ahhhhhh... that's much better... 6.29
more like what we are accustomed to around here, lovely cooling marine layer reasserting itself late in the afternoon, so wonderful to watch this
long tendril of fog come streaming thru the Gate, much sunshine still available on either side of it and as it
continues its streaming eastward it billows and piles up along & atop the coastal range eventually tops the hills of the city and Marin, forming acres of a grey, moist & cool comforter, yes, comfort in the best sense of the word, and finally a good night's sleep (except for being woken a little after one Am by young fellow across the street
demonstrating just how loud his car stereo can be, that going on for a good half hour or so, before boredom sets in
and they all start up their cars and drive away) you can imagine how genuinely thankful a fella l'Marquis is today, well, this morning at least. Hey, jessferdahalibut, howzabout some new blips on our blog radar? eventually we get around to adding them to our collection of faves and regularly perused blogs & whatnot known as autreblog, though usually they have to show a little staying power as it has become a minor frustration to add a link to the image map and then find someone has discovered all the bloom fallen from their bloggin' rose (so to speak) and either they've decided they no longer want to continue, or leave up some memorial until the domain expires and it leaves us feeling somewhat like the proprietor of a columbarium or some such establishment and... and... Oh Oh, he's beginning to wander off into the ether again...
first up, yessss, Mr. Maus, & thanks for writing, we do likes the stuff you offer up, demonstrationboogleg.com has a lot happening, including arty & musicky linkage;
l'Marquis also likes the look of 5'2", particularly that Betty Page image splashed alongside content rife w/just the right degree of snarkiness; next up, not a weblog,
truly, but interesting and compelling reading, local university lasses & lads of asian-pacific orientation, their
work here at hardboiled; again, in the not exactly a weblog category (and also appears they have ceased publishing currently, nice they are still online tho') the
lovely lasses at Smile and Act Nice; back to blogsters, and ourowndamnself not entirely certain she is REALLY scary, but if scarymommy says so, we happy to take her at her word; despite much evidence of our own irrational behavior at times, we've long thought of ourself as what Lilith has named her effort, A Rational Animal; now, it's true that Chimptopia is already embedded in les autres nevertheless we feel he deserves
special mention here because he shared this nugget of quality linky goodness with us all; okay, then maybe time to wrap this up and head out for morning jolt of nourishing caffeine, especially while still sporting our "Richard Lewis Hair", yet first, a brief explanation. minion in chief Crakhed Johan has been standing in for l'Marquis on occasion, lately posting linky goodness at the good Doctor Menlo's SLA, well, the tawdry story is the good Doctor M is in possession of some terribly compromising photographs of l'Marquis' many indiscretions and just so they don't become common fodder in the alt.binaries.pictures.erotic.l'Marquis newsgroup
we succumbed to his invitation to share some of our carnal knowledge with the readership (READERSHIP? -- HAHH!!!!) at SLA. l'Marquis wants to take this opportunity to thank head minion C.J. for taking on the responsibility for keeping our mischief out of the hands of miscreants, some of our escapades have yet to pass the statute of limitations for those particular hi-jinks. Oh, but what a revelation, nekkid bodies is the thing to do if you want lots and lots and lots of visitors, because it has become very apparent, even to somebody as rapidly falling into decrepitude as l'Marquis, that large numbers of visitors here are coming from those rather infrequent SLA posts Crakhed Johan has entertained those thickly muscle-y wristed SLA fans with, SO, we know they coming here and going "Wha-? no nekkid Brittney, no nekkid J-Lo, not even a nekkid grandma or two? Borink!!!", well, here's a link just for you.
a very slight cooling trend in progress... 6.28
though still plenty of sunshine & warm temps for sunworshippers.
invited to attend event w/panel discussing State of the Union (the Fri 27 event described) last evening, one of the more coherent things mentioned was the ugly reality of Strom Thurmond being eulogized by his fellow politicos, conveniently forgetting how detestable & backward he & his many supporters actually were/are. Thank goodness for the snarky coolness of K. Cohen,
and okay, wotdahekk, jessferdahalibut,
here's S. Thurmond, Psychedelic Republican. Hey! datz slandering our bonobo chimp relatives!
