What a sensation it would be to feel like you're floating, even though you're flying at over 17,000 miles an hour!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Cyber Sea
As you can see, I'm back posting images on Illustration Friday, which I did regularly up until about two years ago, when my browser could no longer see it. Well, after a long hiatus I'm back again, but I don't recognize any of the original people on there, they've moved on. To where, I don't know...like returning to an old neighborhood where you once lived, only strangers live there now. I've experienced the same thing on Imdb, where I once was a regular on their message boards...indeed, I posted on a daily basis, many times a day on some occaisions. This was about ten years ago, and it was my first experience doing such a thing.
At first I came to recognize the regular posters, each with their own personality which I assumed was a 'real' person, not a contrived persona or anything like that, I was naive at the time...So, in all those posts about movies and tv shows, a certain number of posters would gravitate to one another, and become, well, friends online!...I became buddies with a few of them, we would chat about movies and sometimes delved into our personal lives, almost like 'pen pals' we had in school...But then something happened, an influx of new users and a group that had been kicked off an old board brought their 'wars' there. And an infestation of teenagers who plagued the board with their inane and juvenile posts...'trolls'...I soon lost sight of the old regulars but later learned that they retreated to a certain movie board on imdb, "The Way We Were" of all places...others who were not invited there complained bitterly, "why didn't you tell me?? how could you??"..or...
"okay, here's your knife back, the one you stabbed me with!"
It became clear, sheesh this like high school! and these people have never even met each other, or knew each other growing up, or shared each others pain or joy that they otherwise would in a real or at least tangible friendship...No, this was a new territory, a new universe of VIRTUAL friendships, just as loving and supportive, or just as dysfunctional...but friendships nevertheless!
As friendships can come and go, so do these...like the Illustration Friday crowd who moved on, so did the Imdb bunch, a small group of them formed a small site on which I was invited, like building a hopeful bridge over the cyber sea, but even now that one is dwindling, like a bridge that is abandoned or swept away...I guess people just want to move on, like in real life. America is one of the most mobile and migratory people in the world. Everyone moved out here to California in the 50's and 60's and I grew up listening to them brag about how great it was back where they came from...I would sigh like an old man....
And, like a migratory shift, people move on from virtual friendships to new places and then we wonder where they went, what became of them?...but we do make friends, and keep them! Like facebook, we connect with old friends, the 'tangible' ones. But the virtual friends, they're basically pen pals...I miss the ones I don't see anymore, even though I never saw them face to face, or shook their hands...or even arranging to meet someday, somewhere...when it comes to all of them, the friends I never met, it's like throwing a message in a bottle into the Cyber Sea.
At first I came to recognize the regular posters, each with their own personality which I assumed was a 'real' person, not a contrived persona or anything like that, I was naive at the time...So, in all those posts about movies and tv shows, a certain number of posters would gravitate to one another, and become, well, friends online!...I became buddies with a few of them, we would chat about movies and sometimes delved into our personal lives, almost like 'pen pals' we had in school...But then something happened, an influx of new users and a group that had been kicked off an old board brought their 'wars' there. And an infestation of teenagers who plagued the board with their inane and juvenile posts...'trolls'...I soon lost sight of the old regulars but later learned that they retreated to a certain movie board on imdb, "The Way We Were" of all places...others who were not invited there complained bitterly, "why didn't you tell me?? how could you??"..or...
"okay, here's your knife back, the one you stabbed me with!"
It became clear, sheesh this like high school! and these people have never even met each other, or knew each other growing up, or shared each others pain or joy that they otherwise would in a real or at least tangible friendship...No, this was a new territory, a new universe of VIRTUAL friendships, just as loving and supportive, or just as dysfunctional...but friendships nevertheless!
As friendships can come and go, so do these...like the Illustration Friday crowd who moved on, so did the Imdb bunch, a small group of them formed a small site on which I was invited, like building a hopeful bridge over the cyber sea, but even now that one is dwindling, like a bridge that is abandoned or swept away...I guess people just want to move on, like in real life. America is one of the most mobile and migratory people in the world. Everyone moved out here to California in the 50's and 60's and I grew up listening to them brag about how great it was back where they came from...I would sigh like an old man....
