Something Completely Different

Getting back to square one…

Here’s Coldplay with Square One…a little song for your morning!

All around the world….

If it's green, we've been seen.

It’s fun to look at stats & such…the stat tracker thingie says in the last month folks in 52 countries (the ones in green) checked out the Update. Cool.

Where are you reading from? Leave a note in the comments below if you like….

Working from home…

Going pretty well, thanks...

Folks have been asking lately how it’s going – my move from the Corporate Suites of By Design on Guard Street to the home office at my house in a 12 x 12 room that used to be my son’s hideaway. It’s great. Much easier to keep tidy, easier to make tea, and fun to play with the cats.

You should try it.

So you wanna be a Facebook fan?

Sign up, anyway...

It’s easy to sign up as a Friend of the San Juan Update…just click here. (I course, you have to have a FB account.)

How does your brain work, anyway?

Music takes you where you need to go…take a moment to discuss it with Bobby McFerrin here:

Here’s looking at you, kid…kinda

Right side up....

Do you ever think about how everyone in Australia has the bottoms of their feet pointing at us right this minute (if they’re awake)?

I think about stuff like that.

Willie & Bob in the morning…

How many days start with a chance to sing along with Bob & Willie? Here’s Pancho & Lefty in 1993 (”out of kindness, I suppose…”):

Place to stay in Whistler….

In Whistler...

I told my friend Anna Maria at Tucker House/Harrison House that I’d be happy to tell you about this – she has a rental place right next to the Olympics that is, amazingly, available this weekend & next. Here’s more:

There is still time to catch the Olympics. Slope side townhouse by base of the 2010 Men’s Downhill Competition available from February 19- 28th. Three bedroom/2 bath – sleeps 9.  Four decks overlooking the valley. Barbecue grill, private hot tub, washer dryer and fully appointed kitchen.  For more information, please contact us at 360.378.3587.

Check it out!

One more love story, for the season of love….

Kissin’….

Seems like if it’s time for Valentine’s Day, ya gotta kiss somebody.

So here:

Born to run….

Tramps like us….baby, we were born to run. Get your day pumping:

The other ground hog day….

Truly scary.

The other day (like, November), my friend Pam asked me if I liked scary movies. I asked her, “Like what?” And she responded with the usual – Friday the Thirteenth, Jack the Ripper, Ghostbusters (you know, the part with the Stay Puft Marshmallow dude at the end).

I told her, yeah, spooky stuff, but the one I didn’t want to live through was Ground Hog Day. You know, the movie where Bill Murray wakes up each day & it’s a repeat of the same old day, over & over again. I think I’m more creeped out by that than any axe murderer.

I had to learn this little speech from A Thousand Clowns once, with Murray talking to his brother Arnie, which sums all this up:

Five months ago I was on the
subway on my way to work,
was sitting on the express same
as every morning looking out the
window watching the local
stops go by in the dark with an empty
head and my arms folded, not
feeling great, not feeling rotten,
just not feeling. And for a minute
I couldn’t remember, I didn’t
know, unless I really concentrated,
whether it was a Tuesday or a
Thursday or a… for a minute it
could have been any day, Arn.

[Stands up] I gotta know what
day it is. I gotta know what’s the
name of the game and what the
rules are without anyone else telling
me. You gotta own your own days
and name ‘em, each one of ‘em,
every one of ‘em, or else the
years go right by and none of them
belong to you.

And that ain’t just for weekends, kiddo.

I wish that for you. Name your own days. For me, today is Harry Manx Day, ’cause I get to see him. Thursday is Knowledge Bowl Day. Friday is April Fool’s Day, because it’s the day I set aside for making up stuff for April 1st. Saturday is Math Day, because it’s 2/5/10 for the date, which is like 2 x 5 = 10. Sunday is All Saints’ Day, because whether they win or lose, New Orleans is a city that could use a break.

You get the idea. A year from now, I’ll be able to say,”Yeah, that was the day before Harry Manx Day! It was great!” or “Remember our cool ideas from the February April Fool’s Day?”

Got ‘em named, every one of ‘em. Do you?

Nothing but net….

