Tuesday, October 31

Though you cross the barren desert
you shall not die of thirst;
You shall wander far in safety
though you do not know the way;
You shall speak your words in foreign lands
and all will understand.
You shall see the Face
of God and Live.*


Be not afraid.
I go before you always.
Come follow me
and I will give you rest.


If you pass through raging waters,
in the sea you shall not drown.
If you walk amid burning flames,
you shall not be harmed.
If you stand before the pow'r of Hell and death is at your side,
know that I am with you through it all.


Be not afraid.
I go before you always;
Come follow me,
and I will give you rest.

Blessed are your poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs.
Blest are you who weep and mourn,
for one day you shall laugh!
And if wicked men insult and hate you
all because of me, blessed...
blessed are you!

Be not afraid.
I go before you always;
Come follow me,
and I will give you rest.
----------------------

* Translation for our Atheist/Pagan Friends:

"Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the Sun.
But Mama, that's where the fun is..."

Monday, October 30

War-time scenes in Hilton's Goodbye Mr. Chips

...
Chatteris fell ill during the winter of '17, and again, for the second time in his life, Chips became Acting Head of Brookfield. Then in April Chatteris died, and the Governors asked Chips if he would carry on "for the duration." He said he would, if they would refrain from appointing him officially. From that last honor, within his reach at last, he shrank instinctively, feeling himself in so many ways unequal to it. He said to Rivers: "You see, I'm not a young man and I don't want people to -- um -- expect a lot from me. I'm like all these new colonels and majors you see everywhere -- just a war-time fluke. A ranker -- that's all I am really."

1917. 1918. Chips lived through it all. He sat in the headmaster's study every morning, handling problems, dealing with plaints and requests. Out of vast experience had emerged a kindly, gentle confidence in himself. To keep a sense of proportion, that was the main thing. So much of the world was losing it; as well to keep it where it had, or ought to have, a congenial home.

On Sundays in Chapel it was he who now read out the tragic list, and sometimes it was seen and heard that he was in tears over it. Well, why not, the School said; he was an old man; they might have despised anyone else for the weakness.

One day he got a letter from Switzerland, from friends there; it was heavily censored, but conveyed some news. On the following Sunday, after the names and biographies of old boys, he paused a moment and then added:--

"Those few of you were were here before the War will remember Max Staefel, the German master. He was in Germany, visiting his home, when war broke out. He was popular while he was here, and made many friends. Those who knew him will be sorry to hear that he was killed last week, on the Western Front."

He was a little pale when he sat down afterward, aware that he had done something unusual. He had consulted nobody about it, anyhow; no one else could be blamed. Later, outside the Chapel, he heard an argument:--

"On the Western Front, Chips said. Does that mean he was fighting for the Germans?"

"I suppose it does."

"Seems funny, then, to read his name out with all the others. After all, he was an enemy."

"Oh, just one of Chips's ideas, I expect. The old boy still has 'em."

Chips, in his room again, was not displeased by the comment. Yes, he still had 'em -- those ideas of dignity and generosity that were becoming increasingly rare in a frantic world. And he thought: Brookfield will take them, too, from me; but it wouldn't from anyone else.

Once, asked for his opinion of bayonet practice being carried on near the cricket pavilion, he answered, with that lazy slightly asthmatic intonation that had been so often and so extravagantly imitated: "It seems -- to me -- umph -- a very vulgar way of killing people."

The yarn was pased on and joyously appreciated -- how Chips had told some big brass hat from the War Office that bayonet fighting was vulgar. Just like Chips. And they found an adjective for him -- an adjective just beginning to be used: he was pre-War.
***************

And once, on a night of full mooonlight, the air-raid warning was given while Chips was taking his lower fourth in Latin. The guns began almost instantly, and, as there was plenty of shrapnel falling about outside, it seemed to Chips that they might just as well stay where they were, on the ground floor of School House. It was pretty solidly built and made as good a dugout as Brookfield could offer; and as for a direct hit, well, they could not expect to survive that, wherever they were.

