Dear Summer,
You mind if I smoke?
warmest regards,
California
I Hit a Homer
Isn't that what you'd say if
you crashed
into this
little beauty?
No, I don't have a Homer fixation...
If You Look Around...
Just when you think you've seen it all, there is always something you haven't seen before.I wouldn't mind having this in my driveway.
I Googled it and found this Art Car Blog. Check it out. I could blow a whole day here. Why don't we see art car cruise ins with these kinds of creative people?
Now What?
Have you seen these cars? I have been to many shows and festivals, out west, down south and even up north, but not until I landed in Columbus Ohio had I ever see the "toy covered cars." It looks like someone sped through a Mc Donalds Happy Meal toy collector's when the car was covered with glue.I happen to know one lady (I think she goes by Ramona Moon) at one time had two such cars, and maybe her significant other had started one? Don't quote me, that last part is pretty fuzzy. I wasn't sure if either of these were hers.
This particular shot is two of the three of cars I saw. This photo is slighty cartoonified to show the color.
What do you think of them? What's the stranges "creative thing" you've seen?
I watched Celebrity Circus with one eye while typing a document from a book.I've never been to the circus. I've never been attracted to crowds and I didn't really enjoy clowns to the extent that some people do. Slapstick and mime not being my favorite form of entertainment. Maybe they could have been if the performers I saw in clips weren't reusing predictable overdone material.
I don't have to go to a circus to see "Statues". These are performers who are colored unochromatically, faces and hands included, to look like statues. They are able to pose and remain to completely still that when they reposition, they have never failed to startle someone in the crowd.
Even Cirque De Soleil has taken big top entertainment to a new level. Gone are the big orange Afro's, bubble nosed, big footed, ill-dressed fumblers and bumblers. The performers are sleek and airbrushed with cosmic colors in glittering skin tight outfits, or fluttering fairy-like skirts with an emphasis on strength and grace and impossible feats of motion. The choreography and performances have become flowing graceful gravity defying feats that tickle the eye.
And I have only seen bytes on TV. One of these days, I'm going.
A Very Fine Work of Art
See it? Just behind the iron sculpture?
MMMhmmm. Fine work.
I'm proud to own such a fine specimen!
Expressing Without Expressing
When my friend Kerry said “Expressing without expressing”, it was as thought a hundred strings of Christmas lights flickered to life. The concept crystallized and suddenly made sense to me on a thousand levels.Expressing without expressing is the breathing of life into our emotion and not betraying its source. It’s the un-chesting of unbearable weight under the ever watchful eye of those who put it there, without their notice and who would be offended at its verbal off-loading.
It’s communicating all you wanted to say—screaming out—and being heard, understood and accepted by others while maintaining invisibility from the ones who caused the pain.
Expressing without expressing shares a burden with the attuned. This is why certain music speaks to us, why we cling to certain characters, favor particular stories.
Expressing without expressing is channeling what aches to be said into a nonverbal communication.
Growing up in a home where honest communication is stifled, can cause a stockpile of unspent emotions. Sometimes the result is jarring like abstract painting or beautiful like a symphony. Maybe it’s the true creatives who figure out how to alleviate the backlog of unresolved emotions into something positive.
When I was young I had to figure out how to communicate without using words that would got me into trouble. When I wrote, I got into trouble; Principals office, long parental monologues about the evils of the world, society, exaggerating, lying. I drew, and discovered if you draw people, the red flag goes up.
“Is that supposed to be me?” Defensive. Critical. Retaliative.
I drew mostly cartoons animals. No one reads between the lines when it comes to critters. It’s amazing. I could write a parallel story and as long as it involved animal characters, no one said anything.
“How do you come up with ideas? Where do you get your inspiration?”
“I dunno.” I kept on drawing jello-boned cats and kept my mouth shut.
Stealing Time Part Two
Yesterday I admitted to not being a good thief, listing several ways that time is stolen from me. As I thought about it more, I realized most of us live with one very real time thief in our own homes. Do you know what I'm getting ready to say? Brace yourself--the television. Percentage of households that possess at least one television: 99
Number of TV sets in the average U.S. household: 2.24
Percentage of U.S. homes with three or more TV sets: 66
If the average person watched TV a conservative two hours a day, that comes out to 14 hours a week. In one month, that's 56 hours. In twelve months it 672 hours, or 28 days. What could you do with 28 extra days in a year?
But according to A.C. Nielsen Co., the stats are actually worse than my conservative estimate, stating the the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day.
If you watch 3 hours a day, that's 21 hours a week, 84 hours a month, 1008 hours a year: 42 days.
4 hours a day, 28 hours a week, or 56 days a year.
Number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes. At that rate, TV is stealing over 182 hours a month. One week of every month watching television and over 90 days for the year. What could be accomplished in that amount of time?
Books could be read and written. If the average TV watching American gave up one hour a day and worked out , it would dramatically change their health and relieve some of the health care costs.
Only 49 percent of Americans recognize they watch too much TV. What about you? How much time is your TV stealing??
Number of TV sets in the average U.S. household: 2.24
Percentage of U.S. homes with three or more TV sets: 66
If the average person watched TV a conservative two hours a day, that comes out to 14 hours a week. In one month, that's 56 hours. In twelve months it 672 hours, or 28 days. What could you do with 28 extra days in a year?
But according to A.C. Nielsen Co., the stats are actually worse than my conservative estimate, stating the the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day.
If you watch 3 hours a day, that's 21 hours a week, 84 hours a month, 1008 hours a year: 42 days.
4 hours a day, 28 hours a week, or 56 days a year.
Number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes. At that rate, TV is stealing over 182 hours a month. One week of every month watching television and over 90 days for the year. What could be accomplished in that amount of time?
Books could be read and written. If the average TV watching American gave up one hour a day and worked out , it would dramatically change their health and relieve some of the health care costs.
Only 49 percent of Americans recognize they watch too much TV. What about you? How much time is your TV stealing??
Mod Rod Bod
Among the things I enjoy in summer is
visit car shows. This was one of the most unique bodies of work
I had seen in a long time. I wanted to share it with you. Fun huh?
Where do you go in the summer?
When You See This
By the time you see this, I could be riding on the back of the bike belonging to Heavenly Harley Man. Today is our 4th anniversary.
All I really want is to hang onto him,
for a wild ride if the weather holds and/or a million dollar smile.
This recent series of photos was shot with my LG camera.
Stealing Time
Can you steal time from twilight? I am not a very good thief. I have tried staying up all night, only to be forced to pay for it by sleeping through beautiful days. I’ve attempted to write or create through parts of the night. And I get away with it for awhile, but then, naps call to me until I fall into a chair and relinquish alertness for a coma. I may steal time—in a way—by multi tasking until it’s glaringly apparent that I am not good at either thing equally. I could steal your time…yeah, I could do that without even trying.Instead, I’ll tell you all the ways time has been stolen from me. Like when I go shopping with my sister, which I am loathe to do for any reason. She has been known to take to identical pairs of shoes, and peruse their stitching, their eyelet configuration, the interior soles, the coloration of the leather and make comparisons for twenty minutes. When she can’t decide, she asks me, “Which pair do you like?” Honestly, by then, I don’t care. I’m less interested in nuances when I think precious daylight is a-wasting.
I’ve window shopped with a female relative who wanted more than her budget or mine could bear in a life time. She’s able to do this for hours. I’m bored after ten minutes.
I liked the way my dad shopped. He’d price something and think about it for days or weeks after. Maybe even save money for it. When he went to buy the item, he went in, picked it up, chose an unopened, undamaged box, paid and left. From the time we walked into the store until we stuffed the purchase in the car may have been ten minutes, and that was if we stood in line.
I could tell you about the people who dawdle in front of me below the speed limit. In our free country, they are free to travel at whatever speed they like. The only reason it irritates me is because they are wasting my time, stealing my time. Probably everyone has waited too long in a doctors or dentists office. Over the years, I’ve wised up enough to bring a book to read or a notebook to write in, so they can’t waste my time.
But stealing time? I already have too much to do in what had been allotted to me without taking it from people. My dad used to say, that whatever you steal will cost you three times the value. Since finding it to be true, it keeps me honest.
Simpsons Anyone?
Some things are so surreal, you have to take a picture. When the movie opened, this was on display at Rave Movie theater on Polaris.
Have you seen weirdness anywhere that you can shoot and share?
Restaurant Art
Some things are just too crazy not to take a picture of. This was earlier in the year, down around campus area.
