Transitions FX

I've been working with various video editing programs lately. In some cases I've used a number of different programs in a single project.

It seems that every editing program you find has a number of special effects to be used. There is always the temptation to used a lot of them. It is also the best way to destroy potentially good video. I tend to use very few FX. I usually use a cross-fade between scenes and a very slow zoom on every still shot.

However, it is great fun to used the transitions effects and video effects as a means unto themselves. That is to say using the effects to create animation.

In the sequence at the left I used Ulead Video Studio 9, Photoshop 7, Epson NX400 scanner as well as video, and sound clips from the Internet and the obvious photograph of me.

This will make for a neat transition between longer videos on my DVDs.

PhotoStory 3

I recently downloaded a free copy of PhotoStory 3 from Microsoft. Of the many programs used to make slide shows it is one of the best. It's very user friendly. But there are several things that I would like to change. For example, the program is designed so that all things audio and video wise are done to each slide before advancing to the next.I prefer to add only visual embellishments to all slides before adding audio. I prefer to begin with only the pictures, no video effects of transitions. The first thing I do is to make sure that I have everything in the correct sequence. Then I determine the amount of time each slide will be on the screen. This may be adjusted later as narration is added. Here is the first video made with PhotoStory in which I used all it's features.

Ta-da....

I've been playing with jigsaw puzzles at Jigzone.com.  I'm concidering animating them for some video FX.

For My Father(Sof Shavua B'Tel Aviv)

S

o often we read of suicide bombers and think of them only as radical terrorists. This film gives a view into the life of one such bomber. The characters are well developed in this story about an incident in Tel Aviv. Strapped into a vest of explosives, young Palestinian Terek (Shredi Jabarin) enters Tel Aviv on a suicide mission to restore his father's honor. But a faulty fuse leaves him stranded among Israelis, and he begins to question his ingrained beliefs about his enemy. While he waits the weekend for a repair, he meets beautiful Keren (Hili Yalon). Still wearing his remote-controlled bomb, Terek must decide his fate before a decision is made for him

The location reeks of the realism of today.good direction and camera work move the story along at a good pace.

Sin Nombre

T
his is a powerful movie about people and the environments they inhabit. The film begins in Central America following the lives of two young people with entirely different

objectives in life, but both are trapped by the culture in which they live. Sayre is a young woman who is seeking a better life in the USA.  He wishes to escape gang life.  Their paths cross on a north bound freight train with refugees perched precariously on top as it rumbles along. They become friends and become inseparable but are hunted by the gang which he deserted.

It has a good story and depicts the extreme poverty in which some Central Americans live in. There is a lot of violence but not gratuitous. Sin Nombre is a good film worthy of awards in the industry.

Traveling Partner

I've got a new traveling partner.  No, I'm not replacing my main squeeze.  Paerhaps I should say podner not partner since I'm talking about my iPod Touch. In our recent trip to France we found it most helpful.  It's a well know fact that there are thousands of applications for iPods.  We found a few that were very helpful traveling in the land of fois gras and escargot. We used it to download maps and driving directions to our next point on our journey.  Whether it was a  train schedule or subway station locations we found downloaded information very helpful.  The Metro even sends out bulletins informing you if trains are running late. Another good feature is an app that allows you type in an English phrase which is then translated into French  and is returned to you by voice. You just repeat the phrase and you've spoken French!  We found it helpful to download actual audio tours of places like the Louvre and listen to a tour guide while touring the greatest collection of art in the world. As an artist, Autodesk Sketchbook Express, was great to use to do sketches directly on the screen. We'll certainly make the iPod touch a part of our normal traveling and camping essentials.  

colours

I took some stills at the fleamarket and also some photos of anime on my TV. I then used the Movie Wizard feature on Ulead 9 to put together the slide show. Then I exported it to Ulead Video Editor to add FX.

I think it turned out pretty good.

When a Still picture is not Static

In recent years I have begun to take still photos only during our travels. Once, i attempted to do the movie thing, but was unhappy with the results. You simply can't control enough of the elements of picture making. Everything is unscripted. AND it takes a lot of time. Recently we traveled in France and drove 4500 kilometers in about three weeks. Needless to say, we did not stay in one place very long. Therefore, the time constraints of movie making prohibit this activity. At least for me.

