-coaster in the rest of it. The outside is in pretty good shape, but the interior is in ruins. I've seen some heartbreaking photos of it online.

Most of what's left on the island is wildly overgrown and uncared for. Though I must say I was surprised at how much is still there at all. Here is the old restroom building:

And here is me inside the old restroom building:

The island was transformed into an amusement park in the 1950s. In 1961 the deck of a freighter was sunk into place to serve as a boat landing. This unique feature of the island is still there. It's covered with colorful rust, which I was happy to photograph.

Here's the old Dodgem car building

And here is part of what's left of the miniature golf course:

I took a photo of my sons playing mini golf on Boblo in 1993.

That summer was the last year of the amusement park's existence.

I'm glad that Boblo was a part of my sons' lives, too. We made several trips to the island when they were boys and I'm glad I bothered to take the camera along.

I took this photo of the island from the dock in 1986

Here i am with Jerry on the Sky Tower in '86.

The Sky Tower is still on the island and can be seen from miles away. It's a strange relic.

This is a photo of one of my sons (I don't know which) on the "Flying Dutchman" in 1993. As this ride spun around you could control the "sail" in front to make yourself sail outward and in. An incredibly simple ride, but one I loved when I was a kid. I wonder where the cars to this ride ended up when the park was dismantled and sold off piece by piece?

It was wonderful fun to spend time on Boblo Island again. What a shame the amusement park couldn't have been saved. Though it most certainly lives on in the memories of the millions who spent happy times there.

Thanks to Hear and Their at Flickr for vintage photos of Boblo

Weekend at Lake Huron

2011-09-19T13:50:00.014-04:00

Fall is not my favorite season, but I sure do like these days at the very end of summer, when it's not quite Fall, but Fallish.

I spent the last weekend at a cabin on Lake Huron with my old writing group and the weather was gorgeous. A bit chilly... enough so that we needed a fire in the cabin, but a sweater was not required outside during the day.

It was sunny enough to walk barefoot on the shore, and one brave soul actually took a dip in the water!

As you can see, we are a very serious group of writers:

On my way home I stopped to explore the Tawas State Park and went for a hike to Tawas Point

Ben at the Nature Center

2011-09-15T12:40:00.011-04:00

I have begun a tradition of taking my grandson, Ben, to the Kalamazoo Nature Center every Fall. This year was our second annual visit. He enjoyed walking in the woods and looking up at the tall, tall trees. "It's huge!" he'd say while looking up.

While we were exploring the woods Ben discovered moss, which he declared "gross." He was also concerned about all the trees that have fallen down. "They got broke."

My plan is to take a photo of Ben with the Nature Center sign every Fall. I wonder how many years it will be before he's taller than the sign? That little Oh he's making with his mouth is the end of him saying smile, which comes out as "smy-oh."

September 11th - Ten Years After

2011-09-10T21:42:00.006-04:00

We'll always remember where we were on September 11, 2001. We'll remember when we heard the news of the attacks, and where we were as the events of the next few days unfolded. And because of this we'll probably distinctly remember where we were living and where we were in our lives at that time, too.

For me it was a significant and transitional time. I was living in Kalamazoo, in the only house I've ever bought on my own. I had recently quit a dull job to go to work for a struggling non-profit theater, and was feeling very stressed and worried about that.

BB and I were at the beginning of our relationship. My son, Justin, had just started a relationship with the woman who would become his wife. And both of my sons, who were 20 at the time, were living in my basement, working at a local movie theater, and not quite yet ready to fly the nest.

Justin and Maria were just at the beginning of their relationship when I took this photo of them in September 2001. They are now married and the parents of my two beautiful grandchildren.

Like many of my neighbors, I put our flag on display. And then I asked my son, Jerry, to pose for this photo. It's an ordinary snapshot, but I like the way it captures so much about that time for me: the house, my son, and the patriotism inspired by 9/11.

A lot has happened in the last ten years: I sold my house. Moved three times. Justin and Maria got Married. BB lost her job. BB got a new job. Jerry got married. Benny was born. Natalie was born. Jerry got divorced. I wrote a book, four short stories, several personal essays, and a blog. I discovered digital photography. Took thousands of photos. Went to the British Virgin Islands, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York City twice, Key West Twice, Cocoa Beach, Washington D.C., Copper Harbor, Chicago, The Bahamas, and Charlotte three times. Made new friends & got reacquainted with old friends. etc...etc...

This photo that I use for my Blogger profile is now ten years old! It was taken outside of the Whole Art Theater in the Fall of 2001. I guess I could update it, but it's one of my favorite photos of myself. Since then my hair has gone almost completely white, and I've gained some weight, but I don't think I look THAT much older, do I?

Russell Industrial Center

2011-08-29T22:20:00.000-04:00

I spent the afternoon at the fifth annual People's Art Festival at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit yesterday. This is a huge industrial complex that's been turned into a community for artists. Very interesting.

Here are some photos I took while I was there:

This spray paint mural by the artist Kobie Solomon covers a 4000 sg. foot wall. It includes elements of Detroit's four sports teams, aspects of Detroit industry, and representation of creative activities at the Russell.

Friday Favorite Photo: Ben at the park

2011-08-19T17:03:00.004-04:00

It's been a long time since I've posted a "Friday Favorite Photo," but I just had to put this one up. I think it's one of the nicest photos I've ever taken.

I was spending quality time with Ben a week ago in Kalamazoo and so we went to Milham Park to see the ducks. It was a beautiful day, not too hot, and Ben was happy when I told him he could go wherever he wanted and do whatever he wanted in the park.

I trailed behind as he led the way and ran around. We ended up going over a bridge and onto this tiny island in the middle of the flowing stream. The light was just right as he sat down on the bank to study the stream close up.

It turned into a day of discovery for Ben as I let him remove his shoes and socks and wade around. He found a big stick, got to stand on rocks, and was engrossed for quite a while watching leaves and twigs float away and under the bridge.

My summer of itchy bumps

2011-08-04T13:01:00.014-04:00

I have been plagued this summer with itchy bumps that I got as the result of a photo allergic drug reaction. I have been itchy for two months now. Two months! I’ve been itchy so long that my daily battle against it has become a way of life. I have cut my fingernails down as short as humanly possible. I routinely take baths in oatmeal. And I expect to be awakened at least once a night by itchiness that I deal with by applying a steroid cream, or ice.

This all began because of a medication I was taking. Although there was a notice on the side of the bottle informing me to avoid strong or prolonged sunlight, this wasn’t a problem. I’d begun taking this medication in November - at the beginning of a Michigan winter. There was not much danger that I’d be exposed to prolonged sunlight.

I also didn’t have any problems when we went to the Bahamas in February. I used plenty of sunscreen and sat in the shade as often as I could on that trip, not because of the admonition on the side of my medicine bottle - I’d forgotten all about that – but just because I didn’t want to burn.

I normally apply sunscreen whenever I’m in the sun. On June 4th I applied some to my face and arms before attending an outdoor event. We were only outside for a few hours, but it was a blazing hot day. On the way home I noticed a crop of itchy bumps on my forearm. They itched like crazy and I scratched the hell out of them, assuming they would clear up in a few days.

But they didn't clear up and didn't stop itching, they got worse and worse as the days went on. And I kept scratching. I scratched until there was a hideous, red, irritated mess all over my forearm. And then I got it on my other arm, too. This second patch appeared because of the sun shining on my arm while I was driving!

I finally remembered the warning on the medicine bottle and visited my dermatologist who confirmed that I was suffering a photo allergic reaction to the drug. He gave me a steroid cream for the itch and sent me to my doctor to get my medication changed.

I went off the drug, onto a new one that doesn’t cause problems in the sun, and applied the steroid cream religiously, but the itchy bumps didn’t go away. They spread. First to my knees, then to the back of my legs, my hands, and then to a place where the sun never shines: my butt.

I returned to the dermatologist and he took a biopsy. He cut a bit of bumpy skin off my leg, and also sent me to get a blood test, but they showed nothing unusual. He said it was an “id,” an idiopathic condition, which means he doesn’t know what the hell it is. He talked around in circles trying to explain how this was all a result of the drug induced allergy, but honestly I think he was stumped.

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at photos of dermatological conditions on my computer recently, and what I have is definitely not contact dermatitis, shingles, scabies, hives, poison oak, or bed bugs.

It’s a crazy thing. The bumps are tiny. You’d hardly notice them if it wasn’t for the itch. But they itch like mad and when you scratch them they turn into welts.

I'll just get one patch of bumps cleared up when another patch appears somewhere else. The trick is to not scratch. But it’s practically an involuntary thing. And it feels SO good.

When I do give in and scratch I feel like a junkie back on the stuff. I know it’s bad for me. I know I’m a pitiful excuse of a human being with no self-control, but it feels SO DAMN GOOD I can’t resist. I moan with the pleasure of a satisfied urge.

My dermatologist suggested antihistamines, but they don’t help at all. The only things that stop the itch are the steroid cream, the oatmeal baths, and cold. The itch will stop if I put an ice pack on it, at least for a little while, but I want my life back! The life where I'm not ruled by the state of my itchiness.

I have to believe this will clear up. After moving around to every place on my body I have to believe the itchy bumps will be done with me. I have to believe that I will never go through this again. Because I’m not sure I could go through this again.

I Googled “itchy bumps” and found a discussion group full of people who describe what I have: little bumps that itch like crazy, move around, and last a long time. They all complained of doctors who couldn’t tell them what was wrong, and of medications that haven’t helped. It was nice to know I’m one of so many, though it was a little disconcerting, too. This is a miserable, desperate group of people and I am now one of them.

Beginners

2011-06-25T22:48:00.003-04:00

I saw this movie yesterday and liked it a lot. It's one of those films that sticks with you into the day after you've see it. & I'd be happy to see it again sometime.

Puzzle Solving

2011-06-21T08:43:00.010-04:00

The writing work I'm doing these days is like working on a challenging puzzle.

