Self Portrait

In one of my art classes in 2011, we received two related assignments. Our professor told us up front there was a second part of the assignment, but she purposely wouldn't explain part 2 until after we were finished with part 1. Probably just as well, as these would look very different had she explained both parts up front!

For part 1, we were to cut bits out of magazines, newspapers, or anything we found online and printed, and make a self portrait collage. We could get as creative as we wanted—in fact, the more creative, the better—and we needed to pay attention to shapes, shading, and other aspects. Having grown up in the Philippines and loving their coral reefs, I decided to go with that theme. I was very happy with the result:

Self Portrait Collage
Steven Sauke
2011

Had I known the next step, I would not have made it anywhere near as intricate and exciting.

For part 2, we were given the three primary colors of paint (red, blue, yellow) and a canvas. Now we were to paint the collage! Using only those three colors, we had to mix colors and get it as close to the collage as possible. Though it turned out to be fairly complicated, I was proud of the result:

Self Portrait
Steven Sauke
Acrylic on Canvas
2011

Days of Yore: What the Cool Kids Wore

Pro tip: When moving from the Philippines to the US, don't do it for 8th grade. Having been away from American fashion (and never having been much for being stylish anyway), I was the height of uncool. One of my fellow middle schoolers thoughtfully (read: rudely) advised that I stop wearing my parents' clothes. I quickly found out that stripes were "out", as were most other things I wore...but for some reason everyone was jealous of my Adidas shoes. At least something about me was cool!

Image by ink drop on Adobe Stock

Let's rewind a bit. In the '70s when I was born, people wore bellbottoms—that is, pants that were wider at the bottom than the top, somewhat reminiscent of a bell on each leg. I don't believe those have been popular since the '70s, but they are interesting. A lot of people had long straight hair, and headbands were fairly common. Many also liked wearing beads and necklaces. Peace signs were common.

As the '80s went on, people went for loud colors. Not just pink, but HOT pink. Not just green, but BRIGHT green. The brighter and louder, the better. Many people had bangs over their foreheads, and women in particular (though some men as well) liked to curl their hair. Many men (and some women) had their hair in mullets, or as they say, "business in front, party in the back." They were cut short on the front and sides, but allowed to grow long in the back. In my opinion, it looked a bit odd, but hey, whatever floats their boat! Mohawks also happened - the sides shaved, and a strip of hair going from front to back in the middle. They often put stuff in them so that the mohawks stuck straight up and back, often spiked, and also sometimes dyed in multiple colors. I also thought these looked odd (and they were banned at my school in the Philippines), but again, whatever floats their boats! Hairspray, gel and mousse were fairly common to fashion the hair in the directions people wanted it to go. Personally, my biggest change in hairstyle was when I stopped combing my hair to the side and started combing it forward. Now I generally keep it short enough so I don't have to comb it. I go for low maintenance on that kind of stuff. As my dad was watching his hairline move farther and farther back, he got this bright idea to let a strip on the side grow long, and he combed that over the top. He kept the rest short. I think it was an effort to make it look like he had hair on top, but it didn't fool anyone. I think it also may have been to keep as much sun as possible off the top of his head in the tropical heat. It was a bit of a relief when he decided to cut it. :-)

The bright colors of the '80s also extended into photography. It was fairly common to have bright, multicolored, neon laser-looking lines going every which way in the background in portraits. They also had an interesting technique in which they combined two portraits into one, with the person looking forward, and then to the right or left, and usually higher, another picture of their profile.

Glasses also tended to be larger, on the whole, in the '80s. I wore aviator glasses from my first ones in 1984 to approximately when I started college. They were made of different materials. My first pair had metal frames, but as I was fairly active and it doesn't take much in the tropical heat to start sweating, they soon rusted. (I've never seen glasses rust since then, so I'm not sure if that was a fluke with that pair.) After that, I wore plastic frames that wouldn't rust. I also preferred the aviator style because with two bridges, if one bridge broke, they could still hold together with the other bridge. Like many active and bespectacled kids, I tended to go through glasses as a kid. After returning to the US in 1991, I went back to metal frames, but still aviator. Later in high school, I got half-rimmed aviators. I eventually transitioned to ones with one bridge as my tastes changed, though I've always preferred the rectangular shape over the round ones. At one point I had rimless glasses, and several pairs have been half-rim. Currently, they have thicker black rims. I am not sure my particular tastes were always indicative of the styles around me, but they were acceptable by society. I got teased as a kid for wearing them, which is normal, though that didn't make it OK. I didn't actually start enjoying them until I was maybe in my late teens. Now I'm proud to wear glasses, and I want to help remove the odd stigma many still have about them. I have a theory that if people think they don't look good in glasses, they just haven't found the right pair. They are very cool, and a great way of helping people see without having to put something in their eyes. That unfair stigma has also kept many from addressing issues with their vision.

Our family in the mid-'80s
(I forget the exact year)

I have always enjoyed wearing fun t-shirts with puns, jokes, or celebrating shows, movies and musicals that I like. When COVID hit, though I hate everything about the disease, as well as a lot of the controversy and recklessness it brought out in society, I did find a new exciting way of expressing myself: I got some fun masks! I had to do a bunch of research to figure out how to wear a mask without fogging my glasses, but I found some good options. The best is certain masks that are made to be worn with glasses. 

