For want of a scapegoat

What's so wrong about torture?
Simple: it presumes guilt.

Almost universally on this planet (and increasingly since the 20th century), two ideas are central to the notion of Justice: 1) the presumption of innocence until proof of guilt, and 2) the right of the accused to a robust defense. Can you imagine a trial without those assumptions? What a joke! Can you imagine being on trial without those assumptions? What a nightmare. Kafka, anyone?

In a normal world, my country would sanction, or possibly even organize international action against a country which operated its justice system like this. In Bushcheney's post-Raygun Amerika, we join them.

By definition, the victims of torture are not yet guilty: people are tortured to get information that would allow others to prevent illegal acts from being planned or executed. There is no trial, no opportunity for defense; guilt is presumed, and the victim is immediately punished for either Presumed Guilt By Association or Presumed Thoughtcrime. Torture after a trial would be considered "cruel and unusual punishment." Doesn't that say enough, by itself? Hello?

Fear is the mind-killer. Fear of ill-defined "terror scenarios" made many of us inclined to allow "whatever's necessary" to prevent said ill-defined scenarios. For want of a scapegoat, the Constitution was lost.

I can't imagine why anyone would want anyone else to be so afraid that they would allow such mistreatment of other humans, or such distortion of Justice, but apparently some people think they have their reasons.

I can't imagine how anyone, given the order to waterboard, could do so knowing that the victim was never given the presumption of innocence, or a robust defense. This blows my mind.

But in the face of colorfully-described but poorly-defined terror scenarios, we ran like children to the neighborhood bully* for protection. And now he's come for us.

We are all innocent until proven guilty. This is as fundamental to this planet's idea of Justice as is the right to a defense (which is also, incidentally, abrogated in the case of torture). Justice demands this presumption. Justice requires it.

I can't believe we're still talking about this. Why is this concept so difficult to grasp? Why did your congressman and senators support this crap? Why did mine? I keep asking, and still keep getting unsatisfactory answers. Rep. Baird, YOU WILL BE FIRED for this. Pack up your shit; you're going home.


On this day in 1864, George Washington Carver is believed to have been born. Thanks for the peanut butter!
In 1895, Buckminster Fuller and Oscar Hammerstein II were born.

The following two are apocryphal; I cannot confirm their validity. I found them in the Fortean Times.
In 1738, a strange creature was fished from the water around Exeter. It resembled a man about four foot tall, 'with a Genital Member of considerable Size - with Fins at his thighs, and larger ones like Wings - at his shoulders - and two spout holes behind his eyes.' And in 1978, a garage in Galax, Virginia, was bombarded by nails of various sizes for the third day running. Many were observed flying from the front and back doors, sometimes from both at once. Mechanics collected almost 400. The police were completely baffled.


*They f*cking redacted their own biographies!?!?! It's significant that they didn't just edit them- no, they had to leave the blacked-out parts there so we would know that there are things we're not allowed to know.

Bawm that thorn!

7-11 day! Most 7-11s offer free 7.11 oz smoothies today. It’s Bawming the Thorn Day in Appleton, Cheshire, England. It's the Feast of St. Olga in Russia. In 1656, Ann Austin and Mary Fisher became the first Quakers to come to North America, and were promptly arrested, to be deported to Barbados five weeks later. Let freedom ring!

In 1881 George, Prince of Wales (later King George V), as a 16-year-old naval cadet on HMS Bacchante off the Australian coast, wrote in his log book: "At 4 a.m. the Flying Dutchman crossed our bows. A strange red light as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the masts, spars, and sails of a brig 200 yards distant stood out in strong relief as she came up on the port bow, where also the officer of the watch from the bridge clearly saw her, as did the quarterdeck midshipman, who was sent forward at once to the forecastle; but on arriving there was no vestige nor any sign whatever of any material ship was to be seen either near or right away to the horizon, the night being clear and the sea calm. Thirteen persons altogether saw her...At 10.45 a.m. the ordinary seaman who had this morning reported the Flying Dutchman fell from the foretopmast crosstrees on to the topgallant forecastle and was smashed to atoms." In 1975, Chinese archaeologists began to excavate a large burial site with 6,000 individualized terra cotta statues of warriors. The site had been discovered by local farmers the previous year. It's now believed that the site is over 3 acres in size, and probably contains more than 8,000 distinctly individual sculptures of warriors, their weapons, horses, chariots, commanders, and associated personnel. In 1995, Srebrenica –a UN-declared safe zone-- fell to the Bosnian Serbs. As many as eight thousand people disappeared; witnesses reported tremendous brutality, including mass executions.

pending a bending

A judge ruled that Google subsidiary YouTube must provide Viacom, which is suing over copyright claims, with details of the viewing habits of everyone who has logged in and watched a video. Is that OK with you? It's not with me. Anthropology be damned: we document too much of our lives already. Leave a puzzle or two for the future already. Geez.

