Update from the Museum of the Weird

Saturday, August 13, 2005
3:03:00 AM MST
Update from the Museum of the Weird

Just a short update tonight - that's the plan, anyway, but you know how loquacious I get, even late at night when I'm terribly tired. We'll just have to see, won't we?

I managed 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night, which is better than four hours but not exactly healthy. But it was worth it. The house is the cleanest it's been in years. I don't know whether you can tell that from these pictures, but in person the change is dramatic. John and I are both pleased and relieved.

The appraiser was pleasant, and didn't diss the house at all. Apparently a working furnace counts more in the valuation than non-working central air conditioning, for all that the former is barely needed in Arizona and the latter is almost essential. The appraiser said that such standards were set by people "who have probably never been south of Duluth." He was satisfied with the full swimming pool, even though it was dirty, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that both John's office and mine count as bedrooms, and that my office counts toward square footage despite not being on the duct work.

I was sleepy, but I got through the day at work and was moderately productive. Tonight I've been mostly rereading Dragonsinger, and worrying a little at how heavily that book influenced bits of the Mâvarin books. We ate dinner I-forget-where in celebration of the end of the appraisal stress and the cleaning. I mean it. I honestly can't remember where we had dinner tonight. After dinner we used up a bit of our lavish and newly-acquired trade credit at Bookman's, where I spent a good part of last Saturday unloading excess books and video.

Tomorrow we head for Phoenix and IKEA.

A few updates regarding this week's other entries:

* Note to Sarah and other Beatle fans: I will be updating the pie entry when I'm done with this one. I can say no more.

* Ever since receiving several fun comments to the Monday Photo Shoot entry, I've been thinking of this house as a "Museum of the Weird," which was an early name and concept for what became the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.

As such, I have a modest exhibit for you tonight. See the two middle cushions on the bright orange couch? My stepmother Ruth made them from some of my Dad's vintage ties. We think they're wonderful!

In the other picture, the doll is missing a foot, but not a shoe, the framed photo is a Quantum Leap prop, and the bookcase contains games from two less-than-wonderful old tv shows: Space: 1999 and The Six Million Dollar Man. If none of that is weird enough for you, let me make amends by explaining that the earthquake in a can is supposed to rock and shake if you spin it and then set it down. Being over 20 years old, though, it no longer does this, as we discovered when John tried to demonstrate this function for me. I'm sure I can come up with weirder stuff later for you.

Yawn. That's enough for now. I'll talk to you again on Sunday.

Karen

Written by mavarin . Link to this entry | Blog about this entry | Notify AOL
This entry has 3 comments: (Add your own)

Hi, there! Who is the author of Dragonsinger? Is it Anne McCaffrey? I love all her Dragon books...but my favorite is a nondragon book called Crystal Singer...I must have read that book six times. You always have interesting things to say. Enjoyed your entry today!

http://journals.aol.com/gotomaria/TheLittleThings/
Comment from gotomaria - 8/17/05 6:50 AM

Congrats on getting through the appraisal!

Comment from jabarett - 8/14/05 9:17 AM

I love the necktie pillows!! What a cool idea!
Comment from ryanagi - 8/13/05 1:54 PM

John Has All the Most Unusual Stuff

Wednesday, August 10, 2005
1:26:00 AM MST
John Has All the Most Unusual Stuff

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Snap a picture of something odd that you have in your house. And, no, don't take any pictures of your spouse. Really, that's just mean. No, I'm talking some object that when people see it in your house, they stop and say something like "Huh. You don't see that every day." - J.S.

I must have some odd or unusual things somewhere, but nothing of the sort really comes to mind at the moment. It turns out that pretty much all the really oddball objects in our house are things that John brought into it. Everything I will be featuring in this entry, except for the TV minibar and the EP Bunny, is in John's office.


Exhibit A: E.P. Bunny.
We resisted buying this for perhaps a year at the Casa Des Los Niños Thrift Shop, but ultimately we had to get it. It reminded us of the bunny drawings John's former supervisor, E.P., used to doodle at his old job back in Columbus. I especially like this papier maché bunny's fierce teeth. When I went to photograph the E.P. Bunny, I was taken with the way the upended vintage coffee table formed an accidental fence for the farmer bunny to stand behind.