oh, and how yourstruly would love to see... 6.27
the entire list of appalling lies & untruths that the
current administration is responsible for promulgating;
from AlterNet, 10 Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq by the way, el scumbago residente blew into town just long enough
to waltz away with a cool $1.6 mil and a televised news report mentioned Dennis Miller performing as the "warm-up act" for the big cheese...
you know, we never liked Miller, something about him has always struck
us as odious and self-serving, nice to know one's instincts are correct,
and man, watching both of those slimebags is enough to ruin a friday night...
still way too damned hot... around here, and yah, ourowndarnself knows it is summer,
but this is not what we dyed-in-the-wool sfbayareans expect to
endure this time of year. Where the hell's that marine layer, dammit!?
so... as hot as it is, it makes l'Marquis WAY lazy,
we'll be posting in earnest (actually from chez d'Monquis in Albany, CA)
when it begins to cool off a bit, but for now, doesn't that Mark Morford have a way with words?
and you should really visit some of the usual suspects here,
as there is often great wonderful nuggets of chunky linky goodness
available for your leisurely perusal and enjoyment, they all got hella lot
o' fine stuff on their sidebars too, so check 'em out katz and kitteezz...
a couple of candidates for Slimfast diets...
and maybe a little lipo & a nip&tuck here & there.
ahhhhhh, l'Marquis' a cruel bastid on occasion...
we wrote a little something about our lovely Popz on
the 15th, Poppaz Day, now he go be gettin' famous. He's Bad, He's Nationwide, He's our Popz...
likely much validity to this... 6.26
and deeply troubling, as the powers that be fully intend
to insure this particular reality is the way things will be,
for your children & your children's children, less & less opportunity;
from Slate, The Rich Do Get Richer;
from the NYT, somewhat related, interesting nevertheless, Very Richest's Share of Income Grew Even Bigger
a contemplation of geezerhood...
certainly might describe ourowndamnframeofmind on occasion, thinking this morning about these pillowcases
yourstruly was hanging on the clothesline, and how long we'd had them, remembering first using them in
our wee pied-a-terre on the fringe of downtown Berkeley some, what, twelve, perhaps fifteen years ago. Intended
to make mention of J. Carroll's Tuesday & Wednesday columns here yesterday, but it was too damned hot to
do anything but attempt to refrain from anything too strenuous, so without further ado, The Geezer Perplex, Part 1; Part 2.
oh Joy! oh Rapture!
yourstruly visiting fave sites this Am, stopping by Slate,
heart skips a beat when we view headline: LIAR OR MORON?
oh, how we loves it when someone gets it right!
now here's the item itself, penned by Timothy Noah, Can Bush Be Both Ignorant and a Liar? Yea, Verily, and impressively so...
more chewy linky goodness re that great waste of space
residing in the white house & his administration,
from Information Clearinghouse, The (p)resident's real goal in Iraq
ourowndarnself should'a flown to NYC... 6.23
as reports from the royal birthday celebration are rife
with descriptions of wanton & lascivious behaviors, chandeliers being swung from, a certain queenly presonage in pink silk and high heels and a birthday cake that inspired a standing ovation upon the exit of the dessert chef. Damn-o-lay, IandI always missin' the good parties...
so, why are IandI here today, well, whenever we read something re the shenanigans of that dolt in the white house, our blood pressure rises and it seems to be one way of dealing with it. Naomi Klein, from the Guardian UK,
Now Bush wants to buy the complicity of aid workers;
& after that, perhaps something alongside, those proverbial few grains of salt, Harley Sorenson, from the local fishwrap, What You Can Do About Bush.
some linky goodness re What You Can Do:
courtesy International A.N.S.W.E.R., Make a Stand & Protest;
and with a little planning, July 4th in Philadelphia can be a big one!
Lastly, for the moment at least, something of a lighter nature. Ourowndamnself had a run in with raccoon a while back, and thankfully one not so fraught with menace and Trouble.
a royal personage 'n Queens NooY'awwk... 6.21
is celebrating her 39th (plus one) birfdey today.
Happy Birthday,
Hellcat Mellie.
