November 2004 Archives

In the wan morning light, a dog is howling. Outside, traffic and emptiness. I wish I could sleep for a deeper span of time -- but sleep keeps running away.

Of course it is late now and I should be up.

But to dream a little longer: that would be nice.

Not quite in the groove yet. But I'm working on it...

The day was pale, and the cold sinks in deeper now. Thanksgiving swirled by; warm blurs of food, family and games. Christmas lights are up all over, speeding up the season. We bought our tree tonight, along with a few other things.

Now it is time for a meal.

And the evening's gradual groove.

Just a quick shimmer, here. Flickering in to wish everyone a very safe, enjoyable and, you got it, Happy Thanksgiving.

May your day be warm and filled with friends and family.

An Autumn tree in Kelli's back yard...

There is a tree in the backyard here. Its leaves are highlighter yellow and they rustle with the wind and rain. Behind it, the view drops off to a misty distance. On top of a far-away hill, a red light slowly blinks.

On my lap, a small dog is snoring.

The wall behind me holds a clock that ticks.

Wednesday.

And it is raining like a dream.

Rain line Monday. Chilly air washing wet, gray skies over watery grass...and trees showing more black bark than ever. I'm at Kelli's, posting on a sweet iBook.

Going remote, don't you know.

I'm kind of cold. Kind of sleepy.

Sad dreams.

Still dark -- though the day has opened out already. Right here, right now (in the sub-aquatic monitor glow) my pc's fans are humming to themselves. That whispery sound blends with the ghosts of dawn traffic. The scent of coffee is another shadow on the air.

And my typing seems overly loud.

With eyes tired and gritty, and a body yearning to get horizontal, I'm spending some clicks of the clock, here.

No real reason.

Just fading into the day.

Saw this in a catalog. Fiddled with the phone pic result...

On this darkening Friday evening, I have a candle lit. The tiny flame shimmers. Sound levels here are low. The over-all illumination, as well.

I'm scrubbed and dressed and catching up on email (and writing this) while thinking of the rest of the evening...and of the weekend.

I've been tired all week.

But that week is now over.

A lizard candle holder, early on a Thursday morning. Unlit.

I still like this image...it has a real taste of November to me.

Just testing out Motion Ghost version 2!

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

When I was young, a can of soda was dense and un-crushable. My hand, holding it, had to stretch almost to it's capacity. I opened the can by pulling up and back on a ring tab, peeling away a teardrop-shaped razor thin slice of metal.

I learned early not to touch those teardrops. I learned how they felt sliding across the pad of a fingertip, drawing red.

When I was young, I mixed Pepsi and milk -- and ate pretzels with it, letting the crunch and fizz mix in my mouth.

I have a block of polished aluminium perched on my desk. The rectangle of metal is engraved with a question: "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" When I run my finger over the words, they are smooth and cold. Dust falls away.

This whiskey tastes horrible. Metallic, even with the melting ice thinning things out.

When I opened my eyes, the moments, and years, started falling away. I can't remember the first thing that I saw. Nor the first thing that I felt. Yesterday, I watched Autumn leaves swirl and mix in the cool air. Tumble down. The density in the days is much lighter, now. I am not sure if I have learned a great deal in almost 41 years.

But I do remember how my hand had to stretch to hold a greater capacity.

Feeling kind of ghostly on this pretty crystal Friday. I am not exactly smooth. I'm slightly dusty.

I need a shave and am vaguely light-headed.

I feel like getting scrubbed until I shine. I feel like getting dense enough to cast a shadow.

I feel...lost in the edit.

Gotta stoke the engine.

Rain in a wind machine, blurring and swirling, mixed with wet leaves in Autumn colors. Big breathy clouds. Rustlings beneath gray skies.

And the sun: now. Flashing back from the yellows and reds still clinging to moist black branches. A progression of electronic tones are increasing in complexity and evolving on my stereo. They swirl, too.

I am slow today.

But.

This.

Is.

Not.

Back to the fruit of the vine again. In my glass it is almost black-red, and darkly glimmering.

Red swept over the maps last night. It probably tinged my face when I realized the inevitable outcome. I know some eyes today that are reddened, as well.

There are other reds, though. (Like this one I sip.) The line of hedges at the end of the driveway have turned their leaves to silky red confetti. The sun, as it set, was coppery-red -- it will rise (inevitably) and I'm sure red will be represented in the sky.

We could have used a lot more blue earlier, however.

Well, that sucked.

I do not believe that Senator John Kerry can accomplish all that he wants to accomplish as President of the United States. But I do believe that he will try. I think that Kerry honestly wants to make things better and I believe that he has the skills to improve (and hopefully even solve) many of the problems that we are facing. I do not think that things will become magically better under Kerry -- but I am fairly certain that they will get worse under Bush.

The President of the United States is supposed to be the President of all of the people of the United States. I do not believe that George W. Bush feels that he is everyone's President. The impression that I get from him is that he is the President of his base and of his believers -- and that the rest of us are along for the ride (as long as we do, and think, as we are told).

I do not feel that I (or the United States, or world in general) are better-off since President Bush has been in power. I think that it is fairly obvious that things have become markedly worse in my country under the current administration's rule. If George W. Bush and his staff had made no other mistakes, the mistake that they are making in Iraq would be reason enough to elect someone else.

However, I can not find a single thing that this administration has done right in the last four years.

I am also very disturbed by the continued encroachment on civil liberties, the erosion of tolerance, and the anti-intellectual/anti-science undercurrent that now flows through this administration's government.

To continue on this path is utter folly and is not only dangerous for the United States, but for the rest of the world.

That is why I will cast my vote, today, for Senator John Kerry, for President of the United States.

My dog, Pal, woke me up early. I tried going back to bed for a bit -- but couldn't sleep for long. Too fretfull. The tree across the street has turned so yellow that it looks like a special effect. There is a gray squirrel digging industriously for lost nuts in the front yard.

I need coffee.

The wind is blowing lush heaps of Autumn leaves around like huge golden-hued snowflakes. But it feels like Spring; there is a coat-free warmth in the afternoon air.

I went up to the local fire hall with my parents to cast my vote. There were only a few other people there (aside from the poll workers). One Pro-Life woman with a baby in a stroller, outside, was handing out leaflets. Inside, it was a pretty swift affair. Two signatures, a few moments in the voting booth, and a little square voting receipt and I was done. I did what I rarely do: pull the big lever. Straight Democrat. In the past, I have always tried to mix things up a bit, picking candidates from each party. I think that things have become too unbalanced now, however -- so it was an all-in-one deal this time around.

Funny, because I am a registered Republican.

Well, now it is raining and the birds are tweeting (irritated, perhaps, by the glooming of the day). Things are unsettled and rustling out there.

Kelli is working as a poll watcher in her neck of the woods. I hope she's not getting rained on.

It is too early for much in the way of results, yet. I've divested myself of sportcoat and tie. Now I'm going to grab some lunch -- and keep an eye on the news...

Last night, when we took my Grandmother home after Joel's birthday party, I saw that most of the houses on her street had little paper signs (sort of like the "Do Not Disturb" signs in hotels) affixed to doors and railing, etc. The signs were encouraging people to get out and vote.

From what I've been reading, this election could have the highest voter turn-out in the US in decades...

It is jet black outside now. The sounds of traffic on the highway are drifting in through my window. In just about 35 minutes the first of the polls should be closing, in six states. Results and predictions should start flowing in then.

It's kind of nerve-wracking...

Well, at the moment the projection maps are showing three states going red (Bush wins: Indiana, Kentucky and Georgia) and one going blue (Kerry: Vermont). Things are still early, though...

Shifting locations, I'm now on the couch at Kelli's house watching the results on a variety of stations...and on the Internet.

And sipping Margaritas -- that rocks, :-)

Shifting, also, from a desktop pc to a wirelessly connected iBook.

The Daily Show is a howl, by-the-way...

And now, they are predicting that my state (Pennsylvania) has gone to Kerry. Yay!

I gotta say: I'm kind of worried.

Hope, however, still remains.

*crosses fingers*

Looks like it is coming down to Ohio...

At almost 1 am things are still undecided. Most of it revolving around the state of Ohio. I must say that I am very disappointed by the way things are going -- but I am still hopefull.

It is quiet, and dark, here. The TV is playing, one light is lit. Kelli is snoozing on the sofa. I'm typing on the iBook, and wondering how my views can be so out-of-sync with so many of my fellow Americans.

Even Gidget (Kelli's Boston Terrier) is sleeping, now.

I'll watch for as long as I can...

2:08 AM and we still don't know. It's almost nightmarish.

The TV is still chattering on and I'm weary...but, sheesh. I still can't believe this...

3:12 AM and this really is looking like a helluva year. A helluva bad one from my point of view. I'm really worried about what message all this is sending to the Republican party. I'm sincerely hoping that the extreme conservatives don't view this as a mandate -- but I fail to see how they won't.

I feel like I'm trying to believe in magic by still trying to hope for a Kerry win.

3:52 AM and I'm thinking about hitting the hay. This is dream-like (in a bad way) already.

It is Wednesday, and Kerry is supposed to give a concession speech at 1PM.

I am appalled.

Hey Joel, Happy Birthday!

Halloween zipped in quickly, this year. Early this morning, the Jack-o-lantern that I carved was still glowing in the ghostly pre-dawn light. Cool.

Now it is the first of November (and my brother Joel's birthday). Tomorrow will be election day here in the US (ah, the stress!) and then the rest of the holidays will be rolling along.

Time flies.

Here's to a good season and to many more happy years.