The Last Magic Carpet Ride; Tuffy's Equal Time

I have several topics in mind tonight, but no time to cover them all, after a day of Round Robin, obsessively watching the brand new Doctor Who episode 3 1/2 times (the last time with commentary), dishes, photo editing and visiting a friend in the psych ward of an infamous local hospital. More on that last bit another time; for tonight I'll settle for a quick follow-up to last night's Round Robin entry.

Easter Island Man has a pet bull. Or maybe it's an ox.

Another refugee from a different part of the world, the Sphinx has
a hole in his side. And it's not from someone tunneling for treasure.

Nearby, a Buddha must be sought in a more natural setting.

A decrepit snake hangs around.

Mr. Monkey is a mess.

Know where we are yet? It might or might not help if I tell you the snake hangs out near an alligator, an octopus, a five foot red ant and a 20-foot stalk of three foot flowers.

The entrance: blocked, closed, and locked. No trespassing.

So were are we? Here:

This is one of those quirky, local miniature golf courses that once were found all over the country. Built in 1969-1970, it closed a month or two ago. There is going to be a car dealership there soon.

And no, I didn't trespass to take these photos. I walked around the three-sided parking lot just outside the perimeter fence, and shot everything as best I could. In theory there are 36 holes here, so I'm sure there are many statues that I didn't see at all.

The banner that says "ONE LAST ROUND" explains that there will be one last opening of the place later this month to benefit Valley of the Moon, another bizarre, whimsical, crumbling relic of Tucson's past. I've got to get down there one of these days. It's sort of like Chattanooga's Rock City, from what I've read. They're going to take some of Magic Carpet's statues, but not all of them. A former employee of John's at Cornerstone, Doug Finical, is going to take our Easter Island man, which he and the newspaper article I saw call a Tiki head. Fair enough. It's going to be outside Fini's bar on Fourth Avenue, Tucson's student, arts and counterculture district. Good for him!

They're still looking for homes for some of Magic Carpet's statues. John? How do you feel about a 20 foot tall monkey in the back yard? Or giant flowers? How about a snake?


More on Magic Carpet Golf:

The Yuckiest Little Golf Course in the West (not as negative as it sounds)

Magic Carpet Golf's tiki head finds a home on Fourth Avenue

History of Magic Carpet Golf, with photo gallery

*****

I said I had photos of Tuffy to offset last night's Pepper picture. Here are two of them, a day late for Steven's Feline and Furball Friday. But look! I captioned them!





Enough. Must sleep now. Good night!

Karen

Round Robin: Captioned Characters

Carly has come up with a fun change of pace for this week's Round Robin Photo Challenge: "Your Perfect Scene Captioned."

I usually do captions anyway, except when I substitute long-winded explanations instead. But they're usually just text beneath the photo, nothing especially clever or ambitious from a visual standpoint. So this time I'm upping my game slightly, and adding the caption onto the photo itself, thus:

Bonus caption: Someone got blood from a stone.

Darn it. I've had the Rolling Stones playing a one-song concert in my head for at least an hour now. Someone call Martin Scorsese!

Carly actually asked for our one perfect scene, but you know me: I'm not big on minimalism. I tried, but I can't make myself post just one picture tonight. I'm posting three of them. Considering I shot 77 photos after work today, keeping the uploaded ones down to three shows a fair amount of self-discipline!

Palo verde trees taste like chicken. Or maybe yams.

Have you figured out yet where I photographed Rexie and Easter Island Man? I'm not giving the answer in this entry, but I'll have much more to say about them before the weekend is over.

Last one, this time with more ambitious photo editing effects:

Pepper indulges her favorite activity in her favorite spot.

I did take some Tuffy pictures by way of parity, fairness and doggie detente, but I'll hold out the results for another night. What I will say is that so far, Pepper still has no clue that she shouldn't run in the opposite direction when we call her by name or tell her to come. But she has developed the habit of following me to different parts of the house, and lying just out of reach, or running to the couch in the expectation that I'll follow her there. Yep, she's doing her best to train me!

Now let's check out everyone else's perfectly captioned scenes!

Karen


Linking List

1.Carly - POSTED!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com


2. Lisa - POSTED!
Lisa's Chaos
http://lisaschaos.blog-city.com


3. Karen - POSTED!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com


4. Wammy - POSTED!
The Ellis Family Cincinnati
http://theellisfamilycincinnati.blogspot.com


5. Martha - POSTED!
Perception
http://journals.aol.com/lifes2odd/perception/


6. Jan - POSTED!
The Prytz Family
http://theprytzfamily.blogspot.com/


7. TJ - POSTED!
TJ's Photo Expressions
http://tjphotoexpressions.blogspot.com/


8. Nancy - POSTED!
Nancy Luvs Pics
http://journals.aol.com/nhd106/Nancyluvspix/


9. Swampy - POSTED!
Anecdotes, Antidotes, & Anodes
http://anecdotes.typepad.com


10. Janet - POSTED!
fondofphotography
http://www.fondofsnape.com/


11. Monica - POSTED!
Family Affair Photography
http://familyaffairphotography.blogspot.com


12. Marie - POSTED!
Photographs & Memories
http://journals.aol.com/mariebm56/PhotographsAndMemories


13. Vicki - POSTED!
Maraca
http://mymaracas.blogspot.com


14. Jennifer Robin - POSTED!
Robin's Woods
http://robinswoods.blogspot.com/


15. Jill - POSTED!
Letting Crazy Take a Spin
http://lettingcrazytakeaspin.blogspot.com/


16. Kiva - POSTED!
Eclectic Granny
http://eclecticgranny.blogspot.com


17. Suzanne R - POSTED!
Living . . . Suzanne R's Life
http://newsuzannerslife.blogspot.com


18. Molly - POSTED!
Return of the White Robin
http://returnofthewhiterobin.blogspot.com


19. Kim - POSTED!
Nekked Lizard Adventures
http://nekkedlizardadventures.typepad.com/


20. Steven - POSTED!
(sometimes)photoblog
http://sometimesphotoblog.com/

21/24. Robin - POSTED!
The Yellow Brick Road
http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/TheYellowBrickRoad/entries/2008/04/04/turtle/2435
http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/TheYellowBrickRoad/entries/2008/04/05/round-robin-challenge/2436


22/23. Robin - POSTED!
The World thru my Eyes
http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/TheWorldthruMyEyes/entries/2008/04/05/another-turtle.../2007
http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/TheWorldthruMyEyes/entries/2008/04/02/dragonfly/2001

25. Gattina - POSTED!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com

26. Sarah - POSTED!
Charish
http://charish-me.blogspot.com

27. Kat - POSTED!
In My Dreams I Can Fly...
http://journals.aol.com/sunflowerkat321/in-my-dreams-i-can-fly.../

28. Chrissea - POSTED!
Chris-seas Corner
http://chrisseas-corner.tripod.com

29. Cameradawktor - Welcome New Member! POSTED! 4/6/08
Trouble Always Has A Door
http://troublealwayshasadoor.blogspot.com/

30. Jama Hameed - POSTED! 4/7/08
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com/

Weekend Assignment #210: Speechifying

Forty years ago, a famous clergyman, civil rights activist, antiwar dissident and advocate for the poor was murdered as he stood on a hotel balcony, the day after giving one of the most famous and electrifying speeches of the 20th century. Exhausted, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had tried to get out of making a public appearance that night, but the people gathered at the Mason Temple in Memphis would not settle for hearing Rev. Ralph Abernathy instead.

So King was sent for. He roused himself to speak of great moments in history, and that if God offered him a chance to live in those times, he "wouldn't stop there," but instead would ask "to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century." He said that "It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence." He spoke out on behalf of the striking Memphis sanitation workers, walking the picket lines with signs that read, "I AM A MAN." He exhorted the audience to act with a "dangerous unselfishness" toward the strikers, following the example of the Good Samaritan.

He talked about having been stabbed in the chest with a letter opener years earlier, and a newspaper report that if he had sneezed while awaiting treatment, he would have died. He then told of a letter he received days afterward, from a girl who said she was glad he didn't sneeze. He told of the civil rights triumphs he had been able to witness because he hadn't sneezed. Then he assumed the metaphorical role of Moses in his unforgettable concluding words:

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop.

And I don't mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!

Then he sort of collapsed, and his friends helped him into a chair. The next day, after years of threats and attacks (including a bomb, thrown stones and police brutality), he was shot to death. He was 39 years old.

Which is my longest intro yet to a Weekend Assignment:

Weekend Assignment #210: It's been 40 years since the Mountaintop speech, and even longer since the great speeches of John F Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and others. Are the days of great oratory behind us, or have you drawn inspiration from some recent public speaker? If so, what was the speech? Do you remember any actual quotes from it?

Extra Credit: Have you ever given a speech, other than in a classroom?

My answer: I was extremely impressed with Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic Convention four years ago, and mildly impressed with the one he gave last week on race relations. And I'm inspired by sermons at St. Michael's on a regular basis. But no, I can't quote from any of the above. I just know that Obama spoke of red states and blue states in the earlier speech, and his grandmother in the later one; and that Father Ireland considers the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to be sick and twisted. Oh, and to be fair, I should also mention that I loved Hillary Clinton's bowlathon announcement on April Fool's Day.

On the other hand, I can quote verbatim from speeches by a number of fictional characters on tv. What does that say about me, and about the state of oratory today?

As for the extra credit: no, I've never given a speech except as a class assignment. But I think it would be fun.

Your turn: tell us who, if anyone, has inspired you while speaking in public. Write it up in your blog or journal, along with a link back here. Then leave a link to your entry in the comments thread below. I'll be back in a week with a roundup of everyone's entries.

Karen

Weekend Assignment Results: True Lies

For last week's Weekend Assignment, I asked you to tell me a story, an anecdotal lie with some element of truth. And oh, the stories you told!

Chuck stretches the topic a little to encompass his claim that the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes wrote an episode of I Love Lucy.

Saqib narrates a harrowing encounter between jaded city kids and a pack of wolves near Albany, NY.

Mike regales us with a cautionary tale of inattentive brothers and a close encounter with death-by-sinkhole.

Sarah tantalizes us with an unviewed video labelled "Alice and the Squirrels."

Florinda presents a novel reason for not being cited for a traffic violation.

Kiva brings us a heartwarming story of a family at Dodger Stadium.

Great stuff, folks! If you haven't already done so, please be sure to tell us where your story departs from reality. As for my own story of a toxic encounter with Onondaga Lake "quicksand," the facts are these:

1. This was based on an actual field trip to Onondaga Lake, circa 1971. I would have been in seventh grade, not tenth. I think the name of my environmental science teacher was Carlson, not Frisson. But yeah, he was young and hip, and he taught the subject with missionary zeal.

2. The contaminated gray "sand" that edged the lake really did remind me of quicksand as my shoes sank into it. I remember getting it on my pants legs as well, but my pants weren't jeans. I didn't get my first jeans until eighth grade.

3. To the best of my memory, I didn't fall or even trip, much less get a debilitating rash. I don't remember a ranger station or cleaning up on site. I probably remained filthy until I got home from school.

4. But yeah, it has been called the most polluted lake in the U.S.. Swimming there has been banned since 1940, and yet there is a Lovers' Lane along the nearby parkway. And although it's a Superfund site, it's still in really, really bad shape. But they're working on it!

(Photo snagged from The University Of the State of New York / New York State Education Department / Office of Cultural Education.)

New Weekend Assignment coming up shortly.

Karen

Not Exactly Good News

Lit buildings, light poles,etc. keep stars from shining brightly.

Remember Earth Hour the other night? I can't help but think that it was mostly last minute, barely observed, and localized in its effects. I wrote that night that my street looked no darker during that hour, and the stars seemed no brighter. Turns out I was right. From the Tucson Citizen today:

Though Tucson Electric Power Co.'s average hourly megawatt demand dropped during Earth Hour, spokesman Joseph Barrios was unable to credit the decrease to the event.

Saturday's average hourly megawatt demand for TEP's 375,000 customers dropped from 1,404 an hour earlier to 1,371 during the 8-9 p.m. event - Earth Hour - and then fell to 1,313 from 9-10 p.m., Barrios said.

That followed a similar pattern seen a week earlier on March 22, when average hourly megawatt demand was 1,362 from 7-8 p.m., 1,331 from 8-9 p.m. and 1,285 from 9-10 p.m., he said.

Okay, power consumption didn't drop any more than usual. What about the light pollution? Were the stars any more visible? Nope:

The darkness of the sky, which makes for best conditions for astronomers and skygazers, was measured before, during and after Earth Hour, said Doug Isbell, spokesman for the Tucson-based National Optical Astronomy Observatory that runs Kitt Peak National Observatory and other astronomy facilities.

"We had digital photography on Kitt Peak, looked at the Kitt Peak webcam data and took sky quality meter measurements on Kitt Peak," he said. "None of them showed major effects we can comfortably say came from Earth Hour."

Organizers hope we'll all do better next year. We'll see. We may be tilting at well-lit windmills.

Other news of the day had a more personal component.

You see, a couple of my friends here in Tucson are disabled and have mental health issues. Because of this, each of them has a conservator, called a "payee," managing the proceeds from their Social Security checks. It's the payee's job to bank the money on the client's behalf, pay the bills, and give the client a smallish check as an allowance for groceries and incidentals, so that he or she doesn't spend the money unwisely, and end up unable to pay the rent, etc.

It sounds fine in principle, albeit a little humiliating for those labeled by the government as too irresponsible to be trusted with their own money. But that's not the big problem.

The problem is that some of these payees are disorganized at best, and predatory thieves at worst. More than once, one of my friends has had to fight with the payee over the phone to get overdue bills paid. My other friend has had to take advantage of a food bank because the payee didn't come up with rent and grocery money. This is all stuff I hear secondhand, of course, but I'm certain these things have happened. And if it's happened to both of my friends who have payees, then who else is getting ripped off? For weeks I've been trying to work up the nerve to approach one of the local papers to suggest they do some digging into embezzlement and mismanagement in the payee system.

Well, today I discovered that at at least one reporter is on the case. And about 600 people are in bigger trouble due to payee malfeasance, at least in the short term, than at least one of my friends:

Up to 600 elderly and disabled Tucsonans found their Social Security checks in limbo Tuesday after the company managing their funds abruptly shut its doors.

While the Social Security Administration is investigating SCOPE Payee Services, 524 N. Sixth Ave., its owners, Robert L. and Gary A. Skaggs, are nowhere to be found.

I checked in with one of my friends tonight. The good news is that her payee is not SCOPE. The bad news is that the comments thread makes it pretty clear that her payee also has a bad reputation, and the Social Security Administration has a history of ignoring the complaints about local payees.

Shame on them.

I only hope that the Arizona Daily Star reporter sticks with the story long enough to embarrass the SSA into taking action to improve things. The last thing my friends need is for some non-profit to "manage" their money by keeping it for themselves.

Karen

Black Rose Kate on Honesty and Taxes

Note: This blog was briefly renamed Beware the Black Rose, and then A White Cat and a Black Rose, as part of April Fool's Day (and because I felt like doing it!)

It didn't surprise me at all when Black Rose Katie Specks, the time-traveling pirate scribe, turned up unannounced this evening, conveyed here as usual by our mutual friend Ariel Allegra. She has a habit of visiting whenever I happen to mention her online, at holidays and any other time she wants to comment on something I've said or done.

"I see you've been taking my name in vain again," was her opening comment tonight.

"It was part of an April Fool's joke," I said. "You don't mind, do you?"

She raised her eyebrows at me. "And who might the fool be? Not I, I'll warrant. If ye be renaming your blog using my nom de guerre, then I should have a say in what's in it."

"Ah, so that's why you're here. Is there anything in particular you wish to impart to our readers? Or shall I interview you again?"

"Nay, I wish to interview you. What is the meaning of last night's blog entry?"

"Had I wanted to convey my full meaning," I said stiffly, "I'd have done so."

Kate shook her head. "It seems curiously pointless to communicate half a thought and no more. Why are you afraid to say what you mean?"

"I have confidences to keep, and a non-disclosure agreement, and general good sense," I said. Kate looked skeptical. "Look, you don't blurt everything you know, do you?"

"Nay, but I don't claim to be an honest woman. You do. So tell me: is there dishonesty in your workplace that you wish both to conceal and reveal with your oddly chosen words?"

"Oh, no. Nothing like that."

"Do they mistreat you?"

"No."

"Then tell me what the problem is."

I smiled at her, even as she cocked her pistol at me. "I won't tell you, and I know you won't shoot me, so you may as well put that away. As the Dread Pirate Roberts said, 'Get used to disappointment.'"

To my relief, she put the uncocked pistol back in her waistband. "I really don't understand you, Karen. My mates back home think me dreadfully contaminated by your century, and yet your ways still make no sense to me. Aye, then, I'll drop the subject for now. But tell me of the cat with the eyepatch."

"Oh, that's a picture of a cat my brother had a long time ago. I just drew on the eyepatch to make him a pirate cat. I don't suppose there are any pirate cats, though. Are there?"

"If ye be asking whether we have a cat aboard ship then yes, we do, to help with the rats. But your brother's pretty puss is too clean and dainty to live below deck with us."

"I suppose that's true," I said. "He probably was."

"What else have ye been working on tonight? Did I see some frantic cleaning as I came in?"

"Yes. I was cleaning my desk."

"And trying to find something on it, I'm guessing."

"Well, yes. The W-2 was in the kitchen, it turned out, but the check stub from the county didn't turn up."

"The check stub is a record of payment, yes? Why would a county be paying you?"

"I had jury duty last year."

"Oh, aye? And was the rascal hanged?"

"No, but he went to jail for drunk driving the wrong way on a one way street with a suspended license."

Kate shrugged. "No, I don't suppose that's a hanging offense. What is a W-2?"

"It's a form, telling the government how much money my employer paid me last year. I need it to file my taxes."

"You mean you pay them voluntarily? Why would you do that? Is that down to your alleged honesty as well?"

"Well, if we didn't pay taxes we would be in trouble. But I don't really mind. Some of what the government spends money on is foolish and destructive, but they do good things with it, too."

"Are your soldiers still fighting in Iraq?" she asked pointedly.

"They are."

"Then you're a fool to give them your money."

"They already have our money. This is a way to get some of it back."

"Oh, yes? Will they really give you money back?"

"A refund, plus an economic stimulus rebate. Yes."

"And what will you spend it on?"

"I'm not sure yet. Building supplies for renovations, probably."

"Fair enough. This place needs it. But if there's money left, I've a suggestion."

"What's that?"

Kate smiled. "Buy your pirate friend a digital camera. And a solar battery, if you please."

"I'll think about it," I said.

Karen

Cryptic Remarks

There's stuff going on right now that I can't talk about yet, but as March becomes April, change is in the wind. I'd love to lay in an April Fool's Day tall tale here to amuse and confuse, but nothing amusing springs to mind, and I don't really want to fool anyone right now. Still, the music has stopped, and though I still have a chair, I'd rather have a different one at this point. A recruiter says the news is all over town, but you didn't hear it from me!


There. Is that cryptic enough for you?


Karen