Views From the Back Row

Bear Hugs 'n Stuff

2012-01-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

Spent the past couple of weeks reading about a certain blogger's mom, who suffered two major strokes, and died this past weekend. It sucks when you can't be there to give them a big ole bear hug...

On the other hand, I chatted with another blogger who is due to pop out a new baby at any time now. It sucks when you can't be there to give them a big ole bear hug. Though that might not be the wisest thing to do at the moment...

The worst possible scenario happened in the NFL...a Giants/Patriots Super Bowl. My disinterest in this game is as close to my disinterest in the NBA, NASCAR, and MLB. There have been 45 Super Bowls, and I can only think of one that I haven't watched. It was the early 70s, and I was sick in bed, while my parents threw a SB party outside my bedroom door. There's a handful that I don't remember much of due to massive consumption of beer. But this one...this one holds the potential of being avoided on purpose. There's literally nothing that interests me. The commercials will be online as they go. Madonna at halftime? No thanks. I'm going to have to come up with an alternate game plan...

Plenty to keep me busy this weekend on the music front. Symphony concert on Saturday night, sprinkled with equipment moves, stage setting, and a soul band rehearsal, just to cleanse the palate. Actually, this will be a pretty good concert. "Rhapsody In Blue" will be the popular piece, but we're doing Bernstein's "Symphony #2", which is more of a piano concerto (solo w/orchestra). Not a familiar piece to most, but a great piece of music! And it's difficult, but "doable". Will report after the fact...

Playing quite a bit with my new toy. Looking for more iPad apps, but am very pleased with the way it works with Facebook. Flipboard is pretty good too (thanks for the suggestion, Biscuit!). Maybe next weekend should be spent consolidating and syncing all my various computers...

Don't forget to check out "...the Other HNT" these days. It's still going strong! And always looking for submissions!

Still here!

2012-01-18T13:30:00.002-07:00

I just mentioned to someone in an email today that I can't believe that I actually had time to deal with HNT during the week! Work is kicking my ass these days, and there's no time for play!

My fantasy picks for the NFL post-season went down the drain with the losses by the Saints and the Packers. In a twisted reversal, I was actually rooting for Brady and the Patriots. Only for fantasy purposes--I still hate all that they stand for. At this point, however, since I don't have any money riding on the outcomes anymore, I'm rooting for the Niners all the way. If it ends up to be a Jets/Patriots Super Bowl, I might very well look for some professional bowling coverage that night...

Big news! I'm the proud owner of an iPad 2. Officially one of the cool kids. But now I need to figure out how I'm going to use it. It's not going to be my primary toy, but it would be really nice to get the right apps on it to use it while doing symphony stuff. Just means I'll have to spend time on it to investigate! My only disappointment so far--my Words With Friends app seems wonky. I get notifications when it's my turn, but the board doesn't update. Need to figure that out...

If I would have written this post last night, I would have made mention that our temps were in the upper 20s, no snow and no wind. That all fell by the wayside last night. Depending on what weather app you looked at, it was anywhere between -18° and +9° this morning (probably closer to 0°), about 4 inches of snow, but fortunately, no wind. We are right on the edge of the cold front coming from Canada. Temps 60 miles to the north of us are 20-30 degrees colder (or more!), while 60 miles to the west and south of us, they're 20 degrees warmer. And all the snow that Portland and Seattle got missed us, but the northwest part of the state is under feet of snow. Go figure.

News on the symphony front...I lamented the fact that the project manager for last summer's big concert dropped the ball in a major way. It appears that, due to some other administrative surprises, her position and donor's coordinator's position (for lack of a better term) are going to be combined, then redistributed. Which means we've got a great person with a good track record going after the money, and I'll be in charge of the rest. Sort of what I've been doing in the past, but with the added tasks of production logistics (ordering porta-potties, dealing with vendors, renting the stage, etc.). Which means that, for the first time since 2004, I won't be onstage performing. Considering the amount of money I'm going to be getting paid for this additional work, I'm not complaining!

Hope all of you in the US has written, or signed a petition, to your Congressmen regarding their vote on SOPA/PIPA. It's important! And if you don't know what this is, then look for it on Wikipedia today. Or check out this link from TheOatmeal.com

SAVE THE KITTENS!!!
(Well, poo. The animated gif isn't working. Click on the link above it to see it.)

2012-01-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

Sharon Stone

"The Quick and The Dead"

Hawt!

Carry on...

This 'n That

2012-01-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a productive couple of days so far. Nothing major--just little oddball chores that have been taken care of. Things like replacing the light in the microwave, switching out the battery in the smoke alarm, and getting a new key made. Little stuff that's piled up for awhile.

Since I busted my ass to get my apartment clean for Moose's visit last month, and now having a new bathroom floor, I'm finding I sort of like living in a clean apartment! And maintaining that is much easier than putting it off for any length of time. Who'da thunk it?

There's a decent chance that another blogger/HNTer will be making her way out here this spring. Woohoo! Another reason to keep the place cleaned up!

Thank God the college football season is over. Not so much that it's over, but that the hype of playing in a bowl game is over. For a few months anyway. The current bowl system is such a joke among the fans. The BCS committee lamented last week that bowl attendance was low this year. No shit, Sherlock! When you've got teams with a losing record "earning" a bowl game appearance?!? Remember the old days, when there were FIVE major bowl games, and maybe another five less major ones? It's too bad that corporate America runs the BCS...

Spent a late night online over the weekend and got myself into trouble. Put in a bid on something that I really didn't think I'd win. On something I hadn't convinced myself I needed yet. But I won, and I'm about to become one of the cool kids! Hope this doesn't bite me in the butt...

The soul band has a rehearsal tonight. We haven't played together since September (August?). It'll be good to get back into playing with them again.

I was only mildly annoyed at Geico's zipline piggy at first. Now...I'd like to shoot the TV.

There's a new radio station in town. In the interest of giving it a chance, I've been listening to it exclusively for a week now. Granted, our music choices here are primarily country or classic rock. This station was started to tap into "today's music". Oh, the state of music is worse off than I had imagined. I've hear ONE song where the vocals weren't somehow synthesized. I've heard "Stereo Hearts" literally every time I've gotten in the car. Every song has that thumpa-thumpa rhythm sound. I might have a full post regarding the sad state of affairs of "today's music"...

Speaking of music...I heard Roberta Flack's "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" yesterday. For the first time in ages. What an incredible song! Achingly slow, subtle accompaniment, wonderful harmonic structure. And that fantastic voice! Really, there's no comparison with the drek that's put out there today...

Sometimes It's the Little Things...

2012-01-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

Nothing points out the fact that I need to get a life as the giddiness I feel in sharing these two pics...

Since mid-July, the ceiling above my toilet has been dripping. Not at a constant rate, but enough to time one's business on the toilet in order to avoid the next drip. Fortunately, most of the drips ended up directly in the toilet, but occasionally, the drips would divert away from the direct drop, and hit the carpet. Yes, carpet. My bathroom was carpeted. Let that sink in... Eventually, the carpet got to a condition where it needed to be replaced. Mold, discoloring, and an appearance that looked like I had the aim of a two year old. Moose would probably concur.

Without getting into the hassles I've gone through in getting this taken care of, I can happily report that I now have a new bathroom floor (vinyl, thank you), and the chunk of ceiling that was basically falling out has been prepped for patching. It's the little things in life that bring me joy and happiness. Such as the joy of not having to be the one who ripped out the carpet (can you imagine how nasty that had to be???). It appears that 2012 is starting out well!!

Final Thoughts About HNT

2012-01-06T00:01:00.002-07:00

Someone asked me if HNT was going to just walk away without any final thoughts. My first reaction was no, but it would be somewhat negative, and as Emmy posted a few days ago, do we really need that? Then again, I've bitten my tongue on just about every subject that's come down the pike for six and a half years. It might not be so bad to let some of it out. So I'll compromise... I'll write about the good stuff, then some of the bad stuff after that. I'll warn you, so if you don't want to read it, you don't have to...

THE GOOD

Obviously, the friendships and community that have come about because of HNT would be its biggest strength, I think. Generally, most people who gave HNT a shot, did so with some trepidation, but found that there was an entire community happy to meet them. I think that if anyone didn't feel it, it's because they didn't really try to interact with those who stopped by. That sort of faded some by the end, and many discontinued because they didn't feel they fit in. And that's too bad. As far as friendships go, I think we've all made some true friends through all of this. I've been fortunate in that I've got 6+ years of HNTers I can call 'friend'. Of course, that's long enough to have lost some friends in that time, too. And that's too bad. I still find it amazing how many HNTers from those first couple of years are still friends on FB, commenting on each other almost daily, in spite of leaving HNT behind long ago.
Some people look better in front of a camera than others. That's just a fact of life. But everyone who joined in, whether showing all they had, or restricting what they showed, had to develop a bit of narcissism. Something that we might not have had when we started. Confidence was bred out of that, and I think we all came out stronger at the end of it. Did that come from gratuitous, generic comments? Sometimes, sure. But it sure beat out anything negative that occasionally popped up!
Photography skills improved over the years. Which is not to say that everyone became photographers. Many people got fancy DSLR cameras over time. Some learned how to use them. Others didn't. Many learned the basics of Photoshop. Others learned the secrets of Photoshop. Others didn't. Some learned that it's not the camera that makes the picture--it's the person taking the picture. Even if it's with a tripod and timer. There's been a great deal of variety in the styles and types of pictures taken. While HNT was never intended to be "artsy", I'm glad that many HNTers took that route from time to time.
Without HNT, I know I would not be exposed to the lifestyles that many of you lead. Some of you are real freaks! ;-) I'm not judging good or bad--just that life is far more complex than I was led to believe when I was growing up. I think that many of us had our eyes opened to that as well.
In the early days, when half-nekkidness was rather fresh and unknown, it drew attention around the internet. A quarter-page article in an Indian business magazine; a radio talk-show host in Winnipeg talked and blogged about it; it got mentioned in passing on Dr. Phil; Dr. Gregory House even mentioned it one week (sort of, but not really, but I'll take it!); numerous sex blogs made mention of it; it was discussed on at least two internet radio shows; the list goes on and on. Usually positive, but sometimes slammed. HNT stood tall throughout...
The secrets. Oh, man, the secrets. I've always claimed that when I write the HNT tell-all book, I'd become a millionaire. Either from people buying it to read it, or from the money people would pay to not let it see the light of day. No worries...that won't happen. But I do know the secrets. It's part of my nature. It's what I do with the symphony. I know all the inner workings. I think that trust sprung from OHNT. There's a huge number of HNTers who have sent submissions there that would never admit to it, or wouldn't even hint that they even knew what OHNT was. Even I was blown away by some of the people who joined in there! That takes some trust in me. And I don't take that lightly. Out of that, in chats and emails, I've learned that there's an awful lot that goes on that we don't generally know about. Secret blogs, secret affairs, secret rendezvous, backstabbing, gossiping, screenshots from Twitter, screenshots from texts, sharing emails received from super-skeevy guys (thanks for the term, Ms. I)--only to find them almost verbatim from someone else earlier, etc., etc. Gentlemen, some of you really need to develop your schtick--many of you are just getting laughed at behind your backs...
I liked the marketing technique that HNT became. It's a long held belief that "sex sells". Not really a whole lot different here. Except that in most cases, "sex" would be too strong a term. There's not one of us who did HNT who didn't get some sort of a bump in our stats. There are many who got disillusioned by people only coming by on Thursdays for pictures, and not sticking around to read their writing. That's the problem with "sex sells"--if the product (the blog) isn't interesting, people won't come back. There's many who dropped out of HNT over the years who have huge followings. Their product is interesting. There's others who dropped out and their blogs floundered. Their product is not interesting. Of course, you can then get into the whole debate about why the blog is being written in the first place--for themselves or an audience. And there's all sorts of different answers to that. However, I still believe that HNT was as much a marketing tool as anything. And some people used it quite successfully!
I loved some of the relationships of HNTers. There's a good number of spouses/significant others that do it, either together or separately. Did you know we had a mother/daughter team who helped take each other's HNTs (not as raunchy as that sounds, pervs!)? Or a few sets of sisters who HNTed? We even had a brother/sister duo that HNTed (not together, of course). And a few cousins!

Nothing else jumps to mind with the positive stuff. It was a lot of fun!

Now here's where you might want to quit reading...
THE NOT SO GOOD
For six and a half years, I've pretty much kept this stuff to myself, with an occasional chat with some trusted friends. Much of what I see on the negative side comes from the hidden side of HNT. From the secrets I mentioned above. From the chats and emails I've received over the years. And the mind-numbingly repetition of words and phrases, used from woman to woman...

I am disappointed in the number of people that never "got" what HNT was. Even up to the last days. I question if most of these people ever glanced at the guidelines (see that tab at the top of my blog--"HNT Guidelines"?). The current attempts to keep HNT going appear to be spearheaded by those who don't "get" it.
It didn't happen a lot in the early years, but enough that it still sticks in my mind. The nasty commenters/trolls. While 99.95% of HNT comments were complimentary, those that weren't tended to be quite nasty, mean, and totally unnecessary. And almost exclusively from non-HNTers. More recently, any nastiness tended to be aimed more at blog content than HNT pics. Regardless, trolls should be strung up!
I really dislike the long-time lurkers that don't HNT, or worse, don't blog! There's quite a few of them, and really, they're harmless. But it smacks of hiding behind the curtain in a back-room peep show. Sneak in, get their jollies, sneak out.
I have an intense hate for the guys that misrepresented HNT as "theirs". That enticed new HNTers by simply saying it was a day to show boobies. With no mention/regard of the guidelines, or even about upping themselves each week. Fortunately, and to their credit, a number of women either dropped out of HNT, or altered their participation in it, when they found out the truth. Too many of them were made to feel uncomfortable, because they wanted to "fit in". Others, on the other hand, didn't really care that they'd been duped and continued on anyway.
I really dislike the number of HNTers (both male and female) who don't recognize the line between fantasy and reality. There's been one or two guys who have actually shown up unannounced and unwelcome on a woman's doorstep, thinking that whatever cyber-playing they've done allows them them to do that. Requires a great deal of stalking, too. And there's plenty of women we've read about who are lamenting the fact that their cyber-lover has disappeared. Probably because he's too busy taking care of his other cyber-lovers. The line shouldn't be that hard to see, and crossing it is rarely a good idea.
Speaking of lines--I HATE some guys' assumptions that if a woman posts some sort of classy half-nekkid (or more) picture for HNT, it's an invitation to ask all sorts of inappropriate questions or spout all sorts of juvenile comments like they were in junior high again. Or that they must accept unsolicited cock shots. We've lost so many HNTers because of that. They didn't join in on HNT to be subjected to that. There's just a common decency line that shouldn't be crossed.
I hate that, for some, HNT was nothing more than a meat market. There's an entire post that could be written about this rant, but I won't do that.
There's the guys that I call the con men. They're like pedophiles standing outside the playground, waiting with a bagful of candy for the kids. These guys put the effort into emailing HNTers (particularly new ones), seeming like "they care", and befriend them. It doesn't matter what's going on in the HNTer's lives--they've experienced it too, and are more than happy to give advize. It gives them a foot in the door, and they don't seem as sleazy, despite their ulterior motives.
Probably the most frustrating thing that's happened to me is the amount of misquoting and assuming that certain bloggers have attributed to me. People like to only hear/read what they want. A couple of examples:

The Mystery Guest spot has always been fun, and when I first started, I had MGs ready for weeks in advance. Anyone who wanted to be MG just had to let me know. After awhile, I had to make requests, and sometimes they didn't get filled. But I was never flat-out refused until one day someone questioned why I would choose her. She seemed offended that I would ask her to participate. Like I should have asked her much earlier. I was flabbergasted. She assumed I had some sort of hidden agenda going on. After awhile, it became apparent that she had other issues with HNT in general, in spite of her continuation...
I've been accused of having a bias against "sex bloggers". Nothing could be further from the truth. This was based on a post I made a couple of years ago that far too many HNTers considered themselves "sex bloggers", and I still hold to those thoughts. But I never, ever said that I disliked them. Didn't matter. Word got out, primarily from one person, that I didn't want "sex bloggers" involved in HNT. In reality, if she felt there was some sort of bias against certain "types" of HNTers, then it was her own insecurities that told her that. To this day, I don't know where that came from--it wasn't me, and I don't recall seeing anything like that in the community.
I've been quoted as saying that I didn't care if someone took over HNT after its retirement. Wrong. Never said that. I said that I didn't care if people continued to get half-nekkid on their sites (who am I to tell someone what they can/can't do? or when?), and would hope they would, but that HNT was officially retired. Still holds true.
There's been instances where a commenter has expressed one opinion in my comments, yet spouts all over Twitter something totally opposite. In an attempt to look "good" to the HNT crowd (ah, those pesky Twitter screenshots that someone keeps sending me...).
There's plenty of guys whom I wish never found HNT. They offered nothing of value to it. They caused all sorts of strife for many. They had a super "ick" aura about them. Many of you can come up with your own list. That doesn't include the many followers here, or at OHNT, that came from porno sites. Yes...OHNT has been listed on a couple of porno link sites. Ick.

So there you go. Probably the last thoughts I'll post about HNT. I hope. Actually, there's one more--some of you have said on your blogs that you'd like to keep getting half-nekkid. I'm all for that! But don't wait for a specific day to do it! If you have a post where nekkidness fits, post it. If you want to do some sort of daily/weekly series, do it. Many of you already embraced this concept before HNT's retirement. Break free and get half-nekkid whenever you like!

P.S.--Since these are MY views and opinions of the past 78 months, and HNT is retired, and I'm not really interested in your views and opinions on this, I'm not taking comments. Havaniceday!

2012-01-04T21:30:00.002-07:00

Well, this feels odd...

Go check out the HNT Finale project. We've got a late entry! Find her in the bottom row of the thumbnails, then go leave comments for the others, too!

The Highs and Lows of 2011 - The Highs

2011-12-31T22:05:00.003-07:00

I actually found 2011 to be a pretty good year. When making these lists, I found more "Highs" than "Lows", and that's a good thing! Nothing surprising or earth-shattering though. Be sure to read the post below this one first!! It's my "Lows" list. Makes the "Highs" list much better (most have links back to posts).

"The 10 High Points of 2011"
(from less high to highest of the high)

10. Beavis & Butt-head - I know. It's sort of lame for a guy my age to be excited about their return. But with the amount of crap that passes for "entertainment" on TV these days, it's nice to be totally carefree for thirty minutes and openly laugh at their moronic adventures. As I noted when I excitedly posted about this--the kids of today probably aren't watching it as much as their parents are!

9. Do It Yourself! - After too many years of putting up with a damaged screen on my PowerBook, I took it upon myself to replace it. On my own. With no prior experience in doing such a thing! Armed with online videos and printouts from some Mac repair sites, I dove in. I had the luxury of knowing that this wasn't my primary computer, so I had a little less pressure than normal. In spite of having a replacement screen that wasn't exactly what it should have been, I only ended up with six screws and a spring that didn't make it back in...

8. 1,000,000 - It took six years, four months before my Sitemeter in the sidebar said I hit one million visitors. I find that remarkable. The lucky person? Someone from Germany. Too bad I couldn't figure out who it was. There was a cash prize and everything!

7. OsShirt revival - Interestingly, this ranked #7 last year, too! The OsShirt is, in fact, alive and well, and currently floating around South Africa! This after spending the first half of the year in England. It was hung up in customs in Cape Town for awhile--not sure what the hold-up was there. Soon it should make its way to it's next island destination... I'll try to get the OsShirt site back up to speed soon, too!

6. Opera, Nutcracker and Summer - I've been doing more of the production coordination of our performances this year than in the past. Pretty much all the same stuff I've always done, but now with the understanding that I am the one in charge. Simply clarified where the buck stopped. And where the buck started. Of course, that's a bit more pressure on me--the opera was a particular challenge, the summer concert found me smoothing out many rough spots, and the Nutcracker had me having to call time-outs for both of the leaders of the organizations involved. It's a lot of work and pressure, but ultimately, well worth it!

5. Big Soul Band - We didn't have a huge number of gigs, but the ones we did have were fantastic! Great music, great musicians, and a whole lot of fun! I have to write all the horn charts, and love every minute of it. It's a nice diversion from the classical stuff too. Our goal for 2012 is to book at least two of the bigger parties/functions in town. People love us and need to hear more of us!

4. Return of the Griz - Last year was not a banner year for the University of Montana Grizzlies football team. They finished with a 7-4 record, which many schools would consider highly successful. They didn't win a share of the Big Sky Conference title. They didn't make the playoffs for the first time in 18 years. And worse of all--they lost to the Bobcats of MSU. Gucci's team. I lost our Griz/Cat bet. This year, however, was much better! They won the conference, they were seeded #4 in the playoffs, their coach was named Coach of the Year, they beat the Cats and Gucci lost the bet this year. That might have been the best part of all!

3. OsTour '11 - OsTour '11 was pretty low-key, compared to previous ones, and that was fine to me! This was pretty much a one-person trip, rather than partying with a lot of people. I spent 3 days with Redneck Eskimo, which was a wonderful time. Someone I've known quite well since the very early days, but never had the chance to meet until this summer. I was also able to sneak in some layover time with Crystal, from Boobs, Injuries & Dr. Pepper, and with Lola! (and Jasper) from Sex Babble. These were first time meetings too. Oh, yeah, there was also the 90 seconds on the tram talking with Sen. Al Franken! Looking forward to seeing where OsTour '12 takes me!

2. Y'all Come Back Again, Y'hear? - In a twist on the norm, I had three bloggers come to me this year! Well, one of them is norm, and the other one I had to travel a little. First it was No One Special that came to town. The girl lives far too close to only see on rare occasion. Then her Gucciness came to town (well, Missoula--I had to travel) and we spent the night drinking, eating, gossiping, pinky-pacting, pool-playing, and telling each other some of the most interesting things... My last visitor, of course, was Moose, who was here just before Christmas. It's kind of nice when people come to see me instead of the other way around! :-)

1. HNT - Half-Nekkid Thursdays. What a ride. I have made so many friends from this I can't believe it. It's hard to imagine what life would be like these days without the contact I've had with so many of you. Contact that I wouldn't have if it weren't for your participation. So many things in my head to say, but it would all be babbling. Thank you for coming into my life, in whatever way you have. I hope that you'll still be stopping by on a regular basis in 2012. I might not have anything quite as exciting as HNT to offer to you, but I'll try to come up with something!

There you have it. My "Highs" for 2011. Noticing that I sort of rock the same look in those last five pictures...

Many of you are probably already at parties as I'm posting this. I'm staying home and watching "The Walking Dead" all night. I hope that everyone is having a safe but fun NYE! Looking forward to a great 2012!!

The Highs and Lows of 2011 - The Lows

2011-12-31T22:00:00.001-07:00

Once again, it's time for my annual recap of the year. In the greater scheme of things, this year really wasn't too bad. This is my fifth year of doing this, and as I've found in the past, it's hard to come up with ten real "lows". And once again, one or two on this list will make the "highs" list! Of course, there were some terrible things that happened in the world, but these are things that affected me somewhat directly. They don't necessarily mean they were bad things, or that life as I knew it changed. Mostly just things that brought me down or perturbed me during the year. Most of these won't have a link to a specific post. This is what makes my "lows" list (the "highs" list can be seen above...):

"The 10 Low Points of 2011"
(from least low to lowest of the low)

10. Curiosity Killed the Cat - Something caught my eye on someone's Twitter timeline in their sidebar, so I checked it out (this in no way implies that I approve of, or will be setting up my own Twitter account. it is still the spawn of Satan.). The short story--I found the tweets of someone I know. Along with nekkid pics of his wife (not an attractive woman to begin with), pics of him with strippers, and discussion about waiting at a bar for his wife for a threesome--he didn't care if she brought a man or a woman. Basically, a bunch of stuff that I might enjoy reading from one of you freaks, but not someone I've actually worked with (the wife) or played music with (husband). Fortunately, I've not run into this guy or the wife since reading, and have no idea what my first reaction will be when I do...

9. Montana Legislature - These guys were as embarrassing to the state as anything that's happened here in decades. Tea Party members and radical right-wingers felt they had free reign, and proposed some of the most ridiculous legislation around. They also attempted to overturn the medical marijuana laws that the voters approved by initiative. While they didn't totally succeed with that, they managed to screw things up, as well as clog the courts with a variety of related lawsuits. Other notable bills introduced: legalize hunting with hand-thrown spear; create fully-armed militia in every town; create an 11-person panel with authority to nullify all federal laws; allow guns in schools; legalize hunting with silencers; lift the prohibition on carrying concealed weapons in bars, churches and banks; and declare that global warming is good. There were many others. So much more to tell, so little time/space to tell it.

8. Tsunami Watch - This is one world event that did grab me for days. Killing terrorists and despots is one thing, but to watch what Mother Nature can do on a whim was truly jaw-dropping. From the very beginnings of watching the initial wave coming on shore from helicopters, to watching the water rise, to watching it continue to rise, to watching the nuclear power plant explosions--I was glued to the TV. Of course there was the anticipation of the tsunami hitting Hawaii, and then the west coast. Not as dramatic as expected from the movies, but still quite damaging.

7. Death of a Droid - My poor phone, a Droid, went through hell in the two years that I had it. I was able to deal with the shattered screen for most of that time. But eventually, it got to the point where the touch screen didn't work, didn't allow me to read what was there, and I had to go redneck on it and duct tape the protective cover to it so the glass shards didn't start dripping off. As luck would have it, I was able to baby it along until the iPhone 4S was released. As much as I loved my Droid (and I really did), the iPhone makes me a much happier camper! And the next day, Steve Jobs died...

