The Hollow Men » Hollow Men

New Work

Ned — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:30:40 +0000

Feel free to check out my new work, the TINAW Drawings, an ongoing series of 24 drawings, of which I posted 16.

The Annals Say

Ned — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 15:57:10 +0000

VIII
The annals say: when the monks of Clonmacnoise
Were all at prayers inside the oratory
A ship appeared above them in the air.
The anchor dragged along behind so deep
It hooked itself into the altar rails
And then, as the big hull rocked to a standstill,
A crewman shinned and grappled down the rope
And struggled to release it. But in vain.
‘This man can’t bear our life here and will drown,’
The abbot said, ‘unless we help him.’ So
They did, the freed ship sailed, and the man climbed back
Out of the marvellous as he had known it.

Seamus Heany – From Lightenings

Passing

Ned — Mon, 31 May 2010 23:55:28 +0000

The passing of a legend.

Protected: A Magic Number

Tobias — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:46:22 +0000

A Decade in the Making

Tobias — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:21:23 +0000

Good 2010 to all of my fellow Hollow Souls.

I’ve been in a particularly reflective mood in this New Year, and I want to explore some of those reflective moments with the rest of you, if possible. It’s been a decade since the calendar flipped over to the year 2000, a lot of fears never materialized in flipping over and a lot of fears we never realized we should have materialized in the haze of the past ten years. The more I ponder it, the more I realize we’ve seen a lot.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’d like to post some conversation starters in the articles and have people contribute to the main idea with thoughts of their own.

For this one…I’d like to hear from you all about the things that have happened in the last ten years that have been memorable. They can be significant or trivial, just something worth noting.

Ten years ago, I felt like I had been in Kansas City for ages. Nursing a broken heart made things go unbearably slow, even though I had only been here about ten months. I actually remember wondering on New Year’s Day of 2000 where I would be in 2010, if I’d even be alive to be cognizant of it. Happy to say, I am.

What happened for you in this decade in the making?

Protected: Snow Day on Christmas

Tobias — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:56:18 +0000

Surfacing and Resubmerging

Tobias — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:36:04 +0000

My apologies to all of my fine fellow Hollow Men. I am making a short reappearance, and then will probably not be on much over the next week. Steph’s finishing up her last semester of classes, and it makes it hard to do anything at the computer other than work. I look forward to getting back on and enjoying the pleasure of conversing with you all.

Until then, enjoy this, as spotted in a coffee shop:

Inspiration

Pete — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:47:44 +0000

Thanks, JE, for hosting Amanda and me last weekend. We had a wonderful time and were thoroughly inundated with artistic inspirations at every turn. I left with more motivation to return to my artistic nature than I have felt in a super long time, it was good for my soul. I would like to incorporate one of my current creative thoughts/challenges with the group. My proposal is that we craft a worthy children’s story with animation, a good message/lesson (perhaps like a fable) that would be timeless in nature and be something that our children would incorporate into their lives and share with their children. I recognize the huge undertaking here, but I think we definately have the talent between the lot of us to put something together. I have seen middle school projects where their work has been made into quality hardback form. Perhaps we could find something like this and have nicely bound copies that could be in each of our homes. I would think the logical place to start would be with the story’s arc and outline. I would like to extend this challenge to each of you. I would really like to be able to share the collective wisdom of our friendships with my child/children. So, who’s with me? Any thoughts about characters and stories?

On a second note- I am going to do some work on a graphic novel (semi-inspired by Maus) based on a character I will call Promi the Squirell, who steals a flaming marshmallow from a suburban fire pit. My initial sketches ceertainly aren’t of the caliber of Ned’s but, whacha gonna do?

Thanksgiving

Shotts — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:52:52 +0000

I’m curious what all of your plans are for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Of course, I always think back to our run of Thanksgivings and miss them.

Jen, Beckett, and I will be going to Washington State to be with my parents and sisters. It should be great, and it will be nice to get together with them in our new “home” headquarters. It will be the first time taking B on a plane, so I’m sure it will pose interesting challenges. Any flight advice would be welcome, from those of you who have flown with one-year-olds…

I hope you’ll all have good holidays. Let us know what you’ll be doing to celebrate.

Hold the Phone: Conversation among the HM

Shotts — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:20:43 +0000

As I promised in my comment on the last post, I thought I’d put something up in the hope of getting some communication going. So what better subject than communication. Specifically, about the phone.