These days, colors are not generally as loud as in the '80s, but I feel whatever floats people's boat is generally fine. Of course, nobody needs my permission or approval. :-)

Since I know you're wondering, no, I do not get dressed using my cell phone. But I have ordered clothes and researched glasses (and ordered a few pair) on my phone. I still buy clothes at the store on occasion.

"Further Up and Further In!"

The Last Battle is the final book in CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. As I mentioned here, it involves the end of the Narnia that everyone has known, as they get to know the new and grander Narnia. Jill and Eustace were in Aslan's Country, as it is also called, in The Silver Chair (the penultimate book in chronological order), and at that time, Aslan had told them next time they came it would be to stay.

In The Last Battle, the Friends of Narnia have watched everything go down (quite literally) in the old Narnia through a door, and at Aslan's command, Peter locked it. After that, Aslan told them to "Come further up! Come further in!" They all began running faster than they knew they could.

This painting is inspired by their joyous run (and swim) through the new Narnia, as they came to Caldron Pool, jumped in, and much to everyone's surprise, found themselves swimming up the waterfall!

"Further Up and Further In!"
Steven Sauke
Acrylic on canvas
2012

If one could run without getting tired, I don't think one would often want to do anything else. But there might be special reasons for stopping, and it was a special reason which made Eustace presently shout:

"I say! Steady! Look what we're coming to!"

And well he might. For now they saw before them Caldron Pool and beyond the Pool the high unclimbable cliffs and, pouring down the cliffs, thousands of tons of water every second, flashing like diamonds in some places and dark, glassy green in others, the Great Waterfall; and already the thunder of it was in their ears.

"Don't stop! Further up and further in," called Farsight, tilting his flight a little upward.

"It's all very well for him," said Eustace, but Jewel also cried out:

"Don't stop. Further up and further in! Take it in your stride."

His voice could only just be heard above the roar of the water but next moment everyone saw that he had plunged into the Pool. And helter-skelter behind him, with splash after splash, all the others did the same. The water was not bitingly cold as all of them (and especially Puzzle) expected, but of a delicious foamy coolness. They all found they were swimming straight for the Waterfall itself.

"This is absolutely crazy," said Eustace to Edmund.

"I know. And yet --" said Edmund.

"Isn't it wonderful?" said Lucy. "Have you noticed one can't feel afraid, even if one wants to? Try it."

"By Jove, neither one can," said Eustace after he had tried.

Jewel reached the foot of the waterfall first, but Tirian was only just behind him. Jill was last, so she could see the whole thing better than the others. She saw something white moving steadily up the face of the Waterfall. That white thing was the Unicorn. You couldn't tell whether he was swimming or climbing, but he moved on, higher and higher. The point of his horn divided the water just above his head, and it cascaded out in two rainbow-colored streams all round his shoulders. Just behind him came King Tirian. He moved his legs and arms as if he were swimming, but he moved straight upward: as if one could swim up the wall of a house.

What looked funniest was the Dogs. During the gallop they had not been at all out of breath, but now, as they swarmed and wriggled upwards, there was plenty of spluttering and sneezing among them; that was because they would keep on barking, and every time they barked they got their mouths and noses full of water. But before Jill had time to notice all these things fully, she was going up the Waterfall herself. It was the sort of thing that would have been quite impossible in our world. Even if you hadn't drowned, you would have been smashed to pieces by the terrible weight of water against the countless jags of rock. But in that world you could do it. You went on, up and up, with all kinds of reflected lights flashing at you from the water and all manner of colored stones flashing through it, till it seemed as if you were climbing up light itself--and always higher and higher till the sense of height would have terrified you if you could be terrified, but later it was only gloriously exciting. And then at last one came to the lovely, smooth green curve in which the water poured over the top and found that one was on the level river above the Waterfall. The current was racing away behind you, but you were such a wonderful swimmer that you could make headway against it. Soon they were all on the bank, dripping but happy.

I based the waterfall on a picture I took of Snoqualmie Falls:

I also had points of reference for Jewel the Unicorn (in the water at the top), Farsight the Eagle (in the sky) and Puzzle the Donkey (in the water in the pool at the bottom). I used a sponge to paint the spray. I thought it was a interesting that I was using something inspired by a sea creature to paint water. This painting was also larger than the others, as it was my final painting in that class in 2012. In the painting, King Tirian is at the top with Jewel and Farsight. From top to bottom on the waterfall are King Peter, Emeth Tarkaan, King Edmund, Digory Kirke (left, wearing red), Polly Plummer (right, wearing green), and talking Dogs. In the pool are (left to right) a talking Dog, Poggin the Dwarf, another talking Dog, Eustace Scrubb, Queen Lucy and Puzzle, and Jill Pole in the back watching the whole thing as she swims. (I don't think Lewis specifies what kind of Eagle Farsight is, but I have a feeling he was probably a Brown Eagle. I thought a Bald Eagle would be a bit more majestic, and it would be easier for the head and tail to be noticeable.) 

Days of Yore: Restaurants

Restaurants have changed a lot during my lifetime. Different kinds of restaurants have come and gone and changed with the times. How you order has also changed. On the whole, there are more options now, though some have gone by the wayside.

While drive-in restaurants were not as popular by the time I came around as they were in the '50s and '60s, there still were some. In the Seattle area, Burgermaster is the only one that comes to mind that still exists as such. Sonic is another example, which is in this state, but not very close to me. Some of them may have had places inside to sit, but they were mainly known for providing a place to park and eat in your car. You would pull into a parking spot, which had an electronic menu with a speaker. Similar to a drive-thru, they would take your order through the machine. The obvious difference to a drive-thru would be that you were parked before ordering, as opposed to pulling up to the window and moving on before eating. When the food was ready, the servers would bring it out to your car. It generally came on special trays. You would roll your window partway down, and the tray had a notch that attached to the car window.

Photo by Kevin Sarduy on Unsplash

A variation on this was restaurants like Dick's Drive-In, a burger chain in the Seattle area (and a must-visit when you're in the area), which is still very popular and growing. Most branches don't have tables or seating, but you walk up to the window, place your order, and pay. Up until a few years ago, they only took cash. Once your food is ready, they hand it through the window, and you go back to your car and eat. Unlike the other kind of drive-in, you actually have to get out of your car to order.

Drive-in restaurants (both varieties mentioned above) generally serve(d) burgers, fries, milkshakes and the like.

Fast food restaurants like McDonald's, Burger King and others have been popular for years, and continue to be popular. Though some of them have automated, they are generally similar to how they used to be. They often have a drive-thru, where you stay in your car, order through the speaker, drive up to the window to pay and get your food, and then go park and eat. Fast food generally has the food already prepared (or nearly prepared), and they can bring it right out to you. Other kinds of restaurants, you generally have to wait for it to be prepared. In the Philippines when we were there, McDonald's' biggest competitor was Jollibee. They have been gaining in popularity in the US in recent years, but they were all over the place in the Philippines when we were there. We have one just south of Seattle (and I hear there's a new one opening in Tacoma). I went to one in Manhattan last September.

Fast food restaurants generally serve burgers, fries, milkshakes and more, but some specialize in other things as well. KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and Popeyes (along with others), for example, specialize in fried chicken. If you're in the Seattle area, I highly recommend Ezell's for your fried chicken needs. (Since we don't have Cracker Barrel in this area, Ezell's is just about my only option when I have a hankering for fried okra!)

Then there was the classic diner. The biggest example I can think of is Denny's, which, though not as popular as it once was, is still pretty big around the US. Many diners were independent and not chains like Denny's (and in my experience, the independent ones are better than Denny's...but don't tell Denny's that). They often had booths along the edges of the restaurant with padded benches on either side next to a window. Next to those were standing tables with chairs or stools. (This depended on the size of the diner, as some were too small to have the free-standing tables.) Past the tables was the bar, which had taller stools for people to sit. Of course, layouts varied, but that was the general pattern in most diners I've been to. Diners also had a variety of formats for the building. Some were a fairly traditional-looking restaurant from the outside. Some looked like train cars that were placed on a foundation and converted into a restaurant (such as the one in the picture below). I think some of them actually were converted train cars.

Diners also serve burgers and fries (generally bigger and fancier than their fast food counterparts), along with milkshakes and other regular lunch items, but also fancier meals, such as fish, spaghetti, and more. They also often serve breakfast food. (Some fast food restaurants do as well, but not on plates like diners, not as fancy, and not as big portions.) Diners were often a great place to get pancakes, omelets, biscuits and gravy, and more. Some have amazing desserts.

Photo by spiritofamerica on Adobe Stock

Malt shops, though much more popular before I was born, have still endured somewhat. They often had a similar setup to diners, but specialized in cold desserts, particularly malts and milkshakes. Ice cream parlors were similar, but had vats of ice cream, and you could tell them what flavors you want, and they would scoop them out into a cone or cup. (They are still around, though I haven't heard them called parlors in years.)

Diners and malt shops often had jukeboxes in the past. Some still do, but not as many. Some had small jukeboxes on every table.

Pizza restaurants often have a similar setup to diners, but specialize in pizza (obviously). They tend to have more variety in how they are set up, as some do and some don't have places for seating. Over the years, seating has generally decreased, I've noticed. Some have no seating and only do their pizza to go. However, in the past, they almost all had tables to eat in the restaurant. Some of them also have salad bars.

All-you-can-eat buffets are considerably less popular than they used to be. They were fun, and oh so delicious, but I'm not complaining too much about the recent paucity of them because my eyes were always bigger than my stomach, and I'm probably still shedding pounds from all-you-can-eat feasts 20 or more years ago! They had plates at one end of the buffet, and you could load your plate(s) and eat at your table. We generally paid at the front of the restaurant.

Sit-down restaurants were (still are) generally more formal. Some of the above have been sit-down restaurants on occasion. I'm not sure if there's a more "proper" name for them, but that's what I call them. Diners fit in that category. Some require you to wait at the front until a server seats you. At others, you can find an empty table. The server then hands you a menu, and you can look at it and place your order. You generally pay when you're done eating, after the server brings you the check. Many of these have either closed or changed formats in recent years. For example, Pizza Hut in this area has generally removed their tables and only does take-out and delivery now. But there are still a bunch of sit-down restaurants around!

Steak restaurants, such as Outback Steakhouse, are much more formal (and usually expensive) restaurants. They are delicious, and always sit-down restaurants. Due to the price, we generally only go for very special occasions. They also seem to have decreased in number in this area.

Restaurants featuring food from different cultures vary by culture. Most of these have not changed much in my observation, but I will point out any changes I've noticed.

