Existing In BFE

Streaming video by Ustream You can follow a nest of Bald Eagles as they raise their newborns.  While I was watching the other day, Papa brought up a squirrel and Momma began feeding the kids.  Gross but fascinating.  

Tim talked me into going into the Wall of Death show at Sturgis On/By the River. These cranked-out daredevils do stunts in a small enclosed area. Look at the demonic expression the Charlie Manson look-alike gives us as he is hurtling along the wall. Some amazing stuff here. I missed taping Tim yelling down to him after his ride "Crazy Fucker!" He looked up at Tim with the same wild-eyed Manson smile. You just don't get this kind of stuff in St. Pete, Florida. Son of Charlie? Not all Spring chickens. Look Ma, no hands. Donation well deserved.

1.  Turned CNN on the other day and in big black text against a red backdrop was "BREAKING NEWS".  Turns out the big news was the LA Coroner published Whitney Houston's death certificate with reason for demise 'deferred'.  That's a News Break?  When I was a kid the networks reserved their Special Announcements with aplomb.  Political and activist assassinations or presidential resignations were prime topics.  I guess nowadays a non-informative death certificate of a drug-addled has-been celebrity diva counts as news.   I recall when they first started they did real news all day.  And with the gravitas of James Earl Jones saying in his deepest Darth Vader voice "This....Is CNN" you knew you were getting some semblance of non-commercialized news.  But not anymore.  Now we get the Magic Wall.  Nothing says "cheese" like CNN.  It's a sad decline for a once grand news network. 2. These Marines are not Tebow-ing.  It isn'...

After Demen's Landing I moved on down to the Vinoy, but still looking back to downtown. By the way, there is very little traffic at all at 4:30 am, and the only people around are the bums at Bum Paradise (William's Park).  It really is like having the whole city to yourself.  Hope you enjoy these pics. My next project since fog is fairly common down here, is to do fog early morning at the skyline.  I think that would be pretty neat.  Maybe even learn how to do some extended time exposure during a thunderstorm.   Another feature, is the picture with the bright red-lit cupola is part of the Vinoy hotel and is said to be haunted.  Hmmm.  Maybe a timed exposure of the cupola?  At night, with the fog ruling in from the moors??  Oh no ghosty ghost!  (Inside joke)      

One of the things I was doing in December-Jan-Feb was getting up early and taking the  bike downtown to my 2nd favorite spot, Demen's Landing, and attempting to get good nighttime pics of downtown.  I must admit there was a learning curve and I just couldn't get a handle on this tricky shooting.  A few trips just didn't work, then I began playing with this camera a bit and the last time I was there I NAILED it.  Yeah, huh!  (Chest and fist bumping here). As a result, you get 2 days worth of pics that I took and while they may seem redundant, and probably are, I am just so enthused with the results that Ima gonna share them all with you.  As usual, click to enlarge, and these deserve to be enlarged.  Whoooze yer Daddy? Click to Enlarge Night shots are tough and by setting the camera on night landscape and then putting it on a level surface, will reduce the need for a a tripod.  The camera will take it from there, and actually, mine ...

This is one of those weeks that I think the mugshots speak far better than I.  Sit back, enjoy your coffee and look at the latest batch of desperadoes that call the Tampa Bay Area their home, or at least the respective sheriff's holding cells.    (This is Ronny Jones, Male, from Tampa.)

On March 22 The Sutor's lost their family member and companion, Candy.  By all accounts she had a nice long life and passed away from old age.  I don't know what it is about old guys and their dogs, about what their passing says to us.  A philosopher might say that it whispers "there is an end".  A theologian may regard it all as the cyclical nature of God's universe.  But for us old guys, it mostly means being alone without our best friends.  Lots of people don't get it.  For some all they see is vacuuming the hair,  taking walks at inopportune times, tedious cleaning of accidents, and a couch that won't be the same.  If there is such a thing as loving bonds between man and animal, it started with a dog.   I met Candy a couple of times and she was friendly, loved to be petted and like most dogs past their prime, was just as content laying down and taking a nap.  She naps still in Sutor Woods. I have run across  a couple of...

Again, we visit Sunset Beach on a warm January weekend to see the guys with their surfboards enjoy surfing, such as it is down here. I'll shut up and let you see the pictures, and the sunset. Often pictures tell the tale.  I get relaxed just reliving these scenes.  The tranquil sound of the surf, the warmth of the winter sun, and the sense of wonder at a great expanse of sky and water.