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.