Easily Amused

Mindless Fun

2006-07-01T23:36:00.000-04:00

Hooray! The local Cinemark will have a midnight show for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I trotted off to get my ticket and stayed to see Nacho Libre. I was one of 4 people in the audience - all laughing out loud.

I'm still planning to take the day off on Friday so that I can sleep in and then go to see A Scanner Darkly. I've been waiting for this film - it was supposed to come out around my birthday in March. Tonight I began preparing for this Richard Linklater film by watching Live from Shiva's Dance Floor. Sometime this week I'll see Waking Life, and maybe Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.

Superman Returns - June 27

2006-06-28T01:33:00.000-04:00

I've done many exciting things since my last post, but those stories will have to wait. It's 1:30am and I just got back from the 10:01pm show of Superman Returns. As usual at these late night/early morning movies, I was one of the oldest people there - and possibly the only one who spotted that Noel Neill was in the film. Drat! I just looked at the cast in the Internet Movie Database - Jack Larson was in it, too. I guess I'll just have to see it again.

The film itself wasn't the best of the Superman series - somewhat predictable, a little too violent for me in one scene, and a bit inconsistent regarding the effect of kryptonite. But it was fun. During the opening credits, John Williams got a hearty round of applause; and I got misty during the closing credits where there was a dedication to the memory of Christopher and Dana Reeve.

All in all, a worthwhile blockbuster. Now I just have to be patient and wait for July 7 when I get to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and A Scanner Darkly. I'm taking the day off for a double feature!

A Mythic Journey Continues - June 12

2006-06-13T10:06:00.000-04:00

The conference ended on Sunday night. I got a good night's sleep and prepared to leave on Monday morning. It was an eventful departure - I cut my foot on the hotel floor, and they insisted on making an official report, even though I had already bandaged myself. It was probably good, though, because they brought some antibiotic ointment, which I didn't have with me.

Once patched up again, I picked up my directions at the front desk and paid a visit to the Marietta Big Chicken. After I had lunch with him and picked up some souveniers, I sat in the car and pondered where to go next. Upon browsing my AAA Travel Guide, I discovered that I could visit the Uncle Remus Museum if I headed east. It was too tempting. And so I took off in the direction of B'rer Rabbit and stormy weather.

The AAA information wasn't completely clear, but I did find my way and enjoyed a short visit with the critters of my childhood. Hmm, I guess I was still on a mythic journey - visiting mythic creatures and story characters! So I stopped at the Rock Eagle on my way back to I-20 and made a pilgrimage to that mythic land of South of the Border. I almost had to stop overnight before getting there, because a terrific thunderstorm appeared out of nowhere. Once again, Cracker Barrel was there when I needed it; and I had a nice dinner before taking off again. I wasn't disappointed. As soon as I exited onto I-95, I was greeted by a billboard telling me that I was headed to South of the Border. After passing MANY more tasteful signs, I arrived in Dillon SC after sundown, all the better to visit this tourist heaven in all it's lighted glory!

I spent some time in Pedro's shops, purchased my bumper stickers, and continued on my northward journey. I was tempted to spend the night there, but that will have to wait for another trip.

In the midst of my mythic journey - June 10

2006-06-10T18:18:00.000-04:00

I arrived in Atlanta safe and sound yesterday afternoon. What a nice surprise that someone from Camden, NJ took my luggage to the room. There have been other minor coincidences, too. Just what I love!

Last night I saw Charlie Bethel's amazing one-man performance of Beowulf - very different from Benjamin Bagby's. This was in English, as opposed to Anglo-Saxon. I'm sorry I missed his Gilgamesh the previous day, but I can get a recording.

Today has so far included a performance of MytholoJAZZ (the story of Orpheus) and more. I'll have to elaborate when I'm at my own computer.

On the Road at Last - Thursdy, June 8

2006-06-08T23:39:00.000-04:00

Ah, I finally began my trip to Atlanta. A bit of a late start - instead of the crack of dawn, I didn't get started until 1:30pm. Luckily, I missed the rush hour at Baltimore and ALMOST missed it at DC. But there was an accident on the beltway and a major backup south of the city in Virginia. No matter. I had 12 hours of Joseph Campbell on a CD, and even more on my iPod.

Oh dear. I fell into the trap that I always fall into. Driving is one of my passions. Stopping is not. Hence, I didn't stop until 7:30. Thank goodness that the bathrooms at Cracker Barrel are always in the same place!

I was determined to get into North Carolina, and so continued, until about 10:30, to at very nice EconoLodge in Burlington, NC.

