Double-Crested Cormorants

This pair of juvenile Cormorants put down at our lake for a day about two weeks ago, when we had some early snowsqualls. Their outer plumage is not entirely waterproof, so maybe they needed to dry off? Or maybe they were tired and hungry. Whatever the case, they are not commonly seen here. My last sighting was a few years ago, when three adults migrating through in the spring stopped in for a quick feed. The adults are a deep, lustrous black. They swim really low in the water, more in the water than on it. They look kind of like big black snakes coming down the lake. This species takes forever to get airborne. It's quite a production. It takes them like half a mile to gain fifty feet of altitude, then they turn back and do huge circle on top of circle on top of circle overhead until they can clear the hills and blow on out of Dodge. Context shot here. Enlargement of this shot here.

I Will Amuse Myself With Terror

No FRT this week; a selection of Halloween-appropriate videos below the fold. Suggest your own in comments.

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Teaparties of the Rich and Famous

Shorter Peggy Noonan: "The chatter's of holding our breath until we go Galt."

Wednesday Wildflowerblogging

Western Pasque Flower (Anemone occidentalis) in upper Long Canyon, Trinity Alps Wilderness. This has an unusual seedhead, which one writer has (jokingly) suggested was the inspiration for Dr. Seuss' truffula trees.

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Sunday Sierrablogging

Merced River canyon above Bunnell Point, Yosemite National Park.

Friday Random 10

Chris Isaak - Dancin'
Eno - The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Feelies - Forces at Work
Count Five - Psychotic Reaction
Lene Lovich - Wonderful One
Chris & Cosey - Until
Minutemen - Love Dance
Wire - Field Day for the Sundays
Eno - By This River
El Rego et ses Commandos - Feeling You Got

What are y'all listening to this morning? Bonus video cleverly hidden below the fold, where nobody will guess where it is. Did I say that out loud?
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How Would You Feel...

...if you had to ask 260 million people for the right to marry?



(There's a better quality version of this going around Facebook, but I haven't figured out a non-Facebook way to link to it.)

Back in April, Matt Hooper of the Birmingham Weekly posted about Rep. Jay Love's (R-Montgomery) time-wasting resolution in support of "opposite marriage" Carrie Prejean. That post has remained on the Weekly's most popular list ever since, despite all the intervening coverage of Birmingham mayor Larry Langford's trials (and trial), and yesterday someone named work30 showed up to share his/her wisdom. I reproduce our exchange below:

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work30 1 day ago
I do not/will not promote same sex marriges.

work30 1 day ago
Everyone is out to make their personnal life public now. It's like everyone is saying their gay/bi-sexual. Here's the key word "Sexual", this is your sexual preference, which I am fine with. But to say that you want to have the same rights as a man/woman is wrong. I read the bible and I have yet to run across anything that says woman-to-woman, or man-to-man. Certain things we just should keep the way the LORD intended. Yes, he didn't make it on of his TEN Commandments, but he did make it known of this intended union to be between that of a Man and Woman.

Yes, you may love your significant other deeply and want to show them, but not this WAY. I can't judge you but I can say if you "Believe" in the LORD....and that he died for us, you would respect this one thing. This isn't the American way, Korean way, Arabic way, nor Buddist way..............its GOD'S Way.

Like I said I can't judge you.....I want every one to be happy....but don't judge those of us who try to the best of our ability to live by the LORD/

Kathy 21 hours ago
Well, when straight couples marry, they certainly make their "personnal" lives public. And last I checked, we didn't make law in this country based on what some people believe the Bible says. I suspect you'd have a fit if someone were pushing to base our legal system on the Koran. Not sure what Koreans or "Buddists" (it's Buddhists, btw) have to do with the issue.

No one asked you to promote same sex marriages. Those of us who support marriage equality believe the law shouldn't discriminate. We don't require belief in the LORD for citizenship, but our constitution is built on the idea that everyone is equal under the law, whether you approve or not.

And sexual orientation is just that -- an orientation, not a preference. It has to do with far more than sexual activity. Surely you don't think your straight partnership/marriage is only about sex. I certainly don't.

work30 18 hours ago
Thanks for the correction Kathy,

When I made the reference to "personal" life I am referring to sexual preference. I understand that no matter if your straight or gay you going to show affection for your significant other. My only issue is that with marriage, like I said I can't judge anyone on whom they chose to sleep with. And as far as citizenship, I do feel that this country's for fathers did require that you believe in the LORD for citizenship. Remember the Pledge of Allegiance "One Nation under GOD", but yet we still go against him on simple this like marriage.

This nation has become so sensitive on everything. In order to feel accepted we must categorize everything including one's sexual activity to make it an orientation, create a demographic to say "Hey we have RIGHTS!"

And No, I don't think my straight partnership is about sex, Jesus spoke it and wrote it to "IDENTIFY" that this between MAN and Woman is something MORE. But again, I don't an issue on whom ANYONE wants to be with!!!!!!!! NO ISSUES AT ALL. But MARRIAGE yes I do. And would you have a FIT if our legal system was based on it. Because you know what I wouldn't, I would just have to live with it. And if I was brought up in the Muslim religion then I would follow it, but I wasn't so I don't.

Were so bold to declare our orientation in the U.S., but let’s do this in the other parts of the world. U know even though Christians and Muslims don't see eye-to-eye on every religious aspect, we do believe in Jesus or Allah as they say. And what’s funny in both religions it’s MAN and Woman in marriage.

Again my point is Marriage, not whom you choose to spend your live/time with. Just don’t cross the line and say you want be married and want the same rights as a married Man and Woman. This to me wouldn't be in line with the teachings of Christianity or Muslim. As children I am sure that we all were brought up to love everyone. Love everyone regardless of race, color and now sexual preference. I agree with this but, marriage is written within our religions to exist between Man and Woman.

Pls don't take my words as being disrespectful because I don't mean to be.

Kathy 16 hours ago
Oh my! You really, really need to go back to your history books. You may feel whatever you want, but there is nothing in the constitution requiring religious faith as a condition of citizenship. The Pledge of Allegiance was not written by the founding fathers. It was written in 1892 and has been revised several times. The phrase "under God" was not in the original and was not added until 1954. Allah is the Arabic word for God, not Jesus. Muslims revere Jesus, but they do not consider him divine. And we won't even get started on the many different definitions of marriage that have been "ordained" over the centuries.

Civil rights in this country are not and should not be based on any one person's or group's interpretation of religious texts. That's an invitation to oppression of those in the minority, and you may want to consider that you could at some point find yourself part of a minority if your particular brand of Christianity falls out of favor (and please don't tell me how oppressed Christians are here in the United States -- we're not). Not everyone in this country is Christian, not everyone is a person of faith, not everyone agrees with your interpretation of text.

For the protection of our civil rights and our religious freedom, we need to keep the two separate. If we went your route, we'd likely still have slavery. After all, didn't the apostle Paul admonish slaves to "obey your masters"?

I have to wonder if this person is the product of "Christian" schooling, but I fear s/he is typical of so many people who slept through history and civics classes and simply swallow whatever they're spoon-fed by their pastor or their favorite talk radio host. This is why "equal protection under the law" should not be predicated on the ballot box.

Wednesday Wildflowerblogging

Stinging Phacelia (Phacelia malvifolia) at Lobos Creek dunes in the Presidio.

Monday Movie Reviews: Quick hits

I may do a few of these three-at-a-time jobs until I get caught up.

The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) 7/10
Meryl Streep is a "fallen woman" in Victorian England, and Jeremy Irons is a man who becomes obsessed with her. At the same time, Streep and Irons are actors filming a movie about these Victorian characters.

To a great extent, I Don't Get It. I really don't. I didn't feel like the juxtaposition added anything to the story. I know it has Deep Meaning, but that meaning is obtuse to me.
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The Fountain (2006) 5/10
Hugh Jackman is Tomas, a conquistador serving Queen Isabella (Rachel Weisz). At the same time, he is Tommy, a research scientist, and Izzi is his dying wife. There's also a big bubble with a tree.

Speaking of I Don't Get It. This is not the same situation as The French Lieutenant's Woman; this is a purposely obtuse movie so in love with its Big Ideas that it forgets there's an audience who might like to follow along.

Hugh Jackman naked, though.

Dreamland (2006) 7/10
Audrey (Agnes Bruckner) and Callista (Kelli Garner) are best friends in a trailer park in the middle of nowhere. Audrey cares for her drunk, phobic father (John Corbett). When a cute new guy (Justin Long) moves in, the stress of longing to be more and the desire for the same boy stir things up.

