Congratulations you fucking morons

Chairman Mao’s historic swim – glorified in China but ridiculed by the rest of the world Fifty years ago, Mao Zedong’s ‘world-record-breaking’ swim in the Yangtze River signalled the return of the Great Helmsman. Other state leaders have since tried to use the sport as a demonstration of ...

I always get strong "Mao swims the Yangtze" (1966) vibes when I hear these self-reported health results; wholly unconvincing to critics and accepted as truth to followers.
www.scmp.com/magazines/po...

My 5-year-old heart still hasn’t recovered from watching Augustus Gloop go up the tube after the extended psychedelic tube ride.

My apartment kitchen which I do woefully little cooking in, showing the dark laundry closet alcove where the possums are coming in from and a rice cooker and toaster oven on the counter. This is the clearest spot I have so I took a picture of a customized coatrack, which started out white and I added red stripes, making it look a little like Sutro Tower.

Rivertown // Antioch, Calif.

In these trying times, may I offer you a personal Sutro?

(IKEA Ekrar, customized with paint)

Adding my vote, tainted though it may be by repeatedly listening to the Broadway version featuring Ciara Renée.

Clifford Wight painted several murals in Coit Tower; this one, measuring approximately 4 feet by 10, shows a full-length portrait of a steelworker, who is wearing heavy gloves, bib overalls, and a light tan sweater over a collared shirt. On a leather belt slung at a jaunty angle across his waist, there are two large open-ended wrenches. His right hand is grasping a hose or cable, while the left is holding a rivet gun. Under a steel hard hat, the expression is somewhat grim, with deep lines etched connecting nose to chin.

"Steelworker" (Clifford Wight, 1934) // Coit Tower // Telegraph Hill // San Francisco, Calif.

This is the first union job I've had so I needed to share this mural today; it was linked to its neighbor with a banner that read "Workers of the World Unite" until it was painted over by censorious jerks

The most dramatic thing that's happened to me on public transit (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, many US cities) is turning a sigh of relief into an oof; I thought I was the last one aboard a train, then got pushed deeper, after a Hanshin Tigers game. (The game was great, BTW).

I think of this in relation to my hair trigger temper, which I want to control instead of the other way around, and in the context of forgiving through understanding and sympathizing.

Panel from chapter 631 of One Piece, which relates a haiku attributed to the villain Vander Decken superimposed over a close up of his face: "You are not my type" // Hurts when I hear that from her // This feeling of love ... I think (extra syllables) — Vander Decken IX

Bonus: Vander Decken is salty about his rejection and gives possibly the worst haiku ever written:
www.tumblr.com/kaizokuou-ni...

I'm reminded of this today because the latest chapter (47) of Ichi the Witch is out and giving the same emotional damage catchphrase as from One Piece;

The first and last three chapters are free to read:
www.viz.com/shonenjump/c...

If you're intimidated by the length I'd suggest trying it at least through the Arlong Park arc (episode 44 / chapter 95 / basically the first season of the live action show) and if it doesn't hit for you, the rest of it is more of the same, only more and bigger.

tl;dr: I finished the 300-some off episodes in a month and then decided I was going to subscribe to Shonen Jump which has proven to be the most entertaining $3.99 I spend each month.

A few months after the divorce I struggled with what to do during the echoingly quiet evenings and knowing that I'd have Netflix for a while, decided that watching One Piece would mean that at least I'd have a reliable default choice for a while.

This is a mural showing the water and sky along with the words "antioch, ca. 94509", painted in an old concrete wall. Who maintains it? I've seen it get graffitied but restored within a day.

There was something comforting in this low garage/shop building along 10th. Perhaps it's because I almost got run over here last week and this was the first thing I saw after jumping clear.

Rivertown // Antioch, Calif.

Like I said, we are Rivertown and so are you, at least in spirit.

A couple was passing through this picture of the marina at sunset. The masts and low water are prominently silhouetted against the fading light.

Antioch Marina // Antioch, Calif.

You and I must make a plan to listen to the chime of rope on masts as the sunset glow fades.

On the wetlands property they have a working windmill which pumps water into a leaky tank; this sunset scene was taken with a gravel road leading up to that small area.

The same windmill, rendered in muted colors and silhouette.

Corteva Wetlands // Antioch, Calif.

I went back to the wetlands to watch the sunset and muse on the working windmill harnessing our relentless Delta breeze.

A woman wearing a bikini and heels is dancing in front of a red classic low rider car in a cul de sac in downtown Antioch, while being filmed by a video camera and people passing by. The picture is focused on the security bars of this apartment window, blurring everyone's features. The music was loud, strong, and bass-heavy and I mostly just wanted to lie down after walking too many miles, but I also was glad to see folks enjoying the sun and heat by the river.

Waldie Plaza // Antioch, Calif.

When I got back there were a trio of lowriders in a little cul-de-sac, parked as a backdrop for a stupendous, bumping music video .

MV Santa Centellar sails against the current, east along the San Joaquin River towards Stockton. Photo taken from a wetlands trail with a grassy prairie in the foreground.

Corteva Wetlands // Antioch-Pittsburg, Calif.

I found the entrance to the Corteva (formerly Dow) Wetlands near the Marina and watched a ship sailing on a prairie.

