dead dogs and flowers

went to atl bot gdn with ms troy this merning --- had not seen her in too long --- both of her dogs died in the last two months, the last one on thurs, so she remains grief-stricken --- i know the feeling, and i think of the time i have left with the guys --- i wish they could go like ms kidd's dog: stroke out while chasing balls in the backyard --- 

i'm sorry not to have gotten a better image of this guy and his dog, which had on little blue-mirrored shades

"i'm locked in tight, i'm out of range"

all you need is one

the oncidium alliance is regrouping (although one now has a promising spike), so the only thing blooming right now is the miltoniopsis ---,

a giant clusterf**k

i watched the entire thing, 9 hours or so of a sham hearing, and another step toward a full-on hard-right court like we haven't had since the 1920s --- hang on

the republicans, privileged white men all, had to hire a female sex-crime prosecutor to question her rather than ask their own questions --- did not work out well for them

“If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell.” — Carl
Sandburg


what's really depressing is that regardless of the outcome, he will still be a federal judge

tense times

fall will never come, and it is going to be hot forever, but the poplars at least are showing a little color

meanwhile, a skeevy supreme court nominee is still there, and they actually laughed out loud at trump at the u.n. today --- his was a petty, petulant rejection of globalism and everything that has staved off another world war for the last 75 yrs --- meanwhile fkn walrus-mustache man is threatening iran --- this is the anniversary of verdun and all the slaughter in world war i --- "the war to end all wars" --- that nobody really intended to happen --- i hope we are not on the verge of another one

sunday sounds

i had an excellent sunday afternoon with ms kidd at the symphony sunday, beginning with one of the more rousing renditions of the national anthem i've ever heard --- and by an orchestra!! --- rachmaninoff's piano concerto no. 2 in c minor was what i went for --- a favorite since h.s., but never heard it live --- good pianist, but a little overpowered by the orchestra at a few points --- tchaikovsky's fifth symphony is not my favorite, except for the opportunity to continue enjoying their newest bassist, sharif ibrahim

there were these little "listening guides" that I had not seen before --- nice, but too much studying for the moment

the supremes

i've had this for years and finally got around to reading it ---  an excellent recapitulation of the politics that went into creating and amending our constitution and the politics that has always been a part of filling a supreme court seat --- very apropos, given the current shit show in d.c. ---

lights!

the beltline lantern parade was a blast, as usual --- the best parade in atlanta, better than dragon'con, although both provide excellent displays of people's creativity --- there were supposed to be 70k people, but if there were that many, they were strung out for two miles

watch out for the mariachi bands and crazy clowns

it wasn't these guys, but mariachi bands at garibaldi square, mexico city, have apparently been a thing since the 1920s --- saturday night "dozens of mariachi bands were serenading couples and families Friday in the city's iconic Plaza Garibaldi when five men disguised as musicians unleashed a hail of gunfire." --- eek --- killed five people, injured nine --- a drug lord had been arrested, and i think it was retaliation for that --- our trip will have an edge to it, i guess

want some great chairs?

i have thoroughly enjoyed having these chairs --- they were perfect on sinclair ave, and here, too, except i need more bookcases

please buy them --- or if you are somebody i know and love, i might just give them to you

just do it!

 the new nike ad campaign has spawned a lot of memes --- these are my favorite

a tuesday morning like any other . . . .

for me, this is the iconic image from 9/11 --- the photographer who shot it was the same one that got images of ethel and bobby kennedy on the floor of that hotel in 1968 --- a fascinating story as he searched out the identity of this poor guy

there were over 150 others that died that way

the story is a couple of years old, but still . . . .

going, going, . . ..

portsmouth, north carolina, is just across the inlet from ocracoke, accessible only by boat --- founded in 1761, it was the state's main seaport in the 18th and early 19th centuries, but was mostly abandoned by the 1970s --- this is the oldest house, ca. 1850, of the dozen or so left out there --- the hurricane braces around the perimeter are original --- elevation might be 5' above sea level so florence will be a real test --- many of the single-story wood-framed structures will surely fail

"the world's only storm-surge blog" is awesome

the recent past

i've spent the last couple of days looking at a draft history of GTHP, where i worked, lo, these many years ago --- so much is forgotten so quickly if one doesn't write it down --- time marches on --- people die