Now I only shoot still pictures. Then I assemble them into slide shows. I hate that term: slideshow. I brings back images of darkened rooms and narration in monotone. I like to show our vacation pictures in a video of still images. Obviously, the simplest way to add to the effect is to add commentary. However, visual effects are more effective to add interest. Without using any effects, one of the best ways to create visual interest i to vary the length of time each photograph is shown.  The fades, zooms, and other effects provided by the software can be used to create interest.

(Unless otherwise noted the software used is Windows Movie Maker)
In Example 1 we have our photograph.
In Example 2 we have the blur and fade effect added.
In Example  3 We have added the sound effect (a camera sound) to Example 2.

EXAMPLE 1

EXAMPLE 2

EXAMPLE 3

You'll note that the final example mimics focusing a camera before taking the picture.

Cyril and the Geese

In France one of the food delicacies is foie gras.    By force-feeding the geese their livers become fat laden to produce what is known as foie gras. This delicacy is frequently served as a pate.  According to the guide book we could find a goose former in the area we were visiting. We wanted to meet a goose farmer and see how he fed the geese. After a few wrong turns we found Cyril's farm at the end of a dirt road. It had that typical farm appearance of farm house and out buildings.   We saw a man with a ladder at a fig tree and a gaggle of geese. He was dressed for the cool October air, had a round face with gray hair on is head and a gray stubble on his chin. The most noticeable feature of his face was a big smile.  It took only a few minutes for me to realize that Cyril's English vocabulary was equal to mine of French.  We each knew about ten words of the other's language. But, through pantomime he understood that we wanted to see him feed the geese. There was a goose in the farmyard that followed him like a faithful dog and Cyril had to scold him not to follow us into the feeding room. 

In the feeding room the geese were in pens and Cyril sat on a chair designed for goose feeding.  He had one leg over the goose and the goose's neck extended up between his legs. He showed us the he was not holding the goose with any pressure, his leg simply kept the goose in place. From the overhead he inserted the feeding tube into the goose's bill and down it's throat and deposited a measure of corn into the goose. He then massaged the  neck.  He allowed us to feel the corn inside the goose by feeling it's neck. Cyril laughingly petted the goose before releasing it. Contrary to popular opinion the goose does not appear to be stressed out or unwilling to undergo force-feeding.

He then led us to the room where the geese were slaughtered and processed. We ended up in the sales room and bought some of his product.

As we were leaving, Cyril beckoned us to stop our car so he could give us a double handful of freshly picked figs.

My Metro Adventure

Parisian Adventure
We were on a crowded, I mean we were packed in like a can of sardines, Metro car. Metro, that's what they call the subway trains in Paris. I was holding on to my leather jacket with one hand and the overhead rail with the other. Claudette was close by hanging on too. Right after it started moving I got this sensation in my leg. You know, like when bug or something flies up your pants leg. Then it felt like there was a hand in my pocket like somebody was gonna play pocket pool. I knew it wasn't my hand and looked across at Claudette an saw that she was holding on with both hands. I took a chance turning loose that rail I was holding on to to check my pocket. 'Bout that time the train was slowing down I barely missed grabbing the twelve-year-girl's hand that was in my pocket. The train stopped, the door opened, and she was out the door like a bat out of hell.
So if you're in Paris and you feel a hand in your pocket, make sure it's yours or your main squeeze's.

Sleep Tight

We were on the morning train from Paris to Vernon to visit Monet's garden at Giverney.  I could not help but notice the young woman across from us sleeping she seemed so relaxed and peaceful.  At one of our first stops the according player boarded the train and began playing.  At the next stop a saxophone player joined him.  The music was lively as another horn player joined them later.  They played loud and lively and left the train before we got off at Vernon. But she never awoke and we left he on the train fo Roeun.

For inspiration

Occasionally, I have too watch this.   When a word of encouragement is needed or a little pep talk these words of Shakespeare do the job.  In this production of William Shakespeare's Henry V, Kenneth Branaugh is in the title role. Henry's famous speech is given on the eve of the famous St. Crispin's Day battle which signalled the end of the Hundred Years War between England and France.  When you enjoy this work as a film or as a play it is also good to read  Agincourt by Bernard  Cornwell.  Cornwell historical novel about events leading up to this battle are a treasure of historical military information.   The English won the battle with the French while out-numbered three to one. Some historians would disagree with this statistic, but the fact remains that the French had more soldiers that the English. Although the St. Crispin's day speech is purely fiction, one could speculate that there were some motivational speeches given prior to this battle.

