Just passing on the relationship news that Justin Long and Kate Bosworth had a baby via surrogate. I'm glad to hear that they've found happiness together. Kate was with Orlando Bloom and then married, and divorced, and Justin was with Drew Barrymore and Amanda Seyfried.
Apparently at some point they also got married.
Justin Long & Kate Bosworth Welcome First Child (Report)
Model Marissa Everhart has been a favorite of mine for a long time, and we even share a secret. (What's the secret? Well, it wouldn't be a secret if I told you, would it? But trust me, we do have one.)
Beyond that, she has been a favorite model of
Alfredo OmaƱa Padron (@alfredoomanapadron) & ajgfilmproductions
After traveling in the Mediterranean Sea for lighthouses over the past few weeks, I'm returning to the home state for this one, which is another I didn't know existed, despite my proximity to it. It can't be visited; it's out in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay and there are bombs all over the island it sits on. I presume boats can go by it and take pictures, even though (according to the Lighthouse Directory, see below) it's operated by the Army (which is also responsible for the bombs).
So, this is the Pooles Island lighthouse, and this is where it is.
So the information from the Lighthouse Directory tells us:
"1825 (John Donahoo and Simon Frieze). Reactivated (inactive 1939-2011, now operated by the U.S. Army); focal plane 38 ft (11.5 m); seven white flashes, in a 4+3 pattern, every 16 s. 44 ft (13.5 m) old-style round granite tower with lantern and gallery. Tower painted white, lantern black. ... This is the oldest Maryland lighthouse and the first of Donohoo's 12 lighthouses. It was abandoned when the improved channel was relocated from the west side to the east side of the island. The tower was partially restored and stabilized in 1997. In 2010 the Army carried out a more complete restoration including repairs to the masonry and lantern and installation of new, historically accurate windows. Repainting was completed by a volunteer, Tim Hamilton. A solar-powered light was installed and the lighthouse was reactivated in September 2011 in time for the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks."
Lighthouse Friends page: Pooles Island Lighthouse
There is also a Pooles Island Brewing Company, which I also did not know until I wrote this post.
Pictures are, as is my custom, below. I tried to find a Streetview coastal view, but that didn't work.
Speaking of snow, which I did in my last post, glaciers in Switzerland are melting faster.
If you didn't know or suspect that was what was happening, then you aren't paying attention or you're a Trump voter. If you're a Trump voter, you probably think that this is all made up anyway.
It's not.
OK, so what was the good news? A chihuahua helped rescuers find a hiker that fell into a crevasse. I'm glad the hiker is OK. Great. Won't do much for the melting glaciers, though.
There’s Some Good News and Some Really Bad News Coming Out of Switzerland
"The Swiss Alps began retreating 170 years ago, but the loss has accelerated in recent years due to climate change. The 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland have shrunk to less than half their size in the last 85 years"Comparison pictures of that loss are in this article: In pictures: Swiss glaciers have shrunk by half in 85 years - and the melt is speeding up
This study out of Boston University showed an interesting climate feedback -- if it snows less in a forest, then the trees in that forest absorb less carbon. So as global warming means less snow (in general, not everywhere), then the cause of the warming -- more CO2 in the atmosphere -- won't be removed as efficiently by growing trees.
Ouch.
Less Snow Makes Trees Absorb Less Carbon, According to New BU Study
"In a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they show that warmer summer temperatures increase tree growth, but less snow on the ground slows this growth significantly—meaning that New England forests’ ability to store carbon in future climate scenarios is likely overestimated."Here's the paper:
"Trees in the artificially heated plots that were insulated by snow grew 63 percent larger than those in the unaltered plots. But the trees that went through more freeze-thaw cycles and experienced less snowpack grew only 31 percent larger over the decade-long study. That means that having less snow slowed down their growth and carbon uptake by about half."
So we could also say: Trees (in boreal forests, anyway) need snow to grow.
And we could sing: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
I'm still persistently a couple of months behind -- I might make a concerted effort to catch up, but I don't have time yet. So this is an article from July, but the quote I extracted is applicable now, and dare I say, more than ever.
