A few birds...

 

Common Yellowthroat

Reddish egret

Peregrine falcon

Yellow headed blackbird

Peregrine

Barn owl with nictitating eye shades

Jeff Beck - Cause We've Ended as Lovers

Car Dudes

Even though I am not a car guy, I drink coffee with a bunch of redneck car guys every morning, some of the hotrodders old guys. 

I am the token Jewish liberal, they think it is hilarious. We spend a lot of time triggering each other for amusement. Good friends, we don't let our personal politics get in the way.

On Saturday mornings they meet down at Bonsall in front of the old Daniels Market and check out each others cars. 

Look at the building they are in front of, Banc of California, some one was so dumb they couldn't spell bank properly! 

How effete!

I don't normally go to Bonsall but Willie A. was going to loan me a lens for a shoot tonight. He forgot it, oh well...

Here is Joel's new Hudson truck and Paul's T-bird, which was in the Flubber movie.

This is a very conservative bunch and they crack me up. I just today met the guy in the red Trump hat, Randy. His t-shirt says he is voting for the outlaw and the hillbilly with a giant fist.

Nice guy, I had to get a picture!

True Grift

  A fine WaPo piece by Dana Milbank courtesy of Bob DeGoff. 

The Kinks - Got Love if You Want It

Kinks cover Slim Harpo in 1964.

Friday Inbox

Not a lot of stuff from you guys. Too many political memes, which I am mostly not reading.

This from Dewald. He says it is best to read the fine print.

So true.

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My sister Liz sent me this:

I know you don’t support Bibi, but how do feel about the newest raid?  I am totally furious at Israel, and am beginning to wonder what to do about the apartheid and genocide.  You should write about it on your blog 

Love you and miss you 

Well, Liz, I love and miss you too but it is like this; Iran is reaching its tentacles into the West Bank and making connections to Islamic Jihad. Israel went in to the West Bank and took out a major Hamas operative, Muhammed Jaber.

We have both lived in Israel and you do realize that they are involved in a war with neighbors that consider it their religious duty to annihilate them. Not all Palestinians want to do this of course but Israel does not have the luxury of time to figure out who is trying to exterminate them and sometimes horrific actions are taken that kill innocent people.

Rest assured that if the shoe was on the other foot, the people responsible for killing babies, old people and unarmed young folks enjoying a rock concert on October 7th would do far worse, in fact there would probably be no jews left if they had their way. Look at Hamas's charter. I read a recent interview with the new head of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, he is a cold blooded killer with no interest in peace.

It is easy to armchair quarterback from over here. 

Has Netanyahu contributed to the problems and missed opportunities to pursue peace? Yes. Is he a duplicitous liar? Yes. Have the Israelis dehumanized and radicalized many good Palestinians who do not support Hamas and Iran. Unfortunately, yes they have.

But do I, like many of my liberal Jewish friends, think that Israel had October 6th coming to them?

Fuck no. 

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Calvanese sent this:

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Another from Terry.

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From Bruce.

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Shawn in Thailand likes this band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwOaBb_0Umc

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Singularity is coming soon! From Renee.

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Recent lies and false statements by you know who.

The Rooftop Singers

I was listening to Sirius the other day and one of the dj's mentioned that they now had a classic folk channel. I never knew that and searched for it. It is actually pretty darn good if you like that sort of thing. Carolyn Hester, Rooftop Singers, Arlo, all sorts of good music to add to your mix when you are feeling like snapping your fingers.

Lost in space

 

It is hard for me not to think about the Boeing Starliner's astronaut crew and their dilemma.

What was supposed to be a eight day trip has now, due to a thruster malfunction, suddenly become a six month venture, two astronauts soon to be alone out in space, without a ship to return home on.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to fly home on Sept. 6 — more than 12 weeks from the initial return date and without the crew that originally accompanied it.

In a statement, NASA said Starliner will undock from the International Space Station around 6 p.m. ET "pending weather and operational readiness." The troubled spacecraft is expected to touch down shortly after midnight on a landing zone in New Mexico before it returns to Boeing’s Starliner factory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Starliner will leave behind astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams, who flew abroad Starliner back in June. The pair is slated to return in a capsule built by a competing company, Space X, in February.

The wonderful late cartoonist Ron Cobb, did a cartoon once that showed an astronaut, on his spaceship, looking back at an earth that has just blown up and exclaiming, "Oh Shit." Wish that I could find it, I can't.

Has to be a singularly existential feeling of loneliness, being stranded like that.

And how does it work logistically? Are there adequate food rations or will they have to starve themselves to make it work. How long can they survive out there and how long do they prepare for in a worst case scenario?

What about the bilge capacity or their other intimate needs. I believe both astronauts are married but will they have to snuggle together on one of those cold and storied lunar winter nights? What does such an unexpected travail mean for their personal lives? Do they have playing cards or jenga, is there anything they can do for fun?

Is their every move documented back at Houston or will they be able to jam the circuits and kill the lights for a little alone time?

