8/28/07 Perfect Beach Day Video (poor quality)

Perfect Beach Day -- The Sunset 7:15ish

Perfect Beach Day

Blue sky. Perfect temp and humidity. Almost no bugs. 11:45 to sunset. 2 naps. 2 long iPod walks. Beyond spectacular.

"...Everywhere I turn all the beauty just keeps shaking me.
Running - end - earth - swimming - edge - sea - laughing - under - starry sky
This world was meant for me..." (Indigo Girls, "World Falls")

Elsewhere

This Sarah McLachlan song might as well be an ode to Provincetown written by moi.

I love the time and in between
the calm inside me
in the space where I can breathe
I believe there is a
distance I have wandered
to touch upon the years of
reaching out and reaching in
holding out holding in

I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as I can be
left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand

I know this love is passing time
passing through like liquid
I am drunk in my desire...
but I love the way you smile at me
I love the way your hands reach out and hold me near...
I believe...

I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand

Oh the quiet child awaits the day when he can break free
the mold that clings like desperation
Mother can't you see I've got
to live my life the way I feel is right for me
might not be right for you but it's right for me...
I believe...

I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand it

I would like to linger here in silence
if I choose to
would you understand it
would you try to understand...

Paula Poundstone

Saw her with a sold-out crowd at a steaming hot UU meeting room/church. 2 hours! She can talk and talk but she is quick and funny. The way she "interviews" audience members and works the material into comedy is pretty awesome.

She told a funny story about her daughter's school that asks parents to sign a pledge about children using non-profane language in school. Poundstone combined this rule with another absurd one that requires parents to write a "comfort" note for teachers to keep on file in case an earthquake or disaster separates children from parents for a long time. She wrote her daughter a note that said: "Now would be a good time to say 'fuck' ".

S.H.: Letter to the editors of Nature

Sam Harris wrote the following excellent letter to the editor.

It was genuinely alarming to encounter Ziauddin Sardar's whitewash of Islam in the pages of your journal ('Beyond the troubled relationship' Nature 448, 131–133; 2007). Here, as elsewhere, Nature's coverage of religion has been unfailingly tactful — to the point of obscurantism.

In his Commentary, Sardar seems to accept, at face value, the claim that Islam constitutes an "intrinsically rational world view". Perhaps there are occasions where public intellectuals must proclaim the teachings of Islam to be perfectly in harmony with scientific naturalism. But let us not do so, just yet, in the world's foremost scientific journal.

Under the basic teachings of Islam, the Koran cannot be challenged or contradicted, being the perfect word of the creator of the Universe. To speak of the compatibility of science and Islam in 2007 is rather like speaking of the compatibility of science and Christianity in the year 1633, just as Galileo was being forced, under threat of death, to recant his understanding of the Earth's motion.

An Editorial announcing the publication of Francis Collins's book, The Language of GodNature 442, 110; doi:10.1038/442110a 2006) represents another instance of high-minded squeamishness in addressing the incompatibility of faith and reason. Nature ('Building bridges' praises Collins, a devout Christian, for engaging "with people of faith to explore how science — both in its mode of thought and its results — is consistent with their religious beliefs".

But here is Collins on how he, as a scientist, finally became convinced of the divinity of Jesus Christ: "On a beautiful fall day, as I was hiking in the Cascade Mountains... the majesty and beauty of God's creation overwhelmed my resistance. As I rounded a corner and saw a beautiful and unexpected frozen waterfall, hundreds of feet high, I knew the search was over. The next morning, I knelt in the dewy grass as the sun rose and surrendered to Jesus Christ."

What does the "mode of thought" displayed by Collins have in common with science? The Language of God should have sparked gasping outrage from the editors at Nature. Instead, they deemed Collins's efforts "moving" and "laudable", commending him for building a "bridge across the social and intellectual divide that exists between most of US academia and the so-called heartlands."

