July 30, 2006

Leaving San Jose.

Either the city has been invaded by giant sci-fi mutant insects or the San Jose Grand Prix continues into Sunday. It's time for me to liberate my car, which has been garaged since my arrival late Thursday night. Not wanting to deal with the Grand Prix reconfigurations of the town, I've been walking and using the light rail... and test driving a Sky. But I want my car back, and I need to get out of San Jose -- get out of California -- and back to the beautiful wasteland of Nevada, where I'll stop over somewhere for the night before making my way tomorrow to a very nice place that should be quite swell.

A few parting shots of San Jose.

The plaza by my hotel (the Fairmont) with a view of the art museum:

San Jose

A view of my feet at the art museum:

Light feet

A monumental ceramic sculpture outside the repertory theater:

sculpture

A peace vigil near San Jose State University:

Protest

Think first! Because there's your problem, George Bush. You forgot to think.

15 comments:

Troy said...

Intellectuals often need people of action to defend them when words fail. There's the occasional exception to that of course.

Bush does plenty of thinking his main problem is he does too little consulting. I don't like waffling or navel gazing, but a bit of "Whaddya think?" might help.

Troy said...

And have a safe trip Ann. You're heading north so you will miss our drunk anti-semitic celebrity road hazards here in So. Cal. Just watch out for those drunk redneck road hazards.

Bissage said...

I like the way the light pattern echos the "grout" pattern.

Why do I see feet superimposed over the ceramic sculpture? Still, it reminded me of this.

Regarding the protesters, they’d stand a better chance of winning hearts and minds if they were to make themselves useful rather than standing or sitting around blocking the sidewalk. For example, they might pick up litter or scrape chewing gum off the sidewalk or wipe down the trash receptacles. For those protesters who enjoy holding sticks their time would be better spent polishing the street lamps.

Think globally. Act locally.

Their slogan could be: "We’re cleaning this street corner for PEACE."

J said...

I'm pretty sure the result of an immediate US pullout from Iraq wouldn't meet any rational definition of the word "peace". Do you think these people really believe it would, or did they not think first or something?

Are you going south at all before you head back to the north route? Take a look at crossing the Sierras on Sherman Pass Road. You'll have to drive to, yes, Fresno, first, but it's spectacular and paved the whole way, contrary to what many maps show. Then you can head up to Lone Pine and make the 100 mile drive from the base of the highest mountain in the lower 48 to the lowest point in the western hemisphere in Death Valley.

Unknown said...

Damn! I knew I forgot something.
Love,
George

Maxine Weiss said...

No Santa Cruz?

Pity.

I think Santa Cruz is just down the way---.

Now THAT would make for some wild photos-----life in Santa Cruz.

Peace, Maxine

paul a'barge said...

If you're heading north from San Jose, you're probably going East on I 80 through Reno. Enjoy the trip, and don't forget to check out the cool spots on Nevada along the way, including Austin, NV and Elko, NV. Just south of Elko, in Lamoille, NV there is a U-shaped glaciated canyon, like a mini-Yosemite, called Lamoille Canyon. And, near Elko, there is Ruby Lake and the Ruby Mountains, well worth the brief detour.

About GWB and his intelligence ... where else, but in Liberal America would a guy with a BA from Yale and an MBA from Harvard be accused of lack of intelligence?

I think in this potty-throwing match, we know who the folks with little intelligence are, and it's not GWB.

Ann Althouse said...

Bissage: "I like the way the light pattern echos the "grout" pattern." Yeah, everything's a big web...

J: I wanted to make time today, and my chosen destination was Elko. The plan is to get to Jackson Hole tomorrow, which is where I want to be. I've meandered through California before, and I'm giving it short shrift this time. It's beautiful though!

So Brian, you're not the Brian who heard my name as a drumbeat, then? The guy who's "tossed"?

Paul: Yeah, I'm in Elko for the night. I need to chart a scenic path from here to Jackson Hole. Can you suggest a route?

Truly: Tan is never in the cards for me.

Clampett said...

"Think first! Because there's your problem, George Bush. You forgot to think."

hahaha.

That's a good one.

a'barge:

sheesh,

That wasn’t a dissertation concerning the racism and immorality of the Republican Party. It was a harmless quip.

knox said...

Brian, "thermite" is so three weeks ago

J said...

"About GWB and his intelligence ... where else, but in Liberal America would a guy with a BA from Yale and an MBA from Harvard be accused of lack of intelligence?"

Those credentials are no guarantee of intelligence. What's always mystified me was hearing Democrats I know make remarks like that, then support candidates who started out with the same advantages in life and were considerably less successful with demonstrably inferior academic records.

Bruce Hayden said...

Despite despising NV of all the western states, the one place I would like to visit is Elko. My girlfriend in college was from there, and my impression is that it has close by some of the best scenery in the state.

SippicanCottage said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
knox said...

self-important posts by "sporadic" readers who need to bring up old resentments, apparently

----

Sippican, no one can phone book like kwuckso, and don't you forget it!

SippicanCottage said...
This comment has been removed by the author.