2005 December

Near Golden, CO

My cousin Doug, his fianceé Liz, and Sean joined Ann and me to spend this balmy last day of the year climbing outside Golden. Ann has a hand injury she sustained in the gym, and is laying off climbing for awhile. We were fortunate to have her company, though, and she took some great pictures. The rest of us played on five routes: Windy Days 5.8, Pee on D 5.8, Lemons Limes and Tangerines 5.8, Big Dihedral 5.8, and Protection From the Virus 5.10c. We couldn’t imagine a better way to finish off the year.

MyPhotos :: Sean’s Photos

This Spanish film by Pedro Almodóvar incorporates an impressive array of art forms to tell a compelling human story. Dance, film, music, bull fighting, photography, and even interior design are used effectively in the tale of a friendship between a travel writer and the isolated nurse of a girl in a coma who is in love with his patient. A rich experience from beginning to end.

Near Bellvue, CO

I take off on a beautiful afternoon to do a little exploring on the mountain bike, leaving from home and taking the Poudre River bike trail and back roads to Lory State Park. There I spot another mountain biker, and take the trail he disappears on. When it forks, of course I take the uphill fork, the Timber Ridge Trail. There is no sign forbidding bikes here as there are on other trails in the park, so I follow the gentle switchbacks to gradually more technical climbing until I reach the West Ridge trail. There I see a map that clearly designates Timber Ridge Trail as foot-only. Too bad, it’s a good ride. There are no bike trails down, so I take the Arthur’s Rock trail to complete a loop, walking much of it. This trail is a little more popular, I pass a dozen people compared to two on Timber Ridge. At the trailhead I’m able to complete the trail loop on bike-sanctioned West Valley Trail, then I ride back home the way I came.

The West Ridge Trail is an old jeep trail ideal for mountain biking, and I suspect there are more of these west of the park. Maybe I’ll be able to find my way there on a future mission.

Another disappointment from Terry Gilliam. If it will get Gilliam back on his feet so he can make another movie with some quality satire, social comment, and symbolism, then that will be this film’s best quality. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t have have enough of any of those things to be worth mentioning, and the other dimensions of the movie aren’t that interesting either.

Looking for something mindless to distract us for a while, this movie delivered. Still, we nearly shut if off a few times from boredom, but it strung us along. There are some good gags and slapstick scenes that got me, but also a lot of jokes that relied on extending sexual misconceptions. Isn’t the truth about sex funny enough? Oh well, when you aim low there’s no sense in complaining.

We had an amazingly calm, sunny, warm Christmas day in Fort Collins, so we had our Christmas dinner on the picnic table! Just like summer, but without the mosquitos.

The Four Winds, the Lords of Cosmic Jest, and the Wheel of Fortune converge to bring my mother, father, Sarah, her son Adrian, and my cousin Doug together for Lunch at Lucile’s, despite everyone’s plans to the contrary. Or was it the Ghost of Christmas Present?

More Photos

I wonder if I could make a living getting up early and snapping a few sunrise pictures every day? "Subscribe to the Cyberhobo Sunrise Service and experience the peace and renewal of the rising sun every morning – all without ever having to wake up early!"

I was surprised by this movie about a couple dealing with alcoholism. It’s written well enough to really draw you in to some of the difficulties of dealing with serious problems as a couple and a family. It’s one of the few films I’ve seen like this where I didn’t just watch the problems the characters experienced and feel sorry for them, but I watched and thought, “Yeah, I probably would have made the same mistake.” All the acting is good too, which enhances the effect.

This is as low as the sun will get on my commute, so long as I can be counted on not to spring onto the bike too early, longing for this low, soft light. Here the river moves enough to melt, but is still enough to reflect the bare trees. A future park is marked and forgotten by humans during the dark days, but many animals leave their tracks to show that their park is never neglected, not even on the stolstice.