Recent Sea Scout sail!

Exodramatic?

If, roughly speaking, an endothermic reaction (Endothermic process - Wikipedia) takes in more heat than it gives off, and an exothermic reaction puts off more heat than it takes in… Perhaps coining a word, if a person or place is ‘exodramatic,’ would that be creating more drama than they abate? I think I could use this word a lot….

Meat Hook

Wagner Group boss, "Putin's butcher," says Russia at risk of losing Ukraine war and facing a "revolution" - CBS News According to Google Translate, “Мясной крюк” is Russian for “meat hook”

Saw a photo of russian soldiers in Ukraine with some old rifles...

I’m not knocking the venerable Russian/Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle. Although getting a bit long in the tooth, having been first fielded in the late 1800s, they still go bang (after you clean the cosmoline out). Humor & hyperbole note that they’ve been used in every war since and are always on a winning side - because with 37 million produced, they’re on every side. I mean, some of my best friends have Mosin-Nagants. They happen even in the best of families. I’ve got one myself (Tula arsenal, 1942, if I recall). Mosin-Nagants happen to lots of guys. But, um, hey, comrade - is that a Mosin-Nagant on your shoulder, or are you just happy that some folks still think your country has a First World military? Does your great-grandfather know you ganked his weapon? I guess you’re the guy in the Stalingrad movie who got the rifle instead of the ammunition? I didn’t know they sold those in the history museum gift shop….

Apparently plants have more going on than I'd reckoned....

"Congresswoman Norton: 'We request that the U.S. Botanic Garden display male and female hemp plants.'" https://www.popville.com/2021/04/hemp-botanic-garden/ "Nation’s Arborists Once Again Urge Congress To Lower The Age Of Consent For Trees" https://www.theonion.com/nation-s-arborists-once-again-urge-congress-to-lower-th-1846187795

"Oh, you’re from North Carolina? I’m from LA – I wouldn’t be into that."

Getting a certain kick out of places like my home State of North Carolina being referred to as lynchpins of the election. Back before the last presidential go-around, I was out for some post-run conversations in the Northern Virginia area (with a running group that isn’t one of my local Shirlington outfits), and I was overhearing lines from folks who thought it was weird that someone even knew someone who owned a firearm, found it unusual that someone had been married in a church, and “oh, you’re from North Carolina? I’m from LA – I wouldn’t be into that.” And now you want our votes? Happy to help – done! But, btw… I’ve been a (very minor) elected Dem party officer, I voted Biden/Harris, my firearms are in a gun safe hundreds of miles away, my theology is about as progressive as you find in the mainstream, and I’m a North Carolinian with (lest you think we don’t know how to wear shoes) six college professors in the immediate family. I guess for the sake of forward motion I’m okay with sharing the big tent with some Berkeley student who abhors everyone to the right of Bernie, any elitist Northeasterner shocked that anyone from south of exit 34 in New Jersey didn’t come off the set of “Deliverance,” and every Dupont Circle 5th level vegan who won’t eat anything that cast a shadow (got that one off “The Simpsons”) – basically, I’m a raging moderate. But wouldn’t mind if you remembered some of the more centrist roots of our victory while we’re addressing climate change, a main focus of mine. Thank you for remembering folks like me. I assure you, folks like me aren’t forgetting. I assure you.

Wiser, more experienced attorneys than I have counseled me about legal arguments - including that when someone has the law but not the facts, they argue the law. When they have the facts but not the law, they argue the facts. When they don't have either, they just argue. Gotta be honest, this turns into almost a poker tell for me - when I'm watching TV and someone on the news o(R) in the Senate comes out of the gate swinging with both fists, with neither the law nor the facts in either, I'll vet things and won't jump to conclusions, but their rant is well on the way to the circular file for me.

Geographic foot-dragging

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/people-are-fine-with-elites-as-long-as-they-arent-politicians/2019/11/19/b749bf7c-0af4-11ea-bd9d-c628fd48b3a0_story.html Shocked by how few folks are willing to move for a job....

Last week at church there was a reference to white folks needing to speak up and be counted in reference to some recent stuff. I recently got back some Ancestry.com results about where I'm genetically from and such, but there's actually some history in my family that may be more interesting. Ms. Lottie Harris helped raise my Father, an Uncle, and an Aunt. She was African-American, and when she was born, about everyone in her community over 45 years of age or so would have been someone who would have been born an enslaved person. Many of us over so many centuries have so horribly erred, especially non-POC folks in the some areas where I'm in part from in the South. By my parentage, I am German and I am Southern - for all our challenges, I would like to think we have some experience in addressing issues of forgiveness, because there have been times when we've needed it…. For so much of my life, I knew dropping by Ms. Lottie’s home to say hello when passing by Greenville as any regular family visit when swinging the that area of North Carolina. One of the last times I thought I’d ever see her on this side of things I asked if she had any favorite foods I might do for her towards which she might not be reticent, and she said mashed potatoes, and at her wake I recall passing along the recipe I’d done. When Ms. Lottie passed away after well eclipsing her 100th year, there was an African-American gentleman in the White House. At the service for her funeral, I and my parents were asked to be seated with the rest of her family, our family as we’d been invited, and I express greatest thanks. My Dad was privileged to give one of her many eulogies. And half of her Ms. Lottie's pallbearers were Black, and half of them were not. And I was one of them. It appears we’ve still got a long way to go, but we're not going to let Ms. Lottie down. Amen.

Hey, what was that battle that Napoleon lost, but he was quicker back to France and spread his propaganda and got the boost?

I used to work at a small town daily newspaper, the sort of place where for good or for bad a lot of folks in town knew who you were. Some coworker friends and I used to literally cross state lines to shoot pool at a place in another community where people didn't know who we were -- we needed some down time, not to be buttonholed by some guy who was upset that we included in the story that his friend had been killed drinking and driving, when in fact, he'd apparently also had a hamburger, so he'd technically been eating, drinking, and driving. Seriously. Our wisdom of leaving town was beyond our years, and next time I get literally cornered by someone who wants to gripe about Bill Clinton and the social safety net, I'm tempted to tell her I'm unemployed and live under Wilson Bridge. Or use another of our old tricks from pool nights - John doesn't speak any English, just German. One guy we used that one on -- he introduced himself by swearing he'd never killed anyone... gotta make you suspicious....

Thoughts, prayers, AND donating blood, thoughtful votes on these issues, giving money to causes that help (hit up the Google and pick your group... how about a moderate gun politics one? Those are out there)... And c'mon -- I've got friends in all sorts of situations who have all sorts of stances concerning firearms... some of them live in some really rough areas and carry CCW, and given their circumstances, after you've been broken into for the 11th time, you might be developing some opinions. For me, I was a journalist who covered crime in some violent places. That's the short version of the story. Please don't ask for the long version.... But if we can't come up with reasonable regulations to try to keep a self-loading high-capacity 5.56 longarm out of the hands of an ISIS terrorist in a nightclub while respecting the rights of everyone else (I met the guy who won Heller, I've looked over the decision, and SCOTUS apparently says reasonable regulation is kosher).... I'm a gun owner, but I'm not concerned about anyone taking my guns away and I am concerned about some crazy taking my life, the life of a loved one, or the life of any other pers...are we really still having to talk about this?, we're apparently incapable of agreeing on the color of an orange and Heaven help us all....

BTW, sorry, but blogger isn't spacing paragraphs right now for whatever reason... And I'm the only person pretty much who reads this, so I'm not gonna waste a lot of time on it.... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/12/21/oberlin-college-sushi-disrespectful-to-japanese/ I'm a German-American and a Southerner, but I really don't take any offense to what other folks do with hot dogs and BBQ, respectively. I'm cool... I actually think it's kinda neat how different folks do stuff. Except for the innocent oversights my sibling Carolinians from south of the vale make with their errant mustard sauces -- I say "bless their hearts" in the best spirit of our jocular, friendly rivalry :) But this reminds me of a thought I had about food and extreme viewpoints on campuses. *fangs extend* You know those programs, "Farm Shares," where you subscribe to a community supported agriculture system where for a fair price you periodically get to pick up a food box full of good, local, naturally grown produce? And it works to support the local farmers, who are able to voluntarily sign up for this sort of thing, trying to promote decent livelihoods for them, and they're able to plan in advance because they know how much stuff to grow, and the food doesn't have to get shipped all the way from California which saves energy and pollution, and the produce is seasonal, which helps induce you to learn new recipes for foods you maybe haven't cooked before (so THAT's how I braise asparagus....)? Sound pretty good? Everyone's a winner? Peace and love and understanding? Are we humming Kumbaya yet? I was talking about this with a friend who teaches at a university.... They told me that Farm Shares were the modern "form of sharecropping." *sharpens fangs. grins* Hello...? I thought I was supporting neighbors, the environment, natural foods, being healthy, learning about cooking? I dunno, we all say odd stuff sometimes. I do, and am thankful for the forgiveness of others. But this reminds me of a thought I had about food and extreme viewpoints on campuses.... Apparently I'm being evil and oppressive or something. Umm... sorry about that? You thought "supporting neighbors, the environment, natural foods, being healthy, learning about cooking" was unfriendly? You haven't seen unfriendly. But there are folks who will be more than happy to show you. In one of the places I'm from, I was a (very minor) elected left-of-center political party official. Left-of-center. I'm trying to help, but there are folks who will be more than happy to show you unfriendly. Gadflies serve a very important purpose in our marketplace of ideas (https://www.facebook.com/notes/john-derrick/-you-never-really-know-when-youre-going-to-need-a-monkey-with-four-asses/182452295015). That said, there is the danger of ranting yourself off the table and winding up relegated to the crazy-talk corner, with no voice in the conversation. Cry wolf too many times, and the priorities of others may get shifted. Away from yours. There is the danger of alienating the more centrist majorities, even those in agreement, who ultimately provide a lot of the heavy lifting with our time, talent, treasure, and votes toward the goals of the gadfly. We're good, decent folks -- with positive ideals and kind hearts supported by pragmatic traditions and reasonable financial thoughts.... Alienate us, chase us away, tick us off, put us in positions where we either have to cut bait and run or place us and ours in predicaments that are unreasonably vulnerable to witch-hunts... and there are a lot of folks who will make rational choices to back away... ... Leaving you dealing with some folks who are a lot less helpful. A lot less helpful. Good luck with that.

