Invisible Man

Running around today trying to back up our photos with no luck, but I found myself at an internet cafe with a coffee somehow, so I thought I'd review "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison.

Back in high-school I remember reading "The Battle Royale" short story, which at the time, I had no idea was from this book, so I was quite surprised to find its words included in the first pages. The Battle has a special meaning to me due to its inclusion into the graduating class of 2000's senior show "Bust Wide Open." The book is a tale of self discovery for a young Southern African American man in the early 1900's and his role in the education and civil rights movements. Through out the book people at home, school, and later the Brotherhood in NYC control the way the narrator thinks, and he easily bends to their wishes, not really knowing for himself what he feels is the right way to move into the future. The writing is exceptional, especially for someone's first novel, and the book is hard to put down. Something is always happening, there is action and danger around every corner, but it is all despite of the author, not because of him. He begins to realize he is only a prop, and not a person with his own motives. The beginning and end of the book come full circle with the narrator isolated in a bright white or dark black room acknowledging his own invisibility.

While at the beginning of the book the narrator, and even I, wanted to follow the dying grandfather's advice, "Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open," by the end neither of us are sure. The message is still unclear; who is 'em? Was the old man's profound wisdom no more than senile babble? While a lot happens in the book, almost all the questions raised are left unanswered, perhaps they are unaswerable, but we get the story of one man's trial.

I've begun to notice a trend in the books I find exceptional, They are are struggles with the self. Each person fights to find out who they are - and when they do, they are trapped or die and the book ends, the story is over. Is that our purpose in life? To discover ourselves and die?

Vegetarian Gravy

Why eat mashed potatoes plain when you could have onion gravy?

Ingredients:

2T butter / oil
2T whole wheat flour
1C veggie stock (or water from boiling potatoes)
1 onion, diced
1T soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
salt + pepper

Directions:

Cook flour in butter / oil until brown, boil stock at the same time. Remove both from heat and add stock to flour, stir briskly and return to low heat. Fry onion. Add to gravy with garlic and soy. Before serving add a drop of sesame oil. Enjoy!

Matthew's Wild Mountain Apple Muffins

Those of you whom I have been fortunate enough to talk to while I've been away know how much this experience is affecting my outlook on food and cooking. I'm obsessed! It has been so great learning new recipes and trying local food; I've really been trying to broaden my horizon. So before I leave Japan I thought I'd try to post up a few recipes that Alison and I particularly like and have modified slightly to our own tastes.

Our shed in Wild Mountains had many cookbooks, and after the builder's party we had literally dozens of eggs and apples, so I tried my hand at these apple muffins. They were so good! And everyone liked them, so it became a tradition that I'd make a new batch as soon as the last one was gone.

Ingredients:

1C honey
1C oil
4 eggs

2.5C whole wheat flour
3t baking powder
0.5t salt
1t allspice
1t cinnamon
1t nutmeg
0.5C powdered milk

3 apples, shredded
1t vanilla
1C chopped nuts and / or raisins

Directions:

Mix wet stuff, mix dry stuff, combine lightly. Fold in fruit, nuts, and vanilla. Put in oiled and floured muffin tins and bake at 400 for 12 -15 minutes. Enjoy!

Christmas Time

This is an Update of our holidays. In Brisdane there are a lot of free museums and gallerys which is great!. Christmas eve was spent wondering around southbank and venturing into the GOMA. This first picture is taken from there. I is an installation in a small room. All the walls and ceiling is reflective. The floor is a walk was that you stand on that is surrounded by water. Suspended in the air are different colored neon lit balls. I felt lost in a neon ball universe.


The next image is of the walkway through South bank- very beautiful. When that evening we walked "Elf" out side by the water. They played the movie on a big screen for the Christmas festival. Afterwards Fireworks went off!!!!!!



Thats a picture of our 60mm gold tensil christmas tree. I decorated it myself!!!!!

Christmas day was walked back to South Bank. Matthew swam in the man made beach while I read a book. Then we ate a Chinese Restaurant in the Village. How exciting.

I think the weather sucks out the Christmas spirit here. Is around 80-85 degrees here. No one dresses in christmas colors and the city wasn't really decorated. You occasionally see a tree or some light, but nothing like I am used to.


Oh well - - Japan here we come!!!!

Brisbane

Well we made it to the big city, and it is sure great to be around people again. We just went to the Queensland Museum, Art Gallery, and GoMA today. Great stuff, they're doing a 5th annual Contemporary Pacific Show. My favorite was Ai Weiwei dropping a hung dynasty urn. Good stuff.

