When all is said and done

Here's a quote for this moment - found at Way Cool Quotes: "When all is said and done, a lot more is said than done." which pretty much sums me up, doesn't it? Just a lot of bla bla bla... which brings me to the following list someone forwarded to me a while back.

The idea is to forward the list (with an x by the stuff you've done) to your friends and somehow alleviate for a few short moments the mind numbing boredom of your current life by reminding you that once - (hopefully) - you did actually do something. As a bonus, you might even get to find out more about people you thought you knew but really didn't, or people you wish you know but don't, while at the same time making you seem (hopefully) more interesting than you actually are.

Wanna play? Copy the following list and paste it into an email. Place an X by all the things you've done (This is for your entire life!) and remove the X from the ones you have not. Now, take a moment to enjoy the fact that you are so amazingly interesting, and it to your friends.

Have you ever:

• Gone on a blind date - X
• Skipped school - X
• Watched someone die
• Been to Canada
• Been to Mexico - X
• Been to Florida - X
• Been on a plane - X
• Been lost - X
• Been on the opposite side of the country - X
• Gone to Washington , DC - X
• Swam in the ocean - X
• Cried yourself to sleep - X
• Played cops and robbers - X
• Colored with crayons on the wall - X
• Sang Karaoke
• Paid for a meal with coins only? - X
• Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? - X
• Made prank phone calls - X
• Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose - X
• Caught a snowflake on your tongue - X
• Danced in the rain - X
• Written a letter to Santa Claus - X
• Been kissed under the mistletoe - X
• Watched the sunrise with someone you care about - X
• Blown bubbles - X
• Gone ice-skating
• Been skinny dipping outdoors - X
• Gone to the movies - X

Ok... so that's the list, it's really not that great is it? I mean, who hasn't gone to the movies or watched the sunrise with someone or cried themselves to sleep or blown bubbles? And so what if you've never been to Canada, gone ice-skating, or sang Karaoke? How about a REAL list - something REALLY interesting!! Like, for example...

For example, did you ever:

• Go joy riding in a stolen police car
• Win big in the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes
• Burn the neighbor's house down by accident
• Go skinny dipping in the Arctic Ocean
• Find a million dollars in the pockets of an old coat bought at a flea market for 25 cents
• Hold up a bank with a toy gun
• Dig a hole to China
• Run naked through a shopping mall on Christmas Eve

So, really, what have you actually done that's interesting, unusual, amazing, or just plain funny? Anything? Anything at all??

Wierd Al Does Bob

Ok... so I couldn't resist!
It's "Weird Al" Yankovic doing Bob!
Too funny!!

Bob Dylan - Wow!

And so now I'm on a roll with the Bob Dylan videos...
This one was so much fun!
I love him!

I don't believe you!

Here's something really cool about criticisms and the people who put you down or try to make you into someone you don't want to be anymore. It's also a true story. Read on...

"It's May 17, 1966. Manchester Free Trade Hall, England. Bob Dylan, known and loved for his acoustic music, walks onto the stage in the 2nd act ... and plugs in an electric guitar.

The audience erupts in disbelief, there's booing and yelling. "Judas!" someone cries.

Dylan doesn't respond immediately. He waits, tuning his instrument. And then he faces the audience: "I don't believe you," he says, "You're a liar!"

Then he turns to his band and tells them...

"Play it fucking loud!" And Dylan launches into "Like a Rolling Stone" ... and into rock music history."

I LOVE IT!
What a great way to meet life, and be yourself!

Oh, and guess what! I've got a video!! How cool is that??

Heart Attacks and drinking Warm Water

Here's an interesting tidbit that made it's way to my inbox. Who knows, maybe it'll do someone some good! Ready? Here it is:

This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your meal, but about heart attacks. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot green tea with their meals, not cold water, maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating.



For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this "sludge" reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and may lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

A serious note about heart attacks - You should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.

You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.

A Visual Pictorial

Isn't it amazing how you can find, on the internet, in no time at all, a picture that says exactly what you want to say? Here we have a visual pictorial of exactly how I feel, showing in graphic detail - the inside of my brain! Wow!

Moving To The Beach

The other day, my mom was telling me about Port Aransas Texas. It's a place she and my dad (when he was still here) loved to visit when they wanted some rest and recreation. Ever since she told me about it, that poem by Edna St Vincent Millay about "I shall go back again to the bleak shore..." has been going round and round in my head.

So, I've been thinking... what if I just up and moved to Port Aransas? Then, today, I found this picture... it even says "rent me."


That is a cool looking house! Now all I have to do is find a job there, win the lottery, or ... I dunno ... find a lamp with a genie in it!

I figured where to find a magic lamp? Craig's list, of course! But, (sad face) I did not find a magic lamp. BUT guess what I did find! This listing for artists wanted:

We are preparing for our first annual fall festival here on Padre Island, and are looking for local art vendors to come join the fun!!!!! If you are interested in showcasing your art or talent please email back or call, 361-949-8041 X150 and ask for Jojo.. Interesting!! Padre Island can't be that far away!

And then there's this one in Corpus Christi: New business offering artist the chance to advertise and sale their work in a business facility. Feel free to call (688 0444) or stop by New Beginnings Wellness Spa

Maybe I wouldn't have to get a stupid job. Maybe I could sell my art! Like, for example... this painting:

Or this one:

And what about my family? How could I leave them? But never fear! I even found a job for my daughter: Barkaritaville Pet Resort is now accepting applications for Experienced Groomers. If you are interested in applying, please e-mail resume to Autumn Vasey at, autumnvasey@gmail.com

Not only that, I also found a job for my son-in-law: our company is looking to hire full and part time cleaning people (women or men) with EXPERIENCE in all aspects of cleaning ...especially in final construction cleaning...being able to use sizzor lifts,floor polishers,window cleaning etc... must have supervision and look neat in appearence ....please contact us at either jrad@concleangroup.com or 888-514-7842 ....please leave a tel: # so that we can get back to you..asap ....ask for john.

Ok... so the jobs and the kids are taken care of, what about a social life... let me see... maybe I can find a male companion... Oh look! Here's this:

I'm still looking for the woman that's maybe a little anti-social, and possibly an outspoken misanthrope, truly "Old Fashioned", or even an intelligent shy girl who prefers not to get caught up in the trappings of the shallow, greedy masses. Seriously people in general are stupid and mostly annoying and I don't have the patience or desire to waste my time sorting through them. Despite what it may sound like I tend to give everybody a chance to fuck up atleast once. I'm only judging society in general, of course there are decent people out there.. Ok here it goes..

I'd like you to be Agnostic, Atheists annoy me almost as much as devout Christians do. Hindu, or Buddhists are ok too if you're not just pretending. Looks aren't that important either, I don't mind a bbw or a bean pole or anything in between. There's beauty to be found in every woman if you know how to look. I like to read the book before giving my critique... I want someone real to enjoy life with, someone I know right off the bat isn't gonna burn me, and that hasn't gone retarded over some completely unimportant contrived issue, societal crutch, or lame fad. An old soul. I want a woman who would be comfortable going "ex-pat" and living on a farm in South or Central America (Costa Rica :D) with me. A woman who can carry on an intelligent conversation that isn't about how "fly" or "bangin" she is but can also shut the fuck up when we're sitting on the beach watching the sunset and be comfortable just soaking in the moment. A passionate, animal loving, deeply sensitive woman.

First of all I don't care about fitting in.. I smoke cigarettes, I drink alcohol, I enjoy everything in excess. I'm a little impulsive. I like the outdoors, one because I like being isolated, and two I enjoy our Mother Earth's company. I'm an accomplished gardener. I devour astronomy. I like semi-religious psychedelic experiences, but I don't smoke pot (as much as I used to). I love to learn, a day that's gone by without learning something is a day wasted. I'm not wealthy, I don't need to be, but I do take care of my family. That doesn't mean kids I don't have any, YET... I love to cook, I'm a BBQ wizard. I spent quite a few years working in a kitchen under a French chef when I was a kid. I've been driving a truck for the last 5 years because it affords me some independance of mind and thought. What I'd really like to do is just be completely self sufficient. That's where the farm in comes in.. I'm not a fucking "metro-sexual" I pride my self on having rough hands and sore back at the end of the day. I'm not a complainer, and yes I can reconcile that after everything I've just said. I just feel what I feel. On the outside I'm 6'1", wide shoulders, blue eyes, short brown hair that's starting to pepper a little bit, and I'm not skinny, I'm not obese but I'm definitely not skinny.. 250lbs. Yes I'm working on it. I have a few tattoos and I'd like a few more..

