I get high from the sky

Kitten highs and sky highs. That's what it's all about. And other highs, and butterflies.



I start to rhyme when I have a good time.

Do you know the way to Santa Fe?

The sky! The sky! Oh my word, the sky! The clouds parted for a brief spell today, brief spells, rather, and in the evening the sky was just absolutely breath-taking. Stars and stars, as far as the eye could see, and full constellations, not this bit of that and smidge of this, but full ones. All of Ophiuchus, all of Scorpius and Sagittarius, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Eagle, Ursa Major, Pegasus, Andromeda, and so on, and on and on. Lightning in the distance, lightning to the left and to the right, and now the rains are back on top of us again and the sky is hidden once more beneath a thick atmospheric blanket.

The sky is the cherry of this trip. It is wonderful to see Josine and Cees again, and I look forward to seeing John as well. I really love Josine and Cees, I just wish I spoke Dutch. But that's my guilt-complex talking, and that I feel guilty that they have to speak English around me. Of course learning Dutch is something I greatly want to do, and have wanted to do, and will want to do until it is done, but for now I shall converse with my Dutch family in English.

ps. Santa Fe's as cute as a button.

Top 10 Sexy (Not Ugly)

2. sexy ugly
[Someone who is not conventionally good-looking (or any kind of good-looking in some cases), but possesses an appealing personality, style, or talent, and is thus considered sexually attractive by many.

First coined by the movie, "Kissing Jessica Stein."
Adrian Brody, Ewan McGregor, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Mick Jagger are all sexy ugly. Mick Jagger is the example from the movie.]

My personal favorites on this subject:
1. Christopher Eccleston



2. William Fichtner


3. Gabriel Byrne


4. Ralph Fiennes


5. Jeremy Irons


6. Hugh Laurie


7. Alan Rickman


8. Geoffrey Rush


9. Jim Carrey


10. James Woods


I find them all to be beautiful. They're no Pierce Brosnan, but are they even sexy ugly? In my opinion just the former.

*NB: some, but not all, can be found in a lengthy list here. I would never put Jeff Goldblum on this list, for example. He's too fine.

*update*
other names on my list: Jason Isaacs, Billy Bob, Steve Buscemi, the fine Jeff Goldblum, and on and on

oh, my mother!

She means well, she truly, truly does, but tonight was just plain silly. Embarrassing, hysterical, inappropriate, but well-intentioned, my mother sequestered the waiter, charmed him away, then said, "I have a daughter" and attempted to get his name and number. Oh, mother! Don't you know you can't do that anymore? It was actually crazy coincidental, seeing as how he had done study abroad with a kid from Oberlin, but then once she did that we were both mortified and he got back to the kitchen as quick as he could. Oh, mother!

It's all very funny, really. A comical skit, starring my (sometimes) oh-so-stereotypical Jewish mother.

Time heals wounds

I'm not weak. It is strength that is required to forgive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgiveness

http://www.hinduism.co.za/forgiven.htm

Excerpts:

Anger Versus Forgiveness
O beautiful one, one should forgive under every injury. It has been said that the continuation of species is due to man being forgiving. He, indeed, is a wise and excellent person who has conquered his wrath and shows forgiveness even when insulted, oppressed, and angered by a strong person. The man of power who controls his wrath, has (for his enjoyment) numerous everlasting regions; while he that is angry, is called foolish, and meets with destruction both in this and the other world. The illustrious and forgiving Kashyapa has, in this respect, sung the following verses in honour of men that are forgiving.

"Forgiveness is virtue; forgiveness is sacrifice, forgiveness is the Vedas, forgiveness is the Sruti. He that knows this is capable of forgiving everything. Forgiveness is Brahma; forgiveness is truth; forgiveness is stored ascetic merit; forgiveness protects the ascetic merit of the future; forgiveness is asceticism; forgiveness is holiness; and by forgiveness is it that the universe is held together. Persons that are forgiving attain to the regions obtainable by those that have performed meritorious sacrifices, or those that are well conversant with the Vedas, or those that have high ascetic merit. Those that perform Vedic sacrifices as also those that perform the meritorious rites of religion obtain other regions. Men of forgiveness, however, obtain those much adored regions that are in the world of Brahma. Forgiveness is the might of the mighty; forgiveness is sacrifice; forgiveness is quiet of mind. Can one like us abandon forgiveness, which is such, and in which are established Brahma, and truth, and wisdom and the worlds? The man of wisdom should ever forgive, for when he is capable of forgiving everything, he attains to Brahma. The world belongs to those that are forgiving; the other world is also theirs.

The forgiving acquire honours here, and a state of blessedness hereafter. Those men that ever conquer their wrath by forgiveness, obtain the higher regions. Therefore has it been said that forgiveness is the highest virtue."

Forgiveness is a Great Power
Vidura said: There is one only defect in forgiving persons, and not another; that defect is that people take a forgiving person to be weak. That defect, however, should not be taken into consideration, for forgiveness is a great power. Forgiveness is a virtue of the weak, and an ornament of the strong. Forgiveness subdues (all) in this world; what is there that forgiveness cannot achieve? What can a wicked person do unto him who carries the sabre of forgiveness in his hand? Fire falling on the grassless ground is extinguished of itself. And unforgiving individual defiles himself with many enormities. Righteousness is the one highest good; and forgiveness is the one supreme peace; knowledge is one supreme contentment; and benevolence, one sole happiness.

Skywatching II

I went out last night again, but instead of darting amongst the sprinklers in the parks, hoping that assholish L.O. cops wouldn't yell at me for being there past closing time, I drove the opposite way and just parked the car off of Bergis. What better area than the patch of farmland we've got in town? I'm sure I looked like a crazy stalker, with my foot long telephoto lens and tripod, crouching in the grass on my hands and knees on the side of the road. Well, unfortunately the telephoto didn't work out, too heavy for my crappy tripod, but I fiddled around with my little digital and I think I might have gotten the quality a smidge better and steadier.

Jupiter in Sagittarius:

If you enlarge the second one, you'll see two little dots on the sides of Jupiter, which I believe to be two of Jupiter's moons, Io and Europa:


Scorpius, Ophiuchus, and Libra at 15-second exposure:

" at 60-second exposure:

Skywatching

Recently a bright star has been seen in the southeastern part of the sky, but in my opinion too bright to be a star. After checking my star chart or whatever it is, and attempting to draw the constellation so I might figure out what I was looking at, and failing by these simple means, I decided to grab my camera and a tripod, and head down to the park. I took photos of Ursa Major, Draconus, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, and of course, the bright dot in the sky that had to be a planet. The tripod sucked. It's small, and wobbly, and only one photo of those that I shot of the planet worked out. But the last one did, and once I did some research it became pretty clear that it was Jupiter in Sagittarius.