This image caught our eye on a poster in Montreal. It’s pretty tough to beat as an arresting political image. Biking in Montreal was a joy compared to any American city I know of. That’s likely due to the efforts of the many bike riders there.
Sarah and I had much too good a time in Montreal to blog about it while there. The people were wonderful, the city beautiful and vibrant. I especially want to thank the young fellow below who leapt into my frame, turning my dull crowd-on-street shot into a demonstration of my photographic skill at capturing the antic moment.
Sarah and I are vacating in Montreal this week and enjoying it immensely. We time-traveled to 1967 to take this shot. I’d write more, but we’re off to rent bikes and exhaust ourselves.
The flagging God campaign suffered disastrous numbers in the last round of polling. As one pollster put it, “Basically, no one wants God for President.” Theories abound as to why, despite his overwhelming name recognition and unrivaled influence, that this would be true. Some are made uncomfortable with his historically patriarchal, anti-democratic views, while others are worried he’ll be so busy watching out for the fall of every little sparrow that he won’t keep his eye on the stock market. But issues aside, God’s biggest problem, all agreed, was that nobody can identify with him, feel like he’s one of them—except for a few delusional paranoids in high-security mental institutions. He brings no built in constituency. Women married to faithless men can identify with Hillary, people who always have to spell their names like Barak Obama, and hispanic guys with anglo names can feel a particular bond with Bill Richardson. But who can identify with God? He’s it. The only one. How many people, at the end of the day, can honestly say they feel Almighty? “Monotheism might be good theology,” one campaign worker who asked to remain anonymous complained, “but it gives you basically nothing toward building a constituency. Combine that with no party affiliation and downright hostility to raising money, and we’re basically screwed.” As if matters weren’t bad enough for the God Campaign, God’s running mate, Santa Claus, is under investigation for possible lead paint use at his secret North Pole workshops. The elves, thought to be a sure endorsement for the God/Santa ticket, recently endorsed John Edwards instead, citing his stand on labor issues.
God, with his usual off-the-cuff style, brushed off any concerns about his poor showing in the polls. “What do you mean there’s no one like me? What about David Petraeus? From everything I hear, he seems like my kind of guy. Smart as the dickens.”
We paddled up to Bosher’s Dam this weekend. The river’s so low it’s uncharacteristically easy to paddle upstream if you don’t mind getting snagged on an occasional rock. Here’s the dam and the fish ladder (not in operation at the moment). You’d think those would be awful big steps for fish.
It occurs to me that Nettie Potts might make a good character name, but today I’m passing on medical advice. As one of those uninsured Americans, I’m always looking for cheap, effective alternatives to prescription drugs. After my doctor tried me on a couple of different nasal sprays to combat chronic congestion ($110+ for a tiny bottle with side effects), he suggested I try sinus irrigation based on the testimonials of a few of his patients. Basically, you pour water in one nostril, and it comes out the other. You can add salt and baking soda to the water to increase its efficacy. It works like a charm, costs almost nothing, and has no side effects that I’ve discovered. I bought a SinuCleanse pot from Walgreens which comes with measured packets of salt and soda. When those ran out, I mixed my own using a kitchen scale. If you find yourself snuffling or constantly clearing your throat, try a neti. I use one daily.
Greeting from my researches. I’ve been busily writing this week. Something about this novel keeps leading me to characters who fall from high places—Lucifer, Kong, Jezebel. Jezebel’s tossed from a window by some of those believers in the one true God who teaches us to love one another. Go figure.
I turned 60 yesterday, and Alice turned 15. That’s right. I’ve spent a quarter of my life with this dog. We had a great party in a house cleaner than anyone could remember it ever being. This is one of my favorite shots of the party animals:
The painting on the wall is of Sarah’s mother when she was about sixteen. The story goes it was painted by a young man smitten with her. Everyone assumes it’s a painting of Sarah at sixteen.
While it’s not my favorite Jack Black performance—like he’s making fun of the character he’s playing as he’s playing him—and the middle gets flabby falling in love with its own monsters, this is one of the best remakes ever done. This version is a bona fide love story, and you don’t get much more star-crossed than the pair pictured above. As long as he’s with Ann and Kong, Peter Jackson’s version has me captivated, and once Kong’s in a lovingly recreated New York this version delivers the best last act of the three. Kong’s death brings the big tears for me. One of the many things I like about the film is that Kong is made more sympathetic by making him more simian. Someone spent a long time watching gorillas. Ann and Kong’s relationship is deliciously complex and utterly persuasive, to me at least. (But then I do have a thing for beauty and the beast stories). I also like the way Jackson has used his predecessors, alluding to their best moments and making them his own. I’m a Kong slut. I love all three, though in future viewings of this one, I’ll pick and choose my way through the monster-muddled middle.
The first and only time I’d seen this version before was with my stepdaughter Ginger in 1976 when it came out. We saw it at the Campus Theater in Denton, Texas. I remember we both liked it and had a great time. More than thirty years later, I still love it. Pauline Kael gushed over it, and I pretty much agree with everything she said. The image of Kong in the bowels of an oil tanker (above) is simply terrific.
For the Kael review and lots of other cool stuff, I recommend Kingdom Kong, a swell site dedicated to the film.