A wonderful speech given by historian Michael Beschloss, quoting Lyndon Johnson and many other of presidential bits.
The quote that led me there was Lyndon Johnson's statement that "Hubert, that Medicare bill is going to go through Congress faster than a dose of salt through a widow woman." I'll let you scroll to the translation.
An boss of mine used the phrase "Nervous as a whore in church" too, and stumped me, like Johnson stumped his non-Texans, with "The rain's coming down like a cow on a flat rock." It was much later that I finally learned the missing word "pissing" had been cleaned out of his sentence.
This is a good page to learn to speak like a Southerner. One of the girls I tutored a few weeks ago didn't know what I meant by "calling dibs" (from dibs, short for dibstones, gamepieces) so I won't assume which speech quirks are familiar. Here's some more piquant sayings.
The BBC had an article about wearing Hajibs that posted this response:
"Hijab is a fashion, is a protection from the sun, it is an accessory, not something you have to wear. I would urge Muslim women and women of every religion, dress modestly, wear jeans, t-shirts, skirts, anything you want, but dress with dignity and do not show your wealth or your perfect bodies and think of other people who do not have much or who are physically disabled. This is not only an issue about the way we dress, but also about the way we act. Another point I want to make is that no matter what you believe in, be sure that you do because you have found your truth, your belief. Question it every day, so you can be sure every day that it is the right thing to believe in. "
A quote from Merima, Bosnia and Herzegovina who now lives in the US.
First day of fall this morning, in the 10:47 minute UT. (This weblog is set to universal time.) Spaceweather has one of the most beautiful rainbows I've ever seen photographed - so rare to see a sunset rainbow.
Anticrepuscular rays focus down to the point exactly opposite the sun in the sky sphere, the "antisolar point" (check out the gallery). That means if the sun is above the horizon, the antisolar point is below, and vice-versa. Crepuscular is a beautiful word by itself, but only once you get past the similarity to corpuscles. cre·pus·cu·lar: 1 : of, relating to, or resembling twilight : DIM 2 : active in the twilight (m-w.com)
I've desired a telescope, and luckily came across this sensible page. Here's an ad that shows nice priorities.
By the way, NASA is publicizing standing an egg on its end today.
I'm not sure what masthead font they use, but the articles are very interesting. Take a look at Iraq Today. I like the classified ads! "We would like to a put a plant in Iraq. Contact us at 555--1234." Wacky. Watching a nation born in the year 2003 is quite different than 1776. When a fast food joint can be put in before the first line of their Constitution, the US is setting up the council as if we were playing dolls, and suspicious international agencies are trying to determine the legitimacy of whatever Council shows up to a meeting, well, it ain't very clear cut like the musical.
This video of a different incident at Jane's Defence Weekly's article on Wang Wei (the Chinese fighter that hit the US plane, causing that not-quite-hostage crisis) is pretty interesting. There were a lot of people aboard the US plane, so it has no flavor of the Red Baron-dogfight as I imagined the skies during this kind of incident.
Jane's is definitely not your usual subscriber news service. Running at, for example, USD 26,200.00 for the "Defence Equipment Library" they are out of my budget, but I'm trying to decide which free alerts to go for.
I love that there is this entity, collecting data on all sides of conflicts, publishing it to paying customers with high standards, bliping alongside the square media like CNN.
Fred T. Jane seems like quite a character, what with the sci-fi writing, the interest in explosives, and the founding of an intelligence empire and all. He'd probably be in jail in this age.
St. Petersburg is having a problem with people getting lost while mushrooming. No, you counter-culture freaks, they just get lost in the woods. Though the BBC link is a little more fantastic sounding - "Dozens disappear in St Petersburg mushroom mania."
I'll gesture to bianca and point out a True Smut Fungi.
I went looking for the identity of the fungus growing on the tree that went down and found all sorts of delightful sites. I'm thinking that the tree fungus might be Laetiporus cincinnatus, or "The Chicken of the Woods" (a name which, for some reason, horrifies me).
