A little bit of nature.

Tomorrow I have a full day of reporting, complete with five hours in the car, and I have a couple decks of PowerPoint slides to get through beforehand, and… oh yeah — I have to leave at 6 a.m.

To reward myself in advance, I went on a kayaking jaunt Monday afternoon, to watch the sun set and the moon rise. The supermoon, in fact. It did not disappoint, but didn’t last long — we got maybe five or 10 minutes of a huge orange grapefruit before it slipped behind cloud cover and we paddled home. It’s difficult to photograph the moon with an iPhone, so here’s the sunset:

novemberkayaking

And that’s it for me, today. The week will unclench after Wednesday, I hope. I could use a break. We all could.

Posted at 8:40 pm in Uncategorized |
 

42 responses to “A little bit of nature.”

  1. Sherri said on November 14, 2016 at 9:48 pm

    This Twitter thread by Adrian Chen about parallels between Duterte &a Trump, particularly in communication styles, is instructive: https://mobile.twitter.com/AdrianChen/status/798223260286468096

    199 chars

  2. Dexter said on November 15, 2016 at 1:35 am

    Kim’s soccer post was disturbing. I hope the athletes don’t quit their sport or develop depression over it. Back in the early days of baseball, fans were brutal, and players who let the horrible taunts get to them were said to have rabbit ears, and once identified as such, really heard the derision.
    I have seen it myself, in beloved Wrigley Field. The month before I entered the army, I left my team in Wisconsin, and went to Chicago to goof around on the beaches and sit in the bleachers, where a group of nasties formed a “club” called the Bleacher Bums. There were books and a long-running play about them. They were mostly males, between 20 and 30 years old. The leader was Ron Grousl, the “VP” was Mike Davis, and the trombone player was Mike Murphy…those were the main guys anyway. Grousl had a hand-held battery-powered bullhorn and he’d yell at the opposition, the center and the left fielders. I remember how brutal and racist his remarks were, especially to all-time great Willie Mays of San Francisco. Too graphic even for an adult blog, the jabs at him concerned “colored ballplayers” and homosexuality. Latino star Rico Carty of Atlanta, a courageous left fielder who battled back from tuberculosis, was jeered because of his very black skin…can you imagine it? This was not 1947, it was 1969.
    It’s not just baseball and soccer, I saw it at the Indiana vs. Michigan game in Ann Arbor about 22 years ago when Indiana had a huge Samoan lineman who had hair hanging down to his beltline. A very small of high school age assholes began screaming racist hate-filled crap at him, but M Stadium is a mighty big place, some adults went to their row to educate them, an d the jeering ceased…I doubt the Hoosier ever heard those bastards. Maybe the worst are college and pro basketball fanatics. It is not unusual to encounter bullshit like this at sporting events. Let’s go to East Lansing or Columbus and burn some curbside couches.

    1966 chars

  3. Jolene said on November 15, 2016 at 2:19 am

    Here is tonight PBS NewsHour, which is focused almost entirely on Gwen Ifill. Lots of remembrances from former colleagues, as well as the story of her impressive career.

    My PBS station also played this HistoryMakers episode, an hour-long interview conducted by Michelle Alexander. It’s part of a series of interviews with prominent African Americans, most of them conducted by Gwen. You can’t watch this on an iPad, so I assume you need a real computer or, if you’re really interested, a trip to your library. It’s a great series. Click the “Events & Programs” link at the top of the page to see the list of interviewees.

    740 chars

  4. alex said on November 15, 2016 at 6:39 am

    I need something constructive to do to take my mind off of politics and voila, it plops into my lap. There’s an Underground Railroad symposium in a neighboring town this evening and I’m eager to go show all kinds of interesting stuff I’ve found in my research over the years about people whom I believe were connected to the movement.

    I had wanted to go to grad school and study public history but deferred the dream due to financial exigencies. It’s a hobby. I’ll never make a living from it, perhaps, but I find it more rewarding than money.