So he went on with his Latin, speaking a little louder amid the reverberating crashes of the guns and the shrill whine of anti-aircraft shells. Some of the boys were nervous; few were able to be attentive. He said, gently: "It may possibly seem to you, Robertson -- at this particular moment in the world's history -- umph -- that the affairs of Caesar in Gaul some two thousand years ago -- are -- umph of somewhat secondary importance -- and that -- umph -- the irregular conjugation of the verb tollo is -- umph -- even less important still. But believe me -- umph -- my dear Robertson -- that is not really the case." Just then there came a particularly loud explosion -- quite near. "You cannot -- umph -- judge the importance of things -- umph -- by the noise they make. Oh dear me, no." A little chuckle. "And these things -- umph -- are not going to be -- snuffed out -- because some stink merchant -- in his laboratory -- invents a new kind of mischief." Titters of nervous laughter; for Buffles, the pale, lean, and medically unfit science master, was nicknamed the Stink Merchant. Another explosion -- nearer still. "Let us -- um -- resume our work. If it is fate that we are soon to be -- umph -- interrupted, let us be found employing ourselves in something -- umph -- really appropriate. Is there anyone who will volunteer to construe?"

Maynard, chubby, dauntless, clever, and impudent, said: "I will, sir."

"Very good. Turn to page forty and begin at the bottom line."

The explosions still continued deafeningly; the whole building shook as if it were being lifted off its foundations. Maynard found the page, which was some way ahead, and began, shrilly:--

"Genus hoc erat pugnae -- this was the kind of fight -- quo se Germani exercuerant in which the Germans busied themselves. Oh, sir, that's good -- that's really very funny indeed, sir -- one of your very best -- "

"Laughing began, and Chips added: "Well -- umph -- you can see -- now -- that these dead languages -- umph -- can come to life again -- sometimes -- eh? Eh?"

Afterward they learned that five bombs had fallen in and around Brookfield, the nearest of them just outside the School grounds. Nine persons had been killed.

The story was told, retold, embellished. "The dear old boy never turned a hair. Even found some old tag to illustrate what was going on. Something in Caesar about the way the Germans fought. You wouldn't think there were things like that in Caesar, would you? And the way Chips laughed ... you know the way he does laugh ... the tears all running down his face ... never seen him laugh so much ... "

He was a legend.

With his old and tattered gown, his walk that was just beginning to break into a stumble, his mild eyes peering over the steel-rimmed spectacles, and his quaintly humorous sayings, Brookfield would not have had an atom of him different.

November 11, 1918.

News came through in the morning; a whole holiday was decreed for the School, and the kitchen staff were implored to provide as cheerful a spread as war-time rationing permitted. There was much cheering and singing, and a bread fight across the Dining Hall. When Chips entered in the midst of the uproar there was an instant hush, and then wave upon wave of cheering; everyone gazed on him with eager, shining eyes, as on a symbol of victory. He walked to the dais, seeming as if he wished to speak; they made silence for him, but he shook his head after a moment, smiled, and walked away again.

It had been a damp, foggy day, and the walk across the quadrangle to the Dining Hall had given him a chill. The next day he was in bed with bronchitis, and stayed there till after Christmas. But already, on that night of November 11, after his visit to the Dining Hall, he had sent in his resignation to the Board of Governors.

When school reassembled after the holidays he was back at Mrs. Wickett's. At his own request there were no farewells or presentations, nothing but a handshake with his successor and the word "acting" crossed out on official stationery. The "duration" was over.
*****************

And now, fifteen years after that, he could look back upon it all with a deep and sumptuous tranquillity. He was not ill, of course -- only a little tired at times, and bad with his breathing during the winter months. He would not go abroad -- he had once tried it, but had chanced to strike the Riviera during one of its carefully unadvertised cold spells. " I prefer -- um -- to get my chills -- umph -- in my own country," he used to say, after that. He had to take care of himself when there were east winds, but autumn and winter were not really so bad; there were warm fires, and books, and you could look forward to the summer.
...

Friday, October 27

"I've Been Down...
I've Been Down Harder Roads."

And happy Friday, once again;
Make it a Great Day, eh?

Put the barrel of the bat on the ball.

How 'bout that Eckstein?

"Having the opportunity to be in that situation I was just hoping that, ya know, we can find a way to put a good at-bat together... to put the barrel of the bat on the ball. And fortunately enough, I was able to do it. And uh, it felt good."

---------
"He's five-foot-nothing, like me, and he's doing it, winning a World Series," Cardinals second baseman Aaron Miles said. "He's the heart and soul of this ballclub. We're all about fundamentally sound baseball, 110 (percent), give it all you've got, defensive-minded. That's what wins ballgames. That's David Eckstein."

And in a nutshell, that's the Cardinals.
---------
(Videolink to postgame press conference Eckstein/Wainwright)

"What UNIFEM is seeing on the ground — in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia — is that public space for women in these situations is shrinking," said Noeleen Heyzer, executive director of the U.N. Development Fund for Women
...
"Peacemaking is not just an exercise involving combatants, it must involve all of society, and that means women."

Thursday, October 26

The New News: lemme get it straight...

Andrew links to Chris, who allegedly put the kabosh on the article about Ken, way before anybody outside PB County even heard of Tom.

The new media: just your 21st Century Tom, Dick and Harry,
gatekeeping on the traditional 4th Estate.*
Feeling confident yet that you're getting the full story, same or better as the job done by trained MSM professionals? Indeed. heh
And yesterday's writers were nothing but well-linked book shillers...
---------------

For more on the manipulation of the religious by politicos,
check out David Kuo's book for more on Mehlman,
who you probably won't be seeing much of until after the election.

I posted this as 3 comments on a board elsewhere, but wanted to add it here also. If you've heard similar tones voiced where you're at, well here's what I think. (If not, then it probably won't make much sense to you.) As you may tell, I really do think it takes all types. (And, in general, never ever underestimate the beauty of a solid rushing game. #34 ! :-)
--------------

...Anytime it has come up for a vote, overwhelmingly it has been voted down, averaging 70% of the vote."

Except for politicos,
how many people here think the game ends on Nov 7 (election day)?

The NJ Ct ruling appears judicially solid, according to legal experts.

Why put all of your faith in a "passing" game, when the "rushing" option is perfectly legit too?

Despite the labelling of "activist state judges" from people outside NJ who just disagree with the ruling, the state Constitution -- the traditional contract that guides all New Jersey citizens -- was unanimously interpreted by the rules established in our democracy. Citizen's majority rule is not promise of all branches.

So, if amendments in other states -- which may or may not have been fated to pass -- are affected by NJ's legitimate decision, so be it. If federalism means the laws in the various states will vary, that is part of the democratic arrangement. State constitutions are tailored for the needs of that state.

Acknowledging that the game now solidly includes both the "pass" and the "rush" options will be considered a win in some quarters, whether one backs any particular team, or the parity of the system in general.

Suddenly, with more options working and setting up who knows what, things are looking competitive again, no matter what the next few plays may bring. (I'm seeing opponent defensive, not offensive moves, and not so strong to regain any yardage. Here's betting a NJ state amendment would not pass)

I know, I know. Keep your joy quiet if you're not sitting with like-minded fans as the realities of the game sink in...
-----------
It's fun watching some of you begin to grapple with reality. I think denial is the first stage, then anger...

You really believed that homosexuals would have to grovel and jump through whatever hoops you threw up, stay polite and become whatever you wanted them to be, because as majority you held the absolute power and they had to come to you for special favors to improve the quality of their lives. It was easy to say, I'm for gay rights, but through the legislative process. Never thinking that day would come, until you were "ready".

Must hurt. Even if you don't live in NJ. You can smell what's coming and you don't like it much.
-----------
Fitz,

New Jersey has "gay rights" protected in the state Constitution. As do other states.

Even if some states amend their constitutions today, without a Federal Amendment, you can't keep 'em all down. It's a symbolic power loss for the idea that only the majority gets to decide on this specific issue.
-----------------------------------------
Minnnesota's Dale Carpenter,
on Volokh:

Of course no court can mandate social acceptance; but that is not what gay-marriage litigants asked for. What a court can do is remove any role the law might play in reinforcing social inequality. Denying the status of marriage to gay couples lends some continued legitimacy to the idea that they should not be accepted socially as the equal of married couples. For many people, that may be the correct message to send. But we cannot deny that it is sent and that law has played a role in sending it. Erasing that final status distinction at least ensures that, if social inequality between gay and straight couples remains, it will be no fault of the law.


I strongly believe in the force of this argument and believe it has been underplayed to this point. My own speculation:
Social communities -- including ethnics, immigrants, and African-American -- have a greater respect for "the law" than many realize.

The legitimizing power of the Law on gay relationships of residents in these early states ("We're married" / "Is it legal?" even if not Church-blessed ), will go great lengths in overcoming the social acceptance of such relationships in these communities.


Wednesday, October 25

I'm no Delilah, but...

...here's a timely one for today.

I don't know any Jersey Girls myself,
but know those whose love Springsteen's version.
Sing sha la la la

This one goes out to Andrew.

And then we've got Wyclef Jean and Freddie:
"I need a break beat."

Tuesday, October 24

The Scum on Kenny's Thumb

MORE:

So let us consider for a moment why it is that La Russa played down the Scum on Kenny's Thumb.

Maybe La Russa doesn't want to win his first Cardinals World Series that way. Maybe this means so much to him that he doesn't want to play technical games to reap baseball's greatest reward. Maybe he knows, just like the umpires, that whatever Kenny Rogers is doing out there, a clump of mush on the base of his thumb isn't the reason he dazzled and confused the Cardinals all night long.

Maybe you haven't noticed, but I have. The Cardinals have proved to me with every step along this improbable ride into the World Series that they not only belong here, but are capable of winning The Ring without the benefit of a rules technicality.

Could La Russa have pressed the issue? Sure he could have. But why should he? That's not the way he plays the game. That's not the way his players play the game, either. They have their World Series destiny firmly in their own hands right now, and with the next three games at home, and Carpenter, Suppan and possibly Reyes ready to go to the mound this week, why cheapen the thrill of a potential world championship by eliminating the opposition's best weapon on a technicality?

If the Cardinals are going to win this World Series, and La Russa has decided that the only way to do it is by winning it on the field, not in some rule book, then I say good for him, and maybe you should, too.

Did you know La Russa is an attorney?

Here's more:
(La Russa) insists he would never put a friendship ahead of his team. “This isn’t about friends,” La Russa said. “This is about Tigers and Cardinals. If somebody would accuse me of that, I would get very upset and confrontational.”

So why did he go easy in Rogers? La Russa fleshed out his decision -– and made lots of sense doing so.


* Pitchers routinely use sticky substances to improve their grip. ...

* La Russa believes, to a degree, in the adage that you aren’t competing if you’re not cheating. “There’s a line that defines competition,” he said. “You can sneak over the line because we all go for an edge. When you go far, it’s abuse.”

* The Skipper insists that when he sees abuse on the other side, he takes measures to protect his team. “Part of the competition is that some people will try to take advantage of you,” he said.

And La Russa won’t stand for that. “If somebody spanks you, we spank back,” he said. “That’s part of the competition.”

* He prefers not to take extreme action -– demanding the confiscation of a bat or a pat-down of the pitcher -– unless he is retaliating. ...

* He understood that some Cardinals may not agree with his diplomatic approach to the Rogers Affair, but he believes it is his responsibility to handle the matter as he sees fit.

“It is possible there are guys that disagree,” La Russa said. “That’s not the way I want to win.” ...

Monday, October 23

Just to update that earlier weather post:
Apparently they are reporting more than 2 inches fell in parts of our area. I knew I was underestimating, and originally thought I'd be safe with 1/2 inch, but then decided to cut my estimate in half, not to wimp out.

The snow that had gathered on the car might have slid and blown, so I wasn't sure if that was the true accumulation. But the grass was covered.

I'd revise my estimate to say an inch and a quarter, at least, fell outside my window. I've failed you as a blogger; it was cold, it was Saturday night, though my car was parked just outside, you got no picture.*
-------------

*Instead, I did a youtube search on "snow falling".
This
is what I had in mind (21 seconds).
But this too, is snow falling (12). And this (13).
And this (16 seconds).

There's a steep hill on campus that gets icy sometimes on the walkway. I bet one day slip-and-fall videos hit it big. Worldwide interest. No really. Good footwear, small steps, take care. I'm still young sure, but you have to watch those steps at any age really. Unexpected downfall, no matter how quickly you get up, can make others laugh.

And who wants to end up a 20-second youtube clip?

Beisbol in the U.S., 2006

Things that make you go hmmm...

The point isn't whether it is believable that a pitcher wouldn't notice a huge clump of dirt (if it was that) on his pitching hand. The point isn't even about Kenny Rogers, whose left hand was brilliant both clean and dirty. He's a secondary story here.

The point is that faced with suspicion, controversy and potential scandal, Major League Baseball once again did what it always seems to do – covered its eyes, fell back on its history of silence and hoped it would all go away, unwilling to find out what, if anything, was going on.
...
So, if a baseball player in the middle of an out-of-nowhere, almost-unbelievable run of dominance is accused of maybe fudging things and the ump notices something fishy, the proper response is: "do me a favor" and "wash your hands."

Sunday, October 22

"It follows sultry days of heat and nights of impassioned storms."

Did we mention it snowed here last night? For the first year I can remember, we got dustings on my birthday. Last night though was 1/4 inch of the heavy wet springlike stuff. Stuck to the cars and the grass, enough you could brush the windows or make snow angels, if that's your thing on the first snowfall of the year.

Autumn whites, why not?

"Somebody, somebody, somebody, somebody..."

More Steven Tyler
with the Church of Today choir:

"If there is a load
you have to bear
that you can't carry
I'm...
right up the road
I'll share your load
if you just call me"

Try that one on your officemates tomorrow, eh? If you share work, would they laugh, be appreciative, or glady dump on you (while being appreciative)?

LA CROSSE, Wis. - Searchers combing the Mississippi River this month pulled out the body of basketball player Luke Homan — the eighth college-age man in nine years to disappear from a city tavern and turn up dead in a river.

La Crosse officials have debated for years how to keep drunken students safe, but some say there may be no answer for a town with three colleges, three rivers and $3 pitchers of beer.

Saturday, October 21

"You down with O.P.P.?"

Nope, not me. :)

(Big respect here for property rights; catchy tune tho...)

Friday, October 20

Happy Friday

Are ya feeling happy?
Fall is funny like that. Football. Cold. Killing frosts.
It's a preparation time: harvest, hunting, putting away for the winter. The season of death, with winter being more about just holding on really, marking time surviving. Humans interact with autumn in interesting ways too. Fun to watch as they scurry about, making plans and readying themselves for the winter to come. Personally, I like the ones who've been through this time and again, and are comfortable with where they're at and who it is they're primarily working with in life (themselves). Fall is about how you deal with disappointments and natural endings, part of life's cycle. It gives an indication of how you'll stand after quick unnatural shocks, that not every life receives but not every life escapes. And the natural abruptions of course are always there.

IF you can work as good as you rest
Rest as good as you work
Anticipate happenings and get past them
Without being too much of a jerk
If you've seen enough and done enough
to hold back some for just yourself
If you got it going on inside
Well here's to your health.

Myself, I'm one of those walking down the street happy on a decent rainy day. By now, I've got a good practical wardrobe for being outside when it's wet, but then again, if you can it's smart to come in from the rain, amazing how many people never got that. Death is part of life, not to be feared or pulled out briefly respected. Life here today beats all.

That's all we've got, come again.


















.

Thursday, October 19

"Go! go! go!"

Michael Dewayne Johnson, 29,
got himself off death row today.

True life story.

Wednesday, October 18

Sweet emotion

We'll let Juliaette Hamilton and Steven Tyler
bring us home tonight with an old standard
from the Church of Today ...

From Chicago, with love

In today's e-mail box:

Quarterback Brett Favre, after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven, God started showing him around. They came to a modest little house with a faded Packers flag in the window.

"This house is yours for eternity, Brett," said God. "This is very special; not everyone gets a house up here." Brett felt special indeed and walked up to his house.

On his way up to the porch, he noticed another house just around the corner. It was a three-story mansion with a blue and orange sidewalk, 50-foot flagpole with an enormous Bears logo flag, and in every window, a blue helmet with a "C" on it.

Brett looked at God and said, "God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I have a question. I was an All-Pro Quarterback, I won a Super Bowl, and I even went to the Hall of Fame."

"So what do you want to know, Brett?" God asked.

"Well, why does Walter Payton get a better house than me?"

God chuckled and said, "Brett, that's not Walter Payton's house. It's mine."

Harvesting olives in Kafr Qalil

In June, Israel's high court ruled unanimously that the army must grant Palestinian farmers access to their olive groves at all times and protect them from settlers.

"Our policy is to allow Palestinians to get every last olive from every last tree, even if that tree is in the middle of a settlement," said Capt. Adam Avidan, a spokesman for the Israeli military's civil administration in the West Bank.


Accommodating religion in Minneapolis

A city bus driver who complained about a gay-themed ad got official permission not to drive any bus that carries that ad, according to an internal memo confirmed Tuesday by Metro Transit. Transit authorities call it a reasonable accommodation to the driver's religious beliefs. Amalgamated Transit Unit Local 1005 officials at the bus company say it condones intolerance; besides, drivers never have been excused from other buses carrying ads they found objectionable -- from political candidates to pink bras.























.

Monday, October 16


Spring day past :






More a Stevenson man myself, really. With many spring days still ahead...

Wealth I ask not, hope nor love,
Nor a friend to know me;
All I ask, the heaven above
And the road below me.
~The Vagabond

Saturday, October 14

Trout farm update:

A Twin Cities couple who own and operate a number of group homes for the developmentally disabled have purchased the Star Prairie Trout Farm. Tim Madden closed on the property last week. Current owners Mac and Marcy Graham have agreed to spend the next two months training staff on the farm’s operations before turning it over to Madden.

Madden, by way of Wisconsin corporation Rainbow Springs, LLC, purchased the park-like property which borders the Apple River in the Village of Star Prairie. A natural spring runs into the property on which several ponds have been ideal for commercial trout raising since 1856. More than 300,000 trout of all sizes thrive in the constant 48-degree temperature. Hatching, feeding, processing and marketing take place all year.

Stebbins Jefferson on 'adult movies' :

When our world is supersaturated with war, rumors of impending war, political sex scandals and mayhem in our schools, a lot of mundane —- but important —- cultural issues go unnoticed. An example of such an innocuous occurrence is Muvico Theaters' announcement this week that it will provide "Premier" accommodations separating teenagers from adults.
...
Separating the chaff from the wheat may eliminate some problems, but I do not believe deliberately separating adults from teens is the best solution. A danger inherent in this plan is the offending culprits could interpret separation as license to behave even more abominably. The absence of more decorous adults could send the message that coarse behavior is acceptable. Thus separation by age to assure a comfortable environment for some could soon become mandatory separation to assure individual safety.

I know. You're probably thinking I'm overreacting to business as usual. If so, I urge that you consider the extent to which business as usual is widening the gap between adolescents and is canceling perceptions that one standard of public behavior should prevail. Theater owners are not singularly obligated to bridge this chasm, but what they plan to do could eliminate one of the few remaining venues that bring people of all ages and backgrounds together.

For some time now at malls, theaters and other public venues, teenagers have been allowed to disregard any standards not of their own making. They construe being loud and profane in public as equivalent to being "cool" and "real." To the detriment of all, the marketplace has convinced our youths (and others) that businesses, to maintain and increase profits, will adapt their structure to tolerate all kinds of crude behavior.

I am concerned, therefore, that an admittedly innocuous theater conversion plan is symptomatic of a growing American propensity to accept lower public social standards. A more appropriate response would be to demand premier behavior in all venues. Movie patrons who do not respect the rights of others should be put out by staff and denied future admission.

All businesses in the marketplace must demand a higher standard of public behavior lest we end up with two cultures: one civil and the other so crude that few common spaces comfortably can be shared.

Wednesday, October 11

Here we haven't had a Toby Keith day on this blog in awhile:

Like the song -- funny,
don't know the cartoon

These guys admirably cover the lyrics,
on a flatbed even!

And Courtesy of the Red White and Blue
captures the initial instinct well, even if you wish
things might have turned out different.
------------------------
(Bonus: Tribute version of the last one.)

Monday, October 9





Sunday, October 8

In an interview today on the ABC News program “This Week,” Mr. Baker said, “I think it’s fair to say our commission believes that there are alternatives between the stated alternatives, the ones that are out there in the political debate, of ‘stay the course’ and ‘cut and run.’ ”.

Ah, October


Home























.

Local background on the cybersex scandal.

Saturday, October 7



R.I.P.

When there's no editorial filter,
a well-collected news story can stay with you the whole day... if you're good at empathy and the like.
======================
3 and out
(Someone had told me the Twins would have been better off losing the division and playing the Yanks to start...)
======================
Vengeance is mine, saith the culture

Friday, October 6




More American graffiti:



... complete w/phonetic spelling

Coverage of Sec. Rice's visits yesterday: AP,
and the NYTimes.

Not a Friday I would want...
Petty Officer 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos from Franklin, Wis. , was set to take the stand at his court-martial Friday and give his account of the alleged kidnapping and murder of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad.

Thursday, October 5

This is saddening, or scary, because if you can't talk about important issues, only the puritan pulp will get play.

Here is something else I found today, just out of place here.

IN the same manner this photo, -- the smaller of the two -- doesn't belong here and seems strange. We need leadership from within. People are being misled it seems.

Clearing the cache...



More trout farm pics



Rainy day last week

Color of the month...










Eggplant



















.

Monday, October 2


Come for a walk...















Sunday, October 1

Minnesota wound up as the Central champion, and will start the playoffs at home against Oakland.