Last Update on the Disappearing House

This shot was taken from the same spot as the previous ones.




Also, it looks to be a good year for blackberries:


And azaleas (that's Neighbor's house):

My Brain Pattern

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

Just what I imagined it would be. And, the rabbits agree.

(h/t to MathMan)

Blog Note

For some reason ... okay, it's a Trojan I'm having trouble zapping ... Google/Blogger is, at times, under the impression that I am a virus.

I finally managed to get my page to load, so I'm posting this real quick.

So, if I don't get around much today, you'll know why.

Shocking News!!!!

Big Bidness interested only in profit!!!

Okay, not so shocking, after all.

Monsanto, the the agro-bidness that brought farmers crops that produce non-viable seeds (so that the farmer has to buy new seed each year, unlike the time honored practice of using seed from this crop to grow the next) is now - well, actually has been for some time - schlepping Genetically Modified (GM) crops that produce lower yield than nature's own.

But you can spray Round-up on them without killing them. And, hey, if rain washes the herbicide into the streams and rivers of Middle America©, oh the fuck well. I'm sure they're working on GM trout and bass and ... wev. Not to mention that even more acreage of corn will have to be planted to make energy negative ethanol to fill the maws of SUVs across the land. It's not like people can eat corn, after all ... oh, wait.

If you are in a place where you can grow your own (I'm talking veggies here), then two words for you:

Buy heirloom.

Thursday Python Random Monty

As luck would have it, I can see a video today, and so am able to post this week's randomity.

Flying Sheep:

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The Where Are My Cookies Edition

(Just picking, Linda!)

Evening, everybody!

May is here, the trees are in full pollen (/sneezes ... for the thousandth time today/), the windows are staying open all night and ... all that Spring stuff.

I've restocked the beer weir in the creek, have munchies on the table, and all I need is comments from my phriends!

How is your May going?

Teh Fish Pit, Part II

A month and a half ago, I posted this.

Downstairs Neighbor has now begun Phase II:











Just another 2500 gallons of water (or so), and some stonework around the lip and in the bottom, and some waterfall work, and a pump and ... well, there's still a lot to do.

He wants to be done with it by the end of the month. Shouldn't be a problem.

A Post About Work

... and jobs in general.

As long time readers and friends know, I have been working for Gentleman Farmer for the last six years or so, doing whatever needs doing on his farm or at his various properties. I met him in the summer of 2001, when I was renovating the basement of the old Woolworth Building (which he owns), in an attempt to open a theatre and performance space. In fact, the name of the place was going to be "The Performance Space on Haywood Street". As I explained in this post, that didn't work out.

GentFarm walked in one day as I was building a long wall (the whole thing was about 60' long, though split into sections by the support columns that ran down the center of the basement). He introduced himself to me and said he was looking for L, the Artistic Director of the company. She wasn't there, and he and I got to talking and he mentioned how impressed he was by how straight the wall was that I was building. I laughed and said, "Well, walls are supposed to be straight, right?" He agreed, but added that they often, especially when so long, aren't.

Anyway, when it became apparent that the Space was never gonna happen, GentFarm mentioned to me one day that the handyman/helper that he had working for him for the last several years was no longer able to work, and asked me if I would be interested in helping him out with some stuff at his house. Needing money with which to purchase food for myself and teh kittehs, I said sure. The first thing I did for him was replace some bad siding on the back of his house, and then I spent a couple of weeks clearing brush and poison ivy off a bank next to his house, to open up the view to part of the pasture.

That led to a complete renovation of a rental house that he was tired of dealing with and wanted to put on the market, and then we started a six month project to renovate the main floor and basement of the Woolworth Building to turn it into an art gallery - Woolworth Walk. As we neared completion of the renovation, he asked me - knowing of my past experience in retail management - if I would be interested in running the gallery for him, and made me a very good offer for pay. I accepted the job, and ran the place for almost a year, before the boredom set in.

As I mentioned in the afore-referenced post, Theatre is one of only two "careers" I've been involved in that haven't eventually bored the shit out of me. The idea of doing the same thing, day after day, for money is ... soul-killing to me. (NOTE: This has no bearing on my personal choices of doing the same thing, day after day, when I'm not working. Don't ask me why, cause I'm not really sure, but that's totally different. [although I suspect it has something to do with money]).

Anyhoo, I was getting more an more grumpy at work, despite the fact that the job had the best duties-to-pay ratio of any job I've ever had. Basically I had about a half hour of paperwork a day (and most of a day on the first of the month when sales for the individual artists - and gallery commissions - had to be figured) and dealing with the customers. The rest of the time I watched the scene on the street in front of the gallery unfold.

When I informed GentFarm of my desire to leave the job, he said that he was surprised that I lasted that long - that he wouldn't have been able to put up with it, either -
and that he hoped I would still continue working with him on other projects. I was fine with that, because doing carpentry and electrical and plumbing - working in The Trades, as it's known, is the only thing other than Theatre that has never bored me. (Which was why I had such high hopes for the Technical Director position in the failed theatre company I wrote about before). Even though you may go to the same job site everyday, the tasks for each day are always different.

