Existing In BFE

This guy is really wasted. While I do not condone excessive drinking and I hope this guy didn't drive home, this is really funny to watch. Some people have witten about this piece that they are appalled folks find it funny, rather they should be horrified at the dunkenness. Relax. This isn't social commentary on the lives and people destroyed by alcohol. That is for another day. This is just a funny short vid on a guy that had too much and is trying to navigate. Think Foster Brooks as a college kid. And be careful this weekend, you never know when someone will whip out their cell phone and start filming.

Interesting use of this kite/small parasail. Not sure what it is but this guy used it effectively. It was a windy day, probably the windiest I have seen it. Kites, raging surf and constant pelting of sand on your face. Still fun, though.

This is the impressive St. Stefano Greek Orthodox church. I noticed the gold dome and cross and was curious. These guys were working on their sea plane. They were working on the engine and I stayed quite a while hoping they would take off. They never did, however, and carted away the propeller, apparently an important part of the mechanics. I might be able to scrounge up enough funds to afford the boat in the middle.

Commercialism at the beach. We have seen the usual plane hauling the Geico banner but this was new last Friday. Me and my posse at old Navy. Widdo Itto Bitty Bishop Enjoying his first ice cream. Bishop, a large German Shepherd lapdog, belongs to Drew. Life is never the same after you discover ice cream. At least Bishop won't have to worry about brain freeze. This passes for surfing around here. Its not exactly an exercise in catching a "big" one. Vessel? This was a mile away from the beach.

There has always been a kind of unreal aspect to fashion shows. First, no one in the real world ever buys these garments and secondly, there is a kind of man-eating swagger/pout and looks of hate on the models themselves. No one ever looks happy. This short clip is pretty gosh-darn down to earth. This lady walks like a true ball-buster. Enjoy.

Hallucinogenic Toreador (This is Dali's work about bull fighting. The female in upper left corner is wife Gala who disapproved of the sport. You night be able to see the faces formed by the Venus de Milo statues and one is crying. There is a dead bull in the lower center you might be able to see as well. The blood coming from the nose forms a pool that symbolizes a lake that he loved near his boyhood home. A lady is on a raft which symbolizes growing tourism. The flies represent death and the markers at the top represent the fallen bullfighters. The green cloth is a tie and the red garment is a red cape. See the faces?) Discovery of America (The young man pulling the ship onto the shore was a waiter at the coffee shop Dali went to regularly. The lady on the large pennant is Dali's wife Gala. The many crosses symbolize the divinity of America and/or its ideals. The round orb at the lower center didn't sit well with Dali's patron and most prolific buyer of his art a...

"Every morning when I wake up, I experience an exquisite joy - the joy of being Salvador Dalí - and I ask myself in rapture: What wonderful things this Salvador Dalí is going to accomplish today?" Salvador Dali "At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since." Salvador Dali "Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad." Salvador Dali "I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait." Salvador Dali "I have Dalínian thought: the one thing the world will never have enough of is the outrageous." Salvador Dali "Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings." Salvador Dali "In order to acquire a growing and lasting respect in society, it is a good thing, if you possess great talent, to give, early in your youth, a very hard kick to...

Nestled next to the bay in St. Petersburg is the Salvadore Dali Art museum. Mackenzie needed to go to an art museum for one of her college courses and asked me to tag along. I am so happy she did. All I really knew about Dali was the weird handlebar moustache and his even weirder paintings like The Disintegration of Persistent Memory, or as we all know it, the melting clock. I was so buzzed after going I am now a new fan of Dali. Our museum holds the world's largest collection and how we got it is a nice story. A couple in Cleveland had bought many Dali's for their home and soon ran out of room. They built a place in Ohio near his business but it, too, began to be space prohibitive. They sent out a nationwide notice to interested cities if they would like to house the artwork. The one caveat was that the works could never be split up and/or sold. Many museums dropped out because of that stipulation except a visionary group here in St. Pete who took up the monetary challenge a...

