Transcendent Duck

funny

2007-06-19T14:08:00.000-05:00

Gap Unveils New 'For Kids By Kids' Clothing Line

do I sound like this??

2006-04-02T12:40:00.000-05:00

We are located in the Area of Reduction of the Ecological Reserve of El Ángel.

At night the homemade dinner, the hot locro, ... and then to the cottage, built with stones and wooden trunks, where emulating the heroes of the old west, one is defeated to the dream wrapped in bed comfort, at the heat from the chimney, and from several bottles boiling of water that also are put among the blankets, which are the details of the reparative and unforgettable night.

from www.polylepislodge.com

I think many people seeking to expose their website to those who speak English simply go to google translator and punch it in. This is an example of such. We have seen this in websites and official plaques adorning museums. I wish these well meaning people would ask someone, anyone who is a native speaker to read it once through. May this be a good lesson to me.

driving

2006-03-30T12:01:00.000-05:00

I have not driven a motor vehicle in 7 months; until today, when I got to drive the hacienda’s truck to fetch some lumber for a project. Defenitly the longest I have been without driving, since I turned 15. It did come back fully, the process of driving, and that was unexpected.

Funny things said in Spanish by Katie and I

2006-03-28T18:32:00.000-05:00

When I wanted to say , “Do you want me to feed your dog tonight”

I really said, “Do you want me to eat your dog tonight.”

While describing what Southern Fried Chicken is like I tried to compared it to a dish the chef at the Hacienda makes.

I wanted to say,” It is like your chicken.”

But I really said, “Like you chicken.”

While driving past a beautiful church in a taxi in Quito Katie asked the driver,

“When did you build the church.”

Katie asked Fernando (our boss) if she could learn to take care of the horses, but she really said, “I want to learn to stay with the horses.”

When I wanted to compliment the Chef, Jose Maria, on his pies.

I wanted to say,” I love your pies.”

But I really said,” I love your feet.”

Illegals

2006-03-28T18:17:00.000-05:00

Wow I wish I could have been there to see the sea of half a million people in white march through the streets in LA. The collective walking of these people most likely represent the most walking done in LA since 1922. But it still made me proud.

" controversial bill passed by the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives would broaden the definition of "alien smuggling" to include those who give aid to illegal immigrants already in the country, such as church groups and other charities."

http://english.epochtimes.com/news/6-3-27/39701.html

my dad

2006-03-21T18:30:00.000-05:00

chris
Originally uploaded by Cammypoo and Katie.

So my Family came to Zuleta and we had a blast. It was confusing for them who all these people were and what my relation to them was. My brother, my mom, Kathy as my mom's best friend, all this made sense, but to my utter disbelief several (four) people in Zuleta believed Chris McKnight to be my DAD. Even when I told them that we are the same age and are best friends from high school, it was hard. So now I provide some pictures to demontrate my confusion.

cameron
Originally uploaded by Cammypoo and Katie.

family shot

2006-03-19T19:33:00.000-05:00

family shot
Originally uploaded by Cameron/Duff.

i love these people

I am so glad they came down to Ecuador!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Birds in Mindo

2006-03-19T18:37:00.000-05:00

Katie and I went to Mindo, for a short overnight trip. A small town that has changed over the past twenty years from a sleepy rustic village without electricity to a hamlet overflowing with hostels and Quitenos on the weekends. We woke this morn at five, and went on a walk with a guide to see some feathered animals. I have never seen so many birds in one time, about three hours. We also went on a strange and scary "rafting" adventure with seven inner tubes tied in a star pattern, but I will let the more eloquent Katie Rose share that story on her blog.

This is all thanks to Julia our guide in Mindo.

turkey vulture
black vulture
swallow-tailed kite
spotted sandpiper
ruddy pigeon
white tipped dove
common potoo
golden headed quetzal- bright red and green
chocò toucan
smokey brown woodpecker
buff fronted foliage gleaner
pacific hornero
slaty capped flycatcher
black pheobe
dusk capped flycatcher
tropical kingbird
masked tityra
Andean Cock-in-the-rock, strangest bird I ever saw
southern rough tailed swallow
house wren
white capped dipper
bananaquit
golden tananger
white winged tananger
lemon rumped tananger
varaiable seedeater
yellow bellied seedeater
red faced spinetail
slaty antwren
scale crested pygmy tyrant

ode to fun friends

2006-02-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

DSCN2771
Originally uploaded by Cameron/Duff.