• Chinese restaurants generally serve food family style, so your group orders several dishes, and they put them on the turntable in the middle of the table, and then you dish up into your bowl and eat it with chopsticks. Some serve dim sum at certain times of the day: dumplings and other small foods that servers take around the dining room in a cart. When they come to your table, you tell them which ones you want, and they take the steaming basket of deliciousness off the cart and put it on your table. My dad was the best person to take with us to Chinese restaurants, as, having lived in Hong Kong, he ordered in Cantonese. We often got more authentic food that way, as many Chinese restaurants in the US have made adjustments to the recipes to cater to American tastes.
• To celebrate my graduation, we went to a Japanese restaurant, which had tables set in square recesses in the floor, so we sat on the floor and could still dangle our legs below the table without sitting cross-legged. Some of the dishes, they brought a portable stove out to the table and cooked it there.
• Many sushi restaurants have dishes on a conveyer belt that circulates around the room. If you see a plate that you like, you take it off the belt as it goes by. When you are done eating, you take your stack of plates, which are color coded by price, to the front and they total up the price based on how many and what color the plates are. (I generally get my sushi from the grocery store, usually found in the deli area.)
• Teriyaki restaurants are generally fairly small, and you can either call in your order or order at the front counter, and pay there too. Some of them offer free soup. They also sometimes have bubble tea. They are often closed on Sundays. They usually have tables to sit down, but it's also more common than other kinds of restaurants to get it to go.
• In Mongolian grills (which appear to have originated in Taiwan, not Mongolia), customers go to the front where they have a buffet-style bar. You take a bowl, and put rice, noodles, bean sprouts, meat, vegetables, sauces, and whatever else you might want in the bowl until it's full. You then hand the bowl to the server, who dumps it onto a flat round cooker and cooks it up, then serves it to you fully cooked. In my observation, these have declined in number in recent years, but they are a special treat when we get to one of the few remaining ones in our area. I also like it because I can usually put half of it in a box to go and get a second meal out of it.
• Vietnamese Phở restaurants serve Phở (pronounced "fuh"), which is a kind of soup with noodles, sprouts, other vegetables and meat in a broth. You can add peanuts, fresh basil, crispy shallots, and/or Sriracha sauce if you like. These restaurants also usually serve Banh mi, or Vietnamese sandwiches in a baguette containing, among other things, meat, sprouts, basil and jalapeños. (I tried ordering it without the jalapeños once, and though still good, it just wasn't the same.) In these restaurants, you generally order at the front and take the food to your table. While I haven't seen many changes in the format of these, I have noticed they have gotten a lot more popular in recent years. I also love how the owners often tend to have "phở" naming their restaurants with puns.
• Mexican restaurants such as Azteca tend to be more sit-down restaurants where you sit down at the table and a server comes to take your order. Before even ordering, they typically put baskets of fresh hot tortilla chips on the table with a couple different kinds of salsa. They refresh them until the food comes. The dishes generally consist of Spanish rice and refried beans, along with what you ordered: meat, burrito, enchilada, quesadilla, molé, or other entrées.
• Thai restaurants tend to be sit-down restaurants as well, though sometimes they are laid out similarly to Phở restaurants. They have a five-star rating system for how spicy you want your food. I like to order mine ไม่เผ็ด, or zero star/not spicy. I've only had to translate that into English for a server in the US once, and it's fun surprising the servers by practicing my very limited Thai knowledge. Meals generally consist of rice or noodles with meat and sauce. They also tend to be more peanut-based than other cultures. They also often do family style like Chinese restaurants.
• In recent years, I have noticed a trend in several of these, particularly Chinese and Mexican restaurants, of serving buffet style, and you build your meal at the front counter. For example, at Panda Express, you select either rice or chow mein, and then can add entrees, such as orange chicken, beef and broccoli, or a number of other options. Chipotle and Qdoba have a similar setup where you can build your own burrito (or quesadilla or other option), selecting which rice, which meat, which cheese, which other toppings you would like, and then they wrap it in a tortilla and put it in a foil wrapping (or you can order it in a bowl without the tortilla, or order the tortilla on the side). MOD Pizza has also joined in the fun with a large selection of pizza toppings and several size options for the crust. You tell them what toppings you want, they load it on the crust, and then put it in the oven. Subway and other sub sandwich restaurants have a similar setup.
• Mexican restaurants such as Taco Bell and Taco Time go for the fast food format (detailed above), but with tacos, chalupas and other Mexican options. Where most fast food restaurants offer French fries, they often go for Mexican-style tater tots (which Taco Time calls Mexi-Fries). I've noticed a decline in the number of these restaurants in recent years, but they're still around. (My brother Aaron likes to hang out with friends at Taco Bell. He calls it Talk-o Bell when he does that because he talks with them. I admire how he really makes an effort to get to know people and make them feel loved and heard. If he didn't live in Texas, I would join him sometimes!)
• Greek and Mediterranean restaurants also tend to be ones where you order at the front, pay, and go back to your table. They make the food and bring it to you. They often have gyros (meat and vegetables with pita bread), shawarma (delicious roasted meat with rice) and other dishes. I like ordering the beef and lamb mixture. They often come with hummus, olives, salad and pita bread. Greek fries are also a special treat...French fries smothered in Feta cheese and spices, sometimes also including tzatziki sauce. These restaurants seem to have gotten a bit more popular in recent years, though I haven't seen a lot...just enough so there's usually one nearby.

