Unsustainable.

I'm guessing that an awful lot of 'true believers' in the neighborhood who hired landscapers to put food gardens in their lawns just couldn't keep up with the actual work it takes to grow food, given the number of such dilapidated beds I see on my daily walks. What kills me is, not so much the wasted work, but the wasted produce. Would consider gleaning the knocked-down unripe tomatoes for pickles, the squash, the haricots périmés, but I live in HLS territory and I don't want to have trespassing problems on my record*. Also don't know what the hired folks used as fertilizer. Then there's the problem of stuff being bitten into by potentially sick animals.

Such a waste.

***

* Made my voting choices public when I was younger and stupider. Was swiftly and loudly denounced as a "Republican" by a career Leftist in Europe in a country where the label "Republican" can deny you entry (interestingly enough, is one European country where I actually do business, to add insult to injury). Now, sorry for the TMI, but I'm what's known as an Independent in the US - no such thing in Europe - I vote as I see fit, based on actually looking at the particulars (In financial/technology terms, it's called "drilling down"- essentially, you question the 'global,' then research the details that compose that view.) Not based on Party Loyalty or If It Feels Good. Unfortunately, an awful lot of Credentialed, but maybe not so emotionally mature folks think that this is threatening. I have to be careful of this now. This strikes me as paranoia and I really don't like this. Have enough hormone problems as it stands.

Pattern Recognition.

(As have been saying for the past couple years, the above is the across the Atlantic version of the mess The Great Unwashed voted in here.)

Yes, so it's Pi Day. Cutesy and kind of geeky.

Tomorrow's the Big Day, as far as I'm concerned.

Heavens.

Because we all know that folks in the chastiser's neck of the woods are such proponents of Free Trade.

So Much for Hope.

So much for Peace. So much for Human Rights (whatever that means nowadays).

Things were pretty calm in the cathouse this morning, though the boys were a little raucous due to Pavel having shut his door in the middle of the night. This got me up at around four-ish to feed them and thus buy a bit more quiet.



Girl cat's been pretty affectionate lately; as soon as she notes motion in my bed after sunrise, she begins purring like an outboard motor, then jumps off her bed to join me for a bit. (Very shades of Bashi. Funny, too, as she never met him.)



Antoine keeps up his vigil. He bothers her, but not as much as Trouble (the Holstein) does. Just as well that Trouble was lurking around downstairs - I can't take another night of him starting fights through the window. (Two nights ago was at around 3:00 am.)

Next project up: curtains and window-cleaning. (Note the nose and paw prints.)

And on that note, it's time for bed.

Sweet dreams and don't forget to set the clocks forward.

So, this afternoon, was making my way into Sullivan when was accosted by a TV reporter. Apparently, some female got mugged and stabbed nearby. Didn't think that I'd make any final cut, as I wasn't all like horrified about the incident - after all, Somerville ain't Utopia or anything, particularly the area that borders Charlestown. Turns out that they did use me at least for the web video.

Anyway, interviewer was so funny because he picked ME up and used all these leading questions (Are you CONCERNED about this incident?! Are you going to CHANGE your LIFESTYLE?!?!) I was all like, Yeah - marginally and No. It's the city, sh#t happens. Note that I'm not wearing an iPod here. He laughed at that all and just said that I was OK. Whatever. Seeing the video, I'm not too disappointed at the editing.

I honestly hope the woman he stabbed is okay. She was just defending herself, for crying out loud. Of course, I hope they get the guy. Eventually, I think they will. Still, this sort of stuff is annoying, and a large part of the reason why I don't go out much after dark (unlike when I lived in Eastie).

Yeah, right. Godwin's Law. Whatever.

Nostalgia for the Sixties.



Rove to Bush: "Obama's going to be elected, Mr. President."

Ahh, France. Not quite our enemy, but not really our friend, either. It's really funny, but there appears to be just as much coverage of the US elections as back in the States, mainly in the form of pro Obama propaganda. A fair amount of paper/ink has been devoted to analyses of the American electorate with similar conclusions as what one sees in the US: namely that if Obama isn't voted in, it proves that we are all racist.

Today, wandering around the Porte d'Auteil, saw someone with an Obama sticker on their motorcycle. Showed it to the Frenchie and mentioned that not only did the guy probably contribute to the campaign (he was French; heard him say something), but he was probably registered to vote in Ohio or some other swing state.

Didn't get much sleep last night, as my political junkie housemate was kind of in an uproar about the whole bailout shenanigans. He'll do fine; it's just a means for him to let off steam, I think. (Myself, I raged a bit because I'd spent the afternoon doing a lot of heavy lifting and cleaning; was a bit overtired.)

Anyway - didn't get to bed until nearly one, then got up at four to take some friends to the airport. I think that a nap might be in order.

Truth and Soul.



Careful - not too safe for work.

Two things lacking in the political races this year. (How awful that I've had this song running through my head for like a week now? Beats the heck out of that new Eurythmics song, anyway.)

Earlier, stuck my hand out the window and caught a handful of pea-sized hail. Now, it's just thunder, lightning and rain.

Still, there's enough rain (and wind, too), to make walking difficult. Guess I'm trapped at work for the time being.

Cue Tiny Violin.

Gosh, I wish I had a Rolex to pawn for my 'elite' schooling.

Last night's heat made for very little sleep: about four hours total. As a result, I've been doing things like bumping into walls and speaking in stream-of-consciousness. Have no idea how I'm going to make it home in one piece.

Cambridge just informed us that, due to excessive power consumption, we'll be having rolling blackouts throughout the course of the day.

Feels a little bit like a bureaucratic Day of the Jackal or something.

Rough night.

It's never a happy thing to have to spend an entire weekend day at work. As a result, I wasn't in the best of moods when I got home at around 7:30 last night. Wanted to just take it easy with a glass of wine, some reading on Reconstruction, and whatever programming was on WHRB at the time. However, that was not to be, as across the street there was yet another effing quinceañera. Though the noise was pretty loud, so loud in fact that I had to shut all my windows and sit in the center room of my house, at least the music part stopped at about 11:00 pm. The après-party (or should I say despues-de-fiesta?) continued a little while longer, but I could just hide my head under the pillow until folks left.

Reality intruded again when I heard some sort of screaming going on outside my window at God knows what time. Stumbled out of bed to find Girl Kitty in the front window (which I was forced to reopen - it's way too warm now and air circulation in my place is nonexistent) defending the territory from some interloper. Got her out of the window without hurting myself too badly, then chased off the stranger - a cat who's a dead ringer for Mamasan save for a snub nose instead of Boy Kitty's characteristic aquiline. That made for a strange effect to see him skulking around in the middle of the night.

Soon after, the birds started up. Hid my head again under the pillow. I think I managed to fall asleep again until the elephant parade upstairs started at around 7:00 ish.

Ampersand's making me crazy. The past three nights, she's sat herself in my bedroom doorway and, at either random or predetermined intervals (who can tell), let loose a loud groan that sounds like a cross between a drunk college kid vomiting and an old, constipated man in the bathroom. When I wake up, semi-panicked, she's sitting there staring at me, looking like a little trapezoid from hell.

Last night she did this four times. The night before, three. The night before that, four times. I can't lock her out of my room as all she'll do is sit at the door whining and scratching. Have to find a solution to this that won't finish with someone calling the SPCA on me.

The newest fashion trend in my neighborhood seems to be the Brooklyn t-shirt. I don't know, but this sort of strikes me as being in the same vein as hanging around Harvard Yard wearing a Barnard* t-shirt.

*or Columbia or Yale, etc. You get the picture.

How Refreshing

to see that someone other than Walmart being boycotted.