Saturday, May 31, 2014

Poem: the dragon and the blue turtle

By Jack Brummet



1
The dragon stays below the surface
Because the time to act is not now
Water pours down from heaven and fire rises up

2
From the center of the earth
Earth sucks in lightning to electrify itself
Like Dr. Frankenstein's monster

3
Let the blue turtle go
Train your eyes
Like a bobcat

4
Leave the knife beneath your cloak
Let things pass
Because all things must pass

5
Awareness of danger
Brings good fortune
As you cross the cold cold sea.
       ---o0o---

Friday, May 30, 2014

Narcissism/Narcissistic Personality Disorder

By Jack Brummet, Words Ed.


The more I learn about narcissism, the more I realize that just about every creepy person I've ever met or worked with had at least a touch, if not a full blown dose of it.

A standard reference work on psychiatric disorders—The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1980)—describes Narcissistic Personality Disorder as:
. . .a Personality Disorder... in which there are a grandiose sense of self-importance or uniqueness; preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success; exhibitionistic need for constant attention and admiration; characteristic responses to threats to self-esteem; and characteristic disturbances in interpersonal relationships, such as feelings of entitlement, interpersonal exploitativeness, relationships that alternate between the extremes of overidealization and devaluation, and lack of empathy....
...In response to criticism, defeat or disappointment, there is either a cool indifference or marked feelings of rage, inferiority, shame, humiliation, or emptiness.... Entitlement, the expectation of special favors without assuming reciprocal responsibilities, is usually present. For example, surprise and anger are felt because others will not do what is wanted; more is expected from people than is reasonable.

---o0o---

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

R.I.P. Maya Angelou

By Jack Brummet, Lit Ed.



I was not a fan of her poetry, but I loved her prose.  And I loved her as a public figure, speaking up, and being an inspirational figurehead for a diverse group of people.  Safe travels to you Ms. Angelou.

---o0o---

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Painting detail from the 2% - "Dean Ericksen was forced. . ."

By Jack Brummet

This is a detail from a larger painting I did many years ago, probably in the late 90's.

---o0o---

Friday, May 23, 2014

Cobbles Brummet

By Jack Brummet, Family Ed.


My son Colum with his cousin Paloma.


Colum with his Mom, Keelin

Colum with his Uncle Brendan and cousin Paloma
---o0o---




Wednesday, May 21, 2014

In memory of Charles Peter Curran

By Jack Brummet, Curran Ed.

After the accident, our family spent a lot of time over the last eight days remembering Pete, and sorting out and honoring his legacy. Over the last few years, Pete's tendency to coin phrases and nicknames has been in full bloom. My sister in laws Marcy and Betsey Curran and my niece (and goddaughter and birthday mate) Melanie came up with this partial list of Peteisms. It could probably double in size if we put our minds to it, since he was constantly evolving and tweaking and concatenating them. But here are a handful of Pete's stock phrases. I have to admit that my personal favorite is the one he would often haul out when we took him to his beloved local--Mama Stortinis. He would tell the person he was engaging (and he engaged everyone--puppies, little kids, and especially women between the ages of 20 and 80) "I just got out of jail."




Bring on the girls

Pete with one of his favorite partners, David Hokit


Perry Mason Pete, sometime between 1965 and 1970

Leisure suit Pete, 1979

Pete, holding either Keelin or Colin, mid 50's


Most of us, on one of our many annual family reunions.

Pete at 13 coins in March, 2014 (photo by Megan Curran)

Pete with my children Claire and Colum
---o0o---


Monday, May 19, 2014

Aunt Velma

By Jack Brummet, Matrimony Ed.

From Historical Indulgences, tuesday-johnson.tumblr.com/

“Handwritten note on the back: “Aunt Velma, she never married.”

---o0o---

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Friday, May 16, 2014

Ignoring warning labels and directions

Jack Brummet, Warnings & Disclaimers ed.

You know, some things only work right if you ignore the warning labels, directions, disclaimers, and instructions. Two that come to mind are Q Tips and alcoholic beverages. "DO NOT INSERT IN EAR CANAL" and "Drink responsibly."  and then,"“Do Not Consume Raw Cookie Dough," “For Tobacco Use Only”

Maybe some prescription drug directions too?  There must be dozens more.  . .




---o0o---

Vladimir Lenin's red hand

By Jack Brummet, Seattle Metro Ed.


Vladimir Ilyich Lenin's Red Hard, from the statue in Fremont (right across from my office) at Fremont Place and N. 35th Street.  The statue was constructed by a Slovak Bulgarian sculptor, Emil Venkov, under a commission from the Soviet and Czechoslovak governments.and was installed in 1988.  Unfortunately, the Soviet Union dismantled itself the following year, and a lot of Soviet artifacts ended up in the scrap heap.  A Seattle man found the 16 foot tall, seven ton sculpture face down, mortgaged his house, bought it, and moved it to Seattle.


---o0o---

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Friday, May 09, 2014

Alien Lore No. 262 - The Origins Of Mankind

By Jack Brummet, Alien Lore Ed.

[creator unknown; the image appears unatreibuted on 18 Websites, according to TinEye.]

---o0o---

Thursday, May 08, 2014

The earth-cam, now live from the International Space Station

By Jack Brummet



An earth-cam (actually four cameras) has been created on the International Space Station and is streaming video back to earth 24 hours a day.  This is amazing.

Notes:  "Black Image = International Space Station (ISS) is on the night side of the Earth. Gray Image = Switching between cameras, or communications with the ISS is not available. No Audio = Normal. There is no audio on purpose. Add your own soundtrack."


Live streaming video by Ustream
---o0o---

Drawing: Faces No, 802: The support group (scratchboard drawings)

By Jack Brummet

[9" x 12" India ink scratchboard + digitally reversed scratchboard]


---o0o---

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Ex-Governor Jeb Bush: Running for President?

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.


From Time Magazine, May 1, 2014: "Former President George W. Bush gave his younger brother Jeb his endorsement Thursday should he decide to run for the White House in 2016.
"'I hope Jeb runs,' Bush told CNN. 'I think he would be a great president. I have no clue what’s on his mind and we will talk when he’s ready. I noticed he’s moving around the country quite a bit.' 
“'Hey Jeb, if you need some advice, give me a call,' Bush said."
---o0o---

One take on the affordable care act: Naked Lunch's Dr. Benway

By Jack Brummet, Medical Ed.






Listening to a rabid Republican tonight raging on the radio against ACA/"ObamaCare." I swear his description of the care ACA will offere came straight from the pages of William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch. Dr. Benway in particular:
"Dr. Benway. . .looks around and picks up one of those rubber vacuum cups at the end of a stick they use to unstop toilets. He advances on the patient. . .'Make an incision Doctor Limpf,' he says to his appalled assistant. . .'I'm going to massage the heart.'

Dr. Limpf shrugs and begins the incision. . .Dr. Benway washes the suction cup by swishing it around in the toilet bowl. . .

Nurse: 'Shouldn't it be sterilized, doctor?'

Dr. Benway: 'Very likely, but there's no time. . .Did I ever tell you about the time I performed an appendectomy with a rusty sardine can?'

Dr. Limpf: 'The incision is ready, doctor.'

Dr. Benway forces the cup into the incision and works it up and down. Blood spurts all over the doctors, the nurse and the wall. . .the cup makes a horrible sucking sound.

Nurse: 'I think she's gone, doctor.'

Dr. Benway: 'Well, it's all in a day's work.' "
---o0o---

Monday, May 05, 2014

Kent, Washington's El Rancho Drive-In

By Jack Brummet, Green River Valley Ed.





There were three drive-ins in Kent, but we mostly went to the El Rancho, because it was cheap. They showed whatever was cheap to rent, like spaghetti westerns, scary movies like I Saw What You Did And I Know Who You Are, monster movies like The Blob, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or ass-kicking movies with Billie Jack, Charles Bronson, and Clint Eastwood.

If you were lucky, you might see an R-rated potboiler by Russ Meyers, like Vixen, or The Stewardesses.  There were also the memorable exploitation movies like Wife Swappers.  This is where I saw my first Woody Allen movie—Take The Money and Run.


There were several other El Ranchos around the country.  One survives in Nevada, at 555 El Rancho Dr, Sparks, NV 89431.


There were two other drive-ins in Kent: The Midway, on West Hill, which still exists, as a swap meet location (the screen has long been dead), and the Valley Drive-in (which closed in the last two years). 


The fantastic marquee out front showed a gigantic cowboy on the range, cooking bacon in a cast iron skillet over a campfire. At $3.50 a carload, so you could see a movie for about seventy-five cents.

Lining the street in front of the drive in were a row of stately Lombardy poplars. The El Rancho was torn down in 1975, but you can still see a few of those poplars, in between the concrete tilt-up buildings and warehouses.


More drive-ins close every year, but a few remain in Washington State, but a few remain:

  • Samish Twin Drive-In Theater, Bellingham
  • Auto Vue Theatre, Colville
  • Dayton Drive-in Theater, Dayton
  • Puget Park Drive-In, Everett
  • Your Drive In Theatre, Longview
  • Rodeo Tri Drive-In Theatre, Port Orchard
  • Blue Fox Drive-in Theater, Oak Harbor
  • River-Vue Drive-In, Pasco
  • Skyline Drive-In Theatre, Shelton (with an actual Indian totem pole at the entrance)
  • Wheel-In Motor Movie, Port Townsend
  • Vue Dale Drive In Theatre, Wenatchee
  • Country Drive In Theatre, Yakima



one of the two murals in front of the theatre


An aerial land survey view of the El Rancho before it was demolished
---o0o---