Bob's Blah-Blah Blog

"Fried Fridays: The 'Wonder' of It All..."

2011-09-08T17:56:00.005-04:00

(cue music)

“I just called to say I love you

I just called to say how much I care

I just called to say I love you

And I mean it from the bottom of my heart”

Aw, isn’t that special…! Stevie Wonder is a ‘wonder’ in every since of the word, and the above lyrics are from but one of his myriad hits.

Love makes the world go ‘round.

Love is a many splendored thing.

Love CAN, well….

DATELINE: AMSTERDAM

In days gone by, love letters were collected and cherished, stored in a dusty shoe box with a pretty ribbon and bow, opened and re-read by the light of a glowing fireplace. The reader would hang on every word, as if they were actually hearing the distant voice in the room with them.

Now these days, you can hit someone up with a text on a cell phone, using cutesie little emoticons, or send an instant email or e-card avowing your unending love that is deeper than the ocean and higher than the mountains.

Or you can simply make a phone call.

65,000 of them.

In one year.

To one person.

More specifically, to a person who is none too happy with the unwelcome stalking and incessant calling, and who hauled your derriere into court to put a stop to it.

42 year old Jane Doe claimed she was in a relationship with the 62 year old John Doe (who denied said claim), and that her calling was not excessive. Not at all.

(Let’s see now…65,000 calls, in a 365 day year, which comes out to 178 calls a day. Let’s assume she slept at least 6 hours each day, so in an 18 hour day, that comes out to roughly 10 calls per hour, or a call every 6 minutes...)

Nope, not excessive at all.

Not much else to the story…as the police arrested her, they confiscated several cell phones and computers, and ordered her to never contact the man again. Seems like there should be some joke, punchline, or moral to this story but I can’t think of one. But it does remind me (kinda sorta) of a joke I made up a few years ago…

There was a branch on a pine tree that had a few pine cones on it. One cone in particular, though, had a filthy mouth and was cussing everybody and everything out all day long. Suddenly, he lost his grip on the branch and dropped 80 feet all the way to the ground.

What, you’ve never heard of an obscene cone fall?

AN URGENT PLEA

2011-08-29T06:50:00.011-04:00

PLEASE, please, please….do NOT think for yourself. Believe what others say, but only as long it’s how you feel so you can justify it with fervor. Do NOT search for your own facts; rather, find a source that meets your belief structure and accept THAT SOURCE’S ‘facts’ blindly. Don't think for a second you are smart enough to think for yourself: it’s wrong if not evil to think you know more than a media outlet and/or personality. Stand up against them and they will pepper you with put-downs to perpetuate your stupidity and unworthiness. Save yourself the trouble.

Make things easy for everybody and go with the mainstream media flow…after all, endless colonies of lemmings can’t be wrong. Oh sure, many die by committing suicide jumping off a cliff, but they are vindicated in so doing because everybody else is doing the same thing. That makes it right, naturally.

Mainstream TV networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, MSNBC have spent billions to get it right and save you the trouble of figuring every news item out. Honor them by not only watching them whenever possible…and not only by believing pretty much anything they say…but by doing something you might have been slow to do so far: "Friend" them on Facebook and gain a chance to become their 'fan of the day'. With luck, maybe you, too, can become an instant celebrity for a monumental millisecond.

It’s unhealthy to have a nation, yea, a society of individuals that all believe different things. Worse yet, it’s even more unhealthy to have a society where people actually objectively listen to someone else that has views different than their own. God forbid certain individuals become willing to compromise, for that truly IS the work of the Devil. Nothing will tear our society apart faster than to have people and elected leaders that wish to work together and set aside iron-clad personal agendas in order to benefit the good of all. We are NOT here to succeed as a whole. We are NOT here to compromise. Make sure you tell those that need to hear, "IT'S MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY!" We're here to be narrow-minded bigots….unless, of course, you’re just un-American.

Your momma may well have raised you with good and proper manners. Momma was a fool, so get over it. Nice people really DO finish last, so in order for your “world order” to come to fruition, you must become an outspoken jerk, and the jerkier the better. Jerky wheels get the media grease, because entertainment, NOT news, is what sells. IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, make a video of yourself or someone else doing something REALLY jerky and do your damndest to get it to go viral on the web. But don’t forget two critical items you should have around you or in your hand: the US flag and a King James bible. It'll get you a little farther down the Righteously Justified Highway.

The more you can feel like a victim, the better. Too, the more you can make your cause victimized, mo’ bettuh yet. That way you can legitimize the above-mentioned 'jerk-itis' and defend your unadmitted bigotry to the grave. Why? Because you are RIGHT. Don't let anyone else tell you differently.

So remember the Cliff Notes version from all of this: Don’t think for yourself, and don’t gather your own facts; believe everything you want to hear. Don’t compromise. Don’t be considerate. You are always right, they are always wrong. Lastly, be the best self-righteous jerk you can be.

(This bit of satire is brought to you by someone thoroughly fed up with politics and the mainstream media, not to mention the individuals who exhibit these traits with continuous aplomb.)

"Fried Fridays: 2K pounds in the tub"

2011-07-29T10:27:00.003-04:00

Washing ton.

Washington.

Can't argue it's about as 'fried' as it gets, just like the nerves and patience of the public.

I know it's getting late in the morning, and while I would love to be creative and write a more 'formal' Fried Friday's write-up, I'm also on a tight deadline to get some things completed before tomorrow's appearance at Bele Chere in Asheville.

Count me in with the masses THOROUGHLY sick and tired of our elected officials and their relentless bickering and unwillingness to compromise on any level, the latter for at least for one subset I can think of.

They say one bad apple can't spoil the barrel, but I'm not so sure anymore. There is a fine line and a dangerously slippery slope between pride and self-righteousness, that can make for a proverbial snowball heading for hell. Hmmmmmmm....

Many moons ago I heard a person tell another person to go to hell, which prompted the quick, cheerful reply, "I went once but got kicked out for bootleggin' icewater!" Amen.

"Fried Fridays: All Bottled Up...."

2011-07-22T07:36:00.004-04:00

NOT.

Sometimes it's good to let things out. Keeping some things bottled up can lead to dangerous stress levels and all kinds of related issues that have to be dealt with.

OR NOT.

DATELINE: ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA

September was going to be the red-letter month for Mollydooker Wines, as the Aussie vineyard was to make a splash into the U.S. scene. A very special reserve Shiraz was to hit the American shelves at $200 per bottle.

A grand entrance, indeed....and I like the ring of "Mollydooker", too. Kinda ranks up there with "Ugly Boy Flutes". :-)

And, oh my, they made a splash alright.

Only it was in the shipping container in their warehouse.

It fell off the forklift.

461 of 462 cases, shattered. One survived. An estimated one million dollars down the drain, literally. The itsy bitsy silver lining is that the vintner did have the wine insured.

They say don't cry over spilled milk. I'm guessing when milk hits $200 per gallon, we'll say to hell with that expression...

"Fried Fridays: kinda sorta..."

2011-07-15T02:30:00.010-04:00

Alright, this isn't my normal format, but I've gotten out of the blogger mode for so long that it will take some time to get back in it. This entry isn't about a wacky news story I've chosen to end a wacky week; rather, this is a story of just how some of my days go, this one being the good ol' Fourth of July...

My brother, his wife, and their just-turned 4-year old twins were down from Boston for several days over the Fourth, staying at mom's about 75 minutes away. Their first foray to make the trip to my abode was stopped by a hiddeous traffic snarl on I-26 heading up from the Foothills into the mountains...one big issue is that if there are major wrecks and traffic stoppage, there are no good alternate routes, so they aborted the trip Sunday and made it back on Tuesday.

That's me with the young 'uns that day, Willie Boo and Ellie Sue. Truth be told I started them on new nicknames, Scooter and LuLu, but that's another story for another day. And that's all part of the normal stuff that took place.

Alas, the morning of the Fourth is a story worth passing along....little events and decisions that, each alone, are minor....but when synergy is alive and well, and all the planets align just right simultaneously, the simple can become absurd.

My sacred time is early morning, when with prepared thermos of coffee, half and half, and Splenda I catch most sunrises, gently bringing in the day. Okay, sometimes there is an ill-timed Molly Bark-Fest at some squirrel that leads her on a chase through the woods near the neighboring cabin, but usually peace reigns supreme.

At the usual pre-dawn time, I got up, let the pups out, and soon opened the refrigerator door. It was the classic Homer Simpson "DOH!" as I realized I'd run out of creamer and forgot to get some only the day before when I got more Splenda. Leave it to me to rarely remember to make and take a bona fide shopping list with me. A grocery store was less than 10 minutes away, so I gathered the four-leggeds for an early morning ride down into the foggy valley below.

Not a lot is going on at 645am on a big holiday in my neck of the woods. There were more shelf-stockers than there were shoppers, all slowly swirling around a very sleepy start to the day. Quiet. Calm. Peaceful. I made my way back to the dairy section, and was disspointed in the price of even the store-brand of half and half, one of my daily splurges to keep my sanity. Money continues to be a big issue making ends meet in this economy, and I mused that if I would drive another 8 minutes I could get twice the product for the same money at Walmart.

Do I drive all the way there, or suck up the price and buy just the one carton, knowing I could go back out later to get all the other things I forgot to pick up the day before, so I mused. Heeding the peacefulness of the morning, and my adage from doing TV weather "if in doubt, throw it out", I decided to get the one quart and check out.

There was only one regular check-out register open, with a couple of folks lined up buying far more than a forgotten carton of moo juice. Ah, the self-check counters were open, so I headed right there. I was a bit surprised to see actual greenbacks in my wallet....well, truth be told, it was only one greenback, a fiver, but cash nonetheless. I swiped my store card, listened to the gratuitous canned "Welcome, Ingles custsomer!", and scanned the item. Hit the pay button, and inserted the cash....quick and easy? Oh, hell, no......

"Houston, we have a problem..."

Literally as the machine sucked in my money did the entire store lose power, big time. Every light, every machine, every register, down, dead, kaput. Dead in the water. What happened, how it happened, I have no idea as that was inconsequential. What was important is that we all quickly became lab rats trapped in a defunct electronic cage.

After about 5 minutes, the power did come on in the back half of the store, and apparently an emergency line that reached to front office area, as the main register trunk began to reboot the sophisticated software system that ran the registers. I'll give you a hint: rebooting such an expansive system after a crash is not one of the more speedy processes.

In another 5 minutes, one new register was able to be opened, and the lucky ones not in the middle of transactions could simply slide over and be on their way. We, the trapped lemmings, could only wait until the electronic jaws of death would unlock their booty so we could get change and go about our heretofore quiet morning.

And in yet another 5 minutes that came to pass, I got my change, and mused how I should have heeded my hunch to go to Wally World, missing the outage AND going home with twice the product for the same price. Oh well, it was what it was. The ol' deer-mangled buggy took us back on up the mountain.

Have you ever just wanted to start a day over? I sure did...and it wasn't because of the bizarre creamer expedition. No, it was something else I discovered when I went to prepare my coffee.

There was none.

Coffee. Item #2 that I forgot to get the day before.....

NEW WEBSITE

2011-06-17T08:57:00.007-04:00

Well, I reckon I'll quit apologizin' for the lack of blogging...myriad reasons and not just excuses, either! For a long time I've been wanting and needing to totally revamp my flute website, having limped along on an old old version of NetFusion a friend set me up on years ago. Much of my computer time and creative energy has gone into that. Loads of it, too!

After much researching for what best suited my needs, I decided to switch to Xara Premium 7, which was half the price of the latest NetFusion. Xara does all I need it to do, and while it comes with scads of templates and features, I ended up making my own. It's a much more user-friendly site, and now that I have continually slugged along the learning curve to this point, I'm cookin' with gas, as the old saying goes. Same site address (redirects as it always has to ooakart.com); give it a look!

www.UglyBoyFlutes.com

Finishing up some new 'kids', per usual...and dealing with nasty storms of late. Here is a video from Wednesday afternoon when bow-line echo moved through here...severe storm cells are one thing, but bow-lines are an order nastier in most cases. Thought for sure I could finish grilling the chicken before it arrived....I was wrong.

MONDAY update: I give up. I keep up a blog site for my homeowner's association, and that video posted quickly with no issue. Blogger won't let me upload on this blog, and I'm damn tired of trying to figure out why. It's really not worth all this trouble, but if you want to see the short video, click HERE.
:-)

A Loooong Flute Journey....

2011-05-08T20:17:00.006-04:00

(click on pics to enlarge)

This is a post that might not trip your trigger in details, but it does paint a larger picture of how one of my singing sticks comes to life, which you may find interesting. A good many are made and finished in fairly short order, and those are almost always more simple in design.

Then there are the 'specialty' flutes, flutes that have some unique, detailed design element that requires a lot of extra work and, correspondingly, command higher prices. I basically build only what I envision and feel, taking custom orders very, very sparingly. I can and will only work when I'm inspired and 'feel' I'm in a good spiritual place. On those days where I'm out of sorts, I just don't touch flutes. Not a good mojo and mix of efforts. Sometimes they come to 'life' in a reasonable amount of time....and then, well....

And so I had this Ambrosia Maple closed end flute that I blogged about....get this...February 18, 2009! OMG, here I was thinking I've had this flute a year and it's well over two. Talk about how time flies when you're stuck in "writer's block"! Find that post by clicking HERE. Eegads.

This is the flute as it has pretty much sat since then, with only minor shaping at the 'foot' where the woodpecker was going to go....

The above two shots show my pics of a Downy Woodpecker feeeding, up against what I was 'envisioning' for the flute. Originally the flute was going to be an F#4, but as I honed down the woodpecker and tweaked the tuning, it was much better suited for a G4, up a half step.

Voila, the flute finished off with the woodpecker detailed and painted. NOW came another big hurdle...what to do for the block? The main interest is the foot of the flute, and I didn't want a detailed block that would compete with the focus of the woodpecker. Conversely, I didn't want such a simple block design that it detracted from the focus...and so I sat with notebook and pencil and sketched. And sketched. And sketched.

I've done this with only a very few flutes, where I take scrap wood and glue up a composite shape of the pieces. Above you see scrap Bloodwood and Ebony, my actual pencil sketch (cut out) of the main tail sweep bordered by two 'wing' pieces, once of which you see cut out.