A lot of the puzzle pieces have already been put into place, but they're not necessarily in the the right place.

I am discovering a lot of pieces that don't fit and taking them out, while I am simultaneously working hard to fit new pieces in with the structure that's been built.

And I'm doing all this without knowing what the completed puzzle looks like. I have to work from instinct - there is no photo on the box to guide me.

work, work, work

2011-06-16T20:21:00.017-04:00

I've been writing like crazy the last two weeks.

I sit down at my desk in the morning, take a peek at email, Flickr, and Facebook (where I might play a game or two of Scrabble.) And then that's it. For the rest of the day it's all about the work.

Work, work, work. I stay at it all day, with only small breaks for tea, lunch, the mail, and maybe a few brief moments in the yard.

I've been revising and polishing the two chapters I'll be submitting to my MFA adviser and peers (via internet) in August. I really want to have those chapters DONE so I can relax a little and move on to other things. And there are plenty of other things.

I did allow myself one little day off recently though. It was a perfect day with temps in the 70s, so I spent the afternoon at a park where I took a walk on a nature trail, had a close encounter with a crane, ate lunch at the beach, and sat under a tree to read a book.

Here's some pics I took:

Half way there

2011-06-03T11:50:00.004-04:00

I am now exactly half way through my MFA program in creative writing. If all goes well I will have graduated by this time next year. And won't that be a wonderful thing?!

I will be SO glad to be done with this little adventure. But in the meantime there's lots of work to do. I'll be pretty busy from now until about April 22, 2012. That's the date the final draft of my thesis is due. A little over 40 weeks from now. Enough time to gestate and birth a human baby. Which you'd think would be plenty of time, but doesn't seem like it to me.

So if I don't post much in the next year, that will be a good thing. I really shouldn't be blogging. Or Facebooking. Or Flickering. Damned distractions.

I should stop blogging completely, but I know I'll want to put up the occasional photo or movie review. Nothing much. Just enough to keep it going. Keep it alive.

For now here's some photos I took on campus recently, followed by a promotional video.

Photo Show

2011-05-14T09:21:00.004-04:00

Tonight is the opening of the photo show that includes some of my work.

I've spent the last month with these photos laid out on my basement floor, arranging and rearranging them for hours. But it was time well spent since I'm pleased with the result, and looking forward to basking briefly in the spotlight tonight.

What happened to Spring?

2011-05-12T15:03:00.000-04:00

Just the other day i was going around the house opening all the blinds to let as much light in as possible so I could keep the furnace off. Today I had to close all the blinds in order to keep the house cool enough.

We had very little Spring this year and I was too busy for what little there was to have much of a chance to appreciate it. I've only spent two days working in the yard so far this season. But those were two GOOD days.

I don't miss gardening when I don't do it. But when I do I enjoy it so much I begin to wonder why I bother doing anything else! I begin to think I could easily give up all my other pursuits, activities, and hobbies, and do nothing but garden.

I hooked the hose up last week after doing some fertilizing and, as usual, the leaky connection between my hose and my nozzle - which seems to be a continual problem - dribbled down my arm and leaked onto my pants. I don't know if it's because I buy cheap hoses, cheap nozzles, or don't twist them on tight enough, but I always seem to have this problem.

I sighed deeply while the water dribbled, but couldn't have been happier. I thought about how lucky I am to have such a nice yard to work in, in such a nice neighborhood. In spite of leaky hoses and a chilly, rainy, busy Spring, I can't, as they say, complain.

A Prairie Home Companion in Detroit X2

2011-05-10T18:35:00.003-04:00

I got to see a live broadcast of a Prairie Home Companion from the Fox Theater in Detroit for the second time last weekend. What fun!

Royal Wedding

2011-04-30T16:46:00.004-04:00

Sigh. The royal wedding is over now and we can all go back to our dreary lives. But it sure was fun while it lasted. I enjoyed the wedding and all the hoopla surrounding it a lot more than I'd expected. I thought people were crazy to get up at 5 AM just to watch it all happen live, but as it turned out I was one of those crazy people. And what fun! How nice to witness such a happy occasion when there's so much unhappiness in the world. And the dress? I loved it. I thought it was genius the way it was both simple and regal.

There's lots more I could say, but, as usual these days, I gotta run.

What did you think of the wedding?

Street folk

2011-04-19T09:32:00.005-04:00

Last week I went to see this art installation by Tyree Guyton in Detroit. He filled a block long city street with shoes as a commentary on homelessness. It's called "Street Folk."

"Street Folk" was installed on a block of abandoned Victorian era houses in the historic Brush Park neighborhood of the city.

Built for Detroit's elite, the homes in Brush Park were built between the 1850s and 1890s. Of the original 300 homes, about 150 remain. Many have been torn down, and many sit rotting, but there is a bit of a revival going on. Some of the houses have been restored, condos have been built in the neighborhood, and new residents are moving in.

I saw a few nicely restored houses while I was there wandering around, but didn't feel as comfortable photographing them as I did the ones that are empty. I'd gone just to see the art installation, but ended up being fascinated with the neighborhood. I'll have to go back some day soon when it's not as chilly and windy as the day I was there.

Here's a view of downtown from Brush Park:

The Detroit Tigers baseball park and the Lions football stadium can both be seen from this empty lot where a house once stood.

Splendor in the Grass

2011-04-09T22:48:00.012-04:00

I hadn't seen Splendor In The Grass in a long, long time, but watched it tonight on TCM. Staring Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty, it was nominated for several Oscars in 1961 and won for best screenplay.

I adore Natalie Wood. She was so beautiful, and so talented. What a shame she died so young. And what a treat to see Warren Beatty in his first film role.

It enjoyed seeing this movie again, even though some of its production values are a tad disappointing. It's a period piece set in the 1920s, but often has a more 1960s look and sound to it.

Of the several clips available on You Tube I picked this one, the final scene, a really beautiful scene, to share with you:

The Moth

2011-04-08T12:53:00.011-04:00

Detroit is one of four cities
(along with New York, LA, and Chicago)
that host storytelling competitions known as "The Moth."

These are events where participants tell personal stories in front of an audience without notes. You might have heard it on your public radio station as The Moth Radio Hour. It's also a live storytelling program that tours nationally.

I love The Moth and was thrilled to learn that Detroit is one of the Moth's StorySLAM venues. These are open-mic storytelling contests that are held once a month. In Detroit the slams are held at Cliff Bells, one of the city's premier Jazz clubs.

I finally got a chance to attend last night and what fun! I had an especially good time since our table was picked to be one of the three sets of judges. Each storyteller's performance is scored by judges in the audience and a winner is declared at the end of the evening who advances in the competition.

The theme of the night was Danger, so all stories had to be on that topic. Some were great, some were not, and most were so-so, but there was never a dull moment. I was in awe of the nerve of people who are able to get up and do this!

I hope to become a regular attendee at this monthly event. And I count it as another reason I'm glad to live in Detroit. You can read more about The Moth here.

Photo show

2011-04-04T21:10:00.007-04:00

Here's the flier for a photography show I'll be part of in May:

It's seems strange to be referred to on this poster by my last name - a name I got by way of my second ex-husband, and kept. I appropriated this name because I liked it and it seemed to suit me, but it's not really mine. My last name is something I use, but it doesn't really feel like me.

I've had four last names in my life, and none, but the first, have ever really belonged to me. And the first one wasn't mine for long. I am nameless. Which is one of the reasons why Hilary Who suits me so well.

Nowhere Boy

2011-04-02T17:02:00.006-04:00

I borrowed a DVD of this movie from the library yesterday and really enjoyed it. Based on a memoir by John Lennon's half-sister, it tells the heartbreaking story of the teenage Lennon as he has a whirlwind relationship with the unstable mother he barely knew.

As a teenage in the early 70s I listened to the "White Album" over and over and often wondered about the song "Julia" - which is hauntingly beautiful. I didn't know it was about his mother - Julia. Later I heard some of this story, but wasn't aware it was so tragic.

Nowhere Boy is a great little film. You'll especially enjoy if if you're a fan of the Beatles, and even if you're not.

The Illuminated Mural

2011-03-30T12:53:00.007-04:00

I went on an urban "safari" with a group of photographers last Sunday and took tons of new photos. One of the sites we photographed was The Illuminated Mural, a public art work in Detroit. This mural is painted on the side of a nine story vacant building near Detroit's downtown.

I love the way it seems to be raining color down the side of the building, and I love the way the bricks add texture. It's really fabulous in person and it was fun to hang out there for part of an afternoon.

Friday Favorite Photo: Marie 1940s

2011-03-25T09:23:00.009-04:00

I love this portrait of my mom, Marie, but I don't know when it was taken, or why. She was married in 1942, at the age of 19. So maybe this is an engagement photo?

Marie grew up during the depression in a blue collar neighborhood south of Detroit. There aren't any photos of her as a girl. I don't think her family owned a camera, so this portrait must have been a big deal. That's a very nice hat she has on, and quite the hairdo. But I notice she isn't wearing any jewelery.

It's fascinating to see my mom looking so glamorous. She worked in factories all her life and only got "dressed up" on rare occasions. She became my mom in 1955 when my mother was killed in an auto accident. I was only seven months old when this happened, so Marie was the only mother I knew. She died in 1994 and I still miss her.

The Super Moon

2011-03-21T11:10:00.007-04:00

I took this photo of the "Super Moon" in Kalamazoo. It was taken from the steps of East Hall, the oldest building of Western Michigan University, which is perched high on a hill overlooking the city.

I'd come prepared with my tripod and telephoto lens, but would not have gotten such a good shot without the kindness of a fellow photographer. All my shots were coming out blurry until he told me to use my self-timer. It made such a difference! Duh.

I just happened to be in Kalamazoo visiting my grandchildren on the night of the Super Moon - the largest moon in nearly 20 years. And what fun! A small group of people gathered at the top of the hill, including a drumming circle. It was quite festive. A wonderful way to welcome Spring!

Spring has sprung!