Lots of UFOs over the UK lately. Someone else noticed, too.

Psychologist Himanshu Tyagi claimed that children raised to use online social networking sites will "put less value on their real world identities" and may be in danger of "impulsive behavior or even suicide." Almost exactly what I've been saying about them, myself: that they denigrate the idea and nature of friendship. When 'relationships' begin and end with the click of a mouse button, they're probably not very fulfilling or rewarding.

What's Karl Rove up to these days?

Why, you may wonder, am I not all bent out of shape over Bushcheney's wiretapping plan? Because I've presumed that the USGov't has been listening in on our phone calls and mining our data since Reagan was in office. Why haven't you? What possible reality-based reason could you have, for trusting our government? Pray tell.

This attitude of mine does leave me wondering, though: how naive do our senators think we are? I appreciate the work of people like Senator Levin, but really- isn't this like offering an aspirin for a broken hot water heater or something? I mean- nice gesture, but ...how/what is this supposed to help?

Today is the Melon Holiday (Turkmenistan). Muskmelon for everyone!
On this day in 1040 CE, in an early precursor to Melon Day, Lady Godiva rode bare naked, sidesaddle one would hope, to force her husband Leofric, the Earl of Mercia, to lower taxes. Some say she did it on a dare from ol' Leofric, irrelevant of the tax issue.
In 1509, John Calvin was born. History began to slow down, and eventually reversed itself entirely as Calvin's ideas became religious doctrine.

No, really.

In 1856, Nikola Tesla was born. A truly amazing intellect.
In 1850, Millard Fillmore assumed the Presidency, after Zachary Taylor’s death.
In 1895, Carl Orff was born.

Somebody's gettin' sloppy. Simple exhaustion, or has the preponderance of lies finally destroyed their ability to communicate?

Bristly insects

I went to the Antir-West War (SCA) over the weekend. These guys in the picture were my good neighbors. They were quiet, didn't block the road (or the entrance to my tent, ahem) with their tents, and didn't make any pretense of being friendly when I tried to be friendly, myself. They also didn't snore, have sleep apnea, or vomit in full view of my front door. Like I said, they were the good neighbors. I'd have been more careful about where I put my tent, but I was among the first people on site. I thought I'd end up in the suburbs, but it turned out to be the projects.

Eh, I had fun anyway! It was my second event in An Tir; my second SCA event ever at which I knew exactly no one. I half-expected to see a familiar face or two (Avery, Alyx, Idanthrysus, maybe Cire or Elizabeth...?), but no dice. All told, this made for a very different experience of the SCA. Hard to put my finger on it exactly, but I like it. 'Tis da bomb. Look for me on merchants' row from now on: that's where the fun is.

Unfortunately, being away for the 4th meant that I missed some really interesting anniversaries:
July 4th saw the birth of Stephen Foster (1826) and Louis Armstrong (1900), as well as the retirement from Baseball of the great Lou Gehrig (1939, my number-one hero).
Also, in 1845, Henry David Thoreau took up residence at Walden Pond.
And in 1862, the Rev. Charles Dodgson told a little story to some young friends while on a boating excursion- a little story which would later be known as Alice's Adventures In Wonderland.
And in 1946, the Republic of the Philippines achieved independence from the United States (though our forces still occupy the country in spite of their constitution's strict doctrine forbidding foreign forces on their soil. Go figure).

On July 6 1855, Andrew Crosse, electrical experimenter, died. He is remembered for at least one experiment in which dissolved flint and potassium carbonate were subjected to an electrical charge, which apparently resulted in the birth of “bristly insects.” Amazing, and a little frightening.

Now on to today: it's Percy Grainger's birthday, so if you see him, wish him well. Raffi, Anjelica Huston, and Kevin Bacon also celebrate their birthdays today.

And for one second, it was 1234567890 (12:34:56 on 7/8/90).

Many, many projects underway in goatland...

Let the sun shine in

Happy Canada Day!

On this day in 1899, Indiana Jones was born.
In 1915, Willie Dixon was born.
In 1944, the Breton Woods conference opened. It would establish the contoversial IMF and the World Bank.
In 1982, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon "married" 2,100 couples simultaneously. He met Jesus, you know. Interesting fellow, to say the least.

Happy accidents

Happy accidents. See what happens when you don't mow your lawn?

Seriously- I haven't mowed the north side of the yard this year because grass doesn't grow there. Last year, I mowed the weeds there, but started late enough that I discovered the little maroon trillium that likes to bloom by the stairs to the cellar. This year, thanks to the wet weather, I waited even longer, and lo and behold, more flowers! I have no idea what they are- I think the yellow ones are Peskius weedus, but the purple ones are so remarkable that I suspect they were planted intentionally by the previous owner. The neighbors all say that he was crazy about flowers. We also get volunteer tulips and other bulb-sprouting flowers in the spring, all over the yard.

I have been initiated into a revolution in bread-baking. I may never knead again. I resisted so hard: how can so many thousands of years of baking tradition be wrong? Well, it's not "wrong," it's just not the easy way. Stand ready to be amazed.

On this day in 1908, something as-yet-unexplained happened near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Russia.

The majority, by their silence, will pay for days like these

Perhaps needless to say, I did not take this picture. That's me on the log, Phil behind the camera. Happy birthday to me!

It's Tobey Maguire's birthday, too. Happy birthday, Tobey!

In 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutinied. Sergei Eisenstein made a fantastic film about this- if you can handle silent films, do not miss it. One of my Top Ten Best Ever Films.

And in 1969, in the wee hours of the night, approaching or perhaps even past midnight, NYC police raided the Stonewall Inn, an event which led to the Stonewall Riots.

Someone on the Fortean Times site pointed out the striking similarity between this UFO filmed in 2003, and the one seen over Cardiff the other night. Very, very interesting.

Strange things going on over Australia, too.

Ishmael

Seriously, photographers: how would you deal with conditions like this? This is the best shot of Ramona Falls that I was able to get on the spur of the moment. You can see Phil in the lower left if you look close. I wonder if this little digital camera of ours can even do it; maybe it's a matter best handled by using a different film? All I can control is F-stop and shutter speed (I think, anyway... I hate reading instructions).

On the SCA front: This metro area is really active. Last weekend I went to an event in Kalama, about 30 miles north of here, Shire of Riversbend. They host four annual kingdom-level events, have for years, and are working on a fifth. And that's not including their regular shire functions, which also draw people from Portland. Yesterday at an A&S-oriented get-together I heard about two annual Portland metro-area wars which draw attendance in the thousands. I've never lived in such a group; I don't even know what to do with myself now. And then there's the Seattle area, and the Eugene area, which are both apparently as active as the Portland area, and maybe more so. Yowza!

On the home front, my garden is lame. Lame as in 'injured,' somehow- I planted and planted and planted some more, and the only thing that's come up is some legumes. All the peas I planted have sprouted, but I also planted peppers, broccoli, lettuce, and some beans, and of all of that, I only have two bean plants to show for it. Two bean plants from over 20 bean-seeds planted. Something must be wrong with my soil, 'coz it's not like we've been short on rain: the garden plots aren't even growing weeds. The apples look more promising this year, though- last year every single apple on the Red Delicious tree was withered and brown on the tree. If that happens again, I guess I'll have to call a doctor.

More UFO action over the UK. Interesting to note that the UK also seems to be the focus (though not exclusively by any means) of crop circle activity. I'm not about to say they're connected in any way but circumstantially, but it's still interesting to consider. And don't let anyone tell you that all crop circles are hoaxes. Some are, to be sure, but many still defy explanation. This recent one in particular simply blows my mind. I repeat: blows. my. mind.

Spain extends civil rights to our cousins. Making amends for the Inquisition, perhaps, or maybe just finally looking forward instead of back.

Help me get rid of Turncoat Joe!

On this day in 1284, the Pied Piper led the children of Hamelin away. Legends differ as to exactly where he led them, and what happened next.
In 1819, W.K. Clarkson patented an improvement on the velocipede, which led to what we now call the bicycle.
In 1959, Father William Gill and 38 others witnessed a disc-shaped object with four legs hovering over the village of Boianai, Papua New Guinea. Four human-like figures were standing on it, and they returned the waves of the witnesses. The object remained intermittently visible for some hours, and returned the following two evenings. It was one of the best witnessed close encounter cases in the annals of ufology. At the time, Gill had assumed the objects to be new American aircraft. There had been a UFO flap on the island that year: 61 UFO sightings, mostly in June and July.
In 1970, Paul Thomas Anderson was born. Director of such excellent films as Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love (which, frankly, takes my breath away).

La Sagrada Familia

Yes, again. We made it this time, though. We were better prepared, and there was less snow this time. Still, I singlehandedly turned it into Grand Adventure when the map (which I had carefully stashed in a side-pocket of my pack*) fell out of my pack along the way. We discovered the map's absence when we decided we were lost. Yay!

Obviously we found our way again (you can't get too lost when you know that the point at which you left the main trail was the point at which you entered the riverbed...), but it was still a shock. We even found our destination- Ramona Falls- and it was -well- pretty stunning. I tried to get pictures of it, but to be honest, I'm not sure how. The water falls from about 100' up, cascading down a rock wall to the floor of an old pine (fir?) forest that resembles nothing more than the inside of a cathedral, with the trees being the columns and the waterfall being the stained glass behind the altar. Seriously: How do you not overexpose the light part, while still capturing some detail in the foreground?

On this day in 1178, five monks from Canterbury reported having seen something explode on the moon.
In 1852, Antonio Gaudi was born.
In 1977, the discovery of three mysterious discs was reported. They were exactly 1.4 metres in diameter, 46cm thick at the centre and perfectly circular, and were found in an open-cast coal mine at Leigh Creek, South Australia. Michael Lowrie, an Adelaide marine expert, said: 'I've never seen anything like these objects. They appear to be rusty on the outer casing and are believed to be millions of years old. One thing is certain, they are not fossilised shells.'

Lots of interesting UFO activity over SW England lately. More info here.

Flying

Pot calling whom, what? I really don't think Mr. Dobson has much room to be using the word "fruitcake" at all. At all. The hypocrisy is just staggering. I do love watching the GOP tear itself apart, though.

On this day in 1947, experienced pilot Kenneth Arnold spotted strange lights flying in formation near Mt. Ranier, Washington.

See for yourself

I miss George Carlin already. As you might imagine, even though I'm not funny, he was a mighty influence on my development and philosophy. Apparently I paid more attention to what he was saying, than how he was saying it.
On religion
On language

In part because of him, I am not an Obedient Worker (and I suggest you not be one, too). He helped me see through the veil at an early age. Hats off to you, Mr. Carlin.

In other news: Important reporting from the ever-eloquent and insightful Chris Floyd.

St. Jonas’ Day (Lithuania)

And on this day in 1626, a Mr. Mead of Christ's College, Cambridge, passing through the city's market, noticed a battered book which had just been found by a fishwife inside the belly of a plump codfish from King's Lynn. Mr. Mead bought the book, a religious tome written by John Firth, who had spent some time imprisoned inside a fish-cellar in Oxford for his religious beliefs.

John Dillinger died for your sins

On this day in 1812, Napoleon (leading pretty much all of the rest of Europe, Switzerland included) invaded a vastly-outnumbered Russia. Russia pulled troops back to the Neman river, but could not hold it, and eventually fell back to Moscow. By September, the eve of winter, Moscow’s governor realized the city could not be saved. He decided to abandon the city to flame before Napoleon could have it, so they burnt the city to the ground on their way out, leaving nothing for the 'conquerors.' The Europeans were left to march home in the winter, tired, poorly fed and barely clothed. Of the original 450-600,000 Europeans, only some 200,000 made it home. Serves 'em right.

In 1847, the doughnut may have been invented.
In 1858, Giacomo Puccini was born.
In 1903, John Dillinger (he died for your sins!) was born.
In 1936, Kris Kristofferson was born.
In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, breaking the pact Hitler had made with Stalin before the war began.
In 1947, Don Henley was born.
In 1948, Todd Rundgren was born.
In 1949, Meryl Streep was born.
In 1958, Bruce Campbell was born.

Maury Island Incident

If I say I'm going to do something, and then I don't, what does that mean?

If it's a short-term thing, it seems to mean something different than if it's a long-term thing. Let's say I agree to meet you for lunch but I don't show up. That's a personal affront to you, whether I meant it that way or not. I might have forgotten; might have been killed or something on my way to meet you; might have just been so late that I missed you entirely, etc. The end effect is the same: I said I'd do something, and I didn't.

Now presume I say "next week, I'm going to make an ark," but I don't. No one's affected by this except me, but still, I said I'd do something, and then I didn't do it.

Now presume I say "after I graduate from college, I'm going to go to grad school."

I suppose that at different times, we speak with different voices. Sometimes it's a friend-voice (I'll meet you for lunch on Tuesday at noon), sometimes it's ambition (next week I'm going to build a boat!), sometimes it's hope (grad school, here I come!). I've dealt with a lot of liars and blowhards in my day, and I tire of them quickly.

Maybe that's why I'm so sensitive about the things I say, myself: I don't want to make promises I can't keep, don't want to make plans I can't follow through on, don't want to sound like some overambitious catterpillar who dreams about becoming a fish.

So, I don't talk much.

Today is Fête de la Musique

In 1947, Harold Dahl saw six UFOs near Maury Island (now part of Vashon Island, in Puget Sound). Artifacts (slag) dropped from the UFOs killed his dog and injured his son. The next day, Dahl was visited by a man dressed in black who knew details of the event, though Dahl had not publicized it yet. The man in black suggested that Dahl’s family might be in danger if he did not keep the sighting a secret. This is thought to be the first encounter with the Men in Black.

The wheel turns

It's Igor Stravinsky's birthday (1882).

In 1960, Ted Williams hit his 500th home run.

In 1972, five White House operatives were arrested for burglarizing the offices of the DNC in the Watergate Hotel. Supposedly, they were planting bugs, but some authorities assert that none were ever found by investigators. Some theorize that the burglary was actually a false flag, designed to draw attention away from “the whole Bay of Pigs thing,” (Nixon’s euphemism for the Kennedy assassination and its aftermath).

In 1982, Roberto Calvi, “God’s banker,” (the head of Banco Ambrosiano, closely tied to the Vatican, when it went bankrupt) was found hanging by his neck beneath Blackfriar’s Bridge in London. His clothing was stuffed with stones, and he was carrying around $15,000 in three different currencies. He had just spent a short time in an Italian jail, where he attempted suicide, but his death was ruled suspicious because he was a member of P2, members of which referred to themselves as frater negri (black friars). An independent forensic report in 2002 determined that his injuries were not consistent with hanging, and that he had not handled the stones in his pockets. Calvi said shortly before his death, “the only book you’ve got to read is The Godfather. That’s the only one that tells how the world is really run.”

Chop water, carry wood

My new awl. It's already a little darker than when I started on it- Hedgeapple wood is lemon-yellow when you first cut in to it.

Chop wood, carry water. Metaphorically speaking, it's what life's about. Work gives us meaning. We start to get distressed -or depressed-- when we don't have enough to do. Our brains are very complex; they can handle a lot more than we give them credit for, and when they don't have enough going on to keep them busy, they weave stories of their own which lead to problems like obsessiveness, compulsiveness, depression, etc. If life was harder, we just wouldn't have time to worry about whether or not we turned the all the lights off seven times before we left the house, or to sit around being depressed. Chop wood, carry water.

Of course I'm oversimplifying, you're much more complex than that. I'd love to hear your counter-points or arguments.

In 1219, Dannebrog (the national flag of Denmark) fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse (now Talinn, Estonia), and turned the Danes’ luck.

In 1843, Edvard Grieg was born.
In 1937, Waylon Jennings was born.

In 1956, The Quarrymen played a church dinner. Paul McCartney (13) met lead singer John Lennon (15).

Peasant's Revolt

Watch me (it's short, trust).

Today is Dia dos Namorados in Brazil.
In 1381, rebellious English peasants, led by John Ball, Wat Tyler, and Jack Straw, arrived and rallied at Blackheath, London.

tRead Carefully

The red things are the tiny flowers I found on the hike, that I think I mentioned before. By 'tiny' I mean dinky: the 'fern' leaf there is actually a moss, and the red things themselves were no larger than peppercorns.


