Goldenrod along the Rim

Golden Rod along the Rim
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Two more tourists from Minnesota, gazing at a flock of goldenrod, somewhere along the Rim Path. Hope they're not allergic.

Ceramic stare (gimpified)

Ceramic stare (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

I've been rooting about in some of my earlier pictures. This, one has always been one of my favorites. It's basically a colorful ceramic plate hanging on the wall of one of the shops in Old Town Market Place in San Diego. For some reason, this plate seems to be gazing in awe at a bougainvillea cluster growing alongside the wall.

I've already recycled this picture a number of times. This time I've used Gimp's cartoon filter as well as my new style of blur-border.

I hope everyone likes this so much that they click on everyone of the ads on my blog and then (using my Amazon widget) go into Amazon.com and buy a couple hundred dollars worth of goodies.
I've just realized that this probably sounds like shameless begging.
But wait--it IS shameless begging!

Banana Yaya got a Yellow Card...

for tackling (with his hands) Brek (Fast) Shea in the final seconds of the FIFA under 20 World Cup match between the USA and Cameroun in Suez, Egypt  just a few minutes ago.  Earlier in this same game Banana's team mate Djousse was subbed out.

Now,  I realize that a guy named Beers is probably not the best reporter the  blog-o-sphere could have had for this incident.  But, Francis Bacon, is long since deceased and Truman (Breakfast at Suez?) Capote, is likewise no longer with us.

By the way, the USA won 4-1,

and, it should have  been a red...

But, that would have ruined the whole story!

Three Minnesota Lakes visit the Mogollon Rim (gimpified)

Three Minnesota Lakes visit the Mogollon Rim (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Another shot from our trip to the Rim.

To explain the caption:

I was reliably informed during the brief time I lived in Minnesota that many of the saloons in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul contained cuspidors for the express purpose of enhancing Minnesota's "Lake" count.  It is for this reason that I think of Minnesota every time I see what we Maine Yankees prefer to call a mud puddle.

Dwight's been playing with Koalas again (gimpified)

Dwight's been playing with Koalas again (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Yes, it's true my poor mommy and daddy never bought me a Teddy Bear when I was growing up--in spite of the fact that I was demonstrating Republican tendencies at a very early age--and that deprived childhood has apparently led me into this recent addiction to Koalas and my second childhood. Ubuntu hasn't helped either.

I promise this will be the last though, I'm already starting to look for lynx pics.

Mogollon Rim View (gimpified)

Mogollon Rim View (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Another view along the Mogollon Rim taken last Sunday.

The effect comes from The Gimp's  and FX-Foundry's Landscape Illustrator script.

Fall is found on the Mogollon Rim (gimpified)

Fall is found on the Mogollon Rim (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

The trip to the Mogollon Rim was at least in part, in hopes of doing a bit of leaf peeping. Unfortunately, we were rushing the season a bit, but I did manage to find this one little bit of fall color along the trail to Wood Canyon Lake. This one is ever so slightly gimpified.

Mogollon's Hidden Fortress (gimpified)

Mogollon's Hidden Fortress (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Taken from the deck of the Mogollon Rim Visitors Center (it was closed on the day we were there). It reminded me somehow of Kurosawa's movie The Hidden Fortress, hence the title.

Golden Meadow (gimpified)

Golden Meadow (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Took a trip to the Mogollon Rim area yesterday and this photo is one of the results (more later). It's been gimpified, of course, using the cartoon and  landscape illustrator filters as well as my usual blur-border tool.

This view is just off a paved footpath that leads from the Rim Road to the Woods Canyon Lake.

Sancti Spiritus (gimpified)

Sancti Spiritu (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

From my photo jaunt around Sun Village last evening. Although, I was looking
for another one of our spectacular sunsets to immortalize, the good Lord didn't seem to be in a "sunsetty" mood so I grabbed this shot of one of our Sun Village house decorations.

The palm frond coming down from the heavens, the words Joy and Love all seemed to suggest a title. Although, I was sorely tempted to call the resulting picture "My Masterpiece", I realized after I had finished with all the "gimping" that the end result was probably not entirely "mine".

Is Barbara Padilla the next Rosa Ponselle?

It would seem highly unlikely or even impossible that someone could make a jump from the vaudeville stage to the Metropolitan Opera House in the 21st century.   After all, vaudeville is supposed to be dead, and the Met has its own ways of   finding new talent.

However, Barbara Padilla from Houston, Texas by way of Guadalajara, Mexico finished up her stint on NBC's "America's Got Plenty of Vaudeville Talent" last night.  Although, she only managed to place 2nd over all in the competition, and won't be earning a million dollars and her own show in Las Vegas.  I firmly suspect, that someone at the Metropolitan will have acquired her cell phone number by now and will be getting in touch.

An array of Vincas (gimpified)

An array of Vincas (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

I've been out and about again, taking pics and gimping.

My first vinca picture got me booted out of one of the Flickr groups.
So, I promise to behave myself this time, even though this one too, reminds me somehow of Mr & Mrs Obama (red at the core,but trying to look pink)--with Mr. Ayers trying to hide behind them.

My Current Desktop

My Current Desktop
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

I've been gimping again!

This will be my desktop at least until the big day in October when Ubuntu 9.10 makes its final appearance. I've been keeping up with all the alpha versions and thus far have experienced no problems whatsoever.

Obamacare: would it or would it not include coverage for 13 year old undocumented "performance artists" from El Salvador?

