William F. Buckley, Jr. 1925-2008

R. I. P.



These words of his are timeless, thoughtful, and worthy of remembrance:


To fail to experience gratitude when walking through the corridors of the Metropolitan Museum, when listening to the music of Bach or Beethoven, when exercising our freedom to speak or, as happened to us three weeks ago, to give, or withhold, our assent, is to fail to recognize how much we have received from the great wellsprings of human talent and concern that gave us Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, our parents, our friends…We need a rebirth of gratitude for those who have cared for us, living and, mostly, dead. The high moments of our way of life are their gifts to us. We must remember them in our thoughts and in our prayers; and in our deeds.

Interestingly, Rush Limbaugh (I know!) has now assumed Buckley's mantle.

Murdoch's Sense Of Humor

On the Front Page of the "Wall Street Journal" today:

"North Korea welcomed the New York Philharmonic, the
largest visit by a group of Americans since the Korean War."

If memory serves, that earlier "group" of Americans was the U.S. 8th Army, under the supreme command of General Douglas MacArthur.



(At least the Korean uniforms are more stylish these days.)

Hinamatsuri !!!

Be advised that next Monday, 3/3, is Girls Day in Japan.



You don't have to put paper dolls in the river, but a simple stand, covered in red, with a doll or two would be nice.

To Celebrate The Oscars

**UPDATE** It's a viola. Soribouthat.
**UPDATE-2** The comment is deep span. Do not click on it.

and, especially, the ladies of Hollywood, please click here.

The background oboe doesn't hurt, either.

Temptation Too Real To Resist

I really can't blame the photographer!

(H.T. American Digest )

That's It?

UPDATE! Now, this is much better! Thanks to Rich Galen for this shot from Toronto last Wednesday.


This is a photograph of the lunar eclipse over Mt. Diablo Wednesday evening.



I'd rather watch a Raiders' game.

Ephraim Bay In February

For readers who know Door County, Wisconsin, here's a current (Sunday) photograph of Ephraim, taken from the State Park tower just South of the village.
Chilly photograph by Nina Camic of UWM. You really should check her blog sometime.

"The Answer My Friend . . .

. . .is blowing in the wind."



This image, and many more, are from www.zombietime.com/ coverage of the kerfuffle in Berkeley this week regarding the USMC recruiting office.


Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose

(Note the propellor cap.)

We Need A Caption - -

(click to enlarge for aerial view)


The caption should include the words "San Francisco Bay."

Happy Birthday, George!

It's true. George Washington was born on February 11, 1732.



Then, in 1752, Britain and her colonies switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, and earlier dates were reset to conform. Thus, Washington's birthdate was shifted 11 days to February 22.

(Some sources also say that he was born in 1731, not 1732, and that shifted also with the calendar change, but I don't have the time to understand how.)

Line In The Sky

Taken at dusk recently.



The guy is up at 20,000 ft. heading Northwest over the Pacific. I'm guessing Houston or Dallas to Tokyo.

(Who knows?)

Birds Of A Feather. . .

Taken this morning. I'm glad the critter stayed in place long enough for me to go inside and grab the camera.

Winter Contrasts

So, I'm sitting here inside HiltonHouse watching the TV news about the late-winter snow/blizzard that's destroying the upper Midwest, and the tornado swarm that's devastating the lower Midwest, and I sympathize.



But then I switch to the ATT golf match down the street at Pebble Beach, on HD wide-screen TV, of course.



So, I'm happy while I sympathize.