Thursday - 2008-0306-2200 - Rain - Los Angeles; Rain Shots; Blown Away in LA - LAist and Gothamist LLC; Silhouettes; Derek and Drew Riker; Bathroom Floor; Living Room Ceiling and Wall; Not Feeling Well

Rain - Los Angeles Larger Image

Derek and Drew Riker Larger Image

A shot of what must be a rarity for the Los Angeles area - a literal downpour. I love the nimbus of the car headlights; the silhouettes of the umbrellas; the iridescent sidewalks; the verdant green palm in the background; and in the distance, the ubiquitous hills of LA.

My true preference is for shots of rain in the act of raining. But this is harder said than done. Rain is difficult to photograph except under certain conditions. That's why movie rain is not true rain but water mixed with an emulsifier to make it show up better. Actually, even if you're watching rain, you most likely view it against a background, or drops on a window, or splashes in a puddle.

The LA rain image is from Blown Away in LA which is part of: LAist.

Which is part of: Gothamist LLC.

Silhouettes is a word I can never remember how to spell, so I had to look it up at: silhouette - definition of silhouette by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. At the bottom, I noticed the phrase: [French, after Étienne de Silhouette (1709-1767), French finance minister.] Certainly something I was unfamiliar with. And how did his name become to mean what it does. Wikipedia states that "The word is an eponym named after Etienne de Silhouette, a finance minister of Louis XV who in 1759 imposed such harsh economic demands upon the French people that his name became synonymous with anything done or made cheaply." I guess I see the connection, but it seems a jump. Since cutouts of people or events were very rough, they were considered cheaply-made, hence called silhouettes. Still something of a jump, I would say.

Derek and Drew are identical twins are models who were participants in The Amazing Race 3 - Derek / Drew. When this photo surfaced, it set off a blaze of blabber on the discussion boards. But other than that, they were very low-key. They don't appear to have an official web site, and there are not a references to them on the web. In fact, at one time, I had the largest selection of photos, no more more than a dozen, posted on the web. As with many contestant, I'm curious to know where they are now. (There's another photo, I'll post next time.)

That certainly sounds like a romantic topic. I've had several related problems with a leaking toilet. Over, the weekend I scrapped back some of the linoleum, backing and floor covering in attempt to determine what damage had been done. I was fearful of removing to many strips of wood because I might overly weaken the floor. The under flooring is pre-plywood that looks like it was composed of contrasting vertical and horizontal wood strips. You pull one up, and there another one underneath positioned to the perpendicular. Not suprisingly, part of the floor is rotten and needs replacing. But it's not anything I can deal with in the near future.

Of course, the toilet leakage can not properly be fixed until the floor is fixed. At present, it is semi-stable, but it is in need of attention.

I had such trouble with the spackling showing on the living room wall, that I finally cleared about a three-foot strip, removed all the old paint and spackling, added new spackling, sanded it flat, and am in the process of applying several coats of primer.

I'm stilll not happy with the appearance of the repair of the crack in the ceiling. Before I attempted this, I read Tom Silva's comments at "This Old House," He said to strip a three-inch border down to the sheetroock on either side of the crack, fill the crack, then re-add plaster. BUT the outline is very obvious. I'm going to try again with a sponge and ceiling textured covering. Maybe if I apply it in a very random pattern that will work.

In dealing with the bathroom floor and the sanding, I've really stirred up a combination of dust particles that have made me feel lousy. But it also triggered a panic attack mixed with some severe obsessive-compulsive behaviour. Like getting up in the middle of the night to check on the floor or the wall. I've got my antibiotics, nasal spray, antihistamines, antidepressants. and anti anxiety pills, so this evening has not been as bad. But I do not care for this sensation in the least. If a panic attack grabs hold, it usually takes about 72 hours for semi-normalcy to return.

(In Saturday - 2008-0306-2200 / Out - 2008-0307-0100) This entry was written in a single setting.

Pax! Erin go braugh! Je accuse...