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Wednesday, December 21, 2016

THE LONGEST NIGHT/THE SHORTEST DAY/THE MOST HOPE #366

December 21, 2016
This may be a skid to a stop or a California rolling stop for this thing.  It's been 366 days (2016 is a leap year!) since I took the first image from my porch with the intention to document this view for a full year (and a day?)..  

What to do with all these images? What to do with everything?  Thought that I'd have a lot to say about this last day of the autumn and the coming of the winter, but ..  there's rain and big $$ waiting to be spent on my old bus.  No pithy insights. Just a gloomy day and a gloomy movie (Juliette Binoche in Camille Claudel 1915).. which paints a gloomy picture of the last days of a brilliant artist who lived out her life in an institution.  I want to see again the movie with the beautiful  Isabelle Adjani as the troubled Camille.  Ah well.. 

I've been accused of too much 'navegazing' and it's true, I guess.. counting the personal pronouns in all of these posts might render a bunch.  Someone asked about paintings of Adam and Eve and wondered why they had belly buttons? hmm.

Come to think on it.. do all creatures have navels? or just primates? Or?  umbilical cords?  which would presuppose a bellybutton?  Ah.. the silver cord.  I have seen umbilical cords on baby kittens! Mammals? All mammals?

A long day, this shortest day.  but longer day tomorrow and the nights grow shorter.. 

Suggestions for how to display 366 individual images of the view from my porch  are welcome.  directortv41@yahoo

Life goes on and then....

michael sheehan
December 21, 2016  Solstice.   


Chayote CU  12/21/16

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

HANG THE BLACK CREPE. MUFFLE THE DRUMS. TURN YOUR BACK.


December 20, 2016

Tomorrow will be the last day for this project.  

Solstice holds promise in these dark days.. the literally dark days will turn tomorrow, the longest night of the  year, to winter and the days will grow longer once again.  The pall that drapes the United States of America will lift, eventually, as folks recover from the deep depression of spirit that I know I share with friends.   

///

I have suggested that we find hundreds and thousands of VHS copies of "Howard the Duck" to send to Washington, D.C. on January 20th. If you don't get the reference, give it some thought.  I think my personal response to my failed lobbying of electors and the subsequent fear that has dampened the spirits of concerned folks across the country must find a way to survive. To me, fighting is not the answer.  The way to harmony, for me, is by finding that crack that Leonard Cohen reminds us of.  The crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.  

The attitude of the 'proud republicants' and the tone of their false victory along with the discrimination against people of color rising again is despicable.  

Having been attacked personally by one orangman supporter, it cuts to the quick. The tone of these people is contrary to civil discourse and the evil that seems to ooze from some of them is palpable. How to survive evil is an important question.  Exposing it may be a start.  There is evil abroad and shining a light on it may turn even the most dedicated conservative.

My current mode is to hunker down.  This is the next to  last post for this journal.  Tomorrow, I'll have made 366 images from my porch across the valley and will next figure out how to display all of them, going back to December 21, 2015.  
///
Winter Solstice used to be a celebration with artists who shared their talents at The Church in Ocean Park.  If that celebration is still going on, I've long since been winnowed out of the loop.

Bob and Stephanie will no longer host the Rose Parade.  A selfish and bizarre person may be inaugurated as President of the United States.. or as Time Magazine has noted "The Divided States of America."  Derision and division ..  darn it.. A real President: Abraham Lincoln, told us long ago.. 

"a house divided against itself, cannot stand.." 

We are living in a divided time.  Shame on all of us for allowing this to go so far.   What a shame. 
How to fix an amorphous and genuinely bad situation?  Like nailing Jello to the wall.  We must find a way. 

Send "Howard the Duck" on VHS to the steps of the capitol building.  There's a statement for ya.

Sadly, this chayote may speak to this situation all too well.  

michaelsheehan
December 20, 2016

  Chayote 12/20/16

Monday, December 19, 2016

EXPECT A MIRACLE? FAT LADY? STILL IN YOUR HELMET?

December 19, 2016

My VW bus!  An old friend and on the freeway for ten miles today, a first in a long time.  Still needs work, but we had some fun today.

