Consuming
I've patiently waited about five years to get a data phone - stalling until one came out that offers some real value for the money and can store my entire music collection, replacing the fading iPod. In two weeks, I'll have it.

Then the next spell commences until I might possibly afford a used model of the car I've been waiting on. Sharon and I share in the coveting of this item.

Otherwise, I'm pretty much materially content these days. Except for that LCD projector for outdoor movie nights. That's all I need. And this lamp ...

  posted by John : 10:24 AM

 
spring report: staying unbent
For anyone who's talked to me lately it is abundantly clear that I've become a scuba zealot. Its the hobby that is helping me to become slightly more well rounded and social, having met lots of good folks via the local dive-scene lately. Important that I do something other than work all the time. And its proving to be a great way to cool off on hot Texas days. We're starting to have those just lately. Victor and I jumped into Barton Springs this morning for a lovely little swim with some other dogs and owners. Bought a muffin from a muffin-caboose that is permanently stationed next to Taco Express. Learned from the sole proprietor that cupcakes are all the rage across the country. I had no idea. Perhaps I would be more up to date if I was on Facebook. We're also feeling the economic heat here in step with the rest of the country and world. For those that haven't lost their jobs, I think its been a healthy wake up call. Thankfully I've managed to stay employed, at least in the last few months, so I can enjoy the collective frugality going on around us, which is more in step with my true nature anyhow. I've started buying my clothes on ebay - $10 for a good pair of pants, shipped to my door. We'll be scaling back vacation spending, compared to the wild and memorable excesses of 2008. Time to enjoy local stuff more, and smuggle in our own drinks at the same time, like we did in the olden days. The birthday mandolin is collecting dust, and I haven't even been playing guitar lately - something I definitely want to try to do more. Difficult for my computer-brain to switch into that mode lately. Sharon is happy to report that her ankle has been recovering nicely. No more wraps or anything, the break is healed, though still a bit swollen from the sprain part. Will be the first mother's day without a mother for her this weekend. She will get all the attention herself instead. Hopefully this will mark the end to a rather rough six months or so for my lovely spouse. She's very ready for that and feeling strong again. state of the union: strong; life is good.
  posted by John : 2:52 PM

 
Dog Shoots Owner
true story.
  posted by John : 8:27 PM

 
Continuing Adventures of Sharon
         

Broken fibula.

  posted by John : 2:32 PM

 
Canadian cold front
The temperature dropped fifty degrees here yesterday. From 80F in the afternoon to snow by late evening.

Not much else going on!

  posted by John : 9:53 AM

 
Good things come
  ... to those who wait. Sharon recently won this mandolin at a folk festival and I became a American - just in time to be proud to be one.

  posted by John : 11:18 AM

 
What Will They Think Of Next ?
Thought this was pretty cool ... Google Flu Trends

You know, after I wrote that title I got all nostalgic for Joseph Campanella and Tiiu Leek.

  posted by John : 4:18 PM

 
Velda Cartier Stuart - Sep 12, 1915 to Oct 29, 2008
Velda Cartier Stuart of San Marcos, beloved and cherished mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008, at the age of 93. She was born Sept. 12, 1915, in Fentress, to John and Margarite (Jarnagin) Cartier.

Her husband, Kenneth Stuart and sisters, Ella Mae Clark, Adele Allen and Annie Laurie Meadows, preceded her in death. Velda is survived by three daughters, Lynda of Lockhart and her son, John and his wife, Alisa of Austin; Sharon and husband, John of Austin and her children, Joshua of Los Angeles, Calif. and Jesse and his wife, Allison of Fairbanks, Alaska; Susan and husband, Scott of San Marcos and their children, James, Jake and Amanda of San Marcos.

Velda fondly remembered her ideal childhood, much of it spent at the Fentress Resort by the San Marcos River, with lifelong friends. It was there she met her future husband, Kenneth Stuart. They started a family in Fentress then moved to San Marcos, where Velda lived for nearly 60 years as a member of the First Christian Church. They enjoyed traveling, garage sales, digging up old bottles and were members of the Good Sam Club.

