From one of the greatest albums of the 20th century

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Hello!

Miscellaneous

I haven't posted anything for nearly two weeks, but that is partly because I've been too busy, and partly because I've been too lazy to write anything during those brief moments of reprieve. I have a lot of school loose-ends to take care of, and I'm anxious to begin drawing with my oil paints. Tonight I'm going to drive to a street here in Vegas and snap a picture of it. It's one of these streets that's imbued with an odd mixture of desolation and an elusive attractiveness that is difficult to put into words. I hope to make a decent drawing of this lovely avenue.

On Saturday I had to rush my dad to the ER. He's doing better now, but he's fighting an infection that should hopefully abate with the antibiotics he was prescribed. As a result, I was unable to make my volunteer shift at my local hospital. To make matters more complicated, I was unable to reach the voice-mail of the volunteer coordinator to inform her that I wasn't showing up. Her phone number was in my old cellphone (which you can observe nn the previous post), and as you can see, in such deplorable condition that the display no longer functioned. I had to leave a message on a different voice-mail that doesn't get checked very often. When I go snap my photo tonight, I may make the long drive to her office and slip a note under her door.

Take Me to Prague

I've been stricken with a fascination with Prague. For the longest time I've been wanting to make a trip there, but just recently those hopes have intensified. I've seen pictures of this magnificent city and I can say that I love the many churches, the narrow streets, the snow (in the winter), the historicity, all those things about this place (how did this place ever manage to fall to the grips of the communists with such a pronounced Catholic presence?). My brother, who has visited Europe many times before, and just about every major city in the world at least once, has been to Prague. I've failed to pick his brain about the experiences he had there, nor have I seen any of the pictures he snapped on one of his visits. I must put that on my to-do list.

Here's a brief video of Prague. There are better ones than this, but I prefer this one because of the way it presents the Catholic Churches. Notice how the music becomes choral (at 3:04) when the video reaches the segment showing the churches.

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Thanks for stopping by and please keep my dad in your prayers. God bless you.

I Didn't Have to

...but I did anyway.

I went ahead and purchased the new i-Phone 4. This is a pic of it, inside a protective case, leaning against my acrylic mediums. It really is an amazing apparatus, despite the justified criticism it has received over a design flaw in the antenna. The antenna in this thingamajig can be found throughout the border of the i-Phone, the same place most people smother when they talk on the phone. When the i-Phone is gripped in a certain way, calls have a tendency to fail because the phone can no longer receive any transmissions. A protective case (now being issued for free) diminishes the frequency of the dropped calls.

Or maybe I did have to...

The above pic is of my old cellphone. As you can see, it's in a decrepit condition. I'm trying to start a rumor on blogosphere that this was the same phone Mel Gibson used in his very publicized tirade against Oksana.

Conclusion

Here lies Mel Gibson's career. On the ascend for a number of years, it recently suffered major collisions with the media and various groups who took offense to comments he made that were less than complementary. The final punch came on July 9th when his former girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, released a taped conversation in which Gibson is allegedly heard going on a tirade, and even admitting to domestic violence. Also laid to rest today is this blogger's hope that Mel Gibson - a once popular actor with a history of "Catholic involvement" - would tout the many positives of the Catholic Church to those unfamiliar with the Catholic faith.

Corny

A long time ago Terry posted what I would have to describe as one of the corniest Youtube videos around (there's another video of an older couple teaching how to dance to disco music that is equally maladroit). Anyhoo, listen to the music (I know, it's hard!) and pay close attention to the dancing, especially to the dance moves of the male lead singer.

Terry, hope it makes you laugh like it did last time!

Pause music player to the right to avoid cacophony.

Did you know...

that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the 4th of July? Gives me goose bumps when I think about the probability of two American figures of great historical significance dying on the same day, and, of all the days in the year, the fourth of July.

Pause music player to avoid cacophony.

Happy 4th of July weekend!

Before and After

Before

After

I'm only showing a small part of the kitchen. The counter top continues to the left, and in that same direction is the refrigerator. In order for me to show the other half of the kitchen I have to do that "stitch assist" with my camera and I'm really no good at it. If you continue to the right, you would find my new (yay!) dishwasher. Also, as you can see I had to put plastic wraps over my kitchen utensils, toaster, and mixer since at the time that these pics were taken, we were still working on minor loose ends. I didn't want anything getting inside someplace it wasn't suppose to.

Finally, I leave you with a pic of THE most ferocious beast of the west coast. He was fed this evening in a paper plate because his bowl was untidy and the poor thing was very hungry.



Be careful! Don't get too close to your screens. He's off his leash and ANYTHING can happen!:0)

More Trouble for Mel

Did you know that Mel Gibson and girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva split up earlier this year? They both have a daughter together who was born on October 30th of 2009.

It was on April of 2009 that Gibson and his wife of thirty years filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences for their break-up. Shortly thereafter, Mel Gibson's relationship with Oksana Grigorieva became public. Today, several media outlets report that Gibson has filed a restraining order against Oksana Grigorieva.

I'm not sure what to think of Mel Gibson anymore. He once gave me the impression that he was trying to be more Catholic than the Pope by rejecting both Papal authority as well as the reforms of Vatican II (let's not even talk about his father). Now I see him caught up in divorce and fathering a child with someone he has absolutely no intention of marrying.

Was it all just talk, Mel, this Catholic fire and brimstone exhortation? I'm not judging you. We're all sinners.

For the Immaculate Heart of Mary (I know. I'm late.)

I must apologize for my untimely observation, but I wanted to post this for the feast day of The Immaculate Heart of Mary. Unfortunately the feast day passed without my contribution. This is the Salve Regina by my current favorite composer Arvo Part.

Important: Please ignore the absurd commentary/ imagery of this video. Just stay focused on the music. I'm going to try to look for a different video that offers this same piece of music. Pause Music Player to the right of the blog before continuing

Murderer x 2

I hope this bastard gets whatever is coming to him.



His father is deceased, so he doesn't have the free legal advice this time around.