No! This Is Not About The Band
Are they still around? I doubt it, their heyday was back in the Seventies, which is a good 50 years ago. I remember Sir John Peel playing a track - "Throw Down The Sword"? - that I recorded yet wasn't particularly struck on. From their album 'Argus' which is apparently one of their best. Art!
So, no, this Intro is not about the band - whom I see are still around and touring. Rather, it is about TREE LAW! Yes, I thought that would get your attention.
The source was a Youtube short video put out by 'The Law Says What?', less than two minutes long, so I was bothered that it might not be long enough, until I covered a side of A4 with my trademark scrawl. Art!
There they are. No, she's not freakishly short, he's 6' 9". Married Harvard law graduates.
ANYWAY they put up the video short in April 2026. You see, Ash Tree Owning Lambasting Litigant, hereafter ATOLL, had two mature ash trees growing on their property. Said property backed onto a lot being built upon by DOofus Development Org, hereafter DODO. No, the dodo lived on a volcanic island not a coral one, but I like the symbolism. Art!
The lot in question and one of the ash trees. DODO claimed that they needed to trim branches off the trees that protruded onto their lot, notifying ATOLL via a letter left in their mailbox. Art!
Heavily redacted but it retains the date 13th February 2026, and that this was in Campbell County, possibly in the South Bay area of the city of San Jose, California. This location is verrry important later on and we'll come to that later. DODO informed what they were going to do - no consultation with ATOLL at all - and included the line "will also not be responsible for the health, stability, or ongoing condition of the tree following the trimming work."
TLSW? chap interposes at this point in the clip and says this is not how the law works. Simply stating that you're not responsible for the consequences of an action does not protect you in any legal way, unlike the example of bankruptcy. He also makes an horrendous pun about 'going out on a limb here' which his wife theatrically rolls her eyes at. She then clarifies that it's not illegal to cut off tree limbs that cross the property line BUT there is a legal 'Duty To Be Reasonable', which translates into plain English and logic as not trimming the trees so much they suffer or die. Art!
ATOLL was aghast at what DODO had done to her trees, reducing them to dead stumps, evidenced above. Note that DODO's trimming contractor seems to have cut down as much as possible from their side of the fence, possibly hoping to avoid trespassing charges.
Freakishly-tall chap further details Californian tree law, which can charge - altogether now - TREBLE DAMAGES, if a court finds DODO responsible. Conrad did a bit of shovel work and found that large, mature ash trees like this can cost between $3,000 and $15,000 to replace. This is worked out by certified arborists using the Trunk Formula Technique - not a sequence of words you ever expected to hear today - collating the cost of replacement, size, aesthetic value, placement and shade provided. Thus, even at the bottom end, DODO would be looking at $18,000 and for the upper bound <gasp!> $90,000. Plus the value of the timber, which was taken away, although that only comes to about $200. Plus the cost of removing the stumps and potential landscaping mitigation. Say between $20,000 and $100,000. Ouch. Does DODO feel like pulling that wishbone and making this all go away? Art!
TLSW? then mention specific City Ordinances that protect various species of tree over a certain diameter. Conrad checked further and ash trees are a protected species in Campbell county; a permit is needed to carry out any work on an ash tree that is over 12" diameter at a height of 4' 6" above the ground. ATOLL's ashes were 18" so that's a City Ordinance broken right there. Any judge dealing with this case would also see the letter DODO sent and proving intent and premeditation.
ATOLL should also get a certified arborist to check out the tree stumps before removal, because California is experiencing a threat to the ash from Emerald Borer Beetles, and again that judge would be even less happy if both dead trees were free from this infestation. Art!
There are a couple of Comments I want to add.
Native
Californian here, yes tree laws are very serious here. God forbid you even look
at an Oak Tree the wrong way and city officials go ape
Exactly,
as an attorney, if this was my area of law, I’d be giddy to take the case.
Every Commenter expressed that DODO were utterly effed, especially with that incriminating letter. One person suggested informing the City, which might impose a Stop Work order on DODO, which would make them cave immediately.
HOWEVER! I have checked and as of mid-September the case has either been resolved with the imposition of an Non-Disclosure Agreement, or it's yet to come to trial.
Wowsers, 947 words from a 1 minute 50 second short vid. Truly I am creative!
Back To Brucie
Pennington, that is. Another slide from the 'Sci-Fi Art' Youtube channel. Art!
Unusually for Ol' Brucie, this is a pen and ink study, rather than a painting. It looks a bit detailed to be the inspiration for a painting, and I cannot find out any more information about it. The pen and ink drawing I used on yesteryon's blog was dated by Brucie himself as '30-12-1976', so that may date this one in similar fashion.
Oooooh! I'm going to include the next slide. Art!
So it was used as an inspiration. Still no luck in finding out if it was cover art. Soz.
Still over 2 minutes of slides to get through. I like to keep you informed.
Whilst On The Subject Of Books
I am looking over the search results that came from Googling 'Books similar to Greybeard" and came across this one. Art!
Yes, I have read it, although not for decades. There was something about hot-air balloons and bombs to be used against the alien Masters, and the protagonist's brother sacrificing himself. Art!
I couldn't leave you without a Tripod, could I? For your information, the aliens are so alien that they cannot breath good terrestrial air, and have to mooch about in big sealed tripods that keep their own horrid atmosphere within.
More Of Books
Art!
I've never heard of either author or book, and don't consider myself any intellectually poorer for that lack. It's an autobiography about Zweig's life, which I'm sure he found fascinating but rather less so for philistines like Conrad, whose mind is perpetually occupied by the phrase 'Can you eat it?'
Art!
Or Eric Arthur Blair, as we in the know call him. One of his most famous works, and yes, I've read it a couple of times, but again not for decades, as it's incredibly bleak and depressing. SPOILER ALERT Big Brother wins in the end.
Worth reading at least once to see how it has shaped opinions and philosophy since it was published and I believe Peter Cushing delivered a career-best in an early television version.
Probably banned in Mordorvia. Hang on -
Not! But The Authorities don't like it. What a surprise. Putinpot doubtless has a very dog-eared version he makes notes from.
And that's all!
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