Do you want to learn the deadly mushrooms? How about how to have fun with puffball mushrooms? No site was more *cough* exuberant than this pet fungus page.
While you're at it, and check out the ever-fascinating work of taxonomy and Linean naming schemes in all its exciting splendor. I love the idea that names have to be "conserved" and there might be battles over which way to keep or remove extraneous names from the Latin naming pool. Taxonomy is such a human (and Sisyphusian) pursuit.
Speaking of tree rootage, the stinking sumac is my least favorite. It is easy to hate, particularly for its smell. Also hated: Smilax rotundifolia, a Liliaceae family plant, and worst of all, something whose name I haven't found - small oval green leaves spaced along branches similarly to sumac, with spines at junctures and a henious root system. John took about four hours to dig up a small 4' plant. I guess web taxonomy isn't perfect yet (the Virginia Tech site is nice), or I'd be able to instantly figure the name out.
The Panic of Isabel is over.
Wednesday the announcement went out that Metro would close aboveground in high winds - and then for some odd reason Metro decided to just shut down at 11am, based on reports that the storm would strike earlier than expected. Well, once you have no buses and no Metro to get to work, you drive, right? On that panicing vision, the Feds shut down (and giving me the day off, hurrah). All day, we took long walks in the bright grey morning, and loafed around, waiting for the storm to hit.
here's pictures from the overwhelming devestation (not!).
Rains arrived in sheets every once in a while like any other thunderstorm. The power across the street went out - we could see candlelight flickering in their homes - but ours stayed on except for five one-second flickers at various points through the night.
Today work is off again - this morning the radio said 1 million without power in Virginia, one million in Maryland, and 700,000 in DC. No paper, eegads. Repair crews were focusing on restoring power to emergency facilities and governement buildings. Another Fed day off! The sun is bright, the day is balmy, and Dakota and I took a long walk, trying to find evidence of disaster. The worst we found was one tree felled, which hit a car. The interstate is completely clear. Amazing. Of course ParkFairfax folks are scurrying around tidying up branches in their little white trucks.
The large tree that fell on Gunston Rd. had a diameter of probably 2.5 feet. There was a "Woodlands Committee" member there, who explained how the root system on the fungus-y side was damaged, most likely by something as simple as a bulldozer compacting the earth at some point. Trees can take 5-10 years to die after root damage - few are usually left suburbias at that point who remember the original cause. One of the things you don't realize about trees is how near the surface most of their roots are - and how much air their roots need. You can smother some types of trees in just a couple inches of dirt. The root system shows how little root there was on the fungus sides. Trees will usually fight fungus if healthy, so fungus on the roots is a big indicator of lack of health.
I found this surreal-looking silhouette of the tree base utterly beautiful.
Tuesday lunchtime the State Department's Open Forum hosted George Soros. I got to see it, 12:00-1:30pm. The Open Forum series is yet another indication that State Department is not like other bureaucracies. Every month or so, they get a famous speaker to talk to them about challenging intellectual views of statecraft - even people that don't agree with the administration.
Sorros began with a gracious joke about how he was pleased to come to the Open Forum, as it was similar in wording to Open Society (he's the chair of the Open Society Institute, referencing Popper's work towards understanding and creating transparency and openness in society.
[Updated] Here's the full transcript of his speech.
I'm traveling to Greece soon. There is way too much to see, even touristing 24/7. I've found recently the World Heritage List and so now I can identify what UNESCO thinks is cool about that country. In the course of puttering around the UN sites I ended up reading about Greece's hope to bring back the Olympic Truce. There aren't enough arbitrary, short-term truces in this modern world.
This accelerated democracy site got me thinking on why people are so disenfranchised from voting in the US. The causes are multiple, of course, but some of the silencing comes from a) dispersed communities and b) modern etiquette. The Vanishing Voter project I'm sure has more, so I'll probably revise this post after I've read what they have to say.
