1901.

Phoenix (from WIKI): Phoenix is a French alternative rock band started during their childhood by Thomas Mars, Deck D'Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz in the suburb of Versailles, in the same culture that produced late-'90s bands such as Air and Daft Punk.

1901:



Counting all different ideas drifting away
Past and present -- they don't matter.
Now the future's sorted out
Watch, you're moving in elliptical pattern
Think it's not what you say
What you say is way too complicated
For a minute thought I couldn't tell how to fall out.

It's 20 seconds 'til the last call, going "hey hey hey hey hey hey"
Lie down, you know it's easy like we did it all summer long
And I'll be anything you ask and more, going "hey hey hey hey hey hey"
It's not a miracle we needed, and no I wouldn't let you think so
Falling, falling, falling, falling

Comfort wins.

Catnap or catnip?

Bob chose doze.

From Amy's pets.

Bob (the cat) taking a nap in our window,

obviously confident of that piece of wood propping it up.

Trusting, rain or shine.

I was watering the impatiens hanging on the porch last night.


I liked how the sun's rays struck the spray from the hose so I took a couple quick pictures (one hand hose, the other one pointing and shooting.)




The impatiens are really flourishing this summer - I assume because it's been cooler than usual.

The hanging basket is almost hidden with blooms and vines from the adjacent cardinal climber.




While all this is happening, Rama just walks around my feet, confident I won't spray him. He's so trusting. Now if it was Hans, the neighbor's noisy weiner dog I might give it another thought...

Carousel Horse: Achilles.

One of the many Carousel Horses that decorated the streets of Woodstock Illinois the Summer of 2009.

This is Achilles by Kendall Oliver, Woodstock Illinois.

Being true to form, I waited to the last minute to take pictures of the various Carousel Horses around town.

I took most of the pictures on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend and the rest on Labor day afternoon.

Achilles caught my eye with really rich colors and simplicity of design.

He was located just off the east entrance to the park part of the city square.

From Carousel Horses

Artist: Kendall Oliver, Woodstock Illinois. His words:

Achilles the Trojan Horse: My goal isn’t to make a carousel horse replica of the Trojan Horse, but to create a work of art that represents not only the Trojan Horse itself, but also the mythology surrounding it in the epic poems written by Homer (The Iliad) and Virgil (The Aeneid). The gold and silver symbolize the power this mythology holds, even today. The designs on the saddle mimic black-figure pottery, which was frequently used by the ancient Greeks as a means of story telling on artifacts, such as bowls and vases.

Horses of a Different Color, main reference, HERE

"Horses of a Different Color"
Woodstock, Illinois - Summer 2009

A city-wide outdoor exhibition of painted fiberglass carousel horses measuring 5’ x 5’ is being sponsored by Main Stay Therapeutic Riding Program, Inc., in cooperation with the City of Woodstock, Illinois. The purpose of this show is to raise both funds and awareness for the Main Stay program.

For more than twenty years Main Stay Therapeutic Riding Program has offered equine related therapies that have helped people with physical, developmental, social and emotional disabilities.

Dog's day.

Sunday was a beautiful day; when the sun was out.

When it went behind the clouds my decision to wear cutoffs came to question.

Anyway, I was in the middle of a good book, taking in some sun, sipping a cocktail when my sister stopped by with her English Springer Spaniel, Rosie. It was time for a break.

Along with Rosie, my brother - in - law's two dogs, Tessie and Bubba came over too. Add our dog Cubbie and it was quite a get together. I'm glad they all get along.

Below Tessis and Rosie are waiting for Markie to hit the ball which they will then in turn chase down and return.

Rosie is really well mannered. The leash was only because she was unfamiliar with the area.

Rosie, Tessie, and Bubba taking a break.



Tessie and Rosie chasing, Bubba resting.



Cubbie with his head in my wild flowers, Tessie has the ball, Rosie just running. If figures... I snapped a bunch of pictures and the one I ended up liking the most is the blurriest. (I took it from the far end of the yard, in the bright sun - which prevented me from seeing what setting the camera had. I should be happy it came out this well.)

Cubbie got this one.

Mykonos.

Fleet Foxes. I posted one of their songs last October.

They were at Lollalooza a couple weeks ago. I was thinking they might have been a bit too mellow for the venue but they drew a good sized crowd (in the rain and mud).

Mykonos has a retro sound that reminds me a bit of Crosby, Stills, Nash,(and Young). Also Neil Young (on his own) and Buffalo Springfield.

And you will go to Mykonos
With a vision of a gentle coast
And a sun to maybe dissipate
Shadows of the mess you made

How did any holes in the snow tipped pines, I find
Hatching from the seed of your thin mind, all night?

And you will go to Mykonos
With a vision of a gentle coast
And a sun to maybe dissipate
Shadows of the mess you made

Brother you don't need to turn me away
I was waiting down at the ancient gate

You go
Wherever you go today
You go today

I remember how they took you down
As the winter turned the meadow brown

You go
Wherever you go today
You go today

When I'm walking brother don't you forget
It ain't often you'll ever find a friend

You go
Wherever you go today
You go today

Walking on water.

Robert Frost's The Onset

(about season change) really fit this photo. I took this on an unseasonably warm spring day in April. The snow had just melted and the walkway was flooded. The temperature was almost 70. (It would snow again in a week) This is a local conservation area with many trails; some through woods, and some through the marsh as in this one.

In this picture: Clint and Jenni and a dog they were fostering at the time.

Excerpt of The Onset by Robert Frost

(complete poem at the bottom):

And I shall see the snow all go down hill
In water of a slender April rill
That flashes tail through last year's withered brake
And dead weeds, like a disappearing snake.
Nothing will be left white but here a birch,
And there a clump of houses with a church.

The Onset by Robert Frost

Always the same, when on a fated night
At last the gathered snow lets down as white
As may be in dark woods, and with a song
It shall not make again all winter long
Of hissing on the yet uncovered ground,
I almost stumble looking up and round,
As one who overtaken by the end
Gives up his errand, and lets death descend
Upon him where he is, with nothing done
To evil, no important triumph won,
More than if life had never been begun.

Yet all the precedent is on my side:
I know that winter death has never tried
The earth but it has failed: the snow may heap
In long storms an undrifted four feet deep
As measured again maple, birch, and oak,
It cannot check the peeper's silver croak;
And I shall see the snow all go down hill
In water of a slender April rill
That flashes tail through last year's withered brake
And dead weeds, like a disappearing snake.
Nothing will be left white but here a birch,
And there a clump of houses with a church.

The Unborn.

The Unborn is a supernatural thriller that draws upon the legend of a dybbuk, a malevolent spirit that refuses to leave the human world and inhabits the body of a person...

An evil child with bright blue eyes (and nasty teeth and dark rings around his eyes), nazi experiments, the Holocaust, twins, a dead twin, an exorcism, different colored iris', mirrors, possessed neighbor kid, a creepy bull dog with a creepier mask, and filmed in Chicago.

All of this and only 12% at Rotten Tomato? Actually that's about right.

It was good rainy afternoon fare with a couple scary parts but nothing that stood out. Here are the characters and other movies I'd rather see them in.

Odette Yustman, see her in Cloverfield:

Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) is the main character. She is bothered by nightmares and visions of an evil spirt.

Her mom (for just seconds on the screen) is Janet Beldon (Carla Gugino).

Carla Gugino, see her in Karen Sisco, The Lookout, Watchmen:

Jane Alexander as Sofi Kozma, survivor of the Holocaust, is her previously unknown grandmother with many secrets to tell.

Jane Alexander, see her in The Ring:

Jane Alexander (younger), see her older movies Kramer vs Kramer, Brubaker, All the President's Men:

Meagan Good is her friend Romy.

Meagan Good, see her in Brick, Stomp the Yard:

Gary Oldman plays Rabbi Sendak who can perform a Jewish exorcism to remove the dybbuk.

Gary Oldman, see him as Sirius Black in Harry Potter movies, the movie Leon (also know as The Professional), Lost in Space:

Trailer:

The Silversun Pickups, Panic Switch.

The chorus got me. Catchy, to me it sounds vaguely familiar but I can't place it:

I'm waiting and fading and floating away
I'm waiting and fading and floating away
I'm waiting and fading and floating away
I'm waiting and fading and floating ...

I'm waiting and fading and floating away
Waiting and fading and floating away
Waiting and fading and floating away
Waiting and fading and flailing and fading

I've heard this a couple times now, liking it more each time. Their sound reminds me of the early 90's, back in the day of the Breeders, The Pixies, Belly, Julianna Hatfield, etc.

Anway, from Wiki:

Silversun Pickups is an American indie rock band from Los Angeles, California, comprising Brian Aubert (lead vocals, guitar), Nikki Monninger (bass, vocals), Christopher Guanlao (drums) and Joe Lester (keyboards).

The band's sound, often encompassing multiple overdubs of distorted guitars, is frequently compared to that of The Smashing Pumpkins, while the band members have said they are heavily influenced by artists such as My Bloody Valentine, the Velvet Underground, Elliott Smith, Sonic Youth, Sweet, Modest Mouse, and Secret Machines as well as numerous other artists with lesser publicity.

Panic Switch:

The Tracey Fragments.

This really is The Tracey Fragments. Pieces of movie all at once.

The whole film consists of multiple windows popping open carrying the scenes and story. Sometimes it's very inventive and eye catching. More times it's annoying and hard to follow. Fortunately the movie is only 77 minutes long.

I like Ellen Page, seeing her in Hard Candy and Juno. She's that cool 15 year old that I wished I had hung around with when I was that age (though my parents would have killed me). Kind of a young Zoey Deschannel but a better actress.

Rotten gives the movie a terrible 38%. I didn't think it was that bad.

I'm glad I watched it, at least for Ellen's performance, the special effects that worked, the strange and almost funny plot, and for the indy soundtrack.

---------- Below is the trailer and referenced notes from epinions.com

Ellen Page (Tracy Berkowitz)

Maxwell McCabe Lokos (Lance)

Ari Cohen (Misses Berkowitz)

Eric McMurty (Mister Berkowitz)

Slim Twig (Billy Zero)

Zie Souwand (Sunny Berkowitz)

Directed By Bruce Mcdonald. Written By Maureen Medved. Screenplay by Maureen Medved, based upon her novel "The Tracy Fragments."

Plot: Tracy Berkowitz (Ellen Page) is a social outcast whose life takes a rather strange and unexpected turn when she hypnotizes her little brother Sunny (Zie Souwand) and he disappears. The disappearance of Sunny further strains her relationship with her parents, Mister and Misses Berkowitz (Ari Cohen and Eric McMurty.) Tracy, wracked with guilty, and dying to relieve some of the heat coming down on her courtesy of her parents, sets out to find Sunny.
(source: http://www.epinions.com/content_457542635140 )