    547 chars

  5. Andrea said on November 15, 2016 at 8:06 am

    This morning I opened my Chicago Tribune to find an interview with Trevor Noah, who was here for the Humanities Festival. He said Trump was familiar to him — our version of Jacob Zuma, who followed Mandela. He said that he thought our disillusionment following the election of Obama without a subsequent fairy tale in which all of our problems were solved miraculously, was parallel to their let down after the joyous election of Mandela. I felt ashamed, because I did not know that much about Zuma, but point taken anyway. Who are we to think that we are above electing a Zuma, a Berlusconi, or a Duterte? Shows how deep our belief in American exceptionalism goes…

    Anyway, he said we now have to go into protest/resistance mode and that he now understands why he is called to The Daily Show and what it will be about. Interesting.

    838 chars

  6. Sue said on November 15, 2016 at 8:07 am

    Nancy, I know you said no memes but Joe Biden doesn’t count, does he? I’m going to miss Uncle Joe (and his Trans Am).

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/joe-biden-plotting-against-trump-195246859.html

    196 chars

  7. Suzanne said on November 15, 2016 at 8:58 am

    I keep hoping Trump will be more Berlusconi than Duterte or that Nazi. He has lots of similarities. It would be great if he’d come to a similar end, in bed with a teenage prostitute of immigrant heritage. But the Falwells and Grahams of the world would probably tell us he was simply preaching the Good News to her.

    315 chars

  8. brian stouder said on November 15, 2016 at 10:44 am

    Meme or no meme, I say Sue’s link at 6 above wins the day, week, month, and year!

    81 chars

  9. Dexter said on November 15, 2016 at 11:25 am

    Alex…go to Battle Creek sometime and check out the riverside sculptures of an artist’s vision of the Underground Railroad. Totally impressive. Easy access via their linear park.

    181 chars

  10. Sherri said on November 15, 2016 at 11:39 am

    I’m in the overflow seating for the Washington Supreme Court hearing this morning about the florist discrimination case. I’m with a group of ACLU members surrounded by a sea of people wearing flowers supporting Barronelle Stutzmann. There’s some guy giving a sermon with bad history in it to the two flower wearers next to me.

    Huge crowd here. Killing time waiting for the hearing to begin.

    394 chars

  11. brian stouder said on November 15, 2016 at 11:54 am

    Sherri – we know which side our new Vice President-elect is rooting for, in that case.

    And speaking of small-minded ignoramuses, I learned something at last night’s school board meeting.

    Right at the end, friend-of-nn.c Mark the Shark GiaQuinta (who is NOT small minded, and who is, indeed, who I want to be when I grow up!) commented about a recent volleyball game between our daughter’s high school (good ol’ Wayne High School) and Norwell High School – 20 miles (and 140 years) south of Fort Wayne in Northern Wells County.

    Apparently, during the game, the Norwell students and parents got to chanting “BUILD THAT WALL!! BUILD THAT WALL” – which genuinely offended (and continues to offend) Wayne’s team, and fans. GQ ain’t lettin’ it go; he’s pushing for an official response from that school and/or that school’s administration – and we shall see how far we get.

    In any case, it was definitely an unpleasant action, which should be addressed (if not made right)…and which can still be a learning opportunity.

    Nance’s old paper has the only account I’ve found, about that incident –

    http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/Public-schools-face-uncertainty-on-assessment-tests–A-F-accountability

    1257 chars

  12. Deborah said on November 15, 2016 at 11:55 am

    Sherri, I’m looking forward to more reports.

    The AIA (American Institute of Architects) has apologized to its members for the tone deaf statement they made to Trump right after the election. http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/12002-aias-post-election-statement-provokes-backlash#Video

    296 chars

  13. Heather said on November 15, 2016 at 12:20 pm

    There’s a runoff election for a Senate seat in Louisiana. Would make the split 49-51. There’s a link in this story where you can donate to his campaign: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/campaign/305812-democrats-have-one-final-shot-to-flip-a-senate-seat

    259 chars

  14. Suzanne said on November 15, 2016 at 12:27 pm

    Just read a rant about the stupidity of politicians from a guy I know on Facebook (I know. I need to stay off). Funny thing is, he works for FW Community Schools in their library division. Head of the department, I think. So don’t those politicians he so hates ensure he has a paycheck??

    I no longer have any faith in humanity.

    331 chars

  15. brian stouder said on November 15, 2016 at 12:33 pm

    Suzanne – sounds like that guy has a self-esteem issue, at least!

