Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Making Judy Jetson blush?
The PT memoir sounds like fun, MZ, when do you plan to unveil it, or some section of it?
There’s a thunderstorm blowing through as I’m typing...being a fan of weather, or at least a deeply interested observer, I’m always pleased to see storms race through as they tend to do here in the high deserts. It’s always seemed odd to me that lush, green Austin’s the high desert. The Colorado River gives us huge trees and humidity we’d never even have seen if we depended on rain for our water supply.
In an equally dry deserty place in California, I experienced my first sudden summer thunderstorm. I was 2. In the Santa Cruz mountains, there isn’t a real big weather pattern...pretty much sunny, dry, coolish, fog in the morning during winter, rain in October kind of thing. So when a huge, huge thunderstorm came racing in from the south, heading up the valley wehre we lived like it was a bowling alley, I was scared.
My mother, Texan that she was, was thrilled! She hated the “everlastin’ sunshine” of our placid California town. It bored her to know when the rains would come. She loathed fog. I didn’t know or care about these things, I loved the fact I could play outside all day every day. And that day I couldn’t because it was wet and cold! In July!! That was for San Francisco!! I kicked up a fuss.
Mama took me out onto the portico to look at the storm as it watered the lawn, beat the gardenias to death, drowned the earthwroms I was so interested in, caused the frogs to hop around everywhere scared, and caused the magnolia untold pain. She got down on the ground with me and had me sit in her lap as she explained the clouds were so full of rain that they had to let it out fast, and the way the rain formed up in the clouds generated electricity that made sparks and flashes like I saw up there in the clouds; that the sparks sometimes got so big they came down to earth and caused fires...but that wouldn’t happen today.
I believed her, thinking she was some kind of weather goddess. If anything, it would turn out, she was Atlacoya Goddess of Drought, but those were revelations for later. At the time I was enthralled by the newly comprehensible display going on for my benefit. I could look at the way the clouds lit up as lightning slashed its way through them and see it as beautiful instead of threatening because I understood in a tiny way that it was supposed to be that way. And, Mama reassured me as I questioned her anxiously, there’d always be more frogs and worms.
I still do see thunderstorms as a kind of atmospheric sexual release, a natural and beautiful thing. I love the power they unleash and the intensity of the rush as the air charges up and the land gets ready for its water workout. Sure ain’t low-impact, though, that workout.
captcha = “forces” I see the oracle’s back in form!
Posted by Mudge on from Austin, Texas 06/17 at 07:48 AMFrom one thunderstorm aficionado to another: Thanks, Mudge. Great image...although I will disagree that there’ll always be more frogs and worms.
As for the memoir, the snippets over the past three Saturdays will be included.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/17 at 08:04 AMSnippets. Faugh! I want more than snippets! What’s the propulsive event? Who are the players? Are we on the Hero’s Journey or the Quest? Details!!
Do you remember, BTW, the thundersnow we (New York, obviously) had in 1996? That was sooooooooo cool!
Posted by Mudge on from Austin, Texas 06/17 at 08:39 AMI do remember 1996 as a winter of non-stop blizzards. Not sure what you mean by “thundersnow.”
The memoir will detail my double life of sorts. As I like to say: My goal is to make the affluent sweat.
Captcha sez: twenty (as in how many years working in gyms?)
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/17 at 08:54 AMYes, I agree that the PT memoir will be a big hit. Way back in time, before I became enlightened, I taught PT in the Air Force. In more recent years, I worked out in a local gym. The benefits health-wise were amazing. Unfortunately the gym went out of business. I refer to the Polaris “back” machine as a miracle cure and I have no connection to the company that makes it.
Mudge, your masterful description of thunderstorms almost makes me like them except for the fact that we get a lot of very severe ones here. A couple of years ago, lightening struck my well pump...that lightening strike cost me $3000. I learned something from that strike. It had traveled under ground. There were no visible signs on the surface, only a couple hundred feet underground where the pump was.
Mickey, that is a good Nader piece you put up today, thanks.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 06/17 at 09:09 AMI’m a huge weather fan too, in fact I have my own website with data on. http://www.weatherwise.org.uk
a bit sad maybe (its an english thing), gets annoying when everyone (I mean everyone) asks me for a forecast. Sort of storytelling?Posted by uncle joe (the weatherman) on from 80 degrees in ingerland 06/17 at 09:43 AMHi RMJ: Glad you caught the Nader link. Sometimes half the fun is enbedding odd hyperlinks and seeing who comments.
Uncle Joe: You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the winds blows.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/17 at 09:47 AMlove thunderstorms. good story mudge.
i have never been to a gym in my life. i am a scots boy and if i want to get fit there is no shortage of mountains to go up and that way you get the air and the views too.incidentally when i was in nepal i was living at altitude (about 11,000 feet) and fro the first two weeks it was torture. even going to the village shop you were shattered. after about 2 weeks you got used to it and by the end we were as fast at getting around as they were.
scottish mountains are obviously a lot smaller than those in nepal and when i came home i went up one and more or less ran up it. the thing that sucked was feeling all the fitness i have gained from the altitude ebb away over the next couple of months.
one thing about the weather and mountains in scotland tho...althouh they arent that big the weather can get VERY nasty very quickly and every winter so many people have to be rescued, usually for doing something moronic.
last year i went up ben lomond in the summer.
it was a beautiful day, 27 degrees down at the loch level. even still, you take a sweater and a change of tshirt for the top because once you get up there the wind can cut through you (it is very northern europe after all). anyway, there was this english guy who was dragging a boy (abuot 8) and a girl (about 5) up the mountain. he had no water, no food, no proper clothing - nothing. the two kids were crying their eyes out and he was driving them up the mountain like cattle.no particular point to this other than that it annoys me that people do such stupid things on the mountains.
last year a teacher got sacked because she took her entire class up a differnet mountain in november wearing only school uniform and they all had to be rescued.
another time these two guys went up on the firday and got rescued friday night, they went up again on the sunday and had to be rescued again.
they sold their story for 50,000 pounds and only gave 5000 back to the rescue people, who are not government funded but instead rely on donations.
Posted by michael on from exile 06/17 at 10:33 AMHumans rarely respect mountains, huh? Big mistake...on many levels (pun intended and apologized for).
As for the concept of gyms, here’s something Ah-nuld himself said: “One hundred years ago, we had to do everything with our bodies We worked to get lumber and stones for building a house. We had to work with our hands, we had to run, we had to crawl under things, we had to swim. The efforts of everyday living kept the body in shape. But now, because almost everything is done with machines, people have become lazy.”
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/17 at 11:58 AMMickey #9...Ah-nuld doesn’t have to mow his lawn, paint his house, repair his roof, plant his vegetables, etc, BUT I do agree that there is an advantage to working out in a gym. It is a controlled exercise. I never left the gym hurting because of what I did there. Real-world work sometimes hurts.
michael...Nice photo.
Here is a link for anyone who wants to sign a petition in support of academic freedom and Churchill.
http://www.coloradoaim.org/wardpetition.htmPosted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 06/17 at 12:14 PMthanks RMJ. as i am exile at the moment (not really - i am just abroad) i don’t get to see it that much but in truth about 70% of scotland looks like that.
scotland is 80% of the size of england in terms of area but in england there are 50 million and scotland only 5, hence the domination.
in case i haven’t made it clear enough yet, i am a fervent supporter of scottish independence. most scottish people are for it but are scared of making the jump.
don’t know why i am saying this other than that i do miss the fresh air and the mountains because where i am now fresh air does simply not exist.
Posted by michael on from exile 06/17 at 12:25 PMmichael, you need to speak up next time the you see the Queen. Just tell her that you no longer choose to be a subject of the crown. Some nerve, those royals have!
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 06/17 at 12:33 PMHello everyone...happy Saturday to you all.
No stories to tell today...but here’s a funny interview with one of our great investigative televsion journalists, Tim Russert, in which he has some strange phone problems just as he is asked some important questions about the truth behind 9/11/2001:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6ucTsF6ldQ
You have to wait until the end of the interview to hear what I am talking about.
