Bric-a-Brac

Friendly New Jersey hamster

(Gardenia Status amicablica)

ITEM: JOIZY CRAIG'S LIST FREE SON TO GOOD HOME

Reply to: sale-733129355@craigslist.org

Date: 2008-06-26, 8:15AM EDT

Free friendly cream colored hamster with vitamins, food, cage, tubes and running ball. Got him for my son and he don't take care of him, like he was suppose to.. I DO! So I would like to give him away to a good home with all the materials I have for him.

If interested please reply
Location: Green Island, Toms River, NJ

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ITEM: WHY??

How come when you run a subtitled film backwards, the subtitles disappear?

Last foreign flick I rewound

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ITEM: Fucking with the Stars

I'd totally love to meet Liza Minnelli and introduce myself so I could say, "My name is Lisa.....with an S." I think she'd totally love that!!

Weekend Update

I'm in the market for a new look for the ole blog here, but can't seem to settle on anything that's just exactly right. The original was better than this, I know; but one day you'll show up and WHAMMO! And SHAZAM! I'll have something I like. Whether you like it or not is immaterial, as has been shown clearly by my catfighting any dissenters. So stay calm, my children.



Okay, so all this week these folks call with "Cure Clothing" on the caller ID. I marvel at this strange name. The two words don't generally make a lot of sense together. So what did they say when I answered the phone? Well. You might not have heard, but I have something of a phone aversion.

No. That's not the correct term. Let's call it a pathological psychosis, shall we?

Nonetheless, curiosity won out, and I answered one of these calls. Turns out Cure Clothing is holding a clothing drive for the homeless (though I suppose the only thing clothing can "cure" is nakedness). Truth be known, I have tons of shit I'd like rid off. I agree to participate, and The Voice on Phone thanks me profusely for my kind, gentle, and unselfish nature, telling me to leave the clothing in boxes marked "Imagine" outside my garage. I remember thinking at the time, "How do you know I have a garage?" Because not EVERYBODY has a garage, right?

Some people have carports. (Or "carporch," as an aunt of mine called it).

Or nothing.

But I agreed to do so. The Voice said that I'd get a call on "Sunday night" to remind me. Well, folks, here it is, Sunday night, and I've had no call. And it's raining torrents. What to do? The clothes need yet to be boxed (my procrastination knows no bounds) and my boxes have become unboxed......

How, you say? I went yesterday afternoon on a box scout. Do you know how difficult finding big boxes is nowadays? You'll be luckier to find a working phone booth! Most stores flatten them out and bind them. No nostalgically huge piles behind supermarkets or such these days. However, I did find 4-5 excellent boxes (U-Haul brand, and sturdy) that someone had set by road's side, so I scooped them up. As I was going to Atlanta today, Mr. Button expressed concern that they might somewhat obscure my view of where I'd been, so he removed them but set them by the driveway as he continued to chat, as is his wont. I said, "Don't forget my boxes, now, if it rains!" He assured me that he would not. What did I take him for, etc.

I don't hafta say, do I, that when I drove up, the boxes were wetter than any box has ever known wet, and would not be holding any clothes for any homeless bodies, I'm sad to say.


Which I guess is just as well, since Cure Clothing hasn't seen fit to call.


Where was I when my good boxes were taking a long hard relaxing soak? I went to the Georgia Author Book Bash at the Margaret Mitchell House. They had some crazy sinful cheese bread there, plus I met Collin Kelley and Chelsea Rathburn!

BUT. On the way home, the sun came out while rain was still falling and just as it hit me that there might be a rainbow, I rounded a curve on I-85 and there was THE. MOST. BEAUTIFUL. RAINBOW. I swear, I had tears in my eyes. A double rainbow.

I hate that the pictures can't capture all the nuances of light. But here's a few of the 'bow and the sky....

Not sure if this guy had anything to do with the rainbows...Who can say?

Friday night, Mr Button and I met Denis and Jim at Chastain for an Emmylou Harris concert. I detest nearly all country music, but I'll have to say that Ms. Harris rules!

Poor me! Poor Denis! We didn't make good pictures and thus had to be exorcised from the photographs in which we sat next to our loved ones!

But here's Cap'n Button in his omnipresent orange cap:

Here's Jim looking positively ferocious!

oh for!!!!

http://atom.smasher.org/chinese/

mea culpa

don't get too

used to it.

Any of it.



Flucks, flucks, all is fuckin flucks.

Buckle up! It's time to visit the beloved Madison County police report again, and what a week it's been!

[headlines and brief commentary mine; all else in parentheses comes directly from reports]

MARCEL DUCHAMP WREAKS HAVOC IN COLBERT, GA

"Damage: On June 9, deputy Stephen Waller was dispatched to a home on Forest Lane, Colbert, where a woman said someone covered her yard with toilet paper, took a seat from a boat and placed it in her mailbox, and blocked the driveway with two railroad crossties."

and

CENTURIES-OLD STEEL PIPE GANKED

"Theft: On June 13, a resident of Osley Mill Road, Comer, reported that someone stole a 19-foot steel pipe, valued at $4,000, from his property. He said the pipe dated back to the 1800s."

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsteel.htm

and

"Burglary: On June 14, deputy Gary Floyd was dispatched to Hudson River Church Road, where a man said someone entered his chicken house and stole a tray of eggs. A next-door neighbor reported the theft of a mailbox."

Related? You decide. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if one of Madison County's meritorious deputies didn't find the antique steel pipe, eggs and mailbox tottering on the edge of an empty toilet with daisies growing out the top.

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LET'S SEE DO I GOT THIS STRAIGHT:

THIS HERE'S A RUBBER TIRE. THIS HERE'S M' HAND.

"Arrest: On June 9, deputy Mark McCarty was dispatched to Georgia Highway 98, Comer, where a woman said her daughter's boyfriend cut the tires on her daughter's Ford Tempo during an argument. He also cut his hand during the incident. Sean Michael Conner, 27, of Comer was arrested for trespassing."

~~~~~

CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF BORAT FOR MAKE FREE BENEFIT GLORIOUS RESIDENT ANGELICA J. JOHNSON

"Arrest: On June 6, deputy Alan Stratton was dispatched to Fred's in Colbert, where Angelica J. Johnson, 20, of Madison Avenue, Colbert, was arrested for shoplifting $84 worth of DVDs, including "Borat," "Dream Girls" and "Balls of Fury." Johnson said she took the DVDs because she didn't have any money."

~~~~~

IMAGINE THAT

"Arrest: On June 7, deputy Donald Carr was working a license checkpoint on Georgia Highway 98 at Georgia Highway 106 when a Honda CRX drove up. The driver, Mark Clarence Woody, 43, of Adam Clarke Road, Danielsville, was wanted on a bench warrant for not showing up in court to face a charge of possessing methamphetamine. He was arrested and during a search a plastic bag containing methamphetamine was found. Woody was charged with this violation."

Too amped on the shizzo to make it to court, I guess.....

~~~~~~

IS TOO MISBEHAVIN'

"Arrest: On June 7, deputy David Kidd was dispatched about 6 p.m. to River Hill Drive, along the Broad River where a man said he was having problems with four people floating on the river in kayaks. Kidd and Department of Natural Resources officer Shane Sartor went to the river to wait for the kayakers. As they arrived, they noticed a man asleep on his back in one of the kayaks. The other three people paddled to the side of the river and Kidd shouted for the sleeping man to wake up. The man would not wake up so Sartor waded into the river and pulled his kayak to shore. The man had a bottle containing marijuana, along with some marijuana spread on his stomach and more inside the kayak. The man, Jason Edward Smith, 22, of Black Creek Church Road was woken up and he became agitated and started cursing at the officers. When he found out he was being arrested for marijuana possession, he became even more enraged. However, he was placed in handcuffs. Smith's 22-year-old wife had to be warned about her behavior. The wife and the others, a 23-year-old Danielsville man and a 19-year-old Pendergrass woman, were allowed to leave. At the jail, Smith continued to act belligerent and cursed at the jail staff."

Sounds like some mighty kind bud!