People, immigration, faith, borders, security, and all....

Once upon a time I was an Army cadet, haircut and all, and I was dismissed for astigmatism, my eyesight, so I became an award-winning newspaper photographer instead. Always seemed kinda ironic to me. Anyways, one of the other cadets I did Ranger Challenge with and all, he went on through, and he served in Iraq, and he's still Guard or Reserves or something and is working for the Federal gov't trying to keep our education stuff in line, and we meet up time to time for a party or a bite to eat or to go cycling or whatever. I sent him a care package while he was over there that had in it autumn leaves from The Pit at UNC Chapel Hill, kinda the central meeting place where we went to school. He told me once that while he was over there, he'd hold them up to his face to remind him of home. And last I knew, he was Muslim. As I understand it, his family is originally from Afghanistan from a few regime changes ago, and I guess they came over. I don't agree with absolutely everything that comes out of any particular country and/or religion, including my own… which may mean I'm ticking some folks off and which may also mean I've got a pretty even keel, but in terms of people, immigration, faith, borders, security, and all I'm siding with my buddy.

Ugh....

Between this evening's presidential debate and the world series, shall I watch a dull, endless, kabuki theater of overstuffed prima donnas who keep dodging the ball, angling for cheap points to further fluff their little tribes, and running themselves, each other, and the viewers in circles? Naw, I'll watch the ball game.

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/how-a-50s-era-new-york-knife-law-has-landed-thousands-in-jail-6662589 Seriously? Someone please advise me otherwise.... True gravity knives expanded to switchblades and stuff expanded to clip and = thumb-opening knives expanded to about everything? I just checked, and the knife blade on the multi-tool I got as a goodie from the Red Cross (for donating a bunch of blood) that I keep in my glove box for gardening, working on my car, volunteering with the Boy Scouts and such... can be opened with a flick of the wrist....

Homes

I was in a conversation recently with someone who said that they "were from LA, so North Carolina wasn't their thing." Hey now! It may have its share of challenges, folks who are kind of insular, and some weird characters who can't figure out why a lot of the rest of America doesn't want to be like they are, including in the voting booth... but I've been to LA, and it's not that bad, has lots of good points, and I really enjoyed visiting -- it's certainly not so incommensurate from everyone else's homes in the South or the Pacific Coast, or the Northeast, Midwest, or anywhere else around the world that there needn't be any knocking. Don't be too hard on yourself, buddy. Bless your heart :) It goes for both sides -- I'm not sure big tents always win elections, but small ones don't make things any easier getting to 50% + 1.

There may be some Arlington folks who, after some stories came up in a recent conversation, think that I'm politically to the right of the John Birch Society because I have family members who've involved priests in their weddings (not trying to be judgmental, but some of my best friends were married by clergy...), I've known people who owned guns (President Obama has known one too... his name is Secretary Kerry), and I'm not from urban California or the Northeast corridor, and I'm okay with that and with about where-ever anyone is from. Y'know, there's some folks in America who think the Beltway is a bit ivory tower, and this sort of thing doesn't help....

When I was a photo-journalist, I covered a shooting that it turned out was a suicide of a young man. He was gay and it was a town in which I guess it was really hard to be gay. I remember photographing the gurney as they brought him out. He'd shot himself in the upper neck area and they brought him out head-first and not covered as they were still working on him and I guess this has stuck with me. I'm straight, but not narrow, and I'm hopeful that things are getting better for folks. There's folks who've strained or even broken some relationships over such civil rights.... And though things aren't done, I celebrate the day :)

'Jesus (and, I figure, Moses and Mohammed and Buddha and Confucius and all the rest of them...) loves the little children, All the children of the world, Red and yellow, black and white, Gay or disabled or Abraham-ite (or otherwise)...' I reckon some folks are just getting past any negatives of these things :)

Some belated Father's Day recollections, from my Dad about his in response to a question from a family friend.... "FYI Begin forwarded message: From: Jack Derrick <------> Subject: Fwd: [resthavensundayschool] The annual Easter Egg Hunt at Wade and Ann's Date: June 25, 2015 8:45:16 AM EDT To: "Edward B. Davis" <------> Cc: Frederick Derrick <---->, "------ Derrick" <-------> Ward, On further reflection, there is one point which I hope was clear, but which I probably should have emphasized more. Dad had a strong belief that education is critical to our success as individuals and that public education is critical to our success as a nation. He saw how the schooling he and his siblings received in the pubic schools in South Carolina raised them from a relatively modest background to become solid members of the middle class and how the GI Bill after WWII created an entire new generation of doctors (medical and otherwise), lawyers, teachers, professors, and other professionals out of the often poor kids who had suffered through the Great Depression and WWII. He taught in the public schools before becoming a university professor. And, he met Mom while they were both teaching high school in Marietta, Georgia. He did not believe it was impossible to be successful without a really good education, but he did believe that lack of the best possible education made being a success far more difficult. Jack Begin forwarded message: From: Jack Derrick <--------------> Subject: Re: [resthavensundayschool] The annual Easter Egg Hunt at Wade and Ann's Date: June 24, 2015 1:41:14 PM EDT To: "Davis, Edward B." <-------------> Cc: Frederick Derrick <------------->, "--------------- Betty Derrick" <-------------> Ward, We are working hard to catch up on five weeks of mail, bills, social obligations, etc., but I did not want to let any more time go by without responding to your request for information about my father. My apologies for the delay. You will note that I have copied Betty and Fred should they wish to make additions or changes. Fred may not remember the very first days of the Sunday School, but Betty's recollections may be more accurate than mine. Daddy grew up in a large family on a small farm near Johnston, South Carolina. His parents owned the property and their home, but they were not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. His father never had a tractor. With but one exception, all of the children left farming to become educators, a nurse, an army officer and so forth. As Daddy said from time to time, he never again wanted to walk behind the south end of a north bound mule. He remained a farmer at heart. He always liked to have a garden and fruit trees. He won numerous blue ribbons at the fair for his produce. He wasn't unusual among the several professors in the early days at Rest Haven in that he came from a modest background and he was among the first generation in his family to have a college degree. I think the same may have been true of Mr. Smiley, Dr. Browning, Dr. Frank, Dr. Reynolds, and Dr. Brewster. Daddy graduated from the University of South Carolina with a chemistry degree. He later earned his masters. He completed the course work for a PhD, but he never completed his thesis. The Depression, family, and other factors intervened. The Smileys, Brownings, and Franks were our neighbors on 8th Street in Greenville, and Dr. Reynolds was Daddy's boss. Mother and he visited at the River at their cottages, and Daddy and Mother bought our lot (I think for $500) with the small inheritance Daddy received from the sale of his parent's farm. Like several of the other families at Rest Haven (the Bilbros, Smileys, Brownings, and Wilkersons), my parents attended Immanuel Baptist Church in Greenville. Mother was a Lutheran, and she was a founder of the Lutheran church in Greenville, but that came later. Both were firm in their Christian faith, both were important leaders in their churches, and both were generous in their support of their churches. The only time their taxes were ever audited was when there were building campaigns at Immanuel Baptist and Our Redeemer Lutheran at the same time and their contributions were questioned. The thing I remember most about my father's faith was his belief that science and religion could be reconciled and that there did not need to be conflict between these two traditions or schools of thought and study. He gave several Sunday School lessons at the River on this subject over the years. I believe the Sunday School may have met, possibly at irregular intervals, prior to the date Wendell established in his history, but it doesn't really matter. The first recollection I have of a service is on the beach in front of our cottage. Back then what is now a lawn from the bulkhead to the base of the bank was a sandy beach from the water's edge to the base of the bank, just like at the ocean. My first Sunday School jobs were to collect the offering and to run from house to house on Sunday mornings announcing "Sunday School at the parking lot at 10:30". By then we were meeting in front of where Steve and Debbie's house is now. That is where folks renting cabins or skiffs from Foy Mason parked. Although my father hired someone to help him frame our cottage, he built almost all of it himself with help from Wendell and other Rest Haven pioneers. They brought the war surplus windows, doors, and other building materials on a trailer from the numerous WWII era military bases scattered around eastern North Carolina. At that time, the road was not paved past the turn off to Bayview. He dug and built the septic tank we used until a couple of years ago by hand. He also built our first skiff. He was an excellent carpenter and craftsman. Other than his family and the education of his students, I can't think of anything to which Dad was more committed than the Rest Haven Sunday School. In the first years, Wendell, Tyson, and Dad accepted responsibility for one month each to preside and provide lessons. They sometimes brought in others, including some rather prominent people, to give lessons. Later, the presiding duties were divided among these three founders, but each cottage provided the lessons. I can remember at least one summer when Dad and I accepted two months of presiding duties when one of our founding families was unable to carry on that year. The Sunday School tradition was and is that important to him and to our family. Dad was conservative in many ways. I heard him curse only once. He had broken two hammer handles in short order and uttered a single "damn". He was so embarrassed by this lack of self control that he abandoned the job to smoke a cigar on the front porch. A Tampa Nugget cigar a day was, so far as I know, his one sin. I only remember him drinking a beer once when we were at a German celebration. It was such an event that I have a picture of it to this day. On the other hand, by the standards of the day, his thinking on issues such as race and some political issues was surprisingly progressive. I hope this will be useful to you. Frankly, I haven't been able to give it as much thought as I would like to have, but I am torn between the need to do some thinking and a bit of research and the desire to get something to you in a timely manner. Perhaps Fred and Betty can improve upon my efforts. Jack On Jun 11, 2015, at 5:01 PM, Davis, Edward B. wrote: Jack – It’s Ward Davis. I hope you’re doing well. I am working on my Rest Haven Sunday School sermon for July 5, and would like to share some stories about our founders – their lives, their faith, the passions, etc. Do you mind sharing with me some stories about your Dad around the time of the founding of the Sunday School, as well as biographical info (perhaps a copy of his obituary if you have one)? Also don’t hesitate to call me to discuss (--------). Thanks, Ward"

