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Back To The Beach And The Dried-Up Venice Canals

8/17/2019

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…Continued from yesterday:
On Monday morning, the morning after the wedding (see yesterday's post),

…we drove back from the hill country of Ventura County,

…to the palms of Los Angeles.

We dropped Claire off at the airport, but Theresa wasn’t leaving until Tuesday evening and Tom and I until Wednesday morning.

So Tom and I took our grand daughters back to Manhattan Beach for the afternoon.

Then we headed back home,

...where we rested up.

That evening there was another show.

The following day, Tuesday, as Theresa’s plane wasn’t until 5 pm I suggested that Tom, Theresa and I visit the Venice Canals, a series of man-made waterways that flow through a neighborhood a few blocks inland from Venice Beach and one of my favorite Los Angeles phenomena.

Now, I’d been to the Venice Canals a number of times in the past, but never before in the middle of summer, so I was surprised to see the water level so low, which apparently is what happens in summer.

From the canals we walked about a mile to a super-cute Venice restaurant with good food called 26 Beach.

Then we returned home.
Soon afterwards Theresa caught her plane back to Columbus,

...and I did crafts.

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Annie And Sean's Wedding: The Sukhouan

8/16/2019

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...Continued from yesterday:
On Sunday afternoon we drove an hour east from Los Angeles through the beautiful hill country of Ventura County,

...to the small city of Moorpark in which was located Annie and Sean's wedding venue, the Walnut Grove at Tierra Rejada Farms.
We turned off the highway into the Tierra Rejada Farms, then drove back through farmland until we reached the Walnut Grove,

...where the wedding ceremony and reception areas were set up in a clearing among the walnut trees,

....surrounded by farmland with a view of the hills off in the distance.

While waiting for the ceremony to begin friends and family socialized,

...while we enjoyed drinks from the bar,

...and the juice and iced tea bar.

Many of the family members and guests were in traditional Lao dress.

Mother of the groom on the far right.

My brother, father of the bride, with his grand son.

The bride with a friend.

    When it was time for the wedding ceremony, the bride's and groom's friends and families separated out of sight from each other. This was the beginning of the Sukhouan.
     In the Lao culture, each person has 32 souls. When these 32 souls are united in one's body they help with the proper functioning of body and mind. During important life events, such as a marriage, the Sukouan is the ritual performed to invoke the 32 souls.
       The ceremony began with the bride's family and friends gathering together, symbolizing the bride's house, where we waited for the groom to arrive.

The groom arrived in a procession with his family and friends,

...the groom carrying a bouquet of flowers.

When the groom and his party arrived at the bride's house the two families bargained,

...until the bride's family decided that the groom was worthy of the bride,

...at which time a deal was struck between the two families and sealed with a drink.

Then the groom was allowed to enter the bride's house and a sister of the bride took the groom by the hand,

...and led him to where his bride waited with her parents next to the Phakhouane, which is a large tray of flowers, candles, and other offerings placed on traditional carpets.

The wedding party and guests followed.

During the ceremony the Officiant chased undesirable spirits from the bodies of the Annie and Sean and called on noble spirits and the gods of earth and sky to bless their union.

The bride and groom then shared some rice, an egg, and alcohol to symbolize their union.
Then the Officiant tied white cotton threads around Annie and Sean's wrists as a wish for a long and happy union for them.

Annie and Sean's families also tied cotton threads around their wrists as wishes for happiness.

Next the guests with last names from A-H were asked to stay to tie threads on Annie and Sean's wrists and the guests with last names L-Z were invited to return to the reception area for hors d'oeuvres.

In addition to the hors d'oeuvres the was a beautiful cookie and candy table.

After the first group finished tying their threads it was the turn of the second group, of which we were a part, to return to the ceremony to have our turn tying threads for good wishes on Annie and Sean.

Then we returned to the reception area and everyone took their seats.

Then the happy newlyweds danced into the reception,

...for their first dance as man and wife, a traditional Lao dance,

...which we all joined in.

After the dances there were heart-felt speeches full of love and good wishes,

...by Sean's Uncle from Paris,

...and from Annie's father.

Then the beautiful, delicious dinner was served.

My plate.

The children, of course, preferred to be out on the dance floor.

Soon the rest of us joined them,

...or otherwise enjoyed the evening.

Later Annie and Sean changed into their outfits from their first wedding (see previous post),

...then cut the cake,

...and some pies,

...all of which were delicious.

The favors were exquisite origami ornaments from Japan.

It was a beautiful wedding,

...of two beautiful people.

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Annie And Sean's Wedding, Prologue

8/10/2019

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Last December my sweet, sunny niece Annie and her wonderful fiancé Sean traveled from Los Angeles to Seaford, Delaware for their first wedding, a Christian ceremony in honor of Annie's family and to accommodate their location.

