One day, after seeing landmarks with the family all morning, I went wine tasting with my brother & his girlfriend. We went to the Cape May Winery & had an excellent afternoon. There weren't many people there at the time, so we had the place almost to ourselves & chatted it up with the bartenders as we tried their wines.
You get to try six wines for $6, but the bartenders loved us, so we got a few extra splashes to try. I really enjoyed almost all the wines I tried. Red & white wines are sometimes either too dry or too sweet for my tastes. However, Cape May Winery has some delicious wines in all varieties.
Although I love wine, this was actually my 1st trip to a winery & wine-tasting. Luckily it turned out to be a top-notch establishment, with many delicious wines!
This is my last post about my vacation in Cape May... I had a great week & got alot of good photos, but I"ll try & get back to blogging about other things.
Here's the album with some pics I uploaded:
I wanted to post some of the amazing sunsets I got to see each night. The house that my family rents overlooks the Delaware Bay facing west, so we get to view these beautiful evening vistas over the water.
We also get to see pods of dolphins from the house every day, going into the bay in the morning & back out to sea in the evening.
Watching the sunsets is a ritual that people along the shore patiently observe, & these pics show that it's worth the wait.
While I was on vacation in Cape May last week, I went with my parents, my sister, & her kids to The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ.
I haven't been there since I was young, many decades ago! Haha. They now have many engaging features for both kids & adults. My nephews loved it, and we all enjoyed the interesting animals & exhibits.
We sat in on a presentation about sea creatures such as shellfish & echinoderms (sea cucumbers, urchins, sea stars, etc). The speaker had a bunch of the live animals in bins w/ water, for the kids to look at afterward.
My favorite animal was definitely the octopus they had in the aquarium room. I could have sat watching it all day as it swam around, changing form & color.
*I forgot I had a folder of photos from my brother's girlfriend's camera, so I've added a few more to the album below.
Last week I got to spend most of the week in Cape May w/ my family. It turned out to be a superb vacation, even after a great week in the Poconos in the beginning of July.
Most of the days I spent on the beach- which was right across the street from the house we stayed at. There were only at the most a dozen clusters of people per stretch of beach & it felt as close as I've ever had to a private beach.
The main activities were lounging in the sand, swimming in the enjoyably warm bay, and throwing my brother's gel-filled Waboba ball that skips across the water. My brother brought his kayaks down so we went out on the bay one day which was cool.
The first day there I went walking with one of my brothers & his girlfriend on the jetty and slipped on a rock. I fell back & landed upside down on an algae-covered boulder that I slid headfirst right down onto another (thankfully) flat rock & then down into the water. It happened so fast I was still holding onto my water bottle when I stood up in the tidal pool I fell into, but I still got banged up a little. I'm glad I didn't hit my head or land on a jagged rock edge, that would've been ugly.
My sister came down for a couple days w/ my nephew & we all had a blast on the beach. My brothers & I, aka. The Uncle Dudes, dug out a pool for him we were calling his 'Lake' & we ended up creating a whole area of canals, pools, & castles in the sand for him to play w/ trucks & boats.
Although the idea of ocean creatures lurking around (sharks) creeps me out just a tiny bit, the water was perfectly warm. I kept going swimming over & over each day. It was great!!
Speaking of sharks, my Dad caught a few sand sharks after I left, but they sent me a photo.
One day we went to the Cape May Zoo, which was fun. It was really hot that day, but we got to see all of the animals out of their shelters- except for the white leopards or whatever was the featured animal.
I got a bunch of pictures throughout the week, so I uploaded a set to my Picasa album:
My family stayed in a small bungalow right on the Delaware Bay. We were across the street from the beach, which is great for all the beach bums in my family.
We had a bar down the road, but we were stocked up on liquor & beer so we mostly just hung out at the house at night, by the chiminea fire. From the yard, we could hear the waves crashing on the beach. Along with the sounds of the breeze, crackling fire, & crickets, it was a very relaxing natural soundtrack.
As I explained in a previous post, I completely missed the East Coast earthquake while I was on the beach. During the week I went on a eventful fishing trip w/ my Dad & brothers, spent the other days on the beach, ate like a glutton, relaxed & drank by the fire at night, and at the end of the week we had all-you-can-eat crab fest, sitting on the pier in a thunderstorm. That was the night before we had to leave, since the Jersey shore was evacuated due to the approach of Hurrican Irene.
Going on summer vacations with my family is something we all look forward to all year. We enjoy each other's company and are thankful for the great time we get to spend together. Inevitably, we end up with material for great (usually humorous) stories. One of the important things in life is the stories you have to share. The tales you have to tell are a measure of your life experiences.
Last week, I was on vacation at the beach in Cape May, NJ.
My brother's girlfriend found these strange items, while looking for stones & shells on the beach. We weren't sure if they were teeth, shells, or other remains of some strange creature:
Amazingly, although I was at the Jersey Shore & everyone else in our family experienced it... somehow my brother & I completely missed it!!!!
I am still in disbelief that I missed a friggin earthquake. My brother & I were on the beach, which is fairly secluded & only had about 12 other people at the most along the whole stretch.
At the time of the earthquake, we were either:
1) in the water jumping around playing with the awesome Waboba ball & didn't feel it somehow.
2) passed out lying on the beach & didn't feel it while we were snoozing.
Either way it's crazy.
My other brother was with my parents crabbing on a pier & they felt it. My sister was napping with my nephews at the rental house & everything started moving. I came back from the beach to see if she was coming down & she asked me if I felt the earth shaking. I had no idea what she was talking about, & thought she was making a joke about my nephew pooping.
Anyway, then we got the news of Hurricane Irene approaching, & Friday evacuation orders were given for Cape May. So, we left vacation a day early & I've been preparing for whatever this monstrous fractal whirlwind is going to bring.
We're already getting some rain in southern NJ... so, unlike the earthquake, I don't think I'm going to be able to miss this storm.
It's hard to put into words how I feel about this exceptional woman. We are writing our vows and mine are clocking in at 4-5 min, because it's hard for me to sum up my feelings about her & our relationship. She is my life partner and my best friend. The spiritual, physical, intellectual, and emotional bond we share is something I treasure and do not take for granted for a moment. It sometimes boggles my mind that my ideal woman has appeared in my life. I try to just appreciate it & let her know how glad I am for her.
We were friends for many years, and for most of that time I had a deep attraction to her. Although she didn't share my level of attraction for a long time, eventually in 2014 I asked her to go on a Valentine's date "as friends". At that time, Loretta was changing her perception of me and this was a turning point where our relationship took a more romantic direction.
We have been engaged since 2016 and after spending almost every day together, sharing countless life experiences, going to premarital therapy, taking part in ventures together, deeply working on emotional and communication issues, and furthering our careers, we have no doubt that we are ready to travel this road together. I know Loretta is truly a soul mate, someone I am connected to in mysterious and inexpiable ways.
We had a private, legal ceremony in NJ where we live a couple days ago on Thursday, June 28. It was just our parents and our officiant with us at Malaga Lake, a small but scenic local lake. The weather was cloudy & rainy, but as the ceremony started, the sun came out and scintillated over the lake.
Loretta DeStefano & Paul M. Micarelli
Our public ceremony for family & friends, and our reception will be at The Old Mill in Rose Valley, PA this Sunday July 1, 2018. We picked the venue because the grounds are beautiful & we planned to have an outside wedding, with us both being nature lovers. There is also an open but covered wooden pavilion and nice indoor reception hall, and we are going to party hard! The weather is going to be almost 100°, so it is going to be rough for those of us wearing tuxes. At least it's not supposed to rain... but at that heat level, we might welcome a downpour!
Anyway, I'm sure our vision will manifest into a beautiful day, just as our private ceremony did. I consider my time with Loretta to be a blessing, and I try to make every second count. Life is a flash, and all we can do is slow the mind down, be present, and breathe deeply as we take it all in, uploading our experience to the universal field.
I am joyous and proud to announce that I am now happily married to the woman of my dreams!
Since I'll be on honeymoon in Cape May and vacation in the Poconos for the next couple weeks, I may not start posting regularly until mid-August. Please check back until then, while I enjoy some down time.
Here are some photos from our engagement shoot with the excellent & talented Won Yang of Yang Photo Studio. We were at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania and Won spent hours with us, taking some amazing photography capturing our love.
This week at work, I finished an excellent book that I started during my week in Cape May during the summer. It's called "The Ancient Engineers" by L. Sprague de Camp & was surprisingly engaging. I absolutely love the subject, but the particular way the de Camp explored the major civilizations of the ancient world is effectively humanizing. It was able to mentally put me not just into those cultures, but also the individual circumstances that spurred their technological innovations.
