The river gurgled next to him, spilling over its bank and sinking into the sand beneath glistening twigs and pine needles. He looked back at its bend and watched ripples gallop like horses down the stretch. With water flowing in from the ocean, however, it gave the curious perception of fast flowing waves standing still.
Surfing Pop Culture: Searching For Rainbows
The first time I heard the opening banjo notes of The Rainbow Connection coming from a frog on a stump in the swamp, I was ten years old and sitting transfixed in the old Admiral Theater in Bremerton, Washington, watching The Muppet Movie. That was a palace with its marquee rimmed by lightning-trapped bulbs, a real ticket booth, a slanted hall with cavernous ceilings, balcony, and cushioned seats. [Read More]
Upstream with a Clatsop canoe
“It was shocking, surreal, and disturbing to me personally to see a member of my family, Chief Coboway, being referred to as a member of another tribe with no mention of the Clatsop tribe he belonged to,” writes Stowe. “The entire tribe is very unhappy with this effort to erase our tribal heritage, and is determined to put an end to this misinformation and get the true story published.”
A visitor at The Confessional
I was in bed last night, reading a book I bought from this teeny little bookstore I couldn’t remember the name of, despite having just been there hours before. As I was doing this, a little card fell out. Jupiter’s Rare & Used Books, right! That place. And I was thinking how badly I would rather be there than here (Vancouver, WA) at the moment.
The Virtues of Austerity
Greece just got bailed out again, in exchange for further austerity measures. Closer to home, I just read tonight that the City of Astoria is considering eliminating some street lighting to save money. Of course Clatsop Community College recently announced the elimination of 15 full-time positions, which have been whittled down to 5 by various means.
Zedhead Reunion
Let it be known there is a fountain,
That was not made by the hands of men.
— Robert Hunter
Not far from here, in a parallel dimension, people are listening to the greatest hits of Zed Whimsy. Come gather round for a little musical testimony.
Data processing with Janus in France
“Be kind to strangers,
lest they’re angels in disguise.”
verse from Shakespeare and Company song
Offbeat questions arise while minding my bookshop in winter on the Oregon coast. Like — why does our calendar year begin with a month named after a double-headed deity who looks backward and forward at the same time?
Message from the whales
This morning I awoke early. It was still dark as I went out into the cold. I felt the magic of the waning full moon bathing my world in white light. But so early? It was the whales. They wanted me to feel the moment and hear their message.
Surfing Pop Culture: The Globes Are Golden Again
The Golden Globes will always hold a special place in my heart. See, I was at the Beverly Hilton as a Production Assistant for the 50th Annual Golden Globes. A night of glory. My first Hollywood job. The first time the curtain fell – or, rather, the screen. You know the one. Between audience and […]
Let’s do keep Christ in Christmas
At this ancient Solstice time, when the great trees are honored (with the conifer in the living room), and the power of fire and return of the sun is invoked (with the burning of candles and the splashes of electric lights on our houses), the birth of Jesus, great dissident and rebel, is celebrated by many. In our present era of mind-numbing consumerism, […]