Magic Beans

H Eats and Eats

2009-04-22T14:51:00.001-07:00

IMG_6697, originally uploaded by leggyshines.

H has started eating rice cereal and loves it. After days and days of jealously watching us eat our meals H finally gets some solids of her own.
It doesn't really seem to help her sleep any but she has fun doing it.
Also her poop has taken an interesting turn, I like to call it melted mustard icecream.

30

2009-03-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

I'm 30.
The day I turned 20 my Uncle Keith called and played me this song. He held the phone up to the speaker while he played the whole song on his record player.
He was really excited to play it for me. We never really spoke much before or after this.
But I like the memory and am happy to think about it now that I'm 30.

How much does a baby cost?

2009-03-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

Dis much...

Don't Divorce Us

2009-02-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Birthday Beer and Ice Cream Social

2009-02-18T14:04:00.001-08:00

IMG_5865, originally uploaded by leggyshines.

Uncle Andy turned 29 on Monday.

He tied special ribbons on his homemade beer.

Hera Eden arrived at the party wearing a special party dress (which you can't see here). As usual she was a graceful social butterfly and took a real shine to Julie!

Hey You Guys!

2009-02-10T16:18:00.000-08:00

Every Song a Hymn

2009-02-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

I just remembered, I want to play guitar like this:

Spike Driver Blues

Wilson Rag

Black Ace

Is this real life?

2009-02-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

This poor kid! I know exactly how he feels. I was like this after I got my wisdom teeth out and at some other moments in my life.

Our daughter grows and grows

2009-02-02T16:21:00.001-08:00

Hera Eden is starting to grab and play with her toys.

My beauties:

Hera Eden's Origin Story

2009-01-20T18:55:00.000-08:00

Hera's first view of the world:

100 Days of Crying

2009-01-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

Day 50

Had to add this photo too because we get this in between screams.

weighing and wanting or where have we been?

2008-11-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

I just love this picture:

We saw planes:

Blast was there:

We've found ways to occupy our time:

On a different day:

Soon, we will be three.

My Momma's Tweets!

2008-11-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

She says:

We have our Galihad and the world will CHANGE. Sweet Day in the morning.

watching the returns. hoping with the world that a once and future king has returned, about 21 hours ago from web

Did the deed. Did what I could for our boy. 4:38 AM yesterday from txt

you can follow her here: http://twitter.com/yogigirl44

Nothing Left but the Shouting

2008-10-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

28 days, the moon will be back in the last quarter on the night the baby is supposed to come.

nothing to do but wait wait as her belly grows and grows.

Chickens back from the shore!

2008-09-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are about to have a child but I would have loved this no matter what:

we (was) so rich

2008-09-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

I love you too, motherfucker
happy birthday

who's got the illest ringtones now?

2008-09-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

Beth sent me a series of verbal photographs with no images
this one she did backwards
this image reads:
"my name tag in the trash after we all said goodbye to you."

Almost Famous... Sort of

2008-08-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well, my mug is still up at SF City Hall.

1978

2008-08-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

yearbookyourself.com

Thank You Christine!

8th Sign of the Apocalypse

2008-08-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

8. The little children will be smote by a giant turd flying out of control.

So it is written and so it has come to pass.

Artist, Paul McCarthy's piece "Complex Shit," which is a house-sized inflatable dog turd, broke free from its restraints on the night of July 31st to fulfill its destiny. The giant turd flew away from the Swiss sculpture garden and crashed into a children's home. Apperantly, it took out some power lines on the way as well.

Suffer the little children indeed.

click here for more info, or if you don't believe me

WTF Gmail

2008-08-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

Gmail this is unacceptable.
I do not accept your apology.
Get yourself together.
You're making yourself look sloppy!

I've heard the theory put forward that Gmail was hacked by the Russians, in which case I'm sorry Gmail and I await your safe return.

Daniel My Brother

2008-07-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

Thus passes the glory of the world

2008-07-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

2:29 PM Daniel: ok; we talk soon

funny that we dont use the phone, but i can understand it too

2:30 PM in any case i love you and miss you and look forward to living near each other smoe day

me: the west is calling you and always love

Daniel: i hear it.

soon.

For 31 years the world had a good man.
My heart hangs heavy.

2008

2008-07-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

My favorite Post-it

2008-06-12T16:25:00.001-07:00

This is my favorite post-it ever. The original used to live on my fridge but it was lost in the move sadly. Nancy slipped it to me in class (back when we were grad students.)

P.S. Nancy I was never annoyed by you and you are missed!

Visible Woman Meet Sock Baby

2008-06-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

Meet Sock Baby!

Our visible woman spontaneously eviscerated herself the same day sock baby arrived.

We think she could sense the new presence in the house and felt unwanted.

How will we ever put her back together again?

Who are these people and what are they trying to tell me?

2008-06-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

I checked out a sad and dark book about ash, Apocalypse, endurance and a shopping cart from the Oakland Public Library. Inside someone had left some cryptic items which strangely influenced the story for me.

A photo labeled Feb 1981:

A card from a card catalogue:

The painting referenced by the card:

What does it all mean? IDK
But if you have any information about the characters in the photo please let them know that I have returned their photo to the book and the book to the library.

Boca, The Place Not the Burger

2008-05-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

Things I learned on our trip to Boca:

1. Blowing tufts of air at people in the airport will keep them from being terrorists
2. Red-eyes aren't so bad when you're traveling east. (We will do it again even with Blast)
3. Even if nobody mentions that your sister is visiting as well- it is always fun to see her.
4. If there is a repeated wheater advisory telling you to stay in doors at all costs you will probably get drenched if you try to go for a walk.
4. Humidity can be a good thing
5. Chihuahuas can be cute as long as they are called Ramon

6. My Grandpa Chuck loves WD
7. Soy is hard for pregnant people to digest
8. Ice cream can be more expensive than at BiRite
9. I will never get bored as long as there is a beach or a pool
10 I miss my Daddy

A couple of entertaining things

2008-05-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama is your new bicycle!

and

check it out
blublu.org

Momma ain't gonna raise no bastard now!

2008-05-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

SUPREME COURT RULED TODAY!
"in contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual’s sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights. We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples"

Pale Pink

2008-05-12T11:57:00.001-07:00

This fuzzy pink line means that roughly 12 weeks ago our live began to change dramatically. I could have never imagined that something so faint and barely there could mean so much and make me so happy.

I Love You, Madame Librarian

2008-05-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

I found this article when I was feeling a little bad about not having an Oakland Public Library card. I still have my SF one but... Anyway, I learned alot of valuable life lessons for the first time from Mr. Vonnegut and he is missed.

I Love You, Madame Librarian
by Kurt Vonnegut

I, like probably most of you, have seen Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Its title is a parody of the title of Ray Bradbury’s great science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451. This temperature 451° Fahrenheit, is the combustion point, incidentally, of paper, of which books are composed. The hero of Bradbury’s novel is a municipal worker whose job is burning books.

And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.

So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.

And still on the subject of books: Our daily sources of news, papers and TV, are now so craven, so unvigilant on behalf of the American people, so uninformative, that only in books can we find out what is really going on. I will cite an example: House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger, published near the start of this humiliating, shameful blood-soaked year.

In case you haven’t noticed, and as a result of a shamelessly rigged election in Florida, in which thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily disenfranchised, we now present ourselves to the rest of the world as proud, grinning, jut-jawed, pitiless war lovers, with appallingly powerful weaponry and unopposed.

In case you haven’t noticed, we are now almost as feared and hated all over the world as the Nazis were.

With good reason.

In case you haven’t noticed, our unelected leaders have dehumanized millions and millions of human beings simply because of their religion and race. We wound and kill ’em and torture ’em and imprison ’em all we want.

Piece of cake.

In case you haven’t noticed, we also dehumanize our own soldiers, not because of their religion or race, but because of their low social class.

Send ’em anywhere. Make ’em do anything.

Piece of cake.

The O’Reilly Factor.

So I am a man without a country, except for the librarians and the Chicago-based magazine you are reading, In These Times.

Before we attacked Iraq, the majestic New York Times guaranteed that there were weapons of mass destruction there.

Albert Einstein and Mark Twain gave up on the human race at the end of their lives, even though Twain hadn’t even seen World War I. War is now a form of TV entertainment. And what made WWI so particularly entertaining were two American inventions, barbed wire and the machine gun. Shrapnel was invented by an Englishman of the same name. Don’t you wish you could have something named after you?