What I almost posted on FB was about one Colorado elector I know about who is a young guy from Greeley.  He's a Democrat, but he and his other electors have been discussing going off book to vote for someone else .. maybe a republican?  I found out that yesterday, the day before his important vote casting, he was at a Star Wars Exhibit in Denver!  Not to disparage Star Wars (though Rogue One was a bust to me).. but we now know that at least one elector is just a guy.  In fact, we surmise that all 538 electors are regular people.. with a few politicians tossed in.. Still unsure how you become an elector.. but like Chris Suprun, the Texas elector from Cedar Hill, who stated unequivocolly  that he won't cast a ballot for the orangman because he knows he is not qualified to be the President.!   I sent Chris three pages of mailing labels with names of republican electors hoping he would do as I'd done and drop them a snail mail or Christmas card asking them to vote for anyone but DT. 

We shall see.  Expect a miracle. 

//
Awakening too early this morning, I have errands to run and miles to go.. Wondered how to psychically connect with electors and ask them to please do the right thing.  Made embarrassing comments to a Marine wife who is friends, probably in Colorado who admitted that she voted orange..  Just because someone is not adept in grammar doesn't mean they are stupid, even if the did vote Red.. but it may mean that their education is lacking. (now check me for typos and missed spellings and such?? Yikes).. 

I guess we are all in the dark re: the electoral votes until January 6, 2017?  I wonder if the electoral ballots are secret ballots?  Boy, there's a lot to learn about this stuff! 

michaelsheehan
December 19, 2016  a day that will live in infamy. 

  Chayote fading  12/19/16




Sunday, December 18, 2016

SIT DOWN, FAT LADY! STAND UP THE REST OF US!


 December 18, 2016

Last night on SNL, Kate McKinnon, as HRC, arrives at the door of a receptive young woman and with cards (ala Dylan in that rap thing he did, "Subterranean Homesick Blues" with lyrics on cards) states her case to the woman.. AN ELECTOR.. to vote for ANYONE ELSE.. AND LISTS a bunch of names including The Rock.. or A Rock. It was brilliant. A silent bit with cuts to the elector's responses which seem to be sympathetic and sad. It IS a sad situation for these citizens to have to do something so despicable as to possibly go against their consciences.  Someone wrote that if DT murdered someone in front of the TTower with a hundred witnesses, the Electors would still be 'bound' to cast their ballots for him.

Send out the vibe for Electors to save our Nation. DO SOMETHING! Hold a good thought. If you live in a capitol, head to the steps tomorrow.  
Just be there.  Show up! That is DOING SOMETHING! 

/// 
My concern for the health of our nation is growing.  I use the analogy of the 'fat lady' not singing and hope that fat people don't take offense. It's an old cliche.  There's a story about Betty Garrett that uses that cliche that always makes me smile.  Maybe I'll repeat it later. But, the fact is that it ain't over until it's over and for those who have seen a successful 'Hail Mary' pass or gotten doubles on the last roll of the backgammon dice when foolishly having redoubled or know what 'deus ex machina' is.. then.. I hope that there are enough electors with conscience and guts up (typo-ed 'gust!' to buck the system and do the right thing to fulfill the will of all of the people.  Let the winds blow and crack their cheeks as these thoughtful citizens head to their state capitols to either plunge the United States into the abyss of ignorance or allow us to survive with diplomacy and kindness.  Do they get parking comped? A croissant and some cocoa?

Did you see Rogue One? Did you stay awake? Can  you spell the name of even one of the characters?  Are you happy that so many industry folks made a living?  I'm happy that folks are working, but have no idea how featuring dead people as alive (Peter Cushing! whom I did recognize, but don't know the character name) and introducing Carrie Fisher???  as Princess Leia with five seconds of screen time is good movie making.  Zzzz. 

The chayote shrinks, reminding me again of entropy and time and gravity.  

michaelsheehan
December 18, 2016

 
 Chayote 12/18/16
 

Saturday, December 17, 2016

SUNSHINE ON A CLOUDY DAY



December 17, 2016

Idea..   "SING"  the animated musical with singing, dancing and criminal animals who live in a town that is all animals!  What an idea.. A Gem of an idea.  
 ///

I so resent the military using college football to recruit kids into the ranks.  A woman general with three stars on her shoulders and fruit salad and other jewelry chats with the on field reporter. evidently the Air Force Reserve sponsors the 'celebration' bowl.  I won't capitalize it. NC Central vs Grambling.  All black teams.  Segregation is alive and well.. Played in Atlanta's Georgia Dome.   Cannon Fodder for the conflicts that, should the orangeman actually be installed, are inevitable.  brrr.

