Is Global Warming to Blame?

No boom.

For the first time since I've lived here, the guys at the Smuggler Mine did not wake me up at 6 am on the Fourth of July with their extremely loud cannon blasts.

This is very sad.

Now, as I have previously explained, the guys at the Smuggler Mine are a cantakerous group and don't take kindly to being told they can't do something. When certain wet-blanket types in the City of Aspen tried to forbid the 6 am Fourth of July cannon blasts, the miners simply thumbed their noses and went ahead anyway.

So, I can't imagine that today's lack of boom was done willingly.

We do, however, have a situation here. It is dry. Really, really dry. So dry that the fireworks at Aspen Mountain have been moved to the municipal golf course. So dry that there were not one, but two wildfires within the city limits on Monday.

Therefore, while I am totally guessing here, I'm thinking that the silence this morning might have something to do with the tinderbox quality of the surroundings.

This has definitely started my day off of a sour note, or should I say, a lack of a stirring, startling, heart pounding note.

It remains to be seen if I'll be able to salvage the day . . .

The Colony by John Tayman

All authors have an agenda. Some are more successful than others at balancing out their presentation of their material but slant is inevitable and unavoidable.

Reading The Colony on the heels of Moloka'i places the differing perspectives of the two authors in stark juxtaposition. Alan Brennert tells a story that downplays the hardships faced by the exiles on Molokai. John Tayman details a history of the settlement fraught with suffering.

Neither is necessarily inaccurate.

Tayman is clearly trying to make a point. He is attacking a system, inspired by fear and ignorance, which segregated innocent victims of a disfiguring disease. In chapter after chapter, he provides graphic examples of the wrongheadedness of the policy of segregation. His is an indictment of the system which dehumanized those infected with the leprosy germ.

In order to accomplish this end, he highlights the sensational accounts of the time which inspired fear in the general population. He repeats the contemporary descriptions which often use terminology now seen as highly insulting and offensive. He describes how Jack London was used in an attempt by those trying to encourage Hawaiian tourism to publish a white-washed portrayal of Kalaupapa.

And yet, even while focusing on the horrors, Tayman manages to also tell an inspiring tale of survival, perseverance and even hope by spotlighting individuals' stories. Rather than simply presenting the data and facts regarding the settlement, Tayman wisely brings us the stories of a number of the people affected by the Hawaiian government's misguided attempt to halt the spread of the disease. Tayman introduces us to people who faced outrageous circumstances with grace, humor and faith. I came away with a feeling of deep admiration for these individuals.

Due to Tayman's agenda, The Colony has inspired some controversy. Three of the individuals portrayed in the book, two of whom had been cooperating with the author, have denounced the book in no uncertain terms. Tayman briefly mentions these issues in his Notes and Acknowledgements and a little internet research brings up newspaper articles with more specifics.

I can't imagine, though, that any writer of recent history can possibly please all those affected by the history being presented. It appeared to me that the complaints were based on an inability to separate Tayman's criticisms of the policies from his admiration for the majority of the residents of Kalaupapa.

There is additional criticism of Tayman and his publisher due to their choices for the cover photography on both the hardcover and paperback editions. The hardcover edition featured a photograph of Italian cliffs while the paperback edition, while at least using a photograph of the cliffs of Molokai, flips the photo and (at least according to this website) doesn't credit the correct photographer.

I find these issues troubling in that, in my opinion, lack of attention to these sorts of details are likely to be indicative of a further lack of attention to detail. Attention to detail is important in a well-researched historical work.

Tayman does an admirable job of accomplishing his purpose in a way that is readable and engrossing. Moloka'i presented a rose colored glasses view of the settlement and The Colony provides a view which reminds the reader that while it's a beautiful place and the residents don't want to leave, they didn't originally go there willingly either.

If I am able to visit Kaluapapa as hoped, I will be careful with references to The Colony. The bookstore there does not carry the book, bowing to the wishes of the remaining residents.

More on Kalaupapa

In preparation for our bookclub discussion of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert, I proceeded to do some superficial internet research on Hansen's disease and on Kalaupapa.

I came across a letter written by Jack London which largely corresponds with Brennert's depiction and the book, The Colony by John Tayman and two NPR interviews which present a contrasting picture of Kalaupapa.

After listening to both Terry Gross' Fresh Air interview and Renee Montagne's Morning Edition interview with John Tayman, it appears that Alan Brennert's depiction of Kalaupapa is fairly idealized or, at least, glosses over the depravity that existed in the early days of the settlement.

I'll report more once I have had a chance to read The Colony.

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Yet another piece of historical fiction that has served to educate while entertaining.

Brennert provides a little bit of the history of Hawaii, a little bit of the history of leprosy or Hansen's disease and a little bit of the history of the settlement of Kalaupapa in the context of the story of Rachel Kalama, a fictional seven year old child who is banished to and grows up on Moloka'i.

Brennert does a better job conveying the pathos of the grown-up Rachel than of the adolescent Rachel. Once again, I found myself reading a book to which I had little emotional attachment until Rachel reached adulthood at which point Brennert's ability to touch the reader with Rachel's struggles dramatically improved.

This is a sad story told in a way that celebrates the ability to persevere, fashion a life and ultimately triumph.

If I visit Lahaina as expected this fall, I'll have to include a side trip to Moloka'i in my itinerary.

Late to the party

Caught the Sybarite String Quintet outside of Paradise Bakery on Wednesday night. They finished with a rousing rendition of Aaron Copland's Rodeo.

Picked up my new black 80 gb video iPod on Thursday morning.

Loaded 5000+ songs onto the new toy last night.

Got four Aaron Copland CDs today.

Just loaded 37 more songs onto the new toy.

Am now off to listen to more free live music.

My new favorite website

Overheard in New York

Along with Overheard Everywhere and Overheard in the Office.