Boeing has been dying a death by a thousand paper cuts since the horrible 737 Max disasters, one problem after another. The need for Elon Musk's SpaceX to now go and rescue them seems like the final indignity.

Bert Jansch

I was at dinner with some musicians and audiophiles the other night when one popped the question, "Who is your favorite all time fingerstyle guitar player?" 

I hesitated for a second, but was coaxed by the fellow to my right, who happens to be an incredible guitarist and my old teacher. 

"There is no wrong answer, Robert."

"Well, Bert Jansch," I stutteringly offered, the late Pentangle musician who Paul Simon once called the world's greatest fingerstylist. Dave isn't so keen on english folk.

But then I hedged. "Flatpick, thumbpick or just fingers?" Because I got to see flatpicker Doc Watson with Merle a couple times and how could there be anyone who played more beautiful and musically? And what about Cockburn, Jerry Reed, Merle Travis and Chet Atkins? Never an extra note, all fabulous.

Very tough question. I was able to see Tony Rice too, Jorma, the Traums, Elizabeth Cotton, John Jorgenson, Michael Chapdelaine, Paul Simon, so many great fingerstylists. I love the sweet playing and voice of Mississippi John Hurt. Love Fahey, although many do not.

My teacher said Tommy Emmanuel and then mentioned the guy I thought he would pick, Ralph Towner, who honestly could do things in other idioms that none of these guys ventured towards. Henry favored Michael Hedges.

For touching my heart, I will stick with Bert.

Around the garden

 

Sometimes it is hard to leave my garden in the early morning.

Even though we are way past the newness of spring, the late summer and fall have their own lovely offerings.

There are a lot of cactus and epiphytes blooming around town.

There is a wonderful large specimen on Mission coming into town from the east.

The Puyu alpestris recently bloomed in front of Good Earth nursery, the magnificent turquoise tower.

Mine did not bloom this year.

But this cactus of mine gave us its first bloom today.

Here it is behind the yucca rostrata, which is finally rounding back into shape after last year's flower spike.

I was at a friend's house yesterday who took the beards off his rostrata.

I have to admit that they look pretty good shorn but I always heard that the beards protect the trunk. 

Who knows, maybe this one gets a haircut?

The drimia maritima or sea squill is starting its beautiful yearly plant spike.

What an unusual plant, famous in early hermetic science.

Homer considered it to be the holiest of all plants.

Read more about it here.

Kaprekar's Constant

What is the name of this particular blues form?

Dear musicians out there. Is there a name for this particular blues beat? I really enjoy this particular form, time signature and meter and don't know if it has a name or not. There seems to be an emphasis on the eighth beat.

Just My Baby

Lying Scoundrel

While it is certainly true that all politicians lie, except for perhaps Jimmy Carter anyway and he was a terrible president, the good ones at least learn to lie well or shield their larceny and prevarication to some degree. 

Create a plausible path to deniability, it is not that hard.

Not 45, Donald Trump. 

This man lies so much he is either entirely un-tethered from reality or he is so delusional that he believes his own bullshit. 

He lies as easily as some people breathe. 162 lies and counting at his most recent press conference.

Ex Trump Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham spoke at the recent Democratic National Convention. 

She shared some interesting insights into her former boss. She said that he had no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth. But what she said next really piqued my interest.

This statement is so cynical, so Orwellian and unfortunately so utterly believable when one considers the past behavior of Donald Trump. And it made this most recent statement by the ex president so revelatory.

Former President Trump says he has “no regrets” that his handpicked Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to an abortion. 

“The federal government should have nothing to do with this issue. It’s being solved at the state level, and people are very happy about it,” Trump said in an interview with CBS News. “No regrets, no. I wouldn’t have regrets. I did something most people felt was undoable.” The former president has repeatedly boasted about his role in ending Roe v. Wade, even as he and the Republican Party have broadly tried to stay away from engaging on such a divisive issue. 

Abortion has galvanized Democrats in the two years since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe, and Trump has struggled with whether to embrace or downplay his role in the matter.  

Democrats are campaigning on protecting abortion rights, and Vice President Harris, their presidential nominee, has been the administration’s point person on reproductive rights. Harris has pledged to fight to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade across all states. Trump has settled on the position that abortion policy is up to the states, taking credit for ending Roe and falsely claiming that “all legal scholars, all Democrats, all Republicans” have been trying to let the states decide their own abortion policies for 52 years. 

In fact, poll after poll has shown that most Americans think Roe should have been preserved and support access to abortion.  

Trump has characterized the 2022 Dobbs decision as something that unified the country, allowing voters in every state to decide whether they want to ban abortion outright, after a certain number of weeks, or protect it.  

I read Trump say that liberals, conservatives, everybody agreed on one thing, that they all hated Roe and wanted to get rid of it. Which is complete bullshit. Most women in this country felt like they had a federal right to decide their own reproductive activity, the demise of Roe created a backlash in this country that is still reverberating. Seven states, including very red Kansas, have put the matter to the ballot and proposition and the score is currently seven to nothing.

I have never heard a liberal call for the end of Roe. Ruth Bader Ginsburg had some misgivings over some of the legal basis for the decision but she never called for it to be rescinded.

