Sam Harris has his drawbacks, but on this subject he got it right.

Say what you want about the attacks. You can claim it was all a false flag by a multi-level conspiracy involving the FBI/the CIA/State Dept./the Jews/the Bush II administration/Israel/lizard men/Martians/Jewish lizard men from Mars if you like. (I don't buy that) You can bring up US foreign policy & depending on what points you make, you might be right. I will readily admit that our government has not always treated other countries well...empire, &/or thwarting another imperial power as we did for decades, is always a dirty business. You could bring up other factors behind the attacks, too. And you may well be right on every reply you utter.

But none of the above changes the ultimate cause, the theological imperative that drove the 19 hijackers to do what they did. The rationale (if that is a suitable word) for it can be seen in their religion's founding scripture & the many commentaries on it, & on the founder's words & actions. The effects of that hostile memeplex can be found all over the Middle East, North Africa...& these days, throughout western Europe & sizable swathes of the United States.

I may do one or two pieces on this subject. Haven't decided yet...put it this way: if I do, they will draw on parts of a track record. For now I will only remember the dead, the planes hitting the towers & their subsequent collapse, the bombings in London & Paris...& October 7th, 2023.

Snapshot of a chat with one of my online buddies, from earlier this year:

His name & texts are left out for his privacy.

Yes, I really do work in this kind of environment. The patio is mostly made of old big-box store pine lumber that is slowly rotting, but it's the only workspace I have for wood projects. The railing is an advantage because it's just below shoulder height for me...most useful for building canes & other small objects that often require up-close vision & extensive use of hand tools.

If my cane projects don't interest you, fear not: more ink n' brush stuff will go up this Monday.

On a less serious note...

Right now I wish I had a boat... Even an aluminum 12-footer with an outboard motor would do.

A few more days of this nonsense & all the streets will be submerged.

If you live in the US & you have a weather app or watch any decent weather channel on YouRube, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Really want to get down to the property next week & do some work there.

Also, props to the fans who like my cane projects...all two of you! >|-D

This is why it ain't good whenever the entire market gets dominated by a handful of stocks--or a single stock, in this case. The Justice Dept. has initiated an antitrust investigation; as a result, NVDA lost over $250 million of market cap while the S&P & NASDAQ indexes plunged today. Bad juju.

Also an example of the old saying "never put all your eggs in one basket." There are no exceptions to the rule, ever.

It's even affected metal prices:

Gold went below $2,500/oz today. What a drop! It's still not bad given the last five years... If it drops to $2,400 or less, that may be time to buy.

Also - I need to buy some garlic...section & peel it, then toss the clove segments in the pickling jar.

If you don't go for this, then I gotta wonder what happened to your taste in music. Seriously:

...generated by the old urge + tiredness from staying up too long. Nocturnal habits (along with other ones) will probably kill me...

If the impressionistic hair-shapes bother you, I also posted a quick sketch without one here.

...the song, that is.

Looters - Buddy Brown

I sanded down & refinished my beater cane earlier this week. Had plans to do the same to the 5th one but as of now & probably for the next several days, the whole refinishing/reshaping project for my canes is at a dead halt. Because the only place I can do this kinda work is outside on the patio, half of which is not under the roof. And it's been raining.

It rained all afternoon the day before yesterday & off & on today, & is predicted to tomorrow of course. You can check out the refinishing job here:

Welcome to Florida, where the rule is "when in doubt, assume it will rain."

...but. My brain never turns off, & I'm an opinionated man. So:

You don't have to be a Trump cultist to see the problem with their statements. It's nothing new, though... So often, behind an influential or high-ranking man is a woman with the real power.

Also, another article mentioned insurance companies in a few places. I replied:

Was flipping through my files a few nights ago. Inevitably I opened up the one with two pieces in it...yes, just two. A couple sketches from when I used to go to the clubs, done a few years apart. I haven't posted 'em here. (Also don't go too often anymore. Am past the customer demographic, I dislike loud noise & the scene got old a while back) Both are gesture studies of dancers...what else would they be, in such an environment.

I kept them because in both instances, the sketch turned out perfectly. Everything I did just flowed, & went...right. The only exception is in the 2nd one I tried to add the dancer's hair--that was a bad decision. But the rest looks great. I wasn't going for likenesses; the point was to capture their movement in the few seconds my marker was on the paper. I did it, twice.

I do not mention the above to brag, because in both times it was as much a matter of luck as of whatever skill I have. If you're an artist--amateur, pro, whatever--& if you ever have that flash-of-lightning moment while you're working on something, consider yourself lucky. Not every artist experiences such bliss. If you experience it twice...you might be Irish. But seriously, if you do it twice then you're luckier than most & all your work just paid off.

I know not to hope for it a third time. If you manage it 3+ times, either you're a Jedi master or--this is much more likely--you're cheating somehow, & your work ain't as great as you believe.