2011-03-18T11:53:00.003-04:00

I don't feel like doing any of the many things I should be doing because it's really, really, seriously, actually, SPRING! This makes me want to clean house, paint walls, organize, go outside, go to the city, or get out of the city.
All at the same time.

Almost

2011-03-15T14:51:00.009-04:00

The last of the snow is slowly melting. All we need is one good day of sunshine and it will be GONE!

It's not quite Spring yet, but the birds are singing, the squirrels are running around, and I'm itching to go. Not anywhere special. And not anywhere far. Just anywhere the road might take me.

I'm itching to drive somewhere with the windows down and the radio on.

Slipstream

2011-03-12T17:26:00.008-05:00

In the most recent edition of Poets & Writers magazine Michael Chabon, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, was asked about the importance of the time he spent at the MacDowell colony - a prestigious writers retreat.

This was his reply:

"To do your best work as an artist, whatever the discipline, takes complete immersion in the work. You need to get caught in the slipstream, to draft along behind it as it carries you forward.

You get into a state where, even when you're not writing, everything you see, read, hear; every place you go; every newspaper you pick up; every conversation you chance to overhear feeds the work, because you are so saturated in it."

Ah. Yes. I've managed to get into that slipstream now and again.
But it's been awhile.
And I miss it.

I Hate Blogger!!!

2011-03-08T17:44:00.009-05:00

Why? Why? Why?
Why did I decide to mess around with my blog????

In a moment of weakness I clicked on "design" to experiment with new looks for my blog. I thought I'd just have a look around and see what was available - see what I could do. I wasn't unhappy with the look of my blog, I was just messing around for the heck of it, and now my blog is GONE & I can't recover it the way it was.

I've never been happy with Blogger. It's clunky and hard to use, but I've stuck with it because I didn't want to have to start a new blog somewhere else. I didn't want to lose all the writing and posting that I'd already done.

I've spent a lot of time - too much time - working to get my blog posts to look just so. I've had to work to get the text to line up with the photos in pleasing ways - it doesn't just happen, there's a lot of tinkering involved. It's more time consuming than I like to admit. But I've done it, I've taken that time. And now it's all messed up. Because of the new, supposedly improved template that's stuck on my blog, many of my posts are now out of kilter & I'll have to spend time fixing them.

ARRRGGGGhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Postcard from Paradise

2011-02-28T09:57:00.012-05:00

It's 80 degrees on New Providence Island with a slight breeze as I type this. Going on a snorkeling adventure today. Having a wonderful time. Don't want to go home.

The view from my room at Cable Beach :

The view from my front door in Michigan :

Benny at two and three-fourths

2011-02-20T15:50:00.007-05:00

My grandson Ben is now just a little older than two 1/2. He’s still such a sweetie, loves to cuddle and snuggle, but he’s definitely All Boy.

He came for a visit recently and spent most of his time playing with a collection of toy airplanes that once belonged to his father and uncle. Of course he made the airplanes shoot at each other. He also bit his cheese into the shape of a gun one day, and pointed out a gun shape in the clouds.

This makes me dismay, but what can a grandma do?

One of the things that Benny knows about the world is that guns are fun. He knows that sometimes when you are shot by a gun you “die.” This means that you lie still for a little while. But then you soon recover and begin shooting again.

I’m not happy about the gun fascination, but not too worried about it either. His father and brother did their fair share of shooting and dying, and they turned out okay.

Benny is a smart boy. At the age of two he already recognizes all the letters of the alphabet! Isn’t that somewhat advanced? I think so. He’s eager to know about everything and learns fast. I think his vocabulary is pretty impressive, and his pronunciation is great – except for things like the L sound in “yellow.”

He’s begun talking out little stories as he plays. His toys become characters in the story he’s imagining, which is so interesting to listen in on. He’s a very good boy, eager to please, proud of himself, and loves his little sister. He calls her "baby," and sometimes refers to her as “he.”

When Benny visits at our house, he likes to come up to my bed in the morning and snuggle. One morning as we were laying there watching the sky get brighter and brighter he said, “I love you grandma.”

It was the first time he’d ever said this without prompting – without it being part of a goodbye or goodnight. And I can’t even begin to describe how sweet that was.

Natalie is 10 months old

2011-02-20T15:45:00.001-05:00

Our sweet Natalie has just turned 10 months old and is already walking!

Really walking - not just tottering a few steps, or holding on to furniture for support, this girl is mobile.

And when she's going one way, but decides to go another, she pivots with the greatest of ease!

It's true that I'm her grandma, and I might just be slightly biased in my opinion, but I really do think our Nat is quite talented.

And I haven't even mentioned her astounding adorableness! Honestly now, have you seen a cuter baby girl?

Natalie is highly social, makes funny faces, loves to cuddle, and knows how to wave.

She loves being outside and enjoys eating finger foods, but she's not too fond of going to sleep and does her best to fight it off whenever possible.

Natalie thrives on attention, she's very talkative, and adores her big brother, Ben.

What fun we'll have in the next few years! I can hardly wait.

Is it June yet?

2011-02-14T12:05:00.024-05:00

Our Valentine bouquet: iris and tulips.

Everything isn't coming up roses here at our house this Valentine's day. Things are fine with me and BB - we're both happy and healthy - but our computer died, which is a great annoyance and a sad thing. Especially since I had not recently backed up my photos or Word documents. Yikes!

The Geeks at Best Buy will be able to rescue us, but it's costly, on top the prospect of buying a new computer.

Here's a photo of the empty space where the computer used to be. It's so strange not to be at this desk, using this keyboard while composing this post.

The laptop works fine for most things, but I can't imagine writing on it. The keyboard's too delicate, and the screen is too low; I'd get a sore neck looking down at it. Hopefully I won't be working on it too long. We'll end up with a new and better computer and all will be well.

The annoying thing is how much time this computer transition period will take from our lives. Especially since time is such a precious commodity to me these days. I just received the reading list for my next MFA residency. I'm expected to read 15 books in the next three months!

This is reading that needs to be done while I'm working on my own writing, writing critiques, and two papers. And I will be doing all this while preparing for a photography show in May!

PLUS... we are getting ready to go to the Bahamas in 10 days. Not that I'm complaining about that, but there is all the packing and details to take care of. Not to mention how odd it seems to be going on vacation when there are so many other things I need to be doing. The timing isn't great, but the trip is a celebration of a milestone birthday for BB, and I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time.

Because of all this I don't expect to be blogging much in the coming weeks. Which I'm sure will disappoint my throngs of followers, but I'll be back now and then, so tune in!

Another story in print (sort of)

2011-02-10T18:55:00.007-05:00

Another one of my short stories has been published in an online journal. You can read it here. Just click on the photo of the woman holding the rooster and then you'll see my story under the fiction heading.

I'm happy that this story has found a home, and happy to have an additional publishing credit to my name, but I'd really like to see myself in print, on paper, in an actual, physical journal someday. Some day this year would be nice. I have three new finished stories that I've just begun to submit, so cross your fingers for me.

Super Bowl Sunday Tradition

2011-02-04T18:04:00.012-05:00

Since I have no interest in football, my Super Bowl Sunday tradition is to go to the movies.

It bugs me the way this sporting contest has turned into such a huge national event - practically a national holiday. But it is a great day to do things other than watch football. On Super Bowl Sunday there's hardly any cars on the road, and the stores are all nearly empty, so that's nice. And it is just a few weeks before the Academy Awards so there are lots of good movies in the theaters.

I hope to see two, or maybe even three, movies this weekend if I'm lucky.

Here's what I have to choose from:

Thinking about a dog

2011-02-02T14:35:00.008-05:00

BB and I have been happily pet-less for quite some time. Although I am a dog lover, and she has had cats in the past, we've been content to live without the fur, the poop, the expense, and the responsibilities that come with pet ownership.

But lately I've been thinking about how much I miss having a dog. I miss the companionship of a dog. And I think it might be nice to have a big dog - a dog I could take with me when I go to shoot photos in places I probably shouldn't be all by myself.

I've been thinking about this casually from time to time, and not too seriously, but when I mentioned it to BB recently she was surprised. She was sure we were both satisfied with the advantages of our pet free life.

And I had to agree, it is awfully nice to have a pet-poop-free backyard, and nice to know our home is free of pet hair and odors. But I do miss having a relationship with an animal. I miss the fun, affection, and protection a dog can provide.

I briefly talked to her about the kind of dog I'd like to have if we had one. I said I'd like a lab, or at least a mutt that had some lab in it. "Really?" She said. She seemed surprised to discover that this was something I'd thought about.

Poor BB. That night she dreamt I was hording dogs and cats in the garage! She woke up at 4 AM with this nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep.

Like so many things in life pet ownership requires compromise. You have to give up some things to get some things. And I'm not quite sure I'm ready for that, but I am still thinking about it.

Oprah's sister

2011-01-27T17:17:00.011-05:00

Oprah Winfrey’s discovery of her secret sister made big news recently, and this has led to a lot of talk about the reunion of family members separated by adoption.

I was listening to an NPR discussion of the topic in the car yesterday, but had to snap the radio off because what was being said got me agitated. I have strong views about this subject and didn’t want to unnecessarily raise my heart rate while driving.

Here’s the thing: All human beings have the right to know who their parents are.

I believe this knowledge is a basic human necessity. We need to see ourselves in other faces, to know where we have come from, to know whose genes we carry with us.

Can you imagine not being allowed access to your own birth certificate? That's a reality for six million American adult adoptees.

Although the closed adoption system has undergone reform in the last few decades, and the need for adoptees to know their heritage has come to be widely understood, most sealed adoptions records remain sealed.

There are only two states that never participated in the sealing of adoption records (Alaska and Kansas) and six other states that now allow access, but most do not.

I was raised by a family that was not biologically mine, but never legally adopted me. The issue of sealed adoption records does not affect me personally, but I sure do understand the need to know. I sure do support the right of anyone, anywhere, to know who they are.