I took a few semesters of engineering in college before I switched to design, and still truly enjoy studying the classical craftsmanship that brilliantly combined art & engineering. What de Camp does so skillfully is weaving man's sporadic instances of invention throughout history into a detailed timeline highlighting man's unique persistence of progress.
After wasting my mind on the useless drivel of Plato's Republic earlier in the summer, it was refreshing to read something that really inspired my imagination & sense of perspective.
It's funny, when my Dad recently asked me about my thoughts on the possibility of aliens, he also wanted to know what I thought about the idea that humans had help building the pyramids from alien intelligence. He knows I am familiar with all kinds of crazy theories... but I don't necessarily believe any of them. After studying the abilities of ancient craftsman, it's hard for me not to accept the ingenuity of the human intellect, which was as competent back then as it is now. These people on shows like "Ancient Aliens" who refuse to believe humans could have possibly created these wondrous things are jackasses. Is it possible that intelligent life from other places may exist & have contacted humans throughout history? Perhaps. Even if that were the case, it's no reason to dismiss man's ability to innovate & create amazing things.
Recently, I've also been noticing alot of related programming on TV...
There was recently a show on the History channel about the Roman emperors & their public works projects.
The first episode of NOVA this season was about the building of the Parthenon. It's amazing how much information we are pulling out of these ruined structures with modern investigative techniques. This show was very interesting & gave alot of insight into the methods of the Greek architects & stonemasons.
Also from NOVA was a jump in time forward to the medieval age in Europe. They take a thorough look at the construction & purpose of the gothic cathedrals. Interestingly, despite our modern use of the word "gothic" to describe dark, vampire-like style, the term was originally a reference to the germanic tribe of Goths, who were considered to be 'barbarians' by Rome. The critics of these soaring cathedrals used the term to derisively describe the strange architecture.
Finally, the other night I was switching between watching the Phillies playoff game & an episode of one of my favorite series of all time: Engineering an Empire. The episode was about the monumental achievements of the Egyptian empire that lasted thousands of years & continues to instill wonder into people like myself.
There are 4 tracks to mix & you can use a variety of natural and rythmic sound samples.
I've used the mixer to make a virtual version of the audial environment that I experienced relaxing by the bay.
1. Beach
2. Crickets
3. Fire
4. Wind in Leaves
^ This is what I'm listening to right now.
There are endless combinations though, & I often use it to make ambient sound in my room while I'm on the computer, napping, or reading.
The author Jeremy Narby begins the book with the mystery of ayahuasca- a powerful psychedelic brew originating from the jungles of The Amazon in South America. This botanical, mind & soul-altering concoction is created from a combination of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, which contains several alkaloids that act as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). The other ingredient, a shrub Psychotria viridis, contains the primary psychoactive compound, dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The MAOIs from the B. cappi are required for DMT of the P. viridis to be orally active & produce the visionary experience.
The question that has presented itself is- how did the indigenous tribes know how to combine these two plants, out of thousands in the jungle, to create a specific chemical reaction to create the desired effect? The ayahuascero shamans claim that the plants themselves revealed this truth to their ancestors.
This idea of some kind of intelligence in the plant relaying this information creates another question- one that is the main premise of this book: Can ALL life communicate on levels (down the cellular and molecular scale) that science might not be currently aware of, & that does not involve the use of symbolic language that we humans are familiar with? Could the DNA molecule itself, besides being an encoder of information, also be capable of communicating and transmitting information, even perhaps somehow into the level of consciousness?
In ayahuasca trances, glowing, vibrating snakes and serpents imparting knowledge are a common motif. The author investigates whether these might be visualizations of the continually pulsating, light-emitting DNA strands themselves, somehow communicating information to the emergent neurological phenomenon that we recognize as the human mind. Perhaps it also goes the other way, and our mind when unlocked in a certain manner can be transported down to directly interact and perceive at the scale of cells and molecules.
The Newtonian mechanistic view of the Universe, especially when it comes to life, is completely inadequate for having a true, holistic view of the world. However despite the awe-inspiring intricacy of life at the microscopic scale & weirdness of phenomena at the quantum level, science still has trouble grasping with the ephemeral nature of mind and consciousness as anything other than brain activity. This is understandable, since it is hard to quantify the idea of a universal consciousness, patterns of coherent energetic information transmission that exist EVERYWHERE- pervading all aspects of this Universe, at all scales..
This is the axis mundi that I have already mentally traveled up and down many times, and was guided through once again by the author as he connected the systems & processes of life from the microcosm to the macrocosm.
Underlying this quest that the author has written about, is the idea that the wisdom and traditions of native people should be preserved along with their land & environment. The profit-driven juggernaut we call the pharmaceutical industry cannot be allowed to exploit healing knowledge and plants that exist for the benefit of everyone. Although science should have the freedom to learn and understand as much of our reality as possible, that knowledge should not be used to restrict and refine discovery for the selfish gain of soulless megacorporations.
I enjoyed reading The Cosmic Serpent, and it was the perfect mix of science and mysticism for a syncretist such as myself. It made me think deeply about biology, spirituality, ecology, anthropology, and the complexity of life & reality itself. It was a relatively short book, but full of mind-expanding insights and information that I'd highly recommend.
Consequently, I came across this video on Groonk.net of a guy named Chuck Patterson filming a Great White from his surfboard with an underwater camera.
It's safe to say that I would be crapping my pants if this thing was swimming around me while I was in the ocean.
My last post was right after the private, legal marriage ceremony to my wonderful wife, Loretta.
Last weekend, we had our public wedding ceremony & reception for family and friends at The Old Mill in Rose Valley, PA.
We had been planning the wedding for a year, with the help of our awesome parents. We had a vision for what we wanted, & all our hard work paid off. We both wanted a nature-themed wedding, with an outdoor ceremony. I love the outdoors, and Loretta shares this affinity for the natural world with me.
The whole day went absolutely perfect. Everything looked great, the decor that we created and ordered was exactly what we envisioned, the music was all our choices, our ceremony was beautiful, & most importantly, there was no major drama during the wedding!
There were a few monkey wrenches thrown into the works, like the record 100º heat that was not the best conditions for a full tuxedo! It was also tough to realize I couldn't spend more time with all the people who came to be a part of this special moment. We had over 130 guests, and I did try to bounce around and talk to as many people as I could. It's impossible to have a long conversation with anyone, though.
We wanted to start the night off with everyone hyped up, so after our slow dance ("And I Love Her" by The Beatles) we played "Turn Down for What" by Lil' Jon and got the whole room dancing right away. Everyone said they had a blast, and we had many people telling us it was the best wedding they'd ever been to, which is what we wanted people to experience. It is humbling to realize that there are so many people who I'm
deeply connected with, and now that circle has grown with the
people in Loretta's life.
This past week, we were on our honeymoon in Cape May, where we stayed at an excellent bed & breakfast called Rhythm of The Sea. We sat on the beach & drank scotch, went out to eat every night, and had some much-needed rest & relaxation.
This has been a time in my life that I am grateful to experience, and will never forget. I am married to an exceptional woman, who I've know for many years & consider my best friend. The wedding was our way to publicly express and spiritually symbolize the love that connects us.
Here is a photo album with a bunch of great pictures that I and our families took. When I get the album from the wedding photographer, I will share that too:
Last week I went on vacation with my family, to a lakefront rental in the Poconos, PA. We all look forward to summer vacation every year, and we had a great time in Cape May & then on the lake.
In the beginning of the week, I got to see alot of shooting stars from the Perseid meteor shower on a couple of clear nights. I usually sit out on the dock to drink beers with my brother & brother-in-law after everyone goes to sleep, so we were outside anyway. Being on the mountain lake was as good a place as any to see the meteors.
Most of the week we hung out around the house or on the lake, but we also ventured out to do some stuff if the weather was crappy.
I've already posted some of the pics of my crazy Flea Market Finds, and also the interesting sights at Country Junction-"The World's Largest General Store".
This is the last batch of photos I'm adding to the album. They are mostly scenic pics of the lake & the beautiful sunsets.
There are also some photos from our short hike to Hawk Falls. It's an
easy enough trail for my nephews aka. the lil' dudes, & also my parents to come
along and enjoy it.
Last week, my family was on our annual summer vacation at Slaughter Beach in Delaware.
My family are experts at vacationing & relaxing. I started out the vacation by going with my girlfriend to visit her family in Avalon, NJ for the weekend. On Monday, we took the Cape May Ferry to Lewes, Delaware and drove to Slaughter Beach, where my family was staying.
It was a great week and we all enjoyed ourselves. I love sitting on the beach, running by the marshes, watching the sky at sunset, then making a beach fire pit in the sand under the stars. Being in nature is what I enjoy the most.
