Northwest Snapshots I

I'll try and avoid a rant about this with a sample of my favorite shots/northwest memories.


Inevitable rant sure to follow, however.

Muhammad's Teddy Bear

In light of Gillian Gibbons' recent Sudanese nightmare, my faithful old Teddy Bear has decided to abandon his plans to convert to Islam. He's issued an open appeal to his peers to follow suit in a show of Teddy Solidarity.

He'd also like to point out that while it may be blasphemous to name an animal after The Prophet:

• he and his fellows are actually inanimate objects
  
• the children in Ms. Gibbons class (mostly Muslim) named the bear in question, not Ms. Gibbons
• demanding her execution for the incident might appear to be, well, insane
  
• it's the f****** 21st century already

Hmm.

Teddy is now pursuing an interest in The Liberace Church of Latter Day Sequins, which, frankly I find somewhat disturbing.

Reliquias del camino...

Taos, NM may be the complete opposite of Seattle – at least in October.

Thank God.

The Sun barely quits shining at night. Clouds are apparently illegal (except during ski season), rain is strictly regulated to fall in exact amounts during peak chile season, and vibrant color a state mandate.
The state motto claims this to be “the land of enchantment.” Indeed.

We are spellbound in the dazzling light, stumbling about in the footsteps of native peoples, conquistadors, plunderers and padres, outlaws and killers – desperados under the eaves? - cattle barons, writers, artists and a rogues' gallery of current characters.

Soak it all up with the help of an ultimate margarita (and the spirit of Georgia O'Keefe, among others) at the legendary Adobe Bar in the Taos Inn.

The guys watching football at the bar in the shot above are all Native American except the dude in the blue cap. He was stranded in town on a snowy Sunday with no friends and wad of cash. A wad of cash helps make friends in a hurry, even if you're the lone Non-Native American at the bar - as long as you're buying the shots of Patron Silver. Ironic twist: they're all rooting for the Cowboys.

Testing. One, two, three...

Would you buy a car without first taking a test drive?

Hell no.

Consider this a test run. A shakedown to see how this blah, blah, blah-ging thing works, looks and feels.

Hey, here's a picture of a martini. A vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred. Natch. It's not a very good shot. In fact, it's not really a shot. It's a snap and a pretty poor one at that. But it's part of this test drive and I really want a martini even though everyone knows you shouldn't drink and drive.

Cheers.