This and that from re Thai r ment, by 3Th. 22 Shadow 0003 (July 11 2014)

“It’s simple: It’s the shit you don’t need for the life you don’t want.”
TheChop

Happy Birthday to two of my friends and favorite mystery writers, Sheldon Siegel and Christopher G. Moore
TODAY FROM AMERICA:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

A. POOKIE’S ADVENTURES IN EL DORADO HILLS:

1. The dog days of my life

The first week of July has passed by with a lazy whimper. The temperature reached 110 degrees in some places nearby, leaving me listless and uninterested in things like temperatures. We watched fireworks on the evening of July 3rd surrounded by what appeared to me to be most of the population of the foothills.

One of our fish, the Siamese fighting fish (named Croc), died during the week. I guess he just gave up the fight. Our crayfish (Sushi) died a few days before. He curled up, waved his pincers at Dick once or twice and left to go wherever crayfish go after they die. I, unfortunately, was too hot to care and huddled next to my fan while Dick and H deposited the carcasses of our friends in the trash. Now and then every family must endure some tragedy. This was the week for us.
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The second week of July has begun with no foreseeable break in the 100 degree temperatures. S has left to return to Thailand for a few months claiming to have saved H from the near starvation and poor nutrition to which she believes he has been subject. I still cling to my electric fan and retreat into an impervious shell of disinterest.

My temporary membership in the health club with the pool ended this week, so I now will forgo swimming except on weekends at the local community pool and resume exercising at my old club.

HRM and Pookie by the pool

While at the man cave ruining my health with a hand rolled Madura Lonsdale and a Coke, I watched The Godfather, Part II. It’s got to be one of the 10 best American movies ever made. You may have noticed that most dramatic movies made today are dark and have a bluish tint. I used to know why but I forget. The Godfather movies are dark but use a reddish tint. This gives them the feeling of antique grandeur.

Recently some clouds have appeared darkening the sky. After vamping around awhile moved on leaving us still parched and panting.

2. Excitement in the hood

Yesterday while lying in bed staring at the ceiling, I received an email from Stevie that the local news reported the main street by my subdivision was blocked by police because some guy, armed and holed up in his house, threatened anyone who approached. Shots were fired and the gunman ultimately surrendered. This is the third gun shooting incident in this upscale community in the past year. The gunmen were all troubled sons of local residents still living at home. Dick was walking the dogs in the area and observed the blockade. I remained where I was, pleased by the thought that these elegant homes seethed with the same craziness that exists in our most crime ridden cities. They seem, however, to prefer to despair in private rather than in the streets for all to see.

Speaking of crime ridden cities. Below is a color photograph of New York’s Mulberry Street in about 1900 at the time that DiNero prowled that same street in Godfather II and about sixty years before I lived there. It seems a lot more interesting place than EDH. What is it about people who the first thing they do when they are financially able to do so is to run and hide from others? Maybe it is just an American trait. In Rome and Paris and even BKK, rather than moving to the suburbs when finding oneself more financially secure, the residents choose to fix up their existing apartments and condos instead.

B. SNIPPETS FROM T&T’S PAST:

“Bangkok is one of those cities I have experienced, like Rome and a few others, where one cannot get from where one is to where one wants to go without first going someplace where one does not want to go… unless one takes an uncomfortable, slow, and inefficient bus (in this case over two hours and four bus changes) and accepts the ignominy of the Duchess of Westminster’s dictum, “Anyone seen in a bus over the age of 30 has been a failure in life”
12 Capt. Coast 0001                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
DAILY FACTOID:

July 12 – On this date in 927AD Æthelstan, King of England, secures a pledge from Constantine II of Scotland that the latter will not ally with any Viking kings, beginning the process of unifying Great Britain. This is considered the closest thing that England has to a foundation date.

July 12:

Birthdays: 100BC – Julius Caesar, 1817 – Henry David Thoreau, 1895 – Buckminster Fuller, 1904 – Pablo Neruda, 1908 – Milton Berle, 1935 – Van Cliburn, 1955 – Bambi Woods. The Heir to the Crown of Tonga also celebrates his birthday today.

Deaths: 1536 – Desiderius Erasmus, 1804 – Alexander Hamilton, 1849 – Dolly Madison, 1935 – Alfred Dreyfus, 1973 – Lon Chaney, Jr., 1998 – Jimmy Driftwood.

Feast days and holidays: Feast Day of: Hermagoras and Fortunatus, Jason of Tarsus, and Nathan Soederblom. It is Independence Day for: Kiribati, São Tomé and Príncipe. And finally, on this day in Mongolia they celebrate the Second Day of Naadam.

Mongolian horsemen race at the Naadam Festival.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
PEPE’S POTPOURRI:

A. What “Occupy” is all about and what it really wants:

They want a change in ideology.