Ok so there should be no confusion as to who I am, or what I want. I'm very real and very serious. It's Monday and the sun is back out today. My garden got some much needed rain.

Honestly I don't expect a real reply I don't think what I want exists, at least not here in Corpus where being ignorant is synonymous with cool, but if you do reply please be honest, I do have face pics. I will not send you a picture of my junk and ask for some "nsa".

P.S. Nipple piercings are a deal breaker lol.. And seriously if your favorite music is Rap and only Rap I want nothing at all to do with you. Same goes for most C&W.. Don't get me wrong I like all types of music if it's somewhat intelligent, but I find the desire to be "Ghetto", or "Right-Wing" both equally disturbing. PostingID: 1374519691

So, what do you think? Does he look like this?

This?

Or this?

And, really, does it matter? After all, looks aren't EVERYTHING!
So, now that that's all settled, all I need is a really big truck!


Well... maybe not THAT big. Something like this might do just fine! I especially like that it comes with so many helpers!


And then... I suppose... I'd be happy! Don't you think? How do you like my happy smiling face?


And if you actually read this whole entire post... WOW! Wanna go with me?

I shall go back again

I shall go back again to the bleak shore
And build a little shanty on the sand
In such a way that the extremest band
Of brittle seaweed will escape my door
But by a yard or two, and nevermore
Shall I return to take you by the hand;
I shall be gone to what I understand
And happier than I ever was before.

The love that stood a moment in your eyes,
The words that lay a moment on your tongue,
Are one with all that in a moment dies,
A little under-said and over-sung;
But I shall find the sullen rocks and skies
Unchanged from what they were when I was young.

~Edna St. Vincent Millay

My life - What's up with that?

I found this really cool free reading that uses exerpts from books to answer any question you might have. So, it being my birthday, I thought... ok... I'll see what it has to say about my life, and asked the following question: "My life, where am I at with that?" I liked the answers so much that I'm not only posting them here - I installed the widget at the bottom of the page. Check it out!

Here's the answer I got:

The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley:

unsullied descent united with riches. A man might be respected with only one of these advantages, but without either he was considered, except in very rare instances, as a vagabond and a slave, doomed to waste his powers for the profits of the chosen few! And what was I? Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man. I was more agile than they and could subsist upon coarser diet; I bore the extremes of heat and cold with less injury to my frame; my stature far exceeded theirs. When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I, then,

The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce:

the fiery heart, without material substance, he swung through unthinkable arcs of oscillation, like a vast pendulum. Then all at once, with terrible suddenness, the light about him shot upward with the noise of a loud splash; a frightful roaring was in his ears, and all was cold and dark. The power of thought was restored; he knew that the rope had broken and he had fallen into the stream. There was no additional strangulation; the noose about his neck was already suffocating him and kept the water from his lungs. To die of hanging at the bottom of a river! -- the idea seemed to him ludicrous. He opened his eyes in the

The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H. P. Lovecraft:

no sound, ugly prehensile paws, and barbed tails that lashed needlessly and disquietingly. And worst of all, they never spoke or laughed, and never smiled because they had no faces at all to smile with, but only a suggestive blankness where a face ought to be. All they ever did was clutch and fly and tickle; that was the way of night-gaunts. As the band flew lower the Peaks of Throk rose grey and towering on all sides, and one saw clearly that nothing lived on that austere and impressive granite of the endless twilight. At still lower levels the death-fires in the air gave out, and one met only the primal blackness of the void save aloft where

Games for when we are older

In honor of my birthday, I thought I'd post this list of games for when we are older.

