a fine evening on the balcony, in spite of the worthlessness of the animals

yikes!

well, that's a drag: kevin just called to spend over an hour telling me about how he nearly got killed after a naked man broke into his house and started beating him with a bass guitar and, ultimately, the porcelain lid from a toilet tank --- the damage on the mug shot at left is thought to be a result of that altercation 

this euphorbia millii is a truly constant bloomer, but i have never seen it set sixteen blossoms on a single stalk --- eight and maybe twelve, but not sixteen

olympics 2012

it's been olympics all weekend --- i've always liked the summer olympics (the real olympics) better than the winter ones --- so much to admire

the opening ceremonies were, as they always are, almost too much --- i liked the early references to prehistoric earthworks and glastonbury tor, but then the tree on top of the tor was uprooted and all of these people started pouring out, and the giant smoke stacks rose out of the ground, and it was all a little grim ---

the paean to their socialistic national health service gave the right wingers over here something else for which to hate the olympics ---

 orchids on the inside

 euphorbii on the outside

yay! it's friday --- which i did not get to spend poking around hyde farm as i had planned --- suddenly there were fires to be put out, as it were, and i had to go into el oficina, which made me sad

it took less than a week for one of the animals to vomit on the new carpet --- the yellow blob was ralfed up, almost certainly by the dog; at upper right are the remains of a larger blob, almost certainly again slurped up by the dog --- "as a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly," proverbs 26:11

on the bright side, it all cleaned up nicely

refurbishing the 80s

margaret mitchell's memorial (1986) at her eponymous square has undergone a complete renovation, including extensive conservation of the sculpture --- for the first time in years, the fountains are working! clearly they have not figured out how to exclude the public from this public space, but i'm sure somebody is thinking about it --- in the meantime, there was a drunk, a depressed and probably unemployed person, and a crazy woman all at once ---

they removed two or three trees (birch maybe?) like those that remain, which had been totally obscuring the fountains --- it's still chicken wire, however

and the old wyndham hotel/hotel midtown (1989) is getting more than a fluff job --- it appears that, like campanile, it will lose all of its distinctive features --- the red brick and stone trim as well as the wierd triangular bay windows will all be gone --- 

bleeehh!!! what are they thinking?

refurbishing and de-cluttering the nest

 i more or less got things back in order today --- added a little shelving where there always shoulda been some in the first place--- still a ways to go, but i put about 15 or 20 cubic feet of stuff, mostly paper and gee-gaws, in storage --- next i will sort through the stuff i stuck in iris and jc's basement when i moved (nearly seven years ago!) --- i want to get in one place all of that stuff with which i have wound up, mostly good flea-market material, but some that i just can't just throw away --- my ma's aunt ruby's photo collection from the 1920s and my pa's uncle willie's shaving kit, photos, and books --- she married late in life and never had children; he was kinda funny, doncha know, and never married at all --- elva's centennial memorabilia and her parents' wedding license from 1884 and what not --- elva, who also never married but lived to 107 anyway has her own little web page, which almost never fails to get a hit or two every day --- i should probably do the same thing for ruby and willie ---

closets are still a mess, but there is now space to maneuver against the stuff --- and in the meantime, i'm enjoying the declutterment elsewhere ---

spent all day getting the place put back together --- too much stuff ---- weather has been great

improving the infrastructure

getting two rooms emptied out into the other room is not easy; time to get rid of some stuff

the cement floors are not as messed up as i thought --- when the animals ruin the new carpet, we'll go to cement throughout

dexter was relentless in his opposition to what was going on in the bedroom --- yowling and hissing on three different occasions, so much so that juan, one of the installers, was a little wary of the kitten

neither of the animals appreciated being finally shut out on the balcony, but dex was just making a total nuisance of himself

the end product will serve the needs of the animals well, i am sure

another wasted evening at the atl bot gdn

end times

first place goes to the "sea of trees" at mt. fuji, second goes to golden gate, but the "the real most popular place to kill oneself is at home"

harshing on romney

crap, one almost, but not quite, feels sorry for romney --- getting beaten about the head over all of his business experience in the 1990s, having to ignore his signature achievement as governor of taxachusetts, and all these people wanting to look at his income-tax returns and get all up in his business --- it is a very sad day for america, isn't it?

