Hammy Blog

Back again

2006-11-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

I don't really know if anyone is checking this blog anymore, but if you are...

I have just downloaded a whole bunch of pictures from my work trip to Lisbon. My camera doesn't seem to work well for night pictures, but takes some pretty good day ones.

Hopefully, I will soon upload my pictures from Paris, Utah, Boston, and Yosemite. I have been pretty busy hopping the globe lately. It is a huge blessing, but then again so is sleeping in your own bed again at the end of it all. It is also great to catch up with my friends after being away for so long. I know we are all increasingly more and more busy, but I treasure my time with you all, and miss you when I am away.

Until my next post, take care. (I think I may have another blog-project for everybody again soon, so keep tuned).

-Jeff

p.s. I apologize in advance for any typographical, spelling, and punctuation errors. I am typing quickly, and in the case of the captions, I can't figure out how to correct them once they have been published.

2006-11-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

View from the Insyght dinner down to the port. Notice the Golden Gate style suspension bridge in the background. For many reasons, Lisbon reminded me a lot of California, which I was not expecting. The colors, the ocean, the people, the warm weather, the general overall relaxed feeling of the culture. I was very surprised by Lisbon, and will look forward to going back in the future.

2006-11-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

Neighborhood festival decorations. I forget the reason for the celebration, though. I know World Cup was about to take place, but I don't think this was the reason for the decorations, although the Portuguese were very proud of their team.

2006-11-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

Another view to the port

2006-11-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

View from a neighborhood down to the port

2006-11-04T20:14:00.000-08:00

Dinner in progress. Up on the stage are two classical guitar players. They were later joined by a traditional Portuguese Fado singer.

2006-11-04T20:11:00.000-08:00

Early pictures of the setup for our off-site dinner at the Xebregas Palacio. This room was originally an open-air training area for show horses. The roof, as you can see, is transparent, and makes for a cool sunset dinner. In the upper right-hand corner is an open window; this was the attic room where the Insyght team could eat and watch the dinner from above.

2006-11-04T20:07:00.000-08:00

View of the round-about, Marques do Pombal

2006-11-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

Views from my hotel room. I believe the park below is Parc Eduardo (the 10th or 13th, or some number). The large roundabout that you may see in one of the pictures is a prominant Lisbon landmark honoring the Marques de Pombal. Pombal was famous for being the architect of the city following the devastating earthquakes and fires experienced by Lisbon in the late 18th century.

2006-11-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

One of Lisbon's many famous feniculars (sp?). The city is built on many steep hills, and these cable-car-esque vehicles help the locals get around.

2006-11-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

Small square in Lisbon at 2:00am

2006-11-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

Le Meridien Park Atlantic, Lisbon. Some of our attendees stayed here. Most stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz, but for some reason I didn't get a picture of that hotel.

2006-11-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

Cookie Fun

2006-11-04T19:45:00.000-08:00

Adrian's Pimp-kin

2006-02-27T22:20:00.000-08:00

Harley! I would have tried to take this dog home with me, except it had a shock collar on.

Pictures

2006-02-27T22:19:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody. Ok, so I didn't post forever, but hopefully I have made up for it with the twenty or so pictures I posted from the wedding. I also included one or two from New Year's weekend, and one that shows the view from my house. I have two disclaimers however. (1) My computer stinks, and when it crashed last, I had to restore it. when I did, I went to reinstall my Photoshop and realized that I couldn't find the access code, so....none of these pitures have been edited for aesthetic purposes. They are raw, unflitered, and uncropped. (2) I was not able to control the order of when and where they posted, so they are kind of out of order. I am sure I could have figured it out, but I was really just over it.

Please note these are being published under the annoying and overbearing pressure of Ashley Holmes, who wouldn't stop freaking out about them. Seriously, I got like 7 calls and e-mails a day about it. I hope she is happy, and maybe now she will stop harassing me. Just playing with you.

Enjoy these pictures for now. I have more random pictures of the Klintworth house, which we stayed at over New Year's weekend, and I will publish those a little later.

