Synergy

Wednesday, January 31, 2001

Links I Like.

The web-site that I value probably above all others is the Web Gallery of Art. This site belongs to the new genre of "virtual museums." It covers individual works of art, both painting and sculpture, by European artists during the period 1150 - 1750, or roughly the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods.

You can catch just a glimpse of the site's riches by examining its offerings on a minor artist such as Spinello Aretino. First you are taken to a page of thumbnails. You may, if you wish, also consult the brief biographical sketch, where you learn that Aretino was an Italian artist of the 14th century who specialized in frescoes and murals.

But the real glory of this site lies in its enlargements. They come in reproductions of extraordinary color and detail.

Aretino painted, for example, several frescoes in the sacristy of the S. Miniato al Monte church in Florence, Italy. One wall fresco represents scenes from the life of St. Benedict. A ceiling fresco in the same sacristy portrays four doctors of the early Church.

Another example is Aretino's fresco portraying Pope Alexander III receiving an ambassador. The artist's rendering of the sumptuousness of the papal surroundings is memorable indeed.

(Note: As always, to derive the full effect of any highly visual web-site, let the pictures load on a first tour of the page, and then enjoy them as they load much more quickly the second time around.)

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Today's'Blog:

A gray, wet-looking day, with light rain. I understand, though, that cold air is again headed our way.

12:30 p.m. Oh, I am so glad that I did manage to get a web-essay, no matter how modest, up this morning.

I conceive of my basic "charge" as being to provide my readers (if such there be) with a "hit" of beauty each day. It is almost a "vitamin," in my mind, for the soul.

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A little later. I had to give in this morning and recognize that I have been in a bit of a slump. And then think how to deal with it in a way that might help me back out of it.

And I came up, I think, with a helpful strategy. My slumps seem to come, above all, from expecting too much of myself. An over-busy "to do" list is a sign that I am asking for trouble (however unintentionally).

So I have listed just a very few goals for today . . . and, sure enough, I am already more willing to be active and doing.

My goals for the first part of the day are: (1) to go through all my small morning tasks; and (2) to put up even a very brief web-essay.

Next, I hope to clean the counter in the kitchen, and then place all the cat food on it (thereby freeing up much of the kitchen table for other purposes).

Then: inflate my new air mattress; place it on the bed frame and make it all cozy. And then, for this evening, send an e-mail message to my kind friend Gertta.

That all seems eminently do-able, and I do not mind as I contemplate going through the day. (As opposed to so many days, which I dread as I contemplate them, even before they begin.)

(For tomorrow, I may have to plan nothing more than looking after my medical bills -- that has been on my list for a couple of weeks now (or, in the longer term, for several months). Perhaps my insides just feel that a single task-set of such unpleasantness is enough for one day!

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3:15 p.m. Ah, that feels very good altogether! And let that be a lesson to me, eh? By assigning myself 10 things every day for the last week, I got little done. By assigning myself four things for today, I have already done three of them (with only one small, simple one for this evening).

As I said, let that be lesson to me! (Please let me learn that lesson, please, please, please.) (And btw, a lesson that one does not even mind learning . . . so many lessons are unpleasant.)

And now, off to town . . . coffee, paper, food for tonight. And then back and let's see how things are.

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Tuesday, January 30, 2001

Links I Like.

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Today's'Blog:

12:55 p.m. Ugh, who slugged me last night? Or who put the knock-out drops in my water last night?

That's about how I feel this morning . . . as though I went through some terrible experience last night and must spend today trying to recuperate.

Ah well. It is probably a combination of poor sleep, not enough good sleep, the awful, awful weather outside (gray, gray, rainy, chilly), and just generally being a little "stuck."

I think the best remedy will be to do whatever I am inclined to do for today. So far that has mostly been to "sit and stare." But somehow it has felt good, and I think may be what I have needed.

And, in gentle combination with that, to go through my daily rounds as possible. So, I have given Banya her shot, albeit late, and I will soon get ready to go into town and BUY MY BED!

It is so odd how certain decisions and needs just "ripen" one day, and can no longer be put off. Perhaps they have been on your "to do" list for months. And then suddenly one day, you are not only ready to do it, but have a definite need to do it now.

I think this has happened with my long-time intention to get a new mattress. Hallelujah!

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2:35 p.m. Okay, I am nearly ready to get going. Here is what I feel I need (and want) to do -- get freshened up; go into town; choose: get mattress or eat & read; then: do the one you did not choose to do first; get some food for this evening.

Then, I hope, come home and put the bed together . . . and then I hope (and think perhaps) I will feel energized in quite a different way, and want to tackle some of the household things here, and my "general agenda."

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Monday, January 29, 2001

Links I Like.

Nature photographer Dale Proctor's site is appropriately called California Pictures. Here he presents more than 100 photographs of California landscapes on 60 handsome web-pages.