BWWWWWWAAAAAAAA!!!

protecting the revolution

YouTube is launching a new face-blurring tool that will instantly blur out the faces of everyone in a video. Basically, all a savvy protester has to do is enter YouTube’s video enhancement tool and click “Blur Faces.”

orchidaceae

wonder of wonders in my little world --- i wish i knew which of the 113 species of cattleya that this little entity represents --- if i had not let the shoot on the left start out lodged between the pot and the liner, it would have been more upright, thereby making for a more glamorous show --- but i shan't complain with the result --- its color and perfume in the air make up for any issues elsewhere

murder

this was a notorious case in 1902 that occurred at mt. gilead methodist church in ben hill, southwest atlantat --- i first heard about it as a kid from my grandma --- the victim and the murderer are second cousins of mine, in varying degree --- he was hung for the murder in may 1903 at fulton county jail ---- "unrepciprocative sweetheart" --- we've all been there

Shot and killed by Millard Lee
Jealous Lover Slays Girl

In House of Worship Young Man Draws Pistol and Ends Life of Unreciprocative
Sweetheart
A startling tragedy was enacted Sunday morning in Wesley chapel, the little Methodist church at Ben Hill, in Fulton County, Ga. The doxology had hardly been concluded when the departing congregation was startled by two pistol shots and the dying shriek of a young woman.

The quiet little house of worship was suddenly made the scene of an awful tragedy, the fruit of the morbid passion of a young man for a young woman who had resisted his every advance.

Miss Lilla Suttles was shot to death by Millard Lee, the ball from his pistol piercing her heart. Crying, "O, papa," she fell into the arms of her father, Dr. J.M. Suttles, who had rushed up at the sound of the pistol shots. The young woman died without speaking again.

The church was crowded at the time and the greatest confusion ensued. It was some minutes before the people realized what had happened. Before the awfulness of the crime dawned upon them Lee had walked from the church building. At the door he was caught by Earl Suttles, the young brother of the girl he had slain. Young Suttles caught hold of Lee and attempted to hold him, but Lee placed his pistol against the boy's breast and told him that he would
shoot him if he did not release him. Young Suttles, in desperation, yielded his hold and Lee took flight.

While talking to her girlfriends, Miss Suttles became separated for the moment from her escort. Millard Lee walked up to the group of which she was in the center and touching her on the arm, asked to speak to her a moment. She stepped to one side and he asked her if he could drive her home. "No," she replied, "I have company."

Lee was heard to mutter: "If you won?t let me take you home I shall shoot you." Before anyone was aware of his intentions, he pulled his pistol and fired at Miss Suttles. The ball struck just above her left hip, but glanced on a corset steel. Miss Suttles screamed and ran toward her father, who was up at the chancel speaking to the preacher.

As she ran from him, Lee deliberately fired at her again. The ball entered her back just between her shoulder blades and about an inch and a half from the spine. It passed directly through her heart and came out between the fifth and sixth ribs about an inch to the left of the breast bone. The ball did not pass entirely through her body, but protruded from the flesh.

Dr. Suttles ran to his daughter at the sound of her agonizing scream. He reached her just in time to catch her as she fell. She recognized him and screamed, "O, papa," but died before he could lower her to the floor.

The Marion County Patriot, May 30, 1902

the jon-memorial cattleya

it is outdoing itself! a spray of five blossoms opened on the first of july; now here comes another spray of five! dayum!

updating the unit

i am very pleased with my new bathroom lighting --- i can now see to do my face

i'm sure it's been too long since i posted a dog picture ---

hyde farm

drizzly and rainy this morning, but blue sky and puffy clouds in the afternoon --- the wet ground soaked my shoes; the humidity soaked everything else

and i don't know what else this little unit could do to make me happy

unsettled weather

the skies have been purty wonderful the last few days --- a nephologist's delight

the polaris

i was afraid of what they were doing when i saw it all draped in plastic --- basically they demolished the old blue dome and approximated it with a new one --- coincidentally a friend showed me a big chunk of the original plexi today --- the new dome has more ribs and the panels are flat, not slumped like the original --- they have thoroughly destroyed the architectural detail of portman's original lobby, one of the finest designs of the late twentieth century ---

anish kapoor

really a great piece of work, technically and artistically --- and other people milling about only made it better