Alan's Skew

My Faithful Crackberry Finally Shows Its Age

2010-08-13T02:19:36Z

After 5 years of faithful service and surviving more bounces off the payment than I care to recall, my faithful Blackberry 8700 is falling apart at the seams, literally:

While the holes in the bottom have been growing in size steadily over the past several months, their only noticeable impact had been occasionally causing the jagged edges to catch on my shirt when I was returning the phone to its belt clip. This past week, however, after yet another cringe-inducing bounce off a marble floor, I noticed the Delete key was loose and the cracks had spread further up the case into the keyboard. I now how to hold the case together with one hand any time I press the Return key as without doing so, the Delete key will either skew like it did in the photo, or pop out completely.

I'm now waiting for a replacement, which my pal in IT says will be an iPhone 4. Pardon my skepticism, but I'll believe that when I have it in my hands.I also hope there's an extended warranty on my new phone, because while I'm certain that I won't be wearing it on a belt clip, I'm reasonably certain (99.999%) that I will drop this new phone.

Wish me luck!

2010 Lowell Folk Festival

2010-07-26T01:12:18Z

Today my wife and I went to the Lowell Folk Festival in Lowell, MA. Over the course of the afternoon, we saw four bands perform:

Bua—a Traditional Irish Music band

Jeff Little Trio—a Blue Ridge piano trio

Hot Club of Cowtown—a Western Swing band

Beat Ya Feet Kings (featuring Black Alley)—a DC Urban dance and Go-Go band

Here's a video clip I shot of Hot Club of Cowtown on stage. They were by far our favorite performers of the show, although I have to give props to Jeff Little for his piano-only rendition of both the piano and saxophone parts of Dave Brubeck's classic Take 5.

We also enjoyed Bua's performance of classic Irish and Scottish songs. We were intrigued but not as enthusiastic about Beat Ya Feet Kings. While they are very talented performers, I think I would say that DC urban and Go-Go music is not really our thing.

I posted a few photos on my Picasa web album:

2010 Lowell Folk Festival

Purple Allium in Bloom

2010-05-15T02:19:10Z

Melissa's hard work planting flowers last year is paying off. First we had some hyacinths, then some daffodils, neither of which I managed to get photos of before the frost got them. Now with the weather warming up we've got some lovely Purple Allium blooming in our front yard. Here's a few photos of one of them:

Full length		Side view

Top view

Easter Egg Chia: Week #5

2010-05-12T02:33:12Z

In the middle of Week #5, the Easter Chia Egg continues to grow:

Niko Howls, Stalks, & Sniffs

2010-05-11T01:41:58Z

I was in the yard late this afternoon cleaning up a bit and Niko decided he wanted to play. I captured a short video of him using my phone...sorry about not keeping the camera straight.

Melissa Runs the Melrose Race for Women

2010-05-10T02:18:09Z

Today, on one of the coldest Mother's Day I can recall, Melissa ran in the Melrose Race for Women, which benefited the Melrose Alliance Against Violence.

In contrast with yesterday's torrential downpours and booming thunder, it was 39 degrees when we left the house at 6:45 AM. By race time at 9:00, it was still only in the mid-40s plus the wind began blowing pretty steadily, at about 35 MPH the local radio station reported. Melissa was psyched to have the cool weather in which to run, but honestly, it was awfully chilly for the crowd of non-runners, such as yours truly.

Melissa said it was a very supportive crowd of runners, with folks encouraging each other as they were running up the hills. She said at one point that a guy who lived on the race route had the Superman theme playing on a loop on a boom box.

To the left is a photo I took just after she finished the race.

Butterfly Garden: Redux

2010-04-26T23:02:56Z

As you may recall, last year Melissa created a lovely Butterfly Garden in one of our front flower beds. Unfortunately, the New England winter took its toll and killed off centerpiece butterfly bush and toppled the stone tower. The creek bed Melissa had created was also washed away by our house's lack of gutters in the Fall as a torrent of water disintegrated the creek bed's shores leaving stones scattered throughout the flower bed. Just before Winter arrived, we had new gutters installed on the house and, with that under control and the weather turning to a stretch of more warm and sunny days than wet and gloomy ones, it seemed safe for Melissa to attempt a makeover of the Butterfly Garden.

Melissa has created a new creek bed, complete with edging to help maintain its integrity and lined with landscape cloth to stopped the nasty weeds from popping up through the stones. Here's the first photo:

And, as you can also see in this photo, she's also built a new stone sculpture as the focal point:

There's still some work to be done to finish out the end near the phlox, but I think she's off to a great start and I'm sure the results will be stunning!

Promoting My Friend's Novel: The Mermaid's Pendant

2010-04-26T01:12:17Z

My friend LeAnn Neal Reilly is an aspiring writer who has been working on her first novel for the past 10 years. I believe she is a very talented writer and as such have supported her efforts by providing feedback on early drafts and encouraging her to keep at it. Her hard work has finally paid off and her novel, The Mermaid's Pendant, was released on Amazon.com earlier this month!

LeAnn started promoting the novel through her web site and was featured in an article in the Metro West Daily News last week. Today she held the novel's official launch party at Annie's Book Stop in Framingham, MA, which Melissa and I attended. I'm happy to report that there was a good turnout and, although LeAnn was a little nervous, she did a great job delivering her first public reading.

Here's a photo of LeAnn with her book at today's event. I got my autographed copy and look forward to reading the final version.

