From this morning…

Plants and flowers shop illuminated by two paper globe lanterns.

Spaghetti strap dress hanging in shop window.

Wedding dress on display in bridal shop window. Christmas decorations hang from above on either side.

Crumpled sheet of aluminum foil on sidewalk.

Giant inflatable Christmas snowman stuffed against inside of shop window.

From this morning…

Building entry, illuminated by lights from within, green and orange dust tarps to the right.

One story building in final stages of renovation. Scene illuminated by building security lights. Linear shadow from horizontal board above draped over the scene.

Black and white detail image of dust control tarps hung from scaffolding.

Slightly creepy baby doll in window of antique store.

overreacting? | In Opposition

i find myself with a pervasive undercurrent of sadness and fear since the election… i am not a sad or fearful person in general… even in the midst of what may turn out to be one of the worst things to happen in my lifetime, i can manage happiness here and there…

…renewing our passports… not sure where we would go but flexibility is the game here…

from this morning…

Colorful leaves sprinkled on asphalt pavement like confetti.

Concrete block wall closeup, security light in the upper right corner creates a parabolic curve separating lighted from shadow. the end of a ladder juts in from the bottom left side of the frame towards the middle bottom of the frame.

Concrete block wall with square window through which is visible a red lit exit sign.

Street scene with cars and utility poles receding into the center of the frame. The scene is framed by the walls of two buildings on either side.

Streetscape with road curving from lower left corner to right edge of frame and back towards the center. A row of three story buildings follows the curve of the road on the left side.

Metal zombies lunch box in a shop window.

Inflatable Christmas snowmen jammed into a shop display window.

… apparently, the difference between f’d and completely f’d is going to be the backbone of, or lack there of, of the Senate…

yesterday, two strangers chatted me up in my local coffee shop… i found myself being very guarded… this is new to me since the election…

From this morning…

Condensation on a window that has been smudged and dribbles as if a chaotic creature with long dangling tendrils.

Empty white cardboard food carton in a pile of leaves.

Yellow building wall running from left edge into middle of photograph, concrete pad and foundation under construction.

… the price of gas keeps going down… too late, too late…

Sunoco station gas price sign. Cash price for regular gas is $2.89 and credit price is $2.98.

From yesterday…

Empty Ello Market popcorn bag on the sidewalk. Bag is white from top to midpoint, and blue from midpoint to bottom.

A streak of cornmeal on the sidewalk.

Sunoco gas station canopy with white car pulled up to the forward gas pump. Modelo beer delivery truck and silhouetted building in the background.

Building with dust tarps dropped over it. Illuminated entry to the building in the lower left corner.

Shop window with disco mirror ball hanging and reflection of mirror ball in an adjacent window pain to the left.

The Matter With Things :: Essays On Attention Paid

i have, just now, finished the closing chapter of The Matter With Things… an argument about left and right brain hemisphere roles… the author, Iain McGilchrist, tells us the world has settled too much in the left-hemisphere, and ignores a right-hemisphere way of seeing and understanding, which he says is more complete and approaches nearer to truth… he argues that science in tandem with materialist society have driven us this way…

From this morning…

side of a brick building with a roof access ladder, u shaped bike hitching bar. A forward corner of the building casts a shadow on the stepped back wall that fills most of the frame.

American and New York State flags flutter in the breeze against a cloudy sky backdrop.

Illuminated pendant globe lights in a shop space. Lights are dimmed and objects in the store are increasingly visible the closer they are to the lights.

Female mannequin in a shop window with light colored sweater top and dark colored pants on bottom. A mountain, trees, utility pole and building are visible as a reflection in the window of the shop.

the new world order…

A male bust mannequin in a bridal shop window. Mannequin is wearing a formal suit and tie. Two female mannequins with wedding dresses are visible in a mirror behind the left shoulder of the mannequin.

my informal survey of supporters of Donald Trump indicates that none of them believe what i believe about him... they all say he won't do the worst things he has said he will do... i deeply desire to be proven wrong...

From this morning’s walk… Gallery display window with photographic art hanging on the wall.

Wood shipping pallet closeup. Paletboard is broken at the top. Woodpiece lies against the pallet and points to the broken board.

Single story M&T bank building in the early morning.
Three story commercial brick building with street crossing in front of it.

more from the theater of the absurd…

November 8, 2024 - by Heather Cox Richardson

There are also stories that voters who chose Trump to lower household expenses are unhappy to discover that their undocumented relatives are in danger of deportation.

i feel i am living in an absurdist play…

November 8, 2024 - by Heather Cox Richardson

Social media has been flooded today with stories of Trump voters who are shocked to learn that tariffs will raise consumer prices as reporters are covering that information.

i am starting to review my internet footprint for being secure from prying big tech eyes and ultimately government eyes… i have a Proton email account and have now signed up for their cloud drive and vpn service… i don’t use FB and Instagram very much… other ways to secure privacy?

November 7, 2024 - by Heather Cox Richardson

a glimmer of hope?…

There is another, major problem for the party, as well: Trump won the election in part by promising everything to everyone, but the actual policies of the MAGA party are unpopular, even with many Republican voters.

from this morning…

Close up of collapsed venetian blind and connecting string.

Disco mirror ball.

Matte silver ballet flats on feet with black leggings extending up.

From this morning…

Elevator tower waiting for building to be constructed around it.

Intersecting planes of storefront window elements and reflections leading to an abstract composition.

Tunnel under a building with square opening at the end.

From this morning…

Sunoco gas station canopy and pump in early morning.

A note taped to a utility pole saying “Little detectives solving BIG problems! A drawing of a key and keyhole underneath.

Sunrise, telephone pole and mountain beyond the roof of a car.

Well, investors are enthusiastic about the outcome…

Screenshot of stock market graph showing Dow Jones, NASDAQ, S&P 500 trading graph.

the Jesuit monk Teilhard de Chardin’s ideas, written down during the first half of 19th century, didn’t see the light of day until after his death in 1955… his ideas considered radical by the church and forbidden to be published… this sounds like panpsychism to me… Iain McGilchrist also describes a universe where matter is the product of mind…

First let it be noted that, by the very fact of the individualisation of our planet, a certain mass of elementary consciousness was originally emprisoned in the matter of earth. (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man)

Sex-role divisions of labor have meant that as parents women have supported war effort by instilling in their children an acceptance of domination and a respect for violence as a means of social control. Implanting this ideology in human consciousness is as central to the making of a militaristic state as the overall control of males by ruling male groups who insist that men make war, and reward them for their efforts. (bell hooks, Feminist Theory)

taking this to hear, how would one ever act again?… and yet, there is a truth embedded here…

The essential point is that every disclosure is also a concealment. Every closing down of potential into an actuality – itself a necessary, even fruitful step – is by the same token a limiting of reality to what has been selected. If it had not been selected, one might have discovered something immensely larger within that field of potential – now forever narrowed to what it is we think we clearly know. (Iain McGilchrist, The Matter With Things)

… i have cancelled a trip to the west coast to see family… i couldn’t leave my wife by herself to process the news and frankly i need her shoulder to cry on too… we are going to take the time we need to grieve and process then figure out what to do next…