Leah Hayes

ball point pen

via drawn

four by twelve

four by twelve
Originally uploaded by bobby toe.

done.

walking to the city

didn't even think to ask about it, but T in NY had to walk across the bridge during the transit strike; above is a picture he took while walking

tonight's storm

042005 089_0005
Originally uploaded by bobby toe.

christmas

042005 065
Originally uploaded by bobby toe.

aerial_image_15

aerial_image_15
Originally uploaded by 3ric07.

need not add to this, except to point out that he's Barefoot.

the power and the glory/graham greene

"He couldn't see her in the darkness, but there were plenty of faces he could remember from the old days which fitted the voice. When you visualized a man or woman carefully, you could always begin to feel pity- that was a quality God's image carried with it. When you saw the lines at the corners of the eyes, the shape of the mouth, how the hair grew, it was impossible to hate. Hate was just a failure of imagination."

finished the book today.

sam gibbons

click title above for nyc gallery images

padronagens & afins

designs brazilian- click title above

Visual Arts in Atlanta : Road Trip!!

"For the new year, make the quick 200 mile trip to the Knoxville Museum of Art where work by new media artist Jim Campbell will be on display. We can all stay at my sister's house! Campbell uses new technology to transmit imagery with its basis in photography and video. Exciting and accessible, this show will likely prove to be a great introduction to new methods of image making and will challenge viewers notions of representation. I had dinner with KMA executive director Todd Smith last month who has some exiting plans for this ambitious museum."

Boston Legal

so, I stopped studying to watch boston legal. never seen a big show tell such stories about legal defense- much less, go on at length about the evils of the credit card bizness, and all of it done with humor. good stuff.

exams.

be done friday.

to bite the bill

to bite the bill
Originally uploaded by bobby toe.

get-together for ultimate last night: game was, get the dollar in your mouth, but be touching the floor with only one foot.

maryville tn ultimate tournament

042005 0561
Originally uploaded by bobby toe.

played ultimate all weekend. worn completely, happily, Out. Knoxville finished second to Berry College alums. Then we played in Knoxville.

Hillbilly Fever, Thursday nights on WDVX fm

Posted about it before, but gotta do it again now, because the show's on now, and It Is Great. Click post title for link to station.

While at it, will also plug last.fm. Maybe the best non-radio thing I've come across for online music.

Now must get back to writing the take-home exam that's due tomorrow.

On the Road manuscript on tour

Jack Kerouac typed On the Road on one 120-foot-long sheet of paper, which is now at the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill. It leaves for California on December 17. I was a great big fan of the book when I was in high school.

An Object

This thing, that hath a code and not a core,
Hath set acquaintance where might be affections,
And nothing now
Disturbeth his reflections.

-Ezra Pound

BibliOdyssey (art from books)

via Drawn

chattanooga fire department

042005 028-11
Originally uploaded by bobby toe.

my first visit to my little brother's work. he drove that truck that morning. they were putting out a brush fire. the truck holds 10,000 gallons of water.

BLDGBLOG

"The point is that tidal power kicks wind power's a**."
Antonio Sant'Elia, via BLDGBLOG

pictures of hong kong via polar inertia

nov 18 2005/ wall ave knoxville tn

nov 18 2005/ wall ave knoxville tn
Originally uploaded by bobby toe.

thanks to all yall that came over last night

nov 17 2005/ knoxville tn, originally uploaded by bobby toe.

I had much fun.

gorgeous. via flickr.

, originally uploaded by soulsister.

Paula Scher's Atlas of the World | Metropolis Magazine

(detail)
"'Paula Scher: The Maps'--on view at New York's Maya Stendhal Gallery until December 17 .... The exhibition presents twelve painstakingly detailed map paintings--of the United States, South America, Africa, Japan, and the world--spanning five to twelve feet in width and teeming with the neatly lettered names of countries, cities, and landmarks."

making creme brulee

making creme brulee, originally uploaded by bobby toe.

Creme Brulee

I used to make creme brulees when I worked at the Back Inn Cafe, which I stopped doing more than two years ago. Since then, I've made em once, about a year ago, and did it from memory, which led to disaster, though in the end was successful. I'm trying again tonight, since I'm having people over on Thursday night.