Jakob Dylan Seeing Things
The Long awaited CD from Jakob Dylan hit the shelves June 1oth and we got our copy yesterday. I'm not really sure how Bob will take it when I tell you that Jakob's voice is a perfect blend of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, but that's how it sounds to me.I heard the first cut on Starbucks 45 (on your XM dial) this morning. We listened to Evil is Alive and Well. The next track I think will be popular is Everybody Pays. It's a great price at Target right now, 9.99$ which I think is unbeatable for a new release. I heard Jakob's music for the first time in a Bruckheimer production. Until that day, it never occurred to me that Bob had a guitar playing son. (Evidently that rock I was living under was very big...) I think I kept attributing his voice to someone else. I'm happy to discover that he has more music out there for me to listen to.
Currently the album track I'm listening to--Will It Grow is another new favorite of mine. He could very well be my most favorite recent artist since Josh Turner two years ago. If you like guitar folk music you will not be 
disappointed. Check it out soon!
disappointed. Check it out soon!No Evil
Here are some more of my favorite people! The two on the right are particularly funny together.
Half Game
I have been taking some of my old stash of books to half price books. Everyday I go in there, I see all the walls of this collection office are stacked to the ceiling with books, plus piles on the floor, plus a huge table in fact two looking dangerously overburdened. I contribute a small stack of books to this pile weekly.
It isn't a money making scheme. You won't get rich doing this. In fact, you may end up with more books. Even if I traded all for books, they would be current to my interests. I don't know if you've ever witnessed this. I see people bring in a laundry basket, or a huge box of books and after they've been looked at the counter person says, I can give you 12 dollars. I have seen it time and again.
.
So I started with three boxes of books. I figured at that rate, I'd get 36$ for all the books. And might I add, what a rip off. Almost every book I pick up sells for 5.98 (well, the writer's books do.) or more. I look up my books on Amazon to see what they are selling for currently, and I might have figured out this little game.
Taking a dozen or less books, if you mix in a CD or two and VCR tapes (before they are entirely defunct). They will almost always pay 5 bucks or more. Provided they don't have a glut on what you have to sell. I still have 1 and 3/4 banker boxes of books to go through.
So far they have paid me 57$.
It isn't a money making scheme. You won't get rich doing this. In fact, you may end up with more books. Even if I traded all for books, they would be current to my interests. I don't know if you've ever witnessed this. I see people bring in a laundry basket, or a huge box of books and after they've been looked at the counter person says, I can give you 12 dollars. I have seen it time and again.
.
So I started with three boxes of books. I figured at that rate, I'd get 36$ for all the books. And might I add, what a rip off. Almost every book I pick up sells for 5.98 (well, the writer's books do.) or more. I look up my books on Amazon to see what they are selling for currently, and I might have figured out this little game.
Taking a dozen or less books, if you mix in a CD or two and VCR tapes (before they are entirely defunct). They will almost always pay 5 bucks or more. Provided they don't have a glut on what you have to sell. I still have 1 and 3/4 banker boxes of books to go through.
So far they have paid me 57$.
Veronica Effect
I usually am not one to watch historical films, but I will if it’s recent history and if an actor or actress I know plays a good part. So it was with Bobby,( who could turn down an all star cast?) And Nicolas Cage in World Trade Center.
Truth be told, I’m quicker to follow foreign history if they can make it look like an art film. But when I saw the producer was Jerry Bruckheimer, I had to see Veronica Guerin. If you’re like me, you never heard of her. Usually our national new doesn’t cover domestic issues in other countries, like the escalating drug issues of Dublin, Ireland in the early 90’s.
But if you lived in Ireland then, you’d darn sure know that Veronica Guerin was a wife and mother and a journalist. She grew concerned when she saw children playing with hypodermic needles that littered the streets, that the people buying drugs were so young. she believed the drug pushers needed to be stopped and started writing about it.
She was threatened repeatedly, beaten and shot at. To Veronica, this meant she was on the right track. When family tried to reason with her and cajole her toward safer writing options, she was undeterred but said, “I don’t want to do it, I have to do it.”
Bruckheimer portrayed an uphill battle and even men afraid to confront drug criminals. Even though she continued to write the articles, in the end, it cost her her life.
I wondered, can one person make a difference? But she did. The parliament changed laws the no longer protected the property or incomes of suspected drug dealers. Dublin took up the battle against drug dealers and after a year had passed, a once escalating crime wave dropped 15%.
I highly recommend seeing this movie, out on DVD, in which Cate Blanchette plays Veronica Guerin.
