Bad, just bad

The whole idea of calling a housing development or a subdivision a community has always be appalling to me. To me a community is something that grew over time and has a unique character to it. People move to that community because of the character. With a development you move because of location and the house. It all just seems so artificial when you stick a bunch of houses in the middle of a field (like they do back where I grew up in Lancaster, PA) on on the side of a hill or flood plan. I know people have to live somewhere and not everyone can live in existing housing, but there has to be a better solution. Developments force people to drive to get there basic necessities and interact with each other. Maybe I’m too much of a romantic when it comes to housing planing.

I went up Badger Mountain (some photos) this afternoon and found an entry marker that took the cake for any that I have seen. Now I’m not an expert on architecture, but when where the ranch-style home and Corinthian column contemporary? The only one that topped it was an entry to a trailer park in Williamsberg, MA. Two columns with lions on top. Maybe I’m missing something. I’ll let the pictures say the rest.

Frog Lake and Marsh Loop

I needed to get out of town again and though I’d go some where more remote, Othello, WA. The town is not that exciting. On the town web site they state that half of the nations french fries are made from potatoes grown in the area. That would explain the giant MaCain processing plant at the end of town and the faint smell of fries coming through my car’s vent system. I also think might have more movies screens per capita than the Tri-cities. They also have a Walmart that is right new the highway. No surprise there.

I wasn’t there to see the town, but to visit the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge. About 11 miles out of town you’ll find a marsh area that was formed from water leaking out of a 1930’s irrigation project. I guess you could call it an unintentional oasis. The refuge land management has gone in and made the area into an man made wetland (aka marsh or swamp).

The trails are easy consisting of two loops for a total of about 4-5 miles. The Frog Lake trail loops up to a mesa giving a lovely view of the hollow and the Marsh Loop circles around some of the ponds. I was finishing up my walk around sunset and all of the birds were settling in for the night. The area must be a prime birding spot. Even in the winter I saw 3 kinds of ducks, a falcon, ground fowl, robins, a great blue heron, and maybe an eagle (was getting dark and I’m no expert on bird body lines). This is one of the few trails in the refuge near waterfowl nesting areas that is open during the winter.

I took some photos if you’d like to have a look. To get to the trail head take Broadway north out of Othello. Out by the MaCain plant the road name will change to McManamon. After about five miles you’ll see a sign for the refuge on your right on Morgan Lake Road. Head down the road about 4 miles (will switch from paved to gravel) and you’ll find the trail head on your right with parking on the left.

Vulcan Hands

Years ago I read an interview with Leonard Nimoy. They of course talked about his role in Star Trek playing Spock. The interviewer asked where the “live long and prosper” hand symbol came from. Nimoy said that he had seen it during a Jewish religious ceremony when he was a boy, it’s a blessing of some kind. He felt that he wasn’t supposed to see it, but modified it to be a Valcan symbol. Everybody I tell this to doesn’t believe me and I wish that I had copied the interview. Now I have proof. I saw this on the community hall of a Jewish temple down in Portland, OR. Now do you believe me? At least Wikipedia agrees with me. I’ll step out of geek mode now.

Mr. Lynch I think your neurons are leaking

When I was visiting my friend Sis in Vancouver we had a conversation about why art or more specifically artists feel the need and are actually encourage each other to justify themselves. There is always a “meaningful purpose” and a criticism to any work of art. Sis went to art school for a time and has an affinity for painting animals. I’ve seen two of her paintings, a former cat and her parents dog. She’s quite good by the way. I asked her if in her studies she was expected to justify her inspiration for her various assignments. She confirmed my suspicions. For one of her projects she want to do an animal theme. The justification, she like to paint animals. In this case I think she picked rabbits. So how to you justify rabbits? She came up with some bullshit just to make the instructor happy and make a point that the whole process was silly. She has a penchant for messing with people while making them think she’s playing along. One of her many admirable qualities. She’s not in art school anymore, so she can paint animals anytime she wants to, without any justification. So is she still making art?

What’s that last paragraph have to do with the title? I saw David Lynch’s new film “Inland Empire” last weekend in Portland and am still confused. I thought about my conversation with Sis on the way back to the hostel. Lynch’s current offering is just a weird as any of his other films. For a benchmark it makes about as much sense as Eraserhead. On the surface it is a movie about a the production of a cursed movie. No, it’s a story about a movie based on a cursed story. Or is it a film about a women who is playing a role in a movie based on a cursed story who is slowly losing her mind because the movie is cursed (because it’s based on a curse story).

Really I don’t know what the film is about and it might not even have a point. At the same time it is perhaps the most complete aesthetic experience that I have had from any film. The feeling I got from it was that Lynch was just fucking with my head. He was finding a way to encapsulate a vision and emotion from his mind in to that of the audience. Just like you’d expect from something hanging on a wall. Why? Because he’s David Lynch and he can do what ever he wants to. He can produce, direct, film, build the sets, and good sound work for a movie that was never touch by Hollywood. Parts of it were filmed there, even in a sound stage, but Lynch is distributing it by himself. Hell, the Brattle theater in Cambridge, MA was were it was first screened.

There is no explanation for the film, so the only thing I can think of is that it is art. In the end once a practitioner of the arts establishes themselves they don’t need to justify anything. People will buy anything they produce. But, to get to that point they must have something real and special. Maybe that is where Lynch is right now.

If you like Lynch and his vision you might enjoy the film. Don’t expect it to make sense, it won’t. Just take in the experience, which I think is the real point. Most people will make it through the first half hour. The other 2 and a half are a different story. If you can’t stare at an all black canvas and appreciate this bleakness and attention to detail at the same time I don’t think you’ll enjoy the experience of Lynch’s insanity.

Just look around you

I don’t usually repeat post from other blogs or video blogs, but this one is just special, perhapes one of the funniest of the genera I have seen. Thank you to Rocketboom for this one. “Look Around You” is a BBC comedy set up like a 70s educational instructional film series. There are a few up on Google Video (for some reason the one on Germs doesn’t come up in the search). My favorite so far in entitled “The Brain.” Douglas would be proud!