The Alejandro Diaries: Saturday, My 18th

You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

Hi Patrick. Trust you are all well and now fully recovered from your fall. We returned last week from visiting Gayle's step mother, Joan, in London. Think I mentioned before that she has terminal cancer but is always in great spirits. Joan has her children and other family living in the area so has lots of support for shopping, house cleaning etc. We didn't go into the city since we plan a weekend there sometime this year. I found a very nice hotel about 25 miles from London in leafy Sussex. Managed to get a special deal and we were more than pleased with the room considering what we paid.

London hotel prices are ridiculously expensive generally. The original part of the building dated from the 14th century and had extensive grounds. After spending a day at Polesten Lacey, a National Trust property, we took a detour to Southampton to spend a couple of days with Marnie and to look after Tristan. Marnie had to spend a couple of days working with a University colleague on a paper which is being published towards her Phd. It was great having him to ourselves and I think Tristan enjoyed being spoiled! We were initially only going to spend a couple of hours at Polesten Lacey but the place was so terrific and the weather so glorious we ended up having lunch there and spending the afternoon dozing in deck chairs on the lawn overlooking the glorious Sussex countryside!

The weather is still quite cool here for the time of year, especially the evenings. The jet stream, which should by now be north of Scotland, is still staying stubbornly below England and the consequence is that we are getting all the cold air coming from the north. However, we have been getting a reasonable amount of sun so Gayle and I have been taking advantage and doing a lot of walking. I must say this is my favorite time of year. The hedgerows are brimming with wild flowers and the woodlands carpeted in English bluebells, anemones and celandine. Truly magical. Mother Nature certainly does it best!
 

We managed a phone conversation with Krissy yesterday. First time we have spoken in a couple of weeks. They have both been super busy and she has been working very long hours but I'd thoroughly enjoying her new role! Mark is busy getting the van ready for the summer trading. They seem to have recovered from their setback! Maybe one of these days I will see a return on my investment before I am too old to enjoy it!

Before I forget, a couple of dates for your diary. Marnie and Ant will be here for a few days in July but will be leaving us on July 28th. Therefore, if you give us a day to get your room ready any time from July 30th would be good for us. We plan to get the theatre tickets for Friday August 2nd. They are not on sale yet but as soon as they are I will grab 4 since they tend to sell out quickly. We will be leaving you on August 5th for Heathrow and staying overnight at the Holiday Inn since our flight leaves around noon on August 6th. A friend of Marnie has offered her their cottage in North Cornwall for a week in August so they will be going there after they leave us at the end of July. Hopefully we can arrange to drive up to see them while you are here so you can meet them.

Incidentally I have been totally unsuccessful in obtaining car insurance for you on my car. For some bizarre reason they will insure Australian and New Zealand license holders but not North American. So I am afraid you will need to rent a vehicle while you are here. Very sorry about that! Hope Chloe is well. I assume she has now settled into her new apartment. Best wishes to you both, Derek

Hi Derek!

Trust you are both well. Must say you seem to be enjoying a life of Luxury, Sheer Luxury, from evidence of glorious snaps you sent along!long weekend! Quite obvious that you are spending the "investment" money before you have it back. You are starting to behave like our offspring! Spend, spend, spend! I want! I want! I want! Right now if not sooner!

We had already anticipated renting a car but thanks for your efforts. Given this, we are planning to arrive in Cornwall on July 30th. We will thread our way south, from Yorkshire, via Somerset, where Cora Lee hopes to ingratiate herself with distant, fabulously rich relatives as the poor cousin down on her luck with a shifty husband in tow! 

Chloë moved back in to our place until we return to take care of Maggie. She is doing very well at Aunt Leah's but is finding shifts at GIB quite tiring on top of everything. She has been working six days a week of late. I applaud this as a landlord as we have actually been paid, even if it is a highly subsidized rate! Furthermore, Chloë is trying to arrange her finances so that she can pay her rent at the beginning of the month. This is when most of our expenses need to be met so I suggested that perhaps she should consider this a priority rather than the new couch she has already ordered! Fondestos to you and Gayle from Cora Lee. Cheers, Patrizzio! 

Marvin Angelo Mercado

Smoked salmon cream cheese and red onions with a mimosa for brunch

Patrick James Dunn Carrot sticks, cheese and bottled water on the Allegiant flight to LA this afternoon but it's sunny and warm, 76º F. Ayn is preparing Armenian chicken and peppers for a light snack. Just back from Trader Joe's for a hootch run. Off to Flesh, an art show to honour Melissa Rourke, a former colleague of Ayn's at Hallmark, who died last year.