The three pieces weren't quite wide enough for the flute, so I glued on 'side bars' on the outer edge, knowing I'd sand their width down some. Too, you don't want a pure Ebony bottom exposed over the flue as such a design would lead to quick wet-out...so I thought I'd incorporate the red with the Bloodwood for a bottom choice. The bottom above was rougher than normal as a couple of pieces fractured off, but I knew I'd slap it on the belt sander and flatten it all before adding the Bloodwood.

With some shaping and careful sanding, the block took on an elegant sweeping design of a bird of sorts, with tail and wings, the Ebony and Bloodwood repeating the colors in the Downy Woodpecker. Only one thing left to do.....

The new G4 Downy Woodpecker flute fresh off the press as of today, as I write. Still a couple of more finish coats to put on, and the most minor of touch-up...goes to prove that I don't just whip these 'kids' out without a lot of thought and intentional thought! This one is close to a record, I'll admit. Worth the wait, though, eh? ;-)

"Fried Fridays: 5-Finger-Stop-N-Shop"

2011-05-06T07:38:00.002-04:00

Boy, I just am NOT getting back into the routine of blogging, so apologies. Here is yet another Friday and my usual creative writing streaks simply are not coming forth. Doesn't stop me from coming up with not only a 'fried' story, but a pathetic trend that is really bothersome...

On the news this morning was a surveillance video from a convenience store. I watched in disbelief when a group of 20 or so teens rushed in and began stealing any and everything in a flurry, and left in the same rush. They talked on cell phones, having a good ol' time with their twisted social party, while the unarmed clerk could only watch. The youth brandished no weapons, just came in with wanton disregard for anything resembling a moral fabric, taking whatever they wanted.

A quick web search reveals a disturbing number of flash mob thefts, often 13-17 year olds that tweet each other, pick a location, then amass and steal at will. It's sickening....and easy to start making sweeping singular statements that simply can't encompass how deeply the problem goes. Where are the parents, where did their upbringing go awry, why aren't they in school...they're nothing less than little thugs whose lives are rapidly heading in the wrong direction. The Hip Hop culture certainly helps breed this lawlessness through a perverted sense of entitlement and 'revenge rights' from being 'wronged' by society.

After the disaster in Japan, it was quickly noted looting simply wasn't happening. Japanese culture doesn't tolerate that behavior. I've heard it said if you drop your wallet in Tokyo, there's a good chance it will be returned to you with cash and cards in place. You also don't have the handgun issues there, but that's a whole 'nuther can of insidious worms.

It's disgusting whenever there is a disaster in the U.S. that looting begins immediately. The Alabama tornadoes were a classic example, where shortly after being leveled by a tornado, people were filmed stealing any and all merchandise they could. One store owner said he didn't mind people stealing water and food, but one lady that a reporter confronted had a giant bag of nothing but alcohol. She saw nothing wrong with taking any and every bit she could.

I had to sadly laugh watching an expose on some show like 60 minutes several months ago....they were interviewing the North Carolina Attorney General (I think) on how she takes the counterfeiting business seriously. She had coordinated a large undercover sting operation at a flea market in rural eastern NC, where they arrested vendors selling pirated movies, CDs, and fake clothing labels.

The cameras were rolling in 'reality show' style as the arrests were made, and.....lo and behold...cameras panned over to flea market goers who quickly began stealing merchandise when the vendors were being cuffed and led away.

I don't even know how to wrap this post up. Before long, there will be a flash mob theft where a clerk fires on the criminals and bodies fall. And knowing how a lot of things work in our country, the clerk will be made a villain and the thugs made 'victims' by a society that has done them wrong.

Somewhere, somehow, we really took a left turn at Albuquerque...

"Cadillac Flutes".....

2011-04-19T07:41:00.012-04:00

It was another snowy, travel-trouble winter here, much akin to the previous winter. 50"+ of snow, made all the more frustrating by my lousy snow-driving car with only front wheel drive. May this will be the year I can afford a reliable used 4x4 so I can tame the slippery mountain roads here! I can see it now, scrimp and save to barely be able to afford a 4x4, then next winter there will be only two 1" snows and that's it! HA!

Anyhow, in response to the snow and cold (I still have to work in the still-unenclosed carport), I decided to celebrate the warmer weather by pulling out what I call my "Cadillac" woods, very rare, special pieces that are one-of-a-kind, most pieces good for only one flute. Many moons ago I restored a gorgeous 1957 Cadillac Fleetwood that, while possessed by the Devil, brought me much joy and appreciation for a while. Hence my moniker of these flutes pictured...

Pics SHOULD enlarge when you click on them....this is but a sampling of some of the more unique pieces, starting with THE most stunning wood I've ever worked before...tilt it in a strong light and it's downright holographic. There is over $100 in wood, mostly for the extreme curly Hawaiian Koa, and for the Gaboon Ebony endcaps and block...

A4 Curly Hawaiian Koa and Ebony drone

A4 Black and White Ebony with Gaboon Ebony drone

Bb4 Redwood Lace Burl w/turquoise heartline inlay

D5 Curly (rare) Pink Ivory with figured White Oak block

C5 Flame Birch with Bubinga inserts and block

C5 highly figured Ash with Massarunduba block

D5 Myrtle Burl with figured White Oak block

G4 heavily figured Myrtle

B4 heavily figured Red Oak with Narra block

Wildflower picture time!

2011-04-18T08:28:00.009-04:00

The Greenin' o' th' Hills is alive and well here in western North Carolina. Here at 3775' the trees are flipping coins to see who goes first in the leafing department...always interesting to note how they stagger that output, and it's not necessarily by species, either. Got one Buckeye fully out, and another only starting. The wildflowers are out like gangbusters, thanks to our decent rains (winter snows!!!!) and finally some warming temperatures.

It looks like pics on here WILL enlarge when you click on them, but it is a slow process when I try it. Give it a shot...and enjoy!

Fiddle ferns unfurling

Smooth Yellow Violet

Wake Robin Trillim

Squirrel Corn

Dutchman's Breeches

Canadian Violet

Finger and Spring Beauty

Squirrel Corn and Molly

Bloodroot

More pics coming as the yellow Bellwort is out as well as the deep purple Dwarf Larkspur. And a new crop of flutes has bloomed with some of THE most wickedly beautful woods I've ever used...looks like a pic-filled week ahead! Stay tuned....

"Fried Fridays" returneth...kinda

2011-04-15T05:52:00.003-04:00

To update a la Cliff Notes, last year's dead computer was finally fixed, and I did make a couple of posts...but between life and economic challenges, it didn't help that the computer died once again. I've since learned that HP laptops (my dv9000 series among others) have serious design flaws in cooling, and my video chip died from heat stress, as many do. One repair expert said the last 3 he worked on he couldn't resurrect. Tired of limping on an old Pentium 4 chip laptop (which multitasks as well as I keep things cleaned and organized), I finally now have a new boogie jam laptop and am off and running.

I miss the blogging, and I do aspire to get back to a routine of writing again....and I really enjoyed taking Fridays to talk of odd stories that are 'fried'. Writing, like anything, must be practiced to keep honed, and I've written precious little except for emails and blog posts for my neighborhood per severe weather issues and items of local interest.

Won't make a classic 'Fried Friday' post until next week, but one thing happened just a few minutes ago that made me get off my duff and write. I enter my day's easily, having coffee in quiet, watching local news and stupidly thinking it will be worthwhile...and then it happens.

Commercials. Not just any commercials, mind you, and I might as well lump in radio commercials as well (which is a whole 'nuther story as my car's radio is basically dead unless I'm within a few miles of a station). It's a specific type of commercial that makes me want to deck the person that wrote 'em....

It's those $#@& doorbells and dog barks. Talk about going from 0 to 90 in a flash, my two pups could give any shark feeding frenzy a run for its money. They could be curled and snoozing, but you let one little ding-dong go off, or one dog goaded into barking, and the maelstrom starteth.

This morning there was a 'fried' national news story about a parent attacking a referee during an 8th grade girls club-league basketball game...the arrested idiot was 6'6" and near 300 pounds, and served as a wonderful role model by grabbing the ref's throat in a choke-hold. Scary the number of adults that have such a disconnect with common sense.

Sports stars never disappoint, either. Kobe Bryant got hammered with a $100K fine for giving public potty mouth a whole new level of head-shaking. Local station here put up one of those stupid viewer polls and asked the question, "Was he fined too much? Too little? Should he have gotten no fine?" Setting aside that I hate those viewer poll things, I immediately mused why they left out the obvious answer choice of "appropriate". News and reporting in general continue to drop to new lows in terms of lacking thoroughness and veracity. Gotta stir the pot and create a drama, even when there isn't one.

Lest I forget Charlie Sheen. Next.....

Twitter. Next...

---------------------------------

The wildflower explosion is well underway, so look for posts of pics soon. Still haven't figured out why my neighborhood blog lets me enlarge pics and this one doesn't....if you are signed up for notifications, you may see some testing new formats to see if I can get the pic thing fixed. I've also been using some very fancy woods for flutes that are worth a look, so lots to catch up on.

Have a good 'un, y'all.

test pic of my photo assistant...

Just 'stuff'....

2011-02-18T05:14:00.012-05:00

(click on pics to enlarge)

Gotten into a pattern of a handful of days in the mountains and then pulling fill in weather shifts at my former station. Just enough to keep me out of a rhythm, which is making me a bit on the cranky side. ;-) While it has recently warmed nicely, it had heretorfore been a snowy winter fraught with travel woes for me, and now this week dealing with a cold of sorts. I jokingly say I wish I could get the flu to help me jumpstart a weight loss program, but gotta be careful what you wish for, eh?

1-15-11

So while I'm back in Charlotte as I write this, I did manage to get some flutes going earlier this week, and below are pics of two from unique woods. I've had this slab of Cinammon Burl for several years, and this is the first flute cut from it. I also have a G4 that is close behind it. Super lightweight and cuts/sands like butter.

Cinnamon Burl (Redwood) B4

(only oiled, no finish yet)

The Box Elder was a scrap of crotch lumber I got locally. Where a tree forks into secondary trunks, that juncture (the crotch) usually yields highly figured woods. Box Elder comes in a 'flame' variety that is chock full of the red flames you see at the foot of this flute, which I'd like to order some day. This scrap piece I picked up yielded only this flute, however.

Box Elder crotch B4

(only oiled, no finish yet)

-----------------------------------------

'Twas interesting watching Jeopardy this week, as IBM's "Watson" took on a pair of 2-legged champions. And so the news bits flew about, and after the two-night special, out came allegations that Watson had a technological advantage over the remotes humans used to ring in answers, yaddah, yaddah. I could care less. As I watched station after station report on the shows, from local to national, NOT ONE mentioned what to me was the most glaring of news stories: Watson screwed up royally on "Final Jeopardy". Royally.

The question asked which U.S. city had it's main airport named for a WWII hero, and its secondary airport after a famous WWII battle. Both humans correctly guessed "Chicago" but Watson was quite unsure of it's answer, and went with "Toronto".

Toronto.

You've GOT to be kidding me. Here is this phenomenal sophisticated ma

chine with 10 massive computer structures feeding it a gazillion bits of data in the blink of an eye....and it doesn't even come up with a U.S. city. Ooops!

Helluva glitch, if you ask me. But no one mentioned it on the news. Go figure.

---------------------------------------------

Back in early December I had just finished dinner with my parents in rural Polk County. Ive driven that country road more times than I can remember, but that night is a bit hard to forget. There on a 2-lane highway in the middle of nowhere, no houses, no lights, no road shoulders, a large Whitetail deer literally torpedoed my car. It had to have been at a full run, hitting me broadside at the passenger side front quarter panel.

No doubt the deer lost out on that one. How my side view mirror didn't get broken I'll never know, but he sure did a lot of damage down the car. Luckily no glass was broken, and everything is fine in the cabin....more importantly, it passes inspection.

You can correctly guess the car was 'totaled' by the insurance company given the Subie's 20-year old depreciation, so I now have the pleasure of driving around a 'salvage' vehicle that I can carry only liability on. Classy, eh?

Only one more thing I need to do....go get some outdoor decal materials and cut out "OH, DEER!..." and strategically place it toward the front of the front door.

A profound thought...

2011-02-08T08:53:00.004-05:00

Getting back into the swing of daily writing is not coming easily...the ideas are in the head, but the daily distractions and instant-excuses for procrastination pudding have been winning out more than not. Just finishing up a long run of weather shifts at my former station, on my former shift. When in my 30's, going to sleep at 6pm and getting up at 1230am for work was something I got used to, the weird shift and hours. No more is that the case. Eegads, but that just messes with the body clock, energy levels, and everything else 'living'.

My flute work is as much spiritual as it is artistic as it is musical. Just about any flute maker (and I'm sure instrument maker, period) will at some point talk about how the wood talks to you....each piece of wood has its own Spirit and voice, and no two are quite alike. They aren't always A-listers when finished, but they are unique, nonetheless.

I recently went and spoke to a group at Cooper Riis in Polk County about my Journey with The Flute. I had my two pups in tow out of necessity, and arrived early as is my custom. In walking the three of us around one large field, I picked up an old stick that had fallen beneath a tree, just a little 8" piece that was well on it's way into the rotting process. Into my pocket it went.

After situating the pups in the car and fluffing their quilts and lowering windows, I grabbed my "bucket o' flutes" and headed inside. After introductions, I was turned loose to wander down my extemporaneous mental footpath, bouncing from topic to topic as I do when I get excited...and I always do with my flutes.

Along the winding presentation road, I discussed my branch flutes and how I look for fallen branches with certain dimensions and craft them into Singing Sticks.

I pulled the old stick out of my pocket. I looked at it and turned it over, asking the attendees what they thought about it. It was dead, rotting, too small and crumbly for a flute, and something any and everyone would walk right over and never notice.

Sometimes the most profound thoughts are the simplest.

You've heard it said that we never "die" but "transform" levels of energy and existence. Oh, our bodies give up the ghost, literally and figuratively, but the Soul lives on. And it matters not what side of the religious fence you favor, it's all Source, as Wayne Dyer calls it. Our social conventions have taught us to label and judge things as "dead" or "alive", "good" or "bad", "right" or "wrong", and the like. Many blindly assume that to be Truth and never question it.

The Periodic Table of Elements came to mind, the source of many a young scientist's early hurdle to grasp. EVERYthing is made up of elements, be it in pure form or in compounds. At the base is the atom, with a nucleus of protons and neutrons. About that swirls a field of electrons, each combination of those three making an element unique, identifiable. Just a chapter in The Cliff Notes version of Life, of course. And don't forget the three basic states of solids, liquids, and gasses....from virtually nil to helter skelter aplenty, the space for electrons to 'do their thing' varies, BUT....they still "do their thing". Always and all ways.

