Nothing heavy-duty today. No depressing politics. No personal adventures. Just a picture to share. While working on my first illustration job in … well, more years than I care to count, I ran across this drawing I did last year and forgot all about. It’s not Great Art, but I did like the way the blue paper becomes part of the drawing and contributes its tones to the complex colors of the fur. Anyhow, this is Nadia (aka Nadja, Naja, etc.), my Noble Beast of a dog, who has the thickest, most lush ears, an extraordinary coat, and the demeanor…
9 CommentsMonth: April 2010
You recall that “health-care” bill that had to pass so we could find out what’s in it? Well, Cato discovers yet another “mandate” in there that will land hard on every, single business person in the entire country. Weird one, too. Not exactly a paperwork reduction act. Yep, that was a “health-care” bill, alright. For the health of the IRS.
8 Comments1:15 a.m. I woke up two hours ago with my trailer jerking in the wind and the moon silver-bright through the window (beautiful but unwelcome to sleepy eyes). The trailer always rocks in high winds, but this is different, sharp and jolting like a series of airy earthquakes. Every time I start to slip back into sleep another round hits. A couple of times, things have fallen off shelves. Nervous dogs begged for spots on my sleeping bag. So here I am, awake but fog-headed. Covered in canines. And soothing myself with a favorite bit of Shelley: A Dirge Rough…
1 CommentSome Monday morning cheer for ya — a.k.a. how things work in the real world of big money, big influence and big government: How Fannie and Freddie — among the chief engineers of the mortgage wreckage have become even more “important” than ever. How the Big O’s proposed regulations will make the biggest Wall Street firms more untouchable than ever. (Another take here.) —– On the smaller domestic scale — here at Last-Chance Gulch where there is little money, no influence, and only those bits of big government that come wandering randomly in now and then — house walls went…
30 CommentsOkay, now this is odd. Couple of us were working in the meadow this afternoon when my youngest, loudest, and most car-chasing dog informed us of somebody coming down the road. Sure enough, along came a car, which went just past our driveway and stopped in a “where the heck am I?” sort of way. Now, we’re in the middle of nowhere, a good 12 miles from town, six of it on dirt and through washes. And once you’ve gone past our driveway, there is simply nowhere to go. Anyhow, there’s nowhere a stranger has any business going, unless he…
19 CommentsYou’ve probably already spotted the “lite” blogging this week. Unfortunately, expect the same for the next week-plus. We’re about to begin a serious building project here at Last-Chance Gulch and for roughly 10 days, it’ll be nothing but work and visitors around here. (Most of the visitors will be helping in some way with construction, bless their hearts; but we’ll all be busy.) And wouldn’t you know it, a surprise deadline came up at the same time. So much for my peaceful hermitude. If I can blog along, the way, I surely will. But don’t hold me up to really…
8 CommentsYeah. Ain’t that the truth.
3 CommentsIf you watch the precious metals markets (and don’t we all, if we’re into preparedness, even if we can’t afford to do much with our observations), you’ve probably been hearing allegations of monstrous frauds festering beneath the surface. But as with so many doings in financial markets, the specifics of metals manipulations are arcane and … well, they hurt the brain. But I finally found a human-readable explanation. (And here’s another pretty good one from the inimitable Mogambo Guru.) Terrible news, if true, for people who have invested in gold funds or who are under the illusion that they own…
9 CommentsTwo quick things: 1. In England a broke & jobless writer takes to the trees in an experiment in low-cost, low-impact self sufficiency. Very creative. 2. I think Joel “did” 419 better than I: “It’s Interesting Times Day!” And a third: 3. Radley Balko also does today proud.
1 CommentRagnar insisted in a blog comment last week that I’d better darned well come up with a great post on 4/19. Nothing like a little pressure there, eh? Well, the brain’s not working too well and neither is the cursed up-and-down Internet connection here in the high desert boondocks. And WordPress has also gone cranky on me and twice erased portions of this post. So sorry, Ragnar, there will be no Great Thoughts coming from this direction today. Perhaps you noble readers will leap in and supply some GTs of your own in the comments section. I’ve just got this…
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