Ian Wrisley's Voice of Reason

On Tuesday, March 29, 2005 during my drive home from work, I was listening to All Things Considered on NPR. I heard the most novel argument in favor of keeping the Ten Commandments off of government property, and I was surprised to find that the opinion being shared was that of Ian Wrisley, an Evangelical minister from Crested Butte, Colorado. It was surprising to me that in spite of his being an Evangelical minister, his opinion was expressed so clearly and logically that I got it. I usually have a hard time listening to people who are religious (or who claim to be religious), because more often than not their preaching seems to me to be very judgemental and hypocritical. I wanted to put the transcipt of his piece in my blog, but NPR only posted the sound byte of Ian Wrisley speaking his piece, so I transcribed it myself. One of the reasons I love NPR is that they consistently deliver surprising content, because their stories are interesting and they aren't afraid to tell stories from alternative perspectives.

My best attempt at transcribing Ian Wrisley's thought provoking editorial:

Dorothy Sayers called it a great mistake to present Christianity as something charming and popular. Maybe that’s my problem with this whole Ten Commandments controversy. People who want the Commandments on government property are forced to argue the commandments belong there precisely because they are not religious. They talk about the Commandments as a cultural, legal, and historical document. This line of thinking might keep God in the Pledge of Allegiance, but only as an impotent artifact of history, not the Lord of history. It’s a hollow victory.

When a government adopts religious symbolism it ought to scare the bejeezus out of religious people. Why? Because governments can’t be trusted with metaphysics, that’s why. When I was in 8^th grade, our principal said the Lord’s Prayer over the loudspeaker everyday. In his mouth it was just another means to control unruly adolescents. Communion with God lost out. When governments co-opt religious symbols, they aren’t giving legitimacy to religion, they’re using religion to prop up their own legitimacy. What’s most confusing to me is that the people clamoring for religious symbols on government property are my fellow Evangelicals.

It was after all a group of Baptists who needed Thomas Jefferson’s reassurance that the government would keep out of religion. His response to them gives us that great phrase, “A wall of separation between Church and State.” The Baptists (and the rest of us) were protected from the encroaching hand of government. 200 years later, Evangelicals are asking the government to encroach.

Blasphemy is a word we Evangelicals don’t use much anymore. It means to make secular that which is sacred. Posting the Ten Commandments on government property is a case study in blasphemy. As a Christian, I find The Commandments too sacred to be possessed by any government. If anything, the faithful belong to The Commandments, but that’s another conversation.

Blah!!!!

Cubist Woman by Cecil Touchon

When I first saw this painting, I thought she looked ashamed, but I'm home today, sick; and now I think she looks how I feel - ill. I've got bronchitis and I feel like I'm green and have a HUGE stopped up nose! BLAH!!!!!

Shaun of the Dead

For movie night with Mike, we chose Shaun of the Dead, a comic zombe movie. We laughed all the way through. The scene where they try to kill zombies with LP's is hilarious. The blood and gore is over the top, so it wasn't that bad (except for the homage to Dawn of the Dead entrail eating scene - yuck!). We saw a couple of the actors from the British series The Office in the film, but the rest of the cast was unknown to us.This is a clever film, so if you are looking for some laughs ,Shaun of the Dead is a great pick.

Death Race 2000, Rear Window, and Calendar Girls

Death Race 2000 is a cult flick written and directed by Paul Bartel and produced by Roger Corman. If you're a Corman fan, then you know his a what to expect from his films, low budget, bad dialogue, and scantily clad women. The director, Paul Bartel, has a fiendishly wicked sense of humor. The film was released in 1975, but was set in a nihilistic future, a dark idea of the world in the year 2000. The Death Race is a bloody cross-country race in which the goal is not only to reach the finish line first, but also to reach the finish line with the highest body count. The drivers are worshipped, the fans are brainwashed sheep, and the Death Race is government sanctioned. Throw in some rebels trying to sabotage the race and it makes for an entertaining and fascinating 79 minutes. David Carradine, Simone Griffith, and Mary Woronov star.

Rear Window is one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films, because I find the world he created in the courtyard of the apartment buildings fascinating. Hitchcock was master filmmaker, and he often incorporated a challenge into his films, like shooting the entire film in one continuous shot like he did in Rope. In Rear Window, the film begins with one continuous shot around the courtyard, and continues with all but a few shots from the perspective of one apartment. This technique added to the suspense and the artistry of the film. Rear Window showcases the talent of James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Raymond Burr, and the film has the look of a classic Hitchcock film, because he tended to collaborate with the same talent from one film to the next. For Rear Window, the editing was done by George Tomasini and the costume design was done by Edith Head, bringing about much of the classic feel of the film. I love this film.

Calendar Girls tells the true story of a women’s group in Napley, England whose middle-aged members pose nude for a fundraising calendar. This is a funny movie, a great story, and it stars a group of wonderful actresses, including: Helen Miran, Julie Walters, Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, Celia Imrie, Geraldine James, and Penelope Wilton.

Exploding CD's (or You'll put your eye out, Kid!)

Exploding CD

We discovered Friday that our old computer was no longer upgradeable (a nicer way to say it is obsolete), so Saturday we purchased a new Power Spec 8737 with an 80 GB hard drive and a gorgeous 19 inch, flat panel monitor. Now Connor and Marilyn can play their new software that does not work on the old computer.

Yesterday while Connor was honing his Math skills with his 5th Grade Adventures CD ROM, I heard a loud POP! I rushed over to Connor and he looked really surprised and started saying, “I didn’t do it.” He noticed that his program was frozen, so I told him to open the drive and reinsert the disc. When he opened the drive, the CD fell out in pieces and shards. The picture above shows what could be removed. Connor saw the look on my face and immediately proclaimed his innocence. Just as I was about to kill him, the phone rang – saved by the bell. Marilyn was calling to tell me something, but she was preempted by me hissing through gritted teeth, “YOUR boy just slammed the drive shut and shattered a disc in the new computer!” She was surprised, but immediately said, “Don’t kill him; he may not have done it. I saw this once on Mythbusters.Sometimes a disc spins too fast or it's defective and explodes.” I couldn't wrap my brain around the possibility that he had not done something to cause the catastrophe that was now lodged in tiny pieces in the D drive, so I sent him upstairs to take a shower while I tried to calm down. We managed to get the drive replaced (long story) and I have researched the phenomenon of exploding CD’s and found that it happens more than anyone would imagine. I also remembered that I once saw a CD in a parking lot that had been run over and wasn't in nearly as many pieces as the one that met it's demise in our D drive. I found a link with many posts from people who have shared this experience, so not only is Connor off the hook for the exploding CD incident, I am grateful that he wasn’t hurt by flying CD ninja stars.

Now the new computer is restored, everyone is happy, and all is well…except that I got a “Fatal Exception” on my Palm and I have to figure out how to fix. On to the next tech dilemma…

The Forgotten, The Exorcist (The Beginning), and Wicker Park

The Forgotten tells the story of a woman's grief after the death of her son, or does it? What at first appears to be a character driven study on loss and anguish, turns into a sinister sci-fi thriller. Juliane Moore portrays the mother who cannot accept the loss of her son, and Anthony Edwards plays her husband who seems content to forget about their son. Gary Sinise is her psychologist, and Dominic West plays a man who's daughter was killed in the same plane crash that killed Julianne Moore's son. The plot has interesting twists and some of the special effects are quite striking. The Forgotten is a suspenseful, well acted mystery.

The Exorcist (The Beginning) was a huge surprise. I was expecting complete crap, but this film was much better than I anticipated. I didn't realize until the credits rolled that it was directed by Renny Harlin, or that Caleb Carr was one of the writers. Given that it is the prequel to the famous/infamous novel and movie, The Exorcist, this film had great potential for disaster. It stars Stellan Skarsgard as a younger Father Merrin who has lost his faith, and it explains how he finds his way back to the church and becomes an exorcist. The female lead is Izabella Scorupco who works tirelessly as a doctor treating the poor in Africa. The plot is suspenseful, but this movie does not have the shocking possession scenes of the Exorcist. If you are expecting to have the daylights scared out of you, you will be disappointed, but for some good suspense and an interesting story, this is a good film.

Wicker Park was accidently returned to Netflix before we watched it - oops! Not sure how it happened, it looked like an interesting movie, back in the queue it goes.

Steve Miller Band at the Rodeo

My awesome assistant, Tammey, gave me 4 tickets to see The Steve Miller Band at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for March 14th. We got the tickets in time to re-gift them for Connor's 11th birthday, so he got to invite David and Skyler. After a long day at work I picked up all of the kids and headed to the Reliant Stadium to hit the midway Carnival, have dinner, and see the show. Knowing how the rodeo works (it's always running behind schedule, so the performances start later than they are scheduled), I decided to let the kids set the pace and we headed for the carnival. We went to the haunted house first, and it was about as short and lame as a ride can be. The scariest thing about the Haunted House was the carny who worked the control switches; he was a swarthy, skinny Peter Lorre type with the voice, accent, and bug eyes completing the scary picture.We continued through the carnival and the kids rode a couple more rides and we all went on the Ferris Wheel, which is very enjoyable because you get a great view from the top of the city at night, but again had a scary carny at the help; this time it was a Sling Blade type.

We had a lot of fun, until I talked the kids into riding the swing. I thought this ride would just go around and around and we could all fly through the air for a few minutes and have a chance to unwind. Apparently the ride operator had a different idea. He got us off the ground and then set the controls to alternate between warp speed and slightly faster. He seemed to particularly enjoy lurching the swing forward then easing off the gas only to lurch us forward again. In between the lurching, it was exhilarating, but I was dizzy and a little nauseous when the ride ended, so I watched from the sidelines as the kids finished off the rest of the ride tickets.

When the tickets were gone, we got some burgers and sat down to eat. With all of the carnival smells thankfully covering the Livestock Show smells, we were inundated with the aroma of pizza, BBQ, cotton candy, and funnel cakes. We settled on a couple of funnel cakes for desert and then set off for the concert. We arrived at about 8:40 PM for the 7:00 PM show only to find that the rodeo was still going on. Not being a big fan of the rodeo, I was not thrilled to find that we were in time to see the calf scramble, trick riding, and the bull riding. I had hoped to miss the animal events, because I worry about the animals and/or the people being injured. That said, it is not surprising that I was got gladitorial vibe sitting up in the Reliant Stadium looking down on the daring feats of man versus beast. I never really felt that way when we went to the rodeo in the Astrodome, but it was a little creepy for me this time around. David got a nice surprise when he found his friend, Meg, sitting several rows in front of us in the same section. Finally, at 9:30 they wheeled out the stage and started the show.

In spite of being only 11 years old, Connor is a big fan of The Steve Miller Band's music. I guess because he is only 11 years old, he never laid eyes on Steve Miller until the show started. While Steve Miller sounds as good or better now than he did 30 years ago, he looks a bit like a college professor with gray hair, glasses and tweedy blazer. Con was prepared to start rocking out with the band, when he looked up at the big screen and noticed that the performer did not match the image he had formed in his mind while listening to the music. He leaned over and asked me loudly, "Exactly how old is this guy?" People in the seats around us laughed at his dismay, and I quietly explained that he is about Nana and Poppy's age. Con sat there for a minute and stared at the big screen clearly trying to reconcile the music with the image before him, and after he digested the disparity, he played air guitar and air drums and clapped along with the audience. As they went through the playlist, Connor waited impatiently for his favorite Steve Miller Band song, The Joker, and Skyler fell asleep.

After the last song (of course it was The Joker), we all left happy to have heard good music and a little punchy from being up too late on a school/work night. It was on the way out I realized that I had not noticed where I parked the car when we arrived. As we ambled repeatedly around the parking lot (which is huge BTW), Con and Sky got a little more punchy and silly, David became very serious and I could not stop laughing at the ridiculous situation as it unfolded. We met a rude cop on a mean horse and a couple of really nice rodeo officials (one of which had only one leg). We stood at the top of a rise and looked out over the Green Lot (our lot) and Connor spotted Joy (the car). We raced to Joy (I with my key in hand), only to have four other people beat us to it. We were a little surprised to see them open the door, get in, and drive off. We eventually found the real Joy and made it home in one piece.

Summarizing the evening: The accoustics at Reliant Stadium are not conducive to music, but the music was wonderful and the band was tight and professional. Most of the rides were fun, but overall they were over priced. Carny workers are scary, but this year they were surprisingly well groomed and dressed in matching purple polo shirts. We also learned a couple of important things, Skyler can sleep through ANYTHING, and when you park at the Reliant Stadium, somebody needs to pay attention to where you leave the car.

The Committments

Last Saturday evening, we went to Caryn and Matt's for movie night and watched The Commitments and I loved it as much or more than the first time I saw it in 1991. The music is fantastic and the film is well written and acted. Some may have trouble with the Irish accents, but but the dialogue is so funny that it's worth a rewind for the parts that aren't clear.

I looked up all of the characters on the IMDB and was really surprised to find that many of the talented cast members never worked in movies again after The Commitments. Several of the cast members tour in a band called, you guessed it, The Commitments. One of the female leads, Maria Doyle Kennedy, has a solo singing career, and the lead singer Decko, played by Andrew Strong also scored a solo career and now sells his music from his website. Glen Hansgard, the red-headed guitar player has a band called The Frames. The shock for me was that the actor who played Jimmy Rabbitt, Jr. seems to have fallen off the radar, no movies, no TV, no website and no band. I don't get it, he was great.

We've got this movie on VHS and decided after this viewing that we need to go ahead and upgrade to DVD - this film is a classic and the music is GREAT!

The Bombay Brasserie

After seeing Bride and Prejudice (see previous post), I was craving Indian food. We hauled out the Entertainment book and looked for a place close by. The nearest Indian restaurant is The Bombay Brasserie, and I am very glad it is. When you enter the restaurant, the air is perfumed with the perfect aroma of food and spice. It's not too heavy and not "too curry, " but it is pleasantly noticable as you enter. The restaurant is lovely with dark wood, stained glass, and white table linens. They even have a wine room.

The food is amazing! From the complimentary papa (a thin and crispy lentil bread) served with a wonderful sweetly spiced tamarind sauce. The presentation of each dish is lovely, and the textures and flavors are perfect. We ordered samosas (crispy turnovers stuffed with spicey potatos and peas- like an Indian spring roll), vegetable bhriyani (a light basmati rice cooked with vegetables, fruits and nuts) and saag paneer (creamed spinach with chunks of homemade cheese).

The service was the best I ever had in Houston. The waiters were attentive without being cloying. The water stayed refilled and the owner brought us paneer tikka (fried homeade cheese in spiced graham flour) just to try. We were given a crisp, cold cucumber and tomato salad with our meal. The staff answered our questions with patience, and at the end of our meal the owner brought us some tamarind sauce to take with us after noticing how much we enjoyed it. Now we just have to figure out where to get some papa to dip in it. Marilyn and I are in agreement, this is one of the best dining experiences we have ever had and we are both looking forward to going back again soon. If you are in Houston and looking for a GREAT Indian restaurant, this is the place.

Bride and Prejudice

I finally got a chance to go see a movie with my friend, Carol. She picked a film I had not heard of, but trusting her taste in movies, I went with it. We went to the Angelika and saw Bride and Prejudice, the new Bollywood/Hollywood hybrid. It turned out to be a lot of fun. In the early nineties there was a cable channel that had Indian programming. For some reason, that is the channel my TV was programmed to whenever I turned it on, so I ended up seeing bits and pieces of Indian movies for a year or so. I couldn't watch one all the way through, because they seemed so silly, but more often than not, I found myself mesmerized by the song and dance numbers that are inevitably in most Indian movies. These films were not high art, but were more like the films that were produced during the Depression and again during WWII in Hollywood, purely escapist fare. Bride and Prejudice is the retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice told from the perspective of a modern day Indian woman. Filtering the classic story through Hollywood and Bollywood actually works, and the singing, dancing, costumes and cultural mix was a lot of fun. I found I was either smiling or laughing throughout the film, and I can’t remember the last time I had that kind of reaction to a film.

The Indian music is mixed/balanced with songs that sound like music you would hear while out clubbing or at a Broadway musical, and the rock, pop, and hip hop influenced music should make it a good soundtrack The actors in the film are wonderful and I think the hype about the female lead is true (Aishwarya Rai); she is probably the most beautiful person I have ever seen on screen. They found an equally stunning actor to play opposite of her in Martin Henderson, a New Zealander who will probably be seen in a lot more Hollywood movies in the coming years. The supporting cast is also terrific and most of the faces are recognizable from other films. The writer/director, Gurinder Chadha, is best known for writing and directing Bend it Like Beckham, and her work on Bride and Prejudice is equally enjoyable.

Lost in Translation, The Wicker Man, and Stargate

This week's Netflix:

Lost in Translation stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansen. This film was released in 2003 and got rave reviews. I agree with most of them, but I found that is was a little slow in the beginning and almost lost my interest. The humor is subtle making it smart funny, not guffaw funny. I am a Bill Murray fan from his SNL days through Caddy Shack, Meatballs, and Stripes. This film is not like anything I have seen him in before. Sophia Coppola did a really good job in her directing debut.

The British sitcom, Coupling, inspired our Netflix choice of The Wicker Man . I heard about it while watching the British sitcom, Coupling, and thought it would be some melodramatic or angsty teen film from their description. My curiosity got the best of me, so I added it to the Netflix list. The Wicker Man turned out to be one of the weirdest films I have ever seen. Filmed in 1973, it stars Edward Woodward as a mainland police officer who has come to a small Scottish island to investigate the reported disappearance of a girl. Christopher Lee plays the island laird, Lord Summersisle, and Britt Eckland plays the island strumpet. The inhabitants of this odd isle are all pagans and they have very open sexuality and observe some very stange rituals. The film is Felini-esque and sinister, and has a surprise ending. The best thing about the film is Christopher Lee dancing in a macabre drag outfit as he leads the pagan procession (although I'm sure that men will be more impressed with Britt Eckland's naked pagan dance. The worst thing about the film is the music, which is a kind of '70's Celtic tripe. The scenery is beautiful and the story is fascinating, if not believable.

Stargate is the predecessor to the Sci-fi Channel's T.V. show, Stargate: S.G. 1. I saw this one when it first came out and it was nice to see it again 10 years later. Stargate stars Kurt Russell and James Spader. The supporting cast includes French Stewart, playing a fairly butch soldier, instead of an alien and Jaye Davidson, playing a gender-bending alien, instead of a transsexual. In the film, the military and scientists work together to discover the secrets of an a giant ring (stargate) found in an archeological dig in Egypt in the 1920's. I still think the storyline is unique and interesting and the special effects still hold up a decade after it was released. If you like sci-fi, then you should enjoy Stargate.

Connor's New Pet

Bissell Cleanview II

A week ago we bought a new vacuum cleaner, a Bissell Cleanview II Bagless Upright, to be precise. I never thought I would care about a vacuum cleaner enough to blog it, but this vacuum is amazing! The Hoover Power Drive vacuum, that faithfully served us since 1988 (yes, 1988) finally gave out. Truth be told, after using the new vacuum cleaner, it is apparent to me that our old one has not worked (not really worked) for the last 2 years or so. Sad, but true.

We hate to clean. We do it because we have to, and that's the only reason. So, after I brought it home, the new vacuum cleaner (which has been dubbed Zoey II), sat in the living room floor for a couple of days and we walked around it, and occasionally oohed and ahhed. It is pretty spectacular in appearance, compared to the Hoover. Zoey is a sexy French maid kind of vacuum, making its predecessor a dumpy old Hazel. We call her Zoey after a dog we grew to love very much. When the dog was no longer around, Connor said, "I miss Zoey, she ate cat barf, like a good dog should." Needless to say, so does Zoey II.

Of the three of us, Connor was the most impressed by our new acquisition. He kneeled next to it and inspected all of the attachments and apparently imagined what it would be like to clean our filthy carpets with it. After he finished his homework one night, he cautiously asked, "Can I use it?" To which I replied, "Of course, honey. Who do you think I bought it for?" Grinning from ear to ear, he offered to vacuum my room, and I responded with, something along the line of "Knock yourself out, kid." I showed him the nifty carrying handle and he was ecstatic. He lugged the vacuum up the stairs and started to work. In about 10 minutes he asked me to come look at what he'd done, so I went up to look and the floor looked pretty good, but the canister was disgusting. It was FULL of dirt, dust, and cat hair. He vacuumed most of the room and was pretty proud of the job he had done, but he was also full of admonish ions about letting the carpet get that "gross." I was humbled, but not so humbled that I didn't tell him to have a go at the window treatment with the cool attachments. So, this weekend, I pulled the rugs out of my room and washed them and I started vacuuming. In no time I had filled the plastic canister with the same amount of stuff that Connor removed just a few days before. I continued vacuuming and filled it again. A couple of realizations dawned on me. The first is that the old Hoover was probably not working properly for a year or two, and I must be some kind of mental midget in the vacuuming department to not see that before now. It's not that I hadn't vacuumed in the last couple of years, it's just that I didn't do it often and when I did, it was pretty bad, so any improvement was better than whatever drove me to haul out the vacuum and us it. The second realization is that we have a very low standard for clean. I am going to try to raise my standard in that area, and I am pretty sure that using a bagless vacuum will help pull me out of my cleaning malaise. It's hard to face a canister full of the most repulsive stuff (three times over) without admitting that you have issues. Hi, I'm Karen and I am a dirt-a-holic, or maybe I'm a clean phobic. Either way, change is underfoot; ) .

Logan's Run, 21 Grams, and Control Room

This week's Netflix picks are:

What is the measure of a soul? 21 Grams is a movie that deals with that question, in a really round about way. There are three main characters (Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benecio Del Toro) who are living and dying (both physically and emotionally) throughout the movie. The plot revolves around how these characters come together and pull apart, and ultimately how they destroy each other. Individual scenes are riveting, but the movie as a whole is a hard view, because the stories are so depressing and the editing is convoluted. Sometimes this style of movie making works, but sometimes it just makes the movie difficult to understand. Why the director decided on such a disynchronous telling of such a compelling story, is beyond me. Although the movie makes sense by the end, it is a wrenching experience to get to the end of the film.

Logan's Run , one of my favorite Sci-fi movies from the 1970's, stars Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter, Peter Ustinov, and even Farrah Fawcett has a small part. I was surprised by how much of this film I had forgotten. The story is a little hokey, but I really enjoyed seeing it again, especially Peter Ustinov's character. He did a lot with the screen time, and it is clear why he was such an acclaimed actor. The costuming was classic 1970's jiggle-vision. The director's vision of the year 2274 includes braless women in toga-like outfits made of Qiana and the men wore their clingy Qiana outfits in a style that brings to mind Robin Hood. Logan’s Run tells the story of a futuristic Utopia that is created in a domed city that is built after some unnamed disaster makes it impossible for the people to live in the open. Because the people live in a dome, the population must be controlled, so anyone over the age of 30 must die. The plot borrows from A Brave New World, Lost Horizon, and 1984, but the film is still interesting and a fun watch.

Control Room is a documentary that delves into the responsibility of the media in the context of politics and war. The film makers focus on the Arab news agency, Al Jazeera and it compares and contrasts the perspective of the Al Jazeera staff with that of American journalists and it also uses some footage of Rumsfeld accusing Al Jazeera of being deceptive in their coverage of the war, which given the deception that Rumsfeld perpetrated on the American people to get the war started is supremely rich.

All of the Al Jazeera correspondents and producers come across intelligent and interesting, but I think the Sudanese journalist, Hassan Ibrahim, was the most fascinating because of his ironic take on the situation. He repeatedly says that he has faith in the American Constitution and the American people to do the right thing, which made me a little ashamed, because I have lost much of my faith in the Constitution and in the American people when it comes to doing what is right and just. Ibrahim also has an infectious sense of humor (or maybe it's a sense of irony) that make his exchanges with Lieutenant Josh Rushing (the U.S. Army Central Command Press Officer) humorous as well as enlightening. Seeing the two men express opposing views of the war in an intelligent and logical debate has a profound impact. Their ability to try to see things from each other's point of view makes me believe that an administration with a greater emphasis on diplomacy might have been able to achieve an outcome that would have avoided the deaths of so many of our young men.

Yes, Virginia, there was Music Television before MTV

My recent posts regarding music technology and nostalgia brought back some memories from my childhood related to music delivery. In my conversation with David about vinyl albums, I told him that I liked the "shhhshing" noise that comes from playing an album. That noise is so familiar that it is comforting to me, which lead me via stream of consciousness to the thought that most of the music I listened to while I was growing up had static of some kind.

In the 70's every kid I knew had a transistor radio that they would take to the pool or carry in their bicycle baskets when they were out and about the neighborhood. These were not the higher tech boom box variety that came along in the '80's; they were a step or two above crystal sets, but we loved them. I had a portable, pocket sized version and my dad had the "trans-oceanic" version, which was bigger, had a handle, and was encased in shiny black vinyl with a faux alligator print. We would fiddle with the tuning knob trying to get the stations tuned in well enough to be able to hear the music without static. We listened as much or more to AM radio (rather than FM) for our music, and in the 1970's it wasn't all talk radio and Spanish stations. During that era, everything seemed to cause interference with the broadcast signal. Even in our parents' cars, the signal never stayed tuned in clearly for very long, and every time we passed under an electrical line or stopped at a stop light we'd get static so bad that we couldn't understand what was being said.

The only time we could count on music without static was when we heard it on TV. On Saturdays we would watch American Bandstand (1952-1989) and Soul Train (1971-Present) to listen to the latest music and see (and copy) the coolest dance moves. Those shows came on after Saturday morning cartoons and we watched religiously. At night, we had other options, like The Midnight Special (1973-1982) and Night Flight (1981-1988). The Midnight Special was hosted by Wolfman Jack along with a musical host, like Helen Reddy. The show started at midnight and featured clips of live performances. Night Flight was completely unhinged. I remember seeing weird short films, Bambi Meets Godzilla, and Dynaman in between music videos, concert and documentary footage of different bands (the one that comes to mind now is ABBA). Night Flight was on from 11 PM Saturday night till 3 AM Sunday Morning on the USA Network and it is the oddest example of original programming I can think of. They really should put it out on DVD.

Walk in the Rain

Skyler at Founders Fountain

After Caryn's birthday dim sum luncheon at Fung's Kitchen this afternoon, Skyler came back with us. Sky and I took a brisk walk in the rain at dusk today and I took some pictures at Helen's Park. This park is part of the Stella Link Redevelopment Project (SLRP), an organization that worked to change this small part of Houston during the last 15 years. Residing in this part of Houston since 1988, I believe that the redevelopment done by the SLRP has had a huge impact on my family. This area was a blight on the city fifteen years ago, but now my nephew attends the new Weekley Y.M.C.A. and we all use the park and go to the new McGovern Library often.


Helen's Park Fountain at Dusk