I've advertised halibut and sushi, which aren't hard, especially regarding the halibut, since I have a lot I caught while in Alaska. Creme brulee, though, even when I was making em regularly, would go wrong for no reason at all.

rec.sport.disc

good thread re: defense

dave baldwin ultimate tournament today in knoxville, tennessee

042005 15801, originally uploaded by bobby toe.

first game, lost to davidson. second game, beat UT.

dave baldwin ultimate tournament today in knoxville, tennessee

042005 1221, originally uploaded by bobby toe.

dave baldwin ultimate tournament today in knoxville, tennessee

042005 0971, originally uploaded by bobby toe.

finished recently

042005 00911, originally uploaded by bobby toe.

Knoxville Museum of Art

The KMA is a five minute walk from my apartment, and admission is free on Tuesdays between five and eight p.m. So, I went on Tuesday.

There are a few things there now that I like, like: paintings by Clare Rojas. An example:



















Another:

















Also now at the KMA is a roomful of dresses by Liz Collins. Her stuff there is I guess mostly, um, fuller than what's at her site, but, here's an example from her site:

Mr. Kaine's Victory (Washington Post article)

"LT. GOV. TIMOTHY M. Kaine's triumph in Virginia's gubernatorial race is a watershed -- the victory of a Southern Democrat who prevailed despite his principled opposition to the death penalty and his refusal to rule out new taxes." ...

UT downtown gallery

After taking the MPRE (ethics test, mandatory, like the bar exam) on Saturday, I walked downtown. Found the University's gallery on Gay Street was open. It's a small place, appropriately (I guess) spare, and well-lit. Didn't know it then, but was the last day for an exhibition by Eleanor Dickson. Some good drawings and a great photo of a snake-handler. Would post pictures but there don't seem to be any on-line. At least, a brief search didn't turn up anything, and I don't have an hour to look around.

The post title links to the gallery's somewhat frustrating site. Their hours are:
Wednesday-Friday 11:00am-6:00pm
Saturday 10:00am-3:00pm

and their address is buried in their site, but it is:
106 South Gay Street
Knoxville, TN

Artse

-Katie Rumble

Yesterday, went for a walk through Market Square, on my way to study somewhere other than my apartment. Stopped by this store, "bliss," and got, uh, snapped, so to speak. No pics at their site of what I saw at their store. Lots of gorgeous paintings.

What I saw reminded me of the "obsessive drawing" show going on now at the folk art museum in NYC, regarding which I posted earlier at here and here. But with the NYC show, I thought, when I saw that, OK, that's much more precise than what I do (for example), so I can aspire to that, and that's good because it's good to aspire to things.

But when I walked into this bliss store, I saw some stuff, made me think, like, whoa, someone's way ahead of me, being really good without being so precise about this um stuff. So I asked the people running the store, what's up with this. They said the people painted these things, they're from Australia, and they used to make these drawings in sand, but some do-gooder gave them some canvas and acrylic paint. Anyway- (and these images are from the Mbantua Gallery, which has many more pictures)-




















-Katie Kemarre

The O.C.

gives me language I can use!: "I'm not destitute, I'm discerning."

Versus

Today's forecast for Knoxville, Tennessee: low of 40, high of 72.
Today's forecast for Palmer, Alaska: low of 9, high of 19.
Knoxville wins.

ABC News: The Note: "Yada, Yada, Yada -- and So We Go"

Bush (41) "recalled that the Democratic chairman at the time, Robert Strauss, who was a friend of both Bush and Simpson, called and said the GOP job was like 'love with a gorilla.'

'I said, 'What are you talking about,'' Bush said. 'And he said, 'Well you can't stop until the gorilla wants to.' That's exactly how the job felt. Every time you turned around, there was some other scandal, some other exposure, some other thing that happened.'"

BLDGBLOG

"It's Tokyo's massive 'G-Cans Project,' a subterranean system of polished concrete viaducts built 'for preventing overflow of the major rivers and waterways spidering the city.'"

I'd post the pictures, which are just tremendous, but I'd have to put them all up, which just wouldn't be right. Click title above

Everybodyfields, Dogs of War

Two nights ago, saw Dogs of War (above), and Everybodyfields (below). Good night of music. Knoxville's pretty good for that sort of thing, music.

Laptops

"I've used many brands, multiple models including HP, Compaq, Sony, IBM, Toshiba, Dell, Fujitsu and Sharp. If you plan to own this laptop for more than 3 years, I recommend IBM for the following reasons:
1. Easy upgrade, unlike other brands, you do not need a lot of drivers and special software to upgrade to newer Windows and IBM has excellent support to old models. Recovery is extremely easy, only one click.
2. The best keyboard, large, solid response and the unique IBM typewriterish click. " ...

More after the jump. Matches my experience with laptops in law school.

BLDGBLOG

"I'm left with speculation: If human beings actually do survive the next ten thousand years; if all this excavation not only continues but accelerates; if usable mineral deposits continue to be found, but only deeper and deeper beneath the earth's surface; then perhaps we might find that we've stripmined every continent below the waterline, returning the earth to the early Devonian, when warm, shallow seas covered most of the planet – only now, or then, the earth will be shelled by a new global city of interlocking excavation architectures – gantry cities, derrick towns, Constant's Babylon – " ...

my new at least second or third favorite blog. it's odd- they almost replace maganzines (still buy the occasional New Yorker and whatnot, but.)

botheringly complicated site for some wonderful pictures

This picture, this one right here, I'd like to have at the top, forever. But I might change my mind tomorrow.

"Akiko Ida and Pierre Javelle (a French pastry chef/arts photography team) create landscapes out of food: mushrooms, kiwis, salads, ice cream, watermelons, cakes. Cauliflower, even. "

via, via

New Yorker article by John McPhee, one of my favorite authors

"After being switched to the right at the top of the loop, we started around it counterclockwise. Coal trains are so heavy that they are rounted throught the loop in alternate directions, to distribute the assault on the track. In the infield to our left were five hundred acres of Campbell County, Wyoming, fifty feet deep-- the million-ton reserve known at Plant Scherer as "the pile." CBTMMHS circumscribed the pile until-- close by Plant Scherer-- it stopped at the head of the unloading trestle, which extended before it between rows of bright lights. This train had left Wyoming five days ago. Plant Scherer would burn everything in it in less than eight hours."...

"Damon Woodson, a mechanical engineer at Plant Scherer who had worked in a nuclear power plant, said, 'I never really understood nuclear until I came here.' That million-ton pile on reserve in the train loop was equivalent to one truckful of mined uranium, he said. 'The way to go is nuclear if you want to have power. To get a million BTUs, fuel oil costs nine dollars, natural gas six dollars, coal a dollar-eighty-five, nuclear fifty cents. We'll see how it all turns out."

Alaskablawg

"The trial is set to start next Monday in Kotzebue, a town of about 3300 people north of the Arctic Circle. To anyone from Alaska reading this, it is no big secret which case this is. My client is a former police officer from Nome charged with murder of a local resident. The case was tried before in January and the trial ended in a hung jury. I wound up with it for the second trial and while I do not want to say that I am overwhelmed, I will say that this case has absolutely consumed my life." ...

This attorney worked in the other side of the building I was in this summer, when I interned for the Public Defender in Palmer, Alaska. His blog is excellent, as the above-linked post of his shows.

EconoCulture - Not Getting It On At CMJ

"Not Getting It On At CMJ
A memoir of awkward indie love—platonic style. Is there any other kind?"

I read a few reviews of the CMJ thing, this was the best.

Sleater-Kinney Blog

"Here we are in Knoxville, TN. Nice people abound. While getting coffee I inquired as to where a certain part of town was and a cute boy actually escorted me all the way there. But us Northwesterners are not cut out for this humidity."

So, found out today that Sleater-Kinney blog(s). Last entry is June 30, 2005, and they were here, and I wasn't.

Internet Archive: Details: Charade

"Charade (1963)
Delightful Hitchcock-like thriller starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn... This film is public domain due to the failure to put the then required copyright notice in the released print."

Good news! Good movie. Click above to stream or download.

via

Investing - The Dark Magic of Oil Sands - FORTUNE - Page

"The Dark Magic of Oil Sands
Canada's Alberta province has oil reserves second only to Saudi Arabia's, but they're not a liquid asset. We visit Fort McMurray, the boomtown where oil-rich sands are mined-and a black-gold rush is on."

I remember reading- some time ago- about this stuff, about how Canada had oil that was then too expensive to extract. Seems times have changed.

via I forget where, sorry

Flying!

