Edward C. James: 19 April 1942 - 04 February 2011.

Edward C. James

19 April 1942 - 04 February 2011.

Dear Papa,

Right about now, two years ago, I was boarding a flight for the United States at Heathrow. I remember rushing to be with you; thinking that if I could just get there fast enough, I could change what had happened. Going through the motions of notifying my supervisors, travel arrangement, packing, baggage check . . . when security questioned the haste of my preparations and why I was making the trip, I couldn’t find the words to answer them. It was impossible to comprehend that you were gone. It still is. 

I know you are beyond reading letters but I want the world to know what a magnificent man you were and how grateful and proud I have always been that you were my father. I miss you every day.

Mom and I love you always, Papa; ‘Noster Nostri’.

Excerpt from the 2011 Obituary:

Edward Charles James, 68, of Wapato, passed away in his sleep on February 4, 2011.  He was born at home in Fayetteville, NC, to Eddie James and Lucille Smith James on 4/19/1942, the eldest of four children.  Because they were a military family, Edward moved often.  In his youth, his parents instilled in him the importance and love of learning.  His mother bought him a set of encyclopedias that he read A to Z, and his father took him to historical sites all over the world, fostering his passion for history. He attended Edwards Military Institute in Salemburg, NC. In 1959 Edward went with his father to live in Germany, remaining until 1964.  Friendships developed there have lasted his lifetime.

On 6/26/1966, Edward married his cherished Wilaalík, Mary Cecil Johnson.  The ceremony was delayed 2 hours until his father arrived from a tour of duty in Korea.  After their marriage they lived in Tacoma near the university where they met.  His daughter Kirstin was born there and made her stage debut on campus at nine months of age.  Her bedtime stories were whatever university text her father happened to be studying, be it Chinese language and culture, Roman army formations, or stage lighting. In 1974, Edward graduated from Central Washington University with BA, majoring in military history with a double minor in anthropology and theatre.

The family lived in Ellensburg from 1973 through 1990, where Edward began his career as a forest warden and then forest fire-fighting crew supervisor with DNR (Department of Natural Resources), continuing until his retirement in 2005. An expert in martial arts from his military training, Edward also trained in karate starting in 1975, eventually achieving a black belt, after which he founded the Kittitas County School of Karate and taught Doshinkan and Shudokan Karate-Do. Moving to Wapato in 1990, Edward became active with friends he met in the Yakama Nation.  As one of Virginia Beavert’s first students at Heritage University, he learned to speak the Yakama dialect of the Sahaptin language, and eventually taught classes.  Edward was an associate member and Historian of the Yakama Warriors Association and the Marine Corps League.  He took these commitments extremely seriously and considered it a true honor to be associated with these groups and share his knowledge of military history.

The family suggests that remembrances in Edward’s honor may be made to Yakama Warriors Association’s Scholarship Fund or to the Marine Corps League for service projects.

Edward C. James Funeral Services: February 8, 2011; Order of Service

1.  Tony Washines                                  Seven Drums Ceremony                   

2.  Victor Wood                                      Coordinator of Service Eulogy and Comments for Yakama Warriors  

3.  Ed Falter                                            Comments for Marine Corps League Washington State Commandant

4.  Loren Corpuz                                    Yakama Warriors    Bugle: Battle Hymn of the Republic 

5. Dr. Virginia Beavert                           Beloved Friend and Sapsikw’ala

6. Family Speakers                                 Recollections from Family 

7. Ed and Sue Rousculp                          Recollections from Friends 

8. Mary C. and Kirstin A. James             In Memorium 

9. Military Honors                                  Yakama Warriors Association and the Marine Corps League

10. Loren Corpuz                                    Bugle: Taps

11. Tom Redfeldt,  Yakima-Kittitas Commandant, Marine Corps League.  

12. Presentation of shell cases and Flag.

Blizzard-like in Leicester (last week).

The Magnificent ‘777’ for 2012.

