"Sail away, sail away...

We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay..."

- Randy Newman

Thought for the day: Only the good doubt their own goodness, which is what makes them good in the first place. The bad know they are good, but the good know nothing. They spend their lives forgiving others, but they can't forgive themselves. -Paul Auster, novelist and poet (b. 1947)

seagrass basket weaver

on market st

Well, I guess Mr. Camping is mighty disappointed in his Lord just now for not showing up as promised. You gotta feel for the guy. Here are some photos of downtown Charleston below Broad St, where I am headed in a few hours to see an apartment I may repair to for the weekend, thanks to the generosity of new friends. It's along the breezy Battery (pictured above, me and cousin Marion there) so promises to be quiet on what would otherwise be a noisy Memorial Day weekend (I recall a memorable one sixteen years ago) here at the coast. I'm looking foward to wandering the charming back allees and gardens of this gorgeous place, so european in flavor, and finding a good cafe au lait if there's one to be found and some sympa fellow writers at the City Lights cafe. No doubt some good southern food awaits me as well. I had a pulled pork barbeque (could NOT resist) "egg" roll (sans egg) with avocado/corn sauce the other day at Blossom's and thought I'd died and gone to heaven as I sipped my sweet tea and tried to stuff in another mouthful. I am talking guuuuuood!

I see the French Open has started on the tv. Espn2 and tennis channel for now, but regular channels for the quarterfinals, and some matches before that. TV schedule here.

In other news, they are selling houses in Sicily for a dollar I hear. I might want to get in on that. Yet another real estate success story to add to my list. (LOL)

I hear folks say it's impossible to switch off the internet, the main source of real news for many of us. Well, apparently this isn't so, sez the BBC guest here. Furthermore, this guy, who invented the World Wide Web (NOT Gore), Tim Berners-Lee, sez there are things about the present Internet we should be concerned with, at least he is, in this brief video interview with a really energetic guy just brimming with ideas. Reminds me of a musician I know...

The Cannes Film Festival is over, and for you film fans, not movie fan, film fans, check this article for films to watch out for coming to select, and i do mean select (i.e., rare) theatres in your state... if you're lucky.

And in my humble opinion, Chris Hedges can't get too much attention, a truly moral man who has something to say in this 15 minute interview with Laura Flanders (and I much prefer her to the strident monotone of Rachel) on GRITtv about the mindless militarism of the US and its effect on us as a people.

The Times asks if Sitting is a Lethal Activity. My response? Duh. I can vouch for the hazards of sitting passively for the better part of the day and so can my waistline. It's amazing to me that such an obvious question even needs asking. People who sit all day wondering why they're fat, while they consume the calories of an ancient Greek stone mason. A must read for those of us watching ourselves go pearshaped. I've started back with yoga and 3 mile walks, but it's gonna take time to regroup from a former lifestyle of 10 hour days digging in a garden to now driving around in a car eating fried chicken (not really, but almost).

I saved the worst news for last... But it's also fascinating. For those of you wondering why FOX NOT News has such a loyal following, and why facts don't seem to change many people's minds about issues, there's this new study that lays the reasons out, explaining why facts actually backfire when you're trying to make a point, and it's enough to make you wanna cry. I recently got into a conversation with a self-styled liberal who resisted every fact I offered as though it weren't true, defending her right to see reality any way she chose and still call herself progressive. She ended up ranting in print and using the abusive language of panic that she'd been called on her ignorance and loose talk. She was old enough to know better too. Really distressing. And here's another bit of info political junkies need to know: Apparently those precious Independent Voters, the ones who decide elections these days, aren't all they're cracked up to be, not much in the brain power department either. No surprise to me, I've always felt so called Independents were just slovenly citizens, too lazy to figure out where they stood who based their vote on last minute impressions. We really are a nation of reactionary dumdums, and we're proud of it! Sometimes that scares the bejesus out of me. I could offer links to a history of fascism and naziism here, but why ruin a perfectly nice day.

Get out there and find some sun.. Soak it into your bones.