Ad Astra (Lippold sculpture)

Here’s one of the more interesting sculptures in DC. Ad Astra, in Latin, means To The Stars! I have heard from time to time the rationale that we need to colonize other planets because we may mess this one up so badly at some point it will be necessary to leave it in order to preserve the human species.

And here is my response to this notion. If we manage to somehow make this planet uninhabitable we do not deserve a new one. And our species should not be allowed to export our peculiar brand of insanity somewhere else. There should be a limit to consumerism as we know it. Disposable planets, anyone?

But, hopefully, it will not come to this.  We should know a lot more this time next year if all the recent news reports are for real.  

Outside the Air And Space Museum. . .

Here’s something I found at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History down the hall from the Hope Diamond. At some point in the past this bauble was probably hanging around someone’s neck. What’s it called? I have no idea.

So it snowed this past weekend here in Virginia and some of it is still on the ground. I didn’t take any photos of it because it was cold outside and I was preoccupied with a little project here in my office. Rearranging furniture can be time consuming and it requires some heavy lifting, at times, too. You have to be careful not to lose stuff and then there are all the wires that need to be reconnected to all the electronic equipment. I know it sounds boring as hell and it is.

So I have lost my blogging focus and can’t seem to find it. Where did it go? And I have only walked a couple of days in the past week. More consternation. Gas prices are heading up but that’s not an issue here. I still have a third of a tank from when we drove up to Cape May last month. The car just sits there. A few days ago some material arrived in the mail for jury duty. They want to keep tabs on me for two months starting around mid March.

Every once in awhile I need to have a “team meeting” with my coach, aka Betsy, beloved wife and source of reason (or, at least, planning) and try to regain my bearings. We would like to go up to DC this spring and look around for a few days. Hopefully, the jury folks won’t call while we are there. Or, maybe, I can put some dates in this form letter and they will take note of it.

And then there is the tube. Television has been around for about sixty years which, coincidentally, is the length of time we have been watching it. In the history of the world few have been exposed to its “magic” much longer. What has it done during that time to my mind and soul?

I’m thinking “not very much. . . good”. Maybe this is why my consciousness seems to flit from one thing to another looking for a good channel. Isn’t there some place to be that will suffice? Isn’t there a mental state that will be good most of the time?

I wonder and continue to search. When it arrives I will hang it around my neck and close to my heart, an invisible necklace of jewels reflecting a light that does not arrive at the end of a wire.

Here are some photos of DC I have taken in the past and are actually for sale (another project yay!) here http://www.myfotobuzz.com/ . . .

Your strength has made me strong
Though life tore us apart
and now when the night seems long
your love shines in my heart…
Your love shines in my heart.

Play Andrea Bocelli Your Love (Once Upon A Time In The West)

It’s time to start having thoughts of spring. It won’t be here next week. But it’s coming and if we can just stay busy and productive it will be here soon. I just heard something about Greece being in its fifth year of recession. Isn’t a recession that lasts that long really a depression? The reporter was saying that people are trying to sell their jewelry in the marketplaces. Some are selling their wedding rings.

There are riots too, of course, and never ending discussions about a bailout plan. All of this in the birthplace of democracy. Long ago. The world is going through a period of deflation and I doubt there is very little that can be done about it. I’m not sure who decided that these things can be avoided forever. But they will try.

Meanwhile, back on the beach, we hope to ride a few waves in a short while. And take a few photos while enjoying the wind.

In the last five years or so Richmond has brought some great talent from around the nation and the world to the Richmond Folk Festival. It is located downtown on historic Brown’s Island. So last October we headed down the road to see and hear all of it. Davell Crawford created quite a stir as he played piano and sang some cool tunes from the heart of New Orleans.

Davell clearly believes in audience participation as he brought one of the organizers up on the stage for a serenade. And we can also see him here fielding some comments from the audience. And if you were hearing impaired, maybe just out for a walk and decided to rest in the shade of this cool tent, he had someone along to help you understand the lyrics.

It was a fascinating show. And we enjoyed the music and all the other stuff that was happening very much.

On Saturday it snowed  and gave Virginians a little thrill for a moment. It wasn’t anything to write home about but, then, it didn’t tie up traffic or dismember the electrical grid either. Around five pm I happened to glance out the window and noticed a large cloud colored in a particularly attractive shade of dark blue. So, I raced upstairs, grabbed the camera and headed over the the U where I was greeted with a nice sunset (and some brilliantly cold air). It only lasted a few moments but it provided a couple photo opportunities. And I thought it would be nice to share them with you!

University of Richmond and “snow”…

A time is coming soon when we will have to ask, “What is good not for the individual or the party but for the country?”, just as we did at the advent of World War II or on 9-11. It’s a shame that such times are so rare and often only brought on by a crisis. It seems that  mistrust governs us most of the time. And so, the approval rate, in a recent poll, of people in this place is around 10 percent.

Nobody wins in a situation like this. I’ve heard all the left/right arguments for so long I’m just numb. And I’m depressed because the country is going down the tubes. There doesn’t seem to be anyone who has the ability to bring it together and so there’s not much hope either.

All I feel like I can do is take photos of a beautiful city in the failing light. Try to be an artist. Avoid futile arguments. Love my wife and kids.

And munch on these.

David Bowie I’m Afraid Of Americans (V1)