There’s a disturbing news report on the radio today. Information seems to be sketchy, but apparently there’s been some activity related to the planet Mars. The Red Planet last night passed very close to Earth, and astronomers observed some sort of energy spike that appeared aimed at Earth coincident with that pass. A short time later, a number of meteors were reported to have come down in different spots of the country. Again, it’s unclear at this point whether these incidents are related. Now there’s news that police have responded to some strange activity in rural New Jersey. Crowds have gathered at one or two of the impact sites, and apparently some press are rushing to get coverage of the event.
Perhaps there are some Tribbers in that area could head over there to give us some first-hand reports. DC is remarkably calm at this hour, but I’ll head out later in the day to see if there is any sort of Federal response. Let’s keep on top of this story, folks, but let’s also keep our heads and not get carried away, shall we?
Today’s Café is open.
Just posted on last nights Cafe, reposted here now:
I still can’t shake the film, Capote, which I saw Friday night.
I’d read nearly all the reviews at RottenTomatoes.com, so I was a little worried that my expectations were way too high. It doesn’t usually pay to go to a movie when that’s the case — usually I’ll wait until some of the hype dies down.
But I was compelled for a lot of reasons to go on opening night, and I’m very glad I did. My expectations, if anything, were exceeded.
It is a jewel of a movie. There is nothing extra, nothing rushed, nothing dull. Every word and camera angle and prop has a purpose within the context of the story.
It is the story of how Truman Capote came to write his masterpiece, In Cold Blood — the years he spent researching, the interviews, the travel, the waiting.
So, a great deal of it takes place in Kansas where I moved just 1 1/2 years after the events in the story. And one of my fears was that the people of Kansas would be portrayed in the usual way as hillbilly crackers. I was terribly relieved that they weren’t at all. Far from it, in fact. (I can say that much, I think without spoiling the show)
Another fear was that this would be a devastatingly depressing film. I really couldn’t imagine that, with such a subject, it wouldn’t be. But while it was certainly serious, it was not morbid or heavy.
I’ve heard so much about Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s performance — and it was as flawless as they say. But the other actors, Catherine Keener as Nelle Harper Lee & Bruce Greenwood as Jack Dunphy, Capote’s partner & Clifton Collins Jr. as Perry Smith — even the ones farther down the list (Bob Balaban as William Shawn & Amy Ryan as Marie Dewey) were flawless.
While the story of the Clutter murder are important to the film, this movie isn’t a retelling of In Cold Blood. And it isn’t really a “Bio Pic” — we don’t learn the intimate details of Truman Capote’s life.
It’s a film about writing a book. And I still can’t figure out how they translated such an internal process into this movie.
Happy Day to you!
Someone has already put together a transcript here: http://members.aol.com/jeff1070/script.html
and there’s an mp3 of the radio coverage here: http://sounds.mercurytheatre.info/mercury/381030.mp3
So what is the President doing? Reading children’s books again? Or is he doing his morning constitutional on the exercise bike?
He’s sleeping in an extra hour, probably.
Need. Coffee. Now.
Later
Peace
Good morning! Now, this is the height of high-tech indulgence… I’m sitting here in my ‘jammies, watching my sister run the Marine Corps Marathon in downtown DC, on my computer. She ran about a mile and a half while I was fixing breakfast. I just watch the yellow dot on the map of the marathon route, which winds all around Rock Creek Park, along the Potomac River, the touristy area of the Mall, around the Tidal Basin and through Arlington Cemetery. Pace was 11:07, which sounds pretty good for a 46-year-old.
They put a computer chip on each runner’s shoelaces, and that’s how you can track the individual time for 30,000 runners, and also allow for a staggered start, because that’s three times as many runners as they’ve allowed in past years.
Technology is wonderful.
to put in their teenagers shoes?
Beautiful day for a 26.2 mile run, certainly!