I was cutting up seed potatoes this evening, and I was thinking (never a good idea)... About a hundred years ago, my Grandfather on my American side, on a rural farm in South Carolina, decided that he didn't want to spend the rest of his life "at the North end of a South-bound mule" and he worked his way thru college in chemistry and wound up in some difficult economic times in the Great Depression, taught at some High Schools, met my Grandmother at one of them, and wound up a chemistry professor at East Carolina Teachers College, currently ECU. During the War, he did research into how to keep some potatoes fresher, longer for the Troops. His son was graduating high school during some difficult Vietnam years, and he reckoned he was gonna wind up in uniform one way or another, so he took an Army ROTC scholarship and wound up on a blind date in Germany with a lady who's my Mother. About 45 or so years later, this seems to have worked out. This evening, a Federal award-winning senior attorney posted at headquarters for his area of service in the DC area, who graduated in the worst economic times for his profession since the Great Depression, was cutting up seed potatoes to go into a church garden for folks who are hungry... was thinking about all this, and I just thought that was kinda special.... If one of those kids I'm growing kale or potatoes or chilies or whatever for decides they're interested in chemistry... darned, but won't that be a nice, full circle or something.... Prof. Jasper Otto Derrick, here's to you! Love, John

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/04/22/the-zombie-claim-about-navy-ship-numbers-returns-to-the-2016-campaign-trail/ Do we need a strong Navy? YES! Do we need to be able to make the rubble bounce? ABSOLUTELY! How high? REALLY HIGH! That's great, but at some point are we over-achieving on this issue, and could stand to evaluate how we invest our resources? This Navy site (http://www.navsea.navy.mil/nswc/carderock/docs/handbook/GeneralNavyInformation.pdf) says that "The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world as its tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined" -- that sounds big (and presumably, at least a few of those other Navies would be on our side? I do kinda think that some other countries could do a better job of stepping up to the plate....). While maintaining such strength and addressing emerging challenges and opportunities (Did China just claim its territorial waters extend up the Potomac into the Tidal basin? No, but this is how rumors get started :) -- http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13748349), do we also need to keep in mind balance, context, and Eisenhower's "Cross of Iron" speech (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chance_for_Peace_speech)? I haven't spent the last decade and change sending off care packages to Iraq and Afghanistan (and periodically trying to get into the military) because I'm anti-Troops.... I'm just saying, lets keep some perspective, and be straight-up in our political discussions....

Herd immunity in an office or church....

So, using flu shots as an example from which to kinda extrapolate.... I've got a coworker who is one of those very rare folks who does have some sort of an allergic reaction to the flu. No big deal, he just doesn't get his flu shot every year. That leaves him with some heightened risk of getting the flu, but when the rest if us in the office get our flu shots, that lessens the likelihood the flu will get a foothold in the office and lessens the likelihood he'll be exposed. By me getting my flu shot, I'm not only helping myself, I'm also helping cover my buddy (some of this is maybe related to the issue of how individual rights interact with responsibilities to groups). Frankly, my buddy is a guy my age who seems to be in great health, so even if he got the flu, it probably wouldn't be all that major a life event.... But what about at a church or someplace, full of babies and elderly folks who maybe can't have some vaccine for some even more difficult disease, or whose immune systems may not be firing on all cylinders.... It could maybe be a bigger deal.

Cop Cams?

Has anyone thought that another side of the whole every-cop-having-a-camera thing may be that as much as we'll have tracks of law enforcement issues, suddenly a lot of police officers may have really good vid, maybe winding up distributed on YouTube, of citizens potentially being disrespectful to officers?

Darn it, "It's a Wonderful Life" is a great movie....

I had an Uncle, Joe Holley, who lived in Augusta, GA, and who played trumpet his whole life. He played in jazz bands, and I understand he was something of a local star in that genre. In WWII, the War, his skills were applied and he played in the US Army band on Tinian, the island in the Pacific that the Enola Gay took off from. When I'd just started playing trumpet in Middle School, we called Uncle Joe up on the telephone, and I wanted to play something for him on trumpet that I'd learned. I went with something pretty simple that doesn't have too many notes -- Taps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taps). The line went silent on his end. After a little while, Uncle Joe told me that what I'd played was lovely, just perfect and all, but that he'd "hoped he would never have to hear that again." We'd lost a lot of guys my age-ish or youngerS off that island, every B-29 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2AIZ80ALww) that went down was about 11 of them, and Uncle Joe had played Taps a lot. I didn't make it a couple evenings ago to National Cathedral's Veterans Tribute Concert, with wonderful performances by 'The President’s Own' Marine Chamber Orchestra, Washington National Cathedral Singers, and readings of selections from American War Letters, related to upcoming Veterans Day (http://www.nationalcathedral.org/webcasts/sunday_flv2.shtml). To be honest, it is may be just as well that I watched online from my apartment -- having just spent almost 4 years in Fayetteville, an Army town, having been myself several times only a circumstance or two away from serving during some difficult times for our military, and still having friends serving, including abroad, with whom I continue to share letters, or emails, or Facebook messages... some of all of this is still very, very close to the bone. I've heard that fewer and fewer Americans know anyone who is serving -- folks from Fayetteville, thankfully we don't have that problem. So thanks to veterans who served, cadets who were RIF'ed before they got the chance to serve, troops who got DADT'ed out while they were serving, folks who got DODMERB'ed (legitimately-ish or otherwise) out of serving, patriots whose service is still waiting for official recognition, and to those whose service is known to them alone. And Uncle Joe, here's something a bit happier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAVejLjXVdw Amen...-ish.

Copy of FB message to talkshow host

Sir, I listen to your program via satellite radio, and I also, as well as you, have a background in both journalism and law -- these two disciplines seem to go together quite well! During a recent program of yours that referenced the changing nature of the US electorate and future issues for the Republican party, a line of mine that I've been using for a couple years crossed my mind -- "old white guys who voted for Nixon are not a growth demographic." When I expressed my joke to a quite senior elected official of a Southern state some while back at an oyster roast over a beer, we laughed in what I perceived as concurrence and I wonder if such changes in the populace may not foretell an eventual, and perhaps sharp, shift in some things -- at some point, gerrymandered districts can't be engineered any further, and (particularly referencing my South) there's enough Northerners moving down, Hispanics moving in, and elderly folks moving on that the ballots shall swing.... I haven't counted the numbers myself, but from what I understand, there have been decreasing degrees that R's have been defeating D's in some NC Congressional runs, even in spite of the districts being drawn as they are (on another note, and I don't agree with extreme gerrymandering by either side, but I've kinda thought of the I-85 district as a Rorschach test... looks kinda like part of an outline of an elephant to me...). I hear tell the D numbers have been rising, even eclipsing those of my dear friends in another loyal party, and it's only a matter of time. Best wishes, John

The Young Fayetteville Murderee…

Sorry, Mr. Kipling…. I admit that the full facts haven't filtered out yet, and I feel kinda bad about this, but the line's just so there.... http://fayobserver.com/articles/2013/05/12/1256452?sac=fo.local When you're wounded and left on Bragg Blvd., And someone ambulances you in their car, They'll take you to die at a local Walmart, Because, hey, I guess it's just Fayetteville... http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-young-british-soldier/

Shakespeare: The World As Stage

Great book by Bryson, listened to, finished 2/7/2012

Official Rules of Baseball

First bit was the most interesting....

