tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209525602024-03-12T22:01:29.196-04:00Dungannistan'Everyone mistakes the limit of their mind for the limits of the world'Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comBlogger1391125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-78343421898639141792022-12-20T15:47:00.002-05:002022-12-20T15:47:29.324-05:00A Brief Visit to DUMBO<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qcbIoPI9VLRR0x4etCKgTXMWHW8YvDG9jjDFCNJeMS6V1GwCcAJnIT7s-dSLE7OMgyDl7vy1_3ILmoZSRaUXdrikZh8W7ugr8v0leVnOCOp5LcWsOwS0X7b2kxQxSysIGHy-NhWr-1zxVDJOw3xZxA_STCZKW7DsNEPp6Dzn8Otic3uuvMg/s4032/3A030961-D497-4EF3-996A-34B18D327494.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qcbIoPI9VLRR0x4etCKgTXMWHW8YvDG9jjDFCNJeMS6V1GwCcAJnIT7s-dSLE7OMgyDl7vy1_3ILmoZSRaUXdrikZh8W7ugr8v0leVnOCOp5LcWsOwS0X7b2kxQxSysIGHy-NhWr-1zxVDJOw3xZxA_STCZKW7DsNEPp6Dzn8Otic3uuvMg/s320/3A030961-D497-4EF3-996A-34B18D327494.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52IdtcjGTpQU1hXNX7jxo7N_GC_3LLhfAGyXmcuk_bSSsnqYV-eme-ewiKdlK-csOXtJS66y3JgzC9E04Wf6KkOT7bprJQmLIB8yLx0U9j7ckUFm_HpWDwzYL57lLzA0W0-RX6-tvi67aGl1UJ8Irww5DrGJsWOr5sxSuAvd-3bZyDL1Yxsw/s4032/24CE19B8-0523-4D62-84D8-866489816C21.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52IdtcjGTpQU1hXNX7jxo7N_GC_3LLhfAGyXmcuk_bSSsnqYV-eme-ewiKdlK-csOXtJS66y3JgzC9E04Wf6KkOT7bprJQmLIB8yLx0U9j7ckUFm_HpWDwzYL57lLzA0W0-RX6-tvi67aGl1UJ8Irww5DrGJsWOr5sxSuAvd-3bZyDL1Yxsw/s320/24CE19B8-0523-4D62-84D8-866489816C21.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHxoAHpwde3E2GCFoa-peZJM8JYVzpZCNIYQv8zTnMMm4cgilHYjrHkc8kkY7GYsEGeEziePgFKGWVoA4LNRK03vIKDIotbgC_rlSZszDJxZhbjVExLVzvOs6ReD2OeFf6Og48IFsd4XmLnw8bzjUEcFCUefTAXGZHS8DJXvmkpnHQCPaEyk/s4032/81D9B2C9-F6C4-4A50-B762-EF6F3855282E.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHxoAHpwde3E2GCFoa-peZJM8JYVzpZCNIYQv8zTnMMm4cgilHYjrHkc8kkY7GYsEGeEziePgFKGWVoA4LNRK03vIKDIotbgC_rlSZszDJxZhbjVExLVzvOs6ReD2OeFf6Og48IFsd4XmLnw8bzjUEcFCUefTAXGZHS8DJXvmkpnHQCPaEyk/s320/81D9B2C9-F6C4-4A50-B762-EF6F3855282E.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLmJFg95d1xkOUaILlDqil3NSQiCaLyOv8dngTqWg0hEp4od8HsRxcF0JTZX8kiufA5Cz58Wp3hYCh7ZdrkjLl44EDsOTRShGRNN1134tiqszGu1iAJMHByox7ZjkvOM_y7bhhnjbzMKRfQCdcQX7T0IL1WX6tZ3eWJwUkbg5DLYA70yNXR8/s4032/E36DEEF3-DA81-4620-AC8D-B6DC0D3FE1B3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLmJFg95d1xkOUaILlDqil3NSQiCaLyOv8dngTqWg0hEp4od8HsRxcF0JTZX8kiufA5Cz58Wp3hYCh7ZdrkjLl44EDsOTRShGRNN1134tiqszGu1iAJMHByox7ZjkvOM_y7bhhnjbzMKRfQCdcQX7T0IL1WX6tZ3eWJwUkbg5DLYA70yNXR8/s320/E36DEEF3-DA81-4620-AC8D-B6DC0D3FE1B3.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-932143915828982022022-11-02T13:29:00.003-04:002022-11-02T13:29:25.361-04:00<p> </p><div class="c-feature-hd" style="text-align: left;">
<h1 class="c-hdgSans c-hdgSans_2 c-mix-hdgSans_inline" style="text-align: center;">
The Mower
</h1>
</div>
<div class="c-feature-sub c-feature-sub_vast" style="text-align: center;">
<div>
<span class="c-txt c-txt_attribution">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By Philip Larkin</span></span></div><div><span class="c-txt c-txt_attribution">
</span>
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<div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found <br /></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
A hedgehog jammed up against the blades, <br /></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
Killed. It had been in the long grass.<br /></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
<br /></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
I had seen it before, and even fed it, once. <br /></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world <br /></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
Unmendably. Burial was no help:<br /></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
<br /></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
Next morning I got up and it did not.<br /></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
The first day after a death, the new absence <br /></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
Is always the same; <b>we should be careful<br /></b></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
<b><br /></b></div><div style="padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;"><b>
Of each other, we should be kind <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>
While there is still time</b>.</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-36813705472817116942022-09-17T19:23:00.001-04:002022-09-17T19:23:05.662-04:00In Harlem, today, 09/17/2022<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9amoVt5LighjAZRdsqTULISVQ13fk04EawbQW0Qe1ek1_6iI6q7hKOzLdgCmxcEphcr0tMpltPArmylE2sFLAZlwqBGo4uYXqnyqEJn56X_hePvJiuUnep6Jh_mXl2H_REp20MkjiPemTRuvU3_2jqIJ-EiztXNtMAhDVYkDzfsuoftKHN0/s4032/IMG-3447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9amoVt5LighjAZRdsqTULISVQ13fk04EawbQW0Qe1ek1_6iI6q7hKOzLdgCmxcEphcr0tMpltPArmylE2sFLAZlwqBGo4uYXqnyqEJn56X_hePvJiuUnep6Jh_mXl2H_REp20MkjiPemTRuvU3_2jqIJ-EiztXNtMAhDVYkDzfsuoftKHN0/w278-h371/IMG-3447.JPG" width="278" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsCq3rluIPQdlAk429IcZ8tV7Jyi8PtGxsTxC0aPyv8iHD6FZyObFECWCUsHg5CIBaF_6rRC0cQwQNpQRb02Q2X7zS8OA-WR5jIZa07LkBwdE0NXBnCptvaY4bI5ZmRhTmw9A-U6MJAKYv6X2682JHUkHnlH4DlAVnvwFaX-I0yiiSe2gUmM/s4032/IMG-3454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsCq3rluIPQdlAk429IcZ8tV7Jyi8PtGxsTxC0aPyv8iHD6FZyObFECWCUsHg5CIBaF_6rRC0cQwQNpQRb02Q2X7zS8OA-WR5jIZa07LkBwdE0NXBnCptvaY4bI5ZmRhTmw9A-U6MJAKYv6X2682JHUkHnlH4DlAVnvwFaX-I0yiiSe2gUmM/w302-h403/IMG-3454.JPG" width="302" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-53653186812821943402022-04-17T02:52:00.001-04:002022-04-17T02:52:13.195-04:00Good Friday parade, Annunciation Church, Convent Avenue, Harlem<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwSFnZgsA8uTGhk8c5sLSm5smnAW68Pb08VLdbG-_wCT1XDK6YP2pIYm1pEsn-YLGAYjP7e8n3lHhA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jdmXRl3wbq2nut73wdRC1S6CHAnwkMs9_ryG_wuaKI-ZexCzG2fjz4d-H9d4BJ0cp96furCrSjvrI3aiS7V6afYki22AS2jsl6iH7D6TP1-HS6o8YVvn2aTkjnPrrSDbjslHh6AzO_qV60EtvZbbrFmfCBLRAvDJ9oy7nG8oyoO9hUcKGYg/s4032/IMG_8416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jdmXRl3wbq2nut73wdRC1S6CHAnwkMs9_ryG_wuaKI-ZexCzG2fjz4d-H9d4BJ0cp96furCrSjvrI3aiS7V6afYki22AS2jsl6iH7D6TP1-HS6o8YVvn2aTkjnPrrSDbjslHh6AzO_qV60EtvZbbrFmfCBLRAvDJ9oy7nG8oyoO9hUcKGYg/s320/IMG_8416.