Some loose ends and tid-bits…

Boston vs. the Mooninites. I watched Boston news last night. The Mooninite story was not mentioned. I may have missed it, but it for sure was not one of the leads and was not mentioned in the ‘and next we’ll tell you about’ teasers. I’m shocked! shocked! (internet sarcasm alert) that having been a major player in the effort to make Boston an international laughing-stock, Beantown media is now pretending nothing ever happened. Later – here’s how to use LEDs!

Iran. Check out today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day – the Alborz Mountains by moonlight. Another place I’d love to visit, but it’s probably not a realistic goal. I try to keep current events/politics off this blog with the exception of security/privacy topics, but I can’t hold back on this one. The signs have been there for a while (see Sy Hersh’s reportage) – it’s looking likely that we (the US) are getting ready for a ‘flight forward’ involving Iran.

What we are witnessing (through rips in the curtain of official secrecy) may be an example of what the Germans call the flucht nach vorne – the “flight forward.” This refers to a situation in which an individual or institution seeks a way out of a crisis by becoming ever more daring and aggressive (or, as the White House propaganda department might put it: “bold”) A familar analogy is the gambler in Vegas, who tries to get out of a hole by doubling down on each successive bet.

Classic historical examples of the flucht nach vornes include Napoleon’s attempt to break the long stalemate with Britain by invading Russia,the decision of the Deep South slaveholding states to secede from the Union after Lincoln’s election, and Milosevic’s bid to create a “greater Serbia” after Yugoslavia fell apart.

We – US citizens – now have 6 years experience to guide us. If we fail to stop the Executive Branch from unleashing military disaster and geopolitical chaos, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

My brush with show-biz. Last fall I searched Flickr with Turfan as my search term – part of the nosing round I did getting ready for my Sphinx post. I came across Kate James’ photostream and enjoyed the heck out of it. A week or so ago, I wandered through again and noticed something about one of the pictures. Click here and read the comments for the story – short version: Penn Jillette mentioned the picture on his Feb. 1 radio show, Kate’s picture is getting lots of views and hopefully her book, Women of the Gobi, is benefiting. My copy is on it’s way from Amazon – I’ll keep you apprised. Also – for those of you who haven’t guessed, my Flickr ID is Don Coyote. It should really be spelled Don Kiyote – it’s a nod to the inhabitants of George Herriman’s version of Coconino County, but I worry sometimes about being too obscure…

Shorthairs.

Sire?

Dam?

Stay tuned.