Friday, July 29, 2005
Dutchess County Fair
Here's a plug for a delightful end-of-August event, the Dutchess County Fair from Tuesday through Sunday, August 23-28. There's over 1600 animals (goats, sheep, hogs, cows, horses, chickens, cattle and rabbits all being judged), 300 vendors, lots of food (my faves are turkey sandwiches and powdered dough), horse and pig shows, amusement park rides, outdoor music, and tractors of all shapes and kinds. There's even the 3rd Annual Hudson Valley Idol Contest. Come one, come all!

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:55 AM

Thursday, July 28, 2005
Aha
So some heat shield foam popped off during lift-off and now NASA has postponed all shuttle flights until "the problem" is fixed. But there's a minor huge problem: the shuttle that launched has to come home. They say they don't think the foam hit the shuttle but last time they said didn't think there was a problem and look what happened. Launches and space-side people are marvelous to watch - it was great to see them dock this morning - but astronauts shouldn't be treated like pawns in the game of space exploration. It's one thing if unexpected disaster strikes and entirely another if the problem is known at the outset. NASA seems like a taunting teenager who wants to see whether his allowance (a/k/a funding) will be taken away for ever and ever if he does what he shouldn't do, as long as he does it boldly. Won't that be the result if there's disaster on re-entry?

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:46 AM

Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Sudoku
There's new fun in town - Sudoku - the word means 'single number' in Japanese - that's all the rage among those of us who like these things. It's a 9x9 grid with some numbers already there. Each 1x9 row, 1x9 column and 3x3 box must be filled in with "1" through "9" with no repeats in a row, column or box. Logic and reasoning required but the numbers are irrelevant (colors or letters or symbols would work too). (Filled-in example, on the right.) Easier puzzles start with more numbers already filled in, harder sometimes with entire rows or columns empty. Two puzzles run each day in the London Daily Telegraph and the NY Post - easier for learning and/or warm-up and harder for more challenge. There's also a website where you can subscribe for puzzles. It's more exercise and fun than you'd expect.

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Permalink | 2 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:54 AM

Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Oddities
I am enough of a cockeyed optimist to think that in many important ways humanity is getting better all the time (I'll write about it one of these days). On the other hand, it's hard not to feel as if the world is a bit tilted on its axis at the moment. Some examples here.
•NASA launched a space shuttle despite some of the heat shields being faulty; they have "backup" plans; am I nuts or is that nuts?
•a mother hosted (hosted!?) sex parties for her children (read)
•there's going to be a face transplant (read) (face?) which will be blessedly merciful for some people but the edge of new excitement for the botox party crowd
•Bill Clinton, he of high morals, is now a golf-playing missionary (read)
•tatooed, adolescent acting-out Angelina Jolie is a good and kind woman
•soccer superstar Beckham accused a Japanese player of spitting on him, causing an international broohaha (read) . . . then again, soccer nuttiness is kind of normal, right?
•the prestigious Leopold Museum in Vienna invited people to view an exhibit entitled "The Naked Truth," a new exhibition of early 1900s erotic art in "just a swimsuit _ or nothing at all" and many in fact showed up stark naked; while JMBM thinks the human body is nifty even when imperfect, this seems downright 21st century and certainly right up there in the flagpole-sitting and telephone-booth cramming category

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 1:22 PM

Sunday, July 24, 2005
Yum!
The Christian Science Monitor took advantage of the 50th anniversary of the first sale of frozen dinners on November 10, 2004 to write a paean. It turns out that credit for the concept belongs to Clarence Birdseye who made frozen vegetables a staple of our kitchens, bless him. But it was Gerry Thomas (who died last week - read an obituary here) who designed the three-compartment tray (sometimes four) along the lines of a serviceman's mess kit and convinced his employer, Swanson Foods, that it would be a successful way to present food. My own favorites have always been the original fried white meat chicken with mashed potatoes and turkey with cornbread dressing and gravy, sweet potatoes and buttered peas. What's yours?

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 12:08 PM

Saturday, July 23, 2005
Good Muslims
It would be good if the putative non-violent Muslims voiced their disapproval for terrorist tactics. Various people keep saying "not all Muslims are like this" but we need to hear them say it. Where and who are they? It's hard to keep trusting that the guy walking down the street near us is more likely to be a good guy than a terrorist bully with nothing other than say-so as reassurance. I mean, you've got to know the bullies have a heck of a lot of funding and coordinators. Someone is paying the money to the dead bullies' families. And the hot shot bully in London after 9/11 who held a rally about how wonderful the planes' work had been wasn't a suicide bully, he was the leader of a mosque. "Good Muslims" need to speak up - now and loud.

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Permalink | 2 comment(s) | posted by jau at 5:12 PM

Bullies
We probably shouldn't waste time wondering what suicide bombers want to make them stop. They aren't driven by wanting more food or better education or more blue jeans or Wal-Mart in or out of their country or whatever. Let's face it, what really consumes these bullies is a passion to be awarded a whole bunch of virgins after their [triumphant - not] death. But by the way, once they've "had" the virgins, since the sloe-eyed lovelies won't be virgins any more, what happens then? The point is, these people are nuts. Dangerous, to be sure, and interesting like The Blob From Outer Space and the proverbial cockroach held down by a scientist's pin, but nuts.

And I have a suggestion - from now on, let's just call them bullies, every time we talk about them in any way at all. If we remove the caché (to them) of the word "terrorist", it might deflate the size and awesomeness of the deeds and leave them out there as just plain mean and rotten.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 7:41 AM

Thursday, July 21, 2005
London
It's very sad to hear that there have been new explosions in London. The maniacs of the world are such bullies and bullies really should be ignored until they can behave, but obviously a state (municipality, country, etc.) can't ignore people trying to kill its citizens. I had a thought the other day about what motivates bullies. There's a part that's anger because there's something they want that they can't seem to get. The clichéd playground sandwich stealer was obnoxious partly because he famously wasn't getting what he wanted at home. The thuggish friend who demands that you do what he wants regardless of what you want is partly motivated by feeling that no one attends to him enough. So many of the suicide bombers have been educated and taken advantage of greater freedom and opulence in the West than they had at home. It's a puzzle and a misery. Understanding will be useful and even interesting but first the random personal scare tactics must stop or be stopped.

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Permalink | 2 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:03 AM

Sunday, July 17, 2005
Bear with me...
Haven't written in about ten days. Partly it was visiting family, partly illness, partly because I'm redesigning. I got tired of the layout I was using and I think I was trying to cram too much onto one page. Anyway, I'll be back with substance in a day or so. Thanks for your (and my) patience.

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Permalink | 2 comment(s) | posted by jau at 3:38 PM

Thursday, July 7, 2005
Nearly four years later
(Updated entry) There is no justification for what happened in London today just as there is none for what happened on September 11, 2001. There may be an explanation but there cannot be any justification. Terrorism's causes are identical to what it emerges from, namely: fear, anger, apprehension and sadness.

The only success, for want of a better word, that terrorism can have is to cause chaos and disruption. In fact, all bullies gleefully cheer their results (oooh, look what I did!) but they have no architecture or plan beyond tossing everything into disarray.

The first reaction of those who are terrorized may be to say "Fine, what do you want? Here. Now will you stop?" But (a) they even rarely know what they want and (b) they won't stop, no matter what they get. Terrorists aren't interested in stopping or in results. They just want to use fear to cause fear. Terrorists get their their kicks and their power from seeing and smelling fear. But ha, ha, ha we've all had it up to here. The British showed their mettle during the Battle of Britain when all the air power of Nazi Germany couldn't frighten them into submission. Now we're all learning that being terrorized serves, amazingly and wonderfully, to harden our determination to resist. And there is no reasoning or resolving with bullies. Their grievances can be listened and attended to only after they put down and walk away from their passion for destruction.

So here's my suggestion. Let's go forward with our lives, perhaps more peacefully, tolerantly and kindly than before. Let's be sure to tell those we care about that we do. That's how this will stop. Terrorists can kill themselves and can be killed by their enemies but terrorism can and will only be completely defeated by its opposite.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:54 AM

Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Jolly good!
As Samuel Johnson famously said to Boswell in 1777, "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." Oh how true, how true! It seems that even the possibly jaded members of the well-traveled Olympics committee know a good thing when it's right in front of them because they selected London for the 2012 Olympics. Sure it'll be impossible to get around the congested town (as it is on any ordinary day) but that would be true in all the finalist cities. Never mind, though, because many venues will be out of the center of town. Now, happily, the awesome London Eye won't come down any time soon (it's really fabulous - see some good photos here), lots more lucky people will get to experience Londontown, and Tony B. will go out on a high note. (Hmmm, I have an idea. It's not likely he will or can hang in there for seven more years thus to enjoy, as P.M., the fruits of this particular labour (pun of meaning and of spelling!), so maybe he and John Major can co-direct the Games since they'll both be out of office and twiddling their very capable thumbs.)

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:55 AM

Monday, July 4, 2005
Happy Birthday, America!

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 12:28 PM

Friday, July 1, 2005
Completed projects
Here are two recently finished things. On the left is a shawl/capelet called "tie one on" which is a pattern from Knitty. The yarn is Cool Breeze, a sumptuous mohair / synthetic mix in Fiesta's La Bohéme line. I'm grateful to The Village Sheep whose proprietor was extremely pleasant and helpful in getting me the yarn I needed so I could finish in time for my friend's birthday. The bunny pattern is by Kate Gilbert who has some other terrific patterns too (here) and a blog called Needles on Fire.

Why a blue bunny with a red & white scarf? you ask. Well, my friend has a little boy who was born on the 4th of July and I thought it was so neat - George M. Cohan, Grand Old Flag, and all - that I gave myself the assignment of always giving him something red, white and blue for his birthday. Then one of The 2 Cutest Girls in the World was born on the 5th of July last year so now I [have to] do it for two people! I suppose they'll be annoyed by this eventually but it's great fun for now.







The bunny quite came to life once it had eyes and he'd stare me down each morning when I was leaving for work, so I brought him with me all week before he went off to his new home this morning. As you can see, he loved my sunny window (so do I!) and he even tried to fly but I didn't let him.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 6:34 PM