Panorama Fun

I've been having a hell of a lot of fun with Autostitch on my trip to Michigan. Here follows a picture from Pyramid Point. Pyramid point is a bluff that overlooks Lake Michigan. You walk up a steep hill and when you reach the crest you are a couple of hundred feet above the lake. It's beautiful there.

Today Mom and I drove down to Grand Rapids to attend my sister's graduation from college. Just south of Traverse City on the way back the sun was setting and I saw an awesome view and I had to try a panorama.

Should be a competitive sport

I jumped off a swing for the first time since about fifth grade. I still have good form and got pretty good distance. I out flew my buddy's eight-year-old stepson.

Swampy

Today my Dad and I hung out and did a bit of walking. One spot we went to was a place called Grass River Natural Area. It's beautiful and it's about 2 miles from my Dad's front door. Here's a picture I took today in the rain.

Let the politics of fear continue

I hope this Giuliani BS blows up in his face.

Howdy

Hi, I am in Michigan. I took a self portrait at Good Harbor, a bay on Lake Michigan in Leelanau County. Good Harbor is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The picture is here.

Leaving on one of them aeroplanes

Just to let you know that this afternoon I will be leaving for northern Michigan and I will be back on May 4th. I hope to post some pictures and a few other entries while I am up there. Go Tigers.

Best Song Ever (MP3 blogging)

Let's talk about Johnny Cash some more. What always fascinated me about Cash is how he could be embarassingly hokey and frightfully poignant, often in the same song. Sometimes these two states were separated by a line break. The song I am going to provide a link to today is Singin' in Vietnam Blues. How can you not love a song that has these opening lines:

"One mornin' at breakfast I said to my wife
We've been everywhere once and some places twice
As I had another helpin' of country ham
She said we ain't never been to Vietnam."

Yes, he actually rhymed "country ham" with "Vietnam." Who else but Johnny Cash would have the fucking balls to rhyme those two terms? But right alongside one of the hokiest lines in the history of recorded music there are two powerful moments of the kind only Cash could summon. Listen to his voice when he reads the line "She said, 'I'm scared.' I said, 'Me too.'" There couldn't be a simpler line and when he stripped words and music down to their minimum that's when he would shine. Later on a similar moment occurs when Johnny and June are asked to visit wounded troops. Johnny's answer is one word: "Yeah." The whole second to last stanza is full of hope and love and, since that's not enough, he carries it a bit too far in teh last stanza while still being able to waffle on the whole Vietnam war issue. Johnny at his finest.

I present to you Singin' in Vietnam Talking Blues by Johnny Cash.

Radio Deliro

I came across the best internet radio station last weekend while playing around on Itunes. If you get a chance check out Radio Deliro. It's a French station that plays everything except heavy metal. I've heard classical, blues, Beatles, show tunes, French pop music, tin pan alley, jazz (really good jazz) and world music. It's amazing. Seriously, whoever is programming this station is goddamn genius. Give it a shot.

How to be Impressed

I love reading the New York Times Book Review. Every now and then I will come across a review that flat wakes me up. I just finished reading a review by Clive James on two new books about Leni Riefenstahl.

Comic relief

Since that tragedy at Virginia Tech has stunned the whole country I would like to lighten things up by linking to some unintentional humor at my favrorite ultra right wing website. Did you know that this tragedy was directly caused by liberals?
Yup, every person that every asked for sanity in our gun laws. Every person that has wanted to offer every American a chance at health care. Every person that ever wanted to allow women and black Americans to vote. All those people are directly to blame for the massacre at Virginia Tech. I hope you fucking hippies are happy with the world you have created. I knew David Crosby was at the root of everything that is wrong with our great nation.

LDS Lard Ass

At the library a common sight is young Mormon adults that are on their mission. They sit at the internet computers wearing the ubiquitous black name tags pinned to white shirts. Kinder, gentler Reservoir Dogs. Ususally they are healthy young men full of way too much good cheer. Today I saw my first fat one. He stuck out like a fat Mormon missionary.

I love this

No matter how bad the tragedy let's just be sure to not allow any rational discussion of gun control to enter the arena: "A White House spokesman said President Bush was horrified by the rampage and offered his prayers to the victims and the people of Virginia. "The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed," spokeswoman Dana Perino said." What a jackass. He wants it both ways. We create a culture of fear and paranoia and then arm ourselves to the teeth. When someone snaps and goes on a killing spree it has nothing to do with the guns or our culture, it's just another "unforseeable tragedy". Yeah, so unforseeable that it happens almost annually. Drives me fucking crazy.