Feel like Congress doesn't care what you want? You're right.
"A year ago, Trump posted to social media, “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it.” His campaign-season disavowal followed the people’s lead: The policy agenda was unpopular with the public, too. At a town hall in Milwaukee, a Trump supporter told me he believed Democrats were fearmongering with exaggerated claims about Project 2025 and thought it ridiculous that Trump would adopt its provisions. Once elected, however, Trump selected the project’s architects for key roles in his administration and began implementing many of the project’s ideas. The voter in Milwaukee may feel betrayed by this, but other supporters are thrilled. The president’s signature legislation offers a clue to who they might be. The Congressional Budget Office determined that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cause losses among the poorest Americans, mostly in cuts to Medicaid and welfare benefits, while economic elites and organized business interests will accrue gains by having their tax bills reduced."
Well, maybe not stop it, but the folks at the amazing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA (one of the government scientific organizations that the Trump presidential doofus collection wants to shut down because they're scared of science) built a system to watch hail as it drops from a stormy sky.
Read about it here:
New high-speed camera captures hail in free fall to improve public safety
Of course, anything that combines science and improvements to public safety is anathema to the Trumpie Dummies. Can't have anything like THAT happening in da gubmint. |
| That'll leave a mark |
I expect that this will be the last lighthouse on the Catalonian coast of Spain for awhile, but this is a good one. This is the Faro de Calella, just up the coast a bit from Barcelona, and it's a very handsome lighthouse that's in fine working order.
For the location, just click right here.
For more information, acquired from the Lighthouse Directory, read on.
"1859. Active; focal plane 50 m (164 ft); five white flashes, in a 3+2 pattern, every 20 s. 13 m (43 ft) round cylindrical masonry tower with lantern and double gallery, rising from the front of a 1-story masonry keeper's house. Original 3rd order Fresnel lens in use. Lighthouse painted white with unpainted stone trim; lantern is all glass including the dome. ... During the Spanish Civil War the light station was fortified with anti-aircraft guns and was attacked several times but not heavily damaged. Located on a bluff behind the beach on the west side of Calella, about 65 km (40 mi) northeast of Barcelona."
Down below, I have four pictures and a video.
Video:
Purnululu National Park in Australia includes the Bungle Bungle range, which is quite amazing, unique, and spectacular (see the picture). So if you're into extremes, go see it. But first, read all of the safety warnings, because this is a tough place to survive in if you aren't prepared. Here's some highlights of the suggestions.
"Consider traveling with a personal location beacon (PLB) or satellite phone."
"Heat: Temperatures can be extreme, exceeding 40°C during the day and radiant heat can increase the temperature to over 50°C."
From the Washington Post, and things aren't changing:
Trump administration is preparing to challenge budget law, U.S. officials say (June)
"Interviews with federal workers show that a wide spectrum of government spending has already been stalled. Major scientific research grants have been terminated without public notice in recent weeks. At one federal agency, staff were told — via a directive that took effect on a Sunday — that almost all contracts over $250,000 no longer could be signed. At the General Services Administration, which manages federal real estate, the Trump administration is trying to cut costs by rejecting many agencies’ requests for facilities repairs paid for by those agencies. In some instances, officials say it’s unclear whether the budget law has been violated already or is merely on track to be breached — but the rejections have provoked internal alarm about their legality either way."
"The agency’s newly released documents, made public under the court order, show Trump’s budget office is imposing litmus tests on releasing money — demanding plans from agencies to show they are following guidance Trump has laid out in executive actions, such as avoiding spending on diversity programs. While Trump has authority to issue those directives, experts say they do not, under law, carry the same weight as congressional actions.
The documents show OMB has in some cases blocked the release of funding until agencies provide a White House-approved spending plan and in other cases prevented funds from being spent that conflict with Trump’s executive orders.
The restrictions effectively give Vought, the director of the White House budget office and an architect of the controversial conservative governing plan Project 2025, the power to approve or deny virtually all spending decisions. The records do not provide a full accounting of government funding that has been withheld."