Hornblower and the Atropos

November 26, 2012

Bible

Nov. 17, 2012

Gerrymandering....

What if districts were somehow indexed to some calculation of recent voting patterns, to try and even out the parties some and keep one from running the table?

Anglischism

Anglischism http://chapelhillpoliticalreview.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/anglischism/ Somewhere I remember reading, or at least just totally making up, that one of the basic tenets of happiness through Buddhism is accepting the world and getting over it. Roughly translated, that means: “Eh….” I’ve tried applying this to various parts of life (the Bush years were very helpful in this department) and am using the attitude to deal with the current goings-on in the Anglican Communion. As an Episcopalian, a member of that big religious family that comprises the various denominational children begotten of Henry VIII and a stubborn Pope, I’m in the loop every time someone gets unhappy. That happens a lot. In brief, it’s 2009, there’s a black president, women are people too, we’ve stopped burning gays as fuel, and some folks are incensed. Pun intended. Specifically, the Roman Catholic church is making it easier for dissatisfied Anglicans to make a break for Rome: Am I worried that this is the end of my denomination? That massive flocks of Anglicans will suddenly start saying their Hail Marys even louder (I’m hoping I’m in good stead – I always use the blue candles around her icon)? That trumpets will sound and my home parish will come a-tumblin’ down? You mean that out of an Anglican Communion of 77 million people, someone’s not happy? Well, that’s to be expected. “Eh….” Really, I’ve come to the realization that it’s impossible to make everyone happy. Even if 999 people were soaked in juicy bliss with rainbows shining out their… that last 1 person would be ticked because everyone else was being so damn content. And that’s why being at Disney World too long pisses me off. So I’m sorry not everyone’s happy, and I try really hard maximize world jolliness, but when I understand that no matter what I do, no one’s going to be totally happy, I can only muster one word… “Eh…” It’s not that I don’t care, it’s that I just really don’t care all that much. My apathy is my greatest strength. I mean, when MTV can’t find eight people that can peacefully cohabitate on “Real World,” it sets a pretty low standard for harmony in the third largest Christian community on earth. Accepting that there’s no way to ultimately make everybody happy, we have to figure out what to do. Interestingly, it doesn’t really matter, and I suddenly feel enlightened. “Ommm….” See, no matter what we do, we’re going to lose some people. We’ve always lost people. Every time we adopt a new prayer book we lose people. At some point somebody lost people when they dropped doing their whole service in Latin… (Yeah, I’m talking at you, Pope Benedict). We lost people when we let blacks in. Now we’re losing people because we let women play too. If we let more gays be clergy, we’re gonna lose even more people. But if we aren’t accepting of gays, we’re still gonna lose people – them and a bunch of other folks who’ve figured out it’s 2009, there’s a black president, women are people too….We’re always going to lose some people, and we’re always gonna gain others. As is, we’ve got some folks who’ve left. But we’ve also got some folks who’ve come into the church because we have a more accepting stance on their innate sexuality – i.e. we don’t spend every Sunday morning damning them. By my guessing, it’ll come out a wash and there’ll more harm, heartache, and heartburn come from navel-gazing and second-guessing ourselves on how many gay angels can’t dance on the head of a straight pin than from our denomination just deciding to walk the right path and not looking back. What the hell – when in doubt, try doing the right thing. And sub-Saharan Africa’s got a problem? Eh… what else is new. JOHN DERRICK

Pride & Predjudice

Oct. 29, 2012

More books....

Last month finished listening to On The Road, this month The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes....

The Science of Hitting....

August, 2012 -- good advice and a pretty good read....

Listened to Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court -- finished July 19,2 012

Manifesto of the Commie Party -- June, 2012

"Coming Apart" -- June of 2012

The Screwtape Letters

My audiobook for February, 2012 :)

The Call of the WIld

Just finished reading (on iPhone...).... Pretty good!

JD

Just finished....

All About Rockets and Jets -- remember it from 4th grade!

The Lord of the Flies

Finished it -- still wondering why we watched the movie of this in church when I was in middle school....

"The arc of history is long...

... but it bends towards justice" -- MLK

Email address

PLEASE NOTE: The jderrick@email.unc.edu email address is going to be deactivated soon due to my graduation more than a year ago from UNC, taking with it the jd@unc.edu address. The jderrick@alumni.unc.edu and jderricknc@aol.com addresses should still work. Just wanted to let folks know in case they need to update how they contact me.

Drum Brakes... long story....

Gay Marriage?

"Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?"

"The Bachelor"

"Bride Wars"

Gee... I'm sure glad we don't let gays get married. They might ruin the sanctity of marriage -- and we heteros are perfectly capable of doing that on our own....

....

Because as everyone knows, marriage is the sacred union of a pregnant 17-year old and a scared high school dropout with a shotgun to his back.

Minnesota Milita to Deploy Peacekeepers to Upcoming Political Conventions

“Hordes of masked government storm troops, covered in black Kevlar uniforms, arresting everyone in sight?”
“Dude, I thought we were just making that crap up,” said George McHenry, a battalion commander with the Minnesota Militia, a fringe militant group on the federal government’s terror watch list, “but I just saw it on YouTube.”
“Those pictures are going to look great on next year’s recruiting brochure.”
The recent Republican National Convention earned notoriety with many, including people who are supposed to be wackos, when a political organization that espouses freedom and small government used a police force larger than the Libertarian party to ensure the safety of its delegates from thought.
“I mean, what about free speech? Freedom to assemble? Probable Cause?” asked McHenry while using pages from Article III of the United States’ Constitution, which covers the federal judiciary, to wipe down his rifle, nicknamed “Due ProceSKS.”
“Next time they want to take on the American People, I figure we’ll show up and let them take their chances with the Second Amendment and the 3rd Battalion, Minnesota Militia! The Fightin’ Mooses!”
Moosei?
“I figure we can hop a ride in my wife’s Prius,” said McHenry.
“She runs the ACLU booth….”

Death Penalty Project Student Volunteer Takes Group Name Literally

"Ooops.”

"I mean, I thought the group name was…. Oh, my,” said first year law student Sandra Ginsburg, standing over recently death-penaltied Chris Holstein.

Holstein, a Chapel Hill resident, had beaten the rap for three homicides, four rapes, and bestiality in a school zone but didn’t get past Ginsburg one recent afternoon when she knocked on his door and he opened it, thinking she was another Obama volunteer.

“Do I still get pro bono hours?”

Ginsburg was volunteering with UNC Law’s Death Penalty Project, a group that is typically focused on opposing the use of the death penalty, which group leaders explained at their recent meeting, which sleep-deprived Ginsburg slept through.

“I’ve spent three years working to keep Chris out on parole!” bewailed Project President Stephen Roberts upon hearing the news.

“On the other hand, good riddance to bad rubbish.”

"How many more bullets you got?”

Officer A.L. Parker, Chapel Hill Police, praised Ginsburg’s “spirit of American volunteerism” and “involvement with her community.”

“Just think of it as an extreme late term abortion,” said Officer Parker. “I believe Holstein was in his 196th trimester.”

In other news, UNC’s branch of the Domestic Violence Advocacy Project, DVAP, has recently changed its name to the Domestic Violence Action Project.

Ooops.

Australopithecines and a crisis in Detroit

Once upon a time there were some unfortunate, dim brutes that couldn’t adapt to changing conditions and died out. They were well suited to the contemporary environment, but inflexible and hapless when the conditions changed.

Way on way back when there were a set of hominoid species called the australopithecines (just call them cavemen). Shortly thereafter I learned about them when I was an anthropology major. Some of them evolved to be relatively smart and able to adapt to many changing environments (us).

Others of them got really big and really good at chewing on sticks and stuff and didn’t really learn how to do much else.

They became very physically specialized and dependant on a very particular set of environmental conditions in a way that kept them from changing with the times. To chew the tough foods of the African savannah, they developed big jaws but small brains.

