My Award Winning Costume (2nd post today)

We had our annual Halloween Party at TOPS the other day. I had recently seen the movie Julie and Julia and LOVED IT! I thought Meryl Streep's performance of Julia Child was awe inspiring. (which I read an interview she did where if they asked her if she was nervous about playing Julia child and she said she wasn't because she was not playing Julia Child but rather Julie (the narrator of the story's) idea of Julia - I thought that was a very interesting distinction). Anyway here is a picture of Julia Child back on her TV show:



And here is my award winning interpretation of it:

Bon Appetit!

Where it wild things aren't

So I saw the following in a article about a interview given by the author of the "beloved" children's book when reading through my my google reader the other day:

Reporter: “What do you say to parents who think the Wild Things film may be too scary?”
Sendak: “I would tell them to go to hell. That’s a question I will not tolerate.”
Reporter: “Because kids can handle it?”
Sendak: “If they can’t handle it, go home. Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like. But it’s not a question that can be answered.”

Um yeah, so I never really read this book as a child but I have thought it had a cute premise when I read it to my nieces and nephews. However I have to say when confronted with the authors obvious callousness to children one struggles to see why he would write a children's book in the first place. I know that as a child I was one who would get scared very easily in movies and a honest dialogue about appropriate ages and parental discretion would have been advisable for many movies I saw. However since Mr. Sendak does not want to have that conversation and in keeping with his general attitude I will stay home, not wet my pants, and do whatever I like instead of seeing his movie. I am sure his pockets are so deep he can't find the bottom of them but I feel a small sense of satisfaction that my coin will not be inflating his pockets for either his movie or is book ever.

If you what to see the full article you can go here:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=49362

Grandpa Edd 2nd post for today

While we were at Pendleton we visited the Let 'er Buck room. This is the "official" bar of the rodeo grounds. It might seem odd that I would be in a bar but there is a reason for it. As I have mentioned previously my Grandfather was involved for years in the Round-up. Well at some point he and his brother were involved in a staged photo showing a oxen drawn supply wagon being pulled across the wilderness. This picture was several feet long and hung above the bar in the Let'er buck room for years. We went in to find that the original is not currently on display but a smaller version is still there. I managed to take a picture of it by special permission of the bar tender. (they usually do not allow pictures in the Let 'er buck room and you actually have to check your camera at the door. It's kind of a what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas policy as some round-up goers are not necessarily attending with there spouse and would rather their spouse not find out about it). Anyway I had my iPhone with me since phones are not checked at the door and the bar tender said I could take a picture of it. So here it is....

Grandpa Edd is on the opposite side of the oxen leading them and his bother is on this side walking next to the wagon.

This is my Grandfathers Grave. He died when my mother was 16. One of the things I have found I love about attending the Round-up is to feel closer to him and that side of my family. I never really new any of them except my Aunt Margaret but when I am in Pendlton it feels like he is not far away.

Teepee Village

The Pendleton Round-up is one of the biggest rodeos west of the Mississippi and was started as not just a rodeo but a gathering place where the local indians would come and set up there teepee's and sell their wares at the rodeo. I was known as a time when hostilities and bad feelings took a break probably because it was profitable for everyone involved. Well the tradition carries on and the teepee village is errected every year in back of the rodeo and the indian set up shop selling beads, baskets, navajo tacos and fry bread. We toured the teepee village and here are a couple of the ones that stood out...

Me (note: tourists are discouraged from going in the teepee's as they are the home of the indians during the week of the round-up. I only went in this one becuase it was empty and I think it was for the tourists as it did nt appear that anyone had used it. So don't come to the Round-up next year and go in everyones teepee and blame it on me.)

Cool art don't you think?

I think the baby really kills the effect. Not quite as fearsome with a stroller next to you.

This is a painting of Jackson Sundown he is very famous at the round-up. This is taken from his Wikipedia page:

Sundown made his living by breeding, raising, 'breaking' and selling horses. To make additional money, Sundown entered into rodeos and dominated his opponents, many of whom would withdraw after learning that he would participate. Jackson Sundown won many all-around cashpots, which takes the highest average scores from all events, though he was best known for bareback and saddle bronc horse riding. His appearance differed greatly from other rodeo riders as he wore bright colored shirts, large and elegant woolen chaps and tied his long braids under his chin. Sundown entered into rodeos across the west and in Canada until his early 50s.
In 1915 at age 52, he took third place in the all-around at the Pendleton Roundup and decided to retire from rodeo, which had wrecked his body. The following year, an artist who was doing a sculpture of Sundown convinced him to enter the Roundup one last time, an offer that Sundown only accepted after the artist agreed to pay the entry fee . Sundown was twice the age of the other semi-finalists but advanced after high scores in the saddle bronc and bareback horseriding competitions. His final ride is an event of great mythology to this day among American Indians and rodeo officianados. It is told that Sundown drew a very fierce horse named Angel and that the horse bucked so furiously that Sundown removed his cowboy hat and fanned the horse to get it to cool off, at which time he and the horse merged into one being. Sundown won the all-around event and became immortalized as a hero of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, which includes the Nez Perce.

Grandpa and Tommy inspecting the teepee skeloton.