Favourite Concert Events of 2012:

1. Richard Hawley at Little Noise in London

2. Tame Impala at Leadmill in Sheffield

3. Billy Bragg at Summer Sundae in Leicester

4. Asian Dub Foundation at Summer Sundae in Leicester

5. PIL at Summer Sundae in Leicester

6. Crybaby band at ‘Lexington’ in London

7. Christmas Concert in Sheffield

Favourite New or New-to-Me Films I Watched During 2012:

   1. Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

   2. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)

   3. Cabin in the Woods (2011)

   4. Hopscotch (1980)

   5. The Italian Job (1969)

   6. Skyfall (2012)

   7. Dr. Zhivago (1965)

Favourite New or New-to-Me Music I Listened to During 2012:

  1. Tame Impala—Lonerism (2012)

  2. Richard Hawley—Standing at the Sky’s Edge (2012)

  3. Shuggie Otis—Inspiration Information (1974)

  4. Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band—Gorilla (1967)

  5. Crybaby—Crybaby (2012)

  6. Dead Skeletons—Dead Magick (2011)

  7. Opossum—Electric Hawaii (2012)

Happy New Year!

This and That.

It has been a very swift passage of two months. A more 'proper' update is on the way but suffice to say that things are going well in spite of my nose injury and the past three weeks of cold/flu. I seem to be recovering and yes, I do have an appointment to see a GP (although it is predicable that they will simply tell me to do what I am already doing: rest and tea). The most exciting things in my life currently, apart from my research (which is also going well, if slowly, thanks) is that Paul and I are moving in together at the end of the month and I have it on reliable authority that Santa will be bringing me a bike. :)

I won't argue about 'the best' film I've seen recently but will say that my favourite film of the year so far, is the documentary 'Searching for Sugar Man'. (More about that and other topics soon.)

Here is a link to a recent exhibition review for 'Playmakers' at the MAC, posted to The Attic blog:
http://attic-museumstudies.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-playmakers-exhibition-celebrating.html

Coming soon: reviews of the 'Summer Sundae Experience, 2012'.

In 'Dry Dock' with Knee Injury . . .

Entrance to 'Dry Dock'.

The past couple of weeks since getting my Nokia have been something of a blur. First of all, I managed to injure my knee on Thursday 26 July, while hastening homeward from a ‘Mapping Place and Faith Conference’ at St. Martin’s House, 9:30AM to 3:30PM. It happened right outside of ‘Very Bazaar’ on Silver Street. I’m not actually sure how it happened. Based upon visual examination of the damage to my shoe, I suspect I tripped upon a loose cobble. Anyway, one moment I was upright and the next I was decelerating a potentially fatal fall to the pavement by dropping my left knee and rolling. Normally I’d come through something like this relatively unscathed; growing up notoriously accident prone, I eventually learned how to take fall and pick myself back up again with the least damage possible.

Snakes and Ladders game outside of 'Dry Dock'.

For whatever reason this particular turn took me entirely off guard. My knee received the brunt of a fall that was probable meant to split my skull. As it happened however my skull was fine while the knee was swollen to twice its size by the time I’d made my way home and I wasn’t able to walk on it for about three days. I was advised to keep off it for a couple of weeks but after resting it for one, the knee seemed much improved. ‘Feeling fine’ I went to Caribbean Carnival (great day out with friends and loved ones)—my knee did 'flare up' a bit (became swollen) the day after. After that little practice effort with Carnival, I let the knee rest and exercised it again after a couple of days.

Inside 'Dry Dock' (quiz night on Wednesdays from 7PM).

I did another walkabout/test excursion with ‘The Family Dunn’. Again the knee again became swollen a bit but certainly not as much as the previous exertion had caused. The gammy knee has been improving steadily ever since. Now, I realise that for the rugby and football players of this world, there is nothing very special about a little scuff to the knee and so, ‘apologies’ to be tedious with the details of my recovery but yes, I am a wimp and yes, I’ve not had a physical injury akin to this since I was about 13! This whole injury process, including the formation of amazingly itch scab-wounds is strange and new (and I hope completely novel).

Many thanks to a passing family and to the shopkeepers of ‘Very Bazaar’—all of whom came rushing over to lend what help they could! I was reminded at that moment what an amazing place to live Leicester is—full of good and caring people.

