In the News

Yukio Hatoyama, the incoming first lady of Japan, reported that she traveled to the planet Venus in a triangular UFO while she slept.

The incident is chronicled in her book, Very Strange Things I’ve Encountered.

Failing to mention the crater-mottled volcanic plains, clouds of sulfur dioxide and a poisonous carbon dioxide atmosphere with a surface pressure 92 times that of Earth, she described Venus as “a very beautiful place and very green.” Venusian surface temperatures of over 850 °F apparently failed to affect her pale complexion.

Disney Buys Marvel

I guess it's no surprise that Disney is snatching up the Marvel universe for a cool $4 billion. But do we really need to get Donald Duck and Howard the Duck together? That spells trouble as far as I am concerned. (Though seeing Namor the Sub-Mariner romance Ariel might be intriguing.)

And what does this mean for Disneyland? Some lame Hulk-themed ride through a dark tunnel?

I have to say I have a soft spot for Marvel comics. I started reading the Fantastic Four in the late 70's, and who doesn't love Spider-Man? Perhaps they'll make a good fit for Disney. Pixar, the animation studio, was a smart acquisition on Disney's part, mainly because over the past few years the family fare released under the Disney banner has been pretty lame.

This is a sad comment: the best Walt Disney movie in the past couple of years has been Hannah Montana.

What might they do for Spider-Man 4?

Belated Travel Log - Day Nine

Eufaula, Alabama, is one of those charming little southern towns with great antebellum homes and charming shops and restaurants. We breakfasted at the Country Kitchen and Cakery, which had been, in days gone by, the stables for the adjoining hotel, which is currently being restored to its original Southern glory with a grant from someone. At any rate, they prepared my eggs the way I like them, one scrambled, one over easy. And the biscuits and sawmill gravy were fantastic. We had to ask for more, though later on we regretted that last biscuit. We were stuffed.

From Eufaula it was on to Atlanta, home of the Braves and Coca-Cola, and the end of our time together. My traveling companion, mixmaster DJ MC went on to a Microsoft event there, and I headed east, into an uncertain future.

Belated Travel Log - Day Eight

Did I mention that somewhere in Alabama, at a place called the Santa Fe, we saw the biggest ceiling fan we had ever seen? It was like something out of Texas. My part time driver, mixmaster DJ MC, now releived of his duties following the unspeakable confrontation with the Texas Highway Patrol, said of the Santa Fe, "Tonight we eat like kings." And we did. It was affordable and delicious. And the service was supurb. We drove from the Santa Fe (wherever it was) through some Alabama backroads. Beautiful state, truly. We arrived in Eufaula, Alabama for a night of rest and relaxation a couple of hours later.

Belated Travel Log - Where Not To Stay in Texas

I cannot recommend the Pest Westeri Hotel off of I-10 in Texas. It is a sleazy place run by cattle theives. Please avoid this place at all costs. They have cockroaches there the size of cattle dogs, and the armadillo crawling around the room are armed and very aggressive.

The Texas Highway Patrol in this same area are also armed and rather unsympathetic to out-of-state travelers. They are hung up about some crazy "nighttime only" speed limits. This concept is insane. These troopers have Texas-sized citation booklets and use terms like "negative" when you try and have a friendly conversation. You have been warned.

Photo at left: either an agressive armadillo or a Texas state trooper. Maybe both.

Belated Travel Log - New Orleans Note

It was nice to find Ignatius J. Reilly immoralized in bronze in the Big Easy. For those that know and love him, this may have meaning. Jolly Tyler, this means you. Everyone else may disregard this post.

Belated Travel Log - Day Seven and Eight

New Orleans proved to be a nice resting spot on the journey from Pacific to Atlantic, particularly after driving across the state of Texas. That state is a bear of a drive. I don't care what people say about driving across Montana. I've driven Montanta. Piece of cake. Texas, that's a man's drive. And my part time driver, mixmaster DJ MC, has the citation from the Texas Highway Patrol to prove it.

The Big Easy provided us with exceptional accommodations at the Astor Hotel, as well as great cajun food and drink. Gumbo at the Gumbo Shop. Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's. Beignets and chicory coffee and Cafe Du Monde. Mmmmm. Oh, did I mention Aunt Sally's pralines? I bought a box for my daughter. And one or two for me. Sublime.

We also took in a bit of history, considering that Andrew "Action" Jackson whipped some British tail there back in 1814.