Came across a site for a company that sells build-it-yourself airplane kits. I'd love one like this or this or this. While I was looking, my favorite radio show, This American Life came on, and their story was/is about people who almost died in airplanes. It was meant to be. I want to be an airborn ranger.

Hoopty Rides: The Not Subtle Look of Dragsters

"A day at the Hot Rod Reunion is enough to make you consider selling all your worldly possessions and moving into a shotgun shack in outer San Berdoo. A one room, clapboard side house with a black and white TV, a round top refrigerator filled with biscuits, jam and Budweiser, a sagging sofa, a pedestal fan, a wood grain formica dinette with a single chair, jelly jar drinking glasses and NHRA membership. Because, if you had a top fuel, front engine rail in your garage, what else would matter?" ...

Good pictures of excellent activities, too.

dinner

dinner, originally uploaded by bobby toe.

KnoxNews: Local

"Tennessee’s logging industry is producing more lumber than at any time in the last 50 years, yet the amount of Volunteer state land covered in trees continues to increase. More of the state is covered in forests than at any time since the beginning of the 20th century." ...

Registration sucks. Quite the article though.

KnoxNews: Local

"An Arizona-based company is due to receive the bulk of any revenues collected from its automated traffic enforcement cameras, according to the terms of its proposed contract with the city of Knoxville." ...

registration sucks. so do automated traffic enforcement cameras.

KnoxNews: Columnists (re: the recent TVA land-swap deal on Nickajack Lake [reservoir])

"I have had, and continue to have, an ideological problem with the government taking private land via eminent domain for a public project and later selling it back to other private hands at incredibly increased prices. It is fundamentally and ethically wrong. No amount of spin will change that.

There's a classic joke about such foolishness. You've probably heard it, but I can't resist in this situation:" ...

I hate registration. "knoxnews" requires registration. good column though.

Spitzerism - New York Times

"As United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, Giuliani saw white-collar crime as a product of personal immorality, and he went after the perpetrators with relish. Spitzer tends to see wrongdoing as the product of both moral failing and lousy incentives. In Spitzer's mind, the reason the power plants produced too much pollution wasn't that their owners were evil; it was that neither they nor their customers were forced to pay the cost of polluting. Spitzer wasn't looking to put the utility companies out of business. He just wanted the loophole closed." ...

Wonderful article in the NYT about Eliot Spitzer, who may well be the next governor of New York. And it's not just about him; it gets into a lot of stuff about democrats generally/in the past few years/since Clinton. Click post title to read. But you might have to register, which is so lame.

Football, Quarries and Spiders

Watched the UT football game on Saturday on TV with friends who live in South Knoxville. Their place borders some old abandoned quarries and caves, which are just wonderful places to explore. Wish my pictures of that stuff had turned out. Glad that at least the pictures of the spider came out OK.

bull riding

I rode a bull! Saw an ad in the Metropulse recently for this new place, "Electric Cowboy," with a picture of the bull in it. Was happy to find the place, and, in it, the bull, working and everything. 5$ for two rides. Short rides, in my case. Worth every cent. Glad I brought the camera. I've been wanting to ride an electric bull ever since I was a little boy. Might add that the "Electric Cowboy is a huge place, and the waitresses there wear assless chaps over their panties, which was a Wow. And Jimmy- that's your suit I'm wearing. Thanks for the suit. I like it.

artnet Magazine - Drawing Notebook (more about the "Obsessive Drawing" Show at the American Folk Art Museum)

"The fifth artist, Chris Hipkiss, is represented by a 35-foot-long narrative environmentalist diatribe, Lonely Europe Arm Yourself (1994-5), which is 'operatic' and then some, to use the words of AFAM curator Brooke Anderson." ...

Guess I gotta go see this show. It's on from September 14, 2005–March 19, 2006. If you're in NYC, please go, and tell me about it. Terence and Erin, this means you.
the museum's at:
45 West 53rd Street
New York NY 10019

ceci n'est pas...: it slices, it dices, it makes juliane fries

Someone in "County Cork, Ireland" got a job offer just like me!

"My name is Roger Smith and I am the Chief Executive Officer of American Income." ...

That kind of stuff is still coming in, too.

Being There

Finished the book today. Remember liking the movie some time ago. Book's only 118 pages in the version I read.