I spent several months doing basically nothing, other than buying some power tools (chiefly a table saw and compound mitre saw) and building some display racks and pedestals for the gallery. This was not a problem, because due to my ... minimalist lifestyle, I had several thousand dollars in the bank when I left the job at the gallery. Finally, though, the "kitty" shrank down to next-to-nothing, and I called GentFarm to see what he had in mind for work. Which was just as he was ready to start a 1500+ sqft Master Bedroom Suite addition on his house. That project took almost a year to complete, and since then we've done several other, smaller, projects.

Sometimes he keeps me busy as can be, and sometimes ... not so much, but I always enjoy working with and for him, and I have been and am very thankful to him for both his friendship and, well, his money. :)

Big Bad Blog-meme

Via konagod.

The rules are that all the answers have to start with the same letter as does your first name.

1. What is your name? Bob
2. A four-letter word: back
3. A vehicle: buggy
4. A city:Bangor, ME
5. A boy's name: Bart
6. A girl's name: Beatrice
7. Alcoholic drink: beer
8. An occupation: bricklayer
9. Something you wear: bonnet (well, I don't wear one, but they are worn)
10. A celebrity: Barry Bostwick
11. A food: beans
12. Something found in a bathroom: bidet
13. Reason for being late: besieged (by work)
14. Something you shout: Bastige!
15. An animal: Baboon
16. A body part: butt

Like it? Have at it!

Don't Expect This to Become a Regular Thing

As you regular readers know, I like to post videos fairly often (some might say too often), such as the weekly Random Python on Thursday (which pidomon does on Tuesdays, and Ouyang Dan does on Mondays).

Well, thing is, for the last few weeks, I've hardly been able to watch any of them. Nine times out of ten, I get the "We're sorry, this video is no longer available" message - even though, through other sources, I know that they work. I've tried the (non)help(ful) at YouTube, to no avail.

So, a Question of the Day:

Do you have / have you had trouble with YouTube videos? And, if so, what did you do to eliminate said problem?

Happy Birthday, Pete!

Thanks to Quaker Dave, I know that today is Pete Seeger's birthday.

I think of this song whenever I drive by the new subdivisions that are being built at breakneck speed all over the place:

Yay!

From the Shortest Hiatus Department:

DCup said yesterday that she was closing up shop.

She has changed her mind.

And there was great rejoicing throughout the land.

Thursday Python & etc....

"Five -"

(three, sir)

"Three Questions!"

Happy 75th Willie!!!

If I still smoked, I'd burn a fatty in your honor!

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The What to Call This Edition Edition

Morning!

Oh, sorry.

Evening!

What's going on, people? Tell me in comments. (open phorum)

This is a Post

And so my Blog365 commitment is fulfilled for today.

That is all.

No, that's not all.

George W. Bush is the biggest sack of lying, hypocritical, festering, craptacular shit in the history of the Universe.

Now I'm done.

And What Were You Doing?

Must see poetry by Suheir Hammad:



(h/t to Manila Ryce)

Post #463

I had no idea about what I would post today - I'm tired of politics, and the kittehs have been boring lately. Luckily, I've been saved by Linda! This is one that went around before, but I have a different book lying next to me now, so....

Teh Rulz:
1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
2. Find page 123.
3. Find the first five sentences.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.


The book: The Venetian's Wife, by Nick Bantock.

The sentences:

Forgive my paternalism, but I do wish to give you a modicum of fatherly advice. The things you've learnt about yourself from the sculptures cannot be translated into words. They are physical memories that manifest themselves in your growing feelings for Marco.

That's not a bad teaser for the book, btw. It's one of the several I've received in the last couple weeks from people who are special to me, and I very much enjoyed it ... both the story and the illustrations.

Also, I can't live by your rules, man. I'm not tagging anybody this time.

I Swear There's A House in the Background

Part III in a continuing series (which may, in fact, be done now)
Part I and II

If you look at Part I, you'll see where the house is ... you know, the one that can barely be seen now.

A Friday Video

For any and all who are going through tough times these days, be it economically, physically, or wev.

Peter Gabriel and Paula Cole, from the "Secret World Live":

Thursday Pythonica

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The To Sleep; Perchance to Dream Edition

Happy Birthday, Master Shakespeare!

Proposéd, for thy consideration, most excellent Phriends:

A converse and a dialog,
Betwixt and 'tween us all
With potent potables, victuals
Our phriendships do enthrall.

What say ye all?

The Bard's Birthday

In honor of the day, a selection from Much Ado About Nothing.

For those of you who may not know the context, Benedick and Beatrice have both been long sworn to the single life. But, thanks to the machinations of their friends, they have come to realize their love for each other - but ... well, I'll let the words speak for themselves:

BENEDICK: Soft and fair, friar. Which is Beatrice? BEATRICE:[Unmasking] I answer to that name. What is your will? BENEDICK: Do not you love me? BEATRICE: Why, no; no more than reason. BENEDICK: Why, then your uncle and the prince and Claudio Have been deceived; they swore you did. BEATRICE: Do not you love me? BENEDICK: Troth, no; no more than reason. BEATRICE: Why, then my cousin Margaret and Ursula Are much deceived; for they did swear you did. BENEDICK: They swore that you were almost sick for me. BEATRICE: They swore that you were well-nigh dead for me. BENEDICK: 'Tis no such matter. Then you do not love me? BEATRICE: No, truly, but in friendly recompense. LEONATO: Come, cousin, I am sure you love the gentleman. CLAUDIO: And I'll be sworn upon't that he loves her; For here's a paper written in his hand, A halting sonnet of his own pure brain, Fashion'd to Beatrice. HERO: And here's another Writ in my cousin's hand, stolen from her pocket, Containing her affection unto Benedick. BENEDICK: A miracle! here's our own hands against our hearts. Come, I will have thee; but, by this light, I take thee for pity. BEATRICE: I would not deny you; but, by this good day, I yield upon great persuasion; and partly to save your life, for I was told you were in a consumption. BENEDICK: Peace! I will stop your mouth. [Kisses her] DON PEDRO: How dost thou, Benedick, the married man? BENEDICK: I'll tell thee what, prince; a college of wit-crackers cannot flout me out of my humour. Dost thou think I care for a satire or an epigram? No: if a man will be beaten with brains, a' shall wear nothing handsome about him. In brief, since I do purpose to marry, I will think nothing to any purpose that the world can say against it; and therefore never flout at me for what I have said against it; for man is a giddy thing, and this is my conclusion.

And a clip from the 1993 Kenneth Branagh version, containing the above lines:

I Am Spicy!!!

Your Score: Juniper Berries

You scored 100% intoxication, 25% hotness, 75% complexity, and 75% craziness!

You are Juniper Berries!

You're a drunk. No, really. Cool it with the hooch.

Just kidding. You're really good at adding flavour to boring old life. You can be astringent at times, but once the harshness passes, you're quite relaxing. And you smell good, too.

Link: The Which Spice Are You Test written by jodiesattva on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(jodiesattva)

(h/t to Samurai Frog)

My Ass Has Been Tagged!

My Siamese Cousin, The Cunning Runt, has tagged me for the following meme...

Here’s The Deal: Link to the person who tagged you (done. ) Post the rules on your blog (done. ) Write six random things about yourself. Tag six random people by linking to their blogs. Let each of the six know they’ve been tagged by leaving them a comment (on their blogs). Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

And off we go....

1) I have sported a beard almost my entire life. Well, since puberty hit, anyway. The only times I haven't had a beard were the times when I worked in the food service industry.

2) My first vehicle was a 1972 Volkswagen Microbus Kampmobile. It was fully decked out, except for the pop-top sleeping loft. I loved the Bus, and drove the hell out of it. The best thing about it was the fact that I kept it stocked with "emergency" camping supplies, which meant I could, at any time, take off and go camping.

3) I love camping. See #2 above, and note that I live in a Winnebago RV now (and for the last 7 1/2 years.

4) In high school, I played every single brass instrument in band. (not all at once, you understand) In marching band, I played the baritone (freshmen year) and flügelhorn (soph, jr, sr years). In concert band I primarily played the euphonuim (baby tuba), but in my senior year I was part of a brass quintet, and played tuba, trombone and euphonium. And in the Spring Concert, I played french horn on one of the selections.

5) For two years I was part owner of, and ran, a head shop in Asheville, NC. I advertised in the local free weekly (Mountain Xpress). I normally would do a Top Ten reasons to shop at my store, and one week I added, at the bottom of the ad, "Ask about our naked shopper discount!" I never expected people would take me up on it. Silly me. Some people are quite exhibitionistic. And, yes, several people, both male and female, took advantage of the discount.

6) I am a big fan of hippie chicks. See #5 above.

CR tagged the people I would have tagged, so I'll just let anyone who reads this and wants to have at it.

I've Been Making Out Like a Bandit

No, not like that, you dirty minded people!

I have had, over the last week or so, four packages arrive in the mail. My neighbor, whose address I use for mail (since I live on his land and all), must wonder what is going on.

The Take (click to embiggen)

In the photo are 2 books, a bag of coffee, and a package (alas, now empty) of chocolates from Jen and 3 books (well, technically 5, as "one" of them is a packaged trilogy) from my sister.

Also, rumor has it that Linda is sending (or has sent or will soon be sending) me some cookies.

It's good to be the Bob!

Poll Results for "Labels" Question

In a conversation with Jen a few days ago, I remarked that I was thinking of eliminating the list of labels (tags, categories, wev you might call them) in my sidebar, in an attempt to have less ... stuff ... flowing down the side of the page.

She said, "But they're useful, don't you think?"

"Meh," I replied.

She was persistent in her opinion, however, so I put it to you, my Dear Readers.

Sigh, I am well and truly put in my place. By an overwhelming margin, you have agreed with her. 10 out of 15 people said, "Yes", 1 said "No", 3 said "What are Labels?" and 1 said "Why would I navigate a site?". Why, indeed?

The list stays. And I thank you for your input.

Special Sunday Python(Monty)

Just because, that's why*.


(* h/t to DCup, again)

In Harmony, Heading Toward a Movement!

First, a "cover" of The Element Song:



Second, the man himself performing The Pollution Song:



Because Jen said so, that's why.
(h/t to DCup)

My Memories Go Farther Back Than I Do

The Jesse Lee Home, in Seward, Alaska.

My dad was the administrator of that orphanage for three years back in the late 1950's, and took that photo from a mountainside nearby. My family lived in Alaska for five years (back before I was born) and dad took thousands of slide photos. When I was little, I used to look at them all the time.