    When one looks at the mission of our public schools, and the myriad challenges that truly PUBLIC public schools face (English language learners, kids who show up hungry, kids who gave up on home-schooling, and show up behind, and so on) – one might be forgiven for thinking elected officials are ‘stupid politicians’ (I could be tempted to such a statement, if we’re talking about our state legislators) – but it doesn’t advance the ball down the field

    521 chars

  16. Deborah said on November 15, 2016 at 12:54 pm

    I just found out that Santa Fe is a sanctuary city, so is Chicago. I didn’t even know there was such a thing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_city. Although for some reason Santa Fe doesn’t show up on the Wikipedia list. Maybe because it’s too small to count? It is one though and intends to remain one according to the current mayor, even though it may result in not being eligible for some federal funds under the Trump administration.

    446 chars

  17. Deborah said on November 15, 2016 at 1:02 pm

    For those of you who like me are interested in what healthcare under Trump might look like. This is a wee bit more encouraging if you can believe it http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/15/502131454/gop-health-insurance-alternatives-may-wind-up-using-penalties-like-the-mandate

    289 chars

  18. Jean Shaw said on November 15, 2016 at 1:23 pm

    Love those Uncle Joe memes. My niece tipped me off to them….

    62 chars

  19. Suzanne said on November 15, 2016 at 1:49 pm

    Of course the GOP ACA redo will almost have to have mandates. Otherwise, healthy people won’t sign up and the system will crash. It’s why they used to reject people with pre-existing conditions.
    It’s why states mandate you have car insurance in order to register your car. I’ve had one accident in 40 years of driving so my premiums have, all these years, gone to pay for some lead foot who hits things all the time. I should be mad, shouldn’t I, and demand my rights? But if only bad drivers who need it sign up, it would be too costly for any of them.
    If people only bought insurance when they saw the flood waters rising or the hurricane coming or the cancer diagnosed, there would never be enough money to pay the claims.

    730 chars

  20. Peter said on November 15, 2016 at 1:50 pm

    Sue, that entry should be enough to get you to the NN HOF!

    Deborah, I was interviewed by Architectural Record about the AIA letter – I don’t think my comments will be printed unless they take out all the swears.

    215 chars

  21. Deborah said on November 15, 2016 at 3:12 pm

    Suzanne, while I think LB is screwed on keeping her Meicaid that she became eligible for because of the ACA expansion, this slight glimmer of hope might mean that her insurance won’t cost an arm and a leg, maybe just a leg. I mean the original plan in the first place was a republican invention that Romney used when he was Gov of Mass. So even if we have to call it Ryancare in the future, I don’t care as long as there is some hope for people. Although what he plans to do with Medicare is scary.

    Little Bird is on her way to the PO right now to mail off 10 hats that she made for the people protesting at Standing Rock that our nn.c Charlotte arranged.

    658 chars

  22. Deborah said on November 15, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    Good for you Peter. I understand that lots and lots of architects were incensed. I have some very good friends who are women architects and they were apoplectic. Architecture has been an old, white man’s game for so long. It’s taking a long time to turn that around. They still have a loooooong way to go.

    305 chars

  23. Deborah said on November 15, 2016 at 3:24 pm

    I just read someone referring to Election Day as Black Tuesday, that’s a good one.

    82 chars

  24. Sherri said on November 15, 2016 at 3:41 pm

    I’m back from the hearing.

    Baronelle Stutzmann was represented by lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom, Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed were represented by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the ACLU.

    The basic argument for Stutzmann is that her floral arrangements are artistic expression, and thus the AD law represents unacceptable compelled speech. The justices wanted to know, if this was speech, what was the message? Where was the line? What is the limiting principle? The lawyer also made an argument that not all protected classes were the same based on the different language used in Loving vs Obergfell, that discrimination against interracial couples in Loving was described as invidious in Loving while Obergfell allowed that reasonable people might disagree.

    The AG went next, and his argument was basically, it’s a public accommodation, you can’t discriminate. If you offer the service, you have to offer the service to everyone. You can have a policy, like no profanity on wedding cakes, as long as the policy is the same for everyone. The ACLU lawyer made the argument that providing floral arrangements for a wedding is not a statement or a message that the florist agrees with or approves of the wedding; Stutzmann has provided flowers for Muslim couples and atheist couples.

