Doggy Tricks

Click on the website below and command this adorable puppy to do a few tricks. If he doesn't understand you, he tells you so in so many barks and yips.
http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html

DogTown

My friend LT recently hiked in Dogtown, Gloucester, MA. She offers a brief history below, and several photographs. Especially interesting in Dogtown are the boulders carved with sayings of the Puritan bend. So New England.... Undoubtedly if you follow these principles you can't go wrong leading a decent life....

"Dogtown is a "ghost town" up in Gloucester Massachusetts. It offers a nice 2 hour easy hike in the woods... According to Wikipedia, Dogtown was "settled, beginning in 1693, because its inland location afforded protection from pirates and from enemy navies... after the conclusion of the War of 1812 and its attendant risk of coastal bombardment, most farmers moved away from Dogtown... Many of the widows of sea-goers and soldiers who never returned kept dogs for protection and company. As these last inhabitants died their pets became feral and wild, roaming the moors and howling, thus the name "DOGTOWN" was born.

The Babson Boulders at Dogtown are a "must see" - the legacy of Roger Babson who commissioned unemployed stonecutters during the Great Depression." LT

Little Rock Nine

Fifty years ago this month Elizabeth Eckford made a long and lonely walk in front of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was part of the "Little Rock Nine," a group of African-American high school students designated to integrate the all-white Central High. On that first day of school in 1957 there was miscommunication, and Elizabeth was separated from the group of other black students. She had to walk alone, surrounded by a mob of white people who screamed racial epithets at her.
Elizabeth was surrounded by a maelstrom when she was just a young girl wanting to attend school. That day, Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas had defied court order, by calling in the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the black students from entering the school. The Governor said desegregation would cause violence and unrest. Some days later, President Eisenhower ordered the 101 U.S. Airborne Division to escort the African-American students to school, and for several weeks the students had to be protected daily by armed soldiers.
I remember first seeing Elizabeth's story in the documentary "Eyes on the Prize." It was quite riveting. Elizabeth still lives in Little Rock today. She says she realizes now that she suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome for many years after this incident.
1957 and 1997. The Little Rock Nine were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Clinton in 1997.

Photographers Part 2

Naked Man
A couple of years ago I went to an exhibit and lecture at the De Cordova museum in Waltham, of Arno Rafael Minkkinen's work. He is a photographer born in Finland & now a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. The bulk of his photography consists of the most unusual portraits of himself in varied natural settings. He blends parts or all of his tall, slim, angular body into the scene. At first, you may not see the naked man. But then you see that a shape is part of his leg, back, face, or arms...... Arno captures himself in seemingly impossible poses like a master yoga guru. As for technique, it was difficult, at least for me, to see how he executed some of his photographs. He is floating above scenes or objects, or holding his body amazingly still. If you ever get the chance, check out the book that accompanied the show: "Saga: The Journey of Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Photographs 1970-2005."

DreamMaker, You Heartbreaker.....

Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," sweetly singing "Moon River." 1961

Salt-N- Pepa vs. En Vogue

Two hot gal groups from the 90's. (Check out Salt-n-Pepa's goofy necklaces) I like them both, but guess I prefer En Vogue. You?

There Their

Take this evil grammar quiz. I got 100%. Wicked Smaaaart, again......

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

To JD & MK

Perhaps one of the worst songs ever recorded. Two friends & I were laughing about it last night. There isn't a woman alive that doesn't cringe & feel like puking when hearing this sappy tune. Yuck!

The Baron in Her New Neighborhood

Here's 60 heart pumping seconds of the Baron in her new condo, in her new neighborhood. Already she's found some local babe to hobnob with. (Needless to say, the Baron is the one in the swashbuckler's outfit). The Baron's new digs are rather bare, as the bank has taken all her money. But still the Baron has time for socializing and joking. At the end of this clip, the Baron tries to flirt with her new friend, but she's rejected. Alas. (p.s. if you've never played the Sims, try it)

Happy Birthday!

Today is my sister's birthday. I know a few other people born on this date, as well. Happy Birthday all! Here we are in my beloved grandmother's kitchen, circa 1968.