My next older sibling was about the same age in the photos as I was when looking at them, and, being brothers, we looked somewhat alike. For some reason, this convinced me that the li'l boy in the photos was me. Oh, yes, I insisted so. To the great amusement of my family.

Whenever we all get together now, it doesn't take long for one of them to ask me if I remember such-and-such from Alaska.

Pydom Ranthon

The "debate" last night made me think of this:

Politics As Usual?

Let's assume for the moment that Barack Obama is going to be the Democratic nominee for President this year. Okay, not really that much of an assumption, because the math is very much in his favor at this point. Anyway, that means the Republican operatives are busy marking out the word "woman" and all the other misogynistic pejoratives they had in their talking points when they thought that Hillary Clinton would be the nominee, and replacing them with racist and xenophobic ones - because, you know, Obama sounds like Osama ... plus he's black!!1! And their target audience won't really notice the difference. Cause we all know that wimmins, minorities and ferrners is beneath consideration.

The good news is that with things the way they are these days (housing market collapse, deep dissatisfaction with the direction the country is headed, etc., etc., etc.), that Republican target audience is pretty small, and Obama has a chance to become President. Further good news is Obama has invigorated young voters, with his Audacity of Hope and all.

But that scares me.

I suppose it's because I first became aware of politics during the Nixon Administration, but I have a pervading mistrust of politicians. All politicians. And I have a sinking feeling that Obama's words are no more than that - just words to help him get elected - as are the words of Hillary Clinton and, even more so, John McCain.

So what I'm afraid will happen is that all these first-time voters who are energized by Barack Obama will be permanently disillusioned by the entire political process when President Obama turns out (if, indeed, he does) to be no different than anyone who has occupied the White House in the last 30 years. Beholden to the wealthy and the corporations.

Of course, why should this generation be any different than previous ones?

What do you folks think?

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The We Miss Christina Tonight Edition

Alas, phriend of the blog Christina is sans internet at home tonight, and will not be able to join us. We'll just have to muddle through, somehow.

Such a pity, because I had stocked a big bottle of Jameson's. More for the rest of us, I suppose!

Beer and mixers in the creek, munchies on the table, and comments .....

The Greening Continues

Part II

Four days later. Spring comes fast and furious.

Part I here.

Sweet Jeebus!

In addition to the racism exhibited recently around (meaning toward) the Obama campaign and Rep. Geoff Davis' (nice name that) statement, the Heritage Foundation is now whipping the dogs into a frenzy for another Civil War!!

As if the first one wasn't bad enough.

UPDATED TO ADD: I forgot all about the fact that we heah in tha Souwth ah already occupied.

A Question for Email Spammers

Why?

Seriously. I can see - just barely - being duped by Viarga[sic] ads, and things like that, but this?

(click to embiggen)

Am I supposed to think, "Oh, wow! Something in (presumably) Mandarin! It must be important!"

WTP?*

(*as ever, thanks to Mama Shakes, via her daughter Liss)

Science is Seriously Cool, Innit?

Awesome photos of Phobos, the smaller of Mars' two moons.



Phobos is only 13.5 miles in diameter.




Article here (Discovery News).

A Saturday Photo

The trees are starting to green up around the Secret Lair (aka '73 Winnebago). In just a few weeks, that house in the background will disappear until next fall. If I remember, I'll take more photos from this same spot to show the progression.


Oh, there's a chance of snow showers here tomorrow night and Monday morning.

/rolls eyes/

More on Mending Building Fences

It was back to Gentleman Farmer's yesterday for more fencing. And this time, I remembered to take my camera!

A section of the old fence. Seriously, there's fence leading to that barn,
in amongst all those vines and stuff on the right side of the flat area.
(oh, and that white lump on the ground is a sleeping - but very much alive - dog)

Looking back down the hill at the work we have accomplished.

Looks pretty good, doesn't it?

Looking up the hill at the new fence.

Look for future installments of this riveting work!!

Remember the Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur?

Quaker Dave does. Go here, and take part. Now, please.

Thursday! Python! Random!

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The Clarinetist's Dream Edition

Greetings, y'all!

It's another Wednesday, which means Phydeaux's Phriendly Phorum is on the air!

The creek is running cold tonight, so the beverages are extra chilled. I went to the store this morning, so munchies are plentiful. And the discussion is .... waiting for you!

So, have at it!!!!

A Note to All My Phriends

If you're on my blogrolls, I do read you. But I've been using Bloglines lately, which, unless I click through to your site to comment - which, I freely admit, I suck at ... but then "You said it!" or "Yup." don't really add much to the conversation, anyway - your stats don't show a visit from me.

It's nice to have all of you there in one place though.

And, I'll try to be more comment-y.

Also?...

READERS! CHECK OUT ALL THE AWESOMENESS ON MY BLOGROLLS!

But Was it 18' or 18" Tall?

Whilst doing my morning reading, I come across the fact that archaeologists in England are doing a dig inside the confines of Stonehenge - for the first time in almost 50 years. The first thing that made me think of was this:

In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history. There lived a strange race of people...the Druids. No one knows who they were, or what they were doing... but their legacy remains... hewn into the living rock of Stonehenge...

Anyway, after that, I went to the BBC site, to read all about the dig. Complete with video for each day, and an awesome interactive panorama.

Cool stuff. UPDATE: The BBC link is dead, but here's a good replacement.