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8g5pdTa9Hxh5J64HnE-C3O768Jb9puCgng-C3bNojIyabWQ9mHaJqSEWpmUfav_XzYuFUTmGvlPwHZTRjglsj2XZNWKO6VYT8B2uMBIXWFK_aJvq6Vm0A5kT9bXLGZMUMDmZRodqDidxNFzvrbYVGWEU9qE5dTQGSfU6qYkvnxkMOa1_GqdE/s4032/IMG_8414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8g5pdTa9Hxh5J64HnE-C3O768Jb9puCgng-C3bNojIyabWQ9mHaJqSEWpmUfav_XzYuFUTmGvlPwHZTRjglsj2XZNWKO6VYT8B2uMBIXWFK_aJvq6Vm0A5kT9bXLGZMUMDmZRodqDidxNFzvrbYVGWEU9qE5dTQGSfU6qYkvnxkMOa1_GqdE/s320/IMG_8414.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-50566076921619730312022-04-17T02:48:00.002-04:002022-04-17T02:48:15.317-04:00Good Friday on the Grand Concourse<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZWx4zXH8ASY7hags5ZKsBuvUbvRVSohzhnfR1Uk7rs9FgmELy1GPAD6JlkG26aaVZ2VqNEJJLtIYQ3FsWy7-l_Km5oI8UY-RMI828nAD4pxMOkTaSTfFlw2aYHI28GCi1jz7SWhBQxLWW3jkz8UaqADhn_SFFisrqyIb5KaAapp_f-c4v3LM/s1770/8476446A-74C1-400D-ABBB-F929D91348AD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1770" data-original-width="1102" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZWx4zXH8ASY7hags5ZKsBuvUbvRVSohzhnfR1Uk7rs9FgmELy1GPAD6JlkG26aaVZ2VqNEJJLtIYQ3FsWy7-l_Km5oI8UY-RMI828nAD4pxMOkTaSTfFlw2aYHI28GCi1jz7SWhBQxLWW3jkz8UaqADhn_SFFisrqyIb5KaAapp_f-c4v3LM/s320/8476446A-74C1-400D-ABBB-F929D91348AD.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To 170th Street and Grand Concourse in the Bronx, on Good Friday, April 15th, 2022...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSKmf_2_Wp0MmKGuLwWMp0boy1jYSZ579W2sCxbD1QskBwWiwWOiYkOcN4RSI4Y1VfJAIGKOzLvi5Pa_ZBRPhaUvkU8wdENsTKvsDZbspsNHa0zmPvza5Ig-GZpMO3gzfCz5o3Y7mbnQhotePrmc50B_vMSWLAP9i-o5D5a9ZFjTB0OjzqB9Y/s4032/IMG_8429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSKmf_2_Wp0MmKGuLwWMp0boy1jYSZ579W2sCxbD1QskBwWiwWOiYkOcN4RSI4Y1VfJAIGKOzLvi5Pa_ZBRPhaUvkU8wdENsTKvsDZbspsNHa0zmPvza5Ig-GZpMO3gzfCz5o3Y7mbnQhotePrmc50B_vMSWLAP9i-o5D5a9ZFjTB0OjzqB9Y/s320/IMG_8429.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPrH-TLOV3dWQEpwCId9r-VLizL8DsDt9noLqbFQeZjkYUPKQ8NQ4Lz3YDOk5afVjGdf2pZGfLzd-kGokUgtYXnJ51JUfC9XUzIvoej2KLCghIrozhrai_-Sz5RVCeLshmUEy-kOsi-XCB_8kfT2U0qpqKJUXAl5orR_X7bG9ctVJkwojQb8/s4032/IMG_8431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPrH-TLOV3dWQEpwCId9r-VLizL8DsDt9noLqbFQeZjkYUPKQ8NQ4Lz3YDOk5afVjGdf2pZGfLzd-kGokUgtYXnJ51JUfC9XUzIvoej2KLCghIrozhrai_-Sz5RVCeLshmUEy-kOsi-XCB_8kfT2U0qpqKJUXAl5orR_X7bG9ctVJkwojQb8/s320/IMG_8431.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WhuSaCs1jAPUX4-d-Xp35rnWxLXDNvrMWSpvX5jlvqJ1UDY3K1wC6zjw3hx8fnMwDV3RyIl8VqG7mc8IQ8ECS3TgQ5qhvDrnQ9j0jwxrm6-_ZkBWxul6wOhNMJJbc2t0gYSZj1j12TVXT8XzYJaRatVfePPO-1nEKTnmC4LUqxYKx6Bpdik/s4032/IMG_8432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WhuSaCs1jAPUX4-d-Xp35rnWxLXDNvrMWSpvX5jlvqJ1UDY3K1wC6zjw3hx8fnMwDV3RyIl8VqG7mc8IQ8ECS3TgQ5qhvDrnQ9j0jwxrm6-_ZkBWxul6wOhNMJJbc2t0gYSZj1j12TVXT8XzYJaRatVfePPO-1nEKTnmC4LUqxYKx6Bpdik/s320/IMG_8432.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYE3I1iVEKFE6ViVuiezOOvPBDDo2TbNLGgE4QcTvUB70WV3kxToLq11zZhUft84zzo00YzgYV2df9AB8LSIKlNk-c28BR1gtMJmxmdRPm3Y33jL1eIXy0mgcGAl_eSNpaZXR7SkqloK_hpIqQQdnSRRTfnIYRFXRsZWvFkpG_hpV4Ud7eOng/s4032/IMG_8435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYE3I1iVEKFE6ViVuiezOOvPBDDo2TbNLGgE4QcTvUB70WV3kxToLq11zZhUft84zzo00YzgYV2df9AB8LSIKlNk-c28BR1gtMJmxmdRPm3Y33jL1eIXy0mgcGAl_eSNpaZXR7SkqloK_hpIqQQdnSRRTfnIYRFXRsZWvFkpG_hpV4Ud7eOng/s320/IMG_8435.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-53226087169236607292022-04-17T02:20:00.001-04:002022-04-17T02:41:09.044-04:00Watching Tarkovsky’s ‘Stalker’ Again <div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3IE7SruHAZpPhZL_Q7RR-lgSLqTZ1CVvce7Nvrx37BnGsl8fcTqPQC-cgNTVcHRmUrDgbAN1om0ECVYEKq2o_sbnSdbZ42CS8_4ixrNKw09eeFPo4kAC8Td7TLt6c8NvjPrK2vulKX8gZiYKVvp-PWO6oANpdXUKUnv8ENKkOVuyeH4m42U/s3024/DC128784-980B-4762-8BFA-06941D69D20D.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3IE7SruHAZpPhZL_Q7RR-lgSLqTZ1CVvce7Nvrx37BnGsl8fcTqPQC-cgNTVcHRmUrDgbAN1om0ECVYEKq2o_sbnSdbZ42CS8_4ixrNKw09eeFPo4kAC8Td7TLt6c8NvjPrK2vulKX8gZiYKVvp-PWO6oANpdXUKUnv8ENKkOVuyeH4m42U/s320/DC128784-980B-4762-8BFA-06941D69D20D.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>From the outside world...</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The surreal sci fi masterpiece, 'Stalker', directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, tells a jarring, dislocated story of a mysterious zone, inside which the normal laws of nature no longer apply. Guarded by a military force, the zone is occasionally penetrated by renegade guides, or 'stalkers', who will bring adventurers with them for a price. </div><div><br /></div><div>The 1979 film is loosely based on a Russian sci fi short story, 'Roadside Picnic', which describes superior alien beings who halt briefly on Earth, en route to somewhere or something else. The trash or detritus from their brief roadside picnic, is utterly mesmerizing to earthlings, and causes strange zones on the planet, inside which the alien discardings upend the laws of physics. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwJ6GU1HAjCFuhfEC1tTBiNIMDTjWWsGNAmuVqTWS_Z94Y4wxiE-R_065VNwQ-vJiYZFkyauJsPY17AulXt5TS9VJksAfyLPR7cXUo_XOmbZQ7fdfb8XTNdPGVvnbIKlda1LRqpOHS5wXdqyzzULl2TVXg6Olb7cBsVRxeDlGldR7_ndOJug/s3024/2FE44EBA-2D00-4B05-8C4D-04AD7E8D6758.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwJ6GU1HAjCFuhfEC1tTBiNIMDTjWWsGNAmuVqTWS_Z94Y4wxiE-R_065VNwQ-vJiYZFkyauJsPY17AulXt5TS9VJksAfyLPR7cXUo_XOmbZQ7fdfb8XTNdPGVvnbIKlda1LRqpOHS5wXdqyzzULl2TVXg6Olb7cBsVRxeDlGldR7_ndOJug/s320/2FE44EBA-2D00-4B05-8C4D-04AD7E8D6758.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>...to inside the Zone...</i></div><div><br /></div>In the movie, the transition from the polluted and wretched sepia-tinted world to the zone, manifests as full, saturated color. But despite its apparent natural beauty, the zone has an unsettling Garden of Eden quality, in which not much happens but the three characters seem to be stricken with extreme paranoia. The Stalker insists that the shortest and safest route through the zone is always a circuitous, backtracking maze. His comrades quickly find their minds riven with suspicion and misunderstanding. <p></p><div>I'm probably a Philistine, but I almost wanted there to be more action in this slowly-unfolding story, ...and for once a remake might be a compelling project.... </div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><i>"Was it a meteorite or a visitation from outer space?<br /><br />Whatever it was, in our small country, there appeared a miracle — the Zone.<br /><br />We sent in troops. Not one returned.<br /><br />Then we surrounded the Zone with a security cordon.<br /><br />We did right... Although I'm not sure. I'm not sure."</i></div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-44772866269364408802022-04-17T02:12:00.000-04:002022-04-17T02:12:04.552-04:00Fabian, or Going to the Dogs<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCIK7RJs45LkGf6HsGxB6RAvfdYDqiLIKQ1xcGIXqD5h8Wn6O3tpLjfqNrNFSdwhfEptE_VwvZvg9y3vlzAxmG1KVpROxg-O_kROgW9idDfy6KR8IIrHlZeAsN9jiGY6OZQ2tVBjXxWBFjhoieq5d3KC2tKVP0WPMl1ieBDV0V89Al_-4QsUs/s3792/MV5BZTFiNGM3NmUtODAwNi00ZmFhLWFkMTMtNmQxMWM3Y2ZkNmUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODc5Mjc4Nzg@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3792" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCIK7RJs45LkGf6HsGxB6RAvfdYDqiLIKQ1xcGIXqD5h8Wn6O3tpLjfqNrNFSdwhfEptE_VwvZvg9y3vlzAxmG1KVpROxg-O_kROgW9idDfy6KR8IIrHlZeAsN9jiGY6OZQ2tVBjXxWBFjhoieq5d3KC2tKVP0WPMl1ieBDV0V89Al_-4QsUs/w354-h187/MV5BZTFiNGM3NmUtODAwNi00ZmFhLWFkMTMtNmQxMWM3Y2ZkNmUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODc5Mjc4Nzg@._V1_.jpg" width="354" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Tom Schilling stars as Jakob Fabian in "Fabian, or Going to the Dogs" (2021).</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span>"<i>Despite it all, life was a most interesting occupation</i>" ~ adopted from Erich Kastner's novel, "Fabian" tells the story of earnest writer and man about town, Jakob Fabian, in late Weimar Berlin. Through a turbulent relationship with a rising film star, his friendship with a rich, idealistic young intellectual, Fabian's tragedy is seen against the larger tragedy of Berlin and Germany, on the slide towards Nazism. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-35405660153956347512022-04-01T01:20:00.005-04:002022-04-01T01:20:53.258-04:00Bizarre Beach Detritus<p><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR5CdSQWLSOSJwqwU7kvcNz_LRsYxnZxcEQeSAACCivcYHSErDBTA0PPTartSHpMIF0o69BFjkgFLbSwosj5XHizPVwkjDZnaXANYwzRYEv31i4Y4RZxPsOl-w25PZ5axcntinIR9WfrRr3aWWaBhtrqjVZWZueZrULRp9BQKAb7MSwmp5l4/s1000/1000.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR5CdSQWLSOSJwqwU7kvcNz_LRsYxnZxcEQeSAACCivcYHSErDBTA0PPTartSHpMIF0o69BFjkgFLbSwosj5XHizPVwkjDZnaXANYwzRYEv31i4Y4RZxPsOl-w25PZ5axcntinIR9WfrRr3aWWaBhtrqjVZWZueZrULRp9BQKAb7MSwmp5l4/s320/1000.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: FreightText, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px;">"A hunk of human hair; a full set of dentures (“I TOLD you not to take your teeth to the beach!”); a thong; a used narcan kit (used to revive drug overdose victims); several marijuana bags (empty, of course); a bullet casing, and a fake eyeball were among <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oddities-sports-new-jersey-oceans-8b642bbf4ba30a248b694cd326af4f20?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email">items picked up</a>" on </span><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: FreightText, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px;">New Jersey beaches in 2021.</span></p><p></p><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c2c2c; font-family: FreightText, Georgia, serif;"><i>There also was part of a bowling ball; a rainbow-striped women’s bathing suit (raising a rather obvious question about someone’s trip home); a highway traffic cone; part of a car windshield; a check for $1; an accordion and a harmonica, and a CD holder filled with albums by Limp Bizkit (perhaps the lone instance in which littering might be justified.)</i></span></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A reminder of my long-ago photo series on <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHsiPk6STd">random detritus</a>. </span></p><p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-47934350947392159452022-03-26T22:23:00.001-04:002022-03-26T22:23:39.418-04:00Love and Dread<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiamaYgeTGZAvji9rRYspjX7fPRpCcQKWKSiMBNtFonFoqtDZ1CdhTCtI87yPt8SMGC-wJ7DkrrSmyxuNmal5t6nK07Sqqw6HXKfmqHmtpYaU05LuFeB1rJRDmcM0Pu8DO_amN9sybKAC3eGpohXO0smaBuBlu0WM3_aIkC4NNjYYBL5bWNks4/s600/cat-sneezing-02.jpg.optimal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiamaYgeTGZAvji9rRYspjX7fPRpCcQKWKSiMBNtFonFoqtDZ1CdhTCtI87yPt8SMGC-wJ7DkrrSmyxuNmal5t6nK07Sqqw6HXKfmqHmtpYaU05LuFeB1rJRDmcM0Pu8DO_amN9sybKAC3eGpohXO0smaBuBlu0WM3_aIkC4NNjYYBL5bWNks4/s320/cat-sneezing-02.jpg.optimal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><h1 style="text-align: left;">Love and Dread</h1><div>By Rachel Hadas</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">A desiccated daffodil.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">A pigeon cooing on the sill.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">The old cat lives on love and water.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Your mother’s balanced by your daughter:</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">one faces death, one will give birth.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">The fulcrum is our life on earth,</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">beginning, ending in a bed.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">We have to marry love and dread.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Dark clouds are roiling in the sky.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">The daily drumbeat of the lie,</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">steady—no, crescendoing.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">This premature deceptive spring,</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">forsythia’s in bloom already.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">The challenge: balance. Keep it steady,</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">now sniffing daffodils’ aroma,</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">now Googling a rare sarcoma.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">The ghost cat’s weightless on my lap.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">My mother’s ghost floats through my nap,</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">as, dearest heart, we lie in bed.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Oh, we must marry love and dread:</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">must shield our senses from the glare</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">and clamor of chaos everywhere.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Life bestows gifts past expectation.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">It’s time to plan a celebration:</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">dance at the wedding, drink and sing,</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">certain that summer follows spring,</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">that new life blossoms from the past.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">The baby is the youngest guest.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">But just how long can we depend</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">on a recurrence without end?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Everything changes, even change.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">The tapestry of seasons strange-</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">ly stirs in an uneasy wind</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">that teases dreamlike through the mind.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">I reach for you across the bed.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Oh, how to marry love and dread?</span></div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-13197560788108601122022-03-20T23:39:00.002-04:002022-03-20T23:39:22.063-04:00Both at the same time?<p> <span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Montserrat, serif; font-size: 18.399999618530273px;">"Love and friendship each make a demand of loyalty and exclusivity that is likely to bring them into conflict."</span></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-8042256504483611042022-03-15T20:52:00.002-04:002022-03-15T20:52:47.315-04:00We May Well Be Doomed This Time<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrIM3Op62s7wLkOGqv35inDNHMCe3YMX65rcO_jPDYJ_BEXPFRI-xziC0jVbzJKJP4Q9ybLfXDwshmH4pSh0EA3I9aZSgmn2jJ-Slt-LtOg_RnIUyl85RPpgzNtXzGnmfwWmLCRfU-j54vwljBPH_VjIeSlks-QGDsA14vTqN-Z86a1jjnkow=s749" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="749" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrIM3Op62s7wLkOGqv35inDNHMCe3YMX65rcO_jPDYJ_BEXPFRI-xziC0jVbzJKJP4Q9ybLfXDwshmH4pSh0EA3I9aZSgmn2jJ-Slt-LtOg_RnIUyl85RPpgzNtXzGnmfwWmLCRfU-j54vwljBPH_VjIeSlks-QGDsA14vTqN-Z86a1jjnkow=w400-h276" width="400" /></a></div><br /> Yes, we should look to history to help us understand the present and the future, no, we should try not to be trapped into viewing the present through the lenses of the past (although this is almost impossible to avoid), but if ever there was an international crisis for which the term "spiral out of control like 1914" seems apt, this is it. And with the stakes infinitely higher, because... <i>nuclear</i>.<p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-10734117545562072232021-10-03T23:18:00.006-04:002021-10-03T23:27:21.104-04:00Unforgotten, unforgettable<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FPUOqr6zAuE/YVpx8lpv-YI/AAAAAAACg8A/KE7HikXzSB0-SM-VWgbm0Drho_S6FwwnQCPcBGAsYHg/s1824/IMG_3843.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1385" data-original-width="1824" height="304" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FPUOqr6zAuE/YVpx8lpv-YI/AAAAAAACg8A/KE7HikXzSB0-SM-VWgbm0Drho_S6FwwnQCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h304/IMG_3843.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Remembering Rob, who passed four years ago on October 1st ...</div><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VgTLluWbGZ0/YVpx4K-WF5I/AAAAAAACg78/dP2uKwnwJOMTeo5UArAXZYB3krLhPLLnwCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_0572.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VgTLluWbGZ0/YVpx4K-WF5I/AAAAAAACg78/dP2uKwnwJOMTeo5UArAXZYB3krLhPLLnwCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_0572.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">And also Heather, who died on February 8th this year.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-52QuQ2GhRVU/YVp0ixhkgSI/AAAAAAACg80/JntfKkgqWjEvT2z_-cfxvTjE46NrvFJhwCPcBGAsYHg/s1311/IMG_2715.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1311" data-original-width="1125" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-52QuQ2GhRVU/YVp0ixhkgSI/AAAAAAACg80/JntfKkgqWjEvT2z_-cfxvTjE46NrvFJhwCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_2715.PNG" width="275" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">And George, who passed in the spring of this year ...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-52004586621596775342021-10-03T23:12:00.006-04:002021-10-03T23:12:56.606-04:00Recently<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7lgKq_sW-a8/YVpwcUnbNAI/AAAAAAACg7w/XPXYm1ZTfng6d5_Rt-_r5TBLNsKjsSWRQCPcBGAsYHg/s2436/IMG_3379.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="2436" height="191" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7lgKq_sW-a8/YVpwcUnbNAI/AAAAAAACg7w/XPXYm1ZTfng6d5_Rt-_r5TBLNsKjsSWRQCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h191/IMG_3379.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hoboken: PATH train escalator ...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W3xXucnfj_w/YVpwcfXRATI/AAAAAAACg7w/7Li1tc7UXKck5OPWocdzOv6GmoF09LhwwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/65491843380__8462779D-C65E-4737-8291-634AC99822BF.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W3xXucnfj_w/YVpwcfXRATI/AAAAAAACg7w/7Li1tc7UXKck5OPWocdzOv6GmoF09LhwwCPcBGAsYHg/w320-h320/65491843380__8462779D-C65E-4737-8291-634AC99822BF.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Spares ...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWPrO2H_4LU/YVpwcS-zAdI/AAAAAAACg7w/-VzKqGm2wCwwqhvFBZCO1COefHHp89URACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWPrO2H_4LU/YVpwcS-zAdI/AAAAAAACg7w/-VzKqGm2wCwwqhvFBZCO1COefHHp89URACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3364.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Near 125th Street and Morningside Avenue ...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h4rfG4oYDaw/YVpwcYIfejI/AAAAAAACg7w/qFIDQKE87v8itk4vQO_tqQRGEVnajMZLACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h4rfG4oYDaw/YVpwcYIfejI/AAAAAAACg7w/qFIDQKE87v8itk4vQO_tqQRGEVnajMZLACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3340.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">An old man and his dog ...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g6M6JY8nMOc/YVpwcaKGNHI/AAAAAAACg7w/W8SJNkdJ4Pc7jJzaDajOtcrEfTSVO3LgACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g6M6JY8nMOc/YVpwcaKGNHI/AAAAAAACg7w/W8SJNkdJ4Pc7jJzaDajOtcrEfTSVO3LgACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3344.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">... and their new chair ...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-87075412459043595762021-09-01T17:40:00.002-04:002021-09-01T19:35:42.084-04:00Todd Webb<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UG1-bFQi8qI/YS_ycNJ4aII/AAAAAAACevk/Z4QlhgiBFo85EuossrNc6Gp4OdyfYdL_ACLcBGAsYHQ/ec52415d1325ff2aaa3e61c9cda36fe8.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="396" height="361" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UG1-bFQi8qI/YS_ycNJ4aII/AAAAAAACevk/Z4QlhgiBFo85EuossrNc6Gp4OdyfYdL_ACLcBGAsYHQ/w247-h361/ec52415d1325ff2aaa3e61c9cda36fe8.jpeg" width="247" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Webb">Todd Webb</a></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122;"> (September 5, 1905 – April 15, 2000) was an American photographer notable for documenting everyday people and life, and architecture, in cities...</span></span></div><p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-22365945305161059722021-09-01T00:17:00.004-04:002021-09-01T00:17:32.510-04:00Perseus<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yGICT5IJJlA/YS7-wDF1jwI/AAAAAAACetc/aIKcCsnIZ2guDgYdZvn-AKWuN05T2Q0JgCLcBGAsYHQ/Perseus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="378" height="457" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yGICT5IJJlA/YS7-wDF1jwI/AAAAAAACetc/aIKcCsnIZ2guDgYdZvn-AKWuN05T2Q0JgCLcBGAsYHQ/w303-h457/Perseus.jpg" width="303" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-63370710589212009992021-08-07T04:39:00.005-04:002021-08-07T04:39:54.081-04:00Rush Hour in the Previous Era<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BiYJEdAzAtI/YQ5Gok2HqcI/AAAAAAACcKw/bcNEiAeBQNEFLdzg76tyZSYKFZH_R-pewCPcBGAsYHg/s3520/IMG_3827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1980" data-original-width="3520" height="206" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BiYJEdAzAtI/YQ5Gok2HqcI/AAAAAAACcKw/bcNEiAeBQNEFLdzg76tyZSYKFZH_R-pewCPcBGAsYHg/w366-h206/IMG_3827.JPG" width="366" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-62567518514596000752021-08-05T02:33:00.001-04:002021-08-06T22:51:32.720-04:00Caught