Mt. St. Helens - Nature Tuesday

The Eruption of Mt. St. Helens

Mt. St. Helens the day before the eruption.
May 17 1980 AP Photo USGS  Harry Glicken

I was eight years old on the day Mt. St. Helens literally blew its top. It happened thirty-four years ago, on May 18th, 1980, at 8:32 am. I sat safe and sound in my house in Southern Indiana, 2, 300 miles away, watching with mingled awe and horror as the news reports rolled. It's the first memory I have of a natural catastrophe of this scale. When the National Geographic issue covering the eruption arrived in the mail I looked at the pictures for hours and even read parts of the articles. The level of destruction was outside the perception of my eight year old mind.

"... the ground shook beneath Mount St. Helens in Washington state as a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck, setting off one of the largest landslides in recorded history - the entire north slope of the volcano slid away. As the land moved, it exposed the superheated core of the volcano setting off gigantic explosions and eruptions of steam, ash and rock debris. The blast was heard hundreds of miles away, the pressure wave flattened entire forests, the heat melted glaciers and set off destructive mudflows, and 57 people lost their lives. The erupting ash column shot up 80,000 feet into the atmosphere for over 10 hours, depositing ash across Eastern Washington and 10 other states." - Boston.Com: The Big Picture

May 23, 1980, five days after the eruption.
AP Photo Gary Stewart

Boston.com: The Big Picture

National Geographic Daily News: Mt. St. Helens pictures: Before and After

Google Search Images


Do you remember the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens? Tell me about it.



Saturday is Book Day: The Scarlet Letter

I have this little (huge) problem with having lots and lots of ideas and not being able to execute them. I know an idea is a really good idea and then I set out to follow through with that idea and immediately I am inundated with all the possible variants, permutations, and connections. Gods, where the hell do I start?


I had an idea (yet another one) to help me get writing every day. THIS BLOG IS SUPPOSED TO BE WRITING PRACTICE, NOT GREAT ART, GET YOUR ASS IN FRONT OF THAT COMPUTER AND TYPE SOMETHING!!!


No pressure. Just get started. I can see in my head the essays I want to write on the different topics I have chosen for each day (see: I fear my reach doth exceed my grasp.) But I can't figure out where to start.


And then I figured out. I shall start simply. Go back to the beginning. Remember when you were a child and did book reviews in school? I mean a little kid, fourth grade little. You didn't write a damn essay, they gave you a set of questions with a space after each and you filled them in.


But...But...But...I'm forty-two. I should be able to write the essay. Yeah, well you aren't, are you, so go back to the beginning and try again.




Title: The Scarlet Letter


Genre: Romantic Historical Fiction


Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne


Date of publication: 1850


Place of publication: Boston, Massachusetts


Publishers: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields


Original language: English


Setting: 17th Century (starting in June 1642)


Plot Stuff:   From the SparkNotes Plot Overview:

"The story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her breast. A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hester’s husband, a scholar much older than she is, sent her ahead to America, but he never arrived in Boston. The consensus is that he has been lost at sea. While waiting for her husband, Hester has apparently had an affair, as she has given birth to a child. She will not reveal her lover’s identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy."

Hester's supposedly lost-at-sea husband has finally arrived on that very day. He keeps his identity a secret from all and threatens Hester to keep her quiet about it too.  The husband, named Roger Chillingworth, takes up a new identity and proceeds with a methodical search over the next four or five years to find Hester's lover and seek his revenge.


When I read it: I honestly can't recall. Probably read it for the first time somewhere between sixth and ninth grade. That would be somewhere between the ages of twelve to fifteen. Around 27 to 30 years ago. Gad, seeing it written out like that makes me feel really old.


What I liked: I loved the rich detail of the historical setting, the 17th century was very interesting to me back then. I liked the forbidden romance. I liked Hester's strength and endurance. She loved and fiercely protected her child through all the pain it caused her.


What I didn't like: There wasn't anything I didn't like about the book itself, in writing style or story. But the oppressive of Puritan society in all aspects of life but especially for women made me furious.


Did it make me think?: Oh yes. About religion in general and Christianity specifically. About duality of relationships (I didn't call it duality back then). It made me glad to think about how far women had come and yet angry that it had been over 300 years and these antiquated ideas and morals still existed in weakened states, still oppressing the human mind and soul, men and women alike.