Of greater interest than my health woes however is that I have a new computer as well as a new phone! For the past week, the majority of my time has been spent troubleshooting the new Mac, learning new versions of Windows office apps, iWork apps, learning about interconnectivity through Social media with mobile phone, discovering the uses of iCloud and Skydrive and more recently discovering how to coordinate between calendars--namely between iCal, Google and Windows Live. I also set up alerts, and sorted home office space.

For the past couple of days I have been reviewing my previous notes from ‘Lines’ by Ingold. I have been reconsidering the concept of display and museum practice in terms of reconstitution of tradition and shared narrative. I updated my training record (which I need to send to the University graduate office soon).

The evenings have been a balance of doing simple, soothing things like laundry, making soup and watching old episodes of Hancock’s Half Hour. I have also been listening to ‘Tame Impala’ and to ‘Opossom’.

Yesterday, Wednesday 8 August was a good day of research and then in the evening, Paul and I had dinner at a place called ‘The Dry Dock’ then went to see ‘Ted’ at the Odeon. Reviewed previous notes from ‘Lines’ by Ingold. Reconsidered the concept of reconstitution in terms of ‘lines’ –as differing interpretations of space—as suggested by Ingold’s discussion of variable approaches to impressing ideas (in writing) onto blank page; Ingold suggests that some of the basic intentionality in the expression of words upon a page may include seeing the blank page as a landscape for a journey, colonization, surface of a body, or (probably almost always a) mirror of a mind.

Oh, one more thing about ‘Dry Dock’—if you go, beware of the gum stuck under the tables. Paul and I found seats on tall stools at a bar-height table under the centre skylight area of ‘the hold’. I had my ‘gammy knee’ propped over my other to leg to elevate it a bit. As it happened, this configuration pushed the top of my leg right up to the underside of the table where a nauseating, humongous glob of gum lie in wait . . . I have since managed to remove most of it but some of it is still stuck to the surface fabric of my skirt, like a strange, polymer haze . . . half inundating the fibers. Any ideas how to launder gum out of cotton-polyester fabric?

What else, what else . . . have I mentioned that Kindle download for Mac is brilliant? Great to be able to get a book immediately, highlight on the screen, add notes, search the document . . . just brilliant! Among other resources, I downloaded/purchased the Kindle version of ‘Lines’ by Ingold –one of the books that I’ve been using to support my thesis argument. Quite useful to be able to start keeping better track all of my research in one general storage arena—all accessible from this one laptop!

Friday 10 August I updated the Orovoco ‘Research Pillow Book’ blog, wrote emails, read articles. 

Weekend: 11 & 12 August Birthday BBQ and housewarming at the Grace family’s new home. Their new place is lovely and everyone seemed to have a great time (so good in fact, that I think many of us were glad of that there was a ‘quiet Sunday’ buffering between the BBQ and Monday).

Nokias, Music Festivals and the Afterlife?

Last night in the café, I dreamed that I was showing my dad my new Nokia (he still thinks I should have gone with an iPhone), when someone (‘Keef’ I think) posted a link to a video of my boyfriend and I, ‘in the afterlife’—in ‘Limbo’ to the exact, having a bit of a set-to.

I was absolutely fuming: “I told you that watching that awful ‘art film’ would kill us, that we would die of boredom and disgust but no, no, you said we had to sit there and finish watching it once we’d started—‘those are the rules’ you said! Now look what your f’n rules have gone and done!” “You have to see the bad ones to appreciate the good ones,” responded Paul patiently. “B-but--WE ARE DEAD NOW PAUL!” I exclaimed. “Yeah, not much use getting all mardy about it now, is it? Done and dusted. Let’s be on our way to Hell . . .” he smiled. “WHAT?!” I cried, “We can’t do that! Most of my family is up in Heaven—or on their way there—we can’t very well just pack up and move off to 'The Infernal Regions', without so much as a ‘hail and a heigh-ho’!” “Text’em.” I stared blankly at Paul, sluggishly stammering and repeating his words back to him like a parrot on Thorazine: “I-Uhhhmm-a-I-I’m--I'm sorry . . . ‘Text them’?” “Yes. ‘Text them’. Send them a nice, friendly little mobile text message now and again—it’ll be fine. Because there is no way I’m going to Heaven. The music is RUBBISH in Heaven—they have far better festivals in Hell . . .”