Another Blustery Day

tony-brandon-the-story-of-winnie-the-pooh-and-the-blustery-day-disneylandit’s more than breezy this morning. wind gusts are predicted to be as high as 38 mph. it’s days like this i’m reminded of a winnie the pooh book my sister and i used to read and listen to. it was one of those disney books with a vinyl record. there was a story on one side, and a song or two on the other. it also rang chimes when you were supposed to turn the page. really windy days are still cool to me because they change physical landscapes, alter the way we walk, and have an effect on what we wear. one gusty day in grade school my friends and i were amazed at how long the wind could hold our jackets against a fence on the playground.

Not So Good In A Clutch

theswitchthat’s not tom thumb’s mailbox, it’s a clutch safety switch. if you wanna know when auto makers went too far with safety features, it was when they made this dumb thing. i thought it was kinda goofy that my engine wouldn’t start until i pushed in the clutch– even when it was in neutral! well that was because of the safety switch. a few days ago, my truck wouldn’t start because the switch started going bad. thanks to miguel’s youtube video, i was able to disconnect & bypass it. now i can start up the engine in neutral without pushing in the clutch, just like everyone did over 30 years ago.

InstaBand!

guestsbeep goes the weasel returned to salon kitch last friday night! i had a drum & bass looper going & as soon as a curious onlooker stepped up– we had a band! we were surrounded by the artwork of chris frye, a local artist who isn’t afraid of color & loves old cartoons. trina (above right) tried out the theremin for the first time. i also had the carrot sticks tuned to play star wars, satellite of love, and this cool jam that joshua started.

We Didn’t Even Turn Into Pumpkins

tomandiggychris texted yesterday morning that he was free to hang out after work– and then the gods of misfortune looked at each other mischievously, rubbed their palms together, and gave him a migraine once he was off the clock. i was cutting up carrot sticks for beep goes the weasel when i got the news. i didn’t get to his house until 10 last night. we settled in, drank tea, planned the rise and fall of civilization, and went back in time watching youtube. i made it back home around 1:00 this morning.

Max Patience

max patiencemax perches himself on the arm of the loveseat when i’m blogging, emailing, or doing anything on the computer. the toy chainsaw behind him is a futile attempt to keep him from clawing any deeper into that part of the chair. the headphones have fallen off so many times there’s something loose knocking around inside of them.

The Butt Chin

drewandme2009an old friend, and one time loyal homer’s customer posted something nostalgic on facebook. it was a drawing that her daughter made 9 years ago. in 2009 emily was 6 years old, and was a well behaved cute little girl. drew ryan and i used to work a lot of afternoons together, and we saw emily and her mother cyndi quite often. one time they came when we weren’t working, and emily drew a picture because she missed us. she saw me as a pirate because i always wore a bandana, and was unshaven most days… but god only knows how she came up w/drew’s butt chin.

Dukes Of Hazzard 2005

burt and williethe dukes of hazzard movie came out in 2005, i watched it on netflix sunday night. it didn’t win any oscars, even though burt reynolds was a sleazy boss hogg, and willie nelson was a convincing uncle jesse. after the dukes foil boss hogg’s plan to strip mine their hometown, uncle jesse punches him in the mouth right in front of the governor (played by joe don baker). of course there are a lot of car chases, and an airborne general lee. when the credits roll at the end, they showed outtakes of what that dodge charger REALLY looked like after each stunt.

Sideways Drifter

drifting sequenceyesterday after church, josh and i went sliding around in a few parking lots. then later, i took his brother wes out for a spin. the kids call this drifting. when i was growing up it was just skidding. most people have front wheel drive, and if they want to drive a car like a sled, they have to do it in reverse. controlled skidding is one of my favorite things about having rear wheel drive. the pics above are from a video that josh posted on snapchat. he titled it: average day w/the uncle.

Aliases

richardandbillin the mid 1990′s there was a movie based on an old tv show called the fugitive. after i saw the movie with my grandmother, i went back and watched the original series. that show aired for 4 seasons, and every night Dr. Richard Kimble used a different alias! here are just a few: James Lincoln, Jim Fowler, James Sheldon, Jeff Cooper, Ray Miller, Joseph Walker, and Al Fleming. i only know ONE other tv character that had to use a different name every week: the incredible hulk’s alter ego, Dr. David Banner. he wasn’t nearly as creative. his aliases were: David Barr, David Benton, David Bishop, David Bradburn, David Braynard, and David Brown. personally, i only use an alias when i sing karaoke. i’m either leon or otis.

Upside Down Boom!

boomgot my hand stamped at tapcade last week. it’s probably the most legible stamp i’ve ever gotten there. this pic was a challenge because (1) i had to snap it with my left hand (2) i used a mirror (3) i wanted to keep the camera out of the shot, while looking at the lens.