Hopstretch

Happy Birthday!

Hey! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Stars -- There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light Recommended.

Happy Birthday! Take a break from grooming the dogs and log into HC occasionally!

Panoramic views of Manchester ...

Also on this.

Current running total on the CA wildfires is 5,700 homes destroyed and 90,000 people displaced. All the schools in the North Bay were closed today because of the poor air quality and logistical disruptions. Ready for this week to end ...

Sorry to hear. My father had the same thing happen many years ago. If the retina is not detached, there is a good chance it will be OK in the end.

It's Tomahawk Thursday. Rareish.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-fires-northern-california-20171011-story.html Not so great ...

Andrew Bird -- Echolocations: River Recorded while standing under a bridge in said river.

Pork loin, stone fruit chutney, quinoa, various veg. Steve, the placemats are cheap plastic from Ikea — sorry. [emoji6]

This band has clearly listened to a LOT of Talk Talk. NTTAWWT.

Need to dig that out. Thanks.

Update on the wine situation. Not great but better than initially feared: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/business/wineries-california-wildfire.html Another positive -- kids and I tried to sign up to help out at the nearest evacuation center and were turned down because they'd already had such a flood of volunteers that all spots were filled for the next few weeks. Their school PTA is putting together backpacks of toiletries, stationery, stuffed animals, pajamas etc. for kids in the affected areas, so we assembled a couple of those and dropped them off. Classroom was already half full of bags on the first day of the effort -- nice to see.

https://www.theringer.com/2017/10/11/16457626/soccer-world-cup-2018-us-qualifying-bruce-arena-christian-pulisic-future?

Agreed. It is a pity. I think the grassroots is in good shape though. Whether that translates into better results up at the top of the pyramid one day -- who knows?

Not so much.

This is a solid nostalgia hit. Although I wasn't moved quite as much as some of the ladies (of a certain age) in the audience ...

Still v. smoky here. Probably not all pot byproduct.

Less happily, Coffey Park area of Santa Rosa before and after ...

OK, that's a keeper. Well done sir.

Antonoff is just killing it at the moment. He also co-wrote and produced Lorde's Melodrama. And his own output is just as good, in my opinion, which is pretty rare.