"Five Down, One To Go..."

Well, after today, technically...still one more month left in the Atlantic Hurricane Season, and Tropical Storm Noel is alive and well, doing what all tropical storms do well which is providing torrential rains.

In Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico (among other locations nearby), the terrain is rather mountainous; such heavy rains (15"-20" in some areas) can have disaster written all over 'em as they trigger mudslides and rapid flooding. Tie that with the widespread poverty and poor housing and road qualities and you have a humanitarian crisis.

The water vapor imagery above shows Noel over Cuba and now making its turn to the north, basically, right at Nassau, Bahamas. Miami may get nicked with a few showers, belted clouds and windy conditions, but that will be it. For us here in the Carolinas, nada, zip, zilch.

The forecast track shows what happens when a tropical system runs headlong into a strong cold front (coming through the Carolinas Thursday)...hit a wall, turn right, and zip-tang into the north Atlantic. Interesting to note that the modeling has Noel maintaining tropical storm strength all the way to Newfoundland, where it should make for one nasty weekend for them.

The sharply defined western edge is clearly visible on this variation of water vapor imagery, with the center of circulation where you see the small white dot in the darker blue, to the left side of the cloud deck.

So far this year, we've had 16 tropical depressions, of which 14 have become named storms. Of those 14, only 4 have become hurricanes: Two reached Cat 5 status, and the other two reached only Cat 1 status.

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Of course, 'tis Halloween today...and perfectly timed is a photo from my brother of their dynamic duo's first Halloween: Ellen (left) and William (right). I think the picture will speak volumes by itself.

Here's a few Halloween jokes I'll teach em' when they hit their stride in cognitive developement:

Q1. What is a ghost's favorite fruit?
Q2. What is a ghost's favorite Italian dish?
Q3. What does a ghost call his or her parents?

A1. Booberries
A2. Spookghetti
A3. Mummy and Deady.

Did you hear about the skeleton that went into a bar?
He ordered a Manhattan and a mop.

Happy Halloween Hump Day, Y'all!

"We Interrupt This Blog..."

After working Sunday, I'm off today and also Tuesday...may post a blog tomorrow...maybe today...but the above sign says it all...!

"Fried Fridays: Milking It For All It's Worth"

Whereas these "Fried Friday" posts usually involve my selection of a shamefully ridiculous 'story of the week', this one is pretty humorous. Kudos go to those affected by the story that follows...

If you make airline reservations frequently, or deal with meteorologic data on a regular basis, you become familiar with airport "identifiers".

Some make sense:

CLT...Charlotte
GSP...Greenville-Spartanburg
ATL...Atlanta

And some make no sense, at first glance:

MSY...New Orleans (Moisant Stock Yards)
TYS...Knoxville (Tyson Field)
SDF...Louisville (Standiford Field)

And some, well...some just 'are':

SUX....Sioux City, Iowa.

Yep, city leaders in good ol' Sioux City decided to quit petitioning the FAA to change the identifier for Sioux Gateway Airport; instead, they've chosen to give it a big ol' bear hug and turn it into a marketing and merchandising extravaganza.

That's right, be the first person on your block to buy a ball cap or T-shirt emblazoned with the words

"FLY SUX"

And if you think I'm making all of this up, go check out their website which is, of course...

www.flySUX.com


Yes, hand it to the stalwart Iowans to make light of a burdensome moniker. Oh, it gets better. You see, the city petitioned the FAA on two occasions, once in 1988...and again in 2002,when then Mayor Craig Berenstein described SUX as an embarrassment to the city.

The FAA then offered 5 options, one of which was...again, I did not make this up...GAY. Even though GAY is taken from "Gateway" in the airport's name, it simply added kerosene to the fire at hand.

Myself, I'm rather fond of shorts and T-shirts, which I wear 80% of the year...and I found a T-shirt at FlySUX.com that tickled me more than the ones above:

Never been to Sioux City...but I think I now know what to expect...

"Travelogue: Blue Ridge Parkway, October 21, 2007"

(click on pics to enlarge)

Welcome to a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, roughly between ~MP (milepost) 370 (Craggy Gardens picnic area) to ~MP 345 (Highway 80), both north of Asheville, NC. Sunday, October 21, was a sunny and warm day, with nary a cloud in the sky...

...with 2-legged crowds out the wazoo!, As I always try to do, I kept those humanoids hidden from my photographs!

Most of this stretch is in the Black Mountains of the Blue Ridge, home to Craggy Gardens and Mt. Mitchell, the latter of which is the highest elevation east of the Rocky Mountains. The above pic is from the southeast flank of Mt. Mitchell...

Oh, the color gods are decrying a dull leaf change this year...please don't waste your time telling me that...the highest elevations were past peak (Craggy Garden peak below) , but the 4500-foot levels were stunning (above)...

The Black Mountain range was so named because of the density of spruce and related evergreens, which give the highest peaks a very dark appearance...of course, between acid rain and the Woolly Aphid infestations, many of the evergreen forests are under attack and dying at a rapid rate...

Still, the beauty remains, especially where the dark greens mix in with the other rich fall foliages...

The sun was bright and warm, and the shadows rather pronounced and harsh...with the sun at my back, the photos came easily...

But with the sun at my side, well...it was almost a no-win situation resolving the significant difference in exposure values for the hazed hills versus the colored foreground...