For now, CONGRATULATIONS SCOTT AND KELLIE!!! We love you and are so happy for you. Please return soon.

-Hamilton Out!- (no joke, I heard Bob Costas actually say "Costas Out!" the other night when he signed off from Torino. I almost choked on my Nilla wafer, I was laughing so hard)

2006-02-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

View from my house. I am not lying.

2006-02-27T22:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years

2006-02-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

Don't ask me, I don't think I ever knew what was going on with this

2006-02-27T22:11:00.000-08:00

Wedding fun! Honestly though, I have no idea who that girl on the right is.

2006-02-27T22:09:00.001-08:00

Chad and Christina. Yay!

2006-02-27T22:09:00.000-08:00

Friends, together again, really close together.

2006-02-27T22:04:00.001-08:00

Blurry image of us practicing walking down the aisle. Too bad Dave was filling in for two people, leaving us without a guitar player, but I don't think it mattered so much because the preacher wasn't there and the wedding ended up happening in the Santa Rosa room inside. But you know what they say, crazy rehearsal, fun rehearsal dinner. Well I don't know if they say that, but it happened anyways.

2006-02-27T22:04:00.000-08:00

Another view from the Lodge at Rancho Mirage

2006-02-27T21:59:00.002-08:00

While we waited to take the official photographs we took our own

2006-02-27T21:59:00.001-08:00

Rehearsal Dinner random shot

2006-02-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

Seriously the pool guy offered Matt Larssen Sunscreen like four times.

2006-02-27T21:58:00.001-08:00

The original group (ing of chairs that would have been the wedding location)

2006-02-27T21:58:00.000-08:00

Rehearsal Dinner random shot

2006-02-27T21:51:00.000-08:00

If you look closely you can see a valley full of really old people

2006-02-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

Happy lovebirds strolling along the bluffs overlooking the dramatic valley...and a pink girl

2006-02-27T21:47:00.001-08:00

Another shot of the beautiful couple

2006-02-27T21:47:00.000-08:00

Beautiful clouds, but so dramatic that they forced the wedding indoors

2006-02-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

Jessica and Jeff at the Van Atta Wedding

2006-02-27T21:37:00.000-08:00

Matt Larssen | Matt Isbell

2006-02-20T23:23:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Scott and Kellie

It has begun...

2005-10-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

"Who is John Galt"

Weekly Assignment #2

2005-10-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

Ok you guys, this one is really easy, or really difficult, depending on how you choose to view it. I would actually like for you to post your response whenever you have finished.

Using only 6 words, describe everything you know about the person in closest physical proximity to you at this moment.

Weekly Assignment #1

2005-10-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start a weekly assignment section of my blog. This is one of those things that you can do or not do, I don't really care too much, but they will all be fun, creative, and I hope informative.

First Assignment:

Looking through slews of catering menus today made me realize that there are quite a few cooking terms that I do not know. Because of my line of work, as well as the sumptuous Tuesday Night Dinner Club, this is unacceptable. Sooo for the first assignment, please define the following terms:

celeriac
mache
salsify
compote
emulsion
rusks
rillettes
pernod cream
confit
frisee
ragout
coulis
bresse
mousseline
rapini
rabe (e.g. broccoli rabe)
amarone (sauce)
tian (e.g. vegetable tian)
savarin

Enjoy your assignments. I look forward to your responses!

2005-09-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

"Without property, as things are, a man has no freedom, and no security for the necessities of a tolerable life; without power, he has no opportunity for initiative. If men are to have free play for their creative impulses, they must be liberated from sordid cares by a certain measure of security, and they must have a sufficient share of power to be able to exercise initiative as regards the course and conditions of their lives."

This treatise really made me think; a good exercise every now and then. You should however find something completely inane and useless to read after this, you know, for balance.

Bertrand Russell - 1917

Food-ism

2005-09-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

We are indeed much more than we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than we are.