Nature can also be creepy, though. On the last day of vacation, my brother Joe almost ran into this large spider which had trapped a butterfly in its web. I added it to my album of nature photos.
Yesterday, during the Star Wars Celebration 2017 event, the first teaser trailer for the next Star Wars movie, "The Last Jedi" was released. In this post, I've included some high resolution screenshots of my favorite moments from the video.
Yeah, I'm almost 40... but as a life-long fan, I can say this trailer got me excited like I was a kid again. As I was getting ready to show my fiance the video, she could tell I was giddy, even though I had watched it several times already! She grudgingly let introduce her to Star Wars when we started dating, but she has come to appreciate the depth of the stories & characters, and right away said that this one looks good.
Anyway, my favorite aspects to Star Wars have been the mystical and philosophical elements. Fortunately, it looks like this will be a central focus of "The Last Jedi", as Jedi Master Luke Skywalker trains Rey in the ways of The Force.
Even the captivating opening of the trailer, the shot of the natural world with Luke saying "Breathe.... just breathe....." is the essence of meditative technique in real life. The idea that one can find their spiritual center, through connecting deeply with the natural rhythm of your breath, is the foundation of all mindfulness meditation.
I absolutely love and was hoping for the idea of Luke teaching Rey the subtle aspects of the living & cosmic Force. The fictional construct of The Force is what helped open my eyes to the truth of "God" not as a personality or a deity with silly human qualities, but more as a "Tao"- an infinite life force & creative energy that flows through every atom and space throughout The Universe. George Lucas drew on many religious and mythological traditions to create a story that informs us about ourselves and our world. I'm glad this movie will mirror Yoda's training of Luke on the mysteries of The Force, as Rey unlocks her powers to their full potential.
There is a lot of speculation that Luke will train Rey in the path of a "grey" Force user. After hearing about the failure of the original Jedi Order, and seeing his own attempt at a new Jedi academy literally go down in flames, he may realize that it's time to forge a new path for Force users to follow.
This new path would not completely forbid human emotion such as love and passion, as the Jedi did, but control them, and focus them as tools for enhancing the self & the greater good. Luke walked the line between the Light & Dark paths in "Return of the Jedi," when he defeated the Sith Lord Darth Vader using anger & aggression, but then saved the soul of his father Anakin Skywalker through genuine compassion and love.
Luke hints at this new approach with his final line, "I only know one truth... it's time for the Jedi to end." He's not turning evil, but has realized that the dogmatic tradition of the Jedi order must be transformed into something new. I can't fully express how awesome I think this direction is, and I think the series is setting up a new world of Star Wars after Episode 9 and the completion of this trilogy.
To do so, it is simultaneously going back to the very origins of the Star Wars galaxy. After the destruction of his new Jedi order, Luke went into exile on the planet Ahch-To. This is the location of the first Jedi temple, and it appears from this trailer that Luke has found some ancient manuscripts and texts that document the origins of the Jedi, and perhaps some long-lost secrets of the Force. A drawing of the Jedi symbol is seen on a moldy, open page from an old book, and I can't wait to see what information is revealed by Luke after studying these millenia-old documents. He hints at The Force being "So much bigger" after Rey uses her Force vision to see "The Light... The Darkness... and The Balance".
On the flip side, we will also get to see the completion of Kylo Ren's training by the enigmatic Supreme Leader Snoke. It will be interesting to see the contrast between the Light Side & Dark Side training, and exactly how Snoke is familiar with The Force. In the trailer, we see Kylo's smashed helmet and his face, with the scar that he received from his lightsaber battle with Rey. I have read some leaks that he adopts a longer cape and a modified helmet in the style of his grandfather Darth Vader, but we don't see that here yet.
So, I think all this is absolutely great, and "The Last Jedi" looks to be the expansion of the lore and mysteries of The Force that I was hoping it to be.
I am a very critical skeptic and love to nitpick. Despite my love for the Star Wars saga, I've had plenty of criticisms about various details of the movies. Overall, though, these movies are a modern-day epic with characters, stories, and ideas that illuminate the deepest aspects of ourselves and our society. They are, in my opinion, the greatest works of fiction in human history, and "The Last Jedi" looks like it will add to the depth and richness that this series has provided. I will be anxiously awaiting more glimpses of the movie until it is released in December of this year!