Some of the most beautiful are the ocean photographs, some taken from California's central coast and others further down on the southern coast.
Others take you inland to California's mountains. The photographer has titled two of his finest photos in this second category Warm Morning Light and Purple Mountain's Majesty.

The great majority are, however, pictures of California streams, rivers, and forests.

Aalthough the site focuses on landscapes, there is the occasional photo of an animal and a handful are of flowers or flowering trees. There is also an entrancing page on Tharp's Cabin.

This site, so lovely in its contents, has some decided peculiarities. Some pages have a single photograph. Others appear to have just one, but have more, buried under a mountain of descriptive text, at the bottom of the page. (An example is the page on Rock Creek Canyon). Finally, the links at the bottom of each page sometimes seem to lead in circles. If you become frustrated by that, the site map offers an alternative means of navigation.

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Today's'Blog:

9:45 a.m. I am dragging just a bit this morning, as a result of not having had much sleep. However, it is worth it to be up at this hour of the day . . . to have the entire day before me and to see the morning light. It is cold but beautiful outside. There is still snow on the ground. The morning light hits the bark of the trees quite wonderfully, and shows all the different patterns that bark can take.

Next, I guess, comes the washing up and making myself (somewhat) presentable. And then we'll see about a web-essay, or this morning's "assignments" or whatever.

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1:10 p.m. Not an easy morning, but I have accomplished what I felt I needed to. For a while I thought that I would not have a web-essay today, but then I realized that I just didn't want to do the topic I had chosen for today. Rather, I wanted to do a nature subject, something that would really "wow" and ground my readers. (Er, any readers that I might have.)

And now I feel good that I have done that -- that I have supplied at least a couple of beauty "vitamins" for anyone who might wander by these page.

So, off to town. I wish that I had gotten some practical kinds of stuff done this morning but . . . well, it just didn't work out that way. On to the rest of the day.

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9:15 p.m. A semi-semi day thus far. I did end up napping when I got home from town and of course that always throws my plans off. But I got up, had a cup of coffee, and have been taking care of little things since then.

Here's what I am excited about at the moment -- I will soon, it appears, have a bed! I have been sleeping now for more than 7 months on a thin futon cushion, and that has just not been sufficient for good sleeping. After having come across them rather accidentally at the local department store, I have decided on an air mattress. I did not know such things existed, but I understand they are quite comfortable. I would rather spend $40 on an air mattress (okay, $70 including air pump) than $200 or $300 or whatever on a regular stuffed mattress. Or so I think. But if the air mattress does not work out for regular use, I can always hang onto it for guest purposes.

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1:15 p.m. I would have liked to have done better today. But I have not done badly either. And now I shall call it a day.

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Sunday, January 28, 2001

Links I Like.

For some reason I am a bit bummed out about this project. I have lots of great sites lined up for the future . . . and I can only hope that the future will start soon. (Don't give up on me yet, okay?)

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Today's'Blog:

11:30 a.m. Late start today. I have been obsessing too much about my web-essays. It has gotten in the way of my doing other things, and has led to a feeling of exhaustion.

So today one of my hopes is to refresh myself a bit, and get off the obsessive track. It is so beautiful outside that I hope I will go out later and drawn in some fresh air, and begin there.

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1:30 p.m. Hey! I need to get going here. (Again, I have been surfing somewhat obsessively.) Now, to get freshened up, and then to do *something* (*anything*) on my kitchen table project. It is, I feel, the route to the future and IT IS TIME.

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10:30 p.m. Surfing, town, bagel and Times; return, more surfing, feed the cat, more surfing. Check out e-mail and BBS; more surfing.

That's what my day was like up until about 8:30 p.m. Then I called my mom and had a nice chat with her - an especially nice one. And after that I was somehow able to "begin" -- I went into the kitchen and actually tackled those stupid boxes that have been sitting on my beautiful long utility table for the last seven-plus months. (What a waste, eh?)

And that feels good. I went through quite a lot of stuff, discarded quite a bit, sorted out the rest in a general sense. It will take me a couple more hours tomorrow, but I do not think it need take longer than that.

Maybe tomorrow I should do both kitchen table and study table? My hope is to get going on my book by next weekend (somewhere around Feb. 3-Feb. 5), and to do that I will need this table in here (the study) cleared also.

Oh, and it would just feel so good to walk into this room and actually see bare surface!

As I have often remarked to myself, "Happiness is as many bare surfaces as possible." And, in its limited way, that is true.

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Saturday, January 27, 2001

Links I Like.

(Again, I have a set of gorgeous sites lined up for the coming week, but cannot seem to finish up an essay this morning.  Please come around again soon, though, because next week's are really fantastic.)   