“The president ran on the notion that the Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional. I agree with that,” Vought said in Senate testimony in January, referencing the law that prevents the president from unilaterally withholding funding.
Even though this idiotic Presidential administration is going backwards on renewable energy (though commendably pushing nuclear), when there's a significant improvement like this one, it's hard to ignore.
LONGi Announces Two New Global Solar Cell Efficiency Records"At SNEC 2025, LONGi’s crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell achieved a groundbreaking 33% efficiency on a large area of 260.9 cm² through material innovation and structural optimization. This marks a nearly 20% efficiency gain over single-junction silicon solar cells and represents the world’s first 33% efficiency milestone at mass-producible dimensions – paving a new path for reducing photovoltaic energy costs. Simultaneously, the 26% efficiency of its back-contact (BC) modules demonstrates LONGi’s profound expertise in this technology, propelling crystalline silicon module efficiency toward the 27% threshold."
"At 2025 SNEC, LONGi declares to the global community: Chinese PV enterprises* are reshaping the industry landscape with technological prowess, accelerating the zero-carbon future. "Over the past 25 years, PV technology has made clean energy the world’s most economical power source," Li declared on-site."
*Meanwhile, the USA is cutting back on research and innovation. That's a bad path we're on.
As I said last week, I'm returning to the region of Catalonia and the Costa Brava. I didn't mention this before, but this region figured in a Robert Ludlum spy novel (The Parsifal Mosaic) that was not as famous as The Bourne Identity and subsequent Bournes. I know because I read it but barely remember it.
Back to our lighthouse. This week it's the Far del Cap de Creus, northward on the coast from last week's light, and north of both Cadaques and Port Lligat. That puts it right here.
The Lighthouse Directory indicates this information about this coastal indicator:
"1853. Active; focal plane 87 m (285 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 11 m (36 ft) 2-stage cylindrical masonry tower, lower part square and upper part round, with lantern and double gallery, centered on the roof of a large 1-story masonry keeper's house. Lighthouse painted white with unpainted stone trim; lantern is all glass including the dome. ... This is Catalonia's second oldest lighthouse, marking the easternmost point of the Spanish mainland and the western entrance to France's Golfe du Lion. Perched on a spectacular promontory overlooking the Mediterranean, the lighthouse has been converted into a visitor center for the popular Cabo Creus national park; thus it is now one of Spain's best known and most visited lighthouses."
I don't remember if this lighthouse was mentioned in The Parsifal Mosaic, but I suspect it was.
You can spy five pictures of it below. Apparently around 2015 it got a new top (cupola), which is the black cap. The first two pictures show the all-glass cupola. Apparently the Lighthouse Directory didn't update this detail.
OK, when you first see this, you've got to be thinking mummies and deadly curses from the Age of the Pharaohs, right? Seriously, they even tell you that's what you should be thinking about.
Deadly Ancient Tomb Fungus Could Help Fight Cancer
Pharaoh's Curse fungus transformed to fight leukemia.
"Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered a powerful anticancer compound hidden within Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus), a toxic fungus historically linked to the mysterious “Pharaoh’s curse” deaths of the first explorers to uncover the tombs of ancient kings, including King Tutankhamun and King Casimir IV of Poland."
(I should mention here that funding cuts to medical research would make breakthroughs like this less likely.)
"After purifying four different RiPPs, Nie and team discovered that the molecules shared a distinctive structure composed of interlocking rings. They named these newly identified compounds asperigimycins, after the fungus in which they were found.
Even without chemical modification, asperigimycins showed therapeutic potential when tested against human cancer cells, with two of the four variants exhibiting strong activity against leukemia cells. Another variant, enhanced with a lipid molecule also found in royal jelly (a substance that nourishes bee larvae), performed comparably to cytarabine and daunorubicin – two US Food and Drug Administration-approved leukemia drugs that have been in use for decades."
Reference: Nie Q, Zhao F, Yu X, et al. A class of benzofuranoindoline-bearing heptacyclic fungal RiPPs with anticancer activities. Nat Chem Biol. 2025:1-10. doi: 10.1038/s41589-025-01946-9.
