Hallowe'en Old Brooklyn, Cleveland

Pete Marin. (Transformer) Bumble Bee. 2008. Cleveland.

I came a while back to foto these, and the daytime fotos do not show the art well. I took these fotos last night. I looked on a search engine, and the story is in London Daily Mail, and on an English language Chinese news page. The artist is Pete Marin. His family enjoys to entertain the neighborhood. At 8 p.m. there were four dozen people standing in admiration, people of all ages, except the very aged. It was a pleasant atmosphere.

Currently he has five Transformers: Bumble Bee (2008), Optimus Prime (2009), Megatron (2010), Barricade (2012), Microbot (2013). They were first a television cartoon, and more recently movie characters. Only a bigger yard would improve the display. When they are not on the front lawn, they reside in pieces in the attic.

Pete Marin. (Transformer) Optimus Prime. 2009. Cleveland.

Sarah Martinez thirty days before happily relating the story.  

On another street, a witch flew into a maple.

Luther Heggs has an extensive monster land, of rock and roll, movie, television and others outside his home. [click] This was a lot of stuff, but the resultant crowd was oblivious to the other people about them. Both displays were in the same larger neighborhood of Old Brooklyn, but Marin lived in a less pricy section, and the poorer crowd was better attuned to the other people about them.

Margaret Hamilton played the Wicked Witch of the West in 2009.

Kosovo Polje

Kosovo Polje

 a field of brown headed cowbirds, a type of blackbird

 Parma Metropark across the street from Saint Sava

Zombie Run

 participation token

 happy convicts on the run

 zombies on the beach

 not a zombie

 smile and dodge

Cleveland Metroparks had their initial Zombie Run, a three mile course at Edgewater Park. Over the last several years zombies (and vampires) have had a resurgence of cultural popularity in the US. I see this as indicative of cultural anthropology. This would have zero resonance in Japan,  for they cremate everyone. What is the psychology of zombie?

I think the created menace of zombies has receded. There is almost as much laughing humour as there is fear and gruesomeness. In several cities, for some years, there have been zombie walks. In those people want to be part of the zombie group.

This event, though promoted, was not detailed. Are zombies contestants or obstacles?  They were the latter. Seventeen. Most of the zombies were on the upper course, and i was not there. The zombies were to tag runners with stickers. The lead runner, took this too much as a serious athletic event, and had no patience with zombie. Others diligently avoided being touched, and another "Okay, alright".

One group of friends shackled themselves together, and took their place to be the last; but that was not the thing, they went for a good time, and had one. And it was cold (47°F and windy 20-35mph gustiness, and approaching rain), that was that, but it was too dark. The weather made it darker. This late in the year, it would have been better to have had the start of the run an hour earlier; 5.30 was too late a start.

vent Numero dos

Calgary Cruz (Repuke representing Tejas in the US Senate) was some sort of debating champion, and a professor of law of supreme court litigation. Yet in his grandstanding faux filibuster he reads Green Eggs and Ham, which destroys his entire argument, one hundred percent. Every comedian in the country saw this. The main character hates something he has never tried, and after continuous nagging he tries it, and then likes it. A Democratic senator, Claire McCaskill, demurringly representing herself as a simple Missourian said, “I thought it was interesting that Ted Cruz used Green Eggs and Ham. I went to the University of Missouri, I did not go to Harvard, but I’ll tell you that my daughter texted me this morning and said ‘Mom, does he not know the point of the story?’ It’s that you can’t knock things until you try it.” Still they hate “Obamacare”. Why is it that every Republican ‘genius’ believes everything that every Republican idiot believes? To quote another Missourian, Harry Truman, “Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a Republican. But I repeat myself.” The foreign born Cruz is running for president in 2016, while in his first term in the senate. The American born Obama was criticised for the same thing, but there are different rules for the two parties.

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Now, Texas has the second largest delegation in Congress. The newbie Cruz is a horror, the other senator John Cornyn is a cruel monster. The House side has thirty six members, aided by extensive gerrymandering to produce twenty-four Repukes. By watching the news, one easily sees these seven are despicable:

•     1st — Rep. Louie Gohmert Jr. [R]
•     5th — Rep. Jeb Hensarling [R]
•     6th — Rep. Joe Barton [R]
•     19th — Rep. Randy Neugebauer [R]
•     27th — Rep. Blake Farenthold [R]
•     32nd — Rep. Pete Sessions [R]
•     36th — Rep. Steve Stockman [R]

Now Georgia has a higher percentage of contemptible jerks. They have fourteen house members, nine are Repukes, with these four being prominent jerks, three are running for senate:

•     1st — Rep. Jack Kingston [R]
•     3rd — Rep. Lynn Westmoreland [R]
•     10th — Rep. Paul Broun Jr. [R]
•     11th — Rep. Phil Gingrey [R]

These reprobates share in an intense combination of self-entitled insanity, stupidity, dishonesty, and viciousness. This may not be a complete list of legislative scum for these confederate states; but all of these individuals have been glaringly asinine (that really unnecessarily insults the fine animal) at some time.

Most recently, Sessions said to the President of the United States, “I cannot even stand to look at you”. This is the sort of racist eagle scout Texas produces. Who is this repuke? His father headed the FBI. Sessions received money from connections with the felons Jack Abramoff, and Allen Stanford. His party has made him chairman of the House Rules Committee, and in 2010 chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Joe Barton is a Repuke who represents the petroleum companies, in Congress he kissed British Petroleum’s Tony Hayward’s ass (even to Hayward’s discomfort) and attacked the President. Barton is an extreme protector of economic royalists. He is also a Texas Aggie (along with Gohmert, and Hensarling) a school stereotypical for stupid.

Blake Farenthold recently would not admit that the President was born in America, and had won two presidential elections. Louie Gohmert is widely considered to be the stupidest member of Congress, and is always willing to be an idiot on camera.

Look for the future comments these yahoos make. It would be hard to believe they will be reticent.
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postscriptum: going through my voluminous backlist, i noticed a similar posting [clicky]

untitled post

o bother. as in other things, i believe i did it well. no success. i am considering making this a private journal, and just post pictures for my own viewing like a foto album that sits in a box in the attic.

____________________________

then i thought, you know i have to put up with a lot of idiocy.  a poor man does not have much in america. there is a constant attack on one's dignity. exercise your natural right to speak, and you will be punished by those whom exercise power.

this instrument here, allows me an avenue to speak. incredibly few will find this, yet this is a record. i shall "vent", or is that continue to vent.  i will piss off the fascists, good they should be pissed off, and powerless to do anything about it; for we see the evil that fascists do when the opportunity exists. and by 'fascist', in america we mean 'republican' or 'repuke'. no person of intellectual discernment, and humanity can be one. it is possible to be ignorant and have some humanity and support repukes, but professional repukes are fascists pure and simple.

TEA Party

 

[these images are all borrowed]

a

These photos are from late Thursday morning from near the shoreline of Lake Erie from Perkins Beach to the Cuyahoga in Cleveland Ohio. I still have time and gas money to go and take pictures. Snow had fallen, and mostly melted into puddles and damp. It was a wintry day, few people who were not working were visible.

I know i have posted too many fotos and posts lately, virtually the entire year. These were some i liked from the day's output. The brush was teeming with sparrows of many races, some warblers, kinglets, and blue jays. As i walked on the paths they hopped and flew ten yards before me. I sneezed and three dozen were flushed. Other than the hundreds of cormorants that sat on the breakwalls near the river mouth, there were not so many shore birds. I wonder where Thibodeaux may have gone.

 

Lassie con colores

Well, the television is whining about the lake effect snow that has crossed a swath of land from Euclid to past Middlefield. The growing season has ended. Monday, after a rain, i drove out to Parma's metropark. A woman was walking her beautiful little thirteen year old Lassie, a collie. She (the lady) was using her pocket phone to send a foto to a friend, and typing away.

 perhaps the last fine color in the area

Lassie

It should be no secret, to those tuning in to this page, that i have some warm sentiments for doggies. Recently, i have been taking special notice of people and their dogs. Does anyone walk a mongrel? I see breed, after photogenic breed, mostly happy and frisky. Look at this animal, she is aged and still healthy. Does she not look happy? For decades there were a string of Lassie television shows. People loved those dogs; and Greensleeves played, that beautiful tune that is at lest as olde as Renaissance age Englande. Lassie was so popular that the demand for animals hurt the breed. The cinematic Lassies all were Laddies.

Peregrination of the Icon

“The Peregrination of the Icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Defense of Life”

The spiritual center of Poland is the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, and the heart of it is this icon of Mary, the Mother of God, with the Child Jesus. There are many 'black' Madonnas, this is a very famous one. This copy was blessed there, and began a peregrination (pilgrim journey) from Vladivostok on the Pacific; from there she crossed Eurasia, visiting twenty-four independent states. This icon is venerated in both the Eastern Orthodox and the Catholic Church in its Roman and Byzantine rites, although it is particularly loved by Poles. Human Life International is sponsoring the replica's travel in America.

At six p.m. Tuesday, the 22nd of October the icon arrived in the church of St. Stanislaus Cleveland with a procession. A rosary service was held with some Knights of Columbus as an honor guard.

Procession before Mass

 

St. Stanislaus is Cleveland's co-cathedral (and almost no one knows about this). It is a visually and physically impressive building. With grand ceremony, in a filled church there is a sense of solemn grandeur.

 organist, liturgical director David Krakowski

What you do not see, is the shot i missed. Immediately before, the percussionist in the balcony was dramatically drumming both tympani, and the boy in blue was slowly vibrating both his uplifted fists. The woman, to his right, instantly ended that, and this is the moment after.

After Mass people lined up to have a quiet moment before the icon. Through the night, and the small hours of the morning people occupied the church, until the daytime's Mass. After that, the icon is travelling to several places in Pennsylvania. A return to the area will be at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Lorain on November 2nd.
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Postscriptum: well after Mass, there were over two hundred people, maybe three, in the church. A friend of mine, went to the narthex and began calling the four local television news stations. He told them the story of the visit, and that people will be in vigil in the church the whole night through. All the stations have morning programmes. The channels have between two and an half, to four and an half hours of morning news to fill, and then noon programmes, and late afternoon programmes. One of the television stations told him directly that they can not come and film without the diocese's permission. It would not surprise anyone that IF this is true, for the local bishop wishes to control the reporting of news. He has been embarrassed too many times, often by his own hand.

comparision of political priorities

Whoever does these posters for Democratic Underground captures reporting and analysis of the political current events perfectly. But as Johnny Carson used to say,"some days it is just rip and read". If you fall into one of the two political camps, or not, AND IF you are honest, then you must acknowledge they are truthful. I have borrowed already from this source. [i think, all the political graphics i have posted have been borrowed; most of the snapshots and other fotos were snapped by my hand]

And why oh why, is the most evil man in American history, still shooting his mouth (and guns) off? He still shows utter contempt for democracy, and humanity. He has cheated death many times through medical intervention. He is surely scared of death, his not anyone else's. I am still waiting to hear the sizzle.

 dick cheney

Discerning Cat

more geese

 

 

 

I know there are more out there, could not find Frankengoose, or Count Goosala. I started this series after i saw an armed goose. [click] I would like to see some during the harsh weather months. While looking this summer, i could not find a goose graduate, nor the Goose of Liberty.

spooky dog parade

Angry Birds.

Several families, and friends, marched as a thematic unit drawn from popular culture.

If  this was a tee-vee chat show, there would be some comment to the effect, “it’s official now, we have gone to the dogs”. Recently, pictures of dogs have been showing up here in these foto essays. I have asked people their dog’s names, and a lot of the animal’s names were the same as those of people. I then went to a search engine to find lists (various compilers) of the most popular names for people, dogs, and cats. The initial (and recent) lists showed the American (to a degree other English speaking countries) entries were pretty much interchangeable, with only a few in the cat’s list that would be noticeably not for people. Yet, i see shirts sold with Chairman Meow. Some of the dog’s names, that were not human names, would easily pass for nicknames (Rusty, Buddy); only Gizmo and Bandit excepted, and Gizmo was also on the cat list. And since people have surnames as first names, Murphy and Bailey pass. People also name their kids Prince, and King. In the few instances of dogs that i have posted in essays, the majority have names on the lists. I have named dogs, Lobo and Gubbio. Other names that i have considered are Iskra, Peabody, Perun. None of these names are on the lists, and none of these names would i give to a child. I am not of the mindset of most Americans.

How close a companion have hounds become? Some have Christian names. Owners are calling themselves ‘parents’. They wear clothes, or should i say, they are dressed by people. They share in our celebrations. They are with us in quiet times, and the quiet times are good. Milan Kundera has been quoted saying, “To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace.”

 

         Lakewood Dog Park Group came from the Land of Oz, this dog did not have to acquire a heart.
There are cultures that speak of dogs badly, and treat them badly as normative. Some times, some places, dogs are food. I have always heard, the English have great fondness for hounds. Do they dress them this way too? Little girls have dogs come and drink imaginary tea (for tea parties are for little girls), and some sit there wearing bonnets listening patiently to the child’s orations.

Remember the words of good Democrats of yesteryear:

“No man can be condemned for owning a dog. As long as he has a dog, he has a friend; and the poorer he gets, the better friend he has.” — Will Rogers

“Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” — Harry S. Truman

This is another event, which was brought to my attention by Lakewood Daily Snap [click]. This began for Lakewood in 2008. I do not know where Dog Hallowe’en (or is it Howl-we’en) originated. The parade stepped off at 2 o’clock. Before 12.30, tents in a nearby park were ready for the participants and visitors. Some were merchants that catered to dog owners, and some entities for the care of dogs. The rain greatly reduced attendance, but so many of the marchers took great thought in costuming.

Adopting just one greyhound won't change the world, but the world will certainly change for that one greyhound.

I hid from the constant drizzle in a couple of tents. The first was the Greyhound Adoption. These athletes’ careers last about a year, unless they are very successful. They still have lives to live. These animals need homes. They often keep their racing names, or a shortened version. I met two, o so mellow hounds, Moonie and Logan. Their personalities, bearing, and habits are very good for domestic companionship. I left wanting to get one.

Heisenberg is not Werner, nor his principle.

Now, i do not have cable television, so it takes me some time to catch up. One family unit was Barking Bad. Another family came as Duck Dynasty, Sparky was an alligator for the day, otherwise a Brittany Spaniel. In other years the family chose different rôles. Another family also came in new rôles, they were the cast from the Planet of the Apes. They were apes, and Skipper was Taylor (Charlton Heston). One family had rescue pugs. One pug was in a cooking cauldron, as in a jungle headhunter film. Pebbles was the explorer in the pot, and Yoda was a tribesman. Two dogs had no costume, other than a sign reading Streaker.

supra Sparky, infra Skipper

I took several snaps, in the park and on parade. In several shots the rain drops on the lens, liked the spot where a face would be. The paraders were jammed together, carrying umbrellas, and moving too fast to isolate individuals, and appreciate their presence.

 Molly, here, spent two hours being painted as a tiger.

 Finnegan the Irish (Setter) portrays a mediæval knight

This very darling young lady is portraying Lucille Ball, and her wee beasties are Lucy and Chico.

This lady was one of the very few, who chose a traditional character of yore. She was sought out, and willing to pose. And really, everyone i spoke to was in very good cheer.

I did not ask people their names, feeling it too intrusive. They came to have fun, not to be interrogated. I did often inquire their doggie’s name. Someone named their charge Christian, and i tried to give a quick summary of my naming thesis, but it was approaching line up time.

This is a very fun event, with very happy, and friendly people. They call it Spooky Pooch, the sixth. Very few people came in spooky dress, they came in a happy masquerade. After the parade, there was an award ceremony, which now i regret that i skipped, because i wanted too much to be warm and dry.

This year, i went to many events for the first time. This parade, and the greased pole at Rocco’s topped the fun.