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Archives
give us this day our daily image
Coffee and a blueberry muffin at the Lighthouse Cafe
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gordy's image archive index
Another in my Cafe pinhole series. One more to go.
zen for the day
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5. If You Love, Love Openly
Twenty Monks and one nun, who was named Eshun, were practicing meditation with a certain Zen master.
Eshun was very pretty even though her head was shaved and her dress plain. Several monks secretly fell in love with her. One of them wrote her a love letter, insisting upon a private meeting.
Eshun did not reply. The following day the master gave a lecture to the group, and when it was over, Eshun arose. Addressing the one who had written her, she said: "If you really love me so much, come and embrace me now."
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[more]
from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
plamegate
Fitzgerald's investigation of the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame by the Whitehouse is coming to an end. His Grand Jury ends Friday the 28th. At that point he has to shit or get off the pot. It looks like he is going to shit. This is way bigger than Watergate. I haven't posted much about it lately since so much of it is rumor. Next week will be interesting. There are some very worried people in the Whitehouse. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of bastards.
Fitzgerald's Historic Opportunity
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If special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald delivers indictments of a few functionaries of the vice president’s office or the White House, we are likely to have on our hands a constitutional crisis. The evidence of widespread wrongdoing and conspiracy is before every American with a cheap laptop and a cable television subscription. And we do not have the same powers of subpoena granted to Fitzgerald.
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thanks to Antiwar.com
Cover-Up Issue Is Seen as Focus in Leak Inquiry
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As he weighs whether to bring criminal charges in the C.I.A. leak case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special counsel, is focusing on whether Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, and I. Lewis Libby Jr., chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, sought to conceal their actions and mislead prosecutors, lawyers involved in the case said Thursday.
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WH in disarray, the way we like it
by Steve Gilliard
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With special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald driving his CIA leak investigation toward an apparent conclusion, the White House now confronts the looming prospect that no one in the building is eager to address: a Bush presidency without Karl Rove. In a capital consumed by scandal speculation, most White House senior officials are no more privy than outsiders to the prosecutor's intentions. But the surreal silence in the Roosevelt Room each morning belies the nervous discussions racing elsewhere around the West Wing.
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Will the Grinch Steal Fitzmas?
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John Dean -- who knows something about these things -- has some cautionary words for all the little lefties eagerly counting presents (indictments) under the tree: Don't be entirely surprised if "Santa" leaves a lump of coal in your stocking.
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photography
Byung-Hun Min
[more]
thanks to Conscientious
empire
by Billmon
Imperial Candor
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I just got finished reading the full transcript of the talk given by Larry Wilkerson (Colin Powell's chief of staff) at the New America Foundation on Wednesday. There is some truly scary stuff in there -- going way beyond the "cabal" comment that's been the soundbite of choice for the corporate media. Like this rather ominous look at the real U.S. energy plan:
We had a discussion in policy planning about actually mounting an operation to take the oilfields in the Middle East, internationalize them, put them under some sort of U.N. trusteeship and administer the revenues and the oil accordingly. That’s how serious we thought about it.
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photography
Hu Yang
Shanghai Living
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Liu Na (Liaoningese, Unemployed)
I used to enjoy reading, singing and playing guitar. Now I'm married and have a little girl, my life has totally changed. All my time has been spend on my girl and I hope she can grow up soon. We are living on my husband's income and we are financially pressed. He's a casual laborer.
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thanks to Conscientious
iraq
‘Mouse journalism’ is the only way we can report on Iraq — Fisk
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The Independent's famously intrepid Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk has revealed that the situation in Iraq is now so dangerous that he doesn't know whether he can go on reporting from the country.
Fisk, who has previously accused colleagues of practising "hotel journalism" in Iraq, said that "mouse journalism" is now the best he can do in the country.
Fisk, whose new history of the Middle East, The Great War for Civilisation, has just been published, described mouse journalism as the practice of popping up at the scene of an event and staying just long enough to get the story, before the men with guns arrive.
