A Rare Moment Of Levity From Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues
I hope you remember the show.

Lunch Time Art

As you may know, I practice drawing on my lunch hour.

 It makes me happy when it turns out well. 

When it doesn't, I do get a bit grumpy until the next time. 

I will have reached my goal when the drawing comes seemingly without much effort.

As I started on this drawing a fellow worker who was sitting beside me commented 

that I was making a big leap in drawing a full picture of someone. 

I began and he left. 

When he came back about an hour later, this is what I showed him.

the book picture on the left

my first attempt on the right

the drawing in the book was done in charcoal.

The author said it took him 15 minutes.

My drawing attempt in pencil.

It took me about 45 minutes.

When my co-worker looked at it and said he could not believe it,

I was pleased by his reaction.

My years journey continues.

later

coffee time

Ray

A Foggy London Morning?

Nope, just a few quick pictures from my back yard here in southern Florida this morning. It was actually foggier before that before I had the thought to snap a few pictures.

Looks peaceful doesn't !

Looking across the lake

One can barely see the house across the water

love those palm trees

Beautiful isn't it

Time for some morning coffee
later
ray

I'd pick more daisies!

Ever have those thoughts that you wish life had a do over button, me too.

"I'd Pick More Daisies"

by Don Herold

"Of course, you can't unfry an egg, but there is no law against thinking about it. If I had my life to live over, I would try to make more mistakes. I would relax. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of very few things that I would take seriously. I would be less hygienic. I would go more places. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less bran.

I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary troubles.

You see, I have been one of those fellows who live prudently and sanely, hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I have had my moments. But if I had it to do over again, I would have more of them - a lot more. I never go anywhere without a thermometer, a gargle, a raincoat and a parachute. If I had it to do over, I would travel lighter.

It may be too late to unteach an old dog old tricks, but perhaps a word from the unwise may be of benefit to a coming generation. I may help them to fall into some of the pitfalls I have avoided.

If I had my life to live over, I would pay less attention to people who teach tension. In a world of specialization we naturally have a superabundance of individuals who cry at us to be serious about their individual specialty. They tell us we must learn Latin or History; otherwise we will be disgraced and ruined and flunked and failed. After a dozen or so of these protagonists have worked on a young mind, they are apt to leave it in hard knots for life. I wish they had sold me Latin and History as a lark.

I would seek out more teachers who inspire relaxation and fun. I had a few of them, fortunately, and I figure it was they who kept me from going entirely to the dogs. From them I learned how to gather what few scraggly daisies I have gathered along life's cindery pathway.

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefooted a little earlier in the spring and stay that way a little later in the fall. I would play hooky more. I would shoot more paper wads at my teachers. I would have more dogs. I would keep later hours. I'd have more sweethearts. I would fish more. I would go to more circuses. I would go to more dances. I would ride on more merry-go-rounds. I would be carefree as long as I could, or at least until I got some care - instead of having my cares in advance.

More errors are made solemnly than in fun. The rubs of family life come in moments of intense seriousness rather than in moments of light-heartedness. If nations - to magnify my point - declared international carnivals instead of international war, how much better that would be!

I doubt, however, that I'll do much damage with my creed. The opposition is too strong. There are too many serious people trying to get everybody else to be too darned serious."

- http://www.livinglifefully.com/flo/floidpickmoredaisies.htm

borrowed from 

http://runningcauseicantfly2-coyoteprime.blogspot.com/

Clueless

I recently e mailed a woman and ended it with a cute XO XO.

She sent back NO NO.

Something tells me not to get my hopes up!

Some Earth, Wind, and Fire

The Guess Who--These Eyes

They Know We Don't Know

Drawing Update

I know that this might be a bit boring for some of you. Sorry about that. Just another post of my drawing journey-adventure. I try to do a drawing on my lunch time, most of the time succeeding. Yesterday didn't work out. I will show that down the road after I try again.

Anyway, only three to look at today!

this one is new

a second attempt

drawn upside down

part of a drawing exercise

I started with the right hoof and drew down from there!

another second attempt

thanks for stopping by

later 

Ray

The Groundswell Of Dissent

 I have been watching with great interest all the reports 

and stories of people who have had enough of the status quo. 

It starts by not having enough food to feed ones family.  It starts by living in poverty. 

No food. No water. No place to live. Lives of despair.

The people are willing to die to make things right for all.

They don't want to die.

But they will.

Liberty and justice for all.

Sound familiar?

It is spreading.

It could happen in a land near you.

