Obsidian Wings

The Basics

by JanieM

PS: Open thread!

*****

nous, from downstairs: Sick puppies. So full of hate and disdain for women.

Sex is so fraught, for so many reasons and in so many ways. Someone on another blog I used to read once wrote that everyone has a right to have sex -- she was trying to be compassionate to lonely people (summarizing madly) -- but there was shockingly little discussion of the fact that you don't in fact have a "right" to use another person's body for your own purposes without their consent. And surely this little problem is at the heart of the hatred and disdain for women that that particular kind of sick puppy feels.

A mess.

So I'm posting this ancient page from a 1995 issue of the Whole Earth Review as a starting point (or 17 starting points) for discussion of a difficult topic. Maybe too difficult for a public blog, or maybe we can thread that needle.

January 6 hearing on July 21 2022

by JanieM

Hearing commentary and open thread.

I got nothin' at the moment, just sitting in front of a fan and playing with my granddaughter, which is consolation and compensation for a lot of things.

PS -- Link to hearing.

A Canceling in Yountville

by Ugh

Folks, it is my unfortunate duty to inform you of the latest victim of cancel culture: yours truly.

You see, once upon a time I lived in the Bay Area and had, upon occasion, visited Napa Valley and Sonoma County to partake of the quite exceptional beverage made in an around said parts.  Indeed it was an annual rite of passage for myself and varied companions to sally forth in elegantly appointed vehicles to sample the latest vintage, and I'm sure the local enterprises anticipated our rather troupe-esque presence much like children on Christmas Eve.  It was glorious but grounded in that grandest of American cabernet tradition.

But, alas, it seems I am no longer allowed to visit.  Canceled, you might say.

How do I know this, you may wonder?  Well, I can confirm, after nearly 25 years of not asking, my unsolicited invitation to dine at The French Laundry gratis has not yet been received. A tragedy, I know.

How could someone denied his birthright continue in this world?  Well, I assure you this American is made of sterner stuff, I shall carry on, but not without a grievous wound in my heart and a hollowness in my soul.

Sunday Open Thread

by JanieM

If everyone's out working, playing, or saving the world (not mutually exclusive efforts), then a new open thread won't get more business than an old one. But this can be a midsummer check-in if anyone wants to wave while passing by.

Here in central Maine we're getting a stretch of relatively hot weather -- relative, that is, to the unusually mild summer we've had so far. We're a little on the dry side -- the grass is brownish a few weeks earlier than normal. We could use a good two- or three-day soaking, but the Black-eyed Susans and daylilies are forging ahead anyhow.

Full disclosure: the daylily picture is from last summer, but they look just like that right now. The Black-eyed Susans are from last weekend.

And let's not forget the goldenrod, of which Grace Paley wrote:

it must be summertime

buttercup gone

hawkweed gone

black eyed susan

before you

know it queen anne's lace

goldenrod and that

will be that.

This one is from a long time ago. Sadly (to me) the field has been bushhogged regularly in recent years, so the sea of goldenrod is a thing of memory.

Yet Another Hearing (7/12/22) -- and Open Thread

by JanieM

By popular demand, a place to discuss today's January 6 hearing, which starts at 1:00 Eastern time.

Also, this thread, it is open. As are most of them, although sometimes I forget to say so.

Onward.

Water

by JanieM

Michael Cain bait: a discussion at BJ of water rights out west.

Unfortunately, the conversastion is scattered in a comment thread, but the comment I linked links backward, and in any case, Michael, I suspect you don't need BJ people to help shed some light on this issue for us.

I found it interesting that the discussion of Colorado River water didn't even bother to mention Mexico, I suppose because it has been so long since the Colorado brought any water that far that it's irrelevant. (I'd never dream of ascribing the omission to US-centrism....)

On the one hand, in posting this I'm thinking: as if we don't have enough to worry about! On the other hand, everything is connected: water, crops, laws, immigrants, labor, states' rights, international relations.....

Not on my bingo card

by liberal japonicus

That's how a FB friend posted about this

Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is in a critical condition after being shot while making a speech in the western city of Nara.

His successor, Fumio Kishida called the shooting an unforgivable act, and said he hoped Abe – the country’s longest-serving prime minister until he resigned in 2020 –would survive the attack.

Footage and accounts broadcast by Japanese media showed Abe’s speech interrupted by two loud bangs – possibly from a shotgun – and smoke, with Abe stumbling to the ground after the second shot. TBS Television reported that Abe had been shot on the left side of his chest and apparently also in the neck. NHK initially quoted firefighters as saying Abe showed no vital signs.

Moments later, members of Abe’s security detail wrestled a man to the ground some metres behind the former prime minister. The suspect was wearing a grey shirt, light brown trousers and grey trainers. His face was partly obscured by a surgical mask. He reportedly did not attempt to flee before being detained at the scene.

Some other details that have been in the Japanese media, the suspect is a former Marine Self Defense worker who used a handmade shotgun. While it is noted in passing, the elections for the Upper House are scheduled for 10 July which means that sound trucks have been out. Also, most of the reports don't suggest that a recovery is in the cards.

I'm surprised by the particulars of this, but not surprised that _something_ happened. While 8 years ago, there was a self-immolation protesting Abe's policies, and I can't imagine that 2 years of pandemic has chilled things out. It also doesn't seem a huge step from self directed to other directed violence. I'll try and answer questions in the comments.

Third of July Open Thread

by JanieM

Apparently we could use a new/open thread. Not that any thread might not in theory be open...at least mine, and especially after the most recent one is several days old.

But let's make it official.

And speaking of official, it's the unofficial beginning of summer here in the north country, or perhaps I should say the unofficial beginning of the true core tourist season. Traffic in Augusta on Thursday was indicative. I'm not sure what it would take to get me out on the streets, much less into the grocery store or onto the interstate, on the Friday of Fourth of July weekend.

When I moved here, someone local warned me that Maine has two seasons: winter and the Fourth of July. Someone else said we have five (including the normal four and Mud). It's not really true, of course, but I'm glad to say that the kind of summertime where it's possible to get a string of 90-degree days that make it impossible to cool the house off overnight (I don't have AC) usually only happens between now and about mid-August, and then only for brief strings of days.

I have no plans this weekend, by design. We have some old friends visiting, very low-key. Locally we do fireworks at the annual "heritage days" in August, and not this weekend.

July 3 is the anniversary of a memorable event in my life, but not one that's publishable in a family magazine, so we'll leave it at that. Let's just say time does fly.

What's everyone up to? If you're having fun offline, more power to you.

Open thread.