A Writer's Job
A writer's job is to imagine 
everything so personally
that the fiction is as vivid as memories.
~ John Irving.
everything so personally
that the fiction is as vivid as memories.
~ John Irving.
Old Enough to Write
Currently, I'm reading the book For Writers Only, by Sophie Burnham.
I enjoy the book for two reasons, one, half of it is quotes of writers and artists. I love to collect quotes.
The other half is a collection of interesting facts about writers that Sophie collected when she was writing. In the chapter, On Knowing You Are A Writer she names famous writers and the age of their first published novel.
George Bernard Shaw 42. Norman Maclean, author of a river runs through it was in his seventies. Laura Ingalls Wilder was in her sixties. Sophocles wrote Oedipus at Colunnus in his eighties.
I'm always encouraged by these little nuggets from the monumental greats of history. I remember in my twenties thinking I wanted to be a writer, I wrote all the time. But after perusing a writer magazine, I felt myself to be a fake, and too stupid to ever be a writer.
I flung the magazine across the room and later, into the trash. Later, I wrote how miserable I was not knowing what I was supposed to do with my life.
I needed more experiences and to get to the other side of a few dramas I was just trying to forget. Who knew? Even then, I was developing material.
It's not too late to start. Begin today.
I enjoy the book for two reasons, one, half of it is quotes of writers and artists. I love to collect quotes.
The other half is a collection of interesting facts about writers that Sophie collected when she was writing. In the chapter, On Knowing You Are A Writer she names famous writers and the age of their first published novel.
George Bernard Shaw 42. Norman Maclean, author of a river runs through it was in his seventies. Laura Ingalls Wilder was in her sixties. Sophocles wrote Oedipus at Colunnus in his eighties.
I'm always encouraged by these little nuggets from the monumental greats of history. I remember in my twenties thinking I wanted to be a writer, I wrote all the time. But after perusing a writer magazine, I felt myself to be a fake, and too stupid to ever be a writer.
I flung the magazine across the room and later, into the trash. Later, I wrote how miserable I was not knowing what I was supposed to do with my life.
I needed more experiences and to get to the other side of a few dramas I was just trying to forget. Who knew? Even then, I was developing material.
It's not too late to start. Begin today.
He's Got My Cells
I want to thank my friend LV for passing this along to me. If you haven't been to this site before, you may want to check it out.
I may never see molecules the same.
I may never see molecules the same.
School's out for Summer
Exam's have been taken, sign outs are complete. School is out. My whole family is home today. The humidy has arrived, the sun is blazing across the driveway and it's finally HOT! I think I can smell California burning.It must be summer.
Big Time
"Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream you shall become." James Allen
I've thought about this time and again. When the song Big Time by Peter Gabriel came out, I sang it with relish.
I believe that having a positive attitude can get you pretty far in this life. Certainly, people want to be around positive people (networking). It seems that positive people keep their eyes open for new opportunities (visionary). When they see them, they are more likely to act on them (entrepreneur).
I am also a big believer in having a dream to live for.
Over the years I've changed and upgraded dreams. I've had a house, married, had the one point two children. I started to tire of material things. I don't really need things.
I've traveled a little but not enough to complete a bucket list. At the top is one dream: I freely admit I'd love to be a million dollar author.
For the money? Naaa. I'd most likely give it away, friends, family or to whatever current disaster relief effort prevails. Missions. Missionaries. Scholarships.
What about you? What is your biggest dream?
I've thought about this time and again. When the song Big Time by Peter Gabriel came out, I sang it with relish.
I believe that having a positive attitude can get you pretty far in this life. Certainly, people want to be around positive people (networking). It seems that positive people keep their eyes open for new opportunities (visionary). When they see them, they are more likely to act on them (entrepreneur).
I am also a big believer in having a dream to live for.
Over the years I've changed and upgraded dreams. I've had a house, married, had the one point two children. I started to tire of material things. I don't really need things.
I've traveled a little but not enough to complete a bucket list. At the top is one dream: I freely admit I'd love to be a million dollar author.
For the money? Naaa. I'd most likely give it away, friends, family or to whatever current disaster relief effort prevails. Missions. Missionaries. Scholarships.
What about you? What is your biggest dream?
