Daily Entries for the week of
Sunday, June 19, 2022
through
Saturday, June 25, 2022
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It’s Saturday, June 25, 2022
Welcome to the 1,482nd consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Birding
Bird watching photographers, New South Wales, June 1921, AH Chisholm
AH Chisholm and one more author - State Library of New South Wales PXE 1264
Bird watching photographers, New South Wales, June 1921, AH Chisholm, State Library of New South Wales PXE 1264
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Commentary
Stacey Abrams. She’s a power. We need powers. Gov. Abrams sounds real fine. President Abrams?
Trump v Desantis is not Tweedle Dee v Tweedle Dum.
Not by a long shot.
The latter is a rigid conservative.
But the former is a traitor to American Democracy who puts his disturbing persona ahead of everything we stand for. “You can fool some of the people an unfortunately long time,” during which you can turn our country into a dictatorship.
I’ll take that rigid conservative, thank you.
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Reading
Am enjoying reading Shogun.
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Writing
I’m barely keeping up with my minimum which isn’t too bad considering I took a four-day vacay to Washington DC and was distracted.
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Screen time
I’m throwing in the towel on Alice in Wonderland.
Looking forward to Rick Burns’ NY Experience.
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Understanding aging
My legs are feeling better than they have for a long time. I think the combination of reduced weights and reduced carrying of my heavy backpack is having a positive impact.
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Social Life
I have a dinner party on Saurday night, nine of us.
And a date on Sunday afternoon.
And a couple of dates imminent but pending.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
My husband wanted to be cremated.
I told him I'd scatter his ashes at Neiman Marcus -
that way, I'd visit him every day.
~Joan Rivers
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
Dear Dom,
You are exactly right that these personal rejections from agents and editors are a vital sign that your story has a lot going for it, more than the majority of manuscripts being shopped around. Kudos! And keep on submitting – you’ll hit the ball out of the park one of these days.
This week I completed work on a memoir I was copyediting for a lady in Tewksbury, and although I quite clearly underbid the budget by way too much, I am learning ways to estimate the time this kind of work will take and to budget accordingly. What I really loved, too: What a wonderful way to get to know this lady and her story, most heartening in so many places. (It’s nice to know that the work I have chosen to do in these, my retirement years, is making me so happy!)
Keep on writing, my friend!
Sally
Blog meister responds: And right back at you, my friend. We are writers. We write. All the time. But, be careful, my dear. Get value for your work.
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
I had dinner at Ga Ga again. This time I ate Shrimp with Lobster Sauce. The shrimp were very large and spectacular. I also had Fried Tofu and Vegetables. Also wonderful. The restaurant has gone 4 for 4. I like it.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
dom son mino and sahas our guide birding Roosevelt Island at 6.30am
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Short Essay*
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by listening for bird sounds, or by watching public webcams.
Birdwatching often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are more easily detected and identified by ear than by eye. Most birdwatchers pursue this activity for recreational or social reasons, unlike ornithologists, who engage in the study of birds using formal scientific methods.
The first recorded use of the term birdwatcher was in 1901 by Edmund Selous;[3] bird was introduced as a verb in 1918. The term birding was also used for the practice of fowling or hunting with firearms as in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602): "She laments sir... her husband goes this morning a-birding." The terms birding and birdwatching are today used by some interchangeably, although some participants prefer birding, partly because it includes the auditory aspects of enjoying birds.
In North America, many birders differentiate themselves from birdwatchers, and the term birder is unfamiliar to most lay people. At the most basic level, the distinction is perceived as one of dedication or intensity, though this is a subjective differentiation. Generally, self-described birders perceive themselves to be more versed in minutiae like identification (aural and visual), molt, distribution, migration timing, and habitat usage. Whereas these dedicated birders may often travel specifically in search of birds, birdwatchers have been described by some enthusiasts as having a more limited scope, perhaps not venturing far from their own yards or local parks to view birds.[1] Indeed, in 1969 a Birding Glossary appeared in Birding magazine which gave the following definitions:
Birder. The acceptable term used to describe the person who seriously pursues the hobby of birding. May be professional or amateur.
Birding. A hobby in which individuals enjoy the challenge of bird study, listing, or other general activities involving bird life.
Bird-watcher. A rather ambiguous term used to describe the person who watches birds for any reason at all, and should not be used to refer to the serious birder.
— Birding, Volume 1, No.2
Twitching is a British term used to mean "the pursuit of a previously located rare bird." In North America, it is more often called chasing. The term twitcher, sometimes misapplied as a synonym for birder, is reserved for those who travel long distances to see a rare bird that would then be ticked, or counted on a list. The term originated in the 1950s, when it was used for the nervous behaviour of Howard Medhurst, a British birdwatcher. Prior terms for those who chased rarities were pot-hunter, tally-hunter, or tick-hunter. The main goal of twitching is often to accumulate species on one's lists. Some birders engage in competition to accumulate the longest species list. The act of the pursuit itself is referred to as a twitch or a chase. A rare bird that stays long enough for people to see it is twitchable or chaseable.
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
*Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Friday, June 24, 2022
Welcome to the 1,481st consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Curator and exhibit designer dress a mannequin for an exhibit.
LBJ Library from Austin - DIG14005_035
Associate Curator Ruth Goerger, Exhibit Designer Beatrice Smith and intern Rhea Shahane dress a mannequin with LBJ's uniform for a World War II exhibit. Did you know that President Lyndon B. Johnson was a member of the United States Naval Reserve and served in World War II? In this exhibit you will see WWII-era artifacts and learn about the events that led to him receiving the prestigious Silver Star. The exhibit will be open from February 4, 2017 to June 18, 2017. LBJ Library photo by Jay Godwin 01/31/2017
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Commentary
In the battle for restricting the accessibility of howitzers for eight-year-olds some Republican names stood out as not only to work with Democrats on this bill, but on others. You might call it a coalition. Perhaps the start of a non-Trumpian conservative Republican political party.
Anyway, here are some names to encourage: Tom Tillis (No Carolina), Susan Collins (Maine),
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
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Screen time
I’m watching a series called “Alice in Borderline”. Have seen only 1.5 episodes so not commenting.
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Understanding aging
Retirement is great if you can afford it.
I especially like that you get to choose how to keep yourself relevant and active and creative.
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Social Life
Today I have appointments with my hairstylist, manicurist, and vendor in Italian grocery store. Plenty of social life for today.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
I've learned from my dealings with Johnny Carson that
no matter what kind of friendship you think you have with people you're working with,
when the chips are down,
it's all about business.
~Joan Rivers
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
Dear domenic,
Thank you so much for submitting MYSTIC WARRIOR: REMIT TO HELL to me and your interest in The Seymour Agency. Unfortunately I did not fall in love with this project as much I had hoped to in order to take it on in such a saturated market. Please don't be discouraged, just because it is a pass from me, by no means implies that another agent will feel the same.
I wish you the best on your publishing endeavors and thank you again for the opportunity to consider.
Blog meister responds: I am heartened by the number of personal rejections. I must be in the ballpark or my submissions would be ignored.
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
Am planning to make Feijoada with the emphasis on the beans and greens. Both chicen drumsticks and pork ribs are on sale. That’s a deal. I have some pig’s and chicken feet in my freezer, already boiled and waiting to be added into a recipe.
I’ve got to write a recipe first. I’ll share it.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Slave auction
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Slave auction
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Short Essay*
A "collections curator", a "museum curator" or a "keeper" of a cultural heritage institution (e.g., gallery, museum, library or archive) is a content specialist charged with an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material including historical artifacts. A collections curator's concern necessarily involves tangible objects of some sort—artwork, collectibles, historic items or scientific collections.
In smaller organizations, a curator may have sole responsibility for acquisitions and even for collections care. A curator makes decisions regarding what objects to select, oversees their potential and documentation, conducts research based on the collection and its history, provides proper packaging of object for transportation, and shares research with the public and community through exhibitions and publications. In very small, volunteer-based museums, such as those of local historical societies, a curator may be the only paid staff-member.
In larger institutions, the curator's primary function is that of a subject specialist, with the expectation that he or she will conduct original research on objects and guide the organization in its collecting. Such institutions can have multiple curators, each assigned to a specific collecting area (e.g., curator of ancient art, curator of prints and drawings, etc.) and often operating under the direction of a head curator. In such organizations, the physical care of the collection may be overseen by museum collections-managers or by museum conservators, with documentation and administrative matters (such as personnel, insurance, and loans) handled by a museum registrar.
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Thursday, June 23, 2022
Welcome to the 1,480th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Phyllis Wheatley
Portrait of Phillis Wheatley, attributed by some scholars to Scipio Moorhead
Scipio Moorhead - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3a40394. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information.
Frontispiece to Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects...
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Commentary
While Juneteenth celebrates the freeing of the enslaved people of the United States including public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs, the inclusion of readings of the works by noted African-American writers, such as Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou, indicates it is also a day of reflection, education, and growth. A sober ‘congratulations’ is in order.
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Writing
Getting personalized letters of rejection is strong incentive to keep me going. Some writers apply to tens and tens of agents without a single personalized reply. Now that is discouraging.
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Screen time
I searched out Shogun 1980 mini series and couldn’t find it for sale or rent.
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Understanding aging
After four days of traveling my return to the weight room was very gentle. But I did pretty well. I will be happy to be able return to my new reduced level of weights.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
People say that money is not the key to happiness,
but I always figured if you have enough money,
you can have a key made.
~Joan Rivers
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
This from our movie guru:
Hi Dom,
We just published our 6th episode - Only the Dead Have Seen the End of War - where we examine 9/11’s impact on American movies - https://vimeo.com/695987074
And here is a link to all previous episodes -
https://www.patreon.com/posts/67682128
Thank you so much for watching and posting!
- Tucker
Blog meister responds: It’s very exciting. It’s taking a film class without tuition.
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
On Tuesday I ate half of a roast duck. It was delicious. An some cauliflower.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Phyllis Wheatley
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Short Essay*
Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly (c. 1753 – December 5, 1784) was an American author she is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America, where she was bought by the Wheatley family of Boston. After she learned to read and write, they encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.
On a 1773 trip to London with her master's son, seeking publication of her work, Wheatley met prominent people who became patrons. The publication in London of her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral on September 1, 1773, brought her fame both in England and the American colonies. Figures such as George Washington praised her work. A few years later, African-American poet Jupiter Hammon praised her work in a poem of his own.
Wheatley was emancipated by her masters shortly after the publication of her book. They soon died, and she married John Peters, a poor grocer. They lost three children who died young. Wheatley died in poverty and obscurity at the age of 31.
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Welcome to the 1,479th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Shogun 1981
Shōgun (TV miniseries) Titles
Captured from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfGHyia8IWY
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Commentary
This weekend proved the value of fine family.
We were so close, shared great love.
Came away secure and grounded.
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Reading
Have started Shogun by James Clavell. I’m enjoying it. It’s part of my deep education preparatory for my visit there in October.
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Screen time
Am looking forward to watching the Shogun MiniSeries.
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Understanding aging
I understand that I can no longer carry my hefty laptop all day. I must limit it to a single trip trip out per day. The rest of my out-of-apartment time I’ll do without.
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Social Life
Plenty. The entire weekend with my entire family. Saturday with a great group of ten. And Sunday with a new friend. I made her acquaintance at the airport and she texted me. We’re meeting at the MFA on Sunday. And then a backlog of dear friends to catch up on. Lucky me.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
I have no methods;
all I do is accept people as they are.
~Joan Rivers
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
We used an app that identifies bird songs in the field! And another that analyzes the user’s id markings on a bird just seen and makes excellent guesses as to what species it may be. And another app to start a life list. Why?
Son Mino and daughter Kat, not at all birders before this trip, finally caved in to my overtures and agreed to one day of birding, i.e. waking at 5.30am. They both signed on for the second day as well. Complete.
Kat texted Mino (copying me) that she was using an app our guide introduced us to and Mino reacted:
That is super cool!
Loved finding that app, and seeing Sahas use Merlin…that is one of the things I am going to try to use first, to identify bird songs for starters.
Loved it!
Mino
Thought you might enjoy these stats from e-Bird. These are just the ones we remembered!
Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve
Jun 18, 2022
6:30 AM
1.00 miles
90 Minutes
All birds reported? No
1 Mourning Dove
1 Black Vulture
4 Turkey Vulture
1 Osprey
1 Bald Eagle
2 Barred Owl
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Pileated Woodpecker
1 Northern Flicker
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Carolina Wren
1 Gray Catbird
1 American Robin
1 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Common Grackle
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Indigo Bunting
Number of Taxa: 19
+++
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Jun 19, 2022
6:30 AM
1.00 miles
90 Minutes
All birds reported? No
1 Mourning Dove
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Fish Crow
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Cliff Swallow
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 European Starling
1 Eastern Bluebird
1 American Goldfinch
2 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Indigo Bunting
Number of Taxa: 11
Blog meister responds: Well, you two and technology are taking the sport to further reaches than I ever dreamed of.
a father's dream.
so proud.
love
dad
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
We had delicious dinners on the three nights we were in Washington. Picking the restaurants that were of good quality and could accommodate 16 was not that easy.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Grace and Dom studying Da Vinci’s Ginevra de Benci
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Short Essay*
Shōgun is a 1980 American historical drama television miniseries based on James Clavell's 1975 novel of the same name. The series was produced by Paramount Television and first broadcast in the United States on NBC over five nights between September 15 and September 19, 1980. It was written by Eric Bercovici and directed by Jerry London, and stars Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune, and Yoko Shimada, with a large supporting cast. Clavell served as executive producer. To date, it is the only American television production to be filmed on-location entirely in Japan, with additional soundstage filming also taking place in Japan at the Toho studio.
The miniseries is loosely based on the adventures of English navigator William Adams, who journeyed to Japan in 1600 and rose to high rank in the service of the shōgun. It follows fictional Englishman John Blackthorne's (Chamberlain) transforming experiences and political intrigues in feudal Japan in the early 17th century.
Shōgun received generally positive reviews from critics and won several accolades, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series, the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama, and a 1981 Peabody Award. A remake series is set to be broadcast by FX in 2022.
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Welcome to the 1,478th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Pileated woodpecker
A female Pileated Woodpecker in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Shenandoah National Park from Virginia - Pileated Woodpecker
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Commentary
The trip was so crammed with fun activities that I had little time to write. In the days to come I will be more descriptive of the events that make a family reunion edifying.
But I will start at two of the richest moments: Sat and Sun birding at 6.00am.
We hired a guide, Sahas, who works at the Smithsonian studying bird behavior. Besides being a nice person, he was knowledgeable and eager to talk the subject.
One day we went to Dyke’s Marsh. On this day there was a wealth of birds. We saw pileated woodpecker and barred owl; osprey and downy woodpecker; we saw eagle and red-bellied woodpecker. And many more.
My son Mino and daughter Katherine both accompanied me. They are initiates and really got into it.
On the day we went to Roosevelt Island Kat started a birdlist that, as time permit, she will add to. Mino and Kat both got into different birding apps that will variously identify a bird by its call, identify a bird by characteristics you type in, or project specific bird calls to attract like species in the vicinity. It worked.
Mino’s home and acreage in the Catskills will provide him opportunities to grow in his knowledge and help enrich his life by recognizing the birds that visit him. Kat will enjoy Central Park and its rich bird life.
And I get to continue my daddying by introducing my children to a worderful experience.
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Word of the Day
Today’s Word: pileated
For definition, see below, immediately after the Short Essay
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Thoughts
I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe
who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause,
though that cause was, I believe,
one of the worst for which a people ever fought,
and one for which there was the least excuse.
~Ulysses S. Grant
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
We had dinner one night at the Salt Lines.
It was outdoors and filled with happy groups.
It was great fun.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Granddaughter Grace measured against an elephant’s thigh at the museum of natural history.
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Short Essay*
The pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Coast. It is the largest extant woodpecker species in North America, with the possible exception of the ivory-billed woodpecker, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed be reclassified as extinct. It is also the third largest species of woodpecker in the world, after the great slaty woodpecker and the black woodpecker.
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Definition of Today’s word:
pileated: refers to the bird's prominent red crest, from the Latin pileatus meaning "capped
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Monday, June 20, 2022
Welcome to the 1,477th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Lincoln Memorial
Abraham Lincoln, by Daniel Chester French
Jeff Kubina - Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
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Commentary
This is my last day in Washington DC: my flight is at 3.10pm if on time.
The trip was terrific.
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Reading, Writing, and Word of the Day
Very little reading and writing on the trip.
Lots of hanging out.
Today’s Word:
reunion
For definition, see below, immediately after the Short Essay
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Screen time
We exchanged many titles for suggested viewing of movies or TV series.
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Wellness
Long days, some of us started at 6.00am with a two-hour birding expedition, and stayed active until 11.00pm. Lots of walking and standing in museums. I held up well.
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Understanding aging
This was our first get together recognizing that I am aging, slowing a bit.
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Social Life
Extraordinary. All family stuff.
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Thought
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
—Abraham Lincoln
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
All activity and conversation were within the family and about each other.
Blog meister responds: It was lovely.
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
We took breakfast and dinner together in nice restaurants. No one had lunch.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
ginevra de benci
One of the highlights of the trip was spending an hour with some of the younger family members studying Da Vinci’s Ginevra de’ Benci. Granddaughter Grace, a rising sophomore at Swarthmore, read an analysis of the painting and as she read we studied the painitng line by line.
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Short Essay*
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War and succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.
Lincoln was born into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky and was raised on the frontier, primarily in Indiana. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator, and U.S. Congressman from Illinois. In 1849, he returned to his law practice but became vexed by the opening of additional lands to slavery as a result of the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854. He reentered politics in 1854, becoming a leader in the new Republican Party, and he reached a national audience in the 1858 Senate campaign debates against Stephen Douglas. Lincoln ran for President in 1860, sweeping the North to gain victory. Pro-slavery elements in the South viewed his election as a threat to slavery, and Southern states began seceding from the Union. During this time the newly formed Confederate States of America began seizing federal military bases in the south. Just over one month after Lincoln assumed the presidency, the Confederate States attacked Fort Sumter, a U.S. fort in South Carolina. Following the bombardment, Lincoln mobilized forces to suppress the rebellion and restore the Union.
Lincoln, a moderate Republican, had to navigate a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from both the Democratic and Republican parties. His allies, the War Democrats and the Radical Republicans, demanded harsh treatment of the Southern Confederates. Anti-war Democrats (called "Copperheads") despised Lincoln, and irreconcilable pro-Confederate elements plotted his assassination. He managed the factions by exploiting their mutual enmity, carefully distributing political patronage, and by appealing to the American people. His Gettysburg Address appealed to nationalistic, republican, egalitarian, libertarian, and democratic sentiments. Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the war effort, including the selection of generals, and implemented a naval blockade of the South's trade. He suspended habeas corpus in Maryland, and he averted British intervention by defusing the Trent Affair. In 1863 he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the slaves in the states "in rebellion" to be free. It also directed the Army and Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons" and to receive them "into the armed service of the United States." Lincoln also pressured border states to outlaw slavery, and he promoted the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which upon its ratification abolished slavery.
Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign. He sought to heal the war-torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just days after the war's end at Appomattox, he was attending a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., with his wife Mary when he was fatally shot by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Abraham Lincoln is remembered as a martyr and a national hero for his wartime leadership and for his efforts to preserve the Union and abolish slavery. Lincoln is often ranked in both popular and scholarly polls as the greatest president in American history.
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Definition of Today’s word:
reunion
A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year.
A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discussion. The older attendees are generally grandparents, parents, siblings or first cousins while the youngest may be second, third or fourth cousins to each other.
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Sunday, June 19, 2022
Welcome to the 1,476th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Washington DC
Storefronts in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., during Adams Morgan Day 2014
Ted Eytan - https://www.flickr.com/photos/taedc/15054540987/
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Commentary
Day one has begun.
Friday, the 17th.
Closing my luggage was methodical and w/o complication.
Uber arrived early.
Check in more complicated than usual but I was relaxed.
Visited the Delta Sky Club: a nice perk.
Had a Dunkin w an old-fashioned donut.
Perfect.
Drank it while watching the crowd.
Like being in an outdoor café.
Except it wasn’t outdoors and it was a food court.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed it.
First glitch. Flight delayed 30 minutes with a communications issue.
Found a comfortable spot and typed this up.
Plane left an hour late.
Had a great sushi lunch anticipating an unusually late dinner: a hot pot.
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Word of the Day
What is ska?
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Chuckles and Thoughts
If God wanted us to bend over he'd put diamonds on the floor.
~Joan Rivers
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Understanding Ageing
I was so tired on Thursday that I couldn’t do my reduced weightlifting. Had to go on 50%.
When I get back to Boston after my trip to Washington I will cut my weights a second time.
We’ll see. Maybe Thursday was a one-time only event.
Maybe I’m getting older faster than I thought I would.
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Social Life
First of the family will be Kat @ about 3pm on Friday.
Kat and I enjoyed a great cup of tea in the fine lobby with live harp music.
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
Lots of emails re: upcoming dinners.
Lots of banter which I enjoy.
Blog meister responds: Love my friends.
_____________________________________
Dinner/Food/Recipes
Thursday I had leftover lamb stew for dinner.
It was good. Food was a little tired.
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Community Photos**
Strawberry Moon June 2022
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Short Essay*
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia, also known as just Washington or simply D.C., is the capital city and only federal district of the United States.[9] It is located on the east bank of the Potomac River, which forms its southwestern and southern border with the U.S. state of Virginia, and it shares a land border with the U.S. state of Maryland on its remaining sides. The city was named for George Washington, a Founding Father and the first president of the United States,[10] and the federal district is named after Columbia, a female personification of the nation. As the seat of the U.S. federal government and several international organizations, the city is an important world political capital.[11] It is one of the most visited cities in the U.S., seeing over 20 million visitors in 2016.[12][13]
The U.S. Constitution provides for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress; the district is therefore not a part of any U.S. state (nor is it one itself). The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River near the country's East Coast. The City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the national capital, and Congress held its first session there in 1800. In 1801, the territory, formerly part of Maryland and Virginia (including the settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria), officially became recognized as the federal district. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia, including the city of Alexandria; in 1871, it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the district. There have been efforts to make the city into a state since the 1880s, a movement that has gained momentum in recent years, and a statehood bill passed the House of Representatives in 2021.[14]
The city is divided into quadrants centered on the Capitol Building, and there are as many as 131 neighborhoods. According to the 2020 Census, it has a population of 689,545,[2] which makes it the 20th-most populous city in the U.S., third-most populous city in both the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, and gives it a population larger than that of two U.S. states: Wyoming and Vermont.[15] Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's daytime population to more than one million during the workweek.[16] Washington's metropolitan area, the country's sixth-largest (including parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia), had a 2019 estimated population of 6.3 million residents.[17]
The three branches of the U.S. federal government are centered in the district: Congress (legislative), the president (executive), and the Supreme Court (judicial). Washington is home to many national monuments and museums, primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 177 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of many international organizations, trade unions, non-profits, lobbying groups, and professional associations, including the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of American States, the AARP, the National Geographic Society, the Human Rights Campaign, the International Finance Corporation, and the American Red Cross.
A locally elected mayor and a 13-member council have governed the district since 1973. Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D.C. residents elect a single at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives who has no vote. The district has no representation at all in the Senate. District voters choose three presidential electors in accordance with the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961.
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Definition of word of the day
Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the off beat.
*The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Community Pictures with Captions are sent in by our followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Welcome to the 1,479th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Shogun 1981
Shōgun (TV miniseries) Titles
Captured from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfGHyia8IWY
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Commentary
This weekend proved the value of fine family.
We were so close, shared great love.
Came away secure and grounded.
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Reading
Have started Shogun by James Clavell. I’m enjoying it. It’s part of my deep education preparatory for my visit there in October.
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Screen time
Am looking forward to watching the Shogun MiniSeries.
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Understanding aging
I understand that I can no longer carry my hefty laptop all day. I must limit it to a single trip trip out per day. The rest of my out-of-apartment time I’ll do without.
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Social Life
Plenty. The entire weekend with my entire family. Saturday with a great group of ten. And Sunday with a new friend. I made her acquaintance at the airport and she texted me. We’re meeting at the MFA on Sunday. And then a backlog of dear friends to catch up on. Lucky me.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
I have no methods;
all I do is accept people as they are.
~Joan Rivers
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
We used an app that identifies bird songs in the field! And another that analyzes the user’s id markings on a bird just seen and makes excellent guesses as to what species it may be. And another app to start a life list. Why?
Son Mino and daughter Kat, not at all birders before this trip, finally caved in to my overtures and agreed to one day of birding, i.e. waking at 5.30am. They both signed on for the second day as well. Complete.
Kat texted Mino (copying me) that she was using an app our guide introduced us to and Mino reacted:
That is super cool!
Loved finding that app, and seeing Sahas use Merlin…that is one of the things I am going to try to use first, to identify bird songs for starters.
Loved it!
Mino
Thought you might enjoy these stats from e-Bird. These are just the ones we remembered!
Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve
Jun 18, 2022
6:30 AM
1.00 miles
90 Minutes
All birds reported? No
1 Mourning Dove
1 Black Vulture
4 Turkey Vulture
1 Osprey
1 Bald Eagle
2 Barred Owl
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Pileated Woodpecker
1 Northern Flicker
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Carolina Wren
1 Gray Catbird
1 American Robin
1 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Common Grackle
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Indigo Bunting
Number of Taxa: 19
+++
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Jun 19, 2022
6:30 AM
1.00 miles
90 Minutes
All birds reported? No
1 Mourning Dove
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Fish Crow
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Cliff Swallow
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 European Starling
1 Eastern Bluebird
1 American Goldfinch
2 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Indigo Bunting
Number of Taxa: 11
Blog meister responds: Well, you two and technology are taking the sport to further reaches than I ever dreamed of.
a father's dream: introducing you to something and seeing you leaving him behind.
so proud.
love
dad
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
We had delicious dinners on the three nights we were in Washington. Picking the restaurants that were of good quality and could accommodate 16 was not that easy.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Grace and Dom studying Da Vinci’s Ginevra de Benci
We spent an hour in front of this canvas. Grace out loud to me and daughter Kat, read an analysis of the picture. To say is was elucidating would be an understatement.
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Short Essay*
Shōgun is a 1980 American historical drama television miniseries based on James Clavell's 1975 novel of the same name. The series was produced by Paramount Television and first broadcast in the United States on NBC over five nights between September 15 and September 19, 1980. It was written by Eric Bercovici and directed by Jerry London, and stars Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune, and Yoko Shimada, with a large supporting cast. Clavell served as executive producer. To date, it is the only American television production to be filmed on-location entirely in Japan, with additional soundstage filming also taking place in Japan at the Toho studio.
The miniseries is loosely based on the adventures of English navigator William Adams, who journeyed to Japan in 1600 and rose to high rank in the service of the shōgun. It follows fictional Englishman John Blackthorne's (Chamberlain) transforming experiences and political intrigues in feudal Japan in the early 17th century.
Shōgun received generally positive reviews from critics and won several accolades, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series, the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama, and a 1981 Peabody Award. A remake series is set to be broadcast by FX in 2022.
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Welcome to the 1,478th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Pileated woodpecker
A female Pileated Woodpecker in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Shenandoah National Park from Virginia - Pileated Woodpecker
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Commentary
The trip was so crammed with fun activities that I had little time to write. In the days to come I will be more descriptive of the events that make a family reunion edifying.
But I will start at two of the richest moments: Sat and Sun birding at 6.00am.
We hired a guide, Sahas, who works at the Smithsonian studying bird behavior. Besides being a nice person, he was knowledgeable and eager to talk the subject.
One day we went to Dyke’s Marsh. On this day there was a wealth of birds. We saw pileated woodpecker and barred owl; osprey and downy woodpecker; we saw eagle and red-bellied woodpecker. And many more.
My son Mino and daughter Katherine both accompanied me. They are initiates and really got into it.
On the day we went to Roosevelt Island Kat started a birdlist that, as time permit, she will add to. Mino and Kat both got into different birding apps that will variously identify a bird by its call, identify a bird by characteristics you type in, or project specific bird calls to attract like species in the vicinity. It worked.
Mino’s home and acreage in the Catskills will provide him opportunities to grow in his knowledge and help enrich his life by recognizing the birds that visit him. Kat will enjoy Central Park and its rich bird life.
And I get to continue my daddying by introducing my children to a worderful experience.
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Word of the Day
Today’s Word: pileated
For definition, see below, immediately after the Short Essay
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Thoughts
I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe
who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause,
though that cause was, I believe,
one of the worst for which a people ever fought,
and one for which there was the least excuse.
~Ulysses S. Grant
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
We had dinner one night at the Salt Lines.
It was outdoors and filled with happy groups.
It was great fun.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Granddaughter Grace measured against an elephant’s thigh at the museum of natural history.
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Short Essay*
The pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Coast. It is the largest extant woodpecker species in North America, with the possible exception of the ivory-billed woodpecker, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed be reclassified as extinct. It is also the third largest species of woodpecker in the world, after the great slaty woodpecker and the black woodpecker.
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Definition of Today’s word:
pileated: refers to the bird's prominent red crest, from the Latin pileatus meaning "capped
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Monday, June 20, 2022
Welcome to the 1,477th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Lincoln Memorial
Abraham Lincoln, by Daniel Chester French
Jeff Kubina - Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
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Commentary
This is my last day in Washington DC: my flight is at 3.10pm if on time.
The trip was terrific.
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Reading, Writing, and Word of the Day
Very little reading and writing on the trip.
Lots of hanging out.
Today’s Word:
reunion
For definition, see below, immediately after the Short Essay
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Screen time
We exchanged many titles for suggested viewing of movies or TV series.
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Wellness
Long days, some of us started at 6.00am with a two-hour birding expedition, and stayed active until 11.00pm. Lots of walking and standing in museums. I held up well.
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Understanding aging
This was our first get together recognizing that I am aging, slowing a bit.
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Social Life
Extraordinary. All family stuff.
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Thought
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
—Abraham Lincoln
_____________________________________
Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
All activity and conversation were within the family and about each other.
Blog meister responds: It was lovely.
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
We took breakfast and dinner together in nice restaurants. No one had lunch.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
ginevra de benci
One of the highlights of the trip was spending an hour with some of the younger family members studying Da Vinci’s Ginevra de’ Benci. Granddaughter Grace, a rising sophomore at Swarthmore, read an analysis of the painting and as she read we studied the painiting line by line.
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Short Essay*
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War and succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.
Lincoln was born into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky and was raised on the frontier, primarily in Indiana. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator, and U.S. Congressman from Illinois. In 1849, he returned to his law practice but became vexed by the opening of additional lands to slavery as a result of the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854. He reentered politics in 1854, becoming a leader in the new Republican Party, and he reached a national audience in the 1858 Senate campaign debates against Stephen Douglas. Lincoln ran for President in 1860, sweeping the North to gain victory. Pro-slavery elements in the South viewed his election as a threat to slavery, and Southern states began seceding from the Union. During this time the newly formed Confederate States of America began seizing federal military bases in the south. Just over one month after Lincoln assumed the presidency, the Confederate States attacked Fort Sumter, a U.S. fort in South Carolina. Following the bombardment, Lincoln mobilized forces to suppress the rebellion and restore the Union.
Lincoln, a moderate Republican, had to navigate a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from both the Democratic and Republican parties. His allies, the War Democrats and the Radical Republicans, demanded harsh treatment of the Southern Confederates. Anti-war Democrats (called "Copperheads") despised Lincoln, and irreconcilable pro-Confederate elements plotted his assassination. He managed the factions by exploiting their mutual enmity, carefully distributing political patronage, and by appealing to the American people. His Gettysburg Address appealed to nationalistic, republican, egalitarian, libertarian, and democratic sentiments. Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the war effort, including the selection of generals, and implemented a naval blockade of the South's trade. He suspended habeas corpus in Maryland, and he averted British intervention by defusing the Trent Affair. In 1863 he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the slaves in the states "in rebellion" to be free. It also directed the Army and Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons" and to receive them "into the armed service of the United States." Lincoln also pressured border states to outlaw slavery, and he promoted the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which upon its ratification abolished slavery.
Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign. He sought to heal the war-torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just days after the war's end at Appomattox, he was attending a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., with his wife Mary when he was fatally shot by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Abraham Lincoln is remembered as a martyr and a national hero for his wartime leadership and for his efforts to preserve the Union and abolish slavery. Lincoln is often ranked in both popular and scholarly polls as the greatest president in American history.
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Definition of Today’s word:
reunion
A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year.
A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discussion. The older attendees are generally grandparents, parents, siblings or first cousins while the youngest may be second, third or fourth cousins to each other.
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Sunday, June 19, 2022
Welcome to the 1,476th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Washington DC
Storefronts in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., during Adams Morgan Day 2014
ed Eytan - https://www.flickr.com/photos/taedc/15054540987/
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Commentary
Day one has begun.
Friday, the 17th.
Closing my luggage was methodical and w/o complication.
Uber arrived early.
Check in more complicated than usual but I was relaxed.
Visited the Delta Sky Club: a nice perk.
Had a Dunkin w an old-fashioned donut.
Perfect.
Drank it while watching the crowd.
Like being in an outdoor café.
Except it wasn’t outdoors and it was a food court.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed it.
First glitch. Flight delayed 30 minutes with a communications issue.
Found a spot and typed this up.
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Word of the Day
Smoothie
See definition at end of today’s post.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
If God wanted us to bend over he'd put diamonds on the floor.
~Joan Rivers
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Understanding Ageing
I was so tired on Thursday that I couldn’t do my reduced weightlifting. Had to go on 50%.
When I get back to Boston after my trip to Washington I will cut my weights a second time.
We’ll see. Maybe Thursday was a one time only.
Maybe I’m getting older faster than I thought I would.
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Social Life
First of the family will be Kat @ about 3pm on Friday.
_____________________________________
Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
Lots of emails re: upcoming dinners.
Lots of banter which I enjoy.
Blog meister responds: Love my friends.
____________________________________
Dinner/Food/Recipes
I had leftover lamb stew for dinner.
It was good.
____________________________________
Community Photos**
Strawberry Moon June 2022
__________________________________
Short Essay*
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia, also known as just Washington or simply D.C., is the capital city and only federal district of the United States.[9] It is located on the east bank of the Potomac River, which forms its southwestern and southern border with the U.S. state of Virginia, and it shares a land border with the U.S. state of Maryland on its remaining sides. The city was named for George Washington, a Founding Father and the first president of the United States,[10] and the federal district is named after Columbia, a female personification of the nation. As the seat of the U.S. federal government and several international organizations, the city is an important world political capital.[11] It is one of the most visited cities in the U.S., seeing over 20 million visitors in 2016.[12][13]
The U.S. Constitution provides for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress; the district is therefore not a part of any U.S. state (nor is it one itself). The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River near the country's East Coast. The City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the national capital, and Congress held its first session there in 1800. In 1801, the territory, formerly part of Maryland and Virginia (including the settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria), officially became recognized as the federal district. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia, including the city of Alexandria; in 1871, it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the district. There have been efforts to make the city into a state since the 1880s, a movement that has gained momentum in recent years, and a statehood bill passed the House of Representatives in 2021.[14]
The city is divided into quadrants centered on the Capitol Building, and there are as many as 131 neighborhoods. According to the 2020 Census, it has a population of 689,545,[2] which makes it the 20th-most populous city in the U.S., third-most populous city in both the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, and gives it a population larger than that of two U.S. states: Wyoming and Vermont.[15] Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's daytime population to more than one million during the workweek.[16] Washington's metropolitan area, the country's sixth-largest (including parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia), had a 2019 estimated population of 6.3 million residents.[17]
The three branches of the U.S. federal government are centered in the district: Congress (legislative), the president (executive), and the Supreme Court (judicial). Washington is home to many national monuments and museums, primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 177 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of many international organizations, trade unions, non-profits, lobbying groups, and professional associations, including the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of American States, the AARP, the National Geographic Society, the Human Rights Campaign, the International Finance Corporation, and the American Red Cross.
A locally elected mayor and a 13-member council have governed the district since 1973. Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D.C. residents elect a single at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives who has no vote. The district has no representation at all in the Senate. District voters choose three presidential electors in accordance with the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961.
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Definition of word of the day
A smoothie is made by puréeing ingredients in a blender to make a beverage. A smoothie commonly has a liquid base, such as fruit juice or milk, yogurt, ice cream or cottage cheese. Other ingredients may be added, including fruits, vegetables, non-dairy milk, crushed ice, whey powder or nutritional supplements.
*The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Community Pictures with Captions are sent in by our followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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