I hate time jumps

Other than science fiction, I don't read many novels. But it seems to me that more and more novels do a lot of time jumps, both backward and forward. I just find it confusing. If I like the story, I just want the straight-forward story, damn it. I guess I'm in the minority, but I hate time jumps.

London and Paris — June 2024

 

In the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

Link to more photos. As always, view the photos individually to see the captions.

We took this short trip to London and Paris. The only time I had visited was in 1975, and Victor had never been. The temperatures were mild, but there was a bit of rain in both cities.

In London, we stayed at a hotel right by Marble Arch, but it was completely covered, undergoing restoration (click to enlarge):

Our first full day we had Tootbus tickets, but with three routes, only connecting at certain points, it took time to figure out what to do. My main goal was the British Museum, my favorite museum from my 1975 trip. I decided we could also go to the changing of the horse guards (much much less crowded than the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace) and Harry Potter's Platform 9 3⁄4 (click here for the 3-minute video clip) at King's Cross railway station. We did those, and also took photos of many other sites when the bus stopped. The museum, along with most other places, had many more visitors than I remembered from 1975, and, of course, all the previously unheard of, but now ubiquitous, annoying and time-consuming security checks.

The next day, we had a bus tour of Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford and the Cotswolds. The following day was open; because of my interest in Alan Turing and computers, we went to Bletchley Park, which I had not seen before.

We then took the train to Paris, via the Chunnel. Our first full day in Paris was open. Because I had visited the Louvre and the Rodin Museum in 1975, and because one of its current exhibitions was "Comics, 1964 – 2024," we went to the Pompidou Centre. It was a bit exhausting, and the comics exhibition had little I hadn't seen or read before, but there was still plenty to enjoy.

Our last two days were busy: a cruise on the Seine, a visit to the third level of the Eiffel Tower, and a Paris City bus tour on one day, and a trip to the palace and gardens of Versailles the next. I had not been to Versailles before.

Pismo Beach — April/May 2024

 

We took this short trip to Pismo Beach and nearby sites. Happily, the weather was mild and it didn't rain. The trip began with a ride to San Luis Obispo aboard Amtrak's Coast Starlight train.

Here's the view from our Pismo Beach hotel room:

More photos:

 - The trip as a whole

 - Sculptures at Sculpterra

 - Frank Lloyd Wright building in San Luis Obispo

In Paso Robles the next day, we visited an olive farm and Sculpterra winery and sculpture garden. (Photo album of the sculptures)

The following day we were at a Clydesdale horse ranch, including lunch in a barn with several of the horses. After lunch, we went on a short Morro Bay cruise. In the evening, we returned to the weekly evening downtown farmers' market in San Luis Obispo that we had visited in December. This time, I made a point of stopping at the doctor's office designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. (Photo album of this building)

We stopped at a luffa farm on the way home.

Autographs — John Scalzi

 

Today at the LATimes Festival of Books.

Click here for two photos from the event:

- John Scalzi and panel

- Barbara McQuaid

(Index to autographs) 

 

Autographs — Justin Torres

Justin Torres spoke at Occidental this evening. I haven't read the book yet, but given the subject matter and the appearance of many of the pages (see below), I'm surprised and impressed that it won the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction. 

(Index to autographs) 

Mérida — Jan/Feb 2024

Victor with his mother

Queso Relleno Yucateco made by Victor's sister

We go to Mérida so often that I don't usually blog about it, but here are a few photos from our recent visit.

One of the highlights was Parque De La Plancha, opened in November 2023, built at a what used to be a railway station. Over fifty acres, it includes covered walkways, bicycle paths, a large amphitheater, an auditorium, a wading pool, a lake, an outdoor gym, a multipurpose sports field, a large food court, the Railway Museum, children's play areas, a skating rink. Click here for a photo album.

A few photos in Progreso:

And two more photos:

In one store in downtown Mérida 

At a Miró exhibit in downtown Mérida

Fortune

Very young Rodney

I've been meaning to write about this for a very long time. The final impetus was Fiona Hill's There Is Nothing For You Here. In particular, her descriptions of what Thatcherism and Reaganism wrought. 

In short: I think the long-lived idea that your children will live better than you did is dead. I am part of the luckiest demographic, and now things are getting worse.

Sure, old-timers often complain the current generation is going to hell, but that's not what I'm talking about. 

