Comments on Splinters...

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Thanks, Mari-am!

posted by Nautikos on October 26, 2006 at 9:28 AM | link to this | reply

nice post

posted by Rosetree on October 21, 2006 at 4:20 AM | link to this | reply

BrightIrish,
thanks, glad you liked it. So you have different blue jays? I'm no expert, of course, but I thought all birds of a species are pretty much alike. Actually, having said that, I now remember reading some time ago that separated breeding populations do develop different characteristics fairly quickly...

posted by Nautikos on October 3, 2006 at 3:47 PM | link to this | reply

Nautikos
PostSmile! I'm glad to know that your cast has been removed and your on the mend. The rose is absolutely beautiful. In the second picture I noticed we have the same birdhouse but although they look very much alike.. I think we have different Bluejay's   My bluejays also join in with the other birds when my feeding schedule doesn't coincide with theirs. I've really enjoyed reading this post.

posted by BrightIrish on October 1, 2006 at 7:21 PM | link to this | reply

Blanche.
well, I guess we stimulate one another...

posted by Nautikos on October 1, 2006 at 5:49 PM | link to this | reply

Nautikos, I like your term, "camping on your blog". I should set up a

chair and stay a while, shouldn't I. Seriously, your comments make me smile and think, two very good qualities in a comment.  It takes me a while to filter through the flurry of comments, the staccato banter, etc., but some comments, like yours make me want to ponder them for a while, so pardon me for the delays in responses at times, because there's a bit to think over.

In fact, I think I may go back to that whole blog on male and female friendships, attraction, and Sophia Loren and other thoughts, and probably write another blog later.  On your thoughts about Sophia Loren, you've seen more of her than I have. I think I did see an interview with her, and thought she was a genuinely nice person, someone who's not as plastic as many seem to be, all persona and no substance. Which I do get, and sadly, some don't, that there is a huge difference between the projected persona, the fantasy creaeted in the viewer's mind, and possibly the disappointing or at least different reality.

Elizabeth Taylor?  Oh hell no, I can't say as I blame you there!

posted by Blanche. on October 1, 2006 at 3:50 PM | link to this | reply

Blanche.

while you were camping here on my blog, I was doing the same on yours!

Anyway, good question. My first answer is another question: which one of these ladies are we talking about? Because it is of course never their flesh-and-blood reality, but something that we have formed for ourselves, over the course of years, from their personas we have encountered, and from the remnants of our daydreams...

I like Catherine, the almost quintessential lady. But in the end it would have to be Sophia. For one thing, I 'know' Sophia better than Catherine. What I mean by that is that I don't only know her from some of her roles, but I have seen her being interviewed on several occasions, and was totally taken by her warmth and her natural and totally unaffected charm.  What was even more surprising to me was that she also showed a genuine and disarming vulnerability. 

Of course, that was about five yeas ago, and I realize that she's over 70 now, and although she's still very attractive, the Sophia I am 'in love with', if that term is permitted here, is probably the one of the early eighties. And yet, I would still enjoy very much meeting her, having lunch with her, talking with her, and just having a great time with her. Would I still want to go to bed with her? No.

But I wouldn't even want to meet most other famous but aging (or aged) beauties. Elizabeth Taylor, for example, I wouldn't know what to do with her...

posted by Nautikos on September 30, 2006 at 6:31 PM | link to this | reply

Naurikos, I'm not sure you saw my question in my comment on my post,
(I know it was a long one, but the whole subject sparks a long train of thought). I was wondering whether you thought Catherine Deneuve had the same appeal as Sophia Loren?

posted by Blanche. on September 30, 2006 at 4:16 PM | link to this | reply

Nautikos, "So Long, Marianne", I know that one!
I have heard him sing it. He's probably a lot like Bob Dylan, in that respect, that it's not his voice so much as his persona and lyrics that made him so great. 

posted by Blanche. on September 30, 2006 at 4:14 PM | link to this | reply

Blanche.

Well, L.C. is a writer of books, poet and songs, who has recorded many of his own songs. I don't think he has ever sung anyone else's. His voice isn't great, but eminently suited to his own fairly dark material.

Song titles? So long, Marianne; Bird on a Wire; Sisters of Mercy; and many, many more...You should really try and get some of his stuff!

And I am glad to hear that your are revising your view of blue jays...

posted by Nautikos on September 30, 2006 at 4:11 PM | link to this | reply

Nautikos, well, based on your post, I'll have to re-think my opinion of

blue jays.  Not that I've given them much thought at all, until you wrote this, for many years.  I guess that's just another example of re-thinking childhood impressions. 

Anyway, to get back to your question, of whether I've heard of Leonard Cohen, I have, but only vaguely. I know he was a famous songwriter in the 60s and 70s, he wrote really complex, lyrical songs and poetry, and he had a reputation for being a "songwriter's songwriter".  Was he involved with the Velvet Underground or was that someone else?  Anyway, I cannot for the life of me think of any of his songs off the top of my head. Maybe you could remind me of some titles I'm likely to know? 

posted by Blanche. on September 29, 2006 at 5:00 PM | link to this | reply

Wiley,
thanks, I appreciate that, and I'll be in touch soon!

posted by Nautikos on September 27, 2006 at 9:21 PM | link to this | reply

Blanche.

notice how I put in the dot?  Anyway, on the topic of blue jays I have to tell you that I am extremely biased. We have many that return to us every year (most of them migrate), and then we have some who stay with us all winter. And they're as tame as any wild bird could possibly be! Some of them will almost eat out of my hand, and that, as well as their beauty, of course, charms me utterly. And they range far, and when I could still ride my bicycle, up in the country, some of them used to call out to me when they saw me...

