"Promise you will always remember me".

"Promise you will always remember me". That was Christopher Robin talking to Pooh. I alluded to this subject briefly in the post below. Being in California, it’s difficult to keep in touch – particularly face-to-face – with many of my friends whom I would choose to remain close with. Time and distance can have such an eroding effect our relationships, don't you agree? These thoughts are a constant with me. Funny how at one time two people are as thick as thieves, and suddenly neither of them knows the other exists. People move away, make new friends, get married, have kids, make more new friends or simply drop off the face of the earth. We ALL have them - people we've bonded with while growing up, while attending high school or college, family members, work/social acquaintances. Even some friends in CA I don't see nearly as much as I would like - believe me, it can be hell getting around here. Now don't get me wrong - I'm very lucky and my life is rich with the friends I am in contact with. But it's healthy to take stock in the things that matter to you most - and family and friendship ARE the most important thing to me. I have friends – and you know who you are – that I’m lucky to see once or twice a year when I go home to Wisconsin, either during my May fishing trip or around the Christmas holidays, visiting my home state, IA and IL. Most of these I'm in touch with over the phone or by email throughout the year, but it’s never enough. Then there are friends I'm in contact with via phone or email but that's all. That too is never enough.

I had my college reunion in October last year and my high school reunion in February and like my other classmates, I reminisced. You conjure up the good ole days with some folk and that's the extent of the reunion. But then there are others who are different – you pick up where you left off and you can talk about anything and not miss a beat. And those people - those I would not miss a beat with – are mentioned below. Perhaps I've been in and out of touch with you and I apologize. Know that I think of you often and that you are my special friends that I rarely get to see (if ever) but that when we do meet up, our “reunion” is as if we were never apart. You are my friends regardless of how often we see each other, or talk on the phone or email. I put this post up in haste, so if inadvertently missed you, do not take offense – I will revisit this writing. If people think it's odd of me to write down such things, let'm. Some people wear a badge of honor – this list is a badge, of sorts...an honor roll of friendship.

Eddie Wavro, Chris & Doreen Van Els, Jim Scharnburg, Mark Stanek, Kim Ellie, Jay/Tim/Wade Labecki, a number of my cousins on both sides of the family & family members, in general (way too many to mention), Ned Zoelle, Cameron Bruce, Kenny Wiemer, Ben from UW-Milwaukee, Steve Gresl, Tom Surges, Tom Millonig, Dave Wanta, Paul Voeller, Mark & Kim Totty, John Bell, Caryn Burkhardt, Echo Gaffney, Gerry Krause, Todd Peterson, Deanna Long, Damon Cole, Richard Barker, Lisa Clark, Mel & Linda Clark, Mike and Tracey Clark, Lee Hayden, Lisa Bohn, Jim & Patty Klika, Kurt Roller, Col. Marcy Steinke, Julie Stelling, Lisa in Newport Beach, Sherri & Tom Brisch, Jeff Jeanpierre, Doug Lorretto in IL, Ray Smith, Susie Streit, Pat & Sandy Gilpin, Rip & Janice Russell, Jody Hovland, Ron Clark, the Stuehn’s, the Olson’s, Saad, Ed Cotter, Dave Parke, Dan Forrest, Dan Velicer, Dave Stauffacher, Rich Inman, John Mamerow, David Ellie, Chris Korman, Kenny Koepsel, the Pilot brothers, Bishop Tom Skrenes, Greg Amborn, Tex, Bob Wade, the Ircink’s in Spokane, Eddie Hale, Jack Saunders, Gary Sauders, and Ken & Michelle Burke.

Three more names – Jeff Hall, Doug Boden(?) (ex-Lamer's bus driver in Milwaukee), and Keith from New York who I met when I moved to North Hollywood. You three are the most elusive as I have no way of knowing where you are or how to get in touch with you.

YOU are all special people to me, and I wish you were all here with me right now.

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The Girls of Solstice 2007 - Santa Barbara

We did watch the floats and drink beer, too, you know.

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For All Those Who've Never Seen Fireworks Pictures (and one extra-terrestrial shot!)

Here's a few shots from the fireworks display in Culver City, CA - across the street from where I live. It was the first time I used the "Fireworks" shooting option on my digital. Fireworks are tough to take, so I set my camera to "Continuous" and ripped off one shot after another, never releasing the shoot button. It's a crapshoot because it all hinges on the button pressing, the flash and the moment the firework explodes. I took between 60 and 80 and salvaged about 15. Of the ones below there's really only 2-3 decent shots. Also, no cropping or "zoom and crop" was done to these pictures (meaning zooming in once the picture is already taken, then cropping - I think I just made that term up). This is the way they turned out - au natural. #1 and #3 are the best.

Now, that above shot is NOT fireworks. No sir-ee. This is a view into space as seen through my very high-powered telescope with a 2nd telescopic lens attached - and outfitted with a camera. I set this up a couple hours before the fireworks to take interval shots of whatever I might catch flying by (long, technical story). What I've captured here, I assume, is a nebula or some type of star system, solar system - whatever. Pretty cool, if you ask me. I have no explanation for what the red coloring is - could be a reflection or gases or something. I wonder if there's a name for it? "The Nebulus of the Ircink". Hmmm...sounds appropriate.

All photos © Copyright Jeffrey James Ircink.

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What does the 4th of July mean to you?