In passing...

My mother, Helen Young, passed away Sunday morning, August 8. Her children were at her bedside. A day or two before she had hugged each of them and told them good-bye. Below are some of the comments that I, her oldest son, made at her memorial service.

I loved my Mama. When I think of all the ways my Mama touched me and others a few things come to mind.First, she was a prolific note writer. If I asked right now how many of you have received a note from my mama many hands would go up. If you visited her or gave her a gift or maybe she just hadn't seen you in a while, you'd get a note from her. And not just an ordinary note either--one that would have a funny phrase and "ha-ha" some where in it. And by the way there would probably be a little stick figure by the signature too.Secondly, she believed in baking cakes for people too. When member of the community who lived alone was having a birthday, Mama decided he needed a cake and baked him one. That's just the kind of lady she was.
Thirdly, she loved unconditionally. When her oldest son experienced an unsuccesful marriage she continued to love the ex-wife while embracing the new wife. Or when a family member adopted a lifestyle she did not approve of she admonished them but kept on loving them.
You see Mama had:

• A sincere interest on others
• A giving nature
• Unconditional love

One final note: We were once driving Mama and her sister to a funeral of a relative, all is quiet as we drive along, suddenly Mama says,"You just can't believe anything you read in the newspaper anymore.". We drive along in silence for a few miles and then I heard her say,"But I believe Blondie!"

I loved my Mama. And I know you did too.

Me and My Sis.

Some times there is a flashback among siblings. One such flashback occurred to me when my sister and I rode on her Gator to look at some farmland. It was like old times we were youngsters on the farm again. She was the one who got to be the Indian in the eternal struggle for the American west and she was the one that always got to follow. And she was always the one I took up for when others called her names. We had some rough times growing up on a red-clay farm but it all worked out alright. She's still one of the favorite women in my life!

Video captured with a Canon Power Shot SD960 IS DIGITAL ELPH

Editing program used was Windows Movie Maker)

Downer Day

Today is a downer day. My brother called and said that the HOSPICE folks said that our mom has only a few days to live. Although I was expecting the call, I wasn't ready. I spoke with her last on Saturday. She told me of her love for me and I reciprocated. I could not help but tear up a bit as the lump grew in my throat and I looked into those pale blue eyes while she apologized for any mistakes she had made in my upbringing. I assured her that there was no need to feel sorry for anything she had or had not done and that she had done a wonderful job in rearing her four children. She said she was ready to meet with the Lord and knew that my daddy would be waiting at that golden gate for her. Yes it's been a downer day.

The Warm Fuzzies

I got the warm fuzzies this past weekend. What are the warm fuzzies and how do you get them? Let me try to answer the question. I guess the best definition of a warm fuzzie is the feeling of satisfaction. But not like the satisfaction of accomplishing some kind of goal like being the first the first to bowl a perfect game blindfolded. But more like the warm fuzzie feeling you got when you helped the little old lady across the street when you were a Boy Scout. I think that a warm fuzzie can only be felt if another person is involved.

I got my warm fuzzies working on a Habitat for Humanity house. Habitat makes it possible for people who by conventional means may never be able to afford a home to obtain one. The way that this is accomplished is through the unselfish donations of materials and labor. I was part of the labor. Just think of it: I, and other volunteers helped a family to have their own home. Yeah, their own piece of the American dream! Oh yes , you can get the warm fuzzies from this kind of volunteerism.

In my own simple way, (I am handicapped by a college education)I believe you can only gain fulfilment as a human being by being other-oriented. And the warm fuzzies will just keep on coming!

Scatz

I don't know what is is about cats. Why do we like them? Is it because they never seem to be completely tame? They always seem to do what they want to do. I think all cats have the female gene--you can pet them, lavish all kinds of gifts on them, do all sorts of things for them and they still do what they darn well please! Or maybe it's like the Revernd Chuck says, "God made house cats so man could know what it would feels like to pet a tiger!"