When I started at Wireless Advocates, I learned about the wonders of food trucks. They've been around for longer than that, but that's when I started going to them more. They park on the side of the street, usually in the same spot every day (or every other day, or specific days of the week), and you can form a line beside the truck. They take your payment and cook your food right there. When it's ready they call your name and you come up to the window to get it. There were all kinds of restaurants...Greek, Filipino, Chinese, Thai, Italian, fried chicken, Mexican, Mediterranean, you name it and there's probably a food truck for it. There are also phone apps that can tell you where the local food trucks are.

Food courts have been another great idea. They're typically in malls. As malls have declined in number in recent years, we have less food courts now. But they generally have all kinds of restaurants arranged in more or less of a circle or oval. You order your food at the restaurant of your choice and take it to any of the tables in the food court. All kinds of restaurants are represented...food from multiple cultures, diners, buffets, ice cream, dessert, fast food, hamburgers... again, you name it and it's probably in a food court somewhere (or used to be).

If you have been reading my "Days of Yore" posts, I imagine you have an idea of what's coming... Though I do sometimes go through a drive-thru, I don't often go physically to restaurants these days, opting instead to order though DoorDash or other apps on my phone. When I worked downtown, I also ordered through Peach, which delivered to the front desk at our business. Ritual offered the option to order a meal, and you could piggyback on a coworker's order. You could pay for your food in the app and one person could go to the restaurant nearby to pick up the food for everyone who ordered that day. In the past, we could call ahead to order, and either go pick up the food or have them deliver, but only certain restaurants (mainly pizza and certain fast food restaurants) had a delivery option, and the delivery people were employed by the individual restaurant. These days, especially since the pandemic, almost all restaurants have a delivery option, and they use apps such as DoorDash and Uber Eats, so a delivery person would be employed by DoorDash or other app company and go to whichever restaurant the person ordered from, then pick it up and deliver it. These apps also offer an option to tip the delivery person. Some restaurants do still employ their own delivery people, though they usually also participate in the apps. Many restaurants also let you order on their website and their own app, either for pickup or delivery.

What is your favorite restaurant?

"I Was the Lion"

The Horse and His Boy is a fascinating book by CS Lewis. Released in 1954, it was the fifth book in The Chronicles of Narnia, but is third in chronological order. 

The novel tells the story of a boy named Shasta who was raised a slave in the southern kingdom (Tisrocdom?) of Calormen, but he does not feel he belongs, and his master has not treated him well. One day a Calormene official visits his master, and while the adults are in the house talking, Shasta gets to know the official's horse, who it turns out is a talking Horse from Narnia named Bree. Neither Shasta nor Bree is happy with their respective masters, and they escape together. Sometime later, they are driven by lions to join with a runaway high-born Calormene girl named Aravis, and Hwin, also a talking Horse from Narnia who has been exiled in Calormen. The four of them journey together to the capital city of Tashbaan, and on through the desert and into the kingdom of Archenland. In the process, they go through many complications and adventures, and Shasta learns a lot about himself and his heritage. In Tashbaan and as they journey north, they learn of a clandestine plot by Prince Rabadash of Calormen to lay siege to Anvard and Cair Paravel, the capitals of Archenland and Narnia respectively. In an effort to save lives and prevent a violent conquest, Shasta must get to Anvard in time to warn the Archenlanders.

Through it all, they are plagued (so they believe) by lions, a cat, jackals, and more. This painting is inspired by one of my favorite passages in all of literature, when Shasta has met King Lune of Archenland and has fallen behind their entourage. As he is wandering through the mountain pass on the border of Archenland and Narnia, he feels lonely and dejected, and only has an Archenlander horse he hardly knows for company in the thick fog...until he senses another presence and hears a voice. Shasta recounts his adventures to the new arrival and is shocked to learn...

"I Was the Lion"
Steven Sauke
Acrylic on canvas
2012

"I was the lion." And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued. "I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so you could reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."

...

He turned and saw, pacing beside him, taller than the horse, a Lion. The horse did not seem to be afraid of it or else could not see it. It was from the Lion that the light came. No one ever saw anything more terrible or beautiful.

Luckily Shasta had lived all his life too far south in Calormen to have heard the tales that were whispered in Tashbaan about a dreadful Narnian demon that appeared in the form of a lion. And of course he knew none of the true stories about Aslan, the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-over-the-sea, the King above all High Kings in Narnia. But after one glance at the Lion's face he slipped out of the saddle and fell at its feet. He couldn't say anything but then he didn't want to say anything, and he knew he needn't say anything.

The High King above all kings stooped toward him. Its mane, and some strange and solemn perfume that hung about the mane, was all around him. It touched his forehead with its tongue. He lifted his face and their eyes met. Then instantly the pale brightness of the mist and the fiery brightness of the Lion rolled themselves together into a swirling glory and gathered themselves up and disappeared. He was alone with a horse on a grassy hillside under a blue sky. And there were birds singing.

Throughout The Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan is a Christ-like figure, in many cases mirroring the actions of Christ in the Bible. This passage has been a comfort to me over the years. Whenever I am going through hard times, I need to be reminded that Jesus is right there, as Aslan was for Shasta and his companions. Even when all seemed hopeless, Christ was there. His faithfulness to me is astounding, and I don't deserve it, but looking back on my life, I can see so many times when things seemed hopeless, but God always provided, protected, and allowed me to grow through it.