Hi Patrick, Great to have you for the Flat Fix Clinic. I have you reserved for June 17th. Please bring with you a front wheel and any flat fix tools you may have as the event will be  hands on.Thanks, Andrew

Hi Sarge!

Trust you and Molly Mop are surviving all on your own! Had a good getaway yesterday morning. Left at about 7:15am and decided to use Truck Crossing instead of Peace Arch as according to highway sign waiting time was supposed to be ten minutes shorter at former, 70 minutes as opposed to 80! Traffic was lined up all the way to the overpass to take to TC so we knew we were in trouble. Anyway, used the Nexus/Commercial lane to get to Duty Free without any trouble but the parking lot there quickly filled up, as you can imagine. Picked up two bottles of the 10 year old Ardbeg as I knew I didn't want to stop on way back, given time our flight would arrive, drive home, etc.

Once we were back in the car it was shortly after 8:00am and we literally inched our way into a holding pattern, monitored by quite a few safety vested employees who will certainly earn their pay over this long weekend. Basically, there were nine lanes of about 10-15 vehicles that one was funneled into. We happened to be in Lane 4. As snail traffic on highway allowed, one complete lane was inserted into general flow towards border. Took us almost two hours to get back onto the highway and then another half an hour to hand over our passports and be waved through by a surprisingly friendly officer! 

Cora Lee didn't mind all that much as she napped for most of the time and I read my book, Lee Child's Bad Luck and Trouble. (Coriandre insisted that this is a perfect description of me!). I haven't really read this author and don't know his Jack Reacher series but am enjoying this thriller immensely. Consequently, the time went by rather pleasantly, under the circumstances.

Had no trouble finding Wiki Wiki Park n Shuttle that Nicolina had recommended and we were parked and had our bags, (just carry-ons), in the waiting area by just before 11:00am. We had to wait for about ten minutes as there was another family taking the same flight, (1:05pm), so we chatted with the extremely friendly owner,  Velma. She is a Canadian, from Vancouver, and her mother was from Carberry, a town to the south, between Brandon and Winnipeg. Dusty's relatives, the Hammonds, farmed there and Velma said that she thought she recognized the family name. Enjoyed a wonderful cup of French Roast while we waited for shuttle, driven by Ernie, her husband.
 
Couple, with their two young daughters, we were waiting for arrived and we climbed aboard small bus. They had been caught in the same grid-lock at Duty Free/border and said they were in lane next to us in parking lot. 

Couple, with their two young daughters, we were waiting for arrived and we climbed aboard small bus. They had been caught in the same grid-lock at Duty Free/border and said they were in lane next to us in parking lot. Off to Disneyland as were many of the other passengers we chatted with while checking in at the airport. Smooth flight and I had packed light lunches for both of us, (carrot sticks, cheese and rice crackers), so we nibbled and read for most of the flight. Strong tail wind meant that we arrived in LA at just after 3:00pm, about half an hour ahead of scheduled time so had to wait for almost an hour for Ayn and  Alejandro. Ironically, given our earlier experience with traffic, 405 was a parking lot as well and delayed them by half an hour. Cora Lee fretted, pacing up and down the sidewalk of the Allegiant pick-up area, but I sat on a bench and continued to follow Reacher's exploits and enjoyed the lovely sunny, warm weather.

They pulled up around 4:00pm and we didn't really encounter any delays on way back to Valley Glen. Pierre was in the shower when we walked into apartment as he had been playing basketball earlier. We unpacked and chatted and Los Horridos watched NBA game. Ayn needed a few things so Cora Lee and I accompanied her to Trader Joe's. I wanted to look for some wine so spent an enjoyable time scoping the shelves. Found a number of what look like reasonably decent whites for under $5 so am curious to find out how they taste. If acceptable will buy more for graduation bbq on Tuesday. Will probably be about twenty people, according to Ayn's last count.

Back home Ayn prepared spicy Armenian chicken and peppers for a delicious snack, along with tzatziki, salsa and chopped lettuce. While the Brotherhood enjoyed the wonderful food, she and Cora Lee put together a large cheese plate and a fruit platter to take to Flesh, an art show to honour Melissa Rourke, a former colleague of Ayn's at Hallmark, who died last year, that we were going to attend that evening. Pierre had to work at Sound, a nightclub where he often does security detail, so we said goodnight and piled into the car again.