We, however, developed bigger brains that helped us come up with primitive yet versatile tools…. No, we aren’t physically all that spiffy. To be exact, on the grand scale of lions, tigers, and bears, we’re really pretty pathetic. We don’t have horns or hooves or sharp teeth, and aside from our brains we don’t really have a chance. But these wonderful, adaptable brains enabled us to survive and explore or environment using fire, and spears, and rocketships to the moon, and clearcutting of rainforests….

Instead of big teeth for chewing on hyena carcasses, we became smart enough to build blenders. Now we can drink that hyena carcass through a straw. That’s progress.

But when the climate changed our big dumb hominoid cousins couldn’t just make a different tool. They weren’t able to adapt quickly enough. When the climate got cold and they ran out of stuff to happily chew on, they died. We, instead, invented microwaves.

Mmmm…. warm hyena.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, according to the Creationists, and we get to the American automobile agency and its australopithecines/SUVs. Back in the day when gasoline were a cheap as the blood of Arab children, what did it matter if we only got eight miles to the gallon? We could have cared, but, eh… we didn’t want to.

Now suddenly gas prices have been in the news and we’re concerned about the environment and Detroit can’t keep up with change and an old anthropology major just couldn’t help take note….

Once upon a time there were some unfortunate, dim brutes that couldn’t adapt to changing conditions and died out?

What makes a car American?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/12/american.cars/index.html

Sounds like my Japanese car, made in America by Americans with parts made in the USA, is more red-white-and-blue than most of the guzzlers out there...

Cars, Cultures, Towing, and Customer Service

My family’s never had trucks – we’ve always had cars that were rated to tow a small utility trailer full of pine straw, load to the dump, or whatnot a couple times a year. I’m not talking about a jalopy dragging a mobile home with one frayed bungee cord – rather a good car with a good trailer behind a professionally installed hitch driven by someone who’s done plenty of towing over the decades.

It’s getting harder to find cars that are rated by the manufacturer to tow anything, and I’ve been digging into this a little. I’ve got family in Germany, and I’ve spent time over there and seen all sorts of cars towing all sorts of trailers, and they get along fine and the continent of Europe miraculously seems to exist without SUVs the size of Panzers.

In America, however, there seems to be a prejudice that nothing smaller than an Excursion has any business towing a jetski, to use a little hyperbole.

One of the common reasons I hear being bantered about is that the engines or transmissions are different. But, for example, when I compare the humble Canadian Yaris (rated to tow 700 pounds - http://www.toyota.ca/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WWW.woa/16/wo/
Home.Vehicles.Go.YarisHatchback-lgxvpnVVtZh7EkmjwkIKyg/
5.11?v124040e%2ehtml) and the American Yaris (rated to tow nothing, http://www.toyota.com/yaris/specs.html) all the hardware looks the same. The British Yaris is rated to tow more than 1200 pounds, even with its smallest gas engine (http://www.toyota.co.uk/cgi-bin/toyo...editorial.jsp?
BV_SessionID=@@@@1319304561.1224440165@@@@&BV_Engi neID=
cccgadefhhgmlfjcfngcfkmdfkidffh.0&deepLink=YA3_Spe cification_new&
nodiv=TRUE&fullwidth=TRUE&edname=specSheet_YA3&car Model=Yaris&img
Name=bv/CarChapter/YA3/Imagery/YA3_spec.jpg&zone=Zone%20YARIS).

I contacted Toyota USA and they said they couldn’t comment on what Toyota’s branches in other nations did. I contacted Toyota Canada and they said they couldn’t comment on what Toyota’s branches in other nations did.

I'm going to withhold some of the comments that come to mind praising customer service and cue cards.

So what’s the deal here? Is the Yaris sold in Buffalo really that different from the one sold in Toronto? Is it the distances involved in the countries (umm… Canada’s pretty big)? Or the hardware (I haven’t crawled all over them, but the websites make them look like genetic twins except for some slick marketing)? Environmental (since when are we more environmentally tight than the Germans)? Personally, I hate to be cynical, but I’m wondering if the real factor in play is how many SUVs and trucks the companies think they can sell in each nation (No, your Prius can't tow a kayak. May we interest you in a Land Cruiser?).

And that’s part of where I wind up caring. Do we have a lot of folks driving around in vehicles they don’t need? If you put a hitch on your Camry anyways, will someone say the warranty was voided?

What’s the deal?

Gov. Palin =

VPILF?

South Ossetia – It’s like a whole other county.

But really, I don’t think Georgia is out of line, they just fell in with the wrong crowd. South Carolina talked them into it again and suddenly the Yankees are nervous and the Georgians are scared some guy named Sherman is going to show up.

In the meantime, they’ve been playing Russia in volleyball at the Olympics and for some strange reason the Russki’s, who are sick of Georgia’s 10-meter pistol team flinging spitwads at them, keep trying to come on their side of the net, defended only by two confused ladies in bikinis and the ghost of Davy Crockett.

And his trusty rifle, Betsy.

" U.S., China lead way in tapping wind power"

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/
science/07/28/wind.energy/index.html

"China's wind generation has increased by more than 100 percent per year since 2005 and 20 per cent of the power supply to the venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will come from wind generators, according to the official state agency, Xinhua.

It was initially hoped the country would generate 5 gigawatts of wind by 2010, but that goal was met three years early in 2007. The 2010 goal has now been revised to 10 gigawatts but experts say this could well hit 20 gigawatts."

Darn....

" 15 reasons Mr. Rogers was best neighbor ever"

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/
07/28/mf.mrrogers.neighbor/index.html

"2. He made thieves think twice. According to a TV Guide piece on him, Fred Rogers drove a plain old Impala for years. One day, however, the car was stolen from the street near the TV station. When Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by every newspaper, radio and media outlet around town. Amazingly, within 48 hours the car was left in the exact spot where it was taken from, with an apology on the dashboard. It read, "If we'd known it was yours, we never would have taken it."

" White House projects record deficit for 2009"

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/
07/28/2009.deficit/index.html

"President Bush inherited a budget surplus of $128 billion when he took office in 2001 but has since posted a budget deficit every year."

Darn, I'm glad we didn't elect a "spend-o-crat."

". . . a senior administration official says the budgetary problems stem from what he called inadequate defense, intelligence and homeland security resources that were handed down from Clinton."

C'mon, folks. You've had eight years and all three branches of government.

So... how has that worked out?

Healthy Workers Save Company Money

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness
/07/25/fn.healthy.company/index.html

"The ones that stand straight..."

I was walking through downtown Raleigh this afternoon when I overtook a father and his kindergarten-aged daughter circling the old state capitol building. He was pointing out the monuments as they walked past, and noted to the young lady the soldiers on our Vietnam War memorial.

"Are soldiers the ones that stand straight?" she asked her father.

Yes they are, young ma'am. Yes they are.

"Soy foods 'reduce sperm numbers'"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7519459.stm

This would explain the puzzling low number of people in Asia.

Since when is not having enough people in this country/on this Earth an issue?

"On Wednesday, NASCAR told all Toyota teams in the Nationwide Series that their engines made too much horsepower...."

http://news14.com/content/top_stories/597675/solarte--toyota-gets-clipped/Default.aspx

So much for wussy Japanese cars....

"Ford posts largest quarterly loss ever, Troubled automaker unveils plans to shift product line, bringing European-made vehicles to North America."

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/24/news/companies/ford/index.htm?postversion=2008072407

'bout darn time....

Environmentalism....

Environmentalism doesn’t have to mean cold showers and warm beer: sometimes it can be just a matter of getting our heads out of our… and doing the little things we should be doing anyways.

I had a friend in college who would leave the fan on in his dorm room while he was at class and such. I asked him why he was wasting the energy – a fan doesn’t even keep things any cooler, it just moves the air around and feels good when you’re in the room – and he replied that it wasn’t his electricity. Maybe he was just being sarcastic, but I don’t recall him then turning off the fan. I do remember that he’s a wonderful, swell, smart guy who’s probably reading this.

On a related note, these days I’m doing a little research into mercury advisories for fish. Apparently, wild catfish in NC, including in the municipal pond I fish out of at Anderson Park in Carrboro, have so much mercury in them that there’s an advisory against me eating more than one serving a week. That’s just six ounces. And for “women of childbearing age, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children under age 15” the advisory says “Do not eat” (that was boldface in the original, http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/fish/safefish.html).

How is this related to my friend with the fan? Well, coal power plants, like the ones that produce the hunk of our electricity, also produce mercury that billows up into the air, drops down into our ponds, gets ingested by fish and then eaten by us.

I’m pretty sure that my friend isn’t responsible for the exact molecules of mercury in the last catfish I caught, but I think if enough people were willing to take the extra second and a half a darn worth of caring to turn off their fans, lights, TVs… when not needed, then I might be able to maybe eat two servings a week of catfish.

Whether we like it or not, we’re all connected and each of us affects everyone else on Earth.
Darn, that’s deep.
So please stop being such …holes.
Darn, that’s honest.

