Whaddaya Know? It Had To Be Snowing *...

That's the scene out the coffee shop window this morning. Snow -- big wet flakes -- didn't photograph well, but perhaps you can make it out, with our lonely grocery greenhouse in the background.

Still, no tornadoes here. We've just pushed back our communitity gardens fencing/plotting workday from Sunday, May 1 to ... an indefinite date. Still can't till; ground's too wet now. Nevermind cold. Hurry up and wait...

I've seeds started in the back bedroom and living rooms, keeping the space heater on more than ususal. And the broccoli starters have been transplanted and are eager to get into the ground; they're a cold-weather crop, you know.

The few days of sunshine and 60s/70s temps we've had have been more glorious for their rarity. I am really going to appreciate this summer; God knows we've earned it.
-----------------------
* Pere Ubu, natch. (YouTube).

Have a great Thursday yourselves out there!

Hitting Too Close To Home...

Take Two.

"Is Common Ground a word or just a sound?" *

Chicago Tribune, February 7, 1990. Apologies for the blurry copy. Strain to read? (or just click the Trib link.)(And here's the NYT coverage too.)
The final paragraph of the top article: "I'll definitely be coming back to Chicago," he said. "Chicago's a great town ... an ideal laboratory."

My favorite line in there? "Unbelievable talent is not cultivated; a lot of time it's crushed."
---------------
* Lou Reed. Good Evening, Mr. Waldheim. (YouTube)

Spring Comes Anew.

We* finally had rains last night, and woke to smells of the ground softening and the sounds of the birds outside this morning. The windows are open, and I've been thinking about possession lately. Singular. The act of possessing.

Busy weeks, for all of us, I'm sure.** Garden meetings, job interviews, social catchups. My bike is out, baseball games are on, but nobody's tilling just yet.

New life. New season. New patterns.

Spring comes anew.

--------------

* We, the citizens of Rice Lake, Wisconsin and Barron County.

** The only odd thing that happened to me last week, that I thought of sharing with y'all readers because surely it doesn't happen to all of us, everyday...

I was awoken one weeknight to sounds of thumping on the walls of the hallway. It was early enough -- 11ish CST, and eventually I opened the door to investigate. The young tenants next door, late teens/first apartment, had guests over and somebody brought prosthetics to the party. Don't get dramatic: I doubt it was a double amputee vet they had over, but somehow, my able bodied young neighbor was balancing his body complete with full-size legs on top of two S-curved leg prosthetics, the kind there was controversy on the track over -- whether they gave the bearer unfair advantage in foot races.

Needless to say, this made my neighbor rather tall, but he was up on them and walking, using his two hands to help him steer down the hallway in liquored-up revelrie.

Ah, kids these days.***







Just thought I'd share.
Missives from the heartland, so to speak.


*** They didn't respond, just turned and re-entered their apartment when the old lady next door (that being me) made eye contact down the hallway and calmly asked, "Isn't it a little late for that, don'tcha think?"



ADDED:
The only other odd thing that happened, at the end of last month, was my neighbor moving out upstairs gifted me a purple and white orchid, with 9 blooms. One fell off, and she and her friend left it outside my door, near the exterior wall on nights we were still falling below freezing.

Still, high maintenance so far, in that I want to keep it warm enough and humid enough to thrive, and I think an orchid needs it warmer than I've been used to here this winter. The color is nice, amidst my usual houseplant greenery though. And with the sun back throwing off some heat, I think it will be fine here at home until I can gift it forward ...

How Stupidity Spreads...

Take one tenured academic.
Add one basic news story.

Court rules that a dog must die because he looks like a pit bull.

In Ireland, where pit bulls are illegal. The dog, Lennox, is a cross between a bulldog and a Labrador.

Drop in some geographic ignorance, (no Virginia, Belfast is part of the United Kingdom, not the Irish Republic),

Add a bit of indifference to commenters' correction:

flenser said...
Belfast is not in "Ireland", it is part of the UK. Pit bulls are not banned in Ireland.

