My Viewfinder

One of my friends from the Yahoo Group just started his own photo-blog, My Viewfinder. Check it out, he does some GREAT stuff!!

Give A Little Whistle

OK… It’s theme day at one of my “Yahoo Groups”. Today’s theme: Teapot. Ugh. I wasn’t going to even enter, then I was looking at the teapot my older daughter bought a while back, and I thought it had some nice lines. So I went on and did an entry. The blue background was added last minute, to try and add some “pop”. I probably should’ve left it B&W… .

Crossing

Driving across Glen Crossing Road, crossing over Rt. 159. Almost home on a gray, drizzly, cold December day. .

Psychedelic T-Rex

My son got this little stuffed dino recently. I think it was from some fast food joint’s Kids’ Meal. .

Why Not??

On this date (12/23) in 1959: the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Why", by Frankie Avalon. According to Billboard.com, this was the last No. 1 song of the '50s, and has the shortest title of any chart topping hit.

November Winners at Better Photo

BetterPhoto.com has announced the winners for the November contest. They were pretty much "on-time" this month, YAY! Check out the winners, there's some great stuff!! I managed 1 finalist, that's cool, too!

Bare Trees, Grey Light (2)

Another "bare trees" shot, like this .

Choke on some cake?

Happy Birthday to Twin brothers Maurice and Robin Gibb. They were born 56 years ago today, 12/22/1949, in Isle of Man, U.K.. Maurice and Robin, of course, went on to be the Bee Gees, along with other brother Barry (Brothers Gibb, get it?), poluting my brain with insanely popular crap during my teens.

Rock and Roll Part 2

My son (not quite 6 years old) loves “Rock and Roll” music. So among his Christmas presents will be a new CD of RnR music, dubbed by his dear old Dad! I made him a disc before (thus the "2" designation this time), but not with a fancy label and all. Thought I’d post the cover here, since he doesn’t read my blog (yet)!! A rather eclectic set, from A to Z (AC/DC to Warren Zevon), with a mix from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The hardest part for me was picking 10 songs, to keep it closer to his attention span!! (yes, I know there’s 11). The drawing, of course, is from The Reallys, back in my distant youth...

Skunk Advisory

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, guitarist exrtadordinare, appeared recently on the Today show, in his alter-ego form as expert on counterterrorism. Check It Out!

Naughty or Nice??

My son chatting with Santa after the Church Christmas program… .

Rock the Casbah

News of the day: "Iran's President Bans Western Music"
Makes me think of Tonio K:
"I'm so full of H - A - T - R - E - D, I'm Bitter and maligned,
You've got me P - I - S - S - E - D Off, I'm Angry most of the time"

Late In the Day

This is one of those "almost" shots from my past, that I pull out every so often and try to turn into something decent. This is a super-oldie, taken early spring of 1977, when I was a young pup of 16. This was from a backpacking trip on the C&O Canal, along the upper Potomac River, near Hancock, MD. Kicking back at the end of a hike, watching the river amble away.... One of my first "favorites", despite some significant technical flaws... This rendition has lots of digital darkroom work.

Cold Construction

I dunno, shots like this just captivate me. The building is not sealed yet, so the snow blew in and across the work area… Gotta lov e the footprints.

Roll me under New Madrid

courtesy of the historychannel.com:

On this date (12/16) in 1881, 8.6 earthquake rocks the midwest:
In the Mississippi River Valley near New Madrid, Missouri, the greatest series of earthquakes in U.S. history begins when a quake of an estimated 8.6 magnitude on the Richter scale slams the region. Although the earthquake greatly altered the topography of the region, the area was only sparsely inhabited at the time, and there were no known human fatalities.
The earthquake raised and lowered parts of the Mississippi Valley by as much as 15 feet and changed the course of the Mississippi River. At one point, the Mississippi momentarily reversed its direction, giving rise to Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee. A 30,000-square-mile area was affected, and tremors were felt as far away as the eastern coast of the United States, where the shock was reported to have rung church bells. Additional earthquakes and aftershocks continued throughout the winter and into the spring, and of the approximately 2,000 seismic vibrations felt during the period, five were estimated to be at an 8.0 or greater magnitude.
The New Madrid Fault system extends 120 miles southward from the area of Charleston, Missouri, to Marked Tree, Arkansas, and crosses through five states--Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. An earthquake of about 6.0 magnitude or greater occurs about every 80 years, and the catastrophic upheavals of the type reported in the winter of 1811 to 1812 occur about every 500 or 600 years.

This was just a bit downriver from us. The alarmists have suggested the ruin of St. Louis area next time New Madrid shifts.... Oh, and btw, it's pronounced New MAD-drid out here in the flatlands.

Billy and Benny's Birthdays!

Happy Birthday today (12/16) to Benny Andersson (1946) and Billy Gibbons (1949)!! Benny is one of the "B"s in Swedish supergroup ABBA (along with Bjorn). Billy, on the other hand, is the lead guitarist forthat Little Ole Band from Texas, ZZ Top. Besides both being internationally successful muscians who started in the 70's, and sharing a birthday, there's not a lot in common. Except they both have (had?) beards...... Be sure and check out the ABBA link, I think this is my new favorte photo of them!

Dreaming Of A White Christmas

Today's photo is a repost from this date (12/16) last year. Then I said “The lights went up last weekend. We bought a tree yesterday…. Shopping is started. AND we've had our first taste of cold weather…” About the only thing the same this year is the taste cold weather…. . Actually, I'm not as far behind as I thought I was; based on last year, at least!

Papa's Got A Brand New Bag...

On this date (12/15) in 1988, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, was sentenced to six years in prison after leading police on an interstate car chase. He was released on Feb. 27, 1991. JB's had some other brushes with the law., and something like 8 arrests. But ya gotta love the music!

Light Rings

It’s a theme day at my Yahoo photo-group. Today’s subject is “LIGHT”. Now, ideally, I’ve come up with some dramatic shot, defining the qualities of light, and the conveying the deep concepts of illumination. But, I’m kinda swamped right now, and I had recently taken a photo of on eof the light fixtures at our Church (while waiting for my son to finish practice for the Christmas program)… So we run with the mundane, kind of a “readymade” type of image, rendered in the stark tones of B&W. (blah, blah, blah). .

Snow Piled on a Pile o' Pallets

Just another shot of the construction at our church… .

Motor City Madman!

Happy birthday Ted Nugent!! The Nuge is 57 today (12/13)! One of rock's great characters, he's still out there after all these years.....

Poinsettia in Monochrome

This is the same shot as yesterday, re-cropped and converted to B&W. Which do you like better?? .

Songs for Swingin' Lovers

On this date (12/12) in 1914, Frank Sinatra is born in Hoboken, N.J. His biggest pop hit in the modern era is "Somethin' Stupid," a duet with his daughter, Nancy, which tops Billboard's Hot 100 for four weeks in 1967. He wins an Oscar in 1953 for his role in "From Here to Eternity." He is awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1965. (courtesy Billboard's website)

Poinsettia #1

Not Even Twice Her Age

On this day (12/11) in 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis marries his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Gale Brown. Jerry was only 9 years older, not even twice her age. This would be his 3rd marriage...

Shadows and Snow

It’s in the 40’s today, and most of the snow is melted, but there was still quite a bit around yesterday (after snow on Thursday). .

Been Away For A While.....

Sorry for the lack of posts the past few days... I had to take a business trip last week, and was just TOO worn out to post. I think this is the longest lull I've had here!

Happy Holidays!

Today was “Holiday Card” theme day over in one of the Yahoo Groups I’m in. This is what I came up with. This is the tree at our church, which is decorated all in angels… .

I have a friend I've never seen; He hides his head inside a dream....

On this day (12/5) back in 1970, Neil Young had his first Top 40 hit (of the 70's, at least), with "Only Love Can Break Your Heart". From the "After The Goldrush" album, which balanced lots of mellow tunes like this (and the title track and "Tell Me Why?" and "Don't Let It Bring You Down") with the scorching "Southern Man". "Only Love..." was the only chart hit, and it only made it to #33...

Prohibition Ends

On this date (12/5) back in 1933, the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, ending prohibition. The 21st amendment overturned the 18th amendment, which prohibited recreational use of alchohol. So if you're an adult, you can hoist an adult beverage in honor of the "right" to drink.

Rough Terrain

Close up shot of the bark on a dead tree… .

Don't surround yourself with yourself...

On this date (12/4) back in 1973, Yes hit the Top 40 with their ode to a chess game, "Your Move". This wonderful song just winged the top 40, peaking at #40....

Open Hallway

Another shot from the expansion project at our Church. They’ll coming along, but it’s getting colder! .

Smokin'

The power plant in Springfield IL, right along I-55, headed north. Taken on a cool morning 6-7 weeks ago. Mostly good, old-fashioned steam, but still dramatic with the early morning sun… .

First Place Win at PhotoShowdown!!

I won a Fisrt Place in PhotoShowdown's "Best Picture Of The Month" for November!! That's my best showing at PSD!! Check out all the winners, mine is the bottom lefy of the 1st place shots.

Leaf #25

If words could make wishes come true...

On this day (12/1) in 1973, Jim Croce hit the charts with the eventual #1 hit "Time In A Bottle"...

"But there never seems to be enough time.
To do the things you want to do, Once you find them"

Tree trunks in late Autumn

Just another shot from Silver Lake Park, and a lunchtim walk in the woods… I think I’m ready for winter, at least from a photographic viewpoint! .