Republicans are extortionists

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"From the perspective of a rational person -- in other words a progressive -- we shouldn't be talking about spending cuts at all now. We have 9 percent unemployment. These spending cuts are going to worsen unemployment. It's even going to hold the long-run fiscal picture because we have a situation where more and more people are becoming permanent long-term unemployed."

Paul Krugmman

The rising sun burns off the morning fog. Along the Canal du Nivernais, Burgundy region, France; September, 2009

Counting flowers on the wall, that don't bother me at all. Sedona, Arizona; May, 2010.

Thrill seekers at last month's Rose Festival. (Click on the thumbnail for more detail) Portland, Oregon; June, 2011.

Another in my occasional series of Lines, Light, Textures, and Patterns: tables, chairs, a staircase, and trucking trailers. San Diego, California; October, 2010.

It's county fair week this week here. As such, this constitutes an office meeting on the fairgrounds. Madras, Oregon; July, 2010.

This street busker plays French accordion music as you remember it. (And even though he's a busker, he's still French, which means style. Click on the thumbnail to check out those shoes). Chartres, France; September, 2009.

Banjo pickers on parade. And parked in a taxi zone, apparently. Saturday Market, Portland, Oregon; June, 2011.

Caught the offerings (and snagged this photo) of a bluegrass jug band at the Saturday Market. Portland, Oregon; June, 2011.

During my young adulthood, I earned my living playing live music (ok, it was really a life of drink, drugs and debauchery--hey, it was the 70s, but music made it possible). I formed several different bands, none of which went anywhere. But one of those bands was my all-time fave of the bands I started. The bass player in that band, Denny Bixby, went on to play bass for Mary Chapin Carpenter for a while and is now the bass player for Rodney Crowell. Rodney Crowell doesn't tour all the time, so when he's not touring, Denny has about a half dozen other bands he plays in to keep his chops up. I hadn't seen Denny in about 35 years, but heard one of his projects, the one-trick pony Quarterflash, was going to be in Bend for a free show. After a very long day of working, I made my way down to the music and snagged some pics of Denny with Marv and Rindy Ross (Quarterflash's founders). It was fabulous to reconnect. That's Denny on the right. Bend, Oregon; July, 2011.

A couple of weekends ago I finally got to see one of my all-time favorites: JD Souther. He doesn't come around much; it'd been 20 years since he'd been in the neighborhood. Fun and emotional night. Aladdin Theater, Portland, Oregon; July, 2011.

We end this week's look at the faces of the Oregon Country Fair with this relatively demure face. This woman stopped me to talk about my mask and correctly named the mask maker out of the blue. Someone in the know...(Click on the thumbnail for a better look at her intricate mask) Near Elmira, Oregon; July, 2011.

This fellow was interesting. Sitting behind a picture frame, he said he was a live video. Who was I to argue? (Click the thumbnail to get a better gander at his glasses. Or his hat. Or his unicorn.) Near Elmira, Oregon; July, 2011.

More face time at the Oregon Country Fair. Near Elmira, Oregon; July, 2011.

This week we're concentrating on the faces of the just completed Oregon Country Fair. Here's one. Near Elmira, Oregon; July, 2011

It's that time again, folks: the Oregon Country Fair!! This year, I think we'll concentrate on faces, starting with this self-portrait. (Click the thumbnail for more detail) Near Elmira, Oregon; July, 2011.

This ancient city became a provisional capital of the Roman Empire in the third century, and the cathedral pictured here dates from the 9th century. Auxerre, France; Spetember, 2009.

Joe's Crab Shack. San Diego, California; October, 2010.

This town has a multitude of incredibly beautiful old, stately homes from the Victorian era. There is a very active racing season during mid-summer and I've been told that many of the people who own homes such as this one rent them out for the 6-8 weeks of the racing season and make their entire year's mortgage on the homes during that period. Saratoga Springs, New York; August, 2007.

The Nikon DSLR that I normally use is on the fritz and in the shop for repair. So this July 4th I had to make use of my Canon point and shoot, which has a Fireworks setting on it. This is what that setting gets when you take photos of someone twirling 2 sparklers around and around. Madras, Oregon; July, 2011.

The US is 235 years old today. Tonight, there will be lots of fireworks all over the country. Here in my little burg of about 6600 people, there's actually quite a large fireworks display--larger than most of the bigger towns around us. But not as big as the Mayor's Festival fireworks over the Thames River, shown above, probably the largest display of fireworks I've ever seen. London, UK; September, 2009.

This is just a test

Just working on testing out a change to my formatting. Move along. These aren't the droids you're looking for...

Apartments on the Rive Gauche (Left Bank), from a boat on the Seine. Paris, France; September, 2009.