Like my distinct betters Einstein and Twain, I now am tempted to give up on people too. And, as some of you may know, this is not the first time I have surrendered to a pitiless war machine.

My last words? “Life is no way to treat an animal, not even a mouse.”

Napalm came from Harvard. Veritas!

Our president is a Christian? So was Adolf Hitler.

What can be said to our young people, now that psychopathic personalities, which is to say persons without consciences, without a sense of pity or shame, have taken all the money in the treasuries of our government and corporations and made it all their own?

The Crooked Man aka Stranger Danger

2008-04-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

Dani and I went to Children's Fairyland this weekend (we can walk to it from our new house :) Built in 1950 it is the first American theme park. It's hard to believe that this strange little corner of Lake Merritt somehow spawned Disney. We met our friends David and Derrick and their son (who is almost 3 and was our ticket in.)

I loved it! All the attractions had a clear 1950's edge to them; before the world of childhood was turned sugary sweet and overly age appropriate. Check out this The Crooked Man:

Look at his creepy eye, exaggerated features, and cob webs (as if the spiders were adding their two cents to the story.) It reminds me of what I loved about my childhood-- Never again will I feel that same mixture of shear joy tinged with absolute terror.

I wear my cartography hat!

2008-04-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

How do I get to the boats?

Death Valley Resuscitated

2008-04-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

Death Valley really gussied itself up for us this time. The colors were amazing. I mean who knew that the desert could be green? The desert flowers were blooming, the kangaroo rats were scampering and we were giggling uncontrollably as we rolled into Boyscout Camp at 2 am. (On previous trips we turned our noses up at Boyscout Camp thinking that it wasn't rough and ready enough for us but actually its the perfect place to crash and then make a quick get away in the morning.)

On Saturday (our only full day) we drove to Leadfield. Leadfield sort of seems like a funny tragedy. It was only a town for a year in the 20's during a mining boom that resulted from "wild and distorted advertising." The desert is full of bizarre, tragic endings that ultimately go unnoticed. (see Pete Aguereberry in addition to the story in the link Poor Aguereberry eventually found gold but it was stolen while he was at church)

Even the rocks seemed to be in bloom.

The way out of Leadfield is a one way road through Titus Canyon. So beautiful and amazing! This was only the beginning

The Racetrack, my favorite, where the rocks move by themselves but only when no one is looking. It is 20 miles in on a dirt road so bumpy it took us 2 hours to get there. But I don't care, it is always worth it!

Hi Andy

Ubehebe Crater

On the way home we took a route that we had only traveled at night and were amazed at what we had be missing. Kern River is beautiful, the Yuba still has my heart but I do have a wandering eye for Kern.

Plus while driving we passed through some sort of blossoming jasmine farm that filled the air with the most intense smell of jasmine I had ever sniffed.

Post for W.D. From the Desert

2008-04-04T09:42:00.001-07:00

Dad, Debbie and The Hunkiest Jesus

2008-04-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

My Dad and Debbie came for a visit. We took them to The Hunkiest Jesus Easter Celebration in Dolores Park.

My favorite part are the bonnets.

and these two badasses came too.

Birthday

2008-03-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what the Social Security Administration (and the IRS for that matter) may think today is my birthday and I am 29.

Photo by Begor

I <3 TXT, or My Recent Brush with Fame

2008-03-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

So, I was sitting at my window enjoying a nice Oakland sunset:

When my phone alerted me of an in-coming text message:

Isn't that sweet someone is thinking of me. I replied:

I was totally surprised when I found out it was:

There was only one logical assumption as to which Celine this was and this was funny because I was just thinking of her.

Not without a little disappointment I received this message:

Who is this Mr Phelps and why would Celine Dion be texting him. I decided that it was best to be civil with Celine-- she is a powerful performer-- so I used a sweet emoticon.

Then this:

Listen here Celine! I don't know who you are out gallivanting with but I assure you I do not and moreover will not associate with anyone calling themselves by such a bizarre assortment of words: peace justin zen.

Then I remembered that I hate Celine Dion and tried to angrily flip my phone shut, alas I don't have a flip phone so I pressed the end button and swore off "The Power of Love" forever.

SF is calling it's daughter home

2008-03-07T18:22:00.000-08:00

but no San Francisco you are too expensive and I am having too much fun in Oakland. No matter how you woo me by decorating your streets with giant pictures of me I will not move back.

Everything I own is from Craigslist

2008-02-29T12:17:00.001-08:00

I love Craigslist.org but not as much as the W.D. Craigslist is really an amazing community making portal. I love having a way to connect with people that have what I need and with people that want what I have. It is nice to see your old stuff go to good use. Every time we move we become wheelers and dealers in the grand Craigslist exchange community. But this time W.D. took craigslist-ing to new heights.

Here is the running tab.

Sold:
Our Grandma couch.
To some nice young college girls that were new to the city and couldn't understand why we were even selling it.

Our Bed and Mattress:
To a lady that made up a lie that her son was sleeping on the floor and really needed the bed in order to haggle us down. Little did she know that we were just glad to be rid of it.

My broke-ass dresser
posted for free and was gone in 2 hours.

Dani's Ipod mini
to the cutest little teenager having his first craigslist experience.

My manual typewriter
to sulky teenager that wanted to be a writer and needed the old school typewriter to feel authentic.

My Playstation and games
to an odd guy buying because his sister was visiting with her kids and he wanted to seem cool

Dani's Lesbian themed videos
to a woman in the south bay that hosted goddess poetry nights and repeatedly wished us a good life.

Dani's computer keyboard
to a nice lady

Our extra ukuele case
to a crazy lady who's antique uke was stolen and then recovered by the police but with a broken case handle. This sale hasn't actually happened yet because the women is so crazy she can't schedule the pick up but she keeps calling.

Dani's Desk
to an odd little hippie boy who asked us unanswerable questions like: "So its a desk... what have you been using it for primarily?" um... I don't know, mostly we've been using it as a...desk.

Helmets
Still for sale

Bought:
Our new apartment

Movers
Two Cal students that move people for extra cash

Boxes for the move
Free from some nice rich guy that just bought a house in Potrero

Ikea Couch
From a nice guy that was getting his first "big boy" couch and dry cleaned the slipcover of this one often.

Bed, hypoallergenic mattress and side table
From a super rich woman in loft that accidentally locked me out for 1/2 hour in my socks.

Super sweet orange Schwinn Varsity bike:
From Harvey a cute Stanford student.

hmmm... can't think of anything else. Dani please fill in the missing items.

Cube Master!

2008-02-19T12:23:00.001-08:00

This is a photo of my triumphant first solve. It took me 4+ days to ensure my spiritual transcendence by perfectly arranging these brightly colored "cubies"(as true aficionados call them.) Below is a six year old dressed as spider man doing it in 37 seconds.

My feat of intellectual agaility wouldn't have happened without the help and support of chessandpoker.com or Andy who gave me the gift of cube.

Oaktown, Oaklandish, Oaksterdam

2008-02-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

Goodbye SF :'(

The new place is freakin awesome. Its the top unit of a totally remodled victorian with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. Dani will be in cooking heaven and I've been having dreams of the dishwasher and built-in microwave. Not to mention we have and even better view of The Sutro!

These are the crime stats of the new neighborhood.
It seems in line with city living pretty much. Right?

30 Days

60 days

Wake Up Leggy Wake Up!

2008-02-07T16:08:00.001-08:00

I have the sinking suspicion that this photo is more truth than metaphor

Fans rest easy I am back!

2008-02-06T16:29:00.000-08:00

It has been hard for me to keep up with my personal blog since blogging has become one of my work duties. For some reason it's hard to convince myself that the exact same activity can be both a chore for work and something for fun. So I'm trying out personal blogging from work (don't tell Andy)Anyway this post will just be a miscellaneous smattering of things I've been doing recently. Which to be honest isn't much. The camping weather is long gone and I've been sick. I can now count myself among the few who have vomited tuna through their nose (or am I the only one.)

This is an open truck bed of dead pigs. There are so many things wrong with this I don't even know where to begin. Hooray for being a vegetarian. Not for the sake of the poor little piggies but who would want to eat something that's been dead in the back of a truck for who knows how long.

