Good morning everyone.
Up at the farm today. Was going to try to till in some bonemeal and composted manure before I cover the raised beds with leaves.
Don't know if we'll plant crops this year or not. Our trip up to Alaska will impact the timing.
We may let the whole thing go fallow for the season.

The Demise of Western Democracy?

We've known the US is an oligarchy not a democratic republic from the Princeton Study..."analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts." That's old news. The issues today revolve around the blatant hypocrisy of so called democratic countries canceling elections that will see nationalists win office as in Romania where it was actually the opposition party NOT Russia which was interfering., The refusal to step down after defeat as was the case in Georgia and France. The rigging of elections by controlling who has access to the ballot box as was the case in Moldavia. The attempt to eliminate the AdF party in Germany. There was an attempted military coup in S. Korea, and this week the police attempt to arrest the impeached president was thwarted by his personal military guards. And of course all the usual Western tricks of coups and color revolutions as in Bangladesh. Not to mention the US/UK/Israeli support of HTS and other terrorist groups to conduct the coup in Syria on their behalf. I ask what democracy and rule of law does NATOstan support. Looks to me like authoritarian dictatorship rather than democracy.

Hot damn, it's a new year!

This week we got blues. There's a BB King album, an Albert King, Steve Cropper and Pops Staples album and there's a live Louis Jordan album from the Netherlands. After that we've got some blues and rock from NRBQ and we finish up with a reunion album from The (original) Animals with a few good tunes on it. Since I was out of town, I didn't get to upload as much as usual, but what the heck, there's some good stuff to enrich your weekend.

You all have a good one and enjoy the tunes!

Good morning, good people!

The holidays are behind us, and normal life resumes in the USA January 1st.

Strolling in the NO French Quarter, which I have done 4 or 5 times, won't happen again. Same for Las Vegas. There are other quaint places to visit. Speaking of which a town we meant to visit was Pass Christian, near Biloxi and Gulfport, MS.

The day we had planned to go was hit with a heavy fog that didn't lift until after 3pm. I read some local news, and there had been an armed robbery at a convenience store in broad daylight the day before. We passed on Pass. Just before we drove home on the 1st, we heard about the stroller slaughter in NO. Interesting how that crowd crash is becoming a thing around the world. German Christmas Market, and also in GB, iirc. Hmmm...

Inspiration is a fickled thing, many times elusive, often low keyed, sometimes soaring, always subjective. The inspiration for this piece is of the soaring variety, as imaginative as the large kettle of vultures circling high in the sky as I watch out the window. Something about their graceful flight triggered the flow of a Thursday afternoon muse meandering.

The vultures are circling. That's an age worn trope generally thought to mean that they are about to descend on some unfortunate terra firma bound, deceased meal. When in reality they're circling because they have found a favorable thermal that allows them to effortlessly stay aloft without much wing flapping. All the while searching for something dead to eat.

There are various types of vultures, the real ones which are abundant here in Texas, and then there are the metaphorical human examples, also abundant here in Texas as well as the other states. This vulture analogy is nothing new under the sun, which coincidentally creates the thermals, so I suppose one could say that was a double entendre, as are both types of vultures as they feed upon the carrion, both real and analogous.

Have you ever noticed a wake of vultures gathered around a fetid lump that was once a living creature? Have you noticed when you approach them while they're enjoying their meal in the middle of the road, that they know exactly when to fly off to avoid being hit by your vehicle? That takes depth perception and timing to avoid themselves becoming the next carrion meal. How do vultures acquire that knowledge? Are they born with it or is it developed over time by experience, or is it political instinct?

As I sit at my desk and watch the kettle floating on the warm updraft, I wonder much the same about the carcass craving human detritus that walk among us. Those that gain nourishment from the unfortunate souls that catch their interest. Vultures have keen eyesight, some of the best in the animal kingdom. Their eyesight helps them home in on a meal from far above, and on a dollar hanging out of a wallet.

Oh, by the way, you may be considered a tasty meal, by both types. My advice is to keep moving, don't look dead.