Maybe we will get the last laugh over cancer, eh Vincent?
The title is my first question. And my second question, more concernedly, is at what point do all of these populate low Earth orbit so heavily that they start bumping into each other regularly?
Second batch of Amazon Kuiper satellites blast off aboard Atlas V rocket
"A second batch of Amazon’s Kuiper satellites has blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.
The game-changing satellites are set to be positioned into low Earth orbit where they will eventually be joined by over 3,000 others, allowing Amazon to provide high-speed, low-latency internet access virtually anywhere in the world."
Great article about how submarine hunting led to the discovery and mapping of undersea mountains, aka seamounts.
How the Hunt for WWII Subs Revealed Undersea Volcanoes
“Certainly, before they developed acoustic soundings—which is sonar—there’s a lot of uncertainty in the depth of the seafloor because the methods weren't good enough,” says Heidi Dierssen, marine sciences professor at the University of Connecticut. “Once they discovered that they could use the speed of sound pretty accurately, it really revolutionized our understanding of Earth itself.”
"During World War II, the United States paused most of its seafloor mapping efforts. The exception came when Hess, then a young Princeton University professor, joined the U.S. Navy as captain of the USS Cape Johnson. Equipped with the latest sonar technology, Hess was able to collect an unprecedented amount of data, rapidly and around the clock, as he and his crew searched for enemy submarines."
One solution to overfishing and dwindling fish stocks:
Grow the part people eat without all of that business about growing fish.
Wildtype’s Cultivated Salmon Becomes First of Its Kind To Receive FDA Approval
This article is about the uses of data from the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) sensor on the International Space Station, but there are more hyperspectral instruments in space, such as NASA's PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem) mission.
NASA Space Station Sensor Spots Contamination off the California Coast
Proof-of-concept results from the mouth of the Tijuana River in San Diego County show how an instrument called EMIT could aid wastewater detection."That’s where EMIT comes in. NASA’s hyperspectral instrument orbits Earth aboard the International Space Station, observing sunlight reflecting off the planet below. Its advanced optical components split the visible and infrared wavelengths into hundreds of color bands. By analyzing each satellite scene pixel by pixel at finer spatial resolution, scientists can discern what molecules are present based on their unique spectral “fingerprint.”
Scientists compared EMIT’s observations of the Tijuana River plume with water samples they tested on the ground. Both EMIT and the ground-based instruments detected a spectral fingerprint pointing to phycocyanin, a pigment in cyanobacteria, an organism that can sicken humans and animals that ingest or inhale it."
More than once, Pete Hegseth, the current Secretary of Defense who shouldn't have been allowed to be within 10 miles of the Pentagon, has seemed a bit off-base. He professes to be a Christian, he stopped drinking (he says), but he's prone to outbursts and clear lack of judgment. Also, he might not claim to be a racist, but he sure is doing things racists like, such as sneaky and subterfugious renamings of renamed military bases. Oh yeah, he's also paying tribute to a racist homosexual white supremacist artist who, as a teenager unsure of his sexuality, fathered a child with a mixed-race servant. More on that later.
However, while the artist might not be comfortable with the pastor leading the church that resembles a cult which Hegseth attends, Pete sure is. And the pastor is so far out on the fringe it's hard to see him from the normal right-wing churches that are undergirding this farcical administration.
So, here's what Pete did:
Pete Hegseth Promotes His Pastor’s CNN Spot – and His Call for ‘Christian Domination’
The pastor's name is Doug Wilson. I'm providing a bit more information about him below."For the past 50 years, Wilson has been trying to convince America that it has made the wrong choice —that it should choose “Christ,” as he put it, instead of chaos. But Wilson isn’t a conventional evangelist. He is, by his own description, an outspoken proponent of Christian theocracy — the idea that American society, including its government, should be governed by a conservative interpretation of Biblical law. Wilson’s body of work — made up of over 40 books, thousands of blog posts and hundreds of hours of sermons and podcast appearances — amounts to a comprehensive blueprint for a spiritual and political “reformation” that would transform America into a kind of Christian republic."
