Fly a Kite

The days are ever shortening and with it my temper.  Here is a bit of blue skies and color left over from this summer.  This kite was brought to you by Pacific Beach, Washington.

For Thematic Photograph--Fly and Skywatch Friday

Gray Sky and Not-So-Gray Trees

I have passed these tree sculptures on South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago for months and not figured out what they represent. I'm still not sure about their meaning but they ornament a park area by the lake. The day I took these was warm for the season but breezy and there were people playing with their kids around these trees.

For Photo Sunday: Weird

Have a Great Thanksgiving

To those of you in the US.

Read This

First to explain the photo. It is taken at the Chicago Cultural Center in downtown Chicago which has a gorgeous series of mosaics some of which contain quotes pertaining to reading. The building was formerly the main downtown library branch until it was replaced by a modern building a few blocks away. Now the building is used for cultural events and it is still a wonderful public space. It took a little research to translate and identify the quotation (and Google translate failed miserably) even though I read a bit of Hebrew but I found that the quote is from Isaiah.
Here it is in Hebrew: ונתן הספר על אשר לא ידע ספר לאמר קרא נא זה
This is the quote with context although I might quibble with a few details of the translation: 11 For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12 Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”

Now for the reason I chose this photo.  I was reading an Israeli novel (in English, my Hebrew's not that good!) and I couldn't resist sharing a quote.  The novel is The Liberated Bride by AB Yehoshua, an author I've read and enjoyed before.  I haven't finished this particular book but my current impression is that it is overlong and that although I like the insights into Israeli and Arab culture, I don't particularly like the main character.  He gets on my nerves to say the least. 
The writing, however, is wonderful, and this paragraph in which two academics discuss a paper about Algerian history made me chuckle. 
The young postmodernist was happy to explain.  In articulate, if rather mechanical and (Rivlin thought) smugly jesuitical language, he demystified the devious concept of national identity, which served to ghettoize the lower clases and deprive them of their rights within the rigid framework of the national state, whether----for there was no difference----this was of an openly totalitarian or an ostensibly democratic nature.
In case you are mystified, what made me laugh was how perfectly the author captures a certain type of academic-speak and why I avoid a certain type of University of Chicago gathering.  Content be damned, it seems to say, so long as you say it articulately, if mechanically!

Blue Door in London

Just a photo for the day. This is from London where I passed a couple of hectic but fun days this summer. Anyone else find their attention being drawn to attractive doors?

Curvaceous Rhodie

Very old and sculpted rhododendron seen outside Dunkeld Catherdral in Dunkeld, Scotland. For Photo Sunday: curvy.

Veteran's Day

It seemed odd to find a statue of Abraham Lincoln while strolling through Edinburgh but there he was. At the base of the monument are his words: To preserve the jewel of liberty in the framework of freedom. The monument is in honor of Scottish-American soldiers. For the naysayers remember that we can honor the soldiers who fell in war even if we do not necessarily honor the particular war they fell in. On a lighter note, anyone going to see the Lincoln movie when it opens? Here are a few more photos of the same location.

My Travels Continue--San Francisco 2012

Last month I spent a few days in San Francisco attending a conference. I need to head to work in a moment so I can't post much but this is a shot from my hotel room window (that actually opened slightly--fairly novel for today's high rise downtown hotels). I like the patterns in the brick and the stalactite watermarks from the light rain.

Election Day

Even if you vote for the "other guy" (don't you wish we could say "other woman" one of these days), get out and vote today--those of you how are in the US and able to do so. A non-vote doesn't signal you want to change the system. It tells the politicians they can do what they want and no one cares.
 Just my two cents.
 
I for one will be glad the phone will stop ringing and the junk e-mails will taper off. Nonetheless I am tense about the outcome and will probably stay up past my bedtime tonight.
Sorry about the crappy formatting of the blog--ever since Blogger changed some settings a while back nothing comes out right and I haven't had the will, time or know-how to figure it out.

Addendum:  I figured out the formatting feature.  It was simple once I pressed the right button!  Now my blog will look better.

Harbor Views

While in Seattle in August we had a lovely seafood lunch near a working fisherman's harbor. After lunch we strolled the docks a bit and looked at the boats many of which seemed to hail from unpronounceable locations in Alaska. I vastly prefer these working boats to the pretty ornaments you see on Lake Michigan, all loud noise and massive wake. I couldn't figure out the purpose of this vehicle. It looks like it could have landed tanks on D-Day. Any thoughts?