Ellipsis Movie Of The Week... Arlington Road

 

You can't ask government to be infallible, but you can ask it to be accountable."

~Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges)

Arlington Road

1999

How much do you know about your neighbors? Do you ever wonder if you know a genuine domestic terrorist? Is there one live among them? Do you think it's possible for you to know a domestic terrorist when you see one? Honestly, I do scan my own neighborhood, but not so much for what my neighbors are up to, I do it because of the biggest, and scariest domestic terrorists of all... our own country! This movie was made in 1999, and more than likely was inspired by the likes of Timothy McVeigh and the Unabomber, and the movie definitely parallels life in the late 90's but strays only in who the big bad is, back when we still counted on government to keep us safe. In today's life, I feel like I am on my own, and if I ever see ICE or some other government agency harming my neighbor, I will be there as soon as possible, filming every single moment of it! After the murders of Renee Good, and Alex Pretti, and the character assassination doled out by Kristi Noem, characterizing them as Domestic Terrorists, I say count me in! If that makes me one as well, so be it, and now, I guess, if you are reading this post, congratulations, you now know a domestic terrorist!

Watch The Movie.

It's a top notch thriller! It's available right now on Prime.

Listen To Jimmy

 

"When the rabbit screams, the FOX comes runnin' but not to help."

~Thomas Harris

The Silence Of The Lambs

I'm exhausted, and really, what more could I possibly add?

Thoughts And Prayers For The American Gestapo

 

"We cannot violence by blaming it's victims. We are in a culture of victim blaming and victim shaming, where the wounded are questioned more than the more then the one's who wounded them, because responsibility scares a society built on denial."

~Carson Anekeya

Sigh.

Say His Name... Alex Jeffrey Pretti

One Headline... Two Different Days

 I don't have a witty quotes for today. I am tired, brokenhearted and really sad. And I admit I found it surreal that the New York Times had the same headline for, Saturday, and Sunday. Forgive me if this is a less than perfect post. History will remember this time, and will not look kindly on these assholes. Say his name, Alex Jeffrey Pretti. He was an ICU nurse at the V.A. hospital, in Minnesota. He was a son. And he was so much more, including a hero, for trying to save a woman who had been shoved to the ground by ICE agents.

 He was the same age as Renee, Nicole Good... 37.

Renee Nicole Good

Murdered by ICE

 January 7th, 2025

Alex Jeffrey Pretti

Murdered By ICE

January 24th, 2026

How many more will have to die, at the hands of the Trump Administration?

The stupidity speaks for itself. Don't let yourself be Gaslighted.

RIP

 Alex Jeffrey Pretti

American Gestapo

 

Trump is a dangerous person, he always has been. Is he an authoritarian? Is he a dictator? I don't think so, I think he is something new. Something no one has seen before. While some of his tactics can be held up to what we have seen in history, Trump is a bit simple from past evils. He is a corned dog. He is protecting podophiles, and eventually, maybe soon, we will find out the depth of his part in that. All this evil, like trying to conquer Greenland is a distraction, and a deeply misunderstood calculation. His hand in Minnesota is all about starting the civil war that some in the Magaverse have been aching for. Will WWIII happen first? I don't know. It may all begin simultaneously. It may not start at all. Waking up in the morning is hard, because who knows what we will be waking up to, but I know one thing, I never expect that we will be waking up to anything good. And I no longer think of ICE as a federal agency of the United States, no, they are the American Gestapo. Watch what they do.

Ice Fringe

"Water in all it's forms is what carries

 knowledge of life throughout the universe."

~Anthony T. Hincks 

The first of the ice-sickles I saw on the way to Lake Tahoe last Saturday, were in a small runoff from the mountains into the American river, which runs along highway 50. This particular photo was taken on the south fork of the river, which runs through part of the El Dorado National Forest, just south of Kyburz, California. It's an amazingly beautiful drive, and I have done a lot of autumn photos along this same stretch of highway, it never disappoints, but this was my first winter drive through there, and I have to say, winter really rivaled autumn for most breathtaking season specific scenery I have seen in a while! Winter will never replace magical autumn in my heart, but it certainly inspired me. Especially the way the ice formed fringe on these rocks! I absolutely loved the challenge of photographing them, and I want to do more photography very soon!

South Lake Tahoe

 

I am planning another trip to north in a few weeks, so keep checking back for more winter photos! Tomorrow I will post the last of my photos from last Saturday. There are still plenty of snow scenes to share with you!

~Mood: Happy
~Me   :)

The Ghosts Od Fallen Leaves

"Are ye the ghosts of fallen leaves, O flakes of snow, for which, through naked trees, the winds A-mourning go?"

~John Banister Tabb 

Last Saturday was a good day to visit Lake Tahoe. There had been about four days since the last serious dusting of snow had come through the hills, and it was a balmy 25 degrees outside, so I made the most of the weather, and got my butt up to the Sierra! As you will see, these are not my best photographs, because I need a lot more practice with the color white. Shrug. Practice makes perfect, so I am hoping to get back up to the Sierra in the coming weeks. Perhaps I will visit a different part of Tahoe next time, or maybe even a different side of the foothills. I'd love to go to Yosemite or maybe Plumas county. I'm not sure right now what my destination will be, but no matter where I end up, it will be beautiful, because there will be snow, and perhaps even an autumn leaf or two. Well, I hope so anyway. 

I will be posting more photos from my trip to Lake Tahoe later this week, so be sure to check back. Next up... Fun With Ice-sickles!

~Mood: Happy

~Me  :)

Snow In The Abstract

 June 2nd, 2015

"It was a curious day, slashed with fleeting,

 familiar impressions."

~F. Scott Fitzgerald 

One day, during the summer of 2015, I was getting my car washed and the soap was flowing down the window in such a way that it reminded me of an abstract scene of Aspen trees covered in ice and snow. I had seen some trees, covered in snow, years ago, in the Sierra, and one particularly cold January day in the Berkeley hills and again in 2014 on Mount Hamilton road. Aspen trees are so beautiful in autumn, their leaves look like tiny lemon drops, and even in winter, when they are completely bare, there is something beautiful about the way ice and snow hug the branches. 

The day I took that photo it was 103 outside. Dry as dust, and I was about as far from winter as I was going to get! I suppose I was feeling lonely for a truly cold day. It was June 2nd, 2015, which is granted, still spring, but summer heat sometimes imposes itself with no attention paid to whether I was ready for it or not. Seasons do that. How about you? Do you see abstracts in silly patterns like soap, or maybe clouds? Everyone sees shapes in clouds. My friend Steven once told me he saw bunnies in clouds no matter what kind of clouds would be floating above him. I guess on that day I saw trees, with a few leaves covered in snow.

 Sierra Nevada, November 2016

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)