Does it mean any representation of our country's flag? The above is from the Battle of 1812.

Does it mean "freedom"?

Or Americana, as illustrated in Norman Rockwell's Yankee Doodle?

Or nostalgia - parades and family - like this parade in Menomonee Falls, WI?

Or the men and women who served in our country's military?

This too, is a manner in which some people envision the 4th.

However YOU celebrate the 4th of July, keep in mind - in the midst of everything else that's happening in your neck of the woods - what the holiday really means.

And enjoy yourself.

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Happy 70th Birthday, Dad!

My dad's birthday has always been an extra special event. Not that he really cares about birthdays - 'cause he doesn't. But because it's the day before the 4th of July and we'd always go into Greendale (where he and I were born) and spend the day at my Aunt Ruth's. The Village of Greendale had a huge party - rides, beer gardens, parade, events for the kids (finding money in a sand pit) - my Uncle Jerry used to have an ice cream truck and we'd help him out on occasion. Fireworks, playing in the woods near the creek with bottle rockets...really a good, old-fashioned, Americana-type of 4th, and as big of an event as Christmas. I couldn't get home to help him celebrate - the company I work for just moved to a new location and it's been hectic there. Plus, my dad's not even home - he went Up North by my Aunt Ruth's. 70 is big - but he doesn't care. That's OK - we'll make up for it the next time I'm in town.

'Cause I care. Happy Birthday, Dad.

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Milwaukee's SUMMERFEST!

Summerfest, the world's largest music festival (see entry in Guinness Book of World Records, thank you), is happening now through July 8. Eleven days of fun in the sun, beer, 10+ music stages, food - all down at the Milwaukee Lakefront.

And I'm missing it. Again. Being from Milwaukee, going to Summerfest was a staple. NO questions. You just went. I haven't been back for it since I moved to LA - I don't normally get back there this time of year and I use vacation days for other reasons. I met an ex there - dated her for 4 years. Almost got arrested there. Drank a ton of beer there. It's such an institution that the City of Milwaukee built a permanent site adjacent to the lakefront for the event, which also houses Irish Fest, Polish Fest, Festa Italiana, Indian Summer Fest, Asian Moon Fest, Germanfest, African World Fest, Pride Fest, Mexican Fest - and a few more. Over a million people crowd in along Lake Michigan for this one event, and the memories I have - priceless. Check out the following link for a timeline of Summerfest performers: http://www.wklh.com/40yearsofSummerfest.asp, and go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summerfest for a brief history of the event.

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"...if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!"

That quote was from the movie, Sideways, which was quite a popular little film a few years ago. Having gone on my virgin winetasting tour, I can now say the movie perfectly captured the essence of the Santa Inez wine country near Santa Barbara. Tom Nowak (my non-blood uncle's brother), Jas and I visited five wineries on Friday: Sunstone, Lincourt, Firestone, Curtis and Artiste. Beautiful country - the poster close-up above from Curtis illustrates it fairly well.


"Hey Man, I'm drinking wine, eating cheese and catching some rays."
- Donald Sutherland as Oddball in Kelly's Heroes

Pinot. Chardonnay. Syrah. Viognier. So many wines; so little time. I wouldn't call myself a huge wine drinker. I prefer beer and a good mixer - brandy old-fashioned sweet. There are a TON of wineries in this area...and a ton of different wines. I thought we'd be tasting and spitting, but the spittoon was simply for pouring the wine out that you hadn't finished. After five wineries, I was pretty much full. Typically, you taste 5-6 different wines, going from driest to sweetest and ending with the winery's most recent, or featured vintage. I'm not a savvy winetaster so most of the time I stood there like a dope listening to the pourer go on about "subtleness", "palate" and "oakey taste". It was $10 per winery for the tasting privileges and you got to keep the glass (with the winery emblem - we didn't).

The wine urges me on, the bewitching wine, which sets even a wise man to singing and to laughing gently and rouses him up to dance and brings forth words which were better unspoken.
- Homer, The Odyssey, bk. XIV, l. 463

The vines are meticulously pruned, the air's a bit drier and it's warmer - such a welcome change from Los Angeles. People are picnicking - it made me think of what Tuscany might "feel" like. Below, Tom and Jason are imbibing (Jason's attempt-ing to "trill"). Tom knows quite a bit about wine - partly from living in Santa Barbara all his life and partly from the killer wine tasting party he throws every year during Fiesta.

Bacchus we thank who gave us wine Which warms the blood within our veins; That nectar is itself divine. The man who drinks not, yet attains By godly grace to human rank Would be an angel if he drank.
- Pierre Motin, drinking song

Tom's siblings - Greg and Laura - joined us at our last winery, Artiste. An artist was commissioned to paint a label for one of Artiste's wines. I will share the story with you on another blog. The other Nowak siblings - my uncle Bob, Chuck, Rick, Carol and Bev - were missed, as was the Ircink clan. Oh well, "more wine!" for us.

"Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me..." - Vizzini in The Princess Bride

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Summer Solstice!, Jaybone & the Great Outdoors

So my brother Jason's in town from Wisconsin for Solstice! in Santa Barbara - we're headed up Thursday night thru Sunday. We always go to Fiesta! in August but we're Solstice virgins. Tom Nowak - my Uncle Bob's brother (not blood) - will be our host, as always. More to come from Solstice!.

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