There's lots, LOTS, more I could say about this issue, but don't want to get too wound up. I'll just say how happy I am for Oprah's sister. Wow.

Friday Favorite Photo: Justin and Jeremy

2011-01-21T09:22:00.008-05:00

My twin sons will celebrate their 30th birthday this weekend!
Their 30th!!!

I am the mother of 30-year-olds - a fact that just blows my mind.

This photo was taken a few days after my sons were born. When I put them down next to each other for the hospital photograher it was the first time I'd see them side-by-side. Justin had spent the first two days of his life in the NICU. Although they're identical, Justin hadn't gotten his share of prenatal nutrition during the last few weeks of my pregnancy and was born two pounds lighter than his brother.

It still amazes me how different they look in this photo. But the difference didn't last long. Within a few months Justin was as chubby as Jeremy.

I'm proud of the men my boys have become. But no mater how old they get they'll always be my babies. My boys.

snow, flu, flew

2011-01-18T12:03:00.024-05:00

The second residency of my creative writing program in North Carolina turned out to be a disaster. First there was the snow. And then the ice. And then I got sick.

This was the view out my window the second day I was there. This little bit of snow caused the whole city and my college to shut down.

Our schedule for the week had to be completely rearranged and we were shuttled to alternative locations for seminars and workshops.

Since I'd been looking forward to balmy temps in the 40s or 50s I was pretty disappointed by this, but made the best of it. It was fun to see the people I'd met at the first residency again, and it was interesting to meet my new workshop group.

Things would have been fine if it hadn't been for the illness that suddenly descended upon me like an evil demon from Hell.

I spent the last three days of my residency cooped in my motel room with a fever, chills, and lungs that felt like they were on fire. I was as sick as I can remember being in a long, long time and miserable that I was missing so much. And then there was the misery of flying home sick.

At least I got a lot of good comments on my work, and look forward to the writing and editing to be done in the next few months. My next residency will be in May and I can only hope it might be a little more enjoyable!

While I was away the opening of a photography show that includes two of my photos took place. I was sorry to miss the opening, but here's a fun little video of what I missed:

Woodward Avenue photography show

2011-01-05T07:41:00.002-05:00

Two photographs by me are going to be in this show. I'm thrilled to be part of it, but won't be able to go to the opening reception because I'll be in North Carolina for the second residency of my MFA program. Darn!

Woodward Avenue is Detroit's main street. It's the spine of the city, running straight up from the river, through downtown and into the northern suburbs. Woodward Avenue is known as M1 - Michigan road #1. It's a National Scenic Byway, and defines Metro Detroit.

I love Woodward Avenue, so this project was a lot of fun. Each photographer participating was assigned a mile of Woodward in which to find something significant to shoot. My photographs are details of The Spirit of Detroit, a statue that sits in front of the Detroit City Hall at the foot of Woodward and Jefferson.

Here also are two of my photos that were not chosen for the show:

I really like the way this project made me step outside of my box and photograph things I wouldn't have normally shot, in ways I wouldn't have normally shot them, with great results.

The best of 2010

2010-12-31T12:21:00.019-05:00

It was hard to choose, but here they are:
My top ten abstracts of 2010

Oil and Water

Fire and Ice

Ghost Bird

Fulgent

Transatlantic

Lost Language

Assemblage

Eclipse

Au fait

Palindrome

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Kings Speech

2010-12-27T13:29:00.000-05:00

Everything you've heard about The Kings Speech is true. It's a great movie. I really enjoyed it, and Colin Firth certainly deserves all the awards he's bound to get for it.

a year of counting

2010-12-24T20:14:00.024-05:00

Exactly one year ago today I added a hit counter to my blog. Since then I've had 2081visits, and the visitors have come from 51 countries!

This is pretty amazing to me since I do so little to encourage visits to my blog. I don't spend a lot of time reading or commenting upon other blogs, and only occasionally self-promote my posts on Facebook.

1741 of my hits this past year have come from the USA. 66 have come from Canada. 44 from New Zealand, and 42 from Britain. I've also gotten 24 from Germany, 21 from Russia, and 17 from Australia.

I'm sure a lot of these hits are accidental - people who end up here by clicking the "next blog" button. A lot of hits probably also come from the links on my Flickr and Facebook profiles.

I probably get a lot of hits from people who come just to have a look and then don't return. But I do have some regular followers, and I appreciate the comments I get from them. It's so nice to know that someone is actually out there!

The majority of my hits (353) have come from Grand Rapids - which I'm sure have come from friends and family there. As well as the 66 hits that have come from Kalamazoo. What's odd to me is that I get more comments from strangers than I do from family and friends.

If I were to send my friends a letter in the mail - a nice chatty letter full of news and observations, a letter with photographs tucked in - I'm sure they'd enjoy it. They'd sit down and read it and maybe even write back, the way they did before the internet. But they never (or very rarely) comment on my blog.

Oh well. Comments are nice, but I'm sure I'll keep posting with or without them. I still have a fat stack of potential blog topics I'd like to write about someday. You know... that someday we all dream of when time is easy & all the chores are done.

Coming out. Again.

2010-12-15T10:52:00.010-05:00

I finally came out last week.
To my new hairstylist.
She's cut my hair four or five times now and I've talked about my grandkids, my sons, the neighborhood, the movies, etc... but hadn't yet had occasion to mention "my partner."

When I did finally say that phrase along with BB's name, the conversation just kept on rolling. It was nothing. But it was something. I just know there was that barely perceptible nanosecond when the stylist's intellection of me changed. Not for better or worse necessarily, not in a judgemental way, but changed none-the-less. And no matter how many people I come out to, this is always a nanosecond I dread.

A gay person doesn't just come out once, it's a continual thing. Especially if you're a gay person who has recently moved to a new community, like me. Moving means coming out to new people again and again and again.

For me there were also recently a lot of doctor's forms, many of which asked my marital status. Am I single, married, or divorced? I feel married, even though I'm not - not yet anyway! I could check single, or divorced, but neither of those seem right. I've taken to just writing in a new category, Partnered, and circling it.

I don't know why I dread these moments of coming out. I'm not ashamed. Or afraid. It's just that one moment, that "Oh."

I just know I'm being re-categorized during that moment. I know I've just become an "other" instead of "one of us," even to those heterosexuals who think of themselves as gay friendly.

BB says it's getting easier and easier for her to come out. She thinks this is because people's attitudes are changing, and I agree. I'm glad to be living here and now. I'm not complaining. I'm just observing. And who knows, I could be wrong. Maybe that whole re-categorizing thing is only in my head - but I doubt it.

Holiday skaters

2010-12-12T10:30:00.003-05:00

Here's a little video I shot last night of ice-skaters at Campus Martius - the center of downtown Detroit:

Last Summer

2010-12-10T11:34:00.009-05:00

My story, Last Summer, is in the current online edition of the
Toasted Cheese Literary Journal.

Click HERE and then click on the "Literary Journal" tab to read it

Urban Adventure Part Two

2010-12-06T11:10:00.015-05:00

Ruin porn. That's a term you hear in Detroit these days in reference to the fascination with abandonment and decay in the city. And while I completely understand where that phrase is coming from, I can't help but be fascinated with it myself.

I know how the images of ruin skew the world's perception of Detroit - which is much more alive and vibrant that you probably imagine - and that's a shame, but the ruins are fascinating. And it's not just the condition of these abandoned buildings that's something to witness, but the fact that they're so accessible. It's incredible that these places still stand, that they haven't been razed, or properly secured, or policed.

Detroit's most sprawling urban ruin is the Packard Plant. Spread out over 35 acres, the Packard is an immense complex of crumbling dilapidation. But it's not a victim of the recent economic downturn - even though photos of the plant are often used by the media to dramatize current events.

Packard has been out of business since the 1950s.

The Packard Plant produced luxury automobiles from 1903 - 1956. It went out of business when GM's Cadillac became the luxury car of choice.

After its closure the plant was subdivided and leased to small businesses, but it has mostly stood empty for the last five decades. The city of Detroit has a long history of litigation over the ownership of the land and the condition of the property. According the the Detroit Free Press the plant is currently owned by a guy serving a jail term in California on drug charges.

I'd heard of the Packard Plant and I'd seen photos of it, but I'd never actually been there in person until last week. I was taken there by local photographer, Rob Monaghan.

It was a chilly November afternoon and we'd already been photo exploring for several hours that day so we didn't stay long, but I was awed. It's seriously like being on the set of an post-apocalyptic movie. Or actually being in a post-apocalyptic world.

At first it seemed we were the only people there - the only souls in this immense, desolate, squalid landscape. But then I noticed other photographers, mostly young people, here and there, like tourists seeing the sights. The Packard is a popular destination for urban explorers, metal scrappers, graffiti artists, and arsonists.

It was definitely like no other place I've ever been in my life, and I wish I'd had the opportunity to see it before it got as bad as it is now. Much has been destroyed by fire. Much has been destroyed by vandals and scrappers. And much has crumbled. But I'm itching to go back - hopefully this spring - because there is still so much photographic fodder there.

My First Urbex !

2010-11-29T11:58:00.018-05:00

I finally got to go on an urbex adventure! (Ubex is slang for urban exploration, and pretty much means going into abandoned buildings to explore and take photographs.) There is a lot of urbexing to be had in Detroit and I've been longing to tag along with some urbex photographers. I especially wanted to go to the Eastown Theater, one of Detroit's legendary rock venues from the early 70's, and finally got that opportunity this past weekend. Rob Monaghan a local photographer and really sweet guy, took me there and gave me the grand tour.

Opened in 1930 as a movie theater on Detroit's East side, the Eastown became one of Detroit's premier rock venues in the early 70s. From 1969 to 1972 the Eastown featured bands such as Jefferson Airplane, Alice Cooper, Jethro Tull, The Stooges, Savoy Brown, Procol Harum, Johnny Winter, and many, many more.

This was during my high-school years and I was often taken along to concerts at the Eastown by my boyfriend who was a few years older. Each weekend's lineup would include two or three bands - and the tickets were only about three or four dollars!