She's as tough as they come, she is, a New Yorker through and through,
our Queen from Queens
l'Marquis' fascination with these things... 6.20
knows no bounds. NYT linkage: Spacecraft Give 'Deeper' Picture of the Origin of Galaxies;
the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center. brief aside here, last night the minions and ourowndamnroyalassself were watching DVD, and thinking this morning as we performed our royal ablutions about folks of our acquaintence over the many years who love musicals and movie musicals in particular, sometimes watching them again and again, purchasing cassette or DVD of same, along with the soundtrack recordings, and recalling how often we marvelled at this mysterious attachment said acquaintences had formed, particularly those enamored of Gilbert & Sullivan---- ennnyway... yesterday evening the minions and ourself were watching Milos Foreman's wonderful film of Hair and boy oh boy did we have fun or what. A few nights previous, we watched fine film, also from years ago, you'll know it too, without a doubt, Yellow Submarine and you should have seen us all there in the Grand Ballroom, singing along with all the songs, hissing at the Blue Meanies. Well, now, IandI can better comprehend that mysterious attachment to the movie musical art form, oh and maybe you'd enjoy watching both of these again yourowndarnselves... extra added linky goodness: songlist, lyrics and chords for tunes in Hair
more on that Bendy Y chromosome mentioned earlier...
free linky goodness available here, courtesy Nature,
go ahead, subscribe, it's good and good for you...
some of you might still have...
difficulties discerning the essential differences between the sexes,
in that case, you can be thankful for this item from the BBC online.
OOOH! Late Arriving Newsflash:
another difference-- The Bendy Y Chromosome ohhhh, I and I am so grateful for that bendy Y, else...
extinct-o-mundo dude!
ohOhOH... yah sure, they be gettin' old, but dammit, so is I and I... steely dan is getting old steely dan on the web is linked in the diversions on the left...
goshdarnitall...
had every intention of mentioning the following yesterday,
but somehow or another, the day got away from me.
the esteemed Jon Carroll w/suggestion re lending a helping hand; forgive our leaping upon the soapbox for a moment here, okay, but isn't it shameful that in this country, let alone in this world, that there is still so much widespread hunger & misery, and so little done about it, while the greedy few encourage one another in their rapacious pursuit of more wealth, and ways to protect it, unmoved by the spectacle of the millions of hungry & destitute...
there's a lovely quote... 6.17
attributed to Albert Einstein at today's Daily Bleed:
"He who joyfully marches to music in rank &
file has already earned my contempt.
He has been given a large brain by mistake,
since for him the spinal cord would fully suffice."
just a couple of items to mention...
on this fine cool and foggy June morning,
mention at the fishwrap re Commonwealth Club speeches,
moves us to provide link to the Commonwealth Club website here;
also mention that SFGate/Chronicle has put together a page of linkage re City Lights @ 50 & related stories, available here
i n d e e d. . . Why Mince Words?
thank you, Harley Sorenson.
oh, and while you're at it,
Jon Carroll has something you should read.
wotdahell! we'll follow up that double shot of
chewy chronicle linky goodness with this next link,
and make a hat trick out of this Am post.
True, whether you believe it or not:
early in the NBA season just wrapped up last night,
yourstruly, in conversation w/colleague here at the fishwrap,
mentioned opinion of liklihood that the San Antone Spurs would
be highly favored to win a championship this year, of course
this was easier to predict when you remember the Lakerdudes were
self-destructing early in the season &, well, let's just say that
a talented group of individuals practicing selfless team play
alongside the understanding that one's teammate, one of the
finest
individuals ever to grace the hardwood, a terrific competitior and
all around good guy, well, it's his last season, so why not strive to win it all.
wethinks David Steele said it quite nicely a few weeks ago...
(& he weighs in here on Duncan's performance last night)
oh, and by the way, Patti Smith rocked!
some of us are a little luckier than others... 6.15
and (mind you, we'll be stepping out of character for a just a little while here) yourstruly really considers himself luckier than most, for any number of reasons, but particularly because I've had Vince and Esther around to look after me.
