Finding an Oasis on Superbowl Sunday
Every year to some extent I forget about the Superbowl. I always know it is out there, coming up, early February. I file that, and forget it. One year I even remember heading to the mall to pick some things up and being amazed at how incredibly pleasant it was being in a nearly empty mall: No crowds, no lines, no noise. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that it was Superbowl Sunday, which is why everyone was home.
This year I remembered, though my brain kept dismissing the thought throughout the week. Clearly, though, the game really doesn't matter much. So it wasn't a factor when I made plans to hang out with a friend and his family at The Springs Preserve, a big botanic-garden and preserve with miles of trails. When we got there it was moderately well populated, but in the end we were nearly the only ones around. We ambled around the trails, looking for wildlife in the midst of the busy city, and reflecting on what the Las Vegas Valley must have been like back when the first western settlers wandered in. The Preserves talk about the meadowland that once sat in that very spot, before the springs dried up. It must have been an amazing oasis in the wilderness.
And, in a way, that was what the afternoon was about. In a world where many were glued to televisions watching a much hyped and very commercialized sporting event, I was out in the fresh air and sun with a good friend. Yeah, quite the oasis!
And on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/family-letter/sets/72157629194675951/
Testing Facebook/Blog Integration
My blog, which I almost never use anymore due to Facebook, used to be linked to Facebook. Then I changed Facebook accounts, and that severed the link. So now I'm linking my unused blog that was linked to Facebook back to Facebook.
Confused? Me too. But I needed to post something so that I know it works. You know, so if I ever blog again at least it'll publish to Facebook.
Photos from … Vegas?!
As visitors just recently commented, when you're hiking in this area, especially up in the Spring Mountains, you'd never know that you were less than an hour from Las Vegas. Today's trip was more proof of that and, for a change, I've remembered to upload some photos...
Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/family-letter/sets/72157627219024678/
Action!
After church today I went to my first movie of the season. It isn't summer yet, but I think this is the beginning of the summer movie season. There are a few super hero flicks out this year, and I always try to catch those on the big screen, starting with Thor.
It wasn't great cinema, but it also wasn't all that bad. Simple story line but then what do you expect, since the whole point of the film was to introduce the character Thor so he can appear in the Avengers film coming down the pipe.
But the visuals... Absolutely stunning. And even more so because it was a digital projection theater. This is the first time I've been to see a film that was digital in this way. And... WOW.
The ads and promos at the front were regular projection, then it switched. They played the "please silence your cell phones" thing twice, and the second time it was digital. It was like watching your TV go from regular broadcast to high-def. The picture was several times clearer and more vibrant and the sound... At least five times better. You could hear more nuances, and the surround effect was clearly evident.
Again... WOW! Not bad at all, and the same cost as I'm used to for a movie.
I'm still not brave enough to try a 3D film. I'd love to see an IMAX version, but they were all 3D today, so maybe next flick.
Back to work tomorrow after a week in Virginia at a conference/retreat of Episcopal chaplains. If you're an Episcopal chaplain and you weren't there, you missed a good event... Hope to see you next year![1]
---- The Bishop WILL pay for travel, btw! [<--]
Blessed Easter
...the Lord is Risen Indeed, Alleluia.
It was an odd sort of Holy Week. Well, an odd sort of Lent, all things considered. I don't think I really took up a discipline this time around. I got the news that I was moving just before Ash Wednesday. I got back to Oklahoma from house hunting out here, having picked a new place to live, just days before Ash Wednesday. So the whole process kind of felt interrupted.
Then I get here and... No responsibility for worship services. So Holy Week was, from the view point of my job, just another week. My first week in the new job. So things haven't reached a routine yet, I was in processing the new base, learning my way around... Taking it a bit slower.
And not planning services. No bulletins. No sermons. No seemingly endless set of services that blur together until Sunday afternoon when you collapse at home in the fetal position.
I did attend Maundy Thursday services at an Episcopal Church. I meant to go to Good Friday service in the evening, but got distracted by a phone call. There was one at my new base, and I took some of the readings[1] so I guess I made a service that day.
Saturday I found the local blood bank and got started donating platelets here. Then ducked over to Nellis to do some shopping...[2] Then to Toyota where they graciously took back the front license plate bracket that I don't actually need, and sold me a wheel cover for one that vanished sometime in the past few weeks.
Which brings us to Easter itself. I decided to try something new and different... I took it completely off. I went to the Easter Vigil service last night, then did nothing at all churchy today. In fact, I slept in[3]. Did some things online... And then went hiking! It was wonderful.
I went back to Red Rock Canyon. It is going to be a long while before I explore the whole thing, there are tons of trails. This time I tried Ice Box Canyon. 2.5 miles each way, 300 foot elevation gain, and lots of great scrambling over boulders and such. There's actually a stream in this one, and standing water. Not much, but it made for a trip from desert environment to more lush surroundings with trees, bushes, and wildlife. Very cool.
And, predictably, I took too many pictures. Please feel free to enjoy.
I tooled around some more after (in the car), did some grocery shopping, and am relaxing at home.
It was a different sort of Holy Week, but a good change considering the frantic pace lately.
Blessed Easter to you all!
---- And, unexpectedly, the benediction. The chaplain in charge announced, "And now Ch Juchter will give the benediction and we will depart in silence." Good thing I'm fast on my feat. [<--]
- Thank goodness I get paid this week, I've been spending way too much on setting up a new household. [<--]
- Okay, okay, 0630. Still that's more than an hour past my normal wake up time. [<--]