Exhibit B: The TV Minibar
Inside this quaint and unconvincing representation of a color television is a set of bar supplies - shaker and glasses, mostly, if memory serves. I didn't feel like opening it tonight to show you, but take my word for it. We got it at the estate sale of someone who had a lot of alcohol-related memorabilia, plus multiple copies of the first five issues of National Lampoon. John sold many of the Lampoons on eBay some years back, when we desperatively needed the cash to pay a tax bill. That's all part of a story I really mustn't tell here. Too bad there's a knob missing. I think there's a shot glass missing, too. But what the heck. What did we expect for the $2.00 we probably paid for this 45-year-old curiosity? Answer: precisely what we got.




Exhibit AB: A & B Together
This is so you can see the rest of the bunny, and get an idea of relative sizes. It's also an excuse to show off part of John's framed Buckaroo Banzai poster.



Exhibit C: Two Unusual Cans
Here are two definitely odd cans from John's office. I thought I ought to show you how they really looked before I messed around with them with PhotoStudio 2000.







Exhibit C1: Pocari Sweat Refreshment Water
This is a real Japanese product, which John got from his pen pal Kooichi. We've never figured out why the English word "sweat" would have the right connotations in Japan for something you'd want to pour down your throat. Maybe it's supposed to mean that it's a sports drink. In any case, John drank at least part of the contents of this can. No, it didn't taste like perspiration (not that John has tasted perspiration, particularly). I gather that it was a mildly sweetened soft drink, nothing exciting. Naturally, John kept the can.


Exhibit C2: Genuine California Earth Quake in a Can
Judging from the sound and the heft when I pick this up and shake it, the can seems to have a rock in it. Maybe it's from the San Andreas Fault, but maybe not. Really, it's kind of a disappointment. So was my attempt at special effects for this photo.






Exhibit D: The Stuff on John's Office Wall
Clockwise from top left:

1. Early Disneyland banner
This is probably from the 1950s, probably an eBay purchase.

2.Hand-painted MacIntosh Crest Tambourine
This was his mother's maiden name. John's MacIntosh grandfather was a minor oil tycoon in Ohio,many years ago.

3. Basil Rathbone Life Mask
Or maybe death mask, I forget which. Either way, it's supposedto have been cast from Rathbone's actual face. This was another eBay purchase.

4. Persian Slipper
Sherlock Holmes kept his tobacco in a persian slipper. John doesn't keep tobacco, but he has the slipper.

5. John's First Christmas Stocking
I think this stocking goes back to when John was a baby. Certainly there's a baby depicted on it. We don't fill this at Christmas, because we don't want to wear it out.

6. McKinley High School Banner
From John's high school in Canton, Ohio.

Sorry this wasn't big on words tonight. I've been editing dozens of dramatic new monsoon pictures, some of which you'll see tomorrow night. Now I've got to upload this and get to bed!

Karen

Written by mavarin . Link to this entry | Blog about this entry | Notify AOL
This entry has 7 comments: (Add your own)

I think your collection beats my choice!!!

http://journals.aol.com/rjet33/CountryLivingSouthernStyle/
Comment from rjet33 - 8/11/05 7:20 PM

That Basil Rathbone mask certainly is weird. I hope you never have to sleep in that room.
Comment from sakishler - 8/10/05 9:16 PM

well karen, that is the most unusual collection I've seen! sheesh, I thought the teeth I posted was tops, but you got me beat!

~ www.jerseygirljournal.com
Comment from cneinhorn - 8/10/05 5:11 PM

LOL yup...I'd say the overall impression of this collection of items is "odd". ;-)
Comment from ryanagi - 8/10/05 3:52 PM

Oh i would love to come to your house to see all the interesting things. It looks like itd be fun.
http://journals.aol.com/dragonrose637/MyAssignments/entries/244
Comment from dragonrose637 - 8/10/05 8:54 AM

Do you live in a house or one of those freaky roadside museums of strange things one might pass on a cross counrty trip?
Comment from teeisme57 - 8/10/05 5:58 AM

Hi karen :)

I love the Persian slipper, I remember the episode of "I Dream Of Jeannie" when she saw a pair of hers slippers from home :) I also love the bunny, very whimsical. :)

Always, Carly
Comment from ondinemonet - 8/10/05 4:56 AM

Snow, Rare and Otherwise

Monday, July 11, 2005
10:36:00 PM MST
Snow, Rare and Otherwise

The first four photos here were taken at our old house on Grannen Rd around Christmas, 1987. It was the second of only two White Christmases recorded in Tucson in the 20th Century. The other one was in 1916, long before I got here. ;)

The odds are that John took these photos, but I may possibly have taken one or more of them. It was a long time ago, too long to remember such details.



From the driveway, looking north at the Catalina Mountains.



The palo verde tree in the back yard.



The back yard, looking west toward the Rincon Mountains.



The palo verde again.

Tucson, of course, is known for its warm winters. That's the whole point of living here. Who would put up with 110 in the summer, if the climate didn't make up for such discomfort in the winter? It only snows here about once every two or three years. A snow that actually "sticks" to the ground is almost unheard-of.

If you want real winter photos from a real winter climate, then look at this rerun photo of Niagara Falls, taken in 1986. This was definitely taken by John.




Okay, you want photos that were definitely taken by me? Okay, but they're not as spectacular. This one I took on December 7th, 2004. The Catalinas are not as close as they look to this cheap resident hotel on 22nd Street. This is as close as Tucson usually gets to snow in winter.



And, because I can't resist, here's another rerun, also taken by me. This is a crumbling, half-destroyed railroad bridge near Cherry Manor in Manlius, NY. I took the photo in the winter of 1972.



Yeah, that was real winter.

Karen


Written by mavarin.

This entry has 4 comments:

*sigh* The Niagara photo has made me very wistful. I want to go back there for a visit.
Comment from ryanagi - 7/12/05 9:21 PM

I can't imagine snow in Arizona! great photos of the big event!

~ www.jerseygirljournal.com
Comment from cneinhorn - 7/12/05 7:55 AM

Great pictures on a very hot day here. Mrs. L
Comment from jevanslink - 7/12/05 4:09 AM<>

My Low-Tech, Postage-Free Holiday Card to You All

Friday, December 24, 2004
8:23:00 PM MST
My Low-Tech, Postage-Free Holiday Card to You All

I don't feel like picking out an e-card this time, I lost the cards I bought at Barnes & Noble, and I don't know Java. So please accept this as my Christmas card to you all. It's not fancy. There's no animation or beautiful art or photos. But it's sincere, and it frees me to get on with all the other stuff I need to get on with. Merry Christmas, everyone!

If you celebrate Solstice, I'm just a bit late;
If you had a good Hanukkah, I think that's great!
Ramadan's over, Rohatsu too,
But still I wish Happy Holidays to you!

Christmas Eve's here, and the Internet's quiet.
If a present's forgotten, it's too late to buy it.
Web and journal addictions don't need to be fed
As we turn our attention to families instead.

It's just John and me here, with a tree yet to trim,
And I still have to wrap all the presents for him.
My brother's in Cleveland, my dad with the steps;
They've got lots of snow; we have no such effects.

Two hours from now, I'll be in the sacristy,
Preparing to help with our High Mass majesty.
Our "Midnight Mass" starts with 10 PM music.
I've a small cross to bear, and I'd never refuse it.

So whether a boisterous family surrounds you,
Or your Christmas is quiet, I'm glad these words found you.
I send you my blessings. May Heaven above
Bless you this Christmas with peace, joy and love.

KFB, 12/24/04




Celebrations of the Season: info from www.religioustolerance.org

Written by mavarin.
This entry has 4 comments:

Thank you for this - it's very, very nice.
Comment from sakishler - 12/28/04 9:39 AM

Beautiful!!
Thanks.
V
Comment from deabvt - 12/27/04 9:17 AM

Hope your Christmas was merry and bright...and that you had a nice dinner too.
;-)
Comment from ryanagi - 12/26/04 2:18 PM

Merry Christmas to you and yours as well :)

http://pointclickjeff.blogspot.com/ Jeff
Comment from jeff466 - 12/25/04 1:27 AM

Holiday Trivia #49-60

Tuesday, December 21, 2004
12:20:00 AM MST
Holiday Trivia #49-52

Here are tonight's questions.

Question Forty-Nine: “Christmas Afternoon”, a Robert Benchley parody of Charles Dickens, closes with
a) “Bah! Humbug!”
b) Scrooge shooting Tiny Tim
c) “God bless us, every one!”
d) “God help us, every one.”

