Sunset tonight, from my front steps.

We're supposed to get 4 to 9 inches of snow starting early tomorrow morning so I don't know what all that "red sky at night sailor's delight" business is about. If I were a sailor I don't think I'd be heading out on the Chesapeake Bay tomorrow morning.

Two unrelated items. Or maybe they're not unrelated.

With Mad Men off the air for a few more months, I have no must-see TV these days. Or maybe it's called "appointment TV." But HBO started a new series on Sunday called True Detective, and after Doug previewed a bit of it and deemed it "not too violent" I decided to try it out. (I don't do violent on TV or in movies any more, which is why I don't see a lot of movies or watch a lot of TV.) One of the characters in True Detective has this monologue that really grabbed me by the throat. Here it is. I fear he's right. Screenwriter is Nic Pizzolatto.

"I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in human evolution. We became too self aware, nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself. We are creatures that should not exist, by natural law. We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self, a secretion of sensory experience and feeling, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody's nobody. I think the honorable thing for our species to do is deny our programming, stop reproducing, walk hand in hand into extinction, one last midnight, brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal." Rustin Cohle (played by Matthew McConaughey) in True Detective

And this YouTube video is also wise. Quirky but wise.

"IN MY HOME!.... Where my children come and play with their toys. In my home!"*

Overly dramatic of course but this quote sprang to mind this afternoon when a tornado swept just north of us. It didn't cause any injuries or even much damage that I've heard about, except for this car in the parking lot of a nearby Greek restaurant. We've parked in this lot many times. By tornado standards this was mild I know, but when it comes so close to your house it feels big.

Al Pacino in The Godfather.

The Wedding Weekend.

Wednesday: Bride and Groom depart Brooklyn in the evening after work, drive rental car to MD and arrive at 1:30 AM Thursday morning.

Thursday: Bride and Groom awake refreshed and ready for Wedding Weekend, which begins on Friday when they will arrive at the Ashby Inn in Paris, VA. Friday is the bride's birthday and they will celebrate alone at the Inn. At 4:30 PM a tornado sweeps north of Colesville, exactly where we live. No injuries, no damage. Mother Nature is trying to interfere with this wedding but I'm fighting Her off with silent chants and prayers.

Friday:

A report on Hurricane Sandy.

We were so very lucky. Hurricane Sandy came through the DC area with a lot of rain and bluster but did surprisingly little damage. I was totally prepared for a week without power.

But my daughter and sister, who live in quite different locations, didn't fare as well and are in for some Sandy-related inconvenience and loss of income, at least in my daughter's situation.

She lives in Brooklyn, works in Manhattan, and depends totally on the NYC subways, pictured above (photo from inhabitat.com).  Who knows when the unprecedented damage will be repaired. I've always been amazed at how NYC keeps itself functioning but this is a brand-new challenge.  Daughter is otherwise safe and has power, so that's the good news.

Sister lives in Western MD and telecommutes but she lost power last night and at 10 AM was looking out her windows at a foot of snow, with another foot predicted.  [The snow picture is from her front porch but was taken in Nov 2008.] Also, she had not yet heard a single snow plow, which in those parts is unusual. 

I know they're luckier than others in Sandy's path but I want everything to get back to normal for both of them. Soon. 

106 degrees tomorrow. (And where did the degree symbol go on the keyboard?)

Ma-REE-ah! Ma-REE-ah! Ma-REE-ah! I just met a girl named Ma-REE-ah.

Katia will miss our coast, thanks to Tropical Depression Lee, who is dumping many inches of water on us now. But here comes Ma-REE-ah! And by the way, what ever happened to Richard Beymer who sang Maria in West Side Story? These days you can't ask those questions because of Wikipedia, the best website ever. Richard Beymer performed in a few other movies, and most notably (to me) had a role in Twin Peaks -- I loved Twin Peaks, bring back Twin Peaks! bring back Twin Peaks! -- and he even wrote a book called Impostor: Or Whatever Happened to Richard Beymer?
So there you go: that's what happened to the guy singing Ma-REE-ah! Oh, and he wasn't even singing. That was someone named Jimmy Bryant. And if you're interested in what happened to him you'll have to check Wikipedia yourself.

Excellent move. (Predicted move, that is.)

Hey! Wake up. In one week we've had an earthquake, a tornado (to the east), and now a hurricane is coming. Not to worry, they say.

104 in Silver Spring at 4 PM.

The heat.

en·er·vate (nr-vt)
tr.v. en·er·vat·ed, en·er·vat·ing, en·er·vates
1. To weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: