Published August 28, 2008 | 
Enter your password to view comments.Published August 27, 2008 | Published August 27, 2008 | Published August 27, 2008 | It’s all over the Internet: Del Martin has died. She is survived by her widow, Phyllis Lyon. After half a century together, they were the first couple married in 2004, when San Francisco defied the state and started holding same-sex marriages. They were the first married this year, when the California Supreme Court struck down the barriers to same-sex marriage.
Four years ago, when their marriage was invalidated, Phyllis Lyon said:
Del is 83 years old and I am 79. After being together for more than 50 years, it is a terrible blow to have the rights and protections of marriage taken away from us. At our age, we do not have the luxury of time.
Thank God they had a few short months of legal recognition. But even that can be taken away, Don’t let it happen. Honor Del’s life and commitment by defeating the California marriage ban.
Published August 24, 2008 | Published August 22, 2008 | Dottie Wiltse Collins, one of the best pitchers in women’s baseball and the moving force behind the alumnae organization of retired players from the women’s leagues, died on August 12 at the age of 84.
A powerhouse pitcher who could throw overhand, underhand, and sidearm, she pitched two no-hitters within a seventeen-day stretch. Collins won more than 20 games each of her first four seasons as a pro. In her best year, 1945, her record was 29-10, with a 0.83 ERA and 293 strikeouts. She once pitched — and won — both halves of a doubleheader, and in 1948, she played until she was four months pregnant.
Her work to gather and preserve the history of women’s baseball inspired the movie A League of Their Own. More important, the memorabilia she helped gather is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, NY. Where she belongs.
Published August 21, 2008 | Published August 20, 2008 | Joe Decker’s book, Saga: Visions of Iceland, is well worth buying. (Or getting as a birthday present, which is how I got my copy from Debbie..) The photographs are superb as always, and the printing is up to his demanding standards. Seen through Joe’s eyes, the stark, dramatic scenery of Iceland becomes almost abstract.
Some images are subtle, nearly monochromatic studies in pure form or pattern, like Black Mud Swirls. The pure black volcanic sands are background and foil to incandescently verdant grass in Grass and Volcanic Alluvium. This high-contrast image with its expanses of deep black and subtle layering of light must have presented serious printing challenges, but it looks good on the page.
Others show sky and land bleakly glacier-colored, grey and blue; rainbows, waterfalls, quiet streams; sunsets as bright and ominous as new lava flows. Decker sees and conveys the beauty in small details and broad landscapes.
The book is hardbound with a dust jacket. Bonus: the author picture (taken by Josh Andrews) is a vivid and revealing portrait of Joe.
Joe Decker is an internationally known, award-winning nature photographer who just keeps getting better and better. Buy his work now, before the price goes to Ansel Adams levels. Yes, he is that good.
Published August 20, 2008 | Published August 19, 2008 |