Here comes the rain!

A monsoon storm is moving through.

Post-rain skys

A few photos of a post-rain sky. (Yes, we finally got some rain.)

Meanwhile, back on earth . . .

If you click on the photos, you can almost smell the roses.

Summer Skies

I exist!

Yes, I am legal once again.

Got my driver's license in the mail today, replacing the one I left in Nevada. (see previous post)

On Monday, I went to the public library, to the credit union, to one of my banks, to Sam's Club, to Costco, to AAA . . . all for purposes of restoring my life to normality. The lady who helped me at AAA had the best line of the day: "Now you know what women go through when they get married and change their name!"

The only place that wouldn't/couldn't help me was the local Social Security office, where I sought to replace my card and my Medicare card. The lady there wanted to see my driver's license and wouldn't accept the confirmation of my application for a replacement one from the Arizona Department of Transportation, even though it carried my name, address and license number.

So maybe tomorrow, I'll go back and get that done. Then it's just a matter of waiting for the mail each day to see what new surprise turns up in my box.

After that episode in Laughlin, anything else in my life seems rather mundane so that's why I haven't been blogging this week. I shall endeavor to snap out of it and improve. Stay tuned.

Laughlin!

Ah, our trip is over.

Actually it ended two days early, after I lost my billfold.

Along with a couple of hundred dollars, all of my credit cards, all of my identification and whatever.

Let me say . . . we had a great time until then. My pal, Steve, came up from Phoenix and we played craps for several hours and he did very good and I (more conservative) did okay (until I lost my billfold.)

SWMBO and I had a great meal the last night.

And the next morning I said "do you have any idea where my billfold is?"

She didn't. Neither did I.

So the vacation ended.

But I'd go again. In spite of SWMBO's statement: "It will be a cold day in hell!"

Who's the loser here?

Travelin' Man

Hiya pals. Just wanted you all to know I'll be traveling for the next few days to one of the gambling meccas of the country. No, not the big one. No, not the second biggest one. The third one. It's in Nevada, too. I'll let you figure out the rest (Golden Nugget). But I didn't want to leave you without a few random thoughts.

#1 - I read today that Michael Jackson's autopsy revealed a nearly bald man (just some peach fuzz) with nothing in his stomach except some undigested pharmaceuticals and a very frail body covered with needle marks.

#2 - Sarah Palin held interviews with all the networks yesterday (or the day before) on the shore of some lake way up by the Arctic Circle, bragging about her desire to indulge herself in fish guts rather than governing the state whose people elected her. As someone said "She has perfected the image of 'the victim'." I think if any of us were to elect her to anything ever again, we'd be the victims.

#3 - That crazy "leader" of Iran made a new speech saying there was absolutely no problem with his recent "election" and said the opposition couldn't produce even one piece of paper to say otherwise. Huh? Have you taken a good look at this guy? Do his eyes kind of resemble the spinning wheels of a slot machine?

#4 - John Boehner, the Republican leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, has been forced to hold news briefings virtually every day saying how bad the latest Obama program will leave the nation. Hmmm, "leave the nation" . . . might be a good idea for Boehner. But you never heard me say that.

#5 - Walter Cronkhite apparently really is in a decline due to serious health problems, which in turn are probably due to his advanced age. He is in his early 90's. Prepare for another "big news story."

#6 - Speaking of "big news stories", I was appalled by the attention given by the media to the death of the previously mentioned Michael Jackson. It reminded me of a day in my past when a strange executive producer over me at a television station ordered me to lead every newscast with the latest on a Michael Jackson tour. That was over 20 years ago. She (the exec producer) isn't in the business any more to the best of my knowledge. But speaking of more current times, U.S. Representative Peter King of New York (I think that's his name) made an unfortunate statement to the media the other day, saying he was upset about all the media attention to this . . . (approximate quote) "child molestor, pedophile, pervert". Now, true as that may be it's not going to endear him to many of his mindless voters. If you're a politician and you want to be re-elected, you probably should keep thoughts like that to yourself.

Since I'm not a politician, I can say I was appalled by NBC's attention to the Jackson "story" and even moreso to Katie Couric's newscast on the night of the Jackson memorial.

But who am I? I'm not in the biz anymore and most people didn't listen to me when I was.

I could go on but I guess that's enough for y'all to mull over while I'm away.

Posies

This is the "work in progress" rear patio that SWMBO has been developing, with only minor help from yours truly. The supervisor (Smoke) loves it on a coolish evening.

I would like to point out that in the next photo, there are 8 (EIGHT) hibiscus blossoms on our two plants in ONE DAY! I think that may be a record!

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Best line of the day, by comedian and syndicated columnist Argus Hamilton:

Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska Friday apparently to run for president. As she spoke her long, dark hair fell over a bright red double-breasted jacket. The GOP waited years to have a candidate who sounds like Richard Nixon and looks like Michael Jackson.

The glorious 5th of July!

The first part of this post is for my pal, Tombo.

I know he likes classic cars and if he was down on the Row (Whiskey Row) in Prescott yesterday - the 4th of July - he may have seen this brute parked. If not . . . Tombo, here you go.

Now, I wasn't on the Row but I got to see the GTO when SWMBO and I went to the BRD's home for a 5th of July barbecue today. It belongs to the BRD's beau!

You say you want a closer look at the main entree?

Your wish is my command.

Barbecued baby back ribs fresh off the grill!

News of the day

Happy 3rd of July!

Uh, well I don't mean the 4th cuz it's not yet. So I cheated a bit and went to Prescott a day early to look around. I avoid the town on the 4th because it's just too difficult to get around. This is THE BIG HOLIDAY in Prescott, where it's known not so much as the 4th of July as Prescott Frontier Days. The highlight is what is known locally as "the World's Oldest Rodeo." A couple of other towns also claim that honor but Prescott every year stakes its claim once again.

Well, since the bars were jammed already I decided to take a look at the arts and crafts fair on "the Square".

As you might expect, it was mostly western oriented.

One vendor decided to take advantage of the economy with this sign.

I mentioned that the fair was on "the Square". That's the center of Prescott, a tree-lined area one block on each side, surrounding the local courthouse.

There is some permanent art on the square which trys to maintain the western heritage of Prescott.

Along with the arts and crafts vendors, of course there are food vendors as well. One of the favorites is always the fry bread booth.

You, of course, noticed the presence of a lawman there. He's a deputy county sheriff, hoping to maintain order, even if he is wearing a short sleeved shirt!

Throughout the town, western hats are in fashion during Frontier Days. But some people go even further to create a mood.

Then there was this "pretty in pink" number.

But some days, your blogger and photographer just gets dumb lucky. Looking for hats, he spotted the next great sombrero. When I asked the young lady wearing it if I could take her picture, she laughed and said "I always look so dorky in pictures." But I convinced her that I'd make her look beautiful and she posed for me.

Now, if that's a dorky look . . . well, I'll eat her hat!

Wow!

This is another amazing musical performance by an a cappella group from SLOVENIA! Doing a song about rain in AFRICA! The beginning is fantastic and I thank my pal Tommy C for sending it to me. Watch and enjoy.

Stir Fry

When SWMBO gets inspired in the kitchen and produces something as beautifully colorful as one of her stir-frys, I have to get the camera out.

This was stir fried pork and peppers.

The second picture shows the dish after addition of a sauce that included cornstarch, mirin rice wine, soy sauce and chicken stock.

Let me tell you. It tastes as good as it looks!

More yuk, yuk ukes

So here's the deal, see. A classmate of mine from high school . . . who I don't think I've seen since high school . . .which is a long, long, long time ago . . . (I think that's enough sidebar thoughts) . . . sent me (and a bunch of other former classmates) this video the other day of the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain doing the theme from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". I liked it. I posted it. Then Lucy read my blog, saw the video and spent an unconscionable amount of time looking at other videos by the same musical group. And posted one of her own on her blog. (Check it out.) Which got me to go back and look at a number of other videos by this very talented and very funny group. They're so good I've been obsessed with posting yet another of their videos. So here is the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain doing "The Orange Blossom Special."

