Events

My sister and brother in law photo-bomb from the air: They're on their way to dinner with the family while I suffer once more in this harsh environment:

Pilot episode

Via Fallows, a condemnation of both political parties by a former GOP operative: The Democrats have their share of machine politicians, careerists, corporate bagmen, egomaniacs and kooks. Nothing, however, quite matches the modern GOP. It should have been evident to clear-eyed observers that the Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties...

Finished on the Tokyo-Kyoto Shinkansen near Yokohama

Yesterday I flew to California to continue the 30-Ballpark Geas, arriving at my first-row seat in Angel Stadium just in time for the first pitch. A short time later, the Angels got a grand slam, which ultimately devolved into the pitcher's duel you see here: Yes, with 16 runs and 23 hits, most of the 8 guys who pitched in the game saw their ERAs rise a bit—more than a full point in winning pitcher Jered Weaver's case. At one point during the game I counted four beach balls tossed around. Occasionally...

This evening at Angel Stadium in California: Canon 7D at ISO-800, 1/250 at f/8, 18mm, here. The home team won, which I always like to see when I'm not someplace the Cubs are visiting. More photos and game info tomorrow night. Right now my body thinks it's midnight.

I'm traveling today and tomorrow, so I may not have time to post much until Monday. Tonight I'll be at Angel Stadium watching a game that may not matter, except for being 18th in the 30-park Geas.

Despite spending an extra night in San Antonio, and despite an hour-long delay (including a got-to-the-runway-but-have-to-turn-back head fake) this morning, it's still Parker Day. I adopted my bête noir five years ago today, when he looked like this: Or, from another angle:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the first circuit (comprising Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island) last week ruled that police do not have immunity against lawsuits when sued for arresting someone pointing a camera at them. Though only a procedural matter in the middle of an ongoing case, the ruling made it clear that police aren't allowed to you for videotaping them in public: For those of you not familiar with Simon Glik's case, Glik was arrested on October 1, 2007, after openly using...