I have sort of been taking notes and making abortive attempts at writing something over most of the last year, a great deal of the inspiration for this particular effort has been the conduct of many in the current administration, particularly that empty suit ensconced in la casa blanca, alongside the conduct of the great hordes of folk who have supported their efforts & have not taken the time and effort to more carefully examine what is really going on around them. All of this gets mixed up with things that are a good deal more personal, and here in the last few years of our own damned existence, (that use of the Imperial We is hard to shake once you've made a habit of it) I know that I have become, in some fundamental way, more sensitized to some things that I used to take for granted. I think that is basically what I want to write about here, and sort of to celebrate the fact
that I have been a fortunate son, lucky to have in my life both mother and father who have stayed the course, who
have remained not only my parents, but who have also become tremendous friends to me, wonderful allies, and you all know what day it is, right? Some years ago, probably right around the time I was enjoying my first thirty-ninth birthday, I was driving around in an earlier edition of the monkeymobile and contemplating my life at that time,
and for some reason thought of my Dad and where he was in his life around the same time, I think he had likely recently become the father of twin sons, some little miracle in our family as our beautiful brother Michael had
died, Vince & Esther's fourth child, after a long and protracted hospitalization, and in some ways a karmic rebalancing of the unfairness of losing a child by blessing them with two, where only another one had been expected. Anyway, what I was realizing is how many years I had spent gallivanting about, not focusing terribly long on any one particular thing, including relationships, sort of moving from one adventure to another, realizing in those moments behind the wheel that Vince for all his years had been getting up and going to work, doing that claim adjuster trick day after day, living up the best he could to the responsibility of raising five kids, paying a mortgage, doing all the things that I'd no idea whatsoever was like to live with every day of one's life. I know I was awfully hard on the old guy at times, a genuinely unforgiving son-of-a-gun, and there were often times in the years afterward that I regretted some of that behavior, actions that resulted from it. Yet we move on, time passes and some of that sting and pain is more easily left behind, oh imagine how difficult life would be for us if we truly remembered, if that episode we recalled brought forth fully all the emotion that one lived through during the moments of the origin of that memory, if we could never win some surcease from memory fully recalled. No doubt some manner of survival or coping mechanism wired into our psyche, otherwise we'd all be mad from memories that never faded. I digress, okay, sorry, back to where we were, ahhh... okay, I went back to El Paso in March to celebrate my father's birthday, a surprise to him, and we had some excellent days together, brief, yet that made them more special in a way. Vince has recently re-invented himself to some small degree, and is now in the real estate business, thanks to the example of esteemed brother Daniel, a success in his own right in E.P.T. real estate (too bad he's not making his fortune in Bay Area R.E.) and since his retirement from Snake Farm, he's
been trying to stay out of the Momz hair, taking classes, investing in paints, brushes and an easel and developing
his talents as an artist (not bad by the way, I have this great painting of a submarine telescope in a southern bayou hanging in one of the guest bedrooms here at chez d'monquis), raising cockatiels (and being very successful at that, I wonder at it sometimes, as his birds breed so prodigiously, perhaps a certain vitamin V in that special bird feed mix he uses? aye, pos quien sabe, eh?) Oh, well, yah, sure, there have been bumps in the road, occasional washouts along the way, some careful regrading and repaving, some uplift and buckling here and there, but the road for the most part has been passable, usually in pretty darn good shape, in comparison to other highways I've cruised on occasion or had a glance at roadmap of, so to speak. It appears I won't have the opportunity to compare and contrast my efforts at raising a family, something that is just not in the cards for yourstruly, and I say that with minimal regret, witnessing the toll it has taken on friends and loved ones, some fairly successful at it, others, well, perhaps the gods bear them some ill will, what I can say, and it relates to
the opening gambit on this Father's Day entry, is that I consider myself hugely fortunate to have been the eldest
child of Vince and Esther, that they have provided for me in the manner thay have, that they still look after their children in the way that has for them become a habit, but no doubt somehow was instinctual. My Momz & Popz have
known each other since they were youngsters in the barrio, no shit, Jose, and for them (I'll borrow some words from
some representatives more of my times) it has no doubt been a Long Strange Trip.
I'm not going to go on and on and on, it's too emotional an effort in some way,
though I could regale you with wonderful stories about my Dad, the time he fell off the roof (sort of a Pivarnick family urban legend), the time I broke his leg, his heroism in halting a robbery once upon a time, the funny things he does just to make one of us smile. Oh, I and I can tell you without any reluctance, hesitation or embellishment, my Popz is one hell of a wonderful Grandfather, and I hope all you damn young ones realize that, and celebrate it,
go ahead, show the old guy just how much he means to you because one day, you may no longer have the opportunity.
a little reward for those of you...
brave enough to have read down this far:
Patti Smith and Band, FREE, Martin L. King Park,
(two blocks from downtown Berkeley Bart Station)
benefit for International A.N.S.W.E.R., donations accepted,
and if you can't make it, KPFA will broadcast the show and by the way,
it's Lefty Frizzell Day at gmtPlus9
In the end the thing that keeps me walking...