That's what you get for assuming that journolists are non-idiots. If you follow the "illegal in Ireland" link you see the folowing information:

Ironically, if Bruce lived south of the border in Ireland, he would be not be on death row as pitbulls are not a banned breed.

And if he lived in Britain, he would be fine because British owners are allowed to keep a banned breed if they comply with several regulations including neutering the dog and getting them insured.

However, in Northern Ireland a different law applies and the animal must be destroyed.

4/3/11 11:44 AM

And sprinkle with typical bigoted amusement.

F4GIB said...
You have to remember that everyone with brains, stamina, and guts left Ireland for the USA (and other pioneering lands) in the last two centuries. The genetic legacy left in Ireland comes from those too weak to act. It's their prodigy that can't make peace, can't run a banking system (or a tiny economy), and passes and enforces legislation like this.

They are a polite people but nothing else, certainly nothing admirable.

My Ireland-born grandfather would have used stronger language. ;-)

4/3/11 11:26 AM

or

Sixty Grit said...
My great-great-great-grandmother was from Ireland. Lived in the same county I am moving to. I didn't learn this until after St. Paddy's day, more's the pity, or I could have hoisted a pint in her memory.

And pissed on the current residents of that blighted isle.
4/3/11 11:48 AM

or,

Fred4Pres said...
The "authorities" used to do similar things to the Catholics in Ireland.

You would think they would be a bit more forgiving.

4/3/11 11:55 AM

Wah-lah! The final product is promoting an incorrect assumption, based on the poor use of a search filter (Poor defense, professor: "The phrase 'illegal in Ireland' is in the article.") and an obvious admission of not reading the linked story fully...

Ann Althouse said...
Re: "Belfast is not in "Ireland", it is part of the UK. Pit bulls are not banned in Ireland."

Well, hell. The phrase "illegal in Ireland" is in the article. I kinda just assumed "Belfast City" was different from Belfast. Like Kansas City and Kansas....

I only went to that site because Drudge linked to it for some rumor that Samantha Power will be the next Secretary of State... which seemed a bit off too.

4/3/11 11:53 AM

(Now kiddos, consider future credibility when linking to such academics as sources of accuracy in other news stories?* Thanks and good day.)

------------------------
* I used to laugh when the NYT would cite to commenters on her weblog, as representing the voices of MidWest readers. You've been had, people. This is not logical, nor accurate, reporting even when properly corrected. "The facts are what I think them is."


ADDED: Here's a few commenters who get it, what actually goes into (or should) this reporting stuff = THINKING skills:

Jeff said...
Ann:
Re: "Well, hell. The phrase "illegal in Ireland" is in the article. I kinda just assumed 'Belfast City' was different from Belfast. Like Kansas City and Kansas.."

Well hell, indeed. Did you also assume that an email address like "complaints@belfastcity.gov.uk" would be to the Republic of Ireland?! You know what they say about the word "ASSUME."

4/3/11 5:26 PM

and

Just me said...
What makes me sick is the mass rush to believe this story.

Read this news item: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/lennox-after-10-months-locked-up-judge-rules-dog-must-die-15130806.html

and you find that the owners agreed that the dog was a Pit Bull mix. Or please read this news item:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12901538

and learn about the dog's previous aggressive behavior.

Now, I'm fine with having a discussion about whether or not it's smart to put down Pit Bulls, and or, mixes. I believe that all dogs are unique, just as humans are, but let's be clear that the authorities were right. This dog is a Pit Bull mix and that's illegal in [Northern] Ireland. Again, I'm all for having an intellectual discussion about the law, but the current law is clear.

This is what's so sad about our country today. A blogger, or their blog readers, can't even take 5 minutes to search Google and see if there is another side of the story. That this blog, and it's readers, would so quickly accept the story as being 100% true is absolutely frightening. For those of you who have responded with outrage, I have some ocean front property here in Arizona that I'd love to sell you.

4/3/11 9:56 PM