The cynic in me says some of this stuff has to be made up but, coupled with the witty headlines, they do make me laugh.

DMV torture

Wednesday morning we picked up the car share car and the grandparents and headed to Glenwood Springs to take the learner's permit test.

We arrived at the DMV a few minutes after the 9 am opening time. They were serving number 8 and we got number 26.

Hmmmm.

There were two clerks but one kept leaving to administer scheduled driving tests. There was also an assistant whose job was to answer the phone so the clerks didn't have to but she kept disappearing on little, meaningless errands.

The numbers increased agonizingly slowly.

Our number was finally called at 11:30 am. But only after number 30 jumped the line.

I saw an elderly woman sitting near us and noticed that she was holding number 230. All of the ticket numbers were 3 digit numbers starting with a 2. The number being served display (directly above Rachel's head in the picture) was a 2 digit display.

Obviously, we were going by the last two numbers on our ticket.

Well, I guess this wasn't obvious to everyone.

The clerk called number 23. Two people got up and approached the counter, one being the woman I knew to be holding number 230. I then sat and watched for 20 plus minutes while the clerk helped first the gentleman holding ticket 23 and next the elderly woman who decided that since zero is null, she must have been holding ticket number 23.

I felt that the clerk should have explained to the elderly woman that she was jumping the line. Clearly, the clerk didn't agree. No skin off her nose who she helps next.

And I was probably the only person in the room who knew.

It was particularly tortuous for my parents who hail from Illinois. Illinois' DMV used to be as inefficient as Colorado's. That is until there were a series of well-publicized scandals revolving around fraud and graft in the Illinois DMV. Illinois' current Secretary of State, Jesse White, has done a terrific job of reforming his department and my mother just gushes about how efficient the Driver's License offices are now.

I guess Colorado needs a scandal.

But Rachel passed her test and is now the proud possessor of a learner's permit.

She has yet to drive a car on the street. We thought about having her drive to work on Thursday morning but decided it was not a stellar idea to have her first street driving experience occur on Main Street.

Porch music

This weekend is the Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Festival. While the Labor Day Festival takes place in the distant lands of Snowmass Village, the June Festival, for the past 4 years, has taken place at Rio Grande Park, a hop, skip and a jump from my front porch.

This is way cool.

In 2003, Steve was grooving to Joe Cocker live as he was taking out the trash.

Last night, I sat out on my front porch, watching the stars and grooving to the sounds of Earth, Wind and Fire live.

Sweet.

Food & Wine residual or Are you sick of me yet?

Food & Wine ended Sunday afternoon and by Monday, I had already had two opportunities to put my newly acquired knowledge to use.

Sunday night, for Father's Day, we went out to dinner at Gusto Ristorante, one of the Italian restaurants here in town. As a result of the Sparkling Substitutes seminar taught by Mark Oldman, I had a glass of the Prosecco which had been a complete unknown to me less than a week earlier.

On Monday, Steve and I were wandering through town at dinnertime and decided to eat at Takah Sushi, where I ordered a glass of the Reisling to complement the wasabi as suggested by Brian Duncan in the Perfect Wine and Food Pairings seminar.

I had Steve taste the Reisling by itself and, as I had anticipated, he found it a bit too sweet. I then had him taste it after eating some spicy Atomic Shrimp and he was amazed at the way the flavors combined.

Fun stuff.

A whole lot of scoring going on

Yet another fabulous day at Food and Wine.

Sunday seminars usually have fairly spotty attendance but not so with our session, Brian Duncan's reprise of his Perfect Wine and Food Pairings. We ran out of wine and had to short some of the latecomers.

Oh well, they do tell everyone to arrive at least 15 minutes early to insure their seats.

Instead to trying to get across town to another seminar, I sat in the prep tent and guzzled Vouvray, Reisling and Gewurztraminer.

Teardown went really quickly and I scored a bottle of Osborne Premium Pedro Ximenez Sweet Sherry during the volunteer raffle. One of the panelists in the Like Wine for Chocolate seminar suggested serving it with vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate shavings, so, later during the Grand Tasting, I went to the Hershey premium chocolate booth and scored some chocolate too.

I really was hoping to snag a bottle of the Gewurtztraminer that Brian Duncan was serving but the committee co-chairs had squirreled it away for themselves.

The perks of being in charge.

We had enough time between being released from our assignment and the start of the last Grand Tasting that I was able to get home to drop off my haul of sherry and Fiji water. I got over to the Tasting tent just in time to join the end of the line as it entered.

Perfect timing.

I drank more heavily than at any other tasting, trying a Martini Asti with strawberry puree, a Cointreau white sangria, a vodka/apple/sugar concoction, three or four Reislings, a couple of Pinot Noirs, a couple of Gewurztraminers and my favorite Sergio Prosecco and Mionetto Il Moscato.

I partook of the food too and perfected my trick of avoiding the line at the Academie Barilla booth with its exquisite cheeses and cured ham by waiting until the 10 minutes to go announcement to make my way over there.

I scored another pound of Starbucks coffee (my third) but did manage to lose my sunglasses.

I consoled myself with a big glass of the Mionetto Il Moscato and then shamelessly hung out at the Mionetto booth at the end until the wonderful Mionetto representative took pity on me and gifted me a bottle of the Moscato.

Yes! Life is sweet (as is the alcohol).

Oh, and I never did spit.

Moms behaving badly

Monica Emmerson is a big fat liar.

Now, listen, I've definitely been there.

Toting a toddler and luggage through an airport and dealing with stupid rules. I've even reacted and behaved in the heat of the moment in ways that were out of proportion to the situation at hand.

No, I've never intentionally dumped water on the floor out of spite but still, I've done things which have been fairly irrational.

