What a way to go!

This is a recession-proof business opportunity to run funky funerals for the Baby Boomer and Woodstock generation.
The psychedelic hearse is located in Somerset, England and is available for hire as a film or TV prop, or it may be purchased.

There are still tears .......

A series of billboards have been appearing across America with a dose of common sense about the recession. Paid for by an anonymous benefactor, the billboards capture American common sense and urge us not to panic.

The campaign entitled "Recession 101" was designed by Florida-based designer Charlie Robb in order to remind Americans of the things that make this country great. Using ad space donated by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America the campaign includes billboards, bus shelters and even a prominent placement in New York's Time Square.

One hummingbird in the hand is worth ......

And the seasons, they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind from where we came
And go round and round and round in the circle game.

Oh No!

Fran was busy today

...and managed not to mangle her fingers

Sex on the Beach

Just a FYI - when you go to the beach for a summer vacation and decide to go for it in the shallows because noone is around and the houses seem deserted?
Think again. If you can see the windows, someone can see you.
We've just moved to a house near a motel.
I don't want to tell you how many times I've glanced out the window and .......

But what's he going to do with them?

A former oil rig worker spent 15 years building an exact replica of a North Sea platform - out of more than four million matchsticks

Psychologist 101 or CF 101

So, how's your Monday going?

County fair time!

........and on to Awesome!

A volcano on Krakatoa is still erupting. Perhaps most famous for the powerfully explosive eruption in 1883 that killed tens of thousands of people, ash from a violent eruption might also have temporarily altered Earth's climate as long as 1500 years ago. In 1927, eruptions caused smaller Anak Krakatau to rise from the sea, and the emerging volcanic island continues to grow at an average rate of 2 cm per day. The latest eruption of Anak Krakatau started in 2008 April and continues today. In this picture, Anak Krakatau is seen erupting from Rakata, the main island of the Krakatoai group. High above, stars including the Big Dipper are clearly apparent.

(1888 lithograph of the 1883 eruption)

Back to awwwwww

In a crawling race across the grass they're evenly matched. But Emily Bland will need a little practice before taking on her new friend at tree-climbing.
The little girl, two, met one-year-old orang-utan Rishi at an animal centre while visiting with her father. They took to each other straight away and spent hours tumbling about and having a tea party. Emily poured while Rishi waited patiently, gripping his spoon in a hairy fist.

Emily's father Barry Bland, 38, a photographer, said: 'I had come along to the institute to photograph Rishi and I thought it would be good to bring Emily.
'Almost as soon as we arrived, Rishi had an instant chemistry with Emily. They looked completely content with each other.'

The friendship came as no surprise to those in charge of Rishi's home, The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S) in Miami.

Dr Bhagavan Antle: 'Orang-utans are intelligent and certainly the most friendly apes on the planet. 'The youngsters enjoy their playtime and are always looking for an opportunity experience new things and make new friends and monkey around. 'Rishi, who is the youngest of the family, is always looking for someone to play with. 'That's where Emily stepped in to provide a playmate to swing in the trees, have tea with, and go for a ride. 'All infants have the capacity to get along an d as youngsters the barriers between species appear to disappear.' Orang-utans are one of the most endangered species on earth.?? Recent expansion of palm oil plantations and over logging of their forests in Borneo and Sumatra have created a rapidly declining habitat for these great apes..

One lump or two Rishi? The pair enjoy afternoon tea 'Rishi was brought over to T.I.G.E.R.S from Jungle Island because he was a young boy,'
says Dr Antle. 'He couldn't stay with his father or the other male orang-utans in the habitat because they throw the boys out.? 'But he is now been fully accepted into his new group. He sleeps with them and he stays side by side with them he is when them all the time.' Rishi will now stay at the institute where he will become part of the animal ambassadors program, participating in education and conservation presentations at Myrtle Beach and Jungle Island institutions. Judging from these photos it looks as though Rishi has found a friend for life.

The Tree is eating the Sky!!

1962 Traffic - some things never change

The Southwest Freeway, US59. The Busiest Freeway in Texas.

