Master Debater

Flummoxed Lummox

Tonight, in the first debate, Kerry made a strong showing (for which I am heartily grateful). He started out visibly nervous, but got stronger and delivered a lucid and welcome message of change throughout the debate. Bush on the other hand, started out with his in his usual smug demeanor. As the debate went on, Bush lost his train of thought, his composure, and his breath. My dislike of Bush's personality and his policy (both at home and abroad) is so great that I am filled with schadenfreude watching him twitch while having his trademark smirk removed in verbal sparring. Kerry is a candidate who is not only articulate, but is also able to pronounce “nuclear.” I could get used to the idea of four years of clear speech coupled with the possibility of the U.S. regaining some of the respect that Bush has cost us throughout the world during his demonic possession of the presidency.



President Gollum

Memory Flood

Karen, Amanda and Brandy Alexander - 1985

An old friend of mine (Amanda) and I were e-mailing each other today and feeling our age. She has twin infants and Connor is 10 years old now. Recently, I was sorting out the pictures I took to my 20 year high school reunion in August, and I came across a picture of the two of us from 1985. Writing to Amanda today I told her about how that picture made me feel when I saw it again after so many years.

The kitten was christened Brandy Alexander because she was the same tawny color as our favorite alcohol/ice cream beverage at that time. Now that I think about it, 1985 was the only time in my life I thought it was normal to drink alcohol in the form of a shake. During that year we would go Bennigan's to get our favorite meal of fried cheese and illicit Brandy Alexanders whenever we had the money or access to a car (the Atkins diet had not yet been dreamed of). Our favorite waiter, Roberto, was not only gorgeous, but he had a great tuchis. Best of all, he never carded us. Then a very bad thing happened one day, we got the quiche instead of the fried cheese. The quiche was off, and I ended up with stomach cramps and nausea that was so intense, Roberto's spell was broken. I think It was more than a year before I went back to Bennigan's. When I did return, it was with a different group of friends and it wasn't the same.

Roberto served us the super sweet, mildly dizzying concoction while when we were 16 and 17 years old, which mortifies me when I think of it as a parent. When I think of it as a 17 year old girl, it occurs to me that it was more icecream than liquor and he was really hot (think young Antonio Banderas - before he could speak English). I know that technically that is not a valid excuse or explanation, but you should have seen him...

This is a portion of the letter:

Amanda,

...I found a picture of you and I the other day that gave me a "memory
flood" of you and I going to Bennigan's for fried cheese and brandy
alexanders from that good looking (but probably gay) waiter, Roberto.
The picture is of you and I and we're laughing and you are holding up
that kitten, Brandy Alexander. It seemed like it was yesterday, then it
occurred to me that Connor will be driving in 6 years! That seems crazy
to me. In a short 8 years, he can be drafted or he could be going to
college. Brace yourself, time is about to start flying about the time
the kids hit 5 years old. It's like you're in a time warp. The school
year comes and goes, then you blink and Summer is over and the cycle
starts again. At the same time everything is flying by for you, it
seems like it is standing still for the kids (just like it felt when we were
kids). The circle of life and all that...I may blog this.

I didn't mean to write so much, oops.

K.

Funny how things work out. We go from kids
trying to get away with all that we can,
to adults raising kids trying to get away
with all that they can.

Hell Bank Notes

Hell Bank Note

Back on the subject of Hell...

Connor went on an outing with his Bigs last weekend to a Buddhist Temple (the Texas Guandi Temple). He arrived home with a packet full of play money in which each bill was labeled "Hell Bank Note." The denomination of the bills is 10,000 dollars, which is odd enough, but play money called "Hell Bank Note" intriged me. I could only imagine it was somehow connected to "money being the root of all evil." Understandably, I had to research this money and I found several websites devoted to this subject, including: Chinese Ritual Papers, Hell Money, Washington Square Coin Exchange, and Hell Bank Notes (Hell Money).

Most of the information I found says that the money was burned or used in a rituals for the dead, and that it was named "Hell money" because missionaries told the Chinese people that they would "go to Hell" if they did not convert to Christianity. Being threatened with Hell apparently gave the Chinese the impression that Hell is the English word for "afterlife," which does not carry the same meaning for Buddhists as it does for Christians. It is missing the fear factor, so to speak. The missionaries probably should have been a little more specific about the nature of Hell, if they wanted to put the fear into their prospective converts. If you check out some of the links I posted, you will see that most of the money pictured on other sites is quite beautiful and very colorful. It is easy to understand why people collect Hell Money.

