Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Recent photos of ours are online at shutterfly.com
Dog Photos
Brad & John's Wedding Photos
Halloween 2002 Photos
Elkhorn Slough Photos

Leah Brooks at 1:50 PM

Tuesday, November 26, 2002

I'm posting this email from Barb, because it's so... Barb. I just love her. She can write something like this and just make the smallest little news item about her day into something so memorable and so literary.



At 8:40 a.m., a sweet, plump little songbird with a yellow feathered
head flew smack into our clear kitchen window. He or she hit the window
sideways, somewhat flattening the side of its body. Death came quickly.
It twitched for several seconds and then died. All animals were kept
inside the house for 1 hour out of respect for the bird. Also, to give
it a chance to revive itself. This did not prove to be successful.

The bird was buried with honors and sympathy in the backyard. Officials,
taking inspiration from Julie Andrews, tried to whistle a happy tune.
The dog was uninterested. One of the owners of the house noted how
beautifully Virginia cleaned the window last week. "I saw her gather
newspaper, dampen it a little, and clean the window. Her daughter
noticed my gaze and said 'that's how they do it in the old country.' It
sure looks clean! I told her. I had no idea that such excellent cleaning
could lead to today's sad loss."

A trust fund for the surviving members of the little bird's family has
been established at the Rockin' Robin National Bank.
Leah Brooks at 1:55 PM

Friday, November 22, 2002

Seems like I see or hear of interesting things every day, but don't always get around to typing them up here. Instead I forward the email onwards, or just think about it a lot...

Saw they are selling Segways on amazon.com. Bob wants one for xmas.. (hint for Martha!!) But know ahead of time that they are not shipping until March. I think that they are not yet completely legal in California. For some reason, there is a movement to keep them off the sidewalks. I heard on the radio this morning that over 700 pedestrians were killed in California this year... not by Segways, but by cars or busses. I can't imagine that Segways will increase that number by much. Most of the deaths are at intersections without sidewalks.

We had a good discussion at lunch today (my book club met) about the book "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. The voice of the book is a young girl who has been raped and murdered. Some readers found the family's grief depressing, others were saddened by what happened to the girl. I found it depressing for a different reason - that the girl is supposedly in "heaven", looking down at the life that goes on without her. She is so stuck - she can't let go, she can't move on. Her heaven seemed like hell to me. Eventually she has (perhaps) some impact on the characters below, but did she really? or was it a fantasy?

Despite the fact that we found it sad, overall as we discussed it, I realized that it was a better book than I thought. Either that or our book club members are so interesting that almost any book we read could bring about some impassioned discussion.

Rick Mead sent me a book suggestion that I passed on to the club: The Botany of Desire, a plant's-eye view of humanity. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Take a look at Tate in Space
Leah Brooks at 4:04 PM

Monday, November 18, 2002

We saw two good movies this weekend: Harry Potter (2) and Frida. Having seen the last Harry Potter movie and having enjoyed it, but felt rather unimpressed overall (I barely remembered the plot or the visual effects), we were pleasantly surprised that this installment was so much better. There were several moments where I felt so drawn into the images - like I was really there, in that castle, with those skies above me. That's when I enjoy movies the most, when I forget I'm in the theater and really get transported.

Frida was a visual treat as well as such an interesting and moving story about the artist Frida Kahlo. I think it will be nominated for best picture! Great performances by all the actors, and fabulous art direction, costuming and sets. The director, Julie Taymor, was the master mind behind Broadway's version of the Lion King, and has such a fertile imagination.
Leah Brooks at 3:46 PM