A New Station Wagon On The Block

This is just a short post to show off a new Hot Wheels Station Wagon model that came out. It's a '70 Chevelle SS Wagon and is pictured below (it is on a used station wagon lot in the front):

Spam

Today's post is about Spam. And no, I'm talking about that wonderful meat, the kind with who know's what's in it and that Monty Python sang about back in the 1970's; I'm referring to the junk e-mail that always clogs up my Outlook Express. I'm sure everybody gets a ton a day and it's a chore just to stay ahead of it. The point I'd like to speak about today, is not just that it's annoying to receive so much, it's that there's a certain kind that really annoys me. They are the kind that look like they came from - me!

Yes, I routinely send myself news about penis enhancers, sales receipts from Amazon, offers to get a Phd., monthly newsletters and invoices and alerts from banks I don't even go near. As if! I don't know how the spammers figured out this little trick, to make spam look like it came from me so that I'll look at it, but it certainly needs to be looked into by somebody that regulates interstate commerce. I mean, this needs to be nipped in the bud! (As our old friend, Barney Fife was always saying). I most certainly do not send myself bills or statements, offers (no matter how enticing they sound!), newsletters, purchase confirmations, eBay alerts, or the one that shows the most chutzpah - an e-mail from me to me and all it says in the subject line is "Hi." Would I bother to send myself a message that just says hello? I don't think so.

So, in closing, I'd like to hope that the spammers get past this little gimmick, and soon, and that this annoying practice ceases and desists.

Oh, and there's one other kind of spam I won't ever fall for, never in a million years. If you want to catch my attention and have even a slim chance of me looking at your message, don't - whatever you do - don't address it as being from [no sender] and containing the subject line [no subject]. I mean, would you look at something that's about nothing from nobody?

I didn't think so.

Keep up the boycott of Wal-Mart, and together we might send them a message. Although, at this point I've forgotten what it might have been, seeing as how other places I shop instead of Wal-Mart keep going out of business. Whatever, it's still a relevant thing to do. We'll show that giant corporation that David can still put a knot in his kneecap. And who knows, maybe they'll get back to selling real merchandise once more, and things that people actually need. Aloha.

8 Dead In Illinois

I have sad news to report in this blog. There have been more notable deaths here in my home state of Illinois and it's a sad occasion to write about. Over the weekend, there were two separate fatal incidents involving cows and automobiles and I just had to tell about this senseless tragedy.

At approximately 7.50 p.m. on Sunday, January 11th, 2009, cows belonging to West Farms got loose onto Route 141, at the intersection at Cottonwood Road. In the first incident, a van with six occupants collided with the herd of cows, leaving 5 dead and 1 injured. No injuries to any of the motorists were reported, but one cow, who should have been life-flighted for further attentions, was dispatched by one of the responding officers. Then, later in the night and further down the road apiece just east of the first scene, at approximately 12.20 a.m., a second crash occurred involving a tractor-trailer which hit and killed two cows. About a dozen cows were loose in the second incident and officers from four different departments, including one fire department, were employed to corral the loose cows and reroute traffic. Illinois Department of Transportation crews were on the scene the next morning to retrieve the bodies of the dead victims. Pending notification of the families of the deceased, no names have been released except one. Bossie the Cow, aged 5 1/2, was one of the victims of the second accident and will be missed by all who loved her and her milk. Your ever-roving photographer managed to capture this image at the scene of the second tragedy:

Now, if I can just locate Crosby, Stills and Nash's e-mail address. I have a good song idea for them.

Live'r Than You'll Ever Be

I thought it was high time I showed what my current band looks like when we're live on stage. The name of the band is Deuces Wild, and was created by the drummer, Jim, several years before I joined with him. Him and I have been playing together for 4 or 5 years now and our current bass player joined us late last year. He is also my cousin Kenneth Ray! Here we are playing a recent gig at the American Legion. It was a great show!

He we are together onstage.

Jim, on drums, and me on lead guitar.

Jim Garrett, our drummer and founder.

Kenneth Ray Jackson, our bass player and newest member.

Kenneth Dwain Harrelson, (that's me), playing a power chord.

The lyric "He's gonna be an angry young man someday," comes to mind for this picture.

Well, that's what it looks like when we play live. We have a pretty slimmed-down setup when we don't have much room for speakers and sound equipment. Most stages in our area are not very big. I hope all you rockers out there enjoyed the show! Oh, and these pictures were taken by the bartender's girlfriend, Tiffany. Thanks, Tiffany!

