heading to water

nancy drove us down to san diego to surf on halloween, going as tree, superhero, flapper, and sea monster. (i took my cape off before getting in the water.)


out in the surf -- we're the little black dots.

doyle is back in billings with kate, but as you see, i still got to bring him with me (you may have to make it bigger to tell).


after my freckles came out (as compared to my face the night before)

city of angels

i spent the weekend staying with estelle (here's the two of us). estelle and chris (and their beautiful little house)


some things never change (even after ten years)


trying out long hair (it's been a while)




cousin free with daniel, dressed for halloween

life at the office

looking for divine inspiration (according to kate), or at least something to get me through this memo.

preparation

live from tashkent

dylan and ella are alive and well in tashkent and they've even sent the pictures to prove it. so here are two select shots of my littlest nephew. so cute and yet so far away.

moren state park, orcas island

the fourth largest state park in washington and it all fits on one small island. there's even a mountain peak.

fungus and more

i got to spend the weekend between san francisco and seattle on orcas island with geddes and mary anna at their inn at ship bay.

sunday, i went mushroom hunting with geddes, avery and claire. due to the recent wet weather, the mushrooms are all out in full bloom. here are a few of the different kinds we saw (but did not collect nor eat). [as always, click on the picture if you want to see it better.]



claire with a choice mushroom.

part of our haul -- the before and after shots.

seattle

kate and i working hard in seattle


some highlights to our pacific northwest adventure

• on alaska airways (a.k.a. horizon), there's only one class and they give free alcohol to everyone -- microbrew beer and unlimited refills
• at hotel monaco, you get your own goldfish, free highspeed internet and a new york times every morning. it doesn't get much better than that.
• there are still airports in the u.s. where you can fly without identification and check in two minutes before departure, at least when flying san juan airlines. the airport makes martha's vineyard look like a bustling metropolis. (unfortunately none of this does any good when you arrive after the plane has already left.)

my fish henry (curtsey of hotel monaco)

the pike market

some more on our seattle trip

batman and the penguin versus the sentencing guidelines

an interesting piece by the always insightful dahlia lithwick. we'll all waiting to see how this one plays out. [the new york times article is also informative, though not as much fun.]

weekend update

as much as i've been enjoying montana, i'm excited to going farther west. tomorrow kate and i leave for seattle, for what is sure to be a hectic trip. we'll be staying at the hotel monaco. we're particularly excited about the "guppy love" program.

after seattle, i'll be in orcas island for the weekend, to see cousin geddes and all the fam.

then i go to san francisco for orientation -- clerks converging from all over the west coast. we'll be at the marriott, the only place we could get to house our crew.

doyle, however, is staying in montana. in fact, he's already left town. he's gone with malin for a weekend in missoula (here they are setting out), then is off to camp later this week. i suspect he won't miss me in the least.

saturday in billings

billings has a pretty active farmer's market -- or at least it did; today was the last day. now we have to wait until it reopens in june. there's a good collection of jams, pies, vegetables, etc. i've become particularly found of the kettle corn. it's a mixture of average local montana farmers, as well as numerous hutterites -- which for you easterners, are somewhat similar to the pennsylvania dutch, at least in appearance. they wear the same clothes -- button down shirts, suspenders, dresses, bonnets, everything -- only in iridescent colors. additional pictures here and here.


traveling pets at the market (doyle's in missoula or else he would've gotten to come today).


and what would a country festival be without some racist imagery?


for more on the farmer's market and everything else kate and i have been doing, check out her excellent blog.

legal query of the day

in NY state, "a bias related or hate crime occurs when the victim is selected on the basis of their race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation."

topic for discussion: isn't rape then by definition always also a hate crime?

(courtesy of wks)

doyle in the shower

(and earnest as ever)