2021 is looking good

I haven’t posted to this blog for so long that I thought I should at least note the year, 2021, and the fact that America is breathing again after four years of madness.

I can barely begin to communicate the relief I feel with Joe Biden as President, and Kamala Harris as Vice President, but this photograph, taken during a drive up into the hills around our house on Inauguration Day, captures a tiny part of it.

The battery in one of our cars was flat after covid disuse, and after a jump start, I drove into the hills with no plan other than to try to give the battery a little charge.

The day was warm (Wednesday, January 20th), I had the windows down, and I just meandered, following my instinct, rather than any particular geography.

I had NPR playing, and the realization that the hell of Trump was over, came like the warm breeze through the windows and the beautiful hills and winding roads ahead of me.

I believe that Biden and Harris will prove to be surprisingly progressive and effective, hopefully a mix of FDR and LBJ at their best.

I’m sure they have a far more certain sense of direction than I had that day, but a little meandering is useful sometimes, because you chance upon hidden treasures, and perhaps radically new ideas.

In any case, I am thrilled that we have a new direction as a nation, and if by some miracle (given the craven cowardice of most of the Republican half of the Senate), we can convict Trump for inciting the bloody insurrection of 1/6 and disqualify him from ever holding office again, I feel that America will be a safer democracy going forward.

While always accepting the immense challenges we face, and the harsh realities of governing, my hopes are high.

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The High Tower Apartments and The Long Goodbye

Photograph by Dwayne Moser. This beautiful apartment complex in Los Angeles is called the Hightower or High Tower Complex (the High Tower name refers to the central elevator, I believe), and was designed in 1935-1936 by architect Carl Kay - and made famous in 1973 by my favorite film, Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (see Why I Love Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye ). Although Altman used the building as Philip Marlowe's apartment in his somewhat post-modern Long Goodbye (the film plays with references to Old Hollywood and opens and closes with the song, Hooray For Hollywood ), the building has another direct connection to Raymond Chandler. It was apparently the inspiration for Chandler in his book, The High Window (the first Chandler novel I ever read), in which Chandler describes the residence of Philip Marlowe as being on the cliffs above High Tower Drive in a building with a fancy elevator tower. (Thanks to the Society of Architectural Historians Southern

Thank You Sonora ER, Dr Trujillo and Dr Johnson.

Microphone stand designed by Hudson. Our eight year old son, Hudson, has been having severe abdominal pain over the past week to ten days, and this week we took him to see Dr Jennifer Neufeld-Trujillo , one of our regular pediatricians at the Forest Road Pediatric Clinic in Sonora, and also to ER at Sonora Regional Medical Center. We just want to say a big thank you to everyone - including all the very friendly and helpful staff at ER - for their care of and concern for Hudson, who is gradually starting to feel better. We would also like to make a special mention of Dr Lisa Johnson , who was on call tonight for Forest Road Pediatrics, and who had a long telephone conversation with me, in which she answered many questions with a depth of knowledge and experience that was both highly reassuring and informative, and who left us feeling confident that we are on the right path for the weekend - always a difficult time when your child is not feeling well. Hopefully, Hudson will cont

Hyperbole And A Half - Why I'll Never Be An Adult

All images copyright 2010-2012 Allie and Hyperbole And A Half. These images are from one of my absolute favorite online comic strips/blogs/sites, Hyperbole And A Half by Allie . This particular post is called: This Is Why I'll Never Be An Adult - and these are just a few selected panes from a very funny and telling sequence: To check out the entire strip, go to this particular link for Hyperbole And A Half. You might also want to check out the Hyperbole And A Half Store , which has many goodies such as this wonderful Bird T-shirt . Other designs can be applied to whole variety of products, such as T-shirts, mugs and iPhone cases (please note that not all designs are available for every product). I love the Bird T-shirt because it makes me think of our much adored lovebird, Miso, who I'm certain spends a great deal of his life squawking these words in a language we can't comprehend because we're too stupid: Please visit Hyperbole And A

Alexander Stuart

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