I just don't know what it is about cats!

Paddlin'

This Saturday past I went kayaking on the Edistoe

River with a group of men from our church. I am not a paddler. I'm not even a swimmer. But, I guess the yearn for adventure does not subside as one ages. But the ability sure does. I have only been in one of these small plastic boats twice before. Once on the Delaware and once on another river. The outfitter had all the boats at the water's edge when we arrived. He gave a little instruction of do's and don't's and paddling instruction.
"Don't get close to the overhanging trees!", he said.

Once in the water that was the first thing I did--got hung up in a tree!

The instructor pulled me out and I avoided trees for another few miles. The current was rather swift by flat-water standards where we put the boats in but subsided as we drifted downstream.

We stopped for lunch at a sandbar. Ham and cheese sure was good. Later the guide sliced a watermelon in his kayak and paddled along side to give each of us a slice.

Harry and I paddled along slowly while some of the others moved a a faster pace. When we rounded a bend and saw a blond girl in a red bikini we decided that this must be Givhans Ferry State Park where we were to take our boats out. We saw the other boats on the river bank and knew the trip was over.

I enjoyed the trip. But is was a very hot day (96 degrees plus) and I could never get the seat in my boat adjusted properly. However, was great fun with a great bunch of guys. A kayaker I am not! I must mark this off my list of life's aspirations...

USA vs. AZ

USA vs AZ. It's not just about immigration. The Federal government sued the state of Arizona charging that the AZ law was unlawful because it usurped the Federal law. This is true. However, AZ inacted the law only because the Federal government would not enforce the Federal immigration laws already on the books. The government's reason for non-enforcement is that it doesn't have the resources for adequate enforcement. Does it make you feel safe knowing that the most powerful nation in the world cannot secure it's borders? I think not. Not only can Hispanics cross those borders, but others as well. Remember 9/11? The next group of terrorists could be crossing the border somewhere southwest of Los Cruses. Think about it, and call your representative today.

Mixed media,

I have been playing with images again. The image below began as a sketchbook drawing. But i could not leave it alone. it simply begged for something. Why not scan it? Why indeed? As Jean-Luc Picard would say, "Make it so!" And I did. But I needed color. What better to add color than Photoshop. I cropped. i cropped. I cropped.

Creativity

Creativity is a favorite subject of mine. What is it and where does it come from? The above video, although humorous, offers an insight into the creative process. It all begins with an idea. But aren't most ideas based on current knowledge? Or, perhaps, there are no original ideas just recycled ones that are revamped and presented in different ways.

Politics

My political adventure is over. In November at the urging of a friend I entered the race for Berkeley County Council representing District 5. I have long thought of going into public service and the time seemed right. The mayor of our fair city was my mentor. after all he's been in office some thirty years and has been re-elected many times. My opponent had been on council eight years. What really piqued my interest were the stories I heard about my prospective opponent. He had threatened fellow council members and had not served his constituents very well if at all. Although I lacked name recognition I thought I would give it a go. I first met with the local GOP chairman to find out about procedures. He was vague but I managed to learn of the proper procedures for entering the race. I took advantage of speaking at every opportunity. Monthly party breakfasts were a staple opportunity. I designed and shopped for printers for promotional literature and signage. All the while soliciting contributions. I got lists of good voters from GOP VoterVault. "Good" voters are those who have voted recently. We, Claudette and I, got volunteers to walk some of the neighborhoods. For our mail-out campaign volunteers placed labels and stamps on our postcards. Claudette made sure we complied with the State Ethics Commission by filing timely reports. We knocked on doors daily from late April until Primary Election Day. Of all the people we saw only six knew who their Councilman was and only two said they would vote for him. All others responded positively. Yet, we lost: 1498 to 800. Go figure! I regret losing. We gave the people a choice and they chose to elect the party favorite. We made a lot of friends and had a lot of fun working our butts off and I can check something else off my "bucket list"!

Music!

I have decided in my 65th year to take up playing the guitar. When I was little, my grandma and I would watch Gene and Roy on the silver screen play their guitars and sing from horseback. I don't plan on doing it from horseback but maybe sittin' around the campfire.

