usonian

The Gordon House

Well worth a tour if you're a fan of architecture - the design and setting got me very excited about what can be done in a small, simple, and affordable space. Pure genius.

My favorite aspect is this: visitors often remark both how well the house blends into the setting and how from inside it feels as though you are outside. It's true.

dark and wet

Photos copyright 2007 Gazelle

pv cove

Photo by Grannis

Okay, enough of the heavy posts for awhile. This is not one of my favorite Grannis images, but it brings a smile to my face when I think of all the times I surfed here, and the sheer joy of surfing at spots that involve a little hike through nature to get to the water. We've got a few of those here in Oregon, and it's all part of the experience.

As for the Cove, I can say two main things about it - it can handle very big swells, and it was one of the few places in Santa Monica Bay I'd risk surfing during or after the rains - lots o' kelp offshore and lots of permeable surface as the runoff rushed down the cliffs. Oh, and one more important thing to know when it rains in L.A. and there's a big WNW'er running - south-southwest winds blow offshore here...

P.S. I hope to have some new photography to share soon, and some more archival shots when I get the time to scan 'em in.

beware the hair helmet

who are these men of power with their wealth, pasty complexions, and perfect hair?

bad...bad...baaaaaad!

Mallory Knox told it like it was. As a species we've been very naughty, and a solid scolding from Ms. Knox is long overdue. But it could be that it's too late for such a scolding to do any good.

This century will no doubt be a defining one for us and the planet. I'm simultaneously horrified and excited by the many possibilities. What will China do with its billion plus people, its political system, its environment, its economy? Will the USA elect progressively dumber and increasingly nefarious leaders? Will Islamic terrorists get their fanatical little hands on nuclear material and detonate a "dirty bomb?" Will we figure out that the wonders and absurdities of the marketplace are not the be-all and end-all? Will mass extinctions and climate change seriously start slapping us in the face? Will we wise up? Probably not, but I can't abandon hope entirely...

a wish for a simpler life...

Often times I daydream of trading debt, bills, insurance premiums, traffic, pollution, taxes, noise, crime, and lots of dumbasses for tradition, ritual, beauty, and a sense of connectedness to community and the elements. There's an undertow to this line of thinking, and the end result could be good or maybe not very good at all...

tree with a view

Photo copyright 2000 Gazelle

Rhodes, Greece

farmhouse

Photo copyright 2001 Gazelle

humans from earth

Humans from Earth by T-Bone Burnett

We come from a blue planet light-years away
Where everything multiplies at an amazing rate
We're out here in the universe buying real estate
Hope we haven't gotten here too late

[chorus:]
We're humans from earth
We're humans from earth
You have nothing at all to fear
I think we're gonna like it here

We're looking for a planet with atmosphere
Where the air is fresh and the water clear
With lots of sun like you have here
Three or four hundred days a year

[chorus]

Bought Manhattan for a string of beads
Brought along some gadgets for you to see
Here's a crazy little thing we call TV
Do you have electricity?

[chorus]

I know we may seem pretty strange to you
But we got know-how and a golden rule
We're here to see manifest destiny through
Ain't nothing we can't get used to

We're humans from earth
We're humans from earth