Woods, Langergrabers, and a Newton at Red Robin

Earlier tonight Sean, Sylvia and I met with Uncle John, his two sons, their partners, and our cousin David for a long, leisurely supper and chat at Red Robin in Kelowna. Once again, the only real upside of grieving is how it brings people together to remember better times and create some new memories. And it was great to finally meet Kevin's partner, Carol, in person. Sean and Sylvia and I are very grateful to the Langergrabers and David for a wonderful evening. 
 

Still Almost Maybe Nearly Famous

Every once in a while, I search "Earl J. Woods" on the Internet to gauge my level of infamy. Fortunately, my infamy remains low, but just a few minutes ago I discovered a new hit: my name appeared on a long list of people associated with something called the Western Front. 

At first, this alarmed me. In an instant, I thought: "Western Front? Either people think I'm a crazed militia member, or I'm on an enemies list of a crazed militia." 

Neither is true. As their website states, "Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver." Whew! My apologies, Western Front. 

As I'm turned out, I'm listed on the site because in 2010 I attended an exhibit put on by my cousin, artist Keith Langergraber, and brought along "Finger Puppet Star Trek" for exhibition, the first and only public showing of a movie I made with some friends from the University of Alberta Star Trek Club. Note that "Finger Puppet Star Trek" was not made in 2009, as claimed above; it was actually made sometime in 1991 or 1992. 

Farewell, Aunt Jean

We found out late tonight that Aunt Jean, Mom's sister, passed away on Tuesday. I'm grateful we got to see her one last time at Mom's celebration of life this summer. Aunt Jean is on the right in this image with Mom from 1950 or so. 

Aunt Jean was fun to be around. She was a genuine character and a wonderful painter. She was closest to Mom in age and, I always suspected, closest overall. 

Our thoughts are with Uncle John, my cousins Keith and Kevin, and their partners, Heather and Carolyn, and with Aunt Marjorie. We'll all miss Aunt Jean, but none more than these who were closest to her. 

 

Young Sean Woods

Mystery Marshmallow Roast

That might be me in the foreground; on the other hand, it might be my cousin Keith Langergraber. Is that Darwin Jones, another cousin, roasting the marshmallow? Only my parents can say for sure.

Wait. I think that's our Ford station wagon in the background, at left. We didn't have that until at least 1979, which would make me a little too old to be either of the boys in this picture. Is one of them Sean? Is that Sean with the marshmallow? Can I not even recognize my own brother? 

See Theatre of the Exploding Sun at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery

My cousin Keith Langergraber's Theatre of the Exploding Sun opens June 27 at 5 p.m. at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge, Alberta. A few years back Sylvia and I met Jeff, Susan and Steven in Vancouver to view Keith's earlier exhibit, The Society of Temporal Investigations, and we all had a great time. If I can't get away from work to make it down to Lethbridge by 5 on the 27th, I'll try to take in the exhibit before it closes on September 7.

More Info on the Theatre of the Exploding Sun

Last month I mentioned that my cousin Keith Langergraber has a show at the Kelowna Art Gallery. The gallery's website has been updated with more information about the show, including a short interview with Keith. It's well worth watching, especially if you're interested in art, sculpture, film making or fan culture.

Theatre of the Exploding Sun

So, this is a pretty big deal: my cousin Keith Langergraber has an exhibit at the Kelowna Art Gallery. It's called Theatre of the Exploding Sun, and runs from October 5 to December 29.This time around, Keith is exhibiting some short films and sculpture.

Some years back I wrote about another of Keith's exhibitions, The Society of Temporal Investigations at Vancouver's Western Front gallery. I was very impressed with Keith's show and his presentation back then, so I can only imagine how much his art has progressed in the intervening years. Hopefully I'll have a chance to visit the show in Kelowna before the exhibit ends!