Here is Tim Russert’s interview with Hunter S Thompson that is mentioned in the radio interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gbJJ-ghksE&search=hunter thompson
Posted by JOS on from Oak Park 06/17 at 12:42 PMhere’s a better link for the HST/Russert interview:
Posted by JOS on from Oak Park 06/17 at 12:44 PMlistenign to it now but not sure i like the interviewer
RMJ, i have met one of the royals before and i shoudl write out the whole story but can’t right now.
to cut it short, when i met her (not the queen) i wore an old russian top with CCCP written on it (CCCP was russian for USSR) and she still had to shake my hand for the cameras knowing full well the point i was making.
i didn’t wear it becuase i believe in what the USSR was up to. absolutely not.
i thought it would be funny.
Posted by michael on from exile 06/17 at 12:55 PMYeah, Michael...he gets better towards the end of the interview. I think he was playing with Russert in the beginning. I just thought it was funny how Russert starts hitting a button on his phone and pretends that he was losing the signal. What a phoney.
Posted by JOS on from Oak Park 06/17 at 01:19 PMThe weather in San Francisco is perfect today… and even though I may be in the bottom 1% of the bottom 1% it seems an ideal day for going out and celebrating what is still free.
Speaking of free… here’s a recycled story about Linux-- I heartily recommend the whole concept and flavor of Ubuntu!
Good day all....
Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco 06/17 at 01:46 PMRobert #17...that is amazing. I know only one other person who built their own PC. I will forward your article to him.
David Vise, author of The Google Story, is on C-span right now. I have seen this program several times before but it is very interesting. Larry and Sergey must be fascinating. I like their attitude, “Have a healthy disregard for the impossible”. Maybe we need more of that.
JOS...I wish I could see the interviews.
Uncle joe...I like your web site.Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 06/17 at 02:14 PMFYI...There might be a little money for you, in case anyone with an Epson Printer missed this, “...Under the terms of the settlement, the settlement class—consisting of all persons or entities located within the United States who purchased or otherwise acquired an Epson brand inkjet printer between April 8, 1999 and May 8, 2006 --...”
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 06/17 at 04:13 PMHoo-boy, did I get an Epsoning! Thanks for the heads-up, RMJ.
#5: Old Mother Nature’s an expensive date, for certain. Once, when living in South Texas and battening down for Hurricane Beulah, Mama forgot to put the car away. It ended up in Port Isabel, on the mainland, five miles from our beach house on South Padre Island. Scratch one 1964 Buick Wildcat.
Unc #6: Cool cool cool website! And it’s 80F in Ingerland?! Has the mass die-off of over-60s begun? It was only 88F here tday, so I shivered and shook all day long.
Michael #8: Heart-hurtingly beautiful. We need to ship at least 35 million people of Scots descent back to you since y’all have so much clear land. I personally want to live at the Speyside distillers’ row, please, as I am 33% Scot.
Posted by Mudge on from Austin, Texas 06/17 at 06:39 PMMudge, about the Epson Class Action Settlement, The deadline is June 22. The claim form is on the Internet. There are options as to how you want your settlement. We won’t get rich but at least we can get a few pizzas and a tall cool one.
About the weather topic going on here today. I’ve been in a lot of hurricanes, especially when I lived in Florida. Had a coconut come flying through my window during one of them but that was nothing compared to a couple of years ago up here. We had a tornado coming through. I had my battery powered radio on. The announcer kept giving its location. It was headed straight for my house. I took to the basement...was looking out the basement door at the trees, bent down in a horizontal position. It sounded like a freight train. When it was over, I had very little damage but right around the corner from my house it looked like a bomb had hit. The best that I can figure is that it went right over the top of me.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 06/17 at 06:54 PMwhen scotland and england joined there was a riot in every major scottish city and town. the people did not want it. what happened was what is described in this poem by rabbie burns. the people i the scottish parliament were either forced or bribed.
i have posted the original scots (NOT a dialect of english. the two languages had the same root and went their own way) and a translation after..
Fareweel to a’ our Scottish fame,
Fareweel our ancient glory!
Fareweel ev’n to the Scottish name.