“There is an ideology that accommodates the worst of efficient markets, supply side economics, and neoliberal economists like Milton Friedman. It is called right-wing hackery…”
This is Ashok (Ashok Rao)
B. Testosterone Chronicles:

1. On Marriage:

Marriage, after all, was invented primarily to make sure that those, with enough resources for it to matter and who agree to live together know how those resources are used and who gets them if one party dies. Wherever the eager lovers overlooked entering into whatever version of a prenuptial agreement was available at the time, the marriage contract promoted by either a Church or the State provided the missing terms. (Kings and Queens have always entered pre-nups of one type or another. It was included in the dowry, especially when the dowry included say, a kingdom.) Love never had anything to do with it.

2. On the evolution of political ideology:

The tragic truth, however, is that the young as they age become conservatives, ethnic groups as they move into the middle class do so also. The gay community is now free to vote Republican without shame while the black community is prevented from voting even if they are Republican. And worse of all, the seven and eight year olds of our nation seem to have been indoctrinated in many of our schools to hate others as well as to despise science.

We progressives can slap ourselves on the back all we want, but as usual we have failed to grasp the grim realities of politics which is that it is an eternal war of attrition and the opposition is better equipped and trained while all too often all we have is our optimism to sustain us as the barricades are overrun while we wait for popular support that never comes.
TODAY’S QUOTE:

“And so, does the destination matter? Or is it the path we take? I declare that no accomplishment has substance nearly as great as the road used to achieve it. We are not creatures of destinations. It is the journey that shapes us. Our callused feet, our backs strong from carrying the weight of our travels, our eyes open with the fresh delight of experiences lived.”
Sanderson, Brandon. The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, The) (p. 818). Tom Doherty Associates.

As someone who believes that the pleasure is in the voyage and not the destination, I concur with Sanderson’s overwrought passage.
TODAY’S CHART:

TODAY’S PHOTOGRAPH:

Sienna Miller

This and that from re Thai r ment, by 3Th. 11 Shadow 0003 (July 1, 2014)

“Eschew mildew.”
Ruth Galanter’s poetically sage advice for me to follow during the monsoons.

TODAY FROM AMERICA:

POOKIE’S ADVENTURES IN EL DORADO HILLS:

1. Escape from Bangkok:

Actually, leaving BKK was quite easy. The taxi arrived at my apt. promptly at 3am as promised and the driver only charged me a little more than normal for his trouble. It saddened me to leave BKK. Despite its gloomy skies, curfews, air pollution, broken sidewalks and fetid canals, it is, after all, my home now. I am a city boy. There have been four cities that I have called home, New York, Rome, San Francisco and now Bangkok. As cities go those are as good as any and better than most.

The problems started when I got to the airport. My retirement visa was due to expire a few days after my arrival. Unknown to me, I did not receive the normal 30 day visa upon entry. My entry visa expired on the same day as my retirement visa, so I had to pay a $400 dollar fine for overextending my stay.

On my flight from BKK to Seattle two people reading the Bible sat next to me. Now I have no problem with anyone reading anything and I am not overly superstitious, but given my concerns with Delta Airlines, I’ll admit to some anxiety.

In Seattle, as I went through customs, they discovered several packages of dried soup in my luggage. The inspector, a middle aged white man, asked me if I spoke english. I do not think he could have thought I was Thai so I assume he thought I was Mexican. I answered in the positive. Then he went all cop on me tearing apart my luggage and throwing LM’s knit caps all over the counter and on the floor. Upon locating the packages, he angrily shouted at me, “These packages contain meat projects. Why did you not indicate that you were carrying meat products?” I responded that I did not realize they did and in any event thought it applied only to fresh meat and products made mostly of meat. I shrugged. “Don’t get smart with me,” he screamed. “I could charge you a $1000 fine and have you arrested. You have done this before you know.” I thought silence at that moment was my best approach. He then strangely confiscated only two of the about 25 contaminated packages I had. He turned suddenly, said over his shoulder “I’m going to report you” and walked over to a table with a computer and sat down leaving me standing there amid the rubble of the contents of my luggage. He ignored me and typed away. I stood there. Finally one of the other agents motioned to me to pack up my things and leave, which I did.

Eventually I made it back to El Dorado Hills about 30 hours after I left my apt. in BKK. I took a shower and went right to sleep and did not wake up for almost 20 hours.

2. Morning in El Dorado Hills:

When I woke up, I walked the dogs. All trace of green has disappeared from the hills except for the leaves on the Valley Oaks. The houses along the street supposedly have drought resistant landscaping. Grass, only used along the borders, has started turning brown. When I looked closer at the landscaping, I saw that much of the ground cover and low bushes were dead or dying. Spider webs have begun covering them. It’s a bit creepy. So this is how it ends, neither in ice or fire nor with a bang or a whimper but desiccated and covered in cobwebs.

3. Exercise or bust:

I lost about twelve pounds during my stay in Thailand. Since returning I already feel as though I am gaining it back. Snacking is a way of life in the US.

