Maybe it's a sign?

"The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think."
~ Horace Walpole

International Peace Garden, North Dakota (July 2011)

The mosquitoes are so BIG in North Dakota the Department of Fish & Game could issue hunting licenses.

A rural life is better: 
Living in a concrete jungle is stressful and makes you vulnerable to depression?
The Daily Mail
By David Derbyshire
June 23, 2011


"Scientists have confirmed what every urbanite has long suspected – life in the city is more stressful."
READ MORE...

Photo by Peter Rimar of Grain Elevator in Hunter, North Dakota (August 2010).

Real men wear PINK!

Could the NCAA please STOP pretending that college BASKETBALL & FOOTBALL are altruistic amateur sports which promote team spirit & academic excellence?

“Football players, like prostitutes, are in the business of ruining their bodies for the pleasure of strangers”
~ Merle Kessler


NCAA Montana Grizzlies Team Backpack

Photograph of the 1903 Mayville High School Football Team taken at the Goose River Heritage Center Museum, Mayville, North Dakota. Click on image to open in a new window.

Going, Going, Gone...

[ih-lip-sis]

"I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's." ~ Henry Moore

3.5% Unemployment in North Dakota?

Over the last year, one of the few bright spots in the U.S. economy has been the ongoing Oil Rush in North Dakota. Before you load up the family van and head north, please be aware, the winters in this state are extremely ka-ka-ka-COLD. Also, there's a housing shortage in the western half of the state. It's a good idea to pack baby wipes, a sleeping bag and a tent for the trip:
Read More...
Read More...



Short video from the Aneta Turkey Barbeque Parade, North Dakota. 
Recorded by Peter Rimar (June 2010).
Silent Towns on the Prairie : 
North Dakota's Disappearing Towns and Farms (Paperback)

Speaking of new jobs in North Dakota...
Strippers earning up to $2,000 a night
in North Dakota town thriving amid 
oil boom
by Larry McShane (NY Daily News)

"A pair of strip clubs in Williston, N.D., are drawing exotic dancers who can earn up to $2,000 a night thanks to the influx of well-paid oil workers in the remote region, CNN Money reported."
Read More...

Possible definition of the word COLD [kohld]?

Wintry weather view from Peter's living room window in Mayville, North Dakota (January 2010).

Celebrating "It Only Happens Every 100 Years" Palindrome Day!

11-11-11

Venezia Shop Window, Venice, Italy (Spring 2002).

What will future historians write about this day?
Will the flooding in Bangkok and the recent earthquakes in Turkey be remembered? Will Google and Facebook still be around? Indeed, what will the world look like in another 100 years?

...Americana...

Video recorded by Peter Rimar of Demolition Derby, Hatton, North Dakota (July 4th, 2010).

The Former King of K Street Speaks Out?

"Our system is flawed and needs to be fixed."
~ Jack Abramoff
60 Minutes
November 6, 2011




According to the Center for Responsive Politics (based on data collected from the Senate Office of Public Records), in 2010, 12,951 lobbyists worked the corridors of power in Washington D.C. on behalf of a long list of corporate clients. Read More...

If you think corporate influence on the democratic process is limited to just the White House and Capital Hill, think again.

The residents of quiet North Dakota, a state rarely mentioned in the national media, got an education on the real workings of crony capitalism. Earlier this year, the former Republican Governor personally lobbied the state's representatives in Bismarck to lower the tax rates for oil companies. As a thank you, one extremely grateful oil company gift wrapped a new job title and 11,945 shares of its own stock (worth over $770,000) to Ed Schafer. Read More...

No Higher Honor:
A Memoir of My Years in Washington ~ Condoleezza Rice (Hardcover)

"In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." ~ Bertrand Russell

#Occupy Grand Forks

Pillsbury Park

October 15th, 2011

Wall Street Journal
Income Slides to 1996 Levels?
"The income of a household considered to be at the statistical middle fell 2.3% to an inflation-adjusted $49,445 in 2010, which is 7.1% below its 1999 peak, the Census Bureau said."
Read More...

WDAY News
Grand Forks Residents Create Movement
for "Occupy Wall Street"
Read More...

#Occupy North Dakota

First Amendment to the United States Constitution



"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

“The Tea Party is very different. The Tea Party were individuals that were attempting to redress their grievances from the government that they elected. It’s not pitting one part of our country against another.”
~ House Majority Leader Eric Cantor

REALLY?

Bob, the man in the following video, attended a Tea Party Rally in Columbus, Ohio in 2010. He is 60 years old and was first diagnosed with Parkinsons 15 years ago. He has two masters degrees and a Ph.D. from Cornell. He taught at the University of Michigan and worked as a nuclear engineer:



“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.” ~ Sinclair Lewis



Note to Reader: Judging this blogger's political views based on this specific POST is like reading a single page in the middle of a book. For the record, I'm an Independent. I believe the two-party system no longer serves the interests of a vast majority of Americans. Indeed, in my view, a candidate's political affiliation and party should be left off an election ballot.

How do you say Honorificabilitudinitatibus?

[on-a-rif-ick-a-bill-ee-too-dee-tart-ee-bis]

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches...
You might live
in North Dakota.


If someone in a store offers you assistance and they don't work there...
You might live in North Dakota.

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time...
You must live in North Dakota.

If parking your car for the night involves an extension cord...
You might live in North Dakota...

North Dakota Fighting Sioux Hard Hat

"Anybody who believes that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach flunked geography." ~ Robert Byrne
Newman's Own Organics California Prunes

...Americana...

Shriner in Mini-Ford, Aneta, North Dakota (June 2010).

The Voices of North Dakota

Joel Heitkamp, KFGO (August 2010)

Merrill Piepkorn, Prairie Public Radio (August 2010)

Photos by Peter Rimar.

Maybe it's a sign?

Sign w/ Shadow on Brick Wall

(NOT Amsterdam)

June 2011

Grand Forks, North Dakota

Lonely Planet Amsterdam (City Travel Guide)