I’m not saying (as I type this on a laptop in a well-lit, climate-controlled office) that we don’t need electricity. I’m not advocating people make major, martyr-ific sacrifices in their lives – going to bed at sundown, bumping into things in the dark, reverting back to some sort of 15th century, pre-industrial level of suckiness.

But is it all that hard to turn off the freakin’ fan?
Instead of a cold shower, how about taking a minute to install one of the low-flow shower heads some folks are giving away these days. Instead of drinking warm beer, how about folks saving electricity, and money, by not heating their places to 80 degrees in the winter and cooling to 60 in the summer?

If you’re going to drive ten miles to the gym to hop on the treadmill then swing by the tanning salon on the way home, griping about gas prices the whole way, couldn’t you just go for a walk on a sunny day?

These are some lessons I learned from my friend with the fan. Failing them, if you want to get folks’ attention on energy issues, you’ve got to make them pay out the….

Like at the gas pump.

Tarheels....

How about them ‘Heels?

I have always been a North Carolinian. My family on my American side has been here three generations. I’ve grown up here, this is my home, and I’d be happy to see a fourth generation of Derricks in North Carolina.

But only over the years have I realized what it is to be a Tar Heel.

I remember as undergrad hearing Gov. Jim Hunt speak on our Quad about the history of our new nation’s first public university. As a poor ex-colony, we didn’t have the rich patrons of New England’s Harvard or Yale. But we as a state recognized the importance of education and had the audacity, the audacity, Gov. Hunt proclaimed, to found our own school – a university of the people.

I remember standing in a classroom in Germany, telling fellow study abroad students from all over the world the legend of how we became the Tar Heels – taking a slur of derision against poor barefoot workers burning pine trees to make tar and turning the name into a title of honor as our soldiers stood their ground in battle, while other Confederate units retreated, “because of the tar on our heels.”

But I have never been prouder to be a Tar Heel than this evening on Franklin Street, when thousands of us cheering, chanting, fire-jumping basketball fans spontaneously, with one accord, grew quiet for a moment of silence in memory of Eve Carson, our Student Body President who was taken from us this week.

http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c23/jderrick/?action=view&current=Tarheels.flv

This is how we win.

This is how we celebrate.

And this is how we mourn our loss – with the strength, spirit, and honor of the historied, legendary Carolina family of Tar Heels.

I’m a Tar Heel….

I saw this on the History Channel and it's just too odd….

Alaskan natives have long provided our military with expertise in arctic warfare. It should come as no surprise that Inuits know a thing or too about living and working in the cold.

Inheriting a storied history of Alaskans serving our forces in native military units, we currently have the Alaskan National Guard…

… units of which have been shipped to Iraq.

Really, I saw footage of some of their training. Like many contemporary units training for military operations in urban terrain (MOUT), they had a mock Iraqi streetscape they were using to practice building clearing techniques… in a blizzard.

I have this mental image of a unit of Inuits deplaning somewhere in the sandy Gulf, still uniformed in their furry white parkas despite the 120 degree shade temperature, when one turns to the other --

"Hey, Arnakua'gsak."

"Yes, Pukkeenegak."

"WHAT THE F…!"

UNC: Smoke Free/Math Free?

The signs across campus profess UNC to now be smoke free. Actually the new rule is against smoking "within 100 feet of University buildings." (http://www.sph.unc.edu/epidemiology_news/school_of_public_health_supports_unc_smoke-free_policy_effective_jan._1_2008_6570_1957.html)

That's not really very far, folks. The flagpole at the law school is 100 feet from the door (I paced it off. Yes I am that anal). I'm not sure how close you'd be to the track building at that point, but a few steps into the parking lot and you'd be in the clear.

So we're not banning smoking, just giving those who do a little more exercise. There are lots of places on campus more than 100 feet from buildings -- the quad, the arboretum, other quads, lots of parks, parking lots, quadparkinglots….

Heck, if The Pit on main campus was about 40 feet wider you'd be able so smoke there (I paced that off too. I told you I was anal).

It's not that I enjoy second hand smoke or am against helping folks quit smoking. But is this really a ban or a restriction? And let's have some understanding of distance. I've gotten both lost and nearly in a bad car accident because folks don't know 100 feet from a quarter mile or 100 yards from where a hurricane blew down a tree in the road that I was supposed to go take pictures of for the newspaper and it wasn't where they said it was so I sped up again… and then drove through the tree… in a hurricane.

Yes, I know I'm a codgerly coot verging on curmudgeonliness, but when I say I walked six miles to school each day uphill both ways (I lived on South Campus) in three feet of snow and 110 degree heat (on the same day, no less), it really was six miles.

I paced it off myself.

So some friends of mine invited me to a Lovefest...

So some friends of mine invited me to a Lovefest.

Turns out I didn't need the leather whip. Or the fuzzy pink handcuffs… it was a Moravian Christmas Love Feast.

Oh what a difference an "A" makes?

Wish they'd explained this before I showed up at a church dressed in, um, swaddling clothes?

But to tell the truth (which is switching gears) I was invited to a Lovefeast (which is different from a Love Fast - that's what Ghandi did) at Raleigh Moravian on Christmas Eve, and I did have a wonderful time, and no, there was no kinkiness involved.

Oh well, there's always Boxing Day.

I showed up with a couple friends - Sarah and her sister, Kathryn - who I'd carpooled over with from Chapel Hill to meet a couple friends from Raleigh - Emily and our friend Sara -for some Moravian buns (made with 100% real Moravians) and coffee. It turns out the Moravians (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravian_Church) actually have a children's church camp song about these traditional goodies served at Lovefeasts, which are celebrations of community, love, and buns and coffee.

The song is set to the tune of "Folsom Prison Blues" sung by Johnny Cash, but they took out the part about shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die.

Probably for the better.

Anyway, I learned a little about Moravians (lots of them in Winston-Salem and Tanzania, apparently) and Lovefeasts (at the end of the service they distribute to the congregation candles and ladies with fire blankets) on the drive over and when we stopped for a bit at Sarah's house I played with a cat named Mouse. The cat must be very confused. Are you confused? I am.

When we got to the church early we were late -- they were already full. Lovefeasts are very popular. Those must be damn good buns.

But the folks I was with explained they were only going to duck inside to say hello to our friends and then come right back out. I even joked with the usher about being left at the door as collateral. Or a hostage.

It turns out our friends had been holding seats for us, which was against the rules, which the usher we'd talked our way past explained when he caught on to what was happening.

If I get bouncered out of a Lovefeast, that's bad.

But the usher was mostly (or at least a little bit) joking and was really quite friendly (though he probably would have liked a little more leverage. Or a hostage) and we were allowed to keep our squeezed-in seats (at least there was enough room I didn't have to go sit in a manger or something) where we quickly made several more close friends.

Then before the service started one of my friends mentioned they were going to go say hello to their friend Chase who was at the service. I remembered I had a friend named Chase and went over and said hello to him. Small world, eh?

And the Cranfords were there as well. One of their sons was one of the first people I met when I moved to town years back. He was also one of the first people Emily met when she moved to town…. Eerie, eh?

His Dad taught actually me how to blacksmith.

I'll bet you didn't know that about me, but you probably aren't surprised.

Anyway, so several generations and various circles of friends were gathered together in a celebration of Christmas, community, alliteration, and cinging carols.

It's kind of like The Circle of Life or something except we don't eat each other, just the coffee and buns.

It turns out they substituted cider for the coffee, which was understandable see'in as how it was the children's service (the "adult" Lovefeast came later. Maybe they can use the whip). There was also a cute children's Christmas pageant, some fun bluegrass, a lot of great carols, we took up an offering for some mission or something in Tanzania (my friends weren't kidding about that)….

And at the end we got some really nice beeswax candles that we lit, and sure enough a lady with a fire blanket came over to stand by me.

They must have heard about that time I nearly burned down my Episcopal church.

Which was not my fault.

Church Music....

... so for some reason, the Loreleis, one of UNC's premier lady acapella groups, practices at one of my churcheson Sunday nights. A little farther down the hall I can hear Gregorian chants as the choir warms up for Compline. Walking a little farther, there's organ music wafting up through the walls....

Don't know if anyone else notices the beauty of it all, but I am struck.

Care Packages....

I was at the post office today shipping off another couple care packages to Iraq.

The student at the counter, who I know from the German department, says that I'm the first person she's ever seen who could correctly fill out the customs form to ship to an overseas American military address.

Well, I've had a lot of practice over the last few years

Not sure how I feel about that.

"NC pair feud over leg"

This made it all the way to the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7024124.stm

Maiden, NC, is what, one county over from Shelby.

Actually, I'm damned proud we made the BBC!

Cyclist/Motorist Cooperation

I've written on cycling advocacy. I ride everyday....

But lady, when you fly out of the arboretum, across the sidewalk and into the road right in front of me before bothering to brake...

... I don't care if you are in a crosswalk, Darwin and Newton may correct your actions and don't get on me for honking.

Behind the Photo.... The hurricane, the tree, and the underwear.

