100 Peacemakers

I assembled the 100 peacemaker stamps into a single sheet!

National Book Festival 2012

Went down to The Mall this afternoon to check out the National Book Festival. It's been going on for 10 years now, but I'd never taken the time to go before.

The view at the top of the Metro stop is that of a circus. Tents up and down The Mall with banners declaring their genre or target audience or affiliation.

Author Maria Dueñas ("The Seamstress" & "The Time in Between") interacting with members of the audience in the Fiction and Mystery tent.

A middle school student shares a book review in the Pavilion of the States.

But the goal and gem of my visit: Nikky Finney.

Nikky is a professor of writing at the University of Kentucky and the winner of the National Book award in 2011 for her collection of poems, "Head Off & Split." She was amazing and warm and insightful and above all generous. It wasn't long before I found my heart inexplicably stuck in my throat and there was no way to push it back down into my chest.

To thank the audience for their presence with her, she finished with this quote: "Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer." ~ Simone Weil

Standing ovation and gesture of appreciation to her sign language translator.

On to other sights, e-books! and the DIGITALBookmobile.

The Teens and Children's tent was a bit deceptively titled as it was really a vendors paradise!

From a Wells Fargo photo opt, to....

....a Lego promotional.

Complete with a Lego sculpture!

The PBS tent offered a very popular loggia of photo opts, too.

As best I could tell, these are The Okee Dokee Brothers performing at the Family Storytelling Stage.

Last stop, the Barnes & Noble tent to get a copy of Nikky's book.

Then a once around the author's signature tents! At a glance, I figured 2,000 people. Nikky wasn't scheduled to do signings for another hour and fifteen minutes and her line had already begun to form. I wanted to get a signature, but decided to opt for a letter of appreciation.

Emoticon Hits 30!

In 1982, the first :-) appeared on the internet, sent in an email by professor Scott Fahlman of Carnegie Mellon University.

Today's Sermon

The new interphase @ Blogger ignores my shift command...if it ain't broke why do they always insist on "fixing it!"?

Four Commemorated For Their Roles In Medical History

Volunteer Geranium

As I weeded around my fountain I spied an amazing little fellow. This sweet little geranium.

I had planted geraniums around the base of the fountain, but they didn't like the shady locale, so they didn't do well and faded away. I gave up on them, and here one of them managed to toss off a viable seed. A seed that grew and now sends up its blossom of hope on the day of the autumnal equinox.

Weeding Violets

There's something about weeding violets that just doesn't feel right. But that's because I didn't grow in a place where violets grew like dandelions. I grew up with dandelions!

This specimen was just too beautiful, too complete with it's intricate lattice of roots. The others went to the compost pile--nothing is wasted. This one became the subject of my imagination...

And now I will see if violets can grow hydroponically!

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Coming Week ~ September 23rd to September 30th

Presidential Race Map #13

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Coming Week ~ September 16th to September 22nd

Earth Postage Stamps--Peacemaker Series #100

This is the final stamp of 100 in my peacemaker series.

From Bob Marley to Rachel Cory, from Mahatma Gandhi to Eleanor Roosevelt it's been over a year of wonderful explorations and discoveries.

Presidential Race Map 2012 - #12

Little has changed in the numbers. North Carolina continues to wobble on the fence. Missouri has moved further in Romney's direction, while Michigan has become solidly Obama's with a 10 point lead, and pivotal Ohio continues to hold a far margin for Obama as well.

Today, if Obama were even to loose all five of the iffy Democratic leaning states, he would still win re-election by a margin of 18 electoral votes.

What I'm Watching #293

I watched this really bad movie today. 10 Things I Have About You is part of my quest to see all of the movies that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been in. In my humble opinion, he's one of the young actors whose work will eventually come to define the critical essence of his generation of actors--not the whores and self-indulgent pretty boys who snark at one another over the spotlight, but the truly and entirely real yet transcendent talents. Actors who are interesting to watch.

This was perhaps is his first big role in a film since taking on the sitcom 3rd Rock From The Sun. He actually made it while still participating in the show. He's clearly both enjoying the experience and learning from it. The movie itself suffers from just about every flaw a film could. The most interesting things about it are it's location and the boom camera! There is also a performance by the young Heath Ledger, who looks so much like the more mature Joseph Gordon-Levitt does today--I found that to be a little freaky.

Bonnie Prince, Her Majesty's Finest Have Your Back!

After much broohaha was made of Bonnie Prince Harry's naked partying in Las Vegas in August, and the tabloids had their fun with it, and the Royal Family seemed embarrassed and chastened the young prince, it seems the last word was still to be had. And had it was! Members of Royal Armed Forces have an opinion about the incident, too. Bravo!

Today's Sermon

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Coming Week ~ September 9th to September 15th

RCES: National Blue Ribbon School

Today the school I have worked at for the past 18 years was named a National Blue Ribbon School! WOO WOO~

Costa Rican Quake - 7.6 - 4 SEPT 12

Prince Henry!

Has a dick! Who knew? Honestly, it's no big deal. Trust me, I know.

Lunch...

Okay, I shared a recent breakfast and a dinner, so here's today's lunch. Summer squash lightly breaded and sauteed and homemade tabouli salad.