    (I am not a lawyer, so I’m sure some of the legal nuances of the arguments escaped me. I also didn’t take notes on the cases cited, so I can’t describe the discussions over how this particular case was relevant or whether this other case was decided on a strict scrutiny basis or that kind of stuff, though that was in the arguments and the questions from the judges.)

    There were fewer questions from the judges than in the death penalty hearing I went to; three of the justices didn’t ask any questions. The hearing lasted a little over an hour.

    Instead of being in Olympia, where the court usually sits, this was heard on the campus of Bellevue College, a community college that recently began offering a limited set of 4 year degrees. The theater where the hearing was held seated about 300; it filled up just as I got to the front of the line to get in, so I was in overflow, which also filled up. I would guess that there were about 500 people there, the vast majority there to support Stutzmann. Several churches and Christian schools had brought groups. They were handing out paper flowers to wear. We had maybe 30-40 ACLU members and staff, wearing buttons and holding rainbow umbrellas.

    After the hearing, the Stutzmann supporters were all standing outside holding printed signs that said things like “Let Freedom Bloom.” There were three different signs, I think, all professionally printed, multicolor with photos on board stock, so someone dropped some money. When Stutzmann came out to do press, all her supporters started chanting “Baronelle”.

    There were multiple TV stations there, and since there weren’t many ACLU people there and the staff wanted supporters rather than staff talking to media, I ended up doing two TV interviews, one before the hearing and one after. If either actually gets used and makes it on the web, I’ll post a pointer.

    3197 chars

  25. brian stouder said on November 15, 2016 at 3:47 pm

    Honestly, I think I’m still in denial over it.

    It is truly still amazing to me, that this has happened.

    And, not for nothing, but the local right-wing radio lip-flapper – and the national ones – are now truly insufferable (if they weren’t already).

    They ‘win’ worse than they lose! (and one can only imagine how berserk they’d all be, if Trump got 700,000 more votes nationally (and counting) – and LOST!!!

    “Rigged”. Those guys wouldn’t know “rigged” if it bit them in the ass…which in a cosmic sense, it DID!!

    One dimly ‘bright’ side of this is, the American right will have NO MORE EXCUSES….they ‘own’ their own fate, right now, with the presidency, and both houses of congress, and (soon) the judiciary.

    I want our president to succeed; I want him to keep us out of war, and a step-ahead internationally.

    But his potential cabinet looks more like a Kabinet, with xenophobes, racists, a confirmed wife-beater who doesn’t like to shave, and a know-nothing outlook…..

    and forward we go

    1025 chars

  26. brian stouder said on November 15, 2016 at 3:51 pm

    Sherri – I look forward to the link!

    36 chars

  27. Peter said on November 15, 2016 at 4:13 pm

    Hi Deborah; well, my main reason for going nuts about the AIA letter is that while the AIA promotes and encourages diversity, energy conservation, equitable environments, etc., the primary function of a professional organization is to promote the profession, so that their members have more opportunities to practice their profession, and then to promote concepts and efforts that benefit their members; for instance, the concept of getting paid for doing work.

    It’s well documented that our Future Fearless Leader has denigrated my profession and has repeatedly refused to pay architects for their services. And an organization that represents architects congratulates him? As they say in my neck of the woods, the AIA has got shit for brains.

    749 chars

  28. Deborah said on November 15, 2016 at 4:28 pm

    Peter, so true, and there are many more professions who can say the same thing about our president elect. It pains me every time I have to type “our president elect Trump”. Have you all seen the latest John Oliver video about Trump’s election. After seeing that this afternoon, it makes me incredulous once again what our country has set in motion. But then again knowing how slavery was so accepted in our country’s origins I guess there is a precedent.

    454 chars

  29. Sherri said on November 15, 2016 at 4:46 pm

    Zuckerberg’s denial about Facebook’s fake news problem has impacts beyond just our election: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/opinion/mark-zuckerberg-is-in-denial.html

    168 chars

  30. Deborah said on November 15, 2016 at 5:01 pm

    Well, to be completely transparent Little Bird had hoped last night to sell some of the hats she made at a venue in Santa Fe. She sold a few but decided to send the rest to Standing Rock protesters. I’m paranoid about transparency now, so just trying to be fair.

    263 chars

  31. Sherri said on November 15, 2016 at 5:10 pm

    The ACLU has been deluged with contributions since the election: https://www.fastcompany.com/3065687/aclu-trump-donations-support

    I told the local staff today that I’d be willing to be on their speakers’ bureau. They want to be more visible, especially among vulnerable populations.

    286 chars

  32. Jolene said on November 15, 2016 at 5:11 pm

    The Donald is apparently offended by talk of Hillary having won the popular vote. Earlier today, he tweeted: If the election were based on total popular vote I would have campaigned in N.Y. Florida and California and won even bigger and more easily.

    He seems to think that, if the election were decided by popular vote, only his campaign would change, but, of course, Hillary’s campaign and, perhaps, voter turnout would change too.

    436 chars

  33. Deborah said on November 15, 2016 at 5:26 pm

    The popular vote is a chink in his armor, play it up for all you can. It may not do much damage but every little bit helps.

    123 chars

  34. Jolene said on November 15, 2016 at 5:33 pm

    On TV tonight: A two-hour show filmed at the party Dave Chapelle referenced in his SNL monologue this past weekend. Lots of great entertainers.

    If you missed the Dave Chapelle monologue, by the way, you should definitely check it out. You can see it here.

    496 chars

  35. Little Bird said on November 15, 2016 at 5:44 pm

    I sold three hats the other night at an artists show. I promised to send whatever I didn’t sell to Standing Rock. So today I sent off ten hats. I’ll probably make and send off another 10 or so in the next month. I know it’s not really much, but it’s about all I can really do. Plus it’s kind of calming to knit, it helps with the anxiety.

    343 chars

  36. beb said on November 15, 2016 at 6:01 pm

    The NYT (I think) wascaught calling Stave Bannon a “nationalist.” Not a “White Nationalist” or an anti-semetic nationalist ot any of the other things he is. So someone has come up with a whitewashing headline generator.

    http://boingboing.net/2016/11/15/euphemisms.html

    272 chars

  37. Sherri said on November 15, 2016 at 6:23 pm

    Tech companies are seldom prepared for the social consequences of their choices: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/11/15/502111390/facebook-google-take-steps-to-confront-fake-news

    197 chars

  38. Sherri said on November 15, 2016 at 6:29 pm

    Since the election, I’m not getting those “she’s just exaggerating to make a point” reactions when I describe Facebook as an objectively evil company: http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/11/10/mark_zuckerberg_says_fake_news_on_facebook_had_no_impact_on_election.html

    276 chars

  39. ROGirl said on November 15, 2016 at 7:00 pm

    This seems like very sound advice.

    http://www2.nybooks.com/daily/s3/nov/10/trump-election-autocracy-rules-for-survival.html

    127 chars

  40. Sherri said on November 15, 2016 at 7:24 pm

    I just got some exciting news. I’ve been offered two tickets to the SCOTUS hearing in Moore v. Texas on Nov. 29! It’s a death penalty case: https://www.aclu.org/cases/moore-v-texas

    A few weeks ago, the executive director of the ACLU was in town, and I got to have dinner with him and a small group of donors, and we were talking about the death penalty. The ACLU has filed an amicus brief in this case, so when this opportunity came up, he dropped an email to me today.

    Now I have to figure out if my husband and I can rearrange things and get to DC. We’re going to see if we can work out all the logistics tonight, but I’m hopeful. SCOTUS!

    649 chars

  41. brian stouder said on November 15, 2016 at 7:31 pm

    Sherri – very, very cool!

    I’ve never done DC, other than I was on the beltway, one time.

    98 chars

  42. Suzanne said on November 15, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    I am not surprised at all by Zuckerberg. First of all, he’s a tech guy. If anyone has read Ken Auletta’s book Googled, you know what I mean. [Side note: Auletta spoke a few years ago at IPFW.] Brilliant guy but clueless. Second of all, someone like Zuckerman would have no firsthand knowledge of people who actually believe this fake news crap. I’m sure he thinks it’s all taken as satire. But people really believe this garbage and they believe it by the millions.

    465 chars