Retrospective: An Era Before Tungsten

A Rumination

however beautiful a place to visit is Californing, I cannot take permanent residence where:

roadways are so shamefully maintained,

mirrored lakes become impenetrable wetlands (however slowly),

roast duck is not more ably prepared,

snow persists well into the summer,

"burgers" are produced in short order and may contain within a single bun multiple patties,

the indigenous population is so brazenly fecund and fainéant,

and, judging only from the screams for I dared not venture too near, seaside visitors are subject to all manner of Medieval torture.

The Flora of the Sierra Nevada

it is difficult to determine which to celebrate with greater fervor: the roaring waters or the verdant forest nourished by the cascade.


the clothespin tree.

La Porte de l'Enfer.

The Fauna of the Sierra Nevada

the tree at the end of the world.

a jay. presumably in mourning.

a thing of this size can only be the foot of a brontosaur.

Half Dome

never before has half of anything so stirred my soul.

Arabesque for Kenneth Anger

Yosemite National Park

I am away west on holiday. this week, I shall scale Half Dome then convalesce at one of many seaside resorts named for a Spanish saint.

Anthracite

a train impeded my way. worse, each railway car brimmed with coal.

if such continues, this place shall become little better than Manchester.

Night of the Twisters

a sudden severe meteorological episode disrupted a delightful garden party; this convinces me that forecasting the weather is, at best, a pseudoscience.

Wells Fargo

for the rare occasions that a Cézanne is not an accepted mode of exchange, I keep more liquid assets at this venerable institution.

Council Bluffs

although known primarily for casinos, low-class shopping establishments and even lower class inhabitants, the downtown area provides a brilliant contrast to the parts of the city frequented by outsiders.

Monument to a Geodesic Age

A Reversal of Fortune

a rather cruel twist of fate necessitates my temporary employment with the local school district. until I mitigate the effects of an ill-advised investment, I teach those so unfortunate as to be born too near the equator to speak English properly.

worse, I work at a school named for Nebraskashire's most famous politician--a populist silverite Presbyterian who supported all manner of anarchic activity.

Adverts

many welcome Omaha's first advertisement of this size.

I do not share their appreciation for such an ostentatious display of capitalism's most undignified upshots: sales and marketing.

Tea Time

a perfect day for a refreshing glass of SunTea--prepared by Rothchild to my precise specifications, of course.

The Farmer's Market

each Saturday, local merchants and growers overwhelm blocks of Omaha's Downtown in ever-increasing numbers. retailers importune passersby to stop at makeshift stalls to appraise homemade wares or sniff honeysuckle and fresh tomatoes.

normally I could not praise something so provincial but it was there that last weekend, at the behest of a small Oriental man, I purchased the most delicious radishes. verily, they were the talk of next day's tea.

Monument to a Woven Age