A Christmas Tree, loved intensely for less than a month and then carelessly discarded like an abandoned truck full of dead piggies.

Dani and I went to Coit Tower for New Year's Day. One more San Francisco landmark to cross off the list. I've already forgotten the interesting facts I learned about Lille Coit who wore a fire hat all the time and smoked cigars and gambled like mad.

I especially loved the socialist leaning WPA art on the ground floor that delayed Coit's original opening day.

The End

TEE VEE!

2007-12-07T09:48:00.001-08:00

Andy and I went on SF Live, a local public access show, for work! I'm too scared to watch. In my mind non sequiturs and silly, awkwardly constructed sentences fell out of my mouth and made everyone uncomfortable. I'm sure my memory makes it worse than it was but I will probably never watch it (unless I get attacked by some beast-like curiosity.)

But here it is for everyone else to see:

P.S. I made the StickLove video, but no one is supposed to know

Death Valley Pt 1

2007-11-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

Andy and I went on a sudden trip to Death Valley in early October. It was amazing.

And then Andy turned into a giant.

Lost Burro Mine

Darwin

Death Valley Pt 2

2007-11-18T20:52:00.000-08:00

A place just marked 'mine' on the map.

Rhyolite Nv

Andy and I took WD to the desert with us this time.

Keene Wonder Mine 8hr hike.
It was just plain awesome.

Then we had a snowball fight in Yosemite.

I Want to Make a Washtub Bass So BAD!

2007-10-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

Leggy Gets New Teefs!

2007-10-09T14:30:00.001-07:00

Dani and I went down to SoCal a few weeks ago. Some how it came up that I had never whitened my teeth before. Dani's mom took one look at my little yellow chompers and took pity on me. She went home and fixed her suck-down machine and offered to make me bleach trays! I had never really thought about teeth whitening but when I heard that I would get a plaster mold of my own teeth I was sold. Plus I couldn't believe how nice it was that she fixed her machine for me.

This is how it worked:

First you mix some fowl tasting orange stuff in a bowl.

Like this.

Then you push it on my teeth and I have to sit there for a while with orange play-dough bulging from my mouth. (probably not the first time)

Then you get these.

Then Dani's mom works some magic and these come in the mail!

I haven't used the bleach trays yet. But I will and you all will be blinded by the sparkles coming off my teefs.

The Great Republic of Rough and Ready

2007-10-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

Its taken me a long time to blog about this trip, I don't know why. At any rate all of this happened a long time ago. This was probably our last trip to Tahoe National Forrest this year. Even though it was early in the season the weather caught us unprepared. The forrest was thick with fog and intermitten slight rain. Most of the night we were dry. I was having intense dreams about laybrinthine water falls only to wake with my foot soaked with rain water. It had been raining all night and our rain flap kept us pretty dry until the started to collect and seep into the corners of the tent. We broke camp (in a coffee-less daze) in a the rain and me in one wet sock (for some reason I only brought on pair.)

The first ghost-town we found was French Corral. There was only one building of note. The most noteworthy part of the building seemed to be its refusal to fall, to give up the sum of its component parts and collapse to the ground. I guess that's reason enough for us to seek it out. If something has been struggling to stand for so long- someone ought to take note.

The next town we found was Bridgeport. It boasts the longest single span covered bridge in the U.S. It spans the Yuba River which looks paltry now as the waters that feed it freeze in the mountains.

On our last day, after breaking camp in the rain and not changing our clothes (there was really no point) we went to The Great Republic of Rough and Ready. Named for "Old Rough and Ready" President Zachary Taylor. Apparently, Rough and Ready was the only mining town to seceed from the union and then vote itself back in. The story seems a litte specious, but I like it.

I don't think Rough and Ready was a ghosttown by even a loose definition. It is old and was founded by miners but it had a definite population. In fact every Sunday the town band plays. It was so fun to see and lifted our soggy spirits. If you're ever in Rough and Ready don't miss it. FruitJarPickers.com

Dark Day

2007-10-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

Looking for camping at Dark Day Campground on Emerald Cove Marina. We didn't find any camping there, only the most aptly named spot on earth.

That's me plinking away on the guitar softly in the background.

The Origins of Ukulady Lynn

2007-09-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

Dani got her instrument and is officially a full fledged member of the Folk-A-Dots. Now she can fill the house with the cutest arrhythmic tinkling ever.

Look at her go!

Dad and Debbie move to Boca

2007-09-18T15:35:00.001-07:00

My Dad and Debbie just moved into a new house in Boca Raton. My Mom, Katie Dani and I all came for a visit. It was a little before the snowbirds descended. The whole town seemed like it was in suspended animation, waiting for swarms of old people to populate it.

The trip was amazing. We walked to the beach, hung out in the pool. We only ate food cooked outside and rarely wore shoes.

Wake Up W.D. we're in Boca Raton!

Let's lounge with my mom and dad in the pool.

"It is time for the beach!" Dad announces

We're gonna need some pool noodles FAST!

W. D. don't forget your special head dress!

Hmmm... What should we do now?

Hey! How about we take Grandpa to the Morikami Gardens!

That sounds like a great idea!

Hey, aren't we cute.

No Berkeley, Know Pain

2007-09-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hot Time Summer in the City

2007-09-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

It is finally summer in SF. Technically, this is my first summer in here. Last summer I was in L.A. pretending I was a hot shot gallery person, but missing my NorCal home. Dani and I have been trying to take full advantage of the warm fog-less so called Indian Summer by taking evening walks on Ocean Beach.

Being born an east coaster, it is really cool to see the sun set on the beach.

We always seem to catch low tide and tons of sand dollars are washed up on the beach.

And creepy large dead jellies.

The beach does seem a bit polluted. Some of the sand is sort of oily black and sticks to our feets. And then there are these orange bubbles that don't pop. I refuse to do any research about the pollution in the area because we have so much fun. Plus the tail I've been growing is proving very helpful.

Corona Heights Park

2007-08-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

I've been biting my nails about Berkeley Art Museum lately and need things to take my mind of it. The crazy puzzle Dani's grandma gave us is complete. The loss of the puzzle was a big blow, leaving my mild OCD with no outlet so I went on a little urban hike up to Corona Heights Park. (Thanks Andy for showing us) The view was amazing and I sat on the rocks and read about the history of the Barbary Coast.

It was a beautiful day. We never get clouds like this in SF. I really need to do more cloud reseach to know just what kind these are-- but I like them.

It's a straight shot up 16th. We live across the street from the large steple.

Lucky Ju Ju Pinball

2007-08-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

Madeline had her birthday party at a pinball palace. It was awesome. I could spend all night not talking to anyone at the party and not be thought of as rude. It was a wall flower's dream!

There were some beautiful machines. The place was divided into two rooms, one room for mechanical sound effects and the other for electronic.

This one was my favorite. It was from Madrid circa 1970's . It had electronic sound and was just all around cool!

Dani loses her ball

Um...

2007-08-29T09:48:00.001-07:00

Somehow the word problematic doesn't begin to describe...
Thanks to Julia's brother for the find.

Total Eclipse of the Moon/Heart

2007-08-28T14:38:00.002-07:00

Last night I was dreaming about someone complaining that they got into a bike accident while holding their kitten. And this was really very upsetting for them because now their kitten would never want to ride a bike again. Meanwhile, in the dream, I was very annoyed by this because I was trying to show off my guitar skills by playing a song that I don't really know. I was not doing very well impressing the crowd of all my old friends and I felt pretty sure that if this person with the kitten would cut out the annoying prattle I would be able to play majestically.

Thats when Dani woke me up to show me the moon! It was around 2:45 a.m.or so and the eclipse had just started. For the next couple of hours (or it could of been days) I was in and out of dreaming as the moon became increasingly orange and discolored by the earth's shadow.

If I had a jug band I'd call it Baby and the Butterbeans (and I would be Baby)

2007-08-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

This weekend in Golden Gate Park was the official Jug Band Festival! How exciting! Gavin Newsome must have been excited as well because he officially anointed the weekend "Jug Band Weekend." As always Dani and I take our civic duties very seriously so we set out to learn as much about jug band-ing as we could. We saw some live jug band-ing in the park, where grown men make rhythmic farting noises into jugs while singing songs with lyrics like "hooray! they're going to kill my father." Even though there weren't any wax paper combs, spoon playing or wash tub basses we had a great time but weren't there for long. So, not wanting to let Gavin down we decided to see the jug band documentary "Chasin' Gus' Ghost." It was supposed to be about one of the original jug band-ers Gus Cannon. But it was more about Jug Band's 1960's revival- yes there was a jug band revival- who knew! I also learned that there is a huge jug band movement in Japan and that for the future of jug bands we should look to Japan.

Most notable of the the 60's jug band revival was The Jim Kweskin Jug Band. Fritz Richmond a member of the band, in addition to being an amazing jug player made startling refinements to the wash-tub bass. He developed a fretting system for the wash-tub so that it played notes. He is know as the "foremost washtub bassist in the world and was also the most sucessful professional jug player"
Some other notable participants in the Jug Band Revival of the 60's are:
Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan of Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions and later the Grateful Dead.
Jon Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful
and Maria Muldaur of Midnight at the Oasis fame
Below is the Kweskin band with Maria Muldaur, and you can see Fritz playing a mean jug.

End of the World on the 5

2007-08-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

Dani and drove down to Orange County to see her family (see more about that visit here.) Just before the Grapevine the sky went orange and strange and there was ash in the air. Turns out there were fires near Santa Barbara and the smoke was blocking out the sun on the Grapevine.

My Mom visits Sci-Fi City

2007-08-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

My mom came back to San Francisco with me after my trip to VA. She stayed with us for a whole week. It was a really amazing time. We haven't spent this much time together in years (probably before I went to college.) Dani and I showed her all around the bay area. We went to the botanical garden at Tilden Park.

We stopped on the way down from the park to see the fog consume the city.

On Saturday we went to the Ferry Building and saw the Farmer's Market.

From there we took the ferry to Sausalito and then took a shuttle to Muir Woods. It was really fun although it was a little stressful-- at each leg of the trip we were a little concerned that the next form of transportation was going to fall through for some reason-- But it all worked out (thanks to the exceptional planning skills of the Wild Dani.)

The fog was so dense it made the city look really creepy as we rode back in on the ferry.

Sunday 8/5 was Jerry Day! My mom was really excited to celebrate Jerry Day in his home town. This was also our first time to Mclaren Park. All the bay area dead-heads dusted off all the old tie-dye and draped themselves from head to toe. I'm glad my mom was here for this because it was a really good time and W.D. and I wouldn't have gone without her.

The Art of the Eight Limbs

2007-07-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

While in VA my Dad took me to The King of the Ring not normally one for fighting and bloody battery I was skeptical about how much I would enjoy myself. But I must say I had a great time, even without out alcohol to fuel my blood-lust, it was really interesting and the fighting was brutal but for the most part skillful and intricate. The night was a mix of Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts. Muay Thai is a hard martial art (hard martial arts meets force with force as opposed to soft martial arts which uses the force and momentum of the aggressor against him/her (we even saw a girl fight.)) Muay Thai is Thailand's national sport and is called The Art of the Eight Limbs because one can strike with the arms, shins, elbows, and knees. In Muay Thai the fighters ideally stay on their feet (there are throws but the fighting doesn't continue if one fighter is on the mat) Mixed Martial Arts, on the other hand, takes the fighting to the mat. There is a series of strikes (like Mauy Thai) as well as grappling techniques such as clinch holds and submission holds, sweeps and take downs. At one point my Dad was chanting SUBMIT, SUBMIT!!! which tickled me to no end.

Guest photographer: My Mom

My Dad wasn't competing in this King of the Ring but these are pictures of him and his bling at the 2007 Florida Grappling Championship. All told he won 2 golds one silver and one bronze. I believe the 2 golds were for over 50 events and the others were for over 40. He has a very chivalrous story about how he accepted silver and let one of his gym-mates take gold.

Chris Meets King Neptune

2007-07-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Even though it was raining like crazy my Mom and I took Chris to the beach to meet King Neptune.

Neptune is a 32ft bronze statue.

Chris was in love. Later we got him a mini figure of the Neptune Statue and Chris kept asking when it was it was going to get big. Then he drew sea-creatures on the cardboard box the figurine came in to make Neptune a home.

Then we went to the Children's Museum. Chris drove to the bank.

Drove a fire truck.

Climbed a rock wall.

And turned into a puppy.

It was a long day.

Sandbridge, Va

2007-07-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

My cousin Shell rented a house on the beach at Sandbridge (VA.) It was sort of a family reunion. My mom, 2 of her 3 sisters and some of my cousins that I grew up with were there. All of my cousins now have children (I am the youngest cousin and the last without children.) I did some research to figure out how the new children are related to me. So a cousin is a relative with whom one shares a common grandparent or more distant ancestor, and who is not in one's own line of descent. The degree (first, second, third cousin, etc.) indicates the minimum number of generations separating either of the cousins from the common ancestor; the remove (once removed, twice removed, etc.) indicates the number of generations, if any, separating the two cousins from each other. So the children of my first cousins are my first cousin once removed, and the children of my cousins are 2nd cousins to one another.
Thanks Wikipedia.

At any rate all the babies played together in the sand and water like we used to.

Chris and Ian played in the waves without fear.

It was Camille's first time at the beach so it took some coaxing but eventually she put her feet in the water.

Dogs Fly at Fort Funston

2007-07-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

I didn't see any actually flying but there were all these official diagrams that seemed to imply that it happened on a regular basis.

Dogs may not have been flying but humans were making an effortand Wild Dani was pretending

There were left-overs from when the fort was active.

Apparently, the manned guns kept a watchful eye on the shores of San Francisco, constantly looking for the enemy. I thought this might have been a silly gesture when the sky at the beach is always so foggy and grey that you can rarely see Marin let alone enemies approaching on the horizon.

Amador and Calavaras Chronicle Day 1

2007-07-16T10:16:00.002-07:00

It has taken me a while to post about our most recent ghost town extravaganza because I have been too busy itching myself. As posted in other blogs about the subject we had a rough first day. The Wild Dani was cranky because we had forgotten to feed her. She refused our offerings of a much varied array of snack foods. She would only be satiated by meat. Our first option for camping (we didn't plan ahead, poor Wild Dani) was a bizarre trailer park slash convalescent home. It's motto was something to the effect of "Come for a day and stay forever." I was already scared. But being the rough and ready ghost-towners that we are I pushed my fear aside and explored. This odd depot for decrepit faux-transients boasted a historic attraction called "The Glory Hole." When we got out of the truck I immediately heard the rustling of dragging walker wheels headed our direction. The old people were circling! We wrestled W.D. back into the truck and high tailed it out of there. We eventually found another campsite right before W.D. turned into a snaggle toothed demon searching for something to devour. Then we discovered that OH NO! we had forgotten our campstove and tent. (Don't ask how, but I accept no responsibility) Wild Dani flew into a rage (Andy conveniently went to the potty) and she rubbed my exposed skin with poison oak-- which is why I have been to busy itching to post.

The veracity of the above account is already in question but I stand by it.

The Butte Store:
There is no longer anything left of Butte except this store with no roof.

We found other things along the road that were slowly fading from existence.

There was an old appliance store that burned down. Andy has theories about the chain of events

Campo Seco or Dry Camp was the first ghost town that I got really excited about on this trip. There was a row of deserted stone buildings one of which was the Adams Express Building. It is amazing that people still live in this community. They have built their houses and lives right next to visible ruins of the past.

Amador and Calavaras Chronicle Day 2

2007-07-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Our camp grounds had left overs from Miwoks. We snuck in this round house. There has been much blog discussion about the Indian grinding rock, so I won't mention it here save to say-- I don't see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind.

Driving and driving...Looking for places that are barely there.

This is a tailing wheel from the Kennedy Mine in Jackson. With much research and an intense set of diagrams I now understand that the tailing wheels where used to transport the useless sediment to some place it can be dumped. The Kennedy Mine and others were forced to impound their tailings in 1912 after years of polluting streams and rivers. The Kennedy had a system of four wheels, 2 still upright and one crushed on its side.

Sheep Ranch strangely only had 2 sheep that I could fine and they were in a sad state, their poor wool was in dreadlocks. But there was an old gas station that was pretty awesome.

Chinese Camp. Varney said the main street of Chinese Camp repeatedly invited a sketch book. And boy was he right! We poked around these little houses that were barely larger than their attached chicken coops. Chinese Camp was home to some of the first Chinese laborers and had a population of close to 5,000 at one point.

We went to so many towns on this trip and these were my favorites. I am basically too lazy to carry my big ass camera around with me all the time so I didn't always take pictures.
Others not pictured were Volcano, Fiddletown, Amador City and Knight's Ferry.

My Traveling companions:

Witness the Miracle of Panda Birth!

2007-07-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

Aim for the Sky

2007-07-15T20:09:00.001-07:00

Special Post for Dani Girl

2007-07-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

Another Beautiful Day in San Fancisco, or the Difference Between a Maze and a Labyrinth

2007-07-09T09:54:00.001-07:00

Amazingly, it was a beautiful day in The Mission but being true San Franciscans (and lacking a ghost town mission) went went to the beach to play in the pea soup fog.

We hiked around Land's End near the Sutro Baths and found Fort Mylie. Fort Mylie was a bit of a maze with stairs and passageways that led nowhere and doors that were soldered shut.

Then we found a labyrinth which I recently discovered are different from mazes because they have but a single path to the center and back.
(I should have taken a video here but oh well.)

After seesawing we had a bizarre experience at lunch- where a waiter half-heartedly called out "is there a Doctor in the house." We quietly hoped everything was going to be OK and slowly continued to eat soggy french fries.

Chomp

2007-07-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

June Gloom gives Leggy SAD, especially when it lasts into July.

So Dani lured me to the conservatory of flowers with promises of man-eating plants.

Sadly, as I later discovered, there are no man-eating plants

There were some cool insect eating ones though

And some that resembled well... something else...

July, July, July!

2007-07-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

Julia, who loves freedom, invited everyone to celebrate independence at her house.

Mark saved the day with his good ole American BBQ know how.

Andy was shy and tried to be inconspicuous by flamingo perching on Dani's head.

The vegetarians hover.

Why yes Nancy, I would love a glass. Thanks for asking.

Julia, that is a beautiful hunk of fish, you have there

Meat, Meat, Only Meat

Fruit Stripe Ladies

I always thought The Blue Tongue Wild Dani was a myth!

Mark and Andy were very manly

and made sure to keep at least 3ft away from any stinkin' girls.

Who has the biggest calf muscle?

Then we modeled

umm...

What's a party without a little Thizz Face?

Thizz Face on, Why you look like that?

2007-07-03T12:40:00.001-07:00

Mac Dre "First, I do like this, put a face on like I smell some piss"

Slang from the Hyphy Movement as described by wikipedia.org:
Those who consider themselves part of the Hyphy movement would describe this behavior as acting "stupid" or "going dumb." In contrast to much of popular American culture where these phrases would be considered negative or even insulting, Hyphy is distinguished by taking this kind of behavior as a form of pride.

"Stunna Shades" - Oversized glasses that people wear when they get hyphy. They help accessorize the sagging jeans and white T-shirts that are part of hyphy fashion. "Stunnas" are frequently aviator style glasses, but often more elaborate or attention getting.

"Thizzle Dance" - Not necessarily one dance, but a variety of dances usually involving strange movements similar to a drunk person. As Mac Dre says in the song "Get Stupid (Remix)," "It don't look right if you really ain't drunk."

"Thizz Face" - A facial expression like you just smelt some urine

Application of what we learned:

See how our Thizz faces compare at RateMyThizzFace.com

Partial Findings

2007-07-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

or stuff I found in the street

These are a couple of cell phone videos (please forgive the loss of quality) of items desperately trying to fulfill their original/intended purposes.

Black Diamond Mine Part II

2007-07-01T19:35:00.001-07:00

Back to the Black Diamond Mines, and this time we mean business.
Notice the Hallpass Outdoor Pack and The Grand Teton Day Pack worn by Mr. Dandruff and Wild Dani respectively.

Nice hike, scenic views yadda, yadda, yadda (no flying crickets this time round)
and then.....

Dun tada dun! We found the Prospect tunnel!
as with any great find the paparazzi was present and the flash bulbs exploded:

Dani even came all the way in, 200 whole ft!

only to terrify some baby birds, who retaliated by flying into her head.

Head toward the light, there is peace and tranquility in the light.

We were momentarily stalked by a coyote

Then we found the Star Mine entrance.

During lunch we mapped out our path to "Jim's Place."

Wild Dani seized control of our mission by strategically dampening the map with warm gluteus moisture.

Andy looked on disapprovingly.

The graveyard seen from a distance in entry Black Diamond Mine Part I

We were unimpressed with "Jim's Place." It seems like the park service ran out of interesting sites and so in order to beef up the map they added a silly little cave with some vague directions figuring nobody would bother looking. (run on sentence)
It did have kind of a cool skylight-like opening.

Well, we conquered Black Diamond Mine. We made it to all the sites on the map in one day - six hours of hiking. Although we kicked BDM's ass, the mines didn't really put up a fight.

One year from yesterday

2007-06-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

Look at me trying my hardest to be cute, but I'm so sad.... where oh where is Dani?

I was officially forgiven for the cat fiasco, I think...

and then someone always has to put their head in a pinata

Lev models the special dove rings

Heres to you Andy

Thank You ladies for putting the whole thing on.

Thank you Dani and Andy for letting me use your pictures because I was too lazy to bring my camera.

Damn, I look like who!?!?

2007-06-23T10:36:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage.com Tell me what celebrity I resemble

Kate is also afflicted with profoundly deformed hands

Just trying to bring sexy back

I now understand my previously unexplainable soft spot for Condie
Dani also got Laura Bush-- I'm starting to question her political motives

My dirty secret

Why I am so glad to be done with art school

2007-06-21T19:50:00.001-07:00

This man once asked me

to arrange these books by size

in only 3 ikea bookcases like this:

until the shelves collapsed under the weight of the larger books.

Magic Tape

2007-06-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

My cousin sent me these photos. All the figures are made out of scotch tape. I'm not sure who did this or where they came from. But its probably better this way. You know a little mystery.

Don Quixote has nothing on us!

2007-06-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

While Dani was doing trust falls and team building improv at her work retreat Andy and I were charged with the important task of finding a campsite. A task we took very seriously.

But first we found this lonely old bus on the side of HWY 12. There was some barbed wire suggesting that we not go in. So we went in to check out the bus.Andy get your head out of there!

All the seats were out but there was a couch and a stove.

Wind Farming!
We found an open service road that led into a PG&E wind farm. We went chasing wind turbines for awhile. They are amazingly beautiful I could watch them forever.

The sheep huddled together in the shade of the wind turbine.

Birds Landing has peacocks and an amazing tavern. At the tavern we met Shirley and Bob. Shirley was Birds Landing's post mistress for 40 years, she took over the tavern when her husband died. Shirley was very sweet and told us the history of the town. How Collinsville used to flood and she would have to row a boat up to Birds Landing. Also, part of the Clint Eastwood Film Honky Tonk Man was shot at the bar. Shirley and her family watched Eastwood flub his lines from a field across the street.

The peacocks like to look at themselves in Shirley's hubcaps. They are for some reason a point of contention in the town.

Its strange how the first thing you find when arriving at a ghost town is the graveyard.
According to Bob at the tavern these silos hold 7000 year old oyster shells that are being ground up for Bacchi Ball courts (among other things)
I think this is Bob's Geodesic Dome boat. I couldn't really see the boat part but he said it was a boat.

Then we found camping just in time for Dani to arrive. (I think she had her doubts)

Black Diamond, Black Heart!

2007-06-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

We went to Black Diamond Mines searching for the remains of a long dead coal mining industry and the mining towns that grew around it. At one point around 2000 miners (all the men of the town including boys 8 years and older) spent their days in tunnels under these hills. When the coal mining industry died (due to the low grade coal found) the families couldn't sell their houses because the company owned all the land so they packed up the entire house, structure and all and moved it. Mostly what is left is a graveyard and some tunnels that people like us can go poking around in, that is if we could find them.

There wasn't much around except dry grass, dead trees and the abusive sun. Oh! and some kamikaze crickets that would viciously hurl themselves at us with unheard of speed.

Those distant trees are the cemetery.

We spotted a rare wild Dani who followed us the entire day. Because they are known for their good luck and well, honestly, Andy and I grew fond of our little companion we decided to wait for her to catch up during the rough parts of the hike.

