Escape.

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I have always been intrigued by the forest. It is in the forest (or the woods) that I find adventure, even if it’s a construct of my imagination. It is there that I am able to escape. As I stand alone with nature, I feel Mother Nature caress me with her breezes as they work their way through the pine trees that surround me.

As a kid the woods behind my parents’ house was my domain. I’d climb trees, I’d lie on the leaves and watch the sky or I’d build a little fort out of pine tree branches up against the slope of the railroad tracks bed. It was there that I discovered what made me tick, what thoughts lurked in my mind and where I found solitude and relaxation.

Yesterday we went for a walk along a paved trail that passes near the woods. I made a slight detour off the beaten path to grab a glimpse of what I love.

I was not disappointed.

Change.

My MobileMe account expired today. And after much deliberation, I have decided not to renew it. Therefore, the e-mail address imachias@mac.com (or imachias@me.com) is no longer valid.

jp at jpnearl dot com (but not written out that way) is the best e-mail address to use, as it will always reach me no matter what service I am using at the time.

The MobileMe service is GREAT in theory, however, there are just too many free options out there that offer better service than MobileMe. In today’s economic climate I can not justify the cost of the service.

Censorship.

With the recent passing of Bea Arthur, The Hallmark Channel is showing it’s respects for this extraordinary actor with a “Golden Girls” marathon today.

Known for playing two very liberated, opinionated and in the case of ‘Maude’, controversial characters, Bea excelled at her craft and left the two shows when she felt it was the right time, not when the programs dissolved into cancelation.

I just finished watching episode #66, “Dorothy’s New Friend”. This episode features Dorothy’s new friend Barbara, a snotty literary type who looks down on Rose and Blanche. In an effort to make amends with Rose and Blanche, Barbara offers to take all the girls out to an exclusive club for the evening. Sophia’s date, Murray Guttman, arrives in a powder blue tuxedo. Barbara speaks with Dorothy in the kitchen on the matter, where Dorothy discovers that Barbara won’t take Murray to the club because he’s Jewish. Dorothy realises she has misjudged her new friend and tells her to go to hell.

The line is delivered in the typical Bea Arthur manner: full of confidence and not overstated.

The problem is, Hallmark covered the line up with a really out-of-place, out-of-date laugh track. They censored the line “go to hell”.

Wow.

Bea Arthur chose to play the characters of Maude Findlay and Dorothy Zbornak because she believed in those characters and what they represented. The “Golden Girls” marathon on Hallmark Channel today is a touching tribute to her work, however, I really don’t think that Bea would be satisfied with the way these episodes have been edited.

It’s a shame. I thought Hallmark Channel had picked up the “Golden Girls” from Lifetime because they recognised a classic.

What they apparently recognised was the ad revenue.

Kicked Back.



091.365, originally uploaded by iMachias.

Sometimes you just need a lazy day on the weekend.

I Try.

So while Earl was working this morning, I convinced Cubster that we needed to make a trip to the market. This is not one of my favourite tasks by any stretch of the imagination as I am not a fan of these big behemoth grocery stores that plague this area. (We have five Wal*Mart Supercenters within 25 miles of our house). The stores are too crowded, there are too many people yakking on their cell phones and drinking a cup of coffee whilst trying to navigate with their shopping carts and quite frankly I don’t need to be bombarded with a multi-media presentation every 16 feet explaining to me the proper way to squeeze a head of lettuce.

The only exception to my large grocery store rule is Wegmans.

I decided to drive a few extra miles to go to the one locally owned grocery store left in the area. The prices are a little higher but the store is a reasonable size, making it easier to get in there, fling the cart around a little bit, load it up with the items we need and dash out after a friendly checkout experience.

All was well with the excursion until we got to the friendly checkout experience. The cashier glared at me as I approached her lane. I double checked to make sure her light was on, indicating that the lane was open and that I wasn’t in an express lane. It appeared that I was in the clear so I started loading up the belt with our modest number of items. The cashier just sat there looking at me. I figured she was dazed and confused but would eventually kick in so I finished unloading the cart. She just stared at me. So I said, “So, what do we need to do to start this?” as I motioned to the items sitting on the belt waiting to be scanned.

She grabbed the first item and flung it over the scanner, whipped open a bag and shoved it in there. She continued her pissy approach to this for the entire order going so far as to slam the bacon on top of the strawberries. When she was done she barked out the total (she speaks!). I swiped my card, signed “Betsy Ross” on the signature pad and grabbed the receipt as she flung it at me. I said “thank you”. She said “You’re welcome” (two words this time!).

I have no idea what was irking her but it kind of soured me on the “shop local” experience. I think next time I’ll avoid Register 8.

Or find a grocery delivery service.

Rerun.

I’m already in a weekend mood, so I think it’s time for a club bunny dance track.

This song originally hit the clubs in 1990 and tried to crack the American Top 40 in 1993 (when I was a baby radio DJ). It’s definitely a club track and anyone with an ear for dance music of the era can probably tell who the track was originally written for1.

I had a a clear 12-inch single of this track that I spun the hell out both in Jamestown and in Utica, as well as other gigs I was doing at the time. In fact, I still play it in my early set when I’m out and about doing the DJ thing.

Here’s Lonnie Gordon with “Happenin’ All Over Again”.

1 This track was originally written for Donna Summer and her the follow-up album to “Another Place and Time”. Donna is superstitious of recording tracks that talk about a love ending, so she passed on it. It’s produced by Stock, Aiken and Waterman who produced Donna’s aforementioned album, as well as Rick Astley, Kylie Minogue, Boy Krazy, Dead or Alive and many other tracks of the era.

Explanation.

I must be getting old. There are many moments that I long for the simpler times of days gone by1. To reminisce, I offer this little giggle.

1 Yes, I know that I would not enjoy the same freedoms as a gay man then as I do today, no need to remind me. I still long for the ‘good ol’ days’.

Springtime.



Springtime., originally uploaded by iMachias.

After the brief hint at summer with temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit for the past couple of days, today is a typical April day in Central New York with abundant sunshine and closer to 60 degrees.

Tom is celebrating the arrival of better weather with his favourite springtime activity, which is sitting in the mulch along the back patio.

Ready to Roll.



Frost., originally uploaded by iMachias.

The big camera is out and about today. Here’s my first shot at trying to be a little more serious about taking photographs. Bent license plate notwithstanding.

Mention.



087.365, originally uploaded by iMachias.

I have been saying for a while that I want to get better at photography. Now I’m never going to be able to take breathtaking shots like my friends Kevin, Dale or Terry in Grand Rapids, but I feel the need to have a camera at my side and snap some slices of life from time to time. The camera on my iPhone is like taking an old Polaroid, you get the jist of the moment but you don’t really capture the quality of the photo, no matter how much you shake and blow on it. However, at times I’m lazy and I just take a picture with the iPhone that’s usually within arms reach.

I have a fairly new Sony Cyber-shot that I use for most of the photos I take. I was mentioning to Greg (another very good photographer) over the weekend that I want to take more photos, so naturally I left the camera in Connecticut when I headed home yesterday. Just mentioning the fact that I wanted to take more photos said to the Universe that I should leave the camera behind.

So tonight I pulled out my older Cyber-shot, a DSC-S40 that has a really small viewscreen but takes pretty good pictures.

I’m thinking that I’m going to start dragging around the “big” camera we bought five years ago, a Sony DSC-F828. I have to admit that camera was quite pricey when we bought it, we should probably use it more. Our friend Marcus always has his big camera with him, maybe I should follow his example in that department.

087a.365
087a.365, originally uploaded by iMachias.