eastern kingbirds and greta

Yesterday after work I stopped by Bob Woodruff Park in Plano. This park has a nice pond, a huge open swatch of grass, and a long side-walked path through a woodland. I stationed myself in the grasslands, where a diverse assortment of birds fed on insects. Here's an eastern kingbird:



I like that eastern kingbirds are dark with a light breast, while western kingbirds are blue-gray with a very yellow breast. It all goes to show that similarities are masked by superficial differences.

We went to Silver Thai restaurant here in Allen for dinner. It is one of the most comfortable places--huge semi-circular booths in dark but not too dark conditions, smoothly air-conditioned with chill electronica music lightly playing in the background. I had a big bowl seafood noodle soup, while my wife had "garden chicken hold the chicken".

I woke at 4 a.m. I found my wife was also awake, as she is getting over a cold that started with me.
I turned on the television and watched Greta Gerwig in the movie "Lola Versus". I wonder how many independent films have been made about twenty-somethings seeking romance in the New York City metro area in which at least one character is in a band and another character acts. I feel the dental assistants,
veterinary assistants and retail assistant managers in New Jersey and Vermont should start an advocacy group for equal time. Still, Greta Gerwig is one of those actresses who seems to belong in movies, making the film a good watch. I looked up the movie on-line and found that it grossed $ 250,000, which is, perhaps, the combined movie-revenue from an audience comprised of twenty-somethings seeking romance in the New York City metro area in which at least one character is in a band and another character acts. It must be hard to do all the fund-raising and labor to do a movie, and then few people go to see it.

I think, by the way, that mumblecore has its promise as a genre because it offers the chance to return to less expensive film-making, but its horizons need to broaden. I like the idea of an African-model film system, with lots of productions made on very shoe string budgets.I like a good special effect as much as anyone, but we could be better served by the film industry if story won out over budget.

Today I plan to get a lot done, without going anywhere or doing anything.

family stories

I took Beatrice for a walk this morning around 10:30 a.m. We saw a great egret standing by a turtle. The heat was up, a bit, so we stopped in the shade so she could rest. My wife went to visit a newly-discovered garden center and then to the malls for the afternoon.

I had lunch at Dickey's BBQ, eating turkey without BBQ sauce. In the afternoon, I drove to Bluebonnet Trail in Plano. This trail is a sidewalk under high tension wires. I saw Mexican hat flowers, lots of grackles, mockingbirds and western kingbirds. Here is a picture of a western kingbird I took at nearby Clark High School:



I stopped by Goodwill to look at used computer cases for a friend, but the prices on the used cases were not bargain. I looked in Big Lots at new cases, which were about the cost of the used ones at Goodwill, but none was just right. I thought how lucky I was when I found my own computer case for 3 dollars at Goodwill.

I came home and rented a movie from Google, but the server seemed slow. So I watched the Linux Action Show on Youtube instead. It was nice to lie in bed and sometimes watch the video, and other times just close my eyes and listen to the audio. The show was about the hosts' switch to Arch Linux, the less pampered, power use way to do Linux, very DIY. I use very non-DIY Linux interfaces.

When my wife came home, we went to grab dinner and a movie. We dined at Mama Pita in Plano, and then went to see Sarah Polley's documentary "The Stories We Tell". This was one of the best movies we have seen in years. It is a family story about a Toronto family, as told by all the disparate voices who lived the story. I will not offer any "spoilers", because the beauty of the story is the way the details come out. I will say that the story resonated for both my wife and I, though our own family stories were very different stories. I highly recommend this movie as a "must see", about family and memory and the inherent fiction of documentary narrative.

With astonishing speed, the graduation gift I got for my young friend arrived today. I bought it on-line a few days ago. My wife and I examined it and were impressed by the value for the dollar in the gift item.

Today is the anniversary of a different family story. On June 8, 2004, my 16 year-old nephew suddenly passed away, an unexpected tragic passing caused by a heart defect. I will never forget that day or that young man.