As of yesterday evening, I have a bouquet of 8 red roses (including 2 deep pink). I picked two more from General Jack, one more from Lorne, and the first from Baron Girod de l'Ain. The Baron shows no white yet, but that may come with later blooms.
Today is Mother's 86th birthday. The air is still heavy and redolent with honeysuckle and honey locust. As it is Mother's birthday, some of the fragrance may be catalpa, as well.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Just because it's June!
Today the first roses of the year bloomed: L'Empereur du Maroc, Marchioness of Lorne, and General Jacqueminot. Meanwhile, the first peonies are still a-bloom and the later ones are opening. Of the German iris, the earliest are done but Edith Wofford and her ilk are still going strong.
This is the first year I haven't had a sad gap between iris and anything else. The Hybrid Perpetuals are finally coming into their own, thanks to two years of 7-foot fencing.
A couple of delphiniums are thinking about blooming.
Today I received -- and planted -- the final four of the 10 roses I ordered this year.
It was 80 and overcast, all evening as I planted and then mowed for an hour. The air was so thick with humidity and a very strong scent that it was challenging just to breathe. Honeysuckle, honey locust, and catalpa are all in bloom at once. The highbush cranberry viburnum is just going out of bloom as well.
This is the first year I haven't had a sad gap between iris and anything else. The Hybrid Perpetuals are finally coming into their own, thanks to two years of 7-foot fencing.
A couple of delphiniums are thinking about blooming.
Today I received -- and planted -- the final four of the 10 roses I ordered this year.
It was 80 and overcast, all evening as I planted and then mowed for an hour. The air was so thick with humidity and a very strong scent that it was challenging just to breathe. Honeysuckle, honey locust, and catalpa are all in bloom at once. The highbush cranberry viburnum is just going out of bloom as well.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
The Voices of Heaven
Frederick Pohl, 1994
I think the only other Pohl I've read is The Space Merchants. In Voices, I was constantly distracted from the narrative flow by the narrator's/author's trick of introducing a topic, then backing off for a few paragraphs or pages, then getting back into it. Not just once or twice, for big plot reveals, but constantly. It's like walking arm in arm with someone, getting into a good stride, but the other person keeps taking a step BACKWARD every now and then. Most annoying.
The title is a bit off-kilter. The "heaven" or sixth-stage forms of the native people do not speak; it is the third through fifth forms that speak to the human settlers. I know; the heaven of Christianity is also one of the threads of the novel, but if one of the characters was hearing voices from his or her heaven, I missed it.
Helge, a character mentioned repeatedly in Chapter 4, becomes Helga in Chapter 27 - poor editing.
The native people, and their interactions with humans, remind me a lot of those in Speaker for the Dead.
Some of the key moments receive little attention. Notably when the narrator is shanghaied - he comes to terms with the fact, after a decade or two of cold-sleep and many lightyears of distance away from home and loved ones, with surprising acceptance, almost complacency.
Too much acceptance of mainstream, and even fringe, Christianity for my taste, but that's just my taste. It is what the novel is about, after all.
I did think they would go ahead and intentionally or otherwise split the Pangaea-like continent into parts, which would solve several of the colonists' problems. Oh well, not my plot.
I love the cover art, by Ron Walotsky.
I think the only other Pohl I've read is The Space Merchants. In Voices, I was constantly distracted from the narrative flow by the narrator's/author's trick of introducing a topic, then backing off for a few paragraphs or pages, then getting back into it. Not just once or twice, for big plot reveals, but constantly. It's like walking arm in arm with someone, getting into a good stride, but the other person keeps taking a step BACKWARD every now and then. Most annoying.
The title is a bit off-kilter. The "heaven" or sixth-stage forms of the native people do not speak; it is the third through fifth forms that speak to the human settlers. I know; the heaven of Christianity is also one of the threads of the novel, but if one of the characters was hearing voices from his or her heaven, I missed it.
Helge, a character mentioned repeatedly in Chapter 4, becomes Helga in Chapter 27 - poor editing.
The native people, and their interactions with humans, remind me a lot of those in Speaker for the Dead.
Some of the key moments receive little attention. Notably when the narrator is shanghaied - he comes to terms with the fact, after a decade or two of cold-sleep and many lightyears of distance away from home and loved ones, with surprising acceptance, almost complacency.
Too much acceptance of mainstream, and even fringe, Christianity for my taste, but that's just my taste. It is what the novel is about, after all.
I did think they would go ahead and intentionally or otherwise split the Pangaea-like continent into parts, which would solve several of the colonists' problems. Oh well, not my plot.
I love the cover art, by Ron Walotsky.
Monday, July 30, 2007
National Eat at Wendy's Day
I hereby declare this to be National Eat at Wendy's Day, in honor of the wedding anniversary of Elizabeth and John Edwards.
If you can't find a Wendy's, eat at Culver's.
If you can't find a Wendy's, eat at Culver's.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
I cannot believe my eyes. From the Washington Post:
Just last night I saw an episode of PBS's Now that demonstrated how the Republicans stole the 2004 election. Of course, I already witnessed how they, with the connivance of the Supreme Court, stole the 2000 election. The thief in charge made his first-ever, after five years in power, veto to prevent medical research that uses stem cells. Today he is promising to veto legislation continuing and expanding health insurance for children.
The war, the lying Attorney General, the national debt to foreign nations, our standing in the world - I am sickened. And we liberals, progressives, moderates - we sit tamely and wait, hoping, against all evidence to the contrary, that they will not steal the next election.
