demagogue on 16/11/2022 at 15:57
Quote Posted by heywood
What part of NY do you refer to? New York state has a surprising diversity of places given its size, as I rediscovered on a road trip this summer.
I don't know, getting into the Catskills I guess. When one lives in NYC, everything past the Hudson feels indistinguishably "upstate". XD
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But for some reason, NE Oklahoma just doesn't seem like your kind of place. Do you have family there?
Obviously I have family there. My day job is as a human rights lawyer though, and there's an ethos that wherever you are, there are people you can serve. I worked on indigenous rights in southeast Asia, so it's a chance to work on indigenous rights in the US as well.
I mean, I have this idea that everywhere in the world is the center of the world for something, and I think for indigenous rights, every indigenous group in the world is paying attention to what's happening in Oklahoma. To wit, the Supreme Court is muffing up that field of law out of blind prejudice it's not even trying to hide, along with everything else while it's at it; and some of the major cases are set there. If you want to look into the question of indigenous sovereignty, that's the place to look.
I'm also working on a screenplay on the Buffalo Soldiers & Apache that I'd like to chat with people there about. It seems somehow suddenly really important there's some national discussion about this part of our history. It kind of combines the US's three original sins all in one story (botching the end of slavery, breaking treaty obligations to the native populations, and swiping the whole southwest from Mexico under the pretext of protecting them from said native populations, then not actually really protecting them). But you know it still has some pretty cool action and drama, and two of the most fascinating soldiers in our history going at it against each other, Henry Flipper & Lozen.
heywood on 16/11/2022 at 20:46
I guess you're referring to the decision where Brett Kavanaugh wrote that "the state has jurisdiction over all of its territory, including Indian country" or something likewise. How ironic is it to see the same justices who complain about judicial activism just make up law on the fly like that?
It will be quite a culture shock after living in Japan for years. Make sure you have a tornado shelter.
Jason Moyer on 17/11/2022 at 03:53
Quote Posted by heywood
Canton is WAY upstate, on the St. Lawrence plain and only about a half hour from the Adirondacks. I almost went to school in the nearby town of Potsdam. I'm not sure where Trenton is.
Canton is where I was thinking of. Trenton is...southern New Jersey I think? Anyway, I'm just bad with names. My uncle still has a small farm in Canton, I think. You're right though, it's pretty flat around there, with a fair bit of marsh/swamp kind of land if you go off the beaten trail. One of my cousins did a lot of fur trapping around there, it's an interesting area for wildlife.
The area from Pittsburgh to Erie to Buffalo to Rochester NY has a pretty similar vibe all the way up, other than the lake effect snow being much stronger outside of here. We still get a little, but not like those 3 cities.
Tocky on 17/11/2022 at 05:22
Sporty car, looks fun to drive, but every time I think about a stick I recall being on the upslope of four corners hill in Oxford at the light and having to keep the rev right while on the clutch and brake with my left then not stalling or rolling back when the light turns green. Hills and curves are dandy but there are tricky spots. Not much worse than being on a motorcycle I guess but at least you have another appendage to clutch with.
You ever go to Evans city cemetery and stagger around calling for Barbara?
demagogue on 17/11/2022 at 06:34
Quote Posted by heywood
I guess you're referring to the decision where Brett Kavanaugh wrote that "the state has jurisdiction over all of its territory, including Indian country" or something likewise. How ironic is it to see the same justices who complain about judicial activism just make up law on the fly like that?
There's that. Another case just got cert this week (the Sup. Ct. voted to hear it) on the Indian Child Welfare Act, which makes it harder to adopt or move native children outside of their tribe. There's widespread expectation that they may overturn the law, which makes it that much easier for the government to disempower tribes by sucking away their membership.
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It will be quite a culture shock after living in Japan for years. Make sure you have a tornado shelter.
I should be going back and forth also to Fort Worth my hometown. I'm still technically "working in Japan" (remotely), because this is the crazy world we live in now, and may be coming back soon enough, so there's that.
Jason Moyer on 17/11/2022 at 17:04
Quote Posted by Tocky
Sporty car, looks fun to drive, but every time I think about a stick I recall being on the upslope of four corners hill in Oxford at the light and having to keep the rev right while on the clutch and brake with my left then not stalling or rolling back when the light turns green. Hills and curves are dandy but there are tricky spots. Not much worse than being on a motorcycle I guess but at least you have another appendage to clutch with.