-Adelle Davis-

2005-09-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested, the list of celebrities that I saw last night include:

Missy Elliot
DJ AM (freaking great by the way)
Nicole Richie
Jose Conseco
John Henson (a la Talk Soup early 1990's)
The Janitor from Scrubs
Holly Robinson Peet (also saw her at an American Idol taping)
One of the main characters from West Wing, but I can't remember his name
Bill Maher
Jessica Simpson (no ring)
Wilmer Valderamma (in the same group as Jessica Simpson, uh oh)
and... Mark Paul Gossaler (Zach Morris)

talk about a fun night. I will have to tell you all about it later. Ciaooo

Appetizers

2005-09-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

I just received a list of appetizers from a restaurant my company might be using in New York in December. My mouth started watering and I thought that if anybody would appreciate these things like I do, it would be the readers of my blog. Some of these items are simple, while others more complex, but all of them sound really good (even at 8:30 in the morning). P.S. speaking of yummy things, did you know that the Pumpkin Spice Latte has already returned to Starbucks, which is fantastic, but also that Halloween items have already started lining the aisles at Ralph's. I have even heard rumors of Christmas items at such "premature redecorators" as Cost Plus, Costco, local boutique shops, and even those crappy venues that open seasonally in the vacant storefronts in malls. Too early people! By the time the actual holiday comes, you are burnt out. Enough on that though, on to the food...

- Caesar Salad on Garlic Crouton
- Lobster Bisque with Chive
- Pickled Spicy Shrimp
- Shrimp Cocktail
- Artichoke & Pancetta Tartlets
- Jasmine Rice Fritters with Spicy Thai Chili Sauce
- Tsar Cut Salmon with Maviar & Pink Peppercorn
- Cauliflower Puree with Salmon Roe (see Salmon Roe above)
- Smoked Salmon Blini
- Foie Gras Terrine & Apricot Marmalade on Mini Blini
- Seaweed Crusted Tuna with Wasabi Aioli
- Orange & Soy Marinated Beef Skewers
- Lamb with Artichoke Puree & Pickled Mango Crostini
- Transmontanus USA Caviar on Mini Blini
- Tuna Tartar with Roasted Red Pepper & Truffle Essence
- Parmesan & Truffle Risotto TartlettesPulled Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine Sauce

...YUM! Have a great day

Grandpa

2005-08-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

I went running yesterday. I love running through my neighborhood, because it is a great distraction to see all the beautiful houses with their eclectic styles and finely-tuned architechtural flairs. You can still see occasionally, between the bullying edifaces of Craftsman, Adobe, French Provencial, and Hampton-esque estates, the old founders of the neighborhood; those modest houses that were obviously the original pioneers of what came to be a sought-after area code, but started out as a small community. One particular such house stopped me in my tracks. It wasn't the fact that it actually had a front lawn (something its sprawling giant neighbors seemed to scoff), or the fact that the older man in the front yard was actually doing his own gardening, rather it was the smell of the house. It smelled exactly like my Grandpa and Grandma's house in Marin County. To complement the effect, it was painted in the exact same brick red color, and was even sporting the white-washed roosters that used to adorn his single-panel garage door. It made me sad because I realized how much I miss my grandfather who just passed away, but then it made me happy, breathing in that unique scent and remembering all of the happy memories of my childhood that revolved around just such a house.

2005-08-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

"Dr. Laura isn't like a doctor at all, she's like the opposite of a doctor...She's an epidemic."
-Brilliant observation by Josh Schieber

Budget Discount Code!

2005-08-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

So as all of you know, I was in a fantastic car accident about two weeks ago. My car is in the shop (again) and (again) I have found myself behind the wheel of a rental car, more specifically behind the cute little wheel of a Ford Focus. For those of you who have never driven a Ford Focus, I think you would be pleasantly surprised by its comfortable amenities. There is quite a lot of room in its interior. The design of the car itself is very modern and as a result, un-Ford-like. It even is equipped to play MP3's and could almost resemble a distant cousin of the honda civic if it weren't for one thing; this car has the most annoying interior noises. If you leave your seatbelt off for too long the car emits a blaring, pulsating screech. Ok, it gets you to buckle up, but sometimes you are just crossing the parking lot, or turning on the car to roll your windows back up, and you don't need a car (one that you don't even want to be driving mind you) copping an attitude. Additionally, the turn signal can best be described as what would seem like a squirrel nibbling spastically on a Snapple cap, which only discourages me further from using the signal at all. When all is said and done though, at least I didn't have to drive a Toyota Echo (too small), a Mitsubishi Galante (say "Galante" to yourself a couple times at a normal speed and let me know if you would want to be driving one, no matter what it looked like), or a Dodge Stratus (c'mon. Tell me you've seen that Saturday Night Live sketch).