At a time when Muslim doctors and engineers stand accused of attempting atrocities in the expectation of supernatural reward, when the Catholic Church still preaches the sinfulness of condom use in villages devastated by AIDS, when the president of the United States repeatedly vetoes the most promising medical research for religious reasons, much depends on the scientific community presenting a united front against the forces of unreason.

There are bridges and there are gangplanks, and it is the business of journals such as Nature to know the difference.

Joy (part 2)

Gulls near Wood's End Lighthouse

Carnival in Provincetown, part 3

Is that her real hair?

I bet Imelda never owned these.

Those green abs are NOT fake.

Parade madness.

Carnival in Provincetown, part 2

How often do you see a pig on a bike?

Even the dogs are proud.

The semi-famous Hat Sisters.

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his, um, her, um, whatever....

Carnival in Provincetown

Thursday, August 16, 2007.

Big parade. Lots of people. Party galore. But I don't wanna be a pirate!

Amazing costumes.

Trampolina serves beer at tea dance but takes time to pose.

Peace, pride and a perch atop a sea captain's house to watch the parade.

Judy Tenuta, holding the pink lips, was grand marshal of the parade.

Speaking of...

...the Red Inn, NYT mentions it favorably today in a look at 4 Cape Cod restaurants.

Cupola rising

A couple of weeks ago, the cupola of the Provincetown Public Library was lifted to its rightful place after years of repair and delay. Hundreds gathered around 11 a.m. to watch two massive cranes hoist the bright white gazebo-like structure. Here you can see the cupola in "mid-flight" moments before two workmen on tethers atop the tower aligned it atop the structure. The crowed erupted in applause for this moment of local civic pride. Photo courtesy of my friend Peter who was viewing from the east side of town; I was on the west side but had no camera.

The Red Inn

My favorite place in Provincetown for a drink or dinner is the Red Inn on the waterfront.

Dandelion & Burdock

Here's a strong tasting soft drink for you.

Joy

Herring Cove Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, June 18, 2007, 6:48PM

Paradise

Provincetown, May 2007

Overheard on the street

"If someone is coming at you with duct tape, the last thing you should worry about is your hair."

My beloved Wall Street Journal

I absolutely love my Wall Street Journal. Even better, I have never paid a penny for my subscription. I cash in airline miles to get the best paper around. Now that Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. will buy Dow Jones the big $60/share question is "how will the paper change?".

Lesson #1: Money talks, bullshit walks. Or, money buys anything. If your shares trade in the mid-$30's and someone offers $60, you can kiss a century of family legacy and haughty journalistic principles goodbye.

Lesson #2: You can't be a public company and expect to act privately. Especially when your editorial page pounds the loudest drumbeat for the potency of the free market.

Lesson #3: Nothing is sacred. Everything changes.

Therefore, I plan to continue reading with an open mind and will ride the wave of changes. If I become disappointed, I can always exercise my free market rights and cancel.

Scottastrophe

This is an hour-plus one-man stage act where Scott Thompson works through some new material. I didn't expect a lot of this "work in progress" so I wasn't disappointed. There are several good lines and the parts connect, but it needs tightening up certainly. Performers working through their material and not worrying about mistakes is sort of endearing, as in the case of Laurie Anderson, but here it's probably not worth the $25.

From the venue website:
Scottastrophe is a new one man show written and performed by ‘Kid in the Hall’ Scott Thompson about his lifelong love affair with catastrophe. A jaw dropping odyssey from the wilds of northern Canada to the exotic island of Madagascar, Scottastrophe will have you riveted with excitement, filled with awe and convulsed with laughter as you investigate with Scott just how many ways things can go wrong. There’s something for everyone in this daring new show from rectal surgery to sexual harassment, Saddam Hussein to 9/11, and even an encounter with Della Reese.

Scottastrophe: A catastrophe seemingly foisted upon Scott Thompson out of nowhere that he has actually brought on himself. At first it appears tragic but is revealed in time to actually be comic. Eventually it is revealed to be both.