Existing In BFE

Just some leftover videos and pictures I had laying around. 1. Close Encounters of the Redneck Kind from Zero on Vimeo . 2. It's nice to see the grand-kidlings but also nice to get them caged and send them home. 3. This is a very interesting short video that features an actual waterboarding of a reporter. When that controversy was raging I would have liked to have seen this. It's a lot shorter process than I imagined. 4. This is an amazing graphic on America's joblessness. http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html 5. A photographic cardinal sin of including yourself in your picture. Here the girls are trying on shoes. So I had an hour to kill. 6. Am I living with Satanic cats. Yes. Help 7. My camera can't do this justice. Another nice sunset. 8. Lucky bystanders.

This was done last year. Word is that another Corona takeoff is being planned and will be filmed soon. This is to whet your appetite and start drooling for more. Reruns suck but I'll bet my new friends from Creve Coeur haven't seen this yet. Filming is set to begin in early October. So far, the cast has been brought back with the same director. Word is that the production team is ready to go with a dazzling new array of special effects and will be a Christmas theme. We'll certainly keep an eye on that.

"....... Shawshank ......" On the trip with Mark we struck up a conversation about movies. We both agreed that there are some movies that you watch when surfing without fail. Shawshank Redemption is an absolute must stop-channel-surfing-and-watch-till-the-end movie. Because of that conversation I pulled my copy and watched it last week. It gets better every time I watch it. "Or am I being too...obtuse?" "I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free....

As we were driving over the Skyway Bridge (where apparently friends of mine from Burgess went over at a very high rate of speed a few years ago) last weekend a freighter was passing underneath. It was the Overseas Houston and more than likely my first freighter other than in movies and TV. It was fun to see and wish I could have spent more time checking it out, but what I found particularly interesting was the "Protect The Environment" sign on the bridge. I guess what he can do to protect it is not run into the bridge or put a hole in his boat. And then I googled the name of the ship and up came this graphic of a site that tracks these ships. Is that cool or not? In another site it gave the essentials of the Overseas Houston like its homeport is Wilmington Delaware and it was built in 2007. See, Patti, my new friend from Creve Coeur, what the internet can discover? Try it: http://www.marinetraffic.com/

Now, I don't usually watch animal shows on TV especially when they eat each other. But, the birthday party yesterday in Manasota Beach is right next door to a gopher tortoise reserve. Well, as luck would have it, supper came ambling in just as the grills were getting fired up. Have a great weekend and why not use the grill as the summer days start to dwindle.

The birthday boy. Miss Alhanna A tired and beleaguered guy with what looks to be balloons tied to his ears. Poor fellow. Michael had a birthday on the 20 th and a party on the 21st of August. It was in Manasota Beach near Englewood and Venice. The beach sucked but the party was cool. It was the first time we had been around Michael's dad's family and everyone was nice. The kid had some great toys and the party degenerated into a water fight later on. Good times.

Michael is all about computer games, video games and as you can see, puts his all into it. It's not often you see disabled or damaged animals in the wild. Saw this bird at the beach today (Sunday, September 12) and noticed part of his leg had been taken off by something or he was born this way. He seems to get along reasonably OK but he still has a somewhat tough time. We go to Sunset Beach which is just north of St. Pete beach and south of Madeira. It's a smaller place, less people (I'm a people person), less commercial and kind of an undiscovered gem. Well, look what they're doing to the place. I don't know if they are expanding it or what but its getting closer to where we stay, so looks like we'll have to hunt for better sand.

Artsy-fartsy Pas-a-grille area in St. Pete. About 15 minutes south of where we are lies a neat place called Pas-A-Grille. It is a narrow strip of land jutting down into the Gulf. It's a ritzy place with neat shops and restaurants. We took a drive down last weekend (August 15) and glad we finally checked it out. Fun place: The Don Cesar hotel where Jon Bon Jovi stays when he is in the area, places where you board boats to go charter fishing and sunset cruises. We are going back next weekend for breakfast because I think there may even be a biker bar/grill that looked good. It is located on a small strip of land that juts into the Gulf. You can actually walk easily from one side to the other. This nice bike was parked in front of a a neat looking bar-grill called Shadrack's. It's a Harley of course but it also had on the side 101 Screaming Eagle on the engine. They make big flies down here. Big, big flies! This is also where St. Pete Beach is. They make big beachgoers here...

Pas-A-Grille is an arty enclave south of St. Pete a ways and home to St. Pete beach. It has neat (and expensive) little shops and we went down one early Sunday morning. Nice waterfront park area and was rather bustling for a Sunday. Here are just a few shots of the pelicans and their hangout on this beautiful morning. Fishing on the pier. Looks like a catfish. Is there saltwater cat? Several pictures of pelicans resting. Place to wait for charter fishing, shuttle, and cruises. An island in the middle of the straits where boats gather. I can't see anyone so they must be in the bushes.

This young man is finishing up his grocery shopping from Publix right next door to the complex. Look closer and you will see one of my pet peeves. His pants are below his ass cheeks. They are so comical I can't help but laugh. This is Brendan yesterday at Three Birds after work. First full day of football games and he is ready: dressed in his Green Bay jersey, a Bud, and a computer so he can keep up with his fantasy teams. The bloody mary on the lower right is mine. This is kind of a neat picture I took from the Skyway Bridge. The left set of skyscrapers (dark) is St. Petersburg. The right (brighter) set of skyscrapers is Tampa. I think you can click on the picture to make it larger. Matt Carlson, Reverend Carl and Sally's kid came down to see Brendan. We had to take him to the Floridian, the must-eat sandwich joint in town. Rachel and Kenze are on the right. It's never too early to get your couch rat, err I mean cat, its costume for Halloween. In fact, some outfits ar...

Lazy night tonight so I fixed a Bloody Mary and grabbed a cigar and my camera to relax after a relaxing afternoon, and an even more relaxing morning. This gecko was on the wall most of the night occasionally looking at supper and then looking away. Never did make a move toward it, perhaps it wasn't to its liking. These guys can change color and this one was trying to blend into the adobe-colored walls. He is almost transparent at this point. I was playing with my new camera to see what it could do. I kind of liked this picture with the moon and North Star. That doesn't mean you have to. Neighbor Tim got me thinking to up my cigar game plan a bit. The absolute best cigar I ever had was a Macanudo , but I think I'm going to try other varieties, perhaps not quite as pricey as the Mac. Here we have a La Traviata and an Occidental Reserve. I wonder if there is a site that gives reviews of cigars? I even got a cutter that is essential for higher grade cigars.

Grab a beer, a soda, tea, or something and look at this sunset that is far beyond the ability to describe by human tongue. Enjoy. And as always, click the picture to enlarge. Got that Patti, my new friend from Creve Coeur?