When J-L was here he told me that he could teach me three chords that I could use to play any song. I think it was an over simplification. But he had been readin' and makin' music since he was eight years old. So he might've know a thing or two 'bout music. I dusted off my old Stella, made by Harmony Guitars of Chicago, and decided that I would give it a go. The guy at the guitar shop put new strings on for me and told me that it was a collectible. I bought it in the '60's from a pawn shop and had taken it around the world twice while in the Navy. It's got some battle scars. I pulled out my "Country and Blues Guitar for the Musically Hopeless" book and had at it. With the help of an electronic device, I have learned to tune it (something that has eluded me forty years). Of course I've looked on the Internet for information, songs and such. Some of the most helpful things are the YouTube videos.

I don't want to be the next rock star. I just want to be good enough to accompany my friends as we sing something, NOT Kumbaya. And maybe, just maybe, I could sing something by myself without makin' the hounds howl. Perhaps with the help of Divine providence I could learn to flat-pick one song...

Robin Hood

Back when I chased my sister with a bow and arrow I was a fan of Robin Hood. And I still am! The latest cinema rendering of the tale of Sherwood Forest's most famous resident is one of the best. It can't be compared with Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, the Kevin Costner film or any of the others. Although I'm a fan of Ridley Scott's work and Rusell Crowe's as well, the story line in this film is completely different. It's the story of Robin before he was Robin. He is Robert in this story and does not become Robin Hood until he's declared an outlaw by King John. Yes, this is the same King John that signed the Magna Carta and reneged on it. I liked the movie. It has lots of action and Scott's skill at rendering a strikingly visual film. And then there's Cate Blanchett. She's not very pretty, has the figure of a school girl (a primary school girl at that), and the sex appeal of a wet mop. But I think she's great! A good movie and very entertaining.

Sun. 5/23/2010

Sometimes during the sermon my mind drifts. Usually this is just before I succumb to sleep. You see I got spoiled as a young man when I attended a church that had a blind minister. I could fall asleep without the eye of the man on me. But, not now. I think this guy has eyes of an eagle. Even puts these little "fill in the blanks" in the church bulletin to keep you busy. It doesn't quite work on me though. I have a better natural process that keeps me awake. I gotta draw. Since the time my wee fingers held a pencil I have drawn. So, it's only natural that I should draw in church. However, it does create some questions. What prompts the images that I draw? Could it be the sermon? The top drawing is kind of obvious, I simply illustrate the word of text. Maybe, drawings of pencils show the method of creating the drawing. Or, is there a greater philosophical question. In retrospect I don't know which came first the mountain or the pencil. And what's with all these bubbles? The funky symbol on the left is easily understood. I have long had a fascination with symbols. They're about brevity. The reduction of an idea or process or whatever reduced to a small drawing . A symbol. Wow! From church to symbols, I guess there is some kind of continuum there.

Gunpowder & Lead 2010

Tony Young is back from the Gunpowder and Lead event sponsored by the Men of Peace. There was smell of gunpowder in the air at the assault in Dorchester county, but, alas, many an orange bird survived. There were no sharpshooters in the crowd, however, Preacher Will did call on a higher authority to improve his shooting skills.... Big Tim Walker managed to discharge both barrels of his gun at the same time and really got a bang out of it but the clay birds survived. Blastermaster Willie Murphy was accused of introducing some concrete birds into the event. Chef Bill served up a great low country boil and a large time was had by all.

(click on the picture above to see complete photo album)

The Rocketeer

This Disney film has always been one of my favorites. It becomes even more of a favorite when you know the back story. This film was based on a graphic novel by Dave Stevens before cinema based on graphic novels became popular. What's the difference between a graphic novel and a comic book? Price? Today all artist and story tellers in graphic form are masters of their craft. Since I am an unabashed aerophile, this film certainly got my attention. Set in the Golden Age of Aviation It has a charm all it's own. Back in the day when home-built airplanes could win national air races. The first scenes has the star flying a GeeBee race, which was famous for crashing. The famous aviator,Jimmy Doolittle, did set a speed record in one though. The Rocketeer had it's own pin-up girl (her picture was pinned up on a bulletin board at a cafe) based on true life pin-up girl Bettie Page. There are other interesting things such as the Howard Hughes character creating a flying model of his famous "Spruce Goose". Little details are interesting too, such as, the hero chewing Beaman's gum which of course was Chuck Yeager's favorite. I think he was chewing it when he broke the sound barrier. This is a good "G" movie and I liked it again and again and...