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Today's'Blog:

10:15 a.m. Not too shabby -- I was up at 8:30 and have been toiling away at today's web-essay ever since.  Hope to put it up shortly, but I feel the need of a break first, before doing the final draft. 

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1:10 a.m. No, it does not seem that I will be putting a link-piece up today.  Still, I have great things almost ready for the coming week, and so I am not down about my failure this morning, as I normally would be.  Actually, feeling kinda good!  I am going off to town for the moment, but when I get back I would really like to get down to work on my sorting & discarding project. It has been on my "to do" list all week. 

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Friday, January 26, 2001

Links I Like.

Today I present you with what may well be the Web's most charming site, "The Official Peter Rabbit Website." Because of its many graphics, it does take some time but I think you will agree in the end that it is well worth it.

At the home page itself, the viewer is called upon to choose from among four languages (English, French, German, Japanese). Choosing English will take you to the lively site map.

At the site map, you are presented with a number of choices. The best is probably Meet the Characters. That choice in turn will present you with the option to "make friends," whereupon you will find a brief picture introduction to Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny and
Jemima Puddle-Duck. You may then go to "Story Time" for an abbreviated audio clip of those three characters' stories.

The other "best" choice at the site map is the Beatrix Potter section. That area in turn is divided into a "life" portion and an "art" chapter. Here you will find the intriguing story of Potter's life and how she came almost accidentally to write her classic stories. Among others, the pages on Potter's childhood pets and her picture letters to children she knew are especially interesting.

Although these are perhaps the two best sections, the others also have their points (especially if you have time . . . or a child!). Among these are Tom Kitten's Playground (various games); the Competition Area (a brief, easy quiz); Jemima Puddle-Duck's Greeting Cards (nice but a little primitive); and Squirrel Nutkin's Film Show (Quick Time needed).

(Hint: For maximum enjoyment, go through the site once and let all the pages load. Then go through it again. The graphics will appear much more quickly the second time around.)

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Today's'Blog:

9:35 a.m. So, what happened to Edit-this-Page yesterday? I was lost all day without the ability to post. Thankfully, now, all is restored. (Except for yesterday, of course.)

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11:30 a.m. Ah, that feels good! After an off day yesterday, I managed to get a "site" up for today. I am still spending too much time on these, but I do enjoy them and, as previously noted, doing them is awfully good for me.

And now . . . what? Try a couple of phone calls, I guess. Then back here, for some direction for the remainder of the day.

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Lutheran windows

Links I Like.

Yesterday I wanted to find an appropriate site and describe it in honor of an Internet friend who is a Lutheran pastor and is going through some difficult family times. .

Well, it wasn't easy! Good Catholic sites and great Episcopalian sites are fairly easy to find, but for some reason, really handsome Lutheran sites are few and far between. Finally, however, after much, much searching, I did find one that seems just right.

The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer is in Atlanta, Georgia. The church is particularly distinguished by its fine stained glass windows, and web-site gives quite a good virtual tour of those windows.

The Good Shepherd Window is a simple but appealing one. Others are more complex, in that they are composed of one or more "medallions." Among these are the Benedicite Windows and the Clerestory Windows.

Two other, very large windows are still more complex, each consisting of many "scenes" -- the North Side Windows and the
Great Redemption Windows.

Now, here is a curious problem. If you attempt to enlarge the "thumbnails" offered on either the North Side or the Great Redemption Windows page, you will discover that they do not "work." By dint of a bit of cyber-sleuthing, however, I was able to discover the problem underlying this failure, and have been able to construct a table of links that do work.

Herewith, then, my "reconstructed" tour of these two fine windows --

Nave -- North Side Windows: Life of Christ
      Annunciation

      Nativity

      Presentation in the Temple
      Flight into Egypt
      In the Temple, Age 12
      Temptation in the Wilderness
      Choosing the Apostles
      Raising of Lazarus
      The Adulterous Woman
      Healing of Blind Bartimaeus
      Peter's Confession
      Transfiguration
      Bethany
      Lament over Jerusalem

Main Altar -- Great Redemption Windows
      Testing of Abraham
      Jonah
      Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
      Last Supper
      Garden of Gethsemani
      Betrayed
      Trial
      Crown of Thorns
      Crucifixion
      Appearance at Emmaus
      Ascension

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Today's'Blog:

8:45 a.m. Ah, now to get back into my usual routine, having started by posting my "site for today," above.

Actually, today is supposed to be my "day off," the day which I designated, as I planned the week on Sunday, for getting out and about, doing the things that take me to other local villages and areas. Here are a few of the things that fall under that category: (1) Go to Office Depot for new printer ribbons (badly needed); (2) Buy massive amounts of special cat food at the store neighboring the Office Depot; (3) Go to bank to cash check; (4) Go to other bank to arrange for address-change; (5) Possibly rent post office box in nearby town. Oh yes, and pick up the laundry that I left off yesterday.

Well, I am not quite ready yet to set off on such a journey, but that is the kind of thing I need to aim at.

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11:20 a.m. Oh my goodness, I amaze myself! (Is there a French phrase, "Je m'´etonne"? if not, there should be.)

All of a sudden, I am really mowing 'em down. A batch of e-mails this morning, and then some major-league cleaning. (Well, major-league for me.) I won't mention how long it has been since I vacuumed the floors . . . let's just say I would be way too embarrassed to write it down, and that will give you an idea. But now, at long, long last, I have done it. (Gee, didn't even hurt that much!)

And so now I am off on my errands -- basically four of them, in three different towns.

And then of course I will have to stop for my daily Bakery visit. And then home . . . gee, I wonder if I will still be able to do anything by the time I get back? It would be so wonderful if I could.

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Tuesday, January 23, 2001

Links I Like.

It does not look as if I will succeed in posting a link-essay today. My sincere apologies.

(Nice one coming for tomorrow, though.)

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Today's'Blog:

9:45 a.m. What is with me? Yesterday and today, it is as though all the air has leaked out of my balloon. And after so much good progress last week too!

Well, I better start with the most basic things. Perhaps if I do those, my level of interest and activity will start to pick up.

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2:05 p.m. Whew, thank goodness things seem to be looking up a little.

Apparently what was wrong was that I very, very much wanted to post a link-essay in honor of a friend who is a Lutheran pastor. So I thought that focusing on a Lutheran site would be a good idea. The problem is that the Lutherans have *not* been taking advantage of the Web to toot their own horn. It was next to impossible to find a site of the kind I sought, despite my spending literally hours looking for one.

Then I did finally find one that really would be suitable, but most of the links didn't work! Actually, I managed to solve that problem on my own by dint of a bit of cyber-sleuthing (self-pat on the cyber-shoulder here). So tomorrow I will post an essay on the site that I found, and I will supply working links myself for those that do not work at the site. (Yes, I know it sounds strange . . . but it is true.)

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3:00 p.m. Yes, apparently that was the problem (that I just wanted so much to find the right site), because since I found it I am doing so much better. Go figure . . .

A bit later. Yes! I have now done enough to warrant going into town, where my coffee and danish and newspaper await. It feels good.

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Monday, January 22, 2001

Links I Like

Gardens -- one more time!  From the beginning, photographers have naturally, and quite rightly, seen the Web as an ideal display medium for their work.  Oregon resident Janet Loughrey has taken exceptional advantage of the Web's possibilities to create an appealing and elegant web-site on her specialty, horticultural photography.  In just six pages, she covers a wealth of ground -- and lovely ground it is. Ms. Loughrey's site, to my mind, is a well-nigh perfect combination of simplicity, beauty, and brevity. Since she specializes in horticultural photos, Ms. Loughrey offers a page of plant photographs, one of garden photos, and a separate page of plant nurseries. Her talent for both writing and photography is evident in her article on hop gardens, and her piece on Asian gardens.  Then again, my personal favorite spot in this short but elegant site is Ms. Loughrey's illustrated article on the city of Seaside, Oregon.

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Today's'Blog:

10:15 a.m.  Up early (6:30) this morning, which feels good.  I am a little disappointed, however, not to have gotten into the swing of the day as yet.  One thing I need to do:  develop a set of "short" or easy topics for future wee-essays, and a set of more involved topics.  I got side-tracked this morning, once again, by hunting around for a topic that would feel "just right."  But I think that is not a good use of my time, and I need to find a means of avoiding that on future mornings.   

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Sunday, January 21, 2001

Links I Like.

Winter is a good time to focus on gardens and flowers. We need to be reminded that color and beauty are on their way back to us, as we continue this chilly part of our annual tour around the sun.

The Orchid Lady has gathered together more than 100 colorful photos of her own orchids. They are organized on a series of 8 separate pages, in the Gallery.

One of the striking things about orchids is how diverse they are, in size, shape and color. Here is a close-up, for example, of a white and gold orchid, and another of a white with pink orchid.

In terms of pure colored flowers, orchids seem to come in every gradation. They run from pink, for instance, to reddish burgundy, to pinkish purple.

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Today's'Blog:

5:40 a.m. I woke up at around 4:00 a.m. When I still had not fallen asleep about 30 minutes later, I thought it would be good to get up. And so here I am, in the dark except for the light of the computer screen. It is snowing softly outside. The weatherman (weatherperson) predicted 4-8 inches, but I will be surprised if it amounts to that.

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10:45 a.m. Well, I was wrong. There is a good 5 or 6 inches out there on the ground. And, I expect, on my car! Which will have to be swept off before I can go into town this morning.

But first a few other chores around here. Have to give Banya her insulin shot, for example.

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