LINK to current Freeway pics

These girls can eat all the Potato Salad they want!!

The "wow" factor starts after 1 minute.

Fireworks, up close and personal

Now unless you've been up close and personal with fireworks, or a civil war veteran,
you can't imagine how much smoke, grit and debris those fireworks dump in the air,
and this picture shows some of it.
The reflection off the water doubles the show.

That takes the crisps!

This is Wisconsin, and if that seagull starts to grab a 6-pack to go along with the Doritos, I may have to put a stop to it."

It was 40 years ago today.....

The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon.
Upon setting foot on the Moon, mission commander Neil Armstrong spoke the famous words:
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

A crescent Earth photographed during the return trip of Apollo 11 in July 1969:

Not the yoga my Mother taught me.

Russian drunk yoga

Are my roots showing?

Another day at the office.....

But how strong must his legs be to hold that pose even for a bit.

Where the Wild things Are - My favourite book.

More here

Live Runway. Don’t Jump the Lights.

Gibraltar is a unique place in the world where the road only road into Gibraltar happens to cross the runway.

The red sign reads – Airfield ahead. You are now crossing a live runway. Pedestrians are to keep within the white lines. Please cross quickly.

A blue sign reads – You are now crossing a live runway. Dropping litter can lead to a fatal accident. Remember one day it could be you on that aircraft.

Bi-Polar chair

I was asked to re-purpose a plain wooden IKEA chair into a physical manifestation of a word. I was given the word Bipolar.


I knew that there needed to be two discernible states interlocked, but completely opposed to each other.

The two states are separated by a mirror through the middle that connects the two worlds and creates the illusion that each is complete.

Balance and Harmony on the streets of Toronto....

Retake

"May God bless you, and may your bones bleach in the sands."

Sailing from Salina Cruz, Mexico, on or about September 26, 1906, the Peter Iredale was bound for Portland, Oregon with 1,000 tons of ballast and a crew of 27, including two stowaways. The voyage up the coast was unremarkable until the night of October 25, when Captain H. Lawrence sighted the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse at 3:20 a.m. local time. The crew altered course first east-northeast and then northeast to enter the mouth of the Columbia River in thick mist and a rising tide. Under strong winds out of the west, an attempt was made to wear the ship away from shore, but a heavy northwest squall grounded the Peter Iredale on Clatsop Sands (now called Clatsop Spit). High seas and wind drove the ship ashore. A lifeboat was dispatched from Hammond, Oregon and assisted in evacuating the sailors, who were tended to at Fort Stevens. No casualties occurred in the accident.

A Naval Court inquiry was held in Astoria on November 12 and 13, 1906, by the British Vice-Consulate to determine the cause of the wreck. After investigating, no blame was placed on Lawrence and the crew for the loss, and he and his officers were commended for their attempts to save the ship.

There was little damage to the hull and plans were made to tow the ship back to sea, but after several weeks waiting for favorable weather and ocean conditions, the ship had listed to the right and become embedded in the sands. She was sold for scrap. All that remains is the bow, a few ribs and, a couple of masts. The rudder is sitting in the parking lot at the Columbia Maritime Museum in nearby Astoria.

Captain Lawrence's final toast to his ship was: "May God bless you, and may your bones bleach in the sands."

Rust in Peace, Rusty.

Fran enjoyed Andrew Lloyd Weber's Starlight Express. Maybe this is where Rusty ended up.


There's only one place you can go to visit the dead, the graveyard. Now you can visit one for reasons that are less depressing than usual. In a desolate city near Uyuni, Bolivia sits an abandoned railroad hub and terminal station, or in other words, a train graveyard. It has turned into a place where steam locomotives from the UK and US take their last and final stop.

The town had plans to develop the surrounding community in the 1800s starting with a railroad hub acting as a main junction connecting four lines from La Paz, Calama, Potosí, and Villazón, Unyuni. Time passed and the land was eventually neglected and became a dumping grounds for steam locomotives and their giant metal body parts. More than 200 years later, the destination has made its way into the itineraries of curious travelers.