Atelier of Alacrity

Moving on.....

2007-12-27T12:13:00.000-08:00

This will probably be my last post here at Atelier of Alacrity. I have a new blog and new blogging partners at Blogsboro. My personal blog over there is Jazzytina and Budd's blog (my new husband) is BuddsView. We teamed up with Billy the Blogging Poet, and we're really enjoying the venture so far. I also maintain Budd's professional website, www.buddwilkins.com. Check his work out.

Just wanted to redirect for anyone who might be reading.

See you at Blogsboro!

Tina

The Waiting

2007-11-14T12:47:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow, the company I work for will be notifying numerous people, including me, if their jobs are being eliminated. Layoffs are never fun, as many people know. If I get the axe, this will be the 3rd time I've been involved in a layoff. This one is part of a reorganization of a very large department. Being a lower person on the totem pole, I'm not optimistic about my prospects. My tarot reader told me that there was a 75% chance that I would be gone. I'll know at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. So what will I do with three months of severence? I'm thinking of traveling a bit, working on promoting Budd, who has been writing furiously, his creative juices are flowing quite nicely. And maybe starting my own business, again. I created a website for it already, and named it after our cat, Scamper. It's called CreativeScamper.com. Crazy name, I know. But registering a domain name that's simple and completely clear in its description is really difficult these days. So what kind of business is it? Graphic design, web design and virtual assisting for small businesses and sole proprietors. I think it will be a good fit for me. Hey, if you need any of my services, check out my website and send an email to discuss your project. I feel optimistic already. Perhaps I can finally admit that I'm a serial entrepreneur.

Wish me luck in whatever endeavor. The waiting is, as Tom Petty said, the hardest part.

Movie Review - The Bridge

2007-11-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

I've always had a great fascination for things unexplained, and for very large structures. Bridges, in particular. Maybe it's from my years working in a civil engineering firm, although that particular firm didn't design bridges.

I dream about bridges frequently. I lived in a city - Jacksonville, Florida - which had a lot of bridges, several of which I crossed every day to go to and from work. When I first moved there, I was afraid to cross the bridges, but then it became a joy to ride with the windows down over the bridges, especially at night when they are lit up. It made for quite an adrenaline rush. My bridge dreams are filled with driving up toward a particularly high bridge and feeling the butterflies in my stomach before crossing, looking down through the grate as I pass over to the water below.

Budd, king of documentary film renting from Netflix, found a film that came out last year called The Bridge. It documents 365 days out of 2004 filming continuously at the Golden Gate Bridge, which I learned was the most popular suicide magnet in the world. More than 1,200 have plunged to their deaths since the Golden Gate opened in 1937, after the engineer proclaimed the bridge was "suicide-proof", and then the next group of engineers/contractors came in and lowered the railing to four feet in height.

The Bridge captured 23 of the 24 suicides in 2004, and actually shows 6 of them in progress. Three of the suicides are at pretty close range, and three are at a distance. The filmmaker, Eric Steele, then tracked down the family members, and without telling them he had footage of their loved one's demise, interviewed them about their thoughts and feelings toward their loved one and their suicide. I must admit I was more shocked by the reactions of friends and family than by the actual suicide footage itself; some cried, but most had the attitude of "so be it". A father from Virginia, whose son jumped in 2004, noted that his son had said to him, "Well, Dad, I may come back, and if I do, I'll see you, and if not, you'll know I'm at peace." I was also struck by the woman who said the planning involved in a suicide of any type is very lengthy and drawn out, and she likened the amount of preparation to trying to get into college.

The Golden Gate Bridge, although a monstrous structure, never held much fascination for me in the past. I think it was because it is one of the most photographed man-made objects in the world, and tons of information about the bridge is readily available. I never knew this very interesting history prior to watching this film, and I must admit it made me obsess about it for several days afterward, reading articles about preventing suicide from the bridge, how there's been a push to put up a suicide barrier since the first suicide in 1938, a year after the bridge opened. I just read in an October newspaper clipping where the plans for a suicide barrier have been delayed for about 9 months, in a year when more than 33 people have jumped from the bridge. The average for previous years is about 20 jumpers.