The "Holiday" Continues - Tuesday, June 6

2006-06-06T23:49:00.000-04:00

Yes, I showed up at work again. First for a meeting about Art Aware and then to do just a little work. Once again I was there longer than expected and left just in time to run home, take a quick shower, and attend the South Jersey Library Cooperative's 20th Anniversary Banquet.

Busman's Holiday - Monday, June 5

2006-06-06T23:25:00.000-04:00

The problem with not going away when on vacation is that you don't always STAY on vacation.

I slept in for awhile, since I didn't have to go to work, except for a "short" meeting. Before that, though, I decided to visit an exhibit of Pre-Columbian Art at the Stedman Gallery at Rutgers Camden. With camera in hand, I steeled myself for the exhibit. You see, I get really excited if I see a Chac Mool or a Xipe Totec. And I don't know what I would do if I actually saw a Tlatzlteotl, Eater of Dirt, Bearing the Maize God! Luckily for me and everyone around, there was only one Xipe.

After my visit to Rutgers, I dropped in for my meeting and ended up staying for a couple of hours. Not only that, but I promised to come in again the next day!

Scholarship and Music - Sunday, June 4

2006-06-06T22:27:00.000-04:00

This was a day I'd really been waiting for. I had registered for the Sunday sessions at the Metanexus Institute's 2006 Conference. My brother very kindly drove me into Philadelphia and deposited me at the University of Pennsylvania in plenty of time for the day's activities. And what a day! It began with a session of "Interfaith Readings and Reflections", a very moving program that was punctuated by someone's computer or cell phone suddenly bursting forth with the "Imperial March" from Star Wars.

The interfaith program was followed by an interesting keynote presentation by Ian Barbour on "Intelligent Design: A Scientific and Religious Critique."

The first session I attended was "Indic Religions in an Age of Science". The first two speakers represented opposing philosophies and there was noticable tension. Varadaraja V. Raman spoke last on "Changing Views on Science in a Multicultural World". His presentation and responses to questions were thoughtful and composed and did a lot to ease the tension.

Following lunch, I listened to a panel on "Beyond Intelligent Design: The Philsosophies". I was eager to hear Roy Clouser, who did a presentation at my church a few years ago that I still refer to from time to time. His paper on "Genesis Regained: Creation not Creationism" was excellent. The star of the panel was Norbert Samuelson whose paper, "Science and Intelligent Design", was not only fascinating, but had the audience laughing out loud.

The last session was "World Views in Mathematics, Physics and Cosmology". I learned all kinds of nifty things, but was shattered at the end when Joel Primack insisted on saying that string theory may not be true. I still like it, though, and will keep believing in it.

I didn't stay for dinner and the evening session because my brother was picking me up to head out to Upper Merion Township to hear Guy Davis and Buckwheat Zydeco. He was already waiting for me when I stepped outside and we headed for the Skuylkill Expressway. It wasn't long before we got caught in an awful traffic jam. Good fortune popped up again when we took the first exit we came to and found our way to the concert site in plenty of time. I think I like Guy Davis even better every time I see him. Buckwheat Zydeco, on the other hand, was good when playing music, but they spent too much time talking and asking, "Are you ready?"

Another Hurdle - Saturday, June 3

2006-06-06T22:19:00.000-04:00

Rain! Lots of rain. It rained on Friday. It was rainy on Saturday. The plan was to go to the Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival, but there had been too much rain. Luckily we didn't buy tickets in advance - just in case.

The Adventure Begins: May 31-June 1

2006-06-06T11:09:00.000-04:00

Good grief, this is my first vacation in almost 5 years! This story begins on the night of May 31, the first night of 24 hours of Poetry at the Walt Whitman Arts Center. I was there at 8:00pm, when Rocky Wilson opened the evening and stayed until what I thought was 10:00pm. But it was 11:45pm! I planned to get up at the crack of dawn and return early in the morning and again after work. Of course that didn't happen - I overslept and had to go to work.

I got a call on Thursday afternoon that my car was sitting quietly in the parking lot with a flat tire. On the bright side, it didn't happen at midnight in Camden, I found out before I got there, I was able to call AAA before I left the office. (I'm a regular customer and have their number programmed into my cell phone), and it didn't happen on the way to the Mythic Journeys Conference in Atlanta. I didn't even have to wait long before someone arrived and put the donut on and I had an uneventful trip to Sears, where I got 2 shiny new Michelins - and a tasty Baja Gordita - during a surprisingly short wait. All in all, I was amazingly lucky!