:: Kudzu ::    A tangle of green thoughts taking over the landscape of my mind.


» 3.31.2004

boys and girls...

Emily and Coleman

I felt much like an old lady tonight, doddering around the house with a blanket over my shoulders like an old shawl, steeping an herbal tea in water warmed slightly above tepid. I even said as much to Jennifer, not that she noticed, or that I spoke loud enough to be comprehended. Had my slippers not made there way, somehow (Jennifer... ahem...), into the attic along with all the other imminent yard sale fodder, the picture would have been more complete.

Yes. I'm ashamed to say that I too would have voted for the flower. The lovely, delicate, pink, girl-ness infused camilla bloom. I liked Will's idea that the photos were a "study in masculine and feminine imagery." Nice indeed. I wish I could take credit and tell you that was intentional, that I had the "he vs. she" meme in mind when I threw them out into the cyber jaws of the public beast.

No. I had no clue. I just picked the flower because the other photo I had ready to use was also blue. Too much blue. The last few Tuesdays had photos that might have been to similar. I needed something other than blue, a lot other. Pink. Pink is other than blue. Perfect. But I think I'll crop it inside the flower so it looks a bit more abstract. Yeah.

But it really was masculine vs. feminine imagery. Heavy straight lines, in stark, institutional blue with very hard lighting. Masculine. Lite, airy pinks and reds, delicately folding over and around itself like the soft smooth skin of Affection herself. Feminine.

I've always liked girls, been fascinated by them for more years than I remember. Yeah. I'd have voted for the Camilla, too. And I feel no shame in that.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [8]   ]



» 3.30.2004

two'fer tuesday: abstract...

This is the skylight above the ER waiting room at Wake Hospital.
{ Skylight : 8 votes}

A bloom from the bush just to the left of our front bay window...
{ Camillia : 11 votes}


[Voting has closed...]

{ Sorry this is late. I'm not sure why it didn't post last night. Must be a hiccup at Blogger... }

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [20]   ]



» 3.29.2004

work work work...

I've been horrible updateing the site lately. Just wanted you to know that I know what you know. Losing a lot of sleep Friday morning in the ER waiting room didn't help my mental state. Kinda hard to write when you're sleep deprived. Add to that all of the work I've been doing around the house to get it ready to sell and you can see why I've been a little slack with updates. It truely does suck that, after finishing all these projects, we won't get to really enjoy them...

On the other hand, since I wasn't at work Friday, I found time that afternoon to take some spring time photographs around our block. Actually dug the Pentax SLR out of hiding and played around some. I dropped the film off at lunch, so hopefully there will be a few good photos to use for tomorrow's contest. Tonight, I'll try to actually write last week's post, but don't hold your breath (Lisa...)

By the way, if you're one of the few readers who live here in the triangle and want to hear me play a show before we move to Memphis, I'm opening up for this guy Friday night at the Six String Cafe. Come on out and bring a friend.

Update : I left work and drove straight home instead of picking up my photos, so I've gotta go dig out something else for tomorrow's two'fer. Oh well.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [5]   ]



» 3.26.2004

the double up...

This is his first time watching the Teletubbies... and probably the last.  He was just as facinated by Monster Garage...
{ Theme Thursday : Television }
{ Photo Friday : Neglect }


{ Would this be considered cheating? }

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [14]   ]



» 3.24.2004

sorry...

Sorry I've not written you a story about cans and fences yet... I have been thinking about it, but I've been somewhat preoccupied working on a new site.

ColemanBlake.com will be launching soon...

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [4]   ]



» 3.23.2004

our future former residence...

Anyone wanna buy our house?

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [12]   ]


two'fer tuesday: rust

This is the fenceline in the back corner of Jennifer's Grandparents house in Athens, AL looking back towards the house.
{ Fenced In : 17 votes}

This is the back gate to my grandparents yard in Satsuma, AL.  Last week's winning photo looked right over this gate.
{ Chained Up : 2 votes}


[Voting has closed.]

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [19]   ]



» 3.19.2004

spring fever...

"My beloved responded and said to me,
'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.

'For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.

'The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for pruning the vines,
And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

'The fig tree has ripened its figs,
And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!'"

[   link   ]:[   Sez U   ]



» 3.18.2004

baby's first spring...

This was taken at Coleman's great grandma's house in Linden, Al.