And when it comes to driving, I often have a problem with being a passenger. It's not a question of fear (I still think I'm immortal, lol), but mainly one of impatience. And it's by no means a question of speed either! Although I tend to have a heavy right foot, it's more a matter of driving smoothly, and being alert and aware of your environment, and yet relaxed at the same time! People who are nervous, who clutch the wheel in a death grip and make the car move jerkily drive me nuts!

You didn't respond to my Leonard Cohen comment! If you don't know his songs, you should make an acquaintance!

posted by Nautikos on September 27, 2006 at 9:20 PM | link to this | reply

Nautikos
You're both welcome anytime my friend.

posted by WileyJohn on September 27, 2006 at 6:06 PM | link to this | reply

Nautikos, I don't carry any particular grudges against bluejays,

There aren't any in the city and it was my grandfather who disliked them for their "egg-stealing ways".  BTW, have you heard Johnny Cash's song, "Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog"?  Which sounds likehe just picked up a guitar and composed it ad hoc during the taping? 

Anyway, I digress. How do you tell your wife she's an unsafe driver?  Carefully, very carefully, lol. Probably best when you're both in a good, relaxed mood, and couched in a loving and constructive way. No one responds well, to someone criticizing what their doing in the heat of a stressful moment.  If she's slow, maybe you could point out that her hesitation is more dangerous than being overly aggressive and quick.  Maybe you're being in the car makes her nervous and hesitant. Anyway, I can understand your fear and frustration, because my mother is an overly cautious driver, and I've cringed in the passenger seat, fearing for our lives, when she comes to a near stop in a merge lane.  I try to control it and calmly tell her not to be overwhelmed or let other drivers scare her, but to seize the moment, and gun it. 

I hate having to try to tran my mother, though. It's a fruitless task.  However, I hope your thumb is regaining mobility daily.  Oh, it always seems to go that you don't know what you got til it's gone, (You know Big Yellow Taxi, of course, since Joni Mitchell's a famous Canadian). 

posted by Blanche. on September 26, 2006 at 3:04 PM | link to this | reply

Wiley,

you're too kind! I take it you're referring to my bravery in allowing myself to be chauffeured by my wife! Well, a man's gotta do what a man can't avoid!

About that trip to Pembroke, that could happen fairly soon. I'll write you an email!

posted by Nautikos on September 26, 2006 at 5:07 AM | link to this | reply

Blanche.

I just found out from popping into Wiley's that you've changed your name, sort of, (which reminds me of that Leonard Cohen song, So Long Marianne ..'I see you have gone and changed your name again... You know Leonard Cohen?) anyway...yeah, it's not wise to tell your wife at any time that she's a lousy driver, but especially not when you're sitting beside her! But then how does one deal with that problem? At least she's slow...I don't think her car remembers that it has more than three gears...

And I am working on my thumb, I'm acquiring an obsessive habit of working it!

But now, you and I have to have a serious talk about blue jays...

posted by Nautikos on September 26, 2006 at 5:02 AM | link to this | reply

.Dave
thanks for dropping in! Yes, they're cheeky and raucous but beautiful little bandits! A lot of people don't like them, like our Blanche, who is now Blanchewithadot and thinks they're 'varmint' (tsk, tsk, B.!), but we do, and they give us a lot of pleasure! 

posted by Nautikos on September 26, 2006 at 4:33 AM | link to this | reply

Nautikos

Braveheart!!!! They make that movie with you in mind?

Dang, when y'all coming to Pembroke to visit? lol

Your pictures are superb my friend. I have a ton of those bluejays too,and I put out the sunflower seed for them.

Happy to read you are on the mend hoss.

posted by WileyJohn on September 25, 2006 at 4:12 PM | link to this | reply

Nautikos, You do have a full bag of marbles if you don't tell your wife

she's a lousy driver, while you're in the passenger seat.  The rose is a beauty, I love those striated ones, and the umbrella table looks almost identical to the one where I enjoy my coffee at the coffee shop nearly every day.  Although, it looks like you've put down the umbrella for winter.

Blue jays used to eat my grandfather's eggs from his chickens, so he was constantly chasing them off as nuisances.  They're varmints, all right.  I guess you'll have to start working on your thumb rehab exercises. It'll come back.  What are we humans without our opposable thumbs, eh?  Cats?

posted by Blanche. on September 25, 2006 at 12:32 PM | link to this | reply

Lovely photos. The blue jay looks like a beautiful bird to me.

posted by _dave_says_ack_ on September 25, 2006 at 5:38 AM | link to this | reply

Jane,
you and me both! And she does!

posted by Nautikos on September 24, 2006 at 5:26 AM | link to this | reply

Justi,
your Blue Jays are attacking cats and children? Ours attack only the Boston Red Socks, the Yankees and such, although not with much success this year...

posted by Nautikos on September 24, 2006 at 5:23 AM | link to this | reply

Rumored,
thanks for dropping in!

posted by Nautikos on September 24, 2006 at 5:20 AM | link to this | reply

Nautikos, great post, and gorgeous photos!

I'm thankful to read that you've survived both the cast and your lady's inept driving skills.  Sounds like she makes up for it in many other ways!!!

 

posted by JanesOpinion on September 23, 2006 at 7:04 PM | link to this | reply

Nautikos
Good to see you at your spunky best on here. Mrs. Nautikos does grow beautiful roses. I am glad to know you have not lost your marbles and don't take such a chance again. Canadian Blue Jays must be nicer than those in the US. I can't get rid of them. They run off my Cardinals, attack my cats and children if they can get by with it. Real aggravitations 'round here.

posted by Justi on September 23, 2006 at 4:40 PM | link to this | reply

Naut, likewise to you....:)

posted by Rumor on September 23, 2006 at 3:06 PM | link to this | reply