Days of Yore: Lighting

The Greeks tell the tale of the titan Prometheus, who got this crazy idea to steal fire from the gods and give it to humans. Humanity has never been the same, and Prometheus got to spend a lot of time torturously chained to a rock to think about what he had done as a result. Not being an ancient Greek, I believe this to be fiction, but it is an interesting story, if violent at times. (In his novel The Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien tells of the elf Maedhros, who has a lot in common with Prometheus. That story is not the same, but both stories involve hanging out on rocks—quite literally—as well as fire, and stealing valuable items from powerful beings.) In any case, humans have used fire for millenia in multiple ways, for cooking food, warming up, roasting marshmallows, sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories, and more. In school I learned about how Abraham Lincoln sat by his fireplace and read by the light of the fire. For many years, people lit torches using sticks, branches, and other materials, when they needed light on a long trek, or exploring a cave, or any time they needed light they could hold. Fire has always been both helpful and destructive. It can help cook food and warm people on a cold day to sustain life, and destroy life and property if misused or allowed to get out of control.

Shine Together
Painting by Jason Kotecki
All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

As time went on, people invented candles out of wax and wicks. I did homework by candlelight in the Philippines when our power went out. Candles could be used in a similar way to torches, though they didn't necessarily give off as much light, generally being smaller than your average torch. Candles lit chandeliers, sconces and other light fixtures. Some cultures even put them on their Christmas trees. (It still blows my mind how that worked without starting fires. The modern lights on strings seem safer to me.)

Thanks to a key and a kite and some lightning, Benjamin Franklin gained some important insight on electricity. The lightbulb came along, and Edison got the first patent, though he does not deserve sole credit for the invention.

Of course, most of the above was before my time (aside from doing homework by candlelight). By the time I came along, lightbulbs were common. Cars had headlights. Lighthouses shone their powerful lights out to sea to help passing and approaching boats. Spotlights and other lights lit up the theatre stage. Lamps and lanterns lit up rooms and other spaces. People could also use lanterns in much the same way they used torches (sometimes using fire and sometimes lightbulbs), and in a safer manner than torches. Though gaslighting has a different meaning now, that concept is inspired by a play and movie called Gaslight, which features lamps that required gas to burn. (The movie was Angela Lansbury's cinematic debut.) For centuries, people used gas and oil in lanterns, as it burns easily. As long as it is contained and used carefully, it can generally be used safely. But used unsafely, it can cause big problems when mixed with flames. We had flashlights by the time I came around, which could be held in the hand and shine light by means of a lightbulb inside. (The British still call them torches. In CS Lewis' Prince Caspian, Edmund got a torch for his birthday and left it in Narnia. We would call that a flashlight.) 

There was another nifty invention that was much newer by the time I came along. The lava lamp (painting above) was invented in 1963, and was popular in the '60s and '70s. It was lit from the bottom and filled with two kinds of liquid. A thick wax mixture floated in water. The light from the bottom of the lamp often changed color while the thicker liquid floated around, gently bubbling, separating, merging, and just generally being mesmerizing to watch, especially with the changing colors. They didn't give off a lot of light, but it was enough to light a dark room softly and made for a relaxing atmosphere. They were also a good deal more relaxing than watching real lava erupting out of a volcano. Well, if I were in the vicinity of an erupting volcano, I very likely would not be passively watching.

A few years ago, once camera flashes were introduced on cell phones, those flashes were eventually able to be repurposed for use as a flashlight. The first time I downloaded a flashlight on my cell phone, it struck me that I never would have dreamed that would be something I could download. Now it comes standard on smartphones. I still have regular flashlights, but I generally use my phone when I need one. However, to light up a room, my phone doesn't usually provide enough light, and I need ceiling lights and/or lamps, or if the power is out, lanterns. We also have headlamps we can strap to our head if we need our hands free to explore in the dark. Book lights also help when reading a traditional book in the dark. Some candles run on batteries without the need to light a flame. Using the definition of the word that the kids use today, it's really lit!

The King's Scepter

No visit to Memphis is complete without going to Sun Studios, where many of the greats recorded their music. I got to stand on the spot where Elvis stood and get a picture holding his microphone. It was amazing! His guitar is also on display in another room. As in Texas, it also helps if you have chosen family in Tennessee. (As of a couple years ago, I even have biological family in Tennessee!)

The King's Scepter
Acrylic, Stencil, Sharpie and Marker on Canvas
2012

For my third painting in my class, I chose Elvis' guitar. The designs in the leather on it fascinated me, in addition to the giraffe print on his guitar case.

The painting was modeled after this picture that I took in December 2009 at Sun Studios:

Some random guy who has lost weight
since this picture was taken
with Elvis' mic, December 2009
That is, the picture is said guy with the mic.
The picture was not taken with a mic.
Thought I'd clarify.

OK, Boomer: Slang

Zounds!

Growing up, I always associated that word with science fiction set in the distant future. Space men said it in comic strips. Spaceman Spiff, of Calvin and Hobbes fame, liked to use it. I knew we didn't say it much, but if comic books were to be believed, it would be used all the time in the 21st Century! So imagine my surprise when I was studying, of all subjects, Shakespeare, and learned that he used it in the 16th and 17th Centuries! It is an expression of surprise like "Wow!", and as I learned, is a contraction of "His wounds" ("His" referring to Jesus'). I've heard it pronounced in two ways: rhyming with "pounds" and "wounds." I still don't generally use it, particularly considering its derivation, but it's an interesting word.

