Sometimes...

...it's just better to stop--and play Solitaire, isn't it?

I consider myself 'a thinking person', as do many of you. Yet, at times, I have to let the brain calm down--and what better way to do it than play Solitaire, which, though boring, seems to relieve a lot of stress, and still allows enough of a challenge to keep the brain functioning?

This past week, the entire world seems to have gone 'off its rocker', hasn't it?

The Moslems have gone nutzoid, as have the unions and all the Democrats, including Obama re: the DOMA situation.

This doped-up Prez MUST realize (and come to grips with) the fact that HE is not the Judicial branch of the government of the United States of America.

HE is merely the head of the Executive branch...and MUST LEARN to conduct himself accordingly.

He (and his wifey!) must NOT be allowed to think he is our DICTATOR--ever!

And personally, I think he is a PUTZ!

It was a Sunday morning...

...in 1979, when I was working as a Production Artist here in Chicago on a film called "The Blues Brothers".

I had a boss, Gary Osborn, and his second-in-command, Jerry Palermo, who were members of the Studio Mechanics union out of Los Angeles. We were all working for Universal Studios on this film, but we found some spare time to walk around and shoot photos. Gary was very interested in photography. As a thank-you gift, I bought him a new lens for his camera. He was thrilled.

These are my pix, from a Sunday morning along S. Halsted Avenue, showing a couple of what we then called 'bums'. I wish I had Gary's shots!

The necessary bottle

The necessary 'air' guitar

Just why the crib was out in the middle of nowhere, and just what was written on the head and footboards...I have no idea any longer.

Just thought the whole post might be of interest to someone...somewhere?

A message from a troll...

...and I laugh.

"You'll never hear from me again"--Anonymous

Oh, the dichotomy!

Instead, if you'd like to know more about me...you might watch, and listen closely to, this:

I'm certain it's still there...

...somewhere near Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

Fences, these days, seem to block out everything in the name of 'privacy'. This fence was welded, piece by piece, and became ART.

These are 35mm film shots, scanned, and with no retouch, turned into digital photos. I took them with a borrowed Pentax in 1979. The negatives have been stored away in glassine envelopes all these years. There is no evident deterioration.

And...it's really nice to see these! I can finallly print some of my favorites from a time when I was exclusively shooting black and white!

ON: Birthdays

Just when we think we are crumbling, the Creator shows us the enigma of life: the complexity of the simplest of designs.

I had a thought today, as I retouched these shots I took 32 years ago. I hope you like them, at least a bit, as I no longer have these shells--I gave them away in 1987, when I was going to move to Italy. I continue to find surprises, as I look back on my life.

Eroded Shell-1979

Inside the Chambered Nautilus-1979

I had a thought today, as I retouched these shots from thirty-two years ago:

Marine life, according to the Bible, was created BEFORE Man.

Therefore, as these simple shells are so complex in their design, THAT design is technically older than Man. Think about that.

For those of you who may have a birthday (as does my friend, www.alwaysonwatch3.blogspot.com whom I am very priveleged to know), know that we, the sixth-day creation, are loved and protected by our Creator because of our faith.

Out and about, on a Nice Day...

...shooting some bits...

...and pieces.

Got back home and decided to make 'pizza from scratch' with lotsa trimmings. YUM!

That's tomorrow's brunch you're looking at!

Then, I opened the blog to find that...OMG(oodness), the "Anony-mice" (the troll(s), do not care my my photography, nor the fact that I give recipes for healthy food (Michelle Obama, BEWARE of my troll(s)!).

First, they hate how I look at almost 65 ("not as good as Betty White"). Then, they don't like (vehemently) the photos I have taken 'from my window', a recurring series I've done. Next, they tell me to "take you (sic) meds" and ask "How can you sit at the computer all day?"

Well...I don't sit at the computer all day...and I am quite proficient; after having done graphics for 19 years now; and I have some really great software...which means I don't have to sit for long, idiot(s).

Actually, I prefer to read books, which is why I skim through the 'Favorites' list, skipping many websites along the way.

BTW...the troll(s) claim to be 'half-Italian', which I imagine, in Chicago, translates into 'half-Sicilian'--ancestors from an entirely different place.

That's why neither of them would like the 'pesto-based' pizza...the recipe comes from Genova, the home of someone called CRISTOFORO COLOMBO (you may know him as 'Christopher Columbus'?

And I shall continue to photograph what I see, as long as I live, and post as long as I can do so...because the United States of America needs documenting of every day's events...trivial as they might be to you, EVIL troll(s)!

And thanks so much for 'boosting' my number of readers!

Post-blizzard Absurdity!

After my walk along the lake yesterday, I turned west at Greenleaf Avenue to head back up Sheridan Road. When I reached the corner, this was what I saw:

Plow damage to the Loyola Park Fieldhouse planter

In the clean-up after the Groundhog Day blizzard, this walk was closed to foot traffic, as up to nine-foot high piles of snow had been dumped along most of this two-block western boundary of Loyola Park.

Though I'm not certain when this plow came through to clear the walk, I am dismayed at the destruction!

Bench #1

Bench #2

Bench #3

Bench #4

Bench #5

Toward the back of this snow pile is a metal trash container, which was attached to the sidewalk a half-block away. The mangled black shape in the foreground is the heavy-duty plastic liner.

An example of what the benches used to look like (on an interior park path)

These benches have been in place since, at least, the late 1950s. Seats and backs were replaced by Chicago Park District as necessary.

To have these five benches destroyed in one fell swoop is ABSURD!

Was the plow driver drunk, or on drugs?

I also wonder...what did the plow blade look like after this total debacle?

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!

Today's Walk along Lake Michigan

Melting, but...

...it'll be a while....

From my Window: Does somebody up there not like me?

When the ice finally melted from my window, after three days, I wanted to clean off the 'birdy poo' I showed you several days ago.

I found this:

I live on the sixth floor, so someone on 7 or 8, or someone on the roof, 'slopped this former food' onto my concrete sill.

It looks like beans and mashed potatoes, or something.

In addition, my entire window had a lot of what I call 'schmutz'--as if someone sprayed it with salt water.

I've worked hard this morning, on my knees, to clean the outside storm window. I suppose I'll have to take it out of its housing...a somewhat difficult and dangerous job when one lives high up...for now, this shot will have to do:

Oh, how I miss it! Video Production!

And working with my friend, JT, my video mentor...I wish I had a pic or 2 but we never had much time...I guess that what comes...from growing older. I really miss working with another genius.

I kept up, more than he knows, with the technology. I miss my old friend, tremendously.

I've never made promises lightly...

...because eveyone needs a little more Sting...on a heavy winter's night!

The Obamas have no concept of this concert...

...because Sting has never been part of their entourage.

For all that she has been, I would be sorry to see her go this way....

Rep: Liz Taylor hospitalized with congestive heart failure symptoms

Apparently, just another Tequila Sunrise for Barky Obama

A hugmongous bunch of Moslems in the streets? If I had been Hosni Mubarak, I'd have left Egypt, too! Because the Moslems multiply like PIGS!

The Moslems think they can take over Egypt, don't they? What will they do? Slice off everyone's head? And remain, IMHO, THE F'ING RELIGION OF PIECES?

And our own self-proclaimed American leader, Barack Hussein Obama (as he is known these days), the pretender-Caliph (which is what he really seems to want to be) has been throwing hissy-fits because he didn't get his own way?

Now that Mubarak seems to have resigned, and fled the country (which should be done, to avoid assassination), are Barky and MOO clinking the Margarita glasses, while eating wagyu sliders and french fries, oh my?



"Take another shot of courage
Wonder why the right words never come
You just get numb
It's another tequila sunrise,
this old world still looks the same,
Another frame, mm..."

And the freeze-frames, under Obama...just keep goin' on, don't they?

And why not a few more, to get everyone in the mood--of LOVE

It is my hope that at least one person will appreciate my work. I have always hoped in this manner...and may someone along the way enjoy.

AUTUMN 1979

Piano.
Piano.
Blues in Chicago.
Love's touches
Travel through the wires.
I and you
one:separate.
Slowly.
Easily.
Piano in Chicago.

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogspot.com/

UNTITLED

Fused
In our entireties
Conscious:unconscious
Taken beyond
To survive lonely nights
Together:apart
Melded flesh
Ecstacy consequential.

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogspot.com/

OILS

Concerning the passion we have for each other:
We,
The interplay of values
Dark and light,
Brushed across Life's canvas
In quick strokes
Of our individual colors,
Occasionally blended/contrast/
Counterbalanced.
Like tubes,
We've been upon Life's shelf:
Jostled, squeezed, re-priced--
Until we touched
On the same palette
In that evening of color.

I, the blues/Prussian, cobalt, cerulean.
Space white between us.
Your umbres, siennas,
Even cadmiums
Complement me,
Setting us off to read well.
As we caress
I am reminded:

Oils,
When properly mixed,
Can defy the Ages.

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogspot.com/

OILS AGAIN

I'm not in the middle
Just in between
Between these layers
Of Monet's marvelous scene.

