Friday, October 05, 2018

32: Foggy Foliage


22 comments:

  1. The scheduled time for this post was 9:05 PM. I corrected it, though unfortunately not till nearly noon. Sorry about that.

    Alan, I've never heard of Joanne Harris, though perhaps I should have done.

    Joanne Michèle Sylvie Harris, MBE is an English author, known for her award-winning novel Chocolat. It was later turned into the 2000 film Chocolat. - Wikipedia

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  2. OOPS! That tells you what time in the evening I first posted it. So sorry!! Thanks for the cleanup, Cat!!!

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  3. Sen. Susan Collins is much more moderate and reasonable than most Republicans, and Maine voted for Bernie. So this really hurts.

    We need to require that our leadership have psychiatric workups. Just to be considered for the priesthood, I had to have a complete work up. Our leaders affect not just a congregation, but the whole nation. But they get a mental capacity pass.

    It’s so sad that she seems to believe what BK has said, vs what he will do going forward.

    NOT COOL of her to evoke Merrick Garland.

    I am supremely disappointed.

    NPR’s Science Friday dealt with the reality of the meaning of presumption of innocence! Legally, it is ONLY related to criminal cases! CBF deserves a presumption of innocence too.

    I’m less worried about Roe v Wade (which could largely be mitigated by States if necessary). I am more concerned about the Supremes turning DT into a full fledged dictator. At very least, he is going to be insufferable in his gloating, and right wingers are going to become all the more freely cruel. Today we are entering a new, dark era in our nation’s history.

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    1. Not all states will protect abortion rights if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

      Susan Collins is an idiot. I've always thought so.

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    2. I don't expect the Supreme Court as a whole to support BK's extreme views on presidential power. And I wonder if he would take the same view with a Democratic president in office -- not that I would want a Democratic president to have those powers either.

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    3. Susan Collins was invested with the mantle of the old-time moderate, good-government New England politicians--but in fact she has not been one of them for quite some time. I can well recall when they were an endangered species, but now they are unquestionably extinct. I understand that the crowdfunding site for her opponent-to-be crashed as she showed her true colors in the Senate.

      Alan

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    4. So, look who is considering running against Susan Collins:
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Rice

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  4. When W was doing things like bombing Baghdad, Wil and I wallpapered our guest room and recreated our kitchen. Small potatoes, I know, but it was a way of doing something creative and beautiful while others were bent on destruction. We are about to see an upsurge in freedom of cruelty in our nation, so I plan to be more loving, compassionate and kind to others. The universe needs help with balance.

    I am also going to work at the polls. But if the polls do not serve well, that may be my last time. It feels like Democracy has become a joke in our nation. If I could live without social security I would definitely move an hour north into Canada where people are generally kind, polite and open minded.

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    1. Living outside the US doesn't affect your eligibility for Social Security.

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    2. Seriously, Bill? I didn't know that. I thought we'd get at best a diminished amount. I assume one loses SS if one changes citizenship, yes?

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    3. I don't know about changing citizenship. I think you're stiil eligible, but I'd have the check to be sure.

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  5. Many retirees look forward to traveling in their retirement, and more and more are actually retiring overseas, in part as a way to stretch savings. But what happens to retirees' federal benefits while they are out of the country? The short answer is that although Social Security benefits are available to retirees in other countries, Medicare is not. In this installment we look at Social Security. (Click here for our article on overseas travel and Medicare.)

    https://www.elderlawanswers.com/getting-social-security-while-living-overseas-8301

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    1. Also Canada does not generally give permanent residence to old foreigners, figuring that they will mooch off the health care system without having contributed to it. And US citizens in Canada owe US taxes as well as Canadian taxes. I might have qualified for Canadian citizenship by descent, but evidently my grandfather never asserted his Canadian nationality. Oh, well; we delicate subtropical flowers could probably not withstand the boreal frosts. And Doug Ford is now the Premier of Ontario, and driving a bulldozer through the established order. Canada is on the verge of a constitutional crisis too.

