29 November 2011

Late Onset Adult Attention Deficit Disorder


I'm wondering if I might have at least a touch of this disease. Check out this website. Might be enough there to get my wife off my case. It might explain why Sudoku puzzles seem to be getting more difficult.
Or why I need to write down more than three items to pick up from the grocery store.

28 November 2011

Furthest Phoenix II


For confirmation of my 'human-scale' comments in the earlier blog on downtown Phoenix herewith more photos. The above comes from a collection of nudes of all ages and shapes, delightfully cavorting in the park-like setting of the Herberger Center and St Mary's Basilica. Not to be left out are the fortunately clothed. The lady below was singing Christmas carols in a nice contralto voice.



This is one of the entrances to the park. In the background is an entrance to the Herberger Theatre Center, a surprisingly pleasant and intimate place, inside and out. And below is a part of the small plaza bounded in part by Hooter's of fried pickle fame.

26 November 2011

We Venture To Furthest Phoenix

Specifically, to the Herberger Theatre Center, which seems to be situated in the middle of downtown Phoenix, more or less in the middle of the downtown Phoenix campus of Arizona State University.

The play on offer was Yasmina Reza's brilliant God of Carnage. Check out the Wikipedia website as well as the Arizona Theatre Company website which has a nice PDF on some of the more esoteric mentions and allusions in the play. This is 90 minutes, without interruption, of high tension drama, often producing nervous laughter from the enthusiastic audience at this Saturday matinee.

Apparently successful in the original French, the translation sounds well in English too, though I probably will continue to be put down by wife Carol if I cite this play as defense for my own scatological language.

The show was successful with me because it affirmed at least two of my longest-held prejudices as well as one of my more recent irritations.

These are, for those who I haven't had a chance to talk to:

1) that our children always expose the bad people we really are, even though we have been able to cover up these blemishes by our 30s and 40s;

2) that alcohol use leads to surprising truths—'in vino veritas'—and

3) that cellphones are the work of the devil, especially when those who use them in civilized company do not realize what pricks they are.

Worth seeing. Amy Resnik, Bob Sorenson, Joey Parsons, and Benjamin Evett are the players. All do excellent work by themselves and even better do they play with each other.

Nearby buildings appear to be human-scaled and includes St Mary's Basilica, to the left, started in 1880 and dedicated in 1881, the 2nd oldest church in Phoenix.

We saw a young-looking wedding party wandering around, apparently fresh from the Franciscan basilica honoring The Blessed Virgin's Immaculate Conception, while we shared an excellent fish sandwich and order of fried pickles at the downtown Phoenix Hooter's. This last dish is heartily recommended whenever you are in the vicinity of a Hooter's and have a friend or two to share it with.

13 November 2011

We Have Arrived

In early November we cranked up the old Lincoln Navigator with Maggie the Dog in the rear seat, fully loaded with clothes, silverware, and many odds & ends that didn't make it on the United Van Lines truck which was packed in early October and finally got under way in early November.

We headed south via Bozeman, West Yellowstone, and then joined the I15 near Pocatello. We should have stopped in Ogden, north of Salt Lake City before dark but plunged on to Provo in the dark with all sorts of road construction. The next couple of days were easier as we continued down the 15 until we had to head east around the Grand Canyon. We finally stopped in Page AZ on the 2nd night on the advice of a friend, and then arrived in Sun City West on Saturday, November 5th. We kind of camped out for a few days because the gas had been turned off. Cold water wakes you up quickly.

The movers arrived on November 10th. What with unpacking and trips to Target, Best Buy, Safeway, Walmart; Bed, Bath & Beyond; CostCo and I am sure a few other places all supplying the necessities of moving into a new house.

We managed to find some churches: Crown of Life LCMS for Carol, and Prince of Peace RC for me.

Downtown Billings in the SummerTime

Downtown Billings in the SummerTime
At The BrewPub on Broadway

Downtown Phoenix

Downtown Phoenix
Downtown Phoenix in the Winter Time

Good Cheese Here

Good Cheese Here
Vermont Cheddar & Minnesota Blue

TAKE TIME FOR PARADISE

TAKE TIME FOR PARADISE
Dehler Park, Billings MT, July 2008 This is what Bart Giamatti recommends for good mental health.

Me and Joan

Me and Joan
Early elderly and middle middle age: We May Know Something You Don't

Mrs America

Mrs America
Fortunately these girls had a good-looking mother

Rimrocks @ Billings MT

Rimrocks @ Billings MT
“In beholding old stones we may feel our anxieties about our achievements–and lack of them–slacken . . . Vast landscapes [and seascapes] can have an anxiety–reducing effect similar to ruins, for they are the representatives of infinite space, as ruins are the representatives of infinite time, against which our weak, short-lived bodies seem no less inconsequential than those of moths or spiders.”—Alain de Botton in Status Anxiety

Easter Sunday at St Patrick's Co-Cathedral

Easter Sunday at St Patrick's Co-Cathedral
12 April 2009

Pleasant Hillside at Hustisford, AKA The Grassy Knoll for you conspiracy buffs

Pleasant Hillside at Hustisford, AKA The Grassy Knoll for you conspiracy buffs
A Lot of Muellers Are Buried Here
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