Mythical

I don't know. It was on the street alongside the Nelson.

Spencer Museum of Art, KU

This was on the wall next to the mirror in the women's restroom at the museum. I hope it posts large enough to read it, but you may have to click on it. I took several pictures there today.

A Forest of Christmas Trees

When I was a kid, my dad always made a really big deal out of getting the Christmas tree. Being from the Northwest and having hiked Mt. Rainier countless times and having worked in the woods, he really loved the smells of the forest. Kansas was hard on him. He really missed the evergreen smells that he had grown up and worked with all his life. So going to the Christmas tree lot was an experience of smelling that wonderful aroma. It was always something we all had to participate in, and we took our time choosing the perfect tree. He would often say he wished he could have a whole forest of Christmas trees.
Well, back in the day (I wonder if anyone reading this blog will identify with this) we had Christmas parties at school, and every classroom had a real decorated tree in it. We had drawn names and put presents for everyone in the class around the tree, and as I recall, the teacher always seemed to get something really special from the class as well. But after the party on the last day of school all the trees ended up on the curb waiting to be picked up by the trash truck.
The year I was 7, my brothers took our Ford station wagon to school to pick me up. They saw the trees on the curb and a light bulb went off. "Let's give Dad a forest of Christmas trees!" So we loaded up what seemed to me to be at least a couple of dozen trees and drove home. My mom was teaching piano lessons in the family room and didn't see us come in. We circled the living room with all the trees we had brought in and waited. When my mom came out, she started laughing, but we still had to wait for my dad to come home from work. He was shocked, but he got a good laugh out of it, too. For me, that was something so crazy, so weird, that I never forgot it. It's probably my best Christmas memory.

another opinion on teen night at the library

I said I'd help out for five hours tomorrow night when they have the library open to teens for various games and a movie and free pizza. I figured I need the hours, and they'll probably let me have some pizza. I know almost nothing about their games, although I have in fact seen real people playing DDR and guitar hero, or whatever it's called.
I asked my daughter if she wanted to go, since all she plays is Counterstrike, and she doesn't have access to a Wii or xbox360 (you see, I don't even know how to punctuate these things, that's how blissfully out of the loop I am).
She said she wouldn't go to it no matter what, because she thinks it's extremely stupid for libraries to encourage teens to play that way at the library. She thinks libraries should encourage teens to read more instead of catering to their stupid game-playing addictions, and she thinks it brings libraries down to the level of those Christian "clubs" where they are only trying to be nice to teens to get them to stay off the streets.
She's 15.

Distractions

In trying not to think about my $700 car repair bill and the fact that I can't leave town over break now, I found these sites:

http://yourshelves.com/

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-10/ff_walker?currentPage=all

http://www.kimbooktu.com/

quote of the day: "Don't let that cd skip, or you'll scratch it."

No, really, we ARE all doomed

Just overheard the librarian explaining, to a child who had checked out So Many Dynamos! and other Palindromes by Jon Agee, that they read the same way forwards and backwards, and that "if you hold them up to a mirror you can read them."

We Are All Doomed

Twice in 24 hours I have seen stuff sent from school teachers that referred to the little rubber items used to correct mistakes as "erasures".

Bellwether, by Connie Willis

If you're not already into Connie Willis, I highly recommend her books. Bellwether is hilarious, but so are some of the others, and I really liked "To Say Nothing of the Dog", although it took me three tries to get into it. I think if you read Bellwether or one of her other shorter ones first, you'll be hooked.
Bellwether is about fads, among other things. It's quite a parody, and the main character keeps tabs on what's popular partly by going to the library to see what's on the hold list. She also takes pains to regularly check out the classics so they won't be withdrawn from the shelves, which made me smile. I've never seen that in a book before.
But when I see really dumb fads (maybe they all are?) I always think of that book. Right now, I'm seeing kids' clothing with writing across the butt. For some reason, there are a lot of pre-teen girls with the word "JUSTICE" written across their butts. Not quite as interesting as that girl I saw in Pratt with the word "CHEER" across her butt, though. Class, can we think of more words to write across our butts? Now I'm reminded of Shel Silverstein's ABZ book.
I did find another blog that addresses this phenomenon:
http://creativetypes.blogspot.com/2006/06/shortspants-with-words.html

Shelf tree

For you cheapskates who don't want the trouble of a tree... you probably have one already.

http://swissmiss.typepad.com/weblog/2007/11/who-needs-a-chr.html

Demotivators... make your own calendar!

