Rev. Barber on voting

As readers of this blog know, I worry mightily about voter suppression. So needless to say, I am overjoyed at the federal courts throwing out repressive voter ID laws in Texas, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.  As a result of the North Carolina ruling, the same court is in the process of reconsidering tossing out the Virginia voter registration laws.  This brings to my mind one of the Reverend William Barber's great takes on the subject of voting back in 2012.  Preach it brother Barber.

And if you have the time, check out Reverend Barber's incendiary speech made at the Democrats' convention -- just click right here. I love this guy.

"The Killing" - Binge watching at its best

I have been meaning to turn you on to a great Netflix binge-watch series:  "The Killing."  The series premiered on AMC in 2011 and went for 2 seasons, was cancelled and then renewed for a third season.  It was again cancelled by AMC in September 2013 but Netflix ordered a fourth season of 6 episodes to conclude the series.  You can now see all four seasons on Netflix, which is how I got into it a while back.  I am currently two episodes away from finishing season 3 and am looking forward to watching season 4.  

I'm not going to spend any time trying to explain the series because you can read all about it right here.  Just trust me on this one.  Watch the first 2 or 3 episodes of the first season and you will be hooked.  What I will say is that the two leads, Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman are fantastic in their roles and have chemistry that grows and grows as the series unfolds.  Enos is glammed down to just this side of frumpy, which is interesting in retrospect in view of her new, glamorous role in "The Catch" on ABC.  Kinnaman is so good that I forget that he is even acting.  

The production value, writing, direction and acting are top notch.  If you are a Netflix subscriber you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Mireille Enos as Sarah Linden in "The Killing"

Mireille Enos as Alice Vaughan in "The Catch"

WAPO takes a courageous stand

Yesterday, the Washington Post's editorial board took an extraordinary step, publishing a full-page piece warning that Donald Trump is a "unique threat to American democracy."  It is a thoughtful and powerful indictment, saying what needs to be said right now, not a week before the election.  I consider it required reading.  Please take the time to read it right here.

Now Munich?!

Just flipped on the TV.  6 dead (so far) in Munich shootings by up to 3 individuals.  I am so sick of these senseless evil acts.  More later when I find out exactly what the situation is.

Stills - Treetop Flyer

I was checking out and organizing some songs that I have saved to my hard drive when I ran across one of the great tracks of all time.  Stephen Stills doing an acoustic solo of a totally cool song he wrote:  "Treetop Flyer."  Read about it here.  And listen to it here.  Ain't nothing quite like it.   So enjoy.

Vacation begins..

We are taking about 10 days off and spending them at our place at Tahoe/Donner.  We got up here on Thursday afternoon.  Yesterday, took a little hike on the Nature Trail loop, which I can access by just walking across the road.  It was a warm and mellow day so I took some pictures along the way.  I'll share some of them with you (don't forget to click to enlarge the photos):

Lots of patches of wildflowers along the way....

Over the years we have owned our place the beavers have been extending their ponds.  Here is a shot of their latest effort.

One of my favorite parts of this hike is the boardwalk that allows one to walk through the whole flooded complex of beaver ponds and creeks that are located in the area.  Needless to say, the area is teeming with all sorts of life.

Later on I walk for quite a ways with a beautiful creek running beside me ...