"Beyond these near-term goals, Wilson has floated some more fundamental changes to America’s political system: Amending the Constitution to include reference to the Apostles’ Creed, restricting office holding to practicing Christians and changing voting practices to award votes by household, with the default vote-holder being the male head of the household. His long-term goal, he said, is to inspire a grassroots Christian reformation that would excise the whole idea of secularism from American law and society."
I don't think that's going to fly (I sure hope not). But apparently Petey Hegseth does.
Another perspective:
Viral CNN Segment Highlights Disturbing Christian Movement. Bible Scholars Have Thoughts.
"A Pentagon spokesperson later shared that Hegseth is “a proud member of a church” that is affiliated with CREC and “very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings.” ...
"While Wilson’s ideas might not appear aligned with the values of Jesus, they are deeply embedded in American church history.
“I grew up in the Southern Baptist denomination, where thoughts and ideas like these are mainstream,” [religious scholar] Motl said. “It is vital to understand just how pervasive these disillusioned and ignorant beliefs are.”
You can thus see why Hegseth and Wilson are birds of a feather -- i.e., cuckoo.
So, for this week, while I'm back to the mainland, I'm still on a Mediterranean coast. This one is on the Spanish coast, in the region of Catalonia, the province of Girona, and near the village (town?) of Cadaques. If you're in the art world, you might recognize Cadaques as the home town (village?) of surrealist Salvador Dali.
This is a small little lighthouse on a big bluff overlooking the ocean. Here's what I learned about it from the Lighthouse Directory. This is a rescued lighthouse, as you'll see below. Also, this area has a lot of great lighthouses, so I'm going to return here the next couple of weeks.
"1864. Active; focal plane 33 m (108 ft); five white flashes, in a 4+1 pattern, every 25 s. 7 m (23 ft) round cylindrical masonry tower with lantern and gallery mounted on a small 1-story keeper's house. Lighthouse painted white; lantern is metallic gray. ... This little lighthouse has a wild location overlooking the natural harbor of CadaquĆ©s, tucked into the Cap de Creus massif. In 1982 residents of the tiny fishing village protested vigorously when the ComisĆon de Faros announced plans to demolish the dilapidated lighthouse and replace it with a modern post light. They prevailed, and the lighthouse was restored instead. The light station is located in a large national park."
I grabbed five pictures including one at sunset or sunrise; can't tell which.
These pictures came from a provocative set published by the lovely and sensual model and mother Heather Monique.
You can watch the whole thing here (and though it's erotic, it's "safe"). To watch it, be logged into Instagram and be over 18. It's a reel.
Here are two pictures of Heather embracing the softer side:
There are so many dangers to our vital freshwater resources, and cutting back on Environmental Protection Agency funding is not going to help any. One of the lesser-publicized dangers is increasing salinity.
The Washington Post had an article, linked below, about this issue, and if you don't want to pay to read that, you can read the free one from the National Park Service below it.
A salt crisis is looming for U.S. rivers
Freshwater Salinization: Saltier Rivers Are a Growing Concern
One of the benefits of working at home (as has been noted prior to this post) is that you don't have to wear pants.
What might not have been noted is the benefits that accrue to the co-workers (or simply co-occupants) of the home office if one of the co-workers is not wearing pants.
(I think these pictures were advertising the adjustable computer stand. Consider it well-promoted.)
Just a couple of posts ago, I noted new research (and new news broadcasting) about how global warming aka climate change is causing glaciers to melt, with a focus on Alaska. That is not good.
Here's another aspect of the problem: the continuing decline in global ocean pH, aka ocean acidification. Bottom line: this isn't good either.
