Random yet profound.

Obamicon of the day: Hope

I created this with the Obama "Hope" poster generator at obamicon.me using a detail of a photo I took at Wrigley Field last year.

Hope springs eternal for the Cubs faithful.

Don't disappoint!

My friend Dewey captured this image outside Farmington, NM and immediately thought of me.

I don't know if i"m flattered or ashamed.

House Planning and Land Speculation

I have to apologize to my loyal core following who dutifully checked in every few days until it became obvious that I was no longer updating this blog in a timely fashion.
They've all migrated back to looking at dirty pictures, online gambling or whatever else they did before.
I have a valid excuse for my distraction, I'm actually involved in trying to buy a piece of land near me for a homesite. My friends think I'm nuts, they love my house and think I should never part with it. To them, I say: "make an offer.."

The deal is complicated by the fact that the lot won't "perk". Probably due to the fact that it is very near the top of Shades Mountain, and is approx 3 feet of earth over sandstone. We're having to determine how much it will cost to have a non-conventional septic system installed.


I also have to determine the suitability to build the kind of house I want.

I'm also interviewing builders.

Bear with me.

Todd Snider: National Treasure

 

I saw Todd Snider at Vulcan Park in Birmingham today. He wasn't as talktive as usual, but the songs were great!



Todd Daniel Snider is a singer-songwriter born October 11, 1966 in Portland, Oregon.
Best known for his wry humor, Snider has been a fixture on the Americana, alt-country, and folk scene since his debut on MCA, entitled Songs for the Daily Planet, named for the bar where Snider used to play regularly in Memphis. On that album were the minor hits "Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues", a play on Dylan's Talkin' New York. Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues is a folk song about the early '90's grunge scene, featuring a band that "refused to play", and "Alright Guy", which later became the title cut of Gary Allan's 2001 album.

 

 

 

Brush With Greatness: James House

I met songwriter and vastly underrated performer James House at a "Small Stages" event in a private home in Mountain Brook this week.


He was very, very good. Talented, funny, charming and totally at ease.

(Sometimes I don't want to meet people I admire, because it can be really disappointing to discover what a jackass they are- James House is a genuinely nice guy..)

James House was very, very nice. I remain a fan for life.

 

In this photo, James House is pointing out that I'm an idiot.

 

Click to watch a Music Video-embedding is disabled James House Video

About James House
Co-Writer of Grammy and CMA Nominated Songs of the year "A Broken Wing" Martina McBride and "Ain't That Lonely Yet" Dwight Yoakam. Along with Diamond Rio's number one smash "In A Week or Two. James House songs have been recorded by Rod Stewart, Sara Evans, Kylie Minogue, Steve Holy, The Mavericks, Craig Morgan, The Warren Brothers, Tina Turner and Steve Azar to name a few. His CD "Days Gone By" on Epic records established him as an artist and produced his own Billboard Top 5 single "This Is Me Missing You" As a recording artist James has toured and performed with: The Beach Boys, Neil Young, Trisha Yearwood, Randy Travis and many others, and has appeared on The David Letterman Show, The Grand Ol' Opry and toured throughout the US and Europe. His voice and songs can also be heard on several successful tv and movie soundtracks.

Random Images: Birmingham Folk Festival 2009

 

Homewood Musical Instrument Company displayed inventory

 

Dobro and Washboard players

 

 

Jon Black: Very good!

 

Kate Morris

 

 

"Some Dude"

 

 

Palo Pallas

Natalie Wood: American Film Actress

This one is my all-time favorite.



Natalie Wood (born Natalia Zacharenko;[2] Cyrillic: Наталья Николаевна Захаренко; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress.


Following her film debut in 1943, Wood became a successful child actor in such films as Miracle on 34th Street (1947). A well received performance opposite James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and helped her to make the transition from a child performer. She then starred in the musicals West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962). She also received Academy Award nominations for her performances in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love With the Proper Stranger (1963).


Her career continued successfully into the late 1960s with lead roles in films such as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969); after this she worked less frequently so that she could start a family. She was married to actor Robert Wagner twice and had two daughters, Natasha Gregson and Courtney Wagner. Wood starred in several television productions, including a remake of the film From Here to Eternity (1979) for which she won a Golden Globe Award.

Wood drowned near Santa Catalina Island, California. Her final film, the science fiction drama Brainstorm (1983) with Christopher Walken, was released posthumously.




Beautiful.

Random Demotivators

Ripped from the Chive, baby...

Natural Bridge, Alabama

 

This is a pretty cool attraction in a very remote part of Alabama, with a very unique and specific ecology. Lots of Hemlocks and a large number of Fern varieties.

 

The place is privately owned and admission is remarkably cheap.

 

I've seen better images than these. The place is an amazing, lush green with all the ferns and moss, but it seems to be more photogenic in the late fall and winter as far as photos of the formation itself.

 

 

I have no excuse, I'm just too lazy to blog.

I'd like to say I've been away doing wonderful, interesting things, but that would be false.

I have profound character issues, notably crippling laziness. The fact that I've accomplished anything in my life is totally the product of dumb luck and marginal charisma.


I'll try to do better, but don't count on it.

Oh yeah, that's not an actual photo of me-he's way better groomed than I am.

Cashiers, North Carolina

Here's some sunrise photos I took from the back porch of a really cool vacation rental house in North Carolina.








We shared with 3 other couples rented a spectacular house.

I'm not positive, but it was early spring about 3 years ago.