Day 1: Driving to Blanding Utah

I blog friends from the Super 8 motel in Blanding, UT. Is there some special poetic trope that refers to the name of a town perfectly mirroring its character? Geo-onomatopoeia? Blanding is, I was told by the cashier at the third mini mart I searched for beer, "a dry town." I drove three miles out of town to a Sinclair gas station to get a beer after a day of driving.

Driving down highway 6 and then 191, we saw Recapture Reservoir (where Son briefly fished), The Hole in the Wall (though we weren't lured in by this tourist trap), and the cleanest most scenic rest stop I've ever visited. We were also caught in one of the most sudden and vicious rain storms I've experienced. We drove straight through Moab and stopped for weak americanos in Monticello. I had a good bacon cheeseburger in Blanding. Later we took a late-afternoon trip to Manti-La Sal National Forest just outside town.

The Super 8 has cable, so we all watched Jaws with Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfus on AMC. It was Son's first time seeing the movie. Now Dr. Write and I are trying to get Son to go to sleep. We will surely fail.

Tomorrow we plan to stop at the Canyon De Chelly National Monument in northeast Arizona on the way to Pinetop. And looking at the names of towns in northeast Arizona, I have mixed feelings about geo-onomatopoeia. Depending on the route we take, we may go through or near the towns of Mexican Water, Rock Point, Greasewood, Nazlini, Wide Ruin, and Show Low.

What to Bring for Where I'm Going

As Dr. Write informed some of you, we're off to Pine Top, Arizona for over a week. We leave tomorrow morning, so I am packing, and I am faced once again with the perennial problem of what to bring. Clothes are easy: shorts, t-shirts, sandals. Done. But books? And how many? Do I bring the dreaded laptop? So far here's what I have

Laptop: yes (at least that's the decision as I write this entry). If there's wireless, I may actually (gasp!) work on my courses for the fall. I'm also reminded of the fact that I actually agreed to coordinate a course. What was I thinking? Now I'm not only responsible for myself, but for others. Yikes!

Books:
French Theory: How Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze, and Co. Transformed the Intellectual Life of the United States by Francois Cusset (intellectual history)
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (moody Norwegian novel)
Hard Night by Christian Wiman (contemporary American poet; current editor of Poetry magazine)

Surely I should be bring lighter fare on a trip, something set in the future, or the past, or another planet. Something about crime or falling in love or out of love and then back into love again. Something with dragons and wizards. Something I would be embarrassed to be seen with in my office. But no, I bring these three. We'll see. I may change my mind at the last minute and bring total trash.

Fishing equipment
Penn fly rod
Son's ultralight spin casting gear
My River-runs-through-it-esque fishing vest

I'm told there's water and that there's fish in the water. We'll see.

No matter what I bring, I'm sure I'll have fun. And there will be pictures. I've re-upped my flickr account (sidebar widget coming soon), so you can see what I see.

Thomas Disch is Dead

Thomas Disch committed suicide on July 4th. He was 68.

For a time Disch was both one of my favorite poets and science fiction writers. Disch is almost alone, perhaps, in achieving critical and popular success in the fields of science fiction, theater, criticism, poetry, and children's books. His book The Brave Little Toaster was quite popular. I think Camp Concentration is his best science fiction novel. His collection of poems Yes, Let's includes much of his best verse.

The New York Times obituary provides a fair account of his life and work.

Here's my favorite author photo of him.

Sonics Moving to Oklahoma

It's finally a done deal. The Sonics are moving to Oklahoma.

I now no longer care about the NBA. Not even the Jazz (sorry hightouch and signifyingnothing). I'm done being a fan of professional basketball. The whole league stinks.

Son on Bicycles

Last night, Son and I rode bikes around the neighborhood.

MB: You're doing a good job of riding.
Son: Yes, when I'm older I can ride my bike to college.

Son's Last Game of the Baseball Season

Just Like Riding a Unicycle

I used to ride a unicycle as a kid. I taught myself how to when I was in 3rd grade. But I haven't owned a unicycle since I was nineteen. In a effort at easing my way into early midlife crisis mode, I recently purchased a unicycle. Here I am after lo these many years riding in front of my house. Not too shabby for such a long absence from the uni.

Click To Play