~~~~~

LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY NEEDS TO GO TO TIME-OUT

"Complaint: On June 3, deputy Scott Pulliam went to a home in Comer, where a woman said her 18-year-old son had kicked a hole in the wall of her home. The son also cursed at her and took sodas out of the refrigerator and one by one he stomped them on the floor. He also took a bottle of moisturizing cream and stomped it on the carpet. The teen was gone when Pulliam arrived, but a warrant is expected for his arrest."

A Few More Shots

Here, we appear to be getting the hell out of Portland, and in some kinda hurry!

I tend to like the jewel-toned color schemes they use in those Kimpton hotels. I've grown to like this brown/blue/periwinkle theme that's all the rage now. This particular set-up was in the Hotel Monaco in Portland. Not much panorama or seascape here, but man-made design's not bad, either.

Guess where this is? Totally the Space Needle in Seattle! Ten points for you.
I traveled downtown Seattle solo Sunday afternoon as Mr. Buttonhole was underneath the weather.
Most enjoyable excursion!

Here's a shot of Seattle from atop the Needle.

Another view. I believe this is Lake Washington, though I could be totally wrong.

And another, from inside the observatory. Nice sunset, near-mackerel sky.

Couldn't resist this one, on the street behind the Space Needle complex.

Let this be a warning to you folks! STOP! Don't walk!

One way! No return!

Plus you hafta pay to park.

Headed back to the hotel on I-5, I rounded a curve and there was Mount Rainier. I know, I know; there are ten jillion better photos of this mountain. And my picture can't possibly capture the unexpected nature of seeing the mountain in the distance.

It actually looks like part of the clouds.

Crazy Ass Couple on Vacation

mr button: crazy on the plane

ms. button: crazy in hotel
ravenous,
at one point,
we were forced to go for Cheesecake Factory....hmmm
But it looks pretty good, huh?

Check out the zit I had the whole time on vaycay.

I had to pay property taxes on it.

Downtown Portland had a lot of edgy folks with tattoos, mohawks, weird dye jobs, etc etc.

Here I am at the Greek restaurant, desperately trying to fit in with the locals.

back up the coast and across

humongous poppies at the B & B

http://www.seaquestinn.com/

this view of a koi pond gives a ramshackley impression
not true
across the larger pond
totally cool house in background--next door neighbors
i thought the house looked like one of those old Norwegian Lutheran churches

seven rooms at the SeaQuest Inn
guests had names written on their doors
mr button, who always introduces himself as "cres"
is always misunderstood
everyone thinks he says "chris"
so here's the room i shared with a guy named "chris"

dude. this place was amazing.
it's called cape perpetua. so named by capt cook
it's the highest point on the oregon coast (804 ft comes to mind)
here's the view from the top looking down at the devil's churn
(old nick apparently has partied all up and down this coast!)
it's INCREDIBLY windy up here

another view
this is straight down
the 2D pic can't capture the perspective


one more view of the coast from cook's chasm

on the way to portland, we stopped in corvallis for lunch

neat little college town

in this case, we ate pizza at american dream pizza

outside were a couple of musicians

the guy playing the ukulele saw no reason whatsoever

that would make sense to him why he shouldn't wear

his bathrobe to perform in

we're in portland tonight.

anyone a fan of beavers??

tomorrow? seattle

see ya there!

line shape tangent arc

beach south of Yachats at the B & B

can you see hecetas lighthouse at the top of the hill?

sunset 6.19

protection and connection:

a bridge-fence alliance

a demain, amis!

Green with Envy

calla lilies growing wild? really???


One of the first aspects to strike me about coastal Oregon is the lushness of the vegetation. Plants I have NEVER seen before, cannot even identify. Fascinating. Coming from a state in the throes of such a drought that we're trying to move the borders to take in another state's river, this verdant growth and rich black soil is akin to being on another planet.

more beach buddies