The place was always jam-packed and heavy with the scent of pot. The seats on the main floor had been removed, so concertgoers sat on the floor, or stood, or danced. There was always a psychedelic light show that I enjoyed, and an MC who wore a top hat - Stanley T. Madhatter.

I have very distinct and fond memories of the Eastown and it's sad to see the shape it's in now. It's beyond saving. I'm sure it will be razed, or simply fall down sometime soon. I wish I'd gotten in there to look around before it got as bad as it has, but I'm grateful for the visit just the same.

Following a 1973 expose in the Detroit Free Press about the easy availability of drugs in the Eastown, it was forced to shut down by the City of Detroit for failing to meet health and safety codes. After that it briefly became a jazz venue, then a performing arts space, and in the 90s it hosted raves, but its mostly been left to rot. There are holes in the roof, it's littered with trash, it's wet, stinking, and raped of it's metal by scrappers. I was amazed that the ceiling above the balcony was still in such nice shape:

I was intrigued with the idea of walking into an abandoned building, and I was thrilled to be inside the Eastown, but I must admit I had moments of wondering "what the hell am I doing?!" while there. The lobby and halls are dark and littered with who knows what ( I learned that a flashlight is an essential tool for an urbex explorer,) and I'm sure I was breathing asbestos. My first urbex experience might well be my last. I mean, is this something a grandma should be doing?!

Here's the Eastown on the day of it's grand opening as a movie theater in 1931:

The Eastown as I remember it:

The Eastown today:

After exploring the Eastown, Rob took me to the ruins of the Packard Automobile Plant - but that will have to wait for Part Two of "Hilarywho: Urban Adventurer" ! Stay tuned.

NPR Rap

2010-11-25T12:45:00.001-05:00

If you enjoy NPR you'll get a kick out of this:

Betty Jean Lifton

2010-11-21T15:04:00.013-05:00

I was sorry to hear that Betty Jean Lifton, the quintessential author of books about the psychology of adoption, passed away on November 19. A writer, psychologist, speaker, and advocate for adoption reform, her books were profoundly illuminating to me, and countless others like me.

She believed that all members of the adoption triangle - adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents - are traumatized by their losses to some degree.

An adoptee herself, BJ Lifton was one of the first voices to speak out out about the complications and complexities of adoption, and the closed adoption system, which she called, "a socially engineered arrangement that was designed to cut us off psychologically as well as legally from our genetic and cultural heritage."

Although I am not a product of the closed adoption system, I know what it's like to be cut off from genetic and cultural heritage. Reading Journey of the Adopted Self helped me understand myself in fundamentally important ways, and led me to form many of the views I have today about the adoption industry and the adoptee rights movement.

I'd say I'm going to miss Betty Jean Lifton, but she'll always be here in the books on my shelf - heavily highlighted and underlined. Her work was a wonderful gift to those of us who make the quest for wholeness.

For her NY Times obit click HERE

Benny & Natalie

2010-11-20T14:21:00.010-05:00

Benny is two & a half now and Natalie is seven months old. Ben loves trains, especially trains that go into tunnels. He can count to ten, recognizes some letters of the alphabet, and likes to make "tents." Natalie is almost crawling, loves people, and enjoys being tickled. Their grandma wishes she saw them more often and enjoys the opportunity to post photos of them on her blog.

Today's Special

2010-11-16T12:12:00.006-05:00

I got to see a free sneak-peek of a movie last night at my local "art-house" theater. Today's Special is about Samir, a young Manhattan sous chef who quits his job when he doesn't get an expected promotion, dreams of traveling to Paris, but ends up running his family's restaurant when his father has a heart attack.

In an act of desperation Samir hires a taxi driver named Akbar who says he used to do some cooking. Akbar turns out to be a very engaging character and an incredible cook who not only teaches Samir how to make his native foods, but how to make them with his heart.

I would have liked this movie even if I'd paid for the ticket. Staring Aasif Madvi of The Daily Show fame, I enjoyed the acting, the story, and the way it made me hungry for Indian food! It was fun to see Dean Winters, the guy who plays "Mahem" in TV commercials for Allstate, in a supporting role, and the actor who plays Akbar is great.

my broken heart

2010-11-12T11:46:00.015-05:00

I spent two days in the hospital recently and came out feeling a lot worse than when I went in. The reason I went in was because of a wee pain in my chest. I have learned that when you mention the phrase "chest pain" to medical professionals they tend to get pretty intense.

I failed a stress test which resulted in my being admitted to the hospital where another test revealed a blockage in the branch of a small artery. It was too small to require a further procedure, so I was just given medication and encouraged to make healthy lifestyle choices.

My first reaction upon learning that something might be wrong with my heart was to click "undo." I wanted to press "delete." To edit this chapter. Cross this out. Begin again.

During my echocardiogram I could hear my heart. It sounded like something moving through murky water, or like wind whooshing through trees. My heart sounded like a dream sound, an otherworldly sound. And I didn't like the way the sound made me picture my heart, there, in my chest, actually beating.

Thinking about my beating heart reminded me of thinking about the universe - the endlessness of it. It's so hard to imagine: a place without edges, without beginning or end. It's nearly as hard for me to imagine my heart, this complex muscle, beating away, day after day. It hurts my brain to dwell on it, to think of the job it must do in order for me, for any of us, to remain alive.

I was only in the hospital for two days, and I'm glad for the excellent care I received but I'm not too thrilled with how crappy the ordeal made me feel.

I went into the hospital feeling fine, and came out tired, headachey, nauseous, and temporarily unable to drive, climb stairs, or lift anything heavier than three pounds.

And, the result of all this medical care? Well, I've still got the chest pain. But now I've also got a handfull of medications with an astounding list of side-effects.

View from my hospital room window, 5:30 AMish, 11/11/10 :

Toasted Cheese

2010-11-08T10:52:00.008-05:00

A short story of mine has been accepted by the online journal,

Toasted Cheese.

It will be in the December issue.

I'm happy that one of my stories is being published by a literary journal, but I can't help wishing it was a journal with a more impressive name. Like maybe, The Toasted Cheese Literary Review. Or maybe, Cheese Quarterly. But I'm proud of my accomplishment just the same.

I stole this photo from a site devoted to grilled cheese sandwiches. Can you believe there is such a thing? http://www.grilledcheesesandwich.org/

Falling backward

2010-11-07T08:55:00.005-05:00

Okay, so it's hard to complain about the extra hour we're gaining as Daylight Saving Time comes to an end, but I'm still not happy about the whole crazy idea. I mean, time is time. You can't change it. When the sun is highest in the sky it's NOON. Not 11:00.

I think it's mean and unhealthy to mess with people's circadian rhythms the way Daylight Saving Time does.

It's a pain in the ass. And what's the advantage? Who does it profit??? For what greater good are millions of people forced to go around sleepy and cranky every Spring?

I used to think Daylight Saving Time was put into place to help farmers, but I've learned that's not true. Daylight Saving Time was put into place for the simple, selfish reason of giving us more evening hours of light in the warm months. This was meant to allow for more daylight leisure activities. But does that one hour really make that much difference? And is it really worth all the trouble it causes?

Personally I love a lovely summer night. I like to look up at the summer stars - and I'd like to be able to see them before 10:00 or 11:00 PM.

My point is, Daylight Saving Time is not natural and it doesn't seem to have much advantage. So Why? WHY?

Too busy to blog

2010-11-04T11:34:00.012-04:00

Lately I'm either working on my stories, fooling around on flickr, or playing Scrabble on Facebook - three activities that can pretty much eat up a day for me. And that doesn't even count going to the gym (oh yes, I do that SO much) or grocery shopping, etc...

BB discovered the Scrabble app on FB and now we're both hooked - her more than I. I'm playing maybe four or five games with friends right now, but I think she's up to something like twelve or more.

I'm sure I'll get back to writing incredibly fascinating blog posts sometime soon, but in the meantime here's some photos I recently took in downtown Detroit:

Friday Favorite Photo: Halloween 1988

2010-10-29T13:47:00.015-04:00

This photo was taken when my twin sons were seven years old. That's Justin in the mask and big bowtie - he was a "funny professor." Jerry was Dracula.

The girls are neighbors, also twins, a year younger than the boys. We lived in an apartment at the time and the girls lived next door. For five years the four of them were constantly together, in one apartment or another, or running around outside. (I think that's Courtney with the red fairy wings, and Brittany as the wizard, but I'm not sure. )

I thought the boys and the girls would always be friends, but that didn't turn out to be so. We moved away when the boys were ten, and though we tried to stay in touch with the girls, it just didn't work out. They grew up and grew apart, the way people tend to do. But I'm sure they have fond memories of their childhood days together.

You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger

2010-10-27T10:33:00.005-04:00

The only complaint I have about Woody Allen's newest movie is that it's just a tad too long. Otherwise I completely enjoyed it. The writing is great, the acting's superb, it's extremely well directed, and I was amused.

Staring Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas, it's set in London (as all of Woody's recent films have been,) and it's all about an unhappy couple and her unhappy parents. They've all made mistakes and they're all a little desperate, which makes for the kind of characters I tend to find interesting - and is maybe why I've always enjoyed Woody's movies so much.

In the end it turns out that the most deluded people in this movie are the most happy - which I found pretty funny. But it only got a 48% on Rotten Tomato's Tomatometer. Such a shame. I mean, it's not one of Woody Allen's best, but it's better than most of the crap at the multiplex.

A few of the reviews I read complained that he leaves some of the story threads up in the air at the end. Well, jeesh! That's one of the fun things about this film. I enjoyed being able to wonder what would happen next.

Friday Favorite Photo: Garage door

2010-10-22T10:21:00.003-04:00

This photo was taken in the fall of 1999. This was the door to the garage of the house I grew up in. I took a lot of photos - with my film camera - of the house that fall. It was just before the city bought it and tore it down.

Left or right ?