Observations on a Tuesday

I spent the day today working with Gentleman Farmer. For several years now, he has wanted to redo a fence line that runs by his house, and today was the day to begin tackling it.

The people who lived there before GF and his family had the idea of raising beefalo (a cross between a cow and a buffalo) to sell to restaurants. So, they put up a four stand barb wire fence, with the lowest strand about 5" off the ground (apparently the beefalo were tiny?), and the top strand at about 3'.

The beefalo jumped this fence (they may have been tiny, but they could jump!), so they added chicken wire on the pasture side, to make it 4' tall. Then for some reason they added chicken wire to the outside of the fence as well (makes no sense to have two layers of chicken wire, but there it was.

Apparently none of the chicken wire did any good, because they then strung two lines of electric fence on the inside (which has long been disconnected). So the fence has four layers of wire to it.

[As an aside, GF's neighbor, who was born and raised next door, said that the beefalo continued to 'escape' and would have to be chased down and herded back regularly]

Oh, and then they planted English Ivy along the fence line, which has had at least ten years to grow and intertwine through all that fencing.

Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass it was to tear all that down? If you don't, picture the distance from your shoulder to the tip of your hand. That's easy. Now, picture the distance from the Earth to the Sun. About that hard.

Digging the postholes for the new split rail fence, which is absolutely not fun, was a comparative breeze.

Bob be a sore puppy.

Why Don't We Give Him the Keys to the Country?

Bill Moyers has been awarded the Ridenhour Courage Prize, "in recognition of his fierce embrace of the public interest and his advocacy of media pluralism, and for contributing an unyielding moral voice to our national discourse."

The complete transcript of his acceptance speech is here, and is definitely worth a read, but I'd like to quote a part of it here:

Temptation to co-option is the original sin of journalism, and we're always finding fig leaves to cover it: economics, ideology, awe of authority, secrecy, the claims of empire. In the buildup to the invasion of Iraq we were reminded of what the late great reporter A.J. Liebling meant when he said the press is "the weak slat under the bed of democracy." The slat broke after the invasion and some strange bedfellows fell to the floor: establishment journalists, neo-con polemicists, beltway pundits, right-wing warmongers flying the skull and bones of the "balanced and fair brigade," administration flacks whose classified leaks were manufactured lies - all romping on the same mattress in the foreplay to disaster. Five years, thousands of casualties, and hundreds of billion dollars later, most of the media co-conspirators caught in flagrante delicto are still prominent, still celebrated, and still holding forth with no more contrition than a weathercaster who made a wrong prediction as to the next day's temperature. The biblical injunction, "Go and sin no more," is the one we most frequently forget in the press. Collectively, we don't seem to learn that all it takes to transform an ordinary politician and a braying ass into the modern incarnation of Zeus and the oracle of Delphi is an oath on the Bible, a flag in the lapel, and the invocation of national security.

Would that we had more like Mr. Moyers.

Sunday Video

For the past few weeks, I've been reading John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany and participating in the ongoing discussion over at Jen's place (this week is the last chapter, btw). Those of you who have read the book know that Owen has ... THE VOICE. Since I first read that description, I've had this song in the back of my mind....

The Moody Blues, "The Voice":

What A Difference....

... 32 years makes.

Yesterday I posted my 8th grade class photo, with me in my overalls.

Since I still wear overalls occasionally, I took a picture of me now (okay, I actually took the pic yesterday) wearing my Tradesman clothes [Carhartt's].

NOTE: This is for comparison purposes only!

ALSO NOTE: My beard is not Gandalfian (glowing white), the sun came out just as the timer went off on the shot, and I had the camera set for cloudy.



(I'm still awesome, though)

W-w-w-w-hat?

Created by OnePlusYou

(h/t to BlueGal)

Portrait of the Blogger as a Young Farmer

That would be my 8th grade yearbook photo.

Just how awesome am I?

Family News

I mentioned this last night in comments at the Phyre (see below), but for the benefit of those who weren't there, and don't wish to plow through the 500+ comments (btw, my blog phriends RAWK), I'll say it here in its own post....

I got an email from my Dad on Monday informing me that my Mom has been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

As I said early-stage. And she's already been put on Aricept, which is supposed to slow the progression of the disease.

I knew what Alzheimer's was, but, since I've never had a close family member or friend who has it, I didn't know much more than what everybody knows. So I went here to find out. There's a link there where one can donate to research, if one is so inclined.

Also, Jen found a way that we can all help with research, as long as you have a computer (which, if you're reading this....).

Thursday! Python! Random!

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The Lyle Lovett Defies Categorization* Edition

Greetings, Phriends!

It's Wednesday, which means time for the Open Phorum Phyre!

Who's gonna show up this week? Only time will tell, I guess.

Beer and mixers? In the creek, chilling.
Munchies? On the picnic table.
Jug of Mtn. Dew (the real stuff, not the soda)? Behind that tree over there.
Comments? Waiting for you....

(*see my previous post for more on Lyle)

If I Had A Boat

Linda mentioned this song in comments on the Sunday Video that didn't get posted 'til Monday post. It is a great song, innit?



Also, this video can't be embedded*, but was the first Lyle Lovett song I ever heard. I saw it done with Steven Wright doing the speaking part once, hi-larious!


