Echoes of Furies Past

Most of us will never step onto a battlefield. We won't know what it sounds like when artillery whines over head so close you can feel the wake ruffle your hair as it sails by. We'll never know what it's like peer across the confusion of a smoke enshrouded field to hunt for the enemy, only to find him at your back.


But on Independence Day, just outside Gettysburg, you could imagine what it might have been like. Hooves thundered across the field. Canons roared and spewed enough smoke to dim the sunlight on one of the brightest Saturdays in more than a month.

The report of a pistol echoed across a field as a soldier dropped to march no more.

Sabers clanged as Blue and Grey clashed in an echo of a 146 year old fury.

No the South hadn't risen again, but this year's crop of Civil War reenacters had. For an hour they stormed across the field--first on horseback and later on foot as they reenacted one of the key turning points in the Civil War. The 1st Virginia Calvary of Fitz Lee's Brigade under General J.E.B Stuart's command led a charge against Brigadier-General Custards 1st and 7th Michigan units in an attempt to split them.


As the canons boomed, the Generals themselves clashed in whir of swords and a swirl of horses.


As the sounds of the final battle died away, the Union Cavalry defeated the Confederates, seizing the advantage for the first time in the war and never relinquished it again. The Confederates, beaten, but not vanquished, rallied again for another battle later in the afternoon, bringing echoes of the past to life one more time.

Monet's Giverny

I was fortunate enough to have an extra day in Paris before I had to fly home from a work trip last month. So, I took a tour out to Giverny where Monet painted his water lily paintings. It was a holiday weekend in France and the highways leading out of Paris were clogged with Parisians heading out to the Normandy beaches, compounded by the masses heading out to the French Open at Roland Garros. Watching the slow moving mass exodus was not unlike watching the natives flee Philly to the Jersey shore on the weekends and the traffic was just as bad.

After a bit our guide gave up on the highways and we headed off on to the back roads of Normandy which were much more picturesque than the highways. We drove through quaint villages built into limestone cliffs. if you look closely behind the chateau, directly below the castle, you can see the windows peering out from the limestone cliff.

Finally, we arrived in Giverny. To get to the water lily ponds, you have to cross under the main road through a tunnel. The ponds aren't huge; you can probably walk around the entire area in about half an hour. But, they are truly beautiful.



After spending some time wandering around the gardens, it's back through the tunnel to tour Monet's farm house. Before you get to the house you pass through a large garden that is a riot of color. The garden was filled with Iris (one of my favorite flowers). Every where you looked was a splash of color. It was almost overwhelming; your eyes didn't quite know where to look next.


No photos are allowed in the farmhouse, but it is filled with Japanese prints from top to bottom, many of which were originally used to wrap around dishes which Monet bought. There are also reproductions of a number of Monet's most famous works which you can find in museums all over the world.

Summer Lilies

Still working on my London and Paris pictures. But, in the mean time, some really pretty lilies started blooming in my garden today.

Views of Big Ben

Big Ben is one of the iconic institutions identified with London. It can be seen from many locations leading into Parliamentary Square. So, during my time here I tried to find some less common views of Big Ben on a couple of cloudy and hazy days in May.

More MJ Pictures

For those of you looking for more Michael Johns pictures, check back after June 1. I'll be out of the country for the rest of the month.

Graduation Day

My baby sister, Sara, graduated from KU last weekend. Now, she's off to the Uganda with the Peace Corps in early August. And I couldn't be prouder of her.

Michael Johns at the America's Polo Cup

Below are some of the first pictures from the America's Polo Cup concert on Saturday night featuring Michael Johns, one of last season's American Idol contestants. I'd forgotten just how good this guy is. His new single, "Heart On My Sleeve" is now available on iTunes and his new album drops in June. It may take a few days to finish wading through the pictures I have, so check back periodically.

Click for larger versions of the pictures.

Flower Gardens

This past November I moved into a two story townhouse with a patio and backyard. A first for me. So, this afternoon, in the near 90 degree heat, I spent my first afternoon gardening after picking out some flower baskets and some other plants for the backyard. I picked out colorful snapdragons, petunias, lobelia, nemesia and geraniums.


I also planted some some cinnamon and sweet basil. My plan is to add some tomatoes, a zucchini plant and peppers in mid-May once the risk of frosts is finally gone.

Malaria No More

Every 30 seconds in Africa a child dies from Malaria. By simply donating a $10 mosquito net, you can save an entire family.

Make a donation today:

http://www.malarianomore.org/

Views From Underwater

Last weekend I took a trip down I-95 to for lunch with a friend and a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I hadn't been in ages--not since the Sea Horse exhibition years ago. Despite being over run by ankle biters, it was still a lot of fun. Here are my favorite pictures from the afternoon below:

Inaugural Seating Map

The scramble is on for Obama inauguration tickets. Three of my friends and I are trying to get tickets for the swearing in ceremony on January 20th. We've all made our official requests; but, my friend Elisa out in Washington State is the only one to have someone from her Congressperon's office even respond.

For the 240,000 tickets available, the ticket requests coming through Congressional offices are off the charts. As of Sunday US Senator from Virgina Jim Webb had received 26,000 requests alone. The National Park service says that the last time a one million+ crowd descended on Washington for an inauguration was the 1965 inaugural of Lyndon B Johnson. Obama's inauguration could easily top that, in my opinion. Everyone wants to be there to witness history (and watch Bush finally move out of the White House).

At this point, we think Elisa's the best hope at this point since we figure fewer folks from Washington State will make the cross-country trip. The other three of us who live in Philly, DC, and Chicago respectively think our odds of scoring tickets are slimmer than a Bush third term since we all live in high demand areas. But, we're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll get lucky.

In the meantime, I saw a new seating plan for the 1 million+ folks expected to descend on DC for the inauguration:

Obama Wins!!!!

The Electoral Map Live

Olbermann Skewered Deliciously

Don't try drinking anything while watching the second half of this one.

Falling into the Poconos

I drove back up into the Poconos this past weekend to the picturesque little town of Jim Thorpe for their Fall Festival and some leaf peeping. The little Leigh High Valley town, was originally two towns,Mauch Chunck (Indian for Bear Mountain) and Eastern Mauch Chunk. Both thrived and blossomed with the discovery of anthracite coal.*

Tycoon Asa Packer was instrumental in developing Mauch Chunk into a 19th century center for commerce, canal trade and coal shipping. In the mid-1850s, Packer, worth a reported $54 million in today's currency, was responsible for laying rail road tracks that connected Mauch chunk to Easton, PA and further into the NJ Central Railroad system, providing year round transportation for both coal and steel.

After the death of Native American and 1912 Olympian Jim Thorpe in 1953, the two small, economically struggling towns united and changed their name to Jim Thorpe after an appeal from Thorpe's wife who was looking for support to build a memorial in honor of her husband. Thorpe's native Oklahoma had turned away her request to to assist in developing a memorial.

Packer built two of the largest mansions in towns that sit high a top a hill, overlooking the canal. The mansion below, was built for Packer's son Harry. This mansion would later be the model for the Walt Disney Haunted House.


Below is the Asa Packer mansion which sits next his son Harry's. I had a hard time getting a clear shot of the due to the trees.



*Historical details supplied courtesy of http://www.visitjimthorpe.com/new/history.htm

SNL's Palin Rap

Amy Pohler's Palin Rap from Saturday Night Live. Over the top, but a lot of fun.

No Game Changer

McCain needed a knock out punch during the debate tonight just to get back in the game and he didn't get it. According to a CNN focus group who watched the debate live, while McCain won the first 30 minutes, he lost the last hour as he got testier and testier (his temperament has long been a stumbling block for him). There in lies one of McCain's fundamental problems--he's just not likable. A CNN post-debate telephone poll with viewers who watch the debate rated McCain's likability as only 22%. And this is big trouble for McCain who trails in the polls in a number of key states. Not only isn't he likable, the average voter just isn't connecting with him.

The average voter just can't connect with a man who has 7+ houses (actually doesn't know how many he has) and at least as many cars. McCain hasn't spent a day in his life wondering how to pay his many mortgages; worrying about how he's going to pay a hospital bill if he get's sick (he's been covered by Federal health insurance for most of his adult life--first in the Navy and later as a 20 year veteran of Congress); wondering if he should pay the electric bill, water bill or phone bill this month; or how he's going to pay for his childrens' education.

McCain's biggest problem is he's out of touch and he did nothing tonight to portray himself otherwise. We've got 19 days until the election and a lot can happen in that time. But, for the moment, I'm cautiously optimistic.

America Will Once Again Rise From The Ashes of the Bushes

So said Senator Hillary Clinton this afternoon at a rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania that I attended. Dramatic perhaps, but hopefully true. Bush Sr. drove us into a recession during his presidency and Jr. has spent the last 8 years driving us into an even bigger mess. We're in dire need for someone to go in and clean up the Shrub's mess and it certainly won't be McCain. McCain will keep us on the same old destructive policies that have led us into a War in Iraq and a global financial crisis. President Clinton got us to a surplus in 8 years time and a booming economy. Let's hope Obama and Biden can do the same for us.

Below are the first pictures from the rally this afternoon. I'll a few more in a day or two when I have time to finish editing.

Remember, friends don't let friends vote Republican! There's way to much at stake this year.


And a clip of a video from this afternoon's rally:




Want to get to know the real John McCain? Check out this RollingStone Article here: Make Believe Maverick

Before And After

Would you follow these two off a cliff?

This Pat Oliphant cartoon pretty much sums up the McCain-Palin candidacy: