State of the State of the Union

I don't have a lot to say about the State of the Union address; it was, once again, Bush standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier under a "Mission Accomplished!" banner, and we shall see how that goes this time. I wasn't the only person to notice the metaphoric aspect of the grieving mother's dog tags getting entangled with the Iraqi woman's clothing, which added a nasty little coda to their extremely unplanned, yet strangely photogenic, embrace. If you missed it, I expect to see it on The Daily Show tonight.

I did think it was a little odd when Bush presented $200 billion as an enormous number for a Social Security shortfall forty years down the road. "Shouldn't be a problem," I thought. "We just won't invade Iraq that year." Strange that it's a big number when it needs to be and a trifle othertimes.

Frosted

While out walking a few days ago, I saw something on the plants I'd never seen before: fragile, dendritic, almost fluffy ice structures on the edges and tips of the leaves. They looked remarkably like certain crystals grown in solution; I'm not at all sure what combination of temperature and moisture and pressure made them form in air. I took some pictures, which I offer below for admir- or explan-ation.

( Click for the pretty. )