6. Boobie-Thon Calls It Quits - After 10 years of raising money, primarily for the Susan B. Komen Foundation, Boobie-Thon has gone into retirement. And it appears to be for much of the same reason that HNT has retired--blogging is on the decline. I noticed this year as they started their week-long appeal that there just weren't as many picture submissions, and the money wasn't being pledged too quickly. They didn't raise as much this year as in previous years, though they certainly didn't do badly. After ten years of bringing bloggers together to raise money each October, the organizers can be proud of the work that they did.

5. Life Without Dad and Ray - Last year, we were still reeling from the deaths of my father and brother-in-law to really realize what Thanksgiving and Christmas were like. A year later, and we've gone through all the holidays that the family gets together without them. We're all getting through things pretty well. It's still sad, but we don't let it bring us down. Good thing we're a tight-knit group!

4. Summer Concert - This will make the "highs" list as well, but this year was the most difficult from a production standpoint. In spite of years of doing this, and things being somewhat routine, that only happens when the project manager is on top of things. This year's wasn't. She was pretty good about the meetings with sponsors, raising money, and working up contracts. But things on the local end were left to the last minute. Contacts and agreements and scheduling of all sorts of things (like port-a-potties, or piano moves) that should have been done 3 months in advance were scrambled for in the last week and a half. She made all sorts of assumptions, without understanding that outside entities need lead time. Of course, all that ended up on my shoulders at the last minute. We got through it all, and the concert itself was pretty good, but what a hassle (worse than normal hassle, I suppose)! She won't be back in this position next season...

3. Alien Butt Probe - Shortly after my birthday, I treated myself to a flexible sigmoidoscopy. Not quite a colonoscopy, but just as exciting. And done without being put under. I was also blessed with a hot 20-something nurse to assist, rather then the male nurse. In spite of a clean bill of health, and no signs of anything wrong, I didn't get flowers or chocolate. I still feel used...

2. HNT's Retirement - This is a downer, in that it's been six and a half years of effort. Like retirement of any kind, I have no idea what's next. Nor do I really care. I would hope that everyone respects the retirement by not calling whatever it is they do in the future as "HNT". There's at least three individuals who have given some sort of indication that they want to try to keep it going (interestingly, none of whom I would say actually "got" HNT). Unfortunately, I fear that the intent and concept of whatever happens next, won't be Half-Nekkid Thursday. HNT was never about sex or nudity, and though that's never been frowned upon, it isn't what HNT was all about. I think that's been lost. It would be a big disservice to the hundreds upon hundreds who participated to have it confused with what surfaces next.

1. Stealth's Death - For the first time, a blogger whom I actually met, spent quality time with, and developed a friendship with, died. She was someone that many bloggers knew, chatted with, or had some other sort of relationship. Sadly, it was almost a month to the day before I found out, and only because of a chance glimpse of her Facebook page. Her family knew nothing about us, so there was no need to find anyone to tell. Her body simply failed her--she didn't take her own life as many of us might have feared. What's truly sad about this is that her fiancé, the man who found her laying face down at the foot of their bed on that morning, died about two and a half months later. Sadly, in this instance, I think he took his life, though I'm not positive. All in all, a sad, sad day when I found out.

So, that's the downer list for 2011. Some not so bad, some really bad. But as I said at the top, the year really wasn't monumentally bad. Fortunately, there were lots of good things that happened too! You can check those out in the "Highs" post above this one. Go. Now!

Opening Lines 2011

2011-12-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

I stole this from Leesa's site in 2005, and have continued each year. Except last year, when my dad's death sort of knocked me out of the "norm".

What was the first line from your blog the first day of each month in 2009?

January -"Ooh, look! A blog!" (I posted this about 6 days into January. Don't recall why so late...)

February - "In spite of his brethren's observations in other parts of the country, this furry prognosticator saw his shadow today, thus guaranteeing 6 more weeks of winter weather." (My HNT post on Groundhog's Day--a shadow in the snow.)

March - "Definitely going to have to experiment some more..." (My HNT post through the water glass--the beginning of a series of pics through various glasses)

April - "It's Master's Week here in America." (Nothing excites me in the spring quite as much as this golf tournament--truly the best sign of longer days and warmer weather!)

May - "It's Sunday night." (Ummm...OK)

June - "I hope that all of you in areas that have experienced the wierd, wacky weather today are OK" (There's been so much weird, wacky weather this year, I'm not sure which one I'm referring to. And thank you all for not pointing out the misspelled word from the original post...)

July - "Gotta love a mid-summer four day weekend" (My annual 4th of July/Canada Day post, complete with videos of people shooting bottle rockets out of their ass!)

August - "Went to see "Cowboys & Aliens" on Sunday afternoon." (Don't normally go to movies, nor do I write about them when I do, but I really liked this movie! Olivia Wilde--mmmm....)

September - "This week's HNT is primarily for the benefit of my beer drinking girls who have deserted me over the years." (The beer from their favorite brewery is now available in cans--had to make them jealous, since they can't get it locally yet!)

October - "We celebrated Mom's birthday (yesterday) by taking her out for Thai food." (Still don't know if it was "good" Thai--nothing to compare with out here in the sticks...)

November - "It's twelve hours into November in my neck of the woods, and it's already obvious it ain't October!" (For as nice as October was, weather-wise, it didn't take long to get cold!)

December - "Oh, it's all bunching up on me all of a sudden!" (Symphony...what else?)

For better or worse, there ya go! Feel free to steal it, if you're so inclined!

I Get A Gold Watch, Right? HNT

2011-12-29T00:01:00.002-07:00

Wouldn't you know it? I've been anticipating this day for months, and now that it's here, I'm totally unprepared about how to send this thing off into the sunset... Granted, I've spent most every window of opportunity recently working on a final HNT project. You can find it here. Check it out--I think you'll like it.

But still, I could have been running things through my mind over the last few weeks as to what my final HNT words would be. It's currently early afternoon on Wednesday, and I still don't have a clue as to what my picture's going to be!

I could re-hash the history and concept, but you can find those in my archives, or check the "HNT GUIDELINES" button at the top of this page. I could write about all the things that are wrong with HNT, but I'm going to save that for a future post. I'm sure to offend certain people with that one!

I could do a post where I list all my favorite HNTs of the past six and a half years, but I've never envisioned HNT as a competition. There are many who made it a competition in their own mind, trying to outdo someone else's shots, then get frustrated when they couldn't. Sort of defeated the concept, I thought. Do I have favorites? Of course I do. There is one in particular that I've felt was far superior to any others. Beyond that, though, there's no list. I treated myself to listing 20 of them for my 5th anniversary post (actually turned out to be 22). But I won't do that now. Nor will I simply list my own HNTs that were my favorites. You can see all of mine here. Well, all except the last 10, maybe--I've been slacking...

I suppose that the best thing that has come out of all of this is the community. And that's different than 'friendship'. From the very earliest days, that community has been evident. Everyone was welcome to join. No dues, no site to join, no personal info to share. As with any community, there's various neighborhoods, and that has shown up here, as well. Without the gang warfare. Someone once said they felt it was more like a zoo. Where we were on display, and 'outsiders' could come and see us. Some would look and point, others would come back over and over, yet never become one of the displays. An interesting viewpoint. Regardless, the community has thrived. It's policed itself pretty well over the years, and we should all be happy we were a part of it.

And since this post is far longer than necessary, let me make it longer. An example of the community. Follow the timeline (approx. times--not terribly important), and the players:

May,2005 - HNT started by me. By end of summer, also joining in were Bloggers A, B, C D, E & J.
Late Summer, 2005 - Blogger B lets Blogger A and me know about Blogger F, who was having some very rough times with her life. Blogger F becomes part of the community. I do think we might have saved her life. Blogger F's boyfriend is Blogger G, a soldier.
Oct., 2005 - I pop in unannounced on Blogger A.
Nov., 2005 - Blogger B visits Bloggers H and A (H was A's daughter)
Dec., 2005 - I go to Nashville and meet Blogger C (and others).
Winter, 2007 - Bloggers F & G get married (and have a couple of kids)
2007-2009 - Blogger C joins military. Bloggers F & G visit Blogger E. I meet Blogger D. Blogger C gets stationed in Germany at US Hospital.
2010 - I meet up with Blogger D again. Bloggers F & G visit Blogger E some more. Blogger G gets deployed to Afghanistan.
Spring, 2011 - Blogger G suffers serious injuries in Afghanistan on Blogger F's bday. Blogger D reads this and contacts Blogger C in Germany, knowing she might run into Blogger G while he was evacuated there. She did, and she quickly becomes friends with Blogger F in the brief time G's there. The amazing part is that neither Blogger C nor F had a clue that the other used to HNT! Summer of 2011 - Blogger J spends a week with Bloggers F & G, to give them a hand in the midst of a chaotic time. Blogger J had never met Bloggers F & G before, other than online.

As you can see--it's quite complex the way this community works! And I would imagine that there's some other stories out there similar to this one.

As for friendships...geez, where do I start? I won't list names. The list would be too long, and inevitably I'd forget to include someone. The people I consider close friends should know who they are already. I've made many friends here that I would someday like to meet. I've made many friendships that I anticipate will last a long time. I know they will, because they've already lasted a long time after they walked away from HNT. This community knows far more about me than anyone offline does (including the family). I'll miss that to a degree, but then again, the friendships will continue on. OsTours will continue, and be blogged about. There might even be some half-nekkidness!

And you people have made similar friendships apparently! I am often amazed while surfing through the statuses on Facebook. Facebook is infinitely more "real" than blogging was ever was. Sort of tears down the precarious walls of online anonymity. But what often catches my eye is recognizing someone unexpected who comments on another's wall. It dawns on me then that these two people originally met through HNT. Even though neither of them has participated in years. It's seeing that sort of thing that I take the most...what, pride?...in. Maybe not so much pride, as a warm fuzzy feeling. And I'm generally all about the warm fuzzies!

Where do we go from here? I'm not sure. I anticipate that a good number of blogs will go belly up. There's many bloggers that only come back on Thursdays to do HNT. Others will look for other outlets for their nekkidness. But I suspect that we've seen the last half-nekkidness from many participants. To that end, though, "...the Other HNT" will be continuing on for awhile. Quitting things cold turkey is never an easy thing, so if you need to post a few more HNTs, then send them over there! And by all means--if you're comfortable being nekkid on your own sites, then don't wait for Thursdays to do it!

My final thoughts today... Thank you for daring to share yourselves with the rest of us. Thank you for making HNT something that was important in some way to your own lives. Thank you for putting up with me. I suppose that when I arrive at the pearly gates of Heaven, and a list of my life's accomplishments is read, HNT will be somewhere in the top five. And you know what? That's not such a bad thing. But if I end up at the fiery gates of Hell, I have an inkling that HNT will be on that top five list as well!

Michelle and I wish you the very best!

"My Dear,
I am writing this to remind you of your 'essence beauty.' This is the part of you that has nothing to do with age, occupation, weight, history, or pain. This is the soft, untouched, indelible you. You can love yourself in this moment, no matter what you have, or haven't done or been.
See past any masks, devices, or inventions that obscure your essence.
Remember your true purpose, WHICH is only Love.
If you cannot see or feel love, lie down now and cry; it will cleanse your vision and free your heart.
I love you; I am you.”
― SARK

Stop by Thursday afternoon to find out who this final Mystery Guest is!
Of course, this last MG for HNT is the lovely Shizzle! There's really no one else who I'd have wanted to be in this spot. Thank you to EVERYONE who was the MG at one time or another! There have been probably between 250-275 of you (computer issues--can't tell exactly at this moment) who have held the postition, with many of you appearing multiple times. And a special thank you for those of you whom I could contact at the drop of a hat when someone else flaked out for some reason or another. I've only had one person flat out refuse my invitation to be MG--it was like she was miffed about not having been asked before--like being the last one picked for dodgeball or something (interestingly, she dropped out of HNT very soon after that). Oh, well--her loss! Thanks to all of you, once again!

As mentioned above, "...the Other HNT" will continue on for awhile. Stop by and see who's joined in for the final one of 2011 though! Leave some year-end comments for your fellow HNTers, too! NSFW, of course...

What an end to 2011! May all of you have a very safe and very Happy New Year! Don't drink & drive, and don't make too much of a big deal about those pesky resolutions! Love ya all!

Remember?

2011-12-27T23:30:00.006-07:00

Alexis•Awna•Bellina•Belly•Brisen•Bricotrout•Cece•Grace•HappyKap•Hippigirl•Ian•Jaded• Katehopeeden•LAH•Lamby•LE•Livia•Maddy•mergrl•Meritt•Mistress Dirtbag•Monkey Poundcake •Nina•No Southern Bell•Pink Kitty•Pink Candy Hearts•Randi•MissInnocent•Shora•TerraT•bbsgirl•Kat•GloriaJean•Narcissus•
~Stephanie~•Bez•CindyLou•Goobrgrl•Boo•Chicken•Duff•Fidget•Dark Neuro•Callie/Carni•Miss Lissa•Medora•3.14•Le Chat•Anastasia•Mel Mega•Camo Girl•Cherry•kj•Wenchy•Jazzy•WarCryGirl•Tequila Red•B•Mia•Wry Girl•Breazy• Celibate Nympho•Smoking Redhead•Funky Bee•Adagio Breezes•Chuck•Snow White•Sasha•
Mermaid Girl•Mexican Chick Online•Mouse In My Brain•Melmar•Southern Sweetheart• Melissa/Felix•Deconstructionist•Crystal•Oblivion•Cali Girl•Susie•Cosima•Irish Earth Goddess• Tajalude•Snav•Robyn•kt•Redneck Vamp•Dee Goldie•Hollz•KJ•Sign Gurl•Blondage•Shay• Searabbit•Turnbaby•Evalinn•Ally•Angel•Urban Gypsy•Spinning Girl•I Smile 2 Much•Elisa• Bellacara•Madame X•~d•Sweet Elle•Andi•Avah•Babs•Bekah•Bellarosa•
Betchacantguesswho• Blondie•Boudica•C-Marie•Vampirekitti•Caronfire•Catgirl•Chick•Chelle•
Clara•Cuddleslut•Daisy Duke•Damasta•Dixie Belle•Emerald Eyes•Zoely• Femi-mommy•Hedonistic Pleasure Seeker•Blither•Morning Glory•Covert Lover• Evening•Tequila Girl•Jennybean•Phaedra•Z•Phain• Jellocee•Krazy•Ginamonster•Queen of Pink•Breve•Southern Girl•Binsk•Laken•Queen of Ass• Gus•Southern Vixen• Jada•Aughra•Shana•Solitaire•Lecram•Velma•Annie Angel•Maeve•!LL!• Lollie•TexasSpitfire•Monalicious•Rage•Sam•Emma• Jinsane•JuicyA•Kalani•Kat•Keda•Kelly Kline•Kitkat• Krista•Lacey•Leela•Crimson•Lelly•Lil Bit•Lime•Lucia•MamaKBear•Mara• Ladybug•Melon•MG•Mrs.T•Natalia•Biscuit•No One In Particular•Pretty Peanut•Pud•Alien Autopsy•Lilith•Skindee•JersySjov•Tish•Trixie•Sis B•Charlie•Coy Pink•Triple L•Redneck Eskimo•Hella•Contessa•Lee Ann•VirgoJen•Firefly•Queenie•Minta•YoJ•Bittersweet•Audra•Ms. Inconspicuous•HeatherS•Trojan•...just to name a few from the past...

Click these to read them better!

Click on this one, too!
From the Nov.18-Dec. 1, 2005 issue of Business & Economy magazine,
"India's Most Influential Business and Economy Magazine"

By the Numbers, somewhat...

2011-12-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Who's done HNT?

A COUPLE of attorneys;
A COUPLE of active military;
LOTS of teachers (?!?);
LOTS of students;
LOTS of divorced people;
WAY TOO MANY unhappily married people;
QUITE A FEW happily married people;
TWO or THREE cancer survivors;
ONE internationally recognized cat breeder;
ONE animal trainer;
ONE piercer/tattoo artist;
LOTS of nurses or medical field, but no physicians that I'm aware of;
ONE airline pilot;
LOTS of wait staff/bartenders;
ONE coal handler;
ONE professional model;
A COUPLE of actors whose name can be found on imdb.com;
A COUPLE of truck drivers;
NO cops that I'm aware of, but many others in the 'first responder' category;
NO professional athletes;
A COUPLE of Vietnam vets;
A COUPLE of fitness/dance instructors;
MANY from IT/tech fields;
A FEW from the entertainment fields;
A FEW who have been published;
ONE full-fledged adult film actress;
TWO who have died;
LOTS whose relatives have died;
A HANDFUL of real photographers;
WAY TOO MANY "photographers";
A HANDFUL of real sexbloggers;
WAY TOO MANY "sexbloggers";
NO politicians that I'm aware of (no surprise);
LOTS of SAHMs;
LOTS of first-time parents;
A FEW newlyweds;
A HANDFUL of "Star Wars" geeks;
A SMALLER HANDFUL of "Trekkies";
LOTS of generic geeks.

If you don't fit one of these categories, feel free to add to the list in comments!

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas to all of you!

My Top 10 Favorite Christmas Movies

2011-12-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that, in six prior Christmas seasons, I haven't come up with this list yet. I've done it for Halloween. I've done the Christmas music ones (go back and read up on those if you haven't already). I've been lax in my responsibilities to you. So here's the list of my favorite Christmas movies (in ascending [or is that descending?] order):

Of course, I'll start with the ones that just missed the list. "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's A Wonderful Life". WTH?? Sorry--they're both great movies, and they're on everyone else's list, so I feel I can let them sit with Honorable Mentions. I just don't find myself needing to see either of them at Christmas. I should also note that we're talking the original versions of both. The remakes and colorized versions shouldn't even be in the room... Also getting Honorable Mention is "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Only because I have yet to see it! Crimson (remember her?) loves it and quotes it regularly, so I trust her judgment. My final HM goes to "Prancer". Yeah, that sort of surprises me, too. But I'm a sucker for Sam Elliott and his voice. And it's a nice story of Christmas magic. Now the top ten...

10. "1941" - One that I'm sure many of you have never seen. A Steven Spielberg's movie. A great John Williams score. A large, big-budget, blue-ribbon cast. And a box-office flop (like most Spielberg comedies). The story isn't much about Christmas. Actually, not at all, other than it's set during mid-December, 1941. It's about spying a wayward Japanese sub off the coast of L.A., and the ensuing hilarity while scrambling to defend the Hollywood from a supposed Japanese invasion (did you know that there really was concern about that?). Since this is my list, it's included. And you should try to find it.

9. "Gremlins" - OK, this is another one that isn't so much about Christmas either, other than Phoebe Cates' (good enough reason to include this movie!) story about her father who died dressed as Santa trying to climb down the chimney. And the fact that it takes place at Christmastime. But how can you not include a fuzzy little Mogwai named "Gizmo"? Yeah, it's a bit gory and violent, but it's also pretty funny at times!

8."A Christmas Story" - This one should probably rank higher, but ever since TBS started running it all day on Christmas Day, it's gotten on my nerves. Still, it has some memorable moments that can't be discounted. The pink bunny pajamas, the Bumpus' hounds (Sonsabitches Bumpasses!!!!), the lamp (fra-gee'-lay), the tongue on the flagpole--all of these will be ingrained in our memories forever!

7. "The Lemon Drop Kid" - An old Bob Hope/Marilyn Maxwell movie with gangsters dressed up as Santa, trying to raise money to pay off a debt. Of course, the Christmas spirit wins out, and the money goes to a charitable group. The movie where the song "Silver Bells" was introduced. And it's got William Frawley ("Fred" of "Fred & Ethyl" from the old Lucy shows) in it. Any movie with William Frawley in it has to be good! (He was in "Miracle on 34th Street", too--maybe I should pull it out of HM status...)

6. "Scrooged" - A modern retelling of the Charles Dickens' classic. Great performances by Bill Murray and cast. This one was also higher on my list before it got shown over and over. Whatever happened to having only one or two chances to see your favorite Christmas movie?

5. "Elf" - I'm not a Will Farrell fan, but he does a remarkable job in this one. So many classic lines to choose from. And Zooey Deschanel is cute as a button! Renewal in Christmas cheer saves Santa's sleigh! This one would be higher too, but suffered the same fate as "Scrooged"...

4. "A Charlie Brown Christmas", "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!", "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" & "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" - Technically not movies, but I figure all four of them together counts. These are the TV shows that let me know that Christmas was here. The classics. The ones that everyone else tries to emulate. I remember how "Mr. Magoo" was almost sort of scary at times. I shuddered whenever I saw the Abominable Snowman's teeth for the first time. The Grinch is just fun, as is his song (don't even get me started about the Jim Carrey movie--what a piece of garbage that was!), and Cindy-Lou Who was such a cutie!. And I can still get a tear in the corner of my eye when Linus takes center stage to tell Christmas is all about (Luke 2:8-14). These should probably be at the top of the list, but they're not really full-length features.

3. "The Santa Clause" - People either love this one or hate this one. I'm one that loves it. Actually, the sequel is pretty good, too (the third one, not so much...). A different twist on the Santa legend. Mixing both modern and traditional views of Santa, this is just a good story about believing in Santa. As Judy the elf says, "Seeing isn't believing. Believing is seeing."

2. "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" - I could watch this movie any time of the year! Chevy Chase gives a wonderful performance as the hapless Clark Griswold, trying to make this year's family Christmas the best ever. I think we like it because we see a little bit of ourselves in what he's trying to accomplish. And we all have a relative that matches up with each of his. Of course, by the end, the spirit of Christmas reigns, and he "did it".

1. "White Christmas" - Easily my favorite of all Christmas movies. Even if it IS shown too much. I can never get tired of Vera Ellen's dancing, or Bing Crosby's singing. Or just being Der Bingle. And for all the stress and problems throughout the movie, the spirit of Christmas reigns (hey, haven't I written that already?), and they live happily ever after. With a nice snowfall.

So there you go. I'm sure it's different than yours. Let me hear from you about what movies I missed...

10 Christmas albums that you should at least check out...

2011-12-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Again, another list from 2006, and revisited in 2010. I worked too damned hard on these not to share them again! No additions to the list for 2011. Admittedly, I haven't really looked for anything new this season--no time! But the original list and additions are still pretty good.

First, the honorable mentions: These are additions since 2006. First would be James Taylor's "At Christmas". Probably helps if you're a James Taylor fan though (I am). Another album is The Bobs' "Too Many Santas". Not much on the classics, but they're style of a cappella music is so incredible that I have to at least mention them. If you get the chance to hear their albums where they record pop classics, you'll agree! New to the additions for 2010 is Diana Krall's "Christmas Songs". It's not a new album, having come out in 2005, but it should have been on this list when it first was compiled. I'm just taking care of a lapse in judgment! Lastly--I'm sorry, I love "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" by the South Park gang. It's crude, rude, nasty, but there's a couple of real gems to be found! Now to the original list...

10.- Deana Carter - "Father Christmas" - Deana and her superb guitarist father. No one else. Mostly jazzy guitar with her twangy country voice--it actually works!
9. - Mark Mothersbaugh - "Joyeaux Mutato" - You might not recognize the name, but he was a founding member of DEVO. That means lots of synthesized sounds and just weird music. Very few of these are remotely Christmasy, but there's a Christmas feel to them, and you can almost tell what song it's almost sounding like...
8. - Various Artists - "Merry Axemas, Vol. 2" - This is a follow-up to Volume 1 (duh) of guitar superstars from all types of bands. I believe there might have been a Volume 3, too. One can find Neal Schon, Trevor Rabin, Zakk Wylde, Robin Trower, Ted Nugent, Al Di Meola, etc., etc. No vocals--just instrumentals. Excellent compilation!
7. - Various Artists - "Have Yourself A Jazzy Little Christmas" - Top jazz artists playing Christmas songs. Better than run of the mill. Oscar Peterson, Jimmy Smith, Billie Holiday, Bill Evans, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé.
6. - Hollywood Trombones - "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" - About 20 of Hollywood's best studio and jazz trombonists get together to play jazz and standard arrangements of Christmas classics. Playing a full range of trombones from contrabass trombone to soprano trombone. It's definitely geeky...
5. - Bob Rivers - "Twisted Christmas" - This actually spans 5 albums over the years. Bob Rivers is a radio DJ in Seattle. He's done song parodies for awhile. It was just natural that Christmas songs got the treatment as well! "The 12 Pains of Christmas", "Walkin 'Round In Women's Underwear" (sung to "Winter Wonderland") and "O, Little Town of Bethlehem" (sung to "House of the Rising Sun"--it works!) are some of the numerous memorable songs.
4. - Vince Guaraldi Trio - "A Charlie Brown Christmas" - This is the trio behind all that wonderful music. Very light, easily accessible jazz arrangements, plus the unmistakable "Linus & Lucy". The only thing that would make this perfect would be the inclusion of Linus, reciting the biblical version of Jesus' birth. One of the finest soliloquies on TV.
3. - Spike Jones - "It's A Spike Jones Christmas" - First off, you need to know who Spike Jones is. No way to describe his band, other than you have to experience their style. Novelty, maybe? Secondly, this isn't like any other Spike Jones album. Put together for Jones' family gatherings, it's more like the 40s-style large choral groups singing very tight arrangements. If you're looking for the glug-glugs and slide whistles, this isn't the album. But a very good collection.
2. - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass - "Christmas Album" - This is vintage early 70s HA&TB. They were very hot at the time, and this is a great collection of songs. My mother bought this album when I was a highly impressionable young brass player, and we have played it repeatedly every Christmas. Even to this day! Thank God it came out on CD!
1. - SHeDAISY - "Brand New Year" - Easily my favorite of all Christmas albums. Fresh arrangements of standard Christmas songs, with a couple of new, original songs. The impeccable vocal stylings of the ladies is unmistakable, and even though they are a country act, this album shows no real signs of that. If you haven't heard this one, it's the ONE album of the bunch that I think you should hear!

Three Christmas Wishes '11 HNT

2011-12-22T00:01:00.001-07:00

This is the 7th year of the Three Christmas Wishes theme. This thing gets harder and harder for me to do every year. I think I'll give it up, and then I start hearing Christmas music, and I convince myself it's not so hard. Right up to the time that I actually have to start making decisions...

Anyhoo, for better or worse, here's my three:

Cougar In Training - I know she's a few years away from even being considered a "cougar", but that's why she's in training! As everyone knows, good training requires dedication, variety, and a trainer. She seems very dedicated already, so that shouldn't be a problem. The variety would be Part I of my wish for her. All sorts of guys to develop her style and moves on. Part II would be hooking her up with WWE "Official Consultant to SmackDown", Vicki Guerrero. Not that there's much she could learn anything from her, but she could fake it--it's professional wrestling, after all. But afterwards, she'd be awarded the "Cougar" necklace that Vicki is proud to wear around her neck. A sign that she was no longer in training! (please don't judge me by the fact that I know who Vicki Guerrero is, or that she wears a "cougar" necklace...)

Saucy Wildcat - Saucy Wildcat is back to blogging, and looking to get her sexy back. While it might be a news alert to her, her sexy's alive and well! But it never hurts to have a little sumthin' sumthin' on the side to help out. None of that weird stuff they sell on TV for him and her (or for her and her, as I saw for the first time this weekend!). I digress...I wish for Saucy as much Awesome Sauce as she thinks she might need (personally, I don't think she needs any!). From the website:

"It will sound silly to say, but Awesomesauce Hot Sauce really is awesome. You get a delicious, flavorful sauce full of warmth and spice and garlic. And then the heat gets turned on - and it doesn't stop. In our little taste tests, the heat continued to build while we ate. It was fantastic - no. It was AWESOME."

I'm sure that Saucy can read between the lines here...she's always been good at that!

Diva - It's no secret that the Diva has a Bad Ass Motorcycle Babe side. With a pink Harley, no less! She takes regular road trips, but I haven't seen any evidence that she's taken any to Big Sky Country. So my (selfish) wish for her is VIP tickets to the 30th Annual Testicle Festival, August 1st-5th, 2012, at Rock Creek Lodge, Montana. Beer, boobs, babes, bikers and balls. "Balls?" you ask. Yep! Rocky Mountain Oysters at one of the largest parties of the year, and it's only the fresh stuff, too! There's music, various states of nekkidness, food (not just oysters), lots of cameras, and it's virtually 500 yards (if that) off I-90. And why so many bikers? It takes place immediately before the Sturgis Rally, and anyone from the PNW has to pass Rock Creek to get there! Diva, it's only a little over an hour away from me, so we can meet there, or you can continue on to meet me in Helena! Your choice!

As for the rest of you, I wish you a very Merry Christmas! Give hugs to your family, even if you don't like them. Do something nice for someone you don't know. And don't forget why we celebrate Christmas. For those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, have a great weekend!

The Christmas Gift Poem

It isn't the flowing ribbons,
draped and curled with extra care,
or the fine and fancy bows
tied with ornamental flair.

It isn't the label on the box,
the sum of money spent,
or anything that shows the length
to which you obviously went.

The beauty of a Christmas gift
cannot be seen at all.
For the loveliness of giving
is a feeling, grand and tall.

It's the genuine offer of love,
the yearning to make a connection,
a show of honest gratitude,
a display of sincere affection.

Be sure to check back Thursday afternoon to find out who the Mystery Guest is this week!
Of course, Santa's gift to us this week is Vixen. Be sure to stop by and see what Santa calls her!

The Christmas spirit has hit "...the Other HNT" this week. We've got a larger than normal group of HNTers over there, with a little bit of something for everyone! Stop by and leave some Christmas cheer over there!

If you haven't read my past few posts, you should. My thoughts on Christmas music, and "Jingle Bells", in particular! Both are must reads! I've even gotten some dissenting comments, as well as an anonymous commenter who is musically geekier than me! And that's not an easy feat (if they're reading this, thanks for the link)!

Don't forget--next week is the last hurrah for HNT! Hope you can come up with something worthy of the occasion!

Top Ten Favorite Versions of Jingle Bells

2011-12-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

Repost from 2006. My 10 favorite versions of "Jingle Bells". Nothing new to add to this list. Again, if you're interested in an mp3 of any of these, I should be able to help you out. The order might have changed a little bit since 5 years ago, but with this song, one can hardly go wrong. With the exception of the singing dogs...

10.- The Mills Brothers - Their harmonies are as perfect and tight as any group around. I think I like this one more for their reputation on earlier recordings, where they would break into "instrumental" sounds with their own voices. Simply remarkable.
9. - Diana Krall - This would be her big band version. Anyone who has never heard her voice or piano talents is missing out! Canadian, blond, a golfer, a total knock-out. Her only possible weakness is that she's married to Elvis Costello.
8. - Morton Gould - Probably a name that you won't recognize. "Jingle Bells" is one of the first songs a beginning band student learns. Just in time for the school Christmas concert. How do you go about writing an arrangement of it for highly-trained, highly-paid musicians? You do it the way that Mr. Gould did. Fast, complex, tricky. It's a difficult piece for the musicians, but a joy for the audience. You don't really get to hear it often, but it's a great version!
7. - Swingle Singers - Probably the best a cappella version. The Swingle Singers were well known for their vocalizations of classical pieces. They also got into the jazz area, and were the singers during the chase scenes of the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". Very distinct style.
6. - The Hollywood Trombones - OK--this is a geeky trombonist's dream. I can't begin to tell you how incredibly talented these guys are!
5. - Jewel - This is just a cute, jazzy, a cappella version. I like it! Note: I cannot, for the life of me, find a recording of this. It could be her recording of "Rudolph" I was thinking of, or it might very well be a figment of my imagination... OK...this recording doesn't actually exist. It was "Rudolph". I'll have to find a version to replace #5 now...
4. - moe. - These guys are a jam group that infuses fun in their rock. Influenced by the Grateful Dead, they have played at Woodstock 99, and opened for the Who this past summer. Just a darned fun version!
3. - Diana Krall - Yeah, her again. A couple of years before she released her Christmas album, she did a three-song EP as a promo product. This is the version found on that, and is the more recognized version of the two.
2. - Bing Crosby/Andrews Sisters - You can hear a snippet of this version in the movie "A Christmas Story" when they're opening presents on Christmas morn. At least that's where I think it is. Barry Manilow/Exposé have recorded a similar version recently. Jazzy, up-tempo and fun.
1. - Jimmy Smith - Great version from the jazz organist himself. The Hammond B-3 has rarely sounded so good!

Moose and Griz and Saints

2011-12-20T09:20:00.003-07:00

Wow. Christmas is coming upon us quickly, all of a sudden! Moose has been here since Friday night, and just left this morning. It's always great to see her. She got to see her best friend a couple of times; we took her last HNTs; we watched football; we drank beer and ate Howard's Pizza. But now she's gone. I can go back to leaving the toilet seat up, the dishes in the sink, and can scratch to my heart's content!

I mentioned football. Unfortunately, it was not a great football weekend in the state of Montana. On Friday night, my Griz lost to Sam Houston State, 28-31. The game started U-G-L-Y, as SHSU blew out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter! The Griz were completely blindsided, and looked terrible. However, for the last three quarters, and particularly the entire second half, it was all Griz. They only gave up 3 pts. in the second half, while mounting their comeback. It was a gutsy 4th & 1 call late in the 4th quarter by SHSU to go for it from their own 45, and they made it, keeping the ball for the remainder of the game. So for as proud as I am for their play, there's a lot of what-ifs around regarding that first quarter!

The Saints lost to St. Xavier (Ill.), 20-24. It was a close game throughout, and I think Carroll just didn't play to their potential. Their last possession of the game found them 4th and goal from the 9, and they had 4 straight incomplete passes. Execution just wasn't there. Still, they had a good season too. So now, football in MT is finally over. How long is it until September???

Don't forget about the theme for this week's HNT! It's a bugger, for sure! I've got mine picked out though--do you?

Christmas Songs

2011-12-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Now that the Nutcracker has wound down, and playoff football is in full swing, it's time to revisit my favorite and least favorite Christmas songs. I grew up with some of the most gawdawful Christmas albums my mom could find. But it opened my eyes (ears) to a wide variety of Christmas songs. Some great, lots not so great.

The greatest of the bad...a three LP set, and I couldn't even tell you who recorded it. No one anyone would know, I'm sure. But I vividly remember all three LPs. The first one was nothing but organ. Not a big cathedral pipe organ; not a cheesy theater organ; not even a Hammond B-3. This sounded similar to some bad organ in the corner of a small church that was donated by a family some 50 years earlier, and has been played by the same little old lady for every Sunday service, wedding and funeral. Anyhoo...it goes through all the classic carols. The second LP had a chorus joining in. Not a church chorus, but one of those choruses that was big in the 50s, like the Norman Luboff Choir or Ray Conniff Singers. But not. With the same organ accompaniment, but with different songs. The third LP is what made the collection truly memorable. The same organ and organist, with almost the same arrangements as the first LP, but with the addition of chimes. A nice idea for one song, but not an entire LP.

The collection has to be at least 45 years old by now, and yes, I still have it. It is so gloriously bad, I could never throw it out. It's in storage with the rest of my hundreds of records, but I think I might try to dig it out and see if it's really as bad as I remember. I'm sure it is.

So now, I'm reposting my favorite and least favorite Christmas songs. If you want mp3s of any of these, I'll be more than happy to send them! I'll start with my least liked, and then my favorites:

Least Favorite Christmas Songs:

10.- Any Christmas song recorded by Michael Bolton - Well, that should probably read any song recorded by Michael Bolton.
9. - Any Christmas song recorded by Mariah or Britney or BoyzIIMen or 'N Sync or Hillary or Christina, ad nauseum.... - Actually, Christina's Christmas album wasn't too bad.
8. - "This Christmas" by anyone... - This song really wants to be this generation's "signature" Christmas song. Somebody needs to tell singers that it's not going to be this Christmas, next Christmas, or any Christmas in the foreseeable future.
7. - Any Christmas song recorded in a "country" style - This does not necessarily mean I don't like Christmas songs recorded by country artists. But the country-fying of most songs just drives me up a wall.
6. - "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney - Yeah, he was the "cute" Beatle. Yeah, he's written some of the best, most recognizable music of the 20th century. Yeah, everyone has an "off" day some days. Why can't we recognize that and just attribute this song to that, and scrub it? The world's greatest composers were smart enough to recognize a stinker and would toss their poor efforts into the fire.
5. - "Merry Christmas, Darling" by the Carpenters - Don't get me wrong. I loved the Carpenters. The very first concert I ever went to was the Carpenters. In the midst of my hormone-ravaged junior high years. But this one is SO overplayed... And it's one of "those" songs that's rarely recorded by others, simply because it was so well done the first time. But once an hour???
4. - "Last Christmas" by Wham! - The first words of this song are the ONLY references to Christmas in this song. It's about a failed relationship. Why does everyone want to record it??
3. - "Because It's Christmas" by Barry Manilow - Because it's Christmas, I'll be gentle... What an overproduced piece of crap! I don't know exactly when this was recorded, but it sounds like an afterthought from the recording session for "I Write The Song". And some of the sheet music from that was left on the musicians music stands. They're like fraternal twins. So much alike, but different. Despite the fact that I consider Barry Manilow an overattacked, but brilliant musician/entertainer, this should never have been released.
2. - "White Christmas" by anyone other than Bing Crosby - There are certain songs that should never, ever be recorded ever again, because the first one was perfect. This is one of them.
1. - "Any Christmas song recorded by Celine Dion - Nothing more needs be said...

10 Favorite Christmas Songs: (but I'm doing 20--it's my list...)

20.- "Silver Bells" - The Bob Hope version. From the movie "The Lemon Drop Kid". As usual, the original version is the best, and that's no different here.
19.- "Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy" - Whoever came up with the pairing of David Bowie (in his prime) and Bing Crosby (just being der Bingle) has a special place in Heaven waiting for him. Yes, it's overplayed, but when the video hit the screens, you could hear a pin drop, regardless of where you were watching it. I miss Bing...
18.- "Shimmy Down the Chimney" - This was recorded for a country Christmas compilation album a couple of years ago by Alison Krauss. It's a rare instance of her performing a style other than her brand of bluegrass (though she's sung background vocals on a number of rock-type albums). This song is a feel-good, pop-style, horn-infused, waitin'-for-Santa, love song. If you like Alison, you'll love this. If you don't, you still need to find it and listen to it!
17.- "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - The Russ Freeman (the "Rippingtons") version. I generally don't like this song, but it's harmonic structure lends itself to some great arrangements. This one is sort of a Calypso/salsa/something uptempo thing.
16.- "And the glory of the Lord" - This is one of the movements from Handel's Messiah. A much better song than the "Hallelujah" chorus. I've never heard a bad recording of this song, even among the bad recordings of Messiah.
15.- "Winter Wonderland" - Finally! A song that can be successfully recorded by just about anyone and still sound pretty good! And it has been... My personal favorite versions are one by Deana Carter and another one recorded by the Hollywood Trombones (see more descriptions of their albums in a future list). There's not many ways to screw this one up!
14.- "Silent Night" - I really like the Mannheim Steamroller version of this, though the entire concept has been overplayed (same with Trans-Siberian Orchestra). Again, this song is ripe with different versions just waiting to be written.
13.- "It Happened In Sun Valley" - From the movie "Sun Valley Serenade" starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Milton Berle and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Not really a Christmas song, but deal with it. The version I REALLY like is by those South Park kids Stan and Wendy on "Mr. Hanky's Christmas Classics". Truly, it's very good. Except for the pukey parts...
12.- "The Christmas Song" - This one's sort of on the fence, because everyone thinks they can record it. You really have to know what you're doing though... My favorite versions--Mel Tormé (the composer) does it in a way that's indescribable and in his signature style. Nat King Cole recorded the "definitive" version of it (many times, actually), though it's WAY overplayed. Chuck Brown and Eva Cassidy did a nice version. Christina Aguilera's version is the only one besides Cole's that made it to the Top 40 charts.
11.- "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" - This song lends itself well to a large group style of performance. Which is why it just doesn't sound good when Sinatra records it. Or any other solo artist. When done with full choir and orchestra, it's rarely less than glorious. From a musician's standpoint, this is a great piece to play, too!
10.- "O Holy Night" - To do this song correctly, you REALLY need to be good! Better done by large groups, but there's some good solo performances of it. And some incredibly BAD ones. Spectacularly demonstrated by Cartman on "Mr. Hanky's Christmas Classics". It's a favorite of mine because I specifically remember when I heard it for the first time. December, 1962 (shaddup) at Central School's (which looks EXACTLY like the one in "A Christmas Story") Christmas Concert, held in the 7th Avenue Gym (across the playground). I was a first grader, and I heard the 6th graders sing this song. I had never heard it before. I was blown away. For as much as a 5 year old boy can be blown away. I have always loved this song since that day!
9. - "Jing-a-ling" - I have a recording of this song, but it's some thrown-together studio group. But the song kicks ass! It's done in a style alá the Andrews Sisters. Jazzy, up-tempo, and fun! I'd love to hear the original!
8. - "All I Want For Christmas Is You" - Not the Mariah Carey waste of breath. This is the one hit recorded by Vince Vance and the Valiants. It is sung by a female lead in a late 50s triplet ballad style, with passion just oozing from the speakers. And a rough, raw tenor sax solo (like any good 50s song) in the middle. Again, one of those songs that was done so perfectly the first time that it's rarely covered by anyone else.
7. - "Baby, It's Cold Outside" - I LOVE this song! Technically not a Christmas song, but usually associated with the season. The entire contrapuntal dialog between the woman and the man is a conversation that everyone of us has uttered at sometime in our lives. Trying to get the lady to spend the night! Her with the reasons why she can't. Him with the reasons why she should. And all the subtle (or not-so-subtle) undertones of other types of conversations! There's been alterations to the lyrics over the years, and pairings between some truly interesting duets! It appeared in the movie "Elf", sung by Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone. The current version of Natalie Cole and James Taylor is pretty damned good.
6. - "Sleigh Ride" - One that anyone can do. Personally, I consider the original orchestral piece written by Leroy Anderson as the best (written for the Boston Pops--they seem to play it the best, even to this day!). Of course, there's the Motown version by the Ronettes, which is a classic in its own right. And one that's performed by bass guitar virtuoso Stu Hamm with some tasty B-3 in the background. Most recently, SHeDAISY recorded an altered version of it that I like best.
5. - "Let It Snow" - Lots of versions, but the one I like the best is one by Gloria Estefan. Not much of the Miami Sound Machine, but it's a great treatment of the song!
4. - "I Believe In Father Christmas" - Recorded years ago by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, it's beginning to find it's niche in the Christmas season. Being a child of the 70s, and the prog-rock movement of the day, ELP were gods to me, so I automatically liked this song. It's actually been recorded by other bands recently, lending credence to the idea that this is a pretty good song.
3. - "Carol of the Bells" - Another standard Christmas song that mesmerized me in my youth. Another one that lends itself well to variety. It's the cross rhythms of the 2 against 3, in case you're really wondering. My current favorite versions--Mr. Mackey's version on "Mr. Hanky's Christmas Classics" (how can such a vile album be so good??), and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's version as the basis for "Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24".
2. - "White Christmas" - Only sung by Bing Crosby. Originally sung by Bing in the movie "Holiday Inn" (1942), it was again heard as the title song in 1954's "White Christmas". No one should ever attempt to record this song again. It can't be done any better. (It was brought to my attention last year by Ms. I that the Drifter's version is pretty darned good too. Touché.)
1. - "Jingle Bells" - And it's not even Christmas specific! But it's my #1. So many great versions that I'm going to do a separate list of the top ten best recordings of it!

There you go--hope you found it as interesting as I tell myself it is!

Christmas Tree 2011 HNT

2011-12-15T00:01:00.004-07:00

"O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
How often has the Christmas tree
Afforded me the greatest glee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me."

-the fairly unknown 2nd verse (out of 4!) to "O Christmas Tree"

"The cool kindliness of sheets, that soon smooth away trouble; and the rough male kiss of blankets."
- Rupert Brooke

Carry me to bed
place me between the sheet
warm me with your heat
Make dizzy my head.

This week's Mystery Guest will be revealed Thursday afternoon. Be sure to come back and find out who it is!
I have missed you all so very much. Know I am well, not perfect, but well. I hold each and everyone of you dear still and the impact you each had on my life is not forgotten. Through you all I found me- something I had been seeking for years. The changes that occurred in the years we were together is evident both inside and out. I wish I could post a full before and after picture, you would be shocked at the result. Remember, each of you have the power within you. Just hold fast in your desires and convictions and be daring enough to try, even if you face opposition. Happiness is attainable- just not easy. ~BFD~

Another good crop of pics over at "...the Other HNT" this week. Go leave some Christmas cheer (or at least some nice comments) for your fellow HNTers! Of course, it's NSFW!

Theme Alert! - Only two more HNTs left! Be sure that you give next week's some attention NOW! It's easily the most difficult theme of the year!

Dec. 22nd - Three Christmas Wishes HNT - Perhaps the hardest theme of the year. Pick three individuals to send special Christmas wishes to. The hard part? Pick three people who are not necessarily someone you'll be sending a Christmas card to, or an e-card, or specifically contact at Christmas.Those people might expect something from you. No, send out your Christmas wishes to someone you've only lurked at, or to a newbie, or to someone whose HNTs and/or general blog posts have made some sort of impression. And post a picture of it, too! It can be serious or humorous or heartfelt or fantasy. Then contact that individual to let them know that they got one of your wishes. (For example, I remember that my very first year of this I wished for two bags of fairy dust for one person, a wish for another HNTer's husband's swimmers to impregnate her (she had a baby exactly 9 months later--I did good on that one!), and a big stick with nails for a third one to beat me with as I had somewhat trampled on our friendship. You can see this post here, or check out the other mid-December posts from my archives.) Good luck with this one. It's tougher than it sounds, so start thinking about it now!

Six years ago to the day, I started out on my very first OsTour. Driving to Nashville, TN, to follow the Saints on their NAIA football championship repeat (#4 at the time, as I remember). Driving through South Dakota in a blizzard, which is truly the only way one should drive through SD (gosh, what an ugly state!). Stealing internet from the Taco John's parking lot in Rapid City. Forty-eight hours from meeting my first group of HNT friends. Hardly seems that long ago. If you're interested at all in reading about it, you can do that here. It's best if you start from the bottom and work your way up. And be sure to click the pics. No extra pictures to see--it just bigs 'em. (just perused the site--what a great time we had!)

I mention all of that because that same football team will be playing for their SEVENTH national championship this weekend. But this time in Rome, GA. If any of you are nearby, feel free to go to the game and cheer for me!

The Nuts Have Been Cracked

2011-12-12T22:00:00.002-07:00

Whew! Two weeks of non-stop symphony work is over. Lots of work, lots of unnecessary headaches and lots of sore joints. But the performances went well, and everyone is happy. No one moreso than me! And I still have over 10 days until Christmas! Most years it's less than that, so I'm a happy camper!

Some observations from the past two weeks:

There's nothing quite so unwelcome to an early morning rehearsal as the mix of cologne (guys actually wear that stuff?) and beer farts. No, neither of them from me. Sitting in close quarters and without the chance to run away--nasty, nasty, nasty.
Also ranking right up there--coffee breath. Do coffee drinkers have any inkling how badly their breath stinks?
I think I've said this in years past, but I will never take potshots at the masculinity of male ballet dancers (or dancers of any type or gender). I watched more hours of warmups than necessary. The things that they can do with their bodies, and with such ease, is downright unnatural. Their muscles pop out like statues. And that's just the girls! Makes me think naughty thoughts about Minority Report! But the guys have the same muscles and flexibility. And that extra pouch in their tights that the girls don't have. Some of these guys have every right to be proud!
I hate the sense of entitlement that family members seem to have about getting access backstage. There's a lot of stuff backstage that is, for lack of a better term, dangerous. The last thing any of us needs is something being tripped over or falling down on someone and causing injury. Family members were told about the no-access rule, yet the number of people trying to get past the poor usher guarding the door was embarrassing. And when he successfully kept his cool, and the door shut, they'd run over to the other side of the stage and try the same thing. Without success. When did being the mother of the Third Mouse become important enough to be allowed in back?? And why did you buy the girl a bouquet of flowers? She was onstage for all of three minutes, and screwed up her dance??? I'll never understand a parent's mentality!

Speaking of a parent's mentality...I'm beginning to get some Christmas cards. Surprising, since I haven't actually sent out a Christmas card in ages. I appreciate them. I love them. I love them even more if I get the newsletter along with it. HOWEVER...I know that your kids mean the world to you. They are God's gift to us all. I know that Susie is building her own particle accelerator from pieces from her Easy Bake Oven. And Johnny has already signed with the city of Boston to be the Celtic's power forward AND to play hockey for the Bruins, while ALSO becoming the home run leader for the Sox--this just months after he graduated from crawling to standing and tripping over the cat. But I don't know these little people! So when you send your Christmas photos and newsletter, why can't you include the people I DO know--theoretically, you and your significant other! Is it so hard to get the entire family together for a picture? Or throw an extra one in along with the rugrats?
</ChristmasCardRant>

Can't let the weekend go by without mentioning my Griz! They kicked butt on the national stage (aka ESPN). They demolished the #2 team in the country, Northern Iowa, by a score of 48-10. UNI fans had complained that they should have been seeded above the Griz and hosting the game. Obviously, they were mistaken. Next up...a trip to Sam Houston State, the #1 ranked team in the FCS. To be televised on ESPN this Friday night. SHSU beat the Bobcats pretty easily last week, 49-13. A shocking showing for the Cats, even for the most avid Griz fan. So we won't have the chance to see Gucci lose another bet. Dammit. Can't count on the Cats to do anything right!

Theme Alert! - The first of the Christmas themes comes this week for HNT! Hope you've all gotten your trees up!

Dec. 15th - Christmas Tree HNT - I want to see you half-nekkid with your Christmas tree. If you don't have a tree put up, then with any other Christmas decorations. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then you're off the hook. But the rest of you--I really want to see your Christmas trees!

It's been years in the making, but I finally got my first real jackass comment (well, not the first...) on last week's HNT! Of course, it had nothing to do with me, the MG, or even HNT. It's the guy who's boycotting American women. I left it up for those of you who haven't had the chance to read his "logic". He's real piece of work. I feel like I've hit the bigtime!

'Tis the Season HNT

2011-12-08T00:01:00.004-07:00

It's Nutcracker time again! I'm in the midst of 12 to 14 to 16 hour days (and nights). Thank God I can autopost! Usually at this time of year I throw in some sort of picture from Nutcracker rehearsals or something. This year, I change it up with a picture during a break in our rehearsals at the Cathedral we play in (shown at the left). It's a wonderful building, but a pain in the ass to perform in. The acoustics suit smaller groups, as a rule, as does the physical space. But we make it work.

The worst part, however, is that it's a bugger to keep warm during the winter months, even when it's full of people. And in most of the recent years, it's been sub-zero temperatures during the first weekend of December. This year, it was relatively balmy (mid to upper 20s!) and I was almost a happy camper. Until I got word in the afternoon that a quick storm was blowing through that night, bringing the wind chill to a brisk -15°. The same night that I'd be having to load the equipment truck after the concert. This was my reaction shortly after hearing that lovely bit of news (for the record--it did get that cold, and I had to UNload the truck the next morning in similar weather. Don't you just love my life?).