It will.

Hmmm, Why Do I Watch NCIS...

I actually stumbled, like everything else I do, on to the hit show NCIS. I find the acting, the writing remarkable. Throw in some high tech, intrigue, and a few bodies laying around, I find the show quite entertaining. But there is something else....

Cote De Pablo

Thought for the day!

go to the web site
for more information

From Dawn to Rag Doll, Frankie Valli Is The Word!

Another night at the Hard Rock Live, this time to see Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I joked that because it is Florida they changed it two the Two Seasons. ( you had to be there for that )

The place was packed and the crowd got restless, as there was a wait to get everybody in their seats. It was worth the wait. The roar went up as Frankie hit the stage, a Jersey boy made good. Had it been all those years? Would he still be good? Yep! An hour and a half later I was still singing Dawn, go away your no good......

An 11 piece group backed him up throughout the songs. The brass section was made up of local musicians, along with a few of the guitar players. They sounded like they played together all the time. The back up singers were new, the old Four Seasons were no longer. They sounded good and had a lot of dance moves.
But Frankie is the star, no doubt about it.

The hits came one after another, but when he sang "Grease is the word", I got goose bumps! No one moved in the audience, no bathroom breaks, no running for more beers, just enjoying the music. Our seats were higher up this time but they were in the front row so we were happy! As things ended, we wondered what about Rag Doll. He came back to sing it in an encore that left everyone happy!

Hard Rock Live is all about music to me. There was a group playing as we went in and were still there when we came out, called Mr. Nice Guy, a six piece group. I loved the live music, very good. As we wandered back to the car, more music would overlap from one section to another. I could go just to hang out. Cool stuff!

Another long night, for these old bones, well worth it!
later
Ray

Oh I think I need a repeat today!

From 7-28-10

Woman : Hi, how are you today?

Man : Sex?

Woman :  Nice weather today.

Man : Sex?

Woman : New hair style?

Man : Sex?

Woman: What are you doing for lunch?

Man: Sex?

Woman: A bunch of us are going out for drinks after work. Want to join us?

Man: Sex?

Woman: Want to go back to my place and stay the night with me?

Man: Huh?

A Serious Note

My oldest daughter works as a 9-11 operator here in Palm Beach County. She took a call a few nights from a woman, who was driving with 2 children, her car had flipped over while driving and landed in a water canal upside down. The woman had the presence of mind to call for help on her cell phone. One could hear the water rushing into the car as she talked. It was night time, very dark, no street lights. The police frantically tried to find the car and to get help to the scene.

There were no survivors.

My Drawing Journey, Part One

Recently I decided to draw everyday at lunch time at work.

I pop in my ear buds, turn up my music and get to drawing.

I want to work from photos eventually I think, that may change.

I will see as I go.

Something parts I drew I felt good about.

When annoyed, I x-it out, or slash through it in disgust.

Most of this is done on my lunch, time flies, I don't want to get back to work.

How good will I get by years end, we will see.

I was kind of nervous doing this in front of people at first.

People do come up to see what I am doing. A few shared that they drew also.

to be continued.

building on face structure

eyes, mouth, lips

flipping through a book

I thought I could draw the drawing

practice, practice

hands must be learned

eyes, hand grasping

Too Much Time On My Hands!

We have an open floor plan in our house as you walk in. Except for the dining area. A huge wall looks back at you. We had placed a fireplace ( non-working ) along that wall, but it didn't seem to be enough. The wife spotted a faux stone at Costco. We both liked it. So the adventure began.  The wall goes up to 12 ft. high and about 8 ft. wide.

The three sizes run approximately 4 x 6, 4 x 8, and 4 x 12. The colors and shapes are random, a mixture of rusty beiges, rust, terra-cotta, and shades of grey. There is no set way of laying them out. You can flip them upside down, right side up. You mix the sizes, the only thing is to have an overlapping so the edges don't line up. It is almost like doing a painting, adding color and shape as you see fit.

Ah no, I hadn't done this before, so we are happy with the results. Besides the stone, all I used was a large notch trowel and  ( 3)  3 1/2 tubs of pre mixed tile and stone adhesive. I went with the best adhesive, this is not the time to skimp.

The beginning

moving the fireplace

there were no directions on how to lay it out

I used the box as a starting point

the bottom rows are of course the most important

always checking the level

I used a torpedo bubble level and I also used a 4 foot level

so far so good

you can see the cutout I made for the outlet

higher

no ladder yet

not yet

first the 4 foot ladder

six foot ladder time

almost time for a change

yep the 8 ft ladder makes it appearance

the real thinking part will soon start

finished!

I worked on my days off and before going to work on my late start days. 10 hours on Wednesday, 5 hours on Thursday, 10 hours on Friday, 5 hours on Saturday. Each pice was buttered with the glue, and then placed  in place and checked for level.  Very tiring. That was a lot of ups and downs on the ladders. In the dining room we changed one wall a color taken from the stone. I think you will like it. I will show that later after I finish a smaller wall . Yes, I am not done . sigh...

later

Ray

One Night In Bangkok

I Guess Pigs Will Fly! It's A Start

News in Brief: House Fails to Re-Authorize PATRIOT Act, and More ...

Wednesday 09 February 2011

by: James Russell, t r u t h o u t | News in Brief

House Fails to Re-Authorize PATRIOT Act

The Washington Post reports that the House of Representatives fell seven votes short of "extending provisions of the Patriot Act. The bill, which would have reauthorized "key parts of the counter-terrorism surveillance law" that expire at the end of the month, "required a super-majority to pass under special rules reserved for non-controversial measures." Yet, it fell short under that rule, although a majority of House members voted to reauthorize it after 26 Republicans bucked their leadership, "eight of them freshman lawmakers elected in November's midterm elections." The vote tally, largely along party lines with most Democrats voting against it, "was 277 members in favor of extension, and 148 opposed."

Did You Know?

America, Home of the poor, the broke, the busted!

Read a discouraging report on the finances of the United States by clicking on the title. It is too long to provide a snippet of information. I feel a sense of impending financial doom and I don't know what to do.

Please take the time to read it.

http://pubrecord.org/nation/8622/pentagon-papers-wall-street/

Imitation or Copy, You Decide!

It Was A Super Bowl!

For the first time in a long time, the game out shined the commercials. The game kept my interest until the very end. I had a rare early work day on a Super Bowl Sunday, so I was home from the very beginning of the game. I was flipping through the channels before the game started so I missed the national anthem song flub by Christina. I did watch the half time show with the Black Eyed Peas and Usher. I was unmoved by the music and the performance. Thankfully the game matched the hype. The commercials, "yawn".
Now the question looms, will there be a lockout by the owners against the player union and have a non-season or use replacement players as they did years ago for next season? That remains to be seen. A nice time was had by all.

E Mail Of The Week

LITTLE GIRL ON A PLANE

A Congressman was seated next to a little girl on an airplane so
he turned to her and said, "Do you want to talk? Flights go quicker if
you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger."

The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied
to the total stranger, "What would you want to talk about?"

"Oh, I don't know," said the congressman. "How about global
warming, universal health care or stimulus packages?" as he smiled
smugly.

"OK," she said. "Those could be interesting topics but let me
ask you a question first. A horse, a cow and a deer all eat the same
stuff - grass.
Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat
patty, but a horse produces clumps. Why do you suppose that is?"

The legislator, visibly surprised by the little girl's
intelligence, thinks about it and says, "Hmmm. I have no idea."

To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified
to discuss global warming, universal health care or the economy, when
you don't know shit?" And then she went back to reading her book

Hey, No Really, We Don't Know How They Died! It's A Mystery! Liars!!

USDA Admits To Causing Mass Bird Death With Poison
Posted by JacobSloan on January 25, 2011



At least one of the mysterious mass wildlife deaths of the past month has a (bizarre) explanation. The USDA acknowledged that hundreds of birds in South Dakota were poisoned as part of a massive and longstanding government bird-killing operation, normally kept under wraps, called Bye Bye Blackbird. The Christian Science Monitor sheds some light:

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) took responsibility for hundreds of dead starlings that were found on the ground and frozen in trees in a Yankton, S.D., park on Monday.

The USDA’s Wildlife Services Program, which contracts with farmers for bird control, said it used an avicide poison called DRC-1339 to cull a roost of 5,000 birds that were defecating on a farmer’s cattle feed across the state line in Nebraska. But officials said the agency had nothing to do with large and dense recent bird kills in Arkansas and Louisiana.

Nevertheless, the USDA’s role in the South Dakota bird deaths puts a focus on a little-known government bird-control program that began in the 1960s under the name of Bye Bye Blackbird, which eventually became part of the USDA and was housed in the late ’60s at a NASA facility. In 2009, USDA agents euthanized more than 4 million red-winged blackbirds, starlings, cowbirds, and grackles, primarily using pesticides that the government says are not harmful to pets or humans.

