Tomorrow's American Manager!

The townhouse abuts a city park, and a softball diamond is right outside the patio door. It's sort of like living in Wrigleyville - free entertainment on summer evenings.
This afternoon, a couple of dads had taken their boys for a pickup game. These are fun to watch.
I was watching the game when the batter, who looked like he was about 10, hit a chopper up the middle. The shortstop, who looked about 9, just kinda stood there as the ball bounced to the outfield. The batter beat out a standup double.
"It wasn't my fault! I wasn't ready!" said the shortstop. "You shouldn't have pitched 'til I was ready! It wasn't my fault!"
I think that boy has a bright future ahead of him as a manager of an old technology business. Sign that boy up for his golden parachute right now!

Make Your Own Vintage Postcard Wallet

Country Living teaches us how to sew a simple wallet or card case from an old postcard. Vintage postcards with noteworthy photographic images or graphics work nicely, but it might be fun to use the back of a postcard. An old stamp, a curious cancellation, a beautifully penned address and handwritten message may be a more visually interesting choice. Click here for the supply list and instructions. Go green with sewing crafts!

The leader of the band

Word came this morning - Robert has been named one of the drum majors for this fall's edition of the Mount Pleasant High School Marching Band.
It will be Robert's fourth year with the marching band. He joined in eighth grade for the "Elemental Led" Led Zeppelin show; his freshman year saw "Socially Numb," with the music of Pink Floyd; as a sophomore, the Oiler band scored its highest score in years, and earned a fourth-place finish with "The Show Must Go On," featuring the music of Queen.
This fall, the band shifts gears, planning a show based on Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major" and derivative compositions.
Robert is the first junior in recent memory to be named a field commander of the Oiler Band.

Make a Folder without a Name

Right Click,

Move to New and

select New Folder,

Use Backspace to Remove the Name,

Press "Alt+255" or it's "Alt+0160" then Press Enter.

Use Number Keys which are on Right Side of Keyboard.

Pepsi Throwback

This was an interesting experience.
I stopped at Walgreen's tonight to pick up some things, and I noticed they still had Pepsi Throwback in the cooler. I apparently am part of the target market for this product, made with actual sugar, as opposed to high-fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup recently has been linked to all kinds of issues, especially since someone noticed that when the stuff replaced real sugar in processed food, we all got fat.
But I just think this "new" product tastes better. Really. I can tell. So can Andrew.
"I can taste the cola," he said, "not just sludge."
Behind me at Walgreen's was a family of three females - it looked like Grandma, Mama and daughter. The little girl was about 6 or 7.
I reached for the Pepsi Throwback, and the little girl, right behind me, also reached for one.
"No, dear, that's one of the nasty ones," Mama said. Oh, my, I thought, a food freak. Next comes the lecture on phosphoric acid, the 37.5 mg of caffeine per 12-ounce serving, the obesity challenge.
"Here, why don't you get a Mountain Dew?"
Um ... I must be missing something

ReStyle Vinyl Tablecloths

Warmer weather brings us inspiring opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors. Here are a few ideas to help spruce up garden furniture for entertaining, organize a picnic outing or take-off for a day at the beach. Go green and crafty - recycle an old vinyl tablecloth to create a new summer accessory for your earth-friendly style.

Martha suggests creating outdoor pillows, above, from easy to clean vinyl tablecloths. You can also apply a waterproof sealer to the seams for better weather resistance.

Design Sponge recommends making a double sided picnic blanket with the vinyl for the ground side and flannel on the reverse. Add a ribbon to tie it all up.

Crafty Daisies teaches us how to sew up a great sized beach bag with her choice of vinyl tablecloth fabric.

Enjoy!

Memorial Day

For the fourth straight Memorial Day, we headed downtown for the Oiler Marching Band and the Mt. Pleasant Memorial Day Parade.
Attendance was as good as previous years - and the band sounded terrific.

Hold That Thought

Book markers can be made of almost anything. Of course, they work best if they are flat and don't really alter the book in any way. They can be as simple as a recycled scrap of paper or as formal as a four-color printed reproduction of a beautiful design. I recently found this vintage style, cross-stitched and embroidered book marker. It made me smile and think of my mother.

The sweet message reads "When this you see, remember me." My mother loves to read and she's a fast reader, too. But for the thousands of books she's read, I have never seen her use a conventional book marker. When the time comes to mark her page, she will use whatever she finds within reach, a corner torn from a newspaper or magazine or an unused paper napkin is her usual choice.