And, like a migratory shift, people move on from virtual friendships to new places and then we wonder where they went, what became of them?...but we do make friends, and keep them! Like facebook, we connect with old friends, the 'tangible' ones. But the virtual friends, they're basically pen pals...I miss the ones I don't see anymore, even though I never saw them face to face, or shook their hands...or even arranging to meet someday, somewhere...when it comes to all of them, the friends I never met, it's like throwing a message in a bottle into the Cyber Sea.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
My Time Machine
I have always been fascinated with History, especially when looking at old films or photographs. Or walking through old neighborhoods or historical districts. My interest was piqued recently when I watched a Ken Burns series on the National Parks. He used an enormous collection of old photos and Super-8 movies of families vacationing in Yosemite and other parks. I immediately related to the kids in those old movies, in the backseat of their parents car, then walking around in wonder, because I could have been one of those kids back then in the 60's.
But some of these were from way before, like in the 40's and 50's...even back to the 20's and beyond! Every time I see an old photograph or old film footage, especially in color, I wish I could magically step into that picture, go back in time and see for myself how it really was....
Or better yet, I wish I had a Time Machine, not a big clumsy contraption like H.G. Wells would have written about, but a small convenient one, about the size of a cel phone. But I'd make sure to prepare, to have all my bases covered...The first place I'd want to visit is San Francisco in the 1940's, maybe 1947...but before I went, I'd put on an old vintage suit that I own, from about that era, to blend in...then I would go to San Francisco present-day, probably to Golden Gate Park to a secluded spot in the bushes where I couldn't be seen, and then punch in the date, and make the leap!
I would appear in that same spot, hopefully still hidden, but it would be 1947!... After emerging from the park, I think that much of the city would look the same, as far as the buildings and houses, but the cars and the trolleys and the people would be different...like out of an old photograph, but I would be There! I think I would walk downtown, rather than take a bus or taxi, just to soak it all in...I would probably be nervous as hell, almost paranoid in thinking that I stood out somehow, an ultimate outsider, someone from the Future...but I'd be nonchalant as I strolled down Geary St. toward Union Square, nodding hello to passersby, peering in to storefronts and listening to peoples' conversations, picking up any nuance in their speech, but I don't think it would be very different. No different than Bogart and Bacall, who filmed 'Dark Passage' there in 1947...and I've seen plenty of Three Stooges and Little Rascals movies to know how they spoke back then, but that was Hollywood, this would be regular people in the street.
Before my 'trip', I would make sure to bring along a lot of faded one dollar bills, that denomination hasn't changed much since the 30's, but the 5's, 10's, and 20's have a new design, and that would be an obvious giveaway, they would think I was a nutcase or a counterfeiter if I tried to use one of those. And besides, things were way cheaper back then, I could probably walk into a diner and buy lunch for less than a dollar, and a newspaper for a nickel. Upon arriving downtown, I imagine Union Square would also still look basically the same, but with different storefronts and not as many highrises, but the cable cars would be there, Lefty O'Douls would be there, and maybe Tad's...
There would also be the St. Francis hotel on Powell, curiosity would take me there first, with its ornate lobby and piano bar, I wonder how different it would be. I'd gather up the nerve to go sit at the bar...now, I've seen movies from the 40's and bars haven't changed much, but still, I would glance and see what others were drinking...I'd probably order a beer, and pay for it with change that I got from buying the newspaper, I'd be too nervous about using a dollar bill from 2009, bartenders can be pretty sharp about that stuff. Not that he's looking out for money from the future, just bills that don't look quite right...
After having perused the paper and sports page just to catch up on local current events, I'd probably be prepared for any light conversation, should a bar patron decided to chat...I'd say I was from San Jose, which I was...though my historical knowledge of San Jose would only carry me so far...they might ask if I was in the war, and given my current age I would say no, I was too old by then...I would never tell anyone I was from the future, because a) they wouldn't believe me, and b) I wouldn't want to say "buy IBM stock in 1956, you'll make a fortune!" because it would 'alter the future' and that could get complicated...no, I'd just be an observer.
I think I would want to explore most of all, to ride the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf, when it really WAS a fisherman's wharf, with the original restaurants catering to the fishermen themselves, and Pier 39 was really a working pier. Ride taxis, visit the Sutro Baths...
Feeling a kind of wanderlust, I'd want to venture all over the City and East Bay, northward to Santa Rosa, and walk around my old neighborhood as I did not long ago, and again, all the houses would still be there, but different colors perhaps...the trees would be smaller...I'd walk down McDonald Avenue where 'Shadow of a Doubt' had just been filmed, and I think it would look the same, again except for the cars. I'd go downtown and look around, and see how things were then...I'd see all the fields and orchards where houses and new neighborhoods would soon be...There'd be so much to see and explore, like a living history museum. It would be fun to stay overnight at a local hotel, or back in the City...though no tv, ha!
That would be only one trip in my Time Machine, I think I would take many such trips, to many places...I would take a trip to August 21, 1955...the date of my parents wedding in San Jose, maybe sit in the back, since I have a family resemblance to my uncles, they would wonder who I was...I'd dare not go to the reception...
As my time travelling got 'easier'...I would go back to the 30's...the 20's...and beyond!
New York City, 1923, the opening of Yankee Stadium and watch Babe Ruth play ball...the list is endless.
Of course, this is all just one big fantasy, see how far it takes me? haha! There will probably never be such a thing as time travel, at least in our lifetime...but if there ever was, I'd want to be ready.
But some of these were from way before, like in the 40's and 50's...even back to the 20's and beyond! Every time I see an old photograph or old film footage, especially in color, I wish I could magically step into that picture, go back in time and see for myself how it really was....
Or better yet, I wish I had a Time Machine, not a big clumsy contraption like H.G. Wells would have written about, but a small convenient one, about the size of a cel phone. But I'd make sure to prepare, to have all my bases covered...The first place I'd want to visit is San Francisco in the 1940's, maybe 1947...but before I went, I'd put on an old vintage suit that I own, from about that era, to blend in...then I would go to San Francisco present-day, probably to Golden Gate Park to a secluded spot in the bushes where I couldn't be seen, and then punch in the date, and make the leap!
I would appear in that same spot, hopefully still hidden, but it would be 1947!... After emerging from the park, I think that much of the city would look the same, as far as the buildings and houses, but the cars and the trolleys and the people would be different...like out of an old photograph, but I would be There! I think I would walk downtown, rather than take a bus or taxi, just to soak it all in...I would probably be nervous as hell, almost paranoid in thinking that I stood out somehow, an ultimate outsider, someone from the Future...but I'd be nonchalant as I strolled down Geary St. toward Union Square, nodding hello to passersby, peering in to storefronts and listening to peoples' conversations, picking up any nuance in their speech, but I don't think it would be very different. No different than Bogart and Bacall, who filmed 'Dark Passage' there in 1947...and I've seen plenty of Three Stooges and Little Rascals movies to know how they spoke back then, but that was Hollywood, this would be regular people in the street.
Before my 'trip', I would make sure to bring along a lot of faded one dollar bills, that denomination hasn't changed much since the 30's, but the 5's, 10's, and 20's have a new design, and that would be an obvious giveaway, they would think I was a nutcase or a counterfeiter if I tried to use one of those. And besides, things were way cheaper back then, I could probably walk into a diner and buy lunch for less than a dollar, and a newspaper for a nickel. Upon arriving downtown, I imagine Union Square would also still look basically the same, but with different storefronts and not as many highrises, but the cable cars would be there, Lefty O'Douls would be there, and maybe Tad's...
There would also be the St. Francis hotel on Powell, curiosity would take me there first, with its ornate lobby and piano bar, I wonder how different it would be. I'd gather up the nerve to go sit at the bar...now, I've seen movies from the 40's and bars haven't changed much, but still, I would glance and see what others were drinking...I'd probably order a beer, and pay for it with change that I got from buying the newspaper, I'd be too nervous about using a dollar bill from 2009, bartenders can be pretty sharp about that stuff. Not that he's looking out for money from the future, just bills that don't look quite right...
After having perused the paper and sports page just to catch up on local current events, I'd probably be prepared for any light conversation, should a bar patron decided to chat...I'd say I was from San Jose, which I was...though my historical knowledge of San Jose would only carry me so far...they might ask if I was in the war, and given my current age I would say no, I was too old by then...I would never tell anyone I was from the future, because a) they wouldn't believe me, and b) I wouldn't want to say "buy IBM stock in 1956, you'll make a fortune!" because it would 'alter the future' and that could get complicated...no, I'd just be an observer.
I think I would want to explore most of all, to ride the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf, when it really WAS a fisherman's wharf, with the original restaurants catering to the fishermen themselves, and Pier 39 was really a working pier. Ride taxis, visit the Sutro Baths...