Traffic wasn't really too, too bad, by Tinsel Town's standards and we took the 101 to 729 Spring St. right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. According to Ayn this part of the city has undergone considerable revitalization over the past few years and is now a very vibrant urban area. Once a place one didn't visit, particularly at night, it has been successfully redeveloped. Principally, older office buildings have been turned into lofts and apartments and with people now living here, numerous restaurants, bars and clubs have opened to service the growing numbers of permanent residents. Sidewalks were crowded and bustling, outdoor patios were full, vibes were good.

We found a surface lot near the Hive Gallery where show was mounted and just had to walk across the street to it. We knew quite a few of the people there as we had met quite a few of them last Christmas. Gallery itself is rather interesting in its own right:
 

The Hive Gallery and Studios is a truly unique and vibrant gallery/studio experience. It is a virtual think-tank, buzzing with 5 featured artists a month, two full galleries, 25 working artists, and an artist-made item store. One of the longest standing galleries on the Downtown Art Walk, the Hive is on the forefront of establishing the Los Angeles Metro area as a world-wide art mecca. In addition, the gallery serves as an arts community hub, holding various fundraising events, and gallery programs such as yoga, figure drawing, private movie screenings, and more.
 
Spent the time chatting with others, sipping wine and nibbling on the grand selection of food, most of which had been contributed by Melissa's friends and colleagues. The fact that the show was mounted in the first instance was due to Glenda, who along with her husband, Teramy, had organized the exhibit and paid, at their own expense, for the 29 pictures shown to be professionally mounted. Her parents and a number of other family members had flown out from Rhode Island to attend the celebration of her art. A number of slide shows ran, on continual loop, showing Melissa at different stages of her life and illness. I happened to be talking with her mother, Joan, when a clip of her Confirmation, (Filmed by Melissa herself as she was already interested in media!), scrolled across the large, wall mounted screen, opposite us, and she had to wipe here eyes. Cannot imagine how terribly difficult it must have been for the family to lose her, let alone at but 26 years of age. When it was clear the disease was terminal Melissa returned to the family home to live out the last few months of her life. Quite a sad affair in one sense, seeing how vibrant and full of life Melissa appeared to be in most of the pictures we saw. On the other hand, a remarkable testament to her courage and spirit and the body of work which she was working on up until her death.
 

By 11:00pm we said goodbye to everyone and made our way home, dropping Alex off at his place before we returned to Ayn's apartment. I was pretty tired by then as I'd been up since 5:45am so after I brushed and flossed plunked myself down on the bed. Could only manage to keep my eyes open for a few pages before I simply closed my eyes, rolled away from the bedside lamplight, (Left it on as The Goils were still plotting in the living room!), and drifted off, quite happily.

Lazy day today. Hope to have a haircut and go for a swim at a pool not far from Ayn's place. She is having a number of people for dinner this evening so we'll probably help out with meal preparation later in the  afternoon. Wish I had my bike with me as it would be grand to ride, given weather and fact that I have numerous routes already scoped. Cheers, Patrizzio!

To be continued...Pics: Los Horridos; Melissa; Melissa's parents 

I am still in Surrey at the skating competition and not home until later today. We haven't seen the sunshine all weekend so you haven't missed anything. When do you get back. W

Hi Sarge! No wonder you don't miss Flamin' as you are too, too busy with skating! She seems to be having a pretty good time if postings are any indication! We are back on Wednesday but probably not until after 9:00pm, by the time we drive home from Bellingham. Then I'm off to Winnipeg next day, back on 28th. Goils just came back from a walk around neighbourhood so they are taking me to pool shortly. Cheers, Patrizzio! 
 
Hello Everyone,

The Vintage Papaya Shop, has a quirky and funky flavour, but hardly qualifies as a tourist attraction. This retrorama of a place, was fairly quiet when i visited it. The shopping malls, especially Siam Center, on the otherhand, was full of foreign tourists.
http://wordfrombob.blogspot.ca/2013/05/window-shopping-in-bangkok.html

The video from the Pratunam market is nine minutes long, perhaps too long to view in it's unedited form, but i have not learned how to edit video clips yet. For those who happen to be curious, the stroll is perhaps of anecdotal interest, through a part of the Pratunam Market area. Eventually, one ends up in the elevator of the Baiyoke Sky Hotel.
http://wordfrombob.blogspot.ca/2013/05/pratanum-market-bangkok.html