2010-10-20T13:08:00.013-04:00

I was a passenger in my daughter-in-law's car on our way to a park recently when she asked, "Is it on the left?"

"Yes." I replied. But as she switched lanes I realized I was wrong; I hadn't consulted my wrist.

I have a scar on the inside of my right wrist that tells me which is my right hand, and therefore which way is right. I apologized to my DIL and explained what was going on. "You don't know your right from your left?" she asked (sounding just a tad judgemental.) And I had to say yes, it's true, much to my shame and dismay.

Just as some people make a writing motion to remember which is their right hand, I depend on my scar.

I got the scar when I was seven and accidentally put my hand through a pane of glass. And because of my early dependence upon it, I never learned right from left. If someone asks me which way to go I just reflexively flip my wrist and look at the scar.

I related this quirk to a friend a while back and she said, "But don't you have a sense of the right side of your body, and the left side of your body?"

I'd never thought of it like that.

I'd always thought of right and left as being something "out there." Not as something that was a part of me.

So, in order to be better at telling left from right I've been looking down at myself lately and consciously thinking "here is my right" and "here is my left." I've been trying to get this idea ingrained in my sense of what's what. And it has been helping; I'm much better at telling right from left than I used to be, except when the pressure is on.

It's just like math anxiety - which makes me unable to add 2 plus 2 if I'm under pressure to do so, or if someone is looking at me expectantly. My brain just refuses to concentrate in a situation like that. It's too busy thinking "Math - accckkkkkk!" to actually do any math.

Same goes for right and left. If I'm nervous or on the spot I'll get flummoxed. There have been times when I've consulted my wrist and still couldn't tell right from left because I was too distracted with embarassment to remember which hand the scar was on!

I spent a lot of time in community theater and always had a hard time knowing stage right from stage left. When I directed I had to keep a chart in front of me - a fact I kept hidden. My shameful little secret.

How do you tell right from left? Is it something you just never have to think about, or do you have some little reminder? How did you learn it as a kid? This must have been something I missed out on.

Factory Girl

2010-10-18T13:20:00.030-04:00

I just recently read the tragic life story of Edie Sedgwick.

Told entirely by the recollections of those who knew her, Edie - American Girl, published in 1982, is a fascinating, though sad, portrait of the "swinging" 60s.

Aristrocratic and vivacious, Edie was the "it girl" of the 60s, photographed for Vogue and Life. She became Andy Warhol's companion and star of his underground movies.

She was also the subject of some of Bob Dylan's songs. "People'd call, say, 'beware doll, you're bound to fall.' You thought they were all kiddin' you"

It's sad to read about Edie's drug abuse and emotional instability. What a shame and what a waste.

She was ruined by wealth and drugs and 15 minutes of fame. And when her 15 minutes were over there was no one to help her, or care for her - not her family, not a doctor, not a lover or a friend, and not even Warhol, who later claimed he hardly knew her.

Poor Edie.
She died of an overdose at the age of 28. Her story is tragic, but it's a mesmerizing account of an extraordinary time.

The best show on television

2010-10-16T14:25:00.000-04:00

The final episode of the fourth season of Mad Men will air tomorrow night and I'm already missing it. It's so unfair that television "seasons" are so short these days. Especially for shows as good as Mad Men. And especially for a season as good as this one has been.

Mad Men proves how good television can be. Not only are the vintage sets, costumes, and props a treat, but the characters are compelling and the writing is top-notch. There were two episodes this season that just awed me with their brilliance - the one all about Peggy and Don, and the one all about the women.

Watching the show you just know that some of the character's lives can't possibly turn out well, but you root for them anyway. You hope for them. And it's fun to know what's just around the corner for all of them, perched as they are in the middle of the 1960s. It might be called Mad Men, but the show has a lot to say about the lives of women in that time period, too.

Here's a cool little music video I found. It's a mash up of the Mad Men theme and "Nature Boy" (a song made famous by Nat King Cole.)

Alice Munro

2010-10-13T14:10:00.004-04:00

I recently finished reading Carried Away, a brilliant collection of short fiction by Alice Munro. It includes seventeen of her favorite stories from some of her earliest to her most recent, ending with "The Bear Came Over The Mountain" from which the movie Away From Her was made.

I'd heard of Alice Munro, but hadn't read her stories until I got this book and now I'm a huge fan. I'm a little sorry it took so long for me to discover her, but better late than never I guess. Alice Munro has been described as one of the best fiction writers of our age, and I'd certaily have to agree with that. She's now my all time favorite writer.

A Canadian, Alice writes about ordinary events in ordinary lives with amazing insight about human nature, and particulairly about the lives of women and girls.

She's been writing since her twenties, publishing fourteen books of beautifully constructed stories, and is now 79 years old.

"Memory is the way we keep telling ourselves our stories - and telling other people a somewhat different version of our stories." Alice Munro

Natalie

2010-10-11T18:23:00.006-04:00

Natalie is almost six months old now and a bright-eyed, beautiful, delightful baby girl. She's just learning to sit by herself, loves to chew on her toes, squeals with joy when she's excited, and sometimes makes little clicking sounds with her mouth. Natalie is very social and likes a lot of attention. She especially enjoys being bounced on a knee or smiling at her reflection in a mirror.

Cool Clouds

2010-10-07T11:31:00.008-04:00

BB & I went to see The Social Network last night (which I can highly recommend) and we were awed by these incredible clouds when we came out of the theater.

After the movie we went to National Coney Island - which I thought was looking pretty photogenic, too.

Art Prize

2010-10-04T16:37:00.029-04:00

Here are some of the photos I took at Art Prize - an unique art competition held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Begun last year, the art is displayed in venues across the city and the winner is determined by public vote.

This year there were 192 venues, 1713 artists, and 42,496 registered voters! The top prize of $250,000 is the biggest art prize in the world. It's an event that's had a tremendous impact on Grand Rapids. The place was thronged with people when we were there. Here's just a little bit of what we saw.

This is "Vision" by David Spriggs of Montreal. It's one of the "Top Ten" of the competition. Made from sheets of Plexiglas that have been marked somehow to make this effect, it's different from every side and angle. I thought it was amazing.

This is a detail of "Dream Collection" by Heather Holloman. The Mason Jars hold objects pertinent to the dreams described on the tags. It was fascinating and I wished I would have spent more time looking at it and reading the tags, but it was crowded, my feet were hurting, and I just wanted to get somewhere to sit down for a few minutes. Darn.

This is "Chroma Passage" by Janice Arnold. A hallway of the Grand Rapids Art Museum draped with handmade felt. I loved this.

Detail of "Chroma Passage"

This is "Lure Wave" by Beili Liu of Austin, Texas.

Also one of the Top Ten.

This is my favorite - "Svelata" by Mia Tavonatti of Santa Ana, California. A beautiful image of a woman and waves, it looks like a large painting, but when you get close you realize it's a mosaic.

Detail of Svelata:

This is "Salt & Earth: garden for Patricia" by Young Kim of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This image is created with salt and red clay. It was on the floor in a dark room, so hard to photograph, but amazing to see. This is also one of the Top Ten.

You'll find the Art Prize site at http://www.artprize.org/

Last bouquets of summer

2010-10-01T10:29:00.002-04:00

Picked in my garden yesterday

Disappointment

2010-09-29T09:42:00.013-04:00

After working as an extra on two episodes of the TV show Detroit 197 last summer I was looking forward to my network TV debut. But I was disappointed.

Even though we extras spent a 12-hour work day playing the parts of guests at a wedding in the episode that aired last night, very, very few of us actually ended up on TV for a very, very short time.

We worked that day in a ballroom completely decked out for a wedding with a huge cake, wrapped gifts, tables with centerpieces, etc... They had employed a band, brought in a troup of polka dancers, and all of us guests were dressed in our best. I was really looking forward to seeing it all on TV, but there was only the briefest shot of the ballroom with hardly any of the guests or the tables in view.

And this seems crazy to me when I think of all the time and effort that went into that faux wedding. There was a woman on the crew who's job it was that day to make the plates look like they'd been eaten on. She came around to the tables distributing plates with what looked like the remains of a dinner - little dabs of potato, some gravy, half a broccoli spear, etc... Another guy came around and half-filled our wine and drink glasses just so.

We'd all spent time standing in line that day waiting our turn with the wardrobe department to make sure we looked our best. I was instructed to wear more jewelry and so picked out some dangly earrings and a bracelet. This required filling out a special form to make sure the jewelery was returned, and standing in line again at the end of the shoot to do so.

So much attention to detail - for nothing! Now I feel silly for telling all my friends and family to watch the show. I was paid for my time as an extra that day, but the money is hardly the point. The point is the fun of seeing yourself on TV and in the movies! What a disappointment. There wasn't even a glimpse of me.

30 degrees in 3 days

2010-09-26T12:37:00.003-04:00

When I drove to Kalamazoo on Thursday it was 86 degrees. When I drove back to Detroit on Saturday it was 56. That's all I have to say today. It's really starting to look like summer might be over.

Photo journey: Oscoda

2010-09-20T16:34:00.019-04:00

I went on a little road trip last weekend to Oscoda - a resort town on the shore of Lake Huron. The occasion was the second annual September gathering of women from my former writing group. I hadn't seen some of them since last year, so it was nice to get reacquainted.

I leisurely traveled the back roads on my way up there, stopping to see what I could see along the way. I spent some time in Bay City - which sits at the inside base of Michigan's "thumb" - found some interesting objects along the roadside, and enjoyed my (all too short) time on the beach.

Bay City architecture

State Theater, Bay City

Bay City State Recreation Area

Pine after rain - Oscoda

Morning cloud bank - Lake Huron - Oscoda

My friend, Margery, on the beach

Urbex Detroit

2010-09-14T11:12:00.007-04:00

I recently found a great little video about Detroit.
You can see it by clicking here:

Detroit Video

This video is produced by a boot company. I guess they make these little documentaries about places that appeal to the type of folks who would wear their boots, in this case youthful urban explorers - the ones who like to explore abandoned and decaying urban places. The term they use for this is urbex, a hipster blending of the words urban and exploration.