Even if they don't, even if we somehow manage to elect a Democratic President and larger majorities in Congress, the new leaders - even if they don't use their Republican-provided ability to gather this type of Big Brother information about people - they will not demolish the capability to do so. Then the next time the Thieves are in charge, they will expand their powers yet more, and soon enough they will have assured that they are ALWAYS in charge, or perhaps will occasionally allow a Lieberman-type to nominally be in charge.
This has been the most frightening week of my life. To watch the Attorney General of the United States, the person overseeing our entire legal system, to watch him lie baldly to the Senate, and feign forgetfulness, was profoundly shocking. How could I have been so naive?
The United States and the European Union have agreed to expand a security program that shares personal data about millions of U.S.-bound airline passengers a year, potentially including information about a person's race, ethnicity, religion and health.... According to the deal, the information that can be used in such exceptional circumstances includes "racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership and data about an individual's health, traveling partners and sexual orientation.
Just last night I saw an episode of PBS's Now that demonstrated how the Republicans stole the 2004 election. Of course, I already witnessed how they, with the connivance of the Supreme Court, stole the 2000 election. The thief in charge made his first-ever, after five years in power, veto to prevent medical research that uses stem cells. Today he is promising to veto legislation continuing and expanding health insurance for children.
The war, the lying Attorney General, the national debt to foreign nations, our standing in the world - I am sickened. And we liberals, progressives, moderates - we sit tamely and wait, hoping, against all evidence to the contrary, that they will not steal the next election.
Even if they don't, even if we somehow manage to elect a Democratic President and larger majorities in Congress, the new leaders - even if they don't use their Republican-provided ability to gather this type of Big Brother information about people - they will not demolish the capability to do so. Then the next time the Thieves are in charge, they will expand their powers yet more, and soon enough they will have assured that they are ALWAYS in charge, or perhaps will occasionally allow a Lieberman-type to nominally be in charge.
This has been the most frightening week of my life. To watch the Attorney General of the United States, the person overseeing our entire legal system, to watch him lie baldly to the Senate, and feign forgetfulness, was profoundly shocking. How could I have been so naive?
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Aren't we angry enough? I just don't get it. Yes, I'm still on about the issues in my last post.
Digby has a post up about the cost of this war. If we would only pour that amount into rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure and getting their economy back up, the "insurgents" would be stymied and Iraq and the rest of the world would start to like us again (shades of Sally Field). If everyone in Iraq were prosperous, they would have no reason to fight each other. With Leon Uris's Trinity fresh in my mind, whatever anyone says about religious wars, no one wants to risk their and their children's well-being in violence just because their neighbors go to a different mosque or church.
There will always be religious and political differences among people, but they don't escalate into violence unless there are significant economic issues as well. Where are the historians?
Digby has a post up about the cost of this war. If we would only pour that amount into rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure and getting their economy back up, the "insurgents" would be stymied and Iraq and the rest of the world would start to like us again (shades of Sally Field). If everyone in Iraq were prosperous, they would have no reason to fight each other. With Leon Uris's Trinity fresh in my mind, whatever anyone says about religious wars, no one wants to risk their and their children's well-being in violence just because their neighbors go to a different mosque or church.
There will always be religious and political differences among people, but they don't escalate into violence unless there are significant economic issues as well. Where are the historians?
Let's Get 'Em!
Why are Democrats unable to pin memorable, disparaging labels on Republicans? Benchmarks in Iraq, firing leakers, sanctity of traditional marriage, culture of life -- the opportunities for calling them on their hypocracy and flip-flopping are boundless. Yet they continue to control the discourse. I don't mean so much the "framing" fad, as I do the entire use of language and controlled anger. Are we too kind? Too humble? We must NAIL THEM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jq0j80UB_c
Christy Hardin Smith has just published a great post http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/07/10/no-room/ on the mob mentality and Alice-in-Wonderland quality of this administration. It's an erudite, well-reasoned piece with no name calling or anything pithy for the talking heads to grab onto. How about, playing on La Casa Nostra, we start referring to this White House as La Casa Bianca? Or something. I don't pretend to be good at this, but others are. We have to capitalize on the current dissatisfaction with Iraq and the record low approval numbers of B*** and Ch**** and get the country laughing - no, sneering - at Republicans. I clearly remember how, in the runup to the 2004 elections, the right was sneering at Democrats simply for having so many candidates. Well, this year, they have more than we do - and it's a lot - and no one on our side seems to recall this. No one ever calls them on it. They get away with crap after crap, like a teenaged boy: Sorry, Mom, I will this time.... Okay, but I promise I will this time.... No, really, I really truly will - THIS time....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jq0j80UB_c
Christy Hardin Smith has just published a great post http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/07/10/no-room/ on the mob mentality and Alice-in-Wonderland quality of this administration. It's an erudite, well-reasoned piece with no name calling or anything pithy for the talking heads to grab onto. How about, playing on La Casa Nostra, we start referring to this White House as La Casa Bianca? Or something. I don't pretend to be good at this, but others are. We have to capitalize on the current dissatisfaction with Iraq and the record low approval numbers of B*** and Ch**** and get the country laughing - no, sneering - at Republicans. I clearly remember how, in the runup to the 2004 elections, the right was sneering at Democrats simply for having so many candidates. Well, this year, they have more than we do - and it's a lot - and no one on our side seems to recall this. No one ever calls them on it. They get away with crap after crap, like a teenaged boy: Sorry, Mom, I will this time.... Okay, but I promise I will this time.... No, really, I really truly will - THIS time....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)