A Queer Mobile

Off to the west

I'm heading west today for a week's work in the office. Rather than fly the 6AM balloon to Chicago I decided to take a later trip. Ki and I did a quick lap around the cemetery. Finally the sun broke through! We've been socked in clouds and greyness since last Friday. The sun came up while we were walking; long blue shadows of gravestones fell against the warmth of the sun's morning light. I did a few minutes of Qi Gong, and I'll get ready for my trip.

Icy walks

A fast moving storm dumped an inch or so of snow on us on Friday. Snow on warm concrete melts then freezes after dark. So we've been tromping around on icy stuff these past two days.

A brief plug: I put on my Yaktrax and just kept on walking. Yaktrax are heavy duty plastic bands that go over the soles of your shoes or boots. The plastic bands are wrapped with steel wire. When you walk the steel grips snow and ice. With them, walking on ice is about as sure-footed for me as walking on dry pavement. I love 'em.

Anyway John and I walked down by the Cedar River this morning. The skies have been uniformly gray and featureless, so this wasn't the most exciting walk I've ever taken. It was perhaps the quietest, though: we encountered only one other intrepid soul out this morning. We headed on down to the New Pioneer Co-op in Coralville just after we got back.

John's opening at the Atrium Gallery

I've posted pictures I took at John's opening at the Atrium Gallery, St. Louis, on 13 Jan. I've never seen John's work look better and I hope you'll enjoy the new photo gallery.

What makes it great?

Last week I was in California on my monthly business trip. My dear friends and hosts, Paul and Iris Brest, took me and some other friends to a musical afternoon at Stanford. Rob Kapilow presented one of his What Makes it Great? concerts where he analyzed and conducted Copland's Appalachian Spring.

I'd heard Kapilow on a recording previously, but he's much better in person. Backed up by the Stanford Chamber Strings he deconstructed Appalachian Spring, moving through an analysis of the harmonies to the special rhythmic structures that Copland loves to use. Right after the analysis the group presented the work in its entirety. I've always counted Appalachian Spring among my favorite 20th century classical works; this performance was among the very best I've heard. While the playing was superb, part of what was different is that the analysis helped me hear better.

After the concert the artists took questions from the audience. One questioner posed this: "Did Copland think about writing music the same way you explained it?" The answer was right on the money: "Both completely and not at all." John says much the same thing about his work. No artist thinks about the details of the work in the moment; the work just flows. But that flow depends on years of painstaking development where the artist internalizes the formalism.

To St. Louis and back

I had my feet on the ground here at home for about twelve hours when John and I hopped in the Escape Hybrid and headed off to St. Louis. John's new show at The Atrium Gallery opened last Friday. John always tries to appear at gallery openings so that visitors can get to know him and his work a bit better.

The Escape was wonderful to drive! We had blowing snow all the way down, and the Escape handled beautifully. We made it down in less than five hours and rolled into the gallery just after noon. Carolyn Miles, the gallery's director, was there to meet us and hang out a bit. Her new space is fantastic. The gallery now has separate exhibition rooms where she can feature artists individually or in mixed space. John's work has never looked better. I'll post several pictures shortly after I finish fixing them up in Photoshop.

We got Carolyn's recommendations for lunch at a nearby deli (Kopperman's Specialty Foods). We headed across the street to Left Bank Books, an independent bookstore. Between the two of us we dropped about $200 there. I loved both places, and I'm looking forward to a return trip to St. Louis so we can hang out a bit longer.

We checked in at The Chase Park Plaza, a beautifully restored Art Deco hotel not five blocks from the gallery. We then headed across the street to the St. Louis Art Museum. Their featured exhibit on treasures from Ur was completely packed. Rather than wait an hour to get in we toured the other galleries. As usual we hung out mostly in the Asian and Islamic art galleries. Their presentation of the spread of Buddhism and its art along the Silk Road was super. I fear neither John or I love 18th and early 19th century European art. I resonate more strongly with some late 19th century German Romantic art; I love the hyper-Romantic moods in a wild landscape.

I'll talk about the opening in another post. John and I got up late on Saturday morning. After a leisurely breakfast in the hotel's bistro we headed home. It was a great weekend, and I'm glad to be home on a holiday Monday.

Meet me in St. Louis...

John will have an opening in St. Louis next weekend (13 Jan 2006) at the Atrium Gallery. Carolyn Miles, the gallery's proprietor, has been wonderfully supportive of John's work for many years. The gallery recently moved to larger digs, and she's increasing the number of new shows there. John took a fast trip last Wednesday to St. Louis to deliver the work that Carolyn and her staff will mount for the upcoming show. If you're in the area, do drop by. John and I will be there, and I'll write up my experiences right here.

Slow boat to California

It's my monthly trip out west on business and I've never had such trouble. It took me forty-eight hours to make it from Cedar Rapids to San Francisco. Last Wednesday my flight was canceled because of lingering fog throughout the Midwest; we've had lots of moisture and temperatures hovering right above freezing. So when I got rebooked for Thursday at 1PM, I thought all was well. Just before boarding my flight United Express announced that the oxygen masks had been deployed on the flight and the plane wasn't air-worthy; I've never heard that excuse before. I finally made it out at 7 Thursday night for an arrival at SFO just after midnight - not my preferred arrival time.

My new flivver arrives!

I picked up my new Ford Escape Hybrid yesterday in Des Moines. John's brother Jake sells Fords in Des Moines, and he took good care of me.

I've been thinking about buying an Escape Hybrid for a year and a half. I'm glad I waited until the 2006 model year because they introduced a special package that included everything I wanted on it.

I've had a great time in it so far. I loved my 1995 Ford Explorer but the new Escape is a lot more fun to drive. I've been getting around 28 mpg on my first few days of driving, which is at the low end of the EPA mileage estimates. I'll expect it'll improve as it breaks in - and I'll report what happens over the next few months.

A wonderful New Year to all!

An informal poll at CNN.com revealed that 48% of those polled planned to be snoring when the New Year came in. John and I sure were - we're about as boring as it can be, and I like it that way.

I thought for a few moments that the sun might break through this morning; the clouds for the past week have been of Venusian thickness. No matter: we headed out for our first walk of 2006 right on time. Other than four other hardy souls - and a few doggy companions - the time was blissfully peaceful.

I've been doing what I always do on 1 January: reading my journal from the previous year and looking at what I learned. (I'm currently up to August...) Most of the real changes have been interior: my inner practices have shifted and intensified. I've also been wrestling with the notion of right livelihood. Is the work that I do benefiting others the way I want? I think the answer's no, and I'm working with that one.

I did write a wonderful reality statement, though, that I want to share on the subject 'Who am I?': I'm a gay Midwesterner who loves his partner and wants to be happy here with him. That irreducible core remains...