However, I have not then gone on national TV and defended my piss-poor behavior. I've actually had the sense to feel a bit sheepish.

Monica claims she "accidentally" spilled the sippy cup. Maybe she didn't know when she did so that there was video. Video which clearly (at least to me) shows an irritated woman purposefully pouring water on the floor.

Monica should be apologizing. She should be saying that the rules which prevent her from taking her toddler's sippy cup through security suck but that is no excuse for her actions. She should be saying she was stressed, tired and in a hurry and completely over-reacted and acted inappropriately. And that she shouldn't have done so.

I absolutely love the fact that the TSA called, "Bullshit" and posted the videos and incident report on their website.

Come on, Monica. You can tell me. You didn't really "accidentally" spill that water, now, did you?

Still not spitting

It was really hard getting out of bed this morning. Really hard.

But I kinda forgot all about that when I started drinking at 9 am.

Yep, 9 am, there I was tasting six different Reislings with Andrea Immer Robinson.

Of course, by then I'd already been "at work" since 8 am, so that makes it ok.

I like Reislings. I like Gewurtztraminers. I had forgotten how much I like these.

I really like Mionetto Moscato and Sergio Prosecco. At $10 a bottle, I don't think I'll fall in the snob category any time soon.

I attended 3 out of 4 seminars today: Reislings Around the World, Green Grapes and Ham (a ham and wine pairing led by Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group and Dan Phillips of Grateful Palate) and the Perfect Wine and Food Pairings (Brian Duncan from Bin 36 in Chicago). I learned so much. I would have never thought to put together wasabi peas with Reisling or tomatoes with Gewurtztraminer. And ham, who knew that different hams paired so well with different wines.

And the Grand Tastings, so much good stuff. Once again, I didn't do much tasting at the early show since I had to continue to function for the rest of the afternoon but I ate, boy did I eat. There was lemon pepper ahi and some yummy fish with paprika sandwich (provided by Starbucks no less). There was caviar, rib eye, prime rib, aged cheese, proscuitto, cured Spanish ham, sushi, barbecue, and loads of things I could only describe, not name.

At the afternoon Grand Tasting, I did more tasting but even there the number of choices is just overwhelming. And a lot of the stuff is really high end. A friend's philosophy is that it's the only time she'll be able to taste most of this stuff. My thought is I don't want to know what I'm missing.

One more day . . .

It's been a long day

Got up at 4:45 AM in order to be at the Good Morning America taping. It ended up being a segment with Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse, competing in GMA's Best Burger Challenge which aired live on the east coast at about 8:20 am.

It was fun, albeit chilly. Mario is quite loose and funny while Emeril is a bit more nervous and stiff.

Since we were done by 6:30 AM and I didn't have to be at my volunteer gig until 8 am, we drove up to the Maroon Bells and took a short walk before Steve dropped me off at Paepcke Park. I helped set up and sat in on three seminars which were all quite good. In between and afterwards, I went to the Grand Tastings which were full of fabulous food and drink.

Being that I'm a bit of a light weight and being that all of the seminars involved wine tastings, I only tasted one wine during the early Grand Tasting but ate every morsel of food I could find.

Imagine a boatload of tapas interspersed among buckets and buckets and more buckets of wine.

At the second and final Grand Tasting of the day, since I didn't have to work any more seminars, I tasted much more freely. I haven't quite worked up to spitting but I have managed to limit my tasting to just a couple of swallows of each wine (except for those I really, really like).

Today, I learned about seven great tasting wines under $15, six BSDs (or bubbly stunt doubles) and how six wines pair with six different chocolates. I managed to score a free bottle of my favorite BSD too.

I am so ready for bed . . .

Watch me?

Not sure how this works (ie, when it will air) but tomorrow morning I'm getting up at an obnoxiously early hour to attend a taping or live segment or something for Good Morning America from the Food & Wine Classic here in Aspen.

Maybe you'll see me on TV?

Classic

The Food & Wine Classic is celebrating its 25th year in Aspen.

I'm volunteering for the first time in my 8 years in Aspen.

Volunteering is a pretty cool gig. I do some work and I get a pass for which people pay $1000.

I've been to the Classic once in my years here. My girlfriend used to manage the lodge here in Aspen where Andrea Immer stays and they had two passes which we got to use for a couple of seminars (we saw Steve Raichlen and Jacques Pepin and his daughter, Claudine) and a Grand Tasting.

This year I get to go to all of the Grand Tastings. There are five. I will definitely have to pace myself since I also have to work before and after the Grand Tastings. In addition, once I'm done with set-up for each of the seminars at Paepcke Park, I get to go to any of the other seminars on a space available basis.

I'm not sure but I think I got pretty lucky with my assignment. I've heard that not everyone who wants to volunteer gets chosen. They give seniority to those who have volunteered previously and there are some pretty sucky assignments.

This summer, I've been trying to focus on vacationing here at home and since I have a ton of time off coming, when I applied to volunteer, I basically said that I was available whenever they needed me and that I was willing to work enough to qualify for a full pass. I was supposed to hear in the beginning of May but when that time frame came and went without a peep, I assumed that I hadn't made the cut, only to get a phone call a week or so ago, asking if I was still available.

Hell, yeah!!

The seminars I'm setting up for are all wine seminars: #105 The Price is Right; #205 Sparkling Substitutes; #305 Like Wine for Chocolate; #405 and 505 Reisling Around the World; #605 The Artisan's Hand and #705 Perfect Food and Wine Pairings.

There's a Volunteer Party next Tuesday that I was thinking I would blow off until the volunteer coordinator mentioned that, in an Oprah moment, she gave Tiffany champagne glasses as volunteer gifts last year. She said she couldn't promise the same this year but that it is the 25th anniversary. I just might have to show up to that party . . .

