sixth street and petunia

priorities

this piece gives an excellent overview of the ongoing effort to eliminate the p'tree/pine shelter --- a whole lot of money, time, and resources has been spent on trying to get rid of the shelter rather than doing something about what causes it to be necessary in the first place ----

"We’ve demolished more public housing than any other city in the country and the [Atlanta] Housing Authority speaks with pride of that, which I say with tragic irony,” says Frank Alexander, a law professor at Emory University and director of its Project on Affordable Housing and Community Development. “We offer less housing at the lower end of the economic spectrum than most any other community."

plus we offer shit for mental health services, which accounts for most of the problem ---

end times

some fool actually created a facebook page announcing an event on saturday: "post-rapture looting; location: everywhere; time: 12:00-3:00" --- last count nearly 70,000 have signed up for the event ---

full moon

time to go crazy

midtown monday

clear creek

saw the nether reaches of clear creek today for the first time in years --- rehabilitation of the old carriage road that runs along the west side of the creek is going to make for another fine addition to the park ---

last of its kind

brought to london in 1895 --- they're not self-pollinating and they can't find a female for it --- somebody probably cut it down for firewood

fraidy cat

flowers

well said

Whatever happens, it would be a lot more morally useful if some repugnant vulgarity like Donald Trump was chased into the Atlantic Ocean by an angry mob (or heavily armed architecture critics) rather than be put on teevee to sputter his mushmouthed racist bullshit just because he managed to cling to millions of dollars despite his multiple, massive bankruptcies.

critters

the first mute-swan hatchling at the 600-year-old abbotsbury swannery this year

slow-motion disaster

the river is expected to crest at well above the record flood stage set at vicksburg in 1927 and at natchez in 1937 ---- and the army corps is opening the bonnett carre spillway north of new orleans --- and hoping it and the old river control structure hold, cause if they don't and the river were to change course, a whole lot more than just new orleans would be hurting --- thnx for the tip, andrew

equality for all

It appears that the U.S. Navy has authorized the usage of military chapels for performing same-sex marriages in jurisdictions where it is legal.

they're revising the "tier I DADT repeal training manuals" ---

one of those days

the stench of magnolia fills the air

one less homeless beast

a sweet little black boy cat has landed primo digs on clairmont road and is quite pleased, i'm sure --- his facilitator, cousin angela, provided us with an excellent kitty fifteen years ago on sinclair avenue

update: after 24 hours, he's got no complaints and has made himself at home --- by and large, robert indicates that he is everything one might want in a cat ---

cross creek atlanner

dinner with the 106ers

views of the city

downtown and midtown from the northwest

myrtle street

nice light

getting bin ladin

the dog did it!

feeding

A study of the rice genome suggests that the crop was domesticated only once, rather than at multiple times in different places.

8,000 yrs ago in china

the front door

i really liked the old concrete planter that was designed with the building, but it's gone, and these planters are a whole lot better than the awful bright orange plastic ones that they put out as replacement, until the howls of derision made them disappear in less than a week --- these work with the building and still satisfy whoever's need for a little prissiness, although the tall ones may not survive the drunks

lake burton

i guess i missed this tornado, an f3 on lake burton --- mostly second homes, but it is or was a beautiful part of the world

after bin laden

now we have to listen to republican assholes crediting torture for the demise of bin laden --- i want my country back, a country that automatically, without question, would never consider torturing prisoners of war, whether you want to call them that or not

Should any American soldier be so base and infamous as to injure any [prisoner]. . . I do most earnestly enjoin you to bring him to such severe and exemplary punishment as the enormity of the crime may require. Should it extend to death itself, it will not be disproportional to its guilt at such a time and in such a cause… for by such conduct they bring shame, disgrace and ruin to themselves and their country.” - George Washington, charge to the Northern Expeditionary Force, Sept. 14, 1775

synchronicity

1 may 1945, death of hitler announced at 10:30 pm by radio in hamburg;

1 may 2011, death of bid laden announced, also at 10:30?

(oh, and 1 may 2003, bush's "mission accomplished" speech)

finally

I’ve never wished a man dead, but I’ve read some obituaries with great pleasure.
— Mark Twain

bull sluice

me and dog went out to the river to check out the gold branch unit, on the west side of bull sluice lake --- the lake got its name from the way the river narrowed between two hills, which is of course where they built morgan falls dam --- there was never a morgan falls prior to the dam, only bull sluice --- quiet and solitude except for a gaggle of european tourists chattering along, thankfully in the opposite direction --- i hope the tick that i pulled off the back of my neck just now is the only one i brought home

g'evening

any day now

debasing america

orchidaceae

the one at lower right has the most excellent aroma

a window full of guinness

ri ra has a massive collection of old guinness bottles --- this is just one window --- but it was up too high for guinness to really appreciate it

perpetual care

there are probably thousands of these little cemeteries in our national parks, tucked off in the middle of nowhere --- this is the scribner cemetery at chattahoochee's cochran shoals unit --- trying to budget for repairs and painting the fence, which has been vandalized in a couple of places ---

 

another benefit of tax cuts for the rich

Astronomers at the SETI Institute said a steep drop in state and federal funds has forced the shutdown of the Allen Telescope Array, a powerful tool in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, an effort scientists refer to as SETI.

technological obsolescence

With only about 200 machines left -- and most of those in Arabic languages -- Godrej and Boyce shut down its plant in Mumbai, India, today. "Although typewriters became obsolete years ago in the west, they were still common in India -- until recently," according to the Daily Mail, which ran a special story this morning about the typewriters demise. "Demand for the machines has sunk in the last ten years as consumers switch to computers."

i still remember typing class in 1965 --- first, they take away our mimeograph machines (and that weird smell), now this --- how will people learn how to type if they don't have a typewriter?

