big william's world

Seoul from a distance

A coincidence that E remembered eating calamari in Monterey - I had my first geoduck there last weekend. Pronounced "gooeyduck" it is a giant clam. These were the least obscene pictures I could find of it.


Saw them on a cooking show where they said they were famously tough - and they are!


Studying the dictionary and Google it seems the name comes from a native tribe in the Puget Sound area (northwest USA by Seattle) and it means "dig deep" referring to the fact that they have a long siphon (as you can see) and they are hard to dig up.


Then I remembered the giant clam I have eaten in sushi bars and I believe they are the same thing - really tough - horrible looking.




On the other hand (or maybe some other body part) I also tried abalone - which is like a scallop and very nice.
I will try to keep in touch from the far east for the next couple of weeks

--- and found wanting!

GPS has improved so much since I last used, and was irritated by, it. - I even used it on the plane - the little needle on it's speedometer was bending a bit at 536 miles per hour as we flew over Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. - it is pocket sized and has maps of USA, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Europe.

This is where we started - Silicon Valley is around the southern end of San Francisco Bay and consists of many electronics and some pharmaceutical companies.
The smart ones noticed the web address on the window in front of the Lamborghini

Monterey California

Was excited to find and buy this book at Denver airport on the way to New Jersey and had finished it by the time I got back to the airport.
Renko is the star of some of Cruz Smith's books - I did not like this one as much as the previous one "Wolves Eat Dogs" where he was in the surroundings of Chernobyl.
He is my favourite author and I wait two years for him to write a book and then read it in three days and wait another two years.
If anybody wants it let me know. - the writing is first class always. Even if you don't like or believe the story - his descriptions are exquisitely poetic.
I will copy the prologue on the poetry blog and you will see his love of Russia - particularly Moscow - and even the weather.

Sometimes the Blogger sleeps a bit longer than the body of the Blogger.

I got up at 6 and swam the usual mile, had breakfast from the blue box and the white bag and the orange box and the see-through box of blueberries, made the bed, put some washing in, chose some poetry and then --- off went the electricity - no computer, no phones, no internet -- so -- No Blog!

So I went to get my hair cut and pick up dry-cleaning, post a photo of the frog on Pearl Street and such things and now it is lunchtime - and very hot!

Going to northern California for an unexpected weekend near Monterrey then next week going to Seoul Korea, week after to Shanghai China then home for a bit and then England for a few days.

Nice to hear from Tristan - who, as he correctly says, is my great nephew. Not sure if I have ever met him but hope to some day. I have been composing a letter to his grandmother, my sister Ann, for a couple of years now but don't seem to have "gotten" round to writing it.

Not sure if I will have time to visit during the flying visit to England.

Lombardi's Pizza

Times Square

Where else but NYC?

Job done

New Jersey Diner

The first one was by Tan Dun - called "Tea" - interesting use of water as a musical instrument, great set, fabuous costumes but the worst opera I ever saw!This is the semi-open air opera house which is terrific - right in the middle of the desert high on a hill overlooking Los Alamos 30 miles or so away (where they built the atomic bombs for Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

Sorry I got distracted but it was on my mind during the second opera - French Baroque - "Plattee" by Rameau. Most enjoyable with fantastic orchestra, soloists and chorus.

Bike by the adobe fireplace in the hotel room
View from high above Santa Fe at about 7am - I was up there all three mornings.
Titanium bike, titanium bottle cages, Fiji water and a view over New Mexico from about 8,000 feet.
Going to New Jersey and New York for the rest of the week so you will just get a few phone photos I am afraid.
At least you will be spared the poetry for a few days!
There is a prize for anyone revealing the identity of my rival poet "j" - who is better than I am at poetry! I love the one about the snoring shingle on the beach.

After the ride

Read the poem

Don't know why these pics are so small but I don't have time to fix them. Just wanted to give you a flavor of the place. Adobe architecture like this everywhere.
This is where we always stay - The Inn of the Anasazi - I think the Anasazi were a native tribe who lived in the north of New Mexico.
Santa Fe is the state capitol and stands at about 7,000 feet - 2,100 meters or so.
The scenery is typical high dessert with cacti and many including purple colored rocks. Made famous, among others by Georgia O'Keiffe in her paintings.
It's about 400 miles south of here and takes about 6 hours to drive to.
The only poem I know about the place is over on awheywithwords.blogspot.com
I'll post pictures from my phone if I can.

An irresistable barg. from the bike shop - heart rate monitor (well everyone else has got one!) complete with bra.
$80 reduced to $23

Here's why! - you need a one year residential course in Germany to understand how to use it.Traning managers, work out statistics, target heart rates, fitness tests - it is even more complicated than the new Blogger.

Going to England in September to see B, E, T and KP - tickets are booked - can't wait!

I wasn't going to mention it (because it's kind of oilcloth) but since my astute son commented on the tablecloth.
The person in the shop said they were peaches but they look more like cherries don't they? I don't think peaches ever grow in bunches.

Another new Millard blog - please visit, write poetry on, comment on, my new poetry blog where I will quote some of my current and all time favourite poets and also subject you to some of my words.

A Whey With Words - link to the left!

or go to awheywithwords.blogspot.com

The HTML templates have changed since bigwilliamsworld was born - I can't get the counter to work on the new blog - where to do I paste the HTML?

Remember when phones were just for phoning people.
We kept them in cold hallways or in soundproof boxes for privacy.

Now not only do people make phone calls just about anywhere including the toilet
But we don't care who is listening - kind of like urinating writing in the snow - everyone (except the urinator) dislikes it but everyone reads it.
We have to listen to peoples mundane drivel.
NOW we have a whole family - which communicates using blogs - telling the entire world (or anyone in the world who is interested)their news. If you look at the counters on the blogs - thousands of people read the stuff too.
Has anybody else noticed this about-turn in social behavior?

It has not really replaced anything because this part of the family did not communicate much pre-blog.
People who don't blog seem to be slightly in awe of those who do - but in fact is is no more difficult than sending emails and you don't even have to address them and everybody reads them and often respond to them.

I suppose, thinking about it, the urine in the snow thing is a bit sexist really but there is probably a female equivalent.

I wish Blogger could play movies.

Bubble Tea

Here's where I keep my:
Clicking quartz quagmire
Counting single seconds
Telling time to nobody

Announcing accuracy to
Deaf mute wrenches with
Oily finger prints
In total darkness

One by one
Tiny batteries die at
Insignificant times for all
But themselves.


Discuss!

From their Dad's new blog - available in the sidebar.
Tim looking at least 7 years old with a fantastic smile.

Katie with her Mom's good looks, great smile and sense of humor.

So much more interesting than Ben's breakfast!