Either, the Obamacare plan, if and when it is written, will include such coverage and therefore Mr. Obama lied. Or, it will not, and Mr. Obama cannot achieve his goal of universal health care.  Either way, it is Mr. Obama who owes someone an apology!

One of my favorites gets to come home!

Finally, one of my all time favorite New England Revs players gets to come home to play his football.

FC Dallas: News: FC Dallas sign MF/DF Daniel Hernandez,en,en

For me personally it means I don't need to surf the Spanish language networks trying to follow Club Necaxa (difficult, now that they've been relegated) and, it means I'll now have a second favorite MLS team. Here's hoping Daniel can help FC Dallas into the playoffs--and, dare I hope that at least once he gets more than a cup of coffee with the NT and maybe has at least one chance to take one of his rocket free kicks.

At any rate, Good Luck Daniel!

An Arizona Sunset (2) (gimpified)

An Arizona Sunset (2) (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Another view of last night's sunset, using the same techniques.

An Arizona Sunset (gimpified)

An Arizona Sunset (2) gimpified
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

I've been out and about with my camera again. I caught, the beautiful sunset to the west, but didn't quite get the angle right on the full rainbow off to the east. I've added a smidgin of color boost, and then applied the cartoon filter.

An imaginary conversation between the ghost of H. R. Gross and a recent arrival to Arlington National Cemetary.

HRG:  I see Senator that you've maintained your family tradition of expensive (and publicly funded) funerals.  Have they told you how much this one is going to be costing my Iowa taxpayers?

EMK:  I guess it probably will cost a lot more than that little gas flame over there near my brother's grave that you used to gripe so much about.  But, of course, the failed Bush economic policies have introduced a lot of inflation into the economy over the past 8 years and that won't help.  But, remember too, that I did try to pay for that Kopechne kid's funeral a few years back--so I do try to look out for those Iowa taxpayers of yours whenever I can.

HRG:  Well, I guess the good news here is that no one has suggested an eternal fountain (with a bridge across it) as an appropriate memorial for you. Perhaps, if Obama's Cash for Clunkers turns up a 70's vintage yellow Corvette he could park that over there somewhere.  A $4,000 drop in the bucket. Its still too much, but it would be better than some of the alternatives and probably the best we could do in the present environment.

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Iron Horse (re-worked) (gimpified)

Iron Horse (re-worked) (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Just puttering about, so I thought I'd re-work one of my old favorite pics of a metal horse sculpture, which resides in the Arts District in downtown Scottsdale, AZ.

And, in the event, that Ubuntu decides to call their version 12.10,  the Pernicious Pinto, then I will be ready!

Why I insist on being Blue!

Why is it that American TV "news" organizations have persisted over the past several election cycles in referring to states carried by Democratic presidential candidates as Blue states, while those carried by Republican candidates are called Red states?  This practice has always been at variance with the practice in England, Canada and other countries, where the more conservative parties have been represented as true Blue, while the more "progressive" parties have been allowed to retain the Red colors their history has always seemed to favor.

This seems to me to be even more ironic(and, inaccurate) these days, when the Democratic party seems to have been taken over almost completely by the more extreme "progressive, "socialist", "communist", or "fascist" elements of their party.  In fact, I think that last years "Riefenstahl" convention in Denver, should have given the media organizations sufficient notice and they could have modified this tradition in time for the election last November.

They did not do so!

Therefore, I am this day announcing my own one-man counter-revolution and from this day forward I will always refer to my current home state (Arizona) as a Blue state, my congressional district as a Blue district, etc.  I will now have 3 years and a couple of months to persuade my fellow Blue staters, the Red staters and of course the media.

Off the top of my head, I can think of 3 immediate (and possibly persuasive) arguments in favor of starting this now.

1.  I suspect blue will look much better on all those blond conservative women who show up every day on Fox News. This, should be persuasive to both conservatives and "progressives" who happen to be men.

2. Red, will certainly look  better on those Code Pink loonies, who show up in the background of Congressional hearings on C-SPAN. This should be persuasive to these folks, since red will show up much better on the TV cameras.

3. "Progressives" will have at least one ready made pejorative that they will be able to use immediately to label those of us who disagree with them.  And, this is very persuasive to me, since I've always had a hankering to be called a "Blue meanie"!
  

Thomas Granger Day is one week away!

One week from today marks the anniversary of the death by public hanging of 17 year old Thomas Granger on September 8, 1642, in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  Young Mr. Granger had been convicted the previous day after publicly confessing to committing "buggery with a mare, a cow, two goats, diverse sheep, two calves, and a turkey".  The court had consisted of the entire assembled adult population of Plymouth, and they had to use Biblical law to decide on a punishment, as they were not then under any other legal jurisdiction.

Now, it seem to me that the time has come for our new Congress, believing as it does in promoting "Change we can believe in", to reconvene in time to declare September 8 a national holiday.  Because, thus far, in this country's entire checkered past we have resisted any and all attempts to honor even one of the vast assortment of sexual perverts that have contributed so much to American history and culture.

The time is now! We have vast numbers of people who have spent the summer of 2009 fawning over a dead pedophile and a dead murderer! These people are ready!  The American people are ready!

And, even though it's probably too late this year, such a holiday next year could provide some degree of "stimulus" to America's greeting card industry*.  And, it would come just at a time when Congress wants all of the citizenry to be thinking "progressive" for the upcoming mid-term elections.

*Perhaps, people could make do this year with re-cycled Thanksgiving cards which pictures of turkeys.

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