Category: General

The unseasonably hot weather ended yesterday with temperatures of 85° F (29° C); this broke the record from 1912 with  temperatures of 82° F (28° C).

Yes, on January 20th.

The forecast for today: 76° F (24° C) and rain at night. Indeed, the sky looked more textured this morning, promising some precipitation.

Whether the much needed rain will arrive has to be seen.

Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America.

May the Spirit of Liberty reign again.

Normally I prefer classic cars to be restored along the lines of the originals – original parts, colors etc.

Now and then one sees a variation, taking the theme of the classic car to another dimension. In this case, I like the universe this finned beauty came from.

Even the trunk ornament is not overly irritating and tacky, paired with the matte black. I would never go that far, but once again – this is a New Look I can live with.

The last day of the year – warm, friendly, quiet, perfect.

No, the next 365 days probably will not follow suit.

But it would be nice if some of them did.

And a tip of the hat to the most elegant and unique Christmas decoration I’ve seen in a long time.

Old age and even more so death seem to be quite high on the taboo list of many Western societies.  Somehow I have the feeling that many people  assume that  by simply  never touching the subject they will never grow old or never die. Hmm. These people might be in for a surprise.

Then there are societies where such topics are not taboo, but part of life. The “Day of the Dead” in Mexico is one example. The whole family goes out to the cemetery, they clean the grave site of dead relatives, put up candles and flowers and have a picnic. Yes, the kids are there, too. They learn very early on that life and death are interwoven in an endless circle.

Another tradition is the building of private altars for the deceased in the family. These installations are very colorful and incorporate photos of the family members to be so honored, flowers, their favorite foods and skulls made of sugar.

This tradition has evolved into a form of art. At a local art gallery today we saw several of those altars; the most impressive one was this one:

Another quite striking modern interpretation was this installation:

Even the simple skulls made of sugar have evolved into something much more elaborate, like beautifully fashioned cakes, much too pretty to eat:

Lots of children were running around at the art gallery, having fun and munching little sugar skulls. One hopes so much that they will grow up with a healthy understanding that old age and death are part of life for all of us.

It is not a good photo and it only lasted for a few minutes – but it was the first rain!!!!

Thanks!

Poor mountain lions.

Poor rattlesnakes.

They do not deserve this.