We have lots of urbex photographers in Detroit. And I wish I was one of them, or could at least get one of them to take me along on an exploration some time. I'm fascinated by these places, and especially by the kinds of photographs they inspire.

Here's one by Derek Farr, also known as Detroit Derek:

There is debate over the worth of these types of photos. There are those who say they make Detroit's already bad image worse. And I tend to agree with that opinion, it is a shame that this is what most people think of when they think of Detroit, but there's no denying that the images are stunning. It's incredible to witness such great history and architecture gone to ruin. Not to mention it's perfect fodder for the kind of close-up abstracts and industrial photos I love to take!

Thanks Derek for letting me use your photo!

A finished story

2010-09-13T12:51:00.011-04:00

I finished a short story this morning, the third one for my MFA program in creative writing. It's due on Wednesday, and though I'll probably tweak it a bit between now and then, I'm thinking of it as DONE, and that's a great feeling.

The best thing about being in an MFA program is that it forces you to actually produce writing, and in my case to actually finish stories. Without the deadline there's no way I would have stuck with this story so diligently. I would have set it aside and gone on to something else when the going got tough.

Here's the beginning of the story I just finished:

"Nancy slams the trunk and that's it, she's all set. She turns and looks at the house one last time. Such a shame. The key is in her hand and she could still change her mind. She could dig in and fight, make a stand, make a noise. But for what? Hers is the last house left standing in the way. It's inevitable. It's gone. "

On Wednesday I'll submit this story, via email, to the three other students in my group and our faculty advisor. I'll get feedback within a week from my fellow students, and within two weeks from my advisor.

In the meantime I'll be writing critiques and continuing to work on my next story submission. It keeps me busy - keeps me from spending all my time with my new camera, which is what I'd rather be doing.

It's especially hard to write when I've got a new toy - the Canon digital SLR I've been craving. But I am definitely NOT complaining. It's true my time seems to go awfully fast these days, but it's consumed with creative pursuits.

Hello, my name is Hilary and I'm a fan sleeper

2010-09-10T17:45:00.014-04:00

There are many things about the end of summer that make me sad - the chill in the air, the grey skies, the socks on my feet - but worst of all is the end of sleeping with a fan in the window.

As a fan addict I'll still have a fan going at night all winter long, no matter how cold it gets, but it will be in a corner, on low. Not quite the same as a nicely whirring fan in an open window in summertime. AH! Sweet dreams.

I can't sleep without a fan. And I especially prefer one with a sufficient volume of whirring. It's the sound I seek, not the breeze. And nothing will do but a fan. No stupid white-noise machines for me, thanks.

The noise of a fan is soothing (as long as it doesn't rattle) and it also does a wonderful job of drowning out other sounds. This is especially helpful if you sleep with a snorer. I've been sleeping with a fan for so long now that I can't sleep in a silent room.

When I travel I take a fan with me. Which is easy if I'm going by car, but problematic by plane. I recently made a reservation at a motel in a distant state where I'll be spending a week in January. I called to ask if they have fans available for guests and the answer was no. In fact, I think they thought I was a little strange for asking. But aren't there millions of people just like me?

I Googled "fan sleeping" but didn't come up with much. The Facebook Fan Sleepers Appreciation Group only has 34 members, but 34,730 people clicked the like button for "Sleeping with a fan on even when it's cold, because you like the noise."

I know I'm not alone. And I think motels should provide fans to guests who request them in the same way they provide other necessary amenities. Why should we lug fans around with us, when we wouldn't be expected to pack a hair dryer or an iron? Especially since fans are so essential to our ability to sleep well!

I once stayed in a fancy hotel in Manhattan. We had fabulous views, a marble bath, white fluffy robes, etc... But no fan. So I called housekeeping to ask for one and in no time at all a tall standing fan with three speeds was delivered to me. That's how it should be! That place didn't even blink at my request.

Fan sleepers unite!

Identical cousins

2010-09-08T14:39:00.012-04:00

BB and I were talking about something yesterday that made the theme song of The Patty Duke show pop into my head...

"Here's Cathy who's lived most everywhere from Zanzibar to Barkley Square..."

But BB, being seven years younger than me, had never heard the song. She had no clue about the cousins who were "two of a kind." So, of course I had to Google it.

The Patty Duke Show ran from 1963 to 1966, years during which I was a pre-teen. (Whereas BB was still a toddler.) I hadn't thought about this show in years, but it was fun to be reminded of it.

I loved this show when I was a kid. I Loved the concept of cousins who looked exactly alike, and I was intrigued by the fact of one actress playing two roles. That wacky Patty was always getting into some kind of mess. But Cathy was so cultured and proper. And I wanted to be a little of both of them.

Hello? Hello?

2010-09-02T08:45:00.002-04:00

I sometimes have a recurring dream about phones that don't work. In the past these dreams have been about pay phones, or what we now call "land lines." But lately they've been about cell phones - a new twist on an old theme. Nice to know my dream life is keeping up with technology.

In these dreams I'm always trying to make an important call, but can't because something goes wrong. Either I can't remember the number, the phone doesn't work, or something's wrong with the connection. But, in spite of the difficulty, I keep trying to make my call, becoming increasingly frustrated in the process.

In one of my recent phone dreams there wasn't a "send" button on my cell phone. In another the top half of the cell phone kept separating from the bottom half.

The other night I had a dream that involved driving a canoe down the street. I was having a hard time keeping the canoe balanced. I needed to call BB and tell her about my difficulty. So I pulled the canoe over and tried to call her on my cell phone. I kept dialing BB's number but the call wouldn't go through. I was stranded in an area where my phone's signal couldn't be picked up.

I took this photo of a broken phone in Royal Oak. It's just the kind of phone I'd encounter in one of these dreams. I think it's funny that even though the phone is obviously broken, someone has hung it up.

Fun in The D with Benny B.

2010-08-29T11:38:00.017-04:00

Ben visited at Grandma's house for four days & we had a lot of fun.

Here he is hanging out at the pool:

Eating a big ice-cream cone:

Playing at the park :
Getting wet in the sprinkler:

And riding his bike:

Ben is a happy and easy going two-year-old. He's friendly, funny, and brave. He often says "Hi" to strangers, he's not afraid to try new things, and he's proud of his accomplishments.

He loves to look up outside to see airplanes and birdies. And he's especially interested in cars and trucks. There were some butterflies in the backyard while he was here and he did his best to try and catch them. He also enjoyed helping Grandma water the flowers.

Waiting on the world to change

2010-08-24T18:04:00.004-04:00

the daily grind

2010-08-23T11:34:00.004-04:00

I'm spending my days these days working on the writing of short fiction. This is extremely hard work that takes a tremendous amount of time, doesn't offer much hope of reward, and often feels silly and self-indulgent.

I'm reminded of that admonition to be careful what you wish for.

The daily life I lead these days would have seemed a dream to me in the past: Oh, The luxury to do nothing but write! The joy of creating stories!

Ha.

Rainy Dream Cruise

2010-08-21T16:04:00.015-04:00

BB and I have been in our new house for a little more than a year now - a fact I was reminded of by The Woodward Dream Cruise. This is a classic car event that takes place each August along Woodward Avenue through Detroit's northern suburbs.

I'd heard of it, but never actually see it or paid it much attention, and so last year, being unaware of how crowded and crazy it can be, I actually tried to go to a grocery store ON Woodward. Big mistake! There was nowhere to park and I was stuck in traffic for an hour.

This year, I knew better. BB and I took a side street to a Woodward Ave. coffeeshop, parked behind it, and got a great seat at a table by the window. It was fun to just sit and watch it all go by for awhile, but a shame it was so rainy and grey.

This was the view from our coffeeshop window this morning:

The parking lot behind the coffeeshop:

A lot of Detroiters complain about the Cruise - especially those who live around here. It does cause an awful lot of congestion and inconvenience. It's technically a one day event, but cars start cruising and viewers start viewing a week or more in advance.

If you live in our neighborhood I think it's expected that you'll dread the Cruise, but I had fun observing the little bit of it that I did. It certainly is festive and fun and the kind of thing you'd expect to find happening in the Motor City.

Trailer or Preview?

2010-08-15T12:36:00.004-04:00

Do you remember when movie trailers were called previews? I sure do. And I don't understand why we made the switch. "Preview" makes much more sense since it is, indeed, a pre view of a movie. And trailers don't follow behind movies, so why call them that?

By doing a little investigation (which means I looked it up on Wikipedia) I learned that ads for new movies did originally follow the main feature. But this practice didn't last long since most movie patrons left the theater before the trailers were over.

But even after they began being shown before the movie, they were still called trailers - by the movie industry. I think it's just us peasants who called them previews. Or if we were being really formal we might have referred to them as the "coming attractions. "

Now everyone uses the term trailer, which I think is too bad. But, whatever they're called, I enjoy them. And I love that you can find so many of them on You Tube these days.

Just for fun, here's a few from some of my favorite movies:

Friday Favorite Photo: August 1970

2010-08-13T12:25:00.015-04:00

This photo was taken in August of 1970. Forty years ago!!&%@#!!!
I was 15 and in my boyfriend's basement in Wyandotte, Michigan. Those are his brother's drums in the background, and his amp behind me. I spent a lot of time on this dirty, old furniture, hanging out while they jammed.

My pose in this photo is kind-of odd - all folded up. But I think it has to do with being self-conscious. I was probably feeling shy about having my photo taken. Or maybe I was just comfortable like that? In any case I'm glad this photo was taken, it's the only one I have of this place. And it's funny how it reminds me of my son's basement now - also full of old furniture and band equipment.

Inception

2010-08-12T09:27:00.013-04:00

I went to see the movie Inception because I thought it would be interesting and visually compelling, but it turned out to be one of the most boring movies I have ever seen.

I feel like I was duped. Swayed by the hype. I was led to believe that this movie would be something special, but it's just another action flick with LOTS of explosions, shooting guns, and chase scenes.

I was so bored I wished I was at home doing laundry.

What a waste of movie making technology. I couldn't even appreciate the special effects because I wasn't drawn into the story and didn't care about the characters. The premise was too far-fetched and implausible for me to be able to "suspend" my disbelief.

2010 Festie Moments

2010-08-10T14:32:00.026-04:00

The weather at this year's Michigan Womyn's Music Festival was especially hot and humid, but the mood was as joyous and inspirational as ever. As usual, the music was great, the food was delicious, the sights were delightful, and I had my fair share of "festie moments." My only regret is that I didn't take more photos, but here's a few of my favorites:

The 35th anniversary quilt. I thought it was one of the best ever.

A quilt is made each year at the festival

and raffled off to a lucky winner.

These are some of the breast casts done at the breast- casting

workshop - an interesting workshop to observe!

Hula-hooping has become popular at fest,

especially for the "Gaia Girls"

My favorite festie moments from Mich Fest 2010:

The 35th anniversary fireworks on Friday night
Meeting the woman who sang in the movie Winter's Bone
Handing out ice to women dancing in the sun
The sound of women howling

Friday Favorite Photo: Girl in green tutu

2010-07-30T10:50:00.002-04:00

I took this photo at the Michigan Womyns Music Festival in 2004. I was walking down the path past the porta-potties when this nice young woman asked if I would hold her tutu, being that it would not fit comfortably into the porta-potty and she didn't want to put it on the ground. "Sure," I said, thinking it was not everyday that one was asked to hold someone's tutu, much less a big green one, for a girl with pink hair.

And that's the thing about the festival... it's filled will lots of strange and wonderful little moments like this one. Moments that make you glad to be there in spite of the lack of flush toilets, electricity, or indoor showers.

For one week, each August, women from all over the world come to this place they call "Michigan." And since it's right here, not far from my neck of the woods, how could I not be there too?

The festival land is a place like none other in the world, a happy place of celebration and peace. It's a place where you can wear whatever wacky thing you want - or nothing at all. Sure, you have to stand in line under the blazing sun (or pouring rain) in order to be served food on a paper plate, but the food is great. And everywhere you go there are women smiling, women laughing, dancing, and of-course lots of music.

I love the fest but haven't attended in a couple of years, and I'm having a hard time getting myself in the mood for it this year. There are SO many other things I would rather be doing, not to mention how much I'll miss my own bed. But we've bought our tickets, so that's where we'll be for four days next week.

Damned distractions

2010-07-27T11:51:00.008-04:00

I'm distracted. And slightly anxious. Which is not a good state for creative writing. Or for the pleasures of summer.

I've been doing pretty good recently about sitting down to write every day. I'm working on some short stories. Not just story ideas, which I'm very good at, or the beginnings of short stories, which are fun to write, but whole, complete, polished stories with middles and endings, which I'm finding to be a challenge.

I need to have four stories done for my MFA program between now and November, and so far I only have one and 3/4ths stories completed. So, there's still a lot of work to be done. But, as I said, I'm distracted.

I'm in the middle of painting a room and organizing all our books in a new bookcase. There's neglected gardening that needs to be done. The house is a mess. We have no groceries. And we're expecting guests this weekend.

I also need to think about getting packed for the four day womyns music festival we'll be attending NEXT WEEK! I have to haul out all the camping gear, make lists, plan, shop, do laundry etc...etc...

And with all this on my mind it's nearly impossible to write & I hate it. Not to mention I might get called for some more TV show extra work. Though I don't resent that distraction as much as I do the rest.

I'm SO distracted and annoyed that it's caused me to rant and complain on my blog! Crazy. Oh! How I wish for long, lazy, quiet summer days. My favorite season and it's going so fast.

The Kids Are All Right

2010-07-25T15:58:00.010-04:00

I was really looking forward to seeing The Kids Are All Right, the movie about the children of lesbian moms who meet their biological father. But maybe I was looking forward to it a little too much. It's been so highly praised that maybe my expectations were a tad too high.

Not that I didn't like it, I did. It just that I can't help being bugged that in this mainstream, potentially Oscar quality movie about a lesbian couple, one of them ends up having a sex with a man. I completely buy that this is what happens, I completely understand it, and I get that it's vital to the plot, but it still bugs me.

I am also perplexed by the fact that the lesbian couple in the movie gets off on gay male porn. WTF?!%$! That doesn't make any sense AT ALL.

In spite of this & a few other little quibbles I have, it's a pretty good film and and I heartily recommend it. It's funny, touching, and the performances are great. Annette Bening plays a lesbian to perfection, and I appreciate that the lesbian characters aren't caricatures.

Detroit 187

2010-07-20T20:29:00.007-04:00

I spent the day on a boat yesterday, pretending to be a guest at a Polish wedding. It was a long, hot, grueling day, working as an extra for a new television show that will be on ABC this fall.

"Detroit 187" is a drama about homicide cops in Detroit who are having a documentary film made of their work - or something like that. I think. The show appears to be filmed, at least partially, in a documentary style. And it also seems to be partially humorous.

It doesn't sound like something I'd watch, but of-course I'm intrigued because it's set in Detroit. It's always fun to see familiar Detroit places in films and television shows, but it's too bad about how the city will be depicted.

I'm sure Detroit's image as a dangerous, dirty, dying place will be exploited as much as possible. And even though there is truth to that, it's not the whole story of Detroit. I'm afraid this show will just perpetuate an already bad image. And that's a shame. But I sure didn't hesitate to be part of it!

Weekend at the beach

2010-07-19T15:08:00.012-04:00

We spent the weekend in Saugatuck, a beach town on Michigan's west coast, and couldn't have picked a better weekend to be there. The water temp of the lake was 74 degrees and the waves were continually rolling in. It was gorgeous!

When we weren't floating over the waves with our "boogie boards," we were reading books under our umbrella (the blue and white one in the lower left corner of this photo.) Bliss.

I'd almost forgotten how magnificent it can feel to be in that cool, fresh, wavy water on a hot summer day. It's just like the ocean, minus the salt and the sharks.

The beach in this photo, Oval Beach, has been ranked one of the 25 best beaches in the world by Conde Naste Traveler. And it's just one of a string of incredible beaches and dunes along West Michigan's fabulous shoreline.

Here's a little beach video I shot on Saturday:

Joni

2010-07-13T00:17:00.005-04:00

I just finished reading an excellent book about Joni Mitchell. "Will You Take Me As I Am - Joni Mitchell's Blue Period" by Michelle Mercer. The book is a fascinating examination of Joni's development as an artist, focusing mainly on the years between the recording of Blue and Hejira.

Not a straightforward biography, the book delves into the influence of landscape on music, and the topic of "confessional" songwriting, but also explores her wanderlust, and relationships with Graham Nash, Leonard Cohen, James Taylor, and Sam Shepard, among others.

So, I'm feeling slightly Joni obsessed at the moment. I've hauled out all my old albums and I've been listening to my CDs with an ear for all the new Joni information and insight that I've absorbed. This is mostly a good thing, except that Joni's highly expressive, evocative music and poetic lyrics can have such an influence on my mood.

I'd like to write an essay about Joni and what she's meant in my life, but I've got other writing I need to be doing, and anyway dwelling on Joni might just take a little too much out of me right now.

"Like her, I had a dream to fly."

It's a scream!

2010-07-08T10:10:00.004-04:00

I'm not a fan of horror movies, but I'll be anxiously awaiting the release of Scream 4. It's currently shooting here in the Detroit area and I got to work as an extra in it yesterday. It was a long, exhausting day, on the set from 7AM to 7PM, wearing fall clothes in 90 degree heat, but I got to be in a scene with Courtney Cox!

Winter's Bone

2010-07-06T10:58:00.003-04:00

It was so hot yesterday we didn't even want to go to the pool! We went to a nice, cool movie theater instead and saw the Sundance Festival award winning movie, Winter's Bone.

Winter's Bone is the story of a 17 year old girl, Ree, who needs to find her meth cooking father or lose the family homestead, which he's put up as bond. As she goes looking for help among her kin the mystery of her father's disappearance unfolds.

This film is certainly deserving of awards and accolades, and it's certainly engrossing, but I can't say it's enjoyable to watch. Its depiction of poverty and violence in the Ozarks is stunningly realistic. The authenticity of the cast, the sets, and the dialogue is amazing.

Even though this movie took me to a place I didn't enjoy being, I was fascinated by the strong, smart, resourcefull character of Ree. She has your heart from the beginning and she's certainly someone to root for.

Miles of Aisles

2010-07-04T13:51:00.025-04:00

We went to see Eric Clapton, and opening act Roger Daltrey (of the Who), in concert last night at the Detroit area venue now known as the "DTE Energy Theater," but which will always be PINE KNOB to me.

Pine Knob is an outdoor amphitheater that seats more than 15,000 people and has presented popular musical performers since the early 70s. I hadn't been there in nearly 10 years, and had never seen Eric Clapton in concert, so it was a real treat.

It's amazing how well these guys in their 60s can still rock and roll. And amazing to see how much the audience has aged, too. It was so funny to see a sea of AARP card holders pumping their fists in the air to a performance of the Who's Teenage Wasteland.

This afternoon I Googled "Pine Knob" and was surprised and delighted to learn that it's pictured on the cover of Joni Mitchell's live album, Miles of Aisles. I'm a huge fan of Joni and have looked at that album cover countless times. Since the album was recorded in LA, I'd always assumed it was a photo of an LA venue. How interesting to learn that it's Detroit's Pine Knob - makes that album all the more special.

Clapton & Miles of Aisles photos from Google images

A day at the beach

2010-07-03T14:50:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I spent a wonderful day with Ben at the beach. I took him to a park called Ramona, which is where I used to take my sons when they were little. I hadn't been there in many years, so it was a nostalgic day. I'd forgotten how fantabluous a nice little lake can be on hot summer day. Ben had a great time and learned some new words: seaweed, sand, waves, and boat.