I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
Edgar Allen Poe

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
- H. L. Mencken

Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
-Bertrand Russell

What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
-James Branch Cabell

August 17, 2007 - 4:11 p.m.

Who the hell is Roscoe Conkling?

I had a much better night last night and slept well. I'm not doing as well today; Nothing serious just the hemorrhoids acting up a bit. Why do I get the feeling that everyone stops reading as soon as they read the word hemorrhoids?

The big news is that we have an offer on the house. The engineer are coming tomorrow to inspect the house. That is of course making me feel antsy. Have I mentioned that I don't want to move?

On a much more relaxing note for me I made plans with Jessica to see The Strangelings at Caf� Lena in Saratoga. Jess lives about a half an hour away and I'll crash with her that night. I think I'd have gone to the show anyway even though it is three hours from me; the Strangelings play so infrequently and I want to see them as often as I can. I'm trying to make plans with Lisa and Melissa to see them in Massachusetts. How is this for bad timing? They are playing in Trenton in March. I was planning on seeing them with Paul and LORi but that is the day that Red Molly is playing at Chris's apartment.

I'll be pretty busy the next couple of days. Tonight I'm off to see The Kennedys at the Minstrel Coffeehouse in Morristown. I volunteer there. I'm the sound assistant. What's nice there is that after the show the musicians and the volunteers and any concert goers that want to go out for a bite or drink. That makes it a very late night but that is always fun.

Tomorrow afternoon is Isabel's birthday party. Tomorrow evening I'm seeing Lisa who is in town for the weekend.

My plan was to make this a photo entry. I have some of the photos I've taken since FRFF online. I'll show them but I just thought of a little something that I wanted to write about.

I'm always fascinated in people's perceptions and misperceptions. Whenever I see a friend getting something totally wrong I wonder how often I do the same thing? I think it helps to at least be prepared to question your perceptions.

So here is a strange misperception that is in a way shared by two of my friends. Lets just call them A & B and I'll used (flips a coin) male pronouns.

Now A thinks that B really likes A and B returns the feeling. On the other hand B dislikes A and is sure that A doesn't like him. In other words they are both totally wrong about the way the other person feels. You'd think you'd at least be able to pick up if somebody likes you or not. Apparently you can't. On a practical note this makes things difficult for me as I try to avoid getting together with both of them because of B's antipathy. On the other hand A wants to get together with B and I don't want to explain the reason I try to avoid it.

OK now on to the pictures. Today's pictures are of:

These are the pictures I took before the concert last Saturday. I'll post the concert pictures separately. This is a celebration of the park and the neighborhood around it. Now keep in mind this park is just two blocks by one block. It is tiny. Yet it is filled with wonders if you take the time to look at them.

Remember I wrote about the Shake Shack? Here it is.

It is hard to imagine how big the lines are for it without seeing it so I'll show you. I couldn't fit it all in one picture, or even two.

There is a series of sculptures in the park by Roxy Paine. The first one I show you is OK, the second I'm not fond of at all, I love the third.


Defunct


Erratic


Conjoined

Can't you just feel the struggle between the trees?

There are a lot of other statues and memorials in the park.


A memorial to the returning veterans of WWI, "Our Heroes"


William Seward


Roscoe Conkling

Now William Seward I know and so should you. He was the Secretary of State under Lincoln and Andrew Johnson and is the man responsible for buying Alaska from Russia thus its nickname "Seward's Folly." This is partially explained in the plaque. There is no plaque for Conkling. We are supposed to know who he is just from his name. I never heard of him, have you? I looked him up on Wikipedia. He was a congressman and Senator from New York during the Civil War and Reconstruction.


David Glasgow Farragut

The unifying theme is the Civil War.

Of course most people pay no attention to the monuments and just use the park as an island of green in the city. It is a place to relax for man and beast; for all creatures great and small.


The Park is surrounded by amazing architecture.


The Metropolitan Life North Building


The Metlife Tower


The Empire State Building


The Flatiron Building: New York's First Skyscraper


The Flatiron Building is conducive to dramatic lighting


The Flatiron District

The best thing about taking photographs is that induces you to really see what is around you. We are surrounded by beauty and wonders that we never take the time to look at.


I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.





Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018



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Horvendile August 17, 2007
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