Ugly Sweaters.

Quick shot before Ugly Sweater pub crawling and Ugly Sweater Party.

Personally I didn't think they were all that bad looking.

If I had run across one on sale, I might have bought it.

(Note Angie's holiday socks pulled over her boots.)

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 )

Song, Summer 2009.

Its still early but so far this is my favorite song for the Summer of 2009. (The one song that reminds you of that summer more than any other. One that seems to be on all the time but you don't mind.)

It doesn't have to be a big hit but doesn't hurt if it is.

It might be a group I saw live or maybe just a song that got alot of airplay.

I like Zero because of the lyrics and the touch of Siouxie Sioux in the vocals. (Of course it didn't hurt that Clint also likes this and we played it liberally at his house over the 4th of July.)

Zero by the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs.

Shake it like a ladder to the sun
Makes me feel like a madman on the run
Find me, never, never far gone
So get your leather, leather, leather on, on, on, on

Runner up this summer would be Franz Ferdinand channeling Jim Morrison with

No you girls.

Ten years ago, for me it was Good Thing by The Fine Young Cannibals.

In 2006 (covered by many groups at Lollapalooza) it was Crazy, Gnarles Barkley.

Can't forget Lily Allen with Smile either in 2006.

2007 brought me favorites North American Scum and Ruby by LCD SoundSystem and Kaiser Chiefs respectively.

Last year, 2008, I'd have to say it was I will Possess Your Heart by Death Cab for Cutie.

Carousel Horse: Puzzle Horse.

Carousel Horse, 1 of 27 in Woodstock Illinois that I will post here.

I live in a neighboring town and work in Woodstock.

I see these horses every day from the road but never realized how detailed and interesting they are.

Before they are sold in September, I plan on taking pictures of all of them.

Below is a link to Horses of Different Colors that describes each entry.

Puzzle Horse by Nancy L. Steinmeyer Bull Valley, IL.

From 2009-07-23wdst

From 2009-07-23wdst

From 2009-07-23wdst

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.

Layla Jean.

Last night I got a call.

No, make that a text...

From 2009-07-22-09Layla

Clint was very excited but a bit premature.

Not until many, many, long, hard,

hours later was Layla Jean born.

She's 8 lbs 6 oz, 20 inches.

Congrats Clint and Jenni.

From 2009-07-22-09Layla

The lack of sleep is certainly showing,

with Jenni getting even less the last couple days.

From 2009-07-22-09Layla

Clint and Jenni a few weeks ago at their baby shower.

Bell X1.

Bell X1 are an Irish rock band from County Kildare in Ireland.

They have thus far released four critically-acclaimed albums in Ireland, and in recent years have gained success in the United States, where their music has been used on popular television shows such as The O.C. and Grey's Anatomy.

Listening to this song on the radio; The Great Defector, I assumed it was the Talking Heads until I heard otherwise. Had me fooled, totally.

Show: Late Show with David Letterman (1993)

• Julia Roberts, Bell X1
16x108: (Mar/17/2009)
As
Themselves

• Rainn Wilson, Mike Golic & Mike Greenberg, Bell X1
15x83: (Mar/17/2008)
As
Themselves
Show: The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005)

• Jackie Chan, Bell X1
04x67: (Apr/16/2008)
As
Themselves

• Thandie Newton, Dom Irrera, Bell X1
04x53: (Mar/25/2008)
As
Themselves
Show: Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993)

• Tom Brokaw, Anthony Jeselnik, Bell X1
15x39: (Jan/15/2008)
As
Themselves

Harper's to Disco Pigs.

More times than not, I watched episodes of the summer series, Harper's Island. It was a bloody, not very realistic or logical, mystery event made to kill off some of that little watched summer scheduling for CBS.

Anyway, it was fun in a way; a wedding is planned on an island, with the wedding party staying a week. The problem is a killer(s) is loose and killing off people one by one. (Similiar plot to a much better Agatha Christie 10 Little Indians.)

The final was on last Saturday and while home watching it, I still missed the last few minutes of it. (Most of the mystery was already explained). Just to make sure I didn't miss any final last twist, I went to a review site a day later to read how it ended. No surprises.

I did notice two of the actors had the same last names so I looked them up. (I like trivia).

One was Katie Cassidy (blonde below). She looked very familiar. Father is David Cassidy (good trivia) and she has appeared a number of times on Supernatural (TV show on the CW).

The other Cassidy was Elaine. I never had seen her before but she had a character look that would fit really well on a Stephen King mini-series. She's Irish and has been in a few movies, including The Truth, Felicia's Journey (Bob Hoskins), and Disco Pigs. I think the middle one was rated the best but I was drawn to Disco Pigs, if not just for the title. It was adapted from a 1996 play of the same name.

(I'd watch any of them if I see them come up on cable. Lesser seen, more interesting to me. Sometimes you find a gem. Usually not. Ha.)

Disco Pigs:





From Fixster:

Pig and Runt - born on the same day, in the same hospital, moments apart.

Twins, all but by blood. Inseparable from birth, they are almost telepathic.

They are also partners in crime, with an appetite for recklessness, exploration and destruction.

But days before their 17th birthday the perfect balance of their world begins to shift.

Pig's sexual awakening and increasing jealousy begins to threaten the private universe they have spent their lives constructing.

Unable to contemplate the loss of Runt, Pig's unpredictable nature spirals out of control in a trail of violence.

The invisible thread between them is stretched to breaking point, the inseparable are about to separate, and which one will survive depends on which one can break free.

Missing rocket.

Almost reminds me of a joke,

"is that an 8 foot rocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Ha. Anyway,...

funny little article.

I really enjoyed his diagram of the crime and reward.

8 foot rocket stolen, LINK

Ain't no and Ain't no.

I think these two songs compliment each other with their energy and style. Ain't I right?

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC for short) is an American alternative rock band from San Francisco, California, now based in Los Angeles.

"Ain't No Easy Way" was on the soundtrack of the movie The Guardian and season 1,

episode 15 of My Name is Earl, called "Something to Live For".

It's easy to fall in love
When you fall in love you know you're done
you got easy eyes to hunt
when the world above needs your blood
and the cold vain to the richest man
They're paid away to steal our hand
There ain't no easy way no there ain't no easy way out
There ain't no easy way no there ain't no easy way out
There ain't no easy way no there ain't no easy way out

Cage the Elephant is an American rock band from Bowling Green,

Kentucky where they were originally known as "Perfect Confusion."

Their single "Ain't No Rest For the Wicked" reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart.



"Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Money don't grow on trees.
I got bills to pay,
I got mouths to feed,
There ain't nothing in this world for free.
I know I can't slow down,
I can't hold back,
Though you know, I wish I could.
No there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Until we close our eyes for good".

Lantern

These are lantern flowers from last fall's garden.

This was taken on my cribbage board and turned to b/w.

Come on what's-your-name
I've got a good game
I've got a story
Hope you like 'em gory
And it's much too late for bed
Come on tiger why so tired
I've got good game plus i'll let you win again
And it's much too late for bed
So shi-shine on me
Shi-shine on me
I crave your company
And fall in the dark so be my lantern
Never have i seen that face on one so young
So shi-shine on me
Shi-shine on me
I crave your company
And fall in the dark so by my lantern
Be my lantern


Tanya Donelly Lantern lyrics

Below:
They are orangish red at their peak.

It almost looks like an alien pod is inside it.

This is the most natural colored photo of the pod.