I'm alive!

Well, I made it obviously. First flight, sat next to a nice woman from Knoxville, TN. She worked at the post office I think and was partying in Vegas with some friends. Second flight had young dudes behind me that were talking about smoking weed in Amsterdam and here in Pensacola. Where did so and so go, he had the good stuff! Jeez! Lots of interestingly language going on for a 1.5 hr flight. Anyway, walking out of the airport, I was struck by the humidity, and soon the smell of the ocean. It's been a long time!

Tinkers

I finally finished this book of 190 pages. Seems like it took me a while. When I finished the last page a couple of nights ago, I kind of furled my brow, puckered my lips, and thought "hmmmm did I miss something?" Don't get me wrong though, I enjoyed reading this book, but in the end when I tried to summarize it in my head, I had to think about it for a long while.

Reading reviews on the book, some people are simply blown away by it. Perhaps the majority since it won a Pulitzer. However, there seem to be a good handful of people who found it to be a complete snooze too. I can actually agree with points made from both perspectives.

This was a book I had to read without distraction. A few times I would find myself re-reading a few pages and still feeling like I only comprehended about 70% of what I read. haha That's kinda of how I felt reading chemistry. This would sometimes lead to a feeling like I was at the end of a 2001 A space Odyssey and sleep would overcome me.

Several portions of the book however, just blew me away in the amount of detail conveyed, the poetic use of language, and the economy of description. Reading the page was like running downhill with the words flowing out so fast that your tongue could crash at any moment. It's the verbal equivalent to the pictures you would see in National Geographic. It's HD language. As Papa Dragon would say, "It's a Potent Mix!"

But I also agree with the negative opinions that the plot line is maybe too free flowing. It works for some, but others like myself can get lost and feel disconnected. The way the story is told with little dialogue leaves most of the characters hard to grasp maybe.

I had my strongest connection with Howard as a boy. At one point in the book, he goes into the woods looking for his father, trying to find his bones inside logs and other body parts hidden away in the forest. He goes into a pond and stays there submerged up to his head, not moving for hours until night falls. In the darkness he sees a set of eyes upon him. He talks about the legends surrounding local Native Americans and how they seemingly slip in and out of our existence like ghosts. Then this other head with eyes in the water opens its mouth so big that he can hear water draining into it when suddenly a fish jumps into the mouth and disappears without struggle. The whole scene just creeped me out! It's a dark and surreal vision that will stay with me for a long time.

Tinkers is about dying any way you look at it though. I was hoping it would be an uplifting book that showed me that the universe is warm and our energies are kept sacred. Not the case though. I think Tinkers conveys a sense of a larger mystery, like seeing the entire universe as one whole thing that works in an amazing way. The workings are cold though, they are beautiful to behold, but do as they do regardless of you or me.

Flying Anxiety

I'll be flying into Pensacola next Tuesday for a week. It's been about two years since I've flown. Dang it man, I still have some flying paranoia in me it seems! I remember sitting in the back of the plane flying to DC one time and the engine made this noise just like in the movie Cast Away. I was a little freaked out by that.

Today while eating thick cut, seriously good, seriously juicy bacon, the thought hit me. Maybe I should carry a juicy piece of bacon with me wherever I go. Make a slim little case or heavy duty ziplock type of container just big enough for say a two inch piece of bacon. That way, in the face of possible disaster such as a plane crash, maybe I'll have a few seconds to put bacon in my mouth and think "ooooh bacon!" If I had a couple of seconds, I could even share it with someone. Everyone likes bacon right? (shielding myself from vegan arrows of death). You know it would have some fun marketing. Why meet 2012's doom on an empty stomach? Experience it with bacon!

Here's a picture of Penscola beach, actually Fort Pickins that my friend took. He made it look hipstamatic back in the day even. I haven't been out that far since Hurricane Ivan. It probably looks much different now. Even though it's Ft. Pickens, I still think of this area when I think of Pensacola. Then I think of Jena Malone.

Golden Idol Court

At the end of my short run this evening, I ran into a very small fuzzy dog, kinda like a shitzu. When he saw me coming he stopped and started to cross the road. I stopped and called to him and to my surprise he cautiously came to me. I've had a quite a few loose dogs just haul butt when I call them. I saw two dogs that I once tried to get out of a busy street about 3 blocks away from their home again the other day. One dog in this area that gets loose even looks like my dog. The neighbors kids came over one day to tell me "hey we just saw your dog running down the street!"

So I finally rescued one! I was very close to my house and carried him back. It's always a funny little moment picking up a scared dog. You just never know if they're gunna bite ya. As I was about to walk up my driveway, a car pulled up and the woman asked if that was Max. Indeed it was. Turns out he lives just down the street. The owner said that's the third time he's gotten out. Maybe his name should be changed to something else?

The Landing

I don't even remember taking this picture back in 2001. Looking at it now, I think it's kinda cool. Makes me excited to go back to Florida.

Ossuary

a depository for the bones of the dead.

Destroy Everything

I don't normally watch UFC (Ultimate Fighting), but while reading about the horrors of being trapped in a cruise line hell there it was on the tv. In the past, the few fights I've watched were often a let down with the fight being over quick from a lame submission or just three rounds of nothing but two guys squirming on the matt while one guy gets an elbow to the face every minute.

All the fights in this show were great though! Submission, TKO, Knockout, Knockout, and bloody fists of fury! OK there was one that had a good bit of floor time, but the amount of blood in that match made it ok. It was like a horror movie! Also, seeing a well executed knee to the head? Wow! It just makes me wanna punch someone in the face! Well not really.

Here's one of the fighters from the main bout Deigo Sanchez. In a bit of controversy, he won. I don't think he's the better fighter, but what do I know. I know he earned his paycheck that night though!



What a bloodbath! I mean as soon as the bell rang, the medic comes out with a small bath towel wearing rubber gloves and puts it up to his face. Blood just spurts out everywhere. Welcome to Rome citizens!

Then before bed, I caught word of Japan's disaster. I just sat on the couch watching this horror unfold. It reminded me of when I watched the day after Katrina rocked Alabama and Louisiana. Liz told me she knows two guys stationed over there right now. One is separated from his family being stuck in an airport I think. They gave him a water bottle and a piece of candy. His only form of communicating is through Facebook, and he was able to reach the other guy to check on his fam. I just pray those reactors hold. Everyone says Nuclear is a viable source of power, new this, fail safe that, but.....yeeesh.

I'll leave with lyrics to a song that gets a lot of playtime for me lately.

Destroy everything you touch today
Destroy me this way
Anything that may desert you
So it cannot hurt you

You only have to look behind you
At who's underlined you
Destroy everything you touch today
Destroy me this way

Everything you touch you don't feel
Do not know what you steal
Shakes your hand
Takes your gun
Walks you out of the sun

What you touch you don't feel
Do not know what you steal
Destroy everything you touch today
Please destroy me this way