Why do I think of Hadrian when I see these?

http://despair.com/viewall.html

Synchronicity

There is a patron at the library who regularly donates the Mayflower Society Journal when they are finished with it. Sometimes I see it come in and I always grab it, not because I'm a descendant of the Pilgrims, but because my brother has ties to members of the society from when he was chief curator of Plimoth Plantation.
Right now my brother lives in Leiden, Holland, right where the Pilgrims lived for ten years before they came over on the Mayflower. He is finishing the definitive book about the Pilgrims, and runs the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum (not just runs it, but started it and built up the collection himself).
Anyway... one other time I got the journal, there was an article he had written in it, which was cool. And the one that was donated last week had a chapter from his forthcoming book (which I hadn't yet read), and a write-up of a tour that the society members had taken to Holland and England. They did a walking tour of Leiden with Jeremy, and there were several pictures of him in the article, which is nice because I haven't seen him in six years.
Too bad the journal donor will never know how much I appreciate having that copy. And the coincidence of the whole thing, which is really pretty weird if you think about it much.

Wow. Just wow.

Why do you heart apostrophe abuse?

Thanks to http://www.apostropheabuse.com/

the good old days

There were more than a few kids at the school Halloween... ooops... "FALL FESTIVAL" parade who wore "hippie" costumes.
I have to say that it felt truly weird to see what I identified with for so long as being stereotyped that way.
Although I was just a tad younger than those who really got to participate in the sex, drugs, and rock ' roll, except for the rock 'n roll, my brothers did, and one of my earlier memories of the Vietnam War was being the youngest participant (age 7) at a peace march they took me to when they were supposed to be babysitting me.
It wasn't until I was in junior high that the clothes really changed. Did that come from the people on Haight-Ashbury, or from the designers? Were we imitating something ourselves (other than the Nehru jacket phase)? Or was it truly original?
Naturally, we thought the clothes were here to stay. I guess if you wait long enough, they do come back, but the whole culture surrounding it is pretty well gone and the kids don't understand what they are imitating. I know the bellbottoms were from sailor uniforms... I don't know about the beads and flower power designs. It could be that was the last time any really new fashions came out. Ever since then, I've only seen imitations of previous fashions or just mixtures.

I saw a lot of peace sign jewelry at Kohl's last night. But I don't think it means anything, there's too much competition around here from those yellow ribbon types.

99.7 The Boulevard is playing a lot of CSNY and Neil Young these days. They just played the one that says " Now don't go get yourself elected.... if you do you might have to cut your hair."

New camera

I'm trying out a new camera, and I don't know all the settings yet. I thought I'd start taking pictures of the books on the shelves, and since I like to look at other people's bookshelves, maybe you'd like to see some of mine. The gold ones are Zig-Zag Journeys, travel story books for kids, and the others are pretty obvious. Those are copies my dad got in England in 1959, price 10s 6d each. That's ten shillings, sixpence.

Didn't get his information in time

I found this rather large spider in the school library right in front of the books on spiders. I guess he was trying to figure out why he didn't feel well, but it was too late.

Thanks, Mom

I have a lot of book memories from early childhood on, but I've often wondered why I have so few library memories from grade school. I suspect I have buried them like most of my grade school memories, which was a fairly awful time for me.
My earliest school library memory (Belinder school in Prairie Village) was when the librarian read "Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine" to us, pointing out to the class that the name BANGS was the same as MY LAST NAME, which was intensely embarrassing to me. I suppose that was in Kindergarten.
A later memory was when I tried to check out a book that I had read before from the public library (Corinth) and the school librarian wouldn't let me because it was about a family who went on sabbatical to France and it had FRENCH PHRASES IN IT which would be too hard to understand. This led to a visit from my mom, who was.... not pissed, because that wasn't my mom, but defensive of my reading ability. I was 8. She had found that book for me because that year we went on sabbatical to Holland, and she thought it would be a good introduction for me to the idea of kids going abroad for a year. It was an excellent book by Carol Ryrie Brink. The first one was Family Grandstand, the second was Family Sabbatical. She also wrote The Pink Motel.They remained some of my favorites for many years and I made sure I had old library copies for all my kids to read as well, because you'll never find them in the library any more.
What's really pathetic is that school librarians are still doing exactly that: trying to censor what the kid checks out because they don't think it's "on their level". I suppose part of that is because the parents aren't as involved in what the kid is reading.
I also remember one individual book which had a red library binding, full of jokes, riddles, and rhymes. I checked it out over and over. I think I would recognize it instantly if I could ever find another copy, but I don't remember the author or title.
But I don't remember the librarians at all, not then, or in any other school. I have no memories of the junior high or senior high school libraries.
What I remember from Corinth is the picture book section, and the stage where I was ready to move beyond the picture books (my mom helped me find more advanced books). I remember writing long lists of summer reading titles and filling out endless stacks of cards when I was ready to check out. I'm sure I never went to any story times. My mom was quite crippled and we only had one car, so we all went to the library together every couple of weeks.
My reading life was pretty much totally removed from my school life. My parents let me check out whatever I wanted. When I started reading the Sergeanne Golon books in junior high, they steered me towards better quality historical fiction, like Elizabeth Goudge. Most of her J books are now out of the system All her best adult books are out of the system now.
I attribute all my love for reading to my parents.
Also, we didn't have TV until I was ten, although then we wouldn't have made the connection.

Another early memory is when my parents told me about the death of CS Lewis (one or two days after Kennedy). That event was more disturbing to me than they realized, because I was confronted with the idea that Narnia was maybe not a real place after all, and that Aslan (who was a good lion, and would not break my doll dishes when he played with me) might not be real, either. They had read several of the Narnia books to me before I was able to read.
When we were in Europe in '65 we found Puffin books from England, and in those days they were amazingly cheap and great quality children's literature. I remember my dad reading to me from Professor Branestawm and Paddington Bear, and then he would show me the pages he read. I would then show him where all the British spellings and punctuations were that were different from the American books. When we went back in '68 I found E.Nesbit, Noel Streatfeild, and many other classics. I still have all my old Puffin paperbacks. My dad had an extensive library of his own and by the time I was out of grade school I had a bookcase filled myself.
I wanted to write something as a tribute to my mom, since this is her birthday and I'm missing her a lot this week. My birthday was two days ago and we used to always celebrate together. I'm glad Degolar asked his question and I got the angle I wanted to take to think and write about my mom.
My dad told me that when she was recovering in the hospital from one of her major hip surgeries she read all of Shakespeare's plays to help distract her from the pain. I still have a few of those volumes, which I found in their basement.
Maybe I'll fill in more of this later.
Thanks, Mom.

It's hard to see the smiley faces

But they are there, one is right next to "my" in "my strength" and the other one is after "sold" on "sold here".
I just love smiley faces. Makes me think of the song "Happiness is a Warm Gun". Yes, it is.
Oh, in case you're interested, this is a pawn shop in Olathe where my son was getting ready for the hard times that are coming. He said if he had a rifle, he would be able to get them from a couple of blocks away. I asked him how he would know whether he was getting the right ones, and he said he would know them by their uniforms.
Ha,ha, just kidding. But he does listen to Coast to Coast a lot.

Here's what I asked after she was through taking questions....

The illustrator of The Recess Queen, whose style I'm not actually fond of, did give an interesting session at Staff Day. I was intrigued by her experience at Hallmark, and then her ability to "make it" as an artist after she quit there.
What I asked her afterwards was: "Hallmark has a horrible reputation among local artists and small businesses because of their habit of sending market researchers into the stores to steal ideas and copy them in their products. What can local artists do to prevent that from happening?"
Her answer: "Not much. Just keep signing your work with the little copyright symbol on it and hope for the best. If you post your work online, embed a watermark in it." She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head over it, not once indicating that my concern was unwarranted or exaggerated.
The nice part was that she asked me to show her the one that was hanging down the hallway at the convention center, and she really seemed to like it and think there was potential for it, not as illustration of course, but for textiles at least.

Who is He, anyway?

Thanks to Roger for this one, sent in an email.

Thanks to Red Pen Inc for this one

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

HUMP DAY GRAMMAR for October 8, 2008

In my head, I'm filing this one in the "Goddamn, I wish I'd seen this first!" category, because I can't take credit for this one. The fine folks over at Defamer happened to take a print-screen of this oh-so-entertaining CNN breaking news headline that reads: Bush pledges "we're going to come" during this economic crisis. Mind you, he didn't say (or CNN didn't write*) overcome, like he/they probably should have (because I'm assuming he/they really meant overcome)--he/they said come.

Hey, as long as we're getting totally fucked, economically speaking...at least we know we get to come! YAY!

To check out the delightfully snarky Defamer article that mocks this CNN headline, click here!

from Overheard in New York

Hobo on street corner: Vote for McCain. Get nuclear rockets shot up your ass and eat moose burgers all day!

--W 3rd & MacDougal St

Overheard by: Matt

60-something woman dressed like teenybopper, talking about Sarah Palin on cell: She proves you can be pretty and smart. She's more than a bulldog in a pantsuit; she's like Alaska Barbie!

--Penn Station

Yuppie dad to whiny daughter: Barack Obama doesn't like it when his daughters whine.

--Caroll Gardens

Middle-aged, white man on cell: Do not call me at this number again. Never call me at this number again. Listen, if you call me at this number again I will, in fact, vote for John McCain.

--Tea Lounge, Cobble Hill

AND THE ONE THAT REAALLY MADE ME LAUGH:

Teenage boy: Every time you type "lol" a baby gets kicked in the head.

--150th & Columbus

worth reading, Bibliophile Bullpen blog

one of the blogs I check every day:

where am i?
Someone asked that on the Bibliophile list, as if I had gone on some lovely mad vacation dash, or fallen down a manhole, or been scooped up for extreme rendition. But alas I have been sitting here day after day, trying to find the enthusiasm to write about something bookish. But it seems after I read a few minutes of the New York Times and as many other newsites and blogs as I can stomach. I basically feel unclean and need to vomit.Like everyone else who doesn't drink from the Kool aid bubbler, I feel betrayed by my own country, violated by the economy and adrift with my own values. When did elitism and education become unfashionable in our leaders? When did 'family values' mean save ourselves and fuck everyone else? When was it acceptable for the very rich to eat the underclass? When did an asterisk get added to every line of the bill of rights?Yeah, I know, I was just being rhetorical, it happened on MY and everyone elses watch, and it happened a little at a time. We let it happen. We have become the people are parents warned us about. While the powers that be where feeding us bread and circuses, they were out in the parking lot stripping our minivans down to the rocker panels. Only there now is no end to the stream of goofballs, coming out of the goddamn tiny clown car.I hate Sarah Palin so much it makes my teeth hurt. I hate the very idea of Sarah Palin. I hate the mentality who thought UP Sarah Palin. I hate it all so much I can't even put my hate into a lucid argument. I hate each and every person responsible for putting Sarah Palin in the public eye. And I really really really hate the asshole who thought it would be funny to make the nation watch the incoherent Sarah Palin being interviewed by unqualified Katie Couric. All of this I find unsettling, for years I have told people I am too lazy to actively 'HATE' anyone properly as it takes too much energy to maintain a good hate. What the hell happened to the feminist ideal? is THIS the best we can come up with? an empty headed beauty queen being interviewed by a talk show host twinkie?Maybe I am asking too much of the unwashed masses, I would have thought after 200 and thirty years we would have come to a common understanding that the President should be smarter than the a fifth grader. Is that too much to ask? I mean hey, even I thought it was funny when the skull and bones star chamber got together and put their frat brother in the oval office to create the greatest unending kegger EVER. And the ultra rich become super dooper ultra rich and the middle class shrunk to the size of a Super Bowl audience, and we just kept buying cars named after blow jobs and having our food prepacked into 100 calorie servings because we lost the ability to count. But funs over now - enough is enough. WE did it all to ourselves and we deserve every bit of pain and suffering morning after it will take to get out of this trillion dollar hole.But I don't think the idea of Sarah-one-heart-beat-away-Palin is funny. It scares the ever living shit out of me, and makes me seriously depressed. What the fuck goes on up there in Alaska where THIS is the best you have to offer? Someone who can't name one Supreme court justice, can't name one newspaper or magazine she has read, thinks that rape victims should continue to be victimized and has no knowledge of world affairs beyond hunting and fishing. Perhaps the Evangelicals are right and the end of days is coming and pretty damn quick. Because when a misanthropic lazy asshole like ME is more qualified to be president than the Sarah fucking Palin, the apocalypse is well and truly nigh.So, basically I am here.

Elaine, you missed this one

Thanks to:

http://absurdgallery.blogspot.com/

a few $ worth of Sharpies?

http://www.kentucky.com/147/story/532854.html

I like the rainbow stacks, myself

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/09/bittersweet-art-of-cutting-up-books.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just when I thought there was nothing to blog about, a co-worker was describing her latest contact on e-Harmony. She is looking for another "faith oriented" person, but drew the line on this guy after his third question:
1. What is the Gospel?
2. What is your faith journey?
3. What is your opinion about Calvinism?

Turning it over to Tom Russell...