1. Sag, you're It.
2. Hide and go pee.
3. 20 questions shouted into your good ear.
4. Kick the bucket
5. Red Rover, Red Rover, the nurse says Bend Over.
6. Musical recliners.
7. Simon says something incoherent.
8. Pin the Toupee on the bald guy.

93 years old when this was filmed

Watch and learn from Kung Fu Master, Lu Zijian. He was 93 years old when this was filmed during a competition. He is still thriving at 114. He has the agility and mind of someone ¼ his age. I find this so amazing and as I watched him gracefully moving across the floor as sense of peace came over me. What he does is absolutely beautiful. To what does he credit his longevity?

Mr. Lu said, "The key to a long and healthy life is a combination of movement and stillness—cultivating life by guiding the qi, the vital energy in the body, and moving the hands and feet through practicing Chinese boxing."

Simply that means, he gets up at 7 a.m. every day, practices kung fu in the morning, meditates, paints, reads, and visits friends in the afternoon. He is as alive, alert, and as amusing as any young man. He is a vegetarian refraining from eating meat or fish. His favorite food is tomatoes. He meditates for an hour and a half starting at 2 p.m., goes to bed at 11 p.m., and lives at his grandson's home. He told others a secret: eat raw tomatoes every day.

How To Stay Young

1. Throw out non-essential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay “them.”


2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.


3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s.


4. Enjoy the simple things.


5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.


6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on.


7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.


8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.


9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county or to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.


10. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity!


11. Be ALIVE while you are alive,and last but not least!


12. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. So! Who do you love most?? Do a quick check!! Who would want to spend their whole life with someone they didn't love??? Now THINK about that one!!

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

• Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.


• We all need to live life to its fullest each day.

A Beautiful Message

Here's a beautiful message about growing old.

Oh Crap!
I forgot what it was!!

Views on Aging

Yes... I do have a birthday on the horizon. And so... here George Carlins views on aging. Enjoy!

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

“How old are you?” “I’m four and a half!” You’re never thirty-six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five! That’s the key.

You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

“How old are you?” “I’m gonna be 16!” You could be 13, but hey, you’re gonna be 16!
And then, the greatest day of your Life . You become 21. Even the words sound like a Ceremony. . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There’s no fun now, you’re just a sour-dumpling. What’s wrong? What’s changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it is a day-by-day thing - you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80’s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn’t end there. Into the 90’s, you start going backwards - “I Was JUST 92.”

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. “I’m 100 and a half!”

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half, going on 200!!!

Lost In The Woods

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita.

Ok, I know this is crazy - but hey - so what! I went on a search for the Dante quote about the "dark wood" and what did I find? Thirty-Five, yes, thirty-five slightly different translations of that one famous qoute!! It was somewhat cathartic to read them all out loud... listening to my life in a nutshell over and over again... knowing that I'm actually reading great literature... So... now you can join me, we can be lost in the woods together! Number 34 is my favorite, what's yours?

1. Midway on our life's journey, I found myself
   In dark woods, the right road lost.
   (Robert Pinsky)


2. In the middle of the journey of our life
   I found myself astray in a dark wood
   where the straight road had been lost sight of.
   (Seamus Heaney)


3. Midway upon the road of our life
   I found myself within a dark wood,
   for the right way had been missed
   (???)


4. In the middle of the road of my life
   I awoke in the dark wood
   where the true way was wholly lost
   (???)


5. In the middle of my journey through life,
   a dark wood overcame me
   for I had lost my way.
   (???)


6. In the middle of our life's walk
   I found myself in a dark wood
   for the straight road was lost
   (???)


7. In the middle of the journey of our life
   I came to myself within a dark wood
   where the straight way was lost.
   (John D. Sinclair)


8. At the midpoint of the journey's life
   I found myself lost in a dark forest
   with no straight path I could see anywhere.
   (M.L. Rosenthal)


9. At midpoint of the journey of our life
   I woke to find me astray in a dark wood,
   perplexed by paths with the straight way at strife.
   (Geoffrey L. Bickersteth)