I have to admit to all of you, though it’s no surprise, I have probably been the worst about keeping in touch with all of you by phone. I’m sorry for it. I’m the same way with my family and with other friends. Some of this is my laziness; some of this is my busy-ness; some of this is probably a reliance on this blog, facebook, and email to make communication more convenient for myself, perhaps even at the cost of “real” conversation. Some of this too is also a disposition against the telephone, which seems to run fairly deep in my family.

So I’m curious about what to do about this. I bet I talk to my little sister once, maybe twice a year on the phone, and then probably see her in person around once a year. I’m a little better with my older sister, but not a lot better. I talk to my parents probably once a month or so on the phone, to catch up, make plans, whatever. We’re really not that involved with each other. Part of that I chalk up to a Scandinavian reserve; part of that I chalk up to long distance (the four groups of us are literally spread out into all four time zones in the lower 48 states). Part of it has to be something else–a feeling of not wanting to interfere or comment too much on anyone else’s choices or ways of living.

I guess it’s somewhat the same with the HM, you all–although I have probably been better in the past of staying in touch with many of you at various and specific times even more so than my family. I always enjoy talking with each of you when it happens, but it’s become rarer and rarer. Yes, we’re all married now, some of us with children or on the way; yes, we’re all busy; blah blah blah. I’m always a little saddened when I hear from Toby, say, that he just talked to Peters, when I haven’t spoken to Peters in quite some times. I’m saddened to know I was last to find out that Peters and Amanda are pregnant, and that was largely because of my unavailability or very slow way of responding to a phone message. I’m also saddened but understanding of the fact that I’ve had a voice message in with Peters for at least a week, maybe ten days now, and haven’t heard back. I have fostered a kind of no-call zone, and I’m sorry for that, if that’s the feeling among the group.

In the way of a question and conversation, I guess I’d like to know how much you all are talking with each other–via phone and in person, especially–but also via email, facebook, whatever. I don’t know, maybe you’re all out there faxing each other daily reports. And I’d be interested in knowing how you have handled distance and communication not only among ourselves but also among your own families and other friends.

Maybe a lame way to try to get some conversation going on the blog, but it’s been on my mind.

Blog etherised on a table…

Shotts — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:56:14 +0000

Let us go then, you and I…

“Eliot Calls Our Bluff”

Ned — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:13:11 +0000

For an amusing diversion, check out this link, provided I did it correct this time.

Adam Rex’s Blog

Francisco Part IX: Ned’s Second Segment

Ned — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:34:19 +0000

Francisco opened his eyes. Sand clung to his face, hands, and arms. He lay at the foot of a large heap of sand at the back of a construction site. The last thing he remembered from this sequence was with Rachael again. She had been sitting on his lap showing him how to convert a Youtube video soundtrack into an MP3 file. He still felt her weight pressing close to his legs. He still heard the echo of her laughter. The scent of her hair lingered. But how could her scent be there at all if he was dreaming or remembering. Something was poking his thigh from inside his pocket. He withdrew a folded piece of paper and a photograph. His life was beginning to feel as convulsive as a Barnaby Furnas canvas.

Pete part 2

Pete — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:50:36 +0000

It was a muggy, rainy kind of day; not particulalrly cold, which made the chill Francisco experienced all the more suspect. Then it hit him, like he knew it would ultimately, but had hoped, prayed to himself that he might awaken from this exsistance and be back in the warm embrace of Rachael. And, yet, he also knew that the cold feeling, now accompanied by dizziness and profuse sweating would be a gateway back to a time with Rachael, however fleeting. He pulled his trenchcoat tighter, muttering to himself, “Fuck Corporate”. He knew the words spoken brazenly before would come back to haunt him. Feeling as though he were about to disembark on Toad’s Wild Ride again, he found as soft a spot in front of the old brownstone as he could because he knew he would never make it inside. He needed to find privacy. He thought about his actions of the last 24 hours and his commitment to drinking the whole drink. It was too late to go back, this bullet had left the chamber. He didn’t know if the drink kept things under control, if it somehow kept him intact, if it influenced the dreams or what. For all he knew it would kill him in this dose, but Francisco was tired of living in this half-life. Whatever lay on the other side of the looking-glass would be a welcome alternative to what he had found on this side. Would he go to Rachael and never come back? Would it be more vivid this time? He had been experimenting but didn’t have any answers. He was a hack with no expertise, just a hunch and a desire for something better than what he had. Corporate had needed it to be this way. He wiped the persperation from his brow. He was feeling much less centered now and things were beginning to spin and darken. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen very soon. The sense was that gravity was no longer his friend as he careened into a small grouping of bushes, grasping out for the railing to the stairs, rolling to his back as he settled on the dirt between the bush and the stoop. He had passing thoughts about the events leading up to his involvement with corporate. Paralized, his eyes rolled back, and he muttered something to himself. At least he thought he was muttering…words were no longer leaving his lips. He was waking up inside. “Rachel!……”

The Blog Is Dead

Shotts — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:07:53 +0000

We’re coming up on three months without one new comment or post.

