gaze on me a while
and count the marks of my life
groan against pressure

bye-bye

it's tough times for atari around our house lately. after keeping all my games boxed up for months i finally decided to pull the trigger and sell my entire atari collection.
as a kid i never owned atari. my best friend had it and i spent hours in his living room honing my skills. later we got intellivision which boasted better graphics and the first voice card (intellivoice) for home video games. but i always felt that the game design and sheer volume of titles made atari the overall winner. so as nintendo replaced atari as the preferred platform, then outdone by super nintendo and sega into the 90's i began seeing more and more of the old atari games and systems showing up in thrift stores and bargain boxes in video game stores. i don't think i ever spent more than about fifteen bucks for one of these used consoles and about a dollar per cartridge. and then one day i realized i had collected 4 consoles and over 70 games!
it was great to be able to go back and be that kid with the big atari collection. sadly though, as time went by i rarely had anyone to play them with. and so i decided i've had my fun and am now ready to let somebody else enjoy a little of the 8 bit magic. so if you're curious, while the bidding is still hot, check out my stuff.

the weekend reflects
that feeling we have inside
as we face the wall

time to get caught up on that laundry pile...

walk along huck paths
dip your feet into muddy
and float on downstream

citroen ds

my little guy is sick today, and as is the custom i try to get the sick ones a little something to help ease the illness. i just happened to remember that i had stuck a matchbox car in my dresser drawer for such an event. it's a 1968 citroen ds. i've always been a fan of the citroens. the 2cv is the french equivalent of a vw bug, fiat 500 or ford model t. but the ds, now that's a style machine. and not only good looking, but well engineered too. with variable ground clearance (yes, in 1968) and its special oil-air mix suspension, the ds not only looked cool, but appealed to the engineering folk as well.
perhaps that's why the matchbox people placed the following little blurb on the back of its package. "you just received an urgent call! the lift is broken in the eiffel tower and 20 tourists are trapped. your citroen ds with its hydro suspension can take sharp corners on the winding paris streets and get you to the scene in no time. as the city's top engineer, when you're onsite consider the problem solved." i guess this little scenario is meant to inspire all the math kids to keep doing well in school so that someday they too will get to drive a citroen company car.
but what about all the non-engineer types? maybe i could formulate my own scenario. "it's may, 1968 and you and all your non-conformist bohemian friends have been up all night planning the big confrontation with police at the sorbonne. your citroen ds with ample room for radicals and all the flags and signs they'll carry is the perfect mode of transport. and should things go bad at the demonstration you'll know the airstreamed design and oleo-pneumatic suspension will help you and your team escape the oppression of de gaulle's goons and live to fight another day!"

nut tree

last week we went down to the big six flags in vallejo to meet old friends for a day of fun and frolic. of course when you have kids in the car you inevitably have to stop for bathroom breaks along the way. as annoying as this can be when determined to set autobahn-like schedules, now and again it does pay off. as the call was made for the pit stop i spied this baby off the highway. in vacaville, roughly halfway between sacramento and san francisco is the nut tree.
the nut tree is a storied place. the tales of family stops here over the years would certainly fill volumes. as we pulled in to this new nut tree plaza and stopped for a pee break i must say i was impressed. although it may not have the majesty and grandeur of its former incarnation, it still retains the spirit of what it was, a fun little roadstop and a place to idle away some time while the kids
run free.

we were able to extend our time a little here too as my friends were running late. and though we did finally make it to the six flags, which was the real highlight, the day got off to a pretty good start here as well.

golden location
now open for busy-ness
at the water's edge

on chairs

on the subject of furniture i am admittedly no expert, but i've had the great fortune of being tutored by some experts in the field. before that i didn’t really consider furniture. i mean, i knew what i liked, and realized as with all other objects there was a history and a style, but i spent no time learning these things. it just was. i suppose that’s the way it is with all objects until something or someone makes it more personal. i know there are a great many people who own and drive cars and have little interest in their attributes beyond taking them from a to b. this is a great shock and outrage to automobile enthusiasts who froth and gnash at the opportunity to explain every unique detail and difference not only between comparative car models but even in the same model from one year to the next. and so it is with furniture. if you’ve ever sat down and watched antiques roadshow on pbs, you’ve probably appreciated the sensibility that comes with understanding that a federalist period end table is worth far more than a french provincial dining table reproduction at your local garage sale. now in the realm of furniture obviously everyone has a different taste in what they like, not only in style and design, but also in a particular piece over another. some people fancy tables, others like dressers or cabinetry. if you’ve ever visited someone’s house for the first time, chances are you’ve been formally introduced. “...and this is our china hutch. 19th century Irish oak. isn’t she a beauty?” now me, i like chairs. when i first began learning the history of modern furniture, it was chairs that attracted me. first in seeing through the world of the eames’ and tracing their influence in my own life. as a kid i had no doubt sat on eames chairs in school, restaurants, libraries and airports without notice. only later as an adult going back over these designs and realizing their democratizing influence did i truly begin to appreciate the role of chairs.
if we spend roughly a third of our lives in a bed, many of us certainly spend another equal third in a chair. even if we don’t work at a desk job, we’re driving to one in a chair, and when many of us get home the first place we head for is our favorite one. and men get a reputation of never getting out of one on sundays during football season. now as a collector i’m no great threat. i’ve never spent more than a night at the movies for one, but somehow they seem to find adoption. right now we have an old sectional piece found at an estate sale for less than $10 waiting to be re-covered. we’ve got a couple eames fiberglass shell chairs that I love. in our living room is one that looks like an early 1960’s finn juhl knock off that i saved from destruction at my old job. and just the other day my wife pulled a little wooden flared back dining room chair (which I am now sitting on) from the clutches of the dumpster. she likes chairs too, and they seem to find their way into our home like stray cats to a lady who keeps leaving a bowl of milk on the front porch. in the dining room we have some red vinyl diner chairs and a pair of those metal navy office chairs so popular a few years ago. outside our front door are some crate and barrel repro motel chairs that are developing fine patina alongside an italian fiberglass tub chair that i somehow acquired from an old friend when he moved.
i read somewhere that in some of the old art and design schools a party would often be held where each of the guests was encouraged to bring a chair of his or her design. i like this idea, not because i think i could put together something that would actually be comfortable and hold me for an entire night, but I do like the idea of expressing your sensibility through a chair. tables and sofas are communal, but a chair is personal. It sits alone and waits for someone to form a relationship with it. “hey, yeah you. what do you say? you want to try me out for a little while?” and a chair has personality too. i’d love to assemble a party where rooms were filled with nothing but chairs. big and small, plush and firm, regal and stately and primitive and spare. and see who ends up where and then try and figure out why. a great exercise for psychologists and students of social behavior. i guess each of us just wants to feel like a king sometimes. and this must be why over the years i’ve ended up collecting so many old thrones.

morning new season
the day stretches like taffy
and pulls back slowly

happy father's day!

microsurgeon

video games often get the rap of being too violent. and in fact they've employed their own ratings system to at least make parents aware of just what kind of content these games will contain. similar to the movie ratings system games can range from "E" for everyone to "M" for mature. these would compare to a "G" to "R" movie scale.
but it wasn't always the case. and in fact even though many of today's more violent video games trace their origins to tamer beginnings, there were some rather creative counterparts. consider this offering from 1982 for the intellivision system, microsurgeon.
imagic was the most outstanding third party video game designer in the early 80's. their games were always a step above in execution. superior concept and graphics. and even the packaging just looked better as their unique silver foil boxes and "imagic" type-style stood out from the rest of the fare on the shelves.
in this game the player is tasked as a professional microsurgeon. your job, to pilot a tiny robot probe through the patient's body while monitoring progress on a high-tech computer screen. the probe must travel through the bloodstream to the problem areas, and knock out threatening viruses and diseases before the patient's status goes terminal. which ain't easy, as the patient's own antibodies are often intercepting the probe and treating it as an invader as well. but hey, that's why you make the big bucks when these operations are a success.
the instruction booklet for this little game is also a wonderful piece of graphic work which gives young doctors all the information they'll need to get started. these bright young minds will be tested as they're intelligence and dexterity are pushed to the limits. no wonder so many of them developed kid sized ulcers and a penchant for kid cocktails after their shifts were done. 'cause in the end nobody wants to lose a patient on that table and be faced with the task of telling family members they just couldn't get the job done.

although my mom had great hopes for me, this is as close as i ever got to medical school. but if you'd like to study the world of microsurgery a little closer, you can download the complete booklet here.

climb up to the top
a splendid time guaranteed
are you on the bus

small houses 04

location: vasco rd, north of livermore, ca
after work yesterday i went for a quick ride through the foothills. in a short time i can get lost out there in the windy roads that are off the main highway. sometimes i'll catch a glimpse of one of these.
i'm not really sure what its purpose is. a little shed in the middle of a field. a place to store some tools? a shelter for passing wayfarers? who knows. i'm just glad it's there. it gives my wandering mind an imaginary place to rest for a moment and ponder the space. within and without.

solitary fire
in the heat of the moment
i am survivor

smoke swirls above the table as the sound of playing cards snap at the shuffle. the dim light of the wagon wheel lamp above mixes the ghost smoke and casts an eerie glow around the room. it's dark outside the closed golden drapes and there are no sounds of the city to distract the players, save the pops and scratches of the victrola singing out louis armstrong and his hot seven while frying bacon in the background.
the shuffle of the cards complete, they are placed on the table. "somebody cut 'em" two hands reach for the deck at the same time. one, a man's, big and meaty and covered in dark hair, the other, smooth and slender, wears a silver charm bracelet. the man's hand beats her to it. "thin to win" he announces, and smiles as he cuts the cards in two uneven portions.
the dealer picks up the cut deck and begins to deal. the rhythm of the cards flying from the deck to each player is methodical and soothing. coffee cups are reached for and cigarettes returned to the ash tray. there is no worry at the table. and in fact for the two couples that sit here there are no drifting thoughts beyond the moment. the space they have created is comfortable and safe, and they will go on playing late into the night. though their children sleep upstairs and will awaken them early, and when the weekend is over they will all return to the routines they have created back home, for now they are oblivious. and in future days they will return to this space they have created again and again in memory. they will need it in difficult times and will work their minds to make it a reality again.

time to hoist that rag...

just hanging around the house today...

your sad blue eyes stare
your skin is older than mine
tell me what you've seen

happy

i am a big fan of the big happy funhouse. ron slattery hosts and in a lot of ways was a big inspiration for me to start this little venture. maybe it's the voyeur in me, i don't know, but i can't get enough of looking through other people's old photos. maybe it's because many of them weren't intended for public display, or maybe it's just ron's uncanny ability to post a unique pic each day using his cheeky sense of humor.
all i know is i'm glad he's still going strong. like a fresh cup of coffee i've learned to lean on him a little to help me get through the sometime difficult days.

you are not so old
though your eyes have seen too much
close them now and sleep

look out

a good friend of mine lost his uncle over the weekend. he was killed in a solo motorcycle crash not too far from where i live. it reminded me how immediate life is. i met him only once years ago but i was impressed today how connected he was to other riders, friends and family. we are so brief.
as summer kicks into full swing there will be a lot more people out there on two wheels, so keep your eyes open. we are all connected. and Godspeed shan.

they say men shouldn't
drink stolen water but i'm
taking it all in

wonder is right outside your front door...

we are watching you
so watch what you do for who
watches the watchmen

the new guys

the lego is a pretty big deal around here. it weighs in somewhere between fanaticism and zeal. each trip to the mailbox is waited on with eager anticipation that this could be the day a new lego magazine arrives or (gasp) a winning announcement for a recently entered contest. and i really have to hand it to lego, not only have they completely branded my kids, they also make a quality product.
this past tuesday the local lego store had its monthly mini-build, which is free to all kids. after waiting in line for over an hour we are marched into the store in groups of six where bright-eyed lego employees hand each kid a small pile of little pieces to create the month's model. this month we built a mini-barbecue out of twenty-one lego pieces.


but that was just the icing. the cake, and the real reason they all wanted to go down there in the first place was the release of the new mini-figures. assuming you are completely lego illiterate, these are the tiny lego people. as a kid i remember them mostly having yellow heads and smiley faces. but now they are quite diverse and the detail on some of these is pretty amazing.
and so, as we waited for our turn to make a mini-model my guys perused the new mini-figs. they were hidden behind sealed packaging and could only be identified by careful feel or by matching up the barcodes. (the lego store offered a little cheat sheet) everyone got the one they wanted and at just under two dollars apiece, not a bad deal. and now legotown has some new citizens.

landscapes of our minds
eyes reaching ever higher
to climb mountain tops

the 45 project part 1

so yesterday was the first of the month and i didn't post any new music. and i felt bad about this so today i thought i would begin a project long overdue. back around last Christmas time we received a great zebra striped box from my father-in-law full of old 45 records.
as dad tells it he collected these over the years and many of them from a friend of his who used to stock juke boxes. so there are a lot of fun tunes in this little box.
i decided rather than try and pull these out and categorize them by genre, i would instead roll through the box from front to back and use dad's handwritten list as my guide.
and so, apologies for the lateness of this, but enjoy. there are some great rock and roll and novelty records here, and more to come. as summer fast approaches what better accompaniment than some good time rock and roll?
to get your very own promotional copy of the 45 project part 1 just click here.

let's have a picnic
you bring the peanut butter
i'll bring the jelly