Call it God, Creator, The Great Mystery, Yaweh...and maybe some don't call it anything at all...SOMEthing, some force, has created/orchestrated this incessant atomic energy and motion. It's part of Life's magic.

No way in hell that stick could EVER be dead. The tree is no longer taking up water and undergoing photosynthesis, so in that semantic sense it's "dead"; but that rotting stick still contains those whirring electron fields...and is very much 'alive' in that sense. The atoms continue to 'be' exactly what they've always been. The sheer joy and humbling wonderment for me is to take wood and create an alternate energy and lifeform in the form of music and aesthetic beauty.
'
Life never ends...like matter, it only transforms. Everything is "alive" when you stop and think about it, possessing Life's Essence, Source, whatever you want to call it...or Her...or Him. Native Americans would tell you to listen to ALL the world around you. The Grandfather Rocks possess the knowledge of the earth's history, and to sit with the rocks and truly 'listen' can help you find your Truths and answers. Water is the giver of life on many levels. When natives took something from the wild, they would offer tobacco as an offering, honoring the Spirit that abides in not only that which was taken but the community from which it came. They knew and understood fully that the Great Mystery was in all things.

Perception.

A Cherokee elder held up a cigarette and asked me one time if there was anything sacred about it. I immediately thought of all the cancers and deaths that 'invention' had caused and continues to cause, and my disdain for the 'coffin nail' showed through easily. He quietly split the paper and poured the tobacco into his hand and repeated his question. In a quiet instant, what had only moments ago been a negative symbol, became a prayerful and respectful offering.

Sometimes the most simple things can be the most empowering.

"That's a lot of bull..."

2011-01-27T08:35:00.003-05:00

Elk, that is. Bull Elk. Dug these pics up from last fall when I journeyed near the Cades Cove ranger station in the Great Smokies National Park, not far from home. The re-population of the elk herds into the Smokies is quite the success story...this, a regal animal that was indigenous to the region before being wiped out by early settlers early on, along with habitat destruction. Estimates are the last of the elk disappeared in the late 1700s.

In 2001, 25 elk were brought in from another national park to start the program, with another 27 brought in the following year. To date, the population is estimated to be over 130 (actually, I could not find a recent, solid estimate online, but the herds are doing well).

All adults have huge leather collars with sending units on them, much like the invisible fence collars for dogs, as well as large yellow, numbered tags on each ear for identification (god forbid to be a fashion plate). For the sake of 'what if', I had a good friend proficient with photoshop remove said accoutrements from these photos. (Thanks, Ann!)

This is bull elk #16, one of threel dominant bulls in this particular herd. I was remiss that I did not have my camcorder or other recording device to capture the bugling calls, as they would (will) make excellent background tracks for my flute music. High on my list to capture once the tundra-conditions exit stage left!

It was a gorgeous sunny morning, and not too much in the way of tourist traffic. One has to go out of their way to even have a chance of finding the herd so gathered, and a good telephoto lens is a must. There are always those foolish ones that must think a) they're God's gift to nature photographers and inappropriately approach the elk, illegally, or b) they simply don't think, period. Thankfully, I saw no egregious transgressors.

The young 'uns are so cute, donned in dots and gangly legs trying to keep pace their bodies. At least 25 births were recorded in 2010, and of those 17 were successfully tracked and all 17 survived...a great testament to the continued perseverance of those involved with the reintroduction program, started back 10 years ago this year.

For the 'neat'ness of this success story is a flip-side issue for many national parks: leaving the property. Be it these elk crossing out into corn fields and taking down cow pasture fences, to the bison that wander out of Yellowstone and face a sadly unfriendly reception in Montana, fearful of brucellosis, mad cow disease, etc. That's another can of worms for another day...

Still having some real issues with Blogger...not sure why, either. Pics should enlarge when you click on them, but they don't, and there continue to be myriad settings that don't 'take' when I apply them. Bear with me as I figure it all out...or not!

"Once upon a time..."

2011-01-15T16:21:00.010-05:00

(NOTE: having some editing issues as blogger formats have changed...can't get pics to enlarge when you click on them, so bear with me a few days as I sift through the details...)

Long time no write, eh? Long time no get dead motherboard repaired was what it was. Been researching where Money Trees grow, but have had little success. Actually, that should be 'no success'. Been limping along on an old Dell laptop with a Pentium 4 chip...not quite the "8-track" of chipsets, but multi-tasking and overall speed was a bit lacking. While I could have blogged long before now, suffice it to say 2010 went down as one of those years I was happy to see come to a close. Like my art and flutes, if I'm not inspired to do something, might as well hang it up.

Alas, I finally found two nickels to rub together, and had the laptop motherboard repaired (video chipset issues). At the moment, it's working fine, but it was not returned that way...another story for another day. Maybe it's own chapter in my book I stopped working on, come to think about it.

So, whereinthehell do I pick up and begin? How about "ENOUGH ALREADY WITH THE SNOW!!!" ?

Molly, who LOVES all the snow....

Last winter was a doozy for snow hyar in these hills, and in October I pulled the long-range winter forecasts f

or my homeowners group for this winter....'above average' in temps, and 'below average' in precipitation. Those maps could not be farther off the mark, and they are maps I've never put a lot of stock in, anyway. December was one of the coldest on record, and if you don't believe me just pay my fuel and electric bills.

The White Christmas was really neat, and it being my birthday was the 11" icing on the deck. Since Christmas Day I've had 34" of snow. Now you get a glimpse of my disdain for that 4-letter "S" word.

11.2" Christmas Snow 2010

It would be nice if temperatures would get out of the freezer stage, but that hasn't been the case. Having to sled su

pplies to the house is getting old, and I absolutely have to get a 4x4 vehicle, one way or another. See first paragraph above. My biggest problem was that for the last snow (10"+) I'd taken a few days of work at News 14 to help with their weather forecasts for the Triad. I've come to understand fully it is better to get snowed 'in' than snowed 'out', which is exactly what happened.

While I do have chains for my front wheel drive wagon, I was coming up last Wednesday and, in a thick super-slushy patch, lost tire grip, and I spun the wheels. FYI, chains do not cotton to being spun. Yet another lesson learned the hard way as one of the chains snapped and created a bigger problem. Nothing that AAA and a 1.5 hour wait couldn't fix, though. Now waiting for my new chain set to be delivered...oh, wait, they can't deliver with this snow-covered mountain road I live off of. Setting aside the copious snows, I'm guessing that since the Christmas snow I've had no mail/package delivery for 15 or more days.

at least I have a foot path!

And winter has a long way to go. I'm sure before too long I'll look back on all this and it won't seem as much a pain as it has surely been. I am not alone in asking, "Is it Spring, yet?"...I need the greening of the trees so I can get back to identifying Money Trees more easily.

I'm feelin' the excitement already...

COULD IT BE?????

2011-01-05T12:21:00.003-05:00

***COUGH***

***SPUTTER****

***BURP***

Wishing on ol' 'Star light, star bright'...

2010-05-17T12:03:00.015-04:00

"Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are;
Little birdie in the sky,
Why'd you do that in my eye?
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
Boy, I'm glad that cows don't fly!"

Wishing. We all do it. Positive thinking, forward-looking, picturing what we want to manifest.

Easier said than done, I'll admit.

I think I speak for a lot of us when I say I 'wish' for a lot of things. They're not greedy, selfish, mean, or lowly things...to the contrary. Times just ain't easy for the bulk of us, and it's a matter of learning to be at peace "as-is" until we can effectively create positive change.

With that said, I have not felt my 'usual' literary nudges from the Universe of late...like going to a well to draw water and getting sand. I am in no way stopping the blogs and book chapters....but until my overwhelmed plate trims back, I'm afraid I'm going to be going 'underground' and more silent for the time being.

There will be blog posts, but for a few weeks I imagine they will be sporadic...I do appreciate those of you who check in, but, honestly, I'm not one to 'track' readers and follow numbers trends. I have no idea who reads my palaverings, none at all, save for those that write comments.

As with anything I do in "Life", especially flutes, I simply "do what I do" and pass it on. I don't 'expect' things from others...as the old saying goes (paraphrased), don't walk behind me as I may not lead...don't walk in front of me as I may not follow....just be beside me and let's let the Trail of Life lead us where it so chooses...or we choose....

As an aside, my War-Horse laptop with Vista O.S. is showing signs of dying...I may well be switching to Windows 7 within 48 hours, and if/when I do there will be another reason for ol' Bob to be 'quiet' until I get things up and running again.

With that said, I'm bidding a temporary ''adieu" as I deal with an over-filled plate of s'ghetti. It's all I know to do....

Until we meet again....

2010-05-13T07:43:00.002-04:00

Just a 'good morning' postcard for ya! Click to enlarge if you'd like. Ebony #2 almost ready for pics, but not quite yet. May post later...after I've had more coffee!

Riddle me this, riddle me that....

2010-05-11T05:54:00.005-04:00

What's black and black and, uh...black all over?
The answer will now be posted....

Ya know, Bill had a great idea with the oil spill....what a hiddeous Medusa that situation is becoming! No, nothing along the lines of injuries or things negative...just the production of my first Ebony flute.

Now, you may not be aware of how unusual that is, an Ebony flute. First and foremost you're talking $$$ as good Ebony starts at $75/ board-foot. Too, setting aside the expense, the sound you get from such a dense wood is in it's own little category.

And you may think Ebony is pure black, but that's not the case. Most Ebony has chocolaty ribbons in it, but when oiled and finished most of it goes very dark, indeed.

Meet "Nighthawk", named for the actual bird. This mid "A" (A4) is 20.5" long with a composite block of 3 thinner Ebony strips, with the end result being a bird silhouette that for me resembles a nighthawk.

The pictures are with the flute sanded and finished with one coat of Walnut Oil....I may re-oil and finish with wax, or may try a shiny poly coat on it, though Ebony can be fickle with finishes.

I suppose I need to qualify a 100% Ebony flute...the block actually has a 1/16" layer of Poplar on the bottom to help absorb a little moisture, as Ebony simply doesn't....should help this flute avoid super-fast 'wet-out' since Poplar will absorb some moisture. I coated the edge with a Sharpie to darken it!

The 'video' below is simply my means of attaching an MP3 file for you to hear the flute. My laptop speakers are horrid, so I will have to assume the sample sounds fine on your computer...just something I threw together and added in a little 'echo' for effect. Enjoy!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

2010-05-09T10:23:00.007-04:00

For all the mothers out there and ALL you DO and PUT UP WITH, here's wishing you a beautiful day!!!!!!!!!!!! We of the 'astray' variety can't apologize and thank you enough! This flower is for you...

The Mayapples are now in bloom, and when you look from above you'd never see the flower as it is pretty much hidden by a couple of gargantual leaves overhead. For this picture I stuck the camera under the plant, and shot upward at it, using my swiveling screen to orient my eye-hand coordination. Click on the picture above to enlarge it, and probably click on that image again to get even larger...

I'm working the oddest shift that can be had at News 14 for today: I'm in Charlotte, working out of the Greensboro weather center, and producing weather forecasts for the Raleigh and Wilmington/Morehead City markets. Just about anything 'odd' is a "B'rer Rabbit's Briar Patch" for me, and this qualifies.

Interesting to note some numbers...a dry cold front raced through NC yesterday. Raleigh tied an old record and hit 90...hit 94 in Fayetteville...New Bern set a new record at 93...today all those locations carve highs back some 20-22 degrees, even with full sunshine! New Bern may not get out of the upper 60s, as the cooler air is screamed in on gusty NW winds.

Hope all y'all have a wonderful day...got more stuff to take care of here on my end...

Well, I tried.....

2010-05-05T04:09:00.011-04:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo, y'all! Try as I might to find some classy humor per this South of the Border occasion to party hearty, it was all politically too incorrect. About the tamest one was about the twin Mexican brothers that were on the same firefighting squad...to help tell them apart they were called Hose A and Hose B.

As I said, gave up that search pretty quickly.

Cinco de Mayo is not to be confused with Mexico's Independence Day (September 16); rather, it's a celebration of the Mexican militia's defeat of the French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. 4,500 beleagured Mexican militiamen took on the dressed-to-impress and drilled French soldiers numbering some 2,000 more. Mexico had gone through the social and political wringer for decades, notwithstanding the Mexican-American war in the late 1840s.

Even with the Puebla victory, celebrations were cut short as the ticked-off Napoleon III sent an additional 30,000 troops to (basically) take over Mexico for their long-running failure to repay significant debts owed. Within a year, the Mexican militia was whooped, and the French gained solid control of Mexico City, installing Maximilian as ruler of Mexico. That, too, was rather short-lived, as civil and political unrest festered and boiled. Maximilian was executed by the Mexicans a few years later.

Anyway, that's the gist of the Cinco de Mayo celebration, a more regional celebration even within Mexico and a bastardized commercialism here in the States, something we seem to be all too proficient at doing. Some people need an excuse to party, some don't.

Speaking of the Battle of Puebla in 1862, if you happened to note the previous blog (Foster's "In the Merry Merry Month of May"), that song was penned in 1862, as well. First thing I think of is the irony of it all...writing upbeat songs about dabbling in hillside springs in a carefree manner...at a time when well over 35,000 Union and Confederate troops died in the May-July Peninsular Campaign around Richmond/central Virginia...later that summer was the Second Bull Run bloodshed, followed that fall with the Battle of Antietam. Just a select few of the carnages that took place that year...

Not trying to depress ye faithful readers today, but Stephen Foster's death was most untimely and tragic...cut short at age 37. Don't need to go into all the details here, so you can read about it on Wikipedia if you wish. Interesting to note through history the renowned individuals, be they composers, artists, scientists, writers, etc., whose earthly lives ended prematurely in impoverishment and tragedy.

One of his musical legacies was played before millions last Saturday with the running of the (oh-so-muddy) Kentucky Derby. Foster published "My Old Kentucky Home" in 1853.

(chorus)
Weep no more, my lady,
Oh weep no more today!
We will sing one song
for the old Kentucky home,
For the Old Kentucky Home
far away...

"In the Merry, Merry Month of May...."

2010-05-02T20:44:00.018-04:00

"Our barks echo'd through the glen,
With blithe and joyful ring;
We dug our holes under mossy stones,
And we dabbled in the hillside spring."