Hopefully when I turn this car in for my new one, I will be just as lucky. This brings me to my second point. If you ever rent a car from Budget, there is an incredible secret, that I think you all need to know about. Anybody who is a customer of Wal-Mart (i.e. everyone in the world) is eligible to receive a significant "anytime" discount when booking with Budget Rent-a-car. All you do is enter in the code W810011 or W810000 in the BCD section of the online booking agent. I myself saved $50 on a last-minute booking. Incredible. It is amazing the stuff you can find on Google.

Well I hope you all have a good day driving your own cars. I myself will be hugging the turns in my dazzling, silver, 4-cylinder, Geo Metro, er, Ford Escort, I mean...Ford Focus, right, got it. Zoom!

2005-07-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

The best thing to happen in china since...well maybe the only good thing. I take that back, you gotta love those spring rolls!

2005-06-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

This picture is actually a postcard image taken from a website called www.postsecret.blogspot.com

Zoanthropy

2005-06-08T02:02:00.000-07:00

"Come in," called my father.
I opened the door. He sat cross-legged on the floor...He wore his undershirt and a grass-stained pair of khakis; wire-framed glasses; a black steel wrist-watch with a nonreflective face, the gift of a Ugandan general.
If you are sitting in your home, late at night, alone, strange noises echoing down the hallways, disturbing your mind, and if you look out across the street, look through the window of a stranger's apartment, the apartment lit only by the television's static, and the stranger's room glows a cool and eerie blue - that was the exact color of my father's eyes.

-Taken from Zoanthropy by David Benioff, a short story originally published in Tin House Magazine and then later as part of a compilation entitled: The Best American Nonrequired Reading, 2004.

2005-05-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

After a little fit of nostalgia, I decided to post a picture of the San Lorenzo Mercato. It doesn't look like much if you have never been there, but I can still remember running through here dodging tourists as I was late to get home, or haggling for 25 cent posters, or scoping out 50 carts of goods before finally buying a wallet 7 weeks later. This picture brings back good memories.

Service and Generosity

2005-04-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

For some reason there has been a heavy burden on my heart that I have not been doing enough to help the struggles that I see in the everyday lives of my friends, co-workers, and fellow human beings. The other day I got really upset because for the past couple of weeks I have been pouring myself into my job; I have worked crazy hours, solved difficult problems, taken on too much responsibility and managed to overcome it all. Instead of stopping to be thankful for all of the resources that had enabled me to succeed, I was indignant because nobody had thanked or praised me for the incredible sacrifices I had made, the great job I had done, or the amazing abilities I had displayed. In one of those middle-of-the-commute-complainging-on-the-phone-to-all-three-people-I-call moments, it hit me: I was looking for other people to fulfill me; I wanted their adoration and approval, because the work that I am doing in itself does not fulfill me. The purpose for which I strive holds little to no significance. What is more, I was not content enough with myself that I sought. through the comments of people who I respect even less than myself, to find balance and happiness. I called back the people I had been on the phone with and apologized for everything I had said. My boss is not a, well I won't actually publish what I called him, rather he is a person who has been hurt in his life and doesn't have a hope that surpasses understanding. The guests that 'sent me over the edge' were really just weak people scrambling to try and assert some semblance of control of lives that have lost direction and true purpose. The following quotes really helped re-center me, and I hope that they help you too.

