"…something like the supervisor of an entire team of political agents…"
Cecil Vortex Some times it felt like he was collecting hair. He had a place to store it, all that hair. On top of and around his head. A mass. Spilling up and out and over until, as his grandfather would say: enough was sufficient. The next Saturday morning he’d bike down to the barbershop and trade … Read more
15 years ago today, a crew of mighty readers banded together to tackle a handful of tomes of varying complexity. Among ’em: Gravity’s Rainbow, Don Quixote, To the Lighthouse, and At Swim-Two-Birds. We called these group reads “Deathmarches” and we rejoiced, in bloggy way, as complex books were read, posts were posted, and exciting prizes … Read more
My wife and I wandered around downtown Tokyo, shuffling through our jetlag. It was Saturday night and it felt like mid-afternoon. 2pm? But it wasn’t the jetlag. And it wasn’t that siesta effect you get in super hot-time-in-the-summer cities — midnight and the locals and tourists out in search of gelato in paper cups. It … Read more
In 1976 I was in Mr Rehmeyer’s fourth grade class. I guess he was around 35 then, so born sometime around 1940. It’s something to think about, all those teachers from that time who are likely 70, 80, 90 years old now if they are still with us. Mrs. Brown had been my excellent 3rd … Read more
I’m back in Cecil mode after a while away from ye old blog, and that’s pulled me back to recording mode. Herewith, a cover of a loverly Rodgers and Hammerstein tune from South Pacific packed into just less than 2 minutes of digitalia. time: 1:54 seconds; specs: 3.7M
This is a story about a pair of roadtrips. One from a year ago, one a few decades back. The one from last year started on a Friday. Work calls kicked off that morning at 7am. We were getting ready for a big launch, bashing ideas around, picking up the pieces, turning them into emails. … Read more
Minneapolis, 2017
Tartare and Beets. I play Beets.
There was a time when I was serious about backgammon. Not great, but serious. At the serious-but-not-great level, backgammon is played with the reptile brain. For every situation, you learn and lock in a specific right response. Roll, move. Roll, move. Fast. Confident. You parry when you should parry, zip when you should zip. I … Read more
The first time I went to Muir Woods, the forest floor was flooded with people. It was like midday at Disneyland, only with Douglas Firs and Coastal Redwoods instead of Winnie the Pooh and pals. I was discouraged. This was not the verdant vibe I was looking for. I had a friend with me who’d … Read more