laramie

Saturday, after taking care of my Chore Day tasks, I headed out to attend the Mnstf Picnic at Minnehaha Park. I brought along a frozen filet of salmon to grill, and Kettle low-salt crinkle-cut chips and black grapes to share.

On the way I stopped at Target where I found a folding camp chair for under $5, and a straw hat, since I'd forgotten to grab the one I had on the way out of the house. The new one, black & cowboy style, went better with my outfit, anyhow. It was a treat to take the Matrix out on the highway; it seems to move so effortlessly. I'd been to the picnic area C before, so I had no trouble finding it.

A lot of people were there before me; I greeted Kevin and Laurel, Dean and Laura, DDB, Lisa F & William, and Doug W in the course of putting my offerings out among the other food, and greeted Peer D, Beth F and Bill C as I found a place on the grill for my salmon. When I'd settled in my new camp chair I had a chance to chat with a few people, and when Richard T arrived with his collection of games I played a few of those, and there was the additional entertainment of the Solar telescope and seeing the red face of the sun and some tiny solar flares!

The day was warm, but pleasant in the breeze and shade of the surrounding trees. No one was moved to instigate any more active games (like croquet or frisbee) as in past years.

I was surprised by the number of people who weren't at the picnic (at least while I was there), notably Bonnie, Chas and Becca were in Wisconsin to perform at a house concert, but I also missed Sharon K and Pam D (who arrived as I was leaving) and noticed that Nate & Louie, Polly P, Peg & Rob, Fred & Susan, Scott & Irene and some other long time Mnstfers were missing. Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy the company of those who were there.

I slept late, and read (Kage Baker's Life of the World to Come) until about noon! I was still stiff from Friday's Yoga class. I decided to drive out to the MOA, where I could see a movie and also do some walking in air-conditioned comfort. I didn't realize that A Scanner Darkly was showing only at Uptown, but I was pleased enough to see Lady in the Water.

It was better than I'd expected (Signs gave me misgivings about Shyamalan's abilities, at least with SF, but I've liked his fantasy work; Unbreakable is a favorite of mine though it didn't do that well at the box office.) Lady is very much in the modern Fantasy tradition: modern people encountering elements out of myth and magic in the context of their mundane lives. I liked that the story drew on myths that were unfamiliar to me, from other than the usual Western traditions, and I liked that a whole variety of 'ordinary' people fit into the mythic roles, playing significant parts in a world larger than that of their daily lives. The characters were diverse and interesting, and it was fun to watch the protagonist interacting with them and involving them in the story.

There were elements of the movie that seemed contrived (the film critic as victim) and confusing, but overall I liked the movie enough that I'll want to add it to my permanent collection.