SuperPizzaBoy and Sweetie got me Mary Chapin Carpenter's new cd, "the Age of Miracles" for Father's Day. Music is always a hit with me and especially Ms. Carpenter. She is wonderful. This cd is great. She really does a great job on this and there is not a weak song on it.
My favorite is Zephyr. Give it a listen.
I just love:
"I tried to be steady and yar
But the storms keep breaking over my head
I'm aching for blue skies instead"
We took our dog pack for a walk tonight including our new puppy, "Rascal."
It's a three ringed circus.
Speaking of, Oklahoma's hot housewives, The Real Housewives of Oklahoma, have a new topic on their Monday meme. I know its a Monday meme but I'm doing it on Tuesday because, well, because I'm special that's why. Here is the question of the week.
Think about the day you met your spouse. Since then and due to their influence, what is the one thing that has changed about you that you never expected to happen?
I'm going to violate the rules some more. Sweetie has changed in my in a bunch of ways. Some of these are illustrated in the YouTube clip believe it or not.
First, notice the color of my clothes? I was a man of beige and browns before we got married. I thought it was cool. I wouldn't be caught dead in color unless it was camo. Now, I've got all the colors of the rainbow, hardly any brown tones at all. In fact, this is no lie, Sweetie will slap me if I'm lying: I have about three times as many clothes as she does. We have two closets just for me. And I wear them all also. Yep, I rotate through all of them.
Second, notice the shorts. I didn't wear shorts as a kid. We grew up in small towns in the west. I wasn't a cowboy but I grew up in amongst them. Nobody in them towns wore shorts except effete tourist kids and doctor's children who we looked upon with combined pity and disgust. Mom tried to get my brother and I to wear "bermuda shorts" one summer. She had to give up, we wouldn't go outside the house. We would rather have worn our underwear outside than to be considered a doctor's kid and be considered with polite pity, and sneering disgust. So I didn't wear them as an adult either. The fact I had the whitest legs in the world didn't help. Sweetie got me to wearing shorts. Now I wear them all the time. Sometimes even in the winter.
Third, the dogs. I always liked dogs and cats but you know, they were just dogs and cats. Sweetie and her family love animals and shower them with love and affection. I've learned to do so myself. I don't really "get" people who don't like animals.
Fourth, notice the big ole pot belly? Sweetie can cook! I've really learned fine dining since Sweetie and I got hitched. She can cook anything which is great because I'll eat almost anything.
I could go on and on. Sweetie is wonderful. What can I say?
You want to participate in this? Follow the link to their page and check it out.
They have a Japanese Garden with some charming sites.
All sorts of birds make the grounds home.
A favorite of mine was the sand garden.
I
And guess what, they even had a few flowers. I have no idea what they are. Ask Sweetie, she is the certified Master Gardener.
They had the remnants of a Children's Garden that hadn't been kept up. Too bad. This is the biggest sunflower I've ever seen. We appreciated the little shade it gave us. It was 105 F when we visited.
I just loved the little angel inside this flower.
Another panting customer that day. Hey, stay on the walk dude!!
Lots of water features, at least they make it look cooler.
Went for a run this morning. When I started the sun had just risen.
But the moon was still up
The Arkansas River was running full
I got there a little late. One of the guys I ran with went ahead without me. We said hello, he headed back to the parking lot, I still needed to run a few more miles. That's him down the bridge.
Self Portrait
Time to quit fooling around, I still have some running to do.
I had some help from my friends Diana Krall, Korn, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Metallica, Martina McBride, Eric Clapton, and Rage Against the Machine.
I hope your early Sunday was as good as mine. I didn't set any records running but it was very peaceful.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Hebrews 12: 1-2 (NIV)
For other pairings of photographs and verse check out my friend Baloney.
The other night Sweetie and I left SuperPizzaBoy in the able care of Jen the SuperBabySitter and headed downtown to the BOK Arena to see Michael Buble in his first American appearance of his Nordstroms Crazy Love Tour.
We saw him a couple years ago at the Performing Arts Center. He had a great show. Sweetie really liked it. This time it was like ok, Sweetie wants to go so lets go. I am glad we did. He really wowed me and about 14,000 other people. I loved it. He sang his old ones and his new ones and they were great.
He is really funny also. He has a kind of self deprecating cockiness too him that is very appealing.
We were sitting pretty well back so I had trouble getting good photographs.
I had never seen a performer connect with an audience like he did. He is a great singer of course but he has that something else that brings everybody together. So, anyway I'm a true believer now.
Here is a review of the concert by the Tulsa World.
The review talks about the last song was "Song for You" written by Tulsa's own Leon Russell. What the review doesn't say is that Buble sang the last half of the song without a microphone and without the band. You ever see anybody do that in an arena of 14,000?
If he comes to your town, scrape up the bucks for the tickets and go see him.
From the Japanese Gardens of the Fort Worth, Texas Botanical Gardens. It was 105 degrees the day we visited early this month. We were looking for all the shade we could get.
Check out Skywatch Friday for other views of the sky from all over.
I finally finished this book last night, late. Reading it is all I've been doing since I started on it Friday night. It has ruined my sleep. I missed most of the US Open coverage on Sunday and pretty much neglected my family duties in order to see this book through to the end. I did get the lawn mowed last night though.
Its got motorcycle gangs, red necks, skinheads, psychopaths, cocaine addicted doctors, complicated craniatamies, pistols, gunshots, hand grenades, double crosses, double double crosses, and a string of innocent and not so innocent victims scattered across Minnesota and several detectives who just can't seem to get ahead of the game until the very end. Its a testament to the losers among us who can create so much chaos for so little gain.
This book is great. I give it four stars out of four. I got a free copy from the library. The Kindle version is priced too high at $12.99.
