Fully Functional

Here is a fully functional marine propeller that I saw in Galveston, Texas a few hours ago.

It is simply functional in a different way than first intended.

Here are facts about marine propellers.

Here is previous post on the blog about some marine propellers being stored with washing machines.

Galveston Seawall Parking Fees Should Be For Seawall Improvements—Just As Voters Thought They Had Approved

When Galveston voters approved parking fees long the Seawall last year, they did so with the expectation that they were voting for Seawall enhancements.

All you need to do is look at the picture above to see what I am saying. I took that picture last year during the campaign for parking fees on the Seawall that was claimed to be about Seawall enhancements.

And yet here is what was reported by the Galveston County Daily News on 3/22—

“A private company would get more than 70 percent of the projected first year’s revenue from parking fees on the seawall under a proposed contract… some voters are asking how such a deal could be in line with a ballot proposition approved May 14. Language voters approved in that referendum led some to believe 75 percent of the program’s gross revenue would go toward seawall enhancements, such as lighting, bathrooms and showers…The controversy lies in a draft agreement being negotiated between city staff members and Tennessee-based Central Parking System…seawall parking would generate gross revenue of $1.127 million during the first year of operation. After taxes and credit card fees, the city and Central Parking would have $962,256 to split, under the terms of the formula. That would mean $285,135 — 29.6 percent — for the city, and $677,120 — 70.3 percent — for Central Parking, according to the proposed agreement……state Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Humble, is a vice president in Central Parking System.”  

Why must everything be a scam where public dollars for public purposes flow to well-connected private firms?

It is these type things that erode people’s faith in government, and strengthen the hand of the private sector to rip us all off.

Surely the City of Galveston can do a better job respecting the will of the voting public, and maintaining a public resource as valuable as the Galveston oceanfront.

Occupy Galveston Celebrating Mardi Gras And The 99%

Occupy Galveston is out and about working for the 99%.

(Above–Occupy Galveston out on the streets.)

Here are details of Occupy Galveston celebrating Galveston Mardi Gras-—

Ready to parade at Mardi Gras? We will be the pre-parade show for the two major Seawall parades!

We are planning on meetings:

Sat, Feb 11th: Meet at 11am in the open, grassy space at 21st and Seawall across from the Galvez.

Sat, Feb 18th: meet @ Seawall and 25th at 6pm. March up 25th.

You can just march or wear costumes, do street theatre, play music, hold signs!

We will be having Occupy Galveston t-shirts made and will be ordering 99% wristbands to throw to the crowds. If you are interested in ordering either of these, please let us know in the next few days.

Invite your friends, family, and Occupy movements from all over! 

There is an Occupy Galveston Facebook page.

Here is Occupy Wall Street.

Home Is Wherever I’m With You—An Idea As Solid As The Galveston Seawall

I feel sometimes that I am most at home when on the move, when considering ideas that are interesting, and when I’m with friends.

This is why I enjoyed this graffiti that I saw on the Galveston Seawall earlier this week.

I was on the road for a day trip, I liked the idea being expressed, and I was with a friend.

“Home is whevever I’m with you”—An idea as solid as the Galveston Seawall.

The Water’s Edge—A Lot Of Things Started Here

Here is a photo I took a few hours ago at the water’s edge in Galveston, Texas. 

Very primordial.

You say that this blog and that many things as well began at the water’s edge.

At The Water’s Edge is a well-reviewed book by Carl Zimmer about—among other topics—sea creatures first walking on land.

Life–A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth by Richard Fortey is a very good book.

Prehistoric Life–A Definitive Visual History of Life On Earth by DK Publishing is enjoyable.

Things we see each day in life can spur us to think of the big picture. And of the fact that we all have a place in the big picture.

House Decorated For Valentine’s Day In Galveston,Texas—Gay Marriage Makes Valentine’s Day 2012 Even Better

Here is a home decorated for Valentine’s Day that I saw a few hours ago in Galveston,Texas.

I thought this was friendly.

Here is a history of Valentine’s Day.

With more and more states allowing gay marriage, Valentine’s Day 2012 will be extra happy for folks able to live as they wish in a tough world.

Review Of Contraband—I Liked All The Ships In The Movie

Last night I saw the movie Contraband.

