25/08/2012

Irish President Michael D Higgins gives right wing DJ a good old fashioned country ass-whooping

M. Lee forwarded me this link from Boing Boing. It's pure pleasure hearing Ireland's President Michael D. Higgins lay into right wing DJ Michael Graham.



I fucking love this guy!

21/08/2012

Baby watch 2012


PORTLAND
We arrived today yesterday Friday.

Thea & Leo "cheesing"
Leo and Thea "cheesing".

Thea and Leo keep everybody busy, busy, busy.

The ancient accordion
Uncle Jack dug the ancient accordion out of the garage.

Today was Frank's due day but no baby yet.

15/08/2012

London dog

One thing I loved about London, dogs are permitted on public transportation.

Dog riding London Underground

There are some restrictions but, in general, if you can carry your dog up and down the escalators and they are well behaved, then they can ride.

Dog riding London Underground

This fellow was having a great time. I'm not sure all the passengers were amused but some were, including me.

Dog riding London Underground

That is all.

14/08/2012

Hemp Expo

I snapped this photo the other day from the bike trail near Central Point. Good old Oregon! In case you're wondering, I'm for legalizing all drugs. Legalize, tax and regulate.

Good old Oregon. Always in the forefront.

It's not a moral issue although people who are unrealistic and/or uninformed and/or proud and/or churchy busybodies and/or flat out stupid still, against all evidence to the contrary, insist on thinking so. Drug use is not going away. Prohibition just does not work. Never has. Never will! It makes matters worse. Ask any prison guard. Corrupt governments (insert gov. of choice here), cartels, mafias, drug dealers and street gangs of every size and description FUCKING LOVE prohibition because guarantees astronomical profits. So, happy expo!

12/08/2012

Coming soon.... FRANK!

We are back in So. Oregon for a few days then heading to Portland for the Big Event. "Baby" Leo is about to get a new brother. He and cousin Thea are very intrigued by it all.

07/08/2012

Counting on autopay

I hassled most of the morning sorting out my utility bills. Most are autopay but my records were in the rears. That was bad enough, then there's the Gardnerville trash bill. The city of G'ville doesn't trust autopay. Way too fandangled for them. Customers have to use the most arcane system known to humankind .... memory. Yes. Yes. I have a reminder on my phone but I didn't have cell service in London or Paris so I forgot I even brought the damn thing, the battery died and my reminder along with it.

But before we left, remembering I have a horrible memory, I paid the trash bill in advance. But I forgot that, didn't I? So then I paid it again at the end of June. It's only due every three months but I forgot that too, so then I had credit. But  I didn't realize it. So, this morning, not having an amount to go by, I paid the bill again and added extra for good measure. Then, well then I panicked even further, thought I'd paid the wrong entity, and called the office.

Good ol' Marie answered. She and I have talked many times since the idiots down at city hall nixed autopay. I am now paid up into next year. I hope I remember that. And btw, Marie is always very nice, friendly, helpful...in case any of you retrograde nincompoops are reading this.

So M. Lee sent me this happy little video this morning which I would like to dedicate to Marie.

06/08/2012

Another torn page

Ephemera I posted a new excerpt at my poetry blog, anna sadhorse. I realize calling it an excerpt is pretty vague. Excerpt from what? At this point, it's nothing more than a page torn from the little black notebook I always carry. I hesitate to call it a poem. Maybe it's a bit from the autobiography I plan to write someday.

Curiosity lands!!!



Woo-hoo!
Hey Seven O'clock!
Hey Minerva!
We just flew to Mars!

04/08/2012

Morning on rue Ordener?

A crow woke me this morning. Unwilling to open my eyes, I lay in bed trying to sort out where I was. Crows, lots of them, live in nearby Montmartre Cemetery but I could not remember any hanging out on rue Ordener.

Under the gaze of the Monmartre crows
The very watchful crows of Monmartre cemetery

In 1882, Monsieur Ruggieri of the world famous Lacroix-Ruggieri, masters in the art of pyrotechnics, aka the "Painters of Heaven", exploded fireworks in a vacant lot on rue Ordener. In 1911, the world's first robbery using a car occurred on rue Ordener. During the 1950s, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy grew up at 100 rue Ordener.

Our belle amie, Karen
Our very gracious belle amie, Karen.
Dinner party on rue Ordener.
Paris but not champagne.

The highly respected Professor of Singing Madame Charlot, lived at 189 rue Ordener until her death in 2004. Her apartment was only two doors away from ours and our belle ami Karen currently lives on rue Ordener just one block in the other direction. There is also a fresco over 200 meters long on rue Ordener and, sadly, a madwoman has made her home on a concrete slab along rue Ordener for at least the last 10 years. People give her all kinds of things, money, cigarettes, food, reading material etc., but she refuses efforts to get her off the street so there she lives. That's Paris.


Life in the gap
Madwoman of rue Ordener

But crows on rue Ordener? While undoubtedly they do drop by from time to time, gradually the fact that I had seen no crows on rue Ordener began to sink in and, eyes still closed, I considered the possibility that perhaps I was no longer in Paris but in Nevada. That woke me up. The crow was Minerva and that, although I've been gone for over two months, the ever-vigilant 7 o'clock Magpie knew I returned yesterday and alerted her friends. They were all in the Bird Park this morning at daybreak enjoying the tasty breakfast of puppy chow and peanuts I left out last night. She knew I'd be back. I am flattered.

7 o'clock Magpie wielding her apple
7 o'clock Magpie wielding this morning's apple

(Google Translate does a fine job of translating pages, should you be so inclined to explore the links)