lightning and activities

I am learning to start my blogs with a delightful image:

We rode some lightning the other day, on the way home from the Williams Tower and Lego store.  It was very stormy, the kind that issues deadly lightning (they said on the radio, after the  urnhhhhhh test signal that wasn't jsut a test) and quarter sized hail (again reported on the radio).  We saw some lightning close by, while it was pouring rain, but then we saw some strike in the road right in front of us, as if we would have driven into it if it would have lasted any longer at all.  And the large boom that we heard simultaneously sounded like a large blowout and I felt it in my feet.

The video I found is about the closest approximation I could find on line.  The flash of the electricity appeared quite thick to my eyes.  It goes without saying but I'll say that I'm thankful we didn't crash or get hurt.

 

In other news today, we saw some of Houston's art cars.  In the following video from 2010, you'll see a few examples of cars we also saw today.  We got there towards the end of the lineup, but we saw a few notables.  One you'll see in this video that we saw is the dragon at the end.



Ones I didn't catch in the above video that we saw:  a car with two front ends and no back end.  a guy with a one wheel mobile that he rode around like a merry-go-round.  Orry says that our favorites are the wacky ones.

Speaking of Orry, he was a little under the weather today.  He still went around with us and had some fun, but he also ran a fever and had less energy than usual.  The rest of us had enough energy to get home, and then the two little ones sacked out until just after bedtime, ensuring that we will have a fun filled night as well.

Other things we did today:  celebrated two terrific birthdays at a birthday party.  fed the ducks.  flew some kites.  went to the museum.  made some homemade ice cream.  went grocery shopping.  sang along with We Are Young:



And I think at the end of the day, we're pleased.  And here's to making the most of our days!  Afterall, you never know if lightning or anything else will terminate the beating of your heart.

stop and look at the hammerhead worms.

My people stop and look at the hammerhead worms and other fascinations of life as it exists all around us.  Smelling the roses, looking at the clouds or rainbows, and even driving through the puddles, are appreciations of beauty that shouldn't go unlived.  A recent example was Bonnie and the tots finding a hammerhead worm by Isaac's day school.  You faithful readers might remember March 6, 2008, when I first blogged about worms and knowledge:

While showing Orry some more bugs, I found something I had never seen before.  It is a type of worm, but what struck me is that it wasn't wiggly, like the earthworms we know, and its body was more like a slug's, except very long and skinny.  Well, what I didn't notice was that the head was a peculiar shape, but these photos I found look exactly like the body I saw, so I am identifying it as the land planarian, or hammerhead worm.
Readers, when I saw this worm, I was fascinated with seeing something new.  For curiosity's sake, I googled to find out what it is.  And what delights me is seeing so many other notes from curious people who have had similar experiences.  

And a photo of the worm, of course:

Bonnie and I commented on the curiosity and joy in engaging the world around us, and how some people seem to go by such marvels without a moment's notice.  Well, I can understand a slimy worm not speaking out to the nature lover within, but I hope you all are keen to look at the moon, a rainbow, or a new bird.


Kimbo Slice entered my life again.  This time it was at school during testing days.  The students were done testing, so after showing them some Napoleon Dynamite cartoons, we found some David Blaine magic clips, and David Blaine, in the spirit of Houdini, wanted Kimbo Slice to punch him the flexed stomach as hard as possible.  Which he did, and then did again to really give it the old college try.

We have been talking a lot lately at the Becker household about television shows.  Well, we don't watch tv at all, but we do get online and watch select television programs from time to time.  And as those of you who follow Bonnie on facebook probably know, we have sidestepped into the serial drama Mad Men.  After a few episodes, which of course sucked us in, an ongoing dialogue ensued about the value or lack of value in watching such programming.  The dialogue was brought to another level by the new assistant rector at our church who justifies for the critical couch potato that our souls do well to watch these programs.  I am assuming that he is assuming that we watch these programs with the heart of humanity, and our hearts, in mind.  And the conversation still continues.

I decided that this serial drama is not unlike Updike's Rabbit books, and that television programming is like literature, afterall.  Indulging in reading is something I enjoy and value.  But it is true that even with that indulgence I think what we *do* with our lives is very important, and reading and watching doesn't count as doing unless we actively critique it or somehow work hard with it to better our lives or the lives of others.  For me, personally, I will not continue watching Mad Men, at least not in active pursuit of watching them all.  Watching them here and there and keeping up on them through Bonnie (since she will probably continue through the series) is preferable to me.

