Leviathans in love
February 19, 2008
Before I forget, I want to mention the short trip Yumi and I recently took to Maui with Yumi’s mother. (It was my first time to visit one of the outer islands in the four years that I’ve lived here, if you can believe that.) I wasn’t expecting much — I mean, Hawaii is Hawaii, right? — but a short 25-minute plane ride away and it really did feel like we were off on vacation. Or at the very least, off O’ahu.
The weather was fantastic and Haleakala even more spectacular. But what I want to comment upon is the crazy amount of whales we saw there. The humpbacks have returned in droves to their winter mating grounds and, by all appearances, are having a ball. I didn’t realize that whale watching could be done — satisfyingly so, at that — from the beach! Even while driving (though I don’t advised it) you can see whales breaching, slapping, and leaping right out of the ocean. I’ve never seen anything like it.
The topper came when Yumi and I went snorkeling maybe 75-100 meters off the Kaanapali coast. (The water is so clear and scenery so inviting that you find yourself pretty far offshore before you know it.) Yumi’s mother chose to stay on the beach but I had both room keys/cards in my suit. I was thinking she might want to go back to the room so Yumi and I swam in to shore to give her one of the cards. As we pulled ourselves out of the surf several enthusiastic onlookers dashed over to ask about the whale.
“What?”
“Look.” They pointed out to sea.
We turned and caught sight of — I kid you not — a massive whale gracefully arching back down into the water right about where we must have been swimming. Yumi’s mother said it looked like the whale was right on top of us.
I couldn’t believe it. After an entire day of mounting giddiness brought on by glimpses of whales cavorting on the horizon, something that large swims right by us and we don’t even notice? How the hell did that happen? We saw sea turtles, sure, but no whale. I was brimming with excitement and frustration at the same time.
The next day we went swimming again but were not able to recreate our near-encounter. (No matter: the snorkeling alone is out of this world.) What we did discover, however, is that you can actually hear whales singing, popping, laughing, and communicating with each other! Yumi picked up on this first as she wasn’t using a snorkel. (I couldn’t hear much as the sound of my own breathing blocked most external sound.) But sure enough, when I held my breath under water, the eerie yet playful sonic traffic of whale pods scattered offshore was clearly discernible. I can’t even begin to describe how cool it was to eavesdrop on this other world where we were but distant witnesses.
I’m now determined to return to Maui each and every winter and bob on the surface until that whale glides past me once more.
Unless I get eaten by a shark first 
Thank you. Thank you very much…
February 5, 2008
Though “Young Elvis” edged out his older and gaudier (yet grotesquely captivating) incarnation for the postage stamp, it’s the sequined, high-collared jumpsuits and capes of the later years that have become as integral a part of American national consciousness as the apple pie I’m holding in this photo. Last month, the designer of those iconic stage costumes, Bill Belew, passed away at the age of 76.
When I had the chance to borrow this homemade (and totally kick-ass!) Presley jumpsuit for Halloween in 1998, well, needless to say I jumped at the chance. (The glasses I had to find on my own, but they come with their own hard-wired sideburns. Yes!)
(photo)
Meet-up in Madison
January 15, 2008
I just received this photo of Rama and Dad, taken when they met up for the first time in what — 15, 20 years? Rama and his wife Susan made the stop in Madison on their way down to Chicago (they live in Minneapolis). The reunion came about after I put the two of them in touch — but only after Grant tipped me off that he’d found Rama’s contact info on classmates.com. Long story short: it was a good visit. Dad asked me to have Rama forward the photo because he thought I’d like it. Correct-a-mundo! (photo link)
From the vault
January 9, 2008
If any of you use Flickr, you’re aware that photos taken before the date you created an account cannot be uploaded. Well, they can, but in order to display them chronologically you need to “fool” the database by altering the upload date of older photos to the date of your account creation, then reconstruct a reverse time-line within the hours, minutes, and seconds of that one day. Sound confusing? It isn’t, really, but it can eat up a lot of time.
That said, I long ago made the decision to keep things in order as best I can. Yet, with thousands of older prints, negatives, slides, letters, souvenirs, etc. remaining to be scanned, most of this stuff will obviously not see the light of day anytime soon. And, as items do make their way out of the vault, you’re not going to find them at the top of our Flickr page. Instead, they will be (appropriately) filed deep within the chronological stack of virtual pages.
To help keep tabs on recently added items — usually determined by whatever project I happen to be working on — I’ve created a new set entitled recent archive additions. (Snappy, eh?) This new group will always be the last selection on our Flickr “Sets” page and will feature changing content, accordingly. (link)