I can be underwater
Or floating above
In sunlight or shade
Color-strokes of love.

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogspot.com/

LATE AT NIGHT

Face to face
Full moon and me
Slow arc across the sky
Kind of like my life.

I rise and I set
As any other
Lonely in night skies
Though surrounded by stars.

Been there/did that.
Shall I now return
To this complex simplicity
Or again become a castaway?

Shall I weep
Or find a lover?
I ask the Moon serene.
There is no answer.

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogspot.com/

JUST WAITING

Chimes chime
Passing away the time.

Passing away the time
Listening to wind/songs.

Listening to wind/songs
In between my thoughts.

In between my thoughts
Meandering everywhere.

Meandering everywhere
I want to feel.

I want to feel
Your arm around me.

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogspot.com/

Saint Valentine's Day is coming...the day for lovers

I'd like to post some of my love poems, if you don't mind? They've never been published, yet it seems now is the time for you to see them, feel them, and know a bit more about me?

06.OCTOBER

It may snow today.
I'd love to walk in it
With you
If we wouldn't get too wet
Or chilled.
Did you ever eat snow as it falls:
Just tilt your head back
Catch fluffs on your tongue?
And sometimes a snowyday rainbow
Color/ices the sky
Rain into snow
Gray into white.

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogsot.com/

CHORUS

As the clouds
Are we changed
Floating and soaring
Heinous pain conquered.
Only through Death
Did we again become
Alive.
We are:
Well
Whole
Free
To live within the Light.
Forever.

--The Collective Voices of the Victims of AIDS

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogsot.com/

A SONG

Come.
Dance with me
She pleaded 'neath the fullness of the Moon
He'll shine for us brightly
All night long.

Come.
Hear with me
She begged
All the mystical chimins of music
As He smiles.

If only you listen,
His song is there.

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogsot.com/

FOR SIGGY

In sad confusion
Your eyes
Revealed.
Behind lavender lenses
Those hide-and-seek feelings flash.
So close our bodies
Yet
You were light-years away
When I became a shoulder/friend
Talking of cats
And softball
And bands.

Your solemnness is
Broken by desperate quiet screams
And nervous staccato laughs.

Thoughts of gaiety!
Paris!
Escape!

As boats lazily rocked
Port to starboard
On the water.

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogsot.com/

LOVE ONCE

Love has a habit of taking its toll
What I feel in my soul
I need to control
Keep the soup in the bowl
Love's got that habit of taking its toll.

I know I'm not supposed to care
Just a plain old everyday affair
The thoughts we bare
The times I stare
I know, just not supposed to care.

Feelings have a sneaky way of creeping in
Making sweet, sweet songs of the noisy din
My heart's not tin
I just can't win
Feelings have a sneaky way of creeping
Softly in.

copyright: 2011 http://www.anotherthousandwords.blogsot.com/

And then I found this!

Sorry folks, but where George Soros is, there's no good to be done!



And so sorry Gordon Sumner, (Sting), by partnering with Soros it seems you are nothing but a turncoat.

Egypt, and Moslems, and Islam, Oh My!

These crazy Egyptians--fueled by HATRED--have destroyed much of their history! Antiquity! What stupid fools to be coerced by Islam--the religion of peace--no, the religion of pieces!

When Sting was feeling good, he was great. I keep many of his CDs because his messages made me, and others working under me, stop and think, for more than a moment.

These days, with disability, I continue to listen. I have never watched this video before...and it is really pretty amazingly done for 18 years ago.

I prefer that Sting's (Gordon Sumner's) could be the words to the Creator of us all these days...and that we all lose the current madness we seem to want to possess.

And may the silly Moslems in Egypt listen, for once, to the music of the times.

It's Winter: Please Feed The Birds & Other Animals in your Area

I live in the City of Chicago, Mayor Dick'em Daley, Mare, where the rats are fed everyday by you stupid people who throw your fries and chicken bones on the ground, because you're too damned lazy to find the garbage receptacle 5 or ten feet away.

But who feeds the birds, especially during winter. While you stuff your faces with MickeyD's, Arby's, and Burger King, there are God's creatures out there, small creatures who, especially in the city, need a little helping hand with some food--real food, not fries and burgers.

I'm forging an idea to feed the birds, at least, from high-rise apartments with nothing but windows, as long as they open. I will keep you apprised.

In the meantime, I offer this, which is an all-season plea for God's creations. After all, what does it cost, ultimately, for you to place out there a bit of birdseed?



Also, though the squirrel is a rodent, it is a much finer animal than the (Democ)rat.

