Saying somebody told a lie is one thing. Saying somebody told a lie when they did not is another. Yet again, our fair state is cast in the most gruesome of lights by one of our intellectually-stunted politicians, and, yet again, I am left thinking I must send a "proclamation of values" to them. Though only one responded to my last attempt to gain accurate representation, maybe more will raise a pen this time (or, at least, have a staffer do so). Joe Wilson is not a personal adversary of mine, nor is my governor, but from their actions (indeed, those of nearly the entire Republican party, lately), one would almost assume that such a relationship is to what they aspire. It reminds me of a somewhat morbid, yet hopeful thought I brought up to a friend the other day. In a couple of decades, the number of voters that base their political decisions on cable entertainment masquerading as news will drastically fall. The same profit motive that allowed these bottom feeders to see the light of day will return them to the abyss, and a new generation of voters with more interest in objective politics will rise. Savor what is to come, dreamers.
Politics and bicycling collided, here, the other day when a local newspaper columnist decided that he felt victimized enough by a bicyclist running into his car to publish a rant. I, and many others, responded to his somewhat reasonable, yet ignorant and slanted, argument. Please see the following for more:
and
I've thought many other things in response to his article, but I tried to keep things toned down, since I know most human blood in Charleston lingers just below the boiling point when it comes to such topics. After all, if we can't even slow down enough to have a conversation about this kind of thing via local media, what hope do we have that we can all get along within the impulsive and excited atmosphere on the roads?
We just watched a great animated film called "The Triplets of Belleville." It's about a bicyclist and very well worth watching. One cool thing about it is that there is very little dialogue (almost none), but that doesn't affect the quality of the story at all. It was a refreshing change from the animation one sees out of this country (camera perspective changes every second or two and way too much bad music...not to mention the painfully obvious computer influence...though "The Triplets" was done using CGI, they made a concerted effort to make it look as though it was not...they were very successful).
The photographs depict the Gulf fritillary life cycle. Though no chrysalises have cracked at this point, I'm going to cage one of them so that I can get a good image of an adult, too. I hope this to be the beginning of a bountiful butterfly landscape. As I said, we'll put in some milkweed next year, and the parsley and dill are now flourishing (though too late for the black swallowtails). I've got lots of seeds left over from the Clemson order, so we'll plant some more sunflowers, bee balm, and others in the early spring.
The cold frame has gone to crap. After the top window was smashed by a limb from the pine that no longer stands, I covered it with what I thought was really thick, clear plastic. The sun turned it into parchment in one summer. It's flaking away like filo dough. I'll be covering it with plywood until I can get some plastic glass on there. I'll have to check the habitat store or something, since the price on new plexi is way too high for a piece this big. Ultimately, I'll source some corrugated, clear fiberglass. Maybe the ACE can order it.
Still nowhere on the bamboo source. May wind up using some of those paver stones from a corporate store or buying some sacks of concrete and pouring a form to make my own blocks. Besides, digging out the roots from the huge pine to bury the bamboo wasn't on my "I can't wait to do it" list, anyway.
The girls go in for their flu vaccine in about 2 hours. I feel bad that we're subjecting them, but with Andree in the schools, it only seems logical to give them a little bit of a sickness under controlled circumstances rather than let them get waylaid by something horrible. As well, at least this way we'll know how they react when they are sick, now (they've been in great health, so far).
Finally, this made me laugh until my sides hurt. I especially liked that it appears as though his body shuts down basic functions as a result of his totally unjustified fear. Note his instant inability to remain standing and breathing.
Also, check out this clip. It's not the kind of thing I'm in the habit of passing on (especially given the title), but it just cracks me up. I'm not even sure the kid is really speaking or if they superimposed a little mouth, but it got a laugh from me more than once.
