Americans Speak

A short film we did for the DNC in NYC a few weeks ago. It was shown on the second night in Charlotte. Watch it here

Sedum

The dog has been digging on the side of the house. So taking a cue from our neighbor's driveway side plantings, we are putting in some Sedum's to deter Seven's excavations. We got one Sedum Matrona with a burgandy stalk and a regular Sedum Neon. They have a long dramatic bloom season. As they turn slowly from white to a deep purple, they have an ethereal quality that's magical. Bees and butterflies love them.

Jennifer

The most energetic speech from last night came from former governor Jennifer Granholm.. Watch her drive the crowd to it's feet here

Luminous

WL treating Seven's heat rash last night and the dog's reluctant permission

Sealing The Deal

Great shot from after last night's impressive speech. Watch the Big Dog bark here

One Last

One last graph for Labor Day

I Will Follow

Happy Labor Day

More here

The primary plight of U.S. workers isn’t their lack of skills. It’s their lack of power. With the collapse of unions, which represented a third of the private-sector workforce in the mid-20th century but just 7 percent today, workers simply have no capacity to bargain for their share of the revenue they produce. Read more here

IN the rancorous debate over how to get the sluggish economy moving, we have forgotten the wisdom of Henry Ford. In 1914, not long after the Ford Motor Company came out with the Model T, Ford made the startling announcement that he would pay his workers the unheard-of wage of $5 a day. Not only was it a matter of social justice, Ford wrote, but paying high wages was also smart business. When wages are low, uncertainty dogs the marketplace and growth is weak. But when pay is high and steady, Ford asserted, business is more secure because workers earn enough to become good customers. They can afford to buy Model Ts. Since the early 1990s, we have been mired three times in “jobless recoveries.” It’s time for America’s business elites to step beyond political rhetoric about protecting wealthy “job creators” and grasp Ford’s insight: Give the middle class a better share of the nation’s economic gains, and the economy will grow faster. Our history shows that. Read more here

Ale To The Chief

After months of clammering, the White House has released it's super secret beer recipes. The recipes utilize the honey on the grounds to make a Honey Porter and Honey Ale. There's also a nice step by step video that explains the origins of the free world's greatest brew.

Firecracker

One of the spanish lavendars along the front walk has withered and died and instead of replacing it in kind, we decided to keep to the xeriscaping plan of the garden. We planted a Firecracker Penstemon. Relatively small, it will grow about 1 foot tall and wide and then have 2 foot long flowering stalks from February to June. We are hoping it looks like the below picture next spring.

Verbena in Bloom

The lemon verbena on the front step is in full bloom with all the heat we've been having lately. It smells amazing. The most fragrant of the verbenas in the garden.

Fried

WL perfected his fried chicken recipe yesterday. After experimenting with panko crumbs and different batters, he's come across fried perfection.

Jane Pinheiro

We took a drive over to the Theodore Payne nursery this morning to get a few plants. Inside the main building, they are having a small showing of the late Jane Pinheiro's artwork. Although she was more known for her water colors, I was taken by the linocuts on display. And the actual wood blocks created and used by Jane. She was an expert on desert flora and annotated her works with what species she was painting. She helped found the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

Ryan's Speech

I've been reading this morning about all the falsehoods and lies embedded in the Paul Ryan speech last night. This video captures a bunch of them and has the fact checkers calling him out. It's so blatant that even Fox News has to pile on...... Watch here

More from Fox News here

Patient Dog

Seven waits under foot for the time to walk to come.....

Mongolian Smiles

Baaska has a thing for smiley faces. I guess the symbol is popular in Mongolia. So we made him a pair of smiley shirts. Here he and Martina are wearing them but not seeming to get the full message of the T Shirt.....

Bandaged in Burbank

I went in for a consultation to a new podiatrist and left 3 hours later with both feet wrapped up and a few days of horizontal exclusivity prescribed. The doctor had a great bedside manner and I think I've finally found someone who can help these tiresome dogs.

Brooklyn Movies

Joined a few pals in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge last week for an alfresco movie. A great view of the sun setting over South Street Seaport and a few hundred like minded people looking to laugh.

Chelsea Philosophy

Seen last week on a corner in Chelsea.....

Olympic Commercials

A few months ago, Ellen directed some interesting commercials for ATT. For the Olympics, the commercials left blank images and times that would have to be edited in when an American actually won an event. So with an American win essential to the commercial making it to air, no one knew how many of these ads would actually be shown. Thankfully, Team America is excelling and most the ads have been airing.

Read more about the process here

The Ryan Lochte ad is here