Greetings to you all! bob

FLESH: AN ART EXHIBIT HONORING MELISSA ANN ROURKE SET TO DEBUT MAY 18^TH

AT THE HIVE GALLERY AND STUDIOS IN LOS ANGELES TO BENEFIT CREATE NOW

Artwork from Melissa Ann Rourke’s Bodyscape series will premiere at the Hive Gallery and Studios in downtown, Los Angeles on Saturday, May 18^th beginning at 7:00pm.  Rourke was a sculptor, videographer and digital artist.  Her work focuses on topics concerning the body, movement and visual disturbance, reinterpretation.  In August 2012 Rourke passed away after a brief but courageous battle with cancer. This art event is a memorial showcasing her work and also a benefit for the nonprofit organization, Create Now.  Rourke’s love of the arts and passion for helping others, especially raising awareness and interest in the arts among children and teens made a partnership with Create Now a perfect fit.  Rourke’s art inspired a Create Now workshop; students from the organization will also have pieces at the event.   

Flesh: An Art Exhibit Honoring Melissa Ann Rourke will be held at 729 Spring St. LA, CA 90014 at The Hive Gallery and Studios from 7:00pm-11:00pm.There is a suggested donation of $10 to benefit  Create Now:

Create Now is an independent nonprofit organization that transforms the lives of youth in need through arts mentoring and experiences. The organization serves vulnerable children and youth ages 2 to 25 who have been abused, neglected, abandoned, orphaned, are homeless, runaways, teen parents, victims of domestic violence, children of prisoners, substance abusers, gang members or incarcerated. By bringing arts education to these “forgotten children” who have fallen through the cracks, Create Now helps prevent violence.  For more information visit www.createnow.org  

More on The Hive Gallery and Studios

The Hive Gallery and Studios is a truly unique and vibrant gallery/studio experience. It is a virtual think-tank, buzzing with 5 featured artists a month, two full galleries, 25 working artists, and an artist-made item store. One of the longest standing galleries on the Downtown Art Walk, the Hive is on the forefront of establishing the Los Angeles Metro area as a world-wide art mecca. In addition, the gallery serves as an arts community hub, holding various fundraising events, and gallery programs such as yoga, figure drawing, private movie screenings, and more.  For more information visit www.hivegallery.com 

Attached is a pdf poster for this year's High Game Tournament, which gives all the information necessary.

If you can join us on Saturday, June 8th please reply with your entry. As usual, if you can't make the squash part of the event, please consider donating a Silent Auction item or bidding on one that day.

Please send entries or questions to mdjameon@shaw.ca. Thanks. Morley Jameson, Allan Brown

In Europe's Middle Ages, a fearsome form of punishment for kings, noblemen and merchants alike was excommunication by the Church. Though even in this highly religious period not all feared the spiritual dimension of excommunication, the economic consequences were serious. A nobleman or merchant who was excommunicated could be required to forfeit his wealth or property, and could not rely on protection from those who took it from him. And so the kings of Europe, almost always cash-strapped, could use excommunication as a way to fill their coffers. And even a king could have his lands taken from him through excommunication, leaving noblemen who otherwise would owe him fealty free to rebel against him. Thus one of Europe's Holy Roman Emperors traveled to stand in the snow outside the pope's residence until that pope restored his standing in the church:

While the penalty may not have both­ered everyone spiritually, it carried serious social and economic overtones even for non-Christians. Those excommunicated were put at a distinct dis­advantage among their peers and found that certain economic and social doors were closed to them. As a result, excommunication was more serious than it would otherwise appear and had to be taken seriously by even the nominally faithful.

As the church extended its power over the empire and secular rulers, excommunication became a convenient tool through which to express its po­litical will. One hundred years before the Third Lateran Council, the young Holy Roman Emperor challenged the authority of Pope Gregory VII, the former monk known as Hildebrand. Henry challenged the pope's authority only to find that he was excommunicated from the church, which would have proved a valid excuse for princes to rebel from his authority. The lan­guage of the pope was explicit and contained more than a simple admoni­tion against disobedience. 'I now declare ... that Henry, son of the Emperor Henry, is deprived of his kingdom of Italy and Germany,' he wrote in 1076.

As a result, Henry traveled to Canossa in the Alps in 1077, where the pope was staying, and stood penitentially outside his residence in the snow until Gregory forgave his sins and restored his standing in the church. The spec­tacle of an emperor having to do penitence in such a manner was one of the medieval world's most enduring images and made a strong impression on the faithful and non-believers alike. 