Hey wait! Where are we? Our map would not tell despite having marked our path in peanut butter. At this point our party suffered a crushing defeat. Due to our dwindling rations and the sinking morale of our wild Dani we were forced to turn back mere feet from the elusive Prospect Tunnel (our own personal gold mine.) Damn You Black Diamond Mines!

I have now studied the map in detail and have realized our mistake. I place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the East Bay Regional Park District and their sorry cartography skills. Now, I am a woman possessed, I will see the Prospect Tunnel and "Jim's Place" for that matter. Black Diamond Mines we will conquer you!

The Little Dani that Could

A strange salt deposit. In the middle of nowhere, at this point I think we heard our first coyotes

Nothing like a hard hat to lift broken spirits.

Gay Bomb!

2007-06-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

The Pentagon, yes The US Department of Defense asked for 7.4 million dollars to develop a non-lethal bomb that would release a chemical to turn enemy combatants into homosexuals. They say that the enemy soldiers would become gay and then their "units break down because all their soldiers became irresistibly attractive to one another"

Read more about the Gay bomb! Gay Bomb!

Obscene or No?

2007-06-15T10:32:00.001-07:00

More amazing hand painting courtesy Julia's mom can be found on Nancy's blog.

I Made It To Oregon City!

2007-06-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

Despite some trials and hardship our party made across the Oregon Trail!

Of course Dani was the first to fake sick, she just wanted to shop at the fort gift shop.

What can I say, it felt like we were never gonna get there.

Rainbows upset Dani's tummy :(

Oregon Trail web clone its not exactly like the one of old but close enough. It really manages to convey what westward expansion must of been like for those that actually undertook the journey. Apparently, it was very boring and you get the poos a lot. Despite the common misconception if one of your companions die-- you don't even get the option to eat their remains.

Addendum to BBQ before I was born

2007-06-10T18:39:00.001-07:00

In lieu of going to Andy's for a BBQ today (something about being tired after a marathon or whatever) I am posting pictures from a BBQ after I was born.

My Mom and her sisters:
We were together for my Grandpa's funeral, the last of his generation.
Please note the ciggerette in my aunts hand. Its good to see that somethings stay the same.

Me and My mom:

My mom, me and my cousin Shell (who sent me all the pictures):

BBQ before I was born

2007-06-05T20:44:00.001-07:00

My cousin sent me some photographs of a family BBQ that happened before I was born. I am in love with them. I get this weird sense of time vertigo when I look at them. Its strange to see evidence of the world existing before I was in it.

These are my aunts. This photo is classic, I love the smoke and the cigarette.

I think this photo is amazing. My mom is in the center and my aunt to her right and my great aunt to her left:

This is my Grandma and Great Uncle Joe:

and my Grandpa and my aunt:

There are 3 generations of my family in this photo. I was talking with my mom about this picture and she said that "all the adults in this photo are now gone." It took me a moment to understand that she wasn't including her sisters and herself as adults. Its funny because I am about the same age as she is in these pictures and I don't think of myself as an adult either.
Everybody:

Sobriety, Obesity and Growing Old

2007-06-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

William Kentridge makes my heart hurt, in a good way and was the first artist to inspire my crusty old tearducts to produce.

Still from Weighing.... and Wanting (I believe.)
Somehow this is the saddest and sweetest question anyone has ever asked.

Stills from Felix in Exile:This text is stolen but says everything better than I could... because I am lazy.

Felix in Exile was created in 1994, amidst ongoing public debates on the relationship between the country’s division of ownership and the formation of identity which accompanied the first open elections in South Africa. The film tells the stories of Felix, a man living in exile in Paris, and of Nandi, a woman working as a land surveyor. The woman is Felix’s alter ego. She stands for the longing for one’s homeland, and how for his sake someone bears witness to the incidents in the new, democratic South Africa. No differently than with the fears and memories that flood over him in his room, the world ultimately overpowers Nandi as well—she is shot.
Her many gazes are found in the mirror. The drawings Felix produce flood his sparse room like water, like memory and longing. On the other hand, Nandi is embedded in a cosmic distance that dissipates in the misery of black South Africa. In the topography of the landscape, Nandi’s surveying instruments search for traces of history, for a standard of existence, for a direction.
The drawings and images of Felix and Nandi pile up one atop the other, functioning in both cases as seismographic documents of an emotional shock. The victims of the story are discovered on discarded daily newspapers and written as such into the landscape. Nandi too, finds death. Felix, on the other hand, finds himself once again in the deserted landscape of his homeland, but now with a suitcase full of drawings.

A lot of quality is lost in these youtube bootlegs but I still love them.

Tide Table

Journey to the Moon

I'm not sure of the title

Rough and Ready was neither rough nor ready

2007-06-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

So we didn't go
but we did go someplace...

Woodruff Creek:
The Woodruff Creek mosquitos welcomed all of us but Andy most of all fittingly.

From Woodruff Creek just follow the dirt road up into the moutains and eventually you will find Forest City.Population 40 but not a soul to see

There was mining equipment in weird states of repair and disrepair.

Everything looked abandoned, restored, and abandoned again.

The school house was the one place we could go in, except for the outhouse. Where we saw evidence that bears do in fact go in the woods and do use TP.

The light inside was amazing

Malakoff Diggins the result of hydraulic mining. Miners sprayed high pressure water and just washed away the mountain.

This drain tunnel goes on for 7, 847 feet under The Diggins:

We went in about 20 feet when thoughts of The Decent turned us around.

We all have our talents:

The next morning we went on an awesome hike to the Yuba River
and found
Another Cave!!!!!

Then we skipped rocks in the melted snow water of the Yuba (one of us in their underpants.)

The World's Fair

2007-04-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

Finally and at last the documentation is in one spot!
For more and real information visit www.sfworldsfair.org

Cara made the World's Fair come alive:

Poppa Neutrino and his boat which may or may not be going to China:

NPR (Neighborhood Public Radio) put the whole thing on the radio:

Natalie Jeremijenko and her bike masks and cloned trees:

Cara walking to The Noonan Building:

Inside were photos by Dan Cheek

This is the construction of William Scott's billboard at the Bayview Opera House:

Joan the Builder rocked this. She built this whole thing overnight and by herself!

Screenings at Cyclone Arts Center

Kevin Epps' Straight Outta Hunter's Point:

Video documentation by Lev:

The Mighty Mississp

2006-10-31T12:27:00.000-08:00

This text was produced by the Curatorial Practice Program of the California College of the Arts 2007 (including me)
For the "Nowhere" Class with Matthew Coolidge of CLUI

Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans, holds the last hundred miles of this, the nation’s greatest river. Water from as far away as New York, New Mexico, and Alberta flows between the levees that run through the parish.

In this water, dissolved and suspended, are particles from two thirds of the Lower 48’s landmass, moving through on this big muddy conveyor at a rate of a million tons a day, dispersed into the void of the Gulf, at the rivers end.

The developed land of Plaquemines consists mostly of two narrow strips on either bank of the river. Within this land are a half dozen industrial sites, and around 20 named communities, with several schools, jails, and graveyards. Front, back, and side levees protect them from inundation, from the river on one side and the marsh on the other, most of the time.

Hurricane Katrina made landfall on US soil first at the town of Buras, in the middle of Plaquemines, and the 125 mile per hour winds followed by a 25 foot storm surge destroyed and flooded most of the inhabited parish. The land within the levees became a temporary lake, full of wreckage.

This latest round of destruction punctuates and accelerates the continuous disintegration of the land beyond the levees, the majority of the area of the Parish.

Most of Plaquemines is - and was – marshland, a tenuous balance of land and water. Sliced up by oil company canals, and cut off from sediment recharge by the leveed river, the marsh is melting away.

But still, within this broken, battered place, people hold on, sometimes for dear life, to the tattered fragments of a marginal existence.

To journey down this last part of the river, beyond New Orleans, a part that is often forgotten, through the outer reaches of this place of disappearance, is to travel, finally, to the end of one America.

In Southern Plaquemines, nearly everything was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. When a community is merely a sketch of what it once was and disaster is ever-present in the minds of all, it is hard to imagine a sense of home. More than half of the residents of Plaquemines Parish have not returned to the area, yet a strong population is determined to stay, to rebuild, to survive this storm after the storm. It is here that their history lives and it is here that die-hard Plaquemines residents are using new building methods to resist future disasters. To construct a sense of peace and security in hurricane country is a heroic task.