I think most sticks have a hill hold feature now, where you press the clutch in while holding the brake, and when you let go of the brake it will hold the car for a moment until you apply throttle. I don't particularly care for it, but it does give a little bit more confidence on super steep hills of which there are tons here.
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You ever go to Evans city cemetery and stagger around calling for Barbara?
Of course. I also randomly met Romero when he was selling movie props at Century III mall around 25 years ago. He was a nice guy.
Tocky on 18/11/2022 at 01:23
Oh man, you are stabbing me in the heart with a trowel. Selling movie props? Like what? Nothing from NOTLD surely? Did you get an autograph? I would have so many questions for him.
Also thanks for the drive home. That was mesmerizing. I've driven so much of my life away and yet it's still fascinating to go somewhere new. It was like being in the passenger seat while a friend prattled on. Exactly like that. And I have to throw my hat in also about it being like where I live once you get off the main roads. It's hilly here and with the same patchwork of houses, just farther apart. My drive home would be mostly straight with hills and less exciting for a car like yours unless I took the old road and then pretty much the same.
I wish everyone here would film a short on the place they live. Maybe one day I'll film a drive around Oxford, Ms. where I work. It's a pretty little college town that I used to love more when it was bohemian. Then they tore down every place I liked and built Fancy new things to imitate what they tore down. Big money moved in. Unfortunately it remembered a place it liked so much it wanted to move back and change it.
And where at in Ok. Dema? More Tulsa or Fort Smith? I've been a little into Choctaw territory there but not far. I urge you to go on drives to Arkansas from there because the mountains there abouts are lovely. Go drive Skyline to Queen Wilhelmina lodge, or down from Fort Smith to Mt. Magazine and on to the falls at Petit Jean and her gravesite above the river there. I have no Idea why Hollywood never made a movie of her story. Go see Mt. Nebo and rent a cabin for the night. Drink in the history there. There is a reason True Grit was written about such country. The trail of tears went through there. Do it to get a feel for the route they travelled. Climb Pinnacle Mt. and look out over the river they took. The whole area has some of my favorite places. And post a video or just pictures. I'll share some of mine if you want.
heywood on 1/12/2022 at 19:27
Forgive me for posting again about kayaks, but I felt compelled to share a little moment of serendipity.
I just crossed the mid-century mark last month and wanted a second packable kayak for my birthday. My son is really getting interested in being on the water and with two tandem kayaks, the four of us can go camping. This time, I wanted a more serious boat for multi-day trips. Many hours of research led me to the (
https://www.faltboot.de/en/products/nortik/nortik-scubi-2-xl/) Nortik Scubi 2 XL.
It ticked every box. My only mild reservation was the high rocker (upward curve in the keel at the bow and stern). I was seconds from purchasing it from a Dutch retailer when I stopped for a moment and wondered where they were made. I've been trying to reduce buying from China these days. It turns out the boats are made by Triton in St. Petersburg, and Nortik is just a brand name of the German company who markets them in the EU.
Argh, I thought. I don't want to buy a Russian boat!
It left me feeling bummed out for a couple days, but then I started digging through search results looking for alternatives. Neris was a name I didn't recognize that came up in a couple of forum posts. When I Googled them I found a kayak similar to but even better than the Nortik I was going to buy, the (
https://neriskayaks.com/products/kayaks/smart-pro/smart_pro_exp.html) Neris Smart Pro.
Then I saw where they are made:
UkraineNow I'm the proud owner of one of these, in red. It all fits into one large backpack. Sometimes things just work out. :cool:
Inline Image:
https://neriskayaks.com/netcat_files/multifile/2683/HYN_5750_0.JPGPyrian on 2/12/2022 at 02:13
Quote Posted by heywood
It all fits into one large backpack.
One 26.4 kg / 58 lbs backpack! :wot: ...Gonna be a little rough to hike far with that
and a full camping kit...
Tocky on 2/12/2022 at 05:11
Quote Posted by heywood
Then I saw where they are made:
UkraineHuzzah! I must admit this made me smile. What are you going to name her? I've always liked the name Thissideup.
