Rocket Ride
Again, I got dropped on South Mountain Road. I have a good excuse this time, though - turns out I broke a spoke a few miles earlier and the wheel was rubbing hard against the brake pad with every revolution.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Family Kayaking in Piermont
Today we did more or less the same route that I did with Jason a while back. I ended up getting some great Heron shots:
Here's a closeup of the first one in the above series:
We paddled out into the Hudson:
After exploring the southern estuary, we returned to Sparkill, where Baila and Mommy splashed each other:
Looking at Google Maps, I noticed a boat on Sparkill (on the right) that was darker than the docked boats on the left side of the image. I suspected that the boat must be wrecked and sitting on the bottom of the creek:
After coming back in from the Hudson, we found the boat:
At the end of our trip, we ran into a Giant Egret:
I asked Trish to get close so it would take off so I could get some pictures of the bird in flight. He refused to be intimidated:
We had a great time!
Here's a closeup of the first one in the above series:
We paddled out into the Hudson:
After exploring the southern estuary, we returned to Sparkill, where Baila and Mommy splashed each other:
Looking at Google Maps, I noticed a boat on Sparkill (on the right) that was darker than the docked boats on the left side of the image. I suspected that the boat must be wrecked and sitting on the bottom of the creek:
After coming back in from the Hudson, we found the boat:
At the end of our trip, we ran into a Giant Egret:
I asked Trish to get close so it would take off so I could get some pictures of the bird in flight. He refused to be intimidated:
We had a great time!
Friday, August 04, 2006
1938 Redux
It is now a cliché to rant about the spread of postmodernism, cultural relativism, utopian pacifism, and moral equivalence among the affluent and leisured societies of the West. But we are seeing the insidious wages of such pernicious theories as they filter down from our media, universities, and government and never more so than in the general publics nonchalance since Hezbollah attacked Israel.
These past few days the inability of millions of Westerners, both here and in Europe, to condemn fascist terrorists who start wars, spread racial hatred, and despise Western democracies is the real story, not the quarter-ton Israeli bombs that inadvertently hit civilians in Lebanon who live among rocket launchers that send missiles into Israeli cities and suburbs.
Yes, perhaps Israel should have hit more quickly, harder, and on the ground; yes, it has run an inept public relations campaign; yes, to these criticisms and more. But what is lost sight of is the central moral issue of our times: a humane democracy mired in an asymmetrical war is trying to protect itself against terrorists from the 7th century, while under the scrutiny of a corrupt world that needs oil, is largely anti-Semitic and deathly afraid of Islamic terrorists, and finds psychic enjoyment in seeing successful Western societies under duress.
In short, if we wish to learn what was going on in Europe in 1938, just look around.
Read the article.
These past few days the inability of millions of Westerners, both here and in Europe, to condemn fascist terrorists who start wars, spread racial hatred, and despise Western democracies is the real story, not the quarter-ton Israeli bombs that inadvertently hit civilians in Lebanon who live among rocket launchers that send missiles into Israeli cities and suburbs.
Yes, perhaps Israel should have hit more quickly, harder, and on the ground; yes, it has run an inept public relations campaign; yes, to these criticisms and more. But what is lost sight of is the central moral issue of our times: a humane democracy mired in an asymmetrical war is trying to protect itself against terrorists from the 7th century, while under the scrutiny of a corrupt world that needs oil, is largely anti-Semitic and deathly afraid of Islamic terrorists, and finds psychic enjoyment in seeing successful Western societies under duress.
In short, if we wish to learn what was going on in Europe in 1938, just look around.
Read the article.