Consider Walden.  There is the living of the life.  The reflecting and writing of the life.  The reading about the life.  The watching of the life.  And now, also the video game.

A bigger issue in my life and the life of my family is where to live.  We are looking for job options that will be in a place where we can dig our roots into some soil and stay put for a number of years.  This is no small task.  We have not crossed Houston off the list, but we are heavily considering elsewhere.  No solid job offers yet, but I think I need to finish applying to places first, right?

I know you're checking out how much more blog there is and considering how much time you have to read about thecurrenttroydanielbecker, but it's not the end yet, and maybe you should come back a little later when you have another minute.  By the way, if you find that there is a glitch and you can't view the end of my blogs or comments, you can switch to classic mode in the upper left, and also, if that doesn't work, mess with the maximize window or demaximize window functions to get to see all the way to the bottom.

We were headed back from the Children's Museum on Thursday when we saw the now familiar bat action of the swooping circling and often flitting and darting bug snatchers, but embodied in a more birdlike form.  Swifts!  And so we did our best to watch them, which involved us pulling over into a parking lot.  Isaac wouldn't have it, once he spotted them:

Bats!
They look like bats, but those are birds.  They are swifts.  And they act like bats because they catch mosquitoes like bats...
Oh, bats!
No, birds.  They fly like bats and they are a similar size, but try to see the wing shape and the tail if you can.
Okay, look at the bats!  Look at all the bats!

On Saturday we went to the beach, and it's seaweed season.  We saw quite a few tiny crabs in the shallow surf.  No shovels this time, we just played in the sand, water, and waves.  When it got a little too cool (we went in the evening), we headed out and for once drove along the beach further instead of heading straight out of town like usual.  We later learned that our friends from church with boys in our family's age range also had a Cinco de Mayo beach day in Galveston, and so we were, like ships passing silent in the night, unaware of each other while away from our Houston home base.

And finally, we are to yesterday, where we were able to give double reds in the morning, and accidentally miss having the boys sing in the children choir even though we go every week to practice on Wednesdays and were actually there at church at the right service, except late.  And we were able to get our grocery shopping in and visit our cousins from Washington who are down to see our cousins that live in The Woodlands which is near Houston.  We hadn't yet met our Houston cousins, so this convergence, unlike ships passing silent, gave us a good opportunity to meet up and say hi.  What fun, and I am generally heartened to meet up with family and experience nostalgia of the yesteryears.

On our way back from that excursion, we came across a couple of scissortailed flycatchers.  Of course we had to stop the car (in traffic somewhat) because it's worth it.  It was again thanks to Bonnie's keen eyes that we got that avian treat.  We were going home "the back way" because it turns out we don't live too far away from the Houston cousins at all, but there is a slight maze of roads getting from here to there or back again and not taking the freeway up there.

geocrashing, adventuring, sunflowering

I almost forgot to tell you about geocrashing.  In order to tell you about that I have to remind you about geocaching.  Geocaching is a real world outdoor treasure hunting game.  Players use GPS devices to hide and find clues and "treasures".  Anyone can play.  It is a way to get out and see the world.  Our family has yet to join in the fun, but millions of people have.

It is exciting, perhaps, to imagine the world as a treasure trove of hidden caches--little treasures waiting to be found.  Geocrashing is when you try to find the caches in obvious hiding places, without any clues or GPS devices.  My family has engaged in this activity, because we like finding hidden things.  So you might look under a park bench or in between buttressing tree roots for that little waterproof capsule containing a tiny scroll of people who have come before you, with the assistance of technology, to find what you have found with your seeking and witting mind.

Not to toot our horns too loudly, but our first and only geocrashing experience so far was quite accidental.

In the year of my birth, on this day, Japanese adventurer Naomi Uemura reached the North Pole alone (well, not counting his sled dogs).  This guy liked to do things alone.  In order to train for crossing Antarctica alone, he went to climb Denali alone in winter (not the usual climbing season).  He disappeared after reaching the summit.  I think it's safe to say that he either died or ascended into heaven.  This was just before Bonnie's first birthday.  He was 42.

There are some exciting photos of Uemura here

And lastly, for the flower lover in you:

Guerilla Gardening