All I have is black and white
My shades of grey
Fading away

All I have is this here flesh
For you to touch
For me to display

Be sure to come back Thursday afternoon to find out who our sultry Mystery Guest is this week!
This week's MG is the always cheeky Cheeky Minx! Always a pleasure to have her! Can you guess who the last 3 Mystery Guests will be?

Some lovely people to be found over at "...the Other HNT", as always! It won't go up until midnight, Mountain time though. Still worth a visit! As usual...it's NSFW!

Ashly's Toys for Tots project only has about a week left for you to donate! Please check it out and help out, OK? And Evalee's project has done well too. She's got a raffle going on to entice you, as well! Get your Christmas spirit into gear and help out either or both of these!

Can't miss out on the opportunity to say GO GRIZ!!! Check them out on ESPN Friday night and cheer them on! I believe it's at 8PM EST. (Then check out Gucci's Bobcats on Saturday morning on ESPN)

Theme Alert! - Only three more HNTs left, all three with themes! A rundown is below. Be sure that you give the middle one some attention NOW! It's easily the most difficult theme of the year! Make mention of it on your own sites to (as well as HNT's retirement). It's amazing how many people say they didn't know about this stuff!

Dec. 15th - Christmas Tree HNT - I want to see you half-nekkid with your Christmas tree. If you don't have a tree put up, then with any other Christmas decorations. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then you're off the hook. But the rest of you--I really want to see your Christmas trees!
Dec. 22nd - Three Christmas Wishes HNT - Perhaps the hardest theme of the year. Pick three individuals to send special Christmas wishes to. The hard part? Pick three people who are not necessarily someone you'll be sending a Christmas card to, or an e-card, or specifically contact at Christmas.Those people might expect something from you. No, send out your Christmas wishes to someone you've only lurked at, or to a newbie, or to someone whose HNTs and/or general blog posts have made some sort of impression. And post a picture of it, too! It can be serious or humorous or heartfelt or fantasy. Then contact that individual to let them know that they got one of your wishes. (For example, I remember that my very first year of this I wished for two bags of fairy dust for one person, a wish for another HNTer's husband's swimmers to impregnate her (she had a baby exactly 9 months later--I did good on that one!), and a big stick with nails for a third one to beat me with as I had somewhat trampled on our friendship. You can see this post here, or check out the other mid-December posts from my archives.) Good luck with this one. It's tougher than it sounds, so start thinking about it now!
Dec. 29th - Final HNT - This one is sort of self-explanatory. This will be your last official shot at doing HNT. Make it memorable. That doesn't imply stripping bare and letting it all hang out. Just make this one a good send-off.

Playoff Football!

2011-12-05T12:01:00.003-07:00

Gonna sneak in a post while I can. One weekend of rehearsals/performances down, and now a really long week of Nutcracker rehearsals ahead. But after next Monday afternoon, I'll actually get to enjoy Christmas! Sort of. I was informed that I'll be having a guest coming to town next weekend for a couple of days. Moose is coming down from the Alaskan interior to spend a few days in temps above zero! It'll be good to see her again, but it once again means I have to do the power cleaning of the apartment. I've actually gotten a good start on it, but there's much more to do!

As I mentioned on Facebook (I think--I can hardly remember), the state of Montana had a tremendously great weekend of football. There were THREE collegiate playoff games in this state on Saturday. Pretty good, don'tcha think? Even better, all three MT teams won! The run-down...

The Carroll College Fighting Saints beat Georgetown (KY) to earn yet another trip to the NAIA championship game in Rome, GA in two weeks. The Saints have won 6 of the last 9 NAIA titles, and I believe have more wins since 2000 than any football team at any level, including the NFL, CFL, all college divisions and high school. More on the Saints later...

The Griz manhandled Central Arkansas, and made their way back to the quarterfinals of the FCS tourney. After 10 days of intense lobbying, the game was shown on a pay-per-view basis, as were all of the second round games, thanks to the Montana and Montana State fans. As a reward, the next game for the Griz will be shown during prime time on ESPN this Friday night! Against Northern Iowa. Actually, it's a no-brainer--the game will feature the two highest ranking teams that are playing each other, and the Griz routinely put 23,000+ fans in the stands. May not be a lot for you BCS fans, but it ranks either first or second in attendance for FCS schools. Check out the game and cheer for the Griz. I can't. I'll be in a Nutcracker rehearsal...

Even Gucci's Bobcats won their game Saturday! The last time MSU had faced New Hampshire was in the quarterfinals in 1976. They won, 17-16, as UNH missed a PAT earlier in the game, and eventually won the Division II (later known as 1-AA, then FCS) title. Saturday's meeting found the Cats on top during most of the second half, but UNH got a touchdown with 6 seconds left on the clock. Then missed the PAT. And the Cats win, 26-25. And interestingly enough (though I think it's because they'll be playing top-ranked, and undefeated, Sam Houston State), the Cats will ALSO be on ESPN on Saturday afternoon!

If the Griz win (and they're projected to), and the Cats win (and they have a distinct possibility of doing so), then it sets up a Griz/Cat semifinal game in Missoula the next week! No word yet as to a bet with Gucci for that one...

Aaaarrrggghhh....HNT

2011-12-01T00:01:00.001-07:00

Oh, it's all bunching up on me all of a sudden! I am SO sick of the Nutcracker, I could scream (and have...). And it's not even December yet!

On one hand, I've got a conductor who is normally in charge at all times, with certain expectations. On the other hand I have the owner of a dance studio, trying to herd cats with her 75 kids (plus parents), but still is normally in charge at all times, with certain expectations. They hired me to be in charge of both, as well as running a well-oiled machine. For the most part, the machine is fine. These two, however, will cause me to start drinking again. To be polite, they don't play well together. And I've had to listen to both sides. Over and over. But I think we've gotten it figured out. But damn, I didn't think it was going to be this difficult this year!

So here I am, in front of my computer. Notice that there's no indication of Firefox or Safari showing. Just schedules, and edited schedules, and schedules done on Excel and on Word. The TV isn't even on in the background (but what's that dark, shadowy figure I see?). I even had to cheat and use the reverse camera thingy on my iPhone, just to get me in. Sheesh!

And for good measure...now that I have to start loading/hauling equipment,
a winter storm is expected to dump 6" on us tonight...

"I believe in Santa Claus
I believe in Santa Claus
I believe there's always hope when all seems lost
I believe in Santa Claus

I believe in Santa Claus, I'll tell you why I do
'Cause I believe that dreams and plans and wishes can come true
I believe in miracles, I believe in magic too
I believe in Santa Claus and I believe in you

I believe in family in country and in smiles
I believe in turning negatives to positives in life
I believe in lookin' farther up the farther down we get
I believe when someone hurts we should forgive and forget

And I believe in Santa Claus
I believe in Santa Claus
I believe love should prevail at any cost
And I believe in Santa Claus"

"I Believe in Santa Claus" - Dolly Parton

We'll be revealing this week's Mystery Guest late Thursday afternoon. Come back to find out who believes in Santa!
Our MG this week is Santa's biggest fan, Minority Report! Stop by to say hi. She's still got last week's HNT up, for which you'll be Thankful!

Some very nice stuff over at "...the Other HNT", though sparse again, due to the holidays. Stop by and support your fellow HNTers, OK? And leave a comment or two...

My previous post was primarily about the lack of TV coverage for the FCS quarterfinals this weekend. Available only on ESPN3 (an internet broadcast), it meant that close to 90% of Montanans would not have access to either UM's or MSU's games. After FB petitions, thousands of emails, and letters from the state's Congressional delegation, ESPN announced that all 8 second-round games would be broadcast on ESPN GamePlan. Sure, it would be nice to have it broadcast on the local/statewide channels, but all anyone in MT was asking for was an alternative to the internet. Hopefully, enough people will buy the pay-per-view to show ESPN that the FCS deserves far more respect than they give it now.

As I purchase that package, for that particular reason, I'll be missing most of the first half since I'll be finishing up symphony rehearsal, then bouncing across to check out the Saints as they play in their semifinal game too! GO GRIZ!

Theme Alert! - Don't forget the themes coming up in December. A rundown is below. Make mention of it on your own sites to (as well as HNT's retirement). It's amazing how many people say they didn't know about this stuff!

Dec. 15th - Christmas Tree HNT - I want to see you half-nekkid with your Christmas tree. If you don't have a tree put up, then with any other Christmas decorations. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then you're off the hook. But the rest of you--I really want to see your Christmas trees!
Dec. 22nd - Three Christmas Wishes HNT - Perhaps the hardest theme of the year. Pick three individuals to send special Christmas wishes to. The hard part? Pick three people who are not necessarily someone you'll be sending a Christmas card to, or an e-card, or specifically contact at Christmas.Those people might expect something from you. No, send out your Christmas wishes to someone you've only lurked at, or to a newbie, or to someone whose HNTs and/or general blog posts have made some sort of impression. And post a picture of it, too! It can be serious or humorous or heartfelt or fantasy. Then contact that individual to let them know that they got one of your wishes. (For example, I remember that my very first year of this I wished for two bags of fairy dust for one person, a wish for another HNTer's husband's swimmers to impregnate her (she had a baby exactly 9 months later--I did good on that one!), and a big stick with nails for a third one to beat me with as I had somewhat trampled on our friendship. You can see this post here, or check out the other mid-December posts from my archives.) Good luck with this one. It's tougher than it sounds, so start thinking about it now!
Dec. 29th - Final HNT - This one is sort of self-explanatory. This will be your last official shot at doing HNT. Make it memorable. That doesn't imply stripping bare and letting it all hang out. Just make this one a good send-off.

It's a First for Me!!!

2011-11-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's a first for my 54 years of existance. I have my tree up, and lights strung, and it's not even December yet! I don't think you realize how monumental this actually is! I went about 2 decades where I didn't put up a tree or decorations--except my last two years of high school teaching, when my best flutist was appalled by that and went out and chopped one down for me...both years!

In fact, in the 30 years or so that I've not lived at home, I don't think I've had a tree up for a third of them. I can blame my musician status for much of that. December is a busy month for symphony concerts and holiday gigs. And the various rehearsals. No time to get it done, and since it's just me here, why bother?

But this year, it's up! A full four weeks before Christmas!! For those who wonder where the real Os has gone, don't worry. I'm pretty sure I can procrastinate putting the ornaments up for a couple more weeks...

It was a good long weekend of football again. The Griz had a bye week, so the only football game being played in the state of MT was the Saint's second round playoff game. It was a close contest, with the winning touchdown coming with about 2 minutes left in the game. A bit nerve-wracking for my tastes (I much prefer winning in a blow-out), but it was a win, nonetheless. Next game--hosting a semifinal game, probably against Georgetown (KY). GO SAINTS!

Also next weekend both Gucci's Cats and my Griz host a second round game in the FCS playoffs. The kicker...neither of the games will be on TV!! Oh, ESPN will be there with their cameras, but the only way to see either game is to watch on ESPN3, which is an INTERNET-ONLY option. And the kicker...? ESPN3 is only available through one rural ISP in the state!! There have been petitions signed (big one on FB, if any of you would like to sign it...email me for details), emails sent, and Montana's entire Congressional delegation (all three of them) have written to ESPN to complain. There's two main bones of contention here from Montanans' view--1) For 15 years, we've been able to watch all playoff games involving the Griz by purchasing local broadcast rights, and 2) ESPN is forcing customers to complain to their ISPs to pick up ESPN3, in essence, holding college athletics hostage for corporate gain. That doesn't fly well in Montana...

There's plenty of other gripes as well, but I won't go into those. ESPN has given unsatisfactory responses so far, and I fear that we won't get either game. Most infuriating is their lack of acknowledgment that most of Montana doesn't have the adequate internet infrastructure to offer ESPN3, yet they continue to pass the blame to the ISPs and cable providers. They could easily sell the rights and make much more money than what they're trying to do now. What I think will happen is that those pesky UM and MSU crowds well have hundreds of "ESPN SUCKS" signs throughout their stadiums, and the cameras won't be able to avoid them. Then again maybe their cameramen and equipment wont make it into the stadiums...

As hinted to up above, the crazy symphony season starts up this week. Thirteen rehearsals or performances in the twelve days. And there's actually 2 days off in there! Fortunately, this is fairly routine, so I'm not terribly concerned. Just gonna be busy, busy, busy!

Dec. 15th - Christmas Tree HNT - I want to see you half-nekkid with your Christmas tree. If you don't have a tree put up, then with any other Christmas decorations. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then you're off the hook. But the rest of you--I really want to see your Christmas trees!
Dec. 22nd - Three Christmas Wishes HNT - Perhaps the hardest theme of the year. Pick three individuals to send special Christmas wishes to. The hard part? Pick three people who are not necessarily someone you'll be sending a Christmas card to, or an e-card, or specifically contact at Christmas.Those people might expect something from you. No, send out your Christmas wishes to someone you've only lurked at, or to a newbie, or to someone whose HNTs and/or general blog posts have made some sort of impression. And post a picture of it, too! It can be serious or humorous or heartfelt or fantasy. Then contact that individual to let them know that they got one of your wishes. (For example, I remember that my very first year of this I wished for two bags of fairy dust for one person, a wish for another HNTer's husband's swimmers to impregnate her (she had a baby exactly 9 months later--I did good on that one!), and a big stick with nails for a third one to beat me with as I had somewhat trampled on our friendship. You can see this post here, or check out the other mid-December posts from my archives.) Good luck with this one. It's tougher than it sounds, so start thinking about it now!
Dec. 29th - Final HNT - This one is sort of self-explanatory. This will be your last official shot at doing HNT. Make it memorable. That doesn't imply stripping bare and letting it all hang out. Just make this one a good send-off.

Be sure to check out Ashly's and Evalee's links! Get your Christmas spirit into gear and help out! Both ventures have seen some good progress, and I know they both appreciate the help they've gotten, and any more that they can get. I know Ashly has already started buying toys! And Evalee has posted that things are going better than they'd hoped for their project!

Settling the Bet HNT

2011-11-24T00:01:00.001-07:00

There's not really much to say about my HNT today. It's time for Gucci to settle up her end of the Griz/Cat bet. I don't know exactly which of the pictures she'll be using, but she sent me a preview or two...

"Of apple-picking: I am overtired
Of the great harvest I myself desired.
There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch,
Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall.
For all
That struck the earth,
No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble,
Went surely to the cider-apple heap
As of no worth.
One can see what will trouble
This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is.
Were he not gone,
The woodchuck could say whether it's like his
Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,
Or just some human sleep."

--Excerpt from "After Apple-Picking" by Robert Frost

This week's Mystery Guest will remain a mystery, though she's appeared here numerous times over the years. Come back often to look at her apples though!

Due to the week of holiday preparations, "...the Other HNT" is lower than normal with the numbers, but not in quality! Lots of breast portions, but I can't say the same about the legs or the wings. No lumpy potatoes, that's for sure! Be sure to stop by and check out your fellow HNTers! As always, it's NSFW!

Theme Alert! - As mentioned above, we'll still do the Christmas themes next month as follows:

Dec. 15th - Christmas Tree HNT - I want to see you half-nekkid with your Christmas tree. If you don't have a tree put up, then with any other Christmas decorations. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then you're off the hook. But the rest of you--I really want to see your Christmas trees!
Dec. 22nd - Three Christmas Wishes HNT - Perhaps the hardest theme of the year. Pick three individuals to send special Christmas wishes to. The hard part? Pick three people who are not necessarily someone you'll be sending a Christmas card to, or an e-card, or specifically contact at Christmas.Those people might expect something from you. No, send out your Christmas wishes to someone you've only lurked at, or to a newbie, or to someone whose HNTs and/or general blog posts have made some sort of impression. And post a picture of it, too! It can be serious or humorous or heartfelt or fantasy. Then contact that individual to let them know that they got one of your wishes. (For example, I remember that my very first year of this I wished for two bags of fairy dust for one person, a wish for another HNTer's husband's swimmers to impregnate her (she had a baby exactly 9 months later--I did good on that one!), and a big stick with nails for a third one to beat me with as I had somewhat trampled on our friendship. You can see this post here, or check out the other mid-December posts from my archives.) Good luck with this one. It's tougher than it sounds, so start thinking about it now!
Dec. 29th - Final HNT - This one is sort of self-explanatory. This will be your last official shot at doing HNT. Make it memorable. That doesn't imply stripping bare and letting it all hang out. Just make this one a good send-off.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Even those of you who celebrated it last month...!

How 'Bout Them Griz?!?!

2011-11-21T23:00:00.001-07:00

Well, the first thing I should mention, if you haven't heard yet, is that my beloved Griz beat the fur off of Gucci's Bobcats, 36-10. The fallout? The Griz earned a share (with the Cats) of the Big Sky Conference championship. They also jumped from #7 to #5 in the polls, while the Cats fell to #7. Most importantly though, the Griz were seeded #4 in the FCS tournament. A bit of a surprise, but we'll take it! Both teams get a first round bye and a second round home game. It's possible that there will be a second Griz/Cat game in a few weeks, but that would be in Missoula. And it's a bit early to be looking that far ahead. Of course, the best thing about the Griz win is that it obviously implies that Gucci lost her bet! You're gonna like it!

The other two of my teams were also victorious over the weekend. My HS alma mater won the state "AA" football championship on Friday night in the windy, snowy cold. And the Saints easily won against their first round opponent and will host Azusa Pacific on Saturday. Those poor Californians will have a rude awakening in the cold up here!

I've had two different people let me know that they had a conversation on Yahoo Messenger within the past week or so. The problem...I haven't logged on to Yahoo Messenger in a couple of years! The transcript of one of the conversations (my friend's name is changed):

Osbasso (Scott): Que passo baby

Matilda: Why you so happy?

Osbasso (Scott): whats up, I dont remember when I found your username..im 24yrs old, female...you?

Matilda: Really? 24yo female? LOL!!

Osbasso (Scott): im not desperate hehe i just enjoy talking to ppl online especially via webcam, do you webcam?

Matilda: Wait a minute. Is this Scott?

Osbasso (Scott): ahhh ok are you signed up to any dating sites? i wanted to join adult friend finder but they charge too much!
i see..where do you live? i am bored at home...and this usually leads to bad things anytime i take a break from school work i jump online

Matilda: Well, I think this must stop as you are not the person I thought you were. You have highjacked my friend's yahoo account, and I'm not interested in continuing.

Osbasso (Scott): suit yourself... ur prob a virgin anyways... peace!

I assume that the other conversation was similar. A general suggestion for all of you--if you see me on Messenger, it's 99% probable that it's not me! But if you want to jerk this person around, be sure to send me the transcript!

Last year was my first foray into Black Friday, and I pretty much decided that it would be my only foray. Now they're starting Black Friday on Thursday? Is nothing sacred? Walmart, in concern for their customers, will just stay open all day Thursday so that no one will have to wait outside in the cold. What?!?! I'm sorry...I can understand the fun and appeal of opening at 4AM on Friday. It's a tradition for some families. But hasn't it gone just a little bit too far?

Be sure to check out Ashly's and Evalee's links! Get your Christmas spirit into gear and help out!

I've seen that the word has gotten out about HNT, but don't forget that it's still got six more weeks to go! Pull out your best ideas!

Big Weekend, and other things...

2011-11-18T00:01:00.003-07:00

"Mom called.
Dad died.
Back in a bit..."

I posted that one year ago this morning. 7:30 AM, as I remember. That's how I let you guys know that Dad died unexpectedly. A full year has passed. In some ways, it seems like so long ago. In others, just last week. But I'm OK. As a family, we're not going to do anything special today. I'll check to see if Mom wants to go visit the cemetery later today, though I think she'd rather go alone. S1 is out of state. S3 and family will be out of town for the state championship football game. Life goes on. And that's a good thing.

Speaking of football, the big weekend is here!! Tonight will be the aforementioned football game, pitting #2 Helena Capital against #1 Billings West. My nephew (a sophomore) will be dressed out for it, and will get in the game as the kick holder. GO BRUINS!

Carroll College starts the playoff run to defend their national championship on Saturday, opening against Valley City State (N.D.). It's supposed to be colder than hell, but it's going to be televised, so you know where I'll be! GO SAINTS!

And the really big game, the 111th "Brawl of the Wild". The #7-ranked University of Montana vs. #1 Montana State University. The Grizzly/Bobcat game. At stake is the Big Sky Conference Championship, and a probable top-five seed in the playoffs. Both teams will make the playoffs, but their position within the brackets is all dependent upon the outcome. Also at stake are the statewide bragging rights, which are HUGE here. And perhaps most importantly at stake will be the bet between myself and Gucci. Please trust me on this on this and send your best vibes to the Griz. You really want Gucci to lose!!

As anticipated, it seems as though some people didn't bother to read my HNT yesterday and have no idea that its days are numbered. And another large bunch who didn't 'up' themselves and missed it. So if you know of anyone who needs to know (particularly any part-timers), let them know. In fact, you might try to talk some of them into jumping back in for these last six weeks and send this thing out with a bang! Something I didn't post yesterday is that I'm working on a big project as a final send-off. I think you'll like it!

Also didn't mention that I went out Friday night. I never go out anymore, and I had three different invites! I opted to go to the birthday party of one of my HS friends. She turned 55 on 11/11/11. That was pretty cool, but then it dawned on me again that MY next birthday will be my 55th. Geez!

If you haven't done so already, jump down to my HNT and check out the stuff about Toys For Tots and about Evalee's plea. Do something good for yourself and help out if you can!

ROCKSTAR HNT

2011-11-17T21:30:00.002-07:00

Let us consider the life of a ROCKSTAR. From the very beginning. From the first time our ROCKSTAR pokes its toes into the water of life. It's a shy creature. Insecure. Not knowing that soon it will, indeed, become a ROCKSTAR. The ROCKSTAR makes some friends early on, with similar insecurities, but all developing their skills. No one really knowing how they're going to turn out. But as all creatures do, these ROCKSTARs show incredible growth spurts. As time goes on, and the ROCKSTAR becomes more self-assured, there's some rebellion, but the ROCKSTAR finally hits the big time!

At this time the ROCKSTAR is now making friends with all sorts of other ROCKSTARs, many of whom had never been heard from before. All of a sudden, there's lots of ROCKSTARs! Of course, not everyone likes what the ROCKSTARs are doing, so they critique and ridicule, and basically act badly. Fortunately for all, the ROCKSTAR lets it all slide, as it's just words and part of the game. The whole "any press is good press" thought. And after all, much of the press is quite good.

By now, our ROCKSTAR is at the top of their game. The ROCKSTAR has matured into a solid cultural phenomenon, and not just a passing fancy. Various ROCKSTAR copycats and wannabes pop up. While a couple of them have a decent shelf life, none of them can really compare to the life of our ROCKSTAR. The ROCKSTAR lines up some tours, and there's some collaborations with other ROCKSTARs. The ROCKSTAR is getting invitations to appear all over. Life is going well, but not without mid-life crises. The ROCKSTAR realizes that, in spite of its popularity, it's not necessarily the greatest ROCKSTAR around. There are others that can, and regularly, outperform the ROCKSTAR. But they take it in stride. For as many groupies our ROCKSTAR has, they are groupies themselves. There's an inherent appreciation amongst all for each other's work.

As the ROCKSTAR gets older, they continue to produce, but notice that many friends have departed. Many have gotten out of it. Many have gone on to other things. And some have even died. The ROCKSTAR, however, continues to be popular to continuing new generations. And while other ROCKSTARs have come and gone, ours is still plugging along, and enjoying life to the fullest.

But at some point, our ROCKSTAR decides that it's time to hang things up and call it quits. While they're still somewhat popular. Retirement will give the ROCKSTAR time to reflect, to start new projects, and to bask in the glow of a life lived well. No reunions or special appearances. The ROCKSTAR is done.

An odd story for HNT? Perhaps. But now go back and plug in the letters 'H-N-T' for the word ROCKSTAR. If you haven't figured it out before this point--HNT is going into retirement. Permanently. This is a decision that I haven't taken lightly. In fact, it was about nine months ago when I first thought about announcing it on the 6th anniversary. You can read my thoughts about it on that particular post. Frankly, I think I knew back in May that even if we kept going, there would be no HNT in 2012. There's just no compelling reason to keep it going.

The official last HNT will be the last Thursday of 2011, on December 29th. That gives you six weeks to work on those last few ideas that you might have swimming around in your heads. We will still have the Christmas themes (see below), but on the 29th, that's your last shot for HNT. It's official. I won't be changing my mind. But you can pretty much guarantee that I'll be waxing poetic about some things during that time! Announce it on your own sites if you like. Lord knows there are plenty of people who don't check in here anymore, yet still post HNTs.

I prefer to think of this as a celebration. A retirement. On to bigger and better things. Osbasso isn't going anywhere! And to each of you ROCKSTARS, congrats!!

And GO GRIZ!!!

"Up with Montana, boys, down with the foe,
Good ol' Grizzlies out for a victory;
We'll shoot our backs 'round the foeman's line;
Hot time is coming now, oh, brother mine.
Up with Montana, boys, down with the foe,
Good old Grizzlies triumph today;
And the squeal of the pig will float on the air;
From the tummy of the Grizzly Bear."

Not that this week's Mystery Guest is that much of a mystery, but come back Thursday afternoon to be sure!

GO GRIZ!

Of course, this week's MG is the lovely Gucci! The lyrics above are to the Grizzly fight song. Something I'm sure she'll be hearing over and over on Saturday as the Griz crush the Cats!

Lots of nekkidness over at "...the Other HNT", some of it quite NSFW. Be sure that if you stop by, you leave some comments, OK?

