My Mother’s Day Weekend

​Spent the evening with my folks celebrating Mothers Day. I love that I’m physically close to them, so can keep an emotional closeness. Though, at times, it’s surreal to be back in Lynnwood, within sight of the home I grew up in. 

Many, many memories can and went. Stories told with my son, developing the generational connections. So much of my life took place right here, within a short drive of my folks’ home. So many transformative memories flowed through my mind today. 

Most of the day I slept. Fighting some kind of virus, wakefulness was elusive. 

Yesterday we went to the Reptile Expo at the Monroe Fairgrounds. Then down to the old Woodway highschool for the Edmonds Heights production of Addams Family. The reptile expo was cool, opening my eyes more to herpetological fans, and what they see in their fine scaled friends. And I thought the kids were wonderful. 

Now I’m on my couch listening to St. Mark’s compline service on KING FM. So many rich memories here. I was a member at the cathedral for many years. I’ve so many memories of the halls there. And many evenings, sitting in the darkened gnave. Surrounded by this microcosm of Seattle. Wealthy socialites, broke college students, street kids, the roughest-edged folks, all crammed into the cathedral every Sunday evening. 

The tranquility I’ve felt there has rarely been equalled. Someday I need to take my son down and introduce him to this ancient worship style. It holds deep meaning​for me. 

Wondering about negativity 

Why is it so easy to fall into the negative? 

To immediately assume the worst in others 

Gossiping and slander 

Embracing rage’s false power 

Robbing our future, that one does 

How do we build community?

When see our neighbor 

As invoked evil

Tonight’s Haiku: my silent call 

In this silent home 

Dreams start creeping into view 

Then they consume me 

Sustainable Living, Healthy Living and Suburbia

Yesterday was spent driving. Meetings in Late Stevens, Everett and Mountlake Terrace. Not at all uncommon. Though I travelled many miles, my body spent the day seated. This hit me at night: I just had to move. I did a little yoga, ran through taekwondo poomsaes, and was eclectic settle down. My body now expects some motion during the day now. 

My culture, my community, has evolved to minimize physical effort. Most energy expenditure gets deferred to our cars. Turns out its killing us. Whether the upswelling of type 2 diabetes or the obesity epidemic, our drive for inaction hurts us greatly. This concerns me. 

With this mindset: our obsession with speed. Faster! Faster! More and more in less time. Road Rage’s roots are herein. And those folks who get beside themselves in fury because someone is crossing the crosswalk, or being slowed by a cyclist; they’re deeply trapped in that mindset. Really, your blood pressure is going to soar into pathological levels because you need to wait ten seconds? 

I’ve wondered how society would look after healing this fracture. Well, first, we’d walk more. Or bike. We’d also have a rational engagement with time. Becoming unhinged over the most minor inconvenience is deeply unhealthy. 

As our urban areas are only going to get more dense, we need to start dealing with this stuff now. Or we don’t need to worry about North Korea nuking us: we’ll explode ourselves with self generated fury. 

Watch “BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Official Trailer” on YouTube

I’m really looking forward to the next iteration in the Blade Runner saga, based on this trailer. Visually amazing and a solid cast. The potential is solid.

PhD Comics, Sisyphus and Life In Academia

I’ve long enjoyed the work of Jorge at PhD comics. This one delights more than most…which says a lot, really.

I like them all, at one level or another.

Taekwondo video: “Age is no excuse…” on YouTube

It’s awesome to see all ages at the dojang. It’s a sign of a healthy school. My school has a huge range of student agents, from small children to adults in the 50s and 60s. 

Every student brings something great to the school, helps us all grow, to be better. 

Watch “Within Reach” on YouTube

A great short film brought to us by REI.  Looks at the challenges and brilliance of women’s climbing. I really appreciate their viewpoints and ideas about how toopen up climbing, as well as the world. 

Ed Sheeran’s “Castle On The Hill”

Ed Sheeran has not been terribly exciting to me. However, his song, Castle On The Hill delights me deeply.

It’s opened me up to exploring more of his music.

What do you think?

​Nature’s not mocked

​Nature’s not mocked

For she holds all the power 

We are but trifles