New 3D Godzilla Movie!!!!

Godzilla 2012. Image courtesy of Legendary Pictures. 

Bet you won't be dreading 2012 now. The mother of all large and terrifying lizards, Godzilla, will be returning to the big screen in 3D! The word out is that Godzilla will of course be fighting another large monster (or monsters), but don't expect to see too many human deaths. According to producer Brian Rogers, Godzilla versus something like the U.S. Army doesn't jive with the "spirit" of the traditional Godzilla character. The new movie will be a "reboot," mixing some of the old with some of the new, including a freshly designed CG-lizard.

   Bring on the monsters! 

Favorite Quote #6

Photo courtesy of the Howard Hughes Corporation.

"I'm not a paranoid deranged millionaire. Goddamit, I'm a billionaire."

                     -Howard Hughes

30 Years Later

Jennifer Lewter and Jim Ledbetter, 2010.

Okay, so it is 31 years later, not 30. Who's counting? This was at my birthday party this summer. It was nice of Jim to come out and meet the gang.

Every Rose has its... Prickle

Jennifer Lewter and Jim Ledbetter, 1979.
Some things in this world are wrong. Lying feels wrong, cheating feels wrong, stealing feels wrong. Losing friends feels wrong. Not being able to see a friend in the hospital because his new wife is an evil _itch, is WRONG.
This is my Uncle Jim in our old front yard in Huntsville, Alabama. This picture was taken in 1979. That's me with Jim on his motorcycle, shortly after one of his cross-country drives from California. The little dog's name was Brownie, and she belonged to our neighbors across the street.
Uncle Jim isn't really my uncle, but I don't know what else to call him. He's known my parents longer than I have. They lived in the same apartment complex when my parents first got married in the 60's.
I remember visiting Jim's house in California when I was a little kid. (I was older than I was in this picture.) He had an apricot tree in his yard, and I couldn't stop eating the sweet little fruits. How did he get so lucky to have an apricot tree growing in his yard?! That is probably why California has always been a magical place to me. I was born there, two of my grandparents and Jim lived there, and California had the most wonderful flowers and fruits. Magical.
My family and I visited Jim in Arkansas many years later, when he decided to move back to his home state. He lived in Russellville, on a road near a large lake with huge, shady pine trees. I had no idea Arkansas was so pretty. I'd never been there before.
Jim told me I should come spend a summer with him and take some classes at the local college. At the time, I couldn't think of a good enough reason to do that. A few years later, that's exactly what I did. And then six years later, I returned to Jim's town to teach at that same college.
I am currently studying botany, and learning new plant things daily. I was a little amused to learn that Poison's famous rock ballad is all wrong....roses don't have thorns - they have prickles. A prickle is much smaller than a thorn, and it is made from a different part of the plant. Prickles can still hurt, of course, since they are designed to defend the plant. A thorn, however, has the potential to hurt a lot more...

Jim had a stroke last week and is currently in the hospital. He recognizes me, and can communicate well enough to ask me to come back to see him. But his new wife has opted to use her wifely powers to keep me from visiting him or talking to any of the medical staff about his progress. I saw her sitting next to him, a blond parasite with no respectable skills, like a huge Dodder plant in the flesh, colored all wrong and waiting to opportunistically wrap her creepy tendrils around my injured uncle.

I wish I had a truck-load of Roundup so I could set him free.

Just another day at the Oak Tree...

The ever-suave barista, Nevin, quietly approached my table this afternoon to check on my friends and me. Our coffee was hot, the food was good, and his bubble-beard was...quite funny.
The Oak Tree Bistro has been open for a year or so, and I can't recommend it enough. The staff is always very friendly (and entertaining.) My favorite eats are the hummus, served with toasted pita wedges, the greek salad, the cobb salad, and whatever the soupe du jour happens to be. Wonderful, wonderful food!
I recommend getting the cobb salad with feta cheese instead of the blue, and having it served in a spinach wrap. The greek pizza and the buffalo chicken pizza are also very tasty.
Wade the soup-chef is constantly experimenting with new recipes, and I have really enjoyed everything he's made. Today I had the spring chicken soup, with its chunky chicken meat and little bits of peas and carrots. I only had a cup of it, so I could pick out one of the rich-looking chocolate desserts from the display case. I am hoping that the lavender and rose syrups will be re-stocked, since I have now acquired a taste for lavender iced tea and rose-flavored mochas. (Chocolate, roses and coffee, all in one drink? Can you say "Nectar of the Goddesses?")

Vive la Oak Tree!

Etiquette in Antarctica

   This is not your ordinary day job, and the Rikers are not your ordinary Arkansans!
   In 1989, David Riker (at left) decided to broaden his horizons after listening to a friend talk about his work experiences in Antarctica. Barbara, David's wife, knew nothing about David's intentions to head south. "He volunteered me," said Barbara. "He didn't even ask!"




