Ordinary Beauty

I am about to embark on a roadtrip with my BF. He is currently in Esalen, and tomorrow while he is driving north from there, I will fly United flight 0721 from SEA to SFO, where he will pick me up at the airport.

The “plan” is to linger in San Franscisco for a day or so and then meander up HWY 101 and take in some coastal splendor and oddities. Redwoods, and so on.

I am a wee bit wary, as our last road trip is illustrated above — 300 miles of snow. All the way from Malo, WA–where we did the Family Thanksgiving Rituals–to Magnolia in Seattle. And then it snowed for two more days. Or was it three?

Image from Israel Antiquities Authority

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Here’s the scoop for attending this exhibit — skip ahead!

The first several legs of the exhibit path are history/background … and crowded. Move on ahead, past the maps and so on, past the pottery shards, and up the ramp. The facsimiles on display on the ramp are worth looking at, because they are the clearest, strongest images you will see of the texts of the scrolls. The actual scroll fragments are dimly lit (for preservation) and unless you have Superman vision, you won’t see much detail, really–just the awe of written text from all that long time ago. Don’t be disapointed if the scrolls are dark, the light cycles on and off at brief intervals, and will be lit again any moment.

The richest part of the display is at the very end, right before the gift shop, where sacred texts from many cultures are on display. VERY intense works. Do spend some time examining these. The detail and depth of the handiwork is breathtaking.

Then, if you are so inclined, back-track to the initial parts of the exhibit, and listen in on the audio device that is provided, if you wish, althoug the audio portion does seem to duplicate the written info that is posted with the artifiacts.

Great photos of some artifacts are here from The Seattle Times.

Science Center members receive substantial discounts on ticket prices.

Not a good event for children who are wiggly and/or disinterested in lingering over detail.

By now you probably know that I am hot for the circus. Always, circus without animals, but otherwise, I’m in love with circus.

I dabbled for awhile in aerials, under the tutelage of Lara Paxton, one of the founders of Circus Contraption. Today I read an article that interviews Lara, and now I understand some of my circus affection.

Among other things, Lara says, “Circus also has an undeniable sexiness about it. And it’s a very immediate kind of sexiness, very alive. It’s not the airbrushed, anorexic, unattainable appeal presented in popular media. You can look at almost anyone performing in a renegade circus and think, ‘wow, I bet they’d be really fun to fuck.’ ”

hmmm.

Came out of the tryptophan haze and held a Big Family Meeting over Thanksgiving. Decided to reduce the price on the property, perhaps even divide the acreage into three pieces.

New price for house and 140 acres, $385,000. Big reduction from $425,000. But Family Harmony really is more important than money.

Here is some more information about the area, including, my brother’s shop just down the road from the house.