I could've told who it starred and so forth...but you can read the in the trailer. Anyway, you can recognize the faces!

Fishing with Harry

Yesterday I went fishing with Harry. He had mentioned several weeks ago that I could join him fishing in the Goose Creek reservoir. First of all I was admonished for being late. I apparently had misheard his invitation the previous evening and did not arrive at his house until 7:30 in the morning. It was a cool and misty morning with gray clouds seemingly bursting with rain. But Harry said that it wasn't going to rain and that we would catch plenty of fish.
We launch the boat with Harry in the boat and I park the truck and trailer before joining him in the boat which is tied to the floating dock. We push off. There seems to be a bit of clutter in the 15 foot john boat as I seat myself in front. I notice a lot of duct tape on a lot of things.

Harry tells me, " Now this boat leaks a little bit. Some of the rivets have popped loose so it takes on a little water."

I have visions of Cameron's Titanic, and wonder is the duct tape will hold. The Johnson outboard motor does not start immediately and I hear Harry saying something.

"What're you saying, Harry? Can't hear you!"

"Oh, I'm just talking to the motor. Why don't you turn on the trollin' motor and take us out while I get this thing started. It ran fine yesterday."

The motor started and we move across the water. I'm clinching my hat to hold it on. After about twenty minutes, Harry cuts the outboard and we drift forward toward the shallows and a bunch of scrubs in the water.

"Now turn on the trolling motor and take us in right between those two big clumps of grass. That's where the fish are."

I follow his instructions and grab the PVC pipe attached to the trolling motor handle to put the boat in the exact location as Harry directed. I was cautioned to be stealthy as not to alert our quarry. It was quiet except for the birds and gators grunting. The gators were obviously singing some song in primeval grunts. Boy, were they noisy! Harry showed me how to rig my tackle, just a fiberglass rod with split shot and a hook. We were using crickets for bait. The idea was to toss the baited hook over the bream beds and let it drift down for them to grab it. But we were using no ordinary crickets.

"I'm gonna show how to catch fish!", he tells me.Then he says, "These are no ordinary crickets."

"They look ordinary to me. But they're hard to catch," I say.

Harry tips his baseball cap back a little as he selects a cricket from the cricket bucket and says, "I think what I feed them makes a difference. Most people laugh at me when I tell 'em and don't believe me but it's the truth."

"And what do you feed them?" I ask, thinking it must be some recipe he had learned while growing up on a farm in South Carolina's upcountry.

"I feed 'em bananas," he said. I must've looked surprised because he elaborated. "Yep, I feed 'em bananas. When I have some left over, I slice up a big ole ripe banana and put it in with 'em. The next morning it's all gone and the crickets are hopping around all frisky. I b'lieve the fish bite 'em better too. I don't know if it's 'cause they're friskier or maybe it's the way it makes the cricket smell. Who knows, maybe fish like bananas."

We continue to fish and land quite a few big bream. Harry shows me how the male fish are marked differently than the females and how the females are bulging with eggs. As I hook another cricket under his breastplate and get ready to cast I notice that one of the crickets with a greater will to live is swimming around in the water in the bottom of the boat. Maybe the duct tape is not holding up too well.
"I believe that's one of them old convicts gettin' your cricket," Harry observes as I rebait my hook. I rebait it three times in about ten minutes.

"What?"

"I call 'em convicts 'cause they're always stealing your bait. Shellcracker is the proper name. They'll steal that bait right off your hook. You gotta set that hook quick!"

I never did get a shellcracker, a.k.a. convict, but we caught our limit of bream. Harry caught a catfish too. The old catfish squaked a lot as Harry removed the hook. Just before we left the fishing spot, we heard lot of splashing going on and saw an osprey catch a big mullet. The fish was so big that he bird could hardly stay airborne.

And so it was, fishing with Harry. He did show me how to catch fish and I learned a lot about Harry too.

Next time I'll be on time. Harry said I'd jinxed our fishing luck.

Why Cows?