"Don't judge each day by the harvest that you reap, but by the seeds that you plant." -Robert Louis Stevenson

"Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting." -Mother Theresa

"You are not merely here to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand." -Woodrow Wilson

2005-03-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

Surfing on Golden Beach by Bruce Weber. This picture was sent to me by one of my good friends from back home. Bruce Weber is a famous photographer who has done photo shoots for nearly every major magazine; he is most widely known for his work in Vanity Fair magazine.

2005-02-07T13:38:00.000-08:00

This is no doubt something that Marcus taught them!

2005-02-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

A ship sank in high seas and the following people got stranded on a beautiful deserted island in the middle of nowhere:

A. 2 Italian men and 1 Italian woman

B. 2 French men and 1 French woman

C. 2 German men and 1 German woman

D. 2 Greek men and 1 Greek woman

E. 2 Polish men and 1 Polish woman

F. 2 Mexican men and 1 Mexican woman

G. 2 Irish men and 1 Irish woman

H. 2 American men and 1 American woman

I. 2 Indian men and 1 Indian woman

One month later, on various parts of the island, the following was observed:A. One Italian man killed the other Italian man for the Italian woman.B. The two French men and the French woman are living happily together in a menage a trois.C. The two German men have a strict weekly schedule of when they alternate with the German woman.D. The two Greek men are sleeping together, and the Greek woman is cooking & cleaning for them.E. The two Polish men took a long look at the endless ocean and a long look at the Polish woman, and they started swimming.F. The two Mexican men are talking to all the other men on the island trying to sell them the Mexican woman.G. The two Irish men began by dividing up their part of the island into Northern & Southern parts, and by setting up a distillery. They do not remember the Irish woman because it gets sort of foggy after the first few litres of coconut whiskey but at least the English are not getting any.H. The two American men are contemplating suicide. The American woman is bitching about her body being her own, the true nature of feminism, how she can do everything that they can do, about the necessity of fulfilment, the equal division of the household chores, how her last boyfriend respected her opinion and treated her much better, and how her relationship with her mother is improving.What happened to the Indians?!?The 2 Indian men are still waiting for someone to introduce them to the Indian woman!!

P.S. I sniped this off of someone elses blog, but I thought it was so funny that I couldn't resist!

2005-02-01T02:21:00.000-08:00

Chimera di Firenze

For though I am free...

2005-02-01T01:47:00.000-08:00

"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all that I might win the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win the Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified."

I Corinthians 9:19-26

Get 'Em Girls

2005-01-12T01:48:00.000-08:00

Well as most of you out there know, I am whiter than detergent. Although at one point in my life I did own some JNCO pants, the only time I ever gained any street cred was when I drove around in my barrio altered Acura Legend (and also I guess when I cheered on the basketball team at Pepperdine.) Regardless you can see why I was just as surprised as the next guy when I found out that I personally am mentioned (clear as day) in the Cam'ron song "Get 'Em Girls". No joke! PLUS, there is no doubt in my mind that he is talking specifically about me because the word that immediately preceeds my name is Pepperdine. You do the math. Look up the lyrics, there is no mistaking it. My name "Jeff Hamilton" is currently being learned and sung by rap-o-philes around the nation. I will not be surprised if I see a chromed out Chevy Nova with ground effects and gothic script on the tinted back window blasting "my" song. For those of you anxious beyond belief to hear the lyrics which will rocket me into the lime light, let me give you just a taster.

"...When it's repping time, I get on extra grind
Fried to Fricassee, pepperseed to Pepperdine
Jeff Hamilton+Genesis+leather time
B----'s say I'm the man, I tell 'em 'Nevermind'..."

-Hamilton Out!-

2004-12-31T00:26:00.000-08:00

Sicilia. This is an amazing picture courtesy of construzioni.net that shows Sicily from the sky with Mt. Etna Erupting.

Los Angeles

2004-12-19T13:02:00.000-08:00

"Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles."

-Frank Lloyd Wright-

2004-12-10T21:12:00.000-08:00

A highrise in downtown LA

Greensleeves

2004-12-05T17:08:00.000-08:00

Here are the words to one of my favorite Christmas tunes, "Greensleeves" that you normally only hear as an instrumental version. It is said that it was possibly written by King Henry VIII of England in the 1500's. I don't know about that part for sure, but I like the song regardless.

Greensleeves

Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.

Chorus:
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.

Your vows you've broken, like my heart,
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity.

chorus

I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have.

chorus

If you intend thus to disdain,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity.

chorus

My men were clothed all in green,
And they did ever wait on thee;
All this was gallant to be seen,
And yet thou wouldst not love me.

chorus

Thou couldst desire no earthly thing,
but still thou hadst it readily.
Thy music still to play and sing;
And yet thou wouldst not love me.

chorus

Well, I will pray to God on high,
that thou my constancy mayst see,
And that yet once before I die,
Thou wilt vouchsafe to love me.

chorus

Ah, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
To God I pray to prosper thee,
For I am still thy lover true,
Come once again and love me.

Music

2004-11-18T21:15:00.000-08:00

"Whatever music sounds like, I am glad to say that it does not sound in the smallest degree like German."

-Oscar Wilde-

2004-11-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

Where I would rather be.

"Merriggiare pallido e assorto"

2004-11-16T22:57:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the following poem written by Eugenio Montale (1896-1981) Italian literary editor and music critic for the Italian newspaper "Corriere della Sera".

Merriggiare Pallido e Assorto

Merrigiare pallido e assorto
Presso un rovente muro d'orto
Ascoltare tra i pruni e gli sterpi
Schiocchi di merli, frusci di serpi.

Nelle crepe del suolo o su la veccia
Spiar le file di rosse formiche
Ch'ora si rompono ed ora s'intrecciano
A sommo di minuscole biche.

Osservare tra frondi il palpitare
Lontano di scaglie di mare
Mentre si levano tremuli scricchi
Di cicale dai calvi picchi.

E andando nel sole che abbaglia
Sentire con triste meraviglia
Com'e' tutta la vitae il suo travaglio
In questo seguitare una muraglia
Che ha in cima cocci aguzzi di bottiglia.

Translated into English:
To Rest at Noon, Pale and Absorbed

To rest at noon, pale and absorbed
Close to a scorching garden wall,
To hear among thornbushes and dry stalks
Clickings of blackbirds, rustling of snakes.

To seek out in the cracks of the ground
or in the vetch the files of red ants
Now breaking ranks, now weaving together
Upon the tops of tiny mounds.

To observe through branches the distant
throbbing of scales of the sea
While tremulous screeches of cicadas
rise from the bald peaks.

And walking in the dazzlling sun,
To feel with sad amazement
How all of life and its travail
is in this following of a wall
Topped with jagged fragments of bottle.

2004-11-15T00:36:00.000-08:00

Photo taken last spring at Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. I have entitled it "I Fiori Moderni" because when something has an Italian name it just sounds way cooler.

I am a little church

2004-11-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

I ran across this poem by E.E. Cummings entitled: I am a Little Church. I thought you might enjoy it.

I AM A LITTLE CHURCH -by- E.E. Cummings

I am a little church
(no great cathedral)
far from the splendor and squalor of hurrying cities
-I do not worry if briefer days grow briefest,
I am not sorry when sun and rain make April
my life is the life of the reaper and the sower;
my prayers are prayers of earth's own clumsily striving
(finding and losing and laughing and crying)children
whose any sadness or joy is my grief or my gladness
around me surges a miracle of unceasing
birth and glory and death and resurrection:
over my sleeping self float flaming symbols of hope,
and I wake to a perfect patience of mountains

I am a little church
(far from the frantic world with its rapture and anguish) at peace with nature
-I do not worry if longer nights grow longest;
I am not sorry when silence becomes singing
Winter by Spring, I lift my diminutive spire to merciful Him
Whose only now is forever:
standing erect in the deathless truth of His presence
(welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness)

Beginning

2004-11-11T18:28:00.000-08:00

Well, this is the beginning of my Blog. On this site I hope to include personal thoughts, favorite pitures, literary highlights, recipes from Tuesday Night Dinner, travel stories, and life updates. Here's to the beginning.