Ocean acidification: another planetary boundary crossed
Abstract:
Ocean acidification has been identified in the Planetary Boundary Framework as a planetary process approaching a boundary that could lead to unacceptable environmental change. Using revised estimates of pre-industrial aragonite saturation state, state-of-the-art data-model products, including uncertainties and assessing impact on ecological indicators, we improve upon the ocean acidification planetary boundary assessment and demonstrate that by 2020, the average global ocean conditions had already crossed into the uncertainty range of the ocean acidification boundary. This analysis was further extended to the subsurface ocean, revealing that up to 60% of the global subsurface ocean (down to 200 m) had crossed that boundary, compared to over 40% of the global surface ocean. These changes result in significant declines in suitable habitats for important calcifying species, including 43% reduction in habitat for tropical and subtropical coral reefs, up to 61% for polar pteropods, and 13% for coastal bivalves. By including these additional considerations, we suggest a revised boundary of 10% reduction from pre-industrial conditions more adequately prevents risk to marine ecosystems and their services; a benchmark which was surpassed by year 2000 across the entire surface ocean.
I always find it somewhat humorous the way the Daily Mail writes headlines. But they're a tabloid at heart, and that's how it's done.
The subject, Stacy Keibler (married to Jared Pobre now, not sure what her "official" name is), has now reached the age of 45, and is staying in somewhat astonishing shape, both in terms of age and child-bearing (3).
George Clooney's ex-girlfriend Stacy Keibler, 45, rocks a bikini... before he hits the Tony Awards
Below is Stacy in a different bikini shot that was also included in this insightful article.
After watching the NBC Nightly News tonight (August 8), which featured a story on the melting glacial ice of the Alps, I was reminded of this article, which features the melting ice of Alaska.
Alaska Will Lose 69% of Its Glacier Mass Under Current Climate Change Pledges
Consequences of the glacier mass loss include a nine-inch sea level rise and changes in biodiversity."Alaska, one of 19 glacier regions designated by the international team, would lose 69% of its glacier mass. Of those regions, which don’t include the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, Alaska has the third-highest glacier mass today, at 16,246 gigatons. Only the Antarctic islands/sub-Antarctic islands and northern Arctic Canada have more glacier mass."
"The team of 21 scientists from 10 countries used eight glacier models to calculate the potential ice loss of the more than 200,000 glaciers outside of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets under a wide range of global temperature scenarios relative to 2020. For each scenario, they assumed that temperatures would remain constant for thousands of years.
"Alaska, even under current climate conditions of 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels, would lose 37% of its glacier mass, the study finds. Ice loss rises under greater temperature increases: 41% lost at 2.7 degrees, 58% at 3.6 degrees, 69% at 4.9 degrees, 71% at 5.4 degrees and 80% at 7.2 degrees."
My sojourn to lighthouses on scattered islands of the Mediterranean Sea continues this week. I actually was looking at a different island, the remarkable Panarea, which is basically just a cone sticking out of the sea. I was a bit surprised that Panarea didn't have a lighthouse, and all that it has officially is a light on the jetty of the only harbor (which is here, if you need to know that).
Now, the famous islands in this group, known as the Aeolian Islands, are the active volcano Stromboli and the probably-will-be-active-again-eventually Vulcano, from which all volcanoes get their collective basic name. The other islands are Lipari (just north of Vulcano), Salina, the wind- and wave-sculpted Isola di Basiluzzo, the aforementioned Panarea, and other pieces of rock, notably Strombolicchio, with its incredibly situated lighthouse.
This week's featured lighthouse is the Faro di Punta Lingua, on Salina, which I think translates to the Lighthouse on Point Tongue. (I checked, and that's basically correct.) So for that location, click right here.
This is a small and unassuming lighthouse, but the location is pretty good, which explains all the ferry lines on the map.
The Lighthouse Directory provides this information:
"1920s or 1930s . Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); white flash every 3 s. 12 m (39 ft) cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery, adjoining but not attached to a 1-story keeper's house. Tower painted white; lantern dome is gray metallic. ... In 2019 the renovated keeper's house was opened as a museum, the Museo del Mare e del sale (Museum of the Sea and Salt). Located at the end of a spit in the village of Lingua, at the southeastern corner of Salina."
There are very few really close-up pictures of this one. But I did find the remarkable StreetView below. The visible island has to be Lipari. However, in the second picture, there's a conical peak that I think is Panarea, but I couldn't confirm that with any of the StreetView choices.
