La Dolce Vita

The past week it just seems like the road to Gilded Age Hell is ever broader and easier.

But Sunday morning was sunny and cool, the roads of North Portland were quiet, my hip was silent as my battered old Kona bicycle was spinning like a top, and the cheese danish at Madrona Hill Bakery was sweet as a lover's midnight kiss.

So the hell with my country's search for the miserable times we thought had gone for good after 1929. Sufficient unto tomorrow is the Evil thereof, and I am just going to leave you with the image of a deliciously languid Sunday.

Exotic Perfume

When, with both eyes closed, on a hot Autumn evening,
I breathe the scent of your warm breasts,
I see unfurled before me happy shores
Dazzled by the fires of a changeless sun;An indolent island upon which nature bestows
Curious trees and savory fruits;
Men whose bodies are thin and vigorous,
And women whose eyes are astonishingly frank.

Guided by your scent toward charming climes,
I see a port filled with sails and masts
Still fatigued by the swell of the ocean,While the perfume of green tamarind trees,
Which permeates the air and swells my nostrils,
Blends in my soul with the song of the sailors.

-Baudelaire, translation by Cat Nilan © 1999, 2004

No reason. No reason at all.

I just fell in love with my bride again, and it's starting on to spring, and the golden evening light fills with the sound of my children playing.

No Clue

I tried to pull together something big to talk about Friday - there seems like a lot going on around the world. And yet, I just can't seem to find anything new to say. Immunity for telecoms? Where's the issue? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
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Edging towards war with Iran? What the hell could I say that doesn't come down to "Are you really that fucking stupid?"
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I want to talk about the big picture implications of our national slide towards end-of-empire fiscal and social irresponsibility, but that will take a while and a bit more thinking.
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So what I'm saying is...I don't have an "issue" post for today. So...enjoy you're weekend.