apteryx wa: September 2006

jumpers and assassins

strange behavior from the animals:

1. air fish: yesterday we swam in calm waters. the ocean seemed a blue sheet. then the fish started jumping. not one or two, but ten and twenty at a time. fish jumping out of the water like popcorn popping. we got out of there. from the shore we saw the rising fins of a dolphin parade. maybe they were chasing the fish. maybe something bigger was beneath the water, chasing the dolphins and the fish.

2. bed bee: last night tyson startles awake and says something has bit him. we turn on the light and find a woozy waspy-bee crawling on the bed. tyson has the stinger stuck in his back; i remove it, and the insect. fearing another attack, we have some trouble falling asleep.

non-environmental art

i, on the other hand, purchased art. an oil on canvas replica of la chambre de van gogh a arles (1889). i am impressed with the painting even though it happens to be an inaccurate replica. you can see the original here. in fact, due to the inaccuracies i'm encouraged to start a collection by finding more replicated versions. i've also decided to request a version from every painter i come across, in exchange for some sort of bartered good and/or service.

in other news, due to my recent exposure to various essays discussing postmodern culture (in america) i've discovered this postmodern essay generator, which is only mildly and transiently entertaining, but still worth checking out.

adios. we are off to buy appreciation night.

environmental art

i decided to make some art on the beach. in the spirit of andy goldsworthy, i used only natural materials (in this case, only things found washed ashore). i was careful not to disturb the fragile beach ecosystem and no plants or animals were harmed during the initial stages of artmaking. but the ecosystem turned out to be not so fragile. in fact, some of the inhabitants are rather aggressive; i was attacked by these hostile locals (ants and other unidentified insects) and forced to abandon my project prematurely. at this point, some ants were harmed. but don't feel sorry for those bullies. they started it.

scary waves

when a hurricane threatens bermuda, we have good waves.
and good waves are fast and big and they beat us up.

these photos are from a few days ago, pre-hurricane,
when waves were "normal."

also, you readers should know that tyson is improving daily and is now
a better surfer than i.

the buddhists say there is no "i" or "me" or "mine."

"i" am trying to wrap "my" head around this concept.

tender nips...

...now i know why surfers wear neoprene tops.

speaking of tender, f. scott fitzgerald's 1934 classic is turning out better than expected. so far i've also read a book of short stories by robert bingham, the novel lightning on the sun and an autobiography on roald dahl. della's reading a book regarding the essence and development of buddhism. but neither of us is a match for andrea over on the centaur highway.

yester-day

yesterday we surfed some more. tyson stood high-mighty two waves; i saw him. my luck was not so much. then came rain and we left off--hoped not to catch a bolt of lightning. a long drive later (here we saw the city&many signs) no more rain, and we found historic middleton plantation. the house had burned in civil war; then the great earthquake. made a note to study-up. great earthquake? of charleston. in the garden, men poured wine glasses and gathered a group of southerners. below, the pond and a flock of white water birds. the young played with the gators; a taunt of wings. gator eyes poked through the muck, still as stones. birds left, gators went hungry. i dropped my cracker on the path.

rough waters

the surfing yesterday was no good, except for the workout. the wind was thoroughly blowing in a northeastern direction towards the shore, the undertow was pulling southeast and even though the waves were only two feet tall they were breaking within 6 feet of each other. the result being it was formidable to get sufficiently out to even catch a wave. paddling and duckdiving were out of the question since the combined force of the wind and undertow would take you 50 feet down the beach for every 10 feet of progress. the best method i found was to put the board above my head and run ass-forward as fast as i could between waves, and it still took me 10 minutes to get out far enough to catch a wave. catching a wave was pretty easy given the conditions but standing up on the board was as hard as it has ever been. mostly I just ate it, hard. and then repeated the whole ungraceful exercise.

della faired better than i but we both went home bruised. hopefully the ocean is calmer today.

testamaroo

here is a test of my posting possibilities.
what do you think our blogname means?

p.s. hi mom!

GO

the blog is up, but it sure isn't running yet.

apteryx wa

jumpers and assassins

non-environmental art

environmental art

scary waves

tender nips...

yester-day

rough waters

testamaroo

GO

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