Belated Travel Log - Day Six

San Antonio was another bright spot along the journey. I was surprised at how much I liked the city, or at least the parts of it that I saw. The Riverwalk was really amazing, and seeing the Alamo, now a shrine, was moving. I was always fond of the 1960 John Wayne (also the director!) film, with Richard Widmark, about the battle of the Alamo. There were only a handul of survivors, women and children. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna gave them blankets and pesos and sent them away, encouraging them to warn all to remember what happened there that perilous day. I learned that the battle cry "Remember the Alamo" was taken quite seriously by General Sam Houston, who proceeded to engage and subsequently defeat Santa Anna's formidable army in only 18 minutes.

Near the Alamo is the lovely Hotel Menger, inside of which is a very nice bar which was constructed to emulate the bar in the House of Lords in England. I put my finger in two bullet holes in the bar that were made by Teddy Roosevelt, who recruited many of his famous "Rough Riders" there.

Belated Travel Log - Day Five

Outside of El Paso my traveling companion, mixmaster DJ MC, and I detoured off I-10 and drove through a little border town a stone's throw from Mexico seeking sustenance. The place was very poor; ramshackle buildings and long-closed businesses lined the main street. We found the only open restaurant, Taco Tina's, and consumed some tasty tacos. There was no indoor dining, only a small table outside. The food was good, but the heat and the swarms of flies sullied our dining experience.

In the photo below, the young waiter fills our lemonade cups next to Taco Tina's one table.

Belated Travel Log - Day Four

California was nice and sunny for the most part, and one of the highlights of the trip. (The miserable traffic through L.A. being the exception, but is anyone surprised?) Early in day four, we enjoyed a nice breakfast in Solvang (first photo), an odd little Danish town, before spending some time in Santa Barbara, where we had trouble distinguishing the mission there for a mere church.

In the second photo I am driving through Santa Barbara enjoying the scenery and the mild climate. Things became a bit hotter once we rolled into Palm Springs (bottom photo). But in the desert east of Palm Desert the heat was oppressive. Even the wind was as if it was emanating from a roaster. It must have been 115 out there.

Belated Travel Log - Day Two

Only at the end of a cross country journey do I take the time to share a few tidbits to the three people who read my blog.

On day two I traveled with my companion, mixmaster DJ MC, south on the Oregon coast on Highway 101 then on to the California Bay Area along the Pacific Coast Highway.

Left: the Oregon coast

Below: sunset over the Pacific Ocean, an hour or so north of San Rafael in Marin County, California.

Christmas in July

The Disney Christmas train is in Seattle for a few days during its nationwide tour of the U.S., and we went down for a while this morning to see it. The primary purpose of this whistle stop tour is to promote the upcoming Robert Zemickis film A Christmas Carol, which stars Jim Carrey as Scrooge and all the ghosts, Gary Oldman as Bob Crachit, Jacob Marley and Tiny Tim, Robin Wright Penn, Colin Firth, Cary Elwes and Bob Hoskins.

Aside from the fascinating exhibits on the motion capture technology used to produce the film, there were period costumes, exhibits about the story and its characters, and a number of items on loan from the Dickens museum in London. I was most interested in these, which included first editions of Dickens' works, handwritten manuscripts and Dickens' own quill and inkwell.

More than just an animated film, director Zemickis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) used digital motion capture technology to record the actors' movements and facial expressions, enabling him to place the actors, in all three dimensions, into computer generated sets in order to render the scenes from the film. On the train were a number of the miniature "sets" animators used to create the world of Scrooge as it existed in the mid-nineteenth century, all of which I found fascinating. There was also a small theater set up outside the train station where we were able to screen about ten minutes of scenes from the film in 3D.

Seeing the Christmas Carol train turned out to be a nice little break from the heat and the drudgery of packing the house. It's a clever marketing tool (leave it to Disney), an educational tool for those interested in film production, and a nice exhibit of historical artifacts from one of our most revered authors.

Happy Independence Day from Pacific Grits!

Summertime in Seattle

There are few things in my life that I enjoy as much as those warm, clear summer days in Seattle when the sky is blue, the rainy season is forgotten and, as the locals say, "the mountain is out."

Today was such a day, and I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with my daughter. We took one of our outings to the Space Needle, a place my daughter has long enjoyed, a place the two of us steal off to on those rare times when just the two of us feel like getting out of the house and driving the short distance from our suburban home into the city.

