As Memorial Day Comes to an End

Eurovision 2010

I've written about Eurovision before bring up examples of Swedish contributions and past winners. Well this past Saturday was Eurovision 2010 in Oslo and while I do not usually like watching it because of the overwhelming amount of really bad music my husband loves watching it and it is tradition. Well This year while watching it there was a really neat moment. This was in a bit of break.. They had just finished up all of the telephone voting and we were waiting to hear who had won and this was the act they had. I found myself quite touched and awed by the whole thing. We all love our homes and countries. Most people throughout the world think that where they live is the best in the world even if it's not perfect. There has been so much fighting and war and ugliness throughout the world it was nice to see something like this. We should never forget that we are all alike. We were born in different stations in life, different geographical locations and opportunities but we are all the same. I really did love watching this I hope you find it as amazing and touching as I did..



The second great story for Eurovision this year is the winner. This is a girl that just turned 19 last week and up to 4 months ago completely unknown, just your average teenager. They were having a competition going on in Germany looking for their Eurovision star, they set up photobooth like things around and people left something like a 1 minute audition in a camera.. the Eurovision officials/producers in Germany found this girl and she ended up winning with over 100,000,000 people watching. Her reaction when she won was great. I did like this song and was glad it won, although not my favorite but pretty good none the less (especially if you were to watch the whole 40 songs that competed). I was trying to find a clip of the final song (the winner gets to perform again after they won) because you can see the surprise on her face.. was having a hard time finding one of the final performance.



This was my favorite, unfortunately he ended up 5th or 6th (the ones I like never end up winning).. kinda a John Mayer kinda sound

Open Blog - Memorial Day

The Davis-Mothan Air Show

I didn't post these when the Davis-Mothan Air Show took place back in March, but thought Memorial Day weekend would be a fitting time to put them up.

A B-1 Bomber on the ground.
An A-10 in flight. These are stationed at DM and are a common sight in the skies of Tucson.
They did a simulated bombing run and set off a bunch of explosives. Very impressive. I still wonder what they set off that made those two cool smoke rings.
There was a halo around the Sun (due to ice crystals in the upper atmosphere). I tried to get an aircraft flying through here, but couldn't get positioned right (and the timing of the shot is difficult with a fast moving plane). I even tried to find a U.S. flag to block the Sun, but the U.S. flag was flying next to a tent and in I couldn't get the U.S. flag in front of the Sun (would have had to stand under the tent for the angle to work). Still, was happy to get this shot.

An F-22 on display on the ground.
The Thunderbirds were the highlight act. I kept trying to get a pic of them doing a pass and found the timing difficult. This is the best one I got (try taking a pic of planes flying in opposite directions at 400 mph!)
Here is a nice low pass.
Finally, a little classic formation flying.

Ewok Karaoke

I can add nothing to this...

Ewok Karaoke from Rob Tyler on Vimeo.

Favorite quotes

2 of my favorite quotes are -

" I don't believe in alot of things but I do believe in duct tape"

" If women don't find you handsome, they can sure find you handy."

Do you know where they are from?

What are your favorite quotes?

Two-year-old smokes 40 cigarettes a day

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2987307/First-shocking-pictures-of-smoking-toddler-Ardi-Rizal.html

I startd smoking young, 7th grade, but that is ridiculous.

Those words that sound alike, but mean different things.

Okay, guys, here we go...this one came to mind as I was reading a post on Facebook.

Fourth, forth
Seated, Seeded
Fore, four (fore-fathers was the term that was meant to be used....)
Lean, lien
Seam, seem
sine, sign


Okay, you guys take it from here. Something to amuse me for the weekend.

Open Blog - Weekend Version

Tis the Season to beware!

Just riding my bike and here this signed popped up...Wasn't there yesterday...Guess someone must have seen one of the zillion gators present in Florida...duh....

This was taken at Ollie's Pond where I bike daily....this is where I see all those snakes (dead and alive). I also see ibis, egrets, osprey, a bobcat occasionally, and various other species of wildlife. No, kk, I don't just see snakes.....

Public Service Announcement

To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine.. .

And those who don't and are always
seen with a bottle of water in their hand.


As Ben Franklin said:

In wine there is wisdom,
In beer there is freedom,
In water there is bacteria.


