Small example

                                          vectorimage

I don't know if we talking toad or frog with this guy, but definitely small.  He resided in South Carolina.

Hangin' out

Obviously an unorthodox riding style that I am assuming didn't end well

Totally flocked

                                          vectorimage

Big Brother is watching

This is just a sign of the times and of course more of a sign of the times to come. I hate to be paranoid but you have realize that we are not going to be the only government to employ this technology. It disturbing enough to think about our own government keeping a watchful eye on our activities, but how comfortable are you going to be with other countries and their governments positioning solar drones equipped with this technology over the US?

RYNO monocycle

Interesting technology.  I think it is cooler than a Segway, but I am not so sure it threatens their market position.

You turn my world upside down

Isolation

                                          vectorimage

Moon landings; whose team are you on?

Collins doesn't know if we were on the moon or not.  He wasn't there.  He is, however, sure that we could not have faked it with the technology we had at the time.

Why should you care??  He talks about the dangers of conspiracy theories at 11:00 in the video.

I trust this guy.  He looks a lot like my UPS delivery driver and I know he is very trustworthy...

Small town welcome

                                          vectorimage

Rising star

Another young musician working on his craft.  The vocals are a little weak, but he has the cute factor down pretty well.  Rock on little ukulele man.

Jesus needs small outboard

                                                   vectorimage

Baraka

I had seen the trailer for Baraka some time ago and knew it was a film I wanted to see.  It had slipped from my memory until looking for a video to stream last night. 

I will spare you my extended cinematic critique.  It is a beautiful film.  There is no dialogue, no voice over, or subtitles.  While it would be great to know exactly where on earth different segments were shot, it does not detract from the presentation.

It was originally shot in 70mm so it would have been spectacular on the big screen.  We streamed it from Amazon and the quality was good. 

While looking for the trailer I saw that the entire film was available on YouTube.  I wanted to watch a portion of it again, but when I went to that segment the audio was missing.  It appears the audio drops out about 12 minutes into the film.  It does not work well as a silent film.

However you arrange to see the film I would suggest that it is a must see.  Write

B A R A K A   on a scrap of paper and tape it to your door.  Don’t remove the paper until you have seen the film.  You can thank me later.

Of course Wikipedia has a more in depth description of the film

Rolls Royce USA

I received an email with the image above of an elderly gentleman standing beside a Rolls Royce roadster.  Apparently M. Allen Swift had received the Rolls as a graduation present from his father in 1928.  He died in 2005 at the age of 102.   He still had the car and had managed to put 170,000 miles on it in that time.

I was totally unaware that Rolls Royce had ever had a production facility in the United States until I did a bit of Googling on Mr. Swift.  It would appear that Rolls Royce produced cars for the US market from 1921 through 1931 in Springfield, Connecticut.

Mr. Swift bequeathed his Rolls and one million dollars to the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum in Springfield, Connecticut.  The museum opened in 2009 and the car is displayed there.

A story in the Hartford Courant from April, 2009 has additional information.

The Penny Floor

Apparently it takes 59,670 pennies to cover a 234 square foot bedroom floor.

Additional information at thepennyfloor.com

Uncle John

I ran across this family photo when I was retrieving the picture of Mom and her brother Leroy.

I don't know much about John Horn, but the photo speaks volumes.  Obviously he was into leather and preferred terrier dogs.

Seth Globepainter

The artist goes by his tag, Seth Globepainter.  He is a Frenchman who travels the world and paints murals.  He usually includes a local person in the photo documentation of his work

He has an impressive portfolio at http://www.globepainter.com/.

Happy birthday, Mom

Today is Mom's 91st birthday.  She resides in an independent apartment at a retirement community and still enjoys the various social activities offered there.  She is a voracious reader and can be described as healthy and "sharp".  Happy birthday !!

Wall of Death Riding Lessons

click on the image to increase the size and readability

Sorry for the short notice, but Lesson 1 takes place tomorrow at the

Motorcyclepdiamuseum in Newburgh, New York (http://motorcyclepediamuseum.org/).  

I see they call for lightweight footwear and claim it is because heavy boots do not

provide “adequate feel” on the footpegs.  I am sure it also has something to do with

the fact that the EMT’s would have a difficult time cutting heavy boots off of your feet and that would slow your transport to the nearest medical facility.

Maha Kumbh Mela

At the present time there are ten's of millions of Hindus making there way to Allahadad, India.  It will be difficult to get a room as there are already eight million people there for the Maha Kumbh Mela.  The event is held every twelve years in one of four places in India.  They go there to bathe in the Ganges to be purified of sin.  They say it is the largest gathering on Earth.  In 2001 more than 40 million attended the event in an area of less than eight square miles.  They predict that more than 100 million people will attend this year.

More images of the early arrivals can be viewed here.

Psychotria elata

The South American flower that is known to locals as "Hooker Lips."

Let's take the train

I had seen this video some time ago and managed to find it again today.  I do not know what the occasion was but I would guess it might be a Muslim holy day.

Coral

Felix Salazar is a LA photographer who currently has display of multicolored corals at mymodernmet 

Chillin'

                                                      vectorimage

Blacksnake skeleton

While bushhogging (mowing) the back of our property several summers ago I inadvertently hit and killed a blacksnake.  About two weeks later while walking in the area I came across its skeletal remains.  Nature's critters had turned it into art.

Hashima

Hashima served as the "inspiration" for scenes in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall.  A set was constructed at Pinewood Studios in England for some of the filming while much of what is seen in the film is computer generated.  The island has an interesting history and you can learn more at Wikipedia

Happy Birthday Elvis

You can find out more about Elvis at Wikipedia.   The short story is that he was born on this date in 1935 and that he peaked somewhere along a timeline that ends with his death in 1977.  There is disagreement about the cause of his death but the fact remains that he was no stranger to drug abuse.

As I watched the Jailhouse Rock video I was surprised to see a person who I believe to be Mickey Rooney dancing on camera- check it out at 1:20.  83% of today's population will ask "who is Mickey Rooney".  Certainly a lot more than an extra in an Elvis clip.  Once again Wikipedia can provide the information and contribute to your enlightenment.

EDIT: I am incorrect in my thinking that Mickey Rooney appeared in that film clip.  My wife.com did a little additional research after viewing the video.  She felt that Mickey would not have been that heavy at that point in his life.  She went through the cast of Jailhouse Rock and Mickey Rooney was not in it.

How do you milk a spider??

Honestly, I did not learn how to milk a spider, but I did learn that their silk resembles gold.  Read the whole story at mymodernmet.

Hayden-Nash

I can't believe I haven't reblogged more about cars.  I follow a few blogs dedicated to cars.  I saw a post today that made me smile.

In about 1971 we passed up an opportunity to own a pair of mid-fifties Nash Metropolitans.  We still talk about those cars and wonder at the fun they might have provided?

This 1954 Nash Metropolitan would be a lot of fun as a summer cruiser.  Justacarguy has the straight scoop with more pictures and information.

Even more information available at Rodauthority.

Thunderheads and lightning

I have always been a big fan of thunderstorms.  I enjoy the cloud formations and the way the weather moves in along with the lightning and thunder.  Mymodernmet has a great display of gathering clouds.

The post of the thunderheads actually followed a post several days earlier of  lightning.  I enjoy the lightning, but I admit I like to observe it from a safe location- I don't need a front row seat on that action.  More lightning images for your enjoyment.

... speaking of gorillas

One of my favorite LifeFormations animatronic characters, the Cadbury Gorilla.  He is a great one.

Happy Birthday Colo

                                          AP Photo/Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Grahm S. Jones

Colo is the oldest gorilla in any zoo.

She celebrated her 56th birthday on December 22, 2012.  She resides at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (Ohio).  She was born there in 1956

Winter weather

With snow on the ground along with a 14 degree temperature this morning it seemed like either of these modes of transportation would have been appropriate