Blondie??

As I've noted here before, Blondie gets inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on Monday (3/13). While I like a lot of their earlier stuff, I've always considered them more about style than substance. They sealed that perception in my mind when I saw them in concert, way back in the '79/'80 time frame. This was at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, PA, a great venue for concerts. But they were really bad, certainly one of the most disappointing concerts I've been to. They came off as sloppy, and half-hearted, at best. The highpoint (lowpoint?) came at the end, when the drummer jumped over the drum-kit, grabbed a mike and yelled "Pittsburgh Sucks!" before heading offstage. Class act.

SOOOO, I thought the article in todays Yahoo News was pretty interesting. From an interview about the Hall of Fame:
Debbie Harry (vocals): I don't know if we were ever terrifically talented or technical musicians.
Chris Stein (guitar): It's funny, because I wonder what the f**k we sounded like back in the old days. It was probably pretty wretched. I know it was pretty rude....
Clem Burke (drums), - we may not have been the greatest live band, but we were experimenting with different ways of presenting ourselves.

Whatever; they're Hall of Fame material.......

197

A little bit of math, on the edge of a stud, framed by drywall…. .… .

Feed Your Head.....

It was theme day for my yahoo group, and today’s assignment was “Hippy / 60’s”. Well, I was pretty uninspired, and being at the end of a work week didn’t help from a time standpoint. Finally I decided to try for something wild and psychedelic, in “honor” of the mind-blowing experimentation the time that’s associated with the whole hippie thing… I went for bold, primary colors, warped beyond recognition. No way anyone could decipher the original subject. Not quite my typical "style", but what the heck!

Vents

Pulled Back...

On a recent lunchtime wander at the local park, I noticed a tree that had not survived the winter. It was broken and bent, and I was taken by the way the bark had pulled away from the toppled part... Here's some more of the same tree:

Draw A Pig!

Thanks to Sherry over at After The Bridge, for pointing out this really silly site, Draw A Pig. Besides offering the challenge to create "art" with your computer mouse, it provides a personality evaluation, of sorts. The drawing above, of course, is My Pig! Hmmmm, what can it all mean?

Trees In The lake

The trees along the shore occasionally fall in...

Happy Casimir Pulaski Day!!!

Yep, it's Casimir Pulaski Day!! Most the kids out here in Illinois get a day off school... a nice break before the next Teacher's Institute Day (this Thursday). Then it's a hard grind of 4 straight weeks before spring break. And who was this "famous" American?

"Most students would say he is 'some Polish guy we get a day off of school for,'" said John Marshall, a history teacher at East Alton-Wood River High School

Also known as the "Father of American Calvary"....

Capped!!

I’ve posted quite a few construction photos from the expansion at our church… Not sure how many more opportunities I’ll have, it’s getting closer to finished every day!. . This is just some exposed wires, soon to power a light fixture.

Songlist: 4, 5 & 6

Last Tuesday, I started an occasional series of fun song sets. For the full story, look here...
Anyway, here's my next suggested grouping:

4 + 20 - Stephen Stills (CSNY)
5 to 1 - The Doors
25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago

Not a lot of thematic similarity here, but it might just work.... Any others??

Blue Blocks!

In the gymnastics pit at the new YMCA…. . .

Afoot!

Follow the directions, and you'll be moving forward, at least!

My Favorite Photos??

One of the Yahoo groups I’m in has asked members for their favorite photo. That’s almost like asking which of my children is my favorite, pretty much impossible…. But I did choose a few that rise above the crowd, at least in my own mind. I decided posting them here would be the best / easiest way to publish them. So all the regular readers get a bonus (Lucky y’all!).. So hard to pick just a few, but here goes….

-First, from my film days, circa ‘ 75-'98

Tusorara Mountain, South Central PA. Rock With Hole. During my high-school backpacking days. Original slide has faded a bit, but will always be a favorite. Fall ‘77 .… .

-----

Duke Homestead, Durham, NC…. Taken during an assignment to photograph a tobacco spitting contest for the Duke University Newspaper, when I was shooting for the Wednesday “arts” supplement. Fall of ‘81.… .

-----

Shy of a Load… Belleville, IL. Along the interstate, between home and the big shopping mall. This was one of the shots that re-started my hobby, after a dormancy. Early Fall, ‘96 .…

-----

-Next, from my Point-N-Shoot digital days days, circa ‘ 98-‘04

Cataldo Mission, Northern Idaho. My most successful non-SLR photo, With finalists at BetterPhoto and PhotoShowdown, along with Pictures Of The Month at (defunct?) Photography Unlimited. October 2004.… .

-----

Rock Me On the Water. Spokane River, near Spokane, WA. October 2003.…

-----

-Finally, from the current D-SLR days (1/2005 – current)

Leaf #25.…Highland, IL. Certainly my most successful shot, a Picture of the Year Finalist for 2005 at PhotoShowdown.com, and a 2nd place at BetterPhoto. Fall 2005 .

-----

St. Jacob, IL. My current favorite, probably just because it’s pretty new. Currently my computer wallpaper. Taken Feb. 2006.… .

-----

There you have it, my favorite shots, at least for today’s mood. Pretty hard to pick 7 shots from 30+ years of photos……

Hope I Die Before I Get Old??

Happy birthday to Roger Daltry, of The Who. Roger was born in 1944, which makes him 62 today....

Happy Birthday!

My son turned 6 years old last week, here's a shot from his party… .… .