I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

Feeling a bit...bleh, today. Stomach bug from the weekend has come back to haunt me--either that or a reaction to one of my newer medications.

Checking out the news...

Barack Obama is looking like he's going to be the final pick for Democratic nominee. The republican nominee is still up in the air, but John McCain seems to be doing okay. Well, at least he's the least worst choice, perhaps, I dunno'. I don't like any republicans, any longer--they're all power-hungry and nasty, selfish and bigoted. No, I really mean that. If you could hear these people talk, really listen to the tone of their voice, the illogical and mean-spirited things that come out of their months every day...scary stuff. Like Nazis, Bin-Ladin, and Stalin scary, know what I mean?

So, the Bush admin FINALLY released a report on global warming--this is the same prez who said there WAS NO global warming, mind you.

Oh, but wait, maybe we were wrong, they say---very wrong, it appears. A future in the western US of wildfires, severe droughts, and less snow pack, streams and other water resources diverted from their usual flow...all of which has already begun happening.

The report goes on to finally admit that this is impacting crops and wildlife. In fact, a full 60% of American wildlife--according to this study, is being seriously impacted by climate change.

Locally, a beautiful 10 year old black girl from my birthplace of Albany New York, was sitting on her front steps last week, when she was killed by a stray bullet, fired by some unknown person--probably a local gang member. Police are still searching for a suspect.

Following a state-wide zero-tolerance policy for underage (under 21) drinking, local police raided an underage drinking party, making three arrests, and police also later arrested another man, for buying alcohol for his teenage son and his son's underage friends. Also, a woman was charged for hosting a party, in which she allowed an underage teen to drink alcohol--which later resulted in his death, after he left the party in a borrowed or stolen pick up truck, and crashed into a tree, dying instantly. She is charged with the misdemeanor of providing liquor to an underage person.

Five men were arrested in connection to stealing over $250,000 dollars worth of farm and construction equipment, over the past 2 years.

A brush fire broke out at West Mountain last week, but is now all out.

For the second time in two weeks, a logger was struck by fallen tree and killed. Last week, the first logger was believed to have been struck in the back by a falling tree, and later died at hospital of internal injuries. This week, a logger in a different location, was pinned beneath a tree he'd just cut. He was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Albany, NY, but also later died of internal injuries.

A teenager was charged with a felony alarm pull, after he pulled the fire alarm at his high school. The 10th grader (10th year) was arrested, then allowed to return to school later in the day, pending prosucution in town court.

Someone named John Mayer is set to perform at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

A band member from the band known as Phish, had his day in court, in nearby Whitehall, NY

AND IN THE BIZZARE LOCAL NEWS:

A man was arrested in Whitehall--not the guy from Phish---for...

drink driving on a..get this...motorized drinks cooler.

You know, those big plastic coolers that hold your picnic lunches and cold drinks and such? This is a new invention for us lazy Yanks--it's got a seat, and brakes and all that.

Well....seems the state of New York, considers motorized coolers to be motor vehicles.

Seems our chum bought one, and filled it with beer--but kept making pit stops to drink the contents of the cooler--well, it was rather hot that As he was chugging along the sidewalk, he was chugging some beer--and the cops soft of frowned upon that...dunno' why.

He ws charged with DWI (driving while intoxicated) and operating an unlicensed motor vehicle. The man has had prior arrests in connexion with his drinking.

In an effort to boost viewer ratings even higher, the Doctor Who team decided to film a rude version of Doctor Who, to be shown at midnight, this coming Saturday.

Here you can see an exclusive photo of David Tennant and his fellow actors, cutting cards to see who will do the next scene in the nude. As it turned out, Tennant won this hand, but the actor had some trouble figuring out where to put his sonic screwdriver...but, that's another story.

"Yes, this suit is quite gay, thanks. I'm always jolly when I'm wearing it."

Landscapes: Every inch of land and sky is a mirror of the universe--Nancy G.

Despite the inescapable fact that with my wonky brain, I’m not always the sharpest tool in the old mental toolbox, I do think the human mind can be such an utterly amazing thing. I mean, we can look at something that’s just…there, and see in that object or place, something far more than what it actually is.

What I mean is, take a piece of furniture, for instance: Some people will pay hundreds, even thousands for a chair. A chair is meant to be something practical. It is meant to be something to make our lives more comfortable. Yet, some chairs can be like works of art unto themselves. Why? Because, some human took the time to envision that piece of furniture as something more than a mere object meant for our comfort and convenience. Some woodworker or furniture designer had a vision inside his or her mind, to make an ordinary chair into something more, something that is not only practical, but beautiful to the eye as well.

The same holds true with the world around us. Why do people enjoy trips to the country, why spend one’s day walking or driving along country roads, hiking up hills and mountains, strolling along beaches and through farm fields? Taken practically, a beach is just a lot of sand with water on one side, and a farm field is just a lot of fenced-in grass with some cow or sheep pats dotting it. Yet, to many, these things are viewed in the mind as not just bland objects, but as living works of art.

Nature is ever-changing, literally sometimes changing minute-by-minute. The landscape isn’t ours. Collectively, it generally belongs to individuals, even perhaps to the state, a conservancy or a trust. But, the beauty of that landscape belongs to us all, because nobody owns our hearts or our spirits or our souls. Hopefully, for most of us, our minds, what’s inside us that makes us unique, makes us truly human, are utterly our own.

We look at the beach, with the combers racing to the shore, at the patchwork of farmland against the hills, and at the wild, untamed landscape of forest or moor, the majestic silhouette of a rugged mountain range, the lovely broad sweep of a peaceful valley. We look at all these thing’s, and we see not what they are practically--dirt and rocks and grass and sky. We see a tapestry of beauty that stirs something inside us, something that has no monetary value (despite what some real estate agents will tell you). Sure, an individual can indeed own a large part of the landscape--but he or she can not possess all of it. The whole of a landscape belongs to us all. Its beauty belongs to our hearts and souls and minds. The landscape can be owned only in the physical sense. Yet, that intangible thing which makes the landscape lovely to the beholder can never be bought or sold.

(Above are landscape paintings depicting the neighbouring state of Vermont)