When I saw this book marker, I had a eureka moment and had to buy it for her. Maybe my mother needs a special book marker she can keep nearby and call her own. As for the hand stitched message, the words should not refer to remembering me, the giver. They should refer to the book marker itself. Using the pretty little book marker, thoughtfully handmade for a glorious reader, is in fact what I hope she'll remember.

Manager, Clerk and Sales Rep.

A Sales Rep, an Administration Clerk and the Manager are walking to lunch.

When they find an antique oil lamp, they rub it and a Genie comes out.

The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish” “Me first! Me first!” says the
Administration Clerk.

“I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.”
Poof! She’s gone.

“Me next! Me next!” says the Sales Rep. “I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach
with My Personal Masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.”
Poof! He’s gone.

“OK, You’re up,” the Genie says to the Manager.

The Manager says, “I want those Two Back in the Office After Lunch.”

Moral of the story: 'Always Let Your Boss have the First Say'.

Fearness.

I feared being alone Until I learned to like Myself.

I feared failure Until I realized that I only Fail when I don't try.

I feared success Until I realized That I had to try In order to be happy With myself.

I feared people's opinions Until I learned that People would have opinions About me anyway.

I feared rejection Until I learned to Have faith in myself.

I feared pain Until I learned that it's necessary For growth.

I feared the truth Until I saw the Ugliness in lies.

I feared life Until I experienced Its beauty .

I feared death Until I realized that it's Not an end, but a beginning.

I feared my destiny,Until I realized that I had the power to change My life.

I feared hate Until I saw that it Was nothing more than Ignorance.

I feared love Until it touched my heart, Making the darkness fade Into endless sunny days.

I feared ridicule Until I learned how To laugh at myself.

I feared growing old Until I realized that I gained wisdom every day.

I feared the future Until I realized that Life just kept getting Better.

I feared the past Until I realized that It could no longer hurt me.

I feared the dark Until I saw the beauty Of the starlight.

I feared the light Until I learned that the Truth would give me Strength.

I feared change, Until I saw that Even the most beautiful butterfly Had to undergo a metamorphosis, Before it could fly.

Recycling Ties

Isn't this fabulous? The typeface, designed by Ed Nacional, a student at Parsons in New York, is called Tiepography. His impressive collection of ties comes from his Dad's hand-me-downs, flea markets, thrift shops and a few special purchases. Going green with great design ideas!

Spring concert bootleg

Mt. Pleasant High School's Symphonic Band and Symphonic Wind Ensemble performed their spring concerts Thursday.
There were many highlights - this is a serious concert.
Robert's a member of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble.
The show ranged from Holst's early 20th century "Mars" from "The Planets" (designated as the Martian National Anthem in "Stranger in a Strange Land") to the familiar and challenging "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," credited to Bach and arranged for wind instruments.
Listen to the performance - and bear in mind, this is a performance by small-town high school musicians.
I said "Wow."

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The Planets
I. Mars
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Mt. Pleasant High School Wind Ensemble
May 21, 2009

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O Magnum Mysterium
Marten Lauridsen (b. 1943)
arr. H. Robert Reynolds
Mt. Pleasant High School Wind Ensemble
May 21, 2009

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Joy
Joseph Curiale (b. 1955)

Mt. Pleasant High School Wind Ensemble
May 21, 2009



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Children's March (Over the Hills and Far Away)
Percy Grainger (1882-1961)
Mt. Pleasant High School Wind Ensemble
May 21, 2009

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Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Arr. Erik Leidzen
Mt. Pleasant High School Wind Ensemble
May 21, 2009

Home from college

Andrew's home from college, his first year at Michigan Tech over.
He's judging it to be a success.
"Hey, I'm not on academic probation," he said.
Of course, none of us have seen much of him. As soon as he got back to town, he got his old job back and he's been working a lot. (It's amazing what knowing what you're doing, having a reputation for showing up for work, and providing good customer service will do for you, even during Depression 2.0.)
He's also been spending immense amounts of time with die Fraulein.
Between those two top priorities, it's been a case of just sort of being vaguely aware that there's another person in the house. I know there has to be, because food keeps disappearing.
Sigh.
But I think back to when I was his age, back home from my first year at Central. Everything had changed, and that's apparently the whole point of that exercise.
Hey, he's not on academic probation. Welcome home, Andrew.

Ascension Mass in the garden

Today is the feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus. We had a Mass in the church in Dublin at noon and in Comanche (since they have an outdoor altar), we had a Mass in the evening in the church garden. I appreciated the great turnout this evening. I think next year we'll do it an hour later (so we're all in the shade) and follow it up with an ice cream social.

