Pictures from my recent Hawaiian getaway are now up in the museyroom: Visit the index or begin with the first shot.
It seems that in Macedonia, you can sue an animal. So when a bear ransacked a beekeeper's hives, said beekeeper took the bear to court, suing for damages. And won. You may ask: Uh, who will pay? Don't you worry, Macedonian courts think of everything:
A court in the city of Bitola found the bear guilty, and since it had no owner and belonged to a protected species, ordered the state to pay the 140,000 denars (1,726 pounds) [roughly US$3500] damage it caused to the hives.[more Bears In the News]
"Harry, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just . . . let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or . . . two cups of good, hot, black coffee."
— FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper
Last year, I took my birthday off from work. That was one of the best decisions I've ever made. If you can, you should take your birthday off. Period. And do what you want to do. Which, today, I did. And it was wonderful.
"Ka is a wheel."
— Roland Deschain, of Gilead
And she spoke unto me, saying:"Are you kidding?" he said. "We couldn't do that against air."
It's a rainy fall night here in Oakland, but it's morning in the U.K., where Radiohead's e-mail bot has sprung into action and delivered to me a link to the new album, In Rainbows, which is causing music executives around the world to cut themselves with knives.
I'm a bit late picking this one up, but the pictures alone make it worth circling back to: A black bear recently escaped from oncoming highway traffic near Donner Summit by jumping over the side of a bridge. The poor creature spent the night trapped beneath the roadway, on the bridge's superstructure, and was hanging on for dear life by the next day. A rescue effort was mounted; a tranq dart was employed; all's well that ends well.
"I have close family members and friends who are a member of the gay and lesbian community. Those folks include my daughter Lisa, as well as members of my personal staff.more...
"I want for them the same thing that we all want for our loved ones — for each of them to find a mate whom they love deeply and who loves them back; someone with whom they can grow old together and share life's experiences.
Nothing says Buddhism like raising a child. To cherish what has already changed as you look upon it. To hold most tightly what you must most let go.more...
It has now been two weeks since I returned from Burning Man 2007 in Black Rock City, Nevada, and the experience is still reverberating within.
I mean, come on, it's New York. It's the city that never sleeps because people are up all night thinking and fantasizing and making plans. I know where my home is, but I also know where New York is. Being there was like spending time with an old friend.I know how he feels. I have not traveled the globe nearly as much as I would have liked by this point in my life, but I have made a few dear friends that I do not get to see nearly often enough. I miss my dear friend New York City very much; my heartache over letting many years pass between visits will perhaps be lessened if the 2nd Avenue Deli is in fact reborn by the time I get back there. I miss my more remote friend Amsterdam terribly and despair at the idea that I cannot, from this vantage point, foresee another trip across the pond.