We're Chippers, not Sparkies

Ask and you shall recieve:

Dusty

Lots of sanding today. The Ausi hardwords are a real pain to work with, nice colors though. It's getting down to the wire and it feels a bit like finals at RISD trying to get this desk to a state where they can use it without damaging the surface. We're pushing through and ready to party in Brisi come Friday.

Life at the Zoo

Okay. So. Here are some photos of the friends we live with. Bushy the bushrat in a have-a-heart trap (Bushy was transported to Beaudesert), Lizzy the lizard (there's actually three Lizzys, they're nice and eat flies that try to get out the window), and Hunter the huntsman spider (as big as my palm, for reference). The dead bird is three of four we've found so far that fly into the windows of the main hall where we work, causing us to jump and them to snap their necks. And lastly, Speckles, the carpet python whom I almost stepped on while out for a bush walk (He was sleeping). Not poisonous, but still a biter, think infections, bad bad infections. I tossed a couple sticks at Speckles to see if he was dead, when I finally hit him, he opened his eyes, looked around, and slithered back into the bush. Interesting. When do we go to Japan?

Bush Rat

The French family left this morning. It will be more quiet but we will miss their company over the next weeks. When we were with Peter Adams he told us about a time in Korea when he took their pet cat and put it up in the attick to clear out all the rats. The next day when he went to get it out the cat was wide eyed, twitching, and was never quite the same since. We started hearing bush rats in the dish rack at night, and about three days ago I had a mental break. All I could say was "bush rat" and "leeches" over and over. Then I just started laughing, for an hour or more. We've only been off the mountain once. Hopefully we'll get hte desk supports up tonight.

Hand Sawn Half Laps

Some more photos, me in my new and improved canyon-bush hat. The hanging corks keep flies away from your face while you're working. Now if only I could find a way to keep the corks out of my face...


And one of the beautiful sunsets here.

I got into a very meditave state cutting half laps in 2x4s with a hand saw today and was at peace with myself. It was later shattered trying to sand said 2x4s, but it was nice while it lasted.

Walkabout?

I have to agree with Alison, I'm ready to move on. I know I said that once before in Tasi, but now I'm really ready. I don't know if it's Australia, these mountains, or the isolation they provide, but I want to be around people, a change of scenery, something more. I've been thinking about doing a solo day in the jungle. Just me, my thoughts, some paper and a pen. The flies might do me in, though. I keeping thinking about what I want to do back in the states. Digital media? Engineering? Drafting? Webdesign? Radio announcing? For a while I wanted to come back and just make money. I'm not so sure anymore. I've always wanted to do important work, now even more so. Alison and I go through lists of things we want to do before we're thirty and night before we go to sleep. It seemed manageble at first, but then we realized we'll be 24 by the time we get back, leaving us only six years! So much to do...


Here's a shot of me and our amazing 45 degree cut off jig. You may wonder why not just use a chop saw? So would I...


Had to throw this picture in from back in Launceston. We ran into a woman who rescued wounded animals; this is me with a baby wombat. Sooo cute.

Thinking . . .

Speaking of my home: Being here I have a lot of time to think. I really miss things that are familiar. I'm not sure where exactly my home is because I haven't had a place to go back to - Maybe Rhode Island. What ever it is I miss it. I miss my family and I especially miss my dad. With all the thinking and remembering, it seems all my childhood memories involve my dad in someway. It also seems to me that my childhood ended when he died (I was 12). I know this is personal but this is what I've been thinking about. It's just crazy that so much time can pass by but you still remember certain things like you're back in time. I don't know how much Philip Croney it thought of by others, but on this trip I think about him daily. None of my friends have met him; so let me tell you a little about him:

He was very thin, quiet and handsome. He made our computer desks with only hand tools. He had his own pest control business. He roller-skated with us; held me up by my feet, helped make homemade ice cream and mattie. He would surprise me a school and have lunch with me. He listened to the Lion King sound track and dance around the basement. He got on especially well with my sister Renita. He came to my school a few times to do presentations on Guyana, South America. . . . The list goes on.

See- doesn't he sound like an amazing father.

Now you all know a little about him and maybe his memory with last a bit longer.

A little frustrated and yes . . . even a little homesick.

We have hit the 2-month mark and we are working on our last month in Australia. I'm getting a little home sick. More so than before- or maybe I’m just sick of Australia. People here are nice, but they like to make fun of Americans and assume we are all wealthy spoiled brats that don't know how to wash dishes. (Don't get me wrong- not everyone is like this. but this is a common occurrence on our trip) I know they don't vocalize their thoughts like that but we can feel it. But the interesting thing is - Australia is striving to be just like the USA. They don't want to admit it, but they are. So I find it a little difficult to deal with. It would be very different if they were so different culturally, but they aren't. Wwoofing with the French family is a very good experience but I have noticed that everywhere we go we end up talking about politics. Everyone wants to talk politics and educate us on the way the US should be. I reminded Isabelle the other day- not all Americans agree with and support our leaders. But I do appreciate the US for what it is- my home. Like everywhere else it has good and bad. Our good is really good and our bad is really bad.