Apologies to Stephen Foster, composer of "The Merry, Merry Month of May" way back in 1862. I altered a few words in the second verse to fit the lead-off pictures today...now that the inclement batch of heavy rains and storms is upon NC today, looks like a day to stay inside and look back on the the snaps I took this weekend.

(click on pics to enlarge)

The mellow Mercy doesn't bark, except when there's a raccoon, squirrel...or when Molly pesters her enough for a round of play. The lushness continues to unfold on the mountainside, thanks to all the moisture last winter.

Molly barks a-plenty...and loves to dig under mossy stones....and loves to get all kinds of muddy and wet knocking around the hillside spring...and stealing items not nailed down at the neighbor's house. I have noticed that ticks seem to be in good supply, a bit more than I remember for a spring.

The glades of Trillium really are a sight to behold, especially with the sprinkling of other colors...

...and I do generally prefer overcast conditions for photographing, as it is difficult in the best of times to maintain shadow/highlight definitions on bright, high-contrast days.

My little ol' warhorse Canon S2 continues to delight me with its macro capability, hand-held at that...its flip-out, rotating screen allows the camera to get in just an inch or two away while I save my back and knees from getting down to the picture at hand!

Two 'new' flowers making themselves seen are the Solomon's Seal above, with it's soon-to-be-flowers hanging down below the stem...

...to the very different flower (below) of False Solomon's Seal, a kissing cousin sans hanging bells below.

From above, the stalk and leaves look quite the same, but the False Solomon's Seal flower bunch at the tip of the stalk is the immediate give-away.

Violets of yellow, purple, and white are everywhere, including this brace of Canadian Violets.

From the land of Lilliput, so it would seem, is this diminutive of flowers now abounding, Star Chickweed, the bloom only as big as my pinkie fingernail.

Plenty of beauty in the non-flowering world, as well. Fiddlehead ferns are rosining up their frond bows; fern displays in general make a woodlands scene all the more verdant, eh?

Enjoy your day! Always good to bring a little nature into the walls of work-dom...

"Fried Fridays: Picking up the pieces..."

2010-04-30T05:45:00.005-04:00

Oh, how I wanted to run with the Gov. Crist story (R-FL)...I am SO not a political person, but as you may be aware by some blog posts the past couple of months, I've got a bone to pick with the boorish behavior of elected officials and private citizens, alike. Crist wants to make a bona fide run for the senate, but apparently will have to do so as an independent.

All because of 'the hug'.

Yep, Crist did the unthinkable within the GOP ranks and citizenry by welcoming the newly elected President Obama to an official function...and gave him a welcome hug. You'd have thought he unleashed the world's most poisonous cooties...and the sound-byte interviews I heard on NPR radio a couple of weeks ago were proof that bigots really are alive and well everywhere, certainly in Florida. But I digress....

Most of us take pride in where we live...while times are tight anymore, and we might not have money to pay for a lot of house and yard maintenance, there is no excuse for not picking up trash or pulling up the worst weeds...the simple, free things that make a visual difference.

DATELINE: DENTON, TEXAS

Homes that have been in the family for many moons hold a special charm. Sometimes they are lived in 'til the end, and sometimes they may become more of a summer vacation destination once elderly parents have had to move out for various reasons.

This family's matriarch, 69 year-old Francis Howard, now lives with her son in Frisco...and they fondly remember the 47 years the house was lived in year-round. I'm just guessing, but I bet there was a lot of fresh-squeezed lemonade handed out on that big, wide porch, complete with a speckled pup in a green wagon on the front lawn, and out back sheets waving in the prarie breezes as they dry on the clotheslines strung between two mighty oaks...

But that's no excuse for neglecting the lawn.

That's no excuse for storing things (a loose term) outside, randomly.

That's no excuse for letting junk vehicles continue to rust, even if they weren't Fords.

And there's especially no excuse for not keeping the structure safe and repaired.

Nobody likes an eyesore, no matter the history. After repeated attempted-but-failed contacts, the city was left with no choice but to demolish the 'abandoned' home.

Too bad the demolition crew came and took down the Howard homestead instead of the unkempt property in question....ACROSS THE STREET.

"Oops!" doesn't quite cover it, does it...

And the survey said...

2010-04-27T05:51:00.009-04:00

(click on pics to enlarge)

Not too shabby! A wonderful low C flute is first to emerge from my recent thick curly maple board I blogged about last week. I used the end of the board that had the most 'issues' per warp and bow and unevenness, jointing and planing until I had some sense of uniformity...the only minor upshot of that is the patterns from the bottom don't necessarily match up to patterns on the top. Then again, that's a pretty natural thing for most flutes to begin with.

It's 29" long, but I kept the SAC short (area from mouthpiece to the block) to make the reach easier. It's only about 19" from the mouth end to the lowest hole, and the finger holes are a comfortable 1.25" to 1.5" apart, center to center. The lower the flute key, the bigger the diameter the finger holes and the greater spacing; with that said, there are 'tricks' you can use in the lower key flutes to compensate for expanding dimensions and shorten the gaps. This is an easily played low flute with a wonderful voice.

The pictures are the unfinished flute with only a coat of Danish Wood Oil rubbed in. I recorded a song with the flute before I started putting on the shiny finish coats this morning...the shiny finish will accentuate the curl and figuring. With the short SAC, the block couldn't really go too far back....instead, I added pieces of Mahogany to the side, like wings, and brought them forward in an aesthetically pleasing curve. Just something a little different that worked well on this flute.

Since I can't load MP3s into this blog, I made a movie with the pictures above and embedded the test song in it...

"Fried Friday: That's the pits!"

2010-04-23T07:24:00.006-04:00

Ah, another week in Stupidity Paradise, saddle pals. Eenie-meenie-mynie-mo....

I liked the way a Fostoria, Ohio prostitute got truly screwed: she approached a car and solicited the driver for paid sex....only the driver was the police chief undercover. Oops.

A 41 year-old Wisconsin woman was arrested for shooting people from her car...with a blow dart gun. When police arrested her they found the blowdart gun, a slingshot, and a bucket of small rocks. In the ensuing interrogation, Paula Wolf said she "liked to hear people say ouch."

However, this week's award goes to a desperate man trying to evade authorities...and it's not that what he did was stupid, but the millions of jokes that are going through my head thinking about what took place after the arrest....

DATELINE: ALBION, INDIANA

An unnamed 52 year-old man was wanted on methamphetamine charges. Normal fare, that.

Authorities gave chase to him and were searching for him on a northeastern Indiana farm. Seems like a rather typical scenario, criminal on the run, taking a more rural route.

When the police spotted him in his unsuccessful hideaway, he apparently had partaken of his illegal drug, became combative, and had to subdued, shocked twice with a stun gun.

He was then taken to the hospital for hypothermia treatment before being taken to the slammer, where he was held without bail for missing February and March hearing dates.

Normally a story like this I dismiss like a bad karaoke attempt (which has been too plentiful on this season's American Idol). But what attracted me to this story is where police found this man....

Under the floor of the barn, neck-deep in a liquified-manure tank of hog and dog feces. Apparently he'd been there for an hour...

Now picture being at the scene and watching what the officers did next....

Do they draw straws or play rocks-paper-scissors to see who gets to cuff him?

Whose patrol car does he ride in?

When he got combative, was he like a dog shaking off after a bath?

Did the officers go tell their spouses they had a sh*tty day at work?

Were the officers too smelly to go into the donut shop for a brew break?

The logistics boggle my mind...

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-22T08:19:00.002-04:00

Happy 40th Anniversary for a day that sorely needs to be celebrated EVERY day!

No other post today as I have a full plate to tend to. Honor the Earth and all things on, in, and above it.

"United be your purpose,
harmonious be your feelings,
collected be your mind,
in the same way as
all the various aspects
of the universe co-exist
in togetherness,
wholeness."

-Rik Samhita

Couldn't pass it up....

2010-04-20T16:25:00.011-04:00

It was yelling at me in the store Saturday. Right out in front of everybody, but it seemed only I could hear the impatient shouts.

I looked, walked away, walked back and looked, and walked away...only to walk back and look....then borrowed a tape measure...then borrowed a scratch piece of paper and pen, and took lots of measurements....then walked out the door of the store...only to come back in and asked an employee about phone-in orders...

I need wood like I need a hole in my head. But it's hard to pass up some excellent figuring in wood, especially wood this huge....this gorgeous...and this inexpensive. Asheville Hardware recently moved to a new non-descript location near downtown on a dead side street, a gigantic warehouse that they'll be turning into an impressive woodworker's store and workshop space.

While current stock is really limited, they already have some wood, and a good bit of it is there on consignment, like the board that did the yelling....that I called about again Monday and bought it over the phone....that I picked up today and made one cut in the board.

It's curly Maple, with curl 100% through the board....there is a bit of Ambrosia Maple embedded (caused by the Ambrosia worm), as well as some spalting (thin black fungus lines that add a great deal to the wood's appearance). Character galore up and down this board.

All 12+ feet of it! 7-8" wide...and my favorite part: it was 8/4 lumber! Two solid inches thick, which made the value jump even more. "Normal" boards are 4/4, slightly less than an inch thick...in order to make lower key flutes, you have to have thicker boards, but finding 5/4 and 6/4 is hard. 8/4 in a board of this size and quality is simply something I've not seen in person, and even if you're not a woodworker, you'll appreciate the incredible figuring in this board. Sure, there are a few cracks and blemishes, and a little 'live edge' that isn't usable...but I've got a solid stash of one of my favorite woods to work with, now.

For the following pics, click to enlarge them...and depending on your screen settings, you may be able to click on that picture to make it even bigger yet. The board is basically flat, though it needs planing...so the 3-D 'look' is really just 2-D. Reminiscent of that earlier post from that old Maple by Lake Junaluska that showed the curl in a scar from storm damage....enjoy!

Old story rearing its head....

2010-04-19T22:02:00.004-04:00

Musing out loud, here....

A friend, notorious for mass forwarding mass emails, sent yet another zinger lie last evening. It so happens he is a Republican of the more conservative Christian Coalition side of the tracks. It is no surprise that the tenor of his emails is clearly anti-Obama. To each his own, I say. We are each free to hold and voice our own opinions. HOWEVER.....

I draw the line when people choose to perpetuate untruths to promote their agenda.

Why do I write this? Simply yet another email sent my way, which many I ignore and delete without reading....and in all of less than a minute I searched for the real story and....guess what....it's not true, not like the email intends, which in this case is to disparage Obama and trump up hatred for him via Muslim-based lies.

Yes, hatred is a strong, strong word. I can't call it anything less, though.

The only question I have is, "WHY?" OK, they hate Obama, they hate democrats, they hate gays, they hate anything that is counter to their beliefs. Oh, so let me get this straight....it's OK to LIE as long as it promotes your so-called 'truth'? That's really pathetic.

It's Americans behaving badly, is what it is.

I guess I can't fathom how people willfully choose to ignore or not search for the truth, or that have no desire to compromise in any way shape or form. That's bigotry of the worst kind. I think we should hand out bumper stickers for 'em that say "I CHOOSE TO BE BLIND"

About a year ago, I took one of his emails and did a respectful 'reply all' explaining the responsibility to seek the truth about rumors...and got a nasty-gram from one of the recipients asking, 'in the name of Jesus Christ', how I got their name. I told them with a full explanation. Go figure why I never heard back from them. Now, he's gotten a little more wise, and 'reply all' only goes to him, not the mass email list. Too bad, as I was prepared to have some fun with this one.

I just put this out there since it's gotten in my face yet again, and I'm tired of being railroaded by what amounts to nothing more than political, theocratic thugs. Seem to be crawling out of the woodwork these days, too.

Okie-dokie, getting off my soapbox, and going back to using the delete button for a while....

Mo' flowers...

2010-04-18T20:56:00.017-04:00

(video at bottom added hours after the original post)

Focused on flutes lately, so the brain hasn't journeyed very far. I did go out and snap some 'plinks' of the wildflowers on the property as all is changing daily...and ya can never go wrong with some nature pics! Remember to click on pics to enlarage should you want to do that.

This fuzzy wuzzy was not a bear; rather, it was the naissance of Dwarf Larkspur blooms...

And this is the Dwarf Larkspur out in all it's purple-blue glory...

Blue Cohosh is growing tall quickly, now, a plant with strong medicinal properties related to all things uterine...

You might not give this plant a second look, given it's camouflaged, greenish bloom. This is Nodding Mandarin, aka Yellow Mandarin....

Sorry to repeat species from earlier posts, but I find the Trillium (this one a Wake Robin) to be a very artsy and photogenic plant...

Yellows are starting to come into the flowering world, now....this is the droopy large-flowering Bellwort...

...and the good ol' yellow violets that are coming out in abundance, this one the hairy Downy Yellow varietal...

"Where flowers bloom,
so does hope."
- Lady Bird Johnson

And for your viewing pleasure, here is a male Dark-eyed Junco defending his territory against an 'intruder', played by my passenger side mirror...

"Fried Fridays: Smile or ELSE!"

2010-04-16T06:40:00.003-04:00

Whereas in past weeks I had a cornucopia of stories to write about for "Fried Fridays", this week I'm holding an empty poke. Stupid stories, sad stories, but little in the really 'fried' category...and I'm running with a story composed of only 135 words.

The story was that a judge threw out this case...as well he should have...but the 'fried' component was the original lawsuit...

DATELINE: ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA

Judge Ernest DeSantis, Jr. threw out a case before him this past Wednesday, on the grounds the plaintiff failed to make a case. Bravo. To say we have become a litigious society is a gross understatement...we sue for any and everything, and the worst part is not the taxpayer money wasted in the process but the asinine amounts of money awarded to idiots for idiotic reasons.

I bet you'd like to know how I really feel...

Luckily, this bull was stopped in its tracks before an awards ceremony. We start with a 12 year-old girl named Dominica Juliano, the 'traumatized' youth in this story. The suit was filed by her unnamed guardian, so it wasn't a mom or a dad. It may have been the grandmother who was with young Dominica when that fateful day occurred.

NOTE: The following account may not be acceptable for young readers. Proceed with caution and please don't sue me over it...

The location was a Country Fair convenience store in Erie, Pennsylvania....like you couldn't figure that out from the 'dateline' above. But this didn't happen a few weeks or months ago....no, this debilitating incident took place in June of 2004. Worthy of cricket chirps, here...

The net effect of this incident was that Dominica, being sensitive to light, was burned and developed deep emotional, psychological problems....apparently enough to warrant a long-running lawsuit against the store and the clerk on duty that horrific day.