(* thanks to my [beautiful] editor for correcting me on my spelling)

Wherein The National Weather Service Plays an April Fool Joke*

UPDATE FOR CLARITY: I do not for a minute think that the NWS was playing a joke. I think they were just WRONG.

Today's forecast (just screen capped):



Current conditions (same):



Gee, thanks, NWS. Those of us who earn money outdoors, and therefore didn't work today because to the overwhelming chance of rain, are so bloody grateful!

A Post In Which I Attempt To Shame A Phriend Into Posting

Why* hasn't she posted? It's been eleven whole days without any Portly goodness!! We all miss you!

Remember, I have a copy of a picture of you wearing a Viking helmet. Don't make me post it.

Love ya, PD!



*(I have it on good authority that she's been superplusbusy in the real world, btw)

Video For Sunday (That Wouldn't Load, So It Didn't Get Posted 'Til Monday)

Weblog Stuff

How cool is the Interwebs Tubes? Here I sit, in the Not-so-Secret Lair, in Teh Mountainz, NC posting away (okay, posting at least once a day...) and people from all over are reading me.

On the left you will see the nation of origin for my last eight visitors.

For those who don't know, the flags are (top to bottom): Greece, US(HI), US(NC), Italy, US(NJ), Croatia, Canada and US(FL).

Hello, world!

A Fiction Teaser

There's a story I've been working on - on and off - for the past while. Okay, more off than on lately, but.... Anyway, below is the first page or so.

It began on a Monday. I had awakened early, downloaded my mail and the day's weather forecast, as usual. The weather service said that strong thunderstorms were likely in the afternoon. My publisher, Dennis, was screaming for an outline, which I was supposed to have sent him a week ago. And still no reply from Janna. I fixed some breakfast and scanned the world headlines of the day. Only two terrorist bombings, one in Baghdad, at the occupation headquarters, and the other in Tokyo, at a bath house on the Ginza. Crude oil was lapping at the $125 mark again, and the stock market was on the downside of its manic depressive cycle. All in all, the morning wasn't that unusual. Certainly, not with respect to the events that fate would unfold before me over the next... well, very long time. Instead of working in the garden, which had been my nominal plan for the day, I decided to see if I couldn't fix the opening chapter of my new novel. I hadn't sent Dennis the outline because the story had veered sharply from where I had intended it, and the outline I had was no longer valid. What started as political satire had somehow devolved into slapstick, and every time I tried to work on it, visions of Mel Brooks films would flash through my mind. Nevertheless, I sat down at the computer and got to work. I managed to snag a line of thought that I liked, and was soon engrossed in the story and oblivious to everything else around me. With much effort, I slowly steered the plot back onto the course I had intended. Several hours later, I leaned back and stretched, and realized with surprise that there was rain falling on the roof of my cabin. I stood and walked to the front door, and was surprised to see how much rain had fallen while I was writing. Puddles of water stood in the small yard in front of the house, and even the leaves on the maples were plastered together, though only a soft shower was presently falling. I stepped back inside and turned on the television to check the Weather Channel. After a story about skiing in Australia, two commercial breaks, and some strained banter between the co-anchors, the regional map of the Southeastern US came on the screen. The radar image showed several bands of heavy rain marching across the Appalachians, one of which was just about to reach the Toe River Valley of Western North Carolina, and my home. I hurried back outside to double check that everything that needed to be was still covered, and got back on the porch just as the wind picked up and the rain began falling harder. Leaving the television tuned to the weather, I switched on the radio to see if any warnings had been issued. As I scanned the dial listening for weather statements, I began to hear thunder in the distance. Soon flashes of lightning began illuminating points across the valley, each one striking more quickly than the last. As a lover of electrical storms, I was out on the porch again, watching the lightning and the rain, driven almost horizontal by the wind, when a gust practically knocked me off my feet. At nearly the same instant, lightning struck two trees on opposite sides of the cabin. The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I felt the residual energies of the double strike. Then I remembered that the TV was on. Cursing myself for an idiot, I ran inside and unplugged everything. Then I went back onto the porch and watched the rain fall.

Any comments?

Saturday Video

Robert Earl Keen, The Road Goes On Forever...

Why, I Do Believe It's Spring!*

(*sounds best when read as Val Kilmer doing Doc Holliday)

I took this photo this afternoon for someone in particular, but she has generously given me permission to share it with the whole world.



These are two of the early bloomers round these parts, the Redbud (even though it's purple) and the Smoke Tree.

Now, who's your huckleberry?

Thursday Python Random Monty

Eight Weeks and Counting!

I haven't mentioned this lately, but today is the 8 week mark of me no longer being a smoker.

I recommend it to everyone.

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The Pogonophobia Edition

(If you don't know what pogonophobia is, see my previous post)
Gooood Evening, InterWebs!!!!

Beer, munchies, and such are all in the usual places, all I'm missing is you!

How is everyone out there this evening?


And, in honor of the title of the post, another photo:

This Post is Not For Those With Pogonophobia*

If you haven't seen it yet, you should go check out Liss' post at Shakesville, The Gayest Looks for Leno Collection. I submitted a (scary) photo for the collection, and in comments one of the other contributers complimented me - at least I think it was a compliment - on my beard.

This reminded me of the photo below, which was taken about a month or so ago. Ladies and Gentlemen (and Others), I present to you ... my beard:




* Pogonophobia- Fear of beards.