It was supposed to be a prank, but islander Colleen Bennett’s cousin made a half-court, blindfolded shot at halftime of a basketball game…here’s the scoop:

The prank was set up perfectly. A high school girls’ basketball coach in Kansas was told he’d win tickets to the Final Four if he hit a half-court shot while blindfolded. The crowd was instructed to scream wildly when his attempt inevitably failed (because, really, that shot is nearly impossible) so the coach would think the shot went in. For an instant he’d think he was Final-Four-bound and then the joke would be revealed. There was just one problem, though: He made it.

The students at Olathe High School in Kansas may have picked the wrong foil for the joke. Joel Branstrom, the popular girls’ basketball coach at the school, was a walk-on for the University of Kansas basketball team in 1997. Clearly he had the basketball chops to make such a prank risky, at best.

That Kansas team, by the way, was ranked No. 1 headed into the NCAA tournament but lost one game short of the Final Four. Branstrom was hoping he’d finally get to go this year. Instead he received a gift certificate from a Mexican restaurant from students who felt guilty about setting up the prank.

To his credit, Branstrom took the joke in stride. He said he thought something was in the works (initially he feared he was going to get hit with a pie) and figured the crowd would cheer after any shot he attempted. He didn’t believe that it actually went in until a good bit after.

One student told USA Today that since this story has gained national attention there have been offers pouring in from people willing to donate Final Four tickets to Branstrom. Maybe his miracle shot won’t be unrewarded after all. – Chris Chase, for Yahoo News

Wasted on the Way….

Crosby & Nash & Stills, in that order...

It’s always good to hear from old friends…here’s one from Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1983 to start your day:

Come on in!

And two free kittens....

Lots of shops in Friday Harbor have signs at the door saying welcoming things like “You have a kid – leash ‘em” and “If your kid breaks our stuff, we charge double” and so on. This is my favorite sign from off-island.

What it looks like…up close

Drop on by....

Here on the island, we’re surrounded by water…either the ocean, or when it rains, by all those puddles & the drizzle & all that. In spite of that, do we really see what the water drops look like, and how they behave? After seeing this, you’ll see water drops in a whole ‘nother way….

Get the word out!

Thanks for reading the Update!

Just wanted to take a moment to invite you to advertise on the San Juan Update.

See those little ads down the side of the page? I’m happy to pop yours in there, and link it to your website so folks can find out all about what you do.

It’s $75 a month. Or $750 a year, which is two months free (I just said that. I KNOW you can do math in your head.)

Just call & let me know when you want to get going! 378-7275. Thanks!

Ian, your itinerant weblisher & chair of the 2010 ad campaign

PS>>Glad you’re here.

One island helping another….

It’s a terrible, nightmarish time on the island of Haiti, and several of you have written about how helpless it can feel in the face of all this.

President Obama has asked former presidents Bush & Clinton to help raise money & awareness for the rescue/relief effort, and Mr. Bush said, “The most effective way for Americans to help the people of Haiti is to contribute money. That money will go to organizations on the ground who will be able to effectively spend it.

“I know a lot of people want to send blankets or water. Just send your cash.”

It’s gonna be a long haul…but these are some places you might consider offering your help. Here are organizations you might consider (offered as suggestions by San Juan Update readers this week), and I’ll keep that Doctors without Borders button to the left on this page.

The American Red Cross
Text “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 (billed to your phone)

Doctors Without Borders

The United Nations World Food Program

The Salvation Army

Action Against Hunger

Project HOPE

Partners in Health

And here’s more.

“I feel the same as when I was six…”

Every so often, folks send me in their thoughts about different things…I loved last weekend’s Peter Pan at the theatre – the kids did an awesome job – and I think Deb Langhans caught the spirit of a part of it nicely in what she shares here:

A Late Night Confession…

Last night I was sharing an excerpt from the October ‘05 edition of Time Magazine with my husband, Keith, before bed.  It was from “an exclusive Time book excerpt” from Dr. Andrew Weil’s, Healthy Aging.

After confessing some of his own aging process over the last decade, he wrote, “At the same time, despite the evidence, some part of me feels unchanged.  In fact, I feel the same as when I was 6.”

Weil’s words really resonate with me during this 56th year of my life.  Though growing aches and diminishing vigor have become more constant companions during these menopausal years, another part of me still feels like a vibrant, indomitable girl inside.

Last Saturday night, Keith and I were privileged to watch Friday Harbor students in a magical production of “Peter Pan.” (more…)

Where dancin’ came from…

You’ve always wondered – watch Judson in this & you’ll know.