Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This is all too absurd to be reality, right?

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Trump is going to draw a dick on that dog with a sharpie, isn’t he?

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

I can’t take this shit today. I just can’t.

We still have time to mess this up!

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Naturally gregarious and alpha

Four legs? good! two legs? we’re not so sure…

This blog will pay for itself.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

The house always wins.

Historically it is a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

The willow is too close to the house.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

… makes me wish i had hoarded more linguine

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On The Road – Steve from Mendocino – Paris 1/10

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We’re back in Paris, After Dark, for the next two weeks!

Steve from Mendocino – Paris

Since WaterGirl cancelled Paris (I expect her to cancel Christmas, next), I’ve decided to keep Paris alive with a number of posts of my own Paris photos. Kidding, WaterGirl. You breathe so much life into our Balloon Juice experience. Thank you.

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, I would have loved to be situated in Paris – for the restaurants, for the urban beauty, for the French culture, for the sophistication, for the energy. Mendocino has worked well for me, though.

While Mendocino restaurants lack particular interest, the food resources are at least as good as Paris’s but with different strengths and weaknesses, and my kitchen is far better than I could hope for in a Paris apartment. The natural beauty in Mendocino provides a spectacular counterpoint to the curated beauty of Paris. Mendocino’s small-town community is warm and progressive. And I have the ocean. Life has been good to me here.

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On The Road – Albatrossity – Big Bend National Park – #1

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Albatrossity

In late December 2017 I had an opportunity to visit Big Bend National Park with Elizabeth and another couple who were in the College of Architecture at KSU. We had traveled with them before (to New Zealand), and it sounded like fun. Additionally, I had always wanted to visit that national park, which is huge, diverse, and perched next to Mexico along the Rio Grande in west Texas. The days had long passed since I was tempted to hike the canyons there, but the opportunity for some warmer weather, bird-watching, and time with some good friends sounded great to me!

It is a two day drive from where I live in Kansas to the park entrance, and we also planned to visit Marfa for a day before we got to the park. Marfa is an interesting place in its own right, and the Chamber of Commerce slogan “Tough to Get Here. Tougher to Explain. But Once You Get Here, You Get It” is pretty accurate. There are art galleries galore, but the real reason our architect friends wanted us to see it was the Chinati Foundation, founded by the minimalist artist Donald Judd. I do have pictures of the installations there, but they don’t do it justice. So we’ll go with some birds and scenery instead!

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Big Bend National ParkDecember 24, 2017

We got to the park at sunset, and were able to stay in some of the rustic cabins near the lodge in Chisos Basin, the administrative center of the park which is nestled in the Chisos Mountains. This was our view of the mountains at dawn the next day.

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Ghosts of Holidays Past: Christmas at Rockefeller Center Edition

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randy khan

My wife and I have a regular holiday season trip to New York City, and we go by Rockefeller Center regularly.  I thought it would be fun to share photos of the Rockefeller Center trees from over the years.

A funny thing:  They’re all from the north side of the plaza.  I don’t know why.

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Rockefeller Center, New York, New York.December 12, 2009

These are all in chronological order.  This is the first one I have.

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On The Road – Steve from Mendocino – Provence, France

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On the Road: Week of January 4  (5 am)
Albatrossity –
UncleEbeneezer – ‘Blossoms of Light” at Denver Botanical Gardens, December 2018
🐾BillinGlendaleCA – Fall Color at the Huntington
Sherparick – Pets who we lost
Origuy – Road Trip 2006, Part 3

On the Road: After Dark: Week of January 4 & 11  (10 pm)
We are back to Paris, with a set of 10 Paris posts from Steve from Mendocino

🌺  And now, back to Steve from Mendocino, for Provence, France

Steve from Mendocino

I’ve been to Provence twice, once int the early 70’s when Anne-Marie, her parents, and I drove from the Pyrenees (in two cars) through Provence and down to Florence and Venice, and once in the 80’s when I spent a week with my then girlfriend visiting my best friend in Mougin.  He had rented a house for a month, complete with housekeeper who arrived every morning to clean and prepare lunch.  I just didn’t have any family anchors in Provence, so we didn’t end up going there.  This group of photos is half of what I’ve set aside for OTR.

On The Road - Steve from Mendocino - Provence, France 7

I look at a good deal of the architecture in Provence and think “no earthquakes here”.  The least little shake would bring these structures down.  Growing up in Los Angeles, it’s hard to conceive of a place that can simply ignore any possibility of earthquakes.

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Ghosts of Holidays Past: Janie M Christmas Snippets Edition

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A few Christmas memories. Thanks to Steve from Mendocino for editing.

Ghosts of Holidays Past: Janie M Christmas Snippets Edition 4
Portland, Maine

My son lived outside the US for several years after college, so to have him come home for Christmas, on a snowy train no less, was a great occasion.

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On The Road – Captain C goes to Japan: Second Tokyo 2

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All good things must come to an end.  Captain C, thanks for taking us along on your trip!  ~WaterGirl

Captain C

We come to the end of the journey. The day after the baseball game was my last full day in Japan; I went to the Ota Museum and wandered around Shinjuku and Shibuya for a bit, before spending the evening hanging out with C. The next day, I went to the lovely Shinjuku Gyo-en National Garden in Shinjuku, before departing by train to Narita and leaving Japan at 6:20pm on Friday, arriving back at JFK at 6:15pm that same Friday. All in all, one of the best trips of my life and one I hope to repeat (with different specifics; I’d like to see Hiroshima, Kobe, Nara and/or Hokkaido if possible).

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Shibuya, TokyoApril 3, 2019

While Tower Records is a late, lamented chain here in the US (and in most of the world), in Japan it survives, as their Japanese unit was sold off a few years before their bankruptcy. This particular one is eight stories high, and as I discovered when C and I visited it earlier in the trip, has an entire floor dedicated to K-Pop, and another to J-Pop. We went to the floor which had various Jazz, Blues, World, and Electronic music and spent some time there. As with Los Apson, I showed great restraint and only purchased 3 CDs (albeit 2 of which were 3-album sets): A 3-disc set by the Sun Ra Arkestra, a 3-disc set by Bill Laswell (including some Material), and a collaboration by Bugge Wesseltoft and Prins Thomas.

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On The Road – Karen H – Great Sand Dunes National Park

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I look at the last photo and I suddenly believe that spring and summer will be here soon.  ~WaterGirl

Karen H

In August of 2019, I spent a few hours at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado as a detour on my way to Taos and Santa Fe.  The first sight of the dunes is startling and the photos don’t begin to capture how immense they are.

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Great Sand Dunes National ParkAugust 2, 2019

The approach to the dunes is across the Medano Creek, which was just barely running. In the spring the snow melt causes it to be a fast-flowing stream which makes it popular for water play.

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