Bowled Over by the World

Ray and I have logged a lot of television viewing time watching the 2010 Olympics from Vancouver, Canada and we've loved every minute. We root for everyone. Yes, Bode Miller and Lindsay Vonn are exciting US stars as well as Steve Holcomb and the Bobsled crew. (I love Italian slalom skiers, Swedish curlers, and Austrian whatever). But let's cheer the Canadian Hockey team - wow - overtime win just a teensy bit ago. The Canadian ice dancing team were fabulous. And the Canadian skater who's mother passed - damn, she took to the ice and skated like the champion she was.

(Plus note, Ray did his best to get me the way cool Olympic mittens with the maple leaf)

But, this weekend Ray and I had to get off our butts and do something active. Did you know the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame moved to Arlington from St.Louis, MO? Well, it did and it's got a beautiful facility in the shadow of Six Flags Arlington and Jerry World (i.e. Cowboy Stadium). What does this have to do with writing? - sorta nothing, but it was zany fun.


It was a gorgeous day with clear blue skies and we weren't shoveling snow like my poor father in PA. He'd better get rid of that stuff by Easter when I go visit.

The musuem had a small bowling interactive lane. Ray hit his stride and scored well. I threw gutter balls until a man said I could put up gutter guards. Well, yea!!!! Once I could bowl like any five year-old, I was throwing strikes, baby! Bowling has a lot of history - from Egypt thru Europe and on into the heyday of New York elite. I learned a few things - like support this nifty wacky museum.

Lots of history and throwback to corny. Where else can you wear bad shoes and drink beer??

From Olympics to bowling and beer to a book signing. This post has it all - told you we'd cover the world. Rebecca Balcarcel just published her book of poetry Palabras in Each Fist, a stunning new poetry collection by a talented voice. Rebecca (r), a daughter of a Guatemalan father and an Iowan mother straddles the English language with love.

I'm constantly in awe of the talent in this world. Ignore the "bad" news and support the joy of skill, whether it's sports or writing.

My last Texas birding weekend

My big brother (my only brother) Ricardo is here for the weekend so we can celebrate his 50th birthday. Pretty hard to believe that old turd is half a century old! Tomorrow, we're going to see his son Victor play in a band competition; he's only in 8th grade but he's in the high school drum corps! That musical talent runs in the family, you know.

Anyway, it's my last weekend here in Texas before I leave Tuesday for Pennsylvania, so sister Mary is coming down and we're going to bird some places in the San Antonio area, hoping to see what would be a really early-returning Golden-cheeked Warbler. I don't want to leave here without seeing one, but then again, I won't put off my trip to wait for one either. It's tough, but I'm ready to get back to Penna and see my gal AB again.

I'm hoping to go to a few different places, take advantage of the spring-like weather we've been having, and catch some early migrants. The local birds have been singing and winging their little hearts out, and it seems like spring is already coming to South Texas. Let's hope we see a few cool species.

As always, I'll bring along the camera and get snaps of whatever cool birds we see.

Film Fascination

I am the movie critic for The Little Paper of San Saba, a town with no theater. Nonetheless, a good friend, Cecil, decided I needed a press pass worthy of my title. So far, this has garnered no free movies, no free popcorn - just a few laughs. I don't care. I love the movies and the experience. The concept of NetFlix is cool - discs in the mail or streaming video whenever you want to watch a movie. We even have a big screen and comfy chairs with cupholders. But I am easily distracted and less involved at home.

I enjoy the movie theater experience and agree with a quote from director Werner Herzog (WSJ, 2/23/10). "I'm sitting there in awe and astonishment and I enjoy to be in a place where there are people around you and the curtain opens and the miracle begins."

Superb acting, dialogue, scenery, costumes - there's just nothing like movie magic.

This year the nominees for Best Original Screenplay are:
Mark Boat: The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino: Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon and Owen Moverman: The Messenger
Joel Cohen and Ethan Cohen: A Serious Man
Bob Peterson, Peter Doctor, and Tom McCarthy: Up

All worthy contenders. Writers rule!