Clouds of Gauze

Endings and Beginnings

I have to apologize, this week's card is perhaps not as uplifting as some of the others. There is truth in the quote, though. How could an ending not mean a new beginning? The image reminded me of what some of my own ancestors must have gone through, leaving their ancestral homes, never to return …

Purely Pacific Northwest

Pretty video of locations around the Pacific Northwest, with some fantastic shots of Crater Lake and Mount St. Helens. The opening shot is moonrise on Mt. Hood, which is just east of Portland. I recommend viewing in full screen. We desperately need a channel that features these kinds of videos, the way Norway features hours-long …

Finding Portland

I just saw this at Smithsonian Magazine's Web site, and had to share. My beloved Portland captured on film in a zippy 3.54 minutes! "Finding Portland: Where Young People Go To Retire" opens inside a deserted Pioneer Place mall, and shifts around the city showing the bridges, the highway interchanges, Waterfront Park with the cherry …

A Belated Thank You to the People of Japan

At the urging of some friends, I am going to detail some of my experiences as a young Naval person, on my first experience out of the good ol' U.S. of A., specifically the year and a half I spent in Okinawa, Japan.  This is a longer than usual post because there are just so …