"O'Flaherty spoke easily: 'What was the trouble with Duncan? With Frank and with Shellman, for that matter, and with so many of the others we've considered and have had to reject? The damn trouble was that they all had background, too much background! A man's past cripples him: his background turns into a swamp and invites scrutiny!'"
"He waved his arms excitedly. 'But just consider Gardiner. May I stress what you have just heard from a most authoritative voice: Gardiner has no background! And so he's not and cannot be objectionable to anyone! He's personable, well-spoken, and he comes across well on TV!'"

"Being There," Jerzy Kosinski, p. 116. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanich; Bantam edition (1972).
Wish I could remember my MLA cite format. It was erased by law school bluebooking, which I've managed to forget much of, too.

visitors

little brother Matt and his gfriend Holly visited yesterday. He took a picture of me, too.

Matt got the playstation working. He gave me a playstation summer before last (he has an Xbox now.) Took him a few minutes to get it fixed. So we played Tekken 3, a two-player fighting game we used to play a lot, I mean A Lot, before I was in Knoxville and before he was a firefighter. Each game- as we tend to play- is best two of three. I won the first, and won the second without him getting anything on me, which is called a "perfect." So I quit. We had to go eat, after all. Played some more after food, and I wasn't so dominant.

Pentrix - Videos

"Pen Spinning Revolution." I must practice.

Zoe Mendelson

More Excellent Drawings and Paintings. Artist name: Zoe Mendelson.

bell hooks

while at Vassar, I read stuff by bell hooks. very sharp writer, seemed to me so much on the mark so much of the time. had no idea hooks was from Hopkinsville, KY. neither knew mom was a hooks fan, but hooks was in Hopkinsville recently, and mom got her to sign a book. so very wow.

WUTKradio.com

Good radio. Listen on-line or something.

"Thursdays:

10pm - Midnight “Club 90” (playlists)
Hosted by Deejay J-Lee
(hip hop, rap and r&b mixed live in the studio)"

job spam

this is what I get for signing up with the University's stuff:

"New Job Position Open!  Contact Us Today!"
"We recently received your resume from the internet and we'd like to talk to
you.  We have a career which would allow you the opportunity to earn over
$100,000 your first year if you are capable of making just one average sale
a day for us."...

"Job Opening Available Now!  Please Reply Today!"
"
My name is Roger Smith and I am the Chief Executive Officer of American
Income.  I recently found your resume online and wanted to get in touch with
you.  We are expanding our sales force by hiring applicants from a variety
of different backgrounds and we believe you have the potential to be an
excellent match."...

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan

via the Note:

(this part since crosses w/ AK)
"Republicans have grown alarmed at federal spending. It has come to a head not only because of Katrina but because of the huge pork-filled highway bill the president signed last month, which comes with its own poster child for bad behavior, the Bridge to Nowhere. The famous bridge in Alaska that costs $223 million and that connects one little place with two penguins and a bear with another little place with two bears and a penguin. The Bridge to Nowhere sounds, to conservative ears, like a metaphor for where endless careless spending leaves you. From the Bridge to the 21st Century to the Bridge to Nowhere: It doesn't feel like progress."

(later,)
"I'm sure the administration would think to criticize the leadership of Bill Clinton if they weren't so busy having jolly mind-melds with him on Katrina relief. Mr. Clinton, on the other hand, is using his new closeness with the administration to add an edge of authority to his slams on Bush. That's a pol who knows how to do it."

Jan Baracz

excellent photo stream

President's Remarks at Republican Jewish Coalition 20th Anniversary

"You know, something we -- I've been thinking a lot about how America has responded, and it's clear to me that Americans value human life, and value every person as important. And that stands in stark contrast, by the way, to the terrorists we have to deal with. You see, we look at the destruction caused by Katrina, and our hearts break. They're the kind of people who look at Katrina and wish they had caused it. We're in a war against these people. It's a war on terror. These are evil men who target the suffering."

via Wonkette, who doesn't seem to offer "permalinks."
also at NYT, but Wonkette is sharper, and doesn't require registration.

ultimate weekend

used to play ultimate twice a week at Charter Doyle park. game there was always laid-back, sometimes more than I liked. but I liked playing, and for months it was about the only game in town. can't wear cleats there.

but then things have picked up a bit, and there are more games in Knoxville these days, games where we wear cleats. that's good, but as things picked up, the charter doyle games fell off. but then they might be picking up again, starting last Saturday.

hope we do keep that game going. ultimate three times a week is better than two times a week.

been listening to Over the Rhine. And Silkworm, my band of last resort.

ABC News: The Note: Everything That Ought to Be Up Is Down

Always wondered what that that that they meant, by that "Gang of 500:"
"the inner circle of American politics (a/k/a: the Gang of 500)"

Apologies

For the sappy Monday links. Couldn't be helped. Timing.

"How We Got Engaged!" By Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier

"How We Got Engaged!" By Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier

hacnocte: It needs to be said

hacnocte: It needs to be said: "It needs to be said
I have the best husband ever.

The other day, I had a semi-meltdown and told Hop about my new plan for the gym and losing weight. I told him I needed help from him - when he saw me curling up and refusing to go to the gym, question it. Ask me why, encourage me to go - he promised he would, but only for five minutes and then he'd leave it at that." ...

stereogum: CMJ Saturday Wrap-Up

stereogum: CMJ Saturday Wrap-Up

Sage Sohier: "Boy with model of Kandahar, Afganistan; Watertown, MA Dec. 2001" at Bernard Toale Gallery - Artwork details

Sage Sohier: "Boy with model of Kandahar, Afganistan; Watertown, MA Dec. 2001" at Bernard Toale Gallery - Artwork details

American Folk Art Museum

More amazing drawings. Artist name: Eugene Andolsek.

Deitch

click on title. once you're there, be sure to click on the "next" button. Some Amazing Drawings. Artist name: Raqib Shaw

Hillbilly Fever, Thursday nights on WDVX fm

The very, very best country music. Every Thursday night 7-10. It's Hillbilly Fever.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Yesterday, had an exercise (read: "game") in ADR class. Groups of four, each person has a card with X on one side and Y on the other. Each person decides whether to play X or Y, and everyone shows their choice at once. Clear so far? Each group had ten plays.

If everyone plays X, everyone loses a point. If some play X and some play Y, those who played X gain points, and those who played Y lose points. If everyone plays Y, everyone gets a point.

In a class of about 50, maybe three people chose Y everytime. There was no reward for getting the most points, but Professor wanted to see how many points the groups ended up with.

Boing Boing: Katrina: joke du jour

"Q: What's George Bush's position on Roe v. Wade?
A: He really doesn't care how people get out of New Orleans."

Running Stuff

I run the Environmental Law Group for the law school. So I have to submit a budget. Here, that means I have to put this in the budget:
"The Student Organization certifies that shall not use funds provided by The University of Tennessee, or any subdivision thereof, to purchase alcoholic beverages."

MenMae

That's "ManMae," who played at the Pilot Light Thursday night.

Saw "Creeping Nobodies" and "Divorce" play there last night. I heart Pilot Light. Three good shows in two nights, and I wasn't even there for all the bands.

On Friday, I finally bought books for two of my four classes. The book for another is ordered. The fourth class's book is not available at the bookstore, so the Professor has been sending copies to us students.

Also on Friday: got my bike rolling! Riding a bike around Knoxville makes me like Knoxville more.

Labor Day weekend

went to nooga for the Shawn Adams Memorial Spirit of the Game Ultimate Tournament. First game against NC's Green Man team was close, but like the next three, we lost. My team, "KULT," (as in, Knoxville ULTimate, I think) was/is quite new, and has plenty of new players, and has this one player who's been playing for years but still has crappy throws (me). Ran into a bunch of nooga people I hadn't seen in too long. But was a long day and I got completely exhausted. Then went to a bluegrass concert, good, and then the tournament party, pretty good. Slept on little brother's couch.

Woke up next morning, early, since first game was at nine. Wasn't too late but was very stiff and tired. Lost the first game but won the second, so that meant we won the "C bracket," which bracket I don't think existed, originally. Winning that got us a canvas Dore art deco-ish print.

Watched the mixed division final between Shotgun and Johnny on the Spot, then drove back to Knoxville aided by Red Bulls and Starbucks coffee.

more catching up

What else since returning to TN:

Got all serious, again, about moving into another apt. Found one in a favorite neighborhood. Gave landlord's representative $50 on Saturday to hold it until Tuesday, explaining at the time about the late loan stuff. Then got less enthusiastic about the new place. It would have allowed me to get a dog, but it was carpeted with some raggedy carpet. Guess I just changed my mind... much as this building annoys me, I do have a great view from my apt. here, and it would take something appealing to make me move. It's a long story. I'll keep looking for another place.

Spent last Saturday in nooga with Hop and Morgen. She made dinner and it was excellent. Stayed at their place that night, sleeping on couch before the very cable TV. Not much on that night, but got to see the huge fighting scene at the end of Kill Bill 1 early the next morning.

Sunday, recovered most of my rosemary plants from Matt. I left him with four, I think, but I'm sure there were four there then, so thanks to Matt. He kept my plants alive while I was in Alaska.

On Monday night I saw the movie "Hustle & Flow." First in-theater movie I'd seen in some time. Liked it very much.

Tuesday is when I skipped classes.

Wednesday, had to go to school to represent the Enviro. group, and TAPIL (TN Assoc. of Public Interest Law) at the student organization fair, since that's where new people sign up, and both groups need more people. Got a few for each. Also got my loan check. Huge!

Thursday, paid bills that had long needed paying, and could now be paid, since I got the loan check. Also got Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger," which I've been wanting to pick up for years now.

Today, got car registered. I'm about totally legal now. Also went to gym.

in saddle again

Was odd getting back into things here. Several days didn't sleep at best time, I mean, didn't sleep at night for long. Then was dealing with academic hurdles, most significant of which was that I didn't have my student loan (my fault for submitting a form in Aug. that I should have submitted in Jan.) So I wasn't really signed up for classes. But it came through a couple of days ago, so, very good! Now seems more like I'm supposed to be here. Now that the loan's come through, they'll even let me into the gym, and that's nice.

But was peculiar in the meantime, when I was going to classes, wondering if any of the profs. would ask me what I was doing there, when I hadn't paid for my classes. They didn't. Then, too, after a few days, I didn't want to go to classes more than a few times without reading for classes. So I skipped a couple. Then the loan came through and I bought a book (99$) for Administrative Law. I guessed at what I'd need to read, read that, went to class, and the prof. asked me to tell the class about the case. I'd read the case, so, I could do that. So, good.

What else...
My first Environmental class met to observe argument in the second Zeb Mountain case. Was good to hear that stuff going on in this case, which is just huge stuff around here. See pictures of the relevant mine at the UTlawenviro site, or at Flickr, both in the links to the right.

Been good to be back here in Knoxville for the Pilot Light. Maybe the best place in east TN, music-wise. Local bands most nights of the week. On Sunday they had a pot-luck, which I wish was going on likewise in every town across the country, as far as that the indie music people would get together for dinner before a long series of bands every once in a while. Made me compare to the weekly dinner I attended in AK, which was at the American Legion, and was different and the same.

Lightning from above

Saturday, got given going away party. That night got a ride to Anchorage airport, where I slept. Yesterday morning, flew out. Flight from Salt Lake City was overbooked. Ended up in ATL, where I am now. Will catch shuttle to airport w/in hour, then will be soon in nooga.

On the way to ATL saw much lightning from above clouds. Image doesn't capture, but believe me, was something to see.

It's hotter here at midnight than it was at any time of day or night in AK.

Matanuska Peak

Went up Matanuska yesterday. Took about eight hours, including time spent picking blueberries. I took this picture from close to the top. That's Palmer in the distance.

Mamajo and Papaw

This is where I was when we were on the phone yesterday.

I flew the airplane!

But I wasn't flying when I took these.

I FLEW THE AIRPLANE!

I flew the airplane! I flew the airplane! I flew the airplane!

Had to confirm repeatedly that I had not taken ANY flying lessons. Don't worry, she tells me, she's a flight instructor.

I pulled back to take off. I went up. I went down. She told me to turn closer to the mountain. I turned closer to the mountain.

So busy flying I took few pictures. We were up for maybe twenty minutes, and it was "my airplane" for all but two or three, and of course I did not land the thing. What. A. Day!!!

Got to do all that for free because company is touring its plane around the country, offering free rides/drives to get people to buy. Plane is a Cirrus. Pull a lever in the cockpit, and a rocket fires from a hatch on top, launching a parachute. Plane has power, like 300 hp.

I flew the airplane!