This is a lovely little coming of age movie, very gentle and enjoyable. It relies a tad too much on cliché, and is perhaps not exactly fascinating, but I enjoyed it.

(Quick cross-post)

Sunday Sierrablogging

Twin Lakes on the east side, Mono County. Late because of a long weekend trip to...well, figure it out.

NSYNC

I photographed this small gaggle of Canada Geese rising from my lake in this morning's light snowstorm. In a sequence of about a dozen shots I got as they circled away from and then back over me, they look all out of sorts until the shots taken within a few hundred yards of this one, when they get good and synchronized and ready for a long haul -- probably to a pond two or three miles away, as this is likely a resident group. But they'll arrive there in style, dammit.

East Coast Friday Random Ten

The Walkabouts, "Pass Me On Over" Setting the Woods On Fire
Grandaddy, "Away Birdies with Special Sounds" Concrete Dunes
S-WORD, "I'll Fly Away" Further Beyond Nashville
Calexico, "Flat Handed and On the Wing" Travelall
Lucinda Williams, "Rescue" West
Martha Wainwright, "Tower Song" I Know You’re Married But I Have Needs Too
Modest Mouse, "Exit Does Not Exist" This is a Long Drive…
Freakwater, "Lorraine" Springtime
The Beatles, "Get Back" Let It Be
Cat Power, "Free" You Are Free

Bonus: Roxy Music, "Casanova" Country Life

Looks like Tom forgot FRT again this week. I have a photo to put up, so I'll run a list first. Add yours in comments, as usual.

There's another Heartless Bastards vid below the fold.

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Wednesday Wildflowerblogging

Cobweb Thistle (Cirsium occidentale) at Lobos Creek dunes in the Presidio.

Irresponsible

In the wake of the death of one census worker under mysterious circumstances, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) went on Fox News last night to warn the country about evil census employees, implying that child molesters and rapists will be coming to our doors in April 2010.



This despite Senate testimony from GAO Executive Director of Strategic Issues Robert Goldenkoff that the Census Bureau is well aware of past problems screening potential employees and has implemented a new double-check system for fingerprints (even the linked Fox News article admits as much).

Okay, I know the GOP wants to discredit the census, the better to be able to cry foul if the new population numbers/distribution redistrict them out of a few safe Republican seats in Congress. Not to mention the man-reactions they get from criticizing any and every thing the Obama administration does. But this guy is basically inviting the public to break the law -- at the least by refusing to participate in the census and at most by meeting the workers with force. Sounds like he's channeling crazy Michelle Bachmann (R-MN).

He needs to stop, now, before someone (else) gets hurt.

Sunday Sierrablogging

Outlet stream of Lake 10,620, Kid Lake Basin, Kings Canyon National Park.

East Coast Friday Random Ten

Mark Olson And The Creek Dippers, "How Can This Be" December's Child
Vic Chesnutt, "Gluefoot" Drunk
Jitterbug Thompson, "Fool" This Is Americana, Vol. 2
Chris + Carla, "Sleep Will Pass Us By" Life Full of Holes
Kelly Jo Phelps, "River Rat Jimmy" Another Country
Bob Dylan, "4th Time Around" Blonde On Blonde
Gob Iron, "Death's Black Train Is Coming" Death Songs For The Living
Low, "July" Things We Lost In The Fire
The Rolling Stones, "Tops" Tattoo You
Sufjan Stevens, "The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders" Come On Feel The Illinoise!

Bonus: My Morning Jacket, "The Dark" The Tennessee Fire

Sorry I'm late to pick up Tom's slack. There's a video of one of my latest musical obsessions below the fold.

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Is it Friday Yet

It is? d'Fuh? Oh, well...I spaced on the Random 10 today. Maybe one of our other contributors can fill in this week.

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize, Wingnut Heads Explode

President Obama woke this morning to the news that he had been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize. I heard it on the radio on my way to work, and honestly my first reaction was, "Huh?" It seems a bit early to give him the award, although I wouldn't be at all surprised if he earned it ten or twenty years down the road.

It's difficult to see this as anything other than a finger to the eye (excuse the non-peaceful imagery) of the Bush administration and its "my way or the highway" approach to diplomacy. The rest of the world, or at least the Nobel Committee, is hopeful that we're on a new and more productive path, and I'm right there with them. Here's a good spot to express my ongoing love and admiration for our Secretary of State. She is an amazing woman!

