An excellent video

Courtesy of Denney Crane's blog:




Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

- Proverbs 12:18 (New International Version)


Lord, may I always remember to think before I speak...

Edit: Thank you to Todd the Blogger for locating through an online concordance scripture that I could not.

A National Treasure Gone

I'm not trying to turn my blog into an obituary column, but have to note the passing of William Safire, conservative columnist for the New York Times, and one of the foremost students of the artistry of language. Among his most remembered phrases, and one of my favorites, was the alliterative "nattering nabobs of negativism" written for Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew when Safire was a speechwriter in the Nixon administration.






Take My Word for It, from 1986, dealing more with language than with politics, is the only Safire book I own. It's been quite some time since I read it, but I would like to thank Bill Safire for his influence on any positive planishing of my prose that might've resulted.

The Dalton Gang

On another blog recently, a picture depicts a woman in a bathtub, sporting a pink-stocked Ruger 10-22 with a banana clip magazine, a small child, and a dog with a bad case of split ends.

Now, I can't recall ever staging such a pose, nor would I, but I do have to admit that I've thought of getting my buds together to pose as outlaw hombres, such as the Dalton Gang, below:

Dalton Gang - October 5, 1892

Admittedly, my interest in the Dalton story was sparked by the 1972 Eagles' album Desperado, coupled with the notion that the actions that led to their demise occurred about 20 miles from my birthplace.

On the ground: The Eagles, flanked by Jackson Browne (l), and John David Souther (r)

Only in researching for this post did I find that the album's cover pictures were simply stills from a mini-movie or video shot for concert footage: Note - Some language at the end.

Caption This!

Even though because I know some of the people who troll read my blog, I have some misgivings about posting this for commentary...

Roger Out

OK, I've blogged my quota for tonight (plus one draft still in progress).

The forecast is a very slim chance of rain overnight, supposed to be high 50s in the morning.

Am I sleeping outdoors tonight?

You betcha!


Edit: The weather was great, and my sleeping bag was plenty cozy.

Edit #2: ...for two nights in a row!

Edit #3: ...and three...(don't know about tonight yet - one forecast has a low of 56°, good. Another says 64°, not so much.)

Time Travel

One of the movie genres or themes that always reels me in is the "time travel" concept. Over the weekend, we rented Against Time with Robert Loggia, John Amos and Craig T. Nelson.


In the same vein as Field of Dreams, Frequency, and, to a degree, the Back to the Future series, the movie features a high school baseball player who encounters his future self (Robert Loggia), who admonishes him to pay attention to the small decisions which will shape his future. Unlike Back to the Future, this film is serious (but not didactic), as well as thought provoking. And though unrelated, I found the lyrics to Carly Simon's In a Small Moment totally apropos to the message of this movie relating to how we deal with the small things ultimately defines our character:

In a small moment

She accepted credit for something she did not do

She said she'd done the water color in her bedroom

But it was done by a friend from school

Just a little lie

No one would discover

At least not very soon

In a small moment

Just a little lie

When she wasn't looking it just slipped on by

In a small moment

In a restaurant where she worked the late night shift

She short changed a sailor and made five

You could never really call it a theft

Just a little lie

Swept up in her apron and kept as a well deserved gift

In a small moment

Just a little lie

When she wasn't looking it just slipped on by

In a small moment

She cheated on her lover and placed it in the back of her mind

As long as nobody knew the truth about her

It could never really be unkind

Just a little lie that slipped beside her as she tossed and turned in her alibis

In a small moment

Just a little lie

When she wasn't looking it just slipped on by

Slipped on by

I totally liked Field of Dreams, pairing Kevin Costner's character with his father as a contemporary. I've always had a good relationship with my Dad, but I am somewhat intrigued by the idea of being his contemporary, when he was younger. Even moreso, I would find it fascinating to see the relationship between my Dad and his father (after whom I'm named) when he was growing up. Dad's never indicated there was anything negative in his relationship with his dad, it's just difficult to get him to say much about how they interacted - different times, I guess.

I won't spoil the movie's ending, but will allow that if you're looking for nudity, strong language, drug references, or dazzling special effects, you'll likely be disappointed. This was a movie that I enjoyed watching with my family, and I think they liked it as well.

Lyrics by Carly Simon, 1978

Praying Mantis

Fellow blogger Combat Kevin recently posted an adorable picture of his son Zac with a walking stick insect.

Going through some pictures on my xD card, I found an image from about a year ago of my daughter with a praying mantis.


This child is absolutely fascinated by all manner of things outdoors. Just Saturday, she found, and proudly captured [later released] a garden snake from under a walkway brick. She's also very good at catching the lizards and geckos around the yard.

I am blessed.