I Heard The News Today, Oh Boy

How many of you remember what you were doing on September 11th, 2001, when the car bomb exploded outside of the State Department? Please feel free to leave a comment about your memories of this incident. You might remember that it was the day some big airplanes smashed into the World Trade Center towers and they fell down. It was a very sad day. Fortunately, not many were killed by the car bomb outside the State Department.

Henry David Thoreau

To paraphrase Henry David Thoreau with which to describe my own book collection, "I have a personal library of 5000+ volumes, over 100 of which I wrote myself." This is a subtle reminder for those interested, that I have plenty of copies on hand of both my novels, The Wizard Of Destiny and This Paradise. In this day and age, any author less popular than Stephen King has to do some self-promotion if he wants his writing to be read by the general public.

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.... er, pushy.

Update: If anybody has actually purchased one of my novels and read it, please be kind and leave a comment about it here. I certainly would appreciate hearing from you.

One Word Or Two?

I suppose it's only one word - PhotoShop, but whichever it is.... man, I love it! I found this older digital image of mine, one that wasn't very interesting initially, and went wild with all the different things I could do to it using that venerable Adobe program everybody is so familiar with. What's that you say - you're not familiar with it? Well take a look at the shot below and consider looking up where to get this program. It's sold on many online stores and can probably be found at your local big box computer store. I thoroughly enjoy bringing to life an old image that was fairly crappy to begin with. By using this powerful program, you, too can discover the joys of saving some of your old photos and making them into something much more interesting to look at.

Steakhouse

Recently, I had an opportunity to visit Logan's Roadhouse once again. The main reason I like to go back is that their steaks are always tender; they can almost be cut with a fork! When you walk in the place to get seated, the first thing you notice is all the peanut shells all over the floor. They provide each table with a mini-bucket full of peanuts and it's customary to crack them open and throw the empty shells on the floor. Most people love the chance to be messy out in public, hence the fact that every time a server comes near your table, you hear the floor start to crunch as they walk past. Sort of like a radar signal alerting you to their approach. I'll admit that I don't follow the tradition. I feel that I don't throw trash on my floor at home and I'm certainly not going to do it somebody else's place. It doesn't seem sanitary. The young couple across the aisle from me had two kids and they were all eating the peanuts and tossing the shells. I noticed the young mother doing it and every time the waiter came crunching by, gave her a stern look. I think she got my meaning after awhile. I hated to be that way, but it was quite annoying to hear and hard to enjoy my meal with all the noise.

After you've made your order, but before it's served, they bring out their famous sweet rolls for you to munch on. I'll spread mine with a generous dollop of butter and it's hard to stop eating them. But, knowing that my main order is coming soon, I pull myself away.

This time, I tried their house steak, "The Logan." On the menu, they tout it as being their best steak, and I'll have to admit, it was very good.

Cooked to perfection, medium-rare as I requested, it was placed in front of me with the macaroni and cheese still sizzling in it's dish. It's hard to know just where to start when a sight like this greets you, but I grabbed a knife and fork and cut my steak up for a quick mouthful. I had waited quite long enough already for the taste of sirloin. I consider myself a carnivore and love meat and potatoes over desserts. Before long, my meal was finished and it was time to go. I'll have to get back there soon.

If you're ever driving down the road around lunchtime and come upon a restaurant that looks like this, stop in. I don't think you'll be disappointed with whatever you order. I'd suggest a steak, though, over the other items they feature on their menu. Bon appetit!

Old Portraits

Recently, I purchased a new scanner and the great thing about it is that it can scan film negatives. So, I've been going through my collection of old negatives and finding lots of interesting images. Here are some portraits I did here and there and I think they turned out pretty good. Yes, looking back, they're not too bad. Photography is certainly a fun hobby to have!

Shawnee National Forest Photo Expedition

Recently, I was part of a group of photographers whose combined efforts would encompass the Earth. There was a project called One Rokkor Around The World which was started on Flickr.com which consisted of one 50mm Minolta Rokkor prime lens which would be used by people all over the globe on their own Minolta film camera bodies and then passed on to the next person in the group. Each user would have two weeks with which to use the lens and document what their area looked like. The project is still ongoing, but you can see some of the pictures that have been posted so far to the group pool here.

Now, my area isn't the most picturesque, but we do have the Shawnee National Forest. It is very beautiful there and not that far from my home, so I considered it to be in my area. While taking pictures for the project, I travelled far and wide in search of scenes which represented my area. Here are some I found while driving all around the Shawnee National Forest area.

A little country church in Hardin County called Pleasant Ridge.

A view from down in the canyon at Bell Smith Springs.

The stone stairway leading up out of the canyon at Bell Smith Springs.

On the observation trail at the Garden of the Gods. A sudden storm developed while I was there.

One of the scenic vistas at the Garden of the Gods.

You can see an eagle flying high overhead above some of the rock formations at the Garden of the Gods.

Another beautiful view of the scenic overlooks found at the Garden of the Gods.

Here is the swimming area found at Pounds Hollow.

And lastly, the beautiful waters found around Pounds Hollow.

After The Storm

When late Spring and early Summer storms move into the Midwest, they usually move quickly and carry heavy rains, strong winds and thunder and lightning. They are beautiful and they are breath-taking. They are powerful and they are unbiased. And they can be deadly. And then just as suddenly as they appear - they are gone. Here is one from birth to death.

The first thing that usually happens is the storm front moves into the area, turning a perfectly clear sky to blackness within minutes.

Black, swirling miasmas with fingery tendrils of everchanging wisps. Stealing the day and bringing mock night.

Spilling over the calm skies until nothing but blackness remains.

A seemingly living, breathing entity who's only desire is to paint everything in onyx shrouds.

Once the front moves through, hard on it's heels come the rains. Sometimes they can be quite heavy. A couple years ago, we once got a foot of rain in less than an hour. That's what causes flash flooding and death. Fortunately, my town seems to be on higher ground. I have seen the flood waters reach the edge of my town about 2 blocks from where my house sits. So, who knows how safe we actually are?

After the rains stop falling, there is a moment when everything pauses. The winds stop crying out and the water stops coming down in torrents. A butterfly flits wildly about looking for a place of safety and lands inside the leaves of a sheltering bush before the next wave hits. If there is to be a next wave this time. Sometimes there are second, third and fourth waves. In this case, when it was over, no more cells followed.

There are subtle reminders left behind of what these storms are capable of. A jagged limb lying on the ground. Sudden puddles where once there were none. A leaf that only a moment ago was alive and clinging to a tree in the warm afternoon sun.

Sometimes high above, although there is calm at ground level, there are signs of the violence these storms can unleash. Above are some Mammatus clouds which indicate extreme winds high above. These kinds of formations are dangerous for pilots and airplanes.

Once the danger has passed, what remains of the day starts struggling to reassert itself. The sun spreads a glow that slowly infiltrates through the haze of the trailing edges of the vanishing storm clouds.

And finally, the sun comes blazing forth with the promise of a new day to come tomorrow. All is forgiven and forgotten.