6.14
made reference to D. Lanois' Shine on our 6.5 & 5.31 dumbmonkey,
and the more we listen, the more we like it, one tune makes us very happy,
you can download it from this page if you'd like,
but we're providing a slightly less "hot" mix available here, plus another tune,
a steel guitar instrumental called Transmitter, available for a week or so, Ok? a surfeit of lovely little glissandos, vocal and instrumental...
SHINE
I have wandered
far and wide
All the way from Paris to Mexico
'Til I was gone and didn't know
In the end
the thing that keeps me walking
Is your shine, your shine in the morning, your shine in the distance,
Your shine inside the laughter and the ghosts
They have
spoken of the river forever bending inside the fever
Of the saints that walk all night with no domain
In the end
the thing that keeps them walking is your shine
Your shine when they wear no coat, your shine when the feelings low
Your shine when it's too late to turn around
I have frozen
up my dreams, thinking I was all alone
Fighting every minute for each turning stone
I have reached the rocket speed
I have touched the ground that feeds
Scaling fences, looking for the healing sun
In the end
the thing that keeps me walking is your shine
Your shine in transmissions, your shine in decisions,
Your shine when I labor to the new day,
It's your shine, your shine, your shine, shine, shine on
emblematic of one of the many things...
wrong in this country of late (& before those of you
desirous of showing us the error of ourowndarnself's way
you might agree the number of things right with this country
are in considerable decline, no?), from the fishwrap (again), A Dream Deferred
if ye happen to be in San Francisco...
you could do a lot worse than visit North Beach this weekend; ohhhh, l'Marquis wishes all of his pals were here to fete...
re tarnished & undeserved medals... 6.12
from the 6.16 issue of the New Yorker, now online: MIGHT AND RIGHT, by Philip Gourevitch
really & truly...
they broke the mold this guy came from. Gregory Peck dies, 87 years young, joining Mr. Brinkley on the road to the hereafter.
Additional information on Mr. Peck's life & career here,
courtesy L.A. Times (login: buttafucco password: demanteca) google your own damn search, we is gonna go out and hoist a few in their memory...
a day late...
but we know those who really wanted to read Chapter 4,
went and sought it out theirowndarnselves, nevertheless: Lawrence Ferlinghetti: A portrait in words
Danny Glover is my brother...
and yours too, so get used to it. what the hell's he going on about now? Latest hominid discovery supports out-of-Africa theory;
related linkage on our 6.9 post a few inches lower... yahhh, that's right, just a few... inches... oh yah...
lower... ohhhhhhhhh.... thank you...
be forewarned...
this kind of thing can fuck up your entire day:
on our 6.3 post we mentioned a visit to the Daily Bleed,
which led us in search of any information regarding the
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR CHILDREN AS VICTIMS OF WAR,
and no, we still haven't come up with much, other than
the realization that an awful lot of us just don't give a damn.
from the L.A. Times, A Tool of War at Age 10
(LAT login name: buttafucco password: demanteca)
might seem a little perverse of us...
& when it comes to perversity, we stand second to no one,
intended to take a little of the sting out of the previous post
something provided from our dear pal the Queen of the Southland, Doctors Reveal Bush Using Corked Vice-president
racism is one of our ugliest human tendencies... 6.9
colossal ignorance and stupidity of our species making that
horrible belief/behavior difficult to eliminate/eradicate
no matter how powerful the evidence existing to the contrary is...
Otra cosa mas,
in light of the bullshit & nonsense provided by the current
administration, perhaps fitting to include some levity to brighten the gloom a bit...
Congrats to Magellan's Log, for Four Years of Funny Stuff & More
a decidedly foggy morning hereabouts...
just the way yourstruly likes it, no sun-worshipper he... Chapter 2 of the Chron's homage to City Lights. s'shame they didn't include pic from the paper online,
***HEY! Looky HERE, #16, here too *** mebbe we try to scan it for later inclusion...
an additional nugget of chewy linky goodness,
from Empty Mirror Books, in re to some of the above;
& the last time we heard from Harley, he was kinda negative,
so, keeping some measure of balance, here are some positives...
oh yesssss, we do likes this motto for sure...
and hopes Ray D. doesn't mind sharing it oncet in a while.
ohOhOHHHHH...
the latest from Ralph has appeared,
and (Hurrah!) Get Your War On #25 as well...
goshdarnitall! gordy, you ol'dawg you... 6.7
it appears congratulations are in order, to the esteemed G. Coale & longtime paramour Zoe...
Bon Chance, mes amis! yo G! inquiring mind wants to know if the nuptials will be webcast?
midafternoon on Friday... 6.6
& we just about outta here, for the weekend at least.
una cosa mas, from the NY Times magazine, Deficits and Dysfunction.
yessss, that's an excellent question... posited by Mark Morford perhaps, for one thing, it has to do with his apparent lack of character & integrity...
yourstruly's mentioned his admiration of R. Sapolsky previously...
& even included brief excerpt of A Primate's Memoir in a dumbmonkey post dated 9.22.02 (mebbe we fix up a direct
link to that later, but for now, archive access to your left, thank you very much...), so, to get to the point, here's an interview (RealPlayer req'd) w/Sapolsky, courtesy the fine minds at Edge
oh, and this too, jessferdahalibut...
every now & again we remember... 6.3
to take a leisurely perusal thru the Daily Bleed,
& in doing so this day, we were reminded that today is
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR CHILDREN AS VICTIMS OF WAR;
we couldn't mine much from our googling, other than this item,
and we know many of you have seen the same pictures we have of late,
SO, if it happens you know of some timely linkage re this memorial day,
will you please pass it along to us: pocoATpococurante.net
briefly, in passing:
oh dear, oh my, oh my gosh...
dear Stumpy & Dante,
re that picture on today's environy post,
looks an awful lot like the head cheesemaker there at environy int'l, LTD,
and we not just talking about the physical girth... tell us if we wrong, melliemel, please, we old & our eyes are goink...
during a restful night of slumber...
l'Marquis discovered himself having some odd dreams, in one he was once again a schoolboy, oh, perhaps 5th grade level, and was tired of being bullied (the lad was, when he was a young skinny bespectacled bookwormy boyo) and had decided to take his flamethower to school, and as he was getting ready to leave the house, his Mom asked whether it would be wiser that he should assemble and test it before he left for school or take his chances later. Oh, the MonkeyMomz was always supportive of her eldest boyo, don't you know... "Class, in today's Show and Tell, little Johnny's going to... (pause while Ms. Grumpus checks her notes) to... ahhhh.... no... No... AAIIIYYYYEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"
an aging silverback like ourowndarnself...
can occasionally recall much of what we lived thru in the 70's,
certainly have fond memories of viewing some very fine films,
like some of those mentioned in this fishwrap piece mirrored
in this next item from the L.A. Times.
(L.A. TImes login: buttafucco password: demanteca)
l'Marquis' outlaw days may be numbered... 6.2
wha'? Huh? you mean... naaaaaaahhhhhhh...
an example of two great minds thinkin' alike & sharing
the news with us: GM Stumpy and GM Gordy...
ohOhOH, and if you look at the graph provided late May,
you'll notice l'Marquis' sympathies are decidedly leftist, so...
we say, "Yea, Verily" to Harley Sorensen...
just when you think the shit can't get any deeper...
you find yourself sinking another couple of inches. F.C.C. Votes to Relax Rules Limiting Media Ownership da bastids! greedy, rapacious, hateful bastids!!!
likely need a snorkle & mask in another week...
okay, so maybe it's time for Morley to retire...
3Pm-ish: dumbmonkey is the operative word here..
compatriot co-worker here at Chron Classifieds and ourowndamnself
were discussing this show first thing this Am and the name Morley Safer came up, although methinks it was actually that Ed Bradley guy who did the story, but the really embarassing part of this little confession is yourstruly is so confused at the moment, that we're unable to actually recall, was it Ed, was it Morley --- Damn us,
(the 60 Minutes site linked states it is Mr. Bradley -- ?!?) I have this mental vision of Morley sitting there in his safari-jacketed smugness, but then again, perhaps it is time for myowndamnedself to retire...
