Here's the cover article from this week's US News and World Report. It's about the Gettysburg Address. Having the scene properly set for the address brought me to tears. The article doesn't actually give all the words, except in Lincoln's own script which isn't in the link, so here it is.

The Gettysburg Address:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Sometimes simple is better.

Sometimes the things that trap us keep us safe.

Thanksgiving is upon us. It is by far my favorite holiday. It’s a holiday the meaning of which I can really get behind. It doesn’t matter who you are thankful to nearly so much as what and whom you are thankful for. I am thankful for a great number of things in my life. Though my life is far from perfect, it is still very good. I have family and friends who make every day a joy. I have activities that entertain me and make me feel good about myself. I have places that I can feel safe and comfortable. I encourage everyone to take some time to seriously consider what you’re thankful for in your own life. If you’re reading this at all, chances are things could be much worse.

This photo was long overlooked. At first I didn't even notice the bee, or even the beauty of the flower. The framing was terrible and what you see here was originally only a couple hundred pixels wide. There were actually a few elements I wanted to include that are just out of frame, but they just couldn't come together to make any kind of coherent image. For those interested, the colors of the petals are a bit oversaturated, and the bee is darkened, sharpened, and saturated. I also painted in just a hint of the lower wing to match the approximate visibility of the upper wing. The background was blurred to begin with, but after applying a dry brush technique to the whole, I added an additional gaussian blur to the background to make it appear to be more of a wash than brush strokes. I overlayed a layer of paint daubs to the stamen to give them a wet look, though the color remains the same. As an afterthought I used the healing brush to remove a couple of dead spots on the petals.

I know it’s been a while since my last casual update. There seem to be so many things to talk about, and yet I find I have no opinion about most of it. However, in the sense of not disappointing my readers, I’ll do my very best to report on what’s been important to me lately.

First of all, I was very surprised by the Democrat’s resumption of control of both houses of the legislature. People had predicted, but I kinda thought it was just Republicans predicting things would go badly, just so that they could then claim they still had a mandate when things stayed about the same. When I think about why I believed that, I realize that it’s because I’ve lost faith in the American voting public. I really didn’t think they’d ever change enough to actually vote Democratic, at least not in that amount of time. In any case, I think that Nancy Pelosi will get things done for the Democrats, but I almost worry that she will be too much of an effective party boss, possibly causing even greater divides with the Republicans.

U.S. News this week gave a rundown of the various 2008 presidential contenders. They handicap the Democratic primary in Hillary’s favor. A lot of people don’t like Hillary, but then again a lot of people, especially in New York where she’s apparently been a terrific senator, are extremely loyal. I’ve always thought of her as a little too conservative for my taste, and I consider myself to be only a slightly left-leaning moderate. There’s no doubt that she’s a very strong person, and I think through the two years between now and November 2008, she may be able to convince America she’s the person for the job. I just worry that she’ll be able to convince us Democrats, but not enough of the Republicans to beat John McCain.

I noticed one other thing in the U.S. News. Both Evan Bayh and Barack Obama have been making public appearances sans tie. I’ve never liked ties. When you take away the tradition of wearing them, there’s no other reason left to do it.

I’ve had a cold this week. It began on Saturday, reached the point of debilitation on Sunday, and then gradually has been letting up ever since. There’s a funny thing about a chest cold. Just when you think it’s over, you cough up about half a gallon of nastiness. At least it’s mostly liquid now.

I’ve been working on a new story that will eventually involve a place very much like that one pictured below. It isn’t going very well though. The plot is 90% worked out. It’s filling in the details that has become burdensome. For a long time before I began writing it in narrative form, I played with the idea of writing a screenplay instead, mostly because it requires less writing. Then I even considered the possibility of writing it as a play. It’s possible I will still trash what I have so far and rework it for the stage. Is there any market for that?

Every day when I leave my office I look at this scene. I always think about taking a picture but the light and the air never seem exactly right. This particular day it was better than most, however, so here you go.

Here's another "through the viewfinder" photo. This one is of the Cat Creek valley, as seen from Higway 15.