The ads for this game!  A very, very, very expensive commercial for the AF Reserve itself. Notably, the pilots in the zillion dollar jet planes are white. The techs are white. There is one image of five men walking away from a plane. One is black.  Few women are featured.  I wonder what the cost of the flyover by the Air Force jets cost?  Do they do an actuarial that figures out how many kids they recruit for what cost per recruit?  Thousands, at least. 

The up side is that these college players have a ton of heart and I hope they wind up in the colors of the NFL and not in air force blues. 

The kicker for the NC Central team is a white kid! Long blonde hair.  Missed the FG attempt.  A huge kid, #54 gets a personal foul for attacking another guy after the play was over.   The kids are fired up, for sure.   

///
The chayote flipped itself to the floor again last night.  As the anniversary of the Porch Project is now five days away, I'll retire the chayote on that day, too. 





































Chayote bites the dust  12/17/16

michael sheehan
December 17, 2016

Friday, December 16, 2016

BIG FAT SIGH

December 16, 2016 

Full of malevolent actors..  fake news.. divide and conquer with fake news that is very similar to legitimate news..  reduce foreign influence?  make politial dialogue more productive:  Points made in 
the final press conference with President Obama. His talk is interrupted by a health issue in the back of the press corps...  the doctor's office is next to the map room..  

The intelligence and thoughtful responses by the President are well presented.  One reporter draws the attention from the election to Aleppo..  (The dangers of what will happen with a loose cannon at the helm are bubbling ..my comment.. )

He continues to use the term "president elect" and the feeling that the election is a done deal.  Sad. 

//  

Pussy Grabber in Chief?  How can I put the blinders on and not see orange?  

//
Obama did not go so far as to discuss what the electors should do.. he did make a point of saying that Wyoming has two senators to represent 500,000 or so folks there and California has two senators to represent almost FORTY MILLION.. do that math and then..  send a prayer.. if you do such a thing.. to each and every elector and ask that THEY.. represent not only their states and the wonky electoral system.. but the population of the United States.  Even with President Obama's seeming concession ..  the fat lady is waiting for her cue or to be sent home.  Send her home, electors.. please.. 

michael sheehan
December 16, 2016
 Chayote  12/16/16

 

Thursday, December 15, 2016

PLEASE!! DO SOMETHING!!

December 15, 2016

To awaken before dawn feeling disrespected by a friend and to feel helpless regarding the looming meeting of the f-ing Electoral College on Monday with the possibility that the "Ship of State" is really sinking with a scoundrel at the helm.. or about to be.. is really disturbing.  A double whammy of a lack of support.  The bad guys are winning.

I have called the Democratic National Committee offices in Washington.  202 863 8000 and sent a message to info@democrats.org asking them to DO SOMETHING..  

An old acquaintance surmises that if Hillary Clinton stepped up and said something that it would be perceived as her being a sore loser!  Why the heck shouldn't she be a sore loser? We are all losers and if we don't start to bail like anything and fix the holes in the ship, sinking into the muck and shit we now are barely floating on will be not much fun.  I hate politics. I hate to use foul language.  Really . really and truly .. 

When supposed friends dismiss me, that feels crappy, too.  I must mention this because it is this lack of support that fuels my rant.  If one can't be supportive, why bring your negativity to the table. Just STFUP..  really..  if I want to bail this crap out of our lives..not just my life, but a majority of the voters in this damned election..  help or shut up.  

What makes people turn on friends?  Just the convenience of having a nay say?  The ease of dismissal? The lack of interest.. certainly the lack of respect.   I believe that one person CAN do something.  I don't know how I sustain remaining hopeful that something will happen at the last minute to save us, but I'd rather be thought a fool than to be still! 

Jumping up and down and waving my arms is a call to the country to do something.  The list of republican electors' addresses was not accurate, btw. One of the guys in Arizona, Ash something.. Bruce Ash? had moved since the list was posted and my card came back.  I wonder how many electors had not kept their addresses current?  One report said that those republican electors have received literally thousands of communications..  emails, phone calls and snail mails.. asking to NOT vote for DT. Colorado electors are threatened with jail and a fine if they don't follow the 'rules.'  Of course, Hamilton made it clear that only a "man" (we have emerged to "person") of good character and with qualifications to do the job of President should be considered by the Electors. I wonder how that jibes with the Colorado ruling that to do the RIGHT THING may land you in jail? AND, be fined as much as a thousand dollars?  Really?

There are holes in the Ship of State. We are beginning to sink.   We are about to lose one of the best skippers the United States has ever had and now a mad pirate is standing at the ready in his gilded wealth with a crew of scurvy rascals who have only their own best interests at hear. Here I am jumping up and down waiving for respect and to, at least, ask to not NOT be shut down by f-ing naysayers in public.   I can't be the only one who sees this unfolding as the worst thing that has happened to the USA since GWB and his ignorance.  

Do something.  Call the DNC.  write an email. 
Please call: 202 863 8000 

Send a message to info@democrats.org 



Respectfully, ask them to DO SOMETHING..  Don't let the naysayers whittle away at the bottom of the ship ..  plug a hole. DO SOMETHING. 

michaelsheehan
december 15, 2016 

Chayote 12/15/16

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

FIX THE CARB AND CHANGE THE PULLY.. DARN IT

December 14, 2016

The fear is palpable..  a NYC real estate broker is willing to give 'him' a chance.  I just can't.  The broker is a friend of a FB friend whom I am not really 'friends' with.  One of those casual connections that we make in the cyberland of illusion where taking things too seriously is a bad idea.  The Broker remembers JFK.  But, he has deals to make and money to make and work to do.

This notice came today.  I need to find out more about this group and send money to them.  I encourage you to find out and donate, too.  This message is articulate and cuts to the quick. The ad calls on each Elector to exercise their right to choose and cast their electoral ballot based on the character and qualifications of the candidates.  As this candidate has no experience as an appointed nor elected official and exhibits erratic behavior, it's time to find another candidate for the United States Presidency.  I'd vote for a do over with careful examination of the issues that have tainted this debacle.  


/// 
My bus is in the shop with 'issues' .. please send Paypal donations to laotzu41@yahoo.com!!!!  Found a new mechanic who is experienced and thorough and speaks perfect English..  I love my retired mechanic and this is in no way a condemnation of his English.. We became friends years ago and he is a wonderful guy.. Retired! 
So.. a thorough going over by the new guy and the walk to and from his shop eliminate a huge hill! 

///  
Leonard Cohen thought for the day:  

"In a blur of blonde air..."

Leonard's prose is very different from his lyrics... sometimes profane..  but the mystery remains.

Michaelsheehan
December 14, 2016

 Chayote 12/14/16

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

ADJUST THE VALVES AND CHANGE THE OIL!

December 13, 2016

Ah.. who cares?  
I've offered to start a fund raiser for the Colorado electors who may go against the rules to not vote for DT.  Who cares?

The United States will survive, but how? Who cares? 

michaelsheehan
December 13, 2016

 Chayote  12/13/16

Monday, December 12, 2016

CONNER, MCCLURE, BERMAN, HERMS, ET AL



December 12, 2016

I have been accused of 'too much navel gazing!' in these daily thoughts.  I think this may have to do with the wiring that we are born with.  Introspection is where I find answers, I think.  And, I have used the word "I" five times in less than a minute!  My critic is might be right!  
Oh well. 
 ////
The artwork of mid 20th Century west coast artists has always inspired me.  The gathering to celebrate some of these people at The Landing Gallery in westerly LA last night was a trip into the past that verified to me what great ideas andart were were happening years ago and continue to happen today.  



Poet Michael McClure
McClure's The Beard poster Such a deal for tickets
 It was a wonderful evening. The staged reading was a trip!

//
With the meeting of the Electoral College looming, this brief exchange from the movie SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE came to mind. Certainly, we have our share of drama these days and with any luck the election will be turned on its ear and something good will happen.  Remembering this scene was a little reassuring.. well..  only a little. It is, of course, the story of almost anyone who has been in the theatre!

Philip Henslowe:
Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.
Hugh Fennyman:
So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe:
Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman:
How?
Philip Henslowe:
I don't know. It's a mystery.

//
The mystery of how the United States will stay united is a mystery that I have some interest in. Allowing it to unfold is one of the most genuinely frightening things I can remember ... Ever.  

michaelsheehan
December 12, 2016
 Chayote 12/12/16