watching some idiot box last nite and caught 60 Minutes piece on the Hubble Space Telescope, which in our estimation is a supremelyworthyhumanendeavor. Our complaint w/Safer is that he found it necessary to mention
how much the effort to develop, launch, repair and maintain the Hubble costs, and again, as this is a magnificent acheivement that benefits all of humankind, it is the kind of government expenditure yourstruly is all too happy to see his tax dollars support, unlike some of these more recent U.S. Government expenditures, which of course, the not so highly esteemed anymore Morley Safer never mentioned in comparison. oh yahhhh, we gotz our KrankyPants on today,
and boy, are they getting to be a tight fit...
reason #974, Why We Love Berkeley...
all in all, perhaps a minor gesture,
but you don't see it coming out of Washington D.C., eh?
oh, if only more folks like Sean would speak up... June 1
discovered whilst visiting Truthout, Kilroy's Still Here. yo Sean! call us next time you're in Berkeley and we'll
introduce you to Cheese Board pizza alongside a cold beer...
the infested pustule that eventually burst onto the mirror of May
All of this gets mixed up with things
and for some reason thought of my Dad and where he was in his life around the same time, I think he had likely recently become the father of twin sons, some little miracle in our family as our beautiful brother Michael had
died, Vince & Esther's fourth child, after a long and protracted hospitalization, and in some ways a karmic rebalancing of the unfairness of losing a child by blessing them with two, where only another one had been expected. Anyway, what I was realizing is how many years I had spent gallivanting about, not focusing terribly long on any one particular thing, including relationships, sort of moving from one adventure to another, realizing in those moments behind the wheel that Vince for all his years had been getting up and going to work, doing that claim adjuster trick day after day, living up the best he could to the responsibility of raising five kids, paying a mortgage, doing all the things that I'd no idea whatsoever was like to live with every day of one's life. I know I was awfully hard on the old guy at times, a genuinely unforgiving son-of-a-gun, and there were often times in the years afterward that I regretted some of that behavior, actions that resulted from it. Yet we move on, time passes and some of that sting and pain is more easily left behind, oh imagine how difficult life would be for us if we truly remembered, if that episode we recalled brought forth fully all the emotion that one lived through during the moments of the origin of that memory, if we could never win some surcease from memory fully recalled. No doubt some manner of survival or coping mechanism wired into our psyche, 
otherwise we'd all be mad from memories that never faded. I digress, okay, sorry, back to where we were, ahhh... okay, I went back to El Paso in March to celebrate my father's birthday, a surprise to him, and we had some excellent days together, brief, yet that made them more special in a way. Vince has recently re-invented himself to some small degree, and is now in the real estate business, thanks to the example of esteemed brother Daniel, a success in his own right in E.P.T. real estate (too bad he's not making his fortune in Bay Area R.E.) and since his retirement from Snake Farm, he's
been trying to stay out of the Momz hair, taking classes, investing in paints, brushes and an easel and developing
his talents as an artist (not bad by the way, I have this great painting of a submarine telescope in a southern bayou hanging in one of the guest bedrooms here at chez d'monquis), raising cockatiels (and being very successful at that, I wonder at it sometimes, as his birds breed so prodigiously, perhaps a certain vitamin V in that special bird feed mix he uses? aye, pos quien sabe, eh?) Oh, well, yah, sure, there have been bumps in the road, occasional washouts along the way, some careful regrading and repaving, some uplift and buckling here and there, but the road for the most part has been passable, usually in pretty darn good shape, in comparison to other highways I've cruised on occasion or had a glance at roadmap of, so to speak. 
It appears I won't have the opportunity to compare and contrast my efforts at raising a family, something that is just not in the cards for yourstruly, and I say that with minimal regret, witnessing the toll it has taken on friends and loved ones, some fairly successful at it, others, well, perhaps the gods bear them some ill will, what I can say, and it relates to
the opening gambit on this Father's Day entry, is that I consider myself hugely fortunate to have been the eldest
child of Vince and Esther, that they have provided for me in the manner thay have, that they still look after their children in the way that has for them become a habit, but no doubt somehow was instinctual. My Momz & Popz have
known each other since they were youngsters in the barrio, no shit, Jose, and for them (I'll borrow some words from
some representatives more of my times) it has no doubt been a Long Strange Trip.
I'm not going to go on and on and on, it's too emotional an effort in some way,
![[Optimized for PinealWeb]](http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tilt/pinealweb/pineal.gif)