Ashly Star is still taking donations for U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program. You've read in my previous posts all about this. If you haven't clicked on the button here or the link to help her out, then you should do it now!

A different sort of pimping here... Some of you will remember Evalee from the old days. Since quitting HNT, she's gotten herself hitched, had a baby, and is enjoying the "quiet" life in the plains of Alberta. She and her husband decided to try for a sibling for their baby Maggie, which failed at week 16. Several months later, as it was difficult to get pregnant, she found out that she has Premature Ovarian Failure at the age of 31. Basically, her plumbing is on the fritz. After weeks of options and discussions, they have decided to try in vitro fertilization. Unfortunately, Canadian health care will pay for this option, so they are in the process of of raising money. A friend of theirs raised some money by putting their plea out on a website, so they figured they should give it a shot.

Their website is "When the Second Time Is Harder Than the First", and you can read about their plight and progress here. Time is running out due to her condition, so please at least check out the site and decide if you can/want to help. I haven't heard if the top donor gets naming rights for their child, but I sort of doubt it. If you want to help, there's a button on their site to make it easy too. It's that time of year when we should be helping others. Can you help here?

Theme Alert! - As mentioned above, we'll still do the Christmas themes next month as follows:

Dec. 15th - Christmas Tree HNT
Dec. 22nd - Three Christmas Wishes HNT
Dec. 29th - Final HNT

I'll post details by next week, or you can check out the archives to see what we've done in the past! GO GRIZ!

Football (again), Ashly & Evalee

2011-11-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

As you can see, it's changed around here. In anticipation of the Grizzly/Bobcat game next Saturday. It's a big football weekend all around, actually. My HS alma mater will be playing for the state championship on Friday night (with my nephew suiting up as a sophomore--kick holder and defensive back). The big game on Saturday, as well as Carroll College hosting a first round game to defend their NAIA championship. I love this time of year!

Don't forget that I'll be posting a big announcements and some theme alerts on Thursday!

Brain Dump HNT

2011-11-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Just some this and that...

--I'm watching "Vietnam in HD" on the History Channel. I am fascinated by it, and by my lack of knowledge and understanding of it. I grew up during the war (or whatever its official designation is). My parents didn't allow the TV on during dinner, and I was really too young to know what was going on. As I got older, it was never discussed in history classes, since it was actually current events. And the teachers really didn't understand what was going on themselves. So, while I learned all the big battles of WWII, Vietnam is a subject I'm terribly ignorant of. Whereas BTE (who's not that much older than me) went there and got wounded, I was just young enough that the fall of Saigon happened a month before I graduated high school, meaning I didn't have to worry about being sent to war. This particular series uses letters, journeys and footage taken by soldiers during battles, and narration by surviving soldiers, newsmen and families. None of the stock news reels that most of us have seen. Truth be told, I'm glad I didn't pay attention back in the day...

--Had to run to that giant corporate box store that everyone tries to avoid, but ultimately ends up going to, to pick up my meds. I saw Letitia, who's got a three foot weave, long hot pink nails, and cheap plastic gold colored earrings. And yellow spandex pants about a size or two too small. Looks remarkable like the woman that Gucci's dealing with at her insurance company!

--Anytime I go there, I come out wondering a simple "what if?" It's not the women and the snot-nosed babies that amaze me, but their spouses/boyfriends that accompany them. I'd like to think that I've always been a better catch than some of these guys...

--I don't have permission to post this pic, but I don't imagine I'll get into much trouble. This is one of my FB friends (actually, the sister of a real life friend, who won't friend me on FB, but I digress) and her daughter. Have you seen anything quite so cute?

--There's a nice lull in my life going on at the moment. That gets blown out of the water next weekend though. The first anniversary of my dad's death, the big football game (Gucci, yer goin' down!), Thanksgiving (reportedly at BIL3's sister's place--oh, joy), and then 3+ weeks of symphony silliness for the holidays. Concert at the Cathedral (always a joy), and then two Nutcrackers. Then Christmas. So the lull is quite appreciated!

--Big news coming up next week! As well as theme announcements! Be sure to check back for that stuff!

--I sort of made a snide remark on a picture that a FB friend posted this morning. She had planned on taking a picture of her back yard, but had the camera flipped on her phone and took a picture of her face. So this afternoon, the near full moon (full on Thursday) came up while the sun was setting. I went to take a picture of it, and zoom in on it, and...you guessed it. I tapped on the camera-flipping button. The worst part? I still couldn't get a decent picture of the moon. I need to spend some more time with my phone...

Nope. No Mystery Guest this week.

A good showing of pictures this week over at "...the Other HNT". Stop by and check them out! Your fellow HNTers appreciate the comments, too! Don't forget--it's NSFW!

Ashly Star is still taking donations for U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program. Below is their mission statement:

"The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted."

In 2009, Ashly decided to ask her fellow bloggers to join in and help her. And help her they have! She has a PayPal account set up to take monetary donations, which she then cashes out and goes on a toy-buying spree! And the glory of it is that it doesn't take huge amounts of dollars on your part! Any amount-- $5, $10, $ 13.79, $20 --every little bit helps, and you wouldn't believe how far a dollar will go!

If you have a question as to whether or not it's a scam...it definitely isn't! She even takes pics as she's shopping, and then a final "this is what we bought" picture. Though it's not really easy to see, the button at the top of this story is last year's loot! All money donated is spent on toys, as well as quite a few bucks of her own. There's no "administrative" costs taken by her or anything like that.

This is the third year that she's inviting the blogger world to join her. Do something good. Do it now before the stress of the holidays start to pile up. It's easy to do--just click on the button above, which will take you to her site, and click on the PayPal button at the top of her sidebar to send money. I've already done it--won't you?

Clowns and Football and Smokin' Joe

2011-11-07T22:30:00.002-07:00

It's been a good football season so far. As you can see in the sidebar, my teams are all doing very well, and all will be involved in post-season play! It was even a good weekend as far as my NFL allegiances go. Any weekend when the Patriots, Steelers and Eagles all lose is a good one in my book!

Of course, this was all marred by the news coming out of Penn State. I certainly won't say that I follow any FBS team, nor anything specific to this whole story, but from the news accounts I've read, I don't see how Paterno could be held responsible in any way. He didn't witness any of the alleged improper behavior. He immediately reported his grad assistant's concerns about what he saw to the proper administration, following due process and chain of command. He assumed that some sort of action was being taken, and was not privy to. I understand being the captain of your ship and all, but if Paterno loses his job because of this, it's going to be a great injustice.

Speaking of the Griz...there's now a two-week wait for the "Brawl of the Wild"! The Grizzly/Bobcat game! Both teams have a bye this coming weekend, adding an extra week of hype in the media. The Cats are ranked #2, and the Griz are #8, but rankings mean absolutely nothing in this game. If the Cats win, they win the Big Sky Conference, and get the automatic bid (and probably the #2 seed in the playoffs). If the Griz win, they'll be co-champions with the Cats, but will get the automatic bid (but probably not a top 4 seed). But again, that has nothing to do with this game. This game is for bragging rights. You're either rooting for the Cats, or the Griz. If you don't care, you're not a real Montanan. Don't forget that there's a bet on this game between Gucci and me. You all definitely want the Griz to win--trust me on this! As a side note--and a warning--there's about a 2% chance that both these teams could meet for the national championship game in Frisco, TX. If that should happen--OsTour will be heading to Dallas again! Plan on a party!

I was saddened to hear of the quick decline and death of Smokin' Joe Frazier from liver cancer. I first heard of his illness on Saturday, I think, and then his death on Monday night. I've never been a big boxing fan, but definitely remember the heyday of the heavyweight championships. I remember watching Cassius Clay on TV with my dad. And Muhammad Ali. And Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Leon Spinks and Ken Norton. During the age when the champ was the champ. When you didn't need a program to figure out who was champion for more than a couple months at a time. Before Mike Tyson finally hung onto it for a decent length of time. Anyhoo--I've never been a boxing fan, but I do have the memories of watching the big fights with my dad on TV. And with his death tonight, it's brought back some nice ones. R.I.P. Joe!

Have to admit that I'm lovin' the time change so far this week! Not a fan of the early dark, but my body thinks I'm getting an extra hour of sleep in the morning, and that's a good thing! As for the clowns...there's far too few clowns being posted online these days, don'tcha think?

Big Sky Country HNT

2011-11-03T00:01:00.001-06:00

You know, I complained a bit yesterday about the fact that November is now here, and it's certainly not October. Well it is, but then a FB friend made the comment on my status that I live in Montana. And it's November. And you know what? It's still a pretty good place to be living! And could be SO much worse... (gotta work on that whole exposure thing on the iPhone)

"The amorous evening star is rose,
Why then should not our amorous star inclose
Herself in her wish'd bed? Release your strings,
Musicians; and dancers take some truce
With these your pleasing labours, for great use
As much weariness as perfection brings.
You, and not only you, but all toil'd beasts
Rest duly; at night all their toils are dispensed;
But in their beds commenced
Are other labours, and more dainty feasts.
She goes a maid, who, lest she turn the same,
To-night puts on perfection, and a woman's name."

Epithalamion Made At Lincoln's Inn
John Donne (1572-1631)

This week's Mystery Guest should be well-known to most of you, even though she's not doing HNT anymore. She'll be revealed on Thursday afternoon, so be sure to check back!
I shouldn't have to reveal her here, since you either already knew, or you would have found out when you clicked on the Toys for Tots link below! This is, of course, Ashly Star. Now click the link and go contribute!

Another good selection of pics over at "...the Other HNT" this week! Stop by and check out your fellow HNTers. Leave some comments too--they like comments! And it's the least you could do... Don't forget, it's definitely NSFW!

Since it's now November, I guess I can use the "C" word (note--the capital "C", not the lower case!). Especially when using it for a good cause. And this is one of those good causes.

For a number of years now, and getting her Christmas spirit started early, Ashly Star has been donating to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program. Below is their mission statement:

"The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted."

It Ain't October No More!

2011-11-01T12:00:00.001-06:00

It's twelve hours into November in my neck of the woods, and it's already obvious it ain't October! It's like there's an entire shift in the cosmos once November hits. It might have been in the mid-50s yesterday, and the leaves were being blown all over. But today? We won't see 40, and other than the stubborn trees, all the leaves have fallen. It seems darker today. The sun is coming up really late, and setting really, really early. It doesn't help that the town sits on the north face of hills and mountains, so the low sun puts us in shadows even earlier.

But November brings things that we've been waiting for. Playoff football starts in November. As you can see in the sidebar, my teams are doing pretty well, and will all see post-season action. The Grizzly/Bobcat game is coming up in a few weeks, and that's almost more important than the playoffs! Expect some hype on this, as Gucci and I have another bet riding on the outcome of this game. And trust me, you'll want the Griz to win this year! On the symphony front, it's a slow month, preparing for the craziness of December. Throw in Thanksgiving and Black Friday nonsense, and November turns out OK.

Of course, mid-November is when my dad died last year. I don't know what to expect when the one-year mark comes up. I'm sure I'll be fine, but I don't know what to expect from my mom or sisters. We'll see...

TV Stuff, and Crosstown Football, and Some BBall

2011-10-28T19:27:00.006-06:00

"Beavis & Butt-head" returned to MTV last night. Of course, I had to watch (someone told me there was a baseball game on or something?). I found it to be quite satisfying! Which is about as high as I'd ever go as "praise" for that show. Since MTV doesn't believe in the music video anymore, the boys have to watch the other crap MTV programming, and they skewer it pretty well! After 14 years away, have they grown up at all? Oh, hell no! Though Beavis' voice seems a little bit deeper. I find it funny though, that the new B&B's audience is more likely to be parents than their kids!

Speaking of other programming that's geared for parents...Halloween's Monday Night "RAW" will be guest hosted by the Muppets. Which seems appropriate--colorful characters being manipulated by others...

Big crosstown football game here ~~tonight~~ (oops...just found out it's Saturday afternoon!). The winner should go into the state playoffs as the #1 team. I realize full well that many cities have as many high schools as this state has total. Which makes the crosstown game so much more intense. Even the towns here that have three high schools don't have the same feeling to them as a true crosstown. Of course, you don't see my cookies freezing off watching it...

It's not much of a secret that Carroll College is a national powerhouse in NAIA football. And has been since the turn of the century. Their basketball team has had some success on the national stage, but not anything past the semifinals. However, tonight they are playing the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Yes, THOSE Gonzaga Bulldogs. Ranked #23 in the NCAA. I don't expect a win from the Saints tonight...

I've been browsing through my cable channels. Seeing as how I'm paying for them, I figured I should see what I've been missing. Not much, from what I've seen, though I'm going back to check out BBCAmerica a bit more, and the National Geographic channel is pretty good. But the one that's grabbed my attention, in a carwreck sort of way, is RFD-TV. "Rural America's Most Important Network". I really don't want to pass judgment, but good golly, is this thing ever...I can't think of the right word. Think of a "Hee-Haw" audience, with ag news, music shows, crop reports and a good dose of gospel. Plus reruns of the aforementioned "Hee-Haw"! And I'm hooked. Well, on the music shows, at least.

There's THREE different polka music shows! Lawrence Welk, but with smaller bands. I was mesmerized. My first thoughts in watching were that there's these guys playing on a big stage, with not much audience. I could empathize with them, as I've played plenty of polkas in my life, and there's nothing worse than playing to a handful of people. Then the cameras panned the audience. Think of the large Baptist mega-churches--that sort of audience. While the production value of these shows isn't spectacular, I can't help but be impressed with the musicianship. That is hardly lacking! Polka music is a bitch!

And there's plenty of gospel music. I actually like watching gospel shows. Not so much for the message (that sounds terrible, doesn't it?), but for the actual performances. Impeccable harmonies, great range of voices, and when you get into the uptempo stuff, some blazingly fantastic piano playing. Again, as a musician, I have a real appreciation for it. Could I do it as a vocation, or listen to it 24/7? Oh, hell no! But now I know that if I need a fix, I have a channel to tune in to to get it!

My Top 10 Best Scary/Monster Movies(plus the extras I've added since I first posted it...)

2011-10-28T00:01:00.003-06:00

Reposted from the past couple of years. No additional edits this year. Last year's (or was it 2009's) edits in yellow...

I figured I should re-post my annual Halloween movie list. I have edited little bits of it though ...and even added ~~one~~ two. If you're partying for Halloween, have fun but be safe (yes, Dad...). I'll be home all night watching scary movies and ~~drinking beer~~ testing my blood! This year's additions to the list include "Thir13en Ghosts". Which is a remake of the 1960's "13 Ghosts". There's something about the glass house and the mechanics of the ghost traps that really intrigues me. And Shannon Elizabeth isn't terribly bad on the eyes... Also added to the list is "Five Million Years to Earth", about an ancient Martian ship unearthed during a London excavation. Another one of those movies where the public can damned near walk up to the thing. And with a hot babe scientist! And a spoiler--the Martians look like giant grasshoppers. Speaking of giant bugs, the last addition this year is "Them!". The earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization. Damn, I miss the classics! No specific place in the list. Just added to it...

As promised earlier last week, here's my top ten list of my favorite sci-fi/monster/scary movies. They may not be the goriest, or most hi-tech, but I prefer them this way. They are far better movies than gorefests. I will almost always watch these to their conclusion if I happen upon them while switching channels. I got to see a couple of these over the past week while watching AMC's "Fear Fest '09". In fact, I'm adding one to the list that I saw. It should come somewhere in the middle, but then I'd have eleven. But I don't want to knock any of these off the list. I'll number it with a Roman numeral. But I digress...

Here's my top ten faves:

#10-The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)--"Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!" Perfect example of substance over flash. Effects not all that good, even for 1951, but I suspect that in its day, it was quite discomforting. If a spaceship landed in D.C. today, no one would be allowed within miles. In 1951, you could bring the family down to look at it from no further away than 30 yards!

#9-Tales From the Crypt (1972)--No, not the cheesy HBO TV series. The original movie. Five tales of impending fate for five imperfect strangers. They are given the option of avoiding their fates - by avoiding living out the rest of their lives. Many memorable moments, including a young Joan Collins being murdered by Santa Claus. Also brings to mind the movie "Asylum", also from 1972.

#8-Frankenstein (1931)--The granddaddy of them all. Not the first monster movie, but the first that truly made the genre such a hit. Frankenstein's monster was grotesque, the story was horrifying, and it was eaten up by the public--at least those who didn't faint! The attempt by man to play God once again fails. But at least he launched a whole new series of movies! By the end of the movie, you actually feel some pity for the monster. Perhaps the mob outside burning down the windmill was the real monster??? Hard to believe that the same guy who could play the monster would go on to narrate "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas"!

#7-Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)--I can't remember exactly when I first saw this--grade school, I'm sure. I love this monster! He lives in the Amazon, swims around among some gorgeous scenery, and then falls in love with the girl on this boat. He swims a few feet under her as she's out in the water. He's just shy and horny. This movie was originally filmed in 3D, so there's lots of harpoons and bubbles and swimming towards the camera action going on. As with many of the monster movies from this era, you sort of have feelings for the monster by the end of the movie.

#6-The Omen (the original trilogy)--Creepy little kid is born as the anti-Christ. This is one series that I actually liked all three movies. Following Damien as a little boy, to his teenaged years, to his adulthood. You don't feel sorry for him in the end...

#5-Night of the Living Dead (1968)--This movie shows what you can do on an incredibly small budget. Yeah, the make-up is cheesy, and the dialog pretty cliche, but the story not only scared you, but also touched on race relations, family relations, distrust of government and the like. Great scene of zombies munching on intestines, organs and limbs at the burned out truck!

#MCMLXIXa-The Amityville Horror (1979)--This story is based on real events, though there's a great deal of controversy whether it was all a hoax or not. A family moves in, the walls in the house start talking to the family, blood oozes out all over the place, and the family leaves in less than a month. The real house in question is currently inhabited, apparently without incident. As Larry the Cable Guy says in his act, the realtor responsible for selling this house must be really good! No one in the family dies, but there's plenty of eerie sounds, dripping blood, and the voice of the house. All in all, it's got all the necessary elements!

#MCMLXIXb-The "Alien" series--Another new addition this year. Thanks to The Panserbjørne for mentioning it. The first one (1979) was amazing, with the face-sucking embryo planter, the stomach pop, and then actually seeing the alien for the first time (God bless HR Giger!). Probably one of the finest concepts of an alien in all of film! The second one was pretty good too, with the little girl as the lone survivor on the colony. The third and fourth installments seemed to milk the concept a bit much. Though, the final scenes of the fourth one almost evokes sympathy for the mutant alien/Ripley creature. As its guts are being sucked out of the porthole, you can't help but feel sadness as it seems to be crying for its "mommy" (Ripley). A good set of movies, particularly the first one.

#4a-Young Frankenstein (1974)
#4b-Mars Attacks! (1996)--OK, so they're comedies. But fine examples of movies based on the genre. "Young Frankenstein" used some of the original movie's lab equipment, and used references to it and other Frankenstein classics. With a healthy dose of puns and laughter. Someone called in alot of favors for "Mars Attacks!". Patterned on the UFO movies of the 50s, its cast included over a dozen big-name, big-buck actors, including Jack Nicholson (in 2 roles), Glenn Close, Michael J. Fox, Pierce Brosnan, Jack Black, Paul Winfield, Rod Steiger, Natalie Portman, Annette Benning and Danny Devito. And Tom Jones. Among numerous others. While it could have become quite cartoonish, the movie was played seriously, and even had a couple of grotesque moments!

#3a-Poltergeist (1982)
#3b-Poltergeist III (1988)--Another trilogy that worked pretty well. Except for #2. And #3 was a little weak, but the concept of evil characters in the mirror (or any reflective surface) was a bit freaky. No, the scariest part of the movies are the deaths of those associated with the movies, in particular, the death of 12 year old Heather O'Rourke ("They're heeeerrrreeee....!). The real life stories are far scarier than the movies (though that clown in the picture still gives me chills...

#2-The Shining (1980)--"Heeeeeerrree's Johnny!" Stephen King's novel as envisioned by Stanley Kubrick. As mentioned in an earlier post, the music to this movie is amazing. The scenery outstanding (for the little bit that you get to see). While the movie's best scenes involve Jack, there are plenty of others. The tidal wave of blood from the elevator. The two very disturbing twins. Danny holding a large knife screaming "REDRUM! REDRUM!" This movie has just about all the good things that a horror movie should have. Great story, just enough blood, twists and turns. And Jack is phenomemal.

#1-The Exorcist (1973)--No real surprise here. This movie scares the bejeezus out of me to this day. To the point that I have only seen it all the way through without breaks twice in my life. I usually have to get up at the point when the mother first hears "rats" in the ceiling. Having been raised a good Catholic, I definitely remember the outcry that followed this movie. Crowds stood outside the theaters to pray for the souls that the devil would take from those who watched the movie. Some scenes were so disturbing that people got physically ill, or fainted. Certain scenes never made it to the screen as they were deemed "too graphic"--one of which is the famous "spider crawl" scene depicted in the b&w picture.
On the other hand, I spent an evening with Moose and watched "The Exorcist". She just laughed.

So there you have it. I would recommend all ~~thirteen~~ these movies (yeah, I know. There's more than ten. Deal with it.).

Blood and Gore HNT

2011-10-27T00:01:00.003-06:00

From a make-up supply webpage:

Lots of blood and gore is needed if you want to scare your victims.

Blood dripping down from your open wounds. Blood dripping from the corners of your mouth after the your vampire just drank the last bit of their victim's life.

Gore goes hand in hand with blood. Can't have gore without some blood.

You need blood and gore with all your Halloween props too. Don't forget that!

Sometimes too much.... IS too much so watch that a bit.

While it's not really "gory", it IS bloody! And the first picture from my new phone!!

Not a normal sort of Mystery Guest this week. Way back in the earliest days of HNT, I had my camera stolen at a gig. This, as you might imagine, caused all sorts of consternation. The biggest of which...how could I possibly continue HNT??? Cooler heads prevailed, and one particular blogger suggested that I have guest HNTers, somehow using any of my prior pictures, so that I wasn't left out each week. Thus was born the concept of the Mystery Guest. Since this happened in the fall, and some of them were appropriately seasonal, I offer some MG examples from the old days!

I was a bit surprised that we didn't get a lot of Halloween themed pictures for "...the Other HNT" (remember the pumpkin guts that someone finally had the 'guts' to do last year?!?), but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go check them out! Be sure to leave some comments for your fellow HNTers!

I've got no plans for Halloween this year. In years past, I haven't even needed to worry about trick or treaters. Something about apartment complexes with dark hallways that keep the kids away. Unfortunately, within the past three months, there's been 3 or 4 families who have moved in, all with at least 3 kids. I suspect that I might have to actually go buy some candy this year. Grrr... If any of you are partying (hi, Vixen!), enjoy yourselves, and don't drink & drive! And post pictures!!!

A Post!

2011-10-25T12:00:00.000-06:00

Here I am, in my effort to not go three weeks in a row of only posting HNTs!

Not sure when it happened (actually, I think it was Thursday), but all the leaves in town came crashing down. Or fluttering down. Anyway, all the side streets are ankle deep in the yellow leaves of the elm trees--especially in the upper westside (the former "rich" part of town). It's absolutely gorgeous. Or at least it will be until the first snow blankets all of the unraked leaves and they start rotting and stinking up the place. There's a bit of laziness in that regard around here...

I've been having all sorts of fun with my new phone. Especially using "Siri"--the 'assistant' application. It's sort of like the HAL 9000 from "2001". You can even carry on a conversation with it, and apparently others have discovered this as well. There's a whole site dedicated to it at "Shit That Siri Says"! The responses are great!

Of course, playing with the phone took the back seat to the symphony concert this weekend. The concert was one of the best I've been involved with in years. But man, what a lot of work involved. The highlights include staying up until 3:15 AM re-editing 180 Powerpoint slides, ripping my shins open on the U-haul's trailer hitch (twice on one leg, two days apart!) and bleeding like a stuck pig, dealing with the Keystone Kops we had to move a 9' grand piano, and surviving on about 10 hours of sleep for 3 days. On a more positive note, it didn't rain or snow all weekend! I'll bet it's waiting for December...

Read online that Lindsey Lohan has struck a deal with Playboy for a photo shoot at the end of this week. They offered $750K, she insisted on $1M, and they met somewhere in the middle. In the meantime, she's still cleaning toilets at the morgue as part of her community service. Anyone wish that she'd never grown up from that precocious "Parent Trap" girl?

I listen to Pandora at work almost exclusively these days. And my current genre is "classic soul". For the most part, it's pretty good, though Michael McDonald sneaks in on occasion (wth??). But it's damned hard to concentrate on work when Barry White comes on.

4S HNT

2011-10-20T00:01:00.000-06:00

I was so excited to get my new iPhone 4S. Announced just one day before Steve Jobs' death (rumor has it he died because it wasn't the iPhone 5...), the pre-order date was Oct. 7th. Being the smart, resourceful guy that I am, I went in on the 8th and plunked down my money. I got a receipt telling me that I would receive my phone on Oct. 21st. Imagine my dismay when I found out that you could actually buy the real deal a full week before that!! I've had to put up with my boss' glee (he really likes the Siri feature!) since last Friday.

Ah, well. My trusty, but broken Droid can last for an extra week. And by pre-ordering, I was eligible for a 30% discount on accessories. If I bought five of them. Even though I only really needed three, I sprung for the five. I got a portable battery charger, for those times I'm on OsTour. I got the Otter case for protection (bought the insurance on the phone, too--live and learn!). I got the dock so that I can charge it and use it at the same time. And I got the car charger, also for mini-OsTours. The fifth accessory (not shown) is the package of screen protectors. So while I haven't gotten the big prize yet, I got the next best thing. I can't wait for Friday to roll around. Of course, I'll be busy with symphony stuff all Friday, and through the weekend, so I don't know when I'll get to learn all the ins and outs. But I'm sure I'll make time!