Adults have to use extra caution when around under-age kids....you just can't say and do things you would with someone your own age and size. Apparently this girl was enough of a toot that the unnamed employee called her 'grumpy' and proceeded to do something to make her smile.

Yes, the clerk, having grown weary of the little sour-puss, did the unthinkable: he or she aimed a hand-held product scanner at the girl's face and told her to smile.

Horror of horrors. I pity whoever tries to date, much less marry, this forever-mentally disfigured girl. To wake up in the middle of the night in fearful sweat, all because of a harmless LED light...

Knowing all this trouble would be hanging like a bad odor almost six years later, the clerk SHOULD have whacked grandma over the head with that scanner. Judge Judy would have had a field day with this one...

2010-04-15T07:29:00.011-04:00

Just a few more nature pics for you to click on and enlarge. The gorgeous spring weather continues to be a daily affair, and I went out and took a few plinks in the strong, specular late-afternoon sun....

I love leaf details in sun and shadow, this one from the Trillium genus...

In a week or two there will be thousands of Trillium by the house, but for now I saw maybe 2 or 3 starting to open. I have yet to see any here other than the Grandiflora (large-flowering T.) and the Wake Robin, but there are both the white and crimson varieties here...

Myriad violet species are starting to poke out, too...if you've noticed a pattern, the early wildflowers are predominantly white, though some yellow violets are starting to come out...

Snuggled on the moist shady side of what I call The Flute Rock were some Dutchman's Breeches with their yellow petals...

...not to be confused with the closely related Squirrel Corn I showed several posts ago. A little trivia fer ya: these species are poisonous to grazing cattle.

Just a nice thick patch of the Squirrel Corn, with one of the yellow violets in the bottom left. I know there are trout lillies out there, but I've stayed on the minimal trail I made for now, and am limited to spying one nearby...

The sun is climbing and so must I into my grunge clothes for yet another day of making sawdust. I have to go to the post office to mail a couple of flutes, and just remembered that today is the Ides of April....tax day!!!!! Methinks there will be somewhat of a line.....

GOES-15: quick post

2010-04-12T07:12:00.004-04:00

Pulling the mid-day shift the next two days for both the Charlotte and Triad markets, so A.M. time very limited. I did see that the first image has come back from the newest weather satellite put up in orbit, GOES-15. The Geostationary Observational Environmental Satellite took it's first picture about a week ago April 6, at 1:33p EDT. Click on the picture to see the high-resolution version of the picture....amazing what can be seen and captured. Following that is a link to the release information if you want to read a little more about it.

(NOTE: when you click on the picture, you'll get a bigger one in another frame. If it doesn't get really big, click on THAT pic and it should open up...fun to move the pic around and look at the western hemisphere!)

LINK to article

In memoriam...

2010-04-10T10:21:00.008-04:00

The Cherokee Nation, yea all of our indigenous Peoples, lost a great leader several days ago. Wilma Mankiller, 64, crossed over after battling pancreatic cancer...and successfully leading the Cherokee Nation from December 1985 to 1995. Former President Bill Clinton awarded her the Medal of Freedom in 1998, a tribute to her impressive work building up the well-being of her peoples. I'll leave it at that for now...her memorial is being held today in Oklahoma. She was a great Spirit, a great Woman, and a great Leader, in every sense of those words. Aho.

IN MEMORIAM

Wilma Mankiller

1946 - 2010

"Fried Fridays: Shaken AND Stirred..."

2010-04-09T06:05:00.005-04:00

Bond.

James Bond.

That's how the iconic secret agent did NOT like his martinis....no stirring allowed. We can all be creatures of habit, and when we have something we want and expect 'just so', we bristle at the slightest infringement upon said stone tablet.

I'm sitting here with my thermos pot of coffee, pre-mixed with Splenda and half and half. Take any of those out of the equation and I'm Mr. Grumpy out of the gate. Don't mess with my brew.

DATELINE: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

It's not that I find this story so much 'fried' as in bizarre behavior and/or decision-making...but contrasted with life in the U.S., I can't even conceive of this particular situation to begin with. If something is not a part of our culture, whatever it is, anything outside the 'norm' can seem really, really strange.

Look, a Pennsylvania dad left 4 ounces of marijuana hidden in his kid's Elmo backpack, which was discovered by the kindergarten teacher the other day. That's fried. Two British women were arrested for trying to smuggle a corpse aboard a commercial airline flight. That's fried. (I wonder if they're going to face 'stiff' penalties...). But my story of choice isn't 'fried' at all; rather, it's fermented.

And so I read and mused over a worker's strike this week at the famed Carlsburg Brewery across the Big Pond. Seems as though management made a recent decision that they'd be brewin-...er, uh, mulling over for some time. Suffice it to say it did not sit well with the employees, not in the slightest.

As I understand it, Copenhagen is a rather progressive city, recognized by several sources as having the best quality of life anywhere. They're also highlighted for being one of the most environmentally-conscious and clean cities around, too. You can swim in the inner harbor, it's so clean...and 36% of residents commute to work on bicycles. Impressive on many levels.

So what's the brouhaha...or shall I quip brewhaha? Effective April 1, Carlsburg workers are now limited to drinking beer only during their lunch break.

Say WHAAAAAAAAT????????

(crickets unable to chirp due to temporary paralysis)

The old order of business was that these proud Carlsburg workers had free access to beer coolers placed all around the workplace, which they could partake of anytime they wish. The only rule was you couldn't be officially 'drunk' on the job. Now the only place you'll find the beer coolers is in the canteen, with drinking limited to the lunch break, only.

800 workers went on strike Wednesday, halting critical beer deliveries and production, and even yesterday some 250 were still striking, halting more deliveries of Denmark's 'water'. The labor union is trying to work with the groups involved to get Carlsburg up and running at capacity once again, so only time will tell.

Seems unfair that if your job is that of a delivery truck driver, that you get the short end of the stick in the imbibing category. Not so, Grasshopper. Truck drivers are allowed to take with them 3 beers from the canteen before they head out on their rounds...but before you get too worried, the trucks have alcohol locks so any driver 'over the limit' disconnects the iginition.

(cricket paralysis ends....chirping slowly ramps up...)

"Of Klepto and Wildflowers"

2010-04-08T04:51:00.030-04:00

A thoroughly unrelated mix of photos for you today...remember you can click on any pic to enlarge it. I'll begin with my "new" puppy "Klepto" whom you may have read about a couple of days ago. You know, the Border-Aussie mix formerly known as Molly.

At the top of the driveway is a little natural area she fancies to sit and chew up sticks, as well as collect 'toys' that to anyone else is trash. Another more select area is behind the house where a trail heads into the woods off the back deck...there on a bit of a promontory she'll take some of her more treasured plundered booty and look down on any activity below.Yesterday morning I laughed out loud when at the top of the driveway I spied....a beer bottle. Not just any beer bottle, mind you, but a brand I never drink. I didn't want to know the details of her latest prize from the Five-Finger-Stop-And-Shop she frequents...

It was a couple of hours later when dusk was starting to fall that I went out on the deck and saw her on her back perch with said beer bottle....and before I go further I will swear under oath these pics are 100% natural. I didn't stage it, rotate the bottle, etc.....heck, the dog won't come when I call her name, so she sureashell isn't going to let me set up a camera shot with her! With my big camera long dead, I had only the small Canon S2 to shoot a flash 10-12 feet from the deck....and and I got lucky.

"Tastes great....less filling....what I'd give to chase after those Clydesdales right now..."

"MOLLY! Where did you get that bottle? Is that why you stay over at the neighbor's and pretend you don't hear me calling your name?"

"If only dad knew what really goes on over there...(hic)..."

-----------------------------------------

I just love the exploding of spring, where you can almost literally see changes by the hour as earth-tone tans are replaced with verdant hues. Almost overnight the first of the wildflowers have been doing their thing, popping up and nodding their heads in the warm, sunny breezes. And so once again I just put on some pictures of them for you to enjoy...admittedly, I spent little time searching for optimum specimens and camera angles, but it's just a joy to see these instead of another 8" of snow....

Likewise, it's a joy to see beautiful dawn colors as a new day begins, this from Wednesday morning looking northeast...

First up is the tee-tiny bloom of Spring Beauty...this fleur but the size of my pinkie fingernail...

Next up is Bloodroot, which has too many medicinal uses to list in this post; click HERE to read the myriad uses for yourself...

Cutleaf Toothwort is easily identified by its, well, cut-leaf outline!...

Jimmy may crack corn and you don't care, but the nodules at the base of this Squirrel Corn plant is whence its name is derrived...

There were plenty of other pre-flower staged plants, like this Trillium member below. Mayapple, Jack-in-the-pulpit, cohosh, and others will be out before you know it, all flying through their life cycle before the greening canopy starts to increasingly filter the sunshine on the forest floor below...

So much for the balmy and unusually warm weather here of late....time for a little reality check with today's incoming cold front and storms. But being April, anything unusually cold will soon pass....have a good 'un, all y'all!

As the old saying goes....

2010-04-07T02:21:00.008-04:00

"Life is like that of a beaver:
it's one dam thing after another."

I've seen the following mass e-mail before. It's circulating again, but if you've never read it before, it's a hoot. And it's "true", with the following qualifiers: the original correspondence was written in 1997, and in Michigan, not Pennsylvania. People change the dates and years and locations, but the 'content' is listed on SNOPES.COM as being a true story.

Basically, Ryan DeVries had at least one neighbor that, shall we say, was a thorn in his side. Or vice versa. Heavy rains cause flooding on the neighbor's property, prompting said neighbor's letter to the proper state authorities that DeVries was accountable for proper maintenance on his property. His neglect led to the flooding, supposedly. With that stage now set, I present the initial official state response to DeVries 5 months after the complaint, along with DeVries' witty retort.....enjoy!

-----------------------------------------

SUBJECT: DEQ
File No.97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. DeVries:

It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality
that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced
parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner
and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:

Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet
stream of Spring Pond.

A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity.. A
review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued
Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in
violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource
and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994,
being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws,
annotated.

The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially
failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at
downstream locations.. We find that dams of this nature are inherently
hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you
to cease and desist all activities at this location, and to restore the
stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming
the dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be
completed no later than January 31, 2010.

Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so
that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure
to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the
site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement
action..

We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter.
Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any
questions.

Sincerely,
David L. Price
District Representative and Water Management Division.

-------------------------------------------------

...and the official response back from DeVries.....

-------------------------------------------------

Re: DEQ File
No.. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr..Price,

Your certified letter dated 11/17/09 has been handed to me. I am the
legal landowner but not the Contractor at 2088 Dagget Lane , Trout Run,
Pennsylvania .

A couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized) process of
constructing and maintaining two wood 'debris' dams across the outlet
stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor
supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that
you call their skillful use of natures building materials 'debris.'

I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their
dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely
state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam
resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam
determination and/or their dam work ethic.

(beaver pics originally attached here)

These are the beavers/contractors you are seeking. As to your request,
I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first fill out a dam
permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity.

My first dam question to you is:
(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers, or
(2) do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said
dam request?

If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through
the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed copies of all those
other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued. (Perhaps we
will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes
and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act,
Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to
324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.)

I have several dam concerns. My first dam concern is, aren't the
beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are
financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation --
so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer.

The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed
during a recent rain event, causing flooding, is proof that this is a
natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In
other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than
harassing them and calling them dam names.

If you want the damed stream 'restored' to a dam free-flow condition
please contact the beavers -- but if you are going to arrest them, they
obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being
unable to read English.

In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build
their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green
and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to live
and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the
natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams).

So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be
referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until
1/31/2010? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice by then and
there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them.

In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real
environmental quality, health, problem in the area It is the bears!
Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you
should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone.
If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your dam step! The
bears are not careful where they dump!

Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to
contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to
your dam office.

THANK YOU,
RYAN DEVRIES & THE DAM BEAVERS

------------------------------------------

Hope to get out and get some shots of the early wildflowers exploding in the sunny warmth of late. Should have some pics fer all y'all tomorrow...finger's crossed!

My little kleptomaniac...

2010-04-06T05:49:00.005-04:00

Once upon a time I adopted a precocious Border-Aussie rescue puppy that was personality-plus and cuteness beyond cute. The little puppy established herself as a chewer early on, demonstrating that perfectly good shoes were as much fun, if not more so, to play with than stuffed squeaky toys. Throw in pieces of wood I had mistakenly put on the floor, and the little puppy had no shortage of things to 'play' with...and mischief to get in to.

Because she grew up at the dead-end of a dead-end of a dead-end road, this little puppy that we'll call, say, Molly, learned to love roaming in nature out of the gate. Per other neighbors on her road, there is only one that lives there year-round, the others being seasonal visitors. Because I got Molly in the fall, she and the neighbors had never met. Suffice it to say it was a snowy, cold, and 'quiet' winter, with no visitors braving the eternal snowy and icy conditions.

Welcome a big Easter holiday with luscious warmth and beautiful days abounding, and many of the seasonal folks came up to open up their homes. I forgot to add that this "Molly" is not only a chewer, but a barker, unlike my past rescues. It's embarrassing enough to go greet the visitors and apologize for the barky baby, and thankfully they didn't mind a bit. But this human activity was all new to the ever-inquisitive puppy, these people and their pets, and their grandkids, and, well, the whole kit and kaboodle.

I kept making sure that when I saw Molly at the next house, out in the yard helping the owners plant flowers, that she wasn't pestering them. She just loved the new things to see and do and chose to be over there with her new best friends. They assured me she was welcome and fine, and to leave her be.

And then it started to happen. Miraculously, a gardening glove appeared at the top of my driveway. Then another. Then a paint roller handle. Then a shoe. Then an empty plant container. Seems as though Molly has a bona-fide thievery complex, as she continually went down and selected items to bring back. Luckily that's all she did, bring them back, as opposed to the next irreversible step of chewing up and destroying said stolen goods.

Nothing that a quick walk to return the items didn't cure, but the embarrassment was hard to avoid. Nobody has fences up here, and everyone gets along great and accepts everyone's pets. I just happen to be raising a kleptomaniac who does her job well.

Too well.

"Fried Fridays: FOX rocks!....uh...."

2010-04-02T06:05:00.004-04:00

OK, OK, ya got me. Throwin' in a bit of sarcasm. Guilty as charged.