Oh well. I'm ready for Japan. I'm really for a change of people, environment, and culture.

Leaf Tailed Gecko

So Astrid, from Germany, woke me up a four am the other night becasue this lizard was on the wall at the foot of my bed. We poked at it a bit, but it didn't want to move so we just left it. In the morning we found it's shed skin all over the ground. Neat. I think the Ausi's think we are very slow builders when it comes to their office. But that's just the thing, we're not builders, we're furniture makers, and furniture takes time. It's kind of annoying cause we'll be in their working from 8 to 3 and cook dinner for them and they look at us like we've accomplished nothing that day. Grrr. We're also used to having a full shop of tools, so I think we're doing very well for only having a circular saw, jig saw, drill, and sander. What they need is a router, that would make it worlds faster.There's also a strange assumption that wwoofers have tons of money, which causes some issues with the hosts. While we have enough money to travel, we don't have enough to rent a car or stay in youth hostels even, hence wwoofing. I could give an example but it will have to wait.

Singing and Cutting

Last night Richard had friends over, we ate by candle light, and burnt a camp fire. Nicholas started playing guitar and singing all these French songs. It was beautiful; sometimes his wife would join in. I think I got a recording of it, haven't checked the quality yet. We talked a bit about singing, and how people don't know all the old folk songs anymore. People don't sing socially anymore. It's strange and sad. Sometimes it can be beautiful, but others uncomfortable. I almost sang Shenandoah, lack of practice, uncomfortable. I do want to play an intrument. Piano. Though the uilean pipes or concertina is more portable, both are expensive. I like the pipes more I think... We started cutting pieces for the office this morning. Got an early start to take advantage of the cool air and sun power. All the desks cut out and in place look shallower than I thought, but it will work, such a small space! Oh well. There'd be nother if not for us. It's nice to do some wood working, but worrisome as well. I worry more being in these mountains than anywhere else we've been so far. I'm most nervous on in between days, not know what to expect from the next host. I'm usually fine once we get therel it doesn't take a lot of skill or thought to weed a garlic patch. But here, testing my design and construction abilities puts me a little on edge. This is amplified by the extreme lack of privacy here.

A bit on a word: what's a word for a good sound? A good sight is beautiful, and good taste is delicious, what about sound?

Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!! Happy Thanksgiving to all! Gobble Gobble. I woke up today at 4:45 (Matthew woke up at 7) to prepare a Thanksgiving meal for everyone - which equals 13 people! It went pretty well. Not quite the same as in the States. We ate square Turkey bird loaf.

Quick update. . . Some of my eyelashes and fuzzy hair from the side of my head is burnt off. And I think, but I'm not sure, my eyelid is a little burned. I was trying to Light the gas burner and I had the order of operations a little mixed up. I turned on the gas and had difficulty lighting the match, so The big ball of fire from cartoons Exploded in my face, making such a loud swoosh sound that people across the room turned around.

Second . . . Took a long walk through the rainforest and felt something cold on my led- turned out it was a tiny leech trying to get it's self attached. I later climbed a hollow tree- very beautiful. When we got back I happened to find a tick on the back of my neck. We regularly see 2 ft long lizards and snakes and cute koalas so we are getting a dose of the good, bad and ugly.

Third . . . I love it here. We are designing and building office furniture, the people are nice, I get to cook when I want and we are on the top of a mountain in a rainforest!

Wild Mountains

Well, here we are in the rainforest. Pretty neat. Whole place is solar powered. Building up an Environmental Education Center. We're designing furniture for their new office and cooking a lot. It's a good time, but we're always busy, no time for Japansese or a bushwalk. A well, Thanksgiving is coming up and well be cooking all day tomorrow for that. We don't have any phone service out here so we sadly won't be able to talk to anyone, but feel free to send us a text message.

Wild Mountain

We've made it to the Wild Mountain soon to be Education Center. Lots of stuff going on and lots of different people here. When we first arrived there was a group of government scientists doing an animal survey on the land here to see if it would qualify for a certain ranking as a wildlife habitat. Very interesting, right on the edge of the rain forest too. Just heard from our next stop that they're out on some island you have to fly to so we won't be going there unfortunately, maybe we'll be able to stay longer here... Trying to get our India visas, bit stressful.