Century's Ebb

I've been meaning to blog about this for a while...the way culture, whether pop culture or political paradigms, change when they feel like it and not according to calendar.

Some examples, and then I'll get to the punchline.

Consider the Victorian Age in England. It ended when Queen Victoria died, not when 1899 changed to 1900. In a way, the 19th century didn't ultimately end culturally and politically and socially for the Western world until World War I's end. The 19th was a long century.

Now a more trite example, 80s pop culture in America. In CD stores and on film, did the 80s really end at the New Year's celebration welcoming 1990? I would argue no--not at all. It ended when grunge outsold every hair metal CD on the market, and that didn't happen till 1993 or 1994, after Nirvana and company hit it big. Early 90s movies, whether Pretty Woman, The Distinguished Gentleman, or sequels like Beverly Hills Cop 3 and Back to the Future Part III, had their feet firmly planted in previous decade's humor. Maybe it was post Cold War euphoria, the inauguration of a young "hip" president like Bill Clinton, or just love of Eddie Murphy's laugh, but people just couldn't get enough of 80s cheesiness in ten years. So they demanded more.

Which brings us to politics. Now, in rhetorical terms, you might say that the 21st century began with Bill Clinton, since he "build a bridge to the 21st century." But how did it play out in Florida? I'd argue that Lawton Chiles did the same on a local level, in terms of agency reform and reorganization, introduction of high-tech refinements to government, and coming to terms with Florida's "megastate" status. But it's up for debate nationally and Florida-wise, did the Bushes kick of the new century politically or did Chiles and Clinton? Did the 21st century begin politically and culturally with 9/11. I think a lot historians will say yes.

Electoral "C"

An excellent analysis of Ohio's elections the geography of Democratic and Republican victories.

The gist of Florida's victories is easier to visualize I think than in Ohio.

Tawes Crab Feast

Again, outside of the Florida political realm, but the stuff of lore--the Tawes Crab Feast on Maryland's Eastern Shore is this Wednesday and I'm sure it will be a repeat of previous festivities. Hot, very hot and hazy. Without a big-ticket political race in Maryland, the First District congressional race will command center stage. And Obama vs McCain will be huge.

Expect to see at least a hundred political signs spread throughout the field, if you can make them out in the Old Bay spiced afternoon haze.

I don't know that Florida has a similar political rite in its history, one that pulls from nearly every region of the state and is a must for every statewide politico.

The Butterfly Effect

More beachside fun.

Between Storms

In the summertime in rural Virginia, you pack in as much activity before the afternoon thunderheads come crashing down. When the August doldrums send everyone out of the Washington political centers, the Lower Potomac is still in season for fishing, rowing, sailing, and kayaking.



Get lost in the marsh and forget Washington for a while.




An ecosystem in action; blackish brown marsh water flowing into the lighter Potomac river surf.

Virginia and Florida

Comparing the states has more importance than you'd think in figuring out how a Sunshine State U.S. senator divides work and play--especially a hunter and fisherman.

In our nation's capital, at work, you've got easy access to bird fields in Shenandoah, Croaker and Spot in the Potomac, and some of the best sweet corn in the world.

I've shown lots of woodsy pictures of north Florida on this blog; I think it's time for more hot shots of rural Virginia.

Personally, I'm partial to the Old Dominion. A bad day in the Northern Neck beats a good one in Washington, DC.


I love how this tree branch looks like a crooked demon hand from Halloween.



In the city, especially in a pressure cooker like Washington, you measure time by how long it takes to get to places by taxi or metro, whether a light is red or green, when a particular vote will be taken on the floor of the Senate, and every day is sliced into at least ten pieces by a scheduler. In the countryside, time is more of an amorphous sea like this wheat field. You wait around long enough and the green shade will turn to a parched brown. There is the green season, the brown, and the harvest. Life on the farm.

"With The People" Days

Some nice down-home, home-grown rural politickin' in the Old Dominion State. Former Governor Mark Warner works the crowd and signs autographs. Once you're governor, the title never leaves you.

Warner left office in 2005 with something like a 70% approval rating. I don't think it's decline since. Nobody would every call him a backslapper or a good ole boy, but he can communicate in Richmond as well Appomattox , as you can see here. Warner can talk cell phones and software manufacturing the way Lawton Chiles talked turkeys and raccoons.

It's doubtful Mark Warner could ever play a tune on a fiddle, but folks in Southwest Virginia seem to love to watch him try.

This clip is just a wonderful look at vote-getting handshake to handshake.