This movie was about people smuggling stuff aboard big ships.

Here is my review of this movie—

“Contraband was enjoyable. There was plenty of action and many interesting pictures of ships and of Panama City, Panama.”  

This covers my thoughts about Contraband.

Here are some facts on what it is like to visit Panama.

Last week I saw The Artist.

There were many more people in the theater to see Contraband than there were to see The Artist.

The Artist was quite enjoyable as well. It was a black-and-white mostly silent movie about the film industry back in black-and-white, silent film days.

Go see The Artist so that the big megaplexs will still show such type movies along with action-packed movies about people smuggling stuff on big ships.

Above is a picture I took in Galveston, Texas a few hours ago of ships passing in the day. These are the type of ships that were in Contraband.

This is because art echoes life.

Or is it the other way around?

Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round-Up–I Was Going To Write More, But Decided To Go To Galveston Instead

Here is  the weekly posting of the  Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas. TPA members are citizen-bloggers working for a better Texas.

Often I post some additional Texas related political or historical material with the round-up. However, I’m going to go to Galveston instead later this morning so that I can take walk along the sunny shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Galveston, Texas is always a great place to visit.

In terms of the round up–It serves as a reminder that every Texan and every American has the ability to attend a public meeting, attend or organize a protest, write or call an elected official, talk to friends and family, start a blog, donate money, write a letter to the editor, volunteer for candidates and causes, engage in acts of civil disobedience, and to run for public office.

The work of freedom is up to each of us.

Here is the round-up—

The big story last week was the SCOTUS ruling on interim redistricting maps. Off the Kuff has an initial look.

It turns out that PDiddie and Paula Deen have more in common than just their initials; there’s also a morality tale involved. Read “Paula Deen, diabetes, and Novo Nordisk” atBrains and Eggs.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is tired of the media ignoring grossly untrue, inflammatory, and just plain disgusting things Republicans like Rick Perry say.

Perry’s run for the presidency is over! WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on it here:Good riddance for now; Perry drops out.

Thanksgiving

It is a great Thanksgiving Day on the sunny shores of the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston, Texas.

I hope you and yours are having a nice and safe Thanksgiving.

Visit Galveston,Texas—Galveston Business People Are Part Of The 99%

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to spend the day in Galveston, Texas.

Above is a picture of the sunset in Galveston last Saturday.

Galveston is a great spot to see the ocean and to look around at all the history. I’ve visited Galveston roughly every 6 weeks for the 13 years I’ve lived in Houston.

Here is the Galveston tourism website. Be certain to support the local business people in Galveston.

Here is the Occupy Galveston blog. Local business people IN Galveston are part of the 99%.

Sean Hubbard Saying Some Of The Right Things As He Campaigns For Texas Democratic U.S. Senate Nomination—We’ll See If He Means Any Of It

Democratic Texas U.S Senate candidate Sean Hubbard will be in Galveston and Houston this upcoming Friday and Saturday.

While I realize it could all be a scam to draw support in the Texas Democratic primary, I have noticed that Mr. Hubbard on his Facebook page has offered some backing for Occupy Wall Street type efforts in Texas.

Here is Mr. Hubbard’s website. 

Above is a picture from Mr. Hubbard’s Facebook page showing him attending Occupy Dallas. Mr. Hubbard is in the left edge of the picture wearing a white shirt.

Mr. Hubbard is in the picture and removed from the action at the same time.

We’ll see that he says as he continues his campaign. We have nothing to lose in hearing Mr. Hubbard out.

The Galveston County Democratic Club will be having a spaghetti cook off this upcoming Saturday. Mr. Hubbard will be attending this event.

As you may note from reading my most recent post before this one, the time of this spaghetti event overlaps the time of the next Occupy Galveston protest. 

This is likely a coincidence. Maybe folks could drop by both events. That would make for a fine Saturday afternoon.

Here are details of the spaghetti cook off—

Saturday, November 5 · 12:00pm – 2:00pm

Live Oak Baptist Church on Galveston Island 

1020 32nd Street

You are invited to enter the Cook Off! Bring your favorite spaghetti sauce. There will be a $10 entry fee, which will go to the winners! The judges~~former Congressman Nick Lampson, County Commissioner Stephen Holmes, John Pruitt-candidate for Sheriff, and Jackie Acquistapace, candidate for State Senate, district 11.  Mayor Joe Jaworski and Sean Hubbard, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate will be there.