ah those crazy people, thanks for coming to visit and bringing us happiness from home.

photos and video

2006-02-16T10:31:00.000-05:00

Here is a link to somephotos Katie and I took in Colombia

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cameron-alexander/sets/

And here is a link to a video I took in the Jungle of Colombia

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5973226438392765457

Books I have read in Ecuador

2006-02-16T10:17:00.000-05:00

Dalva- Jim Harrison
Everything is Illuminated- Jonathan Safran Foer
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close- Jonathan Safran Foer
The Name of the Rose- Umberto Eco
Cien Años de Soledad-
The Hobbit
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe
The Adventures of Augie March-Saul Bellow
A Brief History of Everything- Bill Bryson
Down the Highway- Biography of Bob Dylan
Living Poor- A Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador
The Notebooks of Don Rigobertto- Mario Vargas Llosa
The Commitment-Dan Savage
Chasing Che- Patrick Symms
In Amazonia: A Natural History
Glory- Vladamir Nabokov
Oh the Glory of it all- Sean Wilsey, thanks Chris
The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown, thank Mom and Kathy
The Sound and the Fury- William Faulkner

Witches and very small rocks

2006-01-17T11:40:00.000-05:00

So friends you know in "The Holy Grail" how during the "trial" of the "witch", they try and weigh her and also see if she floats. Well we went to an Torture Museum in Cartegena and in fact those are real things they used to do to see if a person was a witch or just strange. Inside the museum they had a scale for witches, and if the person was lighter tan they expected then it meant they could fly and in that vein of logic then they were with out a doubt a witch. Humor and truth, a sad mix.

Colombia

2006-01-15T12:10:00.000-05:00

Pictures and videos to follow, but until I get to uploading them, I just want to say, Thank you Colombia, you treated us right. From fresh food and juices, to white sand beaches, warm and open people, who although they spoke twice as fast as Ecuadorian, still conveyed, "You are welcome here, thanks for coming we hope you like our country, please tell more Americans to come to our Little Country.

And thanks to our fabulous traveling companions Jen and Tavis. They are great they should rent themselves out to fellow South American Travelers.

Ah Colombia, yo te quiero.

John Bracken is the winner

2005-12-16T14:54:00.000-05:00

Although I accidental turned off the commenting function, John did email me first but there will be a 2nd place prize to Chris McKnight and a 3rd place prize to my brother Glenn. Thanks for playing!

Gringo Sabe

2005-12-10T09:59:00.000-05:00

Life in Zuleta is filled with many small acomplishments that otherwise would just get absorbed and discarded in ones daily life. Such as the constant way the guys I work with in the garden test me, when I get it wrong they happily step in and help the gringo who knows little. But when I get it right and they say "Gringo Sabe" or "Esta Tecnico", then I feel good. I have not had to prove my manhood this often since High School and it is hard and strange, but rewarding when it works. It is hard to pound a 4 inch nail into old wood when you have three or four Ecuadorians watching every strike of the hammer. All part of life out of my natural element.

trout, potatoes and whisky for breakfast

2005-12-02T18:23:00.000-05:00

Cameroon, want breakfast.

Yes I said, and down to the lower garden in the little shed I had never been, and there on the dirt floor was a make-shift grill with trout over the coals. Next comes out the potaoes, new and freshly dug. Then a bag of salt and a bag of toasted corn. Breakfast strong enough to skip lunch , they tell me.

We ate and talked. They often ask me in Spanish, ¿Como esta in su tierra? How is it in your land. Tierra is a great word, Earth, soil, land. Then they asked what types of whisky I had in my land, I said we had many.

After eating, they asked if I wanted some cola, Yes please. Then I said this just needs some whisky, as a joke really. And there it was in my cup, half whisky half cola at ten in the morn.

Going back to work, my row of transplants swerved a bit, but otherwise it was great.

Four men on Horses

2005-12-02T18:04:00.000-05:00

Katie and I were walking through the main Plaza at the Hacienda with misty fog in our faces, when out from the dark just outside the entrance, a man said in Spanish," We need to see the doctor." Shocked and a bit scared, because if the dark night and that the men had been drinking, we cautiously asked for clarification, they had heard of a doctor who lived at the Hacienda. We said we would go check, we ran to the kitchen to ask the cook who Adriano was, where he lived and most importantly, whether we could bring four men on horses to his house in the dark of night. The cook said yes that it was fine, with an air of comfortness that suggested this type of thing happens with some regularity. Going back out we led them to Adriano`s house and watched outside to make sure their mission really was well meaning. Seeing that it was we left and both had the feeling that we were transported for a short time to the 1700`s.

