DARUMA DOLL DUEL

From left to right: 

A = "Old Man of the Sea" by The Child.

B = "Daruma the Grouch" by Troy's Work Table.

C = "No Face" by The Child. 

D = "Bert-i-dharma" by Troy's Work Table.

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The Child and Troy's Work Table had a Daruma Doll Duel. The rules? Each participant had to create and two Daruma art pieces, one of which used a liter Coca-Cola bottle as a canvas, the other of which could be another bottle or can. Bottles and cans had a base coat of Montana Black Spray Paint, but any medium could be used. Participants had two weeks to work on pieces. They were then voted on by Instagram followers over a period of a week.

Troy's Work Table had his ass handed to him! The voting was ranked, so every voter had to vote for all four: first choice was awarded five points, second choice was awarded three points, third choice was awarded two points, and fourth choice was awarded one point. Points were tallied and compiled. The combined scores of The Child's two pieces were essentially double the combined scores of TWT's two pieces.

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In addition to acrylic paint, "Old Man and the Sea" includes a sculpted clay nose, eye sockets, and fish. Translucent white marbles were used for eyes. "Bert-i-dharma" includes papercut hands in two slightly different colors of yellow to provide a three-dimensional element. 

KIAI

"Kiai is a good word to describe the demeanor of the karateka as they move from their mutual bow into free-sparring or a prearranged exchange of techniques."

—Dave Lowry, Traditions: Essays on the Japanese Martial Arts and Ways

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The past three days have been "karate intense."

On Thursday, The Child and I attended our regular class and engaged in a lot of kumite (sparring) techniques and practice. I seriously thought my chest was going to bruise (it didn't) because of how many blows I took during one particular drill.

On Friday, The Child and I helped serve as helpers at a Women's Self-Defense Seminar. We acted as attackers and let women learn how to defend themselves against us, putting our bodies "on the line" for the purpose of said learning.

On Saturday, The Child and I attended a Weapons and Kumite Seminar at our dojo. We learned the "Hamahiga No Tonfa" kata for the first hour and then worked through technique drills for sparring (kumite) for the second. I find these events equally fun and frustrating as I learn new things and simultaneously realize what I don't know and/or cannot currently do. Which is why it's a journey, a path, a process.

(When we returned home, The Child immediately started reviewing Hamahiga No Tonfa in the backyard. And then proceeded to walk me through it again, since it takes me some time to learn the patterns, pacing, moves, and mechanics of kata, whether with weapons or with "empty hands.")

Ultimately, though, it was a great three days of martial arts peppered with other good things.

PLU MEADOWS

TWT, The Wife, and The Child played a couple of nine-hole rounds of disc golf today at PLU Meadows. I put my Innova Champion Valkyrie distance driver into my bag and it was fun to play it again. It is light and really gets some distance. When it hits the grass right it will "skip" for a few extra yards.

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First round

Hole 1 / par 3 - 3
Hole 2 / par 3 - 4
Hole 3 / par 4 - 3
Hole 4 / par 3 - 4
Hole 5 / par 3 - 4
Hole 6 / par 4 - 4
Hole 7 / par 3 - 4
Hole 8 / par 4 - 3
Hole 9 / par 4 - 5
Front nine / par 31 - 34 (+3)

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Second round

Hole 1 / par 3 - 4
Hole 2 / par 3 - 4
Hole 3 / par 4 - 4
Hole 4 / par 3 - 3
Hole 5 / par 3 - 3
Hole 6 / par 4 - 4
Hole 7 / par 3 - 4
Hole 8 / par 4 - 4
Hole 9 / par 4 - 4
Front nine / par 31 - 34 (+3)

TACO STREET

Tacos? What tacos?

We read about the new Taco Street restaurant in the Point Ruston Public Market on the Dine Pierce County blog. (Thank you, Sue Kidd, for continuing to provide the best local food reviews!)

The Wife, The Child, and I each ordered one of the "Taco Street Plate Specials," which included four tacos of one style of meat, beans, and rice. We shared with one another, so that each of was able to try three different meat we selected—carne asada, barbacoa, and al pastor.

We took them to Dune Peninsula Park in Tacoma, found ourselves a picnic table, and had some of the best street tacos. The meats were moist and flavorful. Rice, beans, and four tacos was the perfect amount of meal without feeling like one had eaten too much.

We will definitely be returning the next time we have a hankering for street tacos, which is actually quite often!