Tom Russell
Tales From the Faeroe Islands
Posted: 25 Sep 2008 10:34 AM CDT
Twenty years ago; Copenhagen, Denmark. I'm sitting in a Five Star Hotel bar at nine in the morning, drinking coffee with my friend Gunnar. We're waiting for a radio interview. Remarking back and forth about these well-to-do Danish businessmen who start their day with coffee and gamledansk; liqueur and caffeine. Stockbrokers and lawyers fueling up. There's a commotion at the door, and in staggers a bum; God's own hobo. He's got cigarette butts in his hair; beard and wine stains down his coat. He's muttering and swatting flies. Gunnar and I wait for the Hotel police to descend on him. They don’t. People smile and return to their chat. Okay - the tramp walks up to the bar and barks orders (in rough Danish) to the beautiful blonde bartendress. She pulls out a silver tray and places five bottles of the most expensive Brut Champagne onboard. The drifter barks again and she throws two cartons of cigarettes on the tray, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wad of Danish kroners that could choke a Clydesdale. He throws a stack of bills on the bar; staggers off toward the elevators, balancing the tray. There's a hooker waiting by the elevator. Together they get on board and disappear up into one of the best hotels in Scandinavia. You waiting for the punch line? So was I. Gunnar and I looked at each other and the bartendress; but it was back to business as usual. Finally I’d had enough and called to her: "What's the story on that guy with the champagne?" She laughed. "You do not know of him? He's is a famous man here. He is from the Faeroe Islands. He bet a rich oil man that he, the old man here, could paddle a kayak from the Faeroe Islands to Denmark in the dead of winter. Impossible distance. Big waves. But he did it. He won fifty thousand dollars, and now he has been here one month. Spending it! All!" That was it. Great story. I used to love telling it. The Faeroe Islands are so far out in the middle of the Atlantic it's impossible to get a take on it from a normal map. I've always wanted to go there. I figure the last bar on earth is out there. Pirates and madmen. Fishmongers. End of story? Not yet. A year or two ago I got a CD from Bill Bourne, a very cool Canadian songwriter. He's singing with a gal from the Faeroe Islands. Great singer. So I write her manager and tell her my old story about the old man and ask her if it's true.Here's what she writes: "Yes! His name was Roma (I think). He was a big hero in The Islands. But, sadly one day he went out in his little boat into one of our quiet lagoons here. He fell overboard and died." End of story. Huh? Drunk? Suicide? The best sailor on the face of the earth? Metaphors? Punchlines? Naw….just another Tale from the Faeroe Islands. Raise up a jar to old Roma. You'll never hear about this on CNN.......

all you MLS people, ever heard of this?

The school librarian is teaching the Dewey Decimal System to the kids by correlating it to the human body... I'm not sure I've got all of it, but it's something like this:
above the head, 00's, generalities
top of head, 100's (philosophy)
eyes are 200's (religion)
smiling mouth is 300's (social sciences)
mouth is 400's for language
500's is neck (?)
600's is shoulders (human body)
700's is arms (art, physical activity)
800's is the heart (poetry)
900's is the feet (history)
I don't even know where she came up with this, or if it's a really old mnemonic device. I can't find it on the web.
Seems to work for the most part.

Some people find this offensive

Thanks to another punctuation obsessive blog:

http://apostrophecatastrophes.blogspot.com/

another favorite site of mine

Even if I don't actually KNOW anyone who cares about this stuff, it's nice to see that there is someone out there who thinks the way I do.
Scroll down far enough, and you'll see what I sent her about the copy of The Cat in the Hat that is in the school library.
I also sent her a picture of a sign in a hospital that says something like: "Please use anti-room door." I think she'll use that one, too.
http://redpeninc.blogspot.com/

thanks to Unshelved

Library news and stories : Fredrickson Library Book Cart Drill Team gets wild

Oh yeah....

I want one, and I'll paint it rainbow colors.

(StairCASE: Ladder & Shelving Unit by Danny Kuo conceptual artist.)

filler

too busy to post for real, but here are a couple of nice kitty cats, a mama and her baby.

the price was right (free)

I really didn't need to pick up these pretty Japanese bowls at the auction scavenger party last night, mainly because I've had good luck finding Japanese bowls there in the past. But they were too nice to pass up. Should I bring them to sake and samurai? They are the size to hold sauces.
I also got three jump ropes (I was recently trying to find one, but three were tangled together) and 4 new-in-the-box Libby wine glasses.
Also a three-minute timer in the form of an hourglass.

I'm not the Grammar Vandal, but.....

Did I miss it when someone declared that it was proper English to say "Good" or " I'm good" in response to "How are you?"
I've asked that question to hundreds of kids this week, and ONLY ONE answered by saying "I'm fine, thanks, how are you?"
Not that he had to say all of that, but the fact that he said "fine" instead of "good" really caught my attention.
In case you're still wondering, the answer is "I'm doing well," or "I'm fine" or whatever the alternative is when you're not doing well or feeling fine.
Doing good is like doing good deeds.... going around doing good.... and yet, none of the teachers have answered this question "correctly" either.
Those of us who think grammar matters are probably doomed. Of course, the alternative is that I'm wrong.
Don't get me started with " Any questions, talk to So-and-so or I". Ewww.

I'm bored, here are some links

Bad Book CoversFlapArt (for covering your romance novels, or just messing with minds)
Reusable Cover Art in Historical Novels (ever wonder why those books all look the same?)
A Guide to Writing your own Michael Crichton Book (now you can do it, too)

Johnson County Art Fest

I just got an acceptance letter for another exhibit! This one will be held at Ernie Miller Nature Center for three weeks in November. I submitted that Monster Mandala that was up at the OP Convention Center a while back. They're going to send me ten invitations to the opening which is from 2-4 PM on Saturday, November first. There were 42 entries chosen from 247 submissions. If anyone wants an invite, let me know.... Ernie Miller Nature Center is just a bit north of Santa Fe on K-7 in Olathe where everybody talkth like thith.

