Right before the hoods shoot Otter from Animal House.
Anyway, they get an anonymous phone tip about a cop going to hit them. I never noticed, but the next scene is the hoods getting ready for the hit and discussing the appearance of the law. Everything the hoods say is correct. Had the cops come in as expected, even in suits, there’d have been no firing. The whole incident is there to vindicate Dirty Harry, and the scenes show this because he couldn’t have made the call to the hoods.
Clint was in his car.
Cell phones have changed everything. Even the way I look at the past, and older movies. PS: Check out Clint’s hair-do in “Play Misty for Me.” I bet Farrah Fawcett saw that movie before becoming an actress.
**
The beach is crap for walking during peak high tides. Only soft sand is available.
Oddly, the exposed sand at low tide is firmer than the always dry sand. It’s a great walking surface, barefoot or not.
Also, the water is warmer than one might think, especially south of the D River. A surprising volume in flow, this river has actually increased the size of its delta along the beach since June, though we’ve no rain to speak of. It eats about a quarter-mile of beach south of the bridge.
I need to spend more time along the bay, too. I like that neighborhood. So, I wonder, why am I sitting here at mid-day writing this while the sun shines and it’s a balmy 65 outside? The answer seems obvious.
**
When high tide is during prime daylight and the studio is backed up with paintings drying, there’s really not a lot to do. I clean the tools, the apartment, me – my cuticles are stained blue because of the oil paints and thinner – and take care of household business. That kills two hours.
**
On a walk inland I located a trail into Devils Lake State Park, a sort of back entrance. I’m also certain one can get into the park via the slough just a few hundred yards away, but that’s some serious swamp back in there. Too much like where I grew up to entice me into it, even if there aren’t any comparisons when it comes to bugs. Texas wins.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
“Ya got cocaine eyes…”
I’ve been listening to a lot of oldies lately. Cocaine, the word referring to the drug, appears in at least three of them on my playlist, each of them a hit in their day, from the 70s and 80s. My how times have changed.
Here I am painting, what a handsome fellow, huh?
**
I’m up to five miles walking on the beach. I tell you what, as Hank Hill might say, walking on loose sand is hard. No, the sand’s not hard, walking on it is. If I mentioned the Swiss Army boots, I’m gonna mention them again. They were competitive with Columbia and while the Swiss Army brand has become kind of cliché, these boots made beach walking easy, easier even than being barefoot. Waterproof almost to the ankle, they keep sand out too and that’s saying something.
So much beach time has given me pause to reflect. I’ve been comparing Lincoln City and environs with other places I’ve lived, for I notice pieces of the past all around me. While not a spectacular set of vistas, or an incredible urban or rural oasis of arts and culture, or all of the above, there are certain charms to appreciate. For example:
*** San Francisco’s culture aside, its location is stunning and what makes it distinctive from other such cities that rise from blue waters (as in Greece, South America, and Australia) is the icing on the cake, as it were, the fog. Here in Lincoln City the same type of marine thermal fog envelops parts of the coast where hills turn into ocean cliffs. The fog is the same color, temperature, and texture of San Francisco’s fog, there’s just not as much of it here.
*** What makes the California coast so spectacular is the way the mountains touch the sea. Majestic views dominate Big Sur, which rise from golden hills folding into the ocean in the south and then giving way to the redwood-dotted jagged edges along the coast from Monterey northward. Here in Lincoln City we have gently rolling fir-covered hills that mostly drift into the sea, but occasionally punctuated by a cliff line ever few miles or so. It’s not magnificent as our sister state to the south boasts, but it’s a decent simulation and has beauty that is similar but distinct in its own right, too.
*** The Gulf Coast is really disappointing once a beach bum becomes accustomed to tropical islands or wild forest shorelines, mostly because of the heat, bugs, and pollution. Sorry guys, but those are some serious drawbacks. Those beaches are extremely flat, that’s true, but that means miles and miles and miles of uninterrupted beaches, most of them long enough, wide enough, and sturdy enough for mild four-wheel drive vehicles; you can drive for miles, then walk and swim for miles, then drive back. Lincoln City has a taste of that in its beaches, too, although “heat” here means 80 degrees once a year and our bugs don’t all suck the blood or bite the flesh out of you. Our beaches stretch for miles and while you can’t take your wheels for long drives along the surf, we’ve several automobile-friendly beach access and parking locales. But be warned: Light four-wheel drive (your Subaru, Jeep, or Explorer won’t cut it) is not for Lincoln City sand, do not venture from the assigned parking area.
*** Nothing compares with tropical water, though. While Lincoln City has clear green sea foam and the occasional sapphire and aquamarine blues in it it’s not tropical. But it’s clean and visibility rivals most Pacific coast shores (except for Monterey and that damn water cleaning canyon; Monterey has easily 30 feet visibility along the shoreline, better away from the city proper). It’s also warmer than Santa Cruz, if you think 60 degrees is warmer than 55 degrees.
**
Politics, return or not? I don’t know. I’m fairly angry about politics, and I know some of that anger comes from my personal life. But perhaps anger is something to run from in this case. Maybe it can motivate positive action.
