Capital Punishment

Today is the anniversary of the publication of one of the great literary works of the 20th century. Today is the anniversary of the publication of Gone with the Wind.

But as interesting as the story of the great villain Scarlett O'Hara is, the story of how Gone with the Wind came to be published is even more interesting.

From Today's Writer's Almanac:

In 1920, Mitchell fell off a horse and suffered terrible injuries. She sort of recovered from the fall, but she kept reinjuring herself in different ways, and a few years later she had to quit her job as a reporter with The Atlanta Journal and stay in bed. Her husband, a newspaper editor, would go to the Atlanta library and bring her back piles of books to read so she could occupy herself while bedridden. One day, he came home and said, "I have brought you all of the books that I think you can handle from the library. I wish you would write one yourself."

He then went out and got a Remington typewriter. When he presented it to his wife, Margaret, he said, "Madam, I greet you on the beginning of a new career." She asked him what she should write about, and her editor-husband gave her the famous "Write what you know" line.

So she wrote about Southern belles, and she expanded upon family stories and the stories she'd heard from Civil War veterans while she was growing up in Georgia. The one-bedroom apartment that she and her husband lived in was cramped, and she called it "The Dump." She would sit and write in every nook and corner of the tiny place, working in the bedroom or the kitchen or the hallway.

She told almost no one except her husband that she was writing a novel. When friends came over to their place, which happened often, she'd hide the manuscript under the bed or the couch.

But one of her Atlanta friends, Lois Cole, had found chunks of the manuscript lying around that cramped apartment. Cole was now living in New York City and working in the publishing industry. Cole told her boss at Macmillan, Harold Latham, that her witty Southern friend "might be concealing a literary treasure."

Latham went down to Atlanta to pay Margaret Mitchell a visit and ask her about the novel. Mitchell denied its existence. He spent the day with her, following along on outings with her friends, and asked about the novel again in a car full of her girlfriends. Mitchell changed the subject. But when Latham got out of the car, all of her friends in the car kept up the questioning. One friend was adamant that Mitchell was working on a novel, and asked why she hadn't shown it to Latham. Mitchell said that it was "lousy" and that she was "ashamed of it." The friend goaded, "Well, I dare say. Really, I wouldn't take you for the type to write a successful book. You don't take your life seriously enough to be a novelist."

That did it — Margaret Mitchell was furious and galvanized. She hurried back to her cramped apartment, grabbed the assorted piles of manuscript and shoved them into a suitcase, and drove it over to the hotel where Latham was staying. When stacked up vertically in one pile, the manuscript was 5 feet high. She delivered it to him in the lobby, saying, "Take it before I change my mind."

It was published on this day in 1936, and immediately it was a sensation. Reports abound of people in Atlanta staying up all night to read Mitchell's novel that summer of 1936. It revitalized the publishing industry. The next year, Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize. Her book was made into a movie starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, and when it had its premiere in Atlanta in 1939, Margaret Mitchell was there at the Loew's Grand Theater with the movie stars.

The cramped apartment in which Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone with the Wind is now the centerpiece of the Margaret Mitchell House in midtown Atlanta, which reopens this weekend after a long period of renovation. There are tours of the apartment, historical performances, and a museum devoted to her life and work.

Margaret Mitchell never wrote a sequel to Gone with the Wind. When pushed on the issue, she merely indicated that the story was over and that Rhett would never take Scarlett back.

Years later, whores and thieves, plundered her characters and wrote sequels to Gone with the Wind. Although I do not support capital punishment, I do have exceptions. I do feel compelled to believe that the ultimate penalty is justified in cases where crimes against humanity have been committed - genocide and the raping of the characters of other authors after the creator of those characters has met their maker. Not necessarily in that order.

What the Hades?

I believe that I have figured out what almost everything is in my yard, except for one thing.

Look at the picture below:





Anybody out there know what this thing might be?

I understand, that this perhaps isn't the best picture for plant identification purposes.

Otter

On Friday night, Ames on the Half Shell finally was not rained out and that was a good thing.

The band was Otter and they put on a great show. I've posted a few pictures from the show in the Snapshots Gallery.

Or you can click on the photo or the link below to check out photos from the night.




Otter


There is no Ames on the Half Shell on this Friday. Instead, there is a special 4th of July edition of Ames on the Half Shell on Saturday from 1-6. The Nadas play from 1-3 and The Box Brothers play from 4-6.

News from the Dawg Pound

Monica was featured in a recent article in The Ogden Reporter. In case you missed it, I have kindly placed the text below:

Monica Henning Sharpens he Styling Skills


Monica Henning of Roland sharpened her professional edge and took her hair coloring and cutting talent to the next level at the Redken Exchange in New York City.

