The Arts
On a business trip last winter one of my coworkers introduced me to Cormac McCarthy, one of the truly great writers of the last quarter century. My first book was Blood Meridian, a vicious tale of evil centered around the enduring symbols of the American / Mexican frontier. Since then, McCarthy has become one of my favorite authors. A couple of weeks ago I found a whole slew of his books at our local bookshop for $4 each and grabbed them all. I immediately read "All the Pretty Horses" and am now working on "The Crossing"....
Continue Reading August 25th, 2006
This morning I finished reading Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. About four years ago I listened to an audio version of this novel. I remember I was riding the bus to work when I came to the end of the book. I'm pretty sure I spent the rest of the day depressed.
The beautiful thing about this book is not how it makes you feel, but how powerful it is in making you feel what the author intends you to feel. You don't get a lot of comfort from most of Hemingway's writings. They reveal the raw, brutal world of humanity in which lonely souls drift, seeking happiness amidst the unavoidable death and suffering that await us all....
Continue Reading August 15th, 2006
The images for this verse came to me while driving home this afternoon. All day the rain had been on and off like a faucet, alternating wet with blue sunny skies. My thirty-mile commute on a quiet rural highway is often pretty; today it was exceptionally so.
Driving Home
Shadows like soft invisible tissues flow silently over
Shades of metal, black and grey, flickering as chameleons
Might in the pulsing strobe. Trees run smoothly past
Like lithe skirts of green bent round the light, reaching with
Gentle curves bowed out and up to the blue river of sky.
Faster than sound the pavement winds round the wheels
Homeward flying.
July 11th, 2006
Cumulus Rex by Doug Fluckiger
Doug Fluckiger is a hiking friend of mine who works upstairs in the graphics design department. I just found his studio website today and have been admiring his work. His centerpiece is creating graphite photo-like images. There are some really beautiful pieces featured on his site. Here is a description in his own words:
Ansel Adams taught us that when portrayed in black and white, the natural world has an honesty and power compelling to the discriminating eye. The rich pianoforte tones of graphite, its subtlety and strength, its boldness, shyness, and malleability, allow me to explore nature with a sophistication unique to black and white images....
Continue Reading July 10th, 2006
I just got back from a really amazing week with my chamber choir (Wild Mountain Thyme) at the Kathaumixw International Choral Festival in Powell River, British Columbia (you pronounce Kathaumixw like "kah-THOW-mew"). It's the first time I've participated in a choral competition since high school. I am so glad I joined this group! We spent the week listening to some spectacular singers from around the world....
Continue Reading July 10th, 2006
