I want my "Democracy Now"

So this morning on NPR the protests in Thailand got more coverage than the protests of the RNC in the Twin Cities.

I'm frustrated, angry, disappointed, etc.

YouTube has videos of Amy Goodman's arrest, a non-violent protester getting deliberately pepper sprayed in the face as she stood merely watching police walk by, and the "pre-emptive" raids on houses in St. Paul (based on the suspicion that the occupants are dangerous protesters).

The RNC has turned my hometown into a police state. Before this they had already made it a Potemkin village. For more on how the empty St. Paul storefronts were filled just for the convention, check out this link to Minnesota Public Radio.

Why yes, Emperor, your new clothes surely are STUNNING!

my favorite joke of the year

People ask me what my dissertation is about. Well, some people do.

Although it's topically about music, the main idea is the same as the "Guys on the Bridge" joke from Emo Philips.

So, full props to him for his excellent punch line.

And now you know what I'm writing about.

Oh to be 33 forever

Now and then I get a chance to step away from my writing.

I love my flower garden. Some of my zinnia plants are almost five feet tall. Who knew? My hydrangeas are so tall it's getting hard to see out our front window! Then again, my glads all died except for one. Win some, lose some.


(tall red zinnias are "Will Rogers" and the small are "Persian Carpet." Below includes "Envy" and "Purple Prince")

I love flowers I can cut and bring in the house with me. Max does too.

Don't look at all the weeds!

This was today's bounty.

The first ripe tomato!

We've been eating yellow squash and zucchini for a few weeks now. The cucumber came in earnest just recently (despite the fact that this one is as big as a moderate size zucchini and much heavier). It's been so hot that the basil is starting to want to make flowers, so I cut back the tops and will make some pesto tonight.

We've already harvested yellow onions and shallots and these are drying in the basement after spending some time outside curing in various places. We had the windows in the house replaced last summer and so I've been using those old expandable window screens to dry onions with. (The ones you buy if your windows are a hundred years old and don't actually come with screens.) Open them up on a wooden clothes drying rack and you've got a great place to cure onions.

We've already harvested many of the beets we planted in the spring, and now the small potatoes are ready as well. (Hee, hee. Small potatoes. They're so cute.)

In case you forgot what the garden looked like this spring, you should scroll down and see the empty pictures.





So awesome. Just don't look to closely or you'll see that we also house lots of weeds in our garden.

Bella Italia

For two weeks this was the view out I saw every morning when I got out of bed.



And this is what I ate for lunch.



Wanna see more? You know you do.

Anna is away from her life, please leave a message

Some people leave messages that they're away from their desks. These days I'm always at my desk. Always.

Except for when I get up to take a photo of it, of course.

This is my desk.

This is my desk on a dissertation marathon.



Note the flowers from my garden. Eh, it's too hot to be out there anyways.

I did get to have some fun last month, though. Can't complain. All you music nerds out there know where I am, right?

What you don't know about yourself could fill a wiki page.

Do you ever just Google yourself to take stock of what's out there, circulating through the tubes of the inner-nets?

Imagine my surprise.

It's actually pretty weird.

I am forced to admit that I do talk with my hands.