The Annual Late Spring Trip to Borglum's Iris Farm

Oooooommmm....oooooommmm

This was last week, and I just got around to posting the pictures.

Such a beautiful day, such a beautiful place.

It really was just the perfect day as well, everything blooming.

The fields in the background are freshly plowed.

Peonies as well as Irises

The birds were singing, the bees were buzzing.

Color everywhere

A most enjoyable afternoon!

This is just a little hidden treasure here in the Greater Finger Lakes.

Dinner

Jalapeno-Lime chicken with a little summer salad!
Chicken, chicken and a turkey breast, that was on sale, for sandwiches, tomorrow!

Memorial Day 2010

Drill Baby Drill

I have been wanting to write this for the last few days, but Mr Jim Fitzgerald over at LIKE THE DEW beat me too it, I really could not have said anything better so here :
"Forgive me if I sound confused but I think conservatives have made a philosophical about face. The very people who have shouted against big government and for states’ rights are now screaming for the federal government to stop the oil spill in the gulf. The “business knows how to regulate itself” crowd suddenly transfers all responsibility for the gulf oil environmental disaster to the big government they want to downsize. Bobby Jindal, who laughed off volcano monitoring, is now yelling daily about the disaster that has polluted his beaches and marshes. However, instead of yelling at BP to clean up its mess, he is yelling at the big government he despises to get the job done. The red states of Louisiana and Mississippi suddenly look to big government to save them when the disaster is in their backyard. Apparently, they think Obama should don scuba gear and close the undersea valve all by himself."

KEEP READING

The Big (ger) Picture

" I am hormone driven , acne prone teenager... hear me roar "

OK, I am getting a little bit unhealthily obsessed with this, but : " what is the deal ? " Come on kiddies... sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

I posted my little defense of Sex and the City II last night, and thought that might be the end of it, I was wrong. It's not just a movie, it is, as far as I can tell, a slap at all that is holy within American man-hood

There is this site Rotten Tomatoes, that just gathers up all movie reviews from around the world on one page. ( sometimes it's really funny to read UK, Indian or Where ever reviews of very American movies..). Most of the reviewers have little pictures with their by-lines, and yes, most are men. Not really sure why.. but , that's just the way it turns out. 10:30 this lovely Memorial Day morning, and 85% of the reviewers just hate the uber fab four. For just oh so many reasons. Lets dig into one , sort of picked at random, ( I tend to read reviews of papers or sites that I have at least heard of )

Mr. Matt Branson, Creative Loafing, Charlotte

Read the entire review there↑, but let's look at just a snippit from it:

" Some bits are excusable: Many male moviegoers will take offense at the sight of hunky men’s penises bulging under Speedos, but how is this female-oriented eye candy any different than, say, Megan Fox letting her breasts do her acting for her in that accursed Transformers sequel? " I'm going to say it, then realizing it's an asshat of a statement, I am going to qualify it. Women are objectified with in an inch of all existence on the screen, but one glimpse of junk bulge is going to turn the hoards of Nascar loving straight men who are flocking to see SATC2 gay?

It is just odd, to me, that so much is being written about this movie. It is like men are just shocked that there are women over 30 in a movie.

NOT A TREND!

Sorry for the sparse blogging the last few days, the weather has just been beautiful, and I have just been spending time outside or doing things, or just with Neil or Koda. Don't worry, Ill be back in cave mode soon enough.... There does seem to be a lot going on in the world.

All The Single Haters......

The new Rorschach test is out folks... and everyone is seeing knives !

I , despite the beautiful weather, went and saw Sex and the City II this afternoon, and I liked it just fine. Carrie whines about Big and the four girls wear pretty cloths. Hello... it got us through 94 episodes of the tv series, why are people now expecting Chekhov ?

It all started when the New York Times guy decide that he just hated it more than ... well anything out side of hot coals and his private parts. News flash! Middle age straight white guy didn't like Sex and the City. Big shock there... moving on. But really, it's so much that people are not liking it, they are taking great glee in not liking it. " Look! See , I told you it was all silly bullshit.. now feel bad about everything like you should" Everybody becomes a raving Calvinist!

BUT, this morning... sadly, the fashion Gods of the k+b, THE PROJECTRUNGAY BOYS let lose with a tirade, that was just a little bit shy of taking a cab down to SJP's lovely West Village townhouse and bitch slapping her. Jeeze Louise, lighten up a bit fellows. You know... everyone back in the day just KNEW they were the real Carrie Bradshaw. They even mock this in the movie for a bit. And now, Miss Carrie is Mrs. Preston, That Carrie necklace nowhere to be seen, and perhaps everyone is just a little bit left behind. Dahn and I drug Neil to see the first one, and he hated almost enough to again, get in the car and drive to the West Village. She and I loved it. I would not go see a Transformer movie, or some slasher flick.. If you don't like Sex and the City, don't go see the movie?