Balm of Giguere
Write it anyway… even when I think no one is listening, or reading. Even when things in my life aren’t going like I hoped, even when I’m sick, or bumps in the road look like mountains needing scaled. No matter what circumstance I find myself in, I’m looking for purpose in the ordinary, the day to day, and going through the motions, hoping the fire desire will catch from the spark of motion.
Then, as if on cue, while I ponder dilemmas from the edge of “I don’t know if I can do this”, a song comes on the radio. A song I really need to hear. Not just once, but lots of times. So if you’re having that kind of day too, here’s a song from me to you. I hope it helps.
Katie Giguere’s Anyway, originally by Martina McBride. http://listentomp3.gannsdeen.com/2007/05/17/listen-to-katie-gigueres-anyway/
Anyway
You can spend your whole life building
Something from nothin’
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not never come your way
Dream it anyway
God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway
This world’s gone crazy
It’s hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
In a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ‘em anyway
God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
Yea - I do it anyway
You can pour your soul out singing
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yea - praise Him anyway
I sing
I dream
I love
Oh, anyway
Anyway
Then, as if on cue, while I ponder dilemmas from the edge of “I don’t know if I can do this”, a song comes on the radio. A song I really need to hear. Not just once, but lots of times. So if you’re having that kind of day too, here’s a song from me to you. I hope it helps.
Katie Giguere’s Anyway, originally by Martina McBride. http://listentomp3.gannsdeen.com/2007/05/17/listen-to-katie-gigueres-anyway/
Anyway
You can spend your whole life building
Something from nothin’
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not never come your way
Dream it anyway
God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway
This world’s gone crazy
It’s hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
In a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ‘em anyway
God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
Yea - I do it anyway
You can pour your soul out singing
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yea - praise Him anyway
I sing
I dream
I love
Oh, anyway
Anyway
Born 2 Ride
My daughter and I enjoy picnics, warming our backs with the sun and viewing activities at the reservoir.
Currently our two favorite places we go to picnic are the marina and Casto Park.
Last night I dreamt Sam and Suzy and I were planning a road trip from Kentucky/Ohio to California. A band that had invited us to see them was performing in San Francisco. We were taking my car. I had everyone praying that Gordo would allow it. For some reason we figured it would take the better part of the month.
When I was dreaming, I didn't really think about how much gas would be the farther west we travelled. I woke up feeling strangely hopeful and adventurous and, in a dream, 2000 miles seemed a lot shorter a distance.
Yesterday looking at country scenery and breathing in the fresh air, in awe of beauty with out cityscape hovering on the horizon, or some sign announcing a new housing development. Pure unadulterated countryside.
The lawns all cut and smooth, looking like sun-dappled pool table felt. All the people who were near us through out the day, thank you for not hitting us, and God bless you.
It made me smile to be in the moment, appreciating the weather on the clearest day I've seen in a while.
How was your weekend?
Currently our two favorite places we go to picnic are the marina and Casto Park.
Last night I dreamt Sam and Suzy and I were planning a road trip from Kentucky/Ohio to California. A band that had invited us to see them was performing in San Francisco. We were taking my car. I had everyone praying that Gordo would allow it. For some reason we figured it would take the better part of the month.
When I was dreaming, I didn't really think about how much gas would be the farther west we travelled. I woke up feeling strangely hopeful and adventurous and, in a dream, 2000 miles seemed a lot shorter a distance.
Yesterday looking at country scenery and breathing in the fresh air, in awe of beauty with out cityscape hovering on the horizon, or some sign announcing a new housing development. Pure unadulterated countryside.
The lawns all cut and smooth, looking like sun-dappled pool table felt. All the people who were near us through out the day, thank you for not hitting us, and God bless you.
It made me smile to be in the moment, appreciating the weather on the clearest day I've seen in a while.
How was your weekend?
Mimi in the Car
I’m reading this book of poetry called “Splintering”. It’s written by a brother and a sister who, with their family, survived a home invasion by a man high on PCP. Their family was dysfunctional before, and evidently it just worsened. I like the writing style because it reads well, flows well. It isn’t rhyming poetry which I favor.The book covers a pretty wide range of topics. At this particular juncture, the oldest sister is going through a divorce as well as dealing with the trauma of the invasion. her younger sister, the poetess is writing.
this one called Hall of Fame. This line painted such a picture, such a moment for me I had to share it.
…I’ve sat beside Mimi in the car. Almost yelled at her for turning off the song and then turn to see her staring at the rings on her fingers like they were rear view mirrors and she could see all the way back.
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