Why Cows? For some reason every time we have taken to the road in Utah we meet a herd of cows. The most recent was in 2007 during vacation. Here we are rounding a bend in the road when we meet a herd of cattle being driven by a cowboy. Is this the west or what? But there are cars interspersed with the bovines. The horseman yells to the lady in a car, not a Mustang, "Just keep moving, lady, they'll get out of the way!" He had a gravely voice, entirely unlike the voice of the young woman we had seen herding cattle on our previous trip across Utah. Interestingly enough this was not "free-range country. There were fences along the road. We saw a lot of this on Navajo land in New Mexico. So, let me warn you. When driving in Utah be aware of cowboys and cattle drives.

NEW LAYOUT

I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO INCREASE THE AREA OF MY BLOG TO SHOW LARGE PICTURES COPY AND GRAPHICS.

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.

Memorable moments, events and so on...

Commentary

Recycling..It's not just about being green!

I believe in recycling. I believe that we have a mandate to preserve our natural resources and one way of doing that is through recycling. Much of our waste can be recycled. Such solid waste as metal cans, glass, and plastics as well as such liquids as cooking oil can be recycled. It is a well known fact that aluminum can be produced less expensively from recycled aluminum cans than from raw material. Plastic soda bottles can be reprocessed into polyester yarn. Indeed a well known manufactures, Patagonia, now uses polyester fleece from recycled water bottles in the manufacture of some garments. My youngest son uses reprocessed cooking oil from fast food restaurants for fuel for his RV. Currently recycling programs are considered too expensive, but I believe that Berkeley County can have a viable recycling program.

Can you put a price on doing the right thing?

James Cameron et al

Just another day in...

We went to see Gamer recently and we enjoyed it very much.

The Grease Burner

​

From the book...

Heard a good book lately?

Everyone enjoys a good book. And we love to share our favorites. We let our friends read our favorites and then we discuss them. But have you ever shared a book simultaneously. You know, like reading the same passage at the same time. that is kind of difficult and brings to mind all sorts of images of bodily contortions. But you can enjoy the same passage if you listen to it. I a referring to audio books of course. We frequently listen to books while driving. Our favorites are mystery novels. During the listening we can pause the compact disc and talk about the events described and maybe guess the final outcome of the book. I suppose you could call this active listening. Listen to a book on your nest long drive and share it as you listen!

PASTE POTS

Recently I've been smitten by the collage bug. I guess as children we cut and pasted to make those posters for school.So, back to childhood with a twist. I'm a painter, primarily, with most of my work in watercolor. Moving into doing some collage works puts me into a new arena. It's so much more tactile or touchy feely. It's fun to CUT an TEAR. To smear paint rather than meticulously apply it to a finite space. So I did my first collage. in my collage book. (a 25 cent relic from the library) I'm using Elmer's white (diluted) as an adhesive. The label was scanned shrunk and printed. I've put them in a book for....well, I like books!

Valentines Day

Every year I make a Valentine card for that special someone in my life. This year was no exception. Instead of a new idea, I resurrected one from the unused idea file. I wanted to do something interesting, surprising, and, perhaps a little risque. Also, I wanted to stretch myself a bit creatively. That meant that it would not be a simple card. I have long been a fan of pop-ups and paper sculpture. And, of course, words and pictures have to work together. I decided to use the readily available blank greeting card that comes with the correct size envelop. I also knew that the surprise element would be photo of me in the buff!! I took several photos using the timer function on a battered Olympus digital camera. Then used Photoshop to place the image of a Valentine heart on the photo in a strategic place. I printedd theis image out on glossy photo paper and left a border around the image reminiscent of a commercially produced wallet sized photo. Via a search of the Internet I found the exact image of a lady's purse. I combined the visual elements of the card on the computer and printed it out on the blank greeting card. Using an craft knife I made an incision for the photo. This almost almost finished the project. I glued a piece of card stock to the back of the card so that the photo would not fall through.

It's Been a while....

It's been a while since I've posted. This political thing is keeping me busy. I'm running for Berkeley County Council from Distict 5. There are lost of suff to do. I decided that at this time in my life I would get involved in politics. But I did have achance to make Claudette a Valentine card. The painting of David won a prize in a local show.