One of my favorite stomping grounds is Linville Gorge, pictured in the horizon below, taken from the south flank of Mt. Mitchell. The two pointed 'peaks' are Hawksbill Mountain (left) and Table Rock (right), both on the east rim of Linville Gorge proper...

Aw, enough jawin', already...just enjoy the pics, and be prepared to answer the following trivia question at the end: Mt. Mitchell was named after Dr. Elisha Mitchell who died one night bushwhacking down the north side of the mountain on June 27, 1857...so what was the name of the peak before it was named after him?



(the above three shots were from the south flanks of Mt. Mitchell and the Black Mountains)

The answer to the trivia question? Black Dome.

Ya learn somethin' new every day, eh? Enjoy the Moment of Now!

California Fires: Some Neat Imagery

It's almost no use writing out the numbers of actual fires, sizes, %-contained, # evacuated (already half a million!)...the Santa Ana winds are cranking like the often do, creating fires as they often do, under their own drought-like conditions. It's happened for millenia. Here is a quote from an AP wire story early this morning:

"...Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the flames were threatening 68,000 more homes.

"We have had an unfortunate situation that we've had three things come together: very dry areas, very hot weather and then a lot of wind," Schwarzenegger said. "And so this makes the perfect storm for a fire."..."

You left out the fourth thing that makes it all the worse, Governator: Way too many people who have been allowed to build and develop in areas that are extremely fire prone, naturally. This type of disaster will happen again and again, and while the personal tragedies are monumental, please don't cry me a river. Money-hungry and land-grubbing interests have pushed developments far into natural areas that arguably shouldn't be densely populated, if at all. In a related way, rampant development there goes into canyon country, then someone gets mauled by a mountain lion when they go for a run or a hike...and all we hear about is the blood-thirsty lion being hunted down and what a tragedy it is for the family. We are very good at getting it all "bass ackwards"...

Bringing it home, remember earlier this year the major brouhaha with Kannapolis and Concord petitioning the state so they could draw millions of gallons of water daily from the Catawba River for their water supply, even though they are not part of that drainage basin? Can you even IMAGINE the scope of our current disaster if that already were in operation? Trying to talk about population and growth limitations brings out the worst in selfish people and corporations that are primarily profit-driven (as well as tax-driven). A change of attitude is needed on a large scale, friends...otherwise we are doomed to fulfill the very definition of......

INSANITY: when you do the same thing
repeatedly and still expect a different result

With that said, I'll get down off my soapbox and share with you incredible images I found from various websites. They enlarge nicely when you click on them. I think they're pretty self-explanatory...

Winter Outlook

(remember: click on graphics/photos to enlarge)

While I posted other links to this effect a couple of weeks ago, NOAA put out these official graphics at the end of last week and bear repeating to give us some serious things to ponder. Keep in mind that just because a map says 'warm and dry' this winter does NOT mean there won't be any rain or cold weather...just that when all is averaged out, that is forecast to be the net effect. First up is the temperature outlook for the core of the cold months this winter:


In and of itself, you could argue that warmer temperatures around the Gulf of Mexico region would mean more moisture transport inland which, when combined with colder continental air inland during the winter months might make for better rainfall chances in the Southeast. However, our nemesis has been an omnipresent sub-tropical Bermuda High that continues to spread its influence far to the west into the Southeast U.S., which blocks a lot of incoming systems. Note the this winter's precipitation outlook below:


When I see that type of "dry" delineation in the Southeast, that tells me we will be under the influence of blocking highs more often than not, as storm systems coming in from the west and northwest will be buffeted by the drier clockwise flow around the high off the Atlantic coast, sending the rains into the upper Midwest, up and over the Southeast. Not a good sign given our critically low (and lowering) water supplies.

Speaking of which, in my Sunday wanderings in western North Carolina, I returned from the Blue Ridge Parkway via Highway 80, the gorgeous Buck Creek Gap road. Along the highway, closer to P.G. (Pleasant Garden @ Highway 70) there is a stunning mountain lake, privately and tightly controlled, called Lake Tahoma. Fantastic fishing, deep cold water, and no jet skis or motorboat wakes allowed...paradise, it is...unaffordable paradise for the majority of humankind.

As I quickly stopped and got a couple of photographs for the blog (their local 'sheriff' will quickly check up on your credentials and shoo you away), I noticed Lake Tahoma is at 'full pond'...a rare thing these days in the Southeast. The famous Buck Creek leading into the lake was still and hardly moving...so how is it possible?

It's a deep spring-fed lake, through and through, with springs going strong, apparently. Go swimming in that lake and you'll feel it! When my family used to live in Marion many moons ago, we had a friend with a house there...and I spent many a delighted hour fishing for handsome-sized crappie, bluegill, and bass from their dock. Just a great all-around lake retreat.

Well, that lake is in the distinct minority...we are in for a serious public relations policy haul as we quickly come to terms with what could be devastating water emergencies in the months ahead. The above map is sombre, to say the least, for much of North Carolina forecast to be in the "Persist" drought region.

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Just a little teaser photo for Thursday's upcoming blog from parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway...this pastoral scene is in a valley in northeast Buncombe County, close to 3,000 feet elevation. Colors were only just beginning there...presently 'on fire' up around 4,500 feet, as you'll soon see...stay tuned!

"Just A Bend In The Road...Literally..."

A friend in Asheville sent an email Saturday with a couple of snapshots and said "finally, there is some nice color up here - you should see it!" After a Saturday of pulling up 2 rooms of what was arguably some of the nastiest carpet in the civilized world, I had no trouble signing off on Sunday to head west and hit some of my favored back roads to see for myself. Needed the fresh air. Needed the connection to Nature. Needed a break from the "concrete jungle".

With the deep blue sky and strong specular sunlight, the colors were bold and the shadows very deep, which wreaks a little havoc with photography as it is impossible to hold all highlights with all shadow details...the above is from a gravel Forest Service road I like to take from the Big Ivy community up the northwest flank of Craggy Gardens to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Sleepy gravel road that beckons you to stay a while. When I got to my favorite bend, I did just that. I stopped.

Not much water was tumbling down the little creek, and the once crystalline pool was now filled with floating, twirling colors of fall. (Remember, with virtually all of my blog posts, click on any picture to enlarge for a better look) There's something about creeks, rocks, and fall leaves that I find very comforting...and even more so when you take the time to 'be' with it...to just sit and look, turning off the 'thinking' mind and just letting the beauty and peacefulness envelope you.

I could tell from the leaves that had fallen that talk of a 'subdued' fall color change certainly had its exceptions...and wait 'til you see Thursday's Travelogue post this week - wanna see some mountain color? Hold on to your horses as I'll have a difficult time boiling my pictures down to the handful I'll post from the Black Mountain Range between Craggy Gardens and Mount Mitchell.

The deep blue sky and golden maple colors overhead made for enhanced water reflection in between the floating leaves...and as I moved in closer to select a more detailed shot, I was reminded of a simple physics lesson when it comes to photographing such a scene. The above picture appears natural as you would have seen it...but not really. The human eye is the most amazing camera of all, and can instantly refocus and combine visual changes in light and distance to where you often aren't aware it's doing all of that. The following 2 pictures reveal something to you you might not normally be aware of...

I found a nice little section where the orange-red Sugar Maple was reflecting amongst the shaded leaves. Your reaction is that the camera focuses on what's toward the center of the screen, letting the leaves and water be in focus. The big surprise is that the focal distance to the reflected Maple is not the water but the distance from the reflection to the tree itself added in. You can clearly see a focused Maple (such that the slowly rippling water would allow), with the floating leaves far from the zone of focus...

...and now the same shot focused on the floating leaves, the reflected tree now blurred. The second shot looks especially neat enlarged...where the water cohesion curvature glues the leaves to the water, some of those edges reflected the blue sky and made for a pseudo-postarized glow around some of the edges. If I had had a tripod, I could have mounted the camera and shot the scene at and aperture of f/22 or even f/32 to try and get both leaves and reflection in focus together; however, the time of the exposure would have been slow enough to allow for movement of both leaves and water ripples as to have rendered the scene potentially muddy and unfocused. Just a little photo tidbit, FYI.

And what creekside stop would not be complete without the mighty Mercy along, jumping in perfectly into the very place I wanted to photograph! Always good to remember you don't have to go far and you don't have to do much to find Peaceful Medicine. May you find a little corner of it yourself, today...

"Fried Fridays: They're Wedding Vows, Alright..."

"Do you, Elana and David Glatt, take thee Posy Floral Design Studio to be your...."

Ya know, there has to be drawn that proverbial line in the sand when fully-brained 2-leggeds go off the deep-end as a result of self-righteous pride and indignation.

Granted, wedding days are big events...lots of intricate planning and coordination...oftentimes replete with short tempers and joy and tears mixed with hysteria and calm smiling...nothing short of the whole gamut of emotions. Can't say I've ever seen a single one that went like clockwork all around the board. You roll with the punches. The show must go on. In the greater scope of day to day living, this, too, shall pass.

Seems as though Stamos Arakas, owner of the above named florist shoppe, now has his hands full of legal troubles thanks to a lawsuit pressed by the newlywed Glatts. Oh he provided the flowers and centerpieces alright, in place and on time...only the newlyweds decry the colors were NOT the colors they ordered...Arakas counters otherwise with photographs (which I can't find to show here...probably part of legal documents, anyway.)

Such a horrid quandry at a posh restuarant on 42nd Street in the Big Apple... The couple claimed, literally, that the alleged faux pas caused them "extreme disappointment, distress and embarrassment." They went on to add in their legal papers that "the result 'had a significant impact on the look of the room and was entirely inconsistent with the vision the plaintiffs had bargained and paid for,' " and accused the florist of fraud, a breach of contract and woefully negligent misrepresentation.

The couple claimed they asked for deep, dark shades of fuchsia, rust, and green...and that Posey Florists instead provided pastel pinks that were almost whitish, totally wrecking the ambiance of the couple's special celebratory digs. I'd love to see the original bill of sale and the photographs...seems cut and dried to me, even if they were 'live' arrangements.

You might like to know Elana filed her own lawsuit - she's a lawyer practicing under the name Elana Elbogen - and filed on behalf of herself, her husband, and her mother-in-law who paid for the flowers, Tobi Glatt.

