A sonnet for this late November - "the naturality"

Inspired by true events.

the naturality

Forbidden are my thoughts regarding her --
except that men do always think this way --
and social norms do not at all deter
a difference in both our times of day
for she is still alighted near the dawn
of her existence, while my life is in
its deep mid-afternoon, so like a faun
upon the fleshscape of a nymph, her skin
a realm of topophysical delight,
I dream of wandering across her slopes
and delving in her caves; although my right
of passage is prohibited, my hopes
thought lecherous, so my polite desire
can only keep the sights that I admire.


To fully understand this sonnet, it would help to be familiar with the animated movie set to classical music Allegro non Troppo.

Must take note of this

Demi Rose Mawby is maturing.  Having once looked like a somewhat cherubic 16-year-old with a devilishly curvaceous bod, she is now looking more like a beautiful adult woman with childlike features, and still with the curvaceous bod.  And she is making a living with it.

Here, in this article, she makes another public appearance, and makes the most of it.

Demi Rose puts on a brazenly busty display in a sparkling gold mini dress at star-studded beauty awards

That's a pretty accurate description, I believe.

InSight is on Mars

NASA landed another lander successfully on Mars yesterday, this one called Mars InSight.  It might not be a complete replacement for the amazingly plucky and ultimately unlucky Opportunity -- unless a miracle happens -- but it is an important scientific mission that will tell us a lot about Martian geology, provided everything works.

One of the really necessary things it did on Day 1 of its time on Mars was deploy the solar arrays.  That was a very nifty operation, so I have the 7-second video below.

More strong words from Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin

Jennifer Rubin is so fun to read, especially when she's going after President Donald Trump.  The only thing that makes what she says less than hilarious is the sad fact that what she says is dead solid perfectly accurate.

Take this example.

From the piece entitled "Trump's incoherence is too much -- and it's getting worse":

"As striking as Trump’s utter inability to grapple with basic problems, his staff’s unwillingness to maintain any semblance of unity and loyalty suggests they no long think it’s in their personal interest to be associated with a president who makes mincemeat of one policy issue after another. His childish inability to make hard decisions and engender possible complaints from his base makes him a hapless, inept figure. He’s not so much leading as he is meandering — with aides racing after him to prevent bigger disasters and embarrassments."

Now, given the numerous issues of import facing us, the problem I perceive is that one of those bigger disasters or embarrassments (or something that's both) might get through the haphazard Trump White House system -- and that could mean that we, collectively, will be in big trouble.

Yikes.

Another very pricey piece of carbon

I was going to note this topic when the diamond was about to go on sale, but that time came and went, and the diamond was sold.  The diamond is named the "Pink Legacy", and it was purchased by Harry Winston Jewelers for $50 million.

Pink diamond is bought for a record $50 MILLION by New York jeweller Harry Winston

It's about 19 carats, and it's really, really pink.  Which obviously makes it really, really valuable.

As befits an owner that can afford to buy it, they renamed it the "Winston Pink Legacy".

Here's a picture of the big piece of crystallized carbon with a little bit of an impurity. I am really fascinated by gemstones, especially the big rare ones, but seriously, that's what this is. And we as humans assign great value to its uniqueness.

Lighthouse of the Week, November 25 - December 1, 2018: St. David's Lighthouse, Bermuda

The island of Bermuda has two real lighthouses, and several other beacons and metal towers.  I know because I looked at the Bermuda page of the Lighthouse Directory.   So maybe some day I'll come back to Bermuda and feature the famous high-on-a-hill Gibb's Hill Lighthouse, but this time I'll discuss the other one, St. David's Lighthouse.

So where is it, other than on the island of Bermuda, you are asking?  It's here.  Really and truly, it's on St. David's Island.

Specs:

"1879. Active; focal plane 65 m (213 ft); two white flashes every 20 s; tower also carries flashing red and green lights that cover nearby shoals. 22 m (72 ft) octagonal limestone tower with lantern and double gallery; 2nd order Fresnel lens. ... Formerly all white, the lighthouse is now painted white with a broad red band in the center. The keeper's house is occupied by resident caretakers."

That's cool, it's a working lighthouse that still has a Fresnel lens.

Pictures below. Note that one of them is not an actual picture of the lighthouse.  And there's a bonus below the four pictures.

Bonus:  StreetView panorama at the St. David's Lighthouse.

OK, I'll answer that question

I saw this on an Instagram account (you've almost undoubtedly seen it before):

"What would you do, if you know you couldn't fail?"

I pondered that briefly, and then this thought came to my mind unbidden, but nonetheless inspired:

"Make love to Nina Agdal."

And I realized that I hadn't thought about Nina Agdal for literally weeks.  So it must be true.