I've read reviews of this film that called it "gruesome," which it is not, and "ghastly." I've also read scathing remarks about how the filmmaker, in order to get the permits to film the bridge, had to "omit" information about what he was really filming, and angered the people who run the bridge. My personal opinion is that Steele and his crew recorded history and were very courageous to bring this issue to a larger audience, creating awareness that this is happening.

I found it particularly interesting when the filmmaker, in the "making of" extra on the DVD, noted that it takes quite a walk to get to the point on the bridge where most people jump off, and that the duration of that walk is usually the lowest point in a jumper's life. Do I think they should put up a suicide barrier at the cost of $15 to $20 million? It's a lot of money, and of course, the question of aesthetics always comes into play. But if the life of one person who impulsively decided to jump could be saved, wouldn't we say it was worth it? I don't know. I think suicide is a very personal decision, and people should have a right to die as they choose, although a swan dive off the Golden Gate Bridge is not as simple and painless as one might think. I also found it interesting that the majority of jumpers are white males from the Bay Area.

The Bridge is beautifully filmed with some incredible photography, and the score is haunting, reminiscent of American Beauty. Deeper digging into articles about the subject are equally as fascinating. The Bridge is an excellent documentary that can actually provoke some meaningful dialogue around a very difficult subject.

Some interesting links about the subject:

http://www.bridgerail.org/
http://www.sfgate.com/lethalbeauty/
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/10/13/031013fa_fact

Stories from the Afterlife Book Launch Party Review - Quinn Dalton

2007-11-02T07:51:00.000-07:00

Budd and I were fortunate enough to attend the book launch party for Quinn Dalton's latest, Stories from the Afterlife. I have to say, this was my first book launch party, and Press 53 and Two Art Chicks, the party hosts, did a marvelous job and put together a comfortable, entertaining evening for everyone. Dalton read an excerpt of her short story Jimmy the Brain and the Beautiful Aideen set to the live music of Dawn Chorus. I had never seen anything quite like that arrangement, and when the band started to play, I really wondered if Dalton was going to have to shout her reading over the music, but they obviously had practiced this before. Dalton's reading was mesmerizing, as was her story, which left the audience, or at least Budd and me, greatly anticipating more. Greensboro is fortunate to claim such a gifted writer as one of their own. Dawn Chorus was great, too, and we bought their CD collection as well as a solo effort by their drummer, Will Ridenour, which we've been enjoying immensely.

Dalton, whom I've only met once before, looked nothing like the hurried mother described in GoTriad. She was radiant in a velour top and floral skirt with lace strips on the side that were nearly floor-length. Wherever she gets her clothes, her personal style shows through. I overheard numerous positive comments from the crowd about how great she looked, and how compelling her reading was, especially backed by the band.

We had a great time in a great venue, and we're so pleased to know Quinn and to have another opportunity to enjoy her captivating work. And we were glad to be introduced to new, local music with Will Ridenour and Dawn Chorus. The magnitude of the crowd demonstrated clearly that arts are alive and well in Greensboro.

Quinn's website can be found here.

Book Review: The Lecturer's Tale

2007-10-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

James Hynes is a storyteller to be reckoned with. After Kings of Infinite Space, I just didn't expect the kind of mind-bending experience with his earlier work, The Lecturer's Tale. How wrong I was. The Lecturer's Tale, published in 2001, nearly defies description. To say it is funny is a wild understatement. To say it is terrifying, well, it's not as terrifying as Kings, but it's creepy in a way that makes you want to re-read chapters two, three, maybe even four times to revel in its creepiness as well as its hilarity.

Nelson Humboldt is a part-time lecturer living in married housing at a university in Minnesota. By some stroke of crazy fate, his index finger is cut off one day by a bicycle wheel. Once the physician sews it back on, he tells Humboldt that he will never have feeling in that finger again. Very soon afterward, Humboldt begins to feel burning sensations in his finger, and much to his surprise, he learns that he can control the actions of others by touching them with the repaired finger. He sees his luck improving, and uses his magic finger trick to better his lot in life: new sections of composition to teach, a convenient and well-timed extension on his lease in the university's married housing. Soon, though, Humboldt seizes the opportunity for greater power through his finger on his quest for tenure at the university, both for himself and for his office-mate, Vita, a nervous, androgynous figure whose works in gender theory include "The Lesbian Phallus of Dorian Gray".