If you'd like to learn more about the novel, check out LeAnn's web site, where she has a plot summary and video of her reading a chapter.

Although I haven't read the final version, I will recommend it based on what I read of one of the near-final drafts. You can buy the book from Amazon.com in paperback or a downloadable version if you have a Kindle e-book reader.

Easter Chia Egg: Sprouts Galore

2010-04-20T01:15:11Z

Now in Week #2, the Easter Chia Egg has sprouted a few more growths...

The cash cow, spring chicken, and salamander welcomed him to the neighborhood:

Easter Chia Egg: Sprouts!

2010-04-16T00:05:00Z

My wife brought me this cute little chia pet-like plant thing for Easter. I watered it and left it in the window at work. After a few days, it had a couple of sprouts:

Sloan Family Christmas 2009 Portrait

2010-01-03T03:57:00Z

I've finally been able to capture the true nature of my family:

Of course, here's a slightly more "normal" family portrait:

Rowan's 8th Birthday

2009-08-19T02:30:30Z

I've posted a few photos from my niece Rowan's 8th birthday.

Take a look and let me know what you think of the quality of the Picasa Web Album.

"Julie and Julia" is a Sweet Treat

2009-08-17T00:55:22Z

To escape the 90+ degree temperatures and smothering humidity that have been smothering New England today, Melissa and I went to see the new movie, Julie & Julia. Bottomline: We thoroughly enjoyed it!

The movie tells two stories in parallel: the first of Julia Child's journey from bored diplomatic housewife to creator of the most popular cookbook of all time, and the second of Julie Powell, a frustrated wannabe writer who decides to cook her way through Child's cookbook over the course of a year and blog about the experience to overcome her writer's block.

]]> Working within the confines of Nora Ephron's gooey script, Meryl Streep does a great job as Julia Child. Ephron's characterization of Child doesn't present much emotional depth to challenge the actor, so Streep has little else to do beyond mastering Child's voice and mannerism as she transforms the icon that so many Americans adored into a slightly deeper caricature. Streep's success in the role is made all the greater by the wonderful support she receives from Stanley Tucci's warm and thoughtful portrayal of her diplomat husband, Paul Child. If the movie were a bit deeper emotionally, I wouldn't have been surprised if Tucci were mentioned for Best Supporting Actor when the award nominations come out early next year. Unfortunately, I doubt it's likely given the movie's light-hearted treatment of both stories.

In the second storyline about Powell, Streep's co-star from 2008's Doubt, Amy Adams, gives a solid performance. Adams was delightful as she rises to the challenge of portraying someone that most Americans have never heard of, bringing to life her obsessive personality as she works through Child's cookbook and, along the way, through her narration, she reveals details about the Childs that didn't fit in smoothly with the direction of the other storyline. Chris Messina, who plays Powell's husband, Eric, deserves mention. While he's no Stanley Tucci, he more than held his own within the storyline with Adams and did a great job as her better half.

Finally, a word of warning: be sure to eat BEFORE you see this movie. With only a few exceptions, there is wonderful looking food in nearly every scene in this movie. If you don't come in with a full stomach, then plan on a trip to your favorite local dining spot on the way home.

Aspects of the Novel

2009-07-14T03:51:42Z

Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. As other reviewers have noted, this was a series of lectures, and therefore should NOT be considered a guide on "how to write a novel." If, however, you have a background in English literature and want to write a novel, then you may find this book an interesting exercise in critical analysis.

I found the sections on story, people (parts 1 and 2), and plot thought-provoking and insightful. What made these sections most interesting were how Forster used examples to explore his analysis. Even though he refers to several novels I have never read, he provided sufficient context that I was able to understand his points with relative ease. Having read these section, I feel that I will be able to assess my own work to see how it stands up in each area.

I struggled a bit with the section on prophecy as it stabbed at my memories of reading Moby Dick, Billy Bud, and The Brothers Karamazov, from almost 20 years ago. Even so, combined with Forster's examples and analysis, I remembered enough to feel like I had a reasonable grasp of the analysis. That said, I think it will be worthwhile to revisit at least one of those books in the near future and then reread this section to see if I really understood it.

When Forster's subjects increased in complexity, diving into the more nuanced aspects of fantasy and patterns & rhythm, I floundered. I found it nearly impossible to fully understand his points without having read the novels from which he drew his examples. The concepts of rhythm & patterns in particular I feel are macro-level elements that one can only really appreciate in the context of having read an entire novel. Because of this, I didn't feel as though his examples could do the concept justice. I have limited experience reading Henry James, and none with Marcel Proust, Anatole France, or Percy Lubbock, all of whose novels Forster used as examples, so I had reason to flounder. And, unlike my interest in Melville or Dostoyevsky's work, I honestly have no interest in reading these authors, so it seems that my only opportunity to gain insight into Forster's analysis on fantasy and rhythm & patterns will be if I read some of his novels in which I hope he managed to demonstrate some of his advice.

View all my reviews >>

Amelia Earhart Movie Looks Promising

2009-06-29T02:01:36Z

Take a look at the trailer for the new Amelia Earhart biopic, starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, and Ewan McGregor:

Based on the trailer and the powerhouse cast, I'm looking forward to this film when it comes out in October. Let's hope that it doesn't prove the sentiment of a quote from Earhart that I found on her somewhat dated official web site:

"Anticipation, I suppose, sometimes exceeds realization."