Sean and Annie with my mother at their first wedding.

They were married for the second time on July 28 in Los Angeles, where they live, in a Lao ceremony in honor of Sean's family, who are from Laos.

Those members of Annie's family from the East Coast and Midwest who were able flew to Los Angles for Annie and Sean's Lao wedding ceremony, among them Tom, Claire, Theresa, and me.
Tom and I were the first from our branch to arrive in Los Angeles.

We took an early flight from Columbus and at 8 am we arrived at LAX,

…from whence we proceeded to my daughter and son-in-law’s house,

…where we were greeted by our grand pups,

...Pinky Poo,

...and Tyson.

As our daughter, son-in-law and grand children were soon off and about their day’s routine, Tom and I had a good part of the day to ourselves,

...a portion of which we spent shopping at Ralph’s,

…where I discovered this new item, and now feel some non-buyer’s remorse that I didn’t buy it. Just to try it.

When lunch time rolled around we decided to look around the area for some little mom-and-pop-style diner in hopes of perhaps finding a secret gem,

…comparable to our favorite LA secret gem, a little place we like called Mandy’s, where we never fail to eat at least once whenever we’re visiting.

We came upon a likely-looking little place in Redondo Beach,

The food was pretty good, made fresh and hot.

I had a veggie burger.

However the overall experience lacked the je ne said quoi of Mandy’s.
Later that afternoon we picked up our grand daughters from camp, drove them to swim lessons,

…then a piano lesson,

…and arrived home in time to play American Girl Dolls before dinner,

…and do some relaxing after dinner.

On Friday morning Theresa and Claire arrived in Los Angeles,

…and made the acquaintance of their fur nephews.

Then we went out for lunch at Mandy’s

Our server told us that a few days earlier a film crew had been in the restaurant shooting the scene of an upcoming movie (the name of which I can’t remember). He told us that once in a while a movie scene is shot a Mandy's.

Well, it is a cute restaurant.

       As the wedding wasn't until Sunday evening, Saturday was free for some fun.
       Theresa had made plans to travel to Santa Monica to visit a friend.
       The rest of us decided to take the bus to Manhattan Beach.

When we arrived at our stop we waited to meet a friend of the girls' for a beach play date.

Then we walked down to the shore.

While the others enjoyed the water, sun and sand,

....Tom and I strolled around the shore and the streets of Manhattan Beach while I snapped pictures.

Towards the end of the afternoon we walked a few blocks inland for an early dinner at the Kettle.

...where I had the yummy veggie sandwich and hot, crispy, tasty fries.

Theresa met us at the Kettle and after dinner we all walked back to the bus stop.

...from whence we took the bus home.

By the time we got home everyone was pretty tired, but not too tired for a show.

To be continued...

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Banning Semi-Automatic Weapons Is The Only Way To Stop Mass Shootings

8/8/2019

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Put universal background checks and red-flagging of mental illness on the back burner.
Those ideas are made of cotton-candy and would be just as effective in preventing mass shootings, even if our NRA-controlled Congress could get around to effectuating them,

...or wanted to.

The only thing that will end the epidemic of mass death by gunshot wound in this country is a federal ban on semi-automatic weapons. There's nothing else to say, no other discussion to be had.

Ban the AR-15 and its lethal relatives.

      Seriously, how hard would that be? Pass one law banning the possession of semi-automatic assault weapons. Give owners a few months to get rid of their outlawed guns. And throw in a generous government buy-back of the guns.
       That is what Australia did in 1996 after a man killed 35 people in a matter of minutes with an AR-15, and since then there has not been another mass shooting in Australia.
       It's what New Zealand did after that country's first mass shooting this past March. There has not been another mass shooting in New Zealand since then; however there have been four mass shootings in the United States since then: in Virginia Beach in May; in Gilroy, California in July; and in El Paso and Dayton in August.
        And these shootings would be so easy to stop. Our law-makers have the power in their hands.
   But in the meantime my daughter is terrified that her young children might be caught in a mass shooting at their school or in some other public place. And how can I calm her fears or console her when I, too, am terrified that my grand children might be caught in a mass shooting? I fear for my grand children, my children, my husband, my friends, everyone that love, everyone that I know, myself included.
          Even yesterday morning as I was sitting in Panera with my friends as I do every Wednesday morning, having a pleasant time, I looked around at all the tables and booths crowded with people who also appeared to be having a pleasant time, eating, drinking, chatting with each other; and instead of thinking to myself, "What a wonderful world," I thought to myself, "What a lot of people would be killed if a guy with an AR-15 came in here."
           A question for anyone who would oppose a ban on semi-automatic assault weapons: Do you, too, not fear for yourself and your loved ones?