Recurrent scenes throughout the Post-Katrina landscape are concrete slabs upon which wood framed houses once stood. Concrete steps that lead nowhere is another reminder of the multitudinous loss. What becomes evident is the ability of concrete to withstand the forces of nature that residents of this area have been battling time and time again.

The TECO Bulk Terminal, south of Phoenix, is one of several industrial sites along the river in Plaquemines Parish.

It is one of two dry bulk material handling facilities that use large shoreline yards to hold piles of material that is in transit through the region. Like the other one, the Kinder Morgan facility across the river, Teco handles mostly coal. The company mines the coal in Kentucky, then brings it down river to this site by barge. It is offloaded using conveyors and stored on a large concrete pad. Ocean going ships pick up the coal from this point, and move it down rie and along the coast, to St. Petersburg, Florida, where it is offloaded and burned in a power plant. This coal is the primary source of power for the Tampa, Florida region.

The Teco terminal in Plaquemines is one of the largest dry bulk storage terminals in the nation. For four days following Katrina, the coal and all the equipment was under 15 feet of water. The water drained away when, finally, the levees failed. Workers came back to clean up, and found the area swarming with snakes, and loaded with fish stranded in the ditches. They used an industrial vacuum called a “super sucker” to move the fish back into the river. Katrina caused 30 million dollars worth of damage to the terminal.

Down river, on the western shore, the Freeport Sulphur plant was another industrial site that was completely submerged. Though the plant ceased operating more than ten years ago, it was undergoing major clean up and remediation before the storm. The American sulphur industry was born in Louisiana in the last decade of the 19th century, and the industry boomed in 1932 when Freeport Sulphur Company acquired the rights for a major mine at Lake Grande Ecaille in Plaquemines Parish.

The mine site was connected to this riverside production site at Port Sulphur by a ten mile long canal. The company grew to become Freeport McMoran, one of the largest mining companies in the world, and the only Fortune 500 company based in New Orleans.

On the western shore of the river, near the last ferry crossing on the river at West Point La Hache, and situated on 50 acres, sits the historic Woodland Plantation. It was built in the 1830s by one of America's first chief river pilots, Captain William Johnson, and has graced the label of Southern Comfort whiskey since 1934.

The Plantation is tied to a history of slave trade through a connection with the famous pirate Jean Lafitte. Spirits Hall, formerly St. Patrick's Catholic Church, circa 1883, was moved from Homeplace, Louisiana to Woodland and now sits on the acreage that had seen much pain and suffering. The Creppels - Claire, Jacques and son Foster – bought the by then delapitated Woodland at a public auction and re-opened in 1999 as a beautifully restored nine-room country inn.

Its current owner and operator, Foster Creppel, is well known throughout the Parish as a generous friend and a charismatic business owner. For his Woodland guests, he organizes bird and fishing tours and often treats them to freshly caught oysters before dinner in Sprits Hall. He is a respected, active community member who is vocal and visible in his efforts to save the marshlands. He is also a member of the Plaquemines Association of Business and Industry.

Woodland was one of the first establishments to be completely repaired after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina and flooding from the broken levees. Even though Plaquemines Parish is known as the “Sportsman’s Paradise,” Woodland Plantation is one the only places in the parish where politicians, businessmen, sport fishermen, visitors and locals alike can enjoy a strong drink and a good meal, topped off with a heavy dose of southern hospitality.

The St. Thomas cemetery, located in Pointe a la Hache, is one of 23 cemeteries in Plaquemines Parish. Many of the cemeteries are small, with just a few family names like Buras, Richarme and Hague. St. Thomas, located behind the small church, is a poignant site for many of the residents in the parish. During the storm, nearly all of the residents of Plaquemines Parish left, and less than half have returned. Similarly, many of their ancestors were uprooted from the land by Katrina, as 1,500 graves were damaged, destroyed or disinterred. Throughout coastal Louisiana, because the land is at or even below sea level, people are buried above the ground.

The exposed crypts and tombs are vulnerable to damaging winds and floods. In some instances, during Katrina, cement sarcophagi were blown hundreds of feet. Remains were flung from many tombs, and wooden coffins escaped and floated away.

After the storm, Mike Mudge, one of 9 Councilmen in Plaquemines Parish, enlisted friends and co-workers to help reclaim the cemeteries. What was thought to be a two-week endeavor took longer than eight months. The largest task was to identify the bodies. This required searching with airboats and GPS to locate debris. Mudge and his local team of investigators worked quickly and discreetly, managing to keep the less sensitive federal teams at bay for three weeks. He hesitated to have the federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, otherwise known as DMORT, assist the Parish early on, as their tendency during disaster is to quickly rebury the human remains in mass burial sites. A federal government mortuary system that started in the early 1980s, DMORT started as a committee formed within the National Funeral Directors Association to address disaster situations and specifically, mass fatality incidents. DMORT is now a program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. There were also cultural considerations that needed to be pointed out to DMORT: the different ways in which people are buried here. Many graves had mausoleums to fit 2 to 4 family members and required rearrangement with each new addition to the mausoleum. Mudge’s background as a police detective revealed itself looking for clues to connect body parts to grave sites during the crucial moments after the storm, and later, as he developed his own tagging and identifying system before DMORT arrived to the parish. This numbering system, using tags placed on the body, the coffin and the vault, is now in place, to aid with identification after the next storm.

New cement vaults are also strapped to the ground, with the same anchors and metal straps used for FEMA trailers. They lie alongside the older vaults that have managed to remain in place during the storm. A total of 300 tombs were moved, 167 bodies went to DMORT for identification and 150 bodies were reburied by the parish. A year later, Mudge is still working on the reinterment. A sign with Mudge’s home phone number is posted at the cemeteries where the dead - at least 35 bodies parish wide- are still missing.

As one moves further south through post-Katrina Plaquemines, buildings become more sparse and the area resembles a war zone. Houses have been replaced by uniform white trailers issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The landscape is dominated by temporary solutions, like FEMA trailers. People who can prove they owned a house that was destroyed (if their paperwork was not completely lost too) are entitle to a FEMA at the house site, if the residents prepare an inspectible sewer, water, and electrical connection. For renters or tenants, one of the dozens of FEMA trailer parks in the parish become home.

The FEMA park at the former community of Diamond, on the western shore, is the largest of the federally built and operated housing encampments in Plaquemines. Around 400 trailers house over 2,000 people. According to these numbers, the average trailer, 30 foot long by 7 feet wide, has 5 people living in it.

The rows of trailers are arranged in a tight grid and contained within a fence guarded by FEMA contractors. Occupants of the community are required to present identification when entering the premises. People have been moved from all over the parish and even from New Orleans to the Diamond Community, where the complexity of integration and close quarters are pressing everyday problems. At Diamond, there is no internal government, no social programming, and no community center. There is little incentive for people to interact with one another. Many spend days on end inside cramped trailers.

FEMA trailers are property of the federal government, and residents pay no rent. They were bought for around $25,000 each, with a final cost of over $60,000 when installed. Electricity, sewer, and water connections were made, and service paid for, by FEMA. Propane, for cooking and heating, is the responsibility of the tenant. The theft of propane tanks has risen to a problematic level.

It is clear to everyone that the flimsy structure of the trailers will not withstand another hurricane, yet 14 months after Katrina, long-range rebuilding efforts are still minimal, and options for other housing in the area is nonexistent. It is unknown to everyone how long these trailer parks will house the region’s residents.

Relief has come to Plaquemines in different forms and yet none are as colorful or as inclusive as the Emergency Community initiative temporarily based in Buras.

Buras suffered the brunt of the storm. It is also the most central town in south Plaquemines. Because of these two factors, the volunteers of Emergency Communities set up there, in the shell of the former YMCA building.

Emergency Communities was started by volunteers who were associated with the Rainbow Family, an international community of people who have organized large gatherings in wilderness areas since 1969. Their experience with rural kitchens, make-shift organization, and general survival skills were well adapted to the disaster zones made by Katrina.

Emergency Communities offers a variety of services at their Buras hub. Laundry, bathing, internet access, a library of books, and alternative medical services are free and available to anyone. Most importantly, they cook and serve around 300 meals a day to anyone who stops in. Volunteers help local residents with rebuilding projects. Other activities include regular basketball games and community events with youth who live in Diamond’s FEMA Community.

Events such as halloween parties, dances, and other seasonal activities are held in the main building, on a cement floor that is covered in painted designs. Though starkly incongruous in this the deepest of the deep south, the Hippie enthusiasm and friendliness provides an upbeat energy to a largely tired, dispirited, and spent constituency.

Emergency Communities is now funded by the United Way. After their support runs out, sometime in 2006, they may move to New Orleans’ ninth ward.

The small town of Empire is located in central Plaquemines Parish, and is the site where the eye of Hurricane Katrina first struck Louisiana soil. Empire is also a hub for the petroleum industry in the region.

The Chevron oil terminal in Empire, on the eastern shore, is a tank farm that receives oil from production platforms throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Daily, the terminal can handle up to 350,000 barrels of oil, roughly 20 percent of the Gulf of Mexico’s oil production. Currently the terminal handles between 230,000 and 275,000 barrels of oil a day, about 80 percent of its capacity.

During hurricane Katrina the roof of one storage tank was torn off, and the foundation of another was damaged, causing a 1.4 million gallon oil spill (an amount equivalent to that consumed by the United Kingdom in one day). As a result, responders used a controlled burn to clean surrounding damaged areas, causing major atmospheric pollution. In total, Katrina caused at least 8 million gallons of oil to leak at a number of different facilities, making it the second largest oil spill in U.S. history, after the Exxon Valdez.

Further down river is one of the nations most important natural gas processing plants. Targa Resources gas plant, located in Venice, is a gathering station for low-pressure gas coming from rigs in the gulf. Here, gas is cleaned, dried, processed, stored, and redistributed. The plant is currently processing around 800 million cubic feet of natural gas a year, but has the capacity to process up to 1.3billion cubic feet of natural gas a year. The company claims that a quarter of all the natural gas used east of the Mississippi comes from this facility.

Like Plaquemines’ oil industry, the sport fishing industry rebounded relatively rapidly after Katrina. The center of this activity is the marina at Venice, at the end of Highway 23, the last town on the Mississippi reachable by road. Approaching the marina, some of the many boats tossed ashore by Hurricane Katrina remain scattered about. But at the marina shiny white boats now inhabit the slips left empty by boats destroyed or marooned on land. The marina is a liminal area, a departure point between land and water, industry and sport, destruction and redevelopment. It is a place where fresh water turns to salt, corporate executives become fish anglers, and tuna becomes dinner. The sport fishing industry in Venice emerged in the late eighties, when many of the major oil and gas companies that developed the marina moved west to Port Fourchon, and the commercial fishing industry dwindled due to inexpensive overseas imports. Businessman David Ballay took a risk on the remote industrial town, purchased the lease on the harbor from the parish, and opened Venice Marina in 1986. Since then, Venice Louisiana has grown to become as fabled a fishing spot as Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Kona, Hawaii, or Islamorada, Florida. The fishermen - and women - come with dreams of catching redfish, wahoo, dolphin fish, blue marlin, yellowfin tuna among others and they descend upon Venice in swarms in the summer, from all parts of the world. The area surrounding the marina has not reflected the growth of its new industry, and suffered greatly from Katrina damage. There are very few supermarkets and restaurants to serve the visitors and the nearest accommodations are limited to the 32 on-site rental cabins. The Venice Marina fleet sends off at least a dozen charters each day with as many as 50 guided services running on the weekends. During the summer of 2006, the marina hosted over twenty tournaments, awarding the winning sportsmen prizes approaching one million dollars.
Reconstruction moves forward at the marina despite the visible remains of devastation that surround it, that serve as a partially heeded reminder of the likelihood of destructive stroms in the future. The marina, by necessity, is outside the levees, as is everything else in Plaquemines parish, south of this point.

Pilottown is the largest settlement in the birdfoot, and is only accessible by boat. Its buildings are constructed on piers in swampy ground on the east bank of the lower Mississippi River, about 10 miles south of Venice. All the buildings are connected by a raised concrete walkway that runs the length of the community, from the tank farm at the northern end, to the last cabin to the south. Beyond that, and beyond the safety of the walkway, is nearly impenetrable, alligator and snake infested marsh. Pilottown once had over 20 buildings, including houses, a weather station, ballroom, post office, school, and store. Heavily damaged by Katrina, it still serves as a home for Mississippi River pilots.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many pilots and their families lived there, and Pilottown was a weekend social center for the smaller and more remote villages and settlements in the marsh, like Burrwood. The population peaked at around 200 people, before a series of damaging hurricanes began a series of declines, especially Betsy in 1965, and Camille in 1969, after which the school was closed, and remaining students were bused to school in Venice by boat. Katrina in 2005, inflicted heavy damage on every remaining structure. Damage to the headquarters of the Associated Branch Pilots was sever enough that they have decided not to rebuild in Pilottown, and their building, one of the largest in town, will be torn down.

Despite the damage, there are a few people who remain in residence, bar pilots and construction workers. Six to eight pilots live in one of the repaired buildings on land, and on a houseboat at the dock. The houseboat is a manufactured doublewide trailer on a barge, resembling a contemporary suburban home inside.

The pilots that live here are some of the hundred or so pilots that belong to the Crescent River Pilots Association, which has jurisdiction for the river between Pilottown and New Orleans. As each foreign flagged ship over 100 tons approaches the mouth of the Mississippi river, they are met by a pilot boat from the Bar Pilots Association, which has a station down river, near the mouth. A Bar pilot boards the ship and guides the vessel over the Bar and into the river. Then, at Pilot town, a Crescent River pilot boards the ship for its journey up to mile 103, just after New Orleans. If the boat is going further upriver, then another pilot’s group takes over.

In 1996, Edna, the postmistress, retired, and the post office at Pilottown was closed. The pilots association has been able to keep their Zip Code, 70081, although it serves a mainly symbolic function now. Though it currently runs on diesel generators, new electric lines are being installed to replace those destroyed by Katrina, restoring Pilottown as the southernmost Plaquemines Parish community on the grid. Compressed, shrunken, and battered by storms, Pilottown will remain a place on the map -on the edge of the map - indefinitely.

Beyond Pilottown, is the Head of Passes, where the river splays into three main channels. To the east is Pass a Loutre, which is not maintained for navigation, but is an entry into the shallow swamps and gas wells of the Birdfoot. To the southwest is Southwest Pass, the main chipping channel, maintained to a depth of 40 feet. In between is South Pass, which once was the main shipping channel, but is now used primarily by fishing boats and supply boats heading out to the constellations of oil rigs in the Gulf.

At the end of South pass, is Port Eads, the last settlement on the river. It is named for the man who established it, and who made shipping in the Mississippi River possible, James Eads. In the 1870s, Eads brought crews of people to the end of the river to build a system of jetties over the shallow bar. Naturally, as the river slows down at the mouth, the sediment load drops, forming shallow shoals – bars – that prevent larger ships from entering the river. Eads’ plan called for a network of jetties projecting from the banks of the river, that forced the flow towards the center of the channel. This had the effect of speeding up the current, and carrying the sediment load beyond the bar, and scouring the river bottom. In just a few years after their construction, Eads system deepened the channel from 9 feet to 30 feet, and shipping on the Mississippi became a major economic force in the nation.

All the way down...

Port Eads today is a diffused wreck on the edge of the world, a river settlement that is so close to the river that it very nearly is part of the river. With the exception of the large lighthouse to the south, the settlement consists of a few houses, cabins, and docks, used by sport fishermen, including some of the more affluent members of the Parish Government, as weekend fishing retreat, and as a refuge from the open ocean. After Katrina, the marina was wrecked and abandoned. Flipped boats, half sunk barges, and strewn domestic debris dominate the scene. This is a place that is barely there.

During Katrina, two of the half dozen or so residents of Port Eads decided not to evacuate, to ride out the storm. Both of them, Wayne Scarabin, age 53, and Roy Clark, age 18, were literally blown away. Their remains have never been found. Life on the edge is tenuous.

Over a year later, a friend of theirs, Jimmy Bowana, has returned as the only resident of Port Eads. He lives amidst the wreckage, living off the land and sea, in the office of the marina where Wayne and Roy worked. Jimmy is the last man on the river.

Some out takes from our trip: