Occult Thunderstorms

Phoenix, Arizona and vicinity have been hit by lots of thunderstorms in the last two days, but the storms have been studiously avoiding the rain gauges. Deborah reports:

Yesterday:

It rained for almost an hour and now this morning at dawn it smells like Georgia--+ it's over laden with heavy clouds!

Definitely a flux of moisture into the area. But from where exactly?

not caring--rain!!!

Interestingly, the moisture is flowing faster than the storms: moisture is passing THROUGH the storms...

it's heaviest cloud layer is north east right now.

Strange. But if it works, so be it!

did I mention--whoo hoo!! : )

Today:

I went to art walk early and left when lots of people showed up at 7:30 just as it started to thunder. Before we even got south enough to the zoo gale force rains hit. Couldn't see 10 feet ahead. I haven't seen that much water hit at once in years. It seemed to hit everything in the valley east of Central. Wow. As if that weren't enough it did it again at 2 AM.

AMAZING! The black swath in the sky was almost frightening looking-- so much water!!!

Peculiar: Sky Harbor is showing only a trace of rainfall = Tucson too....sometimes these storms have intense impact over very short distances....

A dry band is passing through Phoenix right now, and it's beginning to get humid again. Today may see similar rainfall events to the last two days.

These quasi-monsoonal storms baffle me, though. Something about them is eluding my understanding....

Surfers

On the radio this morning, I caught a snippet of "Science Friday" by Ira Flatow, on NPR. He was talking with an earthquake expert, who relayed a story by a friend of his about the recent cautionary tsunami alert that accompanied the large earthquake off the northern California coast, near Eureka. Apparently, at Newport Beach, Oregon, when people heard about the tsunami alert, they gathered at the beach to watch for it.

This is what you might call a failure in public safety education!

Manna From Heaven

I found $22 in the alley last night, near the garbage cans. I hope the homeless dumpster diver, or whoever dropped it, doesn't miss it too much......

I'm Not a Baby Boomer, Dammit!

(10,001st installment of a long-running disagreement between Friend Gabe, an inexperienced and unworldly young Gen-Xer in his early 30's, and myself):

Gabe cites the Wikipedia on the definition of a Baby Boomer, which purports to show my 1956 birth date as falling squarely within the Baby Boom period (1946 - 1964).

Marc:

I disagree. There is a divide between those born from 1945-1953 (Boomers), and those born from 1954-1960 (Space Age Couch Potatoes).

It's the divide between those whose earliest childhood years were the first to be molded by TV, and the last not to be so molded.

Gabe:

Space Age Couch Potatoes? Where did that term come from? The Marcepedia?

Marc:

I thought about using the term "The New Frontier", but "Space Age Couch Potatoes" is more accurate.

Withdrawal?

This unremarked story has had me wondering for a couple of days now. Is it wishful thinking? Advance notice of a decision? Telling the Aussies what they want to hear?:

The US military will probably begin withdrawing some forces from Iraq by March 2006, a top US commander said overnight, predicting the insurgency will be defeated if the country's political factions come together.

Lieutenant General John Vines, the number two US commander in Iraq, said any drawdown would depend on conditions on the ground.

He predicted the insurgency would decline rapidly if the country's Sunnis, Shia and Kurds can agree on a constitution and elect a government that has broad support.

But he said as many as four or five US brigades probably would be withdrawn in March.

Savage Conservative Attack

Dick Durbin's disastrous and unnecessary apology and Mayor Daley's unnecessary counterattack have given the conservatives heart to attack with ugliest, most vile, slashing, evil attack they have ever mounted. It's time for Democrats - past time, really - to stand together and attack back. Conservatives like Rove must be defeated!

And yet, revenge is a dish best served cold. Rove is doing his best to spark an overheated liberal response. As Publius says:

Which is why, however perverse this may sound, the absence of an antiwar movement is proving to be a huge political problem for the Bush administration, and why the Republicans are reduced to trying to turn Dick Durbin, who criticized our policies at Guantanamo Bay, into some enemy of the people.

And it seems maybe Democrats are responding appropriately, at last. It's possible that Daley's fumble may have caused the Republicans to spring their trap prematurely, so they can't recover the moral high ground:

Democrats are demanding that White House adviser Karl Rove immediately retract and apologize for comments that liberals responded to the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes by wanting to "prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

"The one thing New York has had since Sept. 11 is unity," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "To inject politics into this and to defame a large number of people" is outrageous, he said. "It's not what New York and America is all about."

Rain in Phoenix

Deborah in Phoenix reports:

At 10:12 PM on June 22 a monsoon storm hit Phoenix with high winds and buckets of rain. whoo hoo!

Interesting! And puzzling!

The dew point is now considerably higher than it was earlier today, and so there is definitely a flux of moisture into the area. But from where exactly? I remember seeing a paper several years ago that stressed the importance of a low-level nighttime southerly jet along the western slope of the Sierra Madre for bringing moisture into AZ. That jet must be active. Interestingly, the moisture is flowing faster than the storms: the storms are staying in mostly place, centered in the Nogales-Tucson area, almost like a mesoscale convective complex (MCC), and moving north rather slowly, but the moisture is passing THROUGH the storms, headed for points north. Strange. But if it works, so be it!

Close-Packed Melons

How about a cube-shaped watermelon for $100?

Godot Is In The Lobby

June 21st, Steve reminded me, was the 21st anniversary of Davis Musical Theatre Company's (DMTC's) first performance ("Peter Pan" was the first show!)

In commemoration of the anniversary, today, DMTC implemented "Plan B" for finishing construction of the New Theater. Construction had been at a halt for almost seven months, since November 1, 2004, in the absence of either large donations or secured loans adequate to finish construction. $120,000 of money borrowed from River City Bank was delivered today to Steve Harrison Construction, in order to accelerate construction of the New Theater. Additional financing? Stay tuned for "Plan C"!

Harrison Construction will start working again ASAP: a building inspection focused on the orchestra pit has already been done. The theater will be finished from the front to the back, in order to be audience-ready just as soon as practicable. Still, I wonder if there's enough time to finish the New Theater before the start of the new season?

U-2 Crash

A U-2 crashed in "Southwest Asia." Hmmm.... Iran is in Southwest Asia.... I wonder?

A Crusade

Loitering in front of the AM/PM convenience market during the graveyard shift, you see all sorts of people: construction workers, bureaucrats, tweakers, stoners, and grifters of all sorts and varieties. Last night was the first time that I met an earnest man on a political crusade, however.

I have a lot of sympathy for people on political crusades - I wouldn't have run for Governor in 2003 unless I did. So, for informational purposes only (meaning I neither support or disdain the crusade), here is the bulletin:

Frank "Hemp" Boone Allen, Sacramento's "Hemp Czar," is securing a permit today to lead a march from the west steps of the State Capitol, to Pyramid Park in West Sacramento, from noon to 5:30 p.m. on the 4th of July, on behalf of marijuana legalization, and in honor of the millions who died defending this country. After this first march, similar marches will be scheduled henceforth on the first Saturday of every month. Mr. Allen says that the money gained from legal marijuana sales will be dedicated to education, and that legal marijuana "will be the biggest thing for California since the discovery of gold." Mr. Allen said he could be reached through the people at the Compassionate Coalition.

Tuesday Night Rehearsal: "The King and I"

This is tech week for DMTC's "The King and I" (opens Friday). The company rehearsed Act II tonight.


The beating of Tuptim (Anna, Marguerite Morris; The King, Juan Ramos; lying prostrate, Tuptim, Chelsea Beatty)


Farewell (The King, Juan Ramos; seated around bed, left to right, Louis, Andrew Lampinen; Prince Chululongkorn, John Ramos; Kralahome, Ryan Adame; Anna, Marguerite Morris)


Juan Ramos has done truly amazing things, creating marvelously large sculptures and elaborate set pieces. What a gifted guy!

"Despite Descartes, The Tower of Pisa Leans Into Art"

Tonight, Gilberto Rodriguez, and his wife Sherri, performed at the HQ, 25th and R, at 7:30 p.m. in Sacramento. No Artaud, but some nice poetry nonetheless. This is the first time I've been to this compound, of which the HQ is just a part.

When I departed, there was a lot of frightening moaning coming from a nearby building, but since California Stage is located there, and I could see actors through a doorway, I chalked up the groaning to a rehearsal in progress.

On Friday evening at 7:30 p.m., the HQ will feature art work done by some of their favorite artists when they were in junior high school. Sounds like fun!


Paraphrasing Gil: 'Poetry is about transformation, not just observation!'


Sherri and her wondrous instruments.

Snowstorm

Sometimes Republicans state a little too clearly what they really think (from today's Wall Street Journal lead editorial):

If the American dream means anything, it means finding a plot of land where you can shape your destiny and raise your children. Those pragmatic dreamers look ever more Republican. Mr. Bush walloped Mr. Kerry among people who were married with children. He also carried 25 of the top 26 cities in terms of white fertility. Mr. Kerry carried the bottom 16. San Francisco, the citadel of liberalism, has the lowest proportion of people under 18 in the country (14.5%).

"Diesel Death Zone", 1; Los Angeles, 0

Mayor Hahn's task force wraps up work, with many questions unanswered:

But implementing the clean-air plan could take up to 20 years and cost at least $11 billion, which would be shared by industry, the port and government, officials said. At the same time, industry concerns have mounted over the ballooning costs of the plan and its effectiveness.

...When the port's clean-air plan was released last July, it was immediately criticized as narrow and simplistic by residents and Hahn. The mayor responded by creating the task force, which includes representatives from the EPA, the state air board and the regional air district.

But since the team crafted its 68 potential clean-air initiatives in March, opposition has been slowly building among industry representatives. Issues range from the cost of implementing the plan to the effectiveness of new technology.

Concerns that the panel may be overstating future air pollution have been repeatedly raised by the Pacific Maritime Shipping Assn., which represents shippers and terminal operators. If future pollution levels are inflated, all other findings built upon those estimates are unreliable, said Vice President Michele Grubbs.

"I don't think the task force is going to be able to achieve the goals of Mayor Hahn," Grubbs said.

"Right now, we can't see how this document in its current form can be used by policymakers.

"Meanwhile, the biggest fight on the port issue is expected to center on who should pay for cutting pollution.

The Port of Los Angeles cannot afford to foot that bill alone, said Charles Turner, a port finance officer. Even if the port were to commit all of its net revenue to the effort for 20 years, it would still fall short, he said.

But Wilmington activist Jesse Marquez and other area residents believe that the shipping companies, railroads, retailers and others profiting from port trade should shoulder much of the costs.

Here Comes The Knife!

Robert Bennett's plan to turn Social Security into a welfare program gets the frustrated President's blessing:

"I've decided that the Democrats have made it clear that they will not back personal accounts," Bennett said outside the White House. "And in response to the president's position that let's try to get something done, I will be proposing a bill that does not include personal accounts."

Bennett said some Democrats have told him privately that they would support such a bill, but he is not sure how many will be on board publicly now that he's introducing the legislation. He said he is looking for Democrats to co-sponsor the bill, but he didn't have any to announce Tuesday.

"We've had a lot of interest," he said. "We have a lot of hope that we can use this bill to break the logjam and move forward on Social Security. We'll find out in the weeks to come."

Bennett said when he told Bush of his plans, "He just said, 'I like your bill.' Period."

Godot Arrives

June 21st, Steve reminds me, is the 21st anniversary of Davis Musical Theatre Company's (DMTC's) first performance ("Peter Pan" was the first show!)

In commemoration, today, DMTC implemented "Plan B" for finishing construction of the New Theater. Construction had been at a halt for almost seven months, since November 1, 2004, in the absence of either large donations or secured loans adequate to finish construction. $100,000 of money borrowed from River City Bank was delivered today to Steve Harrison Construction, in order to accelerate construction of the New Theater: an additional $20,000 will be used to pay construction-related bills. Additional financing is in the works.

Harrison Construction had started working again on a small scale last week, in anticipation of funding coming through, started with a building inspection focused on the orchestra pit. The theater will be finished from the front to the back, so that the theater will be audience-ready just as soon as practicable. Still, I wonder if there's enough time to finish the New Theater before the start of the new season?

Farewell TNR

After 25 years of being a faithful subscriber to The New Republic (TNR) magazine, I let my subscription run out this week, in objection to its new, more conservative editorial direction, under Martin Peretz and Peter Beinart. Too bad: it was once a great magazine!

Artaud

Gil Rodriguez came over this morning to say he's doing a show tonight at the HQ, 25th and R, at 7:30 p.m. in Sacramento. Several other poets are on the program as well. Gil's portrayal of the French poet Artaud is wonderful: it'll be a good evening of performance poetry!

A Flock of Nazguls

Deborah in Phoenix observes:

outside, weird oppressive feel almost like before tornados.

Several days ago, the forecast looked like we'd have another one of those faux-quasi-monsoonal periods in AZ: lots of afternoon thunderstorms for several days, but not exactly the REAL monsoon, because there is definitely a trough off the coast of the western U.S., and the REAL monsoon doesn't occur until all that springtime mid-latitude trough fluff migrates north.

Today's reality is that there is a weak front passing through AZ. There is a band of convection and rainfall that is remarkably long and thin. What is even more interesting is the front is expressing itself as a long, long, filament, extending from way, way down Baja, halfway down the Sea of Cortez, all the way up into Utah and even into the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho and Montana. It almost looks like a flock of birds streaming northwards from the tropics towards Salt Lake City, as if from (or towards) Mordor.

Don't panic, though: these are sparrows, not Nazguls.