My pal Jodi Dean ( had to use the last name, or yall would have thought that JJBSP learned some really big words! ) wrote a nice long piece on " Why I liked SATCII ", she gets a little bit deeper than I will, or can. Hey, I was there for the shoes.....

There are some funny lines, and some of it is a little big cringe inducing, but that was there in the tv show as well. As for the Liza parts... you live with that much millage, and move at all.. then get back to me. If I can find some fashion stills.. ( with out the boys, it will be all but impossible) we might do some chatting.. some hits, some misses. But enjoyable.

ask, tell.... come, sit... let's dish

Yes, that color green makes your but look big.

The full US House and the Senate Armed Forces Committee voted today

to do away with Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Both were bi-partisan.

I was glued to C-Span all day long, something I have not done for a long, long, time, A little like riding a bike. And it's all complex.. as in nothing has really passed anything yet. Too much to go into as to why this late, but TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY!!!

A Fantastic New York Times Interactive Map:

HERE

Only two no votes in all of New York/New England, some other surprises.

NYT STORY

Joe.My.God. has posted some clips from the day long debate, both good and bad.

must be " her time" or something....

Dinner ( and the living is easy )

Very nice day here in almost Canada, very Atlantaish weather. I think this was the last day of it, but we enjoyed it while we could.

Iris-pa-looza

Please, make sure ya'll are hitting NEIL'S BLOG for the back yard update, it is looking wonderful!

" have you ever been in love ? "

Sex and the City , Two : Double Live

or

Liza Breaks a Hip

Tonight at Radio City

let's dig right in.

Since I do not have the god like powers of TLo.

we will have to wait to see

who all everyone is wearing.

" and it was all yellow".. or is this green?

that is a lot of color. Our Queen is now on the payroll

at Halston, so I'll go with that. I like the dress, and as you know

the pink powers that be don't allow us to dispute anything that SJP does

but... is this really the right choice of color for her skin tone and hair.

There I have said it, restating, I do like the dress

HERE is another shot. I will say, a little strappy sandal maybe

would have worked better, but love this picture with the

light as her crown. And darling Matthew holding her purse,

with ALL that money... life is good.

I was wrong, it's Valentino.. the boys weigh in

HERE.

Very Miranda... don't you think?

A little more Tony presenter than HOT fashion movie premiere.

But, she is our General in the Fight for Freedom, so again

can do no wrong.

Odd choice, VERY Charlotte

see above , like the dress, like the color, like in on her

but is it the right dress to wear on THIS night?

( why is this night different......Mrs. Goldenblatt ? )

" I am so over you bitches, give me my big ass check and I'm on

the next plane back to British Columbia"

Love it, again, oddly, very Samantha, but also Kim Cantrell...

The lady has some years and mileage, YOU look that good

when you are there...

• Link to some bigger pictures.

yes

MORE

DINNER

Grilled Chicken and Broccoli

Spicy Corn and Cheesy Rice

Still life, with Koda and Tea

( that was still hot when I poured it, and

it melted all the ice )

head scratcher....

Big ole flashing light op ed , page one NYT :" In the last few days there’s been a mix of messages from government officials about whether the Obama administration has the authority to take control of the unrelenting seabed oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico.

But there’s no doubt, at least in the language of relevant federal law; President Obama not only has the authority, but the obligation — however politically risky that might be — to take ownership of efforts to stanch the flow.... ( the rest )

HUH ? Seriously folks, I am guessing that British Petroleum knows more about oil wells than Barack Obama. What exactly do people want him to do ?? I just don't get it. I mean, sure it would be great if we would just send out oo7 undersea robots down to take care of it, but then everyone would know we have them.....

As much as it sucks, BP is all we have to deal with this environmental disaster.

Muzak Update

OK... mid to late 40's , post everything and yet, all muzak is from a time and place ?? Just start noticing when you are out and about town. Today was :

OLD NAVY

B-52's WHAMMY

Come on, that is some pretty obscure B-52's

HOME DEPOT

SPANDAU BALLET'S TRUE

Yes, I am getting old. Got it, but why right now are the first few years of MTV being used to sell us cheap flip flops and plants for the garden???

Rand, Sarah, and Jack ( Webb)

Death, taxes and in 2010 NOTHING goes away!

Sunday morning finds Rand Paul back peddling his curly haired self silly, but facts are facts:

In a May 30, 2002, letter to the Bowling Green Daily News, Paul's hometown newspaper, he criticized the paper for endorsing the Fair Housing Act, and explained that "a free society will abide unofficial, private discrimination, even when that means allowing hate-filled groups to exclude people based on the color of their skin."

In the Rand Paul universe it is 100% legal for IBM to only promote men to the higher up floors, perfectly legal for Woolworth's to NOT server African Americans lunch. Jewish, black, brown, female, gay... what ever, his staunch libertarian views are it is the private business owners right to work with or serve who ever he wants, YOU have the right to not go to any business that does discriminate. These are his words, not Rachel's or mine.

Mama Grizzly Sister Sarah came running to his defense with her usual - and beyond tired - clamoring of blame the lame-stream media. From Huffpo : "Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin accused MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Sunday of conducting a "prejudiced" interview with Rand Paul, in which the Tea Party candidate infamously aired skepticism about the reach of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Speaking to "Fox News Sunday," the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee said that Paul was being subjected to the same biased media coverage that marked her run for office, before offering her Tea Party-backed candidate a bit of advice."

Dr. Paul himself chimed from a rather odd interview done, I guess, yesterday morning on Breitbart tv. ( for those that don't know, Brietbart is sort of a super right wing Drudge Report, which itself is just a right right talking point marching..( and yes, Matt is as gay as Liza singing " all the single ladies.....") Watch it HERE, if you have any interest.

People are saying ( you know what THEY say ) that Dr. Paul has not been tested, that he is " a breath of fresh air" and that he just did not know to do a little CYA when doing interviews. One interesting thing I read this morning was that the overall decline in newspapers led to this not coming up in the GOP primary in Kentucky. BUT, one thing that Dr. Paul learned , in just one day was to take up his godmothers mantra and start blaming the media!

After trying to back track from the things that he actually said his lesson learned from all of this: " I need to be very careful of certain networks "! NOT , that : " all citizens of the United States have the right to go where ever they please, and that even when private, discrimination is wrong ", but " I need to watch who I talk too"

Breath of fresh air, my ass. This talk was old when I was a kid. Only then Strom and Dick and their ilk wrapped it in Dixiecrat wrapping, not a Tea Party one. This is the first bright light shined on their little tea party, and it is not holding up so very well.

Cokie said it best this morning on what ever the ABC Sunday morning show is

called these days " Rand Paul, may not be a racist, but his ideas ARE racist ". I grew up in the land of wink wink racism. Some of Mr. Paul's followers say that allowing business or people to just out right discriminate, puts it out in the open, you know who are you dealing with. That also makes the balcony for colored folks.....

Jodi in the Galapagos.... trois

"The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful", says our stalwart explorer!

"Iguanas taste like chicken, and Orcas have no real sense of humor". Seen here in some KA's white button down, worn home by mistake....

" Met rich swede on Isabela, he is traveling on 41 foot sailboat to New Zealand and he wants me!! "

The more things change..... SAFE TRAVELS, Unsinkable Jodi Brown!

HAPPY HARVEY DAY !!

You know how on MLK day you are supposed to go something service orientated ?
Well, on Harvey day, you are supposed to do something FABULOUS !

Miss Gunn, if you're nasty.....

London, Seriously ??

The '12 London Games

unveil their mascot.

Spawn of Izzy....

From the NYT : On Wednesday, the committee unveiled Wenlock and Mandeville, the mascots for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. The characters are not cuddly or cute, but steely, strapping and genderless. Each has a single eye (actually, a camera), a light on their heads representing a London taxi cab and bracelets that represent the five Olympic rings. Their amorphous, aerodynamic shapes make them look like science-fiction versions of Gumby. ( the rest)

Manolos and Marble... not always a good idea......

Viva Mexico!

STATE DINNER MANIA !

Let's get right to it.

From the AP : "Michelle Obama is wearing a shimmery-blue gown to the state dinner for Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala. It has a one-shoulder silhouette, similar to the one Mrs. Obama wore to her husband's inaugural balls.The dress for Wednesday's event was by Peter Soronen (SORE-nun). It was the fifth gown by the designer the first lady has worn.This one has a fully-boned corset, a silver belt and layers of chiffon — with a bit of lame that Soronen said gives it that little bit of sparkle.The New York-based Soronen knew that it was possible she'd wear the gown tonight, but didn't know for sure until photos started to appear."

Hmmmm.. what are we thinking? I am going to hold my opinion until I can see another picture.

large photo of Mrs. Obama's dress

It is Seven O'clock and the White House is releasing NOTHING at all about tonight, the guest list JUST came out. Hopefully some good pictures later on. I will keep you posted. No one terribly exciting on the list OTHER than the WAY to cute and very single Mayor of Newark, New Jersey Cory Booker... and his date Ms Gale King..... ..... ........, not that there is anything wrong with that...