WARNING! POLITICAL COMMENTS. DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE A BIRTHER , EXTREMIST, GLEN BECK'S MOTHER OR BELIEVE THE PRESIDENT IS THE ANTI-CHRIST According to a new Harris poll 57% of Republicans and 32% of Americans overall, believe Barack Obama is a Muslim. It also says 45% of Republicans and 25% of Americans agree with Birthers that Obama was not born in US and so is not eligible to be president. 38 % of Republicans and 20% of Americans agree that Obama is "doing many things Hitler did." And 24 percent of Republicans, and 14 percent overall, agree that Obama "may be the Antichrist ." I don't quite know what to think of this, but I'll take a stab at it. I think it goes back to the economy. Everyday people like many of those listed above for extremist views are angry at the problems we all face by striking out at President Obama. They are decent people who have a need to make sense of their lives. 2 years ago they had a little money in the bank and jobs, ...

A friendly fellow resident alerted us to the danger that lurked under this patio chair. It looked like a baby python to me (of course, I think all snakes look like pythons). I think we should have alerted McDill Air Force base over in Tampa to send a squadron of Hornets with Stinger missiles to make this a better and safer place to live. I mean what's the point of Homeland Security if you can't rub out a few slimy, scaly man eaters ? I wish I had a happy ending to this story, but, sadly, someone came and removed the Satan spawn and walked it down to a grassy area not far from where I live. Still alive and, I presume, still hungry.

The teeming masses at the Wagon Wheel. Anything and everything is at the flea market. Underwear, parakeets, restaurant booths, you name it. I bought a new billfold for 12 dollars and a flat of strawberries for $7.00. I'm not sure what you call these things. Art? Hmmm , no, I hope not. These are delightfully kitschy creations that I would have a hard time placing in my digs. Not sure how one displays these in a tasteful fashion. There is even an area to rest your feet and have a bite to eat and dance. We went back to the Wagon Wheel flea market last Saturday and one must truly experience this city wide huuuuuuuuuuuge mult -building flea market with hundreds of vendors and thousands of shoppers. Everything imaginable is for sale: new, used, treasures, junk and some are even alive, like birds. I know the Barton's from Burgess have attended one of these but you can't imagine the enormity of the place and the endless variety of merchandise. It is part garage sale, part coun...

OMG! A Popeye squirt gun, when in the hands of a 9 year old is simply a cool water gun that none of your friends have. However, to an adult it seems to take on different connotations and becomes an object of humor. Hey, I can't come up with gems everyday!

What are some of the admonitions Moms used to yell at us? "Look both ways when you cross the street!" "Don't run with those scissors!" Don't get too close to the TV set or your eyes will cross!" Now imagine all those harmless safety rules with these Columbian kids who have to get to school in a really scary way.

On Sunday Drew and Mackenzie went to the beach and went into the water, which is still a bit chilly after winter. When you go into the Gulf you don't really swim, you stand and comb the floor with your feet to ward off stingrays and search for interesting shells. Well, they came across this monster of a shell and it is quite a find. It is a rarity to find one this large. This ranks as a major beach event. Other people were coming up and admiring their find. Now the long and arduous process of cleaning and polishing.

1. With all of the talk about America's debt, it can't hold a candle to our debt during World War II. At that time the GDP was 25%. Today it is only 13%. And we are in 2 wars now. Its all relative. 2. Saw a great movie last night. It's a dog-lovers flick called Hachi - A Dog's tale with Richard Gere , Joan Allen and Jason Alexander. It is based on a true story of a Japanese Akita who loved his owner so much that he...sorry, you have to rent it. I won't spoil it for you. This is a direct-to-DVD movie that was graded A- by Entertainment Weekly. Hachi: A Dog's Tale on DVD. Usually when you think of straight-to-DVD movies, names like Steven Seagal, Michael Madsen, and — of course! — Jean-Claude Van Damme come to mind, not Richard Gere. But don't let that stop you from seeing this G-rated canine sobfest, one of the sweetest films to not hit theaters in years. 3. Oak Meadows California 9000-student body school district has pulled all Collegiate Miriam-Webster dic...

This website, after 676 entries, is closing. On weekends. See ya back on Monday.

There is no doubting we like our phones. Or is it the camera that comes with it, or the apps that we play with? I got a new phone last week and I have to admit they have come a long way since those early cell phones 10 years ago. At that time we were just happy to be able to connect in case of an emergency. back then I didn't have one but was supplied with a company phone since I was on call throughout the month. Now, we can connect to the internet , our email account and Facebook . We can watch baseball games, check the stock market and play all kinds of games. We have now reached the point at which phones are smarter than some owners. I didn't know how to answer my new phone for a week. And I won't even mention my total inability to deal with voicemail. I can't seem to get it to just ring. It seems to want to sound like a drop of water plinking into water for new messages. I've just about given up so if I don't answer, it's not that I am away, or igno...

