flora

more fungi

the big clumpy ones are growing on the ground right in front of/at the base of trees. the second picture from the top - those are growing midway UP ON the tree trunk (out of the tree itself)

i grew up in the asylum avenue area

my pops and sister and i still live in the hood. both my sister and i (and, as it turned out SEVERAL other people) phoned the town a day or two after noticing all sorts of spray painted hieroglyphics in the street. one of the words said 'island'. that's when we got the scoop. the town did a traffic study (and if they really did one, i was unaware of it. as i said, i have lived in that hood MOST ALL of my life - and i ain't no spring chicken). that's what they used to say they needed those island for TRAFFIC CALMING. TRAFFIC CALMING?????????????????? all i can see is a giant pain in the ass AND creation of dangerous conditions. the day before yesterday NINE CARS CRASHED INTO THE ISLAND BETWEEN PENN AND CUMBERLAND (i don't know about the other islands). my sister observed ALL but the first crash. the islands were NOT properly marked AND the sun was coming down and in the driver's eyes. just think about what is going to happen in the winter. hey town of west hartford, we're on a budget. WHERE DID THE MONEY FOR THE ISLANDS COME FROM?????????????? did you ask the neighborhood residents if THEY thought the islands were a good idea? one more thing, why, the day AFTER the 9 crashes were west hartford police ALL OVER THE SIDE STREETS STOPPING PEOPLE AND 'HEAVILY OBSERVING' people? why weren't they ON asylum avenue?

it's a stupid effing idea. it's a waste of money. when we talked to people 'in charge' regarding the NINE CARS THAT HIT THAT STUPID MEDIAN, there was some talk of people not following the newly painted solid line down that side of asylum. i am bad at directions. it's the side going from quaker to trout brook. well, the line looks like it was painted by someone on acid. it was NOT done very well.

it's all bullshite. THE TOWN DIDN'T DO IT'S JOB

channel 3 had a camera truck out there late yesterday afternoon. they did a little piece on it but i don't believe anyone hit the island yesterday. that doesn't matter NINE IN THE SPAN OF ABOUT AN HOUR the day before last, IS NINE TOO MANY)
http://www.courant.com/community/news/hfd/hc-whdmedian0912.artsep12,0,6967761.story

West Hartford Officials Defend Medians After 9-Vehicle Crash

By JOSH KOVNER |Courant Staff Writer

September 12, 2008

WEST HARTFORD — - Town officials defended the use of "traffic-calming" measures around town after several cars — heading west into the setting sun — struck the new, granite-curbed medians in the center of Asylum Avenue during rush hour Wednesday evening. Police Chief James Strillacci said he viewed the nine-car crash as more of a construction-zone accident, complicated by the glare of the sun, than an inherent problem with the medians, "bump-out" curbs, chicanes or speed bumps that have been installed, or are being built, on at least 10 streets. These include main arteries like Asylum Avenue, Steele Road and Farmington Avenue. West Hartford is about 15 years and $2 million dollars into one of the region's most extensive traffic-calming programs. Strillacci and Town Manager Ronald Van Winkle said the measures have generally had their desired effect — that of narrowing streets, slowing down cars, and forcing drivers to be more attentive. "Asylum Avenue was a drag strip in the 1990s," Mayor Scott Slifka said Thursday. He noted that commuters and others who pass through West Hartford generally don't like the measures, while residents coping with speeding cars in their neighborhoods do............

hey mayor slifka, i take umbrage with your statement about asylum being a drag strip in the 90s. were YOU there? i was. EACH AND EVERY DAY. it was NEVER a drag strip. where did THAT come from? sure, you're get a speeder now and again. that's the same with EVERY street. let's take a side street for example. let's take ummmmm let's say MAPLEWOOD. there are far MORE speeders on THAT street than asylum. maplewood, a cut through street for farmington ave or quaker or boulevard.

hey mayor slifka if i asked the town for the traffic study justifying the islands would you furnish me with one? OR, would i have to get an foi request?
am i pissed? yes i AM pissed (but my sister is even MORE pissed if you can believe it)

picture: The newly installed granite median on Asylum Avenue in West Hartford may be a factor in the nine-car crash on Wednesday. (LORETTA WALDMAN / HARTFORD COURANT / September 11, 2008)

i have been getting a lot of hits lately

on pettibone tavern

i KNOW i read an article in the courant of late saying it was bought AND would be reconstructed and reopened. i can NOT find that article at all. i found a COMMENTS section for the article but the story (mysteriously?????) has disappeared

here is one of my original pettibone posts the fire damage posting

i solved the 'mystery'. seems like the sci-fi channel's show ghost hunters did an episode on some new england murders and included pettibone tavern

it IS inhabited by the ghost of abigail. of that i have NO doubt. however, i KNOW she's not going to show herself to no damn ghost hunters from the sci fi channel!!!

not only should he lose

his senate chairmanship, he should be booted from politics period

Lieberman increasingly expecting to lose Senate chairmanship after Obama attack
John Byrne
Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) expects to lose his position as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee if Democrats pick up four or five additional seats in the Senate, according to his aides, who floated the claim in Tuesday's Politico.

According to the Connecticut senator's staff, Democrats are upset about his speech at the Republican National Convention in which he attacked Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). Lieberman was the Democrats' vice presidential choice in the 2000 presidential election.

"Lieberman returned to Capitol Hill Monday — his first day back since speaking at the convention — and was greeted by the resignation of his $120,000-a-year legislative director, Joe Goffman," the online political news site reports. "The 66-year-old Connecticut independent has said he hopes to stay in the Democratic fold, although people close to him say he’s increasingly pessimistic about his prospects of doing so."........

Helen Ubiñas nails it

she nails it hard and she nails it so it ain't movin'. a great piece. it's short - READ IT
(some things are acceptable if you're white and the daughter or son of let's say a governor. some things are NOT acceptable if you're browner and the daughter or son of let's say a clerk at a discount store. think about this, what would those rightwingtips be saying if barack obama had a 17 year old and SHE was pregnant. if you don't think they'd rip him and her apart YOU ARE A FOOL)

A Family Values Exception For Pregnant Palin Daughter

Helen Ubiñas
I didn't get it; the way the young mothers refused to talk, how one lied about the baby girl in the stroller not being hers, and why the teenage couple who bluntly talked about the hardships of having a baby when you're just a kid yourself wouldn't go on the record.

It's their business, the young father told me. Why broadcast their lives? People will only judge.

But that's just it — I was there to tell him and all of the unwed, teenage Hartford parents I came across this week that this was a new day. No longer did they represent the face of shame. They were — thank you, Bristol Palin! — the new face of family values.

Didn't they hear?
No matter how hard I tried to share the good news though, they weren't buying it. And who could blame them — they knew better than to think that title would ever apply to them. Before Palin made having a baby at 17 the "tough and courageous" decision it has suddenly become, mostly what rained down on her poorer, darker counterparts was shame...........

i don't care if you're sick of them

i'm NOT.


my sunflowers at the half door

i walked out in my popi's back yard yesterday

and found this growth by a giant stump. the fungi is about as big as a head of cabbage. it grew in less than a week. this year has been grand for mushrooms. i know i see people collecting them in the fields of st joseph's college and i also know people are collecting them on the grounds of where i work.

my grandmother (noni) taught me which mushrooms we can eat BUT i don't' trust myself. i'll leave that up to stop and shop and whole foods. especially after the horse whisperer and his family ate some poisonous ones in europe (and had to have dialysis)

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: that steamin' pile formerly known as da liebs

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: that steamin' pile formerly known as da liebs

turtlecam!!!

the big one bloomed!

they're all bloomed. the biggest one is over 11'. it's amazing. the seeds i used were hart's mammoth


0h and if you're headed to the half door, wait until friday evening. they're closed a couple of days for renovations. new floor, new tile, new bar sinks, new paint (i'm painting here and there, but i didn't start yet) and a new beer cooler (which of course YOU can't see). do stop by and at the least say hola to the sunflowers before they go away

a shout out to richard franzis assistant principal staples high school

in westport. he's BACK FROM IRAQ

(another story on his original deployment from the nyt)

Bound for Iraq: Citizen Soldier’s Parting Lesson

i know we are ALL so very happy to have him home. ESPEICALLY his family and friends AND yes, his high school students

we've come a long way baby!

STEAMPUNK makes the hartford courant
rather shocking............

Steampunk Bedecks Contemporary Techno In Victorian Togs
By WILLIAM WEIR | Courant Staff Writer
What would happen if the future went as early science-fiction writer Jules Verne had imagined it? It would look a lot like Steampunk.

It's a term that has been getting a lot of play lately. So what is it?

The curious science-fiction offshoot has been around for some time as a genre of fiction and has since expanded into its own subculture. Even before the term was coined, there was the 1960s TV show "The Wild Wild West" and its 1999 movie version, which mixed its traditional Western setting with flying machines, mechanical spiders and other outlandish contraptions.

Steampunk is essentially a blend of the futuristic with the steam-powered past, a way of melding modern technology with the opulence of long ago. In most cases, "the past" is represented by an elaborate 19th-century Victorian style. Top hats and motorbike goggles are common fashion accessories, as are cellphones refashioned to look like antique items from an alternate history.........

a very pretty bike

sunflower blogging

brian measured the biggest one (brian is at a minium 6'2"). it's 11 FEET TALL. that's one big sunflower

the half door

mateo's new sweatband

pattern over at the reformed pirate

flowers out my car window

on the way home from work tuesday while stopped at a light

vote N O in november

from NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut

This November, the Connecticut ballot will include the question, "Shall there be a Constitutional Convention to amend or revise the Constitution of the state?" Voters will be asked to vote “yes” or “no”.

The Family Institute of Connecticut, the state’s leading anti-choice group, is pushing for a “Yes” vote, with the intention of using a Constitutional Convention to ban abortion.

NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut is urging all members to Vote “NO” in order to squash this back-door approach at pushing an anti-choice agenda!

Our state’s legislators appoint delegates to the convention, and therefore have full control over who attends. These appointed delegates decide what will be proposed to the constitution. Many people fear that lobbyists, representatives from special interest groups, and party insiders will be appointed to the Constitutional Convention in order to move a radical, anti-choice agenda.

Please Vote No!

The state constitution has been amended 30 times since 1974--without holding a convention. We can make changes to the constitution without holding a taxpayer-funded convention during tight fiscal times!

If you would like more information or to get involved, please visit http://www.ctvoteno.org

andy thibault

at the cool justice report reminds us

ELIZABETH THOMAS at Hill-Stead

In honor of the publication of her new collection of poems, From the Front of the Classroom, Hill-Stead is pleased to host a reading and book signing with author, performer and educator Elizabeth Thomas.

Taking the reader through her childhood, young adulthood and marriage to her passionate involvement with teaching and poetry, this collection reveals the rich inner life that has made Elizabeth Thomas such an inspiration.

"In a culture that expects results from its educators, Elizabeth Thomas has found a way to make a unique connection in her book, as in her classroom," comments former student Alex Lopez. Jeff Ostroff, Principal at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, says the poems "resonate with life so that the poet in all of us may sing.".......

Poetry Reading and Book Signing
Sunday, September 7, 3–5 pm
Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

see, i TOLD you they had flowers!

i like the composition of these. especially the one that is REALLY blue and REALLY green. the contrast is good

the half door

attention attention: i got some bullshite email

about some bullshite (i can ONLY imagine it's bullshite because when i clicked on some links all i got were pictures of WHITE PEOPLE. nothing wrong with white people but c'mon, not ONE speaker of color on the list? anyway, i'm not familiar with MOST of the organizations the speakers are affiliated with EXCEPT the minutemen project. and NO, i'm NOT going to link to it OR anything else i am going to rant about. when i clicked on the minutemen link i got a blurb about their president and founder, jim gilchrist WHO IS A BIG BUD OF JEROME CORSI. yes, THE jerome steamin' pile o' crap corsi. apparently the cute couple are planning a visit to the dnc.) organization or event called the connecticut "liberty" forum. one of it's sponsors is WDRC. i am highly recommending everyone BOYCOTT WDRC. it certainly doesn't effect me because i don't listen to it any damn way. i am SO effing mad right now. HOW DARE THEY USE THE WORD LIBERTY.

now as i said, i've not heard of MOST (if not all) of the rest of the organizations represented at this "liberty" forum. perhaps there is a good man or woman among them. i don't know and i sure NEVER WILL KNOW.

hey judy a. (who sent me the email) GET MY NAME OFF OF YOUR EFFING LIST. I AM NOT A RACIST. I AM NOT A HOMOPHOBE. I AM NOT WANTING TO BE AFFILIATED WITH ANYONE WHO HAS SOMEONE LIKE GILCHRIST AS A FEATURED SPEAKER.

live sunflower blogging

still NOT bloomed but the flowers are absolutely formed and ready to burst
the half door

big-ass dragonfly

friday 6:55 am

we're not surprised that piece o' steamin crap

formerly known as da liebs is going to open the gop convention. i don't even blame him. i blame the people of connecticut who elected him. he had NO bid-nez being re-elected. he is one of the ones directly responsible for sending our men and women into harm's way in iraq (for NO reason that can be comprehended). for that alone he SHOULD have been kicked to the curb

Lieberman To Open GOP Convention

By MARK PAZNIOKAS |Courant Staff Writer
The Republican National Convention will open with an appeal to Democrats and independents from the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut.

Lieberman, a self-described "independent Democrat" since winning re-election in 2006 without his party's endorsement, issued a statement saying he intends to "urge fellow Democrats and independents to put country ahead of party in choosing John McCain as president."

Lieberman is the first of five speakers on a prime-time program released today that includes Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, Vice President Dick Cheney, first lady Laura Bush and President Bush.

All five will speak on a night dedicated to highlighting the record of service of the party's presidential candidate.......

too cool

(from instructables)

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: as far as i'm concerned it's NOT a typo. PRICK

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: as far as i'm concerned it's NOT a typo. PRICK

even though we've never actually met

i like to think of andy thibault as a friend of mine.
i read his blog the cool justic report daily (well i was 'off' a few weeks when my old laptop was dying)


here's a GREAT article on him in the waterbury republican
(i've told andy this and i will tell YOU this as well. i'd NEVER want to cross him. he's a pitbull. and unlike the story's author, i don't think that is an insult). i've seen him get (figuratively) in the face of some folk that i too would want to biotch-slap and i've seen him (figuratively) take in people under his wing - that needed taking in.

here's to you andy!

and hey, i happen to LIKE pit bulls!

He'll get in your face Litchfield blogger always eager for a cause

BY GEORGE KRIMSKY REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
Andy Thibault spends a lot of time in shorts and sandals watching rabbits nibble in his Litchfield backyard. When he feels up to it, he climbs the steep stairs of his Victorian home on a quiet, tree shaded street, turns on the computer and takes on the world.Muckraking may seem misplaced in such a bucolic setting, but it works just fine for a 55-year-old man trying to recover from stage 3 colon cancer while waging a feisty campaign that could have national significance in the free-speech arena.Through his news blog, "The Cool Justice Report," Thibault is the prime mover in an effort to challenge the punishment of Avery Doninger, a Lewis S. Mills High School student from Burlington, for critical remarks she made last year on her blog about school administrators.............

you would think matt would have told me

he was on TV!!! we spent all day monday together in northampton! well i think this is a few months old as it turns out. however, i still didn't know about it!


the half door was on channel 3 yesterday morning too. i missed it. i think andy was on doing the green eggs and ham.

update on the sunflowers

they have to be 8 or 9 feet tall. they are the biggest i have ever grown. UNFORTUNATELY THEY STILL HAVE NOT FLOWERED. it's killing me!

amy on the left and kristina on the right (sorry about the sun's position and lousy photos)