LEAF ME ALONE

FRIDAY FUNNIES

It's Friday once again and I have been overwhelmed with contributions this week.  So I'm just gonna pick 7 or 8 and save the others.  If yours didn't make this week's list, remember there are other Fridays in the year and Stay Tuned.

And, of course, the cats.

That's it for this week, folks.  Loads of thanks to my contributors. Have a fantastic weekend. Be careful and don't Fall.  (There's a wee joke there.)  And always remember to keep laughing.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Twice Told Tales

I was a kid in North Dakota in the 1940's.  No Internet back then. Heck, there wasn't even television.  So we got our entertainment from books and radio programs.  I don't know where I got the idea I wanted to be a magician but one year I got a magic set for Christmas.  Over the years I had a pretty good collection of books on magic.  And I gathered together some paraphernalia for making coins disappear and confounding my playmates with a deck of playing cards.  My mother was pretty good with a sewing machine and with craft paper and she made me a black magician's cape and a black top hat and sent The Great Taylor out to do a show.

Now those pants and dusty old cowboy boots could have used some work but look at those hands.  Magician's hands!

The magic shows didn't last but acting had gotten under my skin.  In high school and college I was in a number of plays and entertained the idea of becoming a professional actor.  Alas!  Youthful dreams.

But speaking of dreams, check out this dreamboat.

Mom outdid herself creating this Prince Charming costume for some play or operetta from my far and distant youth.  

Eat your heart out, Pacino!

THE (new) MARTIAN CHRONICLES

Yesterday I discussed briefly the idea of human exploration of the Planet Mars and the possibility of an earth colony there some day.  I accompanied my thoughts with a photo.  This one.

The idea was to convey an impression of the surface of Mars with its reddish surface, its mountain ridges and perhaps with its canals and seas which one day may have held water.  

But, as some of my discerning readers pointed out, it looked like something else.

Quilted Dogs questioned whether it might really be a part of my epidermis.

Which prompted Phil Perisich to remember my comments earlier about my camera's macro photography capabilities.

And Susie said it looked a little like a paper bag.

To those amateur detectives I offer a tip of the hat.  But just a tip. Because none of you were exactly correct.

Here's the true subject of that photograph, taken from further back.

It's the blotter pad which rests atop my desk.  But with various spillings it has taken on a distinctly Martian appearance and when I figured out how to use my camera's macro capabilities I just couldn't resist a little October Fool's joke.

I guess I should have remembered the famous quote from Abraham Lincoln - "You can fool some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time but you can't fool all the people all the time."

WHAT? A SECOND POST?

I know I (hardly) ever post twice in one day but then I saw this video of The Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver, and Superstar Taylor Swift. They're doing a cake-baking competition while Jamie sings (sort of) his version of Taylor's latest hit song "Shake It Off."  It's pretty funny and Ms. Swift looks sensational.  Enjoy.

INTERSTELLAR EXPLORATION

There are those among us who believe our life on Earth is coming to a close. Not soon but in the foreseeable future. Thus they are searching for new planets on which to establish a colony of earthlings. One of the sites being talked about as a new Earth is the planet Mars, long known as the Red Planet because of the coloration of the soil. Recent discoveries there have led to the belief that there was once water on the planet, a building block to life as we know it. The first humans to land on Mars may be many decades away but it is still an interesting proposition.  Can human life actually be established on Mars? Only future scientists will know for certain.

PEDICURE TIME

It was time.  Definitely time.  Blackwell has been caught clawing the furniture lately and it was time for his pedicure.

So it was into the cat carrier and into the car for the short trip to the cat groomer.  It's a trip he definitely does not like and he let me know all the way, both coming and going.  With his short memory I don't think he remembered the groomer from his last trip but she said he behaved like a perfect gentleman.  And it was all over in just minutes.

Home again and I inspected the job.

It looks a bit rough but at least those sharp points are gone.  For awhile.

Meantime, Blackwell gives me a look which I can only interpret as "how could you?"

But I know he'll be back in my lap soon enough.  I do, after all, belong to him.