Sausage Tuesday Links

Two of the funniest things I've read in a long time:

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein did an Easter Post.

Angry Ballerina found something on Facebook.
(pidomon, you must read #12, if you read no other part)

Fear Loathing and Loathing on the Campaign Trail

Found at Huffington Post, and the perfect complement to Bush's statement that his presidency has been joyful, which I linked in my previous post.




(click on above link to get to a huge size image)

I truly hope there's a hell, so The Decidererer can rot there for all eternity.

Truly.

They Hate US For Our ....

God Bless America

Here they go again,
The Yanks in their armoured parade
Chanting their ballads of joy
As they gallop across the big world
Praising America's God.

The gutters are clogged with the dead
The ones who couldn't join in
The others refusing to sing
The ones who are losing their voice
The ones who've forgotten the tune.

The riders have whips which cut.
Your head rolls onto the sand
Your head is a pool in the dirt
Your head is a stain in the dust
Your eyes have gone out and your nose
Sniffs only the pong of the dead
And all the dead air is alive
With the smell of America's God.

Harold Pinter January 2003

h/t to True Blue Liberal who left this as a comment on this post at Shakesville. If, by chance, there is any doubt in your mind that Bush and Cheney are soulless, evil bastards, that post will erase it.

Monday Memories

When I was a wee lad, my dad had boxes and boxes of reel to reel tapes. All kinds of stuff from Bing Crosby to The Sons of the Pioneers to classical recordings, and I used to listen to them all the time.

One of my favorites was Victor Borge, who was a classical pianist comedian. You may remember him from his phonetic punctuation that he did on Sesame Street, I think it was.

Anyway, I was talking to my dad tonight, and we were remembering all those tapes and wondering what happened to them.

Which made me go to YouTube and find this:

Easter Post

A powerful video from Manila Ryce:

Random Bits For a Saturday

1) I went with Neighbor this morning to the Big Box Home Store (not the orange one, the other one), to advise and assist him in buying some flowers and shrubs ... cause he's in the mood to do some spring planting.

ii) Here, in Teh Mountainz, NC, on only the second full day of Spring ... it's freakin' 74°F right now! I'm sitting here with all the windows open, wearing shorts and a t-shirt.... Oh, the weather forecast for Monday morning calls for a chance of snow showers. W.T.P.?

c) A gratuitous link to pirate eggs, because it turns out I can.

δ) I was gonna include a couple of photos of the plants,... but my camera (which I just used earlier today) is being obstinate. Okay, actually Picasa is being obstinate. If anyone wants to stop by, I have the photos in the camera ... or, better yet, I can just show you the plants themselves.

Hmm, there's this thing called Google, where one can search for things ... like photos of various flowers and plants. Of course, these are fully grown and blooming plants, and the ones Neighbor bought this morning are small and not-blooming. Anyway...

He got three more rhododendrons, cause it's not like the freaking
mountain is covered with rhodos already.

And purple azaleas, of which Neighbor bought three.

Ow

Sorry I haven't posted anything yet today, my phriends, but I've been in the bed with a towel over my face all afternoon, trying to block out the light to ease the incessant pounding of my head!!

I don't get headaches very often, but when I do ... Jeebus.

I am feeling a bit less puny now, so may come up with something better than this later this evening, but, just in case I don't, why don't you peruse my blogrolls. Just make sure you start at the top (why, yes, I am biased about that blog... but it is alphabetically first). She's got pictures of her beautiful daughters, catholic acolytes, and Roman "soldiers".

Thursday Python (Monty) Randomness - Spring Edition

For all the bankers out there:

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The It's All In The Open Edition

Happy Odin's Day, everyone! You know what that means ... Odin's ravens, Hugin and Munin ("thought" and "memory") are flying about. What will they inspire you to say, I wonder, on this open thread?

Drinks, munchies, etc. are all in the usual places.

Oh, it's raining here this evening, so I may be in and out as the weather does its usual number on Neighbor's (and therefore, my) InterWebs Tubes connection.

If nothing else, you can talk about that. :)

And so, phriends, what have you got on? Your mind?

Got Karma?

So, I was taking my walk a while ago - getting it in before the rain starts. The threat of rain which is the reason I'm not working today. And so I took a nice long walk.

And, whilst walking, encountered a neighbor up the road - up on his roof, spreading a tarp. "Need a hand?" I asked. "Sure, if you don't mind," came the reply. The storm last week took some shingles off his roof, and he was worried about water soaking in. So I helped him spread the tarp over the questionable part of the roof, and weight it down with bricks.

He was happy, and I got not only the satisfaction of helping someone, but a cup of some pretty decent coffee, out of the whole thing. And then continued on my walk.

No rain yet. And I'm sure that the installation of the tarp on that roof will be the insurance that it will not rain today.

Another Theatre Photo!

In this post, I talked about my most recent theatre experiences, and included some photos from a rehearsal.

In that post, I mentioned that I had no photos of the set of Death and the Maiden. Turns out a photographer friend of mine had a black and white he took one afternoon.

Here 'tis:



Yes, that's me on the stage. And everything you see in that photo, except for the furniture on the stage, and the actual seats for the audience, was designed and built by me.

/sigh/

At least I now have a photo.