She originally sent emails to the florist asking for $4,ooo in reimbursement, to which the florist ignored as he thought it was either fake or extortionist measures. Little did he know the hellish hound he would unleash... The resulting asked-for pricetag?...the mental duress, valued in the lawsuit, stands at...

$400,000.

Puh-leez, Elana. Righting a wrong is one thing...but this takes the (wedding) cake. We are such a stupidly litigious society it's no wonder we are often the laughing stock of the saner world community. Your high-horse should be leveled. This almost ranks up there with the Washington lawyer who sued a cleaners for millions over 1 stinkin' pair of pants.

I'm thinkin' there needs to be a special place we can send such vitriolic legal maniacs with a complimentary one-way ticket. And we won't let the door hit 'em on the way out, either...

"Travelogue: Doughton State Park, Blue Ridge Parkway"

Ashe and Alleghany Counties in NC just look different from NC mountain counties farther south. Welcome to today's Travelogue which simply features some snapshots from the Blue Ridge Parkway through those areas.

Though it was mid-October on the calendar, the color was delayed due to the drought mostly, and warm temperatures secondly...

...the sunny and relatively clear skies still yielded beautiful vistas, if not a touch on the hazy side...

Most elevations ran in the 3,000 to 4,000 foot range through this area, which included Doughton State Park in Alleghany County...

Just looking at some of the mapped trails that descended the mountain side made my knees tremble and say "NO THANKS!" to any possibility of a little side hike...

The other nice sidelight was that it was a Monday, when tourist traffic, and traffic in general, was significantly reduced on the popular roadway...

At the restaurant and gift store at Doughton State Park was this stately Sugar Maple below, which beckoned to be walked around and photographed...

...it's always worthwhile simply to get in close and revel in the colored shadows cast by the sun shining through the golden boughs...


In general, the color simply wasn't there, overall, save the above maple...but with million dollar views, who was caring? The lazy drive alone was worth it...


"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes."
~ e.e. cummings

"If Only We Had '20-20' Vision..."

My brother just sent this awesome picture of young William, now just over 3 months old. That innocent cherubic face that makes you grin right back at him...and it got me to wondering...

What will nephew William experience in 2020?


Cures for some cancers?
AIDS vaccines that work?

Will we still be talking about global warming, or will we as a world be more responsible and already lowering all pollution and emissions production for the sake of a cleaner environment, global warming notwithstanding?

Will we finally have alternative fuel cars available in mass numbers? Or will we still be totally controlled by fossil fuels because large auto corporations still refuse to lead the move away from oil dependence?

What will be the political make-up of the oil-rich Mid-East? Will U.S. troops still be there? How widespread will Islamic-based terrorist groups be by then, or not?

Will racial problems be any more resolved in the U.S.? Will we continue social and political efforts and programs that separate our nation economically instead of uniting it?

Will the U.S. finally take some of it's seemingly endless billions of dollars going overseas to other countries (in war or not) and keep it within the States to take care of properly funding much needed welfare work here at home?

Will teachers still have to spend their own money to buy students pencils and paper and other supplies that most schools no longer supply?

Will we have formed a viable and effective third political party in response to our current two party system growing toward polarization? Will individuals have the guts to vote for a candidate for her/his values and positions instead of checking one "X" for all same-party candidates?

Will Charlotte even be close to having appropriate levels of road and school construction to meet what continues to be unbridled development? Will they even consider bridling development to a more controlled and planned process?

And with the population boom, what if there is another severe drought in 2020 - will they control water usage much sooner? For that matter will they now go ahead with Concord-Kannapolis's plan to take millions of gallons of water a day from the Catawba River since they have no such water resource in their own geographic basin?

What will be the latest and greatest advancement in wireless communication devices?

Will someone somewhere have detonated a nuclear bomb?

Will our National Parks once again be properly maintained and staffed?

Will there be any indication the world community will respect each others' differences and move together in a unifying direction, respecting those differences?

Will we still care about Brad and Angelina? Will Britney Spears be reunited with her kids? Most importantly, will The Jerry Springer Show still be in syndication? Or, just MAYbe...will our society have grown up and said 'no' to all that schlock that serves no beneficial purpose whatsoever?

We can only imagine...


John Lennon
"Imagine"

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

"What A (Re)Treat This Weekend Was!"

Over a month ago a friend told me about this neat bed and breakfast retreat they go to regularly, way up in northern Ashe County (NC) near the VA border. On Sunday late afternoons, they had been having a "Summer Salon" series where a musician (or persons of entertainment note) give a concert performance from 4-6pm, with an intermission of gourmet hors d'oeuvres and cocktails...followed by one hifalutin' 4-course meal of superior culinary presentation. My friends suggested it would be perfect for me and my flutes, and they put me in touch with the appropriate people.

And so began the introductory emails and, long-story short, I was signed up to give the concert this past Sunday, October 14. I'd worked in Ashe County many moons ago for the North Carolina Nature Conservancy and fallen in love with that county, which is simply very different in appearance than virtually all other NC mountain counties. Of my many fond memories were those of stuffing my belly at Shatley Springs on Highway 16 north of Jefferson, NC...family-style cooking, seating, and eating all the way, the Cadillac of down-home cookin' joints. Lo and behold, this B&B was only a mile or two north of there:

River House Country Inn and Restaurant
(click link to find out more).