In addition to the USDA program, a so-called depredation order from the US Fish and Wildlife Service allows blackbirds, grackles, and starlings to be killed by anyone who says they pose health risks or cause economic damage. Though a permit is needed in some instances, the order is largely intended to cut through red tape for farmers, who often employ private contractors to kill the birds and do not need to report their bird culls to any authority.

“Every winter, there’s massive and purposeful kills of these blackbirds,” says Greg Butcher, the bird conservation director at the National Audubon Society. “These guys are professionals, and they don’t want to advertise their work. They like to work fast, efficiently, and out of sight.”


Posted in: Birds, Conspiracies, Environment, Government, Mass Animal Deaths, Poison, Secrets, Unexplained Phenomena
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Truth In Advertising

Where are you...

why be in love

a feeling inside

unexplained

illusion or

delusion

makes one happy

not jumping

for joy

rather a comfort

need fulfilled

one has had

one need search

harder now

judgmental

perhaps

shared needs

physical and

mental

internal glow

one knows when

one sees it

will it happen

again

a calmness

comes over

maybe

like wisps of fog

gather stronger

taking form

choices

roads traveled

end

or no end

story continues

Let me tell you about a real blizzard boys and girls.....

January 26, 1967

The snow started. It was just like any other snowy day in Chicago, so we thought. People heading out for the work day didn't realize that many would not make it home that night.

The snow started and would not stop. The snowfall broke all previous Chicago records. In one day we had 16.4 inches! Within 29 hours, the snowfall finally stopped with a total 23inches.


The streets were at a standstill. The winds, adding to the mess whipped the snow at 53 miles an hour.


You could only get anywhere by walking. Cars were buried in snow drifts so high, you could only see the top of the car antenna. We tried to keep up on the shoveling, trying to keep the sidewalks clear to no avail.

Getting to the hospitals was a challenge. Bulldozers and snowmobiles were the only option that day.

It was estimated that over 20,000 cars were abandoned, along with over 500 CTA buses clogging the streets.

Fireman had to walk to fires as the equipment could not get down the streets.

Local stores quickly ran out of the basic foods like bread and milk.

Within 24 hours the city had over 2,000 workers and 500 pieces of equipment to start the massive dig out of the city. The county chipped in 150 men and 75 pieces of equipment, the state sent in 200 pieces of equipment. Iowa sent in giant snowblowers, Michigan and Wisconsin also sent in snow removal equipment.

The main thoroughfares were of course the main working areas, the side streets would be the last to be plowed.

But the snow wasn't done. By February 6th an additional 11 of snow had fallen, now running the total up to 36 inches of snow, breaking all records in the history of Chicago.

Schools of course were closed. But it was not a lot of fun being home. the constant shoveling, trying to unbury the house and sidewalks and create paths to get anywhere was very tiring.

There was some fun of course. The wind had whipped up some huge snowdrifts and had caused the top of the snow to harden and get crusty. If you were careful, you could walk on the top of the snow.
I was able to walk up and climb on the roof of the garage next door.

Soon, food started to become a problem. Chicago neighborhoods were dotted with local mom and pop grocery stores. Because we were regulars, we managed to get enough food to get by. Nothing fancy, but just enough to keep the hunger pains down.

Still have this from 1967!

Cars and buses left abandoned. 

Tow trucks were busy at work pulling cars from the center of the road on day five.

This is a picture taken from a building on the 33rd floor.

The normally busy street is deserted.

There were drifts up to 10 feet high, making the street totally impassable. 

People were not digging out their cars until the streets were cleared.

Even slight inclines made driving treacherous. 

About 500 buses were stranded in the storm.

An aerial view of Grant Park on day 5. 

Motorists were advised not to drive in because  there wasn't any where to park.

Many people could not get home.

Here it shows a Red Cross disaster van stranded. 

Cars are left double and triple-parked.

Tow trucks hard at work trying to clear the roads.

The Eisenhower expressway empty. 

Driving on expressways was impossible.

City crews worked around the clock.

Walking was the only way to get around.

Grocery shelves were soon empty.

This is the mess that the city woke up to the day after the storm.

Just like anything else, memories are what you make of them. It was not something we wanted to go through, but we survived. Age makes all the difference.  We weren't sick at the time, no one we knew suffered loss of life. Things slowly got better, back to normal. The city was given a direct hit and survived. There were many hardships, but we survived. Then we you get older you tell tell the young ones....

I remember the day of the big snow......