She’s now past the half-way mark (her time was 2:27:39 at the halfway point), and running down the river side of the island (I should know its name, but I don’t), then she will loop back on the harbor side, cross the river again, and run through Arlington. Then she will meet up with her husband and daughter and go eat lots of carbs… Y’all can see the route here: http://www.marinemarathon.com.
And I am getting dressed and going to a party/open house at some friends’ house, where we can view the fall colors in three states (MD, WV and VA) from their porch, enjoy lots of kosher-vegetarian food, and lots of music… harps and drums and recorders and pennywhistles and whatever else people bring, plus four-part harmony at the drop of anyone’s hat.
Hope that little ruckus in New Jersey that Brother Feldspar is reporting doesn’t turn into anything serious…. 🙂
See you all later!
The marathon tracking is very, very cool as is the thought of enjoying “enjoy lots of kosher-vegetarian” (giving me mouth-watering visions of kugel and blintzes) while listening to harp music.
However, I thought you were going to give us a halloween story to go with my spooky abandoned cabin.
Halloween’s tomorrow… I’ll see what I can dig up. 😉
Following the radio announcer tradition, I figure it’s time to sign off the fall colors series.
Yet another view of the camp’s lake, this time in the rain.
Forest light through the pines
Thanks for sharing this beauty, Andi.
Thanks katiebird. I find so much joy and comfort in nature and I always hope that pictures I post give a bit of both to everyone who views them.
Well, I’ve been doing this for a couple of weeks now and I thought people were probably suffering a bit of “leaf fatigue”.
Everything has turned or started to turn now, except the oaks and a large chunk of the beeches and they are so late that I’m betting that they go straight to brown when they finally do turn.
No leaf fatigue here! I’m waiting for the leaves to start turning in earnest here. Yesterday I raked my sister’s yard so my nieces could have a pile to jump in, and the pile we gathered was scarcely large enough for them to jump in safely. “Next week it’ll be bigger & better” I told them. “I certainly hope so” was under my breath.
I know that I don’t thank you (or any of the photographers) enough. But, your photos are one of the reasons I enjoy the Cafe so much.
I really rely on seeing them here.
You’re always very appreciative of the photos that people put up.
BTW, kansas hasn’t actually declared a winner but it certainly looks like “Oh pure” crushed the competition.
And I’m so relieved. That book is already overdue by a week, now I can renew it!
You noticed my odd silence?
We do have a winner, but I can’t announce it until we know the Powell’s price, for sure. Susan had the lovely idea of talking to them to see if we might bring that cost down a bit so people will be more willing to buy it from them. As soon as she hears from them, she’ll let me know,and I’ll jump in and shout GO.
One way or another, it’s definitely that book though, Katiebird, so those of you getting it from a library are good to GO.
I ordered it last night, and it’s a Rule of the Universe that an item’s price will be marked down immediately after I buy it.
The rest of us thank you for that.
They do. I’ll miss the autumn series but now I look forward to your winter wonders. Thanks so much. You and Gooserock and Olivia and everybody who brings beauty to the cafe are much appreciated.
Thanks. We don’t get a lot of snow down here but I like the way the woods looks when the trees are bare and you can see the shape of the forest. Though I think I’ll probably post vacation pics for awhile.
Did you see Olivia’s rose picture from Saturday? I was just blown away by it.
I missed it. Where is it? I NEED to see it. Olivia has a real talent. Thanks.
Here’s a link to comment with the picture.
And there’s a link to a larger version — the link is in the text below the image.
Thanks much. Gee!! How could I have missed that? I must have been asleep.
I’ve never SEEN pollen sacks on bees before….or on anything else, for that matter.
Wonderful, Olivia!
It looks to me like they’re just getting started.
Great pictures as always Andi!
Please don’t sign off the Fall Edition yet. Looks like there is plenty of green left that is itching to change.
I love your eye for beauty and light. Really wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
to brown nose, dontcha 😉
Well, as I said above, I think that everything that hasn’t changed is probably going straight to brown because it is so late (the peak color should have been 2-3 weeks ago) but if there are still nice shots to be had, I’ll certainly post them — I can never resist showing off the woods.
Hee Hee! Wonderful!
I just ran out into the yard to snap a picture of a Bigleaf Maple which is the ubiquitous maple in the Puget Area. It looks innocent enough until you note the 16″ MARK on the ruler. The leaf stem is a foot long.
Click on the image if you don’t believe the 16″ claim.
These are magnificent trees but as you see, their brown is not to be compared to Eastern Maple color. They take only a quick pass through pale yellow on the way to brown. So keep that color coming! Thanks.
Heavens! Those trees must be hard-hat areas during autumn.
Cold winds are blowin’ Mr. Bush.
We’re well along in the annual change from the vivid blues & greens of summer to greyscales of the cold months. But it was a treat this morning to see some new snow on the Olympics spotlighted in sun with everything else shaded.
Do you have this view from your home? Absolutely gorgeous!
Within a dog walk we can peak at mountain views, get access to a small salt water beach, and see views of the Sound.
We can’t even spell the amount of money it’d take to buy here. It’s a very transient rental we stumbled into wholey by accident, quite a blessing while it lasts.
Although I’m not so sure about the accident. For several years I had that stupid bird sitting outside my window in our forest-bound double-wide trailer rental, screaming “SEA-view!!” at me every 30 seconds each morning. Maybe she had something to do with it.
That is a fascinating picture — I love its spectacular layering. The Olympics are a truly awesome (in the old meaning of the word) place. The loop hike past Heather Park to Klahhane and Hurricane Ridges and then down past Lake Angeles is one of our all time favorites.
Thanks for the great fall/leaf pictures. I grew up in Wisconsin and now live in central Ca. where there just isn’t anything to compare to what I grew up seeing every fall……my roundabout way of saying I love the pictures…all of them and the picture of the mountains is an amazing photo.
Literally — my voice is fading in and out, a consequence of waaaaay too much shouting at the Sharks game last night. The spouse and I were sitting right behind the Calgary radio announcers, so Catnip, if you heard a very obnoxious person in the background of the broadcast last night, well, that would be me. 😉 (Actually, I was a relatively good girl — no profanity! “Crud” was about my strongest swear word…)
Awesome game last night; for about 3/4 of the game, the Flames dominated, then momentum totally shifted to the Sharks and they came back to tie the game, then won it in the new overtime shootout. It was great! And we had enough time to walk over to the train station to catch the train going home; we were probably home before some folks got out of the post-game traffic jam. 😉
Going to take it relatively easy today; have some hot tea for my throat, watch some football, catch a couple of naps, maybe tackle the sweater boxes (brought them in yesterday) so I can get them ready for wearing or donation.
Have a great day, folks…
for the good thoughts, virtual hugs, etc. last night — just went over and caught up on the “fish boil” Cafe. [Reminds me — I should head over to the Fish Market later this week and pick up a couple of good fillets for dinner; there’s a great recipe in one of my American Heart Association cookbooks.] Yeah, it’s been tough at times, but the upside is that I don’t put off any of the things that I really want to do, because I never know how long I’ll be around to actually do them… 🙂
Okay, retiring to the couch soon…
Hello all, sorry to be late to the cafe but I was delayed from illness due to the morning talk shows….
War of the worlds, very interesting subject, very interesting the reaction and possibly how this one broadcast may have shaped views that live even unto today…
As I said in another comment this morning, I am not running on all 8’s due to exhaust fumes from news shows, so if I am not making sense that is the reason.
Andi, I too love your fall pics and can’t wait for your snow pics. I would also like to see pics of rain if anyone has any…..love the rain and snow….
Now for my breakfast of pate on crackers!!!!!
