If you look closely at the left-hand side of the above photo (which was recently submitted to the Seattle Times by Christopher Bacon) you can see a salmon swimming across the street in Silverdale, Washington. Perhaps the salmon was on his way to hook up with Port Townsend’s infamous stunt trout; who knows? Read more »

According to my family’s emails, it’s snowing in the Pacific Northwest, which is why I’m posting a photo I took last year. Thought I’d better not crop out the flag, lest someone think it was snowing here in southern Italy at first glance.

You can tell this is a western Washington snowman, because he’s already wilting. When it snows in the western Washington, you’d better make your snowman right away, and toss those snowballs before it rains. Because it will rain. Today, for instance, there is a warm front predicted with winds gusting to 60 mph in the Northwest - and rain, of course. So enjoy the white stuff while you can!

In eastern Washington, where I grew up, you have time to bond with your snowman before he melts. He could be around for days, maybe even weeks. You might as well name him in eastern Washington where there’s less carpe diem, and more Jungian projection. In eastern Washington you can even get all Fritz Perls about it and build a snow family to converse with Gestalt therapy style if you want. (Not that you, gentle reader, need therapy. I’m merely saying…) Read more »

As I was doing the dishes tonight, I mentally replayed a conversation from earlier, in which Angelo told me how lovely Perugia is, and that we really ought to visit.

And then it occurred to me that thanks to the recent murder in Perugia, the name ‘Perugia’ right now is probably synonymous in the minds of many Americans with scandal. Just as, to many Americans, the word ‘columbine’ has become synonymous with school shootings, and the phrase ‘Green River’ with serial killers.

So let us not forget that columbines are lovely ruffled flowers favored by hummingbirds, that the Green River is a charming river where people fish and go rafting, and that Perugia is a beautiful city and region in Italy known for great works of art and chocolate (among many other things.)

I love taking photos, and although I can appreciate folks like Ansel Adams who literally see the big picture (then take it, ‘cuz it lasts longer!) I’m the type of person who, as much as I love a big sweeping landscape, can look down and enjoy the beauty at my feet. I am fascinated by close-ups and all the simple, over-looked beauty in the world.

For the same reason, I adore listening to (and playing) chamber music. Sure, grand symphonic pieces can give me shivers, but what touches me most are small ensembles, pieces where you can hear the scrape of an individual bow, or the flute player’s breath between phrases.

And I love older jazz. Of course, with jazz there’s lots to love. Claiming that you don’t like jazz is like claiming that you don’t like food – there’s bound to be some flavor combination out there that you can dig, you hepcat, you. Read more »

As a kid, I tried capturing fog in sandwich bags and setting it free in the house. This didn’t work too well and drove my mom crazy since it involved a lot of running in and out of the front door on a cold November day. I tried filling an old mayonnaise jar with fog so I could at least have some in my room, but this didn’t work either; the fog always escaped, oblivious to any borders. Read more »