October, 2009 archive
All Hallows’ Eve 0
The steeples are white in the wild moonlight,
And the trees have a silver glare;
Past the chimneys high see the vampires fly,
And the harpies of upper air,
That flutter and laugh and stare.
For the village dead to the moon outspread
Never shone in the sunset’s gleam,
But grew out of the deep that the dead years keep
Where the rivers of madness stream
Down the gulfs to a pit of dream.
A chill wind blows through the rows of sheaves
In the meadows that shimmer pale,
And comes to twine where the headstones shine
And the ghouls of the churchyard wail
For harvests that fly and fail.
Not a breath of the strange grey gods of change
That tore from the past its own
Can quicken this hour, when a spectral power
Spreads sleep o’er the cosmic throne,
And looses the vast unknown.
So here again stretch the vale and plain
That moons long-forgotten saw,
And the dead leap gay in the pallid ray,
Sprung out of the tomb’s black maw
To shake all the world with awe.
And all that the morn shall greet forlorn,
The ugliness and the pest
Of rows where thick rise the stones and brick,
Shall some day be with the rest,
And brood with the shades unblest.
Then wild in the dark let the lemurs bark,
And the leprous spires ascend;
For new and old alike in the fold
Of horror and death are penned,
For the hounds of Time to rend.
Via Dragonbytes.
This Makes Too Much Sense To Ever Happen 0
Jersey Devil 0
No, not the guy behind you on the Turnpike.
The real thing.
Follow the link and read all about it.
I’ve been to the Pine Barrens. They are indeed kind of spooky. And within them is a huge tract of miniature pine forest, fully grown and formed and three feet tall.
That’s even spookier.
“This Way In” (Updated) 0
More here.
(Click for a larger image.)
Addendum:
I was on the road all day and behind in my reading.
This post and its comments fit with the cartoon above.
Faith is not about jots and tittles in books, nor about men’s and women’s judging and condemning other men and women, though many seem to build their faith on the condemning of others.
It is not about living narrowly, emptily seeking justification in contrasting one’s own virtue with the unspeakable failure of the [insert condemned group here].
It is about oneself, not about others.
It is about living charitably and justly.
To the extent that one’s faith is contingent on the disparagement of others, one has not faith.
If You Have a Stolen Car 0
It’s probably a good idea not to try to sell it in a public forum:
Craig Cunha, of the first block of Peach Road in Elkton, was charged Tuesday with one count of felony theft and conspiracy, said Newark police spokesman Lt. Brian Henry.
Then, again, maybe he thought it was his own list.
As I write this, I wonder about the “conspiracy” charge. Can one be charged with conspiring with oneself?
Dustbiters 0
They all bit the dust after I retired for the evening. Quite a body count.
Ahh, the geniuses of the fee hand of the market.
- North Houston Bank, Houston, Texas
Madisonville State Bank, Madisonville, TX
Citizens National Bank, Teague, Texas
Park National Bank, Chicago, Illinois
Pacific National Bank, San Francisco, California
California National Bank, Los Angeles, California
San Diego National Bank, San Diego, California
Nucking Futs 0
Any fool can file a lawsuit.
It is a one of the glories of American jurisprudence.
Fortunately, the law does not take kindly to fools.
Deer Me 0
Wilmington Hospital is in the heart of downtown Wilmington, adjacent to Brandywine Park, shown here under water.
You know the deer are desperate if they want to eat in the hospital cafeteria.
Whirlybirds (Updated) (Updated Again) 0
There about three helicopters buzzing around over the Delaware River this morning. The last time I woke up to this, some fool had driven off the interstate onto the Amtrak railroad line, ruining a lot of commutes.
Updates when the sun comes up.
Addendum:
This may be it.
Why they need three choppers to look at a collision I don’t know.
Addendum-de-dum-dum:
My brother sent me a text saying there is a missing boater on the river.
Addendum-de-la-la:
It was probably the boater. The boat was found just down the hill about a mile upriver from me.
Honoring the Fallen 1
Mithras reports that President Obama went to Dover to salute the fallen and points out that Bush never went to Dover.
Bushes, in fact, tried to hide Dover.
“Too Privileged To Prosecute” 0
Holy ten to twenty, Batman, we can’t hold them accountable because they are “too privileged to prosecute“!
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
I Missed the Game . . . 0
. . . But I like the results:
. . . the Phils defeated the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the 105th World Series, 6-1.
Aside: I have a friend in the western, that is, the Yankee side of Connecticut. She text messaged that she’s wearing red to the office today to irritate the Yankees fans.
I’m not a big one for rubbing it in, but, since Yankees fans are at least as irritating as (and much more smug than) Phillies fans, I said, “Go for it.”
Stray Thought 0
Parts of a house get awfully dirty in 24 years.
Rated “R” for “Republican” 0
More news from the Sanfordized state:
He had an 18 year-old-girlwoman, one of those drugs you keep getting spam about, and at least one BOB.*
He did not reportedly have any hiking shoes or a compass for his Appalachian Trail.
Aside: This wouldn’t be news except for all the Republican “family values” hypocrisy.
Via Mithras.
______________
*Battery Operated Boyfriend.
Sermon in the Valley? 2
“We could find ourselves in a situation where we’re accused of inciting someone,” Jackson said of pastors who oppose homosexuality. “I am categorically opposed to the hate crimes bill.”
Just what type of sermons does he preach that he thinks will incite listeners to violence? Don’t sound like a rather well-know sermon that was given on a mount.
Inquisitorial minds want to know.
Twits on Twitter 1
Never has one of my posts’ titles been so appropriate.
(snip)
According to Twitter, Inc., the fake posts violated the immensely popular social networking system’s anti-impersonation policy.
Via Andrew Sullivan.
