Strange Thing, 31 Jan 2009 – Christmas Tree Dismantling

This may seem strange to some. We try to keep the Christmas tree as long as possible each year. One year it was mid-March before the tree returned to the outdoors (that was back when we cut trees from our own property).Last year it was mid-Feb.
This year, today was the day. We cut the tree [...]

Strange Things, 30 Jan. – Night Sky and Shotgun Shell Lights

Venus and the moon aren’t strange (or are they?), but this photo is. I took it last night:
And today, I shot one of the shotgun shell-themed strands of  lighting at a local restaurant, which I’ve always thought strange:

War-Haunted

Leningrad (St. Petersburg) during WWII, and now, blended.
As someone commented: eerie, beautiful, despondent…
The Seige of Leningrad during WWII lasted from Sept. 1941 – Jan. 1944, during which time from 640,000-800,000 Russians died, many from cold and hunger.  More here, and here. via Warren Ellis.

Strange Thing, 29 Jan. – Ice Stalagmite

This was in my freezer today:
Note ice talon pointing upward.  How did this stalagmite come to be?

Robins

Noticed the first robin of the season up here about two weeks ago. Today, there are dozens in the trees around our house.  Most of their breasts are a deep deep orangey red.
Here are a few photos:

Weather tidbits, and birds

We got 7-10″ of snow yesterday, then some sleet, then freezing rain, and then more snow. Closer to the coast, there was more ice.
While I was in the coffee shop today, reading in Car and Driver about a $122,000 Aston Martin Vantage (15 mpg!), I overheard two middle-aged men having a conversation in which one [...]

Strange Things

“If you haven’t found something strange during the day, it hasn’t been much of a day.” — John Wheeler
For a while, I’m going to post one strange thing per day. Something that I find while walking, overhear while eavesdropping, see on TV, think, read in a book, notice in the yard, catch the dog doing, [...]

Proust Questionnaire – My Responses

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Walking on the beach at Jekyll Island. Leisurely train travel. Photographing plants. No worries.
2. What is your greatest fear?
Suffering a long and painful death. Violent death. Dying away from home and my dog not being found for days and giving up hope. Violent death for my dog or other loved [...]

Proust Questionnaire

I’ve come across reference to the Proust Questionnaire from time to time and wondered about it. It’s something Vanity Fair magazine uses as an interview tool, borrowed apparently from a parlor-game questionnaire that Marcel Proust answered twice in his life, at age 13 and at 20.
Some of the responses to the VF questionnaire over the [...]

Magically Scientific?

In Kwara State, Nigeria, police are holding a goat on suspicion of attempted armed robbery.
‘Vigilantes’ brought it in, claiming that it’s “an armed robber who had used black magic to transform himself into a goat to escape arrest after trying to steal a Mazda 323.” Apparently, as the vigilantes were chasing the suspected robbers, one [...]