frustrated florida voters.

so for the first time in a presidential election, i'm really excited about voting. before barack obama had decided to run for president, he was the keynote speaker at sojourners call to renewal conference on june 28, 2006. i can't remember who first directed me to his address, but after listening to it for the first time i was so inspired that i decided i wanted this man to be president. if you've never heard this speech, and you're at all interested in or intrigued by barack obama, or simply concerned with the intersection of faith and politics, i would recommend you give this a listen.

before recently, i'd never been registered along party lines, but when senator obama decided to run for office last year, i registered as a democrat so that i could vote for him in florida's primary. tragically, florida's democratic party has muddled all floridians' input by changing our primary date to january 29th. i suppose florida didn't want to be lumped in with massachusetts, connecticut, california, and 17 other states on 'super tuesday,' which falls this year on february 5th. because the primaries are overseen by political parties and not by the government, each party makes their own rules as to how they want the voting process to work. aside from those states which were already set to vote before february 5th, no state was (and is) permitted to move their primary to before this date. florida did, and we're paying for it. the DNC penalized florida by taking away all of our delegates, which means that it probably won't matter whether or not i vote on tuesday.

now, as i was thinking about this today, this situation presents a unique opportunity in this years primary. the democratic candidates have made a pact not to campaign here, which means no commercials, phone calls, or letters in the mail. so despite having no delegates, those who vote in florida won't have the hate-campaigns or redundant debates to pull from. and even though i could easily justify not voting, i think i will, just to see what would have happened. and just to see what a pure-ish vote-casting in florida will look like. people may just vote their consciences. and who knows? maybe the DNC will have mercy and give us our delegates in the end.

florida republicans changed their date as well, but were only penalized half their delegates. so giuliani and company are down here on the campaign trail. mitt romney was here a couple days ago, and casey and i saw john mccain's 'straight talk express' bus drive past us at a stoplight a few nights back. i hate how the process is all about momentum and waiting for candidates to slip up. i read a guy earlier today who was suggesting that states should have primaries whenever they like, but that no results should be published until all votes were cast. i think it's a great idea, but unfortunately, probably not very realistic.

on a lighter note, arianna huffington with a fresh take on polls: huffpollstrology is the huffington post's answer to america's addiction with election polls. they won't stop reporting polls, but will begin treating them as "lightweight diversions on par with horoscopes and political betting lines."

as it turns out, both ron paul and barack obama are leos. what fun.

God rest ye merry horticultural therapists.

this orchid is a cattleya hybrid of some kind. it was blooming the same time as the dancing ladies, and its flowers have now fallen off and i've divided it into four separate plants. i don't know the particular species, but i've posted an article on a gardenweb forum asking for help with identification. there's a very popular brassolaeliocattleya (blc.) that is yellow and red, which has made identification particularly difficult.

most cattleyas are not my favorite orchids (although i am fond of this specimen). they make up some of the largest orchids, their impressive flowers growing six inches and more in diameter. there happens to be a legend in the history of cattleyas which is quite interesting. legend has it that the first cattleya species were actually used as packing material for other plants in early nineteeth century england. out of curiosity, william cattley (their eventual namesake) potted one of them up. when one finally bloomed, it sparked mr. cattley's lifelong obsession of collecting and cataloging the species. the very first cattleya hybrid was registered on january 1, 1863, and was so beautiful that it's still produced today. pretty cool story, i guess. it would have been fascinating to have discovered and collected so many new flowers. so much wonder and excitement. it's not hard to envy those on the frontiers of botany, like orchid hunter steve perlman and rock-star botanist ken wood. these guys must love their jobs. someday i'll love my job...

speaking of loving jobs, i ran into an old professor recently who sparked some genuine excitement. dr. babcock was my favorite social work professor. she would put us in groups and get us to discuss controversial topics which would usually lead to a handful of students yelling at one another. but it was good. she made us think. she stood head and shoulders above the rest of the faculty. my other professors seemed to enjoy making social work out to be a happy-go-lucky profession that wouldn't require much preparation or investment. i literally went through entire classes without learning a single thing.
but i digress.

i told dr. babcock about how i've become quite interested in horticultural therapy as a rehabilitative method, about how i love flowers and such. she thought i was joking at first, because it turns out that she's a fan or HT herself. she told me that just last year she applied for a grant to build a therapeutic garden that would exist for children in florida's child welfare system (a slightly different spin than traditional therapy with children with chronic illness, those with mental disabilities, and the geriatric population). she was denied the grant, but was thrilled at my interest in HT and told me about the wonderful experience she had at the enid a. haupt glass gardens at nyu's rusk institute. the rusk institute is a rehabilitative hospital whose mission is "to provide patients with the necessary physical, social, emotional, vocational, and recreational skills to reach the highest possible levels of independence and quality of life." the institute treats patients across a continuum of care that is incredibly broad and which (not surprisingly) includes horticultural therapy. if you're at all interested in rehabilitative medicine or networks of varied care, you simply must check out the rusk institute. i've been in touch with the directors about training and internships, and they were very warm and informative. i would love to spend some time studying or working there. interestingly, the senior horticultural therapist there is an MSW.

running into dr. babcock was great.

i've been reading through the brothers karamazov. i'll leave you with my favorite quote so far:

Do not be afraid of anything, never be afraid, and do not grieve. Just let repentence not slacken in you, and God will forgive everything. There is not and cannot be in the whole world such a sin that the Lord will not forgive one who truly repents of it. A man even cannot commit so great a sin as would exhaust God's boundless love. How could there be a sin that exceeds God's love? Only take care that you repent without ceasing, and chase away fear altogether. Believe that God loves you so as you cannot conceive of it; even with your sin and in your sin he loves you. And there is more joy in heaven over one repentent sinner than over ten righteous men - that was said long ago. Go, then, and do not be afraid. Do not be upset with people, do not take offense at their wrongs. Forgive the dead man in your heart for all the harm he did you; and be reconciled with him truly. If you are repentant, it means that you love. And if you love, you already belong to God ... With love everything is bought, everything is saved. If even I, a sinful man, just like you, was moved to tenderness and felt pity for you, how much more will God be. Love is such a priceless treasure that you can buy the whole world with it, and redeem not only your own but other people's sins. Go, and do not be afraid.

- the elder zosima to the woman who whispered in dostoevsky's
the brothers karamazov

my oldest friend.

just before Christmas, i had dinner with an old friend. blake munroe was one of my first best friends, but sadly i hadn't seen him in nearly 20 years. somewhere in my formed memory of blake, i came to think he was from haiti. it turns out he was born in calcutta, india, in a mission of nuns dedicated to taking in children who would otherwise be abandoned. blake and his sister amy were adopted by richard and anita munroe, who were our next-door neighbors in fairhope, alabama, when i was six years old. my memories of blake include pirate birthday parties, trick-or-treating together, and trying to sell honeysuckle to neighborhood softies. blake now lives in nashville, tennessee, and works in the music business. it was great catching up.

here's to old friends.

missing sunday surf.

a wee note about florida surf: it comes comes seldom and often when you least expect it. we get weird surf here all the time, but delicious, glassy, peeling swells come maybe once a year. sunday it snuck up on everyone, and no one i know caught it. c'est la vie.

if you operate on a macintosh, you may need to download flip4mac to access the video, which opens windows media files in quicktime. if you operate on a pc, then for once you're ahead of the game. the video is a nice look at our beaches, and at nearly never-seen waves on the gulf coast.

big lagoon, little friends.

on friday night i went camping with my good friend britt and his two amazing boys, baylen (4) and collin (3). it was their first full-on camping experience, and they absolutely loved it. by full-on i mean staying in a tent all night and sleeping on the ground. we didn't hike or primitive camp or anything, but still, it was a big deal.

we gathered firewood, cooked meat over a fire, roasted marshmallows, played cards and went exploring. the boys were happy for their new wool hats from uncle ben, and sported them enthusiastically. my favorite moment of the trip was when collin (younger and blonder) randomly began singing "i got soul, but i'm not a soldier..." while walking by himself. he sang it over and over again, and i almost couldn't contain my delight. i got video of it, but, very sadly, no audio came through with it. other highlights included collin trying in vain to remove an artificial, affixed robin from a bench, and continually referring to it as a 'turkey bird,' baylen writing the names of all his family members in the sand, and hearing both kids say, time and again, "daddy, you know what? i love you."

got me every time.

the trip was also meaningful because britt, his lovely wife marie, and his three beautiful children (baby brooklyn is almost one) are moving after the new year.

they will be greatly missed.

bunches of really terrific photos from the trip can be found here: PHOTOS!

my winter lungs.

1. "Fake Empire" - The National
2. "Extraordinary Machine" - Fiona Apple
3. "Keep the Car Running" - Arcade Fire
4. "Hard Life" - Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
5. "Reckoner" - Radiohead
6. "When a Man Loves a Woman" - Percy Sledge
7. "Green Onions" - Booker T. & The MG's
8. "Tall Trees in Georgia" - Eva Cassidy
9. "OK As Long As You Don't Squeak or Bark or Make Other Animal Noises" - Linford Detweiler
10. "Shelter From the Storm" - Bob Dylan
11. "Travelin' Thru" - Dolly Parton
12. "I Started a Joke" - Kathryn Williams
13. "The Good Hand" - Woven Hand
14. "The Man Comes Around" - Johnny Cash
15. "Amy" - Takagi Masakatsu
16. "Is There a Ghost" - Band of Horses
17. "The Lakes of Canada" - The Innocence Mission

the first noel: dicristina nut brown ale

about six weeks ago i began discovering how fun it was to brew my own beer. i've been anxiously awaiting popping the caps off since then, hoping desperately to avoid skunking and non-carbonation. although there was a trial run with the fam last weekend, tonight was the official uncorking, and the critics agree: my beer is delicious.

i chose the name 'the first noel' in honor of Christmastime and of noel, my Christmassy middle name. also because this was my first brewing. i wish i could tell you all to enjoy, but first you'll have to visit.