Reference
https://fortune.com/2018/02/20/australia-gun-control-success/

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/10/711820023/new-zealand-passes-law-banning-most-semi-automatic-weapons

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All You Need Is A Nickname

8/6/2019

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     Two weeks ago the United States Senate Intelligence Committee and Special Counsel Robert Mueller disclosed to the American public that Russia had a hand in steering our 2016 Presidential election, that the election systems in all 50 states had been combed by Russian cyberagents, and that at this very moment a vast network of Russian agents is infiltrating our 2020 election process.
       Within twenty-four hours of these revelations the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill calling for immediate measures to protect our elections from Russian meddling.
       Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell killed the bill. No amount of reasoning, disputing, arguing, accusing, or pleading could move Mitch McConnell to put forward a vote for on the Senate floor to take action to protect our democracy. And there was nothing we the American people could do about it.
      Until one clever American came up with a simple but brilliant idea. He pinned Mitch McConnell with the nickname “Moscow Mitch.”

It was MSNBC news commentator Joe Scarborough,

…who criticized Senator McConnell for blocking Congress from acting to protect our vote from foreign influence, accused him of benefiting politically from that influence, and subsequently called him “Moscow Mitch.”

Now, Mitch McConnell likely didn’t care one way or the other about Joe Scarborough’s criticism or accusations, the same criticism and accusations he was hearing - and likewise didn’t care about - from everyone except for his own party loyalists. But those two words – “Moscow Mitch” - got to the Senator in a way that all the thousands and thousands of words previously directed at him on Russian cyberattacks against his country couldn’t even begin to.
“Moscow Mitch” has gotten under Mitch McConnell’s skin immensely, especially since it began trending on Twitter along with the hashtag #MoscowMitchMcTraitor. McConnell even whined about it on the Senate floor, saying, “I was called unpatriotic, un-American and essentially treasonous.”

One could practically hear the violins weeping in the background.

But “Moscow Mitch” has been sticking to McConnell so far:

Singer/Composer Ben Folds wrote a song called “Moscow Mitch,”

...and over the weekend a church picnic in Fancy Farm, Kentucky at which McConnell spoke,

...was infiltrated by protesters holding signs and chanting “Moscow Mitch.”

     Then a few days ago, while he was griping to the Senate about the unfairness of his new moniker, McConnell grudgingly said, “I’m sure all of us will be open to discussing further steps Congress, the executive branch, the states, and the private sector might take to defend our elections against foreign interference.”
     That statement from Mitch McConnell, pallid and wishy-washy as it was, has been interpreted as McConnell moving an inch on territory upon which he previously refused to budge. And he hasn’t moved that inch because he suddenly developed and inch-worth of concern for the welfare of the country he was elected to lead; it’s because he’s now worried that if “Moscow Mitch” sticks he won’t be re-elected next year.
     But an inch is only an inch, and Mitch McConnell likely needs to be pushed many more inches before he'll allow an election protection bill on the Senate floor.
     So let’s all make sure “Moscow Mitch” sticks to Mitch McConnell like Crazy Glue. Let's make sure this handle lives, thrives, follows and worries Moscow Mitch everywhere he goes. Everybody say it every chance you get. Post #MoscowMitchMcTraitor on your Facebook page. Post it on your Twitter page, Instagram page, and Pinterest Fail page. Get together with your friends and rent a billboard. Rent three outside your town.

(That strategy has been known to produce results).

Don’t relent on Moscow Mitch until he opens the Senate for debate on a bill to protect our elections.
In two words we’ve been handed the means to fight for our American democracy,

...free from the grip of a foreign tyrant,

...one of whose forebears once promised to bury us without firing a shot,

...and who is now, thanks to the traitorous greed of an elected American official, closer to that goal than ever.
    Let’s fight.
     Epilogue:
    Three day ago there were two more mass murders in this country, one in El Paso, Texas and one in Dayton, Ohio.

Thirty one graves new graves to be dug.

     And still Mitch McConnell refuses to allow a vote in the Senate on any bill that might prevent death by gunshot wound from continuing to be an American epidemic.
   And so a second hashtag has been added on to Mitch McConnell’s name of shame: #MassacreMitch.
    As for me, I would have chosen Mass Murder Mitch, but Massacre Mitch is already trending.
    And so every day I intend to post #MoscowMitchMcTraitor and #MassacreMitch on my Twitter page.
     You do what you can.

References:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/politics/moscow-mitch-mcconnell.html

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/04/politics/sherrod-brown-mitch-mcconnell-mass-shootings-guns-congress-cnntv/index.html

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Back To The Beach And The Dried-Up Venice Canals

Annie And Sean's Wedding: The Sukhouan

Annie And Sean's Wedding, Prologue

Banning Semi-Automatic Weapons Is The Only Way To Stop Mass Shootings

All You Need Is A Nickname

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