I'm pretty excited. Someday maybe I'll pop for a pass and be an actual paying customer but until then, this is a pretty cool way to go.

In addition to all of the above, I picked up two tickets to go to the taping of the Good Morning America segment Friday morning at 5:45 am. Considering that it's ten minutes from my house at a slow walk, I figured it'd be fun to do once even if it is obnoxiously early.

This week's favorite

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

The Historian is an excellent read, equal parts horror story, historical thriller and travelogue.

Built around the Dracula legend, the book follows a young girl as she struggles to solve the mystery of her father's disappearance and her mother's absence. While the story can be hard to follow as it jumps back and forth between narrators, after a slow start, the suspense intensifies as the unanswered questions grow. Kostova doles out her mysteries as a bread crumb trail drawing her readers deeper into her story.

While multiple aspects of the story held my interest, I found myself most attracted to the story as a travelogue. The author describes the characters' travels through Cold War Eastern Europe in a way that can only be described as enticing.

We read this book for book club and at least one member read Bram Stoker's Dracula as a result of having read this book. I love it when that happens.

This week's favorite

Tempest, revisited

On Sunday, May 27, I wrote a post regarding one of the current issues generating letters to the editor. One of those letters to the editor was mine in which I, more succinctly, repeated what I stated here on my blog.

The individual whose letter generated my response finally got around to replying in today's paper. Basically my question was why was he entitled to free parking and basically his response was because he's a hard-working parent.

Truth is, the permit is a very nice perk for parents; it takes away just a little stress that most hardworking parents have on a daily basis.

Hmmm. That's persuasive.

I really don't care who gets to use the carpool permits. It's not an issue in which I have anything invested. However, from an intellectual perspective, the parents' attempts to justify their gaming the system by claiming entitlement due to the fact that they are "hard working parents" begs a comeback.

Make me a well-reasoned, rational argument based on accomplishing the goals of the carpooling permit benefit, please.

The letter writer also did a little (too little) research and discovered that I live at the base of a mountain which is host to many junior high school sized second homes. In yet another example of stunning mental acuity, he jumped to the conclusion that I belong in the second home owners' tax bracket.

Well Bridget, I don't live at the base of Red Mountain like you do. I did hear rumors that at the confluence of Hunter Creek and the Roaring Fork there are trees that sprout dollar bills. If so, then my problems are solved. Otherwise, I'll just keep working hard to provide for my family.

The truth is that he lives downvalley, where housing is free market and appreciating at double digit rates, while I live in deed restricted housing where I'm limited to appreciation of 3% per year.

By his logic, I should be the one getting free parking in town.

Prudes

I was listening to NPR's Day to Day as I was logging into Blogger to write today's post when my interest was piqued by the mention of the Village of Glenview, Illinois.

I grew up in Glenview and my parents still live there so I turned my attention from Blogger to the radio only to shake my head in disbelief.

It seems that some prudish mothers in Glenview objected to this billboard which is located in an industrial/commercial area of the village. After an email/letter writing/petition campaign which generated a flurry of local and national news coverage with its concomitant free publicity, the billboard has been taken down.

The moms got together for a celebratory coffee.

I have a couple of thoughts on this.

First off, images like this are ubiquitous in today's America. Trying to combat their effects by attempting to ban the images is a losing proposition. It is much more productive to create an atmosphere and a dialogue with your children that explains and emphasizes the unrealistic aspects of these images.

Use the existence of these images to become the voice in your child's head.

Second, the owners of these businesses could not, in their wildest dreams, have anticipated how much free publicity their two week billboard investment would generate. I'd love to see their website visit statistics for the last couple of weeks.

The moms are having a coffee to celebrate while the business owners are most likely celebrating with something much more expensive.

Travel Plans

This is where I'll be visiting some time in the next year.

I've already ordered my Lonely Planet guide.

Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman

I found this book fascinating.

Ehrman presents a well argued, scholarly work dealing with how the books of the Bible and specifically, the New Testament have been altered through the ages, both purposefully and accidentally.

In a move that gives his work added weight, he lays out the methodologies of the scholarly field of textual criticism and then presents clear examples to support his arguments regarding changes made and motivations therefore.

What Jesus Meant by Garry Wills

Wills has an interesting perspective on who and what Jesus was. He believes, as his foreword states, that Christ was not a Christian.

. . . he is not just like us, he has higher rights and powers, he has an authority as arbitrary as God's in the Book of Job. He is a divine mystery walking among men. The only way we can directly imitate him is to act as if we were gods ourselves - yet that is the very thing he forbids. He tells us to act as the last, not the first, as the least, not the greatest. And this accords with the common sense of mankind. Christians cannot really be 'Christlike.' As Chesterton said, 'A great man knows he is not God and the greater he is the better he knows it.' The thing we have to realize is that Christ, whoever and whatever he was, was certainly not a Christian.

Wills offers some thought provoking analysis of what the Gospels really have to say about Jesus. His is an anti-establishment view. He claims that religion killed Jesus, that Jesus was opposed to religion as it existed in his day and that he "did not found a church."

Don't read this book if you don't want to question your preconceptions.

Life Stories

Browsing through Blogger's Next Blog feature, I happened upon Watch the Glass's May 22, 2007 post in which she discusses a New York Times article by Benedict Carey entitled This Is Your Life (and How You Tell It).

Carey reports that researchers have found interesting tendencies in how different types of people narrate their lives:

In analyzing the texts, the researchers found strong correlations between the content of people’s current lives and the stories they tell. Those with mood problems have many good memories, but these scenes are usually tainted by some dark detail. The pride of college graduation is spoiled when a friend makes a cutting remark. The wedding party was wonderful until the best man collapsed from drink. A note of disappointment seems to close each narrative phrase.

By contrast, so-called generative adults — those who score highly on tests measuring civic-mindedness, and who are likely to be energetic and involved — tend to see many of the events in their life in the reverse order, as linked by themes of redemption. They flunked sixth grade but met a wonderful counselor and made honor roll in seventh. They were laid low by divorce, only to meet a wonderful new partner. Often, too, they say they felt singled out from very early in life — protected, even as others nearby suffered.

Carey goes on to detail how someone can move forward more positively based upon how s/he narrates negative episodes from his/her life.

Elizabeth from Watch the Glass adds some smart and savvy analysis of her own:

It's a simple drag-and-drop: if I can drag the beginning of the next story to the end of the previous one and drop it there, suddenly the narrative hints at excellent fortune and good timing in my life.

She's only got four posts since April but I found them all quite edifying, albeit a bit on the wordy side.

Oh boy

This was the email from the NPS Grand Canyon River office which greeted me this morning:

Dear XXXX BRIDGET XXXXXXXXX,

Thank you for submitting an application in the Grand Canyon National Park noncommercial river trip lottery. We are pleased to inform you that your lottery application was successful and we have scheduled a Small trip for you to launch from Lees Ferry on July 25, 2008.

To keep this trip, you must login to the lottery website at https://npspermits.us and pay your River Trip deposit within two weeks of the drawing date. Failure to pay the trip deposit by this date will result in the automatic forfeiture of your July 25, 2008 and its subsequent re-release through a follow-up lottery.

Once your deposit has been paid, nothing further will be due from you until 90 days before your launch date. By that time you will need to have completed the online Noncommercial River Trip Permit application and paid for your trip participants.

If you have any questions or need further assitance, please ask. We are happy to help. Congratulations on winning a trip!

Sincerely,
Steve Sullivan

Two weeks' favorites

Two weeks' favorites from PostSecret.

I'm in so much trouble

See that number next to the "Number of applications in the lottery," 2275? My application is one of them.

According to the decision Steve and I made on Sunday, my application wasn't supposed to be one of them.

Oh boy.

The National Park Service is running the lottery for 2008 permits to run the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon this week. Steve and I have been on the waitlist since January 2002. Recently the National Park Service implemented a multi-phase transition from the waitlist to an annual lottery. In doing so, they gave wait-listers extra chances in the lottery.

At this point, Steve and I have 7 chances each in the lottery or 12 combined chances. Yes, I know the math isn't right but hey, we're dealing with a government agency here.

We've been talking about taking Rachel on a trip and I was looking into dates for next summer.

But, Steve has a bit of a love/hate relationship with white water river rafting. It's very stressful for him, being responsible for piloting a raft safely through dangerous hazards and being responsible for the safety of those aboard his raft. It's much easier for me since I'm basically just a passenger (although I do have to put up with Steve when he's being StressMan).

In addition, a friend and his daughter (who is the same age as Rachel) who were going to be invited if we got a permit can't take a Grand trip next summer.

So, after much discussion this weekend, Steve and I decided to just let the lottery deadline pass without finalizing our application and to consider trying for a 2009 permit. I had some regrets on Monday but, oh well, too late.

Or was it?

Today, I got the following email from Steve Sullivan at the River Office:

As we prepare to run the 2008 Grand Canyon river lottery, we have noticed that you have an outstanding hold on your application that will prevent it from being considered in the lottery. According to our records, you have not paid for your application.

We understand that this may be because you have changed your mind and do not want your application considered in the lottery. If this is the case, it would help us focus our attention on those who need our assistance if you would do the following. Login to the lottery site at https://npspermits.us, click on "View Application", then click on "Cancel Application". You do not need to do anything further.

On the other hand, you may want to pay and have your application considered in the lottery. Though the lottery closed on Monday, we have extended the pay option for you through 5pm today (Wednesday, 5/30/07). To pay, login to the https://npspermits.us site and click on the "Pay Now through pay.gov" link. Note: this link will not be available after today, so please act quickly.

Next thing I knew, Rachel (who was sitting next to me when I got the above email) was twisting my arm and forcing me to submit my application.

I spent the next five minutes sitting with my head in my hands, alternating between moaning "I'm in so much trouble" and "I hope we don't win."

I still have to tell Steve . . .

Dear Dr. Laura

I've come across this letter twice now, once in one of my favorite episodes of West Wing, Midterms, October 18, 2000, and more recently, in What Jesus Meant by Garry Wills.

The scene in West Wing when Jed Bartlet puts the Laura Schlessinger-esque character, Jenna Jacobs, soundly in her place is quintessential Bartlet, rivaling his initial appearance in the pilot.

According to Snopes.com, "the authorship of the letter is still a bit of mystery," but it is classic.

Dear Dr. Laura,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

Project 365

Project 365: How to Take a Photo a Day and See Your Life in a Whole New Way

I'm going to give this a shot.

We'll see how it goes: Mountain Musings Project 365 Photoblog.

Yet another tempest in a teapot

Parking in the downtown core of Aspen is not free. There are short term metered spaces and there are spaces in which you can park for a longer period of time which get progressively more expensive the longer you're parked.

There are also spaces reserved for those people who carpool from downvalley. The carpoolers stop at a booth by the airport, pick up a parking pass based on the fact that there are multiple individuals in the vehicle and park for free that day.

Recently the City Council told the director of the parking department that those vehicles with only one person of driving age do not qualify for a carpool permit. This means a parent chauffering his/her children does not qualify for a carpool permit.

And here we go again . . .

There have been multiple letters to the editor on this topic. The parking director has been insulted and called names.

While I understand the disappointment which attaches to losing such a benefit, as far as I'm concerned, it seems that it's a benefit these parents have been accessing through a loophole and now they're upset that the loophole has been closed.

I'm having a hard time getting behind the sense of entitlement these parents are exhibiting as they whine about having to pay for parking.

