On the Importance of Protest

It is an uncomfortable fact, throughout history, autocracy—tyranny, dictatorship or whatever we call it—has depended on people at all levels who accept it, who adjust to it, or even find it a comfortable system under which to live…. It is not violence or the secret police, it is collaboration and cooperation—knowing or naive, well-meaning or not—that keep autocracy going.

 

Mary Beard, Emperor of Rome, p.407.

Halloween Etc. in Old Town

Some go all out

Some go minimalist

Some go traditional

Some go creative

And some send a message

But some are off by more that 30º

A few do not, in the words of David's law dean, uphold the dignity of the profession

Whilst others engage in avant-garde interior decorating (fear not, they're papier maché)

 

But perhaps it remains best to just lurk in dark corners

A Lovely Place to Live

Despite all you hear about Washington's chief industry, and the city itself does have it's problems, it's still a lively, and very lovely place to live--and we do love it here. Back on Oct 16th, the tourists were pretty much gone, as were the fed workers because of the shutdown, and the day was gorgeous--a perfect time to enjoy the beauty of the city.

Probably my favorite fountain, at the Navy Memorial 

the very photogenic Archives and the long row of government offices along Constitution Ave, America's Whitehall so to speak 

the Mall and its museums are always imposing

and then, of course, there's the capitol

Over to the corner of 5th & C for coffee... 

...and then home. The DC metro has ads you won't find anywhere else in the word; interesting and also menacing.

Odds & Ends

A sure sign of the change of seasons is when Jeeves puts on his debonair Fall hat. 

Hamster's Quick Culinary Reviews: O...M...G... I done died and gone to heaven.

The metallics on David's dining room painting only come to full life in the morning sun, and even so, they are difficult to capture photographically, but they are splendid.

Spotted at a supermarket parking lot.

Just Some Carnations