Velda was an assistant Girl Scout leader and worked for the Brown Schools. For 35 years she was a Wimberley Market Day vendor, retiring at age 90; and until her death, she was a volunteer at the San Marcos Tourist Information Center.

Graveside services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Fentress Cemetery. Celebration of Life services will follow at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, in the Pennington Memorial Chapel, with the Rev. David Green officiating.

Arrangements under the care and guidance of Pennington Funeral Home, 323 N. Comanche, San Marcos, 353-4311.

Velda Cartier Stuart

  posted by John : 8:07 PM

 
Stock Market Barometer
Fearing a further decline in the market I have put in an order to sell my shares of Dow Jones and S&P Mid-Cap leveraged index funds, now that they have eroded to half their original value. Given my record of making poor decisions in the past, this may be a good indicator that the market will hit bottom at the closing bell on Monday.

  posted by John : 3:36 PM

 
Crime Scene
A couple of photos Sharon took from our window. One of my brother Svend being interrogated as he attemps to cross the line, and another of the stolen car with its shot out driver side window. I think Sharon would be a good crime scene investigator herself, with the psychic abilities that alerted her in the middle of the parking ticket we were about to receive.





  posted by John : 10:01 AM

 
Shooting
Late last night around 2:30am Sharon reminded me that I had left our car parked on the street where we could get a ticket. Little did I know then as I walked up the street that in a nearby car there was a guy sleeping who would be shot by the police about a half hour later (news story in The Star). After I got back we heard a cop screaming at someone "Put your hands in the air! Put your fucking hands in the air!!", followed by eight or ten gunshots. We went to the front window to watch the scene that followed, as the emergency vehicles arrived one by one, police officers ran up and down the street in a panic, crime tape was stretched around our front yards, and the big guy that was shot was rolled up to the ambulance on a stretcher. We didn't know if he'd been killed but turns out he was alive and is in the hospital now.

All this shooting reminds me - its about time we headed back to Texas.

  posted by John : 8:41 AM

 
Squeeze at the Kool Haus
Picked up my heavily discounted ticket from a Craigslist poster at Yonge & Dundas. Then drove down to what used to be RPM/Warehouse and stood in line outside until the doors were opened just as the first drops of rain began to fall. Waited up front for the show to start, leaning against the fence barricading us like animals from the stage by four or five feet. My age was roughly the median for crowd and fortunately they had whiskey and beer for sale to make us at least a little frisky. Squeeze's performance was flawless and energetic and the setlist was packed with their best songs, nearly all from their first five albums. Quite similar to the set of songs they played at Canada's Wonderland on singer Glen Tilbrook's cake-in-the-face birthday concert in 1985 (Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti tour), or at Massey Hall in 1988 (Bablyon and On tour). A mere 20 years ago. Chris Difford's voice and presence certainly added to last night's performance, yet there was a lack of intimacy and spontaneity as compared to the Glen Tilbrook shows I'd seen more recently. The format of this concert was much more rigid; not even allowing for Aimee Mann (a huge fan and onetime collaborator) to join them for a song, much less to allow for Glen to come into the audience for a singalong.

  posted by John : 10:26 AM

 
Dylan rocked
I wasn't expecting much at all, but was very pleasantly surprised to hear Bob in such fine form - as good as I've ever seen. I'm still playing Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) in my head five days after the concert. Here's the set list and reviews from some uber-fans which describe the day quite well. Levon Helm band was great, and Glen Hansard really was quite incredible. Wish I had captured a video of his million-mile-an-hour guitar playing for Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. Can't say that I've ever heard anyone do a cover of that song before.
  posted by John : 6:16 PM

 
Wonderful Weekend

Aug 16th 2008

  posted by John : 9:23 AM

 
Old Photos

Denmark 1940s

Denmark 1957

Canada 1957-1964

Denmark 1973

My father was an avid photographer back in his day. Click these to view some photos from his collection. The ones in the 1940s albums I scanned from his 2"x4" negatives, all neatly stored in leather booklets. The others are digital photos taken tonight of his 35mm slides projected onto a screen in my mom's darkened apartment.
  posted by John : 9:01 PM