In a number of carefully controlled trials,
Scientists have demonstrated that if we drink
1 litre of water each day,

At the end of the year we would have absorbed
More than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. Coli) - bacteria
Found in feces.
In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.


However,

We do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer
(or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor)
Because alcohol has to go through a purification process
Of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember:

Water = Poop,
Wine = Health .

Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid,
Than to drink water and be full of shit.


There is no need to thank me for this valuable information:
I'm doing it as a public service!

Four for Fridays

Good morning everyone! Wow! A three day weekend coming up! Isn't that great? This week's questions are about music.

1) Who is your favorite music artist?

2) Have you ever been to a concert?

3) If so, how many? when? where? who?

4) Is there any particular artist you wish to see?

Enjoy your long weekend, folks!

Swear Word Filter

http://www.noswearing.com/

It really works. No poop.

There I was, thought I was gonna die!

I am sooo beat. Worn out. I’m seriously out of shape, yet there I was again, I thought I was gonna die! The VA SCI put on a scuba diving event at a Milw. YMCA. Beforehand I was more worried about the water being too cold (actually very nice) but found my real anxiety 6’ under water when it hit me I shouldn’t be able to breathe even though I had air. Obviously I lived, but I did have to surface for a bit to lose the jitters. Have not been in a pool in 15 years. Think it will be a long time before I go again. Legs are so useless I can’t even stand with water lifting me up. At least I got out of the house and doing something.

New Seatbelt Law

A little poll about the new seatbelt law
Select all that apply

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my beautiful blossoms! How are you? I believe that someone has turned the summer switch to “on.” Hasn’t it been lovely lately? I know that the weatherman says it will rain today, but tomorrow we’re supposed to see the sun again, and more after that, with highs in the 70’s. That sounds perfect. We need the rain to foster the lush growth of spring. And we need the sunshine for the same reason. Balance. Something that many of us struggle with. Oh my.

I’m going to get on my soapbox again this week and simply ask, “Why isn’t somebody plugging our Gulf oil leak?” I have a client in the wonderful city of Milwaukee who has a terrific suggestion for stemming the flow of oil. He asks, “What did they use when the Chicago River started flooding the tunnels below the Loop?” The answer: mattresses. It’s true; they were amongst the first items shoved into the breach. My client suggests a massive mattress collection campaign, perhaps worldwide, to supply enough mattresses to sink down into the rupture in the Gulf to absorb and eventually stop the flow of oil. And I’m just irregular enough to think that it may work. Certainly nothing else has thus far. Give up your mattresses! Sleep on the floor for the environment!

I received an email this week from the esteemed Mr. Logjam. He wrote:

Greetings Dearest Madame,

As you know, our local baseball team the Brewers has not been doing well at all. I am somewhat worried and bothered by it. As you see, for my birthday party today, I am taking my 4 kids and 4 of their friends to tonight's (May 26th) game against the Astros. Not only would it be a very disappointing birthday present to see them lose, I would have also pissed away $800 bucks (plus 2 preferred parking tickets at $13 a piece) on seats behind the dugout down the drain to watch them loose. I have not fared well with the Brewers playing on my birthday. Last year, when they put the Happy Birthday list on the scoreboard, they spelled by name wrong.

Is there some kind of hocus pocus you could work on them to make them win? Like making sure the pitchers have less balls, and the batters more bangers?

Your divine and benevolent intervention would be greatly appreciated.

Yours in spiritual existence,
Logjam

Oh my, Mr. Logjam, let me be amongst the first to wish you a very Happy Birthday! May you enjoy a plethora more.

You know, fiddling around with major league sports is against federal law. That’s why it’s so much fun. Oh dear. Ha-ha. In any case, Mr. Logjam, I cannot publicly guarantee you that our beloved Brewers will perform magically for you tonight against the despised Astros, even though that is certainly what you deserve for your birthday. I can’t guarantee it here because the feds monitor my blogs. That’s right, dearies, with my connections and my abilities, it’s hard to maintain a low profile on everybody’s radar. The men in black are part of the regular irregular readers of my musings here and elsewhere.

In short, Mr. Logjam, I won’t say that the Brewers will repeat last night’s win tonight, because I can’t. But I can say that, again, I wish you a very Happy Birthday. May your birthday wishes come true. (Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.) May you and your family and friends have a wonderful night at the ballpark. Enjoy yourselves. I wouldn’t be surprised if everything went just right tonight.