FOX as in the national FOX Network. Bill O'Reilly. Mike Huckabee. Glenn Beck. Greta Van Susteren. Sean Hannity. Big showbiz names, lots of coverage, and proof that so called 'popularity' does not a great person make. Unless, of course, FOX represents your 'truth' and your 'reality', then you've got yourself one helluva baseball card collection.

I bet you want to know how I really feel...

"Fox News Channel" is a bit of a misnomer, in that 'news' thoroughly tainted with a particular political ideology is not news in the slightest. "Opinionated Journalism", yes. Edward R. Murrow style of journalism in its truest sense: unequivocally NO.

But to each his or her own. Not my cup of tea; as I always say, you choose the trough and choose to drink however much of the water you want.

Gee willikers, I left off the newest and biggest name to come on board, and why they're getting this week's award: Sarah Palin.....

DATELINE: ANYWHERE, U.S.A. (pretty much)

Welcome, former governor of Alaska. Is moose jerky as good as they say it is?

But seriously folks, Mrs. Palin is the latest and rather 'largest' name to join the FOX line-up in "talk shows". I'll assume you already knew that. How and why she got there is not the purpose of this week's "Fried Fridays" award.

Nothing like a 'premiere', eh? She made her hosting debut just last night, though I didn't watch the program. "Real American Stories", it's called. American, yes. Stories, yes. Real, uh....not according to artists LL Cool J. Or Toby Keith, for that matter. Hold that thought.

FOX has been in hot water in older news stories, rightfully charged with misrepresenting the 'truth' in particular situations. One glaring misrepresentation arose when they reported on a Washington rally and used footage of demonstrators from a totally different gathering months prior, when crowds were apparently more impressive. FOX blamed it on poor editing by producers. Yeah, right. And that is but one fish in their odorous barrel. But let's get back to Palin...

New show. BIG host draw. Conservative drooling running rampant. "Real American Stories". I'm seeing a flag waving in the prairie breeze, hands across chests, pride coming out of every person's pores. I'll buy that. Baseball, apple pie and, uh...Toyota?

I wanted to plug in the 0:20 ad for the show, but, gee, the button wouldn't work to give me an embedded code. I'll post the page link HERE if you want to try and see it for yourself, assuming it's still available.

The crux of my post is with the LL Cool J segment. You see, LL Cool J was to be an integral part of these American stories. The show supposedly chronicles "those who have overcome adversity and more." Fair enough. LL Cool J has done just that.

So why the fuss from the J-Meister?

Hopefully you can see the trailed/ad for yourself. He's a big part, LL Cool J. As conservative blogger's have posted, it (basically) shows goodness toward race relations, something that has and continues to be an issue in the FOX ideological camp. But there is one itty bitty problem.

LL Cool J's interview had NOTHING to do with the Palin show. His interview was 're-purposed' from a 2008 interview with someone else. LL Cool J was quoted as saying:

"FOX lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else and are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palin's show. WOW."

Good for him. Not at all a new 'thing' for FOX to do. But they did it anyway. To give them fair ground, I print their quoted response to the above quote, per requests from other media outlets:

"Real American Stories features uplifting tales about overcoming adversity and we believe Mr. Smith's interview fit that criteria. However, as it appears that Mr. Smith does not want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others, we are cutting his interview from the special and wish him the best with his fledgling acting career."

Oh, and Elaine Schock got quite a 'shock' when she was contacted this past Tuesday about Toby Keith's appearance on the same show. Because she's Keith's publicist, for cryin' out loud, you would think she would have been aware of (or at the very least notified about) his upcoming segment on the show...as the old saying goes, that's what you get for thinking. It wasn't until a journalist contacted her for her opinion was she aware of the FOX press release detailing Keith's appearance. Toby had no idea he was going to be on the show. Publicist Elaine knew nothing. Apparently HIS segment was also 're-purposed' from a totally unrelated interview in Las Vegas in 2009. It had zilch to do with Palin and the show.

WOW is right. And so are other words and phrases that I'll leave out.

Take a duck. Give it a mohawk. Paint it Coral and Turquoise. Add ostrich feathers. Give it feet extensions. Call it a QuiggleBonk.

Strip the crap away, and it's still a duck.

FOX management willfully chooses to live in a QuiggleBonk world. They must think they are the quintessential Spin Doctors for their agenda, which is anything but true 'news'. And there are millions of people willing to disregard 'news manipulation' because it fits their personal agenda.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I just want people to truly 'think' for themselves and simply be aware when truth is greatly manipulated. That's all. Then if someone still wants to hang a stuffed QuiggleBonk from their rearview mirror, more power to 'em.

Orangutan and the Hound

2010-03-31T08:54:00.003-04:00

What lovely weather we are having in the Carolinas! Setting aside the tornadic weather last Sunday, of course. While the mornings start chilly, the afternoons are far from shabby, and March is heading out like a fluffy lamb.

It's not like I'm loaded with free time on my hands, but I'm throwing this out there for those of you that are fluties and those that are into portable media....I am going to begin creating podcasts, MP3 files you can download and take with you to listen to whenever and wherever.

While I know I want to make them for my UglyBoyFlutes.com site, I was also thinking about making a version available for this blog, maybe starting with the Fried Fridays since they are perfect for audio-only candidates.

So I throw that thought out there and would appreciate any feedback anyone has for me. Would you prefer them to be really short, or limited to X number of minutes? Fluties can suggest topics...I know one will be on the steps I took to create a particular song, where I talk and play the pieces as they came together...I'll discuss types of wood and which are my favorite and which you can keep away from me (!)...and such topics. Per this blog, I think I may go back some and make them for just Fried Fridays, maybe throwing in a special one like yesterday's post worth listening to or sharing.

Mull, mull, mull. Which reminds me of Molly's little name that seems to come out of my mouth: Mol-Mol. Which reminds me she gets her spaying stitches out tomorrow. Which reminds me she gets to ditch that useful but horrid Elizabethan Collar. Which reminds me I took it off a few days ago since she simply doesn't bother the incision. Which reminds me to not let the vet know about this blog post...

My dear friend Dave recently sent a link to a most wonderful video from National Geographic, a beautiful story between an ol' hound dog and a precocious orangutan. Not only is it worthy of passing on, but at the bottom of the linked page is a link to "Other Wisdom" wherein I found some very worthy material. I end this post with a thought-provoking video on "The Wounded Healer" that I found on that page. Enjoy.

Orangutan and the Hound (click on the phrase for link)

Posted using ShareThis

Ya don't have to look far....

2010-03-30T05:35:00.007-04:00

Whether we need it or not, everything is closer to us than we think. While this holds true for things like happiness and things positive, it is also for things decidedly not. Eternal balance, the Yin and Yang, are omnipresent...so it is with great caution and high awareness that we make the choice of what we look at and focus on. Sticking your head in the sand to ignore any part of that balance will not be in anyone's best interest, as would obsessing about, say, something negative, as that draws it closer and closer to reality with such focused attention. We create our own realities, whether we're aware of it or not...and the basis lies within that powerful freedom of choice as to how we act and react to 'things'.

I say all that because of the recent tragic death of a 15 year-old freshman in Massachussetts I read about yesterday. Cute girl, whose family just moved here from Ireland....and tormented this school year by a group of 9 students in particular (male and female) with merciless bullying and taunting, including rape...and supposedly most of that occurring at school and on-line.

She killed herself.

Senseless death is just that, senseless. Where did these kids get the idea it was okay to behave this way? Where were the school administrators? Where were all the parents? Who heard the incessant cries for help and did nothing? Who is so out of touch with their kids they have no idea they're acting like criminals and misusing the internet? Have you ever been in a situation where someone is doing something so badly that you needed to stand up and speak out...and did you?

My years at Woodberry Forest School taught me many things, including some very hard lessons. Serving on both disciplinary and honor committees, I had to make tough choices on someone's potentially life-changing actions, whether they were disciplined or expelled...and that meant that in my daily life as a student, if I saw illegal or rule-breaking behavior, I was obligated to report it.

Many here call that snitching. I call it doing the right thing. Many calling it ratting on your friends. I call those people cowards not interested in the greater good of our society. Somewhere along the line we've lost our backbone for standing tall and speaking out honorably, and replaced it with either an 'amoebic silence' or some trumped-up chest-beating bravado seen in the political arena with bad-boy and bad-girl behavior. And I'm not talking just the 'out-shouting' politicians, but citizens that exhibit boorish behavior that's basically laced with bigotry and racism. And don't get me started on the ultra-right wing Christian Conservative militia groups that are on a 'godly' mission to cause death and destruction and somehow label it as 'good and right'. Those FBI raids shed light on just how close to us true terrorism is in our country.

In the 7th grade I crossed the 6' and 200-pound mark. Safe to say I wasn't bullied, and in fact stepped in to protect those that were. I've never tolerated mean people, and won't. I don't tolerate rude behavior, bigots, racists and those that mistreat animals. At a time when our nation desperately needs to pull together, there is that powerful 'opposite' force of those pushing their selfish 'My Way or the Highway' attitude. Where are all the people that can think ahead of the curve and see our Oneness instead of our perceived Separateness?

Yet, somehow in all that 'darkness' are buried blessings and beacons of 'lightness' that hopefully translate into personal growth and awareness...the proverbial passing of the spark to get a fire going (and might I add the kind of fire that warms and casts a golden glow, not the kind that destroys).

Life gives you a big DingleSnorf. It's what it is, a DingleSnorf...but how you look at it, how you perceive it, and how you react/deal with is where important Life-forming growth can occur...or not. Choose who you want to be in any given moment and BE that person. Wanna have a pity party and trust no one? Your call. Wanna look for the nuggets of gold in the hearts of others, in the eyes of a stranger, and in the infinite beauty of a flower? It's a simple choice.

But you make it, and define yourself in the process.

Quick post of flutes

2010-03-29T07:37:00.002-04:00

(NOTE: Blogger has been misbehaving badly with today's photos, and I even tried to write a new entry and reload them all...none of them would show up! So bear with this temporary trouble and check back if you are having trouble viewing pics)

It'll take me a while to transfer this to the website, but thought I'd pass along some new 'kids' to fellow fluties out there...finishing up flutes takes a looooong time, but these are well on their way to singing full-time. Most have no blocks designed for them yet, another time-consumer...but this is the first serious batch of new flutes coming out since last fall. As always, click on pics to enlarge...text with pics should answer most questions!

"Fried Fridays: Oz's Tin Man sang it best...."

2010-03-26T06:25:00.002-04:00

"If I only had a brain...."

Good fodder for this Friday morning...so good I've got to highlight a brace of stories in which the criminals share one thing in common: a seriously underutilized brain.

Our first chap simply wanted to reach out and touch someone....

DATELINE: OREM, UTAH

John White looks like he's in his early 20s....earrings in both ears, wavy golden locks cut straight across the forehead, which would look like an ancient Greek if it were but black as coal. His newish looking Ralph Lauren t-shirt made for a nice little mugshot.

John's mistake wasn't stealing two cell phones from a convenience store, though that was mistake enough. His mistake wasn't possessing the marijuana police found with the two stolen phones, though it certainly didn't help matters.

John's first big mistake was....he got lost. He was trying to find a particular address and, unlike many males, he actually flagged someone down to ask them for directions.

Only that person was THE investigating officer called in to handle the very convenience store theft John committed. What are the odds of that happening? Pretty good when you consider John had committed a second significant brain flattulation...

You see, John was close to his destination...so how was it the investigating officer just happened to be there, as well? John had accidentally left behind the address written on a slip of paper. The officer immediately recognized our first award-winning miscreant and, well, the rest is history.

Our blog of Brainless Wonders continues with a pair that will leave you saying, "What were they thinking?"....

DATELINE: FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT

Meet 27 year-old Albert Bailey and his unnamed 16 year-old sidekick. They needed and/or wanted some quick cash, and what better and easier way to accomplish that than to go rob a bank.

Leisure-style.

We are SUCH a society of laziness at times, aren't we. It's one thing to work smarter, not harder, but if one is not careful he or she can cut one too many corners.

Honestly, when I read this I was speechless...

Albert phoned in his robbery request for a bag of cash.

(cue cricket chirps loud enough to override the cricket laughter)

The Dynamic-less Duo pulled into the bank parking lot 10 minutes later to pick up their kinda sorta drive-through booty and....I know you'll find this hard to believe...the police were there waiting for 'em.

Please tell me they were high on drugs or something....

NOW it's getting dangerous....

2010-03-24T07:06:00.009-04:00

Please, I pretty much turn a deaf ear to any news that 'the markets' are getting stronger, that bailed-out banks are turning good profits again, and that the economy is stabilizing. A willful deaf ear, I'll admit.

Many banks continue to play dirty pool of sorts...I watched an expose last night on ABC (that you can watch HERE, though it may take a bit to load) where a 'disguised' high-level executive told his 'truth' about what really was going on in banks high up....the pressure execs were put under to try and force unneeded financial products on consumers because the more cards and accounts they had, the better the chance to make healthy fees off of them....how 'the top' purposefully put a lid on any efforts to ammend mortgages of homeowners in dire straits, heretofore long-term, excellent customers. If you don't have time to watch it now, I strongly urge you to watch it later. It's very unsettling.

Just as I know it's incorrect to lump all banks into one box, I also know that the box of dirty pool players is quite a full one. But that's not my seriously deep concern this morning...

Foreclosures. Bankrupticies. Business hiring mostly part-time positions, if that. State and local governments on the brink of financial collapse. All generate deeply troubling concerns. Recently, however, even amidst the little glimmers of economic hope in the news, comes word of the type of collapse that is, to me, one of the most dangerous...not so much for what it is on the surface, but what it means as the shock-wave and domino-effect takes hold and goes through the roots...through the years to come.

Watching our school systems crumble.

It's bad enough there were serious enough issues with the declining quality of public education over the past few decades, but to see the (increasing) reports of "Death by Education" is a knell we do not want to hear...yet we're held seemingly powerless to stop it.

Kansas City school systems are considering closing or consolidating 21 of their 67 schools next year. 20% of Michigan City's schools are on the chopping block. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is considering an 8-15% (some reports say an even 10%) across the board pay-cut for everyone; that or firing several hundred teachers, increasing class sizes and still possibly cutting pay (oh, and possibly creating 'combo' classes where K and 1 are put together, 2nd and 3rd, etc.). Worst case scenario is CMS will face an $83 million budget shortfall next year. And those are just three little examples I highlighted in a tempestuous sea that spans the country.