Nestled on the New River, this former country doctor's estate has been transformed into one of the most well-run, luxurious, and romantic get-aways I've seen in a long, long time...below is a view from the hilltop looking down on their spread (note: the large red chicken coop is NOT a part of the luxurious accomodations!)...

Needless to say, the weather was simply glorious...a tad warm in the sunny afternoon sunshine, and deliciously nippy at the crack of dawn with lows in the upper 30s with light fog, typical of river valley living in the mountains...

I ended up playing to the right of the lawn furniture pictured above, with folks spread across the ample porch in rocking chairs, sitting on padded benches, and scattered here an yon in the yard and garden area...

Beyond the gravel road passing in front of the property was a lush grassy field leading up to the banks of the north fork of the New River...and perhaps the most famous of landmarks there, a giant, stately Sycamore tree around which were appropriately placed chaises for languishing in the peaceful setting...

This section of the New is catch-and-release-only, with mostly Rainbow and a few Brown trout mixed in with hard-fighting Red-Eyes and Suckers (the later being an unglorious fish that comes with the territory!)...you simply go right into the water in front of the estate and start drowning flies and lures to your heart's content. With our drought concerns, the river was running 12-15" below it's normal levels, which has stressed the trout this summer due to lowered oxygen levels and hotter water temperatures.

One of the neatest things the owner has done is to convert all the older outbuildings into cozy, warm, luxurious suites, with a fireplace and a room-centered jacuzzi in each one. The larger buildings had multiple suites each with their own private entrance...

The deal they give performers like me is free lodging and meals, and I could sell my CDs and DVDs and flutes, as well. It was an experience like no other, to say the least, and I was way overdue for a little R&R away from my work schedule. Below is the Carriage House they had readied for my arrival...

...and when I opened the door...well, I'll let the pictures paint a thousand words...!


I was overwhelmed by the graciousness of Sherman, the host, and equally overwhelmed with the epicurean delights and presentation thereof, something you'd see in New York or Chicago. There was a healthy eclectic crowd in attendance, and had it not been for the meal awaiting all of us, I think we'd have continued well into the night. It was perfect beyond my wildest expectations, this late-weekend escape to the River House...if you are looking for some place out of the ordinary, may I highly recommend this place. No TVs or phones in the rooms...just fireplaces, jacuzzis, libraries, and some of the warmest and most complete hospitality services you will find ANYwhere.

When I look at the above picture, I can just hear the Mills Brothers singing "Up A Lazy River"...maybe you can, too. And as if all of the above weren't perfect enough, I stopped to put gas in the car once I got down out of the mountains...38.2 miles per gallon. Good ol' buggy of mine...

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I did get some other pictures from the region that I'll post in this Thursday's "Travelogue" blog. The color was not yet impressive, typical of droughts delaying the color change...for those leaves that stay on the trees until then. Still, beauty was found, as is always the case. Stay tuned, Saddle Pals!

"Fried Fridays: Fulla Ourselves"

Move over, Barbie. There's a new gal in town...kinda sorta.

Meet Fulla, who's actually been around since late 2003 when Syrian-based NewBoyToys unveiled the Muslim-based doll for young girls. Catching on like wildfire these days, Fulla has become the hot selling item in Muslim markets.

Out of respect, my "Fried Fridays" usually deal with crazy, screwed up stories; however, this is more of a 'hmmmmmm' article to mull and ponder, made more unusual for those not immersed in or around those of the Muslim faith.

You see, to no surprise, Barbie began to be verbotten recently in some Muslim countries, guilty as charged of undermining vernacular values by flooding young girl's heads with Western ideas of skimpy dresses, freedom for boyfriends and doing any activity they want, dressed however they like. Horrors. It was and is to many Muslims, of course. Hence Fulla comes with a nice conservative hajib/abaya/burka when pretending to be in public, and a selection of (optional) nice conservative 'house clothes' when pretending to be in the privacy of her home. She comes with the traditional items like a hairbrush and some jewelry...oh yeah, and a prayer mat. Keep in mind there will NEVER be a boyfriend, heaven forbid...and all expectations are that there will be a Doctor Fulla and a Teacher Fulla forthcoming to give young girls something to which to aspire.

Who's kidding who...it is one hot item around the globe, with many pleased there is a doll that is more in line with religious and cultural values instead of those doled out by that loose blonde American vixen. She does have two friends, Yasmine and Nada. And in case you are really inquisitive, there have been a few other similar dolls with different names like Razanne (Britain), Sara (Iran) and even a Moroccan Barbie. No doubt Fulla is the queen of the ball, though.

Of course, there is still the dark side to this new obsession...the following is from an article in the Al-Ahram Weekly: "According to Dina Ali, 23, both Fulla and Barbie are dangerously unreal: 'They both have the kind of figure every girl will want but never get: long legs, large breasts, itsy-bitsy waist. Setting such high standards for teenagers already obsessed with their bodies can only have a negative effect.' "

And there you have it. Below is a video link that is, well, interesting:

Muslim Barbie video - a must see

By the way, have you heard about the new Divorce Barbie? It comes with all of Ken's things...

"Travelogue: Flat Stanley at Wall Drug, S.D."