on in tape<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iWhj1hVJPzY/YQuE6-E9K9I/AAAAAAACcGE/oLzNTx8Iu5wknNjWTi_PkQClNE_MiILdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/03xp-passenger1-superJumbo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="194" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iWhj1hVJPzY/YQuE6-E9K9I/AAAAAAACcGE/oLzNTx8Iu5wknNjWTi_PkQClNE_MiILdQCLcBGAsYHQ/w344-h194/03xp-passenger1-superJumbo.jpg" width="344" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">NYT: '<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">A Frontier Airlines passenger assaulted three flight attendants, punching one and groping the breasts of two others, on a weekend flight from Philadelphia to Miami, prompting one crew member to tape him to his seat until the plane landed, the authorities said.'</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Best part of the story: '</span></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><i>Mr. Berry graduated in May from Ohio Wesleyan University, where he received a values in action award from the Greek life community for being a “perfect role model” and for leading “the fight to dismantle fraternity stereotypes.</i>”' 😂</span></span></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-52358660331908355142021-08-05T01:44:00.001-04:002021-08-05T01:44:25.079-04:00“Uncle Jack” Charles<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--8Tmy8uZhtg/YQt6OXRrvLI/AAAAAAACcF8/xaFeWddqZuEGvtEUDP8m2rUjClv2Lqc5gCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/A5984837-BECF-4B83-9B87-DB49B92F58C6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--8Tmy8uZhtg/YQt6OXRrvLI/AAAAAAACcF8/xaFeWddqZuEGvtEUDP8m2rUjClv2Lqc5gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/A5984837-BECF-4B83-9B87-DB49B92F58C6.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>“<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: #fdfdfd; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Addict. Homosexual. Cat burglar. Actor. Aboriginal.” The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-48702542.amp">life</a> of Jack Charles. </span></span><p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-12613778027812981022021-08-04T10:40:00.001-04:002021-08-04T10:40:30.710-04:00Neon NY Nights<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vlky_qsFGUA/YQqmoRHEiSI/AAAAAAACcFQ/InGRV2shtbMW0PjWWW46Ud42c9qKZQd2wCPcBGAsYHg/s3264/IMG_2104.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vlky_qsFGUA/YQqmoRHEiSI/AAAAAAACcFQ/InGRV2shtbMW0PjWWW46Ud42c9qKZQd2wCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_2104.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQqPUZ1JVDE/YQqmoWHAftI/AAAAAAACcFQ/p1_ZYaWO5agUfLQgCwjUBLKt16hAxdrWQCPcBGAsYHg/s3264/IMG_2103.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQqPUZ1JVDE/YQqmoWHAftI/AAAAAAACcFQ/p1_ZYaWO5agUfLQgCwjUBLKt16hAxdrWQCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_2103.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dvRRBGFlGF8/YQqmoeU6T8I/AAAAAAACcFQ/a8Qe0Q0dOCwunA5Gtq5JIxxmJbtLcQbFACPcBGAsYHg/s3264/IMG_2105.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dvRRBGFlGF8/YQqmoeU6T8I/AAAAAAACcFQ/a8Qe0Q0dOCwunA5Gtq5JIxxmJbtLcQbFACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_2105.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ywe9gXoHrjg/YQqmoX46ZZI/AAAAAAACcFQ/LwgQlxdA6vs9o_3lkiCpRRbaMgbN6ReQwCPcBGAsYHg/s3264/IMG_2106.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ywe9gXoHrjg/YQqmoX46ZZI/AAAAAAACcFQ/LwgQlxdA6vs9o_3lkiCpRRbaMgbN6ReQwCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_2106.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-77325482358324009802021-08-02T23:51:00.000-04:002021-08-02T23:51:02.976-04:00Summer Reigns<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Distant yapping from the mayoral election in NYC kind of reached my ears this summer, but otherwise it's been a very <i>nice </i>New York summer for me so far. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For many people, it continues to be difficult, and there's the slowly-settling feeling that Covid is going to be around to <i>plague </i>us, for possibly years to come. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Despite this, and because of this, I've noticed some beautiful things amongst the interpolation of seething heat and ferocious rainstorms.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5UOJ5K5r0TA/YQizzgVXchI/AAAAAAACcBg/TtgKIettV6oUosT7UypOa7paO1ikZLe_gCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_1535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5UOJ5K5r0TA/YQizzgVXchI/AAAAAAACcBg/TtgKIettV6oUosT7UypOa7paO1ikZLe_gCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_1535.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>This delicate little florette is all over NYC -- I spotted it here while in Central Park with a friend. We both looked it up using our phone apps -- lovely Lantana. (In a part of India, they use a Lantana variety to make furniture that's resistant to termites). <p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JbCRCVsMwnU/YQizziNoBgI/AAAAAAACcBg/-0-5mSBZTosM9m6RzBsl9fjKnLiGtDm8gCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_1550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JbCRCVsMwnU/YQizziNoBgI/AAAAAAACcBg/-0-5mSBZTosM9m6RzBsl9fjKnLiGtDm8gCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_1550.