Top Photo: David and Barbara Riker in Antarctica in 1992.

Bottom Photo: Barbara demonstrates the proper way to wear a parka.


   The Rikers traveled to McMurdo Station, an American research station on Ross Island in Antarctica. They found jobs with Antarctic Support Associates, who were contracted out to do work for the National Science Foundation. (Raytheon currently has the contract.) David was a materials foreman, and Barbara worked several different jobs during her three year stay on the icy continent.

   "There were 250 people stationed at McMurdo during the winter season," said Barbara, "and only 30 were women." Barbara celebrated her 50th birthday there, and she said she held the record for the "oldest woman" at McMurdo for a while.

   The Rikers were not allowed to share sleeping quarters, although they were married. "Living quarters were based on the job you had," explained Barbara. She spent her first year living in a large tent called a "Jamesway." There were actually ten tents set up together, and the living conditions were less than optimal. "It was awful," she said. "It was freezing." At times she would wake up with snow in her tent and black grit on her face from the volcano nearby.
David and Barbara traveled through Christchurch, New Zealand, on their way to the Antarctic. They were each issued cold weather gear at Christchurch, "which included a myriad of inner and outer cold weather garment items, including two parkas, bunny boots, etc.," said David. "We wore one parka on Sundays, and the other to work," said Barbara. A Navy Chaplain was stationed at McMurdo during the summer months, but there was no hired minister on hand to give sermons during Antarctica's winter months. So David stepped up to the pulpit to replace the recorded sermons that were left as the Chaplain's substitute.

   The Rikers were apparently well-known for their discipline and dependability. While David gave sermons on the side, "I was everyone's mama," said Barbara. She often carried around bottles of Tylenol and Exedrin to dole out to workers suffering from hangovers. Drinking alcohol, not surprisingly, was a common pass-time at the station. Barbara remembers finding a man passed out in the cold and calling to get him help. "You had to take care of each other, no matter what," she said. Two men who went out hiking one day fell into a crevasse and died. Alcohol was probably involved in that tragedy. But Barbara also remembered lighter times, when people would grill out steaks in the freezing temperature. Once she saw a couple of naked men running around the outside of the building, after they had obviously lost at a game of "strip poker." They apologized to her and David during their next meeting. "After you've been there for 8 or 9 months in Antarctica, anything is funny," she said, shaking her head.

   David said he never felt scared or feared for his life during his 5 years at the station. "[It was] just cold," he said. "There wasn't any crime," Barbara added. She said that Antarctica would be a perfect place for a prison because "they can't go anywhere!"

   Times were especially tough for the Russian workers at another Antarctic research station. The Russian economy had collapsed, and their workers couldn't go home. "They were stuck there," said Barbara. The U.S. and New Zealand agreed to help pay for the workers to go home if the men could find a way over to the McMurdo station. "The U.S. allowed the Russian ship carrying their research workers to dock at McMurdo, where they received fuel from the U.S.," said David. Then they sailed on to New Zealand, "where they received additional assistance." While the Russians were still docked at McMurdo, "they sold some of their personal belongings to obtain U.S. dollars," said David. "One guy sold enough stuff to feed his family for two years," said Barbara. She purchased a painting and a few other items from the men, wanting to help out.

   David was one of the few people who went running at night for exercise during the winter months. He said one of the reasons he did it was to look at the stars. "There's no air pollution down there," explained Barbara. There were also nacreous clouds that shimmered like pearls. "Pictures aren't good enough," she said. "They don't really show you what they look like."

   Barbara also seemed to enjoy watching the local wildlife. She would stand on the sea ice edge, and whales would sometimes surprise her by surfacing so close to her. "The only warning you would get is the ice moving under your feet," she said. She often watched the penguins play in the water.

   The Rikers aren't hesitant to recommend a trip to Antarctica. "If you get the opportunity to go, do it," said David. "There's a saying about people who go down there," said Barbara. "The first year, you go for the adventure. The second year, you go for the money. The third year, you go because you don't fit in anywhere else!"

Spaceship found!

   Local WWII veteran and mechanic Frank "Al" Thomas built this metallic beauty back in the 60s. Friends of Al's in Russellville, Arkansas, say that he intended to fly it, although no one ever saw him try. It was approximately 12 feet in diameter, and at least nine feet tall. There was a seat perched in the bubble for the pilot. "Exploding electricity" was the method of propulsion.
   My friend Kevin Barber knew Al, and said he enjoyed spending time in Al's shop with him. Al passed away several years ago, and his spaceship is rumored to be on display at a museum up north.

Al Thomas in his shop. Russellville, AR.

Edited April 29, 2016