Speaking at a bookshop in Golders Green, he said: "You cannot imagine just how bad things are in Iraq.
"A few weeks ago, I went to see a man whose son was killed by the Americans, and I was in his house for five minutes before armed men turned up in the street outside.
"He had to go and reason with them not to take me away. And this was an ordinary Baghdad suburb, not the Sunni Triangle or Fallujah.
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[more]
thanks to BookNotes
A must read inteview with Juan Cole, in two parts.
The Treasure, the Strongbox, and the Crowbar
A Tomdispatch Interview with Juan Cole (Part 1)
Throwing Grenades in the Global Economic Cockpit
A Tomdispatch Interview with Juan Cole (Part 2)
animation
One of the most amazing animation projects I've seen. It's a work in progress by one person. Some great music. Amazing.
Sita Sings the Blues
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thanks to Pharyngula
Pharyngula's post also has links to a couple other of Nina's animations.
Peace Is Not Impossible
by Uri Avnery
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One hundred twenty years ago, many Jews in Europe realized that the growing nationalism of the various peoples, almost always accompanied by a virulent anti-Semitism, was leading toward a catastrophe. They decided to become a nation themselves and set up a state for the Jews. They chose Palestine, the ancient homeland of their people, as the place to realize their dream. Their slogan was: "A country without people for a people without a country."
But Palestine was not empty. The people living there objected, of course, to another people coming from nowhere and claiming their country.
The historian Isaac Deutscher has described the conflict in this way: A person lives on an upper floor of a building that has caught fire. To save himself, he jumps from the window and lands on a passerby below, injuring him grievously. Between the two, a mortal enmity ensues. Who is in the right?
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pinhole progress
My Mark III pinhole has been working out well. The pictures I have been posting lately are with this camera. The results are pretty wide angle so I took a couple of shots with my 65mm lens (28mm equivalent on a 35mm camera) and the pinhole to get a feel of the what the field of view for the pinhole. Some surprises.
With the 65mm lens
With the pinhole
First, the pinhole is a little wider but not by much. The 28mm viewfinder actually saw the whole Honeymoon Lake sign. The sign is actually pretty close. I thought I had solved the weird flare problem but there it is again. This was a worst case scenario. I was pretty much shooting into the sun. The thing is that the same flare is in the one with taken with the 65mm lens. It is not as obvious but it is there. There must be something inside the body that is doing the reflecting. More fiddling but the pinhole has been doing what I wanted it to do and I'm happy about that. The first two rolls were with ISO 400 films. I've got some ISO 100 color film in it now — Fuji Reala. It was also interesting that, while the angular flair thingy was more prominent in the pinhole image, the overall flair was more noticible in the 65mm image, particularly in the sign.
Stealth flat topped Mamiya Super 23 with 65mm lens and KMZ Universal Finder set at 28mm.
Someday I will get the viewfinder that went with this lens. Until then the little KMZ turret finder will do fine. I keep this body with the lens and mounted pinhole in a camera case meant for a 35mm camera. They are a nice combination. This is the widest angle setup I have. I have plans.
One other thing. I used my Manfrotto tripod for the Oneymoon Bay shots. It was easier to put it in the car and carry it around. I won't do that again. I needed height and the Manfrotto was maxed out and wobbly. The Majestic tripod could have gone a lot higher and still have been SOLID. I also want to use the Majestic's horizontal arm for some low angle shots. The Majestic is so much easier to use that the Manfrotto. It's time to go back to Junkhenge for more pinholing.
surburbia and oil
No Direction Home
James Kunstler
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Philosophically, the story is grounded in Times columnist David Brooks's concept that suburbia is a good thing because people seem to like it. But it's the Times's ignorance of practical matters that's really breathtaking. The nation's oil predicament is barely mentioned (and obviously only as an editorial afterthought, since the story was no doubt filed before Katrina and Rita shredded production in the Gulf of Mexico). Anyway, the issue is cavalierly dismissed. Missing altogether is America's even more dire predicament over natural gas, which is used to heat half the houses in America and 99 percent of the brand new ones. Since the story focuses on large luxury houses over 3500 square feet, featuring cathedral ceilings and yawning lawyer foyers, you'd think the question of heating these behemoths might arise, but no. The price of natural gas has quadrupled since 2002 and is still going up.