Election year in Montana

I took this photo a few years ago, but I still get a kick out of looking at it. That top line on the door says: Jesus Christ is coming very soon, Don't bogart that joint, Pass it over...

No photo for this entry, thank goodness

I was going to write about the guy that worked at Twister's (a burrito place) in Bernalillo, NM. This middle-aged Hispanic guy used to work at the Dollar General (right across the parking lot) when Jack was working there. Before he got caught stealing money out of the cash register... which was really stupid, because he had worked there two years, and he KNEW the cameras were on, but I digress...Anyhow, Jack said he was a nice personable sort of fellow. Other employees said they'd seen him walking around town after the store closed wearing pink tights. One day all the news in Bernalillo was an article in the paper saying that the local sheriff had been caught in his car behind the Dollar General getting a blow job, and This Guy claimed to have been the one who had been there with him doing it. All charges were dropped, and he never did get his name in the paper. I guess he never got his name in the paper for stealing out of the cash register, either. Even as a "stupid burglar" listing. I mean, what does it take? I guess in Bernalillo you have to be sheriff to get your name in the paper for doing something stupid.

Webster's, 1941

One thing I picked up tonight at the auction discards is a 1941 boxed edition of Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, 1941. The spine was gone, but the box and inside covers had a really lovely marbleized paper covering. And of course, the illustrations are great. I'll probably use some of them for some art projects (not related to mandalas).
Some of the "New Words" are interesting-- here are a few of the words listed for the first time: amphetamine, ascorbic acid, barbecue, Black Shirt, Brown Shirt, concentration camp, fascism, fifth column(ist), Iron Guard, Mickey Finn, Nazi, neutrino, parapsychology, Reichsfurer, swastika, Third Reich, and video.
Isn't it cool that the entry for "knots" actually shows you how to tie some basic knots?

Mullinville, KS

Whether or not the rest of the town likes it, there's a fantastic junk artist there who has a lot of really weird commentaries on politicians, both local and national.
For me, it's a highlight of my trip to see all these metal sculptures rotating in the wind along the highway on the east side of town. The latest addition to that section was a huge painted sign along the fence that said: "M.T. IS QUEER". To see the entire "museum" requires only a side-trip of about three blocks to the north. I guess this place was featured once on Roadside America, much to the chagrin of the other locals.

She's finally here! Hailey Ann

Here is a picture of my first grandchild about 7 hours after her birth. I'm sure more pictures will follow later!

This says something:

Probably they thought this needed to be said because most of the motels on Hwy.54 are owned by "Patel".
However, I'd rather patronize one of those than one with this advertisement.

letter to an absent landlord

Here's part of Jack's notice to the landlord of the place we rented together... she lives in Spain. He didn't mention the roots growing under the house which are making cracks in the floor, or the termite damage.

Everything I described in the past as wrong with the house still is wrong [other than the roof leaks are repaired for the moment]. Once I began packing I found conditions were actually worse than I knew.

The main problems when I'm gone will be:

1] The fact the plumbing drain line from the kitchen sink hasn't drained at all in months and can't be repaired short of excavating the line.

2] The hot water leak under the bathroom floor which disallows bathing without carrying water from the kitchen sink to the bathroom will require the house to be vacant while the work is done excavating the floor.

3] The impossibility of keeping any portion of the house above 40-45 degrees F. wintertime without bankrupting ones self on utility bills. I see no solution to this problem.

4] The outside wall to the bedroom appears to be buckling inward, causing all the plaster to fall off onto the floor. Interior walls also appear to be suffering the cumulative damages resulting from decades of neglect.

5] All the wood frames for doors and windows in the back of the house are rotted so badly most won't hold wood-screws rendering the windows impossible to close tightly or secure in a way they can't be opened with the push of a finger.

6] Electrical wiring in the bathroom is entirely defunct. During my tenure here I've always run power for lights there by extension cords from the bedroom.

7] The ceiling fan in the living room began smoking this winter, probably because I kept it running constantly trying to keep warm air from rising to the ceiling. If anyone ever occupies the house again the fan will need to be replaced.

But I've described all this to you before [except the ceiling fan and the surprising decline I've seen once I began packing] and discussed the major problems with your sister and her husband (previous landlords)long before they became so acute.

If you wish I can send pictures of anything that interests you before I vacate.

I'll be happy to mail the key to any address you prefer, or leave it on the porch. Although locking the house is pointless because anyone who wants in can come through a back window without breaking glass, I'd prefer to leave the front door locked.

The above pictures show previously excavated roots that were growing under the living room when we moved in. Jack dug these pieces up intact. We think they look like a roadrunner and a kokopelli. They will be moved to Texas.

I'm sure going to miss these sunsets. This is the view from the house the last evening I was there.

Last day in Placitas

In nine years this is only the second photo ever taken of us together.

If I find time to post about the trip, I'll try to write about
apricots, the girl filling the gas tank in Pratt, the guy who worked at Dollar General with Jack, the trip to Santa Fe, the motel sign in Logan, NM, and Mullinville, KS sights.

And some folks can't buy groceries:

If you have faith in the intelligence of the great people of the United States, this should go a long way towards squashing it like a bug. From a yahoo sell/trade/free group:

Our Pup has outgrown her clothing, A lot of it she never got to wear.
All are xs or small. Please email for Pictures. Lot includes:
4 tee shirts
3 dresses
(1 is a Med)
2 raincoats
1 sweater
1 bomber jacket
1 pink fuzzy shirt
1 pink bandanna
Asking $35.00 for all
o.b.o
Also I have a very cute Pink and white dog carry bag, Never been used except to hold her clothes.
Asking $15.00
o.b.o
1 set of Puppy stairs for up to 70lbs Asking $10.00
o.b.o
Take all of the above for $50.00

SOLD

For considerably less than I had hoped, because the woman wanted the picture without the mat and frame so she can get it matted and framed herself. "All my frames are mahogany," she said.
Still, I'll have the mat and frame to use on something else...

Sunset at the farm

This is a view from the field where the firework display was held. I'm not sure this old camera that uses diskettes will hold up much longer, but for now, I'm pleased with the results.

Got Pyro? We do....

Had a really nice fourth, with an old fashioned cook-out and fireworks at a farm, complete with home-made ice cream and fresh eggs to bring home.
I'm quite proud of the job they did on the display, it showed a lot of creativity, planning, and (ouch) expense.
And if anyone can tell me how to make the pictures show in the order in which I uploaded them, that would be cool.

Don't Ever Throw Anything Away

Tall Tales from the Trade

A bookseller specialist buys a large academic collection from an old professor--mostly sexology, sexual politics, censorship and moral studies. He gets them for a reasonable sum, but part of the deal is that he takes 10,000 porno paperbacks stored in the outhouse. Reluctantly he hauls them all out and takes the paperbacks to the recycling where they are pulped. Pulp to pulp.

Painstakingly he lists the scholarly works and offers them to a University library that he has ties with. They reply that, sadly, they have most of these books and what they really need is actual porn paperback fiction, 'we have all the books on censorship' the librarian says 'what we need is the material that was being censored - we need thousands of them, but I'm afraid we can only pay $20 each.'

How I met Ares

I was shelving, and on the other side of the row I was on a black guy was sitting at a table reading a stack of materials and every so often saying something out loud to himself. I had to come around the shelf row for the last book and he said (while my back was turned)
"I'm Ares."
I looked at him (you talking to me???)
"Not Aries, but A-R-E-S, and your books on Greek and Roman mythology don't have very much information about me. They refer to me as if it was just a myth, not real history. I was just looking to see what you had."
Says I: "Did you ask the people at the information desk for any help finding what you want?"
"No, there isn't that much in this library."
"Maybe if you try the Central Resource Library they will have more, it's a huge library."
"No, I can't get over there, I'm on foot. "
"If you tell them what you're looking for, they can have things sent here for you from other libraries..."
"I don't have that kind of time, I have things I have to do in Kansas before I get to Transylvania (and some other location I couldn't understand)"
"Well, there are also some books behind the reference desk that might help..."
"See, I just got out of prison after 33 years, and I have a lot to catch up on."
"Well, let them know if you need any more help, and best of luck to you."
"Thanks, I think I'll need it, because I'm not finding much information here."

Try this:

Korma Sutra, wine, and the auction

We know how to have a good time... doesn't it make you wish you were there?

If you need something to do

Elaine can ignore this one. Everyone else should play.
www.lost.eu/77af5

For some reason, this link doesn't seem to be working for me from my post. If it doesn't take you to the game "LOST", then I'm screwed, cause I can't get points if you don't follow my link.
Sheesh. It may still be fun, though. Blogging the link isn't considered to be very creative, anyhow.

Summer, 1958

This will probably interest almost nobody, but when I was 18 months old, I stayed with my mom's best friend for 6 weeks while she and my dad took a group of students to Europe. (Just for the record, my mom hated being away from me so much that she came home early. That's how special I am!)
Anyhow, while I was there in Mulberry, Indiana, the town celebrated their 100th anniversary with a parade... this year they celebrated their 150th anniversary and printed this historic photo of the previous parade.
That's me being held by the lady in the dark dress. She was always one of my mom's best friends and keeps in touch with me regularly, just like her other best friend does!