The Vicar of Comanche

The Vicar of Dublin

Guess who got internet service today? To celebrate, here is a picture of the sanctuary of one of my congregations--Trinity Church in Dublin, TX. The congregation was founded in the 1899 and I think the building goes back nearly as far. It is what I would call simply country gothic. The interior and the altar are wood and the exterior is brick (though I think that might have been added later). The windows are not clear but geometric colored glass. They are just washed out in the picture.

I'll post more pictures as I get them.

How awkward!

A month or so ago, I began doing quick-hit news updates for WCFX radio. The paper's had a long-standing deal with the radio station. Putting a newspaper voice on the air helps both media, by promoting the newspaper and spicing the the "Breakfast Flakes" morning show with yet another voice.
It's been pretty successful, but at least one of Katherine's friends is a little freaked out by it.
Imagine. You're a teenager, and all of a sudden, your friend's FATHER starts showing up on your favorite radio station.
"I heard your dad on the radio," she said. "It was a little awkward."
It just messes with the whole theater-of-the-mind thing, doesn't it?

Brain Helper

The world's factual knowledge is now computable and accessible to you. You may not have been staying up nights worrying about comparing historical weather patterns or conjuring graphs to improve your household energy usage, but this is very cool. Different from a search engine, the computational knowledge engine draws from a huge collection of original data sources, not just other web sites. It also performs numerical calculations.

So, go ahead and try the newly launched Wolfram Alpha. Enter the names of two cities to get a comparison of the populations, the distance in miles between them and the time it takes to fly from one to the other. Enter your choice of a food, for the nutrition facts, calories, fat content and more. Did you know a poached egg only has 50 calories? Try something challenging.

The introduction by its creator, mathematician, scientist and software entrepreneur Stephen Wolfram is fun and helpful as a launching point.

Long Emo Hairstyle With Bangs

This is Amber, who has long black hairstyle with bangs, really cute.
more details of her.

emo girls hairstyle


girls emo/scene hairstyle with fringes

MBA plus 1

Blogger's note: Kissy Missy and I were having a quiet Sunday morning. I had just shot some portraits of the cats (look for them soon) when I noticed that it was one year ago she received her MBA from Northwood. How did I know this?
Because I'm a wonderful husband, and I remember.
Actually, I saw the images in the file with the date on them. Now, I would have sworn I had made a blog entry, but somehow, they're not there. I had images prepped, but ....
I am a bad, bad husband. I forgot. Fail!
Soooo .... belatedly, the world knows now! and

The family joins her as Kissy Missy officially becomes part of Northwood University's Class of 2008 and receives her master's degree.

With the graduate degree comes a cowl - to be worn to all formal academic events, such as commencements, henceforth.

Crossing the stage to receive the diploma.

Celebrating outside on a beautiful day in May.

And joining other members of her cohort to mark the end of the course of study - and the beginning of life with a graduate degree.

Meet Charles, our newest pet

Meet Charles, the vacuum robot.
It seems that Mother's Day was all about cleaning. The family gave Kissy Missy a car detailing job, and she decided on her own to get a Roomba.
The machine actually does a terrific job, scooting across the bare floor of the kitchen and the carpeted floors in the rest of the house like a dream. It's pulled a completely amazing amount of cat hair out of the carpet.

Charles - named that by Katherine, by the way - operates on the same level, of course, as Minden and München. They were terrified of the regular vacuum cleaner, but they're extremely curious about Charles. Sometimes too curious, it seems.

Charles senses things mainly by bumping into them. If you don't want to be bumped into, move.
If he does bump into you, he'll just change direction and clean another section of floor. He's determined, very determined.

It's the 21st Century. We have a robot, and Kissy Missy says she feels like Jane Jetson, although Charles isn't as sophisticated as Rosie.
Although Rosie might have shooed Minden out of the way, too.
Ma! He's chasing me! Make him stop!

Make Your Own Vintage Map Bracelet

Craft Stylish teaches us how to create a vintage map bangle bracelet. Scavenge around for a old road map from your glove compartment or another recyclable paper source. Click here for the supply list and easy instructions. It's fun and green!

Giving blood, giving back

Katherine gave blood for the first time today.

She's 17, old enough to donate, and took part in a blood drive at school.

She's valuable as a donor - with O+ blood, she's a "universal donor."

She was healthy - she's avoided the nasties that have hit her brother and me - and it will certainly bring good Karma.

Turkey and Bull

A Turkey was chatting with a bull “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, but I haven’t got the energy.”