UPDATE : CNN is reporting ( still no pictures that I can find )

According to background information from the White House, guests will sit at tables for 10, some rectangular and some round. The head table with both first couples will seat 20 people.
"Tables will be covered in boldly striped linens made in three hues of Mayan blue," the document said. "The colors resemble ripples of water."
Floral centerpieces involve gilded handmade woven baskets, with bouquets of fuchsia flowers, including roses, orchids and prickly pear cactus. The china, from the White House collection, will be from the Clinton and Eisenhower presidencies for a meal accenting both American and Mexican cuisine. Guests will dine on jicama and fruit in a citrus vinaigrette and ceviche of Hawaiian opah, followed by Oregon wagyu beef in Oaxacan black mole with black bean tamalon and grilled green beans.

Dessert will be a chocolate cajeta tart with toasted homemade marshmallows, graham cracker crumble and goat cheese ice cream.
After the meal, the diners will move into a tent erected on the South Lawn to be joined by additional guests for performances by pop star Beyonce and Mexican performers Rodrigo y Gabriela, along with the President's Own United States Marine Band.
In a tribute to Calderon's birthplace of Michoacan, Mexico, where the Monarch butterfly makes its annual pilgrimage from Canada each spring, guests walking into the tent "will experience the sense of Monarch butterflies in flight," the White House said.
Tables in the tent will be decorated in natural shades of oranges and greens, with a bouquet of marzipan and chocolate flowers: roses, the national flower of the United States, and dahlias, the national flower of Mexico.

Second picture of the dress. I love the color, CRAZY about The First Lady's hairstyle for the evening, good make up... BUT.. is this dress too small? or again, is it just the picture.

A much more important question is why the Mexican First Lady chose a dress from the Marsha Brady collection??

hyperventilating !

getting my paper bag....

Ok, I like it, BUT do I like it in this setting ?!?!?? The round and square tables make me a little bit crazy, BUT, it short of shakes things up, BUT, is a State Dinner the place you want to "shake things up" ?? Three hues of Mayan blue, meant to resemble moving water....

Wouldn't white flowers have been prettier ?

Another view of the tables. I do like this better. ( more pictures )

Stupid is as stupid does....

Scott Brown

RAND PAUL

for President

2012 !!

No, wait.. that is not right, I am forgetting something.....

PALIN/Paul 2012

( the t-shirt people just got the wrong Paul ! )

Jodi in the Galapagoes - update

and accessorised perfectly!

Has anyone else noticed.....

That Muzak has become really cool as of late. Sure, " I'll Stop the World and Melt With You ", is being used to sell everything under the sun these days, but I have been hearing some very obscure , left of dial , pure 80's/90's music lately.

We braved the rain to get a few plants from Home Depot this afternoon, I heard this :

If you can't hear over me talking:

Dinner

We have not had a good healthy ( sort of ) sit down in a while
Yummy, thick , meaty, spicy, black bean chili , brown rice, salad
A little cheese, some sour cream, tomatoes...
Lots left over , too!

Today in Ass-hatery

Another day, another GOP right wing super duper anti gay goat turd found being all naughty. But , this one comes with video! No, no, don't look away, you are not going to see fish belly white Newty getting all freaky with mistress while wife #2 ( or was it #3 ?) dies of cancer , alone in a hospital bed. No, today's paragon of virtue is Indiana Republican Rep. Mark Souder.

One of the major water boys for Jesus in the United States House of Representatives. Mr. Souder has a 100% anti gay, " pro family " voting record, even going as far as making a video about how dis respected he felt after the house held a hearing on the failure of abstinence only education. The very married Mr. Souder is interviewed by a aide in his Indiana district office.. WHO HE WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH!!!

I don't feel like posting the video here, but watch HERE if you want. I am almost to the point of just stopping writing about GOP Bible boys getting caught with their pants down, well, maybe just one or two more.....

Portugal

Official name: Republic of Portugal
Nationality terms: Portuguese
Region: Europe
Time zone: WET, UTC (EST/UTC+1 in summer)
Currency: Euro (€)
Flag: two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line
Capital: Lisbon
Population: 10,707,924 (July 2009 est.)
Languages: Portuguese
Religions: 97% Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant, 1% other

Same Sex Marriage: YES!

From the AP: LISBON, Portugal — Portugal's conservative president announced Monday he is reluctantly ratifying a law allowing gay marriage, making the predominantly Catholic country the sixth in Europe to let same-sex couples wed.
President Anibal Cavaco Silva said he would not veto the bill because majority liberal lawmakers would only overturn his decision. The country must focus instead on battling a crippling economic crisis that has increased unemployment and deepened poverty, he said

(The rest)