Henning was one of the few salon professionals who attended classes at the Exchange Monday, June 1, 2009. Along with stylists from around the globe, Henning learned advanced techniques in hair design and hair color from leading experts in the salon industry.

Classes ranged from color basics to editorial photo shoots. She spent four days in New York City where she not only exchanged tips, ideas and techniques with other stylists but also got the latest information on hair care, hair color and styling products.

This was not Henning's first trip to New York City. Twice in the last two years she has been to the heart of Greenwich Village, NY at the Matrix Academy. She studied in Chicago and Las Vegas and has had training in Milwaukee, WI as well.

Henning says the two most important aspects of her career are first, her clients, followed closely by her education. She believes that to truly give her clients what they want, and deserve, she must keep her creativity flowing.

Henning is a 1997 OHS graduate and graduated from Professional Cosmetology Institute in 2005 with honors, in color and retail, achieving a level four status. She has since been working at the Salon at Younkers.





See the article in person:

Monica Henning Rules

I Can Not Tell A Lie

It is often, most likely, mistaught to the children of America that George Washington chopped down a cherry tree. The story is used as an example of George Washington's veracity.

I've heard the story, but what is most intriguing about the story to me is why he would chop down the tree?

When I moved into my home, I had two mystery trees in the backyard. My hope of hopes was that they were cherry trees. However, the people that examined them determined them to be magnolia or crabapple trees.

As the fates would have it, they were wrong. I have two cherry trees.

Although I did not know that I had cherry trees, every bird in the county did know about my trees. I was warned that I needed to cover the trees with nets to prevent these flying thieves (with apologies to the Bible, they didn't reap or sow) from making off with my cherries.

I purchased the requisite net and Jesse and I spent close to an hour getting it over the trees.






Victory Photo


After the nets were up, I ran a sample batch of cherries over to Shannon, my cherry expert, for a determination on whether or not they were ready for picking.

She determined that they were ready to be picked and we scheduled a cherry picking appointment. What I didn't know, was that this was also a cherry pie baking appointment.

I can not tell a lie. I didn't really participate in the pie baking, but I have since participated in the pie eating.



The Bounty



Shannon with the Bounty



Shannon removing the pits.



Cutting the lattice. It was the first time this cheese spreader had been removed from its box.



Shannon making a mess in my kitchen. Actually Shannon still owes me one mess, because I recently tracked mud into her apartment and also left a sizable mess behind when we bound calendars. So I'm up on her 2 messes to 1.



Shannon rolling out the pie crust. Both Jen and Shannon are tremendous pie crust snobs. Neither will even consider the remote possibility that a person could make a pie with anything other than crust made from scratch.



Removing the pits from cherries is a messy business.



More pit removing.



Shannon Picking Cherries



Shannon Picking Cherries



The Proud Owner of a Shannon Baked, extremely juicy Cherry Pie.


After looking at one of the pictures of Shannon picking cherries I thought it might be interesting to Photoshop that picture with one of my favorite Photoshop techniques. I thought it would look interesting due to the nets.





Now that I have officially enjoyed the fruits of my cherry trees, I know one thing for certain. If George Washington ever came over to my house and chopped down one of my cherry trees, I would lay him out. Founding Father or not.

Night Flowers: Session 3

I was yet to be satisfied with my images of the alliums, so I wandered back for a 3rd session with the night and the flowers.

When I look at these pictures, I recall the words of Marc Chagall:

"Art is the unceasing effort to compete with the beauty of flowers - and never succeeding."

I am moderately satisfied with one of these pictures.

Skin to Win

A lifetime ago I knew this girl that was entering a wet t-shirt contest. She was explaining to Jesse, Jay and I her strategy for winning this contest.

We tried our best to explain to her that there really is only one strategy for winning a wet t-shirt contest.

That strategy, of course, is "Skin to Win!"

She didn't believe us.

While you are probably wondering why I am telling you the story of somebody that would sell their dignity so cheaply, the answer is simple. On a recent wet morning, I wandered out of my house and took a few pictures of some wet plants.

I hope you find them to be as sexy as I do.


























If you are wondering, this girl's strategy was about teasing. She did in fact lose to a girl that knew the cardinal rule of wet t-shirt contests.

Abstemious

On Saturday, June 20, 2009 I headed to Ottumwa with Sara to help Jen and Derrick with the house that they are trying to unload down there.

Before we left, we stopped for lunch at George the Chili King. I had never eaten there, but I called Jen to see if she wanted us to pick up some lunch for her.

Her only response was to remind me that the toilet in Ottumwa does not work that well.

I snapped a few pictures with the phone (although not a great camera, it is the reason I selected the phone) to document my Chili King experience.











One of the bonuses of the trip was getting to introduce Jen, Sara, Jill and Derrick to the greatness of Bonne Finken.

Pictures of Jill and Derrick listening to Bonne Finken.











I wish I had some pictures of the basement powerwashing, but alas, you will have to imagine what that looked like.

Night Flowers: Session 2

After the failures of the first night, I made some adjustments and went out and took some more night flower pictures:


























Much more was learned.

Happy Birthday Bethany

Read this as if it was posted last Thursday.





Happy 25th Birthday Bethany!

The Grand Slam

This is a video of Jesse eating an onion. Why? Because he said that he could and Schmidt and I doubted him. Well perhaps doubt is the wrong term, because we wanted to see him do it.

But now we have devised a new goal for Jesse. We want him to complete the Grand Slam of onions. He has taken a white onion down. It is time for him to step up to a yellow onion. Then a red onion. Then finally a green onion.

If you see 3 more videos, you know he was up to the challenge.

Of course, if you subscribe to this blog via email or RSS Feed, you will actually have to go to the website to see the video.

Happy Bloomsday

Today is Bloomsday. There is a good chance that if you aren't Irish or a Lit Major, that you have never heard of Bloomsday. To be frankly honest, until today I did not know about the existence of Bloomsday. But you can bet your bottom dollar that it will be on the Photography 139 2010 Calendar.

Perhaps the main reason I didn't know that Bloomsday existed, is because it is related to James Joyce. Even though he is widely considered to be a genius, I have never really dug his writing. For years I have virtually ignored the rules of punctuation and nobody has slapped the label genius on me. Well, there was that time in 5th Grade when my creative writing stories about Superfluff, the super-lepus, were all the rage, but those days are far in my rearview mirror.

I've always considered people that claim that they enjoy the writings of James Joyces to be frauds. People who were pretending to like something so that they could project an intellectual image to the world. I also feel this way about anybody that claims that Woody Allen is remotely funny.

However, I have to admit I like the very basis for Bloomsday. Not necessarily why Joyceans celebrate today, but beyond that. To the reason why this day was important to Joyce.

Today is the day on which the action in the novel Ulysses takes place. The day is named after the main character, Leopold Bloom. That is why Joyceans celebrate today.

The reason that Joyce picked this day to set Ulysses was to commemorate the first date he had with his future wife, Nora Barnacle. She was an uneducated chambermaid. He met her for a stroll around Dublin on this day. Just a few days earlier, she had stood him up for a scheduled date.

Although I do confess, the cynic in me wonders if he didn't use this day so he would never forget one of their anniversaries.

I thought I should include some of the genius of Joyce. Some of you will recognize this writing as the soliloquy of Molly Bloom. Some of you will recognize this from the Rodney Dangerfield classic Back to School.

"O and the sea the sea crimson sometimes like fire and the glorious sunsets and the
figtrees in the Alameda gardens yes and all the queer little streets and pink and blue
and yellow houses and the rosegardens and the jessamine and geraniums and
cactuses and Gibraltar as a girl where I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put
the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how
he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and
then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to
say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him
down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like
mad and yes I said yes I will Yes."

Night Flowers: Session 1

I bought a new camera recently. If you are lucky (very lucky) you might even get to see it someday. If you are blessed beyond belief, you may actually get to even touch it someday.

I've been experimenting with taking pictures of flowers at night with this new camera. That isn't the actual intent of the new camera, but that seems to be about all I've done with it, thus far.

Here are some pictures from the first night I spent taking night flower pictures.




















It was an interesting evening. Much was learned from the failures and successes of the evening.

Burnin' Sensations

It rained on Friday night, therefore Ames on the Half Shell got moved inside. I have some pictures in the Snapshots Gallery from show put on by the Burnin' Sensations. Just click on the picture of me and Matt below.

Burnin' Sensations

This week the band is The Josh Davis Band. They are putting on a special acoustic show. It should be pretty cool.

Happy Birthday Shannon

Today is Shannon's birthday.

Last night, for the 2nd straight year, The Burnin' Sensations sang her Happy Birthday!





Happy Birthday Shannon!

To view even more pictures of Shannon, click on either the picture or the link below the picture.





More Pictures of Shannon

Ames on the Half Shell

Last Friday was the first Ames on the Half Shell of the season. There was a pretty impressive turnout. I personally think that this can be connected to the incredible improvement in marketing between this year and last year.

For starters, there is a sweet new logo:





There is also a sweet new look for the poster:





Of course the website has been quite a bit revamped since last year, but I hate to toot my own horn on that one:


Ames on the Half Shell


But about last Friday, I have posted some pictures in the Snapshots Gallery. Click on the picture or the link below to have a gander:




Ames on the Half Shell - Vivace


This Friday the Burnin' Sensations take the stage and they are an incredibly fun band to watch play.

So come out this Friday and I will see you there!

Dean Hubert Walter

I had the great honor of being a pallbearer for my Uncle Dean last Friday. Some of you knew Dean, but most of you didn't. I would like to share the eulogy given by his sister at his funeral for those of you who had the great misfortune of not ever knowing Dean.

Dean Hubert Walter

There is an old saying --- "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." Remembering Dean, this saying, seems particularly apt. He never understood giving up or giving in. This no holds barred determination to live fully became his life's plan. Others may have thought him disabled, but Dean never thought so.

After exposure to Agent Orange during his Vietnam service, sickness and ill health followed Dean--badgered him, abused him and tossed him about most of his adult life. Arthritis, knee replacements, gall bladder surgery, vision problems, kidney failure, blinding headaches, gnarled, twisted hands, collapsing ankles, diabetes---and the list goes on, and on, and on. Each successive round over the years took its toll--left him less mobile and more crippled. It deprived him-one-by-one of the hobbies and pastimes that he enjoyed.

But in spite of it all, it never quenched his determination to live, survive and carry on. The come-back-kid that he was always dodged, weaved and ducked. He suffered some mighty blows--but in the end lived to fight on another day, another health battle. His determination to live was legendary and awe inspiring to those of us who knew and loved him. And to make it even more impressive--you never heard him complain, ask why me, or moan about his bad luck. He just got on with his life.

As significant and defining as those health struggles were, however--he was so much more.

He was, first, a family man. His love for Annie, Travis and Travis' family had no bounds. That he lived as long as he did is a tribute, not just to Dean's determination, but to them and the care and love they gave him. No man has ever been more blessed than Dean in this regard. We, his siblings, want to acknowledge our deep appreciation to them for the care and love they gave him over the yeas. Annie, you are, have been, and we will always be our family.

Family connections were important to Dean. When our dad died, Dean lived in Iowa and the funeral was to be in Minnesota. Although we feared the trip itself would kill him, he would not even entertain the thought of staying home. Annie rounded up the needed supplies and equipment, Lori and Roger drove them in their pick-up, and Dean was there, together with the rest of us, mourning our Dad's passing. And the beautiful thing about this story is---that the connection to family was so important to him, that this oneness buoyed his spirit and he made the trip in better condition than anyone had even dared to hope.

Dean was the family memory man. If you forgot when something happened, where it was, who did what--he was your man. He could remember the details of your own high school pranks even better than you could--and, retell it with considerable flair and flourish.

Dean loved the outdoors. He was a fisherman, an avid hunter and an excellent marksman. He could take you out in the woods and in the time you spotted 3 deer, he had shown you 30 more. Even as his health problems progressed, he never stopped planning, expecting and believing that he would soon be on his next hunting trip. To this day, Annie has a garage full of equipment that he insisted on buying in preparation for his return to the hunting scene.

Because they both suffered from significant health issues, he and mom had a special bond. They understood and could empathize with what the other one was going through. Between them they could cover most medical problems. "Ah--don't worry, Mom. This one is a piece of cake." Comparing notes this way, they were able to comfort and support each other through difficult times.

Cars were his passion. At times his front yard looked like a used car lot. In earlier years he drove fast and furious--often making it from Minneapolis to Boone in under 3 hours--spotting cops 3 miles ahead and sitting behind a barn as he sped along. Outrunning cops, in fact, was something he was known to do on occasion. At his worst he was known to go through a new set of tires in 30 days. Dean also enjoyed working on cars. Well into his physical decline, he had dreams of opening a shop with Travis. He'd do the mechanic work and Travis the painting.

Dean was tall, lanky and well coordinated as anyone watching him skate would attest to. He and Annie dazzled those watching as they twirled, tapped and glided around the rink dancing. Good with his hands, he enjoyed working on crafts. Weaving medicine wheels, building furniture, doing leather work, and making jewelry were all projects he undertook and we still enjoy the fruits of today.

Even though he could speak sharply or be gruff on occasion--it was tempered by a loving, gentle side. When Susan was 5 or 6, it was big brother Dean who took her on a date with him. They went to the skating rink and with Dean on one side and his date on the other, they skated her slowly but surely around the rink, thereby initiating her passion for roller skating. A 20 something year old taking his younger sister on a date with him was pretty impressive to her then--and is something she remembers fondly to this day.

If Dean could speak here today, if he could give us one last message, it would be something like this---"Don't compromise. Live life on your own terms and never give up." We know that's the way he lived his life.

If you shoot for the treetops and succeed, you'll be on the treetops. If you shoot for the stars and miss--you just might hit the moon.

God speed Dean. We love you. Thank you for being part of our life.

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