I think it's the world, not the people, that's going to hell. There are many serious issues that were not a concern when I was growing up. Global issues such as climate change, overpopulation, energy crises, plus U.S. economic issues such as drastic inequality, housing costs, cost of living,  lifelong student debt.

For a white middle class kid, growing up in the 1950s and 1960s was the best. World wars and polio were behind us. The biggest life-threatening external event for a boy born in 1950 would be the Vietnam War, and I dodged that with a sufficiently high draft lottery number. 

In addition to my lucky demographic, I had a fortunate personal upbringing. A classic idyllic childhood. An intact family, a stay-at-home mom, a perfectly normal education, the usual family vacations and childhood activities such as scouting. As a first child, my parents gave me more opportunities than even my brothers, such as music lessons, symphony subscriptions, and summer camp.

SLO and Hearst Castle — December 2023

 

At Apple Farm Inn

Link to more photos. As always, view the photos individually to see the captions.

We went on this short 3-day tour of San Luis Obispo and Hearst Castle. I was worried about the December weather, but it was fine — mild temperatures and no rain! I had visited Hearst Castle once before, in 1975, but Victor had never been there.

Our first group meal was lunch at Pea Soup Andersen's in Buellton. I love pea soup, and hadn't been there in decades. We next visited the Madonna Inn, with its over-the-top pink decor and stone sinks in the men's restroom (see the photos).

After checking in at our SLO inn, we stopped at the weekly evening downtown farmers' market, including the large Tom's Toys store and nearby holiday lights in Mission Plaza.

The next day began with animal viewing at Giving Tree Family Farm and then on to the Point San Luis Lighthouse. The lighthouse tour was fine, but Victor had an unfortunate incident with Pam, the woman who runs the tours and the volunteer docents. As we were all returning to the bus before lunch, I went to the bus while Victor stopped at the men's room, so he was then approaching the bus alone. Pam stood in his way, and as he tried to go around her, she moved to block him. He said he was on the tour, and she didn't believe him. He pointed to his tour name badge, but she was unimpressed. She even made a cutthroat gesture. The bus driver saw all this, and came out of the bus and vouched for Victor being a member of the tour group. (And even then, when the bus driver was approaching, Pam made another assumption and asked him, "Is he a friend of yours?")

After a brief afternoon rest at the inn, we went on a Holiday Twilight Tour of Hearst Castle. 

The last day was our return trip. In Lompoc, the group had a tour of La Purísima Mission State Historic Park, but I'm not interested in missions, so Victor and I skipped the tour and stayed in the Visitor Center. Afterwards, we saw more animals and had lunch with wine tasting at Vega Vineyard. 

Thoughts I dare not ponder

 

As I've always said, I decided in high school that my goal in life was to retire. And in retirement I wanted to read, write, and travel. After I retired, that shifted to read, travel, and exercise.

But lately, I've begun to think that the "why" is no longer self-evident. 

To what end? To what purpose? What's the point?

Yes, of course, increasing thoughts of mortality are part of this. So I quickly labeled these "thoughts I dare not ponder".

About those retirement activities:

 - Reading 

I have always been a print media junkie (including online print). 

I love news, information, learning. I'm even rather competive about it. (See here.) 

There are still tons of books on my reading list, and I still add more, but now I sometimes wonder why.

It's no longer self-evident. 

Similarly, I check the news repeatedly. But what if I stopped?

 - Travel

There are tons of places I've never been, but I've hit the top places on my list. (See here.)

TSA, airlines, and my aging body make the journeys (not the destinations) increasingly unpleasant.

And to what end?

 - Exercise

In my first year of retirement, I lost more than 50 pounds, and I kept it off for years, but lately, I've began to put some back on. 

Arthritis slows me down and makes hills and long walks ever more difficult. 

Diabetes is ever-present. 

Dietary self-restraint in the face of mortality: Why?

Just what are homophobes afraid of?

The LATimes ran a lengthy profile of school board book banning activist Sonja Shaw. I dashed off a quick letter about what it seems such folks are afraid of, and why that's pretty stupid. I wrote:

Sonja Shaw says she is fighting policies that "pervert children." She should think back to her own teenage years. If she had been taught that gay people exist, would that have made her a lesbian?

For my first sentence, I quoted a phrase about what's she's afraid of, but I should have left that out, because in context, it sounds like I agree that being lesbian is a perversion. 

I usually wait at least a couple of hours after drafting a letter to re-read it later and maybe revise it. I did not do that this time, but I should have. Shortly after I sent it, I wished I could re-write it.

The Times printed no letters about the article.