"Flat Stanley" has become a world-traveled icon thanks to the children's book, so named, that brought him to fame. If you are unaware of the story and how it's used in the classroom, elementary classes (grades 1-2 range) will read the book and create their own Flat Stanley and mail him to someone in some other city, state, or country...that person will in turn take Stanley places and photograph him in neat areas and then send the pictures back to the student...the class then makes a big scrapbook of "The Adventures of Flat Stanley". Fun stuff.

While in South Dakota, I received my North Carolina Stanley and took him to a famous shopping mecca for young and old alike: The famous Wall Drug, in Wall, S.D. on I-90 near the Badlands National Park.

It's an odd cacophany of stores, crafts, trinkets galore, cheap coffee, statues, exhibits and play areas...

...and Stanley wasted no time going on his own adventures, clambering over everything he could...

Stanley even quoted a little Shakespeare for me:
"Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Pronghorn Antelope, lend me your ears..."

It's a good thing this bear was well-trained...

He even got to rub elbows with the big boys...

If only this thunderbird could've flown, I betcha he'd have taken wing with it...

Stanley's a punny guy...he told me to ride this bronze was a buck...

There were hare-raising moments...especially with the mother of all prarie dogs...

In short, he found Wall Drug 'teaming' with things to do. He even got to do a little forecasting, calling for reins that afternoon....

"Twisted News: A Classic Example"

As much as I don't watch mainstream television (as in traditional network programming), I usually do catch the national news while I eat dinner, just to see what is covered and how...and ABC's with Charles Gibson is the one I usually gravitate towards. If you follow this blog at all, you know I am not a fan of 'traditional' news on TV because of it's overriding tendency to focus on the negative and gory and fear-inducing headlines, which often seem purposefully slanted to be the way they appear. Last night was no exception.

Lead story, in short: heating costs going up this winter, colder than average winter predicted, people will be threatened with staying warm and paying their bills. As an aside, I did have to laugh when at the start of the extended story someone in master control rolled an incorrect tape...instead of the tape matching talk of heating woes and a harsh winter (puh-LEEZ), a tape from the Republican debate ran, and for an uncomfortably long time before they bailed out of it - you better believe some heads rolled for that gaffe, especially on the big lead-in... (ABC link)

I had just been mulling a viewer's email asking about our winter outlook in NC...personally, I'm not a huge fan of extended forecasts and will usually just defer to modeling from the National Weather Service and muse about El Nino or La Nina and how that will affect jet stream patterns in the East, which affects temperatures and precipitation. "A colder than average winter" they said...THAT was news to me....

Check out this page from the NWS and click on any of the temp maps up top or the precip maps below: U.S. extended range forecasts . Find any temp map for any period that has shading for 'below average' temperatures...it's distinctly the opposite. Sadly, our precipitation outlook is one for persistence in our Southeast drought conditions...a very, very bad sign.

Looking at the on-line ABC article, they pulled their information from the latest report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which oversees the NWS...overall a predicted 4% colder winter than last year, but 2% warmer than the 30-year average. Uh, last winter wasn't that cold to begin with, at least not for very long here in our neck of the woods...and it all hearkens back to one of my favored quotes from Mark Twain (paraphrased):

"There are three types
of lies in this world:
lies, (bleep) lies, and statistics."

The NOAA data was ho-hum to begin with, but with the Mideast crisis in full-swing, the impact of rising crude oil prices that will affect our economy as a result, number-crunchers had a field day creating "this could happen" data, in essence...and lo and behold it was the lead story that spoke of winter hardships ahead for many Americans, especially in the pocket book.

It was enough to make me lose my appetite.

"Can We Really Imagine..."

I think it's safe to say the vast majority of us are complacent when it comes to having the basic necessities of life like shelter, food, water, electricity, etc. Too, many of us don't like to 'give up' something we've gotten used to, be it something good or bad for us...when something is taken away, we grab for it. Water is no exception.

Our current drought is on track to supercede what was considered to be the historic drought of 2002 which was the culmination of a 4-year period of dropping water levels; in 2007, we are seeing serious, prolonged dry spells that are dropping municipal water sources to disconcerting levels. Long-term prospects for rain continue to be rather dismal, and water restrictions will most likely (and should) continue to tighten consumption.



The above map and key pretty much tells the overall story...one told in other Southeast states, as well. Here's a little NC trivia fact for you: there are 100 counties in the Tarheel state. I say that because it makes calculating percentages a snap. Here are some statistics that are rather sobering in their scope:

# NC counties in "Exceptional Drought"....55
# NC counties in "Extreme Drought"........31
# NC counties in "Severe Drought"..........11
# NC counties in "Moderate Drought".......03

Wow. 86% of NC counties are in extreme or exceptional drought status...that's almost 9 out of every 10 counties in serious, serious trouble. 97% of the state is in severe status or worse. Nobody is exempt, and we all have to do our part to cut back - needless to say I'm one who advocates even stiffer penalties for those selfish individuals and companies who continue to disobey restrictions.

And so I watched a string of cars go through a car wash yesterday and I wondered what each driver was thinking, if anything, on how their individual action changes anything. I rank it up there with voting ideology - collectively, the impact is huge. So a car wash company stands to lose money because of weather. Farmers lose money because of weather. Painters and builders can lose money because of weather. All kinds of businesses stand to lose business due to weather. Car washes should be no exception, though I don't see efforts to curtail their water usage. Just something that made me go 'hmmmm' yesterday....

