The Oregon Coast

Today Aunt Sis and I headed out to the coast, but we couldn't start our day without a little adventure right here in Eugene. Like me, Aunt Sis is an avid reader, so on the way out of town we had to stop by the bookstore to get the next book in a series that she is reading. As we rounded the corner to enter the store, Aunt Sis almost bowled a guy over and nearly messed her shoes. She didn't realize it, but she nearly had a collision with a man that was busy trying to relieve himself. He was obviously proud of himself, too, as he didn't even bother to turn himself toward the building. No sir, he pulled it out right in the middle of the sidewalk and watered the lawn so to speak. It was quite shocking. Whatever thoughts of moving to Eugene I may have had; they have all not been dispelled.

Aunt Sis did manage to keep her feet dry, and we found her book in the pile of nearly sorted paperbacks on the second floor of the store. After we paid, we were ready to get on the road. I'll tell what 's really amazing here in Oregon is that the roads wind so much that you can drive 10 or 15 minutes and only go one mile west. It only took about an hour to get to Florence, though, and once there we headed north. Aunt Sis assured me, for several miles, that we were about to see the ocean on the left. It took a while longer than she implied, but when we finally saw it, I nearly wrecked the car. It was breathtaking.

I'm not big on beaches like the Florida or Texas coast, but this rocky coast with waves crashing all over the place was amazing. We drove just a short way and stopped off at a tourist attraction simply called the Sea Lion Caves. It's a lookout over the ocean with a small cave in the rocks below where sea lions gather. I have uploaded some pics for you to enjoy below. It was really cool to see the animals playing in the ocean and with each other out in the wild. Apparently, you can also see whales migrating from this point, too, if you are there at the right time of year. We were about a month early for that they said.

From the Sea Lion Caves, we could also see the Heceta light house. It was really beautiful, and my pictures below do not do it justice. According to the sign, it is the most photographed light house in the world, so I'm sure you can find better pictures somewhere else. After all that, I'm not sure that I could live up here, but I know that I could definitely spend more time exploring these mountains and the coastline. It's just beautiful, and I can't wait until I get a chance to bring the kids up here.

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Mexican Food….In Oregon?

My flight in yesterday was fairly uneventful. I checked my bags so that I wouldn't be able to blow up the plane with shaving cream, hair gel or toothpaste. Never mind that they let me take my laptop, PSP, cell phone, GPS unit, and digital camera on the plane with me. I mean, really, could any of those be explosive, or better yet, trigger an explosive device? I don't know. I just don't feel any safer knowing that the guy next to me wasn't allowed to bring deodorant on the plane.

Anyway, the flight was smooth. It's just long. Then after I got off the plane, I drove from Portland to Bend. Which was just about as long again but in a car. At least I didn't have some guy with no deodorant sitting next to me. The drive was nice, but you get out of the mountains fairly quickly and the Eastern part of Oregon is really pretty flat and featureless. It's very much like the plains.

Today, I went to visit our client in Redmond (yes, they have one in Oregon, too, Dad), and I took some of them out to lunch. They all wanted to go eat Mexican, and I agreed. It wasn't like any Mexican restaurant that I've ever been to before, though.

They brought out tortilla chips and salsa like anywhere else, but they really messed me up with the menu. The first page was all about hamburgers. Every which way you could get one made, but none of them really had much Mexican flair. The next page was all about pasta. It was like an excerpt from an Olive Garden menu. After that was seafood. What kind of Mexican place is this? Finally, on the back page they give you a choice between burritos, tacos and fajitas.

I've never really been to a Mexican restaurant that didn't specialize in Mexican food, but I've also never been one to where the wait staff didn't speak Spanish. Oh well, it's interesting up here in Oregon.

After all that, I headed out in the car again to see Aunt Sis in Springfield. I'm actually at her house now, but she's not home from work yet. On my way over, I got back into the mountains and saw some beautiful scenery. It was kind of tough to take decent pictures while driving 70 down a two lane road with no shoulder (hence the reason I couldn't stop to get a good pic), but I gave it my best. Enjoy my first few photos from this trip below.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Art Teachers Beware

"An award-winning Texas art teacher…has lost her job." So begins one of the hot stories of the day here in the metroplex. Check out the full article at http://www.nbc5i.com/education/9936513/detail.html?rss=dfw&psp=nationalnews

Here are the basic facts. The principal approved a field trip for the fifth grade. The parents signed permission slips for their kids to go to the art museum. The kids saw a nude sculpture. The teacher lost her job. Is anyone else baffled by this?

I can maybe see where a parent wouldn't want their kids to see a nude sculpture, but I can't imagine a parent approving their kids to go to an art museum and then being surprised that their kids saw a nude sculpture. That's part of art. It's been a part of art as long as art's been around. It's not surprising, shocking, or new. The only shock here is that the parents apparently didn't know there would be nude sculptures.

If you could take kids to any art museum in the world, wouldn't you want to take them to the Louvre? Heaven forbid that they see Venus de Milo, though. Not only is she one of the greatest art finds of all time, not only is she missing arms, but her breasts are exposed. Worse yet, we could take them to Florence and show them Michelangelo's David. Oh no, is that a nude man? It's just ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong. I don't advocate provocative, borderline porn as art. I don't advocate pushing the limits of reason and getting away with it by labeling it art. I am, however, a fan of art itself, and I am a fan of the great masters that have been able to capture the beauty of the human form. There is nothing wrong with the human form. It just is. We don't need to broadcast our privates to the world, but we also don't need to be ashamed of God's work of art.

One of the great revolutions of the Renaissance was the nude form. Not because the artists wanted to see naked people. Not because it was titillating (just look at the art; it's not getting anyone's engine going). Because they wanted to understand the human form. It was the precursor to modern anatomy and physiology classes. The leading edge of modern medicine. It's a part of our general collective knowledge, and it's a good thing.

It really concerns me that an obviously outstanding teacher can be run out of town with a huge blemish on her record for something so silly as a field trip to an art museum and for doing nothing wrong.

Fall Premieres

Let me hear your thoughts on this television season. What do you think about the new shows? How about the ones that are returning? Here's my take so far:

Most Missed:

Invasion – I really enjoyed this show last season and was looking forward to finding out what happens to Underlay and Larkin. Did the aliens heal her? What about the baby? I really miss this one.

Most Promise:

Heroes – If you missed the premiere last night, find somewhere online to download it. Unlike many other serial dramas, this show is moving very quickly and creating quite an intriguing story already. I don't want to ruin it for anyone so, highlight the rest to see some of my questions. [Possible spoilers follow] Did anyone else notice that the cheerleader was picked up by the news camera when she ran into the fire? I wonder if that will come up in later episodes. Did the cheerleader's dad know she was special when they adopted her? Or is he oblivious to her connection to the others? Were the others also adopted? What is the significance of the eclipse? Did anyone else notice that that was one of the paintings? And by the way, weren't the paintings cool? I think the art department did a great job on those giving them a slight comic book feel. What's the genetic theory that the Indian professor believes? Is the online porn star good, bad, or just confused? I mean she's trying to take care of her kids, but she (or her doppelganger) brutally killed two thugs. And can both of the brothers fly? Or just one? And is he a force for good or evil? [Spoilers end] I just can't wait until next Monday to see more.

Jericho – Another great drama. This one is moving more slowly, but the acting could make it worthwhile. It's really great that we, the audience, don't know any more about the situation in Jericho than the residents. I'll be watching this for a while to see how the story unfolds.

Good but not Great:

Vanished – Getting stale already. They need to find Sarah soon or I'll be tuned out.

Smith – A pretty good premiere with Ray Liotta doing a great job as usual. Lots of questions raised, but then also some bonehead moves by these professional criminals. If they can stay ahead of the law, this could be pretty interesting. If it gets bogged down in a weekly police interrogation, barely skating out of trouble type show, then I'll be out.

Returning Shows:

NCIS – I really enjoy this show. Mark Harmon is great and the banter of the team is always lively. Suspending belief for an hour is worth it to enjoy the ride.

The Unit – Interesting start for the season. Seems like they are trying to go a little deeper with the wives this time around. Definitely worth watching.

Lost – Getting a little old. We'll see how the season starts out, but I want to see some big changes if they are going to keep my attention for a third season.

Grey's Anatomy – I missed the premiere, but I'm sure it was more of the same. Meredith whining about her life, pouting around the hospital, being a little brat. I'm pretty much over this one.

Smallville – Coming up this week. Will Clark finally fly?

Supernatural – After a great first season and a big cliffhanger I wonder how this second season will unfold? This is one of my favorites, and I'm really looking forward to Thursday night.

Battlestar Galactica – Along with The Shield, one of the best shows on television. If you haven't been watching this, you're really missing out. The upcoming season promises to share some flashback scenes from the missing year, more revelations about the Cylon society, and a deeper investigation into what it means to be human.

The Amazing Race – Leah got me hooked on this a couple of seasons ago, but I quit watching about halfway through the family edition season. It was way too lame. This season has some promise, though, so I'm back to watching. I just wish they could find another couple like Rob and Amber; they were the best!