I dunno. Part of me thinks an honest angry liberal who is willing to speak out is what is needed far more than the present crop of weak-willed, consensus or nothing folks who seem to dominate local party politics. What a surprise that’s my opinion, huh?
Here I am painting, what a handsome fellow, huh?
**
I’m up to five miles walking on the beach. I tell you what, as Hank Hill might say, walking on loose sand is hard. No, the sand’s not hard, walking on it is. If I mentioned the Swiss Army boots, I’m gonna mention them again. They were competitive with Columbia and while the Swiss Army brand has become kind of cliché, these boots made beach walking easy, easier even than being barefoot. Waterproof almost to the ankle, they keep sand out too and that’s saying something.
So much beach time has given me pause to reflect. I’ve been comparing Lincoln City and environs with other places I’ve lived, for I notice pieces of the past all around me. While not a spectacular set of vistas, or an incredible urban or rural oasis of arts and culture, or all of the above, there are certain charms to appreciate. For example:
*** San Francisco’s culture aside, its location is stunning and what makes it distinctive from other such cities that rise from blue waters (as in Greece, South America, and Australia) is the icing on the cake, as it were, the fog. Here in Lincoln City the same type of marine thermal fog envelops parts of the coast where hills turn into ocean cliffs. The fog is the same color, temperature, and texture of San Francisco’s fog, there’s just not as much of it here.
*** What makes the California coast so spectacular is the way the mountains touch the sea. Majestic views dominate Big Sur, which rise from golden hills folding into the ocean in the south and then giving way to the redwood-dotted jagged edges along the coast from Monterey northward. Here in Lincoln City we have gently rolling fir-covered hills that mostly drift into the sea, but occasionally punctuated by a cliff line ever few miles or so. It’s not magnificent as our sister state to the south boasts, but it’s a decent simulation and has beauty that is similar but distinct in its own right, too.
*** The Gulf Coast is really disappointing once a beach bum becomes accustomed to tropical islands or wild forest shorelines, mostly because of the heat, bugs, and pollution. Sorry guys, but those are some serious drawbacks. Those beaches are extremely flat, that’s true, but that means miles and miles and miles of uninterrupted beaches, most of them long enough, wide enough, and sturdy enough for mild four-wheel drive vehicles; you can drive for miles, then walk and swim for miles, then drive back. Lincoln City has a taste of that in its beaches, too, although “heat” here means 80 degrees once a year and our bugs don’t all suck the blood or bite the flesh out of you. Our beaches stretch for miles and while you can’t take your wheels for long drives along the surf, we’ve several automobile-friendly beach access and parking locales. But be warned: Light four-wheel drive (your Subaru, Jeep, or Explorer won’t cut it) is not for Lincoln City sand, do not venture from the assigned parking area.
*** Nothing compares with tropical water, though. While Lincoln City has clear green sea foam and the occasional sapphire and aquamarine blues in it it’s not tropical. But it’s clean and visibility rivals most Pacific coast shores (except for Monterey and that damn water cleaning canyon; Monterey has easily 30 feet visibility along the shoreline, better away from the city proper). It’s also warmer than Santa Cruz, if you think 60 degrees is warmer than 55 degrees.
**
Politics, return or not? I don’t know. I’m fairly angry about politics, and I know some of that anger comes from my personal life. But perhaps anger is something to run from in this case. Maybe it can motivate positive action.
I dunno. Part of me thinks an honest angry liberal who is willing to speak out is what is needed far more than the present crop of weak-willed, consensus or nothing folks who seem to dominate local party politics. What a surprise that’s my opinion, huh?
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Solunar Walking
I missed today's best lowtide for walking. It was at 1040 or so this morning.
It's neat, yet a puzzle to me why the tidally-exposed beach sands are firmer than the light, yet not fully dry sands nearer the high tide mark. I'd think the exposed sands would be soggier, but they're firm.
Time to do some research, I guess.
The geology of the Delake beaches and their neighbors is also interesting. Underneath the sand appears to be a layer of some form of shale-like layered rock, greenish tinge when dry. This formation seems to be miles long but I've no idea how far out into the ocean or underneath the cliffs inland it extends.
Exposed jagged rocks are at a 90-degree angle in their stucture than the shale-like material. These rocks are dozens of feet out of the water in places, but mostly about 10 feet high at low tide, running perpendicular to the sand where they are exposed. These rock formations also appear to be related to beach construction somehow.
But I'm no geologist.
I tell you, driving to Portland tomorrow already has me tired.
It's neat, yet a puzzle to me why the tidally-exposed beach sands are firmer than the light, yet not fully dry sands nearer the high tide mark. I'd think the exposed sands would be soggier, but they're firm.
Time to do some research, I guess.
The geology of the Delake beaches and their neighbors is also interesting. Underneath the sand appears to be a layer of some form of shale-like layered rock, greenish tinge when dry. This formation seems to be miles long but I've no idea how far out into the ocean or underneath the cliffs inland it extends.
Exposed jagged rocks are at a 90-degree angle in their stucture than the shale-like material. These rocks are dozens of feet out of the water in places, but mostly about 10 feet high at low tide, running perpendicular to the sand where they are exposed. These rock formations also appear to be related to beach construction somehow.
But I'm no geologist.
I tell you, driving to Portland tomorrow already has me tired.
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