I am always surprised and overwhelmed by the love and loyalty shown to me by my dear Irregulars. Thank you for reading my blog (even you G-men) and thank you for being you. I treasure our time together.

Send your confidential information and secret files to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Enjoy the splendors of spring. Pretty soon it will get “buggy” like it does every summer. I really dislike them. Mosquitoes, and flies, and ants, oh my! Pleochroism!

Open Blog - Wednesday

Is this far fetched or am I loosing it?

In KK’s blog about “Quarters” she mentioned “(now ask me about Brett Favre)”.

Last week, the end of it, I was up north of Winona, Minnesota, actually Alma, WI. The radio announcer came on and stated Brett Favre had an operation to remove some bone spurs from his ankle and that operation is the first indicator Brett is going to play one more year of football for the Vikings!!

Where do they come up with this shit????

Shut Up and Sing!

Okay, this is a bit of a pet peeve of mine that I have been wanting to blog on for a while: the lack of singing for fun that people do. I mean, it's fun, come on!

I am not talking about going out to do karaoke or something, that's performing which is different. I mean the sitting around with a guitar or piano and singing, learning the songs as needed. When I was on St. Croix, we would go over to Tom (the music teacher's) house and he would pull out some music, start playing the piano and everyone would join in. There was no pressure to be good and people who knew the songs taught those who didn't. Some people would belt out solos or start a harmony line. No pressure, just fun. Same thing when I was performing at the Ren fest...campfire time always had a guitar and tunes. Or my time in West Virginia at NRAO...boring rural place had lots of sing a long campfires.

When do we get a chance to sing...church or the national anthem at ball games? Both dreadful (but not for the reasons you are all thinking, that I am a godless atheist who hates America...while that may be true (I'll never tell) that's not why they are awful singing opportunities). Most churches (with some exceptions) and the National Anthem are examples of people trying NOT to sing, but sing as softly as they can and convince everyone around them they are singing. WTF! Belt it out! There are a few churches that get this right and actually encourage people to sing. I don't go to church, but at least I can see that they get singing can and should be fun and joyous.

I am trying to learn a little guitar...just enough so I can strum some basic tunes and get people singing. I want to do more musical improv but even some of the most fearless people onstage I know freeze up when asked to sing. You don't have to be American Idol worthy to just have fun. I mean, I would be laughable in the NBA but I can still play a pick up game of basketball and no one thinks anything of it. Participating in hobbies as an amateur is acceptable in so many areas but not singing.

Rebel...sing, have fun.

Whatever Happened to Milton E. Morris?

Milton Morris was SC Johnson's director of transportation during that big payoff scandal. The case has ended, though I believe the parties are still wrangling over settlement monies, but I can't find a thing about good old Uncle Milty, the one I predicted would never serve a minute of hard time.

Must be nice to be above the law.

Cooties

That gave me the courage to admit that I, too, have cooties.

Open Blog - Monday

Hope you have a nice day.

Kung Fu Bear

Yes, the bear is really doing that. He's an Asian black bear named Cloud. He lives in the Hiroshima City Zoo. Here is the uneditied video that the above clip was assembled from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghgg_fukbvU

WISCONSIN FOOD PYRAMID

I guess the picture says it all...

Gorilla Encounter

http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/

I cried when I watched that.

Milwaukee Pedal Tavern

A pedal powered, 16-person tavern on wheels: http://www.jsonline.com/business/94547689.html

Their website: http://pedaltavern.com/

How cool is this? We definitely need one in downtown Racine. I am serious. This is perrfectly suited to our Malibu of the Midwest.

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone! Another Friday is here! It seems so long ago since the last one. I've been working too much. This week's questions are about work.

1) What was your first job?

2) What do you think of your job?

3) What did want to be when you grew up?

4) What would be your dream job?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Weekend Version

The weatherman says rain for today, but partly sunny on Saturday and Sunday.

"'Beer belly' linked to Alzheimer's disease"

"People who carry a lot of weight around their middle are at increased risk of developing dementia, say researchers.

"A US study of more than 700 adults showed that being overweight is associated with smaller brain volume, a factor linked with dementia."