Oh, glad to see that Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, got a total compensation package of $17.9 million for 2009. Yeah, he took a big cut in salary and deferred on cash bonuses, but it is what it is: $18 million.

Also happened to dig up 2008 data for good ol' Goldman Sachs...one of THE ring-leaders of our world-affecting financial collapse paid out $4.82 BILLION in bonuses alone.

The 30-team NBA payroll total is close to $1,825,000,000. Highest is the L.A. Lakers at over $91 million; lowest is the Portland Trailblazers at just under $56 million. Average salary in 2007-2008 was just over $5.3 million.

IF you have a Master's Degree and teach for 23 years, your annual base pay in North Carolina will finally go a tad above the $50,0000 mark...that was before the proposed pay slashes ahead, of course.

Just felt like throwing that in there. Teachers have for decades gotten the short end of the pay and respect stick; not only have they gotten the short end of the stick, but the stick continues to be effectively ground down on a yearly basis. What we as a society are witnessing is a severe erosion at the very foundation and fabric of our nation. Innocent children are paying the price for the follies of adult fools, basically.

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Liza? A teacher?" Why would you, unless you were of such high moral calling that you would throw yourself into a profession that we're allowing to go to hell in a handbasket? Of course, you could say that about any number of professions these days....

Back when the horse-hockey hit the fan a couple of years ago, I remarked that some areas of society need to be shielded from demise, namely public safety (police/fire/emergency) and education/schools. When times get bad, some people get desperate, and you could argue an increased need for public safety and protection. But to screw with a child's eduction is set in motion a snowball headed for a hell of sorts, with ramifications that will go years into the future.

"The North Carolina Education Lottery" is one of the biggest farces to come through The Old North State government the past few years. Sounds great, doesn't it, that proceeds help out our education system? Smoke and mirrors, it is...it was to supplement existing funding, but our elected leaders saw fit to find ways to funnel some of the funding and proceeds for non-education programs and departments.

Allowing our schools to be shuttered, teachers fired, and kids crammed into classrooms like sardines, and then underfunding everything from supplies to support services is a bad, bad, bad thing. To say there are no other options is to say we haven't gotten tough enough in other areas.

Just like the ol' bumper sticker says:

"It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber."

And we sit here twiddling our thumbs acting surprised that our children perform so poorly when looking at academic performances of children around the globe...America's societal priorities are way out of whack. Or maybe it's more accurate to say we are simply reaping what we sow, espousing belief in one thing but making and accepting willful choices that destroy those very beliefs in the process.

Hmmmmmmmm.....

"Ugly Boy...start your engine!"

2010-03-22T06:27:00.003-04:00

(CLICK PICS TO ENLARGE)

It's been a slow train a-comin' since last fall when my router system died. Any new flutes I've produced since then were from a group I'd glued up and planed down before the unfortunate demise.

But with the advent of 'warmer' and non-snowy weather, the new Freud system showed me it's 'stuff' late last week, what with it's hefty, powerful router motor cutting through wood like butter. It is significantly easier to work with and overall will help me be more productive. Thanks, Santa!!!

Below is the first graduating class from Freud High...there are 3 transfer students that really don't have anything to do with the router system, though, the 2 branch flutes (top) halved and ready to be hand-gouged, as well as the almost-completed branch flute you'll read about in a minute.

There are 3 flutes in the middle that still have electrical tape on the ends...putting end caps on flutes would be a piece of cake with epoxy, except for one little thing that makes all the difference in the world: it is MUCH harder to cut and achieve a true flat surface that is 90-degrees to the flute body. You would think that as I slowly drop the chop saw that it would do the trick, but it doesn't always do that...I'm talking very minor gaps and imperfections, but it takes a lot of effort to do it 'right'.

Those end-capped flutes are with my more premium woods. The top one is figured Myrtle with Claro Walnut endcaps; next is Quilted Maple with figured Sapele caps, followed by Curly Maple with figured Sapele caps.

Those 3 along with the bottom 2 are all 1" bore flutes, and most likely will fall very close to mid F in key. The Yellowheart flute (take a guess!) and one below it are 7/8" bore and will more than likely be G/Ab. On the far right are 2 round-bore flutes with a 1/2" bore, and most likely will fall more towards high E. But you do see one next to those that is already prepped for finishing...

I had always been meaning to go by the large warehouse of a Habitat for Humanity resale store in Asheville. While very close to the prestigious Biltmore Village, it's off on an industrial side road, with a rutted, muddy-when-wet parking lot across the street. The hillside by the parking lot is full of young 'trash' trees of various species, unkempt from years of neglect in a no-owner's zone of sorts. The day I went by I saw some pruned branches litering the edge...and noticed many were naturally hollow and very light. Now you know why I carry a small handsaw in the back of the car...

I have reason to believe the hollowed branches were younger shoots of Royal Paulownia, and while I've never done it before, I dug through long drill bits and cleaned out the bore by hand, inserting a cork to divide the 2 flute chambers, and opting for a teak soundboard insert as the wood was stringy and wouldn't shave flat. The upshot is this is a bored flute and hasn't been split in half and glued...and to add to the character the bark is perfectly intact. It's a sweet high D flute that will need to have good finish coats on it so the bark is sealed on, but it's almost ready to roll.

I will be deterred by other projects and auditions for the next couple of days, but it feels good to have the ball rolling again, and the mental cobwebs blown out from months of negotiating these woodworking steps. Amen for spring!

"Fried Fridays: Kiss THIS.....!"

2010-03-19T09:37:00.000-04:00

"Why don't you kiss,

Kiss this!

And I don't mean on

My rosy red lips...!"

- Aaron Tippin

Older country song, that one...cute and catchy. Spring officially comes in this weekend, and with spring comes lightened spirits, new vegetation, and mating songbirds. Love is in the air, for sure.

It's also in the law books...

DATELINE: DUBAI

Not sure how our society would split in a yes/no poll on PDA. You know, 'public display of affection.' Holding hands, kissing, full-fledged making out...it can manifest itself in many ways.

And it's gone on as long as time itself has, I'm pretty sure. Person A has life-altering chemical reaction to Person B, with a mutually electric return stimulus, and the rest is history.

Dubai is a Shangrila of sorts, a resort-like atmosphere with year-round sunny days and tax-free earnings. Foreign residents far outnumber native Emiratis, which is not necessarily a problem, save for the austere, conservative Muslim laws that govern the Gulf Arab emirate.

Alcohol is illegal. Kissing and touching in public is illegal. Tying your pet Cape Buffalo to a public parking meter is also probably illegal, though I couldn't verify that. Fact is, the touchy-feely thing might play well in Peoria, but never in Dubai...not in public.

An Emirate mother complained to the police that a young (foreign) couple was kissing and touching each other intimately in public, with the assistance of some alcohol apparently. What made it worse was that.....get ready, this is a biggee...the mother's child saw it, too. Scarred for life for witnessing wicked Western ways.

This actually happened in November when the couple was arrested, since then filing legal motions to stave off the anticipated one month of jail time for such a tawdry offense, to be followed with a guaranteed deportation.

The laws in Dubai seem bizarre to us, just like any country's laws that subjugate women or other unconscionable actions. To think you can spend a month in prison and be deported for doing something so 'tame' boggles the mind. Fries it, actually.

Guess it goes to prove the old adage of advice: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Uh, scratch that. I think there were historical periods when they did a lot more than just kissing publicly, come to think about it...

A draining task...

2010-03-18T11:47:00.000-04:00

(click on pics to enlarge)

Lake Junaluska (~30 minutes west of Asheville, NC) has been drained for some dredging and clean-up work....and if you've ever been there you'll realize how foreign these pictures look.

There are two kinda sorta parts to the lake, the shallowest being the part along the highway to Maggie Valley (where these pics were taken). The other half, where the dam is located, has the deeper part and some semblance of a lake, still...with a lot of shoreline showing.

I took advantage of collecting some of the driftwood branches that I thought might make good branch flutes...nice to be able to pick and choose like that. Not all branches make good flute material, not by a long shot.

As I drove one of the windy roads along the lakeshore, a special treat caught my eye...

It was a storm-damaged gnarly old, old maple tree, and now all you woodworkers get to drool.....keep in mind a large limb ripped down in a recent snow, so the surface is really rough (and the limb material long-gone, for good reason...)

Even as rough as the surface is, just LOOK at the intense curly maple wood that's in that wonderful tree! I can only imagine a lot of that tree's wood would turn out to be some of the highest grade figured maple out there...

Guess I've never seen a raw exposed tear in a tree and seen such beautiful figuring all at the same time...

...which is why I carry a saw in the back of the car. Ya never know when you might have the opportunity to take something damaged and turn it into beautiful art/instruments.

As I said earlier, whatever fell off was long-gone, and not even any good scraps were left. *SIGH* But it sure is fun to think I might one day find such a treasure someone would let me have.

St. Whatever's Day.....

2010-03-17T19:37:00.004-04:00

Once upon a time, in a make-believe land far far away, there was a holiday that caused much consternation to some, namely those of Irish descent that had a fetish for propriety that was, well, just plain vapid. Keep in mind this is 'make-believe', so don't think that a news professional wrote this memo to fellow workers a little over a week ago...(wink, wink)

"Hi all,

In the next few days, I'm sure many of us will be writing a story about St. Patrick and all of the events surrounding this day. This is just my annual reminder for us to write and say St. Patrick, not St. Patty's, Paddy's or any other version of the name. Many Irish find this offensive (and often write me lots of emails when we say it incorrectly). We don't call Christmas, X-Mas, or Martin Luther King, Marty....so please call St. Patrick by his full and actual name.

Thanks for saving me a lot of messages in my inbox.

Signed,

(make-believe person)"

I'll start by digressing and challenge the assertion that "many" find it offensive...and to remind this (make-believe) author that it's Martin Luther King, JR. day, since he or she is into the prim and proper...

I was even told this same (make-believe) person asked a meteorologist to not use the dancing leprechaun icon on the 7-day outlook as it was 'incorrect' and 'offensive'...

I happened to be working 'someplace' last Friday and thanks to a bad technical issue spent some time with the head IT guru solving the issue. He's full Irish, in every way. At some random point, I asked him about the 'St. Patrick' vs. 'St. Paddy' idea and he immediately guffawed that the (make- believe) memo was a total crock of you-know-what.

I don't doubt the (make-believe) person got some emails, but I'm personally sick and tired of squeaky wheels getting all the grease. I'm all for things proper and non-offensive, but there is a limit to allowed zealousness in my book. For this (make-believe) person to put out this (make-believe) email, it should open the legitimate door for a like-rebuttal...but, oh no, one dare not challenge a manager.

I'm Scotch-Irish, so a bit of a mongrel to Irish purists, I'm sure....but I've talked with MANY Irish who are not in the least bothered by references like Paddy and such..after all, it is THE most common name, and a legitimate derivation. Even "Patrick" is an Anglicized version of the Irish vernacular "Padraig", from which Paddy naturally derived. It leaves me wondering if it's Nationalist toes that were being stepped on or religious ones...the latter which tend to be highly intolerant on myriad levels.

So, just musing over the weird taste in my mouth from that (make-believe) memo. The day's almost over, and my green shirt will go in the dirty clothes bin, even though I didn't go anywhere in public today. C'est la guerre.

Big thing is in the morrow Miss Molly will be going in for her spaying. I know all will be fine, but ya still worry when one of your 'kids' goes in for anything dealing with anesthesia. Maybe it will calm her chewing habit some...I can only hope!

Woke up with this in my head....

2010-03-16T05:50:00.000-04:00

No, not congestion...this song. Many moons ago Spike Lee did a movie on some a capella groups, and it began with a cool song by an earlier quartet grouping of Rockapella, who has since changed many members over the years. They've done Folger's commercials, provided songs on "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego", and much more.

Anyhooo, if you're feeling like a zombie this morning, you're in luck....here is Rockapella performing "Zombie Jamboree from the start of that movie...sound is a tad off the video, but you can deal with it...as you move with the zombies!

Pondering, Musing, Mulling....

2010-03-12T01:20:00.001-05:00

(NOTE: Pulling the ol' early AM weather shift for News 14 Triad this morning, so don't have the time to do my 'normal' Fried Fridays segment. I started pre-writing this post yesterday to save time. Who knows, maybe I'll write a 'Silly Saturday' story to make it up, since there are some really whacked stories out there this week...)

In the weather world, especially, an oft asked question is 'do you think man is creating global warming with CO2 emissions, etc.? In fact, a friend recently posted such a question to a select group of us, this after a record cold and snowy winter...how could there be warming when there is so much cold and snow?

Keep in mind this issue is global and long-term, not limited to one season. And even though the overall effect would be 'warming', it also means wilder swings in weather patterns...so you would have the really cold with the really hot, overall setting a warming trend.

Even at that it's debatable, of course. I didn't respond immediately to my friend's question, but a fellow meteorologist did by saying,

"I think we have some affect on the climate, but to what degree is still uncertain even with the millions of dollars of research spent on the subject of global warming. I believe at this point, to say that global warming is strictly man-made is a big stretch-the research certainly has shown many holes. Environmental stewardship benefits everyone, and I think that should be our focus for generations to come.

Cleaning up the environment by reducing CO2 emissions, and our dependancy on coal and oil should be a priority regardless of the global warming debate. The problem now is that too much has been invested into the whole issue that stopping one side or the other from continuing to press on will be nearly impossible. Let's just move on and stop wasting tax payers money on what should be an obvious choice... reduce, reuse and recycle!"

I happened to be at the computer when the email came in and I quickly responded thus:

"I second that emotion, Jason...whether or not we're warming the atmosphere is but a smaller issue to our rampant degradation of the planet in general, air as well as land and water. THAT needs to be the focus, to drastically increase stewardship and use political tools in addition to societal ones to minimize harmful environmental impacts.

But that means people, nations, and parties have to agree to compromise and work together...and judging by the way we're heading just within our own U.S. government, it's no wonder those prospects look so depressing..."

I grew up big in the student council world starting in junior high...any and all leadership classes and workshops dealt with what it was to be a leader...and while you have to have a vision you believe in and follow; yet you have to sell it to others, and you have to understand that you aren't God and that you have to COMPROMISE to see things move ahead.

Sadly, that's what I see SO little of in our government, yea, among individual citizens, absolutely hell-bent on seeing their ideology win out over someone else's, giving nary an inch of conciliatory turf. That, to me, is pitifully, pitifully sad and heart-breaking. This I tell you: We as a nation and society and democracy will get NOWHERE as long as we choose polarizing over compromising. NOWHERE. Some think it's all and good to stand for your beliefs, but not at the risk of destroying social and political fabric. We have to wisely pick and choose our battles, and it seems waaaaaaay too many are dropping that aspect of 'wisdom' altogether...

