Thursday, June 25, 2009
No Smoking Permitted In Federal Buildings
Monday, June 22, 2009
Cartoon Babes, First Edition
I will be spotlighting various animated characters that I think are drawn to be fabulous cartoon babes. The first one is from the 2000 movie The Road To El Dorado. Two adventurers during 16th century acquire a map supposedly leading to the fabled golden city of El Dorado. Through a couple mishaps and adventurous turns, they do indeed end up at the doorstep of El Dorado. There they meet one of the native Mayan women who helps them with their charade of pretending to be gods. Her name is Chel and she is voiced by Rosie Perez. With Rosie Perez fleshing out how the character sounds and acts, the animators did their part in the "fleshalization" of Chel. She is truly something to look at and in every since of the word, a "babe!" Enjoy this full-length portrait of her below and if you can find the movie, buy it. It's a great one to watch over and over! I've added it to my personal dvd collection and have watched it at least a half-dozen times or more - it's that engrossing of an adventure/comedy flick! I also just found out that it was inspired by all those "road movies" of the 1940's that Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour starred in. You remember, The Road To Zanzibar, The Road To Morocco, etc.?
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The Ten Commandments 50th Anniversary Edition
Well, as you can see by the above picture, I finally have gotten my copy of the 50th Anniversary Collection version of The Ten Commandments! I had procrastinated for long enough. This special edition also has the 1923 silent film version of The Ten Commandments, so I'm sure it will contain some more blog fodder. (Even if Charlton Heston isn't in it!) But, his version is my favorite, mind you. The above scene is just after the part where Yul Brynner has tried to insinuate that Heston's character of Moses has been treasonous to the Pharaoh. Heston encounters with his classic line, "The strong make many.... the starving make few.... the dead make none." Case closed! That line is just too cool. And something else that has stayed with me since I first saw it in 1966, that evil-looking mountain Paramount uses for this movie alone to show their logo over the top of. That's one bad mountain! Stay tuned because there will be more posts about Charlton Heston and The Ten Commandments, my favorite move. Have no fear on that score! You have to have this movie in your collection.Thursday, June 18, 2009
Forced Vacation
You'll all remember how lightning struck my computer a couple weeks back and I had to buy a new one. Well, my car had "issues" and it had to be taken into the shop for repairs. It's supposed to be around the tune of $700. (Not my favorite tune, mind you!) They were okay with me paying half tomorrow (when it's supposed to be finished), and the rest in a week or so. Well, today I find that I lost my job and I get my car insurance statement which will be due at the end of this month. Will it never end!?
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Real Me
Yes, I like the outdoors. If I didn't have a computer, I would probably be out most of the time. (But, it's hard to see a monitor in the bright sunlight!) Ever since I was a little boy, being out too long in the sun would cause my dark brown hair to get blonde streaks in it. Now, the picture above shows me as being totally blonde, but that's not because of the sun. I wanted to try something different and had my hair bleached that color. Don't be afraid to try something you want to do in your life just because you think people might laugh at you. What you think in your heart means much more than what other's think is best for you.
Ah.... the good life. That's me yachting in the above picture. It was the first and, so far, only time I've gotten to be on an honest-to-goodness expensive yacht. (It wasn't mine, either!) I've never even been able to buy a bass boat. But, that hasn't mattered in my life. I have my family and friends, I work hard and I like to think that I live my life like it means it's worth something. I try to contribute to the human race in my own way and make it a better place when I can. Yes, that was me playing my guitar for free in a nursing home to entertain the residents the other day. Yes, that was me noticing that the clerk had given me too much change for what I had purchased and taking it back in the store to give it back and make sure she didn't come up shorthanded at the end of her workday. And, yes that was me assisting a car accident victim because nobody else was around.
Every year at Easter, I watch my favorite movie - The Ten Commandments. Which is not to say that the above picture is my statement that I feel I'm as holy as Moses. I'm not - I'm just an average, ordinary guy. But, I do believe in God and I believe that he blessed the United States of America and all the people in this great land. I am truly proud to be a free citizen of the U.S.A. and will fight anyone who tries to take that freedom away from me or my family. I served in the United States Army for the freedom to believe that way. And you can darn well bet that I'm not changing my mind on this issue even though the federal government or the state of Illinois tries to legislate otherwise. There are certain things that are right and wrong and I was raised to know the difference. Calling it the law or for safety reasons does not make something right.
No fear. Look at the above picture and you'll see me holding a branch with thousands of bees on it. I'm wearing no protective clothing except for the gloves. I didn't consider it stupidity at the time and I still don't. There are just certain things you know that if you treat them right, they'll treat you right. It's like our planet. However we treat it, it still revolves and allows life to flourish. No matter what we do, it always adjusts so that we can survive. This next phrase I'm going to say may sound quite scientific and be above some of your heads, if it is, I apologise beforehand. Global Warming is nothing but a bunch of hooey. Well, maybe it's not so hard to understand after all. All us normal people get it. Planet Earth has been through ice ages and drought spells before and has always pulled through. Let it do it's thing and stop worrying about it. All we as humans need to be concerned about is getting along with each other. It starts with you and the people you come in contact with. Put yourselves in their shoes and try to treat them like you would want to be treated and things will be a whole lot easier. Trust me on this, it works.
Hank Williams, Jr. sang years ago, "We can skin a buck, we can run a trout line, and a country boy can survive." Now, I wasn't born and raised in the country, but I've spent lots of time out there enjoying it. The above picture shows me in my "Great White Hunter" mode. When I go camping, I do it right. I carry in my tent and sleeping bag, pots and pans, hunting knife and utensils and my rifle. I have meat for supper if the hunt goes well. But, whatever I shoot, I know how to clean it, cook it and eat it. The early pioneers used to live or die while using these same techniques. They survived if they took these methods to heart and died when they didn't. True, there were Indians and other natural dangers they had to contend with, but we have just as many hazards, if not more, to contend with these days. Have you ever been stranded in your car in certain sections of Chicago? You don't want to do that. Have you ever seen a cop trying to plant drugs in your car so that he can have something to arrest you for? Not a pleasant experience. But, whatever life has to throw at you, just try to be prepared for it and your chances of survival will go up greatly. Previous posts on this blog about Survival Kits, Emergency Cooking, Disaster Preparedness and Earthquake Safety Tips can be found at the highlighted links. You can bet that me and my family will be better off than most people if anything should happen here in America. Don't let you or the ones you love down in a crisis - be prepared!New Show Alert - Fourth And Long
Friday, May 22, 2009
Don't Tread On Me. (And I Mean It!)
Just a quick note to explain why I haven't posted anything for awhile. Two weeks ago, a powerful thunderstorm moved through my area and lightning struck my computer, rendering it totally unusable. But, I'm back online now with a new computer and equipment from my internet provider, (which got taken out, too). As you can see, I've got one of those Gadsden Flag stickers on my bumper, which I blogged about here. Be sure to get one of your very own!
Does it look familiar? Oh, no.... now the State Police are gonna start profiling me as a terrorist!



