Month: January 2007

  • LEON REDBONE

    I've spent most of my day ripping my music CDs on the computer and listening to some great tunes.  Among others, were Josh Groban, The Manhattan Transfer, and a lot of Leon Redbone.

     
    Leon Redbone has a style and voice that is all his one.  He sings in a style that is part dixieland jazz, part folk and part ragtime.  His voice is a mellow deep baritone or bass and he adds a texture and flavor to a song that is his alone. Once you have heard him, you will always recognize his music when you hear it again.  If you haven't already, you should add him to your music library. A couple of my favorites are "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Your Feets Too Big".

    By the way I want to thank LongTimeLurker for turning me on to Armik.

  • I RETIRED, THEY GAVE ME A HAT!

    My first job was setting pins in a bowling alley in Rapid City, South Dakota for 10 cents a line. That was 1952 and I was 13 years old.  I have worked at some job or other ever since for the last 54 years in 4 states and 8 locations.

    At 67 years old, I decided to retire.  I never thought about retirement and always thought that I would work until they put me in the ground.  But, we came back from vacation this summer and I just didn't want to go back to work.  I told my boss to hire my replacement and stayed until he was trained. 

    There has been an emotional adjustment and a financial change, but I don't miss the job.  I have hundreds of old photographs to scan, books I want to read, grandchildren that need an audience, an 80 year old house that always seems to need attention, and a xanga blog that has been neglected.

  • THE FLOATING 9/11 MEMORIAL

    The USS New York was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.

    Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds  on Sept. 9, 2003, "Those big rough steelworkers treated it with total  reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody."

    It is the fifth in a new class of warship - as a fitting tribute, it was designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

  • THE ROCKET MAN


    Today, Batman can leave behind his cartoon books and movie theatres and fly above the Swiss Alps, this person is Yves Rossy. He has finally achieved Leonardo Da Vinci's greatest fantasy and can fly through the air!

    Following a long line of predecessors, this Swiss man, who's lifetime passion is flying, once flew for the Swiss army at the controls of the Mirage III, then went on to fly as captain on Airbuses, and now has not only created and developed wings which allow him to fly, but also built and personally tested them over the past 7 years.

    click here for the whole story and a video

    Sometimes I dream I can fly.  When I fly in my dreams, I don't glide like a plane or flap my arms like a bird.  I move through the air like I'm swimming under water. 

    Do you ever fly in your dreams?

  • My two Christmas girls.

    I'm blessed with two females that love me in spite of all my faults.
    One is of Irish descent and the other is French.
    Who could ask for more?

  • Whenever the birds are missing from our back
    yard, you have a feeling a hawk is lurking about.

    This guy was sitting about 30 feet up in the
    neighbor's tree.