This repugnant initiative was just in the news.
Confederate memorial will be returned to Arlington Cemetery, Hegseth says
The memorial was removed in 2023 at the recommendation of a commission appointed by Congress to rid the military of Confederate symbols and names."The 32-foot bronze statue commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy was unveiled at a ceremony presided over by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914, almost 50 years after the Civil War ended. Its supporters said it was dedicated in part to promote reconciliation between the North and the South. But critics said the memorial glorified the Southern cause and glossed over slavery, with elements such as a frieze showing an enslaved Black man following his owner and an enslaved woman — described on the cemetery’s website as a “mammy” — holding the baby of a Confederate officer."Yeah, it's about that.
Even more repugnantly, the current Secretary of Defense, who could also be the Secretary of Offensiveness, said this about it:
" “I’m proud to announce that Moses Ezekiel’s [see below the picture] beautiful and historic sculpture — often referred to as “The Reconciliation Monument” — will be rightfully be returned to Arlington National Cemetery near his burial site,” Hegseth posted on X, referring to the memorial’s creator. “It never should have been taken down by woke lemmings. Unlike the Left, we don’t believe in erasing American history — we honor it.”
Right, we honor the dishonorable. That much is clear.
I've got news for you, Mr. Secretary. The woke lemmings are on the march.
A bit more about Moses Ezekiel (the link goes to Wikipedia):
"Ezekiel was "the first American-born Jewish artist to receive international acclaim". Ezekiel was an ardent supporter, in both his writings and in his works, of the Lost Cause view of history, asserting that in the Battle of New Market he had "never fought for slavery, but for states' rights and for free trade."
"He has been described as a "Confederate expatriate" and a "proud Southerner" and the Confederate battle flag hung in his Rome studio for 40 years."
"Although Ezekiel never married, he had a daughter, Alice Johnson (1859–1924). According to a census document of July 14, 1860, Alice Johnson was 10 months old, suggesting she was born in September 1859. She would therefore have been conceived at the beginning of 1859 when Moses was 14. Her mother was Isabella, a "beautiful mulatt housemaid" of his father."
"[F]edor Encke accompanied Ezekiel on a visit to the United States. According to writer Michael Feldberg, Ezekiel and Encke had "a forty-five year homosexual relationship…that neither acknowledged publicly."
Ezekiel is buried in Arlington Cemetery, and his tomb and remains had been at the foot of the memorial. So basically, his place by the memorial is a place of honor for a Jewish homosexual who served in the traitorous Confederate army, who also just so happened to father an illegitimate mixed-race child with a family servant when he was just a teenager.
Did Secretary Hegseth know all of that?
But what, there's one thing more. Also from Wikipedia:
"On August 20, 2017, in the aftermath of the Unite the right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia — members of Ezekiel's extended family sent a letter to the Washington Post, asking for the Arlington monument's removal:
"Like most such monuments, this statue intended to rewrite history to justify the Confederacy and the subsequent racist Jim Crow laws. It glorifies the fight to own human beings, and, in its portrayal of African Americans, implies their collusion. As proud as our family may be of Moses's artistic prowess, we — some twenty Ezekiels — say remove that statue. Take it out of its honored spot in Arlington National Cemetery and put it in a museum that makes clear its oppressive history."
So that's what the Secretary is honoring by returning the memorial to Arlington Cemetery.
It would be humorous if it wasn't so despicable and odoriferous.
I'm not sure what prompted it, but I abruptly became concerned that I did not know what onyx was, exactly, other than a type of gemstone.
First, do not confuse it with "oryx". That's what this is:
What is onyx, then? According to a website that should know, onyx is "a variety of microcrystalline quartz, called chalcedony." That's also known as agate. It is most famous for being black, like below, but it doesn't have to be.
Following right behind the basic black is banded onyx, which is black and white, which polishes up quite nicely. There's also green and red onyx. Apparently it's also possible to make fake onyx with dyes and regular agate, which I don't think is the right thing to do.
As my final note, it can also be faceted like a diamond, but if it's black, that's hard to see.