John McCain wants more of this. Larisa Alexandrovna calls it treason, and I have to agree.

As the election -and the constitutionally-dictated end of this administration-- approaches, expect the iron fist of corporatist fascism to close ever more tightly on our first amendment and other rights. They have secrets they will do almost anything to protect. They are a wild animal, trapped, and the noose is tightening. Crazy things happen when panic ensues.

Today is Kamehameha Day in Hawaii. In 1184 bce, Troy was sacked and burned, according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. In 1864, Richard Strauss was born. In 1933, Gene Wilder was born.

Nice is different than good

As I said, some parts of the trail were hard to follow. We knew we were looking for a way to cross the river, but didn't know where... was the 'bridge' supposed to have been here? We didn't even know what to expect in terms of kind of crossing. I spotted tracks going further along the bank. I followed them with my eyes and saw more flags ahead. We were still on the right track.

The 'bridge' turned out to be a downed tree (predictably enough), and that's where the real fun started. The big washed-out section of trail -where you're hiking across a broad, sandy, rocky riverbed/flood zone on which tracks are almost invisible-- made me think about the trail to Sheep Canyon, which I'd hoped to hike this summer. The road to that trailhead was almost undrivable last year; if winter treated that 'road' like it treated the rest of the region, there might not be anything left to drive on. We shall see, I suppose.

I tried to get a pic of Phil in action, crossing the log bridge, but the camera had its own little camera agenda. Here's a rule to live by: technology should not think for itself. How well would we function if our hands had their own brains, which only occasionally -and always imperfectly-- communicated with Brain Central? Gimme a break! What a nightmare.

On this day in 1752, Ben Franklin’s kite was struck by lightning.
In 1801, Tripoli declared war on the U.S. because the U.S. refused to pay tribute.
In 1910, Howlin’ Wolf was born.
In 1922, Judy Garland was born.
In 1976, Margot Swatton's house in Newlyn, Cornwall, was attacked by rooks [ravens] for seven days and nights, beginning on this day. Dive-bombing from trees and powerlines, they returned to their perches dazed and bleeding to launch another attack. They gave up after a neighbour shot one dead.

And in 2008, Rep. Dennis Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush. Best news in eight years. Call your congressperson today to urge their support.

Snow trail

Yesterday, hiking by the Sandy River on the shoulder of Mt Hood. One of those fun hikes- large sections of the trail had been washed out, so for part of it we had to follow just tracks and flags through the brush and rocks (as opposed to a developed, marked trail), while for other large sections we were walking on/in snow that had yet to melt. Fun hikes because I like the challenge of tracking and figuring out how to cross that river or that chasm or where the hell did the trail go? or whatever.

We had read about this trail and had been wanting to check it out since we moved here, but the bridge had been washed out. Yesterday, we saw that it had been replaced, so we followed the road for as long as it lasted and found the trailhead. For a mile or so, the trail was in fine shape. It wanders along through the forest beside the Sandy River. Very pretty. But the Sandy is a mountain river (gets pretty wild with the spring melt), and the soil here is volcanic (somewhat sandy-and-ashy, loose), so the river's course isn't exactly stable. And so we found the same sort of conditions I found when I went to look for Sheep Canyon: the trail was suddenly gone, replaced with a field of boulders.

When you're out hiking and you find that you've lost the trail, just stop. Don't move, just look around a minute. If you're on a well-developed trail, a few steps back should set you on your track again. If you're on a less well-developed trail (eg, packed earth or just a worn trail), look around for flags. Flags are those plastic strips you sometimes use to mark things- in this case, they're tied to branches, logs or trees to mark a new trail.

So we followed the flags, and when we couldn't see the flags we followed tracks, and when we couldn't see tracks we guessed (mostly right). We crossed the Sandy on a big log, jumped across another part, found where some critters had spent the night, saw some cool flowers, but eventually just turned around.

Anyway, it's not much of a story, but it was a fun hike. The trail leads to some waterfall or other, but I don't remember its name, and we didn't make it all the way because we got tired of trudging over melting snowbanks in our not-hiking-footwear (we didn't expect the snow).