It's finally spring time. Go outside and enjoy some clover between your own tiny toes...

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [7]   ]



» 3.17.2004

a backwards glance...

The back end of a fine day viewed backwards, framed in the back window of the shed in the back corner of the yard. The back half of an old oak tree stretches across the view reflected in the dark tinted glass looking out over the railroad tracks. Sometimes we should look backwards. Follow the trail of our life back along the path we've beaten out of the wilderness to see where we've been, to see what we've overcome, to see where we made a wrong turn, who we might have run over. Looking backwards gives needed perspective. How can you move forward if you don't know where you are? How can you know where you are if you don't know where you were?

Backwards we see the only true permanence in life. The future is always unknown while the past is solid. It is what it was. Revisionist history is not something we have the luxury to afford, nor would it ever do us anything but harm. It can only make us blind, or arrogant, or both. The past must be accepted as immovable fact. Only then can we use it as a tool to shape our future.

The future can be shaped. It is not certain. It can be molded, reformed, destroyed, redesigned, then molded again, but it is never certain. The future is more like the water that shapes the land. Like the waters of the Mississippi, the future can change course, carve up the land, build massive sandbars, or overflow the levy in an instant and destroy our own selfish plans. And sometimes, the future sweeps us away in its powerful flood and carries us all the way to Memphis.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [8]   ]



» 3.16.2004

two'fer tuesday: windows...

An old Methodist church in Dixon Mills, Alabama
{ The Old Church : 3 votes}

The back window to my grandfather's shed in Satsuma, Alabama.
{ Satsuma Sunset : 14 votes}


I took so many pictures on vacation that I had a hard time finding two for the contest today. Jennifer had to help me decide between a 'windows' or 'rust' theme. I think she made the right choice...

[Voting is closed...]

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [20]   ]



» 3.15.2004

still on the road...

This was early in the trip, before he was completely sick of sitting in his car seat.  Thankfully, he's slept for most of the car rides...

The good news is that Hampton Inn next to the outlet malls in South Carolina has wireless internet access. The bad news is we didn't make it home last night and had to stop at Hampton Inn in South Carolina. Not only did we get a late start coming home yesterday and lose time eating lunch in an Opelika, AL Dairy Queen, but there was a massive wreck in north Georga that had traffic backed up and moving at a glacial pace for about 15 miles. Coleman can move faster than that and he can't even walk yet. Can you say 'Yeesh'? I knew that you could...

Anyway... The upside of it all is that we get to go shop for baby clothes at the outlet before finishing the 4+ hour drive home and I guess this counts as an extra day of vacation (thought I'm not sure it was exactly relaxing....)

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [1]   ]



» 3.14.2004

as the vacation ends...

I've been out of touch here for a while. The vacation is ending and we've got another 700+ miles to go before we get home, so any prayers would be greatly appreciated.

A lot has happened this week. The boy got to meet most of his extended family and had more pictures taken this week than the last three combined. When we get back I'll have to set up a new directory with his three month pictures. Hopefully I'll have time for that Monday.

There are a lot of other bits of news and such to share, more than a few thoughts I've had while on the road that I wanted to write down and share, but there just hasn't been the time, much less the usable internet connection (Upload a photo over a dial up line? Are you crazy?)

Wait and see. Come back tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have more for you then...

[   link   ]:[   Sez U   ]



» 3.10.2004

pristine...

{ Guest Writer : Cameron Lawrence }

The nearest town was a few hours back, and our final destination was a few hours ahead. They had warned us about altitude sickness in Lima earlier that day, that we shouldn�t try and do too much at first, and this particular point, we were told, was sixteen-thousand feet. But there was something about the rich hue of the blue water that filled my sleepy traveler's body with energy and had me running with almost a complete disregard for thin air. I realized quickly, chest burning, what a difference altitude makes.

It dawned on me that the water was so incredibly blue because nothing had ever been put in it. I was overwhelmed by the purity of the location and stood for a while, hands behind my head, hoping to capture the scene forever in a panoramic memory of beauty and awe. I wondered at how many untouched places there might be across the globe, and whether or not they would stay that way. And for a moment, in a very small way, I understood what it meant for the Maker to look over His creation and see that it was good.

{ posted by Cameron }
[   link   ]:[   Sez U [5]   ]



» 3.9.2004

two'fer tuesday: mountain air...

.{ Guest Photographer : Emese Gaal }.


{ Valley Road : 6 votes }


{ Cool Reflections : 15 votes }


[Voting is closed.]

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [22]   ]



» 3.8.2004

evidence...

One Matt, one Melissa, and one Shane....  You figure out which is which....

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [8]   ]



» 3.6.2004

a note from the road...

Just finished playing a short show in Nashville and I'm stealing a minute before we get back on the road to say hello. I've taken over Matt's computer at the moment. I should delete some files or something. Change his background, rename all his icons. "My Comptuer"??? I think not... "Shane's Computer"... Much better... "Internet Explorer"??? Nope... "Coleman Waz Hear"... Hehehe...

Back on the road... The whirlwind tour of the southeast continues...

[   link   ]:[   Sez U   ]


a new song for the boy...

you
[ words & music : S. Blake ]

you stole my heart
you made me feel
a deeper love was possible
you smiled at me
made me believe
that I haven't screwed up yet
that there is still a chance
for me to get this right

you've got the right to know every secret i carry
you've got the right to know every wrong i've done
you've got the right to know just how much i love you
you've got the right to ask me why daddy why


you talk to me
you're only three
months old and there�s not much you can say
but when you laugh
when you see me
well it just melts it all away
the rain clouds and skies of gray
the toil of the work day
and the pain my failures

do the stars come out at night
do turtles hide in a shell
do the rain clouds block the sun
do puppies have cold noses
do leaves fall in the autumn...

[   link   ]:[   Sez U   ]



» 3.4.2004

crocus on ice...

I was busy carrying the boy, so I told Jennifer to take pictures of the flowers...
.{ photo by Jennifer Blake }.
{ Theme Thursday : Desperation }

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [4]   ]



» 3.3.2004

sprung...

Some few nights ago, I began a post for the kudzu that I subsequently abandoned. Good thing, too, because I was completely wrong in the main theme of the post. The idea I began was an explanation of why I was awake at 1:00 AM for the second night in a row. I quickly dismissed any notion that it could be the result of Seasonal Affective Disorder (appropriately abbreviated SAD) and suggested it could just be the result of watching Coleman fight sleep. I'm not sure why, but some nights he just refuses, despite his obvious fatigue, to fall asleep. Happened again tonight, actually.

In the post, I eventually gave up on that line of reasoning and decided it was not a desire to stay awake and play, but rather a desire to prolong the beginning of another work day. The sooner you sleep, the sooner your conscious mind finds itself in the confines of the cubical, and at the time I started the post, the current project at work was not progressing according to plans. In other words, I couldn't make something work and it was making me frustrated. I don't like to fail. I like finding the solution. I like to win.

I now believe that I abandoned that earlier post because, deep down, I realized work had nothing to do with it. Despite not being able to fit a new piece of technology into our current project as I'd hoped, I learned a great deal about how that technology worked and I'm confident I could use it now, quite effectively, in another project where it might make more sense to do so. The point here is, I learned something new, and that always makes me happy. Learning new technologies is the highlight of what could be truly dull work. Despite the late hours and breathless grumblings that I've since repented for, I was actually enjoying work at the time.

So where does that leave us? Right back at the beginning: SAD. With all the snow and icy weather we've had lately, all the cold and greyness, I was just sick of winter. The moment these tender crocus flowers began to bloom in the front flowerbed, I realized my foul mood was propagated from long term exposure to the mind-numbing lifelessness of winter. But ah, the flowers.... New life! It's early yet to call it spring, but it's just the cheerful shot in the arm I needed.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [4]   ]



» 3.2.2004

two'fer tuesday: flower power...

Took this while we were having lunch at Lucky 32 with dad.
{ Phone Call : 7 votes}
{ Salt Shaker (?!?) : 2 votes}

The crocuses are always the first to bloom
{ Crocus : 9 votes}



[Voting is closed.]


Update : With Ilgondo's vote coming in after the cut off (and assuming the two Salt Shaker votes were actually for Phone Call) it seems we have a tie game. Which means, of course, I get to pick the winner. Since I currently feel like warmed-over death and I'm more medicated than a washed out Hollywood actor, it may be late tomorrow before I reveal to you, my dear reader, the winner.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [20]   ]

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