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47883000/jpg/_47883826_004635542-1.jpg


Uh, what is this blog about again?....

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my luscious lilacs! How are you? Are we having a cool spring or a warm one? I heard that some crops are well ahead of schedule because of our warm weather, but it hasn’t seemed particularly balmy to me. In fact, with the almost constant wind off the lake, it seems cold a lot of the time. Is it just me? Is my blood thinning with age? Or do I live too close to the lake? Maybe I’ll just join our beloved Ms. Beejay in sunny Florida and say goodbye to all of this four season rigmarole. Unfortunately, I’m not fond of snakes, and I’ve read quite a bit about them and Florida in the JTI. Maybe too much.

Speaking of snakes, I see that the political battles in our country continue to be nasty, dirty affairs. Some politicians say they are not seeking re-election because of how mean and petty the partisan politics have become. Oh my. Soon we may be past the point of reasoning with each other at all. I’m not sure if the rudeness that one encounters in public nowadays is a reflection of the political scene, or vice versa. A lot of people are honked off. Many are mad at the status quo in government. Others just seem to be angry at the world. The lack of civility in our daily lives truly troubles me. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I always believed that manners were the grease that lubricated the workings of our society. It just makes it so much easier when people treat each other with respect. Life is difficult as it is; why would anyone want to harshen it with cruelty?

Sometimes I think an invasion from outer space would be good
for us. It appears that the only time you can count on humans to cast aside their differences and pull together for the common good is when their lives are threatened. When a group, or an area, or a country is menaced, then people unite. What better way to unite the world than to threaten it? I’m not talking about a real big invasion, leaving the Earth a charred cinder. Maybe just one ship (which would have to be superior to our technology) and a few grunts from an alien would be all that it takes to scare some sense into us. Actually, something like that may be the only thing that will work.

Oh dear, how did I get on such a dreadful topic? All I have to do is think about politics and I start to feel dirty. Let us all remember that it is springtime, the flowers are blossoming and the birds are twittering. Soon the glories of summer shall be upon us. There are lots of great things happening in and around Racine. One of my favorite spots to find out what’s happening is the Racine Post’s Kiosk: http://www.racinepost.com/. Scroll down a little; it’s on the left middle of the page. That’s the Post’s new front page, by the way. Congratulations, Racine Post. I know that some Irregulars are not on friendly terms with the Post and or its editors. I want to thank you dears so much for your forbearance when I post links to the Post or heap praise on it. I consider the Racine Post to be a valuable resource to our community. What they do is not perfect, but who, besides me, is? Ha-ha-ha!

That’s my blog for this week. Thank you so much for reading it and sharing a little bit of your day with me. I really appreciate it. The Irregulars are never far from my thoughts, or my heart.

Return To Sender: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Don’t forget, pay attention to the beauty around you, or it will go away. I love my dear Irregulars. Everyone have a good week!

Open Blog - Wednesday

The 'd' and the 'n' should be reversed in 'Wednesday.' And drop the second 'e.'

And reset your clocks: http://beeks.eu/swf/timeline.swf

Mayor Marketing

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/article_60398746-62d2-11df-a48a-001cc4c03286.html

"Wednesday at noon: You ask the mayor" - http://www.journaltimes.com/article_81617c3e-62d3-11df-aa54-001cc4c03286.html - An online Q & A with the mayor moderated by the Journal Times. I can't make it because of a previous appointment. (I don't think that they would allow any question I asked, anyway.) I hope they keep a log of the session posted for awhile afterwards, like they've done before. And I hope someone asks him some tough questions. In any case, I suspect that all of this, on the one year anniversary of Dickert's rise to power, is the result of our tax dollars at work via 'Mr. Racine' and the other PR people that we pay to promote Dickert to us.

WW II Posters

These are US posters so I didn't have to steal them

River Bend

Yesterday, with the weather being so nice and mild, I decided to take a nice long walk through the woods at River Bend. The trails at places were broken and rather muddy I managed to find my way through. I saw some cardinals, chickadees, orioles, robins, a hawk, squirrels and some deer tracks. Even heard some woodpeckers in the woods. I brought along my camera to take a few pictures.

Cardinal



The Root River



A trail in the woods



A young Red-tailed hawk

ENJOY!