“Well, why don’t you nibble on my droppings?” replied the bull. “They’re packed with nutrients.”

The Turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the Turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get You to the top, but it wont keep You there.

Vintage Cards for Mother's Day

Julia Ward Howe, poet, social activist and author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" proposed a Mother's Day in her 1870 proclamation, in reaction to the devastation of the Civil War, encouraging women to come together to oppose war and promote peace. She also believed in the equality of women.

Anna Reeves Jarvis, teacher, local activist, worked for better sanitation for both sides of the opposition during the Civil War. After she died, her daughter Anna Jarvis continued with her mother's work and tried to create a day to honor all mothers, living and dead. In 1907, she gave out white carnations to all the mothers at St Andrew's Church in Grafton, WV. On May 10, 1908, St. Andrews offered a Sunday service honoring mothers. In 1914 Mother's Day was created in the United States.

Happy Mother's Day!

A Little Bird

A Little Bird was flying south for the Winter.

It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.

While he was lying there, a Cow came by and dropped some dung on him.
As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.
The dung was actually thawing him out!
He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing Cat heard the Bird singing and came to investigate.
following the sound, the Cat discovered the bird under the pile of Cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story:

1. Not everyone who shits on You is your enemy.

2. Not everyone who gets You out of shit is your friend.

3. And when You’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep Your mouth shut!

Symbols of Summer from Coke

The Coca-Cola Company is releasing five new limited edition designs on Coke cans this summer. The minimalist graphics feature a striped beach ball, aviator sunglasses, surf boards, a charcoal grill and stars and stripes. Coming soon!

Getting the flu

I'm pretty sure the flu has invaded the household. Fevers greater than 100, coughing, intestinal upsets, headaches, bodyaches, don't-touch-me skin.
I haven't been to see a doctor. It seems like run-of-the-mill flu, and there's not a lot can be done about that. I don't think it will wipe us out.
But I hear that we're not supposed to call it "swine flu" anymore. The health establishment has started calling it by its scientific name, H1N1, and dropped the "swine" label.
Mustn't offend the pigs ...

White Wedding Dress

Son asked his Mother:

"Mom, why are Wedding Dresses White?"

The Mom looks at her Son and replies:

"Son, this shows your Friends and Relatives that Your Bride is Pure."

The Son thanks his Mom and goes off to double-check this with his father.

"Dad why are Wedding Dresses White?"

The Father looks at his Son in surprise and says:

"Son, all Household Appliances come in White."

Cannibal, the Musical

The spring show at Mt. Pleasant High School was one of the most controversial, most over-the-top shows they've done in years.
"Cannibal! The Musical" was performed Friday and Saturday.
The story is that of Alferd Packer, the only American ever convicted of cannibalism, in Colorado in the early part of the 20th century.
The back story, according to the official Web site:
Originally a student of music, director Trey Parker (who later went on to fame and fortune as a creator of "South Park") transferred from the prestigious Berklee School of Music to Colorado University at Boulder to study film, and it was there he gave birth to his twisted brainchild "Alferd Packer: The Musical". Parker not only wrote, produced, directed and played the leading role in the film, he also wrote the songs and collaborated on the score.
The film began as a three-minute fake trailer made for an advanced film production class and, as a joke the director said he was going to make the actual film. "People kept asking 'Where's the movie?" says Parker "The response was so positive, we decided we'd do it"
Together with fellow students Matt Stone, Jason McHugh and Ian Hardin (average age 23) they formed the Avenging Conscience Inc production company and raised $75,000 from private investors, friends and family by the day they needed to start shooting. They employed fellow students as cast members and took parts in the film themselves each stepping into each others shoes behind the camera when necessary. From conception to being in the can the film took around twelve months.
When Troma picked up the film in 1996, they realized that few people outside of Colorado had ever heard of Alferd Packer, so they re-released it under the name, Cannibal! The Musical.

Mt. Pleasant High School senior Matt Boles pushed hard to put on a stage adaption of the film, and succeeded. The script had to be heavily edited and reworked to get rid of the obscenities.
The topic - "All Singing! All Dancing! All Flesh-Eating!" made it controversial, and other challenges raised a lot of skepticism.
But ultimately, the show was hilarious - for people with the right mind-set, of course.
Robert and La Madamoiselle were part of the five-piece pit band.
And Matt - the director, adapter and driving force behind the show - has been familiar to us since the days when he was part of the youth staff at Cub Scout camps 'way back around the turn of the century.
He's always been like this.