After Fuji-san (see below),

please now contemplate the Lone Rose.



Nice, isn't it? This is to the right of the front door, not twenty feet from where I type.

Oh, My Gosh!

Volcano Lancing! All in the spirit of beer. Watch it and weep.

It Was Truly A Musical Day On The Lawn

"Mine eyes have seen the glory..."



(There goes the separation of God and State!)

A Prayer With PB XVI

This morning on the South Lawn of the White House.



Really rather well done.

This Is Fun!

What you do, is to go here, and input your birthdate. Then, see what the popular song was on that date.

Mine, as you can see at the top, was "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes." Nice song, and I almost remember it.

Only In Japan

Maybe this is why you never see an old, dented car on the roads of Japan:

Paint!

This is in honor of the Bay Area's First Real Day of Summer. (75F)

(Please ignore the wires.)
It's summertime, and the fish are jumpin'!

Pangeaday May Be A Crock...

but there are compensations. This, for instance, is delightful:



Vive La France!

Here's some reciprocity (although I think Ingrid Bergman couldn't carry a tune:)



Vive Rick's Cafe Americaine!

(P.S. For more of Ingrid:(cut and paste))

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nNMTZMncvQ4

All Praise The Internet!

HiltonHouse is now blessed with four soft-boiled-egg cups, one egg topper, and four egg spoons. How long would it have taken, and how much gas would it have taken, for me to search throughout the Bay Area to find these things? Instead, I spent about 30 minutes on the Internet and received them all from three different locations.

Bring back soft-boiled eggs!

UPDATE! TempDisplaced informs that soft-boiled-egg cups proliferate, among the snow flakes, all over the U.K. My,my.

Brother Paul's Memorial

Nice gathering. About 40 people, including 6 from the Consulate. It's been one year.

'Nuff said. I'm sad.

Half An Earth Day

Last weekend the Bay Area participated in world-wide "Earth Day," extinguishing all unnecessary lights for a hour. Unfortunately, the crew at the Bay Bridge got only one-half the message.



Oh, well. They tried.

Curiosity Hasn't Killed THIS Cat!

(I have to wonder what each is thinking.)

The Black Cat That Ate St. Louis!

(With apologies to Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band)



Please don't ask.

Some Plants . . .

Are Just Like People!

At night, they close their eyes and go to sleep:


At dawn, their eyes open a bit, and they move around:


And then, at noon, their eyes are open wide, and they're awake!


Amazing! Have a good day.

Frozen!

This is really fun to watch! (And to contemplate.) (2:16 minutes)

Happy Easter 2008

This is Michael Yon's classic shot of a cross being reinstalled on a church somewhere in Iraq. It seems very appropriate today.

Early Easters

March 23 for Easter? Cheer up; it could be as early as March 22. Any date between March 22 and April 25. It has to do with the moon, but you knew that, right?

Please read this, or go back to bed. Either way is okay.

Happy, joyful Easter to all.

These Guys Are Coming Home. . .

to roost. Ahh, the deliciousness of it all!



My comments apply to all three (3) avowed candidates for Presidency of the United States of America, all 50 of them.

(I haven't so enjoyed a Presidential campaign ever in my lengthy life.)

And Back To You

Have a good one!

(H.T. Lucianne )

Contemporary Japan...

is (quite) a bit weird:



This is from the Harajuku shopping area (where we were two years ago.) It's a place where young Japanese students go to show off a bit.

(Just Google "Harajuku".)

Lift Off!

STS-123. This will destroy your speakers.

'Nuff Said

Friday, March 14

We're Disappointed!

Really, really disappointed,



that TempDisplaced declined to comment on the Brit Food blog below.

Sigh (again)

Good Times Goin'

The Telegraph reports that traditional British home cooking is quickly disappearing. That may not be all bad.

Pic above is traditional "Toad in the Hole." Below, we have a can of "Spotted Dick."



I dunno. Maybe it's just the names, not the food.

One Last Song

Alas, we moved from San Francisco to Guam, just as this song became popular:



So, instead of dancing in the streets with flowers in our hair, we were dodging the bomb trucks on Marine Drive and counting the B-52s returning to Anderson AFB. There's a message somewhere in here.

(It's a classic song. I love it.)

I Just Can't Resist This . . .

It's not easy, being a righteous politician. Here's Spitzer's campaign advertisement from last year:



Sigh.

Paul Simon's Teeth

As long as we're discussing cool music moments:



(YouTube is a wonderful source for memories. I like that.)

Break Time, Folks!

(1898-1937)

Just settle back, remove distractions, and listen to Keith Jarrett's rendition of "I loves you, Porgy." Gershwin was a genius! And Jarrett is close. (5:23 minutes)

Computer Woes Then Bliss

See my new Dell Inspiron 1525 Laptop! Ordered last Friday, received yesterday, all the way from Malaysia! (I don't know how that works.)

In any case, it's great to be reattached to the world.

(To answer your (unspoken) question, the old Inspiron 8200, 5 years old, just would not boot; cycle on, windows logo, blue screen, off, start again, windows logo, etc. etc. etc.)

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.

The Queen Mum

This is a new perspective.



And the diamonds are pretty spectacular, too!

Those Were Fun Times!

Please take 4 minutes and enjoy the charms of Don Rickles, Ronald Reagan, Dean Martin, Jack Benny, and, in absentia, Jess Unruh:



Compared to politics this year, the 1970's look pretty good.

View From The Kitchen Window!!!

This should be fun! There's a large, strong storm coming up from the Tropics and ready to hit all of California. Predictions are for strong winds, many inches of rain, and heavy snow in the mountains. The Grapevine down South has been closed for two days already.

Hang on!

(illustration courtesy of J.M.W.Turner)

Another Trip From East To West Coast

This is impressively done:



USMC Silent Drill Platoon