The free carpool parking is an incentive for the people who are willing to undertake the inconvenience that usually attaches to carpooling and a reward for their willingness to remove a vehicle from the upvalley commute.

A parent is doing neither of these when he drives his own kids to daycare. Why therefore do these parents think they're entitled to free parking?

One guy went so far as to detail how inconvenient it would be for him to take the bus with his kids.

My response is that there are costs to either decision; one of the costs of taking the bus is the added inconvenience while one of trade-offs for the convenience of driving is having to pay for parking.

My prediction however is that City Council will cave and re-open the loophole. Call me a cynic.

Of course, since none of these carpoolers are eligible to vote in city elections, perhaps the Council will stand firm. Wait, that was cyncal too, wasn't it?

Oops, I did it again

I've always had this annoying need to be right (well, more annoying to others than to me). They say lawyers are born, not made (I heard this on Brothers and Sisters so they in this case are the writers of Brothers and Sisters) and I'm pretty darn sure this was the case for me.

When I was in 8th grade, my history teacher, Mr. Kinsella, whom I really liked, told the class something which I knew to be incorrect. I was not satisfied with correcting him in front of the entire class (remember, I really liked him) but was compelled to back myself up by excusing myself from class for a trip to the library to find corroboration which I then presented to him, again in front of the entire class.

Charming, huh?

I can say that in the intervening years I have at least gotten more subtle.

Rachel's philosophy teacher (trivia - he was in the New Bohemians for the Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars album) whom I hold to a higher standard since, in addition to teaching philosophy, he's also the debate teacher, told his class that George Bush has the lowest IQ of any US president in the past 50 years.

While this is a statistic that I find eminently believable and entertaining, it just didn't pass the smell test for me.

I Googled it and lo and behold, it was in fact a fabrication. Granted a fabrication which had been reported by The London Guardian and The New Zealand Southland Times but a fabrication nonetheless.

I emailed the Snopes link to Rachel's teacher with Rachel sitting next to me simply shaking her head. She's used to me by now and knows that there's basically no stopping me. At least I didn't get up in front of class to correct him.

I was pleased and impressed to receive a reply email shortly thereafter from the teacher, thanking me for pointing out his error and vowing to correct himself with the students. Very classy response.

Cliches

I found out Thursday night that a good friend from high school was found dead in her house. I haven't seen this friend since 1981 and spoke with her very briefly a year or so ago, after not having any contact since sometime around 1988.

I'm not sure how I feel about this or how I'm supposed to feel.

While details are scarce, it appears she died unexpectedly, of natural causes. Although I have had relatives, friends and acquaintances my age and younger die due to traumatic causes, in my circle, she is the first of which I'm aware in my age group to have died of a non traumatic cause.

I'm getting older. I had a milestone birthday this year, I tease my husband about needing reading glasses, my parents will be 70 next year . . .

Home Improvement

Home improvement in deed restricted housing is a very interesting proposition.

Our appreciation is capped at 3% per year. This amount is basically guaranteed regardless of the condition of our home upon sale. I mean, if we did absolutely zero upkeep and owned the home for a long time, the cost of basic repairs would be deducted from the sale price but other than keeping it in basically decent repair, we're guaranteed 3% per year.

The flip side is that, with some limited exceptions, we don't get to recoup any upgrades. Any changes we make to the house can only be made with a thought towards improving our quality of life, not with a thought of increasing the value of our home.

This makes the cost of redecorating/remodeling extremely pertinent.

We've lived in our house for almost 5 years and other than replacing a few light fixtures, painting the exterior of the house and enlarging our garden, have done basically nothing. We are now attacking our first interior remodeling project in our small downstairs bathroom/laundry room.

I say we but really Steve's doing all the work. It's a bit of a test project to see how well we do with do-it-yourself remodeling. Since it's a bathroom, it's not quite as visible as the dining room or living room and will make any mistakes easier to hide. Steve's done a ton of work as an electrician so he's familiar with remodels but he's never tiled or patched or painted, etc.

Our house was constructed on the cheap so among other things, nothing is level or spaced properly. Since we're replacing all of the fixtures, Steve's moving and rewiring all of the boxes and generally trying to fix what the original builder, Colorado First (or as our neighbors call them, Colorado Worst), left us.

We have a time constraint as Steve starts a new job on Tuesday and we have the financial constraints already mentioned so it's been a challenging proposition. These sorts of projects take on a life of their own and can easily grow out of control. Deciding where to compromise without losing sight of the original vision has been tricky.

It remains to be seen just how successful we'll be, both with our timeframe and the finished product.

Two weeks' favorites from PostSecret

Beach vacation

I'm not so into beach vacations. I get bored. I don't like sand, heat, humidity or bugs.

So I went to the beach for vacation . . .

It was good.

My last beach vacation was at a remote private beach house near Los Barriles, halfway between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas. We had to drive 45 minutes on a dirt road to get there. The owner of the house told me, "You're not going to want to leave." After a week, I was so ready to go home. Too solitary for me.

But, not so in Sayulita. Sayulita is a small village 35 km north of Puerto Vallarta with a nice beach and a good beginner surf break. But the best thing about Sayulita, as far as I'm concerned, is the surprising number of good restaurants. Mexican, French, Mediterranean, Argentinian, Italian, Asian. It reminded me of Aspen in that respect. We had good breakfasts at El Espresso, Rollie's and Don Pedro's and excellent dinners at Sayulita Fish Taco, Don Pedro's and Fiambala (although Fiambala's cooking was a bit heavy on the garlic).

There was also good food available from street vendors and taco stands. Especially on weekend nights, people set up small stands outstide their houses, selling yummy home-cooked fixin's.