-----------------------------------------

One story that caught my eye Thursday is a northern Mississippi School district that has canceled Senior Prom altogether. Threw the baby out with the bathwater they did, the whole shooting match. Seems like the 'adults' in control of the Itawamba School District took issue with a student who challenged the rule that prom dates have to be of the opposite sex. A same-sex couple wanted to go to the prom, with one of the ladies wearing a tux. They challenged the law on the basis of constitutional rights, and the ACLU got involved.

So the board's answer was to just stop the whole shootin' match instead of dealing with a topic and situation worthy of consideration and...here's that word again...compromise. At least some other creative solution than ruining a huge event for everyone involved.

You don't have to agree or support or like same-sex couples and issues...but I really thought we as a great society were getting past such neanderthalic mindsets, sticking instead to baseless archaic rules created from manipulated religious roots. At this moment I'm thinking of many same-sex couples I know well...and if this world had more like them (in terms of loving, kind, committed, philanthropic, giving, peaceful beings), we would have a far better place in which to truly live. FAR better.

MMmmmmmeow?!

2010-03-11T03:24:00.006-05:00

"Of all God's creatures,

there is only one

that cannot be made

the slave of the leash.

That one is the cat.

If man could be

crossed with a cat

it would improve man,

but it would

deteriorate the cat."

- Mark Twain

I'm a boogie woogie kind of piano man, and I remember the title of one old, old song called "Kitten on the Keys". Click on the title and go to a page that plays that 1921 creation, if'n ya want to tap your toes a bit! (Note: if you don't have Quicktime installed on your computer, I don't think it will work...sorry!)

An early morning email from a pet food company had a little story about Nora the piano cat...which led me to search for this 'amazing' cat that has put out her own CD. OK, take it with a grain of salt...found a YouTube video of her in action...would have liked to see her really go at it for a period of time, but the video is full of jump cuts which tells me Nora has a limited attention span when it comes to tickling the ivories.

However, I did find Nora featured in a "Catcerto" that was cute and nicely composed and edited...give it a second for the feline to get doing her thing as an orchestra plays to Nora's video interpretation of...something....

(note: Blogger's column width is cutting a little of the screen off on the right...you can double click on the screen below and go to the YouTube entry and actually enlarge to full screen)

New flute: "Spirit Horse" (mid F#)

2010-03-09T18:50:00.004-05:00

Finally, here my latest creation, one I've named "Spirit Horse". It's a closed end flute of Papua New Guinea Walnut, keyed to mid F# (F#4). It's got a beautiful voice, if I do say so myself, but as I write I've not made a sound file of it yet.

(click on pics to enlarge)

I don't have any deep hidden meanings in any of the designs, although the thunderstorm on the forehead is just that. For me it represents the Thunderbeings, and the supercell storms of the Plains. To the Native Americans, the horse of the west wasn't on the scene until the early Spaniards brought them. Once tamed, the horse transformed many tribal cultures, not only for transportation but also for hunting and certainly warfare. Spiritually, the horse represents freedom and power, a spirit that cannot be broken. It also represents safe passage into the 'new'.

When I finally decided to make a horse from the solid wood end, I immediately wanted it to look like it was at full gallop...I wanted that movement, that freedom, that unbridled spirit (literally and figuratively!)...and I had this abstract idea of color and designs instead of a 'normal' look, more representative of the Spirit/Dream world. (Too, it may have been a hold-over from painting the Hippie Flute!). But what to do for the block?

I certainly didn't want a second horsehead...and a regular sweeping bird didn't seem to work. I thought about an old style geometric block found on the oldest Plains flutes, but then I had this idea to stylize the mane flying in the wind...

I wasn't sure how to get the effect, but since I decided to keep the mane black, I knew I had some flat pieces of Ebony. I chose a basic block for the base, angled for aesthetics...could have made it 100% Ebony, but it absorbs no moisture and makes a flute 'wet out' under the block where moist breath travels. I cut four long rectangles of Ebony, and then used my oscillating drum sander to make the 'waves' for the flying mane, hitting the corners as well to round each over. Too, I wanted a tad separation between the tips of each piece, so I sanded a little off the sides of each tail. I actually made about 6 pieces, and then sat down and played with it like a puzzle. I wanted each to look different and not be aligned in the same way...I thought that would be easy but it took some real manipulation to get the four pieces I liked in a precise order. With a little glue and more sanding, the concept came to life.

I was orginally going to leave the Mahogany base natural, but the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea of reintroducing the turquoise, so I painted it. While I had ideas for doing other ornamentation, once the block was finished, I had that feeling of peace that my new 'kid' was just as it needed to be.

"It's a bird...it's a plane...it's...."

2010-03-09T08:03:00.000-05:00

...Medusa?

stay tuned later today.....

"Fried Fridays: Simmering, actually..."

2010-03-05T05:29:00.001-05:00

Marketing. It's all about marketing.

When times get tough, the tough get creative, and oftentimes that means creating a whole new way for people to look at your product...

DATELINE: PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSSETTS

A mortuary is a mortuary is a mortuary. Or is it?

I understand business has been pretty dead lately, increasing the stiff competition between funeral homes. All of 'em now offer lay away plans, and pride themselves on being the last ones to ever let you down.

But at times like this, grave decisions have to be made to keep your business afloat. You have to arise from the ashes lest you be buried with burdening debt. It's not always an open and shut case, either. On the outside you might look good to others, but inside is a whole 'nuther story. It's hard to stay alive in these tough times, yet there is a strong need to keep a pulse of your community and potential clients.

So you create events you hope people will be dying to enjoy.

Nothing says 'Yummy!' quite like a chili cook-off competition at the Devanny-Condron Funeral Home. I think it would be cute if they made some of the rooms to look like red caves, and have competitors dress in red tights and capes and call it "Chili that's hot as hell!", but something tells me some uptight folks wouldn't cotton to that. Any way, that's only one of myriad efforts they're putting forth to get residents to understand what an integral part of the town a funeral home is.

(cue cricket chirps...)

They want people to understand they are the very center of community life. Guess I'd always thought of them as the center of community death, but I digress.

Another thing they're going to take a stab at is a murder-mystery show. Personally, I think Mrs. Thomas will do it in the Blue Chapel with a candlestick, but time will tell after the tickets sell. I bet I know what brand of coffee they'll serve, though....Maxwell House. Good to the last drop.

If you're celebrating your 50th anniversary, you get a free ride in their funeral limo. Now THERE'S a real treat for your long-lasting love, the opportunity to see what it looks and feels like before your next ride...

You see, a spokesperson for the funeral home wants to reshape the public's perception to one of understanding how a funeral home can be a place for happier occasions, too. That way, when they're actually holding a wake, there will a better sense of comfort now that the community has experienced happier times there.

I promise you, I can't make this stuff up.

They're on a roll, though. The Ether, er, uh Easter Bunny will make an appearance there as they have a little holiday egg hunt fun ('There's a special egg in one of the caskets, Timmy! Go find it!). Speaking of which, they might want to make little baskets in the shape of caskets, to really drive the point home how much fun they had.

An art walk is in the offing...I wonder if they'll have a silent auction? Will it be open to all mediums? Maybe they'll do like other towns do...like in Cherokee, NC there are a dozen large bear sculptures that local artists were hired to paint, or the traveling theme-painted cows....they could do the same thing with basic pine caskets, to add a little color to Pittsfield's wintry cityscape.

Of all their ideas, I think I like this one best: monthly birthday cakes to the Pittsfield Senior Center. Have your cake and buy a plot for it, too. Granted, it's a nice gesture, BUT....

S-NO!-W and mo'...

2010-03-03T08:09:00.002-05:00

If a picture paints a thousand words, I'm not sure a lot of them can be printed here....the above graphic is from the GSP NWS office from the storm that just blew through, showing the forecast numbers. Actual amounts were higher in some mountain locations, some above 12", but that graphic isn't out yet. Temps held above freezing and helped many Piedmont locations see only limited accumulations.

Only counties covered by GSP NWS are shown, but sure enough there was a secondary 'hot spot' that did dump where one model I like predicted it would (east of Union County's 4.4 on the right) toward Rockingham.

Thankfully, the going forecast is for a warming trend to crank up in a couple of days, something long overdue and much anticipated...

Chapter 7 is now posted in my "Milepost 50" blog. It's a rambling verbal tour as I don my acting hat and talk about that insane world, how I got my SAG (Screen Actors Guild) card, and other interesting tid-bits. The joy is definitely in the journey, not in the destination!

Cold, hard facts...

2010-03-02T05:52:00.001-05:00

Got a press release from Grandfather Mountain staff about the weather records shattered this past month, February 2010. With the negative NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) in full swing this winter, the mountains of western NC have been continually hit with NW winds, which means cold and wrap-around snows. Reading some of these numbers might make some of you feel warmer and better...

(FYI, for those not familiar with Grandfather, it's between Boone and Linville, NC, and noted for it's mile-high swinging bridge. Their official weather station is by that bridge near the gift shop. Check it out.)

While February is the shorty with 28 days (this year), the weather station could be reached only 61% of the time to be checked...that's only 17 days. Personnel couldn't get up there for 11 days last month.

The persistent cold has been noteworthy throughout much of the East this winter. The average high 2/2010 was 29.31 degrees F, which is a whopping 8.1 degrees below average. The average low 2/2010 was 16.38 degrees F, a noticeable drop from average by 5.35 degrees. The coldest recording was a frigid 1 degree, but that pales in comparison to the record February low of minus 19 set back on 2/25/67.

Two ways to look at winter precipitation: snowfall, and melted/liquid values. Per the liquid equivalent, it was a wet month for sure, totaling 7.32". The 54-year average is 4.74", so 2/2010 was 54% above average. Good for the mountain springs and foliage to come, no doubt.

In terms of the frozen stuff, this winter's running total is 81.5" of recorded snow, which normally at the end of February is but 38.08". In February alone there was 39.1" of snow, far above the 54-year average of 13.90". Snowfall was 181% above the norm...but keep in mind that over those 11 days where no one could reach the station, there was approximately 15" of snow that was not officially recorded and part of the above numbers. Wow.

Lastly, the wintry winds did howl, as well, as expected at such high, bare elevations...that's why that mile-high bridge does some serious swingin'. I've seen higher numbers from there, but winds did exceed 60mph nine times, with the highest 3-second gust on 2/11 clocked at 95.5 mph...just 0.5mph away from a Category 2 hurricane.

Now, dontcha feel better about this winter already? Yeah, whatever...

Incoming winter storm later today may give a nice little dumping in a more unusual location from Darlington, SC north-ish to Wadesboro, NC and over to Rockingham, NC. For various reasons my accumulation models paint a hotspot of sorts in that area for a good half-foot of snow, not a normal occurrence in that area. We shall see...

Stay warm, all y'all! March Madness is in full swing, and I ain't even talkin' college hoops, yet!

Notes to self....

2010-03-01T08:24:00.003-05:00

1. When I give the dogs new squeak toys,
put them away when I go to bed.

2. When I give the dogs new rawhide bones,
put them away when I go to bed.

3. Make sure the hanging birdfeeder comes in at dark so the midnight raccoon raid won't rile the pups out of slumberland.

4. Make sure to look into properties in warmer climes, like southern Utah or New Mexico. Not Florida, though.

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Just a few mental notes from the weekend. Not that the weather was uncomfortably cold, just that yet another system of several more is poised to bring more cold and wintry precipitation. The good news is the sun angle and intensity is slowly increasing each day; the bad news is March storms can be notorious for heavy snow (if it's cold enough), crippling ice storms, and even tornadic storms.

This year's negative NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) is definitely going in the record books for myriad numbers, and the fat lady has yet to sing in this winter's opera. Ready for some spring aria, myself.

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Ready to be rid of what for me was a lack-luster Olympic coverage. Too much fluff, not enough raw action. Too much editing, and waaaaay too much tape-delayed coverage. Good thing they didn't pre-empt my soap operas, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune each day and evening.

Unfortunately, 'media' in general continues to go down a biased path of almost trying to make controversies bigger than they are, just for the sake of snagging viewers by creating drama. I quit reading many an Olympic story online because of the questionable intent of the writing, which I hesitate to call journalism. Just my 3 cents worth (inflation).

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Interesting brain teaser for you, one I ran across recently:

REVIVE

BANANA

GRAMMAR

VOODOO

ASSESS

POTATO

DRESSER

ENEVEN

The eight words above are unusual in that they collectively have one thing in common. Can you figure it out? Scroll down for the answer...

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If you take away the first letter of each word and place it at the end of the word, it will spell the same word backward.

"Fried Fridays: How to raise a child"

2010-02-26T07:29:00.001-05:00

If you've never been to a Chuck E. Cheese establishment, then you're really missing out on...uh,...um...some, uh....cheap food and lots of loud kids having fun with oodles of games. It's quite the experience, kinda like organized chaos...with truckloads of quarters flying in and out of machines.

The establishment prides itself as being a place where kids can be kids.

And lowlifes can be lowlifes...

DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

Tanesha Turner is only 24 and already has 3 kids out of the oven. Cornelius Brown, 27, joined her and her entourage for a little Chuck E. Cheese fun and frivolity on Valentine's Day. Nothing says 'I love you' quite like such a romantic dinner setting, eh?

After they did their thing as a little kinda sorta family unit, they left in Brown's 1980-something Chevy Citation. Along with Amanda Harrington's snatched purse.

Oh, I forgot to tell you Tanesha had planned the theft of the unattended purse. All that noise, all that commotion...surely it would be a piece of piz...uh, cake to grab that purse and make a clean get away.

Well, she didn't actually take it herself...it was just her idea to visit the ol' "Five Finger Stop And Shop". Rather, my "Fried Fridays" winner thought it would be better to have her 5 year-old daughter do the snatching, telling her "Do it for mommy".

Congratulations, Mommy. Here's your sign...and your orange jumpsuit.

A loss for words?

2010-02-25T11:32:00.002-05:00

Not really....wanted SO badly to write about my disgust for the political gridlock and other economic related topics, but they depressed me too much right now...so I went and finished/posted Chapter 6 on my "Milepost 50" blog (link left).

Going back to an earlier post this month, I'm gonna find that groundhog and kick his butt into next year.....