Michael Crichton - Dead at 66

To say the least, I just received a shock to find out that one of my favorite authors has died recently. Michael Crichton, author of The Andromeda Strain, The Congo, Jurassic Park and many other great novels in my personal collection died on November 4th, aged 66, of cancer. I am at a total loss of words to explain how much his work has meant to me. If you haven't noticed, there's always been at least one of his novels on my "books I've read recently list" along the side of this blog. The most current one was State Of Fear, which I happened to acquire in a first edition hard cover. To say that he meant a lot to me would be an understatement. I have read and enjoyed his books for my entire adult life. I even have a techno-thriller novel currently in pre-production that I have been working on. I need to finish writing that book, now for sure. Rather than babble on here, I'll just post this message I found on his website, posted by his family:

In Memoriam

Michael Crichton

1942 - 2008

Best-selling author Michael Crichton died unexpectedly in Los Angeles Tuesday, November 4, 2008 after a courageous and private battle against cancer.

While the world knew him as a great story teller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us -- and entertained us all while doing so -- his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes. He did this with a wry sense of humor that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget.

Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand.

He will be profoundly missed by those whose lives he touched, but he leaves behind the greatest gifts of a thirst for knowledge, the desire to understand, and the wisdom to use our minds to better our world.

Michael's family respectfully asks for privacy during this difficult time.

I couldn't have said it better. I'm going to miss Michael Crichton.

America, Land Of The Free

With a new year fast approaching, I thought this would be an appropriate time to say how proud I am that I live in a country where I enjoy the freedom to blog and share my opinions with the world. People can't do that in every country. The United States of America was formed so that people who chose to live here could have the freedom to live life as they choose, without a tyrannical monarch ruling their every movement. There's a reason why the U.S.A. is called the "land of the free and the home of the brave."

So that we can continue to enjoy our freedom, men and women throughout the history of this great nation have given the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, just so that we can stay free. There's a reason why we, as a nation, erect so many monuments to these fallen brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, fathers and uncles, and why we equate the name "hero" with them. It's to honor those who have died fighting for this great society. Who among you cannot be awed and humbled when standing in front of the rows and rows of headstones at the revered Arlington Cemetery?

And the flag that always waves atop the Iwo Jima monument:

Or the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier? A monument honoring a nameless soul who died fighting for what he believed in:

And now, some of my antecedents, (which I don't often show in public!) What many on here may not realize is that I served in this nation's Armed Forces, when I was a member of the US Army:

I also did a short stint in the Navy, when I served aboard the U.S.S. Martini:

And, in my younger days, I was a cowboy who fought in the wild, wild west:

Just so nobody thinks I'm making light of anything, I want you to know that I was proud to have served this country while I was in the Army. I felt that I was helping, in a tiny way, to preserve the freedoms that we have known and loved for over 200 years. Freedoms for which others have died to protect. So, it saddens me when I see something like what I saw this past Monday. I was out Christmas shopping (thank goodness we still have some freedom to worship the way we want to....) with my sister-in-law, when an Indiana State Trooper pulled me over in the Toys R Us parking lot. The offense I was potentially guilty of? Not wearing my seat belt! How insignificant can you get? Now, a short bit later, we were almost ran down while crossing the road on foot by an angry woman in an SUV. Where were the police to help save my life in that instance? They were nowhere to be seen. I'll tell you why. They're not interested in saving our lives. They're busy earning all that overtime pay, which the United States Government grants to states if they will enforce the seat belt law.

It would seem to me that in the "Land of the Free," we would have the right to decide for ourselves whether or not to wear seat belts. Isn't that the very essence of freedom? Not to have some tyrannical power telling us every little thing that we can and can't do in our ordinary lives? Our government has become exactly what we were running away from when we formed the United States in the 1776. Are you sick and tired of seeing freedom after freedom of yours being taken away by some law that they say is ostensibly designed to help keep you "safe?" Know this - the United States Government or your state governments are not interested in saving your lives. They couldn't care less if you should live or die. They just do what they're told to do so that the tax money or the grant money will keep coming in. Remember that little phrase you learned in high school? That our form of government was "of the people, by the people and for the people?" That means that you and I are the boss. I think it's high time we start exercising our executive powers and tell them we don't want any more new laws that are designed to "protect" us. And, it's high time we tell them to reverse a few that are on the books already because they're not actually worth the paper they're printed on. In a free society, we have the right to decide matters that affect our own lives. So, all those laws saying it's illegal to smoke in a bar, but it's not bad enough to just outlaw cigarettes, should be repealed. If smoking is so harmful to people's health, why aren't they just outlawed? I'll tell you why. The government gets too much tax money from the sale of cigarettes. Doesn't that sound hypocritical to you? Oh, they don't care whether you die from smoking, they just want their money. And they don't care whether or not you die in an automobile accident. If they did, they would be going after the people that cause the accidents, the wreckless drivers, instead of the helpless victims of potential accidents. If they actively pursued the causes of most automobile accidents, the drivers that are the ones that kill and maim regularly, it would be much safer for ordinary people to drive these roads in America. Don't let them tell you that seat belts save lives and that it's the only reason they force you to wear them by passing laws to such effect. Studies have proven that the mandantory wearing of seat belts has not resulted in a decrease in traffic fatalities. There are also studies which prove cracking down on wreckless drivers improves traffic safety. I mean, that one is obvious to me, as it should be to you.