On this day in 1603, English astronomer William Lilly was born. In his autobiography, he tells a strange anecdote of teleportation about fellow astrologer John Evans, a Welshman residing near Aldgate in London. In 1630 or 1631, Evans was asked by Lord Bothwell and Sir Kenelm Digby 'to shew them a Spirit... upon a sudden, after some time of Invocation, Evans was taken from out of the Room, and carried [five miles] into the Field near Battersea Causeway...' The next morning, a laborer found him asleep there.
In 1891, Cole Porter was born.
In 1915, Les Paul was born.
In 1963, Johnny Depp was born.

Watching the Detectives (observing the observers)

Yaquina Head lighthouse, from Agate Beach.

I very quickly get tired of hearing myself talk about what I'm going to do, so suffice it to say I have a lot on the stove right now. Details to follow as summer unfolds.

In 1937, the train City of Denver arrived in Chicago with a dead trout inside its shattered headlight. It was suggested that the train -traveling 80 mph-- had struck an eagle flying across the track with a trout in its beak; but there was no mention of feathers, or blood, or any other vestiges of a bird.

Buzz

A Puffin.

Edwin Robinson gradually lost his sight and hearing after a severe head injury in a road accident. Nine years later, on 6 June 1980, he was out looking for his pet chicken near his house in Falmouth, Maine, during a thunderstorm, when he was struck by lightning and knocked out for 20 minutes. (He survived as he was wearing rubber soles.) The next morning he found he could see and hear again and by the end of August he had a full head of hair.

Today is also the birthday of Nathan Hale (1755), Alexander Pushkin (1799- by the Old Calendar the date was May 25), and Aram Khatchaturian (1903- composer of "Flight of the Bumblebee").

O

Bald Eagle at Yaquina Head, Oregon.

In 1998 school bus driver Lillie Balltrip, driving to a ceremony in Houston to pick up a safe driving award, turned a corner too sharply and overturned the bus carrying 29 other school bus drivers. The driver and passengers went to hospital, but no one was seriously injured, said Larry Yawn, spokesman for the Houston independent School District.

Turtles, all the way down.

Coming down from the top of Yaquina Head Lighthouse, on the Oregon coast. That's Philip and Jacob on the stairs below me. Very interesting historic site, nicely preserved.

My new awl is finished- I keep holding it up to the light and looking into the wood, it's very beautiful. I've oiled and polished it enough that it's got that almost-holographic effect going on in the grain, where you feel like you can see in to the wood itself. As I said yesterday, the wood is Osage Orange (or Hedgeapple, whichever you prefer), so it's bright yellow. Very striking. I'll try to get a picture. I'll start working it today.

Garden is starting to show some signs of life yesterday. It rained a lot, but during a sunny spot I went outside and looked around, and happened to spot a pea that had been uncovered by the rain. Looking closer, I saw that it had started to germinate, so I covered it up and went about my business. I take it as a Good Sign that not all of my seeds were too old to be useful.

In 470 bce, Socrates was born.
In 1792, Captain George Vancouver claimed Puget Sound for Britain.
In 1974, Mrs Candelaria Villanueva, 52, had been in the sea with a lifejacket for more than 12 hours after the ship she was on, the Aloha, caught fire and sank 600 miles south of Manila, Philippines. A giant sea turtle appeared beneath her and supported her until her rescue by the navy vessel Kalantia. A smaller turtle climbed on her back and bit her every time she felt drowsy and was in danger of submerging her head in the water. After the rescue, the bigger turtle circled the area twice before taking off.

El posto

Today's post is brought to you by the syllable "El." As in pELicans (above).

In 1857, Edward Elgar was born.
In 1883, Chicago’s “El” trains opened for service.
In 1953, Elizabeth II ascended to the throne.

No kidding.

Finally got the garden started this week. When tomatoes started volunteering, I figured it was probably about time for me to start doing some work on it. I'm dreaming up a little mini-greenhouse for the tomatoes now; the natives here are predicting a 'green tomato summer,' so I figured I'd give mine a hot house if I can. It promises to be a complicated project though, so I may not finish 'til next summer.

Also working on a new awl, so I can sew again. And some new garb, so I can play again.

Say the word.

The Common Murre. Birds are cool.

On this day in 1967, The Beatles released “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band."