Autumn Quiz

Take the Autumn Quiz. Is it the Hunter's Moon, or the Blue Moon? Why do those leaves turn orange? I got 8/10. Wicked Smaaart.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/education_1/?page=quiz13&Quizid=13
Click Me

The Dick Flick

The Dick Flick.
Every once in awhile, it's time to stop thinking about love and sit back and watch some macho action---killing, maiming, and revenge taking. I'm not enamored of the terminology-- 'dick flick', yet this seems to be the best title to describe this genre of film. Though often unrealistic & at times laughably stupid, the simple formula of the action picture provides solace to counter the slow moving emotional angst of real life.

Below are some of the rules of the 'Dick Flick,' & clips of two of my favorites--- any Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) movie, & the recent The Bourne Ultimatum. Last night I also watched The Shooter, which was fairly good.

1. The Hero in a 'dick flick' is a loner, though there usually is an attractive woman involved. She can hold her own & will be tough. She'll be sympathetic to our hero, & may be a partner in his schemes. If he has battle wounds, she will tend to them.

2. Ultimately 'the woman,' despite her boldness, will require our hero to save her at a critical moment.

3. The hero & the lady usually don't end up together at the end of the film. There's potential. There'll be a few scenes of intimate tension, but there' s no time for love in this movie. At the end they will part ways, because the hero must go on doing what a man must do.

4. The Hero is aligned with the good guys, but is an iconoclast. We're not sure if he's completely good. He doesn't follow the rules.

5. Our hero is usually more creative & talented than other men in the film, but does not get recognition. In fact he's chastised by others 'in his ranks.'

6. Often our hero has a male friend or partner, who dubiously believes in our hero. This man is a family man (unlike our hero), & plays by the rules. He usually dies.

7. Our hero will be often homeless, or, if he does have a home it will be a dark, stark apartment, or a lonely cabin in the wilderness.

8. Mass amounts of nondescript men will be killed by our hero throughout the movie, in increasingly numerous, gross & varied ways. But there'll be one male--"the arch nemesis" -- that will be the final battle. We're not sure our hero can beat this man.

9. While everyone else seems to die, our hero miraculously survives beatings, near drownings, car crashes, falls, & massive gunfire.

10. There will be a car chase. Since the car chase has been filmed 9000 times already, directors may get more creative these days. So there might be a scooter chase, boat chase, or helicopter chase.

11. At the end, our hero will stand amongst burning cars & dead bodies, but he'll be vindicated. He will have killed his enemies, secured justice, or gained respect from superiors.


You feel lucky, punk?

The Man in Black

I've always loved Johnny Cash, though I still haven't seen the movie about his life yet: Walk the Line (2005) . He makes me think wistfully of my two Uncles, both now deceased.
Uncle Dave, because he loved Johnny Cash's music.
The other Uncle was my Uncle John. He looked a lot like Johnny Cash. Tall. Dark. Handsome. Silent. Cigarette, beer in hand, and a few words.... A mystery man with a heart. A man's man....
Here's Johnny singing the classic, "Jackson," with June Carter, & also "Walk the Line," my favorite.....



My Uncle Johnny (Picture him a bit older)

Good Night, Sweet Prince

As you may know, Pavarotti died this past week. Here is his signature piece, "Nessun Dorma," -- recorded--- 2006, at the Olympics. His final performance.. Gorgeous. Thank you.

Toonces, the Driving Cat

Some friends referenced to this skit in conversation last night. It's from SNL, the late 80's I think. I don't recall ever seeing the skit then, but I looked it up on YouTube. Classic silly Steve Martin humor. Actually, it's very funny to me that Toonces looks exactly like my kitty, Harper. I better hide those car keys. When we run out of kitty litter, she might take matters into her own paws.....

Sharon Depends

Here's some more recent work by comedian Julie Brown. If you check out YouTube, she's also recorded lots of spoofs of Madonna's videos. They're funny. Below is a hysterical spoof on a Sharon Stone Depends ad. Check out Julie's website for more fun: www.juliebrown.com/