Red Elephant

Treasure Trove

Just got back from my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary party at my parents' house. Man, what a day. It went a lot longer than I had anticipated, but it was their day, so I have no complaints. The food was good, the company was better, and the memories were amazing.

For starters, I found my grandparents' old 8mm projector and a whole bunch of old family home movies. And yes, they are movies and not videos. So, we sat back with the clickety-clack of an old projector, some golden oldies on the stereo, and watched some old films.

We started with some old vacation shots, trips to Minnesota, back before my parents were dating, to some places I've never been, much less heard of. Films of my mom, my uncle, their parents, and their dogs -- half Chihuauas. Pretty much a trip.

The real gems were the films of 'XMAS 1962,' my dad & uncle's state championship for baseball, and my mom's senior prom. The Christmas film was pretty amazing, as there were all sorts of great aunts & uncles, some of whom are dead. There was also footage of my great-grandpa Frank, who I've heard about but never really seen before.

Then there was seeing my mom as a teenager, and a prom queen no less, on a date with some guy who was not my father. My dad was on the same reel, as he was the same age as my uncle Joe, Mom's bro. There's mom in a prom dress with long white gloves. There's my dad at about fifteen or sixteen in a black suit with a skinny black tie. And there's my grandma with 60s glasses and a killer lavender dress.

It was really amazing. I've never been much for home movies, but then I never knew these existed. It's one thing to see pictures of your parents as kids, but another thing altogether to see them getting ready for dates, fishing, or playing ball. It was amazing to watch them as they saw people they hadn't seen in years, sometimes struggling for names, sometimes instantly transported as the faces reminded them of other stories.

I'd really like to restore these old films, maybe transfer them to DVD for the rest of the family. As for me, I'd rather keep the old school projector and make that part of the experience. There's something about the medium that has it's own charm.

Furthermore, my Aunt Karan -- dad's sister -- was reminded of some old films from her mom & dad, both of whom have passed on. She doesn't even know what was on them, and had no way to know until now. So, that's another exciting development.

And, for what it's worth, I hope to find the old camera and maybe shoot some footage myself. I never put much stock into home movies before. However, there is something about it, about knowing that your parents were once your age, that they were young & beautiful, that they partied hard in their own way.

And there's the simplicity of how it can bring back memories. I don't have any home videos from my childhood, not that I regret not having them. But I think there is something to be said for preserving. Not spending all your time trying to capture every memory, but for saving a choice few & letting time dictate what memories it will bring back.

Happy 100 R.E.

'Books' was my 100th post. Go me.

As with all milestones, birthdays, & newyears, I'm a little reflective. Or at least, moreso than usual. I'm thinking today about the difference light makes. The last three living situations, two apartments and a house, have all been based around good natural light. Like a little plant, I need the sun to be happy and produce.

So, here is my red dining room. You can see how the morning light makes it a perfect place to enjoy an iced coffee & write a little bit in the morning. I'm in t he process of making my basement as hospitable. Max and I are figuring out a way to set up a little screen printing station in the basement. Many thanks to the Aethetic Apparatus guys for their presentation a few months ago on what they do, and for Kate for bringing them to Nebraska to speak.

I'm also thinking of getting a letterpress for the basement thanks to Bennett who has the connections. Bennett has also started a graphic design weblog and invited me to be an author. I'm flattered & hope to use that as a forum for my design ideas, since my own project [Sharecrop] is still on the back burner. Once I can move beyond just a bunch of talk & sponsor more art/design projects, then we'll see. We'll see about funding, grants & everything else. But for the time being, I'll keep writing.

Many thanks to everyone who reads, comments, offers suggestions, and links. I look forward to continuing to use this wonderful opportunity to write, share stories, pictures [camera soon] and ideas. Cheers to you all. And extra special thanks to Missy for the music mix you sent. Listening to it this weekend -- right now, actually -- and it's quite lovely.

Little Victories

Apologies for the severe lack of posting. Work has been intense, and I've had precious little time to myself lately. My writing has suffered, so I'm going to make that a priority for the time being. Going to get up early and freewrite in the mornings, which should lead to more entries and more writing in general.

Did some work on the house this weekend. Lots of cleaning on Saturday. Little fixits today. I finally got my bedroom door to stay closed. Basically: Old house, door latch & striking plate don't line up any more, move striking plate down, hope I didn't chip/sand away any lead paint.

Managed to clean my desk some. Most of it doesn't belong there, but in the file cabinet or elsewhere in the house. The desk should be a work space, not just a bunch of piles. Made lunch, even if it was only spaghetti & mushrooms.

Insight of the week for those of us who think too much: sometimes it's just better to act. I used ask myself, "What do you want?" and get stuck on that. Seems to me that assumes an almost constant desire. The little Buddhist in me wants to focus on being present, rather than wanting something every waking moment.

Meanwhile, I owe a big shout out to b3ta.com [Bronson's favourite site] for making me aware of Redubbed GI Joe PSAs. These are some of the funniest vids I've seen in a long time. Watching them late at night when you're giddy anyway doesn't hurt.

Finally, my iBook is seemingly better. The screen lines have gone away tonight and the power cable isn't acting up. I don't know if this is because I'm typing from my bed & it likes sitting on the comforter -- that is, a cushy surface somehow holds/pushes the power cords & whatnot into place -- or if there's some other karma at work.

All That and Dim Sum

This Sunday, some friends and I went to Back to Guangzhou for lunch. Simply, it was one of the best meals I've had in years, a true feast. For starters, they do Dim Sum, most of which is gorgeous, and the presentation was excellent.

We kept them pretty busy between all the food and the tea ceremony. We were pretty busy ourselves. It was really a cultural experience as we had the food and tea explained to us by "Angel" -- her nametag was in Kanji and translated into English. She was actually from Guangzhou, and came over specifically to perform the tea ceremony. She was very informative and responsive to our questions.

I have Christian to thank for the restaurant. I started putting the gathering together without an actual restaurant. While he couldn't go, Christian was able to remember a newspaper ad from a week and a half ago [!] that mentioned a new restaurant... The rest is history, and perhaps the beginning of an occasional Sunday tradition.

Constitutional

This morning, I went for a walk. I intend to make this a regular Sunday practice, weather permitting. Wandering time is very important to me, and it is one of the first things I do when moving into a new place. My first night in the house, I took Xara out for a walk. [Xara is my roommate Christopher's dog.] We spent a good half hour nosing around the neighborhood and getting to know each other. Likewise today, I went to survey the lay of the land.