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Friday, March 21, 2008

Good Friday 

Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

--Isaac Watts

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Sunday, March 16, 2008

Ars Gratia Artis 

Yesterday we went with Coffee to receive her award for that arts contest she won. Turns out that I don't need to be quite so jealous. Even though she won first place in the teen prose category, there was only one award given out in that category. Hmmmmm. Well, I still liked her piece. And besides the handy dandy certificate (suitable for framing) she won a free lunch or dinner for two at Roy's B-B-Q. I suppose in a show of South Seattle arts community solidarity we should have had supper there right away. Instead we scooted over to Georgetown and had a celebratory dinner at Herfy's. I suppose that's better than driving over to Factoria Mall for eats.

I was tempted to think, before the ceremony, that I was going to be wasting two hours' time and six dollars admission just to watch the kid receive her reward. But the reality is, I had a pretty good time. Sure, there are better poets, writers and photographers out there--but it was enjoyable to connect with these local kids and adults and listen to what they had to share with us. There's a lot of little community events like this out there, and I was thinking to myself that I really should take the time to experience them more often.

On the other hand, enjoying the local arts carries a greater risk than just popping in a video or joining the masses at some major concert venue. Meeting local artists runs the risk of establishing local relationships. For example, the other week we accompanied the child to her Washington Old Time Fiddler's meeting. Over the potluck lunch, we struck up conversation with the folks at our table. That led to a couple of the guys there were trying to get me to join the performances. (As a singer, that is, not a fiddler.) We don't want to go there. At least, not until I can perfect singing with a twang....

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Pride and jealousness 

Just got word last night that Coffee won a local writing contest. Of course, if I want to maintain anonymity, I can't link to any press releases or news articles that may be out there. sigh. What's a proud father to do? I know, I'll be jealous instead. Coffee submitted a short tale about a old immigrant woman and a young white girl passing on the street. A touching and culturally sensitive tale, to be sure. Now when I was her age, I was writing a bad Star Wars parody where the droids were stoners and Darth was my English teacher. Durn upstart kid, showing me up like that....

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Saturday, March 08, 2008

Wa-Who! 

What a wonderful week for brain candy! Not only has Sluggy Freelance started a new Harry Potter parody (the jokes of which I will now be able to get), but I also borrowed a mess o' Doctor Who DVDs from the library. I first put in a request for them a couple of months ago, after reading something about the latest series on the 'net. (Jack's blog, maybe? I forget.) My name sat in the hold queue for weeks on end until -Blam!- I find that the disks are in transit. Watching the series (the first of the ninth doctor, Christopher Eccleston) brought back memories of experiencing the good Doctor back in the 80s. They've done a good job of capturing the same wonder and sense of humor that was so appealing in the older series. I was also a bit surprised to recall that Doctor Who is in many ways a horror series. As I've left my handful of Doctor Who tapes gather dust on the shelf, my memory has been fading so that I had recalled the series as being more of a science fiction adventure vehicle. But as I watch Rose run from a Dalek, or Autons terrorise a mall, I realize that really there were a lot of grisly deaths and scary monsters back in the old episodes. (Well, scary until it's revealed that those long shadows were cast by a guy in a rubber suit.) So, as has been happening way too much lately, I find myself putting off useful work around the home and dragging the comfy chair in front of the telly to lose myself in 45 minutes of fantasy. It's a pity I have to waste so much time working for a living.....

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Saturday, March 01, 2008

What do you get? 

Well, my new boss, John Emdall, has failed to fulfill his promise to tend to our raises by the end of February. In the one month since he took ownership of Yoyodyne, all he seems to have done is rearrange the shop floor, paint the pressroom walls and give lots of tours. So far I've met John's mother, his kids, his sister and her husband, and one of his cousins as they've toured the building. (I also met his wife, but that was at the old boss' retirement party.) Actually, I'm not really dissatisfied. He's also given tours to some potential customers and has said very complimentary things about us when he's passed through. And he makes a point to greet us every morning. Work is pretty good, really. Still, a raise would be nice. Um, that's assuming I was going to get a raise. I suppose there is a chance that John Emdall did tend to the raises and I just didn't rate. That would explain why the guys keep wanting to go out to lunch every other Friday....

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