Monthly Archives: October 2011

Grateful to have escaped disaster

We are very, very fortunate, indeed.  Our house could easily have been burned to the ground, quite possibly with our dog inside, locked in a kennel.  The battery in the center of the above photo formerly looked exactly like the one below … Continue reading

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The old home place

Just one photo today, mes amis. A cousin just sent me this colorized version of an old tintype photo of my great grandfather, David, along with his third wife (not my great grandmother), his hired hand holding the mules, and … Continue reading

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A few more king-sized icicles

It’s going to take a few more days to show you the rest of my trip to the Sapporo Snow Festival, so let’s get started.  Here are today’s installments.  The first is a close-up of a sculpture that was in … Continue reading

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Vampires? Try Chinese hopping zombies.

The sign says, “Baby kyonshii,” but you’d be hard put to find it spelled with two i‘s in any Internet search.  Actually, on the sign it’s more like “BEBII KYONSHII.” A kyonshi, or jiang shi, in Chinese, is a zombie that … Continue reading

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Sukoshi atsui desho ka?

It was an unusually warm winter in Sapporo, and you can see from these photos that the ice sculptures were melting fast. This time I’m not going to comment on the sculptures, so enjoy!             

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Not all change is good

  At least one of my sisters was in this particular high school band.  The avenue on which they are marching is now a four-lane, and cars can no longer park along the shoulders.  We know it is at least … Continue reading

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My prize watermelon

My agricultural roots Here I am, showing off my prize watermelon.  It was the year James Dean died and Elvis signed with RCA.  Rock Around the Clock.  Bobby socks and poodle skirts.  Disneyland opened, and Jonas Salk developed the polio … Continue reading

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Three of a kind

First day of school, 1952 OK, I don’t know for sure if this photo was taken the first day of school.  For that matter, I can’t say with 100% certainty that the year of capture was in 1952, but it’s a … Continue reading

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Self portrait

Horton Deakins with pipe, self portrait No, that’s not me.  That’s not even my dad.  It is, however, the man who would eventually become my dad.  He was quite the photographer, and he took this self portrait sixty years ago, … Continue reading

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Aloha snoe

  And don’t even think about complaining about the pun in today’s title — it’s what I do.  I think this was an American entry — but what would have been my first clue?  While you’re here, check out the small … Continue reading

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