Kicking off the Evening

Early fire - not getting dark fast enough for me to eat.

Setting up Camp

Aaron’s throwing down the tent at the traditional spot. Rumor has it that other spots have some mole-action — you get the little critters crawling around under you (alarming!). Luckily they’re not smart enough to scurry over here. Yet.

EC Pears

The pear tree is sprouting, too.

Hat full of Cherries

We’ve just about finished eating the cherries we picked last weekend at EC. Most of them went into cherry pie filling (or, as my Grandpa Bud used to call his homemade batches: Cherry Glop), which we subsequently consumed over ice cream. Aaron practiced a little Glop guesswork and made up his own recipe, as he is wont to do, but if you ask nicely he’ll probably let the cat out of the bag.

As I rounded out my second hour on the phone with the patent office today (don’t worry, I spoke to four different people, so at least I had a little variety), I pondered the Kafkaesque rigamarole they were putting me through. You see, against my better judgment I used the USPTO website to file (c’mon, I do everything else on the web…). One wrong radio button - as if any of the correct radio buttons had presented themselves - and six months later I’m still getting hit with change fees, fines for not paying more fees after the change fees (who knew I had to do that?), numbers, different numbers and procedures. It’s all overwhelming, as is the army of people I need to help me.

As it happens I headed to the grocery store to break out of my sour mood and feel like I actually accomplished something. The Samples Lady, jolly, garrulous and ready to go on break, fed me half a plate of chicken nuggets so she could close up shop. Somehow this made my day. This and thoughts of camping. Free food and trees are two things that make me feel better. Always.

A spur-of-the-moment camping trip to EarthCircles let us beat out both birds and bugs for the best cherries ever. The cherry tree my parents planted has produced fruit - lots of it. We harvested a hatful for cherry-pie filling - first time I’ve been able to do that one. EC always has something new.

Good News - one of my pieces is showcased in the Spring 08 Issue of the New River Journal of Digital Writing and Art. The New River Journal was founded in 1996 - one of the first journals devoted exclusively to digital writing and art. It comes to you from the Center for Digital Discourse and Culture at Virginia Tech.

My piece is called Dandelion Chance; it’s a 3-minute video and flash piece about indecision and moving forward.

BookGlutton Nominated for a Webby!

We’re excited to say that BookGlutton is a finalist for a Webby Award in the Community Category! There are a lot of smart, driven people who also applied (apparently 10,000 of them), so we’re honored to be considered. Vote for us here (you might need to sign up to vote…but it’s quick and painless): http://pv.webbyawards.com/nominee/entry/350581339

Here are a few lines from the Webby Awards Site:
Hailed as the “Oscars of the Internet” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile Websites. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-person judging academy whose members include Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, R/GA’s Chief Bob Greenberg, “Simpson’s” creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.

Old Krakow Restaurant

Dunno if you’ve come across schmap.com, but it’s a web-based travel guide that integrates dynamic content (restaurants, tours, museums) with google maps. You can then use this information to customize an itinerary and share the schedule with fellow travelers. You can print it, look at it on the web, or run it from your handheld.

I come in on the photo front - they somehow came across one of my photos that I took of Old Krakow Restaurant, arguably the best Polish Restaurant in California (by my rating anyway). Doesn’t it look cozy? The pierogies are fresh and outta sight!

See My Content on the Schmap Site

Travis in Drunken Boat

I was pleased to see my project 30 Days of Rain published in Drunken Boat’s 9th and most recent edition. Check it out here:
http://drunkenboat.com/db9/index.html

I’m in the Web Art section.

Nepoleonic Tower in Drogheda

You never know what you’ll run into tromping around Ireland. This Neopoleonic Tower was across the street from the bus station in Drogheda. Apparently there’s a 13th Century poet buried in the hill, to boot.

We found a cozy pub to wait for our bus connection, and dine on the oddest bag of bar snacks I’ve ever had: Bacon Flavor Fries (which look like little uniform strips of bacon, btw).

Newgrange Tree, as one might expect, forgotten by time.