My Best Unamuno

Not only was Miguel de Unamuno a wicked awesome Spanish philosopher, he also knew how to pose well for pictures.  Check it out:

He always looks so cool, purposefully looking away form the camera.  I dig it.  So here's me, at the Getty Villa today, doing my best "Unamuno."  Not even close...maybe when I've aged some.

I want to go camping...

...so today I set up my new (purchased last fall in a closeout sale) tent to see how big it really is.  It's pretty dang big (nowhati'msayin'?).  Gift certificates plus a great sale equals a tent large enough for the family at a price that's easy on the stomach.

17x10 feet.  There's also a rain flap that goes on top but it is HUGE and I didn't want to bother to put it on.

I'm not sure what the little doggy door is for, other than doggys.

It has two little walls that we can put up, I don't think they are very well insulated though, sound probably goes right through.

This was taken while laying right against the wall thingy in the photo above, so without the walls up, it's pretty dang cavernous.

It even comes with a doormat. No reason to get all uncivilized just because we won't be showerin'.

A Day in the Park

UCI has a cool, circular campus, and at the center sits Aldrich Park.  I've seen early film footage and pictures of the campus before the trees grew much at all.  It looked like a rolling grass hill with distant buildings surrounding it.  Today the trees are much larger and the buildings hand behind layers of branches and leaves.  I enjoy sitting on the edge of the park at a certain bench and listening to the wind in the trees while I pretend to read.  Today I took some photos instead of pretending to read.

Dance Dance Revolución

¿The Ethics of Misspelling?

I miss the HBLL quite a bit, but I saw this and thought to myself, "Come on man!" Apparently Rulfo's title character has a French cousin.

The Etymological Imaginary

Photo: Julius Shulman

California:

"Name of an imaginary realm in "Las sergas de Esplandián" ("Exploits of Espladán"), a romance by Sp. writer Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo, published in 1510, which was said to have been influential among Sp. explorers of the New World and may have led them to misidentify Baja California as this land and mistake it for an island. Where Montalvo got the name and what it means, if anything, is a mystery. Californian is attested from 1785. The element Californium (1950) was named in reference to University of California, where it was discovered." - (http://www.etymonline.com)

Don Quijote de Orson Welles

"Wait Sir, don't let the devil deceive you, it's only a Vespa" - Sancho Panza

The Color of Yerba Mate

I really liked the color, that's all.

A Revelation of Sorts

My good friend and former colleague Matt Hill once said to me, "I don't have anything to say, why am I going to start a blog?"  I'm glad to say that a few years on, he has changed his mind.  Matt has a writing style that is fun to read (even when it's serious) and makes fine use of an expansive vocabulary while remaining accessible to even the non-academic reader (that's me).  Over at his blog, A Monkey for All Seasons, he just published a three part meditation on Porcus Sanctus, or for those of you that don't speak fake Latin, The Holy Pig.  In his powerful triplicity on pork, you find, among other anecdotes, one of my favorite stories, that of the "All Pork Christmas."  If you enjoy what you read, leave a comment, what with the economy and all, we don't see much of those around these parts anymore...saludos Mateo!!!

Guaransheed No More

Here's an interesting article from Bill Simmons about Rasheed Wallace. Simmons breaks down Sheed's stats, in an article that must have been a labor of love, he truly believes that Wallace is damaging the Celtics. I remember when I heard about the Sheed going to Boston I thought to myself, "Championship." But I was remembering the Rasheed of the Larry Brown days. If you read the article, you'll learn why that Rasheed Wallace was an über-sheed-mensch compared to the man you see on the court now. Of course, I loved the caption of this picture...it's true you know...

Approaching Python

This video is 87 times better than it would have been here in the U.S. because of the British accents. If I ever get scolded, sacked, or receive some really bad news, I hope it comes by way of someone with a British Accent.

O Trem Azul

We Only Come Out At Night