So, are you going to continue taking whatever the United States Government force feeds down your throat in the name of safety? I'm not! I am an American and I have the freedom to decide for myself how to live my life and to keep it safe. And I'm going to do everything I can to prove it in the coming year. The first thing is to try and get rid of that ridiculous seat belt law which hasn't saved any more lives than before it was "the law of the land." That's got to go. It's time for every good American to take back control of their own life. You have that right guaranteed to you in the Constitution, you know. And if you value your freedom and want to be able to have selection in where you shop, stop going to Wal-Mart or there won't be any other stores left and they can then charge whatever they want. There goes your bargains. You've already lost the selection that Wal-Mart used to offer, so that's no longer an attraction for them.

Caution: This Post Contains Random Pictures Of Camels

Meet Charlie the Camel:

I probably should explain myself just a little. See, I live in a town so small and boring that we don't have anything here but two tiny diners, two convenience stores and a Dollar General Store. With a population of only about 1100, there's nothing in the way of entertainment, (unless you count the American Legion), and certainly nothing with which to occupy yourself when it comes to free time. Culture? Bah, humbug! So, that's why it surprised me when I heard my mother say something about 'seeing the camels.' Camels....? Here....? In Norris City....? Unbelievable! I only knew that this was something I had to see!

I may have mentioned it before on this blog, but my brother is in the Air Force and got stationed over in South Korea for a year. It was decided that his wife would be better to stay with some family members rather than be on her own in a place she wasn't familiar with. (She was born in Canada.) So, she came to stay at my house because it seemed like the most logical. In order that she doesn't get bored to tears, which is easy to do around my town, the family has been coming up with things to do to entertain her. When my mother mentioned taking her to see the camels at the miniature pony farm, I volunteered to go along and get pictures. I try to keep my brother updated on things involving his wife, so anytime something of note happens, I get pictures and e-mail them to him. That Saturday afternoon, the weekend before Christmas, was when the place we were going to was having their annual "open barn" event, so the three of us bundled up and headed out to Bryant's Miniatures.

Of course, after having heard that they had camels, the first thing I made sure to do after parking was to go hunt up an appropriate model for my shutterbug aspirations. It turned out to be the previously-mentioned Charlie the Camel. He is seen here below wondering why I didn't have any peanuts to feed him.

He was quite friendly and allowed himself to be petted. Here is my sister-in-law doing just that:

Of course, they had all sorts of other animals, such as llamas, donkeys and doves. (Oh, my!)

There was even a scrappy rooster running around on the loose!

Apparently, every year this place has an open house and admittance is absolutely free! They offer pony cart rides for young and old, you can pet and feed the animals, they have entertainment and even platters of snacks galore. I, of course, availed myself of the raisin cookies.

The raisin cookies were so good, that when I got home I made some of my own. Gotta love them raisin cookies! Another random camel image:

Did I mention that the llamas were quite friendly?

As part of the entertainment, they had flown Santa down from the North Pole for a special afternoon appearance. I don't know how he found the time to come down to my little town, in what must surely be his busiest time of the year, but there he was, posing for pictures and ho ho ho-ing:

Santa even brought his guitar and performed instrumental Christmas songs. Now, Santa doesn't particularly sponsor one product over another, but he did use a Rogue acoustic guitar and a Peavey sound system that sounded pretty good. And don't let the beard fool you - he had a harmonica concealed under there and used it to perform the melodies of the songs he played. Who knew the man had such a wide variety of skills? Santa was really jammin':

ALERT! - shameless The Ten Commandments reference - ALERT! They also had a room where they displayed their miniature award-winning carts. The walls were filled with ribbons and trophies and there were tiny recreations, which were all usuable, of stagecoaches, sleighs, silkies, royal coaches, buckboards, fire wagons, and scads I don't even know what to call. But, the most amazing thing was they had two chariots! You'll all remember how much of a role chariots played in my all-time favorite movie! Of course, these were Roman-type chariots instead of Egyptian, but they were chariots none-the-less:

All in all, it was quite an entertaining little foray only a mile or two outside of the city limits. I might have to go back next year to see the camels even though my brother's wife won't be staying with me! Before I go, though, one last random image of Charlie the Camel: