RUN-AROUND THURSDAY

SWMBO had a doctor appointment in Chandler this morning.  I was the chauffer.  Afterwards we visited Mimi's Cafe . . .

. . . where we each enjoyed Eggs Benedict.

SWMBO said it felt special to have Eggs Benedict in a restaurant on a Thursday morning!

Then we came home and I dropped her to put her feet up and relax while I ran out to do some errands.

By the way, I WON THE POWERBALL last night!

Well . . . not the big one.  But I did get three numbers which earned me seven dollars.  I cashed my ticket, got one more set of numbers for the next game and pocketed a five-spot.  Now for that big one on Saturday night!  I definitely have a use for that half a billion dollars.  Well, I guess it's only around 350 million if you take a one-time cash payment.  But still.

While out and about I found a correct digital cable for my computer monitor today so I'm back in business, full screen.

And I stopped in at Arizona Mills . . a huge outlet mall in Tempe.  Here's an overhead view.

You can get an idea of the size of it if you compare it with the cars parked all around it or on the adjacent streets.  I went inside at Entry Seven, which is where a multiple screen theatre complex is located, right next to an IMAX theatre which advertises a six-story tall screen.  Just past the theatres is a huge food court with many restaurants AND a full-scale carousel.

If you're looking for a nice quiet meal, this is NOT the place.  But it's fun to watch the kids enjoying themselves at full volume.

There are at least 185 stores and many restaurants in the mall.  I only covered a very small part of it but the legs weren't having any more today.

And if you were wondering after yesterday's post, it's still hot today.  But the weatherman says tomorrow the mercury will peak at only 96 degrees and Saturday will be positively cool at 93!  If you're around Lake Tahoe, in California or Nevada, today, it's snowing!  Eat your heart out!

HELLO OUT THERE

Yes, I've been missing.  Computer problems again.  After some difficulty and various try and fail, try and succeed, try and fail again, I think I have narrowed down my problems to a faulty digital cable running between my computer and my monitor.  So I'm using an analog cable right now which is less than perfect but it works.  My screen is narrowed by about an inch and a quarter on each side and the fonts are a little fuzzy but it works.  So here I am.

It has been warm here.  At a little after 5 p.m., it's 98 outside right now.  The high was 101 earlier.  It's been hovering right around 100 degrees every day for about a week.  And this is only May.  There will come a slight monsoon season sometime this summer, as I recall, but I can't tell you when.  And it may be more dust storms than actual rain.

So the heat is on and we put up with it.  It is still pleasant to sit out on the patio in the mornings and so I do.  We've had another problem with tiny red ants.  But our gardener says they don't damage the plants but SWMBO has been waging war with them with Spectracide, Triazicide and I have contributed Andron.  They seemed to be largely defeated this morning though there were still some wandering in confused circles.

A Gila woodpecker has been hammering away at our tallest palm tree and appears to have built a nest.  I can hear him (hell, the whole neighborhood can hear him) screaming from time to time.  I'm not sure if that's a call to a prospective mate or just frustration on his part.

And yesterday morning one of the several mockingbirds who seem to have taken possession of our neighborhood was going through his entire litany of song atop a neighbor's roof.  They have an amazing number of different calls and songs.  

Then there are sparrows and finches and the monotonous mourning doves.  And a starling or two and who knows what else.  Perhaps I'll name this residence Birdland!  I wonder what the birds would think if I began blasting out some Dizzy Gillespie tunes at them.  I wonder what our neighbors would think.  Perhaps that's not such a good idea.

Best leave the entertainment to the birds.

As mundane as this post is . . it's good to be back.

DREAMING AND SINGING

I was out staring at the clouds the other evening as the sun set.

It may have been my cocktail but the more I looked, the more I saw.

If you look closely, and let your mind wander a bit, there's a face up there.  I swear it!

But then I saw this one, which really blew my mind.  It's a dead ringer for that drawing of a face with puffed out cheeks, blowing the clouds ahead of it, perhaps even blowing up some rain.

Am I crazy?

If you think I am, you've got to look at this video.  Just follow this link.  Enjoy and have a good weekend!

BRACE YOURSELVES!

You are about to see something you've never seen before.  At least not if you've known me for less than 50 years and I suspect all of you fit in that category.  SWMBO and I were discussing my long hair the other night and joked a bit about getting a buzz cut.  I haven't had one of those since about 1958 or 1959, I'd say.  But yesterday I went to a barber shop (oh, excuse me, a tonsorial salon) and told my "stylist", Ruby, to take it off.  Here are the brutal results.

SWMBO's first comment was "your dad just came out of you!"  She also said "I didn't think you would cut it that short!"  She thinks it will look better when it's grown out a bit.

As for the rest of you, you may now voice your opinions.  But take it easy.  I'm a sensitive guy.  

BLACKWELL

On July 22, 2010 I shot this video of a little urchin that kept visiting our house in Prescott Valley.  

He was a scrappy little rascal that I nicknamed "Blackie Detroit".  He constantly had open sores and scars from apparent fights with tougher foes in the neighborhood.  

Finally, we decided he wasn't going to go away so we took him in, took him to a veterinarian, got him "fixed" and made him an inside cat.  He thrived on the regular food in his dish.  He still has the urge to run outside through a carelessly opened door but most of the time he is content to spend most of his day sleeping.  And he has grown.

This picture was taken just the other day as he joined me for an afternoon siesta.

Oh, and somewhere along the way I changed his name to "Blackwell".  It seems to fit him better and, like a good friend to me, he recognizes his name and perks up his ears when he hears it.

Although he gives us fits from time to time he is a dearly loved member of our family.

A DAY IN DOWNTOWN

I had to go into downtown Phoenix for a doctor visit yesterday.  Afterward I decided to explore my old stomping grounds of years ago and see what had changed.  What I found was EVERYTHING!

Where once only a high-rise building or two formed the downtown skyline, now there are dozens.

I had parked at the Arizona Center garage.  When I got down to ground level, this is what I found.

The Arizona Center is a huge area of businesses, shops and restaurants between Van Buren and Fillmore Streets and 3rd and 5th Streets.  I stopped for lunch at 1130 The Restaurant and ate on their cool, shaded patio.

It's a pleasant place to dine as you watch the passing crowds of office workers.  It's been awhile since I was in a metropolitan setting and I was fascinated by how many of the passing women were wearing quite high heels and how nearly all of the men had on neckties.  I couldn't tell you how many decades it's been since I had to wear a tie and they seem totally unreasonable in Phoenix' climate.

While a busy place with banks and power company offices and restaurants and shops of all kinds, much of the Center has been taken up with beautiful gardens.

There was even a fountain of artificial rapids to give a sense of cooling on the hot summer days.

And potted plants, including my beloved Hibiscus.

These were actually pink though my camera makes them look more red.

And some beautiful yellow ones.

I was struck by the old St. Mary's Basilica now surrounded and dwarfed by huge modern buildings.  Still, I like the contrast.

Then there was this ugly old building, reportedly being refurbished for a new occupant.  SWMBO said it looked like it belonged in a slum area of Cleveland or Detroit.

She didn't recognize it which was not surprising.  And she was amazed when I told her it was 1101 North Central, where I spent 13 years working in television during the 1970's and 1980's.  Here's what it looked like "back in the day".

The television station has moved to a building it shares with the Arizona Republic newspaper, both owned by the Gannet corporation.  The change in appearance brings a feeling of wistfulness.  But then much in Phoenix has changed since I landed there many years ago and most of it is for the better, I think.

So it goes for my visit to downtown.

69 degrees South

SWMBO and I went to a performance yesterday by the Phantom Limb Company of "69 degrees South" at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts.  It's a stunning presentation which refers to the Endurance Expedition to Antarctica of Ernest Shackleton in 1914.  His ship became trapped by pack ice and eventually sank.  The crew than began a seven month trek hauling lifeboats to reach the open sea and after another 7 days of rowing they reached Elephant Island.  

Shackleton, however, realized they had no hope of being discovered and resolved to travel 800 miles to a whaling station on South Georgia to get help.  He and five of his men made the journey in about three weeks and after three tries they returned to Elephant Island and rescued all of the other men.

The play is presented wordlessly by six characters who prowl the stage in costume and on stilts manipulating puppets to represent Shackleton and his men.

It is a stunning and somewhat puzzling performance accompanied by video images projected on a rear wall, glaciers rising from the stage, and a musical sound track performed by the Kronos Quartet.

The performers are excellent as they move around the stage, bending and weaving as they control the marionettes.

The New York-based Phantom Limb Company spent four years putting the show together, including a trip to Antarctica,  and collaborating with the Kronos Quartet on the sound track.  Additional music was provided by Skeleton Key.

If you want to challenge your brain . . you might try this avant-garde performance as it travels around the country.