10. Midway life's journey I was made aware
    That I had strayed into a dark forest,
    And the right path appeared not anywhere.
    (Laurence Binyon)


11. Midway upon the journey of our life
    I found myself within a forest dark,
    For the straightforward pathway had been lost.
    (Henry Longfellow)


12. Midway upon the road of our life
    I found myself within a dark wood
    for the right way had been missed.
    (Charles Eliot Norton)


13. Midway through the journey of our life, I found
    myself in a dark wood, for I had strayed
    from the straight pathway to this tangled ground.
    (Palma)


14. Midway in the journey of our life
    I came to myself in a dark wood,
    for the straight way was lost.
    (Hollander)


15. Midway in our life's journey, I went astray
    from the straight road and woke to find myself
    alone in a dark wood.
    (Joan Ciardi)


16. Midway in the journey of our life
    I found myself in a dark wood,
    for the straight way was lost.
    (Charles Singleton)


17. Midway along the journey of our life
    I woke to find myself in some dark woods,
    for I had wandered off from the straight path.
    (Mark Musa)


18. Midway in the course of our life
    I found myself within a dark wood,
    where the right way was lost.
    (Rev. H.F. Tozer)


19. Midway in human life's allotted span,
    I found myself in a dark wood,
    where the straight path I sought in vain.
    (Ronald Bottrall)


20. In the midway of this our mortal life,
    I found me in a gloomy wood, astray
    Gone from the path direct
    (Henry F. Cary, Mario Praz)


21. Upon the journey of our life midway
    I came unto myself in a dark wood,
    For the straight path I had gone astray.
    (Jefferson B. Fletcher)


22. In the midst of my journey through this life of ours,
    I was in a dark forest,
    because I had lost the right road.
    (Allan Gilbert)


23. One night, when half my life behind me lay,
    I wandered from the straight lost path afar.
    Through the great dark was no releasing way
    (Wright)


24. When I had journeyed half of our life's way,
    I found myself within a shadowed forest,
    for I had lost the path that does not stray.
    (Allen Mandelbaum)


25. Halfway along the journey of our life,
    Having strayed from the right path and lost it,
    I awoke to find myself in a dark wood.
    (Harriet Rubin)


26. Halfway through the story of my life
    I came to in a gloomy wood, because
    I'd wandered off the path, away from the light
    (Ciaran Carson)


27. Halfway through our trek in life
    I found myself in this dark wood,
    miles away from the right road.
    (Steve Ellis)


28. Halfway through the journey we are living
    I found myself deep in a darkened forest,
    For I had lost all trace of the straight path.
    (James Finn Cotter)


29. Halfway along the path of this existence
    I found that I was in a gloomy wood,
    My right way being blotted by the distance.
    (Louis How)


30. Halfway along the road we have to go,
    I found myself obscured in a great forest,
    Bewildered, and I knew I had lost the way
    (Sisson, Oxford World Classics)


31. Halfway upon the road of our life,
    I came to myself amid a dark wood
    where the straight path was confused.
    (Arthur J. Butler)


32. Once, halfway through the journey of our life
    I found myself inside a shadowy wood,
    because the proper road had disappeared.
    (Sean O'Brien)


33. Half-way upon the journey of our life
    I roused to find myself within a forest
    In darkness, for the straight way had been lost.
    (Henry Johnson)


34. About halfway through the course of my pathetic life,
    I woke up and found myself in a stupor in some dark place
    (Birk and Sanders)


35. Just halfway through this journey of our life
    I reawoke to find myself inside
    a dark wood, way off course, the right road lost.
    (Tom Phillips)

Walking In The Dark

There is, therefore, a more perfect intellectual life in the angels. In them the intellect does not proceed to self-knowledge from anything exterior, but knows itself through itself.

~St. Thomas Aquinas

I found this quote today when I was adding to Way Cool Quotes. It really struck me because that's exactly what I've been mulling over recently. What I've been thinking about is how much I rely on what other people think, say, and do versus how little I rely on what I think about what I say and do. I'm constantly running to my friends, to books, to websites, etc. etc trying to figure out what to do... it's like I don't even know what I think until I know what every one else thinks.