(Oooh! Click on the pic for a late afternoon surprise!!!)

No Mystery Guest this week. Sad panda.

A smaller sampling over at "...the Other HNT" this week. Be sure to stop by and see who's there. Not terribly explicit, but still probably NSFW...

I noted last week that it had been a full week since I'd posted. Well, I did it again. Grrr... I will try to do better in the coming one! Time has been spent watching football and AMC's Fear Fest, among other horror offerings. And the aforementioned symphony concert. And a big secret project that I can't tell you about yet. But I absolutely promise you that I will!

Playing With My Food HNT

2011-10-13T00:01:00.007-06:00

Over the weekend, I found these pictures posted by someone on FB. It absolutely blew me away. A simple concept, really, but one that's pretty much outside the box. Well, any box that I grew up in. It doesn't have anything to do with taste--just a different approach on preparation and presentation. And I immediately decided that I had to do it myself! Of course, someone told me to take pictures...

The first thing I found was that I'm not very good at visual art. Though I knew I wanted to do more than just sticking spaghetti into hot dogs. I thought I'd try to come up with an entire zoo. There's only so much you can do with hot dogs, though, when you have no talent. Add in the fact that spaghetti is surprisingly wobbly when trying to make giraffes or an AT-AT, and my creativity, such as it is, was falling by the wayside. But I regrouped, and made a doggie, a tiny giraffe, a spidery thing, a centipede-ish thing, and one of the ghosts from Pac-Man. Or whatever you think you see here...

My final opinion--as a single guy in his mid-50s, well, this sort of plays right into that, doesn't it? But if you have kids, it's possible to make a fun project out of it. Maybe. If your kid has more talent than I do...

"We seem to be going through a period of nostalgia, and everyone seems to think yesterday was better than today. I don't think it was, and I would advise you not to wait ten years before admitting today was great. If you're hung up on nostalgia, pretend today is yesterday and just go out and have one hell of a time."
~Art Buchwald

Our fun-loving Mystery Guest will be revealed Thursday afternoon!
She may be out of sight, but never out of mind! The hell-raising MG this week is Barefoot Dreamer, of course. No more blog, so no link, but we can all remember her fondly!

We've some good stuff over at "...the Other HNT" this week, as usual! Be sure to stop by and check out your fellow HNTers. Leave some comment lovin' too. They like that! Definitely NSFW.

Geez...I didn't post anything since last week's HNT. Don't even have a good excuse.

Have you seen the Geico commercial with the girl who 'lost' her fish? Love it!

If any of you are interested (and I can't believe that any of you would be...), I finally got the rest of my HNT's (through September) posted on my separate site. If you're so inclined, go here.

Considering pulling out my 35mm camera in the next few days. Now I just have to find somewhere to buy some decent film. Hopefully I'll have some good shots to share!

Thanks to everyone who joined in on the Post-it® theme from last week! I knew that most of you would nail it, and you didn't disappoint! No more themes until the standard December ones. I'll post more on those in a few weeks...

Post-it® HNT

2011-10-06T00:01:00.008-06:00

Well, if you didn't hear about it yet, Steve Jobs died this afternoon. Love him or hate him, you cannot deny the impact of the man on the way we live our lives today. Even if you don't own a single Apple product, or even used iTunes, his influence on the entire computer/electronics industry was huge. Wow.

You know...this was a much better idea when I first had it a couple of weeks ago! I hope you all had better luck than I did! You might have to click it to big it to read it.

"I wish I had a Teddy Bear
To sit upon my knee.
I'd take him with me everywhere,
To cuddle up with me.
I'd scorn young men,
No lover then
My lot in life should share,
They might go to Jericho
If I'd a Teddy Bear."

From Pelissier's Follies - 1909

Our Mystery Guest is choosing not to reveal herself this week. She's shy.

We're a little short on quantity this week over at "...the Other HNT", but the quality is high, as always! Stop by and check out your fellow HNTers! Definitely NSFW.

Don't forget that Boobiethon is continuing through Friday night. It's never to late to submit photos (or to donate to ogle them!). HNTers have been pretty good supporters over the years of previous Boobiethons, and I've already seen at least a half dozen of you over there this year. If you've never heard of it, go to their site to get more details.

As an update since I first drafted this post, those who run Boobiethon have decided that this year's will be the last. You can read their blog announcement here. So now is your last chance to get in on this most worthy event!!

I have a love/hate relationship with October. Twenty-one years ago in October, I was unceremoniously arrested. Twenty years ago this week, I finished up my jail sentence (yes, Os was in jail--no, you're not going to hear about it). Two years ago this weekend I was enjoying the experiences of I.C.U. But October is also all about great weather, football, and of course, Halloween! Which means the great monster/scary/psycho movies will be running non-stop! Look forward to AMC's "Fear Fest" starting on the 16th (looks like they're actually starting early, too!). And TCM and SyFy have already started their scary stuff. Woohoo!

A Day in the Mountains

2011-10-03T21:00:00.005-06:00

I had the afternoon off today, so I headed up into the mountains. The weather has been ridiculously gorgeous, and I really haven't been up where I was headed in close to ten years. My parents owned a cabin up this way, nestled between the forest road and a small creek. But that has nothing to do with this post.

There's a turnoff from the main forest road that takes you to a reservoir higher up in the mountains. I've lived in this area for over 50 years (except during the 80s...), and I have never been to this place. All I knew is that there was a mountain road to this place that actually continued past and joined up with some other mountain roads that I was familiar with. Since it was a lovely day, I figure I'd take care of that.

I immediately found out why it's not really someplace to head to. It's a one-lane rock road, and very unfriendly to a regular passenger car. And steep.However, it was obvious that there had been traffic on it recently, so I forged ahead. About 3 miles up this road, there's a locked gate with a "NO TRESPASSING" sign. Just past a few trees was a monster house! With a lawn. A lawn!! It was big enough that it had to be a year-round residence, but I can't imagine how/if they get out during the winter! The pictures below don't really give a sense of how high these places are!

Anyway, just past the top of the mountain sits the Chessman Reservoir. I had no idea it was as large as it was! And I couldn't tell that there was any public access to it. I suspect not. But it was spectacularly pretty. After getting mad at myself for not bringing a camera, I pulled out the phone. It might be on its last legs, but it still doesn't do badly!

I then decided to continue on, rather than double back. Anything for more adventure! I then found out that, rather coming in from the west as I had, I should have come from the east. The roads were actually somewhat developed! Lots of logging operations going on to clear out the trees killed by pine beetles. Sad, really. Nothing terribly exciting on the rest of the trip. The trees are in the midst of changing up there (not in the valleys yet). Definitely thinking about heading back with a camera this weekend!

Theme Alert! - Don't forget that we've got a theme coming up! It's going to be "Post-it®" HNT on October 6th. See my HNT from two weeks ago to see more details!

Birthday, Old Age, Death and Promise

2011-10-02T12:00:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Mom's birthday (yesterday) by taking her out for Thai food. There's only one Thai place in town, and only S3 and N2 had ever eaten there. Not sure what I thought. Everyone raves about this place, as it's very homey and small. But is it all that good? I don't know--I've got no reference points. We went for the big family style serving, so there was lots of everything. Did I try everything? Yes. Did I like it all? Yes, actually. Was it spectacular? I don't think so, really. Anyway, I'm glad I had the chance to try it!

A high school classmate of mine recently turned 55. He made a comment on FB that now he can start taking advantage of those senior discounts at Applebee's and Denny's. At the moment I read that, I have never felt so old. It passed quickly, but damn...

The tragedy that won't end... Finding out about Stealth's death this spring was a shock that still gets into my head from time to time. For some reason, I went to her FB site over the weekend, and to sort of see if anyone had posted anything new there. Her boyfriend/fiancé had posted a thank-you to all of us that were late in finding out. A couple of people did one of those stupid FB games that I don't think anyone actually plays (think spam). But there were two posts that seemed odd.

Short story--the boyfriend died on June 4th. You can do your own investigating if you'd like, but there's not much to find. No mention of the cause of death. A comment left in the online guestbook used the word "tragic", but nothing more. Sadly, and somewhat surprising--no mention of Stealth preceding him in death. Any way you look at it, it's all sad...

I always like it when a potential project looks like it's going to be a success. Can't tell you anything about it right now, but so far, all indications are remarkably positive! You're going to be impressed!

Drilled HNT

2011-09-29T00:01:00.001-06:00

Since becoming a member of the "I Gots Diabetes!"® club almost 2 years ago, one of the things that's been drilled into me is that my immune system has now been weakened. And that I need to have yearly flu shots. For 52 years, I survived without flu shots (except that pesky swine flu shot we all had to get in 1976). But it's dawned on me that since leaving the hospital, I haven't used a single sick day at work! If that's because of the flu shot, or eating healthier, or dumb luck, so be it! But not one to take chances anymore, I went in to get my annual flu shot this afternoon. And this is my public service announcement to you--don't wait! Get yours now! You, too, can get a cute little band-aid like this!

No Mystery Guest this week, so I'll use the space to remind everyone that Boobiethon 2011 starts up on Saturday! HNTers have been pretty good supporters over the years of previous Boobiethons, and I don't imagine that's going to stop. If you've never heard of it, read this brief synopsis below, then go to their site to get more details (including how to submit pictures, too!).

2011 marks the 10th Annual Blogger Boobie-Thon. Bloggers from all over the globe send in photos of their boobies (covered and uncovered) to help raise money for Breast Cancer Research. In the past nine years we have raised over $74,000.00 ion the past 8 years and we are back to do it all again on October 1, 2011!

The 2011 event kicks off on Friday October 1, 2011 and will run for one full week, ending at 11:59 pm on Thursday October 7, 2011. Just as we have done in the past we will be supporting a Bloggers Helping Bloggers charity as well as Komen. For more detailed information about the Blogger Boobie-Thon and how it started, please visit The History of the Boobie-Thon written by the Boobie-Thon Founder, Robyn in 2005. You can also find another "History of the Boobie-thon" at heyfreak.com.

Again, there's something for everyone this week over at "...the Other HNT"! NSFW, as always, but go check them out anyway! And leave some comment lovin' for your fellow HNTers!

Any of you thinking about trying Blogger's new template options? It appears that they're trying to become more Tumblr-ish. Sorta cool, but not sure I'm going to cross over. I tried it with this site, just to see what it would look like. I just didn't like what it looked like. And some customization didn't transfer over. I might give it a shot with OHNT, but I'll let it get the bugs worked out first.

Word on the street is that iPhone 5 will be announced on Tuesday, and released a few weeks after. Lord, I hope so!

Theme Alert! - Don't forget that we've got a theme coming up! It's going to be "Post-it®" HNT on October 6th. See my HNT from two weeks ago to see more details!

Repost. Because it's good.

2011-09-27T12:00:00.000-06:00

Redneck HNT

2011-09-22T00:01:00.003-06:00

It was 11 months ago that I dropped my Droid and cracked the screen, which made an appearance ~~for HNT~~. At that time I was able to buy a screen protector (closing the barn door after the horse got out?), which kept the glass shards together, while protecting my fingerprints from slicing each time I slid across the touch screen. For all intents and purposes, everything worked well, other than texting. In the worst part of the screen, I might have pressed a particular letter, but the glass shard would trigger a different one. The upside of that? My texting became less of a priority, simply because it took so long to actually complete a sentence!

Things have changed over the last few weeks, however. The protector, which did a great job for 8 months, started peeling away. Not its fault--the screen is no longer a fully flat surface. And the glass shards have ground against each other, creating a fine glassy dust. In other words, there's nothing solid for the protector to stick to. So I did what any good redneck would do. I whipped out the duct tape. And honestly, it's working pretty well.

At least until I'm the first in line to pick up the new iPhone 5 (PLEASE, let that be next month!!!).

"Out on the edge of night
In any city you can name
There rides the rebel girl
The wild one no-one dared to tame
And the light in her eyes is a fire

Have you seen her
The rebel girl in action in the city
At night you hear her call
Oooh rebel girl"

Excerpt from "Rebel Girl" ~ Survivor

This rebel girl jumped the gun on the Post-it® HNT, but she does a good job showing the possibilities! She'll be revealed on Thursday afternoon, so come back and find out who she is!
This rebel girl is Maggie, formerly from "Today Did Not Suck"! No link, because she's not blogging anymore, but she wanted to let us know that she's still occasionally checking us out, and things are chock full of sunshine!

There's lots to look at over at "...the Other HNT"! Stop by, ogle, and leave comments, OK? It's still NSFW, of course.

Gosh, what an uproar over at FB today! A week from now, no one will have a problem with it, but today? What hatred! I think it mostly comes from the lack of warning. And no users guide to let us know what's changed, and how to find it. And the worrying about FB blatantly ignoring privacy settings. Or are they? Who knows? I'm not overly concerned about it--I can adapt pretty easily. But it's certainly frustrating! (Notice that Pandora's page has changed, too?!?)

Did you see that the third version of "The Thing" comes out next month? I'm a sucker for this sort of thing!

Theme Alert! - Don't forget that we've got a theme coming up! It's going to be "Post-it®" HNT on October 6th. See last week's HNT to see more details!

Just a bunch of stuff...

2011-09-20T12:00:00.003-06:00

Hmmm...what to write...

Symphony concert went well on Saturday night. A bit more busy work than I had anticipated doing, but it's all part of the game. October, on the other hand, I anticipate will have all sorts of busy work to do!

My football teams seem to be on a roll. The Griz defeated the defending national champion of the FCS (who are now 0-3...it's tough to be on top!). Cats are winning too, though they haven't beaten anyone of note. Looks like Gucci and I will be having another bet this fall! Trust me...you'll want to be rooting for the Griz!

The weather here has been great for the most part. In fact, we'll be hitting the mid-80s by the end of the week. For as cold and rainy as the summer started, it's certainly making up for it now!

Had a bday dinner thing Sunday night. No kids!!! Not by design, but by circumstances. Two away at college, one flying back from a trip to Alaska, and one with basketball practice. It's the way these family dinners are going to be in the future now...

The family dinners are always a great way of hearing stories from our past that not everyone knew about. This time around it was the story of how my sisters broke the news to my parents that I was in the hospital, but wasn't in a near diabetic coma anymore. The fun and hilarity ensued as they tried to convince me that this all happened on a Thursday night, when I knew it was on a Friday night. They were all so certain of this I started to wonder if I was as bad off as it sounded. A quick check of my paperwork (and FB and blog) verified that I was correct. Even though I was the one that was in lala land!

Theme Alert! - Don't forget that we've got a theme coming up! It's going to be "Post-it®" HNT on October 6th. See last week's HNT to see more details!

Sticky Wicket HNT

2011-09-15T00:01:00.003-06:00

Not much to say here.
Flypaper.
Illogically placed.
Me not paying attention.
Recreated here for your ridicule and pleasure.
You're welcome.

1950′s Homemaking tips — a crash course
Have dinner ready: Plan ahead even the night before to have a delicious meal on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.
Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work-wary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.
Clear away the clutter: Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.
Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.
Minimize all noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quite. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him. Some don’ts: Don’t greet him with problems or complaints. Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.
Make him comfortable: Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax-unwind.
Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.
Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.
The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

Come back Thursday afternoon to find out who our contemporary 50s couple might be!
Our MG couple are those sexy Aussies, Jas and JM. Go check out each of their blogs and say hi!!

We've got a pretty good crew over at "...the Other HNT" again this week. A little bit of something for everyone!

Theme Alert! - I don't think we've had a theme since the Christmas themes. My bad! So this one's going to be a little different. It's going to be "Post-it®" HNT on October 6th. What does that mean? Use one (or as many as you like) Post-it® notes in your HNT for that week. Use any of the available colors. Use them to hide a tattoo. Or to label a scar. Or to frame your belly button. You can write a message (even directed to an individual!) on one and stick it on you. Or draw a picture on it. Or use one of those custom shaped ones. It's really up to your imagination. And if your private parts tingle when walking into an office supply store, feel free to use other office supplies as well (but don't forget the Post-it® note(s)!).

It just now dawns on me that this might be a US-only product... Is there something similar outside of the US? Email me if you have questions. Post the theme alert on your own sites. Have fun with it!

The first symphony concert of the season is this weekend. Fairly easy concert--Barber, Rachmaninoff & Elgar, if you're interested. Won't be around much after tomorrow, so carry on without me!

Football and other things

2011-09-13T00:01:00.001-06:00

Double-header Monday Night Football?? I'm a fan! Even if it's a sloppy game like the Raiders/Broncos game...

Speaking of football, the Carroll College Saints suffered their first conference loss since 2006, snapping a 44-game league win streak. It was just Carroll’s 15th loss overall since 2000. A bit of a shock, as Eastern Oregon was unranked, but sometimes shit happens...

On a more positive note, the Griz looked pretty good in avenging last year's loss to Cal Poly. Maybe they can turn it back around this year! Their next opponent is Eastern Washington, the current National Champion in the FCS. EWU was shocked by South Dakota this weekend, and will be playing this week in Missoula, so conditions are ripe for another Griz win!

Spent Sunday alternating between 9/11 coverage and NFL. The opening of the memorial was nice, and it appears that it could easily become the #1 tourist attraction in NYC. But the best viewing this year was a documentary that I first wrote about in 2008...

"Watched a new documentary on the History Channel last week. "102 Minutes That Changed the World" gives a new look at the events of 9/11 through photographs, videos and radio recordings from the NYPD, the FDNY, the Port Authority, professional journalists and amateurs. No narration, no script, and no fancy editing. Just a very subtle soundtrack that you probably won't even notice.

The various videos are spliced together somewhat chronologically. It gives a view that the news stations couldn't. Personal vantage points. Video of the chaos on the streets, and in various buildings. Some from inside the WTC buildings, to as far away as Hoboken. Perhaps the most intense scene is from the NYU students who are just a couple of blocks away in their 32nd floor apartment, hearing the comments in disbelief that they are seeing people jumping, rather than chairs falling out. Or their horror as they see the second plane hit the towers. And the sheer panic to get out of their own high-rise. Or perhaps it's the husband and wife telling each other in disbelief that one, then both of the towers had collapsed, and telling their little girl to go back into her room and watch her movie. Or seeing the same little girl telling her baby brother that the towers are "all gone". To fill out the two-hour block, the remaining 18 minutes feature the actual people whose videos were used. Talking about what they saw, why they taped it, and how it's affected them over the years.

Of any 9/11 documentary I've ever seen, this is one that should not be missed!"

I ran into a panic situation this morning. The power adapter for my MacBook Pro developed a short and finally failed on me. Yeah...one of those first-world problems. I can't just go out and get a replacement, as the nearest Apple Store is 500 miles away in Salt Lake City. Fortunately, however, there is one place in town that sells Macs, and they happened to have ONE replacement. To the tune of $79. I love Apple, but geez...

The weather has been beautiful here, and will continue for the near future. Meaning that tonight's full moon could be seen in all its glory. Even through the haze of some smokey skies, thanks to some fires in the western part of the state. Damn, I do like living here!

Remembering HNT

2011-09-08T00:01:00.005-06:00

It's not often that millions of people watch history being made as it happens, at the same time. Very few people actually saw the bullets that struck President Kennedy. Tens of millions have seen the Zapruder film after the fact, but there were only a few actual witnesses. Perhaps the biggest audience ever to watch history being made was when man landed on the moon, and those first tentative steps by Neil Armstrong. Not a terribly clear picture, but people witnessed it together, wondering if the moon was made of cheese, or if tiny aliens would eat him alive (not that I'm giving away the plot to "Apollo 18"). Jump ahead to the Challenger disaster. While just about everyone around would recognize that white plume heading into the incredibly blue sky, with the ball of fire at the top, I doubt that millions were watching it as it happened (I was though). Shuttle flights were routine at the time, so live TV audiences were small.

Then there's the events from 10 years ago. I don't imagine there were even a thousand people who actually witnessed the first plane smashing into the North Tower. Millions of people have only seen it because of a film crew that happened to catch it at the last second--being in the right place at the right time. But the second plane? A totally different story altogether. By that time, millions of people were glued to their TVs, and unexpectedly witnessed the horrific event that officially put the U.S. under terrorist attack. And then the subsequent collapse of each tower. Not only were millions witnessing history together, they were watching murder of hundreds upon hundreds together. The nation, the world, has not been the same since that day.

I don't want to get into a "where were you?" thing here, but I will say that, being in a rural state thousands of miles away, it was totally surreal. And frankly, a little disconnected from our lives here. Business carried on that day, other than aviation. I seem to remember that federal buildings might have been evacuated, and perhaps the state capitol building, but no one was really panicking. We lived in Montana. Nothing was going to happen to us here. People just shook their heads in disbelief at the visuals. They might have looked at each other with a tear in their eyes. There was a bond of sorts, even among strangers, yet it was still so disconnected.

Until stories came out about relatives who lived there (including a cousin of mine who lived in lower Manhattan at the time). But everyone was pretty much OK, and it still stayed somewhat disconnected. For me, it didn't really start to hit home until years later, when documentaries started appearing on TV. Images and videos that were not part of the original news coverage, taken by "regular" people who just happened to be watching history unfold before their eyes. And who weren't really sure if they would become casualties in a war that had just been declared. Bringing it down to a more personal level is what really brought me out of the disconnect. I now find myself with tears in my eyes if I watch any of it for a short amount of time.

This past week or two have found nightly documentaries about 9/11. Some about why it happened, or how it happened, or even one debunking the conspiracy theories (if you're one of those people--get a life). But the one that I liked best didn't focus on history, but on the future. The future of the site, and the memorial being built to honor the dead.

Maybe it's because I don't live there or haven't visited there, but I never heard anything about the reconstruction. Couldn't find any pictures of the final design. Couldn't find out anything about the clean-up, or any sort of work being done. But this one series of films took care of all that. The entire area has been transformed, and is continuing to transform into a livable area again. So in lieu of my own images, I offer you a look at what the future holds for the site. It's a whole lot prettier than anything I could have come up with.

Be sure to click these to get the full sense of things!

On the left is the architect's rendition of the completed WTC site. The building on the left will tower 1776' above ground, making it the tallest building in NYC. It is already over 1000' completed, and can be seen in the Manhattan skyline. The park area below is highlighted by two pools that occupy the footprint of the two original towers. The pools will have the largest man-made waterfalls in the U.S., and will be lined with the names of everyone who was killed in the attacks, including the Pentagon and Flight 93. On the right is a rendering of the park surrounding the pools. Four hundred oak trees from the various attack sites will be planted here. Most of them are already planted. As well as callery pear known as the "Survivor Tree", which was nursed back to health after surviving the 9/11 attacks at Ground Zero.

Another architect's rendering on the left, showing the 9/11 Museum between the two pools, which will open in September 2012. On the right, an actual photograph of one of the pools with the night lights on and the water running. More photos and stories can be found at the memorial website. I urge you to go check it out.

Finally, I leave you with one of the most powerful images from that day.

I'd give you a big hug
everyday if I could
along with some kisses,
you know I would

So I hope you like this
that I bottled for you....
kisses when needed
and a big bear hug too!
~ shirleyt@craftayings.com

Or maybe her Cheese-kun, too! This week's huggable Mystery Guest will be revealed Thursday afternoon. Come back to find out who she is!
After worrying about having anymore MGs, Silly Mistress jumped in to volunteer! Be sure to go visit her at Fighting Sanity!

We've got some new participants over at "...the Other HNT" this week! And for no apparent reason...lots of toys! Glad to see some of you coming out of the woodwork! Be sure to check them out, and leave some comment lovin'! Very NSFW, as usual.

A Good Day

2011-09-06T21:00:00.001-06:00

Spent Sunday out at the lake. Probably the last time I'll be out there this season. We celebrated a couple of birthdays, drank lots of beer (I'm finding myself increasing my "limit"...gotta watch that), and ate like trailer park trash at Golden Corral. It was a gorgeous day--all sun, not a cloud in the sky, and just a hint of breeze. Beer pong. That variation of cornhole that they play. XMSirius playing the 70s station. Football. Jet skis. Storytelling (the ones that my sisters didn't want their kids to hear). Visitors from all over the lake stopped by, so there was a steady stream of new people. Most of whom I didn't know. The only one missing was Mom, who was out in Portland visiting S1 for the weekend. All in all, a great way to put a cap on summer.

Note the difference in lake level/beach! Pics on the left from 4th of July weekend. The ones on the right are from Sunday! (click 'em to big 'em!)

(Note the stump in the water on the very far left, and its location on the beach this weekend!
It's stuck in the sand, so it didn't move--just the water!)

(The waterline of July is the end of the beachline in September!)

(The beach, and the arrival of a neighbor's party barge!)

(Cabin at the top, bunkhouse to the right)

(The outhouse (carpeted, no less!), the bar, and about 20% of the coolers that were scattered around.
Can't have the beer too far from reach!)

Hrmph...

2011-09-06T08:32:00.003-06:00

Maggie.
Vixen.
Autumn.
Daisy.
BFD.

I'm not at all happy.

Miner's Gold HNT

2011-09-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

This week's HNT is primarily for the benefit of my beer drinking girls who have deserted me over the years. They know who they are...

Our favorite beer drinkin' place was the Brewhouse. If you've been around, you've seen various pics taken in front of the place. It's where I was first introduced to calamari. It's where I watched Carroll College win one of their many national championships, while drinking many many beers (ah, the old days...). It's where just about everyone in town goes when they want good food, good service, and good beer.

