The Boot

Geese can fly...

...they just seem to forget this fact sometimes.

We were waiting at a traffic light last evening to make the final left turn needed to get to our home. Four lanes of traffic were more-or-less halted so the side roads could empty when a solitary goose, after examining the situation, decided it would book across the road to get to the other side.

Part caused by overpopulation, and part caused by their bizarre will and attitudes, geese can often be found by the roadsides in our area. Usually they wander off the berm looking for food in the weeds or seemingly live in the grass islands that rest inside cloverleaf ramps to the highways. It isn't uncommon to see them walk along the side of the road, and sometimes right on the road, as if to challenge the cars as to who owns the rights to the land. It is frightening, but fortunately, most drivers concede to the birds and sway away from hitting them.

The "why did the goose cross the road" feathered-friend mentioned above was different. It deliberately waited for the traffic to slow, then immediately darted out in between the cars. His head was hunched down and it was running as fast as a fat goose could run. Cars turning from the side roads did have to slow for the animal as it trucked along with fiery determination to make it to the other side. Finally, it reached the curb, hopped up onto the sidewalk on the other side, and continued along like any other pedestrian.

And the fact that it just could have flown across the road, avoiding the stress it caused for both itself and us as we watched expecting the worst, just seemed to elude the creature completely.

The Slippery Slope

Sasha

Claude Lorrain

Last weekend we went to the National Gallery of Art and were surprised to find a wonderful collection of drawings from Claude Lorrain: Link to Gallery here.

With a steady diet of professional wrestling and Aqua Teen Hunger Force television shows consuming most of my free time, I had never heard of Lorrain, so the exhibit was an unplanned visit. It is probably an understatement to say I was very impressed and happy with the find. Arranged chronologically, the works loosely evolved from ships and seaports to landscapes and buildings to mythological settings. Brilliant landscapes, however, were a key element in each of the drawings and grew in detail as time went on. One could study the seascapes, mountains, and other nature scenes for hours and not capture all the subtle details.

The supporting book contains a very nice collection of the works.

Al Gore

We went to Lisner Auditorium in DC last Tuesday to hear a lecture from Al Gore. There would be a lot to comment on, if I were to comment on it. Instead, I'll post links to an audio recording I made of the event and you can judge for yourself. A few disclaimers: 1. this isn't the best sounding recording, but it is listenable; 2. I compressed and lowered the volume on the applause so it doesn't crash your ears (given the acoustics, the clapping is much louder than the speaking)...all the same, if you are listening with headphones, error on the side of low volume for the first minute to get a feel for the spikes; 3. the person who belches isn't me; I believe it was a girl sitting behind me.

Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4
Track 5
Track 6
Track 7


And hey, buy the book:



A few things you won't hear on the tape:

1. A protester outside was dressed in a panda suit. I don't know exactly what message he was trying to convey with the suit, but he had a very hypnotic dance which I liked.

2. Student photographers, despite all good intentions, need to learn to frame and take their shots and not run back and forth across the auditorium for 45 minutes. Just because they run hunched over or even crawl on their knees does not mean they aren't distracting.

3. LaRouche'ies were funny, although I'm not sure if they were trying to make me laugh.