What does it mean to know yourself through yourself? Am I afraid to trudge through those well worn pathways of gloom and defeat? Is that what I think I'll find if I explore my inner self? Do I just not see a single glimmer of light when I look inside? Am I struggling to find validation, acceptance, and love on the outer because I know that it will not or can not come from the inner? And what would it take to light that inner lamp, and give myself my own validation, acceptance, and love? How can I find that moment of nonjudgment and unconditional grace when I know all my faults and failures so intimately and hold them so close to my heart?

There is a quote from Dante's Inferno - how does it go.... something about a dark wood... (here it is) And that's where I find myself this morning, endarkened... What about you? Where do you find yourself today?

Abandon All Hope

"Through me you pass into the city of woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for aye.
Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:
To rear me was the task of power divine,
Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.
Before me things create were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure.
All hope abandon ye who enter here."

~Dante Alighieri

The Journey

The Shamanic journey starts when we begin to live what we have grasped of the Great Plan.

Where do we start? Physically from where we are, however tempting it may be to wait until "the conditions are right," until we move to another place, until we get a new job, until we find more understanding, more congenial people, until... until...

The Grandfathers say, "Start now," Now is all we have, all we shall ever have. Start now."

Our journey is a resumption of the long way we have come, not a totally new start. Spiritually we start from that moment and that place where we decide to re-commit ourselves to the journey, to re-surrender our wills to the will of the Great Source, to enlist with finality in the Company of Light. Sooner or later this great moment comes to us, but it must be with finality, total commitment, we must stick with it, or it will be only another half-hearted attempt to take a few hesitant steps on one of the ways leading to the Center, and away from it. We must go forward firmly. or we may find ourselves again in the "dark wood." Each time this happens it gets harder to resume the journey, and whether we go on foot, or "over wonderful slippery water" in a Shadow Canoe, resumption of the journey is what our spirits crave.

~Evelyn Eaton

The birds' favorite songs

The birds' favorite songs
You do not hear,

For their most flamboyant music takes place
When their wings are stretched
Above the trees

And they are smoking the opium
Of pure freedom....

... I'm so sorry, but this post has been moved to my new personal blog Hey It's Me, hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com, and can be found in its entirety here: The Bird's Favorite Songs

What Mike Rowe Has To Say

Ok, so I had to go find a replacement for the "How To Pull Sheep Testicles Out With Your Teeth" video, and I stumbled across this interview with Mike Rowe:



Here's the description of the video from the download page at YouTube:

Drawing on his experiences picking up roadkill, feeding swine, and castrating a lamb with his teeth, Mike Rowe, host of Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs, discusses how modern American culture belittles necessary labor.

EG is the celebration of the American entertainment industry. Since 1984, Richard Saul Wurman has created extraordinary gatherings about learning and understanding. EG is a rich extension of these ideas - a conference that explores the attitude of understanding in music, film, television, radio, technology, advertising, gaming, interactivity and the web - The Entertainment Gathering

Mike Rowe has had more jobs than you. In fact, Mike has had more jobs than anyone.

As the creator and executive producer of Discovery Channels Emmy-nominated series Dirty Jobs With Mike Rowe, Mike has spent years traveling the country, working as an apprentice on more than 200 jobs that most people would go out of their way to avoid. From coal mining to roustabouting, maggot farming to sheep castrating, Mike has worked in just about every industry and filmed the show in almost every state, celebrating the hard-working Americans who make civilized life possible for the rest of us.

On Labor Day 2008, Mike launched a Web site called mikeroweWORKS.com, where skilled labor and hard work are celebrated in the hope of calling attention to the steady decline in the trades and bolstering enrollment in trade schools and technical colleges.

In addition to Dirty Jobs and his mikeroweWORKS endeavor, Mike is the voice of Deadliest Catch and the national spokesman for Ford Trucks. He has traveled extensively for Discovery Channel, hosting Shark Week in South Africa, where he field-tested a steel-mesh shark-suit, and Egypt Week Live, where he opened and explored newly discovered tombs in the Valley of the Golden Mummies.