... I'd just gotten to Shelby perhaps a month or so before and we were having a series of hurricanes come through.

At the time I was in the apartment that leaked during hurricanes.

One woke me up early one morning, say 4:30, and as I lay in bed I started thinking that as a newspaper photographer, perhaps I should go take some photographs for the newspaper.

I figured I should listen to my scanner some to see what was going on. Then I remembered my scanner was in my car, outside in the hurricane.

I figured I could put on my cloths, but then they'd just get wet.

Yes, I was running around in a hurricane, in my yard, in my underwear.

Anyways, I lay there in bed for a while, now relatively naked AND wet, listening to the scanner whisper sweet nothings into my ear.

Damn, ain't photojournalism romantic.

After a while, I heard of a tree down a couple hundred yards up from Buffalo Creek on NC 150 out towards Chrvll (yes, that's how you pronounce "Cherryville." Vowels are for pssys).

I figured I'd go check it out. So I went out to my car (with my clothes on) and headed on up.

I passed the creek and started looking for the tree. A hundred yards passed. And then a few hundred more yards....

... I figured I'd passed the tree, so I sped up again and kept on driving for the next half mile or so to find a place to turn around...














AND THEN I HIT THE TREE.

Actually, thankfully, just the fluffy bits at the end and I stayed on the road and the car stayed in one piece. Still, it was rather exciting.

So I found a place to park the car, got out with my camera and poncho and walked over to the tree to take pictures of other people hitting the tree. One lady actually went off the road and sat in her car looking pretty traumatized for a while.

At some point I started thinking that maybe it was more my duty as a decent person to warn folks about the tree instead of just taking pictures. Now I carry flares in my car.

Still, I got some good pictures.

After they came and cleaned up the tree and the sun rose I started heading back to the office to offload my shots. Along the way I found a bunch of volunteer firemen from Waco and a tree on a powerline catching fire. These things get old hat pretty quickly.

I got back to the office soaked from one end to the other.

"I've heard it's coming down pretty hard out there," said one of my superiors.

Yep.

Flat up, straight out, hell yeah.

The Curse....

... Chad, Alan and I joke about "The Curse", but so far our comedy is related to at least a couple deaths and a broken truck.

The deal is that everywhere I go, bad things happen - I got on Chad's boat and we were suddenly caught in a hail storm, I go to New Years and wind up first on the scene of a pedestrian fatally hit in the road, I'm riding in Chad's truck and the drive train falls out, I go to New Years a year later and a car flips within sight of me....

And I don't even have to be in the country.

The day before I came back from Germany this summer, a drunk driver flew through Chad's yard (literally), flipping the car several times into the yard of Chad's grandmother-in-law, where the mortally injured passenger was ejected from the vehicle.

I'd left my car parked in Chad's yard while I was away.

And then I came to law school...

... and in the first week the school literally started falling down: http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/
paper885/news/2007/09/04/University/
Law-School.Evacuated-2948312.shtml

http://unc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2166117&id=2730354

Y'know, at one point a couple of years ago I actually noticed large black vultures circling my house.

Damn.

Pics from Germany....

http://unc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2145375&l=e6b78&id=2730354

Pics!

from the Outer Banks, where I'm doing a legal internship for the NC Coastal Land Trust....

http://unc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2136207&l=b7aae&id=2730354

http://unc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2137763&id=2730354

http://unc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2136248&id=2730354

http://unc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2136247&id=2730354&op=6

http://unc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2136245&id=2730354&op=6

Vatican to start using some solar power!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/06/05/vatican.solar.ap/index.html

Also....

.... if I may amend my previous blog, I ran by the post office today around 4:50. They close their window at 4:30. So they are unavailable before, and after, work.

Additionally, I'm getting ready to have to send some money overseas for study abroad housing. The US Postal Service will happily do an International Money Order to Albania or Sierra Leone... but not to Germany.

Last time I knew the stats, Deutschland had the third largest economy in the world, largest population in western Europe.... you may have heard of them. They're kind of a big deal. Maybe we should do commerce with them.

Brilliance.

Hmmm.......

.... so the post office opens after people get to work, but the recycling center closes before people go home from work. So if you wanted to combine the errands on the way to or from work, it'd be impossible....

Interesting.

Recalling Life on Memorial Day....

Thanks, Vets....

I read this years ago, found it again online recently, and repost it every Veteran's and Memorial Day. It’s by a columnist for Raleigh’s News and Observer.

"Recalling Life on Memorial Day"
By Dennis Rogers

I think they would understand the way it turned out.

Memorial Day is their day, isn’t it?

It is supposed to be the day a grateful nation pauses to quietly thank the more than one million men and women who have died in military service to their country since the Revolutionary War.

Or is it the day the beach resorts kick into high gear for the summer season, the day the strand is covered by fish-belly white people basting themselves in coconut oil, the day the off-season rates end and the weekend you can’t get into a seaside seafood restaurant with anything less than a one-hour wait.

Or is it one of the biggest shopping center sales days of the year, a day when hunting for a parking place is the prime sport for the holiday stay-at-homers.

I think the men and women who died for us would understand what we do with their day. I hope they would, because if they wouldn’t, if they would have insisted that it be a somber, respectful day of remembrance, then we have blown it and dishonored their sacrifice.

I knew some of those who died, and the guys I knew would have understood. They liked a sunny beach and a cold beer and a hot babe in a black bikini, too. They would have enjoyed packing the kids, the inflatable rafts, the coolers and the suntan lotion in the car and heading for the lake. They would have enjoyed staying at home and cutting the grass and getting together with some friends and cooking some steaks on the grill, too.

But they didn’t get the chance. They were in the Marine Barracks in Beirut and died in the oily waters of the Persian Gulf. They caught theirs at the airstrip in Grenada in the little war everybody laughed at. They bought the farm in the I Drang Valley and on Heartbreak Ridge and at Hue. They froze at the Chosin Reservoir and were shot at the Pusan perimeter. They drowned in the surf at Omaha Beach or fell in the fetid jungles of Guadalcanal. They were at the Soame and at San Juan Hill and at Gettysburg and at Cerro Gordo and at Valley Forge.

They couldn’t be here with us this weekend, but I think they would understand that we don’t spend the day in tears and heart-wrenching memorials. They wouldn’t want that. Grief is not why the died. They died so that we could go fishing. They died so that another father could hold his laughing little girl over the waves. They died so another father could toss a baseball to his son in the backyard while the charcoal is getting white. They died so another buddy could drink a beer on his day off. They died so a family could get in the station wagon and go shopping and maybe get some ice cream on the way home.

They won’t mind that we have chosen their day to have our first big outdoor party of the year. But they wouldn’t mind, either, if we took just a second and thought about them. Some will think of them formally, of course. Wreaths will be laid in small, sparsely attended ceremonies in military cemeteries and at monuments at state capitals and in small town squares. Flags will fly over the graves, patriotic words will be spoken and the few people there probably will feel a little anger that no more people showed up. They’ll think no one else remembers.

But we do remember.

We remember Carlton and Chico and Davey and the guys who died. We remember the deal we made: If we buy it, we said, drink a beer for me.

I’ll do it for you, guys. I’ll drink that beer for you today, and I’ll sit on that beach for you, and I’ll check out the girls for you and, just briefly, I’ll think of you. I won’t let your memory spoil the trip, but you’ll be on that sunny beach with me today. I will not mourn your deaths this Memorial Day, my friends. Rather I’ll celebrate the life you gave me.

This Bud’s for you.

USS Nimitz!

Turns out one of my friends from my Boy Scout troop is serving at an undisclosed location south of a bunch of Taliban getting bombs dropped on their heads by him and his crew on the USS Nimitz.

I don't want to shock my Army buddies (and don't worry, I'm still pulling for Go Army, Beat Navy) but let's hear it for the USS Nimitz and our Navy buddies over there!

http://www.nimitz.navy.mil/index.html

Bar Review on Franklin Street....

Let's hear it for institutional memory! A couple years ago this was written by one of our fine law students, Brian Ernst, and I think the wisdom still rings true....

Brian's Bar Review - East Siiiide, Pt 1

Today I will address a topic of great importance to incoming law students. Those of you from outside the Chapel Hill area should pay particular attention to the present discussion as this information will prove to be invaluable to surviving your first year.

As you've likely heard, the law school organizes a weekly "Bar Review" during which a bar is chosen and the few law students with social lives assemble at the establishment. It's a great way to meet people you might not normally get to see, such as people in other colleges as well as students outside of law school who aren't nearly as neurotic as you are. This email should also assist in figuring out where these places are if you're not familiar with the area.

So... it's time once again for Brian's Bar Review, or BBR (not ever to be confused with PBR upon pain of death). In today's newsletter I will be providing a brief analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, and overall quality of bars on the eastern side of town. "East" generally refers to everything east of Columbia Street, which runs perpendicular to Franklin at one of Chapel Hill's main crossroads. It includes the more well-known hangouts such as Top of the Hill, and there's definitely a different crowd between West Franklin bars (generally more alternative) and those on East (more mainstream).