Friends of Coal

Beckley, West Virginia taken by Stephen Dukes

My nephew Steve is still in West Virginia on business and he tells me that he stumbled upon a cult, of sorts, the Friends of Coal. There is a full-blown media campaign trying to garner support for and indoctrinate the youth of West Virginia for their cause, coal. I know that the same type campaigns exist for electric companies and even for milk, beef and avocadoes, but somehow this campaign seems not quite as wholesome. It feels more like the type of campaign a tobacco company might have run in the 1950's to get young people hooked on cigarettes.

Young people growing up in West Virginia are faced with some pretty tough choices. The Clash summed up the situation when they asked, "Should I Stay, or Should I Go?" West Virginia is having difficulty keeping their young people in the state after they graduate from high school. Steve made a valid point when he asked, "What's the point of educating the young people in the state, if you are just going to send them down into the mines after graduation?" According to the Bureau of the Census, West Virginia is one of the poorest states in the union and there are several problems facing West Virginia that are foreign to anyone who grew up in a less poverty stricken state. There just aren't a lot of employment options in West Virginia that pay well enough to support a family.

The Friends of Coal is similar to Houston Proud (for those of you who remember the dark days after the oil bust when Houston needed a morale booster). The difference between the organizations being that Friends of Coal is cheerleading for the Coal Industry and Houston Proud was boosting the city with a focus on morale and volunteerism. Friends of Coal tries to be the answer to all of the dilemmas facing West Virginia; whether it's the stemming the flight of their youth to ensure future coal miners (you can't expect today's coal miners to live forever), reforming coal's dirty reputation as a pollutant (coal, the clean burning fuel), or understating the impending depletion of coal as a natural resource (never mind that it is a non-renewable fossil fuel), the Friends of Coal is the solution to the problem. The report, Coal in West Virginia, by Dr. Stuart McGehee on the Friends of Coal website (p. 34 of the Fact Book 2003) shows a nice interplay between the truth, and the fantasy that they are presenting as fact. One paragraph begins, "Although coal mining was dark, dirty, and inherently dangerous, many miners enjoyed their day's work." Being glad to have a job and enjoying back-breaking labor and the anticipation of black lung, are two entirely different things. It's a shame that in such a beautiful state with such hard-working people noone has found a way to help its young people avoid life in the mines.

Hell's Window

Hell's Window

For weeks now, through the use of subtle merchandising techniques (over kill), retail stores have been telling me that Halloween is close at hand. So, I thought I would post about one of my favorite things in Houston, a kind of year-round reminder of Halloween. St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church was remodeled a few years ago, and the result included the addition of the window pictured above. It is pretty creepy to see the skeletal figure looming spider-like above the damned. The fact that it is in a church window facing a busy intersection makes it wonderfully ironic. The method used to etch the window (EORR) causes it to only be visible in the right conditions, like an optical illusion. It is located below the stained glass windows done by Wilbur H. Burnham called "Ascension" and "Resurrection. They are brightly colored and vivid in comparison to the depictions of Hell below them and Heaven above them.

Bubbling Up

Last month, Marilyn and Connor and I went to the Art League for the Faculty/Student Exhibition because an old friend of mine, Beth Jones, had a piece in the show. We all enjoyed it and I have been meaning to let her know that we went and we liked her piece, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I decided to include it in my blog. It's called Bubbling Up and the medium is Encaustic.


Bubbling Up by Beth Jones 2004

Pyre

This was taken in August 2003 at my brother David's home in Little Rock.


Pyre by Finijo

Effervesce

This was taken 2002 at our pool.


Effervesce by Finijo

Resistentialism

I'm not sure if this is the right word to use to describe my current predicament, but I think it fits. Resistentialism is the theory that inanimate objects demonstrate hostile behavior against us. Right now this applies to my blog and trying to figure out how to change my background and customize this thing. If Marilyn can do it, I can do it, right? The worst thing that can happen is that I break my blog. Fingers crossed.

In the beginning...
I have been meaning to set up a web page for several years now, but never seem to find the time. Tonight, however, I find myself inspired by techie friends, my sister and a 14-year-old (David) to get off my butt and just do something. The result (for better or worse) is Bricolage.

My nephew, Steve, is in West Virginia on a business trip this week, and he happened upon a wonderful photography studio, Grubb Photo, in Bluefield, West Virginia. This is a link to their amazing picture titled: Fog Over East River Mountain located at: www.grubbphoto.com/images/fog1.jpg It shows the fog rolling over the mountains and out over the valley. It looks like an ocean wave enveloping the town in the valley. It's beautiful.

My Uncle Gary also owns a wonderful photography studio (in Fairmont, West Virginia). It is called Smile Photography and a link to his website is located at:
http://www.smilephotowv.com/introduction.htm He does beautiful portraits.