We were there the first week of off season so the beach was not overcrowded but was far from empty, a good thing in my opinion, in that the people watching opportunities kept me entertained. Steve and the other couple with us put in a fair amount of time surfing, although Steve had to limit his surfing after he broke his rib when he fell on the board.

We went up to San Francisco (San Pancho to the locals), 8 km north of Sayulita and had an awesome tapas dinner at La Ola Rico. San Pancho is even quieter than Sayulita. Sayulita is more my speed. It's a fairly typical Mexican town with lots of construction in progress, some more actively in progress than others. It's dusty with lots of dogs, stray and not. It's got a cute central square or zocalo surrounded by shops and restaurants. There are a couple of pharmacies and food stores, with one super tiendita. They just installed an ATM which was operational approximately half the time we were there.

We took an excursion to Puerto Vallarta one day. We stopped by Casa Kimberley, the house Richard Burton bought for Elizabeth Taylor and saw the cool old cathedral, La Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, and the renowned bronze statues along the malecon. I was glad to have seen PV but was equally glad we weren't staying there.

Our lodgings at the Villas Chula Vista were very nice, an air-conditioned two bedroom two bath with a full kitchen, three balconies and a pool. The only drawback was that it was about an 8 minute walk straight up a hill which was a bit of a chore in the heat of the day. The beach lodgings looked attractive too but were more expensive and lacked the pool. Not sure which I would choose if we return.

When it was time to leave, I was in a good place. It's always nice to come home to Aspen but I could just as easily have stayed for another week. It was a nice feeling, not sorry to leave but not in a hurry either.

I'd be happy to go back.

Postscript: Just found out that, on 5/9/07 (the day after we left), Sayulita was named one of the top ten travel destinations in the world.

Details

The passport is in Denver. It arrived there yesterday. Since Denver's so close (cough, cough), we're going to run down there this morning to pick up the passport. That's what we're going to call it from now on, The Passport.

The office of International Passport Visas Inc. from which we must retrieve the passport is open today from 10:30 am until 11 am. Ergo, the obnoxiously early hour you'll see timestamped on this post.

Now, as much as I obviously am shaking my head about the whole escapade, especially the need to drive to Denver (twice!), I must mention yet another benefit of this choice. Thursday morning when I went out to the car to go to work, I was quite pleased to see that while in Denver, the car had been detailed. It looks fabulous. It hasn't been this clean since I brought it home from the dealership 8 1/2 years ago.

Me, me, me

It's all about me.

Steve drove to Denver in a snowstorm, will probably be driving back on Friday or Saturday and then back again on Monday (remember, we're talking 4+ hours one way).

But that's all good 'cause I got this cool new carving board out of the deal.

Diminishing Returns?

Today, they had 16 inches of snow on the Front Range.

So, it seemed like a good idea to hand deliver the expired passport to the office of the passport expediters in Denver.

After all, it's only a 4 hour drive one way in good weather.

I'm not sure it's about the vacation anymore. It's more the challenge.

The passport still has to travel to DC and back by Monday.

Errrr . . .

Today's drama involves an 8 am scheduled departure to Mexico tomorrow, an expired passport, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and much contradictory information on various and multitudinous websites.

First off, 10 years is a remarkably long time to try to keep track of an expiration date. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for more frequent renewals but I'd love to see some statistics on just how many people miss their passport expiration/renewal date.

In a tangibly staged process, we first decided that the course most likely to be successful was the one where the expired passport holder shows up at the airport, feigns ignorance and surprise and, after some minimal hassle, is allowed to proceed.

Weighing in favor of this approach was the argument that entry to Mexico only requires proof of citizenship and proof of identity coupled with a US State Department website statement that an expired passport is in fact proof of citizenship. In addition, the State Department website's FAQs regarding the passport requirement explicitly states that, upon return, should a traveler not have a valid passport, s/he would simply be subject to secondary screening.

Mitigating against this approach were United Airlines' hard line approach that a valid passport is required to leave the country, not just to re-enter and the $3300 fine an airline must pay if it does not comply with the WHTI.

So on to stage 2 of our problem-solving attempt wherein we try to take advantage of the fact that a valid passport is not yet required for overland border crossings. After spending much time researching a bus to Glenwood Springs to a bus to Denver to a flight to Phoenix to a bus to Nogales to a bus to Hermosillo to a flight to Puerto Vallarta to a bus to Sayulita, we get shut down by some schmo in the Mexican Consulate in Tucson who says that, no, in fact, an expired passport will not suffice as proof of citizenship.

Next stop, stage 3. In stage 3, we discover, a half hour after FedEx closes for the day, that there are businesses out there to which we can overnight the expired passport, pay beaucoup bucks for an super expedited rush turnaround and possibly get a renewed passport in time for the rebooked departure a week from tomorrow.

Of course, it's too late to call any of these businesses this evening but guess who will be on the phone at 7 am tomorrow?

Will there be a stage 4? Will the expedited passport business deign to expedite our passport? Will we be re-rebooking? Tune in tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.

That's so cool!

Chicago, my birthplace, has an awesome skyline. The lakefront is a beautiful place to bike, walk or run. Every visit home, I look forward to an excursion downtown. We usually take the Metra train which is such a relaxed way to get there but, if we have our bikes with us, we'll drive to the north end of Lakeshore Drive, park and ride our bikes south. A stop at Millennium Park has become de rigueur.

And now, the Chicago Spire.

This looks very exciting. The architecture of curves is visual eye candy. Having just been in Seattle and seen the fun and whimsical Experience Music Project, I'm thrilled to see that Chicago once again appears willing to embrace exhilarating architectural vision.

I hope this project comes to fruition.

Seattle

Note: This post was written last week during a particularly boring conference session.

I'm in Seattle attending a conference. Seattle's cool. I like it. Having been to a number of convention centers, I have to say so far Seattle's facilities and amenities top the list. The downtown area is vibrant with lots of stores, restaurants and hotels. It's close to the waterfront with its attractive and enticing Public Market and the original Starbucks. (*see below)

Starbucks. I like Starbucks. I've mentioned previously my proclivity to seek out Starbucks when I travel. My biggest disappointment when visiting China was our inability to find the Starbucks in the Forbidden City.

I am frequently made to feel that my affinity for Starbucks is shameful. Oftentimes, it's implied as in Seattle's Rough Guide when it states that the original Starbucks' interior is the same as every other Starbucks (not true). Other times, it's explicit such as when the friend who styles himself as a coffee aficionado sneers and looks down his nose at the suggestion we stop by Starbucks for our caffeine fix.

When traveling far afield, it is comforting to stop in a Starbucks. I'm not saying I'm going to spend all my time in Seoul in Starbucks and then claim to have seen Seoul. But it certainly was interesting to see how the Seoul college students commandeer their local Starbucks as a study hall/student center, much more so than any other Starbucks I've visited.

I'm staying at the Sheraton Seattle which is the conference hotel which is why I chose it. Wishing, however, that I had stayed at the Grand Hyatt. It's equidistant to the Convention Center, has a Starbucks and a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in the lobby and is not a construction zone.

At the Sheraton, we have a bar and restaurant. Period. My first night after verifying that the hotel lobby gift /sundry store was open til 11 pm, I went down for a snack only to find out that for the duration of the construction, the lobby shop is closed.

Of course, there's an enticing little food basket conveniently placed next to my TV with candy bars for $3 and bottles of water for $5.

*It turns out that even though everyone freely refers to the 1912 Pike Place location as the original Starbucks, there was a store at 2000 Western Avenue which predates the Pike Place store. Not sure what the explanation is for this . . .

Last week's favorite

Remember, I live in a tourist destination . . .

This week's favorite

My favorite from this week's PostSecret.

Sun-Maid Raisin Bread UPC?

On March 21, I wrote a post about my difficulties with Gristedes.com. In that post, I mentioned that Sun-Maid cinnamon swirl raisin bread has a different UPC than Arnold's raisin cinnamon bread.

Pretty much didn't think anything more about it.

Until . . .

Starting at 9:32 pm on April 1, I started seeing traffic on my blog, almost exclusively from Canada, driven by variations on the search terms, "sun-maid raisin bread upc."

Huh??

Since Sunday evening, I've had a dozen visitors looking for the Sun-Maid raisin bread UPC.

Welcome! Please make yourselves at home. I hope I can be of assistance.

But, could someone please enlighten me as to why you're looking for the Sun-Maid raisin bread UPC?

I feel like I'm part of some trivia contest . . .

The Feminine Mistake

Leslie Bennetts writes an opinion piece at HuffingtonPost.com regarding her recently published book, The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much?

It would probably annoy Bennetts to no end that, like those she complains about, I haven't read her book either.

But that's not going to stop me . . .

By presenting her audience as either the women who have chosen to stay at home and the women who have chosen not to, Leslie Bennetts is missing a key audience, an audience for which her book might just be the most helpful, the women who haven't made the choice yet.

As Bennetts explains her book, it serves to reinforce the decision of the working mom and serves to criticize the decision of the stay at home. It's unlikely to affect the behavior in any appreciable way in either of these two groups. The stay at homers will tend towards defensiveness (as Bennetts complains they have) and the working moms will tend towards smugness.

Just as telling a friend who's in a bad relationship that she is in a bad relationship is rarely productive, likewise, I suspect, a friend who's made the "Feminine Mistake" is unlikely to be receptive to having this pointed out to her.

But, the women who haven't had to yet make the choice . . .

Bennetts states that

My goal in writing The Feminine Mistake was to provide women with what I saw as one-stop-shopping that would help close this information gap. My goal was to gather into a single neat package all the financial, legal, sociological, psychological, medical, labor-force, child-rearing and other information necessary for them to protect themselves. My reporting revealed that the bad news is just as ominous as I'd feared; so many women are unaware of practical realities that range from crucial changes in the divorce laws to the difficulties of reentering the work force and the penalties they pay for taking a time-out. I devoted two chapters to financial information alone.

If this is the case, then clearly her target audience, the audience who would be most benefited by the information presented, is made up of the women, young, unmarried and/or childless, who have not yet been faced with the choice of whether or not to "abandon their careers and become financially dependent on their husbands." This is the group who can then weigh their options and make their choice more fully informed.

But Bennetts doesn't seem to get it. She's surprised by the defensiveness of the stay at homers and wants to save them from themselves. This is highly unlikely. Like the millions who play the lottery, they will continue to hold out hope that each will be the one to beat the odds, the exception to the rule.

Instead of complaining about the lost causes, she should be focusing her energies on those she can sway.

This week's favorite

My favorite from this week's PostSecret.

Ignant

as in "Rosie O'Donnell is an ignant fool."

Ignant: proudly, willfully ignorant. Holding up one's ignorance as a virtue, and using it as rhetorical and moral leverage. cf. Ignorance.

when you know you wrong.

So, college drop-out Rosie O'Donnell thinks she can hang with the big boys.

"That's retarded." (Rachel's response when I told her about the 9/11 conspiracy theories.)

O'Donnell has bought into the 9/11 conspiracy theorists' argument that it was all just a government plot and is spouting this nonsense on The View.

Now, in the past, I've really had no issue with Rosie. She can be funny, I'll give her that. I liked her in A League of Their Own. She can also be brash and abrasive but it's never bothered me.

But now, she's just being stupid and she's doing it on national television, giving credence to a whole subculture of conspiracy theorists.

But, hey, let's not let facts get in the way of a good rant.

I'm embarrassed to be on the same side of the political spectrum . . .