"a national strategic narrative"

The paper argues persuasively that the tendency of Americans to broadly label the rest of the world has been hugely counterproductive. The authors point out that the tendency over the last decade by some Americans to view all Muslims as terrorists has made it more difficult to marginalize genuine extremism, while alienating vast swaths of the global Muslim community. In a world where credibility is so central to America's national interest and reach around the globe, the overheated domestic debate about the war on terror has never served it very well. Lastly, the narrative makes a clarion call for America to look forward, not back, in today's interconnected world:

And yet with globalization, we seem to have developed a strange apprehension about the efficacy of our ability to apply the innovation and hard work necessary to successfully compete in a complex security and economic environment. Further, we have misunderstood interdependence as a weakness rather than recognizing it as a strength. The key to sustaining our competitive edge, at home or on the world stage, is credibility -- and credibility is a difficult capital to foster. It cannot be won through intimidation and threat, it cannot be sustained through protectionism or exclusion. Credibility requires engagement, strength, and reliability -- imaginatively applied through the national tools of development, diplomacy, and defense.

and that from the pentagon!!!

another big 'un

i've walked by this tree on eleventh street a lot and always thought it a great one but didn't realize until today when robert looked it up that it's the second largest southern red oak (quercus falcata) inside the perimeter --- 16.8' in circumference, 95' in height, 90' spread

iris, robert, and guinness

iris are the best

easter greetings

"Some Scared Rejected Easter Eggs... I hope everyone has an eggcellent Easter!!"

thnx, doug, for this most twisted easter greeting

signs of spring on p'tree

the rationalization of dis-union

robert e. lee resigned his commission in the u.s. army on this day in 1861, and southerners have always held that up as evidence of his great devotion to virginia --- a newly discovered letter from his daughter suggests that, maybe, it wasn't exactly like that --- his living depended on slavery after all

holy crap

i just realized that there are five phalenopsis, a cattleya, an oncidium, a maxillaria, and an epidendrum in bloom right now --- little clouds of excellent fragrances here and there --- i am officially obsessing on orchids now

it's back . . . . .

this cattleya just bloomed in november, and now it's starting it again --- these blossoms opened during the day today and tomorrow morning there will be the most excellent fragrance in my study ---

semi-historic architecture

old fulton national bank (1959) --- the atl history ctr owns it but haven't been able to put it to get use since the economy crashed and they couldn't sell it to be torn down for new construction --- i walk by it twice almost every day and have been obsessing on the masonry --- there must be other examples, but i haven't seen them

more park land

dog and i inspected the wetland restoration on the northeast side of the park and found it quite wonderful --- after all the privet was taken out, there were some great trees in there, now augmented with many, many more trees, native azaleas and other shrubs, marsh grasses, and native perennials --- as it grows, it will only be better

it's always something . . .

an overflowing washing machine can pour a lot of water into one's living space in ten or fifteen minutes --- now i have to do spring cleaning

midtown roses

the mockingbirds

that's dog saying, what the hell was that? after the mockingbirds dive bombed him twice in a row --- there is a pair and they are a terror this time of year along that block of peachtree place, even going after pedestrians just walking down the sidewalk to the martha station --- there nest is at least thirty feet from the street and completely hidden, but they are taking no chances --- gotta love the mockingbirds

yo-yo ma and lil buck

give 'em hell, barry

caught on open mic --- the whole thing is good

I said, 'You want to repeal health care? Go at it. We'll have that debate. You're not going to be able to do that by nickel-and-diming me in the budget. You think we're stupid?'

letters to the editor

cousin john sent this one to the wall street journal just now ----

Don't you realize how whiney you sound?  The day after the President laid out his view of the deficit problem,  the editorial staff of the WSJ, Mr. Boehner, Ryan et al are all dissolved in tears about that vicious speech by mean ol' Obama.  Poisoned the well, burnt the bridges, on and on, whine...whine...whine.  Yes he may have loosely characterized parts of Mr. Ryan's proposal, but no more so than the above crying chorus have mischaracterized every initiative that the President has proposed over the past two years.  Was it "cruel" to make those comments in Mr. Ryan's sensitive presence?  Does anybody remember Representative "you, lie..." Wilson?   Is it politics?  Well, duh!  Will compromise be required?  Certainly.  But for now, Obama has laid out in unmistakable terms how far he is willing to go to achieve that compromise.  His ringing statement that he is not willing to trade lower billionaire marginal tax rates for shrinking the Medicare commitment to seniors is both the morally right position and a brilliant political maneuver.  That's the real reason for all the wailing and pouting by the right.  Might I borrow one of Sarah Palin's trademark lines?  Man up, guys!

another one

first time for this one to re-bloom, too

a day of shame

on this day in 1861, the civil war commenced with the confederate firing on fort sumter in charleston harbor--- by the war's end, over 600,000 americans had died, more than in both world wars combined --- yet that was what it took to end slavery in this country, and for that the civil war is worth remembering --- secession balls, battlefield re-enactments, and the scv notwithstanding, the 1860s  were not our nation's proudest time --- we were fortunate to have had lincoln at the helm to see us through the "war between the states" --- see the war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the union and confederate armies (over a hundred volumes) now miraculously available online through the munificence of the internets ----

hope springs eternal . . .

PPP's newest national poll finds that after a little more than 3 months in charge House Republicans have fallen so far out of favor with the American public that it's entirely possible Democrats could take control of the House back next year.

kitty, kitty, kitty

thnx mr. sullivan