Another thing to try — pate on apple slices! There’s a cafe up in Menlo Park, Cafe Borrone; my in-laws went there for an early dinner one afternoon (they go out for a light dinner and to do their Marriage Encounter “homework” once a week or so), and they had a pate that was delicious, and it was served with both crackers (the Carr’s water crackers, or something similar) and thinly sliced apples. There was so much of the pate they brought some home, then invited me and the spouse up for dinner so I could share the leftover pate (the spouse doesn’t care for it — his loss!), and mom-in-law did the sliced apples like they did at Cafe Borrone. Hmmm…I need to get up to Cafe Borrone very soon…
I have some Milton all natural crackers and they are delish….I will try the apple slices as well.
I made pasta salad yesterday with feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes, broccoli and onions and I am having that as well today..
I am so happy to finally have some of my favorite foods in stock, why did I ever resort to tv dinners I ask myself, when I could have had this….did I mention rosemary and olive bread….yummmm warm with butter slathered..
Maybe on Tuesday, I’ll go for a walk in the Chartreuse massif:
It’s so wonderful at this time of the year…
Thank you, Melanchthon. This is stunning. We who live in the USA need to be reminded that this is a big beautiful world with grandeur and beauty everywhere in it. Intellectually we know this, but it’s wonderful to see pictures from elsewhere since we can’t often get there. France looks to be especially lovely.
very jealous of your hiking options. That is just beautiful.
Well, Lyon is very well located for hiking. The Chartreuse massif is about 40 minutes drive from my home, and Vercors (see below) about 1h30…
Whenever you come to France, we can plan a few walks there…
I’ll make an effort to get there. So far the closest I’ve gotten is Brussels but that was for work with very little time left for playing.
Except for the heavy vegetation, this formation looks like something you would find in southern Utah.
I just noticed that my comment with the pic of the Bigleaf Maple appears immediately after Gooserock’s comment, which makes it appear like I’m a “monkey see, monkey do”.
I added my comment way after he did. In fact I hadn’t seen his comment. But they ended up together. How does that happen? Is this one of the dangers in a two-computer family where both members love to talk?
Just so you all know….I am NOT a “monkey see, monkey do” kinda girl. But I do love to share my opinions. 😉
It’s because you were the next comment at the same level as Gooserock. There are three comments at the first level (that is, comments which are a direct reply to mine): katiebird, Gooserock, and you. All the other replies are part of the thread belonging to katiebird’s comment.
Ah HA!! I see. Thanks.
Great seasonal pix up today. I`ll ask Katiebird to put up 2 for cabingirl at the cafe, & one for herself. A good day to all of you.
Feldspar, a perfect Halloween theme for today’s cafe. I was out with the Dobsonian last night. Spent two hours taking in Mars. I wish they would have released the new War of the Worlds in time for Halloween. Watching that movie I can’t shake the feeling Tom Cruise is an Iraqi running from the American war machine. Then the invaders (US) try to turn the earth (Iraq) into an image of the homeland. Just a thought for Halloween. Enjoy tomorrow. Its fun to be scared, I’ve clung to that thought through the whole bush administration.
I`ve been focusing my time at night on mars & also Andromeda.
Andromeda directly overhead at 10:00 PM PDT. Mars should be nice tomorrow with Halloweens matching color.
I thought of it but had the high powered lenses in to look at Mars. I never changed out. Andromeda is high up there should be a good view. Its awesome to think its a million light yrs away and bigger than our Milky Way galaxy. Astronomy can really give you some perspective.
I was out last night too, w/ the bro-in-law, bro-in-law’s dad, and bro-in-law’s dad’s ‘scope. (Did you get all that?) The atmospherics were too poor to get a good image, unfortunately, but I did see two (2!) shooting stars, which I thought was pretty cool. Bro-in-law’s dad and I will need to combine his ‘scope with my digital SLR in the near future to experiment with some astrophotography. As for the WotW movie, I never did see the remake from earlier this summer, tho I do have a yen to watch the 50s version.
Cheers, mate, don’t get sick on too much candy!
Its definitely neat to see Mars in all its glory. Fiery red, you think how ancient man was affected when Mars was close like this. I think people had a much closer relationship with the night sky before about 100 yrs ago.