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doris and gerry
I've written before about dealing with Gerry's (Zoe's mom) Alzheimers. Lately it's been a double whammy. My mom, Doris, is 85 and went in for cancer surgery on the 17th. All went well. She had been using hormone treatments to reduce the size of the breast cancer and it worked so well that surgery without any radiation treatments would do the trick. She was kept over a couple of nights because of some blood proteins but is now home and in much better spirits. My brother Terry has been taking care of her. She still has her own apartment but we are going to have to get her into assisted living. She has fallen several times. She can't get back up by herself but has a radio buzzer thingy she wears that brings the fire department. (She thinks they are cute — the firemen, not the radio buzzer thingy.) She hasn't hurt herself but she has been lucky. Terry will be meeting with the Medicaid people about getting her into assisted living. He has gone as far as he can. Mom isn't too happy about the assisted care. I will be helping Terry pick out a place. This isn't going to be fun.
Gerry has been getting worse. She is increasingly fearful in the evenings. I have to sit with her until she is asleep. She forgets that our bedroom is right above her's. Gerry and Zoe had a wake up call Wednesday. At her regular doctor appointment, Gerry's doctor told her and Zoe that she should be in an assisted care facility within the next two months. Zoe is not ready for this. Her doctor is afraid of her falling and she is also getting near the stage where she might leave the house and start wandering. Not good times.
give us this day our daily image
Grilled cheese, potato salad, and fish and chips at Gerry's
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gordy's image archive index
Second one at Gerry's. I have a couple more from the Lighthouse Cafe coming from this roll. The first two rolls were with ISO 400 film. I just got some ISO 100 Fuji Reala to try.
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Wednesday October 19 2005
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give us this day our daily image
Coffee at Gerry's
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gordy's image archive index
The first of four off my second roll of pinholes. These were shot on Ilford XP2. The negatives are a little thin.
give us this day our daily image
A pampered house plant is oblivous to the cold windy morning
bigger
gordy's image archive index
Another image from my first roll of pinhole pictures. I should pick up my second roll Wednesday. More pictures then.
book recommendation
zen for the day
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
A collection of Zen & Pre-Zen Writings
Compiled by Paul Reps
I had found a site of Zen koans and was starting to post one regularly when the site was shut down. Well, I guess I will have to do it myself. This wonderful book belonged to a dear friend that died over 10 years ago from complications of MS. She bought this book back in 1966. It's still in print. It has the same koans the web site did so I will start putting them up from this book. Or you could go buy it and not have to wait. They are good for my head. I hope they are good for yours.
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4. Obedience
The Master Bankei's talks were attended not only by Zen students but by persons of all ranks and sects. He never quoted sutras nor indulged in scholastic dissertations. Instead, his words were spoken directly from his heart to the hearts of his listeners.
His large audiences angered a priest of the Nichiren sect because the adherents had left to hear about Zen. The self-centered Nichiren priest came to the temple, determined to debate with Banket.
"Hey, Zen teacher!" he called out. "Wait a minute. Whoever respects you will obey what you say, but a man like myself does not respect you. Can you make me obey you?"
"Come up beside me and I will show you," said Bankei.
Proudly the priest pushed his way through the crowd to the teacher.
Bankei smiled. "Come over to my left side."
The priest obeyed.
"No," said Bankei, "we may talk better if you are on the right side. Step over here."
The priest proudly stepped over to the right.
"You see," observed Bankei, "you are obeying me and I think you are a very gentle person. Now sit down and listen."
