Category: Art

Independence Day 2006

The Shuttle launched successful, I recovered my blog, and tonight I have a buttload of fireworks to shoot off. The original Fourth of July Post from this am can be found here.

eagleflag.jpgThe Shuttle launched successful, I recovered my blog, and tonight I have a lot of fireworks to shoot off. The original Fourth of July Post from this am can be found here.

Things are chronologically out of order from the recovery, and there will be a couple of more odd posts today from the past just so I don’t loose them. Apologies!

In the city I live in it’s ok to buy fireworks, but illegal to set them off. My act of civil disobedience for the cause of freedom is now over with a beautiful display that made quite a mess. My lawn, roof, and drive are all wet down just in case the neighbors still performing civil disobedience land something over my way. Goodnite all, happy Independence day, and sleep well in the peace and strength of freedom.

Pirate Face

Reminder: when someone’s taking your picture, every third shot is an opportunity for your PIRATE FACE….as my brother demonstrates to the left.

pirateface.gifReminder: when someone’s taking your picture, every third shot is an opportunity for your PIRATE FACE….as my brother demonstrates to the left.

Tips for Pirate Face newbies:

  • It’s not a pirate face if you aren’t growling “ARRRRRRRRGHH!”
  • You don’t need a patch, peg leg, or hook
  • One eye squinched closed, the other wide open
  • Practice your sneer in the mirror until you perfect it
  • When taking group pirate face photos, the photographer should yell “PIRATE FACE!” two seconds before the shot.
  • if it doesn’t scare small children, it’s not a pirate face

Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

lorelei.jpg

Annabel Lee 

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Continue reading “Annabel Lee”

Today’s Quotes

“The principle feature of contemporary American liberalism is sanctimoniousness. By loudly denouncing all bad things — War and hunger and date rape — liberals testify to their own terrific goodness. More important, they promote themselves to membership in a self-selecting elite of those who care deeply about such things.

“The methods of the liberals were aptly and graphically hit off by the Trudikov Sedelnikov at a meeting on May 9th in the Pannina Palace. When a liberal is abused, he says “Thank God they didn’t beat me.” When he is beaten, he thanks God they didn’t kill him. When he is killed he will thank God that his immortal soul has been delivered from it’s mortal clay.”

— Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov

 

 Before Ann Coulter there was PJ O’Rourke:

“The principle feature of contemporary American liberalism is sanctimoniousness. By loudly denouncing all bad things – War and hunger and date rape — liberals testify to their own terrific goodness. More important, they promote themselves to membership in a self-selecting elite of those who care deeply about such things. People who care a lot are naturally superior to we who don’t care any more than we have to. By virtue of this superiority the caring have a moral right to lead the nation. It’s kind of a natural aristocracy, and the wonderful thing about this aristocracy is that you don’t have to be brave, smart, strong, or even lucky to join it, you just have to be liberal. Kidnapping the moral high ground also serves to inflate liberal ranks. People who are, in fact, just kindhearted are told that because they care, they must be liberals too.”  

— PJ O’Rourke, from the introduction of “Give War a Chance.” 

 

Long day’s end

This day’s been long, troublesome and tiresome. Rolling chaos, discord, and tools not working, all sorted in the end. It would not be fair to you gentle reader, for me to attempt to write as I am well worn and in need of drink. So instead, a picture and a stolen poem.

Continue reading “Long day’s end”

September 11th Firefighter’s Memorial Unveiled

SF Chronical writes on the firefighter’s memorial

SF Chronical writes on the firefighter’s memorial:

There is that instant of horror to be relived, forever frozen in bronze. There are scenes of valor and camaraderie to be celebrated. There are names to be touched and traced: the Fire Department’s 343 dead.

But the most poignant messages of the first large-scale Sept. 11 monument at ground zero — a bold, literal and almost neo-Classical 56-foot-long bronze relief — will never be visible. Those are the private thoughts written by firefighters on the back of the south panel, just before the monument was installed last month on the side of “10 House,” the engine and ladder company across Liberty Street from the World Trade Center.

 

Here is the broadband link to the NYT interactive guide. (don’t click the link if you aren’t DSL or better…)

Here also is a link to an online tribute.

A song for Joe and Valerie

This is not America

A little piece of you
The little peace in me
Will die [This is not a miracle]
For this is not America
Blossom fails to bloom
This season
Promise not to stare
Too long [This is not America]
For this is not the miracle There was a time
A storm that blew so pure
For this could be the biggest sky
And I could have
The faintest idea [For this is not America, sha la la la la, sha la la la la, sha la la la
la
This is not america, no, this is not, sha la la la la]

Snowman melting
From the inside
Falcon spirals
To the ground [This could be the biggest sky]
So bloody red
Tomorrow’s clouds

A little piece of you
The little piece in me
Will die [This could be a miracle]
For this is not America There was a time
A wind that blew so young
For this could be the biggest sky
And I could have the faintest idea

[For this is not America, sha la la la la, sha la la la la, sha la la la
la
This is not america, no, this is not, sha la la la
This is not america, no, this is not
This is not america, no, this is not, sha la la la] 

— David Bowie

IF

IF —

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

Continue reading “IF”