Do I like it more or less now?: I still love it. I've read it at least four times and I'd like to read it again, but it probably won't be for awhile. I have a very large pile of actual books on my nightstand to get through, as well as a long list of other books to be acquired.


Did I read more of the same author: I did not. More's the pity. See: Long list of other books to be acquired.


Did I like those books too: I'll tell you when I read them.

I fear my reach doth exceed my grasp.

Sunday - Gods and religions from around the world. Pagan gods and religions of old and monotheistic gods and religions too. An exploration of fait...h. How the human mind works to create something larger than itself, to explain the trials and joys of the human experience.

Monday - Manic Music Monday! Mostly songs that make me happy and want to dance, but will include any song that resonates with me. To include release date, artist when I first heard it and original release and artist if it's a cover of an older song, how old I was at the time it was released, why I liked it then and if it still means the same to me now. Some songs I liked in the past I can't stand to listen to now, they remind me of harder times and emotions. This will cover many genres of music. There was a short period of anger in my life when I listened to a lot of rap music.

Tuesday - The wonders and terrors of nature. May include the beautiful as well as the destructive. I've always had a fascination with natural disasters, reminders of that we are not truly in control of our earthly home. Volcanic eruptions, floods, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, and especially blizzards. But there will be beautiful and awe inspiring things too!

Wednesday - Science! Covering anything and everything that strikes my fancy, the science of the human mind and body in all aspects, earth science, all that technology and physics stuff that fascinates me but I don't understand.

Thursday - History! From the beginnings of human existence to what happened last week. The good and the bad, progressive and destructive, what worked and what didn't. Civilizations that died out, civilizations that still exist and even thrive today. MIGHT include political science but I'd have to get my sons to help me with that. That is something I really don't understand and kind of don't want to but it's still important.

Friday - Movies! Movies from around the world, big budget and independent. If I could afford it I'd see a movie every Friday. Movies, movies, movies, I love the theater experience, but will include any movie I've seen, liked, disliked, thought I wouldn't like but did, thought I'd love but didn't (Alexander the Great, released in 2004. Gad. The awful awfulness.). Release date, actors, directors if they're ones I like in particular (I LIKE M. Night Shyamalan. You don't? Bite me.), if it's a remake, is it a better remake. Like that.

Saturday - Books, books, and more books. Any genre. Title, subject, date of publication, author, why I liked it, why I didn't. Did it make me think? Did I like it more or less over time? Did it make me want to throw it across the room in complete disgust? Did I read more of that author?

Good vs. Evil

Supernatural and suspense television series I have loved! I was going to make this just two blog posts, one for the short-lived series (one or two seasons, or a third incomplete season) and one for the longer running seasons (three or more complete seasons).



This is not from the show. It is, however, hilarious.
Interesting how Jesus hasn't won yet, hm?

That immediately became overwhelming. Like, before I even opened Word to get started. So I’ll start with one and we’ll so how it goes, maybe more later. I’ll begin with the show Good vs. Evil, the one that started me thinking about this. I don’t know why I thought about this show this morning, one of those thoughts that come out of nowhere. “Hm, I wish that show hadn’t been cancelled. I really liked it. How long ago was that?” And then another show and another…like that.

 

Upon searching for pictures and links for this first show I found another blogger who’d had the same idea, only he remembered far more shows than I did.  Thank you, Diacanu of Shmegalamonga. He includes superhero shows too and included shows whether he likes them or not. I’m only doing my own favorites. He didn’t appear to like G vs E, but he had a good picture and that’s what I needed.

Also, his writing is more entertaining than mine. Check him out!

G vs E (original title, later titled Good vs Evil)

I prefer to quote the opening narration for description, rather than use the IMDB or Wikipedia synopses. Or write my own synopsis, as my memory on the show is patchy. In fact, the one episode I thought I remembered was actually from a similar show on a different network, Brimstone.

Mostly I just remember I liked it and was disappointed when it was cancelled. And so…

“(Deacon Jones): A man torn from his family, murdered in his prime, only to return to Earth, resurrected as an agent of the Almighty Corps. With no magic, no special powers, forbidden from intimate contact, unrecognizable to those from their past lives, Chandler Smythe and Henry McNeil now fight to save lost souls against the minions of darkness. It is a battle of Good versus Evil. G vs E, that's what it is!”-copied and pasted from the IMDB page for G vs E.

Many of the episodes titles have the word “evil” in them. I really like the minor character of Ford Plasko, Chandler and Henry’s supervisor. Ford was played by Marshall Bell, a most excellent character actor.

This.

 

It ran for two seasons, 1999 on the USA Network and 2000 on the Sci Fi Channel (now the SyFy Channel…because…what, they wanted to appeal to 13 year old girls? Who knows.)

Its genre is sometimes listed as sci fi, action, comedy, drama (really?)…I consider it firmly in the supernatural and suspense genre. Because I say so. It’s has dark comedy, there was some action and maybe some comedic drama…really I don’t think sci fi truly fits.

It was…a sort of extremely tame precursor to Supernatural. And if you haven’t heard of Supernatural, I must ask if you’ve been living under a rock.

Now get out there and kick evil’s ass!

 

 

G vs E on IMDB
Good vs. Evil on TV.com
G vs E on Wikipedia

 

 

DO NOT USE THIS BLOG POST AS SOURCE MATERIAL!

Notable people from Alaska! I don’t know why I just spent four hours breaking down this information. I don’t remember what sparked the desire to look up famous people from Alaska this morning.

The list is not comprehensive. I used a pre-existing Wikipedia article; I did not use Google. Except to find the Wikipedia article, which was last modified on 12/10/13. I did not chase back up sources for any of the people or what they did that was notable or when they died. If they have died and are not immortal or something. Alaska. Who knows what really goes on up there?

If you are doing some sort of paper about notable Alaskan people DO NOT USE THIS BLOG POST AS SOURCE MATERIAL! Would anyone ever be stupid enough to do that? You never know.

The criteria used for including people in the article is quoted as, “individuals who were born in Alaska, grew up there, retired there, or in any other fashion lived there even if for only a brief period of time (such as infancy, during one or more of the many gold rushes during the late 19th century and early 20th century, or as a result of rapid military influx and out flux from 1940 onward).”

All numbers are approximate. They may not add up because math. I was making notes on the backs of envelopes. Occasionally I lost track of whether or not I had marked someone down. I don’t want to have to type ‘approx.’ it for every single stat so I’ll say it once more here: ALL NUMBERS ARE APPROXIMATE.

Many of the individuals were noted for a several things but in different categories, e.g., politics and writing. I did look them up if I wasn’t sure in which category I wanted to put them.

The article listed people from the 1800s to the present. There’s nothing before the 1800s because there were few non-native peoples lived there in the 1700s. Lots and lots of native peoples lived there, but they had more interesting things to do then record the native version of “Washington slept here.”

Notable people of Alaska: 133 men, 53 women

 

Artists: A broad category. I lumped in all the things people consider the traditional arts both visual and dramatic as well as such creative things such as writers and journalists, a printmaker, and a video game designer.
Living	Died 2000-2013	Died 1900-1999	Died 1800-1899
56: Jewel Kilcher-singer Robin Hobb-fantasy fiction writer	7	14	0

 

Science and Education: Includes the regular science-y stuff and also historians, an ethnographer, and the last speaker of the last speaker of the Eyak language ‘cause I figured language is culture and relates to anthropology.
Living	Died 2000-2013	Died 1900-1999	Died 1800-1899
8: William Oefelein -astronaut	3 Marie Smith Jones –Last speaker of Eyak Language	3	0

 

Sports: Includes well-known sports as well as dog sled racers and mixed martial artists.
Living	Died 2000-2013	Died 1900-1999	Died 1800-1899
42	2	5 Leonhard_Seppala: sled dog racer, key musher in the 1925 serum run to Nome	0

 

Politics and Law: Politicians, activists, lawmen, lawyers, and one female former United States CIA Operations Officer (pretty much a spy-but she’s on our side).
Living	Died 2000-2013	Died 1900-1999	Died 1800-1899
9: Valerie Plame: Spy! Sarah Palin	4	5 Wyatt Earp: Lawman	0

 

Crime: I’m sure Alaska has its share of common criminals, these are just the best known.
Living:	Died 2000-2013	Died 1900-1999	Died 1800-1899
0	0	1 Robert Stroud: convicted killer, later better known as "The Birdman of Alcatraz"	1 Soapy Smith: Con Artist and gangster
Military:
Living:	Died 2000-2013	Died 1900-1999	Died 1800-1899
0	1	4	0

 

