My friends Roger and June are going to be sitting on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for the event. They are a long way from their home in England. Since we can’t be there with them, here is the next best thing.
The site is from NASA:
http://venustransit.nasa.gov/transitofvenus/
The next event won’t roll around until 2117. You might have other plans then.
Governor Bob McDonnell reluctantly agreed that President Obama’s stimulus money helped Virginia come out of the recession. He did say he didn’t think it would help in the long run. Good for Gov. McDonnell for admitting that something the President has done was a good thing.
Some blog thoughts as this Tuesday approaches. I am not quite willing to throw out the baby with the bath water. This is the time for learning, listening and assessing. Some musings and comments:
Greg L is all over the discretionary funds issue on the dark site. The fault I find with his analysis is his perpetual problem of partisanship. Many of the supervisors have questionable use of the discretionary funds, yet Letiecq chose to call out only Democrats by name. If we are going to discuss names, then let’s be fair and name all who have abused or attempted to abuse the discretionary fund system.
Meanwhile, I have to hand it to the Sheriff of Nottingham for his diligence on this matter. He did some things I was not willing to do myself.
The wedding band
When social change comes, it often knocks us over, especially if its arrival has been fraught with difficulty. Now we find out that after all these years, Green Lantern is gay. Well, good for Green Lantern. More interesting than the comic series, watching the social conservatives take out their green lantern comic books as though they were removing chicken crap with their fingers will be the real entertainment. Sorry guys, you know statistic tell us 10%….
DC Comics announced on Friday that Green Lantern, a superhero staple for decades, is gay. (And all of this time, my money was on Wonder Woman or Aquaman.) When bigotry falls, it often falls fast — gay marriage, Barack Obama as the first gay president and now popular superheroes like Green Lantern.
From insidenova.com:
BOSTON —
An appeals court ruled today that a law that denies a host of federal benefits to gay married couples is unconstitutional.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, discriminates against gay couples.
If you miss this one, you will have to wait until 2117 to see it again.
Jon Stewart doesn’t think much of the drink ban. He calls out Morning Joe over coffee. Enjoy.
Several times here at Moonhowlings I have referenced snake handlers as a religion. Now, I have never known any up close and personal but I do know there was a community of them in Scottsville when I was growing up. They were famous to the locals, who were the people from Charlottesville. However, to me, actually it is sort of just an expression, meaning extremism in religion. I don’t think I actually even thought there were any real snake handlers left.
Photo journalist Lauren Pond recently watched a snake handler die for his faith. According to the Washington Post:
This is what I saw through my camera lens: Pastor Randy “Mack” Wolford, tossing and turning on the couch in his mother-in-law’s West Virginia trailer, suffering from the pain of a rattlesnake bite he had received earlier in the day. Parishioners surrounding him in prayer in the stifling heat. His mother stroking his feet, her expression a mixture of concern, sorrow and, eventually, acceptance: This is how her eldest son — a legend in the local Pentecostal serpent-handling community — would die.
Camera in hand, I watched as the man I’d photographed and gotten to know over the past year writhed, turned pale and slipped away, a victim of his unwavering faith, but also a testament to it. A family member called paramedics when Mack finally allowed it, but it was too late. Mack Wolford drew his final, labored breaths late Sunday night. He was 44.
And the next mystery park is???? Hint: the weird shapes are called hoodoos.
Lots of night photography is done in this park. The rock formations give everything an eerie look. Some folks will be watching the transit of Venus from here.
In Manassas, this weekend is supposed to be great weather. Not too hot and not too cold. Just right.
The discretionary fund vote is coming up this Tuesday. All eyes will be on the BOCS.
