another champion

this quercus falcata in westview cemetery is one of the biggest in the city --- guinness was impressed, but he respected the tree and did not pee on it

orchidaceae

this cattleya is doing it again

music news

cousin kevin got his picture in the paper --- 25 years on and he's still playing

a failure to govern

It’s easy to get discouraged in Washington these days. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that the last edition of Profiles in Courage has already gone to the printer, with no new names being added to its pages because fewer elected officials are doing things that warrant inclusion. It will remain a thin tome.

until the tea party runs its course, and it will, we remain in deep doo-doo politically

prohibition 2.0

300 acres will grow a heap of marijuana --- our stupid laws have created a gazillion dollar, tax-free industry run by drug lords who have murdered thousands of mexican citizens

wednesday sunset

random images

in the larger scheme of things, it's no biggie, but it's nice to see the flag flying on the sears tower again 

the orchid that won't quit blooming --- at it since february

and the stained glass in the lobby of the fed ctr that i see almost every day

wasted opportunity

the atlanta history center has some of the most attractive real estate in midtown, yet they treat it with an indifference that is amazing --- witness the sign at p'tree and tenth ---

hyde farm

escorpión es excelente

"words to live by"

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

that's robert heinlein --- via cah, who could plan an awesome invasion, were she to put her mind to it

american theocracy

ithis is what it looks like

enjoying the holiday

very loud, possibly inebriated, young people partying in the rain on the 8th floor terrace --- rock and roll! ---

summer food

the best of the blueberries --- thanx cah

the peachtree

the streets of midtown are filled with smelly people today

calling b.s.

here is an excellent discussion of the origins of section 4 of the 14th amendment re. the validity of public debt --- obama needs to go ahead and pull this trigger and be done with the republican b.s. over the debt "ceiling" once and for all ---

The threat of defaulting on government obligations is a powerful weapon, especially in a complex, interconnected world economy. Devoted partisans can use it to disrupt government, to roil ordinary politics, to undermine policies they do not like, even to seek political revenge. Section Four was placed in the Constitution to remove this weapon from ordinary politics.

cocktails in the garden tonight

views from the 27th floor

some wonderful views from offices at p'tree center --- especially of the hyatt's blue dome ---

the garden

it is very rare that one of my angiosperms is not in flower ---which is a good thing

monday done

hope for the future

gov. cuomo, leading the way

checking out the view

natural phenomena

i have been wondering exactly how much protection is provided by the lightning rods on top of the building to me standing on my balcony --- we have been having some great storms this year!

signed, sealed, and delivered!!!

New York will be the sixth, and largest, state in the union to adopt gay marriage. Governor Cuomo signed the bill into law at 11:15pm on Friday, which means the law will take effect on July 24, 2011.

will this be a tipping point for gay rights nationally?

a nice evening on the balcony

ocmulgee old fields

this was the heart of the creek nation and the chief who signed it away at the indian springs in 1825 paid for that act of treachery with his life --- interstate 16 was run between the mounds and the river and, if the macon business community had its way, the so-called "fall-line freeway" would bisect the national monument that preserves what is left of the site ---that won't happen

really old stuff

this is purty great: bone fragment with a mastodon carved into it that is at least 13,000 yrs old --- oldest in the western hemisphere!

preserve metropolis!

 the building is less than ten years old and already they're starting to remodel it --- jamestown properties owns the commercial space and can apparently bugger up the building the way they see fit --- it actually wouldn't be= so bad, but whoever is doing their design here and at 999, which they also own, is an architectural philistine