The Trouble With Reality.

As the world spins, careening, bouncing, tumbling, and bumping along, it becomes increasingly difficult to see the difference between illusion and reality. When you read that Jamie Foxx, a wealthy, successful actor pulled a person from a burning vehicle you wonder if that was the news, or a preview of a new movie. Did that really happen?

When you read that Sarah Palin is endorsing Donald Trump in the Republican Presidential Primary, you have to ask; is this a publicity stunt? Are they planning a new "reality television" program The Amazing American Apprentice? Or is that really on the news? Or is this a serious endorsement of a potential president.

Is the endorsement the real prize, or just a television bonus? Ms. Palin was the Governor of Alaska for over three years, (until she resigned) if you don't count the time she spent in an unsuccessful campaign to become Vice President. And the time she spent writing her best selling book, "Going Rogue." With that resume her endorsement could be the prize behind Door #3, and the contestant would have to decide to take the cash or gamble on the potential riches. 

When the anchor person reports that El Chapo, the notorious Mexican Drug Lord was apprehended after an interview with Sean Penn you can't help but wonder if this is the news, or a trailer for a Fast Times at Ridgemont High sequel. "You will get to see Jeff Spicoli bring down the entire Mexican Marijuana Cartel." "I don't know, dude, I was just looking to score a doob." Even a remake of The Falcon and the Snowman makes more sense than reality.

Life is getting a little skewed. We here, at Life Explained Central Ohio, are afraid this may be the worst case (so far) of Life Imitating Art*. It is, we fear, only going to get worse. And you will need us now, and in the future, more than ever. But, we can't do it alone, we need you, donate generously to the Life Explained Frozen Burrito and Bottled Water Fund.** Together we can discover the truth, if it exists.

**Thank you, Oscar Wilde

**We refuse to drink tap water! what are we, savages?

***Thank you, Poe.

A short lived career.

Last weekend my son asked a question about the government, and a perfect opportunity for education was born.  He needs to understand the obtrusive, controlling interference that has been the overriding purpose of governments throughout history.  Sure, they provide roads, waste removal, national security, and parks and recreational opportunities, plus education, and assistance in many facets of research and development, but that is just a front, a method to cover the real purpose. The manipulation and control of the lives of it's citizenry. Who better to explain this than John Kay of Steppenwolf, (he is from Canada, the largest, and most successful, state, I think it is somewhere around Montana)?.  And what better vehicle than the lyrics from "The Ostrich"?

"You're free to speak your mind, my friend,
As long as you agree with me,
Don't criticize the Fatherland,
Or those who shape your destiny,
'Cause if you do, you'll lose your mind, your job and all the friends you knew,
We'll send out all our boys in blue,
And they'll find a way to silence you."

Oh, the nostalgia, the memories, troubadours of defiance, artists against the "establishment."  Leaping quickly to action, I had a cup of coffee and thought about some cool songs. By Wednesday evening, I had assembled a play list of anger, and disillusionment selectively going between Amazon and iTunes to fill in the gaps in my collection, judiciously using whichever was less expensive. Thursday morning it was ready, the turning of the page, the dawning of a new age.

Here is the list (you know, sometimes lists are useful and can be very cool);

All loaded and ready to roll, it was a great drive to work.  I got out in the parking lot, and thought, "I'm through toilin' for the MAN.  It is time to take a stand against tyranny, injustice, it is time to stand up and be the voice of those that can not be heard."  Fuming, angry, intolerant, life was going to start playing by my rules, answering to me.

Then, daylight came and slapped me in the face, "you have a mortgage, a car payment, an HMO and a retirement plan, plus your son is headed for college. And, don't forget, the Klondike Bars in the freezer at home."  Revolution will have to wait,"  Reality said.  Curse you reality, curse your love affair with cold, hard, remorseless facts, and curse your flawless refrigerator inventory technique.

Oh well, change is difficult, and I probably don't have the stomach for insurgency, anyway.  Remember, though, good music should speak to you in powerful, wonderful ways, art should always make you dream.  Everybody should be allowed to feel like a revolutionary once in a while, but, the dishwasher still needs emptied and somebody has to make the first pot of coffee, so off I go, smiling, happy about the beautiful weather, and delighted there is only one more day until the weekend.

Tomorrow on the way to work, "Ghost Riders in the Sky" by Johnny Cash, "Cheyenne" by the Del Lords  and "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" by Willie Nelson,  I hope I can find some boots, a hat and a lariat, because I will be ready to ride the range.

Now you know.

This just in, Last Friday, during an early spring snowstorm, Eden resident Peggy Gervase was looking at the pond near her home when she noticed an unusual pattern in the snow covering the water's surface: large circles that resembled giant polka dots.

"I've never seen this before in our pond," Gervase told local TV station WGRZ. "It's eerie in a way, but cool in a way."

After Gervase posted a photograph of the pond circles to the station's Facebook page, respondents offered a number of explanations for the strange circles, including elephant footprints, fish flatulence and aliens.

Though aliens sometimes get the blame for crop circles and other unusual phenomenon, with no real evidence, Gervase isn't buying it, "I'm not that far gone yet," she told WGRZ.

There are more rational explanations: Natural springs often feed ponds with slightly warmer water than the water freezing at the pond's surface during cold weather. As the warmer spring water rises, it would melt the snow and ice on the pond's surface.

Additionally, decaying vegetation on the bottom of the pond could release gases that slowly rise to the surface, creating the polka-dot effect.

Intriguing circular formations are known to occur throughout the natural world during seasonal freeze and thaw cycles.

In areas of permafrost (like the northern Canadian tundra), the expansion of ice beneath the soil surface — a process called frost heaving — creates raised landforms called lithalsas. Lithalsas often form circular or ring-shaped patterns on the surface.

Frost heaving also creates a related landform called a pingo. Over many years, pingos can grow into small, circular hills: The tallest known pingo is the Kadleroshilik Pingo in Alaska, which reaches 178 feet (54 meters) in height.

Naturally formed, perfectly round, frozen pond circles, this seemed a little suspicious. Maybe another cover up, another example of government generated, press fueled, misinformation. But, it turns out to be one more example of "life imitating art." A quick internet search for "bizarre, yet completely normal, and adequately explained natural phenomenon" provided several more examples.

For example, this oddly shaped storm damage caused by hail, wind, and driving rain in a wheat field right outside Garden City, Kansas. 

Or, the unusual erosion pattern that has formed this breathtaking vista in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

There is no cause for alarm, these things are easily explained.  Just relax and enjoy life.