Humboldt is surrounded by a cast of academic crazies, among whom including a poet who has adopted an Irish accent and refers to himself as only "The Coogan"; a Serbian lecturer with a myriad of outfits and his ladyfriend; queer theorists; and the department chair, a Don Corleone type whose keynote address at a major literary conference was entitled "The Fuck Cares About Edmund Spenser".

Hynes writes with such furious wit and with so many literary references that, at times, I found it hard to keep up with the words on the page, but The Lecturer's Tale made for most delightful reading, as Humboldt and his finger take on greater challenges with increasingly sinister results. Unimaginable twists in the plot left me breathless and greatly anticipating Hynes' next work.

Concert Review - Van Halen Sept. 29 Greensboro

2007-10-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Having just read David Menconi's review over at the News & Record, I felt the need to put my own spin on things. For the true Van Halen-with-David Lee Roth-as-singer fan, Saturday night was nothing short of a miracle, not to mention a dream come true. Maybe it was because I was in the nosebleed section, but I don't think they could have sounded any better if they were 30 years younger. People I know who saw them 25 years ago said they were better at this show.

The energy required to put on a show at that pace for over 2 hours, well, it's just mind-boggling to me that they still have it. Obviously rehab really helped Eddie; I remember seeing a picture of him earlier this year where he looked like he was about 80 - scraggly gray hair, missing teeth - it was a sad sight indeed. And now, to see him doing his jumps and running all over the stage, well, it nearly brought tears to my eyes. He was nothing short of phenomenal on his guitar solos of "Cathedral" and "Eruption". And Wolfgang, for all the criticism he has received, really held his own, and obviously made his father very, very happy, which makes him a wonderful addition to the band.

At every concert I've ever attended, I've always left wishing that this song or that song had been played. Van Halen played them all, including my personal favorite, "Little Guitars", which did bring me to tears. I never ever thought I would see and hear that song performed live by those performers. It was magical.

I also thought that Roth was very gracious in telling the packed house "You have no idea what an honor and a privilege it is to play for you tonight." He's obviously been through a lot in the past few years, and now, he is right back where he belongs, with Eddie and Alex and Wolfgang. I hope they will get back in the studio, and be around for a long, long time to come. It was an absolutely unforgettable night, especially for those of us for whom VH was part of our very formative and impressionable years. We were the ones honored and privileged to be there.

Book Review: Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

2007-08-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

I've only just recently picked up the habit of reading fiction again, after many long years of reading nothing but magazines, newspapers and business-related nonfiction. I've found great joy in this pastime, particularly in a book that I found in my paperback book club: Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl.

This is the first novel from this young writer; I believe she is 28. (And, for those who frequent Borders, they currently have it on sale.) The book is set in the mountains of North Carolina, where the heroine, a 16-year-old girl named Blue van Meer, has moved with her brilliant professor father, who moves from college to college like bees to blossoms in your vegetable garden. Blue's mother died when Blue was very young, so she idolizes her father as they play word and trivia games reserved exclusively for the erudite set.

Blue settles into her new school as the geeky, awkward kid with the genius father, and soon she is befriended by the part-time film teacher, an earthy bohemian type certainly not native to Appalachia named Hannah Schneider. Hannah holds court with five of the most popular students in the school every Sunday at her house, cooking gourmet meals, smoking cigarettes and drinking wine while listening to old Billie Holiday on the stereo. She invites Blue to join in on these sessions, where Hannah has a Svengali-like influence on the group.

The Popular Five are hesitant to accept Blue until one night, when she initiates herself by becoming drunk and sick, and then earns the nickname "Retch" or "Hurl", thereby earning her place in the group.

We're told at the beginning of the book that a year has passed since Hannah died, so the mystery begins. Pessl tells her story with enormous detail, and hundreds of literary and cultural references, many of which I had to ask Budd about, because, hey, he's a lot more literate than me.

This is a mesmerizing book that is both laugh-out-loud funny and wonderfully, strangely mystifying at the same time. Blue learns that things are never what they seem, and the people you hold most dear are never quite who you think they are, or even where you think they are. I must admit I was left wondering a bit at the end of the book, as the last chapter is written as a multiple-choice quiz with some answers hidden in the choices. Even though it doesn't tie itself up neatly, it left me thinking about it for a long time after reading it, and that, to me, is the joy of a work of fiction such as Special Topics in Calamity Physics. Highly literate readers who are fans of mysterious stories with a comedic twist will enjoy this book a great deal. I've heard that the movie rights have been optioned for this; I really hope film can do the book justice.

Book Review: Kings of Infinite Space by James Hynes

2007-08-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

If you've ever worked in a dismal office, toiling away at an interminable job, or you've ever been haunted by a dead pet, or you've ever lived in or visited Texas, or you love to laugh and be spooked at the same time, then Kings of Infinite Space by James Hynes is a must-read.

Paul Trilby, the hero (?) of our story, is a failed former literary professor with a string of failed relationships now working a less-than-double-digits-an-hour job as a typist/"tech writer" for the Texas Department of General Services. His coworkers are an odd little bunch: uptight, angry women; a devout Christian who spends his time hawking Christian services and products in a multi-level marketing biz; a fellow tech writer dying of cancer with a trachea tube in his neck; the "Colonel", a former military man whose name belies his actual rank; and his boss, Rick, who loves to mix cliches -- "Let's get this show off the ground".

His home life consists of living in a run-down motel/apartment building where he is haunted nightly by his ex-wife's dead cat, Charlotte. And then there's the strange men he keeps encountering - Boy G and his gang - who find Paul in traffic, down the recycling box, and in other highly odd places, forever asking Paul, "Are we not men?"

Paul's predicament becomes more hilarious and more frightening with each passing chapter. His coworkers have an insidious secret - one that allows them to come to work, and yet not perform any work. But this privilege comes with a ghastly price - one that Paul finds a bit too steep to pay.

It's a rare book that can at once uproariously funny as well as utterly terrifying. Kings of Infinite Space is that rare book. You'll be thinking twice about your fellow employees, your pets and barbecue. Trust me on that one.

Just exercising my rights...

2007-07-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

Today is a good day to take some time to recite the First Amendment. Here's how it goes:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Now read this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6753588,00.html

What's happened to State Street Station?

2007-07-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

A recent drive down my old haunt, State Street Station, left me wondering what happened to some of the shops that used to be there? I noticed that Official Initial, Seasons' Greetings, Robi Salon and a few other shops have closed up. Having had an unsuccessful business in that neighborhood, I know the challenges faced by everyone who has a store there - not much traffic, high cost of advertising, parking challenges.

I would be interested to hear if anyone knows what happened to these stores I mentioned (or ones I didn't mention) and what your thoughts are on State Street Station. A search of the News & Record yielded no results for State Street Station or any of the shops. Seems the only info one can get about the area online is what's on the State Street Center for Renewal page.

Please chime in if you have info.

A REAL way to help the troops!

2007-03-01T11:05:00.001-08:00

Ok, folks, here it is. A real way to help and make a difference.

I'm asking everyone I know to please write your U.S. Senator and ask for their strong support of S-713, a bill introduced Wednesday that would require the Veterans Administration to increase inspections of military hospitals, create a timeframe for repairs and improve access to mental health services. Under the bill, the amount of paperwork that veterans must complete in order to receive disability benefits also would be simplified. The bill has bipartisan support. A companion bill will be introduced in the House within the next few days, according to Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.). The House and Senate next week will hold hearings on how the Department of Defense and the VA are caring for U.S. troops who return from war. Several legislators recently have said they will introduce bills aimed at increasing aid for veterans and their families.

This is a critical issue. If you are in NC, your senators are Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole. Just click their names to be taken to their email contact form and all you have to do is say "Support S-713". Our veterans are returning from Iraq to substandard medical care and to a broken system that makes them jump through too many hoops to get the benefits they were promised. We need to stand by them now more than ever. This is the REAL way to support the troops, and the real way to have a positive effect on what our government is doing for all veterans.

Thanks for reading, please forward to as many people as you can to get the word out.

Support the Troops by Demanding Better Veteran Care!

2007-02-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

I just read this heartbreaking article in Newsweek about veteran care (or lack thereof) by the Veterans Administration. As the former wife of a Vietnam veteran, I know the difficulty he went through when trying to obtain benefits; he was told that he was classified as a "peacetime" veteran because he served in the U.S. Navy on a destroyer, even though he saw plenty of combat. I'm hoping that presidential candidates like mine will make this a topic at the forefront of their campaigns; in the meantime, I urge you to send this link with a note to your senator and representative demanding immediate action on this issue if they expect your vote the next time around. That's what "Support the Troops" REALLY means!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17316437/site/newsweek/

Greensboro of Yesteryear

2007-02-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

A recent trip to Friendly Shopping Center made me quite nostalgic for the Greensboro of Yesteryear. Raise your hand if you remember The Potpourri or Reed Runners, Wills, The Sweet Shop, and if you remember when Fleet-Plummer was a real hardware store in Friendly Center. Don't forget Swensen's, Prego-Guys, Laurie's, Thalheimer's, and Eckerd on the corner. My grandfather, who had a marvelous green thumb, used to grow tomatoes every summer and take bags of them to his friends at Eckerd, back when they had a lunch counter. He would take me with him in his red Volkswagen Beetle, and I would always enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich (with two dill pickle slices) and a Co-Cola.

I also miss the Boar & Castle. I recently purchased some Boar & Castle sauce (thank goodness it's still available) and told Budd about the old hamburger joint on West Market Street. Although I was still young when they went out of business, and living in Fayetteville at the time, I do have some vague, fond memories of Castleburgers. My mother loved the place so much that she had a drawing of it framed and hanging in her living room in Fayetteville where she lived until her death. I also remember when the old Guilford Dairy had a place where you could order ice cream and enjoy it - the greenish semi-circular window still remains on the old abandoned building, although it appears to have been broken a few times.

I remember when Guilford College was "way out there" (distance-wise) and the Jefferson-Pilot property on New Garden Road was a lovely, rolling meadow. My father helped my sister and me make kites out of newspaper and balsa wood, with a pantyhose tail, and we would scurry over there to fly our kites.

We left Greensboro when I was five years old because my dad landed a contract for with Fort Bragg for his new petroleum equipment business, and I came back years later to go to college. I spent most of my "growing-up" years in Fayetteville, all the while missing Greensboro and wishing that we still lived here. I feel that I missed out on a lot by not going to elementary, middle and high school here in Greensboro.

Not long ago, while cleaning out some closets in my grandmother's house, I came across a stack of business cards that my grandfather had. He was an insurance man for the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. The card was incredibly simple - it had his name, his title (Agent) and for the address, it simply said, "Guilford Building, Greensboro, N.C." Seemed strange to have no telephone number, no street address, and of course, no email or web address. He travelled all over the state giving out those cards while doing insurance adjusting. Obviously, that small amount of information was all you needed to know back then if you wanted to get in touch with him.

I would love to hear some other folks' memories of Greensboro "back in the day" if you're willing to share.

Going back to college after age 40

2007-02-23T10:43:00.000-08:00

I never obtained a bachelor's degree. I flunked out of UNC-G after 2 years back in the early '80's because I really didn't want to go to school there. I had my heart set on Appalachian after attending 2 summer camp sessions for gifted and talented students in science and math during 8th and 9th grade. I had always wanted to be an astrophysicist, and was among the first group of nominees for the North Carolina School of Science and Math. I didn't get in.

It was at about that point in my life that I realized I had a mental block when it came to math. No point pursuing astrophysics if you have trouble mastering basic algebra and geometry. So, because my parents were fearful of my driving "down the mountain in the snow" from Appalachian, they forced their hand and made me attend UNC-G. UNC-G's a great school, don't get me wrong; I just didn't want to go there at the time. So I didn't apply myself.

So here I am now, at 42 years old, with a technical degree in broadcasting from a school in Florida that's no longer in business. I have a good job, make pretty good money and have great benefits. But I've got the "itch" to do something more. I've already owned my own (failed) business. So, I'm thinking seriously of going back to school to get that degree. Seems a little late at 42, but everyone I've talked to has been encouraging.

I'm going to start at GTCC and take online classes over the summer. Because I work during the day, I have to limit myself to classes that are online or in the evening. Unfortunately, that knocks out majors that I'd love to consider, like graphic design or art or communications. I'm settling for business administration. I know I could pursue those other majors with online universities, but the expense is daunting, and I really don't want to take on a loan.