PLAYLIST (MIXTAPE)

In my day, we called them mixtapes and they consisted of songs recorded from vinyl albums, cassette tapes, or the radio that then made their way onto cassette. They were often given to a friend. There was something communal about these groupings of songs.

In the day of The Child, they are called playlists and they end up in digital form from wherever they originate. They seem most often built for one's self to listen to. They end up as somewhat individual soundtracks.

I'm building this playlist/mixtape as a way of trying to bridge the gap between the two worlds, in the midst of the mess that is our current culture.

(I've been introducing The Child to various albums, trying to share songs that help define who I am.)



Playlist for 02/07/2017

[1]
“Young Man” by The Blackouts
1981, History in Reverse (2004 compilation album)

[2]
“Just Got Paid” by Mastodon
2009, Transformers: Dark of the Moon — The Album (2011), ZZ Top cover

[3]
“Joy” by Lucinda Williams
1998, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

[4]
“Peek-a-Boo” by Siouxsie and the Banshees
1988, Peepshow

[5]
“Antiworld” by Nina Hagen
1982, NunSexMonkRock

[6]
“Deus” by Sugarcubes
1988, Life’s Too Good

[7]
“I’m Afraid of Americans” by David Bowie
1997, Earthling

[8]
“It’s Never Over (Hey Orpheus)” by Arcade Fire
2013, Reflektor

[9]
“See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” by Laibach
2014, Spectre, Blind Lemon Jefferson cover

[10]
“New Slaves” by Kanye West
2013, Yeezus

[11]
“Walk Us Uptown” by Elvis Costello and The Roots
2013, Wise Up Ghost

[12]
“Out Go the Lights” by Spoon
2010, Transference

HARRY POTTER

In the fall of 1998, I vowed to never read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

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I guess I need to be more careful about making such absolute statements.

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At the time, I was a bookseller. I hated the Harry Potter books and their fans because of the slobbering mania of the latter. They made our bookseller day-to-day lives hell for a stretch of years, but more so near the release of each new novel.

I remember one release party where I was trying to roll a cart of boxes of books from the receiving room through the parking lot, flanked by three or four booksellers acting as "bodyguards" and we were literally mobbed by kids and their parents. We had to shout at them to get back and threaten them with no sale of books before they would part and allow us to get inside the front of the store with the books. It was fervor and madness like I had never seen for a product. A book, yes, but still a product.

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Eighteen years later I have asked The Child to read the first Harry Potter book to me. Yes, this is a bit of semantics, but it does allow me to honor my vow while finally engaging the text.

(By the way, The Child, a devout fan of the series, having read all of the books multiple times, was more than happy to oblige.)

(Also "by the way," I've seen the film adaptation of this book, so I am familiar with the storyline.)

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It is not as bad as I had feared, nor is it as good as I had hoped it could be. But it's an honest, enjoyable tale.

The story is lively and moves along quickly. Some of the descriptions are downright awful, though. For example, Rowling describes the half-giant Hagrid as twice as tall as a man and five times as wide, with hands the size of garbage can lids and feet the size of baby dolphins. That description is laughable. But such awkward metaphor usage hasn't stopped me from enjoying the book. And The Child is obviously enjoying sharing a beloved book with me. So on we read.

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After this, I may even read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on my own!

7 SEAS

7 Seas Brewing opened up a new Brewery and Tap Room in Tacoma this past week, so The Child and I stopped by for a quick pint of Ballz Deep Double IPA (and an Izze Sparkling Clementine soda) after chalking.

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The Tap Room is wide open and spacious. There is plenty of natural light from windows to the west. There is ample seating scattered throughout the building—stools, tables and benches, couches, chairs.

3uillt (prounounced "Built") provides food. Valhalla Coffee will soon be in the space. You can see downtown from the hill. The Tap Room is located right next door to University of Washington Tacoma.

Kids are welcome, hence TWT being accompanied by The Child.

The Brewery can be viewed from the Tap Room, so you can see beer for a future visit being made. You can also view the kegs currently supplying the taps by peeking in the windows of the walk-in cooler.

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All in all, this is a wonderful space. And, it is in Tacoma's old Heidelberg Brewery building, so it is keeping an historical brewing building operating as it once did in times past.

Cheers!

'TWAS a KARATE CHRISTMAS

TWT's plate of "ninjabread" cookies.

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The Child's karate dojo held its annual Christmas party.

