Like, wow!

Well, this isn't too big a surprise is it? No, when everyone else was smoking dope I had not yet tried it. But later.... When everyone was talking about "free love" I was a virgin. But later.... When folks were dropping acid I wasn't tempted. And never have been.

Yes, I was behind the curve and generally deemed a total square by all, but I did graduate in 1968 (and the movie The Graduate captured a lot). I protested the Vietnam War, had a bumper sticker (on the 1951 Dodge that my grandmother had once driven) reading "America: change it or lose it." I questioned the corporatism and consumerism that seemed to be eating away at the soul of the nation (and still are). I deplored the staid, unimaginative world of my parents' generation. I had an upside down flag in my dorm room proclaiming our nation in distress. (Some things either never change or, lamentably, recur). To my mother's horror I put embroidered patches on my jeans. And I questioned.

You are a Hippie

You are a total hippie. While you may not wear birks or smell of incense, you have the soul of a hippie. You don't trust authority, and you do as you please. You're willing to take a stand, even when what you believe isn't popular. You like to experiment with ideas, lifestyles, and different subcultures. You always gravitate toward what's radical and subversive. Normal, mainstream culture doesn't really resonate with you.

Are You a Hippie?

Don't stop questioning. Ever!
--the BB

I believe I promised more silliness

Your Hidden Talent

You have the natural talent of rocking the boat, thwarting the system. And while this may not seem big, it can be. It's people like you who serve as the catalysts to major cultural changes. You're just a bit behind the scenes, so no one really notices.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

I am not going to say it's all Eileen's fault. I chose to take this silly test. I then, in an act of perverse willfulness, posted the results.

Yep, a real boat-rocker.
Me, in a rocking chair, not a boat, planning to thwart something or other.

I love this old photo. I was one of those "good little boys" who did what he was told, tried to keep all the rules, basically a little Pharisee like my namesake. There are very few times I got into trouble (the expression in that photo notwithstanding) because I was so conscious of all the rules, written and unwritten. If I thought the answer was probably "No," I just didn't ask. (By which I don't mean I did it anyway; au contraire, I let it drop and never even went there.)

What this photo preserves is that spark in me that would not be extinguished, would not conform, would not do only what other folks wanted or what would please other folks. It is the spark of me that would survive to be myself.

Over the years that spark nearly went out.

Thanks be to God it has survived and I can be me.

Just know that I only like boat rocking in a figurative sense. Literal boat rocking makes me anxious and angry. Taurus is a fixed-earth sign, not into water, thanks. And yes, I possess Taurean stubbornness.
--the BB

Superpowers?

Your Superpower Should Be Manipulating Electricity

You're highly reactive, energetic, and super charged. If the occasion calls for it, you can go from 0 to 60 in a split second. But you don't harness your energy unless you truly need to. And because of this, people are often surprised by what you are capable of. Why you would be a good superhero: You have the stamina to fight enemies for days Your biggest problem as a superhero: As with your normal life, people would continue to underestimate you

What Should Your Superpower Be?

Hmm. I may have answered the questions wrong or I am just very tired tonight. I will go with this.

Came a little while ago from an early family Christmas dinner while baby sister is in town (actually all my ex's family). So perhaps what we are dealing with is supper power.
--the BB

Friday Prince Blogging

The Royal Laotian Flag

The glamor!

The blue jeans!

Crown Prince Soulivong Savang of Laos

There are tidbits one wants to know: " Prince Soulivong Savang is a good dancer, singer and musician." (Source) He lives in exile in Paris. He was born on my 17th birthday, so we share the feast of Dame Julian of Norwich.

The constitutional monarchy of Laos was done away with in 1975 when the Communist Pathet Lao took over.

An article in the New York Times from August 13, 2000, says:

Nearly 20 years ago, an 18-year-old prince, heir to a doomed Asian royal line, commandeered a small boat and sailed unnoticed with his brother and their nanny across the Mekong River from Laos to Thailand. Laos had become a Communist nation, in the orbit of neighboring Vietnam, and the prince, Soulivong Savang, feared being co-opted or killed.

Two decades later, the prince -- grandson of the last king of Laos, who died mysteriously in Communist captivity with the prince's father and other relatives -- is beginning to reassert his claim of leadership.

I am relieved to learn...

... that this blog is more than just a pretty face. The stats show folks come for more than Friday prince blogging. Last week's speculation is hereby withdrawn.

In fact, I confess it was more than speculation, it had an accusatory edge ("admit it"). So, in penance, I offer this Titian beauty--just in case someone as shallow as I comes by.

Flora
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
c.1515-1520. Oil on canvas. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

I am off to help clean up a new site for the Mission of San Gabriel. Have a fabulous Saturday, y'all.
--the BB