The Gringo Showdown

2005-09-29T16:07:00.000-05:00

In foreign lands why is there an unspoken rule that you don´t talk to other gringos when you see them out and about.

Like magnets of the same polarity, repelled and avoided, we pretend to not notice each other, afraid our experience of the unknown will take on the quality of an attraction. I, among others, do take pride in visiting locations where you are the only other, but it is a bit strange to just look away from those who look like you.

I am not advocating a change of sorts, just wanting to acknowledge this and in turn let it out of my head.

Un Partido de Futbol

2005-09-27T16:43:00.000-05:00

El Domingo Katie y yo fuímos al partido de futból. Nosotros tomemos el Trolle y miramos mucha gente llevando camisetas amarillas. Entonces nosotros seguimos ellos al Estadio Aucas. Nosotros Fuímos al Estadio y encontramos dos asientos. Los nombres de los dos equipos fueron, Aucas y Barcelona. El equipo Barcelona es de la costa en Guyaquil, y Aucas es de Quito. El partido estuvo bien y Aucas ganó. Entonces, nosotros miramos una pelicula, La Cuidad de Pecado, La pelicula estuvo bien. Peroximo nosotros fuímos a la casa de Susana y comimos cena.

gracias por la ayuda Anita.

2005-09-19T16:23:00.000-05:00

So many moving photos in one place. What a service to our world. Would the world change a bit if more than the current 2 million saw these images. Please, if the exhibit comes close to th place you now live, go see it. Heartbreaking, really. So many stories that we could never hear of even if we had a press that served our true needs.

http://www.worldpressphoto.nl/

my lovely people

2005-09-19T14:48:00.000-05:00

IMG_0420.JPG
Originally uploaded by mrjameskubik.

these are those wonderful folks who stood as witnesses during the ceremony. And, in fact, have been there for me long before.

muchas gracias mi compadres

A mi me gusta mentestra, pero.......

2005-09-17T12:59:00.000-05:00

???????
Originally uploaded by Cameron/Duff.

i think this is a popular chain of fastish food in Quito. for me it reminds me of the horendous lawn jockeys that inhabited some unfornunate yards in East Texas during my younger years. But perhaps they still live in that part of the world where it has been said, the civil rights movement bypassed.

Hacienda Cusin

2005-09-03T09:21:00.000-05:00

We are out and about in Ecuador, moving through this incredible country, spending much time with old and new friends. John and Andreas wedding camp is great so far. We spent one night in Quito and then boarded a bus and drove over high mountain passes to a hot springs, and then to Hacianda Cusin which is one of the nicest places I have ever stayed. Great food, wine and talking, until late. I feel somewhat spoiled staying here. Someone comes to our room every evening while we are at dinner and lights our a fire in our room. And the food, many of the vegetables come from the property, and we are served fruit I have never seen before. Now we are in Otavalo, five minute taxi from Cusin, where the famous Saturday market is getting set up. More blankets sweaters, panama hats, and trinkets than I have ever seen. And the food, fish fried in a huge pan with garlic, rice in a pallea looking dish, and many types of corn.

It is nice to be eased into living here with the help of being surrounded by so many friends. But soon they will leave and we will be here left to our own devices to find new friends. Ah joyous life.

bride and groom

2005-07-12T22:58:00.000-05:00

bride and groom
Originally uploaded by jbracken.

getting married!!!!!!!!!!1

My Babe the French Man with Big Lips

2005-06-27T14:44:00.000-05:00

Chinagin
Originally uploaded by kalinka.