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>A split second meeting with a dragonfly. Lantana, dragonflies, the Bluejays that screech on the streets of Harlem at dawn, the high trees, the frenzied rats, stray cats -- all these natural world things are "busy about the Tree of Life", contingent upon but oblivious of us humans. That vast world, <i>oblivious</i> of us, is simply... amazing. To me!<p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TnOp416ubaA/YQizztu1u6I/AAAAAAACcBg/YwxH8SA2-uQjihsy3_w6C6aPTqPqypMpgCPcBGAsYHg/s3314/IMG_1521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3314" data-original-width="2505" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TnOp416ubaA/YQizztu1u6I/AAAAAAACcBg/YwxH8SA2-uQjihsy3_w6C6aPTqPqypMpgCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_1521.JPG" width="242" /></a></div>And yet, our base impact upon the planet insists upon us with greater frequency than ever. One day, the skies were muddy with a golden haze, as the smoke from the Oregon wildfires drifted thousands of miles eastwards, to gauze the air and atmosphere over New York with this unnatural orange.<p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HwBjstVgCJg/YQizzoZM3NI/AAAAAAACcBg/bdFKP-ECNSELKXK6m0TbEdQegJlYwFKhACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_1437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HwBjstVgCJg/YQizzoZM3NI/AAAAAAACcBg/bdFKP-ECNSELKXK6m0TbEdQegJlYwFKhACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_1437.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>I visited Bethesda, Maryland in early July, a few hundred miles south, but in the grip of an even more muscular heat. Here are the inevitable late afternoon cumulus storm clouds rolling in.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OCyEqIjjrXg/YQizzt32-EI/AAAAAAACcBg/B7lRBIBcj68QMLh2x1ajsaHC2vNA5H8VQCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_1400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OCyEqIjjrXg/YQizzt32-EI/AAAAAAACcBg/B7lRBIBcj68QMLh2x1ajsaHC2vNA5H8VQCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_1400.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was 103F on the afternoon I limped into Washington, D.C. with my friend Joe. How did people survive in the days before air conditioning? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ySr9pPO9cks/YQizzu9jRgI/AAAAAAACcBg/VBO2-Ks6oSAMMqkWr6upiJQyDHOwK8NcACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_1389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ySr9pPO9cks/YQizzu9jRgI/AAAAAAACcBg/VBO2-Ks6oSAMMqkWr6upiJQyDHOwK8NcACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_1389.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I probably asked Joe something stupid like "why is it so hot?"<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0hHGZlEGqno/YQi5e4qJ2XI/AAAAAAACcB0/XMZA7VuXwP8izEHpGO4FKn93M0GaE1-rgCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_0765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0hHGZlEGqno/YQi5e4qJ2XI/AAAAAAACcB0/XMZA7VuXwP8izEHpGO4FKn93M0GaE1-rgCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_0765.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>And for now, summer reigns.<p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-72670436253860079662021-07-29T01:12:00.002-04:002021-08-02T22:49:06.168-04:00Old Apps<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hp9jx-6O4n8/YQI3hwry2OI/AAAAAAACb6s/n0Fo_YdKFeEl9EBmZIfVepJM57ODZtawwCPcBGAsYHg/s2048/IMG_1848.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hp9jx-6O4n8/YQI3hwry2OI/AAAAAAACb6s/n0Fo_YdKFeEl9EBmZIfVepJM57ODZtawwCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_1848.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>When operating systems update, old apps are left behind… <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YkMgnALKb18/YQI3h29Gt-I/AAAAAAACb6s/ZRIt_lURv-UMzUlwHO0snJ-nKd0MclkgACPcBGAsYHg/s2048/IMG_1849.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YkMgnALKb18/YQI3h29Gt-I/AAAAAAACb6s/ZRIt_lURv-UMzUlwHO0snJ-nKd0MclkgACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_1849.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>Like InstaBlender, which I used to make these vivid images, and which, frustratingly, no longer works on my iPhone. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rwuwz12-6S8/YQI3hxhHUqI/AAAAAAACb6s/o5uNEG2WHYkhabCVy6lOpIZwre3EZRQ4gCPcBGAsYHg/s2048/IMG_1853.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rwuwz12-6S8/YQI3hxhHUqI/AAAAAAACb6s/o5uNEG2WHYkhabCVy6lOpIZwre3EZRQ4gCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_1853.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>But I can’t bring myself to delete InstaBlender. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DVhFOIBdXQ/YQI3h1EZDiI/AAAAAAACb6s/mfjoaxgMx7Aq5tqpb3d8kK0gzxImP9gIQCPcBGAsYHg/s2048/IMG_1907.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DVhFOIBdXQ/YQI3h1EZDiI/AAAAAAACb6s/mfjoaxgMx7Aq5tqpb3d8kK0gzxImP9gIQCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_1907.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Creating these and many more was fun and easy. Oh well. </div><br /> <p></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-50889037929551451152020-06-12T13:58:00.001-04:002020-06-12T13:58:21.429-04:00A Thorny Problem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My friend Jerell took me to see an unusual tree, tucked away on West 142nd Street and (also an unusual dead-end street) Chisum Place, in Harlem...</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pq6zxlGtvAk/XuPAHdjOz-I/AAAAAAAB7sk/ds6vFwkUyx4r2dV6Q6mygUmSCUFGGpFuACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2BC736CE-BC8D-49C7-B455-D826E344165F.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pq6zxlGtvAk/XuPAHdjOz-I/AAAAAAAB7sk/ds6vFwkUyx4r2dV6Q6mygUmSCUFGGpFuACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2BC736CE-BC8D-49C7-B455-D826E344165F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