GasLand is a documentary movie that has come out that is critical of the Natural Gas industry especially some of their drilling and completion methods. It is showing on HBO tonight and I plan to watch it if I can to see what it's all about. Of course I'm very interested because I work in the Natural Gas industry so I'm going to watch it if Sweetie will let me have the remote.
Here is the GasLand official trailer.
GasLand has a website listed but it doesn't seem to go anywhere. Give it a shot if you like here.
Here is the HBO Link. It has all sorts of good stuff on it including links to environmental organizations.
The Independent Petroleum Association of America ("IPAA") through their Energy in Depth website has posted a detailed counter to many of the assertions made in the film. You can check that out here. It is quite detailed and if you want to look at a simpler version of their specific points check this.
For the record, I haven't seen the movie but the trailer seems a little sensationalist to me. I know the IPAA is hardly an impartial source but they do provide links to back up their claims. If you watch the movie please comment back and let me know what you think.
If you find yourself in or near Dubois, Idaho today (6/20) be sure to take in their rodeo parade. It starts at 10:30, sharp.
The Yogi's are not making it this year but if you are there keep your eyes and ears peeled for the Dubois Marching Band. It is small but mighty. We were there last year for the event. Here is a photograph so you know what to look for.
Anybody look familiar? There is SuperPizzaBoy, co-chairman of the candy tossing committee. Just behind him is the other co-chairman, cousin Mr. Beans. At the back of the truck is Mr. Bean's "Pappy", Irv. Who just happens to my favorite BIL Driving, is Gramps, my Dad.
We are not going to be there to help Gramps this year but he is still planning to be the Marching Band again this year. He has been doing it for years. It's a tradition.
Here is another shot of the Marching Band and support crew.
From left to right, Gramps, Mr. Beans, SuperPizzaBoy, Sweetie, Irv, and my Sister Ellen.
Hey, if you go, talk to Gramps, he is going without a support crew or candy tossers. Stick around for the rodeo later in the day.
I was reading the online New York Times a week or so ago and they discussed the literary phenomenon of the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson a Swedish author who wrote the three books and then died. His books became a posthumous best seller. I said "What, a best selling series that doesn't involve vampires and whiny teenage girls." How come I've never heard of it?
So I picked up a paperback copy and started reading. I was hooked. bad. It is a crime novel set in a small town in Sweden. It features Mikael Blomkvist a journalist who lost his mojo and a criminal libel trial and is facing a short prison term and his eventual sidekick, Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker/investigator who Blomkvist suspects has Asperger's Syndrome. Lisbeth is one tough girl. She is nobody to mess with. The original Swedish title of the book translates as "Men who Hate Women." The guys that mess with Lisbeth eventually get their butts kicked, hard by this 90 pound woman.
Blomkvist is offered a job to solve a long standing missing persons case of somebody who disappeared from a small island in Sweden over 34 years ago. He starts on his investigation and things get very interesting very quickly then they get dangerous, very dangerous. This is one of those books you can't put down. Or at least I couldn't. It is full of intrigue and evil people, but no vampires and no whining.
I give this book four stars out of four. I have already bought the second book in the trilogy, "The Girl who Played with Fire," on my Kindle. The Kindle price is the same as the paperback price, about $7.99 or so. I'll do that. The last book in the trilogy,"The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest" is out in hardback now. It is under $10 bucks for the Kindle version so I'll do that also.
We got back from Idaho on Sunday for a family reunion and visit with my Dad. I was planning on do some geocaching but I got sidetracked scanning old family photographs. I can actually say it was more fun than geocaching. (Although I did get a couple of those.)
Many of the photographs I had never seen before, like this one:
Early 1960's near Payson, Arizona. Me, Brother, Sister, Mom. Dad was the photographer. Isn't that just so early 1960's. I love the Coors box. I love brother Bob's bandanna and hat. Where's mine?
I also love this one:
This is my Mother in northern Idaho before she was married. Isn't she the perfect Forest Ranger's wife? I love the rolled up cuffs and the shoes. She wasn't posing or anything was she? You think?
Here is Mom and Dad with brother Bob in Missoula, Montana.
I found, what is now my favorite photograph of her of all time in her favorite outfit.
She has that look that she got when she was about to engage in her favorite sport of poking Republicans in the eye, including sometimes her pompous middle child.
Hey, go see your folks if they are still around and raid their photo albums. Its fun. Get the stories.
Just got back from Idaho where we attended a family reunion. We all had a great time getting together and talking about what has been happening since last year. We still don't all know each other but it gets better every year.
My cousin Merri Ann worked very hard to find a spot and get everything organized. As usual she did a great job. A nice part of this year's spot was the fishing pond. The kids took advantage of that.
Cousin Mr. Beans caught a fish. The silly thing wouldn't sit still for a decent photograph. The man with the evil looking grimace is Mr. Bean's grandfather, Pappy. And no, he didn't eat the fish raw. They pulled the hook out and released it, like we were supposed to.
SuperPizzaBoy also caught a fish. The fish committed suicide by swallowing the hook and so we bought it. 2-3/8 pounds, pretty good for a trout.
The boys also engaged in other wilderness pursuits. This one requiring batteries.
If you look in the left window you'll see the photographer. If you look in the right window carefully you can see his sister, Ellen (Mr. Bean's Grammy) wearing a white jacket. (Check out Ellen's blog.)
A whole lot of visiting went on. The downloaded image appeared all funky so I converted it to a sepia tone to make it a little more presentable. My photo editing skills are very pitiful I'm sorry to say. Almost all my photos are right out of the camera.
I got a photo op last week with a couple of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They were very excited to get their picture taken with one of the most famous middle aged photo-geocacho-daddio blogger on my street. They were so excited that:
One of them stole my dad burned photograph. Which one looks most like a stalker to you?