It was the grownups who finished off this glorious day, enjoying a fine meal with Mike and Amy at the Cafe Septieme in Seattle's Capital Hill neighborhood. It was at this same cafe that the four of us dined on my wife's very first day in Seattle eleven short years ago.

Good times.

The Cherries are In!

I look forward to this time each year when our cherry crop comes in. It always happens the week of July 4th, and this year our cherry crop was a good one.

This means the wife whips up a delicious cherry cobbler or two, a dish she has become an expert at preparing.

My daughter was insistent that this year she be allowed up on the ladder while we gather cherries. She prefers it to her long-held job of standing at the base of the ladder with the bowl as I, risking life and limb by standing foolishly on the very top step of the ladder, attempt to reach the highest branches on the tree.

And did I mention the cobbler? Delicious!

Serving Our Country

Last week I attended a change of command ceremony for the 8th Airlift Squadron at the invitation of my good friend Steve, at the Air Force base here. (I hope he doesn’t mind me posting this.)

For a civilian it was an honor to receive an invitation to attend, and very cool to mingle with Steve and his family and the other squadron members and base officers at a reception aboard a C-17. (How those behemoths can get off the ground in the first place is beyond me, but I digress.)

The ceremony itself was memorable, and Steve’s eloquent speech to the squadron and its guests nearly moved me to tears. It’s great seeing old friends achieve success in their chosen fields, and as far as Steve is concerned, June 18 was no exception. He’s a fine officer and an even finer friend.

My best to you, old buddy, as you take on new challenges. The work you do for our country and for me, as an American, is so often underappreciated. But without you and the others serving our country in uniform, the United States would not be the remarkable place that it is.

June 18 was a day that I was not only proud to be an American, but ever so proud to be a friend of one who has made countless sacrifices to serve our great country.

A Blast from the Past - 1994

Todd and his floozy somewhere in North Charleson, SC.

Welcome Summer

The days are getting longer, and my summer is off to a great beginning. Here's what's been going on:

I am sitting up watching some great old movies on TCM: Mildred Pierce with Joan Crawford and Casablanca, a movie I never tire of. This, after taking in a pair of movies at the Seattle Film Festival this morning.

I've been blogging about a few of the many films I have seen thus far at SIFF here.

Recently, on a trip to the Pike Place Market, we visited the famous Shoe Museum. They have some very large shoes there.

Soccer season wrapped up. I am going to miss the Saturday games.

I chaperoned my daughter's field trip to the zoo last week. Chaperoning second graders on a field trip can be very exhausting.

My daughter asked me to shave for the field trip, but the morning got away from us. I have not shaved since May 22.

I have been watching the old Bob Newhart Show on DVD, with Suzanne Pleshette. What a great show.

I found eleven blog posts saved that I never uploaded. They include two bits about being a frequent flyer (which I haven't been in more than a year), a piece from March 14th about looking for spring which included a photo during my commute with four inches of snow on the hood of my car, and a few blasts from the past. Perhaps I'll post a few of these soon.

We sold our house. The challenge now is finding somewhere to go.

Saved on Easter Sunday (15%)

Easter morning! Happy Easter, everyone!

My first greeting on this holy day came via email, from a Mr. J.C. Penney. "Happy Easter!" the email exclaimed.

Then I was reminded to take 15% off on my purchases today.

As Charlie Brown might say, "Good grief!"

Soon we'll be pressured to exchange Easter gifts. Is nothing sacred anymore?

Mac and Cheese

What kid does not like macaroni and cheese? But it's one of those things I usually don't allow my daughter to order from the kid's menu at restaurants. "You need to order something healthy," I tell her.

Unless of course we are at Beecher's, a cheese shop at the Seattle Market that sells, well, cheese. We stopped in recently where I picked up a half pound of their smooth Havarti for snacking. Their cream cheese is heavenly on a toasted bagel, but it's expensive and I don't eat bagels very often.

Beecher's is known, however, for their signature white cheddar, which is sharp and very flavorful.

Aside from selling cheese, they do offer one hot item: macaroni and cheese, made with their signature cheddar. It is heavy, filling and delicious, and marks one of only two mac and cheese dishes in Seattle I would consider a meal.

The other is served at the 13 Coins, and only on Mondays. That steaming bowl of cheesy pasta is cooked with Bacon, which adds a hearty element to simple pasta and cheese that I have yet to taste anywhere else.