:)

Teh Fish Pit

So, my downstairs neighbor ... umm, ... Mr. Rogers*, has decided that he wants a small fish pond for his four koi. He's mentioned this for three years running. So, I'm used to hearing it.

Yesterday, he hollered over, "Ya got a minute?" As it turned out, I had several minutes, and so I went over to see what he needed. A level and a tape measure. Yep, got those.

"I wanna see how big my hole is!"

Hmmm, I was unaware that you had a hole, Mr. Rogers.

"For my fish pond!"

Oh, so you've started that, have you?



Whoa!

I'd say he's more than started it, wouldn't you?

(for scale, the hole is 15' x 9')

He's planning on having a 3' deep pond, so, at an average of about 28" depth, he's over two thirds there.




And there will be a waterfall feeding the pond as well. It's all going to be very nice. I expect I'll be helping him more than just a bit as this project continues.




I'll also try to get some better shots in the morning, when the light is better on that side o' the house.


*names changed to protect the innocent.

Post #401

This is, that is.

Yesterday's post was #400.

I was gonna write something else for today's post, but the universe handed me this topic and I'm gonna run with it.


Ummm.

:)

w00t!

I can haz lots posts?

The View From Over Here

Just about all of you reading this have read (or even come here from just reading) this post by Jen.

I am the man she fell in love with online. Just as she is the woman with whom I fell in love. As Jen says in her post, "even if neither of them has the remotest intention of entering into a deep and meaningful relationship...". And neither of us did have any such intention.

I will not speak for Jen, but for my part, when I met Jen (and pidomon) in person back in December, I had no intentions whatsoever beyond meeting a couple of people that I had gotten to know and like online. I have been alone for nearly a decade - by choice - and had grown to believe that I was happy being alone, to the point where I had consciously avoided emotional attachments.

As Jen and I began talking more and more, I realized, slowly at first, that feelings and emotions that had long lay dormant were resurfacing. At first, I put those feelings aside because, well, because of Jen's marital status. Eventually though, she and I realized together that there was a strong, and growing, attraction between us.

As Jen said, this was both marvelous and devastating. On the one hand, we were both feeling love, which is by definition a wonderful thing. On the other hand, the growing love we were feeling was not something we could really act upon, again, because of her marriage.

We talked about this, at great length - as, indeed, we have talked about a lot of things, at very great length. We have exchanged thousands and thousands of words over the past few months. An amazing number of words.

At any rate, events have led Jen to take the steps that she is now taking, but, as she said, it's not about me. It's about her doing what is right for her, and making her life the best it can be.

Do I hope, once she has effected her separation and had some time to settle into her new reality, that she and I will explore our potential to be together? Yes, I do - very much so. Do I know this will happen? Of course I do not. Jen and I have talked about this as well. We cannot know what the future holds, and (once again) as she said in her post, if this relationship is "the real thing," then it will still be there in the future.

Personally, I believe it is "the real thing", and we shall see what we shall see. But I do know one thing. No matter what the future brings, I have already helped Jen take a step towards a better future for her, and I am glad for that. I also know that I will be a better person for this experience, come what may. Life has a way of doing that, doesn't it? With the teaching. We just need to be wise enough to listen to the messages.

And I am honored to know - and love - such a brave, strong, and beautiful woman.

Thursday Python Random Monty and...

and...


Happy Third Blogoversary, Jen!

Important Message

Go read this post, now!

Please.

I'll be here if you have any questions.

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The Early Edition

Howdy!

It's Wednesday, so it's time for my weekly open phorum!

I'm posting it waaay early in the day today, as I'm heading over to a friend's house to do some sheetrock work for him and may not get home until late. I'd hate to disappoint the two of you who ... okay, I'm joking, there are several people who regularly stop by.

Anyway, beers and mixers in the creek, munchies in the bear-proof containers hanging from the trees.

Tell me what y'all got on your minds this Odin's Day!

Oh! Almost forgot ... yesterday evening I had a non-pheaux phyre for a while, as an energy focus (hope it was helpful, darlin'), and I took a picture:

Fun With Screen Caps ... And A Milestone

First, an ironic Google Ads juxtaposition:


so you can start a religious discussion and then scrog like rabbits during the breaks!


And, second, the milestone:



I would like to thank the Academy, my fellow Bloggers, and all the little people without whom this wouldn't have been possible. Thank you, Ares! (since it's a Tuesday, and I refuse to use the Romanized name)

So, 10k hits in a year and 11 days (and, actually, it's a year and 6 days, because I didn't sign up for Sitemeter until 5Mar07 ... wev). Not too shabby, I don't think.

Onward and upward! The Acropolis or bust!! ... oh, I mean ... next stop 100,000! Thanks, everybody, for visiting my humble online abode.

Built Ford Tough

As I said the other day, we had a pretty severe thunderstorm blow through here. I mentioned a neighbor's truck that was unlucky enough to be in the path of a falling poplar tree, and that I had taken a photo that GIMP had eaten.

Well, I walked by that house again today, and apparently the insurance adjuster has not had a chance to stop by. The tree (actually two trees, the one in front is a pine) is still on the truck.

And so I took another photo:



It looks pretty bad, but the damage appears to be confined to the bed, which is a fairly simple and not terribly expensive replacement. He's lucky the tree didn't fall on the cab, eh?