Personal

The stuff about me and my life. The “diary” side of blogging.

Dangerous Playgrounds Still Exist!

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Something I’ve had a minor beef with for years now (as some of my old friends will be able to attest to, as this is a soapbox I’ve climbed onto from time to time) is how depressingly “safe” most of today’s playgrounds are. There are any number of reasons why this is so*, but the end result has been a constant and (to me) somewhat depressing “dumbing down” of playgrounds over the years. Any piece of equipment that could conceivably cause an injury more serious than a minor bruise has been torn out and replaced with rounded plastic contraptions that, while probably “safer”…are also boring.

(Be warned: gross generalizations follow. I know that there are specific instances that run counter to the general theme of my rant — and I consider them exceptions that prove the rule.)

Teeter totters? Long gone. Those great old merry-go-rounds that you’d get the older kids or parents to spin faster and faster until the smaller kids started flying off? Also a thing of the past. Heck, even today’s slides are mere stunted shadows of their former selves.

I was thrilled, then, to run across the Pinehurst Playfield this evening while Prairie and I were on a walk. We’d turned down a street we hadn’t walked down before, just a couple blocks away from our apartment, and heard kids playing. Once we got close enough to tell that there was a Little League game going on, we turned in to take a closer look at the park.

Then we saw the playground…and I couldn’t resist.

Me on the Jungle GymMe on the Jungle Gym
Climbing WallTippy Slide

A jungle gym with lots of climbing bits, ropes, and various ways to clamber around on (and fall off of) it, including a marvelous slide with no rails that tips to one side. A…spinny thing…that had me so dizzy I could barely stand up. It was marvelous!

So, I spent some time being about seven years old or so, while Prairie giggled and did her best to get some shots of me being a kid (I think she did a pretty good job, too).

Hooray for dangerous playground equipment!

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NyQuil Jello?

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NyQuil Jello?One dessert trick Prairie and I have been playing with for the past few months is using soda instead of water* to make Jello. Different combinations of flavors are possible, and the carbonation makes the Jello ‘fizz’ on your tongue when you eat it.

Today, we figured we’d try Berry Blue Jello and Root Beer. The Jello’s setting in the fridge right now, so we haven’t tasted it yet…but the color is exactly the deep green of NyQuil. Looks a little disturbing.

We’re hoping it tastes better than it looks.

* To clarify: Use hot water as normal to dissolve the gelatin, then use soda instead of cold water for the second step. We picked this up from a Magic of Jello recipe book that Prairie found in the discount stacks at Barnes and Noble last year, and have been experimenting with it off and on since then.

iTunes “Stigmata (Live)” by Ministry from the album In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Showing Up (Live) (1990, 9:31).

Camera Vision

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Wow. Tim, whom I’ve known for a few years now, left an incredible compliment on one of the photos I posted a couple days ago. I’m reposting it here because I’m floored, and I want to make sure it doesn’t disappear into the void. That, and it’s good for my ego. ;)

Speaking as a professional amateur photographer (or would that be amateur professional?) I must comment on the quality of your work. The fact of the matter is it just keeps getting better and better. Who knew you had such an artistic eye? I always had you pegged as a computer geek that wanted to be a photographer which I found rather funny considering I’m a photographer that want’s to be a computer geek.

And don’t for one second think (or be lead to believe) that the shiny new camera has anything to do with it. It does not. Not any more than a new set of pots and pans would suddenly make you a great cook. They may make you want to spend more time in the kitchen as I’m sure the new camera makes you want to go out and take more pictures but the underlying talent, the artistic eye, was there long ago.

And its that eye of which I speak. There comes a time in every photographers life where they make a switch they stop looking at things with standard vision and start looking at things the way camera would. Camera vision is what my friend called it when he was talking to me so many years ago.

The best way I know how to explain it is when you are learning another language. For a long time when people speak to you in the new language you hear what they say and your brain translates it to english for you. But there comes a time where when you hear the new language it doesn’t need to be translated in your brain, you just know it. And its on that day when you can proudly say, I speak two languages.

Camera vision is like that, you stop thinking about the shot and just take it. And as it was once said to me, I now say say it to you.

You have Camera vision.

And it shows.

Again — wow. Thanks, Tim.

iTunes “Minnie the Moocher” by Blues Brothers, The feat. Calloway, Cab from the album Blues Brothers, The (1980, 3:25).

More May Birthdays

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May really is a popular month! Other people of note have birthdays around now…

  • rainfromheaven is on May 2nd,
  • Today is Royce‘s,
  • as well as sirriamnis,
  • Prairie’s dad Lon’s birthday is the 10th,
  • Dan turns 30 on the 11th,
  • long-time friend of Kevin and my family Stephen Burns (who doesn’t have a site that I know of, but occasionally guest stars over on his wife’s weblog) is on the fourteenth,
  • the 15th is the birthday of Jordan of Swirlee.org,
  • Reed, one of my old Anchorage roommates, who I really need to e-mail back one of these days (I’m not ignoring him, I just suck at e-mail much of the time) has his on May 18th,
  • and Prairie’s youngest sister Hope is on the 22nd.

Happy birthday to everyone!

(Anyone else I should know about?)

iTunes “I’m Your Man ’96” by Michael, George from the album Fastlove (1996, 4:12).

Happy Birthday Kevin!

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Riverfront Park

I didn’t get a chance to toss this up this morning, but today’s my little brother’s 30th birthday. Welcome to your third decade, bro!