I was given a two week trial membership in the El Dorado Hills upscale health club. Not as upscale as the country club, but more upscale than my existing proletarian health club. The new club has a pool. I now swim there in the morning and try to go to my old club in the afternoon. After that, I usually go to the man cave across the parking lot from my old health club for a beer and a cigar while I watch the world cup on a giant TV screen. The man cave is dark, dingy and comfortable with large overstuffed chairs and ottomans. The guys at the man cave are mostly overweight, tattooed and friendly. I’ve got the overweight part covered. Tattoos are out for me and friendly is just not my thing at this age – if it ever was.

Outside the man cave.

I feel uncomfortable at the new health club. Perhaps it’s the lack of tattoos. Also, people seem less inclined to talk or joke with one another there. In fact, I do not recall seeing anyone smiling.

MOPEY JOE’S MEMORIES:

Many years ago when I was involved in coastal protection matters in California, I went for a walk through Point Reyes with Bill Yeates who was at that time, I believe,a Graduate Legal Assistant working with me. As we walked along, I was amazed at how Bill could predict what birds we would see in each bush and what a bird would look like from just hearing the sound it makes flapping its wings. Like any person lacking knowledge, I considered his abilities almost magical. On the other hand as a confirmed cynic, I suspected he was bullshitting me.

Sometime after that walk, Bill jokingly (or not) mentioned to several people that I could not be a real environmentalist because I knew little about the natural environment.

That is not completely true. As a city boy I know a lot about urban fauna. For example, I know a lot about rats, pigeons and cockroaches. I can tell the difference between a giant Norwegian Roof Rat and an ordinary brown or black rat by the sounds it makes as it scrabbles through the walls at night.

I know that, wherever old people sit on benches, pigeons will soon congregate. When entering a room, I can tell instantly under which appliance or piece of furniture a cockroach is hiding.

I do not understand why there are no groups or organizations dedicated to the protection of these urban species. I suggest that a Society for the Preservation of Urban Vermin (SPUV) be created to defend our urban friends from the millenia of bad press they have received and to shield them from wanton slaughter and cruelty to which they have been subject.

Why, for example, do we allow the existence of individuals and organizations whose sole purpose is to be paid to come on to your property and kill rats? Some even publicize that they eschew environmentally unsound killing techniques (poisons and gas). Instead these defenders of the environment smear peanut butter on rat traps that snap the necks of the unwary, if greedy, rat. Now I realize that, in the case of rats, catch and release poses some problems. For example, what would be an appropriate place to release these critters – your neighbors house?

Now pigeons are unique. They only exist as adults. Has anyone ever seen a baby pigeon walking around a city? I believe they reproduce like amoebas. They simply split down the middle when they need to create another pigeon. Have you ever noticed, for example, should a hawk decimate a flock of pigeons over say a particular town square, the next morning there appears to be exactly the same number of pigeons flying about?

Humans consider the juvenile of almost every species on earth cute. Even baby sharks when emerging from their mothers womb exude cuteness. Not cockroaches. Does anyone believe smaller cockroaches are cuter? Would you want to cuddle one?

For these reasons and more, I believe our urban friends need protection. Remember, when we all retreat again into deep dark caves because we have burnt the world to a crisp, who will accompany us? Why our friends the rat, pigeon and cockroach will. And when the earth has cooled and we leave again, only we and our friends together will greet that world. A world bereft of all living things – except gorse, broom and tumbleweeds. Gorse, broom and tumbleweeds survive because they are not of this universe and can never die.

PEPE’S POTPOURRI:

A. What “Occupy” is all about and what it really wants:

1. Lower student debt:

Having our nation’s youth begin their economic lives in debt does not seem like a good idea to me.

2. Eliminate Corporate Welfare Queens:

Why should taxpayers subsidize businesses that ought to compete? Perhaps there may be a reason in the case of introducing an important new technology, but subsidizing an almost 100 year old mature technology seems unreasonable.

B. Tales of Nasruddin:

The king once summoned Nasruddin to court.

“Tell me,” said the king, “you are a mystic, philosopher, a man of unconventional understandings. I have become interested in the issue of value. It’s an interesting philosophical question. How does one establish the true worth of a person or an object? Take me for example. If I were to ask you to estimate my value, what would you say?”

“Oh,” Nasruddin said, “I’d say about two hundred dinars.”

The emperor was flabbergasted. “What?! But this belt I’m wearing is worth two hundred dinars.”

“I know,” said Nasruddin. “Actually, I was taking the value of the belt into consideration.”

TODAY’S QUOTES:

Erick Erickson, Conservative opinion leader and blogger in Redstate.

“I’m just not sure what the Republican Party really stands for any more other than telling Obama no and telling our own corporate interests yes. That’s not much of a platform.

Trenz Pruca, spokesperson for himself and an unread, occasional blogger.

“Why would anyone be morally bound or wish to be morally bound to a civil society that does not share the goal that its citizens deserve a fair distribution of wealth, income and power? If the civil society is not dedicated to that end what else could it possibly be dedicated to? What is freedom, to those without wealth, income or power?”

TODAY’S CHART:

Why does it appear muslims choose to congregate in the Republican heartland?