      Alan

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    2. Bummer. See, we'd be able to bring our home business with us, which would probably be attractive to Canada. Only, we don't have too many years left before Wil retires. He will likely keep the home business going into his 70's, mind you, but it's not the booming business it was before W messed up the economy.

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  6. Well, here's a parting broadside; then to work on my Art 3 project, due in ten or 15 days as I recall: an acrylic painting based on our choice of verse from a poem. We may use black, white and if desired one other color. (I will be desiring green.) I think I have figured out how to do fog in acrylic, but must experiment first. Nice weather here now; in the upper 70's F, with clear air and a light breeze. --Alan
    =====================
    Mormon church backs deal to legalize medical marijuana in Utah [Click] Gee.

    Florida red tide sweeps away Republican Rick Scott's Senate poll lead [Click]

    Sweden's 'true queen', 8, pulls ancient sword from lake [Click]

    If Brett Kavanaugh makes it through, women’s anger will be unstoppable—Suzanne Moore [Click] Well, I hope so!

    In the same vein:
    He said, she said… [Click] Jack Ohman cartoon for Oct. 3rd.

    The weight is over: will kilograms get an upgrade? – Science Weekly podcast [Click] Or read about it here. [Click] When I was in college there was a small difference between a cubic centimeter and a milliliter; small, but large enough that we had to learn how to convert from one to the other. The difference was unintentional, and eventually it was eliminated—but old tables that used one or the other would still have to be converted—to the new values. And I remember when the meter was redefined. I missed the redefinition of the second, but now comes the kilogram! Yay!

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    1. P.S.: We don't get to choose the poem, just the verse.

      Alan

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  7. I’m going to kick in $20.20 to fund Susan Collins’ opponent.[Click] It’s a one-off at this point. She activated my outside agitator gene.

    —Alan

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  8. I think I found a way to neatly transfer the text of the poem to my painting using wax paper, an inkjet printer and an iron (and some cheap paper for insulation). I shall have to see if it works on acrylic paint; alternatively I can leave a bit of the paper unpainted.

    Alan

    P.S.: Here is our [hopefully] inspirational poem. [Click]

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    1. Wow, there will be a lot of blackbirds in that class!

      Is yours:

      "At the sight of blackbirds
      Flying in a green light,
      Even the bawds of euphony
      Would cry out sharply."

      I love the idea of the fog!! It can be tricky to paint. Look at a LOT of fog photos and at real fog if it presents itself in time. It can really help. I hope you enjoy the process!!

      If the poem proves tricky to get onto the page, you might try printing it onto tracing paper or rice paper and decoupaging or gluing it onto your canvas somewhere.

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    2. My choice:

      IX When the blackbird flew out of sight,
      It marked the edge
      Of one of many circles.

      I am borrowing the mountains behind Lake George from Georgia O'Keefe, the foreground from photos of Yosemite Valley, and patching them together with fog. Only thing black will be the bird; white or near white in the lower sky near the mountains and the fog; various mixtures of green, black and white for mountains, trees, and brush. I have the layout roughed out.

      I went to YouTube for ideas on doing mist in acrylic. The one that looked the best and easiest was to thin white paint with acrylic "blending" medium, apply a thin wash (over the previously painted and dried background to be fogged up) with a flat brush, then even and disperse it with an oval mop brush. The economical line of brushes at the local art supply store only had oval mops in white goat hair, intended for watercolor or oil; but it will only have a passing acquaintance with the acrylic, so I can probably get away with it if I clean it promptly, and I can probably use it in my watercolor class when I get there. If it does not survive light use with acrylic, I am only out three dollars. Thanks for the decoupage idea--that can be a backup; I have tracing paper.

      My "canvas" is Bristol paper--stiff and smooth, inexpensive, and not absorbent to speak of.

      Alan

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