Image by lexiconimages on Adobe Stock

In the early 20th Century, a lot of things were swell. I was born in the late '70s, and by that time, things were groovy, man. We're talkin' gnarly! I remember vaguely in the early '80s when people still observed that that is so boss! Those words are generally no longer used in that way (though I have heard them on occasion). As the '80s went on, a lot of things were radical, or rad for short. It meant great. These days, radical isn't generally a good thing, but it was more commonly a good thing back then (although we did use it in its current sense as well, referring to political and religious extremes...a lot depended on context). But though it isn't used as often now, rad still means more or less the same thing as it did then. The word cool, on the other hand, has endured longer. I still use that one. More recently I've heard the kids talking about how things are lit. (When I was younger, lit had a very different meaning. I wasn't all that familiar with that word in its colloquial sense at the time, as I wasn't around people who were lit, or drunk, very much. Now it has a much more positive meaning, more along the lines of groovy and cool.) Even cool has changed in meaning over the years. Though it still can mean calm and not upset, that isn't as common a usage these days. If The Flash (CW series starring Grant Gustin) is to believed, things will be schway by 2049. Note that these words are nuanced and don't mean exactly the same thing. For example, rad was stronger than cool in the '80s. However, the meanings are similar.

Image by Rawpixel.com on Adobe Stock

One phrase that has changed considerably over the years is "just alright." The classic '60s and '70s song "Jesus is Just Alright with Me", recorded by the Doobie Brothers and others, was high praise at the time. It meant that I think Jesus is awesome, great, incredible, groovy! Now "just alright" means "meh, not great." To the people of the '70s, there was alright, and then there was the much more impressive just alright! So next time you hear the Doobie Brothers (or DC Talk, or Stryper, or other bands who recorded it) singing that, understand that they are not saying that Jesus is meh. Instead, they think He's the bee's knees! Jesus is lit! (using the current definition of lit, not the definition from the '60s and '70s)

With the increase in popularity of the internet, I started noticing a lot of TLAs (three-letter acronyms) being thrown around on the internet and in e-mails (and more recently in text messages). The first time I saw "LOL" I wondered if it meant "Little Old Lady," which didn't make sense in the context. I finally asked someone, but figured it out before they answered. It means "laughing out loud." Please note, it does NOT mean "lots of love." I have seen that misconception, and it has led to a lot of unfortunate misunderstandings (the classic one being the text conversation between a mother and her son, something along the lines of... Mother: "Your uncle died, LOL" Son: "What?? Why is that funny?" Mother: "It isn't funny. Why would you say that?" Son: "What did you mean by LOL?" Mother: "Lots of love." Son: "That stands for laughing out loud." Mother: "Oh no! I'm going to have to apologize to everyone I told!") The point there being, never use LOL for "lots of love." I like the French equivalent, MDR, which stands for mourir de rire (literally, "dying of laughter"). Personally, if I feel the need to express laughter, I go for the classic "Hahahahahahahaha!!!" (or longer or shorter variants of that)

Swear words have also come and gone, some more enduring than others, but in the interest of keeping this family friendly, I will not go into those. I don't use them myself, but have gotten a lot more tolerant of others using them as I've gotten older. Still not a fan, though. Our counselor in elementary taught us to use the words of the immortal philosopher Winnie-the-Pooh, "Oh bother!" Much more wholesome, and it usually gets close enough in meaning. I have a few other things I use on occasion, such as "Rats!" "Bummer!" "Seriously??" "Good grief!" (Thanks, Charlie Brown!) "Uff da!" "Ay nako!" "Bless your heart." Though I don't use these alternatives as much, I also like "Fiddlesticks!" "Dagnabbit!" "...cottonpicking..." "Doggone it!" "...dadgum..."

Another term I have grown up with, owing to my Norwegian heritage, is Uff da! It's an all-purpose interjection that doesn't have a direct translation in English. The closest I've heard in any other language is the Yiddish Oy veh! and Oy gevalt! Uff da means "Oh my!" "Good grief!" "Oh no!" "How silly!" "How awful!" "Eww, gross!" (among many others). The Tagalog Ay nako! (literally, "Oh my mom!") and the French Zut alors! come close. The French Oh là là! (which does not mean what many Americans think it means) also comes close.

Of course, there has been so much slang over the years, and if I went into all of it, this would be a very long post. But that gives a small taste of it.

Oh, and I sometimes use slang on my phone. I also use it when I'm talking. It isn't exactly in the same class as other things I've covered in this series, but I feel it's important to mention whether or not I use it on my cell phone now.

One more thing...you may be wondering about the title of this post. The baby boomers and the millennials seem to have some sort of rivalry going on. They don't tend to understand each other so much. Boomers (stereotypically) tend to believe millennials are lazy and other negative adjectives. Millennials, in turn, (again, stereotypically) tend to see boomers as hopelessly old fashioned. And then, here I am, in Generation X, looking in both directions and scratching my head. (I'm an Xennial, which is the group of people born at the end of the Gen X era and the beginning of the Millennial era, who carry some aspects of both Gen X and Millennials.) Anyway, many millennials finally gave up with the criticism coming from their elders, a lot of which was unfounded, and just say, "OK, boomer." Whatever you say. I won't argue. It was the closest I could think of to a modern slang version of "Days of Yore."

OK, another thing...how is it that, given their meaning, "colloquial" and "vernacular" are not generally used in today's vernacular?