Thoughts on Weeding

I've refrained so far from ranting about the Big Weed, oh, I'm so sorry, I mean the "spring cleaning" at the library. And I'm going to continue to refrain, I appreciate my job enough thank you very much, to not make a nuisance of myself too often. I'm cutting this entry off at the knees right now because I previously promised myself that THIS blog will be of a POSITIVE nature, and I will NOT RANT.
So I was gratified to find this children's book collector blogging about the topic for me:
http://collectingchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/

Before I messed it up

This one was on the way to being fairly decent, but I added more to it after I took the photo and it's not one I'm proud of now. Not sure whether it's salvageable or not.
I had the strange experience of checking so hard for errors at work (found mysteries in the fiction) that I totally lost track of time and forgot my break. Weird experience. Probably because I had all those days off in a row.

Must love cats

For those of you who actually do know me, I'm still looking for a roomate. I was advertising in my landlord's paper, but I only had two inquiries and one of them made me uncomfortable, so I withdrew the ad, even though it was free. I'm more interested in word of mouth through the library systems and friend-of-friend contacts. Basically I've got two unfurnished upstairs rooms and a shared kitchen/bath near downtown Olathe. Must love cats, as my kitty is an integral part of this arrangement. Contact me for more info...

Lemon sprouts

I'm trying to grow a lemon tree from the tree that grew at my aunt and uncle's house in Pasadena, CA. Since I was a little girl I have been fascinated by their avocado and lemon trees. When I visited there in October, I took several lemons home with me and saved the seeds. Six weeks later, my aunt died, and a month after that my uncle died and now the house will be sold. She was 99 and he was 96. They had lived there over 50 years.

City of Rocks State Park

http://www.rozylowicz.com/retirement/cityofrocks/cityofrocks.html
A bunch of monoliths got shot out of a volcano about 35 million years ago, and the resulting erosion has left an amazing place to explore.
School is out for the next 9 weeks. I'm off to the drawing board, so I may not be posting as much.

Is this better?

Maybe it should be Chinese

That would weed the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, and most of our products come from there anyway.

Personally, I would like to make Latin the official language. In Europe that worked well for most purposes. Sed sic friat crustulum.

I think the other sign says: Texas is not a Mexican colony. I didn't know what that was about, until I found this link:
http://www.2020site.org/texas/lesson27.html
Blogging has the unfortunate side effect of making me actually do research and learn something.

Both of these were taken at the same place. Do you know where I was?

Mandalas and moth ball smells

I tried to reduce this so it comes close to the original size, which is about 2.5 inches square. If this doesn't work, I haven't got the patience to fix it. I did this a while ago when I was playing with doing very small sized pictures.

I went by the auction where I pick up discards after the sale is over. Last night when they opened up the "hole" it was pouring rain so I didn't go out. There were still some great men's wool sweaters there this evening. I threw some in the washer to shrink them just a little and now my entire house smells like mothballs. Guess I should have aired them outside first.

Filler

I really don't know where this came from, but I find the picture interesting not just because of the stalkers, but because of the three Jellicle cats in the background, looking on from a safe place.

Some things are worth reading again

I know it's not kosher to blog more than once in a day, but this blogger place doesn't allow me to save blogs that are "in progress", which is annoying. So please don't ignore the previous entry if you are interested in analyzing pics taken from a half mile in the air.

So... I was reviewing my old blog, and trying to decide whether to delete it or not, when I found a few quotes from Tom Russell that I like so well, I just had to post them again:

“The American Public has allowed itself to be fucked in the ass for at least twenty years. Country music is dead. Offensive.‘Wal-Mart mentality’ has taken over. The whole country looks the same as you drive through it . . . it’s depressing. It’s beyond depressing . . . three or four corporations telling us where to eat and shit and what to listen to.”

“Most current songwriters have nothing to say, but that doesn't hold them back. They buy a rhyming dictionary and start lying.”

“We're all going to be living in caves, duct-taped to chairs, force-fed Christian rock music. Go back and read George Orwell. The dead walk among us, and their taste in art is all fucked up.”

That said, I'd encourage anyone to take a look at Tom's blog (see link on my list). Not to mention listen to his music.

Weird stuff

If you take the time to enlarge this photo, I'd appreciate it if you'd speculate on what you think is in the circled areas. Photo was taken from a helicopter flying over a fairly isolated mountainous area.

For What it's Worth

My entry for the JCL contest. Unfortunately, just with submitting this I lose all my rights to the work even if it doesn't win, and I can't get the original returned.
Draw your own conclusions!