Next Occupy Galveston Protest Is Saturday, November 5th At 28th & Seawall

Above is the poster for the next Occupy Galveston protest.

The poster also has information about how to contact, follow, and, if you wish, provide leadership for Occupy Galveston.

Even in smaller towns and cities in our great nation, Occupy Wall Street has inspired people.

Here is the Occupy Wall Street website.

Occupy Galveston Protest On October 15th—Links To Other Occupy Movements In Texas

Among the many Occupy movements in Texas, I’m glad to report there is one in Galveston.

Galveston is a great Texas city. It is a fine spot to spend a day at the beach and to enjoy all the attractions, and it is a great place to stand up for the other 99%.

(Above–The Flag of Texas waiving proudly in Galveston Bay. Photo copyright Neil Aquino.)

Occupy Galveston has a blog.

Occupy Houston also has a Facebook page.

From the Occupy Galveston blog—

“We will be protesting in solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world on Saturday, October 15th, at 3:30PM on 37th and Broadway. We have chosen this location rather than a downtown one in an effort to gain maximum exposure within the community. We will be providing education regarding what the Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Together, and Occupy Galveston movement is about and how you can take part. Please come out and join us!”

Here is the Occupy Wall Street web site.

Many Texas cities have Occupy eforts taking place.

Here is a list with links of some of these Texas cities—

• Occupy Amarillo
• Occupy Austin and website
• Occupy Corpus Christi
• Occupy Dallas and website
• Occupy Denton
• Occupy El Paso
• Occupy Galveston
• Occupy Houston and website
• Occupy Lubbock
• Occupy Marfa
• Occupy McAllen
• Occupy San Antonio
• Occupy Texarkana

If there is not an Occupy movement where you live, then start one yourself. The work of freedom and democracy is up to each of us.

While Circumstance Matters, It Is Best Not To Allow Others To Construct Your Reality

Fort Adams State Park, Newport, Rhode Island

Galveston Seawall

Downtown Houston

Alki Beach area of Seattle

Galveston Seawall

Tony Marron Park in Houston  

Serpentine Wall leading to the Ohio River in Cincinnati   

(All photos copyright Neil Aquino.)

Just because there is a staircase does not mean we’ve been offered a chance to move on up, or that there is a way out of a place we don’t want to be.

I suppose in some cases you could see these staircases as offering a way out. At least if you can swim through strong currents to reach the staircases.

While context matters and sometimes we are in a circumstance not of our own making, it is best—with help from others since we need not be alone—to make a world of our own construction instead of allowing someone else to define our world and our options.

The good thing is that we can strive for a society where people work together to find a way out of places that may seem to have no exit, or that appear to lead no place at all.

Simple Gifts On Galveston Island

(Blogger’s Note–This is a post from just over two years ago. This post took about 15 efforts to get right on a day that was hot as hell. So I’m certain it merits a second posting. )

Above is a video of me speaking the words of the Shaker hymn Simple Gifts while standing on the eastern end of Galveston Island.

The video runs just over 90 seconds.

Behind me as I speak is a ship in Galveston Bay that is sailing out towards the Gulf of Mexico.

Simple Gifts is one of my favorite songs.

If you click this link, you’ll see the lyrics and the song will play.

The song was written by Joseph Brackett. Here are some basic facts about Joseph Brackett.

Here is some information about Shaker music.

Here is some history of the Shakers.

From that history—

One of the numerous religious sects who emigrated to American shores in search of religious freedom, the Shakers followed Mother Ann Lee to the United States in 1774. Here they established several colonies– the first in 1776 at Nikayuna near Albany, NY–whose governing principles included celibacy and agrarian communal living.

Here are some things you could see if you visited Galveston, Texas.

Here are some facts about Galveston Bay.

Here is the link to the Galveston Bay Foundation.

Here is a link where you can track the location of ships around the world.

Here is some history of ships and boats.

The part of Simple Gifts I like best is where it says that to bow and to bend we should not be ashamed. I would like to live my life by that principle.

But so far I have lacked the discipline to do so.