I vascillate back and forth between excitement over the possibility of this new adventure of going back to school, and feeling like a failure for never obtaining the degree. Just finished reading The Business Journal's 40 Under 40, which brings on the latter feelings. What did I do with my life? It just all passed by so quickly. I got married (twice). I worked good jobs for good companies. I had my own business. I taught myself how to use computers. I freelanced graphic design work. I saw 2 parents and 2 grandparents through illness and ultimately, death. I managed an estate. So perhaps it wasn't all in vain. Wonder why that college education seems so important now.

I'd be interested to hear thoughts from others in similar positions, going back to school to obtain their first degree, and what you intend to accomplish.

So hard to be an entrepreneur in Greensboro

2007-02-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

I read the very interesting article in the News & Record this weekend about businesses closing up on Elm Street, after so much talk of revitalizing the downtown area. I could really sympathize and empathize with those business owners. I was once one of them. From 2001-2002, I had a wonderful little chocolate shop at State Street Station. It was called ChocolateNutz. My ex-mother-in-law and another employee and myself made all of our confections by hand using Belgian chocolate. We had 12 types of chocolate covered nuts, 10 types of chocolate covered fruit, handmade truffles in 7 flavors, and our best-seller, chocolate covered potato chips. We even had sugar-free chocolate items made with the same Belgian chocolate. I can remember chopping 11-lb blocks of chocolate by hand and tempering it until it was perfect and glossy. And we sold gifts and books and everything chocolate related, as well as Blue Ridge Ice Cream. But, alas, after September 11 (which is also my birthday), everyone thought the world was ending and a lot of people stopped buying chocolate (and other wares sold at State Street) and rather than go into debt, we had to fold. It was one of the most depressing things that ever happened in my life. My parents were entrepreneurs for 32 years in a completely unrelated business, and I had (and still have) that "entrepreneurial gene". As Budd said in a recent story he wrote, it's like an itch that never goes away that you just can't quite reach. My parents, knowing the pitfalls of owning your own business, begged me not to do it, to go and work in corporate america, for "a big company with benefits"; that was the mantra my mother preached. Now that my life as a chocolatier is over, I am currently working in a Fortune 500 company with wonderful benefits and excellent pay -- but I keep reading over and over about the health benefits of chocolate, and about the success of chocolatiers around the country -- there was an article in some national newspaper just the other day. I miss the creative control, and I miss seeing people delighted by a product that I developed and created. I don't miss the agonizing over how to get the next customer in the door, and I certainly don't miss the constant deluge of advertising reps coming in to try and convince me to advertise, or to collect their payment. I'm sure those Elm Street entrepreneurs know exactly what I'm talking about. So many people have said to me, "Well, if you had never tried, you would have never known." Unfortunately, I often feel that because I gave up, I'll never know if it could have been. My hope is that more people will frequent locally-owned businesses for several reasons: Those owners are your neighbors, not some giant faceless conglomerate; those owners work tirelessly day and night to pursue a dream, a lot of them without any salary. I didn't take any salary for the entire time I had my chocolate business; I was fortunate enough at the time to have a financially supportive husband and an inheritance. And, most of the time (but not all, I realize), when you frequent a locally owned business, you get a level of personal service that you just can't find at the faceless conglomerates. I remember the other shop owners on State Street and how hard they worked and how much they struggled to keep their business afloat. And it saddens me to walk down South Elm and see so many businesses folding up. I hope enough Greensboro shoppers feel the same way.

Quiet (and comfort), Please, Part 2

2007-02-21T11:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I think we found the spot we were looking for; a quiet, comfortable spot to read, write, draw, and have a good cup of joe. Strangely enough, it's a chain. We ended up at Panera on West Market Street over the weekend and spent a good 5 hours listening to wonderful straight-ahead, classic jazz (with no vocals!), enjoying their coffee and enjoying comfortable seating and spacious tables. Went to the one on Pisgah Church Road and Elm St last night with similar results. Kudos to the Panera chain for getting it right. I just wish we could support some places owned by locals, but until they get more comfortable seats and tables and subdue the noise, I guess it's Panera for us. Highly recommend the Bistro Steak salad. And the sugar-free vanilla latte.

Quiet, (and comfort) Please!

2007-02-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

What is it with everyone's addiction to noise? Why are there no quiet places anymore? Budd and I went out and about in Greensboro on Sunday looking for a nice place to sip coffee, write, draw and read. We had heard about this lovely new coffee shop in an old house, so we visited. At first glance, paradise. Great tables and chairs, few patrons, nice selection of java. So, I took out my sketchbook and my new drawing instruction manual and began. Then, the conversation between the shopkeep and the pitchman began. It got louder. I had a great deal of trouble blocking out the conversation about turkey sandwiches being turkey sandwiches and how you don't want to give pasta salad away. More patrons arrived. Suddenly, the nice soft music playing was replaced by a very talented pianist playing a very loud piano in a very small space. I mean, who thinks to put a baby grand piano in a space that seats 30 at most? The guy could play, don't get me wrong, but we couldn't carry on a normal conversation; hell, I couldn't hear anything Budd was saying right in my ear; and I left with a massive headache. So much for drawing. Went to another coffee house on Friday night. TV blaring Fox News, loud conversation, and "Coffeehouse Lite" muzak playing. Even the Greensboro Public Library downtown has its drawbacks. While it may be relatively quiet (the day we were there, we experienced squalling children), the chairs are bitterly uncomfortable which doesn't invite you to stay very long. So, we're going to take our chances and become friends of the UNC-G library in hopes of finding some peace and quiet to read, write, draw and think. If you know of such a place in Greensboro that serves a good sugar-free vanilla latte, let me know.

Friends of God

2007-01-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

I watched the Alexandra Pelosi documentary "Friends of God" last evening. As much as I like documentary filmmaking, I was disappointed by yet another hackneyed look at Evangelical Christians. Oh, it was well-hyped in all the papers, especially since it contained quite a bit of footage of the once-mighty-now-fallen Rev. Ted Haggard, espousing his views on Christian sex ("How many times a week do you have sex with your wife? And how many times does she climax?") and his views on homosexuality and sin in general. And the film goes to considerable lengths to show the ignorance of teaching children that dinosaurs and man lived in concomitance with one another less than 5,000 years ago. I believe this film does a large number of thinking, thoughtful, intelligent and moral Christians a grave disservice in lumping us with those who believe that homosexuality, abortion and teaching evolution are the three greatest problems facing humanity. There are a whole bunch of us out here who do believe in Christ as Lord and Savior who also believe that His primary message was that of forgiveness, loving one's neighbor as oneself, and working toward eliminating poverty. As a liberal Christian, I believe that saving the life of a living child (or adult) who is starving, whether in America, the Sudan or Costa Rica, is the life that Jesus would have us to save. I believe that evolution was planned by God and has been proven by science (which was also planned and created by God). And I believe that what you do with your partner in your bedroom is your business and frankly, I'd like for it to stay there in your bedroom or whatever room you're doing it in. That goes for homosexuals and Evangelical Christians alike. I didn't need to know how many times the E.C.'s in Ms. Pelosi's film had sex with their wives. I think that was a tasteless piece of the film that could have easily been eliminated, but was left in for the "titillation" factor, especially given the sexual nature of the downfall of Haggard.

In trying to demonstrate how much smarter, hipper and cultivated liberal-thinking people are, Ms. Pelosi instead ends up lumping all Christians (and Southern ones especially) into a group of laughable characters. As a Southern Christian who thinks liberally, I believe she could have done much better if she had attempted to present both sides of the story without alienating people like me.

Hey man, where'd you get that lotion?

2007-01-25T11:12:00.000-08:00

My new mp3 player has really opened me up to the subtle musical nuances of "Lust for Life" and "Raw Power". My inamorato was a recent finalist in a Rolling Stone writing competition asking 10 question of Iggy. I'm proud of him. He's worth a million in prizes. Maybe Iggy will see the questions and answer them - I hope so. Hard to believe Iggy will be 60 this year. Too bad we can't have more artists like him and less like the Pussycat Dolls and Justin Timberlake.

Greetings from Scampstress

2007-01-24T13:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm certain that I'm the last person on the planet to have a blog. So here it is. Who will read it? I don't know. What will I blog about? Well, how about rocks and minerals? I like those. And aerial and satellite photography. I like that too. And politics. And jazz. And the world of work. And how I hope to help my significant other get his wonderful writings published. And cemeteries. I really like those. Especially old ones. Not because of any creepiness or "goth" fantasies. Just because I think the grave markers are interesting and tell fascinating stories.

So, for better or worse, that's the beginning of my blog. We'll see what happens next.