This doof, and I honestly do not know if he is a Democrat or Republican, doesn't know how islands work!! He is Congressman Hank Johnson from Georgia. What a dumbass. And kudos to the admiral testifying for not bursting out in embarrassed laughter. Why do we elect these people or people like Blago who we elected twice? Wow. In fairness, Congressman Johnson issued this statement after this comment: "The subtle humor of this obviously metaphorical reference to a ship capsizing illustrated my concern about the impact of the planned military buildup on this small tropical island." He says he is joking. Replay that and see if you can catch the humor. So now he tried to cover up this gaffe by lying. Oh come on! You really have never wondered if the world is round or flat! She talks about feeding her kids but wants us to believe she never wondered about the earth!! OK, I give up. I'm running for office. I know how islands work and that the world is round.

Went to the beach Monday night to watch the sunset. I filmed these guys on their surf boards paddling and noticed they were being led by a dolphin. You can see him 3 times in this vid . How cool would that be?

One of the many irretrievably personal items lost in the flood of 2008 in BFE was my Lenny Blythstra Cabbage Patch dolls given to me in the '80's. I was a big Mets fan and Cabbage Patch dolls were huge. They made one like the above dressed in a Mets uni. It came with a birth certificate and you had the option of naming your little guy (or girl). I liked a player named Lenny Dykstra who had had the nickname "Nails" because of his all-out hustle. As we later found out some of that was due to steroids, but that's another story. I named mine Lenny Blythstra . Upon my return to St. Pete last week I received from my daughter a new Lenny sans Mets flag, but priceless nonetheless. Thanks Kenze . Replacing my ball glove with Rusty Staub's personal autograph that I got in St. Louis might be a little tougher.

There are some days in the year that exude electricity for some reason. Christmas morning is one. No matter how old we get there is a tie to our childhoods that draw us back in time. Opening day for baseball is one of those days, too. The dream that this year will take us to the World Series sheds the years to a time when youthful naivete collides with hopeful expectations. Here's to all the fans of baseball and the hopes of October. Party at my place all day. I think I'll get to see about 4 games. We'll have snacks and beer. Drop on by if you're in the area. By the way, I'm hoping for a better Mets finish this year. Couldn't be much worse than last year when we only won 70 games. Watch for a fast start out of the gate since Jerry's and Omar's jobs are on the line. I'm also hoping Ron Santo will learn English as a second language.

What are you looking at this for? Go hug your spouse, friend or pet. Go golfing. Go to church. Go to the mall. Go out to breakfast. Then lunch. Then supper. Wash your car. Go to a car show. Take a nap. Read the paper on your phone or internet . Take a bike ride. Put your outside furniture out. It's Easter. Enjoy.

Turn up your sound. This is a verrrry short (5 seconds) video of last Saturday's Gran Prix of St. Petersburg. It is a formula car race and was finished on Monday due to rain on Sunday. You won't see anything but you will hear some of the cars whizzing by down the block. The whole downtown area was bustling with activity. It was pretty crowded, with all kinds of activities. General Petraeus was the Grand Marshall, no doubt the organizers were unaware that I was available. Perhaps next year, if I'm not busy. Some country singer named Gretchen Wilson was in town for the Gran Prix. Never heard of her but this seemed like kind of a big deal to those I was with. She was setting up at the Jannus which was just down the street from where we had lunch. Pretty cool ride.

This video by Andrés Borghi of Argentina won the "Your Big Break" competition from 100% Pure New Zealand. The slogan for the competition was: ‘Capture the spirit of 100% Pure New Zealand – the youngest country on earth’. This video certainly conveys that idea!

Like I said, we went downtown Saturday and a lot of things were going on. We lunched at a burrito shop and as we were sitting at a sidewalk table a young lady rode up on her bike. Perched on her shoulder was her pet...rat? She put her friend on the seat of her bike and gently applied a little pressure, and off she went into the restaurant. He moved around a little, looking at us, and sniffing the great smells. But he waited patiently till his owner came back with her burrito, and off they went. Something you might not see at the firestation at BFE on pancake day.