Let the Sun Shine In

They're finishing "Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In." It was glorious fun, as you can see.

Nature photography is fun, but people are such interesting -and willing-- subjects. I personally don't understand how journalists and documentarists deal with their subjects, and their subjects' possible desire for privacy or anonymity, but that's fine because I really like shooting rehearsals and performances. You know, where the people being photographed really want to be seen and remembered.

This was taken at the first annual Follies concert, Phil's choir program's pops concert. I'd try to describe it, but words fail: vaudeville? revue? Almost Moulin Rouge! without the hookers or the TB: fast moving, upbeat and funny but with a couple of serious turns for the sake of variety. No host, no emcee- after a brief introduction, the curtain opened to them singing and only closed for intermission until the show ended; when a song finished, the lights faded for a second or two (really) and came back up on a new act, ready to sing. It was really spectacular, and quite professional-looking. I got a bunch of good pictures, which I'll be posting over the next few days.

Today is Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach's birthday (1714).

In 1782, ninety-six Native Americans were murdered by Pennsylvania militiamen –with mallets- at Gnadenhutten, Ohio, in what became known as the Gnadenhutten Massacre.

And in 1917, the February Revolution began in St. Petersburg (it was February by the Old Calendar in use in Russia at the time), sparked by food shortages. Tsar Nicholas II turned the throne over to his more moderate brother Michael a week later. Michael wisely refused, but oversaw the assembly of the Provisional Government, initially led by Prince George Lvov, and later (after the tumultuous July Days) a liberal aristocrat, Alexander Kerensky. By October, Kerensky's government would fall to the Bolsheviks.

Over the hills and far away

From last night's concert, the first annual Follies concert. Great, great stuff, wow! If you're reading this, and you were in the show: GOOD JOB, dayum! Pictured are Russel and Taylor, playing Over the Hills and Far Away. Guys, you rocked!

Henry Purcell and Maurice Ravel were both born on this day (1659 and 1875).

In 1935, New York City revoked all organ-grinder monkey licenses.

And in 1976, a block of ice the size of a basketball smashed into the roof of a house in Timberville, Virginia, and surprised three people who were watching television. Neighbours who rushed to find out what the noise had been, saw another ice bomb land 50 yards away 20 seconds later.

Hey Abbot!

Photo of the sediment dam, enhanced and adjusted with iPhoto. Fun.

Cyrano de Bergerac was born today (1619), as was Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844) and Lou Costello (1906).

I am not making this up.

Weird dream last night. Very briefly, I was out in the back yard with Harry, and I dropped a piece of soap I was holding (go ahead and laugh, I did-), into an existing hole in the ground. The hole was large enough to see into, but only appeared large enough inside for a rodent or two, maybe a rabbit. I looked, but didn't see the soap. Harry and I talked some more, and he took off. I went back for the soap. I dug out the hole a little bit, and as I did, I uncovered a board or something, and pulling it back, a human skeleton. "Fuck!" I looked away. Call the cops. Call an archaeologist, it's not a forensic issue. "Fuck!" My heart raced. I looked again. Hmmm. Too... yellow. Too ...what's that? I looked closer, and noticed a screw. It was a plastic skeleton.

I woke up. When I remembered the dream, I laughed out loud.

Later, I found what you see in the pictures. The hole is about 3"x5", and is quite new. The concrete seems to be outside the hole. It's under the newer part of the house; seems to lead into a crawl space at best. I'm not even sure a human can get there, but I suppose I'll have to try. What kind of critter would do that?

Cotton Eyed Joe

I sure hope Clinton and Obama have the sense to realize that John McChange is the real opponent. They both need to start campaigning against him, immediately, and drop the attacks on each other.


It's Learn From Lei Feng Day in China.

On this day in 1888, according to the Madras Mail, pieces of bricks fell into a Pondicherry (India) classroom in the presence of many investigators. One brick marked with a white cross was placed in the centre of the room; a similar-sized brick, marked with a black cross, dropped out of the air onto the first brick. In reference to such appearances in closed rooms, Charles Fort said: 'Oh, yes, I have heard of 'the fourth dimension,' but I am going to do myself some credit by not lugging in that particular way of showing that I don't know what I am writing about.'

And Heitor Villa-Lobos was born in 1887.
And of course, a few words about John McCain's conservative credentials, from one Dan of Portland Maine:

-IMMIGRATION: he wrote the bill granting amnesty to illegal immigrants (co-sponsored by Ted Kennedy).
-TAXES: he voted against the Bush tax cuts multiple times, but now campaigns as a lifelong tax-cutter.
-ENERGY TAX: wrote a bill (co-sponsored by democrat Joe Lieberman) imposing a massive tax on energy which, according to the Department of Energy, would drastically raise the price of gasoline and put 300,000 Americans out of work.
-ECONOMY: as recently as December 2007 he admitted he "does not know the economy very well" and needed to get better at it.
-1st AMENDMENT: he wrote the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill that was declared to be an unconstitutional infringement of the 1st Amendment (co-sponsored by progressive Democrat Russ Feingold).
-2nd AMENDMENT: he was called the "worst 2nd amendment candidate" by the president of the NRA.
-CHRISTIANS: campaigning in 2000, he famously described Christian leaders as "agents of intolerance."
-PROFESSIONAL ETHICS: ringleader of the infamous Keating 5 in the Savings and Loans scandal, which cost US tax payers $160 billion. We're still paying off their stupid game.
-PERSONAL ETHICS: McCain cheated on his first wife after she had a severe accident that left her partially disabled. He then divorced her and moved to Arizona to marry his multi-millionaire mistress, whose daddy bought McCain a spot in Congress.

He had it coming

More from Sunday. The top one is of the trail through the birch forest (too obvious?), and the bottom is the other group of elk.

Bulletin from the ruling class: You don't matter. I really don't know how else to read that story.

John Mc Change on Social Security

It's Antonio Vivaldi's birthday (1678). Also Chicago's official birthday (incorporated in 1837).

Toutle-ing

Mt. St. Helens, viewed from the Toutle river valley. We're looking at the crater, the side of the mountain that fell off. Yesterday, my friend Mark and I drove up to the sediment dam that the Corps of Engineers built after the eruption, to prevent the mud and ash from choking the Toutle and the Columbia rivers. We didn't start out trying to find it; we just stumbled across it, but it was a cool find. Pretty clever thing, really: they built a dam that only slowed the water, allowing the mud to settle, so the river below could remain clear. It's the site of a predominantly young birch forest now, home to at least a couple of small herds of elk (we saw two herds, anyway). And one strange doorway.

It's Vincent van Gogh's birthday (1853).

In 1972, police officer Ray Schoke was on his way to Loveland, Ohio, when he spotted a three-foot-tall upright creature with leathery skin like a lizard and the face of a frog near the Little Miami River. It was later spotter by fellow officer Mark Matthews and a local farmer. Both officers have since changed their names because of the ridicule, and Matthews moved to Florida.

Nothing personal

From National Geographic, March 1924 (Vol. XLV, no. 3). I thought it was funny.

In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

Bedrich Smetana was born on this day in 1824. Kurt Weill followed in 1900, with Dr. Seuss four years later.

In 1975 six schoolgirls, all aged 12, walking on Llanaber beach, near the northern end of the promenade in Barmouth, Wales, saw something strange about 200 yards ahead of them. It was a ten-foot-long black monster with a long tail, long neck, huge green eyes like saucers and feet with three pointed protruding nails. It walked towards the sea and entered the water. The girls fled in terror. Their teacher, Colin Palmer, said that various adults had admitted seeing the creature. (Fortean Times)