Within their own realms, kings were able to confiscate the property of the excommunicated under their jurisdiction. Although a direct legal link between church and secular law was tenuous, the religious codes formed the basis of the secular law and that was enough to provide the basis for the con­fiscation of property. The convenience factor was also present. The prop­erty of excommunicants proved too tempting a lure to ignore for sovereigns constantly in need of money [and] expropriation became a convenient method of raising money in the Middle Ages.

When our hearing is impaired, it is damage to ear hair. Although that damage becomes evident when we are older, it often relates to damage incurred when we are young. By far the most common [condition that destroys hearing is] exposure to either long-term moderately loud noise or sudden very loud noise. ... What actually happens in the inner ear when it is exposed to ... loud noise? 

 The inner ear is home to the cochlea, a bony spiral cavity about the size of a pea, which turns on itself two and a half times and looks like a snail shell ('cochlea' comes from the Latin term for 'snail'). Sound waves, or vibrations, enter the cochlea (having been given a boost by the middle ear's three interconnected bones, including the stapes, the smallest bone in the body). As this happens, fluid in the cochlea sets in motion the thousands of hair cells located in the organ of Corti, deep in the inner ear. 

The hair cells in the organ of Corti are organized into four rows. The three outer rows of cells pick up the movement and change it into a mechanical impulse, which amplifies the signal -- now traveling through the cochlear bath and thus dulled, as sound would be if you were underwater.

The inner hair cells, in a single row, each respond to a particular frequency. They are activated to release a neurotransmitter to the auditory nerve fibers, which also number in the thousands and also each respond to a different frequency. The neurons transmit the sound via the auditory nerve to the brain, ultimately reaching the auditory cortex, which translates the sound into something that we recognize as speech or birdsong or a car passing on the road. The translation that occurs in the auditory cortex allows us to distinguish between similar speech sounds like 'ah' and 'eh,' 'b' and 'p,' 'ch' and 'sh.' How the cortex does this is beyond the scope of this book. Suffice it to say that you hear with your brain. The auditory system merely transmits the signals. But if the signals can't get to the brain, then the brain can't do its job.

In a lot of deafness, the first things you lose are the outer hair cells. The inner hair cells may be undamaged, but because you've lost the mechanical response of the outer cells, the cochlea is not as sensitive, not as fine-tuned in its response. The result is that some neurons respond to more frequencies than they should, sending a muddled signal to the brain. The primary damage is to speech recognition. 'Bet' sounds like 'pet,' 'church' sounds like 'shirts.' Brad May, of Johns Hopkins, calls this 'brain deafness.' ...

[This] type of hearing loss [is] often referred to as nerve damage but [it is] not, technically, since [it doesn't] affect the acoustic nerve, only the hair cells that communicate with it. ...

A person with mild to moderate hearing loss can still hear in a quiet room or other favorable environment. But when too many frequencies are destroyed, he or she may not understand speech, even under the best of conditions. The muddled transmissions also make it difficult for the auditory system to filter unwanted noise: the din and clatter of a restaurant, the engine of a bus, the hum of a fan or air conditioner. Intrusive noise may be simply two or three people talking at once, creating a background sound of indistinguishable voices, or it may be a large, resonant room echoing sound off the walls. ... Since hearing aids aren't as good as the human ear at screening out unwanted noise, using them can be frustrating, especially in noisy environments. 

Assuming my hair cells are damaged, they probably look flattened, like a field of wheat after a hailstorm. ... Each cell in those four rows of cells (the single inner row, which communicates with the brain, and three outer rows) is topped by a tiny standing hair, or stereocilium. The hair cells, she said, are 'connected to each other with fine little filaments, so that when sound comes in and they bend, it allows currents to flow through.' This movement triggers the release of the neurotransmitter substances. After intense noise exposure, the hair cells lie flat. If the noise is not too loud, they eventually right themselves. The threshold shift is temporary.

But Kujawa and Liberman have found that even though the threshold reverts to normal, permanent damage may have occurred. ... [They] found that the damage occurs not in the hair cells themselves, which may recover, but in the spiral ganglion cells (SGCs -- the cells in the cochlear neurons). The hair cells communicate with SGCs in the process of passing information to the brain. 

Although hearing is restored, the damage is done almost instantaneously. ... Even though we think of this kind of hearing loss as related to aging, the truth is that ears are most vulnerable to noise damage when they're young. ... Teenagers -- with their ubiquitous iPods and MP3 players, not to mention noise exposure from video games, loud stadiums, and rock concerts -- are experiencing these loud noises at an especially vulnerable age. Another vulnerable population, newborn infants, might suffer damage from continuous noise in a neonatal ICU or from a white noise machines parents sometimes use to help fussy infants sleep.