In addition to a potluck feast that could put many Lutheran churches to shame, there were games and entertainment and time to chat with one's table mates.

The Child and TWT spent time making "ninjabread" cookies. There were some obstacles along the way, such as the original gingerbread being too sticky for the cutters and the sugar cookie dough we made as a substitute spreading out quite a bit when baking. But we ended up with four plates of karate figures and mostly had fun making them.

EGG

Easter egg, dyed by The Child.

CREEPY CHALK

"Dad, why does your chalking always have to be so creepy?"

—The Child, on viewing the latest carport chalk art.

FREESTYLE CHRISTMAS COOKIE

Freestyle Christmas cookie by The Child. "Santa with his sleigh and bag of toys."

Created with cut cookies joined together—two candy canes, two ornaments, and one Santa hat

LUNCHBOX FRIDAY: INK CLOUD

"Ink Cloud" by Troy's Work Table. Crayon and walnut ink wash.

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This morning, TWT taught art to third and fourth graders this morning and had a blast.

First, I talked them through the process of turning walnut rinds into walnut ink. Then we talked a teeny bit about Leonardo da Vinci (who used walnut ink in many of his sketches, drawings, and paintings). Each sketched out some leaves and selected his or her favorite. Then we selected a "leaf color" crayon and drew the outline of the favorite leaf on some heavier stock paper. Next we drew the veins of the leaves in with white crayon, which was a challenge because we could barely see the lines. Next came a wash of my homemade walnut ink on each piece. It was fun because all of the kids were "oohing" and "aahing" when the veins "appeared" in the wash. Then everyone signed her or his name in walnut ink with a dip stylus-and-nib pen to give it the final "da Vinci" touch.

I may have had more fun than the kids!

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In preparation for the class, I wanted to see how different color crayons would work with the walnut ink. The Child received the fruits of one such "non-leaf" experiment as this week's Lunchbox Friday drawing.

STRETCHED

Today's lunchbox surprise for The Child is "Stretched."

DON'T LET OCTOPUS...

"Don't let Octopus steal your lunch."

Each Friday, I include a drawing with The Child's lunch. These are today's "words of advice."

CURSIVE CAMP

Cursive camp begins.

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It seems that cursive handwriting is no longer taught in the schools. And yet there is so much to be gained by learning this skill, so The Child started "Cursive Camp" under the tutelage of Troy's Work Table.

The first lesson was "drawing" lower-case letters with fingers in a pie tin filled with cornmeal. Tactile memory is important.

The second lesson was drawing the lower-case letters, each a few times, until they were comfortable to draw. Repetition is likewise important.

 The third "lesson" was chosen by The Child and was additional repetition of each lower-case letter, without any prompting from the powers-that-be.

Cursive seems to be coming rather naturally to The Child, which makes teaching it all the easier.

MOBY COLLAGE

"Moby Collage" by The Child.

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The Child read an abridged version of Moby-Dick for a book talk at school. The project had to have a visual element, in addition to the oral presentation. The "Moby Collage" has words pertinent to the narrative cut out of old newspapers and magazines and pasted onto posterboard cut into the shape of a sperm whale.

(The Child received a grade of 4 out of 4.)

Today, my heart sings!

DRAGON O' LANTERN

Last night, The Child sketched out a few faces for a jack-o'-lantern. Many of them were of cats, but one was the face of a dragon, with very feline qualities. And thus Dragon O' Lantern was born.

It may not look much like a dragon when lit, but in full lighting the eyes, smile, and horns are more apparent. Then, you had best watch out for this friendly dragon.

ANGRY BIRDS

 

The Child wanted an Angry Birds birthday. So, we did what we do at Troy's Work Table and got out our Sharpie markers and made our own Angry Birds balloons. All those pictured were made by The Child and are much better than any of those created by TWT.

We had a room full of these crazy balloon birds, which were soon flying through the room, with sound effects and such, once people started to arrive.

Clockwise from upper left: Yellow Bird; Moustache Pig; Red Bird; Blue Bird (or, as The Child called it later, Zombie Bird).

DUNGEON!

TWT decided that it was time to introduce The Child to the splendor of Dungeon!  That meant pulling out the 1980 vintage game board for some monster-killing and treasure-gathering.  TWT took on the role of Hero, while The Child opted to roam the dungeon as an Elf.  We cleaned up most of the chambers and rooms of levels one, two, and three.