I mention all this because the Brewhouse was built around the Sleeping Giant Brewery, which occupied the basement. Because the brewery is prohibited by law to operate as a bar or restaurant, the Brewhouse took care of that part of things. They did have a tasting room, however, which was allowed to sell no more than 24 oz. of beer to a customer per day (or a growler, for off-premises consumption). Generally that meant three 8-oz./glasses per visit (which could actually hold 12 oz., and sometimes it would "overfill"...oops!). At around the time of the Lewis & Clark bicentennial, the brewery changed its name to the Lewis & Clark Brewing Co.

Fast forward to this past winter. The brewery purchased a former paint factory in town, and they started refitting it to brew beer. The new space held its grand opening this past weekend. The new tasting room is good sized, and the whole space is gorgeous. Even with the 24 oz. limit, I have a feeling this place is going to be packed! And the Brewhouse has plans to expand into their now-vacant basement. So everyone's going to win!

And to the subject of the picture--while L&C Brewing was busy remodeling things for the public, they were also busy canning their beer! This is like a dream come true! Pictured is a can of Miner's Gold, which is probably their biggest seller. I cannot estimate how many kegs of this stuff I've consumed over the years. Of course, it tastes a little different than the draft beer, but it's pretty close! There's at least two other flavors that are available in cans too. Lewis & Clark Brewing. Buy some if you can find it!

Three weeks in a row without a Mystery Guest. Does that mean we're finished with that?

"...the Other HNT" going strong! Be sure to check out your fellow HNTers over there. As always, it's NSFW.

For those of you who celebrate Labor/Labour Day this weekend...have fun! Enjoy saying goodbye to summer, but don't drink and drive!

Come On Irene...!

2011-08-28T23:30:00.003-06:00

Glad to hear (or not hear, as the case may be) that Irene didn't cause any major damage to any of you. I had the TV locked on the Weather Channel for the weekend, though I wasn't glued to it 24/7. I do think that the networks were playing it up pretty hard though. Maybe we were expecting damage like the tsunami in Japan or the hurricanes in Florida. Maybe we were hoping for something more than when the same tsunami hit Hawaii. Maybe we were hoping for the monster waves, something like "The Day After Tomorrow" (the one that wipes out the Statue of Liberty).

Regardless, I think it was better to be safe, than sorry, and I think most people were prepared. Hope the flooding doesn't cause any problems for any of you!

On Saturday the Little League team from Montana lost to the same California team that they'd beaten to get into the championship in the first place. I am not a fan of baseball. It ranks lower than just about anything other than the NBA in my book. But this truly was a David vs. Goliath story. The California team plays year-round in its balmy climate, while Montana's team is lucky to get in three months of baseball a year. California has paid coaches, and a coach for damned near each position. Montana's team is coached by a string of volunteers over the years, with no hitting coach or personal trainers. California's players have to "pay to play", generally running hundreds or thousands of dollars a year. The Montana kids have their parents fork out less than a hundred. These are two totally different approaches to Little League.

So there were flashbacks to the "Bad News Bears" (without the drunken manager), or the team from Hickory in "Hoosiers". In the end, the Montana team was soundly defeated, but could hold their heads high. Most bars in the state had the game playing on their TVs, and the entire state pulled together to root for these boys. Will they make it again next year? Probably not. But it doesn't matter. For one afternoon, the boys of Montana made us all proud!

Another thing I watched at some point this week was a wonderful special on the Discovery Channel about the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. It will run another episode on Thursday (maybe a couple of episodes). It's remarkable how the area has grown, and to see the architects' renderings (thanks to some incredibly realistic CGI!). This isn't a 9/11 retrospective (we'll be getting plenty of those in the next week or two). This is a just a great story about rebuilding the spirit of America!

Sometimes you just can't "unsee" what you've seen, either visually or in your mind. It's my own fault for clicking links, but once I get started...

It's no secret that I despise Twitter. I've had plenty of people try to get me to start, but I resolve to be the last person on earth to do so. But that doesn't mean that I won't check a friend's timeline from their sidebar if something catches my eye. And that's what I did. As I went down their timeline, I noticed a screenname that both included my state and implied a musical instrument. I had to check it out. Turns out that it's someone I know from town. I used to work with his wife about 20 years ago. They're both close to my age. He's a big guy, fairly bald and is a football ref during the fall. She's short and dumpy, not terribly attractive, and still works for the State in the same department I knew her from in the early 90s. And apparently they're swingers. At least that's the term he used. He posted a picture of his "girlfriend". He mentioned waiting at a bar for his wife to show up with a third for the night--he didn't have a preference if it was a guy or a girl. He posted a picture of him molesting one of the strippers at the "local" strip club (which is actually 60 miles out of town...). And he posted a couple of pictures of his wife's boobs (did I mention she's not terribly attractive?--being nekkid doesn't help, either). It's my own fault. Curiosity killing the cat, and all... Do they make bleach for the mind?

To end on a more positive note...FOOTBALL STARTS THIS WEEKEND!!! Actually, it's already started at the HS level here. Which means the chart with my teams makes its yearly appearance at the top of the sidebar. Note that the Grizzlie's first game is against Tennessee. In years past, I might have made some bets, but after the Griz' season last year, I won't be doing that. I do hope that all of you in TN will cheer them on for me!

Meeting Old Friends For the First Time HNT

2011-08-24T21:30:00.005-06:00

One of the things that I've enjoyed over the years of doing this are the friends I've made. What made that apparent to me this past weekend was that three of the five people I met are ones that 90% of you wouldn't know. I know, from chats with many of you, that I seem to make a deeper connection with people than most. Names of former bloggers/HNTers that I think everyone should remember are lost on most. (By the same token, I've noticed a number of old-timers on FB share friends from the "old days".) Granted, many of you have only been around HNT for half its existence. There's no reason for you to know them. But I often wonder about how many of the old friendships were superficial for Blogger purposes alone? How many of them have actually endured over these years? How many have vanished into oblivion? Well, let me introduce a couple of them to you, as well as someone you should already know!

Remember the $400 ticket voucher I got from Delta after last year's pool party at BTExpress'? I had to use it by the end of this month, so I looked for someplace/someone I hadn't met yet, and who would have at least a bit of interest in meeting me! My primary visit was to Wichita, to meet up with Redneck Eskimo! We've kept in touch pretty closely over the years, in spite of her closing up her blog. We've threatened to meet a number of times over the years, so this seemed to be pretty natural.

Looking back, I should have done this at some time other than August. It was ungodly hot and humid, though the temps "cooled" for the days I was there--reaching only the mid-90s! We didn't really get out to the touristy oohs and ahs. Too freakin' hot! But we did get to do some things! Chicken fried steak at an incredible Amish restaurant, a full afternoon at the zoo (reinforced my opinion of others' kids...), frozen yogurt, movie, drive around the river, and a bunch of lounging in air-conditioned comfort! And to end the visit, we got to see a complete double rainbow--fitting for leaving the land of Oz!

Knowing her as well as I do, there were honestly no surprises. Other than meeting face to face, it was like we ran around together all the time! And she's as wonderful a friend in person as she's been online! Thanks for the great time, babe!

When I was looking at flights for this trip, and since it was going to be free, I decided to make the most of my possible flights and meet up with whomever I could. Salt Lake City was an option, but I'm not sure I know anyone there. Denver was also an option, but I've done that before (sorry Vixen--I need new faces over there in the list!). Atlanta could have worked, but the layover times weren't long enough. So my first stop on my way home was Memphis. Elvis country. And the home of Crystal and Chris McKnob (not their real name!).

Crystal is the writer of Boobs, Injuries & Dr. Pepper--one of my earliest blog favorites! Her writing was hilarious, covering family, work, and an assortment of local characters. Her story about the night she broke her pussy is epic! She up and got married to Chris, who started a blog of his own. In a bit of blog ugliness ensued after a few years though, she got targeted for a bunch of internet trollness, the likes of which none of you reading has ever had to experience. Eventually, blogging took a back seat to her family and sanity, and she's pretty much quit (though I think our lunch date might have spurred her to come back. I see she posted on Tuesday!).

Lunch was wonderful, as we talked about the old days, her kids, the area (they don't live IN Memphis), and anything else we could squeeze into about 90 minutes. There are only a small handful of bloggers out here I consider outstanding, and I was honored to finally meet one of them!

My final layover took me to Minneapolis, where you can read of my adventures in the post below. I had hoped to meet a couple of different bloggers, but ultimately, the only one who could make it was Lola, from Sex Babble, and her husband Jasper! Again, there was gossip and discussion and talk about HNT. Oh, there was some drinking, and Lola may or may not have gotten a little loopy. I won't say for sure... We certainly didn't have enough time together. In fact, we got kicked out of the place about 45 minutes after they officially closed the doors. Oops! Which was a good thing, since I was running late for boarding my flight! These guys I knew the least about, so I can't really say what I expected from them, but they're cute together! I just wish we'd had a lot more time to talk!

Was it worth the trip? Absolutely! Would I pick a different time of year? Most likely, for a midwest or southeast trip. Where to next? Not sure, though I have some ideas. Portland is high on my list, but I'm open to just about anything. Anyone want to have an OsFest in Vegas this winter?

Second week in a row without a Mystery Guest. Bueller?.....Bueller?.....

Quite a few submissions over at "...the Other HNT" this week. Most definitely NSFW, but don't let that stop you from checking out your fellow HNTers!

After a couple of years of smoke-free skies, most of the state is under red flag warnings. Like hurricane or blizzard warnings, but these mean that conditions are ripe for instant forest fires. It's already a bit hazy around here, but things could get really bad by the weekend...

Just watched the Montana Little League team beat the California LL team to get into the US Championship game! Woohoo! If they win that, they go on to the LL World Series Championship!! Who'da thunk it?

Observations and Happenings from My Trip

2011-08-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

Some things that stuck in my mind from the weekend...

When Kansas was made a state, someone must have used graph paper to plan the roads. Longest, straightest roads, intersected by perfect right angles. From the air, it looks like they run to infinity. Of course, you can only do that if the ground is as flat as a pancake, and it certainly was! It's no wonder that Dorothy was looking to get out of there as fast as she could!
On three of the five planes I was on for this trip, the pilots and first officers could not have possibly been older than 28. Can that possibly be legal???
Spent Saturday afternoon at the zoo. It was a cool day--temperature only reaching the mid-90s that day. But that's OK. The humidity at the zoo was about 99% due to all the tropical rainforest types of displays. No poop-flinging monkeys to worry about, but we got dive bombed by a trio of gorgeous pink cockatoos...
The MSP terminal will always frustrate me. But I suppose my frustration should be directed at Delta. My flight into MSP on Friday landed at gate F14. The connecting flight left from gate B4 (click it to big it--it could have been worse). By using Google Maps, I estimated the distance from one to the other at approximately 5600 feet. That's over one mile of dodging luggage toting passengers, golf cart drivers, slow walkers and fast walkers. All while looking for a rest room in one of the busiest airport hubs in the country. This is why I try to allow at least a full hour between layovers there!
I experienced something in the evenings I've never experienced before. Noisy locusts in the trees. We have an occasional chirp of something, or on some nights, a few crickets, but nothing like this! I'm told that it's the sound of the night. It would drive me bonkers. The sound of the night around here is much different! And much more quiet!
Speaking of bugs--I had to drive home for another 90+ miles after arriving back in MT. Since part of my drive took me through some river and creek drainages, the bugs were incredibly thick. At times, it looked like I was driving through a snow storm! Of course, I ran out of wiper fluid early on, so I had to live with bug guts covering my windshield for most of the trip back.
I had an unexpected 90-second meeting with someone famous at MSP. We were waiting for the tram (that one-mile trek is partially serviced with a tram). He was sharply dressed in a dark suit, but avoided eye contact with the rest of the passengers. We both got on board and stood by the same pole. I asked him if he was who I thought he was (he was), and we chit-chatted for the 90 second ride. Then we parted ways. I shook the hand of, and shared a pole with, the junior U.S. senator from Minnesota (and darned fine comedian), Senator Al Franken! (no--I didn't get a picture or an autograph. I suck.)

The Rain, the Park & Other Things HNT

2011-08-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

A thousand-point bonus for anyone who recognizes that!

Last week I wasn't around for the start of HNT because I had a gig. I had promised to post some pics, but I procrastinate with the best of them. I will say that it was one of best gigs I've played in some time. We were tight, had an appreciative crowd, and the lightning storm that showed up 15 minutes before we played went away quickly and gave way to real sunlight!

Click 'em to big 'em!

We are a band still in the embryonic stage. We are growing and developing, and are at that point where decisions have to be made. The fact we've made it this far points to one decision, since this was just a summertime project for last year. The looming questions deal with commitments, performances and style. Do we want to play a lot? Do we want to expand the musical style? Where do we want to go with this? It's hard enough to do with a 4-5 piece band, let alone trying to get nine of us to come together. Especially when almost everyone in the band has other musical groups that demand their time. However, some direction has been agreed upon.

We're looking at keeping this thing going for awhile. However, our marketing (which has been non-existent) will need some work. So I think we'll be setting up a FB page, as well as putting together a DVD that can be sent out to prospective clients. To that end, our sound guy sent out a raw recording off of the sound board from last week's gig. My first reaction is that there's some things that need to be cleaned up, but overall, it's not a bad recording!

Since many of you over the years have said they'd like to hear something, here you go! This is what I do. And since you can't just import mp3s into Blogger, I've made it a movie with pictures of some of my previous HNTs. It was the quickest thing I could think of, and it's my first shot at using iMovie (and certainly not the last!). Enjoy!

And for those of you who don't want to put up with all the old half-nekkidness, here's just the audio (I found a different way to handle that...).

No Mystery Guest this week. Sorry!

Lots of people over at "...the Other HNT" this week! Be sure to stop by and check out your fellow HNTers! Something for everyone over there this week, but NSFW, to be sure...

Doctor's appointment this morning. Blood pressure is down, A1c is up (that's OK in this case), blood sugars levels are good, cholesterol has been so good that there was no need to check it this time, weight was even down (which is not to imply that there's not plenty more to lose...). In other words, I'm still as healthy as a diabetic horse! Add that to the eye appointment I had last week that found my eyes were in pretty good shape (for my age--grrr...), the good results from my anal probe in April, and a generally positive mental health, and it looks like I'll be around for awhile! At least until I get hit by a bus or something...

Thought I had my car sold. That fell through, so now I have to actually advertise it. Think I'll try Craigslist first.

Heading out on OsTour '11 on Friday! I'll be meeting up with one of the early day HNTers in Wichita, and also have lunch and dinner dates in my two layovers on my return on Monday! One of whom is a current HNTer!!! Anyone want to join in? Yeah, yeah...there will be pictures!

That's a lotta pr0n!

2011-08-15T00:01:00.000-06:00

Google left me a warning across my Gmail tonight, informing me that I was almost out of storage space. Didn't know there was a limit, did you?!? I have used 7253 MB out of 7615 MB of free storage--that works out to 95% of 7 GB of data. I think that's because every picture that I've posted for OHNT ends up in Picasa albums, as well as the original copy taking up room in Gmail.

What to do? What to do? I've opted to purchase an extra 20 GB of storage for the whopping price of $5/year. Which means I've got plenty of storage for even more OHNTs, so keep sending them in!!!

Excellence in Execution

2011-08-12T13:00:00.001-06:00

I did something last night that was undoubtedly the musically geekiest thing I've done in decades. Which you'll have to put up with here if you continue reading. But first, some background...

Marching bands aren't a big thing in Montana. For a number of reasons. Primarily because we can have a foot of snow on the ground by mid-October. No one wants to be marching in that! Secondly, the concept of "competition" doesn't really exist among music educators up here. When HS bands go to district festivals, it's to be adjudicated and given feedback to improve performances. There's never a "top band/choir/jazz band/orchestra" designation. Keeps the performing groups closer to an educational thing, rather than a competitive sports thing. This is not to say that there's not some sort of marching going on. Gotta entertain those football fans at halftime, don'tcha know? But they're very basic moves, and not a great deal of time goes into preparation. Even at the college level here, it's fairly rudimentary. Which makes sense...it's mostly Montana kids in the marching bands.

However, this is not the way it is in most of the rest of the country...

Yesterday afternoon/evening I spent five hours at the local theater watching a simulcast of the preliminary round of the Drum Corps International (DCI) World Championships. And true to Montana--there were five of us in a 192-seat theater. If you've never watched a drum corps performance, you really should. It's hard to describe it, other than to cast aside any precepts of a halftime show, and ignore anything you might have seen in "Drumline". Top drum corps are a multi-million dollar enterprise, with touring buses, equipment semi-trucks, absolute top of the line musical instruments, uniforms, staff, practice facilities...the list goes on.

My first exposure to drum corps was the day-long drinking parties at my college band director's house watching videos of prior championships. While we didn't try to emulate any of them, we did steal their music. He would transcribe (by ear) the arrangements he really liked. In any case, I was hooked, and the yearly PBS broadcast of the Championships were always a party!

I haven't really kept up with DCI over the past few years, so I was curious about how things changed. I had a mixed reaction, but mostly positive. Such as...

MUSIC--These groups have their own staff arrangers, who arrange literally every type of music out there. Last night's show had some Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Mozart, just for starters! Throw in some jazz, contemporary classical stuff, classic rock and you end up with quite a mix. None of this is anything you'll hear a pep band play at a basketball game though. Much of this music is difficult while seated, let alone having it memorized while running all over the field! There's actually performance CDs that corps put out of their music over the course of a season. No comment on whether or not I might own one or four of those...
MARCHING STYLE--This has changed some. The constant is that you're almost always moving. And no one person has the same drill as the next. Marching sideways, ahead, behind, double-time, half-time, in place--it's all there. There's sometimes a little more 'freestyle' motion than I like too, but when the time comes to conform, it happens in a snap! Also a bit more 'dancing' than I like. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. And there's much more emphasis on using the entire football field, which sometimes requires full-out sprinting! While playing difficult memorized music while running all over the field!
CONCEPT--A lot of concept goes right over my head. "The white fabric represents those souls who have fallen..." No--it's a white fabric that's covering up half the color guard. I don't get it... Each corps approaches this differently. Some of it is spectacular. Some of it isn't.
DESIGN--This is one area that has changed drastically. Back in the day, shows were designed after considerable hours of pencil-breaking, erasures, failures and fudges. Today, it's all done on computer, and the shows reflect that. Designs and movements that no person could configure one their own. Shows that used to be quite symmetrical are rarely seen. There's constant movement, with maybe a static image on the field for a single count. If you were to follow a single person through an entire show, you'd be amazed at what routes they end up taking! And I'd say that at least 95% of what is seen on the field is scripted. Arm movements, head movements, placement of the feet, direction of where you're playing...lots to think about. While playing difficult memorized music while running all over the field!
DRILL--This is where the execution comes in. You cannot believe the precision that is needed to make the design come to life. While playing difficult memorized music while running all over the field! There's YouTube video clips of what happens when that precision isn't there. Particularly when you've got a line of musicians marching backwards. If someone has been bumped, or gone down, the next 6 or 7 players don't stand a chance of staying on their feet! Lines passing through each other, with color guard flags or rifles flipping around you, and an occasional field judge getting in the way--everything has to be absolutely precise! Of course, these people spend at least 12 hours/day on the field in rehearsals and preparations. And when final standing scores come down to 1/10ths of points out of 100 points, you'd better be as close to perfect as possible!
BRASS--Back in the day, they used modified bugles with only two valves (opposed to three on standard brass instruments, or none on a true bugle). It appears now that the bugles have been replaced by three-valve instruments. No trombone slides, but a marching equivalent with valves. The brass playing is generally outstanding. Especially considering that no players are older than 22! As the players have gotten better, their arrangers are constantly writing music to test their limits. While playing difficult memorized music while running all over the field!
COLOR GUARD--This is one of the areas where I've been disappointed. I could watch a color guard spin their flags or toss their rifles all day. Unfortunately, at some point they were allowed to also include what can only be described as modern dance--another thing I'll never understand. Depending on the theme and the concept, there might be 2-3 "dancers" running all over the field with what appears to have nothing to do with the music. Almost like this whole production was somehow put together to support only them. I hate it. It's unnecessary. And frankly is a FAIL. What's worse is when half of the color guard abandons their props and joins in on the "action". Then they con some of the brass players to help out. Ugh... Keep the guard on the flags, rifles, sabres, poles and other props please!
WOODWINDS--There are none! Though, I can almost sense the day that saxes might be allowed. Which would be a shame.
PERCUSSION--Since the "D" in DCI stands for 'drums', I should mention them! Actually, the big change is that rather than keeping the snares in one line at all times, they actually move away from each other a lot. And there's a great deal more 'running' by the entire section than I ever remember. Also part of the percussion is the "pit". These are the mallet players who are stationary on the sidelines, in front of the drum major. Back in the day, they had to haul them around on the field, but since the rules changed, the pit's function has too. Rather than carrying small marching xylophones and bells and tympani around, they now play full-sized marimbas, chimes, cymbals, bass drums. These musicians work just as hard as the on-field members, even though they're not moving as much. There's a dozen or more players, with half of them playing marimbas, usually in unison. And generally faster than God ever intended the marimba to be played! It's really quite scary how musically talented these kids are! The biggest disappointment was that electronics are now allowed in the pit. So almost every corps has a synthesizer player that will play sound effects, samples, or actual piano. A couple of corps had a drum set player (seems redundant), and one even had an electric stand-up bass! Next thing you know, they'll start using a string section...

So there you have it. If you've read this far, you're as geeky as I am! One thing I hadn't realized is that Indianapolis has been the home for the World Championships for 8 years now, and will continue into the foreseeable future. Methinks that I might have to start making my plans for DCI '12! Mere and Maggie--are you listening?

"Rumors of our demise havebeen greatly exaggerated!" HNT

2011-08-11T00:01:00.001-06:00

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
~~E. M. Forster

Check back on Thursday afternoon to find out who's life has been let go!
Of course, the Mystery Guest this week is Barefoot Dreamer! You should probably stop by and say hi!

Some lovely pictures over at "...the Other HNT" this week (as usual!). Stop by and leave your fellow HNTers some comment lovin'! As always...NSFW.

Things around here are being autoposted today, as the soul band is playing for the after-work beer, food and music thing that we have on Wednesdays in the park, and I won't be online until well after HNT goes up. It's been almost 4 years since I've last done one of these. It was the last regular gig for the rock band before we went on indefinite hiatus. Before that we were yearly regulars. It'll be interesting to see how things have changed (or not). I'll be sure to get some pictures up as soon as I can!

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees!

2011-08-07T22:30:00.006-06:00

Way back in the mid-70s, when I was an impressionable teen, six of us crammed into the cab of Tammie's cousin's pickup truck, hid some beer in the bed, and went to the Ski-Hi drive-in for their end of summer "Planet of the Apes" marathon (only the first four of the five). I don't recall a great deal from the evening, let alone actually watching the movies. I'd seen the first two already, probably the third, and possibly the fourth. I don't think the fifth had been out long enough, but it was a terrible movie anyway. Surprisingly, I don't recall whom I was "with", either. Beyond me, Tammie and her cousin (male), I can't, for the life of me, remember who the other three were. Or who I was paired with. Possibly Tammie, but that would have been highly improbable. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the girl that would have been my girlfriend at the time--that wouldn't have been her thing. All I do remember is staying through the entire run, and not watching much of the movies, and enjoying the evening (wink, wink, nod, nod).

But none of that has anything to do with this post. Movie makers have been trying to get the look of monkeys by non-monkeys for ages. In "The Jungle Book", all it apparently took to fool the orangutans was a couple of coconut halves tied to your face and a grassy skirt.

Interestingly enough, that same sort of look worked for the original "Apes" movies, as the actors' mouths and their ape mouths didn't really work well together. And while their movements didn't really mimic simian movements, they sort of became what we expected of human "monkeys/apes/gorillas" in the movies. Thank you Roddy McDowall.

When the 2001 version of "Planet of the Apes" came out, Hollywood's abilities (and that whole computer-generated image thing) and improved immensely. Faces moved more realistically, mouths actually looked like they were forming the words being spoken, and the body movements seemed to be much more "ape-like". But still, no one could doubt that you were watching a human in a monkey suit--not a highly trained ape. Close, but no bananas. So to speak.

Now, the newest "Apes" has hit the big screen. In my effort to get out of the apartment more, I went to see it (I promise that my blog isn't going to become a movie review blog!). I really hadn't read up on much of the production, but I think I read somewhere that all the simians were CGI-ed. And for all the years of trying to get humans to look like a monkey, I think they went too far the other way. While the special effects are quite good, the apes all appeared too human. I can't quite put my finger on it. Perhaps it's because we're not used to seeing a wide range of subtle human expressions showing on the face of a chimp. Maybe it's the eyes (I'm positive on this, actually). While the apes were created by computer, there was first a human who was filmed with all the little dots on his face for the computer to capture for reference. Perhaps too well. What I felt I was looking at wasn't so much a chimpanzee, but closer to a Neanderthal or earlier human-ish creature. Not ape, not human.

As for the story--eh... It's interesting to see Caeser (the main chimpanzee) as he starts to realize his leadership abilities and forming plans. It's fun to see what references are made to the original movies (there's a direct and complete rip-off from the original's script...even more blatant and obvious than the non-existent Harrison Ford quote from last week's movie). I counted a handful of direct nods to the earlier movies. I'm sure that most of them will end up in IMDB's "trivia" section for this film.

