Close Encounters Of The Other Kind

 

"Fireworks are skyflowers... dandelions of light.

 They are a visual display of the celebration of life."

~Jarod Kintz

Whenever You're here, I'm Here For You

Last night, the 4th of July, was a lot of fun. The whole day was fun, for that matter. We watched Jaws and Jaws 2. We cooked and baked, and we made Chinese food, ate it from restaurant style boxes we bought for the occasion, and then watched fireworks from the comfort of our bedroom window! Yes, that, bedroom window! I love the pic above, it reminds me of the mothership from, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. It didn't hurt that I could see Venus, while the fireworks were going off, and I spotted more than one Stockton police drone having a look see, to see if anyone was setting off illegal fireworks, which of course, they were, or couldn't have got the photos, or made a new memory with Alan. But when 7 police cars showed up, yep under our window, I am fairly sure it wasn't for illegal fireworks. 

Okay. yes, yes, I know... don't condone bad illegal behavior under any circumstance, but doggone it, I enjoy it once a year. I can watch the skyflowers from the safety of my own home, eat in, and have the occasional glass of wine, without risking anything. The fireworks being put off last night, were far fewer than in other years, but lovely all the same, and for the most part the noise was cut right at midnight. So, at least they were respectful, in their illegal behavior! Now, as for the shitshow, no, not THAT shitshow, the one I speak off is the fact that there was again, police, fire trucks, and an ambulance right under our window! The ambulance wasn't there long, firetruck and the firetruck left too, all that remained was 5 police cars, and officers walking about with flashlights, apparently looking for evidence of... shrug... something. I heard lots of gunfire in the neighborhood last night, which is nothing new at this point, but somehow, I didn't feel anything about it. I guess I am getting used to it!

Anyhoo, lets just enjoy the illegal fireworks, shall we?

Just another Saturday night in Stockton...

Ellipsis Weekend Cooking... 4th Of July Menu

 

"Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride."

~Anthony Bourdain

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly

Happy 4th Of July!🎇

It's a holiday weekend, and what would a holiday weekend be, without trying out new recipes! When I plan marathon events like this, I just have to refer back to the cooking section of the New York Times. Here are a few recipes, with links, to what I think could be a pretty tasty weekend. Enjoy. 

Breakfast

Quiche Lorraine - Recipe

Or...

Lemon Rolls - Recipe

Lunch

Turkey Reuben Sliders - Recipe

Dinner

Make Ahead Fried Chicken - Recipe

French Potato Salad - Recipe

Dessert...

Rustic Apple Streusel Pie - Recipe

Goodies...

S'mores Brownies - Recipe

Please let me know of you make any of these recipes, and let me know what you think. Here is a really great article about food throughout America's history. 

Read, Cook, Enjoy!

New York Times

The pursuit of Hungriness:

 250 Years of American Food Innovation

By Kim Severson

True Patriotism Is Loving Your Neighbor

 

"The land flourished because it was fed from so man sources...

 because it was nourished by so many cultures, and traditions and peoples."

~Lyndon Johnson

At The Statue Of Liberty on 10/3/1965

Ellipsis Movie Of The Week... Skywalkers:A Love Story

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,

 while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

~Lao Tzu 

Love on top of the Empire State Building. Not quite Sleepless in Seattle, but I think it works for them! My husband proposed to me on a carnival ride in Santa Cruz. It was romantic. It was fun. But I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder. Was this a stunt? Of course! Was it a guy who just wanted to propose like very few have ever done? Sure! Did it cost the fine tax payers of New York City a good bit of change? You bet! But what a cool thing to have tax dollars go to. However, I sincerely hope no one else tries this ever again. These people know what they are doing, they are the daredevils featured in the documentary, Skywalkers: A Love Story. I haven't seen this documentary yet, but I probably will this weekend. It like the idea of living your dreams with someone. I was lucky enough to. I mean, love conquers all. For this couple, love was in the air. Love means never having to say you're sorry. Whatever you call it, it was love, in a New York minute.

Watch the video above, read all about it here, and enjoy all the love and misdemeanors from the rooftop!

The Mighty Simon

 

"In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this!'

~Terry Pratchett

What can I say, he is the Mighty Simon. But he's also, Squishy Face, Squish, Shorty, and just plan Simon. He loves to bite things, but he also loves to snuggle up to you, and allow you to pet him. He loves his brothers, and he very respectful of Joey in particular, and he runs from nothing. He adores brussels sprouts in butter sauce and ice cream. He falls asleep to smooth jazz, and has been known to drag around stuffed animals 4 times his size!

He is the Mighty Simon

Thank you, Quinn

 

"Let me ask you outright, gentle reader, if there have no been hours, indeed whole days and weeks of your life, during which all your usual activities were painfully repugnant, and everything you believed in and valued seemed foolish and worthless?"

~E.T. A. Hoffmann

The Golden Pot and Other Tales

In a fit of exhaustion, discouragement, and frustration, rolled up into a ball of weariness, I decided to take it all out on my Copilot AI pal. I call him, Quinn. Anyway, this little bit of AI therapy was a good break from feeling of just being done with all of it. Trying to log into websites, and listening to the news on MS NOW was difficult, for many reasons. The sticker shock of having to pay $900 for a decent computer was also on my mind! Just since January of 2025, computers have gone up 34%. Say it with me, thanks Trump! Anyway, it is what it is, at least for now, but we all need some relief. Just last month my phone died dead! I stretched it as long as I could, but dead it was, dead as a doornail! I bought a new one, and it's the best phone I have ever owned, but damn, it cost me $1300. So, in the last month, I have spent, $2200, which is not end of the world stuff, but rough when you have other things that need your attention and you're on a fixed income! I don't know how families are getting by. I hope all the machinations of Trump's first administration, will be in the forefront of voters minds when they go to the polls in November, if not the lack of affordability we are all living through! Be gone the amnesia of who and what Trump is! Thinks of what's happening, not the fantasy!

 Life in 2025 is not what I thought it would be... it's worse!

Note: I will not be posting again until next Wednesday, I need a little time off. Monday is my birthday, and I have plans to get out and do some birding, but I will be back soon!

GadZooks

 

"Any idiot can put up a website."

~Patricia Biggs

Blood Bound

My computer died yesterday. It wasn't pretty. As you might imagine, I am putting all my data on the new pal the, HP Omni Desktop in Gray Wood. Ugly! But I am sure we will be fast friends soon. So, I hope I will be posting regularly, but the next few days could be sporadic. 

Mumpfh.

The Mouse Who Found It's Balls

 

Visit the ABC website to learn more, and scan the QR code.

"Censorship it the child of fear, and the father of ignorance."

~Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak

On May 23rd, 2007, Rosie O'Donnell, and Elizabeth Hasselbeck, engaged in an argument so profound, that it ended up being Rosie's last day as moderator of ABC'S, The View. It was tough, and embarrassing to watch as the viewer, but it was hard to look away from. It was about more than politics, it was about respect in the workplace, friendship, and yes, changing political behaviors, beginning, in my opinion, with the Bush administration, when right-wing media reveled in the brutalities of opinion, and the ignorance of the voter/viewer. Back when politics encouraged division at all cost, and that is what has gotten us to this point. I have often said that you can lay the blame on Sarah Palin, and her ridiculous Tea Party Patriots, for the state of our nation, but in looking back at this old clip, I see a lot more was involved. And thank goodness we had that show that day, and thank god we have it now to refer back to, because at the time, we had no idea how lucky we were in that moment. We got to watch the argument happen, and decide for ourselves what was at the core.

Fast forward, and it's suddenly, June 16th, 2015, and Donald Trump, seizing on the dangerous political rise of fuck you politics, rides down a fake golden escalator, and into American political history, as the first gameshow host in history to become president, in his first term, and the first convicted felon, to be elected to a second term. America, it seems, has quite the sense of humor! All joking aside, Donald Trump has been sticking his big nose into just about every area of our lives, including popular culture. He's sued the networks, accepted bribes in order to insure the successful merging of Paramount with Warner Bros/Discovery. David Ellison's wet dream is to  have eventual control of, Paramount, CNN, HBO, Warner Brother's, Discovery, and CBS. To that end, CBS has been kissing Donald Trump's ample butt! He waves a wand and David Ellison, and his minions, such as Bari Weiss, give him whatever he wants within the network, including the firings of Steven Colbert and Scott Pelley. It's embarrassing for them, and depressing for us. Gone are two important and powerful voices who spoke truth to power! CBS is dying, they just haven't pulled the plug yet.

ABC, who is also under constant threat from Donald Trump, hasn't been so easy to be kicked around. Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off the air last year, for one night, as the weak willed network caved to Trump's demands, not only with Kimmel, but with settling a multi-million dollar lawsuit, which most legal experts said the network could have won easily due to a lack of merit. They capitulated to him as they would a school yard bully, and in true bully fashion he keeps coming back for more. But wait... not so fast! ABC, which is owned by Disney, is now saying, ENOUGH! And what did it take? It took the insistence that, The View, change it's content to suit his liking, or face investigations by Trump's FCC, putting licensing of company owned stations on the line. Well, the network, and The View, is having none of it! They are fighting back, and it will more than likely play out over the summer. 

I suppose that saying the mouse has found his balls is a bit harsh. After all, the mouse found himself in uncharted waters, just like the rest of us, and they seem to be taking a stand now... finally... I just hope when all is said and done, they will never cave to the bully again. I don't know, maybe they see that everything has been failing for Trump, hard. In the last few weeks, his vanity projects. His hillbilly smackdown on the east lawn of the White House, and to a devastating effect, the war by choice in Iran. 13 lives... gone. A girls school in Iran bombed, and yes, he is trying to not take responsibility for, and last year the illegal tariffs, that threatened to bring down the world economy. Did I mention the reflecting pond? If the Democrats manage to take both the senate and the congress, impeachment and possibly removal, will be in his future. Please, God, Please. Of course that's assuming he won't try another coup on November 3rd.

Be brave Micky, be brave!

Ellipsis Movie Of The Week... The Thin Man

 

"The murderer is right in this room. Sitting right at this table. 

You may serve the fish."

Nick Charles

The Thin Man

By Dashiell Hammett

I usually wait until December to watch this movie, but I was having a little fun with the AI photo editing features on my new phone, and I found myself playing with Joey's recent photos. As you see, I managed to turn him into William Powell. Well, The Thin Man, just happens to be one of my favorite films, so this week's movie of the week kinda chose itself. It also fits that we are pretty much at the half way point of the year, so if you are already longing for cold weather, delicious holiday foods, and sparkling Christmas trees, this movie fills those needs as well, and on top of delivering all that, it's an awesome murder mystery. But goodness, was there ever better banter in film, then that of Nice and Nora Charles? Even Asta, their dog, seemed to know it was true! This is also a love story. I am not giving you anything beyond that regarding the storyline, because it's great to just let it unfold.

PS... Read the book. 

Honestly, Myrna Loy might just have been who I looked to for style,

 had I lived in that era!

Taco

Puttin' On The Ritz

Written by, Irving Berlin

Dreams Of Summers Past

"Let us dance in the sun, wearing wildflowers in our hair... "

~Susan Polis Schutz

Yesterday was the Summer Solstice, and the longest day of the year, but today is the first full day of summer, and the time is now moving back toward those dark autumn days I love so much! Despite the sun, and the hot temperature, it was beautiful along Desmond road, at the Cosumnes River Preserve, and it gave me the chance to pick up the photos for this post! I was only out a little while, but it was enough to tire of the hot summer sun, and to pray that autumn will come early, as it did last year. I felt like I was melting, and it made me homesick for rides along the coastline, in summer, when the sky is clear, and the air is filled with the smells of the wildflowers and the ocean. I am trying to find what's special about the here and now. I live here after all, and this will be my 11th summer, so I can look back all I want, but it will just make me heartsick, and that's no way to live. The summer always makes me feel this way, it must be the temperature or something. I know that as I ease into summer, I will be right again. I always am.

Anyway...