Following is a breakdown of info from the NC Drought Monitor webpage. This first graphic deals with the # of water "systems" in the state, where water is treated and distributed, with the color coding explained in the blue type following:

Likewise, this is the pie chart as it relates to the NC population affected by water 'systems' under restrictions, or not, with the color key in the graphic to follow:


Almost half of the state's population is under a mandatory restriction of some sort, which you can pretty well guess encompasses the larger cities. Over 60% of the systems in the state are currently not restricted, though that is likely to change with the drought continuing.

As yet there are no emergency level restrictions, but they are not out of the realm of possibility. Greensboro started Stage 2b restrictions today, and even in north Georgia some areas are considering water rationing. It's not just our problem - it's everybody's problem.

If you are interested in what water 'systems' in particular are doing in relation to our drought concerns, you can go to the following link to see a complete listing for NC, alpabetized by county (scroll down from graphics at the top):
Current restrictions for NC systems

So the 100-million dollar question is when is rain coming? I don't see it in the next few weeks; what needs to happen is a major shift in global jet stream patterns in the northern hemisphere to shift our months-long high pressure ridge domination out into the Atlantic and off the eastern seaboard. Those types of large-scale changes take months to occur, assuming they are in the process of occurring.

"New Twist On A Holiday Classic"

Felt like being a songwright Sunday afternoon...
sing to the tune of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"

"It's beginning to look a lot like October,
Everywhere but here,
With the temperatures nice and hot,
Feeling like fall it's NOT,
With sweat a-drippin' down our rain-starved bods....

It's beginning to look a lot like October,
Soon the leaves will fall,
And the prettiest sight by far
Is some rain upon your car,
In your dreams - that's - all....

The rains remain far-away on Columbus Day,
There's nothing even coming close;
The tropics are dead and aren't of much help,
All we can do is to pray....

But at least we have some fall-like temps
That will quickly head our way....

It's beginning to look a lot like October,
In stores like WalMarts,
So we'll hang on to hope, you see,
As it's our only liberty,
In our heat - strained - hearts!"

Don't worry...I'm not quitting my day job...not yet, anyway! Rain is a gazillion miles away from our forecast, but there is decidedly cooler air heading our way behind a couple of dry cold fronts that will do nothing more than create patchy clouds and noticeable wind shifts.

We'll be heading from the 90s the next couple of days (!!!) into highs maybe only in the upper 60s for the weekend, which pretty much says it all for our forecast - at least we get some temperature relief. Rain relief, however, simply isn't in our picture this week.

***SIGH***

"Fried Friday: The Bottom Line"

Make no butts about it, Chesterfield County School System in Virginia has its hands full. We're talkin' lawsuit, here, to pay for damages in arrears, so to speak.

Meet Stan Murmur...only that's not his real name. It's his artist's persona, which is known to be masked at times...at least in some ways. Seems as though one of "Stan's" YouTube videos came to light within the hallowed halls of the above school system near Richmond, Virginia. "Stan", whose real name is Stephen Murmer, was a well-liked teacher, and even won a teacher of the year award in 2002. Alas, in early December last year, the school board suspended him and then fired him one month later. They say he simply caused too much of a disturbance.

Actually, Stephen didn't...just the video that circulated on-line and surfaced.

Pretty harsh treatment for someone who is a painter away from his normal job, to earn a bit of extra cash which I'm sure just about any teacher needs. Okay, so he paints with his butt cheeks, for starters. But that's not the end of the story...

(Yes, it's called Butt-erfly...)

Apparently he went out of his way to keep his creative painting style hidden from his public life, hence the pseudonym and costume masks. He never divulged a peep of this to his students, ever. It was all kept very private. That is until his appearance on "Unscrewed with Martin Sargent", some now-defunct cable program back in the fall of 2003. In a mask and toweled turban...and a Speedo...he demonstrated his technique.

To get to the bottom of this, the school board followed up with a complaint someone made in 2004, put two and two together, discovered Stephen's other 'job' and website, and asked him to remove 3 paintings, and said that will be the last of the problem. Apparently not.

Check it out for yourself:
"Stan's Butt-Print Art"

Maybe I could do creative weather art...take an older suit and tie I've used on-air and put paint all over me and roll around on large floor canvases to make paintings like "Storms" or "Cold Fronts" or "Cyclogenesis".
Hmmmmmmmmmm...

Have a nice end to your week!

"Travelogue: Spearfish Canyon, Black Hills, SD

If there is one favored destination in the Black Hills, it's the famed Spearfish Canyon in the northern region during fall leaf color...and for good reason, as you are about to see...

Unlike other landmarks in the region that have legendary Lakota names, there is no known reference to this spectacular canyon in Native lore...

The above panorama was 'stitched' together with my Canon S2, and taken from the one major motel and restaurant complex along the highway, which has some nice vantage points. As always click pics to enlarge...may have to pan the panorama to see it all, depending on what program opens the picture.

Spearfish Creek is what's left of the mighty waters that carved this canyon, though it wasn't running very strongly when I was there. Bridal Veil falls is one of the landmarks along the canyon wall, but it was not very picturesque due to the low flow (hence no picture of it).

The first commercial transportation was a railroad built in 1893; after a devastating flood in 1933, a permanent road was put in in place of the railway beds, what is today's Highway 14A.

The canyon lies at the north end of the Black Hills, with the quaint town of Spearfish just past its mouth at the base of the mountains. I rather took a liking to the town, which boasts some really good art festivals throughout the year...

Somethin' about those Black Hills rock formations that just trip my trigger, especially when so colorfully adorned...

Don't forget, if you don't have any good vistas to shoot, you can always move in more closely and enjoy the beauty of the 'little stuff'...

'Bout that time for the ol' color change here in the NC mountains...reckon I better make sure my batteries are charged and head for the hills before too long...!

"I know, I know..."

...I should have saved this for "Fried Fridays" as it's as prime as any article is for that which rubs elbows with 'stupidity'....

On November 27, Hannah Montana of TV fame (i.e. read Miley Cyrus of TV fame) will be playing a gig in Charlotte...upon public ticket sales, all seats were gone in minutes, with scalpers immediately jacking up the prices...way up...one ticket sold for $2,565 for the Charlotte show. That doesn't just border on assanine, folks...

To each his/her own. I suppose. I can't imagine being so desperate for something that I pursue it at any cost. Remember the Tickle Me Elmo doll that some just HAD to have under the Christmas tree so Jeni wouldn't suffer disappointment? Those Michael Jordan shoes Billy just HAD to have so he could keep his self-esteem at school? Sometimes I think adults need to take a test before being allowed to become parents. Mankind's pursuit of that which is material is alive and well, sadly.

Speaking of sad situations, the drought in the Carolinas keeps getting nastier. While there is a great deal of unsettled weather in Florida, through the Grand Bahama Banks and down through Cuba and Hispaniola, the bona fide rains are barely making it into coastal SC and up toward the Wilmington region. For the Triad, many of you won't see a drop before the sun returns this weekend, but at least we have an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny chance for some moisture Thursday and Friday.

Here's a look at some 2007 rainfall deficits around the region, as of this morning:

Lumberton.........-21.32"
Cape Hatteras....-20.10"
Wilmington.........-19.60"
Spartanburg.......-15.51"
Greensboro........-13.28"
Charlotte............-12.19"
Danville..............-11.98"
Roanoke.............-11.90"
Asheville.............-11.06"
Raleigh................- 7.89"

"Birthin' Them GRAND-babies..."

It's all in the family. Read about it HERE. Mother births her own grandchildren.

Just reading that wire story brought to mine my singing days at UNC Chapel Hill with the Clef Hangers, and in later years singing in competition barbershop quartets...repertoires always consisted of the funny and quirkily worded songs that were real crowd pleasers. They make for a fun read, even if you can't hear the song!

In line with the headline that prompted today's blog was a barbershop arrangement that was a very difficult song to memorize and 'get under control' as I remember...it's called "I'm My Own Grandpa":

I'm my own grandpa.
I'm my own grandpa.
It sounds funny, I know, but it really is so,
Oh, I'm my own grandpa.

Now many, many years ago, when I was twenty-three,
I was married to a widow who was pretty as could be.
This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red.
My father fell in love with her, and soon they, too, were wed.

This made my dad my son-in-law and changed my very life,
My daughter was my mother, cause she was my father's wife.
To complicate the matter, even though it brought me joy,
I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy.

My little baby then became a brother-in-law to Dad,
And so became my uncle, though it made me very sad.
For if he was my uncle, then that also made him brother
Of the widow's grown-up daughter, who, of course, was my stepmother.

Father's wife then had a son who kept him on the run,
And he became my grandchild, for he was my daughter's son.
My wife is now my mother's mother, and it makes me blue,
Because, although she is my wife, she's my grandmother, too.

Now if my wife is my grandmother, then I'm her grandchild,
And everytime I think of it, it nearly drives me wild,
For now I have become the strangest case you ever saw
As husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa!

I'm my own grandpa.
I'm my own grandpa.
It sounds funny, I know, but it really is so,
Oh, I'm my own grandpa.

I think you can understand why that would be a difficult song to polish up!

Another fun song was one I sang with The Clefs at Carolina, "Shame and Scandal":

Woe is me, shame and scandal in de family,
Woe is me, shame and scandal in de family.

In Trinidad there was a family,
With much confusion as you can see;
There was a mama and a papa and a boy who was grown,
Who wanted to get married, have a wife of his own.

He found a girl who was suiting him nice,
And went to his papa to ask his advice,
His papa he say, "Son, I gotta say no,
The girl is your seester, but your mama don't know!"

refrain

A week went by and the summer came down,
And soon the best girl on the island he found.
He went to his papa to name the day,
But his papa shook his head and to him he did say,
"You can't marry that girl, I have to say no,
The girl is your seester but your mama don't know!"

refrain

He went to his mama, and covered his head,
And told his mama what his papa had said,
His mama she laugh and say, "Go, man, go -
Your papa ain't your papa but your papa don't know!"

Too much fun to sing those songs....ah, those were the days...
------------------------------------

The cooler temperatures in the Carolinas sure made for a stellar weekend all around the board. The prospects for rain the next week are dismal, in direct opposition to all the brilliant sunshine we've had and will continue to have. Happy October 1st, saddle pals!