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iraq
Administration's Tone Signals a Longer, Broader Iraq Conflict
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For most of the 30 months since American-led forces ousted Saddam Hussein, the Bush administration has argued that as democracy took hold in Iraq, the insurgency would lose steam because Al Qaeda and the opponents of the country's interim government had nothing to offer Iraqis or the people of the Middle East.
Over time, President Bush told troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., this spring, "the terrorists will lose their sponsors, lose their recruits, and lose their hopes for turning that region into a base for attacks on America and our allies around the world."
But inside the administration, that belief provides less solace than it once did. Senior officials say the intelligence reports flowing over their desks in recent months argue that even if democratic institutions take hold, the insurgency may strengthen. And that possibility has created a quandary for an administration that desperately wants to equate democracy-building with winning the war, but so far has not been able to match the two.
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Reality is intruding and they weren't prepared for that eventuality.
photography
Eric Fredine
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thanks to Conscientious
i feel a happy dance coming on
I see the wagons circling the White House.
The Gathering Storm
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Then, I stumbled onto this Financial Times story that Fitz's probe has widened to take a peek at pre-war intelligence handling, including a majority of the WHIG membership. Apparently, the political use of intelligence information has now become a matter of interest for our boy Fitz -- especially given that it may have been used as a weapon against the critics of the Administration.
Um...hello...schadenfreude hotline? I need a double helping, please....
Then, there is this piece from The Raw Story, claiming that the NY Daily News will report in tomorrow's edition that a well-placed source within the WH has flipped and has been helping Fitzgerald. And that all eyes are absolutely on Dick Cheney. Haven't see the NYDaily News piece yet. No idea what it says. But I swear, my birthday may be coming a day early this year if it is true.
Can you hear the thunder in the distance?
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thanks to Whiskey Bar
architecture
Lower East Side Tenement Museum
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thanks to J-Walk Blog
is the party over?
Waiting for the lights to go out
We've taken the past 200 years of prosperity for granted. Humanity's progress is stalling, we are facing a new era of decay, and nobody is clever enough to fix it. Is the future really that black, asks Bryan Appleyard
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The greatest getting-and-spending spree in the history of the world is about to end. The 200-year boom that gave citizens of the industrial world levels of wealth, health and longevity beyond anything previously known to humanity is threatened on every side. Oil is running out; the climate is changing at a potentially catastrophic rate; wars over scarce resources are brewing; finally, most shocking of all, we don't seem to be having enough ideas about how to fix any of these things.
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[more]
thanks to The Oil Drum
photography
Nick, a Russian contributor over at f295, has some wonderful pinhole images.
pinhole.ru
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Пинхол (Pinhole - булавочное отверстие. англ)- камера обскура, в которой вместо экрана используется светочувствительный материал.
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miers and roe v. wade
Bush's Supreme Court nomination may be running into a wee bit of trouble.
Judgment Call
Did Christian conservatives receive assurances that Miers would oppose Roe v. Wade?
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Mr. Dobson says he was surprised the next day to learn that Justice Hecht and Judge Kinkeade were joining the Arlington Group call. He was asked to introduce the two of them, which he considered awkward given that he had never spoken with Justice Hecht and only once to Judge Kinkeade. According to the notes of the call, Mr. Dobson introduced them by saying, "Karl Rove suggested that we talk with these gentlemen because they can confirm specific reasons why Harriet Miers might be a better candidate than some of us think."
What followed, according to the notes, was a free-wheeling discussion about many topics, including same-sex marriage. Justice Hecht said he had never discussed that issue with Ms. Miers. Then an unidentified voice asked the two men, "Based on your personal knowledge of her, if she had the opportunity, do you believe she would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade?"
"Absolutely," said Judge Kinkeade.
"I agree with that," said Justice Hecht. "I concur."
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thanks to daily KOS
astronomy
With all the shit happening in the world today we need to remind ourselves once in a while that there is, if we should look up, a pretty incredible universe out there.
Cassini pictures spongy Hyperion
It may have the look of a giant sponge, but this is Saturn's moon Hyperion, as pictured by the Cassini spacecraft.
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thanks to Magpie
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