Trump has shifted like a reed in the wind on this issue. One year he is pro-choice, the next pro life,  he can't keep it straight. Because the man has no real ideology except for the personal amassing of power. That is all he cares about. He can brag to the pro life crowd about doing Roe in and then make statements like he did on Truth Social this week that women were going to love his stance on reproductive rights.

But it wasn't all that long ago that he had this to say:

While he was still a GOP candidate for president, Trump said those who seek abortions should be subject to "some form of punishment." Asked in an MSNBC town hall whether there should be punishment, Trump said: “The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.” 

“For the woman?” host Chris Matthews asked Trump.

 “Yes,” Trump replied.

If you believe anything that comes out of this guy's pie hole, you need to have your own head examined. Watch how often he repeats a lie and then pretends that it is true.

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“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”

― George Orwell, 1984

Peach macadamia scones with ginger and orange zest.

I haven't cooked much since I came home.

But Leslie asked me to make her some scones for her birthday and so like a good husband I did.

I made exactly what she asked for, cherry, chocolate with ginger and walnuts. Now that is certainly not my favorite but who cares what I like? It was her birthday and I whipped them up at 5:30 in the morning so that they would be warm when she awoke.

I didn't take a picture. My wife, being a serious chocolate lover, said they were the best batch yet. Personally I don't really like chocolate in the morning, a bit too sweet for my tender constitution. But she loved them and that's all that counts.

She left for the beach with a girlfriend today and I decided to bake a batch that I would enjoy.

I baked a dozen peach, macadamia scones with ginger and orange zest.

Did a milk wash and added dark cane sugar to the tops.  

Eighteen minutes at three seventy five convection bake, I was good to go.

Added some almond extract to the vanilla just to try something different. I have used walnut, pecan, cashew, filbert and other nuts before, never macadamias. They are good.

Now this is much more my style and they tasted great. She can eat all of the cherry chocolate she wants.

These are mine.

Get it together

I think I have figured out my problem, as soon as I start to get my shit together it starts falling apart. I am trying to put my shop back together. It is a two week job basically. I can't unpack the Santa Fe boxes until I get to the Santa Barbara boxes, which I left packed because what's the point if I am going right back on the road?

I literally can't walk through the shop without tripping on something, I just about broke my neck a minute ago.

Too many paintings, too much material. Anyway, when I finally get this place in order it will be time to start the whole cycle again. Luckily I have a month between shows. September is free, a rarity for me.

My fantasy was to go to Wyoming sometime this month and get some wildlife shots in. Tetons and Yellowstone. But I decided to do the responsible thing instead, which is to photograph all my inventory and get it up on the website. I am woefully remiss on that front, way out of date. 

I can't sell it if people can't see it and they certainly can't get in the door. Which is a shame as I have some incredible material right now.

Anyway the new plan is to spend at least three hours a day making sense of the whole mess and making productive progress and inroads and then hitting the camera and website hard. But the truth is that I am exhausted and there is only so much left in the tank. Age might be creeping up on me.

Wish me luck.

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The night blooming cereus is really going to town right now under the pindo palm.

Everybody is loving it, including the bees.

Leslie has kept the home front in great shape. I have a few sprinklers to repair but there is always that. Got to go, have to get back to the shop organization after I grab a cup of coffee.

Joshua gone Barbados

Happy August 23rd!

Some of my favorite people were born on this very day, when Leo cusps Virgo in the heavenly progression.

My mom.

My wife.

My friend Steve Stoops.

Chanteuse and good friend Robin Adler.

Who else? Well not counting Barbara Eden, the list is indeed impressive:

• Oliver Hazard Perry, naval hero
• Arnold Toynbee, economist
• Gene Kelly, dancer
• Keith Moon, rock drummer
• Julio Franco, former Indians player (66)
• River Phoenix, actor
• Kobe Bryant, NBA All-Star

You want more?

Billy Stewart - Summertime

Joint was jumping!

It's Leslie's birthday today and we have been celebrating all this past week. Yesterday we went whale watching again off Oceanside. This might be our thirtieth time out on the boat with Oceanside Adventures, we have stopped counting. Spent a lot of birthdays and anniversaries out there.

We both love being out on the water.

We were lucky enough to be on the older boat, our preference.

We went out about six miles when we ran into the common dolphin pod, I think about six hundred of them.

They were boiling pretty well, paying us little attention, just having a good time on their own. We cruised with them for a long while, watched some incredible jumps.

No whales yesterday but boy did we run into some dolphins! I have been in a lot of huge dolphin pods and boils but I have never seen one where so many dolphins were rocketing ten feet out of the water!

Everywhere you looked a common dolphin was propelling itself into space.

It was totally insane.

I took way too many shots, don't have time to process them all but I am sure that I can find a few gems.

We both feel a strong spiritual connection with our cetacean brethren.

What an epic day!

The captain even got on the microphone and wished Leslie a happy birthday! 

Thank you Oceanside Adventures. 

Happy birthday, sweetheart! 💜