No Line on the Horizon

Shotts — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:50:53 +0000

Looking out to that horizon, today, on the release of a new U2 album, it seems appropriate to write to you all with a serious proposal. Namely, let’s look forward and think about a significant journey to Ireland.

I’m not suggesting this happen next month, maybe not even this year, but if there is interest from even just one of you, I’d like to get a date in mind on the calendar and start saving the money it will take to make this a real journey. You’ve got to dream out loud.

What I am proposing, what I am dreaming, is two weeks in Ireland–mapping out a course from Dublin, most likely, and spending the bulk of the time in the western wilds of the country. It would mean setting up lodging in bed and breakfasts and/or hostels, renting a car and braving the narrow roadways, eating in pubs and the like–doing it as cheaply as we can, but also not sparing out on any experience. I’m open to any road, but imagine spending 2-3 days in Dublin, and spending much of the rest of the time in the west and in Northern Ireland.

Certainly this is an expensive proposal, in terms of cost and time and planning, let alone a significant time away from home and family. It is likely cheaper to go in the off months, November through February, for instance. With that in mind, and looking at my own schedule, perhaps January or February 2010 would be a time to shoot for. I hate the idea of being away from Jen and Beckett for two weeks or so, and obviously this is just the beginning of a possible conversation, but I also hate the idea of time and youth so quickly getting away from us. And they are getting away from us. I know there was once a lot of talk among us, on a broken Kansas hillside, about just this very idea of a journey with whoever of us can make it. I’m not even certain I can make it. But I hope, and I scheme, and I instigate, and so I put it back to each of you to think seriously about this and to see what we can do in service to our friendships and lives.

Macho Meme 1: I Object

Ned — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:47:15 +0000

Part of a series of three I am doing. The others will be quite different.

John Updike 1933 – 2009

Ned — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:49:13 +0000

I probably not the one who should post this, but John Updike is dead. I mostly read essays and reviews by him, but he had some great things to say about faith and belief. I always seemed to take his criticism with a lot of weight too. New York Times has an article, here.

Andrew Wyeth dies at 91.

Ned — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:11:30 +0000

Though never as much of an influence on me as his father, Andrew Wyeth’s death does seem a bit like the passing of an era. The NY Times has a good look back.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/arts/design/17wyeth.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Keeping Up With

Ned — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:50:15 +0000

Eliot came home a couple of weeks ago and all of the sudden read me a book. It was quite a moment for me as you can imagine. We’re reading the Tale of Despereaux, which is better than the movie.

I just finished reading a book of essays by Wendell Berry, entitled, The Way of Ignorance (I got it for Christmas, unfortuantely, I didn’t get Life is a Miracle). One of the most interesting articles is by Courtney White on the revitalization of the western wild (his essay was included with Berry’s). I like Berry when he talks about farming, politics, and ecology. When he talks about writing and gets more philosophical, not so much. I also am enjoying Shaun Tan’s new series of illustrated stories, entitled, Tales from Outer Suburbia.

I enjoyed seeing Amanda and Peters over the break and speaking briefly with Toby. J.E., your package arrived and the ornament is quite striking. The kids were very excited. Shotts, I hope to get to the cities once the snow melts and see that little guy. It’s freezing up here. Hope you all had good holidays.

Important Safety Instructions- humor in everyday things

Pete — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:58:40 +0000

Everyone needs a dog or small child. The things they bring you are priceless. Usually Ernie brings me stuff from around the house and yard in a condition that requires a litttle pondering about its origin and purpose, sometimes we wonder simply what it might have been in its former life before becoming a chew toy. This morning, Ernie brought me a small tag. “Important Safety Instructions” it shouted at me in big, red(well, a little more orange than red now) print. I figured whatever it was had been operated for a fair amount of time without injuring me to my knowlege; but despite my laziness about reading such fair (also includes instructions and technical manuals unless I can’t get the device to work properly without them), I read the small tag. It read:

This portable lamp has a polarized plug (one blade is wider than the other.) Ok, I am following this so far, and I really want to be safe and teach safe practices in the peoper operation of our lamp, whichever one it may be. As a safety feature this plug will fit in a polarized outlet only one way, if the plug does not fit fully into the outlet, reverse the plug, if it still does not fit, contact a qualified electrician. Wow! How will that phone call go?! Sir, I can’t get my plug to plug in. Um, is it a polarized plug, did you try it the other way?
But wait this gets better: Never use with an extension cord unless the plug can be fully inserted, Do not attempt to defeat this safety feature. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DEFEAT THIS SAFETY FEATURE?! I love the wording on this. It makes it sound as though this the shape of the plug has become a mortal enemy on par with Galactus or Darth Vader- clearly a villian to dangerous to attempt to defeat. Leave that up to the Justice League or perhaps a qualified electrician. There’s more to the note following this, but I suddenly found myself hatching plots to defeat my new enemy. All I need to do now is figure out from which lamp this came and contact the A-Team. Happy NewYear! jp

Once

Ned — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:35:55 +0000

Did any of you see that movie “Once”. Sara and I watched it a few nights ago, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. It’s been out for a while now so maybe some of you have seen it?

Knock, Knock…

Ned — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:28:16 +0000

Don’t know if anybody’s reading this anymore, since there haven’t been many posts or comments. My last painting only received comments from Toby, but here I am undaunted. I infer that many of you have moved to Facebook, but since I am not “friends” with you, this is still the best way to get people’s attention. And I kind of like this mode. Recently, I have finished reading E. O. Wislon’s Concilience, a good challenging book which was a faculty discussion book at the University. I ended up discussing the book with a bunch of scientists. I watched a pretty cool movie called the Visitor, which personalizes the immigration dilemmas in this country. Eliot turned six and Claire will soon be three. James and Sarah will likely be parents, and Kathleen has a boyfriend. Here’s a new painting called Apex. I am going to relate a bit of history that means something to me.

This painting is, of course, about some of the reading on wolves I’ve done. They have studied them for about thirteen years with regards to their return to Yellowstone and their impact on the Ecosystem there. I could go on about this, but long story short, they’re very healthy for the ecosystem. So one Sunday night I was getting ready to read with Eliot, and Sara was checking the Internet to see if there was a mystery on PBS. She called me over to show me there was a program called “The Wolf that Saved America” starting in a few minutes. Of course, I ran downstairs with Eliot, and we watched it. It was fun to see how much Eliot enjoyed it.

It was a mix of history, science, and myth, as they retold the story of an outdoorsman named Ernest Thompson Seton, who was well-known for a time as a professional exterminator of wolves. He boasted that he could rid ranches of marauding wolves in three days. A wolf in New Mexico, that he called Lobo, evaded him for three months. One incident tells of the wolf collecting four chunks of meat Seton had carefully poisoned in a pile and defecating on them. Anyway, Seton was filled with such sadness when he finally killed the wolf that he had a bit of a conversion. He began to promote conservation of the west and influenced T. Roosevelt to protect Yellowstone. One incident about Lobo tells of their ploy to catch him by trapping his mate first. Supposedly, he cried all night, howling strangely. Doug Smith, the head of the Yellowstone project, was interviewed and related a similar incident in Yellowstone. He said, “You’ll forgive the expression, but he sounded as if he was mourning.” I brought this up in my book discussion, questioning why biologists aren’t allowed to anthropomorphize animals, but they must stress the links we share with animals biologically.

When I spoke to my dad, the only person who wanted to listen to my excited rant about the program and wolves, he told me that after Seton became a conservationist, he went camping with my grandfather Clell a couple of times in the Badlands and once down south. I guess Grael has several of Seton’s books dedicated to Clell.
Thanks for listening. If you’re curious about some of the articles that influenced this painting, I’ll be happy to post more.

Thanksgiving

Shotts — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:35:44 +0000

Oh the long tradition. Much regret we are not gathering together. Many good wishes and gratitude to all of you on this Thanksgiving. A lot to be thankful for this year. A raised glass to you.

Baby Double Weekend

Pete — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:05:15 +0000

Yes, indeed, we might well have been the luckiest of all our friends this weekend.

We got a first hand Beckett sighting and Clara sighting as well. Bouncing baby Beckett, a bundle of beautiful babbling, was quite the sight. We are grateful to the Shotts-Aspengrens for hosting us and only wish we would have had more time to visit, but alas, we had a wedding to get to. On the way home we got to see Tobandsteph with Clara. Also wonderful, and thanks, to you, too for going out of your way to accomodate our travels and time constraints.

I was reminded of how fortunate we all are this week when I saw a posting on facebook. Apparently, Kori Karstetter (a year or two younger than us, if memory serves correct) was in the midst of her second child birth when they lost their child. To make matters worse, she had a heart attack a short time later and at last check was touch and go. Really brings home how fortunate we all have been.

Thanks so much to you all for sharing your families with us.