ARIZONA AUTUMN COLOR

I believe I mentioned this before and there was some gentle sneering. But here in the Central Highlands of Arizona the trees truly are changing color.  Here is a selection of photos from my neighborhood in the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains.

The last two are from a Maple tree directly in front of our house. Every day more and more of the leaves are turning red.

Yesterday was cool enough here that SWMBO finally broke down and turned on the furnace. Today it's sunny and warm and we have opened the doors and windows again.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

I don't know about this week's Funnies . . . they seem to have a bit of an edge to them.  Oh, well, here goes.

Well, maybe something in this collection made you smile. Here's hoping you have a mirthful weekend and thanks to all my contributors.

THROWBACK THURSDAY - OLD FRIENDS

Two of the best from the Wayback Machine - Steve Pascente and Howard Shepherd.  Wonderful guys from my Phoenix days in television news.  Both gone long before their time.

(Thanks to Mark Lewis for the photograph)

BED THIEVES

I couldn't resist sharing this.  Thanks, Meggy.

CHANGES

They seem to be stretching up toward the sky, asking "whatever happened to all that warm sunshine?"

I guess it's time to . . .

You just have to pardon me.  I've been playing around with the macro feature on my little camera.  Now that I figured out how to turn it on, it works pretty good.

I just have to figure out where it's focussing.  Like not on the flower I thought I was photographing but on the bristly stuff behind it.  And it's easier if the subject is still rather than moving gently in the breeze.

Stay tuned.

AUTUMNAL COLORS

Yes, even in Arizona, autumn chill in the highlands is causing leaves to change colors.  I think, in my autumnal years, I'm starting to like the fall as the best season of the year.

Meantime, I'm keeping an eye on you.

NEW FROCKS (SOCKS)

I recently visited a local store and bought some new socks.

I decided it was time to add some color to my life and these "Funky Socks" fit the bill.  After all, if George H.W. Bush (age 90) can do it, then so can I.

That little bit of skin showing is what is called "titillation".

I'll not titillate you further by showing pictures of my new colorful boxers.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

It's F-R-I-D-A-Y!!!!!

And you know what that means, humor lovers.  To begin with, a look at the week we've all just survived once again.

Then there are those always thoughtful e-cards . . .

Even your local fire department can screw things up . . .

For those of you inclined toward religion . . .

Then there's some helpful advice . . .

I've gotta try that.  Really.

And finally, my friend . . . the kitty.

Thanks to all my contributors, including the ones who just learned they were in that category.  

Have a jolly weekend, folks!

MYSTERY SOLVED AND TBT

No one had the correct answer to identify yesterday's photo of a wino on a bench with his bottle still between his legs.

And it's no surprise.

For who would have thought that a passed-out rumpled figure slumped with his addiction protected could be . . . . .










 . . . the normally resolute conservative Washington activist Grover Norquist!

Yes it really is, though the picture is somewhat of a lie.  Here is the story.

And keep in mind that the story and the photo are two and a half years old.

I stumbled across it while searching the Google for a painting of a passed out wino and his bottle.  And being the good Democrat that I am, I couldn't resist it.

                                   * * * * * * * * *

That out of the way, here's today's photo for Throwback Thursday.

And no, that's not Norquist again.  This one is your heroic scribe on the beach in Southern California quite a few years ago.  Huntington Beach State Park, photographed by my tv cameraman of the day, Tim Dietz.  We were on our way to an interview, Tim was driving and after passing one beach after another, Tim suddenly exlaimed "All right, we've got to check this out" and pulled off the road.  I took the opportunity to collect a few small seashells.

WINO WEDNESDAY

Care to guess who that is?

The answer tomorrow.

BOXING, KICKING, KICK BOXING

You've probably asked yourself, "Self, do kangaroos actually box?"

Today, self can reply, "Yes.  They do."

Witness this bout filmed recently on an ordinary suburban Australian street.

More than one of my neighbors has told me about the wildlife they've seen running down the street in the early morning.

But never anything like this.