Squirrels are tree-planters...how in the heck did you think all these wonderful forests keep growing?

Please feed them too, as they are the Creator's wonderful creatures.

WARNING: Do not feed the Obamas, if you can at all help it. They are voracious, with tapeworms at least 18 feet long, apparently, from reading of their past Super Bowl Party offerings.

Remember: Politics are an ugly choice to make, unless you are ugly too!

What's for dinner on a cold winter's night?

Homemade chicken soup, with chopped Crimini mushrooms, organic carrots (oh, so sweet @ 2# for $1.50!), Spanish onions and melon seed pasta, cooked in filtered water! YUM!

Just 15 minutes to prep everything, add a little salt, some crushed red pepper, 2 bay leaves--and a tablespoon or so of Balsamic vinegar. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer, stirring several times over the course of 2 and half hours.

It is so delicious, warming, and more healthful than anything the Obamas have eaten lately!

If you're curious about the bowl...

...I purchased four of them for $5.00 2 years ago at Marshall's.

Here's the underside...I love the fact that the design is the Chinese character for "SOUP" !

BTW, these are the type of onions I get at a neighborhood 'onesy' type of market...for 39 cents a pound!

Would it have been easier to just open a can of Campbell's, or purchase soup in a plastic container (VERY high-priced) from the deli at my local Dominick's, you might ask?

Answer: NO, and NO. I prepared it, I know what's in it, it's not overly-salted...and I freeze some to enjoy on another day when I may not be spending the day working around the house.

I've cooked from scratch for more years than I can remember...and it has always given me a great satisfaction...and a feeling of wealth. This 2 quart pot of soup cost about $2.50, because I used skinless chicken breasts, but it can be made for even less using skinless chicken backs, legs or thighs and still be just as laden with chicken flavor!

But...what does Thomas think?

Biden announces high speed rail investment

Joe Biden as Mr. Conductor? That lunatic?

PHILADELPHIA (WRCB/AP) – The Obama Administration outlined a new plan Tuesday to develop a high-speed rail network.

Speaking in Philadelphia, Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced an initial $8 billion investment to the 6 year plan to develop high speed rail in the United States.

The proposal will place high-speed rail on equal footing with other surface transportation programs and revitalize America's domestic rail manufacturing industry by dedicating $53 billion over six years to continue construction of a national high-speed and intercity passenger rail network.

If Congress approves Obama's budget, the initial rail spending would focus on developing or improving trains that travel up to 250 miles per hour, and connecting existing rail lines to new projects.

The proposal calls for developing three types of corridors:

Core Express routes with trains traveling up to 250 miles per hour;

Regional routes that will reach 125 mph and bring travelers to the Core Express corridor;

Emerging lines will travel up to 90 mph and bring commuters to the larger high-speed rail networks and intercity lines.

Among the proposed high-speed rail corridors is a line that would connect Atlanta to Chattanooga to Nashville. The line would be part of a larger route connecting Miami with Chicago.

Vice President Biden said the $8 billion dollar investment would be split into two categories; $4 billion would be dedicated to planning and developing new rail lines, stations and equipment; the other $4 billion would be used for maintaining existing lines and bringing them into compliance with new regulations.

President Obama announced during the State of the Union a plan to provide high-speed rail access to 80 percent of the nation within 25 years.

*********

None of this sounds very well-thought-out...a recurring problem with this Obama administration.

Would you even want Joe Biden as your conductor?

I watch and think about this...

From my Window: AARGH!

Many of my readers know and seem to like the shots I take from my window...like this one I took on 02FEB2011, which was the beginning of the Great Chicago Blizzard.

This morning, I have this thing, this huge plop of birdy doo--right in the middle of my window!

Click, of course, to enlarge, if you can stand it!

Sure spoils my day...how about yours?

And doesn't he spoil everyone's day, every day?

Meryl Streep: Once again, amazing!

First Look: Meryl Streep As Mrs. Thatcher

Actress Meryl Streep and Lady Margaret Thatcher

Lady Margaret Thatcher

Pathé UK has released the first shot of Meryl Streep as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Streep is in the 2nd week of filming The Iron Lady here in London.

{...}

"I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses - I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own,” says Streep.

Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher

Meryl Streep has always been an exceptional American actress...and it seems this time around, she's done it again!

From my Window: Sunday Surprise!

About 40 minutes ago, I opened my living room blinds to look at the world today. Here is some of what I saw:

Thought the curly willow juxtaposed against the snowy trees made for a nice effect.

Soooo happy I was able to get out yesterday!

P.S.: It's beautiful, isn't it?