Question Fifty: What Christmas gift did General Sherman give to President Lincoln in 1864?
a) matched dueling pistols
b) Savannah
c) Atlanta
d) a performance by the Union Army’s boys chorus

Question Fifty-One: What seasonal breakfast cereal first appeared on supermarket shelves in the mid 1980s?
a) E.T.’s Christmas Flakes
b) Cap’n Crunch’s Christmas Crunch
c) Candy Cane Crunch
d) Crispy Christmas Critters

Question Fifty-Two: Which of these is not a genuine record?
a) Yulesville
b) We Wish You A Deadly Christmas
c) Santa and the Satellite
d) Monsters’ Holiday

Answers to questions 16-40, plus player standings, will follow shortly. Then I'm going back to bed. I only got 3 hours of sleep Sunday night/Monday morning!

Karen

Written by mavarin.
This entry has 3 comments:

49. D
50. B
51. B
52. B

Comment from ryanagi - 12/23/04 12:33 AM



Tuesday, December 21, 2004
10:25:00 PM MST
Holiday Trivia # 53-56

These should be a bit easier.

Question Fifty-Three: How is Santa dressed in A Visit From St. Nicholas?
a) in red velvet
b) in fur
c) as the Tooth Fairy
d) in long white robes


Question Fifty-Four: In what body of water can you find Christmas Island?
a) Pacific Ocean
b) Arctic Ocean
c) Indian Ocean
d) a and c

Question Fifty-Five:Which of the following was not a real Christmas TV special?
a) The True Meaning of Christmas Specials
b) Miss Piggy’s Christmas Cookery
c) Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas
d) Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas


Question Fifty-Six: In the song I’ll Be Home For Christmas, how is the singer planning to get there?
a) by plane
b) by train
c) by car
d) by dreaming


Karen

Written by mavarin.
This entry has 3 comments:

53. B
54. D
55. B
56. D
Comment from ryanagi - 12/23/04 10:30 AM



These are a bit easier. But I'm still mostly guessing.

53. b. I always hoped that it was fake fur.

54. d? I just know it's near Australia.

55. d is the only one I know for sure was real. I'll guess b because I've heard of most Muppet things and I haven't heard of that. I don't think.

56. d


Comment from sakishler - 12/22/04 8:59 PM


53- D

54-C

55-C

56-D
Comment from jeff466 - 12/21/04 11:13 PM



---



Thursday, December 23, 2004
12:31:00 AM MST
Holiday Trivia #57-60

Here are tonight's questions. Because I failed to mention solstice last night in favor of Christmas questions, it's all solstice, all the time tonight. I am not an expert in this area, so please forgive any superficiality in the questions and answers.



Question Fifty-Seven: The ancient Roman holiday Saturnalia took place
a) originally December 17 & December 19th; eventually December 17th through 23rd
b) on the shortest day of the year (winter solstice)
c) on December 25th
d) December 26th through January 1st




Question Fifty-Eight: What is the relationship between Stonehenge and the winter solstice?
a) It was built during a solstice celebration 2,850 years ago
b) The positions of the stones mark both solstices as well as other celestial and seasonal phenomena
c) Pagans, Wiccans and others associate the site with Druidic and other ancient spirituality
d) b and c




Question Fifty-Nine: Which of the following observances, ancient and modern, is not associated with the winter solstice?
a) Saturnalia
b) Yule
c) Ramadan
d) Alban Arthan




Question Sixty: Saturnalia was associated with all of the following except
a) debauchery (feasting and orgies and such)
b) trees
c) druids
d) presents





Karen

Written by mavarin.
This entry has 4 comments:

57. A
58. D
59. C
60. D

I am falling behind on my reading!
Comment from ryanagi - 12/26/04 12:53 PM

57-B

58-D

59-C

60-D

http://pointclickjeff.blogspot.com/ Jeff
Comment from jeff466 - 12/25/04 1:25 AM

Wow. I have a lot to learn about Solstice. So, let the learning begin (after all the wild guessing).

57. b? Only because that's what the whole quiz round is all about.

58. d.

59. c? I don't even think I've ever heard of d.

60. Hey, cool, debauchery. I guess I'll go with d.

Off to do a little better on your Christmas Eve Eve questions!
Comment from sakishler - 12/24/04 12:27 AM

Question Fifty-Eight: What is the relationship between Stonehenge and the winter solstice?

I believe they're just friends.
-Paul
http://journals.aol.ca/plittle/AuroraWalkingVacation/

Comment from plittle - 12/23/04 11:36 AM

Holiday Haiku 1 & 2

Wednesday, December 8, 2004
1:45:00 AM MST
Christmas Haiku, Part One: At the Mall

I think I wrote these last year [2003].

Christmas shopping goes
From brain-wracking to frenzy--
Is it over yet?

Out in the mall lot
There arose such a clatter:
Presents crashed to ground!

Buying Toys for Tots
Is our yearly tradition.
Got toys--no drop box!


The photo: rain in the Sears lot, Park Place, summer 2004. Photo by KFB.

Written by mavarin.
This entry has 2 comments:

Great `kus!!!
V
Comment from deabvt - 12/9/04 9:19 AM

Hi :)

I wish I had some talent for Haiku...alas...
I love the photo. Great entry.

Always, Carly :)
Comment from ondinemonet - 12/9/04 5:17 AM

---

Saturday, December 11, 2004
2:10:00 AM MST

Christmas Haiku #2 Retro Christmas


The color wheel turns.
Changing hues sweep through the room--
With no tree in sight.

Annual question:
Real tree? White tree? Silver tree?
Can't we compromise?

Pine cones in spray paint:
Turquoise and pink--that's not right!
Retro Christmas time.

KFB 2003-2004


Written by mavarin.
This entry has 3 comments:

Love it!
:-)
~JerseyGirl
http://journals.aol.com/cneinhorn/WonderGirl
Comment from cneinhorn - 12/12/04 8:20 PM

R E A L !!!!!
V
Comment from deabvt - 12/12/04 3:22 AM

LOL Someone in my local Freecycle group was looking for a color wheel the other day. Do you have the aluminum tree? ;-) Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!
Comment from ryanagi - 12/11/04 1:15 PM

Winter in Tucson, Part One

Tuesday, December 7, 2004
10:23:00 AM MST
Hearing: David Johanson interview on NPR
Winter in Tucson, Part One

Aside from the car with the "Luv U" plate, this was what I saw when I left for work this morning, the view that caused me to go back to the house for the Mavica camera. The snow-topped Catalina Mountains were much more spectacular as seen overlooking patches of desert in vacant lots near 22nd and Swan. However, I'm not quite foolish enough to take pictures while driving at 40 miles per hour along busy, wet streets. So let's just start with what we have, as Count Rugen might say.

In Tucson, snow is most often seen from afar, atop the Catalinas, Rincons and sometimes the Tucson Mountains, which aren't as tall. Snow on the ground within the city itself only happens about once every couple of years. The rest of the time, including last night, Summerhaven's snow is Tucson's badly-needed rain. We are still in a drought here, and it is a desert, after all.

It's been raining pretty much every day (or night, or both) since the end of last week. The rain has brought with it high temperatures in the 40s and 50s, what I like to think of as real "Syracuse weather." It's not windy, though, or bitingly cold. Still, with nighttime temperatures around freezing, it's about as close as Tucson gets to winter.

I bought a new jacket on Sunday, for more money than John would want me to spend under our present circumstances. I chose a red and black one, in honor of the red and black wardrobe of leather and plastic and Spandex clothes I wore for a while when I was much younger and thinner. I still love those colors.

My new jacket has a zip-out lining that I haven't used yet, in case it gets really cold some night, or I go up the mountain or leave town. Without the lining, though, my purchase has already come in handy. It replaces a ratty, black and off-white fleecy thing that my mom bought me from a Lane Bryant or Haband catalog years ago. The zipper came off that last week, but I may keep it to wear at my computer on winter days in my unheated office at home.

I have better pictures of Tucson winters past, but I'll show you those another time.

Karen

Update: I took a few more pictures at lunch. There was visibly less snow (it's 59 degrees in the city right now), but here's a picture anyway. The building (across the street from Golden Corral) was low income housing for a while, but I think it's become a hotel again.




Written by mavarin.
This entry has 3 comments:

Hi Karen

Oh to see snow :) California is seeing a lot of rain right now, but I will be dreaming of snow. :)

Always, Carly :)
Comment from ondinemonet - 12/9/04 5:15 AM

Red and black, eh? I wore turquoise, black and purple back in the day. :-)
Comment from ryanagi

I love the scenery of the mountains! I live in an region that is flat flat flat. I have to drive about 5 hours west to see anything that resembles your view. We also have many a winter's day where our high is below freezing with a negative wind chill factor-when that happens, the desert sounds nice :) Looking forward to the other winter pictures you have. http://pointclickjeff.blogspot.com/ Jeff
Comment from jeff466 - 12/8/04 12:05 AM