June 30, 2003
fit to be dyed...
Red dragon tattoo
Is just about on me
I got it for you
So now do you want me
With nothing to prove
Will you be my honey, oh yeah
In you I confide
Red dragon tattoo
I'm fit to be dyed
Am I fit to have you
summer music recommendations: i picked up the second fountains of wayne album, utopia parkway, this weekend at mckay books and cds and i think it's going to be my summer soundtrack. if you're into the likes of weezer, soul coughing, cake, etc and you love speeding around in the summer with the windows down and the tunes cranked, you need to get some fountains. they have a new album too which i can't afford yet, but that i also highly recommend.
kayaking
saturday afternoon josiah, mesh and i
went kayaking with our pastor, bob eckardt, from cornerstone church. pastor bob's really gotten into kayaking recently and over the past couple years has accumulated quite a collection of boats. a good time was had by all (except for the frantic few minutes after a certain somebody's wedding ring slipped off in the water and before it was found).
since i was the last to join up, i got stuck with the stumpiest kayak, and was nicknamed "opie" all day long for some reason. for this excursion we just made a few loops around the lake at chester frost, just off the tennessee river, but our plan is to do an all day journey down the tennessee river gorge. we all probably need to be in better shape for that kind of thing, but everyone seemed excited about getting back out on the water as soon as possible. its incredibly beautiful out there: blue herons, sailboats, and the occasional nuclear cooling tower.
June 27, 2003
are you deck?
NPR ran a story this morning about hipsters, specifically about a new handbook, called The Hipster Handbook modeled after the The Preppy Handbook from the 80s. i didn't catch the entire story this morning, just the tail end where a hipster was explaining how being a republican automatically disqualifies you from hipster status and certainly keeps you from being very "deck." deck? i'm confused... and obviously not a hipster.
the funny part is that right here in chattanooga, tennessee we actually do have some hipsters, out of place though they are. i think they're limited to orbitting close to the mudpie, with occasional jaunts over to lamar's. the attic was a good hideout for the years that it survived, but evidently the hipster practice of swilling $1 PBRs wasn't enough to keep it alive.
beck again
beck writes again from england. he's looking for a ride back from the airport, if anyone has plans to be in the Atlanta area on july 5th-ish.
June 19, 2003
lakeland and finster photos
i've been down in lakeland, florida this past week, spending some time with my old friend and college roommate, cannon kirby. a few of you probably know him. his dad runs the cambridge study center, where mesh attended. cannon teaches a number of different courses here, mostly having to do with the visual arts. the coolest part of his job, (and a large part of the reason i'm here) is because he teaches photography, and hence has his own darkroom here at the study center. cannon is a pretty incredible photographer and both taught and learned with me most everything i know about the art. he's been getting more into mixed media recently and his latest stuff is outstanding and has been garnering him awards and most recently a one-man show. (i'm hoping to swing a deal on a few pieces to bring back to chattavegas with me.)
however, the reason i'm here is to use the darkroom, because i have something of a show of my own coming up. show isn't exactly the right term i don't suppose, but some of my photography is going to be displayed. there's a tribute festival up in new york on july 12 for the late, great, grandfather of folk art, howard finster, and i'm providing a number of photographs taken at his property, his personal sculture garden, paradise gardens. this is the biggest show i've ever been a part of, and i'm excited about doing the work. this week has been pretty draining, but i've finally made some progress in getting the prints done. i've posted a few online at http://www.loapher.com/finster and i'll be continuing to update it this week if you want to follow the progress... and if anyone wants to come up to the festival, i'd love to see you there...
June 13, 2003
ft. benning
mesh, lang and the fam, and i all drove down to ft. benning, GA on wednesday and thursday to see chip millette graduate from boot camp. all of you who know chip can imagine what a strange experience this must have been. chip, of covenant literati fame, takes on the US army. i was afraid that 10 weeks without bloom might break him, but he seems happier and healthier than ever.
he got to leave base for the first time in 10 weeks. his first stop? books-a-million naturally; to pick up a copy of macbeth to satisfy a bet with a fellow cadet. evidently Macduff killed Macbeth, not Macbeth...
June 09, 2003
reunions
the montgomery family reunion was held this past weekend in rome, georgia. this has become an annual event, and usually consists of a small family dinner on saturday night and then a big bar-b-q lunch on sunday afternoon. its always a grand time, and my (1st, 2nd, no 3rd, removed... i'm confused) cousins monty and pat do most of the leg work. its held at the old montgomery homestead, on my uncle jack, the bee farmer's, property. people come from all over the nation for these few hours of socializing and catching up.
now a few things always stand out to me at this annual event. for one, i'm always amazed that there is such a thing as "the old homestead" in the montgomery family. i mean, this always sounds to me like something out of an old movie, and i always expect to hear john steinbeck-ish stories when i'm sitting at the table with uncle jack and aunt mary. and the funny thing is that I DO! every year i hear some crazy story relating the exploits of my ancestors. this year it was about mitsy montgomery (i think that's her name... whats up with everyone having funny nicknames in the early 1900s?). how she swindled some poor rich dupe into marrying her and building an enormous house on the montgomery land, only to leave him and claim the house as montgomery property.
the other interesting thing for me about montgomery family reunions is that i feel like i spend more time meeting people than catching up with them. what does this say about our family, our generation? a hundred years ago we probably would have all been living in the same city, and now, once a year, i am re-introduced to a handful of people that are somehow blood related to me. its not that i wish it was otherwise... okay, well i do wish that i knew these people better, but i'm finding that i tend to make my family the people around me moreso than my blood relations... immediate family excluded of course. its interesting to me that as i get closer to the people i spend time with every day i find myself thinking of them more and more as family. and when i go to the "family reunion" i find myself thinking of how i will relate my experiences back to "family" in chattanooga. its a strange feeling, both saddening and encouraging at the same time.
oh, i almost forgot to mention. one of the most interesting things about rome, georgia is the cemetaries because they're full of so many montgomeries. walking around them i really get a sense of the montgomery family history and always feel a bit overwhelmed at how small my role in the whole thing has been.
June 05, 2003
mesh networking
my good friend aaron mesh has finally started his own blog. (its about time...) now, if any of my friends have a right to "self-publishing," as blogs supposedly allow one to do, its this guy. so, watch closely, and be sure not to miss his brilliant opening post.
...from the islands
beck writes from england. i don't know that he has access to updating his blog/news site while he's away. i presume that he does, but i'll do my best to post updates from him here too for all interested.