The illuminated Rivertown sign straddles Second, just west of E in downtown Antioch. The sunset colors here are gorgeous and I've pumped them a bit but only to enjoy the same emotions I've been feeling.

Downtown // Antioch, Calif.

We are out here in RIVERTOWN doing RIVERTOWN things.

A fisherman stands on the southern edge of the marina at Coyote Point Marina, looking towards the mid-rise offices in Foster City and the low hill of Seal Point in the distance. The ground is covered with sage and other scrub plants; the white patches are crushed shells.

Coyote Point Park // San Mateo, Calif.

Immaculate vibes, cool grey water and sky.

(1852) Frederick Douglass, "What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July" Explore the speech "What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July" delivered by Frederick Douglass in 1852, including full text and historical context.

Every 4th of July, I take the time to read "What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July." Let us begin:

"I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us."

The alleys are the living breathing heart of Chinatown and the best replica of that experience you might have missed on accident.

Chinatown // San Francisco

Could you touch both walls?

The old street shopping districts in Taiwan are delightful assaults on the senses: a panoply of sights accompanied by cheap snacks and chilly air con having you oscillating between steamed and chilled, a chance to practice deciding between different choices nearly identical but why not both, you finally shrug.

Old Street // Tamsui

In the rush, as we hurry worry scurry

Cable Car 57 rushes up California Street next to the Sing Fat pagoda roofs, now overwhelmed by neighboring skyscrapers from the Financial District.

Chinatown // San Francisco

There is comfort in the familiar and nostalgic, though.

A temple rises from the roadside jungle. It's not terribly jungly (or massively temple-y) here, but it does make a nice splash of color against all that green.

This building is new since I visited last year, rearing up into haughty repose, shrouded in scaffolding and blue poly tarps.

Waves echo in frozen ceramic tiles, washing up forever on the deserted shoreline.

A paifang (gate) welcoming you to Sanzhi, traditional signs supplemented by digital scrolling information as we always see in Taiwan: the combination of stubborn retention out of thrift or tradition, augmented with the convenient and modern. In the distance, corrugated (rusty) siding is a popular choice for the buildings, built in uncertain conditions but resilient nonetheless.

Sanzhi // New Taipei City // Taiwan

The unexpected rhythms of life in Taiwan: numbing humidity and heat that you eventually endure, sparkling opportunities to learn.

This is an abandoned building – full-on, trash piled up throughout the bottom floor, some windows intact – just off the main highway. Somewhere, this made economic sense.

This is a gas station, perhaps? Or maybe a service station? The long carport gives some indication, while the building looks like perhaps you could put a small store and maybe a residence on top. There were so many angles.

Stairs to the landmark pedestrian bridge in Sanzhi. I'm pretty sure that no one actually uses the bridge; you end up climbing an astonishing number of steps to cross at a dizzying height. Instead, most do as I do and wait for a break in the traffic, then dash over.

This is the pedestrian bridge; it's lovely and colorful and serves as a great reminder to call for a stop in the bus.

Sanzhi // New Taipei City // Taiwan

I spend so much time looking for foreign buildings I forget how much we have in common.

Your classic view north on Grant; red paper lanterns strung across the street, a dragon Street lamp on the right, and in the distance, the pagoda roofs of the Sing Fat and Sing Chow buildings, sun high enough to cast deep shadows in the canyon gap with bikes and cars rushing by

Chinatown // San Francisco

In contrast, it's brisk in Chinatown this morning, crisp blue skies and sunshine promising a cool night ahead to watch the sky writ bright.

Pickles Hotdog beach side stand, shuttered. As the name implies you may exhange money (undoubtedly a modest amount, as is the usual for Taiwan) for a hot dog and probably pickles. This combination is punctuated by a sign depicting a pair of potato-looking smiling foods giving each other a hug.

The blue metal letters spell out "Zhilan" on the water's edge, looking north across the strait towards mainland China.

This is a mural on the wall of a coffee shop in Sanzhi village, showing anthropomorphized female and male owls in oddly provocative poses. I may be in love.

Sanzhi // New Taipei City // Taiwan

Part of being in Taiwan is trying to get a walk in before it was too hot but even at 6 am, it is certainly a feast for the senses and pores, open with no cooling breeze of relief.

A Siamese cat with blue eyes and a gray tabby are sitting in a wooden cart alongside some houseplants next to a flower shop opening for business in Chinatown.

Chinatown // San Francisco

This delightful pair arrested me in Spofford Alley, waiting patiently to be wheeled back into their shop.

A small brown tabby car lying on a tile floor covered by a checkered fabric mat. The car is looking towards the bottom of frame, sprawled out in a comfortable heap.

Two cats lying on a table and chair; the table cat is an orange tabby eyeing me nervously, while the chair cat is a brown tabby with its back to me.

Two cats lying on a tile porch; the same brown tabby is on the top level next to a stainless steel handrail, while a tortoise-shell is grooming its tail a couple of steps below.

A great that looks at me alertly, frames by the brick walls of a grassy alley stretching into the distance, marked by an orange traffic cone.

Sanzhi // New Taipei City // Taiwan

I could spend a whole day talking to you about the stay cats of Taiwan who seemingly adopted me during this last trip.