Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Moonlight in Vermont


27 comments:

  1. Howard Dean primus inter pares est!

    Pretty amazing photos, listener; from your iPhone?

    I have been imbibing modestly and am feeling both romantic and a trifle jolly, while reading some short stories from a Darkover anthology and joking with my good wife. But I was quite taken with the opening lines of one story [Homecoming by Lana Young]:

    "Just as night falls swiftly on Darkover, the sun rises slowly, as if reluctant to face a new day. It was in that time that was no longer night, but not yet day, that the ship landed at the Terran spaceport in Thendara."

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  2. Bravo, I say!

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  3. Merely my Sony DCS-H20 camera. :-)

    Good opening words!

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  4. Right at freezing, and sorta pale gray. With a light snow falling. Pretty at that. Rain this afternoon and evening.

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  5. Was interested to note that the Goobey did *NOT* get himself under the porch yesterday, with 8 hours of non-supervision. . . . (And I can't figure out how to block his last entry endeavor.) Maybe he's aware that getting under without mama around to rescue you is a very bad idear?

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  6. Bill Thomasson2/08/2012 02:51:00 PM

    So maybe going under the porch is a way of getting attention?

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  7. Bill Thomasson2/08/2012 03:29:00 PM

    What are we to make of the Santorum victories? One thing we should make of them is that local organization and effort matter. Sometimes they are almost the only thing that matters. Although perhaps less glaringly obvious, the same conclusion could be drawn from the Obama. When I was in Davenport on a couple of Saturdays in the fall of 2007, the Obama campaign office was jumping. Crowded with both locals and Illinoisans. The Edwards campaign office was closed. Yes, I said closed. On a Saturday. Couldn't tell about the Clinton campaign office because it was outside the downtown area.

    So guess who won the Iowa caucuses. And, for that matter, who became the first Democrat in decades to carry Indiana in the general election. Feet on the ground. Organization, organization, organization.

    Really, really hope I can squeeze out time to do things this summer.

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  8. It's kind of encouraging that Romney and Gingrich didn't win this time. It shakes things up and leaves the Republicans that much less together and organised.

    I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to help out this Summer too. Except...of course...Obama is going to win Vermont again, just like he did last time. Vermont was the first to vote for Obama and he's coming to Vermont on March 30th! This will be the first time we've had a visit from a sitting President since Bill Clinton came in 1995...!!

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  9. Lovely opening lines.

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  10. Beautiful moon photos, listener.

    Great health news about both Puddle and Alan. WOOT

    Santorum wins anywhere are unthinkable. the pundits and talking heads and other assorted media geniuses must be in a tailspin. Can't wait to see the News Hour tonight.

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  11. BTW listener, you did loads better than I did with the iPhone. I got to HEP but couldn't get into the comments at all. So, well done to you.

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  12. Back from court in Hollister this morning; near the 1960's courthouse (must be a pretty rough place, all right--no security guards and the magnetometers' only job was to hold down the floor) there was the city hall; looked to be a nice building, maybe 1920's construction, pre-WPA. So on the way back to the car I stopped in and asked, since I didn't see a cornerstone. (On the way in I also noted that under the many layers of paint it seemed to be nicely done--and probably steel reinforced--concrete construction.) Seems that it was built in the early 1920's as the Carnegie Library, and converted to the "new" city hall in the 1960's, with a relatively big council chamber added in the 1980's. As soon as I heard, I recognized the basic Carnegie library design; I think it didn't register at first because it is the smallest one I have ever seen, so the design had to be simplified. Nice to see it re-purposed.

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  13. In addition to that it is an incredibly effective very short story, in only three pages--but that is possible only because it clearly fits into a particular, and particularly well known, spot in the Darkover "series" and uses already familiar, well defined characters. De novo, I don't see how it could be done (but I am not a writer).

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  14. listener--just read about your three weeks' bug. THREE WEEKS?! That would be downright RUDE, and I certainly hope you can exorcise it before that.

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  15. Interesting about the library cum city hall. Nice indeed.

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  16. You have no idear how much that encourages my attempts! Thank-you!

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  17. I think city halls should become libraries.
    Imagine a world in which we have less need of governance and everyone is focused on reading and learning and being intelligent.

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  18. Fish and company smell after three days. And it's all the more true of viruses!

    I doubt I can exorcise it before Monday, but today I felt a bit better ~ knock mahogany.

    Two hot tips: (1) Kleenex Ultra Soft Tissues, (2) Expectorant

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  19. Of course there is always chicken soup. And 80-plus proof throat purifiers--Kills germs by millions on contact!

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  20. If anyone out there has Apple stuff and is considering using iTunes Match to access music, here is how Apple has monetized the music on your computer:

    http://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/08/apple-determines-itunes-match-royalties-by-counting-how-many-times-a-song-is-accessed/

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  21. Bill Thomasson2/08/2012 11:11:00 PM

    Right. An Obama victory in Illinois is pretty much a given as well. But election day 2008 found me in Indianapolis. Watched the victory celebration on TV in my hotel room, not in Grant Park.

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  22. I've done that sort of thing in the TLOTR world, and Phil sometimes did it too, filling in gaps, providing backstory, that sort of thing. It's fun to do from the writing point of view.

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  23. What a wonderful world t hat would be!

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  24. I have iTunes but don't use anything else Apple.

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  25. What else can be done besides canvassing? My experience of canvassing in NH in 2004 was that folks were sick and tired of people telling them how to vote (or even just to vote at all). It can become a turnoff in the final days.

    Personal letter writing works, but I'd have to really be behind the person with a clear heart to write a good letter. I don't feel as articulate anymore.

    What else is good? Letters to the Editor? Same issue.

    Idears?

    At very least, I am working at the polls, voting, and helping to count the vote.
    The world does construe according to its wit. How to sharpen its wit?

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  26. In just the past two weeks I have made three big batches of homemade Chicken Soup and bought a fourth batch at the Health Food Store. I shared one batch with my Daughter-in-Law, too.

    I don't touch anything stronger than about 12% proof. LOL!
    However, salt water is my friend.

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  27. I must have iTunes somewhere, but I don't consciously know how to use it.
    So far my iPhone is ... a phone. LOL!

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