Extreme Things

The other night I was flipping through TV channels. I stumbled across something called X Games. I think that means Extreme.

I saw people riding snowmobiles. Sort of.



These machines weigh over 500 lbs. Just for the record that's heavy. Especially when you drive one up a steep ramp and do a backwards flip with it.



The idea of flying through the air with (on?) one of these is mind boggling. Talk about an adrenaline (testosterone?) rush. I found the whole business fascinating - as long as I was watching and not doing it.



It reminded me a bit of snowboarding. Another sport I have never done but always found fascinating.



Again, from a distance. If you are my age just watching something like this will cause you to feel pain the next morning.



For some reason I have always been fascinated by monster trucks. I have no idea why but they seem so .... extreme.



Wouldn't it be fun to drive to work in one of these?



Here in the Midwest tractor pulls are popular. They used to always involve just regular tractors that guys used on the farm and brought to town.



Of course today things have gotten a bit more ... extreme.



Or even more .... extremely ... extreme.



Now if I can just find my remote control - sometimes an extreme feat in and of itself - I can sit here and watch people doing extreme things in my extremely less than extreme life!

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Circus Elephants

Forgive me if I take a few moments to talk American politics. But after watching the recent rounds of Republican debates, well ... I can't resist.

Newt Gingrich is fond of stating he wants to engage President Obama in a series of Lincoln Douglas debates.



Obviously Mr. Gingrich would assume the role of Stephen Douglas. Mr Douglas was a full foot shorter than Mr. Lincoln.

Both men were lawyers and had been very successful. Mr. Douglas was considered to be a brilliant man and, in fact, he was. No question about that. So was Mr. Lincoln. They simply had different philosophies.



These debates were conducted in Illinois during the fall of 1858. Both men were running for the United States Senate. The state legislature - not the people - elected senators in those days.



In the late 1850s the hot topic was slavery. Stephen Douglas argued that the states - not the federal government - should be allowed to decide the issue. Abraham Lincoln completely disagreed for a variety of reasons.

Today the Republican party advocates letting business take the lead in our society claiming that if business does well then so will the people. And, of course, the federal government needs to stay out of the way.



President Obama and the Democrats advocate for society as a whole - not for the wealthy few. John F. Kennedy said during his inaugural address "that if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."



I am not advocating that President Obama is John F. Kennedy. But I do believe that the ideals of the Democratic party are much more aligned with my beliefs than those of the Republicans.

While Mitt Romney talks about how successful he is and Newt Gingrich espouses about what a great historian he is and Ron Santorum talks about how he is not like Mitt or Newt (and I am not really sure what Ron Paul is talking about though he seems like a nice guy), I find myself uncomfortable with all of them and their philosophies.



It might be entertaining to see Newt Gingrich debate Barrack Obama. But when the dust settles it won't make much difference if the Republicans run Gingrich or Romney or someone else.

As John Kennedy said during his 1960 campaign against Richard Nixon "the Republican party reminds me of a circus elephant: a head full of ivory; a long memory and no vision; and you have all seen circus elephants being led around the circus ring, they grab the tail of the elephant in front of them."



Oh ... the Lincoln Douglas debates? I think you know that Mr. Douglas was elected to the Senate. And the majority of the people seemed to agree with his positions on such matters as slavery or, at least, states rights.

Sort of makes you think....

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Des Moines Cold Continued

I took some pictures of downtown Des Moines a few days ago and posted them on my blog. Here are a few more. The temperature was in the single digits (I think it was 6 degrees F -- the would be about -15 C) but the windchill made it feel like it was 20 or 30 below.

There are stark contrasts of the old and the new in downtown Des Moines. I suppose that is common to most downtown areas.



Now THAT is creative advertising!



The old courthouse is located in downtown Des Moines.



Of course where there is a courthouse, you will see businesses like this. You have your choice of several in this part of town.



Here's the building with the bail bonds business. It is an old hotel. Notice the American flag at the top. I liked the fire escape stairs.



During the Iowa caucuses, MSNBC did much of its broadcasting from a coffee house called Java Joes. It is located within a block of the courthouse.



Here's the entrance to Java Joes.



Right above the entrance in a second floor window you see this painting. I found it rather whimsical.



This is a restaurant that serves authentic English meals and drinks. It is located next to Java Joes.



Seeing the Union Jack makes you feel like you are in England.



More people are beginning to live in downtown. There are some extremely expensive condominiums and lofts. I liked the railings next to these apartments.



I thought these bicycles were interesting. It would be hard to ride one on such a cold day.



I could not wait to get back in my car and turn on the heater.

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Cold

I had to go into downtown Des Moines this morning. My first stop was the county courthouse.



It was extremely cold this morning. I was almost surprised the flags could even move! I thought they would be frozen solid. Well, okay. Probably not THAT cold but really, really cold.



I like this little sculpture of the children reading. Even in the unbearable cold I stopped to look at them.



Here is the federal courthouse. It looked more foreboding than usual. It is not an attractive building on the outside. However, on the inside it has some beautiful woodwork. You are not allowed to take pictures inside a federal courthouse.



Even the large black lanterns seemed frozen.



Looking behind me I could see the tall Soldiers and Sailors monument on the capitol grounds. You can see the ice on the street.



The capitol itself looked bleak on this day. From this part of town, well ... things look a bit tough, especially in the winter.



The good news was that we did not get snow here in Des Moines this morning as was predicted. But it will arrive before too long.

Thanks for stopping by.

Joni Mitchell - Best Keeps Getting Better

The 4-H motto from my youth was "To make the best better." I never quite understood what that meant. Well, yes, I did, sort of, but ...



I thought of that when I was looking at some of the older videos of Joni Mitchell this past week. Most of us who are, shall we say, of age ... remember Joni Mitchell as one of the quintessential voices of the 60s.



Over the years I have enjoyed a lot of artists. But I have never been as fascinated by any one particular artist more than Joni Mitchell.



I confess I don't know particulars - don't care really - but Joni Mitchell seems to have slipped in and out of what she calls self imposed exiles. I think I have read she did this to find some privacy and reconnect with people and feelings that are important. I would assume this is not uncommon for creative people.

She is an accomplished painter and, again, I assume she has used her time out of the spotlight to paint. This is a self portrait she did for her album Both Sides Now. It is one of my favorite works - period. I love the feeling this painting conveys and its irreverence. I mean, my God, no smoking in a bar?



Though as much as I love Joni Mitchell's early work, I am even more captivated by her more recent work. In 1998 she performed a concert on a small stage on a Warner Brothers lot in Los Angeles. This performance is available on a DVD entitled Painting with Words and Music.



My favorite song from that performance is a jazzy version of her Big Yellow Taxi. She even does a perfect Bob Dylan impersonation.

More recently I heard Joni Mitchell do a new version of Both Sides Now. Unlike the original version, the new rendition is very slow and turns the classic into a jazz ballad that is truly unforgettable.

Joni Mitchell has finally made me realize what the 4-H motto means. She truly does make the best better. Much, much better.

Below is the Big Yellow Taxi as performed in 1998 by Joni Mitchell.

Confessions of a Recluse

I was in a grocery store today waiting in line. The woman in front of me was paying for her groceries with one of these



I was a bit miffed I had to wait while she wrote out a check and entered the payee's name, check number and amount in her register. I always pay for things with one of these



But then I thought about all the things I do NOT do that most people DO do. For example, I do not do this



Another thing I do not do is this



I guess if I did I could enter up to 140 characters and enlighten the world with such things as "going downstairs to do laundry" or "thought Ricky G was funny on the People's Choice Awards."

But to Tweet or squeak or squawk or whatever it is called, I would need a phone that looks more like this



My phone looks more like this



Please don't get me wrong. I think technology is great. And I do plan to join the rest of the world one of these days. Or months. Or years.

Until then I will be doing this



rather than reading one of my favorite books like this



Technology is nice. But there are some things that are not so modern that I still like, too. For example, I still like to listen to these



on one of these (and I have one of these in my bedroom that I use a lot)



As with everything in life, you need to find a balance. The new, high tech gadgets are great. I love high definition TV and cell phones and .... but a beautifully leather bound book or the sounds of music coming from a record player are pretty nice, too.

Take care and thanks for stopping by.