Lake Day

Spending a warm summer day at a lake seems quintessentially Southern to me. Not sure if that's an accurate stereotype, but it's what Kid Rock wants me to believe :)

Last weekend, we managed to get ourselves invited to a Lake Day with some people we've befriended in Memphis. Yay! Friends! And these friends have a lake house! We made the short drive over to Horseshoe Lake, AR. It's a little branch of the Mississippi River that, over time, got cut off and became a lake.

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The weather was hot! It was a muggy August day, perfect for cooling off on the water, or chowing down on good food inside an air conditioned house. I did both :)

Here's a view of the lake while the sun was shining:

And as sunset approached:

There was all sorts of lake fun to be had, such as swimming, jumping off a high dock, floating, riding jet skis, boating, and wake-surfing. I got talked into trying wake surfing against my better judgment. It's hard!! You have to hold on to a rope while the boat tows you, and you have to be strong enough to get from a floating to standing position without the rope being yanked out of  your hands. The goal is to find that "sweet spot" in the boat's wake where you can drop the rope and ride the waves. I only succeeded in standing up once in 5 attempts. It was rather pathetic, but my fellow boaters were kind and cheered my feeble efforts. In the process, I got a ton of lake water up my nose which immediately sparked hypochondriacal fears of brain-eating amoebas. (It's true! Look it up! And it's 99% fatal!) The incubation period can be up to 5 days and I'm on day 4 now without any headaches or other symptoms, so I hope I'm in the clear. Whew! Getting your brain eaten by a parasite would be a horrible way to go.

Other activities included darts, ping pong, and eating such Southern delicacies as pulled pork, baked beans, and banana pudding. A good time was had by all!

Map: Race in the USA

I love demography and census data. So I spent way too long today scrolling around this neat-o map of 2010 census data for where people live, by race. Check it out!

Cultural Liturgies of Elvis

Graceland, Elvis Presley's mansion, is Memphis's best-known tourist attraction. Elvis and his parents moved to Memphis during his teen years, and the city was his home for most of his life. Graceland is also the place of Elvis's death on August 16, 1977. Every year on the anniversary of his death, the Elvis faithful gather on the grounds and streets surrounding Graceland to hold a candlelight vigil and pay tribute to his memory while walking past his final resting place.

How could I pass up such a rich cultural opportunity right here in my own city??

On an unseasonably cool Memphis evening, Das Fenster and I headed to Graceland to attend the 8:30pm vigil marking 36 years since Elvis's passing. (The whole event was streamed live on YouTube.) We arrived around 8:00 and got acquainted with the lay of the land. I'd say the average age of the attendees was about 55. There were a fair number of kids so that is bumping the average down in my head. But when I went to the bathroom, there was no line for me, since I wasn't using a wheelchair or a walker...

The main road in front of the mansion was closed to traffic. There, the fans set up shrines in honor of Elvis with candles, photos, posters, chalk drawings, and other creative memorabilia. We managed to make our way pretty close to the stage as the ceremony was about to begin. As the event progressed, it dawned on me that for the hardcore Elvis devotees, this vigil isn't a joke or something they do ironically. They travel long distances, gathering together every year to mark this solemn occasion because, to them, Elvis holds an almost religious significance in their lives.

This got me thinking about a book I read called Cultural Liturgies. Ok, full disclosure, I only read the first couple of chapters. It was pretty deep. But the main point I got out of it was that humans are formed by ritual, by habit, by repeated actions. Process and practice shape us in ways we don't fully recognize while they are happening. And out of these "liturgies," our attitudes and beliefs are born and come to life.

So now, I give you my (hopefully not too blasphemous) impressions of the Cultural Liturgies of Elvis, interpreted through the most predominant lens I have, my own Christian faith tradition.

Birth remembrances: Christians have Christmas, a day to celebrate the birth of Christ. Elvis fans have Elvismas on January 8, the day of Elvis's birth.

Death commemorations: Christians hold Good Friday services to mark the day that Christ died. They read scriptures and sing songs that touch the hearts of the faithful, such as "Were You There?". Elvis fans hold a candlelight vigil on the night before the anniversary of Elvis's death. Fan club leaders read poetry and lead the assembly in singing songs that bring tears to their eyes, such as "If I Can Dream."

Tattoos: Certain segments of Christian culture have a predilection for proclaiming their faith via tattoo. Same goes for Elvis fans. (Note: if you are thinking about getting Elvis's face tattooed on your bicep, please think long and hard about how The King will look in about 40 years, once gravity takes its toll...)

Pageantry: Many Christian churches put on plays during the year to illustrate tenets of the faith or reenact important moments from scripture. Elvis fans have turned pageantry into an art form in their elaborate Elvis tribute performances. (Note: it is apparently not PC to call these people "Elvis impersonators")

Breaking bread: An important element of Christian ritual is breaking bread in Communion. And most churches are well-known hotbeds of potluck activity. At Elvis remembrance night, the crowd (sadly) did not pass around fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but they were available at the snack stand! Those fans who had arrived earlier in the day came bearing coolers, and I suspect that food was shared amongst friends.

..........

The cultural liturgies of Elvis fans are numerous enough to fill a book. Or several. I hope I will not incur any wrath for chronicling just a few here. As a newbie/outsider, I was captivated by what was happening around me. In the end, it made me want to learn more about Elvis. Well look at that, my actions might be shaping my attitudes. Perhaps James K.A. Smith is on to something!

A few photos, to prove I really went :)

A Tale of Two Zoos

Work took me to Seattle this summer, and while there, I visited the Woodland Park Zoo with a group of high school students. (We were just a few days too early to meet the newest member of the zoo family, a baby giraffe!) If you haven't been to the Woodland Park Zoo, I definitely recommend checking it out if you're ever in the city. It has a peaceful, park-like atmosphere. The landscaping makes you feel like you're really entering different habitats, with bamboo plants growing around the Tropical Asia exhibits, and ferns and evergreen trees near the Northern Trail. My favorite animal there was probably the orangutan. There were a bunch of kids staring at him, taking turns pressing their faces up against the glass to make eye contact with him, and he'd move his face back and forth, tracking their movements. It made me wonder if he thought that the humans came to entertain him :)

I realize now that I forgot to take pictures of the animals, though. I was mostly focused on working and keeping track of the kids I was with. Here is one semi-visible otter pic!

Then just a few days after I got home, D.F. and I went to the Memphis Zoo. It's slightly smaller, size wise (76 acres to Seattle's 92) but it also seemed to have a good variety of animals. It felt more zoo-like to me, with more fences, glass walls, and enclosures in general. I think the primates in Memphis have a nicer habitat, and the zoo is also in the midst of building a new hippo habitat. I remembered to take pictures on this visit :)

Entrance to the Memphis Zoo - designed to look like Egypt. (Memphis - get it?)

Komodo Dragon!

There is a small aquarium. Here is a puffer fish, non-puffed style.

A naturally occurring butterfly exhibit :)

Here's the hippo. Don't you agree he needs a bigger tub?

Silverback gorilla, ruler of the jungle

This was rather random - we can across a "Chief Seattle Memorial Garden" in the Memphis Zoo. Not entirely sure why it was there, but here's a statue!

Another thing I noticed in Memphis: there were a lot of African-American visitors. The zoo was probably the most diverse place I've been yet in Memphis. Isn't that interesting? Everyone loves animals, I guess!

working part time = 10 hour days?

Hey blog fans,
Work has been totally crazy for the last week, so please pardon the lack of blog action. I'm only supposed to be working 25 hours a week but this week will be closer to 50. August is a busy season for my line of work!

Be back soon, I hope, with news of the Memphis Zoo.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens

Next up on our tour of Memphis attractions: Dixon Gallery & Gardens. This 17-acre facility is a private museum that opened in the 1970s. It was founded by Hugo and Margaret Dixon who were philanthropists and Memphis community leaders. They didn't have any children, so they left their home and property as a gift to benefit the people of Memphis.

There are extensive gardens all around the grounds. They were pretty. I don't really know a lot about plants so it's hard to describe it well... There was lots of green! And water features! And statues! And butterflies! Not getting an exclamation mark are the mosquitoes. I didn't think about bringing bug spray. Big mistake. My legs are covered in itchy bites now.

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Photography wasn't allowed inside the art gallery. We saw the Renoir paintings that were making a temporary appearance. They had a whole wing of old porcelain and china from the 1700s. There is a room full of pewter items, such as a pretzel-shaped drinking vessel. They also have your standard paintings - landscape, still life, portrait.

I felt very cultured after this excursion!

Civil Rights Museum

We're fully embracing our tourist options around the city lately. A couple days ago we visited the National Civil Rights Museum. It's currently undergoing renovations, so not all of the exhibits were open. We'll have to check out the improvements once everything's done in 2014.

For those who didn't know, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN on April 4, 1968. The site of the assassination is where the museum was built - the Lorraine Motel and surrounding area.

The museum itself is located across the street in what was the boarding house where the shot was fired from. Before going on the tour, I didn't realize that there have been a lot of different investigations into the killing over the years with various theories and conclusions about what really happened. The museum presents a lot of different information and says that visitors can decide for themselves.

This is the view of the hotel from the 2nd floor bathroom of the boardinghouse.

 Right now, only during construction, the hotel balcony is open to visitors. It's the one on the top floor, Room #306.

Looking from the hotel room door back across the the boarding house.

The museum also has exhibits about the history of civil rights in the U.S. and current civil rights issues. I was kind of sad to see the Voting Rights Act display about how it was a major pillar of civil rights legislation back in the 1960s, and now the Supreme Court has struck it down. Seems like a move in the wrong direction...

After the museum, we had a delicious dinner at Gus's Fried Chicken. My fingers were too greasy to take a picture, but believe me, it was tasty! After that we hit up pint night at the Flying Saucer. Das Fenster wanted to get a lambic but it wasn't on pint night special, so he went for a pear cider. I tried the Blackstone St. Charles Porter from a Nashville brewery. It wasn't too shabby!

Beale Street

(Pardon my extended absence - I was out of town for work)

Time to get caught up on what we've been up to around town lately!

A couple weeks back we took to the streets to celebrate Trolley Nights downtown. This is a monthly event in the South Main neighborhood where they have a bunch of art exhibits, music performances, food/drinks, and just a general good time. It's called "Trolley Nights" because there is a street car running through the neighborhood, and rides are free on this particular evening.


Here's the trolley

Das Fenster and I got a little lost trying to find the place - we went to the wrong end of the trolley line at first. But eventually we got pointed in the right direction. After strolling past some art, we hopped on the trolley up to Beale St. You may have heard of this street in the song "Walking in Memphis," when it says "walking with my feet 10 feet off of Beale." It's famous for being the birthplace of the Blues, an incubator for music, and the launching pad for a number of musicians in the 50s and 60s. Now it's more of a tourist attraction and I'm not sure that legit Memphians spend much time there. But as newcomers to the city, of course we had to check it out!

We passed by the more expensive restaurants in favor of BBQ from a concession stand vendor. It was tasty :)

And there were some performers entertaining the crowd in this park:

Here's what Beale St looks like.

After catching a couple of energetic songs by a Jerry Lee Lewis impersonator, we headed back to South Main. On the way we bought some Sweet Georgia Peach Lemonade from kids who are part of Memphis Entrepreneur Academy. Seems like a neat organization.