Last Flight to Georgia

I dreamt last night I was in London en route to the United States. But for whatever reason there were no direct flights, so I forced to catch a connecting flight in the former Soviet republic of Georgia before heading back home. The airplane I was on was huge -- along the same scale as those massive floating cities run by Carnival Cruises. There were dozens of entertainment areas aboard the flight so I was kept fairly occupied until I arrived in Tbilisi. I remember areas with bars (of course -- this was my dream, after all) and water slides. Entering the airport, I was shocked and amazed to discover how clean and modern it was. (It felt like a dream scene from Brave New World.) Oddly though, there was no passport control area. Instead, I was whisked directly into a modern gym where I lined up with my gym bag, anxiously looking forward to working out in the swankiest exercise joint I'd ever seen. While in line, I took in the view of about a hundred men. All of them wore white. When it was my turn to check in and receive a key, the blonde guy at the desk smiled broadly. I stared curiously at his highlighted hair.

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Stop Making Sense: Is PowerPoint Evil?

I hope everybody has read this article about David Byrne's forays with PowerPoint. It's completely genius. "PowerPoint is evil" was actually my own mantra for years. I totally refused to work with it throughout my first year of library school, choosing instead to work from notes when presenting papers or projects. Eyes focused on me rather than on dumbed-down points and concepts. It seemed more casual and engaging. Eventually, however, I had to give in to PowerPoint's omnipotence. Whether I was forced into it by mandate of a professor or through the dynamics of group project, I can't remember. But it happened. And suddenly I had my hands on a tool that allowed me to create a presentation from thin air. Magic! With all the busy work and deadlines of an MLIS degree, I became a willing love-slave to my new master. Although I love this article, I don't necessarily agree with the basic premise of PowerPoint's critics. The idea that PowerPoint is a d...

Ole' Red Eyes

It's finally happened. My eyes have turned bloodshot as a result of these never-ending home renovations. Literally -- as in, I just looked in the mirror and saw two agitated, angry, red eyes looking back at me. They seemed to be pleading, "When is this ever going to end?" To their credit, the landscaping contractors have finally started showing up for more than an hour a day. In the last two days, they've worked full time and the two yards are now chock full of grey boulders and new desert plantlife. They even repaired the water main they broke the other day and once again I have -- glory be -- enough water pressure to wash both my body and the dishes that accumulate from day to day for lack of a dishwasher. (The dishwasher is stored temporarily in the garage awaiting completion of the terrazzo flooring in the kitchen; there is likewise no running water in the kitchen at present.) Yes, part of my mid-renovation routine now is washing dishes while butt naked. The toile...

So, I got a tattoo

So, I got my tattoo during the latest Vegas trip. Here are some pictures -- click on them for larger versions. As mentioned, the most painful aspect of the tattoo was having the outline drawn (left side). Once it was time for coloring however, the process was a breeze. I think tattoos are best left to the imagination of the viewer. When people ask me what my other tattoo "means," I'm always at a loss for words. They want a quick answer, but I can never find the words to summarize everything a tattoo means to me. It reminds me of having spent time abroad and then trying to respond to the question, "So how was it?" The original artwork for this tattoo was created in block print form by the Japanese artist Masami Teraoka. Much of his work is about the intermingling of the East and West. This particular piece is called "31 Flavors Invading Japan." I love his work more than perhaps any other visual artist I can think of.

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