Will I go again? Doubtful. But at least I kept my streak of watching every "Apes" film at the theater. "Star Wars" would be the only other series I can say that about. Not "Indiana Jones". Not "Nightmare on Elm Street". Not even "Star Trek". Now I have to figure out if I want to spend the money to go back and catch Olivia Wilde again. :-)

Social Butterfly HNT

2011-08-04T00:01:00.002-06:00

Life is funny as you get older. I spent years of my life "doing" things. Concerts, social events, public celebrations--I would be there. People recognized me from a variety of places. From my stint as the manager of the local independent CD store, or as 'that guy' in the symphony, or the college band director, or in 'that rock band'. My name was rarely known, but I have a face that sort of burns its image into the mind. Granted, the reason I was at these things was either because it was a gig, or because there was beer drinking to be done! Or both, if I was lucky!

These days, I don't socialize anywhere near as much. Rachel, my beer drinkin' buddy, has been gone for almost two years. As have all of my other beer drinkin' girls. The carefree beer drinking days are no more, anyway. The rock band is, for all intents and purposes, disbanded. The symphony folks aren't really anyone I'd want to spend a great deal of time with outside of rehearsals/performances. I'll go out for special things, but I find that I'm much more content to stay in and spend my time with you interwebz people. It's not that I don't enjoy myself when I go out--I do. But frankly, the desire just isn't there. And that's OK.

But now that August has arrived, I'm finding myself doing all sorts of things! Started out with dinner/beer last week with some HS classmates. In particular because the one in the orange blouse was visiting from Vegas. It was sort of a diverse group of us, with her as the common denominator. We had a great time!

Then last night, I had dinner with my first serious college girlfriend. The one that I notched many "firsts" with, if you know what I mean... She was in the state, and passing through, so we worked out a dinner date. This is the third time we've seen each other in 32 years, though the first time was her wedding (still happily married!), so I didn't get to say more than a couple of words to her then. As soon as we sat down, it was like no time had passed. We gave each other shit all through dinner--just like the old days! This visit was WAY to short, but she had to get on the road, and I had a rehearsal.

So what does the rest of the month hold?

My mother's mother's sister's granddaughter (aka 'third cousin') and her family will be in town for a HS reunion. Plan on drinks together at least one night...
The soul band plays for the weekly after-work party downtown next week.
The friend who rolled her car last month is looking to move to town as soon as she can, so between apt. hunting and selling her my car, we've been out and about quite a bit.
I'm hopping on a plane to visit someone in less than 3 weeks. Heading someplace where it's 90° by 10 AM. What am I thinking???
Add in some layover time in MEM and MSP, and I'm hoping to meet some others!
Labor Day weekend party out at the lake with the sisters, family and lots of friends.

Is this a renewed phase for me? Am I going to start socializing again? Hard to say. I just might. However, I can't write about it anymore. I have a poker party I was invited to tonight, and I have to get this ready to autopost!

"Everyone is like a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody."

Mark Twain (1835-1910) U.S. humorist, writer, and lecturer.

One part of this Mystery Guest's 'dark side' will stay unshown--she's choosing not to reveal this week!

Be sure to check out "...the Other HNT" for some naughty goodness! NSFW, as usual, but don't let that stop you from leaving some comments. Your fellow HNTers always appreciate it!

Western & Sci Fi -- it's like chocolate and beer!

2011-08-02T00:01:00.000-06:00

Went to see "Cowboys & Aliens" on Sunday afternoon. I don't know what I expected going in, but the movie was very good. It's interesting to think about--we tend to think that aliens showed up en masse after the Roswell incident. Or that they were a part of ancient civilizations. Why should it be so weird that aliens were part of the old west, as well?

I won't go into the story line, but it's nothing that hasn't been done before. Just retold in an interesting way. The casting was interesting as well. The central characters were played by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. I don't recall Ford playing second banana to anyone since the Star Wars days. But there's no question that the story is built around Craig. Without giving anything away, he reminded me of Clint Eastwood in "The Outlaw Josey Wales"--a mystery man with a gun. Ford, on the other hand, played a heavy in this one, and how often does that happen? He softens up through the movie, but he's not the lovable leading man we've come to expect.

Of course, you have to have a strong female in all this, and that falls to Olivia Wilde. Olivia Wilde with a six-shooter strapped to her hip. A girl and her gun--oh, yeah! There's a bit of mystery with her too, but who cares? It's Olivia Wilde! And yes, there's a scene of Olivia Wilde buck-nekkid--not a bad thing at all. Nothing to be seen, of course, but there's about 5-10 seconds where you're hoping the camera pans around or something. Of course, the townsfolk AND the Indians (yep, there's Indians too!) all got an eyeful! Probably multiple takes, at that...

As for the aliens? Steven Spielberg has found a new alien that looks a whole lot more badass than E.T. or the little ones from "Close Encounters"! They're big and fast and mean. Interestingly, back a hundred fifty years ago, alien abductions looked more like calf roping. Didn't they have tractor beams or something like that?

As for the sci-fi part of things, there were all the bells and whistles that you'd expect. As a western, it stayed true to formula. At least as true as you could be when fighting aliens flying at you shooting at you!

On a final note--I was expecting Ford to say his "I have a bad feeling about this" line, but I didn't hear it. If it's in there, it passed me by. Might have to consider going back to see it again, just to see if it's in there. And to get another look at Olivia Wilde...

It's The Water HNT

2011-07-28T00:01:00.001-06:00

Actually, this has very little to do with water.

Dad's come into mind alot over the past week or so. For no real reason. But I find that he's in the back of my mind at the most odd times.

I was grocery shopping the other day, and was passing through the beer section. Now that my legendary beer drinking days are behind me, I find that I can pass by without drooling too much. But as I got to the end of the row, they jumped out at me. Cases of Olympia beer. The beer of my youth! I can still remember the jingles. "It's the water. And a lot more!"

Back before microbrews and national conglomerates taking over beer companies, there were plenty of regional beers that one part of the country could get that others couldn't. One of those was Oly. Brewed in Tumwater, WA. Just north of Olympia, the capital of WA. Founded by a German from Montana. Rumored to be brewed by the Artesians (a play on the artesian wells where the brewery got their water). The brewery itself was on I-5. And that's what I drank as a kid. As did Clint Eastwood and Clyde, in "Every Which Way But Loose".

Dad would be watching the football game, or golf, or a bad Sunday afternoon movie, and tell someone to get him a beer. My sisters and I would scramble to do it, because whoever got it for him knew that they could crack it open, and suck out a third of a can before it ever got to Dad. "It was foaming--I didn't want to spill any of it!" was the common excuse. In any case, I developed a love for beer during those days. Add to the mix that the drinking age at the time was 18, and it wasn't long before I was buying/drinking Oly on my own.

Of course, there were other beers. Hamms was always a winner ("From the Land of Sky Blue Water"--thank you St. Paul, MN!). Ranier was the other favorite, also from Washington. At one time it came in "light", "light-light" and "not-so-light". This was back in the days before "lite" beers were marketed, so it was quite a deal that there were three types of beer from Ranier! Of course, my grandfather would buy beer a six-pack at a time, and being the cheap bastard that he was (I say that lovingly), would buy Schlitz, or some generic beer (remember the generic white can with black type that just said "BEER"?--he was a big fan!). If he was expecting company (us) he'd buy a second six-pack. His greatest coup? Skaggs Alpha-Beta beer. 99¢/six-pack. Tasted like crap, but as he said, once you got to the second one, you never noticed!

Back to the grocery store--I saw these cases of Oly, and I started thinking about Dad, and realized that I probably haven't sucked down an Oly in three decades. So I bought a case. Now I've become a microbrew snob over the years, and rarely drink anything major like Miller or Coors or Bud. I prefer the various tastes that are crafted by any microbrewery. Some work, some don't. So I take my first swig of Oly in decades. I had forgotten how bad it really tasted. But memories from my high school days came rushing back, and the next thing you know, I'm sucking down beer #2. And my grandfather was right! It didn't taste anywhere near as bad!

So here I am, reflected in my car's window. With my Oly. No, I didn't go driving. I wanted a picture of me in this window. Why? It's Dad's car. Which is now MY car. I have a new OsMobile! Short story--it was due for registration renewal and insurance renewal, and Mom didn't want to spend the money. So now it's mine! (BTW--the shirt? Official Hawaiian shirt from the islands. A gift from the lovely Shizzle!)

The other car, that I've had for almost exactly one year? I'm 85% sure I've got it sold to the friend who rolled hers a couple of weeks ago. This one is a 2007 Honda CRV. Less than 15K miles on it. In immaculate shape. And I'm a happy camper! Of course, Dad came to mind again when I found his gloves and sunglasses still in it. I'll wear them.

One of the neatest things about it--it's got a retractable moonroof! I asked Mom something about it, and she said she didn't think Dad even know about it. She sure didn't! So here I am, toasting Dad with an Oly through the moonroof he didn't know he had! (Click the pic to see the whole car!)

The Mother's Gift

"The dreaming
The longing
The anticipation
The belonging

The plans
The preparations
The excitement
The wonder of creations

The approaching time
The gatherings
The closeness
The names of beings

The emotions
The hearts lift
The new beginning
The Mother's Gift"

--Cynthia I Rogers

This week's Mystery Guest will be revealed late Thursday afternoon. She's more than just a little excited as you can imagine!
Our maternally excited MG is Cowgirl (you might remember her as Cute but Evil--depending on how long you've been around). In any case, it's been an adventuresome ride for her. Go say hi, and see more proof!

In spite of the busy summer, there's plenty to see over at "...the Other HNT"! As usual, it's NSFW. Be sure to stop by and leave some comments for your fellow HNTers!

I found something disturbing on Mina's site yesterday. She warned us about some sleazy site that had stolen some posts of hers, reposted them on their site, but inserting links within it, so that they could generate some sort of revenue stream. In addition, slap in some porn shot that was not part of the original post. This pisses me off in a number of different ways. Not the least of which is the incredibly tacky way that they present their porn. NOT ONE SINGLE BIT OF ORIGINAL MATERIAL! Porn ads all over. This post is already too long to really allow me what I'd really like to say. But then Mina mentions that there was a HNT "category" as well. You know I had to check that out...

Similar to Mina's work, this site has stolen posts/pics from Cheeky Minx, Petal, Sexie Sadie, Hedone, Lexi, Vanillamom, Kat, and some others I'm not familiar with! Who knows who else they've stolen from? And as much as I hate to direct traffic there, here's two links to see what you've been missing. (In getting that last link, I see they've already stolen Cheeky's HNT for this week...less than FIVE MINUTES after she posted it, she tells me!) Can anything be done? Probably not. They are obviously using English as a second language (read Mina's excerpts). There is a link at the bottom of the page to complain about copyright ownership, but I doubt that they take it seriously. The only consolation might be that it doesn't appear to be a terribly popular site (as porn sites go). If anyone's got any viable ideas...throw them out there!

To end on a happier note--some of you have asked over the years what happened to the original OsShirt. I thought it was lost on its way to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2006, but apparently, it's found it's way onto TV!

I Have a Bad Feeling About This...

2011-07-25T00:01:00.001-06:00

Saw the last of the Indiana Jones movies this afternoon. It struck me how old Karen Allen has gotten (she looks older in the movie than this picture). It's not that she's not attractive still (she is), but I'll always think of her as she looked in her first big movie role in "Animal House".

But Harrison Ford? He's definitely aging! Have you seen the previews for "Cowboys & Aliens"? (a side note--I don't go to the movies much, but I'll definitely be going to see this!) Like all good leading men, they just get better with age (though he looks older than this in the previews), but what a difference from his first movie appearance in "American Grafitti"!

Another Harrison Ford thought... Any chance we'll get to hear him utter that most famous "Star Wars" line once again? Specifically, "I've got a bad feeling about this..." It's used in every one of the Star Wars movies. In addition, Ford says it towards the end of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Will we hear it in "Cowboys & Aliens"? Anyone want to put money on it?

Lots of death this weekend. The massacre in Norway is just horrific. And in Texas, there was a murder spree at a roller skating rink. I just don't understand how one's mind can get to the point where the body would allow it to do such a thing...

Unfortunately, the big death story seemed to be Amy Winehouse. I'm sorry...I can't feel a loss over this one, and am sort of disgusted by the adulation she's getting. Let's be perfectly clear...she's was a drug-addicted mess. She was not a musical superstar. Yes, there was talent, but she didn't bring anything to the table that wasn't heard already. And perhaps that's why she got as far as she did. She channeled the true musical giants of the past. But the fact is...she wasted her gift away. When a generation worships a caricature such as she turned out to be, it's a sad state of affairs. Shed a tear for the death of a soul, but don't attribute anything more to her than she's due. She certainly didn't do anything to be particularly proud of...

Only 5 months until Christmas!!! Do you have your tree up yet?

Sinfully Sensuous HNT

2011-07-21T00:01:00.000-06:00

One of the things I really like about blogging/HNT is when someone does something in their real life that I can either observe or be a part of. I'm talking beyond actually meeting people, though that's pretty cool too, and I highly recommend it! But I'm talking about something different. Things that can be purchased or seen, or that have a direct connection to someone we "know" online.

For instance, I was fortunate enough to watch Bad Bad Girl, live and online, as she walked the stage during her college commencement to receive her diploma. I've watched as Heather from Canada put her jewelry business online, and the tremendous growth it's enjoyed. Others have successfully started Etsy sites, selling the fruits of their labor. Crimson (Queen of HNT) started selling greeting cards using her fantastic photographic skills. Ms. I, unknown to most of you, has a well-respected book out there that she co-authored for work, but is available online through Amazon.

Others need to be experienced. Trojan has some movie and commercial credits under her belt, as well as some great mp3s and modeling gigs. BTExpress will soon be appearing in a movie too! There's musicians out here who can be heard in various types of venues. I'm sure there are plenty of others that I'm not aware of who have their art, be it performance or visual, available to the general public.

For the most part, the public exposure is limited. In other cases, it's wide open. Tara Tainton's spread (so to speak) in Hustler magazine comes to mind. She was one of "us" before she started making adult films. And Sexy Sadie is getting plenty of press coverage for both her show, "BedPost Confessions ™" (which is now officially on tour!), and for her book, "Open All the Way".

Which brings me to my latest purchase of a blogger/HNTer's efforts. I was pleasantly surprised to find Cheeky Minx' book, "Sinfully Sensuous" in my mail yesterday. I first mentioned it about a week and a half ago. Let me say now that the preview doesn't do the book justice! The writing is very much what we've come to expect from her in virtually every post she writes. Again...sometimes tender, sometimes slutty. Personally, I'm not a big fan of erotica. Far too many amateurs who think they can write it. Cheeky, on the other hand, has a real grasp on the style. A true joy to read her words.

But what sets this book off from others are the pictures. All featuring Cheeky; all taken by Cheeky; and all quite sexy and classy. And at least one, if not two pictures of her for every turn of the page. Some in color, others in b&w, and others in sepia or some other filter. There's a bit of narcissism at play when you use yourself as the only model in the book, but she pulls it off miraculously. The pictures don't overpower the words, and the words compliment the pictures. I know she spent months putting this together and editing it. In my opinion, she nailed it! Spread the word! Buy it yourself!

There's something about the tactile sensation of holding a new book in your hands. This one is quite sturdy, and well put together. Even the packaging is impressive. The hard cover is not a generic one with a cover--it's the actual printed cover as shown. The printing is perfect (though she thinks some of the pics are a bit dark), and the pages are a very high quality. Much different than seeing/reading it off of a computer screen. I now understand why many people won't buy a Kindle or Nook. However, I think I need to find a better place to read it. It was a pain in the butt to keep the little kids away...

"Now if you feel that you can't go on (can't go on)
Because all of your hope is gone (all your hope is gone)
And your life is filled with much confusion (much confusion)
Until happiness is just an illusion (happiness is just an illusion)
And your world around is crumbling down, darlin
Reach out come on girl reach on out for me
Reach out reach out for me
I'll be there with a love that will shelter you
I'll be there with a love that will see you through"
"Reach Out (I'll Be There)"~~The Four Tops

This week's Mystery Guest is currently at a low point in her life, and would love to have someone who would be able to say these words to her. She'll be revealed here late Thursday afternoon.
This week's MG is Amber, from "Mommy Mania". Stop by and say hi to her. Leave a cheery note for her too, if you can. She could use it!

Lots of good things to see over at "...the Other HNT" this week (as usual). Give your fellow HNTers some support and leave them some comments! NSFW (also as usual).

Prior to getting Cheek Minx' book in the mail yesterday, I was going to link you to the symphony's staff photographer, and post pics of me and Michelle. So here they are anyway. But you can check the rest of them out at his site!

Click 'em to big 'em (a little bit...)!

2011 Report Card

2011-07-18T17:00:00.001-06:00

One more summer concert finished and in the books! The theme was "Harlem Renaissance", and featured the music of Duke Ellington, J.P. Johnson and George Gershwin. Also thrown in was some Fats Waller and others. Primarily a jazz concert for orchestra!

Which, if anyone knows anything about jazz and string players, is like mixing oil and water. It ain't gonna work well. Though I do have to admit...they did a fairly respectable job. It's not their fault. They're trained to be classical musicians, whereas jazz musicians spend years developing a "feel" for jazz. It's not something that can be notated and performed. It just "happens". I expressed my concern early on about whether or not we could pull it off. As it ended up, it worked out pretty well!

In addition to the orchestra, we had a vocal soloist perform with a jazz quartet of musicians in the orchestra. To some degree, they stole the show. The vocalist was not great (see below), but the quartet was fantastic!

In some prior years, I rated the concert on a scale from 1-10 (ten being the best), so I figured I should do it again. There's some pics at the bottom too, if you're interested!

WEATHER - 9 - I should give it a 10, as the temps got no higher than the mid-80s, there was relatively little wind, and no rain. But there were clouds and rain during the week, and there was an ongoing threat of thunderstorms Friday and Saturday. As it turned out, there was no rain, and all storm clouds seemed to split and miss us to either side. It caused a bit of nervousness not knowing what was/wasn't going to happen...
STAGE CREW- 10 - Once again, a solid 10 this year. Many of the crew (mostly older HS or college students) have worked this setup in prior years, so they've got a good sense of what needs to be done. And they work their tails off!
PERFORMANCE - 9.5 - I don't believe there's such a thing as a "perfect" performance, therefore, no such thing as a perfect 10. But we came close! Even taking the jazz aspect into consideration, this was a pretty good performance. And much of the music was quite difficult!
FIREWORKS - 10 - We used a different fireworks company than in the past, so there was a little question as to whether or not they'd meet the standard that had been set in the past. They came through with flying colors (so to speak)! It's a new local company, and I think they realized this would be a huge test/opportunity for them, and they didn't disappoint. And the timing with the music was perfect--something that's not always been the case.
CROWD - 8 - For the first time in thirteen years of doing this concert, I could tell that the crowd was smaller than in years past. Some people attributed it to the questions about rainy weather. Others thought it was as big, but spread out to the sides more. I think it's because of late advertising. On the other hand, the word on the street is that they liked the program, so that's a good thing!
SOUND - 9 - This was a tough concert to mike, as the jazz quartet needed their own setup, and then the rest of the orchestra. Our sound guy is pretty good though, and quite experienced with our needs. One point off though, for the feedback on an announcer's mic early in the concert, catching him off-guard and leaving us with 30 seconds of that embarrassing "now what?" moment...
SOLOIST - 5 - I hate to give her that score, but I have to. Unfortunately, it's not entirely her fault. The problem with her is that she's classically trained. And one shouldn't look for a classically trained vocalist to sing jazz. She seemed uncomfortable (I'm sure she was), and I'm not entirely sure she knew the songs she was singing. She even had the lyrics on a music stand in extra-large font. Jazz singers know their lyrics--they don't need help. She's done "Messiah" with us a soloist. She was wonderful. Not here though. I would put most of the blame on the music director, but she's the one who agreed to do it, insinuating that she thought she could. What's truly sad is that I can think of 2 or 3 women in Helena that would have been spectacular in this position.
ADMINISTRATION - 5 - This number could go higher or lower, depending on the time of the weekend I was asked. The woman in charge as the project manager really dropped the ball on a number of things. The biggest problem was a complete lack of communication. Or maybe it was a lack of understanding the timelines needed to put it all together. Sponsor money was lost (as in, not received) because of a lack of communication. Volunteers were found at the last minute. Many things were not taken care of because she didn't know about them (a production meeting or two would have solved that). While there's many facets of this production that sort of run on automatic, many of them have to be told that we needed them this year. And that word came really late in some cases. The woman will not be doing it next year (it won't be offered, and she wouldn't accept it anyway). I have a sneaky suspicion that I'll be that person for next year's concert...
PERSONAL INJURY - 9.5 - Anyone who's followed this concert over the years knows that I generally have something happen. Sometimes it's severe (nearly snapping my leg in half in 2007); sometimes it's just simple gashes in the arm or leg. This year I'm happy to report that I scraped my thumb knuckle (right in the crease--gonna take forever to heal), and I got a good deal of sun. The burn is turning into a decent tan, however, so I can't complain!
OVERALL EXPERIENCE - 8 - The fine performances by the orchestra and the quartet notwithstanding, the stress of the balls that were dropped by the project manager and the soloist's performance knock the total score to an 8.

So there it is. I think Dad would have liked this concert. He always complained that he didn't know any of the music in prior years. This one he would have known most of the songs. And the weather would have been just right for his bones. Mom went with friends this year, and I know Dad was on her mind. It dawns on me now that their 55th anniversary is tomorrow (Tuesday). Hell. Now I'm depressed...

Here's a few pics I was able to take during the day and before the performance. Including Mom, and N2, S2 and S3.

Click 'em to big 'em!

I Ain't Ready! HNT

2011-07-14T00:01:00.001-06:00

My, things have piled up on me in a hurry today! Heck, even since work! For those of you who were here early, you saw my temporary post. In over six years of HNT, I've never missed the opening bell. Or had someone else posting for me when I was away. But I was always prepared. Not so this week! But since you're reading this, I must have gotten it worked out!

As I mentioned, things have piled up. And I'm just finding out about it all today. Lots of fires being put out, or quashed before they even started. Found out the reason that I've been feeling out of the loop with this concert--there hasn't been a loop! The woman who is in charge of everything (new this year), grossly underestimated the time needed to get everything done. While she's been somewhat efficient getting concert sponsors and money, she assumed that most of the rest of her work could be done in the last week and a half. If I were in her position, I would have estimated closer to the last three months.

Fortunately, almost everyone knows what their role is for this concert. It's just a matter of being told that they need to do the same as they've done in the past. Far too much assumption, not nearly enough confirmation. But it will all come off just fine, and everyone will rave at the great fireworks, and the gates will be opened to start on next summer's concert...

To see what's been involved in years past, you can click on any of these different links. In the meantime, I leave you with a picture I actually posted on Facebook a week or so ago, by request. Me in my bathroom. I don't anticipate seeing much of it over the next few days...

When I host a Mystery Guest, I generally offer to write this blurb, and most MGs take me up on it. Then I scour the interwebz to find an apropos quote or lyric. But tonight, I'll just use my own words...
This young lady turned 32 today (Wednesday). She has always been one of the sexiest HNTers around. But she's found herself in a situation where she can work further on her body, specifically focusing on her hind end. Today, she's showing it off for us. Methinks she's done well!
I'll be revealing her Thursday afternoon, but feel free to leave her some birthday wishes here. Her hiney would appreciate it!
Our very fit birthday girl is the one and only Shizzle! Sorry, no link, but you can find her as the MG in the past--I think this is at least her 10th appearance! Happy Birthday, Shiz!

Summer has definitely arrived! Even with some last minute submissions, the numbers at "...the Other HNT" are low this week. But where it lacks in quantity, it's doing just fine in quality! Be sure to check your fellow HNTers out. And leave some comments--they really do appreciate it!

Update on the young lady mentioned in my last post (the car wreck). I chatted with her last night, and she's apparently going to try to come to the concert! Not to play, obviously, but as an audience member. If she can find a ride...

I'm outta here until Sunday afternoon. No time for chats or emails or any of that nonsense! I'll try to get caught up on the HNTs on Sunday night. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wrecks and Words

2011-07-13T10:59:00.003-06:00

Big concert is coming up on Saturday, and it's causing all sorts of angst around here. Ultimately, it's going to come off just fine, but the stuff behind the scenes is just piling up and up...

Not the least of which was a late start to Saturday morning's rehearsal (one of two three-hour rehearsals in a stuffy, unventilated room in the summer sun...). A couple of players from out of town were late because traffic was held up due to a one-car rollover a few miles east of town. Turns out that the driver was also one of "us", our newly appointed principal string bass. She had swerved to avoid a car that had stopped on the 2-lane highway waiting to make a left hand turn. She missed the car, but at 70 MPH, rolled her car a number of times in the ditch. Her seat belt broke, but she wasn't ejected. In fact, she was coherent enough to crawl of the car, fearing it might explode. The first highway patrolman on the scene told her that his heart sank when he drove up, as he figured he had to find a body bag or two. Miraculously, she didn't suffer any broken bones, but spent the rest of the weekend in the hospital for observation. And she's going to be sore for awhile after being beaten up while rolling. Her bass also came away with only minor damage, which should be easily repaired. On the other hand, her car was totaled. She had me stop by the towing company's lot to retrieve anything that still might be in there. As she posted on FB--if this can happen sober/without distraction why would you even think of drinking and driving?

Click 'em to big 'em!

At any given time, I've got 12-16 different games happening on "Words With Friends". Overall, I think I've got a winning percentage with all the games I've played. Lots of blow-outs (both winning and losing). Lots words I've never heard of (which I keep in mind for future games!). And lots of words that I never thought I'd see allowed!

A new name came up last week inviting me to play. My mom. She's apparently taken to the iPad we got her for Mother's Day. Now I have to pay attention to whom I'm playing at any given time. Can't be using dirty words against Mom!!!

Click on the pic to see the most amazing score for a single word. I suspect it's been manipulated, as I can't see it possibly happening naturally...