Anyway, anything that irks both the Taliban and our own homegrown wingnuts* can't be all bad. Congratulations, President Obama! Here's to a better and more peaceful future for all of us.

****

*I'm not going to link to Free Republic, but the term "turd" was used early in the game. I quit reading at that point.

Wednesday Wildflowerblogging

Naked Mariposa Lily (Calochortus nudus) in Bowerman Meadows, Trinity Alps Wilderness.
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Monday Movie Review: Whip It

Whip It (2009) 6/10
Bliss (Ellen Page) is a beauty pageant teen from Nowheresville, Texas who finds herself, and romance, through roller derby. Directed by Drew Barrymore.

Whip It is a pleasant movie that works on a number of levels. It's fun, it has some laughs, it has an admirable cast. But Drew Barrymore, in her film directorion debut, can't really decide what movie she wants to make. Is it the story of the rough-and-tumble world of roller derby? Then give us more rough and more world. Is it a teen romance? Then make the backdrop less interesting than roller derby, because you're doing it a disservice.
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I do like the movie, but not as much as I want to. There are so few that pass the Bechdel Movie Test, and so few that allow women to break out of the constraints that the film industry places on us, that when one like this comes along, I wnant it to be excellent, and Whip It is not that.

It's kind of a female awakening movie, about Bliss toughening up and finding herself, and I think it does a pretty good job of that, except that the romance, as charming as young Landon Pigg is, doesn't serve that purpose. It's a sweet romance, but we already knew Bliss was sweet, so we're not moving in the direction of true transformation.

Every transformation movie has a struggle with its star, either before or after. Generally before: Is Audrey Hepburn really all that bedraggled a flower girl? I think there are actresses who could have played a young beauty queen and done the roller derby convincingly. Maybe Ellen Page is that actress, but she's not asked to really pull it off here.

Let's start with "before." The look created for her mom (the extraordinary-as-always Marcia Gay Harden) suggests the filmmakers actually know what a pageant contestant looks like, but Ellen Page is not that girl. She is free of hairspray and lacquer, her custom gown doesn't emphasize her figure, her eye makeup is underplayed. She's a sweet, slight, pretty girl. And then there's "after," during which she becomes a...sweet, slight, pretty girl who's kind of fast and somewhat tougher than before.

Her edginess is all very "Hey, I saw her in Juno!" She wears the Doc Martens and the print skirts with rock t-shirts, and she disses her small town life. But beyond that? Not terribly edgy until the end, and it's not enough. (Besides which, how does her mother either not notice that Doc Martens do not equal beauty queen and maybe there's a disconnect with what her daughter really wants, OR not put her foot down and make her daughter pretty up all the time?)

Did I mention the romance was sweet? I loved the romance. But it didn't belong in this particular movie. It stole screen time from real character development for Bliss and for her roller derby compatriots, who were potentially very interesting.

As it was, it was a pleasant couple of hours spent with a movie that might have been so much more.

(I absolutely refuse to give this cross-post a hot roller derby name.)

Sunday Sierrablogging

Evening light on the Glacier Divide, from Lake 10,200 southeast of Ward Mountain; LeConte Divide, John Muir Wilderness.

Friday Random 10

Wire - 2 People in a Room
Tuxedomoon - No Tears
J.D. & the Evil's Dynamite Band - Mean Scene
Mahmoud Ahmed - Lomiwen Teqebeletch
Shriekback - Into Method
Mekons - (Sometimes I Feel Like) Fletcher Christian
Kinks - Muswell Hillbilly
Bruce Springsteen - Adam Raised a Cain
Butthole Surfers - Rocky
Clash - Guns of Brixton

What are y'all listening to this morning?

Bonus video below the fold...
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QOTD: Secret Agent Men Edition

David Brooks has a theory. Or maybe even a screenplay:

The rise of Beck, Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and the rest has correlated almost perfectly with the decline of the G.O.P. But it's not because the talk jocks have real power. It's because they have illusory power, because Republicans hear the media mythology and fall for it every time.

Of course! Duh! It's the mainstream media that's been holding the GOP down with these moronic shills for stupidity. They're Manchurian commentators, every one of 'em. But now Brooks is mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore. One more Limbaugh rant, MSM, and the wingnut gets it.