This is a type of locust tree, and apparently the only one of its kind in the city. With thorns like these...<br />
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Considered dangerous because of its hard, sometimes 6 inch long thorns, the city removed any it had planted, years ago.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fjAgxmSUCG4/XuPAIUnlH8I/AAAAAAAB7so/KtPvQuH9Tr8l1UFIa-dsOIsrFneeJdJQwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/245B0B49-8D94-48BE-AF17-2895C68CBD90.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fjAgxmSUCG4/XuPAIUnlH8I/AAAAAAAB7so/KtPvQuH9Tr8l1UFIa-dsOIsrFneeJdJQwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/245B0B49-8D94-48BE-AF17-2895C68CBD90.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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But one remains. Here it grows, lonely and deadly. </div>
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Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-80249368244135984362018-03-21T16:55:00.003-04:002018-03-21T16:55:56.707-04:00Fifteen Years, Twelve Years<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SP7haV2RhsI/WrLDnImZKFI/AAAAAAAA_BA/KqKWyO7xyYwFGI_D8PWdAPfLFfxhwYTMQCLcBGAs/s1600/3031055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1024" height="312" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SP7haV2RhsI/WrLDnImZKFI/AAAAAAAA_BA/KqKWyO7xyYwFGI_D8PWdAPfLFfxhwYTMQCLcBGAs/s400/3031055.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I started this blog twelve years ago this month, three years after the U.S. invaded Iraq on spurious premises of finding weapons of mass destruction, and on a heady revenge kick in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11th, 2001. </div>
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I wrote about many things, but often I vented about the war in Iraq: about those spurious reasons for going to war, about the probability that the war would go awry, about the cavalier approach to the occupation of Iraq, about the horrible effects on U.S. servicemen and women and their families, and the huge, ghastly tragedy and cost of life in Iraq itself. </div>
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Few images summed up better what a disastrous foreign policy adventure it was, than the photos of interim ruler of Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, in a business suit paired with army boots, above, with Donald Rumsfeld...</div>
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Today's New York Times: <span style="background-color: white; font-family: cheltenham-normal-500, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/opinion/iraq-war-anniversary-.html">Fifteen Years Ago, America Destroyed My Country</a>:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: cheltenham-normal-500, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 17px;">No one knows for certain how many Iraqis have died as a result of the invasion 15 years ago. Some credible estimates put the number at more than one million. You can read that sentence again. The invasion of Iraq is often spoken of in the United States as a “blunder,” or even a “colossal mistake.” It was a crime. Those who perpetrated it are still at large. Some of them have even been rehabilitated thanks to the horrors of Trumpism and a mostly amnesiac citizenry. (A year ago, I watched Mr. Bush on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” dancing and talking about his paintings.) The pundits and “experts” who sold us the war still go on doing what they do. I never thought that Iraq could ever be worse than it was during Saddam’s reign, but that is what America’s war achieved and bequeathed to Iraqis.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: cheltenham-normal-500, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;">Sigh.</span></div>
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Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-84106570151573496302017-03-13T08:44:00.002-04:002017-03-13T08:44:50.369-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KlpiqMDi0tE/WMaT3WiiU8I/AAAAAAAAbf8/R3p6KsiPrhYo6eT8t71SaZEFaGOQCjhFgCLcB/s1600/2017-03-10_08-08-08.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KlpiqMDi0tE/WMaT3WiiU8I/AAAAAAAAbf8/R3p6KsiPrhYo6eT8t71SaZEFaGOQCjhFgCLcB/s320/2017-03-10_08-08-08.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
‘‘Ensnar’d with flow’rs, I fall on grass...<br />
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Meanwhile the mind, from pleasure less,<br />
Withdraws into its happiness;<br />
The mind, that ocean where each kind<br />
Does straight its own resemblance find,<br />
Yet it creates, transcending these,<br />
Far other worlds, and other seas;<br />
Annihilating all that’s made<br />
To a green thought in a green shade.’’</div>
Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952560.post-72071325990533669482017-01-27T19:48:00.000-05:002017-01-27T19:48:35.046-05:00Styling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XB1TRiRXqFs/WIvqMjrLHjI/AAAAAAAAX0M/V1qUGRTAWVY0X-_StVSaAnOjAjdoiHwRgCLcB/s1600/IMG_20170127_182055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XB1TRiRXqFs/WIvqMjrLHjI/AAAAAAAAX0M/V1qUGRTAWVY0X-_StVSaAnOjAjdoiHwRgCLcB/s320/IMG_20170127_182055.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
Recently I saw a man dressed like this (above).</div>
Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16610515865620184645noreply@blogger.com