* NOTE WELL: The views expressed herein represent only the opinions of the author and not necessarily of CLISA or UNC Law, though they should.

Without further ado, here's a bar-by-bar breakdown of East Franklin's major establishments:

--------

GOLDIE'S

Location: Goldie's is actually located within a structure housing a walkway from Franklin to Rosemary (the street running parallel north of Franklin). Look for the Bank of America ATM and go through the doorway to the left. Walk straight ahead and you'll run right into it.

Strengths: Goldie's has an outside area which is awesome for most of the year. They usually have decent drink specials, and there are also lots of booths at which a group may sit. They have a little dance floor tucked away in the back on which only the drunkest of the drunk dance.

Weaknesses: Like some of the bars on East Franklin, there's a certain element of snobbery in the air that's tough to ignore. Also, on busy nights, the inside area can get quite crowded. But the absolute worst thing about Goldie's is the bar staff. Unless you know them by name, expect to wait several minutes for anything other than a beer. Also, never expect to be charged the right amount for what you've ordered. I've found that what shows up on your tab often bears no resemblance whatsoever to what you ordered. Since what they charge seems completely arbitrary, I usually order a more expensive drink and hope they charge me for a soda. Sadly it's happened several times already.

Drinks: 2/5; Atmosphere: 3/5; Service: 1/5; Overall: 3/5. Your typical East Franklin bar.

EAST END

Location: On the corner of East Franklin and Henderson St. It's got a tarp outside reading "East End Martini Bar," which pretty much clues you in on what to expect inside.

Strenghts: The obvious forte of East End are the cocktails and other drinks you can order. They're mixed well (rarely short on alcohol) and taste great, though they can be pricy. Fortunately they usually have a handful of them on special.

Weaknesses: Besides usually having to pay a cover for a subpar band - I have terrible memories of one performing lounge versions of Led Zeppelin classics - East End charges a lot for drinks. Due to its narrow layout, the bar also gets quite congested on weekends and it's generally tough to manuever while holding margaritas. However, there is a waiting staff that will bring them to you and I highly recommend taking advantage of them (so to speak).

Drinks: 4/5; Atmosphere: 2/5; Service: 3/5; Overall: 2/5. Between their drinks and your casebooks you'll be refinancing soon enough.

TOP OF THE HILL

Location: At the corner of Columbia and Franklin. Note that you have to enter through a door along South Columbia and climb the steps or use the elevator. I recommend taking the elevator down for obvious reasons. Start walking south from Franklin; if you pass the movie theater you've gone too far. Just look for the "Your collar must be THIS high to enter" sign.

Strengths: TotH contains its own brewery where they make some excellent beers, in particular their IPA. If you can find a place to sit down outside, you get a great view of Franklin Street and its bumbling population.

Weaknesses: As my fellow rising 2Ls know, my personal boycott of TotH has been running strong for several months now. While the reasons are as varied as the shades of pink shirts inside, let me just say that if you do not like the preppy, popped-collar frat crowd, you will NOT like TotH. The sad part is that if there were no other customers it'd be a great place to go, but as it stands it's the symbol of every negative stereotype of UNC students one can imagine. There's also an interesting race between the girls and guys to see who can wear the shorter skirts/shorts which I don't quite understand but find amusing nonetheless. By the end of your semester, you will either love or hate this place. Guess which one I chose!

Drinks: 4/5; Atmosphere: 0/5; Service: 4/5; Overall 0/5. I will pay you money not to support this place.

LINDA'S

Location: At the far eastern end of Franklin, right before McCalister's. Note there's an upstairs and a downstairs.

Strengths: ORDER THE CHEESE FRIES. I've lived in CH for five years now and this is the best food available. They prepare a huge basket of fries, smother them with cheese and bacon, serve them with a nice side of ranch and let you rock and roll. I've had nights here turn very sour because I paid more attention to the cheese fries than my date, but even worse is that I knew I made the right decision. Linda's also has good beer specials and a friendly atmosphere. Go there on slow nights and they'll play some great music; last time I was present they played entire albums by Tom Petty and Nine Inch Nails.

Weaknesses: Like many of the bars in Chapel Hill, Linda's usually has two bartenders: a very attractive one who brings in the customers, and one who actually has some skill in preparing drinks. Make sure you order from the right one.

Drinks: 3/5; Atmosphere: 5/5; Service: 3/5; Overall: 5/5. One of my favorite bars on Franklin.

LUCY'S

Location: Down Henderson St (connecting Rosemary and Franklin) closer to Rosemary.

Strengths: Lucy's has the best 80s nights outside of any place in CH not named Cat's Cradle. The bar staff is usually friendly and (more importantly) quick with your drinks. Like Goldie's, Lucy's has an outside area which is perfect for nice nights, but it's pretty small and tends to get crowded.

Weaknesses: The crowd at Lucy's mirrors what you might find at a place like Goldie's, which might seem stuck up if you're a socially conscious person. Also, it's a small place so it can be a tight fit on party nights. Finally, they typically require a cover even when no band is playing and no drink specials are offered. wtf mates?!

Drinks: 3/5; Atmosphere: 3/5; Service: 4/5; Overall: 3/5. If it weren't for 80s night, Lucy's would seem redundant.

WOODY'S

Location: The blue-lighted bar near the intersection of E Franklin and Henderson, adjacent to the post office. The PO is easy to spot - just look for the emo/goth high schoolers hanging out in front talking about how much they want to be vampires.

Strengths: Woody's is primarily a sports bar and for that purpose it works well. It's quite spacious and there are lots of places to sit and TVs to watch, so crowding isn't an issue except during bball season. It also serves greasy bar food at modest prices.

Weaknesses: Surprisingly, the drinks aren't that great (even the beer, which is often flat) and they tend to overcharge even on specials. Also, you'll occasionally run into one heavily inebriated fan of a random sports team who sits alone at a table, decorated in his team's gear, shouting and hollering after every first down, dunk, etc. Really, it'd be amusing if it wasn't so damn annoying. Make sure to get a seat early on game day.

Drinks: 2/5; Atmosphere: 4/5; Service: 2/5; Overall: 3/5. Going to Woody's gives me one. (Okay, it doesn't, but how often can you use that joke?)

THE LIBRARY:

Location: Near the corner of Franklin and Columbia on the south side of the street (most bars are on the north).

Strengths: For the most part the Library is an unremarkable bar. It's biggest asset that I've found is it gives you the ability to say to yourself "I'm spending time at the library tonight" while you're double-fisting Sam Adams. Other than that, the bartending staff is usually really nice and they seem to run a lot of promos there through which you can get t-shirts and other neat stuff.

Weaknesses: No major problems, but some nights I walk by and the the music is absolutely BLARING from inside. It gives the place a sort of ghetto ambience [have those two words ever been put together before? I submit that they have not] which some might not enjoy.

Drinks: 3/5; Atmosphere: 3/5; Service: 5/5; Overall: 3/5. Much more fun than drinking in the law library.

GOODFELLAS

Location: About half a block down East Franklin. Note that you'll have to walk down some steps to get to it, which is a great omen. I have a theory that, for bars in CH, if you have to walk downstairs to get to it, it's going to be good; conversely, if you have to walk upstairs, it's going to suck. The science behind this theory is obviously rock solid.

Strengths: I really like the atmosphere in Goodfellas. It's got that quaint pub sort of feeling and it attracts a somewhat older crowd usually. They usually have decent drink specials and the bartenders are more than competent.

Weaknesses: Goodfellas doesn't really have any glaring weaknesses other than the inevitable crowding than plagues most bars on East Franklin on busy nights. I was actually banned there for a short while during my undergrad years (long story, don't ask unless you really want to know) but now that it's under new ownership I'm back in business!

Drinks: 4/5; Atmosphere: 4/5; Service: 4/5; Overall: 4/5. Even better than the "Goodfeathers" skit from Animaniacs!

--------

So that's the first installment of my bar review. I intended to cover virtually all of the bars on Franklin eventually but I think we all can agree I spent far too much time on this one, so that's pretty unlikely unless there's a huge demand otherwise. Of course, the best way to assess a bar is to simply pick one and go to it. UNC's Bar Review only hits about a handful of places - Goldie's, Lucy's, Linda's, TotH, The Library, and He's Not (on W Franklin) - so I encourage everyone to do some exploring on your own. Even on Henderson St there are a couple of neat pool and sports bars that I'd recommend.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer. Random thought, but is there anything more annoying than back to school commercials in July? I mean, geez, throw us a frickin' bone here. Anyway, I once again encourage everyone to come out to bar reviews if at all possible, especially if you don't know anyone here yet. I didn't know anyone here at first and now I've got lots of friends, right guys? ...guys? ...hey guys, where are you going...?

Have fun!

-Brian Ernst, rising 2L (pending review of this email)

AIM: FloydianSlip UNC