In the old stereotypical factory town, there was a commonality to discourse because folks were in similar situations. In my office in DC in 2003, there is little survival need and no assumption about what the person next to me thinks. I tread lightly on statements of belief, because I might offend. "Talking politics" has become branded with a stigma.
Even at the church I attend, there would be a great resistance to enforcing a political dogma, in spite of the church being deeply involved in civil rights, poverty programs, and peace campaigns. No one would think of stating that one should obviously be a Democrat or Republican. Is it politeness? Are we avoiding presumption? Doesn't it matter a little more than politeness does? Why is politics a dirtier conversation than sex now?
There's a category of discussion on lists that is termed "religious". It applies to issues - operating systems, abortion - that invariably boil down to decisions of faith. Arguing "religious" topics just leads to flame wars and overfull inboxes, so it is discouraged. Politics is seen as "religious".
I'm sure politics in the US has been tribal and thus "religious" since the franchise was extended beyond the Constitutional Convention attendees. But has it always been so tasteless to even discuss it? I try to talk more about politics recently, try to insert politics into conversations, because politics should reflect life as we live it. Is it a class issue? Does the lower class talk about politics more, and since I'm middle class I don't hear the talk? Complacency as a result of oversuccess?
The Vanishing Voter page states that "the weakening of the political parties as objects of thought and loyalty has reduced the incentive to participate, particularly among lower-income Americans." Intersect that change with the dispersion of public life, and you end up with the majority of americans without a group or forum where they access politics and its excitement. No wonder it is such drugery to vote.
So, my brainstorm today: I'll throw a debate party for one of the upcoming debates. Getting people to sit down and watch a political debate should be easy, right? If I make it social, perhaps. It's likely that anyone who watches these debates, in fall of 2003, is going to continue to be involved all the way through till November 2004. I'd like people to be able to talk about politics without feeling like they are proselytizing. Issues shouldn't be anathema!
Debate party:
1. Red-white-blue decor.
2. "Position Bingo" - cards with rows of yes/no issues (proposes universal health care plan?) and columns of candidates. Each square is triangle-divided into Yes/No. First person to circle a line of answers from the debate wins a prize.
3. Vote for the "winner" of the debate - perhaps collect a hat-pass of funds before it starts, and then send the cash to the winner's campaign.
4. Vote for who will be *branded* the winner by the media - encourages critical thinking about reporting.
5. All-American food. Chili, hot dogs, hamburgers, apple pie.
6. Since these debates will be Democrats, a door prize for the most vehement Republican that comes, especially if they participate thoroughly in the conversation.
The nine orders of angels are more readily available with the expansion of the web in the last few years. Being able to chant off their ranks seems to me a gracious antiquitarian knowledge.
SERAPHIM
CHERUBIM
THRONES
DOMINATIONS (or dominions)
VIRTUES
POWERS
PRINCIPALITIES
ARCHANGELS
ANGELS
The most euphoric summary of them is at this excellent page .
My particular favorite from the orders of angels is the Thrones. They are described as being giant wheels of fire. This, even before I learned:
1) through them the justice of God is pre-eminently manifesed; ... helping kings and masters to bring forth right judgement. here
2) Thrones reside at the point where the heaven meets the earth. beware the soundtrack
3) Ofaniel, their head, is the angel of the wheels of the moon, the wheels of heaven
4) they are many-eyed, like argus. ezekiel daniel
argus is susanargus, susan argus, argusattaylororg or susan danewitz. argus owns acmeme. her handle was assumed in 1994 and refers to the greek myth.
acmeme is a contraction of acme and meme. Pronounce it "ack-meem".
This weblog is an attempt to diary ideas that I wouldn't want to wish on any list i'm subscribed to, in the abundance with which I want them to flow. I am particularly interested in posts on things such as searches to track down obscure information (I'll catalogue them here), beautiful or amazing things I find, and political/policy issues in the world I'm thinking about.
I'll probably begin with the orders of angels.
take care - and welcome
susanargus