Feeling a kind of wanderlust, I'd want to venture all over the City and East Bay, northward to Santa Rosa, and walk around my old neighborhood as I did not long ago, and again, all the houses would still be there, but different colors perhaps...the trees would be smaller...I'd walk down McDonald Avenue where 'Shadow of a Doubt' had just been filmed, and I think it would look the same, again except for the cars. I'd go downtown and look around, and see how things were then...I'd see all the fields and orchards where houses and new neighborhoods would soon be...There'd be so much to see and explore, like a living history museum. It would be fun to stay overnight at a local hotel, or back in the City...though no tv, ha!
That would be only one trip in my Time Machine, I think I would take many such trips, to many places...I would take a trip to August 21, 1955...the date of my parents wedding in San Jose, maybe sit in the back, since I have a family resemblance to my uncles, they would wonder who I was...I'd dare not go to the reception...
As my time travelling got 'easier'...I would go back to the 30's...the 20's...and beyond!
New York City, 1923, the opening of Yankee Stadium and watch Babe Ruth play ball...the list is endless.
Of course, this is all just one big fantasy, see how far it takes me? haha! There will probably never be such a thing as time travel, at least in our lifetime...but if there ever was, I'd want to be ready.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Illustration Friday - Germs
I read a short story once, where the Earth was being overrun by deadly germs that needed to be eradicated. In the end, it was revealed that the germs were us.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Illustration Friday - Infinite
Among the infinite of space, and the infinite of time, anything is possible.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Aunt Carmen's last hug
My Aunt Carmen was like a second mom to me when I was growing up. From the time I can remember, up until the second grade I always stayed over at Aunt Carmen and Uncle Joe's during the summer, during the day while my parents were at work...along with their kids Joanne and Little Joe, my cousins, they were like my extended family...and I was witness to their frequent 'wars' firsthand, which sometimes made me feel thankful I was an only child, but I loved them all anyway, because they were family, my Second family! When my parents went on a two week vacation to Hawaii, I stayed with them for over two weeks. Indeed, I can't count the times I would spend other evenings with them watching tv... Gilligan's Island, Hogan's Heroes, Daniel Boone...all the while Aunt Carmen provided an endless supply of ice cream, potato chips, and other snacks.
I remember when she would run errands during the day, and she would bring me and my cousin Joe along, we would act goofy and crack jokes the whole time, "you boys are driving me NUTS!"...Her booming, intimidating voice, with a sense of impending menace was all it took to shut us up...and then, serenity, "can I interest you boys in a root beer float?"...I was amazed how she seemed to know every salesperson at every store by name, even the drive-thru dairy (remember those?) and they all greeted her with enthusiasm because she had that kind of personality...Huge, an expansive personality that would fill a room. And an incredible sense of humor and sardonic wit...in other words, she was a Force of Nature, the Salt of the Earth.
Aunt Carmen is my mom's older sister, and through the years, they stuck together like glue, even through what I call 'the lean years' from the mid 80's to 2002 when I wasn't in contact with them that much...but later about that...
When my cousins and I were kids, we enjoyed weekend barbeques at any one of our homes, whether it was at my parent's house, Joe and Carmen's, or Uncle Bob's...or sometimes Uncle Joe's on my dad's side...even writing about this gives me kind of a warm and happy feeling, a feeling of family...I know of such families today...
Anyway, whenever Carmen would arrive, the scene automatically changed, because here was this Presence now...remember the tv show 'Maude' starring Bea Arthur? Everyone at the time would say, "ohmygawwd, that's CARMEN"...and sure enough, for awhile she had the nickname, "oh look! Maude is here!"...but she took it all with good humor, 'yup that's me alright!'
But with her big personality came certain strains, my dad had always 'tolerated' her ever since he married my mom back in the 50's, and while I had been away at school and then on my own in the 80's, a rift developed between my dad and Carmen and they basically avoided each other, which was unfortunate, especially for my mom...and us cousins had grown, so we weren't in as much contact through the 80's and 90's, as we were busy running to and fro with our own lives...that's what I mean by the 'lean years'....
So in fact, it was my dad's funeral that brought us all back together, the rift was over...it was basically a reunion. Before the funeral, some of them arrived at my mom's house, Joe and Carmen, the Bakers, everyone...the first thing Carmen did was give me a Big bear hug, "ohhhh Danny I'm sooo sorry I've missed you sooo much!" and couldn't help but tear up because I had missed her too, and on top of that, my dad gone, here was this emotional reunion as well...not to mention everyone else...