Ah the rise of the chinagins, they will someday take over the world, and the rest of us will have to watch and observe their fierce destruction!

a small deer

2005-06-09T02:22:00.000-05:00

I turned off Hwy 1 and onto Pescadero Rd. and in the headlights is a small deer. I notice it is limping and pull over. I assume it was hit by another night time traveler, who did not stop. I am trying to decide and cannot. Many possibilities of life, death and my role fall into a web of colluded emotions. I get out and walk toward the small deer, who's yelps and distress calls ring inside my minds ears as I write. I half decide to run the small deer over, and now I think I was doing this to pull the deer away from the pain of being eaten alive by a coyote or ripped apart, slowly by a bobcat. I back up and hit the small. Hazards flashing I hit the road and look for the small deer; it lies in the ditch unable to move. I have no knife in my truck and I flash to a story of a two men smothering a grown deer with tears in their eyes as she slipped into death. I try and the small deer is still strong with life. The tailgate opens and I set the small deer in the bed. Now I drive window down, fast to home, I see my house is lit. To the front door and I say," There someone hit a deer, it's inside my truck." I grab two knives and we drive to the edge of the farm. Far enough from our landlords house, and I bring the small deer to the grass. What should I do? What is in my gut. I try to cut her neck and the knife is too dull. I try to smother the small deer again, and its will kicks hard. This is not right, we drive back to the place I first saw the small deer on the road. There among the poison oak and the black berry bushes I leave her. To what I don't know. To her mother finding her, from her tired and soft yelps. To a coyote who needs to feed her pups. To raven pecking at her dead swollen body. She is one deer out of hundreds hit by cars every year, who's soon death and just the thought of her death has filled me with life. My mind will soon begin to rationalize or demean my choices, but now I am alive and here in my living body.

gw=satan

2005-06-05T11:50:00.000-05:00

a great night. Picture and transfer done by Candace Vivian.

PostSecret

2005-05-31T17:06:00.000-05:00

Cool Blog, a little sad.

PostSecret

Work?

2005-05-28T14:25:00.000-05:00

Ah work. I just had my last day at a place I love. It is over no mas. The Work was fantastic, the place was beautiful. Almost a sacred site. Where peoples lives are changed every year. I will miss The Garden most. Ever since showing up there three years ago, that was the spot that captured my attention, and taught me the most. I am weak from lack of sleep, drained, sad and slightly bedraggled, and also elated to be on my way. On my way to ?, But still moving in transition, away from California for now and toward a life of marriage and travel and babies.

I feel closure and love for the Garden and all that SMOE was for me. How it has deepened my understanding of the natural world and pushed me to communicate with peers and children in real and tangible ways. So now I say thank you. You have helped me in ways that I can't begin to recognize yet, just yet. I give thanks for the unknown blessings that are already on their way.

Smoke

2005-05-21T21:28:00.000-05:00

Foghorn Stringband

2005-05-09T22:09:00.000-05:00

Foghorn Stringband

These guys are great; driving, fast and great to dance to. Go see them when you can. They make your feet swing and your mouth hollar.

to Rose

2005-05-08T22:58:00.000-05:00

Rooster

2005-04-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

Rooster

At first crack
in dawn’s black eggshell
my neighbor’s rooster crows
with a voice
like rusty tap water. He knows
nothing about
childhood asthma rates
from a nearby freeway,
or the incinerator on High Street
that burns up medical wastes
and spews poison.
He dreams of a harem of plump hens,
but poverty has forced him to be monogamous
with one scrawny, lackluster egg-layer,
so he makes do like the rest of us.
O inner-city rooster
with scabby red wattles
and tough yellow feet
to pick though the asphalt and pebbles,
precious souvenir
of my exiled ranchero neighbor
who cultivates a towering cornfield
on his tiny scrap of lawn and scatters birdseed at 6 A.M.
before he leaves for the first of three
factory jobs. Last poet
of the barnyard in Mexico,
with its dawn horses and clean air,
you goad is with your call:
Wake up! Wake up! The sun is rising! It is I,
cacophonous prophet of morning,
who brought it forth!
How many times have I heard you
form the gray depths f sleep,
or from waking alone
in the silence of my own sweaty dream.
Brother Rooster, displaced
ghetto oracle,
rouster-out-of-bed, world-jouster,
like you am directed to bungle
praises to dirt and light,
morning after morning,
no matter what.

by Alison Luterman

from The SunDecember 2004

zilla

2005-04-14T18:59:00.000-05:00

zilla
Originally uploaded by cameronalexander.

Here is the chicken that inspired a blog and fed a small group.

Garden from the Fir

2005-04-14T18:28:00.000-05:00

tall tree view
Originally uploaded by cameronalexander.

The Straw Bale House

Here it is

2005-04-14T00:09:00.000-05:00

Here I write as a dog is sick in a hospital; a dog I love. What a good teacher grief is for me! There are the emotions right there, visceral and at the surface.