It was a dark and stormy night...

Angry sky. Stupid to be standing outside taking pictures, but that's me.Stupid.



Yes, his sunroof was open.

This was approximately 10:00 pm. looking across our backyard towards the end the house and at Clint's Jeep. It's hard to get a good picture at night, but those clouds were really ominous looking. Kinda like the clouds and spirits that were brewing up in the sky in Ghostbusters.

After enduring another ninety plus degree day with high humidity, this was refreshing. Of course, the power going out later, the wind storm, and the broken tree limbs took away some of the glow of the moment. Ah, summer.



Backyard looking south.

Taste of Liz Phair.

Liz Phair at the Taste of Chicago.

She's so hot. Clint took this picture. Might explain his jovial mood in the following picture. In fact we made sure we watched the end of her show and because of that we missed our train.

We then had two hours to kill before the next train. There is a sports bar next to the train station. Stopped in there to kill some time. Clint ordered two shots and two beers. After enjoying the shots, we found out they were 7.00 apiece. City bastards. Oh well...


Clint


Chicago's Taste of Chicago has different free concerts usually sponsored by radio stations. This was WXRT's. World Party followed by Fountains of Wayne with the headliner being Liz Phair. Hot day, cold beer, good food, good music, nice sized crowd - not too big.


World Party


World Party is a British rock group that really is one person with a really good studio. Karl Wallinger. He's touring with John Turnbull and David Duffy. Their current hit is, "What does it mean now?"

Some other songs of their's that I like: "It is time", "Beautiful dream", "Ship of fools", "Put a message in the box", "Way down now". Songs that stick in your head. In a good way.



Fountains of Wayne

Front and center view from Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park.

Funny little band with a funny little name and funny lyrics.

Stephen King featured the song "Red Dragon Tattoo" (off Utopia Parkway) in his 2004 ABC miniseries Kingdom Hospital. King is a big fan of the group. WIKIPEDIA

Working all day for a mean little man
With a clip-on tie and a rub-on tan
He's got me running 'round the office like a dog around a track
But when I get home,
You're always there to rub my back
(Hey Julie)

They named themselves after a lawn ornament store in Wayne, N.J.
They remind me a little of They Might be Giants.

Songs I'm familiar with are Mexican Wine, Hey Julie, Stacy's Mom.

Stacy's mom has got it goin' on
Stacy's mom has got it goin' on
Stacy's mom has got it goin' on
Stacy's mom has got it goin' on

Stacy, can i come over after school? (after school)
We can hang around by the pool (hng by the pool)
Did your mom get back from her business trip? (business trip)
Is she there, or is she trying to give me the slip? (give me the slip)
You know, I'm not the little boy that I used to be
I'm all grown up now, baby can't you see

Stacy's mom has got it goin' on
She's all I want and I;ve waited for so long
Stacy, can't you see you're just not the girl for me
I know it might be wrong but I'm in love with Stacy's mom

MILF (my comment)

Tess the exciteable puppy.

This is Tess, my niece's yellow labrador puppy. She likes playing in the waterdish just like my daughter's dog Cubbie; that's Cubbie, named after a small bear. Certainly not after the other baseball team that appears from time to time in Chicago. Not after that team that causes home crowds to angrily throw items out onto the playing field. No, not them.

I've had my camera for about 6 months now and just started experimenting with some of the other features besides click and on and off. Just kidding. Actually, I did find I can take the videos with a higher resolution than I did here. And longer. But they take forever to load if you have dialup so maybe in this case it's better.

I always liked directors like Hitchcock, Lynch, DePalma, M. Night Shyamalan . I'm looking for screenplays for an appproximate 5 minute movie in the suspense, horror genre. Psycho meets the 6th Sense meets Body Double. You got to start somewhere.

Video extra: As I was taking this, sitting on top of a picnic table with a drink, you can hear my brother in law asking if he could borrow some charcoal from me for his grill. And you can here me foolishly answering, yea. I never think to tell him I'm out. Stupid me.

Watercolored barn.

Haunted?

Nice thing about blogs. You can have nothing to say and still make an entry.

For instance: I had this nice old barn picture I took last week. I do enjoy looking at my own pictures but still needed to add some text that would go along with it. Kinda like trees and Sail'n Shoes. Or a cat and Squeeze. I'm sure you get the picture. Ha. Faux non sequitur. (a little French for our friends the French on Independence Day Weekend)

Anyway, I was saying that I took this picture last week. I was using Picassa2 to view it and happened to zoom in on a window. I swear I can see something ghostly in the window over the door. Too bad there are no ghost - photo - contests going on. Must a trick of my eye.

4th of July this coming week. Love the days off, the cooking outdoors, the dodging of mosquitos with West Nile Virus, the misty rainy afternoons, and the first view of the sun for the holiday weekend (usually appearing gloriously in the western sky about 2 hours before it is going to set). Summer in Illinois.

Powerful orange thing.

Never plowed a field.

I think Angie and Amy have been the front picture long enough. Time to replace them with smoking hot tractors.

These pictures are from our yearly Hebron Fest. The pulling track adjoins the new town park. That's in the former cornfield that has been sold to developers. Where many houses will be built. Where new residents will complain about the noise and smoke of the tractor pull. Can't wait.

Bastards.

John Deere getting excited.

And I can't burn leaves on Saturday?

No emission controls in the county.

No, there were no girls and buffalo wings in the trailer. This is a small town.

Shake it like a polaroid picture.

Courtesy of Hans and the Hormones; an excellent local band. HERE

Yes, that's Amy on the right. Sure seems to have fun. Maybe I should just follow her around week to week hitting all the parties, festivals, fairs, etc. Anyway, summer has begun.

This was at Hebron Fest. An all weekend festival with beer, food, games, live music and fireworks on Saturday.

On Sunday, in what is quickly becoming a tradition for us, we head back there to use up any beer and food tickets left over from the night before and watch the tractor pulls. Pictures of smoke belching super modified tractors to follow later.

Life in a rural area. So noisy yet peaceful.

Aimers.

Amy - smile. Now watch the race.

She used a glass to drink her beer (not a bucket). Civilized. I brought her up right.

Have a beer with that bucket?

Glasses are a little bigger than I remember. I only had a couple of beers.
(Identity of the drinkers obscured to protect the innocent.)
By the way, get a load of those hands.