It was not soon after, that she developed heart problems, sometimes serious and we would worry...but I'll never forget when I had my paintings showing in Sonoma Square, Carmen and Joe showed up! she was probably feeling like hell, but she made sure Joe went to get the food they brought! haha! Some things never change...
My mom and I went out to visit them earlier this year, Carmen had continued to have health problems but still was a Force of Nature, she insisted we go wine tasting and she was the designated driver! While my mom and I stayed at their house, I felt an echo....an echo from childhood and a certain affection for ol' Carmen and Joe, from a long time ago, my second family. About a month ago, it looked like things were getting worse, and sure enough, she was sick with cancer...inoperable...we all gathered around again. In her hospital bed, she insisted, "now don't any of you be sad! it's been a good life!" We all joked and told stories...when it was time to leave, I give Aunt Carmen a kiss on the cheek, her cheek was warm, and we hugged, "MMMMMMMMMM"
"I love you." and she winked.
I remember when she would run errands during the day, and she would bring me and my cousin Joe along, we would act goofy and crack jokes the whole time, "you boys are driving me NUTS!"...Her booming, intimidating voice, with a sense of impending menace was all it took to shut us up...and then, serenity, "can I interest you boys in a root beer float?"...I was amazed how she seemed to know every salesperson at every store by name, even the drive-thru dairy (remember those?) and they all greeted her with enthusiasm because she had that kind of personality...Huge, an expansive personality that would fill a room. And an incredible sense of humor and sardonic wit...in other words, she was a Force of Nature, the Salt of the Earth.
Aunt Carmen is my mom's older sister, and through the years, they stuck together like glue, even through what I call 'the lean years' from the mid 80's to 2002 when I wasn't in contact with them that much...but later about that...
When my cousins and I were kids, we enjoyed weekend barbeques at any one of our homes, whether it was at my parent's house, Joe and Carmen's, or Uncle Bob's...or sometimes Uncle Joe's on my dad's side...even writing about this gives me kind of a warm and happy feeling, a feeling of family...I know of such families today...
Anyway, whenever Carmen would arrive, the scene automatically changed, because here was this Presence now...remember the tv show 'Maude' starring Bea Arthur? Everyone at the time would say, "ohmygawwd, that's CARMEN"...and sure enough, for awhile she had the nickname, "oh look! Maude is here!"...but she took it all with good humor, 'yup that's me alright!'
But with her big personality came certain strains, my dad had always 'tolerated' her ever since he married my mom back in the 50's, and while I had been away at school and then on my own in the 80's, a rift developed between my dad and Carmen and they basically avoided each other, which was unfortunate, especially for my mom...and us cousins had grown, so we weren't in as much contact through the 80's and 90's, as we were busy running to and fro with our own lives...that's what I mean by the 'lean years'....
So in fact, it was my dad's funeral that brought us all back together, the rift was over...it was basically a reunion. Before the funeral, some of them arrived at my mom's house, Joe and Carmen, the Bakers, everyone...the first thing Carmen did was give me a Big bear hug, "ohhhh Danny I'm sooo sorry I've missed you sooo much!" and couldn't help but tear up because I had missed her too, and on top of that, my dad gone, here was this emotional reunion as well...not to mention everyone else...
It was not soon after, that she developed heart problems, sometimes serious and we would worry...but I'll never forget when I had my paintings showing in Sonoma Square, Carmen and Joe showed up! she was probably feeling like hell, but she made sure Joe went to get the food they brought! haha! Some things never change...
My mom and I went out to visit them earlier this year, Carmen had continued to have health problems but still was a Force of Nature, she insisted we go wine tasting and she was the designated driver! While my mom and I stayed at their house, I felt an echo....an echo from childhood and a certain affection for ol' Carmen and Joe, from a long time ago, my second family. About a month ago, it looked like things were getting worse, and sure enough, she was sick with cancer...inoperable...we all gathered around again. In her hospital bed, she insisted, "now don't any of you be sad! it's been a good life!" We all joked and told stories...when it was time to leave, I give Aunt Carmen a kiss on the cheek, her cheek was warm, and we hugged, "MMMMMMMMMM"
"I love you." and she winked.
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