Los Angeles Fires

Views of the San Gabriel Mountains fire from my roof on 8/31/09 . . .

A new school year begins

I am now American and Ladonian

You heard it here first. More information about my new country here.

Join us.

Some of the saddest photos I've ever seen

More photos by James D. Griffieon

This was the building where Detroit's deeply-troubled public school system once stored its supplies, and then one day walked away from it all, allowing everything to go to waste. The interior has been ravaged by fires and the supplies that haven't burned have been subjected to 20 years of Michigan weather. This city's school district is so impoverished that students are not allowed to take their textbooks home to do homework, and many of its administrators are so corrupt that every few months the newspapers report more of their scandals, sweetheart-deals, and expensive trips made at the expense of a population of children who can no longer rely on a public education to help lift them from the cycle of violence and poverty that has made Detroit the most dangerous city in America. To walk through this ruin, more than any other, I think, is to obliquely experience the real tragedy of this city: not some sentimental tragedy of brick and plaster, but one of people.

Where am I? #13

Here

Jewelry by Olivia

Making stuff at camp

That darn squirrel

He really is very photogenic. More here.

Huntington no. 2

Next stop Tuna Fish

And on a related topic . . . cat ladders.

Sleeping kitty and kiddie

7pm and the little ones have fallen asleep

The illustrations of Rima Staines

Her website

Interview

Where am I? #12

Here.

Garden Style

The scene open in the backyard of a suburban home. A young girl is rocking out and watering the tomatoes . . . [music of Aerosmith off in the distance] . . . neighbors start clapping in unison and mailman begins to moonwalk. An explosion and a mic stand with head scarf magically appears . . .

Futhark