The 50s version of WoW is good try to see the new one I think its out Nov. 12th. You feel helpless watching the whole deal unfold. Its very good. Fear throughout.
Given all the Celtic associations to this time of year, and the post-time-change early darkness, it seems a good time for some moody Irish music.
In Irish traditional music there are a number of “hag” tunes that are old favorites and always popular among players and dancers. At an Irish-trad jam session, if one hag tune is played, it’s not unusual for a number of others to be offered up in quick succession.
Here is a set of 4 ‘hag’ jigs. 3 are in the key of Dmix which is D mixolydian. That means that most of the scale is your normal major-key do-re-mi scale, until the last note C or “ti” which is minor. Many 60’s pop tunes were mixolydian, including “Paperback Writer” and “Last Train to Clarksville.”
I don’t know who these hags are, but just based on their tunes, if I were still single I’d marry any of them.
T:The Hag with the Money
R:jig
M:6/8
K:Dmix
|:Adc ~A3|AGE ~G3|Adc ABA|GEA GED|Adc ~A3|AGE ~G3|AGE cde|dcA GED:|
|:AB^c d2e|fed ed^c|AB^c dcd|fag ed^c|AB^c d2e|fed efg|age ^cde|d^cA GED:|
The key changes to a light-hearted G major for the next one.
T:The Hag at the Spinning Wheel
R:jig
M:6/8
K:G
~G3 B2B|BcA B2D|~G3 cAG|F2G AFD|~G3 B2B|BcA B2g|fed cAF|1 ~G3 G2D:|2 ~G3 G2c||
|:BAG AFD|~D3 AFD|~D3 AFD|EFG ABc|BAG AFD|~D3 AFD|ded cAF|1 ~G3 G2c:|2 ~G3 G2D||
|:GBd gba|gdB ecA|dBG cAG|EFG AFD|GBd gba|gdB ecA|fed cAF|1 GAG G2D:|2 GAG G2c||
|:BAG Agd|Bgd Agd|Bgd cBA|EFG ABc|BAG AFD|~D3 AFD|ded cAF|1 GAG G2c:|2 GAG G2D||
About a second after the third tune opens, if there’s a piper in the session, he’ll kick in his D drone sound to cast an ominous brooding quality over the rest of the set.
This piece is said to be an old tune that deals with various problems of witches vs. butter. If a witch was present in the house, the churn wouldn’t make butter. Witches, however, couldn’t stand this tune, so it would be played or lilted by mouth during churning to annoy them away.
T:Hag at the Churn, The
R:jig
M:6/8
K:Dmix
A2G ADD|A2G Adc|A2G ADD|EFG EFG:|
AdB c2G|Add efg|1 AdB c2G|EDE GED:|2 fge dcA|GEA GED||
Finally, one of the most famous of the hag tunes, which reached commercial audiences twice in the mid 70’s, on the Chieftain’s Bonaparte’s Retreat 6th album, and as the title track of the groundbreaking Bothy Band’s 2nd album. I have never found out what the title refers to, but somehow it has an air of believeability.
For those of you who try to play these tunes on instruments or downloaded ABC software, you’ll note that this tune and the set ends abruptly, unresolved on the wrong note in the middle of the scale.
Yep. Welcome to Celtic music.
T:Old Hag You Have Killed Me
R:jig
M:6/8
K:Dmix
|:FDD 2cA|ded cAG|~A3 ABG|ABA A2G|FDD 2cA|ded cAF|~G3 GcA|1 GcA GAG:|2 GcA G2g||
|:~f2d g2e|fed cAG|~A3 ABG|ABG A2g|1 ~f2d g2e|fed cAF|~G3 GcA|GcA G2g:|
2 fdf ~3g|afd cAF|~G3 GcA| GcA G||
I’m leaving for work in a few minutes — but I just wanted to stop in and say, “HI!”.
Today it’s just work this morning, then I’m off to the eye doctor and picking out eye glasses.
Have a scary day!