Sae famed in martial story!
Now Sark rins over Salway sands,
An’ Tweed rins to the ocean,
To mark where England’s province stands --
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!What force or guile could not subdue
Thro’ many warlike ages
Is wrought now by a coward few
For hireling traitor’s wages.
The English steel we could disdain,
Secure in valour’s station;
But English gold has been our bane --
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!O, would, or I had seen the day
That Treason thus could sell us,
My auld grey head had lien in clay
Wi’ Bruce and loyal Wallace!
But pith and power, till my last hour
I’ll mak this declaration :-
‘We’re bought and sold for English gold’--
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!TRANSLATION
Farewell to all our Scottish fame,
Farewell our ancient glory!
Farewell even to the Scottish name.
So famed in martial story!
Now Sark runs over Salway sands,
And Tweed runs to the ocean,
To mark where England’s province stands -
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!What force or guile could not subdue
Through many warlike ages
Is wrought now by a coward few
For hireling traitor’s wages.
The English steel we could disdain,
Secure in valour’s station;
But English gold has been our bane -
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!O, would, or I had seen the day
That Treason thus could sell us,
My old grey head had lain in clay (be buried)
With Bruce and loyal Wallace!
But pith and power, till my last hour
I will make this declaration :-
‘We are bought and sold for English gold’-
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!Posted by michael on from exile 06/18 at 12:29 AMactually, the first version is wrong… in scots it would look like this…
Fareweel tae a’ oor Scottish fame
Fareweel oor ancient glory
Fareweel even tae oor Scottish name
Sae famed in martial story
Noo Sark runs o’er the Solway sands
Tweed runs tae the ocean
Tae mark where England’s province stands
Such a parcel o’ rogues in a nationWhit force or guile could not subdue
Through many wor-like ages
Is rocked now by the coward few
For hireling traitor’s wages
The English steel we could disdain
Secure in valour’s station
But English gold has been oor bane
Such a parcel o’ rogues in a nationO would or I had seen the day
That treason thus would sell us
My old grey heid had lain in clay
Wi’ Bruce and loyal Wallace
But pith and power till my last hour
I’ll mak’ this declaration
We are bought and sold for English gold
Such a parcel o’ rogues in a nationPosted by michael on from exile 06/18 at 02:47 AMGood morning Michael, RMJ...I seem to have beat the host to the party.
RMJ, a coconut through the window! Why, please, isn’t this a chapter title within The Fifty-Dollar Studebaker? You know I’m not lettin’ that alone....
Michael, I can think of no reason the Scots should have celebrated the Union then, and I can’t see much advantage in them celebrating it now. I’m not greatly pleased that Texas is one of the United States. My biggest problem with devolution or decentralization or whatever is that it makes the lives of multinationals easier, since fragmented power is far easier to evade. Don’t like Scotland’s environmental policy? Close the Edinburgh plant and move it to Liverpool! The English’ll roll over for anything.
captcha = “hell” my we are back in oracular form!
Posted by Mudge on from Austin, Texas 06/18 at 07:28 AMGuess what, Mudge (# 3): I do remember that snowstorm in early January 1996 - we were visiting NYC at the time, and it was our first visit. Wasn’t that the worst snowstorm in 50 years? It was fascinating to see a normally bustling place like New York come to a standstill ..
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 06/19 at 03:55 PMHi Mickey,
You write “the top 1 percent of Americans own wealth equal to the bottom 95 percent.”
But following the link reveals “The top fifth of households own more than 83 percent of the nation’s wealth, the bottom 80 percent less than 17 percent.” This was strange: top 20% of households own 83% of the nation’s wealth. Well, how then do 1% own 95%?
Reading further: “The top 1 percent owns over 38 percent of the nation’s wealth, more than double the amount of wealth controlled by the bottom 80 percent. The top 1 percent’s financial wealth is equal to that of the bottom 95 percent.”
So there is a puzzling qualifier here: “financial” wealth.
Posted by kim on from 06/20 at 04:26 AMHmm...good point, Kim. Does anyone out there have any idea what is meant by “financial wealth”?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/20 at 04:42 AM
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