life in the old lane

Only tried two rosebuds today. One sort of OK. One definitely recycle.

Big adventure today was finding a set of five 80-year-old Chinese books in the Asylum art room.

I suspect the books might be rather valuable. And perhaps belong in the Freer Gallery Library or somewhere similar. A dealer in China is asking $680 for volume 3. 

The books are printed on great paper and I think they are collotypes. Apparently, after printing, an error was detected and it was “fixed” with red ink.

The five volumes were printed in Shanghai from March – November 1940. Not a great time in Shanghai if I recall my history. 

After dinner yesterday, I decided to reboot the Kawasaki Rose project. Dr. Kawasaki doesn’t only make big fat “Peace” Roses. (Think Hiroshima and Nagasaki) but he also makes rosebuds. SO, why not emulate Momma Nature and start by learning how to make Kawasaki rosebuds first.  

Every one of my electronic devices just starting yelling at me about a Flash Flood Warning. Not only do I live on the 11th floor, but I have been warned about “Incoming …”

So I am not scared by a little “Flood Warning”. But, maybe Mrs. Noah felt the same way.

Another day another origami failure. But, that’s no bigger.

Another war another failure.

April 1975, Saigon fell to the NLF two years after the US troops left. The US had been in Vietnam for 19 years.  And Vietnam seems to be doing just fine without the US. 

August 2021, Kabul will fall to the Taliban less than 2 months after the US troops left. The US has been in Afganistan for 20 years on Oct 1. 

We learned nothing from the French, the Soviets, or even our younger selves. 

Not yet. Not even close. I give myself until Labor Day to crack this one. After that, the Kawasaki Rose will become one of the many things that I will not do in this lifetime.

On the other hand, I found a very busy bee. And, another one tried to share my wine this evening. 

Wondering if we are going to get a thunderstorm this evening. I can see lightning over in Maryland. 

Made a house call on an ailing computer this afternoon. Problem is apparently resolved and I have brownies in the freezer and beer in the fridge. Every now and then things work out as they should.

And then there is the Kawasaki rose.

How hard can this be? Pretty damn hard apparently. This one is the one that I took apart to get the crease pattern. It’s starting to get dark out. Thunderstorm wish might come true. 

But first, let me celebrate the IBM PC. Today is its 40th birthday. That $4,000 hunk of metal changed the course of my career. Even my life. All the officers in my company got them. I hadn’t had mine for 5 minutes but I had taken it apart and figured out that I could add more memory. I had worked really hard to beat the Old Boy system and become management. But that little computer reminded me that I was 100% pure geek. Still am.

I got the BlueBirds all strung up. Now someone else can figure out how to get them attached to the 16-foot ceiling. 

Meanwhile, back at that Kawasaki Rose.

As Yogi Berra said: “It’s deja vu all over again.”

I think my Fold a BlueBird Class worked out OK.  At least no one got a paper cut. Tomorrow, figure out how to get them hung from the ceiling. 

Think I behaved myself at the wine seminar. One of the wines was supposed to have an “inky” flavor. Inky? Back in the nib pen days, people might have known what ink tasted like. Even in the fountain pen era. But, nowadays, who knows what ink tastes like? Does the wine smell like cherries or figs? Neither, it smells like wine. I will never make it as a wine person. But, it was good theater.

Now, I’ll take another crack a the Kawasaki Rose then off to bed. 

That’s pretty close. But, I think something is wrong. So, a took it apart for more study. Tomorrow is devoted to my BlueBird origami class. So, I might take a little break from the rose project.

Have I mentioned the Oak Leaf  Mite? Yes, the oak leaf mite is Momma Nature’s little kick in the teeth for late summer 2021. Remember, Mom Nature is a bitch.

 

You can not see them. They fall out of the trees and bite the shit out of you. The bites itch like crazy and last “a couple of weeks”. They get blown around by the wind and are not deterred in the least by screens.  They don’t mean to bite people. They actually eat insects that they find on oak leaves. This summer that means cicada larva. Seems to me, these mites might discover that people make for a better dinner than cicada larva.  

What can I say. I photograph what’s in my world. Not much of “interest” in my world today.

Finally, I got the base set.  I went for a walkabout around The Asylum grounds before continuing. 

I found this fine milkweed leaf beetle. It wasn’t on the milkweed plants. It was on a fig tree. 

I made myself a tomato sandwich for lunch and then worked on the model for another session.

It’s three-dimensional now! I am almost beginning to think that I’ll be about to make the damn thing. Question is: Will I be able to do it a second time? Or was it just dumb luck that got me this far? Always better to be lucky than smart.

Let me say it again. I have had a great life. Thanks!

 

Start with yesterday’s creased sheet of paper – I attempted to collapse it. It did take long for me to realize that I had done something wrong. Either with the initial moves or the crease pattern.

So, I creased another sheet of paper and ended up with a mess. I blamed it on the paper. But, I am the one who selected the paper.

I tried another kind of paper and couldn’t see the creases. One last try for today.

Still have a rumpled mess in the center. And, it’s not square anymore. But, I hope that I can move on from here. Tomorrow. 

Went to a “Celebration of Life” this afternoon. And, there is another one scheduled for later this month. They are pretty popular here at The Asylum where “no one gets out alive”. There haven’t been any memorial services, except byZoom, in 18 months. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was lots of good-looking food, but I was over being “social” by the end, so I left. Besides, Mac and Cheese was on the dinner menu. 

 

It occurred to me that if I am ever going to learn how to fold a Kawasaki Rose, I had best start in earnest. I managed to fold an acceptable rose last week. But not a great rose. I have a crease pattern for the rose. And, I have a Kawasaki rose that I unfolded. 

After about an hour of creasing and thinking and thinking and creasing – I decided to fold more bluebirds.  I needed to start and actually finish something.

About Asylum Food: Today’s featured meal included Tomato and Kale Soup, Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Turnip Greens, and No-Sugar-Added Banana Creme Pie. What’s not to hate? I did scrabble around the menu and ordered a fine rare flat iron steak and a baked sweet potato. Last night we abandoned the Asylum and went to Five Guys. 

Now what? Will this new mask mandate be the end or is it just the being. At least one of my friends thinks that we should be quarantined if we “travel”. But, what the residents think or want isn’t factored into what we are “allowed” to do. Or not do.

I haven’t been sleeping all that well this week. But, the morning at about 4:30, the moon was coming up behind the Washington Monument. It was almost worth being awake to see it. 

AND…