Fort Worth

When visiting Fort Worth, Texas, I highly recommend visiting the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. They are beautiful and peaceful, with a waterfall, lots of plants (obviously, considering the name), bridges, and more. They also have koi and other wildlife. If your chosen family also includes a big sister and niece and nephew in the area, so much the better!

Fort Worth
Steven Sauke
Acrylic and gel on canvas
2012

Our second assignment in our painting class in 2012 was to paint a small portion of a picture. I selected the below picture that I took in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens in 2007 as the inspiration for this painting. I mixed matte gel with the paint to make the bushes more bushy, and mixed gloss gel with the paint to give the water more of a sheen. I was especially proud of the textures in this painting. Having just painted Mt. Rainier in Monet's style, this painting was also partially inspired by his bridge paintings—but I didn't paint his bridge because I didn't want to appear to be duplicating his artwork.

Said big sister, nephew and niece
Also at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens
(different bridge)
Picture taken in 2007, so they are now a bit older
How is that 16 years ago?!

Days of Yore: Research and Organization

As you may remember, I covered research to some extent in my post about books. In that post, I mentioned that we spent a lot of time in the library looking up information in books. We used encyclopedias, dictionaries, newspapers, magazines, microfiche, and more. In my post on telephones, I mentioned the wonders of phone books. But there were other ways that we kept track of phone numbers and contact information. I covered aspects of today's subject in previous posts, but here I expand on more.

Photo by puhhha on Adobe Stock

Going to a library could be a tad daunting at times. Once you got to know how it was laid out, finding the book you needed was easier, but could still be challenging at times without help. We had a couple options. We could ask the librarian, who was usually quite helpful, or we could check the card catalog. It was a cabinet with small drawers just big enough to fit cards that listed all the books in the library. Most libraries I went to used the Dewey Decimal System, which arranges books by subject. For example, computer science, information and general works are classified as 000; philosophy and psychology are 100, religion is 200, and so on. The numbers in between are more specific. Each book in the library has a sticker on the spine with its Dewey Decimal classification, which gets more and more specific, down to identifying the individual book. The card catalog is arranged in a simpler manner so books are easier to find. They have a section that lists the books by title. Another section lists them by author. Each card represents one book, and it tells its Dewey Decimal classification so you know where in the library it is. (We usually wrote down the information from the card so we could remember it when searching for the book on the shelf.) The aisles of books are typically labeled with the classifications in that aisle. Though libraries still use this system, Google and Amazon have simplified this considerably. I haven't been to a brick-and-mortar library in years, though I have been to bookstores more recently. Bookstores typically don't use the Dewey Decimal system. They still arrange books by subject, and then usually alphabetize them on the shelves by author.

Card Catalog
Photo by Andrey Kuzmin on Adobe Stock

When checking out a book, we would open the front cover and find a paper pouch with a card in it. That card had a list of names of people who had checked it out in the past. At the front desk, the librarian would stamp the card with the date and file the card until we returned the book. Most libraries had a limit on how many books you could check out at a time, and also how long you could keep them before you had to return them. They often fined you if you kept the books too long.

One way of keeping track of appointments and such was a calendar. Not the kind you hang on your wall, but one you could carry with you and mark up. My dad jokingly called it his brain. They were of varying sizes, typically from small enough to carry in your pocket to regular paper size. Now Outlook and other programs have calendars (with a similar setup) where you can do it electronically. I have a calendar on my phone that reminds me about appointments and other events coming up.

Filing cabinets were a way of keeping papers neat and organized. Drawers were organized similarly to a card catalog, but you could arrange it in whatever way worked best for you, and label the drawer. They often had hanging file folders that hung from tracks on the sides of the drawers, and then you could put manila folders in those to organize papers further. (Honestly, with ADHD, filing was one of the most boring jobs I have done. I don't bore easily, but when I am bored, it may be when filing things in the old-fashioned filing cabinets. Even so, it's a great way of keeping papers organized!)

Then there was the rolodex. Where phone books came with the phone numbers printed in them, you could customize rolodex with just the contacts you needed, and when placed next to your phone, it was a convenient way to find contact information. They came with special cards that fit on the wheel, and you could put them in their alphabetical place for easy reference. (They could also be used for other things, but keeping track of contact information was one of the most common uses.)

Rolodex
Photo by Albert Lozano-Nieto on Adobe Stock

I'm sure it will come as no surprise that I do all these things on my phone now, and rarely use the above options. I have a filing cabinet, but I don't use it much. I have physical books, but most of my reading is done on my phone, Kindle and computer. It's also much nicer to carry your entire library on a small device, as opposed to lugging heavy books around. That could get cumbersome, and it was sometimes a little awkward to pull out a big book on the bus. On the other hand, books don't have a battery that wears down and dies if you don't recharge or have access to an outlet, so there's that. These days, I may not lug around books, but I might bring some wireless chargers if I anticipate not having access to an outlet for a while. My trusty chargers came in handy when visiting New York last September, though didn't help the day I forgot to bring it and my battery ended up dying just as I got to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I did have my cord with me, so I found an outlet in the lobby during intermission and got permission to use it. That helped a bit, so I was still able to check the subway route after the show, and write down what I needed in case it died again.

Back to books...I have gotten rid of a lot of my books, as they just take up space. Some of them are in storage. I still have some in my room, but most of them are either in storage or gone. I do still use wall calendars.