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I bet you didn't even know Great Britain HAD a ukelele orchestra!

Death . . .and timing

There has been a lot of talk in the past couple of days about Michael Jackson's terrible faux pas in choosing to die on the same day as Farrah Fawcett. Even worse he bit the big one only a few hours after her death was announced. So he blew her right out of the front pages and television newscast leads. After she had done so much, too. I mean, she had just had her t.v. documentary about her fight for life aired on the tube to much critical acclaim. So we were prepared for her death and ready to mourn her in style. And then Michael jumped in and seized all the headlines.

So in light of this valuable lesson, I am asking you, my friends and readers, to promise me this: when I die give me a day or two to myself before you take over the "story of the day."

Thank you.

R.I.P.

Farrah Fawcett died today at the age of 62 after a three year battle with cancer.

Some bad is always accompanied by some good. Her death gave me the opportunity to post this picture one more time.

...Update: Music superstar and accused child molester Michael Jackson also left us today. Sudden cardiac arrest.

Sexy Political Talk

I guess it's time. I've been pretty good for quite a while. But every once in a while I have to get frustrated and shoot off my mouth. Today it's sex in politics. It all started with the partially revelatory news conference this morning by South Carolina Republican Governor Mark Sanford. He'd been missing from the governor's office for about a week and finally people started asking questions. The governor's staff said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.

But The State - a newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina - had received some e-mails from an anonymous tipster, purportedly from the governor to a woman in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They were, to coin a phrase, carefully explicit. Editors at The State decided the governor might be in Buenos Aires and took a chance on sending a reporter to the big airport in Atlanta, Georgia. Sure enough, she spotted the guv getting off a plane from B.A. and confronted him. He spoke a little about his trip but then began waffling and broke it off. A few hours later back home in Columbia, he spoke to the news media and admitted he'd been having an affair with a woman from Buenos Aires. (SWMBO said early in his news conference - well, he hasn't said yet whether it was a woman or a man!) She and all of us have become accustomed to politicians 'fessing up to an affair with a woman or even a homosexual partner.

I say it's the power. Politicians have this sense of power. It's partly because of the naivety of the women who surround the pol, who seemingly worship at his feet, who think his powerful job makes him sexy. But it's the responsibility of the politician to recognize that mindless worship and deter or ignore it, not to succumb to it.

I used to cover politics as a news reporter and I saw constant evidence of these failings on the part of politicians. They have "groupies" . . . just like musicians or sports figures . . . and the object of them is to . . . how to put this . . . "hook up" with the figure. His power, his fame, then becomes theirs.

So . . . who have we seen among the fallen?

Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina, a Republican.

U.S. Senator John Ensign of Nevada, a Republican.

Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York, a Democrat.

U.S. Representative Mark Foley of Florida, a Republican.

President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, a Democrat

See a pattern here? No, you don't. There are Republicans, there are Democrats. Neither party has a lock on the role of sexual misconduct. It's the job, the position, the power.

By the way, there have been a few women politicians who have confessed to bad conduct recently, as well. So it's not just men.

So, what do you do? Not vote for any of them? That's what some people say. I think we . . . the voters AND THEIR BOSSES . . . have to just try to elect the best person and, if he fails, send him home.

Oh, wow! An award!

I am honored! I HAVE BEEN honored by the delicious Malicious Intent!

She has given me her MIAward and placed me in her esteemed Hall of Fame!

I thank you, M.I., and I shall display my award proudly!

Friday feline follies!

Is this the beginning?

Of the monsoon season, that is.

We've been teased this year with cool temperatures and quite a lot of rain in May, which is unusual.

But today, the sky was full of clouds in all directions. And it did rain a bit during the night.

So, maybe the rainy season is nearly here.