Business:
Living:	Died 2000-2013	Died 1900-1999	Died 1800-1899
0	1	1	0

 

Adventurers: Explorers and aviation pioneers. I put the aviation guys here instead of science because I felt like it.
Living:	Died 2000-2013	Died 1900-1999	Died 1800-1899
0	0	11	1

 

WTF: Dood, you should not be famous. Unsurprisingly, they’re all still living in 2013. Being famous for…being famous is a relatively new phenomenon.
Living:	Died 2000-2013	Died 1900-1999	Died 1800-1899
4 Levi Johnston: former partner of Bristol Palin	0	0	0

 

I’ve now spent another two hours typing it all up.  I don't know why all the other tables worked fine but I can't get the crime and the military tables apart. Normally I would look up pictures to break up all the text but I have to make sloppy joes. I'm tired and have other things to do. I spent six hours on this. Why? Even I don’t know.

Move like an Englishman...it's different from walking like an Egyptian.

Cold. Oh so very, very numbingly cold. It's ten degrees, but with the wind chill it feels like one degree. One tiny Fahrenheit of warmth in the air. The earth sleeps. The trees and the green things sleep. The people shrink inside their clothes and dream dreams of warmer days. And still we all live here, in this place where it can be so very cold. We are all mad as hatters. Speaking of mercury poisoning...

I did not know Fahrenheit needs to be capitalized. And spelled with an "h". It's derived from a proper name, you see. "Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (24 May 1686 – 16 September 1736) was a Dutch-German-Polish physicist, engineer, and glass blower who is best known for inventing the mercury-in-glass thermometer (1714)..." - Wikipedia.

There you go. You can learn something new everyday. If you are so inclined. Some Dutch-German-Polish guy is responsible for the many incidents of mercury poisoning from broken thermometers.

See...this is what I do. Make connections. One thing leads to another...

Cy Curnin, the lead singer of The Fixx, and prominently featured in the above video, moves like an Englishman. And how does an Englishman move? Well, like him. I'm not sure why it's different and distinctive from an American male moving, but it appears that way to me. What do you think?

As I was saying, before I was interrupted by my own thought. This is what I do. This is why I am Corpus Callosum. I make connections.

But back to the cold. Once upon a time some famous writer somewhere (I posted about him once but I don't feel like looking it up right now) mentioned it was poor form to begin your story with weather.

But I think, I think, I think if I started with an thorough description of the main character dealing with the mind and body numbing cold, a cold he cannot escape until his damn difficult quest is finished, that might be okay.

And I want another word for "dragons" because sometimes I think if I hear that particular word again I'll scream...

So. Dragons.

Have they been done to death? Or can the fantasy book world stand yet another book about their scaly majesty?

I have a story idea. A very complex story idea. It crawls around in my head.  It makes trouble for me when I listen to certain songs, because I'm supposed to be driving, damn it.

I long to sit and write it out complete, but would it sell? It would take a long, long time to finish, can I really afford to spend time, money, and energy on it if I will only be told yet another dragon story won't sell?

Did you ever see the movie Frida? A fabulously delicious movie about an amazing, amazing woman. This connects to my opening, I promise. Frida Kahlo, surrealist Mexican artist. In the movie Frida has a long convalescence after a terrible accident and takes up painting. When she can walk again she takes one of her paintings to the famous muralist Diego Rivera and asks him if she should continue painting, does she have any talent? Can she make any money?

Diego tells her (I'm paraphrasing, I can't remember the words exactly and I can't find a clip and dear gods, WHY do I not OWN this movie?) if she's a real painter she will paint all her life because she can't not paint. She tells him she doesn't have time to screw around painting if it won't make her any money, her family needs to, like, eat and pay bills and shit. (Again, I'm paraphrasing the movie. Frida was much more eloquent in her response.)

That's how I'm feeling about my dragons. Yeah, ya'll are driving me batshit crawling around my head making stories and demanding to be written down, but you will take all my energy and if no one wants to read the story after its finished I got whole lotta nothing with which to pay bills. I want to write you down because I'm a writer but I can't afford the huge chunk of energy it will take to create your world from whole cloth if no one want to wrap themselves in it.

Now go find Frida and watch it. There's art and sex and drinking and swearing and revolutions and death. And then there's more art and sex. It's the perfect movie and it's about an actual person.

Frida Kahlo - photo by Lucienne Bloch